"Are those…eggs?" Raven mused aloud as she eyed up the egg-shaped sacks embedded in the walls and tried to keep somewhat upright even as she bounced up & down on Superboy's shoulder like a sack of potatoes. No one answered her, but that was more due to the need to escape than finding an answer to her odd queries.
"That…can't be good" Kid Flash murmured when he noted said eggs spring to life with an eerie crimson glow. Next to him, Robin huffed a grunt in agreement as he found himself nearly beheaded by a low-hanging outcropping.
"We are still 42 levels below ground" Aqualad summarised as they ran. "But if we can make the elevator, we can get out"
There were several grunts of agreement as the group fled. Not one of the boys broke stride even as they hurdled overturned steel drums or swung around narrow corners; at least until they were forced to halt in a tight tunnel. Their path to the elevator had become blocked by the large G-Trolls they had first encountered earlier in the evening. The way behind them was clear, at least until the eggs cracked upon to release the G-Elves trapped inside.
Oh! They're hatching! Raven worried as she slid from Superboy's grasp and prepared to fight or flee. The eggs are hatching! Oh, we are all about to be breakfast if we don't get out of here!
Slipping around the G-Trolls was easy enough for the sidekicks as they slipped through openings and bypassed wayward limbs which threatened to crash down upon them. The kryptonian on the other hand, did not seem to appreciate this approach as he surged forwards to tackle the closest genomorph with all the ferocity of a cornered animal. It was almost frightening how simple it was for the boy to bat the creatures aside; particularly as his efforts caused the cavern walls to crumble around them. "SUPERBOY!" Aqualad called out to the clone as the sidekicks huddled together on the sidelines. "THE GOAL IS ESCAPE! NOT TO BURY OURSELVES HERE!"
"YOU WANT ESCAPE?!" Superboy bellowed as he grabbed a downed troll and used it to clear the path ahead.
No sooner had than the elevator doors been pried open did everyone frantically retreat back up the shaft. Raven didn't even think as she launched herself upwards, her cloak flapping about her like bird wings as the darkness consumed her. Below, Kid Flash had looped his arm around Robin's waist as the boy wonder sent a grappling hook up towards where the young witch had disappeared. And last but not least was Superboy who plucked the atlantean from the ground like he weighed nothing and jumped into the ether. Unfortunately, they only got to sub-level 15 before things went wrong.
"I—I'm falling?" Superboy gasped when he realised he was no longer ascending the elevator shaft. He'd never sounded more like a child than in that moment, so lost and confused as to why he couldn't do something he thought he could. Next to her, both Kid Flash and Robin bore mirrored expressions of shock & surprise.
"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" Raven splayed out her hands in the direction of the falling teens, encompassing them in her magics to keep them from falling.
"Thank you, Raven" Aqualad nodded to the witch her grit her teeth in determination & furrowed her brows against the heaviness of the two. But she nodded back all the same.
"Superman can fly" Whimpered Superboy as the two hung precariously in Raven's grip. "Why can't I fly?"
"Dunno" Kid Flash shrugged. "But it looks like you can leap tall buildings in a single bound. Still cool"
"You all right there, Rae?" Robin turned to the witch whose forehead had begun to bead with sweat.
"They're heavy!" She grunted as the elevator descended down upon them.
"Right! This'll have to be out exit!" The boy wonder exclaimed, noting his peer's predicament and the approaching elevator.
After shoving their way through yet another door, the quintet of fleeing heroes found themselves following after Superboy through the twisting maze of copper hallways until they came across a supposed dead end. With genomorphs hot on their trail, the vent turned out to be their best (and only) option. Robin took the lead this time (because of course a bat child was used to navigating such a space), with Raven following soon after. It was a tight fit, but with some scrunching and awkward head movements, the remaining three boys were able to fit inside as well, though Kid Flash held no complaints back about the whole ordeal.
"…At this rate, we'll never get out—!" Kid Flash whinged as he yanked himself around a tight corner.
"—Shh!" Hissed Superboy, cutting off the speedster's stream of complaints. "Listen"
"Crap! They're in the vents!" Robin exclaimed.
"Raven! Can't you get us out?" Kid Flash turned to the witch. "Y'know, travel in the shadows?"
"I've never taken anyone with me before!" Raven refuted, shaking her head. "Let alone four!"
"There's a grate up ahead" Robin reported. The blueprints of the building flashed briefly in front of his face as he scanned the area for an exit, the light from the computer illuminating his features in an eerie glow.
"Good" Aqualad nodded as the sound of claws scraping against the vent surrounded them. "Go"
Now free from the confines of the vent, the quintet lay scattered about some back stairway that looked practically identical to all of the others that they had already seen. Raven shifted on her feet, antsy now that they were out in the open; the fact that there were next to no shadows in the room didn't help this fact. She was a creature of darkness and being so out in the light like this, felt wrong. Like an animal backed into a corner. Meanwhile, Robin's finger's easily glided over his holographic computer as he hacked the building's security system and insured that they would be able to lose their tail for at least a little while. He looked ever so proud too, when he'd announced that he'd hacked the motion sensors.
With the motion sensors gone and a grin on his face, Kid Flash took off, racing up the stairs and clearing the way as he went. The others followed (much slower) after the speedster; his trail easily picked out by the G-Elves that lay sprawled about the stairwell like bowling pins. Some quick thinking and kryptonian strength on Superboy's part, had the staircase behind them disengaging with a tremendous kick.
When they finally did emerge out at sub-level one, it was to the sound of wailing alarms, closing doors and Kid Flash sprawled on the ground & clutching his head. "We're cut off from the street!" Cursed Aqualad.
"Thanks, my head hadn't noticed" Kid Flash snidely sassed as the kryptonian and the atlantean moved to pry this door open too. Though it was proving to be a much harder deal than the elevator doors.
"Can't hack this fast enough!" Robin reported as he tried to override the emergency lockdown.
"This way!" Raven called as she kicked down the door to her left, just as several growling G-Trolls appeared around the corner and blocked their only other exit. Not that it mattered. The quintet only made it so far before they found themselves penned in from all sides.
A sea of G-Elves & G-Gnomes filled the hallways, whilst G-Trolls lined themselves up shoulder-to-shoulder behind at the rear and Guardian stood at the helm; his golden helmet shining beneath the fluorescent lights. They'd barely even skidded to a halt when the crimson horns of every G-Gnome in the place ignited, lulling the heroes under their hypnotic spell. Raven crumbled to the floor on accordion legs, her mind awash in a sweet symphony that she couldn't quite understand.
A low groan fell from Raven's lips as she came too once more, the aches in her body now matching the one in her head. Next to her, Kid Flash hauled Robin to his feet and the webbed hand outstretched to her, did the same. She nodded her thanks to the atlantean as they turned as one and prepared for the inevitable fight. One that came not in the form of the surrounding genomorphs, but that of an irate Doctor Desmond.
"—I…I choose…I choose freedom" Said Superboy, shoulders squared and gaze locked upon the lanky genomorph whom Raven had first spotted upon arrival.
What's going on? Raven wondered as she silently watched the two communicate. It was clear that the two were having at least some kind of telepathic conversation, but about what she did not know.
"Eurgh…what's going on—?" Guardian grunted, aching head in his hands as his G-Gnome jumped ship. "Feels like…fog…lifting"
"Guardian?" Aqualad cautiously probed the Leaguer.
"Go" Guardian turned to the sidekicks, his own shoulders set as blood lust seeped from him. It made sense that the Leaguer would want revenge on the man who'd essentially kept him prisoner for his duration at Cadmus "I'll deal with Desmond"
"I think not" Desmond snarled. The genomorphs surrounding Guardian suddenly scattered in fear, parting like the Red Sea to reveal the irate doctor with a vial of a strange bioluminescent substance clutched tightly in his fist. "Project Blockbuster will give me the power to restore order to Cadmus!"
"No, wait—!" Guardian tried, hand reaching out in vain as the scientist popped the cap and downed the entire vial in one go.
Where there had been blood lust once surrounding the Leaguer, there now lay fear and panic; emotions which confused Raven and set her on edge. Guardian had been Chief of Security at Cadmus for a long time, which meant that at some point he would have come into contact with some of the more dangerous experiments such as Project Kr or Project Blockbuster. With what Project Kr had turned out to be, Raven could only imagine what kind of experiment Project Blockbuster was capable of; particularly with that kind of reaction and soon enough she would see why.
Desmond's clothes ripped from his body first, torn to shreds by the bulging muscles that quickly enveloped him. Next went his hair which floated to the floor in misshapen patches as his eyes burnt red. His screams & grunts turned to bellowing roars as he fell to his knees, but still he was not done. Flesh came off next, shredded away by the now blackened tissue which had expanded far beyond superhuman size. Fangs erupted from his mouth and veins bulged along his muscles like cracks in volcanic craters as he jolted to his feet with a threatening bellow. The man that he once was, fell away, to be replaced with this creature—this malicious monster. At least now the monster without showed the monster hidden within.
ROAR!
"Ewww!" Raven complained as she sidestepped a piece of fallen scalp and hid herself behind Superboy with a wince hidden in her cowl. Silently she cursed her empathic skills as the weight of Desmond's animalistic rage & blood lust was shoved down her throat. From the corner of her eyes she noted Kid Flash's lips twitching upwards at her childish comment, but it did nothing to deter them from their fighting stances, even with the behemoth standing over them.
"Everyone! Back!" Ordered Guardian, throwing his arms wide to shoo the sidekicks behind him before he made for the behemoth.
Part of Raven soured at the notion that the Leaguers still thought they weren't able to fend for themselves, but that part was quickly silenced when Desmond simply backhanded the helmeted hero aside as if he were no more than a fly. Raven swore that she heard bones crack when the man slid to the floor in a lump of lifeless limbs. It was only thanks to the erratically-move G-Gnome who had hopped up on his chest & sat there, did the witch know he was even still alive. Well, at least he'll be alright. She thought as she watched some of the smaller genomorphs converge on the fallen hero as if to protect him from any further attacks.
"RAAAAAHH!" Superboy bellowed as he ascended on Desmond, next fists swinging. Unlike the Leaguer, the kryptonian appeared to be holding his own, taking hits just as much as he was giving them. They could watch with enrapture as the clone tackled the deranged doctor with all the skill of a furious kryptonian. Leaping high into the air, Superboy intended to beat his fists down upon Desmond's crown, but the transformed scientist had other ideas. Raven could see the veins on his legs twitch as the behemoth coiled his legs and crouched low to the ground. When Superboy reached the peak of his jump, the behemoth surged upward to meet him and the two burst through the ceiling like a fleshy battering ram.
"Okay" Robin blinked dumbly as they trotted over to the newly formed hole above them. "I guess, that's one way to bust through the ceiling"
"D'you think Lab Coat planned that?" Queried Kid Flash as he grabbed a hold of Robin's utility belt just as the boy wonder grappled upwards.
"I doubt he is planning anything, anymore" Aqualad replied, leaping up through the ceiling as Raven (thankful her hood had saved her from falling debris getting into her eyes) brought up the rear.
