[Samael]
Samael grunted, lifting the machine on his back. The equipment in the room wasn't able to satisfy him anymore, and somehow Batman knew about this and brought in a machine that Superman used to use. Batman told him that Superman gave it to him, but the Man of Steel didn't say anything about him. Still, he appreciated it, since the man couldn't have given him anything at all.
Most of the time, nobody came here, with only Wally coming to push his speed to the limit. He felt the machine's weight kept decreasing, and he kept having to turn up the weight. His theory was proven right; he had adaptive powers.
Overall, his abilities continued to improve, and he was now stronger than he had been a month ago. Although that didn't mean smooth sailing, he had to control his abilities whenever they became too strong.
Samael theorised that with the help of his adaptation, he would gain full Kryptonian powers and more. Sweat dripped from his face, splashing the floor, and he tried to increase the weight only to hear a beep. The machine reached the max weight, and with a sigh, took it off. He felt the machine power down and set it down.
He walked over to the towel rack and grabbed a towel, rubbing the sweat off his face. Samael left the gym and walked over to the showers. He turned on the knob and felt the water rain on him. The water soothed him, as it always did.
Sadly, he didn't want to stay for long and quickly turned off the knob, leaving the showers. He entered his room and put on his suit, and over it, wore black jeans and a Led Zeppelin hoodie.
Samael made his way to the Zeta-tube and selected a location in Metropolis. "Recognized: Nova A-04." He entered the Zeta-tube and felt himself being transported to another smaller spot. He was in a red telephone booth, located under a bridge.
He opened the door and looked around, the buildings never failing to amaze him.'Nothing can ever compare to this in my past.' He thought walking through the park, looking at the hot dog carts, before grimacing at the sight of the Chicago hot dog.
Compared to New York, Metropolis really was the city of tomorrow.
Samael exited the park and walked through the crowded street, spotting a Jitters packed to the brim with people. Samael walked towards the café. The smell of the coffee's aroma entered his nose, and it sent a shiver down his back.
Thankfully, he didn't. "Hi, what can I get you?" The girl who worked there looked to be in her 20s, asked him with a practiced smile. "Umm." He browsed the menu and just settled on the classic. "Give a cold Flash latte." She nodded.
"That'll be five dollars." He took out the special card from Batman and tapped the machine.
"Thank you." He nodded at her and, after a minute, took his coffee. The place was full, and there didn't look to be any seats available. He did spot an empty seat, but a man was seated at the table, looking to be writing something on his laptop.
He walked up to the man and tapped him on the back. "Excuse me, you mind if...." The man who turned to look at him wasn't just any stranger. It was a man who looked eerily similar to him that you could mistake them for father and son. It was Superman.
They stared at each other awkwardly, neither saying anything. The man looked like he wanted to say something, but Samael decided to speak first. "Uh, I'll just look for another table."
"What? Uh, no, no. Here, you can sit, please." Superman quickly spoke up. Samael reluctantly took the offered seat, staring at the man awkwardly. They sat quietly for a few minutes, neither speaking at all.
"So..." Samael broke the silence. "I didn't think to find you here." Clark looked confused at that. "What do you mean?" Clark asked him nervously.
Samael stared at the man seriously; the earlier awkwardness wasn't anywhere to be seen. "Let's not pretend to not know each other," He leaned closer to the man. "Superman." Clark's nervous act disappeared, and the man's slouch straightened.
"How did you know who I am? Did Batman tell you?" The way Clark spoke wasn't cold, but neither was it the warmth he was known for.
Samael shook his head, smiling at the man. "It was easy. I just saw you on the news, and since I look exactly like you, I connected the dots." Not true, but he couldn't exactly say he knew who the man was because of a cartoon. Clark nodded at his answer, taking a sip from his coffee.
"How are you enjoying Metropolis so far?" Clark asked him, closing the laptop and giving him his full attention. Samael leaned back on the chair, gazing at the city outside. "It's beautiful. I can see why you protect it."
Clark showed a shadow of a smile. "I try my best." Samael nodded and took a big gulp of his coffee. "So, let me get this straight. You write news articles about Superman, praising the man for his heroic acts, but the entire time you're praising yourself." He asked Clark, raising an eyebrow at the man.
Clark pointed at him."Hey, sometimes it's nice to appreciate yourself." Samael chuckled at his comment.
The previous aura of indifference the man had disappeared, and what shone through was a normal man, one that was the real Clark, not the Symbol that was Superman or the mild-mannered man that was Clark Kent.
"Breaking News. A major accident occurred on a bridge where it was reported that the road had destabilised. Authorities have blocked off all entryways, but reports indicate that there are still people on the bridge." He recognised the bridge and an image of a scene popped up in his mind. People inside the cafe looked at the TV, talking to each other about it before going back to their conversations. It irked him, but it made sense since Superman always took care of stuff like this.
He turned to look at Clark, who had already packed his stuff. He got off and took a big gulp of his coffee. "Do you have your suit?" Samael asked.
The man lowered his collar slightly, showing the blue of his suit. "Always, you?" He lowered his hoodie. "Let's go." They left the cafe quickly and entered the alley, changing into their suits in a flash.
He held his clothes in his hand and noticed Superman holding a bag towards him. "I'll get these back to you today." Samael put it into the bag, and Superman quickly took off into the sky, a sonic boom following behind him. He leapt onto the building and ran before jumping to the bridge's location. The air whipped past his face, his hair flowing behind him.
The bridge soon came into view, and he spotted multiple people in their cars unable to move because they were on the verge of falling. He landed just outside the bridge and sped over. A car with a man inside was about to fall off. He grabbed the car's rear and pulled it to safety.
The man got out of the car, breathing heavily. "Thank you." The man said. "You're welcome." Samael grabbed the man and sped him back to the bridge's entry. He saved the other people and sped them back, one he had to run with the car above him since it had a family inside. His ears picked up the sound of screaming, and he looked over, seeing a school bus about to fall over.
He ran over, grabbed the bus just as it was about to fall, and lifted it with ease. The kids inside the bus looked at him in awe, with some taking pictures. H smiled and gave them a small wave.
Superman landed near him, looking around. The man then turned towards him, his face stern."Good job with rescuing the people, Nova. I stabilised the bridge, so it should be safe for the authorities to enter." Superman said, and although his face was stern, his eyes seemed to show a bit of satisfaction.
"It was no problem." Samael replied.
"Superman. Wait, Arrow. Slow down. What's attacking?" Superman said, his hand on his comms. Samael listened in on the conversation. "It's some Robot! It was able to copy Canary's powers." Green Arrow yelled. Ah, he remembered Amazo, a robot that copied the heroes' powers, but also their weaknesses.
"No, I'm available. Coordinates?" Superman said. "Acknowledged, on my way." Superman looked at him. "Sorry. Duty calls." Samael quickly spoke up before the man could leave.
"Listen, if this Robot can copy powers, then it most likely also has that person's weakness." Samael explained Superman. Superman's eyes widened. "You were listening to that?" Superman asked him.
"Yeah." Samael replied bluntly. Superman didn't seem to know how respond, but eventually said something. "Thanks, I'll keep that in mind." Superman said, and levitated off the ground and flew away.
Samael looked at him until he was gone. He wanted to fly, and he was envious of the people who could. The weightlessness seemed so majestic, like you were leaving mortally and ascending into heaven.
Running over to the bridge's entrance, and spotted a cop. The cop noticed him and stood straighter. "It's safe to enter now." Samael walked away before the cop could answer and jumped, landing on a nearby tower.
He spotted Wayne Tower and looked at the top floor. And standing near the window was Bruce Wayne, looking at him with narrowed eyes before walking away. "Heh." He chuckled to himself and continued jumping, stopping any crime that came his way.
'I should build a police radio. No, I can even do better than that. What don't I build it into the suit, while also making myself invisible to cameras, and even spotify. Hell, why not make it into a super phone at this point?' The idea was appealing, and he would start working on it tomorrow.
Suddenly, his eyes started to itch, and no matter how many times he rubbed them, it wouldn't go away. 'What the hell is up with my eyes?' He rubbed them even more, but it didn't go away. 'I should go back to the cave, rest up a bit.'
He jumped over to a nearby Zeta-tube and quickly selected Mount Justice. "Recognised: Nova, A-04." He walked out of the Zeta-tube and instantly spotted his friends, playing air hockey, from what he could tell.
"Sam! Where were you?" Megan asked him. "Metropolis." Samael said simply, walking past them.
"Ready for training, everyone?" He turned, seeing Martian Manhunter and Black Canary. He picked up on her jacket's ripped state. "Black Canary! Uncle J'onn!" M'gann exclaimed, hugging her Uncle.
"M'gann, I was in the neighbourhood, so I thought I'd see how you are adjusting." Manhunter said. "I'm fine. Learning new things here and there." M'gann said. "That is good." Manhunter said with a smile on his face. Samael turned to leave for the bathroom.
Black Canary's voice rang out. "Samael, why don't you stick around. Class is in session." He turned to look at her and shook his head. "Maybe next time, I don't feel so good." She nodded her head in understanding and turned back to the rest of the team.
Entering the bathroom, he looked at himself in the mirror and noticed that his eyes looked fine, as though nothing was happening to him. "Ugh." At this point, it felt like he was scratching himself.
All of a sudden, his eyes started turning a red tint. And at that moment, all he wanted to do was slap himself. He felt the heat around his eyes, and a red laser left his eyes, burning a hole through the wall. "Ahhh!" Samael instinctively placed his hands on, but that only made it split up into smaller lasers, burning holes into more stuff.
It felt raw and uncontrollable, but he wasn't going to let that stop him. He imagined a dial in his mind and mentally lowered the power to zero. Thankfully, this seemed to do the trick, and Samael felt his vision return to normal; the red tint faded into nothingness.
He breathed in and out, more from the shock of it all than being tired. He took in the sight of the destroyed bathroom, and only one word came to mind. "Fuck."
'Sam, we've got a situation.' Megan spoke to him in his mind, her voice soft. He sped in, seeing everybody together. 'We have a mission?' Samael asked mentally. 'We do. I'll send you the details.' Megan said, and the mission orders and details came to him. 'Thanks.' He felt her appreciation before it cut off.
[Later]
Samael kept his eyes on the disassembled AMAZO being unloaded into the truck. Their mission was to deliver the real Amazo, and the other truck was a decoy. He was given a motorcycle to use, and he admired the ride and its tech. He'll definitely take care of this bad boy.
He felt eyes on him and turned to their source. Superman was looking at him, and when he realised he'd been spotted turned away. "You're good to go." Batman's voice came through the comms.
They drove off, keeping close to the trucks. He and Robin were paired together, while the rest of the team followed the other truck.
Robin came closer to him and spoke. "If dislike is the opposite of like. Then is disaster the opposite of aster?" Samael gave the kid a side eye. "Why do you love butchering the English language? Is this some hobby or pastime that you love to do?" And though his response was dry, he did actually find it amusing whenever Robin did turn a normal word into something else.
Robin's response was to laugh. So far, the drive was quiet, with only music of Michal Jackson's smooth criminal playing. He hummed along to the song, occasionally looking for any sign of the monkey attack.
His ears picked out the sound of rustling, and turning off the music, he looked at where the noise was coming from, and coming out from the corn fields was a group of robotic monkeys that started attacking the cargo.
With a sigh, he took off his helmet and started using his heat vision to destroy the monkeys. "Whoa! Since when can you do that?!" Samael heard Robin exclaim, shock evident in his voice.
"Since today." He put the motorcycle in battle mode and jumped off the bike, landing on top of the truck.
He quickly kicked the ones near him, destroying them with ease. He noticed some trying to open the driver's door and lasered them, but stopped when he started to lose a bit of control. Samael looked to his right and saw more monkeys emerge.
The monkeys attacked him all at once, and no matter how many he destroyed, more came to take their place. They started overwhelming him, and all he saw were metallic bodies everywhere. He breathed in and used his heat vision, destroying them in one go.
An idea came to him. He tapped his comms."Guys, let them take your end of the package, and from there you can follow them to find out where they're going." Samael said.
"What if you lose the one you have? Or what if we can't follow them? This is a risk we can't take." Aqualad responded. Samael agreed with him here. There was a risk that this wouldn't play out like canon, but he didn't think that would be the case.
"Fine," Samael grunted, throwing off the monkeys attacking him. Soon, the monkeys started to come less and less until none remained. "Package is secure." Samael said.
"I'm afraid that we have lost the package on our end." Aqualad said.
"Do you know where they went?" Samael asked. "No." Aqualad said.
"Great. Now we don't know where they went." He heard Wally bemoan. He looked to see Robin looking at the destroyed monkey. "Maybe we do." Robin connected a cable to the back of the Robotic monkey.
"We haven't gotten word that the decoy trucks are being attacked. So, how did they know to target ours? The parts have a GPS." Samael walked closer to see the location of the monkeys. "They're going to.... Gotham City." Samael looked at the boy with understanding.
"That far south? Megan and I won't be able to get there in time. I'm sending Kid on ahead to meet you there. Sentry, can you follow Kid?" Aqualad said. "Yeah." Samael replied.
"Send me the coordinates and stay with the driver." He told Robin. Then he ran and jumped, shaking the ground.
Air whipped past his face, his eyes focusing on the location of his phone. "Ugh, I need to get faster." He jumped farther, feeling a tingle run through his spine.
He soon spotted the monkeys entering a moving train. Landing on top, he pried open the roof and entered. Crates filled the area, but that's not what caught his attention. In the end, the monkeys were surrounding a man. He was short and skinny, with orange hair.
"Oh, hello." Ivo said. Samael eyed the man with disdain. "Professor Ivo, I advise you to surrender, and I promise you won't be harmed. If you don't, then I won't feel bad for attacking an old man." He said.
"And why should I do that? I assume you met my mobile optimal neural-" He cut off the man, lasering the monkeys with extreme accuracy. "Get him!" Shouted Ivo. They rushed him, and he destroyed most of them with his hands, taking care of them easily.
The man now looked nervous, but Samael didn't give the man a second to think of an escape plan. He grabbed him by the mouth, applying a little force to warn the man. "I found the package, and I also found Professor Ivo. Sending you coordinates." Samael said.
"Good work Sentry." Aqualad said. "Got your location."
He kept hold of the man that he knew was a robot in truth. The first one to arrive was Kid Flash, entering from the entrance he made. "Woah, it actually is Ivo." Kid Flash walked closer, looking at the man in shock.
"I need you to stop this train. Go find whoever is running it." Samael told the teen. Kid Flash nodded. "Uh, you mind giving me a little boost here?" Kid Flash pointed up with a sheepish smile.
Samael sighed then nodded. He grabbed the speedster and pushed him high enough so that he was able to get out. Soon enough, he felt the train slow before it stopped completely. He felt the man squirm in his grip, a smile making its way towards his face.
His face then turned stoic. He remembered the way his spine tingled, and it made him think that being able to fly isn't far from his reach. "Sentry, we are here. Where is Ivo?" Aqualad said through the comms.
"I have him here. I'm near the back of the train." Samael replied. Aqualad dropped in a minute later, followed by M'gann. "Good work on securing the package." Aqualad said, taking out a pair of handcuffs and placing them on Ivo.
"Aqualad to Red Tornado, we request a truck and police to our location. The previous one has been destroyed and taken to a train. We have also apprehended Professor Ivo." Aqualad reported.
"Acknowledged, Aqualad. Sending them to your location. The other truck has made it to its location." Red Tornado said, his voice mechanical as ever.
~~~~~~~~~
[Mount Justice]
Samael listened to Aqualad giving the report, his mind kept thinking of his adaptability. He needed to know where this ability came from and if it was from his human side. And how strong he can get.
So far, he adapts to any time he was stressed or judging from the tingle he felt before, he needed to overcome a situation. Flight wouldn't come in yet because he didn't feel stressed or overwhelmed from the mission. He needs to fight stronger opponents.
"Complications come with this job, but your ability to handle them has impressed the league." Batman's eyes lingered on him when he said that, causing him to slightly straighten his posture.
Wait, didn't Superboy have a mental command in his head that made him complacent and follow people's orders? His eyes traveled to Martian Manhunter, and he was reluctant to ask for the man's help.
What if he saw his previous memories? What would happen to him then? He needed to find a solution to this problem. Manhunter can be his last option if all else fails.
~~~~~~~~~
[A/N]
That's that. What should Samael do so that he can deal with the mental command? I'm not sure how to deal with it, honestly, but I can find a way.