54 A Subtle Shift Final Part

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(General P.O.V)

"Remember, we give him a chance to explain first. The benefit of doubt. I expect all of you , especially you Wally to not be antagonistic towards Aden."

Kaldur ordered. The mood at the cave was at an all time low. 

"Explain? What is there to explain?! Kaldur we all saw the things he had hidden in his room. As far as I'm concerned, anything that he says will just be an extension to the lies he's been feeding us. Ugh, why can't any of you see it?! Aden is not who he says he is!"

Wally shouted while waving his hands.  

"And this has nothing to do with your dislike and jealousy? You think we haven't noticed it but it's clear as day. You don't hate Maelstrom because he's been hiding things from us, you hate him because he's better than you in. Every. Possible. Way."

Silence dominated the room. Artemis words seemed to cut deep into Wally.

"Thats…thats not true. Rob tell her…"

Robin looked away. The hurt expression on Wally's face turned to anger. 

"Keep on defending the guy if you want to but I'm telling it as it is. Aden is a fucking traitor."

Seeing that no one was speaking up to his defense, Wally looked away.

"A traitor that saved you. You can atleast acknowledge that in your mission to discredit him."

Wally ignored Connor's response and zeroed in on the Whiskey bottle they'd found in Aden's room. 

"What was it you said you felt from this thing Kaldur?"

He asked while shaking the bottle.

"Careful with that Wally. We still don't know what it is."

Wally ignored the warning. 

"I remember, you said you felt negative mystic energy emanating from it right?"

He got no response.

"How can we trust someone who hides such…stuff in his room. Where did he even get it from? The vial of Kobra-venom can be explained away but what about the money? The jewelry? Call it hate or dislike or whatever you want but deep inside you all know I'm right."

He looked at the others.

"Kaldur…Dick. This is not us. This is not what we stand for or what we've learned from our mentors. You think Batman or Flash would allow anything like this to exist? Heck I don't believe in magic but even I can feel the… despair and hate coming off it in waves. If Aden's intentions were pure, this thing would be locked away in a super vault somewhere secure or destroyed. Not in his room hidden under the bed."

Saying that Wally opened the lid and poured the contents out into the sink before anyone else could stop him.

(Aden's P.O.V)

I spared a long final look at the view of the earth from the watchtower then sighed. I didn't know if I would ever see this magical sight again. If there was one thing I would miss, it was going to be the food and the view. I turned around and walked to the Zeta tube. 

"Recognized Maelstrom B04."

The first instance I stepped out into the hall of Mount Justice, I felt a certain vibe grip the whole room. Gathered around the Zeta tube was the team, looking at me with a wide range of emotions. M'gann broke off from the rest and hugged me tightly. 

"I'm sorry."

She told me before withdrawing and flying back to the others. 

"Aden… you're okay. I'm glad."

Artemis said before looking away sadly. 

"Great to see you too Artemis. What is going on though? Some of you don't look too happy with my arrival."

I stated, establishing eye contact with Wally. A look of distaste crossed his face.

"You're wrong. We were of course glad to hear from Batman that you were back and unharmed."

Kaldur stepped forward and spoke up. 

I scoffed. Batman huh? That means…

"And I'm sure he also informed you about my resignation from the team?"

"Yes."

Kaldur nodded.

"Which is less than you deserve. You should be headed straight for Belle Reve if you ask me."

Wally barked. 

"Wait Kid. He deserves to explain himself."

Kaldur shot him down with a glare.

I looked at Connor and raised an eyebrow. The clone had no outward reaction and was completely unreadable so I moved on to our resident detective. Robin was the one acting weird the most. He stepped forward with a determined look on his face. 

"What the fuck is going on? Wally's hostility is understandable seeing as he's always an ignorant immature little brat…" Kaldur held the speedster back while I continued with my statement.

"…but the rest of you. You're all acting strange. So I'll ask again. What. Is. Going. On?"

They all shared a look and turned to me. 

"Maybe you can tell us?"

Boy Wonder sighed, pressing a key on his utility belt to reveal…the vial of Kobra-venom I had stashed in my room as well as a small bag. The jewelry. Which meant they also found the money, the documents and the Meta-trigger I kept in the whiskey bottle. My heart sank. If only I'd been faster to relocate those things to the storage space I'd found from Galiel's documents. I'd just kept putting it off because of my busy schedule. 

I closed my eyes and promised myself to never be so complacent again. I opened my eyes to try and salvage whatever I could of my things. 

"Where's the rest?"

I asked no one in particular.

"Oh you mean this incriminating big bag of cash"

Wally held up the duffel bag containing the money I'd gotten from Lucifer after my fight with Galiel.

"Incriminating? What are you talking about? Do you think I stole it?"

'Calm down Aden. Calm down.' I reminded myself. 

"No I don't think you stole it. I know you did."

Kid was quick to respond. I just needed to be calm to ask them about the other stuff. 

"You broke into my room without permission. You are even so inconsiderate of the fact that I almost fucking died who knows how many times trying to save all of you that you judge me without giving me the benefit of doubt, or allowing me the chance to come clean all by myself."

They all looked down in shame. Even Wally looked unsure, all except for the youngest member. 

"Where did you get all of this Aden?"

Robin's voice cut through the silence. Boy Wonder narrowed his eyes at me and I knew he knew, I was trying to guilt trip them into dropping the subject. I hate to do this. I really do...but they left me no choice. I just need to know where the Meta-trigger essence is. 

"It was a gift."

I smoothly responded.

"A gift?"

Boy Wonder's tone was incredulous. He spared a look at Superboy who shook his head.

"He's not lying."

Artemis heaved out a sigh of relief.

"See, I told you guys that Aden had a perfectly good explanation for all of this!"

Her face was hopeful but from the whitened knuckles gripping her bow, Artemis did not seem to buy what she was saying. 

"From who?"

Kaldur asked.

"Trust me...you don't want to know. The only thing I can tell you is that he is no way involved with the Supervillains or the Justice League. He's more of a neutral party. I helped him out with something and all that was the payment. Now...where is the last item? Where is the Whiskey bottle?"

Boy Wonder subtly glimpsed at Wally who stubbornly refused to look at me straight in the eyes. 

Oh no. What the fuck did they do?

"Where is it?"

My tone took on a harder edge. Boy Wonder shifted his stance into a wary one and the mood that was already at an all time low- dived off the fucking cliff. No one was saying anything. 

"M'gann...you have something to tell me?"

So I went for the softest one in the group. The one trying to please everyone so as to get a sense of belonging. It was fucking manipulative and I hated using my meta-knowledge about their characters this way but...if it works it works.

Connor stepped into my line of sight blocking her from my view. I raised an eyebrow. Should have accounted for that. He's already started showing feelings towards her.

"The bottle was destroyed. I poured out all the black liquid and smashed it to pieces. The team agreed that it was too evil. Which begs the question of why you had it in the first place."

I brought a hand to my forehead and pinched the space between my eyes. This...this was bad. My anger was getting the better of me. I'd stuck it out with these people for the last few months or so. Thinking I was building a camaraderie with them. Then they go and do this. My face turned ugly. I'd come here expecting a tearful farewell. Seems like I'll get it but not the way I wanted.

"What...what gave you the right? Do you even comprehend what you have done?"

"Calm down Aden. Your secrets..."

I cut off Kaldur harshly.

"My secrets! You think I'm the only one with secrets in this fucking place! Holy shit, I can't believe the naivety and immaturity I've been a part of for the last few months. Have none of you not learned to never judge a book by its cover! I thought you all trusted me to atleast not go behind my back..."

I looked at Artemis while saying that. Tears started dropping down her cheeks.

"I..."

"Shut it Kaldur. I've heard enough. You forced me to do this. Knowing you... asking nicely for my property won't work."

The air lifted me up to hover above them all.

"So as I tender my resignation, for old times sake, I'll give you one warning. Step aside from my shit or I will hurt you."