Watchtower, November 24, 6:54 A.M.
In Earth's orbit the Watchtower floated proudly over the blue planet. Within the Justice League Headquarters, Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman looked down at the planet below, somberly. Today, Thanksgiving, is when the Justice League holds an annual meeting to decide on who should join or leave the League. The Justice League originally consisted of seven members and now there are sixteen League members.
"Times like this where one feels the very weight of the world on our shoulders." Wonder Woman lamented before the trio heard the sound of approaching footsteps.
The trio turned around to see Aquaman approaching them, "Everyone is here."
The trio shared a silent look before they went off to the meeting room with Aquaman. The doors to the room slid open revealing the whole Justice League. Every hero in the room turned to look at them giving the trio their full attention. The door and windows began to slide shut to ensure complete privacy.
"Our agenda is clear, what's at stake should not be underestimated." Aquaman declared.
Superman then said, "The decisions we make today will reverberate for years to come."
"And influence if the world continues to put their trust in the Justice League." Wonder Woman added.
"Please take your seats." Batman said finally, "We have work to do."
Mount Justice, 7:00 A.M.
Waking up, Hunter got up from bed and began his morning routine. He then dressed in shorts and a black tank top and began his morning training regiment. He practiced with his sword, shield, lasso, spear and archery. After thirty minutes he made his way to the showers and turned the water to its maximum heat. By the time he was done the mirror in the locker room was fogged up. He wiped off the fog from a mirror and brushed his teeth.
Getting dressed in his usual civilian wear he made his way to the kitchen. He checked the turkey in the oven before he began to make breakfast for himself, Conner, M'gann and Kori. Hunter began to make breakfast a week after he moved in to spare everyone from M'gann's cooking until she gained some more experience. As he cooked, Hunter began to delve deep in his own thoughts.
The last month has been eventful. Wally's birthday was interrupted by five floating ice fortresses that covered the entire country in snow. Wonder Warrior and Aqualad missed out on a mission to Qurac due to being on missions with their own mentors, Queen Bee had almost took over the country with the help of Psimon. M'gann had beaten the telepath, proving that she's become stronger since their last meeting. And in between all of that Hunter has been contemplating using the Star Sapphire Ring again.
Finishing the food Hunter took in the delicious smell of the meal he prepared and hummed, "Smells good."
Hunter looked up to see Conner entering the room and smiled, "Morning." He approached the prince before they leaned over the counter for a quick kiss. "Take the plates to the table." Hunter orders before handing Conner two plates, "Please." He added.
"Since you put it that way." Conner smirked before he walked over to the table.
"That smells delicious!"
The two boys looked over to see Koriand'r entering the room with M'gann just behind her, "You made breakfast on your own? You could've asked me for help." M'gann said as she took a seat.
Hunter placed a plate in front of her and replied, "I didn't want to wake you."
"I can't wait for the festivities of the Giving of Thanks." Koriand'r said excitedly as Hunter handed her a plate.
"Thanksgiving, Kori." M'gann corrected, "I'm excited as well, this is my first Thanksgiving as well as Conner's. I've been studying the traditional meals and games of the holiday such as the parade." She explained before the remote flew across the room and into her hand.
"A parade?" Kori asked in excitement as the TV turned on.
The four of them were halfway through watching the parade in New York when Zatanna entered the room, "Sorry, I slept in." She apologized as she took a seat where her food, now cold, waited.
"Do you want me to reheat it?" M'gann offered.
"I've got it." Zatanna cleared her throat and chanted a spell, reheating her food, "Good as new."
Hunter and M'gann took the plates to the sink where the Martian began to clean them. After cleaning up the mess from breakfast Hunter began to preheat the oven for the turkey that they've been preparing. They continued to prepare the rest of the food as the morning went on. Zatanna made salad, M'gann handled the cranberries and Hunter was making pie while he showed Koriand'r how to make mashed potatoes. Superboy tried to get out of cooking but he ended up cutting the vegetables for the stuffing.
"Happy Thanksgiving!" Wally shouted as he entered the room.
"Wally, I thought you were going to celebrate with your family." M'gann said as Wally stationed himself at the counter.
"I am, I just decided to pop by and see what you guys were doing." He said as he popped a cranberry in his mouth.
"Or to be more accurate, you wanted to check if we set the cave on fire." Hunter replied, causing everyone in the kitchen to look at the speedster.
Wally ate another cranberry and shrugged, "Two things can be true."
"Well obviously we're going to have a traditional turkey dinner." M'gann began as she wiped her hands on her apron, "Artemis is going to drop by later before going home to her family and Kaldur is going to come by for dinner."
"Nice, nice." Wally nodded, "You going to go to the farm Conner?"
"For a bit. I brought a cranberry pie that Mrs. Kent made." Conner answered as he finished dicing the vegetables, "Can I watch TV now?"
"Fine, go ahead you big baby." Hunter took the cutting board full of vegetables before he used a knife to push them all in a pot where the stuffing was cooking, "I hope we have enough for leftovers. I promised my mother that I'd save her a plate."
"Yes, where is Wonder Woman?" Kori asked, "And the Red Tornado as well?"
Wally added, "Yeah, Flash hasn't been replying to my texts either."
"Is there a League matter that we don't know about?" Hunter asked as he added butter and salt to the mashed potatoes, "Now make sure to press down on them good."
"Yes, of course." Kori nodded confidently.
"Maybe they're exchanging holiday cards?" Wally suggested.
"I doubt the Justice League hold holiday parties." Conner said before he switched on the TV.
"It be entertaining if they did." Hunter added getting a laugh from Wally.
"Seriously, the Atom?" Captain Marvel asked skeptically, "How useful can he be at that size?"
"It's the size that makes him useful." Batman pointed out.
"Absolutely." Said Flash, "But still we could use more raw power and Earth had a third Green Lantern, Guy Gardner." He suggested as Guy Gardner's image appeared.
"No!" Both Hal and John exclaimed.
"But we could really – "
"No!"
"I'm on the same page as Flash." Black Canary declared much to the shock of the others, "Not with Guy, god no, I meant his point about more power. I think we should add a new ring bearer, Star Sapphire."
Guy's image was replaced by Carol Ferris in her Star Sapphire uniform. Hal looked up at her and let out a quiet sigh.
"I don't know, she has a pretty checkered past." Captain Atom said, "She's tried to kill Hal more than a handful of times."
"That was when she was possessed with the Star Sapphire Crystal." Hal quickly replied, raising his voice more than he should've. He coughed before continuing, "Ever since the creation of the Star Sapphire Ring, Carol has helped us every time Sinestro or Atrocitus got out of hand."
"She did aid Wonder Warrior when he was recruited into the Star Sapphires even though she had no reason to." Red Tornado added, "The question is, does she want the responsibility of being a League member?"
"That's a question only she can answer." Wonder Woman declared.
Mount Justice, 10:45 A.M.
"Gobble gobble." Wally said humorously as he snatched yet another cranberry, "I love Thanksgiving."
"Wally, you've been here for nearly an hour." Hunter said before he snatched the tray of cranberries, "Don't you have cranberries at home?"
On the other side of the kitchen Zatana chanted a spell, perfectly seasoning the turkey, "There you go, seasoned to perfection and ready for the oven."
On the other side of the kitchen Zatana chanted a spell, perfectly seasoning the turkey, "There you go, seasoned to perfection and ready for the oven."
"Wally, didn't you say that you were gonna spend Thanksgiving at home?" M'gann asked.
"Oh yeah!" Wally gasped, "I have to get home or dad'll kill me." He zoomed by Hunter and snatched a handful of cranberries, "See you guys!"
"Wally!" M'gann called after him as he disappeared down the hallway before she heard a muffled sob.
Hunter and M'gann turned to see Zatana wiping her eyes, "It's nothing, just the onions." She looked over the kitchen, all the food they've been preparing, "These are all the things I used to cook for. . .it's the first Thanksgiving without my dad." She admitted as M'gann pulled her into a comforting embrace.
"At least she had a dad." Hunter heard Conner before he heard an irritating ringing. He heard a muffled voice but couldn't quite make out what it's saying.
Just as the ringing stopped Conner and Rex stood up and began to leave, "Conner?" Hunter called.
"I don't think you guys need my help." Conner replied, "I'm just taking Rex out for a walk, no big."
Hunter gave the clone a suspicious look. He waited a few minutes before he said, "Girls, I need to go to the bathroom, be right back."
Hunter flew off after Conner, making sure that the clone wouldn't notice. As he flew down the hall he passed by the trophy room and caught a glimpse of the Star Sapphire Ring. He considered taking it, pondering the ramifications of putting it back on before he had an idea. Walking into the room he picked up the ring and, with a deep breath, put it on.
The Star Sapphire uniform appeared on his body. Looking at the revealing suit he nodded, "Let's see what's going on." He sighed.
Flying out of the cave Hunter used the ring to scan for Kryptonian lifeforms. The ring locked on onto Conner and flew after him. They flew for nearly half an hour before the ring indicated that Conner began to slow down and descend. Descending after him he noticed that they were in Washington DC.
What could Conner possibly want here?
He needs to get closer without being detected. Remembering his lessons with Fatality and Carol, he figured out the perfect ability his ring possessed for the situation, "Ring, activate light refraction." Light bended around Hunter's body, making him completely invisible, "I can get used to this."
Flying faster he spotted Conner landing Sphere beneath a bridge. He landed across the a few meters away and hid behind a bush. Looking over the brush he saw a white limo pull up beside Sphere. A woman walked out of the driver's seat, walked around the vehicle and opened the guest door.
"Lex Luthor." Hunter immediately glared at the man as Conner approached the man.
"Superboy, I'm Lex Luthor the new chairman of the board of Project Cadmus." He offered his hand for Conner to shake.
Rex growled at the man before Conner replied, "I know who you are, Luthor." Conner rejected the hand, "And I don't want anything to do with you or Cadmus."
He began to walk away when Luthor said, "Cadmus has created a new Superboy clone."
Hunter blinked in surprise.
"You're lying." Superboy glared back at Luthor.
"Check for yourself if you want to be sure." Lex suggested before he went back inside of his limo, "Excuse me, I have a turkey dinner to get back to."
Hunter watched as the limp drove away before Superboy hopped back on the cycle before flying off. Hunter glared at the clone before he flew after him. The Amazon landed on Sphere much to Conner and Rex's confusion. The ring removed the light refraction, revealing the prince.
"Hunter what are you – " Conner immediately noticed the uniform, "You're wearing it." He stood up from his sear, "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine but I should be asking you the same question." He crossed his arms, "Do you really believe what Luthor said?"
"You saw that." Conner sighed before he answered, "I don't know but I'm going to check it out."
Hunter put his hands on his hips, "By going to Cadmus, alone?"
"But I'm not alone." Conner smirked, "I have you."
Hunter blinked before he realized, "You knew I'd follow you."
"Somehow you always know when I'm about to do something stupid." Conner sat back down, "And you always seem to get me out of a tight spot."
"It's a blessing and curse." Hunter replied, "So what's your grand plan?"
"To be honest I didn't think that far ahead." Conner admitted, "But your new trick does give me an idea."
Hunter smirked, "If you like that then you'll love what else this ring can do."
Once they came up with a could be considered plan, Conner and Hunter flew off for Project Cadmus. The heroes knew that Luthor couldn't be trusted and that they should notify the League of this situation. But even if there is a slight chance that this might be true they have to make sure for themselves. Should there be a second clone, they need to free him.
"No turning back now." Hunter muttered as Superboy approached the Cadmus building.
"I know." He replied before looking up at Hunter, "Stay close."
"Always." Hunter whispered back before he disappeared.
Landing Sphere on the roof Conner hopped off the machine and Rex followed suit. He leaned against the living machine and waited. Hunter hovered closely above the Kryptonian, ready to defend him should the need arise. Less than a minute after landing on the roof a team of armed men bursts out of the doors pointing their guns at Superboy.
Conner paid them no mind, knowing they couldn't really hurt him. Instead he looked up at the security camera mounted above the door, "Guardian, fast work on the rebuild. Now, escort me down the easy way or I escort myself down the hard way." He said threateningly.
The guards were ordered to stand down through the comlink in their ears. Wonder Warrior kept close to Superboy as the armed men escorted into the elevator. The elevator, as fast as ever, took them down to the level where Guardian's office is. Superboy ignored the guards as he and Rex stormed down the halls.
"The new superclone, where are you holding it?" He demanded as the doors slid open for him.
Guardian sat behind his desk with Dubbilex and Dr. Spence standing across from him. Hunter looked at the Genomorph with caution. His telepathy might make him aware of Hunter's presence.
"Welcome home, Superboy." Guardian greeted, "Now what are you talking about?"
Dubbilex placed a hand on Conner's shoulder, "Brother, you are the only superclone in Cadmus."
"All cloning projects, human and Kryptonian, have been shut down since your escape." Dr. Spence stated.
"Since my liberation." Conner corrected.
"As you say." She replied, "Well, now I'm needed back in my lab." She said before walking away.
Conner and Hunter watched as the woman walked out of the room.
"Sometimes I hate this job." Guardian said.
Both heroes turned around to see Guardian had removed his helmet, revealing his red hair, blue eyes and shockingly handsome features.
"You – you look a lot like Red Arrow." Conner said, shocked.
"Not all that surprising. Red Arrow is my nephew." He replied.
"Wow." Hunter muttered, getting a frown from Conner.
"If we're considering Blue Devil then I nominate Red Arrow." Green Arrow declared, "Roy has more experience and he's no kid anymore, he's eighteen. A legal adult. He's ready."
"Is he?" Aquaman challenged, "Red Arrow has been uncooperative and disrespectful. If we reward that type of behavior what message does that send the rest of the team?"
"If we're considering members of the team then I nominate Wonder Warrior." Captain Atom suddenly announced, "The kid's got more mature, level headed and not a slouch when it comes to dealing with the bad guys. Not to mention he's older than most of the people in this room."
"The boy has a variety of talents." Hawkwoman added, "He's proven to be able to infiltrate the spaces of our adversaries and his skills in combat are beyond question."
"He's even begun to harness godly power." Doctor Fate stated, "Wonder Warrior has proven himself a match for many of our enemies such as Cheshire, Cheetah and Black Adam."
"Not to mention the kid's one hell of a pilot." Hal commented.
Black Canary looked over to see Wonder Woman looking up at the hologram of her son with a somber look, "What about his power ring?" The blonde asked, "From what we know he hasn't so much as picked it up since he's returned."
"He doesn't think he can control it." Diana suddenly said, "He fears that his emotions are going to make him vulnerable to the ring's influence."
"Could such self doubt make him a liability?" Red Tornado asked the room.
Hunter took a deep breath, trying to focus on the matter at hand. He ducked under a swing from the second superclone. He stood alone against the clone. Conner and Rex were quickly dispatched by the clone. This one had the full power and abilities of Superman.
"So this is what it feels like, fighting a fully powered Kryptonian." He let out a huff before the clone fired a beam of laser vision.
Wonder Warrior quickly blocked the beam just before the clone tackled him. The prince remained on his feet, skidding across the floor. He groaned before he leaned down and wrapped his around the clone's waist. He stood back straight, lifting the clone off his feet before slamming him down, the strength behind the attack created a crater in the floor.
Hunter immediately flew up narrowly avoiding a beam of heat vision. The clone flew after him, firing beam after beam at the Amazon. Using his power ring, Wonder Warrior blocked the beams with a circular shield construct. The clone let out a feral roar as he jetted towards Hunter, breaking through the construct and went to punch the hero.
Even when he blocked the attack with his bracelets the force of the attack sent him flying into a wall. The clone flew after him and grabbed him by the neck before flying down and slammed the Amazon into the ground. Hunter groaned before he fired a violet beam from his ring, sending the clone into the ceiling above.
Getting onto his feet, Hunter noticed that the pain from the assault quickly faded away. Looking down at his power ring, he smirked. The violet ring enhanced his already present regenerative capabilities. Thanks to the ring his body healed just as fast as it was damaged.
"Cease your assault, Wonder Warrior."
The familiar voice of Dubbilex rang in his head. He grew drowsy but quickly began to resist the Genomorph's mental influence. Dubbilex must have been joined by his fellow Genomorphs because it grew increasingly harder to protect his mind. The last thing he saw was the clone falling from the ceiling to the ground, unconscious, before he too succumbed to their mental assault and fell to the ground.
"I nominate Red Inferno and Red Torpedo." Red Tornado said.
"Even after their attack on Mount Justice?" Green Arrow asked skeptically, "They almost killed the team."
"They also saved the team's lives by turning against Red Volcano." Flash replied, "If it weren't for them we'd all be living under a layer of ash."
"What makes us so sure that we can trust them?" Batman asked, "How can we be sure that they won't turn on us once we allow them within our ranks?"
"We cannot." Red Tornado replied, "But they have been shown to be capable of great good as members of the Justice Society and All-Star Squadron."
"But what's stopping someone from hacking into them like they tried to do to you?" Superman asked, "As androids they'll be vulnerable to manipulation."
"As are organics." Red Tornado replied.
Hunter groaned as he returned to consciousness. He rolled onto his back to feel that he was lying down on a hard slab of rock. Opening his eyes he found himself looking at a cave ceiling. Gasping, he shot up to his feet to see himself in a very different cave. In fact place looks more like a hut than a cave.
"Conner?!" He gasped looking around.
It was small, his head almost hit the ceiling when he got up. Two torches hung by the carved doorway where a G-elves were waiting for him. A single G-gnome was with them. The small creature ran across the room before climbing up his body and onto his shoulder.
Hunter looked at the Genomorph as its horns glowed.
"Come with us."
Hunter looked over at the G-elves who had walked out of the hut. Wordlessly the Amazon followed them out and what he saw mystified him. He was in an underground city made of carved stone. The architecture was completely unique to anything he's ever seen.
"You've been creating your own civilization." Hunter said as he made his way through the city. Looking up he saw the cave ceiling was illuminated by the bioluminescence of the G-sprites. The large G-trolls smashed into the cave walls, excavating to make even more stone huts.
"Welcome, Wonder Warrior, to Genomorph City."
Looking ahead he found Dubbilex approaching him along with Superboy and Rey, "Superboy!" He flew ahead and landed in front of the clone, "Are you ok? After I woke up I wasn't sure – "
"I'm fine." The clone assured as Rex nuzzled against Hunter's torso. HE looked at Dubbilex suspiciously, "Why did you have the Genomorphs take him?"
"Your presence would've been. . .problematic, Wonder Warrior." He replied, "I thought it best to harbor you here."
"Well I did sneak in here." Hunter shrugged, "What happened to the second clone?"
"The first clone." Conner corrected much to Hunter's shock, "Apparently he was Luthor's first try before me."
"Luthor knew." He scoffed, "That bald son of a – " He took a deep breath before continuing, "This was a set up. We need to go out, find Luthor and get more answers from him."
"Before we do that we need to find Match." Superboy said before looking back at Dubbilex, "I assume you know where he is."
"Yes, our brother is this way." Dubbilex said before leading the heroes towards the clone.
Once they found him Conner abruptly stopped at the sight of Match. The clone was chained to a stone column with three G-gnomes over him. Their horns glowed, showing that they're chaining him in body and mind.
"What did you do to him?" Conner demanded approaching the clone.
"He is safe." Dubbilex assured stopping Conner by putting a hand on his shoulder, "The G-gnomes keep him docile with their psychic abilities."
"And the chains?!" Conner snapped batting his hand away.
"Should he escape in his current condition he could set back the Genomorph cause by decades." The Genomorph replied.
"So you hold him prisoner like Cadmus held me?" Conner said, venom in his tone, "You might as well have put him in a pod!"
Hunter looked at the chained clone in silence, remembering their last encounter. Match had acted more like an animal rather than a man. He attacked by instinct rather than strategy, much like Conner did when he lost all of his memories. Obviously something went wrong during the cloning process that made him like this.
"Our goal is rehabilitation." Dubbilex assured, "We will release him when he's ready."
"He has a point." Hunter finally said, getting an angry look from Conner, "You saw the way he acted before, he has no control over himself. That may have been the very first time he's opened his eyes. He needs time to learn how to control his violent impulses."
"I can't believe that you, of all people, agree with this? How is this any different than what happened to the Amazons?" Conner asked, pointing at Match.
"It is very different!" Hunter yelled back, "The Amazons never posed a threat to anyone when they were – "
The snapping of chains caught their attention just before Match flew over and tackled Conner into the cave wall. Once the dust settled they saw Match standing over Superboy, causing Hunter to fly after them and punch Match into the air with an uppercut. He flew up after the clone and made a war hammer construct before sending Match hurling across the city with a powerful swing.
"I am really starting to like this." He said before Match flew out of the cave wall. Hunter smirked before he began to spin the hammer around, "You may have all of Superman's abilities but you don't have his skill or experience." He said before Match used his laser vision to destroy the head of the hammer, "Or not."
Hunter narrowly dodged an oncoming punch before he caught an elbow heading for his throat. He then spun around behind the clone's back and wrapped his arm around his neck. He squeezed his arm around the clone's throat, cutting off his breathing. The two of them rolled around in the air before Match slammed Hunter in the ceiling.
Again and again he smashed the Amazon against the rocky ceiling forcing him to release his hold.
Now free, he grabbed Hunter by the ankles and swung him around before he threw the hero down. Hunter couldn't stop his descent before he smashed through the floor. He didn't have a chance to climb out of the rubble before Match slammed down on his chest, forcing the air out of his lungs. The clone began to unleash a relentless series of punches, sinking the Amazon further into the floor with each hit.
"Get away from him!"
A black blur knocked Match off of Wonder Warrior, sending the clone into a nearby wall. Hunter heard Superboy's familiar heartbeat beating faster than he's ever heard. Conner gently lifted the Amazon out of the crater he was in. Conner's skin was warmer, his body radiated heat like a radiator.
"Hunter, are you ok?" Conner asked gently setting the prince down.
"I'm fine, the ring helps me heal faster." Hunter replied before he saw a red shield-shaped sticker on Conner's arm. It wasn't a regular sticker as it glowed against Conner's skin, "What is that?"
"Just stay down." Conner instructed before he glared up at Match who glared right back.
The two clones barreled towards each other and knocked each other back. Conner stayed on his feet before Match tackled Conner's midsection. Superboy stayed on his feet before he laced his fingers together and raised his arms before slamming his joined fists on Match's back.
"My turn." Conner picked Match up by the hair before he delivered an uppercut to the clone's chin, sending him into the air.
Match caught himself in the air before he flew down after Conner who jumped up to meet him. Equal in strength the two clones knocked each other back. Conner suddenly stopped his descent by levitating in the air much to Hunter's shock. He floated helplessly in the air while Match used his laser vision to carve out a stone stalactite and grabbed it.
Conner quickly got a hang of flying as he flew up to meet Match before laser beams shot out of his eyes, destroying the stone in Match's arms. Conner continued to use his beams on the ceiling before he closed his eyes. Superboy opened his eyes before he and Match flew after each other once again. They moved so fast they appeared as black and white blurs as they clashed in the sky.
In a surprisingly clever move, Match fired a quick shot of laser vision into Conner's eyes. Conner yelped in pain and flew back before Match grabbed his hair. Before he could attack Superboy quickly grabbed Match's shirt and spun them around before throwing him to the ground. The clone bounced across the floor before he tried to get up before he was tackled down by Conner.
Conner, still blinded, began to wail on Match. He unleashed one punch after another without any remorse. He would've continued before his arm was caught. He opened his eyes and threw a punch to whoever stopped his attack. He quickly stopped his fist, seeing Hunter beside him.
Hunter looked at the fist that was mere inches away from his face. He gently raised a hand to Conner's wrist and lowered the fist, "That's enough Conner, you won."
"Superboy!"
The two heroes turned to see Guardian, Cadmus guards and Mercy, Lex Luthor's robotic servant, arriving. They both immediately realized what Luthor's plan was. He needed to find where the Genomorphs were hiding. They played right into his hands.
"I hate Lex Luthor." Hunter muttered.
Conner quickly realized there was a tracker in the box Lex gave him. Using his light refraction, Hunter once again shadowed the Boy of Steel. They approached the same bridge Conner met him before. He arrived first, finding Luthor arrogantly leaning against his white limo. He decided on going ahead in case Luthor had another thing up his sleeve.
"Ring, scan him for hidden devices." He whispered pointing his ring at the man.
"Ten hidden communication devices found."
"He's a man of caution." Hunter scoffed as Conner landed Sphere.
The clone hopped out of the cycle and approached the older man, "There was a tracker in that tin box you gave me."
"Yes." Lex replied before he smirked, "I assume you discovered it with your X-ray vision."
"You initiated the cloning projects." He sneered.
"I wanted Superman to meet his Match." He replied, his tone edging on humorous.
"And you used both of us to find the missing Genomorphs." He continued.
"A good businessman has to keep track of his assets." Luthor replied.
Hunter felt an urge to punch the man at that moment. He regarded the Genomorphs as his property, nothing more.
"But none of that is what really bothers you." Lex said standing up straight, "Half of your DNA is human. Haven't you wondered who your donor was? Or have you just been afraid to acknowledge the obvious?"
Hunter blinked in shock. Lex Luthor mixed his own DNA with Superman's.
"Face it, son." Luthor said, "You have more in common with me than with Superman."
"That's a lie!" Conner snapped.
"What has he given you?" Luthor challenged, "Nothing, not even affection. And why? Because big boy blue lives in a world of black and white." Conner turned away from Luthor as he continued, "You were created by the bad guys so there must be something wrong with you. But we both know life isn't that clear cut." He pressed on, "The real world is full of grays. Weren't you determined to free Match at all costs? Yet ultimately, you wisely agreed to my suggestion to reference him for the greater good of all. And though you think me a villain," He pulled the shield off of Conner's arm, "You still accepted my shields. We're more alike than you care to admit."
Hunter began to feel his control begin to slip as he watched the conversation play out. He closed his eyes, trying to focus on his dominance over the ring.
"Take 'em back!" He held out the box of shields.
"A gift – " He raised his hand, "From a father to a son." He smirked before Conner pulled on his tie.
"I won't need them for this." Conner said, raising his fist.
"Red sun." Luthor said, forcing Conner to freeze in place.
It happened faster than Lex could react. A violet cyclone lifted him off of his feet. A single beam of violet energy destroyed his limo. The cyclone took shape in the form of Wonder Warrior. The Amazon looked down at Luthor with pure fury before he trapped him in a sphere construct and flew off towards the ocean.
He flew away from shore before he stopped and grabbed Luthor by the collar. Despite the obvious danger he smirked up at Hunter, "This isn't exactly the traditional way of meeting your boyfriend's father now is it?"
"This is your first and final warning, stay away from him." Violet energy consumed Hunter's eyes.
"Or what?" Luthor scoffed, "Heroes like you love to make threats everyone knows you'll never go through on."
"I'm not Superman or Batman." He leaned forward and looked into Lex's eyes, "I've been trained to kill men like you since birth."
"And what would dear mother wonder say?" He teased, "I highly doubt she'd think the death of a defenseless man would be something to pat you on the back about."
Hunter smirked, "Yes, a defenseless man." Lex's smirk turned into a frown, "That's all you are in the end. That's why you began the cloning projects, because you'll never be able to match up against Superman. Because you will always be inferior to him." Wonder Warrior's smirk turned malicious as he looked into Lex's enraged eyes, "Men like you rise and fall like a stone thrown into water." He dropped Lex into the water, "Eventually you'll fall into the abyss of the forgotten." He chuckled at the faltering in Lex's expression, "Ah, there it is, Lex Luthor's greatest fear."
"I'm the smartest man alive!" Lex exclaimed, "I will be remembered for finally beating Superman once and for all!"
"You're afraid of being forgotten, of being irrelevant." He scoffed, "You're the personification of every flaw in mankind." He looked down on Lex like he was a pest, "Arrogant, jealous, selfish, egotistical and completely self serving. The only thing you'll ever be remembered as is a cautionary tale as everything humanity should avoid becoming." He said finally before flying away.
"You're just going to leave me here!?" Lex demanded as he treaded water, "How am I going to get back to shore!?"
"You're the self-proclaimed smartest man alive, figure it out." He smirked before flying off, "We're ten miles away from shore by the way!"