My mind was hazy, and my thoughts felt to fast and loud. Time is short! the words seemed to curl and twist into moving colors. You must awaken, not yet Black Canary, five more minutes. YOU MUST AWAKEN NOW!
I opened my eyes with a startled gasp. I was in a tube and my hands were locked in place beside my head by metal grips. I strained against the bonds for a moment until I saw Robin, in a similar tube on my right. I looked around and saw Kid Flash and AquaLad in the same predicament to my left. They had also just woken up, and it was good to see them unharmed, for now. I looked at Kid Flash, trying to see if he remembered practically kissing me, but he was distracted by pulling against the bonds. I switched my gaze in front of me, and saw the clone standing before us, staring…at me.
"What?" I asked self consciously, once again thinking of my revealing outfit, "What do you want?" I said, pulling against the grips once more. After realizing that they wouldn't budge, I slumped against the cold metal frame I was placed against, and met the clones stare uncomfortably. He narrowed his blue eyes at me, and I glared back.
"Quit staring, you're creeping me out." I muttered annoyed.
"Uh, Vyx. Relax, he thinks you're hot. Let's not piss off the guy who can fry us with a look." Robin said, causing me to blush. I looked away embarrassed.
"We only sought to help you." AquaLad said to the clone.
"Yeah, we free you, and you turn on us! How's that for gratitude." Kid Flash exclaimed angrily, trying to get free of the metal grips.
"Kid Flash, please. Be quiet now." AquaLad said calmly.
"I don't think he was in control of his own actions." I said remembering the Genomorph Gnomes. My hypothesis seemed to strike a nerve in the clone.
"What- Well, what if…What if I wasn't" the clone said defensively. Kid Flash looked up from his futile attempts of escape in surprise.
"He can talk?" he exclaimed. The clone quickly switched his smoldering gaze onto him.
"Yes," he answered clenching his fists, "He can!" Kid Flash exchanged looks with AquaLad and I. I looked over to Robin, but noticed him busily twitching his fingers over the metal grasps, no doubt constituting an escape plan.
"Not like I said it…" Kid Flash retorted. The clone just looked more angry.
"The Genomorphs taught you, telepathically." I stated quickly, keeping the clones attention on me.
"Yes. I can read, write, I know the names of things…" he answered. Robin looked up from his task.
"But have you seen them?" he interrupted our captor, "Have they ever actually let you see the sun…or the sky?" the clone looked down, avoiding our gazes.
"Images are implanted, in my head. But, no. I have not seen them." he answered.
"Do you know what you are? Who you are?" AquaLad asked. The clone looked up and answered steadily,
"I am the Superboy, a Genomorph, a clone made from the genes of the Superman. Created to replace him should he perish, to destroy him should he turn from the light." My eyes widened as I turned to look at my friends. I was absolutely shocked.
"To be like Superman," AquaLad said steadily, "is a worthy aspiration. But, like Superman you deserve a life of your own, beyond that service, beyond your pod, beyond Cadmus." Superboy instantly went on the defense.
"I live because of Cadmus! It is my home!" he bellowed at AquaLad.
"Your home is a test tube!" Robin shot back, "We can show you the sun…"
"Ugh, pretty sure it's after midnight," Kid Flash corrected him, "But we can show you the moon!" he offered.
"We can show you, introduce you, to Superman." I said watching Superboy's expression turn hopeful and his eyes light up happily. In that moment, he looked more similar to Superman than he had before.
"No," a man's voice shattered the moment, "they can't." Three figures: Guardian, a woman, and a man in white lab coats entered the room with Genomorph Gnomes perched on their shoulders.
"They'll be otherwise occupied." the man continued. He turned to the woman,
"Activate the cloning process!" he ordered, folding his arms.
"Pass!" Robin exclaimed, "Batcave's is crowded enough." The man turned to Guardian.
"And get the weapon back in its pod!" he said angrily.
"Hey!" Kid Flash exclaimed as Guardian approached Superboy, "How come he gets to call Su.B. an it?" Guardian placed a hand on Superboy's shoulder dominantly. Superboy looked back at us questioningly.
"Help us." I pleaded, looking into his eyes. Superboy stiffened and shock Guardians hand off. The man walked towards him annoyed.
"Don't start thinking now!" he said irritably. The Genomorph Gnome that had been perched on the mans shoulder jumped lightly onto Superboy. I watched as the horns glowed, and Superboy's eyes got a faraway look to them.
"See, you're not a real boy, you're a weapon. And, you belong to me; well, to Cadmus, same thing. Now get back to your pod!" the man ordered Superboy. To my dismay, Superboy walked out of the room and down the corridor. The armored door shut and locked behind him.
The woman stood at a control desk and pushed a button that made two robotic arms unfold on the inside of our pods. Each arm had four separate needles that, without warning, lodged themselves into our bodies. The needles conducted a powerful energy that shocked us and caused an unbelievable amount of pain. I cried out, and tried to use my powers to push the needles away, but the shock of electricity blocked my flow of energy. I could hear the others moaning in pain at my sides and I shrieked in agony and frustration. I was desperate for relief.
"Stop!" I cried, throwing my head back in torture, "Please stop it!" I thrashed against my bonds in a final attempt of escape.
"Superboy!" I moaned, black spots invading my vision. "Someone, Please."
A few moments later, the pain was gone. My head fell forward, blonde hair obstructing my view. I heard the cover of my pod open, but I was to weak to lift my head up. Someone was unlocking my hands. I peered up at them through my hair.
"Robin?" I question, confused, "What happened?" as my hands were freed, I fell against him. He helped me down from my pod, and I tried to stand.
"Whoa, take it easy." Robin warned as I stood shakily on my feet. My chest felt raw where the needles had attacked my skin. I put my hands to my breasts.
"That was horrible!" I said breathlessly, shaking myself into gear and heading quickly to the door. That's when I noticed Superboy running beside me.
"Thank you." I said giving him a weak smile. He acknowledged me with a brisk nod.
"You'll never get out of here!" the man in the white lab coat growled, laying on the floor, "I'll have you back in your pods by morning!" this statement filled me with anger, and I used what little energy I could conjure to send a psychic wave at the pods. They shattered in fiery explosions.
"That guy is not whelmed, not whelmed at all." Robin said at my side.
"What is it with you and this whelmed thing?" I asked as we ran through the doorway and into a corridor. As we ran, I folded my arms across my chest, hoping to alleviate some of the pain.
"What's wrong with you?" Kid Flash asked at my pain stricken expression.
"My boobs hurt, okay!" I answered angrily. I could feel a huge wave of psychic energy flowing through the building, and my head began to throb again.
"You know," Kid Flash said, green eyes flashing mischievously, "I could help you with that." I glared at him but AquaLad cut of my reply.
"We are still 42 levels beneath ground, but if we can make it to the elevators…" The giant Genomorphs we had seen earlier blocked our path of escape by stepping out from perpendicular hallways. We all stopped. I turned around quickly, hearing hissing behind us. The red shades on the walls began to expand, and the creatures with the sharp claws emerged from them, growling. We were surrounded. I looked back towards the elevators and saw one of the giant Genomorphs ready to slam us into the ground.
"Everybody move!" I shrieked, jumping out of the way of the huge appendage. I was to weak to summon any energy to fight with, so I ran up the side of the wall and jumped behind the giant creatures. Superboy had decided to stand his ground and fight. I stood beside the others watching him push the Genomorphs around easily. It was astonishing how powerful he was. I turned and ran to the elevator as Superboy continued his rampage. I was able to pull open the doors with the help of Kid Flash. We jumped onto the ledge, but without the use of my powers, I could only climb up the shaft slowly. I watched Superboy and AquaLad fly up into the elevator shaft as one of the giant Genomorphs tried to grab them. I had just reached a ledge five stories up when they began to fall. Without thinking, I sent a blast of energy to catch them. My energy had manifested itself into a smoky dark-purple extension of the elevators ledge, and I held it in place until Superboy and AquaLad moved out of danger.
"Why cant I fly?" Superboy said as I swung up to the level they were on.
"I don't know, but it does look like you can leap tall buildings in a single bound." Kid Flash said hoisting me up. "Still cool." Superboy looked at me.
"Thank you." he said. I nodded my head at him quickly. I was preoccupied by trying to gather more energy for later. I had never felt this tired before. Then again, I had never spent a whole day fighting for my life either.
"Guys, this will have to be our exit." Robin said pointing at the rapidly descending elevator above us. Superboy pushed the levels elevator doors out of the way, and we all leaped inside. I followed the guys as they turned down a hallway, leading us away from more approaching Genomorphs. Suddenly, we arrived at a dead end.
"Great directions Su.B. Are you trying to get us re-podded?" K.F. asked angrily.
"I-I don't understand…" Superboy said meekly. Robin pushed past him excitedly.
"Don't apologize, this is perfect!" Robin said smiling. He dislodged the ventilation screen and crawled into the shaft.
"You have got to be kidding me." I said as AquaLad followed behind him. I could hear the Genomorphs approaching, so I climbed inside grumbling. Robin led us through the vents. It was dark and cramped, and I could practically feel Kid Flash's eyes staring at my butt as I crawled. I looked over my shoulder to confirm my suspicions.
"Enjoying the view?" I asked casually. I saw his face turn as red as his hair, and he had the decency to look away.
"Robin, at this rate, we'll never get out!" AquaLad complained. Superboy shushed us.
"Listen." he whispered. We all turned to look back at him, and heard the Genomorphs coming in the vents after us.
"Hurry!" Robin whispered, leading us deeper through the maze. Suddenly, I could see an exit grate up ahead. Robin kicked it out of the wall, and we jumped down, brushing the dust and grime off of us. Robin began typing away at his holographic computer. After a couple of seconds he turned and smiled at us proudly.
"I hacked the motion sensors." he stated.
"Sweet!" Kid Flash exclaimed.
"How close are they?" I asked, warily watching the vents.
"There is still plenty of room between them and us." Robin confirmed.
"And I've finally got room to move!" Kid Flash said excitedly putting on his goggles. He pushed past a door that led to the stairwell and sped off. We all followed him up the levels. Genomorphs began to swarm the stairs below us, so Superboy, who was at the back, kicked down a flight of stairs so that the creatures couldn't follow us.
Kid Flash had exited the stairwell above us. We were greeted by a warning siren and flashing red lights as we burst into the corridor. I realized that Kid Flash must have run into the armored door that he was seated in front of.
"We're cut off from the street." AquaLad stated the obvious.
"Thanks," Kid Flash said rubbing his head, "My head hadn't noticed." Superboy and AquaLad began an attempt to pry the door open. Robin brought up the holographic computer.
"Can't hack this fast enough." he said. I looked behind us in time to see more giant Genomorphs emerge from the halls. I kicked open a side door.
"This way!" I called taking the lead. To my dismay, we ran right into a huge group of Genomorphs stationed around Guardian. The remaining creatures came from behind us. We were surrounded. All of us posed for attack, but every Genomorph Gnome sent a linked psychic energy at us all at once. The glow of their red horns was the last thing I saw before I was swallowed by darkness.
"I choose freedom." I heard Superboy say, but he sounded really far away. My vision swam and my whole body felt tingly. I pushed myself off the ground and rubbed my head. I was going to need an Advil later for sure. I looked up and saw Guardian shaking his head as if to clear it.
"Guardian?" I asked hoping he wouldn't order his creepy pets to attack.
"Go," he said, "I'll deal with Desmund." I looked at my friends as they stood beside me.
"I think not." a voice I recognized as the man in the white lab coat said harshly. The Genomorphs cleared the way before him, and I saw him standing with a vile of liquid in his hands.
"Project Blockbuster will give me the power to restore order to Cadmus." he said lifting the vile to his lips and drinking the light blue substance. We watched in shocked silence as the mans body began to convulse and change. He morphed into a hideous creature that was about eight feet tall and had grey sagging skin. The monster roared, and turned on us with red eyes.
Guardian dashed at the creature, but was flung like a rag doll into the adjacent wall. Superman rushed it as well, and got a few good punches in before the creature smacked him to the ground. Superboy skidded to a stop before jumping into the air and going back for more. The creature roared and jumped to met Superboy in midair, crashing through the ceiling and creating a big hole. Robin, A.L., K.F., and I ran underneath the hole.
"That's one way to bust a hole in the ceiling." Kid Flash said. Robin fire a rope gun and prepared to ascend.
"Do you think lab coat planned that?" I asked out loud, grabbing on to Robins arm as he flew up to the next level. After we landed, I moved over to make room for AquaLad to jump up. I didn't look up in time to see the monster grab Superboy's legs and fling him towards us. Robin and Kid Flash jumped out of the way, but was caught unawares and went flying backwards with Superboy on top of me. The air rushed from my lungs as we slammed to the floor and rolled apart. Kid Flash was at my side in a second, and he helped me up as I coughed pitifully. The monster roared again as the five of us turned to face him. Kid Flash ran right for the monster, but slid under his legs at the last possible second. When the creature looked down in confusion, Superboy and A.L. delivered a synchronized punch in his face. The monster staggered back and fell over Kid Flash who used his body to trip the monster. The creature landed on his back with a thud.
"Learned that one in kindergarten." Kid Flash said. I jumped over him, and brought my heal to the monsters face, but he blocked me with his arm and pushed me back, sending me flying into Kid Flash. I felt Kid Flash's arms wrap around my body as we crashed to the floor. I lay in his arms for a moment, but quickly pushed myself out of his grasp.
"Sorry." I stated as I ran to help Superboy, who was being pushed up against a pillar and punched repeatedly. Before I could reach him, AquaLad distracted the monster, but only made it angrier. In moments, AquaLad was thrown to the ground, and Superboy was flung into another pillar, falling down in a pile of rubble. I rushed the monster and attacked him with a series of martial arts moves that seemed to have no effect on him. Kid Flash ran to my aid, but the monster grabbed his arm as he sped by and threw him at me. I ducked, and Kid Flash soared over my head and collided with a recovering AquaLad. They both fell in a heap against the pillars. Realizing I wasn't doing any good, I sought out Robin. He stood away from the fighting, once again typing on his holographic computer.
"Robin!" I cried, dodging the creatures attacks. I ran over to him, death glaring. "What are you doing? We need your help!" I said annoyed. He motioned me over to his side, and I saw a 3 dimensional scale model of the level we were on. I also saw that the whole floor was supported by the pillars that the creature was inadvertently destroying as he attacked us.
"I can bring this down." I said softly planning it out in my head. Robin looked at me incredulously.
"No. no," I stated, ignoring his look, "I haven't used any of my energy since the elevator. If you help me destroy these two," I explained pointing at the pillars at the back of the room, "And we lure the creature right around here," I gestured to the ground a couple feet in front of us, "I can send a wave of energy that will act like a controlled bomb. The whole roof will come down on him, and I doubt he'll be strong enough to fight that." I finished smiling.
"The roof will come down on us to." Robin pointed out. I shook my head.
"After you help me with the pillars and we lure him to the center, you guys make a break for it." Robin tried to argue, but I cut him off.
"This is not up for debate." I said seeing Superboy and AquaLad getting their butts kicked. Robin nodded and called Kid Flash over to us. As he explained the plan, I built up all of my energy until it flowed through my whole body.
"Got it?" Robin questioned.
"Got it." Kid Flash answered zooming away to distract the monster. Robin called over Superboy and AquaLad, and explained the plan to them as well. After a few seconds, they went to destroy the far pillars in the back. I turned to Robin again.
"Oh, and one more thing." I stated unsure of how to ask, "I need you to hit me." Robin looked taken aback and shook his head.
"What, why?" he asked confused.
"My emotions directly relate to the strength of my powers. I'm strongest when I'm angry." I explained, "So, before you go, I need you to hit me." Robin steeped back away from me.
"No." he stated, "I can't do that, I wont."
"Robin! Don't be such a baby! Just hit me!" I cried seeing the creature approaching the area I needed him. Robin hit me across the face with a resounding slam. I smiled as my check burned. I put my hand up against my face and watched as it was engulfed in my dark energy.
"You should be running." I said softly. Robin, looking truly scared, ran from me; I turned to the creature, seeing red. I let my rage build up inside of me until I felt like I'd drown in it. The creature, realizing that I was the only target left, roared and came at me. I ran to meet him, throwing my hands up in a clapping motion, and unleashing every ounce of energy I had left in my body with a loud cry. The creature was thrown back and the building began to crumble around me. The pillars were reduced to dust and the whole roof came tumbling down on us. I fell to my knees from the loss of energy, and the sounds of rubble crashing around me was the last thing I heard before I surrendered to darkness.