Forced Bonds

Chapter 49

"You see, we have someone like that, too," Artemis interrupts. She is now sitting on the tiled ground, chin resting on her knees. The moon shines through several large windows and light up her body as well as other sections of the large common space. "He was a clone created for the sole purpose of replacing Superman. But he was force fed that idea, it wasn't his own. That is, until he found his own path with us."

She holds up the monocle and looks at him through it. It is just a regular piece of glass, so it doesn't distort her vision at all. Artemis can see Claude working to unbind himself from the post, but doesn't try to stop him. "Have you found you're own path?"

Batgirl reenters the large space, "Batman said to bring the clone to the Batcave, he's working on locating Deathstroke now." She gets into a fighting stance when Wintergreen stands unbound and rubbing his wrists. "Artemis!"

Claude looks at Batgirl with an ungodly amount of disdain. To him, the purple-clad ginger has no real presence, as powerful and smart as she is. Artemis, however, is another story. The butler holds out his hand, and the archer returns the fashion accessory. "You can find the other bombs at Wayne Industries, Ace Chemicals, Arkham Asylum, Iceberg Lounge, GCPD, GothCorp, and Wayne Manor. They will go off at exactly midnight."

Batgirl glances at Artemis who has a smug smile on her face. "Still trying to figure it out, huh? Well, we always have positions open for double-agents."

Claude looks at her disgusted and teeth slightly bared, "Do not expect anything more from me, that was all the pity you are going to receive. I'll have you know I have no reason to doubt my allegiance."

Artemis nods her head understandingly, "And that's why you told us the location of the other bombs." Claude grabs the front of her uniform and pulls her in close. The nineteen year old holds up her hands in mock surrender.

"You-"

There is a large rumble and something like a meteor hits in the court yard, shaking the ground slightly. Artemis seems to be completely unphased by this development but Batgirl and Claude whip their heads to the window.

"Well he didn't waste any time," she comments off handedly as she follows everyone's gaze.

Superboy kicks open the door, sending it off its' hinges and into the far wall. His silhouette is emphasized by the moonlight as he slowly turns his head towards the direction of his audience. There is creature sitting on his shoulder, but it looks- odd. Claude feels the boy's intense gaze land on him and stay there.

His instincts rage for him to get away, but he doesn't move. He could easily overpower the two girls, the only reason they were able to knock him out was because Claude didn't want to accidently set the bomb off early and give away their operation. That wasn't the case for this guy.

"The clone of Superman," Artemis introduces and Claude releases his grip on her.

"Superboy."

Not wasting any time, Claude moves towards the bomb parts, sensing his mission is in jeopardy. He picks up a majority of them, and reassembles it on his way back to the boiler room. He can sense the Superboy following behind him, but he is walking. That presence of confidence sends Claude's anxiety over the edge.

Oh fuck- if he didn't get this done, Slade would punish him. He would put him back in that room, that godforsaken cell. Especially now that Renegade was with them. Oh shit, does Master Slade even have a purpose for him anymore? What's to stop him from just shooting Claude dead? He had to finish his mission, even if it killed him.

The clone moves efficiently through the halls, finishing the re-creation of the bomb as he reaches his destination. He has to make sure they couldn't find it before midnight, otherwise the plan wouldn't be complete (and he would get punished).

He hides in the shadows, which is difficult for his large build and not-very-stealthy suit. Superboy stops at the entryway and speaks for the first time since arriving, "Wintergreen? I know you're in here."

Claude stays completely silent, planting the bomb as quietly as he can, but it is no use because of Superboy's hearing. He cautiously approaches without a trace of hostile intent. It unnerves the butler considerably as he desperately tries to reprogram the explosive.

"I just want to show you something," Superboy says genuinely. Claude reacts by pulling out his hidden gun and holding it to Superboy's head. He doesn't hesitate to pull the trigger, but the bullet only ricocheted off his young features and bursts a nearby pipe. He knew the risks but couldn't help subconsciously unloading the rest of the clip at the boy. It was a miracle nothing exploded...yet.

Superboy is soon close enough that the barrel of the gun is pressed against his forehead. He grabs Claude's wrist and holds him steady as he tries to pull away. In the darkness, two red triangles start to glow. It is the creature on Superboy's shoulder:

A G-Gnome.

It is fairly anti-climatic. Instead of screaming and clutching at his head, Claude is put into a telepathic trance and drops the gun. Superboy lets go of his wrist and his face twists in silent fury. Not at Claude, of course, at Deathstroke. After making sure that the bomb was never set, he removes it from its' place on the ceiling and brings it back up to the heroines on the floor above. Claude follows silently behind.

"Took you long enough," Artemis teases, taking apart the bomb for a second time. "Are you going to head out right away then?"

"I wouldn't want Batman to catch me anytime soon. I am going to assume that you won't mention anything," Superboy says, directed at Batgirl.

She gawks at both of them, "You're just going to take him! What the hell am I supposed to tell Batman- Where are you even going to go?!"

"Geranium City."

"And what's so special there?" Batgirl asks, exasperated.

If Superboy could blush, he would've done it there. He hadn't told many about his somewhat secret project, and gets embarrassed when it is brought up. It doesn't exactly scream that he is an angry four year old, which is exactly what everyone seems to think Superboy is. He would mention it to everyone when the time was right.

"You're just going to have to trust me on this."

"My trust is being spread very thin," she states suspiciously. Artemis rolls her eyes.

"No time to discuss it now. Wintergreen won't be a problem anymore and the explosive has been neutralized," the archer summarizes, taking the tension away. "We've got bombs to intercept and we're going to need help if we want to disarm them all before midnight."

"Right, I'm calling the Titan's."

"And I'll call the Team."

After receiving a sharp glare, which she ignores, she quickly leaves the school heading towards the next site. She runs across rooftops and shoots arrows at muggers and thieves who picked a bad night to be out. Artemis makes the call along the way:

"Hey, Wally, babe. I know it's been a long time, but just listen. We've got trouble in Gotham..."