New Horizons
(General P.O.V)
"I've called this meeting to order for one sole purpose."
Ra's Al Ghul, begun. All the members of The Light were in attendance. The light emphasized an equal partnership steeped in mutual cooperation towards a certain goal. The truth however was that there was a clear leader. The round table and unbiased layout of the arrangements, was more to spare the self-importance of some of the members, as the group was certainly not lacking in over inflated egos and pride. Despite the neutrality of the seating arrangement, the obvious unofficial leader was Vandal Savage. A perk that came with being the oldest original member. To his right was Lex Luthor, Queenbee, The Brain, Ra's Al Ghul, Ocean master and lastly Klarion.
Ra's Al Ghul swept his gaze over the others and cleared his throat, a grim look on his face. He finally settled on Savage.
"A complication has risen concerning a deal with a new associate of ours. Galiel has… disappeared into thin air and another party has taken over his base."
The Demon's Head informed. Savage suddenly looked serious upon the drop of Galiel's name.
"While I admit that that's troubling news and a great blow to our interests, I'm more concerned about this…new party."
Luthor spoke up.
"We currently don't have any detailed information about them. I have instructed my shadows to maintain a distance. Caution is highly recommended in this situation."
"Why? With our capabilities and resources, I see no point in pussyfooting around those who stand before The Light and our interests. Surely you're not afraid Ra's."
Ocean Master spoke up, a condescending look on his face.
"Fool. You know nothing of what you speak of."
Queenbee was quick to interject, mocking the Atlantean for his impatience. Ocean Master gritted his teeth and wisely settled down in his seat. Blowing up to the Queen of Bialya was an ill-advised action, not just because he would suffer reprimand from the others for disrupting the meeting but from Quuenbee herself. The woman was ruthless.
"Well, out with it then. There must be a reason why you exercise such Caution Ra's Al Ghul."
The Brain spoke, trying to keep the whole thing moving, he had other matters to attend to.
"All of you with the exception of Vandal Savage and I are not aware of who or rather what Galiel is. Allow me to explain. Galiel is a hell spawn. A true demon from the very pits of hell itself. He has been a central figure in most of humanities prolific tragedies and wars. In other words, a dangerous figure."
Ra's Al Ghul left the room shocked with a few exceptions. Savage stapled his fingers together and hummed.
"Whoever has the capability to take out Galiel is someone we should take seriously."
Ra's Al Ghul concluded, making Klarion chuckle while petting his familiar. A glint of curiosity appeared in his eyes.
"Interesting."
Klarion murmured.
Luthor smiled conspiratorially and proceeded to say,
"This presents a chance for us to expand into new ventures and make new allies. When the time is right, we should make contact. Peacefully of course."
"You confuse this for your many business deals Luthor. I doubt your honey flavored words can convince whoever this new party is. What we need, is a show of force. The Light is powerful. Let us indicate that. It will send a message not to take us lightly while giving us a strong position of bargaining if it comes to that."
Queenbee countered.
'Spoken like a true dictator', Luthor thought to himself.
"Queenbee is right. Let me bring down the Tempest on their heads. If they still remain standing or make it out alive, then we can treat them equally."
Ocean Master agreed, a manic thirst to prove himself shining in his eyes. Not that anyone could see it due to the mask he had on.
"I love it! It would create so much chaos, right Teekl?"
Klarion seemed the most excited out of anyone present.
Luthor sighed loudly.
"For starters, Ocean Master we have The Light's enforcer for such matters as 'bringing down the Tempest on their heads' and secondly you're missing the point. We have an opportunity to form a good relationship with someone powerful enough to take out a millennia old demon. From there we can work to bring them under The Light's influence."
The bald headed man explained the advantage in his proposition. Ocean Master crossed his hands together . It didn't take a genius to know that he wasn't convinced.
"While the table is divided in two, I am more worried about something else. What does this mean for the Meta creation research?"
The Brain inquired. To him, it didn't matter if they formed an alliance with whoever this new player was or destroyed them, advancement was his main goal. The members around the table all looked towards Ra's Al Ghul for answers. He was the one who had finalized the deal with Galiel, hence the matter was under his purview.
"If we can acquire the research data from Galiel's office, depending on whether it's still there or not, it will help immensely into either perfecting Kobra-venom or creating a new, unique and stable serum for our forces to use against the fight with the heroes and those who might stand in our way."
The Demon's Head explained softly. His tone was one that brokered no argument.
"Then it's decided. We wait and observe. Learn this new Party's pattern and behavior and when the time is right, we shall decide if they are worthy to meet us or the blade of The Light's enforcer. This matter is closed."
Savage finally spoke up after much contemplation.
"Spoilsport."
Klarion frowned a little and grumbled.
The rest all nodded. Luthor stood up just as Ra's took his seat.
"Now moving on. We have a different matter entirely to discuss."
(Aden's P.O.V)
I ran my fingers down the grooves of his face. My face. The Space I had found myself in was a representation of The Avatar State's plane of consciousness or maybe it was my own…I had no idea. It was the southern air temper. Specifically the chamber housing the statues of all the Avatars. The difference from canon was two fold. One, my statue was not a statue but a real body and two, it was the only one in the whole room.
That was not all, the link between us was making it hard to understand where I started and where he ended. All that meant was that if I kept on using The Avatar State without caution…next time I wouldn't take back control.
No matter how many questions I asked it, the body infront of me remained unresponsive. Content to stand inside the empty chamber, quiet and lonely. It was… disconcerting. I could feel I had regained control over my body and could wake up any moment I wanted but I still wasn't satisfied. I had questions. Why had he risked a whole fucking town? If the Green Lanterns weren't there, Superman and the others would have failed to stop the massive elemental bomb.
The other burning question I had was, how can I achieve control over the Avatar State. What was The Avatar State even? Maybe my theories were wrong because the power, the entity commanded was simply shocking. Was that the level I was building towards? And was there a shortcut to get there? Now that I didn't have the resources and protection of the League, I needed to be strong enough to stand on my own two feet. And if I could gain control over the Avatar State, that would make it so much easier.
I stared at my carbon copy once more. I had really changed from the Aden of my past world. The muscles, increased height and the air of danger that surrounded me…hit home more than seeing flying men, aliens and versatile rings that could do anything.
I got up after an hour from the meditative position I had taken below The Avatar State and walked up to it.
"I can't let you out anymore. Not until I gain control of you or all the elements. Whichever comes first."
Saying that I decided to leave.
My surroundings had changed when I opened my eyes. Instead of the gray chamber in The Southern Air Temple, I found myself in a beach that overlooked a calm ocean. I was lying on the sandy beach wearing my Maelstrom suit. Something I didn't remember having on during my fight with the Justice League and The Team. I patted myself down to ensure I was okay and breathed out a sigh of relief when I found out that Superman hadn't blown a hole straight through my body.
After doing that, I looked around at my surroundings.
"Ok, where the fuck am I? Did The Avatar State decide to take me out on a much needed vacation or is this one of the many mystical shit that DC is known for."
I knew that whatever I was seeing wasn't fake however. The water, the ocean life, the breeze the swaying palm trees and slight salty taste in the wind…all that registered as real to me. Yet, something was slightly off about the whole setup. For instance…the air was too fresh. Too clean and the rays of the sun above head, hit my body with just the right temperature. It wasn't as oppressive as you'd expect from a real beach.
And if that wasn't a clear indication that I wasn't in Happy Harbor anymore, a tremor/vibration that was barely detectable to my senses ran up my feet from the ground in a rhythmic pulse. It was right at the tip of my tongue. Like I knew exactly where I was yet my brain refused to accept it due to how illogical the thought was.
I controlled the air and flew up to the sky, staring down.
"An island?"
I was in an island. No cap. It was like the ones you saw on animation movies. A really clean beach with a beautiful shoreline, palm trees growing near the beach and behind them a jungle that was filled with lush trees all leading up to a mountain. Except this island didn't have a mountain. The layout was very similar to everything else I'd listed however. There was a self sustaining ecosystem, filled with everything from insects to small animals like squirrels.
And right in the middle of the island was an open section. I used my superior eyesight to look further and felt my heart jump in shock.
"You've gotta be kidding me. I'm staring at a lion turtle?"
*You can already guess that The Light is soon going to clash against Lucifer. Not even Klarion is aware of the massive mistake they are about to make. But will Lucifer entertain them?
*Where is Aden? Is he in the Avatar world or what's going on. See you tomorrow.