Alpha Phase

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(General P.O.V)

"The boy's continued intervention is growing…stale. I propose we deal with him. He doesn't need to be alive for the next step anyway."

Queenbee advised. The screen showed her seating on a royal throne, looking regal and beautiful. Like a diamond, pretty to the eyes, precious yet harder than anything else. 

"La reine, is right. Superman's death was a necessary sacrifice. His bio material would have helped me immensely in advancing my research on stabilizing the Kobra-venom." The brain added, his tone growing cold. "As it stands…I find moi-même privé of good research substance. A great affront."

"But…the plan was still a success." Luthor pointed out. "We achieved the objective, Mercy." He snapped his finger and his loyal bodyguard stepped forward, placing a large container hard case on the table. She flipped the locks and opened it, revealing a dozen sets of vials separated in two sections. The upper section had the six vials marked with the Kryptonian crest of the house of El, while the lower section were just featureless vials. Both sets were full to the brim with blood.

"Our…friend was gracious enough to ensure we got more than enough d.n.a samples from both of them to complete project Rebirth and Godblood."

Luthor informed the rest. 

"I suppose that is… enough. Though, I reiterate the boy should be brought to our control sooner rather than later. It will avoid complications down the line, when we initiate project Rebirth."

Queenbee stated. A sentiment that was shared amongst two of the others. Them being Ocean master and The Brain.

Luthor frowned. "We find ourselves at an impasse. I propose we wait. We already have the upper hand. I understand your concerns but were we to rush and lose the advantage of anonymity we have, it would spell catastrophic failure for all of us."

Queenbee frowned. Luthor was clearly reminding them of the threat hanging above their heads.

"Perhaps we can reach an accord. A way to observe the child and keep him within our sights."

Ra's spoke up, his hands steepled in thought. A scary intelligence could be seen shining through his eyes.

"That is easier said than done." Ocean master interjected. "We lack any means of tracking him. Our spy informed us that he had a falling out with the League's covert team. They have been trying to track him…but he evades even Batman's sights."

"Mmmh. The other issue being Klarion." At the drop of Luthor's words, everybody's moods soured.

"Let us drop the matter for the moment. Aden Strong still has some uses for the Light. When the time is right, he shall be dealt with."

Luthor decided. He nodded at Mercy and the loyal bodyguard closed the hard case and turned on her heels, leaving the room.

"The samples will be taken to our associates and Alpha Phase shall commence. Moving on, what is the status on the underwater kingdom and The Superboy?"

The question was directed to Orm. His lips were set in a thin line while anger colored his response.

"Bad. Klarion's ongoing altercation, if you can even call it that, with the trench, is turning out to be a hindrance to the mission more than I anticipated. As a result, Poseidonis is on lock down, the mystical barrier has been reinforced and Orin has doubled down on security. He likely foresaw a scheme to oust him from the throne by taking advantage of the crisis."

"That does present a challenge. But I'm sure you can improvise, right?" Luthor waved him off. "After all, the rightful king of Atlantis should be able to handle something as trivial as getting into the science center."

Luthor's tone was neutral and devoid of any ridicule but everyone could feel the mocking. Ocean master ground his teeth in anger.

"The situation with the Trench has already blown my cover. I had assets I needed to save due to Klarion's rampage and that brought Orin's attention to me. He knows I've been undermining his influence for quite a while now. The silent war between us is over, now that he has confirmation. I cannot be seen in the city or else I will be thrown in jail."

"Then what use are you to The Light?"

Queenbee did not try to hide the sneer unlike Luthor. Ocean master bit back his rude rebuttal but it was clear to see that he furious. The hand gripping his trident tightened on the weapon. He was a royal prince! How dare they mock him? But he knew he couldn't explode in anger. Not yet. Not when he needed them still. And when he was king…all these surface dwellers would understand the true might of the Atlantean army.

"It shall be done." 

With that his screen switched off.

"What a fool." Queenbee chuckled in derision. "So quick to anger that he fails to rationalize. To see the bigger picture."

"Orm is a necessity, I'm afraid. We are all aware of his… shortcomings. An appropriate replacement will be made after he has outlived his usefulness."

Luthor stated. 

(Aden's P.O.V)

Batman's hands reached for his utility belt. 

"What kind of fool do you take me for?" 

He ground out. The mood instantly plummeted even lower than it had. I narrowed my eyes.

"Can you really afford to act with aggression towards me? We might not agree on everything Batman but it doesn't make me a bad person. I want to help. And the way I see it, you're standing between me and saving your best friend's life."

"I can vouch for him." Iroh spoke up with seriousness, coming in between us. "And to be honest you do not have a choice. Sometimes pride and hate blinds us to the obvious thing."

Batman contemplated Iroh's words before giving a curt nod, clenching and unclenching his hand quickly. 

"Fine. But I'm watching you. Try anything and I swear on my life Aden, I will make you regret it."

I understood he was in a bad mood. That he was worried and angry that he couldn't help Superman. That was the reason I swallowed my retort despite hating the threat.

I nodded. A boom tube appeared under us at my urging, the light hitting us across our faces as we sunk slowly. Batman's body went ramrod stiff, his hands never leaving the utility belt. I inwardly rolled my eyes, my attention split between monitoring Superman's condition and asking for help from one of the twins. To that effect, when the light died down and we found ourselves in Sanctuary, Sai, Kai and Breeze were there to meet us.

All three of the spirits flew in closer to me an started circling us in excitement. I could feel their affection. They had missed me despite it being no more than 48 hours since we had last seen each other. I held out a hand for Hakai to rub her snout on, the way she liked it.

"Hey girl, yes I missed you too alot."

I assured her, sending across feelings of positivity and love across the link. It was crazy just how attached we had all become to each other.

Breeze pulled in and landed on my head, pulling my hair mischievously like a rendition of ratatouille.

"Yes yes Breeze. Sorry I didn't play with you like I promised. But we will do so later. First, I need Saisei's help with something."

The aforementioned dragon was already floating above Superman, with Batman standing vigilantly below, a battarang in his hand. Iroh stood off to the side looking on with barely concealed mirth.

Breeze and Hakai turned their attention to our new guest and regarded him with different dispositions. Hakai was curious and buzzing with anticipation.

"New friend?"

She asked in that innocent way, I was trying my best to make sure they didn't lose. My lips were set into a thin smile.

"Maybe girl. Maybe."

"Can I prank him? I should prank him!"

Breeze on the other hand had a different thought. For a second I was conflicted, wanting to see that happen before Iroh nudged me and shook his head in a little admonishment. I sighed.

"No, Breeze. That's bad manners. You're not supposed to prank a guest." I told the small elemental spirit. "Atleast not yet." I added conspiratory, earning a mischievous giggle. 

"He's in pain. So much pain it hurts. I don't like it."

Saisei's voice cut through the din. And this time, I widened my eyes as his voice was not confined only to our mental link. By Batman's reaction he could hear it too. Iroh and I shared a glance before I stepped closer to Batman.

"Bruce, I need you to step aside. Sai is the only one who can help Superman."

The dark knight levelled a stubborn gaze at me that I didn't take personally. Paranoia was his game, that much I understood.

"Come on Bruce, we've already gotten to this point. If I wanted to hurt you and Superman...I would have already done it. In here, I am the lord and master."

I stated, snapping a finger and turning the ream from day to night then back. I waved a hand and time slowed down, showing the birds flying across the sky beat their wings in slow motion. Another wave and the ground we were standing on rose up, turning into a giant made of stone and water. 

Batman found himself standing on the palm of the gigantic figure and threw the the battarangs he had at the huge construct but the bombs failed to even reach it's body. The giant brought him closer to it's face, allowing him to see that it was me. His mouth opened as he palmed his utility belt only to find himself bereft of it.

Batman blinked his eyes and found himself right where he had been standing before. His utility belt was missing and Saisei and I were attending to Superman. His utility belt was held loosely in my hands as I watched Sai work his magic. Through my senses, I could feel Batman getting ready to do something before Iroh gripped his shoulder.

"Don't."

There was a battle of wills before The Dark Knight acquiesced and settled down, content to watch. The first time ever that he was not in control. 

Superman's body rose up to the air in a bright shower of light as his body was healed. Now, bringing Batman to my dimension was not in any way a smart thing to do. Saisei could have easily come through the boom tube and healed Superman in the real world. The thing is...I wanted the process of Superman being healed to occur in my dimension for one reason. A reason that was worth the risk of Batman being here. I connected to the Sconiad tower remotely

"Realm, monitor the process. Copy and compare Superman's d.n.a to Match's and find a way to completely stabilize his biology using the results."

"Affirmative."