answers to reviewers questions or statements:
cabrera1234: It's a surprise.
Stormhound12: Yeah, Peter has some family alive in the form of Aunt May. His combat experience is pretty good, he's not up to the levels of say Robin or even the likes of Batman or Black Canary, but that'll change towards the end of the first season of events.
Omni-Creator Kami of Anime: I have plans for Jessica and Karen to show up during the events of Invasion.
LLHOTF: It'll come up. Wonder Woman won't end up with Peter until the events of Invasion, before she leaves earth and after she and the other Leaguers get back. By then he'll be 21 so it won't be too odd.
Movienerd74: It's... possible.
Gamerslegacy: Miss Martian is staying with Superboy, Starfire on the other hand, maaaaaaybe.
Zayden StormVoid: It'll be more trust issues on Peter's part as he'll be amongst a group of people that he was essentially being bred to destroy one day, like Superboy was. Who says it still wasn't Dubbilex's fault the fire started? I mean no security crossed Peter's path on the way up oddly enough. Nightwing in this is part of the Titans/Teen Titans like he was in the animated Teen Titans movies. Black Cat will be around the same age as Peter, about a year or so older. Peter's 16 in this.
GJAM: Diana and Peter won't be hooking up until the events after the first season, like around the time the Invasion and Outsiders story line begins. Superboy x Miss Martian and Artemis x Wally are staying.
Retrogamer7800: No, there'll be another.
kival737101: I may end up adding Black Canary, maybe after Peter turns 18. Until then he can crush on her, he does have a thing for blondes that kick ass *Mockingbird* cough *Ms. Marvel* cough. But screw the 'other blonde'.
hellfire45: Yes, she's with Batman in this.
Bobwhy: Are you fucking serious? Are you seriously bitching about not knowing the entire plot of the story in the first damn chapter?
Hbarrera98: I was thinking the voice would be that of the Venom from the movie. While it may be a huge let down after all the hype Sony made about it, until it was revealed it'd have no Spider-mana nd be PG-13 rated, Venom himself was alright. Much better compared to the last one at any rate.
mikpirat: He's already indifferent to killing, he didn't show too much remorse if any about casually letting a Genome suffocate or the fact he fought four other Superboy clones and ended up killing them and seems to be doing fine. I won't be adding Diana until after the events of the first season and after Peter's turned 18, so plenty of time to at least establish a friendship before anything romantic emerges.
PowerNinja: Helena isn't taking Tim Drake's place, she's taking Dick Grayson's. Jason and Tim will show up later on.
Mr unknow: Well, when your raised away from society in a environment as hostile as Cadmus with an even more hostile symbiote like Venom in you head 24/7 you tend to develop a rather indifference outlook to most things around you.
Disclaimer: I don't own any Marvel or DC characters seen, mentioned or used.
"You seem unhappy" Dubbilex said as they arrived at Peter's room. The Genome took a moment to examine the dead Troll before he used his telekinesis to open the door and gesture for Peter to enter.
"What gave it away?" Peter said with an eye roll as he wandered over to his bed and fell on to the mattress with a huff "The brooding silence?"
"Partly" Dubbilex said with a small grin before it fell "I'm surprised that you didn't leave when you had the chance"
"What do you mean?" Peter asked with a puzzled look.
"When you made it to the surface, you had several opportunities to leave and we would have been unable to retrieve you... not without alerting the League" Dubbilex said.
"Oh..." Peter said before he shrugged "Well, it's not like I have anywhere to go up there. In case you forgot, my mom and dad are six feet under"
"But your Aunt isn't" Dubbilex revealed, causing Peter to sit up right and stare at the Genome with surprise under his mask.
"Wait, what? Aunt? What Aunt?" Peter asked as he stood up.
"Your Aunt, the wife to your late uncle who was the brother to your father" Dubbilex said as he folded his arms behind his back "She's still alive. Currently residing in New York City, Queens to be exact"
Peter stared at the Genome with shock "But... I was told I had no other family"
"A lie fabricated by Cadmus's Board of Directors" Dubbilex said with a sigh "To ensure that you wouldn't try and escape or have a reason to"
"But... why?" Peter asked with a frown "What's so special about me? I mean between you and mean, compared to a Superman clone, I'm not all that special even with Venom. All I can really do is just stick to walls, have a bit of super strength and speed, make webs and just happen to have good reflexes"
"Your the first human to have ever successfully bonded with a symbiote" Dubbilex nodded towards the suit that Peter still had on "Of the hundred and twelve subjects that came before you, only you have been able to bond with it and survive"
Peter's eyes widened at this before he looked down at the black suit that covered his body with a thoughtful look on his face "I am?"
'Did I forget to mention that?' Venom said with a hint of grim amusement in it's tone.
Dubbilex nodded grimly "Yes... and quite a few people took notice. Powerful people. People who would like nothing better then to harness that ability to successfully bond with a symbiote and create an almost unstoppable army of metahumans augmented by symbiotes"
'Least now we know why they've keep examining us with all those tests' Venom said in a low hiss 'They want to find out how to replicate the conditions that have allowed us to bond and spread it with the others that they brought me in with'
'Would they be able to?' Peter asked worriedly, not at the prospect of there being others like him, but knowing that if Cadmus succeeds in duplicating the process, they'll have little reason to keep Peter and Venom around.
'If they realize that it's the radiation in your blood from all those experiments that's keeping me from taking over and consuming you, then yes they can' Venom said with a growl.
'Crap' Peter thought.
Peter sat quietly as Dubbilex silently observed him, wondering what the young teen's thoughts were going. Thanks to the symbiote he wore, his mind was difficult to access and read, all he would get as the mind of the alien lifeform as it acted as a sort of first line defense. Finally, Peter sighed as he had the mask retract and he looked up at Dubbilex with an uneasy expression on his face.
"Will this Aunt of mine... will... will she like me?" Peter asked with uncertainty.
"...I don't see why she wouldn't" Dubbilex responded with a small grin "You are a very bright child"
"Not everyone values intelligence in a kid" Peter said with a snort "Desmond has made that pretty clear over the years"
"Not everyone shares his world views" the Genomorph responded as he turned to leave "Something I hope you discover yourself... and soon"
Peter watched as the Genome left, leaving him and Venom to their thoughts.
...
'Wake up'
'Wake up'
'You must wake up now!'
Helena let out a silent groan of pain as she slowly cracked her eyes open, momentarily relieved that her mask hadn't been removed after she was knocked out. Her momentarily relief was quickly replaced with annoyance as she felt and saw that she was restrained in some sort of cuffs inside a pod not too dissimilar to the one she and the others found Superboy in. She took a quick glance of her surroundings, or what she could see from her 'cell' and saw that Wally and Kaldur had also been imprisoned in sim pods.
And before them stood Superboy, silently watching them.
'Well, there he is... now where's the other guy?' Helena thought as she tried to find the black suited teen from earlier.
Before the young detective in training could think of a plan to get herself and the others out of this predicament, preferably before her father finds out where they are and discovers them like this, Wally let out a startled yelp as he awoke and looked around erratically for a second before he noticed the Superman clone watching them.
"What, what do you want?" he demanded, causing the Superboy clone to quirk his brow at the red headed teen "Quit staring, your creeping me out!"
'Classy as ever Wally' Helena thought with dry amusement "Uh, K.F., how about you don't antagonize someone that can reduce you to a smoldering pile of ashes with a single glance"
"What, he is!" Wally said in his defense as he glanced at Superboy with a frown "I mean just look at the look! It's weird!"
"Says the guy that can break the sound barrier after he decided to replicate his mentor's experiment that could have very easily killed him rather than give him enhanced speed" Helena remarked.
"Hey, my science was on the money" Wally said with a scowl "Besides, your the weird one here. You spend most of your time in a cave like some pale old bat!"
Helena scowled at the teen and was about to reply with a witty retort of her onw before Kaldur spoke in a calm, cool tone.
"We only sought to help you" the Atlantean said towards Superboy, obtaining the clone's attention on him.
"Yeah, we free you and you turn on us" Wally said with a scoff "How's that for gratitude-"
"Kid, please be quite now. I believe our new friend was not in control of his actions" Kaldur gave the younger teen a look before he turned back towards Superboy whose attention was still on him.
Helena quickly used this opportunity to activate a small pick in her gauntlets and began to work on the cuffs on her hands, hoping that Superboy's hearing was as good as his genetic templates or at the very least, he was too distracted to notice her actions.
'Hmm, feels like a double action OsCorp Industries subject lock' Helena thought as she poked around the lock 'Which means the release should be somewhere around the base of the palm and to the left...'
As Helena did her best to pick the lock, she listened in on the conversation that Kaldur was trying to start with the Superboy clone. She wasn't too surprised when the boy opened his mouth and began to speak, his voice she noted was a little hoarse, likely being the used for the first time since his 'birth'.
"What... what if I wasn't?" he said as he looked at Kaldur with a slightly disturbed look on his face.
"He can talk?" Wally said in surprise, causing the Superboy's hand to contort into a fist as he looked at the speedster in anger.
"Yes... he can"
Kaldur and Helena both gave Wally an annoyed look, causing the yellow clad teen to look at them with as best as a shrug as he could pull off "What? It's not like I said it"
"The Genomes taught you, telepathically" Kaldur said as the words of the teen they were with earlier flowed through his mind.
"They taught me much" Superboy said "I can read, write, I know the names of things..."
"But have you seen them?" Helena said with a furrowed brow "Have they actually ever let you see the sky? Or at the very least the sun?"
If not, the clone was even more sheltered than Helena was when she was growing up in the Manor. Dick always did tell her father that if she didn't get out and socialize with society, she'd be just slightly better than the people they have in Arkham.
Superboy frowned at Helena's words "Images are implanted in my mind... but no, I've not seen them"
"Do you know what you are? Who you are?" Kaldur said in a sympathetic tone.
"I am the Superboy, a Genomorph cloned from the DNA of the Superman. Crated to replace him should he perish... to destroy him should he turn from the light" Superboy said in a tone and with words that sounded like something that's been repeated to him day in and day out for who knows how long.
'Wow...okay we really need to get him out of this place' Helena thought as she felt she was getting close to breaking the lock.
"To be like Superman is... a worthy aspiration" Kaldur said, his words chosen carefully and based on his expression, his train of thought was close to Helena's own "But like Superman you deserve a life of your own. Beyond that source, beyond your pod... beyond Cadmus"
Helena watched with some worry as Superboy's expression became enraged "I live because of Cadmus. It is my home!"
"Your home is a test tube" Helena stated before she nodded towards Wally and Kaldur "We can show you the sun. The actual sun, not some glorified photo"
"Err, pretty sure it's after midnight" Wally butted in before he turned towards Superboy "But we can show you the moon"
Kaldur nodded at this before he dropped the bomb that could either sway the Superboy away from Cadmus, or not at all. Something that the three doubted the shady organization could pull off.
"We can show you, introduce you, to Superman" the partner of Aquaman said as he looked the clone dead in the eye.
Superboy looked up at the three with a guarded, yet hopeful expression on their face and looked to be on the verge of answering before a new voice spoke up as thee door to the lab they were in opened.
"No, they can't!"
'Must have been watching us through some sort of security system' Helena thought with a frown as she felt her cuff almost give before she slipped and missed 'Dammit... now I got find it all over again, ugh!'
"They'll be otherwise occupied" Doctor Desmond said with a dark grin as he was flanked by Guardian and the woman that Wally accidently knocked over earlier when they ran into the lab that housed Superboy.
Helena also noted that they had those Genome Gnomes on their shoulders.
Desmond looked at the woman next to him as he crossed his arms across his chest "Activate the cloning process"
'Cloning process?' Helena thought with an incredulous expression on her face "Wait your going to clone us? What for?"
Desmond ignored them as he turned towards Guardian with a annoyed expression "And get the weapon back inside it's pod!"
"Hey, how come he gets to call Supey an it?" Wally asked with a frown.
Superboy glanced at Guardian before his eyes drifted back to Kaldur's, the latter giving the clone a slightly pleading expression.
"Help us" he said.
Superboy seemed to consider this before he noticed that Guardian's hand was on his shoulder. He narrowed his eyes at the man as he shrugged it off just as Desmond walked up beside him with an even more annoyed, angry expression.
"Don't start thinking now" he said in a tone so condescending that Helena thought it could put some of the wealthy Gothamites she's met at parties to shame.
Before Superby could respond, the Gnome that was on Desmond's shoulder hopped on to Superboy's and it's eyes and horns began to glow red and the clone's face went blank. Helena narrowed her eyes in interest at this, it appeared that the Genomes required physical contact to utilize their powers on another person.
"You see, your not a real boy" Desmond said as he stepped in front of Superboy "You are a weapon. And you belong to me... well, Cadmus. But same thing. Now, get back to your pod!"
Superboy, with that blank look on his face, silently turned on his heel and began to walk out of the lab, much to Helena and the others dismay. Desmond then turned back to the three of them and the daughter of the dark knight felt an uncomfortable chill run up her spine at the look in the man's eyes.
"Begin the sample extraction"
"Sample extraction, what the hell does that mean?" Wally asked as several needles emerged from below the three sidekicks feet and begin to move up towards them.
"I think we're about to find out" Helena said nervously as she felt herself getting closer and closer to unlocking her restraint.
She really needed to get better at it.
...
"Father, you seem disturbed"
Ra's Al Ghul, head of the Demon and master of the League of Assassins, turned away from the screen that he had just used to hold a emergency meeting with other members of 'The Light' to see his daughter, a vision to most, staring at him.
"Nothing ever get's by you, does it, Talia?" Ra's asked with a hint of amusement in his tone.
Talia Al Ghul smirked a little "I've learned from the best, father"
"Indeed" Ra's said with a sigh as he leaned back in his chair "I've just received word from Cadmus"
"What is it?" Talia asked with a frown, already having an idea of what has her father upset.
There was only thing, one person, in Cadmus that held her father's attention and interest.
"It appears that Peter's loyalties with Cadmus are in danger of being severed" Ra's said with a frown as he mentally replayed what that fool Doctor Desmond told him in regards to Peter actively and knowingly helping Batman's daughter, and the protege's of the Flash and Aquaman break into Luthor's little pet project and engage the cloned Superboy.
Talia's eyes narrowed at this "What did that idiot Desmond do?"
"Nothing..." Ra's said with a hint of anger in his voice "And that is the problem. I should have pushed harder to take him and have him brought here. Where his potential could truly be reached"
"Shall I head to Washington and retrieve him then?" Talia asked as she turned towards the door "Perhaps I can still salvage this mess. He always did like me whenever I accompanied you"
Ra's smirked a little in amusement before a thoughtful look adorned his face and he glanced out his study's window and at the distant peaks of the various mountains of the range that his stronghold was located "No..."
Talia quirked a brow at this "No, father?"
"This could actually be a blessing" Ra's said as he stood up and approached his window and folded his arms behind his back as he gazed out at the distant horizon with a distant look on his face "The boy has no idea of how much is wrong with the world, and with the League's own mistrustful, paranoid and naïve nature, it could very well maneuver the boy back to us... of his own free will"
"Yes" Talia said with a nod before a frown marred her features "But the question is, will Osborn let us take him?"
Ra's grinned darkly at this "You make it sound as if he will have a choice in the manner"
...
Peter frowned as he heard the alarms going off from within his room 'Sounds like those guys got out...'
'Yes...' Venom responded, his voice strangely quiet compared to the somewhat loud growl it normally was.
'Their probably gonna escape' Peter said as he looked around his room.
'Not without help' Venom advised, his tone un-readable.
Peter was silent as he stared at the door with a conflicted thoughts running through his mind. If he left, he'd be leaving the only home he's had since he could remember, but if he stayed, if he allowed Cadmus to continue their tests on him, after he's discovered that they've been lying to him for years about his entire family being dead...
'The moment they find out how we can bond without you consuming me... good chance I've outlive my usefulness' Peter thought with his eyes narrowing slightly as he looked at this covered hand 'And they might give you to someone else... assuming your not destroyed with me'
'I wouldn't give them a choice' Venom revealed with a grim chuckle 'You can be an idiot and annoying and make me want to rip you apart the first chance I get... but... that doesn't mean I want a new host'
Peter smiled a little at this 'Aww, I knew you cared deep, deep, deep, deeeeep down'
'Don't ruin it' Venom said with a growl.
Peter chuckled softly at this before he took a deep breath and stated at his door with a determined expression 'You got my back?'
'Always'
"Well, alrighty then" Peter said as he stood up and began to approach his door as he cracked his knuckles "Let's go save a bunch of guys who say their with the League even though I'm pretty sure they aren't"
Peter decided to forego any ceremony and kicked his door down with all his strength. The metal tore and fractured as it was knocked out of it's frame and sent flying into the cavern wall. Peter stepped out, ready to fight to the bitter end if he had to if it meant escaping but was surprised to find the hall empty. No Genomorphs visible and he couldn't hear any approaching either.
"Uhh, hello?" Peter said as he glanced around real quick "I don't know if it's obvious, but I'm escaping now"
Again, no response, causing Peter to shrug and immediately run for the elevator. He didn't make it even halfway when he heard Venom speak.
'Stop, the Elevator's have been shut down and grounded to the bottom levels to prevent the others from using them'
'How do you know that?' Peter asked with doubt as he saw the elevators up ahead.
'Dubbilex told me' Venom said with a growl 'He sent the message to me and asked that I pass it on. He also said we can intercept the sidekicks on sublevel one'
'Why would he do that?' Peter asked as he came to a stop before the elevators and quickly grabbed the doors and began to force them apart before he leaped into the shaft and clung to the wall with his adhesive abilities and began to crawl up 'Help us I mean'
'Perhaps we can ask him after we get the hell out of here' Venom suggested 'Now hurry it up before we miss them!'
'Oi, no backseat driving' Peter snapped as he increased his speed before he broke out into a full blown sprint up the wall.
'We're not even in a vehicle, so how is it considered backseat driving?' Venom asked with confusion.
'...I don't know but hush!' Peter said as he saw he was passing sublevel forty now, just another thirty nine to go.
As Peter climbed the shaft he could faintly hear various Genomorphs running around the various levels, searching, fighting or trying to intercept the escaping sidekicks, though it sounded rather uncoordinated in Peter's opinion. It was almost like they had no idea where the heroes were specifically and were being led around in a wild goose chase.
'Guess we're not the only ones that Dubbilex seems to be helping' Peter commented as he saw sublevel one approaching and covered the rest of the distance in a single inhuman bound that left small dents on the metal wall where he launched himself from.
Peter landed on the very edge of the door frame and placed his hands on them before he forced them apart with a grunt. Sparks flew as Peter physically overruled the locks in place and was greeted to a hall that just went dark before it's red backup lights went on and a loud blaring alarm echoed down the corridor. Peter winced at the sound as did Venom before he sprinted down the hall and was just about to turn a corner when Guardian stepped into view.
The gold shield equipped man blinked in surprise at Peter's appearance and was just about to say something before a small net of web struck him in the mouth, silencing him as Peter, still running, leaped into the air and drove his knee into the man's armored helm, causing it to crack slightly under the force of the blow and send Cadmus's chief security officer spinning into the air before he landed with a heavy thud.
Peter landed in a crouch and gave the muffled groaning man a smirk "Hey Guardian, nice landing. You really know how to take a knee, huh?"
Guardian glared at Peter as e used the end of his shield to slice the black webbing from his mouth as numerous Genomorph's appeared from various hallways and converged on the two, or more specifically on Peter.
"Annnd that's my cue to leave" Peter said as he made to run down another hall when he was suddenly met with Robin, Kid Flash, Aqualad and-
"Superboy?" Peter said in minor surprise at the clone's appearance "The heck you doing here?"
The clone frowned at Peter "What are you?"
"I asked you first" Peter replied with narrowed lenses "Also, you just totally cut off my escape route"
"I doubt you'd get far" Kid Flash said dryly as he threw a thumb over his shoulder as more Genomorphs came up behind them including a few of the trolls "Also, how the heck did you get up here so fast?"
"I ran and climbed" Peter said with a shrug as he and the others looked at Guardian as he stood in front of the small army of Genomorphs.
"That's a lot of Genomorphs" Kid Flash said uneasily.
"Yeah..." Peter said with a nod as he looked around for a possible way out.
"You wouldn't happen to be a teleporter, would you?" Robin asked as she took at several batarangs and held them at the ready while Aqualad drew two hilts from his back and formed two glowing swords made of water while the tattoos on his arms and shoulders lit up.
"If you gave me a hour or two I could probably whip something up" Peter said as he eyed the trolls 'Wonder how many I can take down...'
'Let me take control and you'll find out' Venom said with a growl.
'Yeaaah how about no' Peter said with a mental shake of his head 'Also what the hell is with you wanting to take control today? Your doing it more often than usual'
'It's been a while since I've had any real fun' Venom said with a hiss as Peter and the others prepared to fight their way out before suddenly the various Genomes eyes and horns all began to glow red and stop.
"Uhh, was that one of you?" Peter said as he glanced at the others in surprise before they all collapsed "Ah crap..."
"Do not be alarmed Peter" Dubbilex said as he suddenly appeared from around a corner, his horns glowing red and approached the scene.
"Kinda hard not to be when the people I'm sorta helping me break out of this place all collapse" Peter said as he eyed the Genomorph warily.
"I wish to speak with Superboy" the Genome said as he turned his attention towards the clone of Superman and sent a mental command for him to awaken.
The teen's eyes shot open and looked around in confusion before he turned his gaze towards Dubbilex with a surprised expression. Peter watched as the two seemed to have some sort of telepathic conversation. After a few seconds, the Gnome that was on Guardian's shoulder hopped off and the man blinked before he rubbed his head with a groan.
"What's... what's going on?" he asked with confusion.
"I don't know, you tell me mister head of security" Peter quipped "Also, you suck at your job"
Peter could faintly hear Aqualad, Kid Flash and robin awakening from whatever kind of suggestion Dubbilex put on them as Superboy climbed back to his feet and stared at the Genomorph dead in the eye.
"I choose... I choose freedom" he said.
Dubbilex seemed satisfied with this answer and gave a small nod as the rest of the sidekicks climbed to their feet.
"What we'd miss?" Robin asked as she saw that Peter was still standing, seemingly unaffected by whatever it was that knocked her out.
"Superboy and Dubbilex, the guy with the two horns, had some weird mental conversation" Peter said before he pointed towards Guardian "Also, he's no longer a tool, just incompetent at his job here"
Guardian's eyes narrowed at this "Just get out of here, I'll deal with Doctor Desmond"
"I think not"
Everyone turned as several Genomorphs stepped aside to reveal a less than happy Doctor Desmond with a vial of a blue liquid in his hand before he held it up "Project Blockbuster will give me the power to restore order to Cadmus"
He then brought the vial to his lips and began to chug the liquid.
"Wouldn't it be funny if that was the wrong vial he grabbed?" Peter said with a snicker as Desmond downed the entire thing in one go before he dropped the now empty vial on the ground "Like instead of his glorified steroid it was hydrochloric acid"
"Honestly, yeah, it kinda would be funny" Helena said as she and the others watched as Desmond began to shake uncontrollably while letting out pained groans before falling to his knees while his whole body shook.
"This is so gonna suck" Kid Flash said with a sigh as Desmond let out a agonized scream as his body began to grow and his skin tear and rip.
His eyes turned red with small black pupils while his teeth lengthened to points and the parts of his skin that didn't rip and tear changed to a sickly grey color with red markings along the lower end of his torso and arms and legs. The transformation, in Helena's opinion, reminded her of the old Titan formula her father archived on the Bat computer, though the mutation looked more... streamlined, refined even.
'Daddy's gonna wanna know that Cadmus is toying with a new and improved Titan formula' Helena thought as her grip tightened on her batarangs.
"Yeesh, he looks even uglier than before" Peter said as he took in Desmond's new mutated form with a smirk "Now that takes some serious skill to pull off. Congrats doc!"
'So that's the Blockbuster he's been going on about replacing us' Venom said as it examined Desmond's altered form 'Eh, still doesn't change the fact he was as big a loser as you'
'Yeah' Peter said with a nod before Venom's words registered 'Heeey-!'
Peter's response to Venom was cut off as Desmond let loose a roar and charged towards the five teens. Robin quickly drew several explosive disks and threw them at the mutated doctor. Desmond merely stopped and stood there and allowed the disks to hit him before they exploded all over his form, sending more bits of his torn skin into the air. The smoke quickly cleared to reveal a relatively unharmed mutated doctor with a dark snarl on his twisted face.
"Well... crap" Kid Flash said as the mutated doctor roared again and charged while Guardian met it halfway with his shield raised.
The transformed Cadmus doctor seized the hero by the head and threw him towards a wall without breaking his stride and continued his charge towards the heroes. Superboy yelled at Desmond and leaped at the man and sent a powerful punch into the side of this head that created a small shockwave and caused Desmond to stumble back before Peter shot two web lines at his chest and pulled himself forward and sent his feet right into Desmond's chest, knocking him back again and into the wall.
"Man, it's like kicking solid steel" Peter said as he rubbed his leg while Superboy charged Desmond again and sent a furry of punches into the doctor's mutated form.
Desmond roared at Superboy as it caught one punch and slammed his head into the clone's, knocking him back a few meters. The mutated doctor growled at Superboy and made to charge when Peter leaped on to his back and slammed his palms full force into the enhanced man's head. Desmond roared in pain before he backed into the wall, intent on crushing Peter before he jumped off.
"Ha, nice try but someone already tried that one" Peter said as he clung to the ceiling and stared down at Desmond "But 'A' for effort"
Desmond snarled at Peter and leaped at him before Superboy intercepted him and slammed right into the larger being's form. The force of the blow shook the hall as both went flying into the ceiling and through it and into the floor above. Peter quickly shot a web line and used it to swing from the ceiling and up into the hole, using his built up momentum to carry him the rest of the way before he let go and soared through thee air for a second before landing just a few feet from the hole in a crouch in what looked like the main lobby of the Cadmus surface building.
'Huh, so this is what the reception area looks like... meh' Peter thought as he took in his new surroundings.
"Interesting powers you have" Robin said as she and Kid Flash, the latter holding on to the girl wonder's arm, flew through the hole thanks to her grappling hook and landed beside Peter followed quickly by Aqualad who used his own Atlantean strength to leap up the hole.
"You can thank Cadmus for them" Peter said as he turned to see Superboy break free of the bear hug that Desmond had him in before he was seized by the leg and swung around, right towards the four teens "Duck!"
Peter dropped to the floor to avoid being hit by the flying Kryptonian hybrid, Aqualad on the other hand was too slow and was struck by his new ally. Both went flying several meters back with Kid Flash and Robin racing to regroup with them. Peter made to follow before his spider-sense went of and a quiet mental whisper from Venom warned him that the mutated doctor was behind him. Peter looked up at Desmond's snarling face with a grimace.
"Man, you look worse than how I felt after my tests against those other Superboy clones" Peter said as Desmond roared at him and sent a punch towards the teen.
Peter braced himself and caught Desmond's enlarged fist with both hands. He gritted his teeth as his feet dug into the ground and his muscles strained to hold back the Cadmus doctor's strike.
"Hey uh, a little help here!" Peter gritted out as Desmond began to push back until Peter felt his hold about to give when suddenly two of Robin's explosive disks embedded themselves in Desmond's face.
Peter and Venom both winced and hissed in displeasure at the proximity of the explosion and the volume of the detonation. Desmond roared in anger and annoyance as he stumbled back, momentarily blinded. Peter used this opportunity to shoot multiple web bullets at Desmond's face, covering it and cutting off his eye sight even further while Kid Flash raced behind him and delivered a high powered kick to the back of the mad doctor's knee. Desmond fell and Superboy and Aqualad both used this moment to send a double punch right into Desmond's web covered head. The force of the impact sent him flying right into a stone support pillar.
"Thanks" Peter said with a relieved sigh as turned towards the young woman "I owe you one"
"Head" Helena said simply.
Peter blinked at this "I'm sorry?"
"Head" Helena said as she tapped the side of her head, in the same area one of her explosive disks struck Desmond "You always go for the head. Mom taught me that"
"Oh... uh right, of course" Peter said with a sheepish grin 'For a second I thought she meant I owe her some head... or is she saying she wants to give me head as my way of repaying her? Ugh, I'm confused! Venom?'
'How about we focus on the crazed mutated doctor before I even begin to touch that subject with a ten foot pole, hmm?' Venom suggested with a hint of annoyance in his tone.
Peter nodded as he turned towards the mutated doctor with narrowed slits 'So, any idea on how to bring doctor Jekyll there down?'
'Try breaking his neck, that seems to work usually' Venom offered with a dark chuckle 'After we hurt him a little more of course'
Peter blinked at this 'Wow, you really hate him don't you?'
'After all the shit he put me through and to some lesser extent you? I want his head on a rusted disease ridden pike' Venom growled 'Preferably while he's still alive to slowly feel himself rot away'
Desmond roared in anger as he ripped the webbing off his face and glared at the five young heroes. He pushed himself off the damaged pillar and charged towards them with surprising speed before he leaped at them with a roar.
"Scatter!" Aqualad shouted before he and the others moved out of the way as Desmond landed, the force of his impact creating a crater before he lashed out and seized Superboy by the throat and held him up and began to squeeze.
Superboy let out a chocked gasp as he tried to pry Desmond's hands off his neck while Peter leaped on to the mutated doctor's back and wrapped his arms around his neck, trying to choke him out before he broke Superby's neck. Aqualad ran up with a mace formed with his hilts and delivered a powerful blow to the creature's side, causing it to let out a growl as it struggled to shake Peter off while preventing Superboy from escaping.
"So Rob, any ideas?" Kid Flash asked as he appeared next to his friend "Cause at this rate, doctor ugly is gonna turn us into paste"
"I'm thinking" Helena said as she studied Desmond's form.
It was enhanced to the point it could take hits from an Atlantean, a Superman clone and someone that seemed, in her opinion, had spider powers. Add surprising speed and strength to those and they were looking at something only a heavy hitter from the League would need to be called in for.
'But dad was able to beat guys like this when Joker unleashed that stuff on Arkham' she thought with a frown 'But something tells me that this thing won't keel over anytime soon. Not if he's been screwing with it for who knows how long'
Helena watched as Desmond let out another enraged roar before he reached around and grabbed Peter and slammed him into Aqualad as he prepared to send another strike into him. It then took Superboy and threw him towards another pillar and watched the boy of steel collide with it before it jumped towards him with a roar. Superboy saw the mutated doctor coming and quickly rolled out of the way, letting Desmond collide into the stone column and shake the building ever so slightly.
'Wait a second' Helena thought as she brought up a holographic map of the room they were all in and scanned it, including the two damaged pillars. After a few seconds, the results came back 'Without the support pillars, the entire building will come crashing down'
Which could either stop Desmond or at the very least get the League's attention who've no doubt noticed their absence by now. Either way it was win in her book. She quickly highlighted several pillars on her map and showed it to Wally. His eyes scanned the image as his brain went into overdrive. After a few seconds he nodded and grinned at the girl wonder.
"Have I mentioned how much I love that tactical thinking brain of yours?" he asked with a grin.
"Yes" Helena said dryly as she pulled several explosive disks from her belt "And Dick's been teasing me ever since"
Wally snickered as he zoomed towards Desmond as he was being punched repeatedly by Peter, Superboy and Kaldur before be knocked them away with a sweep of his arm and prepared to go on the offensive when Wally slammed into him. The red head winced at the pain he was now feeling in his shoulder and quickly back tracked away from Desmond as he made to grab Wally.
"Close, but no cigar" Wally smirked at the mutated doctor "Wanna try again?"
Desmond snarled at Wally and raced after the red head as he ran towards one of the pillars. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Helena running towards the others while she threw several of her explosive disks at the top of the other support columns, or the ones still standing at least. Wally smirked at this as he came to a stop in front of one of the pillars and waited as Desmond closed in with his fists raised before he ducked under the mutated doctor and sped past him as the pillar behind him was destroyed by Desmond's attack. Elsewhere in the hall Peter, Kaldur and Superboy all destroyed several more pillars, destabilizing the structural integrity of the building while Helena triggered her disks to explode.
The building shook as the explosions destroyed the last of the support columns and began to crack and fall apart.
"Now would be a very good time to leave!" Peter yelled as he shot several web bullets at Desmond's face, covering his eyes and stopping his pursuit of Kid Flash.
"I'm in agreement" Kaldur said as he dodged a chunk of stone the size of him from crushing him and gestured for the others to head for the door.
'Boy...' Venom said.
'Yeah?' Peter asked as he dodged several chunks of ceiling from hitting him as the entire building began to come down on top of them.
'...I'm hungry'
Peter's eyes widened at this 'Wait, are you freakin serious? Now your hu-!'
Peter's train of thought was cut off as his spider-sense flared and he looked up to see a massive chunk of the ceiling coming down towards him and the others.
"Get down!" Kaldur yelled as he pushed Kid Flash and Robin down and used his body to shield them best he could.
Peter and Superboy both quickly converged on him and braced themselves as the dozens of tons of stone began to fall on and entomb them.
...
'This is your fault by the way'
'How so?'
'You distracted me!'
'I was merely alerting you to my desire to feed. It is not my fault you allowed it to distract you' Venom growled.
'You suck' Peter replied as he, Kaldur and Superboy struggled to hold the massive weight of the collapsed building over them before Superboy with a yell pushed up and shoved the large chunk of ceiling off and away.
"Man..." Kid Flash said with a pained groan, his suit covered in dust and tears in his suit, some of which had blood on them "I thought that was it. My whole life flashed through my eyes"
"But we're alive" Helena sighed in relief before she winced at the pain she felt in her side "Though, not without a bruised rib or two"
Kaldur looked around the area to see that a majority of the Cadmus research building had collapsed and was now in ruins, doctor Desmond laid a few meters away, covered in debris and thankfully, unconscious. Peter saw this as well and quickly made his way over the to beaten mutated man and examined him to make sure he was well and truly down.
Peter crouched down next to Desmond and hummed in thought after a few seconds of staring at him "You know Doc, you gotta admit, we really know how to bring down the house. Granted it's a office not a house but you get the idea"
'I don't think he can hear you' Venom said dryly 'Now hurry up and kick his skull in before the others stop us'
"Heh, now there's an idea" Peter said with a snort as he stood up.
"What's an idea?" Helena said as she was suddenly next to Peter, causing him to almost flinch.
'Thanks for the warning Venom' Peter thought with a scowl before he glanced at the girl wonder "Nothing. Sorta private joke you'd have to been there to get"
"Ah" Helena said with a nod as she reached up and undid her pony tail, allowing her hair to fall to just a bit past her shoulders "Well, thanks for the help. Doubt we would have made it out alive without you"
"I doubt that" Peter said as he gave Desmond one last glance before he and the Batman's sidekick rejoined the others.
"Well Supey, we promised to show you the moon" Kid Flash said as he pointed towards the full moon overhead.
Superboy looked up at the moon with a small look of wonder before his eyes seemed to narrow and an odd look came over his features. Peter quirked a brow at the teen's expression before he followed the clone's line of sight to see what it was that had his attention.
'It's just a moon- oh... that's what he's looking at' Peter thought with wide eyes as he saw that it wasn't the moon that Superboy was looking at, but rather someone flying down towards them.
Someone with a very familiar red 'S' on their blue cladded chest and a red cape billowing behind them.
"Oh... and Superman" Kid Flash said with a grin as he gave an amused look towards Superboy "Do we keep our promises or what?"
"Not just him" Peter commented as he saw that the last son of Krypton wasn't alone.
Along with the Man of Steel, Peter recognized Red Tornado, Giovanni Zatara with someone on his little floating magic circle, Captain Marvel, Martian Manhunter, Captain Atom, Hawkman, Hawkgirl, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern!
'What, did he bring half the League with him?' Peter thought as they all began to land around the five teens.
'No...' Venom said as it noticed the other Green Lantern, the second one that appeared, carrying the non flying members of the League, Batman, Aquaman, Green Arrow and Black Canary, on a small pad he had constructed.
But Peter's eyes weren't on them, his full attention was instead more focused on the grey haired woman that was standing next to Zatara on his magic circle as it slowly floated to the ground. She was old, nearing her nineties at least in Peter's opinion and yet she moved with the fluidly of someone at least a quarter of her age. She was clad in a long red dress that covered her from neck to toe and long sleeves that covered even her hands. On her front was a large, faded, black symbol in the shape of a-
'A spider...' Peter thought as the woman turned her gaze to Peter and for a split second, everything seemed to freeze.
Even though her eyes were covered by small black glasses, he could tell her eyes were trained on his. He couldn't help the slight shiver that ran up his spine, he felt like a fly caught in a web and the web's maker was slowly descending down towards him. And then, just as suddenly as the feeling came, it was gone, replaced with something almost... comforting.
'She approaches' Venom noted as the elderly woman patted Zatara on the arm before she carefully stepped off his magic circle and made a beeline straight for Peter.
A few other members of the League noticed and were puzzled, none more so than the Wonder Woman but refrained from saying anything to the former Justice Society member, many had grown used to her odd spontaneous ways. Peter remained perfectly still as the woman came to a stop a few feet from him and he noted that she was only a few inches taller than him yet she seemed even larger somehow. She gave him a small kind smile before she spoke in a soft, surprisingly young yet knowing voice that caused the hairs on Peter's neck to stand on end.
"It's good to finally meet you... Peter Parker"
At this, Kid Flash blinked before he looked between Peter and the elderly woman with a look of complete shock that Peter knew was on a number of other people present's faces.
"Wait, you know Madame Webb?"
...
And done.
Next chapter, a reunion... of sorts.