Happy Harbor
May 24, 7:13
It was amazing what six hours of sleep and long, hot showers could do for you after a particularly eventful day and a jaunt through a mega trash heap located in one of Earth's worst cities.
For me, everything seemed brighter and lighter for some reason, even the cave's dark mission room, which I had already suggested needed more lights.
Despite this sense of heartiness, there was a little corner in my nogging whose only purpose was to constantly remind me of what I'd lost. And though my focus slipped from time to time, allowing it to take hold and make me depressed for a few moments, I hadn't used the candle flame since I stopped yesterday.
I found focusing on what I'd gained helped a lot better than shoving away my emotions. Whether this coping mechanism was good or bad remained to be seen. I was sure Black Canary would tell me all about it when the time for our first session rolled over.
I just needed to tell her, or Batman, that I needed help. Yeah. No pressure.
Right after exiting the Zeta-Tube, I did what I'd been doing for the past what—two months give or take—and headed straight for my lab. Behind me, instead of the tube powering down like it always did, it started up again.
Left hand in my pocket and my right holding a bottle of chilled chocolate milk, I turned around while taking a sweet, long sip. Two silhouettes of yellow light formed in the tube just as its transporting beam receded.
The silhouettes lasted less than a second before those they belonged to were revealed. It was the two Speedys. Roy and Will, the former with his head now shaved like mine and the other looking like an exasperated older brother.
Both of them moved to join me and I dragged my eyes away from Roy's… haircut, focusing on Will.
"Hey man."
"Hey. Are you busy? We're here abo—"
"He knows why we're here," Roy cut him off and stepped forward, leaning forward and eyeing me in a blatant way. "They weren't lying. Huh."
"What?"
"GA and Will told me all about you. You really do know the future."
"Roy," Will chimed in, his tone carrying a bit of reprimand.
And in a younger sibling tone of voice and fashion, the boy in question responded. "What? I didn't say anything we already don't know. Besides, you saw the look on his face when he saw me. It wasn't 'oh, he shaved his head' it was, 'ahh, that. He finally did it.' Hell, he even nodded."
I did? Huh…
"Glad you got that out of your system?" I asked and took another sip.
"Yeah," Roy said, deflating a bit.
I chuckled and sent my gaze higher to his hair. "You do that yourself?"
"Yeah, why?"
'I can tell,' jumped to mind, but something else came out. "No reason. Come on, let's go."
"Wait. First, here…" Roy said and handed me the tablet I gave him.
I took it and started walking. "How was it? Anything in mind you want your arm to have?"
"Do you really have all those things?"
A mysterious smile was all he got.
We arrived at the workshop soon enough. The Harper boys made themselves comfortable, though the original one couldn't stop staring at Mike and what he was currently working on.
"What is that?"
"The robot or the thing that looks like a giant walk in closet?"
"Both."
"Mike is my friend and part of the team. He's an android, like Red Tornado, just without the elemental powers."
"Elemental powers? Who talks like that? The way you said it suggests he has his own powers."
"Yep, he does. But if you want to know, ask him."
"Hm," Roy raised his left arm and waved back at the busy robot.
He rounded on me as I sat his tablet down on a data reader and accessed it with my computer to see the selections he'd made.
"What about you? What powers do you have?"
The two boys were seated behind me, Will on the left and Roy on the right. I looked over my left shoulder and asked the one there, "You didn't tell him?"
"I told him the same thing you just said. If he wants to know, he should ask you. But that's because I don't know myself."
"That… makes sense actually," I said, turning around and bringing my focus back to the holo keyboard. "We haven't really interacted that much. I have the proportionate abilities of a trapdoor spider. I am strong, fast, and can stick to walls. I also have a danger sense."
Things become a bit silent after that, giving me time to compile and examine the choice Roy had made. Had he already chosen the name Arsenal? Because he chose damn near every module I included in the catalogue.
"How do you know it's a trapdoor spider?" asked the subject in question, breaking the silence.
"We did some tests and comparisons and it is the only species that comes close to what I can do. It's not perfect obviously, because I'm human but yeah. That's it. Now, for your arm."
That got everyone's attention.
"I can absolutely put all of these in it," I said and bunched my hand on a holo folder. "But I won't," I squeezed and threw my hand out as if to sprinkle something and multiple holo models of the chosen items popped up above the station.
They formed a neat, circular row and I continued. "While having all of those things on hand would be nothing short of amazing, we have to think about certain things.
One, I want to make it so that you can work on the arm yourself and not rely on me when you need to fix or tweak something. I'm not saying I won't help you when the need arises, but I'm sure you'll want some independence to do your own stuff.
Two, power. Again, it can be done, the power generation method that can sustain all this stuff is not something I'm comfortable putting in the arm of a teenager. I know, I know, technically you'll be 18 soon, but I'm not budging on this. When my tech has advanced enough and I know it'll be safe, I'll be the one to call you. Promise.
Three, weight. We have to think about your whole body, not just the arm. I actually wanted to recommend some enhancements to buff you up, but your age is the problem. Your muscles and bones still have room to grow, and that has a high chance of messing you up if you take the enhancements. Because of this, the arm has to be as light as possible.
That doesn't mean I'm going back on my word however. I promised to do better than Lex and I'll be damned if I don't. I have some solutions for everything I just said, wanna hear them?"
Roy looked like a kid who'd been promised a fun ride on a roller coaster but instead got sent to the carousel horse ride. Nonetheless, my talk of a solution lifted his spirits enough for him to nod.
"Okay," I said and brought up my own weapons folder, opening and enlarging it. It pushed Roy's list to the top, but the boy didn't seem to care as the sight of the many designs, most unfinished and none created yet, flashed past his widening eyes.
"The most obvious solution for the first problem I pointed out is a split, and by split I mean—"
"Put the tech in separate but function-appropriate gear," Will chimed in.
"Yes. Like the scanners and projectile launchers."
What I said clearly made sense to both of them, and Roy looked absolutely on board with it if the way he ogled my weapons folder said anything, but Will looked a bit unsure.
"We really appreciate this but aren't we deviating? You promised Roy an arm, not an arsenal. I don't think we should inconvenience you with anything else."
"It's not an inconvenience, trust me. Besides, like you said, I made a promise to do better than Lex. If that means going above and beyond then so be it. I can absolutely do better than someone who kidnaps and experiments on kids, and I will."
"Yeah, Will. Back off, let the man work," Roy said.
Will and I shook our heads at the same time and paused as we both noticed. We stared at each other for a bit and burst out into laughter, leaving the confused teenager at a loss as to why.
None of us elected to explain it to him and I went back to work, going all in on the arsenal theme.
"Woah! Is that power armor?" Roy exclaimed and reached for said armor's holo file. I beat him to it and grabbed the light effigy, squeezing and flicking it away where he wouldn't be able to reach it.
"Nope. Take a look at this," I said and magnified another item before all three of us. This is what would contain the bulk of the components separated from the arm.
It was a sci-fi battle rifle in plain terms, and it was also one of the first things I'd designed by applying M and E to Cyberpunk's firearm tech. As for what it did, let's just say it was an auto, semi auto, sniper rifle, grenade, and rocket launcher all in one.
The design and aesthetic was horrendous, a polar opposite of its functions. That's why I'd included detailed specifications in the display, specifications both guests were reading through right now.
"What do you think, Arsenal?"
As a way to get back at Will for refusing to tell him why we were laughing and also for trying to dissuade me from arming him, Roy had taken the name Arsenal, citing the uninspired nature of Red Arrow and the inaccuracy and juvenility of Speedy.
"It's perfect."
"Roy."
"What? I'm done with archery anyway. If my name is gonna be Arsenal, I might as well have a gun."
Will sighed and I imagined GA's reaction being similar. That thought put a smile on my face for some reason.
"Gentlemen, let's continue," I said and grabbed the holo gun.
.
.
.
.
My first instinct was to lie to Roy about his other clone.
Because one, I didn't want him to hear about it from me. Batman had informed Green Arrow about it yesterday and delegated that difficult undertaking with likely explosive results to him.
Two, I didn't want to see or even be near these explosions when they happened. Call me pessimistic, but I saw nothing good coming from telling a kid he had not just one clone who'd been living his life, but two of them.
Despite these logical points, I went ahead and told the kid anyway. We were going to the island to see Dr. Spence about his arm installation.
Her role in Cadmus had been the design and maintenance of the various pods that housed the clones. That and her other role as one of the head doctors and the various fields of scientific knowledge she'd amassed played a significant part in why I chose her.
Anyway, back on the subject of Roy and his clone situation, I didn't want the situation where we'd pop up on Providence then he and Guardian would meet and confusion and maybe violence would ensue.
By telling him, I'd ripped off a huge bandaid and taken that scenario off the table.
"Did you know?" the teen asked after staying silent for quite a while.
"Yeah," Will said with a sigh. "Batman gave us the news yesterday. I wanted to tell you, but GA wanted you to adjust to the idea of me first."
Roy said nothing, his left hands clenched tight. We kept quiet as well and waited for him. After a few minutes he released a sigh and deflated, his fist coming apart to form a hand again.
"Let's go."
Before we left the room, I stopped him with a hand on the shoulder. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be. You didn't do this to me," he said and turned to Will, "or us. If it's all the same to you, I'd like for us to stop talking about this and go see the person who'll install all the sweet stuff you showed me."
Will grabbed his other shoulder and we both chuckled.
"Sure," I said and gently pushed him toward the entrance—or exit, to where the Zeta-Tube had dropped us.
The metal door standing in our way parted when I reached a certain distance and revealed a lush green field with Genomorphs both big and small moving up and about it.
"Woah. Where is this?"
"Gentlemen, welcome to Providence."
I let the boys soak in the absolute beauty and freshness of this place and waved toward Guardian and Dubbilex, both of them stopping what they were doing to join us.
"Alright. Secret's out," Roy said. "What is this place?"
"It's an island somewhere in the North Atlantic Ocean that belongs… to me."
Like robots with a hive mind connection, the two of them rounded on me.
"Say that again."
"No, you heard me."
Thanking my stars at Guardian and Dubbilex's arrival at that moment, I stepped forward and shook their hands.
"Hey guys. What's up?"
"Is he…" Guardian, or Jim Harper, as those who knew his civilian persona called him, cut off Dubbilex's answer and gave Roy the most complicated stare.
"Yep. Both of them are," I said and pushed the boys forward before I started moving.
Roy gave me a wronged and confused look.
"I'll go and see the doctor. You stay here and talk or catch up or whatever you want to do. Or don't tell me you suddenly understand technobabble now?"
The desperate 'YES' was written so boldly on the younger teen's face I couldn't help but laugh.
"Remember boys. Play nice."
With that, I waved for Dubbilex to join me. I shook his hand and asked how he was doing and we headed deeper into the burgeoning settlement.
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