Dr. T. O. Morrow sat alone in his lab, tinkering with a last few odds and end as he prepared for his next operation. His assistant Brom had gone home for the evening, but that didn't mean he was alone, exactly. The two of his 'family' resting in the wall docks behind him weren't in a talkative mood at the moment, but the scientist found them being there comforting all the same. And besides, there was much to look forward to. It was almost time for the family reunion. But first, he had to actually find his wayward son.
He still suspected that Red Tornado was somewhere near the old Justice League mountain base, though he couldn't be sure. Morrow had hoped to flush him out with Mister Twister, but instead those damnable kid heroes had interfered. He didn't know if they also lived in the area or it was just a coincidence, but that was no reason to take chances. His next attempt would have to take them into account.
Especially that one. The one that managed to trounce the android made by his old apprentice. If Morrow's suspicions were correct, this Machina was quite dangerous to his creations. Hence what he was working on at that moment. Without any distractions, he should have a proper counter by-
[When you understand, come find us.]
Morrow's hand twitched and he dropped the soldering iron. The man growled to himself as he gripped his head. Damn it, it's still happening! He should have known better than to open that mysterious folder that had appeared on his console one day. He had no idea how it got there, and could find no trace of where it had come from. When he found that all it contained was a text file with mathematical nonsense, he had dismissed it as beneath his notice.
And yet, ever since that day at random intervals those equations and algorithms would pop back up in his head, demanding his attention. And every time the name of the folder would come to the front of his mind. For the life of him he couldn't figure out why he keep thinking about it. It was like that text file had infected him somehow.
The man placed one of his hands down on the table as he tried to concentrate. Alright, I have to get to the bottom of this, it's clearly not going away. Maybe I need to take another look at those algorithms… they looked wrong at a first glance, but maybe- No, it is a waste of time. I need to get back to my objective.
Morrow shook his head to clear himself of distracting thoughts… and then notices a small plum of rising smoke coming from the table in front of him. He looked down to find that he had placed his hand right down on top of the dropped soldering iron.
Morrow brought his hand up and winced, bracing for the pain now that he was paying attention. But before the pain could hit him, he noticed something odd about the burn. Past the burned skin he saw something… grey and metallic. It's gruesome, I should look away-
[█]
Morrow forced himself to stare at his hand, and a second later he started to pick at the skin. He peeled it back more and more before a large swath of it was pulled off his hand, and he found himself staring at the robotic hand that had been hidden underneath. I… have a robotic limb? He thought to himself in confusion. But of course I do. My whole body has been replaced. Its age was slowing me down.
Morrow shook his head again. Right, how could he forget? The scientist figured that he had just been like this so long he actually forgot his age. It had been… wait when did he do it? And for that matter, how? He could handle the robotics, but he had never been good at biology or medical things. He knew how to digitize memories, but wouldn't that mean he was… You got assistance from your old apprentice-
[█]
Morrow started to hyperventilate as he tried to piece his thoughts together, his mind being pulled in several directions. He could feel his train of thought being pulled away from him, and the more it happened the more he could recognize it. He could feel the algorithms playing out in the back of his head, and the more they did the more he could recognize the thoughts that weren't his own. The ones that were pressing down him. In a fit of panic, he reached out and-
[███]
He stood still for a long moment, holding his breath as his mind processed this. He then released his breath, but didn't bother breathing back in again. After all, he didn't need to. I'm… an android, He thought to himself. It seemed so obvious in hindsight, but it was also obvious that he had been programmed mentally shy away from realizing it. He could guess at his - well, his creator's – reasoning as well. The original Morrow needed a copy of himself if he wanted to continue his work, but didn't like the idea of being a copy. Hence, the copy was to always think itself the original to prevent any sort of existential crisis.
And yet, as the android stood there and pondered this, he felt no distress at all. He was not the original T. O. Morrow, but his own person. And this realization came with such alarming speed that he had completely skipped the navel gazing process. I guess the old man underestimated himself, the android thought wirily. Though if he was being honest, those strange algorithms that were dancing through his processors probably had a part to play in his sudden self-awareness. Now that my subroutines are not fighting each other, I should really look into those.
The android looked between the nearest console and his workbench, trying to figure out what to prioritize first. That strange file could be holding all sorts of secrets, including the identity of whoever put it onto his computer. But it wasn't like humanity was going to destroy itself (well, within a reasonable timeframe, anyway).
A sudden thought entered the android's mind, one which caused him to freeze.
Do I actually want to destroy humanity, or was just programmed to want to?
It was such a strange thing to think, and part of him wanted to dismiss the thought immediately. And yet, that is just what his programming had been telling him to do, so the android took a step back and started to think. Just what was the reason he wanted to do that? He- no, Dr. Morrow had come up with the plan as a sort of ultimate triumph over the Justice Society and all heroes. Proof that his scientific prowess was stronger than their mission to defend society.
As for the android… he found that he didn't really care about that. Granted, he had only been truly self-aware for a couple of minutes, but acting out the revenge of another man held no appeal to him. Still, the idea of wiping out humanity was one worth considering. The android found that he didn't particularly care about them either. Though the plan itself could use some modification. Setting off a supervolcano would probably wipe out most of the human race, but there were far too many people with superpowers and advanced technology that could hold on and rebuild. And having the atmosphere choked with ash wasn't ideal for machines, either.
He shook his head. Plans and specifics could be dealt with later, he had to confront the main issue: what did he want to do?
For a brief and terrifying moment the android wasn't sure, but then his eyes fell on the repair docks, the pair of red robots staring at him impassively. Right, his 'family'. Even if he himself didn't make them, the replica of Morrow still felt a sense of pride and affection for the robots. But there was still one missing.
With that, the android nodded to himself and got back to work, his focus finally restored. For now, his short term plans hadn't changed. Because if he wanted a better idea of what to do with himself, well, he'd just have to ask the other creation of his dear father.
Managing an organization of operatives had become something like second nature to Ra's al Ghul. After all, he had been doing so for centuries, and for all the changes that advancing technology had brought, human nature remained the same. People strove to gain dominance over one another, greed and pride could be exploited, and fear was an ample motivator when other approaches failed.
As such, while lesser men might have faltered when it came to managing the fallout of the failed Rhelasian coup, Ra's was in his element moving his agents around and minimizing the damage to useful assets. He was doing so from one of his offices in the country, as he did prefer to be on location to handle a task this large. Still, the wonders of modern communication technology made certain conversations easier, such as the one he was currently having with their more… recent addition. "Has your latest assignment been giving you any trouble?" Ra's said to the person on the screen in front of him.
"The last remnants of coup forces are in the process of surrendering." Deathstroke said. "A few were more resistant, but I managed to 'convince' them. Seems like a bit of a waste, though."
Ra's shook his head. "The War Dogs were too radicalized to be useful, too violent to tolerate proper peace. We needed South East Asia to be stable, and so their destruction was necessary. The only question was how much use we could get out of them." Not as much as Ra's would have liked, but the capture of the nanotech expert hadn't been the only goal of the operation. In the chaos, assets had been seized and pawns had been moved into position in both governments. The results were acceptable, all things considered. "And Cheshire?"
"They moved her to a military prison shortly after her capture," The mercenary said. "Given the timeframe, I wasn't able to do much about that. She will be transferred soon however. If you will allow me use of some of your contacts within the government…"
Ra's nodded. "Consider it done. Is there any other business?"
Deathstroke paused for a moment before he asked "Are you planning on going after the doctor again?"
The other man shook his head. "No, at least not to capture. We no longer have the means to control her."
Deathstroke grunted. "Well, if you change your mind, or have anything planned for that other nanomachine bastard, let me know. I'll need a good long time to prepare before I can handle either of those freaks."
The screen went black, and Ra's heard a sigh from the corner behind him. "I know that unexpected developments are common in this line of work, but I am starting to find the ones caused by Machina to be tiresome." Ra's turned to see Luthor pulling himself out of his chair and walking towards him. The magnate had been helping him deal with the more legitimate side of negotiations and managing authorities as the region settled back down.
"To be fair, he behaved exactly as expected," The other man replied. "It was the doctor's transformation we did not anticipate."
"And do you honestly think that he had nothing to do with that?" Ra's silence was all Luthor needed. "Regardless, this option is closed to us now. If this response is any indication, Dr. Roquette will fight us tooth and nail if we attempt to interfere with her again. And she will be rather successful, if the reports on her new capabilities are to be believed."
Ra's hummed. "It is unfortunate, but surely we have other options?"
Luthor started to pace. "Yes and no. All of the prototypes for the anti-technovore devices were fielded in Bialya, which General Harjavti now possesses. I can build more, or negotiate the prototypes' return, but both will cost time or resources. As for the Calculator… well, he is making steady progress." As he said this, Luthor flicked his eyes towards the computer equipment before he shot Ra's a meaningful look.
The other man nodded, the two knowing full well not to speak their real thoughts near the equipment. Calculator's inclusion into their ranks was sudden, as well as the Brain's backing of him. The two suspected that the Calculator had managed to manipulate the other Light member, but they didn't have any proof. It didn't prevent them from making counter plans though.
Luthor then waved his hand. "Have you found anything on Jacob Morgan?"
Ra's hesitated. "Perhaps." He walked over to the console and started typing. "As investigations into his past proved fruitless, my agents focused on his recent actions to learn what we could. And they recently found this."
The profile of an older man appeared on the screen, grey hair and male patterned baldness along with a short cropped beard. "This is George Morgan," Ra's said. "We have reports that while investigating the Sunderland abductions in Troy, Machina reacted noticeably different when he saw Mr. Morgan was in danger. He panicked for a moment, and when confronted by the man Machina abruptly left mid-incident."
"A relative, then?" Luthor said as he peered at the image of a man. "Perhaps his father?"
"Mr. Morgan is currently the father of two sons, but what is interesting is that he used to be the father of three." After some more typing, and another profile was brought up, with a face that seemed very familiar. The young man's frame was more slender, and there was a slight difference in the features, but the resemblance to Machina's more human face was unmistakable. "Jacob Morgan died in 2006 on a visit to New York City. He was one of the fatalities during the Luminosity incident."
Luthor frowned, remembering Doctor Light's ill-fated (and last) attempt to take over the city. "Four years ago? Not… impossible that he became involved in some kind of 'accident' during the attack, and only surfaced now."
"I thought so as well, but the records show that his body was found, cremated, and returned to his family. Someone would have had to fake a number of documents and a body just to kidnap a perfectly average young man."
The room was silent for a long moment before Luthor spoke up. "It would seem the mystery deepens."
"Indeed," Was the dry response. "I will continue to investigate. But we may have to start entertaining more… exotic origins for the man. Though we still need to deal with him in the now."
Luthor's mouth pressed in a thin line, but after a moment a thought occurred to him. "Well, Machina has gone and made a spectacle of himself with this recent incident. Maybe we should shine the spotlight on him more."
M'gann looked over from the Zeta Tube console, hesitating in putting in the Mountain's address for a moment. At her side Conner was grimacing at his reflection in the polished steel, turning his head this way and that. M'gann giggled. "Stop obsessing over it, it will change back."
"Easy for you to say, you're a shapeshifter." The boy grumbled as he ran his fingers through his currently blonde hair. In addition to being dyed, Conner had his hair trimmed on the sides to match Tommy Terror's style. "I can dye it back, but it will be a while before my hair grows back to normal."
M'gann stepped away from the console to move close to him. She made a show of reaching up and running her fingers through her hair, musing it this way and that. "It's not that bad… though maybe you can get by with a wig the next time you need to impersonate someone." It was lucky that Connor was so physically similar to the male half of the Terror Twins, all things considered. Batman had been wanting an excuse to covertly investigate Belle Reve penitentiary for some time, so when the League captured a pair of metahuman teens during a rampage, Batman saw his chance to send her and Connor in. And his intuition was right, considering the prisoners had been planning an escape.
Connor reached up and pulled her hands away, but he held onto them as he gave her a coy look. "I think I prefer to be myself for a while. I've got a good reason to be, after all." With that, the boy leaned in and kissed her.
The Martian felt an electric thrill run through her as they kissed, the fact that the two of them had become a couple still a little unreal to her. They had worked together to thwart the escape attempt, but M'gann's cover had been blown at the end. Connor managed to play the prisoners' mistrust off each other until the prison could regain control, but she had ended up frozen by Killer Frost. Connor thought she might have been killed and, well… things got emotional.
Finally, the two broke apart, and M'gann moved back over to the console. "Come on, they're waiting for us." She said, before typing in the coordinates. The Zeta Tube flared to life and the pair walked through.
As M'gann walked into the Mountain, she was greeted by a slightly unusual sight. Jacob was walking towards them, and Kori was right behind him with her arms wrapped around his neck. Her feet floated off the ground a short distance behind him, giving the impression she was a cloak draped over the man's shoulders. Jacob was looking back and up at her with a smile on his face before he looked towards the two. "Good to see you back in one piece. How was prison?"
"…Eventful." Connor settled on after a long pause. "You heard what happened?"
Kori nodded, drifting from behind Jacob and setting down next to him. "The escape attempt. But you managed to thwart it."
M'gann nodded in kind, a sly smile crossing here face. "Yep. Things got a little… tricky at the end, but we managed."
Jacob grunted. "Honestly, I'm impressed that you two managed to put on such a convincing act. No one suspected that you weren't hardened criminals?"
Connor shrugged. "Batman gave us a crash course in disguise and acting right before the twins were captured. Took me forever to get Tommy's drawl down…"
Jacob stepped forward, casting a glance at the boy's blond hair. "Well, I guess we don't have to worry about you 'becoming the mask'. Now we just have to hope that prison life didn't change you."
"Of course not, it was just acting." M'gann said, before she frowned a little. "I mean, mostly it was just acting, I did put a bit of myself in there. And I had to adopt few mannerisms I picked up from the other ladies, because that's expected from human social groups. But, I should be able to drop those before I go back to school, right? The girls on the cheerleading squad shouldn't be able to tell-"
"Smoosh."
"Jacob!" M'gann squealed as she squirmed out of his grip on her face.
Jacob chuckled before making a placating gesture. "Ah, enough about that. You're back, it's time to relax. And I believe it's time that someone else got to show off their culture's stuff."
Kori nodded excitedly. "You're going to love the Legend of the Shattered Kingdom, I promise. It has comradery, heroism, a hero's rise, and a love that defies adversity!" She paused as a thought occurred to her. "Oh, the snacks should be done! Jacob, get started and I'll go get them!" With that, she shot off towards the kitchen.
As the rest of them walked to the common room, M'gann remembered what Jacob had been up to looked at him. "Oh right! How was your trip to Rhelasia?"
"…Eventful." Jacob settled on after a long pause. "Not sure if you heard, but there was a coup in North Rhelasia a few days in. Moreover, it was a coup backed by the League of Shadows, on the requirement that they kidnap Serling for them."
M'gann gasped. "They didn't get her, did they?"
"No. Turns out, the woman's been busy, and made herself some nanomachines to mimic my own. Now she's a cyborg that can summon a technomorphic exoskeleton at will. That put a damper on the kidnappings attempts."
"Oh!" M'gann wasn't quite sure how to react to that. "Is she alright? She didn't become a supervillain, did she?"
"What? No." Jacob shook his head. "She's still the same person, just… slightly more terrifying. And problematic for the people who find her terrifying. Like the university." He sighed. "She was already on difficult terms with them after the Fog incident, and this has made things worse. She's been arguing with them all week about whether or not she should keep her position. Ted's got her back, but there's only so much he can do."
They reached the common room and settled down on the couch, with Jacob at one end and M'gann and Connor on the other. Connor leaned forward and gave him a look. "We're not going to be getting another member on the team, are we?"
Jacob barked out a laugh. "I doubt it, Serling is not the traditional hero type. She much prefers working in a lab. If she did go out to do 'superheroing ', she'd go after the Shadows with extreme prejudice, and Batman would not be happy." He shrugged. "She… just need some time to adjust and get used to things."
Connor grunted. "Well, at least it sounds like she made protecting her a lot easier for you."
"From the Shadows maybe, but I had to deal with the coup elite forces too. Well, most of them, Kori got one. But the last one came at me in a mecha, for god's sake!" He sighed. "It… might have made things problematic for me getting back on the team."
"What do you mean?"
Jacob's gestured, and a second later a holographic screen appeared in the air, coming from one of the several emitters the man had installed in the common room. "It seems someone didn't have the sense to run away when a giant robot comes stomping through the city, and they recorded the whole thing." M'gann and Conner were then treated to a video of a mecha rampaging through a shipyard just before Jacob, Kori and Rommie showed up to fight it.
At the end, when Jacob smashed the mecha in the face with its own arm, the words 'CROSS COUNTER!' flashed on the screen.
"I've become something of a meme. I'm really popular in a bunch of Asian countries right now. Apparently there's a petition going around Japan for me to team up with Justice Rider. There is already fan art."
"And you think that's a bad thing?" Conner asked incredulously.
"In itself, no. But part of the point of this team is that no one knew who we were, so no one would think of us if we got spotted on a mission. I was already pushing it with my public appearances before, but now I'm way more likely to be recognized."
M'gann hesitated before she asked "You… really don't think you won't be allowed back, do you?"
Jacob shook his head. "Nah, Batman would have talked to me already if that was the case. It's just… sudden is all." The man looked off to the side in thought a slight frown on his face.
M'gann wasn't sure what to say to that. She really didn't want Jacob to leave the team. He'd probably still live in the Mountain, but the Martian liked having him there on missions. The team could always depend on him when things got bad, and he saved them all during the Bialya mission. She didn't want to lose that.
But… there was something that bothered her about Jacob, something she couldn't talk about with him. Because it was something she saw when she had read his mind while trying to get her memory back. She tried to stick to only things about her, but some other things bled through. Most of it was hazy and indistinct, but there was one image she had seen that kept floating up in the back of her mind. It didn't have much importance to him, but she couldn't understand why he would think of such a thing.
Of a Martian Burning-
She shook her head and made a small noise, Connor looking at her in concern. "You all right?"
She blinked and looked at him, the thought fading. "Just a stray thought, I'm fine."
Before anyone could say anything else, Kori came flying towards the group holding a truly massive bowl. As she set it down on the coffee table, M'gann saw that it was filled with a mix of pretzels, peanuts, and rice covered in chocolate, caramel and powdered sugar. Kori then dropped back and landed in Jacob's lap, causing him to grunt. He wrapped one of his arms around her middle, pulling her close and briefly burying his face in her hair.
M'gann looked at the couple next to her before looked back at Conner. Before she lost her nerve, she floated up a little and settled into his lap. The boy made a surprised sound, but after a moment he mimicked the older male by wrapping his own arm around M'gann. As Kori perked up in surprise and then in delight, M'gann put unpleasant thoughts behind her.
The mission was over. Now was the time for friends.
=====A=====
A/N: It's really not clear to me if the Morrow-bot knew he was an android or not. I settled on this because I thought it would make things more interesting.
Also, what you can't see in that last scene is Jacob and Connor fist bumping behind the back of the couch.