174 Self Sabotage part 1

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(Aden's P.O.V)

If you stare at the void for too long...it starts staring back at you. Such a cliche' sentiment yet...true none the less. Only in my case, my other half stared back at me. Red glowing pools of eyes to my glowing white ones. A counterforce to what I had been standing up for. A contrast. The black to my white. The yin to my yang. The dark Avatar.

A hard fought battle had ravaged our surroundings. My mental space shaken to the core due to the battle for supremacy against my other half. I had tried balance. Chaos and darkness were not inherently evil. Just like Order and light were not inherently good. Just the pure expressions of reality.

Structure could be founded from chaos giving birth to order. Order alone gave rise to mayhem by virtue of the continued existence of structure, eventually leading to chaos. It was a tug of war. Unceasingly difficult to balance fully. Things would have been much easier if I was Raava's host. That would have still necessitated the presence of an opposite but that opposite would have been someone else. It's a completely different thing when you're your own biggest ally as well as enemy.

My body had a white cloak of energy, white glowing eyes and Raava's symbol predominantly on my chest.

My body had a purple cloak of energy, red glowing eyes and Vaatu's symbol predominantly on my chest...

What?!

I...I am the Avatar. Avatar Aden. The absolute monarchy of Chaos...no...it's Order! Balance...balance...balance.

None can exist without the other. I clasped my hands against my other hands. My face staring at my other face. The expression of malicious intent on one of my faces eased and changed to nothing but a blank visage. Like a statue, mirrored by my own other face...tranquil like a pond with no ripples. Two separate entities yet one. A force of existence. 2 principalities governing over all. Dualities.

BALANCE.

I sank into the depths of what I should have been pursuing all along.

BALANCE.

My soul united for the purpose of true control.

BALANCE.

Noble purpose. Noble sacrifice. Noble ascension. Noble descent. Mortality is reserved for mortals. Eternity is reserved for transcendental beings. All exist within the bounds of my domain. Equal share FOR all. Equal pain. Equal happiness. Equal death. Equal life. Equal strength. Equal weakness. Equal Equal. Unequal! Unequal!. EqUaLiZE!

BALANCE...

'At what cost!'

The words slammed into my psyche with the weight of a sledgehammer.

"Snap out of it child!"

Iroh?!

I lost control of it...Darkness and light bloomed.

(1 month later)

I couldn't put it off any longer. The helmet of Fate appeared in my hands as I sat cross legged at the edge. Behind me was a lustrous island, further than that was an ocean that stretched out over hundreds of thousands of miles. Small islands and big ones dotting like holes poked in a white canvas. My realm. My beautiful realm...scarred. No! The admonishment was quick and fast.

I corrected myself.

"Not scarred...changed. evolved."

I stared at the front.

Before me, was the beginning of unreality. Of chaos so primal...the only way for a sapient creature to perceive it was an inky black. A true void. From within I could see myself, looking at him (me) with the same look I had on my face.

We(I) agreed.

We had failed to achieve...I had failed to achieve balance. I had caused this split by not understanding what I really was. Killing millions of reasoning beings was the final straw, and so my perception of my actions albeit necessary, fucked me over. I was not broken...but I was not innocent anymore. I had killed and the guilt however small it was...was the gateway for tainted darkness to take over. For my suppressed dark Avatar side to leer it's head. Chaos was not evil but cruelty, negativity and darkness was an essential part of what gave life meaning. Good was important because it was separate from evil. And evil was similarly important.

I placed the helmet of Fate on my head and the world turned white.

(Present) (warehouse- General P.O.V)

"Wait."

Darken held The White Shadow's arm, stopping him from removing his mask. She glanced at everyone around, all of them waiting in baited breath.

"Are you sure about this?"

She asked, all a part of the plan.

Her companion shrugged.

"Don't worry."

He assured her, not sounding particularly nervous about revealing his identity to one of the most conniving supervillains in the world.

"This is a show of trust." The White Shadow turned to look at Luthor's face displayed on the projector strapped to Sportsmaster's hip.

"One that I'm sure will be generously rewarded by the favor we asked for."

Luthor narrowed his eyes.

"We shall see."

The genius billionaire refused to commit to anything. The White Shadow's hands fell.

"That is not an answer Luthor."

Cheshire brushed over her Sais. The dangerous tone their opponent/ potential ally had used sent her on edge. She looked over at Psimon.

"I cannot read his mind. Neither can I read the girl's."

Fuck. That meant, mind blasting them was probably out of the question too. A hard fight it is then. She signed to Black Spider, motioning to him to take on the girl while her and Sportsmaster swarmed The White Shadow. Psimon would be useless in this fight.

"Yes. It is not." Luthor agreed, quite easily. "But for this to work, you have to give before you can receive, my friend."

Anger rolled off the White Shadow.

"Those are not acceptable demands Luthor! I am a monarch! The prince of a kingdom. I demand you treat me with the respect accorded to my station!"

A glint of interest appeared on Luthor's face. Using his prodigious mind, he could already make inferences and come up with theories on the sudden appearance of these two. The way the White Shadow got angry for the perceived insult on his person and the quick rebuttal that he came up with shed light on many things about his origin. Luthor now knew his story and through that, he could push the buttons he wanted. An understanding look came upon his face.

"Perhaps I was a bit too...rash." Luthor amiably stated.

Sportsmasters eyes narrowed slightly but he like the rest of the Light's enforcers knew better than to call him out for the act. This was all a part of the game.

"But you have to understand. It is not only a matter of trust but an extension of professional courtesy. A responsibility you see. You already know who I am. Would it be fair if I didn't?"

A brief silence settled among them. Finally The White Shadow sighed.

"You're correct. However, Darken's mask stays on. I do not trust how far your 'professional courtesy' extends."

Luthor frowned.

"Surely..."

"Her mask stays on. That is out of the question. Otherwise we are turning around and walking out."

The White Shadow refused to budge.

Luthor sneered on the inside. 'He's clamoring for any shred of control. That means he thinks he needs the Light more than the Light needs him. Good. Let's see how far I can push this.'

Luthor gave a curt nod.

"As you wish but...you will allow Psimon to do an indepth scan of your mind as an alternative."

"No."

The refusal came too fast. He had expected it. Darken's hands tightened on the blades in her hands, ready to attack.

"I have sensitive secrets of the realm. Secrets that a leader should only be aware of. I will not put my kingdom, as broken and lost as it is in jeopardy!"

Two words stood out to Luthor. Broken and Lost. So which was he? An exiled prince? A king from a conquered nation? A prince from a failed rebellion? All those scenarios led to one obvious conclusion, he needs resources and strength to either take back his Kingdom or get revenge on his enemies. The Light's main motivation was to see the eventual rise of humanity. If Luthor could expertly annex this new realm...the potential for a surplus wave of resources for their schemes would be more than guaranteed. But first he needed to know the situation.

"Hmmm" Luthor hummed.

"That changes things by quite a bit."

The White Shadow tensed.

"If it does it does. I am not balking on that."

Luthor raised his hands.

"I understand your wariness for a deep dive into your mind, then what about a surface level scan? A way to...meet in the middle."

The same silence stretched out between everyone present. The tension built up and Cheshire leaned forward, ready to explode out towards the two figures.

"I agree."

The White Shadow replied, the decision seemed to have been very hard, based on the way his muscles shifted under the long overcoat.

"My liege..."

Darken stated in surprise, trailing off.

"We all have to make sacrifices Darken. That's what father used to say."

The White Shadow replied in sadness.

"You've already made more than enough of them! When will it end?!"

Darken harshly shot back.

"Enough Darken. We will have this conversation at a later time."

He shot her down.

"Wow. Great acting. I can see where you get all the drama from."

The White Shadow told her telepathically.

"Thanks!"

She answered back pleasantly.

"I was being sarcastic."

The White Shadow said.

"I know."

Darken replied making him snort.

"But seriously, are you sure about this? You told me to get an in, we needed to be careful not to slip up during these early steps."

"Yes I did. And everything has gone as planned. We have spent the last two months cultivating our image and reputation, you do not have to worry about anything. I know how Luthor thinks, so I anticipated for all scenarios. Dealing with Psimon is nothing."

In reality their mental conversation had only gone on for around a second.

"Stand down Darken."

The White Shadow ordered. The female umbrakinetic looked unsure before merely nodding and stepping to the side.

The White Shadow walked forward to stop closer to the projected image of Superman's greatest archenemies. His hand rose up and removed the white mask hiding his identity. The first thing Cheshire noticed was the sharp blue eyes, then a brown face with traces of an Asian heritage yet a long nose and Chin that was distinctly found in Caucasian descent. The White Shadow was...a ridiculously handsome man. Cheshire objectively observed.

He smiled without cheer, a small upturn of his lips.

"Greetings, my name is..."