V
In front of Ra's knelt one of the most dangerous men in the League, Sensei. A scarred elderly man with his chest bared, half-blind, with an ever-present sternness and a lion's mane hairstyle. He looked harmless, but behind that embittered look held eyes that bore witness to countless assassinations.
"Report," Ra's commanded his trusted left hand.
"I support your belief in him, Master. He is exactly what we need right now. His strict nature is what will return our glorious order to its foundations. With the Light trying to control us, and your future soaks in the Pit, I think he can make sure we don't lose our way."
"You trust him?"
"No," Sensei stated, "But he won't be able to take over the League without you giving it to him. While he is capable and our forces admire him, he doesn't garner any of their love or loyalty, only fear. That makes him even more valuable."
"And how does he generate this fear and admiration?"
"He is strong, and he expects them to be strong. If they aren't," Sensei paused, "He forces them to be."
"How were his recent missions?"
"They were without error."
"No insubordination?" Ra's asked skeptically.
"He had trouble with Talia, Shiva, Cain, and one of the minor shadows, a Matthew Hagan, but they were all resolved without issue."
"How?"
"He fought with Shiva and Cain. As for Hagan, he killed him. Talia grew quiet after that."
Quirking his brow, Ra's asked, "What is the relationship my daughter had with this... Hagan?"
"When I caught Pierre punishing him, he only said that the man was already destined for death."
"You don't have any suspicions?"
"No, Master."
"Hmm," Ra's paused, thinking over all he had just heard, "It's time to let Lukas see the Light. Bring him to me."
* * * * * * *
"How is your relationship with Talia progressing? " Ra's asked.
Sitting on the chair across from him, Lukas replied, "We have gotten closer."
"Since Hagan?"
Staring at him, Lukas succinctly replied, "Yes."
"Good."
"What's this about, Ra's? Another mission, or are you just interested in my love life?"
"No, to both. Sensei assures me you've found your place in the League, now I'm hoping you can do the same with Savage and the Light."
"I see," Lukas responded, his sharp eyes narrowing at the thought of the inevitable conflict.
"Fret not," Ra's assuaged, "Savage has more worries than your past conflict. I do not doubt that your admission into the group will proceed smoothly."
"Who are the members?" Lukas asked, leaning in. Doubtlessly hoping for leverage on his new associates.
"There are seven of us. Savage, Luthor, and I, you already know of. The other four are; Queen Bee, the iron-fisted ruler of Bialya, Ocean Master, a rebelling member of the Atlantean royal family, Brain, our head scientist, and Klarion, an immortal Lord of Chaos. With all of us, the Light has an edge in each of the most important industries in the world."
"When do I meet them?"
"Savage is having an unveiling at one of our cloning labs. You'll meet them there."
"When do we leave?"
"Now."
* * * * * * * * * *
"What are you doing here, Pierre?"
As soon as they entered the conference room, Ra's heard Savage ask as the man's guard took the unspoken signal to get armed and pointed his sword at Lukas. All around the room, each of the other five members had their guards do the same.
"He's with me." Ra's said, getting all except Savage to back off.
"Why. Is. He. Here?" Savage repeated hostilely.
Ra's looked back at Lukas to see how he was taking this provocation, only to find the man had taken the sword from Savage's guard and had a gun to his attacker's head.
"I was told you had gotten over our past conflict," Lukas said sardonically.
Giving Lukas a look to stay quiet and let him handle it, Ra's explained, "I think he would be helpful to our goals. He is not only an experienced operative and my heir, but his powers make him able to contend with all but the most powerful of the Justice League."
"Who is he?" Lex Luthor, a bald Caucasian man in a white suit, asked from across the room as his guard stood in front of him.
"He's an immortal," Ra's revealed, "Like Savage and I. In the past, the three of us crossed paths. I recently got into contact with him and in addition to having him join the Shadows, I invited him to join the Light."
"And what are these powers you spoke of?" Brain, a disembodied encephalon in a mechanical dome, asked.
"They are-" Savage began.
BANG!
Lukas shot the pistol next to the head of his hostage—causing all the guards in the room to once again arm themselves—and finished Savage's sentence, "A secret," he said, shoving the guard back at Savage.
Setting aside his guard whose ear began to bleed, Savage gave Lukas a calculated look, then smirked. "Actually, you've chosen to join us at a great time, Pierre. We need someone of your caliber to fight our newest creation, Match. Prove your worth to us and you're in. If you don't... well, you always seem to pop back up, anyway."
Lukas stared back flatly, "Deal," he said.
* * * * * * *
Waiting for Match to arrive, Ra's and the other members of the Light were on the upper floor of the East Wing of the lab—the location providing them an impromptu fighting ring—discussing the project.
"How does his strength compare to Superman?" Ra's asked the creator.
"He is an exact copy of the man, so his potential and abilities are the same, but the clone is in an adolescent state. He can't be expected to be as powerful now as he will be grown." Brain told him.
"So, how powerful is he?" Queen Bee, a beautiful dark-skinned woman, asked.
"He has about eighty percent of the original's power."
"Ah, here he comes," Luthor noted, looking below.
There, on the ground floor, Lukas was in the center of the chamber. In front of him, the hallway entrance where two lab technicians rolled in a cylindrical metal tube. deposited it facing him, and journeyed to the upper level.
"It's ready," They told the Light's members.
"Open it," Savage commanded while Ra's called out to Lukas to get ready
Down below, the doors of the metal tube opened, releasing a blast of cold air and revealing an unconscious young man in his teens, wearing a pure white uniform with an 'S' on his chest, with black hair and a pale complexion.
But, as the seconds ticked by, the boy twitched as they released him from his sleep, and his eyes snapped open. They were a fiendish black, with the only light being his blue irises.
Now awake, his face took on an inhuman fury. He burst forth at an impossible speed to the nearest thing he could find to release his wrath. To Lukas.
Lukas jumped back. The teen appeared on top of the concrete where Lukas was last standing and there were cracks under him.
The teen disappeared again, and Lukas held out his arm to shield himself.
Fwoosh!
Through the air, a pale fist struck his arm.
Umph!
A muffled grunt sprung out from Lukas as he was pushed back.
The teen sprinted forward to strike again. Stepping to the side, Lukas avoided another punch and wrapped his arm around the boy, lifting him and slamming him into the ground, causing more cracks to appear. From there, Lukas climbed onto his chest, restraining his arms, and threw punches at the boy's face.
The pain seemed to enrage the boy even more as he snarled and tried to rip his arms free with no success. He kept taking punches when suddenly, a beam of blazing red shot out from his eyes straight at Lukas who narrowly avoided his head receiving the same damage the ceiling did. Two smoldering holes. But the beams worked as they allowed the teen to pry his arms out from underneath Lukas and throw him off.
Shoved through the air, Lukas dropped a couple of pellets that released smoke as he was in his arc, and, as he landed, the smoke was already spreading into a cloud that separated Lukas and the boy.
Regardless of the danger, the boy jumped through the cloud only to meet Lukas halfway and get entangled in the smoke.
Blinded from the battle, all that Ra's and the other members of the Light could hear from the cloud was a series of fast-paced muffled booms. And, as the smoke dissipated minutes later, they saw, on the floor, the teen.
His uniform got split and torn, and his uncovered skin showed sweat, bruises, and cuts. Lukas was the opposite. His black robes showed no damage, and the only sign that he fought was the light perspiration on his forehead.
"Why was his fighting so feral?" Savage questioned Brain.
"It seems cloning a full-blooded Kryptonian with an intelligent mind is beyond our present capabilities. I suggest we begin work on a hybrid. A body of a Kryptonian with the mind of a human would be much easier."
"I agree," Luthor, smiling, said, "And as the most familiar with Kryptonian physiology, I would like to volunteer my DNA."