Web of Cadmus

Chapter 37: Fury

Galatea could only just stare numbly at the tanks in front of her. She was supposed to be special, the only one, so why were they making more of her? She could see tanks holding those that looked like her team, the Ultimen, and who know who, or what else? She just couldn't understand.

"You got more clones being made here, isn't the ones you have enough?" Supergirl demanded from Professor Hamilton. "You even got the Ultimen again."

Professor Hamilton backed away, he knew what these aliens were like when they were mad. Plus there was no telling how Galatea would react. She had become a bit unstable for a bit, but she had been getting more under control when the clones were brought into a team with her. Now he was afraid of what she could do to him. Personally he didn't trust anyone with powers, all too often he had seen what power did to normal people. They went out to commit crimes or thought they were above the law and could do what they pleased.

That was the reason he joined Cadmus, to put some kind of safe guard against these people. And there was plenty of evidence to prove his point, how much damage did these battles cause, how many lives were lost.

But now the clones had seen the cloning lab, the one used to make the backups in case they needed them. They had only just started growing them, he had finally managed to make more clones of Galatea as well. He had made fifty clones before he came across the first stable one that had eventually become Galatea. Thanks to the new help, it was much easier to make more clones from Kryptonian DNA. It still required a lot of work to get just one working clone but it too less failures this time around.

Now he was worried about his own life, Galatea was created to be their weapon, their tool, but if she snapped nothing could save him.

"Why, I thought that I was special, I thought you cared about me." Galatea pleaded with him. She felt like she was loosing herself, her entire life at this point. How could the one man she thought as a father, the man that gave her life, could be a part of this.

"He's afraid of you, that's why." Supergirl said simply as she looked at the scene with some pity in her. No matter how she felt about Galatea, no one deserved to have their live shredded like this. She had seen this all before in Peter. She had helped him to heal over it and had seen the pain in him even today. Now she was looking at the older version of her and despite everything, she couldn't muster any hatred for her.

"No he doesn't!" The female clone shouted in rage. She couldn't believe that, she can't believe it. Then she felt a familiar touch on her arm as she looked to see Kaine. He pulled off his mask to let her see his face.

"Tea…look at him, really look at him." He told her gently. "It's true, even I can see it."

She looked at Hamilton with her eyes on the verge of crying. She didn't want to believe this, but when she took a step towards him he pulled back. She paused as she looked into his face and then into his eyes. She had seen those eyes before, in the eyes of those she had killed for Cadmus. Before they died, she had seen the fear in them.

"No…" she whispered out as she took a few steps back. She didn't want him to be afraid of her, she was his child in a way. Why would he be afraid of her?

"Why should he be afraid, he gave me life." She said softly.

"Because he doesn't trust aliens or anyone with super powers am I right Professor?" Spider-Man said as he walked over to the Professor.

Hamilton moved away, "I should be afraid of your kind. Look at the things you do, you go around doing anything you want fighting others like you. Do you have any idea the kind of damage you people do? How many lives you destroy in your fights? Also you go around doing whatever you please even if its against the law. The only reason you all aren't arrested is because the fools out there don't know you like I've seen."

"Your all dangerous and Cadmus was formed to keep this world safe by any means necessary. We've had alien invasions and only just managed to survive all those times. We needed a way to defend our world from forces within and without."

"So that's all they are to you, just a means to an end?" Peter asked him feeling a bit sick at that. "They're people too."

"They're expendable resources." Hamilton told them.

Expendable, that word ran through Galatea's mind after he had said it. She was nothing more than just some expendable foot soldier. She thought that he cared about her, that he might even love her. But it was all a lie, just some lie she had made up to feel normal, to feel alive.

Galatea looked at the room filled with clones, the replacements for her friends and for her. How would they be special if there were more of them, how could they be considered people if they could replaced just like that. Was all she was just a tool, something to be replaced when the time was right or when she failed to be useful. She felt empty inside, all meaning had been lost for her. All this time she had struggled to find an identity for herself, to build a life for herself.

Was it all in vain, did it mean nothing in the end?

Her fists balled up at that thought as the tears came once more, but this time in rage. She wouldn't allow herself to be replaced, she was a living person. So were her friends, and Kaine, her feelings for him were as real as anything. She wouldn't let Cadmus just toss any of them aside like garbage.

She screamed out all her fury and rage, she screamed as her eyes went red and beams of death and destruction were unleashed. The heat vision washed over the lab, she didn't hear anything just her own screaming as she destroyed the place. She wanted to leave nothing left, nothing that could be used to start over. She wasn't even aware she had stopped firing her heat vision, that the room had eventually became a smouldering ruins, when the fire system kicked in, covering her in water to put out fires.

She but was still screaming, eventually the screams turned to sobs as she fell to her knees. Kaine didn't waste any more time as she went down and embraced her. She buried herself into the embrace as she cried her broken heart out. Peter and Kara could only watch on mute, it was surreal to watch them like that, knowing full well the times they have been like that for each other.

They hadn't even noticed that Hamilton was gone, slipped out when Galatea started to destroy the lab. But at this point no one really cared about him, except for maybe the broken woman on the ground that had lost the only person she had ever considered family.

-Waller's Office-

Doctor Octopus wasn't happy, so far things hadn't been going as he had hoped. There were so many things he had hoped to have done. If only Galatea hadn't escaped he could have operated out of this base for a long time. But now he had to leave, and all but one of his turned pets were now no longer under his control. He had no idea where Zoom went, but he was no longer in the base, that much he was certain.

"Don't you just hate it when plans go wrong?" Amanda Waller said to him with a slight smirk on her face. She knew that he was doomed at this moment. There was no way out for him, except through security guards, that were no longer under his control she could guess. Then there were the heroes here as well as the clones, both would want to have a piece of him.

Doc Ock didn't even acknowledge her. He was too busy trying to think a way out of this, but so far he had no luck. The data that he had recovered was nice, but without freedom to use it, what was the point? Oh he could go out there and fight, he might even be able to take a couple down with him but in the end against those kinds of odds, he'd lose. And then it would be back to prison again, they would most likely put him in a special prison without metal. Or they would find a way to undo the repairs he did to his own brain, then he would be powerless once again. There was no way he was going back to being like that, not again.

There had to be a way around this, but so far he couldn't find something. The computer was still locking him out of certain parts of the database, he managed a little more but there were just so many security procedures. More than what he had originally thought, obviously paranoia ran deep in this group.

He slammed his fist into onto the desk, "I will not go out like this! All that planning and waiting will not go to waste!"

"Face it, you've lost. Maybe if you give up we can still work out a deal, although don't expect me to be nice about it." She said to him.

Now he did glare at her, he really was beginning to hate this woman.

A chime sounded as he looked to the computer, apparently she just had an e-mail sent to her. He was tempted to just forget it but in all honestly he had nothing better to do. He scanned it, just wondering who would e-mail such a woman. Although in a moment he was left even more confused, the e-mail was sent to Waller's account but it was addressed to him.

If you want to get out of the box you just cornered yourself into, then I have a way out. If that is you agree for a new employment opportunity. This time with no watch dog over you, I think I can work with a man like you so if you want your freedom, respond to this message

A friend.

Octavius didn't know what to think at first. Obviously someone knew what was going on and wanted to help him. But who had that kind of influence, he doubted that Waller would say anything to him. In fact he had an idea that she would be just as surprised as he was. Well it wasn't like he had anything to lose, plus anything would be better than this.

He responded and soon a new e-mail showed up. He read it and grinned, there were instructions and he followed them to the letter. He typed in a command and a secret part of the wall opened up. Amanda Waller was shocked that he had found it. That had been a secret escape for herself, she had personally oversaw it done, and no one should know of it's existence. It wasn't even in the computer system, so how the hell did he find it.

"Well it seems that I do have a way out," Doctor Octopus grinned as he took the data he had collected.

"I don't know how you did that, but you can be assured that I will hunt you down for this. There will be no place where you can hide where I can't find you." She told him coldly.

He paused for a moment as he thought about it. He knew the kinds of things she could do to him if she found him again, and she would find him. This woman was like a female version of Nick Fury, and he had enough of that to last two life times. He didn't know who this 'friend' was, but he doubted whoever it was could keep her off his back forever. He didn't like looking over his shoulder all his life, in fact he wouldn't look over his shoulder.

He stood to face her as although he respected her mind, she was just too dangerous an enemy.

"You know, I believe you would do that. So I'm going to have to change your mind about it."

She didn't looked impressed, "Somehow I doubt you can change my mind."

He smirked down at her, "Oh trust me I can be very persuasive."

-Later-

Peter and his group had finally made regrouped with the others. Apparently after some hacking they had managed to get the security system to shut down, well at least the doors and some of the more lethal surprises. That was all they needed anyway, as it made working through the facility a lot easier this way. There were no more blast doors getting in the way, plus now Doc Ock wouldn't have them trapped in certain areas, although there was something bothering Peter.

Mainly, he didn't expect to keep him out forever. If he could hack the system, there was really nothing to stop him from hacking his own hack. So they had to get to him before he got control of the system again.

"How much farther?" Shayera asked as the group made their way to Waller's office.

"Just ahead," Galatea said although after her little outburst she had been very quiet.

Peter could see Kaine was looking at her now and then. The fire really seemed to have gone out of the girl. In fact Peter had seen that look in her eyes before. Those were the eyes he had when he first got here. The eyes of someone that just had their world ripped away from them, who felt like she had nothing left. Despite everything, he couldn't help but feel for the woman.

When they finally reached the door, they weren't surprised it was locked. Shayera however had had enough of doors, she took her mace and swung it. She slammed it again and again into metal door, with each hit, the door gave just a bit more. Soon the remains of the door flew inwards as they tried to fit their way into the office.

Shayera was first in, with a few others as they were all ready for a fight. So it was a surprised when they found a silent office. Shayera looked around and then stopped as she froze with the sight. She had seen violence on her home world, on Earth and many other worlds as well. But it had been some time since she had come across something of this nature.

"Uh...okay I know it's been awhile since we've seen her last," Flash said staring at the scene. "But didn't Waller...used to have a head?"

There on the side of the office was Waller sitting limp in a chair, but minus her head.

"I...I think it might be what's left on the wall over there," Miss Martian said pointing at a red stain on the wall. "I think, I think I'm going to be sick."

"I-I'll take her to a bathroom," Superboy said looking nearly as green as his teen counterpart. He led the young woman away as others slowly got into the room. Those not used to this kind of scene left for the hall. Soon it was only a few left in the room as they looked around. Shayera had once been a cop, so after shaking off the brutality of it she looked around. She couldn't see any weapon that laying around but she did noticed metal missing from a part of the wall and then it laying on the floor. On closer inspection, she saw blood on some of it.

"What the hell did this?" she asked out loud looking at it.

"Oh hell," Peter said looking at the metal. "I don't know how but I've seen this before. He did regain his ability to control metal again." He hadn't wanted to believe what Galatea had told them, after all the man's brain had been lobotomized. Then again if there was a way, it would be in this place. He looked over at Waller and couldn't help but feel she had this coming. She thought she could control someone as dangerous as him, then she had paid for it.

"How the hell did he get out of the room, did he leave before we got here?" Donna asked as she looked around. There didn't seem to be any exits other than the ones they had came in. "Should we try and find him?"

"Yes," Shayera said standing up. "Cover the main exits, and any other place he could have slipped out. We'll turn this entire place over if we have to, but if he's still here we'll find him."

For some reason Peter wasn't comforted by that, he couldn't be sure but for some reason he felt that once again, Doctor Octopus was loose on the world.

-Outside-

Not too far away in an underground parking lot, a segment of a wall opened up. Doctor Octopus had gone through the escape tunnel and found himself here. As soon as he stepped out, the wall returned to where it was locking perfectly in place. He had to admit this was a very good location. Hidden from view and he supposed if Waller had been using it, she would have a car ready for her. Smart, too bad she wasn't smart enough.

The man stepped out of the shadows. "I believe no introductions are necessary?"

Doctor Octopus grinned it had been some time since he last met this man, "Lex Luthor, well this is a surprise. I have to admit that I didn't expect to see you of all people here."

"And I you," Lex smiled at him. "The man from another world, fascinating as always. Although with my new political career you can understand why we're meeting like this. Although did you really have to kill Waller, she can be a pain but she did have some uses."

"Never leave an enemy that can shoot you in the back later," Doc Oct said in a more serious tone. "Something I learned the hard way."

Lex nodded his head, even though he had strong ties to Cadmus funding much of them secretly, he had to admit that Waller always kept him at a distance. All the wonders that Cadmus had, and he couldn't touch any of it. Well now that she was gone, it wouldn't be too hard to get his fingers deeper into it, plus with the data stolen from Doctor Octopus he had something to sate his appetite for the time being.

Next up Chapter 38: Epilogue

Bet you never saw that coming huh, and yes this will change future events. No project Batman Beyond, no more interference with her and who knows how many more changes. So I'm going to leave this story a bit open ended, just in case I want to ever come back to it.