Aden Strong: Avatar In DC

Advance chapters on [email protected]/Saintbarbido.

3/4

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(Aden's P.O.V)

5 months had passed.

Time in which, all I had done was concentrate on figuring out the secrets of the X-gene. And I finally had my hypothesis on well, everything.

As I delved deeper into my research, my awe and intrigue only grew. It was complex. I was no scientist but with my mind at the capacity it was in, I understood the bare basics of what it entailed. Hypothesize, research, analyze, analyze, analyze then test. Not a simple thing, even as a genius.

But my gamble worked. I had analyzed and researched. The former being everyone in the whole Xavier Mansion and any outstanding mutants in the wider world.

The latter were all books and research documents from the two foremost experts on Mutants, Xavier and Hank. What I found was that they could be categorized into three classes based on how they basically obtained the energy to fuel their powers.

The universe had some immutable rules. One of them being, The Law of Conservation of Energy.

The Law of Conservation of Energy is a principle that asserts that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed from one form to another. When all types of energy are considered, the total energy within an isolated system remains constant.

A fancy way of asking why did a gene give and continue giving power to a set of different people? Where was it getting all the energy from? That's when I came to the most obvious conclusion I could. The mutant is a bulb and the X-gene was merely the socket.

It was to my belief that this was the way leading to understanding the whole X-gene system and it's relationship to Cosmic energy. That understanding would finally lead to harnessing the power for myself, help me create a waypoint to another universe, beat up Order, find my universe, see my kids, Make it official worth Kori, create a superfragilisticexpeliadocius race and conquer everything.

That was it. That was the plan. Of course there would be side quests like gaining more and more power. I was strong but I knew and could feel it in my bones, they weren't going to let me go so easily. I had felt a gaze on me. Not the Watcher's. Something else was watching. A few somethings. The Living Tribunal and...that other guy. The one person I did not need right now. Please...

Deadpool was coming for this universe. Sooner or later, he was coming. I could foresee it in glimpses of clairvoyant vision. Of course I wasn't afraid of him personally. Rather...

Is any of this real?

Am I...am I me?

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So let's go over it in really simple terms. I'll dumb it down as much as I can, the mutant is the bulb, the X-gene the socket, the color of the light it produces the specific power. That was everything in a pinch.

The other major difference I found was that using that analogy, the power grid was always different just by virtual of certain abilities necessitating it out of immutable characteristics.

Psionic and Empathic abilities are personal, individual oriented and had a tendency to gather together. it's the will of life. Various bulbs were connected to different power grids.

There were 3 classes of these. 3 types of 'power grids.'

The first class were mutants who gained their powers through their X-genes tapping into a certain dimension of power. Examples of this type of mutant were Cyclops and Nightcrawler.

Cyclops' power to emit powerful optic blasts was a result of his X-gene providing him access to a dimension filled with concussive energy. Nightcrawler's ability to teleport was a result of his X-gene providing him access to a dimension filled with brimstone. I called them Aspect D.

The second class were mutants who seemingly gathered universal energies to power their abilities. By universal energies, I mean psionic power or eldritch energy which is effectively just dark matter.

It existed around the universe. The outer layer. The smoke after the process of manufacturing is done. Hanging around the building and darkening the skyline. Examples of this type of mutant were Jean Grey and Professor X.

Their telekinesis and telepathy were powered by the ability to gather and manipulate psychic energies from the universe. I called them Aspect U.

The last category were the mutants who had personal reserves of power. Examples of this type of mutant were Storm and Rogue. Storm's ability to control the weather was a result of her own power reseves, which were augmented by her heritage as a descendent of African royalty and godhood.

Rogue's power to absorb the abilities and memories of others was the same.

It was a cycle of really incredible energy conservation. It could neither be destroyed nor created. I called this class, Aspect P.

Not really imaginative, sure but incredibly easy to remember. Don't forget I had decided to stop being passive. So everything I did was geared towards efficiency to make as much of my time matter.

Categorizing these mutants, brought with it the realization that the X-gene was a complex and mysterious thing. While mutants shared a common genetic marker, their powers were diverse and unique. It was clear that the X-gene was not just a genetic quirk but a manifestation of something much more powerful and cosmic.

With this knowledge in hand, I knew I was one step closer to Cosmic Energy. I only needed to carry out the next step. Test. I was ready to create my own Mutant.

To do this, I decided to take advantage of two of the strongest divinities under my disposal. I had never fully delved into understanding the complexities of my God of Life and light divinities.

My application had always been crude. It was always either destroy something by sending out beams of light or healing by reconnecting flesh. I could bring back fucking dead people for Christ's sake! Just imagine that. I could do that shit. My knowledge on the soul that I had gained from the demons was also the perfect foil for my life divinity. It had been a disservice to the divinity not to use it.

My first stop was Wakanda. I was soon very disappointed to learn that they buried their dead. I had wanted to bring back everyone that had been initially hurt in the very first clash. Soul Load had not gone that far back. Increasing the time strained the activation.

So I left Wakanda, 4 weeks after moving to the X-mansion to try and see if I could apply my divinity to work in the benefit of people. Storm took me to Africa. One of our first destinations was a refuge camp in Sudan.

It was... heartbreaking. I quickly realized that though I knew the streets, I didn't walk on them. Of course my family had never slept hungry but sometimes it almost came close to that.

The camp was worse off. Way worse off.

Food was a problem. Water was a problem...civil war...

I healed people and really tried to make a difference, going far as to change the terrain to provide a stable source of water with my Earth bending and Water bending. Each of the encampments she took me to over the course of the months, numbering on the 20's, had this problem. So I always made sure that I trapped in water for them.

A problem steadfastly made its way clear. I didn't have time for this. It was a good endeavor but there were better ways to help. So came in the second idea, asteroid mining. I could bring in huge amounts of asteroids, mine them by expending a few simple lesser miracles and then have the Professor take over the creation of a company who's sole purpose was to help the people in need. That was all it would do.

So for the second month, I focused on that.

Asteroid mining for valuable mineral had a few other effects on my life. I was quickly a billionaire. Yeah, I know.

Secondly, there had been a fair amount of Earthbending involved which had led to my Subskills growing. It was enough practice to push me into unlocking another Subskill. Crystal bending.

That had been the second month. Hopeful. It felt like I was actually a real hero. With Xavier's own crazy funds and enthusiasm due to the project being humanitarian in nature, Aden Solutions was quickly founded after another month of establishing a foundation.

Turns out when you have money to smooth things out, doors really do open. It was unsavory but necessary. Ah corruption, our age old adversary.

With everything in place, Aden Solutions got to work changing the world. I made sure to hop in unannounced at meetings just to get a sense of where they were taking the ship.

On another thing, the whole school had finally warmed up to me. Most probably because when you made the most beloved teacher, Storm, smile and laugh more often than before, it was a sign that you were apparently cool. Atleast to the majority of the older teens.

The smaller kids still thought I was the weird guy who was seen all the time with either Storm or Hank or was gone for lengths of time before popping back up again.

Most of that 'absentism' was spent looking for any chance to use my God of Life divinity.

Once I had grown confident enough of my healing to use it consistently on a person, I decided to stop by the Intensive Care Unit. I know how it sounds. Dubios as hell. But I need to remind you that if someone was dead for less than 10 minutes, I could bring them back.

Hell, as long as the body was intact, even if it was a week, I could still do it. So they were in no danger. It also helps that I basically read through every medical book ever written.

Yuck. The human body is yucky and fascinatingly yucky. Fascinating being the keyword. It was complex and nothing like what you might expect, and I learned the whole subject on it. Superspeed and Super brain for the win.

I went to hospitals all around the world, invisible, simply healing who I could. There wasn't a pattern to it. I just went where I felt like going.

Today, I would be in a small mining town with townfolk affected by Black Lung and combine my light divinity with life and cast a healing aura on all of them. For added measure I would strengthen their lungs to work at maximum capacity and beyond. The chances of catching any mining related disease was basically zero.

Then the next day, I would leave for the worst prisons and do the same. Or a hospital in Uganda another instant. Maybe a pediatric hospice, where I would heal Cancer kids and those afflicted with other diseases.

I didn't get all of them. As a God of Life, it was very important to respect death. I wasn't meant to save everyone, so I didn't.

And one day, I felt a change in my divinity. It wasn't healing or rejuvenating flesh anymore. It was more than that. I went from simply having a shallow mastery of reshaping flesh, only being able to strengthen it's tensile strength, to actually reshaping it. Like I could make a butt look like a nipple. Fuck...that's weird as fuck.

It was... disconcerting and weird. Like so very weird. I went around seeking out Burn victims as well as amputees. Army veterans who had lost legs. People born that way. The first time I saw skin germinate on the face of a small kid was intriguing. I could effectively heal scars.

Further delving into the mysteries of flesh sculpting, as it had changed from science to an art, only brought more benefits. Blood bending was effortless now, no moon (not like I had ever needed it) and no excessive movements. I just... thought and it happened. I could de age or age up someone. Reverse their gender. Cure them of diseases, which sounds easier than it is.

Naturally from there, I begun the real thing. Manipulating genes and entire strands of d.n.a. I changed genetic markers, exchanged and swapping out genes, a task that was an information overload nightmare. There was so much. Luckily, Super brain to the rescue. I understood why a Cat was a cat and a dog was a dumb but sweet dog. It was the placement of the building blocks, the pairings.

Finally, Cyclop's x-gene made better sense. He could absorb concussive energy because of the weird and unique equation in his body. It was all laid bare. After 4 continuous months, it wasn't hidden from my eyes anymore.

I managed to control them. More than anything, my body was the best specimen and test subject. So the fruits of my labor went into more vanity as a side effect of pursuing strength. It wasn't me being selfish, I just wanted to be prepared.

Oh boy, the surprise that came with it threw me out of loop. Let me explain. With what was effectively a supercharged up Bio-kinesis, I got a little...extreme. last time I'd checked, my lifting strength had to be in the Billions in terms of tons. That was not close to enough when dealing with Cosmic Entities, I needed more. My vessel needed to be stronger.

I was meditating inside a cave in the mountain ranges of the Himalayas. I had my brows scrunched up in annoyance. While it had been peacefully silent there up until a few minutes ago, I had decided to improve my sense of hearing through Flesh Sculpting. The noise hit me like a freight train. It was the same for my other sensory organs too. The Overload was something I was still getting used to.

That done, I moved on to direct physical changes. With regeneration and Adaptive Physiology, I had nothing to worry about, even if I messed up.

With a deep breath, I closed my eyes and focused on the divine power. I could feel the energy coursing through my body, gently massaging my cells and tissues.

I started with the skin, thickening it and hardening it to make it more durable. Then I used Flesh Sculpting to reconstruct the Epidermis into something smooth and pliable. I tested it in the far outer reaches of the Kuiper Belt.

A blast of my own elemental combo hitting me dead on from a portal. The same attack that had been reflected back to me by the Cosmic Beings after I had tried breaking through the universal wall. That time I had died, this time, there was barely a scratch on me.

I felt a few star systems get swept away by the cosmic reverberations caused from the impact.

Next, I turned my attention to my muscles. I increased their density and strength, adding more fibers to make them stronger. I could feel the power coursing through them. Muscle strands bulging and expanding. I flexed my arms, marveling at the incredible strength I possessed.

Merely closing a fist broke space apart, producing weird anomalies like spatial tears from which dark energy bled out, infecting the location and turning it into an anti-matter zone. A zone that embodied entropy. It was cold and dead. I had made the Universe bleed.

I instantly mended that, though it was not at all easy. That level of spatial understanding was something I was close to but not quite savvy with.

It was a testament of the strength I actually had that I could cause such a disastrous outcome. Hence I decide to carry out the rest of the experiments from a zone that was just as extreme.

The middle of the largest black hole in the Quadrant. There was an abandoned outpost a thousand light years away that was slowly being pulled inside the black hole. It hadn't breached the Event Horizon though.

My body at its current level, handled the pressure admirably, even though I was yet to finish the whole project. Next were my organs. Except my brain, I was not touching that.

Strength wasn't enough, I needed endurance, stamina, and an enhancement in the ability to convert energy into usable power. I focused on my cardiovascular system, next. Increasing its efficiency to pump more blood and oxygen to my muscles.

I also converted my body's energy production to a more efficient form. Inspired by Cyclop's own energy relay system. It allowed me to imbue my flesh with more of my internal energies like Spiritual Energy. I was changing from having the foundation of a human to something else.

My bones were next, I imagined them growing denser and more reinforced. With the new strength, my bones would need to be able to withstand tremendous pressure. I felt my bones creak and crack as they restructured themselves, becoming thicker, more durable than the strongest of metals.

Finally, science caught up with my defying actions. With the increased strength and durability, I would need a body that could support it. This caused me to grew several metals taller, my body becoming more muscular and lean. My brown skin turned golden, openly glowing inside the nothingness that was infinity in the bounds of the Black Hole.

I possessed a very unique awareness. Each individual cell, working towards a common goal. I realized I wasn't the force driving the car, I was every cell's wish, I was every cell's failure and success. It was an intimacy with oneself that went past pain, pleasure or pressure. It was almost too intimate. The feeling of being the result of billions of efforts.

And so I accepted myself. For what must have been the very first time, I loved every nook and crack about me. The imperfections, especially the imperfections.

With the acceptance came the final ascension of my fleshly body. The black hole was torn from within as it failed to carry my weight.

My vision changed.

I was now a collection of different bundles of power, unraveling and hurtling towards the veil of dimensions, the silk cloth that curtained off entire segments of reality, separating each by the nature of the life found in them.

I stood before IT.

But I wasn't afraid, I was in another form entirely.

With acceptance of the flesh, bringing harmony to the flesh and the spirit, my unchanging self, the ideal of what I represented, faced me. This was not simply me. It was a throne...a throne missing a ruler. A throne missing the slayer of Darkseid. It was a seat in the sixth dimension.

I could feel it beckon me.

"Not Yet."

God speak escaped out of my mouth as I drifted across outer space, surrounded by a true void where the Black Hole had existed before. My body glowed like Adam Warlock. Then my form shrank as I compressed all of it. My muscles and bones became denser. I stopped at 6'9. A height that was crazy but not unwelcome. Kori would freak out.

Reality begun shaking around me...then simply stopped. A symbol of the Avatar flashed on my bare chest. I sighed stretching my body out. I had to expend a major miracle to allow my body not to break reality. Now then, I reoriented myself to face Earth's general direction.

let's make a mutant.

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We're about to leave Marvel.

3200 words