Chapter 20

"I ain't doing it!" Huntress complains strongly.

Batgirl folds her arms across her chest. "I'm calling my favours in so you are doing this," she tells Huntress sternly.

"But I'll look stupid!" Huntress insists.

"Like that's a change," Nightwing mumbles under his breath.

Huntress shoots him a glare before turning her gaze back to Batgirl. "How do you know he'll even hear me?"

"He'll hear you," Batgirl asserts confidently.

Huntress rubs her brow. "I can't believe you talked me into this," she mutters. "Do you know what I actually planned to save that favour for?"

"I can guess," Batgirl says with a roll of her eyes. Guess it involves repeating the act that Huntress has bragged about often. That being the fact she had sex with Clark.

"You sure he'll hear me?" Huntress asks again before agreeing to make a complete ass of herself.

"Yes. He's in town. You saw the papers." Batgirl takes a step closer to Huntress. "This is for Dinah Helena," Barbara reminds her friend and Dinah is Helena's closest friend.

"You should just let me go in and..."

Barbara cuts Helena off before she finishes that. "And that kind of blunt approach will spook them and put Dinah in greater risk if they are on to her," Barbara argues against what Helena wants to do.

It had now been 5 days that Dinah was overdue to have made contact. It had taken a couple of days just to track Helena down off her latest case and get her to Metropolis which was in the midst of Superman fever after he had been publicly seen in the city. Right now Batgirl, Huntress and Nightwing stand atop a rooftop in Metropolis.

"You know we could just have gone and seen Lana Lang. She's his friend," Huntress argues still trying to get out of this.

"I did look but he wasn't there," Batgirl defends her approach here. "He might be visiting her," she concedes, "but we don't have time to just sit there and wait for him to show up. Now get on with it!"

"Why me? Why don't you shout on him?"

"Because he doesn't owe me a favour."

Helena mutters a few insults under her breath. "I can't believe you talked me into this," she mutters again showing that Barbara has succeeded in persuading her. "Uh what do I shout? Superman or his name or what?" she asks.

"Just go with Superman on the first go in case someone hears you."

Helena takes a breath, looks up to the night sky and shouts. "Superman! It's Huntress! I hope you can hear me! I need your help so I'm calling in that favour!" She then looks at Batgirl. "How was that?"

"Loud." All 3 heroes spin round to face the same direction as Clark floats down out of the sky and lands softly on the rooftop...or as softly as one can when you are wearing black work boots. "Sorry I'm late. I was stopping a jewellery store robbery," he says.

All 3 heroes share the same confused expression. Late? He had only been seconds.

Clark smiles with a quiet charming expression. "So what do you need my help with?" he inquires.

Huntress looks to Batgirl. "Let her tell you. I'm calling in my favour for her."

Clark looks at Batgirl. "Barbara," he greets her.

"Clark," Barbara greets him back. "It's a bit of a story but the short version is that I need your help to find Black Canary."

Clark listens carefully for the next few minutes as Barbara explains about Dinah's infiltrating this underground fight club. "I've never heard of this."

"That's the point," Barbara says like Clark has just gotten it. "No-one has heard of it publicly. There is nothing in the newspapers and this is despite the fact that 5 detectives who did look into it went missing. The case was then quietly buried. Whoever is behind this has that kind of influence. That's what I sent Dinah in to find out. Who is behind it."

"And you want me of all people to do this?" he asks her sceptically. "Barbara I'm flattered by your faith in me but this is not really the kind of thing I do."

"I know that and don't take this the wrong way but you weren't my first choice. It is just everyone else we know is either busy or far too well-known."

"I'm not exactly low profile myself after Japan," Clark points out and he was still trying to get use to that and the name he has seeming gotten stuck with as a result.

"I know," Barbara concedes. "But you have abilities few others if any do. Your hearing. Your sight. The two most important things if you are to find out what is going on and as for your appearance...I have a few ideas. Let me ask you. Have you ever wanted to be blond?"


"I can't believe you talked me into this," Clark mutters.

"That's just what I said when she was getting me to shout on you," Huntress not so helpfully adds.

"Will you hold still," Barbara tells him off as he fidgets.

They had retired to a place Barbara keeps in Metropolis and right now Clark was bent over a sink as Barbara attempts to turn his hair blond. They had tried several methods none of which worked because Barbara hadn't taken into account the invulnerability of the cells in Clark's hair. It meant Clark would have to reapply the dye they finally managed to get to work every day to keep himself blond but they could disguise it as shampoo so it wasn't a huge insurmountable problem.

"There," Barbara says when she finally finishes. "Now have a look," she tells him as she hands him a small mirror.

Clark takes the mirror and looks at his bright blond hair. It isn't just the colour of his hair that has changed. It's the length. Huntress had suggested he needed to cut it short so he made a quick detour on the way over here to pick up those special scissors he has to cut his hair and it was cut as short as it was possible to get it with those scissors. Shorter than he has ever had his hair.

"The eyes," Nightwing says from behind.

"He's right," Huntress says agreeing with what Dick means.

Clark sighs. "I know. They're too unique."

"We'll get some coloured contacts," Barbara suggests as the way to solve that problem.

"Which will melt the instant I use my heat vision and I don't want melted lenses stuck to my eyes thank you," Clark points out the flaw.

"Then don't use it," Barbara gives the simple answer. "You won't need to. All the organisers of the fight club will need to see is a fraction of how strong you are. That will get you in no problem."

Clark shakes his head. When he came home it wasn't for this. It wasn't to go sneaking around the dark in some undercover mission but he did say he owed Huntress a favour and he will uphold that. Besides he can't really just standby and do nothing when someone is potentially in trouble.

Clark gets led back to the lounge and sat down opposite Barbara, Huntress and Dick. "Ok," Barbara says. "What you are about to receive is a crash course in undercover mission protocol and everything we know and you need to know about this fight club."

"In other words it's a bunch of rules you can feel free to ignore like I do," Huntress says with a smirk.

Barbara scowls. Dick sniggers and Barbara hits him for finding that funny.


"So how do I do this?" Clark asks as he stands next to Batgirl the following night upon a rooftop. He is dressed all in black and went as far as to dig out that leather jacket he happens to own. It contrasts strongly with his blond hair and now brown eyes.

"You see that guy?" Barbara asks pointing at a slim man with a short beard leaving the building across the street and walking across the car park in front of it.

"The doctor?" Clark queries of the well-dressed man who is no doubt heading home. What they are opposite of is a medical practice.

"Clark's it's a fight club. Don't you think a doctor would be useful," Barbara makes the point.

"Right," he catches on.

"Anyway he is the only real link we've got to the club. He gets a cut of the takings from the bets people lay just to make sure he's on side. He also runs the tests to make sure only metahumans get in."

"Barbara," Clark says harshly because tests cannot be run on him.

"Well it isn't like he can get a needle into you anyway Clark. As I said it won't matter when he sees how strong you are. Just go up to him and tell him you heard about the club and want in because you need the cash. Then pick up his car as a demonstration."

Clark has reservations about this after getting only a crash course and never having done anything like this before. His version of blending in is to be who he was raised as; a farmer's son. How does he pretend to be a fighter with a preference for violence he doesn't know. "What's his name?" Clark asks about the doctor.

"Richter Maddox."

Clark leaps over the edge of the roof and only slightly slows his descent before he blurs off covering the ground in seconds.

Maddox is just opening the door to his car when this tall blond man appears out of nowhere. He gasps in surprise. "Oh! You scared me. Where did you come from?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Clark jests.

"Well if you're looking for a doctor I'm afraid you'll have to come back tomorrow. We're closed."

"I'm looking for you Dr Maddox. I want to fight."

"Oh. What did I do to you?" Maddox asks with a nervous stutter as his eyes dart back and forth as he tries to recall if he has ever met this man before.

"No. I mean the fight club you work for. I want in."

Maddox's eyes widen in shock and surprise before he pulls himself together and chuckles nervously to cover it. "Uh...you must have me confused with someone else. I have that kind of face."

"I heard word on the street about the club. That it pays well and you know how to get me in."

"Look you are obviously sick. I know a great psychiatrist," Maddox says still trying to play off that he knows anything about what Clark is asking.

"Grab him and slam him against the car," Clark picks up Barbara's voice giving him instructions as she improvises off her original plan. "Do it!" she orders in a strong voice.

Clark grabs the man by the lapels of his jacket and does what Barbara instructed.

"Ow! Ugh!" Maddox says breathing heavily as Clark's grip tightens the shirt around his neck. "Look you are obviously a very sick man," he says.

"Throw him!" Barbara orders.

Clark does so and Maddox crashes to the ground and rolls a few times across the tarmac. Maddox gets to his feet while reaching inside his jacket. "Look if treatment's not what you are looking for..." he pulls out a pistol, "them I suggest you back off now!" Maddox says waving the gun in a threatening manner at Clark. "You're backing up the wrong tree Jethro. Now put your tail between your legs and get lost."

Clark reaches into his inner Kal and smirks. "Not until you let me in that club."

Clark advances on Maddox who fires. In slow motion from Clark's perspective he puts his left hand out and allows the bullet to flatten on impact before curling his fingers around it. He then blurs forward to right in front of Maddox where he holds up the bullet flattened like a dime. "I think you lost this."

A gleam forms in Maddox's eyes and he laughs. "Well now you are full of surprises aren't you," he says with any pretence he is just an ordinary doctor gone.

"You haven't seen anything yet," Clark promises in a cocky arrogant boast.

"No. I bet not," Maddox guesses. His bosses will be thrilled. They've been looking for new blood.

As Barbara watches Clark get in the car with Maddox she can be certain of one thing. He's in.


Clark sits in silence as Maddox drives him through the city thinking through what front is best. The strong silent one or to drudge up that inner arrogant version of him called Kal or something in-between. They pull up in front of just an ordinary looking seven storey building of which there are probably hundreds in Metropolis.

Clark steps out of the car and scans the building from top to bottom. No sign of Black Canary. He is once more taken in by how ordinary the building is but what was he expecting after all? A big sign saying 'Illegal Metahuman Fight Club Here!'.

A few hours crash course on going undercover may not be enough for this. He knows nothing about this line of heroing...is that even a word? Heroing? Heroing? H-E-R-O-I-N-G?

Nope. Clark is pretty certain it is not a word...or at least not one that is in the official dictionary.

By the time Clark breaks out of his loop he is standing outside an office door with Maddox on the 4th floor. The door is guarded by two large men dressed well in fine looking black suits. Clark opens up his hearing a bit and hears a woman speaking from behind the door.

"No she hasn't broken yet but she will or I shall put her in the greatest and I may add last fight of her life. After all you don't need her strictly to be alive do you for your project?"

"Just make sure no-one can trace this to us," is the stern reply of another woman's voice. "Because if we go down we will take you with us," the other woman threatens.

The first woman laughs sounding amused almost by the threat. "Trust me when I say no-one apart from myself even knows of the name Cadmus."

"Make sure it stays that way or you will find the protection we have given you quickly turns into hard evidence linking you to everything."

"As long as you know that if I conveniently disappear certain documents you don't want in the public domain will reach the media," the first woman counters with showing she has leverage too.

"Then we understand each other."

"Perfectly."

Clark then hears a phone being replaced and realises he has picked up a phone conversation. One of the guards knocks on the door before opening it and announcing to the person inside she has guests. Clark and Maddox are then permitted to enter and behind the desk Clark finds an Asian woman with dark hair up in a bun held in place by two needles, small round sunglasses on her nose, dressed in a sleeveless red dress with matching long red gloves on each arm. She peers over the rim of her glasses and gives Clark the once over before turning her gaze to Maddox. "And this is?" she asks.

"Kal," Clark fills in.

"I'm not impressed," the woman says flatly.

Maddox tosses her something and the woman catches it. "Is this a guessing game?" she asks.

"No. That's the bullet I shot Kal with," Maddox replies.

The woman looks more closely at it and can see that it is indeed a flattened bullet. She then looks back up at Kal. "My interest is stirred. Nothing more," she says evenly.

Clark realises he needs to say something before this falls apart. "Well maybe my interest is quickly fading away," Clark says sounding snide about it. "I heard this was the place for a challenge yet you don't seem all that interested in what I can offer."

"I haven't seen what you have to offer," she retorts.

"Sure you did. The second I stepped into the room."

"I've heard that before."

"But not from me."

"I have no time for men whose arrogance far outstrips their fighting prowess," she dismisses him and summons her two guards in who grab Clark one on each arm. "Get rid of him," she orders.

The guards try but Clark doesn't let them. With a casual shrug of his shoulders he throws the two men not only off of him but right through the wall into the hallway. He fixes his leather jacket. "I really hope they didn't mark this. It's my favourite jacket."

The woman arches an eyebrow as she takes in her now unconscious guards and trust her when she says she hires nothing but the best and Kal did that easily. Ok now she will admit she is a little more intrigued.

"You see Roulette," Maddox says hoping for her favour.

Roulette gets to her feet and walks out from behind her desk allowing Clark to see the dress is slitted up both sides to the hip and revealing on her right leg the start of a dragon tattoo that winds across her stomach Clark can see where there is a circular hole in her dress and the tattoo ends on what he can see of her left shoulder.

Roulette wanders over to Clark and then around him trying to assess him. "Stronger than you look," she remarks.

"That was nothing," Clark assures her trying to sound very confident about that.

"That remains to be seen," Roulette says as she comes to a stop in front of him.

"Roulette was it?" Clark inquiries.

Roulette nods to give him permission to use it.

"I'm sure you are a very smart woman with brains equal if not surpassing your beauty," he flatters her. "You give me a chance and I guarantee I'll give you fights that will have the bets flooding in."

"Flattery gets you nowhere," she tells him. Roulette hasn't survived this long by allowing her head to be turned by a sweet tongue from a handsome man.

"Is it flattery if it's true?" Clark asks her back.

Roulette half-smiles. She thinks this one might not be as dumb as many others she has met. "Why should I give you a chance?"

"Why shouldn't you? What do you have to lose? If I am not what I claim I would lose my first fight and I doubt that means you have to pay me."

"If you are not what you claim not getting paid will be the least of your worries."

"Bullets bounce off of me. Do you think threats will work?"

"Threats? Please. I do not have to resort to such thuggish methods of persuasion."

"Nor do I. Earlier you claimed I was arrogant. Like flattery one cannot be arrogant if all they are saying is the truth. What I did to your guards was only the tiniest fraction of what I am capable of. I have not threatened you nor shall I. If you refuse to give me a chance then you are throwing away a business opportunity. I can live with that. Can you live without knowing what it is you could have had?"

Roulette gazes into his eyes trying to judge whether what she sees is a fighter. Clark returns it with his own firm gaze into her cold dispassionate green eyes. She then turns, walks back behind her desk and sits down. "Tomorrow night. I need an opener against Amygdala. Maddox here will fill you in on the details and my rules," she tells him letting Clark know he is over the first hurdle. Don't disappoint me," she adds as a warning. "Because I have other methods beyond bullets to take care of those that disappoint me," she states not as a threat but a mere statement of fact.

"Oh trust me when I say if it is one thing I can guarantee is that I never leave a woman disappointed," Clark says with a suggestive undertone although don't ask him where he is coming up with this from.

"We shall see," Roulette says coolly. "And oh Maddox that wall is coming out of your pay-check," she adds since Maddox is the one that brought Kal to her and therefore is responsible for the damage in her eyes.

Maddox for one moment thinks of protesting but then remembers who it is he is dealing with and thinks better of it. "Yes Roulette," he meekly accepts her judgement.

As Maddox leads Clark back down to his car he starts going through Roulette's rules about how he talks about the club to no-one, how she will contact him and tell him where and when he is to be at a location, what his pay will be and so on and so on. Clark listens while thinking about the conversation he overheard. Was the she Roulette was talking about Black Canary? If so then she was in trouble just as Barbara feared and Clark must get a move on with finding her. Question is who was Roulette talking to. Some kind of partner from what Clark overheard who must have the influence to keep the authorities off Roulette's trail.

Therefore the question is who or what is Cadmus?


Later at a secret location...

An underground facility. A large circular room in the middle of which stands a circular table. Around the table sits a collection of men and women whose purpose is to ensure the defence of the United States by any means including those which could be construed as morally and ethically questionable. Their primary aim; to find methods to control the growing metahuman population and in particular find a way to counter the Justice League should they ever go rogue like the alternate universe counterparts this organisation knows of. The Justice Lords who were essentially the Justice League until they decided that the only way they could bring order to their Earth was to take it over. This organisation would ensure that would never happen to this Earth. Officially the government had to have clean hands so they work in secret towards their goal.

The codename given to this organisation: Cadmus.

An older man with greying hair, dressed in a military uniform brings the current meeting to order. General Samuel Lane asks for a current summary on the projects they are current running.

A man with curly dark hair and thick rimmed black glasses dressed in a white shirt and dark pants with a typical white doctor's coat on top stands to his feet. Professor Emil Hamilton clears his throat, shuffles some papers on the desk in front of him and looks nervous. "Project WG has failed," he states simply.

General Lane looks about as far from happy as it is possible to be and glares at Hamilton whose nervous disposition only gets exacerbated further.

"General. Ease up," a heavyset, dark skinned woman in a blue dress suit says.

General Lane turns his gaze to her instead. "Waller," he practically growls.

Amanda Waller resists the urge to roll her eyes. She knew Lane had little regard or respect for scientists but they were vital for Cadmus' work to succeed so she has little time for his prejudice. "Let Professor Hamilton speak," she tells Lane off. Waller turns to Hamilton. "Please continue Professor. What caused the failure?"

Hamilton's fingers pull at the collar of his shirt and he clears his throat again. "Uh...the DNA we managed to obtain would not replicate. No method of enhanced cellular mitosis we attempted succeeded."

"Why not?"

"I don't know," Hamilton admits. "But I have a theory."

"Enlighten us."

"If the truth of how the subject was created is true it is possible safe-guards were placed into her genetic code to prevent this very thing."

"So cloning Wonder Woman to create a direct counterpart to her is impossible," Waller summarises.

"At the moment with our current level of technology I am afraid so."

Waller's brow drops slightly annoyed. As leader of the Justice League Wonder Woman was the one they felt most important to counter. From what they knew of the Justice Lords' universe it was that Wonder Woman that led the change to their tyrannical regime.

"So what's the next step?" a man with brown hair, dressed in an expensive suit, asks. Maxwell Lord a shrewd and powerful business man whose vast resources helped fund Cadmus.

"That is already under way. It was suppose to be a compliment to Project WG but will now be our primary means of creating a counter to Wonder Woman," Waller informs everyone around the table. "We have a partnership with Roulette. Her 'Meta-Brawl' fight club has provided us with genetic samples of many metahumans. The intention is to combine these abilities into one individual."

"Is that possible?" another General asks. General Wade Eiling.

All eyes turn back to Professor Hamilton as he was in charge of those kind of genetic experiments. "I believe it is possible. What we require is a base genetic code that the varying other DNA segments can be woven into and won't break down under the strain."

"Why do I get the feeling that is not as easy as it sounds?" General Lane asks sceptically.

"It's not. So far we have failed to create a body capable of successfully integrating these powers. They all break down and fail but I do have a theory about a method by which that can be overcome."

"Go on," Waller encourages Hamilton.

"What we need is a DNA sample from an immortal human."

"Savage?" Maxwell Lord asks after the immortal Vandal Savage.

"His current whereabouts are unknown," Waller replies to that.

"I was thinking more along the lines of Wonder Woman's kin," Hamilton clarifies.

"You mean Amazons," General Eiling says distastefully.

"How will you manage that without starting a war?" General Lane wonders, not that if necessary he isn't prepared to fight that war because he is.

"Simple," Waller says. "Queen Hippolyta is coming to Washington next week to meet the President. Who better to provide the sample then Wonder Woman's own mother."

"And I suppose you have a plan on how to obtain a DNA sample from her Majesty," Maxwell Lord says as an assumption.

"If she was injured in an assassination attempt by a religious extremist who consider her and her kin 'pagan heathens' she would have to go to hospital wouldn't she under the care of doctors and nurses...our doctors and nurses," Waller explains the plan and that their doctors would then easily be able to get what they need.

"You've been planning this for weeks," General Lane accuses her because you can't plan something like that in a few days.

"I think ahead General. The Justice League's attitude lately should have us all concerned and pushing ahead as rapidly as possible with our agenda."

"You should just let me nuke them," Eiling complains at the fact he hasn't been allowed to do that.

Maxwell Lord chortles.

"You find that funny Lord?"

Lord shakes his head at what he sees as utter folly on Eiling's part. "PR is really not your strong point General. Yes the League may not be as popular as it was but it is still supported by the majority. You shoot them down without just cause you turn them into martyrs and us into the hated extreme. You may as well throw yourself in jail now."

Eiling's face turns sour. He doesn't buy Lord's argument for a moment. "Then why are we doing this?"

"I see we are getting to my part of this plan beyond my money," Lord says. "To destroy the League, Ladies and Gentlemen, what we have to do first and foremost is to take away their support amongst the general public."

"How?"

"We create our own superhero team and with my money, business acumen and PR savvy behind it I will make the Justice League not only look utterly obsolete but truly be obsolete. People need heroes to inspire them..to make them feel secure...to make them feel like the world can be a better place but they also want heroes they know are being controlled. Our team will have the full public backing of the government. The government will sanction their activities. Given this more legitimate alternative to get behind public support for the Justice League will plummet. I expect a good half of its members to join us and when it is only a rump then it will much easier to deal with the more obstinate elements of it in the fashion our friends in the military wish to. In fact by the time I'm done the public will be demanding that such actions are taken. Now I confess there are still a few details to work out. We don't have an entire team of suitable heroes lined up and it lacks a figurehead with the same presence as Wonder Woman but these are not insurmountable problems."

"This is not a good idea," Lane expresses his opinion. They weren't in this to promote these super-powered threats.

"Why not? Isn't that what we are aiming for? These super-humans under our control?" Waller asks Lane, almost daring him to argue her point.

General Lane tries to think of a counter to that but struggles. That is what they are aiming for but he still doesn't think it makes it a good idea.

"Continue with the preparation work Maxwell," Waller permits Lord. She can see that what Lord proposes does have potential.

Lord nods with a satisfied smile that his idea is getting the credit it is due. They move on and discuss other work Cadmus is currently undertaking before wrapping up the meeting for the night. As they depart Maxwell Lord catches up to Professor Hamilton. "I was meaning to ask Professor do we intend to create a male or female subject for your project?"

Professor Hamilton is pleased someone is showing genuine interest in his work. "Since the base code we will be using is female the subject will also be female."

"Ah so we are in essence creating what technically would be a sister to Wonder Woman," Lord concludes.

"Yes. You could say that," Hamilton concedes.

"And what are we calling this Project? I'm assuming not Wonder Girl still?"

"No," Hamilton confirms. "Officially the prototype subject will be called the Donated Nucleotide Assemblage."

"Ah I see we're going with irony using the term donated," Lord wryly remarks since the DNA samples were definitely not donated...at least not willingly nor with the donor's knowledge. "Not very catchy name though," he comments from his PR experience. He muses on a better name. "Donated...donated...don...I've got it!" he suddenly says in an 'Eureka' moment. "DON. N. A. DON-N-A. D-O-N-N-A. DONNA. Project DONNA."


Author's Note: Since on the Young Justice cartoon series Cadmus created a clone of Superman I thought in my story they would try to clone Wonder Woman only I didn't want an exact clone and decided instead to come up with something slightly different that would create a new origin for her sister Donna. Thanks to everyone who wrote reviews. Next up: Clark steps up his search for Dinah while trying to survive the cage as Dinah is enduring her own fight to survive.