Chapter 25: Insight

 

(General P.O.V)

Batman was busy combing through surveillance footage from the street cameras in a certain section of Gotham. He narrowed his eyes once he saw a hooded figure leave a building and head towards a certain direction. That figure was Aden.

"Well, did you find anything out?"
Batman asked the darkness inside the batcave. The shadows rippled and Martian Manhunter's form appeared.
"No. My efforts…failed."
Batman didn't say anything for a few seconds while Manhunter came out closer into the light.
"You're unsure. Conflicted."
Batman observed making Manhunter look at him in surprise.
"How did you…"
"That's not important, J'onn. Speak your mind."

"What I am doing is breaking one of the greatest moral laws from my culture. It is unethical to pry into the thoughts of unsuspecting victims."
Batman's attention turned to J'onn J'onzz fully.
"You understand why. The situation demands it. Before we confirm the veracity of the information he has given us, all we can do is sit tight and make loose plans."

"I understand my friend but that does not mean I have to like it."
Manhunter told him. Batman nodded while switching focus of the cameras.
"There is another problem." Manhunter fell silent to see whether his teammate was listening.
"Go on."
The Dark Knight responded, his hand stalling in place.
"His mind…it's adapting to every intrusive action I make to access his core memories. He is learning fast. Almost as fast as an actual telepath. It is strange and I fear given enough time, his mind might manifest telepathy as a power."

"Is that so…"
Batman pulled up a few medical records on the Batcomputer. They were records about Aden's physiology from the Star Labs checkup he'd done a few weeks ago.
"His body is highly adaptable to any changes. Upon using the blockbuster formula, he got access to all the benefits minus the changes in body shape that had affected Dr.Desmond. if you're right about his psychic potential then that ability seems to not only affect his physical body but also extends to the mental aspect."
Batman concluded.

"Remarkable."
"Indeed."
Batman surprisingly agreed.
"Any progress in finding out a way back to his world?"
Batman shook his head.
"Maybe. I'm chasing down a few leads but nothing concrete. Zatara has ruled out magic being the cause for his arrival. We know that it's possible to traverse long distances given the presence of spatial devices like the Zeta tubes but the science behind dimensional crossing is uncharted territory as of now."

"So a wait and see approach."
Manhunter asked.
"Yes."

Manhunter looked off towards a shadow in the room and a small smile appeared on his face.
"Have a good night Bruce."
He nodded at Batman and left, disappearing through the walls of the bat cave. The Dark Knight was silent for a while.
"How much of that did you hear?"

A figure detached from the shadows and crossed it's hands. Dick Grayson better known as Robin stared at his mentor with a frown on his face.
"Enough to know that you're hiding something from me."
"I am not hiding anything. You're the one who eves dropped on a conversation you were not meant to be a part of."

Robin saw he wasn't getting through to Batman so he decided to change tactics.
"If it's about the team then I have the right to know. You're the one always telling me that every single detail matters. I need to know what's going on…for the team."
"Go to sleep. If it's essential I will inform you."
Saying that, Batman ignored him.

Dick looked at his mentor's back feeling frustrated. His gaze was drawn to the huge computer and a smile worked it's way to his face.
"It wouldn't be the first time."
He muttered to himself and left.

(Elsewhere)

"How's the team working out for you?"
Flash asked his protege. They were devouring donuts on the roof of the Central City hospital. They were there mostly for the paediatric unit of the hospital. The kids always loved to see a real life superhero and it made the Scarlet Speedster happy putting the smiles on their faces.

"Oh, it's so great. We get to go on these covert missions…"
"I already knew that Wally. I'm asking about you know, the dynamic between you guys."
Wally took a bite of his donut and thought about it.
"We work together really well. Every mission we've been in hasn't gone according to plan but…my friends have had my back and me theirs which is why we haven't failed yet. To tell you the truth, we're awesome."

Barry smiled, proud at Kid's heartfelt answer.
"Plus Miss Martian is sooo hot."
Aaaand he's back, Barry thought.

(A few days later)

"Aden, Wally you're up." Black Canary informed us.
"Oh yeah. I'm gonna show you all my killer moves."
Wally stated, throwing the Snickers bar wrapper on the floor.
"Red Tornado will have your head if you leave that lying around."

Conner told him while I stretched out my body. The thing about Kid is that while he's fast, coordinated and has super reflexes…his mind is scattered, attention easily broken and an absolute sucker for feints. I stepped up to the sparring floor.

The floor itself was made with a light yet durable material that prevented grievous injuries while still delivering the sane oomph! one might expect in a fight. The Cave's computer system operated a program that showed hit points whenever someone was successfully taken down while the combatants were both standing on the platform.

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"How about you give up Dude? You might be strong but I'm faster and you know what they say, in a fight speed is king."
He informed me in his usual arrogant way but underneath that bravado, Wally was watching me attentively. Showing me that he had no doubt learned from all our previous matches. I felt like rolling my eyes.

"Remind me, how many times have we fought and how many times have you lost?"

Everyone chuckled.
"Dude those don't count. The situations were completely different!"
"What's wrong Wall-man you looking a little distraught. Maybe you should get traught."
Everyone around us groaned at the drop of my words while Robin chuckled.
"Well done my young Padawan."
He bowed towards me while I smiled.

"God, Aden I can't believe you would make such a lame…"
'Now!'
The distraction was successful, the gusts of wind I had been priming around me roiled around my body as an outburst of the air element occured behind, pushing my body forwards at crazy high speed.

Wally smirked and evaded my attack.
"I knew you would try something like that."
He told me while smiling victoriously. I didn't say anything, electing to stay silent and instead attacked once more.

Say what you will about Kid Flash but he's powerful. All speedsters are. We traded blows. My punches shadowing his as he stepped back and evaded direct body hits, knowing that would take him down easily. He used his speed quite efficiently as well that even at an expert level in Chi-blocking I couldn't beat him easily. Anyone else from the team would be hard-pressed except for Superboy who could shrug off hits like they were mere love taps.

I studied Kid's movements as we fought. My foot whipped out into a round kick that he ducked under, sweeping my leg out in the process. I used a hand to stabilize myself on the ground and lashed out with the back of my foot grazing him on the shoulder while I jumped back to my feet.

Wally winced and rolled his hand.
"I'll get you for that."
I beckoned him with a hand. The next second a whirlwind picked up as Wally decided to go all out in the speed department. I felt hits snake around my guard and land on my body from many directions. Just like I'd wanted. I closed my eyes and spread out my senses. Due to Wally's speed, the air was in a tumultuous state.

My eyes were not yet powerful enough to keep up with a speedster but I had been trying something else to combat them. Taking advantage of my ability to seemingly adapt to anything, I decided to start sensing the vibrations in the air and try to reconfigure an image of the scene in my head, effectively seeing without my eyes. A knock off magic sense.

"Did he just close his eyes?"
Conner's voice reached me as I concentrated outwards.

The progress in that skill had been minimal before. Then I got sound as a sub-skill and the progress had shot through the roof.
'There.'
It wasn't a clear picture but I felt a body move through the air in a fast speed towards me. The air vibrated around the moving form, giving me a somewhat clear picture of Wally's movements. I slid to the side at the last minute while my foot snaked out and tripped my opponent. Wally slammed onto the ground and bounced out of the sparring floor.

"Winner: Maelstrom."
The computer announced.
"Oh man!"
"That makes it 5 wins for me and 2 for you, Wally."
I gloated a little while giving him a hand. He grabbed it and jumped up.
"Dude for a minute there, I felt this weird vibration all around me. That's what distracted me."

"A vibration huh?"
Black Canary asked while coming towards us. I scratched my head and looked at her helplessly. She nodded, understanding I didn't want anyone overhearing.
"Ok guys. This wraps up the spar. On to the obstacle course. I want to see those personal records broken."

She announced.

The rest made their way to the course while Canary and I were left standing alone.

"I felt the same thing Kid Flash did. My metagene allows me the ability to create ultrasonic soundwaves that can split apart organic or inorganic materials. That allows me to be highly sensitive to vibrations of that kind."
She explained.
"And the vibrations I felt coming off you were eerily similar."

"It's a new facet of my air elemental abilities. As my control over the element increases I find myself getting access to what I have termed as Sub-skills. The first was flight and recently, Sound."
Canary whistled in appreciation.
"That's a nifty ability you have."
I chuckled.
"Yeah, I guess. The problem is practicing them enough that I can incorporate each new Subskill into my fighting style efficiently without throwing the whole rhythm off."

She nodded in understanding.
"I think I understand. As a martial arts master, it wasn't easy combining all those different set moves into a unified whole, where my body could instantly react to a blow without conflicting styles coming in the way. I have an idea."
Hope bloomed in my chest. I had debated actually asking her for some lessons but here she was, about to do it herself.

"I could show you some tips on how to control your sonic abilities."
I smiled.
"Thank you, I would appreciate that a lot."

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