The Watchtower was Victor's real home nowadays. It used to be the Titans Tower, but he'd grown much more powerful since he first became a Cyborg. His mind was the most efficient processor on the face of the planet, and he dedicated it to keeping an eye on the entirety Earth. Whenever he picked up anything strange on cameras, microphones or encrypted messages, he'd notify the authorities or dispatch a League member if the trouble was too much. He was constantly monitoring the planet a hundred times per minute...and twenty-four seven.

A blip came up on his display, indicating a highly important message from Group 6. Their last joint operation paid off, but Victor wasn't seeing the long-term purpose of that kind of relationship. At the end of the day, Group 6 was military and that meant they couldn't be trusted. He pulled the message then opened it, and it read:

"Mr. Stone, this is a priority message. The terrorist Joseph Martin has attacked a city centre in Sydney Australia. We are in desperate need of League assistance." 

Victor frowned. The Atomic Skull... He was one of Superman's more reoccurring villains, meaning that he was usually the one to take care of him. That meant that Group 6 definitely needed a hand. This would be a difficult task for certain Justice League members, let alone a small group of military personnel.

Cyborg quickly examined all possible outcomes, and he concluded that it would be best if he informed Superman of this situation but he was a few galaxies away, and completely out of immediate contact range. That only left him or Diana, and he hadn't seen her in weeks.

Victor wasted no time in opening a boom tube - a travel portal fuelled by a Mother Box. Victor was one of the few that could get the thing started up. Usually, it was a pain in the ass, people always had to contact him directly to use it, but there were rare moments where it became useful.

In less than minutes Victor found himself standing in the centre of the city, the Sydney Opera House crumbling in the distance. The surrounding area was mostly evacuated, with the exception of the few stragglers that were still running to their cars. One of them had seen Victor on their way and screamed in fear... He was mistaken for the villain more than he was ever praised for being a hero so he had learned to ignore people's terror at the sight of him. It would hurt later though. It always did.

"Cyborg!" A familiar, digitised voice yelled, and as Cyborg honed his attention back to the task at hand, he saw Hyperion in her large mechanical suit. It was badly damaged and beginning to circuit out. Around her were the bodies of her teammates, red tubes and wiring spilling out from their bodies.

"What's your condition?" Victor quickly asked her, wading past the corpses that littered the ground.

"Severe hull damage. Weapons are functional, operating at eighty two percent efficiency." She replied without hesitation "Radiation shielding is almost gone...he seems to be getting stronger."

"We need to shut him down before he detonates."

"According to these readings, that might be soon." Hyperion said in a clear voice that didn't show even an inch of fear. "I can't take another hit from him though."

"Then we'll have to make sure that doesn't happen." Cyborg said calmly. He ran the calculations in his head, and she was correct. At this point her radiation shielding was barely intact, but it was the only thing keeping her alive. If she isn't killed by the energy blasts, Atomic Skull's natural radioactive bleeding would kill her. "Where's Martin?"

"Our team led him away just before you arrived. They won't last long." She said lowly, stepping forward with a heavy clunk of metal. There was a rattle within the suit as well, one that insisted that it was near breaking point. "He'll be back soon. Do you have a plan?" 

Victor didn't have time to reply. As soon as he'd opened his mouth both of their monitors lit up red, warning of a threat approaching. Victor morphed his right hand into a Gauss cannon and aimed towards the threat. When Atomic Skull came into view he discharged the weapon, and the slug came roaring out of Victor's arm.

The projectile slammed into Atomic Skull's chest, thrusting him backwards slightly. Skull's twisted glowing face turned to Victor "Where's Superman? Bring me Superman!"

A purple hot fireball of pure atomic energy roared at Victor, who easily leapt away from the oncoming volley and behind an upturned truck. His sensors picked up a defunct tank in the distance. If he assimilated the hardware, that cannon could prove to be a welcome upgrade. Victor's current Gauss cannon seemed to be doing some kind of damage, but it wasn't enough.

"I can try to drain his energy...but I'll have to get to that tank." Victor said to Hyperion over comms. "It should be enough firepower to knock him down long enough." 

"Okay. I'll get his attention."

"Just don't be a hero." Victor said, peering out from his cover.

Hyperion muttered "Yeah, I'll leave that to you." 

The giant mech jumped out from cover, holding a large plasma gun and charging it to full power. Hyperion's index finger itched against the trigger, and when the weapon made a beeping noise that informed her that it was ready, she shot at Atomic Skull.

It zapped right into his shoulder and forced a strangled growl out of his throat. His gaze instantly flicked in her direction in pure rage. Power like that would have ripped most people's arm off... but he didn't look injured in the slightest. At the very least his arm was still intact.

In his fury, Atomic Skull formed more layers of energy in his hands and threw them towards Hyperion. Her suit was so large that it proved difficult to dodge the attack, and so she was unable to completely evade being hit.

"Hull playing of Model Atlas compromised." A voice spoke from inside her suit, warning her of the damage. "Cooling system is offline. Overheating will commence in less than ten minutes."

"Great..." Reid sighed from inside the two husks. She was already starting to feel the temperature rising. Victor, thankfully had managed to move towards the tank but he would need time to alter its gun for his personal use. She had to continue distracting the enemy...

"Bring me Superman!" He yelled, hands filling with more energy in an attempt to intimidate her.

"He's got better things to do, and stronger enemies to face." Hyperion teased. "You're just small fry compared to them."

The man clenched his teeth at her words, grinding them together as if he were trying to file them right down to the nerves. His face scrunched up, then seemed to turn red with anger before he rushed towards her.

Atomic Skull lifted her heavy suit with all his strength and pushed her against a near by building. The metal straps holding her in place snapped and she jolted inside of both husks. She felt her back smack against the metal and hissed at the pain it brought.

All that was visible to hear was his outraged face, and the fist that he was charging with energy. He was getting ready to make the final blow, and Reid knew that this would mean the end for her.

"Pressure on outer shell of Model Atlas rising." The robotic voice informed Reid. The heat inside the of the suits was increasing dramatically, and his grip alone was threatening to break her protection apart.

Just before Atomic Skull got the chance to punch through her suit, a loud banging noise filled the air. The man's eyes widened and his body shook before he finally collapsed, releasing Hyperion in the process.

Reid had barely had time to compose herself by the time Cyborg rushed over, two of his fingers forming into cables that clipped onto Atomic Skull. He zapped the remaining energy out of him, and when he had none left to give, the villain fell unconscious.

"That tank's gun proved useful then?" Reid said, trying to straighten her back but feeling a sting of pain that ceased her movement altogether.

"You wouldn't be standing here if it didn't." Victor replied a little coldly. He could tell that she had been injured, but he distanced himself by not even bothering to ask.

Reid's face contorted beneath the suit into an expression of confusion, and suddenly she was glad that he couldn't see it. Why was he acting so disconnected now? The first time they'd worked together he was completely different... or at least it felt like it.

"What are you going to do with him?" She asked, though she knew the answer. It was her last attempt at making the atmosphere less awkward.

Victor summoned a boom tube and threw Atomic Skull's limp form over his shoulder. "Stryker's." Was his simple reply.

Reid nodded, and in turn, so did the suit. Stryker Island's prison was the most fortified one they had on Earth. All dangerous and powerful criminals were taken there and put in cells designed specifically for each of them.

Without another word Victor had disappeared into the boom tube, and traveled back across the ocean to Stryker's. Reid was left standing there in an overheating unit, spine still tingling with pain. Without a moment to spare, she opened both husks and stumbled out of the units. Walking was painful, which meant that she'd definitely done something to her back.

"Glad to see you alive, Reid." The voice of General Hanson said from behind her.

The woman turned, still trying to catch her breath. He was standing right beside her mech suits, eyes gazing over the damage done.

"Barely..." She responded breathlessly. "I was unable to save the rest of Group 6...Sir."

"We don't blame you, Specialist. Atomic Skull is usually fought by beings more powerful than anything we can even imagine. You did what you could. We're just grateful that Cyborg answered our alert in time to assist you." The superior officer stated, eyes now shifting to the lifeless bodies of his agents. "Still, this doesn't bode well for this unit. There's no Group 6 without a group, after all."

Reid gulped. She was aware that this meant the end of her military career, at least for a while. It was difficult to imagine trying to get a regular job to finance her studies and inventions... Even more so to fit in with the everyday crowd.

"We realise that your particular skills would be wasted if you were to blend with the general public." Hanson continued as if he knew exactly what she was thinking. "And so, we've organised for you to be put on a new team. One with others that can match your power when in the suit. Unfortunately though, you will be required to transfer from Australia.'

Reid's brow furrowed. She was willing to move locations for work, but she couldn't decipher where exactly they were reassigning her. The Australian military didn't operate outside of the country... unless they were trying to secure allies.

-------------

Victor returned to the Watchtower soon after handing Atomic Skull to the staff at Stryker's. He had gotten lucky this time around. The fight had been fairly simple to win, though he wasn't willing to admit that Hyperion's teamwork was an important aspect in it. Still, it was painfully obvious that he had to find Wonder Woman. With Superman out on an intergalactic mission she was essential in keeping the Justice League above water... especially when it came to villains beyond their power.

Cyborg had assumed that she was cursed to some ancient Greek legend - The underworld, for example. He had no proof of this, only that he could find no other trace of her. Diana had mentioned that it was a reoccurring theme for either Ares or Hades or some other so-called 'God' to trap her there. Victor thought it was all bullshit at first, but once you actually meet them it's hard to ignore.

"Hey, Vic." Hal greeted as he continued hacking the terminal for any clues to Diana's whereabouts.

"Hal." was Victor's short reply.

"Can you meet me in the Hanger?" The Green Lantern asked coolly, fiddling with the ring on his right hand.

Victor unplugged himself from the mainframe, and this alone was enough of an answer to have Hal exit the room. Cyborg followed suit but never ceased running the calculations in his head. If Diana was in the Underworld, and if the Greek mythology was to be taken as fact, then depending on where she landed it could take weeks for her to return. Perhaps even months.

There were five main rivers in the underworld; Styx, Acheron, Lethe, Phlegethon, and Cocytus. Oceanus, or known by the ancient Greek's as 'the river that encircled the world', marked the east edge of the underworld. So, in simpler terms, the ocean apparently connected the Mortal and Immortal realms. From this he could deduct that Diana had a long journey before she could return.

Next, he searched for information on specific areas of the underworld... but was soon distracted from this mission. He had just entered the Hanger when his analysis had started. He'd only managed to find writings about the Elysium before spotting a foreign entity in the room. Immediately on guard, he prepared his arm cannon to assemble. However, the entity turned and he recognised it.

"Hyperion." He said lowly. "What are you doing here?"

"Victor." She said in a much warmer tone than he could manage. "I was accepted as a member of the Justice League. I suppose we'll be working together more frequently."

Victor's expression would have darkened if the left side of his facial circuits had allowed it. Instead, only half of his face showed any emotion at this discovery. If anything, it made him look even more frightening than intended. He didn't approve of her on the team, not in the slightest. He never liked new recruits, but especially not her. She was from the military, accustomed to following even the most unsavoury of orders.

This disapproval lead to the question of who exactly had accepted her as a member. The only one with the authority to allow her into the League without anyone else's approval was one of the original team. Superman wasn't there to do it, The Flash was never willing to look over such requests, Aquaman was scarcely in the Watchtower to begin with, Batman would never have said yes, Wonder Woman was missing, and... Green Lantern.

Cyborg turned his head and spotted Hal leaning against the wall with a grin. Victor bared his teeth at the man but it had little effect. "Why did you approve of this?"

"I thought it was important to maintain a friendly relationship with the military, especially ones in different countries. It'll be easier to reach them if something goes wrong." Hal answered with a shrug. "I didn't see the harm in giving her a chance."

Victor grimaced "That's stupid, Hal. Even for you."

The Green Lantern, quite uncharacteristically, frowned. He took a step forward. "Look kid, you might like to think that I'm just a reckless hotshot, but I helped find this team. The others trust my judgement, and so should you."

Victor fell silent.

"Besides...she doesn't have anywhere else to go, Vic. The League's been open to people like that since the beginning. You should know."

Victor grimaced, not exactly happy at how Hal brought up his past like that. Still, there was no arguing with this decision, even he knew that.

"And besides, I heard that you and Harper work pretty well together." Hal teased, and it didn't take long for Victor to realise that he was calling Reid by her first name. The Green Lantern up to Victor and patting him on the shoulder. "It's the reason they came to us first."

Victor grumbled something but Hal didn't stay long enough to hear it. With a wave in Reid's direction, he exited the Hanger. Cyborg could imagine the smug look on his face...

"Victor." Reid's voice called out just as he was about to leave as well. "Is there any particular reason you're giving me the cold shoulder?"

"...I'm not."

"Don't lie to me." Reid sighed, crossing her arms. "That angst could get someone killed, especially if it prevents us from working as a team. I suggest you sort yourself out before that happens."

Victor grunted his response but didn't say anything more on the matter. He'd been on the team for far longer than she had, and quite frankly, he didn't appreciate being told how to do his job. He would work with her when he needed to, but outside of that his attitude meant nothing. He didn't have to be civilised. He wasn't human anymore... So why should the possibility of being unfriendly mean anything to a machine?

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