Chapter 1: Chance Encounters

Looking down the deep shaft of the high speed elevator – a shaft that was conspicuously absent from the 2 story building's official blueprints – the three young heroes had to admit that there probably was something to the Batman's suspicions about Project Cadmus.

Then again, investigation was why they were there.

As he descended the shaft, feeling the vibrations in the cable as Aqualad and Kid Flash swung themselves down after him, a small part of Robin fumed internally. So they were "not trained", "not ready"; supposed to "stay put" like good little kids while The League handled the big scary jobs. What a load! Yes they were young, but they definitely weren't some greenwood rookies who needed to have their hands held! And that was why they had come to Cadmus. To prove themselves. To beat the League at their own game; solve the case before their mentors even started looking. Sure, Bats was going to be less than whelmed when they got back, but if they did the job and did it clean then what was the harm? Besides, he smirked; it wouldn't be fun if they weren't a little reckless.

But back to business. They had bizarre genetics lab to investigate.

Reaching the end of his rope, Robin swung himself towards the shaft door of Sublevel 26, alighting on the ledge. Activating the holo-screen of the computer in his glove the Boy Wonder tapped into the local network, diving into the coding separating them from the facility.

"Bypassing securing… there. Go!"

"Welcome to Project Cadmus."


Things were definitely pushing the far boundaries of weird. The large elephant-troll-like creatures that had nearly stepped on Kid Flash hadn't done anything to convince the three heroes that Cadmus was normal. Even stranger was the feeling of shifting fog that had filled their heads at a look from the small, gnome-like beasts on the trolls' shoulders. The fact that they hadn't been in the building for more than 5 minutes before being spotted wasn't helping either.

As they moved towards the large metal door at the end of the hallway, the Boy Wonder had to admit that the fire above ground was a perfect diversion. With eyes drawn to the emergency at street level, there would be fewer people on alert for movement in the deep lab. With luck they would be able to get in, find what they needed and get out without causing an incident.

A few more lines of code on the holo-screen and, once again, the door lay open. The team gaped at the sight of the room. Glass cylinders stretched to the ceiling, the glowing creatures within buzzing and crackling as they supplied power to unknown machines. The eerie blue light cast deep, distorted shadows around the room, nearly concealing the computer bank at the centre. And the smallish, black-and-white clad figure standing there, typing quickly but furtively at the keys.

Looks like someone else had had the same idea.

The heroes froze, stepping back into the shadows. Contact with another person was definitely something to avoid, though the individual was currently occupied by the screen. Robin gave him a quick once over. Young, probably the same age as themselves. Pure white hair, fair skin and a black jumpsuit - possibly a chemical protection suit - accented by white gloves, collar, boots and belt. A faint white glow seemly surrounded his person, although that could have been trick of the strange light.

"Great," the mystery figure scowled at the screen "not only do the Fruitloops chase us all around the country, now I'm playing 'Where's Wally?' with samples in a freaky lab."

He glanced upwards, scanning the room nervously. 'So, he's not meant to be here either' Robin noted, keeping as still as possible. Neon green eyes pierced the gloom, locking onto the Boy Wonder. They both froze, stiffening as they waited for the other to take action. The stranger stayed rigid, his eyes flickering away, picking out the silhouettes of Kid Flash and Aqualad. Robin noticed another flash of white - some kind of symbol on his chest. The boy suddenly exploded into action, twisting to the screen, rapidly opening and closing files before ripping a small thumbdrive from the console. Eyes wide with panic he sprang away from the computers, vanishing into thin air. The three heroes felt a gust of wind, something passed them at great speed.

Then he was gone.

Robin exhaled shakily, torn between relief and greater anxiety. He shared a nervous look with the others. If they were going to investigate Cadmus they had to do it now, before any more unpleasant surprises showed up.

Kid Flash looked around the room, searching for a place to start. The speedster gestured towards the electrical, beetle-like creatures in the glass tubes.

"This is how they hide this massive underground facility from the world. The real Cadmus isn't on the grid. It generates its own power using these… things. Must be what they're bred for."

Robin nodded. Cadmus was the mission. The mystery boy could wait for another time.