Ascension Code: Reborn in the DC Universe - Chapter 111

Erick stood in the center of his private training field, wearing only flexible shorts and a white tank top clinging to his body. His green skin gleamed under the bright lights of the boxing ring, his arms crossed over his chest as he waited, motionless. The air, charged with energy, seemed to vibrate around him.

Light footsteps echoed behind him. He turned slowly and saw Jade approaching.

She wore an extremely tight-fitting, night-black jumpsuit that accentuated every curve of her athletic figure—a slim waist, defined hips, and firm breasts pressed against the stretchy fabric. The outfit left little to the imagination, molding perfectly to her shape.

Erick raised an eyebrow.

Jade flashed a predatory grin, her green eyes gleaming with malice.

When she reached the edge of the ring, she stopped and spoke, her voice low and provocative:

“How daring of you to get me this outfit.”

Erik replied calmly, without flinching:

“Don’t get the wrong idea. It’s a reinforced suit that can withstand high temperatures. I can unleash a concentrated burst of fire on you that won’t even burn your skin. However, don’t test me. My capabilities are far superior to the resistance of this suit.”

Jade tilted her head, a smile still on her lips.

“So why so fair?”

Erick gave a slow smile, his eyes briefly scanning her body.

“If the element isn’t wind, you’ll also need aerodynamics.”

Jade returned the smile, clearly pleased with the response. With a small leap, she jumped four meters high as if she weighed nothing, her body rising with feline grace. Then she began to fall slowly, almost in slow motion, landing directly beside Erik.

“So, handsome… are you going to teach me how to use my new powers?”

Erick smiled confidently. He took a step back, making room, and began his explanation in a firm, controlled voice:

“You have just gained the powers of an elemental. While it remains separate from you, it is also united with you in symbiosis.”

As he walked slowly in circles around the ring, explaining, Erick raised his right arm. From his open hand, vivid flames began to dance between his fingers, crackling with controlled intensity.

“An elemental, as the name suggests, is a being created from a raw element. It can create and control its respective element. That’s the simplest explanation. What’s complicated is that you have to understand how our elementals are still extremely young and take centuries to reach maturity, where they will have their true power. They depend much more on our physical body to be able to change their structure. Basically, you’re going to expend an enormous amount of energy.”

As he spoke, the flames in Erick’s palm began to transform. One of them took shape and flew upward, assuming the form of a flaming eagle that soared across the room, leaving a trail of golden fire. The other twisted around his arm, transforming into a sinuous snake of flames that slithered across his body, coiling around his neck and down his torso before returning to his hand.

Erick turned completely to Jade and continued his explanation:

“Almost all of your power will be instinctive, but a small part of it will not. The more you train, the better you will become and control it. The more you train, the more you will be able to draw upon that strength that is within you.”

He gave her a sharp smile, his eyes gleaming with expectation.

“So, shall we test your limit?”

Erick gave a slow, almost predatory smile as he watched the determination that shone in Jade’s green eyes. The air between them still carried the residual heat of the flames he had displayed moments before.

“You should already be able to use your powers passively, just like you did a moment ago to jump high and have a soft landing. Now I want you to try to be creative. Try to control the air around you, try to take the air out of my lungs, try to create gusts of wind or blades of air. Show me what you can do. Be creative, as I said.”

Jade’s face tightened, her expression concentrated, almost closed off. He could clearly see her thoughts swirling as she tried to formulate something concrete. Without saying a word, she assumed a familiar fighting stance—legs spread, knees slightly bent, body low and balanced, exactly the posture Erick had seen dozens of times during previous missions. It was the stance of an assassin ready to kill.

She closed her eyes for a few seconds, taking a deep breath. Then she cupped her hands in front of her chest. From inside them, Erick began to hear a low, almost inaudible buzzing sound, which gradually grew louder, becoming sharper and more powerful, as if an invisible turbine were being accelerated inside her palms.

When Jade opened her eyes again, their green seemed more vibrant, full of energy. She turned quickly to Erick, spun her entire body at high speed, and hurled something invisible at him with all her might.

Erick remained completely still, his arms still crossed, waiting for the impact. The projectile hit him squarely in the center of his chest.

However, nothing happened.

His clothes billowed violently, as if a sudden gale had swept through the room. His green hair was whipped back. Even the ropes of the boxing ring trembled and swayed in the force of the wind. But against his body, the attack caused no real damage.

Erick smiled contentedly, almost amused.

“Impressive, for a newbie. You tried to create an air cannon.”

Jade, her face still contorted with frustration, opened her mouth to reply.

“No. It was a condensed ball of air that, inside, the air remained stable, with several blades rotating. As soon as it came into contact with the target, it would explode, causing a series of cutting injuries.”

Jade stared at him in silence, her lips pressed together. Erick gave a softer smile and continued:

“It doesn’t surprise me that you failed. You tried something too complex. Try something simple.”

To demonstrate exactly what he meant, Erick raised his right arm and pointed his index finger at a reinforced training dummy leaning against the opposite wall of the room. From the tip of his finger, a small ball of fire appeared—no larger than the diameter of his finger—perfectly spherical and bright. Without needing any dramatic movement, he simply threw it with a slight flick of his wrist.

The fireball streaked across the air, striking the dummy’s center directly. There was a sharp piercing sound, followed by a hiss as the projectile passed through the dummy’s entire torso and lodged in the metal wall behind it, leaving a clean, smoking hole.

Erick turned to Jade with a calm expression.

“Simple.”

Jade observed the damage for a moment, then looked at her own hands, analyzing their reactions. She took a deep breath and tried to replicate the movement. She concentrated, trying to condense the air at the tip of her index finger. A light breeze arose around her hand, but nothing formed. No projectile. No shot. Just a weak breath that died in the air.

Erick tilted his head, analyzing the failure with genuine interest.

“Hmm, interesting. Perhaps it’s the different properties of air, which would be obvious. Or I’m just much more talented than I thought I was.”

Jade turned to him with a sarcastic expression, crossing her arms under her breasts, which made the tight jumpsuit stretch even more over her curves.

“Ha, ha, ha. Very funny.”

Erick shrugged, the smile never leaving his face.

“Perhaps a direct attack isn’t something you can do right now. Try something different. The element that was incorporated into your soul will change your physiology. It will make you stronger, faster. Depending on the element. These changes will vary. For example, a fire element made me stronger, sure. It made me more resistant, for sure. However, my best change is my regeneration. Although it’s not superior to many metahumans, it’s good regeneration. The wind might have a similar property.”

Jade raised an eyebrow, her tone slightly provocative.

“Do you want me to get hurt?”

“No,” Erick replied quickly. “Try to reach your physical limit, the limit of what you were able to do before going through the ritual.”

Jade remained silent for a few seconds, absorbing the words. She looked around the training room, her eyes scanning the wide space. Then something seemed to click in her mind. She remembered the jump she had just made—four meters high, something completely impossible for her before the ritual, and the smooth descent as if she were floating.

Erick noticed the exact moment she had the idea. A different kind of gleam appeared in his eyes.

Jade leaped high, propelling herself with superhuman strength. This time she soared approximately five meters, her body spinning gracefully through the air. From her feet, precise jets of wind exploded downwards, propelling her even further against the ground. Before touching the floor, she spun again in the air, using her hands to unleash controlled bursts of wind that slowed her descent and changed her direction at the last instant.

Then she started to move.

She ran and jumped around the room at high speed, faster and faster. Her feet and hands acted like jets of pressure—not continuous, but short, powerful bursts that launched her from side to side. She ricocheted off the walls, the ceiling, changing direction at impossible angles. Her speed increased every second, to the point where Erick could barely pinpoint where she would go next.

He watched everything with his arms crossed, genuinely impressed.

It wasn’t just speed. Her reflexes had also improved dramatically. Her movements were precise, fluid, almost predatory. The black jumpsuit clinging to her body accentuated every muscle contraction as she flew through the air, her dark hair whipping like a dark flag. The sound of the wind cutting through the room filled the atmosphere—a constant roar that accompanied each burst of air that escaped her hands and feet.

Erick couldn’t take his eyes off her. The assassin who once relied solely on human agility now moved like a force of nature. Each leap, each spin, each controlled blast showed that the elemental of air was already beginning to rewrite her physiology. She was lighter, faster, more lethal.

And that was just the beginning.

As Jade continued her deadly dance across the training field, testing the new limits of her own body, Erick felt a deep satisfaction growing within him. Each of her successes was another brick in his grand project: building powerful, loyal allies capable of facing the threats that still made him sweat cold at night. Black Adam, Wotan, the Wolf… they were all still barriers. But with Jade by his side, evolving, becoming a part of him, the invisible wall he faced was beginning to show its first cracks.

He smiled to himself, his eyes following her every move with predatory and calculated attention.

“Keep going like this, Jade…”, he murmured softly, almost to himself. “The stronger you get, the stronger I get.”

Read the chapters in advance: patreon.com/cw/pararaio