Chapter Text
Jim returned to active duty three days later, mostly recovered. He did not complain of the pain in his ribs when he breathed too fast, and he did not ask where the bandaged mess on his shoulder came from. He noticed but was unconcerned by lingering bruises on his neck, and pulled his shirt over them so his personnel wouldn't worry. All he wanted was to buckle on his shield and catch up on email backlog. To go and sit down with Superboy and chat all night, or lead a patrol with Achilles.
He smiled when Dubbelix came to see him, every time.
Dubbelix reported this and many other things to Jake when he could, to placate the gnome. Best give the gnome no reason to check himself. Jim had enough practice now to recognize telepathic presences. He'd withdrawn suspiciously from his new gnome, parts of his mind closing in ways they had not for a long time. The last thing Dubbilex needed was Jim recognizing Jake's touch and wondering where he was.
Jim called his new gnome Sam, though, and did care about it. He talked to it, patted its head, and scratched its ears, and it obliged him by answering to the name.
But when the headaches came, Sam did not know what to do, and Dubbelix did not bother explaining. Instead, the g-goblin reached out and steadied Jim, blunted the pain when he could, helped Jim withstand it when he couldn't. And Jim recognized him, then, and let him, opening deep places that once held onto Jake, and clinging to Dubbelix until he could again stand on his own. Dubbelix pretended not to notice those threads connecting him to Jim slowly grow stronger.
Dubbelix did not like the pain. But it was the least he could do, really, in return for what he gained. For, since Jim opened his mind to him that first time, Dubbilex had seen so much.
The night after each ache Jim suffered, Dubbelix sat in the dark and fed treasures to Kr. As best he could, he reiterated Jake's feelings for Jim, that prompted the gnome to defy everything he knew, and build a wall of will around a man. In Kr's mind Dubbelix taught this as how to feel for Superman. Love. Loyalty. Adoration. Words he learned from Jim's heart, from watching that strange, beautiful, strong mess turning and slipping and reforming again and again.
He showed Kr family, Jim's feelings tied in red hair and 'Roy' and failure-but-love-anyway, the reason Dubbelix still eagerly awaited the day Jake could walk again.
And, at long last, Dubbelix thought he understood 'hero' enough to communicate the concept to Kr. In as many ways as he could, Dubbelix re-experienced the frenzied rush of emotion from that day, when Jim put Jake behind him and faced an invulnerable foe without shaking. All those things he watched reforge in Jim's messy identity every time they were broken. Every ounce of surety, of 'right' and 'protect' and 'guardian,' Dubbelix showed to Kr, and he glowed with hope when the boy accepted them.
This time, he felt sure. They would not fail.
They did not. Three weeks after the Match incident, Kr was ready, and Dubbelix plotted with Jake, mining Jim's memories of how best to attract heroes' attention. When the time came, they struck.
It put Jim in danger, yes. A necessary risk. But Kr knew better, Kr did not kill, Kr did not even hurt, not a single bone in Jim's body broke when he slammed into the wall, and Dubbelix was so proud!
The plan had some tight spots, but in the end all went perfectly. Kr ran, and fought, and chose, and his insides burned bright with 'right' and 'wrong' and 'hero,' so sure and firm that Dubbelix could have laughed aloud for joy. Kr understood. Kr was a hero. The genomorph hero.
And Kr chose freedom.
Soon, they would all be free!
Dubbelix would have lied to deny fierce, quiet joy when Sam withdrew from Jim's mind, and the man thought freely for the first time in over a year. The first thing Jim saw with unclouded eyes was Kr, and that, too, felt right. Jim did not remember much, but he remembered Superboy enough to feel proud, to feel glad and relief and protect.
Desmond's reaction was not a part of Dubbilex's plan, but after the first moment, he refused to be alarmed. He had enough protocols by now to efficiently whisk the genomorphs out of the way, sending Achilles to grab Jim after the man hit the wall headfirst. The helmet fortunately protected him from grievous injury, and only two of his ribs re-bruised. Really, Jim would be better off if he didn't insist on attacking people stronger than him. Still, at least the man breathed steadily this time. As Achilles sat curled around Jim, Dubbelix listened to the rain of thoughts from the fight above.
He believed the children would triumph. Each of them held 'hero' blazing and strong in their hearts, so much it had blinded him when first he saw them. That truth was something magical. It could drag Jim to breathe when his bones threated him with death. It taught Kr to defy his creators faster than most beings learned to walk. It would carry the day. He did not need to understand it to know.
Dubbilex's concept of perfection, however, proved an under estimation. Dubbelix had never expected the Justice League to come to Cadmus, to throw down the governing bodies and call an investigation. When Jim woke, he smiled more happily than Dubbelix had ever seen, and hurried forward to take responsibility.
Cadmus, it seemed, must certainly change, and not just because of Kr's disappearance.