A few days ago:
Sometime after Cadmus was closed down by the new team of heroes and the Justice League, one night, Lex Luthor was just silently enjoying the night view of Metropolis, sitting inside his office on one of the top floors of the Lex Corp Building.
Suddenly the small transponder kept on top of his table started beeping, he turned around with his chair and tapped on top of the device.
A beam of light passed out of the device, projecting a holographic silhouette of a man but veiled by the cloak of a bright light.
"Luthor, I hope the transport of Cadmus' assets to the new lab was a success," the figure asked.
"Better even. We found a lot of hidden research that Dr. Desmond had conducted, his old bogus hypothesis. But it has given us a new window towards the evolution of the Genomorphs."
"What about Project Kr, we did end up losing him, didn't we?"
Lex replied, "Yes, yes we did. But Superboy, as they call him now, wasn't even in Mark's control to begin with. I'm afraid in search of a perfect clone, we made him so perfect that he became his own being, not our weapon. However, that problem has also been solved," Lex added at the end with a smile.
"Elaborate," the figure demanded.
"Match, our old clone, which we deemed as imperfect and stashed it underneath Cadmus. We've retrieved the clone and were able to successfully empty his brain. Now the nanites in his system follow our every command. He's truly become our weapon to command."
The figure then asked, "What use is it when it's not even half the being that Project Kr is?"
"That's the thing. We've already mutated him into something else, with the DNA samples from three different Genomorphs that Dr. Desmond was hiding along with the new and improved version of the blockbuster formula, the telekinesis from G-Goblin, augmented strength of the G-Trolls and the light and flight-based abilities from G-sprites; the electric discharge has become significantly powerful."
"Then, have you tested the full capabilities of that clone?" the figure asked.
"Just the baseline. It'll take a few more days before it can be deployed as a fully controllable drone. We're integrating targeting system into his brain," Luthor replied.
"Good, then as soon as you finish it, we will put it to test. And who better to do it on, than the Justice League-"
Lex interjected, "If I may, I do have someone else in mind."
Realizing what Lex was thinking, the figure spoke, "That sorcerer boy, Leon Blade, was he?"
Lex nodded and said, "This could be the perfect opportunity for us to gauge deeper into his abilities. After all, aside from his summoning spells, most of them are still a mystery, specially how that unbreakable barrier of his works. As much of an asset he could be to us, like you'd said before, he could undoubtedly pose a threat too."
The figure replied, "Humm, best case, both the clone and the sorcerer kill themselves, and 'worst', we find out more about his abilities."
"True, no losses on our side," Lex added. They'd already saved enough samples for more clones, after all.
"Alright, inform me when the clone will be ready for deployment. I will add in extra assurance from my side, to make sure Leon Blade either joins our cause or ceases to exist."
Luthor knew what the Light was talking about, the boy's aunt, Katelyn Blade, was his weak point, after all.
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The night before Leon had gone to Gotham:
Ra's al Ghul, the leader of the League of Shadows, was silently meditating inside his room in their hideout on an isolated island.
Ra's slowly opened his eyes and pulled out the small communication device that was beeping from his pocket. He clicked the small button on its base, a holographic image projecting above it soon after.
The same figure encased in bright light appeared before him. "Have you brought Deathstroke back?" the figure asked as soon as they appeared.
"We tried. He said he wants to 'rest' for a while. I believe he's hiding that losing pathetically to a child hurt his pride more than he accounted for," Ra's replied.
"Leave him be, he can get out himself, whenever he wants to. I have a task for you."
"While we are undoubtedly allies for now, must I remind you every time that I don't work for free?" Ra's asked with a frown, keeping his calm demeanor intact.
"I don't intend to make you work for free. Tomorrow, send your best ones to capture this woman alive and keep her there. She'll most likely be protected in some way, so be careful."
Katelyn Blade's image appeared on the projection now. Ra's replied, without much change in his expression, "You're finally making a move against that sorcerer."
"I hadn't planned to, but now that Luthor is going to do it anyways, we will use that chance. She's going to be an assurance for our new potential ally."
"Is this boy worth that much of a risk?"
The voice replied, "I wasn't too sure at first, but now that we've seen what he can do or a part of it, and then there's the connections he's made, he is undoubtedly going to be useful. A new Kryptonian just landed on Earth today afternoon. I tried getting to her first using the military, but the boy and the league beat me to it. We cannot fall behind in power. Either he is with us, or he's dead. That is all."
"You're being too arrogant."
"Immortality isn't the only thing that's kept me going for fifty thousand years." (A/N: It is though.)
He continued, "You do the task you're assigned, payment will be transferred after the completion." And the call was disconnected.
Ra's got up from his position, the mission debrief was on the file along with Katelyn's image. They had to act after the boy goes to Gotham, if not, they'd wait until he'd be busy dealing with the light's new weapon, one way or another.
He went out, only to see one of his best assassins kneeling in front of him. "Shiva, is it done?" He asked, looking at the dark-haired woman in red assassin's suit.
"The informants from the police have been dealt with," she replied, her bloodied hands were proof enough for him.
"Good, I have a task for you. Gather the best assassins of your choice and finish this," he passed the device to her. And after going through the details, she replied, "It'll be done." Ra's didn't say anything else, he just turned around and went back in.
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A few hours after the Kryptonian girl was taken in by the Justice League:
The girl was now asleep on a bed inside one of the medical rooms in the watchtower, her blonde hair sprawled on the pillow.
Her eyes twitched, voices echoing in her head. 'Kara, it's up to you now, take care of your cousin,' the moment she saw her family for the last time, the moment Krypton collapsed in on itself, and the shockwave that pushed her into that blackhole.
Her eyes suddenly opened wide, and she jolted up from the bed, she became confused as she looked around, she was wearing some kind of blue robe now.
A sharp pain shot through her head, the same sensory overload hitting her again. After a few moments, "You'll have to focus on what you want to see," a voice spoke in Kryptonian language.
Relief washing over her, she looked forward but could only see the insides of the person, bones, muscles and blood vessels, making her more agitated.
The person who just spoke walked forward and gently held her shoulder then said, "Just focus on me, try to mute everything else. I know it's hard, but you have to do it."
The girl, still in distress, closed her eyes, took a few deep breaths and just focused on the person right in front of her.
When every minor sound that was invading her ears died down, she regained her composure, finally opening her eyes, light blue eyes staring into the eyes almost the same as her.
He was wearing a tight blue suit with the red symbol of House of El on his chest. "Wh- Who are you? Where is this place?"
"I'm Kal-El, I'm from Krypton, just like you," Superman replied, but to his surprise, she got a bit angry and pushed herself away from him.
"That is the most bold faced lie I've ever heard. My cousin Kal-El was born just a few months ago. I don't know who you are, but you better-" She couldn't finish when the door to the medical room was opened and in walked Batman, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, Flash and J'onn.
"He's telling the truth," Batman spoke in Kryptonian.
"You, are you from Krypton too?" She asked.
"I just speak many languages, and like I said, he is the Kal-El that you claim to know. Allow us to explain, but first, here, take this," he walked towards her, handing her a small circular device, she was taken aback, whether to trust this person, so she just stared at the thing on his hand.
"It's just a translator, you'll be able to speak with all of us," he added, seeing her doubt.
She slowly took the thing and as Batman instructed, put that device beneath her ear. Flash and Aquaman had a translator of their own and J'onn and Diana knew Kryptonian.
The girl first introduced herself as Kara Zor-El, Superman or Kal El's older cousin, who was supposed to be 16 years older than him.
They then explained how General Zod, who was also trapped in the phantom zone, was able to return and had tried to take over Earth.
That meant if she was also somehow pushed into the phantom zone, all these years must have just been a mere few months for her.
Kara didn't want to believe it, but she couldn't deny it either. She did in fact get pushed into the black hole that the Kryptonians used as the phantom zone, a prison.
And she had in fact been just drifting in space for three to four months, for her at least. She now looked down on the bed that she was sitting on, tears welling up in her eyes.
She was then advised on what to do next, best course of actions for her to move on. It would take time but that was the only option for her.
Flash, who seemed tense, finally spoke, "Whew! That went well, for a moment I thought you'd ignore her too," he mumbled at the end but was enough for everyone to hear.
Superman turned back frowning at him while the others sighed for his bad timed jokes. 'Shit, me and my mouth,' he cursed as he just spoke without thinking much about it.
"Too?" Kara asked, "By Rao, don't tell me you have a child already?" She was getting more dejected as to how much she'd missed. Forget about taking care of the kid that she held in her arms, it seemed she now needed his help.
Flash started speaking, "I think I forgot to turn my shower off, see ya guys-" He skedaddled in a red blur before anyone could say anything.
Superman looked at her and said, "It's not that, well-"
It was then that J'onn spoke up, "I'm sure you'll get a lot of time for personal discussions, you should tell her about the changes she'll go under our Sun, first."
Superman and Batman then explained why she was having such a difficult time when she first landed, the reasons for her newfound abilities and all the changes that came along with it.
It was overwhelming, more so than getting overloaded with the sensory influx. A while later, they let her be alone and gather her thoughts.
Wearing some simple clothes, she now stood in front of the large window in the big hall, overlooking the earth.
She couldn't help but compare how Earth just looked way better than Krypton did. Krypton was beautiful, in its own way, but Earth being so young, nourished by its young star, it was simply in a better state.
A sad smile appeared on her face, remembering her home, her family, everything was gone now. Her expression changed as she gritted her teeth, her fists clenching tighter and tighter, enough for her nails to stab into her palm, making her bleed.
Realizing that, she loosened her fist, frowning as she looked at her hand, which healed back pretty soon. At least she had powers now. A long sigh escaped her mouth.
She suddenly remembered the event before she went unconscious, her senses were still dazed, but for a moment she'd seen his face, the guy who'd knocked her out.
She rubbed her forehead, where that guy had tapped her. 'I wonder if he's alright, hope I didn't hurt him too,' she thought, as she couldn't remember most of what happened.
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At present, the abandoned city block, Gotham:
"All done," said a man wearing some safety gear and holding some inspection instruments on his hand.
There was other guy in a business suit waiting by a car, "Alright, they'll be setting up the dynamite charges in a week, before that, we have to make sure this whole block is empty. Our company has had enough cases already," he added at the end, just mumbling that part.
"You can go on ahead and pass up all the documents, I'll catch up after I pack up everything here-" The other guy stopped mid speech when he sensed the floor shaking.
"Did you feel that-"
BOOM!!!
A huge explosion went off somewhere nearby. "The fuck, did they set off the bombs already or what?" One said in frustration as they ran outside the building to look what was happening.
"Motherfucking-" They both mumbled seeing the upper half of a tall building nearby falling down. "Run, you idiot!" One grabbed the other and they both ran towards the car.
Superman's clone, Match, now a bit more bulkier, the clothes he was wearing stretching up a bit, jumped down on the street, right under where the upper half of that building was falling.
He jumped up, positioning himself right under the building then pushed up the whole half along with himself, he grunted a bit, then threw the building into the sky, where his target was.
Leon had flown up when that building collapsed, now he was looking straight at the huge block of concrete and metal flying towards him.
He pointed his finger at it and in the next moment, everything of it turned into small cubes and dust. He then disappeared from the sky and reappeared near Match, his hand placed right on his chest.
Adjusting Cleave to his toughness, a barrage of relentless slashes were unleased. Match's chest was eviscerated, blood and bones flying off of him as he was pushed back into another building's lower floor, ploughing through its foundation, which then caused the entire structure to collapse in on itself.
'Something's off,' Leon thought to himself, and his doubt was answered soon enough as his eyes picked up the life signal of the clone.
It rose up from the rubble, flying into the air. Leon focused on his chest, which was healing back at a rapid pace.
He could also see some green liquid in his blood that was mending the wound. 'Kryptonite?' He thought, confused but definitely intrigued.
"Now this is interesting, Cadmus really went ham on you huh," Leon mumbled, looking at the clone that was now flying towards him.
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...… To be continued!