Chapter 64 : Waiting
[Author note : Patréon (e instead of é), look for Cathbel if you want more. Enjoy the chapter !]
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Aaron cursed for the umpteenth time. A couple of hours ago, while he was getting pumped up for some good old fashioned revenge and was about to unleash all his rage and pent-up feelings, a sharp pain flared in his back and he suddenly found himself stumbling in a forest.
No idea where he was or even how he got here. No, that's not entirely true… since he wasn't a complete moron, he understood that he was teleported here by the whip-guy. Now the question was… how to get back.
At first unsure of what to do and where to go, Aaron finally decided on a direction and started walking. After a while of aimless progression through the greenery, Aaron still didn't know where he was. Botany, even magical botany, was never his subject either in real life or in Hogwarts. He had no idea about the trees and plants around him so he couldn't identify where he was from that, and the sky was almost completely hidden by the thick foliage overhead. All he could tell was that it was night. Unfortunately, it only narrowed the possible range of his location by about half the world…
According to his unfinished and probably stunted knowledge of magic, a wizard couldn't apparate very far. Depending on the wizard proficiency in apparition and his level of raw power, one could perhaps cross one country or two. Travel to another continent however, or cross the seas ? Unlikely.
Unfortunately for him, what the whip-guy used wasn't magic. He was a Metahuman and Aaron had no idea of how his power worked. For all he knew, he could have been sent extremely far… Or he could still be in the state of New York or whatever forested area there was near the Big Apple. Until he found a sign of civilization, Aaron would never know.
So, he kept on walking…
* * * * *
S.T.A.R.labs, New York City.
Virgil Hawkins was studying the MRI's scans of the Girl of Steel in silence. He was… impressed by what he was seeing. Both by the compound currently present in her lungs and bloodstream, as well as the Kryptonian's physiology. The Kryptonite aerosol acted on her physiology in an extremely volatile way. Much more volatile than any poison would on a human… Breaking down her cells, spreading fast.
And yet ! The girl was apparently healing the damage left in the wake of the compound's passage, harnessing what he thought were the sun's radiations stored in her body. From what he could tell, her body was already working on flushing out the Kryptonite out of her systems. In a few days, she would be good as new. Assuming her body didn't run out of yellow sun's energy before then.
So, Virgil thought of a way to help her. The simpler solution would be for the girl to soak in the sun's ray directly. Perhaps flying out of the atmosphere since it absorbed a significant amount of radiation… It would allow her to benefit the most in a shorter amount of time. However, this posed two problems.
One, he doubted the girl had enough energy to walk, much less travel the distance to pierce the atmospheric layers. Two, and probably the one he should have led with, the girl was unconscious.
Despite his great powers, there was just no way for Virgil to help her in this, and he doubted any of the vigilantes that accompanied her could do it. Robin certainly couldn't… Unless he called on his wealthy Patron, whoever the man was. Maybe Batman had a rocket stashed somewhere in Gotham for a rainy day…
The only other thing he could think off was to wait for sunrise. That, and working on a way to somehow amplify the sun's effects on Supergirl's physiology.
« I wonder if I could use the telescope… » He muttered to himself.
* * * * *
In a break room not far, Superboy was pacing back and forth. His mind was in turmoil. He didn't think N.O.W.H.E.R.E. would have prepared such a contingency. He didn't doubt it was for him, should he turn… Like he did. A blessing it wasn't used on him. With how much weaker he was to a pureblood Kryptonian, he doubted his abilities to survive it, despite what Rose may have thought.
As soon as he felt grateful to have escaped such a fate however, he felt disgusted with himself. Supergirl was dying ! Or if she wasn't, she was in a great deal of pain !
If N.O.W.H.E.R.E. had the answers on the reason for his creation, Supergirl and Superman held other answers… Answers about himself, his heritage, his place in the world. Not only that, they were blood. He couldn't say they were family, as it wasn't something only determined by genetics, especially given how he was born. But they were still the closest thing he could consider family.
The stray image of a red-head female scientist crossed his mind at that. She, too, was… decent enough. She might have become a friend. It was impossible now.
Superboy sighed as he fell down on a chair. His hand found its way combing through his hair, eyes gazing at the tiled ground. He felt so useless here ! If only he could help… Maybe stay with Supergirl as mental support. Unfortunately, as stated before he was not a kin. Besides, just standing next to her made him sick.
Kryptonite was truly a frightening substance. Even through the Girl of Steel's body, he could experience its harmful effects. He could only imagine what she was feeling herself !
Superboy grimaced before he suddenly heard a chuckle coming from the other side of the room. Glancing over there, he saw Robin leisurely sitting back on a chair, his legs crossed and propped up on the dining table, fiddling with some kind of console.
Raising an eyebrow, Superboy asked :
« Are you… playing a video game ? »
« Yep ! » The boy wonder replied, popping the P. « Can't do anything to help, so I'll trust in Virgil and pass the time. » He paused, before throwing a glance his way. « You know, watching your face go through so many different emotions in under a minute was pretty funny. It felt like watching an old Charlie Chaplin movie. »
« No idea who or what this is… »
Robin nodded :
« I guess they didn't bother teaching you much about Art or History… It would probably go against their aim of turning you into a weapon. »
Superboy's expression turned grim.
« Maybe… But they've taught me other stuff. Human interactions, how to live as a teenager, school work and modern culture… »
« All to better fit in with normal people, I'm sure ! Makes you a better assassin. »
Superboy considered it… and then nodded. It made sense. Suddenly, the image he had of Caitlin Fairchild, the red-head woman who had been kind to him and programmed his simulated life, didn't seem so caring anymore. She was probably trying to find out how much of her lessons he'd soaked up.
But then, he thought of many instances he ignored. The fire of an apartment building with the people crying out for help, the mauling of his neighbor's child by a wild beast… Only two examples of many such situations. He felt like Fairchild had expected him to do something about those… Maybe save the day, like Superman and Supergirl would ? But he never did. They always felt so… fake to him ! At least, that's what he told himself now to justify his lack of reaction.
Maybe she indeed was trying to teach how to be a good person. In addition to be an assassin.
Superboy decided to change the subject :
« How'd you meet the guy ? Virgil, was it ? »
« Nice deflection ! Virgil is… shall we say accustomed to this kind of situation ? He's helped patched me up in the past. Plus he's brilliant in all things science. Supergirl's in good hands. »
Superboy scoffed :
« This doesn't answer the question ! »
« Nope ! But that's all you'll get from me ! If you're curious, you can always ask him ! »
« Alright… »
The door to the break room opened. Wonder Girl, accompanied by Solstice who was herself trailed by Kid Flash entered the room. Looking at the latter, Superboy thought of a puppy or a dog following his master for some reason… The way he looked at both girl was weird to the clone. His gaze was pretty intense, but he couldn't quite identify the emotions behind it. Was it interest, curiosity ? Or something else ? It felt more…
It reminded of how his best friend, Lara looked at him in the simulation. He never did find out what it meant though…
Wonder Girl grabbed herself something to eat from the vending machine and offered some to Solstice.
« No, thank you. I'm not hungry. »
Kid Flash on the other hand…
« I'm starving ! » He exclaimed as he started pouring money into the machine.
Soon after the trio sat at a table near the other two boys, silence fell on the group, only disturbed by the sound of Kid Flash's noisy chewing.