Chapter 16: Cadmus Raid part 1/2.

More advance chapters on P@treon.com/Saintbarbido.

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The Hall of Justice echoed with the faint hum of distant machinery, an unsettling calm hanging in the air.

Jon sat on the edge of a long, polished table, arms crossed as he mulled over Batman's parting words. "We'll think about it."

Those words felt like a brush-off, a polite dismissal.

'And I had this whole speech planned out too...'

Jon thought morosely. He knew bits and pieces of the plot and had wanted to hurry up the formation of the Team. Guess there were things even his meta-knowledge couldn't solve. Batman's stubbornness for one.

He shot a glance at Robin, who was fidgeting with his gauntlet, clearly just as frustrated.

The others—Kid Flash and Aqualad—stood nearby, sharing the same quiet disappointment.

The Justice League had departed minutes earlier, leaving them, once again, on the sidelines.

Unknown to his friends, Jon was excited. The League might have shot his idea down but they would have another chance to prove themselves.

As if on cue, a sudden crackle from the League's comm system cut through the silence. Jon's enhanced hearing zeroed in on it.

He stood, alert. The rest followed suit, exchanging glances as the comm system flared to life, reporting a fire at Cadmus Labs just a few blocks away.

"Cadmus?"

Robin raised an eyebrow, already accessing the building's schematics through his wrist computer.

Kid Flash's gloomy expression faded, replaced by interest,

"I thought the League would handle something like that."

"No."

Jon muttered, his eyes narrowing. He listened to the rest of the message. "They're not. They've prioritized the alien threat."

Aqualad stepped forward, his calm demeanor belying the urgency in his voice,

"Then the authorities will handle Cadmus."

"They should. "

Robin replied, scrolling through the data flashing on his gauntlet.

"But something's off. The fire… it's too convenient."

Jon locked eyes with Robin.

"We can't just sit here."

Kid Flash grinned, already vibrating in place.

"Finally, something to do after that whole...disappointment."

Aqualad nodded, turning to Jon with a smile.

"You were right. If we go, we go as a team."

No more words were needed. The decision was unanimous.

---

Cadmus Labs loomed ahead, a sleek, glass-covered facility surrounded by smoke billowing from its upper floors.

As he approached from the air, Jon's senses kicked into overdrive. His supervision allowed him to see the scientists stuck on the burning section.

A blur of yellow zoomed on the ground, past the crowd of onlookers and the fire department.

"Kid, get the scientists, I'll put out the flames."

Jon spoke into the comm devices Robin had issued them.

"Got it."

Kid Flash responded, scaling the side of the building and grabbing the 4 scientists before speeding down in a flash.

Meanwhile, Jon stopped in the air in front of the building. Taking a deep breath he exhaled out a funnel of cold wind and extinguished the fire, covering the floor in a sheet of ice.

The people on the ground cheered. Jon spared them a thumbs up and flew into the building. A second later, the others joined him.

"The fire was real, but it was localized on this floor alone. As if designed to draw attention away from something else."

Robin stated surveying the frozen scene inside with his detective eye.

From the end of the room, Aqualad motioned to them.

The door to the other parts of the building was shut and needed a passcode to pass.

"Robin."

Aqualad said quietly, his gaze suspicious.

"We need to get inside. What can you do?"

"Already on it."

Robin's fingers flew over the holographic screen on his gauntlet. Seconds later, the door clicked open.

"Security's running a minimal lockdown protocol. Easy enough to bypass."

They moved quickly.

Once inside, the halls were eerily silent, the aftermath of the fieenothing more than a faint burning smell.

Jon kept his senses on high alert, but Robin's expertise had them slipping past cameras, and alarms without issue.

At a point, Kid Flash made to dart ahead, but Jon grabbed his shoulder before he could,

"Not so fast Speedy Gonzalez."

"What?"

Kid asked innocently.

"We all know I'm fast enough to not get caught."

"Speed is not always the answer."

Jon countered to which Kid snickered.

"If you believe that, maybe you're just not fast enough."

And with that, the speedster zoomed away.

Jon sighed in exasperation, turning to the other two.

"Is he always like that?"

"Impulsive, hardheaded and overconfident?"

Robin asked in rhetoric.

"You haven't met many speedsters, have you?"

Truth be told, this was the first official mission the four were on. But it was clear to Jon they needed to work out a structure of command. Or a few basic rules at least.

"Let's keep moving and hope Kid doesn't trip the alarm."

Aqualad stated, moving through the hall.

Fortunately, a minute later Wally was back with some good news. He'd found an interesting room. One with a computer where Robin could work his magic.

And sure enough, 2 minutes before the screen, Robin found something.

"There's more levels below."

He said, pulling up a schematic of the building.

"Cadmus isn't just a research facility. It's got layers. Underground layers."

Aqualad's brow furrowed.

"And what are they hiding down there?"

They found out soon enough after Jon coincidentally stumbled on a high speed express elevator shaft that led down.

(Jon's P.O.V)

I floated down the shaft, Kid Flash slung over my shoulder. Robin and Aqualad were more traditional, lowering themselves on Robin's utility lines. The cables came to a stop right before the doors of Sublevel 26.

"You guys are in for a surprise."

I said, already using my X-ray vision to scan the other side before gripping the door and pulling it open with ease.

"H-holy shit."

Kid Flash muttered as we landed in a massive chamber.

A column of enormous, gray creatures marched ahead of us, each flanked by smaller ones with glowing horns on their shoulders.

"Nothing weird down here, indeed." Aqualad added dryly.

The creatures, completely uninterested, moved past us like we didn't exist.

Once the way was clear, we took a moment to take in the room.

Sublevel 26 was nothing like the sterile, pristine labs above. Here, the space was vast, more like a warehouse filled with tech pods, chemical vats, and endless rows of sealed chambers.

Inside those chambers? More of the same creatures—monstrous, engineered things suspended in stasis.

Genomorphs.

I knew them from my memories. Cadmus had created them—living weapons built with powers like telepathy and super-strength. Robin's hacking confirmed it to the others.

"Living weapons for who?"

Kid Flash asked, uneasy.

The Light, I thought grimly, my stomach turning as we passed tanks filled with half-formed creatures.

Their glowing eyes and twisted limbs moved sluggishly in their containment, some twitching like they were alive but trapped.

"We need to keep moving."

I muttered, though my eyes caught on one especially massive Genomorph floating in a tank, its skin a sickly purple. A potential test subject for Blockbuster serum, maybe?

The hiss of doors opening made us freeze.

A man rushed in, armored in tactical gear, a golden helmet on his head and flanked by an army of Genomorphs.

"Intruders located! Stop where you—wait... Robin? Kid Flash?"

He stopped in his tracks, clearly recognizing them.

"You're Guardian. A hero."

Robin noted, though his expression was skeptical.

Guardian's confusion deepened.

"I'm head of Cadmus security. This is a restricted area. You kids are coming with me to contact the League."

I clapped my hands, the sound echoing.

"Great idea. I'm sure they'll love to see all the 'genetic experiments' you've got going on down here."

"Genetic experiments? No, wait, that's not—argh… my head..." Guardian winced, rubbing his temples. The Genomorph's horns on his shoulder glowed briefly, and then his expression shifted to fury.

"Get them!"

he roared.

"Time to kick ass!"

Kid Flash grinned, pulling on his goggles before darting toward the oncoming Genomorphs. A blur of fast punches later, a few of them were already down.

"Jon! Clear a path to the elevator!" Robin shouted.

I didn't need to be told twice. Kid Flash was quick, but I moved like a storm, barreling through the Genomorphs with one punch that sent the biggest of them flying back into the others. God dang I love my powers.

"Whoa…"

Wally breathed in awe, glancing at me with new respect. It was hard not to preen.

Aqualad kept Guardian busy, shoving him back and giving Robin enough time to hack the elevator. As soon as the doors closed on us, we all exhaled, relieved.

"I think it's time to call the League."

I suggested.

"This is way beyond a simple fire."

Robin hesitated, then shook his head, pressing the button to go deeper.

"Not yet. I want to see what else they're hiding down here. We need concrete proof."

The rest of us exchanged looks but ultimately agreed. Besides, following the plot worked for me.

The elevator descended further—to Sublevel 52. My heart raced; I already knew what waited for us down there, Project Kr. My...brother.

The doors opened into a chamber of volcanic rock. Robin's voice cut through my thoughts.

"Guys, you need to see this."

We crowded around a heavily secured door. It took Robin a little longer to hack, but soon enough, the door slid open.

Inside was a pod—metallic, humming with energy. And inside that pod... a figure.

"Project Kr."

Robin whispered, his voice tight. "Jon, that's…"

Wordlessly, I stepped forward, my chest tightening. Floating in the pod was someone with my face.

"Superboy…"

Kid Flash breathed in shock.

"Is he… your clone?"

My throat went dry. And my face reflected real rage and disbelief. This was 'me'—or at least, a version of me. Created by Cadmus to kill Superman, my father.

Created by Lex fucking Luthor. I thought I was ready for this, but there was something deeply disturbing about seeing your face on someone else.

"We need to get him out."

Aqualad said, already moving toward the controls.

"No."

I snapped, harsher than I intended. I softened my tone but didn't take my eyes off the clone.

"I'll handle it."

With a single pull, I ripped the pod open. The liquid drained away, and the clone's eyes shot open—blue, just like mine.

In an instant, he lunged at me, fists flying, eyes locked on the symbol on my chest with unfiltered hatred.

I blocked the first hit, then the next, parrying his attacks effortlessly. He was strong— really strong—but I was stronger and trained in Torquasm. Still, I pretended to struggle, letting everyone believe he was pushing me back.

"Robin, Kid Flash, Aqualad—go!"

I shouted, catching the clone's fist mid-swing.

"Check the other sublevels. There might be more."

"But—"

Robin hesitated.

"I'll deal with this!"

I growled, shoving the clone backward, sending him crashing into the wall.

"Go!"

They obeyed, reluctantly. The clone was already back on his feet, rage burning in his eyes. He charged again, but this time I was done pretending. I sidestepped, delivering a punch to his side that sent him sprawling.

He kept coming though. Over and over.

"Stay down and let me help you!"

I shouted, exasperated.

"Liar!"

he roared surprising me, landing a powerful punch across my jaw.

"You're like Him!"

I barely flinched, but my patience snapped. With a swift motion, I knocked him down, pinning him to the floor.

"We're family!"

The clone fought wildly, refusing to listen. I cursed under my breath. Reasoning wasn't going to work. Luckily, I'd come prepared.

Reaching into my crystal pendant, I pulled out a shard of kryptonite—just enough to weaken us both- him more than me due to my built up resistance to the radiation. With a steady hand, I pressed it into his arm, just enough to pierce the skin.

He gasped, going limp beneath me.

Breathing heavily, I stood over him. "Finally... I'm getting you out of here."

Robin's voice crackled through the comms.

"Jon, we found something. A girl. Her codename is… Raven."

My blood ran cold.