A/N: crossposted on AO3. justakansasboy on tumblr encouraged me to write this.
This sort of day, was one that Kon was well aware that he'd been made for. Villains all over the freakin' planet causing destruction, chaos and pain a mile wide, each. The fact that a rogue science experiment had decided to mess with the south side of Hawaii was just insulting, as he was the only science experiment allowed to run free on the large, beautiful island. Not that the robotic construct had stood a chance against him - but it had been blowing up houses and chasing civilians, so Kon had done his best to contain and destroy the tentacle-waving, annoyingly high-pitched screaming robot before it could seriously hurt anyone.
Kon had just dragged the broken husk of the robot to the small base that he lived with Dubbilex and several of the CADMUS scientists who had come with him, after he'd left Metropolis, years ago. "Hey! Where do you want me to put this ugly hunk of junk?"
The telepathic G-Goblin looked up at him, gesturing towards an empty examination table "Over there will do, Kon. Excellent work containing him - you've improved on using your tactile telekinesis to limit damage done to civilians."
Kon couldn't help the totally lame, doofy smile of delight from appearing on his face at the older hero's praise. He'd been working with a couple of his siblings on different ways to use his TTK, and he was really glad that it was paying off. The young clone scuffed his foot on the floor as he carried the dead robot to the table, managing out an earnest "Thanks, Dubbilex." He was about to follow that up with some sort of witty remark when he heard something distantly, freezing completely as the robot went crashing down onto the table, his hands suddenly going limp in shock.
It was… It was… Kal's voice. In pain and calling out for "I need a hand dealing with this thing! It's trying to destroy Metropolis, and there are dozens more like it!"
"Kon, are you alright?" One of the scientists called out, unbearably loudly, causing the hero to flinch a little, fixing her with a mute stare.
"I… I need to go. Old man's apparently in trouble, and I can't just let my baby brothers try to help!" The young clone responded, twisting around and running at top speed out of the underground base until he hit daylight, using his TTK to fly as fast as he could. He could hear a couple of the scientists protesting - reminding him that Supes had the back-up of the entire Justice League and that if there were more of these robots, Kon was the only one who would be able to dispatch them easily.
Kon, frankly, did not care about that at the moment. For one thing, that robot had let out a very piercing sound that must have been on a Kryptonian (or half) only frequency, due to the shrillness of the pitch, and there had only been one signal. And he'd checked everywhere on all of the islands of Hawaii to double check that there weren't any more of those robots waiting to attack the civilians before dragging the damaged husk of the robot back home. Supes didn't ask for help lightly, and Kon was desperately trying not to think of why his… His dad had called for help like that. "I'll be back when the old man's city's fine! And there aren't any more of those robots here, I already checked!" He hollered and thought loud enough - at least for Dubbilex - to hear him somehow before he left Hawaiian airspace.
He flew as fast as he could to Metropolis, unsure as to whether he should call out to Kal, to ask where he needed his help most... Or if trying to talk to the other Kryptonian would only distract him more than it would help. Shaking his head a little to focus, Kon followed the nearest source of panicked screaming, stopping dead in the air in shock as he took in the sight of What looked like Apocalyptian-tech robots (or Apokolips-enhanced, as Kon spotted the Luthorcorp logo on a few of them) punching and exploding anything within their arm's reach. He flew closer to the robots, concentrating as he wrapped his TTK around three of them and shoved them into three other Apokolyptian-Hybrid robots, smirking a little as they crumpled in on one another - blowing up, but as Kon shifted his TTK around the half-dozen robots to keep the fire mostly contained - keeping it away from buildings and civilians as it burned out, he nodded to himself pleased, throwing the broken pieces of half-melted robot at several more psychically, as he followed after, punching and striking the robots, dodging their surprisingly clumsy blows.
A high pitched, terrified scream from what sounded like directly behind the young hero had Kon spinning around and sprinting towards the group of young children, who were all staring up in utter horror at another robot who had suddenly appeared from a corner "Hey ugly! Why don't you pick on someone closer to your own size!" He taunted before sending the robot reeling back with a super-powered upper cut to it's jaw.
The robot groaned mechanically, before sending out an electric pulse that Kon would have dodged - but as the kids were still directly behind him, he knew that the blast might kill them - or at least badly injure several of them. The young clone went rigid, hissing a little in pain as the electrical bolt hit him square in the chest, refusing to let himself fall to the ground, gritting his teeth and flashing a cocky grin at the kids, who gasped in worry behind him "Don't worry about me, kiddos. It takes more than a little zap to take me out! You should head to somewhere safer - maybe the subway? I gotta deal with this ugly tin can." The relieved giggles were reassuring, and Kon used his TTK to move himself closer to the robot - as the electricity was making his muscles decidedly uncooperative. He was able to force himself to punch the robot, grinning a little as the residual electrical charge in his body went back into the metal robot- which sparked and whined, slowing down.
"Don't you know not to dish out what you can take?" Kon taunted as he used both his fists to smash the robots shoulders down, a feral grin appearing on his face as the robot sparked and stopped moving. He turned back to the kids, dropping down to the cement and asked "Do you mind if I picked you up? There's an emergency shelter nearby - I can hear it. Do you know where your parents are?"
The kids shook their heads, one of them managing out "We... We were on a f-field trip. We... W-we got separated from our t-teacher when the r-robots showed up. And p-please take us to a safe place, Superman!"
Kon wasn't going to correct the kid as to who he was, as he really didn't have the time - he could hear the sounds of more robots - and who knew what else - all over the city. He scooped all of them up, running as quickly as he knew was safe for tiny humans (thank you, CADMUS, for your thorough if eclectic education), dropping them off at the door to the shelter. One of the other kids said "He's not superman! He's the Metropolis Kid! He saved my momma years ago, when Superman was dead."
"Yep, that's me. Although it would technically be the Hawaiian Kid now, as I've been living there for a couple of years." Kon responded cheerfully. He still helped Tim and Bart and the group of teens who were very much not the Junior Justice League (Shut Up Jason Todd, you're just jealous that you're not invited!) when they went on missions. "I gotta head off now! More people to save and bad guys to punch. Stay safe, kids." Ugh.. Did he really just say that? He felt old and kind of silly...
He lingered until the door to the safety shelter opened, and the kids were starting to be brought inside, flying off to where he could hear Trouble of the Punching kind, clearing out more of the robots and freeing a bunch of civvies who were trapped in a rickety-looking apartment complex - as several of the robots had been attacking the brick building. These robots were a but tougher to fight, but Kon was focused on beating them as quickly as possible and the ice ability of one of the robots had been more of an unpleasant surprise, than anything that really slowed him down - one quick punch to his frozen legs had them free of the ice and ready to help him keep moving in no time! He heard the grateful words of more than a couple of civilians.
He winked at one of the very cute girls, telling all of them to "Get somewhere safer, if you can. If this apartment has a basement, it's probably safer to hide there, than trying to get to a full shelter - as the closest one is over a mile away and there's robots everywhere."
One of the civilians (a ridiculously cute girl that Kon was trying very, very hard not to flirt with - he could hear Kal's voice in his head reprimanding him for being distracted in a fight) called out "Wait! I... My little brother was supposed to be on a f-field trip to the Metropolis Museum of Natural History! Can... Do you know if he's okay?"
"Is he three feet tall, with blue-green eyes and dark green hair? Don't worry - I already found him and several other kids, and brought them to safety." Kon asked, smiling a little in reassurance when the civilian nodded.
Kon heard the sounds of more fighting and flew towards twenty more robots - and each of them was more difficult to fight than the last - and the last couple were almost impossible for him to grab using his tactile telekinesis - although how that was possible, the young clone wasn't sure. He heard a gleeful cackled behind him, and almost dodged the blow - covering his mouth with one of his hands as he held in a yell of pain as more electricity crackled through him painfully. He was really grateful for the invulnerability - as his leather jacket was sizzling and smelled... Unpleasant.
"Hey! Don't you know it's rude to try to destroy a guy's jacket?" Kon quipped, scowling at the tall being behind him as he shook off the last of the electrical charge.
"And just who are - Ah. You must be one of his brats. How many of you are there?" The tall, voluptuous woman with shoulder length ebony hair tied up in a no-nonsense bun growled back. She was wearing a strange uniform, and was wielding a whip that crackled and sparked - probably with electricity "I am curious as to why all of you have your daddy's brand on your chests."
Because Clark had accepted them - clones, strays and blood-born children. Kon had been given the symbol of El by CADMUS... But Clark had been the one to let him keep it - and gave him direction and guidance when the young clone had no one else to turn to. The young man deeply cared for and respected Kal... Although it would be horribly embarrassing to ever actually say that to the Old Man... Still "'Cause we're his. That should be obvious." It occasionally bugged him that he didn't have a cape... But Kon hoped to be able to earn one, one day. Clark probably wouldn't be able to hear that. The day that he'd been given a real name by Superman was one of the best day's of his life. Kon was also very much aware of the fact that there was nothing that the older Kryptonian could ask of him that he wouldn't do. "You're really pretty. It would be a shame if we had to fight. You could surrender and go home." He said winking at her and sending her double finger guns. It probably wouldn't work, but hey, he wanted to see if it would.
The woman smirked back at him as she brought the hand that had the whip backwards "You're so cute, I could just eat you up. Once this world is under the dominion of Lord Darkseid, I wonder if he'd let me keep you as a pet. He doesn't intend to kill all life on this planet, simply destroy those who would oppose him, and bring everyone else on this pathetic little planet into his glorious dominion. You would look lovely in a collar, and I'm sure I could put that cheeky tongue of yours to good use."
And this was exactly why Robin yelled at him for flirting with the bad guys and gals. "Uhh... Pass. Besides, your so called glorious leader has had his ass kicked by Supes at least three times? You'd think he'd get the hint that we don't want him here, and that all he's going to get is a bunch of broken bones and busted pride." Kon taunted, dodging the woman's whip attack and shoving her into the ground as forcefully as his TTK could, intending on knocking her out, tying her up and dropping her off at the nearest baddy collection site. There had to be one nearby - or a boom tube opening he could kick her through.
"Such arrogance. Then again, you Kryptonians have power that is supposedly on par with Darkseid himself... But with such pronounced weaknesses, that render you helpless as the pathetic humans you so desperately try to protect. My Lord and Master has prepared to use such things, in order ensure that he will be victorious." She mocked, gasping a little as she hit the tarmac.
Kon lost concentration and dropped five feet - as well as loosing his telekinetic hold on the Apokolyptan fighter - before he regained focus. "I... He... What?" No... The only Kryptonite that Kon knew existed was on Earth, and all of it was very fiercely guarded... But if there was even the slightest possibility that Darkseid had Kryptonite - and would stoop to using it, rather than trying to defeat Kal in unarmed combat... "Sorry lady, I can't afford to keep fighting with you anymore." With his superspeed, he got under her guard, and with more force than was probably necessary, he knocked her out cold, tying her up with rope that she had on her, tossing away anything that she could use to free herself before flying as fast as he could to where he could hear Kal fighting, heart pounding loudly in his ears. He could only hope that Darkseid only had enough Kryptonite in order to make a single weapon (and that it wasn't some sort of shrapnel bomb).
He spotted Jon and Chris battling with dozens of robots - while Cir and Kara were lazering the metallic wings off of over eight fighters. Normally he would stay - especially as Lane had that crazy look on his face that he was about to try to start murdering anything that wasn't family - but he had to get to Kal, he had to warn the other... Or at least, take the hit for Superman. If any of them had the ability to stop this war for Earth, it was Kal. The world, the league needed him, and if there was anything Kon could do to prevent his death, the young clone would do it.
The breadth and scope of destruction between the two titanic fighters was awe-inspiring in the way that hurricanes inspired awe. Dozens of skyscrapers had been leveled and the twisted, shattered glass and metal had long since turned to something close to ash or sand. Kon ducked the periodic waves of force that originated from each time that Kal and Darkseid connected to one another. The vicious warlord was battered and bleeding a little, falling to his knees as Kal moved closer. Darkseid's face was unseen to Kal, who started to fly closer, but Kon saw the cruel smirk on his face.
"No! Don't come closer to him!" Kon cried out as he frantically flew closer, desperate to try to get closer to Kal.
"I... Kon? Get out of here - there are soldiers and robots all over the city - I need you and the others on damage control." Kal responded, eyes widening in surprise as he looked up at his oldest.
"No, you don't understand, you need to make sure that he's completely incapacitated using long-range abilities. He's got-" Kon began as he continued to fly closer to Kal - intending on dragging the older Kryptonian away from Darkseid if he had to. His TTK did work on Superman - especially if the other wasn't working on it.
Too late, he was talking too slow, as Darkseid's smirk widened, and the warlord threw back his head and howled with laughter "I wanted you to despair, Kal El. All of your precious children will watch your defeat - and this particular brat will be at center stage." The terrible, supposed god unsheathed a green Kryptonite dagger from his belt - and both Kon and Kal hit the ground, within it's radius of effect.
A weak "No..." Left Kon's lips, as he continued to crawl towards the pair of them, the sizzling waves of nausea and intense pain wracking his body as he forced himself closer to the pair of them, as Darkseid continued to casually saunter towards the downed Superman. With as much strength as he could muster, the young clone concentrated, flinging one of his arms out in front of the other, and shoved Superman back several feet.
The Warlord paused, turning to look at him, a considering expression on his face "You shouldn't be able to do much more than breathe, boy. And yet still, you try to save him? Your loyalty is admirable. As is your tenacity - for that I will kill you next, and swiftly."
"That's if... You kill... Superman first... And I won't... Let you do that... you bastard!" Kon hissed, forcing himself from crawling on his hands and knees to his feet, terribly unsteady as he continued to stagger towards the two of them, trying desperately to push Kal out of the radius of the Kryptonite's effect (his head was pounding painfully, his thought thick and fuzzy. He could barely breathe, and his arms and legs were shaking so violently, it was a miracle he was able to continue to move without falling over). "There's only... Enough Kryptonite in that... Knife to... Kill one of us... And it's not... Going to be Kal..."
Kal's eyes widen in surprise and more pain than Kon was expecting "Kon... Kon no! This is not your fight, go back and help the others with his robots and shoulders. I will be able to deal with him - the rest of the league are incoming."
Kon was laughing - but were there tears running down his face? Super lame. He shook his head as he continued to stagger towards the two of them, eyes widening in shock as his TTK couldn't move him any longer... He must be too close to the Kryptonite now. "Hey... I'm the cheap knock off... You're the original. Earth needs you... Your family needs you. s'okay. I was meant to be a replacement, when you died. But you're not going to die... Ever. so I'm not needed." He flashed the older Kryptonian one of his signature.
Darkseid laughed again, and what a dark and horrible sound it was "You have trained this one well, Kal El. Not many of my own lieutenants would profess such a thing - not as earnestly as this boy has. He is right - with you dead, Earth's resistance to me will crumble."
Kon was so close. He was getting so, so close. If he could just get the knife of of Darkseid's hands - the ground rushed up to meet him, and the young clone was barely able to catch himself before he landed face first on the ground - hissing in pain as the skin of his hands split and started to bleed. "Don't... Don't kill him..." The young clone pleaded weakly.
"I... Kon you... You can't possibly think that...!" Kal sputtered, bright blue eyes (so much like his own, but so much brighter - so much better. "You're not disposable. You're part of my family."
Kon doubted that - most of the others lived at the Farm - or at Metropolis. But he lived in Hawaii - far from where he could influence the younger pair... But that was okay. He was working for Supes in order to find out what CADMUS was doing cloning people. "Gotta protect you, pops. 's what I was really made for. I figured that out recently..." To protect all of the rest of the El-Kent family, and to die, if necessary, when an enemy would stop at nothing less than the death of one of them. But his stupid, useless body wasn't working anymore - he couldn't get any closer, and his TTK had abandoned him entirely as well.
"Very well trained. Perhaps I will give him to Granny Goodness - such loyalty and stubborn devotion could be useful - and Kryptonian powers would be useful at my side." Darkseid mused as he casually stalked over to where Kal was - away from Kon "You have been one of the most irritating enemies I have ever come across. For that I should torture you slowly as your world burns, but you have proven time and again that you will escape, if I try to do that." Darkseid threw the Kryptonite dagger straight at Kal El's heart.
A desperate, horrified scream - sounding as if it was echoed a half-dozen times - left Kon's lips and he desperately tried to shove the dagger away from Kal's chest with TTK, and his first power did respond to his utter terror and rage - too slowly, as he was only able to deflect the dagger so that it buried itself into Kal's shoulder (where the sub... Subcla... Some sort of big artery or vein was on humans, at least). The older Kryptonian gasped in pain and jerked.
The effect of the Kryptonite was muted, but the young clone was still struggling to breathe, tears streaming down his face as something was ripping his heart to pieces - a horrible monster in his chest, with teeth made of guilt, and claws of rage. Another scream left his lips - but it wasn't of fear - but a scream of inarticulate pain and rage as he flew towards Darkseid, pummeling the other as his eyes burned, cauterizing beams starting to go through the bastard's armor.
Darkseid laughed - but that smug, horrible laugh was cut short as Jon, Kara, Cir, Chris and Lane came flying out of nowhere, each of them kicking and pummeling the warlord with the full force of their strength, eyes a burning red - except for Chris, who suddenly went still, as his eyes turned pitch black. The Nightwing entity possessed Chris, and with the full force of the Kryptonian deity's power behind him, the Kryptonian pulled Darkseid's soul from his body, obliterating it with some sort of psychic blast, before laying his hands heavily on the warlord's shoulders, pitch-black energy seeping from his fingertips as he growled, speaking in two voices - one Chris' the other... Ancient, powerful and furious "I banish you to the deepest, darkest black hole, where you will never escape." Darkseid started to laugh - before vanishing, a flicker of something close to fear flashing across his face. The vile warlord vanished with a flicker, the alien's body crumbling into something like ash.
They all heard a cough behind them, and the six of them rushed over to Kal - Kara reaching him first, carefully raising Kal's head and letting the other's head rest in her lap "Kal... Cousin please s-stay with me..." She pleaded. There wasn't that much blood...
Kal coughed weakly "I... I'm not sure I have a choice, Kara..."
Chris moved towards the two of them, saying "I... I'm going to pull the knife out. I've got more a resistance to the stuff than the rest of you guys. Kon - use your TTK to keep his wound closed before his healing factor comes in. I always bring a lead lined box with me, wherever I go, just in case of situations like this. We... We're not going to let you die, papa. Stay with us!"
Kon nodded, still feeling horribly sick from the Kryptonite before, but he could do this, he... He could help save Supes. The young clone was still recovering from the Kryptonite exposure, but Jon and Laney helped him up onto his feet. "Right. Pull the knife, I'm ready."
Chris nodded, kneeling down as Kara and Cir steadied Kal, hands pressing firmly on his chest. Their father coughed wetly, and Kon shoved the swell of panic that came as he saw blood on the elder Kryptonian's lips. Clark's voice was weak, but steady "Be… Be careful. Do you… have a lead-lined box ready?"
Cir pulled out a box swiftly "This is lead-lined."
Clark nodded and stopped weakly struggling. As quickly as he could, Chris pulled the Kryptonite dagger from the elder Kryptonian's chest, placing it in the lead-lined box. Kon did his best to use TTK to keep Clark's wound closed, though he frowned, speaking up after a moment.
"The… The knife is… Is smaller than it was when he… When it went in." the clone spoke up, frowning in worry as he struggled not to panic. Surely Clark hadn't absorbed that much Kryptonite already, had he? They… They needed to get him up onto the increased UV radiation should help him and there was medical equipment that should help flush the K from his system. A tiny part of Kon reminded himself that Cadmus was closer and had medical facilities that were on par with the Watchtower but... There was no way that Kon was going to such a thing. He didn't trust what some of the scientists might do and there was only so much that Dubbilex could do to hold them back.
Chris frowned at that kneeling over Clark, scanning him with x-ray vision, scooping their father up as he spoke "There's nothing in his wound. He… You must have absorbed that Kryptonite already." he managed out, voice shaking a little.
Clark was turning a very pale shade of green and the oldest Kryptonian spoke up weakly "Don't worry about me. All of you need to see whether or not his forces have surrendered or are still fighting."
"We need to get you to the Watchtower for treatment." Kara growled as they swiftly flew to the nearest Zeta pad, inputting the information needed as swiftly as she possibly could. It took several agonizing eternities (which was probably closer to a couple of seconds, really) for them to be transported up to the Watchtower.
It was utter pandemonium when they arrived at the Watchtower - there were parademons fighting against the civilians who worked alongside them - as well as several heroes fighting against those commanding the demons. Chris' eyes flashed red, and uncharacteristically he shouted,, voice ringing with the power the Nightwing "BEINGS OF APOKALIPSE! Surrender, your ruler has been killed, surrender and retreat from Earth, back to your home."
Everything came to a screeching halt, and Chris was still standing and glaring - while Kara continued to hold Kal. Kon was doing his best to keep Kal's wound closed, trying not to panic at the fact that the older Kryptonian was still bleeding a little, despite the fact that the Kryptonite blade had been removed from his chest. Perhaps they should have gone to the Fortress instead - as the advanced robots might be able to fix him better - but there were still Apokalyptian soldiers and commanders all over Earth, and the last thing they needed was to be followed to Kal's fortress - as if any of them were able to get kryptonian tech... The young clone shivered a little, focusing on using this TTK to keep Kal's wound closed - as well as helping Kara hold Kal up. The other was still tinted a terrifying green color that couldn't possibly mean anything good.
Cir and Lane both growled a little under their breath, muttering softly "We'll provide a distraction. Get him to the infirmary as fast as you can."
The others nodded, and Chris murmured just as quickly and quietly "I'll clear a path - Jon stay with Kara and Kon, alright?"
Their youngest brother nodded, moving closer and with that, the young heroes moved as one - faster than a speeding bullet and spectacularly upset.
Kara, Jon and Kon flew into the infirmary five seconds later - waylaid by parademons - but as they were only flying through the fighting, rather than engaging the enemies at the moment, it wasn't hard to shake the idiots off. Kon had almost lost focus on his TTK - which caused Kal to bleed more - when a parademon had nearly dragged Jon to the floor- but his baby brother super-punched his would-be attacker through a wall as he bounced up and rushed to keep up with them.
Kara carefully set Kal down on an empty bed as Jon found one of the medical staff, picked them up and carried them over to Kal, explaining what happened as quickly as he could in a way that the human would be able to comprehend what he was saying.
Kon swayed a little - having not fully shaken off the effects of the Kryptonite blade that had struck Kal - but Superman needed immediate medical assistance, and once Kara pushed him down onto a chair, he felt a little bit better. The doctor managed out "Where was it that he was stabbed?"
"In the chest - straight through his heart." Kon managed out, voice shaking as he tried to keep the tears that had suddenly rushed up into his eyes. He cleared his throat - there was a strange lump in there, and he needed to stay focused. The doctor was a beautiful lady - but all the young clone could focus on was his progenitor, shifting closer as he shakily pointed to the spot where the blade had entered "I... I'm keeping it closed with TTK but... If I release the wound, even a little bit, he starts bleeding again. He should be healing already. why... Why isn't he healing?"
"... Do you know how much Kryptonite was in the blade that he was stabbed with? Do you know how much Kryptonite he was exposed to?" The doctor responded, ordering one of the nurses to get several UV lights.
"The blade was about ten inches long, and six inches wide at the base. I don't know how thick the blade was but... But after Darksied was killed he... the blade was... It was half the size it was when he... When Kal was..." Kon responded - or rather, someone with his voice was speaking. It was so hard to speak - but was he speaking? His mouth was moving, but all he could do was helplessly stare at Kal, praying to Rao or whoever would listen to keep Kal alive. The world needed superman - and the others needed their father.
The doctor nodded, moving closer and asking "Will you release your hold on him, so that I can see the extent of his injury? I need to know if we need to get him into surgery."
Kon nodded distantly, slumping a little on the stool as he let go of Kal. Why was the other's eyes closed? Kon could hear the other's heart beat - so, so fast, and it looked as if the other was sweating a little. There was so much blood on the other's chest - and he started bleeding again, causing Kon to tense as he mentally reached out to the other, trying to get the wound to close a little, feeling horribly dizzy. "He's bleeding again... He's going to need more..."
"... Kara, can you fly him to the sun? He will heal fastest there - although he is in severe hypovolemic shock. I would recommend that he get a transfusion - but I don't know if we have anything on stock that can help him." the doctor responded, her eyes widening as she stared at the wound, using a small, handheld device that looked at the wound. It was probably some sort of x-ray device. Kon could see the awful wound if he wanted to - which he very much didn't.
The young clone's eyes widened a little and he surged upwards, grabbing the doctor, bright blue eyes almost feverish "You've got something better than blood on stock. You've got me! I'm... I'm his clone, made by CADMUS. Take all the blood you need from me. Hell, take my heart if you need to. I know there are blue Kryptonite scalpels for this sort of thing."
The human stared at him - a confused and slightly terrified expression on her face. "I... I don't... If we take your heart, you'll die."
"I don't care. This... This was really why I was made. CADMUS wanted a weapon, but I won't be theirs... And the world... His family needs him more than they've ever needed me. Take what you need from me. I would sacrifice myself for the old man - or Earth - without hesitation. And my heart's size should be a perfect fit. I'm aged old enough so that my heart wouldn't need to grow any bigger before it can be used with someone else. Please! There are a bunch of Darkseid's forces surrounding the sun - they probably expect us to go charging there to try to save him. this... This way Kara and... And Kal aren't in danger of being captured." Kon responded, staring directly at the human doctor, desperately trying to figure out if she was listening to him. None of the league - apart from the young Just Us liked him very much. Loose canon made by a shady organization with some of the powers of Superman. "Call the league, if you need their approval. I'm sure they'll agree to it."
"Kal... K-Kal would n-never ask you to do that." Kara spluttered, having grabbed Jon and covered his ears and eyes.
Kon let go of the human doctor, smiling sadly at his cousin/older sister, murmuring "I know. That's why I'm offering - because I know that he wouldn't ask for such a thing. I'm willing to do this. Who needs superBOY if Superman can survive? They don't. Besides, all of you need and care for Kal very much. I know that few if any of you actually see me as family, but this... This I can do. Please call the attending surgeon, doctor. I don't know how much time Kal has left. Or I could take him to the fortress. I'n sure that the 'bots will do it."
"I... That's not..." Kara spluttered, her eyes widening in shock and - was that horror? "K-Kon..."
"No." A quiet but firm voice spoke. It was Kal - who looked pale and green and was shifting a little on the medical bed "Kon, I don't know where you got such a foolish thought, but I would not sacrifice you to save myself."
The young clone suppressed a hysterical laugh, kneeling down next to the other "You don't have to. I want to do this...Let me help you for once, you stubborn old bastard. At least... At least the blood transfusion, so that you can survive long enough for Kara to get you to the sun. I wasn't lying about the parademons and others of Darkseid's lot surrounding the sun."
"I... Consent to the blood transfusion. But once this is over, we're going... to have a long conversation, Kon." Kal responded, a stern expression appearing on the older Kryptonian's face.
"I'm not sure what the talk's going to be about, but deal. Don't you dare die on us, old man." Kon responded, flashing a pale imitation of his trademark grin at Kal. "Kara... You might want to round up the others who are space-capable to chase off the invaders as soon as possible."
She nodded, still surprisingly pale-faced (although why, the clone genuinely didn't know). She released Jon - who had been tugging on her hands, demanding with a cute little pout on his face "What was that about? I want to help, too!"
"You need to help Chris and the others chase the badguys out of the system. K-d-f-... Supes lost a lotta blood and I'm going to be giving him some of mine, while you guys get to kick more butt, okay?" Kon responded, sending Jon a bright (fake) smile as he lightly ruffled his hair.
"Okay!" Jon responded with a happy grin as he rushed off to go find Chris, Kara right behind him.
The doctor had used red light to be able to stitch Kal up - after she cleaned the wounds - which helped to stop the bleeding. The blue-Kryptonite needle burned as it went inside of his arms, but Kon dutifully stayed still as he watched the contraption, as it went from him into a still-green and distressingly weak Kal. The other's breathing had evened out, as the blood entered him - the physician had also set up a saline drip for the both of them (although how much help it would be, Kon could only guess).
"Doc... Why's he still green?" Kon called out, after he heard Kal's heartbeat return to something close to it's normal tempo - it still sounded very _wrong_ though the young clone supposed that it wasn't healing - or at least it wasn't healing as quickly as it should be.
"It... Depending on the amount of Kryptonite in his system, it's going to take a while to get it flushed out of his system... And given what I saw of his injuries... He probably should have a transplant, but-"
Kon double checked that Kal was asleep before interrupting, voice firm "There's no buts about it. I'm his clone - the closest match that anyone would ever be able to have, short of a twin sibling or a heart made out of stem cells and DNA of the person themself - which would kind of be like cloning, only not complete. I meant it earlier when I said that you could take my heart." After all... Clones on Krypton were originally used to keep the originals healthy and functionally immortal. But that was before his namesake caused a revolution of sorts.
"I... He refused that treatment earlier." The physician responded, shaking her head a little "And I became a doctor to save lives, not take them."
"Do you remember the chaos that followed the last time that the old man died? I was one of the results of that and I... The world needs superman. His family and friends need Kal El. I was only ever a pale imitation at best. Besides Kryptonite can mess with your head - especially if you've been stabbed with it. Trust me on this, I speak from experience." Kon responded, staring up at her, doing his best to be as persuasive as possible, mentally apologizing to Tim, Bart and Cassie. He wasn't going to be able to say goodbye to them properly, and he wished that their last conversation hadn't been a fight over how a mission had ended up going.
"... I'd need to speak with his next of kin, who I believe would be his wife." The physician responded, shaking her head a little.
Kon blinked a little, genuinely unsure as to how Lois would react to all of this. "Err... It's still pretty much a warzone everywhere, and I'm not sure how long he has... His heartbeat sounds wrong and... His heartbeat keeps slowing down or... Or even skipping, every six or seven beats."
The physician's voice was very, very gentle as she moved over to where Kon was sitting, resting a cool hand on one of his shoulders, making sure that he had to look at her as she spoke "I... I didn't want to say this in front of your younger brother... But he's been that green before - and Superman died of Kryptonite poisoning that time. There is a window of time that if you and your siblings can get him to the sun before he passes, the yellow light should be able to clear the Kryptonite from his system. The UV lights that I ordered pointed at him are slowing the poisoning from killing him, but there's only so much that it can do. Even replacing his heart with yours would buy him a few days at most. And he's already refused that treatment and seemed to be of sound mind to me at the time."
Kon opened his mouth to argue, sitting up a little in the cot that he'd been put on, when a wave of dizziness hit him. A soft groan left the clone's lips as he went limp. He had quite a few counterarguments on the tip of his tongue - but he was also painfully aware of the fact that most of his 'siblings' (Kon wanted to think of them as brothers and sisters... But did they think the same of him? Kon didn't know and had been too cowardly to ask) had superhearing - and he knew that Jon's superhearing came in and out - and the last thing he wanted to do was to upset the little one. He knew for a fact that he wasn't the only one of House EL who would sacrifice him or herself without hesitation to save Superman - to save Earth. "But with those days, we'd be sure to clear out Darkseid's people so that we'd be able to get Kal to the sun so that he'd heal properly..."
The look that he got from the physician was spectacularly confusing for Kon - didn't she understand how important it was for Kal to survive? The world had been a horrifying, confusing mess the last time that Superman had died- and most of his siblings hadn't come to Earth or had been born then. It would crush them to lose their father, and Kon could help. "Please... His heartbeat keeps slowing down and sounding wrong..."
The doctor was continuing to frown at him, shaking her head a little. After what felt like an eternity (and Kon had no idea how long it actually was) "There isn't much I can do at the moment - although I can't imagine what it must be like to hear your father's heart beating like this. I'm going to turn the blood drip from you to him off - as he should not be suffering from hypovolemic shock anymore - and don't think I didn't notice your dizzy spell, either. You were exposed to the same Kryptonite that Superman was, weren't you?"
"I... Yeah. But I was farther away and didn't get stabbed. M'okay to continue giving him blood if he still needs it." Kon responded stubbornly, unable to take his eyes off of a concerted effort of will, he focused his attention elsewhere, listening for the sounds of his... Siblings fighting, hoping quietly for -
The doctor who had been watching the two of them had left - as more wounded had come in, and though Kon did want to get out and fight, giving Clark blood was more important - and the young man was trying not to panic as he thought that he didn't hear Kal's heartbeat - as slow and irregular as it had been anymore. "No!" the training that Cadmus had given him kicked in as he staggered over to Kal's side, checking for the otehr's chest rising - as his hands fumbled for the other's wrist, desperate to feel the other's heartbeat beneath his fingertips.
Seconds later, all of his siblings came flying through the doors, charging straight for Kal. Chris reached the two of them first, eyes glowing softly as the Nightwing entity that lived within him was pushed forwards. The Nightwing glanced down at Kal, sorrow on the deity's face as he lightly touched one of the other's cheeks. "I... There is nothing I can do to help. For that you have my deepest condolences."
"No!" This was Jon, tears streaming from his face as he lightly smacked Clark's chest "Dad, wake up! Dad please... Dad... No... Dad please! We... W-we need you!"
Kara turned and glared at The Nightwing "Surely there is something you can do? You were able to wrest Darkseid's soul from his body. Surely there is... There is something you can do? If we... If we get him to the sun, will you be able to... Will he wake?" Her voice was shaking, but all Kon could do was stare at Kal, bitterly wishing that he'd been able to convince the physician to take his heart and give it to Kal. His heart was broken now and it was all he could do not to burst into tears. "Please... C'mon old man... You've never wanted to disappoint Jonno... Also move. I'm going to start CPR."
Jon nodded, shifting away as Kon started the compressions, counting quietly under his breath, pausing at thirty - glad that Kara had raced off and come back with a mask and bag, squeezing two breaths of air into Clark's lungs.
The Nightwing shifted a little, before speaking "I do not know if I would be able to place his soul back into his body, should it heal completely. He has died once before - and I am unsure if Death will allow me to keep his soul from them."
This caused everyone but Kon to startle, spluttering a little as their eyes widened a little. Kon simply continued his compressions. Unfortunately everyone noticed his lack of response, and Cir asked "... Why are... Why aren't you surprised by that?"
"The entire reason why I exist is because the old man died once. Or so Cadmus would say." Kon responded bluntly as he paused to let Kara give Clark's body air. "And I say that we should go for it. I'd fight death to keep him here, and I'm pretty sure everyone else would say that - including Chris."
The Nightwing nodded "Very well - I will try what I can. Chris and the others were able to clear those surrounding the sun - once news had reached them of their warlord's passing - as well as proof in the form of his head, rent from his body - they retreated. They withdrew from Earth and the Watchtower as well."
"What's the thing connecting you and dad together?" Jon asked, as Kara scooped up her cousin (he wasn't going to be dead for long at all. He wasn't!) and tugged the machine, causing Kon to hiss a little as the tug caused the needle in his arm to shift painfully.
"Kal needed blood - and since I'm his clone... I'm the best match he has for blood. Tried to convince them to give him my heart but the docs wouldn't go for it." Kon responded, doing his best to be cheerful, flashing them all a very fake smile.
Cir - who was trembling a little as she pulled the IV needles out of both of them glared darkly at him "How... How could you suggest something like that, Kon? We... We'd miss you just as much as we'd miss him. Not that he's going to be dead more than an hour or s-so."
Kon shrugged, not wanting to voice his doubts at her words as that would likely only upset her further. Jon was given an oxygen mask fitted for him as they reached the airlock and everyone flew as fast as they could through the solar system, Kara carefully laying Clark down on the surface of the sun. The oldest member of house El's injuries healed within seconds, and after several minutes past, the green tinge that had colored Clark's skin had faded completely.
All of them held their breath as The Nightwing took Chris over. As Nightwing went into a trance, Galatea and Cheryl appeared, both of them freezing before flying as swiftly as they could over to them. The blonde clone's eyes filled with tears as she asked "Why... Why can't I hear his heart beating? Cheryl and I j-just returned from a trip to Oa - pestering John..."
Jon latched onto the blonde clone, crying quietly as he explained- his voice muffled behind the oxygen mask, finishing with a miserable "N-Nightwing is t-trying to s-see if he can put dad's soul back into his body. N-not sure why n-none of us t-tried flying him into the s-sun sooner."
"Because there were Apokalyptian forces surrounding the sun." Kara explained, voice shaking a little "and they might have had Kryptonite to shoot at us, if we tried. Darkseid's dead and all of his people turned tail and ran once we made that very clear to them."
Galatea lightly ruffled Jon's hair before holding him close. Lane was glaring at nothing, though they all could hear him sobbing quietly. Her eyes flashed red and she shook a little in rage "I see. I hope those pathetic fools never try to invade Earth again. I'm not sure what mercy you showed them, but I have none for them - particularly if they have managed to... To actually k-kill... Kal-El." Kal had showen her that she could be more than the weapon that Cadmus had wanted her to be. He had shown her true love and kindness... And her brothers and sisters had eagerly welcomed her into their family - as well as their stepmother, Lois. How dare they do this? Her eyes were burning, and she started to drift in the direction of Apokalipse when Jon whimpered and sobbed again in her arms, causing the blond clone to come back to the others, taking in deep, calming breaths. Kal would not them to take revenge on his account. They had left Earth, their leader killed. And she needed to help the others grieve, help rebuild what the invaders had shattered and destroyed.
Cheryl was sobbing into Cir's chest, and Kon had drifted closer to Lane, not touching his younger brother, but staying close enough so that if he wanted to, he would be able to reach out for a hug, or at least a grounding touch. What was taking so long? Clark should be awake and lecturing them all for being so ridiculous already. Or maybe wrapping Jon up in a big, warm hug that Kon definitely wouldn't want (as it would be embarrassing to receive... totally...).
"... I am sorry to say that his soul is beyond my reach, despite all I could do. Only magic will be able to save him from death." The Nightwing murmured, voice full of sorrow, before the glow faded from his eyes. Chris started to sob, crumpling into Kara as he clung to the other, miserable. "I... he... I'm s-s-so s-sorry! C-couldn't s-save him..."
"It's not your fault, Chris. Your... Companion did everything he could." Kara murmured, crying silently as she petted the other's hair. "We... We have some additional things to try..."
"Yep! We might be able to convince Etrigan - or Doc Fate to help us resurrect him with magic." Kon responded, desperately trying to sound cheerful. "If worse comes to worse... Well, Jason came back from the dead via a Lazarus Pit and... Well there's that option, too..."
"And since we'll be there, rather than the League of Shadows, I"m... I'm pretty sure he won't go on a murderous rampage." Galatea finished, her voice shaking. They were grasping at straws, but there was no way in hell they were going to let him stay dead - not unless Kal El's spirit told them himself that he wanted to stay in whatever afterlife there was. It was only a matter of getting the right spell caster or materials or... If they were profoundly unlucky, sneaking into a Lazarus pit to resurrect Kal.
"Kon... Do you know how he came back to life the first time?" Jon asked, voice shaking but hopeful "M-Maybe he can c-come back again that way."
"I... I don't know, kiddo. He just showed up in Metropolis one day, red cape and all and told me that I didn't need to protect Metropolis anymore." Kon responded quietly "That was years before you guys either showed up or were born. I never asked and he never talked about it."
"I... Should we... Should we leave his body here, or... Or bring him back to the Watchtower? Oh Rao.. What are we going to tell Ma and Pa?" Chris asked, looking as lost as the others felt.
"Last time he was dead and brought to Earth, someone stole some of his DNA and made me. I'm awesome but..." Kon responded, unwilling to finish the sentence.
"There's no way to predict who will try to steal his DNA, nor what they will attempt to do with it." Galatea finished, her blue eyes cold as ice "They used some of his DNA to create that ugly monstrosity, after all. The Watchtower has been compromised several times before - and blown up more than a couple of times as well, so keeping his body there is unwise as well."
"... We can take him to the fortress - few people know where it is, and fewer still can actually get inside of it - and none of the humans can without our express permission and presence." Kara pointed out quietly after a couple of moments. "And the robots might be able to do something that we can't or don't know about." Her younger siblings - and clone - all nodded in agreement.
"What do we tell the league? Last time he died, there was a big production of it - and his body was walked through the middle of Metropolis. Or at least the coffin that was said to contain it was. By Rao this is going to be another media circus." Chris asked, shuddering a little. "I... I was in class when they showed an old news clip of it, during the recent history part of the class I had been. I was barely able to keep myself together until I got home and cried until dad showed up. I wouldn't let go of him unless I had to for the rest of the week."
"We tell the league the full truth of how he died. As for the media - in capes, we'll answer questions as the league's told us to, and we don't let them anywhere near Jonno. They'll try to eat him alive." Lane responded, growling a little as he moved over to their youngest sibling, scooping him up and holding him tightly. "They'll want to go after him for the tear and cuteness factor. One of us should be with him at all times, when he's wearing a cape. G, Kon I know that the two of you tend to wander far from the rest of us but... I... I'd sure like it if you stayed closer to home."
"There isn't enough room for us in Metropolis." Kon pointed out "Not in that tiny apartment of his."
"I'm talking Smallville. There's enough room for all of us - especially if we buddy up and I'm sure that Ma and Pa would love to have all of us. We can cover the cities we work in from there - and work around the farm when we're off-duty. One of us can fly mom to the city when she's working there." Lane responded, shaking his head a little, startling the rest of his siblings at his suggestion.
The others considered his suggestion, and Kon shifted a little. "I... I'd like to, but if I know Bart and Tim, they'll drag me off to the Titan Tower when I'm not on duty and keep me with them, so that I don't do something more stupid than I usually do. But if Ma and Pa'll have me - and if you guys think that you'll be able to stand me being underfoot that much... I'd be happy to stay. We can fly Jonno to school, too. This also hinges on Lois wanting to go back to Smallville too - she might want to stay in Metropolis, and unless you want to kidnap Jonno... He's gotta stay with her. If they are staying in Metropolis, those of us she likes can rotate staying with her, with the others in Smallville or crashing with friends."
The others nodded, and Jon clung more tightly to Lane, shaking and crying. Some of them felt numb - others were struggling to contain the seething rage they felt at Darkseid for killing their father - despite the fact that he was dead as well. The rest - like Jon - were sobbing into their siblings' shoulders, miserable and terrified for what was to come. Their coms crackled to life simultaneously, and Batman's growly voice spoke "Return to Watchtower immediately - and bring your father's body with you, please. The league needs to speak with all of you about what's going to happen next."
Absolutely none of them wanted to talk - or move - but they knew that they needed to. Kon sighed, mentally shaking himself as he lightly touched his communicator before responding "You got it B-man. We'll be there... Soon. Superboy out."
His siblings sighed silently, and Kara picked up Kal again, and they flew silently back to the Watchtower - and if the flight took much longer than the flight there... Well, Jon hadn't been to the inner solar system, and watching Venus' rolling clouds move was strangely hypnotic. They came back in plenty of time before their youngest brother's air tank would be out of air. Picking up the pieces and trying to shove them back together in some semblance of order was going to be difficult but... With hope that they might be able to resurrect Kal somehow (as denial-based as the thought was) it... Helped them to keep from falling into the yawning abyss of sorrow and pain that each of them keenly felt that they could fall in and never escape.