Justice League Porn Story: Resurrecting the Red – Chapter 28

Resurrecting the Red

Chapter
28: Those Who Sleep

David winced
from the pain as he opened his eyes. He blinked several times to
clear the blurriness of his eyes. He was in an infirmary room.
Great.

UhDavid?
An uncertain voice asked. David turned his head to his left to see
that his grandfather was hovering anxiously near him.

Im okay,
the younger man answered, his voice cracking from dryness. Wally
zoomed out of the room and came back with a glass of cold water. The
teenager took the offered cup gladly, as it also offered him a few
extra seconds to think. This was the first time he had been alone
with his grandfather since being pulled from the speed force.

Um He
watched as his grandfather rubbed the back of his head with
uncertainty. Geez, how do I even start?

Youcould
tell me whats happened since Ive been out, David offered,
choosing what seemed to be the easiest ground for now. Besides, he
really did want to know what was going on.

His grandfather
smiled.

..

Barbara Gordon
tapped her fingers together as she listened to an update from Bruce.
Neither Black Canary nor Green Arrow had found Luthor. Terry was
still fighting Debray, but she had faith in the boy.

The Question,
however, had found something interesting.

After giving a
call to the League, Shayera Hol and her son had gone down to join the
woman in the seemingly abandoned warehouse.

Except that it
wasnt. Not abandoned anyway. Bruce had just informed her that
most of the decrepit appearance was merely a hologram. Inside was
state of the art equipment. Shed ordered Max to concentrate her
efforts on hacking into the computer database inside the building.
As of yet however, they hadnt determined what was hidden there.

What was clear
to the police commissioner, however, was that there was something of
value in this place. Something that Luthor would risk capture to
get.

But what?

Red energy bolts
ripped through the wall behind Terry. Growing ever more furious,
Debray charged him. The young Batman threw himself onto his back and
kicked up with his feet. Terry used his hands and his momentum to
catch the European hard in the stomach.

Debray coughed
as he spat out blood. Not slowing down, Terry grabbed the mans
left shoulder and hauled him up. Reaching back his fist, Batman
punched him hard in the nose.

Street
Fighting Lesson #3: Hitting the nose blurs the eyes and causes
pain. Its a great way to fight dirty.

Terry had been a
master of street fighting long before Bruce had begun training him.

Locking an arm
tight around the Europeans head, Terry wrestled the larger man to
the ground and pinned him. Okay, so he didnt quite have the
fighting finesse that Bruce had possessed in his younger days, but it
worked. Hed always been more of a brawler anyway.

Thats
not enough Terry, Bruce said.

Yeah, I know.
Theres got to be a way to disable hiswait Terry cut off
as Debrays cybernetics attempted to attach themselves to the
batsuit again. Looking around, Terry saw that there was an emergency
generator near them.

Thinking fast,
and hoping for luck, Terry grabbed the cybernetic wires and thrust
them into the generator. Whipping out an electrified batarang,
Batman jammed it into the machine. Debray screamed as a massive
surge of electricity overloaded his cybernetics. There were several
small explosions as the electricity coursed through the mans body
and blew out the pieces of circuitry.

Moaning in pain,
Fernand Debray lay motionless on the floor.

Good job
Terry. Terry smirked as he felt rather than heard the
undertone of pride in Bruces voice.

.

What is
this? Shayera Hol asked. She, her son, and the Question stared
silently up at a series of cryogenic tubes. With Maxs help, they
had succeeded in shutting off the hologram projectors.

We already
knew that Luthor was experimenting with Cadmuss cloning program,
Erin Szasz answered calmly. Is it any surprise that she would
possess a clone of her father? The masked vigilante tapped a few
commands into a nearby computer console. The cryogenic tubes lowered
down from the ceiling until they were suspended mere centimeters
above the floor.

How many are
there? Warhawk asked, gaping at the sight. There was a pause.

Theres
close to fifty cryogenic chambers, the Question answered. And
it appears as if they all contain a clone of Lex Luthor. Shayera
shuddered as she walked among the motionless clones.

Are they
really all alive? she whispered. The Thanagarian looked
through the glass to peer at the face of one of the sleeping Luthors.

Hmm

Shayera looked
over her shoulder to see what the Question had found. The other
woman was now sitting at the computer console, staring intently at
the screen.

What?
Shayera asked. The Question didnt answer right away. Instead,
she attempted to input some codes into the computer. That failing,
Erin Szasz muttered an Italian curse and pressed a finger to
communication link in her ear.

Gibson,
the Question said. Immediately, the voice of Maxine Gibson came over
the line.

What?

I need you to
hack into this system. Theres an encrypted file that Im unable
to open.

Which
one? Max asked, still seated in Barbaras computer room.

Tk143, its
a subfile of a folder marked Lazarus Project., the Question
answered. She crossed her fingers and waited impatiently as the
teenager hacked into the file. Erin Szasz then drummed her fingers
on the table.

Got it!
Max finally yelled triumphantly. Erin smiled at the younger womans
enthusiasm. Then her eyes narrowed as she studied the screen.
Apparently Luthor had been conducting experiments using chemicals
from the Lazarus pits. The Luthors must have been in contact with
Ras al Ghul. Wayne would be interested to hear about this.

Even after his
death, Lex Luthor had not ceased in his search for immortality.

But how?
the Question pondered quietly. What was the purpose of keeping
nearly fifty clones of the man, and trying to make them immortal no
less? If Alexandra was trying to resurrect her father, there was no
point as the man was dead. His memories wouldnt be

Wait

Gibson,
Erin said. Nearly a year ago, wasnt there a case where Batman
encountered the artificially saved memories of a man named Richard
Vance?

Yeah,
Max answered. Hed had his memories digitally saved. What
Terry had encountered was an artificial intelligence. Why is that
important?

Would you
know how to look for an A.I. if its hidden in the system? the
Question asked sharply.

ErmI
think so.

Yes or no!
Either you can or you cant!

Yes!
Max replied, taken aback. I can.

Then look,
fast! Erin ordered.

Whats
going on? Shayera asked, having listened in on the conversation.
The Question bolted out of her seat as she charged in amongst the
clones. Where was it? With long, graceful strides she swept from
cryotube to cryotube.

What the
hells going on Question? Warhawk yelled. The half-Thanagarian
glared irately at the woman who continued to ignore him. He and his
mother exchanged looks.

Ill go
after her, Shayera finally said. You stay here and keep
watch. With that, the Thanagarian gave a frustrated sigh and took
off after the Question. If it wasnt one Szasz, it was another.
All of them shared the annoying characteristic of charging headlong
into danger and not telling you why.

Ras al
Ghul? Diana asked, clearly surprised. Bruce had a dark expression
on his face. The Amazon princess looked over at the man she still
cared for.

When was the
last time you encountered him, Bruce? she asked. His expression
darkened.

A few months
ago, he replied tersely. Dianas eyebrows shot up in surprise.
Bruce eyed her carefully before adding reluctantly.

Hed taken
over his daughters body and was trying to take over mine.

Diana stared at
him.

Its a long
story, Bruce explained, not really explaining. He tried to ignore
a pair of blue eyes threatening to pierce through his thin layer of
protective isolation. A very thin layerit had been
thicker, but Terry had done quite an effective job of demolishing it
with typical McGinnis finesse.

I like long
stories, the Amazon countered. Bruce sighed. She was as stubborn
as ever.

Later,
Bruce promised. He knew full well that shed hold him to it.

So what now?
Diana questioned instead. Bruce gave a tired sigh, shocking Diana.
It still shocked her, how he had aged. When he was younger, the
indomitable Bruce Wayne had seemed eternalimpervious to the
inconvenience of age.

The fact that
Bruce was as human as the next man still shocked her.

Well need
to study the clones, Bruce answered.

But what do
we do with them? Diana asked. Theyre all technically
alivewe cant just kill them!

I never said
anything about destroying them, Bruce replied tensely. But
before then, we have to find a different Luthor. He paused and
closed his eyes, feeling his age. Terry had turned Debray into
police custody. The teenager had briefly come back to the Watchtower
to get his wounds checked.

In a few
minutes, the boy would head back down to Gotham to join the Question,
Warhawk, and Shayera. Nohe wasnt a boy. Neither he nor David
had any right to be still called children. After a moment of
reflection, Bruce conceded that Max as well was earning her right to
be involved with the League.

Question
believes that Luthor may have digitally saved his memories, Bruce
finally said. Its possible that his daughter has been planning
to transfer those memories into one of the clones.

There was a
short silence and the two heroes thought about the implications of
it. After a moment, Diana tentively reached out a hand and laid it
gently on Bruces shoulder.

I never
stopped loving you, she said quietly. Bruce swallowed a lump in
his throat, but didnt answer. He didnt know how to answer.
After a moment, Diana reluctantly removed her hand.

Im glad
you found Terry, she added. It makes me glad. I dont think
he realizes how much hes done for you.

Ohhe
understands more than he lets on, Bruce answered. Even when
hes being a stubborn pain in the ass, hes remarkably good at
reading people.

Reminds me of
someone else I know.

Bruce looked
sharply up at Diana, but instead of irritation, he found that she
merely wore a wry smile. A similar smile flickered on his face.

I cant
imagine who that would be, he replied.

.

Wally smiled to
himself as he watched his sleeping grandson. The two of them had
spent the last few hours doing nothing but talking. David had
finally drifted back to sleep, still exhausted from his wounds.

The older
speedster felt more at peace with himself. It would take him a long
time, but Wally knew he still had family. He still had friends.

That was the
most important thing in the world.

Wally quietly
stood up and bent down to kiss his grandchild on the cheek. Then he
silently crept out of the room and zoomed off through the Watchtower.

The Flash was
not a man who could sit still, especially not when the people he
cared for still needed help. Although still confused by recent
events, Wally knew that the current crisis wasnt over. Hed
lend a helping hand any way he could.

Besides, it had
been twenty-four years since hed last antagonized any of his
friends.

.

Sorry for
the long delayed update. Ive been busy with school. I also leave
for Japan in two weeks for a four month long study abroad. Ill
have internet access, so Ill make every attempt to update while
Im there. At most though, Ill probably only be able to update
my stories at least once a month. Ill do my best to update this
story at least once more before I leave.

Two Batman
Beyond episodes were referenced in this chapter: Lost Soul and
Out of the Past.