Batman's eyes narrowed slightly as if something had clicked in his mind. "You mean, you've also acquired a Mother Box in that world, and it's an even more powerful one."
Shin nodded with certainty. "Absolutely right. With this more advanced Mother Box, once we crack the coordinates of Apokolips, we can teleport straight there."
Batman considered his words in silence before replying. "The coordinates to Apokolips should be stored in the Mother Box that landed on our Earth. I recall you already have one in your possession."
"Well said," Shin confirmed, giving a slight nod. "But the coordinates inside that Mother Box aren't complete. I suspect Apokolips encrypted them, which is why we ran into trouble trying to decode it."
Batman's gaze sharpened. "You want the Mother Box from Atlantis."
"It's more accurate to say I want the Mother Box from the Batcave," Shin replied with a faint smile. "When you created Brother Eye, you borrowed that Mother Box. You haven't returned it to Atlantis yet, have you?"
Batman gave him a deep, unreadable look. This was information that, apart from himself, only 'Aquaman' Arthur, and Mera knew.
How did Shin know? Did Arthur or Mera tell him? Did he learn about it from a parallel universe? Or had he simply deduced it from examining Brother Eye's technology?
In truth, it was none of those. Shin had simply overheard it with his super hearing during a conversation between Arthur and Mera.
Under normal circumstances, Shin only used his super hearing to scan an entire city. While he could hear much farther, processing that much sound required more mental effort.
It was the same principle Superman operated on in the comics. Though capable of hearing sounds from across the planet, Superman's mind filtered out anything irrelevant. Unless someone called his name or it was a voice he recognized, most noises became background static.
But after spending a great deal of time on Earth, Shin had decided to take Scarlet Witch on a trip beneath the ocean. The underwater landscapes were far more breathtaking than anything on the surface.
During this visit to Atlantis, Shin learned that the Mother Box of Atlantis had been handed over to the Justice League, specifically, to Batman.
When Arthur, the Aquaman, had seen Shin, his face lit up with relief. For a man without much taste for political power, being king was more of a burden than a privilege.
Atlantis was far from perfect, but it was a stable nation. No theft, advanced technology, abundant resources, and a balanced population meant there was little for a ruler to do. Yet there were still… "royal duties."
Some of them were absurd. On one occasion, an Atlantean's prized fish had been eaten by a neighbor. The court ruled that the neighbor must replace it with the exact same type of fish. When the fish-eater couldn't afford it, they came before the throne to plead for some other arrangement.
As king, Arthur was expected to handle such cases personally. His days were full of these petty disputes.
And Arthur had never trained for kingship. A sailor and the son of a lighthouse keeper, he had no real interest in the throne. Within months, the sheer volume of trivial matters left him exasperated.
It gave him new insight into why his brother had once sought to invade the surface world. If years of this could drive a ruler to madness, perhaps starting a war almost seemed like a welcome distraction.
So when Shin arrived, Arthur was quick to pull him aside, delighted to have company and a break from his duties. He treated Shin and Scarlet Witch to tours of Atlantis and its hidden wonders.
Although most Atlanteans tended to be wary of outsiders, they showed Shin great respect once they learned that Arthur and Mera had both learned fish-man karate and fish-man jujitsu from him.
In fact, Arthur's ability to claim the title of Aquaman and defeat his brother so easily had been largely thanks to those martial arts. Since that victory, fish-man combat styles had become something of a cultural phenomenon across Atlantis.
Shin, however, felt a twinge of regret. His involvement had effectively short-circuited the events of the Aquaman movie. Arthur had yet to discover his next great artifact, and his mother was still unrecovered.
So before leaving, Shin made a detour to the Trench tribes' so-called Graveyard of the Gods, rescued Arthur's mother, and even presented her to him as a gift.
With a favor of that magnitude owed to him, Shin was certain Atlantis would have no objections if he asked for the Mother Box. The only person he needed to convince was Batman.
Batman's eyes stayed locked on Shin as he finally asked, "Are you confident?"
Shin's tone was calm but resolute. "Don't worry. I can guarantee it. Remember, I just came back from that otherworld, Flash's world. I've gathered some useful intelligence."
Batman's suspicion eased. He doubted Shin would ever align himself with Apokolips. Apokolipsians had value systems entirely alien to humanity, while Shin's morality was firmly human.
"Then come with me…" Batman began.
"No need," Shin interrupted with a slight smile. "I already know where you keep the Mother Box, in the secret chamber beneath the Batcave, correct?"
Batman's storage habits were predictable. The most dangerous and valuable items were kept in the Batcave, while the rest were secured in the Justice League's vaults.
The subtle change in Batman's heartbeat told Shin he was right again.
Before Batman could react further, Shin grabbed his arm. A sudden flash of light and disorienting shift later, Batman found himself standing inside the Batcave.
It wasn't teleportation, but speed—pure, blinding speed. The Batcave's lead shielding and hidden location could thwart Superman's senses, but Shin's combination of super hearing and observation Haki made Gotham's secrets an open book. Even the Batcave wasn't beyond his reach.
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