Chapter 97: Handling Issues

(Aden's P.O.V)

"Your…friend," Lucifer begun only for me to cut in with,
"Ex teammate."
He nodded, a skeptical tone evident in his next words.
"Right. Anyway, he's going to wake up precisely in about…" He cocked his head to the side, staring in mid air. "6 hours 30 minutes and 24 seconds…oh 23 now."

I rolled my eyes and muttered,
"Showoff."
In response the devil chuckled while rising up from the table. I took that as a cue and got up as well, noting again just how comfortable these couches were.
"And you're just jealous. Now, I'm going to ask you to kindly leave." He informed me, his white suit changing into comfortable robes. He clapped his hands in theatrics and the room got dimmer, slow jazz music begun playing in the background. The volume was low enough to only set the mood. " I have unfinished business to take care of."
Lucifer said in a devilish smirk.

Ok. Fine. I'll admit it…dude had style.

A boom tube appeared inside the room and just as quickly, disappeared.
"No. Nope. Nah huh. You will exit the room like a normal person." Lucifer wagged a finger at me. Really? My face betrayed my dejection.
"No more portalling in and out of the living room. My penthouse, my rules. The next time you try to use a boom tube to portal in, don't be surprised when you find yourself sunbathing next to Mammon."
He told me, entering into a staring match with the all time undefeated champion, moi. Only 2 seconds in, I realized how dumb it was to provoke the literal master of hell and like the ant I currently was to him, I simply bowed my head and accepted.
"Fine. Your Penthouse, your rules."

I left the smug bastard for the door, just as he started dancing to the slow rhythm of Jazz. The door closed behind me, cutting off the noise of the music. I leaned on the wall and sighed. I needed a break. These past 24 hours had been exhausting. I was mentally and physically tapped out. I dragged my body down and sat on the floor, my back to the wall.

I ran a hand down my face. I hadn't even toured Africa like I'd planned. Footsteps sounded around the corner and Maze suddenly appeared. She raised an eyebrow and slowed down to a stop.
"You look like you've been through hell."
She commented, making me chuckle.
"Kinda…"

I replied with a shiver. That place had been... fucking terrifying.

She narrowed her eyes.
"Really wished I cared more to ask what you meant but…duty calls."
She said, opening the door and walking in. Only to walk out almost immediately, the sound of giggling getting cut short by the door closing.
"The blondes are back."
I stated.
"The blondes are back."
She agreed.

"I need a drink."
She said and looked at me, running a critical eye all over my body.
"And you need a shower. Badly. Come and find me after you're done. We need to talk."
She held out a hand for me to take. I stared at and finally gripped it, getting off the floor in one swift motion.

Without another word, Maze left, her hips swaying hypnotically.
"Oh and Aden…nice Job."
She complimented me, most probably on the mission. I mean, I did take down a demon Lord after all. The surge of pride I felt inside, disappeared when Maze held up her hands to reveal two familiar daggers clutched in her palms. I patted myself down and cursed.
"MotherFudger!"

Her laughter trailed off as she rounded up on the corner. Shaking my head, I spared one last look at the door to the penthouse and left, making my way to my own room. 2 minutes later, I was standing close to my bed, looking down at a passed out Connor. To tell you the truth, I was still unbelievably angry at how things had gone down. To expound on that truth, the anger was mostly directed at me. I had been foolish to leave my possessions in Mount Justice. I hated that sometimes I made it easy for me to screw myself over. Most of my actions had turned impulsive after coming to this world. No...after taking the Kobra-venom. This needed further looking into...

The funny thing was that I had known it was a dumb thing to do. Regret is a bitter pill to swallow but I couldn't get stuck in the past anymore. I had to let go of the anger. Anger at them, Bats and mostly myself. Such a thing however, is easier said than done.

I noticed a visible budge on the side pocket of his pants and frowned. The D.N.A suppressor patches. I remembered this. It had been a hot topic for discussion back at my earth. A reddit thread had someone wondering how they would work on somebody else. For example, Raven. Were the patches specifically designed for a human-Kryptonian hybrid or could they be used by any hybrid to suppress their weaker d.n.a? That warranted some investigating. There was also something else nagging me. A half remembered memory about Connor or maybe his situation.

Mmmmh, goes to show, I hadn't recovered all the memories about canon that I thought I had. No surprise there, the mind is a complicated place. A few sessions with the telepathic duo, Manhunter and his niece couldn't guarantee that I would have everything figured out. Fortunately, my telepathy had been gradually growing powerful. I could now sense minds. Like beacons of electric energy, they lit up in my senses and soon...I had a feeling I was about to 'level up' that particular skill.

"As payment for saving your ass, I'm taking two of these."

I told the sleeping Connor and pocketed two of the Patches inside my suit. I looked at the time on the screen of my phone and winced. I needed to take Connor back to the team before M'gann freaked out and started brain blasting everyone for information. Talk about unhinged. A boom tube appeared in mid air as I hoisted Connor up.

I jumped in, stepping out into Sanctuary before jumping inside another Boom tube and arriving inside the Watchtower's infirmary. Instantly, alarms started going off.

"Intruder Alert! Intruder Alert!"

I rolled my eyes, placed Superboy on the bed and waved at the camera, before jumping inside the portal.

This time, instead of appearing at Sanctuary, the boom tube emptied out at the Island housing all the villagers I had saved from Mammon. The first person to see me was a young girl who shrieked in fear. The villagers gathered scrambled and hurdled into a group. All warily staring at me. I sighed and loosened the half mask I had on, while holding up my arms in a universal sign to show I meant no one any harm. Some of them breathed out easier and relaxed.

One of the older villagers, a man who looked not a day above 80 stepped forward.

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"I just want to take you all back home."

I told him softly, taking care to remain as non-threatening as possible. These people had gone through hell. They'd lost so much...it wasn't hard for me to get invested in their well being because of the similarities in both our circumstances.

The old man looked back at the women and kids. The kids peeked from behind their mother's skirts, looking at me in a mixture of awe and fear. He turned to me and nodded.

"We go."

His English was heavily accented but he was clear enough that I understood what he meant. A boom tube appeared before us and I pointed to it.

"Follow me."

I told them and then walked in to show I wasn't leading them to a bad fate. If a stranger asked me to walk through a portal without knowing where it was going... I'd be more than hesitant too.

The boom tube emptied out onto a path outside the village. I spread out my senses and felt the League, Team and the young warriors from Masali's group all loosely gathered around a familiar massive hub of green energy. Swamp Thing. Shit. Miss Martian said something and the League started making their way towards where I was. The first one to arrive was The Flash. I couldn't open another Boom tube while I had another one active, so I was kinda fucked as I waited until the last of the villagers stepped out of the Boom tube. I stopped just before I could jump in through the boom tube.

No, maybe, I could take this chance to address a few things. It was high time the heroes and I cane to an understanding anyway. So I did nothing as a scarlet streak blitzed past me and shackled my arms tightly together with power dampening cuffs. A second later, a glowing golden rope of divine make firmly tied me up. Courtesy of a Wonder Woman who floater down, followed by Superman, Martian Manhunter, Captain Atom and Green Lantern, with Batman on a platform of will construct.

Miss Martian also landed on the ground after them and looked unsure on how to proceed. She fidgeted in place, making me roll my eyes and open my telepathic awareness a little. M'gann latched on to the link like a drowning man and I sent over a picture of a calmly sleeping Connor.

"He's fine."

Instantly, the hyperactive Martian settled down. I cut off the link, seeing and ignoring Manhunter's small smile of appreciation.

I fiddled with the power dampening cuffs. They were designed differently from the usual power dampening collars. I narrowed my eyes, seeing shining runes that briefly flashed before disappearing. Magi-tech. Sweet. I'm taking these with me. Not only that but they also felt...different. I could feel my connection to the elements was still there. Ever present. But a compulsion that weighed on my will to start bending stopped me from using that connection.

I felt lethargic and lazy even thinking about bending. I chuckled just as the last of both teams arrived. The bio-ship landed and the junior team got out with the obvious exception of Superboy. By then, Flash and Green Lantern had ushered the villagers away. Most probably expecting a fight. Surprisingly most of the hostility I had expected was absent. Even Wally looked...unsure. I narrowed my eyes. Something was up.

Wonder woman stepped forward, one hand holding onto her Lasso of Truth.

"Another trial...why am I not surprised?"

I addressed all of them. For a few seconds nobody said anything. I held up the Power Dampening cuffs and stared at Batman.

"Lemme guess, you had help from Zatara, didn't you? I can still feel the connection to my powers but using them is a different matter. Well played Bats."

Of course even as I said that, my connection to the Elemental Dimension was ever present. One thought and a boom tube would appear under me.

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