Ascension.

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(Aden's P.O.V)

"Ok Yaotl you ready?"

I asked the Black Jaguar standing confidently before me. We were both in the deserted island occupied by the Sconiad Tower.

"Ready as I'll ever be, Master Aden."

He answered.

I nodded and looked back at the island next over. I couldn't really see Star and the kids but I was thinking that it was just a matter of time until they got bored. At least before the main event.

(Realm, record the process. Make sure you capture and save every step of the way.)

I remembered to give the order.

(Confirmed. Initiating)

Good. With the Realm's help, when the time for my own ascension came, we could streamline the process and make sure I got the most out of it all. Just because I was this powerful now didn't mean I couldn't still munchkin the heck out of power dynamics. It's a principle, you see.

My hand reached into my hammer space and removed Ares' divine essence.

Huh. That's weird. I had totally forgotten about Poseidon's Trident. Mmhh, why did he choose to go silent instead of asking for it? Not to mention I think I saw him with another trident in the hall during his squabble with Zeus. Strange.

(General P.O.V)

Poseidon seethed in his palace. His heart was full of bitterness! His precious Trident was in the hands of Aden. That monster. Were it anyone else, Poseidon would have destroyed them for even looking at his trident but...but he was scared!

He looked at the Trident in his hands. Oh well, this copy would do until he figured something out.

(Elsewhere)

The Bio-ship speared through the water as it valiantly escaped it's pursuers, the Atlanteans.

"For chrissake Aqualad! Why are they still chasing us?! We told them we didn't steal the goddamn Trident!"

Kid Flash asked their stoic leader who was anything but stoic at the recent developments.

They had been brought in to quell some unrests in the capital following the attack by the Trench. The conflict had necessitated their intervention when Aquaman had been injured during a particularly nasty attack by enhanced Trench warriors. All that had been going on during the Chaos Pockets attacks so half of the team had been shifted from trying to save Plastic man who had been stuck in one Chaos pocket, to delivering aid to Atlantis. Luckily, Zatara had called in some extra help from the mystic society.

Then the Trident had gotten stolen. With the king indisposed and Queen Mera trying her best to calm the city states down...a very very dedicated extreme faction of the Atlanteans had shifted the blame of the Trident's disappearance onto the team.

Aqualad rubbed his chin, worried.

"We need to talk to the league. The Trident is not just a symbol of the King's power. It is authority. And without it, Atlantis will be plunged into a civil war unlike anything we have ever seen before."

Miss Martian sucked in a breath.

"And the chances of that war spilling over to earth?"

Aqualad's silence confirmed it. The odds were not good for them.

(Elsewhere)

"Doctor, progress report."

Lex ordered from his seat at his office in Lexcorp.

In the computer monitor before him, Ivo adjusted his bow tie and leaned into the camera too much. Lex scrunched his brow in exasperation upon seeing the ketchup stains on the man's shirt.

"Can you see me Luthor? Is this a good position or..." He started adjusting the monitor enough that he it begun capturing a wide view of the entire room.

"That's better."

He moved out of the way and Luthor understood that it wasn't Ketchup stains he had seen on Ivo's shirt. Instead, it was blood. On a surgical metallic table completely devoid of any material, lay a dissected huge Trench carcass. Luthor's eyes gained a spark of interest.

"The progress, doctor."

He urged as Ivo's monqi's shone light at the dead body.

"Yes yes I was getting to that. Though it is my belief that Ultrahumanite or The brain would have been more suited for this job."

Ivo told him sourly. The shorter man was not happy being taken away from his precious joint experiment with Morrow. Especially when it was so close to completion.

Even Lex agreed. But...

"The two of them are occupied with something else."

Luthor told him. Plus, he did not completely trust The Brain. His fellow Light member had been getting a little too...antsy now that Savage's deadline was getting so near.

"Right right. Related to the energy vortexes that sprang across the world, I presume?" He fished for information, only to see Luthor's carefully patented smile on his face. Ivo cleared his throat and got to work.

"Yes...so enhancing the Trench with our new model C2 bio serum had the same effects as the C1 serum with one notable difference. The changes to emotional and mental states were not as pronounced. However, the changes in the body appearance still remained. We can make thinking monsters but they will still look like monsters, I'm afraid."

Luthor leaned back in his seat.

"I believe you have a solution for that?"

Ivo smiled.

"But of course. Kryptonian D.N.A is very difficult to alter. It's dominant in most cases and I speculate that the existence of the Superboy was more luck than science." Luthor frowned at that.

"His human d.n.a should have been completely overwritten or suppressed. The reason it did not, has to do more with Superman's specific d.n.a than other Kryptonians."

'What do you know?' Luthor snorted in amusement, 'The special alien was special even amongst his people.'

"So I theorize that Morrow and I can tweak the serum with the same structurized sequence as a normal Kryptonian d.n.a to essentially make the subject body Kryptonian while still offering the same benefits from the serum. They will keep their mental facualties and still be stronger in overall power to a normal Kryptonian."

"In other words, professor, you have eliminated my need for the final ingredient of Project Rebirth. Well done."

Luthor sighed in content. The initial plan with Project Rebirth had been to secretly grab Aden Strong and use his body as Savage's new vessel because of the potential for growth he had exhibited.

However that same potential for growth is what had dashed Luthor's hope. The plan had been solid but what he hadn't accounted for was just how powerful Aden had quickly grown! Luthor suppressed a shiver as he remembered the recording of a fight he'd watched. The Light had spared no expense in monitoring Aden and his clash with hell was so high profile, everyone important in the villain circle knew who Aden Strong was.

The Demon Bane.

It wasn't in Lex's nature to be afraid but he was...wary. Yes, wary was the word.

Savage would have to settle for having a different body other than Aden's. But still...to match the astonishing growth and power the boy possessed, drastic measures would have to be taken.

"Professor, I am placing Project Rebirth fully under you. We recently had a...disagreement with The Brain hence you shall oversee the final phase." Luthor instructed.

"Do not hold anything back for Project Rebirth. Use every resource at your disposal. The host body needs to be strong, fast, deadly and most of all unkillable."

The smile on the Professor's face stretched.

"Every resource you say? Very well Luthor. You shall have a creation more powerful than Amazo. On par with Project Godblood. He shall be Starman's equal."

Ivo promised.

"Good."

Luthor finally signed off. Right that second as if he was waiting for the call to end, a purple boom tube appeared and out stepped Terror. The fusion between Tommy Terror and the Fatherbox nodded at Luthor. It was time for his appointment with the new promising candidate for the Light's Enforcer position. However, Luthor had a different plan.

The Light's fall out with Apokalips had thrown a wrench into some long term plans they had but Luthor liked it this way. Now he was running the show how he liked it. With Superman incapacitated and the League's efforts being undermined through a cleaver game of politics, it was time for Luthor to start taking over the world.

Not the aggressive approach Savage would go for though, no it was going to be a soft approach. A soft approach that promised the people what they had been missing since Lex had taken out Superman. A symbol of Hope. Now that they could effectively empower whoever they wanted, Luthor was going to steal the Limelight away from the League. And the League away from the Limelight.

And The White Shadow, someone who had never failed a single mission was going to be the figurehead. After all, image was everything and The White Shadow had that in spades. Just a little branding and Luthor's plan would be effective.

Of course, Luthor had no idea his prodigious mind, despite the strong mental walls put up and regularly tested by Psimon had already been compromised and subtly nudged to think a certain way. Not too much to be noticeable but just enough that he was predisposed to favoring and valuing The White Shadow.

He got up and adjusted his tie.

"Mercy, cancel all appointments for today."

The bodyguard/secretary standing straight to his left nodded.

"Already done sir."

Luthor smiled walking towards the boom tube. She had anticipated that today would be a busy day and acted accordingly.

"That's why I keep you around Mercy. You are incredibly resourceful."

He complimented.

"Thank you sir."

Mercy replied, following after him as they stepped through the boom tube.

There were tree weeks left to Savage's threat. If he was not up by then...It would not only be the end of The Light but of the world itself. A last hurrah from a powerful, selfish, brilliant but petty man. Luthor had work to do. It was time to save the world by stealing it for himself.

(Aden's P.O.V)

I shrugged, cutting off my thought process. The Trident was not that valuable to me. I could easily feed the divine weapon to Equity but something told me to hold on to it longer.

Instead, my hand came out, gripping a swirling red ball with flashes of golden divine energy around it. The divine essence cast a bale red light across the surroundings, an aura of clashing steel, blood, despair and death spreading out through the hardened ground of the island.

However, hidden deep within the obvious layers, was honor, noble sacrifice and bravery. Everything had a good side and a bad one. Ares had just decided to fully entrench himself on the bad side of his divinity.

I looked at Yaotl and walked closer to him. The spirit had an awed look on it's face as it stared at the Divine essence in my palm.

"Yaotl, this...is not a gift. It is a heavy responsibility that I am wary to thrust upon anyone. But, you are not just anyone Yaotl. You are a noble Spirit. Your will is as hard as diamond. I Know that you will not lose the core of yourself to the influence from this domain." I injected all the confidence I was feeling into my words which was a lot because my spirits had never let me down.

"War is viewed negatively. But what people always seem to forget, is that freedom, peace, harmony are all products of War. Just as much as Suffering, despair and pain are. It is up to you to choose what kind of god you want to be. But NEVER lose yourself." I finished.

"Thank you master. I will endeavor to never fail the trust you have placed in me. I am ready."

Yaotl assured.

I straightened up.

"Very well."

Now there wasn't a correct way to do this. Not really. Apollo had used his divinity to coax out the nascent divinity inside me. I did not possess divinity as of yet and I wasn't sure how to use my Chaos form to meld the divine essence with Yaotl. However, that did not matter because of where I was. I closed my eyes. Let's see if this works. I looked deep within me and connected with my realm.

"Yaotl Spirit of War, using my authority as the Lord of The Elemental Dimension, I bestow upon you the godly domain of War. Ascend as the second of my Pantheon."

And something actually happened. The divine essence gripped in my fingers left my hand, floating towards Yaotl. Strings of energy shot out of the ball and found purchase on Yaotl Chakra points. The glabella, the chest and other parts.

(General P.O.V)

A pulse was emitted from the ball and in an instant, the essence fused with a very shocked Yaotl, completely eliminating the chance of Ares ever coming back. A roar of unrestrained power accompanied by a beam of golden light that speared through the sky was produced. The light show continued on for a few more minutes and when it ended, in place of Yaotl was a huge Beastman dressed in golden armor. The strength coming off him was crazy, Aden noted. Yaotl had grown to be as strong as Ares had been!

The Beastman had black fur and contained Yaotl's familiar Turquoise eyes. He tightened his fingers into a fist and felt the strength coursing through his body. His senses were heightened to incredible levels. His mystic flames had changed. His raw physical parameters were now firmly on the god's level and he had all the abilities that the gods had.

His divinity filled him up from head to toe. Every inch of his being buzzed with the domain of War. He could perceive the strength of any individual. He curiously turned that ability to his master and immediately shut it off as he felt an insurmountable pressure from a simple gaze hidden behind Aden's normal brown eyes.

He eyed Aden with reverence. Despite acquiring such incredible power...he still could not perceive his master's true depths! His master was simply too glorious!

Yaotl took a knee, his 7 feet tall frame still putting him a little taller than Aden's 6 feet height.

"I live to serve Master Aden. What do you require of me?"