Ch 6 – Fireworks Part 1

Location: Washington, D.C.

Date: July 5, 2010

Time: 12:01

"Time runs short." A distant voice said. "You must awaken." None of the teens moved. "You must awaken NOW!"

Kid Flash gasped for air and his green eyes flew open. His fellow protégées were alert now as well, but the mystery girl still had her head hanging in front of her. The balaclava hiding her identity had ridden up slightly exposing a pale and sharp jawline. He trained his attention on the glaring boy before him.

"What? What do you want?" the speedster asked, his annoyance and anxiety battling for dominance. "Quit staring. You're creeping me out."

"Uh, KF, how about we not tick off the guy who can fry us with a look?" Robin suggested to the discombobulated speedster. A pained groan caught all four of the guys' attention and they turned to the last person in the room to gain consciousness.

Emmy felt a soreness in her armpits and metal squeezed her wrists and ankles to the point of pins and needles. She jerked against the bonds, panic rising, as she realized that she couldn't see. There was fabric in her mouth. The damned balaclava, she scoffed. Emmy pulled herself up with her arms far enough to get the tip of the mask in between two fingers and yanked her head back, flipping her hair out of her face. She glanced at her watch to see how long she had been unconscious. It was only 12:02 AM. She breathed a sigh of relief seeing that she still had time to get to her siblings and looked at her surroundings.

She was trapped. Uncomfortably stretched out in a pod. Robin, Kid Flash, and Aqualad were in identical situations to her left, and Clone Boy was standing in front of their bondage semi-circle. The images of the fight that knocked her out returned and she glared at the Superman wannabe.

Robin frowned contemplatively. "I've seen her before."

"Dudes! The asshole who ruined our mission is a cute girl? That sucks."

Emmy whipped her head toward the speedster.

"I ruined your mission?" Her voice rose with indignation before dropping to a husky bite. "You're the one who threw Clone Boy at Robin when he was getting me the information I needed, Kid Fuck-Up."

Robin snickered. "At least she knows your name."

"Not cool, man!" Came the betrayed reply.

"My friends, I think we need to-"

Emmy turned to their voyeur and cut off Aqualad's suggestion.

"Hey Pod Brain," the clone glared at her. "Did those monkey things force feed you any vocab words?"

The protégées looked at each other in confusion while the clone frowned.

"I have been taught to have an expansive command over the English language and-"

"He can talk?" Kid Flash questioned, shocked.

Superboy's hand clenched into a fist and he growled his words at Kid Flash. "Yes. He can."

The three glanced at Kid Flash who defended himself under his breath. "Not like I said, 'it'."

"Great," Emmy cut them off with forced carelessness. "Define peadicide."

"I-" the clone faltered for the first time. "I don't know that one."

"That's because it's not widely used despite having legitimate linguistic origins rooted in Greek. It refers to the killing of a child too old to be encompassed by the term infanticide." She looked at Pod Brain appraisingly. "How do you feel about the murder of children?"

"How do I feel?" The clone had clearly never been asked that question before. He pushed down his uncertainty and answered the other half of her question. "Murder of any kind is a crime which makes it wrong."

"A plus, Ace, really!" Emmy's sarcasm was lethal. "Too bad your bosses are about to kill ten children, huh? Tell me what floor they're on."

Clone Boy frowned at her. "They wouldn't do that. They made me. They must be good people."

Emmy snorted. "Parents are the worst fucking people in the world, Pod Brain. Now, where are the children?"

He took a threatening step toward her and roared, "My name is not Pod Brain!"

Emmy glowered at the approaching teen and tugged at her bonds some more. Her left ring finger was throbbing painfully, and she cursed herself for not bringing her ring. She felt her ring call to her from her backpack in the motel. The rings do not speak with words, but Kilowag had warned her that some Lanterns could feel their ring's moods.

"She means no harm," Aqualad calmly interrupted. "She is only concerned for the wellbeing of the trapped children." He paused to appraise the clone. "And the three of us only sought to help you."

"Yeah. We free you, and you turn on us." Kid Flash piped up, clearly still annoyed at the clone. "How's that for grat-"

Emmy ignored Aqualad's request for Kid Flash to be silent and focused her energy on her ring. I know, she called back to it. I was angry at myself for leaving my family, but not using you didn't make me feel less guilty and it didn't help me free them. If I had brought you, I wouldn't even be in these bonds right now. I'm sorry, okay?

The room around her vanished. Robin trying to pick his lock, disappeared. Aqualad inquiring what the Genomorphs taught Pod Brain, dissolved. The boys asking the clone if he had ever seen the sun, evaporated.

The only thing Emmy could see was her ring slowly rising into the air in her motel room. The green glow increased until it shot out the window without warning. Emmy gasped and her limbs twitched in their cages. She opened her eyes to find the greenest ones she had ever seen staring at her accusingly.

"Who are you again? You never answered my question," Kid Flash snapped at her while his friends waited for the clone's response.

Emmy smirked at him. The throbbing in her finger was increasing, and while it was unexpected and not something she had learned Green Lantern rings could do, she knew in her bones what was about to happen.

"You'll find out soon."

He was clearly unsatisfied with that answer.

"Why do you even care about the kidnapped kids? You look more like a thief than a hero."

His suspicious tone irked her. Who did he think he was interrogating her? He was the one wearing a mask!

"I'm here because multiple people made the mistake of messing with my family!" She snapped and immediately regretted it. That was too much information. There were only ten children taken. It wouldn't be hard for them to be identified. She would have to leave as soon as she found them. Kid Flash's rude demeanor softened a little at her outburst, but there was still a glint of distrust in his eye when he turned to focus on the other conversation in the room. She clamped her mouth shut and focused on her ring again.

"Images are implanted in my mind," the clone admitted, looking down. "But, no, I have not seen them."

Aqualad turned to the more pressing matter. "Do you know what you are? Who you are?"

Superboy stood determined and tall. "I am the Superboy, a Genomorph, a clone made from the DNA of the Superman, created to replace him should he perish; to destroy him should he turn from the light." The three sidekicks shoot each other worried looks while Emmy quirked a bemused eyebrow.

"I'd pay to see someone successfully punch Superman. He has a very douche-y face," she quipped to the chagrin of her fellow captives.

"To be like Superman is a worthy aspiration, but, like Superman, you deserve a life of your own beyond that solar suit. Beyond your pod. Beyond Cadmus." Aqualad suggested gently.

Once those words left Aqualad's mouth Pod Boy raged again. "I live because of Cadmus! It is my home!"

"Your home is a test tube." Robin said bluntly. "We can show you the sun."

"Uh, pretty sure it's after midnight, but we can show you the moon." Kid flash offered.

Emmy breathed deeply, continuing to call her ring to her with desperation. Please, I have to save Hunter and Sage. Please!

"We can show you…introduce you to Superman." Aqualad added, correctly guessing that such a meeting would mean a lot to the teenaged clone before them. Pod Brain's eyes widen slightly at the prospect.

"No, they can't." A man rebutted as he, Guardian, and another scientist walked into the chamber. "They'll be otherwise occupied," his tone and demeanor smug. "Activate the cloning process," he told to the scientist before she walked off to the left.

"Pass!" Robin announced. "Batcave's crowded enough."

"Did the scan reveal anything superhuman about the girl?" Asked the presumed boss.

"The results were inconclusive." The scientist replied.

"Go ahead and clone her first too then."

"And get the Weapon back in its pod." Boss man commanded Guardian.

"Hey, how come he gets to call Supey an 'it'?" Kid Flash questioned, partially annoyed, and partially disheartened by the objectification of the clone.

Emmy's heart was racing. She could feel it. She heard it. She clamped her eyes shut and called to her ring with all her willpower. The sound of cracking cement cut through the air and she opened her eyes calling out a single order, "Now!"

Her ring crashed through the glass of her pod and powered up her uniform. Emmy tore through her bonds, flipped onto the ground, and threw her hands forward creating three long tentacles that slammed the intruders into the walls behind them. After confirming that they were all unconscious, she dissipated her green structures and plopped her captors into an unceremonious pile.

Emmy sighed with relief at having her ring active again for the first time in three weeks. "Damn, that felt good." Rolling her stiff shoulders, she turned to the group of boys.

If she had had a camera with her and time to waste, she would have taken a picture of the comically astonished looks on all four of their faces. She was especially enjoying the rapid opening and closing of Kid Flash's mouth. He looks like a superspeedy fish. Pod Brain started to charge at her, but she threw a box barely larger than his body around him.

"I know where I've seen you!" Robin yelled victorious. "The Bludhaven beach security tapes. You're the newest GL."

Emmy rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I'd be more impressed with that deduction if you said it before I powered up in front of you."

She turned to the boy in her cage. "Are you going to help us or not, Pod Brain? Because don't get me wrong, watching one guy go at three guys who are tied up and at his mercy has been a longtime fantasy of mine, but I'm on a tight schedule and if you don't comply, I'll just knock you out and leave you to the brain monkeys."

The clone was clearly enraged by her comments, but thankfully Aqualad chose that moment to chime in with the exact words they needed to get the boy on their side, "What would Superman do?"

The clone relaxed in his cage and stood up straight. Emmy dropped the structure. The head scientist chose that moment to shakily get to his feet.

"Get back to your pod!" His eyes were crazed. "You're not a real boy! You belong to me!" He stuttered. "To Cadmus, I mean. You're just a weapon! You-"

The clone ran past her and sent the scientist flying with one punch. Emmy blinked in surprise at the raw power behind the blow. She would have to be careful around him, but she could tell that he was going to help her for now, so she moved on to look for the panel controlling the pods.

Superboy glared down at the drooling scientist. "Don't give me orders."

He stepped in front of the three teen heroes still in their bonds.

"You here to save us or fry us?" Kid Flash questioned, unsure what the clone would do.

Superboy glared for a moment, but nothing happened. "Huh, I don't seem to have heat vision, so I suppose helping is my only option."

"Well look who grew a sense of humor," Kid Flash smiled.

Robin managed to get his wrist restraints open and exited his pod. "Finally!" He said, clearly annoyed as he rubbed his wrists. "Lucky Batman isn't here. He'd have my head for taking so long."

"Seriously, that's what you're worried about?" Kid Flash snapped. "The whole League will have our heads after tonight."

Emmy hit a button at the control station that opened the pod doors but waved Robin over to do the rest. She wasn't exactly a tech expert.

Robin turned to Superboy. "Get Aqualad. I'll get Kid Mouth."

"Don't you give me orders either." Superboy growled but moved to release Aqualad anyway. Easily ripping apart the restraints.

Emmy frowned at Robin. "Enough interruptions. I get the speedster; you get the location of the stem cell kids." She shoved Robin in the direction of the panel a little harder than she should have. He just smiled at her and ran over.

"No problem," he said mischievously, "but I have, like, a ton of questions for you once we get out of here."

Emmy sighed. If Robin knew about her being the new Green Lantern from a security tape, then Batman did too. A problem for later. She jogged to the speedster's pod. She jumped up in between his spread legs and made a green glove structure around her hand to break the restraints on his left side.

"So," his voice was low and tickled the hair behind her left ear. "You have a 'fantasy' about 'guys who are tied up', huh?"

Emmy snapped to face him, startled at his quoting of her earlier comment. She hadn't meant to let that slip out, but it's been a stressful day. Hell, it's been a stressful decade. She was going to tell him to shut up but turning her head to him only made her realize how close their faces were. His green eyes were more vibrant than the brightest part of her uniform. His red hair was haphazardly poking out from the top of his mask. He was tanner than she was, but she could still see freckles spattered lightly across his thin cheekbones and defined jawline. His light pink lips were pulled into a cocky smirk. She didn't have time for cocky boys. She looked his toned body up and down with fake disappointment, "Sorry, Kid Flirt," she broke the final cuff off his right arm and flew backwards. "I should have specified men instead of guys."

Robin snorted behind them while Kid flash rubbed his sore wrists and frowned at his friend. Emmy turned to the younger boy with renewed focus.

"Did you find them?" The desperation is her voice was noticeable even to the clone.

"Yeah, yeah," Robin looked at her. "The only room with cryogenic signatures large enough is 12 levels above us. We can-"

Emmy frowned at the ceiling above her. "Great," she glanced at the boys around her. "You guys focus on getting yourselves out. I'll get the kids."

"But we can help!" Kid Flash interjected.

Emmy looked at her watch. 12:23 AM. She was cutting it closer than she would have liked. She couldn't help but think that they would only slow her down.

"I don't have any more time to babysit sidekicks. Get yourselves out of here," she glared at their offended faces. "That's an order from Green Lantern 003 of Sector 2814. Leave."

With that she flew into the ceiling crushing through each inch of earth and rock separating her from her siblings with a structure of a giant drill bit. She was finally getting to Hunter and Sage. Today is the day!