Chapter 67 : Talks about eugenics

[Author note : Sorry, guys ! I forgot to upload yesterday. Check out my Patréon (e instead of é and look for Cathbel on their site) if you want to read more. Enjoy the new chapter !]

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For a while, the Kryptonian and the half-Kryptonian stayed still, silently staring at each other, studying the enemy to react as soon as the unspoken signal was given… And suddenly, the blonde girl charged the young clone.

Superboy, the newly named Kon-El, had hoped against hope that this fight would never happen. Beyond the fact that the Girl of Steel was supposed to be vastly more powerful than he was, he dreaded the idea of souring any possible relationships with her and Superman. While N.O.W.H.E.R.E.'s people were his creators, you could say that Superman and Supergirl had the potential to become his family, or at the very least, his friends and/or confidents.

Obviously this wouldn't happen with her ! And now, he feared that it wouldn't happen with Superman either. The worst of it, though… Was that he simply didn't know what pushed the Kryptonian woman to suddenly attack him !

Once again, Superboy dodged easily, thankful for her loss in power and the effects of Kryptonite on her. Another thing he was thankful for : contrary to earlier in the night, when he came close to her body, this time, he didn't experience any bout of weakness. So, not only were the girl's specs lowered, his own stayed the same. It would make for an even fight… Or, as that was his intention, right now, would make it easier to stall or evade.

Whatever reason she had, he'd rather not make the situation worse by whooping her butt when she wasn't at her best. For all he knew, the girl was vindictive and would never forgive him in such a case…

As he gazed up at her interrupting her flight to turn around slowly, her silhouette contrasted sharply on the moon behind, her cape billowing softly to an unseen wind. She was… otherworldly. Quite literally in her case.

« I don't want to fight you ! » He exclaimed clearly, still ready for any further attack.

« I don't wish to fight you either. But your very existence puts this world at risk… » She paused, and looked at him with a renewed determination. « I've already lost one world. I won't lose another ! »

Slowly, this time, she lowered herself to the rooftop, approaching with measured steps. Her comment puzzled the half-Kryptonian greatly. What did the loss of her world have to do with him ? How was he a threat ? He'd been born only a couple of months ago. Or rather, he left his pod only a couple of months ago. He didn't truly know how long he spent in the simulated world… To him, it had felt like years. It felt like an entire childhood and the beginning of his teenage years.

He tilted his head, his brows furrowed :

« Do you know something I don't ? About me ? »

« About you ? » She shook her head. « No. But I know about clones. History taught us what happens when we manipulate the genes of Kryptonians. It is wrong ! It is… dangerous. I can't allow you to give in to your violent ways ! »

She sent a straight right at his face. Deflecting it easily with another tilt of his head, Superboy felt the annoyance start to rise in him.

« What do you mean ? » He asked, just about ready to give in to the reflexes trained into him by N.O.W.H.E.R.E. and fight back.

This time, a left hook, followed by a low punch aimed at his gut. He ducked under the first and blocked the second with both hands. Then, grabbing the fist, he pulled, disrupting the girl's balance before kicking low, toward her left knee.

That's when he found out that disrupting the balance of someone who could fly… was not very effective. Letting herself be pulled, she used her momentum to extract herself from his grasp before pivotting like a somersault, her legs heading for his head like a double axe kick. Superboy jumped back, feeling one of her feet grazing his cheek. It didn't hurt much, resilient as he was, but still… It annoyed him !

She had the advantage of being able to fly. Meaning she could fight just as well on the ground as she could in the air, unlike him. And if she managed to get her hands on him, something she still didn't attempt to do, he'd be in for a world of hurt. He might even die, if she was really willing to kill him.

So, Superboy decided that he couldn't stay idle. Mobility was key in this case. That, and prevent her from getting her hands on him. It was perhaps the first time in his short life that he fought someone so far above his league, even with her being considerably weakened by the Kryptonite. And it made him push himself farther than he thought he could.

When she attacked, he dodged what he could, parried a few hit before retreating swiftly, or redirected the punch or kicks as best he could. Always, he made sure she was unable to close her hands around any of his body parts and he tried his damndest to keep her grounded. After a short while, when he felt he understood how she fought (mostly with power but next to no technique), he started retaliating a few times.

He'd completely forgotten their conversation from earlier, so focused on the fight as he was. Supergirl, too, was completely focused on her opponent. She was growing frustrated ! The clone was not fighting like the history books portrayed his kind to be : berserk, with only rage and ferocity behind his strikes. No, he was methodical.

At first, he observed how she fought, and then he adapted, growing more and more used to dealing with her. It made her recall some of the fights she had on Krypton with her instructors and fellow students of martial arts. Kel-Ex had always bested her… Perhaps, instead of relying on her failing powers like she learned to ever since she landed on Earth, she should try and use what she learned in her past.

Slowly, the tide of the battle changed once more. At first, with an upper hand thanks to her superior physique it evened out as the clone figured her out. But now that she was slowly incorporating her limited knowledge and mastery of Klurkor and Torquasm Rao, she was slowly pushing the clone back again. And yet…

As they immersed themselves in the fight fully, they didn't notice the portkey dropping on the rooftop not far from them, nor the girl that seemed to fell out of it before becoming invisible and resting her butt leisurely on the low wall delimiting the roof. Unknown to the fighters, she flipped a switch on the small machine gun in her guns before aiming it at the duo… And fired.

Instantly, the duo ducked or parried the bullets aimed at them. Say what you will about Kryptonians (even halfs) but their reflexes were something else ! They stopped to consider the new enemy. Her pose didn't appear menacing : she was still leaning back, and the gun was now not pointed at them, but rather to the side and the ground as she crossed her arms. A teasing grin was on her face. With the distinct noise of a rope swiftly rolling around a pulley, yet another person appeared on the rooftop, high heels clacking as she landed gracefully.

With a soft admonishing tone with a French accent, the girl with a blue-ish tone of skin told the other one :

« It's not nice to leave me behind, petite soeur ! » She turned to the two Kryptonians and nodded, both to herself and them. « Bien ! You stopped fighting ! Good work, Sombra. »

« You… I remember you. You were with Edgar Stark. »

Another nod.

« Oui. And my father, the one you call Edgar Stark, or Silver Lad, told me to keep an eye on your little group in your crusade against N.O.W.H.E.R.E. Imagine my surprise seeing two people who should be working together fighting like school children in a yard… »

Superboy shrugged and pointed a thumb at the girl not far from him :

« She started it ! » And then he seemed to realize how childish this sounded as he blushed slightly and averted his gaze.

« Oui… I saw. Her prejudice against cloning is quite apparent. Tell me, Supergirl, mon amie… What is the Eugenics program ? »

« The Eugenics program ? » Supergirl felt conflicted seeing another one of her new friends from this world oppose her. « I don't see the relevance… » Silent, Mel only raised an eyebrow which compelled Supergirl to answer : « It's how Kryptonians were born. The Codex held all the genetic data of Kryptonians of generations past and present, to give birth to those of the future… »

« Precisely. This… Codex determined what genetic traits to add together to make the perfect Kryptonian for a given task or career. How is that any different from cloning or genetic manipulation ? »

At this, Supergirl could only contemplate in silence…