Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize.
Washington, D.C.
July 4, 1400 EDT
She was standing in the middle of the star that extended into the middle of the peaceful water in front of the Hall. She wasn't looking forward to meeting the sidekicks formally, but Batman had persuaded her, and she never said no to Batman; well, hardly ever. She had done her homework, and knew the boys almost as well as they knew themselves. She knew she was the only female, and that they wouldn't take her seriously. Not only was she the only female, but she was also quite small compared to the boys, standing at five foot, three inches, which was barely taller than Robin, who was the shortest of the four boys. She sighed and waited for them to arrive.
Batman and Robin were the first to show up, then Green Arrow and Speedy, with Aquaman and Aqualad following closely behind. Now they just needed to wait for the speedsters, and she snorted at the irony.
She watched as the six stood in line, facing the Hall. She watched Batman place a hand on Robin's shoulder, and watched him mouth, "Today is the day."
"Welcome to the Hall of Justice," Green Arrow introduced.
"Headquarters of the Justice League," Aquaman added. She scoffed. Was that what the League was telling these kids? These poor, naïve kids?
From behind the sextet, Flash and Kid Flash finally arrived.
"Aw, man!" Kid Flash exclaimed. Everyone turned around as Flash and Kid Flash appeared. "I knew we'd be the last ones here," he scowled, crossing his arms.
"Welcome back, gospodje." She finally made herself known. Everyone turned to see a young woman—most would argue girl—standing in the middle of the water. Using the bronze triangular pieces jutting from the center of the star, she vaulted herself over the water and landed lightly in front of them.
"I'd like to introduce you to Lilith," Batman said, stepping forward and placing a hand on the girl's shoulder. "I've been training her since she was ten."
"She is the one that inspired us to reach out to gifted youngsters, such as yourselves," Aquaman included.
"It is an honor to meet you," Aqualad said, as proper as ever.
"She's our age," Speedy snapped impatiently, not looing impressed. "What's there to honor?"
"She has been fighting with members of the Justice League longer than we have," Aqualad said evenly. "That is plenty to honor."
"Whatever," Speedy grumbled.
"Hi," Robin said shortly, not looking at her. He was used to being able to brag, "Yeah, Batman's trained me personally." Now, all he had to his name was "Yeah, I've been fighting for four years," and he had a feeling that compared to this girl, that was nothing.
"Don't mind him," Kid Flash said stepping in front of her with a bright smile. "He's just jealous he wasn't the first one to get taken under Bats' wing like he thought," he whispered from behind his hand, glancing at Robin behind him.
"Shut up," Robin mumbled, glaring pointedly at his boots.
"Now that introductions are over," Green Arrow said briskly, "let's take you inside."
They walked down the path roped off from the clamoring people.
"Is that Batman?" one man asked.
"I see Flash and Flash Jr.!" a woman exclaimed.
"His name's Speedy!" another man put in. "Duh!"
"No, Speedy's Green Arrow's sidekick!" someone else interjected.
"Well, that makes no sense."
"Ready to see the inner sanctum?" Green Arrow asked Speedy, ignoring the loud voices around them.
"Born that way," Speedy responded with a proud smirk.
"I am glad we are all here," Aqualad said, looking around at his fellow sidekicks.
"Have all four sidekicks ever been in the same place at the same time?" Kid Flash asked, excitement evident in his tone.
"Don't call us sidekicks," Speedy said sharply. "Not after today.
"Sorry," Kid Flash said sheepishly. "First time at the Hall," he explained. "I'm a little overwhelmed."
Robin turned to Kid Flash. "You're overwhelmed, Freeze was underwhelmed. Why isn't anyone ever just whelmed?" he asked, sounding exasperated.
"Doesn't work like that, kid," Lilith said from her place at the front, not turning around.
"Don't call me 'kid!'" Robin exclaimed angrily as Kid Flash said flirtatiously, "You called?" Lilith ignored their words.
"Do you even know what 'whelm' means?" she asked, glancing back at Robin and raising an eyebrow. Robin ignored her and Lilith rolled her eyes.
Everyone went silent as they entered the Hall, the feeling of being in a museum washing over them. Standing imperiously over them were massive statues of the original seven members of the Justice League.
"Oh," Robin said softly, looking up at the statues with wide eyes. "Maybe that's why."
They reached the doors marked Authorized Personnel Only, and it opened to reveal the Martian Manhunter and the Red Tornado.
Manhunter stepped forward. "Lilith, welcome back. Robin, Speedy, Aqualad, Kid Flash, welcome," he said in his deep, even tone. He turned and everyone followed, Robin and Kid Flash bumping fists as they did. Behind them, the door closed with a hiss. "You now have unlimited access to the gym, our fully-stocked galley, and of course, our library," Manhunter said as they entered the library, which was only impressive if one was looking for books talking about the flora and fauna of a distant planet or the exact scientific reason zeta-beaming worked.
"Make yourselves at home," Flash said, opening his arms. Immediately, Robin and Kid Flash flopped into chairs and Aqualad gracefully sat, leaving Speedy standing. Lilith followed the League members.
"Quick debrief to discuss the coincidence of four ice villains attacking on the same day," Batman said in a low voice. The League members gathered around him, Lilith included. "We shouldn't be long," he said, turning to the others.
Batman turned and glanced at the ceiling, where a hole opened up and a scanner dropped down, which named the League members one at a time.
"Lilith, I want you to stay here," Batman said once he had been scanned.
"What?" Lilith said. "Why?"
"They need someone to stay behind," he said quietly.
"You're asking me to babysit them?" Lilith asked indigently, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes. She was met with no response. Lilith gave a disbelieving snort and stalked to the back of the group.
Once everyone was scanned, the door marked Justice League Members Only slid open.
"That's it?" Speedy demanded, glaring at the League members. Everyone turned to him. "You promised us a real look inside, not a glorified backstage pass."
"It's a first step," Aquaman reasoned. "You've been granted access few others get."
"Oh, really?" Speedy asked sarcastically, throwing his arm up to gesture of the viewing room above them, which hosted a number of people and flashing lights. "Who cares what side of the glass we're on?"
"Roy, you just need to be patient," Green Arrow said, stepping forward.
"What I need is respect," Speedy said, glaring at his mentor. He turned to the others. "They're treating us like kids." He paused. "Worse. Like sidekicks!" He spat the word like it left a bad taste in his mouth. "We deserve better than this."
Kid Flash, Robin, and Aqualad glanced at each other and then turned back to Speedy. Speedy's eyes widened at the realization.
"You're kidding, right?" he asked. "You're playing their game? Why?" Disbelief colored his tone. "Today was supposed to be the day, step one in becoming full-fledged members of the League."
"Well, sure," Kid Flash said slowly, "but I thought step one was the tour of the HQ."
"Except the Hall isn't the League's real HQ!" Speedy declared. Lilith smirked; at least one of them figured it out.
Around him, everyone widened their eyes; the League members because they thought no one knew this, and the Juniors because they didn't know this.
"I bet they never told you it's just a false front for tourists and a pit stop for catching zeta-beam teleport tubes to the real thing: an orbiting satellite called the Watchtower," Speedy continued, paying no heed to the surprise around the room.
Green Arrow turned to Batman, who crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes slightly.
"I know, I know," Green Arrow said, shrugging, "but I thought maybe we could make an exception?"
Batman's eyes grew smaller and the small, helpless kind of smile that had started to form on Green Arrow's face fell. "Or not," he muttered.
"You're not helping your cause here, son," Aquaman said, stepping forward. "Stand down or—"
"Or what?" Speedy demanded, glaring at Aquaman. "You'll send me to my room? And I'm not your son!" he yelled. "I'm not even his," he added in a quieter tone, turning to Green Arrow. "I thought I was his partner," he said, his voice softening further. "But not anymore." He took his hat and threw it on the ground. Robin, Kid Flash, and Aqualad sat forward in their chairs, their eyes wide.
Speedy straightened his shoulders and walked toward the exit. "Guess they're right about you three," he said as he passed them. "You're not ready."
Speedy's dramatic exit was ruined when an alarm started beeping and Superman's picture appeared on the big screen.
"Superman to Justice League," he said. "There's been an explosion at Project Cadmus. It's on fire."
The League members gathered around the electronics under the screen, and Lilith inched closer.
"I've had my suspicions about Cadmus," Batman said. "This may present the perfect opportunity to in—"
Before he could finish, another voice interrupted, sounding urgent. "Zatara to Justice League! The sorcerer Wotan is using the Amulet of Attan to blot out the sun! Requesting full League response."
"Superman?" Batman asked, glancing at the Man of Steel.
"It's a small fire," he said. "Local authorities have it under control."
"Then Cadmus can wait," Batman said, though he sounded rather annoyed. He pressed a button on the panel and said, "All Leaguers rendezvous at Zatara's coordinates. Batman out."
Robin, Kid Flash, Aqualad, and Lilith stood behind the League members.
"Stay put," Batman told Robin as the others filed to be transported. "That includes you, Lilith."
Lilith's eyes flashed and she exclaimed "What?" just as Robin said, "What? Why?"
"This is a League mission," Aquaman said, standing to Batman's right.
"And you've never dealt with magic, Lilith," Batman said when Lilith opened her mouth to declare that she was, technically, an honorary League member.
"There's no time like the present," she snapped, placing her hands on her hips and glaring at Batman.
"You're not trained," Flash put in, pretending not to have heard Lilith; she growled at that but didn't say anything else.
"Since when?" Kid Flash demanded.
"I meant," Flash said, trying to back himself out of the hole he dug, "you're not trained to work as part of this team."
"There will be other mission," Aquaman assured, "when you're ready."
"But for now," Batman said in his this-is-final voice, "stay put."
"Glad you didn't bring You-Know-Who?" Lilith heard Green Arrow asked Manhunter quietly.
"Indeed," Manhunter replied softly.
The Leaguers walked through the open door, and Red Tornado went through last. He paused a moment, looking at them, before turning away and letting the doors close.
Kid Flash scoffed. "When we're ready? How are we ever supposed to be ready when they treat us like…like sidekicks?!" He threw his arms in the air in annoyance.
Aqualad looked conflicted. "My mentor, my king," he sighed. "I thought he trusted me."
"Trust?" Kid Flash said. "They don't even trust us with the basics! They've got a secret HQ in space!" He turned to glare at Lilith. "Which I suppose you knew about," he accused.
"Bien sûr," Lilith said, though she didn't sound like she was gloating. "It was my home for a while."
"Was?" Robin caught, but Lilith didn't answer; she seemed caught in the past.
"What else aren't they telling us?" Aqualad asked softly.
"I have better question," Robin sighed. "Why didn't we leave with Speedy?" Kid Flash and Aqualad seemed to consider that question before Lilith sighed and stepped forward.
"While the cat's away, the mice will play," she prompted.
"What?" Robin asked.
"What is Project Cadmus?" Aqualad asked slowly, catching on.
"Don't know," Robin said slowly. "But, I can find out," he added with a confident smirk
He turned to the computer and saw that Lilith was already clacking away at the keys.
"Access denied," came the automated voice.
"Sakra. They must have taken me off," Lilith mumbled. "That was fast."
"Heh," Robin cackled. "Wanna bet?" He stepped forward and began clicking at the keys. Soon, they were through.
"Whoa," Kid Flash said. "How are you doing that?" he asked in awe.
"Same system as the Batcave," Robin replied, sounding proud of himself. He heard Lilith smack her forehead and say, "Duh! Idiot…" but when he glanced back at her, her face was impassive.
"Access granted," the voice said.
"All right. Project Cadmus," Robin said. "Genetics lab here in D.C." He turned to the others. "That's all there is. But—"
"If Batman's suspicious, maybe we should investigate," Lilith finished, sounding deep in thought.
"Solve their case before they do," Aqualad voiced. "It would be poetic justice," he reasoned.
"Hey," Robin said with a small laugh. "They're all about justice."
"But they said stay put," Aqualad sighed, looking conflicted.
"For the blotting out the sun mission," Robin wheedled. "Not this."
"Wait," Kid Flash said. "Are you going to Cadmus?"
"Not so fast up there, are you," Lilith said, raising her eyebrow but the corner of her lip quirked up.
Kid Flash glanced at her and winked before turning back to Robin and saying, "Because if you're going, I'm going."
Both turned to Aqualad and Lilith, their lips pulled away from their teeth in a come-on-it'll-be-great grin.
"I'll go if you promise never to make your faces like that again," Lilith said flatly, back to her aloof, impassive self.
Aqualad hesitated. "Just like that, we're a team on a mission?"
"Come on!" Kid Flash said, a real grin spreading across his face. "If Miss No-Smiles can agree to join us, then you can too!"
"We didn't come for a playdate," Robin said, determination evident in his voice.
Aqualad bowed his head slightly. His eyes narrowed and the corner of his lip pulled up, and he was in.
When they arrived, the firefighters were already combating the fire.
"Help!"
"Get us down!"
Two scientists were trapped upstairs, but the chief said, "Stay put. We will get you out," not sounding very concerned over the safety of the men.
Before the scientists could respond, there was an explosion behind them, causing the men to fall from the second story. Kid Flash appeared and ran up the wall and managed to grab them and place them on the roof before he lost his footing.
Below him, the chief exclaimed, "It's what's-his-name…Flash Boy!"
Even in his state of mortal danger, Kid Flash yelled, "Kid Flash!" He shook his head. "Why is that so hard?" he grumbled.
Robin, Aqualad, and Lilith came running up, and for a moment they observed Kid Flash hanging from the window.
"So-o smooth," Robin said, a laugh evident in his tone.
"Does he always have to run ahead?" Aqualad said, frowning. "We need a plan. We—Robin?" Glancing around, Lilith saw that Robin had vanished. From above, his telling laugh echoed, and Aqualad and Lilith turned to see Robin lithely making his way toward Kid Flash.
With the grace of an acrobat, Robin landed on the window sill Kid Flash desperately hung onto and pulled him up and inside.
Below, Aqualad ran towards the men with the hose while Lilith made her way up to the room she had seen Kid Flash and Robin disappear, following the path Robin had made. Once she was in the room, she glanced down and watched Aqualad as he created a whirlpool to reach the scientists at the top of the building. He perched on the window sill in front of Lilith and set the men on the ground.
"Appreciate the help," he said with a glare at the other three as he landed in the room. Kid Flash was riffling through the drawers, and Lilith had joined Robin at the computer.
"You handled it," Robin said, glancing back. "Besides," he added, turning back to the computer, "we're here to investigate. Poetic justice, remember?" Lilith glanced up and saw Aqualad walk out the door and down the hall. Looking at the work Robin was doing, she straightened and followed Aqualad out.
"There was something in the—" Aqualad said just as the others joined him.
"Elevators should be locked down," Kid Flash said.
Robin pushed past them and went to stand in front of the elevator. "This is wrong," he said. He tapped his wrist, and his miniature computer activated. A holographic screen appeared, and Robin said, "Thought so," once he had finished his scans.
"This is a high-speed express elevator," Lilith interrupted, sounding shocked. Robin snapped his gaze to her and found that she was peering over his shoulder, looking at the hologram.
"It doesn't belong in a two-story building," Robin said, taking control of the conversation again; Lilith just rolled her eyes. Kid Flash and Aqualad glanced back and forth between Robin and Lilith; there was definitely going to be some conflict in their future.
"Neither does what I saw," Aqualad said, bringing the group back to focus. He stepped forward and pried open the elevator doors with a grunt.
Aqualad glanced down and his eyes widened when he saw how deep the elevator shaft went.
Robin knelt at the edge. "And that's why they need an express elevator." He stood and shot a grapple to the ceiling and proceeded to rappel himself downward. Lilith pulled out one of her guns from her utility belt and shot at the ceiling and followed after Robin. Aqualad and Kid Flash, left with no other way down, each grabbed a line and slid down.
At Sub-Level 26, Robin called, "I'm at the end of my rope."
Lilith stopped her decent; she still had a ways to go. However, before she could say so, Robin swung himself so he was perched on the ledge rimming the wall, and Aqualad, who had jumped on his cable, followed suit.
Robin tapped his wrist and the screen appeared again. "Bypassing security…" he said as he tapped away at the tiny holographic keyboard.
"Please, never make that face," Lilith muttered, glancing over his shoulder and indicating to the five faces of Robin scowling somewhat grotesquely back at them.
"What's wrong with my face?" Robin grumbled.
"Nothing," Lilith said. "As long as you don't make that face."
"Whatever," Robin said with a huff. "There!" he exclaimed once all five faces were green. "Go!"
"Or that one!" Lilith added, wrinkling her nose.
"Enough," Aqualad said, and he pried open the doors. All four of them stepped onto the floor.
"Welcome to Project Cadmus," Robin said, sounding almost in awe.
Before any of them could get a good look around, Kid Flash took off.
"Kid, wait!" Aqualad called after him. Kid Flash skidded to a stop when he came to the T in the road, and a second later, Lilith saw why.
Giant creatures marched along, their footsteps shaking the ground. Lilith gasped and clutched her forehead, almost falling to her knees.
"What is it?" Aqualad asked in concern.
"Nothing, I'm fine," Lilith grunted, straightening and rubbing her forehead; she was still wincing.
Aqualad, Robin, and Lilith approached the intersection, and Kid Flash crossed the path to join them. They stood before the creatures—which resembled a hybrid of an elephant and a gorilla but with strange markings—in plain sight, but the animals seemed to not care about their presence.
One looked over at them and roared, and Lilith noticed a little creature perched on its back, between its shoulder blades. Its little devil horns glowed red, but nothing seemed to change.
"No," Aqualad said sarcastically. "Nothing odd going on here." Lilith watched the strange parade stomp past, until they finally disappeared down the hall.
Aqualad, Lilith, Robin, and Kid Flash reached the end of the hall, and Robin proceeded to hack the controls keeping the massive automated door shut.
"Okay," he said as it slid open and he got his first view of what lay beyond the doors, "I'm officially whelmed."
Stacked to the ceiling were tubes full of what looked like bioluminescent creatures. Lilith let out a soft "Oh!" before falling silent again and ignoring her teammates' glances.
"This is how they hide this massive underground facility from the world," Kid Flash said in awe as they started to venture further into the room. "The real Cadmus isn't on the grid. It generates its own power with these…things," he said. On closer inspection, Lilith saw he was right. The top and bottom of each tube was metal, and an electrical spark kept arcing off the insect-like creatures and those beams were attracted to the top of the tube.
"Must be what they're bred for," Lilith said, turning slowly on the spot.
"Ah, someone who speaks my language," Kid Flash said, looking at Lilith with a lazy grin. "There's nothin' hotter than that!" he proclaimed. Lilith just sighed but a small smile tugged on her lips.
"Even the name is a clue," Aqualad put in. "The Cadmus of myth created a new race by sowing dragons' teeth into the earth."
"And this Cadmus creates new life, too," Lilith hypothesized, still gazing around the room.
"Let's find out why," Robin said, and he walked to a small computer and connected himself to it. "They call them Genomorphs," he said once he was tapped in. "Whoa!" he exclaimed. "Look at the stats on these things—super strength, telepathy, razor claws. These are living weapons!"
"They're engineering an army," Kid Flash concluded grimly. "But for who?"
"Wait, there's something else," Lilith said, stepping behind Robin and peering over his left shoulder. She reached around him and tapped something on the holographic screen. As she did, she inched closer to him and Robin could smell her soap—something light and crisp. He fought to keep his attention on the screen as she scrolled through the data and not on the warmth he could feel rolling off her body.
"Project Kr," Robin read aloud once he found his voice. Aqualad and Kid Flash moved closer as well so they could read the screen. "Ugh, the file's triple-encrypted. I can't—"
Lilith had just reached around Robin to gain access to the keyboard when a voice commanded, "Don't move!" Lilith whipped around and saw a man, along with five small grey creatures, coming toward them. "Wait," the man said, coming to a stop. "Lilith? Robin, Aqualad, Kid Flash?"
"At least he got your name right," Robin snickered, turning his attention back to the computer just as Lilith gasped and fell to her knees again. "Lilith," Robin said, sounding alarmed.
"Nothing!" Lilith said, though her voice was strained. "Focus on that encryption!"
"I know you," Aqualad said, trying to find the name. "Guardian," he said finally. "A hero."
"I do my best," Guardian said, and Lilith couldn't tell if he was being modest or if he was gloating.
"Then what are you doing here?" Kid Flash demanded.
"I'm chief of security," Guardian informed them. "You're trespassing, but we can call the Justice League, figure this out."
"You think the League's gonna approve of you breeding weapons?" Kid Flash said angrily.
"Weapons?" Guardian asked, sounding genuinely confused. "What are you—" The thing perched on his shoulder turned its head to face him and its little horns glowed. Lilith grunted and winced. "What have I—Ugh." Guardian shook his head as if to clear it. "My head," he muttered. He looked up and the creature's horns stopped glowing. "Take them down, hard!" Guardian suddenly ordered. "No mercy!" Immediately, the creatures at his side sprung toward Lilith and the others.
Robin jumped in front of Kid Flash, Lilith, and Aqualad—who had taken up fighting stances—and threw down one of his toys. A thick fog erupted form the broken casing. Using the cover, Robin shot a grapple to a beam above their heads. Lilith leapt into action.
Alarms started blaring and together, Lilith, Kid Flash, and Aqualad ran down the hallway. Lilith saw an elevator and Robin, who was already hooked up to the elevator controls. Kid Flash hurried over to him while Aqualad and Lilith turned around to gage their pursuers.
"Way to be a team player, Rob!" Lilith heard Kid Flash exclaim angrily.
"Weren't you right behind me?" Robin asked, glancing up from his controls and his eyebrows pinched together in confusion. The elevator doors slid open just then, and Kid Flash and Robin immediately entered. They turned and saw Lilith and Aqualad dashing down the hall, the creatures hot on their heels. Aqualad ducked into a forward roll and popped to his feet. Lilith turned and fired a few rounds, blocking the path with dark smoke. As the first creature parted the smoke, Lilith launched herself in the air and did a graceful backflip, landing soundly on two feet in the elevator.
"Show off," Robin muttered to himself as the elevator doors slid shut. Lilith glanced at him and winked with a smirk, putting a hand on her hip and clipping her gun into its holster at her left thigh. Robin glared at her before glancing away. Really, anywhere that wasn't at her.
"We're headed down?" Aqualad asked, and Lilith glanced up to watch the numbers increase, indicating they were traveling deeper into the ground.
"Ptica, why are we going down?" Lilith demanded, straightening and glaring at Robin.
"Dude, out is up," Kid Flash said, pointedly jabbing his finger at the ceiling.
"Excuse me?" Robin said, not at all thrown by their angry looks. "Project Kr, it's down on Sub-Level 52."
"This is out of control," Aqualad muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. "Perhaps…perhaps we should contact the League," he said slowly.
Just then, the elevator dinged, signifying their stop. The doors opened to reveal a very strange-looking ante-chamber. The walls and floor were red, and the walls seemed to be housing pods for…something.
"Too late," Lilith muttered.
Once it became apparent there was no immediate threat, Robin dashed forward.
"We are already here," Kid Flash reasoned before running after Robin. Aqualad turned to Lilith, who shrugged and dashed forward. Aqualad sighed but followed.
They reached a fork-in-the-road, and they crouched down.
"Which way?" Aqualad asked, looking at Robin.
"Yeah," Robin said exasperatedly. "Bizarre-looking hallway one or bizarre-looking hallway two?"
Before any of them could chose, a voice called, "Halt!" A tall, thin figured stepped forward from bizarre-looking one, and when it came into the light, they saw his skin was bluish-gray and he had two horns protruding from his forehead. His eyes and hors suddenly glowed, and cylindrical metal bins flew at them.
"Great, a telekinetic!" Lilith exclaimed as the bins exploded against the wall behind them. Robin threw a disk at him, but he only stopped it with his mind. Kid Flash started running down bizarre-looking hallway two, leaving the others to follow him. Behind them, something else exploded, but they kept running.
Kid Flash was the first to round the corner, and he skidded to a stop, knocking over a woman was coming toward them. The door was labeled Project Kr, and Kid Flash found something with which to jam the closing doors.
"Hurry!" he called to the others. Immediately they hopped through, and Aqualad kicked the object out of the way, causing the doors to slam shut.
Robin was already at the controls. "I've disabled the door," he informed. "We're safe."
"We're trapped," Aqualad corrected.
"For now," Lilith said with a shrug. Robin turned to glare at her. "They will get that door open eventually," she said, crossing her arms.
"How do you know?" Robin snapped.
Lilith turned and glanced over her shoulder. "All they had to do is find the muscle to pry it open."
"Uh, guys?" Kid Flash said, preventing Robin from responding. "You'll want to see this." He pressed a button on a control panel Lilith hadn't noticed before, and lights flickered on.
"Whoa," Robin breathed.
Standing before them was an occupied cryotube. The glass front bore the letters K and r, and beyond that, Lilith saw a boy garbed in white with a red S that was an exact replica of Superman's. Behind him, each in its own bubble, were the same small creatures Lilith had seen perched on the shoulder of Guardian and on the backs of the giant lumbering creatures. Their eyes were closed, but Lilith didn't think they were sleeping.
Lilith was the first to move, and she slowly walked to the chamber.
"K, r," she read softly. "Kryptonian."
"Big K, little r," Kid Flash said from behind her. "More like the atomic symbol for Krypton." He turned back to Robin and Aqualad, who still stood behind the controls. "Clone?" he asked.
"Robin, hack," Aqualad instructed.
"Oh, right, right," Robin said, shaking his head as if to clear it. He hooked up his glove to the screen and got to work. "Weapon designated Superboy, a clone force-grown in…sixteen weeks?!" he exclaimed.
"From DNA acquired from Superman," Lilith murmured, who appeared behind Robin and peered over his shoulder with her eyebrows pinched together in confusion. Her warm breath curled around Robin's ear and he jumped.
"I wish you'd stop doing that," he mumbled lowly.
"Really?" Lilith whispered, raising an eyebrow at him.
"Stolen from Superman," Aqualad corrected, drawing Robin's attention away from Lilith.
"No way the big guy knows about this," Kid Flash said.
"Solar suit allows him to absorb yellow sun radiation twenty-four-seven," Robin continued to read, doing his best to ignore Lilith, who was still hovering over his shoulder, though not quite as close as before.
"And these creatures?" Aqualad asked, pointing to the three creatures above Superboy's head.
"Genomorph gnomes," Lilith declared. "Telepathic. Force-feeding him an education."
"And we can guess what else," Kid Flash muttered darkly. "They're making a slave out of, well, Superman's son."
"He's not Superman's actual son," Lilith said firmly, straightening and moving around the controls, and Robin breathed a sigh of relief.
"Now we contact the League," Aqualad said in a tone that left no room for discussion. He touched his belt buckle, which started to glow, and Kid Flash checked his earpiece.
"No signal," Lilith predicted, not bothering to check her own comm.
"We're in too deep," Kid Flash said. "Literally."
Lilith glanced back at Superboy and saw that the gnomes' horns were now glowing. "That can't be good," she muttered with a wince.
"This is wrong," Kid Flash said, and Lilith could tell he didn't mean the horns.
"We can't leave him like this," Robin said.
After a pause, Aqualad said, "Set him free." He glanced at Robin. "Do it.
"Agarde, we don't know what those gnomes have been telling him," Lilith spoke up, whipping her head around to face them. "We don't know we'll be able to convince him we're not the enemy."
"We don't have a choice," Aqualad said. Robin immediately started fiddling with the controls. With a loud hiss, the walls of Superboy's cage slid out of view. Nobody dared move as they waited for him to move.
Lilith's gaze jumped to his hands, which were the first to test their new freedom. His eyes flashed open, and Lilith hardly had a moment to exhale the breath she had been holding before Superboy threw himself at Aqualad.
They went tumbling, and when they finally settled, Superboy was straddling Aqualad. Superboy got in a few hits before Lilith jumped on his back. She tangled her legs around his arms so her feet were locked behind his back, causing his arms to snap to his sides, and then wrapped her left around his neck.
"I don't want to have to hurt you!" Lilith said, straining to keep her tight grip on Superboy, a grip that would have normally rendered a man unconscious in seconds.
"Whoa!" Kid Flash exclaimed, rushing forward. "Hold up, Supey!"
"We're on your side!" Robin said, running around to try to look Superboy in the eyes.
Suddenly, Superboy leapt off Aqualad. Robin and Kid Flash watched as Superboy slammed into the ceiling with Lilith still clinging to him. Lilith gasped and let go. Kid Flash ran up the wall to catch Lilith. He managed to grab her hand, but then lost his grip on the wall. Lilith quickly pulled out a gun and shot it at a nearby section of the wall. They swung from the cable, and once they were a safe distance from the ground, Lilith released the cable. She landed soundly on the balls of her feet, but Kid Flash, unprepared for the release, went flying into a display case and stayed down.
When Superboy landed, Robin quickly copied Lilith's headlock. "I don't want to do this," he said, pulling a circular blade from his belt and pressing the button on it. A gas was released, and it temporarily choked Superboy, and Aqualad took that distraction and kicked him solidly in the chest. Superboy slammed into the controls and lay still for a moment.
When Superboy got to his feet, Robin shot two metal cables that electrocuted Superboy on impact. It seemed to only momentarily shock him, but Superboy quickly got a grip on the cables and pulled them, and as a result, Robin, toward him. Superboy caught Robin by the head and slammed him into to floor. Superboy placed a foot on Robin's chest and started to step down.
"Enough!" Lilith yelled. She ran forward and whacked Superboy across the temple with the butt of her gun, a move that would have knocked anyone unconscious. Instead, Superboy only stumbled back and clutched his face. Lilith knelt beside Robin and tried to help him up, but he groaned and slumped back to the floor.
Superboy turned toward Lilith and started stalking forward, but Aqualad stepped forward and called, "We are trying to help you." Superboy ground his teeth and glared at Aqualad. He ran forward to punch him, but Aqualad lunged to the side and then tackled Superboy into a wall. Aqualad went to punch Superboy, but Superboy caught his fist easily and kicked him in the chest.
Lilith clipped in a new magazine before shooting a grapple and swinging in a wide circle around Superboy, shooting at him with kryptonite bullets. Superboy growled and momentarily hesitated but then leapt at her. As he did, Lilith cringed and stopped shooting to clutch her head, but Superboy didn't slow his attack. He slammed into her and they went flying into a wall. Lilith cried out in pain and fell, landing with a distinctive crunch on her left shoulder. With a groan she lifted her head to find Aqualad.
Superboy attacked first, throwing a fist but missing Aqualad. While Superboy's body was thrown forward with his momentum of the missed punch, Aqualad kneed him in the chest and then brought down his fist between Superboy's shoulder blades. After another wild swing by Superboy, Aqualad wrapped his arms under Superboy's. His marks glowed blue as Aqualad shocked Superboy. Again, Superboy jumped and slammed Aqualad between himself and the ceiling, and had to do it again to get the Atlantian to finally let go.
Lilith glanced around and saw that everybody was down. Fighting a spinning image, she watched as Superboy stood from his landing crouch and then went to the doors. She saw him easily pry the door open before finally letting her eyelids slide shut.
A/N: Thanks for reading! Until next time :)
And P.S., all the translated words I did off Google Translate, so they may not be 100% accurate.