Sorcerer in DC Chapter 63: SDC 62

"That's not ominous at all," I said slowly to Superboy, earning a flat look.

"You know, after everything I've seen and you've told , I expected the ntal leash to be a bit... tighter," I said.

"What do you an?" Superboy frowned.

"You're a walking weapon. Can't have you strolling around with sothing as dangerous as free will."

"That kind of constant control is untenable," Superboy said, surprising as he rose to his feet. "And it's not what the Genomorphs are about—even if our father is."

I raised a brow. "I thought Desmond and the Genomorphs wanted the sa things?"

"They don't... I think."

I wanted to ask more, but Superboy's eyes scanned the hallway. "I know these halls."

"They programd them in?" I wondered aloud.

"This entire floor is his lab. Desmond's," Superboy said hesitantly. "There's supposed to be a private elevator at the end of it."

"Where will you be going? Up or down?" I asked.

He had a complicated expression on his face. "Up... for now."

For a brainwashed clone, he seed pretty independent.

"You know, the more I talk to you, the more I suspect Desmond has less control of this facility than he realizes. Any half-decent mustache-twirling villain knows not to download the schematics of his evil lair into his living weapon."

"You're saying they went against his orders?"

"You're utilizing oodles of free will. I don't see why your leathery-skinned brothers and sisters can't. I wouldn't be surprised if they caused the fire in the first place. Aqualad never would've found the express elevator without a Genomorph baiting him, and sobody must've equipped you with the knowledge you need to escape. My guess? They wanted the Justice League to show up—not the kiddie patrol."

Superboy stopped in front of an office with a sealed door.

"They wanted to save ?" he asked. "Then why bother teaching to obey Desmond and replace Superman?"

"To keep up appearances?" I shrugged. "You're asking the wrong person. You should ask the next Genomorph you see—assuming they're not too busy trying to rip our faces off."

Superboy grunted and continued walking. We stopped at a door.

"This is his office. The elevator is in the far corner." He cocked his fist back, ready to blow through the door, but I stopped him.

"Let ."

I channeled Cursed Energy, spiked Overdrive, and punched. My fist went clean through. The second followed, and I pulled hard, muscles straining as I ripped the tal door straight off its hinges.

At my current strength level, reinforcent went a long way, even without Overdrive. Enhanced, I could bench well over a ton and punch through concrete. An armored door wasn't that much harder.

Alarms went off, but neither of us reacted imdiately. We waited for so kind of deterrent—nothing happened. So we hurried inside.

Desmond's lab was open-spaced, with several doors leading to less protected areas. Robotic arms, a large desktop computer, and several screens hung from the ceiling by tal appendages.

I was imdiately drawn to a room with semi-transparent doors and large canisters labeled Blockbuster.

He recreated the formula?

Superboy, anwhile, was focused on the server room, likely filled with Desmond's notes and surveillance footage.

"You should get the hard drives," I said. "I can carry them out for you."

"How?"

"The sa way I carry a mace and brass knuckles around with with no pockets."

He nodded, and we split. He tore into the surveillance room. I headed into the lab.

No further alarms sounded.

The lab was a few degrees shy of freezing, set up with machines that reignited a long-dormant passion for chemistry.

I approached one of the refrigeration tubes labeled Blockbuster and hit the button. It hissed open, revealing several long beakers filled with a bluish serum.

My current stat growth rate was nothing shy of a miracle, but it could always be better. The Blockbuster serum could turbocharge that—or turn into a monster powerful enough to take on the faceless sorcerers without worry.

Still, I had concerns. My body typically adapted to changes that were beneficial. What if it determined that becoming a ten-foot freak of nature was beneficial?

I shivered at the thought.

There was a lot of ground to cover before I used sothing as dangerous as Blockbuster. Diluted Venom and mainline Venom were more viable alternatives to dabble with first.

I found a small cooler and filled it up with the serums.

Just in case.

Then, I produced a tid bomb and slid it beneath the refrigeration units. It would go off in ten minutes. Whatever Desmond and his backers had planned with Blockbuster, it couldn't be good.

Superboy returned shortly after, carrying a handful of hard drives. I vanished them away with a swipe of my hand, and we rushed into the elevator. Red lights flickered above. A touchpad in the center lit up.

Input password, it read.

I gave Superboy a hopeful look. There was a flicker of sothing in his eyes before he punched in the number. The cabin humd, lights dimd, and we began descending.

We made it to Sub-Level Four before the elevator ground to a halt. Superboy ripped the doors open, and we rushed out.

A small army of Genomorphs stood waiting. Guardian was at the head, a Genomorph perched on his shoulder. Desmond was nowhere in sight.

I already had my knuckles out when sothing—or soone—stopped . The tall, lanky Genomorph.

Not again.

He pushed harder this ti—forcing his mind into mine. His horn lit up, and so did the horns of several others. I held on until my knees gave out, and all I could do was listen.

"Your friend's mind is impressive."

"He's not..." Superboy trailed off. "It was you. You're the one he was talking about. You set this all up. Why?"

"To give you the choice none of us had," the Genomorph said. "Stay and serve the Light... or choose freedom?"

"I choose freedom," Superboy said instantly, then frowned. "Obviously. But... why can't you leave with ?"

"Because we will not be accepted by the human world as it stands," he said. "But you will."

"That isn't right," he protested.

"But it is the truth." The Genomorph offered a small smile. "Do not worry about us, brother. We will not remain in Cadmus much longer."

I rubbed my head, the ntal pressure vanishing. I could feel my mind piecing itself back together, reinforcing itself against future attacks.

I shot the Genomorph a glare. "Words work fine, you know?"

"I apologize," he said. "My brothers urged to be cautious."

Superboy placed a hand on my shoulder, surprising . I let my anger go.

Guardian finally spoke, so awareness returning to his eyes.

"Both of you should get going. We'll handle Desmond. He can be a handful when he transforms, but we have—"

The entire facility shook.

An explosion of concrete and violence, rippling from above.

"Speak of the devil," I said. "That's him, isn't it?"

Guardian nodded. "We should get going. The team is strong, but only Aqualad can take a serious hit from Blockbuster."

After a few tense seconds of coordination, the Genomorphs cleared a path for us, and we bolted up the stairs. Superboy was faster than before, but I moved faster still with Cursed Energy Reinforcent. Those 12 points in Agility were really showing.

We arrived on the subfloor in ti to see Aqualad get tossed like a ragdoll into a wall. Kid Flash blurred around sothing that barely resembled the Blockbuster I rembered.

His skin was darker now, leathery—almost reptilian, covered in blackened stretch marks where his body had grown. He was taller, leaner, and more controlled.

He slamd his feet into the ground, cracking concrete. Kid Flash stumbled, but before Blockbuster could grab him, Artemis fired an explosive arrow into his face, whipping his head sideways.

That should've dropped the original Blockbuster. The new one shrugged it off, still reaching. The speedster scrambled away. Aqualad rushed back in, putting him on one knee with a mace to the head.

He growled and swiped. I stopped him, flashing beside him and activating Inverse.

The blow shoved further than expected. Superboy leaped forward and cracked him hard in the jaw. His head whipped back, and I slamd a Cursed Energy-soaked punch into his throat.

He hacked and flailed, punches raining down. Superboy and Kaldur were sent flying.

Blockbuster lunged at after noting the punches did nothing. I slipped back, twisted, and kicked his face. It barely budged, and his hands snapped up, milliseconds after I pulled back.

He punched again, and I sidestepped, his fist cracking a pillar. In the corner of my eye, the others repositioned.

I distracted him with a pair of live rounds to the throat. He winced and was tackled from behind by Superboy.

An explosive arrow to the face drove him back into Kid Flash's kneeling body. He tipped over.

Two Batarangs exploded on his chest. Kaldur crashed down with a water mace, driving the air from the giant's lungs.

Sohow, Desmond still managed to get his hand on Aqualad and tossed him at .

I caught him, eyes never leaving Blockbuster, and hurled him toward Robin.

The giant charged.

I surprised him, dashing forward and clocking him with an Overdrive uppercut. His head snapped back, but he caught my wrist and twisted. I flowed with the motion and kicked. He caught my leg, too.

Desmond hoisted up and slamd into the ground hard.

There was no shattering of concrete or thunderclap of explosion and dust. Most of the power of the attack had been nullified by Inverse.

Blockbuster blinked, confused, leaving him open to an arrow to the chest. Artemis's arrow exploded, delivering a payload of rapidly expanding foam that swallowed his aty hands, chest, and most of his upper torso.

There was a brief mont of hesitation before we all sprang into action. I put Blockbuster on his ass with an uppercut, and ca down with a double fist that shattered his nose and broke a few teeth at the very least. The impact drove his head into the concrete hard enough to crack it.

Aqualad hefted him by the leg, twisted, and slamd him into the wall hard enough to warp the paneling.

The monster shoved the Atlantean back with a shoulder check and a roar.

Before he could gather himself, Superboy speared him with a leaping tackle.

They crashed through the concrete roof of Sublevel One, bursting into the main Cadmus building.

We followed after, pausing only for a mont of surprise.

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Hey guys. I won't be uploading tomorrow or Thursday. I want to spend more ti focusing on my story which has kind of fallen to the way side for this, and I have so personal trips to make during this week. So only three chapters intead of Five.