Disclaimer: All characters, locations and objects are the property of their respective owners. I am but a mere mortal writing a piece of fiction to entertain myself and hopefully others.

Wayne Tech Metropolis DC Sub station

At the dead of night on the outskirts of Metropolis DC away from the smog and pollution of the city the night sky was clear, dotted with the light of distant stars. Along the landscape were rows an rows of various trees, at the highest point of the forest stood a lone building.

The base of the hill was surrounded by a 10 foot electric fence, topped off with razor wire, the only way in was through the main entrance to the north side which always had 2 guards to monitor the coming an goings of staff an would report any unforeseen developments.

All temporary staff were subject to heavy background checks an all came back clean as none of the them had worked at any of the other facilities. From the reports gathered by the various government agencies there were no signs of tampering or finger prints or even DNA. The facilities simply exploded, on the original incident it was put down to mechanical failure however Dark Claw doubted the mechanical failure could cause 8 different facilities to explode with in the time span of a few weeks.

He had used the Clawcopters advanced stealth systems to reach the roof so that he could gain access. The facility had already been scoped out earlier that day by Logan Wayne accompanied by Jubilation Lee and Tim Drake under the assumption that the children had wanted to go come to see the facility as they were interested in radio telescopes.

As he moved in the shadows on the roof avoiding the detection of any of the security guards to the employees who were present this evening he heard a clicking noise on his comm link.

"DC to Oracle, everything fine currently going to plan. What is the status of Sparrow and Frost?"

He then reached his objective as he found a ventilation shaft, using the claws in his left hand the cut away the barrier before placing it to one side.

"Oracle to DC, Sparrow currently on patrol in central park following a lead on a repeat offender, Frost has just stopped a bank robbery. Will keep you posted if anything urgent comes up" responded Oracle over the comm link.

Dark Claw then dropped into the ventilation shaft landing on one of the many rafters that located over the main observation unit. Below him were 4 technicians. 3 were at their stations the fourth was exiting the area. He was a young man, short blond hair and glasses "Remember guys BBQ at my place tomorrow evening, Venus is rising early an you know what that means!" came the blonde technician as he placed his right hand on the door handle.

The first technician to respond was an Asian man, probably mid to late 30s who responded with "I'm there" followed by his older colleague who sat to his left, Caucasian male bald with a grey mustache who added "Sounds great I will be there" this was followed by their final colleague who sat directly infront of the first, an African American woman, long dark hair, heavy build "Could be fun"

"Aww you guys are animals" responded the blonde technician as he raised his left hand, making a gesture like a gun shot to his colleagues, winking with his left eye an making two clicking sounds. "See you guys tomorrow" were his final words as he exited the area.

Dark Claw continued to watch the actions of the remaining technicians, he knew something was off as he breathed in their scents which were like nothing he had ever smelt before.

A few minutes later the bald technician stood up from his chair, then addressed his colleagues in some unknown language "Va cheyne verjo". They had better not be speaking klingon thought Dark Claw as he continued to eavesdrop on the conversation.

Then the following technicians rose from their stations, the Asian man approached a large supercomputer an then effortlessly lifted it up. Some one has been eating their spinach thought Dark Claw as he raised his left eyebrow in disbelief. He began to think that this could be a terrorist attach fabricated by metamutants judging from the mans strength. Despite his own experience which showed that enhanced strength was often attributed with increased musculature which this 90lbs middle aged man lacked.

Next the woman approached the wall, placed her left hand on it before digging into with her finger nails as he tore away the material. Behind it were several pipes and wires along with a strangely shaped object, it was black in colour with 3 crimson orbs an several white lines which appeared to resemble veins.

Once she had removed the device from the wall the Asian technician slammed the computer down back in its place to conceal the hole. Then all three made their way to the elevator, Dark Claw monitored the process as he then saw the elevator rise to the roof of the building.

On the Radio Dish

Dark Claw remained in the shadows as he saw all three approach the central point of the dish, the woman then walked infront of the two males an held the strange object over the central focus. Dark Claw then witnessed the device "Morph" into a liquid substance as it dropped down into the dish.

"I doubt that modification is legal" spoke Dark Claw as he threw a bola at the two males, constraining their arms as he jumped into the air to then collide with them. Knocking them to the ground, Dark Claw otherwise remained on his feet as he approached the woman, "You three really should have stuck to your desk jobs".

The woman then lashed out with several punches the first two were blocked effortlessly however the third collided with his stomach which temporarily knocked the wind out of him before a forth blow sent him flying back by several feet, over the two already captured technicians.

Dark Claw corrected himself midair so as to land on his feet, the other two technicians had worked themselves back up to a vertical base. He then witnessed them some how contort their bodies in such a way that the bola dropped to the ground.

Dark Claw then unsheathed his claws from his hands as he prepared for the fight. His three opponenets each drew a questioning look from the other before the woman charged in some what recklessly as Dark Claw lasted out with his strikes as he sliced into her arm and leg. The Asian man then approached him from behind flinging him over the side of the narrow walkway, as he hurdled to the metallic dish below Dark Claw removed on of his grapples from his belt an fired it back to the walk way. The metallic motor pulling him towards his destination, once again in front of his prey "Alright, hows about we try this again bubs?"

"Need a hand?" came a voice from behind, Dark Claw looked over his right shoulder an saw the unmistakable uniform of Super Soldier.

"No thanks I can handle this boy scout" responded Dark Claw as his attention once again resumed to the task at hand.

"They don't look so tough" commented Super Soldier as he witnessed the three culprits turn tale an behind to run, Dark Claw instantly began to give chase with Super Soldier following his lead.

However a searing headache tore its way through his mind sending untold amounts of pain through his body. Images flashed through his mind, images of depravity, destruction, massacres, torture. There was no order to them, they were images of people, places and events but none had any connection to his own memory. He howled in pain as he lost control of his own ability to fly, his body plummeting to the ground.

Dark Claw halted his pursuit as he dove off of the walkway firing his grapple mid drop as he caught up with Super Soldier, swinging him to safety. However meanwhile up on the walkway the senior technician has removed a device similar to the one which they had previously installed into the radio dish with the only difference being that this one was smaller.

Suddenly Dark Claw could hear what seemed to be a count down of numerous tones each one getting progressively deeper. The dish then began to erupt in a series of explosions cascading through the machinery until the dish was nothing more then a pile of scrap metal. The shock wave of the explosion was enough to interrupt Dark Claws swing as he was forced to let go of Super Soldiers body. His own soon collided with the ground an began to roll down the hill before he dug his claws into the earth to halt his tumble.

As he regained his focus and vertical base he checked on the location of Super Soldier who was only a few feet away from were he stopped an then turned his attention back towards the building. There he saw the three technicians raising from a crater.

Their bodies were mangled by the combination of the drop and the explosion, the womans spine was twisted 360 degrees in 2 places, her head was tilted unnaturally to the left protruding forward from the rest of her body. Her right arm was above her head, it appeared to be dislocated with the elbow bent against the joint.

The other two were somehow messed together, their arms penetrating through each others chests, legs and spines snapped as wells as jaws an eyes hanging from their bodies. Miracously they then some how managed to separate and correct themselves with little no discomfort before walking off into the near by woods.

Behind him Dark Claw heard as Super Soldier regained conciousness as he sat up, his right hand holding his head as if suffering from a bad headache. "What happened?" he asks as he surveys the damage of the explosion.

"Why don't you tell me boy scout?" asked Dark Claw, his voice showing his annoyance "Thanks to you my only leads have managed to escape."

"I don't know, one minute I was flying and the next all I felt this wave of pain fun through my head. It was like nothing I had ever experienced before. There were sights, sounds and smells of some where alien but I have no knowledge of such memories. Now what are you doing here?"

"Probably the same reason as you. Over the past few months some one has been attacking installations which are vital of the deep space monitoring network. I came here to investigate an hopefully capture the assailants before they could make this installation as another one of their victims. Obviously it didn't go to plan"

"I sense you don't want me here, an as much as I would like to stay an have a look around I have to be elsewhere" responded Super Soldier

"Oh? Another gala?" came Dark Claw his voice dripping with sarcasm

Before he could get answer Super Soldier had already taken to the air an was flying toward Metropolis DC. Dark Claw surveryed the damage once more as pressed the signal on his belt for the Clawcopter to home in on his location. Within the minute it had de-cloaked above him as he entered the cockpit to return to New Gotham City.