I sprinted down the hall, seeing a window in the room at the end.
Well, there were only seconds between seeing it, and smashing through it. This was my time to escape. The kryptonian clone was being liberated, and though his rescuers did not seem to care about me, I still jumped at the chance for freedom. Literally. As I fell, I reached out with my hand for something. Anything.
My hand caught an outward facing flagpole, jarring my still partially human shoulder as I did. I grunted, holding on 10 stories above the ground.
My fingers wouldn't hold on forever, nor would my already tiring shoulder. Fighting Guardian off was no easy feat.
"God damn you..." I whispered. "Damn you... Mark Desmond..." I used the last of my strength to say.
I fell.
And for the first time in my life, someone caught me.
I looked at the face of my savior, and I instantly relaxed. It was the other clone, the kryptonian.
"You... You saved me." I said.
He landed, as he wasn't flying, only leaping. "Are you nuts?!" The clone dropped me and proceeded to mumble under his breath, "Must think you're Batman or something." As he walked toward the group of 3 he was with. Looked like Robin, Aqualad, and Kid Flash from the information the daemonites fed me during my growth. I quickly followed.
Robin froze in his tracks, but Aqualad greeted me. "Hello." He said simply. "Who are you?" He asked, cocking an eyebrow.
"Think hard, Kaldur." I said. "If they're going to clone Superman..." I smiled as Robin finished it for me.
"Shouldn't they clone Batman too?" Robin whispered, just loud enough for them to hear.
The kryptonian stepped up to me.
"You're a clone, too?" He asked, a thoughtful look on his strong features.
"Yes, but not as powerful as you." I said. "You see, you were created to take Superman's place if need be."
"And you were made to..." Kid Flash started.
"To take Batman's place if need be, and..." I paused. "To kill Superman if ever he goes rogue."
Silence. Nobody questioned it, nor did they enjoy hearing it. Especially the kryptonian.
"Not only was my body created with Batman's DNA, I was outfitted with cybernetic implants to make me more durable, stronger, and faster." I explained. "However, my knowledge of martial arts, detective work, and science is more limited."
"How strong are you?" Kaldur asked.
"5-8 ton range." I told him. "My durability is enough to take full force strikes from the strongest of metahumans, and my speed is about 12x greater than that of a peak human." I explained.
"Formidable." Kaldur nodded.
"Scary." Robin said. "Batman with cybernetic strength and durability." He said. "You're more of a weapon than he is!" He exclaimed pointing at the kryptonian.
"Yeah, sure!" The kryptonian roared. "I can tell you for sure I'm lifting more than eight tons." He said, stepping up to face me. "You're nothing special."
As he finished his last word, my fist smashed into his nose, and he staggered back, grunting. I rushed him, planting my right foot into his solar plexus. His air supply rushed from his lungs, so I shot behind him, smashing my shin into the back of his knee, causing him to fall to one knee.
As I stood behind him, he breathed deeply, no doubt to recover his breath.
"You have strength, speed, durability." I admitted. "But you're no warrior." I struck him in the back of the neck with my elbow, knocking him out.
"Whoa!" Kid Flash sped up behind me, but keeping his distance, ready to fight.
Kaldur drew his water blades, and Robin pulled some flash discs from his belt. I stayed relaxed.
"Unless any of you plan on invading my space, I'm not going to hurt you." I said.
They all relaxed. Just as they did, Batman, Aquaman, Flash, and Superman all arrived.
"What were you three thinking?" Batman asked, obviously simmering beneath the surface.
"We specifically told you to remain where you were." Superman followed up.
"Oh, and what, left this rogue operation be, along with that madman Desmond in charge." I piped up. "Left me and the other clone prisoner?" I challenged.
"Other clone?" Superman asked. "Who are you a clone of?" He asked.
I pointed at Batman.
His eyes widened.
Superman laughed. "Nice!"
"Wouldn't laugh too hard, Big Blue." I pointed toward the now awakening kryptonian. "That one's you."
His laughter ceased. Batman smiled.
And so began my tenure on the team that would come to be know as the Young Justice League.