Third person view
The Watchtower. June, 3rd
Even though it had only been ten minutes since they were beamed up, DJ was already fully healed. Though he hadn't woken up yet.
He was currently on a table without his shirt with wires on him, monitoring his heart rate and blood pressure.
"So how is he?" Canary asked entering the room. Next to DJ was the Flash, Green Arrow and a medic employed by the League.
"All his vitals are great, brain activity is fine. But I don't know why he hasn't woken up yet" the medic said.
"Okay, well I think he'll be okay now. Thank you for coming in" Canary said walking the nurse out the door as Green Arrow looked over the boy, when suddenly his earpiece buzzed.
"Arrow, it's Batman. You should come up here... You need to see this" Batman said. Green Arrow nodded to himself before exiting the room. But he stopped in the doorway.
"You gonna be okay watching him?" Ollie asked his friend. Flash nodded and with that, Ollie turned and went to the meeting room.
However there was one thing he forgot to take into account. The Flash's attention span.
He sighed before rushing around the room to the monitor. He then rushed back to watch the teen's vitals.
He tried to run to another table when suddenly an arm came out and cocked a forty-five degree angle. The fist hitting Barry right in the forehead, knocking him out instantly. Thanks to the metal and because Flash wasn't going full speed to dodge it.
DJ stood up and wobbled for a moment. He had woken up a minute ago and noticed he was in a strange room. He then heard someone running past him and figured they were up to no good. He looked at the downed guy and swore. It was The Flash. Meaning he was in the Justice League's base.
He looked around for his shirt, but didn't see it. Maybe he could just walk out. With that thought, he opened the door. But quickly bolted back inside when he heard people coming down from both directions of the hallway.
He sighed as he looked around. He then seen that the Flash's costume covered most of his face. And they did have the same skin colour almost.
The meeting room
"The metal is an alloy called Adamantium, supposedly indestructible. It could possibly even cut through my mace and block a hit from it" Hawkgirl said gesturing to the x-ray they took of DJ when he first got here.
"It has been grafted to his entire skeleton, so what should be bone and bone marrow is now Adamantium. Meaning with both that and his healing abilities, he could take possibly any hit" she explained to the heroes present. Which were Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Black Canary and Green Arrow, Martian Manhunter and finally Wonder Women.
"And what do we know about his healing powers?" Batman asked. Hawkgirl took a syringe filled with blood and put it under a microscope.
"Now here is where it gets both interesting and a little complicated'' she said as a hologram appeared. "Now even before... whoever did this to him did it, he had a healing power. But it wasn't to the extent that it is now. When they experimented on him, they must've put these in his body" she said as several tiny robots showed up on the screen inside his blood.
"Now his body may stitch itself back together if he gets blown up, depending on how good his healing powers are. But he won't have the Adamantium covering his bones when he does" Hawkgirl said before zooming in on the robot.
"But these bots seem to have the machinery to create and distribute adamantium to and inside his bones. In the event of a wound that would either cause the metal to break and his body can't heal while the Adamantium is still there or it gets blown off his skeleton entirety" she explained.
Everyone sat in silence while they processed this. This kid was indeed dangerous especially with claws like his. If he got too carried away in a fight with someone...
"Experimentation on meta-humans. I've heard of such things, but never to this extent before" Batman said. Suddenly Wonder Women sat forwards and looked at the screen beside the one with the bots.
"Did the doctor-sister who worked on him take out his wires for the beeping machine?" she asked. Black Canary shook her head before looking where the Amazon princess was looking.
There on the screen all the lines were flat. But having already discussed his healing abilities, it was a small possibility that he was dead.
The med bay
DJ, now covered by the Flash's costume poked his head out the door and looked around. The coast seemed clear, so he walked outside and into the hallway. The suit was a little bit big on him, but he was hoping no one would notice. He passed by a few heroes and waved are them. They waved back and went on their way.
First things first, find out where the hell I am he thought before he froze and looked to his left. There he seen stars, the moon and Earth.
"Well that might complicate things" he said to himself before he continued. He finally getting to an elevator. He pushed the button and waited.
"Barry, Oh Barry!" a Brazilian feminine voice called out. DJ ignored it and got inside the elevator. He looked at the buttons and seen one labeled 'Hanger'. He smiled and pushed that one. Time to fly outta here.
As the doors were closing a tan coloured hand stopped them from closing all the way and they opened again. Fire walked inside as the doors closed all the way this time and the elevator began to move.
"Didn't you hear me calling you?" she asked in the same accent he had just heard. DJ knew from now on, that he was Barry for now. He rubbed the back of his head and shook it.
"Oh, well no harm no foul" she said looking at the numbers above the doors. "You heading to the Hanger?" she asked knowing he didn't have a mission tonight. He nodded and before he knew what was happening, she hugged him.
"Oh Barry, you did remember" she said thinking that her husband had remembered their anniversary. He just smiled thinking he had gotten away with it.
Yeah, I made the Flash and Fire a couple. Deal with it.
Suddenly the elevator stopped and a red light went on above them. Out of the corner of his eye, DJ seen Fire place a finger on her ear before looking at him with a murderous look.
"They found him, didn't they?" he asked as she bursted into green flames. "Yep they found him" he added before she shot a green ball of fire at him.
He dodged it and slid underneath her arm. He grabbed it and tried to flip her onto her back. However mid-air, she put both feet on the sides of the elevator and did a flip of her own. Which resulted in her wrapping her legs around his neck and locking them behind his head.
It would've been a very suggestive look for anyone who seen them like that.
He growled and slammed her into the doors repeatedly trying to get her off. If she didn't have any weapons to fight with he wouldn't draw his claws, no fun.
Suddenly the doors opened and the two fell out and onto the floor, DJ landing on top of Fire. They looked up and seen several League members standing there looking down at them. Including Flash wearing just a towel around his waist.
"Uh I'll take my costume back now. And my wife" he said as DJ sighed and got up. He recognized them as the Justice League but he wasn't a hundred percent sure that they were all that good. He growled as he cracked his neck. But he raised his hands in the air and sighed.
Later that night. June 3rd
Black Canary watched as DJ did push-ups in his room on the security camera. He hadn't been happy being cramped inside a small room again, but after a while the League had convinced him that they were not the enemy and were as friendly as they appeared on TV. He told them his story and now Batman was looking into this 'Cadmus' place he spoke about.
They'd given him his clothing back so he could give Flash his suit back. However his jacket and shirt were both ruined by the fire. His pants had survived, but were still burnt pretty bad.
He was now dressed in an oversized shirt and workout pants provided by Clark. Black Canary was so caught up into watching him that she hadn't heard J'onn approaching.
"You care for him?" he asked startling the female hero. She looked over at him before looking back at the boy again.
"Did anything come back from the DNA matching?" she asked avoiding the question. J'onn shook his head.
"Yes, but it isn't good" he said passing her a printed out paper. It was a missing kid poster. "His name is DJ Williamson. He has been missing for eight years" he said as Canary looked over the photo.
It was him alright, he was only nine years old. But she recognized that face and hair anywhere.
"Okay, locate his family and get them reunited... And wait, he said he can't remember anything past thirteen years old" she said. J'onn sighed before handing her another paper. This one was a picture from a newspaper and it was of a wreaked vehicle.
"The family car was wreaked when he went missing. The car was T-boned and his entire family was killed. No cameras, no witnesses. And the five year gap, I'm not so sure that he nor us will want the answer to what happened in that time period" he said looking at the boy. Canary felt a few tears fall, but quickly wiped then away.
"So um what will happen to him now?" she asked.
"Well if we cannot find a hero to take him in, we may have to just keep him here under surveillance until we know more about his powers... Or..." he said trailing off. Black Canary looked at him as he sighed.
"Batman suggested that maybe... Because of his creator's intent. Belle Reve" he then looked at the shocked heroine. Dinah froze at what Bruce was suggesting. This was just a kid.
"You never answered my question. You care for him?" he asked again. Canary sighed and nodded.
"Okay yeah... I want to take him with me and Ollie. he's already know as my protégé by the first responders who were at the fire. And they might not keep it to themselves. Plus I've grown attached to him" she said. J'onn raised an eyebrow.
"Forgive me if I'm out of line. But you are speaking about him like you would like to adopt him. If you would like a child, why not just-" "I'm sterile, J'onn" Canary said interrupting him.
"I just found out a few days ago. That's why Ollie and Clark sent me on a few days off" she said looking down. J'onn however smiled and patted his co-worker on the shoulder.
Canary watched as DJ stopped doing his workout and laid down on the bed. But not before he looked at the camera and Canary stared into his eyes.
A few days later.June, 5
Dinah and Ollie both entered their home in Star city with DJ following close behind them. When Dinah first suggested the idea, Ollie wasn't really sure about it.
But after spending some time with DJ and getting to know the kid, he became pretty fond of him as well.
It had taken a few days for the adoption things to get settled. Plus they had to set somethings up for him.
the Founding members decided that he can be Black Canary's protégé. But until they know more about him and make sure his anger is under control, they thought it best to keep him separated from the other sidekicks and off the streets.
Of course Ollie knew that couldn't happen with Roy being around as much as he was. And Roy might tell the others about him. At least Aqualad for sure.
"So this will be your room" Canary said opening the door to reveal a white walled room with a double bed and a dresser with a mirror on top of it. DJ entered hesitantly and looked around the draws and cabinets were bare and empty. For now at least.
"I like it" he said sitting down on the bed before looking at the two. "But why are you two doing this. You don't owe me anything, neither of you do. And I was made to be a weapon against you" he said.
Dinah sat down on the bed next to him and grabbed his hand.
"Well after hearing the other options for you, we both thought this would be best option. For you and us. And only you can decide what to be. A hero, a weapon, a normal person" she said as he smiled.
"Thanks" he said as she nodded and got up going to the doorway before exiting with Ollie.
When the door shut DJ smiled and for the first time in along time, he cried tears of joy. He felt... safe.
One month later. July 6.
The month living with the supers had been great. He wasn't able to go with Black Canary with her missions yet. Nor had he been able to meet any of the sidekicks, well except Roy.
Roy was... Okay. He and DJ didn't really see eye to eye on things. But they- Ah screw it. They hated each other. They couldn't even be in the same room for ten minutes without trying to kill each other.
But DJ never did, he like living with the two heroes and didn't want to mess that up.
Most of the month he had been practicing sparring with Black Canary or working on his suit with his Green Arrow. His fighting had now gotten better as did his sneaking abilities.
DJ had told Batman the location of the Cadmus base that was in Gothem. But by the time he had gotten to it it was only the empty base that was left. No files, no experiments or creations. No nothing.
DJ trusted the two superheroes more and more with each day. He still had some trust issues as he locked his door at night and made sure to stay up for a few hours to see if anyone would sneak in to try and attack him.
But it was getting better. Kinda
Right now it was 2 o'clock in the afternoon and right now our knuckle-clawed hero... Was sitting on the couch listening to a documentary on animal planet while he was sharpened his claws against each other.
Suddenly the spare earpiece buzzed. It was the one that Black Canary always left for him for when he did start going with her on missions.
"Hey. You need me?" he said. He heard the heroine chuckle over the com.
"You know a 'hello' is another way to answer the com. Is it gonna be like this every time I call until I let you in on the missions?" she asked. DJ smiled.
"Yep" he said plainly as she laughed.
"Okay then. No I don't need you, especially on a call like this. Yet. I want you to head to the Hall. Aqualad, Kid Flash and Robin are there. I want you to get acquainted with them" she said.
"No Roy" he asked just to be safe. The times before, either Dinah or Ollie had to intervene before DJ could do any real damage.
"No Roy" Canary said. "Get dressed, and take a Zeta-Tube to Washington and then a bus to The Hall" she said. As DJ walked to his room, he decided to press his luck.
"Well you know, a faster way is if I take your-'' "No" Canary said. He sighed before opening his closet.
"Okay. Bye" he said.
"Bye, love you" she said attempted. DJ paused for a moment before nodding.
"Uh yeah, thanks" he said before hanging up. He couldn't get attached. People who get attached to him or vice versa always wind up dead.
He shook his head clear of those thoughts and got out his battle suit. It was a black and orange leather jacket. It had three orange lines that looked like scratch marks on his chest. they went from his shoulder to the opposite hip forming an X going across his chest. It also had a hood just incase he is ever in a situation where he cannot get to his mask.
His pants were also black and orange combat pants. They were black with an orange stripe going down on each leg. He had black steel-toe Combat boots
And finally his mask. For that, he just had a mask like his dad's. To be honest, he didn't even want a mask but figured that he should if he'll be doing public missions.
Wonder Woman seen Black Canary hang up her earpiece as they along with a few other heroes flew in a Javelin. The Princess of Themyscira seen a look of sadness on the heroes face.
"How are things with him?" she asked. Black Canary seemed to snap out of her thought and had to rewind the question in her head for a few seconds.
"Oh, it's been... Okay. He's stopped calling us by just our hero names and has started using our real ones. So we've been able to take him into public places now" she said.
"But..." Wonder Woman asked trailing off.
"But, he's been... paranoid. I heard him moving at around midnight each night for a while. He said it was just him using the bathroom, but I knew it was a lie. It was like he expected someone to come in after he fell asleep and experiment on him again" she said. Wonder Woman clenched her hands around her sword handle, so much that it even creaked a little.
"I wish to find the people behind this Cadmus place and make them pay" she said angrily. She did not like the experimentation with children. Black Canary nodded and looked out the window of the Javelin.
DJ, now Razor stood on the bus reading a newspaper in full costume. He made sure no one seen him exit the house or walk down the street to the Zeta-Tube located in an alleyway.
He turned his head and seen a boy standing next to his mom, staring at him. He gave him a smiled and continued to read the paper. Even though he was only out for one fire, he spend some time on the Watchtower and some workers there seen him. And then they tell some people and then eventually it gets to the Internet.
Suddenly he felt a tug on his open jacket. He looked down and seen it was the boy.
"Excuse me, are you Razor?" he asked. Before DJ could answer the mother came up and pulled the boy back.
"Danny, I told you not to bother him. I'm so sorry Mr Razor. I took my eyes off him for one second" she said apologetically. Razor shrugged before kneeling down.
"Ah it's alright, I always got time for a fan. Besides my stop ain't for a few more minutes anyway" he said looking at the boy with a smile. He already had fans in this world.
"You wanna see 'em don't you?" DJ said. The boy nodded fast as DJ smiled and held his fist up in the air. He unsheathed his claws and let them glisten in the sunlight.
The boy awed at the claws as did most of the other people on the bus. The bus then stopped outside the Hall of Justice. DJ smiled and got off the bus. But he stopped at the open window the boy was at and waved.
The boy waved back as the bus drove off. DJ walked through the reporters, who for a few seconds didn't know him until one finally did.
"Hey that's Razor!"
"Razor over here! Can you claws cut through Superman?"
"Hey Razor! Why haven't we seen you since the fire in Gotham?"
DJ pushed his his way past the reporters and into the building. He seen several large statutes of the Founding members for the League. He looked around for any of the sidekicks or their mentors.
But he couldn't find them anywhere. As he walked he tried to reach Black Canary or Green Arrow on coms, but they weren't picking up. He did however, come across a tour in process.
"And over here we have- Oh, Razor" the tour guide said shocked at seeing the sidekick who no one ever seen. DJ gave them a wave as a few people, mostly teenage girls, rushed forwards for a picture or an autograph.
"Well, this is a pleasant surprise. Razor, do you have anything to say to the tour?" the guide asked. Not sure of what else to say, he shrugged.
"Ah, well I guess just the usual stay in school, don't do drugs or get into crime. 'Cuz the next time I come after you" he paused to unsheathed his claws. "I don't wanna have these out" he added walking away. Canary said they been in the common room with the big screen computer.
But they weren't. So he sprawled out on the couch and fell asleep.
"RAZOR!" A voice yelled waking him up. He rolled off the couch in fear before looking up. He seen Batman, Flash, Aquaman, Superman, Green Arrow, Black Canary and Green Lantern standing above him.
"You realize that anyone could've walked over and taken off your mask?" Black Canary said in a mothering/protective voice. DJ stood up and smirked at his Guardian.
"Two things. First, you don't even wear a mask. And second, remember when you tried to wake me up by shaking me awake" he said as Canary went quiet. Two weeks ago, she tried to shake him awake for training. If she didn't backflip at the right time, he would've cut her in half.
"Where are the boys. They leave to get pizza or something?" Green Arrow asked coming to the aid of his wife with her loosing argument. DJ sat up and looked at the wristwatch Ollie had given him a few weeks ago. It was nine thirty at night.
"Unless they went to Italy to get it, I'm gonna say no. Came through the Zeta, caught a bus and when I got here it was probably four, five. Place was empty, except for a tour" he said standing up and cracking his back.
"WHAT!?" the four mentors said in shock. DJ shrugged as Batman went over to the computer and hit a few buttons.
"The computer has evidence of being hacked. Must be Robin" he said turning to the other supers. "It'll take some time before we can figure out where they went or what they looked" at he said.
"I can track them" DJ said hoping to finally to get some field time. "All I need is their sce-" ''No" Canary said interrupting him.
"Get back home. I'm sorry for getting you out for nothing" she said. DJ sighed in anger and frustration before exiting the Hall. Before he did however he punched the doorway, taking a huge chunk out of it.
The reporters that still were there gave him a wide path.
"You know sooner or later he will start going out on his own. With or without your permission" Aquaman said to Black Canary. Green Arrow leaned over to the King of Atlantis.
"I know, but she doesn't want her little boy to grow up too fast" he said only to get the murderous look from his wife. But on the inside, she knew they were right. He was made to fight and she could not keep him from doing that.
B.C and G.A's house. July 8
"DJ" Dinha said softly through the door as she knocked. Silence. She entered the room and seen her son looking up at the ceiling while he was using some dumbbells. But she knew that he was also looking at her with a sideways glance.
"We found the sidekicks, they were at a Cadmus base. Different from the location, you told us about" she said trying to break the tension. Still nothing except the occasional grunt from him working out.
"They found a clone made from Superman's DNA" she said sitting on the bed. DJ looked over at her with a look that told her he was still angry with her.
"Look I know you're still angry with me, keeping you on the sidelines. But I think I know a way to make it up to you" she said making the boy perk up slightly though he tried not to show it.
"The sidekicks are forming their own team, you guys will still operate under League jurisdiction. But Batman needed a team to operate on the sly" she said.
"Wait you said 'you guys' " he said not catching on yet. he put the Dumbbells down and sat on his bed.
''Yes I did. I would like you to join the team. Manhunter is getting his niece on the team and since you aren't going to school yet. I think it'll be nice for you to get some time in with kids your own age. Everyone is meeting at your base in an hour" she said smiling. His attitude like a normal teenagers changed in a instant.
"Thanks" he said hugging his foster mother for the first time ever. She smiled, shocked and hugged him back.
"Though if I ask, I hope you'll still come and patrol with me?" she asked. He nodded as the two began to make a plan for if he was gonna stay with the team or live at home.
Mount Justice. Happy Harbor. July 8
Black Canary and Razor entered the cave via Zeta-Tube and the two were instantly greeted by J'onn, who was waiting away from the other heroes and ex-sidekicks.
Black Canary pointed to the Martian as she went to stand with the other heroes. DJ came up and shook J'onn's hand.
"Razor, it is good to see you again" he said. DJ was about to respond when he sniffed the air catching another scent. It was feminine, but it didn't smell human. Nevertheless his claws came out as he scanned the area ready for a sneak attack. However, J'onn just laughed.
"Your skills are still quite impressive and sharp as ever, Razor. M'gann, there is no need to be so shy" Manhunter said as a figure uncloaked in front of DJ and beside Manhunter. She had red hair and green skin and was slightly levitating above the ground. She was obviously a Martian and she looked about sixteen.
"Razor, this is M'gann or Miss Martian. She is my niece" the elder Martian said. DJ retracted his claws and send a small wave at the girl, who smiled back. Suddenly Manhunter started to walk forwards.
"Come now, time to meet your team members" he said as the two followed him. They came to a large room in the middle of the cave. Standing there was the heroes and their ex-sidekicks.
"Cool. Wait, six?" Robin said confused. All the sidekicks were in their civilian clothes. Batman looked at the three approaching figures as the sidekicks turned to see them come out of the shadows.
"This is the Martian Manhunter's niece, Miss Martian. And next to her is Razor, Black Canary's adopted son and protégé" he said as M'gann gave a slight wave.
"Hi" M'gann said. Wally leaned over to Robin and nudged him.
"Liking this gig more and more every minute. Hey, welcome Kid Flash. That's Robin, Aqualad. It's cool if you forget their names, it's fine" he said. DJ chuckled at the sidekicks poor attempt at flirting. The mini-Flash in question looked over to the newbie.
"Uh and what can you do?" he said confused. DJ held up his fist and unsheathed only the middle of his claws. Kid Flash caught on to the gesture and frowned.
"Uh, well this" he said before unsheathing the other two. "And that. I can also heal faster than the average person, enhanced senses, can operate any air, land and sea vehicle, I'm an expert in recon and infiltrated. And for the last month, I've been trained by Black Canary in the arts of combat. Why, what can you do?" he asked now trying to get a rise out of the young man.
The others came up and chuckled at their friend's slight humiliation. M'gann then placed a hand on DJ's shoulder, fearing he may have crossed a line.
"We are honored to be included in this group" she said as her eyes shifted to Superboy, who was standing with his arms folded away from the group. Robin's eyes also found there way to Superboy.
"Hey Superboy, come meet Miss M and Claw-boy!" he shouted. The boy in question came over and showed himself to the two newest members. He had blue eyes and black hair. He was dressed in a black shirt with a red S in the middle of his chest.
M'gann's costume began to shift as her once white shirt with a red X turned to a black shirt with a red X.
"I uh, I like your shirt" she said shyly. Superboy looked up at her and smile. Robin then elbowed him as Wally put his arm around the clone.
"Today is the day" Aqualad said as all the teens smiled and silently agreed. DJ smiled, at last he would be able to fight against evil. Things... like him.