Chapter 80: Countermeasures Baby

(Aden's P.O.V)

This time, I pictured the living room of Lucifer's Penthouse. I eyed the boom tube ominously and decided to take the plunge. I stepped through and came face to face with Luci calmly watching me, hands clasped together and feet crossed.
"We had a bet going on how long it would take you to realize, you had no way of getting to Africa and come back to ask for help."

He told me in that amused tone I was starting to hate. I turned my attention to Maze. My eyebrows rose up when the Lilim in question, brought the glass in her hands to her mouth and swallowed the contents in one move. She slammed the glass back on the table and winced.
"I lost."
She informed me testily, glaring at me as if I was to blame. Explains why she's still drinking though.

"Not the best start if you want to make a good impression on your customers Aden."
Lucifer innocently said. I narrowed my eyes. This bastard. Then again, I'm the one who left before reading through the mission first.
"I actually thought you were already in Africa with that fancy portal ability. Speaking of which…"
He continued.
"Don't ask me why I share that ability with Vandal Savage. Please."
I cut him off. I didn't feel ready to divulge the existence of the Elemental Dimension. If ever. Normally I would come up with an excuse or lie but that had zero chance of working on the "Deceiver".

"Mmmh. More secrets. Fine I won't push you, just as long you keep your end of the bargain and provide me with some fun enterta…" He coughed lightly. I looked at him in disbelief.
"You were totally going to say entertainment, weren't you? Holy crap, is that why you don't want to get your ass up and deal with this demon problem by yourself? Because you're bored?!"
I asked him, gaping in surprise.

Maze started laughing at the situation. Lucifer opened his mouth to talk and closed it upon the look on my face.
"You can't lie remember? That's your whole deal."

I reminded him while crossing my hands.
"I…well, it wouldn't be a lie to say, I find a measure of enjoyment in the absurd circumstances you'll undoubtedly find yourself in, during your tenure as my…underling."
My head buzzed and I clutched the frame of the couch tightly. Maze's laughter increased.
"Underling?…under…ling." I muttered lifelessly. Ouch.
"You know what? I'm… going to pretend I didn't hear that. To me this is at the very least, a partnership. A partnership based on mutual benefits."
I didn't know who I was trying to convince more. Me or them.

"Keep telling yourself that kid."
Maze responded to my words from her seat. I breathed in and chose to let it go for more important things. The mission had a time limit and every minute I stood here trading barbs and joking with these two, was precious time I could be using to track down Mnemoth, finish my mission and 4 more tasks later, be out of Lucifer's service. I just thank god, there were no binding contracts to sign or who knows if I'd be bound by a clause hidden in layers and layers of trickery. Lucifer doesn't lie yes but that just means he found better alternatives to get his way.

"Back to the mission. I'm going to need a few things."
I told them seriously. The joking mood from before had abated somewhat. Luci motioned for me to continue and I obliged. I sat down and leaned forward, the folder in my hand.
"Like you guessed, I need you to teleport me as close to Mnemoth's last known location as possible."

He thought about it for a few seconds before shrugging.
"Seeing as this is your first task, I'll allow it. However, moving forward, you're on your own. The aim was to make you work for me not the other way around."
He responded and I nodded in gratitude.
"Thank you."
I told him and turned to Maze.
"The second thing is…I need a weapon. Preferably a long knife or sword. It needs to be durable. Really durable. Something tells me you're the person to talk to."
A slow smile worked it's way onto Maze's face.
"I change my mind kid, you are fun."

(General P.O.V)

(A Nondescript Conservation Area, Kenya)

Inside a cave covered with green glowing moss, a spectacle was about to unfold. An earthquake big enough to register as dangerous in the Ritcher scale shook the ground surrounding the cave. Some of the lichen covering the walls of the cave as well as pieces of rocks, detached and broke off, falling to the ground and further illuminating the cave. On the farthest end, a section of the cave cracked apart, revealing a sealed off tunnel. Inside the tunnel, a red light started pulsing.

(The Watchtower, Temporary base for The Team)

Aqualad was standing at the end of the Justice League table, while pointing to the holographic visual feed between them. Almost all League members were present barring The green Lanterns who were off world, Martian Manhunter who was... nobody actually knew where he was. Just that he had something he needed to take care of and lastly, Superman who was dealing with the fall out of an earthquake in East Africa.

"3 missions this past week. All successfully completed with no unexpected developments."
He said, carefully studying the faces of their new overseer and mentors.
"Commendable work, Aqualad. You and your team have been exceptional."
Captain Atom praised.

The stoic Atlantean gave a sharp nod and replied,

"Thank you Captain and although your praise is appreciated and welcome. We're not without grievances." Aquaman sighed. He knew what was coming after hearing Kaldur's words.

"To put it in simpler terms, you're limiting us. Giving us the safe bet options. Keeping us held up in the Watchtower thinking that the marvel of the trust and consideration you have shown us, will make us more amenable to whatever you 's not going to cut it anymore."

No one spoke up to interrupt him because they knew what he said was true. The Flash glanced at Captain Atom and wondered how he was going to handle this. Batman would usually narrow his eyes and tell them in a gruff voice, 'you're ready when I say you're ready.' The speedster mused, finding himself missing the Dark Knight.

"Mmmh." Captain Atom hummed in thought and then looked up.

"You're concerned that nothing substantial is being done to find your wayward Teammate."

He stated, cutting right into the heart of the matter. Aqualad looked a little unbalanced at that. The Flash swallowed a chuckle. 'Ok, the army dude is sneaky.'

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"Trust me when I say, that the League's numerous resources are being directed to that directive. As soon as anything comes in, the League will keep you abd The Team in the fold son and then YOU can bring him in."

Captain Atom concluded, stealing the wind from Aqualad's sails. It was a move that was so unlike Batman that it worked just as effectively as any of The Dark Knight's plans.

"It's not..." Aqualad tried to gather himself and failed. Any argument he tried to make would just be seen as a petulant and immature move, further harming his cause of trying to get, more 'serious missions'. Something that The Flash didn't understand. Things were better when there were zero missions! That was the whole point of the Justice League. To keep the world safe. Serious missions stood in direct opposition to that. Don't these kids get it?

Aqualad stepped back and gave the customary salute to his king and nodded to the rest of the League.

"Thank you for your time. I'll excuse myself."

The Flash watched him leave and immediately turned to Captain Atom.

"You do know that excuse won't work next time right?"

The silver colored face of his colleague showed confusion at Flash's words.

"Excuse, what do you mean?"

Captain Atom questioned. Barry and the others exchanged glances.

"Wait. You mean, you will actually allow them access to any Intel we find on the whereabouts of Maelstrom knowing full well they will want to carry out that mission by themselves?"

Green Arrow wondered from his seat. Atom took a few seconds to answer but when he did, his voice was calm, firm and brokered no argument.

"Yes."

'Well good to see they share some character traits at least. The League just isn't the same without Bats.' The Flash thought.

"Let's get on with the meeting. Yesterday, a cache of alien technology was seized from Intergang during a face off with Superman and Batman ..."

(Aden's P.O.V)

Finding a Catholic church in the City of Angels actually proved to be a bit difficult, further adding to how different this L.A was to my own. The vibe was the same but most buildings were constructed differently. This wasn't an alternate timeline to my universe but instead a whole different dimension in a far off multiversal cluster from whichever mundane one my former planet was.

After consulting google maps, I found one nearby, just 9 blocks from Lux. The walk there was awkward, and after a while I chose to stick to the rooftops after too many people stared at me like a weirdo. One of them even muttered something about 'fucking campy cosplayers.' I didn't blame them though.

I had a new look after all. Not that new really. But the trench coat above my Maelstrom costume and the half mask that covered my neck and lower section of my face, made me out to be a completely different person. The Trench coat had a hood that covered my head and obscured a direct sight to my eyes. Why the trench coat? Two reasons. One, to obviously hide my identity. Being seen in my Maelstrom costume would be like a beacon calling the Team or even the Justice League down on my ass. Two, to hide the two long daggers I had strapped on my body.

Why the long Knives? And also why the church? Good question, you see while I was having that cold shower, I thought of something. Galiel as a demon had gone down pretty easily due to me catching him off guard. I had no guarantee that Mnemoth on the other hand would also fall just as easy. Considering the fact that the mission itself had been rated as Hard in the mission parameters text box, then things weren't so clear cut. I could very well be dealing with a demon who was impervious or could nullify my attacks.

Before I left, Maze had one piece of advice to tell me, 'Not all demons are the same.' I took that advice very seriously and the reason I was here was to see if the priest would bless my daggers and if I could get some holy water. Countermeasures baby, anything to make sure I reached 18. Something told me the system had something great planned for my birthday surprise.

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