Disclaimer: DC Comics owns all rights to the characters within. They are used without permission and not meant to infringe on copyrights or meant to generate income.
Also, if you have not read my other stories, it would be helpful to do so before reading this one. The chronology goes: Brothers in Arms, Where Do We Go From Here, Tragedies of the Past, Betrayal From Within, Future Sins, Reestablishing Bonds, Parents and Children, New Allies, and Rivals or Friends.
Public Enemy Number One, chapter 1
Conner noticed that Max was a lot more relaxed recently. He seemed to have sorted things out with Dan, who was back to his old self.
"I'm glad you're back to normal," he told Max.
"Thank you," Max replied.
"When are you going to tell me what it was all about?"
Max was conscious of the fact that he and Dan had not yet revealed their relationship. It wasn't that they mean to keep it secret, but it was new enough that they wanted to enjoy it themselves.
"I'll tell you someday soon," he told Conner.
"Well, you're happy so I guess I can wait."
Kon's Titans communicator started flashing. He examined it and paled when he saw the message. It was not good news.
"Kor-El has escaped," he said.
Match examined everyone's status again. Kor-El had managed to escape while both the JLA and the JSA were unavailable. The Titans and Outsiders were searching for him, but he did not like the odds of either team against Kor-El.
He sighed. Since he was the target of Kor-El's ire, it made sense to keep him away from the others in case they got hit in the crossfire. It was that he was cut off from being able to take an active role in finding Kor-El that bothered him more than anything else. Still, it made the most sense, and the others might be able to reason with him if he weren't present, so he was at the JLA Watchtower, monitoring the search.
The image of a familiar mask appeared on a screen. "How are you doing?"
"The search is progressing," he informed Oracle. "Both teams are tracking down leads. So far, they haven't had any success in finding him."
"How are you personally doing?"
"It's a little quiet here. I'm used to seeing someone else on monitor duty."
"This came at a really bad time. The JLA and JSA aren't on the planet; otherwise they'd be looking too."
"I'd be more confident if they were searching. Their power levels would be comforting. At this point, I don't know if either team can stop him."
"You did well enough against him on your own," Oracle pointed out.
"Our conflict was as much psychological as it was physical. Were he stable mentally, it would be difficult for me to defeat him."
"Are his powers that much greater than yours?"
"I studied the findings of an examination performed on him. His solar energy capacity is greater than mine. He also has the ability to output more of it, boosting his telekinetic power. However, that last one might be tied to emotional release."
"He puts more of himself into his actions?"
"Correct. Kon-El is the same way. Since he's also developed more physically, he has access to heat vision, enhanced strength, enhanced senses, and a degree of being able to resist damage separate from his telekinetic field."
"You sound slightly envious."
"How could I not be? Kon-El has developed heat vision and enhanced strength. I've got enhanced hearing and taste. I seem to have gotten the powers that are less useful in combat."
"Batman would kill for those. They'd help his detective work immensely."
"I'm sure that thought will be very comforting when I get hit with a blast of heat vision," Match said dryly.
"You sound like you're worried about facing him."
"I am. He's got more powers than me and is more powerful than me in the ones we share. I beat him before either because I had help or because I was able to destroy his confidence. The latter is unlikely to happen this time. The advantages I do have are that I have a better understanding of my powers and better focus."
"That's the case with Superboy as well, isn't it?"
"To use a running metaphor, he could beat me in a sprint, but I would win a marathon."
"We'll find him," Oracle said. "He's out there somewhere. It's only a matter of time."
Kon was tired. He and the Titans had spent all day following leads on Kor-El. They hadn't been successful and everything led to a dead end. The other Titans were tired as well and glad to be returning to the Tower.
Robin tried to cheer them up. "We got a lot of information that will help us out. I'm sure we'll find him tomorrow."
A figure stepped out of the shadows.
It was Kor-El.
"If you wanted to find me, I was right here," he said with a sinister smile.
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