Chapter 68 : A new war looming
[Author note : If you want more, you can look up my Patréon (e instead of é) page : search for Cathbel. Hope you like this chapter.]
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Supergirl pondered the question in silence. Like most Kryptonians except for her cousin, they were all born of the Codex, with a goal determined at birth for all their lives. Soldier, scientist, worker, engineer, lawyer… By the time they reached adulthood and finished their assigned studies, a place in society was already waiting for them, a career they would lead until they were too old, or they died.
Clones however… She didn't know why they were created. History was silent on this particular matter. It only emphasized how wrong the practice was, how dangerous and taboo. Perhaps she was biased by what was taught to her. And perhaps, the fact of creating life like Rao was a path that would lead only to destruction.
From the clone, she never felt the savageness and murderous creature spoken off in her History lessons. Superboy was surprisingly humane. Moreover, although she didn't defeat him because of her current state, she gauged that he was not as strong as she was. Were he to suddenly lose his mind, she would be able to stop him.
Back to what her blue friend said about the codex and clones…
« They're nothing alike ! » She vehemently refuted. « The codex was not managed by Kryptonian hands but by an AI. It's not flawed ; it was a perfect way to manage our society and ensure that everyone had a place in it. Unlike Earth… »
Mel shrugged :
« But do you know where clones came from ? Why they were created ? It seems to me that they were one of the earlier trials that led to the creation of your Codex… I can't be sure and I might be completely wrong, of course… »
Supergirl suddenly frowned, thinking of something strange :
« How do you know about the Codex ? »
She doubted even her cousin knew about it. She, herself, didn't know much about it beyond what her father had explained a long, long time ago. Her father, being the scientist he was, was mostly interested in how it worked than where it came from. The Codex, while common knowledge to most Kryptonians, was something obscure, mysterious, hidden. Yet, a human, albeit a weird-looking one, knew of it. Not only that, she seemed to know more about it than most Kryptonians.
The blue-girl simply returned a silent stare, an almost indiscernible grin on her face but otherwise kept her mouth shut. Supergirl frowned. Despite their tentative friendship, she couldn't help but see Mel, and by extension, her ally and 'father' Ned Stark, as suspicious…
Just as she was about to continue asking question, the other girl, whose name she couldn't recall at the moment, on the side suddenly interrupted :
« He left… » She commented idly, looking to where Superboy had been a while ago.
Mel turned her head sharply and scanned the surroundings briefly and cursed :
« Et merde ! Why didn't you say anything, or try to stop him ? »
Sombra shrugged :
« I was told to stop the fight, not play social worker with troubled kids. If he wants to leave, he should leave ! »
« And what if he gets captured ? Need I remind you that he betrayed his former organization ? »
At that, the latino girl with the fancy hairdo grinned mischievously. The two exchanged a glance before nodding. In her sensually accented voice, Mel remarked :
« You're tracking him… »
« Yep ! » Her 'little sister' replied cheekily, popping the 'p'.
On the other side, Supergirl felt left out. Ignored even. In a sense, she was and her question was still left unanswered. So, like any teenage girl the world over, and apparently across the universe, she grew incensed and asked sharply :
« How do you know so much about Krypton ? Humans shouldn't know anything beyond what Kal has revealed to the world ! »
Sombra smirked, a twinkle in her eye as she asked a question :
« Who said we were humans ? »
* * * * *
A black silhouette could be seen cutting through the city's night sky, performing inhumane feat : it ran faster than a speeding car, jumped higher than the tallest building… Despite that, the silhouette was definitely and distinctly humanoid : two arms, two legs, standing upright (when it landed).
However, it was only half-human ; The other half was alien.
As for the identity of the silhouette ? It was obviously a fleeing Superboy jumping around the rooftop of New York City, headed for New Jersey. The clone hadn't specifically chosen a direction : he was just putting as much distance between himself and the lunatic Kryptonian ! Why the fuck (!) did she attack him ?
Well… He knew why. She partially answered him : History. Moreover Kryptonian History ! What did that have to do with him ? He was only a half ! He never set foot on the destroyed mud-ball and had no idea about its culture, history or… anything !
The Girl of Steel had acted as if it was the most natural thing to do, to try and snuff his lights out because of how he was born… So much for being a heroine !
Then again, perhaps, like him who never had the choice to be called anything else but Superboy, she too didn't choose to become a super-hero ? Anyways, this proved one thing : there was only one person he could truly depend on… Himself !
So, the clone decided to leave the city. Perhaps even the country and make a life for himself elsewhere. Far from Kryptonians, far from N.O.W.H.E.R.E. So, he ran and jumped, thinking only of letting his feet devour the miles. He didn't care if he was spotted. In fact, he didn't even think of it. A mistake he would soon come to regret…
* * * * *
Over the last few months, Harry Potter had seen his best friend change in the most unexpected of ways. Sometimes, when thinking of Ron from Hogwarts, and the now (truly) adult Ron, he wondered if they were the same person or if someone had kidnapped him, put him in a trunk and took his place with Polyjuice. It happened before, after all…
If before, he was a lazy slob, rude and often considered socially impaired, now he was, if not the opposite, at least very different. For one, he read a whole of a lot more ! With his fiancee, his other best friend, they often talked or this or that book, sharing what they've learned of advising the other on what book was a good read.
However, instead of light and entertaining books, Harry knew those were more… practical. Philosophical, tactical or even political.
Not only that, he spent almost as much time as Harry in the Auror's sparring room, honing his magical skills. And Harry also knew that Ron took dueling lessons from Aberforth Dumbledore. When he visited Hogsmeade alone once after one of his patrol in order to drink a butterbeer from the Three Broomsticks, he had seen his friend heading determinedly for the Hog's Head inn. When he saw him, he briefly thought to call out to him and decided against it. He didn't know why… Instead, he followed his friend, moved by curiosity. When he discovered the two in the backyard, pointing their wands at each other, he decided to intervene. That's when he found out what his friend had been up to.
And now, the former 'Golden trio', as Ned Stark had called them in the past, reunited once more in the Shrieking Shack. Ron had asked him to meet with him and Hermione, who had started her job as a clerk for the Ministry.
« So… What are we doing here, Ron ? »
He shook his head and told Harry :
« We're still waiting for a few people… I'll tell everyone when they've arrived. »
Harry was surprised, to say the least by the people who arrived in short order. Soon, the shack was filled almost to brim. It had always been a rather small place, built only to keep a werewolf inside and not much else. And now… A lot of their friends from Hogwarts (mostly Gryffindors), but also Sirius, Tonks and Remus were here with them. He was surprised to see Neville, who grew out of his chubby boy's phase to become a stocky and muscular young lad. The Weasley twins, Fred and Georges were also there, as well as Ginny, Bill and Charlie. Finally, Aberforth came too.
With a gruff and grumpy voice, the brother of their former headmaster grumbled :
« By Merlin's ballsack, boy ! Why are we all here ? »
Ron took a deep breath, scanned the room with a gaze before he opened his mouth :
« I know the Order of the Phoenix has always had one goal : to oppose You-Know-Who and his forces… However, I've gathered you all here today to discuss whether or not we should reform it. »
« Why ? » Fred asked. « The big, bad, baldy's done and gone, right ? »
« I couldn't have said it better, oh, brother of mine ! » Georges agreed.
Many of the younger ones nodded along with what the twins said. Ron did, too, but he didn't let that stop him.
« While the Dark Lord is gone, the damage he and his ilk has done is still a problem for the Wizarding World. » Seeing how everyone frowned, not knowing where Ron was going with this, the ginger continued : « In this century, we've had two Dark Lords who shook, not only the foundation of our world, but the world at large as well. Grindelwald's forces waged war on both Wizards and muggles alike, and You-Know-Who and his followers enjoyed killing and tormenting muggles just as much. If not more… »
Harry was starting to see what his friend was saying. It actually reminded him of a certain someone's interview on the Wire…
« You're implying that the Statute is already broken… That muggles are already aware of our existence… »
Silence fell on the room as those words left the Boy-Who-Lived's mouth.