-for those who didn't hear, I changed Alexander to Adam, because It seemed even more pretentious-

His Father did not visit him that morning. It meant he didn't have to feel bad, but... he missed the acknowledgement. It's like his father had gone from making him feel bad to, well. He didn't even show up.

He waited by the door, hoping that if his father did arrive late, he would be rewarded for acting correctly. He missed the medication too, but more urgently, manically. 

Adam knew there were cameras. Maybe it was a test. If he did the right things, maybe he'd be rewarded with a shield. It was his only hope for surviving the day. He needed his medication, at least, if he hoped to make it to sundown with any shred of sanity.

The hours passed at a lightyear's pace, much like his first days of life, waiting for his father to come find him and starting to doubt it was possible. He thought about getting food, or turning on the tv, but that was too casual. Too uncaring. He had to show integrity and loyalty.

Hours passed. without windows or dimming lights, He had to guess the time. Maybe it wasn't morning? Maybe he'd woken up too early and that's why his father wasn't there yet. He hoped so, it would mean he was just up early, and his father wasn't avoiding him. 

He didn't know how long it had been. Hours? days? Seconds? Adam tried to scratch his back irritably, he could still feel the outline of the shield from last night. It was still flush with blood from all the adrenaline working through his skin. The adhesive was itchy too.

Struggling to reach the insertion spot over the collar, he heard the door click. perking up. He dropped his arm quickly, wringing his hands to redirect his excitement. 

But it wasn't his father. Actually, He didn't know who it was. 

"Ah fuck, It's still awake." The stranger pulled something from their pocket, and the void swallowed Adam whole.

--------------------------------------Above Gotham City---------------------------------------------------

Wally tore open a package of roasted nuts, swallowing without even bothering to chew. In old movies they would send kids to bed with no dinner like it's no big deal, but it is way worse than it seems, especially when your body eats itself alive everyday. He grabbed several more snack bags, , heading back to sit on the floor with Wolf. Both he and the dog were bucked off the floor as the bioship swung sharply to the left and slowed. 

"Gotham?" He asked. "No, Robin lives across Gotham in the west end side!"

"Shh. look," M'gann said, pointing through the window. Wally crawled up and joined her, staring down from where the ship hovered over a major roadway. Below them, a person dragged themself towards a building, hands shoved in her pockets. "The bioship caught her DNA signature when we entered Gotham."

"Artemis..." He whispered. 

"Do you go get her, or me?"

"We can't... We'll have to uncamouflaged the ship!"

"Wally." M'gann said firmly. "We're kidnapping eachother, the time for fear is long past."

Wally inhaled sharply. "Send me down there."

---------------------------------------?????--------------------------------------------------

He didn't really notice as he began to fade from the timeless realm of oblivion. At first there was light, but no colour. Gradually, there were sounds, shoes squeaking, objects being moved, and finally, a door whirring open.

"Is it awake?"

"It's waking up."

"Results?"

"Well the ones we just took are still in the works, but the last tests showed it was on some sort of stabilizer."

"Why the hell would it need those? We designed it to be as stable as possible."

"It seems, from what we have right now, that it has a severe hormone imbalance, producing more testosterone and adrenaline than is healthy."

"Now why on earth would Desmond intentionally... that bastard!" The voice cursed viciously. "That traitor. He knew the clone wasn't Super: He pumped it full of steroids to make it look Kryptonian. Shit..."

"isn't that what the shields are for?" The light over his eyes was blocked out by a blurry silhouette. "It's awake."

"Who gives a shit! Knock it out again and get back to work."

"Putting it under again could cause brain damage. If it's not Kryptonian enough, why not recycle it's proteins and try again?"

"Because!" There was a crash, making the boy's face wince in pain. "My ass is under a microscope right now! We've sunk four billion dollars into this fucking clone! It better fucking work! If it ends up braindead, pull out project Match and clone them together, I don't care! but I have eighty of the strongest people on earth funding this; so It will follow us, and it BETTER FUCKING BE KRYPTONIAN!"

There was another series of crashes.

"Yes- Sir. Yeah. I'll have the G-gnomes put it down immediately."

"Finally! I Shouldn't have to ask twice!"

There was a click, and The darkness swallowed him up again.

------------------------------------- Gotham City----------------------------------------------------

"Artemis!"

She gripped her knife, glancing over her shoulder. She faltered and stopped. "Wally?"

He staggered over going to hug her until he noticed the shape in her jacket pocket. "Artemis. Come with us!"

"Us?" Her eyes darted into the dark sky, barely making out a distortion of the cloudy air. "The others..."

"Me and M'gann, but we're getting the others!" He said quickly. "Come on!"

"But... mom."

"Artemis, please! I'm risking getting my ass beat to get the team back together!"

"I am too! Let me say bye to mom."

"We don't have time! If she tells Oliver, he'll tell the league, and we're fucked! No more head start!"

"I know that! But she's not in a good place, Wally! She needs me! If another kid leaves-- I'm not able to ditch her!"

"Fine! Go upstairs, tell her that you love her, and then we'll pick you up."

She blinked, slowly. Wally thought he saw a tear. "I want to come, I just can't... She stopped dad all those..." She sighed, regaining composure. "I'll meet you on the roof of the apartment in fifteen minutes."

-------------------------------------Adam's Room----------------------------------------------------

When he woke up, He was in the apartment again, splayed out on the floor behind the sofa. Shakily, he pushed off the ground. He looked around himself.  He wasn't alone. His father stood over the sink, hunched tensely. 

"Father?" He asked, watching him. When did father get there?

"For god's sake don't call me that!" He snatched a cup off the counter and chucking it at Adam. "If you're not in public, I don't want to hear it."

He rubbed where the plastic cup had hit his forehead. Why did it hurt? He looked up at his father with big eyes. "You said to call you father?"

"Why the hell would I do that?" His father snapped. "Why would I want to have my blood in a clone that can't even fucking fly."

He flinched, mind racing. Fucking? It's a word he'd heard, but no one ever explained what it meant. He thought it must be a secret joke the others weren't telling him, but the way his father was using it... it scared him.

He could learn to fly, if father took off his collar. He was trying. "I can fly! If I can have a shield I can fly! I'll do it for you!"

Father ignored him, rummaging through his pockets. "Mercy! where the hell is the G-gnome activation clicker?!"

"Would you like me to activate mental stasis with the back up control?" Adam whipper around to the the android standing over him. 

"Do it!"

There was a pause, a whir, and his mind was flooded with hundreds of  tiny footsteps, denting through his skull and leaving footprints in his brain. the same buzzing as when he spoke without meaning, or when he kicked out of his pod to attack  the three shadows that had opened it. It wasn't his brain anymore.

Tu obéiras au Maître

It.

You will not be Superman

It.

tu neesi viņš

It.

You have no father.

It.

Le llamas señor. Le llamas Maestro

It.

Obedience is key

It.

imitasyon ka lang

It.

Obedient Clones are worth more

It.

אתה לא אח שלנו

It was lying on the floor again, cheek stuck to the linoleum. It was wet, and It's tongue was torn on the side, lolling out the side of his mouth. Letting our a faint whine, It opened its eyes. 

It's Father was in the doorway, watching.

It held its hand up, trying to say something; to tell him to stay, to plead for a shield, to beg for the belittling comments and the demeaning nicknames, and the humiliation.
But as It cried out to its father-- Its master, no words came, only incoherent grunts and whines. 

It dragged itself forwards with any power it could muster, through the thick, wet, something. "Auueugh..." It moaned, unable to form the words it needed.

Its father drew back, repulsed. "Mercy, Emergency stop and call in maintenance to handle it."

"...Eueauugh" It begged, reaching for it's father, and then there was a buzz, a sting, a shock, and it was collapsed, dead still.

-------------------------------------Over Gotham City----------------------------------------------------

"Good boy." She lay in wolf's double coat, hiding her face. "Good boy..."

"There!" The young male exclaimed. "Right on that hill, over the cliff face! That's Robin's place."

Artemis raised her damp face from his fur, squinting in the light. "What?" Wolf curled further around and lapped her face worriedly. He was thankful to have three of his pups back. They all looked sickly and thin, they must have been lost from the pack. "That's Robin's place?" The disperser asked, pressing her lips together and turning away to try and avoid her bath.

"Yeah. I've slept over thereon... bad days."

"But that's Wayne manor, that's--" She spluttered, spitting as Wolf's tongue got into her mouth.  Wolf pinned her down with one paw, continuing her bath. She was starting to smell like her normal self. 

"M'gann, lower us to the forth window on the second floor." The young male repeated. "I'm going to get Robin."

-Translation for the thoughts the G-gnomes are ingraining in Kon's head:

You will obey the Master.
It.
You will not be Superman
It.
You are not him.
It.
You have no father.
It.
He is your Master.
It.
Obedience is key
It.
You are just an imitation.
It.
Obedient Clones are worth more.
It.
You are not our brother.