I rushed off the platform and jumped, shooting a web line towards the top of the cavern and swinging for the entrance, or rather exit to this place. The swing was extremely swift and carried to my destination, where I let go off the line, landed, and rushed forward.
Back inside where we found Speedy, I found a scene of carnage, the Mark Desmond I'd just seen no longer in existence, in his place, the towering and raging behemoth of Blockbuster.
Covered in dark, gray cracked skin with a rocky look and likely texture, the hulking monstrosity the doctor had become dented the metal floor with every step and swung his arms wide repeatedly.
He swatted and battered away the massive G-Trolls like they were children and the G-Elves like they were flies, all the while barreling towards the horned Dubbilex who had both arms outstretched in the direction of the freight train headed for him.
There was pandemonium all around as the flying Genomorphs destroyed the glass tubes arranged on either side of the room and Blockbuster's stomps shook the entire place.
Whatever Dubbilex was doing, it wasn't working. Blockbuster's pace remained unchanged, and he'd reach the Genomorph leader in seconds. Quickly firing a line at Dubbilex's back, I waited for it to stick to him before yanking my arm backwards.
I did it just in time, the swipe of the massive log of Blockbuster's arm missing him by inches. Perhaps shocked by the sudden change or maybe because he was already on high alert, Dubbilex canceled his flight toward me and caught himself in the air, his telekinesis detaching the line from his back.
Before he could get a word out, I was already moving, rushing to meet the raging and roaring monster. "Get your people out of here! I'll handle him."
As though he could understand me, Blockbuster roared in challenge and accelerated, digging larger and deeper dents into the ground as he rushed to meet me head on.
Intent on keeping my word, I rushed headlong in his direction, making it look to the outside observer that I wanted to engage in fisticuffs. That was so not what I wanted to do.
About half a meter or so from our inevitable collision, I kicked off the ground, dodging a double arm swipe that I still felt from just the winds they displaced.
Sailing above the confused monster, I angled both wrists downward and shot two lines at the ground before yanking on them.
This brought me back down, and I rolled with it, twisting and coming up to face the back of my slowly turning opponent. Two fresh lines stuck themselves to his back and I turned sharply, twisting my whole body as I pulled him off his feet.
Every ounce of strength I had went into this maneuver, allowing me to fling him to the far end of the room, his form a dark blur that slammed into a spot near the ceiling, dust obscuring him as loose rock and gravel fell like rain.
Myriad sensors in my mask responding to my mental commands and coming online, I held out both wrists and fired a barrage of restraining webs at the spot, aiming at his limbs.
While I did that, I started to enact the plan I'd hastily come up to deal with the changed doctor. "Mike, dislodge one of the drones in the city and get it here."
Another bellowing roar left Blockbuster's enlarged mouth and I responded by filling it with webs. That only seemed to enrage and strengthen him, the magnification optics in my lenses picking up more and more cracks at the spots where I'd bound his limbs.
"Hurry! Mike," I said, preparing for another tussle where I had to make sure I didn't get hit. "When the DWARF is here, scan the good doctor and mark out his tendons on my HUD."
"Orders received. Be careful."
"Hm."
My temporary restraints finally proved why I named them that as Blockbuster finally tore himself free and used the wall as a springboard to throw himself at me. I moved out of the way of that one pretty easily, but I didn't go far.
Still on his hands and knees and with his mouth, hands, and feet still covered in sticky webs, Blockbuster became the prime target of my attacks, the first of which struck him in the side of his head, my flying knee strike disrupting his attempts to get up and do whatever the paltry equivalent of thinking was for him.
He released a muffled roar and threw his right arm wide. A small and quick backwards jump saw his attack fail, and I capitalized on the opening, jumping back into his personal space just as fast.
The index and middle fingers of my right hand went ramrod straight and I jammed them into his big red eyes, the supremely discomforting sensation like poking a wall.
The agony in my digits a distant thing due to the candle flame, I turned my hand over after the poke and fired a web into his eyes and ducked, the series of movements completed in one smooth motion.
While I slid out of another sweep of his arm, I clenched both fists and started to wail on him. He was blinded and muted. Even if he could get the webs of his face, his eyes were still going to hurt like a bitch. And the pain distracting him was just what I needed.
Wham! Wham! Wham! Wham! Wham! Wham!
Easily weaving through his blind attacks as he staggered about the room, I landed punch after punch on his head, dishing out hooks left and right, multiple straight ones and over a dozen uppercuts, all of them at full strength and at full speed.
Each blow sent him staggering in a different direction, turning me into a puppetmaster once I realised I could use this to steer him away from the injured genomorphs and Dubbilex's evacuation efforts.
The more this beatdown went on, the more my confidence grew. Sure, my hands hurt like I'd put them in a blender at the max setting, but my attacks were working.
Blockbuster's roar had grown muted and his movements sluggish, his swings wider and less coordinated. That only put more wind in my sails, and I laid on the hurt even more.
When the behemoth could barely stand and my arms felt like they'd fall off, I smiled underneath my mask and clenched my trembling fist for one last strike. Using my whole body like I'd learned in the past month in multiple spars, I swung my arm upward and drove my fist into his chin.
Completely dazed, Blockbuster shot to the ceiling and went through a few stalactites before his unconscious form came back down in an arc that saw him fall with the sound of a mini explosion and a cloud of dust.
I stood there and heaved, the urge to throw my fist up tempered by the absolute hell I'd subjected my hands to. The DWARF I'd asked for, which it turned out I didn't need in the first place, flew past me and stopped right above my beaten opponent.
Blue strobing lights projected out of its tiny form scanned the monster while I worked on catching my breath. Once I could breath normally again, I called for Mike to send over multiple super restraints and he responded.
"Already sent. Splendid work."
"Thanks…"
Thankfully, the only role my legs played in this fight were the knee strike and evasive maneuvers. And even though I could feel a small twinge due to the strike, getting back into Genomorph city and returning with the restraints didn't take long.
The first restraint I put on the sleeping beast was the inhibitor collar. Batman had approved its usage. Aware of what this meant, especially where I was concerned, I felt grateful and even more elated about my victory.
In no time, Blockbuster's arms and legs were bound tight, each by three super cuffs, a combined force of 150 tonnes per each pair. Hopefully, they'd be enough if he woke up before I could get him out of here.
I contemplated severing his tendons like I originally intended, but I was afraid that would look too bloodthirsty to the League. Anyways, I was done and it seemed like Dubbilex was too. Desmond catching on to his plans had accelerated things.
"Specialist, we are done. All the Genomorphs have been evacuated. Those you asked for are also here. I believe you'll do a better job of convincing them," the Genomorph leader said and gestured to the pair standing at the ruined entrance to this place.
Guardian and Dr. Spence.
"You guys coming?" I shouted.
"Are you really with the Justice League? I've never heard of you," said Guardian.
"I'd be surprised if you did. Look, I'd love to give you all the juicy details, but we have to go, NOW. Big guy here—" I pointed at Blockbuster,"—made a bit of a ruckus, and there's no way Lex doesn't know. He could be watching us right now."
"Lex? As in Lex Luthor."
"Know any other super rich megalomaniacs who'd set up a whole ass dungeon secret program to clone Superman?"
Guardian didn't respond, and I turned to the doctor.
"Listen. Cadmus is over. You guys are now loose ends at worst and at best, tools with a little bit of use left. Your best option right now is with the League. Besides, you were involved in Project Kr. There are some questions you need to answer, and there is someone you need to meet," I said, turning to Guardian at the last part.
Both of them still looked confused and unwilling.
"If it helps, just know that you really couldn't stop me if I wanted to bring you guys forcefully."
Done with my piece, I picked up Blockbuster and threw him over my shoulder. With a strong jump, I cleared the rest of the room, wind whipping my clothes as I fell in arc towards the entrance to Genomorph City.
A couple of steps inside and I jumped again, firing a line at the ceiling to stop myself from landing on the larger platform Mike had sent over in forethought. Gently laying Blockbuster on it, I recalibrated the platform to recognize him and triggered it.
"Sending the doctor over."
"Receiving."
He went to the cave, but the Genomorphs and the two guests would be going to the island with me. After a quick removal of the doctor's identity from the system, I changed the destination to the island and set it to recognize anyone.
"I'm ready," I said to Dubbilex, the latter standing atop a floating piece of jagged metal with Cadmus' remaining employees (the ones with their marbles intact at least).
"Where are we going?" Guardian, in his blue police-like suit, golden helmet, and gold shield asked.
"A place prepared for the Genomorphs."
"I will go first if you do not mind," Dubbilex said.
"Go ahead."
It didn't take him long to return after the trip to the island. Once he rematerialized, he immediately started directing the rest of his kin onto the platform in a neat line.
"I'm assuming the place you went to is safe?" Guardian said, even though he was actually asking.
"It is. There were members of the Justice League present."
That seemed to calm him and the doctor down somewhat. Hmm, curious. Talk about reputation. The Justice League had really earned themselves the majority of the world's goodwill.
The massive G-Trolls, particularly those carrying their injured kin were the first to go. They were followed by the human sized G-Elves, the tentacled G-Dwarves, the impish G-Gnomes, Guardian and Dr. Spence, and then the luminous G-Sprites, their departure casting the cavern in complete darkness.
Right after the last of them vanished, light shined atop the platform again, briefly illuminating the place. Unhindered by the dark due to my mask, I went forward and grabbed the things I'd asked Mike to send.
From within the cracks and crevices I'd stuck them in, the DWARFs deployed their search lights and illuminated the cavern once more, allowing Dubbilex to put eyes to me again.
"See you on the other side, friend."
"Right behind you," I nodded.
He walked onto the platform and disappeared while I opened the tiny bag Mike had prepared on my request. Dozens of more DWARFs flew out of it and rushed into the cryo storage room beyond the city, a few of them staying back in here.
Just like their brothers and sisters, the new arrivals found convenient spots to lodge themselves into. I went over all their feeds one by one and repositioned those that needed it before jumping onto the platform myself.
Back in the cave, I walked out of the tube and joined Mike, Batman, Red Tornado, and Wonder Woman in watching the numerous feeds.
"Are you alright?" asked the Amazon, her lasso wrapped around the awake and standing Blockbuster. He didn't so much as glance at me when I walked by.
"I'm fine," I responded and stood before the mass of holoscreens. "I'll be better once the platform is out of enemy territory."
Quickly singling out one of the feeds, I enlarged it and gazed at the platform just sitting there. I wasted no time and activated the smaller one beneath it.
The larger one returned to where it belonged—in our hands and out of the bad guys'—and I targeted the smaller one again, triggering the incineration failsafe I'd installed in it.
On my feed, it began to spark and smoke at various points, turning bright red in moments before the entire construction began to sag and contort.
When the damage reached a certain point, the detonation failsafe triggered and a storm of light and flames swallowed the device and everything in a 1 meter radius.
When the illumination and smoke cleared, only slag and blackened and ruined ground was left. Nodding at that and to myself, I turned to the other feeds and said to Mike, "Blow them all."
"Detonating, now."
Across the many projected screens, large localised eruptions of fire consumed everything near them before they cut out, the bugs Robin had deployed in the cryo room giving us glimpses of massive, falling chunks of rock before they themselves succumbed to their deaths.
The Cadmus saga was finally over.
I pulled off my mask, pausing at the sight of angry red flesh on my knuckles and digits before staring at Batman.
"Who are those two?" he asked.
"Guardian, formerly Cadmus' head of security, is also a clone of Roy, aged up to adulthood."
That earned me looks of surprise and some reproach… I think.
"I forgot about him. Serious. I only remembered him when I spoke to Dubbilex last night. The woman is Amanda Spence. She worked on Project Kr so I thought you or maybe Superman would have some questions for her. I also didn't want to leave them back there in case Lex decided they were loose ends or fitting targets for his punishment."
When I finished with my explanation, I looked away from Batman's deadpan expression toward Mike.
"Send him everything you have on the two."
"Sending now."
I exhaled tiredly after that before perking up as I recalled what I wanted to ask before I rushed off to Cadmus.
"On a separate and more important topic, how the hell did things go to shit so fast?"
....
Happy Holidays everyone.
We're finally 20 chapters in so I feel this is good time to do this. I've had a Patreon for a while now and I've decided to be more serious with it. There are currently 10 chapters posted ahead if you're interested. Basically three weeks earlier than normal updates. On the topic of updates, they won't change or ever become locked behind a paywall. It'll still be the 3 chapters a week. The only thing I'm debating on is if I should spread them out to Monday, Wednesday and Friday or to leave it as is. Let me know what you guys think.
Shameless plug aside, I have an idea for my next novel and I need some help with it.
It's a crossover between Cyberpunk and 40K, where dungeons spewing the latter's monsters into the former appear all over the world. Everyone, including the MC will be able to kill the monsters and level up. Now I don't know nearly enough about Warhammer to decide which monsters should appear in which dungeons. However, I've decided on six ranks, with enemies like Furies, Daemonhosts, Grots, and chaos cultists being the lowest, and Greater Daemons, Ork Warbosses, and the Swarmlord being the highest.
If you'd like to discuss more of this, I've created a discord.
Links will be in the comments below.