WARNING!
This chapter has a graphic depiction of deadly injury and character death in it! Reader discretion is advised!
Senka tucked his wings in and dove for the train- the wind screamed in his ears and his fur ruffled before smashing through the steel roof of one of the compartments, Superboy leaping off as the meta reverted back to his humanoid form. Closing his eyes, Senka reached out with the shadows that covered the compartment, feeling for any motion other than Superboy's. The experiment's glowing amethyst eyes flew open and spun around, at the detection of a large form behind them.
"Hello there," a rather polite voice spoke from behind a wall of crates. Gesturing silently, Senka led Superboy around them to come face to face with a short man surrounded by the green and black robotic simians.
"You? You're Ivo?" Superboy asked angrily.
"That's right," the man said, gaze flicking from the clone to the winged experiment curiously. "But what about you? Since when did the big blue boy scout have a brat of his own, hmmm?"
Superboy grit his teeth. "He doesn't."
Ivo sniffed before turning to Senka. "And you… Oh, I know who you are- your files tell all. How does it feel to have to be a sacrifice for a pound of Venom?" Senka tensed, giving a strangled hiss, fire burning behind his fangs as he lashed his tail furiously.
"Shut up, short stack," he growled lowly. "You don't want to get me angry. Unlike the kiddie club, I'm not so kind as to et you walk out with all your limbs intact."
Ivo chuckled, as if Senka told him an amusing joke. "Well, in any case, my android has unlimited potential, what with it taking out the entire league and absorbing their abilities… but there are several subjects I haven't tested it on."
Senka's eyes widened, and he reacted without thinking. Spinning around, he grabbed Superboy and flapped his wings, driving them down and shooting them through the roof to escape, Superboy's startled shout left behind in Senka's haste to get them out.
Thhat crazy midget wasn't just trying to put his robot back together- he wanted the Android to get rid of them one by one- Senka guessed that he thought the way to take down the League was to take out their 'kids', their proteges.
With an utterance of "Access: Superman," flying to them in the wind, the robot made the car explode in its emergence.
Senka maneuvered Superboy over him as they flew and shifted, giving the clone a place to land.
«That could have gone better,» the meta muttered. Superboy growled, gripping the fur on Senka's draconic shoulders tightly. "Why didn't we stay and fight?!" the clone shouted.
Senka snorted, smoke drifting from plated nostrils and baring his teeth against the cloudy sky. «That thing is after us now! What, you think I'll just sit there and let it wail on me?! Hell no!»
"Access: Red Tornado."
Senka felt the vacuum of wind pulling him into the vortex, no matter how hard or fast he flapped his wings, it was impossible to gain any ground. "Do something!" Superboy shouted over the winds, hanging on to Senka's fur so he didn't get ripped away.
«I can't! this thing is throwing the shadows everywhere and I can't get any ground!»
A metal arm painted in the color of human skin came flying out of the wind walls, hitting Senka square in the jaw and disorienting the metahuman enough that his draconic form flagged in the air and began to tumble. Flaring his wings, Senka tried to keep them in a controlled dive but without knowing which way was up or down, the best he could do was angle towards a building.
«Hold on!» he shouted, spinning like a top and making any shadows he could reach wrap around them to cushion their landing. Even so, they crashed into a school, the name of which Senka got a brief flash of as Gotham Academy, and made a rather big hole in one of the upper floor lecture halls.
Senka let out a throaty groan, the sound making the air vibrate as he flipped Superboy off of him with his forepaw. Senka lifted a wing that was littered with broken glass and wood from the window to assess the damage before turning his massive head to Superboy.
«You alright?» he asked, violet eyes glowing in the darkness.
"Fine," came the gruff reply. Superboy pushed himself to his feet, eyeing the dragon before him warily, but before he could say anything the sound of whirring mechanics reached both being's sensitive ears. Superboy was smacked away before the pursuing android turned on the metahuman. A cold metal fist slammed into the the half-dragon's feline-like face and Senka didn't waste any time retaliating by biting down on the peach-colored metal. He felt his teeth scratch the paint and dent the metal, the frame creaking and groaning before the damnable sound of the robot's voice made him tense.
"Access: Black Canary."
A ripping screech pierced Senka's ears, and he let go with a roar of pain, feeling his head ring with the offending noise even after it finished.
A super-powered punch slammed Senka's large head upwards before it hit him left, right, left and right again. Then with a heave, the android gripped the dragon by the waist and flipped him into the hallway where he'd shoved Superboy, crashing into an awards case alongside him. The large form of the dragon shrank until only Senka's normal form remained. He and Superboy were littered with scrapes and bruises, the clone's invulnerability keeping big major damage at bay while the dragon boy was already healing his own injuries.
Senka blinked his eyes and then blew them wide open when the android walked up to the two dazed teens. Wreathing a fist with shadows and violet-blue-white fire, he charged at the robot only to have his fist caught. Senka smacked the android away and through a wall, landing on all fours and crouching there like a feral cat, teeth bared and growling low in his chest as he stared at the Android while it got up again. He watched as the android tilted it's head, almost as if it were curious on what to do with him now that he was proven more capable.
Senka's eyes widened when he saw the red eyes of the android glow brighter, almost sinister as he gave an utterance of "Access: Hawk Woman." A mace materialized in its metal hand and in a blink he was batted away with the club. The spikes dug into his skin and tore at his scales, but he didn't cry out- he's had much worse than a love tap like that.
Senka got to his feet shakily, blood dripping from a gash in his head and running over his right eye, blocking his view until it healed up. More wounds were littered on his right side where the Mace had struck him. His gaze flitted from the approaching robot to the still-dazed Superboy and made a decision- until his teammate got back up or the others arrived he'd buy as much time as he could and keep this robot bastard at bay.
The experiment's tail lashed from side to side and his eyes glowed along with his throat, shadows pulsing around them as the shrieks and howls grew louder. "I'm just about sick of your steel ass, Metal Man!" Senka snarled.
He lunged towards the android just as it lunged at him brandishing it's mace aloft to slam down on his head. Senka used his tail to block the blow and fling the robot into the next hallway over, but the robot gripped the appendage and took the meta along for the ride. They crashed through a wall that led to a chemistry lab and the android held the mace up before bringing it down on Senka's head. The black-haired boy jerked his head to the side, baring his teeth and snarling when it impacted the floor and left a large crater in it. The half-dragon's taloned feet curled up and gripped the android's armpits before flipping them over, Senka now on top of the robot and smashing at its head with fists and claws before his insides gurgled and he let out a plume of shadowfire from his maw, bathing the android under him in a torrent of violet-blue-white and black flame.
When the inferno receded the android was glowing red, but still perfectly functional. It swung it's hand around and slapped the teen's head to flip them over again, but this time it didn't let go until a perfect moment, smashing him through the left wall and into the gymnasium where he rolled across the court before landing still in the center dazed and seeing twice as many things as he would normally. Before the malevolent mechanic could proceed a roar of rage and a black blur slammed into it, carrying the robot away and into the next wall to crumble.
Superboy was seeing stars and with a growl he shook it off. His head snapped towards the crashes along the hallway and his eyes widened in anger when he saw his comrade battling the android alone. He was bleeding- the wounds were healing, but Superboy realized that they weren't healing a fast as they were before, and Senka looked unsteady on his feet.
Even so his gaze burned bright with determination and rage, and his mouth was curled into the most ferocious look the clone had seen on him yet. When they went through a wall and sounds of smashing metal became the main ambiance as Superboy pushed himself to his feet and stumbled over to the hole.
He found it strange that the android was focusing on the meta instead, becoming an almost single-minded task for the mechanical being, but he was jerked out of that thought and into action once more when the robot was bathed in a torrent of shadow fire that had it glowing cherry red. Unfortunately it would take more than that to take it down.
Superboy was tackling it just after it slammed Senka through another wall. The android gripped the teen by his shirt and spun around on the joint that was its waist before letting him go. the clone grunted before glaring up defiantly at the mechanic. "That all you got, you stupid-?"
"Access: Captain Atom."
In a blast of searing light the clone was joining his teammate, who was just shaking off his own dizziness. A slow clapping pulled both young hero's attention to the stands where Ivo sat watching with his green imps from hell. Senka snarled, black smoke jetting from his nostrils as he saw the red-headed freak smirk at them. The two couldn't really concentrate on the midget though because the android was coming at them again.
"Access: Superman."
Senka shifted and leapt backwards before the android could get to him. Superboy intercepted the intended attack, throwing punched of his own at the robot. "Don't- Even- THINK- about- it!" a metal fist came up and the android fought back, kicking, punching, and kneeing before Superboy was knocked away. The eyes glowed purple, the same shade Senka's eyes did when they were in pitch darkness, and the experiments blood went cold.
Senka had only a moment to hesitate, a moment to think about his options.
But he didn't.
"Access: Senka."
The wind pulled in around the android's arm and a blade of black matter formed, the end gleaming in the moonlight as it reared back and seemed to move in slow motion for the Clone's chest. Senka's eyes widened, and he slammed his draconic food into the gymnasium flooring to dig his talons into the wood, lifting his wings and driving them down to get extra speed.
Superboy's eyes slammed shut, something in him screaming that if that blade hit him, it would go straight through despite him being Superman's clone.
There was a wet slicing sound and a splat as something wet and warm spattered over Superboy's chest, but the clone didn't feel any pain. He cracked his lids open, and then they flew apart when he saw the gleaming tip of the blade an inch from his chest.
Gold, familiar and haunting, dripped from the tip, and Superboy slowly followed the rivulets up to the bare chest of his teammate.
Senka's teeth were borne in a ferocious and pained snarl, golden blood speckling the fangs as he trembled, wings and arms spread wide as if to protect the trembling teen under him. The blade was coming right out of where Senka's heart was, and the android stood motionless as Senka seemed to struggle to breathe.
There was an almost wet crackling sound as the robot's eyes glowed brighter and it stirred the weapon, almost as if it were wriggling it further to get at the clone, making Senka growl in pain while the knife twisted and turned and ground in his chest, even slicing through a lung for a time.
And Superboy had a front-row seat to see it all.
He could see how Senka's skin was trying to close over and heal, but the black metal of the blade- sword, knife whatever it was- would make more tears. Superboy could see Senka's heart struggle to keep beating, flagging only to pump another cup out of the scaly humanoid body. Senka's knees wobbled before he fell to them, wings drooping as he hacked up a puddle of golden blood, and Superboy reached over to steady his teammate, heedless of the blood staining his hands.
The the doors of the gym slammed open and a gold streak zoomed in from the doors behind the android and skidded to a stop, seeing the horror before him.
"Oh, my god…" Kid Flash muttered, disbelief and fear lacing his tone.
Robin swung from the vents and froze for only a heartbeat when he flung a couple of Batarangs at the android, making it look over at the youngest team member.
"Manhunter." The weapons were rendered ineffective when he went intangible, but when he switched abilities, the shadow blade in its hands dissipated, allowing Senka to fall to the ground with a wet thump. Superboy caught him and made a rapid retreat, carrying a limp meta in his arms while his teammates held off the machine.
"Access: Red Tornado."
Wiping up a twister the android flung the now-quartet of Robin, Kid Flash, Artemis, and Miss Martian through the air into the opposite side of the gymnasium. Kid Flash raced away from a blast of Captain Atom's power.
"Access: Hawk Woman." The Android swung his made at Miss Martian who yelped and dodged away, flinging psychic blasts at the menace the whole while.
Kid Flash let out an enraged yell before speeding into attack, but the android grabbed him in a bear hug. "Access: Superman." Kid Flash began to yell in pain when the android's powerful grip got tighter and tighter.
Suddenly it looked to its right.
"Access: Manhunter."
Turning intangible it had to let Kid go, and the whistling of an arrow reached the faint Senka's ears just after the scent of night and coffee wafted through the gymnasium.
Artemis had joined the party, and the Boy Wonder looked at it in gratitude before the thump of the green-clad girl signaled her arrival.
Superboy had torn off his short and was applying it to the horrid wound on Senk's body, but his hands shook when he realized that there were two, the entry and the exit. The sounds of the fight continued around the forgotten duo, but Superboy watched as the metahuman under him trued to breathe.
Gold was spreading under them, and it had already soaked through the black fabric and slicked the clone's hands.
A shaky clawed hand reached up to grasp at the clone's wrist, snapping his attention from the wound to oddly bright amethyst eyes.
"Go help them, Boy Blue." Senka ground out, his other hand clenched painfully. "I can't just leave you here!" Superboy argued, his voice oddly shaky. "You- You-!"
Senka smirked, gold staining his lips, and shook his head. "I- I'll be fine, kid. Your team needs you. Don't count me out just yet- smack that android into the next century, kay?"
Robin was held up by the Androids fist, the robot hauling back to punch him in the face with Superman-Level strength, when Superboy sent his own fist into its face while it was coming from Manhunter Mode. The robot began to spark and smoke before the clone gave a vicious smirk of his own and flicked the fingers of the hand inside the android's head open, making the head explode.
"Help me! We gotta take it apart!"
Kid Flash sat up, panting from his spent energy. "Chill, Rob- its got no head."
"Take no chances!"
The quartet jumped when Aqualad's voice sounded from behind them. Miss Martian flew down from above and went straight to Superboy, looking at him worriedly. "Are you alright? You're not hurt, are you?" the clone ignored her; he was listening for something.
His eyes widened and his face paled considerably. Superboy spun around and sprinted for the corner where he left their wounded teammate, only to freeze as if running into a wall.
Miss Martian, who had flown after him, gasped, hands flying to her mouth as she drifted to the ground in her shock.
"What- what happened?" she whimpered, hands trembling as she reached over to the still form on the ground. Oddly reminiscent of the first time she met him, she paused before meeting the olive skin before she steeled herself and continued, gently placing a green hand on Senka's left wing.
"What are you two doing?" Kid Flash called over, bouncing the android's eye up and down for his souvenir collection. "Come help us take this thing apart! And get the scaly ass up while you're at it!"
"Kid," Superboy's voice was wobbly, but it held anger, and a level of disgust that one rarely saw in him even on his bad days. "Shut up." The speedster paused then stepped back and held his hands up in mock surrender.
"Hey, I'm just saying he needs to get up and you two need to help. Remember he can heal better than me or the Flash, so he'll be fine-." Stepping forwards again, Kid Fash paused when his boot splashed in the wood of the gym. His instincts were yelling at him to not look down, but the boy did just that.
It was a river of gold, seeping from the form that Superboy and Miss Martian were standing over.
"Guys, come on… get him up so we can go back." Kid Flash's voice was now nervous, scared even, when he looked at the still form of what was arguably the team's strongest member.
The speedster stepped over beside Miss Martian, but he stumbled back as if struck.
Senka's chest wasn't moving, in fact, there was a gaping hole in it where the Android's blade had gone through, and it showed the teen's mangled heart inside the cavity. The teen was still, and blank amethyst eyes stared up at the ceiling. Blood was still seeping from the bo- the wound's entry ad exit, the black shirt Superboy had worn completely golden by now, and the rivulets of gold were flowing towards the approaching three other teammates.
Superboy's own voice was damning as it was small when he spoke four words to the gathering team members.
"He has no heartbeat."
So I know Kid Flash was pretty callous and can NOT read this grusome room, but I promise there's gonna be character development for it coming soon. keep in mind, everyone is shocked by this because, yes while they knew Senka was clinically dead when they found him, he was still more or less intact and his death was attributed to the toxin flowing in him. here, Superboy saw Senka get between him and a blade of Senka's own technique, he saw the way the blade went through him, and he saw how Senka's healing factor was sslowing down over the course of the fight- senka heals because of a fast metabolism in his cells; over time, the more he heals, the less effective it would become. Senka was healjing from his bought with the android since they first clashed- small wounds sure, but it was taking energy.
when the shadow blade ran him through, his cells went into overdrive to heal him, but they recognized the blade as Senka's, so they saw no reason to heal it as fast, leading to Senka's death. the andropid tricked his healing factor, basically.
hope you liked this chapter before I go to sleep for the night! leave a review if you want to, or not, I'm just happy knowing you guys read this at all! See ya next time!