Mount Justice

August 3, 13:06 EDT

I watched in amusement from the side-lines as the team sparred and got their asses beaten by Black Canary.

Martian Manhunter was watching, and since I wasn't participating, I decided to stroll up to him with a friendly grin, "Greetings, Martian," I showed him the spock sign, "Any news on the multiverse travel the League was working on?"

Manhunter shook his head, "Unfortunately, we have hit a dead end. The pace of research is… glacial. What about you, son?" Son? Cute. "Have you made any headway into reverse-engineering your dimensional travel?"

"I can do intradimensional," I said with a shrug, "Pretty easily. But in order to do multiverse, I need to be able to sense the multiverse. Which I can't." Hence my curiosity about magic.

"And what about the paths to power that your cursed energy affords you?" the Martian asked. "Will those not offer any hints?"

…He was talking about my Domain Expansion. "You really did read my mind, huh?"

"I apologize for the necessity," the Martian bowed his head fractionally.

I sighed. "Oh well. I will keep trying." I couldn't see Domain Expansion doing anything. I was missing something. Something fundamental. This reminded me of my frustration about mastering the Reverse Cursed Technique. I was mentally blocked, completely.

Kid Flash just got thrown over Black Canary's head, landing by our feet. He saw me and my shit-eating grin and growled, using his flash speed to get back on his feet and stomp off.

"I've noticed that you have grown close to my niece," Martian Manhunter said. I looked at his neutral expression with a grin. Was he being an overprotective uncle, maybe? Fun.

"Meg-chan has been kind to me," I said, looking over to where she was standing, a ways away next to Aqualad and Robin, waiting in line to get their asses kicked by Black Canary. "I especially like that she's not human. She's a breath of fresh air, in a way."

"Humans have their merits," Manhunter said, "Many of the people I respect the most in this universe are humans."

"What do you think of Lex Luthor or the Joker?"

"Humanity does not have a monopoly on evil," he pointed out.

I nodded, "No, you're right. But I would bet that the average Martian has more common sense than the average Earthling. Nothing beats the perspective given to you from telepathy." From being aware of how equal and average you were to everyone else. No delusion. Just truth. Humanity could use that telepathy. It would probably end all wars. I was curious enough to ask about that, actually, "Does Mars know war?"

"You Earthlings named our planet after the Roman God of War," he said, cracking a faint grin. Then his smile fell a little, "I appreciate the faith you have in us, Gojo-san, but the truth is, Mars is just as flawed and broken as any planet can be. Our planet is divided into two different subspecies of Martian, the white Martians and the green Martians, like M'gann and I. The green majority oppress and persecute the white minority. Even telepathy cannot get around this hurdle to world peace."

I frowned. That… sounded rather pessimistic. If telepathy couldn't bring world peace, then what could? I felt a familiar sense of apathy rise up and I shrugged, "Then I guess we're all doomed. Everywhere," then I cracked a grin, "So why worry?"

"There is always hope."

What a cliché. "Yeah, yeah," I chuckled, "I'm sure there is. Anyways, I wanted to ask you, how come you and Megan seem so… fundamentally different, in terms of anatomy? Your cell organelles are just completely different. Is Martian biology really that variable?"

"You would have to ask her this question yourself," he said. Weird. Very cryptic. Had she been doing biological modifications on herself or something, beyond just shapeshifting? I mean, she did look suspiciously human, nothing like Manhunter, who had a weird head shape zero hair in his entire body. Clearly, there was something up, because otherwise he would have just told me. Megan was keeping a secret. I grinned slightly. Interesting.

Superboy finally came into class, and Black Canary greeted him with a winning smile, hands on her hips as she teased him, "Glad you could finally join us, Superboy."

Superboy crossed his arms, barely looking at her. "This is a waste of time."

For me. Not for him. And yet, I still showed up—purely to see them get thrown around a little though. Someone had to appreciate the art of a proper takedown.

Black Canary raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And why's that?"

"Because I have super strength," he replied dismissively. "It doesn't matter what technique you have. I'm stronger."

I could already see where this was going. She could put him on his back and scream his sensitive ears into pieces without breaking a sweat. I winced at the mental image—my dear Superboy, clueless as he was, didn't realize how quickly he could end up on the floor. He was strong, sure, but he'd never sparred with someone like Canary. That left him at a disadvantage, and a very fun one at that.

Black Canary's grin turned mischievous, her eyes gleaming. "Why don't we put that to the test?" She took on a fighting stance, balanced and poised, then gave him a beckoning gesture, her fingers curling in a playful invitation. It was the kind of taunt that no one could ignore, least of all someone like Superboy.

Superboy shrugged, rolling his shoulders, and stepped up to her. They stopped a few meters from each other. He didn't even bother with a stance, just standing there, unbothered and ready to end it with one punch. Rookie mistake.

"Ready when you are," Canary said, her voice relaxed but focused. Her eyes stayed locked on him, sizing him up.

The computer's countdown began. Three. Two. One.

The instant the countdown hit zero, Superboy lunged, reaching out to grab her and end it quickly. But in a flash, Black Canary sidestepped him, her movements a graceful blur. Superboy stumbled forward, surprised to find his hands grabbing empty air. Before he could fully regain his balance, she was already circling him.

Superboy glared, his confidence clearly shaken but still stubborn. "You're fast. Doesn't change anything."

Canary only smiled, that same unshakeable calm on her face. "Speed's just part of it. Let's go again."

He went in harder this time, throwing a punch with a little more commitment. But once again, Black Canary flowed around him, slipping past his strike and landing a quick tap to his side before backing away. Not enough to hurt, but enough to show him just how out of reach she was.

"You've got power," she noted, sidestepping him as he threw another punch, "but raw strength isn't everything. All it does is make you predictable."

Superboy's face twisted with frustration as he tried again, and again she dodged, moving with such precision and skill that it was almost as if she'd read his mind. He was used to opponents who couldn't keep up, who crumbled the moment he put on the pressure. Here, every move he made left him open, every attack an opportunity for her to slip through his defenses. Canary, on the other hand, hadn't even broken a sweat.

Finally, in one swift, fluid motion, she ducked low, caught him off-balance, and swept his legs out from under him. Before he knew what had happened, Superboy was on the mat, staring up in shock.

"Good morning, Superboy," she smirked down at him, offering a hand to help him up. "Want to try again?"

For a moment, he looked at her hand, a scowl forming on his face. He pushed himself up with a growl and took a fighter's stance.

"You have power," Black Canary said as the computer counted down for another round. "You also have anger. Too much anger."

The moment the round began, Superboy lunged forward again, this time with more focus, but the anger she'd mentioned was still simmering beneath the surface. Canary didn't retreat this time, holding her ground and waiting for his approach. I could see that he was more deliberate now, watching her movements, trying to figure out a strategy.

He threw a punch, faster and sharper than before, but she ducked under it with ease. In a smooth motion, she stepped into his space, twisted her body, and delivered a sharp palm strike to his chest—not enough to hurt, but enough to make him stumble backward.

"See what happens when you lose control?" she asked, her voice firm.

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He growled, steadying himself. "That's not fair," he muttered, frustration bubbling over. "You're just faster than me."

Canary raised an eyebrow. "That's not true, Superboy. You're both faster and stronger than me." She moved back into her stance, inviting him to try again. "You can hit harder than anyone in this room except for Gojo, but if you don't have control, it means nothing."

Superboy gritted his teeth—probably extra angry at Canary having namedropped me. But he refused to raise his fists for another round. Instead, he just stormed off. "That's it, I'm done."

"Training is mandatory."

Superboy ignored that.

"Wow," Kid Flash snarked, "What's gotten into him, anyway?"

I remembered something just then, "He went to Metropolis this morning."

"Oh," Kid Flash's face darkened into awkwardness.

"That'll do it," Robin quipped.

"We should talk to him," Megan proposed, looking mighty concerned as she watched the Kryptonian walk away.

"Give him space for now," Aqualad said.

"Wait—moving on!" Wally exclaimed, "I just realized Gojo hasn't gone a round with Canary yet! What gives?"

"He might win for all we know," Robin muttered, folding his arms. Yeah, man.

Sorry.

"My pretty blue eyes are not just for show," I said, batting my eyelashes at the speedster, "They tell me everything. And when you see everything, reacting to it is… pretty straightforward."

"Gojo doesn't need this training," Black Canary said frankly, "That isn't to say he's not in need of training in other areas," she cast me a mild glare. What? That was hardly a brag! We had talked about not rubbing in my superiority in my last session, and I hadn't been against hiding the truth of our differences in power. It was boring being an object of fear anyway.

And besides, now that we had the Restraints Level System, things should look very bright for our kids.

"Incoming transmission from Batman," the computer spoke as a holographic screen appeared before us, revealing Batman's face.

"Team," Batman said, in lieu of a greeting. "While the league was transferring the villains arrested on Santa Prisca to Belle Reve penitentiary," Batman began, completely ignoring me, "The Leaguers in charge of escorting the prisoner convoy, Green Arrow and Captain Marvel, were attacked by a new robotic menace." Footage popped up next to his face of a muscle-bound shirtless elf-man with short-cropped orange hair. Why did he look so bad? You'd think a manmade robot would be more aesthetic and not have a receding hairline.

"The attacker was capable of studying then duplicating the powers and abilities of its opponents. Arrow called in reinforcements, which nearly proved disastrous as our foe gained more and more power with each new combatant."

More heroes popped into the footage, and they were getting their asses beaten. Damn. Even the Justice League was weak?

"Whoa," Kid Flash gushed, "One guy with the powers of the entire League?"

I frowned, "How is that even possible?" What the hell was this world?

"In the end, it took eight Leaguers four hours to defeat and dismantle the android," Batman said. Also… don't tell me. Don't fucking tell me…! "And the prisoners got away. All except Mammoth and Shimmer."

"Who are they?" I muttered.

"Big monster guy and the slim freaky chick with the red hair," Kid Flash explained quickly, "Keep up, man." So just the mooks, then. Dammit.

I stuck my tongue out at him, "Buhhh."

"Buh," he stuck his tongue at me back.

"You guys can tongue-kiss later," Robin said, chiding us both as he refocused on Batman, "Sportsmaster, Bane and Kobra are on the loose?"

"Correct," Batman said.

After all that hard work, too! They should have brought me. How could a robot copy jujutsu? This was literally nonsense.

Ugh, whatever.

"Who made it?" Robin asked, "T.O Morrow?"

"Good guess, Robin," Batman said, "But Red Tornado doesn't think so. The technology bears the signature of Professor Ivo."

"Ivo? But Ivo's dead!"

"So we all thought," Black Canary sighed, "Or hoped."

Wait, was he that bad? What happened to the whole 'no killing' thing? Or did these superheroes just pray on the downfall of all villains? Did Superman pray for Lex Luthor to one day get cancer from all the Kryptonite he was waving around?

"What's the mission, boss?" I asked Batman.

"You will escort the fragments of this android to two separate Star Labs facilities for immediate evaluation, in order to make sure that this threat has been permanently neutralized."

"Question," I said, raising my hand, "Why don't we just hunt down Ivo instead?"

"We don't know where he is," Robin chided. "What's the point? Besides, this mission needs us now."

He was right. I assumed the League would have better resources for tracking Ivo down—I couldn't do all the work myself, anyway.

"You have a point, Infinity," Batman said, "That's why I wish to warn you that there is a non-zero chance that Ivo may make an appearance during the span of this mission, likely to recover his confiscated android."

I shrugged. Sounded about right.

Time for mission, I guess.

Litchfield County

August 3, 20:08 EDT

They gave us motorcycles! We were going to use superhero motorcycles to tail the two vans transporting the robot parts to the facilities. I was with Robin and Superboy, team Bravo, and Aqualad was with Miss Martian and Kid Flash, team Alpha.

While I drove next to Robin, Superboy on the other side, Robin started chattering on the airwaves. "If dislike is the opposite of like, is disaster the opposite of aster? See, instead of things going wrong, they go right."

"Like Santa Prisca?" I asked with a chuckle. He laughed.

"Yeah! Totally an aster."

I could feel Superboy next to me glowering. I turned to him, "What's the problem, Super?"

"Canary," he said.

"Did she reject your love confession or something?" I asked, chuckling. Superboy turned to me and growled.

"You're an idiot, Infinity."

"Tell me," Robin said, "I'm curious to know."

"What business does she have teaching combat skills to a guy with super-strength?"

"I mean," I shrugged, "If you actually didn't need them, I could understand why you would feel that way. But she put you on the ground."

"I was holding back," Superboy said.

Eugh. I felt a wave of cringe going through my skin at Super's excuse.

"Why don't I teach you combat skills," I offered. "Since you don't think women can fight."

"I never said that!" Superboy replied hotly. I chuckled. "I was going easy because I didn't want to hurt her, even though I could, and—"

"That's how you should do," Robin said, "When you fight regular schmegular humans like mooks or purse-snatchers. If you went super strength on them, you'd pop their heads like electrocuting a melon."

How did he know how an electrocuted melon looked like? Had he seen a video on that? The internet sure had become crazy in this five-year time leap of mine. "I want to see that, actually," I said, "Electrocuted melons."

"I'll send you a link later."

"Why not now?" I asked with a grin.

"Uh, sure, if you want Batman to literally break your neck for watching ViewTube videos while driving a motorcycle on a mission. Totally aster."

I chuckled. Yeah, he was right.

"I'm driving blindfolded, aren't I?" I said, "That should be a way bigger traffic violation."

"My point is," Robin continued, refocusing on Superboy, "You've gotta hold back if you wanna be a hero, Supe."

"I know," he growled, "You don't have to tell me anything. I already know."

"Then why?" Robin continued. "You can talk to us, man!"

Superboy drove on ahead of us.

"I'm telling you, dude," I muttered, "Cut off the deadweight. Blood means nothing."

"Last warning, Infinity," Superboy growled darkly into my earpiece. "Or I will wreck your bike."

I took my hands off the motorcycle handle and raised them in surrender. "Okay, junior," I said. "You've got it all handled."

"Dude," Robin said.

I sighed. Oh well. Superboy would have to try especially hard to ruin things with me keeping watch. Let's see how it would play out.