As I descended rapidly towards the ground, I felt an invisible force wrap around me gently and slow my fall, allowing me to land on my feet just as the transformation timed out and I was left in my regular human form. M'Gann, Kaldur and Robin all walked up to stand beside me, fury etched all over the latter two's faces while the former seemed concerned.
"I must admit, you children have impressed me." Twister conceded coldly, "But wasting my time with you will not help me achieve my goals." With that vague statement, he lifted up into the air and raised his hands. From each hand sprouted a whirlwind which twisted up into the sky and combined to form a third, even larger whirlwind, accompanied by dark clouds, booming thunder and crackling lightning.
"I think I shall find this rather 'turbing." He added sinisterly, and the ground before us exploded viciously with a strike of lightning. Almost instinctively, Wally used the fraction of time he had to shove Robin and I away from the brunt of the attack, but we were all sent skidding back very painfully I might add, across the grass. In a last-ditch effort to… to do something, at least, I slammed down the faceplate again, hoping to get anything that would stand a chance against Twister.
Green light surrounded my body, fading away in a flash to reveal a transformation almost physically identical to myself, save for the green skin and bright yellow hair. As I looked up to see the descending form of Twister, lightning crackling from his fingertips, I knew that I was likely about to meet my death. I probably should have felt scared, or perhaps angry at the injustice, or perhaps I should have started begging for mercy. None of these responses were what I naturally produced, instead I simply stared emotionlessly up at my looming destroyer, thinking.
This Coluan form, Brainiac, as I had renamed it while transformed into a Necrofriggian (Greenius was far superior as a name. It referenced both a physically distinct characteristic and the primary function of the form), provided me an entirely new way of viewing the world. As I gazed upon Mister Twister, I didn't just view him as the enemy, I viewed him as a marvel of machinery that I could dissect if given the tools.
Beside me, M'Gann also looked up at Twister, but with determination rather than apathetic curiosity. Her brow furrowed, and the Bioship suddenly appeared between him and us. For some odd reason, this actually seemed to stop Twister from attacking us. I could hear that he wasn't attacking the Bioship either, so what was going on…?
"Fine then. Playing hide and seek with you children won't get me any closer to my objectives, so STAY concealed. If you confront me again, I will show. No. Mercy." The loud but quickly decreasing volume of his mechanical whirring signalled that he was departing, and I tilted my head curiously.
"What happened?" Wally groaned, sitting up gingerly. Robin and Kaldur also began getting to their feet, having recovered somewhat from the ordeal themselves.
"I placed the Bioship between us." M'Gann explained, to all our confusion.
"And that made him just give up?" Robin asked with a frown, and M'Gann blinked.
"Oh, I never showed you, did I?" She realised, before explaining, "The Bioship can camouflage itself like Uncle J'onn and I can, and I used that to conceal us."
"Buying us time, but not helping us defeat Twister." Kaldur muttered grimly, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, "Ark, how soon until you can transform back into Frostfright? Your powers were the only thing that made a difference against him."
"My Necrofriggian transformation will become available again in twenty-seven minutes and four seconds." I intoned emotionlessly, having been counting ever since I transformed.
At that unhelpful piece of information, the Atlantean sighed, "Your inexperience in the field makes you a liability with your other forms. And we cannot afford to wait anywhere near that amount of time if Twister is going to continue his rampage."
"Hit the showers." Wally instructed, "We'll take it from here." With that, he and Robin took off in the direction he had gone, with the former being out of sight within seconds thanks to his speed. M'Gann stood up and went to follow after them, but Kaldur help up a hand.
"I am sorry, M'Gann, but Robin, Kid and I have much more experience working together as a team. It would be better if you also stayed behind. Head back to the Cave and ask Red Tornado about what to do, since I imagine he'll have a much better idea of how to defeat this Twister than we do." He told us before taking off in the same direction the other two had gone.
"I just wanted to be a part of the team…" M'Gann murmured dejectedly, and I tilted my head at that. There was a weird feeling, struggling to rise up within my chest. It was somewhat crushing, but I had no difficulty quashing it. Emotions were for beings of lower intelligence, after all.
"Current series of events indicate dissolution of team due to either internal conflict or death imminent within three days." I informed her, and seeing her expression worsen brought up the crushing feeling again, stronger than before. It seemed that my human mind's emotional connection with her was influencing me. I'd have to see what I could do about that; it was very distracting. With a sigh, M'Gann brought the Bioship down and opened the hatch for us to enter.
"I guess we should ask Red Tornado for help, shouldn't we?" She asked me sadly, but I shook my head.
"That will not be necessary. After transforming into this form, I was able to formulate a plan within seven point nine seconds with a ninety-four percent chance of defeating Mister Twister. All I need is a lift back to Mount Justice, and then one to wherever Mister Twister is currently wreaking havoc." I explained calmly. Rather than reassure her, this information seemed to confuse M'Gann, who frowned at me.
"Then why didn't you tell Kaldur that instead of just watching them run off?"
"I estimated that Aqualad, Robin and Kid Flash had a seventy-nine percent chance of survival if they engaged Mister Twister for the time it took me to prepare my plan. There was also a seventeen percent chance they could subdue Mister Twister in that time, so it was more efficient to simply let them go and attack him."
M'Gann didn't seem at all satisfied with my logical course of action. She gasped, before glaring at me. "Those are our teammates! You can't just treat them like… like tools to be used!"
"This argument would be more efficient if occurred during travel." I replied calmly, but she didn't seem to appreciate my suggestion of efficiency. Instead, she just huffed, her glare intensifying as she sat in the pilot's seat and the Bioship took off back towards Mount Justice. "Now that we are headed towards our destination, I will request that you explain your statement."
"It shouldn't need explanation! Friends are supposed to care about and support each other, and they're supposed to be your friends!" She protested heatedly.
"I have interacted with the three of them for a combined total of four point two hours. This is an insufficient period of time to expect friendly relations to be built. Interaction with Robin and Kid Flash has also occurred mostly in formal or business settings, hampering the possibility of informal relations."
"I didn't think it'd be like this…" She mumbled in response, and I felt a lump rise up in my throat, for some reason. Almost instinctively, I raised a hand to the Omnitrix symbol on my chest, before stopping and lowering it. Why had I tried to do that…? These emotional reactions were really quite bothersome.
"What are you talking about?"
M'Gann looked up at me sadly, "Everyone on Mars… we all idolised Uncle J'onn. We would get transmissions about his exploits with the Justice League here on Earth, and it all seemed so exciting. I thought coming to Earth would be the highlight of my life, but everything's all wrong."
"What did you expect from a world that necessitated the existence of the Justice League?" I asked curiously, no malice or sarcasm in my tone. Such things would be rude, as all I wanted was to understand another piece of information.
"I…" Her mouth opened, but nothing came out. We continued the flight back to Mount Justice in silence, with my mind a flurry of activity as I thought about what Mister Twister's motives may be. It was beyond obvious that there was some sort of connection to Red Tornado (the powers, their mechanical natures, the fact that he was attacking in such a close vicinity). But it was clear from the lightning powers and the more modern design that Mister Twister was an upgraded, or at least more advanced version of Red Tornado. He wasn't part of anything CADMUS had taught me, which meant they either didn't want me knowing about him, or he was a new villain. The first option seemed likely, as CADMUS had been developing ways to combat the Justice League and Mister Twister would fit such a role, except… CADMUS was genetics, and this was clearly robotics.
Robin, Aqualad and Kid Flash hadn't recognised Mister Twister, meaning he was likely new either way, but this possible connection to CADMUS was a definite point of interest. If Batman decided to question us about it once he was defeated, perhaps this would be worth bringing up?
While I was busy thinking about Mister Twister's origins, the Bioship arrived back in the hangar at Mount Justice, and I departed with M'Gann. My plan was quite simple; to use the supplies in the Medical Laboratory to construct an EMP which I would either goad Mister Twister into using lightning to power, or I would have Aqualad power with his own bioelectricity.
"Ark. Miss Martian. Is there a reason you have returned without the rest of the Team?" Red Tornado asked the pair of us as we hurried through the central chamber.
"Red Tornado!" Relief flooded M'Gann's voice as she flew over to him hastily, "The team, we need your help. We were attacked by a villain calling himself Mister Twister, and he can make tornadoes like you, and the rest of the team went after him but he's too strong we need you!" Her voice gradually decreased in volume as I left her behind, continuing on to the Medical Laboratory. Inside the laboratory was an x-ray machine, inside which was a vircator. By reprogramming the microwave conversion of the unit from X-rays to electro magnetic pulses with a cascading energy vector directed outwards, all I needed was to get either Mister Twister or Aqualad to provide the necessary power, and it would take out any machine within a certain range.
With the means of Mister Twister's defeat in my hands, I made my way back to the Bioship. Before I left the Medical Laboratory, I grabbed a belt of tools and fastened it to my waist, knowing it would be useful once Mister Twister was defeated. As I power-walked through the cave, I passed through the central chamber again just in time to hear Red Tornado finish what he had been saying.
"It is not my place to solve the Team's issues for you, just as it is not your place to solve my issues for me."
"Mister Twister is most likely here because of you, in some way. The similarity in powers, his mechanical nature and the proximity of this attack all suggest you are part of his plan." I called out calmly, walking over to a disappointed M'Gann.
"True. Perhaps it would be better if I engaged Twister myself." The android relented thoughtfully.
"It would be futile, as I have already prepared the EMP for use. Your assistance would be more valuable in dismantling in Mister Twister after he has been incapacitated." I replied, and he nodded.
"Very well. I will wait outside of the EMP's range and then assist you after it has been triggered." He stated, and the two of us followed M'Gann back to the Bioship in the hangar, where the hangar door was still open. She opened up the Bioship's hatch so that she and I could pile in, while Red Tornado chose to fly behind us on his own.
"Aqualad, Robin and Kid Flash were the first people to ever demonstrate kindness to me." I informed M'Gann as we shot towards Happy Harbour, where Mister Twister's actions were visible from a mile away. "Robin believes that I chose to free them because my Thanagarian form freed me from their control and somehow erased their programming. In actuality, the telepathic resistance only gave me the clarity to make the only reasonable decision; to repay that kindness they showed." My tone did not waver or shift in any way, remaining completely impassive. "Your four are the only meaningful connections I as a person have ever known. No amount of logical reasoning could compel me to place you or them in a situation I did not believe they would survive." With that, I turned back around to stare blankly ahead of us.
~Aqualad, Brainiac and I are bringing an EMP to your location in order to neutralise Twister. Can you use your powers to trigger it?~ M'Gann's voice rang out in mine, and presumably Kaldur's, heads.
~Affirmative. Rendezvous at my location, Robin and I have been keeping Twister occupied while Kid runs evac.~
The Bioship descended down towards Kaldur, and the floor opened up for me to drop down. I landed carefully, bending my knees while making sure not to damage the EMP. After a quick once-over to check it was undamaged, I handed it over to him, gesturing to where the circuit ended.
"Place your hand here so the electricity can flow into the EMP. You will most likely need to be within a few meters of Mister Twister for it to affect him."
"Understood." He nodded, before running off in the Mister Twister's direction. The villain in question was currently preoccupied with the Boy Wonder's various gadgets and using his whirlwinds to keep those gadgets (explosives in particular) ten feet away from himself at all times. As Robin's utility belt, which he had apparently brought with him, ran dry, he found himself caught up in his enemy's twisters. His body was spun around viciously as he gritted his teeth, struggling against the elemental forces. Before any serious damage could befall Robin, Kaldur darted up to the distracted Mister Twister and held out the EMP. The lines on his skin glowed blue and began to spark with electricity before the energy was directed into the circuit, and a pulse shot out that slammed into Mister Twister and rendered him and his powers inert in an instant. His eyes, once a vibrant but menacing shade of blue, faded to black as his limbs fell limply by his side and he slammed down into the ground with a THUD!
With the threat neutralised, Wally sped over to Robin and helped him up off the ground. I ran over to Mister Twister's collapsed form and immediately began working to disassemble him. As I marvelled at the technological prowess of whoever had created him, I felt a hand gently come to rest on my shoulder. Glancing back, I saw a smiling Kaldur and a descending Red Tornado.
~I was wrong to call you a liability, Ark. You and M'Gann have both proved your worth today, and it will be my honour to call you my teammates.~ His voice spoke in my head, and I found a smile forming on my face at that, despite my wishes.