Whenever the Team is on a mission, I'm going to use their hero names; so Skyking is Skyking, Wally is KF, you get the picture. :)

"SKY EASE UP ON THE TURNS, MAN!"

"OH MY GODS!"

"GO FASTER!"

"ARE YOU OUTTA YOUR MIND?!"

Skyking laughed as he ducked around and wove through the taller buildings of DC; Robin had been the first to take a seat on his back- front row to experience firsthand what riding a dragon was like- and Skyking had to say he was enjoying the moment himself as well, if only to laugh at the more panicked expressions of Kid Flash and Aqualad.

"I can see the Cadmus building." Skyking rumbled, tilting to the right to give his passengers a view. Aqualad calmed enough to look over at the blaze, and sure enough, it was quite the sight. "Set us down and on the fire and rescue!" Skyking chuckled. "Sure thing!" Tipping into a shallow dive, Skyking swept over the ground, allowing his passengers to slide off in a safe manner and make for the building. Flapping to gain altitude, Skyking knew he had to be careful- his large size would make rescue difficult, and one wrong move could destroy the integrity of the burning building and cause more damage, especially to whoever else was inside. Compacting his body into his more humanoid self, Skyking flew swiftly after his companions.

He wasn't completely defenseless without his true form- the Stygian Iron daggers his grandmother gifted him, his lightning-flame magic, and the cuffs on his horns ensured that.

The dragon's gaze flicked over the building, looking for any on need of rescue, when he heard shouts from the other side of the building. "Aqualad, I can hear others on the other side! I'm going after them!" the Atlantean nodded. "Just be careful!"

Driving his wings down, Skyking banked around the side of the building just in time to see a woman fall from a window from an explosion. Flattening his tailfins to increase his speed, Skyking blurred through the air and reached out, catching the woman mere feet from the ground. "I've got you!" he reassured her, flying around the other side to place her with her other colleagues. Swinging back, Skyking saw a blur of yellow deposit two men on the roof, and the dragon ducked by to pluck them off and drop them safely on the ground once again. Aqualad took control of the water being used to douse the fire and made sure to sweep it through the Cadmus building, putting out any more of the blaze the hose couldn't reach.

"Good work," Aqualad said, nodding to the black and blue scaled dragon boy. Skyking grinned. "Not too bad yourself. I think the other two are already inside." Flapping his wings to rise a couple feet, Skyking reached out to help Aqualad. "Need a lift?" Aqualad shook his head, drawing his Waterbearers. "No, but I appreciate the assistance."

Shrugging, Skyking and the Atlantean rose to one of the open windows and entered the now dark building.

"Thanks for the help, you two," Aqualad said sarcastically. Robin chuckled, typing away on the cleanest computer he could find. "You two handled it- besides, we're here to investigate, remember? 'Poetic Justice' and all that jazz?" Skyking's nose twitched, a strange scent making his scales ripple. While the other three bantered, the dragon followed the odd scent- chemicals and sage, two things that had no business being mixed- to a hallway. At the end of the hall, a horned figure stood in an elevator, vanishing behi9nd the closed doors.

What?

"Hey, earth to Lizard-Boy!" Kid Flash tapped Skyking's shoulder blade where his wing joint met his back, making the dragon prince flick his wing to keep the speedster off. "First of all, don't poke me there," the dragon said, huffing. "Secondly… something was in the elevator." That grabbed Robin's and Aqualad's attention, both approaching the elevator.

"This is wrong," Robin said after a moment, bringing up his gauntlet and tapping away at the small screen that came up. "This is a high-speed express elevator; it has no business being in a two-story building." Skyking smirked, unsheathing his claws, and stepping forward. "Then looks like we were right to investigate- something so fast in a small space? It means there's more below us." With a sharp thrust, Skyking jabbed his claws into the thin doorway and forced it open, glancing down and whistling.

"Well, I know I said there must be more, but this is crazy…"

The other three males moved to look around Skyking's wings and Robin hummed. "That's definitely more than enough reason," he said. Pulling out a grapple, the Boy Wonder attached it to the roof and began to descend. Aqualad jumped onto the rope while KF hitched a ride with Skyking. They went down for several moments, going past Sub-Level 24 before Robin ran out of rope.

Swinging to the only door available, Robin and Aqualad paused to allow KF and Skyking to land as well.

"Ha! Just bypassed the firewall~! Let's go." Skyking pried open the door once again, and it opened to a massive passageway. "Oh, wow," the dragon murmured. "I could let my true body loose in here with still some space to spare…" Aqualad ventured forward cautiously. "It is best to not do that unless the situation is truly dire," he said. "We don't want to draw any unneeded attention-."

Skyking jerked forwards, a snarl contorting his face as his pupils thinned. "Something's coming!" he growled, voice low and gravely. KF smirked, placing his goggles over his eyes. "I'll check it out- they won't see me!"

"No, wait!"

Skyking hissed as the speedster took 0ff, and his form contorted before he got it back under control. "Idiot!"

KF sped around the corner before he tripped and skidded into the path of several giant monsters. A single one was as big as Skyking's true form was with his wings folded against his body, and the speedster had fallen right in the path of a dozen. Only one set of eyes noticed the small creature sitting on the back of one, horns glowing and staring right back at him.

Flipping onto his feet, KF had enough time to roll to the left before he was in the path of another of the monsters, a large foot already about to come down on his head. Before KF could be crushed under the giant foot, a clawed, scaly hand flew out and snatched hi9m up, shoving him into an alcove where the others were.

Skyking had grabbed him.

"You idiot!" The dragon cuffed KF upside the head. "If you didn't have your reflexes, you'd be paste right now! Think before you run around an unknown corner!" the speedster glared at the dragon while rubbing at the point he was hit at. "Well, I don't see you coming up with any ideas!" KF retorted. Skyking growled low in his chest. "Because we were trying to not get seen! The little goblin on the back of that thing probably let its comrades know there's intruders by now!"

"Can you two zip it?!" Robin snapped. "Whatever's behind this door, I'd rather it not tries to kill us because it knows we're here!" Skyking scoffed, crossing his arms petulantly. "A little late for that, if you ask me." The dragon grumbled, curling his tail irritably. With a beep and the change from red light to green, Robin got the next door open, and they filed through. the smell of ozone was strong in the air that leaked from the room, and when they saw inside, it wasn't hard to see why.

"Holy Hermes…" Skyking said softly, looking around at the cylinders. They contained a variant of whatever it was they had seen in the hallways, but these were still, the nodes on their backs generating bursts of lightning and electricity that traveled through wires that lined the walls. "This is insane," KF agreed. "This is how Cadmus has stayed hidden from the world for so long- these things make up their own power grid!"

Skyking nodded. "It must be what they're bred for… like the Cadmus of Greece, growing an entire race from the teeth of mine…" Kid Flash rolled his eyes, but Aqualad made a sound of agreement. "And this Cadmus creates new life as well," the Atlantean murmured.

"Now, we just need to see why." Robin approached the next computer and plugged in, tapping away at the files with Kid Flash and Aqualad at his side. Skyking, meanwhile, spread his wings and flew up to the topmost cylinder, peering into the glass to get a closer look at the creature within. They all seemed to be asleep, but the dragon could tell it wasn't one of their own choosing.

Skyking's belly curled in disgust and pity- to be bred only to serve a purpose, without a choice, and with no chance of freedom… it seemed like a horrible way to live.

"NO ONE MOVE!"

Skyking jerked and dove down to land at his comrades sides, wings spread and tail stiff behind him in a show of aggression. The dragon reached for his daggers, unsheathing them and holding them in a reverse grip, ready for any attack.

They were caught, as per Skyking's worries. A hero named Guardian, who had been reported missing according to Robin, was head of security here in Cadmus, and took his job very seriously. "Hades, we can't take them all," the dragon growled, deflecting a Genomorph's, as that was what this race was called, claws with his daggers. "We need to get to Project Kr," Robin said, spin-kicking one away as it jumped at him. Skyking paused briefly, thoughts flying through his head, before he nodded once to himself. "You know where this Kr. Is, right?" the dragon asked, spinning his daggers expertly. Robin nodded, backing up to stand back-to-back with the dragon and the other two boys. "Sub-Level 52." The Boy Wonder said, and Skyking grinned, draconic teeth glinting in the light of the dancing electricity.

"When I say go, run for that elevator, got it?" KF chuckled. "No arguments here!"

Skyking inhaled, his chest expanding, and Aqualad could feel the air being drawn in towards the Ancient. With a short, high-pitched shriek, a pillar of ice-blue fire came barreling from the dragon prince's mouth, hitting the ground with a light so blinding that it made the Genomorphs back away scrabbling at their eyes and screeching in pain from the brightness.

"GO, GO, GO!"

Blinking the spots from their eyes, the others did as told, making a beeline for the elevator with Skyking at the rear. The low hiss of the attacking Genomorphs made the other three pick up speed, but a low burst of sound, like compressed air being released from a tube, was heard briefly before Skyking gave a roar of pain.

Glancing back, Aqualad's eyes widened in alarm- Guardian was holding a smoking gun in hand, one they hadn't seen when the rouge hero had confronted them in the electric room, and Skyking was holding the back of his leg as a patch of red seeped from between clawed fingers. "SKYKING!" the Atlantean shouted. The dragon looked up, green eyes burning with determination as he glared. "Don't worry about me! Get in the elevator!"

Then a Genomorph barreled into the dragon, knocking him off his feet. There was no time to help him, though- two hands reached out from the elevator and grabbed at Aqualad's shoulders, dragging him inside. The last thing Robin, Kid Flash, and Aqualad saw was Skyking spitting fire and holding off the Genomorphs as the doors closed.

"Damn it!"

Kid Flash punched the wall once he realized what had happened. "We left him behind!" Aqualad stared at the door for a moment before sighing. "This- this has gotten out of control," the Atlantean said, striding to the rear of the elevator with the other two in tow. "I think… we need to contact the League."

Robin grit his teeth, glaring at the elevator numbers still on 25, before shaking his head and tapping the button labeled 52. "He told us to get to the elevator and investigate, and that's what we need to finish doing- Project Kr. is on Sub-Level 52. We need to get there. Skyking seems like he can handle himself, and I feel like we should trust him to do just that."

As the numbers began to ascend, Skyking smirked; he might be hurt, but that doesn't give them the right to underestimate him- on top of that, he bought time for his comrades to get into the elevator and investigate this Project Kr. These people had no idea what they were in for, trapping him- a cornered dragon, is the most dangerous kind of them all.

Guardian strode forwards, holstering the weapon he'd used to cripple Skyking, and stared down at him in confusion. "I haven't met you before," the helmeted hero said. "Who are you?" the dragon bared his teeth, growling lowly. "Name's Skyking," he rumbled. The Genomorphs hissed as an unseen charge began to wind through the air. Sparks of blue-white lightning flickered over Skyking's scales, and the world held still briefly.

Then, in a flurry of movement, Guardian brought up his weapon again, and Genomorphs attacked, and Skyking jabbed his claws into the metal of the flooring, sending a massive current of lightning and stolen Genomorph electricity through the metal and into the pursuers, knocking them all back.

Scrambling onto all fours, Skyking lurched away, racing down the hallway even as the other Genomorphs who came as back up chased after him. skidding around another corner, Skyking took a breath and breathed out another burst of white-blue fire, blinding the pursuers long enough to get behind a door and slam it shut. Breathing heavily from adrenaline and the shock of his injury, the dragon took a moment to breathe.

"Goddess Athena, guide me," the dragon breathed, chuckling wildly. A strange smell wove through the air, making Skyking's nose twitch. 'Summer rain… and sandalwood?' the dragon identified, flicking his tail in confusion. 'That has no business being in an underground facility like this one…'

A vent just big enough to fit him was near the ceiling, and Skyking climbed the wall to investigate. Pulling the covering off, the dragon scrambled inside, slowly due to his gunshot wound, and welded it shit again with a burst of fire. Crawling backwards, Skyking's eyes widened when he felt open air below him, and with no space to open his wings, the dragon tumbled down into the depths of the Sub-Level vents with a roar of surprise.

A woman in a lab coat was scribbling notes down on her clipboard, glancing at the files of the one in a pod. All its motor functions were normal, and the feed of education into him from the Genegnomes was constant. Everything was going well. With a nod to herself, the woman clicked her pen and turned to leave when the faint sound of screaming made her pause. The sound grew louder, and she glanced up to see a vent bash open. The last thing she saw was wide green eyes filled with surprise, and wide wings that flew open with a thunderous sound.

Skyking barely slowed his fall when he crashed into the ground with a roar of pain. The ground cratered under his weight and the desk he landed on, just narrowly missing the woman that had fainted from shock, crumpled under him like thin sheet metal under the blow of an Amazonian. Skyking lay there for several moments, blinking the dust from his eyes and taking stock of his injuries when the shock of the landing wore off.

Other than his gunshot wound, which, had gotten worse thanks to the rough landing, everything was still in working order. Rolling over with a groan of pain, the dragon prince took a deep breath to banish the last bits of shock from his brain- and choked when the smell that led him into the vent hung heavy all around him.

Turn around, a faint voice told him.

Slowly turning, Skyking's eyes widened when he saw what, or who, was sharing the room with him.

A boy, a teenager one who appeared no older than the dragon himself, lay in a pod with three little goblins sitting over him. Skyking squinted, unsure of where exactly he'd seen him before, because he looked extremely familiar. Black hair fell around a strong face, a wide broad frame under white clothing with a large red 'S' within a diamond. The eye color was unknown, as the teen appeared to be asleep. Skyking stood motionless before limping closer, eyes trailing down to the large letters ingrained into the glass, a big 'K', and a little 'r'. The dragon grinned, tail flicking, when he realized that he beat the others to the punch and found the mysterious Project Kr.

The rapid approach of footsteps made Skyking turn around rapidly, fire and lightning dancing over his scales, but the rapid open9ing and close of the door found him blinking dumbly when Robin, Kid Flash, and Aqualad came sprinting through the brief opening, Robin quickly disabling the door behind them.

"We're safe for now." Robin said.

"You mean trapped." Skyking said, making the three other teens jerk around to see who spoke.

"Dude, you're alright!" Kid Flash exclaimed in relief. The speedster zipped over to the dragon prince and examined him, paling when he saw the blood still sluggishly falling from the dragon's wound. "Not so much unharmed, but I'm alive," Skyking said, waving off the prodding hands. "Robin? Anything on Kr yet?"

The Boy Wonder nodded dazedly. "Yeah, yeah, there's a lot on our friend here… grown in sixteen weeks, called Superboy from DNA acquired from Superman." Aqualad grit his teeth. "You mean stolen from Superman." The Atlantean said, a low tone of disgust coloring his voice. They were all silent for a moment. Skyking looked up, that same feeling of indignant rage and anger from seeing the Genomorphs bred solely for making power welling up within him. they were making this person, a living, breathing, thinking person, a slave for their own twisted goals…

Skyking's fists clenched, and he turned to Aqualad and Robin. "We need to set him free," he said firmly. Kid Flash's eyes widened. "How do we know he won't attack us right off the bat?" the speedster asked cautiously. "It looks like they've force fed him enough of an education that he could see us as the bad guys!" Skyking stomped his talon sharply, denting the floor a good six inches.

"They've essentially made Superman's son and turned him into a slave." The dragon said, disgust filling his tone before making way for sadness. "I'll bet he hasn't seen the real sky or flown in it… he hasn't touched the clouds, or even felt rain on his skin." The dragon's lips pursed and his brow drew downwards. "That is no way to live. Shackled to the ground like that… it's barbaric."

The group was silent for several moments before Aqualad nodded. "I agree," he said turning to Robin. "Set him free- it's the right thing to do." Skyking's gaze softened, and he turned back to the son of Superman, the clone, as Robin called him, but he paused; Skyking saw the horns of the Genomorphs inside the pod glowing an even more vivid blood red. Shit! Turning to his comrades, Skyking opened his mouth to warn them that something was up, but it was too late.

Robin had opened the door of the pod.

Skyking got down on all fours, favoring his injured leg, in a defensive position as steam hissed free of the pod, and the doors slid open before Robin could do anything. Superboy remained still for a brief second before his hands moved, clenched, and he opened his eyes. Skyking's eyes were drawn to his- they were a vivid blue, like the sky- and he knew instantly something was wrong, because they were clouded with rage.

Skyking couldn't even reach Aqualad before he was tackled in the blink of an eye by the clone. As they rolled on the ground Skyking was the first to react. Letting out a growl, he used his tail to slam into the clone's side, bating him off of the Atlantean and into a wall.

"Calm down! We aren't here to hurt you!" the clone came flying back out of the resulting dust cloud and Robin and Kid Flash each grabbed an arm to try and anchor him down. "Dude, chill! We're on your side!"

In a blur, Superboy slipped his right arm free and socked Kid Flash in the jaw, sending him flying into a glass case of test vials. Robin grits his teeth when he saw his best friend go down. "Look, you're not giving me any choice here!" chucking a pepper-bomb into the clone's mouth and setting it off, he gave Aqualad time to kick him away and into the pod. While the Clone hacked the burning smoke from his lungs Robin sent tasers his way, but they were ineffective. The clone yanked on them and pulled Robin forwards before slamming him to the ground and pressing his foot to his chest when the Boy Wonder didn't move to get up.

Aqualad came barreling in not a moment later, swinging a water-made hammer at the clone with his water bearers. Skyking curled his tail protectively around his injured leg as he fought the urge to shift. He'd save that as a last resort- that and the cavern they were in was far too small to allow him to take his true form. The movements of Superboy were erratic at most, which was why it was so hard to pin him down- there was no refinery to the movements, though the potential was there.

'It's like he's a puppet on strings,' Skyking realized. Flaring his wings, the Dragon jumped into the air. "He's not doing this of his own will!" he shouted to Aqualad.

"It was those Genomorphs in his pod with him! They're ordering him to attack us!"

The warning came too late and Aqualad was down now. It was up to Skyking.

Landing defensively in front of the clone, fire curled from within clenched fists and engulfed the scales on the dragon's arms all the way up to where they ended at his biceps. "I don't want to have to hurt you," he murmured calmly. "But if you keep trying to hurt us, I'll be left with no choice."

With that, he sprang just as the clone did, meeting in the middle and throwing punches. Skyking's left wing whipped out when the clone made to attack from behind and slammed into Superboy's gut, but the clone caught it on impact and swung the dragon around to slam against the ground. Pinning him to the floor, he gripped the offending wing and started to twist it until Skyking let out a strangled cry as it popped out of place at the socket. His tail flailed about as his screech was forced from his throat.

It's dislocated, a faint voice told him.

The last thing Skyking saw was a fist barreling into his face before everything went black.

Aqualad's eyes cracked open at the sound of his friend's cries. "Damn it…" he muttered as the dragon was cut off with a punch to the head from the clone. "We're… trying to help-." Then, the Atlantean knew nothing more as he was punched unconscious.

Reviews and constructive criticism are appreciated!