Chapter 50 : The Ravager's decision

[Author note : Visit my Patréon page to read more (e instead of é). Search for Cathbel. Also, please leave a comment or review for the story. It not only encourages me, it can also provide an insight on what you like or don't like and how I can improve myself !

Anyways, enjoy !]

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Ned and Superboy talked for a long time. The clone didn't know why, but he opened rather quickly to this complete stranger. Then again, given how young the clone truly was, everyone was a stranger to him. Worse even, ever since he was born, Ned was the only one who showed any kind of goodwill toward him. So, he opened up.

He told him of his fear… His very real and understandable fear to be discarded. Or worse : killed ! It was even more of a possibility given the fact that he seemed to lack the full scope of his donor's powers. Ned tried to explain that it wasn't his fault, that it was the way he was made, much like a son can't help looking like his parents or inherit some of their traits. Yet, the clone felt like he was the reason… He was the failure.

Despite being only a few days fresh out of his pod, Superboy behaved like someone who had been abused for years ! Ned, although he tried not to show it too much, did not like that. If N.O.W.H.E.R.E. had always been something he planned to take down, because it was wrong, now he'd be extremely happy to do it. Perhaps even with prejudice !

As he clenched his fists behind his back, he imagined closing them around their leader's throat and squeezing, a faceless head popping up like a balloon filled with a red, sticky liquid. Other flashes, more graphic and less cartoonish crossed his mind quickly as he discussed with the clone.

Ned offered, along with the kids he managed to rescue from the facility, to help him escape his creators and jailers. He told him how vast the world was, how different, physically, mentally and culturally, people could be… He promised that in time, he'd find his people. The ones that he would consider his family, friends or simply the ones he liked to spend the most time with…

Unfortunately for Ned, the clone declined. According to the half-Kryptonian, there were still things he had to find out from N.O.W.H.E.R.E. Another unfortunate thing… This meant that he couldn't just abandon the fight, since it would show him in an even worse light to his slavers. So, they settled on making a show of it !

* * * * *

Rose Wilson was incredibly annoyed ! While she was an expert marksman, her best position when facing a target or simply an opponent was in the mid to close range. But her current opponent was a sniper through and through ! Not only that, she was a mobile and self sufficient one. Something that was incredibly rare in the military… And this one didn't even come from there. A bluish knock-out like her ? She'd be famous, even if snipers tended to be out of sight… Rose knew, because of her dad, and also her own training with military personnel.

Every time she managed to approach the position from where the shots came from, her attacker showed herself in another place, by shooting at her in a completely different angle ! It was freaky, to be honest… The mercenary couldn't find any pattern in the way she moved. She didn't seem to run around the outcroppings where she hid herself, and Rose never saw her climb… In fact, she moved too fast for that !

And then, by accident, while she almost killed herself by walking into the trap, she finally got an inkling of how she moved around… Steel wires ! She found herself into some kind of steel web of deadly wires, unable to move around carelessly without risking putting herself in great harm.

What followed would bring her an extreme amount of shame in the future. Trapped and unable to move as she wanted, the sniper repeatedly shot at her… Not at anything vital however, and not even with real bullets. The mercenary assumed they were rubber bullets or some such. The left thigh, right shoulder, right foot, left hand, stomach… The shots came fast and true, first disabling her means to move around deftly, then disarming her. After that, the sniper just played around with her… Every time she tried to retrieve her weapons, she was shot for her trouble. And once the damage to her legs healed, another bullet impacted them. No matter her super-powers, or her experience, her enemy ('cause that how she saw her at this time) played with her like a cat would its prey. It infuriated her. But she could do… nothing !

Even when she fired in her direction, threw her knives and other throwing blades, the sniper, given the distance, had the time to see them coming and dodge. Another thing that pissed Rose off : she was now in her sights ! As if she was taunting her ! And she probably was…

There was just no way or reason for a sniper to reveal its position. And her stance ! Standing on her two feet with her cat-like grace… It wasn't practical ! A sniper lied down in order to absorb the recoil of the gun and diminish the shaking on the rifle. The breathing, the weight of the gun, even the effect of the air on its mass all caused it to shake. So, when a sniper shot, they did so lying down, with the rifle solidly secured on the ground. Not like this !

Rose ground her teeth as she felt another impact on chest armor. And just as she was about to lose it, something heavy crashed near her. It dug the ground and drew up a lot of dust. When it settled, she watched the prone form of their clone asset : Superboy. It seemed… pretty beat up. His physiology made him heal pretty fast from almost anything and yet… He sported bruises and cuts that had yet to heal. The large bump on his head and the swimming eyes looking around as if lost clued her in on one fact : if he couldn't heal, he'd be useless in the near future !

But what exactly could have caused such a beatdown ? Even if he hadn't inherited all his Super-papa's powers, she knew his healing factor, especially during the day time, was astonishing. What could prevent him to heal ?

A whoosh of air overhead made her look up. Floating kind of like an angel, but without wings and instead wearing a heavy-duty high-tech armor, was Ned Stark. He looked down at her and Superboy in silence. Almost in contempt, Rose felt. She didn't like this, either !

Ever since she joined N.O.W.H.E.R.E., she had never tasted such… defeat ! That was the word. Worse even, the entire operation was a debacle ! It was obvious the meta assets were long gone. The trio led by Ned Stark only stayed behind to… play with them ? Rose didn't think so… The Super-hero kid was rumored to be a reclusive genius. Putting himself in harm's way for the sake a fight didn't seem like something he'd do.

On the other hand, perhaps he was testing a new technology of his armor… According to their intel, Stark constantly updated them to face any and all new situations. So, it was a possibility.

Another one was that he could be simply be trying to assess their military power. Given the fact that they basically laid waste to it with only three people (because she was under no illusions that her men could deal with the third one), it probably wasn't that impressive in his eyes. And in fact, she was greatly ashamed of herself on that one. She had trained them ! Led them ! She was leading them even on this op ! And this happens !

She ground her teeth once more, shooting the flying tin can with a glare. Until he finally spoke :

« By now, you'll have figured that the kids you kidnapped and enslaved are long gone ! » His voice was loud, and travelled far, maybe to allow her men to hear him ? « You can not keep us here, nor can you defeat us. » He paused for a while, as if thinking. A second later, a pondering voice echoed on the snow-covered ground : « What should I do with you… ? This place doesn't exactly have a government or the means to prosecute all of you… Should I tie you all up and bring you back to the States ? »

Rose read between the lines and she didn't like it. Nevertheless, she took the veiled offer for what it was : a chance to withdraw.