| Genomorph City - October 31
During the battle in which Aqualad, Robin, and Kid Flash escaped Cadmus with Superboy—fighting their way past Blockbuster—the ground levels of the facility collapsed.
In the aftermath, the Light promoted Guardian to command Cadmus. He publicly vowed to shut down all cloning and breeding experiments and shift the organization's focus to legitimate medical research. Later, however, it was revealed that the Light still maintained subtle methods of controlling him.
Once the Light's existence was exposed and Guardian—Jim Harper, himself a clone of Roy Harper—resigned, the world largely chose to look the other way. The issue of the genetically engineered lifeforms living beneath Cadmus was quietly ignored. Dr. Amanda Spence remained in charge, and the status quo continued, with genomorphs functioning as unpaid assistants in research operations.
But the genomorphs had no intention of remaining servants forever.
During Cadmus's reconstruction, Dubbilex, leader of the genomorphs, set a long-term liberation plan into motion. One by one, he quietly relocated members of his species to a hidden underground sanctuary—Genomorph City—constructed beneath Cadmus itself. Even Cadmus had never known the true number of genomorphs it had created, nor could it reliably distinguish one from another.
Joseph discovered the city during a visit to Cadmus the previous month. Originally, he had come seeking clone technology for his own projects and to ensure the Light had not produced additional clones—fortunately, they had not.
In exchange for his discretion and future support, Dubbilex secured from Joseph a promise: one day, the genomorphs would be recognized by the United Nations as a sovereign people with rights—and eventually, land of their own.
Joseph revealed his identity to him.
As a telepath and telekinetic, Dubbilex initiated contact the customary way for psychic societies—by opening his mind fully. Joseph did the same. It was a level of mental transparency most humans would never tolerate, but among Martians and Kalanorians, it was a standard gesture of trust.
Through that exchange, Joseph learned that Dubbilex was patient, strategic, and deeply committed to the long game. He did not seek comfort or power for himself; he sought a future for all genomorphs.
He had orchestrated the fire at Cadmus specifically to lure the sidekicks into the facility, calculating that they would eventually discover Superboy. For years, he had hidden his telepathic abilities from his creators, using that hidden power to build Genomorph City directly beneath their feet.
To Dubbilex, Superboy was not a weapon, but a symbol—a trailblazer who could pave the way to freedom.
He was also deeply compassionate. His loyalty was not to an institution or rank, but to his fellow "test subjects."
Learning that Joseph had also been experimented on—and that he viewed Match and Superboy as brothers—solidified Dubbilex's trust in him.
In turn, Dubbilex discerned Joseph's nature clearly. Betrayal would be unwise, but more importantly, unnecessary. Joseph was dangerous—but he kept his word.
Only Kori knew more about Joseph than Dubbilex did, though even she had not seen everything.
So when a Boom Tube opened in Genomorph City and Joseph stepped through carrying an unconscious Match, Dubbilex was immediately alerted by a G-Gnome—small, telepathic genomorphs who served as communicators.
Dubbilex descended at once.
[Is it time?] he asked mentally.
[Yes,] Joseph replied.
He had given S.T.A.R. Labs a month to slow Match's cellular deterioration. They had failed to make meaningful progress. If the degeneration continued unchecked, the damage could become irreversible.
It was time to act.
They moved through the cavernous corridors of Genomorph City.
Along the way, Joseph passed members of every caste:
G-Goblins—humanoid genomorphs engineered for telekinesis, like Dubbilex, though few possessed telepathy.
G-Trolls—massive, gorilla-like beings the size of elephants.
G-Elves—clawed warrior types bred for combat.
G-Dwarves—stocky worker drones equipped with tentacles for precision labor.
And G-Sprites—insectoid, bioluminescent creatures capable of flight and bioelectric generation. They clustered along the cavern ceiling, bathing the city in blue and green light.
Several genomorphs nodded respectfully as he passed. Others expressed gratitude telepathically.
The city had once consisted of makeshift huts and scavenged materials. Joseph had since provided modular trailers for housing, along with food, supplies, and entertainment. As they walked, he passed a G-Dwarf intensely focused on defeating the Ender Dragon in MyCraft on a high-end PC, while a group of G-Trolls watched Shrek projected against a stone wall.
In return, the genomorphs had given him something as valuable: a hidden base of operations and assistance with cloning and genetic engineering.
They stopped in front of a wall that after identifying them, shifted aside and leading them to a a chamber lined with incubation pods.
Passing by Vandal Savage's immortal body he'd previously kept stored in the Mirror World, he saw Bullseye's body.
When Joseph had acted as Bullseye during Two-Face's broadcast, he hadn't used his real body. That body was laced with Nth metal, and Batman—being the schemer he was—would eventually bring some enchanted charm or detection spell to test him and uncover his identity.
So Joseph projected his consciousness into a cloned body—one created without a mind of its own. That condition was the only reason Dubbilex had agreed to help. He would never sanction the creation of a sentient being merely to serve as a disposable tool. The genomorphs had endured that fate themselves.
The DNA template for the body had come from Philo Zeiss, a Gotham assassin employed by various gangs. Joseph had killed him during an earlier outing as Bullseye and preserved the genetic material for later use.
Technically, Joseph could have handled the entire process alone. He could have modified the Kryptonian duplicator ray and combined it with Psion cloning procedures extracted from Gordanian mothership data. But experimentation at that level risked accidental sentience. The last thing he wanted was to create new life by mistake.
Here, he had experts who could ensure precision—and in helping them, he supported a people striving for freedom.
A mutually beneficial arrangement.
The base they provided him was a small cavern further below Genomorph City, roughly the size of a large classroom. The entrance was so narrow that only G-Sprites could pass through naturally; anyone else needed teleportation or phasing abilities to enter.
He'd fortified and concealed the entire Genomorph City through both advanced technology and magic so no one would find it. Leaving valuable equipment unprotected would be idiotic.
And Joseph was not an idiot.
He didn't strictly need a base. With Atom's shrink technology integrated into his systems, he could store nearly anything on—or more accurately, within—his person.
But certain magical artifacts and advanced technologies were too risky to have floating in his body. This chamber functioned as a secure vault.
Inside were several notable items from recently deceased heroes and villains:
Blue Devil's staff.
A damaged Reach scarab once in the possession of Ted Kord.
Deathstroke's equipment—including his Promethium sword and Ikon suit.
Eventually, Joseph would ask his mentor to atomize the promethium to bond with his nanites to augment his own defenses. Before that, however, they would need to be coated or alloyed with another metal to avoid recognition.
Nth metal had proven useful—it was an excellent energy conduit, enhanced his anti-gravity capabilities, integrated well with his biology, and disrupted magic. However, it was not optimal for pure durability. Grail's scythe had withstood Alien Excalibur—an Nth-metal vibroblade amplified by the Nova Force—and Despero's thermal blasts had melted Nth metal with relative ease.
Promethium, by contrast, was nearly indestructible and sharp enough to cut a Kryptonian.
Deathstroke's Ikon suit was even more intriguing. It employed a gravity sheath that hardened at the exact point of impact, dispersing force from bullets or blunt trauma. The suit absorbed kinetic energy to power itself, meaning that Deathstroke's enhanced speed and reflexes kept it perpetually charged. The energy absorption was sufficient to endure punches from Superman.
Integrated with Shockwave's technology—which Joseph had already assimilated—the system would create exceptional defensive synergy.
He had considered adding the Sword of Beowulf to the vault, but the weapon responded only to the pure of heart. Pandora had likely been tracking it, searching for whoever had stolen it to determine whether they might aid her in returning the Seven Deadly Sins to her box.
Perhaps one day he would construct a larger base—one containing DNA samples from every lifeform on Earth in case the worse ever came to pass. You could never be too prepared.
Maybe on the moon.
A project for the future.
For now, Dubbilex guided him into a sterile chamber fitted with a central bench and machinery lining the walls.
Joseph laid Match gently onto the bench.
With a flick of a switch, Dubbilex activated the system. The room flooded with red light as the machinery began simulating red solar radiation—the antithesis of Earth's yellow sun for Kryptonians. Match's stored solar energy began to drain, neutralizing his powers and reducing him to near-human levels.
[I sense his mind has become less feral and less aggressive since I last examined him,] Dubbilex said telepathically. [Thank you.]
[Don't thank me,] Joseph replied. [That was the Team. And he's my brother. This is the least I can do. Are you ready to mend his mind while I repair his body?]
[Yes. Let us begin.]
Joseph removed the torn remnants of Match's white suit and placed his hand over the scarred chest. A misshapen, inverted Superman emblem burned into his skin.
Golden nanites flowed from his palm into flesh as he began to work.