chapter three.
( fireworks in the moonlight. )

The Harlow apartment was just on the cusp of Crime Alley, a street dubbed so darkly for the tragedies that took place in what was once a glorious part of Downtown Gotham.

The year was 2007– February 15th to be specific– and it was the night after Yue Harlow's thirteenth birthday. Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers, a rerun of the newest episode of One Tree Hill, was playing on the television. There was a low thrum to drown out Kisumi's belated and horrible off-key rendition of Happy Birthday. She sat on the wooden-panel floor, curled up in a ragged red blanket to block the freezing chill of a Gotham winter.

Or, at least, that's how that night should've played out.

Instead, with Kisumi working another graveyard shift at the diner downtown, her father decided it was the perfect time to kick-start her training.

Yue can barely feel her cold hands as Victor Harlow knocks her to the ground for the nth time, a heavy sigh of disappointment falling from his chapped lips as he drops her bo staff on the ground beside her. "Again," he orders. Snow falls around them, painting the alley behind their apartment building with a white flurry that threatens to overpower the coldness of her father's icy blue gaze. "Get up, Yue."

Collecting her weapon from beside her, she shakily pushes herself back up onto her feet. She had forgotten how strict he could be. He was never usually like this. Sure, he was barely in town; but when he was, he would take her for ice cream after school or cook dinner for her mother to lessen the burden.

But when it came to training – when it came to securing Yue's so-called "rightful place" among whoever his nameless partners were – he was as cold as winter.

Yue exhales into the cold, her breath appearing in a puff as she shuffles one of her feet backwards and moves into the correct stance that she had been taught. "Good." Her father's compliment sounds rather unconvincing, but she has no time to question his tone as he charges at her.

She blocks one of his attacks with her bo-staff, and yet it's still not enough. His leg swipes at her feet, knocking the child back onto the ground once again. His lips part to let out another order, but he stops himself as the shrill message tone of his phone distracts himself.

From the ground, she watches her father pluck his phone out of his pocket, but it wasn't the one he typically used. No. She recognised what this one meant. He had only been home with them for a week, and now he was already being called back by his employer. A week. 

A frown forms on her face as she stands back up, listening as her father huffs out another sigh into the chilly night. "That's enough for today," he decides as he slides his phone back into the pocket of his armoured suit after reading over the message he had been sent. "Your mother won't be home 'till late but don't bother waiting for her. You have school tomorrow. We both know how pissed your mom'll be."

She silently nods her head. She was used to this. Victor came and went as he pleased. He was never a permanent fixture in their lives. To think she could expect better from a man who relied on killing for money. She may have been young, but she wasn't stupid.

She knew exactly the type of man her father was.

Her father steps over to her, softly ruffling her black hair as he smiles down at her. "Cheer up, kiddo." He takes the bo-staff from her hands, folding it back into its smaller form and attaching it to the side of his belt. "I'll be back before you know it."

She doubted his words. How could she not? Sometimes it would take months before he returned to Gotham City. There was never a guarantee, and she let her complaints sit on the tip of tongue. Like always. She knew better than to let them out. Instead, she smiles up at him. "Bring another present back with you?" She asks hopefully.

He snickers quietly, then nods his head. "Of course." He glances at the backdoor of their apartment building and nudges her in its direction. "Now get upstairs and into bed."

It didn't take her long to reach their apartment, which was on the fourth floor of the building. She steps inside, carefully shutting and locking the door behind her; but as she begins to near her bedroom, the telephone on the kitchen counter starts ringing through the apartment.

She cautiously brings the telephone up to her ear. "Hello?" She whispers, her cold hands gripping onto the phone tightly as she awaits a response from the other end. She could hear the faint sound of breathing, but no words. "Hello?" She repeats herself a tad louder. "Who is this?"

"Wake up."

Her brows furrow. This wasn't how things were meant to go.

"You must wake up. Now!"

Flamebird's eyes shoot open as she frantically looks around the room, her father was nowhere in sight and the phone call that had been a horrible turning point in her childhood had long since ended. Right... This wasn't 2007, and she hadn't stepped foot in that shitty apartment building in years.

This was 2010.

This was Cadmus.

And Superboy — after her, Kid Flash, Robin and Aqualad had freed him without a second thought as to what he would do once he was free — repaid them by knocking each of them out and bringing them here. Wherever here was.

She attempts to move her hands, only to find out they were bound above her head by metal bands. Her lips curl into a frown as she looks toward her teammates, each chained inside their own pods next to her.

"Flamebird, you okay?" Turning to her right, she spots Robin staring right back at her. From the look on his still-masked face – at least the criminals had the decency to keep their identities protected until the big reveal of their plan – she could assume he had woken up before her. How long though? That was anyone's guess.

The Man of Steel's clone continues to stare up at the four heroes from where he stands below by the door. He remains silent, even when they're now all awake and ready to listen to his reasoning.

"Quit staring. You're creeping me out!" Kid Flash shouts, earning himself a glare from the clone.

"Uh, KF, how about we not tick off the guy who can fry us with a look?" Robin points out in a whisper, but his voice echoes through the glass pod.

Flamebird tries to pull at her restraints again, her wrists aching against the metal bind. She wonders how long Batman would give her to get out on her own if this were a training exercise-- or, and as much as she hated that it was coming to mind after so long, how her father would react knowing she couldn't do something as simple as break herself free out of a situation like this.

"We only sought to help you," Aqualad speaks up calmly, his expression neutral as he meets the clone's angry gaze.

"Yeah. We free you, and you turn on us." Kid Flash only adds fuel to the fire that was burning through Superboy's Kryptonian veins. "How's that for grat-"

"KF, now isn't the time to get him angry," Flamebird points out with a small sigh. They didn't know what Superboy was capable of, or just how well he took after the Man of Steel himself. Could one wrong look incinerate them with his laser eyes? Or did he only have the strength of Superman?

But more importantly, how far would he go?

"I believe our new friend was not in full control of his actions," Aqualad informs the team and glances over at each of them.

"What if I..." Superboy stutters, pausing as his voice comes out hoarse, like he had never actually spoken out loud before now. "What if I wasn't?" Maybe it is his first time speaking, Yue realises.

"He can talk?" Kid Flash's eyes go wide, and he lets out a soft gasp; wondering why exactly the boy had been silent this entire time if he could've just answered their questions instead.

"Yes, he can." Superboy's hands clench into fits, and Flamebird all but flinches when his eyes narrow in Kid Flash's direction.

The red-haired teen shrugs his shoulders and looks between his teammates like there wasn't a Kryptonian-clone giving him a death-glare. "Not like I said it, " he defends himself.

Aqualad rolls his eyes at the speedster, then turns his head back toward Superboy. "The Genomorphs taught you telepathically?" He asks, trying to see how much information they could gather from the boy before he realises what they were up to.

"They taught me much," Superboy nods his head in response to Aqualad's question, taking the bait that had been carefully laid out. "I can read, write. I... I know the names of things."

"Clearly they didn't teach you how to say thank you," Flamebird mutters under her breath, but it still manages to catch the clone's attention. "Cause news flash, it isn't trapping the people who helped you in glass pods." She mirrors the glare he sent her.

"But have you seen them?" Robin asks curiously, trying to move the topic back in the direction of gaining information. "Have they ever actually let you see the sky? Or the sun?"

"Images are implanted in my mind, but no," Superboy answers, and after a moment, he frowns, "I have not seen them."

"Do you know what you are- who you are?" Aqualad's gaze softens in what Flamebird could only assume was both pity and sympathy. It was a good question. Cadmus clearly thought of this boy as a weapon, but did he think of himself like that too?

She frowns at the thought. He deserved to be free, no matter what he had done to them today. Clone or not, he didn't deserve this.

"I am The Superboy, a Genomorph." Superboy straightens his posture, his chest puffing out as he explains his answer to Aqualad's latest question. "A clone made from the DNA of The Superman. Created to replace him should he perish... to destroy him should he turn from the light."

She gasps at the revelation. To destroy him... Cadmus had created a living, breathing clone of Superman so they could kill him.

"To be like Superman is a worthy aspiration," Aqualad notes calmly. "But like Superman, you deserve a life of your own beyond that solar suit. Beyond your pod. Beyond Cadmus."

"I live because of Cadmus!" Superboy shouts at him.

"Is this really living?" Flamebird asks and tries to stop her gloved hands from shaking as the angry clone faces her with an indescribable look on his face. "You've never felt the sun on your skin or swam in the ocean. You've never experienced how truly beautiful the world is... You've never gotten to make your own choices."

"It is my home." Superboy continues to defend the lab.

"Your home is a test tube." Robin points out in an attempt to win him over. "We can show you the sun."

"Uh, pretty sure it's after midnight." Kid Flash corrects his friend, "But we can show you the moon."

"We can show you... introduce you to Superman," Aqulad offers.

Flamebird watches as Superboy hesitates, their offers of seeing the world and meeting the man he had been cloned from was clearly starting to win him over; but before he was even given the chance to wonder if it was what he wanted, a man in a white lab-coat enters the room.

"No, they can't. They'll be otherwise occupied." He states firmly and glares at the teenage superheroes in front of him. "Activate the cloning process."

Her eyes widen in fear, and the words of the scientist make her sick. A heavy feeling weighing on her chest at the idea of someone else leaving this building and pretending to be her.

"Pass. Batcave's crowded enough." Robin speaks up with a shake of his head, and even in the midst of her panic, she can't help but stifle a laugh.

Yeah, crowded with literal bats, she thinks.

"And get the weapon back in its pod!" The scientist orders as he turns his back on the heroes to tell the Guardian what to do.

"Hey, how come he gets to call Supey an it?" Kid Flash asks, his brows furrowing beneath his cowl.

"Is that seriously what you're concerned about right now?" Flamebird glances at him, panic and fear visible in her eyes behind the lenses of her mask. "We're about to be cloned, KF! Cloned!"

Guardian grabs ahold of Superboy's arm and begins to lead him out of the room; and at the last second, Superboy glances over his shoulder, making eye-contact with Aqualad. "Help us." He mouths to the Kryptonian, only able to pray their words had gotten through to him.

Superboy knocks Guardian's hand off of him and turns around. "Don't start thinking now," the scientist growls as he walks over to Superboy, a small genomorph like the ones that were seen in Superboy's pod jumps from the scientist's shoulder to his.

"See, you're not a real boy." The horns on the genomorph's head light up red as the scientist addresses Superboy. "You're a weapon, and you belong to me! Well, to Cadmus. Same thing. Now get back to your pod!"

Superboy instantly turns around and follows Guardian out of the room, like he wasn't in full control of his anatomy anymore.

Two claw-like machinery parts slide out from lower down in the pod, and within seconds they attach themselves to Flamebird's upper body, a painful electric current flowing through her as they extract blood for their cloning process.

Screams emit from her throat as the pain gets stronger and stronger, overwhelming her small stature with constant static shocks. It seems like an eternity passes before the machine begins to slow down its process, retracting back into itself now that it has collected enough to clone the heroes.

But as the machine stops, Superboy re-enters the room by ripping the vault door off its hinges and tossing it to the side like it weighs nothing. Easily, he knocks back the Cadmus scientists who rush forward to restrain him.

Kid Flash lifts his head, and asks breathlessly, "You here to help us or fry us?"

Superboy's eyes narrow into a glare for a moment, before his expression softens once again. "Huh, I don't seem to have heat vision," he shrugs with a grin. "So I suppose helping is my only option."

Flamebird watches as Robin jumps out of the pod, rubbing one of his wrists with his other hand. "Ahh. Finally! Lucky Batman isn't here." He comments. "He'd have my head for taking so long."

"If you don't tell him that I'm still stuck, I won't tell him you hacked the bat-computer." She tries to strike a deal with the boy, knowing he was right about Batman's reaction to them being like this still. His disappointment was quite honestly one of the worst things.

Kid Flash glances over at Robin with a raised brow "The whole League will have our heads after tonight," he corrects him.

"Batman's gonna do more than just take our heads," Flamebird complains as she jumps to the ground once Robin releases her from the confines of the pod. She rubs her wrist with her hand, grimacing at the dull pain below her glove. "He'll bring us back from the dead and do it again for extra measure."

Robin steps over to the controls and presses one of the buttons to open the glass screens of the pods keeping Kid Flash and Aqualad trapped. "Free Aqualad. I'll get kid mouth," Robin instructs the clone, whose eyes narrow at him in response.

"Don't you give me orders either," Superboy growls. But despite his words, he climbs up the tank to free Aqualad from the metal restraints while Robin does the same for KF. The second they're released; the group takes off running towards the exit of the room. Beyond eager to get the hell out of Cadmus before anything else went wrong.

"You- you'll never get out of here!" Flamebird can hear the main scientist shout. "I'll have you back in the pods before morning!"

"That guy is not whelmed, not whelmed at all," Robin comments with a roll of his eyes. He twists his upper body around to throw two explosive bird-a-rang's in the direction of the pods, destroying them and the DNA they had collected from the young heroes.

Flamebird glances down at the scientist as she runs past him, a chill running down her spine as he meets her gaze just as she steps out of the room.

"What is it with you and this whelmed thing?" Kid Flash wonders as they take off down the hallway.

"We are still forty-two levels below ground," Aqualad reminds the group as he swiftly turns the corner ahead of him. "But if we can make the elevator..."

A loud growling causes him to trail off and he begins to slow down until the entire group of five had stopped in the hallway. The path ahead was blocked by the larger genomorphs they met when they first arrived, and from the increasing sound of growling, Flamebird guessed she could say the same about the path behind them, too.

She quickly steps to the side and dodges one of the genomorphs and their sharp claws. She reaches into her utility belt for her grapple-gun.

Following the lead of the group, most of which had already gotten past the genomorphs while using Superboy's angry attacks as a distraction, she shoots her grapple upward and swings over the creatures with ease. She lands on the other side, but rather than running away, she finds herself turning around to watch as Superboy continues to beat up with the creatures surrounding him.

"Superboy! The goal is to escape, not to bury ourselves here!" Aqualad calls out, his eyes flickering to the rocks beginning to chip away from the cavern rooftop as Superboy pummels a large genomorph into the wall.

Any more punches and the cave around them might completely collapse.

"You want to escape?" Superboy grunts as he tosses the creature in his hands toward the others, knocking them all over as easy as bowling pins.

Aqualad sprints forward and pries the metal doors of the elevator shaft open. "Go!" He orders the team.

Flamebird takes Kid Flash's hand in her own, holding onto the boy tightly as she shoots her grapple hook up into the elevator shaft. In a matter of seconds they were landing on a small landing-pad within the shaft, the two of them practically pressing up against the wall to avoid falling off the thin landing-pad beneath their feet.

Sparing Aqualad a quick glance, Superboy grabs hold of the boy and leaps upward– in an attempt to fly, she guessed, though it didn't seem to work as within seconds, they were falling back down toward the rest of the group further down the elevator shaft.

Robin's eyes widens and he tosses a bird-a-rang upward, the sharp weapon digging itself into the wall and acting as a ledge for Aqualad to grab onto. The Atlantean clings onto the weapon with one hand while he uses the other to hold Superboy up.

"Superman can fly..." The raven-haired boy whispers as he drops onto the small landing-pad below. "Why can't I fly?"

Flamebird frowns at the expression painted across the clone's face, his realisation that maybe he wasn't as great as Superman himself only urging her to pity him even more. "Maybe you weren't in the pod long enough," she suggests with a sad smile.

"But it looks like you can leap tall buildings in a single bound," Kid Flash points out with a dopey grin. "Still cool."

Superboy is silent for a moment, thinking over their words before he slowly nods his head. "Thank you."

"Guys, this will have to be our exit!" Robin shouts.

Flamebird follows her comrade's gaze upward, her eyes widening as she catches a glimpse of the bottom-end of the elevator currently hurtling down towards where they were standing.

Superboy pulls his arm back, his hand curling into a fist before he punches his way through the metal. He knocks the door off its hinges with ease,creating a pathway for the team to rush into before the elevator passes them by.

The relief is short-lived when the growls of the genomorphs reappear, loudly echoing through the hallway they had entered. "How do they keep finding us?" She wonders with an exasperated sigh as she takes off running for the nth time that night.

She was beginning to grow sick of running away from these creatures.

"Go left!" Superboy instructs them in a shout, his eyes widening slightly as though he had been hit with some sudden realisation. "Left!" He repeats himself, leading them through the hallways.

Flamebird darts around the sharp corner and slows to a stop before her body slams against the wall of the dead-end at the end of the hall. "What the-?" She turns around to glance back at Superboy, whose face falls at the sight of the dead-end.

"Great directions, Supey. You trying to get us re-podded?" Kid Flash scoffs, then grunts as Flamebird's elbow makes contact with his arm.

Superboy stares at the wall in disbelief and reaches out to place his hand against the wood, as if it wasn't supposed to be there in the first place. "No. I... I don't understand."

"Don't apologise." Robin shoots a grin Superboy's way, then points up at the small vent adorning the wall, "This is perfect!"

Each of the five teens enter the vent, one after the other, with Robin leading them from the front of the crawl space. The light of his gauntlet and Flamebird's small flashlight were the only things to illuminate the small dim space.

"At this rate we'll never get out!" Kid Flash hisses, itching to escape the vent and find somewhere his speed could be used to its full potential.

"Can't you try and be positive?" Flamebird questions from her place behind him. Her words have the boy glancing over his shoulder, only to wince and let out a groan as the light of the flashlight meets his eyes almost directly. "Your bad attitude won't help us, KF."

"You blinding me won't help us, either!"

She scoffs light-heartedly, "I didn't make you look straight into it."

Superboy shushes the two of them in an attempt to stop their somewhat playful bickering as he slows down at the very back of the group's line-up. "Listen." In the group's silence, Flamebird could just make out the familiar sound of hisses and growls.

A shaky breath falls from her lips, and she wiggles her body around to face the side of the vent, kicking open a small hatch leading into an empty hallway. "Here's our stop," she announces as she jumps out of the vent.

They follow after her in the exact same fashion they entered the vent; one by one. Robin crouches beside a small panel on the wall and hooks his gauntlet into the port. After a few minutes, he looks back up to the team with a grin, "I hacked the motion sensors."

Kid Flash, who had been hovering around the Gotham hero to watch what he was doing, nods his head. "Sweet."

Flamebird wishes his words would've come as more reassurance to her, but they did little to calm her nerves. "There's more of them between us and out," she reminds her two friends, her lips curling downward.

"Can't you try to be more positive? Besides," Kid Flash grins over at her and slides his googles down over his eyes, "I've finally got room to move." He speeds into the stairwell, using his momentum to knock over the genomorphs waiting for them inside.

The team follows him up several flights of stairs, eager to escape Cadmus while they have the chance. "More behind us!" Robin calls out as he races up the staircase.

Flamebird's eyes widen as the sound of growling grows louder, the genomorph directly behind her digging its claws into her cape. The strength of the creature almost pulls her back. Superboy turns around and reaches out to grab her wrist, pulling her forward before he slams his foot against the ground, destroying the stairs behind them.

She spares him a quick glance, silently thanking him for helping her out, then rushes for the stairwell exit. She pushes the door open and steps out just in time to watch as Kid Flash slams into the closing metal door, cutting them off from the outside world.

She and Superboy catch up to the group as Aqualad leans down to help Kid Flash back onto his feet. "We're cut off from the street," he growls, his eyes narrowing at the door.

Kid Flash rubs his forehead gently and lets out a groan. "Thanks," he replies sarcastically. "My head hadn't noticed."

Superboy and Aqualad rush toward the door, attempting to pry it open, while Robin stares down at his gauntlet to hack the doors. He glances up at Flamebird, and a frown begins to form on her lips. She recognised that look. He wasn't sure any of them were going to be able to get these doors open in time.

She begins to frantically look around the warehouse-like room, acutely aware of the large mammoth-genomorphs creeping up on them from the room's only other pathway. Her eyes fall onto a side-door, and she pushes past Kid Flash to run toward it. She jiggles the handle a few times, but when it doesn't open, she resorts to the last option: kicking it as hard as she could until the wooden door flies open with a loud bang.

"This way!" She shouts, waving the rest of the team over. "Come on, let's go!" They each rush through the door, shutting it behind them to stop the genomorphs hot on their trail.

It was a trap.

When they reach the end of the hallway, they're cut off by Guardian and his entourage of genomorphs.

Flamebird reaches down for her bo-staff, ready to fight her way to freedom if she had to. Robin pulls a few dozen birderangs from his utility belt and stands behind her, facing the genomorphs behind them. Aqualad, using his water-bearers, summons two thin swords while the rest of the group faces Guardian.

The horns of the genome sitting on the Guardian's shoulder glow bright red, and a sudden yet extreme tiredness washes over Flamebird. Her body becomes so heavy that she falls to the ground, the faint sound of voices echoing through the hallway.

In a matter of seconds, the genome is knocked off the Guardian's shoulder, and she feels the strength returning to her body. Kid Flash, without even a second of hesitation after just getting up himself, reaches over to help her back onto her feet. The two teens shared a look of confusion.

"Feels like..." Guardian trails off, clutching his head as his brows furrow. "Feels like a fog lifting."

He turns to face the confused teens. "Go." He orders. "I'll deal with Desmond."

It wasn't a name Flamebird recognised, but she wasn't going to argue either. She drops Kid Flash's hand, which she had been holding on to since he helped her off the ground, and moves to take a step forward.

Before any of them can get too far, a voice from behind them catches their attention. "I think not." The man speaks firmly and emerges from behind the mammoth-genomorphs. "Project Blockbuster will give me the power to restore order to Cadmus."

Speak of the devil and he shall come, Flamebird thinks, as she watches Desmond pull a small vile from his lab-coat pocket.

He chugs the entire contents of the small test-tube, then groans loudly and topples over. Flamebird takes a step back fearfully, unable to do anything but watch as Desmond's bones crack over and over again, his skin tearing away as his body enlarges and mutates.

"Oh that was just disgusting." Her nose scrunches up in disgust, the sound of cracking bones still echoing through her ears as she stares up at Desmond's now deformed face.

"Everyone back!" Guardian shouts and throws an arm out to hold the teens back behind him. He waits for a moment to ensure their safety then sprints forward, only for Desmond to throw him across the hallway with ease.

Superboy growls loudly and charges forward, he leaps into the air and punches Desmond right in the face. The two continuously punch and dodge until Desmond finally has enough. He grabs Superboy with one hand and throws him through the concrete above their heads, creating a large hole big enough for him to follow behind the clone.

"Okay, that's one way to bust through a ceiling," Robin laughs quietly.

"You think lab-coat planned that?" Kid Flash wonders as Robin grabs onto him, the two of them using the Gotham teen's grapple hook to follow Desmond and Superboy onto the next floor.

"I doubt he's planning anything anymore," Aqualad answers with a grim look. The image of Desmond's transformation no doubt haunting him just as Flamebird knew it was haunting her. She takes the boy's hand and shoots her grapple-gun upward, the two of them flying out of the hole.

Her feet had barely even touched the ground before Desmond was once again plucking Superboy off the floor, easily tossing him in the direction of Flamebird and the boys. With wide eyes, she drops into a crouching position, ducking beneath Superboy's body as he instead crashes into Aqualad. Both boys slide backwards toward the reception desk.

With the team distracted, Desmond takes the chance and charges in their direction, only for the teens to act faster. Kid Flash runs ahead of them, sliding between Desmond's legs and crouching behind him. With Desmond so focused on KF's actions, Aqualad and Superboy leap into action and punch him. The force of their combined attacks knocks him back, so he trips over Kid Flash's crouched form.

As the mutant stumbles back, Kid Flash lets out a loud obnoxious laugh. "Learned that one in kindergarten!"

Ignoring his comment, Flamebird and Robin jump over the boy to throw over a dozen birderangs in Desmond's direction, only for the mutant to knock each of them away with just one of his arms.

He grabs Superboy, and harshly slams him against one of the lobby pillars, causing cracks to form from the pressure. Superboy groans in pain, wiggling around to break free as Desmond continues to slam his body against the pillar.

"He's gonna kill SB," Flamebird gasps. Without an ounce of hesitation – a problem of hers since first becoming a hero – she uses the rubble scattered along the ground to jump onto Desmond's back and wrap her arms around his neck in a headlock.

Desmond tightly holds the clone with one hand and uses the other to reach behind him and grab onto her cape. He uses the long fabric to toss her across the lobby. She rolls across the tiled floor, quiet grunts falling from her lips until she comes to a stop; instantly using her hands to push herself up despite the pain spreading across her body. She was going to be in a world of pain tomorrow, covered in bruises everywhere— assuming they could get out of this alive.

"Flamebird! KF!" The sound of her alias causes her to glance over her shoulder, spotting Robin crouching in a corner and waving both her and Kid Flash over to him. "Get over here!"

As they reach him, he instantly brings up the downloaded blueprints of the building they were standing in. "We've gotta bring this place down," he informs them, pointing out the location of the load-bearing pillars as he announces his plan.  "Got it?"

"Got it." Kid Flash nods and speeds over to the mutant, punching Desmond in the face– pulling his hand back, Kid Flash grimaces as he stares down at Desmond's remaining human flesh now in his hand. But in typical Kid Flash-fashion, he takes light of the situation, "Got your nose."

Desmond lets go of Superboy and moves to attack the speedster instead. Kid Flash leads Desmond towards one of the pillars and stands in front of him while taunting the large mutant. "Come and get me, you incredible bulk!" Desmond lurches forward, missing Kid Flash's figure by an inch and destroying the pillar as the boy quickly speeds out of the way.

From in front of the second load-bearing pillar, Flamebird begins to throw her non-trick birderangs at Desmond to catch his attention. Her plan works almost too quickly however, and Desmond charges at her in no time. She ducks under his fist as it pummels into the stone-pillar and slides under his legs to take off running in the opposite direction.

Desmond turns around, raising both of his fists into the air to bring them down on the girl. Her eyes widen and she braces her arms over her head to protect herself; but in a blink of an eye, Kid Flash plucks her off the ground and dashes away from the mutant before he could hit either of them.

She wraps one of her arms around the boy, patting his shoulder gently as a grin spreads across her lips. "Thanks, KF."

"Can't let a beautiful girl like you get crushed, birdy." He winks, and Flamebird can feel her heart pounding loudly in her chest as she stares up into his emerald gaze. But as he begins to slow down, his smirk faltering slightly, she's quickly returned to her senses. "And besides, the Bat would have my head."

They've come to a stop in front of the second-last pillar. Flamebird jumps out of his arms, the two of them dodging yet another of Desmond's punches. "Sorry. Try again," Kid Flash taunts the scientist.

In the centre of the room, Robin quickly finishes drawing an "X" on the floor with chalk found within his utility belt. "Now." He instructs Aqualad, who uses his water-bearers to cover the area in water.

"Over here!" Superboy growls, and as Desmond falls for the bait and rushes toward him, Superboy knocks him back onto the target with one final strike. The tattoos painted across Aqualad's arms glow as he crouches down, pressing his hands against the puddle of water. Electricity courses from him, through the puddle, electrocuting Desmond in the process.

Robin throws his explosive birderangs at the last remaining pillar; rubble begins to chip away from the ceiling before the weapons even explode. "Move!" He shouts as he runs toward the team, the building beginning to cave in around them as the birderangs explode behind him.

An arm wraps around Flamebird and pulls her to the ground, another body shielding her and the rest of the team from the collapsing rubble.

A minute passes before Superboy lifts the rubble off of the team, tossing it aside with a quiet grunt. She carefully pushes herself up into a sitting position with a sigh of relief, her eyes scanning over the wreckage.

"We did it," Aqualad whispers breathlessly, looking back at the team as a weak smile graces his face.

"Was there ever any doubt?" Robin moves to sit back against his calves, his hands resting on his knees as he catches his breath. He and Kid Flash make eye contact, the two of them grinning as they reach their hands out for a high-five, only to immediately groan in pain when their hands brush against each other.

Slowly pushing herself up onto her feet, Flamebird glances over at Superboy, watching as he steps forward and stares up at the sky. His eyes widen in amazement as he stares up at the moonlight while fireworks erupt in the distance.

"See?" Kid Flash follows her over to the boy, a playful grin tugging at his lips. "The moon." He nudges Superboy's arm with his elbow and follows his gaze upward. "Oh," he lets out a small gasp as he notices a figure lowering themself from the sky, "And Superman. Do we keep our promises or what?"

It wasn't just Superman, Flamebird soon realises as she watches the rest of the Justice League descend from the sky. Including Batman.

Oh, her and Dick were so going to be grounded after this stunt.

Silence washes over everyone in the vicinity as Superboy walks toward Superman, the two Kryptonians looking down at the symbol on his shirt. Batman is the first to speak up from where he stands beside his comrade, "Is that what I think it is?"

"He doesn't like being called an "it"," Kid Flash informs them in a hushed tone.

His words earn him a soft punch on the arm from Flamebird, whose eyes narrow at him from behind. It was a silent warning that now wasn't the time.

"What?" He glances at her with raised brows. "It's the truth!"

Superboy parts his lips to speak, only to hesitate and clear his throat before finally doing so. "I'm Superman's clone," he explains, loud and clear for the Justice League to hear him.

As expected, they're all silent, too surprised and even shocked to begin asking the questions running through their minds. And as usual, Batman is once again the first of them to speak up; he quickly turns around to face the group of young heroes behind them and orders, "Start talking."

Aqualad, Kid Flash, Robin and Flamebird share looks with each other, before deciding to take turns explaining the events that had transpired; but when they were done, Superman somehow looked more shocked than he did previously.

He reaches his hand out to place it on Superboy's shoulder. "We'll, uh- we'll figure something out for you," he stumbles over his words as he addresses his younger clone. "The League will, I mean." He corrects himself with a sigh, then glances over his shoulder to watch as Green Lantern begins to carry Desmond away from the site. "For now, I'd better make sure they get that blockbuster creature squared away."

Flamebird frowns at the look that crosses Superboy's face as he watches Superman fly away from them without a second thought.

"Cadmus will be investigated," Batman strolls over to the young teens, their other mentors following shortly behind him. "All 52 levels. But let's make one thing clear-"

"You should have called!" The Flash cuts in.

Batman chooses to ignore his comment, and instead continues his lecture, "You hacked Justice League systems, disobeyed direct orders and endangered lives," he points out gruffly. "You will not be doing this again."

"I am sorry," Aqualad speaks up with a sudden rush of confidence, "But we will."

"Aqualad, stand down," Aquaman orders his protege.

"Apologies, my king, but no." He shakes his head as he continues to defend the teammates standing beside him. "We did good work here tonight, the work you trained us to do. Together on our own we forged something powerful, important."

The Flash frowns slightly, "If this is about your treatment at the Hall, the four of you-"

"The five of us," Kid Flash spares a quick glance over in Superboy's direction. "And it's not."

"Batman, we're ready to use what you taught us or why teach us at all?" Robin chimes in as he steps forward to stand at their sides.

"You told us that we'd have a team of our own someday." Flamebird addresses Batman, her gaze softening as she remembers his words from all of their training sessions. "I thought it would be the Justice League, but I was wrong." She glances at her comrades. Her friends. "This is that team. I won't be put on standby while you disband it."

"Why let them tell us what to do?" Superboy questions as he crosses his arms, his eyes narrowing at the League members standing in front of them. "It's simple. Get on board or get out of the way."

A cold breeze flows through the cave system of the League's former headquarters: Mount Justice. A shiver runs down Yue's spine as she crosses her arms over the red t-shirt she was wearing; a t-shirt with the symbol of The Flash on it, one of Wally's joke-presents for her 16th birthday earlier that year. Dick stands behind her, a grin on his lips and a pair of sunglasses covering his eyes. He was the only one out of the two of them that wholeheartedly followed Batman's secret-identity rule; having told nobody, besides Wally, who he was behind his mask.

"This cave was the original secret sanctuary of the Justice League," Batman explains to the team as he stands before them in the main hall. "We're calling it into service again. Since you five are determined to stay together and fight the good fight."

It had been a week since Cadmus, a week that Yue and Dick had spent practically on house arrest, temporarily unable to don their masks as Batman and the League thought about what to do with Superboy.

"You'll do it on League terms." Batman warns them firmly, pausing for a moment to ensure his words would sink in. "Red Tornado volunteered to live here and be your supervisor. Black Canary's in charge of training. I will deploy you on missions."

Dick raises a brow, "Real missions?"

"Yes," Batman answers after a beat. "But covert."

"The League will still handle the obvious stuff," Flash informs the teens with a grin. "There's a reason we have these big targets on our chests." He taps the lightning bolt insignia painted across his suit.

Aquaman nods his head in agreement, then chimes in, "But Cadmus proves the bad guys are getting smarter. Batman needs a team that can operate on the sly. The six of you will be that team."

"Wait." Yue's brows furrow as she glances at her teammates, "What do you mean six?" There were only five of them, and it really didn't seem like Roy had any plans of rejoining them after his walk-out at the Hall.

"This is the Martian Manhunter's niece," Batman motions to the martian girl approaching them from behind, his words causing each of the teens to quickly turn around. "Miss Martian."

Miss Martian freezes where she stands beside her uncle, a sheepish grin tugging at her lips as she shyly waves to them. "Hi..."

"Liking this gig more every minute." Wally whispers slyly to Yue, completely missing the frown on her face as he strolls over to Miss Martian with a smile. "Welcome aboard. I'm Kid Flash. That's Robin, Aqualad, Flamebird. It's cool if you forget their names."

Following him over to their new teammate, she elbows his side and ignores his groan of pain as she sticks her hand out to shake Miss Martian's. "It's nice to meet you, Miss Martian. Feel free to forget his name." She glances at Wally, who rolls his eyes playfully at her words.

"I'm honoured to be included," Miss Martian smiles.

"Hey, Superboy." Dick calls out to the boy, waving him over. "Come meet Miss M."

Miss Martian's eyes widen as she catches a glimpse of Superboy, her green cheeks heating up as her cape slowly morphs into a black and red t-shirt; just like the one Superboy was wearing. "I... I like your T-shirt," she compliments quietly.

Aqualad stands just behind his team, a proud smile on his face as he watches them converse with each other. "Today is the day."