Chapter 86 : Crashing the Culling
[Author note : You know the song by now. So much so, that I haven't sung it in the last chapter. If you want to read more chapters, some of my other stories or want to support me, come check out my Patréon page (e instead of é). Search for Cathbel on their website.
As always, comments, reviews and stones are welcome.
Now, a little honesty... As some of you might have noticed, I'm having trouble finding inspiration about the story these days. I still have more than 10 chapters ready to go, but... I'm not sure where it's going in the future. If you have some ideas, I'm open to it, guys and gals !
And now, read on !]
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As soon as they appeared in their new environment, Ned skated swiftly in a circle around their point of arrival. His objective was to make sure they weren't surrounded, and to get his bearings. It had been a long time since he read these issues of the Teen Titans…
In fact, if he recalled correctly (and given his new status, he most assuredly was), the events of the Culling were actually held in a crossover between several series. Teen Titans, Legion Lost and Superboy. The reason behind this was that, a small team of Legionnaires from the future, stranded in this time, had been captured by N.O.W.H.E.R.E. and sent here, alongside the other contenders.
Unfortunately, this event promises to be very bloody. Even at his peak, with his armor and all his cognitive abilities, Ned couldn't say for sure whether he'd be able to save everybody… Most, if not all of the participants, were kids. And although some of them might be psychos and killers, he basked at the idea of killing them.
« Guess I'll go with the flow… » He muttered to himself.
Briefly, he remembered his murder of Fenrir Greyback. Perhaps, at the time, the Metal was already influencing his thoughts… In fact, he was pretty sure that was the case. Yet, he probably would have done the same thing, should the occasion presents itself. He was alone in the forest with the insane, sadistic murderer (if you discounted his men and women that he had knocked out). The man had threatened his close ones. And considering the ministry's track record in keeping their most dangerous criminals locked up… Yeah, it was the smart choice !
In the future, he would probably do this choice again. Especially since the American government wasn't any better at keeping the villains behind bars. It was funny, really, how the politicians manipulated the medias in order for the population to blame the heroes… Granted, the escaped convicts often started killing again before fighting the heroes (resulting in property and collateral damage), only to get captured again. It was a dreadful cycle in a sense… But was it their fault if the system couldn't keep them contained ? If the corruption, the inadequate facilities or the incompetency of the personnel allowed them to escape, was it their fault ?
Although he accused the politicians, he couldn't exactly be sure it was their fault, really… Perhaps, the heroes opponents, those too smart to be caught, too popular or too gray were the cause for it. Like Lex Luthor, for example.
In any case, this was neither here nor there. Ned needed to focus on the present and the deadly crucible they found themselves in.
« I don't see Mel, Sym or Bast anywhere… » Ned pointed out.
Winston was fiddling with his wrist computer and the illusory projection it showed.
« We know she's here… Somewhere. That's as close as we could portkey. The technology in this place… It's beyond anything I've ever had the chance to study ! Frankly, I'd say it's from the future, but… »
Ned, in the body of Lucio, nodded.
« No, you're right. It's from the 31st century. The time period Harvest comes from. »
« 31st century ? » Sombra perked up at that. Her eyes lit up like a kid on Christmas morning. Although she wasn't like Winston who liked to build new things, she was quite tech savvy and a bit of a nerd, herself. Being the youngest and basically a newborn, she hadn't had much time interacting with her siblings. Yet, every time she did, she would ask Winston to make her something. Augmented reality glasses, a smartwatch, new weapons…
The idea that she could perhaps get her hands on a few goodies was probably very enticing for the young tech spirit.
Ned didn't dispel the idea from her mind, but he highly doubted whether his 'people' had any access to this kind of technology. From what he understood of the man, Harvest would rather hoard any advantage over his enemies (and even supposed allies), like a dragon would hoard its gold. Paranoid and ruthless, the definition of a tyrant… That's how Ned saw the man.
That being said, Harvest was one of those characters who, although were introduced like these big bad guys, disappeared from the DC franchise after a few issues. After the Culling, he never read anything about the guy. So, he didn't know that much about him.
Case in point : Harvest was supposed to be a human, but he never saw his true face under his horrific disguise. And since he was a racist who hated metahumans, he shouldn't have any powers. Yet, he did ! Did he go through some kind of experiment that gave him this appearance, along with powers ? Or was he just using the technology from the future and his get-up was only for theatrics ? Ned didn't know.
What he did know, however, was that Harvest was also the foster father of one Jon Lane Kent, son of a future version of Lois Lane and Clark Kent. Suffering from a deadly and incurable disease, Lois and Clark seemingly had to bury their son. Only, Harvest managed to save him. And he then raised him in the hatred of all metahumans.
Superboy was actually his clone. One created for the sole reason to be donor for Jon Lane Kent, since his disease was yet to be cured. From what he could tell, despite the fact that the half-Kryptonian probably fell into the category of people Harvest hated, he still grew to love his 'weapon'. Quite the contradiction…
So, the man was mysterious, be it his origin or the reason for his hatred. Complex. And forgotten quickly, by the authors. This complicated things for Ned, since he wasn't sure how to deal with the man…
Lost in thought for a while, Ned shook his head.
« Alright ! Let's find them, first. Either them or the Titans… » Ned decided. « I'll do some recon. »
* * * * *
As expected, this place was… awful. Beyond the apocalyptic landscape, the people left to fend for themselves battled for every little thing. Resources, misunderstanding, animosity, or just because… A few were a little better than others, probably because they weren't here for long. But the majority of them… If they didn't some kind of treatment for traumatic events, they would be left with deep scars. If they healed at all.
Ned used his mobility to roam the land ahead of his children. Mostly, he tried to stay unnoticed. Unfortunately, it didn't work much. At this point, the ones who survived for longer than others were seasoned survivalists. Any foreign faces, odd noises were enough to put them on edge.
Still, he managed to avoid any fighting until now.
Not very heroic… He thought and suddenly slid to a halt. He turned his head toward a trio of young fighters trying to fight off a couple of lunatics. From what he could tell, the former were only trying to push them back. The latter, however… They were out for blood !
Speaking of blood, one of them seemed to have the ominous power to manipulate his own blood. Quite the strange power. Did he also possess some kind of healing factor ? He probably did, since he was losing quite a few liters making his blood weapons. The way he used it, Ned decided to call the power Bloodsmith since he forged weapons to throw or fight with instead of controlling them in the air like a mage.
He was actually the one who armed his ally, a blonde woman fighting with a spear. She was quite the fighter according to Ned's limited knowledge of martial arts. Impressive, swift, and deadly, if she really wanted to.
The last one of the trio was another oddball. She didn't use any outward manifestation of power, much like her blonde friend. However, she dodged each and every attack thrown her way with ease, as if she danced around her opponent.
Their opponents were shaggy people, dressed like homeless people, with cybernetic enhancements. In this particular scenario, it was obvious who the bad guys were. The profanities and demands for payments gave it away.
However, just as he was about to intervene in the fight, another figure suddenly barged in. Although he was wearing something very different from his usual outfit, Ned recognized his physical characteristic. The bird-like theme, with the wings, and the domino mask that hid nothing also helped… It was Robin !