(Aden's P.O.V) (3 days into Aden's Seclusion)

Power. Power coursing through my body. Unlike fire, unlike the strength granted to me by the Kobra-venom or Blockbuster. This power could not be controlled. Not really. It could only be guided. The aspect of destruction could scale to almost infinite lengths. With each successive jump in understanding and comprehension, the color of the Lightning would change. Deepen and grow more intense, more ferocious until the only thing you could do was buckle up and enjoy the ride. A ride that would promise mutual destruction, if you were not divinity or a cosmic entity who could take it.

Unfortunately, I wasn't a divine being or a cosmic one by nature. The Avatar State was, though. at least to the best of my knowledge. In that state, I was basically master of all the elements and their sub-sets. I could theoretically use Red Lightning or any of it's other color Variants. The color Variants were not like those of Fire where each color presented a unique ability in that particular subskill. Lightning was destructive to a much higher degree and each color presented another increase in power. To control all those colors, my body would probably have to be much stronger than it currently was.

Normal Lightning however was turning out to be as easy as ABC. Already, I had a deep understanding of the destruction aspect, the third day was spent on fully understanding it's more supportive capability. Speed.

(General P.O.V) (Ohio - Hidden Cadmus Facility)

"Doctor let's run it again. This time, put him up against twice the number of battle class Genomorphs and pair each of them up with the Telepathic ones."

Luthor ordered from the other side of the mirror, standing on a balcony. To his front was an arena the size of a football field, created inside one of Lex's many shady facilities. The arena was currently smoking and many sections of it were wrecked. Purple blood splotches and gore covered the walls and floor of the space. That was nothing to the dozens of Genomorph body parts scattered about. Different ones killed in different ways.

"Of course, Mr. Luthor."

The scientist was quick to comply. The Genomorph, telepathy type on his shoulder glowed red on it's tiny horns as the scientist typed a few more keys on his pad. The huge metal gate at one end of the arena opened up with a groaning sound. A second later, over 2 dozen giant Genomorphs poured in. Each of the huge ones called battle class had a small Genomorph perched on their shoulders.

They stood in place, all watching one figure who was covered in purple blood and had an orange film of energy around his body, allowing him to hover in the air 10 meters off the ground, staring down at the next wave of opponents he was about to face. The figure had the face and body of Tommy Terror, and peculiar eyes. Yellow pinpricks in the middle of a black and inky cornea, indicative of what abilities he was using now.

"Begin."

Luthor gave the order. The boy moved to comply. He fell out of the air, picking up speed as the orange light was replaced by a yellow one. He landed on the ground and a huge blast of yellow energy escaped his body in a massive wave. The concrete floor cracked apart, spider webs emerging on it's surface from the point of impact. The energy blast spread out in a spherical shape, hitting the Genomorphs and throwing them to the far ends of the room. Most died from the wave of energy. Those who didn't, had their organs and bodies broken apart by being mercilessly slammed onto the sturdy material making up the testing arena.

Luthor shielded his eyes from the bright yellow light. When it died down, he squinted. Dust and smoke covered the area. He cleared his throat and the scientist to his left understood what he wanted. A tap on his pad and huge fans appeared on the ceiling of the testing grounds. The dust and smoke soon cleared out to show the state of the room. Circuitry and foundation frames were exposed through the broken parts of the walls. Most of the corpses from the dead Genomorphs were cleared out by the blast, disintegrated on the spot, leaving behind nothing but ash. In the middle of the whole arena stood Terror.

"A most enlightening performance. I wish to see more."

A voice, slightly electronic said, appearing from the shadows of the room. The hum of a device heralded his emergence. Sitting on a high tech floating chair, Metron, the creator of both The Fatherbox and Motherbox presented himself.

"This time, do not make it a cake walk. Nothing has been challenging to the Fatherbox. I want to see him, it, pushed to the limits, so I can understand how this is possible. How the essence of a computer can merge so seamlessly with an organic lifeform and sustain itself."

Luthor gritted his teeth in annoyance. On the outside, he kept an easygoing smile on his face. He reminded himself that they needed Metron's assistance to carry out Project Rebirth.

"Doctor, you heard the man. Let's kick things up a notch." Luthor said, crossing his hands behind him. "Bring out Project Match."

The scientist nodded, throwing wary glances at the New God.

"Right away Mr.Luthor."

Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

Another tap on his pad and the double doors opened up. The first showing of this new opponent was a loud shout of anger. Terror's body acquired a red outline just in time for a white blur to move through the double doors and smash a fist onto the hastily projected red shield. The shield broke apart into small scarlet pieces and Terror was thrown away to smash onto the wall behind him.

His body dug into the concrete and a breath of air left him. Another loud cry and he was hit deeper into the wall before he could successfully extricate himself. His inner organs shifted and several ribs broke. Terror opened his mouth in a wordless cry. His head was grabbed and he was pulled out of the body shaped hole in the wall.

"Aaarghhh!!!!"

Match, the first Kryptonian Genomorph Cadmus had created before Project kr, screamed in anger, feral and uncontrollable. He swung his opponent by the locks of hair on his head, spinning in place at high speeds. Terror's scalp tore off before Match could throw him away and the fused being of a living computer and a Metahuman rag dolled through the ground, creating a trail of unearthed concrete before being mercilessly stopped by the sides of the room. Match was left holding blond hair that ended in a patch of skin dripping with blood.

Luthor spared a look at Metron, only to see the New God looking on in apt concentration at what was occuring. Entranced by the sheer brutality yet clinical in his observations. As if sensing the gaze, Metron spoke up.

"The Kryptonian Genomorph is flawed. A failure, because the gaps in the alien genome sequence have left the subject feral and uncontrollable. Yet, the power he exhibits is precisely 88.5678904775664363454% of the upper levels of power recorded by Superman. Interesting. His biology will start degrading in 3 years before fully shutting down after 15 years 4 months 2 weeks 3 days 15 hours 46 minutes and 19 seconds."

Luthor raised an eyebrow at the confident approximation of Match's deadline.

"Is there anything that can be done to stabilize his d.n.a?"

He asked, fishing for information. Match was still a viable asset. And if there was a way, then the Light would expend reasonable resources to perfect him.

"There is. Unfortunately for you, you cannot afford it."

Metron answered back.

"A pity."

Luthor said and they both turned their attention to the arena once more. Although Match was an asset, he wasn't the only one. Or even the best. Luthor's smile quirked up at the edges. Project Godblood took the cake.

Match screamed and stomped over to the downed Terror. A thin purple aura covered Terror's body and in a matter of seconds, his body was fully healed. Match jumped up and beared down on Terror's position seeking to slam onto him and finish the job once and for all. The purple was replaced by orange on Terror's body and his form flew out of range. Match's body dug through the floor and the whole facility shook as if subjected to an earthquake.

The scientist tapped another thing on his pad and a brief shimmer of blue light appeared around the balcony before it went away. A force shield was deployed to block any stray attacks to their position. Scarlet beams of heat vision exploded out of Match's dust covered position only to hit the reinforced shield that had appeared at Terror's front. The beams were reflected off and carved a trail on the left side wall of the testing structure. That's when the real fight started.

In an unheard signal, both combatants shot off towards each other. Match from the ground, leaving behind more broken concrete and Terror from the air, a shockwave blasting out of his position as he flew down. The two said nothing, as they clashed in mid air, both fists sending forth a blast of air that threw everything away and cracked the viewing glass from where Luthor and the rest were watching. The blue force shield flashed, successfully blocking the shockwaves from reaching them.

Punches were thrown and intercepted. Match was relentless. Like a caged animal he fought while Terror gave as much as he received. Which was a lot based on Tommy Terror's Metahuman gene which was super strength. He alternated between the colors expertly, making force shields to block ice breaths and heat vision beams then throwing off an energy attack to pull away from the Kryptonian clone. The whole testing area suffered a lot. However, something had to give.

A bright and intense white light suddenly exploded out of Terror, the light blinded the Kryptonian Genomorph due to enhanced senses but he luckily used his ears to listen to his opponent's next move. Match's fist shot out and plunged into Terror's chest only for that to be a mere illusion that disappeared into a shower of green energy while the real Terror was above him, charging a massive energy attack. With visible strain on his face, the attack drowned Match in the yellow beam that left everyone blinded by it. Luthor and the scientist turned their heads away. The shaking this time was more amplified. Luthor's mind was working double time trying to come up with solutions in case it caved in. Luckily it stopped and everything settled down. When they looked back, it was to see a giant crater in the middle of the room and no sign of Match.

The Doctor quickly tapped his pad in urgency, before looking up at Luthor and shaking his head.

"The sensors in Project Match's solar suit have stopped working. It seems the blast destroyed him sir."

Luthor tightened his hands into fists.

"Are you absolutely sure doctor?"

He demanded.

"Yes. Project Match is no more, sir."

"I have seen all I need to see. The Phantom Zone projector is yours, just like we agreed."

Metron said and turned away, a portal appearing before him. He weighed the merits of telling them about the boom tube Terror had opened before the Kryptonian Genomorph had been disintegrated. Then he decided against it. He was a seeker of knowledge. Nothing else concerned him. Better yet, he had a feeling that what the Fatherbox had done would sow chaos in the future… knowledge thrived in chaos after all.

(Elsewhere)

In the Elemental Dimension, a sudden flash of purple color pulsed deep in the Tower connected to the core of Aden's world. The tower was the hub of creating worker drones and maintaining the upkeep of the dimension.

(Secondary directive complete. Re-establishing link with rogue unit.)

(Incoming transmission. Accept?)

Those words were what Aden would open his eyes to.