2 Chapter 2

A swirl of confusing memories entered the mind of Project Kr. Or Harry, Harry, Harry was his name, and he did not remember what was real and what was not real. His head started to throb over the next couple of minutes. Images of dragons, serpents, and soul sucking demons entered his mind. The final, burning memory entering his mind involved him, with a ring on his finger, being sent through a swirling vortex of the light.

Similar events played out during the simulation in Harry's training. The nature between fantasy and reality blurred. Harry's mind snapped back to real world, just in time to notice the four sidekicks being placed in stasis. Aquagirl locks eyes with him.

"You got to figure out who you are," Mareena said. "We can all see it. There's something inside you. You're not evil, you're just used….you can rise up and you can fight this."

Harry shook his head a few seconds. He turned to Caitlin, the genomorph gnome posed on her shoulder. Desmond slid into the lab a second.

"Lead the asset to a more secure area," Desmond told Caitlin.

"You can be more than the weapon that they made you."

The word weapon stirred up something in the back of Harry's head. His neck jerked back a few inches and he grumbled a little bit. Caitlin put her hand on Harry's shoulder and steered the young man away. Harry realized something, it was foolish that he could not see it before. She was being controlled as well, just as well as he was. He should have seen it coming the entire time.

Harry needed to break her free, break both of them free. The Genomorph Gnome on his shoulder continued its valiant struggle to keep Harry underneath. But, Harry's strong will fought it off.

A yelp caught his attention. A woman, brunette, with startling violet eyes, had been captured from some G-Trolls.

"We have an intruder," one of them growled.

Harry snapped his attention towards them. Caitlin had been ushered down the side corridor.

"Help us, brother."

Harry helped them, smash into a wall by throwing his arms back. The woman they captured blinked in honest astonishment, with Harry whipping them about. Harry flung the G-Trolls back with another telekinetic blast which caused them to crush against the wall.

One of them made a movement to restrain him. Harry grabbed the creature's arm and flipped him down to the ground.

"More will be on the way Ms…."

"Lane," the woman offered helpfully. "Lois Lane."

The name did ring a bell in a secluded corner of Harry's muddled mind. Harry looked to see where Caitlin had gone, but she had been escorted down the hallway. Something very strange was going on here.

Then, everything hit Harry.

"The girls are in trouble," Harry told her.

"You mean the sidekicks?"

"They've been captured by Desmond," Harry told her. "He's...I don't know, but...maybe you can do something….I've got to find Caitlin."

"Caitlin?" Lois asked.

"Fairchild," Harry said. "She's my handler….and controlled….like I was."

Harry lifted the genomorph gnome off of his shoulder and allowed him to scamper away. He felt bad for the thing almost. Used as much of a tool as Harry had been. Until he finally became too strong to control.

He would have to get out of Cadmus, because Harry knew that if Cadmus got their hands on him, Harry would be terminated. He was too dangerous.

"I'm not leaving without her...you better make a choice of what you're going to do."

"You could help me with them and go after her."

And then Harry was gone in a blink of an eye and that left Lois hanging around with her mouth open. Finally, Lois found the ability to speak.

"Or not."

Lois could not believe this was going on. One thing was for certain, if the sidekicks were in danger, it would be down to Lois Lane to save the day.

Desmond tutted quite loudly and quite obviously. It had been down to him to do something, anything, to prevent any kind of trouble in Cadmus. Robin, Aquagirl, Kid Flash, and...well some Amazon, they had been put in the stasis tanks. They had been awake so they had a few words.

"It's a pity you found a hole in Cadmus," Desmond said. "But, it will be corrected."

"The League will find out we're gone and they will come looking for us," Robin said.

"No, not yet," Desmond told them in a very nasty tone of voice. "You see, you're not getting out of those cages. I will download your memories, replicate your DNA, clone you, download your memories into the clones, and as for the source material...well, you'll be deleted."

"Deleted?" Wondergirl asked.

"That means he's going to off us," Kid Flash said.

In a vain attempt to escape, Kid Flash vibrated her hand against the edge of the wall. The vibration caused her to blast back and every single muscle in Whitney's body to feel as if they had been set on fire with some kind of mysterious force. It was a more awful pain.

"I really hoped that it was going to work," Whitney said. "And look...the League will know that we're clones…."

"They won't," Desmond said. "They will not notice the switch. You will act like yourselves, only with programming that will be added….enacted at the point where it needed to be."

The gnome next to Desmond glared at him warningly and Desmond answered with a nod. All of the teenage heroines did not look too happy.

"You better release me," Donna said. "Or, Hera help me…."

"She isn't going to help you," Desmond commented in his most nasty tone of voice. "She isn't going to help any of you. The League's not going to find you."

"What did you intend to do with a clone of Superwoman?" Robin asked. "Just who are you working for?"

"I could tell you, you will be dead soon," Desmond said. "But, I don't think I will. I will allow you to solve that mystery in the afterlife, while your clones live on in this world"

The process to download the memories of the four sidekicks began. They had information, valuable information, that Cadmus's Board of Directors would find extremely useful. Desmond's smile grew, going ear to ear. In a moment, these interlopers would be merely a memory.

"And with the asset firmly downstairs he could…."

A loud clang echoed and Desmond crumpled to his knees. The quartet of young heroines blinked at the surprise savior.

"Lois?" Kid Flash asked.

Lois Lane stepped into the room, a pipe in her hand. The lump on the back of Desmond's head indicated she hit him good.

"Let's get you out of here," Lois said.

"Did you see where we went?" Robin asked. "Superboy I mean."

"He wasn't one for communication, really," Lois answered without missing a beat. "He saved me, so I could save you guys, and...then...well he…."

"He went after Fairchild, didn't he?" Helena asked. "And it's a good thing that I was able to slip a tracker on her."

The cells opened up and the four heroines exited the pods. Whitney's eyes widened and she sputtered for the next couple of seconds.

"How did you...tracker...how did you...oh yeah...you….I forgot...but still...tracker...really?"

"Yes, Whitney, really."

Desmond stirred away and instantly, something in the lab began to beep. Mareena snapped her head up and to the right.

"Security, we better go," Mareena said.

"We're not leaving without Superboy," Helena said.

Mareena put a hand on Helena's shoulder and flashed her reassuring smile.

"And we won't," Mareena said. "But we better move it, now, because I don't feel like being cloned today."

One thought, a single minded obsession blew through Harry's mind. Harry needed to track Caitlin down. He stopped, but did not run into Cadmus's security. Rather, he ran into the goblin like creature known as Dubbilex. Harry's eyes narrowed for the next few seconds when staring at the man in front of him. Seconds passed, moments of time grinded by.

"I don't have time for this," Harry said. "If you're going to stop me, then I'm going to move you out of the way. The hard way."

"I have no feud with you, Superboy," Dubbilex said in his usual calm demeanor. "Or should I say, Harry?"

There was no acknowledgement. Harry wondered how Dubbilex knew of his true name, and not the name that Cadmus had dubbed him. More memories of him attending a boarding school for witches and wizards slipped into the back of his mind. Names and faces were foggy, lessons were a little bit more clear. The actual practical application and useful application of magic downloaded itself into Harry's brain.

And the terrifying things Harry could do with magic resounded in his head. No wonder why Cadmus wanted to fine tune the weapon.

"The kids are on their way down the tunnel and Ms. Lane is on their way, but security is closing in on them," Dubbilex said. "They have been misdirected as much as they could, but I think that it's only a matter of time before they meet up. And Ms. Lane, she's as resourceful as ever."

Harry knew that somehow, from other memories in his head. Superwoman, of course, she would figure in. But, who was the other donor? There were at least three, but one set of memories was not coming up as easily.

"And you've freed yourself from their control," Duibbilex said. "And you have given us hope. My brothers, they have been used as pawns to make yourself and Doctor Fairchild a pawn. Among others. The darkness that surrounds this great organization is far greater than you would imagine."

Dubbilex paused for the longest time and motioned towards the tunnel behind him.

"You should leave."

"Not without Fairchild," Harry said.

"And such loyalty should be commended. I just hope that it continues to be directed towards those who truly earn it."

"It will," Harry said. "Now, do I have to tell you to move again?"

Dubbilex stepped out of the way.

The tracking device lead the four teenage heroines down a labyrinth of paths. Whitney peaked around the corner to make sure the coast was clear. They very nearly missed getting whacked by security more than a couple of times.

"Are you sure that you know where we're going?" Whitney asked her.

"I know where we're going," Helena said. "I don't know where they've taken Caitlin to that part of the building. It's blocked off."

"Which answered your question," Lois responded after a long moment's pause.

The party stopped at the edge of the hallway. Two large guards blocked their way. Donna withdrew her sword, preparing to fight, and the others joined her.

Seconds later, the two large and ugly guards fell to the ground, being cracked hard across the back of the head. The group pulled back, just in time to see Superboy appear at the end of the hallway. There was a long pause, where Donna did not let go of her sword.

"Put it away," Mareena said.

"No, leave it," Harry said. "And come with me me if you want to live."

"Terminator much?" Whitney asked.

Everyone gave her one of those looks and Whitney just shrugged.

"Um, listen," Helena said. "I've got the tracker. I put it on Fairchild. She's in the West End of the building. Do you have any idea what's up there?"

Harry responded by shaking his head. The hybrid only knew the lab and the training simulations that he had been put to. Harry overheard that Cadmus's mysterious board intended to move him to another facility tonight, but for reasons that he had not been able to find. He heard the grumbling of voices and footsteps.

'Right, and up the stairs, and to the left.'

"Right, up the stairs, and to the left," Harry said. "It's the fastest way to get us there, without running into any guards."

Helena realized he was right, the tracker was leading them to their location. There were one more step along the way and they would be there.

The large guards lead Caitlin to a room. She could not move her legs in an attempt to get away.

A blur of light shot into the room and a speedster misdirected the attention of the guards. An Amazon jumped down onto the back of the guards. The ugly G-Troll spun around and swung at Donna. Donna flipped over and landed onto her back. The Princess jumped up over the head and slashed the pipes above her head.

The pipes released water, which allowed Aquagirl to control it like a battering ram and send the troll flying several inches back to the ground. Another one rushed towards her, and Harry shoulder checked it back into the wall.

Robin threw a miniature explosive grenade on the ground and shocked the troll down onto the ground. She dodged the attack and performed an acrobatic flip. She went right to the eyes of the troll and caused it great discomfort.

Harry levitated one of the batons into the air and short-circuited it, sending an electrified wave into one of the security guards. This action cleared his path to Caitlin. He pulled the genomorph gnome off of her shoulder and moved Caitlin over.

"Are you okay?" Caitlin asked.

"I promised that I'd get us out of here," Harry said. "And I keep my promises."

Caitlin's jaw had been set and she responded with a nod. The final troll fell to the ground.

"There's an exit up those stairs," Harry replied.

"I thought you said you weren't anywhere other than the lab," Lois commented.

Harry did not answer her. In fact, none of them were able to answer her due to the fact that Mark Desmond rushed down the steps.

"You children are in trouble now," Desmond said.

"Newsflash, genius, you just got your ass kicked by a bunch of teeangers," Kid Flash said.

"You have caused trouble," Desmond said pointing out Harry.

Harry responded by shrugging. Something told him that he was pretty good at doing that. Desmond made his way down the steps.

"You will be hauled back and there will be a new project commissioned containing your DNA," Desmond commented. "Six months of hard work down the drain because of your independence...and Doctor Fairchild, you should consider yourself terminated."

Desmond pulled out a gun. Instantly, Whitney blocked the gun and sent it flying out of Desmond's hand. All while backhanding Desmond into the wall.

The diabolical doctor wiped a trickle of blood from his lip.

"Obviously, you heroes wanted to do this the hard way," Desmond said. "So be it."

Desmond injected a formula into his arm.

"Project Blockbuster!" Caitlin gasped. "It's...it's not even ready."

"It just needs to be tested," Desmond said, his voice growing more coarse and more growly. "No time like the present."

Caitlin grabbed Lois by the sleeve and pulled her out harm's way. This left Superboy, Robin, Kid Flash, Aquagirl, and Wondergirl to go face to face with the large hulking form of Desmond who mutated into some disgusting and blue creature.

"Really?" Harry asked. "You're pretty much dead if you injected that formula."

Golden sparks flickered from Harry's hand when he faced off against the mutated Desmond.

One saw the flash of rage through Desmond's eyes. He charged Harry, who blocked his fist instantly. Harry knocked him back into the wall.

Desmond bounced up. Actually not Desmond anymore, Blockbuster. Wondergirl nailed him with a couple of rapid fire punches. Each of them bouncing off of his muscular chest. Blockbuster grabbed her by the throat and hoisted her up off of the ground. Donna flew hard into the wall.

The Amazon Princess slid out of the way of his beefy fist.

Aquagirl threw a battering ram of water from the pipes. Several razor sharp blasts of water shuriken flung towards Blockbuster, who growled and smashed the ground where she stood.

Robin jumped on Blockbuster's back and punched away. Her attempts to hit a pressure point were nothing. However, that left Blockbuster open for Kid Flash to do a super sliding kick at super speed to send Blockbuster crashing down to the ground.

"Did that hurt him?" Kid Flash asked.

A loud "ragh" echoed through the room, which answered the question of the entire team. Blockbuster stampeded them and sent the young heroines flying in every single direction.

"Stay away from them!" Harry yelled. "It's me you want."

Harry armed himself with a baton and supercharged the energy flowing through it. The energy send Blockbuster up off of the guard and flying into one of the poles with a loud clang.

He zipped behind Blockbuster and hit him with eight unanswered punches, seconds before Blockbuster whirled around and grabbed him by the throat. Blockbuster planted his adversary directly through a wall where he laid in a crumpled and battered heap.

Not one to back down, Harry rose to a standing position and charged Blockbuster one more time. Punch after punch sailed over Blockbuster. He turned off to the side and noticed Wondergirl coming him. Harry set Blockbuster up by taking out his legs while Wondergirl smashed him down to the ground.

Harry extended a hand and helped the brave warrior to her feet. Blockbuster rose up again and charged them like a bull.

Every second that formula coarsed through Desmond's veins, it stripped away more of his intelligence. A good thing if Harry had to say so himself. He flipped over his head and then planted his fist.

More pillars had been smashed. Donna grabbed Robin and pulled her out of the way, while Aquagirl rose up off of a wave, with Kid Flash running on water.

"Get to the stairs!" Harry yelled.

Blockbuster grabbed him by the throat. A discharge of energy send Blockbuster flying to the ground. Harry went behind him and hit him several times. The Superboy cocked his fist and smashed Blockbuster in the chest as hard as possible. The monster's eyes widened and he collapsed to the ground.

Blue blood spilled from Blockbuster's mouth when he landed on the ground. Harry paid him no mind, not even a backwards glance. He turned to the team who waited for him on the top of the steps.

"Lois and Caitlin are outside!" Robin called.

That put Harry in a pretty good mood. He jumped up the steps and cleared the landing just as this level of Cadmus imploded on itself.

Blockbuster was buried underneath the lab, not that Harry heard any heart beat after their battle. Which to be honest, Harry was not going to be too upset about. Because even before he took that formula, Desmond was a monster.

The entire team, alongside Lois and Caitlin, stepped out of the ruins of the lab. Lois never expected this to be her find when she went to Cadmus.

The duo of women looked up in the sky, in time to see the entire Justice League arrive just outside of Cadmus Labs. Lois just frowned, while the team roster had some depletions and some additions due to recent events, they still did a pretty good job in showing off a unified front.

Mareena and Donna noticed their father and sister respectfully amongst the League. Their eyes widened and both of the princesses exchanged a look which plainly stated, "busted."

"Hey, Flash," Kid Flash commented.

"You...you...I swear, you can be so...you just don't think things through," Flash said.

Yeah, Whitney could tell when her Aunt was really miffed. And expected that once words stopped failing her, Whitney West was in for a hell of a lecture.

"We came back to the Hall and you were gone, and you were told you stay put," Iris said. "All of you."

"You should really know better," Diana said.

"What were you thinking?" Green Arrow asked.

"They were thinking that they should look into something that the entire League should have looked into ages ago."

Every single member of the League turned, as if noticing the young man for the very first time. They all noticed the "S" on his shield and despite green eyes, there was no mistaken the facial expression.

Instead of being in awe at the presence of some of the world's greatest heroes, Harry was more annoyed by them acting like they had some more high ground.

"Be that as it may," Batman said in an very even voice. "They should not have come here. They were not ready to undertake a mission like this."

"I don't know, they looked pretty ready to me," Harry told him, eyes narrowing. "And if it wasn't for them, then they would have moved me for reprogramming tonight."

"Reprogramming?" Black Canary asked a second later.

Harry nodded in the direction of the golden-haired siren.

"Yes, I was created as a weapon by Project Cadmus. And I doubt I would have been the last. And I don't think I was the first either. They wanted to replicate Superwoman...especially during her recent...demise. So, by dragging your heels, you could have unleashed me on the world. And I doubt very much any of you could stop me."

"Pretty arrogant of you to say that, son," Green Arrow said.

Harry ignored the Emerald Archer's very condescending statement directed towards him. He was just speaking a matter of fact.

"They are ready, whether you like it or not," Harry continued. "And can any of you look me in the eye and tell me that they did not do the right thing tonight? Because if it wasn't for them disobeying the orders of the almighty Justice League, then I would not have snapped out of it."

Everyone shifted even more so. Certain members of the League realized they messed up, by not looking more closely into Cadmus. And it risked the lives of their young protegees.

"So, they might be more heroes than any of you are," Harry said. "So, you can either get with the times or you can piss off."

Everyone was aghast with Superboy. And impressed in a couple of places. Lois smiled, going from ear to ear. She appreciated and respected the hell out of the League, but there were times where they could get on their high horse. And it was refreshing for someone to knock them off of said high horse.

And then, she arrived. Weeks after returning from the grave, Superwoman dropped down and came face to face with her apparent son. There was silence, as neither of them spoke for the longest time.

"So, you're her," Harry said finally breaking the silence.

"Yes," Superwoman said. "And I'm sorry about what happened...what they did….I have to go."

Superwoman turned around and flew off with the rest of the League. Wonder Woman turned to Batman who nodded. After sharing a look with Donna, as if to say they would discuss this later, Wonder Woman tore off after Superwoman.

One could not mistaken the grimace on Lois's face. She put a hand on Harry's shoulder.

"I'll talk to her later, kid," Lois said.

"Don't bother on my account," Harry curtly replied.

"Oh, it's not just for your sake, trust me," Lois said.

"Yeah, she's going through a lot."

Harry's attention had been most certainly caught by the woman who showed up in front of him. A very attractive and extremely stacked blonde woman, in a tight one piece suit. Her shoulder length blonde hair offset her beautiful face and stunning blue eyes. The woman's legs are on full display.

"I'm not sure how much Cadmus told you...my name is Power Girl...and yes, don't worry, everyone does it."

Harry looked up from her chest and looked straight in her eyes.

"I understand what it's like to be lost without a purpose," she told him. "And if you need somewhere to be, I'm here for you."

"Actually, I might have a bed for him," Lois said. "All I have to do is crash on the couch, but that's fine, really, it's not bad. I've crashed in worst places."

"But, I have more room,," Power Girl said. "He can stay at my penthouse and...I have the facilities to...check him over."

"Sure, I'll stay with you...on one condition," Harry said. "Caitlin comes with."

Power Girl gave the stunning redhead the once over and just broke into a smile.

"So, it's settled," Power Girl said.

Power Girl put her arm around Harry and lead him off. Caitlin followed them, leaving the League to stand there.

"Lucky bastard," Green Arrow muttered.

This got him one of those looks from Batman and he decided to turn away. To be fair, tonight had been a rough night for them all. And Oliver had his own problems to deal with, given that Thea absolutely point blank refused to answer his calls. Oliver honestly thought that they put their past issues behind them.

But, there was still some things for them to settle out.

"So, I wonder if you're amazing as the simulations showed me," Harry said.

"And what did the simulations show you?" Karen asked.

"Well, maybe if you're lucky, I'll tell you," Harry said. "And maybe if you're lucky, I'll show you...what Cadmus wanted me to do with the ladies in the League."

Karen was intrigued to be honest.

"The events at Cadmus are most concerning indeed," one voice commented. "Especially given that our subject has escaped. And on this night, of all nights."

"We must wait, and see how this pans out," another voice commented. "There's already some discontent within the League. That could prove to be useful."

"Yes, soon a brave new world approaches," another voice agreed.

"But, you cannot deny that Superboy has become everything that we could home for and so much more," the lone female voice said, almost in a purr.

"Yes, well he could be an asset our plans should we turn him to the Light."

The meeting of these very important power brokers ended. They all adopted a wait and see approach.

Harry changed into a t-shirt and a pair of shorts, happy to be out of that solar suit to be honest. He found his way up to a very nice bedroom. An actual bed had been something extremely new and something strange to him. He felt around on the bedsheets and had been surprised how soft they were.

For some reason, Harry grimaced in remembering the pod. It reminded him too much of being forced into a cupboard underneath the stairs. For some reason, it caused him great rage. A hand placed on his shoulder and Harry turned around.

Power Girl, or Karen Starr as her civilian identity was, turned her attention to Harry. The transparent nightdress she wore distracted Harry from his rage long enough to focus.

"It's going to take some adjustment to get used to this new world," she said. "I've been through adjusting twice before."

"How?" Harry asked.

"Well, my home planet of Krypton died and then my Earth, a different Earth than this one, it was destroyed, and I was forced to come here," Karen said. "Thankfully, I made friends, good friends, both times. But it's hard...you really got to take it one step of a time.

"So, third time's the charm for you?" Harry asked.

"Maybe," Karen said. "You'll be okay."

Karen swung her arms around Harry and hugged him tight. It felt pleasant to be pressed up against her. She pulled away and ruffled his hair a bit playfully.

"You're stubborn like your mother," Karen said. "If you need anything, I'll be right across the hall. Don't...don't be scared to come in."

Karen squeezed his shoulder and pulled away. Harry realized that now that he had not been locked into Cadmus training and control, his teenage hormones came back with a full force. He shook his head.

Caitlin passed Harry in the hallway, dressed in robe, with a purple set of lingerie. Every inch of her perfect body was in display. She carried a rolled up sleeping back underneath her arm.

"I'm here in case you need anything in the middle of night," Caitlin said. "You could have….well, I'm here for you."

Harry held out his hand and Caitlin blinked.

"You don't need to sleep on the floor like an animal," Harry said.

"It's fine," Caitlin said.

Harry pulled back the covers and climbed into bed. He patted on the mattress to signal Caitlin would join him.

"Plenty of room for both of us," Harry said.

"Well, it would put me close by if you need anything in the middle of the night," Caitlin said.

Caitlin slipped into bed with her charge. She pressed up against his body. It was a very cozy fit.

Harry drifted off to sleep, his arms slipping around Caitlin in the process. He wondered how he got into this particular position. A huge patchwork of memories stitched themselves together tonight. And there were more coming in from different sources that just pulled out of reach.

The memories from "Harry" part were the most clear, but even faces and names blurred themselves out, at least at this moment.Harry decided not to strain focusing on the past. He focused on the stunning redhead in his arms. The scent coming from her freshly washed hair caused Harry to relax and fall into a pleasant stupor.

Sometimes it's best not to ask questions you may not want to learn the answers to.