Arkham Batman briskly entered the Justice League Gotham Base office and saw Wonder Woman lying on the desk. When she saw him, she wanted to approach but then remembered something and took a few steps back.
"Don't do that, Diana." Arkham Batman took a step forward and said, "I never doubted you. That incident back then wasn't your fault, and you've been trying to make amends. I know that."
Wonder Woman's emotions were like a flood that had finally found a breakthrough after being dammed for a long time. She walked over and hugged Arkham Batman tightly. Arkham Batman comfortingly patted her back.
"I'm back because I made a decision." Arkham Batman gently pushed Wonder Woman back but held her face with both hands and looked directly into her eyes, saying, "I choose to trust you all. You need to help me with something, Diana."
Wonder Woman was obviously not the type to wallow in self-pity. Despite tears filling her eyes, she didn't shed a single tear, instead taking a deep breath and gripping Arkham Batman's wrist, saying, "What do you need me to do?"
"The electronic entity wants to trick me into going to the Amazon, and then take advantage to stir up trouble in the Federation Territory. Just like the Joker's dilemma choices: if I don't go, I can't save those people on the ship, but if I go to the Federation Territory, others might die. But I won't allow such a thing to happen."
Wonder Woman's face turned grim. She didn't expect such a conspiracy hiding behind this, but she also understood that Arkham Batman showing up before her at this moment was a deep display of trust. After all, she was the daughter of the Amazon Queen and a Princess of the Amazon; she might not necessarily be on Batman's side.
Originally, they were already at a disadvantage against this cunning electronic entity, and if she leaked the plan, Batman's side would be completely out of luck. Given Batman's suspicious nature, he should quietly and secretly execute this deed, but he still chose to come and see her.
Wonder Woman took a deep breath, suppressed the tumultuous emotions within her, and listened carefully to Arkham Batman's words.
"Our advantage now lies in having a fort that this electronic entity can't invade; any plans we discuss here won't be known by it, so we might be able to keep it in the dark."
"And we have you. You're a demigod with many spells. I need you to disguise as me and go to the Amazon, make public appearances, and search for those missing people, making the electronic entity think I've already gone to the Amazon."
"Meanwhile, I'll stay in the Federation Territory. If anything happens, I can detect and deal with it immediately. This way, there isn't a dilemma of choosing one over the other. But the premise is that you can save those people and not be discovered by the entity."
"Don't worry." Wonder Woman nodded, saying, "Since magic is the entity's blind spot, it can't see through my disguise. I believe I understand you well enough, mimicking you won't be a problem."
Arkham Batman handed the Batmobile keys to Wonder Woman and said, "Also, don't tell your mother. She has always been discontent about my previous forced entry on Paradise Island and the elimination of Mount Olympus; I'm worried she might actively cooperate with the electronic entity."
"She won't," Wonder Woman said, "As long as I act in your guise, she won't dare to do so. After all, when you don't even care about Zeus, she also fears you might begin a massacre."
Wonder Woman soon left. Then, a "Batman" took off in the iconic Batmobile—the Batmobile, after enhancements, can now fly and very quickly at that. Such private travel without diplomatic notification can truly express Batman's fury.
After Wonder Woman left, Arkham Batman remained in the Gotham Base waiting for news, both to learn about the rescue progress and to wait for any action from the electronic entity in the Federation Territory.
When Superman rushed in to notify him about the power outage in West California, Arkham Batman realized he was right: the entity's target wasn't the remote, socially detached Amazon, but California, the world's most bustling and vital industrial hub for the Federation.
Contrary to many people's impressions, California isn't just sunshine, beaches, and palm trees; it's also the number one industrial state in the Alliance. Even with the giant cities of Gotham and Metropolis in New Jersey, it can't hold the second place—that's with Wayne Enterprises and Luther Group as substantial entities.
To put it this way, the Quin Group, originating from Green Arrow, is not well-known globally, nor ranks locally in California, making Green Arrow's background seem less prominent compared to Batman and Luther. However, realistically, if Quin Group were relocated to New Jersey, it could basically rank third, but in California it doesn't even make the top 20.
Following Arkham Batman's tenure, besides aggressively targeting the finance sector, he also vigorously focused on industry. While he had essentially achieved dictatorship, his high public approval was due to his industrial prowess, creating numerous jobs and significantly improving the living standards for the lower class. Therefore, even though he held absolute power, no one accused him of being undemocratic.
The electronic entity targeting West California was clearly going for the industrial bloodline. As Arkham Batman anticipated, it had finished probing and begun the genuine assault.
"Have the Secretary of Energy come to see me." Arkham Batman said.
"California Governor on the line!" the assistant in the communication room shouted.
Arkham Batman went over, picked up the phone, and without waiting for the governor to speak, said, "I know this isn't your fault, someone is stirring trouble behind the scenes. Time is of the essence, I'll keep it brief: I'm giving you authority over all State Police and National Guard mobilizations in California and the surrounding three states. The primary task is ensuring no major accidents occur in any industrial areas due to the power outage, and any occurring accidents must be immediately rescued. If manpower is insufficient, call in reinforcements from other states, regardless of the scale of the accident, rescue all you can. Don't rush to restore power to factories without incidents, nor send workers in, focus on restoring societal electricity. If necessary, activate previously deactivated power plants. All costs and potential issues arising from these measures will be personally borne by me. Understand?"
The governor responded with a brief sentence before hanging up. Arkham Batman then made numerous calls to mobilize the military and police. Even when assistants consulted him about giving a television speech to reassure the public, he ignored them.
In the past, whenever something big happened, politicians would go on TV for votes. Arkham Batman now doesn't need votes; rather than standing in front of the camera talking nonsense, it's more important to urgently manage the disaster.
Following were the Secretary of State and Vice President; Arkham Batman delegated them efficiently. Then came the military—of course, Arkham was the head of the military now, so no negotiation was needed. Arkham Batman commanded directly, and the army, with unprecedented speed, advanced into California.
Actually, other people felt that Arkham Batman was overreacting. Although such a large-scale blackout is rare historically, smaller-scale ones have occurred a few times; particularly some underdeveloped states experience blackouts regularly. Most presidents turn a blind eye; some even suppress the news, firmly preventing negative news from affecting their approval ratings.
However, fortunately, Arkham Batman had already seized power into his own hands, using his exceptionally prominent political capability and visionary perspective to form a support team that unequivocally followed his lead, demonstrating astonishing efficiency at this moment.
Of course, the above measures are just to stop the loss. To give a powerful counterattack, neither the government nor the military will do; it must be an enforcement agency with unlimited enforcement power.
"Get Ramos down for me," Arkham Batman said to the other side, "The FBI he's leading is like a bunch of shrimp who haven't woken up. Go tell him his donuts are done, and get out immediately. The Director of the FBI is being replaced!"
The person on the phone seemed somewhat dissatisfied with Arkham Batman's decision to change the commander at the last minute. Arkham Batman didn't say much, just said, "You'll understand when you meet the new director."
Then he opened the Battleworld communication line, sending a message to the agent: "Good news: you've become the new Director of the FBI. Bad news: you've become the new Director of the FBI."
The agent replied with a question mark.
Not long after, he appeared in the President's office. Arkham Batman looked at him, he looked at Arkham Batman. They stared at each other for a long time before Arkham Batman said, "Congratulations on your promotion. Now go to work."
"Is this reasonable?" he asked.
Arkham Batman furrowed his brows, as if he didn't recognize him, and said, "This doesn't seem like you."
"Have you considered what kind of mess the former director left for me when you made me Director of the FBI? What else can those people in the FBI do besides eating donuts? What do you expect me to achieve with them?"
"That's not my concern. If you're fed up with those old hands, isn't there an academy to train you some young people to work for you?"
"Ha," Shiller snorted coldly and said, "Those people don't even know how to eat donuts."
"What will it take for you to do the job?"
"I need two people."
"Who?"
"Arrogant and Barry," Shiller said. "One to teach at the academy, the other to run errands for me."
"No, I need The Flash," Arkham Batman said.
"Then from another universe. As long as you're willing to make an offer, I'll talk to Arrogant myself and have him bring the Flash from his universe over."
"No problem," Arkham Batman said, "As long as he's not punching out at 6:30, anything can be arranged."
Shiller turned and left. Soon he arrived at FBI Headquarters, where his predecessor was packing up and leaving, while the others were still sipping coffee and eating donuts, ignoring the new director.
Shiller first made a phone call to bring back colleagues who had worked with him in Gotham. Even though Arkham Batman became President, those who could work as agents in a city as complex as Gotham were certainly no weaklings. Besides, they knew him, and he could command them; they were the best candidates to break the deadlock.
Then came the deputy director, a somewhat gaunt middle-aged man with white hair, who brought over a cup of coffee, smiled at Shiller, and said, "Welcome, new director. The President sure is capricious. The former director had been in office for less than half a year before being replaced. I wonder what kind of person would satisfy him."
After speaking, he openly sized up Shiller. Those gathered at the director's office door burst into laughter.
"You'll find out," Shiller said.
"Alright, good luck, Mr. Director."
The deputy director turned to leave. Just at the moment he turned—
Bam!
The deputy director fell to the ground slowly. Everyone was so shocked that they froze. Shiller put away his gun and said, "Now you know what kind of person would satisfy him."
"Get out there and do your jobs!" Shiller shouted, waving his hand. The crowd scattered in all directions.
But Shiller specifically pointed to the person at the end of the line and said, "You stay. I know you're the President's man, I just spoke to him on the phone. Don't rush off; I have a task for you."