BatFam 8- A name is earned.
Seph changed into a pair of black pants and a white tank top that had been laid out for him. He noticed these were his old clothes from when he used to live in the manor. The pants fit just right, but the top was tighter than he remembered. His costume was nowhere in sight, but he figured he would not need it or at least hoped not. He walked out taking in the view of the long hall remembering the days he spent working here.
He made his way to the main study and stood in front of the closed door taking in a deep breath. “come in” said Bruce from inside expectantly. Seph opened the door sheepishly while looking around. Bruce was sitting down on a chair while motioning him to sit across from him. He walked in closing the door behind him and made his way to the chair. The room was covered in rows of books a couple of stories tall. Above the fireplace was the familiar portrait of Bruce’s parents, which made him think about his own parents living in Metropolis.
“ I know I have a lot of explaining to do” Seph started to say, but Bruce put his hand up while leaning back on his chair. “I have followed your career with CADMUS since you left. I do understand why you left, but I want to know why you came back”
“Am I unwelcome?” Seph asked.
“That depends on what you say next” Bruce responded. His faces unmoving like stone and his eyes sharp as if he could see through every intention. Seph took a deep breath leaning back on his chair. “Ok, so you know I been working for Waller for a few years”
“After Jason was killed I felt I was not good enough to be part of all this. My skills were limited and I was nowhere near as good a fighter as Jason was. If someone like that could be lost then I had no chance. I decided to find my own way, but along that path Waller found me and offered me power that I was missing. Now before you make that face I knew who she was and refused, but she told me if I did not join then she would out you guys to the public.”
“I will assume you know about most of CADMUS’s projects like the Superboy “ Seph waited a moment as Bruce gave him a confirming nod.
“before the Superboy there was the super soldier program which I was ‘chosen’ for. They had taken a sample of Superman’s blood from his battle with Doomsday and diluted a serum that would change our DNA into a human kryptonian hybrid. The first few subjects did not fair too well. Turns out the subject needed to be prepared physically and even then only a few would gain any benefit. I was among the ones that made it through the experimentation phase. My team was called Ghost Alpha and we wered second generation super soldiers. From the first generation only one remained. As the second generation we were far more stable than the first, but we could only go as far a five percent of power before it hurts us. The first generation could get as far as fifteen.”
“The problem was many of the first generation would destabilize and jump to one hundred and die in about two minutes. The second generation could only go to up to ten percent and keep full control if we fought through the pain. Vax was the team leader and also the first generation captain. “
“We wore gauntlets that regulated how much power we could gain. Without them we were just normal people. “Seph moved closer to Bruce showing his arms. Taking a closer look one could see the scar tissue of needles from his wrists all the way up to his elbows.
“The more power needed, the more serum is injected by the gauntlets. The more serum, the more kryptonian we become temporarily. The UV liquid also filled our bodies with yellow sun energy. The project went wellover the years and we were successful in many missions including some off planet. The reason I returned was because the project was terminated after the last mission.” Seph gave a sigh leaning back and rubbing his temples. He was hesitant now, but Bruce waited watching him.
A few minutes passed and Seph composed himself. “The last mission we were sent on was deemed too dangerous for the Suicide Squad and it was also considered that the Justice League should be called. Waller decided that Ghost Alpha was enough. We had received information that Braniac had been spotted in our solar system and as you know that is never a good thing”
Bruce stood up and walked towards the fire. Seph paused watching him feeling a tear roll down his cheek. He sighed leaning back and looking up at the roof. “ I had trained hard to acquire the power I needed to never lose anyone again, but we were not prepared when Vax turned on us. Braniac had gotten to him and they wiped out the rest of my team. “
Seph’s eyes started to fill with anger gritting his teeth. His heart was starting to beat faster “We fought for what seemed like hours, but from what I have been told it was only a few minutes. Before I got away Braniac’s ship was heavily damaged from the battle and I lost consciousness on my way back. I woke up at the hospital two months later. I had exceeded twenty percent and my body went into shock. They told me they lost sight of Braniac’ ship and Vax had not been heard from again.”
“The super soldier project was terminated and Waller let me go knowing I would not expose her, except maybe to you. All I know is that the Superboy project had already been started before I woke up. I have spent the last few months searching for any signs of Vax coming back to earth, but I found nothing. I decided to come back home and hopefully be part of the family again” Seph said letting his head hang down. Bruce placed his hand on his shoulder griping it firmly. “Seph you never stopped being part of the family”
Seph gave a nod wiping his face and leaning back on the chair for a moment. Before he could say anything Bruce opened the door and as he did a group of people fell over. On the ground was Dick, Kat, Angel, Alexa, and Tim while Alfred was standing at the door. Sephs eyes opened wide as Kat, Dick, and Alexa tackled him off the chair. “That was so sad!!!” Kat and Alexa squealed with tears in they eyes. Dick flicked Seph on the forehead hard “that’s for leaving without telling us”
“I’m sorry guys” Seph responded pulling everyone into hug. Bruce smiled walking back to the fire. “if you want to be part of the team again you are going to need a codename” he said hitting a button under the fireplace. The batcave entrance opened as Seph stood up and walked towards it. “I did give that a thought and I wanted to honor the allies I lost while also following the example of this family.”
Alfred walked into the room and stood beside Seph while everyone looked up. “How about Ghostwing?” He Said. Seph turned to him and smiled before looking over the group. Dick gave a thumbs up while everyone else smiled. He turned to Bruce who gave him a nod “Welcome Ghostwing to the batcave”
