(General P.O.V)

"Flash, I just got a ping of Batman's position by tracking the signal in his holo device." Hawkwoman informed the scarlet speedster.

"It's very near. Approximately 16 miles to the northwest from your current position."

"Got it."

The Flash said and started running towards where he was being directed.

"I'm pulling up satellite images of the whole area. Be careful while going in. He just appeared from nowhere suggesting possible teleportation. Green Lantern is on his way to act as back up incase something happens."

"Thank you Hawkwoman. Do you…do you really think the Kid could do something like that to Superman?"

Barry added unsurely. Shayera went silent for a few minutes before answering.

"My instincts tell me…no. But, we cannot take that chance. If you come across him, take him down fast Barry. We can question him later and find out the truth. The goal is to make sure he doesn't escape like before."

(Aden's P.O.V)

I saw the way Batman looked at the swirling yellow boom tube behind us and smirked. He was probably thinking of countermeasures to that too, aware that I could basically come and go unrestricted as long as I had been there before. My portals were a godsend. They were a ticket out of anything I couldn't handle. A way to escape, regroup and come back even stronger. Some might call it a cowardly move but…sue me, I love my life.

"I'd tell you a picture lasts longer but I'm sure you've already seen enough, come to conclusions, assessed countermeasures and are well on your way to implementation and test runs. Fuck, I will even offer my services for a certain fee. How's a mil sound?"

I spoke up, looking around at the surroundings. I had portaled us to the outskirts of Metropolis, a bit far away from the Lobo vs Superman battlefield.

"Funny."

The Dark Knight's tone was as dry as the Sahara.

"You know me, the very definition of humor. Comedian extraordinaire."

I said with a shrug, reaching out with my air sense to give me a, well…sense of how far the city was and our approximate position to the battlefield.

"So what now?"

Batman looked down at the Kryptonian in his arms and frowned.

"The sun should have helped him wake up by now." He said with a grunt, placing Superman on the ground.

"For now, I will contact the League and secure their permission for you to boom tube to the Watchtower. You need to give a formal recount of the events." I frowned, not liking the sound of that. Batman continued as if he didn't see the look on my face.

"If the Light was behind this, it means they have stopped scheming in the dark. People died due to this recent move. Had you not intervened, we would have been too late to save Superman. This…means war."

A shiver went through my spine at the badass way he said that. I smiled. A genuine smile this time.

"Count me in Bruce." I punctuated my statement by slamming my left fist in my open right palm.

"That sounds fun. I have a bone to pick with a certain baldy."

I saw the hint of a smile before his face went back to it's impassive state.

"But first we need to find out why they targeted Superman specifically…"

Batman's words were suddenly cut off as my body pulled away from my previous position. My perception felt an object cut through my air sense faster than I could perceive. My brain only registering the fact I was being dragged away by a red blur after the action had happened and my back had slammed against a wall.

The breath was knocked out of me as I felt my healing ribs go back to their initial state of being cracked. I had forgone Saisei's healing for my own enhanced healing as well as Iroh's concoction after seeing the toll healing Superman had taken on him. I swallowed the pained shout and merely grunted, taking a knee, while holding my hand close to my torso. I pulled on my inner fire, using lightning bending to increase my speed and cut down reaction speed to see what exactly was attacking me. My eyes flashed blue and I widened them in surprise. Red suit with a lightning bolt insignia on his chest, and a determined set to his jaw.

"Barry…"

Despite the fact I could see him, he was still too fast for me. I felt my legs give way, swept out from under me before I impacted the ground on my back. I rolled away from the impact that followed, power dampening cuffs missing where my hands were, by barely a centimeter. The cuffs hit the ground and broke under The Flash's hasty move. I looked at him and then the broken cuffs.

Barry got up slowly.

"Give up Maelstrom. You're not escaping like last time."

Shit. Were they still salty about the Watchtower thing? Fuck. This complicates things. Now I'm not even sure if it will make a difference coming in come peacefully. They might decide not to let me go after giving my statement. But still, this was important. What would Iroh do? Mmmh, The old grandmaster Firebender would probably tell me to exercise patience and understanding. To not get lost too deep in my thoughts to see things from an outside point of view.

What was the worst the League could do? Probably lock me in a secure place (that I would escape from) or keep me in place using certain incentives, be it guilt, threats, a sense that they could relate or whatever. This time they would probably be ready. Maybe a stronger magical device to keep me from saying 'I'm outta this bitch.' The previous Magi-tech manacles had failed to work though so who knows? Could they even keep me captive if I didn't want it?

The question boils down to one thing. Was I willing to put the vendetta between the League and I away, placing my freedom at risk if it meant dealing with The Light once and for all? Surprisingly, Yes. Destroying Lex's little band of 'Lets play villains' was worth it. Doing so with the League would make it much easier to avoid mistakes or unforeseen situations. Plus...it would give me the credibility I needed to the masses so as to make it easier for when I started my own team. I was trying to change things for the better. That meant arguably making smart decisions and being prepared rather than going in guns blazing and initiating a doomsday countermeasure that the Light had in place should they mysteriously die. And after we've taken them down...hehehe I would know exactly where they would be...a quick soul scan and I would decide who could reform and who was going to get the Ultra-humanite treatment. I wouldn't even be killing them. Not really. I think. So I raised my hands up, the pain in my chest protesting but I pushed through it.

"Ok. I give up."

I said, stopping the fight from continuing.

The Flash looked a bit taken aback.

"Really. I don't want to fight. We have more important things to worry about."

My tone was sincere, throwing the other man out of loop. The Flash studied me for a few more minutes before pressing on his earpiece.

"Hawkwoman, inform Wonder woman and Zatara that I'm bringing Maelstrom in."

There was a brief silence before my enhanced senses picked up on the response.

"Are you sure Flash? The signal on the power dampening cuffs shows that they are inactive. What is going on?"

Shayera's voice, something that I hadn't heard the pleasure to hear that often said warily. Barry spared me a glance.

"Yeah... he's complying and wants me to bring him in."

"Copy that. Green Lantern is close to your position. Coordinate with him. Also Flash...be careful."

With that, the earpiece went silent. I frowned in thought. None of this felt right. It was...it was like I wasn't privy to some obvious information.

"Hey, so I was wondering where's the team? I was half expecting you guys to send them on the mission to stop the Injustice League, you know the ones cont..."

"What did you do!?"

The voice shouted from above us. Of course I'd felt Green Lantern arrive but what I wasn't expecting was the anger.

A fly swatter construct fell down on top of me only for a shield of wind to stop it in his tracks. Whoa. Hal floated down, with Batman carrying Superman standing on a green platform.

"Green Lantern, stand down."

Batman ordered from the side. The green and black galactic enforcer ignored him, changing the Fly swatter into a drill made of will energy that rippled across my air shield, trying to cut through and would have succeeded had I not reinforced the air shield even more.

"Hal, Stop!"

The Flash shouted.

"I don't appreciate being attacked out of nowhere Lantern! I told Flash I was going to come in peacefully but don't make me change my mind."

The construct disappeared and Green Lantern sneered at me in suspicion.

"I'm watching you. One misstep. Just one and we'll see if you have the strength to back up that confidence."

I narrowed my eyes but chose not to say anything. By now, I had a feeling that something was very very wrong. I spared a look at Batman and noted the crease in the corner of his lips. Superman wasn't waking up and Batman was worried. This shit doesn't look good.

"Maelstrom, you're cleared to boom tube to the medical room."

The Flash informed after another conversation with Hawkwoman who was manning the console.

"Cool. Let's get this over with."

I nodded with a shrug, second guessing my decision.

The swirling yellow portal appeared before us in an explosion of sound. I thought about making a joke but decided not to, given the gravity of the situation.

"What are you not telling me?"

I asked Batman as he stepped up to my side.

"Let's move."

He stated without answering and we all entered the layered portal. Meaning a boom tube that was connected with another one to make the transition from point A to point B as seamless as possible without fully stepping into my realm. I had been letting people inside willy nilly and that didn't sit right with me.

The next portal emptied out into the medical room and instantly, I found a sword levelled at me from a very pissed off Themysciran Princess. The room despite it's large nature seemed small when the whole roster of the Justice League was present barring Hawkwoman who was, as stated earlier on console duty. And all of them looked as if they wanted was to skin me alive. Oh goodie. I sighed.

"I'm thinking this is not about last time when I invaded the Watchtower, is it?"

I questioned and received a response. Just not the one I was expecting.

"Don't play dumb. Did you really think you could get away with trying to kill Superman?"

Whaaaaaaaa?