148 Back Together.

30 advance chapters in my Pat.reon. pat.reon.com/Saintbarbido.

Please gimme 🙏🙏🙏🙏 Your Powerstones People.

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(General P.O.V)  (Saturday) 

"How long are we supposed to keep at this, blindfolded?"

Wally complained for the umpteenth time. He was crouching in a horse stance, his hands stretched out before him. A flat plaque of wood was held above his wrists and on both ends of the plaque, was a round ball half filled with water. The balls were made out thin clay. The goal for this exercise as their torturer/ teacher had told them was to practice balance and coordination through subconscious body control. The half full nature of the clay balls made it really hard for them to stabilize in one place. So they had to keep the balls from falling to the ground or crashing against each other just by feeling alone. It was a task that was nearly impossible, given by the hundreds of broken clay shards on the ground. 

A pebble was released from the side that Wally leaned his head away from, extending so far back that he fell on the hard ground. A second later the clay balls fell and burst apart, splashing water onto the surroundings. Wally's heart sank knowing he couldn't escape the punishment for failing the task. Again.

"Ouch. What was that?"

He wondered out loud while getting up.

"Hahaha Wall man's scared of a little pebble. God, I can just imagine your face right now." Artemis teased him before her face changed a little. "Wait, how did I know that?" She exclaimed. 

A second pebble was released from the side, this one was much faster than the last. The expert archer's brow's scrunched up as she lowered her center of gravity. The pebble sailed above her head and slammed onto Wally's nose.

"2 sentences 2 pebbles. 1 more hour added for Wallace dropping his clay balls."

The voice of one Richard Dragon said. 

"Wallace, Plaque up. Horse stance. No talking." 

The ginger haired side kick would have complained if he didn't know that his punishment would only get worse. 

He didn't even notice when he absentmindedly reached for the Plaque somehow knowing where it had landed. He settled on a horse stance, hands outstretched to his front with the Plaque lying above them like a bridge. Two weights suddenly made his hands sink a little as two new clay balls were placed on both ends. It only took a second for Wally to control the motion, sinking into a rhythm that stabilized the balls in each of their positions.

That done, Artemis bit her lip. The earlier pebble had been meant for Wally. Which meant…she was in trouble. The first one came from the opposite direction of where she was expecting. From her back. She pulled her right leg behind her, blocking the pebble with the underside of her foot. The small stone was bounced off the heel and above her head, where she waited until it fell before hitting it like a soccer ball. A small clash like sound happened at her front, as the first pebble intercepted the second one. The action done without destabilizing the clay balls and failing her task.

A smile appeared on her face before a small thunk! on the side of her ear messed up stance and she fell.

"3 sentences 3 Peebles. 1 more hour added for Artemis' masochistic tendencies."

The blonde swallowed her outcry at the dig and stood up, going back to the exercise. Which was now extended for 5 more hours due to each of their slip ups. The whole thing had already been going on for 7 hours before then already. Something that was completely impossible anywhere else.

(The next day) (Sunday) Day of the vine monsters attack.

Richard smiled from where he was meditating. They were learning and with the Island's help they had truly come far on just one weekend. 

"Remember, the body is the instrument, the mind is the control force and the soul is the engine. Strike with intent and not emotion. Emotion is the fuel for the soul not the weapon. Strike with intent and not logic. Logic is merely the raw form of intent and not the weapon. Intent is achieved by an awareness of the battlefield. Intent is the fight before it happens. Intent is the active state of your sixth sense, the culmination of your awareness. Understand this, and you will be impossible to defeat."

Wally snickered at the contradictory statement.

"Yes, Sensei and we can fly like an eagle and shatter boulders with a single fist."

Artemis nudged the speedster with her elbow. Hard.

"Ow."

"Dude, did you forget yesterday?"

She asked, referring to the punishments. 

"Which you're both to blame for by the way."

Boy Wonder pointed out from Wally's other side. Richard cleared his throat.

"It seems that I have failed to instill discipline in you. We shall rectify that immediately. Remove your blind folds."

They complied, a sinking feeling coming over them. They all winced at the light coming from in-between the leaves and branches of the tree. 

"All eyes on me."

They turned their attention from glaring at each other to the martial arts master even Batman respected, standing at the courtyard above the stairs from them.

"This island is special." He started off easily, with a smile on his face.

"It has a ley line crossing through it and a shrine dedicated to Zen Whu, the God of Martial arts. A figure of great power and martial skill in the Chinese mythology."

Robin frowned.

"Isn't that a myth Sensei?"

Richard shrugged his shoulders.

"You tell me. You have a champion blessed by the Greek gods, the princess of an island made up of only women and an underwater kingdom sustained by magic and science that worships Poseidon. Through out history, The God's presence has been felt. Either through embellished tales by humans which elevate their presence from strong mortals to divine beings or naturally occurring sentience in special places. Places filled with mystical power like this island. You cannot deny their influence."

The three of them listened in rapt attention.

"This island is a legacy of the O sensei school of martial arts." He smiled sadly. "I remember the first time my master brought my fellow disciples and I here. The trials we underwent were even more strenuous than what I have had you do. But although we complained, we understood. Progression and motivation. One fuels the other for a steady improvement and the island makes you actualize that improvement by opening your mind. That is why I brought you here."

Boy Wonder nodded in understanding.

"So that's why…I feel my senses are heightened beyond anything else." He said, turning to Artemis and Wally. "You must have felt it too. Like…like…"

"A scratch at the back of your head, showing you a hazy image of what is going to happen before it does."

Artemis answered in amazement.

"And I can vibrate my body now." The resident speedster said, his hand doing so with small sparks of yellow energy.  "Not for long but I feel like I can phase through things now."

"Without getting a nosebleed?"

Robin wondered.

"Yeah."

"You have all improved, Artemis your awareness of your surroundings will aid you greatly in your archery. Kid Flash, you seem to be in more control of your meta-human ability and Robin… your improvement is astounding. Your moves are more fluid and in synch. You can now better leverage your agility. Batman is known as one of the strongest combatants in the world… your potential is not any lesser than his. All this is due to the boost granted to your comprehension by the Island."

He stepped towards the huge boulder sitting on the corner of the courtyard and raised his hand.

"No…" Kid Flash said in disbelief. "I was kidding about the boulder thing Sensei, don't tell me…"

"Shut up and let's watch."

Another elbow nudge and Wally turned to Artemis with a glower before his interest in Richard's next move won out. 

"And in time…you might get to do this. This move is called the Leopard Paw."

He said, his fingers held in a clawed form. Then he struck! His speed was so fast, none of them saw it barring Wally who only caught a blur. The rock exploded into chunks and dust. 

"That is the power of true martial arts."

All of them were speechless. 

"Hey can…can Batman shatter a 2 meter tall boulder into tiny fragments?"

Artemis whispered to Boy Wonder who nodded his head.

"Batman can do anything."

He answered without any confidence.

"Dude that was sooo cool."

Wally finally picked his jaw off the ground. 

"Thank you. Now…" Richard's smile turned predatory. "Let's go over your punishment." 

A collective groan passed over the three teens.

(Underneath The Atlantic Ocean - Bio-ship)

"Your control is still too shaky. The goal is not to split your telepathy into tiny streams. That might work but it is extensive and draining. Focus your mind, delve into one mind and then use the innate connection it has with the rest to connect to their minds into one singular unit made up of all."

Miss Martian nodded after listening to Martian Manhunter's explanation. She retracted her mental energy from the family of sardines that she had been trying to control individually, leaving only one connection. 

The mind of the fish was basic as expected. The exercise was not to dominate them as that would, according to Manhunter 'blur the lines too much for comfort' but instead to guide them. Nudge them slightly in one direction. She used the singular connection she had, to tap into the instinctive frequency of sound they communicated with and with that, she found her connection to the rest of the sardine family grow. The load needed to keep up the connection was considerably lessened. 

Miss Martian allowed herself a brief smile as the sardines swam in beautiful patterns and shapes.

"Well done M'gann. Your control has gotten exceptional."

"Thank you uncle J'onn."

The Martian girl smiled brightly while controlling the Bio-ship to fly out of the water. They broke through the surface, both happy that she had completed the exercise successfully.

"What's next…?"

Instead of answering, Manhunter went stiff as a transmission came through his earpiece. He pressed on the tiny device and responded to the transmission with a rumble of his deep voice.

"I'll be there shortly. M'gann something came up…"

He started, explaining about the multiple attacks going on throughout the country.

"I am coming with you."

The green skinned girl said, as if challenging him to say no.

Manhunter smiled proudly.

"Of course."

From there, the day only got more active for M'gann. She saved people, coordinated with the police to set up a barricade and used the Bio-ship to ferry out the ones too injured and take them to the hospital before they could lose their lives. And a few hours after everything had settled down, the news came in.

"No. Aden wouldn't. No matter how angry he got or impatient, he is a good person. I refuse to believe this."

M'gann said and left her Uncle's apartment with a multitude of feelings roiling inside her. There was only one thing she could do now…try and find Aden herself. The next two hours seemed to pass in a blur as she used the Bio-ship to scan for his mind in the places she thought she would most likely find him. L.A. Her search came up empty and she was about to give up and go somewhere else when an incoming transmission from Atlantis interrupted her search. 

Her worry was somewhat abated after seeing Connor and Aqualad. They exchanged a few words and M'gann used the Bio-ship to go and get them. Her heart skipped a beat in concern, when they gave her an account of the attack from Black Manta and Oceans master. Turns out they also knew of Aden's accusation and the reveal of his identity out to the world. Which was a huge thing. She breathed a sigh of relief when they too informed her that they didn't believe he had done it. It was too out of character for him. The talk ended with her flying to go pick them up from Poseidonis. 

(Washington DC) (3 hours after Aden's identity had been revealed.)

"Recognized Kid Flash B03. Recognized Robin B01. Recognized Artemis B07."

There was a flash of light from the Zeta tube terminal and the three teens appeared. They had taken a Zeta tube from Japan and instead of leaving for their respective cities, they'd decided to come here for some answers. The best choice had been the Watchtower but unfortunately, you couldn't use the Zeta tube to get to the Watchtower from just anywhere. Plus...the league seemed to be busy with something and hence had blocked off access.

Robin immediately broke off from the team without even saying hi to Red Arrow, merely giving an absentminded wave, heading straight for the League's computer.

"Ok..."

The taller teen frowned at the back of Boy Wonder before his attention was stolen by Kid Flash.

"Hey Speedy." The speedster spoke up. "What's going on? We just saw a viral video clip saying that Superman's dead, killed by Aden..."

The red themed hero shook his head. 

"I don't know what that's about either. I was occupied fighting a vine monster, one of Poison Ivy's creations. The news clip surprised me too. Green Arrow was just called in to the Watchtower and he left without telling me why. I think they found him."

"You mean Aden, right?" Artemis asked from the side, her hands crossed above her chest. 

"Yes, Archer girl. Your little boyfriend is probably in the League's hands answering their questions."

He told her bluntly. Surprisingly, the one who came to her rescue was Wally.

"He's not her boyfriend! And you don't know Aden man, sure he's a dickhead that seemingly cheats his way into power based on how quickly he left us all behind but he's not a heartless monster."

Artemis mouth opened in shock, matching the look of surprise on Red Arrow's face.

"Why the sudden change of heart Wally? Don't you remember him breaking your leg and hurting your teammates?"

Speedy shot back, rising up from his seat. 

"Look...I can't really explain it because nothing has changed. I still don't like the guy. Trust me, I don't. But when you interact with someone so much in life and death missions like we have ...you get a sense of what they're capable of. The lines they would cross and not. I will probably never have a decent or amiable conversation with the dude. We're just too different. But part of being a hero, part of what my principles stand for...is sticking to the truth. And I'm telling you, Aden is not capable of something like this."

"Tell that to Superman's family. I'm going out. See you when you stop lying to yourselves to assuage whatever guilt you carry for kicking out someone who deserved it, out of the team."

Speedy spat out and left.

"Technically, he left by himself..."

Artemis muttered under her breath but by the look the other Archer threw her, he must have heard it. 

The expression on Speedy's face changed from angry to pensive as the light of the Zeta tube washed over him. The one thing running in his mind was confusion. It had only been one weekend but... The three teens seemed vastly different. For one, they were focused, calm and the way they carried themselves... Artemis had this quiet confidence, even with her back to the entrances of the library, something that he knew she wouldn't have had before. For anyone in their level of skill, your body should always be facing the entrance in anticipation of an attack. They all seemed so... different, it was confusing.

Wally watched Speedy leave and sighed turning to Artemis.

"You know you don't always have to provoke him right?"

She scoffed at his statement.

"He's a prick. If I don't do it...he'll see it as a chance to throw around cutting statements about my skills and try to walk all over me."

She defended herself to which Wally nodded.

"Yeah but he's just... highly competitive. Plus, anything he would say about your skills would be a lie. You're frigging amazing Artemis."

He held up a thumbs up, leaving her standing in place with her heart going miles. What just happened?

"Hey guys...I just got access to the Watchtower's systems. Seems like they've brought in Aden for questioning."

Robin spoke up just as Wally arrived at his position. 

"Dude, I thought Batman told you not to hack the league computer again?"

Wally asked.

"I like to think of it as a strong suggestion not to hack into the systems. A very strong suggestion."

The Boy Wonder replied cheekily. 

"Besides, why are you complaining? Because of moi' we get to crash a party we weren't invited to."

"Lemme guess...you can hack the Zeta tube transmission as well?"

Artemis wondered only for Boy Wonder to shake his head.

"Not can...I already did."

The reply came in first as he swiveled in the chair. 

"We are going to get in to so much trouble for this."

Wally groaned.

"Don't look so worried Wall man. Infact I suggest you get traught."

Another collective groan.

"One thing I have not missed is your skewed sense of humor, Robin."

A voice said just as the doors from the hall to the library were opened, revealing Superboy, Aqualad and Miss Martian.

"M'gann! Kaldur! Connor! You made it."

Artemis shouted happily.

"Allright! The whole team's back together again!"

Wally added enthusiastically. 

"Yes. I have missed you guys a lot too."

Miss Martian flew forward and hugged Wally and Artemis, lifting them up in the air. The boy Wonder ducked from the group hug and turned to the other two.

"For the record, I saw you guys through the camera."

He told them smugly.

"You hacked the league database again didn't you?"

Kaldur accused gently.

"Guilty as charged. The Zeta tube too." The rest calmed down and turned to listen as Kaldur cleared his throat.

"I won't waste time asking how the rest of you are doing. I am just glad we are all back together again. The situation is delicate. We all know Aden. We have fought with him, for him and against him. We all carry regrets about the way things happened. I wish we had more wisdom and patience that day. Maybe we wouldn't have jumped to conclusions. But that is in the past. A time when our fear and prejudice got the best of us. We are all to blame. Including Aden. All of us made the wrong choices. But I want to make this right and I know you all want to do the same thing. If Aden is truly guilty, then let this be closure for us. If he isn't then let us stand for what we believe is the truth. If that means going against our mentors, so be it. It's what they taught us." He paused. "Aden is our responsibility, not the League's."

(Aden's P.O.V)

I gritted my teeth in anger.

"Lex Fucking Luthor." 

A clip of me, highly edited to make it seem as if I was resting one foot on Superman's chest as he laid on the ground bleeding was replaying on the screen as I sat on a chair in an interrogation room. The room was different from the previous one they had stashed me in the last time I had been here.

Through my energy sense, I could sense wards all around it's length, most probably to stop me from accessing my boom tube and although I could feel a slight difficulty in that department...It didn't mean a lot when my boom tubes were backed by the power of my full dimension. Zatara, Batman, Black Canary and Wonder Woman were also in the room with me. Making the small space feel crowded. I could also sense a ball of tumultuous yet tightly controlled energy and another energy that felt so strong it could move the world just outside the door. Captain Atom and Green Lantern. 

Now back to the reason for my anger. I wasn't even that mad about having my identity exposed...okay I was fucking angry but it paled in comparison to something else. It wasn't even because Luthor, (who else could engineer such a scheme?) had made me public enemy number one by accusing me of killing Superman. 

It was because of what played after that footage.

"We regret to inform you that due to injuries sustained during the fight against the monstrous vine creatures let loose in New York, Wild Cat has sadly passed away. Wild Cat was a member of the..."

Fuck. Wildcat was a chill dude that I would never get to meet because of Luthor and The Light. The fact that he died despite possessing nine lives I think, was just so shocking and threw me off. Now I'll have to see about getting my martial arts training from someone else. Someone who wasn't affiliated with the League or the Light.

Which left one of the baddest motherfuckers on the planet. Bronze Tiger. He was the second person on my list because as far as I could remember, he was a merc who stuck to his lane as well as being one of the three best Martial Artists on the planet. Lady Shiva was with the League of Shadows and Richard Dragon was probably a friend of Bruce. Which left only Ben Turner as my choice.

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Over 3560 words. Hope that counts as a good compensation for the filler chapter guys.

So now you know Aden's future martial arts master. I am so excited for that shit. Richard Dragon with the team and MC with Bronze Fucking Tiger.

Next chapter we're done with all this Accusation stuff and then we can get into some reeeeaaaallly good shit.

If you're surprised by how the Team seems to believe Aden is innocent... remember they know him. I have people I don't like but just by virtue of knowing them...I can tell you what they're capable of or not. Which is why Green Lantern acted the way he did. He doesn't really know Aden personally and Supes is his friend so...yeah. Hope that doesn't sound so lame.