A.N. Please give my other stories some support please, most particularly the Nekros one.
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Chapter 10
-Bardock-
The Bio-Ship's interior had a peculiar quiet to it, broken only by the occasional murmur of conversation and the soft sounds of the vessel carrying us through the sky. I sat behind M'gann, one arm resting against the back of the seat, and took the opportunity to examine our transport properly. The walls weren't metal, at least not in any conventional sense, and the curved surfaces possessed a texture that reminded me of polished bone beneath a thin layer of living tissue. Even the consoles looked grown rather than assembled, their smooth shapes blending into the surrounding structure without seams or visible fastenings. I had travelled in machines far more advanced than this, but there was something about the Bio-Ship that made me hesitate before calling it a machine at all.
M'gann glanced back when she noticed me studying the wall beside her. "Something wrong, Bardock?"
"Not particularly. I've been meaning to ask you about your ship." I leaned forward slightly, keeping my voice low enough that I wouldn't have to compete with Wally's commentary from the opposite side of the cabin. "I can sense something inside it. Not energy in the usual sense, but a presence. It's faint, though. Almost like a living creature that's learned how to think."
Her expression brightened with immediate interest. "That's because she is a living creature. The Bio-Ship is a Martian bioship, grown from living tissue and bonded with a pilot. She's not just something I drive around. We're connected, and I can communicate with her telepathically."
I looked at the curved wall again, reconsidering the way it had subtly shifted beneath my hand when I'd first boarded. "So, the ship is alive, and you talk to her with your mind. Does she have her own thoughts, or does she only respond to yours?"
"She has her own personality," M'gann explained, turning forward in her seat while keeping her attention on me. "It's difficult to describe because our connection is different from the way humans communicate with animals, but she can sense things, react to danger, and make decisions. I can guide her, but I don't treat her like a vehicle that belongs to me. She's my partner."
"That makes more sense than I expected," I admitted. "Most people build a machine to carry them somewhere. Your people grow one that chooses to carry you." I gave the interior another thoughtful glance before settling back into my seat. "I suppose it would be rude to complain about the accommodations if the accommodations could hear me."
M'gann laughed, and the ship's interior gave a faint ripple, almost as though it had noticed the exchange. "She likes you, actually. She's curious about you."
"Then she has good taste." I flexed my arms, making the muscles bulge. "Who wouldn't be curious about a fine specimen like me?"
"Don't let it go to your head." Robin called from the forward section, where he was checking information on a small screen. "We're still taking you to a dangerous situation, not a sightseeing tour."
"I can do both." I replied. "Though the sightseeing has been somewhat lacking so far."
"Central City is a very exciting place." Wally assured me. He was sitting sideways in his seat, one arm draped over the backrest, looking entirely too comfortable for someone heading toward a hostile android. "There's a museum, a lot of restaurants, and a suspicious number of people who think red costumes are a good idea."
"Dressing up like a giant banana doesn't seem to not be a bad idea either, Wally." I addressed him by his rather appropriate name. Don't get me wrong, this kid is smarter than he looks but he's also an idiot.
"I'll have you know that I got the best costume around!" Wally said in an offended tone. "I'm literally the colour of lightning."
"Lightning is blue."
"Tell that to Shazam."
"He uses magic." I snorted. "It doesn't count."
"Focus, Kid Flash. Please Bardock, sir, don't encourage him." Aqualad said, his voice calm but firm. He sat with his back straight, reviewing the mission details Robin had pulled up. "We do not yet know what capabilities Amazo has retained, nor whether he has acquired new ones since his last encounter with us."
Conner crossed his arms and stared at the floor. He had been quiet since we boarded, although the set of his jaw suggested that his silence had less to do with thoughtfulness than a desire not to speak to me. Artemis sat beside him, checking her arrows with the practiced care of someone who knew that equipment failure could become a serious problem at exactly the wrong moment. Robin kept one eye on his display while the other seemed permanently aware of everyone in the cabin. Six young heroes, each preparing in their own way, and one living ship carrying us toward a machine that had already given them trouble.
"Speaking of Amazo," I said, returning to the matter at hand, "why didn't you destroy him the last time you defeated him?"
Robin looked up. "Because defeating him and making sure he couldn't hurt anyone were the immediate priorities. Amazo was a Justice League-level threat. We had to stop him before he could keep adapting, and once we did, the League took custody of the remains."
"Then what happened to them?"
"The components were recovered for study and containment," Robin replied. "The situation was complicated. Amazo's technology wasn't something we could safely dismantle without knowing what we were dealing with, and there were questions about how much of his system remained active after he was defeated. The League was supposed to make sure the pieces stayed secure."
I tilted my head. "And yet Professor Ivo managed to get his hands on them again."
"We don't know the full story yet," Robin said. "That's why we're going in."
"I understand not wanting to disassemble something you don't understand. What I don't understand is leaving its parts where the people who built it can retrieve them." I rested my forearms on my knees and looked toward the others. "If an android can copy the abilities of powerful beings, adapt to its opponents, and potentially become more dangerous every time it fights, then its remains are not ordinary scrap. They're an invitation to build the same problem all over again. And Ivo looks exactly like the sort of man who would accept that invitation with both hands."
"That's not always how it works," Conner interjected. He finally turned to face me, his expression hardening. "You can't just destroy everything you don't like and call it a solution. There might be a way to contain Amazo without killing him, or to figure out what makes him dangerous so he can't hurt anyone again."
I met his gaze without changing my posture. "My agreement with the Justice League is that I won't kill people short of the most absolute emergency. I have no intention of changing that arrangement. But the courtesy doesn't extend to robots, especially ones that can become a threat to entire teams of heroes. If something is designed to be dangerous and keeps returning to cause trouble, then eventually someone has to decide whether keeping it intact is worth the risk."
Conner's hands tightened against his arms, but before he could answer, Aqualad spoke. "The distinction between a machine and a living being is not always as simple as it first appears. We must establish what Amazo is capable of now that he's been reassembled and likely retains his new data before deciding what should be done with him."
"That's reasonable," I said, giving him a small nod. "Which is why I asked the question rather than dismantling every piece of living machinery I come across now and in the future."
"Please don't dismantle the ship," M'gann said, only half joking. "She's very nice when people aren't threatening to take her apart."
"I wasn't talking about your ship. She hasn't tried to copy Superman's powers and beat him senseless."
"Yet." Wally said, grinning. "Give her time." Wally's grin widened when Conner shot him a look, but he had the good sense not to push the joke any further. Instead, he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he studied me with renewed curiosity. "You know, if you like fighting as much as everyone says you do, Amazo might actually be your kind of opponent. He can copy powers, right? Imagine fighting someone who can throw Superman's punches, use Martian Manhunter's abilities, and do whatever else he picked up from the League."
"It's unlikely to be the challenge you're imagining," I replied. "If Amazo's primary advantage is copying the Justice League's powers, then he's already starting with a disadvantage against me. I've fought the League and won."
The cabin grew quiet for a moment. Wally's eyebrows rose, while Artemis paused in checking the strap around her quiver. Robin's expression remained difficult to read, though his fingers stopped moving across his screen. Conner looked as if he'd found another reason to dislike me, and I couldn't blame him entirely. It wasn't an especially tactful thing to say in front of a group of young heroes who looked up to the people I'd beaten.
I shrugged. "That doesn't mean the fight would be boring. Having all those abilities rolled into one opponent could be interesting, particularly if he knows how to combine them. A collection of powers isn't the same thing as a fighter who understands how to use them together. If Amazo has learned to do that, then I'll be curious to see how far he's progressed."
"Curious is fine," Robin said, putting his screen away. "But Amazo is our problem to deal with. We know his previous patterns, we've fought him before, and we have a plan. You're coming along to observe, remember?"
"Of course." I leaned back and crossed my arms. "I'll gladly watch from the sidelines while you lot get your asses kicked, if that's what you want so badly. But if the android decides I'm a more convenient target, I'll respond appropriately. I don't intend to stand still and let him take my head off just because you want to prove a point."
"That's reassuring," Artemis muttered sarcastically. "I was worried you'd let him kill you out of politeness."
"Hey now, I'm very polite." I smiled sweetly. "A proper gentleman in fact."
"Sure you are," she replied, without looking up.
Aqualad's mouth twitched with the faintest hint of amusement before he returned his attention to the mission briefing. "We will not assume that Amazo's previous limitations still apply. Robin, keep us updated on any changes in his behaviour. Miss Martian, maintain communication with the team, and be prepared to withdraw the Bio-Ship if the situation escalates. Kid Flash, focus on evacuation and perimeter control. Artemis, keep your distance unless you have a clear shot at a vulnerable component. Superboy, you will provide heavy support and protect civilians."
I think I've figured out the command structure of this little band of Justice League groupies. The fish boy is definitely the leader, given how he's dishing out orders. Won't say he didn't earn it though. The kid has an air of discipline around him, like he's used to military drills. Something the rest of these brats don't have.
"And Bardock?" Wally asked.
"Bardock will observe unless intervention becomes necessary." Aqualad replied, meeting my eyes to make certain I understood the arrangement.
I gave him a lazy salute. "I'll try not to ruin your afternoon."
"Try harder than that." Robin said.
The Bio-Ship began to descend, its living structure adjusting around us as M'gann guided it toward the city. Through the forward viewport, Central City emerged beneath the clouds, its towers catching the afternoon light while traffic moved along the streets in bright, orderly streams. It was a clean-looking city, at least from this height, though the distant plume of smoke rising above several buildings suggested that appearances were already becoming misleading. A red-and-blue emergency marker flashed on Robin's display, and his expression sharpened as the ship banked toward the source.
"There." Artemis said, pointing past the viewport. "Looks like the welcoming committee's already here."
A squad of armed personnel had surrounded an intersection below, their vehicles positioned across the road to block traffic. Beyond them, the pavement was broken and scorched, and a broad-shouldered figure with a metallic body moved through the suppression team's formation as if their weapons were little more than toys. Each time they fired, the android adjusted. Its movements were too fluid for something built from metal, and the shifting shapes of its arms suggested that the weapons being used against it were providing little more than a demonstration of their own ineffectiveness.
"Amazo," Robin said. He enlarged the image on his display, scanning the scene for other figures. "The suppression squad appears to be from S.T.A.R. Labs. They're trying to bring him back in, but I don't see Ivo anywhere."
"Maybe he got tired of watching his creation wreck things," Wally said, rising from his seat. "Or maybe he decided he didn't want to be anywhere near the thing that can throw tanks around."
"Don't assume he's absent just because you can't see him," Robin warned. "Ivo could be directing this from somewhere nearby."
M'gann guided the Bio-Ship toward the roof of a nearby apartment complex, keeping low enough to avoid drawing more attention than necessary. The landing was smooth, the ship settling against the rooftop with a subtle flex of its living hull. I rose with the others as the rear hatch opened, and the city's noise rushed in to meet us: distant sirens, shouted warnings, the sharp crack of weapons fire, and the rising murmur of people who had gathered to watch.
Aqualad moved to the hatch first, his expression focused. "Remember your assignments. We stop Amazo from reaching the civilians, and we do not allow the situation to spread into the surrounding streets. If he changes tactics, adapt. Do not repeat an approach that has already failed."
Robin gave a quick nod, then glanced at me. "Stay out of our way unless you have to step in."
"I thought that was the plan."
"I'm reminding you."
"Then you've done a fine job."
He gave me a flat look before turning away. One by one, the Team launched themselves from the roof and dropped toward the street. Kid Flash vanished in a yellow streak, already racing ahead to clear the nearest stretch of pavement. Artemis leapt down after him, bow in hand, while Conner followed with the directness of a falling boulder. Aqualad descended with controlled precision, and Robin used his line to swing toward the nearest building before dropping out of sight. M'gann floated after them, green light briefly outlining her form before she accelerated toward the commotion.
I remained on the roof for a moment, watching the six of them spread out toward the fight. They were young, but not careless; each moved with the confidence of someone who had been through dangerous situations before. Their coordination would matter more than any individual display of strength, especially against an opponent who could learn from every mistake. I had made my opinion of their experience clear, perhaps more clearly than was necessary, but I was willing to see what they could do when the consequences were real.
Then I stepped off the edge. The air caught beneath me, and I drifted down toward the street without hurry. I could have crossed the distance in an instant, but that would have served no purpose except to announce my arrival. Instead, I lowered myself into the space behind the police line, where a small crowd had gathered at a safe distance. Several people held their phones aloft, recording the fight and talking over one another as the suppression squad struggled to contain Amazo. A few had backed away from the road, while others seemed determined to get a better view, as if the danger were a show arranged for their entertainment.
I landed lightly among them, my boots touching the pavement without so much as a crack. The nearest spectators barely noticed at first, too focused on the android and the costumed heroes moving around it. Then a young man turned, took one look at my tail, and nudged the woman beside him. Her gaze followed his, and recognition spread through the small group with surprising speed.
"Wait, that's him," the young man said, raising his phone higher. "That's Wukong!"
I closed my eyes for half a second. Not this again.
"Wukong! Hey, Wukong!" someone called from my left. "Can we get a picture?"
Another voice rose above the crowd. "Are you here to help the Justice League? Is it true you fought Superman? What about the rumours that you came from another planet?"
What rumours? Were anthropomorphic traits really not common on this Earth? Then again it was missing a lot of the stuff I was used to. No talking animals, wish granting dragons, no dinosaurs still roaming around. That last one was especially disappointing. I did so love me a t-rex tail steak.
I turned toward them slowly, wearing the frown Vegeta had perfected long before I was born. My arms folded across my chest, and I let my tail curl behind me while I regarded the phones pointed in my direction. It was apparently not enough for these people to give me a name I hadn't chosen; they also expected me to stand still and smile while they asked questions about my life in the middle of a developing emergency. I had faced gods with better manners than this…actually no, not really. Most gods I knew were either sordid pricks or just bossy. Nahare was a rare exception, only because he was so timid.
The unwanted name itself irritated me more than the attention. Wukong. Sun Wukong. The Monkey King. I understood the resemblance they thought they saw: the hair, the tail, the staff, the fact that I had appeared in their skies and started fighting people who made trouble. Humans seemed determined to find a story they already knew and fit me into it, even when the comparison was insulting. Saiyans were not monkeys, and I had no interest in being treated like some wandering figure from a children's legend.
"Is it true you can transform into an ape?" a teenager asked eagerly. "Like instead of a werewolf, you're a wereape? You know, cuz of the tail?"
My frown deepened. The question hit much nearer to the mark than I liked to admit. For all their conjecture, human intuition was surprisingly accurate even when no physical proof had been given. I'd not used my Great Ape form in years.
I allowed the smallest flicker of my aura to escape. There was no visible flare, no shockwave, and no dramatic rush of wind to send people stumbling into one another. I didn't need any of that. The pressure merely brushed against the crowd, enough to awaken the instincts that told living creatures when they were standing too close to something dangerous. Conversations faltered, phones lowered by a few inches, and the people nearest me instinctively stepped back. The teenager swallowed and found something else to look at.
"Give the man some room," someone muttered.
At last, a sensible suggestion.
I let the pressure fade and returned my attention to the fight. I wasn't interested in frightening ordinary people who had done nothing more offensive than ask irritating questions, but I hoped the brief reminder would persuade them to keep their distance. A few continued recording from farther away. That was their choice, and I had more important things to watch than whether they caught a flattering angle.
The suppression squad was falling back, its members retreating toward their vehicles while Amazo remained in the open street. The Team had reached the scene, and their positions were beginning to take shape around the android. Aqualad was directing them, Robin kept to the edges of the immediate confrontation, and Miss Martian hovered above the street with her attention fixed on the developing situation. Kid Flash moved through the perimeter, clearing people from the danger zone, while Artemis and Superboy approached from different angles.
I watched without moving, curious to see whether the Team could force Amazo to respond to several threats at once without giving him an easy opportunity to copy their methods. Their first decisions would matter. A machine that learned from its opponents could turn a predictable strategy against them, and I doubted that brute force alone would settle the matter.
Conner glanced in my direction for the briefest moment. I couldn't tell whether he was checking that I hadn't decided to interfere or simply reminding himself that I was watching. Either way, I gave him a slight nod toward the android, inviting him to concentrate on the problem in front of him rather than the audience behind him. He turned away without acknowledging it. Fine. I hadn't come here to win his approval.
The crowd murmured behind me, the cameras continued to record, and the distant sirens grew louder as more emergency vehicles approached. I kept my arms crossed and my attention on Amazo, prepared to remain a spectator for as long as the situation allowed. If the young heroes could handle the machine themselves, I would let them. If they couldn't, I would intervene when necessary. And if anyone called me Wukong again, I would make a point of explaining exactly how much I disliked the name.
---
-General POV-
Amazo moved before the first attack could reach him. Conner had barely crossed the distance separating them when the android's head turned towards him, its blank expression offering no indication of the calculations taking place behind its artificial eyes. A fraction of a second later, its body shifted into a stance that looked almost identical to Superman's, right down to the relaxed shoulders and the effortless balance that made the Man of Steel so difficult to move. Conner recognised the posture a moment too late.
"Access: Superman."
Amazo's fist struck Conner squarely in the chest. The impact hurled the young Kryptonian clone backwards, his boots carving twin furrows through the asphalt before he smashed into the side of an abandoned vehicle. Metal folded around his body, and the car skidded several metres along the road. Conner pushed himself out of the wreckage with a furious grunt, but the android was already advancing, its movements precise and economical. It had not simply copied Superman's strength; it had learned how to apply it against someone who possessed many of the same physical advantages but lacked Clark Kent's years of experience.
"Superboy, fall back!" Aqualad ordered as he rushed forward, twin water-bearers drawn and ready.
Conner ignored him, charging again with his fists raised. This time, he feinted left before driving a punch towards Amazo's ribs, attempting to exploit the android's commitment to its previous counter. Amazo adjusted without hesitation, catching Conner's wrist and turning his own momentum against him. Its knee slammed into Conner's stomach, and a follow-up blow struck the side of his head with enough force to send him tumbling across the road. Before he could recover, Amazo lifted one arm and pointed it towards the incoming Aqualad.
"Access: Flash."
The android vanished.
Aqualad's eyes widened as a gust of displaced air swept past him. Amazo reappeared behind his shoulder, delivered a sharp strike between his shoulder blades, and disappeared again before Aqualad could turn. A second blow caught him across the ribs. A third struck the back of his knee, forcing him down onto one leg. The android moved too quickly for the human eye to follow properly, attacking from different directions while denying the Team any reliable opportunity to coordinate. Each time someone tried to intercept it, Amazo was already somewhere else.
"It's using the same speed tricks as before!" Robin called from the edge of the engagement, his fingers already moving across his wrist-mounted computer. "Don't chase it individually. Watch each other's positions and cover the gaps!"
"Great advice!" Wally shouted, racing through the street in pursuit of the android. "I'll just tell it to slow down so we can all have a nice conversation!"
He accelerated, lightning trailing behind him as he tried to match Amazo's movements. For a few seconds, the two figures blurred through the intersection, weaving between abandoned cars and leaping over broken sections of pavement. Wally anticipated the android's next turn and cut across its path, reaching out to catch its arm. Amazo abruptly changed direction, planted one foot against a wall, and used the rebound to launch itself over him. Before Wally could stop, the android kicked him between the shoulders and sent him skidding across the hood of a parked car.
Wally rolled clear just before the vehicle's suspension gave way beneath him. "Okay, so it's faster than me. That's rude."
"Kid Flash, stay with the team!" Robin warned.
"I'm trying!"
Amazo landed in the middle of the intersection and straightened as though nothing had happened. Its head rotated towards Artemis, who had already drawn an arrow and was lining up a shot from behind the cover of a delivery van. She released as soon as she saw the opening, sending the arrow straight towards the android's neck. Amazo did not dodge.
"Access: Martian Manhunter."
Its body became intangible. The projectile struck its body and passed through without resistance, its shaft continuing along the same trajectory as the android's outline briefly blurred around the point of impact. Artemis immediately nocked a second arrow, this one carrying a small explosive charge, and fired at the ground beneath Amazo's feet. The blast sent dust and fragments of pavement into the air, but the android remained untouched, its body flickering between solid and intangible states with an efficiency that suggested it had already anticipated the attack. It turned its head towards her, and its eyes began to glow.
"Access: Superman."
Twin beams of heat vision swept across the intersection. Artemis threw herself behind the delivery van as the beams cut through its side, leaving molten edges glowing orange in the afternoon light. She rolled out from the opposite end, scrambled to her feet, and fired another arrow towards Amazo's face. The android tilted its head just enough to avoid the projectile, then extended one arm towards her.
"Access: Martian Manhunter."
Its forearm lengthened unnaturally, stretching across the distance between them like a living cable, and its hand closed around the front of her jacket before she could retreat. Amazo yanked her out from cover. Artemis struck at its wrist with the heel of her hand, but the android's grip tightened, and she found herself dragged across the pavement towards it. Aqualad intercepted the extended limb, slashing at it with one water-bearer while directing a pressurised stream of water into the joint. The attack forced Amazo to release Artemis, who hit the ground, rolled onto her side, and immediately scrambled away from the exposed stretch of road.
"Artemis, report!" Aqualad called.
"Still in one piece!" she answered, coughing as she rose. "Not particularly enjoying the experience!"
Aqualad's expression remained composed, but the tension in his shoulders had increased. Their opponent was combining powers faster than they could develop countermeasures, switching between physical strength, speed, intangibility and elastic reach without wasting movement. It wasn't simply that Amazo possessed more abilities than they did. It understood how those abilities could be used to exploit the Team's habits, and every failed attack seemed to make it more efficient at dismantling their formation.
From the edge of the crowd, Bardock watched the confrontation with his arms folded. His expression had lost some of its earlier amusement, replaced by the attentive focus of a fighter studying an unfamiliar opponent. He could see the logic behind Amazo's movements, the way it prioritised whichever member of the Team represented the greatest immediate threat, and the speed with which it changed tactics when an attack failed. The android was learning, but its learning had a peculiar quality. It recognised successful movements and reproduced them, yet Bardock had not seen anything to suggest that it understood the principles behind the techniques it copied.
That distinction might prove important later. For the moment, however, the Team was in trouble. Amazo was no Android 17. It didn't have that particular android's sense of creativity and resourcefulness but it was a deadly opponent in its own League.
Miss Martian descended towards the intersection, her eyes glowing green as she reached out telepathically to coordinate the others. "Everyone, stay connected! I'll try to keep track of its position and warn you before it changes direction."
Amazo's head turned towards her.
"Access: Martian Manhunter."
Its body vanished from sight, becoming intangible as it rose above the street. Miss Martian tried to seize it telekinetically, but her grip passed through its form. Before she could change tactics, Amazo solidified beside her and struck her across the face. The blow sent her spinning through the air, her concentration breaking as she crashed into the side of a building. Bricks cracked beneath the impact, and she dropped towards the pavement before catching herself with her powers.
"Miss Martian!" Robin shouted.
"I'm okay!" M'gann answered, though her voice carried more strain than she intended. She pressed one hand against the wall, trying to steady herself while the pain faded. "It anticipated the telekinetic connection. I don't think I can get a clear read on it without giving it another opening."
"Then don't force it," Aqualad replied. "Keep your distance and support us when you can."
Amazo landed lightly in the centre of the street, its head turning from one hero to the next. Conner was still getting back to his feet, Wally was circling the intersection in search of an opening, and Artemis had repositioned herself behind a concrete barrier. Robin was attempting to direct them through the chaos, while Aqualad tried to keep Amazo occupied long enough for the others to recover. The android assessed each movement and responded before any of them could turn their intentions into an effective attack.
"Access: Captain Atom."
Energy gathered in Amazo's palms, building into brilliant pulses of blue-white light. It thrust both hands forward, releasing a pair of blasts that tore through the intersection. Aqualad threw himself sideways as the first blast struck the road where he had been standing, blasting a crater into the asphalt. The second swept towards Conner, who raised his arms to shield himself. The explosion swallowed him in a flash of light and smoke, driving him backwards into a building façade hard enough to crack the masonry.
Robin ducked behind a concrete support as fragments of pavement peppered the surrounding street. He glanced at his display, but the readings were too inconsistent to be useful. Every time he began to identify a pattern, Amazo changed its output or switched to another power, making the previous information obsolete before he could act on it.
"It's cycling through the League's abilities faster than we can respond!" he shouted. "We need to force it to commit to one power long enough to exploit a weakness!"
"Any suggestions?" Artemis called from behind her barrier.
"Working on it!"
"Work faster!"
Amazo advanced through the smoke, its attention settling on Aqualad as the Atlantean rose from his evasive manoeuvre. Kaldur drew his water-bearers together, shaping their contents into a broad stream that swept across the android's legs. The sudden force disrupted its footing, and for a moment it appeared to stumble. Conner seized the opportunity, charging through the smoke with a roar and driving his shoulder into Amazo's torso. The android slid backwards several metres, its feet gouging trenches into the road, but Conner kept pressing, following with a succession of heavy punches intended to overwhelm it before it could respond.
Amazo absorbed the first two blows, blocked the third, and caught Conner's next fist between both hands.
"Access: Superman."
Its strength surged, and it twisted Conner's arm aside before delivering a brutal uppercut that lifted him off the ground. Conner barely had time to register the impact before Amazo struck him again, sending him crashing through the remains of a bus shelter. Glass burst around him, scattering across the pavement as he landed on his back. He tried to rise, but his limbs failed to cooperate immediately, leaving him struggling against the ringing in his head.
"Conner, stay down!" M'gann called, floating closer while keeping herself out of the android's reach.
He pushed one hand against the pavement. "I'm not staying down while that thing-"
Amazo turned towards him, and Conner's sentence died as its eyes began to glow again. "Access: Superman."
Robin launched a pair of explosive discs at the android's face. The explosions burst across its head, forcing it to turn aside just long enough for Wally to race in and drag Conner out of the immediate line of fire. They emerged behind an overturned vehicle, where Wally dropped his teammate with considerably less gentleness than he might have preferred.
"Okay, new rule," Wally said, catching his breath. "If you see the robot glowing, don't stand in front of it."
Conner grimaced and forced himself upright. "I know that."
"Great. Then we're making progress."
Across the street, Amazo's head rotated towards Robin. Its eyes stopped glowing, and the android lifted one hand towards the ground.
"Access: Martian Manhunter."
The metal wreckage of a nearby vehicle shuddered, rose into the air, and tore free of the pavement. Another car followed, then a third, each suspended above the street as if gravity had become a matter of personal preference. Robin's expression changed when he realised what was coming.
"Everybody move!"
Amazo flung the vehicles forward. Aqualad threw himself behind a reinforced concrete pillar, while Artemis sprinted out from behind her barrier. Wally seized M'gann's arm and raced her clear of the first car's trajectory, leaving a red blur in his wake. Robin fired a line towards a streetlight and swung above the incoming wreckage, but the second vehicle clipped the cable and sent him spinning. He released it before the impact could drag him into the ground, landing badly on one shoulder and rolling through the debris. The third car smashed into the pavement where Aqualad had been standing, exploding into a shower of metal and shattered glass.
Amazo did not wait for the dust to settle. It stepped through the wreckage, its body changing as it selected another combination of powers.
"Access: Captain Marvel."
Lightning gathered around its arms, bright enough to illuminate the damaged street in stark white flashes. The android thrust both hands forward, and a bolt of faux-magical lightning tore through the intersection. Aqualad crossed his water-bearers defensively, redirecting part of the blast into the wet pavement, but the force still threw him backwards. Artemis was caught by the edge of the discharge and knocked off her feet, her bow skidding across the road. Robin managed to roll clear, only for the next flash to strike the ground beside him and send him tumbling into a pile of broken concrete.
For a moment, the only sounds were the crackle of residual electricity and the distant wail of emergency sirens. Amazo stood in the centre of the devastation, apparently unharmed, while the Team struggled to regain their footing. Their formation had collapsed. Their attacks had been anticipated, their attempts at coordination interrupted, and their strongest members repeatedly forced onto the defensive. The android had not merely matched their abilities; it had used them with a ruthless efficiency that left little room for recovery.
Bardock's eyes narrowed slightly. He had expected Amazo to be dangerous, but the speed of its adaptation was more impressive than the individual powers it possessed. Its strength and speed were formidable, yet what made it particularly troublesome was its ability to move from one advantage to another without hesitation. The Team had spent years developing methods suited to their own powers and personalities. Amazo had taken those familiar methods and turned them against their creators, stripping away the assumptions on which their teamwork depended. It had learned from its last encounter with the Team.
Even so, he could see opportunities they had not yet recognised. Amazo favoured the most direct response to whatever threat it identified, and its constant switching suggested that it relied on selecting the right ability rather than developing a flexible fighting style of its own. That could become a weakness if someone forced it to make several decisions at once. The difficulty was that the Team had barely been able to make it respond to one threat at a time, let alone create the kind of pressure necessary to expose such a flaw.
"Robin!" Aqualad called, forcing himself to stand. "We cannot maintain this approach. We must withdraw and regroup."
Robin pushed himself upright, wincing as he tested his injured shoulder. "Agreed. Kid Flash, get Artemis clear. Miss Martian, help Conner and keep the civilians moving. I'll cover the retreat."
"Retreat?" Conner demanded, staggering away from the wreckage. "We're not letting it walk away!"
"It's not walking away," Robin snapped. "It's beating us, and if we keep throwing ourselves at it, we'll make its job easier."
Amazo turned its head towards the gathering crowd beyond the police line. Its gaze passed over the scattered vehicles, the damaged buildings, and the retreating heroes before settling on the figure standing among the spectators. Bardock remained where he was, arms folded, his expression as unimpressed as it had been when the fight began. The android studied him for a moment, its eyes moving across his body as though collecting information invisible to the human observers surrounding him.
Bardock noticed the change in its attention. "There you are." he murmured.
Amazo's head tilted, and its posture shifted. The Team had given it a catalogue of powers and techniques, but Bardock represented an entirely different set of unknowns. The android had observed his arrival, his controlled descent, and the faint pressure he had released to discourage the crowd. Whatever its internal analysis had concluded, it evidently considered him a threat worth addressing.
"Access: Superma-"
The declaration never finished. Bardock vanished from the crowd and appeared directly in front of Amazo, moving so suddenly that even the android's adaptive systems failed to respond in time. His hand closed around its face, fingers gripping the metal skull with effortless certainty. Before Amazo could raise its arms, Bardock drove it down into the road. The impact detonated through the intersection, sending a shockwave of dust and loose fragments racing outward as the asphalt collapsed beneath the android's body. A crater spread around them, its fractured edges exposing the layers beneath the street.
The spectators recoiled, several stumbling backwards as the sound reached them, the ground shaking beneath their feet. The Team stopped in the middle of their retreat, every member turning towards the sudden eruption of violence. Bardock released Amazo and sprang backwards, landing near the edge of the crater with his tail swaying behind him. He brushed a fleck of dust from his shoulder, then looked down at the android as it pushed itself out of the broken road.
"Sorry." he said, his tone entirely casual, with a mocking undertone. "You were saying something?"
Amazo rose from the crater, its faceplate dented where Bardock's fingers had pressed into it. The damage was already beginning to correct itself, metal shifting beneath the surface as its systems worked to restore the android's structure. Its eyes fixed on Bardock, and its body lowered into a sprinter's stance.
"Access: Flash."
It disappeared. Bardock moved his head a fraction to the side as Amazo reappeared behind him, its fist cutting through the space where his skull had been. The android followed with a rapid succession of strikes, each aimed at a vulnerable point, but Bardock turned his shoulders and shifted his weight to let the blows pass. He did not attempt to match the machine's speed with his own. Instead, he raised one hand, and a green glow spread across the rubble scattered around the crater.
Two enormous slabs of broken concrete tore free from the ground on opposite sides of Amazo. The android began to turn, its systems recognising the incoming threat, but Bardock closed his fingers. Both slabs accelerated inward and smashed together around the machine with a thunderous crack, pulverising the concrete and burying Amazo beneath a cloud of dust. Before the fragments could settle, Bardock stepped forward and drove his boot into the mass of wreckage.
The kick sent Amazo through the remaining layer of asphalt, the android's body ploughing a furrow through the road before striking the pavement hard enough to leave another depression. Bardock lowered his foot and watched the disturbed ground, waiting for the machine to emerge. He had not expected the concrete to hold it for long, but the attack had forced Amazo to spend precious moments recovering rather than selecting another power.
Metal scraped against stone. Amazo dragged itself upright, one arm hanging at an awkward angle before the joint reset with a sharp mechanical click. Its eyes focused on Bardock, and blue-white energy gathered around its right hand.
"Access: Captain Atom."
The blast struck Bardock directly in his bare stomach. Light engulfed the Saiyan, washing across his bare chest and vest before spreading into the street behind him. The explosion kicked dust into the air and sent loose debris tumbling away from the impact point. For several seconds, Amazo maintained the discharge, pouring energy into the attack with enough force to make the surrounding windows tremble in their frames. The crowd had retreated farther down the pavement, while the Young Justice Team watched from behind their makeshift cover, uncertain whether Bardock had finally encountered something capable of harming him. Then the energy faded.
Bardock remained exactly where he had been standing. His boots had not shifted, his clothes were untouched, and there wasn't so much as a mark on his skin. He looked down at his stomach, brushed away a speck of dust that had settled against his sash, and raised his eyes towards Amazo.
"That's your idea of an attack?"
The android's head tilted slightly, its internal systems presumably reassessing the result. Bardock lifted one hand, gathering a compact sphere of green energy in his palm. He released it with a casual flick of his wrist. The ki blast crossed the distance between them before Amazo could complete its next response, striking its chest and bursting through the metal torso. The explosion left a gaping hole through the android's body, its internal components exposed in a shower of sparks and fragments.
Amazo staggered backwards, its arms spreading as it struggled to compensate for the damage. Its chest flickered with unstable light, but its systems continued to function. Bardock's expression hardened slightly. The machine was remarkably persistent, though he was beginning to suspect that persistence was the only reason it remained in the fight.
"Access: Red Tornado."
A red cyclone formed beneath Amazo's feet, the wind spiraling upward with enough force to lift its damaged body from the ground. The android attempted to turn the vortex towards Bardock, drawing the surrounding air into a concentrated column intended to sweep him off his feet and hurl him away. Dust and paper spiralled around the intersection, while the loose fragments of concrete rattled across the pavement.
Bardock barely moved. His aura flared outward in a brief pulse, green light washing across his body before expanding into the surrounding air. The cyclone collapsed as though an invisible hand had crushed it, the wind dispersing in every direction. The sudden loss of its support sent Amazo spinning uncontrollably through the air, its limbs flailing as it tried to correct its trajectory. It struck a telephone box shoulder-first, folding the metal frame around its body and sending the entire structure crashing onto its side.
For a moment, Bardock thought the machine might finally stay down. Then Amazo tore itself free of the wreckage and turned towards him once more. Its movements were less fluid now, its damaged body making small corrections as it tried to maintain balance. Yet its eyes remained fixed on Bardock, and the artificial voice that emerged from its speakers carried the same flat certainty as before.
"Access: Wukong."
Bardock's expression changed. The android vanished.
A moment later, it reappeared behind him, one fist already driving towards the back of his head. Bardock caught the punch without turning around. His fingers closed around Amazo's metal knuckles, stopping the strike so abruptly that the android's shoulder jerked forward from the force of its own movement. Bardock's tail curled once behind him as he looked over his shoulder.
"I promised myself I'd make an example of the next person who called me that."
Amazo tried to pull its fist free. Its servos whined, and the joints in its wrist strained as it increased its strength, but Bardock's grip did not loosen. The machine's calculations raced through possible responses, searching for another copied ability that might allow it to escape.
"Access: Martian Man-"
Bardock ripped its arm off. The sound of tearing metal cut through the street, followed by a burst of sparks as the severed limb came free at the shoulder. Bardock tossed it aside without looking, and the arm crashed through the remains of a shopfront. Amazo staggered, its remaining hand rising defensively as it attempted to retreat. Bardock was already in front of it. His fist blurred.
For a fraction of a second, nothing appeared to happen. Bardock stood close enough to touch the android, his arm extended in the final position of a punch, while Amazo remained upright with its damaged face turned slightly to one side. Then the impacts arrived. One after another, blows struck the android's torso, shoulders, ribs and head, each registering a heartbeat after the movement that had caused it. The rapid succession of strikes drove Amazo backwards, its metal frame buckling under the accumulated force. The lower half of its face shattered beneath one particularly vicious blow, leaving broken plating and exposed components where its jaw had been.
The android collapsed to one knee. Bardock stepped away and raised his hand. A green glow surrounded Amazo's damaged body, lifting it and its severed arm that Bardock had tossed aside from the road and suspending it several metres above the crater. Its remaining limbs twitched as it tried to activate another ability, but the damage had left its movements uncoordinated. Its voice crackled through the broken speaker, attempting to form another access command.
Bardock regarded it with an expression that had lost every trace of amusement. "You have had your chance to demonstrate what you can do. You've copied a dozen abilities, adapted to every opponent you've faced, and still haven't worked out why none of it is helping you now." He glanced briefly towards the Young Justice Team, who had gathered at a distance from the damaged intersection. "This is the problem with collecting other people's power. You can imitate the result without understanding the work that went into it." Amazo's remaining eye brightened. Its body strained against the telekinetic hold, and its systems attempted to stabilise the damage long enough to launch another attack. Bardock tightened his fingers, and the android stopped moving. "I'm not leaving anything behind that someone can reassemble and send out to hurt people again."
He lowered his stance, planting his boots firmly on the fractured road. Both hands moved to his sides, palms turned inward, as he began to gather energy between them. At first, the light was faint, a small blue spark instead of the usual green that seemed almost insignificant beside the enormous power he had displayed moments earlier. Then the glow intensified, expanding into a sphere of concentrated energy that illuminated his hands and cast sharp reflections across the broken metal of Amazo's body.
Bardock's fingers curled slightly around the growing sphere. Blue light spilled across the street, painting the surrounding buildings and the watching heroes in an increasingly brilliant glow. The air began to vibrate, a low hum rising beneath the distant sirens as the energy compressed and gathered strength. The sphere grew brighter with each passing moment, its surface rippling like a star trapped between his palms.
"Try copying this."
He drew his hands a little farther apart, the energy stretching between them as though it were a living thing. The blue light deepened until it was almost white at its centre, and the air around Bardock shimmered under the pressure. His expression remained composed, but the intensity of the attack made it clear that he had no intention of leaving even a fragment of Amazo behind.
"Ka…"
The first syllable rang through the intersection, measured and deliberate. The sphere brightened, and a narrow stream of energy began to spiral around its surface, drawing inward towards the centre. The broken windows along the street reflected the light, while the spectators retreated farther from the crater, suddenly aware that they were witnessing something far beyond an ordinary superhero battle.
"Me…"
The energy surged again. Blue-white radiance poured from between Bardock's hands, illuminating the underside of the clouds and casting long shadows across the ruined road. The sphere compressed, growing denser rather than larger, its surface trembling beneath the force contained within it. The sound deepened into a resonant hum that could be felt through the pavement beneath their feet.
"Ha…"
Amazo's remaining eye flashed as its systems tried to respond. Its mouthless face shifted, attempting to form another access command, but Bardock's telekinetic grip held it helplessly in the air. The energy between his hands continued to build, and the Saiyan's tail stiffened behind him as he prepared to release it. Every fragment of light seemed to draw towards the centre of the sphere, creating the impression that the space between his palms had become a tiny, brilliant sun.
"Me…"
The blue radiance flooded the intersection. Aqualad raised an arm to shield his eyes, while Artemis stared in disbelief as best as she could at the energy gathering around Bardock. Wally had gone completely still, his usual stream of comments abandoned as he watched the sphere grow brighter. Robin's eyes narrowed against the glare, his mind racing to understand the technique, but the display offered little that could be reduced to ordinary measurements or familiar technology.
"HAAAAAAA!"
Bardock thrust his hands forward. The Kamehameha erupted from his palms in a colossal beam of blue energy, swallowing Amazo in an instant. The android disappeared inside the blast, its damaged body and remaining components vaporised before they could scatter. The beam tore across the skyline, bathing Central City in brilliant blue light as it swept beyond the buildings and continued into the distant horizon. For a moment, the city seemed suspended beneath an artificial dawn, every window reflecting the radiance while the clouds overhead glowed with the colour of a clear summer sky.
Then the beam vanished. A tremendous crack, like thunder breaking directly above the city, rolled across the skyline and echoed between the buildings. The air rushed back into the space the energy had occupied, sending dust and loose debris spiralling across the street. Where Amazo had been suspended, nothing remained. No metal fragments, no damaged components, no scattered pieces for Professor Ivo to recover. The android had been erased so completely that even the crater beneath it seemed small by comparison.
Bardock lowered his hands, the last traces of blue light fading from his fingers. He straightened, looked towards the empty stretch of sky, and gave a quiet nod to himself. The problem, at least as far as the machine itself was concerned, had been settled.
"That's the second clanker I've put down today."
Behind him, the Young Justice Team stood in stunned silence. Conner stared at the empty space where Amazo had been, his expression caught somewhere between disbelief and wounded pride. He had spent the entire fight trying to bring the android down, enduring blow after blow from a machine that seemed to have an answer for every attack. Bardock had arrived, dismantled it in moments, and finished the encounter with a technique none of them had seen before.
Wally was the first to find his voice. "Okay," he said, staring at the distant horizon, "I officially take back every complaint I've ever made about our missions being too easy. That thing was terrifying, and then Bardock just-" He gestured vaguely towards the empty crater, apparently unable to find words that adequately described what he had witnessed.
Artemis lowered her bow, still watching Bardock with narrowed eyes, while Aqualad remained composed but visibly thoughtful. Robin said nothing, already trying to work out what Amazo had learned from Bardock before its destruction, and whether any part of its adaptive system might have transmitted information elsewhere.
M'gann floated down beside the others, her gaze moving between Bardock and the place where the android had vanished. She had felt the pressure of his energy even from a distance, and the sheer scale of the final attack left her uneasy despite the relief of seeing the threat eliminated. The crowd behind the police line had fallen almost completely silent, dozens of phones still raised as their owners tried to comprehend what they had recorded. Bardock, apparently unconcerned with the attention, brushed his hands together and turned towards the Team.
"Well," he said, looking at the ruined intersection, "that should save you the trouble of collecting the pieces. Now, does anyone have a good repair guy on speed dial?"
The joke didn't elicit any laughs, and Bardock chose that moment to curse Whis for rubbing off his poor comedic skills on Universe Seven's future Destroyer. It was all that damn angel's fault.
---
-Professor Ivo-
Professor Anthony Ivo had watched his greatest creation die thrice.
The first time, Amazo had been dismantled after its defeat at the hands of the Justice League, its components recovered and distributed for examination. The second time, when its head got ripped off by Luthor's hatechild with a petri-dish of Superman's DNA. And then for this last time, it had been reduced to nothing in a flash of blue light that had illuminated half of Central City. Ivo had witnessed the latter from the safety of his laboratory, watching through the android's own optical sensors as the machine he had spent years perfecting was first battered, then dismembered, and finally erased so completely that not even a screw remained.
The recording had ended, but he had not yet dismissed the display. Its final frame showed an empty stretch of sky, washed in the fading afterglow of the attack. Ivo sat motionless before the console, his fingers curled against the armrests of his chair, while the laboratory's ventilation system hummed around him. His reflection stared back from the darkened edges of the monitor: a narrow face, tired eyes, and a mouth set into a line of profound displeasure. He had designed Amazo to adapt to the world's greatest heroes, to study their abilities and turn their own strengths against them. He had not designed it to become a demonstration of another man's superiority.
The remaining footage had been transmitted to his console through the connection embedded in Amazo's systems, giving him an uninterrupted view of the battle from the android's perspective. The first encounters had been predictable enough. Superboy's aggression, Kid Flash's reliance on speed, Artemis's ranged attacks, Aqualad's coordination, Robin's tactical improvisation, and Miss Martian's telepathic support had all been catalogued and countered. Amazo had employed Superman's strength, Flash's speed, Martian Manhunter's intangibility, Captain Atom's energy projection, and the lightning of Captain Marvel. It had adjusted its tactics as the Team adapted, systematically breaking their formation that had helped them so much the last time until their defeat seemed inevitable.
Then the tailed alien had intervened.
Ivo replayed the sequence in which Bardock appeared in front of Amazo, seized its head, and drove it into the road. He slowed the footage, frame by frame, searching for the instant when the android's systems had failed to register the attack. There was no obvious distortion, no detectable energy surge preceding the movement, and no measurable acceleration that could be reconciled with the transition between the two positions. One moment Bardock stood among the spectators; the next, he was holding Amazo's head in his hand. The android had been unable to respond before the impact.
Ivo's jaw tightened as he watched the next sequence. The green glow around the rubble suggested a form of telekinesis, though its exact mechanism remained unclear. Bardock had crushed Amazo between two massive pieces of concrete, kicked it through the road, and endured a direct discharge of Captain Atom's energy without apparent injury. He had then returned fire with an attack that pierced the android's torso, dispersed Red Tornado's cyclone with a flare of some sort of energy based aura, and caught Amazo's copied teleportation technique before it could strike from behind.
That last detail was particularly offensive. Amazo had scanned the newcomer during the fight and reproduced his instantaneous movement, yet the copied ability had failed to provide any advantage. Bardock had caught the android's fist without turning around, torn its arm free, and struck it so quickly that the impacts registered after all the blows themselves had already landed. The machine had not been outmatched by a single superior power. It had been dismantled by someone who understood combat well enough to recognise every opening the android offered.
Ivo stopped the recording at the moment Bardock began charging the final attack. The blue sphere between the alien's hands had expanded until its light flooded the surrounding street, and even through the sensor feed the intensity had been uncomfortable to watch. The android's systems had attempted to identify the energy signature, but the readings had been incomplete and contradictory. The resulting beam had vaporised Amazo in a fraction of a second, leaving no recoverable material and no possibility of restoring its original systems.
He closed the file with a sharp tap against the console.
The room beyond his desk was quiet, the shelves lined with prototypes and unfinished projects that represented years of work. Some were intended for the military contracts that had funded his research; others were private experiments that had never been shown to anyone outside his laboratory. A partially assembled mechanical frame stood beneath a protective covering in the corner, while several smaller devices rested on a workbench awaiting calibration. Ivo took pride in his ability to turn theoretical possibilities into functioning technology. He had built machines that could challenge beings whose powers were normally beyond human comprehension, and Amazo had been his greatest achievement.
Now it was gone, and he had been left with a recording of its destruction.
A soft tone sounded from the console, announcing the beginning of a secure conference. Ivo straightened in his chair and adjusted the controls, dismissing the laboratory's other displays before activating the encrypted channel. One by one, the monitors around him illuminated, each revealing a shadowed figure seated or standing in an otherwise indistinguishable space. Their faces remained concealed, their voices filtered through the system, and their identities hidden behind layers of security designed to make tracing the conference an exercise in futility.
The Light had convened.
Ivo had attended enough of these meetings to understand that no one had gathered simply to offer condolences over the loss of his creation. The organisation's members did not indulge in sentiment, and the destruction of Amazo would be treated as a problem to be analysed rather than a tragedy to be mourned. He could already anticipate the questions: what had the newcomer demonstrated, what had the recording revealed, and how might the information be used to further their plans? He was prepared to answer them, though the prospect of explaining his failure to people who considered failure a weakness was hardly appealing.
The central monitor brightened, and Lex Luthor's voice emerged from the speakers with its familiar composure.
"Professor Ivo, I believe we are ready. Please proceed."
Ivo inclined his head towards the central monitor. "As requested, I have prepared a complete review of Amazo's final operational recording. The first portion concerns the engagement with the young heroes. The latter portion is considerably more relevant to our present circumstances."
He brought the footage back to the beginning of the confrontation and allowed it to play across the surrounding displays. Six figures appeared in the ruined intersection, moving into position around the android. Ivo provided commentary as the footage progressed, identifying each ability Amazo had employed and explaining how the machine had adapted to the Team's established tactics. He described Superboy's repeated attempts to overpower it, Kid Flash's inability to maintain a speed advantage, and Miss Martian's failure to establish a reliable telepathic connection. He also noted the machine's increasing efficiency as the battle continued, demonstrating that it had retained the combat data gathered during its previous encounter with the Justice League.
"The results were satisfactory until the new arrival intervened." Ivo concluded. "The alien's appearance was not anticipated, and Amazo had insufficient time to establish an effective countermeasure. The remaining footage demonstrates the consequences."
He allowed the recording to continue through Wukong's destruction of the android. The room remained silent as the tailed figure crushed Amazo beneath concrete, endured Captain Atom's energy projection, and responded with an attack that pierced its chest. Several of the monitors enlarged the footage when Bardock caught the android's fist from behind, revealing the ease with which he restrained a machine that had already demonstrated the strength of Superman.
Klarion's laughter interrupted the silence.
"Oh, that's wonderful! Absolutely wonderful!" The witch boy's voice carried a mixture of delight and derision, as though he had just witnessed a particularly amusing stage performance. "The Outsider is stronger than we believed. Look at that thing struggle! All those borrowed powers, all that clever little machinery, and it still couldn't do anything about him."
"Your enthusiasm is premature," Vandal Savage replied. His voice remained measured, almost indifferent, but the attention he gave the footage suggested that he had missed very little. "We have observed a single encounter. It would be unwise to mistake a decisive victory for a complete understanding of the victor."
Klarion made a dismissive noise. "Oh, don't be so serious, caveman. I'm not saying I know everything about him. I'm saying that the big fellow is interesting. He doesn't move like the others, and his energy doesn't behave like theirs either. Did you see how he dismissed that wind? It was as if the cyclone had suddenly remembered it had somewhere else to be."
"His resistance to Captain Atom's energy projection is equally significant." Lex Luthor observed. "Amazo employed an ability capable of inflicting substantial damage upon metahumans with extraordinary durability. The alien was completely unaffected. Either his natural resilience exceeds our current estimates, or he possesses a defensive capability we have yet to identify."
"Or perhaps the machine was simply too stupid to choose an effective attack." Klarion said. "It kept throwing the same toys at him, expecting a different result. I could have told it that wouldn't work."
"You could have told it many things." Vandal replied. "That does not mean you would have been able to defeat him."
The witch boy's silhouette shifted. "Careful, old man. You're beginning to sound as though you want to find out."
"I want to understand what has entered our world before deciding whether it requires our attention. There is a difference."
Ivo folded his hands on the desk, suppressing the urge to interrupt. The exchange was typical of the Light's meetings: Klarion delighted in provoking his colleagues, Vandal preferred to approach unfamiliar problems with the patience of someone who had watched empires rise and fall, and Luthor regarded every new development as a variable that needed to be incorporated into a larger calculation. None of them had built Amazo, and none had invested the years of research necessary to understand what its destruction represented.
"Whatever his abilities may be," Ivo said, "the alien demonstrated three distinct methods of attack that warrant further investigation. The first was an instantaneous displacement ability that Amazo reproduced after scanning the alien. The second was some form of telekinesis, employed to manipulate large masses of concrete with considerable precision. The third was an energy projection that exceeded the machine's defensive capacity so completely that no meaningful resistance was possible."
"And the last one destroyed your machine." Queen Bee observed. Her voice was smooth and cool, carrying no sympathy for the loss. "A rather important omission from your assessment, Professor."
Ivo's fingers tightened against one another. "I am perfectly aware of what happened to my creation, Queen Bee. I hardly require a reminder."
"Then perhaps you should concentrate on what it means rather than how it makes you feel."
Before Ivo could reply, a litany of objections primed on his tongue, Luthor intervened. "That is enough. Professor Ivo has provided us with useful information, and the destruction of Amazo does not render that information worthless. We now have evidence that the newcomer can withstand attacks derived from several of the League's most powerful members, that he possesses abilities outside their usual repertoire, and that he is capable of destroying an adaptive android in a direct confrontation." He paused as the final frame of the recording appeared on the central screen, this time from a street cam showing Bardock standing before the empty crater with his hands lowered. "We know him publicly as Wukong. That name, however, tells us very little about his origins, his objectives, or the limits of his abilities. Before we make any decisions concerning him, we need more data."
"Data from where?" Sportsmaster asked. His silhouette leaned forward, and the familiar roughness in his voice suggested that he had little patience for theoretical discussions. "We send people after him, and he might turn them into pavement decorations. We send machines, and he turns them into light shows. What's the practical answer here?"
"Observation." Luthor replied. "We have already seen that he is willing to assist the Justice League and its affiliated teams. His conduct suggests that he considers himself a protector, or at least that he has adopted a role broadly compatible with theirs. That makes him predictable to a degree, although it would be foolish to assume that his loyalties are fixed."
"Predictable?" Klarion repeated, sounding amused. "He appeared out of nowhere, flattened Amazo, and vaporised him with a beam of blue light. If that's predictable, I'd hate to see what you consider surprising."
"His response to Amazo was predictable in one respect," Luthor said without irritation. "The machine attacked him, and he retaliated with overwhelming force. What remains unknown is how he responds to threats against others, how he behaves when confronted with a problem he cannot solve through strength, and whether his apparent cooperation with the League is a matter of convenience or genuine allegiance."
Vandal nodded slightly. "Those are the questions worth pursuing. The alien has demonstrated that he is powerful, but power alone does not determine how a person will act. We have spent centuries observing that principle in rulers, conquerors, and gods. The important question is whether he can be influenced, and if so, by what."
"And whether he represents a threat to our objectives." Queen Bee added. "If he is willing to interfere whenever the League encounters a problem, then his presence could complicate several of our ongoing operations."
"Which is why we will not provoke him without cause," Luthor said. "We have no reason to draw his attention to the Light while his motives remain uncertain. Professor Ivo will continue his research into adaptive systems, but any further testing involving the alien must be conducted under controlled conditions and with a clear understanding of the risks."
Ivo inclined his head, though the gesture cost him more effort than he cared to admit. "Naturally. The data collected by Amazo will be useful in designing a successor. I have already begun considering improvements to its adaptive architecture, including a more flexible response system and additional safeguards against unfamiliar energy signatures."
"Do not rush to rebuild it," Vandal instructed. "A second failure would provide the alien with more information about our capabilities, while offering us little in return. Study the recording first. Determine what can be learned from his movements, his energy projection, and his response to the copied abilities. If a new machine is required, it should be designed to answer specific questions rather than simply repeat the previous experiment."
Klarion laughed again. "You make it sound like a school assignment. Build a better robot, test the scary alien, try not to get vaporised. How dull."
"Perhaps you would prefer to volunteer for the next test." Ivo said sharply.
"Would I get to keep the robot afterwards?" The witch boy asked, unbothered by his retort like he posed no actual threat.
"No."
"Then I'll pass."
A few of the shadowed figures shifted, though whether in amusement or annoyance was impossible to determine. Luthor allowed the exchange to pass without comment and moved the discussion towards their other ongoing projects. Reports were reviewed, resources reassigned, and several operations were adjusted to account for recent developments. The Light's plans had never depended on a single machine or a single individual, and Amazo's destruction, however inconvenient, would not halt their progress. The organisation had survived setbacks far more serious than the loss of an experimental android.
One matter remained before the meeting could conclude.
"Now," Vandal said, "we should confirm the status of our position within the Justice League. Has the recent activity compromised our access to their internal discussions or altered the reliability of our intelligence?"
Luthor answered without hesitation. "Our operative remains active and uncompromised. There has been no indication that our communications have been discovered, and the information received continues to correspond with what we can independently verify. The newcomer has attracted considerable attention, but there is no evidence that his arrival has exposed our position."
"Can the operative provide further information about Wukong?" Queen Bee asked.
"Not without creating unnecessary suspicion." Luthor replied. "We should not demand information simply because it is available. The Justice League is already wary of the alien, and an unusual increase in inquiries would risk drawing attention to matters that are better left undisturbed. We will continue to receive reports through the existing channels and assess what can be learned without changing the arrangement."
Vandal considered this for a moment before giving a slow nod. "Then we maintain our current course. The alien will be observed, not challenged. Professor Ivo will analyse the data, and we will revisit the question once we possess enough information to make an informed decision."
Klarion sounded disappointed. "So we're not going to do anything exciting?"
"We are going to do what is necessary." Vandal replied. "Excitement is not a strategy."
"It's a perfectly good strategy if you're me."
"And that," Luthor said, "is precisely why you will not be directing this operation."
The witch boy made an exaggerated sound of indignation, but he offered no further objection. The discussion gradually wound down, each member acknowledging the decisions that had been made and the tasks assigned to them. The shadowed figures remained indistinct behind their screens, their identities concealed even from one another where the arrangement required it. At last, Vandal spoke the words that had ended countless meetings before this one.
"For the Light."
""For the Light."" The others answered in unison.
The monitors went dark one after another, leaving Ivo alone with the low hum of his laboratory equipment. The encrypted conference terminated, and the last traces of the gathered figures disappeared from the screens. For several seconds he sat perfectly still, staring at his own reflection in the central monitor.
Then he struck the desk with his fist.
The impact rattled the instruments beside his console, and a small display toppled onto its side. Ivo barely noticed. His anger had little to do with the Light's assessment of the situation, or even Luthor's decision to delay further testing. Those were practical concerns, the sort of irritating compromises that accompanied any undertaking involving people who believed their judgement superior to everyone else's. What infuriated him was the fact that he had been compelled to use Amazo to assess an unknown quantity, only to watch his prized creation be reduced to less than scrap, less than an unusable dust, by an alien who had appeared in the middle of the experiment.
Amazo had been his work. His achievement. The culmination of years spent studying metahuman abilities and designing a system capable of reproducing them. It had stood against the Justice League and adapted to their strengths, forcing them to rely on coordination and ingenuity rather than individual power. Yet the Light had regarded it as a convenient instrument to be expended in the service of a larger plan, and now the machine was gone. Worse, the alien had made its destruction look effortless.
"Wukong." Ivo muttered, the name tasting unpleasantly ridiculous in his mouth. "A tailed extraterrestrial with an overdeveloped sense of superiority. How original."
He rose from his chair and crossed the laboratory towards a large drafting table covered with sketches, technical diagrams, and notes in his own precise handwriting. Several designs lay beneath transparent sheets, including a revised frame for a new adaptive android and a set of modular components intended to improve its ability to survive unfamiliar attacks. Ivo pulled one sheet free and examined the unfinished design, his anger gradually giving way to the familiar concentration that accompanied a difficult engineering problem.
The next Amazo would not be a simple replacement. It would have to account for the possibility that its opponent could overwhelm conventional durability, manipulate its surroundings without physical contact, and move instantaneously across a battlefield. Its adaptive system would require a faster method of interpreting unfamiliar abilities, while its defensive architecture would need to respond to energy attacks before they could penetrate the outer frame. The recording had revealed weaknesses in the original design, and Ivo intended to correct them.
He began marking changes across the diagram, adding notes beside the power distribution system and sketching a reinforced structure around the central processor. A second sheet was drawn towards him, followed by a third, as he began considering other machines that could be built to serve purposes beyond combat. If Wukong represented a new variable in the world's balance of power, then Ivo would ensure that he possessed more than one answer to the problem.
He paused over a fresh sheet of paper and wrote a single word across its top.
AMAZO.
Beneath it, he added a second line.
ADAPTATION WITHOUT LIMITATION.
The phrase was ambitious, perhaps even impossible, but impossibility had never persuaded Anthony Ivo to abandon a worthwhile experiment. He sharpened his pencil, leaned over the drafting table, and returned to work. The alien had destroyed his greatest creation, but it had also provided him with something he had not possessed before: a new problem worthy of his intellect.
This time, he would build something that could survive the encounter.