Chapter 19: Recovery/Investigation
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"Ughh… Did I fall asleep again?" Raiden muttered as he opened his eyes, realizing he had indulged in too much sleep since arriving in this world.
Rising from his bed, Raiden shed the medical robes enveloping him and planted his feet on the ground, revealing various medical devices.
Before he could make a move, a nurse hurried into his room.
"Oh, Mr. Raiden, you're awake. Please don't exert yourself; we're still uncertain about the side effects of your healing ability," the nurse cautioned Raiden.
"Don't worry about it; I'm feeling pretty fine, I can tell," Raiden assured.
"Please, Mr. Raiden, we need to conduct some tests first, just to be sure!" replied the nurse.
"Well, since a beauty like you is asking, I'll allow it."
"Thank you. Please wait a few moments; Doctor James will be here shortly."
...
"The effects of your regeneration could be dangerous," warned Doctor James.
"You need to avoid relying on it; your body is expending energy it doesn't possess, logically impossible. We consulted with some magic scholars, and it's not a magical effect either. Whatever it is, it's not normal. Your powers are more than a simple meta-gene; we can't rule that out entirely, but there seems to be more to it."
"I guess so? I don't understand my powers well, but I feel I can trust them. I don't know how to explain it," Raiden admitted.
"It's faith…"
Looking at the person who spoke, Raiden opened his eyes and said, "Wonder Woman."
"Good to see you again, Raiden, and please call me Diana."
"It's good to see you again as well. I wonder, though, why are you here?" asked Raiden.
"I'm here to visit."
"I don't believe for a second that one of the most important members of the Justice League would take time out of her busy schedule to visit me."
"You're right. I'm not here to visit you; you just happened to be on the way. Someone I know got injured in battle, and I'm here to visit her," explained Diana.
"Oh, my bad then. I hope she's fine."
"She is. Want to come with?" asked Diana.
"Yeah, sure. Anything to get out of here."
"Just be sure to listen to what I said, Mr. Raiden. Whatever powers you have, they are the most mysterious thing to ever exist in this lab, and we've had a lot of mysterious powers here," cautioned James.
"Sure thing, Doc."
…
"What the fuck is this !"
Said Raiden in a fit of rage,
"Raiden!" said Diana.
"Watch your tongue, young man," spoke a woman sitting next to the child.
"Don't tell me to watch myself. What is this? She's a child! Why did you allow someone like her out on the battlefield?" said Raiden.
"I didn't. She escaped on her own; I couldn't control her," said the woman.
"Mom..." Hearing the commotion, the child woke up from her sleep. She looked around and then said, "Aunt Diana."
"Hello, Cassie," said Diana.
"Oh my, Cassie," spoke the woman as she hugged Cassie.
After a while, the mother said, "Cassie, where did you go? What happened?"
Although she was reluctant, Cassie started speaking, "I wanted to be like Aunt Diana... a hero..."
"So I did some investigations on my own. I investigated the war in Eastern Europe, between Galonia and Toran."
"How did you even learn about such war" Asked the mother
"I saw it on TV, i felt bad for the people, and since have powers like Aunt Diana, I wanted to help them"
"I did some research, and I found out that Buchanan International had something to do with the war"
"Buchanan International? The weapon manufacturing company?" asked Diana.
"Yes. So I tried to sneak in and find some real evidence. While I was there, I was attacked by a man in armor. I couldn't even land a single hit and tried to escape. Thankfully, I managed to escape."
Hearing Cassie's story, Raiden said, "Well, what are you going to do, Diana? We need to take down this Buchanan International company."
"It's not that simple, Raiden. Buchanan has ties with the US government and US Army. We can't just waltz in there and take it down," replied Diana.
"Why not? Your niece got injured! You, Superman, Batman, can easily walk all over that company and collect whatever evidence you need. I mean, for God's sake, a child figured out their connection to the war, and yet the Justice League can't?"
"Raiden! Enough! Even if we're heroes, we have to abide by laws!" said Diana.
"And that's why so many villains run rampant in the world, because you have to follow such laws!"
Raiden took one look at the injured Cassie then walked out of the room.
...
Raiden went to the warp gate in Star Labs and walked into it. He was seething with rage, but he couldn't do anything about it without more information.
"Access Raiden B-10."
"Surprise!"
Raiden looked at the cave, decorated with balloons and party aesthetics.
"The team decided to give you a welcome back party, to celebrate your recovery," spoke Dinah as she walked towards Raiden. She put her hands on his shoulders and said, "They were worried sick about you, you know? Thanks for keeping them safe."
A yellow blur darted towards Raiden; it was Wally. "The idea was Megan's, but of course, I was the one that did most of the decoration! It wasn't that they used me for my speed; it was because I really wanted to do it, for you!"
"Right... Thanks, Wally."
Everyone came one by one to congratulate Raiden on his recovery. They had some snacks and drinks, all supervised by Miss Black Canary herself, so of course, no alcohol.
…
After chatting with his friends, Raiden walked towards Raven.
"So... How are you settling in?"
"Okay? I'm enjoying my time here. It's my first time hanging out with people my age," replied Raven.
"Well, it was the same for me too. I mean, look at us. We're a bunch of super powerful teens, not exactly a conventional group, but I like it here, you know? I can be free, help people, I guess. At least that's what I thought at first."
"At first?"
"Yeah, I've been noticing a lot of things lately. This team, the Justice League, we do things to help people, but not enough. Most villains in the world walk freely, as if they own the world," clarified Raiden.
"I'm not sure about this stuff since I'm new here, but I believe whatever you do, it's the right decision."
"How could you possibly know that? You barely know me," said Raiden.
"I don't know you, frankly speaking, I think you're stupid, but I know that if not for you, I wouldn't be free today. You helped me face my past, so for that, I'm in debt to you, and I fully support you. My current impression of you is that of an idiot who would do anything to help others, just like you helped me," explained Raven.
Whether it was Raiden or Merlin, it was still because of him that she was able to face her dark past and finally stand up for her father. Although he isn't vanquished yet, she can say proudly that she is walking the path of righteousness, and one day, she would strike him down for good.
"Meh, I don't know. I only helped you 'cause you look nice. I wouldn't offer the same service to some ugly guy," said Raiden jokingly as he left.
"What an idiot..."
…
Raiden got up from his bed and walked towards the cave's main hub. He sat down in the chair of the main computer and started his research.
"Increase in profit by 200% in the last 7 years for Buchanan International."
"Galonia and Toran War started 7 years ago."
"That's hardly enough evidence. Many defense companies' shares increase whenever a war is waged."
"Malchikov Defense also increased its profit by 145%."
"Malchikov Defense and Buchanan have grown more than the others... a bit too much."
Raiden clicked on another article.
"Galonia accusing the US of supporting Toran."
"Toran found using high-grade US military equipment, manufactured by [Buchanan International]."
"Toran, on the other hand, accused Russia of supporting Galonia."
"Galonia found using high-grade Russian military equipment, manufactured by [Malchikov Defense]."
"This is all typical war bullshit. Russia supports a side, and the US supports a side. What could Cassie have found that prompted her to infiltrate Buchanan?"
Raiden then started his search on the owners.
"Malchikov Dimitri Semyonovich, owner of Malchikov Defense. Let's dig into him first."
"Blood Diamond, shares in a football club in Europe, Russian gas company shares."
"Wait a minute..."
"Arnold Buchanan, owner of Buchanan International."
"Fast-food companies, car manufacturing, and... I see..."
"Michael Buchanan, the brother of Arnold. He owns a football club in Europe."
"The same football club that Dimitri has shares in."
"This war... it might be something that was orchestrated by these two companies. Dimitri, Arnold, and Michael, they are all connected."
Raiden stretched his hands then said,
"I can see why Cassie infiltrated Buchanan. It was the closest to her, and she needed more substantial evidence. Without real evidence, this is all but a conspiracy theory."
...
"Access Raven B-11."
Raven looked around her, then she left the phone booth. She kept looking around to see if anyone saw her before she flew into the skies.
She looked left and right on the rooftops before, to her surprise, someone said, "Why are you after me?"
"Raiden."
Having used a "YLF" spell, Raiden flew behind her and scared her a bit.
"Nothing, I was just checking."
"Oh? Were you worried about me?"
"What! No, I just... well, you just came back from injury, so I just wanted to save you from getting your ass kicked by some mugger!"
"AHAHA, alright, sure," said Raiden.
"What are you doing this late at night anyway?" asked Raven.
"See that building over there?" said Raiden as he pointed to a massive skyscraper.
"What of it?"
"I'm investigating them. I want to infiltrate that building," said Raiden.
"That's stupid," replied Raven.
"Didn't you say you would support my decision?"
"I didn't realize that your decision was to go behind the league and the team's back to infiltrate some dangerous place, right after you recovered from a two-week-long injury. Are you stupid?"
"They are dangerous people, Raven."
"That's why it's stupid. If they are dangerous, then we need to do it as a team. Going alone... you could get hurt again."
"Sigh I'm not going to infiltrate them now anyway. I was just checking up on them secretly."
"Good, because I was about to beat some sense into you," said Raven.
"Wow, two weeks in, and you're already this aggressive, huh? Miss Dinah's work?"
"Her training isn't so bad."
"You going to snitch on me?" asked Raiden.
"No... but you owe me something," replied Raven.
"Alright, I'll take you on a date."
"I said you owe me something. Taking me on a date is a privilege to you," said Raven as she turned her back on Raiden and went back to the cave.
"Huh... that's weird. It worked in movies. Meh, I'll get her one day."
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If you wish to read more or simply support me just because ? than check out my patréon at
"https://www.patréon.com/Riadooo"
Don't forget to change "é" to "e"