Reborn in DC: Young Justice

-[?]-

As I opened my eyes, I discovered that I was encompassed by complete darkness. At first, I was scared, but after some time, I came to the conclusion that I might still be asleep and dreaming. However, when I turned around, I saw someone sleeping on a bed that appeared to be floating.

As the 17-year-old matured man (Hehe, big dreams for the kid), I approached the sleeping man and gently said, "Hello, sir."

After calling out to him four or five times, the man stirred and opened his eyes. The man was surprised to see me.

"How did you get here, child?" the man asked.

"This is my dream, old man. You are the one who is new here," I boasted confidently.

"Hmm, no, kid. This place is called the Abyss, and you are here because you died. The Soul Reaper who was transferring your soul must have accidentally dropped it, and that's how you ended up here," the man explained.

"Haha, come on, old man. Don't tell tales," I chuckled dismissively.

"I have no reason to lie, my child. Here, I will show you how you died," he insisted.

After he flicked his hand, I witnessed the sight of my own lifeless body being pulled out from the debris of my collapsed apartment. It appeared that I had died in my sleep during an earthquake that struck my area, causing the building I resided in and its surroundings to crumble.

The revelation hit me like a truck, and I struggled to process the information. It took some time for me to accept the reality of the situation I found myself in.

"So, I'm in the Abyss, huh? My luck was always horrible, but I never thought it would lead me to the Abyss after I died. I always thought I would go to hell," I ranted, expressing my frustration.

"I'm just a bored being. Many call me GOD, but since you're the first survivor to meet me, you can call me Bob," he replied.

"God? Bob! Seriously?" I sighed in exasperation. "Hmm... Bob, huh... So, you're a god who got bored. Bored Omnipotent Being. Bob, nice name, by the way," I snickered.

"I never thought of my name that way, but I like the ring of it," he responded, smiling slightly.

Curiosity got the better of me, and I asked, "So, what now?"

"Hmm, I can offer you two choices," Bob explained. "First: You have five roulette chances. You can't choose your powers; it all depends on your luck. You will be sent to one of my avatar's worlds."

"With my shitty luck, I'm basically screwed," I muttered, my frustration evident in my voice.

Bob simply shrugged lazily and replied, "Second: You can decline and spend the rest of your time in this Abyss."

I muttered in frustration, "You don't leave me with any choice. Argh!"

"That's all I can offer. Take it or rot in this Abyss. If you want to make your choice, you have unlimited time. Decide for yourself," Bob stated.

"I will go with the first option. Will the roulette spin decide which world I will go to?" I inquired.

"Yes, but not this one. You will have to spin another one," he stated.

"How do I start these roulettes?" I asked, to which he replied that I just needed to say "start." And so, I did.

While the initial roulette wheels were spinning, he brought out another one specifically designed to determine which world I would be sent to. "Start this one too," he said. "We can finish everything in one go."

"Do you prefer reincarnation or transmigration?" Bob asked.

"Transmigration. I don't want to start my life all over again as a baby," I replied.

Bob snapped his fingers, and a character creation screen appeared before me.

After some adjustments, I settled on my new appearance. I decided to be over six feet tall, characterized by a towering stature and a heavily muscled build. My frame was tall and broad-shouldered, with well-defined muscles. I chose a hairstyle described as short and tousled, relatively shorter on the sides and back while keeping the top slightly longer and textured for a slightly messy, effortlessly styled look. My eyes were a striking sky blue in color.

As the roulette wheels came to a halt, Bob spoke, "You won't remember your past identity. It's time for you to live a new life. Of course, I will allow you to retain other memories, but nothing regarding the life you lived. Live as you wish."

Bob turned his attention to the halted roulettes and spoke, "Oh, interesting rewards you have received. Since you are the first to meet me, I have made some tweaks to your rewards and left a special gift for you. You will likely find it useful as you enter this new world."

Before I could inquire about the specific rewards I had obtained, he snapped his fingers, and everything went black as I lost consciousness.

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[?]

In the center of the dark room, the pod commanded attention with its imposing presence, accompanied by a control panel a few feet away. Inside the pod, a young man with black hair and fair skin lay peacefully.

Unexpectedly, the young man's body began to emit a radiant glow, casting an ethereal light around the room. Curiously, the genome within the pod remained unresponsive, unaffected by the phenomenon.

As the glow subsided, a silver ring materialized on the young man's left middle finger. The moment the ring appeared, the telepathic connection between the young man and the genome was abruptly severed. Stirring briefly from his slumber, the young man winced and muttered something unintelligible before slipping back into a profound sleep.

Meanwhile, elsewhere...

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[Gotham City Central Park, July 4th]

Freeze unleashed his icy onslaught upon the unsuspecting people of Gotham City Park, causing panic and chaos as they desperately tried to escape his freezing grasp. One particular family, frozen with fear, gazed in horror at the cliff where the villain stood.

"Enjoying your family time?" Freeze taunted, his words dripping with cold malice as he encased the family in ice. "My family has other plans." With a swift slide down the ramp from the cliff, he prepared to continue his icy reign of terror.

However, before he could target the fleeing citizens, his aim was disrupted by a well-aimed Batarang. "Batman," he muttered, half-expecting the Dark Knight's arrival. "I was wondering when-"

To his surprise, Freeze turned to find no one there, only the haunting echo of childish laughter reverberating through the open area. From above, a dark shadow loomed over him, but it was not Batman who descended upon him. It was Robin, donned in his signature tactical gear, landing a powerful blow that sent Freeze crashing to the ground. Swiftly, he followed up with two birdarangs, aimed at Freeze's helmet, creating ominous cracks.

"Oh, Boy Wonder," Freeze drawled, his voice laced with a mix of annoyance and defiance. "The Bat sent you to drag me off to prison. Frankly, I'm underwhelmed." Despite his words, he rose to his feet, now aiming his ice gun directly at Robin.

"Great, but I'm kinda in a hurry here," Robin dismissed nonchalantly, seemingly unfazed by the imminent danger presented by Freeze's buzzing weapon.

"Kids," Freeze muttered, his frustration evident. "Always in such a rush."

Robin, maintaining his sing-song tone, clarified, "Not talking to you." With a swift gesture, he pointed behind Freeze, causing the icy villain to turn and face the arrival of Batman himself. With a swift flying punch, Batman shattered the glass of Freeze's helmet.

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[Star City Bridge, Star City, July 4th]

Icicle Junior, reveling in his icy powers, lands on the bridge and immediately freezes it, creating an icy shell. As cars lose balance and crashes ensue, he lets out a maniacal laugh. However, his moment of triumph is short-lived as a barrage of arrows begins raining down upon him, coming in two distinct colors: three green-fletched arrows and two red-fletched ones.

Momentarily caught off guard, Icicle Junior is struck by a green arrow in his shoulder, which starts blinking red and beeping before exploding. The small explosion throws him off balance, propelling him towards the other arrows that, upon impact, also detonate and send him back to his original position.

As the disorientation subsides, Icicle Junior turns his gaze towards one of the towers on the bridge, where Green Arrow and his partner Speedy stand, ready to strike again. Fueled by frustration, Icicle Junior growls, "Finally! I was wondering what a guy had to do to get a little attention around here." His left arm morphs into a mace-like structure, and he launches icicles at the archers, followed by a volley from his mirrored right hand.

The skilled archers, Green Arrow and Speedy, respond swiftly, releasing arrows with precision. "Junior's doing all this for attention?" Speedy asks, taken aback. Although the first batch of icicles explodes due to their arrows, the second wave manages to bypass their defense, forcing them to traverse the width of the tower and descend to the suspender.

Amidst their continued arrow barrage and nimble dodges, Speedy voices his frustration. "I'm telling you now, this little show better not interfere."

The archer duo launches a pair of explosive arrows towards Junior, who creates a shield in front of himself. However, the arrows penetrate the shield, creating a hole. Junior seizes the opportunity, launching ice towards the younger archer.

With impressive agility, Speedy jumps and flips over the ice projectiles, swiftly grabbing and stringing another arrow. As he straightens out, he takes aim and fires directly at Junior, hitting him square in the jaw and knocking him down and out.

"Ha ha ha!" Green Arrow chuckles, standing just a few feet away from where Junior's slide comes to an end. "Kid had a glass jaw," he comments, with his partner landing gracefully a few feet away.

"Hilarious," Speedy drawls, stepping closer to Green Arrow. "Can we go? Today's the day." His impatience was evident.

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[Pearl Harbor, July 4th]

The harbor was filled with large shards of ice protruding from the water, causing the ships to become frozen in place. Killer Frost continued to unleash her powers, covering more of the ship with ice and creating a swirling snowfall. However, her target was none other than Aquaman, who skillfully evaded her attacks. He descended from the open bridge to the turret, then moved to the second turret before finally leaping down to the deck.

Anticipating Aquaman's movements, Killer Frost swiftly froze him before he could take more than two steps on the deck. Aqualad, positioned behind Aquaman and to his left, leaped from the first turret, effortlessly clearing his mostly frozen mentor. Aquaman broke free from the ice and immediately followed after him.

"Don't tell me you're not excited," Aquaman initiated a conversation with his partner.

"Right now, my king, I am more focused on the matter at hand," the dark-skinned Atlantean responded in a formal tone. He deftly dodged under a shot of ice, then veered to the right, prompting Killer Frost to shoot in that direction. Aqualad seized the opportunity to fake left and find an opening.

Killer Frost halted her right strike and aimed for the area just before the young Atlantean. Sensing the danger, Aqualad leaped into action, pulling out his Water-bearers that transformed into dual maces. The eel tattoos on his arms began to emit a bright glow.

Once again, Killer Frost directed her attack at the teen, nearly striking him, but he swiftly positioned his Water-bearers to block the blow. As a result, his hands and the handles of the maces froze together.

Landing barefoot before his foe, Aqualad delivered a powerful double uppercut, shattering the ice around his hands and the makeshift maces and rendering Killer Frost unconscious. As he did so, his tattoos returned to their normal black coloration.

Aquaman stopped a few feet behind Aqualad, crossing his arms and capturing the teen's attention. "Well?"

"Yes, I'm excited," Aqualad admitted. "Today's the day."

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[Central City Square, July 4th]

In Central City, the Jewelry store had a wall with ice covering its edges, indicating a break-in. On the road, Captain Cold found himself trapped by the Flash and Kid Flash, who were sprinting circles around the icy villain. Despite Cold's attempts to shoot them, his aim was far from accurate. His third shot came closer, but it missed the Flash and instead hit a passing car, freezing it solid as if it had been involved in a crash.

"Stealing ice? Really? Isn't that a cliché even for Captain Cold?" the Flash taunted, continuing to circle around the villain at super-speed.

"Come on!" Kid Flash called out, urgency in his voice. "We don't have time for this!" Swiftly, he adjusted his red goggles over his malachite green eyes, breaking free from the circular motion and making a beeline for Cold's exposed back. However, his words gave him away, and Cold swiftly turned toward the sound of his voice, aiming his Cold Gun at the young speedster.

Kid Flash managed to dodge, but some of the ice grazed his shoulder as he swiftly turned away from the freezing stream. Then, facing Cold once again, he swiftly snatched the Cold Gun from the villain's grasp and shook off the ice that had clung to his shoulder. Skidding to a stop at the T intersection, Kid Flash stood defiantly, ready to face Cold.

Cold growled in frustration, clenching his empty hand, but before he could make any further moves, the Flash delivered a powerful cross to his face, sending him flying several feet to the side, unconscious. "Calm down, kid," the Flash remarked casually.

"Oh, please!" Kid Flash exclaimed, clearly annoyed. "You'll chat it up with the cops, with bystanders, even with Cold himself." He gestured towards the defeated criminal to emphasize his point. "No. No way!" Stepping up to his mentor, despite the noticeable height difference, Kid Flash had the Flash's undivided attention. "Today's the day!" His bright green eyes sparkled with excitement.

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[Hall of Justice, Washington DC July 4th]

A few moments after the team was told to stay put...

"What is Project Cadmus?" Aqualad asked, his voice slow and deliberate.

"I don't know," Robin admitted, his grin turning into a smirk. "But I can find out." He walked over to the computer, instantly typing in codes and initiating a search for information.

The computer buzzed with a message: "Access Denied," the automated voice stated.

Robin chuckled. "Wanna bet?" He pressed a few more buttons, navigating through the files at lightning speed.

"Whoa," Kid Flash murmured in surprise. "How are you doing that?"

Robin smiled as he hit two more keys. "Same system as the Batcave." With that, he pressed one last key.

"Access Granted," the voice declared, displaying a two-story complex and flooding the screen with data.

"Alright, Project Cadmus," Robin stated simply. "It's a genetics lab here in DC." Then he frowned.

"That's all there is, but if Batman is suspicious..." He glanced at Aqualad. "Maybe we should investigate." Then he turned to Kid Flash.

"We'll solve their case before they do," Aqualad said, giving a small smile. "It would be poetic justice."

"Hey," Robin managed through his chuckle. "They're all about justice."

Aqualad sighed. "But they told us to stay put."

"For the mission to blot out the sun, not for this," Robin replied, his smile widening as he put his hands on his hips.

"Wait," the speedster interjected, grabbing the younger hero's shoulder and turning him toward him. "Are you going to Cadmus?" He emphasized his point with a pointing finger. "Because if you're going, I'm going!" Both boys turned to Aqualad, their smiles bright—Robin beaming and Kid Flash with a hint of hope in his eyes.

"Just like that?" Aqualad asked. "We're a team on a mission?"

Their smiles faded slightly, but Robin gained a smirk. "We didn't come for a play-date." Aqualad joined him with a look of pure determination.

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[CADMUS Level 26]

"Welcome to Project Cadmus," Robin announced. Kid Flash smiled before bolting.

"Kid, wait!" Aqualad tried, but the speedster didn't stop. The sounds of heavy footsteps in the hallway that cuts across the one he's running in forced him to skid. However, he couldn't stop in time and fell into the hallway as massive creatures that walked on all fours but stood nearly as tall as the hallway walked down in two rows.

He barely dodged the hand of the leader, breathing a sigh of relief, then stood up and ran back towards where both Robin and Aqualad now stood, shocked.

One growled at them, but there was also a smaller one on top of its massive trunked head. The smaller one hissed, and its horns glowed red as the larger one continued to walk away.

"No. Nothing odd going on here," Aqualad said sarcastically.

After walking for some time, they arrived before a door. Robin started hacking into the door's control panel. The center of the panel changed colors from red to yellow to green before it fully unlocked. Kid Flash was waiting while Robin hacked, and Aqualad covered their rear.

As the door opened, both Robin and Kid Flash looked surprised. "Okay, I'm officially whelmed," Robin exclaimed, catching Aqualad's attention.Inside the room were towering rows of bug-like creatures emitting electrical pulses that seemed to be channeled through a generator on the wall, nearly 20 feet off the ground.

"So this is how they hide this massive underground facility from the world," Kid Flash realized as they walked between the towering rows. "The real Cadmus isn't connected to the grid. It generates its own power with these... things." His tone lost its excitement. "They must be bred for that purpose."

"Even the name is a clue," Aqualad agreed. "The Cadmus of myth created a new race by sowing dragon's teeth into the Earth."

"And this Cadmus creates new life too," Robin added, stepping up to the computer nearest one of the rows of creatures. "Let's find out why."

He pulled out a connector from his gauntlet and plugged it into the computer. A holographic screen appeared, displaying the information they sought. "They call them Genomorphs."

Now he had Kid Flash and Aqualad's full attention. The hologram displayed detailed information about the Genomorphs, and Robin's eyes widened. "Whoa! Look at the stats on these things—super-strength, telepathy, razor claws. These are living weapons." Robin recoiled in shock.

"They're engineering an army, but for whom?" Kid Flash questioned.

"Wait, there's something else," Robin said as another batch of information appeared on his gauntlet. Aqualad stepped up behind Robin, looking over his shoulder. "Project Kr." and "Project X" He tried to start decrypting it.

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[?]

"Where the fuck am I?"

When I opened my eyes, I could see that I was being strapped into some kind of transparent container.

"Just where the hell did I get myself transmigrated to?" I questioned myself.

That was when new memories started pouring into my head. I was an orphan and was kidnapped by human traffickers, who sold me to an organization involved in human experimentation.

After carefully processing these memories, I discovered that I had been taken to a facility known as CADMUS, where Doctor Desmond had subjected me to intense torture after discovering my meta-human capabilities. I seemed to possessed meta abilities such as the power of regeneration.

Desmond, unable to create a successful clone using my genetic material for unknown reasons, resorted to introducing different DNA into my system. His intention was to observe whether my body could regenerate from the damage caused by the assimilation of the foreign DNA. Astonishingly, my body did adapt to some extent, but not without grave consequences. While a few experiments were successful, the majority ended in failure, leaving me transformed into a mindless being devoid of consciousness.

After the rush of memories ended, I was struck with the realization that I was in the DC world. "Damn it, I've been transported to the DC universe!" I screamed internally, overwhelmed by the sudden revelation.