- Batcave -

[Engine roar]

A sleek black car rolled into the sparsely lit Batcave, stopping when it arrived at the platform.

[click] [shut]

The door opened with a click, and Batman exited his Batmobile, only to notice clear signs of battle. For clear definition, there were metal frames with dents similar to bullet marks, the bird-a-rangs sprawled around the floor, and a clear mark of a smoke bomb explosion to go by.

Batman became alert, his eyes scanning the Batcave for any hidden assailant. His hands naturally reached for his belt; his fingers traced the cold metal of his trusty Bat-a-rang.

"Seems you are back, Master Bruce." Alfred's voice crackled through the intercom. Batman relaxed a bit, his fingers still tracing the Batarang. "What happened here, Alfred?"

"Well, Master Dick's playdate became a bit intense," Alfred replied with his usual sarcasm. "The children are in the lab."

"Okay." The communication ended, and Batman moved in the direction of the section he had arranged for Zion. His footsteps were silent as he approached; the hum of the intricate machines filled the section.

He noticed Robin standing guard while Zion was working on the machines. Batman stood there silently for a moment, observing, before he made his presence known. Robin, quick to notice him, approached.

"Finished the patrol? Did you find something?" Robin asked.

"What happened?" Batman asked, cutting straight to the point.

"That," Robin lowered his head, unable to meet his mentor's gaze.

"We tested my combat suit, got a bit out of hand," Zion answered without turning away from his work.

Batman turned to Robin, his gaze demanding answers.

"Zion gave me a combat suit to wear, to test it. Then he wanted to go out to stop the thugs from transferring weapons, but I stopped him, and we fought," Robin spilled everything.

"Dude!!" Zion shot a betrayed look at Robin.

Batman's gaze turned to Zion.

"What? I wanted to have some fun. It's not like you could stop all the crimes in Gotham alone. I could kick some butt and teach about self-transformation to those crooks." Zion replied, returning to work. "And I don't like to work all the time. It's no fun, especially when I am not trying to do something a bit too crazy."

Batman listened to Zion's rambling, noting a few alerting keywords. A guy with advanced knowledge trying to do something crazy won't end up good for anyone, but at the same time, he also noticed that Zion wanted to be a hero, on the side of good.

Intrigued, Batman asked the questions that had been haunting him. "What is your reason?"

"Reason?" Zion turned from his work, his head tilted in confusion.

"For being here, to help. With your knowledge, you could gain more by working with the government or by establishing cooperation yourself," Batman elaborated.

"I don't like working under anyone, and I really am not suited for any kind of management. Moreover, it is a waste of time that could be used elsewhere," Zion replied. "And I don't like humans and their wars and territorial conflicts over a small piece of land they can't even take care of. What would happen if I give them my tech?"

Zion turned to his work, continuing, "Humans as a species do not understand the magnitude of things in this galaxy, let's not talk about the universe. Humans think they are at the center of the universe; they are not. They are nothing but dust on a cosmic scale. Even a lone Kryptonian could end this whole solar system if he wanted, and you wouldn't be able to stop it.

My form is already a testament that I am literally capable of bringing your civilization to its knees. All I need to do is hack all the databases of all countries and put them on the internet for all to see, the countries would tear themselves apart. Or I could get my hands on nukes that will turn Earth into a radioactive wasteland.

But humans also represent something else.

Something more than death and destruction, to love and be kind. Destruction is easy, and creation is hard, but kindness is rare. I want to believe we could be more than some parasites; we could be better. Humans are already awakening their potential for destruction, but that power could be used somewhere else, somewhere it would promote growth and peace.

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Think about a meta-human, those powerhouses popping up now and then, with the ability to control plants and help them grow. They could single-handedly feed a community, but do you see anyone do it? No!

If we wanted, we could solve the world hunger problem in a decade, but we don't even try with all this power in our hands. Even with all your money, you can't solve that problem. It's how things are. Humans need something bigger than them to be better. They need to face extinction to grow as a species. Unity is not forged in peace but in the hellfire of war."

Zion finished.

"I understand your point, but its the death of millions that will bring peace. Is it really the right thing to do?" Robin voiced his thought.

"Oh, then what about the wars fought? What about the people dying due to accidents and illness? It's just nature. Sacrifices are needed for the greater good. Think about it; if you kill all the criminals you put in jail, Gotham would be clean."

"Killing doesn't solve the problem," Batman interjected.

"Don't preach to me the not killing code like you taught your protégé. I am more than that. When a scale as big as the universe is considered, do you think the death of an ant would matter? The death of the criminals is the same, but some of them need redemption. And a chance, I would give."

"If you want to kill, why try to be a hero?" That was Batman's question; Zion could do all he said, but he hadn't.

"I am trying to be a hero to see if this is worth my time. If I could see past what they have done and relate with them, which I can't. If I feel like they do need a redemption arc, I would give them a way out; if they don't use it, they can regret their life choices in hell. But some need to go, again, the likes of Joker. He is a waste of space who only brings chaos and destruction, and let me tell you, you don't want to meet me on my bad day.

It would mean certain death, and I really wouldn't mind blowing up the whole planet if the whole species is like that. What's the use of a planet full of waste? I would rather spend my time productively somewhere else. Maybe I will groom a new species to interstellar age. It would take centuries, but I can live that long. So, Batman, what I need is not a reason to save people but a reason to not end your whole race. So, should I play hero and see if this planet is worth saving?"

Zion told all this in a calm manner. The plans of destruction spewed with no change in tone showed that he was confident, he could bring this planet to its knees, and humans as a species would not have the power to fight.

Batman and Robin stayed silent. Batman was thinking about the things Zion said, while Robin was dumbstruck. He couldn't believe the jolly guy was a doomsday theorist. He finally understood why Batman was dealing with Zion so cautiously. This guy could blow them up anytime he wanted.

After a long time, Batman spoke. "Robin, leave us alone."

Robin wanted to stay but shut up after seeing Batman's seriousness; he couldn't do anything but leave. Batman waited for Robin to leave and only talked when he was sure Robin wouldn't hear them.

"What are you?" Batman asked. "I know that you are an anomaly, but what is your reason for existence?"

"What am I?" Zion turned back. "I am just a human-"

"What about the threat you spoke of?" Batman asked, his eyes narrowing to a slit.

Zion showed a surprised expression, as if he never expected Batman to know. {I should say his acting skills have improved, a bit, just a little bit.} But Batman saw through his crude acting instantly; the years of skill that he had gathered were wasted.

"I know that you know that I know," Batman said. [Just me messing around]

"You know that I know that you know?" Zion repeated.

"Yes," Batman replied, resolute. "Okay, what do you want?" Zion leaned back, taking a professional pose as if he was dealing with a business proposal.

"I want to know about the threats that will target Earth and about this 'Mad god' you talked about?" Batman demanded.

"Man, you got no chill. How can you eavesdrop on a person's date? How would you feel if I did that when you are on a date with Selena?" Zion asked, but his demeanor remained calm.

Batman wasn't taken aback; he had already deduced that Zion might know more than he let on. He had already theorized that Zion might be an existence that he could not fully understand, but he would prepare.

"You can't beat me," Zion replied, guessing what the Dark Knight might be thinking.

"I would prepare, rather than compromise my mission," Batman replied, his determination shining through.

Zion raised a brow before relaxing into a casual manner. "You will know of the threats in a few stellar cycles, and don't worry, I will be there to save you when things go down wrong."

Batman perked up when he heard that the threat was already here. "What kind of threat?" He asked with trepidation in his heart.

"Invasion," Zion said nonchalantly, like he was talking about the weather.

Batman froze, but it was harder to notice with him staying still. He had been dealing with crocodiles in the sewers for the past years but was not expecting an alien invasion so soon, {Yes, you heard it right}; he had already hypothesized about it since the attacked on Metropolis. And with Superman flying around, it wasn't a hard guess.

"Size?" Batman asked.

"Few thousand," Zion answered.

"Powers?"

"Sub-Superman level."

"Weaknesses?"

"High frequency sound."

"Hm," Batman grunted; it was his way of saying thank you or okay. {I think.} He then turned and left without a word; he had gotten enough details to at least create a contingency. He now needed to prepare weapons that would work on these invaders and a bunch of other things.

Zion watched as Batman leave before he turned back to complete his work, but as he turned back, a mischievous grin replaced his calm demeanor. He was really enjoying messing with the Dark Knight. How could he not when he had the opportunity to mess with Batman? No one in the Justice League could, or get to, mess with Batman. Only he could do that, for a limited time.

Now that he had rolled the die, he could only wait for the cause to take effect. Maybe he would roll a twenty as a lucky shot, or might be a resounding one. Well, he could only watch for now.

"I need to finish building it. Need to go to Mars. Should I contact Manhunter? Would he be at least grateful if I did? Maybe I shouldn't?" Zion muttered back before focusing on his work.

Zion stayed in his lab for the next seven days building the Atomic engine to power up Gotham. He only transformed into Upgrade during his work and refrained from changing into others. He didn't demand to go out to fight crime, nor was he let to. Batman feared that Zion would try to kill a crook just because.

And after working hard for a week, the Atomic Engine was ready.