Genesis 1.10b

– o – o – o – o – o – o – o –

-14

Ability Gained!

Resistance: Blunt Force Lv 2

A little pain never hurt anyone.

Reduce all blunt force damage from attacks less than 100% of your health.

Increases 1% by level. (2%)

"...Ow."

The thirteen-year old lifted his head from his chest and shook it, blinking rapidly as he did so. After blinking the dark spots from his eyes, Zeke opened his mouth to say something. Instead of speaking, he paused and winced, letting out a slight grunt of pain from the back of his throat.

Raising a hand to his mouth, the teen coughed violently into his open palm, the hacking seeming to add a certain depth pain he was already feeling all over. After a second or two, his coughing fit let up, allowing Zeke to open his eyes and blink again. "...Ow. So much ow."

"Anybody get the number of that truck?"

Zeke raised his head higher as Wally spoke up, the rest of his team making various groaning noises as they all began to reorient themselves after their sudden and unexpected and landing, some of them already beginning to get up out out their seats.

Kid Flash let out another groan, one hand on his forehead as he unbuckled himself. The redhead seemed to tremble slightly as he got to his feet, his upper body wobbling for a few seconds as he regained his balance.

"It was a tornado," Superboy answered back, the clone already out of his seat along with Kaldur, M'gann and Robin. "Not a truck."

"Thanks, Superboy," Wally replied with a wince, rubbing his shoulder as he stood up. "Super helpful."

Zeke shook his own head again, no real purpose behind the action other than to get himself back into working order, and got out of his seat as quickly as he could. He stood up without ceremony, no dizziness or uncomfort past some general aches making him unsure of his steps like Wally had been, and joined everyone else as they positioned themselves around M'gann.

The green girl laid her hands on the glowing orbs by the sides of her seat, a hole opening up on the side of the ship as the spheres pulsed with light. Eager as ever, Wally rushed out first, quickly followed by Superboy, the rest of the team following behind them.

Zeke shook his head as he ran out behind M'gann, deeply regretting this course of action with with every step he took. I'm not ready for a bad guy fight. I'm not ready for a bad guy fight. His inner complaints kicked into high gear as he left the ship, eyes widening at the sight of a tall whirlwind tearing its way through the parking lot of the power plant.

Screaming people tore out of the power plant's front door in a frightened rush, their cries only adding to Zeke's nervousness. Oh god, oh god, oh god!

[Paralyzing Fear] negated by Gamer's Mind.

Zeke blinked at the notification. Huh. Again, super convenient.

"So, just to clarify," he began, glancing at Wally, M'gann, Superboy and Aqualad in turn, "what are the odds that we're just looking at some random freak weather?"

"That would be..." Aqualad paused for a moment, two black rectangular objects enclosed in his fists as he scanned the people rushing for their cars to escape the situation, "... rather unlikely."

Zeke nodded, the tiny bit of hope he had left in him dying. "I… I figured." What are we looking at here, then? Someone who can control wind so… Major Disaster? Typhoon, maybe?

"Enough talk," Superboy cut in, squaring his shoulders as he cast a glare at the power plant itself. Without a doubt, the clone was gearing for a fight, his body language saying a lot more than his mouth could.

"Yeah!" Wally added, lowering a pair of red goggles over his eyes. "Let's go take care of this Weather Wizard wannabe already!"

Weather Wizard… Zeke took in a deep breath through his nose. Yeah, that sounds about right. At least Wally should have experience with the guy.

"Agreed," Kaldur nodded, expression as unreadable as ever. "But first, we must devise a plan of action. Any ideas, Robin?" Aqualad's eyes widened as he quickly turned to the side, seeing so sign of the Boy Wonder. "Robin!"

M'gann did the same, glancing around with a puzzled expression. Zeke glanced over at her, mouth open in confusion as well, not at Robin's disappearance but at the fact that a telepath couldn't find someone. How did he even vanish in the first place? I should have seen it. He was in front of me.

Still looking somewhat unsettled, the Martian turned to face Aqualad. "I- I don't know. He was just right next to me and then h-"

"He vanished," Wally finished for her, rolling his eyes casually as if he expected something like this. "Yeah, he does it all the time. Boy Wonder's probably already inside."

"Then we have no time to waste," Aqualad concluded, taking a determined step forward. "We must hurry befo-"

Zeke flinched as Aqualad paused, the sound of horror-movie style laughter echoing around them and drawing the entire team's attention.

"Robin!" Aqualad had it in him to shout again, a note of slight worry audible in his voice.

"Wait? How are we hearing that?" Zeke exclaimed, his nervousness mostly forgotten in the face of Robin's creepy laughing fit. "Where is that echo even coming from? How is he loud enough that we're hearing him?"

The thirteen year old glanced around expecting answers, only to see faces just as confused as he was. "Why is no one answering me right now?"

Before anyone could even attempt to do such, the windows to the plant exploded as blasts of wind shot through each of them in turn, several glass panes from the top floor falling to the asphalt below.

"No time for questions!" barked Superboy. With that, the clone took off running, headed straight for the power plant's double doors, the team rushing off behind him - M'gann obviously flying - as their newest member once again lagged behind, staring at the eager heroes.

No time for questions but plenty of time for statements, right? Gritting his teeth, Zeke ran off to meet them, making sure to stay a good distance behind.

– o – o – o – o – o – o – o –

Superboy burst into the station with all the subtlety of a solar-powered bull in a china shop, the plant's double doors flying off their hinges as the clone made his grand entrance. "Robin!"

As the team ran in, their eyes widened as the Boy Wonder came hurtling toward them, launched into flight by twin funnels of powerful wind. Without wasting a moment, the Kryptonian caught the boy in a bridal carry, the both of them landing with little more damage than some ruffled clothing.

Without missing a beat, Robin adjusted his sunglasses and said, "You can put me down now."

"Who's your new friend?" Superboy asked with a scowl as he let Robin down, eyes narrowed at the tall, armored figure standing in the center of the plant floor.

"Didn't catch his name," Robin spat, pulling out a disc-shaped items from somewhere as he fully turned to face the target of his ire. "But he plays kinda rough."

The obvious villain stood in front of the team, the long scarf around the neck of his armor trailing in the wind as the air visibly pulsed around him. As he patiently waited for Kid Flash to make his way down to Robin and Superboy, the redhead followed by Aqualad and a hovering Miss Martian. "Whoa," Kid Flash exclaimed, coming to a stop next to Superboy, "who's Big Red over here?

"My apologies, children," the armored figure began, his computerized voice coming off as oddly elegant as he crossed his large arms over his metal chest, "It seems I've forgotten my manners. You may address me as Mister Twister."

"I don't care what your name is!" Superboy leapt into the air with that shout, pulling his fist back as he flew on an arc directly towards the armored bad guy.

Without a word, Twister raised his hands in a measured movement, the pulses of air around his arms intensifying as a tornado formed in front of his palms and shot towards Superboy in the air, the wind sending him flying back into a concrete pillar over a dozen feet of the ground, his back indenting the concrete before he fell to the ground.

Kid Flash rushed up to the Red Tornado wannabe at super speed, the blur around his body disappearing as he flipped into the air with a handspring, legs out in front of his body as he executed a textbook dropkick.

As picture perfect as the kick was, Twister simply waved his hand and a funnel of air kicked up around the speedster's body, the sheer force of it enough to halt Kid Flash's momentum. With another twist of his hand, Twister sent the speedster flying out through the main entrance currently lacking any doors.

M'gann, Robin and Aqualad, none of them as fast as Wally or Superboy, shared a nod between themselves and rushed the villain in unison. Before any of them could get within feet of him, Mister Twister swung his arms to face them, the action sending a torrent of wind racing to meet them. Aqualad's eyes widened and he crossed his arms to guard his face while Robin tried to leap out of the way, his reaction far quicker than Kaldur's.

Regardless, he wasn't quick enough. Already mid-leap, the blast was large enough to wing him, sending Robin flying back through the air while it struck Aqualad head-on, the force sending the much denser Atlantean tumbling head over heels and into a metal guardrail, grunts of pain coming from both boys.

With her flight providing her far more maneuverability than both Robin and Kaldur's landlocked movement, Miss Martian was able to dodge the onslaught of wind Twister sent at her, banking out of the way of the spinning current. Unperturbed, Twister simply redirected the blast of wind into a miniature tornado, catching Miss Martian in it's powerful wake as she let out a sudden yelp of shock.

A moment later, that yelp shifted from that of shock to pain as the tornado exploded outwards, sending M'gann flying into the ground hard enough to leave a slight crack from the impact.

"I was prepared to be challenged by a member of the Justice League, someone worthy of a fight," Twister goaded the teens as they rose to their feet, Kid Flash running back into the power plant to join his team. Much like the rest of the team, he wasn't too worse for wear from Twister's attacks, only far dirtier than the rest due to his landing outside. "I was not, however, expecting children."

"We're not children!" Robin yelled, pulling out two more red discs and throwing them directly at Twister.

Without so much as a reaction, Twister side-stepped the devices, paying little attention to them even as they exploded behind him. "Objectively, you are. Minors. Youngsters. Anklebiters, if you'll pardon the expression."

"Call us children if you must," Aqualad cut in, water bearers still in the shape of swords as he held them in front of him, "but be warned that our experience far surpasses yours."

"Yeah. I bet no one's even heard of a Mister Twister anywhere," Wally added, making air quotes as he spoke the villain's chosen name. "Besides, you're attacking a power plant in Jersey. How tough could you be?"

Wally's comment seemed to hit home as Twister's body language shifted, his hands tightening into massive fists with a whir of metal. "This endless prattle tires me. The very idea of child superheroes tires me. If I am to be honest, I find your presence here quite disturbing."

"Well, we hate to see you disturbed." Robin bit back, pulling out more explosive discs from his seemingly endless supply. "Let's see if you're more turbed once we kick your can!"

"Ah, juvenile wordplay. How delightf-"

Twister was interrupted, his sentence cut off midway by the groaning sound of metal under immense stress as M'gann thrust out her hands. When the Martian reversed the motion, jerking her arms back, the metal dome above Twister gave way under her power, the structure tearing itself apart and dumping a thick cloud of steam atop the villain.

With a roar, Superboy leapt into the air, performing a repeat of his opening move against Twister, only now relying on the the wall of steam to hide his approach. To his dismay, it was just as effective as the first time.

Sent flying up by an explosive burst of wind, Superboy's back met the ceiling and created a web of spider-web cracks before another powerful air current from Twister sent him careening into a shocked Miss Martian, the clone's hard skull meeting hers as they crashed into the floor in a tangled heap. Robin and Aqualad quickly dodged rather than rush in, avoiding the tornados sent their way with equally impressive feats of acrobatics.

Kid Flash simply zipped around the plant floor, waiting for an opening as he weaved in and out of Mister Twister's range, the speedster doing his utmost to avoid being caught in the armored aerokinetic's attacks.

Robin followed Wally's lead as he kept himself mobile, the Boy Wonder occasionally hurling throwing weapons and explosives towards the villain, all the while proving just how nimble someone trained by Batman could be.

Nowhere near as agile as the young acrobat, Aqualad was forced to rely on an alternative method of defense. Thrusting his waterbearers out in front of him, his tattoos began to glow brightly, the water swords in his hand surging forth and coalescing into one large shield in front of the Atlantean.

The sight caught Twister's attention, the villain's head turning in his direction, and Aqualad's defense was suddenly put to the test, a series of wind blasts battering the aqueous shield. Grunting slightly as he was pushed back, the Atlantean glanced over at his unpowered teammate with a concerned expression, spotting the young teen as he vaulted over a miniature tornado the villain sent at him.

"Robin!"

Still ducking and dodging for all he was worth, the Boy Wonder spared the older boy a glance and responded just as loudly, straining his voice to be heard over the rushing wind. "What is it, Aqualad?"

"We cannot win like this!" Kaldur shouted back, continuing to maintain his shield amid Twister's constant barrage. "His abilities put us at a disadvantage."

"You've got a plan?" The Boy Wonder flipped over a railing, tossing a handful of explosives at Twister mid-leap. To his chagrin, the villain caught the bombs in a tornado, the wind encapsulating them for a single moment before an opening appeared in the wind funnel and all four of the bombs shot towards Aqualad at high speed.

The blond let out a pained grunt as the explosives detonated in unison against his defense, forcing his protection to shudder with the sheer force of them. The smoke cleared a moment later, Aqualad still standing but his shield diminished to half its size. "These unfocused assaults will get us nowhere! We need to work together!"

"Not much of a plan!" Robin replied, the smile on his face shifting to an effort-laden scowl as he flipped off a concrete pillar to avoid another gale from Twister.

"Oh, like you've got a better one?" Kid Flash shouted from the other end of the room, zipping back and forth between Twister's constant attacks. "I'll take what I can get here!"

"Teamwork is all we need to secure victory!" Aqualad announced, pausing for a moment to alter the shape of his shield to make better use of what water he had left.

"That's it? That's your big plan?" Superboy's voice shouted from behind Kaldur, the clone already back on his feet. Both arms were raised in front of his face, shielding his eyes from the rushing wind. "Work together?"

Miss Martian stood by his side, her eyes glowing as she redirected Twister's blasts away from the two of them with her telekinesis. "It could work. We have been really disorganized."

"Yes!" Kaldur shouted again, beginning to step forward with his shield still up. "The six of us can defeat him if we fight as one!"

"Six of us?" Robin remarked, his questioning tone bearing a strong note of confusion. "I think you've got your math wrong 'cause I'm only counting five!"

Aqualad paused his advance, a look of confusion spreading across his face at Robin's reply. "Five? What do you mean..."

Pale green eyes widened as Aqualad glanced around himself in shock. "Ezekiel!" Aqualad yelled, his voice much louder than it had been previously. "Where is Ezekiel?"

Miss Martian glanced over at Aqualad, a look of concentration on her face as she tried to keep Twister's aerokinesis at bay. "I thought he was with you!"

"Ezekiel!"

"The newbie's missing?" Robin shook his head, letting out a laugh as he did so. "Here I thought the vanishing act was my thing."

– o – o – o – o – o – o – o –

The newbie in question wasn't actually missing at all, at least not from his perspective. To be honest, he wasn't even that far from his team at all, considering that he was close enough to hear Aqualad shouting out his name. It just happened to be that he was hiding behind a concrete pillar, crouched into a small ball and doing his best not to let the giant robot villain man see him.

Why was he hiding?

Well...

They took me to fight a supervillain? Seriously? Zeke shouted inside his head, the young teen wincing as another gust of wind roared past the sides of his hiding place. I have like less than no training and barely any powers. Why did I even get on that stupid cool ship?

His bad mood certainly wasn't helped by the fact that his own power was hell-bent on having him commit suicide by supervillain.

Mission Created!

A Rude Windstorm

Work together with the rest of your team to take down Mister Twister by providing as much support as you possibly can or drawing the villain's attention to let others attack him.

Success: 1250 XP, + 5 Stat Points, + 4 Resistance: Blunt Force, + 1 VIT

Bonus: Defeat Mister Twister on your own.

Failure: Loss of Trust, Disappointment

What kind of BS is that? Zeke couldn't help but think to himself, both hands clutching his head. Even my power wants me dead! It's bad enough that I have to act as bait, it wants me to try and beat the villain on my own. F that! F that in the A!

Zeke let out a quiet groan of frustration at the situation he was in, seeing as he had no real path out of danger. Yep, Mister Captain Atom, sir. I would just love to be a sidekick and go up against murderer and psychopaths with godlike powers. It's always been my dream to die before I'm old enough to get my driver's license, yessiree.

Why did I agree to this? The kid shook his head once more, unable to stop himself from flinching as he heard Kaldur shout his name once more. Interestingly, Zeke didn't feel all that scared or nervous of the villain, to be honest. Of course, he was a little scared but it would be a stretch to call what he was feeling right now 'fear'.Thanks to Gamer's Mind, all he felt was a detached sort-of fear, the same sort of reaction someone would have towards the concept of a wild animal, like seeing it in a movie or something, instead of the mindless fear of actually being face to face with a vicious predator.

Regardless of how weird it was to suddenly be forced to calm down every minute or so, Zeke could appreciate the fact that Gamer's Mind could keep his head clear enough for him to realize how much shit he was in, as opposed to leaving him a gibbering mess. Something to be thankful for if I live past today.

Another explosion of wind burst just a few meters away from where he hid, derailing Zeke's train of thought and forcing him to shut his eyes due to the sheer closeness of it. The teen opened them again as he heard a grunt of pain, eyes widening as he saw Kaldur hurtling past his hiding place at high speed. The rookie let out another sharp flinch as the Atlantean's back slammed hard into the concrete wall closest to the pillar he hid behind, the wall itself giving way slightly on impact as spiderweb cracks quickly began to spread from the force of the blow. Holy crap! That had to have broken his back or something!

Seriously, after a hit like that, Zeke expected the blond to hit the ground in a crumpled, broken heap what with the broken spine and all. To his surprise, Kaldur sprung away from the wall, catching himself as he fell to the ground in a picture-perfect three-point landing, water swords still in hand.

And of course, he's just fine. Zeke thought to himself, shaking his head. Goddang comic books.

Looking the very picture of heroism, the Atlantean glanced up as he caught sight of the younger boy shrinking against the pillar. The two teens locked eyes, Kaldur's firm and determined teal staring back at Zeke's nervous hazel. For a moment, Zeke could see visible disappointment in his team leader's eyes, the sight making him flinch.

What am I doing? After a moment's thought, the boy shook his head and stared back defiantly at Kaldur, unwilling to look away. Don't look at me like that. Zeke felt like screaming, growing more annoyed by the moment as he ranted in his own head. The guys made of metal and you just took a hit that would snap me like a twig. If you guys can't beat him, how am I supposed to help?

With a shake of his head at Zeke, Kaldur leapt back back into the fray against Mister Twister, leaving another visible set of cracks as the Atlantean kicked off the concrete. Zeke shook his head as well, a mix of frustration and annoyance leaving him bristling at Kaldur. He's that strong but he's looking at me like I should be doing something? What a joke!

The sounds of battle continued for a few more seconds, shouts of effort and roars for Superboy audible even above the sounds of Twister's servos and whistling wind. For a quick moment, Zeke caught sight of Connor as the demi-Kryptonian was caught off-guard by a blast from Twister. Sent sliding back by the wind, he crashed into a stack of barrels by the main entrance, directly in front of Zeke's line of sight.

His face contorted into an expression of anger, Superboy sent his fist through a barrel with a scream, tearing through the squealing metal like paper.

Wow, talk about intense, the rookie thought as the clone rushed out of his view once more. Man, Connor could use an anger management class or two. He's almost as bad as the other Superboy. A moment later, Zeke shook his head in frustration. Why am I thinking about that guy right now? I can't even see what's going on back there. Unless...

Curiosity getting the better of him, Zeke peeked around the pillar, eyes widening as Superboy and Miss Martian tried to rush the villain, Miss Martian tearing apart a railing with a telekinesis to entrap him with while Superboy did the predictable thing and charged him head-on, screaming his head off at the same time. Why do they keep rushing him? Zeke couldn't help but think. It just doesn't work. He's got range!

"As you children seem quite unfamiliar with the very concept of manners, it falls upon me to administer some discipline." Unperturbed by the assault, Twister thrust both hands out, sending up another blast of wind, this one nearly encompassing the entire power plant.

"To put it in your puerile terms," Twister paused, extending his hands out, "I'm taking you all to school."

"Guys!" Zeke let out a surprised shout, the sound itself almost a scream, as the rest of the team were lifted bodily into the air by the powerful twister, each of them rapidly spinning in its wake like tops before it exploded violently, sending all of them flying in seperate directions.

Superboy was sent rocketing up into the ceiling, the half-Kryptonian's head actually going through it for a single second. A second was all it lasted for, the material around him quickly crumbling around his superhuman skull as he began falling back to the floor. Wally, on the other hand, was sent hurtling violently through the set of bay doors behind Twister, Aqualad flying after him in an out of control tumble.

Zeke could only watch as the rest of the team fell back to the ground, each of them in various states of unconsciousness or suffering severe vertigo from the sudden spin.

Come on! Do something! All of them are down! At least try! Zeke felt the blue inside him rise as he berated himself, the stream in his mind's eye shifting to a bubbling, churning pool and filling him with an idea. Hunched over behind the pillar, he glanced down at his enclosed fist for a moment before opening his hand. The teen flexed his fingers as he felt the energy thrumming underneath his palm as it pulsed in time with his heartbeat. This blue...

No, this mana was part of him.

He could control it, Zeke realized, use it…

At the very least, do something with it other than hide behind a pole while the rest of his team got stomped on by a bad guy in a stupid scarf. The bad guy in question seemed to think his job here was at an end, the villain rising into the air and turning his back on the sidekicks lying prone on the plant floor.

Now's my chance! I've got something for you! Running on nothing but instinct and anger, the boy jumped out from behind the pillar he had hidden behind and thrust a hand out in front of him. "Hey, gearbox, take this!"

Just as Zeke expected, something shot from his open palm, a burst of bright blue light about the size of his fist. The jagged ball of energy flew fast, far faster than Zeke knew he could run and struck the armored villain across his back with a detonation of cobalt energy.

Skill Created!

Mana Burst Lv 1

Pew-pew! Pew-pew-pew!

A hastily-formed burst of energy with an unspecified nature.

Max Damage: 10% of INT x Skill Level

Minimum Cost: 5 Mana Mana Burst Lvl Up!

1→2

Awareness: Mana Lvl Up!

8→12

"What… " Twister turned as he spoke, revolving in mid-air to face Zeke. As he rounded on the only member of the young team left standing, the aerokinetic tilted his head forward, the movement creating an audible metallic whine. "What evenwas that? Was that you?"

Zeke blinked at the question, suddenly finding himself with the pleasure of bearing the full attention of a powerful bad guy. He did not enjoy the feeling at all. "… No?" The single syllable slipped out of his mouth before he could stop it, becoming a question that he was asking himself more than anything else as his gaze dropped away from the bad guy to stare at his own hands.

Did I really just do that?

Blue light wafted off his still-glowing palm, trailing away as some sort of odd mist that began to quickly fade the further it got from his skin. Oh my god, an excited smile snapped into existence on his face, I really just did that!

A moment later, the same smile vanished with the same quickness, Zeke's gaze slowly moving upwards to the figure still hovering in mid-air as a dawning horror seemed to turn his veins to ice. Oh my god, Zeke took a shaky step backwards, fingers trembling as he stared open-mouthed at the villain in front of him, I really just did that.

"I assume you intended to hurt me with whatever that was?"Twister asked, that genteel tone of his filtered through a digital voicebox somehow making him more threatening.

"W-would you believe me if I said n-no?", Zeke offered the villain with a weak smile on his face, his heart dropping into his stomach as he realized the position he was in. He made a move to step back, only for Twister to shift slightly, Zeke freezing in place out of wariness.

"...No. No, I would not." If Zeke wasn't witnessing it right this moment, he would have doubted the possibility of a giant metal figure performing a gesture so undeniably human as a shrug. Even still, it just looked wrong, if the boy had to be honest with himself.

"If you wish to intrude upon the matters of adults, child,"Twister paused for a moment, placing emphasis on the word that Zeke felt wasn't really necessary. He already knew how old he was, thank you very much. "The consequences are yours to face."

The scarf-wearing villain turned to the side and flicked his hand in a motion that on anyone else Zeke would have described as lazy gesture. Considering what this Mister Twister could do with a simple gesture, Zeke's eyes quickly widened as he realized what was coming next.

"Superboy, hel-urk!"

-35

His cry for assistance was cut off mid-sentence as a wall of wind slammed into him, the force carrying Zeke off his feet and hurling him across the room on a spinning current of controlled wind. Oh, this is gonna hurt.

-10

+ 1 VIT Resistance: Blunt Force Lvl Up!

2→4

Shutting his eyes in expectation of striking the wall, the young sidekick came to a jarring stop against a hard surface. Zeke flinched on contact, his body instinctively tensing, only to feel completely confused moments later as he was in much less pain than he would have expected. To be honest, whatever he hit felt more like a wall of solid flesh instead of a wall of solid… wall.

Fully opening his eyes, Zeke blinked as he spotted the taller teen laying slumped against the wall, his own body directly on top of the familiar red "S". Holy crap, that worked. A moment later, Zeke glanced back up, only to cringe away slightly as Superboy's narrowed blue eyes glared back down at him. "...Hi."

"Get. Off."

"Got it."

"To use your turn of phrase, that was all rather turbing. I hope all of you have learned a valuable lesson when it comes to leaving the adults to their business." With that said, the villain turned around again, flying vertically as he left the power plant.

Superboy quickly got to his feet as Zeke stepped away from him, M'gann lifting herself and Robin from the ground with her telekinesis. Hands clenched into fists at his side, Superboy didn't even bother paying the other three any more attention, whooshing past them in a blur as he attempted to chase down Twister.

Robin grunted, flinching as Superboy's sudden departure kicked up another burst of wind in their faces. The Boy Wonder leaned back against the wall, one hand rubbing his side as his teeth grit in a pained expression. "Did he not hear what Aqualad said? We can't just rush out there like that if we don't want to get our butts handed to us."

M'gann floated up, bobbing in the air with a worried expression on his face as Superboy's trademark roar sounded from outside. "But what can we do? Even when we all attack him at once, he just knocks us back." One hand rose up to her forehead, the green girl rubbing her forehead repeatedly as she spoke.

"Ugh," Zeke gave a shrug as he let out a pained groan of his own, his body feeling like he had just received an all-over beatdown from a champion boxer, "No idea. That energy blast thingy I did was something I just figured out like five seconds ago and it did nothing so…" He lifted his eyebrows for a quick moment, leaning up against the wall as well, "ugh, this is a disaster."

Robin shook his head again, opening his mouth again to reply, "Why is it never just aster?"

What? The other thirteen year old blinked at the non sequitur, wondering just where that had come from. What the heck is aster?

Deciding not to bring it up, Zeke simply muttered the word "Inventory" and stuck his arm into the air, both M'gann and Robin watching with surprised expressions as his arm disappeared up to the elbow. The young teen pulled out a Kalteen bar, already half-eaten from his snack this morning and took a bite of it as he looked up at his teammates. "I'm gonna need a minute before I can take another hit from Twister. You guys can head on out without me. I'll… I'll catch up."

Zeke had tried to choose his words carefully, crafting the sentences as best he could in a way that didn't sound as if he had been hiding for most. However, with the way Robin's eyebrow had risen, the thing visible enough to be seen above his sunglasses, he doubted he had succeeded.

"You sure you guys don't want to head back out?" Robin spoke up after a moment, the Boy Wonder wiping his forehead with a sleeve. "Superboy sounds like he's giving Twister a hard time and I figure since Kaldur and Wally are out there, we might as well give this teamwork thing one more try, right?"

Zeke's eyes shifted upwards, the thirteen year old slowing down mid-bite as his eyes shifted from side-to-side.

HP: 82/110 [125]

(+ 11 HP/30 sec)

Will: 103/103

(+ 6 Will/30 sec)

[Kalteen Weight Gain Bar]

(+15 HP for 5 minutes)

( +10 HP regen for 5 minutes)

(+5 Will regen for 5 minutes)

"...Yeah, why not?" Despite the confident grin he gave Robin, Zeke was ready to drop everything and run, well aware of how easily Twister could kill him. I swear to god, this universe better have an afterlife or something cause I'm sure as hell not gonna stay dead.

Nodding, Robin turned to M'gann, a smirk on his face. "M'gann, can you fly us out there?"

"No problem," the green girl beamed at the request, raising her hands in the air as her eyes began to glow.

Zeke's eyelids drooped as he was hoisted into the air by an unseen force, the young teen already regretting not pretending like he was seriously hurt to avoid being forced to participate in this fight again. Oh, this is gonna suck.

The three of them flew out through the bay doors in a tight grouping, Zeke too busy complaining to himself to enjoy the freedom of being in the air. As quickly as they had taken off, the two of them were quickly dropped, M'gann lowering them onto the grass below as they caught sight of the fight taking place in front of them.

Compared to the events in the building, where Twister effectively manhandled all of them, the fight in front of them was far more of a stalemate. The open space and distance seemed to be working to the three boys' advantage, allowing each of them space to maneuver around both each other and Twister's attacks.

Even still, they all looked a little more than ruffled, their clothes and skin marked with grass and dirt stains from what were presumably nasty tumbles courtesy of the villain they were trying to defeat. Regardless, they didn't seem to let it hinder them.

"As futile as your actions have been, I would have thought you had all learned your limitations by now," Twister announced, the villain slowly rising higher into the air.

Aqualad took a step forward, face contorted in anger as he shouted, "What do you want?!"

"Isn't it obvious? I'm waiting for a real hero. I'm sure there are those who enjoy the sight of children in tights but to be perfectly honest, I've never been one of them."

Both Aqualad and Robin visibly bristled at the comment while Superboy let out an angry growl, hands curling into tight fists as he squared his broad shoulders.

"M'gann," The Boy Wonder glanced over at Miss Martian, the green girl staring up at Twister as the villain rose into the air. "We need you to read his mind. Find out how to take him down. We can't keep doing this forever."

"I thought I wasn't supposed to do that." M'gann frowned, looking contrite as she stared over at the villain. "You guys told me…"

"It's okay with the bad guy!" Robin retorted, gesturing outwards with his arms.

"Yeah, Megan, he's a bad guy!" Zeke shouted, hoping the telepath could stop the fight before he had to do something that he knew would end with Twister blasting him again. "They don't count!"

The Martian girl nodded hesitantly, seeming to accept their reasoning as she ducked her head and raised two fingers to her temple in a traditional psychic stance. The girl frowned, shaking her head slightly as she spoke up. "Nothing. I'm getting nothing."

A moment later, she batted her palm against the side of her head and opened her eyes as she turned to face the team. "Hello, Megan. Mister Twister's inorganic! I can't read his mind! He has to be an android! And how many androids do we know that can make tornadoes?"

He's Red Tornado!? Oh my god, how didn't I see it? Zeke's eyes widened, his mouth falling open in surprise. We were never in any danger, huh? He thought to himself, a wave of relief hitting him as he let out a relaxed sigh. The League would never send someone like me out there on a real mission without training anyway, right? That'd just be stupid.

Superboy was the first to actually respond to the telepath's revelation, letting out a furious roar as he slammed his foot down onto the ground. As he stomped a small crater into the ground, the clone turned away from the supposed villain to M'gann with. "Are you kidding me?! We've been fighting Red Tornado this whole time?!"

"It makes some sense." Aqualad nodded his head slowly, the Atlantean obviously mulling over M'gann's words. "Tornado was the one to send us here."

"After saying we'd be… tested soon enough," Robin spat the sentence out like it was something filthy, his lips curling into a sneer of distaste as he stared up at the aerokinetic still hanging in the sky. "This is his test! Something else to keep us busy and out of the way."

Wally's whine was loud enough for everyone to hear, the boy throwing his hands into the air in defeat. "Dude, really?"

Zeke couldn't help the slight shrug he gave at Wally's words. I don't mind honestly. I got a quest, a couple skills leveled up, and I'm not fighting a real psycho with powers, so… feels like a plus for me.

"Man," Wally continued, hanging his head listlessly, "Speedy called it. We're a joke."

Aqualad seemed to share the shorter boy's sentiments, his own mouth turning downwards in an impressive frown as he turned away from M'gann, Robin and Zeke. Slamming a fist into his open palm, Kaldur let out his rage in a growl of his own, albeit one far more restrained than Superboy's, before glancing up at Twister. "We will not be part of your game anymore!"

Robin ran up to Aqualad's side, with M'gann and a smiling Zeke at his heels. "We know who you are and what you want."

Wally zipped over to Robin's side, the speedster skidding slightly on the grass as he lightly bumped into M'gann's side. "Hope you had fun, cause we didn't."

Superboy cracked his knuckles, a grimace still on his face. "So, let's end this."

"Very well. Consider it ended," Twister replied, a dark note underlying the elegance of his voice. The robot raised his hands in the air as tight wind funnels began to form over them, twisting and curving into a helix as the clouds directly above Twister rapidly began to darken, as if to herald an oncoming thunderstorm.

"An impressive show," Aqualad called out, quickly glancing at the rest of his teammates, Superboy especially, "but we will not indulge you!" Aqualad pointed a finger at the villain, unflinching in his noble determination. "We will not engage."

Zeke felt his smile grow a little bit at Aqualad's words, only for him to flinch as the wind began to pick up again, the entire sky above the power plant going dark as the clouds that the android created continued to spread

Why do I feel like we might have jumped the gun here? Zeke's eyes widened as he spotted lightning bursting from within the clouds Twister was forming, the wind becoming far more violent than it had been before. "Uh, guys?" He had already begun stepping back, inching away from the tight cluster the team was in as soon he saw the first burst of lightning.

Something about this really didn't feel right and he did not want to be caught front and center if this Not-Tornado threw another set of wind blasts down on their heads. He paused for a moment, raising his hands in front of his face as the wind violently whipped at him. The young teen was already beginning to doubt that Twister actually was Red Tornado for several reasons, and he really didn't want to be proven right. "Guys, seriously, can… can Red Tornado do that?"

His question went unanswered by the group as Twister began to speak again, the android's voice positively malevolent by this point. "You think I'm Tornado?"The thirteen-year old flinched as Twister let out a self-satisfied chuckle, the lightning around him seeming to growing more intense with every passing second, "Ironic."

Oh. Zeke's eyes widened further, his irises shrinking to pinpricks as Twister thrust his hands higher into air, the lightning in the clouds seeming to intensify once more, the epicenter of the charge right above Twister's upraised palms. Oh no.

"Move!"