Beneath the cool blue glow of the scanners, Marcus felt a shiver run down his spine. The machine around him hummed, a technological beast thirsty for secrets. He closed his eyes, trying to grasp any memory, any at all, that predated the unknown room. Nothing. Only a disturbing void, and then... the overwhelming sensation of power.
On the other side of the glass partition, Batman and Superman watched the data stream across the Bat-computer's screens.
"Nothing," Batman stated, his tone as neutral as if he were commenting on the weather. "No signs of reconstructive facial or bodily surgery. These features are natural to him. His appearance is either a remarkable genetic coincidence, or something else."
Superman remained silent, his arms crossed. He watched the lines of code and energy patterns flashing by, reading the data at an impossible speed for a human.
"And his powers?" Superman finally asked.
Batman pulled up a series of holographic schematics. "Based on preliminary analysis, his cellular density is... aberrant. His skin could deflect a tank shell. Thermal readings suggest he's capable of projecting intense heat energy from his eyes, similar to your heat vision, but the emissions are different. More raw."
He turned his piercing gaze toward Superman. "He claims not to remember, but his body does. Look."
He enlarged a brain scan schematic. "The activity in his temporal lobe and hippocampus shows classic signs of damage related to amnesia. But there's something else. A residual chemical signature I've never seen before."
"Compound V," Superman murmured, repeating the name Marcus had vaguely mentioned.
"Exactly." Batman brought up a complex molecular formula on the screen. "The residues on his clothing match the mineral dust from the mines in northern Bialya. Queen Bee has always been fascinated by biological enhancement. It's highly probable he was her test subject."
He steepled his fingers, his dark gaze fixed on Marcus's still form. "His transfer to a top-secret base, the 'accident'... It all fits. Queen Bee injected Marcus with this Compound V. The experiment gave him these powers but stole his memory."
He paused, letting the weight of his words settle.
"The problem, Clark, isn't how he got these powers. The problem is why they work. And what they might do if they were turned against us. He has the power of a weapon of mass destruction, with the mind of a newborn."
In the examination room, Marcus clenched his fists. He couldn't hear their words, but he felt their gazes, heavy with questions and mistrust. He was a mystery to be solved, a living equation. And he knew that for Batman, some equations that are too dangerous... must be eliminated.