DC: The Shadow Monarch's Chronicles

The evening sun cast long shadows across the Black villa as its master sat in the living room, a thick, neatly bound document resting on his lap. The proposal was extensive, pages of schematics, cost projections, environmental impact analyses, logistics, and timelines. Pamela Isley had delivered on her promise. Every detail of the Green Spine Project was accounted for.

Ashborn's fingers tapped thoughtfully on the margin. It was impressive, more so than most corporate pitches he'd read. The environmental benefits were undeniable. The economic prospects, while modest, came with hidden value in patents, recruitment, and long-term brand expansion. But there was one glaring issue.

The land.

Pamela had suggested a location near Gotham. And Ashborn, without needing to think twice, had decided 'absolutely not'. He didn't trust Gotham's chaos not to interfere. His thoughts drifted to the outskirts of Metropolis. The land was cheaper and came with fewer potential attacks. The only issue? The soil, it was lifeless, dry, and incapable of supporting the type of greenery Pamela envisioned.

But that could be fixed.

He was still reading when Tea strolled into the room, balancing a drink and a bowl of snacks. She gave him a playful smirk. "You work even at home. You're no fun."

Ashborn blinked at her. "I think you should work more. At this rate, you'll become a fat bum."

Tea froze, her face slowly contorting into a scowl. She raised her middle finger without a word.

Ashborn raised his hand.

Ruler's Authority rippled through the room like a silent wave, wrapping around her body like invisible chains. Tea stiffened, eyes wide.

"I can't have you corrupting my innocent children," Ashborn said solemnly.

"They're in their rooms, and you are the only source of corruption around here," Tea growled, unable to move.

"Amazo can hear and see everything."

Tea's scowl deepened. "He is an android!!."

Ashborn stood "You've been lazy lately. For your own good, you're coming with me."

In a blink, the living room vanished.

They reappeared on the edge of a vast, barren field, miles outside Metropolis. The wind was cool, the air smelled of dust and weeds.

Tea looked around, confused. "You can teleport?"

"I have many talents," Ashborn replied casually.

She raised an eyebrow. "Why'd you bring us here?"

"I'm buying this land tomorrow," Ashborn said, surveying the area.

Tea blinked. "And?"

Ashborn smiled. "We need to prepare it for Pamela's project."

She stared at him, not moving, waiting for the next part.

Ashborn raised a hand. A shovel materialized out of thin air and landed in her arms.

Tea looked from the shovel to the barren land. "You want me to dig?"

"We need to remove the current topsoil and rocks, then replace it with red soil. That'll make it suitable."

"Don't you have people to do this? Why bring me?"

Ashborn shrugged. "Because you can be Super Digging Girl, way faster than normal humans. Also, you've gained weight. This'll help you burn it off."

Her face twisted from confusion into pure, unfiltered rage.

"I'm not gaining weight!" she snarled.

"Then prove me wrong. Move faster."

"I am not doing this alone!"

Ashborn shook his head, clearly disappointed. "Fine, you lazy bum."

He lifted his hand again. A shimmering globe of purple energy surrounded them.

"No one can spy on us now."

From the shadow at his feet, darkness churned and twisted. Hundreds of humanoid figures rose, faceless beings made of ink-black shadow, each holding a shovel in hand.

Tea's mouth fell open.

Her eyes narrowed. "You are…"

"Yes," Ashborn said, not needing her to finish.

The shadows silently moved to work, digging in perfect synchronicity.

Tea kept staring at them. "You have an army of creepy shovel-holding shadow minions, and the best thing you can come up with for them is digging?"

"They are also soldiers for cleanup duty," Ashborn said, folding his arms. "Why do you think the house is always spotless and dust-free?"

Tea looked genuinely stunned. "I thought Amazo was cleaning when I wasn't looking…"

Ashborn sighed. "You're hopeless."

Tea's eye twitched "What? How am I supposed to know that?"

Ashborn replied "Your room is getting cleaned up when you are driving Amazo and Ace to school. Your laundry is getting done. Even the underwear you left on the floor of your room was cleaned and put back in its place, did you not wonder how that happened? Who was doing it?"

Tea was stunned and then said "my underwear?"

Ashborn replied "My shadows are diligent and tireless and the only time I heard them feeling tired about something was when mentioning you. One even said you could learn from Ace and Amazo. Congratulation, you are a handful even for a tireless shadow"

Tea's face turned red hearing that. Ashborn smiled as if satisfied by her state and pointed to the shovel in her hand.

Tea looked back at the shovel in her hand, then at the tireless shadows digging away.

"Fine," she muttered. "But if I find out one of them tried to peep on me in the shower, I'm burning them all."

"That's your concern? Oh trust me, they have no interest in you at all," Ashborn replied with a faint smirk.

The stars began to peek through the sky as the shadows and Tea dug deeper into the earth, preparing the soil for Pamela's vision.

___________

The morning sun rose over Metropolis, casting golden light on a pair that looked wildly out of place together. Ashborn walked with an expression of deathly boredom, hands buried in his coat pockets, while Tea led the charge, storming through store after store with the determination of a general on a warpath.

After an entire night of digging, moving soil, and being surrounded by a shadow army of shoveling minions, Tea had discovered her favorite outfit stained and torn beyond salvation. Naturally, she dragged Ashborn out at the crack of dawn to suffer for it.

"This is the third store," Ashborn mumbled, trailing behind her as she vanished into yet another boutique.

"And it won't be the last!" Tea called back, arms already full of bags from the previous two.

She flitted from one display to another, snatching tops, skirts, jeans, and jackets like a whirlwind.

When Tea was finally satisfied, they stepped out into the street, the breeze warm and the sun bright overhead. Ashborn walked beside her, carrying several of her bags like an assistant.

"That was a pain," he muttered.

Tea scoffed. "That's the least you can do after your late-night activity. You ruined my clothes."

"It wasn't that bad," Ashborn said "You got to move, sweat a little and enjoy yourself late at night. What more do you need?"

Tea gave him a sideways glare, her lips twitching. "Only you would say that, you dirty asshole."

Ashborn let out a long, dramatic sigh. "I am a normal person with normal aspirations. But I suppose I shouldn't expect understanding from someone with… peculiar interests."

Tea's head snapped toward him. "Peculiar interests?!"

"Don't act all innocent now, kinky girl" Ashborn said with a slight smirk.

Tea growled, nearly stomping her foot. "You… are the pervert here!"

Ashborn shrugged. "Sure, keep telling yourself that"

Tea raised a bag threateningly like she might hit him over the head with it, but instead rolled her eyes and kept walking.

Ashborn walked on in silence, staring at the city ahead of him.

He didn't say it out loud, but he knew this was what balance looked like, chaos wrapped in sarcasm, stitched together by mutual disdain and strange affection.

He could get used to it.

Maybe.

___________

High above the skyscrapers, Supergirl hovered in the air. She had been patrolling the city early in the morning when her gaze landed on Ashborn and her clone walking side by side.

She couldn't resist eavesdropping on them, and the more she listened, the angrier she grew. She didn't need to hear the details to know what late-night activity the two were talking about. And for a moment, she wanted to swoop down and declare that she wasn't worse than her clone, that she was better.

But she held back. As furious as she was, she feared making a fool of herself even more than she already had.