It can be said that ever since the Behind-the-scenes Manipulator arrived in this cosmos, nothing has gone well. Whether through open strife or underhanded tactics, or even through meticulous planning, not a single plan has succeeded. It seems he has been completely toyed with.
However, looking at his current situation, there's no time to delay, because the Batmen in the Multiverse are still hunting him down. If he doesn't make swift progress, Batman will soon be at his doorstep.
Simply put, the Behind-the-scenes Manipulator is in a panic.
Inertia is a frightening thing. It applies not only to people but also to things. Many have stumbled because of this.
Humans are most prone to making mistakes when an old plan is doomed to fail and a new plan is yet to be devised, and they keep following the inertia of the old plan. By the time they realize, there's no ground left for the new plan to take root. Thus, they resort to a traditional human tactic—taking a gamble.
Trapped in a predicament without a way to break the deadlock, resources are being continuously drained. Not betting big is a dead end, which easily leads to a gambler's mindset, a trap of thinking that a decisive victory must be achieved in one stroke.
Now, the team of the Behind-the-scenes Manipulator is evidently in that state. Their emotionally deceptive plan has already failed, and no better schemes can be thought of. With a potential breakthrough right in front of them, they were naturally driven into a corner, abandoning their personas, not even pretending to be ordinary people anymore. They are probably rushing to Metropolis eagerly, hoping to deliver a final blow to Superman.
Clark shook his head. He had to marvel once again at Shiller's precision in seizing opportunities, perfectly timing his move when the Behind-the-scenes Manipulator was in transition and potentially confused, offering a perfect solution—to kill and revive Superman directly.
This plan seemed brilliant: so effortless, with great rewards if successful, and already mostly complete; just one final push, and everything would be back on track. Who could resist such temptation?
Clark felt a chill in his heart. He reminded himself to take heed. Sometimes, those paths that seem like shortcuts are actually traps leading to death. When things come too easily, it is not due to divine favor, but because someone is plotting intricately.
Thinking this way, Clark also realized that the prison break might have been tacitly approved by Shiller. So he waved his hand, dismissing the official, and walked to the visitor's room next door.
"Friends, get ready. There's a big show ahead."
Everyone turned their heads to look at him.
In an underground base in Massachusetts, Damian scrutinized the man sitting next to Amanda. The man wore an ostentatious suit, his hair meticulously combed back. His gray eyes were almost completely hidden under the shadow of his eyelashes, making his gaze unreadable, with a smile at the corner of his mouth, giving the impression of being easy to get along with.
"Shiller," Damian called out, "You still haven't introduced the top assassin you found for us?"
Shiller turned back to look at him, smiled, and then said, "Seems like you're very interested in him."
"Professionals always appreciate each other," Damian said, "That shot of his was impressive. Probably only Batman could be that precise."
Shiller smiled again and said, "His gun skills are indeed quite good."
"So where is he? Where is he?"
"Are you eager to meet him?"
Damian's face showed a hint of impatience. He looked at Shiller and said, "You aren't deliberately hiding him, are you? Is this your idea of showing cooperation?"
"I've already shown my sincerity," Shiller turned his head back, then said, "Without me, the President would still be cheerfully giving speeches. The reason you can sit here discussing how to kill the President thoroughly is all thanks to me, isn't it?"
His gaze swept over everyone present: the Allen couple, Dr. Erdel, Steve, Damian, and Amanda sitting at the head.
Shiller's words sounded like sneers, as if saying they haven't accomplished anything. So Amanda wasn't pleased first. She slapped the table and said, "Don't forget, we found the Kryptonite, allowing your people to land a fatal blow. Without us, do you think you could take down Superman so easily?"
A glimpse of fear flashed on Amanda's face. Clearly, she understood Superman's terror more than anyone else because she was killed by him. Her body, sliced open by the heat beam, even retained consciousness, and she could recall the scene where her body fell apart in front of her.
Thinking of this, Amanda couldn't help but gag. She covered her mouth, her face pale, lips trembling a little. Damian stared at Shiller again and said, "You know we're short on manpower now..."
"Of course I know," Shiller interrupted him and said, "That's why I suggested bringing your comrades back first, instead of rushing off to Metropolis."
Shiller naturally referred to the other revived people. Their people weren't all present yet. Ron's wife and daughter, and Dr. Stone's wife, Victor's mother, weren't here yet. As for the El couple far away on the Helium Star, they were nowhere in sight.
"No way," Amanda flatly refused, "Now is a once-in-a-lifetime great opportunity. Superman has already been severely injured by us, and with one more hit, we could perfectly resolve everything."
"I've already said this isn't rational," Shiller said, "Now the President's hospital will definitely be heavily guarded, and roadblocks will undoubtedly be set up. Rushing in like that, you have no chance of winning..."
"You think we're ordinary people?" Damian said, "Just because ordinary people can't, doesn't mean we can't. Didn't we escape from such a heavily guarded research base?"
Then he leaned forward, taking on an aggressive stance, and said, "Your reluctance to let that top assassin join us, are you planning to betray us?"
Amanda also looked at Shiller, squinting her eyes, and said, "Exactly, Shiller. Since you can find such a person, you should naturally introduce him to join us; he would make a great ally."
"If you can recruit that top assassin, I'm confident we can kill Superman in one strike," Amanda slammed the table and said, "With so many of us paving the way, we can create chaos, and then he can shoot Superman from afar. Bang, everything solved."
"It's not that I'm unwilling to introduce him," Shiller shook his head, looking a bit helpless, "his identity is a bit awkward, perhaps he's not ready to meet yet..."
"What nonsense is that?" Amanda said, "Awkward identity? What's so awkward? Even if he's a fugitive, I have a way to clear his name. Just get him here, we can't miss such a great opportunity!"
Everyone looked at Shiller. Their eyes were dark and seemed to exude a certain kind of lifelessness, giving off an unmatched coldness that didn't match their expressions, making them look even more pressing.
Shiller looked like he was completely cornered and compromised, shaking his head he said, "Fine, since you insist on bringing him in, don't blame me if anything goes wrong."
With that, he took his phone and went outside. A while later he returned and said, "He'll be here soon."
A few of them started discussing how to assassinate Superman again. Basically, to break through the defenses, someone would definitely have to rush in and attract attention, so the gunman could seize the opportunity. Although Superman was severely injured, the Justice League was still there, making it not that easy to break in.
After about an hour of discussion, there was a sudden knock at the door. Everyone turned to look, and as the door opened, silence fell upon the room.
A tall, slender young man with black hair, exceptionally handsome, stood outside the door. His blue eyes under the incandescent light were so light they almost seemed colorless. Most importantly, he looked a lot like Batman.
Damian was the first to be stunned. The figure walked in, Shiller went over to greet him, first shaking his hand and then hugging him, introducing him to the others, "This is Mr. Neway, the key figure in the assassination of the president, the assassin who landed the lethal blow on Mr. President."
"He..." Amanda was clearly shocked too. She stared at the man named Neway, almost without blinking.
"Who are you???" Damian stood up, staring at him and asked.
"Didn't I just mention my name?" The other placed his bag on the table, found a seat, and said, "I heard you're inviting me to join?"
"That's right!"
"No way!"
The two responses came almost simultaneously, the former from Amanda, the latter from Damian.
Amanda first looked at Damian. Damian's expression had turned quite twisted. He looked at the young man incredulously and said, "No wonder, no wonder he doesn't care at all..."
"Damian!" Amanda raised her voice to call him, then said, "Don't forget what our most important goal is now. We need such an excellent assassin. Mr. Neway, right? Welcome to join us."
"I can't let him join!!!" Damian bypassed the table, looked at Amanda and said, "He might be Batman's man!! He definitely is!!"
"Then why would I want to assassinate the president?" The other asked nonchalantly with his arms crossed, "It couldn't be that Batman sent me, right?"
"So you do know Batman!" Damian gritted his teeth, "What's your relationship with him? You..."
"That's none of your business." He no longer looked at Damian, but turned to Shiller and said, "Actually, I really didn't want to join any organization. But, for Shiller's sake, I might as well join."
Amanda's eyes instantly became eager, ignoring Damian entirely. She personally poured a glass of water for the newcomer and said, "Just as well, we wanted to talk about follow-up plans with you. You're the key to this finishing move plan, let's first confirm the action route..."
The young man showed no emotion on the surface. When Amanda turned her back, he winked at Shiller, who also smiled back at him.
Indeed, this young man was not Neway, but rather Bruce from the universe of arrogance. That incredibly precise shot earlier was his doing.
Shiller looked at Bruce, who was discussing action routes with Amanda, and smiled again. This is the first time he had heard such an odd request of inviting someone actively. Especially when Batman put so much effort to kick Bruce off the team. The world indeed has its share of conventional smart people and myriad kinds of foolishness.
It all started on the night of Christmas. After the Christmas banquet ended, Shiller went back to his room to rest but didn't go straight to sleep. Instead, he went to the Battleworld. To be exact, Batman's domain.
Now the time was when the Batmen at their respective Wayne Manors were busy, so not a single Batman was around. When Shiller entered the cave, Bruce came up to meet him. The two of them embraced.
"It's about time you showed up, I was bored to death," Bruce shook his head and said.
"How's the progress on forming the Alliance?"
"Not great. Honestly. Most villains with a hint of darkness are downright foolish, or their weaknesses are glaringly obvious. Really, there's hardly anyone usable."