Superman, Son of Hippolyta - A T-Rexcellent Reviews Fanfiction
I of course own no DC Comics properties or characters and make no money off of this, I am merely a giant DC Fan who wants to share my stories with all of you.
Chapter 6: Rise of the Robotic Revenant
The shadow portal quickly vanished back into the abyss just as the last member of the eight-person team stepped out of the dark vortex and into the ruined remains of what was once Cadmus formerly secret Cybernetics Facility.
The fires that had alerted them to the compound's destruction had long since died out, but plumes of black smoke still hung up in the air like ominous storm clouds and the main complex had so many, gaping holes in its sides and roof, that it was nothing short of a miracle that the structure was even still standing at all.
But most disturbing of all, was just how quite the area was, especially after such clear carnage had so recently taken place, no sirens, no screams, just… silence… dead silence.
Kal didn't like it one bit, not just because it felt like the perfect setup for an ambush by Amanda Waller's army of anti-superhuman soldiers, but also because it reminded him far too much of the aftermath of the Battle for Themyscira against Hercules and his Barbarian horde, involving… certain things he didn't like to remember… but always did regardless…
Kal closed his eyes and shuddered as the murderous memories of that terrible day suddenly came rushing back to him like a towering tidal wave crashing into his subconscious.
Memories of blood and violence, fear and hatred, pain and rage… so much, much rage…
"Kal?" Zatanna's enchanting voice called out to him, breaking through haze of anger and anguish just as Kal opened his eyes again and saw the Sorceress standing next to him with her hand on his right shoulder, concern clearly written in her gorgeous amethyst gaze, even without the use of a mind reading spell, he had no doubt she knew exactly what he was thinking about at that moment.
He put his hand on hers and forced a nonchalant smile onto his face, one he knew she did not buy for a moment, but still thankful took as he said. "I'm fine Zatanna, really, let's just find out what caused this and get out of here, okay."
Despite the groups obvious differences, they all nodded in agreement and carefully began searching the nearly destroyed compound for any clues or survivors of what exactly… had happened here.
As they spread out, but remained within both earshot and eyesight of each other, Kal just hoped his seven teammates were ready just in case they did actually find whatever it was that Cadmus had foolishly created here with Luthor's help, he also hoped he was ready for it as well.
His seven-person team in this case, consisting of his three closet friends, his battle brothers in arms and fellow princes Steve, Petrus and Arthur, his royal sister Diana, her Princess Circle sisters Artemis and Nubia and last but certainly not least, his Sorceress girlfriend Zatanna.
A Kryptonian, a Spartan, a Barbarian, a Atlantean, a trio of Amazons and a Sorceress all going together on a potentially dangerous mission into enemy territory, he had to admit it, it was an unlikely group, all they were missing now was a Demigod.
Originally, Kal had just wanted to come here by himself, in the not-so-secret hope of catching Lex Luthor or Amanda Waller ideally by themselves so he could… talk to them, without the risk of his friends either trying to talk him out of it or attempt to restrain him, just in case his own need for vengeance against the pair for all they had done got the better of him… which Kal knew it most likely would.
But both Steve and Petrus, perhaps sensing his more bloodthirsty ambitions due to their own Spartan and Barbarian heritage, refused and insisted on coming along as well, Steve in particular as he had detected an incredible amount of electrical power flashing in and out of the facility due to his own lighting abilities.
Zatanna had also insisted on coming along as she had sensed some seriously dark magic taking place at the facility and knew that it could only mean that Lex's magical mistress Tala Tempest had been meddling with forces she shouldn't have.
As for Diana, with her finally being reunited with her beloved little brother after so long apart, refused to leave his immediate side, especially if he was going into danger and her friends Artemis and Nubia had refused to leave their princess alone with a Spartan, a Barbarian, a Atlantean and a Sorceress.
Arthur's joining had been due in part to whatever it was that Luthor's pirate allies had dug up from the sea floor being brought to this forsaken place, though Kal expected that Artemis's presence on the mission had just as much to do with his friend's desire to join them, he just hoped Arthur could keep his flirting with the redheaded Amazon to a minimum, who even now was glaring at the Atlantean every time he so much as smiled in her general direction.
Unfortunately for Kal and his friends, they weren't going to have much to smile about for much longer…
Kal saw Steve gesture for the others to come over to where he was standing by the entrance to the main building, his Spartan friend had apparently sensed something just up ahead. But just as they all gathered up behind him, Steve held up his hand in a clear signal for the others to stop just as they all heard something metallic… moving nearby.
Kal felt his grip on his sword tighten and a growl build up in his throat when he heard unmistakable sound of gears and hydraulics working in unison, followed by loud, stomping footsteps.
The echo of the ominous noises was all Kal needed to hear to know that one of Lex's metal monstrosities was waiting for them just inside the building, either Android Assassin Metallo or another upgraded Kryptonian Killer Robot, or perhaps it was actually Luthor himself, in a new and improved Power Suit.
Kal certainly hoped so as he and the others waited with baited breath as Steve slowly crept forward and peered inside, he wanted nothing more than to tear Luthor-
The Kryptonian's rather violent train of thought came to a sudden, screeching stop when Steve almost immediately jerked back behind the corner, one hand going to his mouth like he was fighting the urge to be sick. He took a deep breath and then turned his electric, blue eyes on Kal.
"Don't look Kal."
"What, why?" Kal asked, and before Steve could even attempt to stop him, he moved around the door to see what it was for himself and when he walked inside, what Kal saw rivalled every other horror he had witnessed in his bloody and violent life as a warrior prince.
The inside of the cybernetics facility was dark from both the power being out and the residual smoke, but thanks to his fantastic night vision, it was all too easy for Kal to clearly see the numerous bodies lying all over the place… or rather… what was left of them… anyway…
Everywhere he looked humans and robots alike, both Cadmus scientists and Luthor's security sentries, had either been ripped apart or blown up, before being tossed aside by powerful hands like they were nothing, blood and oil splattered against the pillars and puddled on the floor in equal amounts, creating a disturbing mixture of black and red wherever they met…
… but that wasn't the worst thing he saw.
Glowing in the darkness of the facility like the distant fires of the Tartarus pits in the Underworld, emblazoned on the back wall of the building with what looked like a super-heated laser gun, was a single, chilling sentence written in big, ominous letters that made him both furious and frightened at the same time.
SUPERMAN WAS HERE!
"I told you not to look, Kal." Steve muttered grimly as he and others walked in behind the Kryptonian, the group couldn't help but stop and stare in shock at the massacre all around them, it was so thorough and bloody that even this hardened group of warriors couldn't help but feel sick at the sight of it.
Kal never took his eyes off the words seared into the far wall, burning faintly in the darkness like embers of a dying fire, glowing just like the light of his heat vision…
"Kal?" He heard Diana ask hesitantly, he turned and saw as well as all others staring at the messy message, he himself had been staring at, Kal already knew exactly what she was thinking and what she was going to ask. "Did you…?"
"I didn't do this Diana." Kal said quickly with a shake of his head, trying to fight back the nauseousness he felt by his sister asking what he realised was an unfortunately warranted question. But I could, and I'm the only one who would as far as Luthor and Waller are concerned.
"Guys, I swear to you; I didn't have anything to do with… this." Kal quietly and numbly defended himself, still trying to wrap his head around what they were seeing and desperately wishing he didn't have to, because as much as he hated to admit to himself, his sister's and friends' concerns were legitimate.
He hadn't done this, that much Kal was certain of… however, at the same time… the death and the devastation that had been dealt here, it ashamed him to admit it, but he was the only one who possibly could have done it… or at least… something that was a lot like him anyway…
"But if you didn't do this, Kal." Nubia said slowly, even the tough, no-nonsense Amazon was visibly disturbed by what they were seeing, voicing the uncomfortable question they were all being forced to confront in that moment. "Then who did… and why?"
Kal opened his mouth to speak, to answer the Nubian women's question as best he could, but someone else beat him to it.
"Because as my father and grandfather both once told me, a king must make sure to leave his mark wherever he goes… lest his subjects forget to fear his wrath."
At the moment, each member of the eight-person team snapped their heads up at once to stare at the ceiling above… and the group realised that they weren't alone after all.
High above them, circling the facility, was a narrow track interspersed with three wider viewing platforms, each platform had a thin railing to prevent an observer from taking a terrible tumble and someone – or rather something – was occupying the one directly ahead and above them.
The towering figure was vaguely humanoid in shape, but upon closer inspection however, Kal saw that its parts were all out of proportion to its body, which was to his shock, a perfectly fused mess of flesh, bones and metal parts.
It stood upon two tridactyl-formed feet, giving the being both a greater height of nine-feet tall and looming presence, attached to powerful looking, spring-loaded steel legs leading up to a broadly muscled torso that was mostly metallic, but still with pieces of naked flesh and bone sticking out beneath the armoured plating and Kal was certain it was wearing some sort of ragged looking cape over its shoulders.
Its arms were completely different from one another though, the left arm was thinner and looked almost skeletal, though still covered in a tough metal plating and fairly human in appearance with two long jagged looking wrist blades attached to its back, the right arm however, was much bigger and looked more like a weapon than a limb, with a spiky Aegis looking shoulder plate leading down to a huge, bulky fist with clawed, metal fingers.
For all their obvious differences however, both of the being's hands were covered in fresh blood that dripped loudly onto the metal walkway where it stood looking down on them like a lord sneering disdainfully at some commoners.
Speaking of which, the figures face surprisingly still had some degree of flesh on it, around the left side of its now metal plated head to be exact, mostly grafted onto its lower jaw as well as the scalp attached to what was once surely a full mane of black flowing hair that had long since been turned a bleached white.
But even with how much of the ruined face had been replaced with cybernetic superiority by this point, its eyes remained the same… or rather its one cruel red eye, its other eye had been replaced by a big glaring and equally red optic that bore down at all of them with ominous intent, though Kal felt it was aimed mostly right at him.
Staring back, Kal realised that both its remaining eye and face were vaguely familiar to him, but its voice… despite crackling like a broken speaker… was instantly recognisable to Kal, even though he had only heard it once before whilst opening one of the many doors in the hallway of the House of the Fates, a door he had always regretted opening ever since, after he had seen what was taking place on the other side…
"Hello… brother." The Cyborg Demigod said the familiar word in a soft, affectionate tone that did not match at all with the terrifying grin he was currently giving Kal, which showed off his new set of metal teeth before glancing over to gaze at Diana, his movement all mechanical like that of machine rather than a person. "And a very special hello to you, my beautiful little sister."
Beside him, Kal heard Diana give a horrified gasp as she too finally recognised just who it was, they were now face to face with. "No…"
"Thrax." Kal said the name aloud in a voice that was barely above a whisper, but was still heard by everyone around him as though he had shouted it.
His long deceased adoptive older brother's name bore no emotion form him, no disbelieving gasp or savage snarl at all, for the sheer shock of actually seeing Thrax alive and here of all places overpowered every other emotion Kal could have possibly felt at that moment.
But when the first emotion did finally come crawling back to him, Kal was ashamed to admit to himself that it was not rage, it was fear.
He'd honestly thought there wasn't anything left to fear anymore… Hercules was gone, Circe was gone, their entire Barbarian horde was gone, even Zeus was gone… but Thrax… Thrax was here… somehow…
"Yes…" Thrax drawled out the word with a hydraulic hiss. "I must say, it warms the cogs of my new metal heart to see that my long-lost siblings can still recognise me after all this time."
Oh Lex, Kal thought, even more horrified than before as he started to realise just what Luthor had been doing here, and what new horror he had just unleashed on the world, What have you done?
"Wait a minute." Steve said aloud, as he got over his shock faster than the others and turning to face Kal and Diana in disbelief. "Thrax? As in, your older brother Thrax?"
"He's not our brother Steven." Diana snapped at the Spartan whilst never taking her eyes off her resurrected, cybernetic not-sibling, in an instant, his sister's fear was gone and replaced by her natural Amazonian anger at the sight of the formerly deceased Demigod, as was Artemis and Nubia's. "He's-."
"-The Son of Hercules." Petrus finished for Diana with a hateful growl, the lone Barbarian among them did not seem to be any happier to see the son of his former horde's dead warlord than the three Amazons did, if the way he looked like he wanted to cave Thrax's face in with his warhammer was any indication at all.
"My little Amazon sister and the Barbarian traitor are quite correct." Thrax's new electronic voice statically said as his glowing optic zoomed in on each of them with a noticeable clicking sound. "I am the Son of the Mighty Hercules and the Grandson of the Great Zeus as well as the true Prince of the Amazons."
"But-but I don't understand, I thought you Amazons said he was dead?" Arthur asked the three Amazons, noticeably ignoring Thrax's words but making sure to still keep his Trident aimed at the Cyborg Demigod standing menacingly above them.
"He was dead, Atlantean." Artemis answered whilst keeping an arrow notched and aimed at the where she hoped Thrax's new black heart was inside his new metallic torso. "Queen Hippolyta herself slayed him in battle long ago, she cut off his arms, legs and his head-."
"-and then the Goddess Hera had his soul divided up into his rotting remains before imprisoning them all inside Pandora's Box, which she then threw into the deepest, darkest abyss possible." Nubia said, taking off from where Artemis had left off, her maces out and ready to pummel Thrax into an even more misshaped metallic mess than he already was.
"Well, clearly, it wasn't enough." Zatanna muttered sourly under breath, her hands tightening around both of her torches. "Because he's back."
"Yes, my brother's beautiful, sultry Sorceress, that's right." Thrax said smiling at Zatanna in what they all assumed was a lecherous grin on what now passed for his face, Zatanna's felt her eyes flash pure white as shadows swirled around her. "I am back and I'm more powerful than ever."
"How are you here Thrax?" Kal growled out as his hand tightened around Eclipse's hilt, desperately wanting to get the Cyborg Demigod's attention off of Zatanna. "How is it possible that you are even… alive right now?"
Still smiling, Thrax spring jumped down from the walkway with a loud mechanical thud on the floor, landing the facility floor before them with all the precision of a predator before standing up again with all the poise of prince.
"How indeed brother?" The Cyborg Demigod asked thoughtful, stroking his chin with his more normal looking hand, talking causally to them like they were all friends here. "I can still scarcely believe it myself sometimes, for the longest period, I thought I was going to be trapped inside that infernal box forever, that is, until your friend Luthor found me at the bottom of the sea."
"He's not my friend." Kal growled out hatefully, his fears that Lex and his lackeys had been dabbling in things they shouldn't have, all but confirmed by this point.
"Hhhmmm, really? He certainly thinks so." The Cyborg Demigod questioned with a shiny grin of steel dentures. "In fact, when he found out I was your long dead brother, why, he ordered his Witch whore Tala to resurrect me, just so we could have this lovely little family reunion." Thrax said dreamily, still watching Kal closely, optic whining as it zoomed in and recorded every inch of him.
Kal finally felt his anger stirred enough to shove aside the knee-jerking fear he felt as he asked reluctantly. "And all of… this." He asked, gesturing to the bloody massacre all around them.
Thrax just smiled, chuckling a little even, as he examined the bloody massacre all around them like it was a beautiful work of art, before finally explaining himself. "Well, as you can all imagine, my body wasn't in the best of shape after being sliced up into several different pieces, even after being put back together again and resurrected via necromanic magic, there was only so much that Witch Tala could do for me, so Luthor gave me to that bloated bitch Amanda Waller and her scientists, in the hopes that they could improve my… condition."
"I suppose." The Cyborg Demigod continued thoughtfully. "That I should really be thanking you brother, In the end, it was the thought of you Kal... dying by my hands, that gave me strength to survive Cadmus's numerous painful procedures, as they rebuilt me, made me stronger than I was before."
"The thought of what I would do to you, our beautiful sister, our murderous mother, that bitch Hera and all of her Amazonian whore worshippers as I lay there on the operating table... imagining the sound of all of you screaming in terror and pain… it kept me sane, kept me alive throughout all the torturous upgrades I endured to my person."
Thrax than gave them all a bloodthirsty grin as he gestured to the blood and organ covered room all around them. "When they were finally finished, well I was so happy with having arms and legs again, that I decided to test my new cybernetic body out and… I guess I got a little… carried away."
It was the rather nonchalant way Thrax said that last part that made both Kal and Diana spine's shiver as well as their blood boil at the same time. "But I'm sure you and our lovely sister would agree, that me being alive and well makes all of this death and destruction I just wrought seem… worth it in comparison."
It most certainly wasn't worth it, as far as Kal and his friends were concerned.
"And you call this being alive Thrax?" Steve asked aghast from beside a now seething Kal. "Look at yourself, your walking scrapheap!"
The Cyborg Demigod immediately focused both his remaining organic eye and new optical one on Steve, or more specifically, his outstretched robotic arm with a smug smirk. "Now isn't that just like the Raven calling the Crow black?" Thrax asked before laughing out loud like it was the funniest thing he had ever said. "Perhaps, I should rip off your other arm so you can have a matching pair, cripple."
Out of the corner of his left right eye, Kal saw Steve's lips curl back into a hatefully snarl while electrically energy began to crackle around him as his expression grew stormier by the moment.
"Hmm, but I suppose you are correct there, Spartan." Thrax crooned thoughtfully, casually flexing the massive metal claw that had replaced most of his right forearm. It was reminiscent of a Nemean Lion's paw, for all that it was a man-made machine.
"I've really rather transcended what I was before, haven't I?" Thrax asked as the insane friendliness suddenly drained away and the few remaining stretches of skin on his face slackened in cold inspection. I'm beyond all of you so called heroes, pathetic comprehensions."
"I comprehend you plenty Thrax." Steve said loudly in response. "I comprehend that you're an undead, semi divine, cyborg freak."
"I am no longer just another Demigod bastard or some obsolete Olympian, I am beyond them and I am beyond all of you as well, I am beyond everyone and everything, mortal and immortal alike." The Cyborg Demigod declared, seemingly unphased, loudly and proudly to the gathered group who only stared at him pure distain.
"By Poseidon's Prongs..." Arthur muttered in equal parts disgust and disbelief. "This guy has lost it."
"A little too late for that Atlantean." Artemis murmured back, pulling her nocked arrow back just a little harder as she took aim at Thrax one organic eye. "This bastard lost it a long time ago."
"That's where you are wrong, lovebirds." Thrax continued quietly, intent and inhuman. "I'm not a crazy man Artemis, but I am a very, very vengeful one." He suddenly looked back down at Kal, remaining eye fever-bright as he smiled. "I suppose you could even call me a SUPERMAN, couldn't you brother?"
"You're a monster, Thrax." Kal growled out with as much hatred as he could muster, glaring at the grinning and clearly deranged Demigod that Lex Luthor and Amanda Waller had foolishly brought back to life and had turned into this cyborg abomination. "You were always a monster, but now you look like one to."
At this obvious insult, the recently resurrected and now cybernetic Son of Hercules frowned, before rushing forward at lightning-fast speed, his agile movements all out of proportion to his new, unnatural but still extremely powerful body, and unfortunately for Kal, he reacted just a split second to late as the Cyborg Demigod slammed into him at full force back outside the facility.
Kal heard his friends shout his name in alarm just as he cried out pain as Thrax wrapped his huge clawed hand around his throat before activating his new flight capabilities and taking both Kal and himself higher and higher into the air.
"What I am! I am because of you! Brother!" Thrax howled furiously as they flew up into the sky, his echoey, electronic voice going haywire as he roared his rage right into Kal's face, holding him in a death-grip.
"I didn't do this to you, Thrax." Kal just barely managed to gasp out as the huge, metallic clawed hand clamped down even harder around his throat. "Luthor and Waller did, not me."
"It was you! It was all because of you brother!" Thrax continued to roar his insistent and insane response into Kal's face. "Luthor's Sorceress's was the one who resurrected me and that bitch Waller's scientists were the ones who rebuilt me, but its thanks to you that I was turned into this!"
"What are you talking about Thrax?" Kal asked, wincing from the volume of Thrax's erratic words.
"Luthor had the power to make me whole again, he told me so himself, he could have returned me back to the way I was before our loving mother cut off my head and instead, he turned me into this!" Thrax snarled hatefully, his steel teething and literal gears grinding together as he spoke.
"And you want to know why he did that brother? Because he wanted me to replace you!"
"H-he what?" Kal exclaimed aloud and for the first time, he looked down and noticed the bloody red S insignia firmly embedded on Thrax's blue metal torso, in a mockingly similarity to his own superhero outfit, at Luthor's insistence he had no doubt.
Well and truly appalled by this point. Kal futilely tried to pry away the clawed metal fingers still wrapped tight around his throat, his head starting to spin from the earlier collision as Thrax pulled him closer to his terrible half metal, half flesh fused face.
So close in fact, that Kal could clearly see where his head had been reattached to his neck after their mother had cut it off way back in Ancient Greece.
Thrax then forced his own head to look up and Kal couldn't help but stare into the Cyborg Demigod's one remaining eye, it was blood red and outright demonic looking, a red that was so similar to his own whenever he lost control of his anger, became so filled with rage.
It was then that Kal stopped struggling as he realised for the very first time, that this must be what Hercules's Barbarians must have felt when he began turning the tide in the Battle for Themyscira.
What Mongol must have felt when he began removing his limbs one by one back on his burning War World Station, the absolute despair of knowing they were at the mercy of some bloodthirsty demonic entity of death and destruction.
Then, as if Thrax realised what he was thinking, the Cyborg Superman gave his original counterpart a truly chilling ghost of a grin. "It's almost like looking in a mirror, isn't it brother?"
Greetings to all my fellow fanfic readers and writers, I hope you all enjoyed Super and Magical Moments Chapter 6: Revenge of the Robotic Revenant, please let me know what you think of this late Halloween themed chapter and the resurrection of Thrax as my universe's version of Cyborg Superman.