(Aden's P.O.V)

My eyes widened once I laid my eyes on what was about to happen.

"No!"

I reached out with my hands at the fan of flames aimed at the barricade protecting Robin, Artemis and Kid Flash. I connected with the flames and forcefully dispersed them by creating a vacuum. The flames flashed a pale blue before disappearing.

"Maelstrom!"

Artemis shouted my name in relief.

"Hey guys, missed me?"

I asked projecting my voice outwards through the space while hovering above them. I frowned a little, noting that Superboy, Aqualad and Miss M were missing from the group. The horde of Para-mentals standing between us turned to face me fully.

"Be careful they have elemental abilities!"

Robin's voice was almost lost through the screeches of the creatures. Due to my abilities however, it was like he was shouting in my ear.

"I know. Gimme a second"

I tightened my hands into fists. These things were really annoying to look. I did not appreciate the way they copied Red Tornado.

The moment needed a cool catchphrase. I primed my abilities and exploded forwards. My right arm was outstretched in a Superman pose while the left was pulled back, a ball of wind gyrating inside the palm. I clenched my jaw as I stared down at the crowded hallway. Chock-full of Para-mentals all looking towards one thing. Me. Time to give them a taste of their own medicine.

"Bitch, get out the way!"

My left hand suddenly shot out and with it a sphere of rotating air, growing bigger and bigger as it flew towards the mass of bodies.

"Boom."

I snapped a finger and the sphere exploded, sending out a massive shockwave of tiny wind blades that tore apart the Para-mentals by slicing through them. My control over the air extended to form an air bubble around my teammates, keeping them safe from the attack.

The walls making up the hallway were slashed and cleaved apart, leaving behind jagged edges. A cloud of dust exploded forth filling the whole space. I heard Artemis coughing as I flew down towards them. I pulled my arms apart and the air obeyed, every piece of Para-mental remain was thrown away from Robin and the others, undoing the makeshift barricade that was very obviously the work of our resident speedster.

"Hey."

I landed and a second later, a body tackled me. I hugged Artemis body for a few seconds before she withdrew from my arms.

"You're late."

She stated, looking up at me. I was surprised for a split second before smiling and clasping her shoulders.

"I'm here now."

I extricated myself from her and bumped fists with Robin who was checking up on Wally.

"Glad to see you're okay, big guy."

I nodded and knelt before the passed out speedster.

"Is he okay?"

"Mostly. He's exhausted. The forceful teleportation did a number on him."

I looked at Robin and Artemis. The state of their suits showed that Wally wasn't the only one who had had it rough.

"What about you two? Plus what happened to your arm?"

I enquired. Judging from the way he cradled it near his body and the bandage on the wrist part, Robin was in pain.

"I'll be fine. Dislocated my arm, but now that you're here, you can help me pop it back. Something tells me, we'll need every bit of our power to survive this place."

"And find the rest."

Artemis added from behind us.

"Right." I nodded, supporting his hand while I positioned the other on his bicep. The Boy Wonder looked at me and bit out.

"Do it."

I relocated his shoulder back and he swallowed the groan of pain. He wiggled his fingers and nodded in gratitude.

"I also need to beat the shit out of the one responsible for this. I had to break through 3 ceilings just to get here."

I informed them while standing up.

"I feel you but that's the second priority. Before anything else we need to find a way out of here. KF can't fight in his condition. Especially if another group attacks us now."

I groaned in resignation. I'd hoped Robin would have an alternative.

"I'm breaking through another ceiling aren't I?"

Boy Wonder chuckled.

"Yep. If I had my wrist computer, we could create a portal out but-", he held up his hand for me to see.

A sighed escaped me.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"It's fine.

I went to stand a ways off from the others while priming my air bending. This felt like a crude way of using my new control but beggars can't be choosers. A funnel of air sprang up around me before coalescing into a drill that rippled around my form, I crouched slightly and jumped. The floor below me cratered. The sound made by the action was loud and left another wake of dust behind. I really am a demolition expert.

My hand pulled back and - I felt a blow connect with my chin before I could even make contact with the ceiling. The attack had passed through my air drill like it was nothing. Too fast and too strong for me to either block or evade. My body rag-dolled through the air and I heard Artemis shout my name in shock and terror.

I dug a groove through the earth before slamming onto the side of the wall and bouncing off. The air managed to arrest my momentum and I touched down on the ground unsteadily. I knelt down, feeling a wave of dizziness overtake me.

"Artemis stay back! It's not really him!"

Robin shouted amid a scream of frustration. Then there was a dull thud.

"Artemis!"

"Snap out of it!"

Robin ground out, the words seemed to not be aimed at me however.

I shook my head and focused slightly. My eyes widened in surprise. Although the costume was different, reminiscent of Black Adam, I breathed out in relief when I noticed that it wasn't him. Reality wasn't much better though. Shazam had Robin clutched by the neck with Artemis lying on the ground. Her slight breathing assured me she was still alive.

"Captain Marvel…"

I exclaimed. The Leaguer who was actually just a kid called Billy Batson with the powers of the Greek gods, stared at me in the corner of his eye blankly. The slightly glowing red tint in his eyes told me everything I needed to know. It wasn't him. Not really.

I made contact with Robin's eyes and saw the resolve and determination not to give up, all a cover for the fear in his gaze. That's when I realized we…were essentially all children. This…this wasn't something we were supposed to handle on our own. Not in an ideal world. The world I wanted to create. But the current one wasn't fair. So fuck this whole thing.

I got up while massaging my chin. The dizziness was still there, clouding my mind but luckily it was slightly abating.

"Let him go."

I rose up to my full height and took control of the air. Shazam turned his gaze fully from Robin to stare at me. I started walking towards him slowly and cautiously. The speed he'd attacked me with…wasnt something I could react to. Captain Marvel was Superman-lite. That meant his power was at Superman's level. None of us, even when put together could beat him in a direct confrontation. But that didn't mean, I couldn't take him down with a few of my tricks. This was a fight I couldn't flee from. If I did so then I was abandoning the ideals I was trying to forge within myself. A hero starts off by saving people and what better way to exercise that ideal by saving my teammates? No matter the insurmountable odds placed before me, my conviction would remain strong because I expected, no, I demanded nothing less than my best! I felt a warmth bloom inside my chest.

Unseen to him, a gentle wind construct snaked out and grabbed Artemis from the ground, carrying her to where Wally was. My eyes maintained contact with Boy Wonder and I winked while slowly tapping my throat. Robin blinked two times to show he understood and then I exploded forward in rage. While in midair, I felt something suddenly click in place.

Despite 50 meters or so separating us, it felt as if my speed had increased greatly. I spared a look at the walls by my side and saw them illuminated by a light coming off from my back. A scorching heat emanated from my shoulders going down to the small of my back. The sole of my boots cracked and melted away. I knew what this was. I grabbed on to the warmth blooming from above my groin and pulled on it.

Shazam's face suddenly appeared in my vision as I blitzed faster than I'd ever gone before. I wound my leg back and then kicked out. My foot made contact with his face, carrying a great of force aided by the jet like propulsion of red colored flames on the heel and bam! Shazam's body shot back through the walls and into another hallway making up the maze like structure of this floor. Robin landed on the ground and coughed out.

I winced as I also landed. Taking care to do so on my left leg, the right one was pulsing in pain due to how hard I had kicked Shazam and the slightly burnt skin on my heel. Dammit! I had wanted to hide Firebending from the others for a while but that light behind my back...was no doubt the manifestation of flames. Despite losing a potential card up my sleeve, a smile bloomed up on my face. I had achieved it. Fire-bending.

"Dude, what was that? I thought you were about to let loose a Sonic attack. I even had my earplugs ready."

Robin asked me in confusion.

"I...me too. But I just...felt like kicking him in his perfectly sculpted jaw."

Boy Wonder looked at me funny.

"Anyway, I don't think that attack is going to keep him down for long. It's Captain Marvel we're talking about."

He told me while running towards Artemis and Wally, no doubt to check up on them after my devastating move.

"Robin, I have an idea. I've studied this place and I think there's only one more floor above us. We break through this..."

"And we find a way out, the one responsible, the rest of the team or hopefully everything at once."

He interrupted me, catching on quick.

"Right, Captain Marvel and I will break through the ceiling and you follow us with our two sleeping beauties."

I told him while stretching my body. I could hear heavy steps coming from inside the hole on the wall. The warmth on my belly felt uncompromising, Violent, unyielding, uncontrollable but most of all, blazing. Steam escaped my mouth.

"Ok. Let's finish this."