#‘Kal— please write about something other than Batman.’ | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

solar-wing · 6 months

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⚣ Open Arms ♾️

⚣♾️ A/N → yall betta love my butt from dawn till dusk and kiss it from dusk till dawn. 25K WORDS?!?!?! EXCUSE ME?! Anyway, another request done! This was an anonymous one, though that I got from my previous account but never did. So, whoever sent this in, I hope you see and enjoy it! Gotta say, it definitely feels good getting these requests out of my inbox. Well, my screenshots, at least. I used this request as a continuation of a previous fic I did, which you can read here: ⚣ Forever 💛 You can read this as a standalone, but I recommend reading the previous part beforehand for context. ALSO HERE'S THE ANGST YALL WANT SO BAD FROM ME YOU FIENDS! NOW GET🤺 GET🤺 BACK I SAY🤺 WARNINGS: Mentions of Death | Angst/Comfort | Emotional Fluffy Vibes | TW: Neglectful Parenting | Implied smexy stuff but compared to what I write, it's literally nothing | ETC

⚣♾️ Summary → Conner couldn't let it go; wouldn't let it go. He was out there somewhere, lost and afraid. His instincts have never lied to him in the past, and he was certain they weren't starting now, no matter how much the Team thought he was holding on to lost hope. They made a promise to each other, and Conner planned on keeping that promise no matter what.

⚣♾️ Words → 25.6K

REBLOGS & replies are greatly appreciated, please! 💛

⚣ ENJOY ♾️

How long is forever?

By definition: it means ‘for all future time; for always.’ Another line says ‘lasting or permanent.’ That’s what it was supposed to mean by the books at least. When he promised he would stay forever, that’s what he was supposed to do. That’s what he should've done.

Guess not all promises were meant to be kept, and words were really just that, words. No power to them at all.

Whoever said the pen is mightier than the sword, Conner wanted to meet that guy just to show him how wrong he was, possibly with an actual sword if he had his way, but, hopefully, that wouldn’t happen.

Hopefully.

It had been over a year since Y/N’s disappearance. A year since he up and blinked out of Conner’s life, his friend's lives, and so on. There wasn’t a day that the young superhero didn’t find himself dreaming or thinking about Y/N. He’d catch himself frequently getting lost in remembering the way his smile always put him in a good mood.

When he was happy, Conner was happy.

Truthfully, he felt as if everything that happened before he met the young super was less significant now. Everything that happened before the two met didn’t matter anymore. Only what happened then and in the future.

Not even the day when Dick, Wally, and Kal found him at Cadmus and set him free. Or when Batman and the Justice League set him and his new friends up with their own headquarters and stealth team. Not even the day when he finally seemed to have Superman’s acceptance and bond as a mentor and family figure.

Before Y/N, life was just that; life. Something where he got up every day, worked out or trained with the team, went to school, beat up bad guys, and then went home to do it again. All those were supposed to be exciting things, for him at least, since those were things he never had or would’ve gotten to experience had it not been for his ‘liberation.’

At the time, that could’ve meant something special to him. But then some new guy stumbled into his life and fucked everything up.

“Heard we’re supposed to be getting a new recruit,” Wally mentioned as he and Kal were currently sparring in the training circle.

“Yeah, me too, or at least I read about it. Saw his file on the Batcave and read over it. There wasn’t much detail in there besides a little bit of his background. He goes to that really prestigious boarding school in the Midwest and his family is one of the most elite and wealthiest families on the East Coast.” Robin said as he was typing away at the computer.

“Great. Another spoiled rotten rich kid on the team. Sounds awesome,” Artemis uttered while organizing her arrow pack.

“Hey, I’m not rotten!” The Boy Wonder responded, feigning offense.

“Ah, but you weren’t offended by the spoiled rich part. Point still stands then,” Artemis smirked.

“Why do we even need another person? It’s not like we’re lacking or anything.” Conner proclaimed, his arms crossed in his usual defiant manner as his face held not an ounce of joy on it.

“I don’t know, I think it’d be nice to have a new member as a part of the team. It’s always great to meet new people. And who knows, maybe they can help us be even better.” M’Gann spoke.

“So you think we’re bad and need improvement,” Conner responded with an accusatory tone.

“No, that’s not what I’m saying at all. I just don’t think it’s bad if we learn from other people.” She responded, though slightly more irritable than before.

Part of the reason why she had no problem when Conner proposed they split up and just remain friends/teammates was not having to deal with his mood swings and attitude all the time. Don’t get her wrong though, he was a great boyfriend, inside and outside. But, it was clear to her that she was not a high priority on Conner’s radar.

Superboy was still getting to know who he was and understanding his place in this world, and that came with understanding his emotions and how they responded to certain situations. As time passed, he realized his ‘feelings’ or what he thought were feelings for the Martian girl were nothing more than platonic.

A byproduct of his exposure to the outside world, and society’s definition of a ‘normal’ relationship, which usually consisted of a handsome, strong fella and a nice, pretty gal. He figured that was the role he had to take on. However, after some time, realizing how forced and unhappy he felt with the role he placed himself in, it created a wedge between the two superheroes, thus prompting them to end their relationship on good terms.

Conner had things he needed to work through, and M’Gann wanted someone who put her first before anything else.

“I agree with M’Gann. Meeting different people and learning from their stories is always a valuable lesson. You never know how they could impact you in the present and the future,” Kal commented after beating Wally in their match, the floor lighting up to announce the speedster’s defeat.

Conner only let out a displeased grunt in response before the sound of the Zeta Gateway activating caught his and everyone else’s attention.

Everyone was a little apprehensive about adding a new member to the Team in the beginning, even M’Gann and Kaldur despite their positive attitudes. They had a dynamic, a flow that worked for them, and they were all more or less living by the line of thinking that if something wasn’t broken, why try and fix it?

But, change was inevitable. And, this change may have been something they all could happily get used to, seeing how the recruit seemed to tame their hot-headed Kryptonian the moment he walked into the mission room.

Okay, not tame in a way like he was an animal, but more in the manner of calming down. It was no secret that everyone knew Superboy had a bit of a temper and given his biology and nature, Wally once made a joke that they all should bring hard hats to the Cave just in case Conner was in a bad mood and needed to punch something.

He didn’t find it amusing, but he also couldn’t deny the truth of it. It became something the Kryptonian sort of obsessed over and wanted to change about himself. Especially in front of the recruit who he couldn’t understand why for the life of him he cared so much about what they thought about him.

He didn’t even realize how much he was trying to show himself as a level-headed person in front of the new guy until M’Gann pulled him aside one day and asked why he was acting so weird.

He tried to deny it at first, claiming he wasn’t acting weird at all and M’Gann was reading too much into something that wasn’t there. As expected, the Martian didn’t let it go and decided to present evidence to back up her claim.

She brought up the first week Y/N spent at the Cave, and Conner didn’t necessarily come off as anxious, but everyone could tell he was nervous, which had them all puzzled. Before then, it was rare (try never) that any of them would see the Kryptonian nervous or anxious about something. And if he was, he’d usually mask it with anger or disdain.

Yet, after meeting the new hero on their team, something about all of that changed.

“I wonder what kind of abilities he has,” M’Gann wondered aloud, an excited look on her face as everyone stood by the entryway to the Zeta Gateway.

“There wasn’t anything recorded in the file on the Batcomputer. Maybe he’s another vigilante like Artemis and me.” Robin said.

“Hopefully, a better one than Bird Boy.” The snarky smirk the archer currently held was met with an unpleasant look from the Boy Wonder before their attention was redirected to the gateway, hearing the computer announcing their mentor's arrival.

Batman, Superman, and Flash came through one by one, while being followed by another individual none of them had recognized. The computer announced their name as a guest, which Robin figured was because he wasn’t fully registered into the Justice League systems yet.

He had a puzzling feeling about why Batman was being more secretive around this individual, seeing as he usually puts every single detail he can find on a person of interest into a file. Plus, he would always have things like registrations and paperwork taken care of before anything else was done.

Not to say it made him suspicious, but he was curious.

The others waited patiently while their superiors came into the mission room, followed by the individual who was carrying a small designer duffle bag. His clothes and look were simple, and he held a genuine and curious look in his eyes, tinged with a bit of uncertainty that Superboy managed to pick up as well from how hard he was staring and analyzing the boy from the moment he walked in. Though, if you asked him, he’d most definitely say he was not staring.

It wasn’t obvious, as the guy took whatever measures he could to hide it, but he could tell the young man came from wealth. It was a familiar aesthetic and look that the Kryptonian had come to learn by being friends with Boy Wonder and all, even if he wasn’t necessarily born into a rich family.

Plus, through certain missions and social events his ‘status’ would get him into, he’d had his fair share of interactions and hand-shaking with those who had more money than they would ever need. He’d begun to learn their various looks and covers. Most were unpleasant, hiding underneath a vain and inflated sense of superiority. Something he almost could relate to at one point, considering he used to believe his powers and abilities put him above everyone.

This guy was different, though. Conner couldn’t put his finger on it, but something about him was intriguing. Nobody he had ever met before made the young Kryptonian feel whatever that Earth saying was he’d heard M’Gann rambling about one time. Something about butterflies in the stomach.

Why one would even eat a butterfly was beyond him. Yet, the feeling she described was exactly what Conner was feeling in his stomach at the moment. His first immediate thought was that his stomach was broken and it took Zatanna, Artemis, and M’Gann explaining it with the help of Black Canary that a week and a half later he was nervous or scared.

“Hello, everyone. As I’m sure you’re already aware, we’ve decided to recruit a new addition to your team. His name is Y/N, and he’ll be staying here at the Cave for a few weeks while we get more details situated. Y/N, meet your new team.”

Everyone introduced themselves one by one to the recruit, and since Conner was on the end, he was the last one to be greeted which he now regretted. He started going over in his head how he should say ‘hi’, not wanting to come off too aggressive where he scared him, but also not wanting to sound like he was some weakling.

It took getting an elbow shoved into his side from Robin for him to notice everyone looking at him, including the reason for his distantness.

“Oh, uh… Sorry. Hello, I’m Boysuper.”

Everyone started laughing, including Superman and Flash, and Conner swore he saw a hint of a chuckle from Batman as well. It wasn’t until he thought back on his words and realized his mistake that he blushed embarrassingly. Though everyone found it funny, they were all more or less completely thrown off.

This behavior was completely out of character for Boysuper! If someone were writing a character analysis of him, they’d say this was completely unimaginable and not realistic at all. It wasn’t anything like him or something he would do.

Which is exactly what made it all the more shocking and funny.

Y/N, also tickled by the name mistake, gave him grace and just pretended it didn’t happen.

“Hi Superboy, nice to meet you.” His smile was something that clouded Conner's thoughts, focusing in on the innocence in his face and the twinkle in his eye as he looked back into the Kryptonian’s eyes.

For a fleeting moment, Superboy forgot everyone else was there as he reached his hand out to shake the others. As far as he knew, Kryptonians didn’t sweat, yet his palms felt hot and they felt damp. He was almost scared to touch the boy’s hand, thinking the man would find him gross and disgusting perspiring in his palm.

It didn’t happen, though. They shook hands, and Conner got a weird tingle up his arms that had him freaking out even more on the inside. But, the smile on Y/N’s face kept him rooted. Kept him from leaping off the ground like a spooked cat who’d just been electrocuted.

Despite his nervous feelings, seeing the beautiful face smiling at him made him feel happy on the inside. It was a nice feeling, a very welcomed feeling. Something he wanted to cherish and protect forever.

Wait, did he say beautiful?

At some point, Black Canary along with Superman helped explain to Superboy what he was feeling of desire and attraction, and that it was completely normal to have those feelings, no matter who they were aimed at.

Artemis was a little less careful and just stated the simple truth.

“You’ve got a crush lover-boy.”

Everyone chuckled and laughed at the statement and the somewhat irony behind the revelation.

That day, Y/N changed his perspective on the meaning and purpose of life. Before, he didn’t see the significance in the saying ‘You only live once.’ True, you do only live once, but if you live to do the same thing over and over each day, then what’s the point of living at all?

What was the point of getting to know things or wanting to improve and get better at something when we all had the same eventual fate, give or take how many years it took for it to come? What did life really mean if all it had was for you to wake up and do the same thing you did yesterday and the day before that?

It was one of the constant questions he had mulled over in his head since his liberation from Cadmus and being welcomed into the Team. His first and only purpose in life was to be a weapon. Now, besides doing good and saving the world now and then, he had the chance to do something meaningful with his life.

He just didn't know what meaningful was.

Until he met Y/N, who from the very moment they met had a way of bringing out the best in Conner and making him want to be a better person. It wasn't like the Kryptonian was a bad guy or anything. In fact, he was a great friend, teammate, and hero. But, there was something about the boy that just made him want to be a better version of himself.

Even despite the rocky start to their relationship.

"I'm telling you, there's something up with that kid. Batman said something about them needing to do 'more tests' and that he couldn't return back until they were sure he wouldn't be a liability," Conner spoke with his teammates in one of the library rooms in their base.

Conner had recently overheard a conversation between Y/N and Batman when he was going to try and 'confess' his feelings for him as his friends had encouraged him to do, even M'Gann. But, those plans were halted when he overheard the Dark Knight talking to the recruit about tests and making sure they wouldn't be bugged.

He mentioned something about the school Y/N was attending and how they also had to make sure his parents wouldn't be a liability or get caught in the crossfire. The biggest thing that caught the Kryptonian's attention was when Batman said he had to absolutely keep his full identity a secret from the rest of the team, especially from Conner himself.

And, no matter how sad and reluctant Y/N sounded when he agreed to Batman's instructions and feeling a strong urge to comfort him, he didn't waste a second before running back to his friends and telling them everything. After the Red Tornado ordeal with his siblings, he didn't want to take any chances, no matter how his heart felt.

Everyone seemed on the fence though when he first told them. They all had gotten along really well with Y/N during his first few days and didn't want to think the guy could be a threat to him. But, they'd all learned from their mistakes in the past, and so decided they needed more information before they proceeded with anything.

Dick had pointed out that there still wasn't much in Y/N's file that he could find besides his background. The only solid things he was able to find were about his parents and how they shared very similar views with Lex Luthor on supers. It wasn't enough for them to outright accuse him of being up to no good but it was something for them to look into.

The Boy Wonder suggested the best way to learn more about him was to spy on him, and despite how much it didn't feel right to Conner, he agreed to do it. They know confronting him directly wasn't the best strategy, especially if he was being told by Batman to not reveal anything to them. They needed to be covert.

That's what led them to this moment right now. Conner had just overheard another of Y/N's conversations, only this time he was talking to his parents. Everything seemed fine at first, despite the obvious fact that his parents had no clue their son was currently living in a cave with a bunch of teenage superheroes and vigilantes. The Kryptonian was ready to call it quits, already feeling guilty enough for listening in on such a private conversation until...

"Yeah, everything's great at the school. I'm having a lot of fun and have met some very interesting people. And, yes, Uncle Lex has been really nice to me. His tests have been effective so far and he's confident he'll reach a solution soon."

That confirmed everything the Kryptonian and the others needed to know. They were all convinced Y/N was a mole sent here to spy on them and the Justice League for Lex Luthor. They were going to bring it to Batman, but Dick once again pointed out the conversation Conner heard earlier between the Dark Knight and the recruit, and that he was probably already aware of everything and was investigating on his own.

But this was their team, and they were going to do whatever they could to protect it. So, they decided to set up a trap for the mole.

Dick created a fake mission while Wally, Artemis, and Zantanna went to recruit Y/N to come with them. They spun a fake story about the League being in danger and that they needed all hands on deck. Of course, Y/N was willing to help them. He didn't ask questions and just followed them to where they were supposed to meet up with the others.

They had to wait for a few minutes for everyone else to arrive. Y/N was sitting on the ground, waiting patiently and trying to make conversation with everyone. When they finally arrived, Dick began his 'fake' briefing.

He decided to trust them, but something still felt off. And he didn't know why, but the look Conner was giving him let him know he wasn't being given the full truth.

"Alright, team. We have a situation. The League has been compromised and we're the only ones who can save them."

"What's going on?" Y/N asked, confused.

"The League has been captured and is being held by Lex Luthor. We don't know what he's planning, we only know that they need our help," Dick explained, not even batting an eye at the ridiculousness of the situation he was describing.

"And, how do you know all this?" Y/N questioned, confused as to why Batman wasn't the one giving the briefing.

"Batman told us before he got captured. He managed to send us a signal before Luthor's goons cut him off. We're the only ones who can help," Artemis added.

"How do we know they're really in trouble?" Y/N inquired, looking at everyone and their lack of gear or weapons.

"We have to trust Batman," Wally answered, trying his best to act as natural as possible.

"I don't know, guys. Something doesn't feel right about this," Y/N muttered, trying to figure out what was happening.

"Y/N, we're the only ones who can save Batman, the Flash, and the others. We need you," M'Gann pleaded, placing her hand on his shoulder.

Y/N was hesitant, not sure if what they were saying was true. He thought back on his conversation with Batman and how he made him promise not to tell the team about him and his family until they had everything figured out. But, if he was really in danger...

"Okay. Let's go."

And that's how Y/N found himself tied to a tree in a random park near his boarding school. A convenient location, the others thinking it would trick a confession out of the mole. But, when Y/N instead was warning them that by bringing him there, they were putting not only him in danger, but themselves and the League.

They didn't believe him at first, thinking this was just the cover story he was using if he got caught. But, then Batman, Superman, and the Flash found the young team of heroes and vigilantes would soon realize their mistake.

"Tell us the truth, now! Why are you here?" Kaldur demanded.

"I'm telling you I don't know what you're talking about," Y/N insisted.

"How dumb do you think we are? We know you're working with Lex Luthor. Just admit it!" Artemis spat, annoyed that the boy was trying to lie to their faces.

"Yeah!" Wally added, throwing peanuts from his snack compartment at the boy's face.

"Seriously, KF?" Dick said.

"What? Maybe if he has a peanut allergy, this will make him fess up."

"I don't have a peanut allergy."

"Oh, well. Now, it's just for fun," Kid Flash said before throwing more at him.

"Okay, this is just getting ridiculous. We know you're working with Luthor. I overheard your little conversation with your parents about Uncle Lex's tests," Conner said, his tone carrying its usual hard edge, but not as much aggression as it would be for someone else.

"You were eavesdropping on me?"

"That's not important. What's important is you confessing what you're doing here. What are you trying to do? What's your mission?"

"I don't have a mission. I don't know what you're talking about and what you overheard, you heard out of context," Y/N stated, the last part aimed at Conner who looked away from his hurt gaze.

"Y/N, please," M'Gann pleaded.

"I'm telling you the truth. I'm not working for anybody, and even if I was, it wouldn't be with Lex Luthor of all people. But, we seriously need to leave. We're not too far from the school, and if he finds out I was here, with all of you out of all people, it's going to cause more trouble than ever."

"Alright, Zatanna. Truth spell him..."

"He's already telling the truth."

Everyone turned around to see Batman, Superman, and Flash approaching with not-very-pleased looks. Then again, when has Batman ever looked pleased?

"Then, why didn't you tell us?" Dick asked with an accusatory tone toward his mentor.

"Because we didn't want this to happen," Flash stated, looking over at Y/N and the mess their young protegees made.

"What, so you don't trust us all of a sudden?" Artemis accused.

"This had nothing to do with trust, it had everything to do with a delicate situation."

"What situation?" Wally asked.

"A delicate one," Batman reiterated.

"Y/N is being used by Lex Luthor," Superman began explaining.

"So, he's not a mole?" M'Gann asked.

"No, he's not a mole. He's actually the exact opposite. His family is a known affiliate of Lex Luthor, and he's been using their known distrust of Superman, myself, and the rest of the League as a way to perform experiments on him with the promise of removing his powers at the request of his parents. However, someone like Lex, we can be sure has other purposes for these experiments. Purposes he intends to use for his own advantage and as a means to target the League," Batman continued.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Conner questioned, feeling even more guilty while glancing back at the recruit who was currently rubbing his wrists, having been freed from his restraints by Superman.

"Because we didn't want you getting involved. Lex has eyes and ears everywhere, especially in that school, and if he were to discover our involvement, it could put Y/N and his family in danger," The older Kryptonian pointed out, while placing a reassuring hand on the younger male's shoulder, who held a slightly worried look at the mention of his parents being put in possible danger.

Despite his still guilty feelings, something in him felt he should have gone over to comfort the younger male. He along with the rest of his teammates apologized to Y/N for their distrust before making their way back to Mount Justice.

Since everything was out in the open, Batman gave Y/N the okay to share with the others everything about his background. And share he did. He told the entire story of how everything came to be.

His parents had always been more or less distrusting towards Superman, The Flash, Wonder Woman, etc., and saw their powers and abilities not as ways that could help protect regular people like themselves and others, but as a means to oppression. They felt the very thing that made them superheroes gave them an unfair advantage over others.

Kind of how other people saw their super wealthy status as an unfair advantage over people of a lower class but that's another discussion for another day.

So imagine their surprise when their very own son ended up manifesting his own powers early on in his childhood. It started with small things like enhanced durability and moving at inhuman speeds.

But then, when it turned into being able to fly and manipulating energies in his teenage years, his parents had had enough. They were afraid their son was going to become just like the superheroes they hated so much. And, they were afraid of what he could do if his powers became too out of control.

So, they did the only thing they could think of.

They turned to Lex Luthor for help.

They told him about their situation and how they were desperate for help. They didn't want their son to be a danger to himself or others. Lex promised them he'd do everything he could to help their son and to try and remove his abilities.

The wealthy elite suggested sending him to one of the prestigious boarding schools that he funded. It was a school that catered to kids with extraordinary talents and abilities. They would provide him with an excellent education and would have the best teachers and professors teach him.

As a bonus, they were very confidential and private with their students and wouldn't share any information without explicit consent. That meant even if his parents were to come by and ask, they wouldn't be able to say anything, thus keeping their son's secret abilities safe.

However, they were none the wiser to Lex's true intentions. With these experiments, he'd finally have the advantage he needed to rid the world of Superman and the Justice League. But, of course, things wouldn't be that easy.

But, when Batman, Superman, and Flash came to his school in their civilian identities but still in disguise, they offered him the chance to truly understand and control his powers along with a spot to join their team of young superheroes as a new recruit. They also promised to find a way to end these experiments with Lex as Y/N explained that he hadn't met success with getting rid of them, but he did suspect he was up to no good, he just didn't know what to do as he knew his parents wouldn't listen to him.

It's why Batman also initially told him not to tell his new teammates anything about himself, at least until they found a way where Y/N could work and be protected from the experiments without putting his family at risk. Lex was known to be crafty and wouldn't hesitate to use the young teenager's parents as leverage to force him to comply

"Of course, I want to use my powers for good and help people. It's why I came with Batman and the others in the first place. But, not if it means I could put my parents in danger. Yeah, we have our differences, and they're not the most accepting of my abilities. But, they're still my family and I don't want anything bad to happen to them."

The others all felt for the young man and apologized again for their mistrust and promised to do whatever they could to help him out. They were a team after all, and a team sticks together through thick and thin.

Conner, on the other hand, still felt guilty for accusing him and even considering he was a mole. Y/N, however, was more understanding and forgiving than the Kryptonian thought he deserved.

"Ah, don't be too hard on yourself, Conner. If I were you, I would have probably done the same thing."

"Really? You don't hate me?"

"Why would I hate you? Sure, you accused me of being a spy for a supervillain, but it was only because you wanted to protect your team and the League. How can I hate you for that?"

Conner had been stunned by the younger male's response. He wasn't mad at him or even holding a grudge. He wasn't even holding the peanut incident against him. He was just so understanding. The Kryptonian knew if the situation were reversed, Y/N would be considered lucky if he hadn't blown up at him.

It was then Conner realized that maybe he felt something more for the young man than just a simple crush.

He thought about how much he admired how positive and enduring Y/N was, despite the challenges he was overcoming. His parents not accepting him, being used as a pawn to hurt others, and the same people meant to protect and love him allowing it, despite them being ignorant to it. But, the younger male still held onto hope and wanted to use his powers for good. He saw the best in people and wanted to help them, no matter what.

Y/N had this infectious energy about him. He always did everything with a smile and a positive attitude, no matter how much his life proved to be the opposite of positive. Yeah, he was a bit naive, but despite all that, and all of the things he'd been subjected to, he was innocent and pure.

He was like an angel, a light shining in a sea of darkness. And, Conner wanted to be the person that light shined on. The Kryptonian wanted to protect and cherish him. He wanted to hold him in his arms and never let go. He wanted to love him.

And, Y/N wanted to love him back.

He didn't care that Conner's temper was a bit short or that he could be a bit stubborn and aggressive. He understood he was just a boy raised to be a weapon. He had been taught to view the world in a certain way, and it was only now that he was learning there was more to life than that.

He understood that despite his gruffness, it was just the way Conner had learned to live, and that deep down he was a very loving and caring person.

Of course, their eventual getting together was nothing like anyone had expected, despite them waiting for the two idiots to confess their obvious feelings for each other.

It had been about a month since the incident with the fake mission and the eventual truth about Y/N being revealed to the team. After returning to Mount Justice and going over some logistics with the rest of the Justice League, they all got a debriefing from Batman on what would happen from there.

They knew that they couldn't risk keeping him away too long, otherwise, Lex would get suspicious and alert his parents. So, Y/N would go back to school as per usual, but he'd be under the surveillance of a team of League members disguised as his teachers and other staff. They would keep an eye on him and Lex Luthor's experiments and if they became too much, they'd intervene.

Conner, however, was not happy about this arrangement. He wanted to be the one who would look out for the younger male, but the Dark Knight had other plans.

"I can't allow you to do that. If we have you constantly watching over him, it'll be too obvious. He'll be under constant surveillance and have League members watching over him at all times. You'll be too obvious, Conner."

"Then, I'll just go back with him. I can stay in the school, and watch over him. I won't leave his side."

"Conner, the school isn't equipped for a teenage boy with Kryptonian abilities. We can't allow you to be there with him. If you go, it'll just put him in more danger." Superman said, attempting to reason with him.

"But, what if he gets hurt? What if Luthor does something? What if..."

"Conner, please. I'm going to be fine. You heard what Batman and the others said. They're going to be right there with me and won't let anything happen. They'll protect me." Y/N said, placing a hand on the younger Krypontian's arm to reassure him.

"Besides, we've worked out a way to disrupt Lex's experiments. With the help of our scientists at S.T.A.R. Labs, we've created a dilution solution. Whatever Lex decides to inject him with, these solutions will work to nullify them. It'll give us more time to figure out a way to end these experiments for good and won't pose any risk to Y/N's powers." Batman explained.

Conner wasn’t happy with the idea, not one bit. But he knew he had no choice but to let Y/N go with it, no matter how much he hated it.

"Of course, he'll still be a part of this team. We're setting up a new Zeta Gateway near the school, and one of our agents will make sure he gets there safely and without alerting Lex. Y/N will come here after his classes and sessions with Lex to report anything new as well as keep his training up."

With that, Black Canary and Captain Marvel came forward with a box, handing it over to Y/N with a smile. The young man opened it excitedly to find a brand new super-suit, specially made and tailored for him.

"Welcome to the Team, Primus."

The other members congratulated him with cheers, hugs, and claps, a little bit more enthusiastically than they would have with someone else, but it was deserved. He'd already shown to be an amazing member of the team and an amazing friend, and they were happy to have him.

They celebrated later that day on the beach, before Y/N's eventual departure. Batman made it seem as if he was on a vacation with his parents while he was here at Mount Justice, so he knew he'd have to return eventually to prevent any eyes from getting raised.

Everyone was having fun, playing, swimming, and laughing. At some point, they all ended up lounging around on the sand, laying or sitting on their various blankets and chairs while watching the sun slowly descend towards the horizon, signaling the closer approach of Y/N's leaving.

"I have a question," Y/N suddenly said, "I had meant to ask this before after everything that happened last month but kept forgetting. When Batman told me to keep my background a secret from you all, he specifically kept telling me to not tell Conner about my connection to Lex. Why?"

Everyone looked around at each other, before settling their gaze on Conner, who looked down at the ground with his eyebrows furrowed.

"Well, it's a bit of a long story," Dick began, not wanting the boy to feel awkward with his question.

"I'm Superman's clone," Conner interrupted, silencing not just the Boy Wonder but everyone around him as he continued, "I was made in a lab from the DNA of both Superman and Lex Luthor to be a weapon against the Justice League. I'm not an actual person, and if it wasn't for these guys, I'd still be in Cadmus, probably sitting in a pod right now."

Y/N seemed taken aback, not saying anything as Conner continued to look down at the sand in shame. He was afraid of revealing the truth to Y/N, thinking he wouldn't see him as an actual person.

However, he, along with everyone else, was more than shocked at his response.

"Wow, you are a miracle to all the gays around the world."

There was a beat of silence before a chorus of laughter erupted around them. Wally, Artemis, and Dick did nothing to hide their hysteria while Zatanna and Kaldur attempted to conceal their own chuckles. M'Gann and Conner were both confused, but the Martian laughed as well, while the Kryptonian was just looking at the younger male in front of him, his cheeks turning red.

"I-I don't know what that means."

"Let's just say I know some people who kill to have someone like you in their lives. You're more special than you know," Y/N answered, smiling at him.

Conner was shocked, not expecting that response.

"You don't think less of me?"

"Of course not. Why would I?"

"Because of what I am. What I was made for and who I was made from."

"I don't care about any of that. You're you, and you're the one that makes you, you. Not what other people made you to be if that makes sense," Y/N said with a humorous, confused look that Conner couldn't help but smile at," You're a person, Conner, and I think you're amazing," Y/N looked at the Kryptonian with a smile who had the blush on his face returning even more.

"Thank you."

"Hey, guys. The sun is going down. We should take a picture," Dick suddenly said, pointing out the setting sun.

They all gathered around for a group photo, Y/N and Conner being the closest, with the younger male leaning into the Kryptonian. It was a great moment for all of them, and the perfect way to start their journey as a team.

Eventually, the sun had set and it was time for Y/N to make his departure. He made his goodbyes to everyone, promising he would be back soon before eventually stopping in front of Conner who nervously looked down at the boy, his emotions still all over the place from their previous conversation.

"Can I actually talk to you in private before you go?" The Kryptonian asked.

Y/N looked a little shocked and turned to Batman who gave his nod of approval, "You've got five minutes."

The two boys walked a bit away from the group, the others looking on with eager faces and eyes as they not so subtly tried to see what was happening.

"Um, I just wanted to apologize again for everything that happened. I know it was stupid, but I didn't want anything bad to happen to the Team or the League. And, I thought if there was a chance you could be a mole or something, I needed to find out. But, I realized that it was stupid, and I was just being paranoid..."

Without even realizing it, Conner began to ramble and Y/N had to take his hand to get him to stop talking, "Conner, it's okay. I told you, I already forgave you for that. And, remember, I was the one who said you were justified in doing it. You were trying to protect your team and that's something I respect and admire."

"You do?" Conner asked, feeling a bit hopeful.

"Of course, I do. You were willing to do anything to protect the people you care about, and that's admirable. I could never hold that against you. My own parents don't trust me just because I have powers and sent me away to a boarding school to be experimented on in hopes of getting rid of them. You only reacted the way you did because you were worried about the people you cared about and loved. Something only a real person is capable of doing," Y/N said.

Conner didn't know what had come over him, but the feeling of Y/N's hands in his own and the sincerity of his words had him pulling the younger male in for a deep kiss, his lips fitting perfectly against his own.

Y/N was surprised, but after a moment, he wrapped his arms around Conner's neck and deepened the kiss, not even realizing the shocked expressions of the people around them.

"It's about time," Artemis muttered.

Y/N had left back to his school and sessions with Lex and returned to Mount Justice within a month where he'd reported everything that had happened. The dilutions were working for the most part and Lex was none the wiser from what he could tell.

And once the Zeta Gateway was set up, Y/N was able to return every other night or when he was needed for a mission. It gave him the time he needed with the Black Canary and the other League members to test and train his powers.

Conner, on the other hand, had a new drive. He was less of the brooding and angry teen he used to be and was a lot more caring and less abrupt and aggressive. Y/N had made him want to do better, to be better than he was before.

And with their new relationship, Conner was more determined than ever to protect Y/N and keep him safe, no matter what. As far as the Kryptonian was concerned, no one would be allowed to hurt him. Not Lex Luthor, not his parents, no one.

Their relationship developed and deepened very quickly during their time together with the two becoming nearly inseparable. When Y/N would come to the Cave, Conner would frequently join in on his training sessions with Black Canary, and he would realize how fast of a learner his boyfriend was.

Within a couple of months, he was able to adapt and adjust to his powers, growing more confident and powerful. He was even able to keep up with the Kryptonian's own speed and strength, something that impressed the others.

"I can't believe how much he's improved in such a short amount of time," Dick said.

"Yeah, he's been doing well. I've never seen anyone adapt to their powers so quickly," Wally added.

"Yeah, well. With the right motivation, I think anyone can do anything," Kaldur said, watching the two lovers spar with each other while shirtless from across the room.

"Yeah, I bet," Artemis said, watching the two as well.

"Conner's become really protective of him," M'Gann said.

"Yeah, well. When you're dating a guy with superpowers by someone who's kind of your arch-nemesis, you tend to get a bit protective," Dick pointed out.

"You think we should do something about it?" Wally asked.

"What do you mean?" M'Gann questioned.

"I don't know. It just seems like Conner's gotten a bit more possessive than usual. I mean, Y/N can't even go to school without him worrying. And, he's always asking about him and his progress with his powers. It's like he's obsessed or something."

"Well, it's not like he's done anything wrong," Zatanna pointed out, "We don't even know what's going to happen with his parents and Luthor. I mean, imagine how Conner must feel when Y/N has to go back to the school and those experiments and he can't do anything about it."

"Plus, the fact his family is essentially allowing this, whether they know about the full situation or not," Kaldur added.

"Yeah. I mean, the guy was practically raised in a lab and was used as a weapon by that same jerk. So, the idea of his boyfriend's family being involved with his arch-nemesis would definitely get his panties in a twist," Artemis added

"Well, hopefully, we can figure something out soon. I'm not sure how much longer Conner can handle it."

"I think we should just let things play out. If it gets to a point where it's affecting our missions or our teamwork, then we can intervene. But, for now, I think we should just let them be," Kaldur said, ending the conversation.

As if on cue, the two boys finished their sparring match, with Y/N pinning Conner down against the floor.

"I win," Y/N said with a smile.

"Only because I let you," Conner replied.

"No, you didn't. You just couldn't handle me. I'm just too fast and strong for you," Y/N teased before letting them both up.

"Oh, yeah? Well, let's see who's too fast and strong now," Conner said before grabbing Y/N and throwing him over his shoulder.

The Kryptonian carried him around the room, his boyfriend laughing and protesting while the others just rolled their eyes.

"Alright lovebirds, that's enough flirting. We've got a mission," Dick said.

"Yes Father," Y/N replied sarcastically before having the Kryptonian put him down who had a disgruntled face at being interrupted, "Stop pouting, you big baby."

"I'm not pouting," Conner mumbled.

"You're totally pouting."

"I'm not."

"You are."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"Haha! I win!" Y/N said before giving Conner a peck on the cheek, causing the Kryptonian to smile while his boyfriend checked his phone, "Oh Crap, I didn't realize how late it was. I have to get back to the school."

"Do you have to go?" Conner asked, his arms wrapping around his waist.

"You know I do. We don't want to alert anyone. I promise I'll be back later, okay?" Y/N said, cupping the Kryptonian's face.

Conner nodded before leaning down and capturing the younger male's lips in a sweet kiss.

"I'll see you later."

"Bye, babe."

"See you later, Y/N," The others called out as the young male made his way to the Zeta Gateway.

"Man, I don't know how he does it. If I had a boyfriend like Conner, I don't think I'd ever leave," Artemis said.

"Yeah, well. I think the only reason he's able to is because of the fact that he's being experimented on by his parents' best friend and his parents are okay with it. He wants to be there to protect his parents and keep them safe, despite what they're doing," Dick pointed out.

"I hope we can find a solution soon," Wally said, "I can't imagine what Conner's feeling."

"Yeah, we'll figure something out," Kaldur said, before they made their way to the mission briefing.

Things continued on like that for almost a little over a year. During the day, Y/N would attend his classes and sessions with Lex while still taking the dilutions S.T.A.R. Lab made for him. Then, at night, he traveled back to Mount Justice for training, any missions he was needed on, and to provide updates to the League while they worked on shutting the experiments for good.

He'd come far in his development and was no longer the helpless kid who had no control over his powers. He was now a superhero in his own right and had become a very important member of the team.

Plus, he and Conner were as close as could be, deeply in love with each other and always together. The Kryptonian was still a bit protective and possessive of the younger male, but not to the point where it was interfering with the team. If anything, it had the opposite effect.

When they were out in the field, Conner was more determined and focused than ever, especially if Y/N was involved.

He still went out of his way to make sure the younger male was safe, even taking on the responsibility of walking him back to his campus at night, in disguise of course. Batman objected to it at first, but knowing how stubborn Conner was, especially when it came to Y/N, he decided to allow it.

And that's where Y/N got to discover the jealous side of his boyfriend when they ran into his roommate one night the Kryptonian escorted him back.

"Hey, Y/N. Who's this?"

"Oh, this is CJ, my boyfriend. CJ, this is my roommate, Mason." Y/N said.

Conner gave his boyfriend a look at the fake name before turning back to the other present male, "Nice to meet you," he said, a bit more gruff than he intended.

"Same here. I'm glad to finally meet you, Y/N's told me a lot about you. Well, when he's here."

"I'm sure," Conner replied, trying not to sound as jealous as he was.

"Well, I'm gonna head back. I'll see you back in our room, Y/N" Mason said.

Conner did not like how suggestive that sounded and was glaring daggers into the retreating boy's back. He should have considered himself lucky that the Kryptonian didn't have heat vision, otherwise he'd be a pile of ash on the ground.

"You okay, babe?" Y/N asked, seeing his boyfriend's expression.

"I don't like him," Conner stated.

"Why? Because he's my roommate?"

"Yes. He's your roommate. And he's a guy. A guy who spends a lot of time around you. A guy who sleeps in the same room as you and knows you have a boyfriend. A guy who probably has a crush on you and is probably fantasizing about you being with him right now."

"Conner, you're being ridiculous," Y/N said, rolling his eyes.

"I am not. I know what guys like him are thinking about. He wants to get into your pants."

"So, what? Do you think I'm just going to let him? Or that I'm not capable of fending him off?"

"I know you can, but that doesn't mean he won't try. And, I don't like the idea of you being alone with him. You need to switch rooms."

"What? Just for me to end up in another room with another guy?"

"Doesn't this place offer single rooms?"

"Yes, but they're for seniors only."

"What about CO-ED?"

"I-... Really, Conner?"

"What kind of prestigious institution is this? Fine, you're moving into the Cave then, and you'll share my room with me. Your actual boyfriend."

"Conner, I can't..."

"Why not?"

"Because it's not safe. If I'm not here, my parents will get suspicious. What if they try and contact me, and I'm not here? They'll get worried and call Lex, and then he'll get suspicious. I can't risk it."

Conner sighed, knowing his boyfriend was right.

"Have I mentioned how much I don't like your parents?" Conner muttered.

"Yes, you have. Multiple times."

"Good."

That wouldn't be the last time Conner would suggest Y/N moving into the Cave, and no matter how much the younger male wanted to, he knew he had to stay at the school.

In their time together, Y/N had become one of the most, if not, the most important people in the Kryptonian's life. He was the light in the darkness, and Conner couldn't imagine his life without him.

However, the strain of the situation was beginning to show.

Lex had started to increase the intensity and frequency of the experiments, and Batman and the other League members weren't having much luck trying to figure out how to stop them. They weren't having much luck with Y/N's parents either, trying to subtly change their views on the League and Lex Luthor to help them see the potential mess they were creating by allowing these experiments to happen, but it was to no avail.

Conner could feel himself getting angrier and more impatient. He wanted to protect Y/N and help him in any way he could and was tired of not being able to do anything.

He'd also become frustrated with the League and his teammates. They were so focused on making sure they didn't make things worse that they were neglecting the actual problem.

When Y/N started slipping in training and showing signs of ill effects, Conner became even more worried and stressed every time the boy left back for school. Not being able to know if something happened to him while he was there was driving the boy up the wall, and as a result, he became more persistent in his efforts to get Y/N to stay in the Cave where he could protect him.

None of them were successful of course. But, things were slowly getting more out of control and dangerous, and Conner didn't know how much more he could take before he lost it.

"Y/N, keep up! Come on," Black Canary shouted as she ran the team through different training drills.

Batman and Superman were also there observing the training. They were there to discuss potential updates to the situation after meeting with the League, but they, especially the Kryptonian showed signs of worry at the younger superhero's seemingly exhausted state.

"He's been training a lot lately. Maybe he's just tired," M'Gann suggested.

"Maybe, but this is unusual. Even for him," Dick said.

"He's been a bit off lately," Artemis added.

"Maybe it's because of the experiments," Wally suggested.

"We don't know that," Kaldur said.

"Well, what else could it be? You saw how he was acting yesterday. He was exhausted, and his powers were all over the place. He's not getting any better. If anything, he's getting worse," Artemis said.

Her words kept everyone silent as none of them could deny the obvious fact sitting in front of them. It didn't help that Conner was already upset about the situation as a whole and the fact that the League had allowed it to go on as long as it did was only making his anger worse, something everyone could see.

"Alright, that's enough for today," Black Canary finally said.

"Are you sure? We still have some time left," Zatanna asked.

"We can finish up tomorrow. I think we all need a break. We've been working hard lately and need some time to ourselves. You can come down, Y/N!"

"I agree," Superman said, "You guys have been doing great. You deserve some time to yourselves."

"I'm going to go see if Y/N is alright," Conner said.

"Maybe we should let him rest for a bit, Conner," M'Gann said.

"What? Why? He's my boyfriend which makes him my concern. So, I'm going to see if he's alright."

"I think M'Gann is right, Conner. You should let him rest for a bit before you see him," Dick said.

"Is that an order?" Conner asked, his eyes narrowing.

"Conner, we're just saying that—"

"Oh my god!"

The Kryptonian was about to make a retort, but the sound of a scream stopped him. Everyone turned to see Y/N falling from the sky, his body limp.

"Y/N!"

Conner didn't waste a second and leaped off the ground towards his boyfriend. He caught him just in time before he hit the ground, his body hanging limply in his arms.

"Y/N! Y/N!" Conner said, shaking him, but the younger male didn't respond.

The Kryptonian's eyes were furious as he turned to the League members who had rushed over, "This is all your fault!"

"Conner, calm down. We're going to figure this out," Batman said.

"No! All of this is your fault. You and the entire League! You all knew this was happening, and you let it continue. You didn't do anything to stop it, and now look at him!"

"Conner, please. I know you're upset, but you need to calm down. We need to figure out what's wrong with Y/N."

"What's wrong with him?! You guys have been using him as your little guinea pig for over a year and now that something's wrong, you're suddenly concerned? You're all a bunch of hypocrites!"

"Conner, please. Let's just get Y/N to the med bay and see what's wrong," M'Gann said.

"Fine!" The Kryptonian shouted before following the others towards the medical bay, his boyfriend still held tightly in his arms.

Y/N was placed on the bed, while the League and the Team watched as Red Tornado checked his vitals.

Batman sent out an emergency call and had some medical professionals from S.T.A.R. Labs come to Mount Justice to figure out what was going on. His diagnosis wasn't good.

"His vitals are improving, thankfully. But, it seems his body is under a lot of stress."

"What does that mean?"

"From initial tests, it seems that the combination of whatever he's being injected with combined with our solutions to dilute and nullify them are causing his immune system to feel like it's getting attacked from two ends."

"But, this wasn't happening before when Y/N started taking the dilutions?"

"Yes, because whatever serums Mr. Luthor was using weren't as strong. We can only assume he's gotten more persistent and amped up the intensity of his tests. Combined with our dilutions, now, not only are they fighting with each other, but it's causing his body to fight itself as well. We need further tests to confirm, but what I can say is that since these experiments are primarily designed to extract and/or remove his powers, his use of them in combat or training causes more stress than he can handle."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that Y/N's body is rejecting the combination of both the serums and our solutions, and the only way to prevent further harm is to stop using them."

"But, that'll mean he won't have any way to counteract the effects of the serums," Superman said.

"Yes. But, it's the only way to prevent further damage. His body is essentially going into a sort of self-defense mode and is attacking itself. We need to stop it now before it gets worse and becomes permanent. Right now, it's only affecting his immune system, but if it continues, it'll affect other parts of his body, and we won't be able to save him."

The doctor unhooked him from the machines, packing his things before being escorted back to S.T.A.R. Labs by Black Canary and Captain Marvel. The room was quiet as Conner stood by Y/N's side while glaring at the Dark Knight.

"You knew this was happening, didn't you?"

"Conner, you need—"

"No! Don't tell me what I need to do. You knew this was happening, and you did nothing. You were fine with just sitting around and doing nothing, letting this happen. You let Y/N get hurt and put him in danger."

"Superboy! That's enough." Aqualad ordered.

"Dude, you think they've been sitting around doing nothing? That's all they've been doing trying to figure out how to shut this all down while dealing with other stuff. Batman even tried going to Y/N's parents directly to get them to see reason." Dick tried to argue on his mentor's behalf.

"And, look where that got us. Y/N nearly died today because of the crap you've all been subjecting him to. It's been over a year and you still haven't done anything. He's the one suffering while all of you get to just sit back and watch."

"Conner, please. We're trying. They just need more time," M'Gann pleaded.

"Time? Y/N could have died today. Do you understand that? I could have lost him. And, it would have been all of their faults."

"Conner, please. I know you're upset, but you can't blame them. They've been trying their best," Zatanna said.

"No, they haven't. If they were doing their best, they would've confronted Luthor directly and put an end to this shitshow months ago!"

"That would've just put Y/N and his family in more danger! They can't just go around accusing someone like Lex Luthor who is known to cover his tracks without any proof!" Artemis argued.

"Conner, enough. We all get how you feel, but they've done everything we can," Kaldur said.

"Really? Cause, from where I'm standing, they've done nothing, " He said before turning his heated gaze to Batman, who stayed silent during all of this, "You're all a bunch of cowards."

"Conner!" Superman yelled.

"No, fuck all of you. I'll save Y/N myself if I have to," He said, before picking Y/N's unconscious body off the bed and exiting the med bay towards his room.

"Should we stop him?" Wally asked.

"No, let him go," Batman answered, "He needs time to cool down."

"He's right though, isn't he?" Dick asked, "We've been putting this off for too long. We've been waiting for the League to handle this, but they haven't done anything."

"We've been trying," Superman said.

"And, yet, you haven't gotten anywhere. Despite his reaction, Conner's right. You've just been sitting around and waiting for something to happen. What have you done to stop this from happening?" Wally asked with a pointed look.

"We've been trying to find evidence against Luthor, but he's been hiding it well. We need to find a way to expose him and bring him down without risking Y/N and his parents. We can't afford to lose this."

"Well, let's hope something can get figured out soon because I don't think Conner can handle any more of this. None of us can," Kaldur said, the tone of his words hanging heavy in the air as he and the rest of the team made their way out of the med bay as well.

Y/N had woken up a couple of hours later, finding himself being held by a softly snoring Conner whose grip around him was so secure, you'd think the Kryptonian was guarding a treasure.

He smiled at the sight, not wanting to disturb his boyfriend, but the Kryptonian sensed his movement and woke up. The second he laid eyes on you, a softness appeared on his face as he brought a hand to caress Y/N's face who smiled back at him while leaning into his hand.

"Should I be worried about this being a regular thing?"

Conner didn't respond, but the slight smile across his lips indicated he was happy to see Y/N could still make a joke out of anything. The younger boy started to look around, wondering how he even got there in the first place.

"What happened? Last thing I remember was being in training, and then nothing else," He asked, turning back to the Kryptonian.

Conner still didn't say anything, just leaned over and pressed a kiss against the boy's lips, forcing him to lay back as he positioned himself over him. Y/N wasn't complaining at the move, kissing back with as much fever and passion as the Kryptonian.

When he broke the kiss apart, Conner just leaned his head down into his neck while being careful not to lay all his weight on the boy, placing small kisses on his neck and breathing in his scent. Y/N brought his arms around the boy, giving small caresses to his back, sensing the boy needed this quiet moment.

He could tell whatever happened wasn't good, and it would likely upset Conner in talking about it. That's when he suggested going to the common room to watch TV, having more time to cuddle, and just relax after what must have been a stressful day. Plus, based on the way he was acting now, Y/N knew his boyfriend wasn't planning on letting him out of his sight for the rest of the night.

Without a word, Conner hopped up off the bed, picking his boyfriend up in his arms, and carrying him out of the room.

"You know, my legs work just fine. Just thought I should remind you," Y/N joked, finally getting a smile from the Kryptonian.

"Shut up and let me take care of you idiot."

"Whatever you say, honey."

"I hate that nickname."

Eventually, Y/N discovered what happened, after he practically had to force Conner to give him his phone which he needed to get back to his dorm and the Kryptonian all but exploded on him for even considering the idea of going back to that place. He knew the experiments were getting worse, and he could feel the effect it was having on his body.

The only thing he didn't realize was how much of an effect it was having on Conner and even his friends who all were concerned for his well being after watching him nearly split open his skull after fainting mid-flight and plummeting towards the ground. But, in the end, all he could think of was his parents and not putting them in danger.

It didn't matter though, because the Kryptonian had made his decision, and he made it clear not only to his boyfriend but to the rest of the team and their superiors. Either he goes with Y/N back to the school and stays with him full-time, or Y/N would remain at Mount Justice and transfer to Happy Harbor and they would just have to figure out another plan to protect his parents.

Surprisingly, he wasn't met with any opposition. Everyone agreed with him. While the League was still concerned about the potential consequences of these actions and the dangers they could bring, they realized their hesitance had already put Y/N in a more than dangerous position that could have cost him his life.

While the League still had a plan in motion and would be monitoring the situation, they knew things had escalated beyond their control. They decided to follow Conner's suggestion, having the Kryptonian pose as a transfer student, allowing him to attend the school and stay by his boyfriend's side.

He was moved into his own dorm with a roommate (despite his initial demands that he be placed in the same room as Y/N, but there was only so much they could do without raising heads) and placed in all his classes. Conner became like his personal bodyguard, making sure he was never alone or in the presence of anyone they didn't know or trust.

He was unpleasantly surprised to find out it was an all-boys school, and it only made the Kryptonian even more suspicious of his classmates, especially the ones who seemed too friendly or close to his boyfriend.

Y/N was not amused.

"Conner, please, stop glaring at everyone."

"I'm not glaring. I'm just observing."

"Observing, glaring. Same difference."

"What? They're all just staring at you. Like, they're undressing you with their eyes. It's disgusting. And you should've told me this was an all-boys school!"

"I didn't tell you because I didn't think it mattered. Plus, I knew you would react this way. Besides, they're not undressing me with their eyes."

"Just because you don't see it, doesn't mean they're not doing it. And what do you mean you knew I'd react this way?"

"Conner, sweetie, I love you, but you've got to be one of the most jealous people I've ever met."

"Okay, you're exaggerating. I don't get that jealous." Conner scoffed.

"Babe, you literally get upset because Wolf always wants to play with me more than he does with you."

"Okay, that's completely valid. I'm his owner or Alpha or whatever, but he only wags his tail excitedly when he sees or smells you coming."

"I've always been a dog person." Y/N shrugged.

"Yeah, well apparently, you're also gonna be the person who gets all these irritating fuckers sent to the nurse's office if they don't find somewhere else to look at."

Y/N rolled his eyes in amusement, "You're ridiculous."

"I'm your boyfriend."

"Exactly."

The Kryptonian couldn't argue with that, not that he would want to.

"I'm still not going to like this," Conner grumbled.

"Yeah, I know. And, I still love you."

"Good."

Looking on the brighter side, however, things were better with Conner attending the school. He was able to provide updates to the Team and League about what was happening, and the Kryptonian was always on high alert when Y/N was at the labs.

Plus, it was nice having the Kryptonian nearby. The fact that his boyfriend was always so close made Y/N feel safer and less stressed, and it gave the Kryptonian peace of mind knowing he was safe.

Of course, there were moments when Conner had to remind himself not to overreact, trying to control the situation, but he was getting better at it.

Ironically enough, Conner ended up becoming a little popular within the school, which should have been surprising. The Kryptonian was the picture-perfect American boy. He was athletic even if he didn't join any sports teams, most people just assumed from his muscular build. He possessed high intelligence thanks to his G-Gnome programming and was insanely attractive in the eyes of many.

Even though he wasn't exactly the most social, choosing to mostly keep to himself or stick by his boyfriend's side, many of the students and teachers slowly began to warm up to him. He was still a bit standoffish and awkward, but his protective nature towards his boyfriend was seen as endearing and adorable by his peers.

It was also envied and desired by many of their classmates. And since Conner was still convinced that certain boys in the school couldn't be trusted because of their obvious love-struck eyes for Y/N, it made him all the more surprised when he realized some of those looks were meant for himself. Much to the displeasure of his boyfriend, of course, which the Kryptonian took great pride in. It was satisfying knowing he wasn't the only jealous one in their relationship.

"You're jealous," The Kryptonian smirked at his boyfriend's irritable expression as they sat in the library studying.

"Am not," Y/N denied.

"Are too."

"And what makes you think that?" Y/N tried to show a neutral face, but Conner knew him too well and could see the visible anger twitching in his eyes.

"Well, for starters, you get this irritable look in your eye like the one you have now when someone tries to come up and talk to me. You looked about ready to blast my lab partner's head off in chemistry earlier today during our experiment. And you've been glaring at Logan for the past twenty minutes ever since he came over here and offered to study with us," Conner stated, his smirk growing bigger as he watched his boyfriend's cheeks begin to burn with embarrassment, "Now, you know how it feels."

"Okay, first of all, I got annoyed because they always came up and tried to talk to you when we were clearly in the middle of a conversation. That would irritate anyone, even a nun—"

"What do nuns have to do with this?"

"—Secondly, I was only looking at your lab partner like that because he kept popping his gum and you know the sound of the shit drives me crazy. Plus, he didn't need to position your chairs right next to each other during the experiment. And, I was not glaring at Liam, which is actually his name, by the way, I was just... observing."

"Observing?" The Kryptonian asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, observing. We're in a library, would you like me to grab you a dictionary? It's when you look at something or someone closely and with attention," Y/N stated, the sarcasm dripping off his words.

"Really? Because it looked more like this," Conner said, before he scrunched his eyebrows together, making a look of intense concentration, his eyes squinting, "Then, the person you were looking at would start to panic and freak out because it looked like you were going to attack them," Y/N held an unimpressed look while actively suppressing the amusing chuckles he felt rising in his stomach.

"Careful sweetie, hold that face for too long and it might get stuck like that," Y/N said.

"Very funny," Conner replied, before his eyes took on a mischievous glint, "I like it when you're jealous, though. Makes you even cuter."

Y/N let out a scoff, "I'm not cute, and I'm not jealous. And if you want to live to see tomorrow, you'll refrain from using those words again."

"Or what?" Conner challenged, a teasing smirk on his face.

"Or, I'll show you just how 'cute' I can be," Y/N threatened.

"Is that a promise or a threat? Cause, I'm hoping for the first one."

"You've been spending way too much time with Wally."

"Maybe. But, I'm not the one who's jealous," Conner said, his smirk still firmly in place.

"Shut up," Y/N said.

"You're cute."

"I'm not."

"Are too."

"Shut up."

"Never."

"Do you want to fight? Because the energy you're giving me right now says you want to fight."

"It's okay, babe. I am also a jealous boyfriend," Conner said.

"I'm so glad you've finally acknowledged it. You know they say the first step in the journey is acceptance and admittance," Y/N said, the sarcasm and humor evident in his voice.

"Whatever. At least I don't deny it like you."

"I've already told you I'm not jealous. You're the jealous one, not me," Y/N argued.

"Whatever you say, babe."

"I'm not!"

"You're so cute when you're in denial," Conner said, reaching a hand across the table and pinching his cheek.

"I will destroy you," Y/N threatened with a fake menacing tone.

"I'd like to see you try, cutie."

Y/N couldn't help but crack a smile at his boyfriend's antics.

"I love you," Y/N said.

"Love you too, even if you are a liar."

"Fuck off."

Across the room, the couple were not aware of the eyes on them as their peers watched them bicker back and forth.

"Ugh, can't those two ever get a room?"

Things seemed to be going well, but not all good things weren't meant to last forever.

Despite their moments of levity and fun, the experiments were still taking a toll on the boy. Y/N's powers were getting harder and harder to control, and the Kryptonian was constantly worried about the boy's safety and well-being.

One lesson Y/N took very seriously from Batman was to always trust his instincts and what his gut was telling him. Those same instincts were telling him that Lex was on to them if his feelings of dread and hyper awareness anytime he and Conner were in class, out on campus, or just anywhere outside of their dorms was anything to go off.

They'd also be fools not to see how just as much as their classmates were observing them, certain members of the faculty were watching them as well. The only thing they couldn't be certain of was if these people knew they were aware of them watching them. Of course, Y/N and Conner both knew the risks of having the Kryptonian on the campus more frequently and the increased chances that Lex would recognize him, even despite the changes in his appearance they did to throw him off.

The teacher and faculty agents the League had sent in were doing their best to uncover Luthor's plot, but even having them on campus watching out for him and Conner didn't do much to ease Y/N's nerves.

Little did he know how right he was to feel on edge.

During one of their sessions while Lex was in the observation room, his assistant came to him with a tablet, "Mr. Luthor, the surveillance footage you requested."

"Thank you. Any developments?"

"Actually, yes, sir. There's a new subject who has joined the school recently," The assistant said, showing footage of their subject eating lunch with the addition in question.

"What's so special about this one?" Lex asked, his eyes narrowing as he watched the two interact.

"From initial gatherings, nothing sir," Mercy said, swiping through the different video files they had recorded of Y/N and this new student around the school since his arrival, "But, after close observation and monitoring, we found the nature of their relationship to be more intimate than expected. And, after noting his unusual practice of never leaving the subject's side for more than a second and their frequent trips off campus together, we ran a facial recognition and found this." She swiped over to an old file from their Cadmus labs in Washington.

Lex's eyebrows raised in recognition while a knowing smile grew across his lips, "Ah, so it seems Project K.R. has gone and fallen in love with our little experiment. How interesting. Expected of course, which gives me a perfect opportunity."

"What would you like us to do, sir?"

"For now, continue monitoring. Keep a close eye on them. If our resident Superboy knows about him and is here assumingly to watch and protect him, we can only assume the League is on to us," Lex instructed, a hand to his chin as he thought over their moves before his usual knowing smirk returned to his face, "Also, reach out to the family of our subject. I do believe it's time we set up a parent-teacher conference."

Mercy nodded at the instructions, before turning to leave. Lex turned back to the one-sided window, watching as the scientists and doctors performed their tests and experiments on Y/N with a knowing smile. He grabbed his phone out of his pocket, opening a message thread and pulling up a photo he received some weeks prior.

A cute and lovely photo it was too of Conner taking a selfie of him and Y/N who was seemingly caught off guard and trying to get the phone back. Lex smiled at the screen with a thoughtful gaze before making his way inside the experiment room, intending to have a little chat with his subject.

Y/N knew something was up, and the only small relief he had to his growing anxiousness was the fact that the League finally had come up with enough evidence and was now formulating a plan to end these experiments and take Luthor down, without risking his parents in the process. Only that seemed less likely when his parents suddenly showed up at the school the following week, surprising both their son and the Kryptonian who immediately became suspicious.

Apparently, Lex had decided to call a meeting with him and his parents to discuss his performance and results. And, if the uneasy dread in his stomach was correct, it definitely had nothing to do with his grades.

The agents immediately reported back to the League, and Conner was insistent that he and Y/N return to Mount Justice as soon as possible, almost certain that Lex was up to something. But, his boyfriend who just as much wanted to agree with the Kryptonian wouldn't allow it.

He was also very aware of the ominous feeling that Lex was setting up something, and that's why he had purposely invited Y/N's parents there. In the past year he'd spent with 'Uncle Lex', he'd gotten to know him pretty well, and getting to know him meant he got to see the parts of Luthor that were cold, calculating and always scheming.

Whether Lex was aware or not that Y/N could see these traits coming out at times, the young superhero noted it. And that's why he was certain he had no choice but to attend this meeting.

Lex got his parents involved for a reason, and he wasn't ready to find out what that reason was. But, Conner was not ready nor willing to let his teammate and boyfriend walk into an obvious trap. Despite his very strong feelings concerning the boy's parents and his wanting to give them a piece of his mind, Y/N's safety was his #1 priority. If his parents were in on the scheme, then any wrong move or miscalculated step could put him at risk, and that wasn't something the Kryptonian was willing to gamble on.

"No, you're not going," Conner stated, leaving no room for argument in his tone, despite knowing his boyfriend would still argue back with him.

"Yes, I am."

"Y/N, this is not up for discussion. You're not going, and that's final." Conner said, looking down straight into his boyfriend's eyes and not budging an inch. In any other scenario, he'd typically argue a little before giving in to the smaller male...not this time.

"Last time I checked, you were not my boss. And you know what will happen if I don't go. Lex will just end up coming after me and my parents," Y/N retorted.

"Fine. Then, I'm coming with you. End of discussion."

"Conner—"

"Y/N, I'm not letting you do this alone. End. Of. Discussion."

"Conner, I have to. You don't understand, he's got something planned and he's not stupid. He knows the League's onto him and this is basically his insurance policy. I can't let my parents get caught up in this," Y/N said, his decision final.

"And I can't let you get hurt," Conner yelled, grabbing Y/N by his shoulders and bringing him closer, his face showing his desperation while Y/N tried to push back the tears building in his eyes, "What if your parents are in on it and this is just you playing into all of their hands? You can't expect to believe that they have no idea what's going on and haven't noticed the condition you've been in all those times you went home."

"You don't think I haven't considered that?! I'm not stupid, Conner. But, if my parents are in on this, then that's something I'll just have to face the reality of. But, I'm their son, superpowers or not, I'm still their kid. That has to count for something," Y/N said, the tears no longer being held back as they broke free and ran down his face.

The Kryptonian softened at the sight and reached his hand up to wipe away the tears, before bringing the boy closer to him and embracing him, his arms wrapping around him as if trying to protect him from the entire world. Just like before, when they stood in the middle of his room at Mount Justice, only this time, the roles were reversed and Conner was the one comforting him.

Just like the many other teens and kids who had the blessing of being gifted with powers and abilities beyond the average human, it came with many circumstances, and sometimes those circumstances outweighed the benefits. As he'd come to learn, he wasn't the only one who had his fair share of daddy and mommy issues, didn't make it hurt any less though.

The idea that his parents couldn't accept him for who he was and would rather subject him to cruel and awful experiments, just to get rid of something they saw as an imperfection in him...stung, to say the least. It wouldn't be the first time he'd wondered about how his life would have turned out had he not had these powers, but he'd be lying if he said it hadn't crossed his mind that maybe his parents would be happier and more accepting.

That thought alone was what made him the most upset. Not the fact that they'd rather see him as a science experiment than their son, but the fact that they'd rather just erase him and get rid of him completely, even if it meant losing their son than having to face the idea of their child being different.

It was something he'd only admitted once before to Conner, and the Kryptonian could still recall the pain he felt at the admission. It was a pain so subtle, yet so raw and so deep that he could feel how much it affected his boyfriend, making his dislike turn to disdain, almost hatred towards his so-called 'parents.'

Now, in the face of everything, Y/N was slowly accepting it as his reality. The thought had been slowly settling in his mind more and more over the past year as these experiments continued. Conner was right. His parents had to have known something was up when they saw him come home the few times he did in the past few months.

If it was enough for his friends and his protectors from the Justice League to see, then they had to have noticed at some point. And the fact that he'd never seen them show any ounce of concern unless it was relating to the state of his 'undesirable traits' as stated by his mother told him everything he needed to know.

At any point, they'd probably agree with what Lex was doing, especially if they knew he was doing it to eliminate Superman and the Justice League. His parents weren't at risk. They never were.

But, the Justice League was.

His Team and friends were at risk.

Conner was at risk, and that was something he wasn't going to take any chance with no matter the cost to himself.

"My parents just texted. They're meeting with Lex in his office. I have to go," Y/N said, going to grab his things and head for the door.

"No, you don't," Conner said, pulling his boyfriend into his hold, "If you think I'm going to willingly let you walk into what's almost certainly a death sentence, then you actually are an idiot. We're going back to Mount Justice and telling the others what's going on."

"I can't, Conner. My parents are already on their way, and if I'm not there, they along with Lex are going to get suspicious. It's one thing if Lex knows about us and the League, but if my parents find out, then we're going to have an even bigger problem to deal with," Y/N argued, still trying to break free from the Kryptonian's embrace.

"And, what about when they figure out you're a superhero and are part of the team who's been working to bring them down? If you're going to that meeting, then I'm going with you, and if I have to, I'll protect them as well. It's not like I can't handle myself. Besides, you'll be there, and we're stronger together," Conner stated.

"No, absolutely not," Y/N refused.

"And why not?"

"Do you honestly think for one moment Lex hasn't prepared a thousand and one different contingency plans? Like I said before, if he invited my parents here, then he did it for a reason. And I'm willing to bet he's got plenty of different backups in case you, Superman, Batman, or anyone from the Team or League tries to intervene. I've spent the last year observing this man, Conner. He's smart, and he's always planning his next move. You should know that more than anyone!"

"Exactly, which is why I'm not going to let him hurt you."

"But, he'll hurt you if you're there! Do you not get it, Conner? If Lex sees you, he'll use you against me. Do you not understand that? If you show up to that meeting, he'll have all the leverage he needs to take everything from me. Despite my not wanting to believe it could be true, I have to accept the reality that my parents may actually be 100% totally on Lex's side, so he won't be able to use them effectively against me like he could if they weren't, which gives me an advantage. An advantage that goes straight out the window if you're there," Y/N explained, hoping the Kryptonian would listen.

"You're not invincible, Conner. Your abilities might rival Superman's, but Lex created you. Even if M'Gann removed all the programming the G-Gnomes did to you before that gave him control over you, Lex still knows how to get to you in ways I couldn't even imagine. And that scares the shit out of me. I can't lose you. I can't," Y/N cried, finally breaking down and dropping his body fully into his boyfriend's arms.

Conner's heart ached at the words, never feeling as helpless and weak as he did at that moment. It seemed no matter how much he tried to protect his boyfriend and keep him safe, all his efforts were in vain, and both of them were at risk of losing the other.

It was amazing how only a year together could bring two individuals who hadn't known each other and were seemingly doing just fine on their own before, could reach a point where they felt like they couldn't go on without the other, and just the thought of was enough to send them down a spiral of panic and misery.

Conner wrapped both his arms around Y/N's waist at that moment, holding him in what could be considered a lethally crushing embrace while digging his face into the smaller boy's neck. His boyfriend never complained though, holding on to his Kryptonian just as tight while rubbing his hands through his hair and up and down his back, his tears still falling silently down his face.

The Kryptonian couldn't hold back his own tears as he felt them drop down his face, hiding his face even further to prevent his boyfriend from seeing him cry. One of them had to be strong for the other, and Conner decided it would always be him. It was what he was made for. His grip grew tighter with every second as he fought the urge to just break through the window and run off with his boyfriend, hiding them away forever.

He wanted nothing more than to take him away from all this. To take him somewhere far away from all the danger and chaos that plagued their lives and just live. The fantasy of having a simple life with Y/N and getting married, settling down, and starting a family was the only thing he could think about now.

"I love you, Conner. You've done a great job at protecting me so far, but, just this once, let me protect you. Let me keep you safe," Y/N whispered, his voice strained and hoarse.

"I love you, Y/N. I promise we'll figure this out, and we'll have that forever we talked about before. Just wait for me," Conner said, pulling back just enough so he could look the smaller boy in the eye, placing a gentle kiss on his forehead, his cheeks, and the tip of his nose, before finally landing on his lips.

"With open arms," Y/N replied, the smile on his face bittersweet, yet full of love and promise.

"With open arms," Conner repeated, the tears still running down his face, and his arms still refusing to let go of the boy.

The two embraced in a bruising kiss, one full of desperation and pain, and a silent promise. When the kiss broke, Y/N pulled the Kryptonian into his chest, his fingers running through his dark hair and rubbing small circles on his back, and Conner closed his eyes, allowing the touch to soothe him, wishing he could stay there forever.

"That was so cheesy," Y/N chuckled messily through his tears.

"You were the one who said it," Conner smiled, his eyes still closed as he buried his face into his boyfriend's chest.

"Shut up," Y/N laughed lightly, his hands still rubbing Conner's back.

"I'll let you go, but only on one condition," The Kryptonian spoke, his eyes opening and looking into the eyes of the boy in his arms.

Y/N looked at him, holding back a sad chuckle, knowing the Kryptonian wouldn't let it go easily, "What is it?"

"You have to let Batman and one of our friends go with you, just as a backup. They don't have to go with you inside the meeting, but I'll feel better knowing you have some sort of reinforcement. And the only other option if you don't agree to that is me throwing you over my shoulder and taking you back to Mount Justice."

Y/N almost opened his mouth to argue but held back his words, knowing Conner wouldn't budge and would likely follow through on his threat. He sighed, knowing the Kryptonian wouldn't let him do this alone, despite his protests.

"Okay," He relented, hoping for once that his boyfriend could not read him as easily as he did.

"Promise me," Conner said, the determination and stubbornness still present in his eyes, "You promise me, okay? Promise me, you won't go alone," He demanded.

Y/N nodded, "I promise."

"No, say it. I need to hear it," Conner ordered.

"I won't go alone, Conner. I promise."

"Good," Conner sighed, his grip on his boyfriend relaxing, "Now, who are you going to bring with you?"

"Wally, I think," Y/N answered, "He's fast and can get me out of there pretty quickly if things get out of hand."

"Fine, but just know, if anything happens, I'll come and get you myself," Conner declared.

"I know. But, I'll be okay. Everything will be fine," Y/N reassured, "I love you."

"I love you, too," Conner said before getting up, "Now, you stay here, and do not go to that meeting until I'm back with Batman and Wally. Got it?"

Y/N rolled his eyes playfully, "Yes, sir."

"Good. Remember what you promised," Conner said, before leaning forward and kissing his boyfriend again, the kiss much sweeter and calmer than the one before, but with the same amount of passion and love behind it. He pulled away, giving his boyfriend one last glance before heading out of the room.

That was the last time he saw Y/N.

Conner wasted no time in getting back to the Zeta Gateway to Mount Justice, not caring who saw him leaping across the campus and the city. When he finally made it back to the Cave, he explained the situation and demanded Batman and Wally return with him. Wally had no problem going along with it, not liking the fact that his friend was being put in danger, and not caring that the Kryptonian's protective nature was kicking in, knowing they were all a little protective of their teammate and friend.

Batman needed a few more details, but when he had the whole story, he immediately called in Superman along with the rest of the Team. Conner truly didn't care at that moment, as long as they got back before Y/N did something stupid. Despite the smaller boy's wishes, they were not granted, as the Kryptonian could clearly see his boyfriend was planning something.

When they made it back, Batman held back, opting for Robin to go in his place with him, Conner, and Wally. The three boys, each now dressed in their Team attire made their way to Y/N's dorm, only to find it empty, their teammate nowhere in sight. Conner had to physically hold back from tearing the entire school apart.

"Where the fuck is he?!" Conner screamed, his patience and concern growing thin.

"Calm down, Supey. He probably saw we were coming and made his way to the meeting. Let's just follow the plan and get there so we can be ready to jump in when he needs us," Kid Flash said, trying to calm the Kryptonian down.

"Where's the meeting at?" Robin asked.

Conner took a few deep breaths, trying to get ahold of himself, "He told me it was in Luthor's office. Knowing him, he probably lied thinking I would've gone after him by myself. I'll bet they're meeting in the science building where they've been doing the experiments," He theorized.

"Then, what are we waiting for?" Kid Flash said before the trio made their way over, alerting Batman, Superman, and the rest of their team.

But, by the time they made it, it was too late.

On the outside, the building looked fine. But, on the inside, everything was destroyed. It almost looked like a nuclear bomb had gone off inside the building. The testing lab, where they usually performed the experiments on Y/N was in even worse shape than the rest of the building.

All the equipment and furniture was completely demolished, and the one-sided mirror Lex would watch from was shattered, with a small hole in the wall behind it, indicating the explosion came from the inside.

There were scorch marks everywhere, the smell of burnt metal and plastic filling the air as the four boys walked around the scene. The League had already contacted the police and the fire department, and the school's administration was currently being investigated and questioned by the local authorities.

They couldn't find Y/N though. They managed to find students and faculty who were in the building and trapped under rubble. They found some of the scientists hiding in various spots in the destroyed wreckage of the room like they were trying to shield themselves from the damage.

They even managed to locate Mercy Graves, who was unconscious in the rubble.

But, no signs of their missing friend and teammate.

No trace of Lex Luthor or Y/N's parents either which made the rising anger and panic Superboy was feeling reach astronomical levels.

"Where the hell is he?!" Conner shouted, his patience finally giving out and the anger and concern he'd been feeling the past hour finally bubbling over.

"Superboy, calm down," Batman said, "We'll find him."

"And how can you be so sure? We've been looking for over an hour, and there's no sign of him," Conner yelled, the worry and concern in his voice very clear.

"Superboy, relax. We'll find him, don't worry," Superman said, only to be interrupted by the groan of an awakening Mercy Graves.

"You won't find him," She said, coughing a few times and holding her head as she sat up.

Superboy made his way over to the woman, grabbing her off the ground and throwing her against one of the few remaining walls in the room.

"Superboy!" Batman shouted.

"Where is he," Superboy growled, ignoring his mentor and leader's warnings.

"I told you, you won't find him," Mercy said, smiling through her bloody and bruised lips.

Superboy, very much past his limit, wrapped his hand around the woman's throat, lifting her into the air, "Tell me where he is right now, or I promise I will choke the life out of you right now and enjoy doing it."

By the tone of his voice and the warning squeeze he gave around her throat that had the bodyguard wincing in pain, he was not bluffing.

"Superboy, stand down! We need her to talk," Superman ordered.

"Why? She clearly knows something and she's not telling us," Superboy retorted, a dark and ominous tone to his voice no one had ever heard from him before as he watched the tears build in her eyes from not being able to breathe, "Might as well make sure she never speaks another word again. Save us all the trouble."

"And how will that help you find him?" Batman asked.

"It won't. But, I'll feel a lot better," The half-Kryptonian said, turning his attention back to Mercy, who was trying her best to remove the hand from her throat.

"Superboy, release her and stand down now. That's an order," Batman said.

He seemingly was done listening to them though, his anger-filled gaze focused solely on the woman choking and gasping for breath as her throat was crushed slowly under his grip.

"Superboy, that's enough. You're going to kill her," Batman said, trying to reason with his clone.

"So, what? She's not telling us anything, and she's working for Lex. Who cares if she dies?"

"We need her alive. If she knows something, then we have other ways of getting her to talk. But, if you kill her, you may lose your only chance at finding him. Now, let her go," Superman ordered.

Everyone stood still at that moment, the sounds of debris flying and police sirens drowned out by the struggling noises coming from Lex's bodyguard as she fought to keep herself awake and alive under the deathly grip the Kryptonian had her in. His face was hard, his rage clear as day and not showing any signs of relenting.

Batman was prepared to use external measures, signaling Robin when the Kryptonian suddenly backed off. He released his grip over the woman's throat, letting her fall to the ground as she gasped and coughed for breath. Without another word, Superboy walked out of the room, not turning back as his peers and mentors stared after him in worry.

Superman had to stop him from tearing apart the entire school, as Conner was resigned to doing whatever he could to find his teammate and lover, at whatever cost. Thankfully, Batman was smart in bringing the others along as they were all able to assist in subduing him before anything else got destroyed or someone else got hurt in the process.

it wasn't easy for any of them, as they could understand the world of anger and hurt he was in. It was even harder when Batman gave them all pieces of Kryptonite to subdue him, making it easier for them to take him back to Mount Justice while they wrapped up their investigations.

They weren't able to get much out of Mercy, as she apparently wasn't present for the entire meeting and had only just returned before everything went to hell. She knew some details of Luthor's plans but not everything, but she wasn't the only one they apprehended. They detained some of the scientists who were working on the experiments themselves and brought them in for questioning.

"The experiments were designed to remove the subject's powers and abilities, as requested by his parents. Make no mistake, Mr. Luthor had no plans to deceive Mr. & Mrs. L/N. He had full intentions of honoring their wishes and returning their son to them as a normal child with no powers. However, his motives for doing so were not exactly what they may have thought. Mr. Luthor didn't just intend to remove the young boy's powers, he meant to extract them and duplicate them, hoping to copy those abilities into a new generation of Genomorph clones."

This wasn't news. They knew most of this already, but the truth spell Zatanna cast seemingly worked, as they hadn't gotten this much detail out of the assistant/bodyguard before. Conner couldn't care less though.

All he was concerned about was any information she had that could lead them to finding Y/N. It became all he cared about.

But, it seemed all Batman, Superman, and his so-called friend cared about were the experiments that were performed on him. Experiments that they allowed to go on for more than a year.

"Mr. Luthor theorized the key to extraction and duplication in the matter of the subject's abilities lay within the source of his powers. Only after several experiments were the scientists assigned to the matter able to narrow the source down to a matter of three categories. Genetic Inheritance, Biomolecular Engineering, or Magic. While the direct source was never identified, they had created many different strategies to test extraction and duplication before Mr. Luthor eventually found the correct one, which was the reason for his invitation to the subject's parents. However, one variable was unaccounted for."

"What was it?" Superman asked.

"Though it was never discovered what the source of the subject's abilities was, we did discover various effects and consequences of a potential pathogen that was destroying our serums and nullifying our experiments, which caused almost irreversible damage on the subject and potentially his power source as well. We realized the subject's body was now not only fighting against our serums and experiments, it was rejecting its own innate abilities, essentially fighting a war within itself. It was theorized that since the serums were designed to essentially tamper with the subject's powers, and the body was actively trying to expel the serums, it as a result tried to expel a part of itself as well. This caused substantial side effects, and Mr. Luthor was forced to postpone the achievement of his ultimate goal until he could be sure the subject would not die before extraction and duplication were complete."

The dilutions they were giving Y/N. The S.T.A.R. Labs scientists were right all along. And if they hadn't stopped giving Y/N the solutions when they did, they could've actually killed him from the inside.

Suddenly, everyone was grateful when Conner didn't stick around for the interrogations like he planned to, or else none of them knew how he'd react. If the way he almost crushed Mercy's throat against the wall when she wouldn't answer him was anything to go by, they'd rather not find out. Dick, Kaldur, and Wally already had a taste of it once.

They weren't keen on experiencing it again.

"What was the last thing you saw before the explosion?" Batman asked.

"Mr. Luthor had the subject restrained. He'd had him injected with the final serum, a special concoction our scientists had developed. It was supposed to neutralize the subject's powers and allow us to safely extract them. Once the extraction was complete, the subject would have been returned to his parents, and the serum would have been used to create a new generation of Genomorphs with the subject's powers that would be under Mr. Luthor's complete and total control. However, when the extraction began, something went wrong and the subject's body reacted negatively, causing his powers to go haywire, causing the explosion. I was knocked out during the blast and only woke up after your arrival. When I came to, the room was destroyed, and the subject was nowhere to be found along with Mr. Luthor and his parents. That's all I remember."

"Do you have any idea where they could've gone?"

"It is likely Mr. Luthor took himself and the subjects to safety in one of his remote locations. He is a very resourceful man and had me arrange means of emergency transportation and shelter in case anything grew out of his control. I would have been the one to escort him if I had not been caught in the blast myself. As for the subject himself, one of our scientists has summarized that he was likely vaporized from the overflux of power. The chance of his survival is almost non-existent."

A solemn mood fell over everyone at the news. Zatanna and M'Gann were distraught at the news while Artemis did her best to hide how crushed she was. Dick, Kaldur, and Wally were no better, each expressing their own forms of grief in different ways.

Batman, Superman, Flash, and the other members of the League were also plagued with remorse and guilt at the verdict. It was their fault. Especially the first three since they were the ones who brought Y/N into all of this in the first place.

And despite all the pain and anguish they were all feeling, they knew it wouldn't compare to how Conner would feel. No of them had the heart to tell him either way.

How do you tell someone the love of their life is dead?

No one had the answer, but it seemed, they didn't need it in the first place. When Conner returned to find out what Mercy and the scientists had said, all it took was one look around the room, seeing the red and wet eyes and the looks of despair on all their faces, and he just knew.

He didn't need anyone to tell him.

He didn't need the confirmation.

He didn't need anything.

Except maybe the ability to turn back time.

Because, if he could, he would've gone back and stopped Y/N from going to that meeting. He would've done what he wanted to do in the first place and just tossed the stubborn boy over his shoulder and taken him far away, somewhere safe and hidden, and never let him leave. He would've stayed with him forever, and they would've lived happily ever after.

Somehow, no one was surprised when Conner made for the vehicle hangar, clearly intending to leave.

"Where are you going?" Superman asked.

"I'm going to find him," Conner replied, his voice cold and devoid of any emotion.

"Conner, there's no point. We've searched everywhere. There's no trace of him, and Mercy said-"

"I don't give a shit what Mercy said! I'm going to find him, and I'm going to bring him home. I'm not giving up on him," Conner shouted, the tears threatening to spill from his eyes.

He was on Sphere, aka Super-Cycle, and out the door before any of them had the chance to argue.

When he didn't return for almost an entire day, they knew they had to go looking for the Kryptonian. They figured the best place to start would be Y/N's home city, the school, and certain areas around Happy Harbor.

They were right, though they didn't find him exactly where they thought.

After searching the school and their old dorm rooms, all of which showed clear signs of the Kryptonian's presence if the various holes in the wall and broken furniture were any indication. Yet, nothing of Y/N's was touched or destroyed. In fact, lots of it was neatly put together and packed away, as if someone was coming back for it. They figured Conner planned to take his stuff back to the Cave and keep it as mementos to his lost love.

It wasn't until they were flying back toward the Cave when Dick spotted him in a very familiar area. He was sitting on the ground, staring at the sky while leaning against the same tree he and the others had tied Y/N to when they thought he was a mole.

"Hey, guys, I found him," Dick said, "He's at the park."

"Alright, we'll meet you there," Batman replied over the comms.

"No, wait. Don't come here. Just...just stay where you are. I'll handle this," Robin said, his voice low and sad.

"Are you sure, Robin?" Aqualad asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure. I'll call you if I need you," Robin said before instructing M'Gann to land the Bioship a little bit away. He knew Conner would notice their arrival, but he figured it'd be easier if he just went himself.

"Hey, Supey," Robin called out, walking up to the Kryptonian.

"Go away, Dick," Conner said, his voice still cold and empty.

"I'm not going anywhere, Conner. Not until you talk to me," Robin said, sitting down next to the Kryptonian.

"I don't want to talk. I just want to be alone," Conner said.

"Well, you can be alone with a friend nearby. I'm not leaving, and neither are the others. We're worried about you, and we're not going to leave you alone. You're not the only one who's hurting, Conner. We all are. But, we're not going to get through this if we don't stick together. So, please, just talk to me. Let me help you," Robin pleaded.

"I don't need help. I need to find him," Conner said, his voice cracking a bit.

"Conner, we've looked everywhere. There's no sign of him. Even the League is looking, and they haven't found anything. There's nothing left to look for," Robin said, his voice soft and gentle.

"That's because they're not looking hard enough. I know he's out there. I can feel it. I can feel him. I can't explain it, but I know he's alive," Conner said, his voice growing firm.

"Conner, I know you want to believe that, but-"

The Boy Wonder was made silent when a folder piece of paper was shoved against his chest. When Conner didn't look back at him and just continued looking toward the sky, Dick figured he wanted him to read whatever he just gave him.

So, he did.

"Is this—"

"A fake letter someone tried to make imitating Y/N so I'd think he was dead? Yeah, it is," Conner answered, his voice still cold and devoid of emotion.

"But, how did you know?"

"I didn't. Not at first. When I got back to his dorm to see if I could find him or anything that would lead to him, I found that waiting for me on the bed. I started to read it, but I could barely get past the first three sentences without wanting to rip it to shreds. It sounded nothing like him. Nothing like the way he talked, not to mention the handwriting was too perfect," Conner explained, his voice growing softer and more emotional.

"So, someone wrote a fake letter to make you think Y/N was dead?" Dick had to admit, what Conner was saying wasn't completely off-track. He'd only known Y/N for a little over a year, but reading this letter, he agreed with the Kryptonian it sounded nothing like their teammate. But, then an image of the destroyed lab flashed in his head, and then Mercy's absolute sureness that he couldn't survive the blast...

"Ok, I see what you mean, but—"

"But, what?! What, Dick," Conner snapped, turning to his friend with a glowering look, "You think I'm crazy? You think I'm delusional? You think I'm making this up? Let me be clear since I wasn't before; if I really thought and believed Y/N was dead, I'd have gone and finished choking the life out of his useless assistant and went looking for any possible trace of Lex Luthor so I could stick my fist through his chest and God knows what if I managed to find his sorry excuse of parents."

Dick was taken aback by the Kryptonian's words, not expecting the sudden outburst.

"He's alive, Dick. And I'm going to find him," Conner stated, his tone leaving no room for argument. The only person who'd ever be able to argue against him was lost somewhere, the Kryptonian was convinced of this, and no one but Y/N would be able to convince him otherwise.

Days turned to weeks, and weeks turned to months. Before anyone knew it, a year had gone by, and no sign of Y/N had turned up.

It was hard to watch for many of the members of their team. Some of them wanted to believe Conner was right and actively helped him in his search for the first few months, but when they kept running into dead end after dead end, they slowly lost hope. Choosing to deal with their feelings of loss and move on with their lives instead of chasing someone they were positive wasn't coming back.

Conner didn't share the same sentiment. In -act, he was more than angry with his so-called 'friends' when they had all but thrown in the towel.

"You're just giving up on him?!" Conner yelled, his anger and frustration clear.

"We're not giving up, Conner. We're just trying to move on," M'Gann said, her voice calm and gentle.

"Move on? Move on?! How can you even say that? You're literally just giving up on him!"

"Conner, we're not giving up. We're just accepting the circumstances and choosing to move on," Zatanna said, her voice calm and understanding.

"He's not gone! He's not dead! He's not!"

"Dude, we're not saying he's dead. If he is alive, we don't think he's coming back," Wally spoke, trying to choose his words carefully.

"What the hell is the difference?!"

"The difference is that we're accepting that he's not coming back. And we're not going to waste our lives waiting for him," Artemis said, her voice a little more firm and serious.

"Waste our lives? You're calling looking for him a waste of time?!"

"No one said that Conner," Kaldur spoke, throwing a pointed look toward the blonde archer, "We're just saying that we've been looking for him for a year, and we haven't found anything. We've looked everywhere, and we've come up with nothing. We've exhausted every option, and we're not getting anywhere. We're not saying he's dead, but we can't spend the rest of our lives looking for him either," He explained.

"No, I've been looking for him for a year. You all gave up on him after the first few months," Conner yelled at his teammates.

"Conner, we didn't give up on him. We're just trying to move on," M'Gann repeated.

"And what if it was one of you? Would you have wanted us to give up on you then? Huh?!"

"Of course not, but-"

"Then, why are you giving up on him?"

"Because, it's not the same, Conner. It's not the same," Dick said, his voice a little louder and firmer than the others.

"No, it is the same. Fine! Give up for all I care. I didn't need your help anyway," The Kryptonian said, turning his back on his friends and walking away.

"Conner, wait," M'Gann called out, but the Kryptonian ignored her, continuing his walk.

"Let him go, M'Gann. He needs some time," Kaldur said, placing a comforting hand on the Martian's shoulder.

"But, we can't just let him go. He's not thinking clearly," She argued.

"He's not thinking at all," Artemis said, her arms crossed.

"Artemis," Kaldur warned.

"What? It's true. Have none of you paid attention for the past year?! He won't even consider the possibility that Y/N is dead," She said.

"He's not ready to accept that," Zatanna spoke, her voice quiet and solemn.

"Well, he's going to have to. We can't keep doing this. We can't keep chasing after him. We have lives, and we have missions, and we can't keep putting them on hold," Artemis said.

"She's right," Wally said, earning a surprised look from his girlfriend, "I want Y/N to be alive just as much as any of us, but we can't keep doing this. We can't keep chasing him. We have other things to worry about. We have school, jobs, missions, and families. We can't keep putting them on hold."

"I agree," Kaldur said, "As much as I hate to say it, we have to move on. We have to accept the fact that he's not coming back."

Everyone else murmured their agreement, while M'Gann still looked a bit hesitant.

"What do we do about Conner? He's not going to give up."

"I say we give him another month, and if hasn't come around, then we have an intervention and force him to wake up to reality," Artemis suggested.

"That might be a bit much," Zatanna said.

"Well, what do you suggest? We can't just let him keep going on like this. He's not going to stop, and he's not going to listen to us. We have to do something," Artemis argued.

"I agree, but I don't think an intervention is the best idea," Kaldur said.

"Well, what do you suggest?"

"I think we should just give him some space. Let him cool off and come to terms with the situation on his own."

"And if he doesn't?"

"Then, we intervene."

Things didn't get better as Artemis predicted.

With it seemingly just being himself now that his friends had given up, Conner had become even more obsessed with finding Y/N. He'd slowly done another 180 and turned into a worse version of himself when he came out of the pod.

His temper was back and stronger than ever. He barely spent time around his friends, and he was making rash decisions on missions. Black Canary and Superman both tried to intervene to talk to him, even looking into getting professional psychiatric counseling to help Conner deal with his grief.

None of it worked.

Everyone knew how much he loved—how much he loves—Y/N.

They knew how much he cared about him.

They knew how much he didn't want to believe what happened just as much as they knew he wouldn't accept it.

Conner refused to believe it.

He didn't want to.

He couldn't.

He wouldn't.

He wouldn't believe it until he saw the body.

Until he held him in his arms.

Until he could feel his heartbeat or no heartbeat at all.

His teammates and mentors could intervene all they wanted, it wasn't going to change anything. Either Conner was going to find Y/N, or he was going to die trying. Simple as that.

All the Kryptonian could think about was Y/N and the idea of him being lost and alone somewhere in the world, without him or anyone else to help him. He already failed him once, he wasn't going to do it again.

Even while going through the old interrogation videos they had on file from the scientists and Mercy Graves from the day of the accident, he was thinking about Y/N and the moments they used to share.

Their sparring sessions which frequently ended with them play-wrestling and making out on the floor or against the cave walls. All their dates into Happy Harbor whenever Y/N had free time and didn't have to report back to his school immediately that night. Their movie nights where they'd cuddle and watch all of Y/N's favorite movies and shows wanted, and Conner would pretend to hate it but secretly enjoyed it.

He'd even randomly found himself watching more of the show with the talking sponge and sea creatures, which he still had a hard time understanding. He just knew his favorite episode was always the one he remembered watching with Y/N when they were cuddled on the couch after his near accident that same day.

Y/N was lying against a pillow on the arm of the sofa while Conner lay on top of him, resting between his legs. The Kryptonian's head of dark hair was laid on his chest, and his arms wrapped around the waist of his body, like a child hugging their favorite teddy bear.

He had his arms rested over Conner's shoulders, one of his hands rubbing up and down the Kryptonian's back while the other massaged his head, fingers threading through his dark hair while they watched the ‘Graveyard Shift' episode from Spongebob Squarepants.

“I still don’t get it,” Conner spoke gruffly, “How is he a talking sponge? What gives him the ability to speak and walk?

The smaller boy chuckled at his words, feeling how the Kryptonian nuzzled his head against his chest from the vibration of his laughs.

“I don’t know. It’s a cartoon. Not everything is supposed to make sense.”

“How am I supposed to follow along if I don’t get how the world functions?” He responded, taking one of his arms from under you to gesture at the TV. You couldn’t help the sigh and eye roll that came from your lips at your boyfriend’s antics.

As Spongebob screamed frantically while running to throw the trash out, Y/N removed his hand from Conner’s head to grab his phone off the coffee table. His baby of a Kryptonian let out a disgruntled noise, raising his head to look at him with one of his signature frowns, “Oh, calm down, you big baby. I was just grabbing my phone.” He laughed.

Conner found himself smiling at the memory, always remembering how the sound of Y/N's laugh brought him happiness, despite his occasional grumpiness from losing his head rubs.

He swore for a quick moment he could even remember the feeling of the smaller male's hands running across his head, rubbing his scalp, and playing with different sections of his hair.

It was one of the many memories he had of the two of them, and he cherished each and every one.

He'd never forget the way Y/N's eyes lit up when he talked about his favorite shows and movies, or the way his face would scrunch up in concentration when he was working on a particularly difficult math problem. He always hated math.

Conner would never forget the way his heart would race and his stomach would flutter when he'd catch the smaller boy staring at him, or the way his cheeks would flush and his lips would curl into a smile when he'd catch him. He'd never forget the way his body felt pressed against his, or the way his lips tasted, or the way his skin felt under his fingertips.

The way his name sounded rolling off his tongue, or the way his voice sounded when he was moaning his name. He'd never forget the way his touch made him feel, or the way his presence made him feel. He'd never forget the way his love made him feel.

A particular memory came to mind when Conner was attending the boarding school to watch and protect his boyfriend. It was one of the last peaceful nights he remembered having with him before Y/N found out his parents were coming to the school and their lives were turned upside down.

They were thinking of their lives at the school, wondering what their lives would be like if they didn't have to worry about Lex or his parents. It was something of a dream.

Like a little teaser into what their lives would be like when they were past this entire mess. When all was said and done, Y/N fully intended to follow through on his boyfriend's many invitations to move into the Cave and transfer to Happy Harbor. He definitely wouldn't go back to living with his parents, even if they had changed their minds and views on superheroes and the Justice League.

It was something he and the Kryptonian talked about often, even more, when they found moments of quiet on campus and even before.

The couple was currently lying in Conner's dorm room on his bed, the Kryptonian holding his smaller boyfriend against his body as he slowly regained his strength after another testing session that almost sent him into a mild seizure. Lex was only getting more determined and ruthless in these experiments, throwing all caution to the wind and instructing the scientists to use whatever they had.

Conner was more than angry and was ready to find the bald man and rip his head off his body, but he knew Y/N needed him more at that moment. One of the undercover League agents knew what was going on and supplied the Kryptonian with emergency tools that the scientists at S.T.A.R. Labs said it would be safe to use in case Y/N had any bad reactions to some of the tests.

Thankfully, Conner's roommate was gone for the night, so they didn't have to worry about him coming back. They lay on his bed in quiet, both staring out the large window of the dorm at the bright moon in the cloudless sky. Y/N's body was racked with a small shudder and/or twitch now and then, but for the most part, he was calm and he was comfortable feeling completely at peace and safe in the Kryptonian's arms.

Something was on his mind though, something the Kryptonian could tell he was waiting to ask as he felt his boyfriend's fingers tapping softly against pec, "What's on your mind, babe?"

The smaller boy felt a small smile spreading across his face, the blushing feeling in his chest at how well his boyfriend knew him, sensing when he had something that was bothering him or just weighing on his mind, "Why couldn't we just stay in your room that night forever?"

The Kryptonian couldn't help but smile at the memory, "If I remember correctly, that's exactly what I was trying to get you to agree to, but someone wanted to be stubborn."

"That someone has a name, thank you," He said, his voice muffled slightly, but the humor was still evident.

"Yeah, and they're also an idiot," Conner retorted, feeling the light smack against his chest.

"I hate you."

"No, you don't," Conner responded.

"No, I don't," Y/N confirmed.

The air was silent for a moment, as they just lay there in each other's presence, holding on to as much of the peaceful moment as they could, knowing at some point, reality would come knocking to pull them out of the safe space that was each other's presence.

"You know we can have that, right?" Conner asked.

Y/N looked up at his Kryptonian, "Have what?"

"Forever. Like you said that night in my room, we can have that. You can stay at the Cave with me, Zatanna, and M'Gann and you can share my room with me. You can transfer to Happy Harbor and we can go to school together. I'll even join the football team and let you be my cheerleader like in all those dumb movies you have me watch with you," Conner explained, his voice growing softer as he laid out their future together.

"First off, don't act like you don't enjoy those movies just as much as I do. Secondly, if anything, I'd be on the football team and you'd be my cheerleader," Y/N retorted, the Kryptonian scoffing at the mere idea of that even happening, "And, lastly, don't think I'm not on to you and you're real intentions of trying to get me to share a room with you."

Conner's mischievous smile along with his peculiar hand placement gave away the Kryptonian's thoughts at his boyfriend's words, "I have no idea what you're suggesting. But, even if I did, I'm your boyfriend, so I'd argue that I'm allowed to have those intentions."

"And that's why I'll be making sure I get my own room," Y/N smirked.

"Not if I can help it," Conner retorted, before leaning down and pressing a kiss to his boyfriend's lips.

"You're impossible," Y/N said, his voice soft and his eyes full of love.

"But, you love me," Conner replied, his voice equally as soft and his eyes full of love.

"I do," Y/N said, his voice barely above a whisper, "I love you."

"I love you too," Conner said, his voice matching his boyfriend's, leaning down to press another kiss, this one deeper against the smaller boy's lips.

"We'll have that, right? We'll have our forever?" Y/N asked when they eventually broke apart.

"Of course, we will. I promise," Conner said, his voice firm and his eyes serious.

"Good," Y/N said, his voice soft and his eyes full of hope and love.

"Good," Conner repeated, his voice soft and his eyes full of love.

"Hey, Supey, you in here?" Wally's voice called out, startling the Kryptonian from his memories.

He and Dick walked into the mission room, finding the Kryptonian standing in front of the computer, watching the interrogation videos.

"What are you doing?"

"Watching the interrogation videos," Conner answered, his voice cold and devoid of emotion.

"Again? Dude, you've watched those a million times. You're not going to find anything new," Wally said, his voice a bit exasperated.

"Maybe not, but I'm not going to stop looking," Conner said, his tone leaving no room for argument.

"Dude, you can't keep torturing yourself like this. We've exhausted every option, and haven't gotten anywhere. Maybe you're right, and he's not actually dead. But, if he hasn't come back yet, maybe it's time for you to move on. You can't spend the rest of your life looking for him," Wally said, his voice a bit firmer and more serious.

"And did you ever consider that maybe he hasn't come back because he's being held captive, and hasn't managed to escape?" Conner asked, not even turning an eye to the speedster as he continued watching the videos.

"Yes, we have considered the idea. But, have you considered the possibility that he actually may just be dead?" Wally blurted.

Conner visibly tensed at the suggestion, Dick throwing a nervous look toward the speedster who looked well aware and positively anxious at his word choice. A few moments of silence passed as the next video loaded, neither of the two males knowing what to say before the Kryptonian replied.

"He's not dead."

"And how do you know that?" Dick asked softly.

"Because I just do, Dick. Alright, is that good enough for the two of you?" Conner snapped.

"No, it's not," Wally spoke, his voice a bit firmer, "You do realize it's scientifically impossible for you to have some psychic connection that tells you if Y/N is alive. You need to face reality."

"Dude, back off," Dick said, seeing how the speedster's words were starting to get to the Kryptonian.

"No, I'm not backing off. He needs to hear this. He's not going to wake up and accept the facts until someone makes him," Wally argued.

"Okay, KF. I get what you mean. But, this isn't going to help anything." Dick tried to warn his friend of the increasingly agitated Kryptonian, but it seemed Wally also was no longer listening.

"Face the facts, Conner. He's not coming back. And, if he is, which is highly unlikely, it's not going to be anytime soon. You can't keep doing this. We're all worried about you. You need help, man," Wally said.

"Wally, dude seriously, chill out," Dick said.

"What I need is for you to leave me alone," Conner growled, his hands clenched into fists.

"I'm not going to leave you alone. Not until you accept the truth. He's gone, Conner. And, he's not coming back," Wally said, his voice stern and unwavering.

"No's he not," Conner said, his voice low and his tone dangerous.

"Then, where is he?! Huh, Conner?! Where is he?!"

"KF, cut it out."

"What's going on in here?" Kaldur said, entering the mission room along with the girls.

"Nothing," Conner growled, his eyes turning back to the screen.

"It doesn't sound like nothing," Artemis said, her arms crossed.

"Well, it is. So, leave me alone," Conner said, his voice a bit louder and his tone a bit harsher.

"Conner, are you alright?" M'Gann asked, her voice soft and concerned.

"I'm fine," He growled.

"Are you sure? Because you're not acting like it," Artemis said, her voice a little more firm.

"Artemis," Kaldur warned.

"No, she's right. He's not," Wally said, "He's been watching the interrogation videos again."

"Dude," Dick turned to his friend with a warning tone knowing where this would lead if it wasn't put to a stop.

"What? It's true. He's not accepting the fact that Y/N is dead," Wally said, his voice a bit louder.

"Seriously, knock it off," Dick said, his voice a bit more firm.

"No, I'm not going to stop. In fact, I told you we should've deleted these videos a long time ago. He's been obsessing over them," Wally said, his voice rising.

That got Conner's attention again, and everyone could see it by the furious twitch in his brow.

"Wally, knock it off," Dick said, his voice a bit louder.

"No, dude! He's not listening to us. He's not listening to the League. He's not listening to anyone. He's not listening to the facts. He's not even listening to his own heart, He's not accepting the fact that Y/N is gone," Wally yelled, his voice getting louder and louder.

"Wally, drop it!" Kaldur shouted.

"He's not coming back, Conner. He's not coming back. He's not-"

"Shut up," Conner growled.

"He's not coming back. He's dead, Conner! Are you listening to me right now? Y/N is dead!"

"I said shut up!" Conner roared, his fist flying and hitting the speedster square in the jaw, sending him flying across the room until he landed on the floor by the wall with a sickening thud.

"Conner!"

"Wally!"

Artemis, M'Gann, and Zatanna ran over to Wally to check on him while Kal and Dick shoved Conner away from the computer.

"Dude, what the hell," Dick yelled, his voice a mix of anger and shock.

"He deserved it," Conner growled, his fists clenched and his body shaking.

"You didn't have to hit him," Kaldur said, his voice a mixture of concern and frustration.

"Yes, I did. He wouldn't shut up," Conner said, his voice cold and his eyes full of rage.

Neither would admit it, but both males were very unsettled by the dark and dead look that seemed to be cast over their friend as he stared back at them blankly. If they both unconsciously stepped back to ensure they weren't within swinging distance, it wasn't anyone's business but their own.

"Conner, you can't just go around hitting people because they're saying things you don't want to hear," Kaldur said, his voice a combination of authority and worry.

"Yes, I can. Especially when they're saying things that are wrong," Conner said, his voice still calm and his eyes still cold.

"He's not wrong, Conner. We've all accepted the fact that Y/N is gone. And, it's time you do the same," Kaldur said, his voice a bit sterner.

"I'm not accepting anything," Conner said, his voice a bit louder.

"Conner, you have to. You can't keep living like this," Kaldur said, his voice growing softer and his eyes pleading.

"Apparently, Kal, you've got the same listening issue as Dick and everyone else around here. I'd say it in Atlantean for you, but I don't speak fish so I guess you're just going to have to deal with English. I'm not accepting anything. I'm not giving up. I'm not going to stop looking for him. I'm not going to stop believing. I'm not going to stop hoping. And, I'm not going to stop loving him," Conner said, his voice a lot louder and his eyes a lot colder.

A small groan was heard from the other side of the room, as Artemis and M'Gann managed to prop Wally over their shoulders, getting him back on his feet slowly.

"Hopefully, this teaches you to keep your mouth shut in the future," Conner said before walking off, his teammates watching his retreating back in silence.

"Dude, what the hell," Wally groaned, his head throbbing.

"You deserved it," Artemis said, her voice a bit harsh.

"What the hell did I do?"

"You're an idiot," She retorted.

"You're not wrong," Dick agreed, "You shouldn't have pushed him like that."

"I was just trying to get him to listen," Wally defended.

"Yeah, and you did a great job of that," Artemis said sarcastically.

"Look, I'm sorry. I didn't think he'd hit me. I didn't think he'd react like that," Wally said.

"Clearly, you didn't think at all," Artemis said, her voice a bit softer.

"I'm sorry, okay. I didn't mean for any of this to happen," Wally said, his voice a mix of guilt and regret.

"We know, Wally. We're not mad at you. Well, except him," Dick said.

"We all want to see Conner move on and get better, Wally. But, there's a difference between helping him see the truth and berating him," Kaldur explained.

The speedster just nodded, before feeling Artemis and M'Gann nudge him away, "Come on, idiot. Let's get you to the Medbay so we can clean that lip. Man, you finally get knocked between your teeth, and I can't even say it wasn't from me or that it was justified. Way to ruin my day, dipshit."

"Aren't you just the loveliest," Wally replied sarcastically.

Dick, Kaldur, and Zatanna watched them walk off before turning toward each other.

"What are we going to do?"

"I don't know, Z. I really don't know," Dick answered.

"This is getting out of hand," Kaldur said, his voice a mix of worry and frustration, running a hand down his face.

"Maybe, we should try talking to him again," Zatanna suggested.

"If he reacts the same way he just reacted with Wally, I'd rather avoid it. I was fine with him taking his anger and frustration out on the bad guys, but him doing it to us is a different story," Dick said.

"I agree. We need to find a way to get through to him, and soon before his violent outburst gets worse," Kaldur stated.

"So, no more giving him space then?" Zatanna asked.

"Maybe not necessarily, we don't want to provoke him into open confrontation like Wally just did, but clearly, leaving him alone is only making the problem get worse because he's not acknowledging or dealing with his grief," Kaldur said.

"Agreed. The last thing we need is him going rogue," Dick said.

"Do you think he'd actually do that?" Zatanna asked, her voice a bit worried.

"I don't want to think that, but you've seen the way he's been looking and walking around lately and the one person who could actually get him to listen without being threatened by violence is more than likely buried somewhere. It's almost like being around a ticking time bomb, or worse, walking around someone who's possessed. Kal, tell me you weren't the least bit unsettled with the way he was just looking at us. Like there was nothing behind his eyes besides anger and death," Dick asked his Atlantean friend.

"I was," Kaldur answered, his voice a bit solemn.

"Me too," Zatanna said, her voice a bit quiet.

"Okay, so we're all in agreement. We need to figure out something, and we need to do it soon. Otherwise, the next person who pisses him off might not be so lucky," Dick said.

"Agreed." The two others said.

"Recording in progress. Project: E&D. Log #77..."

The three teens whipped around to the computer, seeing it play a recording none of them ever heard before. They each looked at each other weirdly while listening to the recording, each feeling a little bit unnerved.

"We still haven't found any concrete findings on the source of the subject's abilities, but we have made other fascinating discoveries. According to the parents of the subject, the abilities he displays now all came at different age points in his previous years. First was the enhanced durability, an ability shared by many notable metas and heroes. This power came about in his early childhood, not enough to raise alarms, but enough to have the parents rightfully suspicious."

A sick, ghostly feeling overcame the three teenagers as they realized what they were all listening to.

"Oh. My. God. This is about Y/N!" Zatanna stated.

"And, it's from the experiments Lex was performing on him. This must be from one of the scientists who were working on the project as well." Dick theorized.

"But, I thought Batman, Superman, and the League collected every piece of evidence and recording they could find from that place. We would know since Conner had us listen and watch every single piece of evidence we had in hopes of finding a clue to where he might be. I've never heard this one before," Kaldur pointed out.

The two other team members each shrugged at the Atlantean before they all went back to listening.

"Then, came the power of flight and energy manipulation in his teenage years, which led us to rule out Kryptonian biology after the inhuman speed he developed in his pre-teen years. Since energy manipulation has never been a known or recorded Kryptonian ability, it brought us back to the main three categories we had for the potential answer to the subject's source. But, this discovery along with the new data that's coming in from the tests we've been doing with the serums on his body, has led us to the conclusion that whatever gives the subject these different abilities is active and growing. If these were powers he developed in his early stages of life, it definitely leaves us to question if he will manifest other ones in the future as he ages and develops more."

"Wait, did that guy just say there's a possibility Y/N could grow to develop other powers in the future?"

"He sure did."

"Okay, but, what does any of that have to do with the explosion the day Y/N disappeared?"

"I don't know. But, I have a feeling we're about to find out," Kaldur said, his voice a bit grim.

"The most exciting part is we may have stumbled upon a new power completely by trial and error. After we discovered the unknown pathogen tampering with our serums, we had to reduce the potency and level of our experiments to eliminate any potential risk to the subject's health. But, we found that during one of the experiment sessions post-reduction, when the patient seemed to be under a lot of stress, especially after his conversation with Mr. Luthor, a slight startle from that dunderhead Martin seemingly caused the subject to teleport himself from one end of the room to the other, in theory away from the thing that startled him, i.e. the danger or stressor."

All of their eyes went wide.

"The subject now seems to have unlocked the power of teleportation!"

"Holy shit! Y/N can teleport?!"

"It would appear so, yes."

"With this new ability, the subject could virtually teleport themselves out of situations that pose any danger or stress to them. Imagine the possibilities. If the subject can learn to control and harness this power, it could be the key to the ultimate weapon against the Justice League and their allies. A secret agent, able to sneak into the most secure facilities and locations undetected and unseen. And, if they can't handle the mission, they can simply teleport themselves out of the situation. This is a breakthrough. Unfortunately, since this is an ability the subject unlocked while in a drug-induced state and was not aware of it post-test, Mr. Luthor has instructed no one to inform him of this development, nor does he want any testing of this ability until further notice. Since his discovery of the relationship between the subject and the still liberated Project: K.R., he's been very cagey about things but urging us to speed up our work, as if he's preparing for something. These brainwashed fools may listen to his every word, but I intend to get every piece of data I can from these experiments. Oh- someone's coming. I must end this log early. Grant out."

"Y/N can teleport," Zatanna said, her voice a bit soft.

Dick had a look of realization come over him, "That's why no one could find him. He wasn't vaporized or abducted. He teleported himself away," He said, his voice a mix of relief and realization.

"But, where did he go? And, why hasn't he come back yet?"

"I don't know, Z. But, the fact that we're even asking that question means—"

"Conner was right. Y/N is alive."

The two dark-haired teens turned to their Atlantean leader, who held a relieved but stern gaze over his face as he stared at the recording sitting open on the computer.

"Call Batman and Superman now."

Conner was walking along the beach with Wolf. He needed to get out of the Cave for a little bit, feeling a little bit guilty for how he reacted with Wally. It wasn't completely his fault though!

Wally shouldn't have been pushing his buttons so much. He was basically asking for it.

Either way, the Kryptonian knew he was going to have to apologize at some point. He knew his behavior was getting out of control, and he was aware of how his friends and teammates were starting to feel uneasy around him.

But, he couldn't help it.

All he could think about was Y/N and how much he loved him. How much he missed him back and how much he wanted him back.

He'd give anything to have him back, and he'd do anything to make that happen.

But, maybe his friends were right. Maybe he was chasing a lost dream and it was time for him to move on. Maybe it was time for him to accept the truth.

Conner looked down at the sand, the canine whining at his side as he could sense his human's sad distress, smelling the sad emotions all over him. He blinked repeatedly, trying to hold back the tears pooling in his eyes, but they just kept coming before they were eventually dripping and falling into the sand on the beach.

"I'm sorry, boy. I'm trying. I'm really trying," Conner said, his voice a bit broken.

Wolf barked softly, nudging his head into his human's leg with another whine.

"I know, buddy. I miss him too," Conner said, his voice a bit softer, running his hand across the canine's fur, though he seemed to be poking his snout up at a scent he caught on the wind, his tail wagging back and forth excitedly.

The silence over the beach was so loud, but not louder than the Kryptonian's soft sniffles as he stared out over the water, pulling the folded-up photo out of his pocket. Despite his overwhelming mournful attitude, he couldn't help the small smile that crossed his lips as he stared at the photo of himself, Y/N, and their friends at the beach. The same day he told Y/N he was a clone.

The same day he confessed his feelings for him.

Tears were falling onto the photo.

"I'm sorry," Conner whispered, his voice a bit broken.

"You know, you really need to stop apologizing so much."

Conner's head shot up.

There was no way. It wasn't possible.

Wolf suddenly shot away from his side, barking happily before the sound of him tackling someone to the ground hit the Kryptonian's eardrums.

There was no fucking way. It couldn't be possible.

He turned around slowly, to see the canine licking the face of the person he was currently lying on top of.

"Okay! Wolf, Sweet Jesus, okay! I missed you too, buddy," Y/N or at least someone that had Y/N's body laughed, his voice a bit muffled from his arms trying to cover his face as the canine tried to lick him.

Conner inched a bit closer, scared out of his mind to take too big of a step and risk the sight in front of him disappearing like an illusion. It'd be really ironic and bittersweet if he was to be actually losing his mind at this moment.

"Y/N?" Conner muttered softly under his breath.

When the smaller figure finally managed to get the excited canine off of him, he uncovered his face looking up at the Kryptonian before smiling that same infectious smile that had Conner's heart spiking and his eyes watering even more than they were before, mirroring the same watery eyes staring back at him.

Y/N slowly stood up, looking at his Conner with red eyes, doing his best to hold in his own tears, "Did ya miss me?"

"Is it really you?" The taller boy asked, still 100% not trusting that he wasn't losing his mind and this wasn't a product of his overly emotional state. This is why it was so much easier to keep shit bottled in.

Y/N didn't say anything for a moment, just staring at him leading Conner to think he really was hallucinating or sleep-walking until he opened his arms toward the Kryptonian, "Open arms?"

Realization hit him and before he even knew what he was doing, the Kryptonian felt his feet moving on their own and his arms were wrapped tightly around his boyfriend, holding him close and tight, almost afraid to let him go.

"Don't you ever leave me again," Conner whispered, his voice a bit broken.

"I won't. I promise," Y/N replied, his voice very broken.

But for the first time in a long time, the young hero finally felt comfortable. He finally felt like he could let his guard down after so long, feeling safe in the arms of his lover.

"I love you, Conner."

"I love you too, Y/N."

They sat just like that for a while, holding each other and finally basking in each other's presence again, "So does forever start now?" Y/N asked through a small sob.

Conner smiled through his own tears, comforting his boyfriend like he used to.

"Yeah, it starts now."

☀️ | Conner Kent/Superboy | ☀️

☀️ | Masterlists | ☀️

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thevindicativevordan · 2 years

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Comics this week?

Danger Street #1 - Enjoyable! Not sure if King can handle all these characters, he's not a writer who is the best at giving everyone their own voice, but I liked the first issue. Haven't seen anyone offer a guess who the villain that traumatized Lady Cop is, must be a deep cut.

Dark Crisis: Big Bang #1 - An entire issue devoted to Waid indulging his Silver Age fanboy, but in a manner I don't enjoy compared to World's Finest. What the hell is the point of bringing back all these obscure worlds from Pre-Crisis that no one except Waid and a few other boomers know or care about? Why do we need two official vampire worlds? Or the Justice Lords and Injustice? Or the Crime Syndicate and apparently a Pre-Crisis Earth where the names stayed the same but the moralities flipped? Yippee I guess, must make sure that every evil Superman has their own official Earth. Morrison wanted to make sure that the Multiverse was more than just "hey here's Superman and Batman but this time they're Egyptian", they wanted the Multiverse to support different characters as being equal to the usual A-Listers. This new Multiverse is regressing back to the old status quo of there being a million Earths and Superman and Batman are the stars on every one. Weird that they left off the Arkhamverse, Tomorrowverse, and YJverse but included Injustice and DCSG. No films or TV Earths besides the Reeve/Keaton one, and even that is just meant to stand in for the Superman '78/Batman '89 comics. If this aimed to get me excited about the Multiverse it failed, I just want the damn thing to go away for a while and let DC focus on Earth 0 for a bit.

WildC.A.T.S. #2 - Breezy read but fun. Didn't expect Mr. Majestic to make his return so soon. Lot of Superman analogues, and actual Supermen, running around the DCU, somebody should do something with all of them.

Superman: Son of Kal-El #18 - Well this issue encapsulated this entire run in a nutshell: some interesting ideas that are failed by terrible execution resulting in a bland book. At least I can finally hop off Taylor's ride, won't be letting sunk cost tricking me into reading the next miniseries. A recent interview by Taylor made it sound like AoS will indeed be the finale for his time with the character, he was talking about how other people will be writing Jon after him and how Jon will be a big player in what's coming up. Until Taylor finishes writing Jon I've got zero interest in Jon anymore. Let his era be over soon please, this issue was clearly not meant to be the end of the series which tells me this was a sudden change, likely caused by editorial losing faith in Taylor as Jon's caretaker.

I Am Batman #16 - Huh. Didn't see that coming but I am intrigued where it goes. Ridley also gave an interview recently where he talked about other people writing Jace after him. Maybe Jace will be getting his own follow up mini just like Jon is, but by someone else.

Batman Incorporated #3 - Ghost-Maker is a total asshole and I'm not sure how long I'll keep reading if he remains the star. Dude needs to get humbled fast.

Invincible Iron Man #1 - Fine. About the same level of quality as Duggan's X-Men for what that's worth. Should have gotten Hickman on this, it's insane that Iron Man was the breakout star of the MCU and Marvel cannot seem to get him that modern day epic run he desperately needs.

Planet Hulk: Worldbreaker #2 - Pak is sleepwalking through this it feels like. Either that or it's decompressed for the trade, because not much is actually happening issue to issue. Jen's fate reminds me of the 40k God-Emperor.

#weekly reviews

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davidmann95 · 3 years

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holy fuck, four part grant morrison superman/authority mini (bonus points for DILF grey temples superman in the modern day), launching into a tom taylor jon title, pkj action comics, and tom king supergirl? i dunno' about you but this is the most excited i've been about the superman line in ages

Anonymous said: Hilarious that Taylor is finally writing Superman just as you’ve started to fall out of love with him. Also holy shit Morrison writing Superman IN-CONTINUITY AGAIN FUCK YES and he’s using Ultra-Humanite! I always thought it odd that his Golden Age inspired New 52 run left out Superman’s first supervillain. And oh man did you see that variant for Action in July? DC acknowledging Morrison’s t-shirt and jeans Superman again!

adudewholikescomicsandotherstuff said: So Tom Taylor on Superman?

Anonymous said: Taylor writing Jonathan Kent??? No main Superman title???

Anonymous said: Fuck it if ai’m Morrison and I’m writing an in-continuity Superbook I’d fold as much of my Action run back into canon as I could. If Jurgens got to, they do.

cheerfullynihilistic said: So, Jon's promotion is happening bizarrely soon (or bizarrely late, depending on how you want to look at it) after the soft-reboot. Thoughts on the Superman family titles in July?

Anonymous said: What's your take on today's newly announced BOLD NEW DIRECTION for the Superman line?

apocryphist said: so, how about that Jon Kent news that's trending on Twitter?

Anonymous said: With the new Tom Taylor Son of Superman announcement, I have to say that I'm really suprised that DC is really sticking to the new and interesting directions with Future State and the Superman characters. You think they would have backpedaled, especially with the reactions to the Bendis run. What do you think is the reason that DC's finally doing interesting things with Superman now ?

After years of “so they’re gonna make Jon Superman, right?” it comes at last...via Taylor, right after he's delivered his first couple books to really disappoint me. Still, between his enthusiasm, the presence and fanbase he brings with him, and that the pressure on him to give it his all here is surely entirely different from any project he’s taken before, he might just be the guy to put over Jon in the cape as a long-term prospect in a way some preferred choices of mine wouldn’t have been. A Fraction for instance would have done more to blow me away, but in doing a single brilliant run there might have been more of an impetus in the aftermath to go “well, we saw the idea done well, that’s nice, now back to normal”, while it solidly purring along for a good long time with continuous support might do more as a running start to actually put fandom and ultimately higher-ups behind the idea of this as a desirable semi-permanent state of affairs that could lead to way more good stuff later. Put another way, Morrison Batman got us two years of Dick in the cowl, while Ron Marz gave Kyle Rayner a decade of uncontested stature as Green Lantern. Time will tell, but I think Taylor’s often been at his best when writing Superman - the earnestness and awe tends to short-circuit some of his worst instincts, as opposed to how Nightwing is feeding them - so I don’t really doubt this’ll be fun. I enjoy Timms too, and that cover (which thankfully is apparently not necessarily an accurate representation of the page/price ratio) rules. Kinda odd though neither Taylor (nor Morrison for the below) had any quotes to go with these announcements.

As for the other books (other than Supergirl, which doesn’t really have anything to announce):

Good lord that Tedesco Action Comics variant, make a grown man wanna cry. T-shirt Superman getting some proper love! More importantly, glad to see Lois on the main cover and in the solicit apparently ready to throw down with some Warworlders; I got an ask I was going to get around to before today changed the landscape asking about my thoughts on her absence in PKJ’s run. I was going to say that given his space-focused focus that didn’t bother me too much - yes, Ignition would have solved that problem, but you can’t blame someone for not having a game-changing brainstorm and convincing DC to go through with it as the status quo - especially with her playing a big role in Checkmate starting in June, and that I was more put off that the Tales of Metropolis backup specifically intended to spotlight everybody who wouldn’t fit on the cosmic side wasn’t doing anything with her. But now it seems after his initial arc she’s coming into the fold properly, so happy about that.

And hilariously buried in the announcement because it was already leaked so I guess they figured there was no point hyping it up any harder than everybody already had, Morrison’s presumably no-I’m-serious-this-time-you-guys final DC book. Aside from what I had to say when this first leaked, my main two thoughts are:

* Four issues rather than two oversized ones, huh? I said at the time this was avoiding Superman Beyond-style segmentation; ah well. Wonder whether Janin’s doing 30 pages per issue or if there are backups, and if so what those will be (please god, PLEASE, let Morrison finally do the Superman Squad story they once talked about here so I can finally rest in peace). And given this being a little more spaced out, along with notes that elements from this will play into Son of Kal-El as well as Action, I suspect/hope we might end up seeing some of Morrison writing Jon as Superman in here after all.

* This seems...shockingly minor? Not only is it apparently not in the future the way I’d assumed (even if I think the themes I envisioned for it will still largely be the case), but rather than a relatively standalone epic that PKJ’s Action would then draw from it’s instead this that’s explicitly a spinoff of that. Even given Morrison might conceivably want to take a backseat to the new guard, it’s shocking DC would go with it; the only particularly Morrison-y aspect in the description is that, as their final DC project, this is pitting Superman against his first villain in Ultra-Humanite (notably a baldie genius who ended up supplanted, wink-wink nudge-nudge).

Between these, the aforementioned Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, Superman: Red and Blue, Superman ‘78, Batman/Superman, Justice League, Justice League: Last Ride, RWBY/Justice League, and the newly announced as I write this Justice League Infinity, that’s a damn stacked lineup for everybody with the S, quantitatively and creatively (Superboy being relegated to Suicide Squad notwithstanding) - you can even throw Project Patron on top if you’re feeling greedy. As for why this push is suddenly happening as the last anon asked, I think it’s entirely a matter of the new ownership: it’s easy to picture a fresh suit sitting down with DC’s upper brass and shitting a diamond-hard brick on the spot when told that there was a time not that long ago where their #2 property was being regularly outsold by this guy. Mass-media moves may be expensive and risky (and even his prospects there have clearly changed), but they can throw a couple bucks at their print division to keep churning stuff out in bulk until something sticks to reboot the franchise around in a decade.

#Superman #Jon Kent #Lois Lane #Tom Taylor #Grant Morrison #Superman and The Authority #Opinion

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eternallyyoungjustice · 3 years

Text

Wherever the Winds Take You: Chapter 12

A/N: Another chapter! Yay! Thank you to those of you who read/liked the last chapter! This is definitely just a fun little thing I like to write in my free time for brainrot reasons, so knowing that even a couple of you read and enjoy this, genuinely makes me so incredibly happy! So thank you! Anyways, not much else to report! Hope y’all enjoy!

Star City

July 22

07:50

The sun was already risen by the time Roy Harper swung his body through his window and into his apartment. His new black, grey, and red uniform stretched awkwardly as the material hadn’t yet been fully worn in, but it was still much easier for agility compared to the old tunic.

When the ginger looked around his apartment, however, he was shocked to find it much cleaner than it had been when he left for patrol. The dishes he had left out in the living room were gone, everything looked as if it had been dusted and vacuumed, and the room smelled faintly of citrus. For a moment, the archer thought that perhaps he had swung through the wrong window. But then he looked to his old, mishappenly stitched, leather couch and all became clear when he found the sleeping form of a familiar young brunette. She was curled up under a threadbare blanket and wearing a pair of sleeping pants that he was pretty sure were his, so he assumed she must have been here for a while.

Walking towards the sleeping girl, Roy rid himself of his mask and weapon, placing both on the coffee table as he knelt down beside her.

“Lin’?” He spoke softly, grasping her arm and running his thumb along her skin. For a moment, she did nothing. But when Roy spoke her name again, her nose twitched and a small groan emanated from her throat as Lina’s face rolled into the pillow underneath her head. Roy smirked and gently shook her arm. “Come on Frenchie, time to get up. It’s almost…” he checked the clock on the opposite wall, “4 in the afternoon in France, you should be up and at’em.”

Another moan, followed by a muffled. “Que sont les fuseaux horaires? Je ne sais pas!”

Roy stopped, hesitated, then said “yea...you know I barely passed sophomore year French by the skin of my teeth, right? I can say ‘I’m a baguette' and that’s pretty much it.”

Lina sighed and sat up slowly, her eyes drooping as she tried to run the sleep out of them. “Good morning, Roy.” She smiled sleepily.

Roy smiled back at her, rubbing her matted hair before plopping down on the couch. “Good morning to you too, Lina.”

“Sorry for coming in while you were on patrol, I needed a quiet place to sleep.”

“Trust me kiddo, I’m pretty used to it at this point.” Roy shrugged. “Everything alright?”

Lina nodded, “Kaldur and I were on patrol in Gotham until two a.m. Eastern last night...I don’t know how you guys do it. Patrols are very much not for me, I have learned.” She explained. “But then, after all that, my brother came home drunk and started very loudly talking about a party he went to last night.”

“Oh Calvin, you bastard.” Roy gave her a sympathetic look. “And I take it the, uh, ‘Cave’ you guys called it, wasn’t any good?”

Lina yawned as she stretched her arms up to arch her back, “Superboy doesn’t sleep very well, so he gets up early and watches static on the TV, and since my bedroom is right next to the living area…”

Roy nodded, looking around his apartment to study the unfamiliar cleanliness, “Well you know you’re welcome here anytime, even though the cleaning wasn’t expected.”

As Lina dropped her arms, she gave Roy a look. “The room was dirty, I didn’t feel like sleeping next to a bunch of dirty dishes.”

Roy couldn’t help but chuckle. “I swear sometimes you’re like if Dinah and Nanny McPhee had a lesbian lovechild…”

“Nanny McPhee? I do not know this woman...” Lina asked with a raised eyebrow, and she leaned over to look into a bag that was sitting on the floor by her head. Roy watched as she rummaged through her bag, before pulling out her uniform. Her hands went to the thigh of the clothing, identifying one of the hidden utility pouches, and opened it to reveal a compartment fitted to house an emergency dose of her medication.

“It’s a movie, don’t worry about it.”

Lina hummed, pulling her medication out. As she injected herself with it, her eyes shut and she focused on the feeling of cool ice flooding her veins. Once the syringe was empty, Lina took it out of her arm and placed it back in its case. Then she looked around, suddenly appearing much less sleepy.

“What time is it? I will make us food.”

“It’s about 8, I think.” Roy hummed and then got up. “But don’t worry, I got it. You’re a guest.”

Lina sprang up from the couch, waving his words off. “No no no silly, I’ve got it. Please, you know I love preparing food. Plus, you need to shower and get out of your uniform…”

Then she looked down and noticed the red and black fabric. Her eyes widened.

“You changed your uniform!”

Roy chuckled and nodded. “I thought it would help separate myself from GA, I’m also still workshopping a new alias. What do you think?”

Lina poked and prodded at the material covering his chest, studying the design and fabric. “Very cool, I bet this is much easier for stealth missions. What did you use? Where did you get it?”

“Cotton-spandex hybrid fabric, coated in CNTs with some leather reinforcements here and there.” He explained. “I got it from a guy.”

“...so the same idea as mine and Robin’s?” Lina asked with a raised eyebrow.

“How do you think I knew it would be good for agility?” Roy smirked, and Lina smiled back before pulling away.

“Well, it’s good to know you’re at least trying to be safe. But don’t think I won’t stop worrying just because you’re smart with gear.”

“I would never expect you to stop worrying, Frenchie, I’m smarter than that.”

“Good,” Lina smirked. “Now then...I will start on breakfast. I hope you have some decent food I can use...may I borrow a sweater?”

“You know where they are.” Roy gestured to the hallway that leads to his bedroom, and Lina flew off. The archer watched her fly away, then turned to pick up his weapons and put them away in the chesterfield beside the couch. Not the best hiding place, but he didn’t exactly have his own secret stash of warehouses quite yet.

“So how is the Junior Justice League?” Roy called out.

“Not the Junior Justice League, first of all,” Lina called back. “You know, you really hurt the guys’ feelings by brushing them off.”

Roy sighed, letting her comment sting him. “I’m sorry Lin’, but you know I was just stating my opinion.”

“We’re allowed to choose our own loyalties, Roy.” Lina said, walking back into the living room; now clad in one of Roy’s sweaters. “Just as you have chosen yours.”

Roy shrugged. “Ouch...but I guess I deserve that. I’ll send them all an apology text or something…”

“‘Apology text’, bah! Ce qui s'a passé à parlant dans vraie vie, là?” Lina sighed and walked into the kitchen. “We’re good though! We fought an evil air-manipulating robot named Mr. Twister the other day.” At the mention of the air-manipulating robot’s name, Lina had to tune out the sounds of angry Winds.

“Okay, that’s a terrible name.”

“Right?!” Lina exclaimed. “And I know from personal experience that air-related names can be hard to come up with but I mean...that just sounds so foolish, non?”

“Definitely.” Roy nodded. “You think there’s any relation to RT? We still don’t know where Morrow is, last I checked.”

Lina was silent for a moment, then answered. “Perhaps...he did seem to have a personal vendetta against him. And you’re right about Morrow...it doesn’t help that Red was off after the whole thing. But we defeated Twister, right? So I’m sure it won’t be any issue.”

“Your call.” Roy nodded and sat back down on the couch; deciding not to shower and change quite yet. “So...have you guys chosen a leader yet?”

Lina was, once again, silent. For a second, Roy didn’t know if she had heard him or not. Just as he was about to repeat himself, Lina replied, “no, we haven’t...I wonder if Batman will assign one before our first real mission…”

“He kind of seems the type to let you figure that out by yourselves, doesn’t he? Who do you think should be leader?”

Without even a moment’s hesitation, Lina knew her answer.

"Who do you think?"

“Yeah, figured as much. He definitely has the makings of one. But are you sure the others will be okay with that? Robin may want a seat at that table, and personally, I think you’d be a decent leader.”

Lina hummed in thought but didn’t respond so Roy decided to drop it. An unspoken agreement was made between the two, both knew that Lina wouldn’t be elected as the leader and wouldn’t try to force herself onto the position. Robin, however…

“So how is Kal? I haven’t seen him in a while.”

“You would know if you reached out to him...” Lina said in an almost sing-song voice, and Roy sent her a look through the wall. Even though she couldn’t see his look, she knew it was there. “You guys are best friends, right? You should at least try and act like it. He may not admit it because he’s all stoic and calm most of the time, but trust me; he’s worried about you! To an extent we all are, but he’s not like me and the boys. He won’t drop in unannounced to check up on you.”

“That’s only you, Lina.”

“Bah! You know what I mean.” Lina exclaimed. “Obviously you can’t reach him right now because he’s in Atlantis with his parents but...just try to call him and invite him over every once in a while, okay?”

“He’s in Atlantis? Didn’t you say you were on patrol together last night?”

“He said he felt that he needed to be there or something.”

Roy let out a low chuckle. “What do you want to bet he just really wanted to see Tula?”

Although they had never officially met, Lina practically knew enough about Tula to write a small book about her. The pretty Atlantean girl who was Kaldur’s peer, friend, and crush. In the early days of her and the Atlantean’s friendship, Lina had asked him if he had someone special at home; and he had happily gone into a half-hour tangent about how Tula was not only one of the best friends he had ever had (along with his other childhood friend, Garth) but also one of the strongest, smartest, and most beautiful people he had ever known.

It was admittedly very cute, watching the usually very reserved man blush as he spoke about the young Atlantean girl. The one time that Lina actually saw Tula, when Kaldur showed a magic-infused picture of the trio of friends, she agreed that she was indeed a sight to behold. After one of his long tangents about Tula, Lina had once asked Kaldur why he didn’t just confess his feelings towards her. He replied that he had always wanted to, especially before he started splitting his time between land and sea. But for a multitude of reasons, he never had.

“You’re changing the subject,” Lina spoke sternly.

Roy let out a loud sigh at having been called out.

“Yes, I’ll reach out to him.”

“You promise?”

“Yea...but don’t tell GA alright?”

Even though he couldn’t see it, Lina rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry, I’ll protect your stupid masculine ego.” And with that, she collected the bowls of yogurt and freshly cut fruit she had prepared and brought them out to the living room.

“My stupid masculine ego thanks you.”

Mount Justice

July 22

19:00

“Isla Santa Prisca.” Batman spoke clearly and loudly, as he stood in front of the team of 6 supernatural teenagers. Behind him shone a holographic map of an island that sat in the heart of the Caribbean. “This island nation is the primary source of a dangerous neo-steroid, a strength-enhancing drug, sold on the streets under the name Venom."

The screens flashed with images of factory blueprints.

"Infrared heat signatures indicate their factory is still operating at full capacity, but all shipments of Venom have been inexplicably cut off. That's where the team comes in." The Bat turned to face the eager-faced teenagers standing around him.

"This is a covert recon mission only. Observe and report. If the Justice League needs to intervene, it will." The leader of the Justice League turned back to the screens. "The plan requires two dropzones."

"So who's in charge?" Robin piped up, not at all hiding his excitement.

Batman and Red Tornado exchanged glances before the former said sternly,

"Work that out between yourselves."

Caribbean Sea

July 22

20:08

As everyone sat around the bio-ship, stale tension filled the air. Nobody dared to break the silence, if they were even aware of it. Most of the team stared ahead through the window at the sprawling sea, their thoughts locked away in their own mind. For Lina, her thoughts lingered with anxiety. The fact that they were going into their first mission without a clear chain of command made her innards tie themselves into tight knots. But instead of trying to make small talk, Lina cast her eyes up to the moon above them (trying very hard to not think about the flying contraption she was sitting in) and thought about the small bit of dialogue she and Roy had shared over the topic of team leadership…

There was no way she could be team leader.

Being responsible for the success or failure of six powerful teenagers? No, thank you. Sure, she could look after her family and Roy. But that was small stuff; making sure they ate and were hygienic, healing any minor injuries, giving them advice and making sure they were happy. But in battle? When one wrong decision could lead to real consequences…

She shivered at the mere thought of it.

Not to mention her sheer inexperience was enough to disqualify her from the discussion on its own. Just three years ago she had been a simple circus girl, a civilian, and she barely had a year of field experience under her belt. She didn't know the first thing about tactics or battle strategy. Running a hand through her hair, Lina let out a long sigh, and began mentally preparing for a mission she hoped wouldn’t go terribly wrong.

“Approaching Santa Prisca.” Miss Martian announced, snapping everyone out of their trances. “Dropzone A in thirty.”

Almost in unison, Kaldur and Lina stood from their seats. As their chairs sank back into the ship’s floor, the two teens reached for their insignias and gently pressed them. Black began to pulse from the letters on either of their waists, and slowly the darkness began to cover the entirety of their uniforms. Aqualad’s red and Zephyr’s white and gold all turned to the colour of the Caribbean night sky, leaving nothing but the metallic gold-tinting of their respective symbols.

As Lina pulled up her hood and looked down at the new look, she grimaced.

“I feel so…angsty.” The girl muttered, but then looked back up at Kaldur. Their eyes connected, silently communicating before the taller of the two looked to M’gann.

“Ready.”

“Putting bioship in camouflage mode,” M’gann replied, and the cabin’s air pressure changed as they descended from the clouds and closer to the water. The two teammates nodded at one another. “Go.”

As a hole opened up under the hero’s feet, they both fell down and into the saltwater below. Just as her body was about to breach the surface, Lina circled her hands and formed a bubble of air around her form. Then, once the two had fully submerged, the two rocketed off towards the shore. The darkness of the water made Zephyr’s human eyes strain, barely able to make out Aqualad’s form as she followed behind him, but the water was thankfully clear of any obstacles. Or rather, almost clear. After a moment, the two came across a long, large wall of netting, but Kaldur was able to promptly slash it open with a swipe of his sword, creating a hole big enough to swim through.

Not long after, they breached the surface. Kaldur poked his head out of the water for a moment, then dove back under.

“I’ve located the security sensors, are you ready?” He asked, used to speaking underwater. Lina nodded, then with one sweep of her hands, blasted them both through the water, breaking her protective bubble and lifting them into the air and over to the heat and motion sensors. When they landed, Lina pulled out a USB drive from one of the hidden compartments on her upper arm and plugged it into the large, boxy machine. After a moment, the USB began to blink a blue light.

“Heat and motion sensors have been patched. Data is now on a continuous loop. Move in.” Kaldur spoke into his earpiece.

“Acknowledged.” Robin spoke back.

As Zephyr and Kaldur made their way over to the end of the beach, they were met with a tall cliff. Overhead, they could see trees, foliage, and other signs of a jungle peaking over the surface, the jungle that housed the Venom warehouse. Kaldur turned to face Lina.

“If you please.” The young man leads as he placed a firm hand on his partner’s shoulder, and with a small nod, Lina summoned her Winds and began lifting them as slowly and as quietly as possible. About halfway up, however, they were interrupted with their com’s sparking to life yet again.

“Aqualad, Zephyr; dropzone B is a go.” Robin’s voice came through.

Kaldur lifted his finger to his ear. “Head to the factory. We’ll track your GPS coordinates and rendezvous ASAP.”

Once they landed, Lina lifted one hand to her ear and pressed her com. “Be careful, and let us know if you need assistance.”

“Copy.” Robin responded.

And with that, the two teenagers began sprinting/flying in the direction of the factory. Partway through, however, movement caught Kaldur’s eye and he slid to a stop. Lina had to quickly drop her Winds to avoid flying into him.

“What is it?” Lina whispered as she stood, and Kaldur motioned silently over to where the movement was coming from. Stepping over a little to get a better look, they were able to make out a slow procession of armed men a few meters away...and headed in the direction of the four younger team member’s coordinates.

“Superboy, KF.” Kaldur spoke as the two partners began their sprint yet again. “Switch to infrared, see if you are being tracked.”

A moment later, Wally replied. “Got a band of armed bozos incoming.”

“Two squads, but they’ll reach each other before they find us.” Superboy added.

“Sweep wide and steer clear.” Kaldur instructed, but apparently, his words fell on deaf ears as hardly a minute later, the sound of loud gunfire rang through the forest.

“Those miscreants always find a way to bring chaos to nature, so much disruption.” A voice sighed into Zephyr’s ear.

Almost in unison, the two heroes let out whispered curses in their respective mother tongues and picked up their speed.

Once the two had reached the source of the gunshots, a large clearing amongst thick greenery; Kaldur and Lina found their teammates fighting groups of men. Some were in long, dark red coats with black face masks, and others wore typical dark street clothes. Two of the red-clad individuals caught Aqualad and Zephyr’s attention and they jumped to action; the former leaping in front of the first goon, placing his hand just over the man’s heart and lighting up his tattoos to send a surge of electricity into it, and the latter using her Winds to pick up the other cloaked man, sending him flying into a nearby tree.

The last of the men fallen and unconscious, the team turned to look at one another.

“Nice of you to join us.” Wally smiled bashfully.

Santa Prisca

July 22

20:20

“I recognize those uniforms,” Robin spoke up once the last of the men were hogtied and safely incapacitated. “The Cult of the Kobra…”

“I am certain Batman would have mentioned it if he knew a dangerous extremist was running Santa Prisca’s Venom operation.” Said Aqualad.

“Agreed.” Robin nodded. “And since there’s clearly no love lost between the cultists and those goons...I’m betting Kobra came in and tossed them out. That’s why normal supply lines have been cut off.”

“We get it, Kobra wanted super cultists: mystery solved.” Wally piped in. “Radio Bats and we’ll be home in time for-” He was quickly cut off by Robin.

“These cultists aren’t on Venom! Kobra’s hoarding the stuff. We don’t leave...not until I know why.”

“Until you know why?” Kid Flash spoke, frowning.

“This team needs a leader.”

“And it’s you? Dude, you’re a thirteen-year-old kid who ducked out on us without a word.”

“And here we go…” Lina sighed, just loud enough that Superboy, the closest to her, was the only one that could hear her.

Robin let out a cackling laugh. “And you’re a mature fifteen? You broke our cover the first chance you got!”

“Don’t you want to lead?” M’gann asked, tilting her head towards Superboy.

Superboy scoffed, obviously not fond of the idea. “You?”

“After the Mister Twister fiasco..?” M’gann cringed, raising her hand up in rejection.

Superboy gave her a shadow of a smile. “You did alright.”

M'gann face lit up with pink as her eyes grew wide. She quickly caught Lina’s amused gaze and the French girl gave the Martian an approving nod and thumbs-up behind Superboy’s back. Turning her attention back to Kaldur, Lina saw that he was carefully watching Robin and Wally bicker with a look of mild annoyance on his face. After a moment of trying to find the right words, Lina leaned in closer towards the Atlantean so that she wouldn’t be overheard.

“Being a leader is a very important burden.” She said. “It’s important to have the one bearing it be cool-tempered, reliable, patient, and level-headed.”

Her hinting wasn’t meant to be subtle.

“A good leader must also care deeply for their team, always have their best interests at heart, and have a good moral compass.” Kaldur countered.

“Fair enough.” She nodded but then turned to look directly at her Atlantean friend. “Although one could argue that some people on the team embody all these traits, while also having real experience with combat and strategy.”

Kaldur didn’t respond, but it didn’t much matter as not a moment later Lina’s attention was diverted by her overhearing someone muttering in Spanish. In her peripherals, she saw Superboy turn towards the sounds as well.

“Look at them argue.” One man spoke in Spanish. “Free yourself now and take them while they’re distracted!”

“Quiet!” Another man, this one larger and wearing black and white face paint. “For now I play along, they’ll give me what I need.”

Superboy and Zephyr exchanged looks.

“Yeah? You don’t even have superpowers!” Wally screamed, drawing the attention back to the young arguing boys.

“Neither does Batman!” Robin exclaimed.

“Duh,” Wally scoffed, “you’re not Batman.”

“Duh,” Robin mocked, “closest thing we’ve got!”

The two’s bickering was interrupted by the man from before, the one with the painted face, laughing.

“Such clever ninos.” The man spoke. “But you only know half the story. Let me show you the rest, get you into the factory via my secret entrance.”

M’gann knelt down to the man and began focusing, channelling her telepathy. “There is a secret entrance, but he’s also hiding something.” Her eyes began to glow white as she attempted to dig deeper.

“Ah ah ah chica,” Bane tutted, “Bane is not that easy.”

After a pregnant pause, M’gann let go of her telepathic connection and groaned. “He’s mentally reciting football scores en Espanol...this could take a while.”

“I can try and translate.” Zephyr voiced. “Mi Español debe ser satisfactorio.”

“Suffocation is an effective means of interrogation.” A deep, dark voice whispered in Zephyr’s ear, causing her to jump, straighten her back, and wave off the sadistic Wind.

“It’s not that complicated.” The man, Bane, said. “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

The team exchanged unsure looks.

Santa Prisca

July 22

20:39

As the team hiked through the forest, led by Bane, each and every one of them felt uneasy. Even Miss Martian, arguably the most naive and inexperienced of the group, knew that their guide wasn’t trustworthy. It was like a ringing feeling in all of their heads, telling them that they shouldn’t be doing what they were doing. Eventually, however, they came to a cliff, and Bane silently motioned towards a large industrial compound. Robin took out his binoculars and began to scout.

“Look at all that product…” Robin whispered. “A buy is going down. But if Kobra’s not selling to the usual suspects, then-””We need to identify that buyer.” Kaldur finished.

“Just what I was thinking.” Wally nodded.

Robin scoffed. “Yeah, you’re the thinker!”

The look Wally gave his friend was the most unimpressed anyone had ever seen him. “Sarcasm? Dude, a real leader would focus on getting answers.”

A loud grunt, followed by a crashing sound made all of them turn to see Bane removing a large boulder to reveal a hidden passageway.

“Answers are this way.”

“So now El Lucador is our leader?” KF exclaimed, only to be smacked by Robin. “Ow!”

The passageway led to a gate, which-with Bane’s thumbprint-led to the factory’s interior. Bane poked his head through but was nudged to the side by Robin. After a moment, the young boy gave the all clear and ran out. When the others caught up, however, he was gone.

“Has that little fool already been captured?” Bane grunted.

“No...he just does that.” Kaldur spoke, disappointment evident in his face and voice.

“Stay put.” Wally whispered, slipping his goggles over his eyes. “I’ll get our intel and be back before the Boy Wonder!”

“Kid, wait-“

But Kaldur was too late, and the ginger had already sped off.

“Great chain of command.” Bane spoke, which to everyone’s surprise, earned him a deadpan remark from Zephyr.

“Bueno trabajo manejando tu fábrica.” Bane cast the girl a dirty look.

“What’s that?” Superboy piped up, and motioned to a nearby opening. It was a large garage door, littered with tall piles of crates with a forklift moving some out. The group moved to kneel behind the crates.

“It’s a massive shipment.” Kaldur muttered.

“Yea, but they’re only taking new product outside. They’re not touching this Venom.” Superboy noted.

“Maybe...freshness counts?” M’gann tried.

Suddenly, almost like a dog, Superboy’s head jutted upwards at attention.

“Helicopter’s coming.”

But of course, to everyone else, there was utter silence.

Santa Prisca

July 22

20:45

Kid Flash zipped into the control room where his best friend sat. The older boy munched on one of the energy bars he kept in the hidden compartments in his suit as the Boy Wonder sat above a knocked out Kobra cultist. The sight of the limp body on the group didn't even phase the snacking speedster, however, as he walked over to peer over the Boy Wonder’s shoulder.

"What'cha got?" Kid Flash asked.

"Chemical formulas." Robin explained, not even looking away from the monitors. "I'd say it involves Venom but…"

Robin pulled up two pictures of molecular makeups and their chemical formulas as the ginger's eyes squinted in focus. Not even after a second of thinking, Wally's granola-holding hand extended to motion to one of the pictures. "That one's Venom", then to the other, "and that one's...Woah, the Blockbuster formula from CADMUS."

In a simulated diagram, the two images formed together to create a new compound.

"Mixed correctly, Kobra's new juice would be three times as strong as Venom...and permanent." Wally turned to Robin. "But how did Kobra get access to Project Blockbuster?"

"Our mystery buyer must also be Kobra's supplier!" Robin exclaimed. "Using the cult to create a Venom-Blockbuster superformula!" Robin raised a hand to his com. "Robin to Aqualad, we got-" He was cut off. Static.

Meanwhile, back at the loading dock. The helicopter Superboy predicted had finally landed. A blonde man wearing a hockey goalie mask walked out of the flying machine, met by an awaiting Kobra and two of his goons; a tall punk girl with orange hair, and an inhumanly bulky male with skin akin to that of a post-Blockbuster Desmond. The two men spoke, discussing business. But unbeknownst to either of them, an invisible force watched them from above. The camouflaged martian watched closely, barely being able to hear the words they were exchanging in soft tones. But she could clearly see when the cult leader, Kobra, opened a silver briefcase. Furthermore, she could make out the several vials of purple liquid that lay inside. Quickly, Miss Martian opened a telepathic link.

"Aqualad," She mentally spoke, focusing her gaze intently on the masked man. "Sending a mental image of the buyer now."

Back inside the factory, Kaldur focused on the image of the blonde man that flashed in his brain. Once he had, he opened his eyes to the other people sitting with him on the raised catwalk Bane had taken them to.

"Sportsmaster? He is the buyer?" He muttered to nobody in particular.

Lina knew very little about 'Sportsmaster', never having run into him herself. But she recalled reading his file at one point. An average man, Lawrence “Crusher” Crock, but apparently some sort of sadist that was affiliated with the League of Shadows. He was trained in more than a few martial arts and was known to have access to an arsenal of dangerous weapons. Basically a glorified goon-for-hire, but a dangerous man nonetheless.

Kaldur raised a hand to his com. "Aqualad to Red Tornado, do you read?"

Upon only receiving static, he attempted other channels with very much the same degree of success.

"I cannot reach Robin, the League, or Kid. We need a plan. Now."

Bane gave a smile, an eery one that shot straight through Zephyr's spine. "I have a suggestion." And then he leapt right off the catwalk and straight into two armed cultists, quickly taking them down, but not before getting them to open fire at their attacker. The sounds of the gunfire quickly notified the rest of the security forces around the warehouse, who all rushed over to zero in on their intruders.

"What is he-" Kaldur didn't get the chance to finish his question, as the Blockbuster-esk Kobra goon (a previously normal man who went by the name of Mammoth) leapt through a nearby window and crashed straight into the catwalk. This caused the three members to fall or haphazardly fly down onto the floor, ridding them of any sense of safety.

“There goes our cover.” Superboy huffed.

Mammoth ran straight at the heroes, and the clone charged back at him, causing a resulting force strong enough to shake the whole building. As the two tanks went head-on with one another, a few dozen cultists began shooting at the two remaining young heroes. Aqualad knelt down, using his water-bearers to form a shield that protected both him and Zephyr from oncoming fire. Meanwhile, the young air manipulator lifted her hands, targetting the closest cultists she could see as her Winds picked them up and sent them all flying into metal walls.

“Where did Bane go?” Zephyr asked once she had realized that, once the shooting had started, the Spanish man had seemed to disappear into thin air.

“I’m not sure.” Aqualad shook his head as he lifted his other water-bearer to begin shooting cultists. “But I’m afraid we have more pressing matters.”

The fighting was a blur, with the members of the team very obviously outnumbered and confused, all of them internally reeling at how the mission was playing out. The large, open area of the warehouse floor made for little cover, and the sounds of repeated and multiple bouts of gunfire made it difficult for the team to get their bearings. At some point in the chaos, Miss Martian and Kid Flash had returned, only for the former to be blasted into a nearby wall by a rocketed projectile.

To put it simply, they were losing. And there was still no sign of Robin.

“Miss Martian, radio is jammed! Link us up!” Kaldur shouted.

A moment later, a sharp ringing entered each team member’s mind. Zephyr winced a little, but noted that the link didn’t hurt nearly as bad as it did during the initial cave tour.

“Everyone online?” The Martian girl’s voice rang into each member’s mind.

Superboy’s mental voice growled, but reluctantly spoke, “Yeah.”

“You know it, beautiful.” Kid Flash said from his place behind another support beam.

“Present,” Lina spoke, creating her own shield and blasted more cultists that were aiming at M'gann.

“Good. We need to regroup.” Kaldur’s voice rang.

Robin’s voice came through, rushed and chaotic. “Busy now!”

“Busy? What does he mean busy?!” Kid Flash’s actual voice sounded over the gunfire.

“Where did he go anyway?” Lina asked, but then spotted another cultist aiming straight at Kid Flash from around a corner. She delivered a quick air-strike to him, but in doing so, opened herself up. A sharp blast sliced at her arm and with a loud yelp of pain, she flew back behind the support beam for cover. “Putain!”

“Are you okay?” Kaldur asked, eyes darting to her injury.

Zephyr examined her arm, finding a tear just below her shoulder. Crimson blood seeped into her uniform, and the girl was suddenly grateful her costume was no longer white. “Just a graze, I’m fine.”

“Robin!” Aqualad called over the telepathic link. “Now!” After giving the order, Kaldur ran out, forming his weapons into water-whips and taking out as many cultists as he could.

“Strategic retreat! Kid, clear a path.”

A dark blue zig-zagged across the warehouse floor at top speeds, sending cultists down onto the ground as the remaining team member followed close behind and into a side door. Superboy lagged behind, having to wrestle Mammoth. But after a moment, the clone was able to leverage his strength into gripping Mammoth’s hands and send him flying into a group of armed men. Once the clone was able to enter into the side-passage way with the others, he and Aqualad promptly closed the door and resumed running. This only granted them a short reprieve, however, as Mammoth busted down the metal and was quickly followed by shooting cultists who open fired into the cramped walls of the hidden passage.

“Superboy! The support beams!” Aqualad exclaimed, and the clone delivered quick, strong strikes to the wooden support beams around him. Not a moment after, the rocky passage began to collapse, and with a rattling ‘boom’, all surroundings went dark.

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ghost-writing · 4 years

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Fee+Bear 2/?? - Home (Henry Cavill fanfic)

This is a re-post from my other blog… I’ve decided to post my writing on a separate page, it’ll be easier to access like that.

I’ve edited this a little, but there might still be some spelling mistakes & grammatical errors. (English is not my 1st language!) So, if you see something that irks you, please tell me! :)

Word count: almost 1.8k

Warnings: brief mentions of sex, AND SOPPY SUGARY FLUFF.

This is a prequel of this, but there might be some inconsistencies in the Fee+Bear stories, as it’s more a collection of one-shots, so be warned!

The sun is shining outside London. For once, the weather is great, even if a bit cold. But after spending most of the day in the garden playing with the kids and the dogs, Sofia decides to retreat to her office, because the script for episode 6 is not gonna check itself. And it needs to be sent to twins John and Paul, the writers and showrunners, for their own corrections, with still enough time left to print the final version for the whole cast and crew.

There are a lot of people depending on her now: she’s not just the star, but also one of the executive producers of her new show. A show that she’s abandoned a lot for, that she’s invested a lot in. She was working hard for it before, and is working even harder now that the lock-down is finally over, to make up for lost time.

Work is a lot on its own, but she also wants to be there for Gigi and Noah. Carmen and Elena had moved to London with her, and she owed them a huge debt for that. Their presence allowed her to dedicate herself to rehearsing and filming during the week, but she insisted on staying at home on the weekends as much as possible. Her schedule was so full, she was sure no man would have wanted to be included in that constant chaos, but Henry was not any man. He worked hard too, but came to spent most of his free time with her and her kids, instead of partying or doing whatever he used to do before they got together. She had sworn not to rush back into a relationship so quickly after her divorce, but he changed her mind easily. From the moment he met the kids, blissful, happy moments were the norm in their home when he was around.

But right now, she has to work just a little to be able to enjoy the rest of the 4-day weekend they had managed to squeeze into their extra tight work schedule. (Just one more proof that Henry was committed to their relationship.) And the quicker she gets it done, the sooner she’ll be free of it. She knows that, but she’d pushed it to later several times already.

The room is cool, which Sofia welcomes after the overheating she endured in the garden. Even in shorts and a top, the intense playing made her blood boil. But maybe that was because Henry took of his t-shirt at some point… Of course, the cat had followed her, trying to escape the ruckus Kal, Kit and the humans made (the big one being the loudest), bothering his fifth nap of the day. Sirius knows that in here, he’ll find peace and quiet, and maybe some belly rubs.

Sofia grabs the small stack of paper that’s been sitting on her desk for almost two days now, a purple pen (her designated colour for corrections, the twins using blue and green), her phone and headphones, and goes to lay on the sofa, the huge Maine Coon in tow. As soon as she settles, her head resting on a big cushion at one end, facing the door, and her bare legs and feet on the other end, Sirius looks for the best spot: her belly isn’t large enough for him to curl up in a ball on, and there’s not enough space for his large fluffy body between her and the back of the couch.

Sofia lets out a slightly annoyed sigh. “Can’t you decide already?” The black feline lifts his majestic head and looks at her right in the eyes with those enormous green marbles of his, as if to argue that this is the most important part of his routine. She melts, as usual. “Alright, baby.” She lifts him up, kisses his forehead and pets him gently, long enough for him to purr for a moment, and places him on the armrest, above her feet. She knows that in ten minutes tops, he’ll get down from there to get closer to her, demanding attention, but at least, she’ll cool down before having to deal with him. She puts the headset on, turns on some heavy rock music, like she always does when she needs to concentrate, and begins to read.

She’s about halfway through her task, and Sirius has moved spot three times, when Henry’s head peaks through the door.

“What?”, she says, taking the headphones off.

“Can I come in? I have to make a phone call.”

“Sure!” She smiles at him. “And you also need to hide from my adorable but exhausting kids, don’t you?” She winks.

He sighs deeply. “I do love them, but they. never. stop.” After removing Sirius with the utmost care and putting him gently on the ground, he sits next to her. The tiger looks at him with disdain, making Henry recoil a bit, before searching for another position of power.

“It’s all your fault, Cavill!” She brings her legs closer to her upper body to give more room to the big man. “Don’t be so goddamn nice to them, and they’ll play with each other, instead of always asking you to entertain them!”

“I tried, but I can’t say no to them! Gigi always makes that sad puppy face, and I cave… Every time!”

“Superman defeated by a pouting 6 year old… Batman’s got nothing on my girl”, she mocks. “Ok, make your call and let me finish this, please! When I’ll be done, I can teach you how to fight off the Evil Curly Dragon and her sidekick, Deadly Birdie.” She puts the headphones back on, not waiting for her boyfriend to groan at her.

Henry calls a friend or one of his brothers, presumably. She turned the music down to a more acceptable level, and she can hear him laugh. She can’t help but peak out from behind the sheets of paper every now and then: he smiles, he frowns, he makes gestures with his hands, fully immersed in his conversation. She forces herself to concentrate on her work.

Minutes pass, she’s getting close to the end of the script. Sirius is now resting on top of the sofa’s back, close to her, his legs lazily dangling on each side. His butt is turned towards his rival for Sofia’s affection, showing his disapproval.

Immersed in her script, Sofia suddenly realizes that Henry’s hand is resting on her legs. Her bare feet were now pushing on his meaty thigh, as she was looking for warmth, subconsciously. She always had cold feet, and Henry was hot in more than one way. He starts moving up from her feet, slowly caressing the ankle, then up the calf, lightly massaging the muscle with the pulp of his fingers. She looks at him, ready to scold him for distracting her, but he’s still talking over the phone, apparently unaware of what his hand his doing. He’s gone a bit quieter, so she can’t hear what he says.

From the corner of his eyes, he sees her looking at him. His hand leaves her briefly, gesturing for her to take off the headphones.

“Mum says hello!”

“Hello, Marianne! See you soon!”

“You heard that? Yeah, maybe in…”

She puts the headphones back on, decided on finishing her task rapidly. But his hand is back on her leg. His whole palm is rubbing her calf now, going back down to her feet.

“God, this is divine…”, she thinks. Henry is very tactile, and she always welcomes his gentle touch. Thinking of it, they had barely shared a moment alone yet this weekend, just the two of them… They arrived really late on Thursday night, exhausted, so she just snuggled in his arms as they both fell asleep rapidly. The children had been all over them from early Friday morning. Only last night did they finally make time for some intimacy, but they were still tired, so they did what they had to do, and quickly called it a night. Maybe he was attempting something now… She couldn’t deny it was slowly putting her in the mood.

Until he touches her sole with his thumb, which makes her wiggle her toes at the tickling feeling. She puts the script down harshly, slapping it on her thighs. He silently apologizes, continuing his conversation with his mother. This time, his hand stays still on her legs, not going back to his delightful ministrations. And she feels like pouting at him just like her daughter, to make him start again. No, she has to finish work first!

A few minutes later, she sighs with pride and relief, closing the script and throwing it in direction of the desk. It bumps on it and falls on the ground, the noise making Sirius flinch and almost fall from his perch. She turns to face Henry, who’s looking at her, a grin on his face.

As soon as she takes her headphones off, he queries “Finished now?”

“Almost! I just have to scan it and send it to the twins!”

“Can you do that a little later?” He places his hand on her exposed thigh, his expression speaking without the need for words.

“Why would I wait?”, she replies, as innocently as she can, while he stretches his gorgeous body above hers, one of his knees placed between her legs. She can feel the heat emanating from his broad chest, flowing down to her stomach, and lower.

“Because your legs are cold, and I have to warm you up… Should we go to your bedroom?”

He dives his nose in her neck, his stubble scratching at her skin deliciously, his lips and tongue tracing a wet trail on her veins and nerves. They’ve been together less than four months, but he very quickly found all of her weak spots. Only four months, but things got serious between them even before they actually could start. After talking to each other almost everyday over the phone for several months, it did not feel like they were rushing into anything thoughtlessly. Maybe it was time for another step forward…

“Our bedroom?”, she asks.

He lifts his head from her neck and looks at her, not talking for a moment. She feels worried that he won’t agree. But he kisses her lips, and she kisses him back, her arms grabbing his neck while he wraps her legs around his waist. She pushes him gently with one hand, breaking the deep kiss, needing a clear answer.

“To our bedroom, then!”, he says, the biggest of smiles illuminating his face.

#fanfic #henry cavill fic #henry cavill fluff #fluff #with a dash of smut #Fee+Bear

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dented-nado · 5 years

Note

Also, Trinity post battle at the watchtower.

[[ akfjlkas I ended up doing this one first to break it up, and also bc I wanted to try writing some trinity content –“Promise you’ll go easy on him Bruce.”

“It was stupid, reckless, he could have died. I’m going tomake sure he knows just how idiotic it was.” Batman bit back, still pacing backand forth despite his own just recently patched up wounds as he and Dianawaited.

In just the other room, Superman was only barely coming to, stillfeeling the throbbing pain from the wounds closing that had only just fully hadany traces of kryptonite removed. Batman felt like punching a wall, breaking something, anything.He was going to let that super-asshole have a piece of his mind, that was for sure. How dare he. Howdare he, the one who was supposed to be invulnerable, bullet proof, scarehim like that.

Batman grit his teeth and finally stopped pacing, trying to forcehimself to breathe outside of angry huffing

.“He was trying to protect you Bruce, he… he knew he had a chance tomake it through, and he has.” Diana bit her lip, wrapping a strand of dark brown hair around her finger, half wanting to chooseher words carefully, half knowing Bruce wouldn’t enjoy being coddled. “But you,if you had been hit…”

“I’m not going to have someone else diebecause of me!” He yelled back just as the door slid open to reveal Supermanlumbering forward to intervene.

“Kal! You shouldn’t be up yet.” Diana chided, rushing to his sideto support his waffling stance.

“What you did was stupid.” Bruce said with a deadpan stare, hiseyes that had briefly scanned over Clark’s body to make sure he was healingwell and going to be okay well hidden beneath the lenses of the cowl. “Theywere counting on you rushing in. They were using me as a trap and you fellfor it.”

Clark’s lips drew into a thin line. “Does it ever occur to you,Bruce? What it would do to me, to us, to the league, to yourfamily if we lost you?”

“You’ll get over it, everyone will recover without me. There’speople that can easily take my place if I died.” Batman stated as if it were asimple fact that someone would read in their first grade textbook. “Batman willexist without me.”

Diana stared at him eyes wide and offended. “How could you saysomething like that? Of course you’d be a huge loss. I… I we loveyou, and you’d expect us to just ‘get over it’?”

Batman turned his gaze away from them. “Superman is tooimportant for the world to loose.”

Clark took a bold step forward despite the pain and dull sicknessstill coursing through his body that had yet to fully subside, annoyance atBruce trying to lecture him for saving his life starting to slip into anger.

“I’m no more important than you or anyone else!”

“That’s a lie and you know it! Plenty of people can beBatman, only you can be Super…”

“Dammit Bruce!” Clark yelled slamming his hand back against thewall in frustration. “You think I’m important?! You think “batman” can bereplaced easily?”His rage started to pool back into a deep sadness, starting tohave Clark’s previously angered gaze faltering as his mind raced.“You know who can’t be replaced? You. Bruce Wayne. If anyoneknows how painful it is to loose someone you care about, its you. Do you reallywant to do that to your kids? Put them all through loosing anotherparental figure in their lives? Do you want to make Alfred bury another personhe loves? Do you really want tell me I should haveto look down at your dead body, knowing I could have saved you and stillhad a chance at living through it to spend another day with you… and have to watch you be put into theground… and I’m supposed to just get over it?”

Batman stared downwards, still trying to doeverything to look away from Clark and Diana’s gazes. He wanted to ask for Clark’s forgiveness, be the kind person thatwould rush to their side and soothe them. Admit that he had just gotten scared.Scared that he could have died and left everything behind. Scared that he couldhave lost someone else he adored. Instead, he turned away from them.

“All I’m saying, is you should stop letting your personalissues get in the way of the greater good. If this is going to be a reoccurringissue with you… both of you, it may be best to call it off, put somedistance between us.”

Deep down, saying it made him sick, made his stomach turn. He wasbeing stubborn and yet… if he hadn’t let himself get close to them, hadn’tsomehow unknowingly tricked them both into thinking that he was someone worthloving… well then there was one less thing threatening to take people that gavethe world so much hope for the future away. He wanted to vomit, hearing thedead silence that met his statement, neither of them seemed to be breathing,and all Bruce could do was hope his heart would stop feeling like it had justbeen transformed into a 100 pound hunk of metal.

“… You look me and Diana in the eye… and say that again.”

Clark’svoice was cold, but it carried a slight shiver to it, and Bruce immediatelyknew he had to be shaking. Clark shook when he was stressed. He hadn’t known it was something superman didfor ages. It was something you would never notice unless you wereholding him while it was happening. It was a jitter so fast and so slight, not unlike the fast beat of a mouse’s heart, itwas genuinely frightening the first time Bruce had felt Clark’s hand trembleunder his.

“I don’t need to…”

“No. Kal’s right. If that’s how you really feel, what you reallywant… turn around, face us, no mask, and tell us you want to break it off, tellus you’d rather end everything than be with the people who love you.” Dianasaid firmly, words each hitting him in the back like a ton of bricks.

Bruce took a deep resolute breath despite every inch of his body fighting againstitself, he felt like he was being eaten alive from the inside out. Despite thathe slowly turned on his heel, and pulled of the cowl of thebat, and finally looked them both in the eye, opening his mouth, ready to shoothimself in the foot and put the final nail in the coffin.Then he saw them, really saw them. He saw Clark looking athim, last drops of fury clear but beginning to grow watery with tears that hadyet to fall with fear that he wasn’t going to have the man in his life anymore. He saw Diana’s intense firey gaze piercing through him,challenging him on if he was really willing to tell such a massive lie to agoddess of truth.

His words died before even reaching his tongue and absolutely nothing left his mouth, and heclosed it in shame. His fists unclenched slowly as he stared back at them, hisown icy gaze unable to challenge them, not when it held no real intention ofwanting to push them away.

“You don’t mean it, do you?” Diana asked, fire in her eyessimmering down as her voice took on a softer tone.

“…No.” Bruce finally answered truthfully.

He was a fool to think he could lie to them, truly look them in the eye and say that he didn’t want them. He couldn’t do that, not anymore.

Suddenly he was being compressed in Clark’s arms before he couldeven think about saying another word, unable to do anything to protest a softkiss being pressed against his forehead.

“I’m sorry I scared you. But.. you scared me too.” He whispered.

Damn this man for knowing him too well at this rate.

Diana joined Kal in wrapping her arms around Bruce, pressingherself against his back, her long flowing hair lightly brushing the nape ofhis neck as she softly pressed a kiss to his cheek.

“I knew it. But pleasedearest, for the sake of Kal’s nerves, we need to work on this together.”

Bruce closed his eyes, previous stubbornness and dedication toshut everyone out again -an old formula to prevent more pain, more suffering,despite it always seeming to backfire - now replaced with regret

.“…I know. I… I just… don’t want anyone to suffer because ofme.” He mumbled in response.

“I’ll try to be more careful, I’ll even let you make a plan for if something like that happens again, that we can agree on and let you train me on it withoutgetting annoyed… okay?” Clark offered.

“…fine.”

They all shared a quiet moment as some of the stress shed off thethree of them as they stayed, locked in each other’s arms, both Clark and Diana holding their bat tight.

“Now Kal… you really need to lie back down.” Diana scolded asthey slowly let go of each other.

“Alright, alright…” Clark agreed, admittedly still fatigued andin need of a little more recovery time.

“But only if you two keep me company.”

Diana squeezed Bruce’s hand encouragingly as he slipped the cowlback on.

“Of course.” Batman finally agreed, deciding to let himself bedrawn in just a little closer after trying to fling himself out.

He needed to stay with them as much as they needed him. To remindhimself… even if it was hard for him… that sometimes experiencing love andletting himself be loved, was more than worth the risk of loosing it.

#memorydragon #swb #superwonderbat #dc trinity #prompt fill #dc fanfic #my writing #bruce wayne #clark kent #diana prince #I HOPE THIS WAS OK MEM #I WAS SLEEPY WHILE WRITING IT BUT I REALLY WANTED TO HAvE A SHOT AT IT

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hellsangel921 · 5 years

Text

Superbat week "Holo”

Title: Holo

Pairing: Clark/Bruce

Warnings: Angst. Emotional Hurt. Not really comfort.

For the Superbat Week 2019 prompt “Hologram”. I really wanted to contribute for each day but life got really busy so... I ended up writing something really short instead. Sorry. Enjoy anyway?

Ao3 Link

Bruce is sitting at the edge of the bed when Clark wakes up.

He’s leaning up against the headboard with a book in hand, eyes scanning the pages in an unhurried manner and face for once lacking of any tension. It’s such a rare moment that Clark just stares for a few good minutes.

As if he hasn’t seen this thousands of times before.

Eventually Bruce notices the attention and turns to him with a smile. One that fills Clark with warmth and has him grinning right back.

One that always makes his heart ache in yearning .

“Good morning. You’re up early.” Clark says while shifting to lie on his stomach, head propped up against his arms.

Bruce raises a brow in response.

“What?”

“It’s three in the afternoon, Clark.”

Clark blinks, eyes moving to the clock hanging on the wall.

5:30 am.

“Oh… so it is.” Clark shrugs which causes Bruce to shake his head as if he’s exasperated with his companion’s antics. “What? If you didn’t want me sleeping in, you should have woken me up.”

“You say that now but the moment I so much as tap you to get your lazy ass up, you start pouting like a child. For someone who’s powered by sunlight, you sure are doing a fine job of avoiding it lately.” Bruce has fully closed his book by now to fold his arms across his chest, daring Clark to contradict his claim. Clark could, just for the sake of it. They’ve been bantering back and forth since the forming of the Justice League and by now, they’ve both come to know each other so well, it’d take much more than a few words to truly irritate either of them now. Still, it’s the truth that makes it out of Clark’s mouth rather than a teasing jab.

“Well lately, it’s been so comfortable that I couldn’t help it.”

And though Clark knows he should anticipate the effect his words will have, it still doesn’t quite prepare him for the way Bruce’s expression softens. He doesn’t say anything, but the way his body just relaxes, eyes filling with such affection it has Clark feeling breathless. He’s always thought Bruce was handsome, but times like these when there are no defenses, no snarls or need to prove anything-no Batman-just Bruce… Clark could never tear his gaze away.

Bruce Wayne has always been so heartbreakingly beautiful .

He could feel his eyes stinging, and he lets out a short laugh to distract himself.

There’s a script to follow .

“And besides, aren’t older people more susceptible to the cold? I’m actually doing you a favor by keeping you warm.”

There’s a slight pause, in which Bruce’s gaze suddenly forms into a glare but it’s nowhere near deadly and Clark can see the humor still swimming in his eyes so he’s plastered on a cheeky grin.

“Really? We’re going there?”

Clark pretends to think about it but then shrugs and in response to his unrepentant expression, Bruce scoffs as if he were truly insulted. He takes a swipe at Clark’s head, who dodges by planting his face into the sheets. This way it also doubles in muffling his laughter.

“I don’t have to take this.”

“No, no Bruce I’m just kidding-”

But when Clark looks up, Bruce is already gone. “...Bruce?”

The silence is almost deafening. Clark swallows harshly and counts to ten before throwing his legs over Bruce’s side of the bed to exit out of the room. The sheets are cold when they brush against him but he’s learned to ignore it.

His chest aches.

Bruce is standing in the kitchen when Clark enters. He has a look on his face Clark has seen many times-usually when he’s donning the Batman suit in front of a computer, going over complex calculations in his head. The fact that he’s doing it to an apple on the counter in black slacks and a simple white shirt is both so amusing for the silliness and heartwarming for the domesticity Clark needed perhaps a moment to compose himself.

He smiles, counts to ten and then asks, “What are you doing?”

Bruce turns to him with a puzzled expression.

“Clark? You’re home early.”

Clark shakes his head, “It’s already eight o’clock.”

Bruce blinks in surprise and glances at the clock.

“Oh. I must have lost track of time…”

Clark looks pointedly at the apple on the counter, sitting innocently enough. Bruce follows his gaze and huffed in annoyance to the unspoken question. Clark wants to comment about it, wants to ask what Bruce was planning on doing with the apple. Slice it for a snack? Bake it into a pie?

Follow the script.

“You know I didn’t mean it right? What I said earlier.”

Clark waits, forces himself not to fidget under Bruce’s stare. His face has gone blank-a look Clark knows he uses only when he is truly thinking about what he wants to say. Bruce is blunt, can be downright cruel sometimes but Clark knows he tries to be careful around the people he is close to. So he always tries to give Bruce all the time he needs to finally gather his words in return.

“Clark, there’s something we need to discuss.”

Bruce’s voice is serious, bordering on that low growl he uses whenever he takes on the Bat suit.

He’s learned to dread that tone .

When there is no forthcoming response Bruce suddenly takes a breath, shoulders straightened as if preparing for battle. His face is set with firm determination.

“When I’m gone-”

“No.”

“Clark-”

“No!”

“ Stop interrupting me.” Bruce growls, almost fully Batman now. His glare leaves no room for argument but Clark can’t see it. He’s shut his eyes and covered his ears.

But his memory is perfect. He knows how this plays out.

“Clark… listen to me.” It’s the tone, now soft and careful-as if Bruce is speaking to one of his children-that gets Clark to open his eyes. Bruce is smiling and though it’s gentle, it’s not a happy one.

“Bruce… please…” Clark begs.

But Bruce goes on as if he didn’t hear it.

“When I’m gone and you’re still here, you will move on.”

And suddenly Clark’s legs are too weak to support him. He crashes to his knees and doesn’t hear the floor crack upon impact. He’s too busy burying his face into his hands, breathing hard to keep from sobbing.

“Bruce, please… stop.”

But he never does.

“You’ll be devastated at first, of course. You’ll probably be sad… for a very long time and you might even stop caring about the world after a while.” Bruce’s voice is no longer steady. If Clark moved his hands, if he looked up, he knew he’d see the shocking sight of tears trailing down that handsome face.

“Bruce, please.”

Blunt. Cruel.

“But you’ll pull through. It might take-well… who knows. A month? A year? Ten?”

A hundred. A thousand.

“But you will . You will pick yourself back up.”

He still hasn’t.

“You’re Superman.”

He’s weak.

There’s a pause, Bruce has said his piece but Clark doesn’t move.

“You can speak now.”

The same scene over and over. Follow the script.

Clark finally gives in, lets the tears fall as he kneels on the ground. He’ll sound absolutely broken, he knows, but he can’t not say it-

“I miss you.”

He can’t see it but he knows Bruce is smiling, looking right past Clark.

He’s memorized this. Over and over.

“I love you too.”

Clark looks up. Bruce is gone. He waits.

A hundred years. A thousand. He’s lost count.

“Loading sequence number 327. Would you like to proceed, Kal-El?”

Clark closes his eyes. “Yes.”

“Please give ten seconds for start up.”

Clark breathes out a shaky sigh, wipes his eyes and counts to ten in his head.

“What are you doing?”

Clark turns slowly, a warm smile on his face even as his chest aches. At the doorway is Bruce, wearing his black silk pajamas and squinting tiredly at him. He’s barefoot, which explains why Clark wasn’t able to hear him coming closer.

The lies will never catch up to him here.

“Oh, did I wake you? I wanted a midnight snack.” Clark explains as he walks over.

“Seriously?” Bruce sighs, running his hand over his face to hide the amused smile he has on. The gold band on his ring finger catches the light, drawing Clark’s eyes to it. His heart clenches.

“Sorry.” he manages only barely not to choke out.

“Just come back to bed.” Bruce pauses then tilts his head, a small grin on his face, “Older people need warmth, remember?”

Clark laughs.

The lies will pile up. But the hollowness will never disappear.

#superbat #superbat week #superbat week 2019 #sorry i'm late #prompt #clark/bruce

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whatthefrickfracktickitytictac · 5 years

Text

Batman: Universe - issues #1-3

By Bendis, Derington, and Stewart

Beware, spoilers :)

Story arc starts with Batman chasing down the Riddler, who uses stuntmen he deceived to be part of a new ‘comedy’ show. Well, the people who believed this nonsense definitely deserve to be punched in the face by Batsy.

Apparently, Riddler stole a Faberge egg from the Gotham museum and Batman loses him and the egg when a mysterious vehicle comes from nowhere and electrifies Batman to the point of unconsciousness.

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The funny part of this panel is there are still people you can manipulate into touching Batman’s cowl. That is a death wish.

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Jonah Hex! I love seeing Jonah Hex all the time and now thanks to the Young Justice, I love seeing his great-granddaughter Jinny Hex. I don’t remember any story with Jonah Hex and a Faberge egg together. I wonder how are they going to tie a 19th-century cowboy and a jeweled egg that is made in Russia; but it is sure to be interesting.

So, then Batman tracks the Riddler to Amsterdam, probably to pull him from his ears back to Gotham, only to face a different challenge rather than dear old Edward. Deathstroke, like he doesn’t have anything better to do, protects Edward Nygma from Batman; as if he ever stands a chance against Batman. (Yes, I am a Batman fangirl.)

I love seeing cameos from different heroes and villains outside of their own comics. Artists always put another look to the characters and seeing Bendis’ Deathstore and Green Arrow would be a joy to see, because its Bendis! I love everything he writes.

I love Oliver and his banters more than I can explain. I know the Green Arrow was created as a bad copy of Batman, but they created a different legend for him along the way. They still have a lot in common, but I love seeing Ollie none the less. Thanks to the Arrow, they beat Deathstroke and ‘capture’ Riddler for like a second.

When did Batman buy a sense of humor? It’s like Batman is trying to excuse Riddler like a teacher would with a student in front of the principal. It is so much fun to watch Bruce making small jokes rather than be a drama queen all the time like in King’s works.

I missed reading a story with Batman’s detective skills and strong conversation. It always leaves me wanting more of this comic. The only negative part of this work is that it is a monthly comic. I want more issues!

First of all, everyone loves Batman’s rogues gallery. Riddler gets away; obviously, the chase is not finished just yet, even though Batman figures that there is someone else behind all of Riddler’s plans.

Come on Bats, we don’t use names on the field, even if our teammate turns into a murderous human being. Jokes aside, I was just going to say this hero team-up did not have the fight, you know, heroes meet, they fight because of a misunderstanding, they makeup and save the day. Luckily Riddler had it covered; he hid a neurotoxin inside the box that should have contained the Faberge egg.

While they fight each other, the unexpected happens; the Riddler gets away.

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Only this panel is better than the whole Bat-Cat garboil. (I really hate Catwoman, please don’t be mad at me)

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Finally, we discover who is behind all this and it is – drumrolls please – Vandal Savage. Apparently, he wants whatever is inside of the egg. However, one problem: Who drove Savage? He looks awful, and I can’t really explain it, but I really didn’t like this version of him. Still, let’s move on.

Thanks to the tracker on Riddler, Batman follows him to the Gorilla City. I always like the big apes with telepathic abilities, calling humans primates.

Thankfully Batman manages to get in Gorilla City and talk with the king without causing a diplomatic problem. He finds Riddler sleeping with the egg. I have no idea how he managed to escape from Savage with the egg none the less, but Batman finds a note signed with a K, and it is supposed to be from Kal-El, but I guess it is not a good enough forgery to fool Batman.

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P.S: I love how he answers with ‘I’m Batman’ and how I just accept it as a probable cause.

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It seems that the egg, or whatever inside of it, can transport you to another side of the universe, acting like a Motherbox. What would Batman do if he ever gets stranded on a different planet? Apparently, he gives his references.

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Good to know that Batman’s name exceeds our world.

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Man, panels in this comic crack me up. Batman definitely deserves some teasing.

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Good thing the Hawks had an extra pair of wings for Batman and they are black! If I were Batman, I would never give them back. Then a villain (I guess) attacks on Thanagar, but before we can figure out who he is or what he wants, Batman gets ‘slingshot’ back to earth, his words not mine, only to see Gorilla City is in ruins.

While Batman learned how to fly, Savage came and took the Faberge egg. It seems the trip and back from Thanagar was more than Batman could handle. Thankfully, his buddies from Justice League helped him out. Obviously Green Arrow wasn’t the last of the cameos.

I enjoy seeing how Cyborg acts around Batman, like he is always horrified.

We learn that this slingshotting business, lack of a better word, happened to Hal as well. It is surprising to see a conversation about how Batman works alone, but I am loving it. A Batman/Green Lantern team-up is always fun to read.

They track the egg and Savage to the dinosaur island, which is always interesting to see. They find Savage which is okay but they do something they shouldn’t have: They got close to the egg. The egg slingshot them to the 1800s only to meet Jonah Hex! Finally, the man waiting for makes an appearance. And he is as cool as ever. I love cowboys.

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nadohunter · 6 years

Text

maiko-chanefp replied to your photo “I had an idea for a Wing!AU with Superbat where Bruce hasn’t been able...”

@nadohunter I NEED THIS PLEASE

I am all too happy to add more to this Wing!AU.

I plan to do more drawings in the future, but in the meantime a few thoughts I’ve had about it.

For starters I still want to keep their canon super identities for the most part. It’s honestly hard for me to write or think about de-powered AUs concerning Clark since him being an alien seems to influence so much of his character and add to the dynamic that both him and Bruce are two people who feel very separated from everyone else in their own way. So basically Clark can still do all of his “Superman” things, he just has actual wings instead of just floating around. His wings are golden in hue and reflect the sunlight - the most distinct part of them is that they are way more massive than most humans.

As a result, when Clark has to hide his identity he has to pull his wings in really close to his body, and may even pretend he can’t fly so the full expanse of his wings aren’t revealed. Even as a super powered being, clenching his wings like that is enormously uncomfortable, so sometimes as “Kal-El” He will simply casually fly around to stretch his wings (hence why in the drawing he has no glasses and the superman look to him, but he’s wearing more relaxed clothing)

Bruce was a very energetic boy, and learned to fly when he was 5, and practically wanted to fly everywhere - though as stated before after his parents death (and a gunshot to his left wing) he found himself unable to fly again despite all of his attempts and training. It’s an unsaid rule in this AU society that not being able to fly puts you lower on the social system. He’s constantly making excuses to the public or -later on has Dick pose as him from a distance since they have the same wing color. However despite being able to deal with the idea of hiding from public backlash - not being able to fly is a massive, massive chip on his shoulder, and something he’s always trying to compensate for.

I was playing around the idea of him having some sort of armor for his wings as batman? I’m not exactly sure how they would look or work yet, but I like the idea that instead of his cape he puts some sort of armor on his feathered wings to make them appear like bat-wings.

It’s a little harder for him to take part in the Justice League once its formed, he doesn’t want to not be taken seriously simply because he can’t fly on his own.

Those are some of my thoughts for my take on this AU so far, but if anyone else is sparked by this or has any other ideas or thoughts on it I’m always happy to hear it <3 And I’m so glad you like the idea so much! I’m happy to supply this AU idea with content lol

#maiko-chanefp #superbat #batman #superman #clark kent #bruce wayne #wing!au #Superman x Batman #clark x bruce #dc #au concept

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wits-writing · 6 years

Text

DC’s Nuclear Winter Special (Comic Book Review)

There are plenty of reasons to not feel like getting into the holiday spirit, many of them valid and more apparent in the world at large this year in particular. So in the spirit of a time where it can feel like the world is ending, I’m going to recommend DC Comics’ 80-page holiday anthology special for this year, the Nuclear Winter Special. Featuring ten different stories focusing on some of the DC Universe’s greatest heroes from across time dealing with struggles in varied post-apocalyptic environments and connected to the holiday season in some way.

The ten stories and creators are the following:

Rip Hunter (writer: Mark Russell, art: Mike Norton, colors: Hi-Fi, letters: Daron Bennett)

Batman 666 (writers: Collin Kelly & Jackson Lanzing, pencils: Giuseppe Camuncoli, inks: Cam Smith, colors: Romulo Fajardo Jr., letters: Clayton Cowles)

Superman One Million (writer: Steve Orlando, pencils: Brad Walker, inks: Drew Hennesy, colors: Nathan Fairbairn, letters: Clayton Cowles)

The Flash (writer: Jeff Loveness, art: Christian Duce, colors: Luis Guerrero, letters: Tom Napolitano)

Supergirl (writer: Tom Taylor, breakdowns: Tom Derenick, art/colors: Yasmine Putri, letters: Deron Bennett)

Aquaman (writer: Mairghread Scot, art: Dexter Soy, colors: Veronica Gandini, letters: Steve Wands)

Firestorm (writer: Paul Dini, art: Jerry Ordway, colors: Dave McCaig, letters: Dave Sharpe)

Kamandi (writer/pencils: Phil Hester, inks: Ande Parks, colors: Trish Mulvihill, letters: Steve Wands)

Catwoman (writer: Cecil Castelucci, art: Amancay Nahuelpan, colors: Brian Buccellato, letters: Josh Reed)

Green Arrow (writer: Dave Wielgosz, art: Scott Kolins, colors: John Kalisz, letters: Alex Antone)

[Full Review Under the Cut]

I’ll mostly be going out of order for how I discuss the stories in this anthology special. However, the first two in the book are worth grouping together for discussion, the Batman 666 and Superman One Million stories. Both expansions on characters from alternate futures presented during Grant Morrison’s runs on Batman and JLA, respectively.

The story of Damian Wayne as the future Batman wandering the frozen wasteland while pondering if his dedication to his father’s ideals still means anything in the remains of the world, when he’s one of the people who ruined it. Multiple stories in this special play on the idea that time stopped really meaning anything in the post-apocalyptic landscapes the characters are left in, so they’re made to focus more on the essence of what the holidays represent. Kelly, Lanzing, Camuncoli and Smith bring in the idea of family togetherness by introducing Damian’s grandfather, Ra’s Al Ghul, into the story with the way the fight between the Bat and the Demon resolves coming down to the end of the world helping Damian put where his values are in perspective.

Superman One Million’s story focuses on togetherness as well, but from another perspective and adding in the idea of the importance of memory. While Kal Kent, the Superman of the 853rd century, is highlighted in the table of contents for this issue, his segment of this issue absolutely belongs more to J’onn J’onzz, the Martian Manhunter. If this issue indicates Orlando’s approach to writing J’onn, then his upcoming miniseries focusing on the character is going to be something special. How canon anything in this special is meant to be taken loosely at best, but I like what this short story adds to J’onn’s character history when Kal Kent goes back in time to stop a time travelling villain from destroying the Superman Dynasty before it starts. The sequence where Kal gives J’onn back the memories of their past encounter the were removed for the sake of preventing paradoxes among the most heartwarming moments in a book full of them.

On the topic of stories that add interesting new details to the featured character’s background, the Kamandi story by Phil Hester does this by way of tribute to the character’s creator, Jack Kirby. It takes the already heightened world that Kamandi inhabits and places this adventure within a framework that calls back to the stories of both Hanukkah and the Nativity. The Hanukkah elements are mostly in play as something Kamandi recalls from his time growing up in a bunker with his grandfather telling him stories. As far as I know, this is the first story in the character’s history to feature the idea that Kamandi is of Jewish decent. In addition to that neat detail, there are ways that this story feels more complete than a couple of the others within this issue as it manages to set up all its necessary elements quickly and executes paying them off in a satisfactory manner within the limited page count.

Another story that makes effective use of its short page count is the Firestorm story, “Last Christmas.” The brief tale of Ronnie Raymond and Professor Stein having a final confrontation with the android Nuclear Family as they face their last Christmas ends up weirdly poignant and heartwarming. Dini and Ordway work together to balance the tragedy of the supervillain family with them still being a genuine threat. That tragedy also reflects on the kindness of Ronnie and Stein as they figure out how to save the day while letting the Nuclear Family’s final Christmas be a merry one in the end.

Two more stories that contain some interesting parallel structures are the Catwoman and Supergirl stories. Each one puts the focus heroine in a parental role and shows how that keeps them inspired to action, even in the face of a world that’s falling apart. Catwoman’s story starts with Selina in a position where she mainly seems to be using her role as guardian to the daughter of her longtime friend, Holly Robinson, as a reason to remain self-interested in the dystopian Gotham. In a time when people are forced to stretch whatever resources they manage to get their hands on for as long as possible, Selina debates her charge about whether they should try to help others when their own supplies keep running low. Eventually, Selina gives into her better nature and it inspired to play the role of Santa Claus by way of Robin Hood.

Writer Tom Taylor went to Twitter to ask people not to read the table of contents of this anthology, so they wouldn’t spoil his Supergirl story for themselves with its title. Since this easily makes the strongest contender for best story in the book, I’ll oblige by not giving away the ending either. The older Kara Zor El in this story looking after her adopted daughter in the “Not Distant Enough Future” journeying across the blighted Earth to find some place she can charge up her powers again is a compelling start to the story. The ending of the story builds up to Kara reflecting on a simple idea. In the face of the end, she has a choice to either perpetuate the cycles started by those who came before her or do something better. If you know anything about the Super-family, what her final choice ends up being won’t come as a surprise.

While I don’t think any of the stories in this special are bad, there were three I felt fell short of the standards of most of this issue. The Flash and Aquaman stories, while playing on the same themes of hope in the face of a hopeless existence that permeate the rest of this issue, are the ones that stretch the holiday connection the most. Though both still serve as pretty good highlights for their focus heroes. The choice of focus hero was my main issue with the Green Arrow story. I’ve never particularly liked or disliked Oliver Queen as a character, but this story seems to require some type of investment in him to get something out of him being grumpy at a future Justice League’s Christmas party. Though the actual weakest part of the book is the framing device with Rip Hunter, which doesn’t seem to serve much purpose related to the other stories beyond being a framing device.

DC’s Nuclear Winter Special showcases the present creators pulling some great material for the featured heroes within the setup of the titular motif. There are certainly people reading this who will get more out of the stories I was dismissive towards and the average quality of the ones I’ve highlighted is strong enough to give this 80-page special a strong recommendation as a way to get into the holiday spirit with some exemplary superhero storytelling.

If you like what you’ve read here, please consider throwing some support my way at either Patreon or Ko-Fi at the extension “/witswriting”

#DC Nuclear Winter Special #Wit's Writing #Comic Book Review #Christmas #Christmas comics #comic books #comics

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jokin-around · 7 years

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When people say superman is unrelatable and has no weaknesses i always get confused cuz like... he has plenty of relatable traits... certainly more than child billionaire bruce wayne (no disrespect intended)... and in a lot of ways they correlate with ones plenty of real people have:

>He grew up in a poor household as an only child

>His real parents and most of his family are dead

> 99% of his race is dead and he knows nothing about his heritage aside from what other people have told him

> he's adopted

> his adopted father also died despite all his powers

> he's Technically an illegal immigrant

> he probably grew up not knowing that anyone like him even existed

>he's constantly hiding parts of who he really is, in both personas, unless he's with people he trusts

>He was bullied in school and grew up as an outcast because of something he was born with

>despite having impermeable skin, he's extremely sensitive to things like sound and sensory overload is something he's had to deal with

> he tries his best to please people out of good nature AND fear that his new home would reject him otherwise

> and despite anything he may be dealing with, he still manages keep a smile on his face because he knows other people, including his closest freinds, need him to

Honestly, the only reason superman is written so flatly is because the straight white dudes writing him genuinely believe big muscles, good looks and steel skin are all you need to become immune to everything and anything. They don't consider what life would REALLY be like for someone like kal and they end up failing to utilize any aspects of his character that could add true depth. And you know what? Sure. maybe superman is a boring superhero. but you're not supposed to write him as a superhero anyway. you're supposed to write him as person fist and foremost, who just happens to be a superhero. He doesn't have batmans sense of duty and entitlement, or his lack of self preservation, his thirst for justice. And thats because his story isn't about making a decision to become someone with great power.

It's about unwillingly having it, not knowing what to do with it, and knowing it would be a crime to do nothing when all you really want is a normal life. Knowing people are counting on you to be exactly what they perceive you to be, what they NEED you to be, Even if it's nearly impossible.

#superman #clark kent #kal el #srry i get emotional when i talk about my son #he is beacon of sunshine #and i will not tolerate slander in this house

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sleepyfan-blog · 7 years

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@drenched-in-sunlight I hope that you enjoy the ficlet!

Based off of these pictures

fandom: DC universe

warnings: Justice Lords AU

word count: 2,387

summary: Kon is less than enthused when their father has them go for a photoshoot, but as his father’s empire does require positive press from time to time, he and most of his brothers attend. Something about this photoshoot bothers him - or rather, he hears a disconcertingly familiar sound.

Kon still wasn’t convinced that this was entirely necessary, or even a reasonable thing to do, but for some reason, father seemed to think that it was a good idea for all of them to be photographed together. Lord Superman’s children… And Christopher, who was technically a vassal of Lord Kal-El in order to be close to Jon, and to protect him from anyone who would do his youngest brother harm, in addition to cherishing and loving him deeply. But to the rest of the world, Chris was part of Lord Superman’s family, and that was that. His mood wasn’t improved much by the fact that he thought he heard something… Something familiar but possibly dangerous.

The photographer in front of them fluttered anxiously as they positioned the camera. The five of them were arranged around the bright red couch that the photography studio had decided would be the best for them to be around – likely as the color of the couch cushions matched the red that each of them was wearing. Jon, Lainey and himself were wearing the symbol of their Kryptonian House. Chris wasn’t wearing the symbol as he wasn’t a full member of House El, and would only become one if Jon and he married when the youngest of the six of them was old enough to do so and wished to.

Hunter was wearing his mother’s symbol as a clasp on his cape, rather than wearing the symbol of house El on his chest – a choice that was very deliberate, as it was a subtle show that though some may believe that Lady Wonder Woman and their father didn’t get along, that was far from the truth, and that Hunter was the proof that the two of them did care for one another. Wonder Woman had wanted a child, and had trusted Clark enough to help her with that. Match wasn’t on Earth at the moment – as Kon’s older twin brother was helping the Martians deal with the after-effects of some of the Lantern Core trying to take over Mars, in order to have a better chance to attack Earth, as they disapproved of the way things were being run, and therefore were trying to impose their own will on Earth – and Mars as well.

Jon had stretched out on the couch – something that none of his older brothers were the least bit surprised of, and though the photography studio that the five of them were in was supposedly safe, none of the Kent siblings liked being in this room. Hunter was standing at one end of the couch, his eyes closed and standing in what seemed to be a calm, and confident pose – but Kon knew better. His younger brother was listening to the sounds of the people in the studio – and in the floors above and below them for any hint of trouble. Lainey was sitting on the floor in front of the couch, looking out the window, rather than directly at the camera or their photographer.

None of them were looking at the photographer, as when one of them did, it increased the anxious agitation that the human flitting about them had. Kon and Chris were also looking out of the same window, and all of their senses were keyed up for the slightest hint of trouble. Chris would grab Jon and fly off to safety, while Hunter, Jon and Lainey dealt with whatever possible issue was at hand. There were rebels who opposed their father, although why, Kon couldn’t really imagine. Things were so much more peaceful now, and isn’t that what the humans wanted? The price didn’t seem that intolerable to the young man. Given that when the humans were allowed to do as they pleased, crime and corruption were rampant and he and his older twin had been created as weapons to be used against Father specifically…

A silent sigh left him as he leaned against one edge of the couch. One of the reasons why father had told them to do this, was that afterwards, each of them would be interviewed, and he would accidentally let slip that he might be in love with someone. The resulting buzz would create positive interest – and when he and Tim would go out on a date together, they would just so happen to be holding hands and talking with one another close to where several reporters would be. The revelation of their dating wasn’t one that Kon was entirely comfortable with, but humans did so love their distractions, and a young romance between two powerful young Justice Lords would be just the thing... Lord Batman also felt positively about this idea, and though neither Tim or himself were thrilled by this idea, they did want to help improve the image of the Justice Lords, so they had agreed.

And if Kon was honest with himself, he was kind of tired of having to try to plan dates with Tim that had them hiding from everyone and everything… Though he wasn’t sure if he was going to hate the public eye on this very private part of his life… One of the few bits of his life that was truly private parts of his life. As one of the oldest children of Lord Superman reporters and the like tended to try to focus on him to try to get his opinion on whatever topic of the day was.

The photographer cleared their voice a little, and said, somewhat nervously “The cameras are in position, and I’m about to take your pictures. A group shot and then a couple of pictures where two of you are in the frame.”

All five of them nodded, still not directly looking at the camera, and only Lainey was smirking a little as their picture was taken, none of them having the slightest desire to even smile, as all of them were still focused on the potential threats that could surround them. There were few things that could affect any of them – but there had been rumors that some of the Resistance might have gotten some Kryptonite. Kon supposed at least one of them should speak, as the human photographer was getting increasingly stressed, and he said “Very well. Is there anything else you require of us?”

“U-Uhm….” The photographer responded. For a moment he was fairly certain that they might ask them to smile “No, thank you. Your father will be coming soon to take pictures with each of you shortly.”

Jon – who had been eating the lollipop that Chris had given him earlier perked up, a bright grin appearing on his face as he chirped happily “That’s great! Father is always so busy…”

Chris hugged Jon before their youngest brother could say anything that could be taken the wrong way “Hey, I know that he’s quite busy, but you have all of us to keep you company as well.”

“When you’re not on missions, you mean.” Jon sulked, pouting adorably up at Chris, as he cuddled into his beloved happily. “All of you are so busy as well. And Lord Red Robin is determined to steal Kon from me!”

Kon sighed, shaking his head as he came over to where Jon was sitting, kneeling down and gently reaching out to pet his little brother’s hair “He isn’t stealing me from you, I promise. We… We’re very good friends, but you have had a place in my heart since you were born, firebird. I love you and I always will, I promise.”

Jon brightened up considerably at that, hugging his second oldest brother tightly “I’m so glad to hear that! Do you know when Match is coming home?”

Kon shook his head a little “No, he’s still helping the Martians recover from the lantern corps’ latest unprovoked attack, and father’s probably going to head over there with Lord Manhunter and a few of the other Justice Lords in order to help them shore up their defenses better.” All of these things were on the list of things that they had been allowed to talk about by their father – and Kon suspected that they were supposed to speak of such things, as the photographer – or the reporter next to them – would hear and write about that information.

“Erm… Who may I ask is Match?” The reporter asked curiously, having made her existence verbally known for the first time.

Kon held closer to Jon, his eyes widening ever so briefly in recognition. How in the hell had she gotten past security to be the one to speak with them? Jon didn’t seem to recognize her, which was a good thing. He glanced at Chris and the others – but none of them seemed to recognize her. Then again, she had dyed her hair and was wearing colored contacts. But Kon couldn’t mistake the distinctive sound of her heartbeat. “My older twin brother, who as previously mentioned is off-world, and has been for months.” But you already know that, Lois Lane. Was something that Kon very much wanted to say, but it would throw his younger brothers into a chaotic mess, so he stayed quiet.

She interviewed each of his brothers in turn, ignoring his presence entirely it seemed, and after she finished, she cleared her throat a little as she moved closer to the five of them, her eyes focused entirely on Jon. Hunter and Chris jerked a little in surprised recognition as she moved closer, and Kon let go as Chris left the room as fast as his feet could carry him, Jon in hand. Hunter was blocking the door and Lainey stood up at the same time Kon did, provoked into action by the responses of his older brothers, still confused as he was the only one of them to have not met her, before she’d broken their father’s heart and left – having hidden Jon’s birth from him for months.

“I… Just… Just what is going on here?” The photographer stuttered, flustered and confused.

“I certainly hope that you are truly innocent in this, otherwise the punishment for your duplicity will be severe. She is not allowed anywhere near Jon, as there is a restraining order against her. She had tried to turn Jon against father more than once, for stupid reasons and would have him be used as a weapon against him, and us, his older brothers.” Kon growled, eyes flashing a warning red.

“But…but who… Why… What?” The photographer stuttered, sounding horrified and confused “I… I knew nothing of this. Who… Who do you believe she is?”

“Father’s ex-wife, Lois Lane. I know it’s her, as though her appearance has been altered, I recognize the sound of her heartbeat. What, were you planning on trying to get Jon by himself to try to whisper poisonous lies in his mind again?” Kon growled, stepping into her personal space and looming over her.

Lois’ face hardened a little, before she sighed, reaching out to him a little “It’s nothing like that… Jon should be able to live a better life than the one he’s leading now. I know… I know your upbringing has been rough, and since you were…” She paused for a moment, as if trying to find the right words to try to manipulate him “… Born, you were conditioned to think and believe yourself to be a weapon, to be used against your enemies… and when… When he found you, he simply ensured that your loyalty was to him rather than to those who had first trained you. But you are more than the weapon he says you are. You are a full person, Conner. You as well, Lainey, Hunter. Surely you must know that this dictatorial regime of his, is oppressive and wrong, don’t you?”

“Father and the other justice lords have brought peace and prosperity to earth and humanity. How is this wrong?” Kon countered.

“You’re going to be arrested for trying to approach Jon.” Hunter reminded her.

“I can already hear the sirens – Chris probably informed them as soon as he got twinnie out of the building and away from you.” Lainey snarled, eyes turning red as he realized just who this was. She’d played havoc with poor Jon’s heart in addition to their father’s and he was glad that Chris’d gotten him away from her, though he usually hated the fact that Chris had such a large claim over his little brother’s heart.

“I hadn’t known that the people I would be interviewing would you five. They just told me that I would be interviewing several high profile young men, and to be careful while doing so.” Lane responded, trying to plead innocence.

Kon wasn’t having any of that, however. “You shouldn’t lie to someone who can hear it when your heart speeds up at the lie, who can see and already knows the tiny little physical tells that you show off, that can be read by those who have training in such things. Miss Lane, you are under arrest for knowingly breaking the terms of the restraining order. You will be brought before a judged and sentenced fairly based on the severity of your crimes.”

She continued to stutter out useless lies and pitiful excuses as he marched her down the stairs to where the police were waiting for her. Kon told them her crimes in an emotionless monotone, internally struggling with how he felt about seeing her again. He should feel angry and betrayed by her very presence but… Memories of talking and confiding in her, before she’d divorced father, and the heart to hearts that he hadn’t been able to have with him were… Conflicting. She was gone before he could think of doing anything foolish.

Hunter lightly tapped him on one shoulder, staring at him for several long moments before saying “Father is at the studio – and Chris is back with Jon. He says that we should finish the phootshoot, as there is no reason to cause much of a fuss over her.”

Kon nodded, his face an impassive mask, hopefully hiding the tumultuous emotions that were running through him at the moment. “Of course.” He followed his younger brother back to where father was currently sitting, holding a beaming Jon, with Chris off to the side, leaning against the wall with fake nonchalance.

#justice lords #kon el #jon lane kent #hunter #Jonathan kent #chris kent #my writing #lois lane #kal el

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reactingtosomething · 7 years

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Reacting to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Ultimate Edition

Don’t Die for 10 Minutes, I’ll Be Right Back

Kris mostly loves Man of Steel, and at some point may still try to write about why he thinks its take on Clark Kent/Kal-El/Superman is a worthy one. (He also mostly loves Superman Returns, for whatever that information is worth.) So he really wanted to like Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. This was not to be.

But he’s still going to see Justice League on opening night, so he figured it was time to revisit the extended cut of BvS, which at least makes more sense than the theatrical release thanks to Lois and Clark’s reporting storylines. Because Miri is a good friend, with no major attachment to any version of Superman or Batman, she watched BvS for the first time for this Reaction.

KRIS: So this is a movie that I both want to acknowledge is Not Good but also want to... not defend, exactly? But it’s a thing of which both its fiercest defenders and its fiercest critics seem off the mark to me.

MIRI: Please do

KRIS: But maybe we should also backtrack a little. I realized you’ve crammed all of your DCEU experiences into the last year. And was Suicide Squad actually your first?

MIRI: God, I think it was. I saw Suicide at a second run theater, then we watched Man of Steel, then I saw Wonder Woman (and my life was changed for the better), and now Batman vs Superman

(unless the middle two were flipped, I’m not positive)

KRIS: Yeah, Wonder Woman was before Man of Steel, because we did our reaction to WW the day before you came over

MIRI: Ohhhh, right! Duh

KRIS: That’s an interesting journey

I actually still haven’t seen Suicide Squad and possibly never will

MIRI: OH MY GOD you have to!!!

It has two-three different opening sequences

It’s the most fascinating example of being able to feel the reshoots I’ve ever seen

It’s terrible

(some good performances)

KRIS: Maybe if there’s ever an opportunity to see it without paying for it

MIRI: Please let me be there when you do, I want to see your face

If they bring it back to like redbox in celebration of Justice League I will pay for it in order to see how much you hate it

KRIS: OK, that seems fair, considering why we’re Reacting today

MIRI: Thank you

And let us note that you own Batman vs Superman, correct?

KRIS: I do

I only saw it once in theaters, which until moving to LA was not standard superhero movie practice for me, and by the time the extended cut came out I honestly wasn’t sure what my opinion of the movie was anymore

And then for some reason I was too impatient to wait for it to become available for rental

MIRI: Sounds like you really wanted to know if the narrative actually tracked in the director’s cut

Which it mostly does?

KRIS: Until that damn Martha thing

It’s amazing how terrible that one moment is

MIRI: Should I yell about that now or do you want to finish your establishing thoughts?

KRIS: Yeah just one other thing I wanted to mention, which is that the other way in which your perspective is different from mine here (I am a person who saw Man of Steel three times in theaters)

is that (admittedly a long time ago) you wrote a paper on Watchmen so you’ve maybe spent more focused time thinking about Zack Snyder as an adapter of things

MIRI: I do not approve of Zack Snyder in general

(As a director! I have no personal feelings about him)

I think he tends to love things without Getting Them (at least in the way I think they should be gotten, which is admittedly subjective)

So his adaptations are very visually exciting but tend to miss the point of the piece

For example, I don’t consider his Watchmen to be at all a deconstruction of the masculinity, morality, gender stuff, violence, etc of the superhero genre, which is what the graphic novel is built upon

I do wonder what his career would have been if he’d gone down the path of being a DP instead

KRIS: Was your paper specifically on adaptation or was it about the book in isolation?

MIRI: The paper was about the book (specifically hegemonic masculinity and the way the masks were used to allow transgressive men to have successfully masculine personas) but when I presented it at Dragon Con I had a whole hour to myself so I expanded it a bit and discussed how the movie did and did not embody that

KRIS: Oh cool

I have only ever given like a 15-minute talk on a paper I wrote about Superman while Man of Steel was still in production

Okay let’s address this Martha thing

MIRI: THE MARTHA THING IS SO DUMB

SO SO DUMB

KRIS: For most of the movie I want to say things like “you can see what they WANTED to do here and THAT makes sense” but I can’t muster it for this

MIRI: Like, even if they were going to insist on it as a plot point, they could have done some very small things to have it make any kind of sense and they didn’t!

For example, does Clark ever call her Martha at all before that moment?

KRIS: You MAYBE see Martha Kent’s name tag at the diner she works at, but no one addresses her out loud

MIRI: Most people don’t go around first-naming their parents in times of near death stress

So MAYBE establish that he calls her Martha earlier in the film

KRIS: I mean it’s just a silly bizarre coincidence that as far as I know the comics have never, ever seen fit to address

The ONLY possible way that beat makes any sense is if “Martha” just throws Bruce enough to buy 10-20 minutes offscreen where Lois explains everything she knows and Clark and Bruce compare notes, but even if that were reasonable to expect the audience to assume, it’s pretty clearly not what happens

MIRI: It’s objectively a bad plot point and they didn’t do the script work to make it even sort of work, which I somehow find even more insulting

KRIS: I feel like without The Problem of Martha, one could walk away from this movie being like “Well that was messy and awkward and pretentious but it wasn’t BAD”

And that one beat is just ruinous

MIRI: It really is

If something was too corny to be touched on in the gold and silver ages of comics, it’s probably too corny to hang your Dark and Gritty blockbuster on now

Just like as a rule of thumb

KRIS: It’s like how did this even HAPPEN

MIRI: The DCEU is scrambling to become as much of A Thing as the MCU, that’s how

Gotta get that shit shot and released and make billions of dollars, baby

KRIS: I know everyone’s panicking about the (alleged, not really substantiated) growing influence of critics through Fandango’s partnership with Rotten Tomatoes, but I’m honestly like bring it on

It’s been interesting following DC/Warner’s sensitivity to critical (and general internet) opinion

MIRI: But also they listen to it too much! Like, they reshot half of Suicide Squad when people liked the vibe of the trailer so much, AND THEN LET THE TRAILER COMPANY DO A CUT OF IT.

KRIS: Yeah, that was a pretty severe overcorrection

I’m curious about what it originally looked like because I did see David Ayer’s WW II movie Fury, which is pretty solid

MIRI: Whatever it looked like would have been a better movie, if only because it was one movie and not the bastard hellspawn of two mashed together, Lex Luthor/Zod in the Kryptonian ship style

KRIS: It’s bleak as fuck and not without #problematic elements but it’s really lean and punches above its weight for sure

And I guess bleak as fuck keeps us on track to talk about this take on Batman

I think in general the Snyder tendency you mentioned to love things without getting them applies here -- in this case to Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns -- but I also have grown to suspect that we give Frank Miller too much credit

MIRI: Ugh. I’m so bored of bleak as fuck purely for the sake of being bleak as fuck

I think you may be right

Talk to me about your Superman thoughts, though. Because most people aren’t super into the Snyder take on Superman and you seem to like it

KRIS: Yeah, this is where my feelings about other people’s feelings about the DCEU get complicated

On one level, I’m definitely not going to try to make a case that Snyder is a subtler, smarter filmmaker than people give him credit for

(well maybe smarter for some value of smart, but definitely not subtler)

But on another level, I think the whole “this isn’t Superman” thing is shortsighted

MIRI: YOU CANNOT CALL A MAN WHO ALLOWED THAT SHOT OF CLARK AND STAINED GLASS JESUS INTO HIS MOVIE SUBTLE, KRIS

KRIS: I’M NOT

MIRI: OK

KRIS: There is a line of thinking that Superman should never kill because he should be a supremely aspirational hero who always finds another way

And this is a claim that is very different from “Superman should always be morally better than us,” but they seem to me to get lumped together

MIRI: I would agree that those two are often falsely conflated

KRIS: Diana’s body count in Wonder Woman is pretty high

And at the same time that this is celebrated in reviews it’s accompanied by the Diana Is Better Than Us narrative

On its own, I don’t think this is necessarily a problem or a contradiction

But held up alongside how we talk about Superman, it is

MIRI: Agreed

(Also, you know how I feel about the Diana is Too Good for Mankind thing)

KRIS: Well, even setting aside whether Diana is too good for humanity, there’s also often been an idea that she’s the best of the DC “Trinity”

Not always, but it’s definitely one that people respond to

And at least in the modern age Diana has never been shy about killing people if she thought they needed to be killed

The moral bar is high, but not insurmountable

Anyway I don’t think it’s a bad thing that Man of Steel decides to be a “Superman’s first day on the job” story

And I think there’s an interesting (if not fully executed) intention that by killing Zod, Clark is cutting himself off from his lineage

I promise the execution pun was accidental

that’s theoretically tragic

MIRI: I like some good theoretical tragedy

KRIS: People also seem to dislike that Superman is brooding and gloomy

And on just a tonal level, in the context of the blockbuster industry and our societal obsession with Unhappy Men, I get the frustration

But I think Clark’s struggle in BvS is actually an appropriate one for Superman (again, more in theory than in practice)

MIRI: Totally agreed on that

KRIS: By comparison, Steve Rogers doesn’t stop for more than ten seconds to consider whether people might have a point that the Avengers shouldn’t be totally independent

MIRI: Steve Rogers makes bad decisions

I mean I love the guy

But he’s not great on the big choices front

KRIS: And of course you know how I feel about smiling, so the side of Clark Kent that is really the lonely, alienated Kal-El has always really appealed to me

MIRI: BAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Readers, I swear he does smile sometimes. Just not when people want him to or try to make him or expect him to, etc

KRIS: Now there’s a larger issue in the DCEU that the extent of Clark’s separation from his people means he has less to latch onto and be specifically sad or wistful about than most versions of Superman, which I’ve always found to be an odd choice

MIRI: Emotional grounding is not Snyder’s strong suit

Nor, I would argue, is logic when it stands in the way of the plot points he wants to hit

For example, IF DIANA IS BOTH SUPERHUMAN AND NOT ALLERGIC TO KRYPTONITE THEN WHY WASN’T SHE THE ONE TO KILL THE ZOD BEAST ZACK SNYDER WHY

KRIS: (Have you seen Sucker Punch? I have not)

Yeah almost everything about the kryptonite spear is bad

The ONLY reason Lois throws it into the water is so she can be imperiled when she goes back to get it

MIRI: (I have! I enjoyed some of it but it is objectively not great and also pretty creepy)

KRIS: (Have you seen that CGI owl movie he did? I also have not)

(I did see his Dawn of the Dead)

MIRI: (No, haven’t seen that one)

(Basically 300, Watchmen, Sucker Punch, and the DCEU ones. Which is more of his filmography than I would have expected)

KRIS: So much of the third act is a series of “learn to have a conversation, all of you” moments

MIRI: YES! Just put the cards on the table and communicate a little here, people!

KRIS: Clark has every opportunity before Bruce breaks out the kryptonite grenades to just hold him still and explain everything

But instead he suddenly becomes a giant bully

And like, presumably there was SOME plan in mind to get the spear that didn’t account for Lois

It’s so much of the conversation everyone else is having before Diana shows up

“Alfred I have to get the spear”

“Did you get the spear?” “I’ve been a little busy”

So when someone shows up WITH A SWORD AND SHIELD, like, connect the dots, guys

And also, going after the spear should have been Bruce’s job from the beginning of that fight

MIRI: No Kris. They are Men and they do not talk!

Only punch and cry about their mothers

KRIS: He’s CLEARLY useless against Doomsday, no one doubts this

MIRI: But it’s not so secretly his movie! He can’t leave the fight

KRIS: It would be on brand for even the animated version of Batman to be like “Hey, don’t die for ten minutes, I’ll be right back with the Solution to All Our Problems”

MIRI: YES

KRIS: Then you could intercut between Superman and Diana fighting Doomsday and Batman being clever and acrobatic

MIRI: I can hear that in the cartoon Batman’s voice

KRIS: Instead of having him stand around looking confused

MIRI: I don’t think this version of Batman is clever or acrobatic

He’s smart and inventive and determined

But not clever and definitely not acrobatic

Also, just realized the word acrobatic has bat in it and I’m happy

KRIS: I guess not acrobatic but he’s pretty athletic and does some jumping over things in his Rescue Martha sequence

Come on Cross Fit Bruce, you can climb and swim

MIRI: OH MY GOD THE CROSS FIT

IN THE MIDDLE OF HIS TECH CAVE MADE BY BURNING MONEY AS RIDICULOUSLY AS POSSIBLE, THE MAN IS HAMMERING A TIRE

KRIS: And dragging it

MIRI: It’s absurd

KRIS: On no level does this workout plan make sense -- he’s fighting Superman like the next day, he doesn’t have time to recover from this!

MIRI: That’s a good point!

This just fails to make sense on any level!

Other than the general point that that kind of activity is very challenging and would bring about fitness when done right over a period of time, I assume

KRIS: (TDKR trivia: In the graphic novel, when Bruce goes up against Clark, Oliver Queen is his backup with kryptonite arrows)

MIRI: (That sounds much more sensible!)

KRIS: So let’s talk about Bruce’s psychology

And the other less insane parts of this Batman

I actually really like what should have been the real opening sequence of the movie, Bruce in Metropolis

MIRI: Yeah, that worked nicely

I thought he was a reckless idiot who was probably getting others killed with his driving habits, but it works for him

KRIS: It’s also just a really interesting perspective on a fight we’ve previously seen from inside, and does more to get across the “mortals who have encountered a god” idea than any of the dialogue in either this or MoS

MIRI: It really is good on that score. And Batman as a hero of the people is a nice basis for this misunderstanding! Except that they NEVER SHOW HIM AS A HERO OF THE PEOPLE at all other than that

KRIS: It just Really Works as an inciting incident for a much better movie, and probably would be even stronger if it wasn’t preceded by an Extremely Slow Motion retelling of the Thomas and Martha Wayne murders

MIRI: Hold the probably and I agree

KRIS: While we’re on the hero of the people thing -- there’s a lot in the extended cut that makes sense of incomplete things in the theatrical cut, but I don’t think they ever really sell us on why Batman BRANDS PEOPLE

MIRI: OH MY GOD

Also, why the brand means automatic death while in jail?

Like, presumably other criminals aren’t on Batman’s side in general

KRIS: I guess it’s supposed to be like a weird take on the “even in prison, there’s a hierarchy of terrible, and pedophilia is Too Far even for convicted murderers” thing?

But geez

MIRI: I assume so

But it really does not work

Oh, that reminds me--this movie’s attempt as globalism or multiculturalism or something is basically just having groups of deeply emotional women crying things to our heroes in languages other than English every hour or so

It’s not great

KRIS: And if Batman presumably knows that the brand means death, like, why wait? He’ll do this to working class criminals but he hasn’t killed the Joker? (I assume; I don’t know where Suicide Squad falls in the timeline)

Yeahhhh

I read somewhere that the Mexico scene is supposed to be a visual callback to Clark’s nightmare/vision of being engulfed by skulls in Man of Steel

Which is, I don’t know, not a terrible idea but not that interesting either

MIRI: I forgot that this Batman and the Leto Joker are the same universe

They actually seem fairly well suited and I have no desire to see their interactions at all

KRIS: And Batman vs Sex Traffickers is definitely... an idea

Isn’t there a Batman sequence is Squad? Is it a flashback?

MIRI: Yes

Like I said, they work together but I have zero interest

(Also Batman mouth to mouth makes out with Harley Quinn and then punches her unconscious and people laughed like it was a funny joke)

KRIS: Riiiiight I remember hearing about that

There’s something in the Batcave that’s weirdly stupid

So there’s that weird memorial to Robin where Bruce left the Joker’s graffiti on the armor

MIRI: Ohhhh, that’s what that is about

KRIS: But if you look closely enough, you see that it’s the version of Robin’s costume with the green short shorts

Made of armor-y material, but still

And NO WAY does this version of Batman let his sidekick have completely unarmored limbs

MIRI: At least not a male sidekick

YES I AM SALTY ABOUT WOMEN’S COSTUMES ACROSS THE DCEU THANK YOU FOR ASKING

(I think they justify it pretty well in Wonder Woman and the camera is never perving on them, but in the other films it’s BULLSHIT)

#pantsforsuperheroes

KRIS: What’s weird is that even the very earliest version of Batgirl was fully clothed

MIRI: That’s awesome!

She’s actually not hyper sexualized at all! She’s fully dressed, and Robin is in short shorts

I feel so alive

KRIS: I mean I get in the original comic context that Robin’s costume is a shoutout to his trapeze artist parents, but it’s so weird that this of all things is what Snyder preserved

MIRI: Yeah, it’s not like Affleck’s costume has Batnipples. We can let go of some of the past

KRIS: I really like Alfred in this, and it’s 80 percent because Jeremy Irons is basically perfect

MIRI: Oh, no complaints about Alfred in this

He was just the right degree of Salty and I totally buy his hyper competence

KRIS: It’s never explicit in the movie, but somewhere they said that this version of him was Thomas’s head of security rather than a butler, which is both a very Snyder-esque “Make Everything More Badass” move and something that makes a lot of sense for a 21st century Batman story

Plus for a long time, even pre-Michael Caine, Alfred’s backstory has been that he was in the SAS

MIRI: And keeping the tech stuff in the family is cleaner storytelling and very believable

KRIS: Yeah, this really makes use of that background in a fun way

I like him testing the voicebox thing

I also like the voicebox in general as a Batman idea

MIRI: Rather than actively choosing to strain your voice for decades?

KRIS: A place where I will concede some ground to the “superhero movies should always and only be fun” people is that every time this movie is deliberately funny, it works

Well maybe not every time, if Perry is supposed to be hilarious

MIRI: I’m actually shocked by how well the “I thought she was with you” line worked

KRIS: Yes! So much better than it had any right to

Affleck actually manages to really act through the mask there

Alfred is great, Bruce’s This Is Bad moment when the first kryptonite grenade wears off is great

MIRI: Yeah, that was good

KRIS: I think part of the reason “I thought she was with you” worked is because for whatever reason Snyder lets that scene kind of breathe. There’s the right amount of awkward pausing from both Clark and Bruce.

MIRI: You know what wasn’t good? Lex Luthor’s “personality quirks”

KRIS: Yeah, that happened

I feel like it’s where you could most glaringly see that even though Snyder’s casting instincts are great, his direction of performances is not

MIRI: Just a mess of non-specific neurodivergent type stuff, and I’m pretty sure some queercoding but also some rape-y vibes towards Holly Hunter

YES

KRIS: If Eiesenberg had just played his Mark Zuckerberg and they’d let him be bald from the beginning, it would have been much more conventional but so much better

MIRI: WHY DID THEY SHAVE HIS HEAD??

KRIS: It felt like an almost un-directed performance, even

MIRI: What is the story reason for shaving his head?

THere’s NONE

KRIS: What’s worse, this or the way Charles Xavier goes bald in Apocalypse?

MIRI: I’d say this

Because there’s at least an attempt at logic for Apocalypse

This was literally just Bad Wig all movie and then shave his head in the last three minutes because Lex Luthor is bald

KRIS: Everyone in this movie deserves better but Holly Hunter Especially Deserves Better

MIRI: They put a mason jar of (fake) piss in front of that woman

I hope they paid her an obscene amount of money for this

KRIS: It is kind of wild how much class the older cast members in this, even Costner in that weird hallucination, bring to their scenes

however temporary

MIRI: Those hallucinations are such bullshit

They are unnecessary!

And they’re too long!

And there’s a hallucination inside a hallucination at one point??

KRIS: Bruce’s fever dream is the second worst thing about this, for sure

MIRI: Also, i’d like to formally restate my belief that the post apocalyptic Desert Batman situation is the Batman movie Snyder wants to make in his heart of hearts

KRIS: I’m able to accept a lot of deviation from the “classical” interpretations of Superman and Batman but even I have a hard time with a gun-happy Batman

Not even just morally, it’s just really weird to see

MIRI: There were so many machine guns in this movie!

KRIS: I want to talk about the Jonathan Kent thing because I still don’t understand it

MIRI: Uhhhhh that

KRIS: It took me until this third viewing to even put together that the point of his story about the flood and the horses is that you can do a good thing in one place and time, and still have unintended bad consequences in another place and time

But there’s not a real moral to the story because it ends with Find a Good Woman

It’s not even You Have to Do the Good Thing Now Even If It Risks a Bad Thing Later, it’s “I got married so I stopped worrying about it”

MIRI: Well a woman is the only solution to men having Emotions, Kris

KRIS: But is this a story Jonathan told Clark at some point when he was a kid, that he’s now remembering because he understands the lesson, or is Jonathan a ghost here?

And if he’s a ghost, why is he a ghost in the Andes? At least I think it’s the Andes

MIRI: Eh *shoulder shrug*

KRIS: I mean look, I appreciate if someone had an impulse of “Man we should really try to get Kevin in this somehow because he was great,” but

MIRI: I feel like this movie had a lot of random cool ideas and NOT MUCH ELSE to make them work together

KRIS: Yeah, I think my deal is that I like or am intrigued by every world-building choice it wants to make

but on top of the insanely messy execution, it reminds me of the idea that you can have a complicated world, or a complicated story, but not both

Especially at feature length

MIRI: Very true. And I feel like for all the love of (some of) the subject matter that clearly went into this, no one was paying enough attention to details

KRIS: Except Lex Luthor in graphic design class

WHY DO HIS FILES HAVE OFFICIAL SUPERHERO LOGOS

MIRI: BECAUSE HE’S ALL ABOUT THE AESTHETIC

KRIS: So, I have to say this, and I don’t know if you’ll agree, but I am not a fan of the electric cello theme assigned to Wonder Woman

MIRI: I’m into it

But it should be noted that I first heard it in Wonder Woman, where I think it works better

KRIS: See, I feel like whenever it shows up in the (excellent) Wonder Woman soundtrack, it’s really awkward and forced

It’s not of a piece with either the more classical orchestral sound of that score or anything going on musically in BvS

MIRI: That’s fair

You’re more musically inclined/well versed than I am

KRIS: And it really just blares out of nowhere when Bruce opens that photo file

Which is otherwise a neat moment

MIRI: Do you having feelings about the score in general?

KRIS: I like every time Clark/Kal’s piano theme appears, and the music of the end of the Doomsday battle through the funeral — which revisits more Man of Steel music — but that’s about it

Zimmer actually talked a little about how he couldn’t really find his groove for Affleck’s Batman

“I spent months trying to come up with something for Ben. The Batman that I know and the one I learned is the one that Christian did, and Ben plays it differently. And I can’t quite shake that off. For me, the Christian Bale character was always completely unresolved. It was always about that moment at the beginning of the first movie, where he sees his parents getting killed. It was basically arrested development. The Ben character is more middle-aged; he seems to be grumpy as hell, but I didn’t feel the pain that I felt in Christian’s performance. And it was that pain that made me interested.”

MIRI: Yeah, I feel like no one could find the groove on Affleck’s Batman in general

KRIS: The scoring of the deaths of Doomsday and Superman is one of those times (I mean in general, not just in this movie) where the music tells a story better than the script

When Superman and Lois are talking, the piano stuff there is his Clark Kent character theme

When he starts flying at Doomsday, and through the mutual stabbings, the theme is from his fight with Zod, in a track that Zimmer named after Zod’s line: “If You Love These People”

(on the MoS soundtrack)

The track here is named “This Is My World”

And so on paper, there’s a lot of cool stuff here -- Superman reprising a battle with Zod(’s body), and reaffirming a commitment to this planet -- but that story is WAY underserved in the middle of the Batman stuff

AND it’s not really about the world, it’s just about Lois

Oh Lois

MIRI: Amy Acker and Lois Lane Deserve Better

KRIS: Adams

MIRI: GODDAMMIT

KRIS: So like I told you, most of Lois’s investigation was cut from the theatrical version

She has her scenes with General Secretary Swanwick, but not with Jena Malone’s lab tech

MIRI: I felt she was underserved in the director’s cut, so it must have been ridiculous in the theatrical

Love the Jena Malone character! I always like her

(She’s in Sucker Punch)

KRIS: And she doesn’t have the scene in that apartment when she realizes the bomber wasn’t really a bomber

Yeah I like her whenever I see her

But I think I’ve only seen her in Donnie Darko and Catching Fire apart from this

MIRI: Omg you have to watch Saved at some point

KRIS: There’s a version of this story where Lois brings Batman and Superman together because her investigation really matters

And it would probably still make Bruce and Clark look kind of dumb but it wouldn’t have sucked

MIRI: Oh, you mean a good, cohesive version?

Sounds nice

I actually didn’t HATE this movie, it’s just deeply flawed and easy to rag on

Especially because some of the flaws were so avoidable

KRIS: I also really wanted a straightforward Man of Steel sequel where those supporting characters could do more

Poor Major Ferris

I mean congrats on your promotion but otherwise

MIRI: Hahahaha

KRIS: Her contributions to this world are “sorry boss, Superman is hot” and relaying information from other people

She’s also kind of a weird waste of an important comics name (presumably she is, or is related to Carol Ferris of Green Lantern), alongside CIA Jimmy Olsen

MIRI: Oh god, we didn’t even talk about him

KRIS: He doesn’t even have the scene where he introduces himself in the theatrical cut

MIRI: WHAT

KRIS: So everyone watching it just has this weird experience of watching the credits and being like “Wait what why”

MIRI: they left in all the garbage hallucinations and the super repetitive Wayne family death but cut things like that and Lois

Garbage

KRIS: And Snyder’s explanation is basically like “oh I thought it would be funny”

MIRI: I don't think he and I agree on what humor is

KRIS: So I guess I do sort of get people who complain that “Snyder actually hates Superman”, even if I like what he seems to want to do with Clark

You know who also deserves better? I mean I know we established the answer is Everyone, but

Jenny!

MIRI: I do find it fascinating that his exploration of not liking Superman looks like MAKING HIM JESUS

OH Jenny

KRIS: I so badly want the alternate universe where this is a Man of Steel sequel with lots of Perry and Jenny banter

“WHERE’S KENT” “I don’t know”

MIRI: Where does he go?

I have a friend who is so angry that after the Kansas quip they DO NOT CUT TO KANSAS

KRIS: I love that she’s not afraid of Perry, she’s just like Don’t Bring Me Into This

MIRI: That’s the kind of character work based on very little in the script that is very impressive to me

KRIS: I guess whatsisname who plays Steve Lombard was busy shooting House of Cards

Michael Kelly?

MIRI: I don’t even remember who that character is

KRIS: He’s just the other reporter at the Planet, who runs around with Perry and Jenny when the World Engine is destroying Metropolis

MIRI: Oh, right

KRIS: and then he tries to ask out Jenny at the end

MIRI: PSA to filmmakers and people in general: that doesn’t have to happen

Women don’t always have to be asked out by someone

They can just be in the story and that never happens

Sometimes, please

KRIS: #promoteinternJenny

I don’t even know if she could technically still be an intern at this point

Probably not

There was speculation that she was intended at some point to be Jenny Olsen but I don’t know if that’s true since even in MoS she’s never a photographer

MIRI: I choose to believe that it is and she becomes a hyper competent photo journalist and she and Lois win Pulitzers together

KRIS: Is there anything else worth talking about?

MIRI: I think I’m pretty tapped out

Oh, one thing--WHY MOVE LEX TO ARKHAM??? Why give him access to more crazy supervillians to become allies with?

KRIS: What’s Arkham like in Suicide Squad? Do we get a sense of whether its administration is competent or corrupt or whatever?

MIRI: It’s as well defined and consistent as the movie itself is

KRIS: Ha

I mostly like the funeral, at least as sort of a free-standing sequence, but again it’s the sort of thing that would work a million times better if we’d actually spent more time with any of those characters

MIRI: Also, I both loved and hated the Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? graffiti in the abandoned building fight sequence

KRIS: Someone is credited as Lana Lang, who even in the extended cut is just barely seen talking to Martha

MIRI: What???

Omg this movie is a hot mess

KRIS: The part of me that brought all my time watching Justice League cartoons to the theater had these weird little isolated moments of being thrilled by things like seeing Diana’s lasso, or Bruce and Diana at the funeral

But the movie both wants to count on banked affection for these characters and to try to “subvert” the characters (and retell Batman’s origin story again) and that’s weird

MIRI: I think that’s one of the fundamental problems with the movie. Well articulated

KRIS: It wants shortcuts when its entire Thing runs counter to the destinations of those shortcuts

Well, thanks again for taking the time on this

We have still not talked for as long as the movie runs

MIRI: I genuinely am glad I did!

Oh my god that it INSANE

KRIS: I guess I will report back to RtS from Justice League in some form

MIRI: I will also see it at some point! But probably not immediately

KRIS: #JusticeforAmyAdams

god dammit self

MIRI: Wait but that’s the right one?

KRIS: But I said Justice

MIRI: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA

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