CHAPTER 94

[Connor Kent's POV] 

I sat on the edge of my bed in the Young Justice headquarters, my mind racing as I reflected on the incident. I had never felt so powerless in my life. It was as if he was toying with me, as if I was nothing more than a mere annoyance to him.

I remembered the way he moved, so fast and precise that I couldn't even keep up with him. I had tried to outmaneuver him, but he was always one step ahead. The way he had looked at me, with those cold, calculating eyes from behind his mask, it had sent shivers down my spine.

I couldn't help but feel despair as I thought about the fight. I had been completely outmatched. How could I, Superboy, have been so utterly defeated? I had let down the team, let down the Justice League.

As I sat there, lost in thought, I couldn't help but wonder what kind of person he was. He seemed almost inhuman, a force of nature that couldn't be tamed. I shuddered a bit at the thought of facing him again, that kryptonite he has might give him a solid advantage.

But as much as the thought of him gave me goosebumps, I knew I would have to face him again. I had to prove to myself, to the team, that I was better than what I had shown in that fight. That I could be a hero, even in the face of such overwhelming power.

… 

[Tom Hendricks POV] 

Dressed in my masked costume, I leaned back in my chair. My mind working overtime. I had tapped into the power grid of the facility and made adjustments to monitor for any unusual fluctuations. 

It was the day I had predicted that the thief would rob the facility. I went ahead to make the necessary preparations so I could intercept him that night, curious as to his identity. He might be useful to me sometime in the future. 

It wasn't long before the alarm went off, indicating a brief moment where the facility's power supply exhibited unusual activities.

I sprang into action, quickly pinpointing the exact floor of the anomaly. I accelerated through the building and surged forward, moving at an incredible speed as I hoped to get to him before the guards arrived at the spot. Within moments, I arrived at the intended floor.

As I had predicted, the thief was already inside, moving quickly through the darkened hallways. But I was ready for him. With a flick of my wrist, I sent him flying across the room and out the window. 

I held on to him in mid-air and took flight, taking him to a cool spot where we could talk like civilized men. It's better we had our talk now rather than when he has gotten a swollen head due to the amount of power he'd attain with the device he was currently building. 

Immediately he dropped on the ground, be didn't wait to hear what I had to say before pulling out a military-grade M16 Riffle and slowly took aim at me. 

I stood facing the thief, his military-grade M16 rifle aimed straight at me. Without warning, he opened fire, the sound of fired shots ringing in my ears.

*RAT-TATATA-TATA*

The bullets came into contact with my deflective field and as usual, It sent the bullets flying back towards him. They moved through the air with an invisible force that pushed him back a bit as they came in contact with his armor.

The thief staggered on his feet, slow and disoriented as some of the bullets had hit the Armoured mask over his face. But he didn't seem to be fazed by that. He aimed his rifle once again and pulled the trigger, firing round after round at me. I continued to deflect the bullets, my powers shielding me from harm.

With a surge of energy, I charged forward, moving faster than the thief could see. In a blur of motion, I knocked the rifle out of his hand, sending it clattering to the ground.

The thief stumbled backwards. "Who… are you?" he said, breathing heavily through each word as he spoke behind his mask armor. 

"I'd like to ask you the same thing," I replied, a smirk on my face.

With that, I dashed forward, delivering a series of blows that sent the thief reeling. He was unable to fight back. If it weren't for his heavy armor protecting him, he'd have died from those hits already. 

Finally, with a hit that was a little bit stronger than the rest I had been giving, I delivered a heavy uppercut which lifted him off his feet and knocked the thief to the ground, his mask falling off in the process. I reached down and picked it up, revealing the face of the mystery man. 

"Gwen, scan his face and bring out what ever you can find regarding his identity." I said as I tapped on the side of my earphone hidden inside my mask. 

He stood up and pulled out two pistols but before he could take a shot at me, I placed my arm on his shoulder and nullified any trace of kinetic energy he could exhibit. Without affecting his blood flow, cells, heart and respiratory organs, but left him at a stationary state. 

"Got something." Gwen said. 

"Let's hear it."

His name is 'Floyd Lawton,' a mercenary also known as 'the man who never misses' a.k.a 'DeathShot,' in the criminal underworld. 

It was almost difficult to believe, he was on my list of skilled personnels I wanted to recruit for my team of outlaws. The messy jobs didn't match his EMO, not even the slightest bit. Apart from the grade of weapons he had on him, it was hard to tell because he wasn't wearing his iconic costume. 

My advanced glasses showed a wave frequency transmitting to him like he was acting like a receiver. 

I quickly realized that there was more to this than just a simple heist. DeathShot wasn't acting on his own accord, and it's possible he was being controlled. 

"Gwen, run a scan on him and search for any abnormality in his brain activity." 

"It's just as you must have suspected already, an unusual frequency is messing with his theta brainwaves. He is transmitting and receiving information." She gave her analysis on it. 

"Can you pinpoint the original source of transmission?" I asked Gwen.

"I'm trying, but it's proving difficult to locate," she responded.

"Okay forget that and look into the feedback data then cross check it with anything you can find, maybe something like this has happened before."

"I found something."

"Gwen, what do you have?" I asked.

"The results of DeathShot's brain activity match a report on a number of Gorilla Grodd's psychic attacks," Gwen replied.

"I was right after all," I said with a smirk on my face. This wasn't just a simple heist. Gorilla Grodd was involved, and that meant things were about to get a whole lot more complicated. 

That was a name I never expected to hear and even cross paths with. If Grodd was really the one behind the stolen techs, then it actually kind of makes sense. 

He was an oversized gorilla with psychic abilities, and it was now clear that he wanted to build an amplifier to boost the range and strength of his ability. 

I freed him a little so he could speak. "How dare you… Interfere with Grodd's plan, such insolence from a human." He spoke out as he referred to himself as a third person, or rather the one behind the driver's seat. 

"Grodd ugh, well let's leave it at that." I said. I could feel my blood boil as I finally stood face to face with DeathShot, and he was being controlled by a gorilla. "Honestly I didn't really care what the person building that tech might be up to, but I won't sit back and let you complete a device that you could use to control humanity."

Grodd's voice boomed through DeathShot's mouth, "You think you can stop me? You're just a human with some parlor tricks up your sleeve."

"You underestimate me, Grodd. And I'm sure it must have come to your notice already, that you can't get into my head."

"That, I have noticed. How is that… Possible?" 

"I am in full control of what goes on in my body and my mind, there's no way you could breach my mental defenses. Putting you at a disadvantage if we are to face off." I said, before letting out a sarcastic laugh. 

Grodd responded, "Your mental defenses won't save you from me. I will dominate your mind and make you my puppet just like DeathShot here. I need him for his skills but I don't mind taking you for your powers."

I refused to be intimidated by the ranting gorilla. "Even if you ever succeed with your plans, it won't be a problem of mine. It'll be up to the Justice League to stop you, because you'll be a major headache by then. But if they let things prolong for too long and let you wreak havoc, then I'd step in myself."

Grodd cackled, "We'll see about that. We'll see." And with that, DeathShot collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

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