Independence Day

Project Kr looked at the spot John and Tim disappeared from for a few moments before turning his head towards the G-0777. He looked at it and it looked at him, both didn't break that visual contact as Project Kr crossed the distance between them in one giant stride. He looked at it with a titled head but the command was clear in his mind: 'Eliminate all life your come across in the levels below this one.'

The G-0777's instinct told him of Project Kr's intention, after all, both of them were living weapons made for war and slaughter was their purpose.

The G-0777 attacked first, his both mantis claws moved fluidly like a whip in a series of swings, pulls and stabs. Each attack came in quick succession with the speed of a hail of bullets from a machine gun and each one was dodged effortlessly by Project Kr. He swayed from left to right, bobbing and weaving between the attacks all the while not breaking the eye contact he had with the G-0777.

The G-0777 snarled as pulled back its mantis claws. None of its attacks even slightly grazed Project Kr, even the closest one missed by a hair's length and some deep-seated instinct told him that even if it had touched him it wasn't enough, the claws that could tear apart armoured military vehicles weren't enough to even put a scratch. So if the G-0777 couldn't cut Project Kr it would crush him with raw power. It brought down its mantis claws aiming for Project Kr's shoulder and lunged forward to force him to the floor.

Project Kr made his move later than the G-0777 but he was faster than it. He grabbed hold of the mantis claws before it could grab hold of him. The G-0777 tried to force itself free but Project Kr's grip didn't even bulge. When it finally did it wasn't because of it but Project's Kr casually lifting him over his head and then bringing him back hard into a loud slam. The first thing heard was the crash as the floor cracked, and then the entire level shook along with it there was a popping sound. Project Kr gave the mantis claws in his hands, it was all that was left of the G-0777 intact, and the rest of him was destroyed. Now it was just bits and pieces lying around, mixed with white viscera and acidic blood all over the floor. He threw away the claws and moved towards the next targets, the two that disappeared before.

While the little fight was taking place, John and Tim wasted not much time before getting to back work. Both of them were in a chemical storage room dimly lit by the white orb, filled with rows of neatly stacked boxes containing hazardous substances.

"Help me move this box," John said as placed a card in the little space between the boxes.

Tim's heart raced as he looked around, knowing they didn't have much time before whatever that Superman symbol-wearing thigh was, would catch up with them. He turned to John, his eyes filled with urgency.

"Tim, we need to move these boxes, but I can't explain everything now," John said, his voice barely above a whisper. "Just trust me and follow my lead. We have to do this quickly. Magicians have died before because of a inadequate prep before."

"That doesn't make me feel confident," Tim said, his eyes reflecting a mix of confusion but he did as told. He understood that time was of the essence, and he placed his faith in John's untold plan.

Tim swiftly moved to the boxes, his hands trembling with adrenaline. He carefully placed his cards on top of the boxes in a precise pattern as John dictated, his mind racing to recall the exact sequence. John moved right beside him placing cards between the boxes gaps.

"It's done," John said, his voice low.

Tim had no chance to even take a sigh of relief as John grabbed his hand and pulled him in front of him and said, "Look into my eyes."

Tim: "W-What?"

John: "Look into my eyes and repeat what I say."

Tim: "What?"

John: "Do you not understand English? Stop asking questions and do it."

Tim shook his head trying hard not to panic. "Alright... I'll do it."

They both made direct eye contact and John said, "Say it both your minds and from your lips: I put my entire faith in this, and keep saying it until they tell you to do otherwise."

Tim still confused started repeating like a chant, "I put my entire faith in this... I put my entire faith in this... I put my entire faith in this... I put my entire faith in this... I put my entire faith in this."

"Now close your eyes and say loudly: Silver Gate of my dream appear above me. Say it."

"SAY IT!" John shouted, his voice cutting through some loud noise.

Tim immediately shouted, "SILVER GATE OF MY DREAM APPEAR ABOVE ME."

As if on cue, the ceiling above them started to crack, break, and fall, pieces of concrete and debris raining down. John in his mind's eye believed the great silver gate just like he had done before, forming a protective barrier above them. The crashing sound intensified, but the wall held strong, shielding them and started to fail as Project Kr came down from above with full force and struck the wall with his fist. The Silver Gate in John's mind started to crack with Project Kr above it raising his leg for a massive stomp that would have surely destroyed it.

Without a second thought, Tim's instinct told him to run but John kept hold of him. In less than a split second, John threw the last remaining card onto the floor and activated the spell prepared for it to trigger all the cards to explode simultaneously, then he believed a large open door leading to another location beneath him and Tim, and all this he did in less than a second. In a blinding flash, their surroundings vanished, replaced by a different location entirely.

They reappeared in a dimly lit underground corridor, far from the chemical storage room they had just left behind. John's breathing was heavy as he glanced around, confirming that they were safe for the moment. The floor beneath them trembled, the explosion in the lower levels could be felt from there.

"He won't be coming for us any time soon."

Tim dropped to his knees so did John, he took a few moments to catch his breath but John was taking a longer time. He kept gasping hard and then wheezing.

Tim asked, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah... it's just that using four different kinds of complex spells in quick succession took its toll on me." John said taking in a breath. "A high material conjuration spell, a chemical change sympathetic binding spell, a spatial displacement spell.... and a telepathic resonance spell... and yeah."

"But will be okay to continue?" Tim asked, his voice filled with genuine concern. A part of him wanted to ask if that was actually magic like the Superhero Magicman uses or psychic power but he pushed it all down.

John sighed. "Yeah... But right now we are safe and need to keep moving to keep it that way."

In the manual security room, Desmond pressed a button on the keyboard furiously while Dubbilex just watched him. The loading speed on the monitor was slow as the main generators were down and the backup generators didn't work as efficiently as one would want them to. Just then there was a red beep on Desmond's watch.

"Now?" Desmond brought up the holographic map to see that red dot that showed Project Kr was gone. "What the hell is this, Dubbilex?!"

"I believe Project Kr has been taken down, professor."

Desmond replayed the entire thing. He saw the location suddenly disappear from one room and appear on another floor.

"Has the tracker been found out?" Desmond asked himself. "How did this happen, Dubbilex?"

Dubbilex shook his head. "I don't know, professor."

Tim carefully carried John on his back as they made their way to level five. The corridor seemed endless, the flickering lights casting eerie shadows on the walls. Finally, they reached the door to the lab, only to find it destroyed as if an intense battle had taken place.

Cautiously, Tim entered the lab, his heart pounding in his chest. Inside, he saw three cylinders, each containing a familiar face—Kid Flash, Aqualad, and Robin. The three sidekicks were suspended in a state of unconsciousness, trapped within the liquid.

Tim looked back at John, concern etched on his face. "What do we do now? How do we free them?"

John scanned the lab and spotted a control panel nearby. "We need to find a way to override the system and release them. Look for any red switches or buttons on the right."

Together, they frantically searched the lab, their eyes darting from one corner to another. Finally, Tim found a hidden compartment, revealing a set of controls. With a mixture of excitement and trepidation, he pressed a sequence of buttons, hoping it would trigger the release mechanism.

John found another lever and pulled it to lift the glass wall. One by one, the cylinders hissed, and the heroes within them began to stir. Kid Flash blinked rapidly, trying to regain focus. Aqualad shook his head, groggily coming back to consciousness. Robin's eyes fluttered open, and he quickly assessed the situation.

Confusion and mistrust filled their eyes as they looked at John and Tim, unfamiliar faces in a place of captivity. Kid Flash was the first to speak, his voice laced with caution. "Who are you? Are you with them?"

John stepped forward, his palms facing upward in a gesture of peace. "Easy there...We're not your enemies. We're just like you, prisoners in this facility. We want to escape, just like you do."

Aqualad's gaze narrowed, scepticism evident in his voice. "How can we trust you? We don't even know who you are. I apologise if it offends you but trusting a stranger is what got us here."

John glanced at Tim, his expression softening. "Tim here is a normal civilian. He stumbled upon this facility entirely by accident, and I'm just trying to help him find a way out. We're in the same boat, fighting against the same enemy."

Robin asked, "How does that prove anything?"

"Does this help?" John took a deep breath and pulled a level.

The next moment the bottoms of the three-cylinder popped open and the three sidekicks slipped out onto the floor naked.

"Ouch." Kid Flash cried followed by Robin's grunt.

John rolled his eyes and turned around to face away from the trio. "Thankfully your clothes and equipment are still in this room. Hurry up, this place is going to get flooded with enemies at any moment and I don't want to see your three dangling your peckers around when that happens."

There were murmurs, and talks as they got dressed while Tim sat around half-embarrassed and half-afraid all the while John just stood there smoking another cigarette and looking out the broken metal gate.

"Well... at least my equipment still working," Robin said.

Kid Flashed: "Great, now we can get out here."

Robin said, "Wait... we need to uncover the truth behind this facility, expose their twisted experiments, and find a way to dismantle their operations. Together, we have a better chance of finding out."

"Taking on the entire thing ourselves is what got us captured," Aqualad interjected, understanding the gravity of their situation. "We should get out here first and call the League for backup."

John dropped the cigarette and crushed it under his heel.

"Listen to your friend's advice," he said without turning back, still looking at the gate. "You won't last a minute once the security gates are cleared and that's a fact you might already know."

The trio looked at John, and John looked over his shoulder at them.

"Before any of that, I need to know who are you?" Robin asked, then pointed to Tim. "That guy is a normal civilian, I can see it in his face but you are too calm about this."

"I never said I was civilian, did I?" John said then added, "Then I have a better question for you to ask. Who is he?"

They all looked where Constantine pointed towards. A lone figure stood outside the gate glaring at them. The white part of his suit was now covered in dirt and tears, the Superman symbol was still strangely intact but the helmet was entirely gone. He had blue eyes, black hair and an overall face that could be summed up in a simple sentence: Imagine a teenage Superman. A palpable tension rose in the room as he stepped through and strode towards the group. Tim subconsciously started backing away until he felt the wall pressing against him.

John said, "Making something disappear isn't enough for a magic trick, you have to bring it back too."

"It's him again!" Kid Flash suddenly spoke up, "What the hell dude? We free you then you knock us out then lock us up!"

"Kid Flash stop! Let's be diplomatic about it." Aqualad said. "I believe he didn't mean to do any of that. Perhaps he was just being mind controlled."

Robin chimed in, "And I don't think it's a good idea to start a fight against someone who can just destroy us rather effortlessly."

"Knew that explosion wasn't enough to take you out, but it was enough for that helmet. It blocked out all communication deemed subversive to the given task, telepathic or otherwise, even your own thoughts." John said. "I believe you got my message. We don't want to have any conflict, we just want to leave and you can leave with us."

Project Kr looked around the room silent then back to John before he nodded a yes.

John then asked, "So are we ready put all that hostility away."

He shook his head in a no.

Kid Flash, Aqualad and Robin prepared themselves to counter any possible move while Tim found no place to run and John stood there in the front staring at him.

John then asked, "Then at least we could communicate better since the helmet is off."

He nodded in a yes and said, "Would it make a difference if I was being controlled before?"

Kid Flash exclaimed, "He can talk!"

Project Kr glared at him. "Yes, 'he' can talk."

Kid Flash shrugged, "Not like I said 'it'. "

Aqualad threw a look at Kid Flash which was a signal telling him to shut up.

John suggested, "Now can someone convince him to let us leave?"

They all looked at each other understandingly and Robin stepped forward.

"I believe we talk this out," Robin said then asked, "Did the genomorphs teach you that? I mean how to talk."

They all looked at him and waited for an answer.

"They taught me many things about this communicative field," Project Kr said, "I can speak read and write in most known earth languages. The general knowledge necessary to know the meaning of words, and places among other things. Now, why should I let you all intruders leave?"

"Okay maybe got to that very quickly," Robin said with a wry smile. "Do you know who you are?"

Project Kr remained still as he said, "I am Kr-0865, a genomorph, a clone of Superman in simple language."

A part of them half-expected a part of the answer but still felt shocked to hear it from his mouth. Questions rose in everyone's heads after hearing that statement.

"Project Kr?" Robin muttered.

Project Kr explained, "Cloning project created to replace Superman should he perish, to destroy him should he turn away from the Light."

Quickly recovering from the surprise, Kid Flash asked, "What's the Light?"

Project Ke replied, "I have insufficient information to determine the nature of the word given the context."

The trio of sidekicks exchanged looks, no knowing what to say next.

"It's a worthy aspiration to be like Superman, you are his blood after all," Aqualad suddenly spoke up, "then like him, you deserve a life of your own, beyond Cadmus."

Project Kr looked at him with an unsatisfied expression. "You are trying to appeal to emotion, it is considered a fallacy. It won't work on me as I possess an intellect above average human who is prone to irrational behaviour."

"Okay...Okay.. let us go a few steps back." Robin said then asked, "You said you know them, but have you ever seen them? Like have you actually seen the sky and the sun? Have you ever been outside this facility?"

Project Kr replied, "Images are implanted in my mind. I have seen more places than the average person will see their lives."

Robin: "But have you ever seen the actual thing with your eyes?"

Project Kr: "Have you?"

Robin: "Yes, right up there, it should be night and Fourth of July fireworks should be lighting up the night sky. Do you want to see them?"

"The images in my mind are not any less real than what you interpreted through your senses." Project Kr said. "You could never comprehend something in its entirety, so your senses filter to the best of their capability and your mind gives a label to it. Why should I leave this place with you for that? Why should I let you infiltrators leave?"

The hostility in Project Kr's eyes only flared up after that John rolled his eyes.

'These people are wasting too much time.' John thought looking at the flow of the conversation, the passing of precious time and interjected. "You killed one of your siblings in the lower level not long ago. If you have some awareness during that you must remember."

Project Kr looked at him with regret in his eyes. "Both I and the G-0777 weren't given a say in that matter. We did what we are made to do."

John noticed and then asked, "What is the purpose then?"

"I believe I have answered that question already," Project Kr replied. "The purpose of Project Kr."

John then said, "What if you refused to follow through on those commands?"

"Then I'll be deemed as a failure," Project Kr replied with no changes to his expression. "Then either my memory will be wiped for the purpose of reprogramming or I'll be terminated."

"Despite having a mind inclined towards logic and reason you don't have authority over yourself to utilise it," John said, "What about that as an offer?"

Project Kr looked at him and asked, "Is autonomy what you are offering me?"

"Yes that's what we offer you," John said as he pointed at the trio behind him with his thumb. "These Leaguers behind me, if go with them they won't force you to kill anybody like Cadmus would. They will give you the freedom to choose, unlike Cadmus will ever do."

"Of course, we won't kill anyone," Kid Flash added followed by others.

Robin added, "Batman taught me a better way."

Aqualad added, "Taking lives for justice goes against League's ideals. But in the end, it's your decision."

"Right off the bat, more autonomy than Cadmus could ever give." John looked at Project Kr. "You have super senses, don't you? You can tell if there are any signs of lying within us."

"Most of you show signs associated with lying," Project Kr said, "but no, none add up to be a lie."

John smiled. "Then there is that."

Project Kr said, "Your reasoning isn't valid. Why should I go against my purpose of being for just an irk?"

He took a step forward, none of the words seemed to have affected him. It looked though as if was ready to attack. "In fact, I should exterminate you."

"Because we could be more than we are intended by others to be," John stepped forward and spoke up, "Now will you help us or stay here."

Project Kr said, "You all play around with words."

"Then let me be straight," John said meeting Project Kr's eyes, "There are two options here. You can try to stop us in which case we will most likely be unsuccessful - "

"Hey dude!" Kid Flash interjected but Robin covered his mouth with his hand shutting him up as John continued.

"- in which case we will not go down without a struggle, or you can let us go and even come with us."

Project Kr said, "Is that your threat? Struggling against me? You know that you won't win and will be terminated."

"No, the chances are less but there still is a chance that we will escape should you try to stop us and you know that too, as your previous encounter in the bottom level was sufficient enough proof of that happening," John stated.

Project Kr argued, "The chances of that happening are less than thirty pecent. Trying to flee while sacrificing a few of you will give some a better chance to escape if the goal is self-preservation."

"These people won't do that, even if the chances are low it's not zero and the reward makes it worth it," John said. "The other option of coming with us is like that, a situation where you are most unlikely to succeed... a gamble... Now I ask you if autonomy is worth risking everything. It's for us but is it for you?"

Project Kr's eyes darted and scanned John then said, "An illogical yet autonomous decision. No, your worlds aren't a lie.... and coincidentally he also said the same thing: We could be more than we intended to be."

He paused then said, "I consider your offer valid, but unfortunately -"

Just then a loud screech came from around the corridor.

"-my siblings are here."

Panic rose in the room as sidekicks were ready to fight but then Project Kr turned around on his heel and faced the open gate. "but I will stall them for us until you find a way out for us and don't even try to cheat your way by leaving me here."

"Wouldn't even dare of it."

John smiled looking at Project Kr walking out as shadows of genomorphs appeared on the wall and shouted to him, "Happy Independence Day!"