The Warrior Legion

Chapter 2: Cerberus

My vision was blurred. I looked around hazily, trying to focus. For some reason it seemed impossible. Thick tubes were injected into my bare chest, and a metallic liquid was flowing inside of me.
At first I couldn't even feel my body, their was no pain, no movement, no developed thoughts. I couldn't even breathe. Their was a mask over my mouth. I assumed it was pumping Oxygen into my system, keeping me alive.
Then the pain came. It hit like a shockwave and violently attacked my body.
The pain blasted my nerves, and my body shook uncontrollably in response.
My skull cracked against the glass surrounding me, and after a few hits, the glass began to crack.
I screamed in pain as my body convulsed and spasmed in unfiltered agony.
As my screams erupted in the capsule containing me. The glass shattered, and my voice could be heard all around the ship.

"AAAAHHHHH!!" I yelled as I bolted upright. My body was soaked with sweat and my shirt stuck to my skin.
Lasers burst from my eyes as I screamed in terror and agony. The blue beams seared into the translucent crystal of the Fortress.
After a moment I stopped screaming in realisation of my whereabouts. I stopped the beams from erupting from my eyes and I began to calm.
I took a breath as I looked around me.
I was in the Fortress of Solitude, I could tell from the Kryptonian Crystals lining the walls.
I was lying on a solid table, which I assumed was used to study aliens.
"Holy Shit Vex!" A girl screamed as I turned to look at her.
It was the girl I met at school, the one that said was sent by Batman.
I breathed heavily, trying to regain control of myself.
"You're that girl." I said as I grasped the sides of the cold table.
"Yeah, that's me, the girl. The name's Hannah." She introduced herself.
"Vex." I responded, still dazed.
"I'll be back in a minute. I should tell Bats you're finally up." She said as she stood up from her seat.
I didn't respond as she walked out of the room.
After a few seconds, Superman walked in the room, the same way Hannah had left.
"Vex, you're awake." He said as he stared at me.
"Yeah." I replied. "What happened? The last thing I remember was fighting a madman in downtown Metropolis." I wiped the sweat off my forehead with the back of my hand.
"Right." Superman began. "You stopped the Villain from continuing its rampage on the city."
I sighed in relief as Superman explained.
"But, during your fight with him, you caused serious damage to the surrounding area, and put a lot of lives at risk." Superman explained how our fight had damaged the nearby buildings. And the shockwaves had shattered the glass and injured many civilians.
I looked down in shame as I realised the damage I had caused.
"However." Superman began again. "That was just over a week ago. And to most of the public eye, you did well. Now you're considered a hero, Vex." Superman said. He sounded proud, but I couldn't be sure.
"Was anyone hurt badly?" I asked as I lifted my head up to look at him.
"No." He replied. "The worst was probably from the civilians you saved from the fire. Their suffering from severe smoke inhalation symptoms. But that's about it." He explained.
I sighed in relief again.
"That's good." I said as I looked at Superman.
I sat in silence for a minute before I realised what Kal had said before.
"Wait! Did you say that this happened over a week ago?!" I shouted as I brushed my hands back through my hair.

A few hours later, I was in the Batcave. Apparently Batman wanted to 'ask' me a few questions.
He was sitting across from me on a plain metal chair. A flat, metal table separated us.
"What do you remember about the Villain attacked the museum?" He asked coldly. His voice was flat, it didn't waver and stayed at a single tone as he spoke.
It was impressive to see such a robotic personality.
"He was about the same height as Superman, he wore a tank top and cargo pants." I responded. "He was strong, and I presumed he was an alien at first."
"At first?" Batman cut me off.
"I scanned his body with my X-Ray Vision. And his anatomy was completely human, except for one difference. There was something flowing through his blood." I explained.
"My guess is that he used an experimental drug to enhance his strength. Was there anything else?" He asked again in his monotone voice.
I sighed again before responding.
"Well, there was something else." I began. "His behaviour was immature. It was as if he was a child taking a tantrum. And he was looking for Superman." I explained.
Batman proceeded to ask me a few more questions, and I told him everything that had happened, sparing no detail.
After about ten minutes of a thorough interrogation, we moved onto the other reason I was called there.
"Vex, you want to be a hero like Superman, correct?" He asked, his voice was still calm and unwavering.
"Well, yeah." I answered. "I can help make a difference. I can protect people who don't have the power to protect themselves. I mean, if I have these powers, why shouldn't I use them for people who need me to." I explained.
"That's a good enough reason as any." Batman responded, and I could've swore his voice wavered ever so slightly.
"If you really want to be like Superman, that means you'll need an identity. Superman stays in the public image, and if you want to be like him, you'll have to look the part." Batman started.
"Wait." I interrupted. "I'm not wearing tights. If I need to look the part, I'll do that. But I'll do it on my own terms." I said.
"That's fine, but you need something to tell people that you're there. A symbol to remind the people that you're watching over them." Batman explained.
"I have just the thing."  I heard Hannah's voice as she stepped out of one of the many shadows in the dark cave.
She was holding a black leather jacket under her arm as she approached me.
She took the jacket from under her arm and handed it to me.
"Here, I had Alfred make it after I heard about what happened. I figured you might want to be a hero, so why not look good while doing it?" She asked.
"Thanks." I said as I took the jacket from her.
I unfolded the jacket to find a small symbol etched on the right of the chest. It was similar to Superman's symbol, but instead of the S inside the irregular pentagon, there was an A.
"What does it mean?" I asked as I looked back at Hannah.
"Well, we can't have every Kryptonian running around with the same symbol on their chest now can we? People will start thinking we're making a club. And as far as the letter goes, I was thinking of giving you a different name. Something that didn't start with 'Super'." She explained.
"Agreed. People will get suspicious with the amount of incredibly powerful Kryptonians joining the League. Especially people like Lex Luthor." Batman added.
"What name did you have in mind then?" I asked Hannah, curious about this new identity she had invented.
"I was thinking of the name Atlas." She responded enthusiastically. "You remind me a lot of the Myth about him. 'Atlas The Titan'. In Greek Mythology, there was a war between the Titans and the Gods. Atlas was a Titan Warrior, who loved to battle. And when he heard about the war between the Titans and the Gods, he was outraged. If a brave warrior were to die in this war before Atlas got a chance to challenge him, then he would go on a rampage. When one of his warrior brothers was killed by the hands of one of the Gods, Atlas vowed vengeance, and attacked Olympus, their home. However, Atlas was defeated by the Gods, and before they killed him, they found out why he was so furious. Moved by his strong emotions for his family, the Gods spared his life, and instead, punished him. They tasked him with holding up the sky for all of eternity." Hannah explained.
I sat in silence as she explained the similarities I shared with the Titan Warrior, and the strength we both shared.
"Alright." I responded as she finished. "From now on, I'll be known as Atlas."