HEY GUYS! Here we have Chapter 13. AND PART 4!
Veritas1995: Yeah. But the way I've read about the Lazarus Pit, is more of an unknown chemical batch. But yeah. I see where you're coming from. I don't really know much Luthor. Sorry for the bad characterization.
TazzieLuv13: Hello.
CassandraBlake: Here you go.
Read! Hope you enjoy!
Part 4: Nightmare
Luthor
Match. That was his name, well his assigned name. Clark's other clone. Luthor had lost Match about three months ago. After the search for the Lazarus had reached a conclusion. His team of experts had been led on a wild good chase around the world, trying to find the compound.
They had found one of the pits in the Himalayas. According to Ra's, this pit had been use by Black Adam to resurrect his wife. Luthor's team had gathered the vial of the greenish liquid. They had returned happily. They thought they had found the serum to return Conner. But they were wrong. The scientist hadn't been able to duplicate the liquid. Luthor had ordered them to continue their research, but to maintain a small example of the liquid.
Luthor's studies from Superman had led him to hypothesized that since Superman's powers came from the sun, his body would regenerate. Thus, Superman could not die easily. But Conner was only half Kryptonian. His body was barely being kept alive. If Luthor hadn't retrieved Conner's dying body the moment he did, the young would've truly been gone forever. Luthor wouldn't allow that. So he naturally took Conner's body.
Conner was snow lowly regenerating. Too slow. Since he was only Kryptonian, his human DNA would occasionally halt the process.
Luthor needed a way to make his human DNA less restrictive. He had to make Conner's Kryptonian half more powerful. Perhaps unlocking the DNA's true potential. But the process was risky, which is why he needed Match.
If he could somehow study the other clone's body, then maybe he could be able to come up with something. He was close. He knew it.
He had sent a search party to subdue and bring Match in alive. They had captured him. They would be arriving soon.
In just a couple of weeks, he could have Conner back. And then Luthor would make Conner chose. Villainy or heroism.
Cassie
Nearly a year since his death. Today marked Conner's eleventh month since his sacrifice. It still wasn't easy. It still hurt. She couldn't think about him for too long. If she did, she would become really depressed for the week.
She had come up with a plan to keep busy. She went out a lot. To movies or libraries. She enjoyed reading.
She had stopped researching the Lazarus Pit a while ago. She had come to terms that Conner wasn't coming back. Sure it sucked in the beginning, and it still does. Just now, Cassie didn't obsess as much.
Today she was going to spend the day with Barbara. Weird thing about that. Cassie had asked Barbara about the day she had told Cassie about the Lazarus Pit. Barbara had told Cassie that she had been with Dick that night, and had no recollection of it. Cassie just shrugged it off.
She was going to meet Barbara in in one-hour minutes. Cassie did a 360, inspecting the mess that she called a room. She hadn't cleaned it since the cave was rebuilt. She had kept various things. So she started to clean.
It took her about thirty minutes to pick up her clothes. AS she was about to pick up one of favorite socks, she saw something peculiar. To her left, there was a black shirt. She strolled over to it and picked it up. It was big, she turned it around and she gasped. It was one of Conner's shirts. The red shield was fading. But it was still there.
Pain surged through Cassie, which quickly turned into anger. Who could've been so cruel as to put his shirt in her room? She was about to start screaming when she remembered. This was one of the few shirts that had been at his house. She picked it up and worn it home from the funeral. She must've forgotten about it. And yet here it was.
The anger quickly turned back into sadness. It wasn't all that soon when sobs began to shake her body. She slowly sunk onto her knees holding onto his shirt. She hit the ground. She wanted the pain to go away.
She was disgusted in her self. How could a shirt make her like this? She wanted to stop but couldn't.
"Conner," she mumbled. Tears raced down her face, jumping from her cheeks and hitting the ground.
She took the shirt and put it against her mouth. She screamed. Letting all her frustration go.
"I miss you so much," she said into the shirt.
She lay on the floor. And hugged his shirt. She fell asleep crying. Wishing he was back. Her consciousness drifted into deep sleep, which led a dream:
Her body was freezing cold. She tried to move but she couldn't. She started to study the room she was in. It was a black room. A couple windows illuminated the room. She looked down on her body. She wasn't in shackles. So what was restraining her?
The there was a scream. And another. Cassie immediately recognized it. Conner.
Her eyes scanned the room. But suddenly the light was gone.
"Conner! Where are you!" she screamed. She frantically struggled against her invisible bonds.
A small light appeared from the top of the room. A spotlight. And under it was a bloody Conner. He was kneeling on the ground and he looked like hell.
"CONNER!" she yelled.
His head slowly rose. His face was bloody and full of pain," Why Cassie? Why did you do this to me?"
Cassie stopped struggling against the bonds, "I didn't do this to you Conner! Doomsday did!"
Conner looked past Cassie. He wasn't looking at her. Cassie tried to look backwards but she couldn't. She could, however, hear footsteps.
She patiently waited, but the more time passed, the more blood Conner lost.
Conner's face suddenly contorted with fear. And a body walked passed Cassie. A girl with blonde hair. The girl walked towards Conner. When she reached him she went behind him. The girl faced Cassie.
It was another Cassie. But then it wasn't. The same face, body, and lips. But her eyes were cold. Her blues eyes looked down on Conner.
Conner struggled, "Cassie! Please don't do this."
The real Cassie tried to scream, but she couldn't form words anymore. Instead she watched in horror as evil Cassie put her hands on Conner's face. Conner screamed and thrashed. The evil Cassie jerked her arms out to the side, taking Conner's head with it.
She let go of his body, as it fell on the ground. His neck twisted disgustingly. Real Cassie tried to close her eyes, but couldn't. Evil Cassie stepped over Conner's cadaver and made her ways to real Cassie.
The other blonde's eyes glinted evilly. She was in front of Cassie, "That is what you did to him. You betrayed him," her face split into a grin, "you killed Conner."
Evil Cassie disappeared. Leaving real Cassie alone with Conner's body. Cassie moved and this time she was able to. She ran to his body. She slowly turned his body; Conner's eyes flew open, except they were red. Cassie wailed with every atom in her lungs. He quickly stood up and snapped his neck back into place.
Cassie pushed herself backwards. Trying to run from the abomination. Her back hit a cold wall. Conner advanced slowly. He squatted and put his face inches from Cassie. Cassie tried to look away but Conner's hand kept her in place.
He smiled and whispered, "Thanks for killing me Cassie."
Cassie woke up screaming bloody murder. Her body flailed everywhere. Barbara ran into the room, quickly followed by Dick and Diana. They tried to calm her but they couldn't. Conner's bloody body was reinstated in her brain once again.
Two weeks later
Cassie was still recovering from her mental breakdown. Her hallucination. She had slowly begun to recover. The memory still etched in her brain.
Luthor Tower Basement
Luthor
They had gathered Match's DNA. And had fixed it. They had broken down the Lazarus Pit liquid. They were going to insert the newly mix of chemicals with Conner's body. Hoping to reconstitute his solar absorbing cells. Thus making him more Kryptonian, while still maintaining his humanity.
The scientist slowly injected the serum into the machine.
Luthor waited with baited breath.
CELLULAR RECOSTRUCTION INITIATED
Good. His body had not rejected it.
Nearly three hours later the machine finally went green.
CELLULAR RECONSTRUCTION COMPLETED. BEGINNING CELLULAR RECOMBINATION. ESTIMATED TIME UNTIL COMPLETION- TWO HUNDRED HOURS AND SIXTEEN MINUTES.
The lab around him cheered. Conner was coming back.
Nearly done with this saga! Tune in next time for the last part of the Saga! I hope you enjoyed this! Leave reviews!
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