Absolute King Chapter 32.

Chapter 32: Mark's Hunt.

-0-

The night air was thick and heavy, like a curtain woven from secrets.

Mark followed Damian and Lady Shiva from a distance, his steps light and silent, each one measured to the rhythm of his breathing. Even from afar, he could tell their movements were deliberate, too sharp to be careless. Trained assassins. Any wrong motion, any misplaced breath, and they would sense him.

A sleek black limousine awaited them outside the mansion. Around it, guards stood like statues-unmoving, alert, dangerous. Their stances gave them away instantly. League of Shadows. Mark’s jaw tightened. The symbol burned into his memory, the same one tied to his father’s death as Shiva unleashed a horde of Cyborgs on them back in Santa Prisca.

He crouched behind a parked car, watching Damian enter the limo beside Lady Shiva. The vehicle’s tinted windows swallowed them whole, and the engines of the five escort cars rumbled to life soon after.

This was it,his one chance to find the people responsible for everything he’d lost.

But just as he prepared to move, a hand gripped his shoulder.

“Mark, what’s going on?”

He spun, startled, only to meet Raven’s calm, curious eyes. Beside her stood Kara, worry painting her expression.

“Yeah,” Kara added, folding her arms. “You look like you’re about to start a war.”

Mark hesitated. His heartbeat pounded in his ears. He didn’t have time to explain as the convoy was already moving. Yet the concern in their faces cut through his focus like a knife.

He drew a deep breath. “Sorry, I’ll explain later. But right now… I need your help.”

The word help seemed to flip a switch. Both Raven and Kara straightened, their hesitation gone.

“I need to follow that limo,” Mark said, pointing at the vehicles fading into the distance. “It’s the only lead I’ve got.”

Raven didn’t waste a moment. Darkness curled around her hands, wrapping her in a shroud of magic until her cloak and gemstone intact on her forehead.

Kara smiled faintly, ripping open her dress to reveal the bright ‘S’ beneath before her clothes shimmered and shifted into her Supergirl uniform in a flash of light.

Mark blinked, feeling almost underdressed. No suit. No name. Just him.

Later, he thought. Focus now.

He reached for his hand, ready to summon the Gordius Wheel but before he could, Kara’s arm looped around him, and they shot skyward in a rush of wind.

“Hey!” Mark yelled, caught in a princess carry that sent his tie flapping against his cheek. “I could’ve used my chariot, you know!”

“Stop being such a baby, mighty man,” Kara teased, her voice playful over the roaring air. “You’re lighter than Batman, and I carried him like this too. You should’ve seen his face.”

Mark couldn’t help it ,the image made him laugh, though he tried to stifle it. “Alright, fine. You win.”

“Besides,” Kara added, “your

chariot’s flashy as hell. We need stealth.”

“I actually agree with her,” Raven called from behind them, her voice carried on the wind. “Surprisingly.”

Mark sighed dramatically. “Guess I can’t win against the both of you.”

The three of them tailed the convoy through winding roads and quiet suburbs until the city’s glow faded behind them. What lay ahead was darker, lonelier and an isolated mansion that loomed in the moonlight.

It resembled Wayne Manor in architecture, yet something about it felt wrong. The air was thicker, colder. Shadows patrolled the grounds the League assassins, dozens of them.

Raven whispered a spell under her breath, her eyes glowing faintly. The magic rippled through the air, bending perception of the guards so that they would appear as harmless birds gliding overhead.

They landed softly behind a thicket, the view clear and unobstructed. The limo rolled up the drive and stopped before the grand entrance. The doors opened, and Damian stepped out, followed by Lady Shiva.

Raven frowned. “What the hell…? Damian’s with her?”

Mark’s fists tightened. “That’s what I’m here to find out.”

Before they could speak further, Kara’s expression shifted. “Wait—quiet.”

Her eyes flared faintly blue. She focused her gaze on the limo, her x-ray vision peeling through the metal then her face hardened.

Another figure was stepping out. Older. His presence alone warped the air around him.

Ra’s al Ghul.

Even without an aura, Mark felt him. A predator wrapped in calm. His control was suffocating with no hint of power leaking, no arrogance in his stance. Just certainty.

Mark’s heart ignited. The Light. Project C-2. Father. Every memory, every scream, came rushing back. He could barely breathe through the hatred clawing at his chest. His body began to glow faintly, energy flaring like embers before Raven’s voice pierced through.

“Mark stop. If they sense you, we’re done.”

He exhaled slowly, forcing the rage down, burying it deep.

As Ra’s, Shiva, and Damian entered the mansion, Mark’s thoughts spiraled.

Why are you with him, Damian? Does Batman know? Or… is this his secret too?

Kara focused again, her eyes straining but her power met a wall.

She blinked and cursed under her breath. “It’s useless. The whole building’s lead-lined. I can’t see a thing inside.”

Mark nodded grimly. “Don’t worry. We’ll find another way.”

“I can handle it,” Raven said, closing her eyes. Her soul-self shimmered faintly, dark tendrils spreading across the ground toward the mansion.

Then, she screamed.

“Raven!” Mark rushed to her, holding her steady. “What happened?”

Pain flickered through her eyes. “Something’s blocking my magic. It’s… ancient. Warding runes.”

Mark clenched his fists. “Then we go in the hard way.”

Kara grinned, rolling her shoulders. “Finally. I’ve been waiting to punch someone.”

Raven managed a weak smile. “Let’s make it quick.”

Mark nodded once and then moved.

Magic blades burst from the air, slicing through the first wave of guards. Kara was a blur of motion, disarming and knocking them unconscious with controlled precision. Raven’s shadows swept through the courtyard like a storm, binding the rest before they could raise an alarm.

Within minutes, silence fell. Bodies littered the ground, all breathing, none dead.

Mark kicked open the front doors, the sound echoing through the mansion’s vast halls.

And then chaos.

A flash of green. A shot. Kara staggered mid-step, clutching her shoulder as a Kryptonite bullet glowed faintly in the wound.

“Kara! ” Mark shouted, but before he could reach her, Raven was seized by invisible hands, her body convulsing as a psychic force overpowered her. Her eyes rolled back.

Psimon.

Mark felt the mental probe dig into his own mind only to find resistance, immovable.

“You’ll have to do better than that,” he said coldly, summoning golden blades that flared to life and hurled them at the telepath.

But a massive figure,Devastation stepped forward, catching them midair with her hands before shattering them. The clang echoed like thunder. In seconds, the hall filled with assassins, weapons raised.

They were surrounded.

Mark raised his hands slowly, eyes darting to his friends - Kara down but alive, Raven unconscious. There was no other option.

And then he appeared.

Ra’s al Ghul descended the staircase with Shiva at his side, his calm presence radiating superiority. But what froze Mark in place wasn’t him.

It was Damian.

Standing behind his grandfather, expression unreadable. A faint smile on his which made Mark's blood start to boil with anger.