Chapter 319: A Controversial Alliance Part 4

Back in the states at around 9 p.m., the President and his cabinet managed to reach a decisive conclusion about what they would say to the public. Much of this was not composed by themselves of course but rather by the numerous house writers who were constantly sending in drafts of potential ways they could announce the matter. 

The cabinet then had to decide whether they liked it or wanted certain changes made. This back-and-forth went on for a good while, and now that they had finally settled on one. 

President Pete Ross let out an exasperated sigh as he noted the document he was holding before passing it over to the secretary standing beside him.

"Have the White House spokesperson deliver this via our allied media partners," he instructed.

"Will do, Mr. President," the secretary retrieved the document and almost immediately left the room.

Once gone, the Vice President looked at President Ross and asked, "How do you think the public will react to this?"

President Ross simply shrugged his shoulders. "If I knew that, I would have one less burden on my shoulders."

After saying this, he turned his attention to the Secretary of Homeland Security and asked, "Have you managed to send a team to receive Arias Markovich when he arrives at Gotham Harbor?"

The Secretary of Homeland Security immediately nodded. "Yes, aside from our own teams, I took the liberty of informing the Justice League like you asked, though I still feel they shouldn't be allowed to intervene in this matter. They're not telling us everything that happened on that island, Mr. President, and I'm not saying they're working with Arias Markovich, but the possibility remains."

President Ross didn't deny this possibility and gave a slight nod. "I'm well aware of the risks, but given the circumstances, we don't have much of a choice. Arias Markovich is notoriously hard to locate, and if he wants to disappear, we would be hard-pressed to find him. Because of that, it's better if we enlist the help of the Justice League. And though I don't trust all the members, I do strongly believe that Superman and Batman have the United States' best interests at heart."

"For all our sakes, I hope you're right," the Vice President muttered as everyone showed collective looks of concern over the situation.

———

Meanwhile, at Gotham Harbor, an entirely different scene was unfolding. Countless men and women in military uniforms were stationed there. It was so abrupt that some were still in the process of making workers leave while others were posted at various vantage points and docks, not knowing which exact one Arias would arrive at. 

At one such dock stood Batman. He stood alone with his arms crossed, keeping his gaze on the waters. Many feet behind him, a few soldiers were lined up, waiting as he did. 

They couldn't help but murmur.

"Is it really Batman?" one excitedly muttered, while another chuckled. 

"Never thought I would see the day when the good old US of A worked with vigilantes." As this particular soldier said this, another soldier to his right elbowed him in the gut, whispering, "Keep it down. He might hear you."

The soldier didn't seem fazed by this. "So what? I ain't scared of a grown man playing dress-up and running around in the night in his underwear," the man joked, even going as far as to keep his voice loud enough for Batman to hear.

Without looking back, Batman commented, "And yet you're scared of clowns, spiders, the dark, and tight spaces. I'm surprised you made it through selection."

As Batman said this, the man who was previously joking around looked at him with wide eyes. "How did you—?" he trailed off, gulping down his words, while his friends were equally intimidated, with one of them saying, "I told you…"

Many of them couldn't imagine that as soon as Batman was informed of what was happening, he rushed to the scene. Once there, he had the Batcomputer create extensive profiles on everyone present. This was mostly to check if there were any agents of enemy groups among them, but it also gave him a notable idea of what kind of people they were.

Shortly after, his communicator buzzed as Alfred's voice revealed, "Sir, satellite tracking of the harbor just picked up something moving toward your location."

Batman narrowed his eyes, looking forward. At that time, the visors within his mask lit up and zoomed in an attempt to see if there was anything present, but he could spot nothing. "Are you sure you're not misreading it, Alfred? I don't see anything."

"It could very well be an error, but the chances of that are almost zero, Sir," Alfred answered.

Batman instantly replied, "Understood," before turning off his visors and simply keeping his gaze forward. He then announced to the soldiers behind him without turning back, "He's here."

A few of the jumpy soldiers were quick to clutch onto their weapons, while others seemed afraid, scanning both the waters and the sky but seeing nothing, leading to confusion.

"What do you mean he's here?" one soldier asked.

Before anyone could clarify, another soldier shouted, "There! In the water, ten o'clock!"

This prompted all the nearby soldiers to gaze in the indicated direction. Sure enough, they could now see a large luxurious yacht seemingly appearing out of thin air.

"A ghost!" one soldier trailed off as he witnessed this, but Batman remained calm.

"You were right, Alfred. The yacht was moving cloaked," Batman revealed.

"Indeed, Sir, and it must be quite advanced for it to get past the nation's defense systems. It almost completely went through the Batcomputer's detection as well. This may be a call for an upgrade," Alfred noted.

"I'll look into it when I have time," Batman flatly replied before ceasing communications and turning his attention to the large yacht that was now proceeding to dock. At this time, countless other soldiers were rushing to the scene, mostly to catch a glance of Arias, as he was now incredibly notorious, especially in the military, for obvious reasons.

Because of this, many of the soldiers present were not at all happy that they were receiving him. Even the White House knew it was a risk to have military personnel near Arias, but they were unfortunately the best and most well-trained units they possessed. 

Never ruling out the potential of them acting out, President Ross insisted on informing the Justice League, thus leading to the current situation.

Just as the ship docked, Batman spoke into his communicator again. "Superman, can you see into the ship and confirm how many individuals are present?"

Superman, currently hovering far above in the skies, focused his gaze toward the yacht. He tried to use his x-ray vision but soon narrowed his eyes as he revealed, "It's lined with lead. The moment I try to use my x-ray vision, I just see a shadow on the water, but it's him. I'm sure of it."