"Doctor, those aren't just kids who like to meddle. You don't want to anger the Justice League, do you?"
"Better than angering the Cadmus board of directors."
The Guardian's tone was firm, but Desmond was even firmer. Compared to the Cadmus board, he'd rather provoke the Justice League. After all, those superheroes had a no-kill policy, and the Illuminati fellows weren't as considerate.
Time ticked by. Desmond knew he couldn't wait any longer. The longer this dragged on, the more troublesome it would be for him to clean up the mess.
Waiting for Titan to arrive and push open the door would be too late. Even if there was enough time, the Guardian alone might not be a match for the three inside.
As Desmond turned, he whispered to the goblin on his shoulder, "Contact the goblins in KR, quickly."
The goblin, upon receiving the order, immediately got to work. At the same time, the horns on the heads of the three goblins inside, who were responsible for educating Superboy, glowed red.
Meanwhile, the three young heroes inside had reached a consensus: regardless of their motives, they could not leave Superboy here. They had to free him and take him to the League for handling.
No sooner said than done.
Robin immediately operated his smart glove.
*Pffft!*
With a spray of protective gas, the pod's hatch slowly opened, and Superboy awoke from his slumber.
However, due to the goblins, the awakened Superboy was clearly in a foul mood. He used his limbs to propel himself out of the pod and directly tackled Kaldur to the ground. After rolling a few times, Superboy, still on top, didn't say a word. He raised his fist and landed two solid punches on Kaldur's head.
Seeing this, Kid Flash and Robin rushed forward to intervene.
"Stop, Superboy, we're friends."
Superboy was completely deaf to Kid Flash's plea. With a wave of his hand, he sent Kid Flash flying, shattering a glass cabinet filled with potions.
"You're forcing me to do this."
Seeing that ordinary means could not stop the young man, Robin immediately shoved an activated gas capsule into Superboy's mouth.
*Bang!*
A large amount of paralyzing green gas gushed from Superboy's mouth. Even Superboy's strong body was significantly affected, and his movements became noticeably sluggish.
Seizing the opportunity, Kaldur delivered a powerful kick, sending Superboy flying several meters away.
As Superboy got back on his feet, Robin immediately fired his electroshock gun, with two wires hitting Superboy's chest.
Unfortunately, the electric current from the electroshock gun was too weak to have any effect. Not only that, but Superboy seized the opportunity, grabbed the wires, and pulled Robin directly in front of him, choking him and slamming him to the ground. He didn't forget to add a few kicks to Robin's chest.
Kaldur, though good-tempered, could no longer stand it. He drew the weapon from his back, and water transformed into a giant hammer. He charged at Superboy, swinging it with all his might, sending him flying back into the pod.
After this fight, both Kid Flash and Robin were incapacitated and unconscious. The only one still capable of fighting was Kaldur. Unfortunately, in facing Superboy, Kaldur hadn't used his full strength, still hoping to convince him with words.
However, Superboy clearly wasn't planning to sit down and have a peaceful discussion with them.
In a one-on-one, man-to-man battle, Superboy, relying on his superior physical strength, used his legs to propel himself upwards, slamming Kaldur on his back into the ceiling. The immense impact temporarily knocked Kaldur unconscious.
Thus, all three intruders into Cadmus were subdued.
Mission accomplished, Superboy approached the metal door. He inserted his hands into the gap and pushed it open with brute force.
Although the laboratory was in disarray due to the fight, Desmond's lips curved into a slight smile as he saw the unconscious trio. He walked up to Superboy and said calmly, "Well done."
Under Desmond's command, the Guardian and the Lethal Legion took the unconscious three to another laboratory for temporary detainment. Just as Desmond turned, he saw Bai Qi walking towards him, with an experiment assistant behind him looking both eager to intervene and hesitant, which was quite amusing.
Seeing Bai Qi, Desmond quickly put away his smile and stepped forward to explain, "I apologize, sir. I'm sorry for disturbing you with these trivial matters. Superboy has dealt with the intruders. What should be our next course of action?"
Before Desmond could finish, Bai Qi raised his hand to stop him and said, "I don't want to be involved in this matter, nor am I qualified to. You will need to explain this to the Cadmus board of directors yourself. They will tell you how to proceed."
"Yes, yes."
Frankly, Desmond had hoped Bai Qi would issue direct orders to resolve this, avoiding escalation to the board. But judging by Bai Qi's tone, he clearly didn't want to get involved. There was no other way; he had to report to the board himself.
In a certain secret laboratory.
Desmond stood in the center of the laboratory. As the lights dimmed, several electronic screens descended from above, revealing pure white figures within them.
These figures were processed, composed of pure white light, their true faces hidden, and their voices synthesized.
At Desmond's level, although he had the authority to meet the Illuminati, he did not have the right to know who the members were.
One of the light figures spoke emotionlessly, "Dr. Desmond, you requested an audience with the Illuminati."
"Yes, I apologize for disturbing you so late."
It was evident that Desmond was very nervous when facing these all-powerful, mysterious bigwigs.
"Cut the nonsense!"
As soon as Desmond finished speaking, another light figure on a screen reprimanded him.
Despite being able to command respect in the Cadmus labs, in front of these true powerhouses, he was insignificant.
"Yes. A small fire occurred during Project Cadmus. The cause is unclear, but it attracted unnecessary attention. Three assistants, Robin, Aqualad, and Kid Flash, breached the perimeter, discovered, and released that weapon. Superboy, uh... of course, the clone is under our telepathic control and was ordered to apprehend the three who wanted to rescue them. The three are being held. We believe the League is unaware of their presence here. Uh, how should we proceed with them?"
After reporting the situation, Desmond appeared outwardly unfazed, but his heart was pounding, and his body trembled slightly as he prepared to face his fate.
After all, regardless of any unknown factors that allowed three members of the Justice League to breach the perimeter and release the weapon, as the person in charge, he was undeniably responsible, even if they were assistants.