Endless Legacy (DC Comics)

A/N: Here's the new Chapter! Which also means the next four chapters are up on my Patreon for early access as well as the chance to vote on the direction of the story.

Galatea and Professor Hamilton are in over their heads~

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Five minutes later after they've moved things back to Professor Hamilton's office on the intruder's orders, Galatea is standing off to the side with her arms crossed over her chest trying to figure out what the fuck is going on. Both internally and externally.

Obviously, they've been attacked. Invaded, even. And yet… they weren't fighting back their attackers. The man who had introduced himself as Lucien Luthor had managed to get them all to stand down, including the Professor. But then to be fair, Galatea knew just how strong she was. And when she'd tried to lay the smack down on him… he'd stopped her in his tracks.

But it wasn't just that he'd caught her by her wrists in a display of speed that should have been impossible. It was also the look that he'd given her. She didn't… she couldn't even put what that look made her feel into words. It was impossible to properly explain what had happened to her then.

"So Professor. You directly disobeyed my father's orders, stole LexCorp equipment, coopted LexCorp personnel, and squatted on LexCorp land… and for what, exactly?"

"… We both know that man is not your father, Mister Luthor."

Galatea's eyes dart between the Professor and the interloper. Her wrists still tingle where Lucien Luthor had held her in place. She aches to do something… to attack him again, but she refrains from now knowing full well that it won't go well for her. More importantly, it might not go well for the Professor.

She's never told him this, but Professor Hamilton is like a father to Galatea. He's been there for her ever since she came out of the tube. He's practically raised her and taught her everything she needed to know about the world she was supposed to protect.

Another thing Galatea has never told the Professor is that she doesn't really care so much about the world as she cares about him. Of course, earlier she'd blurted that out loud for everyone to hear, and that was pretty embarrassing.

The last thing she wanted to do was embarrass him again though, so Galatea would be good. She would stay quiet and wait for an opportunity. If she saw an opening, she would end this.

"Oh? Do you have something against clones, Professor?"

Both Lucien and Professor Hamilton glance over at her at that, causing her brow to furrow, especially when the Professor blanches a little bit.

"O-Of course not. Even still, it's hard to recognize the authority of a man who has stolen another man's life."

Did they think that she would get mad or something? Galatea wasn't an idiot. She knew she was a clone. She'd even been shown the woman she came from… frankly, she didn't think this so-called 'Supergirl' looked like much. Galatea might have been her clone, but it was pretty obvious who the superior model was.

"And what about my authority? Can you recognize that?"

The Professor squirms and for a moment Galatea readies herself in case he gives her the order to attack. She won't let Lucien catch her off guard this time. Not him nor his bodyguard who's in the room with them. She'll take them both down before they can blink!

Except… that doesn't happen. Professor Hamilton eventually sighs and takes off his glasses, making a show of cleaning them before putting them back on and giving Lucien Luthor a distinctly resigned look.

"It would seem to me that I have no choice but to recognize it, Mister Luthor. You and yours are… stronger than I would have expected. Even still, I hope you can acknowledge the sacrifices that everyone here has made to get to where we are."

Galatea straightens up a little bit, knowing that the Professor includes her among that 'everyone'. She'd been training day in and day out for months and months now, working her hardest to prove that she was ready for whatever came next. Of course, she'd hoped that would be deployment… not an intrusion that she'd so far proven too weak to stop.

"Oh? What kind of sacrifices would those be? Were they all… willing?"

She bristles at Lucien Luthor's tone, even as he drills into Professor Hamilton with his gaze. The Professor looks offended as well.

"Of course! Everyone knew what we were getting into when we continued our research. Nobody is here against their will! I even…"

The Professor pauses for a moment before Lucien clears his throat, beckoning for him to continue on. Coughing, Professor Hamilton slumps back in his chair.

"I even went against protocol and sent a false positive so that the rest of Cadmus thinks the lab self-destructed like it should have in a scenario like this. Nobody here is evil, Mister Luthor, certainly not me. I'm just trying to protect humanity and this world as best as I can with the tools I have on end."

A self-destruct? Galatea's eyes widen slightly. She hadn't known about that. It… probably wouldn't have killed her, assuming that Professor Hamilton didn't have her evacuate the two of them before it could fully go off. Yes, that's what they would have done. Even if he had triggered the self-destruct, she could have gotten to him and flown them away in mere seconds.

"I see. If what you say is true, Professor, then you have my respect."

Professor Hamilton puffs up a little at that, while Galatea's eyes narrow. Tch, of course the Professor was telling the truth! Why would he lie about something like that?!

"However… I will need to see your story corroborated before I fully trust it, if only because you've already lied to me earlier in this conversation."

Wait, what? Galatea bristles again, but a look from the intruder's bodyguard has her holding herself back. Still, even the Professor looks baffled by Lucien's words.

"I assure you, Mister Luthor, I don't know what you're talking about. I certainly have not intentionally lied to you since we entered this room."

"Oh? Perhaps you're right. Perhaps it wasn't intentional. Perhaps you don't see your specimens as people so their willingness or lack thereof to participate in your research means little to you."

What was he talking about? And why did the Professor look so pale? Scowling angrily, Galatea takes a step forward. Her energy is matched by Lucien Luthor's bodyguard, but Lucien just holds up a hand, stopping the other woman in her tracks as he looks at her with a raised brow and a curious smile.

"Did you have something to add, Tea?"

Hands clenching into fists, Galatea grits her teeth. The likes of him using her nickname should send her into a rage… but instead it just leaves her feeling weird and confused. So she ignores it and focuses on what she had to say instead.

"Professor Hamilton has never treated me like a specimen or test subject. I work with him completely of my own free will, and I'm proud to do so. If you're trying to say that he forced me to do anything, you're dead wrong!"

Lucien's smile grows as his eyes twinkle. Galatea tries not to let it get to her, even as it feels like there are butterflies in her stomach.

"I appreciate your opinion on the subject… but there's more at work here than you know."

Looking back to the Professor, Lucien raises an eyebrow.

"Take us to the other project, Professor."

What? What other project?

"Mister Luthor, I-!"

Lucien holds up a hand, cutting Professor Hamilton off.

"Ah, before you continue, I would advise you not to try to deny it or make any excuses at this time. The only way in which you will have a chance in hell of earning my approval and avoiding a prison sentence is if you comply swiftly and without reservation with my orders. Do I make myself clear, Professor?"

Galatea watches on, confused and curious as Professor Hamilton's shoulders slump.

"Ah… yes, Mister Luthor. Right this way, please."

She doesn't understand what's happening, but the four of them leave the Professor's office behind and head for the elevator. She wonders if she should start a fight at any point, but once they're on the elevator she knows it's a bad idea. After all, Professor Hamilton is way too squishy and would almost certainly be a casualty even if she managed to beat the two interlopers.

Of course, any thoughts of striking out at them are stalled and vanish when the Professor takes out his ID card and scans it before pressing a series of buttons that cause an entirely different control panel that Galatea has never seen before to open up.

From there, they take the elevator down… and down some more, past any floor Galatea has ever been on or even knew existed. Her brow furrows in confusion and she can't help feeling a little lost, wondering what's happening. Worst of all, Professor Hamilton won't make eye contact with her. He's staring straight ahead and it almost feels like he's avoiding looking in her direction as she tries to silently get his attention.

Finally, the elevator doors open and they step out into a dark laboratory that only starts to come alive in their presence. Lights turn on, computer banks whir to life, and the whole environment becomes brighter. But Galatea barely pays any of that any mind because… her eyes are on the center of the room, where a woman with raven black hair floats in a tube filled with some unidentified liquid.

"Tell me Professor Hamilton… did this one ever signal that she was willing to have all of this done to her?"

Galatea's head whips towards Lucien Luthor at those words, and then over to the Professor when he doesn't immediately answer. Hanging his head, Emil Hamilton sighs regretfully.

"… Project Match has never been stable enough to signal her cooperation one way or another, I'm afraid. She was a failed attempt at trying to combine two of the strongest physiologies on Planet Earth into one soldier for the good of humanity. After we failed with her, we moved on to Galatea here, who was a complete and unequivocal success."

Galatea feels a burst of pride at that, but she's still more than a little confused… and also a little hurt as well. There'd been another before her? She was their second attempt at making a proper Protector of Earth? On the one hand, she was pleased that she'd succeeded where this 'Match' had failed, on the other hand, she didn't appreciate this being kept from her.

"Yes, I imagine trying to combine Superman and Wonder Woman's DNA into a single clone wouldn't go well for you. Especially since Wonder Woman's existence and powers stem at least partially from magic. It doesn't play well with science."

Lucien's dry delivery of those words almost makes Galatea snort involuntarily, even as she's left reeling from the names he's just dropped. Now she can't help but feel even more confused as she stares at the woman 'sleeping' in the tube in front of them. She was just a clone of Supergirl. Wouldn't… wouldn't a clone of Superman and Wonder Woman be more powerful than her?

"No… I would say that you're likely right about the reason the project failed, Mister Luthor."

Lucien hums for a moment before gesturing to the tube.

"Let's get her out of that thing and see what she thinks, shall we?"

Professor Hamilton's jaw drops open.

"W-What?! Were you not listening to me? She's not stable! She-!"

"I'm not asking, Professor. Either release her or Blackfire will do so… manually."

The Professor looks pained and Galatea's hackles raise as she considers coming to his defense. But she's torn after everything she's learned in the last few minutes. In the end, head hanging low, Professor Hamilton makes his way over to a nearby computer console and after a few moments, the tube starts to drain of liquid and the clone inside slumps to the bottom of it.

Galatea watches on, tense as a bowstring, as the tube cycles open. Lucien Luthor spends the time waiting for this to happen undoing his cufflinks and rolling up his sleeves. Once Match is finally exposed to open air, he climbs up and quietly places a hand on her shoulder as if to shake her awake.

"She won't awaken that easily, Mister Luthor. She can't survive for long outside of the-!"

But before Professor Hamilton can say the word 'tube', Match suddenly takes in a deep breath before hacking out more of the liquid she'd been submerged in. Her eyes snap open and she immediately starts to flail and thrash about.

Galatea takes a step forward, only for Blackfire to grab her and hold her back. This surprises her because… well, isn't the other woman supposed to be Lucien's bodyguard?

Except it quickly becomes clear he doesn't need one. He holds Match tightly despite her immense strength and power and rubs soothing circles into her back while whispering words of comfort into her ear. And… it works. Match slowly calms down and relaxes into Lucien's grasp right before Galatea's eyes.

… This really isn't helping her feelings of jealousy, truth be told. She's not sure why though. It's not like she wants to be held by Lucien in the same way or a-anything… right?

Finally, Lucien looks up at Professor Hamilton and raises an eyebrow.

"Your lab coat, Professor."

The Professor looks stupefied by what he's witnessing, as if he can hardly believe his own two eyes. But Lucien's words knock him out of that stupor and he rushes forward.

"A-Ah yes, o-of course. Here, here. How… how have you done this? Dare I pray that she's…?"

Lucien nods, even as he takes the lab coat and wraps it around Match, covering her nudity and helping her out of the tank.

"Yes, she's stable now. As for how I did it… needless to say, that's a trade secret. And frankly, not one I'm willing to share with you, Professor. Not when you've been keeping things from me, even beyond the existence of Project Match."

Before Professor Hamilton can respond, Lucien holds out a hand and opens it to reveal a strange-looking device resting in his palm. Galatea rears back when she realizes that it's a capsule… and inside of that capsule is the tell-tale glowing green color of Kryptonite.

She doesn't feel any weaker or anything thankfully, but there's still a very visceral fear in her as Professor Hamilton pales.

"It would seem to me that this device is intended to explode on command, sending shards of Green Kryptonite through the body of whoever is unlucky enough to be implanted with it. Tell me, Professor… if we were to check Galatea here for a similar device as this one that I just extracted from Match, would we find one?"

Galatea's eyes widen and she slowly turns to Professor Hamilton, waiting for his response.

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The Vote:

[X] Stick with Galatea's POV - 83%

[ ] Switch to Lucien's POV - 17%

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