Chapter 18: Unleashed.

More Advance chapters on P@treon.com/Saintbarbido.

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(Jon's P.O.V.)

I'm an idiot.

We should never have allowed Desmond onto the Rail Car with us. I can't even blame Kid. He had no idea of the risks involved.

But I did.

I should have anticipated that the Scientist had a plan. I mean, Luthor would skin him alive then roast him above a bonfire for losing Project Kr.

That Signal was Desmond's final card. A play to ensure we wouldn't escape.

And now we were in a mess, I had to somehow get us out of.

The cold wind howled through the industrial junkyard, sharp with the scent of rust and decay.

I stood in the center of the sprawling scrapyard, my boots sinking into the loose debris beneath me, spread wide for a stable stance, like Batman had instructed.

Overhead, storm clouds churned, thick and malevolent, casting everything in shadow.

Thunder rumbled in the distance, each crash feeding the tension that coiled tighter inside me.

I narrowed my gaze.

The weather had changed too drastically. As if paying homage to 'her.'

Raven hovered in the air, shrouded in a dark aura that pulsed with power.

Her eyes, black as night, were filled with a swirling abyss, the kind that could tear apart everything around her.

Looking into them, brought a sensation of falling into a void, so I focused below her.

Where my clone stood rigid, his expression twisted with rage.

I could see the way his muscles twitched within the white bodysuit. Taut with tension and barely contained fury.

If Raven was a cold darkness, Superboy 2.0, was hot inferno of fury.

And the worst part—his gaze was locked on me, not with recognition, but with a murderous intent that made my skin crawl.

I'd never seen my face so...so twisted with hate.

My instincts also registered him as more dangerous now, than before. And with Raven by his side, this became a battle I COULDN'T win.

"Any advice for me, Grandpa?"

I whispered, stroking the crystal pendant.

"Run."

He stated.

"The blood scan of the clone shows an almost similar number of Kryptonian cells as you, Jon. And the girl is emiting a field of negative positrons. Fighting her will drain your powers. You cannot win. As an old friend of mine would say, the only tactical choice is retreat."

I bet he's talking about General Zod. And while running would be the smart and CORRECT option...

I threw a sideglance at my fallen teammates—Aqualad, Kid Flash, Robin. They were scattered across the scrapheap, unconscious but alive.

My hearing told me they were breathing, but shallowly.

...fighting was the RIGHT one.

"I'll stall. Keep them busy until the team wakes up or the League arrives."

I decided and could hear the sigh from Grandpa Jor-el.

"You may not be like him, but you really are his boy. Good luck Grandson."

That gave me a small amount of confidence, but it wasn't enough.

Not when I was the only thing standing between my friends and two Cadmus weapons Desmond had twisted into vengeful storms.

How do you stall a force of nature?

"Ah, before you attack and make a horrible mistake...hear me out."

I called out, slowly raising my hands.

They made no reaction but I could tell the Clone was ready to spring out at any time.

This is bad. Really bad. But...

I swallowed hard, focusing on what I knew of Raven.

Right now she was a dark angel of destruction, the power surrounding her body shrouding it like black smokey wings.

Whatever Cadmus had done to her made it clear that this wasn't the Raven I sorta knew.

They called her "Project Dark Energy." Maybe there was a clue there?

And then there was Superboy.

I'd seen it coming, the struggle to adjust to being a clone had prepared me for conflicts to happen but not like this. So soon.

Desmond's had replaced the Genemorph whispering in his mind, warping him into this feral thing standing before me.

"Superboy!"

I shouted, keeping my voice steady despite the fear curling in my gut. "It's me—your brother. You need to fight this!"

Nothing. His eyes narrowed with a dangerous glint.

No good. I clenched my fists, trying to think fast.

Superboy, I could take down if it came to it, but the real problem was her. Raven- I wanted to avoid fighting at all costs.

In her current state, let alone the team and I, the whole city would be at risk if she totally lost control of her Demon side.

The wind picked up again, Raven's dark energy pulsing outward. The ground trembled beneath me, and the sky seemed to darken even more, if that was possible.

I took a step forward, trying to keep calm.

My eyes found hers and I stubbornly held the gaze.

"Raven, I don't know you that well, but you don't seem like a bad person. What I do know, is the power you possess can only be possessed by a strong mind. Cadmus tried to corrupt it, to corrupt you! Don't you feel angry??! Furious enough to break the chain they have on you??! Do you want to be their slave?!! Where is your WILL?!"

Her gaze flickered for a second—just a second. But then the darkness surged back, stronger, and her aura intensified. Damn it.

Superboy growled, deep and guttural, before launching himself at me.

He was fast—faster than I thought—but I managed to sidestep, barely avoiding his fist aimed at my head.

I brought my elbow down on his back, knocking him into a pile of rusted metal. But it didn't slow him down.

He was up in a second, shaking off the debris as he lunged again, his eyes wild.

80% of my attention still on Raven, I braced myself, using every bit of strength I had to meet the Clone's attack head-on.

Our fists collided with a deafening crash, the impact sending waves through the scrapyard. Metal scraps flew in every direction.

"Snap out of it!"

I growled, pushing back against his strength. But he wasn't listening. If anything, he seemed to get even angrier.

Superboy 2 roared, overpowering me, pushing me back as my feet scraped against the ground.

I barely managed to pivot as he brushed by. Using his momentum to throw him off balance and send him crashing into another heap of machinery.

I glanced at Raven. Her hands were raised, dark tendrils of energy twisting through the air.

The ground cratered beneath her as her power grew more chaotic. I needed to end this, now.

(General P.O.V)

Jon's heat vision flickered, and he focused it just above Superboy's head.

The burst of red energy cut through the air, forcing Superboy to duck, giving Jon the moment to blur forward and drive a solid punch into his midsection.

The impact produced an air shock that escaped from the Clone's back.

Superboy 2 stumbled backward, face twisted in surprised pain, before he keeled over, unconscious.

"Sorry bro."

Jon muttered softly, standing above him with a smoking fist. He'd put all his considerable strength into the blow, ensuring that the clone would stay down for a while.

Grim, he turned away.

Raven was the real danger.

The maelstrom of dark energy around her was unstable, lashing out in whips and scarring the scrapyard.

Seeing the risks, he streaked around the area in his fastest speeds, scooping up his teammates and the clone, and then carried them out of the scrapyard, stopping on a bench at the end of the street, where he laid them down.

Jon slapped Robin awake and the Boy Wonder groaned, groggily blinking up at him.

"K-kent what..."

"No time Rob. Call the Justice League while I deal with that!"

Jon ordered before rushing away, leaving a confused Robin behind.

That confusion ended when he caught site of the pillar of darkness above the buildings in the direction that Jon had taken.

Jon's feet skidded on the ground as he slowed his momentum before Raven.

The air in the scrapyard was now thick and heavy with her magic- a storm of dark energy towering to the sky. Jon could feel the weight pressing down on him, suffocating.

There goes his plan to blitz her with his speed.

"Raven!"

He shouted, desperation creeping into his voice, as he tried to reason with her again.

"You have to stop this!"

A whisper floated back to him, carried on the wind.

"I… can't…"

Despite the distance, Jon saw the conflicted expression on her beautiful face.

He noticed the struggle—the cracks in her darkness as she fought against the control chaining her.

And a part of him echoed back. The part of him that pushed against the whispers to use his powers selfishly. This was his second chance, shouldn't he live out the fantasies he'd always wanted? What did it matter if he hurt a few people in the process? They were not even real...

"Fuck that!"

Jon roared with heat.

"You can! Fight Raven Fight! Take back your life!"

Her dark eyes blinked in surprise.

"I..."

But whatever Cadmus had done, it was too much. Her power was raw, uncontrollable.

"Aaahh!!!"

Raven screamed and a dark whip lashed out towards Jon who shot his heat vision at it.

Thwack!

Jon felt the impact on his torso, throwing him away to tear through the chain fence around the yard.

Breathing hard and rubbing the spot, he got to his feet on the sidewalk, staring at her form and the dozens of dark whips waving around her.

Jor-el was right, his powers had no effect on her magic. The dark whip had absorbed his heat vision.

"Jon, let the League handle this."

Jor-el advised.

"I won't let Cadmus win!"

Jon refused, a fierce determination settling over him.

"I'll save her. I'll find a way, I swear it!"

With one last breath, Jon surged forward, flying through the hole in the fence, charging directly toward Raven and the shroud of darkness around her, which resembled a bird- The Rave .

The whips of dark energy lashed and clawed at him, slowing his approach as he evaded them.

"STAY AWAY!!"

Raven screamed, pulsing with tides of power that repulsed everything- stopping him from reaching her.

Gritting his teeth, Jon pressed on, his body shaking with effort as the darkness reached his powers.

His bio-electric aura fully deployed, weakly attempting to shield him but this depleted his stamina even more.

Every inch he gained, drained him to the point he wouldn't be capable of flight in a few more seconds.

'If the Dark Energy she's emiting is full of negative particles...then, what if I match it with some positive ones.'

He thought of an idea.

That meant overcharging his cells with solar radiation. Just like he he'd done to beat Starro.

But afterwards, Jor-el had called him suicidal and insane. Even a full blooded Kryptonian couldn't handle the risks of cellular degradation. Jon had been lucky to survive.

'Don't have a choice. I'll save you.'

Jon promised himself, turning the base of his pendant and activating the Solar Infusion.

An explosion of light erupted outward, pushing against the encroaching darkness.

Raven's Dark Energy greedily started leeching, devouring the solar radiation unceasingly and dimming the light.

Seeing the light cloaking his body diminish, Jon despaired.

'No...its not enough! I need more!!'

The despair morphed into stubborn resolve and with a yell, he pulled everything out of the crystal pendant and when that failed against the darkness, Jon turned to himself and pulled.

His solar reserves, spirit, lifeforce, aura, soul...he didn't care.

Everything he had, he fed into the flickering flames of light.

It still came short. And the darkness seemed to have formed a sphere around his frail body, the skin pale and flesh shrunken.

'I...I can't give up.'

"YOU DON'T HAVE A CHOICE, LITTLE MORTAL."

The darkness whispered, reading his thoughts.

'Who- What are you...?'

Jon questioned, falling into the pull, incapable of resisting.

All that answered him was ominous laughter.

'G-guess I should have run...like Grandpa said...'

Jon thought, his gaze staring up at an expressionless Raven, dark tears falling down her pale cheeks.

'She's crying...'

And for some reason, that made him mad.

'I promised I'd save her.'

His chest thrummed with a powerful beat that echoed outward and INWARD.

'I...I can't Fail! I REFUSE!'

Deep within him, something answered his echoes of need, of his WILL to Fight.

A fire surged through him, exploding with a force that incinerated the dark energy, obliterated the sphere and formed a pillar of true white light, like a beam of starlight piercing across the void of space to shine a ray of hope.

The darkness coiled around Raven like a serpent, hissing at him, hissing at the Godling reeking of Light Magic, an anti-thesis to Dark Magic.

In the air, floating with no assistance from his Kryptonian powers, draped in a shroud of white, stars glowing in his eyes, Jon raised his hand and pointed at the Darkness.

"BEGONE."

The serpent's dark energy surged, violent and wild, as it struggled against the chains of light clamping and piercing into it's form until, it was consumed and the light exploded pushing away the storm of darkness.

A part of the Dark Energy, now more purple than black and shaped like a Raven returned to her body.

She begun falling.

Then stopped.

Raven opened her eyes, widening in surprise at the warm arms wrapped tightly around her.

Arms which belonged to a smiling boy, gazing at her in care and relief.

"You're not alone anymore."

He whispered, his voice steady.

"I'm here."