Chapter 55: I will get to it

Just a few more moments had passed by, and we were all still, obviously, sitting around the cafeteria table. The conversation had moved on from Jim, and we were back to talking about wanting to get back to Gotham-

"I mean, really, I haven't had a proper drink since the last time I was at Josie's… It's been months, mates!"

"John, please… You drink every day."

"Listen, Phill. I'll have you kno-"

SWOOSH! BUMP!

… The cafeteria doors swung open, and banged against the walls…

"Morning, everybody! Y'all get enough food? Time to get back to work!"

General Fury had arrived. He walked into the cafeteria with both Rick... and Morbius? ... at his sides!

… Morbius!?...

"Morbius?" I said. The look on my face was surely flattering…

"Morbius, how are you here!?" John was as dumbfounded as I was.

"Listen, everyone has questions for everybody else," General Fury stated, "So like I said, it's time to get back to work… Let's go!

… Not you, Bishop! Clint's waiting for you at the range…"

So Barry, Phill, John, and I followed General Fury, Rick, and Moribus out of the cafeteria. Everyone then walked towards the central control room. John held the door for everyone to enter the room…

… I knew what he was doing. John's really not the most polished individual, so seeing him holding a door for anyone was as frequent as one spotting a wild unicorn. Plus, the fake smile on his face, paired with the contempt in his eyes- It was John's way of mocking General Fury's "authority"...

… I don't know why, but I thought it was funny too.

Bruce and J'onn were already inside the central control room. Both were seated at the table, and reading the morning newspaper. With the table and chairs being ready- they must have already known that General Fury was here. We all took a seat at the table to join them… except General Fury. He stayed standing, and then he took the lead,

"Now, I know you all have your questions… probably, rightly so… But there's a lot that you still don't know…

… We'll 'baby step' it for you…

First, the raid on Essex's school was a cover up-"

"A what!?" John stood up, and interjected.

General Fury placed his hands on the table. He lowered his head, and sighed heavily, "John, I promise you… I will get to it. Sit down! Now, like I was saying-

I've known for some time that Mr. Sinister, Dr. Essex, had been experimenting with cloning technology. About five months ago, I received a letter from a man claiming to be, Dr. Michael Morbius… The man to my right… Well, he was a man….

John, Officer, Bruce, Phill- you all have obviously met, or previously seen, Dr. Morbius. Rick met him on the way here. So that just leaves you, Dr. J'onzz- meet Dr. Morbius…

… So now, the elephant in the room…

John, and Bruce, you both watched Dr. Morbius get his neck snapped by Baron Blood, if I'm not mistaken. So how is here sitting here, now? How was he sending letters back five months ago, right?

… Because you both watched a clone die.

Dr. Morbius has been, well… Dr. Morbius, go ahead and give them the full debriefing."

"Thank you, General Fury. Like General Fury said, my name Dr. Michael Morbius. I have a rare blood condition, that years ago-"

I stood up this time to interrupt, "Yeah, I know this already. 'Bat-experiments'... Get to the part about that being a clone!... Are you a clone!?"

"Easy, Officer," General Fury chided, "I'd expect that from John. Not from you…

… Dr. Morbius, you can skip your back story…"

"Yes, sir…

It was around two years ago this spring. I was connected to a man called, 'Mr. Sinister', via my association with Deacon Frost. Mr. Sinister is an expert geneticist... A genius. He had allowed me to help him with a project he was working on... He called it... his 'legacy'.

You have to understand…

You see, Mr. Sinister's 'legacy' is not just some 'mutant cure'... It is a complete replacing of a species…

There are two steps to Mr. Sinister's plans. One, to inject every mutant on Arda with his serum. And two, to replace every mutant on Arda with a clone."

"How do those two steps correlate?" Bruce asked...

… He stayed sitting in his seat. His elbows were on the table, with his hands cupped on his chin. He's one of the most serious people I have ever met. The man means business.

"Application of the mutant cure does two things. The injection device not only transfers the serum into the mutant, it also extracts a sample of the mutant's DNA.

For the second part of Mr. Sinister's 'legacy', Mr. Sinister has perfected the ability to replicate DNA… And have it thrive...

However, there is one restriction. His process only works if the DNA is crossed with a Vampire host. So while he cannot yet raise a true clone, one from conception, he can modify 'expired' vampires… 'Bring them back to life'... If you will.

… But not their own life. Not their own face. The process uses the mutant DNA to completely rebirth the vampire corpses. They go into the chamber pale, generic, dead… Then, like the caterpillar turns into a butterfly, they emerge from the chamber a new being."

"So are you a clone?" I asked.

"I am, Officer. But I still knew then, as I know now- that what Mr. Sinister is doing is wrong. That's why I reached out to General Fury those handful of months ago."

"So… A clone with a conscious..." John quipped.

"If that's what you would like to call it, old friend. You've also, already met some of the other clones that Mr. Sinister has created…

The first of me, me, The Flash, Gambit, Block Buster-"

"Wait, what?"... Barry rejoined the conversation.

"Yeah! Who's Gambit?" Rick asked with Barry… Well, he thought he was asking the same thing as Barry… And speaking of rejoining the conversation.

"The mutant you had tied up in a closet," General Fury answered, "With Mystique, and Nightcrawler."

"Ah, the 'card thrower'," John said, "I wonder what he plays?"

"And Block Buster?" Barry asked.

"He was one of the first mutants to volunteer to test the cure," Dr. Morbius explained, "He was one of the first to be cloned successfully. His mass had made it more difficult, but Mr. Sinister finally had a subject with enough size to support the transition."

"When was this?" I asked.

"Before I met Mr. Sinister," Dr. Morbius said, "Like I said, he was one of the first…

So now, where this catches up to the current-

Mr. Sinister's clone army, 'The Marauders', are planning to poison the water lines in California- with the cure. They are planning to steal something from PalmerPym Tech to do so. I don't know what…"

"Why would they poison the water, if Mr. Sinister would want the injectors used to sample the DNA?" Bruce asked.

… Bruce is, for sure, Arda's greatest detective…

"That's not the point, Bruce!" General Fury slammed his hand on the table in protest, "They also want to kill the mutants. Maybe he doesn't need all of'em?

And we need to stop whatever it is that they're planning at PalmerPym Tech!"

"Let's bring it back for a moment, shall we?" John leaned back in his chair and positioned himself as a laid back "thinking man",

"How's this relate to the school? You said it was a cover up, mate. So how's that have to do with… anything!?"

"We were trying to verify a rumor," General Fury answered. He was standing with his arms folded. He had that look of a parent gloating their authority over a petulant child...

"And did we?" Bruce asked... Hasn't moved a muscle.

"Nope! Honestly, we were really there trying to find a Mother Box!"

"What!?" J'onn gasped.

" You know the myths, J'onn," General Fury began, "You first told them to me- One by space. One by time. One buried deep within Arda's core… The Mother Box I had sent to you…" General Fury returned to his smirking, gloating of authority,

"We verified, with ancient hieroglyphs, that the engravings around that Mother Box match the depictions of the Mother Box once possessed by Rama-Tut. When we heard rumors that Mr. Sinister may have had the Mother Box that was recently detected, and that he and Nitro were sighted on the campus.. We had to move…"

… I sat in silence as I mulled this information over. So all this time, it really was the same Mother Box...

I called in the order, that was forwarded to Bruce, to deploy early... I know it wasn't easy, but you all did your jobs. You did them well… And now we need to know exactly what the Marauders are planning on stealing from PalmerPym Tech?"