Weekends off are always pleasant, but as soon as workdays approach, that familiar laziness sets in, draining all energy.
Everyone knew that when Lorien was resting, he simply wouldn't work—no matter what happened. No calls or messages could change that.
Bruce Wayne had tried calling several times, but when none went through, he finally decided to leave a message with the two women close to Lorien—Gwen and Wanda.
When he received their reply, he felt relieved. Luckily, he'd planned ahead; otherwise, there'd be no way to reach Lorien now.
When Gwen and Wanda got the message, Lorien looked displeased. Even the faint smile at his lips faded.
"Who sent that text?"
He never opposed Gwen and Wanda making friends—he even encouraged it—but he didn't want their peace disturbed by trivial matters. That would defeat the purpose of rest, something Lorien strongly disapproved of.
Gwen and Wanda, being around him constantly, understood his expectations well. But Bruce's situation seemed urgent, and refusing him outright wasn't easy. Besides, they had already lent him their car; helping a little more didn't seem like a big deal.
Thinking that, Gwen gently tugged Lorien's hand.
"It's just a small favor. They say there's a museum nearby, and a painting there was stolen."
A museum?
And a stolen painting?
Lorien thought for a moment, already guessing what it might involve.
"Even if a painting got stolen from a museum, what does that have to do with us? The fact Bruce called means…"
"Superman already went to help, but he couldn't find anything."
"Yeah, it says they've searched for a long time but found no trace of the theft."
Clearly, Superman had investigated thoroughly but came up empty-handed.
"That's impossible. If there's no trace, it means they didn't look properly."
Still, Lorien took Gwen and Wanda and went to check it out.
If he didn't know about it, he could've ignored the whole thing—but now that the issue had been brought to him, he figured he might as well lend a small hand.
Even so, his expression was far from cheerful.
Gwen and Wanda could sense his irritation. They exchanged a glance, staying silent.
"Boss! What a coincidence! Didn't expect to see you here!"
Just as they arrived at the museum entrance, a cheerful voice called out. A large man was waving enthusiastically—it was Billy Batson, a new member of the Justice League.
Billy had just joined and been assigned to handle the museum case. He was thrilled, but the theft itself left him clueless about where to start.
"When was the item stolen?" Lorien asked directly.
Billy blinked, confused. "I just got here. I don't really know what's going on."
If he did, he wouldn't have been so happy to see Lorien. He wasn't exactly good at thinking things through.
"Didn't Bruce say Superman Clark was handling the museum case?" Lorien asked again.
"I heard a thief caused trouble, so I volunteered to come instead. Superman Clark went to deal with some robots!" Billy said excitedly. "I saw one of those massive robots—it was incredible! Every guy loves robots, right? I do too. Smashing it felt kind of painful. Something that big must've taken ages to build!"
Lorien stared at him silently.
Where did this fool come from?
But then again, it was Billy Batson—real stupidity, not an act.
"In that case, you're coming with me to deal with the museum issue."
Lorien didn't expect anything from him, just hoped he wouldn't make things worse.
They entered the museum. The curator greeted them warmly as Lorien asked about the theft.
"There were two thieves, dressed in black. They destroyed all our surveillance equipment. I'm certain it was an organized job—otherwise, it'd be impossible for them to steal so much, so fast, without being seen!"
The curator spoke with conviction and showed them the information they had.
"Although the cameras inside were destroyed, the ones outside weren't."
That was how they'd managed to gather at least some clues instead of being completely in the dark.
Lorien narrowed his eyes at the footage showing the two thieves.
"Those two! The same ones I fought before!"
Before Lorien could say anything, Billy blurted out excitedly.
He remembered them clearly—they'd released some strange creature back then.
The curator looked astonished. Finding these thieves had seemed impossible, but now someone claimed to have seen them. He brightened immediately.
"Sir, could you tell me where you encountered these two?"
"I did run into them," Billy said. "But back then, I'd already returned what they stole to someone else. So… did they steal from others first, then rob the museum afterward?"