Chapter 47 : Confronting N.O.W.H.E.R.E.
[Author note : If you want more, look for Cathbel on the Patréon website (e instead of é). Enjoy !]
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To be honest, Ned was not expecting Mel and Winston to come fight N.O.W.H.E.R.E. with him. It hadn't been in his plans… Well, truth be told, when he dons the armor these days, there's not much thinking involved. He doesn't know if it's because of the protective enchantments, the firepower it held or some other reason but… he kind of becomes a muscle-head once he puts it on. And that's not good. Actually, the reason why he's delved into studying the brain at first was precisely because of this. Ned had noticed how he became absentminded and stupid in some instances. It took some time before he made the connections between those moments and the armor.
At first, he thought it was just his mind playing tricks on him because he worked too hard. He didn't sleep enough or some other nonsense. Like he had time to waste by sleeping ! It was only later that Mel pointed it out to him… Being his first child, she obviously knew him better than most. Probably even better than his sister or his parents… It was really no surprise that she was the one to notice it.
And so, this renewed his interest in the field of Neurology in order for him to diagnose what was wrong with himself… Or his armors. Ned wasn't actually sure where the problem lied. Was it something to do with too much magic used by someone who shouldn't be able to use it at all, or another reason altogether… Was it a defect he never noticed in he creations ?
Walking out of the secret base in the white-covered landscape, Ned glanced at his children, wondering if they, too, had troubles like his own. He never saw anything of the sort, but then again, as life kept proving to him, he was not infallible. And that was doubly true when he put on the armor.
It was a wonder, really… Ned was proud of his intellect, not unlike his namesake from the Marvel universe in this instance. However, when he discovered a debilitating flaw, instead of shelving his creation until he found out why it acted the way it did on him, he… Well, he basically shrugged it off. Sure, he was studying on the brain and doing maintenance and check-ups on the armor. The thing was… He was always studying something ! As for the maintenance and check-ups ? Well, it was like a car, or in this case, a spaceship. You routinely brought your car to some expert to determine whether or not it was safe to drive it or not. And although most people thought it was just another way for the country to squeeze tax dollar out of them, it was also an effective way to lower the number of accidents on the road. However, for things like spaceships, those reports are much more extensive, as well as happen more often. And since Ned's life depended on the armors, he could not shirk on it !
Besides… Nowadays, his tech-spirits were handling it all !
To himself, he thought while closing his eyes to prevent his thoughts to travel to his children :
Maybe that's the reason why there's a problem with it, actually ?
Unknowingly, this 'realization' was the start of a new problem. But, this story was for another time…
Focusing his attention back on their welcoming committee, Ned scanned the team of sci-fi black ops, with two very noticeable characters. The first one, he noticed because of the glowing red S symbol on his chest, with lines traveling from it through his whole bodysuit. It was form-fitting and black. Moreover, according to his scanner, it was made from an unknown synthetic product. Considering the man's age, however, it couldn't be Superman. And since Bizarro was originally supposed to be a mature clone of Superman, and this wasn't wasn't butt-ugly, nor white… This must be another one of his clones. A successful one : Superboy.
« Oh, boy ! » Ned muttered, cold sweat flowing down his back and on his forehead.
Not far from him, a katana wielding woman with silver or white hair. With the lighting, and the snow, he couldn't be sure. She sported a metallic mask as well as several other weapons on her person : a carbine, several handguns as well as knives, grenades… The woman was a walking ammunitions depot ! If she wasn't a woman, Ned would have thought that she was the infamous Deathstroke… Another character he'd rather not encounter ! Still, he felt as if she'd be just as troublesome to deal with…
The reason why Ned decided to confront the shadowy organization's forces instead of using the portal to escape was… To get a better idea about N.O.W.H.E.R.E. To this day, the name, while actually ringing a bell, remained shrouded in the mysteries of ignorance. Ned cursed at his failing memory, and the fact that he didn't read more comics ! He snorted… Considering reading comics like a life-saving skill and occupation… In his old life, that would have been impossible.
Nevertheless, had he read more comics, had he been what most people would call an otaku, or a geek, Ned would know who they were. He would know more than their names, but also their important characters. And here he was, in front of two of them… Superboy and the Deathstroke wannabe. And he was left even more clueless !
In his mind, Superboy was created by Lex Luthor combining Superman's DNA with his own, thus giving the clone an altered version of the kryptonian's power and his own intellect… However, Luthor wasn't much for the secret organization's stuff. Secret society, maybe. Secret partnership, as well. But, secret organization ? Nah !
With his intelligence and his knowledge of the law, as well as his knack for business, Lex Luthor acted in full view of the public… Even when doing nefarious or shady shit. And still, he remained unbothered because he wasn't actually breaking the law. Or, if he did, he greased the right hands in order not to be bothered. At least, until a few months ago, before he lost his mind and decided to attack Metropolis' Boy Scout…
Ever since then, the baldy was in a high security prison of his own design. Sometimes, being too brilliant made you a bit of a moron, paradoxically… In any case, Superman's nemesis couldn't be behind this organization, because of these reasons.
N.O.W.H.E.R.E. on the other hand ? The reason they stayed in the shadows was because they didn't care about the law. No ! More like, they acted as if they were the Law… More than an organization, sometimes Ned felt like they were actually a shadow government…
So, now, faced with a fresh-out-of-the-pod Superboy and the unknown white-haired woman, Ned found himself in just as much a conundrum as he was before. If, initially, he wanted to grasp a few clues simply by gazing at the forces N.O.W.H.E.R.E. deployed and escape right after, now he decided on something else…
« Is that all you guys can dish out when one of your secret facility is attacked ? A fan of Superman, a cosplaying little girl and a bunch of goons ? » Ned's taunting words were followed by a long sigh. « And here I thought that your organization was actually a threat… »
The woman in tactical gear didn't react outwardly. On the other hand, Superboy…
« The name's Superboy ! And you'll see if I'm not a threat ! » He exclaimed before bounding toward the trio.