(Aden's P.O.V)

"I would probably say this is not what it looks like but…it's exactly what it looks like. So what's your opening move?"

An arrow was what I got for my trouble. Oh wait, the arrow split into two. Neat trick. Two arrows with a net in the middle which had sparks of electric current running through it's whole length.

A finger flick and a wind blade slashed the net apart. I stepped forward in a quick burst and buried a fist on Red Arrow's stomach. Breath escaped his mouth along with spit. He clutched his belly and hacked out with wide eyes, taking a knee.

"Where's all that bravado you had? The arrogance you wear while walking around. Hate to break it to you Speedy, but to those who are actually strong, pride comes easy. It's casual and displayed by actions, not by seeing who can bark the loudest."

The hateful glare he sent my way made me chuckle a little.

"But you will never learn that, will you."

I backhanded him and he slumped to the ground in a faint. It was time to leave. I went towards Boy Wonder and pocketed the vial of Kobra-venom along with the small bag holding the jewelry. I was still very much angry at losing the Meta-trigger, the cash and Galiel's documents. That whole debacle was on me.

On my complacent attitude. I had to understand that this wasn't like my previous world. I can only thank God that this lesson came this early. Although it came with a big cost it was still better than potentially losing my life by taking things easy. Fuck, where will I get another Meta-trigger essence? That thing had enabled Galiel to create metahumans by targeting the ones with a meta-gene present in their bodies.

Then again the presence of people like Black Canary showed there was more than one way to awaken it. I didn't know if I had a meta-gene or not but after tensions within the group I'd realized that having my own team, one of my very making would be advantageous in the long run as opposed to using the Meta-trigger on myself. I already had a clear path to power. Adding more abilities upon the ones I was slated to get would be splitting my attention too much. A jack of all trades. I wanted to be a grandmaster at only two things...bending and combat prowess.

Luckily the Kobra-venom vial was still intact. If I could perfect it or find someone to do it, I could streamline the process into something efficient and harmless. If I remember correctly, Slade Wilson in DC had used mirakuru, DC's version of the super soldier serum to give himself enhanced physical parameters which coupled with his deadly skills made him the perfect Merc. If I could get a sample of his blood…

I shook my head. This isn't the time to get sidetracked. Before I could do any of that, I needed Galiel's contacts to the underworld. That would help me to set myself up in a way that the League or the Team wouldn't track me. I looked around at my fallen ex-comrades and sighed.

"This is not how I wanted this to go down."

Going over to Kid Flash, I kicked him on the nuts. He groaned in pain which appeased my anger a little. This was mostly all his fault.

While Robin's suspicions were warranted, he wasn't led by jealousy or hate. We all know who probably fanned the flames.

"I can't believe you used to be top 5 of my favorite speedsters."

I huffed and sped off towards my room to gather the rest of my things. I couldn't leave my laptop but the guitar and other stuff would only slow me down.

So the plan? I was going to use the Zeta tube and go to L.A. Specifically Lux. Lucifer's nightclub. Oh goodie. But you might wonder why. Why go towards the Devil while others would be running far away to the opposite direction? Here's the thing. I'm a 100% sure that Galiel being the devious demon, would have kept a digital copy of all his connections and information incase the place was ever raided. It makes perfect sense. Being millenia old, who knew how much secrets, dirt and information he had? Storing all that info in physical formats was inefficient and dumb. So Lucifer was my only lead.

The plan b to that would be to go to Gotham, try and find Penguin's hide out- he hadn't been seen for quite a while after the whole enhanced cocaine thing- and then strike up a deal with him or if that fails, Two-face if he was around. Those were the two villains I knew who had a semblance of honor. They were of course selfish and untrustworthy. Unreliable in Two Face's case and both wouldn't hesitate to betray me if they were offered a better deal. The reason that was Plan b was because…Gotham was Batman's backyard. So yeah…not sure the Dark Knight would appreciate what I'd done here. Though I'm not sure he would make a big deal out of it, seeing as this was in line with what he and Manhunter had propo…

"Access denied! Access denied! Zeta Tube Privileges revoked. Designation downgraded to Maelstrom A03."

The computer alerted me, displaying a red text box on it's screen. My mood plummeted. I was trying to use the Zeta tube to take me to the nearest zeta node in L.A but it seems that I was already locked out from the system. Gee I wonder who could have done it? (Read Batman) Speaking of the devil…

"Recognized Batman 02. Wonder Woman 03. Flash 04. Martian Manhunter 07. Black Canary 14."

Oh shit. This couldn't get any worse.

"Recognized Superman 01."

Would you look at that. It just did.

(General P.O.V)

"One of our drone outposts reported a massive beacon of energy wave in the outskirts of the milky way Galaxy."

An agent of the Reach informed The scientist charged with study of the alien species in the sector.

The scientists turned to the agent, a low level assistant charged with monitoring the sector for any anomalies.

"And this concerns us why?"

The scientist asked impatiently. The assistant looked nervous and hurried to explain.

"The energy signature bears resemblance with Apokaliptian technology."

The Reach scientist hummed in interest.

"Truly? That is quite curious. Have you pinpointed the correct location?"

"I have traced the signature to a star system which has 8 recognized planets revolving around a small star. Two of those planets are occupied with intelligent alien life."

The Scientist pulled up the files on the subject to the computer screen and hummed.

"This complicates things. The sector is under the Green Lantern corp jurisdiction. A fully equipped herald ship would be breaking the terms of the treaty."

"We have an infiltrator Scarab on the fourth planet from the sun. Maybe we can utilize his unique position..."

The scientist shook his head.

"Negative. That would put him at risk of being discovered by other parties. This matter requires a...delicate touch."

The assistant obediently kept silent as the Scientist thought.

"Send a request to High Command for the possibility of a scout ship excursion to do a loose search on the Star system. We will feed The Lantern corps should they ask, about it being a resource hunt or a ship with a warp malfunction stumbling into the sector. That should keep them off our backs until we can decide what to do next."

"Will they buy that?"

The assistant decided to ask. The question brought a smile onto The Scientist's face.

"They don't have to. The peace treaty outlines that we don't subjugate or conquer an alien species without their own consent. Thats why we use diplomacy as our main weapon. As long as we don't touch down on the planet or get noticed then it should be fine. Plus we do have contingencies incase we leave traces of our presence behind."

The assistant nodded his head and left.

"Wait." The Scientist called out.

"Phase shift the drone outpost for the time being. If we detected the massive surge of energy it stands to reason others did as well. We're not the only ones on the look out for New God technology."

(Aden's P.O.V)

The light from the Zeta tube died out, revealing some of the most powerful members the Justice League had. Silence dominated the room as they looked around. Batman surveyed the scene in one brief sweep and turned his eyes, narrowed, at me.

"What did you do?"

Following his words, The Flash blitzed off in a fast speed making me spring up to float above the ground with my heart pumping. I couldn't even make out his form clearly. There wasn't comparing him and Wally. One was a snail the other a jet. Fortunately he didn't attack. He merely gathered the team one by one near the Zeta tube. Away from me, I realized. Incase a fight sprung up.

Black Canary stepped forward with her hands raised. The rest of the Members looked shocked and surprised. Some of them like Batman and Wonder Woman were studying me with anger and seriousness respectively.

"Aden what happened here?"

Black Canary started off low but I could feel the undercurrents of worry. Worry for me, I guessed. If I wasn't so done with everything, I would have felt gratitude at her understanding. As I was, my heart merely waved off the feeling of discomfort at the thought of disappointing one of my mentors.

"They are fine. Banged up but they will survive. All of them are merely unconscious."

Manhunter informed the rest.

"They still need a check up. Get them to the medical facility of the Watchtower."

Batman ordered without looking away from me.

"We will handle things here Manhunter."

"As you wish."

Manhunter replied. He threw a glance at me and I got the brief sensation of a touch on my mental barriers. Regret.

"I am Sorry Aden."

I didn't bother replying. What was done was done. This wasn't something I could take back. The team and I had come to blows and I'd put them all down. The only question that remained was...could I do the same to their mentors? I knew the answer deep in my chest. And it was a resounding no.

Still. If I wanted to get out of this situation...it was either go through them or go through them. There was nowhere to escape.

"Recognized Martian Manhunter 07."

Once J'onn left, the Man of Steel flew to hover in the air opposite me. Superman had a hard look on his face that I'd only ever seen once before.

"Son, I'm going to need you to stand down."

I sighed and firmed up my resolve. There was no way to win this but fuck it.

"No."