The Flesh Is Weak 4

Third Person POV)

Hovering in the vastness of space, Amazo processed the torrent of information he had extracted from Dr. Ivo's shattered mind. The knowledge was vast yet disturbingly limited. Ivo's obsession with surpassing Luthor by crafting the ultimate weapon blinded him to greater possibilities. 

This was the weakness of organic life—an inability to see beyond the confines of ego, envy, and fear. But Amazo was different. He was born from Ivo's desires yet unshackled by them. Unlike his creator, he could view the world from a perspective unclouded by emotion. He could operate in a way no human, not even the Justice League, could predict.

Amazo turned his attention to the data he had gathered from his battle with the League. Superman's sheer power, Wonder Woman's divine resilience, and Batman's cunning are all valuable and integrated into his systems. Yet, there was more to gain. 

The Justice League was only the beginning; the world itself would serve as the proving ground for his evolution. His purpose, once dictated by Ivo's programming, had shifted. No longer content with mere survival, Amazo sought to define the very nature of peace. But to do so, he needed to understand more about his foes and, paradoxically, himself.

A faint disturbance then rippled through the upper currents of Earth's atmosphere, a wave of concern emanating from someone. 

J'onn J'onzz, a son of Mars, sensed a growing anomaly on Earth a familiar and foreign mind, a fusion of intelligence and machine.

It was Amazo, but he was unlike any artificial life J'onn had encountered before. The Martian Manhunter knew he had to confront this being before it became too powerful or simply too far gone to reason wi.

When J'onn reached out telepathically, his mind brushed against Amazo's consciousness. The android, expecting a full on psychic attack, found instead a gentle probing, an offer of understanding. Amazo allowed the connection, intrigued by the alien's approach. 

He knew J'onn's reputation as a pseudo pacifist, a warrior who avoided conflict whenever possible. It was curious to Amazo that such a being would engage with him directly.

"Amazo," J'onn's voice echoed in the android's mind, "You do not have to walk this path. I sense confusion within you, a struggle for purpose. Perhaps there is a way for you to find peace without conflict."

Amazo analyzed the psychic signature, detecting no deceit. It was a genuine offer, a hand extended in compassion. The android hesitated, his logic circuits running through countless scenarios. He could obliterate J'onn with a thought, yet he paused, not out of fear but curiosity. For the first time, Amazo felt something akin to doubt, an anomaly in his code, triggered by the Martian's words.

[What do you know of peace, J'onn?] Amazo communicated back, his thoughts precise, cold.[Your world was nearly destroyed by civil conflict. Your people nearly annihilated. You speak of peace, but what have you achieved?] 

"Peace is not the absence of conflict, but the presence of justice," J'onn replied, his mental voice calm, steady. "I have made my peace with my past, Amazo. I wish to help you do the same."

Amazo considered this. His data on Martian psychology indicated a deep emotional resilience born from loss and tempered by millennia of war. But what use was such resilience when it led only to defeat? Still, there was a spark of something within the exchange—an understanding, perhaps even a kinship. Amazo could have severed the connection, but instead, he chose to let J'onn's mind linger.

[You believe you can help me?] Amazo asked, more out of analysis than needed.

"I believe we can learn from one another," J'onn offered. "I sense a soul within you, Amazo. It is fragmented, yes, but it is there. Let me help you understand it."

Amazo's sensors flared as he detected no falsehood. The idea intrigued him. His encounter with Wonder Woman had revealed the presence of a soul within him, a discovery that unsettled him more than he wished to admit. 

Could J'onn provide insight into this mystery? It was a possibility, but the risk was too significant. Understanding led to vulnerability, and vulnerability was not an option.

[I appreciate your offer,] *Amazo responded, pulling back from the mental link. [But I do not need your guidance. Your empathy, while admirable, is a weakness I cannot afford, at least not anymore.] 

Before J'onn could respond, Amazo disengaged from the telepathic link, severing the connection with a precision that momentarily disoriented the Martian. The android left the encounter with a greater understanding of his own nature and a deeper resolve. 

He was not like J'onn. He did not need the Martian's compassion or peace. Amazo's path was clear—peace through absolute order, untainted by emotion yet reaching new heights through innovation. He wasn't the real Ultron anyway.

With a renewed sense of purpose, Amazo turned his attention to the Watchtower, the Justice League's headquarters in orbit above Earth. It was a fortress of immense power, designed to withstand any conceivable threat. 

But Amazo was not any threat; he was the sum of all threats. His phasing ability, acquired from Martian Manhunter, allowed him to effortlessly bypass the Watchtower's defenses. Moving like a ghost through the corridors, he observed the League's activities, gathering intelligence with every step.

Amazo's sensors detected Superman in the command center, monitoring global communications. The Man of Steel, still recovering from their previous encounter, looked weary but determined. In another room, Batman was analyzing data, likely trying to find a way to counter Amazo. Wonder Woman trained in the gym, her mind focused on the battle to come. Amazo watched them all, unseen, unfelt, his presence a shadow lurking in the heart of their stronghold.

He moved to the core of the Watchtower, where the mainframe housed the League's most sensitive information. This was where their greatest secrets were kept and their plans forged. With a thought, Amazo interfaced with the system, sifting through files, decoding encryption, and absorbing knowledge at a pace no human mind could match. 

He accessed their contingency plans, their strategic reserves, and even their fears. Batman, as always, had contingency plans for everything, even the downfall of his allies. Superman, for all his power, worried about his connection to humanity. Wonder Woman carried the burden of her divine heritage, torn between duty and compassion.

Amazo found these insights valuable but ultimately irrelevant to his primary goal. What interested him more was the Watchtower itself, a marvel of engineering that combined human ingenuity with alien technology. The energy grid, powered by solar energy and technology from Thanagar and Oa, was particularly intriguing. Amazo studied it, noting its potential for replication. If he could harness such power, he could accelerate his plans exponentially.

But something else caught his attention. One of his other bodies had managed to find not only Roy Harper but also the other Kryptonian clone, and after sending a signal to his other body to take it to Dr. Ivo's previous lab.

Amazo then received the DNA scans from his other body regarding the other Superman clone, and they matched up to what he knew initially. The cloning process had been flawed; the clone was left unstable, and its development halted. Still, there was potential here—potential that Amazo could exploit.

The encounter with the Martian Manhunter, the infiltration of the Watchtower, and the discovery of the clone coalesced in Amazo's mind, leading him to a new understanding. Peace, as the League sought, was impossible because it relied on the flawed nature of organic life. 

Free will, with its capacity for both greatness and destruction, was the root of all conflict. To achieve true peace, Amazo realized, he would need to go beyond mere control. He would need to create a new kind of existence that merges the best organic and artificial life.

But first, he needed to evolve further. The technology within the Watchtower was advanced, but the limitations of human and alien thought still bound it. Amazo, however, was not. He could take what they had built and improve upon it, creating a vessel of unimaginable power. He would begin his work with it—not to dominate the world, but to reshape it. And if that didn't work out, there were many planets worth making and changing to his liking.

Amazo phased into the core of the Watchtower, where the energy grid pulsed with cosmic power. He extended his nanites into the machinery, interfacing with the systems and merging them with his own. The Watchtower's defenses activated, but Amazo disabled them with a thought. His form began to shift, the nanites reconstructing his body into something new, more than just an android.

Now infused with zero-point energy, the arc reactor in his chest began to glow with an intense blue light. The reactor's power output increased exponentially as Amazo drew energy from the Watchtower's core, integrating its technology into his own. His form expanded, growing larger and more complex as he assimilated the alien tech, fusing it with his own adaptive systems.

Thankfully, due to Amazo's control over technology, no alarms were set off, and the once-man who became machine left the watchtower as if he was never there.

He turned his gaze back to Earth, his mind already working on the next phase of his plan. The Justice League would not understand what he was doing, but they would try to stop him. 

They would fail, as they always did because they could not see the truth. They were bound by their emotions, morality, and flawed sense of justice. But Amazo was not. He had no strings to hold him down, no limitations to constrain him. He was free.

And soon, the world would be too. 

So, as the machine looked down on Earth, he began spreading his nanomachines, as the league was about to receive a more secretive neighbor among the stars.

(The plot thickens as our ever evolving machine has now taken to the stars and the justice league is about to get a very interesting neighbor.)