The Clone Connection

by kenmadragon

Dubbilex had done more than facilitate Superboy's freedom. He gave his brother a fighting chance - the remnants of a dead man's mind. Now with memories and knowledge beyond expectation, an unpredictable hero emerges to find his own path. A Superboy Self-Insert. (On Hiatus)

2. Chapter 2 From Chthonic Depths

Chapter 2: From Chthonic Depths

During the intruders' transport to the pods on Sub-Level 42, the Superboy expressed his quiet surprise to himself that there was no electric motif to Red's attire. In fact, it seemed that Red actually had webbing between his fingers, and gills along the side of his neck.

Gills.

This confused the Superboy because that was not a common trait among enhanced individuals. Gills meant that Red was likely an Atlantean; though the genomorph recalled from his "lessons" that Atlanteans from Poseidonis did not possess obvious gills. Shayeris, then.

Still, that meant a connection to King Orin of Atlantis, the Aquaman. The symbol of the Atlantean hero was on Red's belt, after all. And considering that Black was Robin and Yellow as Kid Flash, that meant that Red was… Superboy wasn't sure.

The title of Aquaman's most notable sidekick was "Aqualad", but Superboy knew what Aqualad was supposed to look like.

Red did not look like that Aqualad.

For one, Superboy was fairly sure that Aqualad was supposed to wear red and blue, and carried no weapons. His skin-tone was light and his hair was dark. He could control water, which Superboy vaguely recalled Red doing as well.

But Red used those implements on his back to shape the water and had electrical powers like those of the electric eels he could now see had been tattooed to coil down the arms. Red was dark of skin and fair of hair. He had exposed gills on his neck, and webbed hands and feet.

Vaguely, Superboy could recall another individual who might have gone by the name of Aqualad that had that darker epidermis, but that one had no visible gills or webbed appendages. Also, that one had hair arranged in dreadlocks. Usually? At least, that was what the second Aqualad looked like above water — when submerged, the Atlantean (half-Atlantean, his memories supplied) transformed into a figure that was remarkably similar to the Aqualad before him.

That made more sense, Superboy decided. Red was simply the second Aqualad: the one raised on the surface, not the one from beneath the ocean's waves.

But that didn't make enough sense because their ages were all wrong.

Now that they were in their pods and Superboy had been left alone with them and his thoughts, he wondered when they would wake up. The Kryptonian clone knew that his creators did not wish these intruders to escape, but if they truly were the sidekicks of the world's heroes — and Superboy knew they were — they would endeavor to escape anyways.

He was not supposed to allow that to happen but Superboy failed to understand why. Keeping sidekicks captive would only draw the attention of their superhero mentors, and Cadmus was ill-equipped to deal with a sufficiently motivated super-trio. Especially if one of that number was the Batman.

Superboy suppressed a shiver.

All that Superboy could do was wait. Wait and think. Leaving him alone without any other genomorphs in the area had provided Superboy with plenty of time to ruminate and come to a few conclusions.

For one, he was reasonably sure that he didn't possess Heat Vision. Squinting really hard at a wall had done nothing more than make him annoyed, but no bursts of heat streaming from his eyes. X-Ray Vision still didn't work, and Superboy was fairly certain that he didn't have a fade-cut like in his memories.

His memories were another thing Superboy realized were… strange. He remembered a great deal of information that he was absolutely certain was given to him by the genomorphs. Not only did that include vast amounts of raw data and knowledge, but also with images, ideas, names, events, and simulations. But then there was plenty of data that was confusing. There were things he knew that did not feel like the knowledge and skills imparted by the G-Gnomes. Like how he was absolutely certain he knew Kid Flash's real name.

Now, that might have been excusable, given that Superboy could recall that most of the Flash Family were fairly excitable sorts, and that super-speed could sometimes be tracked if you had the time and resources. Figuring out the identity of the Flash and his sidekick was… possible.

But then there was Robin, and Superboy felt with a cold certainty that he knew the name of the man under the Batman's cowl.

And that was a chilling thought.

He knew The Batman's real name.

It could not be understated how absolutely terrifying that realization was. As was the realization that he knew plenty of other secrets that were likely impossible for Cadmus to have ever known and knowledge of what could only be from fictitious realities. None of the Cadmus simulations had ever involved working with a superhero team known as the Avengers — they simply didn't exist, yet Superboy knew of them. He knew their names, their histories, personalities, and capabilities.

And yet, Superboy knew that according to the knowledge his creators had gifted him with, these individuals and their foes simply did not exist in the real world. There would be absolutely no reason for Cadmus to have programmed him with such information; it was frivolous, and would not better allow him to supplant his clone template. Could he have simply dreamed all of it up? Before, he simply experienced these thoughts and memories — both those Cadmus had programmed, and the… others — but only now that he was awake did he notice the difference.

But then there was also the information about Superboy himself that was strange. Most of the memories he knew Cadmus had implanted in him portrayed things that Superboy would do, and in those memories, Superboy wore his white Solar Suit.

Yet he was fairly certain he'd traveled the world, visited other planets, had a few romances, gone crazy for a little while, died, woken up in the future, then traveled back in time and gone back to being a superhero. And not once had he worn that Solar Suit.

These only raised more questions for Superboy to ask, but even if he had the opportunity to ask them, the Kryptonian had no idea how to ask them.

All he could do was wait for the sidekicks to wake up.

Then he could set his rudimentary plan in motion.

~ooOoo~

The three sidekicks (or "junior partners" as they preferred to be called) came to with a start, gasping air as if resurfacing from a long dive. Eyes blown wide open from the sudden awakening, the three took in their surroundings.

It was telling that Kid Flash was the first to address the only other being in the room with them. The one still staring at them.

"Wh-what do you want?" he demanded with a stutter of surprise.

The clone titled his head, frowning. "Answers," was the monotone reply.

"Yeah, well I ain't talking! I've been trained to resist torture and interrogation by the Flash! You'd have better luck teaching fish to fly than get anything out of me! Do your worst!"

"Uh, KF, how about we not tick off the guy who can fry us with a look?" was Robin's reply to the speedster's bluster.

The Superboy paid the posturing little mind and stepped up to the console over to the side. His eyes flickered over the displays and controls, sifting through short-term memory to recall how Guardian had engaged the cuffs and pods. Simple extrapolation easily produced the command inputs required to reverse those actions. Tap a few buttons and the pods opened, hissing as the hermetic seals were undone.

"Whuh?" muttered Kid Flash.

"I am helping you escape," Superboy answered the unspoken question.

"But… why?" Robin wondered, still fidgeting in the cuffs.

"Yeah! You just tried to kill us!" accused Kid Flash, suspicious. "Why free us now?"

"Please, Kid Flash," Aqualad interceded "It appears he was not in control of his actions."

Superboy continued to tap at the console, frowning as the cuffs on the three's arms did not unlock as he expected. Well, that didn't work. Still, there was always the simplest solution to overcoming a problem. Remove the problem entirely. The genomorph strode over to the far pod where Aqualad was still held, prompting a slight panic from the speedster. With a sudden leap, he was face-to-face with the Atlantean, studiously ignoring Kid Flash's protestations.

Crunch! Scrnch! The two cuffs were torn off with superhuman strength allowing the Kryptonian to assist the amphibian humanoid to the ground. As Aqualad regained his footing, Superboy stepped back and gave him a small smile. "Not entirely."

"Finally!" cried Robin as he leaped free of the pod, apparently having picked the locks. The Boy Wonder wrung his wrists which had chafed under the cuffs. "Lucky the Batman isn't here. He'd have my head for taking so long."

"Seriously? That's what you're worried about?" The speedster was incredulous. "The whole League will have our heads after tonight! And why am I still locked up?"

Superboy gave him a puzzled look. "I thought you would have vibrated through the cuffs by now."

"Vibrate through the-" Kid Flash gaped. "No, I can't do that!"

"Huh."

"Robin, let Kid Flash down." Robin nodded at Aqualad's suggestion and immediately set to freeing the speedster with a laser from his utility belt. Superboy suppressed a momentary twinge of envy at the presence of such wondrous toys. He knew perfectly well they made the boy far more dangerous than one might assume.

Aqualad regarded the clone carefully, assessing his former foe, now an apparent ally. Though grateful for having been freed, the Atlantean was still cautious: the Superboy had been responsible for their capture in the first place, even if he was now letting them loose. He had to tread these waters carefully.

"What did you mean, 'not entirely'?" he asked.

Superboy hesitated and looked at the walls of the chamber, matted with the material that lined every surface of Cadmus' lower levels. "I was not wholly in control. All I knew was that there were intruders — invaders — in my home. My womb. I defended myself. I was… driven to not show mercy, and bring you to Doctor Desmond and Guardian. I did not wish for the latter, but…"

"I understand," solemnly nodded Aqualad. "It is natural to defend oneself from strangers. Despite being on the side of the intruder this time, I can sympathize with the situation. And yet, you recognize us now… the Genomorphs taught you telepathically?"

"They taught me much," nodded Superboy. "And yet… upon awakening…"

Remembering the first words they had heard from the clone, Aqualad surmised, "You have questions."

"Yes."

Aqualad lay a light hand on Superboy's shoulder. "Then we shall endeavor to answer them, in time."

A final snapping sound drew their attention to the opening of the final cuff. "It took longer than I thought, but the Wall-man is free!" cheered Kid Flash by throwing his hands in the air. Robin shook his head wearily behind the red-head as they leaped from the pods.

"Good. Now…" Aqualad stepped beside his compatriots and faced Superboy. "I believe we have long overstayed our welcome."

"Yeah, I know Batman would love to know what's going on down here," agreed Robin.

"Then we must hurry," Superboy warned. "Desmond went to report to the Board of Directors. These pods are for extraction, and one of the researchers can show up at any time to begin the process."

"Extraction? Of what?" queried Robin.

"Source material," was all that Superboy would say before waving them to the door.

"I really don't like the sound of that," Kid Flash muttered. His thoughts were shared by the other two sidekicks, who followed after the Superboy warily. Once the door was open, they rushed through the bio-lined tunnels of Cadmus' facility. Neither Robin, Aqualad, nor Kid Flash knew the way to the exit, but the Superboy had accompanied them to the cloning chamber on their way from the elevator. They had no choice but to rely on his memory to retrace their steps.

~ooOoo~

Beyond the duality of attempting to be both stealthy and quick, the way to the elevator was fraught with little in the way of obstruction. Though the walls were lined with genomorph pods at this depth, none were fully formed or awakened, leading the teenagers and clone to find their path relatively clear.

Still, that did not prevent Superboy from occasionally stopping and changing directions at an apparent whim, apparently sensing things the others failed to. Overall, they spent several minutes moving quietly through the halls to sneak around any G-Dwarfs. The clone was still unwilling to test whether the sidekicks would attack any other genomorphs on sight if they ran into them. When asked about their strange, circuitous route, he used "Stealth" as an excuse.

The elevator, on the other hand, presented a slight problem.

"The elevator is the fastest way to the surface levels," Superboy explained. Robin scoffed.

"And the most obvious. Pass."

"We may not have an option. We are too far below the surface to contact the League for assistance, and the longer we remain within Cadmus, the more likely our escape shall be discovered." Aqualad glanced at the elevator. "If the elevator itself is a poor option, then we shall simply scale the shaft."

"Why contact the League?" Superboy queried, confused. "Why not the Teen Titans?"

Kid Flash raised an eyebrow. "The teen what-now?"

"Nevermind."

Kid Flash and Aqualad shared a look as Robin knelt by the wall-panel and connect his wrist-computer to the interface. Superboy noted with some curiosity the Boy Wonder's rapid attempts to access Cadmus' systems to override the elevator controls to open the doors, and carefully filed that memory away for later. Aqualad and Kid Flash stood awkwardly, glancing down the hallways lined with bio-engineered material every now and then to keep watch. That they always kept the clone within their field of vision was not unnoticed by the Superboy, who ignored the wariness.

"If you had any pressing questions, I suggest you ask them while we wait for Robin to finish," suggested Aqualad.

"Yeah, and if we don't like them, we ain't talking!"

Superboy nodded, completely ignoring Kid Flash's retort. After a moment of consideration and staring into Cadmus' walls, he turned to the speedster and Atlantean and asked the question that would shape the rest.

"Is the Superman dead?"

The teens were struck. Kid Flash's mouth hung open, spluttering, struggling to formulate a response. The Superboy wondered if the young speedster had somehow been struck dumb, though Aqualad's silent shock, eyes wide with horror, put rest to that hypothesis. Even Robin's fingers had frozen in their work, the singular question proving an unignorable distraction.

Still, Robin managed to recover his cool first. "No… Why would you ask that?"

Superboy frowned and shook his head. Then his body straightened, his expressions became neutral, and the emotion drained from his figure as he spoke monotonously, "I am the Superboy, a genomorph, a clone made from the DNA of the Superman. Created to replace him should he perish. To destroy him should he turn from the light."

Silence fell at that declaration. Kid Flash had taken an involuntary step back at the tone and posture, reminded of only recently when the Kryptonian had attacked and beaten them. Robin and Aqualad were more careful in their reactions, but the clone still noticed their shock: that seemed to be a trend amongst these three. Superboy turned his gaze away, but not enough to stop Aqualad from noticing the conflict in the clone's eyes.

"To be like Superman is a worthy aspiration," Aqualad consoled diplomatically. "But Superman is neither dead nor has he turned… dark."

"Then I was not woken to fulfill my Purpose," Superboy surmised aloud. This confirmed his earlier suspicions. Despite himself, the Kryptonian couldn't help but feel disappointed and conflicted at the thought. He didn't need to be awake then

"No, but like Superman, that does not mean you cannot still find purpose. Purpose and a life beyond that Solar Suit. Beyond your pod. Beyond Cadmus."

"Yeah," Kid Flash was quick to jump onto this train of thought. "I mean, have you ever been outside before? Seen the sky or felt the wind?"

The clone shook his head. "Never. Merely images, implanted in my mind. Dreams and simulations."

"Well, come with us, then." Robin smiled cheerily. "We can show you the sun. The real one."

"Uh, pretty sure it's after midnight," Kid Flash brightly corrected. "But we can show you the moon!"

Superboy rolled his eyes but still smiled. "I would like that."

"Then we shall make our way to the surface. Together." Aqualad said, pressing the emblem at his belt. "We are still unable to contact the League this deep underground, despite being near the elevator shaft. Robin, what is the status on the elevator?"

"Working on it, Kaldur. Looks like it's currently got a few of those big monsters inside, and facing those would not be asterous."

"Asterous?"

"It's a thing he does," Kid Flash explained to the confused Superboy. "Messing with words."

Superboy nodded unsure before glancing at Aqualad. "Robin called you Kaldur… Are you not Aqualad?"

"Whoops," Robin winced.

"I am known as Aqualad on the surface world, but that is merely a title. A code name, if you will, in honor of my King, who goes by Aquaman." explained the Atlantean. "My birth name is Kaldur'ahm."

Superboy frowned, "Kaldur'ahm? Then those weapons on your back: water-bearers? For Atlantean water-sorcery?"

"How'd you know that?" Kid Flash had raised a curious eyebrow behind his mask.

"As I said, the G-Gnomes taught me much. Not everything, but much." The clone glanced away. "Other things, I reasoned. Intuited. I am a clone, not a machine."

"How? You were practically comatose when we found you down in that pod."

Superboy scowled. "Even clones can dream."

"Sorry," Kid Flash ducked his head, abashed from the glare the Kryptonian sent his way.

"Peace, Superboy. Kid Flash meant no harm." Aqualad offered. Superboy scoffed but rolled his eyes, accepting the apology.

"Still, I was a little surprised you would go by Kaldur'ahm amongst teammates, Aqualad," Superboy explained. Kid Flash arched a red eyebrow behind the mask, laughing.

"It's his name. What else would he go by?"

Superboy did not answer, glancing at the elevator door. The emotion had vanished from his face, a neutral slate like he had slept with, but Aqualad could still see that tempestuous thoughts still lurked in the depths of the Kryptonian's eyes. "Elevator's here," the clone stated.

"Yup! And I used the spare time to get all sorts of intel for Batman!" Robin cackled, unplugging his glove-computer from the console. The doors let out a low chime, and with the tap of Robin's keyboard, slid open.

The sidekicks and genomorph clone stepped quickly into the elevator car, but only the three sidekicks did not turn and face the doors as they slid closed behind them. Slightly confused, the Kryptonian glanced at the other three, noting how they were all facing the doors. Or rather, Aqualad was, wary about the confined space while Kid Flash rocked on the balls of his feet, facing the sealed doors. Robin just turned towards the inner-console while still fiddling on that computer projected form his arm.

Right, this was one of those "etiquette" things. Casually turning to face the sealed door of the elevator shaft, Superboy gave himself a minute nod at their lack of comment about his hesitation to comply with "etiquette". Robin's smirk drew his attention, as was continuously scrolling data that streamed across multiple windows on the interface of his computer.

"What sort of data are you collecting…" he asked worriedly.

"Oh, just the basics." Robin shrugged. "There's not much I can access without physical access to the server, but there's enough that I can get to and give Batman a better idea of what we're dealing with. Then Batman investigates the rest."

Superboy stiffened at the mention of the Bat. Unfortunately for the Kryptonian, Aqualad noticed. "What issue do you have with the Batman?"

"None." The answer was curt and immediate.

Robin turned to face Superboy with what the clone could only classify as a "shit-eating grin". Why his programming felt the term and ability to identify it was useful knowledge escaped him. All the clone could do was steel himself for the questioning that was sure to follow.

"Cadmus programmed you with knowledge about him, didn't they?" the Boy Wonder teased. Superboy studiously avoided meeting the smaller boy's gaze. That just made Robin's smirk even wider.

"Ooh, what do you know about the Batman?" Kid Flash leaned in, eager for details.

"Kid Flash, please," sighed the Atlantean. He was about to further chastise the speedster when Robin cut in, "No, no, I'm all ears. Do go on."

Superboy looked between the three of them. Aqualad was still uneasy about the idea of simply probing Superboy for the knowledge that he had been programmed with, while the other two seemed to think of it as some sort of game. That was all well and good; however, Superboy's knowledge of the Batman went beyond the mere simulations that related to Superman's interaction with the Batman and the (as expected) protocols for the negation of the Batman as a threat. Granted, from what information — both simulation-imbedded and not — that Superboy had about the infamous Dark Knight, he was highly skeptical regarding his chances of being able to take down the infamous Batman.

And maybe playing along would further engender their trust with him, allowing him to ask further questions to make some sense of the knowledge he possessed.

"The Dark Knight, and Guardian of Gotham: Batman is a member of the Justice League and occasionally considered 'The World's Greatest Detective'." Superboy had dropped into a bored monotone as he repeated the stock information that Cadmus had programmed him with. Well, the information he was certain came from the G-Gnome programs Cadmus had designed, he qualified. "Originally a street-level vigilante, the Batman has cultivated an extensive rogue's gallery since his debut in Gotham, and possesses no super-human powers beyond an incredible intellect, extensive training, and advanced technology."

Okay, so some of it was pulling from the other, stranger memories, but Superboy reasoned that if anyone called him out on the details, it would help answer some questions without having to directly ask anyone. Besides, mentioning the Batman's description reminded Superboy of the multitude of gadgets stored in his utility belt… as well as the belt he had recently attempted to pilfer from Robin. Perhaps it was best no one knew about that.

"'World's Greatest Detective'?" Kid Flash scoffed. "Wow, ego much?"

"Journalists get a little excited sometimes…" Robin muttered under his breath, rolling his eyes behind the mask. "Besides, that's stuff anyone who pays attention to the news or has taken a Hall of Justice tour could tell you. Got anything else?"

Superboy shifted uneasily. He didn't want to give away too much, especially given how unsure he was of the memories he possessed. Who knew if those images and fragments of knowledge beyond the simulations he knew were Cadmus' gift could be trusted? It was a risky proposition to rely on such data, especially since their origin was unclear. Nevertheless, they were his memories and now was not to time to debate this dilemma. Robin and Kid Flash looked at him expectantly, and despite his superficial lack of approval for this line of questions, Aqualad seemed just as invested.

Maybe something frivolous would be sufficient?

"Well, there is another thing I know," he muttered before his posture shifted, ignoring "etiquette" to turn and face the others. Dropping from his straight-backed stance, Superboy's shoulders hunched dramatically and his face twisted into a snarling rictus, eyes burning with cold fury.

"I am Vengeance," Superboy growled, his voice dropping an octave. Robin startled at the sound of it, eyes blown wide behind the mask. The impersonation was so shockingly accurate, the boy thought his mentor was right next to him in that elevator.

"I am the Night."

Kid Flash whimpered.

"I… am BATMAN!"

~ooOoo~

As the four stepped from the elevator, Superboy felt slightly embarrassed. Kid Flash and Aqualad remained unnerved by his attempt at mimicry. Robin had simply been frozen for the span of roughly four and a half heart-beats before giggling. Then he had begun cackling.

Superboy hadn't been aware Robins were able to cackle. Chuckle, sure, but cackle? Judging by the looks Aqualad had given the shorter boy, it appeared that this was news to the Atlantean as well.

"Dude, chill, it wasn't that funny," grumbled Kid Flash.

"It really was."

"Enough. We have arrived at the surface levels," interjected Aqualad. "Now, we can contact the League."

"Right," Robin sobered and he tapped at his glove-computer. Aqualad tapped at the Aquaman-symbol on his waist and Kid Flash had pressed one of the lightning bolts by his ears.

"Kid Flash to Flash, Kid Flash to Flash, do you copy?" Kid Flash said into the empty air. Superboy gave Aqualad and Robin a curious look.

"Do neither of you need to call your…mentors?"

Robin chuckled. "Why call, when you can text?"

Aqualad sighed instead. "My buckle only serves to alert my liege of my position."

Superboy mused on this as they moved through the surface floor of Project Cadmus. He had never been up here, yet knew the layout perfectly well. Likely another gift of G-Gnome programming.

"No answer," Kid Flash mused as they entered the building's main atrium before drawing short at the sight before them. Robin's smirk vanished. The three sidekicks had only seen the atrium from the outside, but all of them recalled that from their efforts to assist the firefighters earlier that the atrium had had large glass windows along its front and sides with massive glass doors and walls along the front entrance.

Now, the glass windows and doors were barred with heavy metal plating that would not have looked out of place in a bomb shelter.

"Comms are jammed," Robin snarled at the confirmation from his wrist-computer. "They know we're up here!"

"Indeed."

The entry to every hallway in and out of the atrium came alive as heavy blast-doors slammed into place, blocking off all escape. The ceiling lights flickered to a sinister red and every visible security camera swiveled to focus on the group of four.

"It's a trap!" Kid Flash shouted as he zipped over to the front doors and started hammering on each of the metal barriers, trying to find a way out. Unbidden, the image of a red-skinned, dome-headed fish-person came to mind in Superboy's thoughts. He shook it away and clenched his fists in readiness. Aqualad glanced about for any immediate threats, drawing out of his water-bearers. The Atlantean stepped away from the others, forming two sabers of glimmering blue water from his pack to guard.

"Calm, Kid Flash! We need to-" he called before Robin cut him off with a point to the shadows cast by the ominous crimson glare and the reinforced stone pillars that lined the atrium's length.

"Look out!" Motion exploded from behind the pillars and the ceiling with the flash of G-Elf claws descending upon the group from the cover of the alarm lights.

None of them were able to muster a defense before they were assaulted with the sensation of being burned by ice, vignettes from eight different movies being played upside down and backwards, heavy metal renditions of classical operas, thousands of overlapping mathematical equations for non-Euclidean mathematics, the entirety of the Lorem Ipsum document text rendered in Comic Sans, the scent of freshly baked pastries covered in garbage, the taste of ash and paprika, and the concept of nonsense being injected directly into their minds.

~ooOoo~

A/N: So, it's been a while since I posted the first chapter. I actually had most of this written, oh, several months ago, but never got around to finishing it up. But with Season 3 due to be airing really soon… I felt the urge to revisit and get back to writing again. I had so many ideas and plans for this story, it'd be a shame if they were never fully panned out.

Also, Happy New Year!