Chapter 24: Breaking Point 1

AN: These chapters will be a bit confusing, but everything will be explained in later chapters. I strongly recommend that you check the dates, since not everything happens at the same time. 

Edgar will not be in these chapters, because these are chapters where I will take advantage to advance what is coming in this new arc, and give prominence to secondary characters that will be important in the future. 

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"talking"

'thinking'

<ROBOTIC VOICE>

"Foreign language"

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Cameroon, August 2, 09:27, 2016 (1 year, 2 months, 28 days, since the fight)

"🎵Cause you make me feel like I've been locked out of heaven

For too long, for too long

Yeah, you make me feel like I've been locked out of heaven

For too long, for too long, oh-oh, oh-oh-oh🎵"

In the kitchen of a small, cozy house, music was coming from a small radio.

A beautiful woman with mocha skin and short black hair, was cooking while humming and singing the song, swaying her beautiful hips to the music. She was Marie Jiwe, or formerly known to the world as Vixen.

Eggs, chopped vegetables, salt and other ingredients were on display, as Marie prepared a tasty breakfast. Tasting the food she said.

"It lacks salt"

However, before she got ready to salt the food, a large, strong black-skinned arms embraced her from behind, preventing her from moving. However, Marie didn't panic or react badly to this, she just smiled at these actions.

"I see you're awake already, did you sleep well?"

"Very well, thanks to you" Victor replied with a smile.

However, there was something strange about the appearance of Victor Stone, formerly Cyborg. His robotic appearance was no longer visible.

The skin on his face looked completely normal, his arms and body also had no robotic parts. Right now, he looked like any normal human who didn't have an accident and become half machine-half human.

Was this all a dream? The answer is a resounding NO.

The explanation was, in fact, very simple. After the events of his father's death, and after the fight the League had against that... monster, or Ghost Rider, as people were willing to call him popularly on the internet, he was finally approached by his father's lawyers.

Apparently his father had been preparing everything for a long time in case one day he died and Victor was left alone. Not only did he leave him a fairly substantial fortune, thanks to good investments and all the money he earned from awards he won in recognition of his inventions, patents and so on, but he also left him a gift that made Victor cry with emotion. Even in the afterlife, his father cared for him.

This gift was a separate project that Silas Stone himself worked on in his spare time. No one financed it, it was all his, and it was clearly a secret for Victor.

This project was organic nanobots, which will allow him to adapt with Cyborg's robotic skin, and simulate normal skin, making him more human. Unfortunately he could not finish the project before his death, as he wanted to give it as a gift to Victor, which he never could. But, in his inheritance he had left everything to Victor, including the unfinished project.

After the fight with the Ghost Rider, Victor felt humiliated, but also intrigued.

He had previously thought that the Motherbox was a very useful tool, which was at his disposal. But thanks to the fight, he realized that he had no knowledge of said machine. He didn't know its origins, he didn't know its power, he didn't know what it was capable of doing.

After the fight, something changed, and, as if a plug was pulled, the Motherbox began to be more communicative with Victor. It gave him instructions for Victor to improve, not only in cybernetic skills or power, but also in combat and other disciplines he had ignored before. There he realized that this was not a mere tool. This thing had a conscience, and it was very powerful.

Unfortunately, the Motherbox couldn't tell him much either because it had many security protocols that prevented Victor from learning too much. Everything had to be gradual. Victor had to improve little by little on his own in order to learn more and more of his powers.

Thanks to the improved connection to the Motherbox, Victor was able to complete his father's project in less than 3 months. He could finally become 'human' again.

Not only that, but, if he wanted to, he could return to his robot form, and even had improvements to his body, which made him more powerful. In fact, in his right eye, which looked quite normal, if you looked closely, you could see an electrical circuit inside his iris, indicating that it was actually a robotic eye and the central battery of Victor's electronic component.

(AN: Many thought it was odd that his battery was in his eye, and maybe I misunderstood when I write it. Rather, the main circuits that connect Victor's brain to the Motherbox network go through that eye. If they are disconnected, practically the Motherbox can no longer control Victor's body, nor give him energy)

Victor awoke to find Marie dancing and cooking. He appreciated the spectacle for a couple of minutes and then set out to interrupt his beloved.

They had decided to live together months ago, and everything was going quite well up to this point. Then with his hand, he touched the food and said.

"It lacks salt"

"mmm, I would have put it in, if you had let me move"

"Well, you like it when I hold you"

"I won't deny it, it feels pretty good" Marie lightly tapped Victor's arms and pulled herself out of his embrace "But I must finish cooking. Make the table, food will be ready soon"

"Right"

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Marie and Victor were lying in bed, cuddled together, watching TV. Victor didn't even use a remote control to change channels, the channels changed by themselves, only a red color flashed in Victor's right eye, every time the channel changed.

He had improved his power so much that he could now connect to everything electronic in the house, allowing him to control it easily. Before, he could do that, but he didn't control it as well as now or it took more concentration. Now it was like second nature to him.

Out of nowhere, he stopped changing the channel when a robotic voice rang in his head, causing him to stiffen for a brief moment.

<PIP, 1 30 PIP. DETECTION OF HUMAN SIGNATURES WITHIN KILOMETER HERE>

Marie, noticing her beloved's behavior, asked.

"How many?"

"30"

"mmm, he sent more today" Marie stood up and started stretching her arms and legs, as if she was about to do an exhaustive exercise "leave it to me, you are always so merciful. They need to learn their lesson"

"They're all yours, honey" Victor smiled slightly, and simply let Marie take over. All he could think about was what a big mistake those men had made, to confront his woman.

Marie came out of the house. There, it could see that this cozy house was not really in any urban city, far from it.

On the contrary, all that could be seen were trees, large bushes and green earth, indicating that they were in the middle of the jungle.

Marie kept stretching, thundering her hands and neck in the process. Then she started counting backwards

'3...2...1' when she said 1, many people came out of the big bushes with machetes, some even had guns. But Marie was not alarmed by the sight, she just looked bored at the situation. When everyone came out of the bushes, Marie said in her native language.

"You still have time to go back. Just tell your boss not to bother us anymore and we'll live quietly without bothering each other, what do you say?"

"My boss wants his territory back. Or at least be paid a fee to live on his land"

"These are not his lands. This belongs to the Jiwe clan. MY CLAN. You have no right to ask me for anything"

"A dead clan, long gone. Let's not argue anymore, it's useless" then the leader turned to look at his comrades and said. "Kill her"

'They never learn'

Marie simply touched her necklace and a spiritual rhino and tiger manifested. As they prepared to attack, she moved. Bullets and screams rang out all over the place. However, Victor, who was watching television, was not interested in this, nor did he care.

He was not the only one who had improved over this time. Marie had also improved her abilities. She could now combine up to 5 spirit animals. However, the compatibility of the animal, as well as the element, greatly influenced the combination.

Example: if she was in water, and used the speed of the cheetah and the strength of the elephant, it would not work at all, as the cheetah and elephant are land animals. Instead, She would have to look for aquatic animals. It also influenced whether it was in salty or fresh sea, because even aquatic animals did not move equally from one environment to another.

Another thing would be the compatibility of the animal. She could combine the strength of a bear with the camouflage of a chameleon, but they would have little compatibility. On the other hand, the compatibility would be high if she combined the camouflage of a chameleon with the agility of a cat, since these abilities are based more on stealth.

The truth is that Marie had learned that her totem was connected to the lifeline. Something that connected every animal to the planet itself.

She thinks that, if she connected to the lifeline, she could use unlimitedly any ability. But that was a theory she had. In practice, she had not yet been able to make any breakthroughs.

In short, Marie's abilities had improved, and Victor knew that no matter the numbers, she could handle them easily. The screams of pain outside confirmed it.

Victor stopped monitoring his beloved and turned his attention to watching television. A report was being broadcast on the news.

"The Liberation Front did it again. A dam break in Star City, which could have ended in the worst way for the people of the city, was stopped by none other than the members of the Liberation Front, White Snow, and Superman, who used their skills to freeze the water before it reached the city. At this moment, Superman is doing evacuation work, in order to better resolve the situation and avoid further damage to the city and its inhabitants. Oh, let me see if I can get an interview"

The reporter walked over to where Superman was trying to get the inhabitants to safety. There were many soldiers dressed in a special black suit and masks. On their suit was an embroidery with a raised fist. This was the emblem of the liberation front. The reporter who had arrived with Superman asked him.

"Mr. Superman, may I ask you a few questions?"

Superman turned around and with a big smile on his face, said.

"Sure. I'd be happy to answer your questions. But make it quick, we have to get on with the evacuation work"

"Sure, Mr. Superman... cough, cough" coughing to clear his throat the reporter continued. "Superman, what are your opinions regarding this matter?"

"Unfortunate. Unfortunately no one foresaw the dam breaking. Such events are always unexpected, but I think we moved in time. Good thing we have trained to fight such disasters and were efficient in the process. Also, it has to be said, the Liberation Front will pay for property damage, if any"

"That's great...lastly, not to waste any more of your valuable time. If you could say something to the former League members, who did not accept the invitation and are watching this, what would you want to say to them?" At this, Superman's cheerful demeanor changed to one of sadness, his eyes showing only longing and remorse.

"That I miss them very much and that I hope they will accept the invitation. The Liberation Front is always ready to welcome you with open arms. We are doing a lot of good, something that, unfortunately, for different issues, we were not able to accomplish with the Justice League"

Cyborg turned off the TV when Superman mentioned this.

'What hypocrites. The League was doing the same thing as that Liberation Front. We acted the same and they never congratulated us, they just pointed fingers at us' Cyborg thought angrily.

Marie, who had just returned from giving those men a painful lesson, saw Victor's expression and asked worriedly.

"What happened, honey?"

Cyborg just sighed and said.

"Liberation front"

"Those hypocrites? We said we weren't going to see news anymore because of that very thing"

"I know, I just looked at it for a moment. But now I'm already angry"

"Well, let's get rid of that bad mood with a sparring match, what do you say?"

"Perfect" Victor smiled slightly. Despite his improvements, Victor was pretty evenly matched with Marie in combat. One might even say she was better, since she didn't have the Motherbox helping her. That's how good she was.

They both went out to do their combat training. This they did regularly, and they got better and better, day by day.

Sometimes Victor wondered why they were still training. They no longer had any obligation to society. After all...

The Justice League no longer existed.

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Victor was quietly organizing some documents on his computer. These were writings and records that his father had left behind of the information gathered from the Motherbox.

It has to be said, the Motherbox actually gave Victor some of its power. If that's how powerful he was with a part of its power, just imagining what such a machine did completely, was a great mystery to him.

He was gathering everything he could. He could only find out that such a machine went back to the time of the Big Bang or perhaps earlier. And he was 95% sure that the machine contained the knowledge of the entire universe. How this happened remained a mystery.

These records were for two reasons. To fully know his power and to understand why he chose him.

Ultimately, he realized one thing. This machine had a conscience, and, therefore, it selected him, saving him and transferring part of its power to him. If it had not wanted to, it would not have saved him that day from the invasion. This was the great mystery to Victor, but he hadn't made much progress on that.

Out of nowhere, the Motherbox's voice broke into his actions again. But what it said to him, made Victor switch to a demeanor of pure rage.

<PIP, PIP. PRESENCES DETECTED WITHIN ONE KILOMETER. KNOWN SIGNATURES DETECTED. IT'S HIM...>

Victor abruptly stood up.

The computer, which before was full of documents, and information, at this moment had nothing on it. Victor stored everything in his head, he could transmit what to show and what not to show in the computer, that's how much his power had advanced.

Then, his body, which looked normal, began to change, becoming completely black, with purple lines. His right eye, which was brown before, now glowed bright red.

At this point, Victor, had gone into combat mode. And it's all because of what the Motherbox said. It was all because he was coming...

He is the cause of everything. That the League no longer exists. That they had to run and hide. And the one who, at this moment Victor hated the most.

Leaving his home, Victor loaded his weapons. Two small lasers, manifested from his hands. These were small compared to the ones he always made, but make no mistake, their power was equal to that of a fighter jet missile. It could easily pulverize the entire house if he wanted to.

Approaching the house, movement began to be noticed in the large, leafy bushes. Victor had a serious look on his face as he waited, even hatred in his eyes.

A figure stepped quietly out of the bushes. Its hands were raised in surrender, but Victor simply took aim, and began to load his guns. As soon as the figure did anything unusual, he would fire. Victor angrily said to the figure.

"You've got a lot of nerve coming here...Batman"

Batman stood with his hands raised in surrender. His demeanor was serious as always. He showed no signs of fear or concern at having his former League partner pointing his lasers at him.

"I've come to ask for your help"

"Ha, you fucking bastard, you dare to come to my home, after all you did, and ask me for help. Only you would be able to do that. Now turn around, and leave and don't come back, or I'll shoot and turn you to ashes"

"Cyborg, we are in a critical situation-"

"I AM NO LONGER CYBORG" Cyborg didn't let him speak as his rage came out. "I'm not anymore, since YOU, allowed the League to disband. It was YOUR fault that we were branded as criminals. Also, the worst part. YOU knew who my father's killer was, the real culprits... and you said NOTHING" Cyborg simply made a totally defeated face "Because of YOU, Marie and I have had to hide in this place away from everyone, hiding like cockroaches. It was all your fault, Batman"

Batman said nothing, just looked at Victor for a long time. Finally, he simply said

"...I'm sorry. I don't expect you to understand why I did what I did, but I had my reasons"

"Wrong answer, Bruce" Cyborg charged and prepared to fire his beam when a woman's voice interrupted him, as she frantically stepped out of the bushes.

"Wait, don't kill him. He's not the one who wants your help. I do"

"Lois Lane..." Victor was shocked at the image of the reporter. She looked rather battered. She was wearing office attire, but her suit was completely torn and dirty, she also had slight cuts on her arms and feet.

Clearly what had happened had not been pretty. Victor stopped aiming and focused instead on the wounded woman. Although part of his conscience never left Batman, as soon as he did something suspicious, Victor would charge. Batman waited for this, and did not move. He simply stood still, so as not to arouse suspicion in the cybernetic man.

"Then come in. I made tea, and... let's get new clothes too" Marie interrupted the conversation. She supported the battered Lois, as they entered the house.

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A tense atmosphere was felt in Victor's house. He and Batman were right in front each other. Victor was looking at him angrily and suspiciously, while Batman, simply sipped his tea, as if he didn't care about the situation at all.

Lois and Marie were doing better, as they chatted happily, catching up. Lois had taken a quick bath and changed into some comfortable clothes, which Marie had lent her. She no longer looked like a woman who had come in a total mess.

"Okay, talk" Victor cut off her chatter. It had been a long time, and they hadn't said anything.

Lois had a myriad of emotions passing over her face. In the end, she simply sighed and said.

"I came, because I need your help. Superman...isn't Superman"

"What?"

"I don't understand..."

Lois tried to think of the best way to explain, but Batman decided to interrupt.

"He's not the same Superman we know. Clark isn't the one with the suit on"

"I saw an interview recently. I see him the same way" Victor tried to protest. To him, he was still the same, only with a more hypocritical demeanor.

"Allow me, to show you" Batman pulled out a device, and project several images divided in two. In those images, Superman was seen making gestures, waving, smiling, talking, flying. In both pictures he was making the same gestures, there was only one big difference.

In one photo Superman's costume was his classic blue suit, in the other it was black, and on his arm, the symbol of the liberation front was embroidered.

"I made this algorithm that identifies a person's body patterns and facial patterns, with pinpoint accuracy. I've been collecting various images of Superman over the course of these couple of months. And I ran them through this algorithm. Here are the results"

[Facial recognition: 99.88%]

[Body recognition: 99.75%]

"Mmm, very similar, isn't it?" Marie ask hesitantly. She didn't understand the technology, it was almost a 100. That was good enough for her. But Victor, who did understand the technology, and the algorithm, had a conflicted face.

"It's not 100. With any software, 99% would be good enough, but with this one... it should give 100. Tell us everything"

Lois began to relate.

"It all started a long time ago. The first few months, Clark started training like crazy. I understood because he had suffered a big defeat, but otherwise he was still the same Clark. But everything changed, when the League disbanded and he joined the Liberation Front. He just started to change. It wasn't much, his voice was the same, his face the same, but his gestures, his behavior... they were not the same.

You may not understand, but I've known Clark since before he became Superman. He started out as a reporter under my command. He was awkward, shy, the opposite of the hero Superman, but that's how I started to fall in love with him. However, when I started living with him, I realized that he was like a soldier...how do I explain it...he got used to waking up early, going to the bathroom at certain times, making certain gestures, all derived from where he lived, in Smallville. To change those behaviors so abruptly, set off alarm bells in my head. I started to investigate, along with everything on the Liberation Front, while pretending that everything was normal and I didn't notice. But I was careless and he noticed and wanted to capture me. Batman helped me get away. And that's how we came here"

Marie and Victor looked at each other. An unspoken agreement was brewing inside them. At last Victor, looked solemnly at Batman.

"Fine, but if you want our help, you need to tell us everything Batman. The why you did what you did. Who the culprits are. Everything you know. And I mean EVERYTHING"

"...Sure"

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Siberia, Russia, June 20, 19:37, 2016

Inside a subway facility. A large containment chamber could be seen in such a place. In said chamber, stood a man dressed in a white suit. He looked completely gaunt, and pale.

This was Clark Kent. He was currently trapped in a chamber that had a light that simulated a red sun. He, had been captured by his greatest weakness, kryptonite, and then put in this chamber, making him human or perhaps, even weaker than an average human. How they had discovered that he was weak to the red sun and kryptonite was a great mystery to him.

Loud echoing sounds of metal doors opening were heard by him. When they finally stopped being heard, two men arrived just in front of Clark's containment chamber.

Both men were bald. One wore a rather expensive and elegant suit, and the other a lab coat. There was also something odd about the man in the lab coat, for his left eye glowed blue. These were Lex Luthor and Dr. Sivana, both executive members of The Light.

Lex turned to the doctor.

"Doctor, how is the investigation going?"

"We still can't figure out the fit of the Kryptonian DNA with the other samples. We've tried everything, normal human, meta-human, Atlantean, homo-magi, none of them match. They always reject each other. The one with the best compatibility is the normal human, with 38% compatibility. But it is still very low. There seems to be something missing, but we can't find out what"

"mmm, keep researching. There is still time. The master tells us that there is about 1 year and 6 months left before such a weapon is needed. But still, even if there is time, that's not to say we should be complacent"

"I understand Lex. Do you know anything about my request?"

"The Rock of Eternity, it still hasn't been found. I'm sorry. Do you think it's the key to this?"

"I don't know. But studying it, it will give us a lot of answers" Sivana had a look of complete desire on his face. Just imagining investigating such a stone, left by the gods, gave him such a longing.

"We'll keep investigating and we'll tell you everything. In the meantime, have someone take more samples" Lex requested. From the same doors, several scientists in lab coats came in, with syringes that had a dark green color.

These were syringes made of kryptonite. Although the red sun eliminated Superman's powers, they were still cautious with the prisoner and used the kryptonite to cut his skin.

Opening the doors, they set out to draw blood from the prisoner, but Clark, who was lying there, moved.

He quickly tried to immobilize the scientists. He threw several punches and incapacitated several of them. But a strong kick sent him rolling. Then when he was about to get up and attack again, a strong punch almost left him unconscious. Blood started coming out of his mouth due to this blow. The cause was Lex Luthor, who moved quickly.

Lex stepped on his neck, preventing him from moving and breathing.

"Come on, quick, draw blood"

The scientists, cautious, did as he asked and took several vials of samples. Then, Lex released him, which caused Clark to start coughing frantically.

"A God, crushed by the sole of my shoe" Lex smiled gleefully. Walking out of the cell, this one turned to Dr. Sivana, who was watching the show with a maniacal grin.

"I expect to see significant progress whit the next visit, doctor"

"Certainly, Lex"

Clark stood there, defeated.

When the scientists left, he got up and started doing push-ups. He felt very weak doing it, but he realized something. Maybe the red light was weakening him, but if he exercised, each time, the weakness was less and less. He didn't know why that was, but he didn't look any further into the matter. He needed to escape at any cost.

'Mother... Lois, I'm coming'

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AN: If there are a lot of power stones, I will upload the following chap next Sunday