The New Beginning of Project Kr
Chapter 7
Connor groaned as he regained consciousness. Okay, he thought, from now on I need to watch out for blondes with bows. He opened his eyes and winced as bright red light flooded his vision. He slammed them shut then slowly open them, giving them a chance to adjust to the light.
He was in a large room with the tile floor. The whole room was bathed in a red glow. So, he thought, I'm in a room under red solar lamps, and from the queasiness in my stomach they've bound my arms behind my back with kryptonite laced restraints. He shook his head. They did a pretty good job of restraining me. Since my body absorbs solar energy faster than my fathers, I will lose my powers quicker than he does under a red sun.
He smirked. Unfortunately for them, I'm also half Amazon. He flexed his arms and shattered the restraints. Rising to his feet, the young kryptonian rubbed his wrist. Note to self, he mused, kryptonite laced restraints burn my skin.
Shaking his head, the young kryptonian focused his eyes on the door to his cell. Okay, he thought, my x-ray visions out. That probably means my heat visions out too. Since I can't hear anything I'm guessing my super hearings out.
He walked over to the heavy metal door of his cell and tapped it lightly with a knuckle. I could open this, he considered, even with my reduced strength, but that would let my captors know I escaped. In my weakened state I need to be more subtle.
He shook his head. I can't take on an entire army in my weakened condition. I don't know how invulnerable I am after being under this red sunlight, so that only leaves me with one option.
He stepped over to the wall beside the door and sank his fingers into the metal.
The metal gave a soft screech, but thankfully it wasn't loud enough to draw any guard's attention.
He climbed to the top of his cell and hung from the ceiling by his fingers and toes.
After waiting for about five minutes, the young kryptonian heard footsteps approaching his cell.
"I'm entering the prisoner's cell," he heard on the other side of the door.
The door to his cell opened and a guard wearing black armor stepped into the room.
The guard froze when he saw Connor was no longer in his chair. He unclipped a walkie-talkie from his belt and raised it to his lips.
Seizing his chance, the young kryptonian leapt off the ceiling with a roar and slammed into the guard.
The sound of snapping bones echoed through the room along with a gurgling sound.
Connor looked down at the guard with wide eyes. What have I done? He thought.
The guard's chest had been crushed and his head was twisted at an odd angle. Blood spilled from his mouth and pooled onto the floor. His eyes had popped out of their sockets and were now painting bloody streams down his face.
The site caused images to flash through the boy of steel's mind. He remembered using heat vision on the helicopters that attacked him. He shuddered as he remembered the pleasure he felt watching them fall into the sea.
How could I take pleasure in something like that? He asked himself.
He began to shake his he remembered destroying the last two helicopters with lightning. He remembered his cruel words to the terrified soldier.
I had no right to kill that man, he thought, but that man killed thousands, said a little voice in the back of his mind.
He shook his head. It doesn't matter. I have no right to play judge, jury, and executioner.
He bit the inside of his cheek and clinched his fist to stop himself from shaking. You can question your past actions later, he told himself, right now you need to escape.
He knelt down and began stripping the guard's clothes off. Once he was done he folded the close beside him in the pile and began removing his own clothes.
After removing his own clothes, the young kryptonian put on the guard's clothes, thanking whatever deity was up there that they fit. Once he was dressed he put his clothes on the guard.
He winced when he heard the sound of bones grinding together as he readjusted the guard's neck. Once the guard was dressed, the young kryptonian removed the fake hair from his face and placed it on the guard.
When he was done he gazed down at the man, "I'm sorry I killed you," he told him. He picked the guard up, walked over, and set him in his chair. He then removed sip ties from his pocket and tied the man's hands behind his back.
After that he walked around and made sure the guards head was laying against his chest.
Hopefully the next guard that checked on him wouldn't look very close.
The young kryptonian pulled his visor down and walked out of the room. Once he was out in the hallway, he removed the walkie-talkie from his belt and pressed the button on the side.
"All clear," he told the person on the other end, mimicking the guard's voice perfectly, "the targets still unconscious."
"Roger that," someone on the other end replied, "continue your patrol."
Connor placed the walkie-talkie back on his belt and walked down the hallway. Thank you dad for teaching me how to mimic voices, he thought.
The young kryptonian walked through the stark white hallways that made up whatever complex he was in nodding to the guards he passed. Always act like you're supposed to be there and no one will question you, he thought to himself
After fifteen minutes with only the sounds of his footsteps echoing off the tile floor, Connor began to get frustrated. Come on, he thought, how big is this place?
Turning down yet another bleached white hallway, the young kryptonian found himself before a set of massive metal doors. Bingo, he thought.
He let his eyes scanned the door for a way to open it. There's no way I'm going to be able to pull that open with my current strength, he mused.
His eyes landed on a card reader set into the wall beside the door. Please let me have one of those cards, he thought to himself as he searched his pockets. He smiled when he pulled out a card with a picture of the guard whose clothes he now wore on it.
He walked over to the card reader; made sure the magnetic strip on the card was facing down, and then swiped it through the machine. The red light on the card reader flashed green and the door slid open with a hiss of compressed air.
Connor stepped into the large room beyond the doors.
The room was packed full of long wooden tables. A vast array of high-tech computer equipment filled each table along with test tubes filled with glowing chemicals in a rainbow of colors. A man in a white lab coat stood before three large tanks with bodies floating in them.
At the sound of the young kryptonian's footsteps the man turned. He was tall with a round face and a receding hairline. He wore round glasses and a gray T-shirt under his lab coat that read science rules.
"John, what are you doing here?" He asked.
Connor paused. So, that guards name was John, he thought, I'll have to send his family some flowers.
He shook his head, "I just came to check on the latest projects."
The balding man shook his head, "Same old John," he turned back to the tanks and waved Connor over with his free hand, "well come on."
Connor walked over to stand beside him. When he was close enough he chanced a quick glance down at the guards name tag, "So Frank, how are they doing?"
"Better than I could ever hope for," Frank said with excitement in his voice, "Dr. Sturgis and Dr. Diamonds notes really helped us stabilize their DNA," he gestured to the four tanks, "when these projects are done. They will be the ultimate weapon against the justice league should they ever turn evil."
"What about their wants and desires? Don't they deserve more than being just weapons."
Frank snorted, "When did you get so soft John?"
"I'm not getting soft," Connor said feigning indignity, "but if this was my kid. I would want something more for them than just a life of battle."
Frank took off his glasses and rubbed his beady brown eyes, "See but that's the thing John, these things aren't human. They are weapons to do our bidding."
Connor nodded, his face was devoid of emotion, but his fist clenched at his sides. I originally thought the higher ups were the only bad people in Cadmus, but I guess the whole organization is rotten, he thought to himself.
In the blink of an eye, the young kryptonian's slammed his elbow into Frank's temple, sending the pudgy man crumpling to the floor.
He looked down at the man with hatred in his eyes, "You're lucky I already have too much blood on my hands."
He turned to the tank, "I wish I could give you all a life free of battle, but I can't. So I'll do the next best thing." He withdrew a knife from his belt and cut the power and life-support cables to each tank. Tears streamed down his face as he cut the wires to the final tank and alarms began to blare, signaling the deaths of the people inside, "May you find peace in the afterlife."
He walked over to a laptop on a nearby table, sat down in a padded chair, and pulled himself up to it. His fingers moved across the keyboard with practiced ease. According to what he was seeing here he was on a massive ship in the middle of the ocean.
Now that he knew where he was, the young kryptonian began searching for things that could tell him Cadmus's future plans. He had just begun hacking into Cadmus's network when alarms began to blare.
"Project KR has escaped. He is wearing the uniform of Cmdr. John Corbett, detain him at all cost."
So much for moving around unseen, Connor thought to himself. He flipped over the laptop and removed its hard drive. He tucked the hard drive in his Kevlar vest and sprinted towards the door.
The door hissed open and the young kryptonian froze. Men in black tactical armor stood before him, their M-16's aimed at his chest.
Fortunately for Connor, the men seemed as surprised to see him as he was to see them. Seizing the moment, the young kryptonian sprinted down an adjacent hallway.
Machine gun fire echoed after him. He could hear the bullets impacting the wall behind him.
Come on where is the exit sign when you need one, Connor thought as he rounded a corner.
Machine gun fire filled his ears. The young kryptonian gritted his teeth as high-powered bullets impacted his body, driving him backwards.
Connor leaned against the wall breathing shallowly. Man that hurt, he mused, but at least I know I'm still invulnerable. However I know I'm going to have bruises in the morning.
The young kryptonian thrust his hand outward. A gust of wind shot from his hand in slammed into the guards, knocking them over like bowling pins. He sprinted down the hallway, not caring if he stepped on bodies.
He scowled as he saw that he was coming up on a dead-end. Crap, he thought.
He crossed his arms and increased his speed. He slammed into the wall with incredible force, smashing through it with little resistance.
If you can't find an exit, make one, he thought. He looked around. He was in another part of the ship. From the look of the walls and the pipes hanging from the ceiling he would say he was near the bottom of the ship.
Glancing around the young kryptonian saw a staircase set into the far wall and smiled. Finally, a way out, he thought.
After a few minutes of sprinting up stairs, Connor found himself in front of a door that read. Deck watch your step.
Smiling, the young kryptonian pushed open the door. Machine gun fire filled Connor's ears again and bullets slammed into his body, nearly driving him back down the stairs. Fortunately the moonlight shining into the doorway energized him just enough to help him withstand the metal barrage.
He gritted his teeth against the pain. Each bullet felt like a punch from his father. He raised his hand and something amazing happened, the bullets froze in mid-flight.
What's going on? He wondered. Suddenly, the young kryptonian realized he could do more with his power over electricity than just shoot lightning. He now knew how to manipulate magnetic fields and so much more.
He flipped his fingers downwards and the bullets fell to the deck with a clatter. He then stretched forth his hand and shut down the electrical impulses and the guard's brains, sending them to the deck unconscious.
Connor stepped out onto the deck of the ship and smiled as the cool night air caressed his face. Ah, he thought, it's good to be free.
"Hold it right there!"
Or not, Connor mused with a sigh.
The young kryptonian turned around with hands raised and came face to face with the woman in green, "Oh hi," he said with a smile, "it's you again. I don't believe I caught your name before."
The woman in green raised her bow and pointed it at his head, "My name is not important. What is important is that you return to your cell."
"Aw, don't be like that. You're the first woman that has tried to kill me," his eyes drifted up in thought, "well the first woman that has tried to kill me and actually mean it. So it's only right that I know your name. After all, your first is always special."
The woman in green paused stared at her pray with wide eyes. What on earth is up with this man, she wondered to herself. Against her will she found herself answering, "My name is Green Canary."
Connor smiled dazzlingly and began to lower his hands…
"Keep them up," Green Canary ordered.
Okay, Connor thought, so she is a woman that likes to be in control. He shook his head and turned his attention back to Green Canary. "Green Canary, a beautiful name for a beautiful woman," he said letting his eyes wander over her body.
She was tall and slender with long blonde hair and blue eyes. She wore a skintight green bodysuit that hugged her curves. Her blond hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and a green mask covered the upper part of her face.
A quiver of arrows hung on her back. She held a high-tech looking bow in her left hand the string pulled taut with her right. An arrow was aimed at his head, it's point reflecting the moonlight.
Green Canary rolled her eyes. Does this guy really think that's going to work on me, she thought. She shook her head, "Well come on, get moving back to your cell."
"I think not," Connor said. In the blink of an eye, the young kryptonian removed a knife from his belt and threw it at the young archer.
Green Canary knocked the knife away with her bow, but lost sight of her prey.
Seizing his chance, Connor slammed his foot into the female archer stomach, sending her stumbling backwards. He shifted his weight and brought his other foot around in a roundhouse kick. His kick slammed into her bow, sending it flying from her hands.
They began circling each other.
"You're good," Green Canary commented.
"So are you," Connor replied.
"So," Connor began, "why have you been trying to kill me?"
Green Canary waited till they did a complete circle before answering, "I haven't been trying to kill you."
"Oh?"
"Yes," Green Canary said nodding, "I've been trying to capture you."
Connor narrowed his eyes. I don't like the sound of that, he thought.
"Why have you been trying to capture me?"
Green Canary locked eyes with the young kryptonian. "I was created by combining the DNA of Black Canary and Green Arrow. I was created for the sole purpose to be your partner should the justice league ever go rogue."
Connor's eyes widened. She's like me, he thought, except she didn't escape Cadmus's grip.
Green Canary continued to speak oblivious to Connor's thoughts, "When you escaped I was charged with capturing you and returning you to Cadmus for reprogramming."
Connor shook his head, "So, Cadmus wants you to capture me, so they can turn me into their loyal soldier?"
"Yes."
Connor narrowed his eyes and squared his jaw, "That's not going to happen. I'm not going to be the government's obedient dog."
For the first time Connor saw emotion leak into green Canary's bright blue eyes.
"Please Kr," she begged, "please come back to Cadmus. I don't want to have to kill the one person I admire."
Connor raised an eyebrow, "You admire me?"
"Of course, you were the only project in Cadmus strong enough to escape," she looked away, "I was forced to kill all the other projects to earn my freedom."
Connor looked down at the ground. So this is what would've happen to me if I wouldn't have escaped Cadmus, he thought, I would've been a foot soldier, going after anyone Cadmus told me to regardless of my own desires.
He tore his eyes from the ground and stared into green Canary's eyes, "You and I were meant to be partners right?"
Green Canary nodded.
"Then be my partner now."
Green Canary's eyes widened, "What?"
"Let me take you away from here, let me show you the outside world. Let me show you there's more to the world than battle, blood, and death."
Green Canary bit her lip and shifted from foot to foot. Can I do that? She asked herself, can I leave Cadmus, and become a hunted woman like Project Kr?
Her eyes hardened, No, she thought, I will not live the rest of my life in fear of Cadmus. I would rather serve them then spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder.
She looked at Kr with the firm jaw, but regret in her eyes, "I'm sorry, but I can't abandon Cadmus. I will not live the rest of my life being chased by them."
Connor sighed and nodded slowly, "I guess that's it then."
"I guess it is," Green Canary agreed.
"Can you at least do me one favor?" The young kryptonian asked.
"What?" Green Canary asked eyeing him suspiciously.
"Can you at least change your name to Artemis?"
Green Canary raised an eyebrow, "Why?"
"Artemis is the goddess of the hunt in Greek mythology. If you take on her name that will give you a little bit of an identity beyond Cadmus's creation."
I would like to be known as something beyond project Green Canary, the woman in green thought to herself.
She turned back to Kr, "I couldn't tell anyone."
"That's fine, as long as you have something to give you a little bit of self I don't care."
Green Canary nodded, "Alright then."
Connor cocked his head to one side. The moonlight began restoring his powers. He could just make out the sound of guards approaching. He turned to the now named Artemis, "I hear guards approaching, so I guess we better fight."
"I guess so."
Artemis opened her mouth and released a sonic scream that sent Connor flying backwards. The young kryptonian hit the deck hard and rolled to a stop.
Connor rose to his feet with a groan and one hand placed against his head. Just my luck, he thought, I get hit by a sonic blasts just as my super hearing returns. The boy of steel dabbed a finger in his ear, it came away bloody and he scowled.
The young kryptonian could just make out the sound of the guards drawing closer over the ringing in his ears. By how close their footsteps sounded they were on the last staircase before reaching the door that led onto the deck. He scowled. The guards are coming quicker than I thought. As much as I want to fight Artemis and see who's better. The guards are coming too quickly for it to be a fair fight, and I'm not yet up to full strength.
Knowing he didn't have the strength to take on Artemis and the Cadmus guards, the young kryptonian sprinted towards the edge of the ship and jumped over the side.
After blasting Kr a way, Artemis sprinted towards her bow she snatched up her bow and turned just in time to see Kr jump over the side of the ship. She notched a blunt kryptonite laced arrow and fired.
Connor was less than a foot away from the water when something struck him in the back of the head and his world went dark.
PKR
A woman in a white toga surrounded by women in Greek armor stared down at the man in strange black clothing that had washed up on her shores.
"What do you want us to do queen Hippolyta?" A soldier asked.
"The laws of the island are clear. Any man that appears on Themiscira is to be put to death."
The Queen had no sooner than finished her statement when thunder boomed and lightning flashed across the sky.
The guards froze and Hippolyta looked up at the sky with a frown on her face. Why would Zeus want to bend the rules for this boy? She wondered.
She shook her head and turned to her guard, "Change of plans take him to the dungeon."
The guard snapped to attention, "At once my Queen."
The warrior women grabbed the unconscious boy by the arms and dragged him unceremoniously towards the island prison.