United States

Advanced Research Group Uniting Super-Humans

Aliases..........

A.R.G.U.S

September 3rd

...........

“Are you sure about this Superman?” Steve Trevor asked with a frown on his face.

“No ........ Not really”. Clark said with narrowed eyebrows.

“But...... I have to try”. His tone was a bit weak as his fists were slightly clenched.

“After all, he's still human...... Or once was. I need to see...... To know if he can be cured”.

Steve's had a complicated expression on his face. He wanted to say something..... But still kept silent.

Currently, both of them were standing in a containment room, heavily guarded from the outside. The way behind them was the entrance leading to a corridor filled with armed personnel, each one well-equipped with a laser blaster, standing at attention at all times.

And in front of them, was the creature that had nearly killed Superman a few days ago.

“Well then, he's all yours. But be careful”. Clark nodded.

He turned to his left where Martian Manhunter stood beside him. His gaze prompted J'onn to nod and take a few steps forward.

The Martian Man hunter looked at the purple skinned monster with its limbs heavily restrained.

Even with them in his presence, the monster remained completely unresponsive. Parasite's eyes were closed, and his breathing was steady.

Unlike when he faced Superman, his body size had reduced significantly and his monstrous features were a bit less obvious. He looked thin, shrivelled, like someone who just had most of his life sucked out of him.

He had been like this for the past few days.

Alive yet unresponsive to all external stimuli. In a coma like state.

Exactly similar to what Batman was like a few days ago.

Martian Manhunter took a deep breath and put both hands on his head. His red eyes with no irises, quite similar to Lobo gave off a red glow as his telepathy reached into Parasite's mind.

Silence enveloped the room.

Steve and Superman had particularly solemn faces at this point.

Clark was especially tense. His body posture looked stiff, and his sharp eyes gave the feeling of being ready to pounce forward in case something went wrong.

Honestly, Parasite gave him a strong sense of crisis. It was the first time he had been defeated so easily by someone without utilizing kryptonite.

Plus the additional abilities he displayed after almost sucking him and Kara dry, it effectively let him know that this purple monster was the biggest threat he had ever faced.

In fact, he was still far from his peak condition. It had only been a few days and his strength was still noticeably weaker than it was supposed to be.

In terms of on the spot capabilities, J'onn was much stronger than he is.

The silence continued, but Clark's face wasn't pretty.

His vision caught sight of J'onn with creases on his forehead. He knew that things weren't looking good.

Soon, John opened returned to normal. His creased forehead relaxed and his figure looked like he had expended a certain amount of energy doing something strenuous.

“How does it look inside?” Clark asked.

“Ruined”. The green skinned alien responded with one word.

“Like Batman's?”

“Worse”.

J'onn's face looked grim. Once again he had seen something that surpassed his cognition.

“Batman?” Trevor raised an eyebrow and asked in an inquiring tone.

“Long story”. Superman replied.

“Alright”. The officer didn't ask any further.

J'onn didn't pay attention to Captain Trevor.

“I've never seen anything like this before”.

“Didn't you say something similar in the other case?”

“That was........ Different”.

Martian Manhunter took on a pondering expression.

“Batman's case was a crumbling mind. A scenario which I had never seen a telepath perform. This case is similarly special in the sense that everything in his mind has already crumbled”.

The face of the Man Of Steel fell.

“You mean…".

“Mentally speaking, he has lost everything. His mind has been destroyed so thoroughly that only the tiniest of fragments remain. I also assume that is because the one responsible didn't see need to finish it. In essence now, everything that makes this creature Rudy Jones is gone. His memories have been destroyed, his mental space crumbled....... In simpler words, he no longer has a mind”.

Steve Trevor felt all the hairs in his body stand on end.

That breakdown was honestly frightening to think of. Didn't that mean….

“This ......... creature has lost the ability to think, to feel, to be aware of anything. He has no conscious or subconscious mind. What stands before us now is nothing but an empty shell”.

Clark's expression was very unsightly.

His fist was clenched do tightly that he could squeeze metal.

Amari....... Goddamn you.

When he saw that Parasite was still breathing, he thought the sun was rising from the West. Could it be that Amari had listened to his words? Or did the fact that Rudy still had family cause him to change his mind.

Was it possible he was changing?

Turns out...... He was thinking too much. Amari had mentally devastated him to the point where his mind didn't exist anymore.

Since his mind was gone, then this body would never wake up. There was nothing......... There was nothing to save anymore.

Rudy Jones was practically dead.

Clark closed his eyes and took deep breaths. When he opened them again, all that was left was frustration and helplessness.

Even though he knew the answer, he still couldn't help but ask.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

“Is there any way we can........”.

“I'm sorry, Superman. There's nothing here we can save”.

Clark was silent.

“Anything else?” Clark felt heavy inside. Now he just wanted to get this done and be done with it.

"Actually, yes”. The Manhunter's answer brought some slight surprise.

“I looked into what was once his mind. Like I said, it was destroyed. His consciousness is gone. However, the emotions were not”.

“The emotions? Sorry, but can you explain in detail?” Steve couldn't help but ask.

As the director of A.R.G.U.S, he needed to be informed on everything if he was going to keep this creature that defeated Superman locked up in here. Even if this creature literally didn't have a mind of its own.

“Emotions?” Clark frowned. “What did you feel”.

“No real thoughts. Just Pain, Hatred....... Rage....... And fear. A lot of it”. Manhunter said solemnly.

“This should be the emotions he felt during his last moments”.

“I see”. Clark said with a heavy sigh.

“So what you're saying is that this....... Creature can't lose a threat”.

J'onn creased his forehead.

“In this state, no”. Then, he fell into pondering.

“Unless of course, something else occupies his mental space”.

“That doesn't sound good”.

“It's not”. Martian Manhunter continued.

“The body itself is useless without a mind to direct it. But that would change if there was a skilled enough telepath to occupy the space and control it with his own. So while this Parasite is harmless now, he will be dangerous if his body falls into the wrong hands”.

“So now, he's basically a puppet”.

“Correct”.

The atmosphere was slightly heavy.

“If that's the case, then it's not safe here”. Clark spoke up first.

“Indeed”. J'onn added.

“You both know that can't happen”. Steve said with a frown.

Both of them look at Steve with narrowed eyebrows.

The staring contest lasted ten seconds.

“Fair enough”. Clark backed down.

.........

“Then thank you for the information, gentlemen. It means a lot”.

Steve said as he escorted both heroes to the DOD entrance.

“You're welcome Colonel. Do have a nice day”. J'onn said in a gentlemanly fashion.

Then his body rose into the air and disappeared.

“Colonel”. Clark nodded at him, showing respect and turned around absentmindedly.

At this point, he had a lot of things on his mind.

“Hey um..... Superman!” The Man of steel came to a halt as he was about to take off.

“I just wanted to ask, is everything alright with Wonder Woman recently? I'm finding it difficult to contact her”.

Steve said with an apologetic look on his face, scratching the back of his head with a slight frown.

Honestly, he was a little embarrassed to ask Superman about this. After all, his past relationship with Wonder Woman was no secret.

If not for the wishing stone incident. He wouldn't even be alive. Now that some people had moved on with their lives......

All in all, it looked a little weird to have a middle-aged man make such a look.

Seeing his expression, Clark felt slightly uncomfortable for some reason. Nevertheless, he still put on that easygoing smile on his face.

“It's ok, she should be fine. She's currently not on the planet. On an off world mission”.

The reply caused Steve's eyebrows to loosen.

“Let me guess, official league business?”

“Yep. Shouldn't be back for a while. I'll let her know once I make contact”.

“Thank you”. Those were the last words exchanged between the two men.

Before he disappeared with a sonic boom.

...........

BIALYA

September 4, 00:16 EEST

“Ugh......”. In the harsh Bialyan desert, very early in the morning. The peace and quiet of the night was broken by a female groan.

The full moon shone brightly giving light in the darkness. If one looked close enough, they would be able to make out a silvery mirage right against the desert floor.

Of course from a distance, it would seem to be nothing more than an illusion.

That is....... Until the illusion came to life.

The transparent blur suddenly materialized to form the body of a redhead female laying against the desert sand.

Strangely enough, her skin tone was green.

“Ugh.....” Another groan sounded.

Raising her head from the sand, words escaped from her lips that no human being would understand, no matter what language they spoke.

Looking at the vast amount of sand all around her, the confusion on her face intensified as the sights before her were completely foreign.

She continued to speak while examining her surroundings, looking up at the sky, carrying a handful of sand in her palm that slipped through her fingers until nothing was left.

The expressions on her face changed drastically. From confusion, to apprehension, to realization, to shock, to excitement.

“Hello Megan, I'm on Earth”. She gave out her signature catchphrase while palming her hand against her head.

The smile on her face was unprecedented, like a child finally getting the chance to visit the amusement park they always wanted to go to.

“But..... How did I get to Earth?....... Why am I wearing this costume…. And why does my head hurt so much”.

She grimaced at that moment, placing her hand on her head to relieve the pain and slipping the next second.

Losing her footing, she rolled down the dune.

“Is this a dream?” She asked herself in puzzlement unable to understand what exactly was going on.

It happened then.

A loud crash sounded a few meters away from her prompting her exclamation. Like a missile impacting the earth, dust, and sand flew in all directions, causing her to shield her face from the debris.

The dust settles.

Megan was surprised at what she saw.

It was a male.

Dark hair, blue eyes, fair skin, a rather muscular build to his form. Miss Martian was surprised.

Especially when she saw the iconic “S” symbol on his chest which her uncle had told her so much about.

She had seen that symbol before. The famous protector of earth, Superman had such a symbol on his chest when he arrived at Mars to speak with her uncle.

Only, his costume was blue, and he wasn't supposed to be........

“Wait. I've seen that symbol..... Are you Superm...?”

She didn't have an opportunity to finish her words when something else happened that shocked her.

The space in between both of them suddenly began to swirl.

A second later, a figure appeared out of thin air.

Megan was greatly surprised.

Was this teleportation? Martians didn't have this ability.

Similar to ...... Superman over there...... He wore a black attire with dark her and blue eyes. There was no Superman symbol on his chest, but his eyes were strangely glowing.

“Oh..... It's you guys”. He called out while looking towards her startling her in the process.

Her eyes met his, and she could see him looking at her with apparent interest....... Like he just found something interesting.

“Oh! I'm late. It looks like the timeline didn't change at all. But should I find it weird that I brought myself to this exact spot?” He said while placing his hand against his chin, seemingly in thought.

“I..... Do you….”. Megan was surprised. Did this man know her? And what was happening right here?

She immediately wanted to ask if this stranger knew what was happening but the strange…. Superman suddenly stood on his two feet and roared.

Strange why he was crouching in the first place.

Then, he tore the “S” symbol on his shirt and jumped towards them. Or more specifically, him.

“Watch out”. Megan screamed in fright as the new arrival was punched in the chest by the Savage Superboy.

Thud!

The sound was heavy and loud. Strangely enough, no one moved from their position.

The expected scene of the new arrival getting blasted into the air didn't happen

“Well well, if it isn't Superboy". Amari called out at the clone who was in a daze after punching with full force yet getting no result.

“You look pretty feisty after coming back from the dead”.

It was unknown if the clone understood the sentence of if he was just generally irritable, his face twisted ferociously as he pulled back his fist again for another punch.

Bang!

But someone hit faster than he did.

All the insane Superboy felt was extreme pain as his face made contact with a fist, sending him flying a long distance into the desert.

BOOM!

What followed was a really heavy crash. The dust settles and the body of Superboy laid in the desert sand, unmoving, blood running down his nose.

Megan's eyes widened in shock and fear.

“Now then dear......”. Amari dusted his hands together and turned to look at the little Green Miss.

“...... You were saying?”