Robin, are you able to find us an exit path that either avoids or minimalizes conflict with the Genomorphs?" Aqualad asked gravely, his expression hardening. A grimace formed on the usually cheery Boy Wonder's face as he went through over a dozen cameras, each one displaying far too many Genomorphs for us to fight our way through. Even my heavy-hitter aliens wouldn't be able to get through all of those.
"Can you check if there are any Genomorphs coming our way?" I added, slightly awkwardly. I had done some… regrettable things while I was Aviator, and I knew that any of them could lay me on my ass in three seconds flat without breaking a sweat if they wanted to, now. Hopefully, me saving them as Aviator helped balance things out.
"Nope, they're just waiting for us. Don't suppose anything in that watch can get us past them?" Robin replied, looking over at me.
"I have a couple of forms that could probably get me out, but not all of us." I shook my head, activating the watch again and cycling through the other nine aliens on the available playlist. Jovian could certainly take hits, but didn't have the kind of output to get us out, Trench would get overpowered, Azarathian was useless, Protean couldn't do anything for the others, H'lvenite had the same issue, Coluan could only think his way out of so much, Necrofriggian was yet another way for me to abandon the others, and even the Atasian couldn't get through all those. But after I had cycled through all those, I came across a tenth transformation, one that I wasn't quite familiar with. It appeared as a horned humanoid of medium height with thin limbs, and nothing about its appearance that stood out. If I were lucky it would be able to mind control the Genomorphs so they'd let us escape, but of course the universe would never be that kind.
"As much as the idea appals me, we may have to use our captive as a bargaining tool to escape." Aqualad admitted grimly, looking down at a wisely silent Desmond.
"Yeah, Sunglasses might have had the right idea with the whole 'human shield' thing after all." Kid Flash added reluctantly, and I inwardly frowned. Sunglasses?
"Stairs are that way." Robin told us, gesturing to our right. With a nod, Aqualad picked up our resident evil scientist and slung him over his shoulder, leading the rest of us towards the staircase. The gentle tapping of our footsteps, the slight creak of the door as it opened and closed behind us, Demond's angry, laboured breathing… I had to fight to stop myself from shaking as we made our way up towards sublevel one. Suffice to say it was a lot easier to be confident when I wasn't a frail human being.
The hallways were bathed in an ominous red lighting as we stepped out into them, and I could hear several metallic thuds, the sound of heavy metal gates closing our exits and escape routes off. As would be expected of an ambush, half a dozen G-Trolls, and triple that number of G-Elves ran towards us. There were also a few G-Gnomes, presumably for telepathic coordination. Good thing, since I wasn't sure the regular Genomorphs would be smart enough to appreciate the hostage play.
"STAND DOWN, WE HAVE CAPTURED YOUR LEADER." Aqualad called out to the Genomorphs, and the G-Gnomes' horns all glowed red, signalling their use of telepathy. The other Genomorphs all stopped in their tracks before a voice echoed loudly inside of my head, like there was an invisible megaphone being held up to my ears. The other three presumably heard the same thing, judging by their sudden expressions of mild discomfort, which faded just as the voice finished talking.
~BRING HIM TO US~
Immediately following the request, the other Genomorphs moved to the sides, making way for us to walk through the hallway. We did as the voice had instructed, though I thought to myself it would have been nice if it had instructed an actual location.
Ahead of us stood Guardian and a large congregation of Genomorphs. His arms were crossed sternly over his chest as he glared at us, and that glare did not lessen in the slightest as Aqualad placed Desmond down on the ground, while still maintaining a tight grip on the scientist's wrist.
"We want safe passage out of this building." Aqualad demanded firmly, his gaze hardening.
Right before Guardian spoke, his G-Gnome's horns glowed red, "His fate is of no concern to us. Deal with them."
Desmond sputtered incoherently at that, but every other G-Gnome that surrounded us, numbering at least a dozen, quickly activated their powers.
~calmtiredpeacefulsleepyweakcalmtiredpeacefulsleepyweak~
Aqualad's grip on Desmond slackened, as the five of us all collapsed to the ground limply. For some reason, I was able to focus a little more, and I weakly tried to push myself up. If I could just… transform.
"It appears that CADMUS made a significant error in their judgement when they chose you." A calm voice, the one that had ordered us to come here, called out. From among the other Genomorphs came another type-
"It's you!" I half-exclaimed, half-mumbled. Standing before me was exactly what I had seen on the Omnitrix. Thin-limbed, moderate height, and a pair of horns.
"I am Dubbilex." The Genomorph informed my calmly, its beady red eyes staring at me emotionlessly. "I was the one that orchestrated your conflict with the sidekicks."
"That is… certainly a bombshell to drop on me right now. And it's really confusing? Not sure why you'd do that if you're just going to take us out here and now." I muttered.
"You represent a threat to the Genomorph species, and you are a mockery of us." Dubbilex continued, as if I hadn't spoken at all, "Your arrival is responsible for the loss of what was to be our champion. When the fire broke out several hours ago, and the three sidekicks arrived to provide aid, I saw an opportunity. If CADMUS and its superiors saw that even they could defeat you with no issue, they would reactivate Project Kr, and the Genomorphs would have our champion."
"You thought a teenager that wasn't even as fast as the Flash, a teenager that wasn't even as smart or well-trained as Batman and a teenager that wasn't even as strong as Aquaman were going to humiliate me? I'd be offended if I hadn't almost lost."
"When you made the decision to betray CADMUS, I saw another opportunity to prove the superiority of Genomorphs. If the three of them, with your help, could not escape this facility, you would be a clear failure in every regard. Your decision to use Dr. Desmond as a hostage only benefits us, as his untimely demise can be blamed on you."
"And the other three, since I assume that living is too much for me to ask?"
"Three new Genomorphs. Three new champions for the Genomorph cause."
"Okay then. Now, forgive me if this is kind of ignorant of me, I was basically born, like, half an hour ago," I said, subtly reaching down to shield the Omnitrix from view as I popped the dial, "but why exactly does killing me have to be part of your plan to make Genomorph champions?"
"Genomorphs cannot be born naturally. We are created as products here at CADMUS." Dubbilex explained, "The technology of your watch, if reverse-engineered, would completely invalidate the need for Genomorph creation. No more Genomorphs would be born again. And so for Genomorphs to thrive, you must die."
"Right. Invalidating Genomorph creation…" I nodded, "I'm about to do something that'll really tick you off, then." And with that I pressed down the Omnitrix dial, which would still, hopefully, be on the alien I had left it on.
In an instant I had my entire worldview changed, as I became a perfect duplicate of Dubbilex, save for the Omnitrix symbol present on my chest. Part of being a duplicate meant having the same powers that he did, and I could feel the mental energy thrashing around within me, like a new limb waiting to be used. Although it wasn't something I was used to, there was an… instinctual facet to it, as if I could understand how to use and direct this new mental limb on a purely instinctual level. Right now, I was guarding myself against the telepathic pressure of the G-Gnomes around me.
~calmtiredpeacefulsleepyweakcalmtiredpeacefulsleepyweak~
A step up from mere telepathic communication, clearly. There was an intent being imbued into the thought itself and transmitted into me. And while the voice speaking the intent was quiet, there were an awful lot of them, speaking as one, and I could feel my eyelids droop slightly. Shaking my head, I focused on the feeling of my own mind, and I shouted.
~CALMTIREDPEACEFULSLEEPYWEAK~
Every Genomorph around us, sans Dubbilex but plus Guardian, immediately mimicked our earlier actions, falling limply to the ground. The G-Gnomes' horns returned to their natural colour and the sidekick trio all groaned as they got to their collective feet, grasping their heads. Desmond was still incapacitated and seemed to even be drooling. Hm, maybe I overshot a bit with the telepathy?
"It is over, Dubbilex." I informed the last standing Genomorph seriously. "If you allow us to leave, I am sure the majority of the blame can fall on Desmond's shoulders for everything which has transpired. I bear no ill will towards you or your Genomorph brothers and sisters, if you simply allow me to leave, CADMUS can continue to produce them."
"You defile my visage, and the Genomorphs as a whole…" Dubbilex trailed off, as though they were unsure of what to call me. Apparently I'd been right that it'd tick them off, as what I just said had completely sailed over their head.
"You can call me Trippilex." I replied as smugly as their voice allowed me to.
"Tell me, Trippilex, are you familiar with Project Blockbuster?"Last edited: Jun 13, 2022342