Chapter 28:Freed

Superboy was walking down the hallways of Cadmus, his mind still a complete blank because of the G-Gnome on his shoulder. Suddenly, someone appeared out of thin air behind him without making a noise, shocking Superboy, who thought to himself, 'It's him again, I couldn't even sense him.'

Toneri suddenly said, "You've been used, manipulated. But you're not beyond saving," before smacking away the G-Gnome on Superboy's shoulder.

"I think I've seen enough brainwashing for one day, thank you," Toneri said casually to the surprised Superboy.

"How-how did you get here? I defeated you and saw you go up in smoke," Superboy asked.

Toneri tilted his head to the side. "What you defeated was a clone with a fraction of my power. I highly doubt you'd achieve the same result with me."

Toneri then turned to him. "Listen, Superboy, I have seen this too many times: people being manipulated on the selfish whim of others, pawns to be used when they feel like it." Stopping for a moment, Toneri thought back to how Madara manipulated Obito, and in turn, Obito manipulated Pain.

"The manipulation of others is a tactic as old as time," Toneri continued. "You have your own will and your own life. You are free to choose what you want to do. Will you continue to be a weapon, or will you be a man who makes his own choices and starts to live his own life?"

Superboy winced and looked down at his feet. "I can hear your friends; they're in pain."

"So what are you going to do?" Toneri asked the clone.

Superboy slowly looked back at Toneri. "What would Superman do if it were him?"

"I think you already know the answer. Besides, you are your own person. Do what you must," Toneri said, turning back around. "So, what will it be, Superboy?"

Superboy hesitated for a moment, then moved to stand beside Toneri and looked at him with a determined expression. "Follow me. I know the way back." Toneri nodded before the two raced in the opposite direction toward the others.

As soon as they reached the door, Superboy pried the two-foot thick door open with his brute strength. The removal of the doors caused a short circuit, which affected the computers for the cloning chambers and stopped the procedure. Desmond, Guardian, and Dubbilex then moved to intercept them.

"I told you to get back to your—oof!" Desmond was cut off when Superboy backhanded him, Guardian, and Dubbilex to the wall.

"Don't give me orders," Superboy growled before he and Toneri moved up to the pods.

"My apologies for the abrupt leave. I had some things I had to check. Looks like you are holding up alright," Toneri said, looking at them in amusement.

"Well, you took your sweet time. Not cool, man; we could have really used your help," Kid Flash said, then turned to Superboy before looking back at Toneri. "So is he here to free us or fry us?"

Superboy squinted his eyes for a moment to concentrate. "Huh, I don't seem to have heat vision, so I guess helping is my only option."

"You get Aqualad, and I'll get Kid Flash and Robin."

"Hey!" Kid Flash exclaimed.

"Don't you give me orders, either," Superboy growled at Toneri, who just looked at him blankly, sweat-dropping animatedly. As they were opening the pods, Toneri turned to Robin.

"Hey, Robin," he turned to the Otsutsuki. "I don't know if you need it, but do you need any help?"

"No thanks, I think I'm good," Robin said with a grin. He then freed himself from his shackles with his lock-pick glove. He landed on his feet while rubbing his wrists. "Finally! Lucky Batman wasn't here. He'd have my head for taking so long."

"Seriously?" Kid Flash asked. "That's what you're worried about? The entire League will have our heads after tonight!"

Robin pressed a button on the computer, releasing the probes off of Kid Flash and Aqualad before Toneri and Superboy freed them. Aqualad nearly fell over, but Superboy caught him in his arms. Aqualad looked at him with a smile.

"Thank you," he said. Superboy nodded.

The four then proceeded to leave the lab, while Desmond slowly got up with a very angry look on his face. "You'll never get out of here! I'll have you all back in pods by morning!"

"That guy is not whelmed," Robin said, reaching into his utility belt. "Not whelmed at all."

"What is with you and this whole 'whelmed' thing?" Kid Flash asked before they made their escape after Robin threw four explosive disks at the cloning chambers' sphere containers. The explosion from the disks didn't destroy the chambers.

Toneri, seeing this, thought to himself, 'So they intend to clone them, huh? How disgusting.' He suddenly formed a single hand sign and used Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu (Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu). Multiple balls of flame raced to the containers with their blood, destroying them and burning any sample that might be on the floor.

As the flames consumed the cloning chambers, Toneri turned his gaze to Desmond, his eyes reflecting the flickering fire. His milky white eyes bore into Desmond's own, making the scientist feel the weight of his presence.

"I have seen the depths of your depravity," Toneri began, his voice cold and steady. "The horrors you have wrought down below, the lives you have twisted and tormented for your experiments. Human lives, reduced to mere playthings in your hands."

Desmond's eyes widened, fear creeping into his expression. He tried to stand, but his legs wouldn't obey. "What do you mean?" he stammered.

Toneri took a step closer, his eyes never leaving Desmond's. "Project Alpha Chimera," he said softly, almost a whisper. Desmond's eyes widened in shock and horror.

"What did you do?" Desmond gasped.

Toneri bent down, moving close to Desmond, his breath cold against the scientist's skin. "I have freed the soul trapped in agony," Toneri whispered. "I brought him peace through death. He is no longer a pawn in your twisted games."

Desmond's face twisted in a mix of rage and fear. "You had no right!" he spat.

Toneri straightened, looking down at Desmond with disdain. "I have seen the other abominations you have created. The twisted forms, the corrupted life force energy polluting the air like oil in water. You sought to play god, but you have only created monsters."

Desmond trembled, the reality of his situation sinking in. "This... this isn't over," he muttered weakly.

Toneri turned to leave, his voice echoing in the burning room. "No, Desmond, it is over. Your reign of terror ends here." He took a final look at the destroyed lab, the flames casting eerie shadows on the walls. "May those you have wronged find peace." The rest of the lab on fire. Seeing this, Toneri nodded before following the rest.

Desmond was not happy about this, not happy at all. "Activate every Genomorph in Cadmus," he said to the G-Gnome on his shoulder. The G-Gnome's horns began to glow and did the job.