It had been several weeks and I had prepared everything as perfectly as I could. I'd been forced to take things slowly to allay suspicions, but I was basically ready. Things were going perfectly as well. A few days before the procedure started I was brought into an office and they made me sign some papers.

I had been waiting for this. They were transferring ownership of the old man's resources to his 'new body'. Even better, they were cocky enough to do it before he actually made the switch. I was now a multi-millionaire. That night I started my escape.

I couldn't just pick a few locks and leave the building; I needed to make certain that I was going to keep my new wealth and that I wasn't going to get caught again. I pulled apart the keypad to my door and had it unlocked in moments.

It was funny; they had educated me in all sorts of skills including electronics and computers, they knew that I had a genius-level intellect, and yet they never believed I would use that knowledge without their permission. It just goes to show how dangerous complacency is.

Sneaking into the surveillance room was tricky, but knowing the locations of the security cameras made it easier. Bill was the one on duty. He had somehow smuggled a magazine into the building and was flipping through it idly. I carefully knocked him out and tied him up with a rope made of a bedsheet. Bill was a decent guy so I was relatively gentle. I also took his magazine with me so he wouldn't get in any more trouble. It wasn't like he could avoid getting fired, but he didn't need to be blamed for my escape because he was reading a naughty swimsuit magazine.

I turned off the surveillance cameras. As long as I covered my tracks properly they wouldn't know what I did. I 'met' Allen on my way to the offices. I always hated the bully, so I gave him Bill's borderline smut. I left him trussed up like a Christmas present.

Logging onto the doctor's computers was easy as pie. The computer was part of the building's secure setup. They didn't even connect these to the internet, so I couldn't use it for a lot of the stuff I needed. That was fine; I had other things I could do with this.

Like gutting it for all the incriminating evidence I could find.

There was a lot here. Videos and papers from years of them poking and prodding me were meticulously stored on the servers. There were other kids in the records as well, but there wasn't as much of them since I was the only one who had survived the initial culling process. I put the worst onto a flash drive and added a bunch of paperwork as well. The company that the old man was running had been doing a lot of stuff that the police would be interested in, so I made sure that I had a record of everything remotely criminal that had been done here.

There was enough to implicate them ten times over. Daedalus Incorporated was such a stereotypically evil corporation that it wasn't funny.

I moved onto gathering up any supplies I would need to stay safe. I left behind three more unconscious guards, raided the break room to get enough food for a couple of days, along with some of the more useful supplies from the labs. Dr. Mason was really going to hold a grudge about me raiding his secret stash of beef jerky and breaking open the vending machine. Once I was set for my short term needs I began to work my way into unknown territory. I hadn't exactly been given a free run of this place, so I had to rely on what I'd seen on the security cameras and records to put together a crude mental map.

Turns out, this place was a lot bigger than I'd expected. This company was so arrogant, or short-sighted, that they had put all their eggs in one basket. It was increasingly obvious that this wasn't a building so much as a massive complex. I wasn't sure, but it was probably underground. That was going to make escaping harder, but my next destination might help.

The heavy doors to the experimental weapons wing slid open slowly and I stepped over another pair of unconscious guards and into the most beautiful thing I have seen in this life. It was like a candy store, only filled with weapons.

From what I could find on the computers, this stuff was made to combat metahumans. I can only imagine how rich someone could get selling guns that could threaten Superman. Apparently, someone here could. They had been trying their best to make some for years. The results weren't anywhere close to having the power that could threaten heavyweights like the Kryptonian boy scout though.

There was far too much to carry, so I needed to limit myself to a few favorites. Luckily, their computers had plenty of demonstration videos edited for potential customers. I also looked up the stuff that they weren't willing to show the customers, like blueprints and technical information.

The weapons made for mass production were okay. They certainly were better than a normal assault rifle, ...but only just. It was obvious that the designers had given up their original goal and were trying to make something fancy looking, not necessarily effective. The energy rifles would be very expensive to operate and maintain. It was apparent from the tests that any buyers would be better off sticking with more conventional firearms. There were others that were designed to be non-lethal, although the tests showed that their results so far were like the glowing green energy equivalent of a bean bag round.

Each weapon, including the grenades, used the same exotic energy source. The odd energy was more of a downside in my opinion. It was like selling a product that used completely unique batteries for no reason. If the performance was good enough people might buy it, but with what I saw I couldn't understand why these scientists were spending all this time and effort. The weapons looked really cool and that was about it.

It was a shame that they would be useless to me once I ran out of the weird power clips they used.

I was actually getting discouraged until I found some odd-looking files. I felt everything click when I started to read. The files, titled Project: Black Box, told an interesting story. The scientist hadn't managed to come up with an unique energy and weaponize it on their own. All of their fancy guns and toys had come from utilizing the power of a single object.

My first thought as I read the files was how much it reminded me of the Tesseract from the Captain America movie. The energy was the wrong color though. I couldn't help but sigh in relief at that. The DC universe was chaotic enough without adding infinity stones to the mix. I pulled up a few pictures and looked at the mystery object. Didn't DC have something like this already? I was pretty sure it was called 'mother box' or something like that. It literally had been over a decade since I had read any comics or watched any shows, so my memory was pretty fuzzy.

The all-important object was held in a sturdy storage locker with only a large padlock keeping it safe. All I had to do was grab one of the energy rifles and empty the clip into the lock. It took a while for the molten metal to cool, but when it did all I needed to do was lever open the door and take my prize. The people here were being so stupid that it was ridiculous.

I wasn't going to complain though. Being able to escape was great, but stealing their precious toy at the same time was just too good.

The artifact was a heavy black box the size of a Rubik's cube. Thin lines of pale green light crawled over its surface. I recognized the color of the glow from the demonstration videos showing off the fancy space guns and grenades.

"Hello beautiful~"

The zigzagging lines hesitated for a moment, then they went back to normal. I didn't miss that little twitch, and I felt my smile getting wider. This may be more special than I had thought.

"You can understand me can't you?"

The cube didn't react.

If I was being watched I would feel a bit foolish, but I know for a fact that I had shut down the cameras. I could talk to inanimate objects all I wanted without anyone seeing me and labeling me a crazy person. This was a comic book world though, so I was willing to bet on the ridiculous explanation being the right one.

"Listen, I know you're aware, you don't have to fake it."

The moving lines froze completely, before moving in a different pattern. I got the distinct feeling that it was staring at me. I carried the box over to a table and sat in a chair next to it. I was trying to treat the box as a person, instead of an object. For some reason, I really wanted to make a good impression.

"Listen, I was taken here against my will and experimented on. I'm trying to escape right now. I don't know for sure, but you're in the same boat, aren't you?"

{...}

I blinked a couple of times. The box hadn't spoken, but that was definitely a response. The cube somehow sounded suspicious, but it had 'said' yes.

"You want to come with me? I can probably get us out of here."

I was happy to take any chance to ruin these people's day, but somehow it didn't feel right to basically kidnap this cube if it was actually sentient. I was a bit surprised that I actually thought that way. It seemed just as surprised.

{...}

It was definitely suspicious as well. I was about to speak again when it interrupted me.

{...}

"What? Okay…"

I picked it up and put it against my forehead just like it asked. A spark of green electricity arced against my skin. I jumped, but my hand and forehead seemed to be stuck to the cube as if they were magnetized. A tingle spread through my skull, and I felt the thing sorting through my memories like it was skimming through a book. It was weird, uncomfortable, and more than a little invasive, but I got a decent read on the cube while it was in there.

The way the cube examined my memories was impersonal. It seemed to have emotions, but it was obvious that it didn't think like a person. After it finished rooting through my mind, the cube seemed to come to a decision. It softened and melted, coating my face. Black and green metal flowed over my head and down my arm. Within seconds I was encased in a thin layer of alien metal, making me feel claustrophobic. I was trapped while it vibrated and twisted around me. It even started forcing its way into my mouth and nose. Just as I was starting to panic the metal suddenly shifted, and I was wearing a skin-tight suit of high tech armor.

My connection to the cube became much clearer. Our thoughts seemed to gain a strange harmony, then began to blend and combine. A blob of the strange material shook free of my hand and actually started floating in the air, but our minds were already one. We hesitated before following our instincts, and more metal pushed out of the blob and formed into a hovering metal glider.

"This. Is. Awesome."

It really was. I looked so cool like this and so did the glider. Even my distorted voice sounded wicked. If I didn't have a thirteen-year-old body it would be even better.

The cube's 'mind' was part of mine now. It was an extension of my thoughts while still maintaining enough independence that it could aid me without using any of my own focus. It seemed like the fusion had different effects though. My brain power was boosted drastically as it interfaced with me. Memories in my mind flared to the forefront of my thoughts, and the cube latched onto them. The glider surrounding it and the armor surrounding me started to change shape, altering to suit me better.

The glider shifted to metallic silver and grey colors. Its shape twisted into the form of a hawk-like gargoyle. Red eyes glowed ominously on the horned and fanged face and glowing green vents held it in the air. It looked very sleek: the angles reminded me of a sports car or a high-end motorcycle. The cube had been careful to keep the Halloween look though, and it pulled it off wonderfully.

My armor turned a deep green color and the texture changed from something obviously metal to identical to human skin texture. My body looked off until the cube covered my torso in a set of purple clothes, complete with a hood and loincloth. Matching boots that nearly reached my knees and fingerless gloves that covered the length of my forearms appeared as well. A belt with a stylized orange skull buckle appeared around my waist, completing the look.

I looked myself over, feeling my face as well, noting how what had been more like a mask or a helmet now was part of my skin, altering the structure and giving me a pointed nose, ears, and chin. I gave myself a conflicted smile.

"The Green Goblin? Really?"

The Spectacular Spider-Man cartoon was great and had my favorite Green Goblin, but among all my memories, why was that the cube's first pick?

There was a fading sensation of the cube giving the mental equivalent of a shrug before it disappeared into the depths of my subconscious. We had fused, and now there was only 'I' remaining. It was still there in a way, I could feel the increase in brainpower along with a stronger body and keener senses. The only difference was that this was fusion instead of symbiosis.

It occurred to me too late that I had been quite reckless, for all I knew the cube could have been another bodysnatcher. After a moment's thought, I echoed the cube's mental shrug; there was no use overthinking things. I may as well count my blessings and move on.

My new armor didn't look like armor at all. It was technically a part of me, but that didn't explain how the strange, biomechanical technology managed to look so natural. Even so, if I hadn't experienced it for myself I would have thought this was my actual skin and face that had been transformed. Even my mouth was different. There wasn't any mirror nearby, but I could feel my slightly sharper teeth with my tongue.

After finishing looking myself over, I jumped into the air, landing on the glider with a flip. It let out a rising hum and I blasted off down the hallways. I had figured out where the employees entered the complex years ago. That thought made me a little emotional. I hadn't left the complex in literal years.

At first, I just wanted to start blowing up stuff. The plan had been to cover my tracks and destroy everything I could. After some thought, I decided it wasn't worth the time. It might help the police if I didn't leave this place a smoking crater. Plus, it wasn't like those schmucks would miss that I escaped with their golden goose.

I had been careful while collecting evidence so I didn't need to worry about them covering their tracks right away. I hadn't made a mess in their offices, so as far as they knew I 'only' knocked out their guards, stole the cube, and pillaged their break room.

I did take the time to find the room where the mind-switching device was. It delayed my escape, but I took my time and placed a few timed pumpkin bombs around anything that looked important. That old creep wasn't going to have an opportunity to steal anyone's mind if I had anything to say about it. It wasn't like I would be in any less trouble if I left it alone anyways.

I flew to a stop in front of the elevator. It was so much fun flying on the glider that I didn't want to get off. I just pushed the button with my foot and entered the elevator while riding cross-legged. The glider casually drifted through the open doors. The elevator rose quickly, but the complex had been built quite deep underground. I hummed lightly as I rose upwards towards the surface. The elevator dinged lightly and the doors opened to reveal a cluttered storage room. This was almost certainly the official building now.

When the doors shut there wasn't a trace of their presence. So far I had been rather unimpressed with the precautions throughout the complex, but this was fairly well thought out. Unfortunately, they were so confident of their methods of keeping their secrets hidden that they didn't properly defend them. Now I could blow their whole operation wide open. I pulled out an orange disc with a jack o 'lantern design and squeezed it. Oddly shaped triangular blades that shouldn't have fit inside the disc popped out.

The blades cut into the plaster easily as I slashed a pair of arrows onto the wall that pointed towards the secret elevator. That wasn't going to be something they could hide with a bit of paint.

The wings of the glider folded to fit through doorways and I shot down the hallway. I zipped along quickly and found the entrance quickly. I caught sight of the security guard's shocked face out of the corner of my eye as I swept past the front desk. His expression made me cackle as I smashed straight through the glass doors. Then I saw the sky for the first time in ten years.

It was dark, covered in clouds, and dreary even ignoring the fact that it was late at night. ...It was beautiful.

I shot up above the buildings and into the sky. The wind whipped at my face. Somehow the feeling of touch and temperature were transferred through the armor. I was thankful for that since it let me experience even more of this night flight.

For a brief moment, I was truly free. I didn't think about the struggles in my future or the dangers that I would face. The pain and imprisonment of my past didn't matter; it only let me savor the ability to fly all the more.

Then a woman's scream echoed faintly and I was brought back to reality.

"Oh, right... This is Gotham."

I hopped out of my cross-legged position and leaned forward, the glider dipped forwards like a hawk in a lazy dive. The cube and I were basically one. It made piloting the glider as easy as moving a hand.

Some dude had cornered a lady in an alley. Just a glimpse wouldn't have been enough to make any judgments, but the terror in her eyes was enough to understand what I needed to do. I dove into the alley and leaped from the glider. The glider pulled into a hover as I dropped like a rock.

Dragging a hand and foot against the wall let me bleed off some speed. I doubted a fall from five or six stories would do much damage through my armor, especially with whatever they had pumped into me over the years, Still, it was better to be safe than sorry.

"Dynamic! Entry!"

Once I was only about a story up I forced myself into a roll and kicked off the wall at an angle. I kicked the thug in the back, sending him flying off his feet. His knife seemed to float in place as his body practically bounced off the ground before slamming into a trio of garbage cans. I landed lightly on my feet and snagged the knife out of the air.

The woman stared blankly. My appearance had been so sudden that it startled her out of her fear. It didn't last long though; my lean, pointed face must have been quite scary in the dim light. I tried to give her a reassuring grin, but she just flinched. I flicked my arm out, tossing the knife at a dumpster to the side. It stuck in the heavy plastic lid. The lady seemed partially relieved at me disarming myself, although she cringed at the noise. I held out my arms in a non-threatening posture and kept smiling.

"Sorry to 'drop in' uninvited, are you alright?"

She nodded nervously but didn't stop cowering. I wiped the grin off my face and gave her the most gentle look I could manage. Given her reaction, it wasn't enough.

"Do you want help getting home?"

The lady couldn't help but flinch again. It hurt my feelings a bit, although I totally understood. I could hardly blame her with my appearance and the circumstances. I settled for giving her an exaggerated bow and smiling once more. I jerked a thumb at the mugger's knife as I did.

"Then you have a safe night ma'am. Also, go ahead and arm yourself, it might help for next time."

I jumped up and kicked off the wall, the force let me fly over and snag a hand on a conveniently placed air conditioning unit on the opposite side of the alley. I heard a quiet 'thank you' coming from below me, so I pushed upwards and threw my body into a flip. As I rolled through the air I gave her a mid-air salute before catching my fingers into the brickwork and scrabbling up the wall like a lizard. I quickly disappeared over the edge of the building. As far as the woman was concerned, I was long gone. She half stumbled, half ran out of the alley. After I was sure she had left I dropped back into the alley.

I snagged the man's wallet and emptied it of cash before dropping it on his chest. I added it to the bundle I had gathered off the security guards. The thug didn't have much, but every little bit helped. What I was really after though, was his cellphone. The guards weren't allowed to bring theirs into the complex. I shoved him over with a foot and pulled the device out of his back pocket. It had a crack in the screen, but it still worked fine.

The phone didn't have a password, so I didn't need to slap the thug around for access. I pulled up a map and hunted down the route to the Gotham City police department. It was surprisingly close. The glider shoved me upwards and we wove between the buildings as we flew away.

At the pace we were going, the glider and I would reach the police department in half an hour. I amused myself viewing the gothic architecture. This city might be dark and dreary, but it did have a special atmosphere.

This part of the city wasn't as nasty as where I was born. It made sense; Daedalus Incorporated wouldn't set up in the slums and the police department was nearby. There were plenty of buildings that were open even this late. A surprising number of people were out and about as well. They moved in a hurry, but it was obvious that they were going about their normal day, such that it was.

I caught sight of a pastry shop and almost passed it when a mischievous idea popped into my head. I flew lower and slipped off the glider, grabbing onto a streetlight and sliding down it like it was a fireman's pole.

People were pointing and staring as I walked into the store, and the clerk watched me like he expected me to suddenly explode. Nobody did anything though. I purchased two dozen donuts and left the building whistling an upbeat tune. A few minutes later I marched through the front doors of the Gotham City Police Headquarters.

"Special delivery!"

I got maybe three steps past the door before three different cops drew guns and trained them on me. I stood there, holding up the donut boxes with the papers and thumb drives stacked on top while being skewered by glares and seconds away from getting my head blown off by trigger happy policemen…

"Oh right... This is Gotham."