Cadmus – Sub-Level 52 – Outer Corridor
The heavy stomp of boots hit the corridor like the beat of an approaching storm. The G-Trolls surged forward in a tight formation, their armor plates clanking, bulked-up muscle and reinforced plating making them look like moving walls. The female technician pulled back from the control panel with a frustrated grunt, wiping grime and sweat from her hands, eyes darting nervously between the failing door and the tense figures before her.
Guardian's hand shot up sharply, fingers slicing through the air like a blade.
"Hold position," he said, voice calm but edged with the kind of authority that didn't take no for an answer. There was a quiet electricity in the air—as if something waiting to snap was just holding itself back.
Desmond stalked alongside the Anthropoid, his sharp suit slightly rumpled but every inch the image of corporate arrogance incarnate. His eyes glittered with impatience, smug satisfaction, and something dangerously close to triumph.
"The key here is the weapon inside," Desmond said, voice smooth, coated with slick corporate charm. "Our weapon. Superboy will tip the scales. He's the ace up our sleeve. The ultimate leverage."
Guardian raised a brow, unflinching. "You do realize there are four teenage Kryptonians on the other side, right? Not exactly the obedient type. Last I checked, teens — especially Kryptonian ones — have a particular talent for ignoring orders and smashing stuff."
Desmond waved a dismissive hand, smirking like he held all the cards. "Our programming holds. You misunderstand. This isn't just Kryptonian DNA—we've layered it with fail-safes, genetic overrides. He'll obey us. Like clockwork."
The Anthropoid stepped forward, his red eyes flickering like coals in the dim corridor light. His voice was low and steady, a dangerous calm that cut through the tension. "Trust? That's a luxury we cannot afford. Not here."
Desmond didn't even glance at the warning. "Open the door."
The G-Trolls moved with mechanical precision, slamming their reinforced arms against the steel blast door. The entire corridor seemed to tremble under the assault.
Clang. Clang. Clang.
The metal groaned, spiderweb cracks blooming across the surface like fractured ice.
The technician's voice broke through the noise, sharp and urgent. "Almost there! Just a few more seconds!"
Guardian shifted his weight, arms crossed, smirking with a hint of that Jensen Ackles charm—equal parts sarcasm and deadly focus. "Desmond, for a guy who's been playing God in a lab coat, you sure talk like you've never met a Kryptonian with a bad attitude."
Desmond's grin widened, perfectly practiced and dangerously slick. "Oh, Guardian, I'm not worried about attitude. I'm confident in control. We designed Superboy to anticipate commands, to pre-empt disobedience. It's not hope, it's certainty."
Anthropoid's voice rumbled low, thick with warning. "Control is an illusion. And illusions can shatter—fast."
Guardian chuckled, shaking his head. "That's rich coming from the guy who looks like he moonlights as a Bond villain."
Desmond's smile flickered for a fraction of a second—a crack in the polished facade. "Let's hope that door holds just long enough. Because once it opens, there's no turning back."
The technician's fingers flew over the controls, sweat dripping down her temple. "Unlocking... now."
With a final metallic creeeak, the blast door gave way, sliding open to reveal darkness beyond. Shadows shifted just beyond the threshold, the faintest hint of movement.
Guardian stepped forward, voice low and sharp as a drawn blade. "Alright. Time to remind these kids why Cadmus doesn't just play games—we write the rules."
Desmond's eyes gleamed with cold ambition. "Control, power, leverage. One way or another, the game ends with our victory."
Anthropoid's tone was grim, eyes piercing the dark. "Or we lose everything."
Guardian's grin split his face, equal parts warning and promise.
"Well then, let's go make some history."
—
Cadmus – Sub-Level 52 – Inner Vault Chamber
The chamber door slid open with a grinding hiss, the sound echoing like the opening act of a storm.
Dr. Desmond strode in first, chest puffed out like a CEO conquering his empire, every inch the picture of arrogance. Behind him, Guardian followed with slow, measured steps, eyes scanning. The Anthropoid moved silently at Guardian's side, a shadow cloaked in calm menace.
But what greeted them wasn't chaos or the shattered remains of some 'weapon gone wrong.'
It was something else.
Unity.
Solaris stood front and center, emerald eyes burning with fierce determination and a hint of vulnerability, bruised but unbroken. His dark hair fell just so, the kind of casual dishevelment that only made him more magnetic.
Aqualad, muscles taut and steady, cradled Superboy—the clone—his grip firm but gentle, an anchor amidst the tension.
Troia's golden lasso flickered faintly at her wrist, coiling like a sentinel's promise. Her gaze was sharp, but her eyes flickered momentarily toward Solaris — an unspoken tension crackling between them.
Sentinel's pale green eyes cut through the room like lasers, muscles coiled beneath dark hair, radiating a calm but lethal readiness.
Enchantress hovered near the back, her violet eyes shimmering with cautious power, fingers twitching as if itching to unleash magic but restraining herself.
Robin, his HoloGlove pulsing faintly, scanned the intruders with sharp intensity, the youngest strategist in the room—13, but already a force to be reckoned with.
Kid Flash lounged casually against a console, grin teasing but his eyes betraying the worry under the bravado of a 14-year-old trying to mask fear.
Desmond's confident smile faltered, lips parting to command control—only to have the chamber's cold silence swallow his words.
Solaris stepped forward, emerald eyes unyielding, voice low but razor-sharp. "You brought us a weapon."
He glanced sideways at Troia, a flicker of frustration—or was it something else?—passing between them. "We brought you a war."
Desmond's jaw clenched, gaze flickering first to Superboy, then back to Solaris. "You—"
A low growl from the Anthropoid stopped him cold. "You have underestimated them."
Desmond's arrogance cracked. The first seed of panic bloomed behind his eyes. "I was sure this would go differently," he muttered, barely audible.
Solaris stepped closer, emerald eyes locked on Desmond's. "Project KR isn't your weapon."
Troia's golden lasso sparked to life, swirling like liquid fire around her wrist. Her voice was fierce, but there was a bite of personal edge. "He's our friend."
"And we don't take orders from monsters like you."
The tension snapped like a wire.
The battle was about to begin.
Solaris glanced sideways at Troia, voice dripping with a mixture of irritation and reluctant care. "You're still glowing like that. You know it's distracting, right?"
Troia rolled her eyes, the smallest smirk breaking her guarded expression. "Maybe I like distracting you."
Solaris shook his head, a hint of a grin tugging at his lips. "Sure, keep telling yourself that. Last I checked, you're the one who can't stop staring at me."
Troia's cheeks flushed ever so slightly, but she was quick with a comeback. "Jealousy isn't a good look on you."
Solaris raised a brow. "Jealousy? Please. I'm way too busy trying to keep you from getting us all killed."
Troia's lasso pulsed softly, her eyes narrowing. "Maybe if you showed up on time instead of brooding in the shadows, I wouldn't have to."
Sentinel cracked his knuckles, voice calm but heavy with warning. "Enough bickering. Desmond and his toys just walked into our territory. This isn't a family reunion."
Solistice, perched quietly beside Sentinel, adjusted her gloves, her voice youthful but fierce. "We've got their number. Let's make sure they never forget it."
Enchantress rolled her violet eyes, crossing her arms with a sardonic tilt of her head. "You all act like we're in some boy band fight club. Seriously, this is Cadmus—time to get real."
Supergirl stepped forward, eyes blazing with youthful determination. "They think they can control us, use us. Let's prove them wrong."
Robin flicked his HoloGlove, voice sharp and serious. "Tactics first, bickering later. Focus, team."
Kid Flash tossed a grin their way, but it didn't reach his worried eyes. "Let's show these rookies what real speed looks like."
Guardian, voice cutting through the room like a whip, hands on hips and ready to strike. "I like this energy. Reckless, a little wild—but smart. You're kids playing at war, but don't forget who's running the show."
Desmond, adjusting his cufflinks with smug satisfaction, replied, "This game has been in the works a long time, Guardian. And it's about to end—on our terms."
Anthropoid, voice calm but deadly, added, "You might run the show, but these kids? They own the stage."
Superboy, eyes burning bright but weariness shadowing his features, struggled to his feet. His voice was raw, edged with pain and defiance. "I'm not your weapon. I'm me."
Solaris stepped forward, voice fierce with protective fire. "And we're not letting anyone take that away."
Troia's lasso snapped taut, the glow bathing the room in golden light. "Together."
The chamber held its breath.
The war had begun.
—
The stillness shattered like glass.
Without warning, Solaris exploded forward like a comet, a streak of red heat vision carving molten lines across the steel floor. G-Trolls roared, scrambling to avoid the scorched earth beneath their feet. The scent of ozone filled the air.
"Heads up, glowstick!" Troia yelled, flipping over him mid-air, golden lasso cracking like a whip. She snagged the lead Troll and yanked him into a spinning kick that sent the brute flying into a bank of servers.
She landed beside Solaris, a bit too close, panting. "So broody, yet so flashy. Trying to impress me?"
Solaris smirked, brushing soot off his shoulder. "If I was trying, you'd be impressed."
"Keep dreaming, fireboy," Troia muttered, ducking a wild punch and planting her knee in a Troll's chest.
Aqualad surged through the fray, blades of condensed water singing through the air. "Protect the clone! Superboy's still dazed!"
Superboy growled, shaking off sparks. His fists clenched. "I'm not dazed."
He launched into a G-Gnome, slamming it into the ceiling. It didn't get back up.
Sentinel bulldozed a Troll into the wall, pale green eyes flaring. "Enchantress, crowd control! Now!"
"You always yell like that?" Enchantress replied, hands aglow in emerald and violet. She cast a ripple of magic that hurled a wave of G-Gnomes into the far wall.
"Only when people ignore me."
"Get used to it," she shot back, releasing another blast.
Solistice darted past them like a burst of golden light, tagging Trolls with pinpoint blasts. "That one just licked me! Ew!"
"They have no boundaries!" Sentinel called.
"They have teeth!" she squeaked, hiding behind him for a second before blasting another.
Robin vaulted onto a console, hard-light barriers erupting around his teammates. "Containment grid up! Kid Flash—now!"
"Already moving!" came a blur of motion and a voice from nowhere.
Kid Flash zipped between G-Trolls, slapping their armor panels loose and pulling the pins on their utility belts. "One lap, two lap, sabotage, boom. And—oh hey, is that a protein bar?"
Guardian slammed into Solaris, sending the boy crashing to the ground. "You still think this is your playground, kid?"
Solaris rolled, landing in a crouch. Blood dripped from his lip. "No. This is my revolution."
Guardian lunged. Solaris caught him mid-air, heat vision flaring point-blank into Guardian's armor.
"You punch like a guy who peaked in high school," Solaris grunted.
"You talk like a guy who's gonna die with a clever last line," Guardian snapped back.
On the far end, Dubbilex's red eyes flared. A psionic wave swept the battlefield. Troia flinched, magic sparking erratically around her. Solistice dropped to one knee. Enchantress staggered, nose bleeding.
"Dubbilex!" Desmond shouted. "End this! Bring them to heel!"
Dubbilex didn't move. "I told you. Control is an illusion."
Solaris fired a heat blast at him. Dubbilex caught it with a psychic barrier. "You're angry," he said. "Good. It means you're human."
A Troll slammed Solaris into the wall.
Troia whipped her lasso around its throat and yanked. "Touch him again and I break your face!"
She helped Solaris up. "That was twice in one fight. You owe me."
"Dinner?"
"Only if you stop almost dying."
"No promises."
"You two suck at flirting!" Robin yelled.
"Multitasking!" Solaris and Troia yelled back.
Desmond watched it all unfold. G-Trolls falling. Dubbilex hesitating. Superboy fighting against his programming.
He growled and reached into his coat.
A black injector. A swirling green liquid: the Blockbuster Formula.
"If you want something done right..."
He stabbed it into his neck.
The hiss echoed like a scream.
Desmond's back arched, bones snapping, skin splitting. Muscles ballooned grotesquely. His suit tore apart at the seams. Veins pulsed bright green beneath his skin.
"...do it yourself."
The chamber froze.
And then Desmond roared.
—
Desmond's scream fractured the moment like a thunderclap.
All eyes snapped toward him as his body twisted and convulsed, tendons bulging under skin that pulsed with a sickly green glow. His veins lit up like toxic rivers, crawling up his neck, across his temple, and down his arms as the Blockbuster Formula took hold.
"Uh," Robin muttered, frozen mid-keystroke. "Is he... supposed to be doing that?"
Desmond dropped to one knee with a thunderous thud, clutching his head as steam poured from his mouth. His neatly tailored suit split down the spine with a wet rip, fabric curling away like scorched paper. His bones cracked audibly—agonizingly—as his limbs stretched and thickened, muscles ballooning into unnatural proportions.
"Get back," Sentinel barked, shielding Solistice and Robin behind one armored forearm.
Desmond's face contorted, jaw dislocating and elongating with an audible pop. His eyes went from icy blue to neon green, the whites clouding over like fogged glass. A deep, guttural snarl rumbled from his chest—a sound that wasn't remotely human.
His fingers split apart at the knuckles, doubling in thickness, fingernails warping into jagged claws. Bones tore through his shoulders as his frame continued to swell, neck vanishing beneath mounds of sinew and mutated flesh.
Superboy flinched. "What the hell is he turning into?"
"A bad idea," Enchantress whispered, staring wide-eyed. "With muscles."
Troia pulled Solaris back instinctively, her lasso flaring bright gold as if sensing the imminent threat. "Okay. Now we're impressed."
Solaris nodded slowly. "Definitely not dinner-worthy anymore."
Cracks spiderwebbed through the floor beneath Desmond's feet as his mass hit its peak. Where once stood a smug executive now loomed something monstrous—seven and a half feet tall, skin like gray-streaked granite, every breath a hiss of steam from between gritted, tusk-like teeth.
"Desmond," Guardian muttered, eyes narrowing. "You idiot."
Dubbilex's red gaze swept over the new form and he spoke, quietly, almost to himself: "Blockbuster."
Blockbuster straightened, now fully reborn. The last remnants of Desmond's shirt fell away, hanging in tatters from his grotesquely muscled shoulders. He turned his head slowly, first toward Guardian... then toward the teens.
And grinned.
"Your turn."
With an earthshaking roar, Blockbuster lunged—straight at them.
—
Blockbuster's roar fractured the air like a sonic boom, rattling metal walls and sending dust showering from the ceiling.
"Robin!" Solaris shouted over the chaos, swiping a scorched console chunk from mid-air with his forearm. "We need an exit—now!"
Robin didn't flinch. His HoloGlove was a blur of blue light and speed, eyes racing across security overlays. "Define exit. Emergency lift? Explosive breach? Space-time portal? I've got three out of five!"
"The one that keeps us from being turned into teen-paste by Steroid Hulk!" Solaris fired twin heat beams into Blockbuster's chest. They hissed and flared—but the beast barely paused, flexing through the burn with a savage grin.
"Sentinel! You're up!" Solaris shouted.
"Thought you'd never ask," Sentinel growled. He charged, shoulder-first, muscles tensing beneath his black shirt like drawn cables.
The impact was seismic. Sentinel hit Blockbuster like a train engine, slamming him back three feet. The monster snarled and lashed out. Sentinel caught the fist mid-air, boots skidding backward.
"He's stronger than he looks," Sentinel ground out.
"He looks like a gym rat got possessed by a kaiju," Solaris snapped, joining him in the grapple. The two forced Blockbuster backward step by brutal step.
From behind a smoking terminal, Troia's voice rang out, rich with sarcasm. "You two look like prom dates with issues."
Solaris glanced back with a smirk. "Jealous you're not in the middle of this dance?"
Troia twirled her lasso. "I'm just waiting for the part where you need saving. Again."
"I'm sorry," Solaris grunted, twisting under Blockbuster's elbow and blasting his side with heat vision. "Are you planning to help or just sass me into a coma?"
"I'll help when you stop leading with your face."
"That face has a fan club."
"Not anymore if you keep breaking it."
"Ugh, you two," Enchantress groaned, hurling a pulse of crackling violet energy at a regrouping squad of G-Trolls. "Get a room. Or therapy. Or both."
"Robin!" Kid Flash shouted, skidding to a stop beside him, sparks flying. "Please tell me you're hacking the Matrix over here."
"West wall!" Robin barked, not looking up. "Maintenance shaft. Locked behind five security layers and rigged with enough failsafes to make Batman flinch. I need sixty seconds and nobody dying."
"Well that's encouraging," Kid Flash muttered. "You sure there isn't just, like, a big red escape button?"
Blockbuster let out another roar and hurled Sentinel across the room. He hit a steel column with a gut-wrenching clang.
"Sentinel!" Solaris lunged, catching the monster with a flying punch that knocked his jaw sideways. It snapped back into place with a sickening crunch. The retaliation was a brutal backhand that sent Solaris skidding on his side, sparks flying off his boots.
Troia was there before he could sit up. She grabbed his hand, yanking him to his feet. "You're bleeding."
He grinned, wincing. "Just trying to match your dramatic energy."
"You're impossible."
"Still cute, though. Admit it."
She looked like she might answer—then Supergirl dive-bombed Blockbuster from above with a thunderous crack of fists against flesh. "Punch first, flirt later!"
"Copy that!" Superboy grunted, charging in with her.
Sentinel picked himself out of the rubble, cricking his neck. "Round two."
"Robin!" Solaris called. "Time?"
"Thirty-nine seconds and holding! Try not to die, okay? I'm almost past the biometric firewall!"
Solaris cracked his knuckles. Blockbuster had just yanked a generator from the wall like it was made of cardboard. "Let's keep him busy."
Sentinel stood beside him, eyes narrowing. "High or hard?"
"I take high. You hit hard."
"Flatter me later."
They charged.
Blockbuster met them with a howl, both fists swinging. Solaris dodged high, heat vision searing across the beast's scalp. Sentinel went low, shoulder-checking the mutant's knee and nearly buckling it. Blockbuster staggered, but his hands shot out and caught them both, lifting them like ragdolls.
"You kids," he snarled, voice a gravel avalanche, "never know when to quit."
Solaris grinned, bloodied lip curling upward. "That's the point."
A second later, Supergirl tackled Blockbuster again. Robin slammed the last override and yelled, "We have a door! Maintenance shaft open, but we need a path through!"
Solaris turned, eyes gleaming. "Then let's make one."
And the team exploded into motion.
—
The explosion of chaos behind them was almost beautiful, if you were into that kind of slow-motion-apocalypse aesthetic. Sparks sprayed from broken conduits. Warning klaxons wailed like the facility itself was screaming.
Robin's voice sliced through the noise. "Exit's open! West wall! Don't make me say it again!"
A hidden maintenance panel groaned open as Kid Flash blurred toward it, sliding on his knees like he was finishing a concert.
"Told ya I'd live to see the sequel!"
Solaris crash-landed beside Sentinel, one arm wrapped protectively around Troia. She looked thoroughly unimpressed despite the heroics.
"I could've flown myself," she muttered, one hand on her bruised shoulder.
Solaris tilted his head, emerald eyes glinting. "Yeah, but then I wouldn't get to play knight-in-freaking-glowing-armor. Let me have this."
"Don't get used to it," she shot back. Then, with a grudging softness, added, "Thanks."
"You blinked when you said that. Doesn't count," he teased, setting her down as Sentinel cleared a path with a full-body slam.
"Everyone move!" Sentinel barked, voice gravel and thunder.
Supergirl hovered overhead, scanning behind them. Her cape snapped in the turbulent air. "I've got rear-guard!"
Kid Flash zipped by, tossing her a cheeky grin. "And I've got rear view!"
She didn't even flinch. "You've also got a death wish."
They tore down the narrow escape corridor, a red-lit tunnel that felt more like a throat about to swallow them whole.
"Solaris, get the beam!" Troia called, pointing as debris collapsed ahead.
"On it!" He fired twin beams of heat vision, slicing through the steel. The beam dropped, smoking. Sentinel shoulder-checked the wreckage out of the way.
"I thought lasers were my job," Sentinel muttered.
"Please. You're brawn. I'm the sparkles," Solaris replied, smirking.
"You're a walking special effect with an ego problem."
"You say that like it's a bad thing."
They reached the base of a vertical access shaft, a narrow cylinder stretching into shadow. The others were already flying.
Superboy came to a halt, staring upward as the other Kryptonians rose effortlessly. His fists clenched.
He leapt.
Nothing.
Again.
Still grounded.
"Why... why can't I fly?" he asked, breathless and bitter.
Solaris floated above, eyebrows raised. "You're kidding."
"Do I look like I'm kidding?"
Solistice hovered beside Superboy, her golden glow flickering in sympathy. "You should be able to. Maybe it's... incomplete genetic sequencing? Or a psychological block?"
"So I'm defective," Superboy muttered.
Robin arrived behind him, panting. "You're a Kryptonian clone raised in a murder basement. Let's save the existential crisis for after we're not dead."
From behind them, Enchantress shimmered into view. Her amethyst eyes glowed. "Hold still."
"Why?"
"Because I'm the only reason you're not going to become a very heroic grease smear."
She spun her fingers in precise arcs, sigils forming in the air. Magic flared outward, curling into Superboy, Robin, Aqualad, and Kid Flash. Their eyes widened as they lifted off the ground like weightless marionettes.
Kid Flash flailed joyfully. "I'm a flying gingerbread man!"
Robin groaned. "This feels weird. Like someone's hugging my kidneys. From inside."
"Would you rather be roadkill?" Enchantress asked sweetly.
"Not especially."
Aqualad, even levitating, still looked like royalty. "Let's focus on escaping before debating the dignity of magical transport."
Superboy floated stiffly, arms crossed. "I feel like a birthday balloon."
"Better than a crater," Solaris called down.
They burst into a secondary chamber, the ceiling beginning to collapse. Sentinel moved fast, barreling through supports and clearing the path.
"One more level!" Solaris yelled. "Troia, with me! Supergirl, cover our flank! Sentinel, you see rubble, you punch it!"
"Been doing that all day," Sentinel grunted, swinging a pipe like it owed him money.
Solaris turned to Troia. "Can you still fly, or should I carry you again?"
She raised an eyebrow. "Try and I'll deck you."
He smirked. "That's my girl."
"I am not your—"
Too late. He grabbed her waist and took off.
"Solaris!" she shrieked.
"Hey, I said I'd make this dramatic."
The team launched upward, a chaotic mosaic of firelight, magic, speed, and steel.
Behind them, the ceiling caved in.
Blockbuster roared below, tearing through walls in pursuit.
But ahead of them—
the sky waited.
—
The world was red.
Alarms howled like dying machines. The shaft convulsed with every shockwave, groaning as if it too wanted to flee. Solaris's heat vision carved molten streaks up the tunnel, lighting the chaos in hues of fire and fury. The team rose with him—a tangle of powers, panic, and too many hormones in not enough space.
Then, the floor below them exploded.
Blockbuster came hurtling from the inferno like a missile made of flesh and rage.
"What the—?" Solaris barely had time to process the movement before a massive clawed hand clamped around his ankle like a bear trap.
"Are you kidding me?!" he shouted, yanked downward.
Troia, still in his arms, twisted sharply. "What the hell is that?!"
"Ten tons of roid-raged stupid with a personal space issue!" Solaris shot back, flaring his body against the sudden weight.
Blockbuster roared, his eyes blazing, muscles bulging grotesquely as he dragged Solaris down.
From above:
"SOLARIS!" "LET GO!" "DROP HIM!"
He didn't.
Didn't even hesitate.
"Hold this for me," Solaris grunted, and tossed Troia upward with a burst of heat and propulsion. She flailed instinctively before her golden lasso snapped taut around a steel beam, catching her.
"Solaris!" she shrieked. "You absolute idiot!"
"Love you too!" he yelled back, twisting mid-air to face Blockbuster.
The creature snarled—a guttural, subhuman noise that made the shaft tremble. But Solaris was already moving, already grinning like a lunatic.
"You wanted a flier?" he growled. "Congratulations. You caught the wrong one."
Then he punched.
The impact was seismic. Blockbuster recoiled, still gripping Solaris, but off-balance now. Solaris used the momentum, spinning mid-air and slamming a knee into the brute's gut. Blockbuster grunted.
"Come on," Solaris taunted, gritting his teeth. "I thought you were supposed to be impressive."
Blockbuster swung wildly. One claw grazed Solaris's side, tearing fabric and flesh. Solaris hissed—but didn't fall.
Above, the others had paused at the hatch, their figures silhouetted by flashing lights.
"Should we go down there?!" Supergirl asked, floating in tight anxious circles.
"He said 'go'. That means 'go'," Sentinel replied, voice like stone.
"That means 'we're going to kick his ass later'," Troia snapped, still gripping her lasso with white knuckles. "I will personally throw him into orbit."
"Get in line," Enchantress murmured, already preparing another spell.
"He'll be fine," Robin said. "Probably. Mostly."
Back in the shaft—
Solaris twisted again, grabbing Blockbuster's wrist. With a furious grunt, he flung the monster upward into the steel walls. Sparks erupted. Debris rained down.
Solaris ignited in a solar blaze.
"You think I'm just the funny one," he muttered. "But I'm the one who wins."
His next punch lit up the shaft like a miniature sun. The shockwave cracked the final level's ceiling.
BOOM.
Blockbuster slammed into the grate.
BOOM.
Steel bent and groaned.
BOOOOM.
And then—*
SHATTER.
Daylight spilled through. Real, honest-to-god sky. Blue and vast and free.
Blockbuster growled one last time.
And Solaris blasted him.
The behemoth let go, spiraling into unconsciousness, falling back into the shaft like a meteor.
Solaris shot up through the opening, trailing smoke and blood and glory.
He hovered above the hatch, wild-eyed and panting, suit torn to hell, hair an untamed mess. His emerald eyes locked on the team.
He grinned.
"Miss me?"
Troia scowled. "I'm going to murder you."
"Get in line," Enchantress and Supergirl said in unison.
Sentinel clapped Solaris on the shoulder, solid as ever. "Hell of a hit, sparkles."
"Thanks," Solaris wheezed, still grinning. "I'll cry later."
"Can we please get away from the imploding underground science dungeon now?!" Kid Flash called, doing anxious laps midair.
Robin nodded. "Yeah, before anyone else decides to mutate."
Solaris raised a fist, then saluted. "Alright, Team Hormonal Deathwish—next stop: not here."
The sky yawned open above them.
And together, they rose.
Battered.
But free.
—
The team hovered just above the smoldering remains of the shattered Cadmus facility. Below them, smoke curled into the bruised sky, and chunks of twisted metal still rained down like confetti from a truly traumatizing parade.
Kid Flash zipped a few celebratory loops in the air, grinning like he'd just won the lottery.
"Did anyone else see that? I mean, I was basically the MVP of this little jailbreak," he declared, spinning in a circle. "Flying gingerbread man? Instant classic. We should get T-shirts. Or capes. Or T-shirts with capes!"
No one responded.
Kid Flash blinked. "Guys?"
Silence.
He slowed to a halt, floating awkwardly midair. "Why do you all look like someone just deleted your saved game?"
Still no answer. Just wide eyes.
Kid Flash slowly turned around—
—and came face to face with a pair of dark, furious eyes under a familiar cowl.
Batman.
Six foot two of glowering disappointment.
Kid Flash froze, his breath catching in his throat. "...Oh no."
Behind Batman, the shadows parted further.
Superman descended from the clouds like divine judgment incarnate—cape billowing, eyes unreadable, arms folded in that terrifyingly calm "I'm not mad, just cosmically disappointed" way that made the air around him feel twenty degrees colder.
To his right landed Scarlett, her crimson-and-gold armor glowing with residual energy. Her scarlet hair whipped dramatically in the wind, crown gleaming. Her glare could have melted titanium.
Solaris winced. "Hi, Mom."
She didn't answer. Just narrowed her eyes.
Then Wonder Woman arrived, her golden lasso coiled at her side, expression unreadable but tense.
The Flash skidded to a halt in a blur of red and lightning beside Batman, visor sliding back to reveal a look of pure exasperation.
One by one, more Justice League members landed around them in a slow, silent circle.
The kids suddenly looked very, very small.
Sentinel groaned under his breath. "I knew we should've let Blockbuster kill us. This is worse."
Solistice floated backward slightly, positioning herself behind Solaris. "Do you think if I don't move, Mom won't see me?"
"She sees you," Scarlett said, voice like ice.
"Damn it," Solistice muttered.
Troia crossed her arms, leveling a glare at Solaris. "You said no one would find out."
Solaris gave a sheepish smile. "I mean... I didn't expect the full parental apocalypse."
Kid Flash raised one shaky hand. "Just throwing this out there, but—maybe if we run really fast in opposite directions—?"
Robin sighed. "Don't bother. Batman's already counted our escape options and memorized the shoe patterns of every squirrel within a three-mile radius."
Aqualad nodded. "We're doomed."
Superboy folded his arms, hovering a little closer to Solaris. "You think your dad's going to go easier on us because you're biologically related?"
Solaris winced. "That would require either of my parents knowing the meaning of the word 'easy.'"
Scarlett stepped forward, eyes flashing. "Would someone like to explain exactly why the Cadmus facility is in ruins? Or why I sensed my children in the middle of a biogenetic explosion zone?"
Solaris raised his hand slowly. "So. Funny story—"
Batman interrupted, voice like ground glass. "No. Start with the truth."
Every teen in the air collectively winced.
Kid Flash whispered, "Okay. Now I really wish Blockbuster had eaten me."
Troia didn't even look at Solaris this time. She just smacked the back of his head. "Idiot."
Solaris muttered, "Ow. Fair."
And above them, the sky somehow got even heavier, weighed down by silence, smoke... and consequences.
—
The smoke curled higher into the sky like a guilty conscience.
The Justice League stood in grim silence, the kind of silence that suggested the next fifteen minutes would either involve screaming… or a full-scale UN tribunal.
Solaris cleared his throat. Loudly.
Everyone turned to him—parents, teammates, and three very judgmental birds circling above.
"Okay. I know we're all mad," he began, raising his hands like he was moderating a peace treaty between actual gods. "And by we, I mostly mean you—" he glanced at Batman, then flinched and turned toward his mother, "—and you, definitely you. But can I just say—before we're all grounded until the next Ice Age—maybe we focus on why we broke protocol?"
Scarlett folded her arms, red and gold armor glowing faintly as she arched one perfect eyebrow. "Oh, this should be good."
"See," Solaris said quickly, "the thing is… Cadmus created a clone."
Superman's head tilted slightly, his cape still and heavy in the smoky wind. "A clone?"
Solaris nodded and jabbed a thumb toward Superboy. "Of you. They made a clone of Superman. Spliced together with human DNA. They were keeping him locked in a pod, feeding him mind-control propaganda and calling it training. Turning him into a living weapon."
Superboy's expression darkened. He said nothing, but his fists clenched tight at his sides.
"That's not the worst part," Robin added, stepping forward, cape fluttering. "They weren't just studying him. They were programming him to obey them. No free will. Just another Cadmus project with a Kryptonian nuke at the center."
Aqualad stepped up beside them, his voice steady and deep. "We didn't go in looking for a fight. But once we found him… we had a choice. Walk away, or do what we were taught. What we believe."
Solaris nodded, eyes flashing. "What's the point of being heroes if we can't save people? Even when it's inconvenient. Even when we're not technically supposed to be out of the tower."
Scarlett's eyes narrowed. "You disobeyed a direct League order."
"To save a life," Solaris said, his voice low but firm. "To make one possible."
There was a long pause. A deep breath passed through the group like wind before a storm.
Troia rolled her eyes but murmured under her breath, "He's not wrong."
Solistice raised her hand hesitantly. "Also, I may have incinerated half a hallway… but only the evil half. So, like, morally justified?"
Enchantress added, "I levitated them. It was sort of poetic."
Kid Flash mumbled, "I helped too. There was punching. And speed. And at one point I think I disarmed a guy with my shoelace."
Scarlett's gaze flicked to Superman.
Superman looked at Superboy.
Superboy looked at the ground.
"…Is it true?" Superman asked quietly.
Superboy nodded once, jaw tight. "I didn't ask to be born. But they made me. And they were turning me into a weapon."
His voice was rough now, edged with vulnerability.
"But they didn't let that happen. They stopped it."
The silence that followed was vast. Uncomfortably vast.
Batman's cape rustled in the wind as he finally spoke. "And you chose to escalate, rather than report."
"I chose to act," Solaris replied, standing straighter. "We all did."
Scarlett exhaled slowly, visibly struggling between parental rage and warrior pride.
Wonder Woman glanced toward her. "He's his mother's son."
Scarlett muttered something under her breath. It might've been "unhelpful."
Superman finally nodded. Just once. Then looked back to Solaris and said, "We'll talk. All of us. But… you did the right thing."
Solaris blinked. "Wait. Really?"
Robin whispered, "Don't ruin it."
Batman's scowl deepened. "You're not off the hook."
"I mean, obviously," Solaris muttered.
Supergirl smirked. "You're so getting triple training drills for this."
"Worth it," Solaris said, grinning now. "Totally worth it."
Troia still punched his arm.
Hard.
"Still not your girl," she muttered.
"Still flying you next time," he shot back.
Scarlett stepped forward again. "We'll deal with the fallout together. But if any of you ever disobey an order like that again…"
They all stiffened.
"…bring backup."
And with that, the League turned toward the wreckage, already planning the next steps.
The teens exhaled as one.
Robin muttered, "That was almost inspiring. And also terrifying."
Solaris blew out a breath. "So… not grounded forever?"
Scarlett paused in mid-step. Looked back over her shoulder.
Solaris immediately shut up.
Smart boy.
And above them all, the sky began to clear, smoke giving way to light.
Justice—sometimes—had a sense of timing.
---
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