"Batman to the Cave," the Dark Knight's voice called, grabbing everyone's attention in the Observation room. "Five hours ago, a new menace attacked Green Arrow and Black Canary." A picture and then a video of the attacker appeared on the screen. The team watched with varying levels of shock as the android effortlessly overpowered the Leaguers, causing significant damage.
Toneri narrowed his eyes at the video, thinking, 'A puppet strong enough to defeat the League?'
Batman continued, "The attacker was capable of studying and then duplicating the powers and abilities of his opponents. Arrow called in reinforcements, which nearly proved disastrous, as our foe gained more and more power with each new combatant."
"So the android is adapting and copying your powers based on its observations of you, huh?" Toneri said aloud.
"Yes," Batman confirmed.
Toneri's eyes gleamed with interest. "How interesting," he muttered before thinking, 'Very interesting indeed. I wonder how effectively it can use their powers.'
"Woah..." Kid Flash said, both shocked and awed. "One guy with the powers of the entire League."
"In the end, it took nine Leaguers four hours to defeat and dismantle the android," Batman continued.
"An android?" Robin asked, intrigued. "Who made it? T.O. Morrow?"
"Good guess, Robin," Batman replied with a slightly softer voice, signaling his approval. "But Red Tornado doesn't think so."
"The technology bears the signature of... Professor Ivo," Martian Manhunter added, still shocked at the revelation.
"Ivo?" Aqualad exclaimed softly. "But Ivo's dead."
"So we all thought..." Canary said to the Atlantean. "Or hoped."
Toneri stepped forward. "Who are T.O. Morrow and Ivo?" he asked with a hand on his waist and the other on his chin.
"Oh, right," said Wally. "Other dimension. Forgot."
"In the world of evil geniuses, T.O. Morrow and Anthony Ivo are the biggest names there are," explained Robin. "T.O. Morrow built a bunch of robots to infiltrate the League and destroy it from the inside out. And Ivo, well, he just makes robots and tries to take over the world."
Dinah continued, "Their work is incredibly dangerous, and their creations are hard to defeat. Like this new android, which mimicked the League's entire power set."
'Oh, so they are both akin to the puppeteering genius Sasori. I wonder how their puppets would fare against mine,' Toneri thought.
"Hmm, continue," Toneri said aloud.
"To ensure this threat is permanently neutralized, we are sending two trucks carrying the android's parts to two separate Star Lab facilities in Boston and New York for immediate evaluation. Every precaution has been taken. We'll have four additional decoy trucks to create confusion in case Ivo or anyone attempts to recover the remains. You will split into undercover teams to safeguard the two real trucks," Batman finished.
Toneri frowned, thinking, 'Why didn't they just destroy it completely or melt it down? Or even have Superman chuck it into the sun and be done with it?'
"Sweet!" Wally called out, pumping his fist in the air. "Road-trip!"
Superboy, however, was not amused. "So now we take out your trash?" he said coldly.
Batman retorted harshly, "You've got something better to do?"
Toneri sighed and said, "Calm down, Superboy. This will help you cool your head a bit."
Batman then turned to Toneri. "Will you accompany the team?"
"I guess I will," Toneri replied. "I am very much interested in this android and its capabilities."
"Coordinates received," Aqualad called out. He then turned to Toneri, saying, "You've been gone for a while, but this should demonstrate how we've improved in your absence."
Toneri looked at him, then at the team, and chuckled lightly. "Well, we shall see."
Before Superboy left, Canary grabbed his shoulder and said softly, "Whenever you're ready, I'll be here."
Superboy didn't say anything but looked thoughtful as he left with the rest of his team.
Canary moved to Toneri and said, "Look after the team, and God forbid if anything goes wrong, please interfere if they can't handle it."
Toneri nodded. "I would have done so even if you didn't ask."
LATER
In an open field, the Team and several League members gathered around the six trucks designated for transporting the android's parts. The truck bound for Boston contained the android's arms and legs, while the one heading to New York carried its head and chest.
Toneri moved to the container with the torso and head of the android, studying the body parts with keen interest. 'Hmm, the design is not bad, and the material used to create it is quite decent as well,' he thought.
The Team was in civilian clothing over their uniforms, except for Miss Martian, who shapeshifted her outfit to match their motorcycles. The bikes, designed by Batman, were equipped with autopilot and battle modes, ensuring safety and versatility. This was especially useful since several team members didn't know how to ride motorcycles.
Superboy, about to put on his helmet, noticed a figure watching him. Using his super-vision, he identified the figure as Superman. However, Superman turned away as soon as the clone noticed him. Superboy kept an annoyed expression as he donned his helmet, trying not to look again.
Toneri approached Batman, glancing at Superman before suggesting, "Talk to him." He then moved to the white bike beside the team, examining it with intrigue and amusement at the idea of riding a bike. Taking the helmet, he sat down.
Robin asked, "You comfortable?"
Toneri replied, "Surprisingly, yes. It is well balanced, but I'd still prefer to fly."
Wally chimed in, "Hey, come on. These are cool, so try to enjoy it."
Aqualad added, "This is a covert operation, after all. Flying wouldn't be so under the radar."
Batman, alongside Superman, Flash, Green Arrow, Red Tornado, and Captain Atom, had been overseeing the decoy trucks and the two real ones. Batman stepped forward and waved his hand at the trucks; a moment later, the vehicles started driving in different directions. The Leaguers watched as the trucks pulled out, then observed the Team splitting up to follow the two real trucks.
The Team divided into two groups. Lunaris, Robin, and Superboy followed the truck heading to Boston, while Aqualad, Kid Flash, and Miss Martian followed the truck heading to New York.
With the younger heroes embarking on their mission, the older heroes began to leave now that their job was done. Before Superman could take off, however, he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Wait, Clark. We need to talk," Batman said firmly.
———
For some time, they rode in silence. Toneri's mind drifted back to his plans for the next time he opened a portal with Amenosakeme. 'What if I use an enormous amount of yang chakra to open it? Will Empty Hand still be able to hijack Amenosakeme?' he pondered.
Finally, Robin spoke up. "If dislike is the opposite of like," he pondered aloud, "Is disaster the opposite of aster?"
Coming out of his thoughts, Toneri asked, "Is there a reason why you keep coming up with these new words, Robin?"
"I'm just pointing it out. See, instead of things going wrong, they go right! Right, Superboy?"
Superboy didn't reply and kept his eyes on the truck in front of him.
"Clearly, you're not feeling the aster," said Robin dryly. "What's wrong?"
"Canary," snarled Superboy. "What business does she have teaching combat skills to a guy with super strength?"
"It's not always about the level of strength but how it's used, Superboy," Toneri said. "The way I see it, she shouldn't have been able to touch you unless you willed it. Yet, because you let your emotions cloud your judgment, she tossed you around like a child."
Superboy looked away.
"Taking down stronger guys is part of the gig," said Robin with a shrug. "Canary learned that the hard way, same with Batman and, well, me."
Superboy scowled and revved his engine. Toneri shook his head, seeing Superboy not listening to anything they said. He sensed a shift in the air and said, "We have incoming."
Suddenly, a dozen small, green figures shot out of the cornfields lining the road. They latched onto the truck with mechanical giggles.
"Monkeys?" Toneri asked.
"Totally Ivo's tweaked style," laughed Robin.
Their earpiece buzzed with static. "Alpha team!" shouted Kaldur through the line of communication. "Our truck is under attack!"
"Kinda figured," said Robin.
Superboy growled in anger. "I hate monkeys." Robin pressed a button on his back and the back wheel fell off. It skidded for a foot before it swiveled into the air, sprouting propellers and a gun turret.
"Switch your ride to battle mode," called the Boy Wonder.
"No point," snarled Superboy as he leapt forward. The bike swerved violently, crashing into Robin's, and he used his grappling gun to latch onto the truck. Toneri's bike puffed out of existence in white smoke as he stored it in his personal storage seal. 'No need to let that go to waste,' he thought.
Hovering in the air, Toneri turned around, seeing more robot monkeys. Suddenly, Robin and Superboy heard a loud chirping like a thousand birds and saw lightning manifest in Toneri's right hand. He swung his arm and whispered, "Chidori Senbon," releasing needles made of lightning that sped forward and impaled the new reinforcements, short-circuiting most of them and cleanly cutting through the rest. The robots exploded, causing a chain reaction that caught Robin's bot in the blast as well.
Suddenly, Toneri heard a cry of rage and pain and saw Superboy get tossed off the truck. He shot a couple of lightning senbons at the robots holding Superboy, causing them to explode and drop the clone, who came to a stop a few feet off the ground. Using his Deva Path, Toneri held him up and asked, "Are you alright?"
"My eyes," grumbled the clone. The area around his eyes was slightly burned. Superboy cocked his head to the side and growled as if listening before jumping ten stories into the air towards the speeding truck.
Toneri sighed at the clone's impatience. "What an ungrateful brat," he muttered.