"Don't boss me around," Superboy growled at Desmond, his feelings still volatile, even as he sprang towards the man, with Guardian, who after a brief moment of thought, trailed behind him. Both were moving in on Thragg, aiming to subdue him.
"Round 2," Thragg declared before slapping his hands together, creating a thunderous noise and a minor shockwave that disoriented Superboy, causing him to stumble and fall to his knees. Guardian crumpled to the ground, his hands pressed against his ears, while Desmond winced in agony, blood trickling from his ears.
A sharp sound of shattering glass echoed through the air, followed by a cacophony of machines that began to beep erratically and spark wildly. One by one, they succumbed to their failures, collapsing onto themselves in a tangled mess of wires and metal, their once orderly functions reduced to chaos.
"What just happened?!" Kid Flash exclaimed, glancing at the other two.
"I think help has shown up," Aqualad responded, then began to work on extricating himself.
"Don't complain, KF; be thankful the cavalry's here," Robin remarked as he liberated himself, then moved to aid the others, momentarily setting aside his own curiosity.
"Man! Thank goodness Batman wasn't around. He'd have my head for taking so long to get free."
"Are you kidding? That's what you're concerned about? The whole League is going to be furious with us after tonight!" Kid Flash responded as Robin helped him out, then assisted Aqualad. "And, by the way, do either of you know who that guy is?"
As he said that Kid Flash nodded to where their rescuer began to brutally beat Superboy, with Guardian already lying unconscious on the ground his ears bleeding.
"No, but he does seem to be on our side," Aqualad replied as he rubbed his sore wrists, eyeing the ongoing fight as he did so.
Observing how the brawny dark-haired youth was exceeding what was required, it was evident he was currently quicker than Superboy and distinctly more adept, yet appeared to drag out the fight purely for his own entertainment.
"Alright, let's go help!" Kid Flash exclaimed, preparing to charge at Superboy to avenge their earlier thrashing.
"Hold on!" Aqualad interjected, then directed his attention to the two engaged in combat. "Cease fighting, both of you!"
To which they both disregarded him.
"Superboy stop, he is on our side!" Aqualad tried again, assuming as he did so that Thragg was in fact on their side. "He is helping us, like Superman would."
This elicited a reaction as Superboy halted his attack, his gaze narrowed.
However, a punch landed squarely on his face, sending him crashing to the ground.
Superboy lay dazed and confused, "What?" Superboy asked, turning to Aqualad, as he did so.
"You want to be a hero like Superman don't you?" Aqualad pressed, as he saw his words were having an effect.
"Well if you want to be like him, then help us! You must know what they are doing here is wrong! Help us and we'll get you out of here, we'll make it so you can live your own life. We'll even introduce you to Superman!"
Superboy wavered at that, before he grit his teeth, after which he then gave a slight nod to Aqualad, only for him to then glare at Thragg.
Thragg stayed silent but still turned to Aqualad and gave a nod.
"We have to hurry to get in touch with the league; this situation is beyond any of us at the moment," Robin stated, glancing around at the group, which included the dark-haired newcomer and Superboy, who was eyeing the other with sharp suspicion.
Robin squinted slightly at the sight, his eyes following the blood that marked Superboy's nose, chest, and mouth; it appeared the newcomer possessed strength to match that of a Kryptonian.
"You all can depart and reach out to the 'League,' but my objective is to obliterate this location, and given the frailty of the beings inside, it should only take a matter of minutes," Thragg stated.
Aqualad, Kid Flash, and Robin observed Thragg with interest at that but remained silent. Aqualad then shifted his gaze to the unconscious Guardian and then to Superboy, whom he assumed was the strongest among them. "Hey Superboy, can you take Guardian out of here? We can't just abandon him."
"Don't tell me what to do!" Superboy snarled back, clearly still somewhat hesitant about this entire alliance. After all, even though he aspired to emulate his progenitor, Superman, he remained somewhat wary of aiding these sidekicks and that bastard he had just battled.
Regardless, he still crouched down and hoisted the wounded and unconscious Guardian onto his back as the group exited the room. Robin took a moment to toss a few explosive disks at the cloning tubes, obliterating the machinery and any DNA samples they may have gathered. It was unfortunate that the Desmond individual had managed to slip away amidst all the turmoil.