Man tells his aspiration in his God; but in his demon he shows his depth of experience. -Margaret Fuller
I. THE BEGINNING
Dark pyre licked at the house of wood and brick, consuming everything it touched and disintegrating it into nothing. Outside of its deadly reach was a man black of hair calling desperately for his family, his steel irises shining in the ominous luminescence of the flames and wet from unshed tears. He was helpless, unable to dare reach through the fire to save them, else he too would be nothing. And so he stood there, waiting, hoping that they would surface alive, calling their names and searching for their faces.
••••
1:03 AM August 16 - Bayfield, WI
Smoke. Ash. Embers. That's all that remained of this Cadmus facility. The name seemed to become more of a common sighting in the League's files, a fact that did not go unnoticed under the watchful eye of the dark knight. Ever since the discovery of Superboy, Cadmus has steadily made itself known in the Justice League. And since then, they have had yet to find out much more about a project conducted at a facility before the building and everything inside was destroyed, files and all.
It was a little too convenient for comfort, that feeling was especially apparent now as Batman stood among the ruined rubble. Steely eyes scanned over what was left of the explosion while authorities scoured the grounds in search of any evidence … or survivors. A startled call caught his attention, and thusly he walked briskly towards the voice. As he neared, the confused murmurs laced with both shock and awe increased, each peaking his curiosity until he reached the object of their attention.
Amidst the cooling embers and ash was a young female : black of hair, ivory skinned, seemingly of late adolescence, and, most importantly, alive. But what elicited such shock from her spectators was her condition. Of course from the explosion that happened none too long ago, she had received severe burns on her flesh, the left side of her lower body distinctly blistered, along with some bruising. But as they all looked closer upon inspection, the injuries she sustained were slowly healing, the bruises fading and the skin regenerating. It was a sight both grotesque and fascinating, watching her body stitch itself back together.
Finally, there was a possible answer to one of the many questions that made the mystery of Cadmus.
A low feminine groan startled those who gazed at her, save for the male clothed in black. She was subconsciously aware, meaning that the answers would come sooner than he had thought.
With a voice made for a leader, he ordered the medics to see to her injuries, who upon administering care were frantic to match the speed in which she was healing. Pressing a finger to the communicator at his ear, he contacted the League to inform them of this new discovery.
2:56 AM - Justice League Satellite
This girl was turning out to be an interesting case. After taking the girl into custody under League authority, Batman had spent his time finding out whatever he could about her. He found an identity match shortly after performing a facial recognition procedure, coming upon a rather curious file.
Kali Yukimura. Seventeen years of age since May 21. Registered orphan residing in an orphanage located in Nakamura, Japan until adopted by Eiji Yukimura at ten years of age. Resided in Riverside, California since age fourteen. Reported missing after automobile accident on August 2. Undetermined blood type. Assumed AB+ after testing.
Nothing interested him much besides the missing report and unknown blood records. With curiosity, he took a blood sample and had it quickly analyzed, only to be surprised when it did not match with any League records. With human and a number of metahuman and alien blood records, not one was a match. A DNA analysis was made as well, and again the results were inconclusive. Upon close inspection, he found that it was closely related to that of a human but with slight, almost unnoticeable differences.
She was as much of an enigma as Cadmus was, another puzzle to solve.
AN : I sincerely apologize for the long wait. School has been taking up most of my time and energy. Hopefully, I can dish out some more chapters at a more consistent and frequent rate. For now, please feel free to let me know how I'm doing so far. It really helps motivate me. Bye for now!