Summary: After his execution for the Justice League's crimes against Rimbor, Superman has wound up five years in the past. Equipped knowledge of the future, can he save everyone he loves? Daddy!Clark

I Won't Lose Tomorrow


Chapter One: The Deal


Clark never thought this would be how he would die.

The League's trial by the hands of Rimbor citizens had turned out to be nothing more than a sham. Despite the gallant efforts at the hands of Icon to give them a decent defense, the Rimbor judges had long already decided on their guilt months ago. With the announcement of their guilty verdict, the collars they had been forced to wear had quickly blasted them all with a fatal dose of electricity that killed them on the spot.

What would his family do? His parents wouldn't even have a body to bury, who would help them? And Kon-El, his little brother Conner was still so young. Far too young. He had promised his little brother he would come back; he was too young to deal with the burden of being of Superman. He hadn't taught him enough, trained him enough. He had wasted so much time avoiding him when he needed him the most.

And Lois! All that time he had wasted putting everything off. He had pussyfooted around; never brave enough to express his love to her as Clark or as the man of steel. Always afraid she would reject one or both sides of him. He had never gotten to touch her, to kiss her, to be with her. So much time wasted. If only he had been braver. If only he had been stronger.

So many regrets, so much time he had wasted.

Now here he was floating through a never ending darkness, completely and utterly alone.

"This isn't fun at all!"A familiar, grating voice yelled through the darkness.

A tiny bald man in a purple pinstriped suit appeared floating in front of him, his face bright red with anger. "That's how you die? It's so lame!" he admonished. "I wanted something exciting! A giant battle! An unstoppable enemy! YOU DIDN'T EVEN HIT ANYTHING!"

"Mister Mxyzptlk," he said.

"Superman," the fifth dimensional imp said mockingly, "or should I call you Superlame," Snorting at his own childish joke.

"Where am I?" he asked.

"Just a little pocket dimension I made up when I pulled you soul from the pearly gates," Mxyzptlk said waving in a blasé fashion. It was very easy to forget how powerful a fifth dimensional imp could be outside their pranks at times. He suddenly gave him an uncharacteristically dark expression. "So I can tell you just how much you disappointed me."

"I did?"

"You lost this game and in such anti-climatic way." He whined. "This isn't what I wanted at all. I wanted something great. A last show down for the ages."

"I'm sorry?" he said uncertainly.

"Damn right, you're sorry, Mister!" Mxyzptlk snapped. "That's why you're going to fix this!"

Superman snapped to attention at those words. "What do you mean by that?"

"We're going to play a game!" The imp said. "I'm going to send you back to stop all this."

He grabbed the imp instinctively. "You can do that? Then send me back, already. I can't die yet, Mxyzptlk. I can't!

The imp gave him a dirty look before teleporting out of his grip. "You didn't let me say the rules! How rude are you? Didn't your parents give you any manners, huh? Huh?"

"I'm sorry," he apologized quickly. This was his only chance to fix things. He couldn't mess things up.

"It's just one rule, if you want to be all technical about it. But it's a big one. Under no circumstances can you tell anyone that you've travelled back from time. If you do…" The imp grabbed his neck and made a choking sound before transforming himself into a grave with the words, 'Clark Kent 1978-2016,' engraved on the front. He transformed back and gave him a grave look, "Are we clear? I can't make things too easy for you know you know."

Superman nodded. He would prevent the justice league from going to Rimbor no matter what would happen. It would be tricky but he could get them to realize how unfairly they would be treated at the planet somehow.

"We're clear."

"Good!" Mxyzptlk said with a smile. "Don't disappoint me!"

He snapped his fingers and everything went white.


Beep! Beep! Beep!

Clark yawned as he turned off his clock, preparing to sleep in for another five minutes before the previous events started flooding in. The kryptonan jumped into the air as he realized he was after months sleeping on the cold cell floors of Rimbor he was once again in his New Troy apartment in Metropolis. Momentarily overcome with the sense of joy of being home once more, he let out a loud whoop. He remembered the fifth dimensional words and quickly looked at the nearby calendar on the wall to check the date.

March 28 2010.

Instead of six months before their trip to Rimbor like he had assumed the Imp would send him. The imp had sent him back nearly six years in the past. Long before The Light had ever used Red Arrow or the rest of the leagues as a weapon for their own gains. Before the Justice League even knew there was a Light.

There was so much he could prevent as he remembered all the tragedies that had fallen upon the League and the team at the hands of the sinister organization like Red Arrow's unknowing enslavement to their demands and that snake Kaldur'ahm's betrayal to join his father. He could save Ted, Giovanni, little Tula, and his nephew in all but blood, poor little Jason from their tragic ends this time around.

He could save everyone.

Superman tried to remember everything and anything relevant that happened this month. Besides a few purse snatchings and a attack by Livewire, there hadn't been much crime that he could remeber. He is just about to get ready for work before he bonks himself on the head for almost missing the most important milestone that had occurred today.

Superboy had been born exactly one week ago.

The idea of letting him age to sixteen like the original timeline is quickly disregarded as soon as it comes. His brother had long been troubled by the lack of his own childhood and constantly had a hard, distant look whenever he saw happy children despite his attempts to hide it. Burdened with the knowledge that his body would never grow and age along with others due to the damage of The Light's defective aging procedure had done to his body, to be like Peter Pan and never age from a boy into a man.

The day that Superboy had found out he would never age had been one of the few times that Clark had ever seen his brother cry so openly in their short time together. The others being when he asked Clark if there had been anything he could have done to stop Kaldur's betrayal or his dark confession of the real reason M'gann and he were no longer a couple.

But his little brother who had had his whole childhood stolen from him before he had ever opened his eyes, was currently just one years old sleeping peacefully in the bottom floor of Cadmus.

And this time Superman could save him, spare him all that heartache and give him the life he always wanted but was never given.

He called Perry citing a family emergency to avoid going to work, and headed straight to Washington.


Sneaking into the Cadmus building is a simple affair. The building had not been made to protect itself from superfast metas and in under a minute, Superman has infant Superboy in his hands in a deserted construction site several miles away before they even knew what hit them.

He looked down and had guessed right about Superboy's age, Superboy was currently one, give or take a month from his appearance. His former solar suit was currently more of a solar onesie at the moment.

Superboy had been jolted away by the sudden movement and blinked blearily at the man of steel, revealing familiar, bright blue eyes under a messy mop of black hair while he let out a large yawn. It was strange to see his little brother look so young and innocent and free from the anger he wore around himself like a cloak.

The boy watched his surroundings with great curiosity before his eyes landed on Superman's crest.

He squealed happily before he grabbed his own S on his onesie, instantly reminding Clark of his first meeting with Superboy when he had lifted up his torn up shirt all those years ago.

"Hey, we match," Superman told him smiling.

He was rewarded with a string of happy babbling and squeezed the boy closer towards him, inhaling his scent.

The next part would be the hardest. The reason he had picked this spot was more than it had been the first empty spot he could find. Inches to his left, next to a broken bulldozer were one of the zeta-beam entry points littered across the country.

The rules of Mxyzptlk's game rang in his ears and he took a step into the portal, adjusting Superboy in his arms as he teleported straight to the Watchtower, preparing for the interrogation he knew was about to face.

He was certain with the knowledge he had at his disposal for the next five years. No matter what happened this time around. He would save everyone.


End Chapter