The Cadmus Web
Chapter 9: Troubled Members
Professor Hamilton was walking the hallways looking for some help, and there was only one man that could help him out at this moment. He got to a door with two armed guards and after the usual security check the doors opened up. Inside was a large lab with various machines and by the looks of it several different projects in various states. He heard the sounds of someone working on machinery and soon found the man he was looking for.
Dr. Octavius was bent over a table working on a device of some kind, he wasn't sure for what although he had to admit the man never seemed to sleep. The cloning project was nearly finished but there were still a few problems one of them was what he was here for.
"Ah the good Professor how goes things?" Octavius asked him not looking up from the device. "I'm nearly done here just something that General wanted me to fix up for some weapon system or something."
"Yes well I wish this was a social call but we're having trouble with one of the...subjects." He said scratching the back of his head. "He's proving very difficult since he woke up and we're holding him in a security cell at the moment until he's more stable."
"Ah I think I know who." Octavius grinned to himself as he put his tools away. "In truth I expected this, ever since I unlocked the ability for genetic memory or false memories I had wondered which to use. But for what he was created to be I had to use his past memories and I knew that he would not take this very well."
"Let me guess he's a bit violent and is sitting in his cell at the moment brooding correct?"
Hamilton was surprised by how accurate he was, "Yes exactly just how on Earth did you know?"
He laughed as if Hamilton had spoken only a joke that he knew. "You see my dear colleague I know him better than he knows himself. There isn't a part of him that I don't know about and I know how he thinks and feels."
"So do you know how to get him to work with us? If not Waller will order his destruction and then we'll be down one member for the new team we're making." Hamilton said.
"Well there is one possibility, tell me how is Galatea doing these days?" He grinned at him and then Hamilton had an idea of what the man was getting at.
After that it was a simple matter of going to see Galatea, even though she thought of him as her 'father' he was still scared to death of her. She was just a clone of Supergirl and given how she went renegade for a moment he was always worried she would turn on them. He always tried not to show his fear of her but he just couldn't help it. He said everything that she wanted to hear just to keep her pleased, plus if she ever found out what he had planned in case she ever went rogue again, she wouldn't hesitate to kill him.
Thankfully her injuries were nearly totally healed, a few more weeks and she would be ready for full activity as the new team would almost be ready then. Now they were walking down the halls and he was hoping that she could be the one to reach the new clone, he also hoped the others wouldn't be as difficult.
"Who are we seeing father?" She asked him out of curiosity.
He was thankful she couldn't tell whenever she said that out loud it made him uncomfortable. He put on his best face when dealing with her before answering. "Well we're going to see a new member of the team you'll be put on, he's having some trouble dealing with what he is."
"What is he?" She asked him.
"He's a clone." He simply said and he could see that she understood now and she didn't look pleased. Maybe it was the reminder that she herself was a clone and not the original. "Tell me have you had anymore of those dreams again?"
"No," Now her voice was a bit colder, "I don't seem to be able to share my mind with Supergirl anymore."
"That's good we never intended for that to happen to you, I hope you know that." That was actually the first honest thing he had said to her, they hadn't meant for that to happen. Hell they weren't even sure why it had happened, but thankfully whatever link had been between the two seemed to be severed.
They arrived in the security sector as armed guards a lot more than the ones guarding Octavius were stationed out front. "I want you to talk with him and help him adjust, do you think you can do that?"
"I don't see why not," Galatea said and deep down she got the feeling that she could, if this person was like her then she knew exactly what he was going through. She waited for the guards to open the cell doors, she could see these were thick metal ones so whoever was in here had super strength at least.
She walked confidently into the cell as the doors closed behind her, there sitting on a bunk in a plain black one piece body suit had to be the clone. She looked him over, he seemed to be about her age, well at least in appearance with clones actual age got tricky. The suit showed off a very athletic body, not overly muscular but very nice. He had long brown hair that went down to just below his neck.
"What the hell do you want?" He said in an angry voice.
"Just here to talk is all." She told him.
He grunted out and turned to look at her, she could see a handsome face although the brown eyes looked to be filled with anger. Maybe even hate, but not at her, maybe Cadmus of course but she knew that look. She had seen it in the mirror this was self-hate, she despised being what he was she could just tell, she had been that way at first herself knowing she was nothing more than a copy.
There was a pause and then he seemed to actually know her. "Oh perfect they sent me the Supergirl clone to talk to the clone. I thought you had died in that battle, looks like everyone was wrong about that one."
"How did you know what I was?" She asked him shocked he would know such details.
"I got all the memories of the person I was cloned from and he's a close friend of Supergirl's. I remember being there with her when she had the dreams of your memories, and of the aftermath of it. The last thing I remember was being in a battle against Octavius when he threw her off a bridge...Did she survive that battle?" He asked her.
She had heard of that battle and guessed that whatever DNA they had gotten must have come from that fight. "Yes she did, apparently he didn't do as good a job on her as I would have liked."
He looked at her like he wanted to hit her but he didn't do anything. "Well that's something at least, although when I find him I'm going to kill him. I know it was him that cloned me again, as if he hadn't gotten his fill the last time." He spoke with utter hatred even more hatred then she had for Supergirl.
"So you're not the first." She stated wanting to know where he was coming from.
He grunted at that and for a moment he thought of just telling her to get lost. But maybe it was the fact that she was a clone herself, someone like him who could at least partially understand him. Plus the fact he knew that she was more powerful then he was too so a fight with her would be pointless. Besides he guessed there was no real harm and these cells were most likely monitored. Maybe if he told the truth it would make life a bit more difficult for Dr. Octopus with earning any type of trust.
"There were a lot of clones made and not all of them were true clones. I don't know how many there were in total. Some that I knew of were mutated, multiple armes, or looked more animal then man, one of the worse was totally deformed on one side and totally insane. There was another that was uncontrollable and put in a power suit of some kind, one that was crafted to the body."
"Anyways the really insane one kidnapped someone that was close to me...to him I mean," He said angrily once again reminding himself those memories didn't belong to him. "Anyways there was a female clone too and one of the father of original. I'll skip the boring details and say there was a fight and clones died. By the end only the female one was left alive, not sure what happened to her these days."
Galatea took all this in, she was just one clone but to have made so many different ones was almost as bad as being just one clone. For her she knew that she wasn't the original but if there were many more copies what would that make her? Yes she was a copy, but she was also unique she was her own person but to have more copies of yourself and she would lose any sense of being her own person.
"I'm sorry...This all has to be hard for you." She said honestly.
He just sighed at her words, "Yeah well I wish they had cloned me from a better time. I still feel the damn pain of the original even though it's not me. They weren't my friends and family he lost and yet I still feel his damn pain. I'm not him so why should I have to suffer for his mistakes?"
She thought she had an opening now and decided to use it. "Now there is something we both agree on. I know I'm not Supergirl but still she has everything. She has a real life, family and friends, and what do I get? Just because we're clones we get nothing but the scraps and the waste? It's not right. We're both living beings we deserve more."
She saw him look at her and for a moment she knew she had touched something in him. "That's why I'm still here. They made me, they gave me birth just like you. I got nothing else but Cadmus, but at least here I can make my own life and we were created to protect this world. We're wanted here and we can make a difference, we can use our powers for the people. That's what Cadmus is here for, to defend to the world against any and all threats no matter what."
A few words strung a few cords with the male clone, he still hated Dr. Octopus for cloning him-no PETER again. But she had a point, why the hell should he be denied a life? Why must he suffer all this pain of remembering the loss of friends and family that wasn't even his? He bet Peter was living it up now while he was here in the dark cells alone, haunted by memories that weren't his.
"I'll leave you to think on it but if you want I'll come by again, it's kind of...nice talking to someone about this. After all who else can understand people like us? People with no real past but have to live in the shadows of another?" She told him as she started to walk to the door but she stopped for a moment.
"Is there something I can call you? I don't want to just say 'hey you' all the time with you." She asked him.
He thought about for a moment and he had the perfect name for himself, it was kind of fitting in a way. "Yeah, I do. You can call me...Kaine."
She smiled at him, "Kaine...I like it."
-JL Watchtower-
In the massive training room there was a team battle going on. The two teams were Wonder Woman with Wonder Girl going up against the new member Starfire and Shayera. The other two members had been doing a lot of training together and there had been rumours that the two were very good. Well the two Amazon sisters weren't going to be outdone.
The two sisters worked as a well oiled machine given they had trained together since their youth. Diana had taught Donna a lot of what she knew. But what Starfire and Shayera lacked in team work they made up for in experience, they had a lot more actual combat experience then the other two members. While they had been on that island for most of their lives, Starfire had been a Teen Titan and fought a war. Shayera had years of combat experience among her own people and their war not to mention her experiences with the League too.
Currently they were in a city, but they had removed all the people. This was an exercise on their abilities and not having to fight under real conditions, where you had to worry about innocent people getting in the line of fire.
"Take this," Shouted out Shayera, she was flying in a downward angle and was sending her mace towards Wonder Woman. She got her arms up in time to block the strike with her enchanted bracelets. They could in theory stop anything although her mace did make her feel the shock of the blow.
"Not today," The Amazon said back and moved her arms to the side making the mace move as well. This left Shayera to turn her body or lose her weapon, it also created an opening. Wonder Woman kicked out and hit her in the side, sending the winged alien flying. Although Shayera was still a part of the League for Diana she was still unsure about her. She had considered the woman a sister-in-arms but that betrayal was something that she felt personally betrayed by.
Besides this was the only time she could work out her frustrations on the woman, she just had to remember to hold back...well hold back a little.
Starfire was battling the younger sister and she was proving as capable as her older one. Starfire was flying through the streets with Wonder Girl right behind her. She then turned to face her while flying backwards and sent her star bolts at her. She watched as Donna used her own bracelets to deflect her shots. That was a surprise to the alien princess, that had only happened rarely. She grinned to herself they had been at this for ten minutes already and it was going longer then she had thought.
Starfire flew straight up and Donna followed her, the two warrior women flew at each other trading blows like in a joust. They would fly at the other and trade a blow, then turn and do it again, then again and again. Sometimes the blows would be blocked or cancel each other out. On the last go they had both went for a kick, and both shines connected with each others. A few times the blows landed, when Starfire went for punch to the head, Donna ducked and counted with a short punch to the stomach.
That staggered her enough for Donna to capitalize and with a spinning kick, landed the blow just to the shoulder. Starfire saw the street coming up to her and managed to stop herself a few inches from the ground. She got back onto her feet and saw the Amazon wasn't giving up, she was charging ahead trying to press the momentum. Well Starfire was going to change that, she grabbed a nearby car and flung it at her.
Donna saw it coming but just managed to dodge it, however she was in time to see a star bolt hit the car. It exploded with her next to it, the shockwave of the explosion propelled her into a building. She went through a window into what looked like an office building. She shook her head, there was a ringing in her ears and she felt a few stings but she was okay. 'Okay that was a good move, I got to learn to keep my head in this.' She thought.
Shayera wished she was having better luck, but Diana had always been stronger then her, much stronger. She was feeling just how strong too as a right hook made her see stars for a bit. She shook her head feeling herself fall and when she got her wits about her she looked to see Wonder Woman coming down to her. 'Guess she's still pissed at me, can't say I blame her but damn that nearly felt like she nearly took my head off.'
She had to out think this woman if she wanted to get out of this with her feather intact. She tried to make it look like she was having trouble flying, just slowing her decent just a bit. 'Come on get closer, just a bit closer.'
Just when Diana was close and she knew that a building top was close she made her move. With a powerful movement of her wings she shot up and with her mace hit Diana in the head from surprise. Wonder Woman was sent through the roof of the building and from the sounds of it through a few floors.
"Well that will give me a breather," She signed rubbing the sweat off her forehead. "But she's going to be really pissed by the time she comes out."
The sparing match went on for a few more minutes and the women were getting a major workout as they continued on.
"Time limit reached." Came the disembodied voice of the computer. Everyone stopped as the program shut down. The world dissolved as the holograms turned off and all that was left was the bare ides of the simulator.
"Well I must admit that was most enjoyable," Starfire smiled stretching out her shoulder as they walked to the shower room. "I must thank you all for this, it has been some time since I have taken part in any training session."
"Hey no problem what are friends for?" Shayera asked.
Starfire looked at the red head for a moment, "So we are friends then?"
"Well I think so."
Starfire smiled more at that, "Thank you, it is very hard making new friends here. It is true that I know a few faces here but things have changed so much. Plus it's hard to make new friends when you are the new person around."
"Try being one of the younger members, then it really gets tough." Donna sighed as they got into the locker room area. "I swear sometimes people treat me like I'm a child or something. Especially this one." She nodded her head to her older sister.
"Hey I'm not that bad." Diana said with her hands on her hips.
"You're almost as bad as mother sometimes, I know you want to look out for me but I have to be my own person too sometimes." Donna opened up her personal locker as she started to removed her bracelets. "But it's not that easy to get to know people when they think of you as Wonder Woman's kid sister. Hades the only ones I usually hang out with are Spider-Man, Supergirl, Star Girl or Longshadow."
"What's all this then?" They turned to see Black Canary walking out of the shower area with a towel around her and another in her hair, as she went to her locker.
"Just complaining that it is hard to make friends from certain things getting in the way," Starfire said as she pulled off her boots.
"Although I will admit it is nice having more females around here at least." Shayera said putting her weapon away. She then took the slow process that took her top off, it wasn't easy when you had wings she had to be careful especially since one of them was aching from a blow.
"Now that I can agree one," Diana said as she had already gotten out of her costume and had a towel around her getting her soap and shampoo. "Not that I don't mind men, but at times with so many of them around they can become..." She tried to search for the word.
"I think I know what you mean." Black Canary nodded drying her hair now. "They got their uses but sometimes it's nice to just hang out with the girls."
Donna thought of that as she finished putting her stuff away and closed her locker. "That's true, sure Kara and myself weren't also on good terms but lately we hang out. It's just nice sometimes, although I will admit I think I wouldn't mind at least one evening along with the other women. I hardly know them even after all this time."
"As warriors and comrades in arms we should be closer together then we are now. At least that's what I think." Donna said.
Black Canary had a point, they really didn't know that much about each other which was a shame. Most of them seemed like good people, well that Huntress woman still got on her nerves for some reason. But it wasn't a bad idea to get all the women together. "You know I think you got an idea there, how about we all get together for a night of female bonding? I mean it would allow us some down time with each other."
Starfire perked up at that, "Oh that would be great, I miss the female friendship I had back on the Titans with Raven. Although she was hard to get to know at first before we left we were good friends."
"Hey how about our place sister?"Donna asked Diana. "I mean it's big enough and we never had anyone over either, it's also secure since you're the ambassador for our people too so we won't have to worry about anyone bothering us."
Diana had to admit their places was just too big and empty at times, and she needed a break from it all. Between the League and her new duties to her people it was like she did nothing but work. And she did miss the female companionship that she left back home, it would be nice to relax and to get to know her sisters-in-arms. "I think that could work."
"Cool," Black Canary said as she started to change, "I'll see who else we can get and we'll work out a time. Personally I think this could be good for all of us."
Nest up Chapter 10: Team Bonding
