Chapter 6: The Culprit Is...

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(Angel's P.O.V)

"Young master, I have a question."

Shade said to me through our link.

I've been expecting this.

"Go on."

I said evenly, still munching on the fried wing. The grease was a treat just as it was addictive. In my last life, I couldn't eat food like this.

"I get why you did what you did. I can't even judge you for it. But why would you go out of your way to get captured?"

There was real confusion in his voice.

I swallow. Well, that's an obvious question.

"Shade, how far would you have to be to escape the full range of my blasts?"

His silence told me that he knows. He has had to, during the five years we've known each other. I wasn't just training with Fire and Ice you know.

Father regularly started sending me on missions when I was 7.

Things like renting me out to the Taliban as reinforcement during skirmishes and raids.

Or to Queen Bee in Bialya. The fights with the Rebels there were both entertaining and doubled as good training for my IcyHot magic.

I haven't mastered the ability to use both abilities at the same time, but I've shortened the time frame to simultaneous activation, by honing my reaction speeds and physique through regular meditation and training.

Training that included enduring extreme heat and cold environments while only activating the opposing element.

Which meant standing inside a Volcano with only Cryokinesis activated.

The ice had periodically turned to steam above my skin, without even covering me- evaporating almost instantly.

And because I had pyrokinesis off, nothing could protect me from the heat, so I had to keep producing more and more ice to cover for what I lost.

The opposite was enduring the cold inside an industrial grade Freezer with low temperatures close to absolute Zero, with only Pyrokinesis active.

I could hit 72 hours at a time inside before I had to come out.

Surprisingly or maybe unsurprisingly, Vandal was very supportive of my training.

I had a large training room with equipments for my every need. Even some that my body wasn't old enough to use.

Apart from Fire and Ice, I also had a smattering of actual badass grade teachers to teach me what I wanted through the years.

But...that's a can of worms for another time.

All in all, this training culminated in me gaining a greater control over my thermoregulation, metabolic rate and blood control and even...healing.

In simpler terms, I could affect the cold and fire mana inside me to regulate my own internal temperatures.

Heat and cold play a significant part in the body. With heat able to increase metabolic rate in the body, meaning I could do things like digest my food as fast as I ate it.(cold mana could be used to 'cool down' my organs before they can 'overheat')

And on the opposite side, Cold mana could be used to decrease metabolic rate and slow down blood flow by shrinking the veins in the body.

How was this helpful with enhanced healing?

Well, in case I lost something like a wrist, I could use ice Mana to stop the blood flow to the severed limb.

Easily freezing it without losing it to necrosis:- only needing a small surgery afterwards to reattach.(this actually happened in a nasty encounter with Killer Croc when I was 6- a part of Fire and Ice's training. Yeah...those two were fucking crazy...)

I was also training on creating more utility focused skills using my Half-Cold Half-Hot bilities.

Todoroki had his moveset. And despite plagiarizing and MASTERING all of them with the exception of FLASH FIRE FIST(And damn, is this fucking skill annoying. You'd think I would have it easy, but it somehow relied on something I was still missing), I wanted to be original.

So I stopped trying to master that specific move and begun focusing on how I could get there.

Control.

Always control.

After I killed Olympia...I knew...my fate and the need to gain control over my powers, myself and my situations coupled with being the son of a Conquerer, would spell doom for the world.

And whether I burned it down or froze it first, it all depended on how far I had to go to get to the top.

I was only lacking one SINGLE thing to get there. One simple simple thing.

After a brief consideration, I decide to answer,

"Because Shade...to be a Villain, you have to learn how a hero thinks."

I told him.

And this would also help my next few plans as well.

-0-

After that Shade said nothing. He didn't need to.

Through the years I had successfully shifted his loyalty from my Father to me.

It was wonders what you could do with money and positive reinforcement. Also...information.

One of my teachers when I was 8 was a hacker on the run who Father had allowed (read:lured) to the mansion.

He stayed (working) on something for my father in the Underground section of the Mansion, and I was able to learn a lot about information gathering and espionage.

Which was how I learned about Shade's personal life. The metahuman was useful. With his shadow travelling, he could take me anywhere I wanted in the world.

And for people like those, you had to know what makes them tick- their motivations, goals, fears and passions had to be something you were aware of.

Not because having a good relationship with a minion was good for your health, (which it was) but to instead to know how to work them.

How to ensure blind loyalty. Something that could not be swayed by money or power.

And Shade's motivations, goals, fears and passion all revolved around one thing.

His daughter.

He knew I would go after little Maria, if he ever betrayed me.

The minutes passed slowly, yet I stayed in position, overlooking my burning Warehouse from the shadows of a stack of containers.

The GPD had closed off the docks and surrounded the perimeter of the Warehouse. Firetrucks had arrived a few minutes ago and were trying to put out the flames.

By now, Batman had most likely found Fire and Ice's body.

And if I was right, he'd be arriving in a few...

"Who are you?"

A gruff voice spoke up from the top of the containers.

A small smile spread across my face before it disappeared. Bingo.

He's here.

A shadow perhaps darker than even Shade could make them, jumped down onto the ground- the fall of more than 20 feet barely a struggle as he landed with the nimbleness of a cat.

Without a word, Shade undid the veil of Shadows surrounding me, before slinking away.

I stepped out into the light, craning my head to look up at the tall figure in black and grey towering over me.

The Dark Knight tilted his head upon my emergence.

"A child?"

He muttered to himself, as if surprised at what I was doing here.

This is it.

I calmed my wildly beating heart, falling back on some of my training to project a confident front.

"Not just any child Batsy."

I begun, a ball of flame appearing above my right hand while a spike of ice grew up from the palm of my hand.

Batman's entire posture stiffened. I couldn't tell it from the whites of the eye holes in his mask, but I got the impression he was narrowing his eyes my way.

"I think you've been looking for me..."

I added, deactivating my abilities before stretching out my hands towards him, showing the wrists to cuff.

"I would like to confess to a double murder."

(General P.O.V)

(The Watchtower)

The tension in the room seemed to grow upon Batman's revelations. He'd just told them who he suspected the killer was.

"You can't be serious Batman."

Black Canary said, shock evident in her voice.

Batman couldn't blame her. Everyone in the meeting Hall was in a similar situation.

"You expect us to believe a 10 year old boy is responsible for Fire and Ice's death?!"

The Flash demanded, slamming his hands on the table.

"How can you be sure it's not a scheme by one of your crazy villains? Maybe Mr.Freeze and Firefly decided to team up..."

Barry ignored Batman's, "it doesn't fit Victor's m.o."

The Flash continued,

"Or maybe the Joker escaped Arkham. Again. And decided messing with you alone wasn't enough, so he went after them."

He looked out into the chamber.

"And by extension us."

'And if indeed the Joker is the one responsible...'

The Flash tightened his hands into fists.

'...maybe prison or an Asylum isn't enough this time...'

"Barry, calm down."

Superman said, sighing as he reverted his sight back to the image projected above the long table.

A black haired, brown skinned boy with a mischievous grin on his face stared back at them.

But his eyes...weren't smiling.

Superman was a good judge of character. It's why he would always try to give someone a chance.

"Where is he right now?"

Superman asked. The sooner they interrogated him, the sooner they would know what was going on.

"He's safe."

Batman answered, with no intention of saying anything else.

The Man of Steel swallowed a sigh. 'Batman wasn't cooperative- how unexpected,' he thought sarcastically.

"It's illegal to detain a minor without a parent or guardian Batman. This issue should be handled by the authorities."

Green Lantern John Stewart spoke up.

He used to be in the army. By association he knew the law pretty well.

"I'll inform you of what I find out. Dismissed."

The Dark Knight said before turning around and leaving for the Boom-Tube, leaving the rest of the League hanging.

Not that he cared all that much. He had a culprit to interrogate.