Chapter 3: Independence Day Part 2
(In the present, at Cadmus Labs)
With the three sidekicks, Robin, Aqualad and Kid Flash all now incapacitated and in cloning pods, and their intrusion dealt with. Desmond was now in his office, waiting around impatiently for his meeting with his benefactors, the Light, the secret group that was funding Project Cadmus, to begin.
Tapping his foot impatiently, Desmond eyed the seven blank screens irritably. He had only just notified them he needed to talk, but still he was never the most patient of people. Thankfully though, the room soon went dark, even as each of the seven screens lit up with light, showing Desmond a silhouette of the people he was talking to, even if their faces were distorted by white light, making any form of physical identification impossible.
Not that he cared who they were. As long as the money for his experiments kept coming, he was content. Though he could do without the micromanagement and all the pointless theatrics his employers used when they communicated with him. Still, beggars can't be choosers.
"Dr. Desmond. You require an audience with the light?" One figure on the screens asked, their voice distorted just like their appearance was.
"Yes. Very sorry to disturb you at this late hour…" Desmond replied unctuously.
"Just give us your report." Another one member of the Light demanded impatiently.
"Of course. Well, we had a small fire here at Project Cadmus earlier today. The origin of the incident is still yet unknown, but it seems to have attracted some… unwanted attention. Three sidekicks; Robin, Kid Flash and Aqualad breached security. They found and released Project Kr, Superboy. Of course, the clone is under our telepathic control as ordered, and turned against his would be liberators. Currently, I have the three in cloning pods, and as far as I know, I don't think the League knows they're here. So, uh, what should I do?" Desmond finished somewhat lamely, not really sure on what to do next. He was a scientist and an academic, this kind of thing wasn't his forte.
"Clone them." Another one voice said bluntly.
"The Substitutes will serve the light, and only the light." The leader of the Light added on.
"And the originals?" Desmond asked nervously.
"Dispose of them." The leader continued uncaringly. "Leave no trace behind."
( - )
(Elsewhere in Project Cadmus)
As this conversation was happening, so to were the three sidekicks coming around, only to find that each of them was strapped down and contained within a pod, similar to the one that had once contained Superboy. And speaking of said Superman clone, he was currently standing in front of them too, a scowl on his face as he eyed the trio suspiciously.
"What! What do you want?! Quit staring, you're creeping me out!" Kid Flash spoke up after a few moments of pointless struggle, as he saw Superboy staring at him.
"Ah, KF, how about we not tick off the guy who could fry us with a look." Robin replied nervously, even as he futilely struggled with the cuffs holding him in place for a moment, before allowing himself to hang limp. An act that disguised the fact that he was still trying to break out, using the skills his mentor Batman had drilled into him over the years.
"We only sought to help you." Aqualad spoke up next, his expression stoic and his tone calm as he locked gazes with Superman's clone.
"Yeah, we free you and you turn on us. How's that for gratit…" Kid Flash began, only to be cut off before he could finish.
"Kid, enough." Aqualad said calmly, his gaze still locked on Superboy. "Ignore him. I don't think it was Superboy's fault. I don't think he is in control of his actions.
"What… What if I… What if I wasn't?" Superboy asked a few moments later, his gaze solely on Aqualad.
"He can talk?" Kid suddenly said loudly in surprise, even as Superboy clenched his hands into fists and glared at the redheaded teen.
"Yes, he can." Superboy replied sharply, his blue eyes boring holes into Kid Flash.
"Not like I said it." Kid Flash muttered as he saw the other two give him level looks.
"Kid, enough." Aqualad spoke up again, once again being the voice of reason, his gaze still on Superboy as he tried to make some kind of connection with the clone. "You weren't in control of your actions, the genomorphs were. They were controlling you. I am guessing they taught you things whilst you were in the pod, right?"
"Yes, they taught me much. I can read, write, I know the names of things." Superboy muttered slowly.
"But have you seen them? Have they ever let you see these things, things like sky, or the sun?" Robin asked, pausing in his activities to look over at the clone too.
"They have implanted images in my mind… but no. I have not seen them." Superboy replied slowly.
"Do you know what you are? Or who you are?" Aqualad asked, trying to keep the conversation flowing.
"I am the Superboy. A genomorph. A clone made from the DNA of the Superman. Created to replace him should he perish, to destroy him should he turn from the light." Superboy said almost mechanically, surprising all three of the sidekicks as they just stared at him in surprise, before Aqualad broke the silence.
"To be like Superman is a worthy aspiration, but like Superman, you deserve a life of your own, beyond that solar suit, beyond your pod, beyond Cadmus." Aqualad said earnestly.
"I live because of Cadmus. It is my home." Superboy replied bluntly, his face contorting into a scowl now.
"Your home is a test tube. We can show you the sun." Robin said loudly, once again going back to work trying to break himself out. "You have a right to a life of your own. You may be a clone, but that doesn't mean you have to be the original. You can be your own person. And we can help you. Introduce you to the outside world, give you a home, introduce you to Superman too."
Superboy looked up at that, a glint of something different in his eyes, an emotion that hadn't been there before. Of course, it soon disappeared when a fresh voice intruded into the conversation.
"No, they can't." Desmond said as he, Guardian, and some genomorphs entered the room. "They'll be otherwise occupied. Activate the cloning process."
( - )
(Elsewhere in Project Cadmus)
Walking through the odd, fleshy corridors, Felix kept a tight grip on his bone sword, his mystic gold eyes flitting back and forth as he eyed the surrounding area. This place looked odd even to him, and he had seen some crazy shit in his life like ending up in a different universe.
Still, wasn't that the reason he was here to investigate? Or was that just an excuse?
Continuing on down the corridor, Felix drew a couple of inches of his blades. Even though he didn't have to fight physically, he liked to because he found it fun.
Not missing a step, Felix then spread his senses out again, using his observation.
Finding several dozen large beings moving nearby, Felix headed in that direction. These figures were all grouped together, though he could also sense some of them heading towards him, a group of five.
Drawing his blade, Felix headed to intercept. He was no detective, but he was damn good at interrogation. It was how he found this place. All he needed to do was intimidate a few low-level thugs, ones that smuggled certain things to Cadmus Labs, things that were definitely not legal, hence the smuggling.
The facility beneath Cadmus might have been built to be secure, but that would only stay the case if it went undetected. That being said Felix knew all of this was under the labs, he'd only been alerted to the fact that they had been up to no good, and since he was trying to become one of those Hero types that fought crime he had a look into what was going on.
He'd only been at it for a few months, this whole Hero gig as a certain someone wanted him to, and this was his first big lead, his first big case. Sure he had knocked around a few thieves, crippled a couple of murderers and stopped a load of convicts escaping an overturned prison van.
Those had all been cool and such, but they were still pretty small time. This Cadmus thing though, at first he had thought it was a drug lab. Or at least was until he researched some stuff the thugs were smuggled into the lab on the internet, and found that some substances were linked to highly controlled genetic modification research in government funded laboratories, whilst other bits and pieces had an extra-terrestrial origin.
Yep, alien. Something, which considering some Villains and Heroes parading around this weird, yet wonderful world he found himself in, was more than possible since he was DC or more accurately in Young Justice. He loved that show and had watched all 3 seasons that were out.
Pausing for a moment as he saw the shadows of the oncoming creatures on the wall of the corridor, Felix immediately noticed that they weren't human, after all humans didn't have body shapes like that, nor did they have horns and claws. Though as he looked he saw one shadow that looked human.
Stepping around the corner, Felix was in motion immediately as he confronted the other group, his sword in hand as he rushed them. Four of the creatures in question doing the same thing to him, their red eyes glowing and their claws extended to slash at him, even as they rushed him, moving far faster than a normal human being. He quickly and by instinct stole their strength and thought which showed as they slowed down considerably and right before suddenly stopped, standing still.
Unfortunately for them Felix was not a normal human being in the first place and after stealing their strength was even stronger, which is why with a single upward swing he sliced the first of the monsters in two with a spray of dark red blood, his bone blade cutting through it like paper. The next one found Felix's blade hacking into the juncture between its neck and shoulder, felling it in an instant.
Before Felix could celebrate this victory, though, a sudden roar from quickly distracted him in front of him. Only for him to see a teenaged kid with dark black hair, a bulky physique and blue eyes, and wearing a white full body suit, with an oddly familiar looking symbol on his chest, charging him. Yep, it was Superboy.
Seeing this Felix reacted immediately, taking a step back to avoid an obvious right hook, even as his sword whipped out, and slashed the boy across the chest, killing the odd grey creature on his shoulder as he did so. His bone blade also cutting through the teen's white suit like paper, but only scratching the skin below, leaving a deep line which oozed blood.
The boy, in response to that, merely put a hand to his chest, feeling pain he had there, before he pulled it back, a look of confusion on his face as he saw the smear of crimson staining his hand.
"Yeah, I'm going to need you to sleep!" Felix said tightly, raising his hand as he did so, even as he starved the boy's brain of oxygen, draining the brain of blood, enough that it knocked him out at least, but not enough so it caused permanent damage. Just like what he had done with the police officers outside.
In response, however, the boy just clutched his head in confusion, before he suddenly roared and bull rushed Felix. 'I might as well fight him' thought Felix
Seeing this Felix whipped his sword out again, landing a slash on his opponent's forearm as he raised it to block the strike, the blade once again drawing blood but only slightly as he didn't wish to harm him as he did to the boy's flesh as oppose to cleaving through it.
Whipping out his left hand instead, Felix landed a punch on the boy's jaw, knocking his head to one side. A strong enough blow that it made him falter, or at least falter long enough for Felix to slam his right fist into the boy's guy, the spiked hilt of his sword piercing the flesh, though only enough to penetrate a half inch into his gut.
"Stop moving!" The dark-haired boy roared as he rushed Percy again, only for the golden eyed man to block his right hook with his left arm and land a solid jab into Superboy's face, which he then followed up with two more jabs, before there was then a right hook, a left hook, and then a cheeky elbow to the jaw to finish him. This was an exciting fight for Felix as he hadn't fought many powered people previously.
Back stepping, Superboy twisted his head to one side before he looked back at Percy, none the worse for wear despite having taken several powerful blows to the head, blows that would break a normal person's bones.
"Oh, you're pretty weak" said Felix just to piss off Superboy, which worked very well.
"Die!" The dark-haired boy roared before he slammed into Felix, landing a blow that did nothing to Felix as he had
"I'd rather not." Felix replied glibly, turning around to see some creatures approaching them, before he lashed out as he stole the distance between them, smashing his fist straight through one of the creature's sternums, even as he felt one of the grey creatures land on his back, its razor-sharp claws tearing at Felix's jacket, slashing at the leather and ruining it.
"Oi, I liked that jacket," shouted Felix
Ripping his hand out of the creature's chest. These creatures were annoying, so he just stole their strength and beat them upright before a certain clone showed up again.
"Stop running!" Superboy roared from in front of Felix , as he dashed towards Felix.
"Only if you stop chasing me!" Felix rumbled as he hunched low, allowing the super strong, durable and angry teen to leapt over him, only for Felix to then stand, his waist and shoulder shifting as he unleashed a full force punch into the boy's gut, unleashing the equivalent of the creature's and Superboy's strength, which he just stole, from his fist as he did so.
A move then leant his punch power as it sent the boy exploding backwards, into a metal door behind where the two were fighting, the force of the blow sending the boy smashing straight through it and into the room beyond.
Felix then for the headed for the room he had sent his opponent flying, smiling slightly as he heard more voices coming from inside.
( - )
(A few minutes earlier)
Kid Flash, Aqualad and Robin were all writhing in pain as electricity wracked their bodies, even as the pods they were in harvested their DNA, extracting it so that clones could be created of each of them.
Despite this, though the three of them still tried to escape, Robin kept on with trying to pick the lock of his shackles, even as the electricity caused his muscles to spasm. Likewise Kid Flash made his own attempt as he vibrated his molecules to where they would allow him to pass through solid objects, just like his mentor the Flash was capable of, only for him to not succeed as his abilities were not on the same level as the Flash's were.
Aqualad meanwhile could tolerate the electricity far better than the other two, but he didn't escape, after all he was already aware of how futile it would be. No, instead he attempted to appeal to the Superboy clone, hoping as he did that the boy had super hearing and was listening.
It was as this was going on however that Desmond and Guardian both heard a disturbance outside, a sound of fighting and loud cursing, which was then followed by a sudden explosion of force that shook the room they were in, with this soon being followed up by the body of Superboy slamming through the metal doors, breaking them open as he did so, before he then hurtled across the room.
"Superboy! I told you to get to…!" Desmond began with a snarl, only to blink in confusion when he saw that the clone was bleeding from the chest, stomach and arm, even as he dazedly got back to his feet. "What happened to you?"
"Shut up!" Superboy snarled, even as he glared at the entrance, from out of which a dark-haired man stepped, a scowl on his own face, even as the air around his body seemed to waver.
"What a nice place you have here" Felix said crudely, his arrival catching the attention of the three sidekicks, Desmond and Guardian.
"Who are you?!" Desmond snapped, before he looked to Guardian and Superboy. "You two, kill him!"
"Don't give me orders." Superboy snarled at Desmond, his emotions still unstable, even as he leapt towards the man, with Guardian, who after a moment of deliberation, followed him. Both of them closing in on Felix, hoping to take him out.
"Oh great, again." Felix grumbled, his gaze taking in the three struggling teens as he did so, before he clenched his hand into a fist and thrust it forward it before it struck the pods as he stole the distance, shattering the glass of all three pods, before the force of his punch broke the machines.
"Ok, what just happened?!" Kid Flash said as he looked over at the other two.
"I believe help has arrived." Aqualad replied before he tried and free himself.
"Don't complain KF, be glad the cavalries here." Robin said as he freed himself, before he went to help the others, pushing away his own curiosity for the moment as he did so. "Man! Lucky Batman wasn't here. He'd have my head for taking so long to free myself."
"Seriously? That's what you're worried about. The entire League will have our heads after tonight!" Kid Flash replied even as Robin freed him, and then Aqualad. "And do either of you recognise that guy?"
As he said that Kid Flash nodded to where their rescuer was fighting with Superboy, Guardian already lying unconscious on the ground, a spike of ice through his shoulder and his helmet cracked.
"No, but he seems to be on our side." Aqualad replied as he rubbed his sore wrists, eyeing the ongoing fight as he did so. Noting how the golden eyed man was faster and stronger than Superboy at the moment and clearly more skilled.
"Good, now let's go help!" Kid Flash said, before he made to rush Superboy and get some vengeance for their beat down earlier.
"Wait!" Aqualad said, before he turned to the two that were fighting. "Stop fighting, both of you!"
In response to which, they both ignored him.
"Superboy stop, he is on our side!" Aqualad tried again, assuming as he did so that Percy was in fact on their side. "He is helping us, like Superman would."
That got a response as Superboy paused in his assault, allowing his opponent to back up more. His eyes narrowed.
"What?" Superboy asked, turning to Aqualad, as he did so.
"You want to be a hero like Superman, don't you?" Aqualad pressed as he saw his words were having an effect. "Well, if you want to be like him, then help us! You must know what they are doing here is wrong! Help us and we'll get you out of here, we'll make it so you can live your own life. We'll even introduce you to Superman!"
Superboy wavered at that, before he grit his teeth, after which he then gave a slight nod to Aqualad, only for him to then glare at Felix.
"Ok, fine" Felix spoke up after a moment, locking gaze with the now named Superboy, watching him for any sudden moves., the two were fighting moments ago, and still probably would have been had the other teen not back off.
"The full story can wait, for now we need to get out of here!" Robin spoke up quickly, eyeing the newcomer up and down, noting the clothes he was wearing and there, what looked like bone, handled blade he had sheathed at his side. Noting as he did so, that although he was not any Hero or protégé he had ever seen before, that he did at least seem to be on their side. Which was the important thing for now?
"Right…" Felix replied dryly, looking around at all the younger looking teen curiously, recognising all of them but not saying a word.
Stood in front of Felix there were 3 young heroes
Kid Flash with a yellow and red suit with goggles who looked about 15 years old.
The next was the caped and masked boy, who looked to be around twelve or thirteen, but seemed competent and confident enough was Robin.
The final one, apart from his former opponent, was a dark-skinned teen of around seventeen with strangely enough what looked like gills on the side of his neck was of course Aqualad.
"Look, we don't have time for this. We need to get out of here and contact the league." Robin continued, looking between the group, including at the dark-haired newcomer and Superboy, both of whom were still glaring suspiciously at one another. Felix, for just the fun of it.
Narrowing his eyes slightly as he saw this, Robin's gaze trailed down to the blood which stained Superboy's chest and arm, both of which bore wounds that looked to have been caused by a blade.
"Fine." Felix said, not taking his eyes off of this Superboy, not after the bust-up they had both just had. "I wouldn't worry too much about those creature things, they're not that tough to defeat."
Aqualad, Kid Flash and Robin eyed Felix curiously at that, but said nothing more about it. As Aqualad instead looked down at the unconscious Guardian and then over to Superboy, the strongest one here, he presumed. "Hey Superboy, can you carry Guardian out of here? We can't just leave him here."
"Don't tell me what to do!" Superboy growled in response, still obviously a little leery about this whole alliance thing, although he wanted to be like his originator Superman, he was still cautious about helping these sidekicks, and that bastard he had just had a fight with.
Despite that, though, he still bent down and lifted the injured and unconscious Guardian up, and carried him on his back as the group left the room. With Robin pausing long enough to throw a few explosive disks back at the cloning tubes, destroying the machine, and any DNA samples they might have collected. It was just a pity that that Desmond guy had escaped during all the chaos.
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AN: The reason he fought Superboy was because he wanted to fight more meta humans and he didn't steal his thoughts because he is not that skilled with it.
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