Blüdhaven
June 25, 10:05
Felicity and I sat side by side in the hotel's lounge and enjoyed breakfast together.
On our table and a small distance away from our shared plate, her tablet had been propped and showed Superman's press conference that was minutes away from starting.
If it wasn't obvious, we'd spent the night together, consummating our nascent relationship. We were both adults, but even I couldn't help but engage in fresh-off-the-press couple behaviour.
Not only did we share one plate—which Felicity had wasted no effort in piling full of food—we even fed each other bits and pieces, giggling and smiling at each other.
In my experience, such behavior wouldn't last long into the relationship, and that's why I engaged in it even more.
"What's the schedule for today?" I asked and wiped some crumbs off the edge of her lips.
"Hmm, let me see," she said instead of bringing up her digital calendar. I wanted to tell her it would be okay to switch the screen and that it didn't matter if I missed part of the conference.
But I refrained, inwardly appreciative and also aware that she was a smart cookie. It was one facet that endeared her to me after all. Possibly the most important.
"We have the landfill at 1, the orphanage at 2, and the shelter at 3."
"One, two, three huh," I said and leaned for a kiss. "A wonder how that happened."
She reciprocated the gesture and we broke apart.
"Mmm, I'd like to say it's a coincidence but you know your girlfriend is not that blonde."
I kissed her again and she kissed me back, only for her eyes to widen and startle me a bit.
"It's starting."
Our attention momentarily left each other and went to the screen. Felicity increased the volume and I wrapped an arm around her, squeezing gently.
Superman started by greeting the audience, camera lights flashing off his, Superboy, Dubbilex and—wait, what's Green Arrow doing there? I did a double take at his presence and the three costumed, ginger haired males part of the ensemble.
Roy and co didn't tell me about this.
I did not like surprises, but as the saying went, there was an exception to every rule. All the Harpers being present meant Luthor was going to get even more fucked. And boy did that make me happy.
Superman didn't beat about the bush and went straight into it.
"Ladies and gentlemen, please watch this video," he said and directed the audience toward the large screen behind him. On the large display, a video started playing, and everyone recognized Lex Luthor sitting in a limo.
It was the encoded video call Mike had intercepted, the one where Luthor informed Mark Desmond about the loss of the clones and also told him to rectify things.
There wasn't any loud uproar from the crowd, but the spike in camera flashes and the unnatural and sudden silence told of a shift in the general mood that was impossible to ignore.
"At Cadmus, Lex Luthor ran a program that cloned and enslaved people. Weapons, tools, he called them. Today, with the help of the courageous people beside me, we'll share the truth with the rest of the world."
He looked at Superboy and nodded, the two of them sharing a small smile. The young clone took his place on the podium and cut straight to the heart of things.
"It's just as Superman said. Luthor created weapons and programmed them to build and fight for him. I am one of them. My name is Superboy, a genomorph, a clone of the combined DNA of Superman and Lex Luthor. He created me to replace Superman should he perish and to further his own ends. And I am not the only one."
The uproar I expected was in full swing. The murmurs rolled in like an avalanche and were steadily progressing towards shouting territory.
Superboy paused and looked at Roy and his brothers. They each gave him nods and he continued.
"Superman is not the only hero they cloned. Speedy, Green Arrow's sidekick, was kidnapped by Lex Luthor's men while he investigated a LexCorp shell company that traded in weapons with North Rhelasia. They amputated his arm, cloned him, and kept him on ice for three years."
"Luthor also bred a new race of people, the genomorphs," Dubbilex stepped to Superboy's right and Superman to his left. "He used them as a workforce for the facility with no intention to let them go. Dubbilex is their leader, and my brother."
Superboy made to step back, but a strong hand stopped him and he looked at Superman. The hero grabbed the mic and turned it in his direction.
"Looking back, I'm not proud of how I behaved when I first found out. But I've accepted it and now, I've come to think of Superboy as a brother, and I trust him fully."
Superboy looked away and focused back on the crowd. "You don't have to trust me. A DNA test will prove everything I've said."
Things erupted even further while Superboy and Dubbilex stepped back to join the others. Superman stayed at the podium and waited for things to die down.
"Before we answer any questions, I'd like to thank the hero that made this possible. He is the one that discovered Luthor's crimes and helped rescue the victims. You may know him as Spider-Man, the hero of Bludhaven. Thank you."
"Wait!" Felicity grabbed my arm with strength I didn't know she had. "You didn't tell me about this. Wait, were you supposed to join them? And isn't your name Specialist?" she asked in quick succession, eyes widening behind her glasses.
I patted her hand and leaned back into the comfortable seat.
"My presence there… I felt it wasn't that important. This is about them, not me. As for the name… I finally caved and went with Spider-Man. Specialist just didn't hit right when I imagined it mentioned during the conference. Besides, the reason why I chose it was stupid anyway."
"Why? What's the reason?"
"Ehh, it's from a certain… book I read. There was this organization and their best field operatives, I'm talking James Bond, Bruce Lee, and every badass character rolled into one, held the position of Specialists. They could tackle any mission, no matter the difficulty. And I guess, I wanted to be like them. Hence…"
Felicity said nothing and simply looked at me. I looked back, her eyes like magnets. We sat like this for a while, saying nothing and enjoying each other's presence.
"No matter what name you go by, you're still a hero," she leaned into me, resting her head on my chest. I appreciated the extra, inner warmth and hugged her tightly.
"Did Luthor really do all those things?" her voice came faintly.
"Yes. That and more. The only thing we lack is proof."
"You and the Justice League," she looked up at me.
"Yeah. But the press conference was enough. It won't do much to hurt Luthor, but everyone will know the kind of man he is now. He won't be able to hide anymore."
"Hmm. I guess. I'm just imagining myself in that situation. Would I know I was a clone? Is someone I know a clone? What even is real anymore?"
"You are. We are."
"Really? How sure are you?"
"Pretty damn sure. If you were a clone, I would've found your original and rescued her. I'd still choose you though."
"Why?" she looked at me, incredulous.
"What do you mean why? I met you first," I said, not understanding where she was coming from.
She didn't respond for a while.
"This is gonna sound crazy and a bit unhinged, but I'm glad I hacked you."
"So am I," I smiled and kissed her hair. "So am I…"
.
.
.
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Infinity Island
June 27, 8:45
"So," I announced my presence in the room. "Find what you were looking for?"
Talia drew her gun faster than most marksmen on the planet and pointed it straight at my face.
"You," she said with such venom it made me wonder if I'd done her any wrong. "Of course it's you. I should've known."
Mike had completed the task of finding Nyssa with ease, and two days ago I had travelled to the island and slipped Talia a letter with the address and a brief explanation of things.
Using the nanites trackers she inhaled from the smoke bombs on the team's first visit to the island, I confirmed that she'd made contact with her sister and had her whole world view flipped upside down.
"Are you gonna put the gun down?" I closed the book I was reading and tossed it aside. "If I was here to hurt you, we wouldn't be talking."
She kept the gun up. "I'm sorry if I don't trust you… Spider. What is it you want?"
"Straight to business. Good," I uncrossed my legs, leaning off the desk. "I want one thing; to deprive The Light of the league and your father's support."
She narrowed her eyes. "You used me."
"I showed you the truth. And now you have a choice to make. I'm not leaving this island till I'm certain of my goal."
"So what, you want to disband the League of Assassins?"
"That was my original plan, yes. But I stumbled upon your sister and I realised I could get what I wanted with fewer steps, and less bloodshed."
"Less bloodshed," she said, releasing something between a huff and a chuckle while she lowered her gun. "You're just like him."
"Who?"
Completely ignoring my question, Talia pieced together my plan and explained it.
"Judging from the amount of knowledge you've displayed, knowledge you have no right possessing, you expected me to turn on my father. You knew I'd either usurp the position of Demon's Head like I've always wanted or go the other route and destroy his pride and joy. You're just here to make sure the league stays dead with him and to accomplish some other goal I'm not aware of."
Gently, I clapped my hands together. "Nicely done. I didn't expect any less. So what'll it be Ms. al Ghul?"
She rolled her eyes and turned, grabbing a suppressor from a secret weapon compartment. "You know the answer."
"Well, it's obvious. You love Batman too much to walk in your father's footsteps. Especially now that you know the kind of man he really is."
Not really caring about her thoughts on what I said, I headed straight for the door. "I'm going to find your father. There's something I need from him. Deal with the others and come find me in the Lazarus chamber."
I vanished after that and left the room. It didn't take me long to reach my quarry.
Gun drawn, I floated into Ra's al Ghul's meditation room/study through an open window and pointed the muzzle straight at his bare chest, green robes and thin golden chains hanging loosely over his arms.
"I know you're there."
'Doesn't change anything.'
I fired a round. It hit—his sword? I call bullshit. I pulled the trigger again and leaned to the side, catching the same sword he'd thrown at me by its golden hilt. Spider Sense tingled and I took a step back, holstering the gun.
The old monster's fist missed me by inches and I grabbed the offending arm. He struck me with the other one, but I tanked the hits and activated my latest and only cybernetic implants.
Potent electricity surged up my arms and into him. He spasmed in my grip, but I didn't let go till I was certain he was down for the count.
What a tough old man. I guess bathing in immortality juice for centuries would do that to you.
Giving his sword a glance and turning it over a few times, I stabbed it into the hardwood floor and hoisted the man himself over my shoulder.
Instead of going up this time, I descended the building, going into its bowels where the wondrous life-giving pit was located. Having already examined prior scans of the building, I knew what sealed door to look behind.
The heavy stone obstruction moved out of the way, and something that was part coffin and part sarcophagus was revealed.
'There you are.'
Boldly sauntering into the clean room and climbing down the stairs, I laid Ra's on the tiled floor and climbed the short steps at the end of the pit's stone container. I gave it a quick look to determine how it was opened and lifted the portion at my end.
An unearthly emerald green bathed me at the legs. A smile threatened to split my face but I held on and threw the lid open, bathing not just me but the entire room in the light.
'A real life Lazarus Pit,' I thought to myself and stared into the almost boiling pool of luminescent fountain of life, a part of me feeling something I could best describe as reverence.
'Wow.'
I stared into it for a while, the sudden incessant chirp of Tech-Adapting leading to a momentary loss of focus.
Turns out a unique metal was part of the pit's composition, and the ability was reacting to it, giving me its properties and other possible uses.
Hmm… I didn't expect this. I already intended to test the water and even take some hefty samples, so this was a good surprise. However it wasn't the only reason I was here.
Ra's came into my mind and I looked at him. From my belt, I removed another Soulkiller device like the one I used on Faust, this one more refined and further perfected with the data we gathered from its use on him.
Just to take away any slight chance of him waking up, I shot my newest test subject with three sleep rounds and jammed the device into the back of his head.
It went to work and I opened the holoscreen above my watch to monitor the progress. Things progressed even more smoothly than before, and the brain damage was drastically lessened.
What we learned from the Cyberpunk data pad and Faust's test informed us that the gaps and rare alterations of certain memories stemmed from these damages.
The obvious question that came next was; what if we fixed the damage right as it occurred?
A smirk upon my lips, I looked up from the screen and stopped on the pit. The smirk made a rapid shift to a frown.
There was another Ra's al Ghul rising from the pit.
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