The Campbell Chronicles Part Two
Chapter 17
Victor Stone strode into the Hall of Justice, his Brown eyes glancing over the bloodstain in the middle of the room, and the pockmarked walls and marble floor. Stopping at the blood on the floor, he stared at it.
Wonder Woman moved up behind him and touched his shoulder, "Are you alright?"
"It's funny, I was once reborn a combination of man and machine," he raised his hand and clenched it into a fist, reveling in the feeling of his cool fingertips pressing into his palm, "I have been reborn again, as something else. Neither time did I have a choice in the matter if I wanted to live," he glanced at Diana, the corner of his lips curling up, "but this time I don't mind."
Standing at the back of the group, Nicholas Campbell raised his hand. The bits of plaster and dust littering the floor flew back into the walls. Cracks and busted plaster grew shut.
The marks on the floor grew shut as specks of light flew into them.
Everyone turned to look at the green-haired man, and Nicholas shrugged, "What? I could repair the damage, so I did."
"You could've destroyed evidence," Batman growled stepping forward.
Nicholas gestured, "I left the damaged guns in the ceiling, I also left the bloodstain on the floor, but you have multiple eyewitness accounts, a video of her entering the Hall of Justice," Nicholas raised his hand, and a glass cube with plastic strips inside appeared on his palm, "and fingerprints taken off the Flash during his healing."
"All those things could've been planted by your people. The chain of evidence is suspect! You could be working with her."
Nicholas snorted, "You're a vigilante, Bruce, don't start talking about the chain of evidence now." Ignoring the Dark Knight, Nicholas focused on Victor, "I left the bloodstain because it seemed to mean something to you," he gestured to the lasers hanging from the ceiling, "I figured you could use the damaged weaponry as a test for your new abilities."
Victor inclined his head, unsure of what to say, the man and his people had helped him, giving him back the body he thought he lost, but he was still a stranger.
"Enough," Martian man Hunter stepped between Nicholas and Batman, "we are here so that Victor can get the technology he needs to tell us about the scientists that created Amanda Waller's new body."
Nicholas backed away, and Batman spun, his Cape flying out behind him as he moved to stand beside Diana.
Superman glanced at Nicholas, "You really shouldn't antagonize him."
"It may have been an accident that we took one of his satellites, but the things we discovered, make him a bigger threat than any villain or hero on earth." Yellow eyes met pale blue, "When you get a chance ask him about Brother Eye or his contingency plan if he ever kills someone."
Victor moved to a door at the far end of the room. Placing his hand against a palm scanner mounted into the frame, he waited nerves churning in his gut wondering if the system would recognize him.
A mechanized female voice echoed through the hall, "DNA similar to hero designated as Cyborg, but anomalies detected, secondary verification needed, vocal password and retinal scan."
"Password is booyah."
"Voice pattern matches Cyborg, password confirmed."
The frame shifted, revealing a rectangular piece of glass about head height.
Cyborg leaned forward, scanning his left eye.
"Retinal scan confirmed, updating the profile of Cyborg."
The door slid open with a hiss, and Cyborg released a breath.
He led the group down a hallway filled with metal doors. Each door possessed a nameplate of a different hero.
Batman glanced back at Nicholas, "I still don't think he should be allowed in the personal quarters of the Justice League."
Wonder Woman spoke up from her place beside Cyborg, "We're not going into anyone's quarters, we're going to Cyborg's lab, so it's his decision."
At a junction, Cyborg turned left and led the group down a flight of stairs, "According to the files I accessed while on Cradle, Nicholas and his people have fought Amanda before, so they could have some valuable input."
Superman looked at Nicholas with a raised eyebrow, "You let him in your files?"
"No, but his mind was connected to two councilmembers, so he was bound to pick up something."
Stopping before a large metal door, Cyborg typed in a code on the keypad. The door slid open with a squeak and the sound of metal grinding on metal.
Cyborg stepped into the room, and lights clicked on, revealing a space lined with metal tables. Various bits of technology lay strewn across the tables, including replacement parts for his cybernetics.
Computer terminals sat sporadically throughout the room, some against the wall, some on the end of tables.
Soldering equipment hung from the ceiling, while welders and a variety of power tools lined one wall. A shelf full of technology taken from previous villains sat against the far wall.
Victor looked over it all, his brown eyes glowing. Raising a hand, his replacement cybernetics liquefied along with the majority of the pieces strewn across the tables. Like a living thing, it shot forward, slamming into his chest and spreading across his body.
As the group watched, it sank into his skin and his body shuddered as skin muscle and bone shifted.
After a few uncomfortable moments, Victor straightened.
"Victor, are you alright?" The man of steel asked, his pale blue eyes glowing as he looked him over.
The young hero nodded, silver metal spreading over his body.
With the metal covering his body, he grew 4 inches. His left eye was covered in metal and a red lens. Short black hair had sprouted from his scalp, hiding the circuit-like pattern that covered his skull.
"You look like your old self," Wonder Woman said, as she scanned his metal-clad form.
Victor relaxed, allowing the metal to sink back into his body, leaving him dressed in an orange sleeveless shirt, purple sweatpants, and black slip-on shoes.
"I figured I could use my old cybernetics to create armor, this also hides my changes from my enemies, I will be informing the Titans. Now," Cyborg raised his hands and the now empty metal tables sank to the floor.
The computer terminals spread across the room broke apart, forming a half circle in the middle of the room. Holographic screens shimmered to life above the keyboard as Victor moved forward.
"The creators of the body Amanda Waller now inhabits are Anthony Ivo, Dabney Donovan, Thomas Oscar Morrow, and Matthew Thorne."
Holograms of each man appeared before the terminal.
Nicholas stepped forward, "Is it safe for you to use your systems After Amanda Waller absorbed your cybernetics? Will she know we are looking for these individuals?"
"Given her actions, I don't think she cares about the scientists who made her body, but on the off chance she does access the systems, I need to develop new protocols, what do you suggest in the meantime?"
Nicholas turned to John, "If I call Hazel and we act as filters, could you find these men," he gestured to the holograms.
"I could do it alone…"
Nicholas shook his head, "You have been through a trauma, and have had your powers removed and restored, let us help you."
Superman placed his hand on John's shoulder and nodded.
"Alright."
"Wait! How do we know they can be trusted?"
Nicholas released a breath through his nose, "If you're that concerned, I'm sure Wonder Woman can use that Lasso of hers to create a circle and make sure that Hazel and I don't do anything nefarious."
Wonder Woman stepped forward, removing the Lasso of truth from her hip. The rope glowed in her hand, "I can."
–XX –
Thirty minutes later, Hazel Donovan strode into the Hall of Justice, a scowl on her face and dark circles under her eyes. She glared at Nicholas behind her silver-framed glasses, "This better be good, I just finished with a procedure," she gestured to Cyborg, "and I've still got work to do before I can sleep."
"When this is finished, I'll handle the intelligence work."
Hazel snorted, "You may be a telepath, but you don't have my skill. Now," she looked at the gathered Justice League, her gaze lingering on Martian Manhunter for just a moment longer than everyone else, "What do you want?"
"We're going to help Martian Manhunter find the creators of Amanda Waller's new body, Matthew Thorne, Thomas Oscar Morrow, Dabney Donovan, and Anthony Ivo."
Hazel nodded, "Okay…"
"Wait," the Flash began, "just like that, no further questions."
"Despite my earlier bitching, Nicholas wouldn't call if it wasn't important."
"What I wouldn't give for some time off to create," Nicholas muttered, "I've got so many ideas".
Batman looked at Nicholas, "You're okay with her just giving this information away."
Nicholas shrugged, "She didn't give that much away, and besides, Martian man Hunter is going to be in our minds, he's bound to pick up some stuff he will report to you later."
Hazel pushed her glasses up on her nose and clapped her hands together, "So, how are we going to do this?"
Nicholas gestured to the golden rope that formed a large circle a short distance away, "We step into Wonder Woman's Lasso of truth, a precaution they set up just to make sure we didn't mess with Martian's mind…"
Hazel glanced at Martian Manhunter, "From what I can sense, he would put up a pretty good fight if we tried." She turned and began making her way toward the circle, her long white coat swishing behind her and the heel of her boots clicking on the floor.
Stepping into the circle, Hazel stretched out her arms.
Nicholas joined her on the left, while Martian Manhunter joined her on the right.
Energy blossomed around the three.
Pale blue for Nicholas.
Purple for Hazel, and Opaque shimmering like a heat haze for Martian Manhunter.
The Lasso glowed as the trio joined hands.
The energy flowed upwards, forming a sphere that resembled dancing flames.
Faces begin to flip inside the sphere.
A heavily scarred face appeared in the sphere. The right half of the face was melted and a single blue eye stared out at the world. Sprigs of black hair grew sporadically.
"That is Anthony Ivo," Batman said as the face shrunk and moved to one corner of the sphere.
Faces began to flip by again.
A man with thick round glasses, wild dark hair, a full mustache, and crazy Hazel eyes appeared in the sphere.
"That's Dabney Donovan," Cyborg said, holographic screens blossoming around him as data trailed over his left eye.
Batman turned to Cyborg, "Can you run a check on the people they bring forward and see what their latest activity was?"
"Yeah," Cyborg raised his left hand, electricity jumped from his fingers and connected with one of the laser cannons hanging from the ceiling. "Using my new powers, I should be able to bypass any electronic ways Amanda Waller could monitor my activity."
They turned back to the sphere just in time to see a man with a lean face, Brown hair that grayed at the temple, a thin mustache, and brown eyes appear.
"That's Matthew Thorne, he used to work at Gotham General, but was fired after he was found to be working for the Gotham underworld."
A red outline appeared on Matthew as he joined the other three at the far corner of the sphere.
Wonder Woman tracked the movement, her blue eyes curious, "What does that mean?"
Faces begin to fly through the sphere once more.
"I don't know, Superman said, his eyes never leaving the sphere. "I guess we'll find out when they find the last person."
"Found it," Cyborg cut in, he glanced at the other three, "Someone tried to delete it, but it says here Anthony Ivo, Thomas Oscar Morrow, Dabney Donovan, and Michael Thorne were released into Amanda Waller's custody to work on a special project."
"We know that, is there anything else?"
"The last movement we have for them is them boarding a military transport heading for the Amazon jungle. I'm searching for anomalies or structures now."
A red screen appeared projected from Cyborg's eye. It showed a massive portion of the Amazon jungle had been removed, leaving an empty square of earth behind.
"What could remove that much of the jungle," Superman asked, "that's gotta be at least one hundred miles in all directions.
"I can think of a few things," Batman began, his narrowed eyes focused on Nicholas's back just as a face appeared in the sphere.
Thomas Oscar Morrow was lean with black hair that grayed at the temples, and brown eyes.
As the final face moved into position, a flash emanated from the sphere.
–XX –
Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Cyborg stood in a room with white walls and a concrete floor. A long metal table sat in its center, and chained to it were Anthony Ivo, Thomas Oscar Morrow, Dabney Donovan, and Michael Thorne.
A single light bulb hung over the table, swinging back and forth, casting long shadows on the wall as the eyes of the four Scientists flicked around the room.
John and Hazel stood in the corners of the room on the side opposite the Justice League, their eyes closed.
Thomas Oscar Morrow tried to stand to his feet, but the chains around his wrist forced him into a hunched position, "Where are we? You have no right to keep us here."
Nicholas stood before the four scientists, his yellow eyes glowing. "Good day, gentlemen. We need to talk."