Prologue

How did it come to this? That's the question on my mind as the fucked-up scientist continues to electrocute me while I'm heavily strapped to the observation table.

It is actually more fucked up that I'm used to this treatment since it's been a year.

I used to be just you're everyday 18-year-old anti-social shut-in who enjoyed reading fanfiction and watching anime. What I didn't expect was dying from a stroke which was quite pathetic for someone my age but don't blame me for not taking care of myself because of my depression due to my dad's death.

Death was scary, waking up as a baby was scarier and finding out I was in Gotham city made me shit my pants.

I was always all for the self-insert reincarnation fic or the isekai genres in anime because who wouldn't want to be reborn in a fictional world where you could be all powerful but reality came crashing down.

Being reincarnated doesn't automatically change your personality or anything. It doesn't even make you a super genius, worse whatever god or author put me here took away about half of my knowledge about the DC universe.

On the flipside, while I was in the darkness of death or the void I saw or heard what powers or gift I would get, the powers of Luke Riordan aka Golden boy from the Gen V series which was what I was watching before I croaked.

Yes, I became Luke Riordan in the DC universe; I was born with his name, his appearance but not his powers, well at least till last year.

Growing up somewhat normally in the shithole that is Gotham was a miracle for me, perhaps due to my sweet mother Margaret Riordan, I always had illusions that I would become an antihero badass that will kick ass and have a harem because I was a glorious reincarnator but life just smacked me in the guts.

You see I was an average person in my previous life, handsome but average. Being reborn didn't change anything in fact it actually made it worse because what 18-year-old in a child body would want to play with other kids.

I first acted detached and cool like I was above everything and everyone around me weren't real people, it wasn't till the Joker held my school bus hostage when I was in kindergarten that I came to my senses or rather I peed myself but who can blame me, any ordinary person that wakes in this world and decides he wants to become a hero is just full of shit and is bound to be humbled in some way.

I was abjectly terrified of the Joker; in all my lives I had never seen anyone like that. Watching it behind a screen is one thing but seeing that crazy fucker up close and personal is another thing. He legit wanted to blow up a bus with six-year-olds.

Despite in my dislike of Batman in my previous life, I thank God he is so efficient at dealing with that clown. He saved the day and I survived.

I didn't leave my house till a year after that incident, my mom helped me cope. Speaking of my mom, while we were not well off, we were still okay. It would have stayed that way till my tenth birthday when my birth father came home.

Surprise, my father was a super villain and an insane one obsessed with fire. Yes he is Garfield Lynns aka Firefly.

Shockingly, he wasn't abusive to my mother but he had a temper when I didn't pay attention listening to him rant about his experience as a pyrotechnic.

I would have been okay with him visiting periodically even though he gave my mother and I the cold shoulder till his debt with Black Mask's gang put us in the crosshair in which my mother was put in coma by one of Black Mask's thugs.

What really makes my blood boil was the fact dear old dad didn't care and worse he sold me; his fifteen-year-old son to Cadmus for human experimentation.

I was left to dear old Dr. Mark Desmond who injected me and ten others with his initial iteration of the blockbuster serum.

The rest died while I awakened the powers of my counterpart from the Gen V series, it seems that my powers were adapted to fit the universe by being a meta-gene and activated when I was injected with the mutagenic substances of the blockbuster serum.

It was also due to this situation; I realized I was in in the Young Justice animated universe which my memories of it are blurry thanks to whatever brought me here but I was quite glad since this is a nerfed universe.

Dr. Desmond pleased with my success on surviving his serum put me to work extracting my DNA to further improve the serum and constantly experimenting on me and testing my powers like durability, strength, healing and thermonuclear heat emission.

I have tried to escape but apparently while telepaths can't see anything related to my past life in my mind, I'm not immune to mind control.

So, I became Project Golden Boy a mind controlled meta-human weapon of Cadmus who has been used to kill several people in the last six months.

I also had the honor of testing combat capabilities of my fellow Cadmus weapon in arms; Project Kr, who whooped my ass.

So here I am again strapped to a promethium operating table while the doctors continue to test my durability to see how much I've grown.

For some reason Cadmus hasn't completely wiped my mind which I chalk up to professional courtesy to my dad or maybe I just have protagonist luck.

"The subject's durability is much stronger than a year ago when he got his powers Dr. Desmond." said Dr. Amanda Spence which snapped me out of my musing.

"Yes, it seems he hasn't reached his full potential due to his age but I don't believe he will reach Captain Atom or Superman's level" replied Dr. Desmond.

"Still, he is a decent weapon. Our sponsors are already pleased with him and by studying his genetic code I have improved the blockbuster serum."

Normally I would like to incinerate both these doctors but these damn genomorphs are keeping me telepathically sedated.

"Dr. Desmond, Dr. Spence, there's been a gas leakage in the aboveground Lab we need to check the damage to ensure everything is secure" Guardian says as he enters the lab.

"Fine get the subject back to chambers, we are done anyway. I still need to further research Project Blockbuster" Desmond leaves to which Spence follows

"Time to get you back in your pod Golden Boy" Guardian commands me, to which I comply as my restraints are freed.

"By the way why are you smiling, you usually give me the stink eye after these sessions" asks Guardian curiously.

"I just have a feeling this will be a lucky Fourth of July" I reply with a smirk as I am escorted.

Well, I guess it's finally time to leave this shit lab, I'm really glad the only episode I remember is the first.

I just hope Kr plays his part because he can be quite empty headed at times.

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