บท 34: Chapter Thirty-Four

Finally, what was once Mark Desmond stood back up and stretched as his old skin ripped off his much larger body and was now replaced by what appeared to be thick grey leather beneath.

Superboy tensed and roared, attempting to intimidate the much taller creature but didn't attack just yet. Blockbuster turned towards the young hero and growled back in response. The sound of which reverberated throughout the room as some of Desmond's old skin and particles of hair were still attached to the left side of his head. The new creature began to breathe heavily as it glared at the other occupants in the room.

It seemed that the only similar feature the 'person' in front of them had with the previous doctor was some facial features, otherwise, he was like a different being altogether. Reminiscent of a shark with arms and legs, the massive form of Blockbuster towered over everyone in the room. Letting out a bestial roar, Blockbuster lunged forward, swiping one of his large hands towards the stunned teens.

"Everyone, get back!" Guardian yelled before he ran at Blockbuster, only to be swept aside like he was nothing but a mild annoyance. The eldest hero crashed into the nearest wall causing a few cracks to appear, then Guardian crumpled down in a motionless heap.

Superboy glared hard at the monster blocking their way, before charging at Blockbuster with a hard-cross jab hitting the mutated scientist in the jaw. However, the strike hardly affected the beast and he returned the strike by punching downwards on Superboy's shoulder. Superboy planted his feet and turned in a tight 180 connecting an uppercut on Blockbuster's jaw.

Quickly the young super jumped performing a double-cross combo strike while the creature was still off-balance and he kept on hitting the oversized monster, not allowing him to fight back. But soon Blockbuster managed to find an opening and unleashed his own hard cross punch to Superboy's face, knocking him back across the room. As Superboy landed on his back, he managed to keep his momentum going as he rolled to his feet. Standing up once again, Superboy began charging and this time he jumped into the air with his hands over his head planning to smash Blockbuster through to the next floor. But Blockbuster redirected the strike from Superboy, catching the teen's core in one grey arm and threw him directly through the ceiling.

"Okay..." Robin murmured in amazement as he, Aqualad, and Kid Flash stood under the hole. "That's one way to get to the next floor." As he released his grappling hook through the same hole Superboy had created with his body.

"You think Labcoat planned that?" Kid Flash questioned as he grabbed onto Robin's utility belt and the two zipped up and out.

"I doubt he is planning anything anymore," Aqualad said darkly, before jumping through the hole himself.

All four now stood on the main floor of the building. An expansive room that only had levels on the side to separate the two stories. All three protogés watched as Blockbuster attempted to confine Superboy by holding his arms to his side. The Boy of Steel is stronger than the mutant, though, and broke the hold. Superboy was ready to strike at the beast again, surprisingly, Superboy was unexpectedly thrown across the room by the ankles. By a hair's breathe, he missed the three protégés but still, the force of the throw sent him through several walls.

Suddenly a flash of red and white rushed through the room and Kara stood where the oversized behemoth was standing once before. Dusting off her hands she smirked at the large grey humanoid and stated, "I am not impressed."

Dick Grayson had met Kara a few times over the last few years and when he first spotted the blonde being hugged by the new bat… guy. He didn't really know what to think. Dick's IQ was high, around 155. Which, yeah, wasn't genius level, but he was only missing five points away from Einstein's of 160. He guessed this person was probably a clone, but with the other Bat somewhere around here… Robin was less sure.

All he really needed to know currently was that she was fighting against big grey and ugly. Everything else could be figured out later.

Blockbuster roared at the teens as they picked themselves up and the 'Supergirl in white' hovered nearby, blocking the oversized creature from approaching further.

Glancing back at the teens, Powergirl spoke, "Two questions. Where are we? and where is Batman?"

As she finished speaking Blockbuster charged her once again. But before he could reach her, she picked up an iron beam laying nearby and flung the damaged construction material at the beast. Sending Blockbuster crashing through a few support pillars and far into the other side of the room.

"Okay, add, 'What the hell is that thing?' to the question list as well."

Although Kara suit showed she had been through a lot recently, her face that had a mask of serious concentration veiled over her beautiful features, made her seem far more competent than that of the Supergirl they all knew. Kara Kent AKA Supergirl is a bright and somewhat bubbly girl that always seemed to have a ready smile on her face. This girl just… wasn't quite the same. Which was something they all could tell instantly.

But in the distraction of spotting the differences between the girl they knew from her physical double in front of them, they hadn't spotted Blockbuster rising back up from the rubble and flinging back the twisted load-bearing beam towards their small group until it was too late to dodge.

In an instant, Kara's heat vision began to shade vision red heughs as she prepared to blast it out of the air, but before the metal could get too close, a small black object whizzed and sliced the beam into two. The force of the impact tossed the pieces to the side and missed the five teens altogether.

"Better late than never," Kara said with a small smile eyeing the Tomorrow-Knight as he seemed to materialize beside her.

Rolling his eyes, (not that anybody could tell) Terry smirked, "Good morning to you too. And I'd like you to know, I joined this party while you were taking your little nap."

Terry was a little surprised by how talkative he was today. He supposed it had to do with Kara and their 'relationship' that he couldn't quite remember, but he still felt strange. Like he was not quite the person she thought he was, and wasn't quite who he remembered either.

He could see, Kara getting her game face on once again and he too focused on the lumbering beast that was taking up a large corner of the room. Though he seemed to have less intelligence than the man he was before, Terry assumed it was the mutation that caused the good doctor to leave for the night. He didn't believe that there was nothing of the previous mind behind Blockbuster's creation.

Suddenly, Superboy jumped over the future pair and managed to hit Blockbuster on his way down with a strike that knocked him through another support pilling making the room seem less stable than before.

Using water beneath his feet Aqualad's tattoos began to glow brightly like electricity making crackling sounds as he manipulated the flow covering his hands.

"Move!" Robin yelled as Aqualad released his hold on the structure he had created around his hands.

Terry realized that the teens must have managed to come up with a plan as Kara and he distracted the beast. Deciding to watch and only lend a helping hand if he thought they needed one, Terry guided Kara to the side to watch the rest play out. This normally wouldn't be something he liked doing very much, but what was happening now was history in the making. If he interfered too much, he might stop the Young Justice from forming.

If this world wasn't one of the infinite alternate dimensions, changing things now would ruin history for his timeline. But if that wasn't the case the group of heroes that came together because of this event did a lot of good for the world. This world needed those heroes just as much as his own needed him.

The three remaining pillars were tagged by Robin's disks, which began glowing red and let out a beeping sound before they exploded. Sending the weight of the roof down on Blockbuster's head and knocking the unsuspecting creature to his knees.

For several moments longer, the room was in complete chaos. Terry didn't expect their plan was to completely destroy the building they were all standing in. Their actions seemed very rash, even for him, but he couldn't argue with the results either.

Superboy punched a few small pieces of rubble so he can stick his hand through and push the larger piece covering the four of them up with his shoulder. Scanning them for injuries, Terry only spotted a few scuffs and cuts but overall, they seemed unharmed.

Breathing heavily Aqualad turns to Robin and Kid Flash. "We… did it."

"Was there… ever any doubt?" Robin questioned, exchanging a look with Kid Flash before they high five, but are forced to drop it as they aggravated their injuries on their sides.

Superboy steps fully out of the rubble they were covered in and looked down to see the still pinned Blockbuster.

"See?" Kid Flash questioned, drawing Superboy's attention away from the villain and using his thumb to gesture upward. "The Moon."

Letting out a sigh, Terry turned his eyes back to Kara. He knew she wouldn't be injured from the building caving in on them like that, but she was still injured. Even though he didn't understand it, he had feelings for this girl and he felt a physical need to ensure she was healthy. Evidently, being outside in the light of the moon seemed to do her some good. Because her skin, which had been looking pale, had become healthier and more vibrant.

Before he could ask a question, Kara launched herself at him and pulled him into a tight embrace and his words were muffled as she covered his mouth with her own. Terry didn't fight her and accepted the comfort she offered. Every question Terry thought was important prior to her lips meeting his swiftly became background noise as his arms encompassed her tiny waist.

Had he ever felt like this when he kissed Dana? No, not that he remembered. He quickly assessed. They had felt nice, he remembered that much. The kisses began to deepen as he lost himself further in the sweetness of… Who was she to him again?

With this thought, Terry opened his eyes and pulled away. It wasn't right to indulge when their situation was so largely unknown. And Kara also didn't know he was having issues with his memory. There were at least a dozen different scenarios that could cause emotional damage to this girl and he would hate himself if he did that.

Again, before he could say what was on his mind, he was interrupted by a loud clearing of someone's throat. Looking towards where the sound originated, he spotted the group of four surrounded by several hovering people.

Martian Manhunter, Zatara, Captain Marvel, and Red Tornado and flying behind them all was the Big Blue Boyscout himself… Superman. He heard Kara's breath hitch as the two met eyes. The flitter of emotions that went through her face was almost too fast for Terry to interpret, but he definitely spotted grief, hope and one emotion he almost missed longing.

Her now wet face quickly turned back to Terry with a question she wasn't quite sure she wanted to ask, "What's happening, Batman?"

"That… is a question we would all like to know?" Another voice ventured. The voice was familiar, and so was the clothing.

Batman standing in a battle-ready stance stood across from them, a frown on his face, "I'd really like that question answered… and soon." The threat was evident in his low tone.

Kara frowned suddenly and looked at Superman, "What? What do you mean?" It was obvious to everyone that she must have heard something the average human couldn't hear.

But Clark's furrowed brows was his only reply, until a sudden flash and another person appeared. It was another Kara?! The word 'surprise' was not enough to express the shock on both Terry's and Kara's faces. Attempting to school his features, Terry frowned at everyone in front of them. One thing was for sure… There was no escaping this situation, and as much as he wanted to get some answers from Kara. Something told Terry, he would be answering a lot more questions before he got any himself.