Who's ready for the conclusion to this ep? Happy to know so many of you liked the events taking place in this BIG episode. But maybe there's room for one more surprise.
5.
Jump City-Queen Bee's Penthouse
August 25
03:59 UTC
Bursting through a set of glass double doors, Terra slammed them shut and looked for a place to hide. Seeing as how she ended up outside on a large terrance, she really had no place to go. With her head clearing, she tried to remember all of her training but could not, for the life of her, remember most of what she went through and learned since meeting Queen Bee. She remembered wanting to be a Titan, she remembered wanting to be Garfield's friend, she even remembered simply wanting a place to belong, but everything else was a blur to her. Eyeing a potential spot to hide, the Earth mover took off running from the doors and took cover a moment before the wood and glass exploded outward from Scandal slashing through them with her deadly blades.
Running her eyes over the open area, Scandal sneered as the cool night breeze blew across the outside of the building. Her footsteps thumped lightly on the concrete floor as she hunted her prey, flexing her hands with her heated blades extended to their full length. Around her, the sounds of the early morning city could be heard far below as she passed a line of perfectly trimmed shrubbery and stone benches. Large cement planters housing six foot tall trees sat in the corners with a long line of flower bushes lining the far side half wall.
"Come on out, Terra," Scandal said as she passed by an elaborately decorated bird bath fountain. "I'll be gentle."
Catching her attention, part of the flower bush rattled slightly. She knew it was not caused by the wind and grinned as she knew where the fleeing Titan was now. Moving her hand over her left gauntlet, Scandal pulled back a latch over her blade, wound her arm back, and flung it forward, sending the heated weapon where she saw the movement occur and neatly sliced through the plants to bury itself it the concrete barrier behind it.
"I can do this all night, sweetie. The only question is, do you want open casket or-"
Feeling something off about the spot she stood on, Scandal looked down and saw a few leaves and bits of dirt rattle around. The trees, shrubs, and flower bushes shook as well when the bird bath fell behind her from the increasing of the very ground shaking.
Standing behind the assassin, Terra had her arms outstretched with her eyes glowing a bright yellow. Her hair floated around her as if she were underwater with the veins on her forehead bulging out.
Turning to see the teen girl, Scandal put two and two together and sighed. "I hate metas."
The moment she uttered those words, the entire concrete floor beneath her shuddered and jerked away from the building, forcing her off balance, and sent her tumbling to the ground. Another jerk had her crashing into the flower hedges with another sending her over the wall. From the side of the building, one could see the majority of the garden terrance had shifted away from the structure and was at an angle that would make standing extremely difficult.
Letting out a grunt, Terra's nose began to bleed from the strain she was putting on herself. From her perspective, she could see strands of Earth filter between the tiny cracks on the concrete where the dirt was planted. She could also feel the soil she controlled and had to severely concentrate to have it break and lift the large area she wanted.
Struggling to stay on the ledge and climb back up, Scandal impaled her right forearm blade into the stone wall and reached into a pouch behind her where she puled out a grapple gun. Aiming it for the spot over the door, she was about to pul the trigger when she saw two massive amounts of soil rise from the nearest tree pots and shoot forward, smashing into her face to knock her off the building. As she fell, the black clad assassin twisted around and fired her life line the moment she came close enough to another building. Her landing was rough as she crashed through a glass wall separating a pool from the natural elements and came to a stop before splashing into the water.
Bringing the terrance back into position, Terra made sure it would not fall off before releasing her power over the soil she controlled. Collapsing, she breathed heavily with a trail of blood flowing from her nose. Using her powers like she did, with more procession than she ever had, really took it out of her and she needed the rest.
Back within the pitch black den, a maskless Ravager kept her sword at a ready position as she used her senses to aide her in finding the Gothic Teen girl. Careful footsteps were made to prevent her from tripping over the fallen and broken furniture and decorations as she took one hand from her sword's handle and reached into a pouch on her belt. Taking out a tube shaped object, she placed one end between her teeth and snapped it. The liquid inside shone brightly in the darkness, casting a purple glow for her to see what was immediately around her.
Passing a damaged grandfather clock, Ravager kept her back to the wall as she passed it. Had she have turned around at that moment, she would have seen the very shadows come to life as if they were a blanket with something moving underneath. Without making a sound, the assassin slowed her heart rate and listened for her quarry's breathing. She herself did not make any noise as she was highly trained. Her tactics were a success as she picked up on the flutter of a cape and quickly swiped the air behind her. She knew she had struck the young girl from how her weapon reacted and smiled wickedly.
"You like to hide in the darkness, don't you, girl?" she asked in a mocking manner.
"No," Raven answered. "I am darkness. Azrath Metrion Zent-ugh!"
Before she could finish her mantra, Raven felt the cold metal of Ravager's weapon stick into her thigh. Had she not have been floating while coming out of the shadows, she would have taken the hit to the right side of her chest.
"Last mistake, girl." Withdrawing her sword, Ravager saw her target in the small amount of light she had and took an upward swipe to slice the girl in two, had it not have been for Raven vanishing back into the shadows. "Ragh, where-!"
"Zenthos!"
Echoing behind her, Raven's voice seemed to come out from the darkness where the light failed to reach, summoning the shadows around Ravager to come to life. No matter what she did, the assassin could not fight against something with no form. Every swipe she took did nothing to defend her from the darkness as the shadows covered her body. Her legs were the first to be engulfed and forced together. Letting out a grunt, she used both arms to swing her weapon at another shadow and could only watch as it passed right through the black form to cover the metal blade. Her arms felt as if they had a mind of their own as the shadows attacked them and forced them to cross in front of her chest with her head being the last part of her body to be exposed. With one last defiant yell, she was completely wrapped in the darkness of the room and struggled to get free until a bright white light escaped through a few seams where the shadows crossed.
Emerging from the shadows of the room, Raven stood over the fallen Ravager who was unconscious with the dark coverings melting off her body and blended back into the room.
"Like I said," Raven uttered as she applied pressure to her stab wound, "I am darkness. And this is my element."
Inside the panic room, Queen Bee watched as the green beast outside the door was getting closer and closer to getting in. Deep claw marks crisscrossed the metal surface, creating deeper and deeper valleys with each passing second until a chunk of the door was pried outwards enough for the green beast to peek through. With his eye locking on Queen Bee, Beast Boy let out a roar before grabbing the bent piece of metal and ripping the door of it's hinges.
Cocking back the hammer of her gun, the dictator took a shot at the beast, missing as he ducked around the side of the entrance and giving the Byalian dictator time to get away through the other door. With the immediate danger of being shot over, Beast Boy came crashing through the once strong barrier and continued the chase after Queen Bee.
The moment she heard the sound of tearing metal and an animalistic roar, Raven looked over to the barely open doors to the room she and the passed out Ravager were in and put a stop to healing herself. Lifting her hand from her injured thigh, her black energy vanished with only a scar where the sword speared her. That would soon be gone once she began the healing process again, but for now, she had a bad feeling for her green friend and forced herself to get back to her feet before lifting off to fly out of the room and down the hallway.
Jump City-Lexcorp Tower
August 25
04:01 UTC
Receiving hit after hit, Superboy could do nothing but take the punishment as Metallo continued to douse him in Kryptonite radiation. The water raining down on him diluted the blood he was losing as it seeped from his wounds. Laughing, the hired gun of Lex Luthor combined his fists to slam them on the small of his back, forcing the Titan hard to the ground. Getting back up to his elbows, the Titan co-leader crawled forward with his arms pulling him across the floor.
"It's been fun making you suffer like this," Metallo said as he morphed his hand into it's cannon form. "But all good things must come to an end, I suppose. No Kryptonian strength. No heat vision. And no sun to heal you. At least your end will be quick and painless."
Charging his weapon up to full power, Metallo placed the end of the barrel against Superboy's head. The pain he felt from the massive amount of Kryptonite was getting to be too much as he felt like blacking out at any second. His head pounded, his chest felt tight, his muscles ached as if they had been flexed for hours without rest. He had no more strength left as he attempted to drag himself to the door where Lex Luthor was most likely behind.
Feeling the end was near, Superboy stopped crawling. He stopped trying to get away and hung his head low, feeling the weapon pressing against him. He had no idea how to get out of this, but that was how the original team operated in the beginning. And how he went about missions in the beginning was not through stealth or outsmarting his opponents. He simply used his rage to get his through battles when the team was first created.
Letting out a growl, Superboy put everything into his next move. As fast as he could, he moved sideways, avoiding being struck by the Kryptonite cannon and roughly grabbed Metallo's weaponized arm. With his TTK backing him up, Superboy crushed the limb easily, forcing Metallo back while yelling in pain. With the torn cannon in hand, the Titan co-leader threw it as hard as he could, which wasn't much with the effects of the Kryptonite, at the head of the enforcer and charged forward, landing a right cross to the already damaged jaw of Metallo and ripped it off before falling to his hands and knees from the green exposed heart.
"Zzzzzt. Zzzchtssshhhhh. Y, y, y, you, you, you, you, you, you. Curtisssshhhhhhh." With his voice unit destroyed, Metallo fell back to access his body's damage readout.
Clinching his fists Superboy concentrated on using his TTK ability with the short time afforded him as he tightly closed his eyes. When using his unique power, he was able to move solid objects by concentrating on them hard enough, in part by affecting their molecules to control them. And if he could move molecules...
Narrowing his eyes, Superboy extended his TTK field throughout the floor, freezing Metallo in place as if he intended to move him himself. His blue eyes locked in on the glowing green heart of the cyborg being and slowly turned red. With his brow furrowed and teeth gritted, the Krypto/human attempted something he had never done before and could feel the air around him begin to heat up.
"Kurrr, w, w, w, what, what, what, what, what-" Feeling the same heat himself, Metallo tried to move out of the way but could not as his feet felt attached to the floor.
Concentrating harder, Superboy had the heat around him gather before his eyes, narrowing into thin beams, almost as if he was turning his rage into simulated heat vision by manipulating the air molecules. With a growl, the Titan succeeded in forming twin beams of heat from his eyes and burned through the Kryptonite heart of Metallo.
Letting out a high pitched metallic shriek, the damaged cyborg flailed around with his feet remaining in place. His arms spasomed about, breaking his left shoulder socket while his right arm hyperextended at the elbow and locked up. The doors to his chest opened and closed rapidly until one seized up halfway with what was left of is heart pumping out what blood it could.
"Er, er, er, er, error. Code, code, code, code, fifty two," his electronic voice monotonously said as his head jerked around. "Emergency shut, shut, shutdown. All systems in stan, stan, stan, d by mo, mode."
With one final jolt, Metallo's body went limp and fell to the ground. Landing with a heavy thud, he cracked the tiles underneath him once he came to a rest. The last part of him to lose power were his glowing green eyes as they faded to black and he entered into a state of electronic sleep to save is life.
With the fight over, Superboy swallowed the lump in his throat then spit out a glob of blood. His left eye was shut from taking a direct shot from the robotic fist of Metallo while under his Kryptonite radiation field. Blood seeped from cuts on his forehead and cheek while bruises covered his arms and could be seen under the torn remnants of his shirt.
Turning over, the tired Titan co-leader rested under the still falling water, allowing it to clean his face of blood as he shallowly breathed every breath he could.
-One Floor Below-
Moving his dagger under Mrs. Martian's throat, Psymon lightly traced the curvature of her neck, all the while laughing. A sick grin was on his face as he knew he had the Martian woman trapped in the psychic plain with nothing she could do in the real world.
Tightening his grip on the blade's handle, the telekinetic villain readied himself to end the life of the one being capable of defeating his mental prowess and shoved the metal blade into her chest. Instantly, Mrs. Martian's eyes ceased to glow brightly as she came to her senses. Her face took on a shocked look with her jaw shaking and a light grunt escaping her lips.
"Yes. Die little Martian," Psymon said with evil glee.
Slumping to the floor, Mrs. Martian weakly grabbed Psymon's coat in an attempt to stay up. It was useless as she was soon on her knees and lying on the floor a moment after. Her purple blood spread under her as Psymon kicked her to make sure she was indeed dead.
"I, I did it," he hissed, dropping the dagger and staring at the lifeless body of the Titan co-leader. "I killed the Martian witch. I, I killed her. I got my revenge and I killed her! I KILLED HER!"
Letting out a laugh, Psymon had his head back, taking in what he had just done. He had just ended the life of the most powerful mind to have ever existed.
"I KILLED HER! I KILLED THE MARTIAN! I KILLED THE MARTIAN!"
As he continued to laugh, the hallway spun around him and the lights faded out. Nothing could contain his glee at what he just did. He continued laughing...even though his body did not.
Letting her eyes turn back to their regular honey brown color, Mrs. Martian looked down on the mind blasted Psymon. His eyes were open and rolled back with drool flowing from his mouth. It was all a ruse, an illusion within an illusion. While so intent on putting an end to the Martian woman, Psymon had failed to notice the one before him was not her. He had never re-entered the real world, only one Mrs. Martian had created to trap him inside his own mind, forever laughing in the darkness surrounding him.
"Yes. You killed the Martian." Walking past the mentally trapped Psymon, a very alive Mrs. Martian floated into the air and phased through the ceiling, now that the power was out and the emergency lights were flashing.
Phasing through the floor above, Mrs. Martian was immediately doused with water from the sprinkler system. Calling out her husband's name, she saw a pile of metal and flesh a few feet away from the injured Kryptonian and flew over to him as fast as she could.
"Conner!"
Jerking upward with his fist cocked back, Superboy saw it was his wife by his side and lay back on the floor. He let out a grunt as he worked on slowing his breathing down.
"What happened to you?" they asked at the same time.
"Had a run in with Psymon," she told him. "He won't be a bother to us anymore."
"Fought a Kryptonite powered Terminator," Superboy told her. "No problemo."
"What?"
"I might have a concussion."
Widening her eyes, Mrs. Martian took a short gasp as she turned her head to look down the hall at the set of double doors. "Conner, I, I can feel him. He's beyond those doors."
Sitting up, Superboy grunted as the Kryptonite effects had yet to leave is body. "Then let's go get our son back, M'gann."
Weakly, he got to his feet with his wife helping him. Both made their way down the hallway to Lex Luthor's office, more than ready to get their son back and take him home while making Lex pay for what he did.
Queen Bee's Penthouse
August 25
04:05 UTC
Forcing a set of double doors open, Queen Bee entered a large dining room and quickly shut the door behind her. Pulling a chair from the cherry wood dining table, she jammed it under the locks to buy some time and took a count of her remaining rounds. Since leaving her panic room, she fired her revolver twice more, missing each time as Beast Boy proved to be faster than she could anticipate.
"Little brat," Queen Bee muttered as she locked the barrel of her weapon back in place. "You'll pay for destroying my penthouse. No man attacks me and lives."
Standing her ground in front of the dining table, Queen Bee was ready to shoot the moment Beast Boy so much as struck the door. Her wait did not last long as the wooden doors shattered upon impact, forcing her to fire and miss as the beast ducked with the bullet sailing over his back. Bounding from the floor to the wall, the green monster dug his claws into the sheetrock just as Queen Bee fired again. The bullet missed as Beast Boy leapt at her, pinning her to the dining table under his weight.
Growling, the monstrous Best Boy barred his teeth inches from the dictator's face. Saliva fell onto her neck and chin as he drooled. Struggling, the dark skinned beauty kept her mouth shut to keep the drool from entering her mouth while trying to reach for the gun an inch out of her reach. Putting more of his weight on her, Beast Boy made sure she could not move and reared his head back.
"Do it," Queen Bee muttered with a grin. "Go ahead. You know you want to. But you can't do it, can you?"
Looking down at her, Beast Boy shut his jaws and took on a trance-like state.
"That's right. You can't kill me. You have no choice but to fall under my thrall, little orphan."
Coming around the corner, Raven landed and limped her way past the door to find the monstrous form of Beast Boy atop Queen Bee. "Garfield!"
Looking past Beast Boy, Queen Bee smirked as she got an idea. "That friend of yours? I want you to kill her. Rip her head off and bring it to me then do the same to the other one, Terra. Have fun, because now, like your mother once, you belong to me."
Slowly looking back at Raven, the monster Beast Boy growled low as the Gothic Girl felt the hair on her body stand on end. "Gar, don't. She's trying to use you."
Turning back to face Queen Bee, Beast Boy bowed his head.
"That's a good little thrall. Know who your master is." With some of his weight off her, Queen Bee managed to place her fingertips on the nearby gun and slightly move it toward her. "Kill her."
"Garfield, no," Raven ordered as she formed a black energy orb around her free hand, the other was on her injury as it was still throbbing from not being completely healed. "I'm your friend, I don't want to hurt you."
Rising his head, Beast Boy looked down at Queen Bee and let out a breath. He then turned to look back at Raven, allowing the pinned woman to take satisfaction in knowing she had control of the son of the woman she had killed years before when the massive set of jaws turned back to face her and opened wide enough to engulf her entire head in one bite. With the green beast roaring down at her, she quickly grabbed the gun and brought it up to just under his jaw. In the time it took her to cock the hammer back and pull the trigger, Beast Boy leapt off the table a split second before the fatal shot was fired. The sound of metal being shot caught Queen Bee's ear as her eyes went wide at the sight of the large chandelier above her shuddering.
Letting out a gasp, the dictator saw the elaborate golden light source fall from the ceiling and land on top of her. She had no time to scream as a massive electrical current shot through her, making her body grow ridged from the amount of electricity being delivered to her. In several seconds time, the dictator lay unmoving on the table with the power to the penthouse being shut off from the overload.
Summoning an orb to light up the room, Raven looked around expecting to see a monstrous Beast Boy, but instead found a green skinned boy in a black and purple suit sitting against the wall with his mouth open and staring at the deceased body on the table. Small amounts of fur receded into his skin as his claws on his hand and feet retracted. Swallowing, she limped over and knelt down beside him.
"Garfield?" Raven carefully asked.
"She, she tried to control me, Raven. She wanted me to kill you." The Titan field leader's words were almost a mumble as he spoke. "I could feel something trying to make me do it. Like something was pushing me to. But I didn't want to."
"Good thing you didn't. I was ready to blast you if you did."
Ignoring the sarcasm in her voice, Beast Boy sniffed as he continued to look at Queen Bee. "She killed my mom. She can control men and women. And she killed my mom. Why couldn't she control me? Why did I change into a monster?"
Sitting down next to him, Raven had her orb float into the air above them. "Maybe it's because of the anger you always had inside you and being near her like that is what brought that, creature out. And maybe it's cause you're not entirely human. You were an animal after all."
"I didn't want her dead. Not really. I just wanted her to pay for what she did."
"She definitely paid alright," Raven said as she looked the body over from where she sat. "And she'll still pay in the afterlife."
Letting his head rest against the wall behind him, Beast by let out a long breath. "Terra, never really liked me. Did she?"
"I, I don't know. She was under Bee's control." Grabbing her cloak, Raven tightened her fist around the corner and mashed part of the cloth between her fingers. "She, she might...you know."
"Should have known better. I don't look like any of the others, so why would she like me that way?"
Still playing with her cape, Raven tried to say something to him but hesitated when he spoke again.
Looking at the floor, Beast boy let out a sigh. "Sorry you got hurt."
Letting out a sigh of her own, Raven let go of her cape. "Sorry you had to go through all that."
The two sat in silence for a moment, letting things settle down when Terra came into the room with a glove held up to her nose. She sat by her teammates as she held her head back to stop the bleeding.
"Rough night, huh?" the blonde asked to make conversation.
"Yeah," Beast Boy answered.
"Same ol', same ol'," Raven added. "We really should get back to the tower before the others find out about this."
"What about the two kidnappers?" Terra asked. "And Queen Smokey over there? And Gar going sasquach?"
"We'll tell them once they get back home," Beast Boy told her. "I don't want to be here any longer."
"Listen, Gar, a, about what it might have looked like with, uh, me and you. I-"
"It's okay, Ter. It wasn't you."
"Yeah. Sorry if she had me do those things with you."
"It's okay. Not your fault."
"Still friends?" Terra asked hopefully.
"Yeah. Still friends."
Standing up, the three hobbled toward the door, tired, injured, and just wanting to get home.
"Just so you know, I remembered to wipe out the camera footage she had and got a copy for our use," Terra told the two.
"And, Gar, you do realize you're the one who has to tell the others what happened here," Raven told the shapeshifter, "right?"
Jump City-Lexcorp
August 25
04: 06 UTC
Kicking the double doors open, Superboy and Mrs. Martian entered Lex Luthor's private office. Everything was quiet inside the dark room with the bright moonlight filtering in through the large windows on three sides. A desk the size of a kingsize bed sat some ten meters in front of them with a couple of leather seats stationed beside a glass table for visitors. Shelves and glass cases lined the perimeter as well as a liquor cabinet. Expensive oriental rugs decorated the light gray carpeted floor with a large red one leading to the desk of the man in charge. Around the room, apart from the furniture, were dozens of standees of Lex along with red, white, and blue signs labeling him as the right presidential candidate.
"Shh," Lex said as he spun his leather chair to face the two parents. "You two will wake the baby."
"Lex!" Conner said as he sprinted forward.
"Luthor!" Mrs. Martian shouted as she took to the air.
The moment the two Titans made their way to Lexcorp's owner, a bright light switched on overhead and immediately brought them both down. Hitting the ground, Superboy felt as if he were being doused with Kryptonite radiation all over again. Beside him, Mrs. Martian was struggling to get to her feet as a high degree of heat covered her, making sweat droplets form almost instantly.
Standing from his chair, Lex carried Carter in his arms as the infant tried to ball himself up from being afraid of the billionaire. He was on the verge of crying with his lip quivering.
"Let, let him go!" Superboy said as he attempted to fight through the immense pain he felt.
"It's okay, Carter. Momma's right, right here." Breathing heavily, Mrs. Martian felt her skin slowly dry out the longer she was under the heat trap.
"Sorry to say, but, momma's not feeling very well right now, and neither is daddy."
Moving around the desk, Lex gently bounced Carter in his arms while the child kept his arms tight to his body. "Truth be told, I was expecting for the entire League to be here, Or at least the Dream Team of Superman and Batman. But let me guess, the League members want to make sure they could go in with all bases covered before attempting to kidnap my grandson. But being the good parents you are, I can understand you coming here by yourselves."
Grunting, Superboy got to his forearm and looked up at the man responsible for his creation.
"I'll make you a deal, the both of you. Seeing as I was the one behind your creation, Conner, and giving you the ability to actually spawn a hybrid of your own-"
"W, what?!" Struggling to stay in his current position, Superboy found he could barely move with his wife slowly being dehydrated next to him.
"You honestly did not think this little Luthor was natural, did you?"
Seeing his only successful clone of Superman struggle to get out of the Kryptonite field, Lex shook his head. "Let me give you a little science lesson, Conner. You see, nature has certain laws in place we must all abide by. One of them is how two different species cannot ever reproduce. Being the only Kryptonian, I knew Superman would never be able to spawn an offspring, so that was something I set out to change upon your development. Unfortunately, the premature release from the Cadmus pod meant you would not have the ability I had planned for you."
Almost to his knees, Superboy slipped and fell back to his elbows. Next to Him, Mrs. Martian felt her mouth go dry. She was overheated to the point she could not focus enough to use her powers.
"Speaking from a scientific standpoint, you are my property, as well as anything you should create as I am responsible for you having that ability. Your most recent trip into a Cadmus pod may not have finished your growth, as you would be aged to thirty three, the same age Superman's DNA was aquired."
"C, Carter," Mrs. Martian weakly said as she slumped to the floor completely. "Conner..."
Reaching down his leg, Superboy opened a cargo pocket and reached inside.
In Lex's arms, Carter began to wiggle about as he tried to break the Light member's grip.
"I made it where you could produce offspring with any female. After enough time, your DNA would be able to fuse with hers, creating a hybrid. And what a hybrid you two created. The strength of a Kryptonian, the power of a Martian, and the intellect of myself. I really don't think I could do better."
Moving his arm from his side, Superboy brought his hand to under his chest.
Cocking his head to the side, Lex tried to get a look at what his 'son' was holding. Moving closer, he kept Carter just out of reach and grabbed the object Superboy held. He ignored how weakly the Titan co-leader reached out to take it back.
"Shields? Nice try, but I know you're out of them."
Carter then began to cry and reach out for his parents, taking on his father and mother's skin tone to show he wanted them. Images of them holding him filled their heads but they could do nothing.
"Here's the deal. You two can go, leave, without retaliation from me. I will never strike out against you two, I will leave you be. You can go about saving the world, and never have to worry about parental responsibilities again. The young Luthor here will grow up protected, never having to worry about being in any danger. He will have the best education, the best environment to grow. He will have everything he will ever want. What could you two give him? Danger? Threats from the so-called bad guys wanting to kidnap him? With you, he'll always have to watch his back. Here, he'll be safe. And here he'll stay."
Walking back to his desk, Lex looked the old Shield container over. "Don't worry, He'll never have to know his parents abandoned him. I'll just tell him, they rather him be safe and where he belongs, with his true father, President Lex Luthor. Be sure to vote for me."
"Pffftttt!"
Looking at the infant in his arms, Lex saw Carter with a teary eyed pout after shooting him a raspberry.
"Cute. That will be the first thing I have Psymon erase from his mind." Hearing a beep, Lex looked down at the old Shield container he had once given Conner with a questioning look. As he looked at the container, the front door slid open, displaying a black screen with red words reading, 'Surprise!' with the main notes of "Flight of The Valkyries" playing.
"What nonsense is-"
Behind Lex and Carter, a set of bright lights ignited and filed the room. The moment the bald billionaire turned to face outside, he saw the supercycle form of Sphere powering her cannons up.
"Oh-"
Flinching, Lex turned his back to the window as Sphere opened fire on the room. Glass shattered with his campaign signs being obliterated. Papers flew into the air and political signs exploded from being bombarded by hundreds of yellow energy orbs. Trying not to get shot, Lex kept his head down and moved as fast as he could to anywhere the shots were not striking, which was hard to find as Sphere completely tore the office apart and flew into the building, crashing through the desk as Lex tried to get out of the way. Sparks flew about around the incapacitated married couple as the living machine destroyed the trap they were being held by.
"Carter!" Mrs. Martian yelled as she extended a hand to pull her son from Lex's grip.
As the child flew through the air, Wolf leapt out of the back seat of Sphere and landed in front of Lex who chased after the infant. He was forced to stop as the large white predator went up on his haunches and bared his teeth, growling to dare Lex to try something.
"Carter," Mrs. Martian said once her son was back in her arms. The child wrapped his hands around her and hugged her as tight as he could, burying his face in the side of her neck.
Reaching Lex with a roar, Superboy roughly grabbed him by the neck and slammed him into the wall back first, rattling a few picture frames close by. His so-called 'father' coughed from the force exerted on him and strained to keep Superboy's hand from closing around his throat completely, not that he could stop him; however, his eyes never left the gloved fist cocked back and aimed at his head.
"I should put you through the wall," Superboy said close to Lex's face.
"But you won't. No matter how much you want to, you won't do what you desperately want to," Lex strained to say.
Moving over to the shattered window, Superboy stuck his arm out, noting the look on Lex's face as he dangled high above the streets.
"I'm part of you, remember? Tell me you wouldn't do the same." To make his point, Superboy dropped his arm slightly, making Lex panic even more than he already was.
"You, you still won't do it."
"You had my son kidnapped. You nearly had me killed. You nearly had my wife killed. You deserve what I want to do to you."
"But you won't go through with it. You're too much like Superman, too much of a hero to do what I would do without a second thought."
Sneering, Conner tightened his grip just a bit more. He hated seeing the condescending smirk on Lex's face. Relenting, he roughly threw him inside, staying at the window as Lex tumbled end over end, coming to a stop in front of an angry Wolf. Turning, Superboy went up to Lex, who was still on the floor.
"You're right," the Titan said as he came up behind him. "I am too much like Superman. I am too much of a hero to give you what you deserve. But that doesn't mean I can't make you pay in my own way."
Placing a booted foot on Lex's knee, Superboy applied enough pressure to it to snap the bones and tendons to cause permanent damage to the joint. He would never walk normally again.
"Y, you, rrragh! You won't get away with this."
Stepping up next to her husband, Mrs. Martian held Carter tightly as she looked down on the injured man. Her eyes glowed brightly as she took hold of his consciousness, forcing him to grow stiff and unable to move. "Conner may be too much like Superman, but I'm not."
Twisting his face in pain, Lex let out a yell from what the female Titan did to his mind. While not ripping it out and putting him into a comatose state, she did something far worse. She made him relive his darkest memories, the ones he kept hidden away in the back of his mind and changed the good ones he had to living nightmares. The augmentation of his mind was so overwhelming, he passed out from the pain and fell face down on the floor. It would not help him as the nightmares would continue to play out for him.
Hearing Carter coo, M'gann shifted him and kissed his forehead. Conner watched as she did so through one eye and moved to join her. She looked up at him with a relieved, teary eyed expression, matching his and wrapped an arm around him. He in turn wrapped his arms around her and his son, kissing him on his head and her on the temple. Beside him, Wolf gave a whine and rubbed against their legs while Sphere unplugged herself from the computer on Lex's desk, morphed into her ball form and rolled up to the group, letting out a few beeps.
Titan Tower
August 25
04:42 UTC
Returning home, Conner and M'gann slowly walked down the hallway with Wolf and Sphere beside them. M'gann never let go of Carter who was curled up in her arms. Entering the living area, the group saw Garfield, Raven, and Terra sitting on the couch with only the lights on. Raven's cloak, Terra's gloves, goggles and belt lay on the table while Garfield had the bottom half of his uniform on with the top half hanging down around his legs. A white shirt covered his torso and was stained with sweat, not that anyone noticed as they were all too tired.
The three teens turned to see the married couple and Carter enter the room first. M'gann looked to be dehydrated and Conner needed to get cleaned up from all the blood on him. Getting up, the three quickly made their way over to them and greeted them warmly. Explanations could wait until later. Right now, the team of Titans were just taking the time to rest after a long night. They even watched the sun rise a few hours later.
-Earlier-
Falling to the floor, Lex Luthor entered a living nightmare as his deepest, darkest fears and dirtiest deeds came back to haunt him. His mind was a complete jumble as long buried events from his past came back to the forefront of his mind, but his current state also brought on something else.
As his mental patterns changed from their usual measured waves, a small chip located in his cerebellum went off, sending instructions to a hidden underground chamber within Cadmus. The moment the signal was received, a line of computer terminals came to life, displaying lines of information as the overhead lights switched on.
Each terminal had a set of wires plugged into it, each set of wires lead to a series of lab equipment with even more wires leading to a central piece of equipment with a very important experiment inside.
Behind a clear, glass wall, a cushioned metal seat with its back support leaning back held a single occupant dressed in a hospital gown. Various monitors were hooked up to the person to monitor their vitals as well as feed them any and all nutrients their body may need. On the computer just outside the modified pod the individual was in, a computer screen came to life with instructions to be carried out.
Code 13-27.
Initiate auto response data 1947.02467.
Stage one activated.
Project Nightstar birthing sequence begins in...
15:00
As the time began to count down from fifteen minutes, a very pregnant Mercy Graves opened her eyes for the first time in nine months. Her artificial womb pulsated with the life created within her, a life made in a science lab and artificially placed within her as part of Lex Luthor's next planned stage.