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As soon as Superboy woke up cured, he honestly thought he’d imagined seeing Match step into the pod. Surely his cells were being destroyed in his brain, causing him to hallucinate it all.
He was almost completely out of it when he saw Match walk up to the tube he was in, which already set off alarm bells in Superboy’s head, such as ‘He’s not dead!?’. From their last encounter at the Agenda’s headquarters, Superboy was sure Match was going to try to murder him the moment they locked eyes, even if the Super teen was already stuck in the green tube that was his deathbed. There were even a couple of times where he was sure he was about to, based on how frustrated and tense his doppelganger looked.
Before he could question it all, however, Roxy and Tana immediately started walking up to Superboy, comforting him. Roxy leaped up to grab his suit, which Superboy took and quickly put it on, thanking her in the process. However, as soon as he put it on, he couldn’t stop looking at the pod Match was in, as it hadn’t moved an inch in that time. It was concerning, considering the guy looked a little worse for wear when Superboy last saw him. It seems the girls noticed he wasn’t reciprocating the gesture, because Tana spoke up.
“Superboy, what’s wrong?” She asked, as the two followed his gaze.
Once they saw the pod and its occupant, they must have registered his concern, because Roxy started asking “Was Match his name? You don’t think he’s-”
Before she could finish, Superboy was already on it by opening the tank. Doctor Packard grew alarmed, worried he wouldn’t be able to use his TTK, but after a single touch to the pod, the lid came loose. Didn’t mean everything was perfect yet, but it was a good sign so far.
Match looked like he was still breathing, just unconscious. He looked pretty banged up when Superboy last saw him, probably from Steel, Superman, or maybe even Supergirl, who swore to help him earlier. Did that have any effect on him while in the pod?
It was when Superboy tried to reach out that Match’s eyes popped open and he swatted Superboy’s hand away.
“Get away!” Match shouted, looking alarmed as he scanned the area. Superboy backed away, putting his arms in front of Tana and Roxy to protect them. Even injured, Superboy knows first-hand the lengths Match will go to serve in any objectives or orders he’s given.
The scientists including Packard all left the lab in a hurry. After his initial outburst, Match seemed to calm down, holding his head in his hands.
He looked exhausted.
Staring at the boy silently for a moment, Superboy made a decision, and looked to the two girls beside him.
“Hey Rox, Tana. Thanks for being here to see me awake, but could you give me a couple of minutes? I’ll be back.” Superboy made his best attempt at a confident smile as he reassured them.
Roxy grew alarmed at his words. “What!? But Superboy, you just woke up! Are you sure after–” Roxy kept glancing at Match. His head was still in his hands in exhaustion, but his pale eyes were looking at the group and Superboy with an intense gaze, causing Roxy’s protest to falter.
“Roxy is right, kid. You really shouldn’t be–” Tana started, but Superboy cut her off.
“I’m fine, guys. Really. I’ll catch up with you all when I can. I'll even call for someone if I need help. Besides, someone should check up on the other doctors.” Roxy and Tana exchanged worried glances, but Superboy’s gaze didn’t falter.
Tana let out a resigned sigh. “Alright, but be careful. We just got you back.” Roxy still looked frustrated at the turn of events, but didn’t say anything. When Tana started to walk toward the door, Roxy reluctantly followed suit. Both had made sure to look back at the boys before going to the next room over.
It wasn’t until the door was shut that Superboy got a good look at his doppelganger. His white hair was grimey, and he’d obviously been in a hard scuffle. His face was beaten and without the bright yellow suit his body was covered in scrapes and bruises.
Superboy couldn’t tell if this was after Match’s encounters with the Supers or after the encounter with him.
“Hey, you okay dude-” just as Superboy attempted to reach his hand out, Match swatted it away. Hard.
”Don’t touch me,” he said with that same edge from earlier. Now that his hands were away from his face, Match looked pained, whether it was physical or mental Superboy wasn’t sure.
Still a little surprised at the exact turn of events, Superboy ended up just staring at him in disbelief. What exactly happened? Did Superman force him to help? Or was this Match’s decision? Both seemed just as unlikely as each other, but here they were.
After a couple of minutes, Match eventually grinded out, “And quit staring at me.” This was the most emotion Superboy has ever gotten from the doppelganger, which prompted him to ignore Match’s wishes and push further.
“What did Superman say?” Superboy asked, baffled. That question would result in Match knocking the young super to the ground head-first.
“Ow! It was just a question, man,” he howled. As Superboy got back up, clutching the back of his head, he looked back to Match. The young Super noticed that the boy was staring at his hand in frustration. Before Superboy could ask what was wrong again, Match spoke up.
“My tactile telekinesis isn’t back to perfect condition,” he said. The tone was cold and indifferent like usual, but Superboy could hear some annoyance in his voice. The young super frowned.
“Didn’t need to hit me over it. I didn’t do anything,” he snapped. Match looked at Superboy with a bored expression.
“Your inability to shut up gave me no choice,” Match replied. Superboy was fuming.
“They were serious questions!” Superboy retaliated. “Sorry for caring,” he sarcastically added. Match started inspecting his own form before going to grab the suit he wore before stepping in the pod.
“I never saw the appeal,” Match quipped.
“Oh, really?” Superboy replied as he followed the white-haired boy. Match did not hesitate to fire back verbally as he began putting his suit on, remaining indifferent, but Superboy swore he could hear agitation and triumph seeping into his voice.
“It’s what helps make me superior to you,” he argued, causing Superboy to smirk.
“Oh yeah? Then why did you save me in the first place?” Match froze for barely a second, but Superboy noticed. Out of the very short time he’s met this guy, his doppelganger never flinched like that.
“Amanda Spence revealed the method of revival for you. I was just following her protocol,” he replied. Superboy wasn’t buying it.
“Oh really? That’s it?’ Superboy asked, trying to sound mocking. Match nodded.
“Yes.”
“And it wasn’t just to save your favorite brother,” he replied with a smirk. Match’s mouth flinched slightly at the implication, which just made Superboy feel more victorious.
Gotcha
“You’re babbling a lot for an inferior clone who was about to have his DNA deconstructed,” he said, deflecting Superboy’s words. The young Super was about to make another comment, maybe something that hopefully won’t escalate into another fight, when he noticed Match looked fixated on something. He tried to follow the white-haired boy’s gaze, but couldn’t find anything, making Superboy frown. From his perspective, it looked like Match was just staring at the floor.
What now?
Instead of saying anything else, Match just stood there and inspected his injuries. Superboy still wanted to know what the hell had convinced Match to save him, but at this point, he doubted he'd get an answer from his doppelganger, so the Super sighed.
“Well, I don’t know why you did it, but thanks anyway. I guess I owe you one–”
“No.”
Superboy blinked. “What?”
Match looked at the Super, his face fixed in a familiar neutral expression.
“I was just following the protocol that the Agenda had implemented.”
“Is that really the only reason?” Superboy asked, somewhat disheartened. “Spence and the Agenda were the whole reason I was falling apart in the first place!” He knows the two aren’t exactly on the same side, but he wasn’t kidding when he saw Match and thought of him as a brother. Superboy had never been able to interact with someone just like him. While their personalities haven’t really meshed well, Superboy still had hope that he would be able to help Match cut ties with the Agenda and guarantee a better future for both of them.
Maybe even break away from both Cadmus and the Agenda for good.
Once again, Match paused. It looked like he was trying to remain neutral and stoic, but this time it definitely didn’t look as genuine. Superboy couldn’t quite decipher what emotions were going through the guy’s head though.
There was another pause between the two boys, until Match finally broke it.
“...What other reason would I have?” Match pressed. Superboy raised his eyebrows.
“W-what other– What do you mean what other reason!? It was all your actions!” Superboy pointed out. Match seemed perturbed at that statement, at least that’s what Suprboy thought. It was still hard to tell how his doppelganger was thinking, and the young Super still wasn’t sure if it all was a mask he was wearing or if Match genuinely had no opinion about being “owned” (Superboy shivered at even thinking about it) by the Agenda.
He wished Match could look further ahead than just these objectives that Amanda Spence put in front of him.
Once Superboy realized that was probably all that he would get from Match, he sighed, redirecting the subject again.
“Yeah, well whatever. You still saved me from looking like a melted mess, so props to you for helping me make it another day,” Superboy said, recalling the scene he imagined earlier when he was in the tank. Superman passing his cape down. Superboy, accepting it with grace. It no longer felt like an impossibility when he imagined it this time.
He just wished Match could feel a similar hope for the future too. Maybe see him for as much of a brother as he did.
Just as Superboy was about to ask Match what he planned to do next, the Super was caught in a sudden choke hold. The movement was so fast Superboy didn’t even have time to summon his TTK to protect himself, only that he knew exactly who was causing it. The moment he was in Match’s hold, Superboy felt a knee collide with his head, leaving him dazed. The collision pushed Superboy out of Match’s grasp, but before he could gather his bearings, the clone in yellow punched him square in the face. The impact sent Superboy flying (did he already regain some of the strength of his TTK?) into some empty tubes across the room, leaving him somewhere between awake and unconscious.
Before his body could decide which, Superboy heard the sound of metal being forcibly battered. Multiple times.
Match was trying to bust out.
Superboy scrambled to get up, struggling mentally and physically from the impact. Also, being so close to death’s door earlier probably wasn’t helping.
By the time he could collect his thoughts, however, the damage had already been done. Match was gone and one of Cadmus’ walls now sported a large hole. Superboy could hear the alarms followed by Guardian, Roxy, and Tana rushing towards him, demanding what happened, but all Superboy could do was stare out at the hole in the wall.
In the end, he wasn’t quite sure if he really made a difference.