Chapter 14: Aiden's Return

As time passed the Targaryens in Essos began to struggle, the first few years was simple and smooth, they were able to remain hidden while the children grew older each year.

They didn't make any attempts at retaking the throne, they knew the timing was wrong if they wanted a guaranteed victory.

It wasn't that Aiden had left and that they were waiting for his return, they were waiting for Lyanna's son Aegon Rickard Targaryen to come of age.

If they tried to take it before he was old enough then they would need a Regent to be appointed, that would make the beginning of his reign unstable, leaving openings for rebellion to arise.

It was a common occurance when Regent's were needed, so to avoid future troubles the family felt hiding and training both of Rhaegar's sons to rule would be the best option.

What began their troubles was internal strife, Viserys began to get worse, quick to anger and vicious to anyone who angered him. They began to have trouble with the locals in the area due to Viserys.

He had gotten into fights with many local men, his attitude worsened with each passing year which led to a divide amongst the Targaryens.

Viserys, on his thirteenth name day, had stood up and confronted his mother Rhaella, Elia and Lyanna. Demanding that they follow him, that he was the rightful king, even threatening to slit the throats of their children if they didn't do as he said. This didn't go as Viserys had imagined obviously, the Kingsguard didn't take too kindly to such a threat.

After he was beaten and sent to his room, that night he was caught trying to take his sister Daenerys, claiming he was leaving with his bride and that she belonged to him, which earned him another severe beating from the guards.

They dared not kill him, but they beat him black and blue, Viserys was bedridden for a week after that. Rather than learn and grow, Viserys grew even crazier and one day he disappeared.

But a month later he returned with a small group of bandits and attacked the family home. He had promised the bandits the women and children to do as they pleased, he only told them his sister was off limits because she was his.

The attack failed and the bandits were killed, however it was at the cost of several loyal knights and a single Kingsguard, Oswell Whent was killed in the assault.

Ser Willem Darry and his four knights that helped the Targaryens escape Dragonstone were also killed in the battle, Rhaella knew that her son was a danger to the rest of her family, with a broken heart she banished Viserys from the family. She couldn't bring herself to order his death, no matter how much the other Kingsguard had admonished her.

Due to this decision, Gerold Hightower had no choice but to move them from Pentos, he knew with Viserys on the loose the true heir would be in danger. Not just from Viserys himself, but he also knew that Viserys would draw the attention of Westeros.

So Gerold planned to use this to their advantage, allow Viserys to draw the attention of Robert Baratheon and his council, allowing them the chance to hide once again.

During the move, it was discovered that the three dragon eggs were stolen, Viserys had took them thinking they were his and not his neice and nephews, even though it was Rhaegar that had gotten the eggs and hid them there in Pentos.

Viserys planned to hatch them, he would have his revenge. His goal was to hatch the dragons and feed his nephews to them while he tortured the rest. He would turn them into slaves and have them serve him, the rightful king. Viserys, like his father got off on inflicting pain, so he wanted to inflict pain on the Targaryen women as he felt he was betrayed.

Upon returning once again to enact his revenge and finding his mother, sister and everyone else gone, he lost control of many of the businesses that his family ran. When the men he brought saw no women or children to be taken, the only thing of value was their various ships and warehouses they ran, so Viserys had no choice but to sign them over.

Viserys began to worsen even furthur, he had no experience in running any business at all so the ones that he was able to keep failed. By then he was known as the Beggar King by the locals.

He became popular in Essos for his crazy and erratic behavior, which had brought the attention of Robert's Small Council.

Luck was on Viserys side however because by the time they had confirmed that it truly was Viserys, they didn't believe it at first since he was alone, the Iron Islands rebelled.

They had stolen enough wood from Bear Island and the western shores of the north to build a fleet. It took them five years to gather enough wood to build one hundred galleons.

Balon Greyjoy had taken over for his father Quellon Greyjoy right after Roberts Rebellion, Quellon had been killed at the end of the war during the Battle of the Mander when he attacked the Reach.

Because the Greyjoy's didn't join Robert until after the Battle of the Trident, when Rhaegar was announced dead, the Greyjoy's didn't suffer any heavy losses unlike the rest of the kingdoms.

So six years after Roberts Rebellion ended, Balon declared independence from the Iron Throne and proclaimed himself King of the Iron Islands.

To kickstart his rebellion and to try to control the Sunset Sea completely, Balon sent his brother Victarion Greyjoy to attack Lannisport. Euron and Balon planned the attack for Victarion, using the element of surprise, they were able to destroy the majority of the Lannister fleet that was anchored around Lannisport.

This then left the Greyjoy fleet unimpeded access across the Sunset Sea and allowed Balon's eldest son Rodrik access to Seagate.

The attack on Seagate didn't go as well for the Ironborn as Lannisport did, the Ironborn were defeated by the Rivermen, and even Rodrik was killed during the battle by Jason Mallister, the Lord of Seagard himself.

In response to the Greyjoy's attacks, Robert declared war on the Iron Islands, a royal decree was send across the realm to gather their men for war.

The north only answered the call due to their hatred for the Ironborn. Saying goodbye to his pregnant wife and five children Ned and his northern army marched to war.

While Westeros was embroiled in war once again, high above the planet a war had just ended. For six years Aiden was trapped in Sho's training simulation.

Aiden learned every martial art Sho had learned himself, he also learned kryptonian advanced knowledge, such as piloting spaceships, and various military tactics.

House El was a prestigious house, they not only had some of the best military leaders in Krypton's history, they also had some of the smartest scientists.

It took time, but once Aiden was mentally broken by the training, he was like a fish in water. His thinking as a human child was beaten out of him, he was forced to use his powers constantly.

Once that happened his learning curve dramatically changed, his mind began to comprehend advanced scientific studies much easier. Due to his being around the backward knowledge of the planet his brain power had limited use.

The brain is like any muscle, if you didn't challenge your brain or work it out, just like any muscle they would decrease. Sho knew that Aiden was being limited greatly by being around humans, that was why he had designed the training program for Aiden. He had to break those limitations that Aiden had put on himself.

By the time Aiden exit the training he was no longer the boy he was before. Now he looked to be in his early twenties, he was now just over six feet tall and full of muscle. If not for his black hair and deep blue eyes he wouldn't even be recognizable from his former self.

Now his body gave off an aura that would terrify anyone of the opposite alignment as Aiden. He was aligned with lawful good due to Zoa, so anyone with even a hint of bad would feel pressured in his presence, Aiden would have to consciously withdraw the aura that came from him.

Aiden also learned of every capability of his Fortress, including how to operate it and relocate it if he needed. He learned of his home planet and what had happened to all but a few versions of Krypton.

Most universes it was destroyed, while others it still remained but those were special circumstances. He learned of the Omniverse and how to traverse it. The only reason he hasn't was he remembered the darkness that threatened to swallow this world.

'Finally, that place was hell. I swear, the next time that brother of mine shows up, I have a few choice words prepared. I don't even know how long I was in that hell.'

Aiden thought as he walked up to the main consol that controlled the fortress.

"Shit! Six years! Now I really am going to beat the shit out of him. Who does that to a kid anyway? I am beginning to wonder if he isn't a villian in disguise." Aiden said aloud.

"Welcome back Aiden. I am glad your training went well, is there anything you need?" Kelex voice resounded thru the fortress.

"Thank you Kelex. How is Flamebird and Nightwing doing?" Aiden asked as he had thought of the two dragons often during his training.

"They have been growing restless, they had completed their adaptation three years ago and have been using the genetic chamber to grow various species of animals found on the planets surface to hunt and eat. The wildlife preserve has been filled with various species of predators found amongst various planets. I have had to increase the security level multiple times due to the types of predators they have created." Kelex explained.

'Oh boy, well at least they weren't bored. I may need to go check it out myself.' Aiden thought to himself then told Kelex what he was needing.

"Kelex, I need a device that can allow easy access to that replica of Kandor. Is there already something I can use? Also I need you to monitor the lands in the north, I will be heading there soon to take care of that bird. Now that I know my powers better, I now realize what kind of evil that bird is. He needs to be dealt with."

"Affirmative, your suit is connected to the Fortress, so you only need to give one of the bracelets that are stored within the command key, which you can now remove since your training is complete. If you wish for them to be able to freely leave Kandor after they enter however a hub will need to be established on the planet before they could return without your assistance, otherwise they will remain with the city unable to leave without your direct permission." Kelex responded.

Aiden removed the command key from the main terminal of the Fortress and placed it within his suit.

"Thanks Kelex."

Aiden then closed his eyes and felt the bond he shared with the two dragons, he informed both he would be returning to the planet.

When Flamebird felt Aiden's call she jumped at the chance, while Nightwing not so much. Not only were the two opposite in their elements, one being fire and the other ice, their personality was also opposite of each other.

Flamebird was social and enjoyed being around people, Nightwing was more reclusive and shy. Flamebird was known to grant a portion of her power to various people, while Nightwing only did so when it was absolutely necessary.

Nightwing preferred his solitude so he didn't join Aiden, though he did come to see Aiden off since he did enjoy being bonded to him. He knew Aiden wasn't going into battle so he preferred to stay.

So Aiden and Flamebird both flew out of the Fortress and made their way down to the planet, Flamebird shrunk her size down to the size of a sparrow so that she wouldn't draw to much attention. She also hardened the flames to create a shell of golden scales that had a reddish hue.

As Aiden flew down he felt for where his family was, seeing that they were no longer in Pentos, it worried him a bit. But that worry vanished once he felt where they had relocated.

He felt them in Tyrosh, which he didn't like at all, but understood the reason they would head there of all the other cities. It was the closest city to Westeros, in fact it was almost next door to Sunspear, which was his mother Elia's family home.

Aiden knew they moved there to allow easy communication between them and Westeros, Doran would be able to easily keep them informed of anything happening within Westeros.

Tyrosh was the largest of the Free Cities so it would be much easier to hide, the only issue was it also had the most slaves. The ratio of slaves to non-slaves was three to one in Tyrosh, and they actively searched the globe for more slaves.

They would regularly send boats to the north to attack wildling settlements to capture slaves, even occasionally landing in Westeros to grab some Westerosi people, but this was rare due to it being a major trading hub, many from Westeros came to the city.

Aiden flew down quickly, landing a few miles outside the city, Aiden then made his way into the city of Tyrosh. His figure and suit drew many eyes as he walked down the street.

Aiden really didn't like being within the city, so much pain and sorrow was within the city, people without hope. Before Aiden's training he would have lost control of his powers and would've began reacting on instinct as he had done in the past, now however he was in full control.

Not to say that he didn't feel the desire to bring the leadership of Tyrosh down and free these slaves, he definitely planned to do so, but it would have to wait. He hadn't seen his family in six years, he was afraid they had forgotten him and wouldn't recognize him.

As he walked the streets heading for where he felt his family, he also felt a familiar person leading a group of men towards his family.

'You know, I am beginning to wonder if Viserys is a magnet for trouble.' Aiden thought to himself as he released a sigh, 'Let me see what that uncle of mine is up to this time around, if he's involved it can't be too good. Why am I not detecting grandmother?'