*[POCKET DIMENSION: ACTIVE]*
*[TIME REMAINING: 24:00:00]*
Bruce made his way to the manor's gym, the same place he'd been training for nine years. The equipment had been upgraded multiple times as his capabilities increased.
Weight machines that could handle over a thousand pounds. Reinforced punching bags. Custom-built training dummies that could withstand strikes that would break normal equipment.
He started with his standard warm-up. Bodyweight exercises that would make Olympic athletes weep. Five hundred pushups.
Five hundred situps. One thousand squats. All performed with perfect form, his body moving with mechanical efficiency.
*[PHYSIQUE: 92.1/100]*
The stat had increased by 0.1 points. Tiny progress, but progress nonetheless. At this level, every tenth of a point required days of brutal training.
'Eight more points to peak human,' Bruce thought, moving to the weight machines. 'By my eighteenth birthday. That's the goal. One year left in real time. Two years in the Pocket Dimension.'
He loaded the leg press with 1,200 pounds and began his sets. His muscles burned, his tendons strained, but he pushed through.
The Proficiency Panel guaranteed progress. Pain was just information. Exhaustion was temporary.
Hours passed. Bruce cycled through every exercise routine he'd developed over nine years of training. Weights, cardio, combat drills, flexibility work. His body responded with that familiar mixture of agony and achievement.
After eight hours of physical training, he moved to the manor's library for mental exercises. Reading, analyzing, problem-solving. He'd finished most of the manor's books years ago, but rereading them with his enhanced intellect always revealed new insights.
Tonight he focused on strategic texts. Sun Tzu's Art of War. Machiavelli's The Prince. Clausewitz's On War. Books about leadership, manipulation, control.
The skills he'd need to manage a team of superpowered individuals who all thought they knew best.
'Superman will want to save everyone,'
Bruce analyzed. 'His boy scout idealism is genuine, but it makes him predictable. I can work with that. Give him the moral high ground he craves while I handle the practical necessities he's too pure to stomach.'
'Wonder Woman will be a warrior. She'll respect strength and tactical brilliance. I need to prove myself in combat somehow. Maybe challenge her to a sparring match when we first meet. Lose gracefully but make her work for it. Show I'm not afraid of her power.'
'Flash will be eager and inexperienced when he gets his powers. Easy to guide if I position myself as a mentor figure. His scientific background means he'll appreciate intelligence. We can bond over physics and theory.'
'Green Lantern will be cocky and overconfident. Former military, test pilot, used to being the best. I'll need to humble him without breaking him. Show him the value of preparation and strategy over raw power.'
Bruce made notes in his encrypted files. Strategies for each future Justice League member. How to approach them, what to emphasize, what weaknesses to exploit not maliciously but to build loyalty and trust.
Sixteen hours into his Pocket Dimension session, Bruce finally allowed himself to rest. He lay on the gym floor, staring at the ceiling, body screaming in protest.
'One year until I'm eighteen,' he thought.
'Then the real work begins. The timeline accelerates. Superman goes public probably within two years after that. The Justice League forms a year or two later.'
'Five years maximum before everything I've been building toward comes together. Five years to refine my plans, gather my resources, position all the pieces exactly where they need to be.'
'And then the world changes forever.'
Bruce closed his eyes and let himself drift into meditation. His Spirit stat had been growing slowly but steadily through years of pushing past limits. At 78, his willpower was exceptional. But he needed more.
Leadership required absolute mental fortitude. Control of meta-humans required unshakeable resolve.
'By the time I'm twenty-five,' Bruce thought, 'I'll be leading the Justice League. Earth's defense against threats most people can't even imagine. Darkseid. Brainiac. Doomsday. All the horrors I know are coming.'
'And we'll be ready. Because I'll have made us ready.'
His timer showed eight hours remaining. Bruce stood up and returned to training. Every moment mattered. Every tenth of a stat point brought him closer to his goal.
Peak human by eighteen. That was phase one.
Phase two would be the enhancements. Pushing past human limits through carefully researched and implemented augmentations. But that was a problem for future Bruce. Present Bruce had simpler concerns.
Get stronger. Get smarter. Get ready.
The rest would follow.
Most importantly...
'This Batman has extra prep time.'
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