9 Chapter 9: Fireworks

Word Count : 9559

"Time run short. You must awaken. You must awaken NOW!" that sudden mental command jolted Krieg back to a conscious state with a sudden gasp. Reflexes had him trying to get into a combat stance, but he found that his limbs were immobile. Not letting panic get a chance to root itself in his mind, he took a calming breath and assessed the situation thoroughly. It appeared he was currently trapped inside a pod, hands fastened by steel manacles above his head and feet trapped by similar restraints. It would also appear that the three sidekicks he had accompanied to Cadmus were all in a same predicament as he was. All of that, however, were irrelevant to him once his eyes landed on the… thing standing guard over them.

It was the clone, that disgusting abomination to nature that had, just as he had predicted it would, turned on them the moment it was set free from its cage. Now it was calmly standing guard over them, silently observing each of their moves with neutral eyes. If he ever got out of this alive, he would petition for a request to terminate this heretical tank-bred xeno scum.

"What!? What do you want!?" Kid Flash suddenly burst out in anger, gaining no form of reaction from the clone.

"Quit staring! You're creeping me out!" he added when it became obvious the clone would not answer him.

"Kid Flash, please stop trying to communicate with the weapon as if it possessed the intelligence to properly understand you," Krieg said patronizingly. That gained a reaction as the clone's hands clenched into fists and he glared specifically hard at Krieg. If it was meant as an intimidation tactic, that sorry excuse of a life form would have to try much harder than that.

"Uh… Krieg, how about we not tick off the guy who can fry us with a look," Robin suddenly spoke up a bit nervously. As if that even mattered. The swine had attacked them and most likely dragged them here. If the creature wanted to kill them just because its pathetic brain could not cope with the truth, then so be it. There were after all far worse fates than death.

"We only sought to help you," Aqualad finally spoke up, trying to once again be a voice of reason in a hot spot.

"Yeah, we free you and you turn on us. How's that for gratitude?" Kid Flash pushed himself into the conversation once again. Idiot, Krieg did warn them earlier regarding the consequences of their action. But had they listened? No. they had let their useless morals dictate the situation. And look where that landed them?

"Kid, please, be quiet now. I believe our new friend was not in full control of his actions," Aqualad tried to reason. A futile gesture in Krieg's opinion.

"What if I… what if I wasn't?" the clone suddenly asked. So, Cadmus had taught their little attack dog how to speak. Great, as if the thing's existence was not bad enough, now it defiled humanity's sacred language by uttering its words with that foul tongue.

"He can talk?" Kid Flash suddenly asked in surprise, clearly not having expected the clone to be able to form coherent sentences.

"Yes. He can," the clone stated with a good bit of frustration behind its words. Both Robin and Aqualad gave the speedster reproachful looks, not appreciating his help on the matter.

"Not like I said it," he tried to defend himself. 'Which would have been a much more accurate description,' Krieg thought to himself.

"Whether the clone was in control of its actions or not are irrelevant here. That thing is a weapon created by Cadmus, and that makes it our enemy as well," Krieg spoke out loud. The clone looked absolutely murderous right about now.

"What did you say?" he snarled out in anger at Krieg, who just returned the glare he was receiving with a dull look.

"What? Are my words too complicated for that primitive brain of yours to grasp? Or does the truth simply hurt too much for that cowardly mind of yours?" Krieg questioned monotonously. The clone looked like he was ready to leap up and tear Krieg to pieces with his bare hands.

"Krieg, do us all a favour and shut up before you get us all killed," Robin said in fake cheerfulness. While the idea of taking orders like that was less than appealing, Krieg complied. He had said that which he needed to say anyway.

"The Genomorphs taught you, telepathically," Aqualad deduced. Another pointless observation. Why did it matter where the creature had learned to speak like a human?

"They taught me much. I can read, write, I know the names of things," the clone answered. Irrelevant information in Krieg's opinion. He was still shoving a Kryptonite rock down that thing's throat the first chance he got.

"But have you seen them? Have they ever actually let you see the sky? Or the sun?" Robin suddenly questioned. Really? Him as well? Where they all planning on having civil conversations with this affront to humanity?

"Images are implanted in my mind, but… no. I have not seen them," and worse, the abominable clone was actually talking back. How much more would he have to endure before this all ended? Having to talk and interact with Justice League members was horrid enough, he did not need to be forcibly held in place and listen to a xeno clone telling its pathetic life story. Dear Emperor, this was nauseating.

"Do you know what you are? Who you are?" Aqualad suddenly asked. Seriously? That was the best question he could come with? Who cared what he xeno thought of itself? It did not change the fact that it was still a heretical mistake that never should have been made. But as soon as the question was asked, the clone straightened up like a soldier receiving an inspection from his commander.

"I am the Superboy. A Genomorph, a clone made from the DNA of the Superman. Created to replace him should he perish. To destroy him should he turn from the light," the clone answered, sounding like he had recited that line over and over. He most likely had now that Krieg thought of it. While he did not even remotely liked or even tolerated the clone's existence, he could see the merit behind its second purpose. Destroy Superman if he ever went rogue. It was just the kind of contingency the world needed against those too powerful to be dealt with by conventional means. If their solution had not involved cloning the very xeno they were opposing, Krieg would have applauded Cadmus' efforts. Still, he had to admit that creating a xeno to take out another xeno had a bit of delicious irony to it.

"To be like Superman is… a worthy aspiration," Aqualad began hesitantly, obviously choosing his words very carefully, "But like Superman, you deserve a life of your own," like hell it did! The clone deserved nothing more than a quick death and an even quicker cremation, "Beyond that solar suit. Beyond your pod. Beyond Cadmus,"

"I live because of Cadmus! It is my home!" the clone burst out in anger. Just like a dog about to be taken from its home. How predictable.

"Your home is a test tube. We can show you the sun," Robin spoke up again. Just what in the name of the Emperor were these mindless buffoons doing? What could they possibly gain from wasting time conversing with the clone? And why were they making it sound like they were trying to befriend it? It was just sickening.

"Uhm… pretty sure it's after midnight. But we can show you the moon," Kid Flash added, as usual not contributing anything of value to the mission. Who let that imbecile become a hero again?

"We can show you, introduce you, to Superman," Aqualad said. Immediately, the clone's face lit up in hopeful joy. Ahhh, now Krieg understood what they were doing. They were tricking the clone into trusting them, and thereby making it release them. Smart move, he had to admit, very smart move. He had not even known that the young heroes had it in them. It was, in a way, a pleasant surprise.

"No, they can't," someone suddenly announced. That someone happened to be a middle aged scientist, if his white coat and glasses were any indication, who entered the chamber with Guardian and the woman from before flanking him, "They'll be… otherwise occupied. Activate the cloning process," well, that did not sound pleasant. Not by a long shot.

"Pass! Batcave's crowded enough," Robin announced, naturally being ignored by the enemy.

"Negative. You do not have the necessary authorization to tamper with my genetic structure," Krieg stated coldly. Kid Flash gave him a funny look before he let out a small laugh.

"Dude, you make it sound like you would actually let him clone you if he had the right authorization," he said humorously. Krieg just gave him a flat look.

"Your point?" he deadpanned, eliciting a sweatdrop from Kid Flash.

"And get the weapon back in its pod!" the cranky scientist raged on, ignoring the four heroes trapped in pods. Guardian obeyed instantly as he stepped forward and placed a hand on the clone's shoulder.

"Hey, how come he gets to call Supey an it?" Kid Flash suddenly asked, clearly not pleased that he was reprimanded for his way of talking but not the scientist.

"You can call him an it if you truly want to as well," Krieg assured the speedster. After all, the clone was a weapon, a thing. It could never be classified as a real living being. But for some reason, the clone hesitated in carrying out its command.

"Help us," Aqualad implored. He should have known it would not work. It was a xeno they were dealing with. The concept of trust and helping others were utterly alien to those despicable creatures. But to his surprise, the clone seemed to be about to disobey its masters, as it shrugged off the hand on its shoulder.

"Don't start thinking now," the scientist said in exasperation as he walked up to the clone. A G-Gnome which had been sitting on the scientist's shoulder quickly switched over to Superboy's shoulder, and its horns started glowing red.

"See, you're not a real boy, you're a weapon. And you belong to me… well, to Cadmus, same thing. Now get back to your pod!" the scientist ordered furiously. This time, the clone obeyed without question and walked out of the chamber. With the clone gone, the scientist gave a nod to the woman standing at the controls, who began typing away commands. Krieg soon found out what those orders were, as two mechanical appendages sprung out from the pod floor, each equipped with four syringe-like contraptions. Their purpose was soon made clear, as they pierced his chest and let out high voltages of electricity, no doubt collecting DNA as well. The three sidekicks were all screaming on pain, but Krieg would not give the enemy the satisfaction of hearing him scream. Even as it felt like his whole body was being fried, he refused to utter a single sound.

How long this torture lasted, Krieg had no idea. It felt like an eternity since the syringes pierced his flesh, but his logical side told him it was impossible. Either way, it suddenly stopped for no reason, though the syringes were still embedded in him. But when he looked up, he found a surprising sight. Superboy had returned, and he had just torn the door apart, most likely causing the electricity system to short circuit in the process. What was the thing doing here? Apparently, the scientist was equally baffled as he was, as his look was frozen somewhere between anger and surprise.

"I told you to get back to your…" he tried to order he clone, but he was just shoved aside like a ragdoll, along with Guardian and the woman.

"Don't give me orders," the clone snarled out at the downed scientist before turning its attention to the four heroes still trapped in their pods.

"You here to help us or fry us?" Kid Flash asked cautiously. Obviously the clone was back to kill them, that was Krieg's logic. Why else would a spineless xeno come and save a group of heroes? The clone's eyes narrowed, obviously about to fire off its heat vision.

"Huh, I don't seem to have heat vision, so I suppose helping is my only option," the clone suddenly announced. A doubtful eyebrow was raised behind Krieg's gasmask. The clone had to be bluffing, there was no way it could truly be here to save them. It must have had an ulterior motive. Noises from Robin's pod alerted the others that the Boy Wonder had somehow gotten loose from his bindings.

"Ahh, finally! Lucky Batman isn't here, he'd had my head for taking so long," Robin commented as he rubbed his sore wrists. Kid Flash for some reason looked almost spooked.

"Seriously, that's what's you worry about? The whole League will have our heads after tonight!" he burst out in distress, something that Krieg was confused about.

"The mission may have gone far worse than what we had planned, but it is still salvageable. The Justice League will surely be content with the information we have acquired, at least enough that we will not end up executed," he commented from inside his pod, completely missing the looks of guilt shared between the three sidekicks. Robin pressed a button on the control board, causing the pods to open and the syringes to be withdrawn.

"Free Aqualad, I'll get Kid Mouth and Krieg," Robin told the clone, who did not look pleased by the order.

"Don't you give me orders either," he snarled out, but nevertheless moved to do as told while Robin began working on freeing the other two. Once he was free from his bindings as well, Krieg flexed his fingers to get the circulation flowing in them again before turning his full attention to the xeno clone.

"What are you trying to accomplish?" he asked coldly, drawing the clone's attention and making the other three heroes glance nervously between the two of them.

"I'm just trying to help you," the clone defended its actions, but Krieg was not satisfied with such a flimsy excuse.

"You're a xeno, who attacked us earlier without any qualms or hesitation. And now you suddenly have a change of heart and want to help us? I don't believe you, and I don't trust you. As matter of fact, I don't even like the thought that something like you even exist on Earth," he declared, not even bothering to mask his disgust over the clone's existence. The clone did not appear to appreciate his input as it glared fiercely at Krieg while tightening its hands into fists.

"Guys, you can solve your issues later! Right now we got to move!" Robin called out. Of course he was right, they were still trapped in enemy territory. Main priority was getting out. The Kryptonian clone could wait. So they all began rushing out of the chamber, just as the scientist began getting back up on his feet.

"You… you'll never get out of here! I'll have you back in pods before morning!" he called after them in anger. Had he been more observant, he would have noticed that one of their numbers had lingered behind a bit. That person was Krieg, and he just hoisted the scientist up on his feet before delivering a fist straight to his left eye, the blow casing the glass to get pushed into his eye. He screamed in pain as he fell back to the floor, clutching his bleeding and ruined eye while Krieg loomed menacingly above him.

"Next time, it will be your other eye as well, Mr. Desmond," Krieg stated, having read his name on the coat he was wearing, before sprinting to catch up with the other heroes, all of whom were giving him reproachful looks but said nothing on the matter.

"That guy is not whelmed. Not whelmed at all," Robin commented as he threw several exploding discs at the containers holding their DNA, who exactly he was referring to was up for debate.

"What is it with you and this whelm thing?" Kid Flash questioned as explosions behind them alerted the group that their DNA had been safely kept out of enemy hands. Now they just needed to worry about getting out of this building with their heads still attached to their bodies.

"We are still 42 levels below ground," Aqualad stated as the five of them fled down the corridor, hoping to reach the elevator. Unfortunately, their path became blocked by multiple Genomorph giants emerging from other corridors. Worse, their way back was cut off when smaller Genomorphs emerged from red sacks growing on the walls. Truly disgusting, in Krieg's opinion. Suddenly, the Superboy launched itself forward with a war cry and knocked one of the giants flat on its back. More of them subsequently ganged up on the clone, leaving only one to fend off the other four heroes. Worked perfectly for Krieg as he rushed the giant and slid underneath its legs, let the clone take the brunt of the attacks. Hopefully those things would be able to finish it off. Alas, the clone was made of far sterner stuff and forced its assailants back, shaking the walls with each blow it dealt.

"Superboy! The goal is escape, not to bury ourselves here!" Aqualad called after the clone, trying to calm it down before it brought the ceiling down upon them all. Useless piece of meat, that was what the clone was. Even when it was supposedly fighting on their side, it was still causing trouble for them.

"Just let the clone bury itself if it wants to, it will at least distract our opponents long enough for us to get a head start," Krieg put in his field observation as no one was making a move towards the elevator that was now unguarded.

"You want to leave him behind?" Robin asked in horrified confusion. His morals were obviously messing with his logical thinking, as it always did when Krieg dealt with heroes.

"I told you before that I would do the same," he simply said. Unfortunately, it seemed like the clone had heeded Aqualad's words as it rushed to catch up with them. Aqualad tore the elevator doors open, allowing Robin and Krieg to fire their grapple guns and ascend. Superboy carried Aqualad as he flew up the elevator shaft. Or at least, he tried to, seeing as he only got a few levels before he started descending.

"What is that xeno clone doing now?" Krieg asked in irritation as he watched the thing plummet downward. He was forced to lower himself to the same level as the rest of their little mismatched group.

"Superman can fly. Why can't I?" the clone asked in dejection.

"Obviously you are not a well-made clone of the Kryptonian," Krieg observed nonchalantly as he retracted his grapple line. Superboy was too confused on the matter to get properly angry at Krieg for the insult.

"Guys, this will have to be our exit!" Robin suddenly shouted in alarm. The cause of said alarm was, as Krieg quickly found out, the elevator descending towards them. The doors on their level was smashed apart and the group rushed out before they got squashed by the elevator. Problem was, there were more Genomorphs waiting for them in the corridor. Rather than risk getting bogged down in an attrition battle, the group made a hasty retreat down another corridor.

"Does anyone know where exactly we are heading?" Krieg asked as they ran aimlessly down corridor after corridor.

"Go left!" the clone suddenly shouted. The whole group obeyed without question and turned left, save for Krieg who was a bit skeptical.

"Why are we taking direction from the clone? It could very well be leading us into a trap," he questioned from the back of the group.

"You wanna try your luck finding a way out on your own? Be my guest," Robin commented grumpily, starting to get fed up with Krieg's constant mistrust towards Superboy. Believe it or not, but that actually made Krieg shut up. For the moment at least.

"Right!" the clone suddenly shouted again. But when they did turn right, they were greeted by a dead-end.

"Great directions, Supey! You trying to get us repodded?" Kid Flash asked in anger, obviously not desiring a repeat of what they have already gone through.

"Told you," Krieg commented as he glanced back the way they came, expecting a horde of Genomorphs to flood the corridor any second now. Hopefully they could backtrack and find another way before they were encircled and cut down.

"No, I… I don't understand," the clone tried to explain. Krieg shouldered his way to the front to glare at the clone.

"Your excuses on the matter are irrelevant. The fact still stands that you just lowered our chances of escaping exponentially," he stated, causing yet another tense stand-off between the two of them. A stand-off that was suddenly interrupted by Robin.

"What are you talking about? This is perfect," he announced with a smile on his lips. While at first confused on what the boy was referencing to, Krieg followed his line of sight and found a ventilation shaft in the wall. The whole group quickly entered their unexpected escape route, though Krieg still had his doubts. Out in the corridors, they had room to maneuver and fight properly. But in here, crawling on their hands and knees, they were defenseless should the enemy catch them in here.

"Wait. Listen," the clone suddenly said, causing the group to freeze up. Yet none of them could hear anything. Krieg was about to ask whether he was deliberately stalling them or not when he remembered as certain power that Superman possessed.

"Super hearing?" he asked, receiving a small nod.

"They're in the vents," he announced. That was bad, really bad. If the enemy cornered them in here, they were finished.

"We can't fight them in here. We need to lose them and get into a better position, or we are done for," Krieg said out loud. A thoughtful look entered Robin's face.

"Good point," he said right before he set to work on his holographic computer. While he continued working, they moved onward, though at a slower pace. But it seemed like speed was not necessary for them, as no sounds of pursuit reached them as they crawled onward. Finally, the got out of the vents and back in the corridors. Yet still there were no signs of the enemy. Robin had a big smile on his face, telling Krieg that he may have had something to do with it.

"Robin, what did you do?" he asked monotonously. Robin's smile only grew wider, if such a thing was even possible.

"I hacked the motion sensors," he announced proudly. Well, that bought them some relief at least, seeing as the enemy would hopefully be chasing shadows for a while, but it would only last until they ran into more of the enemy, so they would have to be quick.

"You may have led them on a wild goose chase for now, but they will regroup sooner or later, so we need to move now before they pinpoint our exact location," Krieg stated as he brought out his tranquil gun, already missing the comforting firepower of his Benelli M3. At least that one had more punch to it than this pathetic pea shooter.

"No problem, 'cause now I've finally got room to move," Kid Flash said cockily as he put on his goggles and raced up a staircase. Dozens of Genomorphs were coming down the stair to stop them, but the speedster barreled into them like a human cannonball, knocking them aside and leaving a clear path for the rest of them.

"More behind us!" Robin suddenly shouted. Krieg only cast a quick glance over his shoulder to determine if it was true or not, leaving the clone at the rear to deal with them. And deal with them he did, as with a single stomp caused the stair to collapse and blocking the way for the enemy's reinforcements. Okay, maybe the clone had its uses after all. It looked like clear sailing all the way as they reached sublevel 1. But they were in for a nasty surprise as a massive steel door closed off their exit. Kid Flash did not see the danger in time and slammed straight into it.

"We're cut off from the street," Aqualad said in anger as he glared at the door standing as a last obstacle in their path to freedom.

"Thanks, my head hadn't noticed," Kid Flash grumbled sarcastically, being thoroughly ignored by the others. Both Aqualad and Superboy tried to tear the door open, but it would not budge so much as an inch despite their best efforts. Robin was furiously trying to get the door open with his holographic computer, with just about as much success as the Atlantean and the Kryptonian.

"Can't hack this fast enough," he said just as an animalistic growl came from behind them. The Genomorphs had caught up to them, and they were many times more numerous than the heroes. Krieg quickly opened fire with his gun, felling a handful of the little ones but doing nothing to the big ones.

"We need to retreat!" he called over his shoulder as his clip ran dry. Retreating was not something Krieg enjoyed, but he was not so stupid as to fight a battle he knew he could not win.

"This way!" Robin called out as he threw a door open and rushed in, the others quickly piling in after him. Now Krieg had once heard the expression 'out of the frying pan and into the fire'. He was now given a deeper insight into the phrase than he could have ever imagined. For the corridor they had just fled into was already crammed full of Genomorphs, far more in number than the ones they had just fled from. Well, this seemed to be the end for them. There was no place to run anymore and they were surrounded. So Krieg and the others made ready to make a final stand. But even that was denied them as the G-Gnomes' horns started glowing red, causing the whole group to collapse into unconsciousness from the psychic attack. 'I really, really hate psykers,' was Krieg's last conscious thought.

But this state would not last long, as Krieg found himself waking up mere moments later, dazed and confused, but still alive. As his senses slowly returned to him, Krieg found even more confusion in the Genomorphs' actions. They were doing nothing but standing there, observing them. No, not them, they were observing Superboy. What was going on here?

"I. Choose. Freedom," the clone suddenly announced with conviction, bringing forth even more confusion in Krieg as he stood back up on his feet. Who was the xeno talking to? And what was he talking about? Gah! Krieg was going insane from all of this! His time with these abhumans and xenos were eroding his mind. How he missed his base in Los Angeles right about now.

"Feels like… fog lifting," Guardian said as his own mind began clearing up again.

"Guardian?" Aqualad asked hesitantly. At the sound of his name, Guardian's face hardened into one of resolve, finally having a clear picture of what needed to be done.

"Go. I'll deal with Desmond," he stated fiercely, most likely looking forward to giving that manipulative scientist a piece of his mind. Krieg could well and truly understand that feeling.

"I think not," a familiar voice suddenly snarled out. The horde of Genomorphs parted to reveal Desmond himself. Krieg noted with a small amount of satisfaction that a few pieces of glass were still buried in his eye and it was still freely bleeding. Though that crazed look in his remaining eye did not bode well, nor did that test tube containing some manner of blue liquid.

"Project Blockbuster will give me the power to restore order to Cadmus," he said darkly, right before he drank every drop of that strange substance. The effects were instantaneous. His body went into violent convulsions as the noise of bones breaking could be heard. He collapsed on all four, screaming in pain as his clothes and skin were torn apart by the rapidly expanding muscles underneath. Gradually, his human screams turned into animalistic growls. When the transformation was completed, there no longer stood a man against them, but a monster. A hulking giant with grey skin, beady red eyes and patches of human skin hanging loosely on his body like shed fur.

"Everyone, back!" Guardian called out while holding his arms out in a shielding gesture, a gesture wasted on the creature as it charged Guardian and swatted him aside like a mere bug. Superboy tried to attack the beast head-on, but was slammed into the ground with a single punch before he was thrown right through the roof. The beast followed after the clone, seeking to finish the job.

"Okay, that's one way to bust through the ceiling," Robin commented as he fired his grapple gun and followed them.

"Do you think lab coat planned that?" Kid Flash asked as he hitched a ride on Robin.

"I doubt he's planning anything anymore," Aqualad answered as he jumped after his friends. but Krieg lingered behind, eyes locked on the pair of ruined eyeglasses that once belonged to the beast.

"You willingly relinquished your humanity, all for the power to keep order in your heretical organization," he said neutrally, as if he was merely making a simple observation. But his thoughts were far from neutral, they were aflame with righteous anger at the desecration he had just witnessed. This Desmond had committed far too many atrocities to be overlooked. Breeding living weapons, cloning a xeno, and now turning himself into a monster.

"Desmond, you no longer deserve to live," Krieg finally announced with a voice so cold it could freeze a volcano over. He swiftly turned on his heels, marched up to the hole in the roof and fired his grapple gun. What he found when he arrived at the first floor was not a reassuring sight. Despite teaming up on the monster, they were doing next to nothing against it, while the beast kept throwing them around like gloves. It was currently pounding Superboy into a pillar, and while Krieg would have loved to leave the clone to die, he knew that they needed all the help they could get to take down this monstrosity. He therefore reloaded his tranquil gun and opened fire on it. But the darts just bounced harmlessly off its rock hard skin. It did not even notice those attacks as it just kept pounding Superboy.

"Dammit, need more firepower," Krieg muttered to himself.

"Krieg! K.F.! Get over here!" Robin suddenly shouted over the noise of battle. The two mentioned heroes rushed over to him.

"You have a plan on how to deal with that thing?" Krieg asked, hoping the answer was yes. He carried nothing that packed enough of a punch to be of use against something like that creature.

"I do, now listen carefully," Robin went into further detail on what the plan was. When he was done, both Krieg and Kid Flash rushed to carry out their assignments. Krieg was handed a few explosive discs by Robin and hurried over to the designated pillar, applying the explosives. Once he was done, he rushed over to join the rest of the group, just in time to watch the creature get electrocuted by Aqualad.

"They in place?" Robin asked once Krieg rejoined them.

"Armed and ready to be triggered," Krieg answered.

"Good, then move!" Robin shouted before running for it, Krieg following close behind with the other three tailing behind. They were too slow though, as the explosives went off and the whole building began crumbling like a cardhouse. 'Death by living burial. Not the way I would have liked to end my days,' Krieg thought in disappointment, right before someone tackled him to the ground. Krieg had no time to wonder who, for a second later they were all buried underneath tons of rubble. All was dark at first, but then a stray of pale light reached him as someone punched a hole through the rubble covering them. More rubble was quickly removed and soon Krieg could stand back up again. It was only now that Krieg got a good look at his savior, and he was astonished to find it was the clone. It must have felt his eyes upon it, as the clone turned around to face Krieg with a raised eyebrow.

"Why did you save me?" Krieg asked, truly curious as to why it would do such a thing. He had expected it to leave them behind like the coward it was and never be seen again.

"Why not? Couldn't just let you die," the clone answered, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Krieg narrowed his eyes skeptically behind his mask, not fully believing the words spoken. Nevertheless, no matter how much he disliked admitting it, the clone had saved his life.

"Thank you," he finally said. It hurt his pride to say those words to a xeno, but he owed it that much at the very least. Hopefully he would never have to see the thing again. The clone gained a small smile and nodded to Krieg in gratitude, something that Krieg wanted to rectify if only he had access to some Kryptonite.

"See? The moon," Kid Flash suddenly said, pointing towards the sky. Superboy looked up to the sky for the first time in his life, gazing at the moon. But then something else appeared in the sky, drawing ever closer. That something was dressed in blue and red with a cape and wearing his underwear on the outside.

"Oh, and Superman. Do we keep our promises or what?" Kid Flash asked cockily. But Superman was not the only League member who descended from the sky. Every single member of the Justice League descended from the sky, those lacking powers of flight being carried by Green Lantern. As the Justice League landed one by one, Krieg noticed there was a certain amount of nervousness radiating from the sidekicks. It puzzled him. Sure, the mission went worse than expected, but the threat was neutralized and they had brought in valuable Intel. Superboy suddenly stepped forward, brandishing his S symbol and smiling hopefully at the chocked Superman. Both the smile and the hope were dashed apart when Superman's face morphed into one of outrage as he beheld his clone.

"Is that what I think it is?" Batman suddenly asked as he regarded the clone as well.

"He doesn't like being called an it," Kid Flash sing songed from behind the clone's back. but apparently the clone had grown tired of being talked about as if he was not even present.

"I'm Superman's clone!" he announced loudly for everyone to hear. There were looks of disbelieves shared between all League members, but Krieg only noticed the particularly dark and menacing glare he was receiving from Batman. Assuming he expected a report, Krieg stepped forward and gave a crisp military salute.

"Mission accomplished, sir. Although we ran into unforeseen complication and were forced to improvise, all the main objectives were completed," he reported. He had expected a simple dismissal after that, he had not expected the raised eyebrow he received from Batman.

"Mission?" he questioned slowly. Krieg frowned behind his mask at the obvious confusion from his superior officer.

"Yes, Robin informed me that I had been assigned to assist in investigating Cadmus, and that you had been called away on an emergency mission and had therefore been unable to deliver it personally. If you require a more detailed account of what have transpired, I can have a written report done and handed in on your desk by tomorrow morning," Krieg said with his usual dull voice. But Batman was no longer paying attention to Krieg, his eyes had by now locked onto his protégé like a pair of homing missiles. At that moment, Robin wished more than anything that the ground would open up and swallow him. Really, he did not care if it led to a slow and agonizingly painful death, anything was better than being under the scrutinizing gaze of Batman. Especially when Krieg had just unknowingly ratted him out.

"Start talking," Batman ordered with a growl. No one was brave enough to disobey him.

The sidekicks were the first to be subjected to the interrogation. After Batman was through with them, he dragged Krieg aside to get a more detailed description from him. By now, Krieg had learned that he had not in fact been assigned this mission, and had been lied to. Currently, there were no words in existence that could fully describe what went through his mind. Closest would be 'unacceptable', 'inexcusable', 'treachery', 'retribution', 'cleansing by holy fire' etc. and all those words combined were still too tame to truly grasp his inner thoughts.

"… Desmond then drank the strange substance and mutated into that creature. He proved stronger than all of us combined and we were forced to bring the whole building down on him in order to stop him," Krieg finally finished his recount of the day's events. Somewhere along the way, he and Batman had been joined by Superman, Aquaman and Flash as they listened to his tale.

"And what are your thoughts on the Superboy?" Batman suddenly asked. It caught Krieg by surprise, having never been asked what his opinions were on matters by a superior officer like that.

"The clone? It may have helped us escape, but it was the reason we were caught in the first place. And it is a weapon created by our enemies to be the equal of Superman, I highly doubt their control over the weapon will have disappeared that quickly," he answered truthfully. Batman gave a small nod, signifying he was seeing his point of view on the matter.

"And what would you suggest we do?" Batman asked again. Now Krieg was growing a bit suspicious of Batman. Since when was he shown this amount of trust to be able to voice his opinions?

"I would normally suggest a simple termination of the clone and its body destroyed, but I already know you will say no to that, so I suppose I would have to settle for sealing it away where it can never escape and where no one will ever be able to find it," Krieg said. That, as expected, brought out a protest. It did not, however, come from Superman.

"Now wait a minute, isn't that a bit too harsh towards a kid?" Flash protested. Krieg turned fully to face the speedster.

"Did you not hear what I said? That thing is a weapon, which was controlled by our enemy. Who knows whether it has truly switched sides or is merely trying to fool us all?" he countered, yet still the stubborn speedster would not see reason as he turned to Batman.

"You can't seriously be considering his suggestion, Batman?" he asked before turning to Superman, "You're at least with me on this one, right?" but Superman did not give a direst answer. In fact, he looked torn on the matter.

"I… I don't know," he finally said quietly. It left Krieg completely flabbergasted. He had known his suggestion would be met with a strong opposition, but he had expected Superman to be at the vanguard of the opposition. But as Krieg looked Superman in the eyes now, he saw the truth. His morals may prevent him from saying it out loud, but Krieg could see the truth. Superman did not want the clone to exist anymore than Krieg did. Speaking of which, said clone was currently looking at Superman, an action that Flash also noticed as he nudged Superman and pointed towards it. Hesitantly, Superman approached the clone, speaking a few words that Krieg did not hear before flying away. At that moment, however, Batman approached the group of sidekicks with Flash and Aquaman in tow, gesturing for Krieg to follow him. Krieg did just that and ended up standing a bit to the side at equal distance from Batman and the sidekicks.

"Cadmus will be investigated, all 52 levels. But let's make one thing clear…" Batman began.

"You should've called," Flash suddenly added midsentence, receiving a slight glare from Batman before he continued.

"End results aside, we are not happy. You hacked Justice League systems, disobeyed direct orders, coerced a Justice League associate and endangered lives. You will not be doing this again," the finality in his tone, along with the batglare, signified that it was not up for discussion. Personally, Krieg hoped that those three would be discharged from the League. That way, he could break a few of their bones without being guilty of striking a supposed comrade-in-arm. He was even discreetly cracking his knuckles in anticipation.

"I'm sorry, but we will," Aqualad suddenly announced, catching Krieg off guard. What was the underwater aberration doing? Was he seriously going to disobey a direct order again?

"Aqualad, stand down," Aquaman ordered with authority.

"Apologies, my king, but no," Aqualad answered. Guess he really was planning to disobey orders. How stupid where those kids anyway? They had already hit rock bottom, yet they still tried to dig themselves a deeper hole.

"We did good work here tonight. The work you trained us to do. Together, on our own, we forged something powerful, important." Aqualad ranted on, but Krieg was only half listening by now. It was clear now; their brains had short-circuited a long time ago. There were no other explanations to their stupid and illogical behavior.

"If this is about your treatment at the Hall, the three of you…" Flash began, but was interrupted.

"The five of us, and it's not," Kid Flash stated. Wait? Five? Where did he get that number from? Krieg counted three sidekicks present. He guessed that the speedster was including the clone out of pity or some other useless sentimentality, so that made it four. But who the hell was the fifth he was referring to? Speedy? No, he left in anger and had not been seen since.

"Batman, we're ready to use what you've taught us, or why teach us at all?" Robin pressed on, hoping to have some effect on his mentor.

"Why let them tell us what to do? It's simple; get on board or get out of the way," Superboy suddenly said as he stomped to the front of the group. What exactly was going through Batman's head underneath that cowl at that moment, Krieg had absolutely no idea. His face was as unreadable as ever, and there were no physical signs that could point to what he might be thinking. Well, either way, Krieg was growing tired of just sitting around here when he could be doing something productive back in Los Angeles.

"Batman, with your permission, I would like to return to Los Angeles," he requested of the still silent Batman.

"Permission granted," Batman simply said. That was good enough for Krieg and he headed out on his search for the nearest zeta tube.

"Wait!" and just like last time, those annoying sidekicks stopped him before he could leave. He slowly turned to face them, giving his undivided attention to Robin, who was in the lead and rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"Sorry about lying to you and all that. We just didn't want the League to find out too early," Robin offered as an excuse while avoiding eye contact with Krieg, who was currently imagining how the little twerp's face would look like with a fist buried in it. Krieg had to admit, it was a pretty picture, and he was tempted to make it a reality. But he restrained himself, knowing they were technically still on the same side.

"Just don't do it again," he finally ground out before storming away, hoping he would find some criminals back in Los Angeles. After today, something really needed to feel pain on Krieg's behalf.

Today was proving to be a quiet day for Krieg, no major robberies, no shootouts, only one attempted murder and three simple muggings. all in all, a quiet day, which left Krieg's mind to wander from where he was perched on a rooftop with a binocular in hand. It had been three days since the Cadmus incident, and there had been no word whatsoever from the League during that time. While Krieg was eternally grateful for the peace and quiet it provided, it still left him wondering what was happening. He had seriously expected at least one check-in from the League. After all, they were still not fully comfortable with letting him run loose on his own. He often wondered what happened to the clone and the sidekicks after he last saw them. Personally, he hoped it was not something pleasant for them.

Any further musings on his part were put on hold as his communicator started beeping, indicating someone was trying to reach him. Hopefully this call would be able to shed some light as to what was going on.

"Krieg here," he said as he activated his communicator.

"This is Black Canary, meet me at the zeta tube near your base," Black Canary answered on the other end before disconnecting. The Justice League had at first wanted to install a zeta tube straight inside Krieg's base, but he had been adamantly against the idea. He was not comfortable with the idea of having a backdoor to his base that anyone with access to a zeta tube could enter. Though as he leaped from rooftop to rooftop on his way to the zeta tube, he kept wondering what the situation was. When he finally arrived, he found Black Canary leaning against the wall waiting for him.

"I'm here, now what did you require?" he asked of the Leaguer.

"Follow me," she answered as she stepped inside the zeta tube, disguised as an old phone booth. A flash of white light later, and she was gone. Then Krieg stepped inside as well. It seemed like coordinates had already been set in as he was quickly engulfed in white light.

"Recognized. Krieg, B04," the automated computer voice announced as he rematerialized inside what looked like a massive cavern. Several League member were already on sight. But to his great displeasure however, he found that not only was the clone present, but also the other three sidekicks, and for some reason they looked a bit happy to see him.

"Krieg! Cool that you could come, how have you been?" Robin asked as Krieg strode over to them. 'My day was peaceful and relaxing, but then I saw you and your friends,' Krieg thought to himself. Now that he was closer, he could see that they were all wearing civilian garbs. Unlike him who was decked out in full military gear, something that Kid Flash just had to comment on.

"Dude, do you ever take that uniform off?" he asked in humor, clearly meaning it as a joke.

"No," Krieg answered seriously, not meaning it as a joke. He looked at all of their smiling faces and felt his confusion grow.

"Why do you all seem so relieved to see me again? I was under the belief that our relations were less than cordial," he observed analytically. Aqualad stepped forward as he answered.

"True. We have had plenty of fights and disagreements since we first met. But you've always proven yourself to be a steadfast ally, never turning your back on us despite our differences," he explained. Krieg almost felt like snorting. Wait until he was ordered to leave them all behind, or better yet shot them, and then we would see if they still felt he was a steadfast ally.

"Besides, we sorta dragged you into this in the first place, so it's only natural that you stick with us all the way through," Kid Flash added. The only one who seemed to not be that thrilled about his presence was Superboy. Well, Krieg was feeling nauseated by just being in the clone's presence, so they were probably even on that account.

"If you're all done with your greetings, we can get this started," Batman suddenly ordered, his commanding tone making all five teenagers line up like troopers for an inspection.

"This cave was the original secret sanctuary of the Justice League, we're calling it into service again. Since you five are determined to stay together and fight the good fight, you'll do it on League terms," Batman began, and already there did Krieg feel like objecting. He was not determined to stick together with these sidekicks, he did not even want to be in the same room as them, much less the same team. Just where did they get the delusion that he wanted to be part of a team, when he has always preferred to work alone, with no one present to interfere with his work? But like the good soldier he was, he kept his mouth shut.

"Red Tornado volunteered to live here and be your supervisor, Black Canary is in charge of training. I will deploy you on missions," Batman announced to the four eager, and one less eager, young heroes.

"Real missions?" Robin asked skeptically, clearly not wanting to fall for the same sales pitch twice.

"Yes, but covert," Batman answered. That caught Krieg's interest. Covert missions? Now that sounded promising.

"The League will still handle the obvious stuff. There's a reason we have these big targets on our chests," Flash said while pointing to his flash symbol.

"But Cadmus proves the bad guys are getting smarter. Batman needs a team that can operate on the sly," Aquaman added. Now that made sense. The Justice League members were big time celebrities across the globe. It was next to impossible for them to make a move without someone hearing about it. A covert ops team, made up of less known heroes, would be perfect for dealing with threats too evasive for a full on assault to work.

"The six of you will be that team," Batman declared. But one word in his sentence caught Krieg's attention more than the others. Six? There were only five of them, no matter how much he wished there would only be four.

"Cool. Wait, six?" Robin suddenly questioned, having also noticed the wrong number. Batman's way of answering was by looking at something behind the group, making them all turn around to see what it was. Krieg's whole body tensed up, and he wished now more than ever that he had a flamer in his hands right about now. Standing there, was not only the Martian Manhunter, but a smaller and female version of him. Bile threatened to gather in his mouth as he deduced he was looking at another Martian.

"This is the Martian Manhunter's niece, Miss Martian," Batman introduced, confirming Krieg's fears. Dear Emperor, not another one of those greenskinned psyker xenos! He may detest Superman, and was definitively revolted by his clone, but he downright despised the Martian and all of his kind. And to think, they lived on Mars. Defiling the treasured home of the Adeptus Mechanicus. True, they did not exist in this world, but he could still not tolerate such desecration.

"Hi," the filthy Martian greeted shyly, making Krieg wish he could take a grenade and ram it down her throat.

"Liking this gig more every minute," Kid Flash commented. Disgusting mutant, already accepting the Martian as if she was an equal.

"Welcome aboard. I'm Kid Flash. That's Robin, Aqualad, Krieg. It's cool if you forget their names," yes, it would definitely be 'cool' if the Martian forgot his name, because he was going to do whatever it took to forget hers.

"I'm honored to be included," the Martian said. Well, she should also be relieved to be alive since she was still in Krieg's presence. The three sidekicks all walked up to the Martian with only Krieg and Superboy staying behind, something that Robin was quick to notice.

"Hey Superboy, Krieg, come meet Miss M," he called to them. Reluctantly, Krieg did just that, struggling with his instincts that were screaming at him to place a knife in her skull. Superboy had less of a problem as he walked to stand in front of her. Suddenly, her shirt morphed itself into a replica of Superboy's.

"I like your T-shirt," she said shyly, bringing a small smile to Superboy's face and a frown to Krieg's. He just wanted to be away from all of them, put as much distance between them as possible. His eyes swiftly landed on Batman, who was standing by himself a short distance away.

"Excuse me for a moment," he said absentmindedly to the team as he strode over to his commanding officer, hoping to set some things straight.

"Permission to speak freely, sir?" he asked, receiving a short nod from him. Good enough for Krieg.

"Why did you place me on this team? I never even requested a transfer, and you know I work best when operating alone," he questioned the dark knight. At first, no answer came, but then finally Batman spoke.

"Apart from Robin, you have the most combat experience out of them. They're a fresh team, and they'll need all the help they can get," Batman explained. It was of course more than that. Ever since allowing Krieg to begin fighting crime, many had hoped to rehabilitate him, make him leave behind his xenophobia and cold disposition. But ever since he was let out on the streets, Krieg had been isolating himself from everyone, only talking to other heroes when they had a mission for him. At the rate things were going, they would never get anywhere with Krieg. But when the idea of this team came up, they found a solution. By placing Krieg on a team of young heroes of the same age, he would be forced to socialize with them, make bonds. The young heroes could hopefully melt all that ice that had accumulated around Krieg's heart.

"Very well then," Krieg said dejectedly. So he was now stuck on the same team as a mutant, an abhuman and two xenos. More than ever, he missed his simple life in the Death Korps. There, everyone was just a faceless drone, just like himself. There, he only needed to kill xenos, not work alongside them. 'Oh Father of Mankind, give me the strength to endure this cruel torment,' he prayed with all his might as he turned around to head back to his… team. He almost felt like spitting that last word out.

"Just so you know, Krieg, things will be different now," Batman suddenly said, "I know you have a strong sense of xenophobia, but you'll have to leave it behind now. As a team, you're all expected to guard each other's backs. Never leave a teammate behind, Krieg, that's an order," terrific, there went his chance of 'accidentally' allowing an enemy to sneak up on the Martian and take her out of the picture.

"Yes sir," he simply said, this time lingering behind a bit to see if Batman had anything else to say.

"One last thing. We went through the rubble of that lab on Manhattan, and we found the charred remains of one Samantha Brown. Her legs had been trapped underneath some rubble," here, his eyes narrowed as he glared accusingly at Krieg, "Did you know she was still in there?" he asked harshly.

"Yes," Krieg answered truthfully and without hesitation. Batman's glare grew even more deadly than before as his fists clenched.

"Yet you still left her to die. Need I remind you, that as a hero, it's your duty so save lives, be they guilty or innocent," he reprimanded him, voice quiet enough so only Krieg could here, but still carrying so much power behind it that it could have cowered even Superman. But Krieg was unaffected as he stared blankly at Batman.

"It was either her or Kid Flash. I simply chose to save your comrade over his kidnapper," Krieg answered, heart free of any guilt. In his opinion, the woman did not deserve to live either way. Now, she would be causing no more trouble for anyone ever again. Batman's glare was still as strong as ever, but he said nothing. There was nothing he could say on the matter anymore. Since he was obviously done now, Krieg turned on his heels and strode away, mentally steeling himself for the trials he knew he would have to endure in the future.