92 CHAPTER 86

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[David Lance POV]

I contacted Batman a few moments after Raven and I had left the CADMUS facility, telling him we needed to talk about something that required his immediate attention.

Batman replied immediately after to my message, telling me he would be at my location in fifteen minutes.

Once he arrived, I started explaining the situation and what I had found within CADMUS, as well as my theories about what CADMUS's purpose truly was in the great scheme of things, a fact that even with my so-called canon knowledge, I didn't know.

Batman listened to my theories, exchanging a few of his own before giving Roy a look.

He stared at him with a blank expression, analyzing Roy from top to bottom without saying a word. I could tell from the way his eyes moved that he knew from a simple glance as well as I did that this would not be an easy fight for anyone involved. 

But Batman, as grim as the situation looked from every angle, I knew that Batman was nothing if not determined.

"We need to start making some countermeasures to deal with the Light," Batman said, his voice cold and analytical, carrying deep tones that echoed in the stillness of the room. "They probably already know we know about them, or at least suspect that we are about to figure out there's someone behind the curtain."

I nodded as Batman continued.

He seemed to be judging each word before he spoke, weighing its worth before he let them out, carefully picking each and every single one of them, giving them a sharp edge of sorts. There was no warmth in his voice, on his expression, nothing, just a mask with no emotion. It was like listening to a machine. But beneath the cold facade, I could see something else; I could see that there was a hint of something he was trying to keep in control, a hint of worry.

~The files Desmond had about the Light were very loose, lacking in any substantial data about them, so it safe to assume he doesn't know who they are,~ I replied, giving him an USB carrying a copy of the data I had stolen from CADMUS. ~Be that as it may, we can draw our own conclusions based on the data, and other factors at hand, which gives us a rough idea of who is behind this organization.~

Batman nodded.

~Lex Luthor and Ra's al Ghul are two that come to mind, as they both have the power and resources to back this operation in their own ways,~ I added, taking a seat on a chair that was two feet away from Roy's bed. I knew of Ra's al Ghul and Luthor's roles in the light because I had remembered bits of the light, bits connected to Roy's role in this entire situation. 

Unfortunately, anything else was blurry at best, leaving me to figure out the rest. Or try and remember, but seeing as my last memory was unlocked by what was a clear trigger, it was best to focus on investigating.

"I agree. Of all the villains we know, they both fit the profile needed to be part of a secret organization of this magnitude perfectly," Batman replied with a slow nod, his voice carrying a tone of analytical detachment. 

I nodded. ~It also gives much light into Superboy's situation, as we both know Lex has an unhealthy fixation with Superman, one that is only matched in intensity by the Joker with you.~

"The files you downloaded from CADMUS, did they contain anything about Superboy?" Batman asked, his eyes cold and hard, like blocks of ice.

I nodded. ~I hadn't had the time to go through the information very thoroughly, but I did find a thing or two about Superboy.~ At this, I took a brief moment to breathe. ~He's the closest thing to a perfect clone they managed to make from Superman's DNA. Based on the files, Kryptonian DNA proved to be rather unstable during their work in all meanings of the word and being next to impossible to fully decode, with this resulting in unstable results in clones.~

Batman said nothing, so I continued.

~At first, the clones would… break down, going through a process of cellular deterioration that always ended in a graphic pool of liquid,~ I said, remembering the images I had found and how graphic they had been. ~Eventually, they managed to work past that, creating their first successful clone, Match, or so they thought. While Match was undoubtedly more stable than other attempts from a cellular point of view, the project was still a failure, with Kryptonian DNA proving once again too difficult to replicate.~

"They tried to make a clone with an imperfect DNA sequence, making the result… uncontrollable." Batman replied, taking a deep long breath. "Match's name is probably the best tell we have that Luthor is part of this. Knowing Luthor, he probably named the clone Match as a play of words over his desire of Superman meeting his match."

I nodded. ~You are right on both accounts, but uncontrollable is not the adjective I would use to describe Match.~ I sighed, remembering my fight with the Kryptonian. ~Match's behavior is feral, more so than most wild animals, his aggression and behavior being without provocation. Based on Raven's scan of his mind, he's nothing but pure rage, leaving him unable to form words or any type of coherent thoughts for that matter; this thankfully made dealing with him a whole lot easier.~

"Without knowledge, skill cannot be focused. Without skill, strength cannot be brought to bear, and without strength, knowledge may not be applied," Batman replied with a sigh.

~Exactly,~ I nodded. ~Now, onto your original question, Superboy is their following attempt, and their successful one at that, to a certain degree. In order to make their clone more stable, they decided the best path to take was to mix what they had managed to uncover from the Kryptnonian DNA sequence with a DNA sequence they knew perfectly in comparison; human DNA. This made the result one that they could work with; however, while Superboy was undoubtedly the best they had created, he was still a failed product in their eyes.~

"I see. Chances are they used human DNA to balance out the traits they couldn't otherwise," Batman stated.

I nodded once again. ~Yes, but by using that, they lost a few characteristics they wanted to retain, with Superboy lacking the entire Kryptonian package, so to speak, as well as having his existing power being considerably inferior to those of Superman.~

"He might not share all of Superman's weaknesses," Batman said, narrowing his eyes. "His human DNA could have filtered some of Superman's Kryptonian weaknesses."

~His files say he's affected by them, but to a lesser degree, one that doesn't compensate for the lack of power, as even without being a full Kryptonian, continuous exposure to kryptonite will weaken him and kill him; it will just take longer than it would with Superman, but not enough to be considered a benefit in their eyes.~ I replied.

"What did you do with Match?" Batman asked.

~We put him back on a pod,~ I answered, cracking my fingers as I leaned forward. ~I sent Raven to retrieve him a few moments ago. She will use her magic to keep him sleeping until we allocate the space for him.~

Batman nodded, pleased with my answer. "Good, leaving him there would've complicated things in the long run. As feral as he is, he can still cause a lot of damage if used correctly, so it is best to take him from them, no matter how much of a loose cannon he is."

I wholeheartedly agreed with that sentiment, which is why I had sent Raven to retrieve him.

~What do you propose we do from this point forward?~ I asked after a moment of silence between us, taking a deep breath.

"For now, we need to analyze all the data you collected; from there, we need to move carefully," Batman answered, giving Roy a look. "This is a war that we will have to fight alone, without the League's help, until we have more information."

~We need Martian Manhunter to help us with this. I haven't found anything about this, but I'm pretty sure both clones have trigger words implanted within their mind,~ I replied. While I agreed we needed to keep this under the table until we had more to move on, we still needed to deal with the Light's programming on both clones, and Martian Manhunter was quite possibly the best candidate to fill such a task.~

"Can Raven clear mental programming?" Batman asked, and I paused for a moment.

~I haven't asked her but seems confident in her psychic abilities, so probably,~ I replied with a thoughtful look. I had honestly forgotten about asking her that, which now seemed like a good idea, all things considered.

"Ask her and let me know if she can. If she happens to be able to do so, we will refrain from extending this knowledge outside this circle," Batman said. "As for clearing the clones' programming, we won't do that… for now, I will first study their behavior closely in order to figure out what the Light truly wants."

I nodded. ~Very well.~

"I will take Roy with me to the Batcave's secret level, where Alfred and I will treat his condition until he wakes up," Batman stated, giving Roy another look.

~A room Robin doesn't know of?~ I asked for clarification.

Batman nodded.

~Good,~ I nodded. While Robin was good at keeping secrets, it was like Batman said, it was better to keep this knowledge between just us so far.