She flew back onto Earth beside Hal, her mentor. It had been a few weeks since she'd been on her home planet, she'd been stuck on Oa due to an advanced boot camp with Kilowog. Her real name was Erica West, cousin of Wally West, and she couldn't wait to see her friends; Robin, Aqualad, and Speedy along with her cousin. It'd be nice to get the old gang back together. She spun onto her back to look at her mentor, "So, what's so important that you had to rush Kilowog through my last day of boot camp? Not that I'm complaining, but it is rather curious."

Hal chuckled, "What makes you think I didn't just miss my old sidekick?" She gave him a look. "Look, today's an important day for the other sidekicks and they've been asking when you'd get to come back so you could be there with them. They're going to enter the Hall of Justice."

"Why is that a big deal when they know about the Watchtower," she asked confused.

"Well, um," he began, "the Hall of Justice is the first step to entering the Watchtower." She nodded in understanding, his logic seemed legit, and watched as the Hall of Justice approached, the heads of her friends in sight.

"Oh, man," she heard Kid Flash exclaim. "I knew we'd be the last ones here."

She looked at Hal as they began to land, "You didn't tell me there was a race."

Wally turned around, "Emerald! You're here!" He ran and hugged her. "I can't believe it."

She laughed, "Come now, coz. Why would I miss such an important day? Now come on, we have a Hall of Justice to explore."

The other sidekicks smiled and they began to walk toward the Hall. Robin bumped Emerald's arm with his own, "Nice to see you again, Emerald. It's been too long."

"Agreed," Aqualad nodded. "I'm glad we're all here."

"Have all 5 sidekicks ever been in the same place at the same time," Kid Flash asked.

"Don't call us sidekicks," Speedy snapped, "not after today."

Emerald nudged his arm and flipped her red, braided hair over her shoulder, "Give him a break. It's our first time at the Hall. He's probably overwhelmed."

Kid Flash began trying to deny it and Robin sighed, "You're overwhelmed, Freeze was underwhelmed. Why isn't anyone just whelmed?"

She rolled her eyes, "Still butchering the English language, I see." He smirked at her as they entered, to see the statues of the original Justice League members. "Well, that doesn't scream egotistic."

Tourists were still taking photos as some elevator doors opened and Martian Manhunter and Red Tornado stepped out, "Robin, Speedy, Aqualad, Kid Flash, Emerald Lantern, welcome." He turned and began to walk back into the elevator followed by the others. What was the point of coming out of it? "You now have unlimited access to the gym, our fully stocked galley, and of course the library."

Emerald smiled as she looked around. Sure there had been books on Oa, but she had hardly had any free time and when she did she was busy napping. When Flash gestured at the room for them to make themselves comfortable she flew over to the bookshelves and began scanning for a book she hadn't already read, ignoring the conversation their mentors were having.

She began to reach for a book when Speedy spoke, "That's it?" She looked over, her domino mask shifting with her face as she raised an eyebrow. The heroes seemed confused as well at his outburst. "You promised us a real look inside, not a glorified backstage pass."

"It's a first step," Aquaman replied. "You've been granted access few others get."

"Oh, really," Speedy gestured at the glass window that had tourists taking pictures. She looked up and waved, earning a few winks from some young men. "Who cares which side of the glass we're on?"

"Roy, you just need to be patient," Green Arrow stepped forward.

Speedy glared at him, "What I need is respect."

Emerald put the book back, "Speedy, what is this really about?"

He looked at her, his glare softening, "They're treating us like kids. Worse-like sidekicks! We deserve better than this." Robin, Kid Flash, and Aqualad looked at each other and Emerald stepped forward, her face filled with concern. "You're kidding right? You're playing their game? Why? Today was supposed to be the day, step one in becoming full-fledged members of the league."

"Well, sure," Kid Flash looked at his cousin and friends, "but I thought step one was a tour of the HQ." Emerald frowned and looked at Hal, something wasn't making any sense.

"Except the Hall isn't the League's real HQ," Speedy snapped causing everyone to look at him. "I bet they never told you it's just a false front for tourists and a pit stop for catching zeta beam teleporter tubes to the real thing, an orbiting satellite called the Watchtower."

Emerald looked at her mentor, "I thought you said they knew about it."

He sighed, "It's supposed to be a secret, Emerald."

She crossed her arms over her chest and turned away as the others continued to argue. How could Hal lie to her? She traveled to frontier space with him and he betrayed her like that, what was her world coming to? Her eyes traveled back to Speedy as he took off his hat and threw it on the ground, everyone was looking at him in shock, "Guess they're right about you four. You're not ready."

She held out a hand as he walked out but he ignored her and she put it down. Speedy had been the first sidekick to befriend her and he encouraged her to never give up on mastering her constructs. Now he was walking out and it felt like a bit of her world had crumbled just a bit more than it had when she found out Hal had lied. As the door shut she could hear an alarm start up and Superman's voice come over the radio. She turned and looked at the heroes as she approached with Robin and the others.

Batman looked at them, "Stay put."

"What? Why," Robin asked, taking the lead.

"This is a League mission," Aquaman stated, putting his hands on his waist.

"You're not trained," Flash added.

She glared at them, "Since when?"

Everyone looked at her, "I meant you're not trained to work as part of this team."

Aquaman gave her a comforting look, "There will be other missions when you're ready."

"But for now, stay put," Batman concluded. It was really freaky when they were able to finish each other's thoughts. They began to leave and she felt her shoulders sink, although she could hear Hal trying to plead her case, probably to make it up to her about lying. Tornado looked at them before turning to follow his fellow League members out, the door closing behind him.

"When we're ready," Kid Flash asked. "How are we ever supposed to be ready when they treat us like-like sidekicks?" She shrugged and looked down at the ground.

Aqualad looked to the side, "My mentor, my king, I thought he trusted me."

Kid Flash gave him a look, "Trust? They don't even trust us with the basics! They've got a secret HQ in space!"

She looked up through her lashes, "I thought you guys knew about the Watchtower, that's what Hal told me. I can't believe he lied."

Her cousin put a hand on her shoulder as Aqualad looked at them, "What else aren't they telling us?"

Robin looked down, "I have a better question. Why didn't we leave with Speedy?" They all looked down, it was a good question.

"What is Project Cadmus," Aqualad asked, the first one to look up.

Robin looked up, "Don't know, but I can find out." He went over to the computer and began typing. She came up and looked at him with a raised brow as he began hacking into the system. He glanced at her, "What? It's the same system as the Batcave. All right. Project Cadmus. Genetics lab here in D.C. That's all there is, but if Batman's suspicious, maybe we should investigate."

Emerald smiled as Aqualad sighed, "But they said stay put."

"For the blotting out the sun mission, not this," Robin pointed out.

Emerald nudged Aqualad, "Besides, I'm a Green Lantern. They can't prevent me from stopping anything that could harm anyone in this sector and I can bring some people to help out."

"Wait. Are you two going to Cadmus," Wally asked her and Robin. "Because if you're going, I'm going."

Aqualad looked at the smiling trio, "Just like that we're a team on a mission?"

"We didn't come for a play date," Robin replied. They shared a smile and left the building.

Emerald laughed as her cousin slipped and then yelled at the firefighters for getting his name wrong. It was hilarious at how easily bothered he was. She cupped her hands over her mouth as she stood by Aqualad and Robin, "Come now, K.F, it's not like they're calling you something embarrassing."

"We need a plan," Aqualad began. "We- Robin?" She looked over as Robin used the fire truck to get into Cadmus where he pulled Kid Flash up.

She shrugged, "This team thing is going great so far." Aqualad ran over to the firefighters and took the water from the hose as she flew up to the scientists and created a platform for them. "All aboard!" They didn't waste any time getting on and she lowered them to the ground, joining Aqualad on the window sill. "Well, that was fun."

They jumped in and Aqualad looked at Robin, "Appreciate the help."

"You two handled it," the boy wonder replied. Emerald rolled her eyes and looked at her cousin who was flipping through some files as Aqualad began to walk around. "Besides, we're here to investigate. Poetic justice, remember?"

She walked over to Aqualad, who had stopped to look at something down the hall. He narrowed his eyes, "There was something in the-"

"Elevators should be locked down," Kid Flash interrupted. Emerald smacked him upside the head.

Robin ran past them, "This is wrong." He pulled up a holographic computer on one of his gauntlets. "Thought so. This is a high-speed, express elevator. It doesn't belong in a two-story building."

"Neither does what I saw," Aqualad commented. He walked over and forced the doors open. She walked over, ducked under the Atlantean's arm, and looked down the shaft. That was a long way down.

"That's why they need the express elevator," she commented. Robin attached his grappling hook to the top of the shaft and began going down. Aqualad grabbed on and began sliding down, followed by Kid Flash. She shrugged and began flying down after them, her ring's light illuminating the shaft. Her ring flashed twice and she looked at it. Dang it, she knew she should've charged it before leaving Oa, it was at 30%.

She caught up just as Aqualad jumped onto the side, beside Robin. He pulled open the doors as soon as Robin got pass security, "You guys do know that I can create a construct to open the doors, right?" They looked at her as if she was speaking another language. "Boys."

They looked down the hall, which was a little dark, and Emerald put her feet on the ground as Robin spoke, "Welcome to Project Cadmus."

Kid Flash began to run down the hall with Aqualad calling after him. Emerald sighed as she flew after him, stopping when she saw the giant creatures that almost crushed her cousin. He ran back over to their side and Emerald looked down at her ring as it scanned one, "Creature: Unidentified."

"That's strange," she whispered. "The ring knows what the Guardians know and the Guardians know everything. Whatever these creatures are, they aren't natural."

"No," Aqualad began sarcastically. "Nothing odd going on here." The creatures walked on, as if they were nothing more than miniscule pests. She narrowed her eyes, what was Cadmus up to?

Robin opened a door as the others stood guard, "Okay, I'm officially whelmed."

Emerald looked over her shoulder to see some strange creatures in tubes generating electricity. She walked over to one and looked in, it kind of looked like an overgrown firefly. Her cousin walked past, "This is how they hide this massive underground facility from the world. The real Cadmus isn't on the grid. It generates its own power with these…things. Must be what they're bred for."

"Even the name is a clue," Aqualad looked at Emerald who had come up beside him. "The Cadmus of myth created a new race by sowing dragons' teeth into the earth."

"And this Cadmus creates new life too," Robin added. Emerald nodded and looked at the creatures. How many different species were there in this building? What was the purpose of creating them? It didn't make sense. She looked over at Robin who began to plug into the computer system. At least someone else was curious about that. "They call them Genomorphs. Whoa! Look at the stats on these things- super strength, telepathy, razor claws. These are living weapons!"

She looked over his shoulder, "They're engineering an army, but for who?"

"Wait," Robin began looking further into the files. "There's something else. Project Kr. Ugh! The file's triple-encrypted. I can't-"

"Don't move," someone shouted. She turned to look over at whoever spoke with her friends. A man with a golden helmet came over with several Genomorphs. The creatures growled at them as they took positions, prepared to attack. "Wait. Robin, Aqualad, Emerald Lantern, Kid Flash?"

Robin smiled at K.F, not bothering to break away from the files, "At least he got your name right."

Aqualad looked at the man, "I know you. Guardian, a hero."

"I do my best," Guardian replied. Emerald frowned as she looked at the man. Something was off about this situation.

"Then what are you doing here," Kid asked.

Guardian shrugged, "I'm chief of security. You're trespassing, but we can call the Justice League, figure this out."

Emerald glanced at Robin, as if to tell him to hurry with whatever he was doing. He nodded and Wally continued to speak for them, "You think the League's going to approve of you breeding weapons?"

"Weapons? What are you- What have I- ugh," Guardian put a hand to his helmet as the Genomorph on his shoulder looked at him with glowing red horns. "My head." She was about to summon a construct to move the Genomorph away when Guardian looked at them with resolve in his eyes, "Take them down hard! No mercy!"

Her eyes widened as the Genomorphs sprang into action. She created a glowing fist and punched one away from her as Robin dropped a smoke pellet. She flew up above the smoke and punched another away before following Robin over to an elevator. Creating a green barrier between her and the creatures, "Aqualad, get into the elevator, I'll be right there."

He nodded and got in with the other two. She dropped the barrier and blasted herself in, creating another barrier which got smaller as the doors closed. Her breath came out in short pants, she was still tired from boot camp. She only glanced up when Kid Flash yelled at Robin for taking them further underground. Robin glared at him, "Excuse me? Project Kr, it's down on sublevel 52."

"This is out of control," Aqualad rubbed the back of his head. "Perhaps- perhaps we should contact the League." She glanced at the doors as they opened with a beep into a strange hallway filled with weird bumps and pink bubble like things. What did they do here?

Robin was the first one out, Emerald flew after him, they should at least try to stick together. She looked down the two hallways, it seemed strange and bizarre. Which way to go? She was about to use her ring when it flashed twice and she turned to see a strange man with horns, "Halt!"

Her eyes widened as his horns glowed and some barrels flew at them. She created a baseball bat and smacked one away, the other exploded against the wall above them, "Well, I guess we have no choice. Bizarre-looking hallway two it is."

The boys nodded and they ran down the hall, another barrel exploding behind them. A metal door, labeled Project Kr, opened and a female scientist exited. She created a construct to keep the door open, Wally nodded at her and gestured for them to enter, "Hurry."

She flew in with the others and let the construct fade as soon as they were all in. Her feet touched the ground as her ring flashed twice. She was down to 25%. Robin looked at them, "I disabled the door. We're safe."

"We're trapped," Aqualad corrected.

"Uh, guys," Kid called from a console. "You'll want to see this." He pressed a button and a light turned on in a pod. Emerald looked at the boy in the pod, he sort of looked like a younger version of Superman, accented by the red 's' on his white suit. Kr was written on the glass pod. Wally walked up to the pod, "Big 'K,' little 'r,' the atomic symbol for Krypton. Clone?"

Aqualad looked at the boy wonder, "Robin, hack."

"Right, right," he nodded, plugging into the computer. "Weapon designation Superboy, a clone force-grown in… 16 weeks? From DNA acquired from Superman."

"Stolen from Superman," Aqualad corrected.

Emerald looked at the boy, "No way the big guy knows about this."

"Solar suit allows him to absorb yellow sun radiation 24/7," Robin continued. "And the creatures… Genomorph gnomes, telepathic, force-feeding him an education."

"And we can guess what else," Kid stated. "They're making a slave out of, well, Superman's son."

She walked over to the pod as the others tried to contact the League. Already she could tell that they were in too deep to contact anyone on the outside. She looked up at the creatures that were teaching him as their horns glowed, there was a bad feeling in her stomach. Robin looked over, "We can't leave him like this."

"Set him free," Aqualad stated before looking at the youngest of them. "Do it." Emerald narrowed her eyes at the creatures, what were they doing? The pod opened and Superboy's hand moved, clenching into a fist. His blue eyes snapped open and without warning he punched her, sending her across the cave and into the wall before she had a chance to raise a construct. Her head snapped back and hit the wall and she blacked out.