Slade had gone through two apprentices already; Terra had vanished and Robin was too stubborn and betrayed him. Slade set out on his search to find a new apprentice. The HIVE academy was his first place to look, but he came back with no results; all of them were promising fighters, but they lacked something that he desperately craved. Slade was growing desperate; he began scouring the most obscure of places to find himself a new apprentice.
At that same time, Aaron was walking through the hallways of his school with his head down and his hood up. Aaron was about 5 "6, with yellow eyes, and short, thick, uncombed, brown hair. Aaron was a stubborn 16 year-old teenager. Aaron kept his hood up to not draw attention, but he always found himself in trouble. Aaron had several cuts and bruises all over his body and face; his stubborn attitude prevented him from fleeing fights even when the odds were highly against him. Aaron was gifted with his knowledge of technology and his innovation.
Aaron had just been beaten up again as he stood up, brushed himself off, grabbed his bike, and biked home. When Aaron got inside his house it was empty as usual; his parents were always working. His parents gave him almost anything he wanted, but Aaron felt like they never actually wanted him. At the age of twelve, his suspicions were confirmed when his father walked in to the house late at night drunk and angry; he shoved Aaron to the floor as he said, "The condom broke." His mother cried when he heard him say that; Aaron then asked her, "Is it true?" His mother sighed as she admitted it.
Aaron grabbed his backpack and went to his room. He walked over to his desk as he sat his bag down on his bed. Aaron pushed a few buttons on his keyboard and almost instantly the wall near his dresser flipped over revealing a shelf full of weapons as well as a workbench. Aaron went near his bed and pulled a loose plank from the floor. Aaron pulled out a box and opened it. Inside was a red uniform with black outlines on it. Aaron stared at the jacket, then the utility belt, then the pants, then the steel toed boots. Aaron looked over the uniform and put it back in the box. He had tried to be a hero, but he hated the attention and he felt some of the people didn't deserve to be saved. Aaron had also tried to be a villain, but he despised causing chaos without a masterful plan behind it. Aaron felt lost as he toyed with the weapons on his work bench. The weapon he was most proud of was the katana he had made. The blade itself was sharp, and Aaron had merged it with more than enough technology for it to be more than a sword. When swung the blade could generate waves of energy, and it had a function that would allow it to return to Aaron's hand as long as he pushed a button on his wrist gauntlets. Aaron was currently toying with the gauntlets trying to make them lighter, so he could conceal them easier.
Once Aaron finished, he slid the gauntlets on his wrists and pulled the sleeves of his hoodie over them. Aaron admired himself in the mirror until he heard the doorbell ring.