Floyd stared at the completed armor in awe. Lex gave him a light pat on the shoulder.
"I will teach you. When the time comes, press this button, and with the help of the auxiliary system, you can handle the painting."
"Do not worry, I can manage," Floyd replied quickly. "I have worked on personal gear before, so I know what I am doing."
He picked up the spray equipment and began painting the two suits.
As he worked, he kept glancing at them, unable to hide his excitement.
"Hey, you two better get me one of these as well. This is incredible. I am definitely wearing this when I take my daughter to school. She will be treated like royalty."
"As long as you survive tonight, that will not be a problem," Bruce said, his tone firm.
The words hit harder than expected.
Floyd paused for a moment, then turned slightly away as he continued painting.
"Never thought people like you would actually care about someone like me," he muttered.
"You are getting sentimental," Lex said flatly. "Direct that toward Bruce. I do not care about anyone."
Floyd snorted and grabbed another spray gun. Without hesitation, he sprayed a streak of green across the table in front of Lex.
Lex only smiled faintly, then nudged Bruce.
"The mood is not bad. I expected you to react, but your face is still stiff. You really do act like a machine."
"Bruce has a heart, whether he shows it or not," Floyd said with a laugh as he finished up the painting. "And yours is not as cold as you pretend."
When the work was done, the two suits stood side by side. One was entirely black, the other a mix of silver and green.
Floyd handed the spray gun to Bruce.
"The emblem is yours."
Bruce nodded and stepped forward. With steady precision, he painted the bat symbol across the chest of the black armor.
Next, Lex took the tool and marked his own suit. On the shoulder, he painted a black hexagon, then added three intersecting lines inside it.
With a simple gesture, Lex's armor opened up, ready for him to step in.
Bruce moved differently. With a sharp clap, his armor separated into pieces, then reassembled itself onto his body with seamless coordination.
Floyd watched, swallowing hard.
"Must be nice. I have spent over twenty years fighting and barely put together basic gear. You two build something like this in three days."
He glanced at his own equipment, clearly unimpressed.
"Standing next to you makes me look like hired help."
"That does not matter," Bruce said calmly before turning to Lex. "We will use your aircraft. It is better equipped. I have not had time to upgrade mine."
"Of course you have not," Lex replied with a smirk. "Too busy playing vigilante."
He issued a command through his system.
Moments later, near the hills and golf course north of the manor, the ground split open. A sleek, silver-green aircraft rose from below and moved toward the laboratory, hovering before descending smoothly.
Outside the manor, members of the Dead Souls Gang stared in amazement.
Victor stood among them, wiping his blade clean. He waved toward Oswald.
"You stay here and manage things. I am heading to Washington."
He laughed loudly.
"Not long ago, I was just another nobody. Now look at this. Give it a few years and I might end up starring in some big-budget movie."
With that, he sheathed his knife and walked toward the manor as his crew cheered behind him.
"Gotham stands above everything!"
"Dead Souls Gang rules!"
"Boss Victor, show them what we are made of!"
"Tell Boss Bat not to forget about us!"
"If he stays away too long, we might start causing trouble ourselves!"
"Keep your voice down, Boss Wraith is sleeping!"
"I almost said his real name, good thing I stopped."
"Yeah, once he goes back to that identity, we will not even get close to him."
"Washington is already collapsing. The military has not taken it back in hours."
"Where are our tax Dollars even going?"
"You actually pay taxes?"
"I paid over sixty thousand last year."
Oswald stepped forward and slammed his fist lightly against Victor's chest.
"Go make us proud."
Then he leaned in and lowered his voice.
"If this works, we turn this into something bigger. I take two shares, you take one, Bat gets one, and the rest goes to Wraith."
Victor frowned.
"I am risking my life. Bat and I get two each. You get one."
"Then we split it evenly," Oswald said quickly.
"No. My way stands."
After a brief pause, Oswald nodded.
"Fine. But you help me deal with Fish."
Victor smirked.
"That is easy. Axel and I were never on her side anyway."
With that, he patted Oswald's shoulder and entered the manor.
Just as he stepped inside, a voice called out.
"Wait!"
Victor turned, his expression sharp.
A tall young man stood nearby, visibly nervous but trying to stay composed.
"Our government has been fighting for over two hours and is still losing ground in Washington," the young man said. "You seem to be preparing to intervene…"
"Get to the point," Victor cut in. "Who are you, and why are you stopping me?"
The young man hesitated, then spoke.
"My name is Clark Kent. I am from Smallville."
He took a breath.
"I want to go to Washington with you. I believe I can help."