Aden Strong: Avatar In DC

Chapter 18: The Amazo Mission



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(General P.O.V)

"He has not exhibited the full scope of his abilities since the incident. This begs the question, why? Was that particular incident a one off? The glowing eyes might mean that he was not in full control of himself. If so, that means he still has more power hidden inside." Luthor swiped the image on the screen which changed to show a hooded figure facing off against Grundy.

"All that remains is to find out just who you are."

(Aden's P.O.V)

I got back and went straight to my room. The next morning I was at the gym for my daily session. My eyebrows rose up in question when the door to the training room opened and in walked the team and surprisingly, Black Canary.

Canary ran her eyes over my body with clinical precision, assuring me she wasn't admiring my abs but instead gauging my strength. Sweat poured down my chest as I grabbed a towel and dried off.

"Are you usually here this early in the morning?"

She asked.

"Aden is very enthusiastic about training. Superboy and I even find him here at night some times."

"With the kind of freaks we deal with, I'm surprised you guys don't train more."

The others looked away in a little embarrassment as I told them.

"I do."

Superboy said with pride on his face. Kid Flash waved his hand in dismissal.

"Training? Please. I'm fast. And my body is always supercharged. Running at supersonic speeds is more than enough training."

"Yet you still can't go as fast as The Flash."

The boy wonder stated.

"Dude, come on!"

Canary looked at Aden sternly.

"Don't push yourself too hard Aden, although you have acquired new powers, too much training can have a negative effect on your body."

I nodded.

"I'll keep that in mind. Now, did all of you come here to tell me that or…"

"Black Canary is giving us lessons on close quarter combat. We thought the training room was more appropriate than the hall."

Aqualad spoke up for the first time.

We followed Black Canary to the sparring section of the room. There were weapon racks on the sides, courtesy of Red Tornado, courtesy of my nagging. I wanted to learn how to use a weapon. It was after I had noticed that a weapon helped me focus the direction of my wind attacks more. 

"Alright. Let's begin. First thing you need to understand about combat is to always be the one to dictate the flow of the fight. That way, you will lead your opponent to making mistakes and leave openings that you can then exploit to take them down."

Canary took off her jacket and winced in pain. She had a bandage on her left hand.

"It comes with the job."

She told us upon seeing the concern on our faces.

"I'll need a partner. Maelstrom, if you will."

I stepped forward as Wally complained about not being able to show off his killer moves. We faced off and I instantly found out the difference between a martial arts master like Canary and an expert like Artemis. Artemis, I could read, Canary? She was a blank slate. This wasn't going to be easy.

"The way you carry yourself has changed."

She observed. I looked at her in faint surprise.

"Yeah. I learned a new martial art skill. It's called Chi blocking."

She cocked her head.

"That is an unconventional name. Never heard of it. Part of your powers I assume?"

I nodded.

"How many powers does he have?"

Wally wondered out loud. 

"Trust me. You haven't seen anything yet."

Boy Wonder was quick to reply. 

His response took my thoughts back to the incident when we first met. That brief moment where I was lost in thought was all Canary needed to pounce. My eyes widened as her fist came too close to my chin. I leaned back and barely escaped the blow. 

Her hand bent after missing my chin and the elbow landed on my solar plexus. Despite my durability, my diaphragm spasmed and pain assaulted my senses, making it hard for me to breathe.

In panic, a bubble of air formed around me and pushed Canary away. She flipped and landed on the ground with the grace of a cat. From my kneeling position, I looked up and saw the awed looks on the team. A feeling of frustration hit me and I barely stopped myself from punching a hole into the ground. How could I have been taken out that quickly?

"Holy crap. Did you guys see that?"

Wally spoke up.

"She was so fast."

Miss Martian added.

"Can anyone tell me what Maelstrom did wrong?"

"He got distracted at the start of the fight, allowing you to lead the flow of the fight."

Robin responded to Canary's question.

"Good. There's one more thing however. Inexperience. Maelstrom is not used to fighting opponents who are better than him, skill wise. Unfortunately, you can only build experience over time."

"Batman to the cave. I need you all in the hall."

We wrapped up the session with Canary promising us more lessons. I made my way to the hall along with the others in a dour mood.  Fortunately Batman had no reaction to seeing me so I knew that Artemis hadn't sold me out. Then again, the Dark Knight's mood was barely readable at all times.

"Yesterday. Green Arrow and Black Canary were attacked by a new menace. The two requested for back up from the rest of the league. We soon discovered that the Android who attacked them, could copy and replicate powers." Batman stopped to press a key on the data pad. 

The huge screens facing us changed to show a devasted street, wrecked vehicles and broken buildings. Everything clicked once I saw the image of Amazo on the screen. I sucked in a deep breath, earning a strange look from Robin. Amazo was in the information I had given Batman because of how dangerous he was.

One entity with the powers of The Man of Steel, The Fastest Man alive and An Amazonian demigod was nigh unbeatable. Add in the other league members and you have someone only the Justice League could defeat.

"Android? Who built it?"

"The design matches that of Ivo's earlier experiments."

Manhunter made himself known by phasing through the doors of the mission room.

"Ivo? But he's dead."

"Apparently not."

Black Canary sighed.

"Who's Ivo?"

Miss Martian asked.

"Mad genius scientist, who we all thought was dead."

Robin answered.

"It took the Justice League four hours to defeat the android and dismantle it into parts. That's where you come in."

Batman continued. 

"You want us to be the security detail for the parts to be transported somewhere."

Robin caught on quick.

"Precisely. The two parts will be taken to two separate branches of the Star Labs. One in Boston, the other in New York for in depth analysis."

"Excuse me." Everyone turned to me. "If this Ivo is as much of a genius as you say he is, wouldn't that mean he might have a way to track the individual parts?"

"Good point. We might be attacked on the way."

Aqualad said.

"Unfortunately, that is a risk we'll have to take. Immediate evaluation is needed incase another android with the same capabilities starts making trouble. Every precaution has been taken. We will have four additional trucks to act as decoys incase Ivo or anyone decides to intervene. You will split into two undercover teams to safeguard the real trucks."

"Yes. Road trip."

Wally jumped in glee.

"I'm sending you the coordinates to the pickup now. Batman out."

We all looked at each other thinking the same thing. 'This mission will definitely not go according to plan.'

We got into our suits and moved out. At the pickup point, we split up into two teams. I was with Aqualad and Kid Flash while Miss Martian, Robin and Superboy were on the second team.

We checked our coms and then proceeded to move, following behind the truck. Aqualad and Kid Flash were riding on some high tech bikes while I was up in the sky acting as their eyes. The sky was beautiful and clear. the sun was shining down on the corn fields covering our sides and it felt peaceful. Despite the time of day, the road was desolate allowing me to keep watch easily and still get lost in thought.

My control over my powers was growing each day and I was grateful for that. The effort I put into training yielded results and I felt pumped up and confident about facing the battles that were in my future. Like Canary said, what I needed was experience. I also learned that just because I could block bullets with my body, my durability wasn't invincible. I still couldn't believe that she had managed to hurt me by targeting a weak spot.

It just went to show that I still had more to learn. I would soon unlock the next sub-skill in the air element, taking me to grandmaster level and once I got there, it was only a matter of time before I...

The first indication I got that something was wrong was the bright glint of glowing green eyes concealed in the cornfields.

I swerved to the side, dodging the green laser beams that were quickly followed by the chattering of monkeys.

"Guys, we have company. Of the Simian kind."

I brought a finger to my ear and informed the two on the ground.

"Got it."

I tried to fly down but a group of flying monkeys besieged me from all sides.

"Let's try something new."

Wind blade constructs appeared in my hands twisting like miniature drills. 

I slashed a monkey's head off and plunged a blade into another Monkey's chest. It screeched as it's body twisted upon itself before exploding. My hands were a blur as I dealt with the creatures. The numbers did not reduce despite fighting off more than a dozen.

The wind blades disappeared as I tried something else. My body spinned in place creating a tornado that sent all the monkeys in my position falling down in several slashed off pieces.

Finally free, I looked at the truck and cursed out. The monkeys had flown away with the container.


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