Chapter 30:Escaping Cadmus ii

Toneri flew in pursuit through the hole in the ceiling. "Okay, that's one way to bust through the ceiling," Robin said, taking out his grappling hook.

"You think lab coat planned that?" Kid Flash asked, grabbing hold of Robin before they were shot straight up through the hole and into the first floor.

"I doubt he's planning anything anymore," Aqualad said grimly. He then jumped high through the hole, meeting up with the others

When they reached the fight, Superboy was still duking it out with Blockbuster; the monster then grabbed the Kryptonian's leg and hurled him at Aqualad. As Blockbuster charged at them, Toneri appeared in front of him. With a swift series of strikes to his legs and joints, Toneri attacked the beast bringing him down to his knees, dodging Blockbuster's attempts to hit him. Finally, he delivered a powerful kick to Blockbuster's face, hurling him into a wall.

Kid Flash walked up to him in awe. "Whoa, did you just take him down that easily?" he asked.

"In a way, yes."

"Dude, that is so cool!"

"No time for celebrating just yet, look," Robin said, pointing at Blockbuster. The monster got back up and let out another roar.

The five heroes looked at each other, nodded, and charged at the monster as he came at them. Kid Flash ran ahead first, sliding between Blockbuster's legs and getting behind him. The monster turned to face him, only to be punched by Superboy and Aqualad, unbalancing him. He stumbled back, tripping over a crouching Kid Flash.

"Learned that one in kindergarten," Kid Flash said smugly.

Robin jumped up high and threw some batarangs at Blockbuster, but the monster swatted them away. Superboy attacked from behind but was grabbed and pushed against a column. Toneri appeared at Blockbuster's blindside and smashed his chakra bo staff into its side, blasting him into a wall, causing it to crack. Blockbuster got up again while shaking his head to clear out the dizzy spell and threw a broken pillar at Toneri. As Blockbuster punched forward behind the pillar, Toneri used his staff to shatter the slab, dust pooling around them. He barely blocked Blockbuster's punch that came afterwards with the staff, launching him away. Toneri crashed into a wall at the far end of the room, bursting into another room. He backflipped in the air and balanced himself on the wall at the end of that room, which cracked due to the force of his landing.

'It would seem his physical appearance isn't just for show; it's like he's a whole new person altogether. He is stronger than the alpha I fought earlier,' Toneri thought.

Blockbuster was about to continue his attack on Superboy, but Aqualad used his water bearers to create whips and grabbed one of his arms. He then reeled himself in at the monster and was about to hit him with a water-materialized mace, but Blockbuster managed to catch him and tossed him aside. Kid Flash rushed at Blockbuster but was caught and thrown at Aqualad, who tried to attack from behind. Blockbuster then pinned Aqualad against a column and began punching him viciously while Aqualad used his water bearers to protect himself.

"Of course," Robin said, observing the fight.

He noticed Blockbuster shaking the building when he pounded near the column. He then began typing on his holo-computer, viewing a holographic version of the room. Toneri, moving back into the room, walked up to Robin calmly, his bo staff resting on his shoulder.

"So you have a plan, I take it?" Toneri said, looking at Superboy and Aqualad getting trashed by Blockbuster. He could use more power to decimate the creature in milliseconds, but he didn't want to risk his friends in a damaged building. Plus, the monster's stamina was high; Toneri didn't usually fight opponents who could take so many of his attacks.

'Well that's not true, Naruto and ryushiki are a different case. Besides, it'll be boring if I did everything for them, they need to learn how to handle themselves.' he thought.

"You'll be glad to hear, I do," Robin said with a grin. "KF, get over here!"

As Kid Flash rushed over to Robin and Toneri, Aqualad and Superboy were still dealing with Blockbuster. The Atlantean was still being pounded until Superboy jumped onto the monster from behind. Blockbuster tossed Aqualad aside, then threw the clone overhead and through a concrete column.

Meanwhile, Robin was explaining his plan to Toneri and Kid Flash, showing them schematics of the room and telling them to attack the column before Blockbuster could attack them.

"Got it?" Robin asked.

"Got it," Kid Flash said, speeding up to Blockbuster. The monster grabbed Superboy and was about to slam him to the ground until Kid Flash punched him in the face at high speed, peeling the skin from his glove.

"Got your nose," Kid Flash taunted. Blockbuster ignored Superboy and went after the speedster. This gave Aqualad and Superboy enough time to catch their breath.

"Superboy! Aqualad!" Robin called out while Kid Flash continued distracting Blockbuster.

"Come and get me, you Incredible Bulk!" Kid Flash taunted, evading another strike that destroyed a column.

Robin pointed at the remaining pillars. "This one, this one, and that one."

The three of them did as Robin instructed, taking down the pillars. Superboy used his fists to destroy one, Toneri sent out a concentrated air cannon to blast another apart, and Aqualad used a water-materialized mace on the last one. Once they did that, Robin deployed several explosive disks at the top of the columns.

Robin then drew a large 'X' on the floor. Aqualad carried his water onto the floor over the 'X,' and Kid Flash drew the water to Blockbuster using his speed when he came to a stop. Aqualad's tattoos glowed, giving the monster an electric shock, stunning him. Toneri weaved through hand seals before muttering, "Raiton: Kangekiha" (Lightning Release: Emotion wave), blasting a higher amount of electricity than Aqualad could produce. The beast was stunned, his body spasming.

"Move!" Robin said to his teammates as his explosives were about to go off.

When they did, they destroyed the tops of the columns, bringing the entire ceiling down on Blockbuster. Before the ceiling could collapse on them, Toneri concentrated his earth chakra, made a hand sign, and put his palm on the ground to use "Doton: Domu" (Earth Release: Earth Dome) to create a dome of earth over himself and Aqualad. The whole building came crashing down on the dome. They managed to get out of it, but Robin, Kid Flash, and Superboy's costumes were torn.

The dome crumbled as Toneri floated near Robin, looking at him. "Your plan worked. Hmm, I am impressed."

"We…did it," Aqualad said, panting.

"Was there ever any doubt?" Robin said smugly. He and Kid Flash high-fived, wincing in pain and holding their ribs.

Superboy looked up into the sky and saw the full moon. His eyes widened; Kid Flash followed his gaze and gestured upward.

"See? The moon."

Superboy smiled happily, seeing the moon for the first time in his life. Toneri floated close to him and rested his hand on his shoulder.

"Better than an implanted memory?" he asked. Superboy nodded.

"Way much better." He replied. As he looked up at the moon, he saw someone flying towards them. His eyes widened in awe, seeing a man in a blue bodysuit with red boots, a gold belt, and a red cape, bearing a triangular shield with a red "S" on his chest.

"Oh, and Superman," Kid Flash said. "Can we keep our promises, or what?"

Superman was not alone; the other members of the Justice League were with him: Batman, Aquaman, The Flash, Green Arrow, Black Canary, Red Tornado, Martian Manhunter, Captain Marvel, Green Lantern (Hal Jordan & John Stewart), Captain Atom, Hawkman, Hawkgirl, Wonder Woman, and Zatara.

They all stared at the five young heroes without saying a word. Superboy walked up halfway between the groups, revealing the 'S' shield symbol on his suit. Superman's eyes widened.

"Is that what I think it is?" Batman asked calmly.

"Correction, Batman. He doesn't like to be called an 'it'," Toneri corrected.

"I am Superboy, Superman's clone," he said proudly. The League members shared glances at each other.

Batman walked up next to Superman, giving the five of them a hard stare. "Start talking."

Batman looked at Toneri. "You were supposed to wait for us."

Toneri looked at Batman, the air becoming tense and heavy as he leaked a bit of his ki, shocking everyone there.

Captain Atom: What is this pressure? It feels like gravity just increased tenfold!

Zatara: Such power… I haven't felt anything like it since my encounters with higher beings.

Shazam: Whoa, this guy is no joke. It's like he's holding back a storm.

Hawkman: My body feels on edge like a knife resting on my jugular.

Hawkgirl: This isn't just power; it's like he's a force of nature.

Toneri continued, "Do not presume you can give me commands, Batman. I have listened and followed all the rules ever since I came here out of respect for you all as the guardians of this world. But do not presume you can give me orders and tell me to sit still like your pet." The intense pressure made the humans tense, their internal thoughts varying from "So this is Toneri I've heard about" to "What the hell is this pressure? My body feels on edge like a knife resting on my jugular."

The young team also looked at him in a new light before Wonder Woman moved forward to put a hand on his shoulder, apologizing. Toneri finally released his aura, and Batman breathed a tad bit faster than usual.

An hour later, after going through the details of what happened, the League began discussing among themselves, no doubt deciding what to do with the protégés. Most of the League, except for Superman, Batman, Aquaman, and Flash, were taking Blockbuster to Belle Reve prison.

"I, um, sorry if I seem a little… distant," Superman began. "But just give me a little time to process all of this, and I promise the League and I will figure something out for you and we can talk about all of this."

Superboy nodded. "I can live with that, Superman."

Superman laid a hand on his clone's shoulder, smiling slightly. "And I want to say, welcome aboard."

Superboy's eyes widened, then he smiled. "T-Thank you, I am honored, sir."

Toneri watched the whole thing, smiling a bit. His smile faded when he saw Batman, Aquaman, and Flash walking up to them, not looking happy.

"Cadmus will be investigated," Batman began. "All fifty-two levels, but let's get one thing clear…"

"You should have called!" Flash said.

"You hacked into Justice League systems, disobeyed orders, and endangered your lives. End results aside, we are not happy, and you will not be doing this again," Batman said with hardened eyes.

"I am sorry, but we will," Aqualad said.

"Aqualad, stand down," Aquaman said.

"My apologies, my king, but no," Aqualad said. Aquaman arched an eyebrow before his apprentice continued. "We did work here today, the work you trained us to do. Together, on our own, we forged something powerful, important."

"If this is about your treatment back at the hall," Flash interjected. "The three of you…"

"The five of us," Kid Flash interrupted. "And it's not about what happened back at the hall." Robin stepped up, looking directly at his mentor.

"Batman, we are ready to use what you taught us," Robin began. "Why bother teaching us if you aren't going to let us use what you taught us?"

"Why are we letting them tell us what to do?" Superboy asked. "It's simple: get on board, or get out of the way."

Toneri suddenly spoke up. "Well, I am not a member of the League nor of this team, and to this world, I am a guest. That aside, I am willing to help out this team whenever I can. Besides, it wouldn't be bad to have a few people to interact with."

This caused the four heroes to smile.

Toneri continued, "Even if you don't approve of what they did here, this is their first step to show that they are ready to be on their own. They are prepared, if only a little, but still enough to face whatever challenges you might throw at them," Toneri said, looking at Batman.

"Give me three days," Batman said.