|Piccolo's Home
|August 3, 11:50 EDT
Piccolo was uneased.
He stood over the edge of the plateau his home was on, his eyes narrowed and focused on the horizon. He was in disbelief at first sensing it, but now he was certain of it; he could sense two Justice Leagues.
More accurately, Piccolo can sense two of the same Justice League members but not all of them at once. He sensed two Green Arrows at first then two Black Canary's. Piccolo had developed a sick sense of déjà vu that he still had with him right now. Along with this came dread that compounded more and more when other Leaguers arrived on the scene and yelled loud enough for Piccolo to make out over the sounds of battle and destruction. All of them panicking over this opponent and its ability to mimic their powers. There was one word they used to describe this opponent that created a pit of dread in Piccolo's stomach: "Android"
It was one word that kept rattling through Piccolo's head as he listened in on the battle. Piccolo was worried and fearful for the League's health as images of the Androids 16, 17, 18, 19, Dr. Gero and Cell flash in his mind. All these feelings grew ever more in time with new discoveries about the Android the Justice League was facing. The battle was turning into a gruelling slog as the Android grew more and more in power with each new member of the League introduced into the fray. Piccolo heard Batman deduce that this android could copy its opponent's abilities with eye contact alone. The little titbit forced Piccolo's hand.
Piccolo wanted to join in the fight as soon as he heard "Android", but stayed his hand due to what he was sensing. Reminded by the fight with Cell, Piccolo knew a copied aura meant copied abilities. Sensing this Android was only copying the Leaguers it was currently engaging with, Piccolo wisely held back to study it from a distance and gather more information. A smart move considering Batman's findings. This now left Piccolo reeling and in mental turmoil.
He was fretting over the extent of this Android's copying abilities and who had the capacity to create such a thing. Could this Android have a database it can refer to like the Androids back home or did it copy base on what abilities were used before it? Could it copy all a person's abilities? Potential and all? Piccolo paled at the thought of this Android using Potential Unleashed. The devastation on the universe it could wrought if Piccolo couldn't destroy it by then. All that power was in the hands of someone Piccolo didn't know or could even find out about. With the world's level of technology far poorer than his own, Piccolo wasn't expecting a Dr. Gero equivalent here but the universe, in its infinite humour, proved him wrong.
Piccolo gritted his teeth as he sensed it had now absorbed Captain Atom's powers. With a flurry of his cape, Piccolo turned around and charged towards his house. He might not be able to fight the Android but he can surely help those who can defeat it. Upon entering his house, he immediately went to his phone. Powering it with his Ki, Piccolo speed-dialled Batman's number. After a few suspenseful rings, someone finally picked up. "Greetings Mr. Piccolo" the posh voice of Bruce Wayne's butler, Alfred Pennyworth, greeted him. "I'm afraid Master Bruce is out at the moment. I must insist you invest in using the Justice League's communication devices. It's far better to contact Master Bruce than calling the Bat Cave's landline."
"Then I can't hear anything with that stupid thing in my ear. I need you to put me through to Batman. Now" Piccolo demanded.
"As you wish…" there was a long pause before Alfred's voice returned. "Batman is on the line."
No sooner did he say that Batman's voice rang through the phone. "Since you're calling, guess you understand the situation?"
"Naturally" Piccolo responded.
There was a loud crash in the background. "Can you try and take it out from a distance? One hit from the Special Beam Cannon should work" Batman suggested.
"Can't. The Android keeps switching to Black Canary's powers to detect oncoming attacks. He'll sense when I'm powering up for an attack and dodge or rush after me to try and copy my powers" Piccolo explained.
There was another explosion that peppered the receiver with bits of debris. "We're open to any suggestions," Batman admitted.
Piccolo pondered for a moment. "Get Canary on but stay on the line" he ordered.
Piccolo waited patiently as muffled noises echoed from the phone. Finally, Black Canary answered the call. "I'm here Piccolo. You got something?" another loud boom shot through the phone. "And please make this quick!" Canary begged.
"What abilities have you used on the Android?" Piccolo asked.
"Canary Cry and simple Ki blasts. It also saw me using flight and my aura to shield myself, so it has that" Black Canary explained.
Piccolo stroked his chin as he came up with a plan of attack. "You're going to use the Taiyōken to blind it, then you're gonna take it down with the Kienzan."
"Solar Flare and Destructo Disc? Piccolo, if this doesn't work, we just gave this thing one of the most devastating abilities in my arsenal" she fretted.
"Then you better make sure it does work. Use the Taiyōken to blind the Android, then get everyone to jump it. While the Android is busy switching between powers to defend itself, you charge up the Kienzan. The bigger it is, the more obvious it is to Ki senses, so keep it small- small enough to decapitate the Android. Seeing as it's not a living thing, you lot shouldn't cry over its 'death'" Piccolo explained.
"Understood" Black Canary replied.
"We can have Captain Atom power-up in between the Android and Black Canary. Would that help mask the presence of Canary's attack?" Batman asked.
Piccolo couldn't stop himself from smirking. "Good idea. Go on the safe side and have Captain Atom go all out. Make the Android think it's Atom doing the attack, then Canary, you swing the Kienzan wide and take the Android out."
"We'll initiate the plan right away. Stay on comms if this doesn't work. Worse case scenario, you'll have to intervene" Batman grimly stated.
"Pray that doesn't happen" Piccolo responded with an equal tone.
Piccolo was again left in silence. Hearing only muffled grunts and booms, Piccolo turned his attention away from the phone to focus on sensing and hearing the battle. He wasn't in suspense for long as he heard Black Canary cry out "Solar Flare!" straight after, the League pounced onto the Android. A mass of fists, arrows, batarangs and energy projectiles were thrown at the Android. Piccolo felt the Android used Martian Manhunter's abilities to negate a few of the attacks, but most struck it. At the same time, Black Canary was charging a Kienzan while Captain Atom was between her and the Android charging himself. A few suspenseful moments later, Black Canary was ready to unleash her attack.
Giving the signal, the Leaguers quickly dispersed while Captain Atom made an exaggerated showing of his next attack. Just as Captain Atom attacked, Black Canary threw the Kienzan. Piccolo sensed it made a wide birth around the battlefield before swinging around to aim at the Android's neck. However, the Android thought fast on its feet. "Activate: Black Canary. SOLAR FLARE!"
'Crap!' Piccolo mentally cried as he felt the ability activate.
He heard the Justice League, Black Canary included, all scream out in pain. Piccolo sensed the Kienzan veer off course and flew past the Android, narrowly missing its neck. Piccolo further panicked when the Android flew off the ground and charged straight towards a blind Captain Atom and Black Canary. The Android roundhouse kicked Captain Atom away and into the dirt. Piccolo thought for a moment to Instant Transmission and save his student from a massive beat down, but stayed his hand. He trained her. He knew her limits and knew what she was capable of. He believed she could handle this. He briefly let fate decide and was rewarded for it.
Piccolo sensed the Android taking a swing at Black Canary. It connected but Black Canary held firm. She knew the attack was coming but did nothing to stop it because all her attention was on the Kienzan. Piccolo sensed Black Canary's manipulation of the Kienzan, recovering it and making it fly back towards the Android. The Android was too busy pummelling a defenceless Black Canary to realise the approaching disc of death heading its way until it was too late. Timing it just right, Black Canary focused back on herself and flipped backwards just as the Kienzan decapitated the Android. Of course, due to the power behind the attack, the Kienzan kept going. It would've sliced through Black Canary's skull if she hadn't flipped out of the way.
Piccolo let out a breath of relief as he heard the Android fall to the ground and felt its aura dissipate into nothing. He sensed and heard the rest of the Leaguers regain their sight and take a breather. Piccolo focused back on the phone as soon as he heard Batman talk through it. "Thanks for the assistance."
"I'd take apart that Android and destroy it down to the atoms if I were you" Piccolo sternly suggested.
"Noted" Batman responded.
Seeing their conversation was at its end, Piccolo lowered the phone down but stopped momentarily. He brought the phone back up to his ear. "Thanks for patching me through Alfred" he quickly acknowledged.
"My pleasure, Mr. Piccolo. Do take care" Alfred said.
With that, Piccolo hung up the phone; feeling no more at ease than he had before picking it up. Piccolo sat in his chair, summoning a bottle of water and drinking from it. All the while, he stewed in dreadful worry about this Android and its creator. Perhaps, just this once, he should seek out the League and stick around to see this particular issue through. Although, there was a more glaring one that was ever present in Piccolo's mind. One pertaining to a certain man in Metropolis…
|Mount Justice
|August 3, 13:08 EDT
"Recognised: Superboy. B-04"
The atrium was awash with the sounds of a whirling Zeta-tube activating. Seconds later, after the machine had died down and fallen silent, the atrium was filled with the stomping noise of Superboy's heavy footfalls. He had returned from Metropolis much worse for wear. Having left earlier in the day with a sense of hope and excitement, the day's events and his subsequent return left him bitter and absolutely angry. All of this stems from one man: Superman.
Today was the first time Superboy and Superman worked together- if you call patrolling several kilometres away from each other as working together. It was a simple patrol mission on Superman's home tuff. The only mission-type Batman and Piccolo were able to sus out with Superman and the only one Superman felt 'comfortable' with Superboy. Superboy was still reeling from the fact Superman was afraid of Superboy's abilities. Superboy fully believed that today was the day Superman would take him under his wing and show him the ropes. Show him how to handle his powers and what it means to truly hold the mantel of The Man of Steel. Instead, Superboy was again rejected.
Honestly, what was he supposed to do on that bridge?! Walk over to it? If he hadn't jumped in, that bus would've fallen. Superboy did what he thought was right. People were saved! Apparently, it wasn't enough for Superman. Yet again, Superboy was pushed off as someone else's problem to deal with. Piccolo and Batman were no substitute to a Kryptonian. They don't know how to handle a Kryptonian or know the extent of his powers. Superman was the only one who did. 'Whether Superman likes it or not, I am the future of the Superman. Neglecting me is only going to bring about his downfall' Superboy boldly declared.
As Superboy stewed in his inner turmoil, he found his way towards the Cave's general living space. The kitchen and adjoining lounge room were bare of any life. A confusing sight as Superoby was sure the Team would be there. It was a weekend and Black Canary had requested they were here all day today. Superboy honed in on his hearing, picking up any signs of life in the Cave. Just like the living space, there wasn't a soul to be heard. Fortunately, he need not ponder about his team's location for longer.
His keen vision caught something on the fridge's whiteboard; a small note written in M'gann's handwriting. It read: "Hey Superboy! I hope you had a great day with Superman! I know it means a lot to you-"
Superboy glossed over the first two paragraphs in frustration. The first is delusional about him and Superman building a rapport with each other, and the second is about the cookies she baked for him. Superboy looked over to the plate and couldn't stop his teeth from gnashing at the choice of frosting: Superman's emblem. Superboy knew that M'Gann meant well, but she often came off as overtly chippy and way too eager to please. It all came off irritating rather than jubilant.
Superboy scanned through the rest of the note before finally learning about the Team's location. "B.T.W (BTW/btw/by the way) The Team and I are up the top of Mt. Justice. Robin says that the closest we'll get to Piccolo's meditating environment is up there, so we thought it was best to start there. Please join us when you can!" – Megan.
Superboy's vision picked up the faint text marks after M'gann's public persona. Someone had rubbed off four letters: XOXO. Superboy paid no more attention to it as his mind was drawn to the Team's current activity. Superboy's first thought was to call them idiots for climbing up a mountain to try and meditate when a calm room was all that was needed, but he vanquished that thought immediately. Piccolo was a wild card and unpredictable. The same applied to his style of training. That was something Superboy was taught, then learnt firsthand yesterday.
The G-Gnomes had instilled any and all information Cadmus had pertaining to Piccolo and his numerous galaxy-shattering abilities. It was a minuscule amount but what they were able to gather was the barest hint of his daily workout routine. To call it asinine wasn't even close. Cloning himself to dance with, hulling a boulder over his shoulders and sprinting from one end of Europe to another, shooting himself with his own Ki attacks, holding his breath and hanging in the vacuum of space, holding his breath and bathing in a lake of lava, drinking liquor with such a high level of alcohol in it that it was considered poison, and so many more bizarre workouts. If any martial arts master were to see all this, they would call it stupid and it would lead to Piccolo being crippled, if not dying. Yet, Piccolo still stands and has gained abilities far surpassing the mythological Gods of this Earth. Having seen the rare footage of Piccolo's exploits and fights, Superboy was willing to go on a limb and join the others in doing something stupid.
Thus, Superboy left the Cave and began his trek up the mountain, which only took a few minutes. Superboy leapt from slope to slope. Jumping into the air with a loud crackle and landing with a rumbling boom. Each time he jumped, Superboy tried in vain to fly. For the past several days, he's been trying to use his other Kryptonian abilities. Powers like super strength, infrared vision, heightened endurance and agility and super hearing were all abilities Superboy could easily access and perform. However, the powers of heat vision, x-ray vision, frost breath, super speed and flight still evaded him. No matter how hard he tried or trained, he couldn't use them. Superboy now saw only three avenues to obtaining his full potential: Keep training by himself in vain, wait for Superman to finally come to his senses, or pursue Piccolo's bizarre training methods and substitute his Kryptonian powers with the Ki variants. Each was painstakingly slow, but Piccolo's methods were more promising and likely to happen sooner- and lead to more powers that not even Superman had.
With a few more leaps and bounds, Superboy made it to the top. Seeing his Team posted around in a circle, he thought it best to land right in the middle of them. The ground cracked under his landing, they were shot up a few inches in the air and dust plumed around them. The high altitude of the mountain meant the winds were harsh and fast. The dust cloud swiftly dissolved in the wind. "Great. I didn't need to focus on my inner zen I spent four hours trying to find and for you to ruin, but hey, glad you decided to drop by" Wally grumbled, shaking the bits of rock out of his hair.
Superboy scoffed. "If it's taking you four hours to find your zen, then maybe you should wait for Canary to come around to teach you" he snapped.
Everyone narrowed their eyes at his response. "Someone's a bit snappy" Wally chimed to Robin.
"Are you ok Superboy? How was Metropolis?" M'gann asked.
Superboy grumbled at her question. "Peachy" he sarcastically.
M'gann was about to say something but Kaldur cut her off. "Regardless of your… current attitude, it's good to have you join us. Please sit- and at least salvage what you disturbed with your landing" Kaldur pointedly said.
Superboy had enough remorse to look down in shame. Getting into the form Piccolo taught them yesterday, Superboy silently joined them. The silence that followed only lasted a few seconds before the resident motor mouth spoke. "By the way, I don't need Canary to help me out. I've got my two sensei's here to help" Wally said, gesturing to Kaldur and Robin.
"Master, Apprentice Wally. Master" Robin reminded with a mocking stern voice.
"Robin" Kaldur said in a firm tone.
"What? We agreed on it. We shook hands on it!" Robin argued.
"Focus."
Robin and Wally were silent after that. Not that Superboy would be able to hear them with the wind picking up. Not only did the strong winds slam into Superboy but the howling it made caused Superboy to lose focus. "Could you guys have chosen a winder spot?" Superboy grumpily asked.
"Robin figured it was perfect. If we are to focus and call on Ki in battle, we have to find it among distractions. Howling and cold winds are a perfect place to start" Kaldur answered.
Robin jumped in. "From what I got from Batman, Piccolo meditates under a waterfall. Do you know how much noise several tonnes of water makes from a fifteen-meter fall? You think this is loud-"
"No, you haven't. Had you!" Wally exclaimed.
Everyone turned to look at Superboy. He suddenly felt very uncomfortable with the attention. "Really? You haven't Superboy?" M'gann gasps.
Superboy shrugged his shoulders. "There's nothing that special about them. It's just water rushing off a steep elevation. I wasn't even impressed by the memories the G-Gnomes implanted in me" Superboy explained.
"It's because of that reason you can't really judge or appreciate them without actually witnessing it with your own eyes" Kaldur said.
"Why don't we cut this meditation short and find the nearest one to show him?" Wally suggested.
Everyone was in agreement but Robin. "Nah, man. We're not letting Superboy's first time be some rinky-dink dribbling filling some pond. We're going to the big ones" he declared.
Everyone eagerly nodded their heads, except Superboy, and began to plan. "How about Niagara Falls or Victoria Falls?" M'gann suggested.
"No way. It will be an eyesore with all the tourists about. Kaieteur Falls shouldn't be too busy or crowded this time of year" Wally countered.
"I think Angel Falls is the best place. The tallest fall in the world" Kaldur proposed.
Everyone looked to Superboy for his input. "So Mr. Grump, where to?" Wally asked.
Superboy huffed. "Here. Here is fine for now" Superboy firmly said.
Everyone's eyes widen at his reaction. "You sure? I mean, this is pretty boring-"
"But necessary. We need to focus on our training, not prancing off to some remote island to look at some pretty water because our training is 'boring'. You guys can go off and do that, but I'll be here, proving myself" Superboy sternly said.
They recoiled at his tone and reaction. "Dude. We're just suggesting some places to take you and actually experience the world outside of Cadmus. I'm pretty sure the others won't mind us spending an hour or two away from training" Robin said.
Superboy scoffed. "How do you know that, huh? How do you know that isn't going to get on Piccolo's or Canary's nerves because we aren't taking our training seriously-"
"We are taking it seriously Superboy. While you were with Superman, we spent the last few hours up here in the cold winds, meditating in silence" Kaldur said with an equal tone.
"And how well is that working out for you lot?" Superboy sarcastically asked.
Their silence and shameful glances were all telling. Superboy pushed his point forward. "We need to ditch the flamboyant attitudes and take this seriously- here and now!"
Robin grumbled. "Was today that bad for you? What did Superman do to you that turned you like this?" he asked.
Superboy clenched his jaw and refused to look Robin in the eye. He felt a soft hand touch his shoulder. "Would you like to talk about it?" a smiling M'gann asked.
"No."
"You sure?"
"Yes…"
That was the last thing Superboy wanted to say and he prayed M'gann got the message. It took a few seconds of awkward silence before M'gann got the message and pulled her hand away in shame. With the Team off his back and on track, Superboy got into the meditating pose Piccolo had taught them.
A few minutes had passed by with nothing happening. No distractions but no tranquillity either. As much as Superboy tried, his mind always wandered back to Metropolis and Superman. The anger he felt at being constantly rejected and the shame he felt being looked down upon as something unwanted caused untold turmoil in his mind. Superboy didn't need the howling winds to distract him when his thoughts and feelings were doing that for him.
Superboy growled when Robin elbowed him in the side. "Dude, take a chill pill and stop breathing like a hog. You're disrupting the flow"
"My flow is fine! Maybe it's your flow that's the issue."
"Nah man, your flow is like… everywhere man."
"My flow may be a bit agitated but it's because your insistent mouth flow is disturbing it."
"Your flow is disturbing my flow with that heavy breathing and teeth gnashing!"
Superboy heard M'gann whisper to Kaldur. "Are they talking about the mood or that thing human women get every month?" she asked genuinely.
A loud ring sliced through the air. Robin's phone is chiming with a message- thankfully providing Kaldur a timely save from an awkward situation. Robin quickly checked the message and groaned in relief. "Manhunter and Canary are down in the Cave. Looks like we have a lesson with them" Robin informed the group.
Superboy couldn't suppress the annoyed grumble that came from him. He unfolded his legs and swiftly began his trek down the mountain. The team were following close behind, though Wally and Kaldur were struggling to traverse the uneven and rocky landscape. They eventually returned to the Cave to meet with Martian Manhunter and an injured Canary. Superboy noted the bandages over her collarbone and the large band-aid plastering over her chin. "Black Canary! What happened?!" M'gann gasped.
Black Canary chuckled, gently tracing over her bandaged chin. "The job… and a gamble" she sighs.
"An almost costly risk that won us a dangerous battle" Martian Manhunter further clarified.
"Something some of you need to be comfortable with in the future" Black Canary chimed.
The Team, with M'gann quickly making a detour to hug her uncle, stood at attention around Black Canary. Superboy noticed she was looking proudly at them. "I sensed you guys were on the mountain. Meditating, I figure?" she asked.
Superboy answered with a gruff noise. "Trying to. It would help without any interruptions" he snidely said.
The Team flinched while Canary raised a brow in question. "Well, I can say that you won't mind this distraction-" Canary snapped her fingers as the training ring came to life.
The Team collectively widened their eyes in fear and paled at the news. Canary quickly calmed them down. "No-no-no! It's fine. No Piccolo or his methods. Only J'onn and I are your teachers for today" Canary said.
The Team let out a sigh of relief. "So, what are we learning today teach?" Robin asked.
Black Canary walked into the middle of the lit ring, taking off and discarding her jacket outside of it. Superboy could see even more of the damage her previous fight brought onto her. He could see the bandages poking out of her leotard. "Yesterday, Piccolo taught you direction through meditation. Today, I will be teaching you about redirection through control. It's all well and good drawing your power and focus from a source: your powers, abilities, and driving forces like mindsets and emotions. However, you need to get a handle on them to use them safely. Too much and you're unfocused, unbalanced and prone to mistakes. Ki is driven primarily by base instincts and emotions, and I sense one of you is running high on one of them" Canary said knowingly, looking right at Superboy.
Superboy flinched and then glared at Canary, not quite liking what she was insinuating. Someone stepped in front of him. "Ha, guilty~," Wally said flirtingly.
Superboy winced at Wally's flirty tone while Black Canary rolled her eyes. "Then I guess I'll show you what will happen when you're too head over heels?" she snickered in good fun.
Wally smirked and stepped into the ring. The combatants took their marks, with Wally giving Black Canary a sly wink. Canary only responded with a smile and a shake of her head. As soon as the buzzer sounded, Black Canary burst into action. Superboy could only make out a blurred image of Black Canary that zapped towards Wally. Wally barely had any time to move before he was swept off his feet. He crashed into the ground hard, groaning in defeat. The Team, and even Martian Manhunter, flinched and 'oooh' at Wally's crushing defeat. "Wha-what just happened?" Wally asked confused.
"You just got schooled man" Robin laughed.
Black Canary leaned down and pulled Wally back to his feet. "Nice work, but did anyone see what he did wrong?" Canary asked.
"Ooh! Ooh! He hit on the teacher and got served?" Robin joked again.
"DUDE!" Wally gasped.
Canary chuckled. "Close, but no. He was so focused on trying to impress me that he allowed me to dictate the terms. You never- never, let your opponent decide how the battle will go. If you do, you have lost the fight" Canary said firmly.
The Team slowly nodded their heads, wrapping their minds around this nugget of wisdom. "What if you can't change the terms?" M'gann asked.
"Then you lose the fight. However, the terms of a fight can always be changed by those swift and thoughtful enough to do so. You might not have known it, but yesterday, you were all dictating your battles with Piccolo. You all struck first and were the lead in the first few moments, only for Piccolo to react and change the battle to his favour" Canary informed.
She walked across each member of the Team. "Some of you hedged your bets of one aspect of your abilities to dictate the terms of your battles. Your tools…" Canary past Robin.
"Your powers…" she glanced at M'gann.
"Your… wit…" she walked across an ego-wounded Wally.
"Your tenacity…" she gestured to Kaldur.
Finally, Canary stopped before a silently seething Superboy. "and your anger. All of which were turned against you at a moment's notice. Yesterday, we saw your flaws. Today, I want to rectify them. Redirect them into something useful to help you control the battlefield" Canary enlightened.
Canary put her focus on Superboy. "I feel a lot of anger and tension from you Superboy-"
"I'm fine. You're senses must be off" Superboy growled.
Canary looked unimpressed. "Clearly," she said sarcastically.
Superboy fumed at that snide remark. "So what if I'm a little bit mad?! I have every right to be! Yesterday, I wanted to learn to fight like Piccolo. Instead, I get beaten and forced to meditate! Today, I wanted to meditate, but now we're fighting?! Which one is it?!" Superboy growled.
"Can't handle both?"
"I can."
Canary gave him a wolfish grin. "Prove it."
With a woosh, Canary flipped backwards onto the other side of the ring. She landed with a flourish and stuck a fighting pose. M'gann squealed in excitement then quickly it morphed into a gasp. "That's the Warrior's Fist! The second Generation Porunga-Faction to be exact! Oh no. Watch yourself Superboy!" she yelled out.
Superboy tuned out of his Team's conversations. Only picking up Robin's confused question; "What the hell is a Porunga?" Before Superboy tuned them out. He stomped into the ring with a show of force. None of which intimidated Canary. Not that Superboy was aiming to do so, as he was just blowing off some steam and getting himself ready. After he found his mark, he snapped into position. A second later, the buzzer sounded.
Superboy rushed forward with a quick gap. Canary bent forward and low. Superboy's fists flew over her head. She then brought her foot up behind her, swinging it upwards and clocking it right into Superboy's face. Superboy roared in pain as her heel hit painfully into his nose. He stumbled back, giving Canary an opportunity to perform a roundhouse kick and sent him skidding across the ground. A holo-screen emerged beside his prone form. Superboy gritted his teeth and growled when he saw the words "fail" flash on it. His wrath was further compounded when he heard Robin break out in laughter. Even though Robin was swiftly silenced with an elbow courtesy of Kaldur, the Boy Wonder didn't stop snickering. Superboy snarled louder than before. He snapped his head towards Canary. She spoke in a lecturing tone. "There's that anger. Good. Now, focus on it and redirect it to-"
Superboy redirected it all right. He redirected his fury into his leapt and then all of it into his fist. So vast and endless was the turmoil in him that it fuelled the next step of his fury. With a thundering roar, Superboy fuelled his Ki. His fist spewed forth his burning Aura. Red, flickering, and violent. Canary responded with a surprised gasp then swiftly with a defence. Activating her own Ki, she channelled it into a block. The attack connected with a boom. Neither moved an inch. Their Auras flickering against each other. Superboy's more agitated and chaotic smacked against Canary's dark blue and calm wavey Aura.
The Team were stunned by the sight. "No way! Superboy! You got your Ki!" Robin gasps.
"I told you! I told all of you! I can handle it! I don't need this stupid training or meditation!" Superboy roared, pushing hard against an unwavering Canary.
Canary chided him. "You can barely hold an Aura Superboy. Everyone, focus on his Aura. See anything different compared to mine?" she yelled out to the others.
Superboy growled and snarled at her. What was so different?! He did it! He achieved Ki! Isn't this what they wanted?! Isn't this what he was meant for?! "His Aura… it is incomplete. It is only covering his hand" Kaldur pointed out.
"S-So?!" Superboy yelled.
"And it is too unstable. It feels like it is… alight- and leaking?" Kaldur asked, confused.
Canary nodded. "Good eye Kaldur. Aura is also a good indicator of one's strength. Superboy's Aura does look like it's on fire, and if it looks like it's leaking-"
"That means he's burning energy!" M'gann pointed out with a shout.
"Yes, exactly. This is why we're teaching you about control and redirect-"
"Stop using me like some test rat!" Superboy roared.
His other fist came to light with another bout of anger-filled Aura. He aimed to uppercut Canary but she flew back out of the way. She landed and skidded on her heels, coming to a stop just before the edge of the ring. "I'm not, or have you not been paying attention?" Canary asked.
Superboy growled in response. He stepped forward, then found it increasingly hard to take another. Superboy's growls were replaced with a sudden groan. He felt like his body was sapped of energy. He looked down at his Aura-fused hands. He noted how they were flicking in and out of existence. His flame-like Aura snuffing out like a candle in the wind. He drew more of his anger into them, giving them a brief moment of life before the struggle to keep them alight came back. This time, it was harder than the last.
"Redirect that anger Superboy! Right now, you're directing it to the wrong place and you are paying the price for it!" Canary yelled over Superboy's grumbling roars.
Superboy sneered at Canary. He knew she was right about it sapping his energy but he refused to believe this wasn't the right place to direct his anger. No, his fists were fine enough! With a harrowing roar that blew his Aura up, he launched high above Canary. His two fists closed together, he threw them down just as he came down on Canary. Somehow, she grasped his fists mid-swing. Using his momentum, Canary ran forward, pulling Superboy and flipping him around. He smashed into the ground just like Wally, only this time much harder and with the Team loudly exclaiming "Ooh!"
Superboy's partial Aura flickered out of existence just as Superboy got the wind knocked out of him. He took in a loud gasp of breath, before howling in pain. He struggled to roll over and take a knee. He felt so tired. He was beyond angry at this point, yet his body was failing him. All he could do was breathe ragged breaths and stay still on one knee. Canary came over to him. "This is why we want you to meditate first and foremost. You may have unlocked your Ki, but it's too primal and unrefined. You don't know how to use your anger- your emotions, to redirect them properly" Canary lectured.
She offered a hand to help Superboy. A hand that was tiredly swatted away. "I'm… done here" Superboy panted out.
He slowly stood on his fatigued legs and aimed to walk out of the ring. A firm hand on his shoulder stopped him. "Training is mandatory" Canary firmly said.
Superboy aimed to swat this one away too, if the Cave didn't quickly intervene with an announcement.
"Attention Team: incoming communications from Batman"
Canary quickly removed her hand and gestured towards the Cave's hologram systems. A large screen of Batman came on. "Batman to the Cave" Batman announced.
Everyone gathered around the screen as Batman briefed them. "Five hours ago, a new menace attacked Green Arrow and Black Canary…" Another screen appeared beside his own displaying said menace.
It was a massive nude humanoid with a clearly metallic body. Across its forearms and from its waist down was tinted green, with the rest being beige in colour. Its skin texture was some sort of alloy with each muscle mass segmented like pieces of a machine. Its stern emotionless face was imposing with its piercing black eyes with red irises. It looked to have short orange hair and, strangely enough, pointed ears. The screen enlarged and began to play footage of the attack while Batman continued. "The attacker was capable of studying then duplicating the powers and abilities of its opponents. Arrow called in reinforcements- which nearly proved disastrous- as our foe gained more and more powers with each new combatant."
Superboy and the Team's eyes widen at the shocking news. "Whoa! One guy with the entire powers of the League?!" Wally said in fear.
M'gann joined in with a gasp of her own. "The pointed ears- Does that mean it has Piccolo's abilities as well!?" M'gann frets.
"Thankfully, no. The Android's appearance does not collate with its studied and applied power. We believe its appearance is a wholly stylistic choice" Batman informed.
"Naturally, because when I think of Android, I think of pointed ears" Robin joked.
"And what of the red hair?" Kaldur asked.
Robin shook his head. "Nah, it fits. Androids don't have souls and redheads don't have-"
"Finish that and you'll be sitting on tacks for the rest of your days" Wally threatened.
"Focus"
Batman's stern voice silenced the whole room, bringing focus back on the task at hand. "In the end, it took eight Leaguers four hours to defeat and dismantle the Android."
The footage played at the tail end of the fighting. Showing off Canary being pummelled, right before a Ki disc of sorts came flying out of nowhere and decapitating the Android. Canary flipping back to avoid the same fate, though her chin was grazed by the disk. Hence her bandaged torso and chin. "That was the Kienzan! I didn't know you could do that Canary!" M'gann gushes.
Superboy frowned. "The… Kienzan?" he asked.
M'gann stared blankly at him then slapped her forehead. "Hello Megan! Translation! Its more common name is the Destructo Disc; one of the deadest Ki attacks" she explains.
"For both foe and one's self" Martian Manhunter chimed, not so subtly looking at Canary's wounded chin.
"Wait-wait! You said Android! Something as sophisticated as this had to have come from T. O. Morrow" Robin pointed out.
"Good guess, but Red Tornado doesn't think so," Batman said.
"The technology bares the signature of… Professor Ivo" Martian Manhunter grimly states.
Superboy felt the weight behind the name but didn't know why. Kaldur thankfully came in to clear it up. "Ivo? But Ivo is dead. Killed by Piccolo's hands" he said confused.
"So we all thought… and hoped," Canary said bleakly.
Batman continued. "To make certain this threat is permanently neutralised, we are sending two trucks carrying the Android's parts to two separate STAR Labs facilities in Boston and New York for immediate evaluation. Every precaution is being taken. We'll have four additional decoy trucks to create confusion in case Ivo, or anyone else, tries to cover the remains. You will split into undercover teams to safeguard the two real trucks."
"Yes! Road trip!" Wally cheers.
Superboy didn't share the same sentiment. "So now we take out your trash?" Superboy scoffed.
"Did you have something better to do?" batman asked sternly… well, more sternly than usual.
A single decibel lower than his usual tone, but it got the message through to Superboy- who wisely stayed quiet. Taking his silence as contentment, Batman continued. "While no Leaguer will be present as per your wishes, you will have an experienced individual on hand for this mission" Batman informed.
Superboy gnashed his teeth in silently displeasure. Taking out the trash with a babysitter? Were the League still afraid for their safety, even when he and the Team proved they were more than capable? Superboy guessed that Superman wasn't the only one dumping their protégés off to the side. "I guess it makes sense, seeing how dangerous this Android is" Kaldur said, agreeing with Batman.
"So, who is it? Is it you Uncle J'onn?" M'gann asked Martain Manhunter.
Martian Manhunter shook his head and let Batman answer for him. "It's Piccolo."
Batman's proclamation left a profound effect on the Team. Every one of them widened their eyes in shock. "Wait! Piccolo- stuck up and broody teach Piccolo- is doing a mission- a league mission- with us!?" Wally gasps.
Canary nodded her head and addressed the Team. "He insisted. Aggressively. Piccolo has a bad history with Androids and he feels the same here. He wants this Android in particular to be destroyed. He was adamant on it" Canary said.
"We managed to reach a compromise with Piccolo; he will accompany the Team to each STAR Labs location and make sure that the Android's parts are secured in the facilities. He will be monitoring you all from above. Upper atmosphere to be exact. He, and all of us in the League, agree that under no circumstances should Piccolo confront the Android… or its potential copies" Batman explained grimly.
Superboy heard Wally say what everyone was thinking. "You think there's more than one Android like this?"
"It is a possibility but highly unlikely. The resources to program and manufacture this Android are predicted to be astronomical and time-consuming. However, the possibility of there being a second Android or even a previous model is low, but not zero. As a precaution, Piccolo will be on the sidelines if an attack were to happen. He will only intervene if the Team identifies that the attackers do not share the ability duplication similar to the Android. Be warned: If the Android's remains are hijacked and stolen, Piccolo has permission to eradicate the remains" Batman explains.
Superboy saw the Team all nod their heads in understanding. Superboy followed suit reluctantly. "Sending over the coordinates now" Batman concluded the briefing.
Kaldur pulled out his PDA that chimed immediately in his hands. "Coordinates received. On our way."
The Team broke out into a run towards the Bioship except for Superboy. With a tired groan, he limped along. Superboy prayed that a good bit of sun would help him regain some of his strength. Given how tired he felt, he knew he wouldn't be fit for a several-hour drive or a confrontation. Superboy was debating whether or not to sit this mission out or tough it out when someone grabbed his bicep and held him in place. Superboy was too weak to pull away. He had only the strength to turn around and face his grabber; Canary.
She gave him a comforting smile as her aura emerged from her arm. It snaked down her forearm and hand and onto- into Superboy. Superboy took a startled breath and found his lungs did not labour in drawing it. It felt like he was standing outside. A warmth spread up his arm and into his body. His very soul. He gave out a gentle exhale, which seemingly take his fatigue with it. Superboy inhaled once more. Canary's Aura dissipated and her hand pulled away. Superboy didn't feel the warmth anymore. He did, however, feel refreshed. Superboy clenched and unclenched his free hand, fully expecting to feel the stiffness he'd just gotten accustomed to, only to feel nothing hindering him. The fatigue was gone. Superboy looked to Canary in question, only to be met with a calm smile. "I am beyond impressed you've activated your Ki, Superboy. When you're ready, I'll be here" she says.
Superboy gave her a long look, said nothing, and walked away to join his team.
| Litchfield County
| August 3, 20:08 EDT
If it was one thing Piccolo had to give the Justice League his admiration for, it was finally learning to take the battle away from cities and high-population hubs.
Piccolo was standing atop one of the many tall hills dotted around Litchfield County. Leaning against a tree, his eyes and ears were honed towards the massive crater in between a cluster of fields. The crater was half a kilometre wide and deep. All four hours of the battle with this mysterious Android had melded into this crater. Speaking of the Android, Piccolo could just make out the security forces of STAR Labs move the tungsten crates filled with the Android's remains into the armoured tracks. Piccolo couldn't keep the ire of the situation out of his mind. While he did understand that knowing your enemy was the key to victory, there were just some things one shouldn't know about, and knowing how to build a machine that can replicate any perceived power and ability was high on that list. If STAR Labs manages to fully understand this Android and someone stole the data, who knows how many Androids would be created for nefarious purposes- and Piccolo didn't need another person or thing trying to copy his abilities and techniques.
"Alright, Piccolo. The Android's remains are contained in the trucks. It's clear to come in" Piccolo heard Flash say.
Piccolo moved away from the tree and blasted off into the air. He flew well over the crater and the trucks. He noted the Leaguers below had looked up to see him with the security forces none the wiser to his presence. Piccolo gave them a nod before stealthily flying into the nearby grove where his merry band of students were patiently waiting on their motorbikes. The paint jobs on their bikes and even their race suits matched their respected superhero colour scheme. 'So much for going low profile', Piccolo mentally griped.
Piccolo might've been a bit too stealthy in his approach as he landed behind them without a peep from them. They were too enthralled in their conversation with Superboy to notice him. "Seriously dude. Lay it out for us! How did you do it? Is it a feeling? Like a gut feeling or-or is it something you trigger on and off in your mind?" Kid Flash begged Superboy.
"It's a feeling. That's all" Superboy said with a positive-aggressive tone.
"It's more than a feeling dude! Look, Kaldur, M'gann and I aren't new to this inner spiritual stuff and we've meditated regularly, yet we haven't been about to find and active our Ki yet like you have" Robin exclaimed.
Piccolo mentally hummed in surprise. Superboy found and activated his Ki? Piccolo was impressed, though a bit disappointed. He fully expected Aqualad and Robin to achieve theirs first before the hot-headed clone did. However, Piccolo assumed Superboy's case might've been a more flash-in-the-pan Ki activation. One driven by anger judging from his current attitude. This was further proven to be the case when he sensed Canary's Ki within Superboy. Piccolo was slightly irked knowing that his ex-pupil had bailed Superboy out of his mistake. Piccolo would've left Superboy fatigued to drill the message home.
Superboy snapped at Robin. "Then just stick with that or whatever Piccolo will get you to do! I've told everyone before! I don't need this stupid meditation or focus training. I have my Ki. I'm ready for the more advanced techniques. Not this beginner crap!" he cursed.
"But we aren't. That is why we are doing the basics. That is the reason as to why Piccolo has us doing the basics. That is why we are asking for help. We are a Team, and as a team, we help each other" Aqualad profoundly claimed.
Superboy looked down, contemplating Aqualad's words. Whatever Superboy was about to say never came to fruition. His ears twitched, picking up the heartbeat of Piccolo. Finally spotted, Piccolo announced himself. "I trust your training today was enlightening?" Piccolo said.
Aqualad, Miss Martian and Kid Flash jumped in their seats while Robin flinched and seethed. "Geez, you're worse than Batman" he grumbled under his breath.
Superboy simply glared at him and said nothing. Miss Martian answered Piccolo. "It was enlightening. It was only a few minutes but we learnt a lot. Like the fact Superboy has his Ki!" she said excitedly.
Piccolo spared a glance at Superboy. "Good work" Piccolo simply said.
Superboy scoffed as his glare intensified. "That's it? Good work?"
Piccolo responded with a glare of his own. "Yes. Good work. What else do you want?"
Superboy threw his arms in the air. "An apology for starters! I told you I can handle-"
"You can't handle anything! I sensed Canary's Ki within yours. She selflessly gave you her energy- the energy she needs to recover from her battle. You took that because you couldn't handle it. You got mad, didn't you? You drew from that. You took that volatile force and wielded it like a sword without a handle. You bleed your Ki like an amateur. Do you honestly believe you can continue like that?" Piccolo lectured.
Superboy thrust his arms out towards the others. "They don't have their Ki unlocked! I'm way ahead of them! They're just slowing me down-"
Superboy wisely caught his rambling tongue, but the damage was already done. The Team looked at Superboy with a mixture of hurt and irked expressions. Aqualad and Miss Martian are of the former, while Kid Flash and Robin are of the latter. Piccolo was right to think they were going to have a few choice words with him during the long ride. For now, Piccolo shared his own. "If you can't listen or understand what I've continually taught you, then you deserve to be dragged down till you do" Piccolo firmly stated.
Superboy didn't respond. He stared at Piccolo with silent fury. Piccolo turned his attention back towards the whole Team. "The same goes for all of you. Kaldur was right about one thing; you are a Team. You work together and grow together. If one falls behind, you help them- even if they don't want to learn. Understand?"
"Yes Mr. Piccolo" the Team, sans Superboy, all responded clearly.
Piccolo gave them a nod. "I know that Batman has already briefed you on the situation and the plan But you all need to know that I won't be wearing those stupid comm devices. So if you see-"
"Then how will we be able to talk to you?" Kid Flash interrupted.
Piccolo clenched his teeth and huffed. "You won't. I'll give you all a heads-up by mentally broadcasting my attacks. If you see a bright light above, get the security forces out of the way and run away from the trucks" Piccolo explained.
The Team looked at each other in worry. "You make it sound like the trucks will definitely get ambushed" Miss Martian pointed out.
"Batman said that the Android was a costly thing to make. If you put time and investment into something that expensive and it gets stolen, you'd try your damned hardest getting it back" Piccolo said.
"But we've got the decoy trucks" Aqualad pointed out.
"And the enemy might have a plan to target each one. Don't believe a plan is foolproof or underestimate your enemy's intelligence. Always assume your enemy knows your plan and prepare for the worst" Piccolo explained.
The Team nodded their heads at the sound advice. "Murphy's Law: If something can go wrong, it will go wrong" Robin quoted.
"Exactly. Any questions?" Piccolo asked.
Kid Flash raised his hand, thankfully learning about his mistake from earlier. Piccolo gave him a nod to continue. "We're splitting off into two teams. Are you gonna tag along with one all the way or swap midway or…?"
To answer his question, Piccolo performed an old technique. The Team saw Piccolo tense up. His muscles strained, his fingers dug into his palm, and his fanged teeth were clenched in pure concentration. Strained noises ebbed out from his sneering mouth as he prepared himself for the inevitable wave of pain. The Team grew a sense of unease which they were terrified to address. Only Aqualad was brave enough to break it. "Piccolo. Are you alright?" he asked worryingly.
The answer he received was a sharp gasp from Piccolo, right before Picoclo's face burst from his head. The Team collectively gasped and leaned back on their bikes. "What the hell?!" Kid Flash screamed.
Their horror only mounted when what looked like green alien blood began spurting out of Piccolo as more limbs emerged. An arm came out of an arm. A leg out of a leg. A whole torso out of a torso! Piece by piece, another Piccolo was crawling out of the original. The Team could only watch on in horror as Piccolo, frozen in pain and concentration, gave birth to a doppelganger. With a sharp growl, the new Piccolo stepped forth and stood before the Team. The original Piccolo relaxed in an instant and took in a tired breath in. He swiftly regained his composure and stood up straight beside his clone. He looked down at the frightened Team. All of each were either pale or had their mouths agape. "What on earth was that?!" Robin exclaimed.
"The Tri-Form" Original Piccolo said.
"A useful ability to have for situations like this, and for training" New Piccolo continued.
The Team slowly recovered from their apparent shock and horror but were still shaken by it. "Is it- is it supposed to hurt?" Miss Martian asked.
Both Piccolos nod their heads. "Yes. This technique is not for the faint of heart. You must put all your concentration into your body and will it to split. You will feel your body being ripped apart as you create your doppelganger. Do not worry though, I will teach you to manage the pain in due time" Original Piccolo explained.
The Team's horror returned with a vengeance. "I'm sorry for saying this, but please don't teach us that" Robin said fearfully.
Piccolo barked out a sharp laugh. "I understand, but don't worry. You'll change your mind in time."
Kid Flash let out a befuddled laugh. "Sure. If I ever want to peel myself from myself and feel every nerve in my body torn apart, I'll organise a lesson with you, Pic-man" he said sarcastically.
The Piccolos narrowed their eyes at Kid Flash. "You will address me as Piccolo and only Piccolo" they demanded.
Kid Flash held his hands up in mock surrender. "Sor-ee~" he scoffed.
Both Piccolos had their eyes twitch with ire. If the bike wasn't critical to the mission, they'd have Kid Flash running the whole way to New York. Without his snacks. Ignoring Kid Flash's disrespect, for now, the Piccolos wrapped their miniature briefing. "I will accompany Kid Flash, Kaldur and Miss Martian," the Original Piccolo said.
"And I will join Superboy and Robin," said New Piccolo.
The Team gave him an affirmative and readied themselves. They placed their helmets on their head and prepared to start their bikes. It was then that Piccolo felt like he was being stared at. The Original Piccolo turned around, sensing past the thicket and onto Superman's form. He could sense that the Man of Steel was staring at them. More specifically, Superboy.
Piccolo could feel the hesitation oozing out of Superman. He held himself well but Piccolo could tell that the mere presence of Superboy was eating him from the inside. Piccolo knew that a talk was in order, but now was the time to focus on more pressing matters. "STAR Albony is a go," one of the drivers for the STAR security truck announced.
One by one, the drivers began sounding off. The Piccolos tuned in to hear their trucks sound off. "STAR Boston is a go," followed by "STAR Manhattan is a go."
Soon after, the trucks started their engines and began their long treks towards their designated locations. As the trucks left the field and drove on asphalt road, the Team started their engines and drove off following their assigned trucks. The Piccolos remained in the grove; their curiosities peaked when they sensed Batman walking towards Superman. Superman, too preoccupied with staring at Superboy, didn't notice Batman until the Dark Knight placed a firm hand on his shoulder. "We need to talk," he said firmly.
The Piccolos felt relieved at hearing that. If anyone could get through and help Superman, it would be Batman. Still, the Piccolos reasoned that it was still a good idea to talk to Superman themselves after the mission. Perhaps a talking from both Batman and themselves would help the Man of Steel deal with the emotional discourse within him. Sensing Superman and Batman's confusion over the Piccolos still standing in the thicket, the Piccolos took that as their cue to depart. The two blasted off high into the sky. Stopping high above the clouds, they gave each other a nod before departing to join their respective teams.
| Litchfield County
| August 3, 21:00 EDT
The last hour of silence was driving Superboy mad in both senses of the words. Aside from the roaring bike beneath him and the passing traffic acting as white noise, the quiet was drowning Superboy in a malaise of wrath and sorrow. Both were vying for the chance to overtake his train of thought. He was angry at Piccolo. Angry over the fact he blew him off just like Superman. Angry over the fact that he made Superboy say those words. That then led to his sorrow around the fact he admitted what he was feeling throughout these training sessions. Sorrow for the fact he hurt his friends' feelings. Superboy's only solace at the moment was that he was only with one member of the Team, and said member allowed him to wallow in silence. At least he thought he did…
"If dislike is the opposite of like, is disaster the opposite of aster? See, instead of things going wrong, things go right" Robin yelled at Superboy.
Superboy didn't bother to answer just a stupid question. He just glared at the endless road ahead. Robin clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Clearly none of us are feeling the aster" he said disappointingly.
Superboy easily sensed the attitude in his voice and snapped his head to him. "Really?!"
"Yes really! You admitted that you thought we were holding you back. New flash buddy: it's you holding yourself back" Robin accused.
"Because Superman, Canary and Piccolo won't give me a chance- a proper chance, to show them my potential!" Superboy exclaimed.
Robin shook his head. "Dude, they gave you plenty of chances and you came up short. Guess what? We all did! I got my butt handed to me yesterday- and I studied Piccolo for years" Robin revealed.
Superboy gave him a questioning glance to which Robin answered with one word: "Batman"
Superboy nodded his head and completely understood what he meant. "Right," he said.
Robin took a brief moment to focus back on the road before looking back at Superboy. "So if anyone should be feeling the dis in disaster, it should be me, but I'm not the one yelling at my teachers and thinking that my friends are the reason for my failure" Robin sternly said.
Superboy felt a rush of guilt at Robin's biting words. He didn't have anything to say, rather he revved his engine and throttled away from Robin. This proved to be an unintentional boon to Superboy as he was the first to know that something was wrong. He noticed that some patches of corn in a nearby field were rustling as the truck approached. Before he could get a chance to report it, the ones responsible for the disturbance burst out from the field with loud cackling laughter. Superboy felt a rush of irritation at seeing flying monkeys. Robotic flying monkeys.
They were small with metallic bodies and green lights around their bodies. They only came up to the height of 9 inches but they more than made up for it with their nimble bodies. Equipped with jetpacks, they flew in a swarm towards the truck. Tens of them engaged and latched all around the truck. All of them were laughing in a mocking tone. Superboy's earpiece crackled to life. "Robin! Superboy! Our truck is under attack" Aqualad's voice came over the com.
"Kinda figured" Robin sarcastically said.
The robot monkeys all laughed hysterically and started cutting into the truck with lasers. The truck was beginning to swerve left and right as some of the robot monkeys crawled over to the front of the truck and began to break the windows. Hearing their mocking laughs and seeing the similarities to those damned G-Gnomes, Superboy could only say one thing: "I hate monkeys."
Robin laughed behind him. "Robot monkeys! Hehaha! Totally Ivo's dweeb style," Robin looked upwards and yelled. "Hey, Piccolo! You're all good to come and help!"
"Negative Robin! We do not know if these monkeys can record Piccolo's abilities and send it back to Ivo or to the Android. We must handle this ourselves" Aqaulad said over the comms.
Robin tsked. "Fair enough. Hey Sups! Get your bike into battle mode!" Robin ordered.
Just as he said that Robin pressed down on the middle console of his bike. The front wheel of his bike tucked in while the back wheel and bike tail detached and transformed into an aerial drone. Balancing on the unicycle, Robin looked towards Superboy expecting him to do the same. Instead, Superboy scoffed and said, "No point," before leaping off his bike and onto the truck.
If Superboy had bothered to look behind him, he would've seen his bike go careening into Robin; with the Boy Wonder narrowly avoiding the ghastly collision by leaping into the air and grappling onto the truck. Quickly finding himself in the throng of monkeys, Superboy got to work dispatching them. The monkeys nearest to him leapt at him. Superboy tore off his helmet and used it as a weapon to bludgeon the robots. Whatever they were made of, it was tough because his helmet began to shatter and break apart with each hit. Seeing the futility of his improvised weapon, Superboy hurled it straight at a group of flying monkeys; scoring three in the process. Another monkey took advantage of Superboy mid-throw to attack him. Superboy saw this coming and swiftly grabbed the monkey's arms and ripped it apart like wet paper. Unfortunately, the other monkeys used their brother's death to their advantage and attacked Superboy simultaneously. Superboy was instantly swarmed with the monkeys crawling all around him. They clawed, hit and lasered Superboy. Superboy roared in pain.
Digging deep within himself, Superboy unleashed his Aura. The monkeys around him were blasted away by a burst of red Ki. Not enough to damage them but enough to make them lose their grip. Feeling like he was winded, Superboy deactivated his Aura and began swinging wildly. He managed to grab the tail of one monkey and used it like a morning star. He swung it around, striking monkey after monkey. Shattering them into hundreds of bits in the process. He then threw the monkey away towards others. Superboy saw the damage he was bringing yet felt like it did next to nothing as more and more robot monkeys emerged from the surrounding fields. He was beginning to think that maybe he should get the STAR security forces out of the truck and let Piccolo deal with this mess. Just as he thought so, a brave monkey flew in front of him. Superboy drew his hands back, ready to clap the monkey out of existence when the monkey's eyes glowed and fired its lasers right into Superboy's eyes.
As indestructible as his body was, the lasers still blinded and hurt him. Superboy roared in pain and held his burning eyes. Panic soon set in as the monkeys jumped back onto him. He swung around wildly, trying to get as many off of him as possible. He felt several latch on his right arm. There was a sudden heat and pull as his arm was lifted into the air. His left arm got the same treatment. Just as he realised what was happening, Superboy was literally swept off his feet and taken into the air by the flying monkeys.
Superboy let out a gasp and struggled to free himself. He didn't know either or not the truck was below him, or whether he was behind it or in the cornfield. His panic spurred him into reactivating his Aura. Again, the monkeys were blasted away, but in doing so, dropped Superboy. Superboy felt that he was in freefall and braced himself for a hard landing. He crashed not long after, groaning in pain as the asphalt cracked beneath him. He struggled to get back on his feet. The disorientation from the fall, the landing and from activating his Aura left him in a bind. He tried to open his eyes but all he saw was a blurred world. It was then he focused on his other senses.
He begrudgingly thanked Ivo for making the monkeys loud and obnoxious, because he could clearly pinpoint where they were thanks to his super hearing. Mentally locating the troop of invading monkeys, Superboy leapt into the air with a single bound. He saw well over a few yards before making contact with the ground. He jumped up again and repeated the processing, building a good rhythm until he made it to the truck.
Crushing onto the roof and in the middle of a troop, Superboy again activated his Aura to blast the monkeys away. He roared from the effort, feeling another bout of fatigue take over. He was swarmed not long after. The monkeys again tried to lift him up with their jetpacks but he was on to them. Keeping an ear out for hissing flames, Superboy threw fists whenever he heard a jetpack activate. This left him open to other monkeys. He would've drowned in them if Robin hadn't been helping. It sounded like he was swatting them off of Superboy with batons-
Scratch that. They were batons because Superboy felt what was definitely a baton smack him across the face. "Ow!" he yelled.
"Sorry! I swear I was hitting a monkey!" Robin yelled.
A few more swings and Superboy was struck across the knee. "Gah! Robin!" Superboy yelled.
"I'm trying to hit the monkeys! They're too fast! Hold still for a-"
A loud bang disorientated Superboy. He hissed in pain as his ears began ringing. He was thrown onto the roof when the truck began swerving left and right. The monkeys must've popped one of the tyres! Through the stretching tyres and laughing monkeys, he heard Robin retreat toward the front of the truck and yell to the driver. "Bail out!"
Picked up on what Robin meant; the truck was going to crash. Superboy thought fast and dug his fingers and feet into the truck's body. Not a second later, the truck tipped to the left and rolled over. The momentum carried and made it roll over and over again. Superboy held on the whole time, being briefly squashed into the ground each time the truck rolled onto its back. Despite the G-forces, Superboy held on. Unfortunately, the truck's rolling came to a stop on its back; meaning Superboy was crushed underneath it.
Superboy was disorientated from the rolling. He snapped out of it when he heard an explosion from above and the laughing monkeys flying off. Figuring the worst-case scenario had happened, Superboy pushed against the truck and lifted it off of him. Getting back to his feet and rubbing his eyes, his vision cleared to see the troop of monkeys fly off into the fields with the Android's cases in hand. Superboy could still hear them laughing even when they dipped into the fields.
Superboy bent down, ready to chase after them. He was stopped when a roaring presence appeared in his mind. 'Prepare yourselves! HA!' Piccolo yelled in his mind.
Superboy looked high above to see a beam of yellow light come shooting down from the heavens. Superboy shielded his eyes when the beam struck down in the cornfield. The explosion wasn't the biggest Superboy had seen but it sure was the brightest. Superboy felt the shockwave pummel his body and the dust and leaves from the field patter against him. The explosion subsided soon after, allowing Superboy to see the damage done. In the middle of the field was a large crater with its surfaced charred and glassed. The amount of power used in that blasted vapourised anything caught in it. Well, almost everything. Superboy flinched at seeing those robot monkeys flying off into the sky and laughing. They weren't together and had instead scattered. 'Superboy and Robin. Scan the crater for any of the Android's remains' Piccolo ordered via mental broadcast.
Superboy growled at the discomfort of a telepath in his mind and hearing those laughing monkeys. The pain in his eyes, his discomfort and his annoyance pushed him over the edge. With a roar, Superboy took off after the fleeing monkeys. While they had failed in their mission to deliver the Android's remains, he'd be damned if he didn't bring Ivo to justice. Hoping the retreating monkeys would take him straight to Ivo, Superboy leapt after them. "Superboy!" Robin yelled out to him but Superboy ignored him.
Superboy landed beside the crater and jumped again. 'Superboy! Where are you going?' Piccolo mentally said.
Superboy growled. 'Get out of my head!' Superboy demanded.
Superboy hoped that was it for distractions until his comm came to life. "Aqualad to Superboy. What are you doing? The cargo is lost. Report back" Aqualad ordered.
"I'm doing what we should be doing! I'm taking down Ivo and putting an end to this disaster!" Superboy yelled into his comm.
"Then radio in your position so that we can help you" Aqualad responded.
"I don't need any help! I don't want any!" Superboy roared before ripping out his comm and throwing it away.
"Well, this has proved to be a disaster. Emphasise on the dis."
"What on earth are you dribbling on about?"
"Nothing! Nothing."
Piccolo hovered above the crater he had created, looking down at Robin and the STAR security forces scrounging through the dirt and downed corn plants. "You know, this will go a lot faster with another set of hands" Robin bemoaned loudly.
"Yes, it would. Unfortunately, your other pair has done AWOL and is indulging himself in a wild goose chase" Piccolo snarkily said.
Robin grumbled under his breath. "That's not what I mean-"
"Sir! Here it is… or what's left of it" one of the STAR security officers said, lifting up a wrapped tungsten plate.
Robin, Piccolo and the other security forces checked the surrounding area for more pieces of the crate and found none. All they managed to find was the head of a stray robot monkey. Juggling the head in the air, Robin turned to look at Piccolo. "Whelp, this is the first failed mission I've ever been on. Do… you have any experience in that or wanna share some nuggets of wisdom about how to handle the guilt and shame of it?" Robin cheekily asked.
"We didn't fail. The threat has been neutralised" Piccolo firmly said.
Robin scoffs. "Yeah sure, and now we know nothing on how Ivo managed to make such a thing. I understand fearing the Android and what it can do, but mindlessly destroying it because you don't understand how it works is just gonna lead to disaster."
"And letting it fall into the hands of the enemy won't?"
"You know I didn't mean that. I'm glad you took the cases out of play, but I can't help but be a little bit worried about the fact we lost the means to understand this tech and how to combat it in the future" Robin explained.
Piccolo looked at Robin for a few second before giving him a nostalgic smile. Words like those would've come straight out of Bulma's mouth if she were here. As such, Picoclo saw the wisdom in Robin's words. "I have to agree with you… somewhat on that. I just hope that this Android was a one-off thing" Piccolo said.
Robin's smile fell into a confused look. "Hang on. I think the roles are a bit reversed here…"
Robin's com device rang before he could finish his sentence. He pressed on it to answer it. "Aqualad to Robin. We found no remains of the case or the Android. Piccolo disintegrated it" Aqualad reported in.
"Roger that. Looks like we're done here" Robin said defeated.
"I have tried to argue with Piccolo about following Superboy and see if the robots do lead us to Ivo, but he denied it. He figures that the robots would see Superboy and lead him away from Ivo's true location" Aqualad informed.
Robin looked to his own Piccolo who nodded in confirmation. "Can't argue with that logic" Robin admits.
The driver of the destroyed truck lifted his radio to his ear as he was given a message. After it went through, he limped towards Piccolo. "Sir! I just got a report that STAR Springfield has made it to the facility" he reported.
"Huh?" Piccolo and Robin both exclaimed.
Robin quickly pressed down on his com. "Did you get that A?"
"I did. Kid Flash just finished talking to the officers about the conditions of the other trucks. None of them reported getting ambushed like ours did" Aqualad reported.
Swiftly, Robin knelt down and examined the robot monkey's head in his hands. Finding a panel at the back of its head, he wedged it open with a Birdarang; revealing several connection points. Pulling a cord out of his wrist-mounted computer, he plugged it into the monkey. A hologram projection of a computer screen popped out of his wrist, showing four red cartoonish faces of Robin shaking in anger. Piccolo arched a brow in confusion. "What on earth are you doing?" he asked.
"Hacking the monkey."
Piccolo heard Kid Flash over the coms start to snicker in an immature way. "Why?" Piccolo demanded.
"Yeah, why Rob? You know you could wait to get home before doing that stuff" Kid Flash said, struggling to contain his laughter.
"Har-har! Very funny KF! Look, the monkeys ignored the decoy trucks and only went after the real ones. I need to know why. Best bet is that they had a tracker on the parts" Robin theorised.
"I doubt it, kid. We had our boys, Superman and Batman scan the whole Android. We found some trackers, but that should be it" one of the STAR security officers said.
One by one, the floating robin heads turned green and smirked. "Unless those trackers were distractions for another set. Maybe there were trackers installed directly into the hardware…" Robin was briefly distracted by a slew of information buzzing across his holographic screen.
Piccolo didn't understand a single one as Robin blitzed through them at a speed that would make the Flash jealous. Robin perked up upon hitting a map of sorts. "So, there are trackers! And they were… motion activated" Robin's voice petered off into worryingly low tones- as if he was afraid.
Piccolo stepped closer to him. "What's the matter?" he asked.
Piccolo looked down at Robin's holographic screen. It was a map with several green dots traversing it. Piccolo put two and two together and was left just as stumped and mortified as Robin. "You mean to tell me that-"
"The parts are still active! How did they- the cornfield! They dove into it as soon as they got the cases. They must've broken into it and taken the pieces separately! Aqualad, do you read me?" Robin yelled.
"Yes, Robin. Piccolo's copy just told us. I guess that Superboy had the right idea" Aqualad said.
"And considering Superboy ditched his comm, we have no way of tracking him, but I figure you have a way to track the parts?" Kid Flash asked.
"Yeah, I do. The monkeys were tracking the Android's parts down, meaning I can use the monkey I have to do the same. It looks like all the parts are converging on… Gotham City!" Robin said with a worried tone.
Aqualad exclaimed over the coms. "That far south?! Miss Martian and I can't get there that fast. I'm- Piccolo?! What are you doing?"
Robin heard the scuffle on the other side. Something about being carried by Piccolo and ordering Kid Flash to climb on his back and hold him around the neck?! There were suddenly screams from Aqualad, Miss Martian and Kid Flash, along with rumbling noises and whooshing sounds. Robin was worried for a moment before he realised what was happening. "So… we're flying there I bet?" he asked his Piccolo.
Piccolo gave him a nod. "Keep tracking the parts with the monkey. The others will meet us in route before we converge on Ivo" Piccolo explained.
Robin nodded and turned his head towards the STAR security forces. "Radio in at STAR Gotham. Tell them to get a heavy containment unit ready and mobile. Call Commissioner Gordon as well. Give him a heads up that there will be a mad scientist with a killer android on the loose in the city and get his forces ready to evacuate areas if need be" Robin ordered.
The STAR security forces stared blankly at Robin. They nervously directed their attention towards Piccolo, completely ignoring Robin. Robin grumbled at the slight. Piccolo meanwhile glared at the security forces and barked at them. "You were ordered to follow the lead of a hero, so follow it!" he yelled.
The STAR security forces looked at Piccolo with a dumbfounded expression. "Yeah, one of the Justice League members, not their sidekicks!" one of them argued.
Piccolo scoffed. "I'm not a part of the League yet you're expecting orders from me?" Piccolo bit back.
The STAR security forces stared at him for a while before begrudgingly turning towards Robin. "Sure thing kid" the driver grumbled.
Robin gave him a shit-eating grin. "That's sir to you."
"Don't push your luck kid" the driver grumbled.
The STAR security forces made their way back to the main road to radio in their orders and to wait for their pick-up. Meanwhile, Piccolo and Robin prepared to depart. Robin gave Piccolo a smile. "Thanks for that, back there," he said.
Piccolo nodded his head. "You're welcome. Next time, be firmer. You're in charge so act like it" Piccolo advised.
Robin nodded his head. "Noted. Ready?" he asked.
Piccolo grabbed Robin by the scruff of his racer suit. He bent his knees and took off into the air, activating his Aura to protect Robin from the rushing winds. "WOO HOO!" Robin cheered, laughing as they flew after the Android.
I have to say that I'm having a lot of fun writing this. Just coming up with different scenarios around Ki and how Piccolo has affected the people of this world makes me giddy about writing it. I do hope I did a good job writing Superboy in this chapter. I was worried at times that I made him too standoffish and a bit out of character, but I think I hit the mark here. Please do comment if I haven't so I can fix that in later chapters!
I also hope it doesn't feel rushed or too soon to have Superboy unlock his Ki and Aura this early into the story, as unrefined as it is. As I have written, his Ki is wild and uncontrollable, so he won't be performing any Ki-based attacks anytime soon unless he wants to drain his energy. As to how he already has an Aura and can summon it with only a day of training, there will be an explanation for this later on in the story.
If you so wish, support and follow me on my other social media. I do other content like 3D projects, Blender animations and other shorts, so if you want to see some, follow below:
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Until next time, you stay classy FanFiction!