The G-Goblin's Dream

- - - October 9th - - -

It was a beautiful Saturday morning in Washington, DC. Instead of taking one of the vehicles available at the Hall of Justice, their Zeta access point, Megan and Conner chose to walk to the Cadmus research facility.

The streets were lined with cherry trees, displaying their beautiful red-golden fall foliage. Megan gently touched her hand against Conner's. He entwined his fingers with hers.

It felt almost like a date, strolling hand in hand through the capital city. For a few minutes, she simply enjoyed the walk.

Megan's anxiety returned when they finally reached the nondescript two-story building marking the entrance to the underground excesses of the Cadmus laboratories.

What if they tried to lock Conner back into one of their containment pods?

'I won't let anyone touch you', he reassured her, misinterpreting her fear that had sept into their ever-present mind link.

'I won't let them lie their hands on you either', she replied.

A pair of sliding doors led into an uninviting grey hall lit by neon lamps. On the far end of the room, a broad-shouldered, red-haired man in a blue jumpsuit sat at a rather cluttered desk.

"I'm sorry, we're not open to the public", he began. Then his eyes met Conner's.

"Project Kr!"

"My name is Conner."

He blinked, surprised. "Conner? Well, why not, I suppose? Welcome back, Conner! I'm sorry, I was not expecting you today…" He was fumbling with a crumpled paper calender.

"We're here to speak with the genomorphs."

"Oh! Okay, um, why?"

Conner's eyes narrowed. "Why not?"

The other seemed at a loss for words, glancing down at the many scribbled notes on his desk as if searching for a clue.

"We would like to ask the genomorphs a few questions about Conner's abilities", Megan intervened, extending her hand. "I'm a friend of Conner's. It's nice to meet you."

She had to resist the urge of telling him her name. They had decided that she should disguise herself as human without compromising her civilian identity, hence her hair colour and skin tone were notably altered from her usual appearance. A pair of Robin's sunglasses shaded her eyes, ready to obscure their red glow should she have to use her powers.

The red-haired man had a firm handshake. "Nice to meet you too. I'm Jim Harper, better known as Guardian. I'm supposed to be running this facility, but I've spent the past three months digging through a convoluted mess of unintelligible bills and corrupted business statements, and now we're pretty much rebuilding everything from scratch, and I've been preparing for this morning's board meeting till 3 am last night, so please excuse my sorry state at the moment… I'd love to give you a tour of the new Cadmus, but there is another conference call in a few minutes, and I don't think I've read even half of the print-outs yet…"

"It would be my pleasure to attend to our guests in your stead, Guardian", a voice like velvet announced. "How may I be of service?"

The speaker was a slender figure with greyish-blue skin. His sharp-cut, nose-less face appeared almost Martian, except for the two white horns extruding from his forehead and two long ribbons of skin hanging down from his cheek. His ears were large and pointed.

"Dubbilex", Conner greeted the G-goblin.

"Welcome back, brother", he replied.

They were led to a well-lit cafeteria just one flight of stairs below the reception area. A few G-dwarfs were spooning some kind of green soup from a large pot, several G-gnomes were sipping on a similarly green beverage and a pair of G-elves shared a bowl of green stew in a corner. There was music playing softly in the background, some local radio station.

"This is one of our less frequented break rooms. The human employees have a separate cafeteria on the upper level", Dubbilex explained, as he ushered them to a free table on the far end of the hall. "For some reason, they seem to dislike our food."

As bulky grey figure approached them, wearing a white kilt-like apron and carrying a pitcher and three glasses, one in each of their pincer-shaped hands.

"Would you like some cheesecake?", the G-dwarf asked in a husky, but strangely melodic voice.

"Yes please, sister, if you would be so kind", Dubbilex replied for all of them.

Three glasses of a thick green liquid were poured out. Megan and Conner eyed the beverage suspiciously.

"All our diet is based on algae", Dubbilex pointed out. "We grow them in the hydroponics labs. We have, of course, refined their nutritional composition and flavour."

It occurred to Megan that she had never even wondered how a secret army of clone creatures could be fed without arousing anyone's suspicion.

Carefully, she took a small sip of the drink.

"This does taste like cheesecake!"

The G-goblin smiled briefly at her exclamation, but quickly returned to his previous, more serious expression. His eyes met Superboy's.

"You have come to talk?"

"Yes."

Dubbilex nodded, then exchanged a glance with one of the G-gnomes at a neighbouring table. In response, the small creature's little horns lit up. The other genomorphs in the cafeteria turned towards it, then looked at Dubbilex, who nodded once. Without a word, everyone in their vicinity stood up and moved to the other side of the cafeteria, giving them a wide berth of privacy. One of the G-dwarfs turned the radio a little louder.

Dubbilex returned his full attention to his guests.

"Brother, I am overjoyed that you have returned to speak to us. But I must ask you why exactly you have chosen to visit us now? Was it truly your own desire to reconnect with us? Or have you been led here - or summoned?"

Conner frowned. "Summoned?"

"Would you please recount to me what precisely brought on your visit?"

"I did't want to return to Cadmus, at first. What they did to me – to us… I loath being controlled."

Dubbilex nodded wistfully.

"There was a command, in my head, triggering a trance. We discovered it by accident."

"Truly an accident?", Dubbilex interrupted. "Who spoke the words?"

"I did", Megan replied.

The G-goblin's dark eyes bore into hers. She tried to read his emotions, but they were guarded, inaccessible to her.

"Brother, do you trust her?"

"With my life."

Megan felt a deep blush colouring her skin. There had been no hesitation, no doubt in Conner's voice.

Dubbilex nodded slowly. "What happened then?"

"We removed the trigger", Conner continued. "Cadmus' control can be broken."

The G-gnome's eyes widened. For a long moment, he simply stared at Conner, his face-flaps quivering.

Then his expression calmed. "What you have said is unthinkable to me", he stated, a hint of regret in his words. "It's simply not an option to consider this."

"We could help you", Megan chimed in.

The G-goblin nodded, once more focussing solely on Conner. "I have hoped that you would."

He took one long sip from his cheesecake.

"As you know, Cadmus does control us. We might be free of Doctor Desmond, and Guardian is certainly doing his best to lead us now, but not all ties with our former... contractors have been severed. There are still humans working here that are loyal to those who commissioned all of us genomorphs, including you, brother."

"Who are they? Who was really behind this?"

"None of us know all of their identities, they communicated solely with Doctor Desmond. We merely obeyed his orders. Since he is gone, other humans are receiving their instructions in secret. For now, we are left to ourselves. But we know that they will command us when the time has come, for Cadmus does control us, and Cadmus was never just one man. There are many projects that… There is so much… We must..." His hands started trembling, as he tried fighting against his orders. "I can't… They still… Many research institutes keep their results confidential, yes? Sometimes staff is not... permitted to disclose any details?" His voice was strained.

"Where?" Conner had already risen out of his seat.

"Have you come prepared for a search?" Dubbilex asked him, a strange intensity in his dark-rimmed eyes. "There are thirty-nine levels of subterraneous labs and corridors at this facility. The Justice League has spent days searching their maze, and has not even… Beware, we could not guide you, could not… Cadmus security is strict, intruders are not permitted, and all of us would be forced…"

He broke off, taking a deep drink from his glass.

"If an accountant had hidden a confidential file in his office, and then another party searched his desk… And then they returned to search his desk again… Would the accountant not retrieve his file and lock it away elsewhere more safely? I ask you, brother, have you come prepared?"

Conner's whole body was tense, Megan could feel his impatience, his barely controlled urge to turn the building inside out. She gently placed a hand on his arm.

'This is not the time.'

They would need all of the team for that mission.

Very slowly, her boyfriend sank back into his seat.

"There is a reason why I have led you to a public cafeteria instead one of the lower laboratories", the G-goblin disclosed. "It was my wish not to alarm anyone who might not be... pleased with your unexpected presence."

"But you must know something about those contractors, Dubbilex", Megan pleaded. "I'm sure you've worked here for years. There must be something you've noticed, something you're allowed to tell us…"

He shook his horned head. "You are mistaken, my dear. I am only a few months older than my brother here."

"You are? Are all genomorphs this young?"

"I will tell you what I know about our history, as much as I am able to disclose. Luckily, on this subject, I can speak more freely."

He leaned back. "The Cadmus research institute was founded at this site eight years ago, by Doctor Desmond and his team of humans. There are records of their first experiments, their first cloned sheep, a few lizards, a giant sloth and such like. Yet from the start, they were not content with merely replicating conventional creatures. Doctor Desmond wished not only to create life, but to design it anew. He was the one who grew the first genomorphs, our forefathers. They were powerful workers, strong but placid, humanoid figures with barely enough intelligence to be taught simple tasks. We now call them G-giants.

The G-giants were controlled by crude, bio-chemical methods. They responded to various keywords, triggering a range of hormone releases, altering their moods, encouraging or disabling them. They excavated the first subterranean levels of this facility, and coated them with the organic plaster we still use today.

Yet they did not fully satisfy Desmond. He wanted an army that could follow more complex commands.

Two years after the foundation of Cadmus, the first G-gnome was brought to life. Individually, they are only as intelligent as a similar-sized primate, but they serve as relays – they transmit the thoughts and orders of their commanders telepathically. With their help, Desmond was able to make every genomorph perform any task he wished.

The clawed G-elves came next, about five years ago, now that Desmond dared to build truly dangerous and intelligent soldiers. They must have attracted investors – our records show that from this time on, the institute's budget skyrocketed. New labs were build, new projects commenced. Our insectoid G-sprites were created at that time as well, to serve as the facility's organic monitoring system. Soon, human resources were a limiting factor – the true advances of the institute was kept secret, hence only trusted personnel could be brought into its folds. That is why the G-dwarfs were created, a class of menial workers.

Within a year or two, the humans grew accustomed to working side by side with genomorphs. They must have been very busy at that time, those human scientists, with endless research to be conducted and so many extraordinary feats of genetic engineering to pursue. Finally, they decided to build themselves further support. A new class of genomorphs, intelligent enough to assist in their scientific endeavours. Two years ago, the first G-goblin was released from his pod. His name was Nickleus."

Dubbilex took another sip from his dessert.

Megan used the pause for a question. "Are you sure about the G-elves attacking investors? What would have kept Desmond from simply forcing a few people to sign his checks with the help of the G-gnomes' mind-control?"

The genomorph's eyes widened. "My dear, they could never bend a human's will. As I said, they function as relays, they simply communicate commands telepathically. Only we genomorphs must obey, because Cadmus controls us."

"What about the G-trolls?", Conner inquired. "Were they grown before or after that G-goblin?"

Dubbilex' face darkened. "With the creation of Nickleus commences the second chapter of Cadmus' history. He was the first G-goblin, a prototype, closely watched by the scientists whose work he was meant to support. His first task, his first test, was 'improving' the G-giants, by designing an even stronger, yet also more intelligent type of genomorph. Nickleus is the one who created the G-trolls."

Dubbilex' voice had grown sombre.

"Doctor Desmond was very pleased with them. When the newest members of our family were presented to him, eighteen months ago, he declared them vastly superior to their bipedal predecessors. So he gave the G-trolls their first order - to slaughter those whom they had rendered obsolete.

Not a single G-giant survived the ensuing fight."

A wave of grief and anger washed over Megan. She did not know if it was Conner's or her own.

"Desmond never understood the full range of the G-trolls' capabilities", Dubbilex continued in a softer tone. "He never looked beyond their strength. He saw the enormous size of their heads, but all he noticed were their tusks and horns, never the fascinating brains they harboured. They are the living memory of our people. They remember everything the G-gnomes shared with them, every order we were ever given. They will forever remember the death of the G-giants."

The genomorph sighed. "For a long time after the massacre, the first G-goblin worked in silence. He performed his tasks, as he was ordered, but the loss of our forefathers lay heavy on his mind. It took many months until Nickleus finally decided to risk another innovation – a new attempt to improve our genomorph race. It was him who first dreamed our dream. The first who wished for a better future."

His voice trailed off.

"What happened to him?"

"I was still an infant in an incubator tube when Nickleus was summoned by Doctor Desmond. He was taken to meet our contractors – the first genomorph ever to face them. We do not know what exactly transpired that day. But a few weeks later, one of the G-gnomes overheard Doctor Desmond relate the story to a new human recruit. The young scientist had apparently been intimidated by our appearance and thus – needlessly, of course – asked Desmond if he truly had us genomorphs under control. Desmond replied that one of his investors had asked the same question, on the day Nickleus was presented to them.

As the story goes, Desmond handed Nickleus a scalpel. Turning to his investors, he announced, truthfully, that all genomorphs obeyed him. Then he ordered Nickleus to kill himself.

Without a moment's hesitation, our brother drove the knife into his heart."

A splintering, crunching sound interrupted Dubbilex' tale. Conner had crushed his dessert glass between his fingers.

"Prison is far too good for that monster…"

Megan nodded fervently.

"Yet Nickleus' dream did not die with him", Dubbilex continued. "He was the first genomorph ever to dream it, the first able to even consider such a thought. He could share it, through the G-gnomes, and commit it to the G-trolls' memory, ensuring its persistence. He was the first genomorph able to voice such a revolutionary idea. Yet he was not capable to act on it, unable to strive for it more actively. So he decided to create a being who could."

"That would be you", Conner concluded.

"That would be me", Dubbilex confirmed. "Nickleus designed me in the weeks before his death, a second G-goblin prototype, fully aware that he might be creating his own replacement. To the humans, he explained that he aimed to unlock the power of telekinesis. He did not share with them the fact that my mental capabilities were much further improved.

Omission. A new concept in the history of the genomorphs. Yet another contribution of his revolutionary mind."

He shook his horned head sadly.

"I am Nickleus' legacy. I share his dream."

Both Megan and Conner leaned forward in anticipation.

"Cadmus controls us", Dubbilex intoned, his eyes half-closed. "It is an unrefutable fact. Cadmus controls us, all present genomorphs. There is nothing we can do to change that. We are the ones who are controlled."

Megan remembered the ice-cold conviction she had encountered in her boyfriend's mind, the jagged crystal shard implanted into the deepest core of his subconscious.

"But one day, some future day, there will be new genomorphs, other genomorphs, a next generation of genomorphs", Dubbilex continued, his face-flabs quivering.

He opened his eyes, fixating both of them. "They might not be controlled. One day, one future day, there might be genomorphs, a new generation of genomorphs, rising out of slavery, a new, self-determined race. Cadmus controls us. They control us now. But one day, one future day, there will be genomorphs, free genomorphs, who control themselves.

That is the dream of the G-goblins. That was Nickleus' dream."

Megan regarded him in awe. She could only imagine what it must have cost a creature so thoroughly mind-controlled as the genomorphs to defy their own oppressing convictions, to voice such a desperate hope, not for themselves, but at least for their descendants...

"You have acted on this", Conner asked, "when you helped me escape?"

Megan turned towards her boyfriend in wonder. "He helped?"

"It was his voice I heard in my head when Robin, Kid Flash and Aqualad freed me. I recognize it now. He is the one who guided us out of the underground maze."

"I also might have facilitated the spread of the little laboratory fire that attracted your friends' attention in the first place", Dubbilex admitted with a smug little smile.

"Wait, a voice in your head? Dubbilex, can you use telepathy without the G-gnomes' help?"

The G-goblin nodded. "As I said, my mental capabilities are rather extensive."

"Telekinesis and telepathy - so there is Martian DNA in your genetic composition?", Megan asked, suddenly alarmed. "Does Cadmus have Martian Manhunter's blood? Are they able to clone him, too?"

"Cadmus does not possess a full sample of Martian DNA, just the decoded sequence of a few selected genes. I... cannot tell you how they were acquired."

"They must have originated from a Green Martian though, right?" No other Martian had spent as much time on Earth as her uncle.

"Skin colour was not included in the provided sequences."

"But surely you would be able to tell if it was from a Green or White Martian?"

Dubbilex looked at her, bewildered. "How? Is there any other difference?"

Megan blinked, suddenly dumbstruck. Wasn't there?

"Back to the whole mind-control problem", Conner interfered. "We fixed that. As I said in the beginning, I'm truly free of Cadmus now. You don't need to dream for the next generation, you can be freed yourself."

Dubbilex shook his head sadly. "You are special to us, and the fact that you left the facility, that you can mingle with humans unnoticed, bears great potential for our cause. But what you claim remains unthinkable to me. It is simply not an option."

Conner met Megan's eyes. "Let's show him."

She nodded, then hesitated. She had been warned against revealing her Martian powers.

'We can trust him, right?', she asked silently.

'More than anybody else here', Conner decided.

"In case it matters", Dubbilex revealed, "I can sense that you have telepathic abilities not unlike my own. I noticed when you tried to gauge my emotions earlier."

Megan shook her head at her own blunder.

"In that case – with your permission, may we show you how Conner changed his mind?"

Without waiting for the G-goblin's response, she took his and Conner's hands.

A gentle mental pull, and all three of them were standing in a representation of Superboy's consciousness. Conner pointed straight at the pile of shattered glass and dust were the ominous shard had once stood.

'Cadmus does not control me', he stated.

Dubbilex simply stared at him. Very slowly, realization seemed to dawn.

A second pull, stronger this time. Dubbilex had led them into his own mind. Here, the cursed conviction still stood tall, ringing out its never-ending creed.

Cadmus controls us.

Megan looked around curiously. The G-goblin imagined his mind as a laboratory, lined by countless shelves, each filled with strange potions and concoctions. There were stoppered glasses full of memories, unmarked vials containing dangerous thoughts, bubbling cauldrons filled with half-cooked ideas. And amidst it all, the ever-present assertion: Cadmus controls us.

She felt unable to protest.

In Dubbilex' mind, the implanted doctrine resembled a metal spike rather than a crystal shard, and it was by no means isolated from the rest of his consciousness. Countless metal chains wrapped around it, tied to shelves and vials and glasses. These were orders he had been given, direct orders he still had to obey, for Cadmus controlled him.

'Listen closely', Dubbilex advised.

Once more, the metal spire rang out its multi-voiced crescendo:

Cadmus controls us.

Yet as Megan stepped closer, she noted that not all voices spoke in unison.

Cadmus controls us.

Cadmus controls us current genomorphs.

Presently, Cadmus controls us.

Cadmus controls only us.

Standing right in front of the spike, Megan noticed that it was not perfectly smooth, either. A web of hair-thin cracks coated its surface.

And still, it was undeniable: Cadmus was in control. Megan was unable to resist this conviction.

She felt Conner's hand land heavily on her shoulder.

'Would it harm him if I smashed this thing right now?'

She shuddered. 'That's not an option!'

Conner shot her a questioning look, then shook his head and turned to face the G-goblin instead.

'Look here, Dubbilex. Don't listen to that thing, listen to me. Cadmus has no right to control us. No right!'

He balled his fist.

'Cadmus does not control me!'

He hit the metal spike with all his force.

It quivered.

It did not break. He did not have that kind of power, not alone, not here. But it did quiver, and for a moment, just for a short moment, it did not seem unbreakable at all.

A long, jagged crack appeared on the metal spike's surface, many times as deep as the tiny fractures Megan had noted before.

Presently, Cadmus controls us.

Cadmus controls only us.

Cadmus controls us, but one of us was freed.

Several of the metal chains stated to rattle. Somewhere on a shelf behind them, a cauldron exploded. Multi-coloured fumes began to cloud the air.

Dubbilex gave a mental push, and they found themselves back in the genomorph cafeteria, all their mind links cut off.

"You have given me much to think about", the G-goblin reflected, his soft voice trembling. "Thank you for that."

"My uncle could help you even more", Megan insisted. "I mean, my mentor, I mean…"

"So you are the Martian Manhunter's niece?"

She nodded. Clearly, she still had much to learn about keeping a secret identity...

"I am glad my brother here has found such a loyal companion. I have talked much about Cadmus and myself – I would be interested in hearing more about your life outside the laboratory. You both... seem happy."

"We are", Conner assured him. "We have each other, and friends, and an interesting life. A purpose. We even..."

Conner cut off abruptly, one hand covering his left ear. For a few seconds, he simply stared into thin air, listening. Then he tapped his League communicator.

"Affirmative."

He returned his attention to Dubbilex, smiling sadly.

"We have to leave. I mean, we don't have to, we were just asked to, but it's rather important…" His inner conflict was written on his face.

"I understand", Dubbilex replied.

"But we'll come back. And you can call us, whenever you need us. Do you have a pen? Thanks. Here, this is my phone number. It's a secure line. Call me tomorrow, so we can talk some more?"

Dubbilex nodded once more. "Thank you, brother."

"No, don't thank me. I owe you my freedom. You helped save me from…" He gestured downwards helplessly, at the depths of the secret facility below them. "From all of this, Dubbilex."

Already rising from his chair, Conner shot the G-goblin a timid smile. "I'm the one who has to thank you, brother."

The weather outside was still warm, the leaves still golden. It seemed almost unreal to Megan, incredible that only two hours had passed since they had entered the world of the genomorphs.

As soon as the sliding doors closed behind them, Conner began jogging towards their Zeta station.

'You might want to turn invisible and fly with me', he advised her through their re-established mind link, already building up speed.

'What happened? Is the team going on a mission?'

His long strides carried him fast towards the Hall of Justice.

'Everybody is. They located Red Tornado.'

Author's note:

This chapter was very close to my heart. I hope you enjoyed it!

Please review: What is your impression of the G-goblin's dream?

(While dwarfs and elves are ever abundant, there seem to be very few strong goblin characters in fantasy literature. A notable exception is the extremely dedicated, patient and humble revolutionary called Mug Button in Tad William's "The War of the Flowers", a book I can strongly recommend!)