Chapter Two — Fireworks
"Life, although it may only be an accumulation of anguish, is dear to me, and I will defend it."
No one had ever said the Gotham foster system was good, and at seven years old Arley Gluck hardly doubted anyone ever would. Despite having only been in the system a few years Arley had been moved around more the ball in a shell game; fifteen foster homes, all of them as over crowded and as horrible as the last.
This one, the Holdens, was one of the worst. They weren't the worst— that had been one of Arley's first homes, the Whites who locked Arley up in the hall closest regularly and often forgot she was even there until they needed an umbrella or coat before going out hours, or even days later after having thrown her in the small space —but still, the Holden family was bad. Just on the cusp of crime alley, not far from where Arley had lived before being tossed into the system, the Holden apartment was tiny enough for the seven year old girl to wonder just who Walter and Sharon Holden knew— because they had to know someone if the state allowed them to house four foster kids in a two room apartment —Arley knew she just had to put up with everything around her. If she could deal with the small, mostly cold portions of television dinners she was given, and the sporadic beatings she got then she'd be fine.
It wasn't as if the Holdens wanted to adopt her, she would be gone sooner rather then later, moved to another foster home that only wanted her for the check that came in the mail.
With her homework on her lap and the police sirens that blared outside echoing through the Gotham streets Arley tried to concentrate. She liked school, perhaps not the people and children that surrounded her in the small, over crowded class rooms but she liked learning; but the more she tried to focus on the math problems on her page the more she couldn't, not when Walter Holden could be heard from the next room over screaming at the youngest of the four foster children at the top of his lungs.
Jackson Albertson was a tiny, thin five year old boy who had been born into the system. He was hyperactive and curious and he liked to take things that weren't ever his just to see if he could; he always put whatever he took back though so it wasn't like he stole, he just simply borrowed what he'd taken.
No one ever saw it that way though, least of all Arley who had, since meeting the younger boy, learned to keep everything she owned that wasn't clothing, in the second hand school bag she used to prop up her pillow at night.
Arley's Monday math homework tumbled to the ground when she heard the young boy cry out, when she heard his tiny body drop from the other room. Arley hadn't even thought of staying hidden in the shared bedroom; with her homework still spilled out on the wood floor Arley threw open the bedroom door and saw Walter Holden standing over Jackson Albertson, Walters gold chain in his hand and not around his neck.
Arley's stomach dropped.
The boy laid out on the floor at Walter Holdens feet, his hand cupped his cheek and Arley felt her fingers curl around the bedroom door frame because Jackson had done that to himself. Swiping something from another foster kids dresser was one ting, but stealing the chain off of a grown mans neck— stealing Walter Holdens chain off his neck — was more then stupid, it was suicidal.
Arley watched Walter Holden yolk Jackson up by the front of his shirt; the boy's bottom lip was quivering and tears welled up in his eyes. Arley moved.
"What do you think you're doing?" She demanded, her voice loud and steely; Arley had quickly learned over her years in the system, more often then not abusive foster parents got easily distracted. They were like dogs with chew toys, always dropping the one they had in favor of the less battered one.
"Who the hell do you think you're talking to?" Walter snapped, his head turned as he glared at Arley. Walter's eyes were a beat red and Arley felt fear curl inside her; Walter was always so much worse when he was mending a hangover. Jackson was an idiot; he and Arley and the two other foster kids— Melissa Goodwin and Sergio Hicks —knew that there were certain times that they had to stay clear of Walter and his wife Sharon— not just walk on eggshells around the two, but leave the apartment if necessary —and yet the five year old menace had purposefully gone and poked the sleeping lion during one of those times.
Jackson hung off the floor, still in Walters grip; he looked at Arley horrified. Arley could hear it in Walters voice, the threat of being beat, but she squared her tiny shoulders defiantly.
Her teachers always said she had gumption and her past foster siblings always said she was stupid for a bookworm.
"Who do you think? I'm talking to you." Walter moved; he didn't take a step forward he just moved and Arley held back her flinch. The bruise on her stomach from the week before was still a nasty back-blue color and the cut she got just below her ear from the broken beer bottle his wife had thrown the previous night had only just scabbed over.
"You sure about that?" Arley looked at Jackson whose cheek was a bright, angry red and then at Walter. Her eyes hardened; lowering her head and turning back into the room never even crossed her mind; it had never been an option.
"Yeah, I'm sure." Walter dropped Jackson who curried over to the space between the couch and the wall and Arley didn't move as Walter moved; she wanted to run, to hide, but her legs didn't move. Her eyes never left Walters.
She fell when he hit her, crumpling like a condemned building and the mans bare foot made contact with her stomach; Arley focused on protecting her head. That was the first thing she had learned when being thrown into the system, when you're down on the ground protect your head. Arley felt her body move back with every kick; she felt something inside her chest crack as Walter kicked her into the corner of the bedroom door frame.
He picked her up by the upper shoulder and Arley let out a loud, painful cry. Walter's dark iris' had turned red, "Your time runs short. You must awaken." He flung her to the ground and Arley rolled out across the apartments wood floor; her eyes knitted together at Walters odd and out of place order; what did he mean by she had to wake? Wasn't she already awake? The young girls knees pushed her forward and she crawled around Walters lazy-boy recliner, her head was pounding and the room had started to spin, though Arley wasn't quite sure why. Walter hadn't hit her in the head, she couldn't be concussed.
"You must awaken now!"
...
Arley, with her eyes blow wide open and still in her Green Lantern uniform woke up in a Cadmus pod hyperventilating— she ignored how much it hurt to breath every time she sucked in more air —panic flowed through her body as she thrashed against the metal bonds that held her up and Kid Flash, Robin and Aqualad all turned to the girl.
"—Lantern, Green—" Arley ignored Dick's voice— Robin's voice —the only thing in her mind was that she had to get away, she had to run, she needed to go; Walter was going to hurt her more. No matter how hard she pulled against the pods restraints she couldn't get away. Jackson was safe— hidden from Walters view —but she wasn't. She needed to run, she needed to get away.
"She's having a panic attack," Kaldur— Aqualad —said from his pod on the end as Arley gasped again; "Green Lantern please calm yourself, you're okay!" But she didn't, Arley didn't care what the people around her said, she had to run. She had to go. She was going to die; her Walter was going to kill her this time.
"Hey-hey-hey, Ar's, it's okay, it's okay, you're okay." Wally; Arley paused mid-thrash, why was Wally in Gotham? Why was he at the Holdens? He was going to get hurt too, he was— "Green Lantern," Wally pleaded cutting off her line of thought, "Please look at me."
Arley blinked; she turned and looked through the glass of her pod and saw fifteen year old Wally, worried and pale; his eyes wide with concern.
She wasn't in Gotham, she wasn't seven anymore and she had long ago left the Holden household behind her. She was with Wally and Dick and Kaldur; with Kid Flash, Robin and Aqualad on a mission. Arley looked around her, her heart beating erratically in her chest, and then back at Wally who smiled reassuringly at her. She had been captured and restrained; but she was alive. With her eyes closed Arley leaned back in her pod. Arley's heart continued to beat erratically in her chest and Wally turned in his pod, away from Arley towards the startled looking clone that stood below them. Arley opened her eyes and saw Supermans clone looking at her.
He looked at her shocked; like she had reached outside of her pod and hit him. It was the same look a child wore the first time they touched a hot stove. Startled.
"What-what do you want?" Kid demanded to know angrily; the clone didn't answer his expression fell and as he breathed he looked from Arley to Kid. Even the emotion in his eyes began to cool; to harden, but as he looked back at Arley, away from Kid the look Arley had awoken in him came back to his eyes.
The same kind of yellow crystals she had seen above Superboys pod glittered prettily above them from the caverns stalactites. Arley tried to call for a construct of any kind in order to escape only nothing appeared from her ring. Worry— fear —churned in her stomach.
"Quit staring!" Kid snapped "It's creepy!"
"Uh, KF?" Robin hissed from his own pod, "How about we not tick off the guy who can fry us with a look?" Robin— not Dick, they were in the field, it was Robin —looked from Kid to Arley, "You okay GL?" Arley's heart hadn't stopped hammering in her chest; she could still hear it racing as it pounded in her ears but she was a Green Lantern and Lanterns, they ate fear for breakfast.
She opened her mouth to speak, and as she started to her voice— sounding as scratchy as those people in the anti-smoking commercials often did —cracked.
"Y-yeah 'm fine, buh-but my-my r-ing." Arley's throat hurt as she spoke and the only thing Arley thought of when speaking was how her throat felt as sore and raw as it had the last time she'd gotten lost in an alien desert.
She twirled her finger and fluttered her powerless ring. Walter had broken her rib that time and while though Arley slowly began to understood what she had seen— Jackson and Walter —had been nothing more then a long past memory, her chest still ached; the Green Lantern knew the reason her throat hurt had everything to do with the fact Superboy had actually choked her out and nothing to do with what had happened to her as a child.
Aqualad looked at the clone from where he hung in his pod. "We only sought to help you."
"Yeah," Kid scoffed, "We free you and you turn on us, how's that for gra—"
"—Kid," Aqualad cut the speedster off, his voice stern, "Please be quite now. I believe out new friend was not in full control of his actions."
"Wha-what if I," The clone frowned as he searched for the right words "What if I wasn't?"
"He can talk?" Kid gasped; Arley looked from the clone to her best friend with incredulous look. Sometimes, she supposed, the teenage speedster made even Guy Gardener look suave.
"Yes he can," the clone snapped, his fingers curled into a fist at his side. Arley knew if her throat hadn't felt like sandpaper every time she breathed she would have smoothed over her friends words the same way she always did when he accidentally stumbled into trouble as his civilian self. Not to say that he never saved her, but more often then not Wally West's mouth ran faster then either his brains or feet could handle.
"It's not like I said it," Kid muttered. Aqualad seemed to sigh in his pod before he turned back to the Superboy clone.
"The genomorphs taught you telepathically," the Atlantean said and Arley remembered the little monsters that had been podded above the cloned boys head; their horns had glowed a brilliant and bright bloody red right before he had charged and attacked them.
In her dream Walters eyes, after they had changed, had turned red; Arley tensioned at the memory; someone would have thought six years of therapy would've helped put that behind her but yet the more she thought about Walter Holden and her years in foster care in general Arley's heart picked back up and Arley counted to ten in her mind like she'd been taught to do when panic swelled inside her, and when she still thought of her Walter Holdens led feet Arley with gritted teeth thought of Hal Jordan and his big brown puppy dog eyes and Kilowog's tiny dark ones and how, in the early days of Guy Gardners' training, when she had pranked the red headed man into wearing a Tamaranian dress, both Hal and Kilowogs eyes had lit up brighter then Arley had ever seen, because if her brain wouldn't just turn off then she would just open a new metaphorical window.
A happier one. Jordan's weren't pessimists, Lanterns weren't cowards; she just needed to focus, to ignore everything she was thinking and swallow what she was feeling.
"They taught me much," Superboy said with a slight nod; Arley only half listened as she forced herself to think about other happy memories she'd experienced since getting her ring and not of the memories she had of her experience in the New Jersey Foster system, "I can read, write, I know the names of things."
"But have you seen them?" Robin asked, "Have they ever let you see the sky? Or the sun?"
"Images are implanted in my mind," Superboy told them and his shoulders dropped, "But no, I have not seen them."
"Do you know what you are?" Aqualad wondered, "Who you are?"
"I am the Superboy, a genomorph, a clone made of the DNA of the Superman, created to replace him should be perish, or destroy him should he turn from the light."
"To be Superman is a worthy aspiration, but like Superman you deserve a life of your own, beyond your solar suit, beyond your pod. Beyond Cadmus."
"I live because of Cadmus!" The clone boy shouted, his eyes narrowed in anger. Arley for a second thought the Superboy clone was about to roast her and Kid, due to their pods being the ones that were directly in front of him, as he glared at the four hanging superheroes but he didn't. "It is my home!"
"Your home is test tube," Robin said and Superboy flinched; Arley turned and shot the younger boy a hard looked before looking back down at the clone.
"W-we," Arley croaked, she grimaced as she spoke, she ignored that pain her throat, "C-can show yo-you the sun."
"Uh pretty sure it's after midnight," Kid corrected her, a small smile on his face as he did so, "But we can show you the moon."
"We can show you, introduce you to, Superman," Aqualad promised and Arley saw it; the awed look that had overcame the cloned boys face at the promise. She'd worn that look once, back when she'd gotten her ring and been transported to Oa; she'd worn that look when Ganthet had promised to give her a family.
"No," a voice from behind the clone said, Arley and the others looked up from Superboy, Superboy himself turned to look at a skinny white man with long honey brown hair and a genomorph gnome on his shoulder. "They can't, they'll be otherwise occupied."
Next to him, with genomorphs on their shoulders was the Guardian, and the female scientist Kid had knocked over outside of room Superboy had been podded in. The male scientist who had spoken turned to the female; "Activate the cloning process."
"Pass," Robin said, "The Batcave's crowded enough."
"And get the weapon back in it's pod!" The Guardian stepped forward; Kid wondered why he got to call Superboy an it, and Superboy who had shrugged off the supposed heroes hand glared at the helmet wearing man.
"Don't start thinking now," the male scientist snapped as he strode up to Superboy.
The gnome that had been on his shoulder jumped to Superboys; it's horned glowed red. The same red as Walter Holdens eyes had seemingly glowed in her dream, and the same red every other gnomes horns glowed before something terrible had happened.
"You're not a real boy, you're a weapon and you belong to me! Well, Cadmus but same thing. Now get back to your pod!"
Wordlessly Superboy turned; the genomorphs horns glowed red as it continued to perch itself on the cloned boys shoulder. The door shut behind Supermans clone and the scientists nodded to one another. The woman who had gone over to the panel of buttons pressed something and two metal prongs shot up out of the pods floor; four long needles protruded at the end of each of the two prongs.
Arley had never had a problem with shots before, and she had always planned to get tattoos when she got older, but as the needle points hovered over her chest Arley quickly discovered her new found trypanophobia.
The prongs surged forward and the needles passed through her uniform as they were plunged into her sternum; her uniform which was powered by her will— just as her constructs were —wasn't supposed to tear and rip like it was made from the same fabric as her t-shirt was, it was supposed to be impenetrable. The yellow crystals sparkled above her head. Nonetheless, despite what her uniform was supposed to be, blood as the needle pulled, pooled in the barrel, and electricity emanated through Arley's body as the needles continued to pull the blood.
Arley, as she screamed, wasn't sure what hurt more; her throat, her head— which pounded as she and the others screamed in pain —or every other part of her body as electricity coursed through her. All she was sure of was that she was pain.
And then, as suddenly it stopped; the electricity coursing through the needle stopped and though, despite her throat throbbing as she did so Arley breathed in deeply. Superboy, who had ripped the door from it's hinges tossed the heavy metal to the side with ease and walked into the room.
"I told you to get back—" Superboy, as both the male and female scientist, the genomorph Arley and the boys had run into at the cave's fork, and the Guardian rushed forward, tossed all three adults, and the blue genomorph to the side.
"Don't give me orders," Superboy growled at the male scientist before turning to the four sidekicks and stepped forward.
"You here to help us or fry us?" Kid Flash asked; Superboys eyes narrowed for a second.
"Huh," The clone nodded, "I don't seem to have heat vision so I suppose helping is my only option." With that Robin, groaning, jumped from his pod and the floor, the younger boy rubbed his covered wrists.
"Lucky Batman isn't here, he'd have my head for taking so long," the boy wonder said.
"Seriously?" Kid Flash snapped from his pod as Robin turned and moved to the pods control panel, "That's what you're worried about? After tonight the whole League will have out heads!"
He was right. The minute she and the others escaped certain death and cloning and made their way back to the Hall of Justice Arley knew the League would have their heads for playing fast and loose with Batman's stay put orders and while perhaps the League couldn't keep her from doing her job as a Lantern as punishment the same way both Batman and Flash could pull Kid Flash and Robin from the streets, she still knew that both Hal and John would dole out some sort of punishment, whether it be lockdown, simply a week without her phone or something else, the fifteen year old girl knew there was no way she was getting off Scott-free.
Robin pressed a button and all three of the glass pod doors opened with a hiss, Robin looked to Superboy, "Free Aqualad I'll get Kid Mouth and Lantern."
Superboy scowled.
"Don't you give me orders either," the clone boy growled though he jumped to Aqualads pod nonetheless and broke off the Atlantean boys metal bonds. Robin jumped up to Kid Flash's Pod and quickly picked the locks on the metal straps that had hung around the speedsters wrists.
When Kid Flash dropped to the ground Robin gracefully moved to the left; Kid Flash waited underneath Arley's pod.
"Any idea why your ring isn't working?" Robin wondered as he flicked one of the metals bond opened.
Over him the yellow crystals sparkled. Arley frowned; possibilities swirled through her head only for the female Green Lantern to shake her head.
"No-ma-maybe. I-I nee-need to tal-talk to the Guar-Guardians," she said as Robin freed her other arm. Arley dropped to the ground and Kid Flash wasted no time before picking the Green Lantern up in his arms bridal style; the two of them had long ago realized that piggybacks and super speed didn't mix well. Arley's arms wrapped around the speedsters neck.
"You'll never get out of here!" The male scientist yelled as the five teens made their get away. "I'll have you back in pods before morning!"
Kid Flash, with Arley in his arms, paused at where the rooms heavy metal door had been and Robin as he took four birdarangs out of his utility belt turned to the pods.
"That guy is not whelmed, not whelmed at all," the boy wonder tisked.
"What is with you and this whelmed thing?" Kid Flash wondered as the birdarangs embedded themselves in the large blood filled tanks that were located beneath each of the pods. One by one, as the young heroes ran— Arley had her face pressed against the crook of Kid Flash's neck, and perhaps if their lives weren't in danger she would've relished the moment —Arley heard the tanks explode.
Just as the five of them turned the first corner away from the pod room Arley felt the pain in her throat start to fade as she breathed, and as they rushed down a second long cavern corridor. and the purple pods on the wall began to turn red Arley noticed her arm— that she —began to glow a bright, luminescent green.
Her powers were back! Arley felt Kid Flash cheeks lift into a smile, though he didn't slow to put her down. Arley used her ring to form goggles around her eyes and she turned away from the yellow neck piece of Kid Flash's suit and kept her eyes behind them.
"We're still fifty-two levels below ground but if we can make the elevator we can get out of here," Aqualad said, only for monstrous growls to echo throughout the cavern before the words were truly out of his mouth. The four boys stopped running and Arley turned her head to look; the elephant like monsters— the first genomorphs she and the others had encountered in Cadmus —bled out of the walls, blocking Arley and the others from the elevator.
Kid Flash put Arley down and once her feet touched the ground she began to float. Behind them more genomorphs tore themselves from their pods. Jumping back the boys dodged the largest genomorph's tractor sized fists; Arley flew up closer to the cave ceiling.
Arley, as Kid Flash ran between the legs of one, flew low and dropped her hand down; the speedster, as Robin and Aqualad jumped on and then over a second genomorph grabbed Arley's hand and the Green Lantern pulled the speedster to her, pressing him against her. His legs, as not to dangle wrapped around her waist; he held onto her the same way joeys held onto their parents once big enough to survive outside the older koalas pouch.
The cave walls shook as behind them Superboy tossed genomorphs around, and they him. Robin and Aqualad, as Arley, with Kid still wrapped around her, stood in front of the elevator; the four of them turned to the clone.
"Superboy!" Aqualad shouted, "The goal is to escape, not to bury ourselves here!"
The clone turned, his eyes blazing, "You want escape?" Superboy shouted rhetorically. With his bare hands the Kryptonian lifted one of the large elephant-like genomorph monsters he had knocked unconscious up over his head— Arley felt her brows raise because even if the ring gave her enhanced strength she didn't think she could do that without an construct to help her —and threw the lab made monster at three others, knocking them all to the ground.
Aqualad turned and opened the elevator shaft doors open with his hands, bending the metal outwards. Arley, as Robin shot his grappling hook up the elevator shaft, turned to Kid, their noses brushing against one another— she ignored the burning blush that heated her face —and smiled.
"Up, up and away," she said humorously, flying both she and him up after Robin. Behind them, with Aqualad in his arms, Superboy followed. Arley hovered next to the boy wonder,
"Got your powers back," the caped boy observed.
"Yeah," she muttered, "Still weird how they just stopped working in the pod rooms." Because they had worked on the floors above the cave, and they had worked in the caves carved out corridors so it was more then just bizarre that her ring stopped functioning in only the rooms that had pods. Or rather; it was weird that her ring had only stopped working near the sparkling, bone chilling yellow crystals that only hung in the pod rooms.
Arley's eyes widened as Superboy and Aqualad began to fall; the Man of Steels clone's arm outstretched and blue eyes blown out wide. Robin through a bridarang that embedded itself in the elevator wall and Arley, thinking of a bounce house floor, formed a construct below them.
Aqualad, before either he or Superboy had hit Arley's construct, caught Robins birdarang and Arley and Robin lowered themselves down to the ledge just under where the two boys hung.
"Superman can fly," Superboy whispered brokenheartedly, Arley felt her heart go out to the clone, "Why can't I fly?"
Arley created a floor and Kid, with no hesitation dropped onto the construct.
"Don't know but it looks like you can leap tall building in a single bound," Kid said with a half smile as he pulled Superboy away from Aqaulad and onto the construct. The clone stood on the glowing green floor with his shoulders hanging low as the gilled boy dropped next to him. "Still cool though."
Above them the elevator sounded.
"Guy's this will have to be out exit!" Robin said and both Aqualad and Superboy kicked open the elevator door sending the metal doors marked level fifteen flying. Arley supposed that the one good thing about being in a villains layer— or an illegal shady and defiantly no good laboratory —was that neither she nor any of the boy had to worry about the League being billed for damages.
Genomorphs rushed at them and the five teens took the closest left. Arley flew neck and neck with Kid.
"Left!" Superboy ordered, "Go left!" The five of them turned. "Right!" Only for the five of them to be lead to a dead end. Kid turned to Superboy who's face fell at the sight of the wall. Confusion was written all over the clone boys face. Arley settled on the ground between the two boys.
"Great directions Supey, are you trying to get us re-podded?" Arley's elbow shot out and nudged the speedster in the arm, as if to wonder if right then was really the time. Kid blew a breath of air out his nose as Superboy stepped closer to the wall.
Behind them Robin and Aqualad ran behind them.
"I-I don't understand," the clone said looking at the wood wall like it wasn't supposed to be there.
"Don't apologize," Robin smiled, "This is perfect!" He turned to Arley, "Can you pop the vent off?"
Arley's eyes darted up and landed on the rectangular vent several feet above them. She turned to the younger boy and smiled.
"Easy-peasy," Arley said and a giant green hand shot out of her ring and pulled the metal vent from the wall; the screws that had held the vent into the wall went flying across the hall, and the hand then quickly transformed into three steps that lead from the floor to the vent. Robin was the first to bound up the steps, then Aqualad and Superboy and then Kid who followed only after Arley began to float behind him.
With only the hologram from Robins gauntlet and the glow from the lantern Arley had used her ring to make the five teens quickly made their way through the Cadmus air ducks.
"At this rate we'll never get out," Kid hissed; Superboy shushed the red head, he looked back at Arley.
"Kill the light, and listen." The glowing green lantern Arley had made disappeared; and as she and the others strained their ears the five of them heard hissing growls coming from the direction behind them.
Robin, kicked open the next vent opening the five of them came across; all five teens dropped into a hallway, just outside of the stairwell, Robin who looked away from his holographic computer screen smirked as he turned to the other four.
"I hacked the motion sensors."
"Sweet," Kid nodded.
"There's still plenty of room between us and out though," Arley said. A large, rounded, glowing green mace appeared in Arley's hand.
"Maybe," Kid Flash said, he slide his goggled over his eyes, "But I've finally got room to move." And with that the speedster ran into the stairwell, a head of Arley and the others, and up several flights. Arley ignored the stairs all together and shot up the square space between the winding stairs.
"More behind us!" Robin shouted and Superboy stopped running and turned, slamming his foot against the ground he destroyed the stairs the following genomorphs were using.
Shooting out of the staircase that read sub-level one and down the hallway Arley and Kid Flash's eyes widened at the sight of the closing metal doors that cut them and the others off from the outside world.
"Ah crud," Kid muttered and before he could stop himself he bounced off of them; Arley had caught Kid Flash under the arms and helped the boy steady himself as he held his head. Her hand, as her feet touched the ground, stayed between his shoulder blades.
The others ran behind them.
"We're cut off from the street," Aqualad growled.
"Thanks," Kid replied sarcastically, "My head hadn't noticed."
Arley, as Robin tried to hack the doors and Superboy and Aqualad rushed forward, the pair of them trying to pry the two doors apart created a large drill from her ring only for the drill to disappear and change back to the mace she had brandished while on flying the stairs when she turned to see a dozen of different genomorphs closing in behind them.
Robin kicked open a door that'd been to his left, "This way!" The five of them rushed thought the door. Arley's mace turned into a hand that she used to put the door back upright— she hoped it would stall the lab made monsters for a few seconds —only for the genomorphs that followed them to knock it right back down without any problem.
The five teens, at the end of the hall they ran down, were met by the Guardian and various other genomorph monsters. Arley brandished a glowing green crowbar as the genomorphs behind them trapped them. Robin pulled a dozen or so birdarangs from his utility belt and Aqualad, with the use of his water-bearers formed two twin swords. Aqualad, Kid Flash and Superboy faced the Guardian while Arley and Robin, with their backs to their friends, faced the genomorphs behind them.
The horns of the dozen genomoprh genomes glowed red and Arley's eyes rolled to the back of her head as she dropped.
A minute later, with the genomorph from the cave standing over them and the Guardian with his head in his hands and his shoulder free of the genome-like monster, Arley and the others came too.
Helping the other up without thinking much of it— after two years of them both of them being sidekicks, of fighting together, and several years of friendship somethings were just instinct —Arley and Kid got to their feet.
"Feel's like..." The Guardian trailed off, "It feels like a fog's lifting." The hero looked at the five kids.
"Go," Guardian told them, "I'll deal with Desmond."
"I think not!" And the genomorphs that had stood behind the Guardian split like the red sea; the male scientist— Desmond —glared at six heroes and brandished a bright blue vile of liquid. "Project Blockbuster will give me the power to restore order to Cadmus."
And then he drank it. Desmond dropped on all fours, Arley could hear his bones crack under his skin as they visibly shifted and the mans skin began to stretch as he grew, his clothes tore, and Arley felt herself take an involuntary step back at the horror as his skin tore as he continued to grow. Desmond, now a hulking blue monster roared as it got to his feet. Arley knew that the image of the scientist was going to haunt her, and it was going to be one of the only things she spoke about to Canary in their upcoming sessions.
The monster smirked down at the five sidekicks and League member; a clicking growl echoed through it's throat. Remains of what had once been Desmond's human skin still clung off of his new form.
"Get back," Guardian shouted at the teens before racing towards Desmond; only to be batted away from the scientists new form the same way someone would swat a fly away from them. Guardian bounced off of the wall and onto the ground.
Superboy lunged forward and hit Desmond, only for Desmond to hit him back, the boy though, didn't crumble as the hero had just second before. Superboy hit Desmond a dozen more times only for the beast to roar, not even perturbed by the assault. Desmond threw Superboy across the hall only for the clone boy to shoot back towards him; Desmond jumped and both he and Superboy crashed through the ceiling.
"That's one way to get out," Arley said. She grabbed Kid around the waist; Robin shot his grappling hook and flew through the gaping hole in the ceiling. Aqualad followed quickly behind them;
"Think lab coat planned that?" Kid wondered.
"I doubt he is planning anything anymore," Aqualad said. Arley had only just landed when Desmond swiped Superboys feet out from under him and threw him towards her and the boys; ducking Superboy sailed clear over her and crashed into Aqualad. Both boys skidded back against the Cadmus help desk.
Arley, as Desmond roared and Kid and Robin helped Aqualad and Superboy up created a large shield in front of them them. The shield disappeared when what had once been Desmond rushed forward; the boys shooting out. Kid ducked under Desmonds legs and crouched behind him as Superboy and Aqualad hit the monstrous man in the face, knocking him back over Kids crouched form.
Robin jumped over Kid as he threw three birdarangs that Desmond easily batted away. Arley, coming up with a hammer so big Kilowag would be proud of hit Desmond, slamming the head of her large war hammer up, knocking the monster back. Though not even that hit seemed to stun him, because seconds later Desmond and Superboy were crashing into one of the lobby pillars, destroying it.
Arley and Aqualad used their ring and water bearers to wrap around the arm Desmond had raised to hit Superboy, only for the blue, once human monstrosity, to yank his arm forward. Aqualad flew with motion— Arley tried to dig her heels into the floor —and changed his water stream to a mace only for Desmond to grab the boy and fling him into Arley who had been yanked forward by the construct that was still wrapped around Desmonds bicep; the pair of them hit the marble floor of the lobby hard enough to leave splintering cracks beneath them.
The construct around Desmonds arm disappeared and Desmond threw Superboy into a far off pillar. Arley groaned as she rolled Aqualad off of her before Desmond could bring his foot down on them. Calling a shield from her ring Desmond's foot hit the glowing green construct.
Arley and Aqualad moved; Kid Flash, having taken a running jump, leapt at Desmond only for the monster to sidestep the speedster and grab him by his arm. Both with maces, Arley and Aqualad raised their weapons to attack, only for Desmond to swing Kid Flash around like a bat.
Arley and Kid flew in one direction— Arley's arms around Kid as she had tried to grab him mid-air —and Aqualad in another. Desmond attacked Aqualad; they destroyed another column.
"Kid, Lantern!" Robin called, and both Arley and Kid who had slowly gotten to their feet turned, "Get over here!" Once by his side the boy wonder showed the two a schematic of the Cadmus lobby. "We need to bring this place down," Robin told them.
"Uh, Earth to boy wonder, we won't survive that," Kid said,
"I can protect us," Arley said and Robin, with a grin that said he had thought the same, nodded. She looked at the caped boy, "Just give me the signal."
"Seriously?" Kid asked her, his voice high with disbelief, and Arley raised a brow back in return.
"Do you trust me?" Kid's face fell as it smoothed out, a small smile on his own lips.
"With my life," he told her obviously, without any hesitation. Arley grinned as warmth flooded her; she never got tired of hearing him say that, just like she never got tired of hearing him say he cared about her.
"Then come on Boy Genius," Arley floated, green surrounded her body, "Let's rock this place." Kid snorted at the lame joke. Arley took off in one direction, a large hammer in her hand as she crashed through a pillar; the building rumbled.
"Got your nose!" Arley heard Kid yell; she watched as she destroyed another pillar with her hammer, Desmond throw Superboy to the ground and chase after her best friend.
"Superboy, Aqualad!" Robin called; Arley didn't bother to watch the boy tell the other two about the man and instead focused on Wally who had fallen after being hit with debris from the column he had just gotten Desmond to destroy.
Flying over Arley circled around Desmond, around his head and through his legs.
"Try and catch me doshing esehigi!" She called out, swearing in Mokivian. Desmond though caught her around the ankle as she tried to lead him towards another column and tossed her harshly towards where Robin had been standing.
Arley, as she got back to her feet lead Desmond around with Kid, while Aqualad and Superboy destroyed the columns around them, and Robin drew what looked like a place marker on the ground in chalk.
Arley moved away from Kid to where just behind where Aqualad was standing; Robin huddled next to her, three birdarangs he'd thrown into the last reaming columns beeped.
Kid, as Aqualad shot out water skid along the trail like he was on his old slip-and-slide; Superboy who knocked what had once been the Cadmus scientist down and into the large puddle of water Aqualad had made. Arley as Superboy and Flash moved towards where Aqualad was as the Atlantean's eel tattoo's glowed and electricity coursed through the puddle, and the monster, electrifying him.
"Lantern now!" Arley threw up a small green doom that protected the five young heroes as the building around them came crashing down. Though the ground shook the construct stayed sturdy.
Breathing heavily as debris continued to pile onto the dome Aqualad turned to the group.
"We did it?" Kid Flash panted out a laugh.
"Was there any ever doubt?" Robin wondered jokingly. Arley's mind flashed towards when her ring hadn't been working and when their blood had been taken; she shot the younger boy a sarcastic look and he sheepishly shot her back a meek smile.
His gauntlet beeped.
"How do you suppose we get out of here without being crushed to death GL?" The boy asked. Arley scoffed.
"Like this." The dome she had created grew and grew, knocking all the debris that had been on top of it off until the only thing over them was the night sky. Arley had recalled the construct and looked at Kid, who beamed at her. She then looked at Superboy who's eyes had gone wide at the sight of the moon and smiled softly at the boy. She stepped closer to the clone and rested her hand on his shoulder, he turned to her.
"You can't really see them now because of the light pollution, but the stars? Ten times prettier then the moon." Superboy didn't respond, instead he turned back to the moon and looked at it.
A caped figure shot out from the moon, growing closer and closer by the second.
"Oh, and Superman," Kid said moving so that his elbow rested against Arley's shoulder the girl didn't bother to knock it off and instead took to resting her head against it— knowing that once Superman and their mentors landed she and the others would get more then just chewed out —as other Justice League members descended around the crater that had formerly been Cadmus. "Do we keep out promises or what?"
Superboys face of awe at the sight of Superman turned to one of astonishment.
Hal and John, both of whom carried the other mentors on ring-made platforms, landed behind Superman, both their gazes stern and heavy; Arley ignored her knee-jerk reaction to duck her head under their hard stares and instead, as Wally's arm fell from her shoulder, laced their hands together for reassurance.
Discreetly the speedster squeezed her hand. She breathed in and held her chin high; Superboy stepped forward, towards the man he was cloned from and Batman, who had stepped up next to the Man of Steel.
Superboy lifted his torn solar suit to show the League— to show Superman —the symbol on his chest. A myriad of emotions fluttered over Superman's face only for the aliens expression to harden before Arley or anyone else could make sense of even one of emotions.
Batman made a sound from the back of his throat.
"Is that what I think it is?"
"Don't call him an it," Arley said moving forward to stand besides Superboy, Wally moved with her, their hands still joined.
"He doesn't like that," Kid told Batman in a low tone. Superboy's shoulders rose as his face hardened from what had only seconds before, been wonder struck.
"I'm Supermans clone," Superboy announced and the League collectively seemed to take two steps back at the information. Batman scowled;
"Start talking."
...
Despite having stuck the monstrous Doctor Desmond inside of a spherical construct that read as a free ticket to Belle Reve, both Hal Jordan and John Stewart, Earths two other Green Lanterns didn't move to escort the former human off to jail, and instead, with their arms crossed over their chests, looked at Arley with flinty gazes as she and the other sidekicks and Superboy recounted what had happened from the time the League had been called to help stop the Sun from being blotted out, to when the building had come crashing down around them.
Both Lanterns frowned when Arley had mentioned how in only the rooms with the pods— in only the rooms where the pretty yellow crystals were —her ring hadn't worked, because as far as any of them knew the only thing a Green Lantern ring was weak against were the constructs formed from a corrupted Lanterns ring— Sinestro's yellow ring —something that wasn't just rare and seldom in the universe but one of a kind and certainly not made from any element found on Earth.
"You realize you could have been killed right?" John lectured, his arms uncrossed themselves from his chest and his fists rested against his hips, "You could have died, if your ring had never started working you and the others could have been trapped under all the rubble, if not killed long before that."
"I know," Arley said, grimacing, "I know, and I want to say I'm sorry and it won't happen again but I can't."
John's left brow quirked up.
"Excuse me?" Arley could feel her three friends Wally, Dick and Kaldur all shooting her narrowed eyed looks that screamed at her to shut up; that she was just digging her grave deeper and deeper, but what did that matter when she could fly?
"I just," she looked at Hal, "You told me this morning that before I'm a League member I'm a Lantern, which makes complete and total sense, and I agree-my first responsibility is to the Corps before anything else, but you can't not only stop me from trying to stop someone from blotting out the Sun in my sector but also yell at me when I decided to investigate suspicious activity in it because the League said not to do something."
"We just want you safe as possible," Hal told her. "You're young." Kilowog had once told her that growing old in the Corps was a privilege, not a right; that in every battle she'd face she'd have to earn the privilege of living another day.
"I'm a Lantern Hal, safe went out the window when the ring chose me to protect this section of space." The brown haired man pressed his nose between his fingers and the monster inside the glowing green construct stirred.
Arley, the other sidekicks, Superboy and the League all reacted; Arley jumped and added her own layer to the sphere construct, only for what had once been Desmond to stay knocked out, his eyes closing once more. Batman turned to Hal and John, both of whom nodded wordlessly; Hal looked at Arley.
"I want you home, in bed and asleep by the time I get there, okay, we're talking more about this in the morning." Arley nodded; she read between the lines. While she wouldn't be on total lock down which even excluded her from seeing Wally, she would be facing some sort of punishment, even if it meant having to sit through one of Kilowogs half-a-day lectures on protocol and following orders. The girls shoulders fell and though she nodded she eyed the ground.
"Got it." Arley looked up when Hal placed a hand on her shoulder.
"For what it's worth kiddo, I would've done the same." John hit Hal's shoulder as the two men began to take to the sky.
"That is terrible discipline Jordan," the ex-Marine chided. Both Thangarians, Hawkman and Hawkgirl, and Captain Atom flew into the air with the two Green Lanterns. Hal frowned at John's exasperated look.
"It's true though, and don't tell me you wouldn't have done the same, I remember your days as a rookie." Arley did too; John had only been a Lantern for a little over four years and Nortz had he been a headstrong Poozer who thought, because of his years in the service, he already knew everything he could know about being a Corps memeber.
"That's not the point, the point is the blogs all say that's not how to discipline a teenager." Arley's brows shot up as the heroes and the lab made monster got further away. Her head titled at the fact that John Stewart spent his Monday nights on his computer reading Mommy blogs.
She didn't laugh though, John didn't have kids; he and his wife, a fellow Lantern named Katma couldn't have children, which meant he spent his nights on Mommy blogs for her; John Stewart spent time reading about some woman's disastrous night so that when the time came he and Hal could properly be there for her all because he cared about her. Because he loved her.
"The blogs?" Arley heard Hal snort before he and John and the others got too far away for Arley to continue listing in on. Batman and the other mentors who had stayed had broken off and Superman, Wonder Woman and Man Hunter had gone in a different direction; leaving Superboy and the four sidekicks to huddle around one another.
Wally, as Dick and Kaldur muttered quietly to each other, nudged Arley's shoulder, a small smile on his face; "The Lantern card, really?" Arley shrugged.
"I learned a long time ago to run with what worked, and that card, Kid, works." Arley looked to Superboy whose gaze was set firmly on Supermans back; sympathy flowed through the Lantern at the sad puppy dog look in the clone boys eyes.
"I'm sure he's just in shock," she told him, Superboy looked at Arley like he didn't quite believe her; "Even for seasoned Lanterns like me and Hal, clones are sort of out there. Give him sometime, he'll come around."
"Maybe," Superboy murmured, his eyes drifted back to Superman and Manhunter, when he turned and caught the clone looking, nudged Supermans shoulder. Superman turned and Superboy turned away, only to quickly look back at Superman.
Superman walked over and sighed. "We'll, uh, we'll figure something out for you. The League will, I mean," Superman clarified quickly, "For now I better make sure they get that Blockbuster creature squared away." And with that Superman turned his back on Superboy and the sidekicks and took to the sky's.
"Cadmus," Batman said walking back over, "Will be investigated, all fifty-two levels, but lets make one things clear—"
"—You should have called," Flash cut in; Batman turned his head and the eye holes of his cowl narrowed.
"End results aside we are not happy, you hacked League systems, disobeyed direct orders and endangered lives," Batman lectured, "You will not be doing this again." Red hot, molten anger rushed through Arley because Dark Knight or not, who was he to tell her if she could continue to be a hero, it had been the Guardians who had given her the ring on her finger, not him.
They had named her a hero, not him.
"I am sorry, but we will," Kaldur told Batman. He looked the bat-themed hero in the eyes, challenging him. Dick stepped up besides Kaldur. Wally and Arley both squared their shoulders besides the Atlantean.
"Aqualad," Aquaman warned, "Stand down."
"Apologies my King, but no," Kaldur denied; shock settled on the Kings face. "We did good work here tonight, the work you trained us to do. Together, on our own we forged something powerful, important."
"If this is about your treatment at the Hall the four of you—"
"—The five of us, and it's not," Wally told his uncle.
"Batman we're ready to use what you taught us," Dick said, "Why teach us at all?"
"Why let them tell us what to do?" Superboy questioned, he stepped forward, "It's simple, get on board or get out of our way." Batman's eyes narrowed as Arley and the boys gazes remained unwavering; if the League didn't want them than fine, they'd strike out on their own if they had to. Arley's chin tipped up daringly.
"Give me three days," he told the five, "Until then stay home." Superboy, almost mockingly, looked at the rubble that surrounded them. Arley with soft eyes, put her hand on the clones arm, Superboy looked at her.
"You can stay with me if you want, the sofa is kind of lumpy but it's better then bedrock."
"Should you really be pressing your luck now but inviting someone over without Lanterns permission?" Flash wondered, Arley frowned at her adoptive fathers best friend. Some days Barry Allen was practically as much her uncle as he was Wally's.
"I don't see anyone else offering him a place."
"I will," Wally raised his hand, Arley and Superboy turned to Wally, "I have a pullout bed under mine for when Lantern comes over for the night, I'm sure my parents won't mind letting you use it, if you want."
"That-that would be nice," Superboy said.
"Kid—" Flash ground out only for Wally to already have his finger pressed against winged bolt of lighting on the side of his mask; his wrist where the speaker part of his com was lifted to his mouth.
"Hey mom, I have a question can someone I know stay the night-no not Arley you actually haven't met them before-er, it's kind of hard to explain," Wally said, he looked at Arley and Arley reached and pulled the boy to her, with her lips hovering just over Wally's wrist she spoke.
"Hi, ma'am," Arley said in that innocent-can-do-no-wrong kind of voice she usually only ever pulled out when she really needed something; Arley couldn't hear what Mary West had but Wally nodded and she supposed Mary West— Wally's mother —had greeted her back. "So, uh-actually, Kid, Robin, Aqualad and I sorta ran a rescue mission?" Batman's eyes narrowed, "We're fuzzy on what we're calling it, Kid will explain, but the boy we saved doesn't have a place to go tonight and Kid, with his big heart and all, well he offered him the pull out bed, but we just wanted to make sure that was okay before dragging him all the way to Central City."
Kid leaned down and spoke into his wrist; "Please mom, he helped save mine and Lanterns lives." Wally blinked. "A few days, maybe?" Wally started to smile, "I know but please?" It was quite for a moment and Arley could almost picture Mary West on the other side of the communicator Barry had given her and Rudy; hunched over and sighing on the edge of her bed, but smiling nonetheless, and then Wally smiled brilliantly at Arley and Superboy.
"She says you can stay for as long as you need." Superboy smiled. Arley wrapped her arms tightly around Wally's neck as he thanked his mother. Arley and Wally— her arm still around his neck and his still around her elevated waist as she floated before him —turned to the three League mentors, none of whom looked impressed.
"Home," Batman growled, "Now."
Turning to say goodbye to Robin and Aqualad and Superboy Arley discreetly fist bumped each of them.
"See you guys later, Kid," she looked at Wally who had moved closer to Flash, "Call me in the morning?"
"Duh," Wally smiled and with that Arley flew higher and higher into the Washington sky; there were more stars above her then there had ever been in Gotham but still less then what she could see from her Coast City bedroom. And then like a rocket, Arley took off West towards the northern California border, leaving only a Green streak of light behind her as she flew.
