5. Time Out

1.

Watchtower

October 05, 09:06 UTC

"This technology is fascinating," Red Tornado commented as he went over the cyborg's arm Garfield had retrieved. "Apocalyptic and Earth systems working together to create an entirely new operating program using the human body as its base structure, it is both incredible and as you humans would put it, disturbing."

With his mechanical eyes pressed to the lenses of a high powered microscope, the robotic humanoid moved two control sticks to control tiny robotic arms inside a clear glass case several feet in front of him. The laboratory he was in was large, one of the largest rooms in Watchtower with only the most advanced equipment Wayne Enterprises had available. The clear glass case the robotic arm rested in was only part of an observation room designed to withstand an explosion of several hundred pounds of C4, and in case it should require it, it also had a security feature to jettison its contents into space and into the sun.

Several sparks popped up as the tiny arms touched the circuitry of the arm, causing its fingers to twitch in response. The digits flexed several times before folding back and fitting into several sockets as the palm of the limb extended. It then began to transform into its cannon mode but failed halfway through it as several parts and a finger detached from it. The arm then went lifeless after twitching a few times with the red lights on it fading out.

"What happened?" Ollie asked. He was still wearing his civilian clothes since it was still early, for him. "I thought the dang thing might explode with the way it was moving.

"Which would explain why you're on the other side of the room, right?" Barry asked as he stood several feet away himself with his mask off.

"Says the guy who just so happened to take quite a few steps back himself."

"Better safe than sorry."

"It appears I may have gotten too close to its electrical nerves," Red Tornado explained. "However, there does appear to be an organic matter underneath the mechanical components."

Moving a small amount of wires to the side, Red Tornado uncovered a white structure three inches in length with a great deal of the wires plugged into it. It was smooth and looked to be slightly moist or polished in appearance.

"Red," Bart said as he watched what Red Tornado saw on an overhead TV monitor. "That looks like a piece of bone."

"Precisely. It seems as if the technology is connected to the body to allow for instantaneous feedback."

"But why would they only use a fragment of the, I'm guessing, radius bone like that?" Barry asked.

"Or how about, why would they want the arm to detach like it did?" Virgil asked. "That's just weird."

"One possibility would be for repairs," Red Tornado offered. "Or it could offer a port for the attachment of other weapons."

"Like Roy's arm." Ollie stated. "He could probably attach a chainsaw to his arm if he wanted. Just hope he doesn't figure that out for himself."

"Exactly. Roy, or Arsenal's amputated arm was made to allow for the attachment of his new weponized one. The same could be said for the cyborg Garfield acquired this from."

Looking around, Ollie searched the lab for the shape shifter but couldn't find him. "Where is he anyway? He was right here."

"He left a few minutes ago." Virgil told him. "He still had early training to get through with Conner."

"That's still going on? How come I didn't notice?"

"Because you were texting BC, GA," Bart told him.

"Oh, yeah."

"And he's in the dog house with Conner and M'gann." Looking at Bart, Virgil stifled a grin slightly. "Seems he followed the two on their date the other night and they found out about it, caught him in the act."

"Ouch," the older archer said. "So how bad is it?"

Watchtower – Training room

October 05, 09:17 UTC

"Try it again," Conner said as he looked down at Garfield who was breathing heavily. Around them, holograms of Gotham City faded from view as with holograms of armed thugs. The teen had failed yet again to maintain stealth and remain in the shadows, keeping him from fighting the thugs in the first place so he may shut off the program himself.

"Oh…co…come on…on," Garfield groaned as he caught his breath. "How…how can any…anyone beat thi…this? It's on…Bat…Batman's le…level."

"It's level one, Gar. He only has three."

"But no one's beaten the first one except him!"

"Then maybe you'll be the first. Get up, drink your water, and start over again in five."

Watching his sister's boyfriend head back to the control booth, Garfield rolled over to his stomach and slowly got to his feet. His entire body seemed to scream for rest since waking up at five in the morning to make himself breakfast and wash dishes. He actually didn't know what was worse, cleaning a sink full of used bowls, plates, and silverware, or missing out on M'gann's cooking. Taking into account he couldn't make chocolate chip pancakes himself, he opted for missing her cooking. She then saw him to the Zeta Tube and then was met by Conner who was waiting for him in the Watchtower to start his punishment.

Aside from having to make his own breakfast and clean up after himself on the days he had early training, which was three times a week, Garfield was also responsible for washing the Bioship, Sphere, and Wolf twice a week. He also had to stay in the Watchtower if M'gann or Conner were not around to make sure he wouldn't get into trouble. But what almost killed him was when M'gann said no sweets for a month. Given his sweet tooth, he was certain he wouldn't last a day.

Watching the green boy all but inhale the bottle of water, Conner slightly grinned and shook his head. "Look at it this way, Gar. By the end of the month, you'll be ahead of every one of the newer team members."

"If I survive that is." Looking up, Garfield was dreading when the buzzer will sound at the end of the rest period.

Apokolips

October 05, 10:01 UTC

Deep inside a stone building surrounded by pillars of fire, the sound of tools clanging and machinery working echoed off the walls. There was a reason the inhabitants of the industrial planet kept clear of this building as the inhabitant was known for not only using inorganic machinery in his creations, but 'organic' machinery as well. Occasionally, Darksied would punish insubordination by sending violators, who were mostly too tired or weak to work, to the workshop where they would never be seen again.

"Barf munchin' pit sniffers," a little man in a green jumpsuit and a metal pack on his back muttered as he labored over a large table. "This is why I hate magic. Science can't concur it and my work goes to rubbish. I make art from suffering, art from despair, art from…from…something else that brings pain."

"How about torture?"

Turning from his work, the little man eyed a lithe and lanky young man with jet black hair walk into his lair. His black suit was perfection in itself as not so much as a wrinkle could be seen. Resting in his arms was an orange cat, just as evil looking as he was, who was being petted lovingly. It let out a yawn as it rested its head in the crook of the man's arm.

"What do you want, witch boy?" the little man asked as he lifted a welding mask to reveal a young looking, bald headed face.

"Nothing much, Gizmo. I just want to know where my girl is?"

"As I told you once before, Klarion, retrieving a magic user is easier said than done. You can't anticipate what they'll do or how powerful they are."

Letting out a sigh, Klarion lifted his cat and stroked the bottom of its jaw. "Teekle, go find a nice, quiet place while daddy talks to the elf, okay?" Letting the animal down, the black clad young man sauntered over to the table Gizmo was working at. "It looks to me your creation wasn't good enough to take care of a lone girl to me."

Ripping of his mask, Gizmo threw his acetylene torch on the ground and climbed over what he was so diligently working on, the cyborg the girl destroyed the other day. "Now see here, puss bucket, my creations are perfect, capable of going against any and all I send it after."

"I thought you got it from Earth," Klarion said as he turned his back to the table.

"The body's from Earth, but the tech is mine, all Apocalyptic and capable of performing any job I send it on."

"Except for kidnapping a homeless girl."

"That's it, you want to start something? I'll finish it you floater!" Pressing a button on an arm mounted device, Gizmo's metal backpack sprouted four mechanical legs and twin cannons over his shoulders. The weapons powered up, ready to fire at the witch boy.

"Ohh, goody," Klarion said as his eyes turned red and his face took on a sinister appearance. "It's been awhile since I was able to have some fun."

"And it will be another while still, Klarion." Entering the underground workshop, Vandal Savage strutted over to the feuding pair. "Remember, Klarion, we are all on the same side with the same goal in mind. Victor Stone was chosen from a number of individuals, mostly due to his father's work on him. If it wasn't for that unsightly car accident, we wouldn't have our very own infiltrator."

"Infiltrator? What do you mean by…you know what? Never mind. If I can't bring the chaos here, I can find another place to do so. Teekle, front and center."

Hopping from a darkened corner of the workshop, the orange cat sauntered back to its owner. Its mouth had a crimson stain around it, evidence it had just partaken in a meal. The animal looked over at the small man with the mechanical arm coming out of his back and let out a hiss as its eyes flashed red before leaping into its masters arms again.

"Come on, Teekle, let's go somewhere else where we can be appreciated more." Taking his leave, Klarion and his familiar headed out of the door, leaving Savage and Gizmo behind. "Remember Gizmo, I want that girl. I lost the Helmet of Fate, I don't want to lose another source of power. It's mine!"

"You'll have to excuse Klarion, he's a little…immature sometimes," Vandal stated.

The large man paced around the table Gizmo had the cyborg on as he repaired him. Raven had did a good job rendering him close to obsolete, meaning it would take time for all repairs to be completed. Fortunately, repairing the mechanical man was easier than rebuilding him at this point.

"Just make sure you keep that puttzinger away from my inventions. If he wants that girl so bad, then he needs to go get her." Pressing the switch he previously activated, the small man had his mechanical legs fold back into his pack. "As for your request, Desaad has ordered me to outfit the troops on War World with additional Apokaliptic tech." He took out an oil stained rag and wiped his bald little head of sweat then motioned for the much larger man to follow as he jumped off the table.

Leading the way, Gizmo waddled into the next room with Vandal casually walking behind him. He only came to his knee in height but was more than capable of holding his own when using his inventions. Passing into the next area, the two arrived in a large chamber akin to an air force hanger with hundreds of people slaving away inside. The two walked along a high catwalk and looked down where the others worked. Large vats of molten metal glowed brightly in the darkness as buckets situated on a revolving tram dipped into the liquid and moved forward. Those down there with them emptied the liquid metal into molds to be fabricated into whatever devious creation Gizmo had designed. Fire flared out of wide open tubes with black smoke hovering above all who slaved there.

"By the time we're ready, War World will be fully restocked with Apokaliptic weaponry, carry its own army, and be able to rain havoc on all who you see fit, just as long as I get paid."

"And that you will. An entire fleet of Meta-Humans will be at your disposal to carry on your work with a large amount of resources for you to use." Looking over the area, Savage eyed a small girl with a rather heavy sack flung over her shoulder. "Humanity needs to evolve on its own. That's the only way it can get stronger. From what I have seen here, the ones under your rule have done quite nicely. No war, no hate, all worship a ruler under a unified cause, to advance civilization for all."

Turning to face the small man, Savage stretched out his arms. "This…this is the future I see for my planet. One ruler, one nation, one cause, one purpose. No more being divided by boarders, no more being divided by faith, just one nation under myself. And when that happens, when we rid ourselves of the thorns and weeds among the garden, humanity will have finally seen the light."

AN: I think I can pull off my usual schedule since I managed to find the un-edited chaps and save them from my hard drive. Luckily it wasn't too messed up. It was just a little black from how hot my laptop got before it bit the big one.

To Michaela, to answer to your questions in order; 1. You'll have to wait and see. 2. Yes, Conner is the second project from Cadmus since Match was created before him.(Trenchancy third since the Genomes were made before they were) 3. The series says Lex as the other DNA along with Superman's to create Conner. Mongul is part of what the baddies are planning. 4. What you refer to as a plant is just a gray mass used in the story that will come into play later. Hope this clears it up for you and anyone else with questions.

To BlueRaven015 and the others wanting to know where Artemis is, she will be in this next chapter, which I'm making this entire part reminiscent of the Breather story I wrote before this.

Thanks for reading, commenting, favoriting and following! More to come and feel free to ask anything if you don't understand, just in case I didn't describe it clearly. Just keep in mind, if it's going to come into play later, I'll plead the fifth.