A/N: Hey guys! I'm sorry the prologue got a little confusing at times, I'm still figuring out how to work this website. I had separations in word but they didn't carry over so there was no flow or seaways. I apologize and I definitely will have them for later chapters.

As always I do not own Young Justice I am simply a massive fan, please support any official release.

Chapter 1: The Spaces in Between

Austin TX, S.T.A.R Labs, February 2'nd, 2016, 2:32 pm

Conner and Clark Kent, the same exact person yet different in so many ways. One is the original immigrant from the stars, and the true last son of Krypton. The other is the clone, between Earth's greatest champion, and its greatest criminal mind. Though the two didn't have much in common, they still had grown to be brothers over the years since Connor had been found. While the boy forged his own path and created a name for himself as a true hero, he still couldn't help but feel inferior to original. He would of course never share these thoughts with anyone though.

The two Kryptonian powerhouses walked through the door to S.T.A.R Labs Metropolis dressed in their civis. Ever since the incident with the Reach, Superboy became a household name and a teenage idol. He would still wear the same outfit in action but he was forced to start wearing other clothes to hide his identity. Like Clark he also began wearing glasses that tinted his eyes to brown rather then their normal blue. Clark was of course dressed like a reporter and he carried a very interesting looking bag with him that despite his best efforts, Connor could not view the contents even with x-ray vision. He looked at his older brother and cleared his throat, preparing to ask why they had come to the labs but before he could get a word out a scientist came around the corner and greeted them.

"Superman, Superboy, it is so good to see you both here!" he said to the two. The man was of middle age, with brown hair and a full but well trimmed beard.

Superman stepped forward and shook the mans hand "It's good to see you too Professor," he turned to Connor and began introducing him "Connor, this is Professor Emil Hammilton, one of the greatest geneticists on the planet. I asked him to work on a special project for you." The man must have seen the confused look on his face and motioned for Connor to follow him.

"Come my boy, I have much to show you" and began walking down a corridor with the two kryptonians on his tail. They went down an elevator and Connor just sat in silence as Clark and Emil spoke. Man, Connor thought to himself, What's with all the secrecy?

They finally exited the elevator and walked through a small fortress of security doors. Finally they arrived in a room that was lined with all different sorts of computers and gadgets. In the center though stood a large cylinder that ran horizontally on the floor. Three other men stood around the machine and seemed to be checking data one last time before turning to meet the newcomers. Professor Hamilton stepped forward in order to greet his colleagues.

"Connor, I would like you to meet a few friends of mine" He went in order from left to right starting with another middle aged scientist who was African-American and had a fatherly look to him. "This is Dr. Silas Stone, Victor Stone's father and the one who created his cybernetic implants." Connor gave him a nod and turned his attention to the second scientist. "This is Professor Eduardo Dorado Sr. Formally a zeta-beam expert who has now become the worlds leading researcher on the meta-gene." Connor gave him another polite head bow before finally turning to the last member of the group. While he had a lab coat on and goggles resting on his head he didn't carry himself like a scientist. More of an engineer. "Last but certainly not least, I would like you to meet Mr. John Henry Irons, considered the greatest weapons manufacturer both Star Labs and the United States government has to offer." Connor thought it was a little strange he was there but brushed it off and turned his attention to Hamilton and spoke.

"It's nice to meet all of you but.." he did a quick glance around the room as if he figured he could find the answers around there somehow. He finally turned to Superman and spoke "Why have you brought me here?"

Superman was the one to speak up this time. He placed a firm hand on Connor's shoulder and spoke in a serious but loving tone. "Connor, you're a hero now. One of the finest I've ever served with. Despite certain… disabilities" Connor looked down, his eyes filled with a small percentage of sadness but he bit the bullet and turned back to his older brother. "You've pulled through and proved that you can stand up to anyone." He took a deep breath and finally spoke again, "I also won't be around forever Connor. That is inevitable, and when the reach invaded Earth, I could not even be there to defend it. The world needs Superman Connor, it needs its champion, which is why I got this team together." Connor raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth to speak but Clark continued talking. "It's entirely your choice but these gentlemen have created a way for you to access all your Kryptonian powers without losing your mind."

Professor Hamilton stepped forward again and spoke "This machine behind us Connor with help over-ride your human DNA slowly, so as to not cause any damage to your psyche or have any mutations. It can make you a full blooded Kryptonian" Connor's eyes widened and for the umpteenth time he was interrupted before he could talk. "There are a few drawbacks though. For starters you will be about twice as vulnerable to Kryptonite as Superman is. Secondly, while you can access all of your powers, they will be much weaker initially. The way this experiment works is that it overrides your DNA slowly. Eventually you will be able to stand toe to toe with Superman himself. But it will take time." Connor rubbed his chin in thought but was brought back to he present by Emil speaking once more. "And lastly, your solar battery will deplete much faster then normal."

Mr. Irons stepped up this time though and spoke "Your brother and I have found a way around this though." With that Superman opened his bag and pulled out a black suit that had feint red lines all over it with a red "S" shield in the middle. It looked like something straight out of tron and appeared to made of flexible metal. "This suit will not only act as armor but will absorb massive amounts of Solar Radiation as well and help to store it in your body."

Superman spoke again "I know you don't like the whole tights thing, but this isn't spandex I swear." Everyone in the room chuckled at that. "This is a suit composed of both Martian bio-material, and Kryptonian metal from my ship that I was able to replicate. The majority of us leaguers began wearing some form of armor or another rather then tights. The worlds getting more dangerous and what not." Connor shook his head to agree, thinking back on all those they have lost. "It will breathe and fit to you like a second skin." He touched the shield and it all compacted into the symbol. "And it comes in a travel size" The two brothers gave each other a goofy grin while everyone else sighed at the bad joke.

All eyes were on Connor now as he had a decision to make. He took a deep breath and looked around the room, silently wishing M'gann was here to help him out with this one. He thought back to how hard he has tried to live up to the shield. All the times he wanted to prove that he could be just as good as Superman even without all the powers. He also realized that there was just no way he could ever compete with him no matter how much he wanted to. Plus Clark was right, he wouldn't be around forever and just as it is Dick's destiny to take over the cowl, he would have to don the shield one day.

"Okay" Connor said and nodded to the scientists, "I'll do it." Clark walked up to him and put another hand on his back and congratulated him. Before he was instructed to don his new suit. He placed the shield on his chest and pressed it. The material unfolded and wrapped around him firmly, seemingly absorbing the rest of his clothes into it. He felt a wave of energy flow into him even this far underground and began punching and kicking. Clark was right, it felt like he was naked, the material was so flexible yet strong.

"If you're quite finished" Professor Hamilton said and cleared his throat "I would like to get on to the main event now." Connor smirked and took another deep breath before stepping into the large cylinder. He heard the door shut behind him and he would be lying if he said he didn't start shaking. Lights turned on all around him as sparks of green lighting that had him feeling slightly nauseous sparked all around him. "This may hurt a bit Connor, we had to use a bit of Kryptonite in the energy fields to get to your genetic code." Connor looked at him and nodded. He closed his eyes and immediately felt a jolt of pain run through him. He dropped to one knee and pressed his hand against the glass, trying his hardest not to yell out. He began shaking as his whole body wracked in pain. But almost as soon as it started, the pain vanished and the whole tube was illuminated in a massive bright array of yellow solar radiation. It was a quick flash and vanished. The machine spun down and Connor caught his breath.

"How do you feel Kon'El?" Superman asked him, worry in his eyes. Connor took a few more deep breathes before looking at his brother.

"I feel…" he paused and looked up. "I feel absolutely incredible!" He literally flew out of the tube and started yelling in excitement as he circled around the room. Everyone in the lab started cheering and patting each other on the back. While it wasn't the intense surge of power that the old Luthor-shields had given him, it still felt amazing. Best of all he could think straight too. He landed in front of Clark and the mans eyes widened. Superboy began to panic a bit, knowing what Match looked like eventually, "What?!" he began to panic more and rubbed his face, "Is there something wrong?"

Clark finally snapped out of it and smiled "Nothing is wrong Connor you just look… older." Superboy was confused beyond belief but turned to the closest mirror and low and behold he looked like he was in his early twenties. He didn't notice but he was taller too, matching Superman's height.

Professor Dorado spoke up this time "That's very interesting" he said and examined Superboy closely. "It seems like the mutations to your cells have caused you to age according to your proper biological state." Connor was somewhat relieved by this. While he would miss having eternal physical youth, he knew Kryptonians aged well. He also was relieved knowing he wouldn't be carded anymore whenever they went out.

Clark walked back up to his younger brother and rubbed his chin in thought. "Come to think of it though, the Superboy title doesn't exactly fit you anymore." He smirked at Connor. Who's eyes widened as he realized he was right. It was the same reason why Kaldur switched his name, he wasn't a boy anymore. But he didn't exactly know what else he could be. Superman seemed to have read his thoughts and said "You know, when Dick first thought of going solo and making a name for himself, he came to me in order to ask for help in talking to Batman. His biggest worry though wasn't what his mentor would say, but what he would be known by. What name could he use to associate with Justice. So I told him the tale of two Kryptonian superheroes who fought crime in Kandor." He held up his left hand and said "First there was Nightwing. Smart, cunning, agile, and fearless." He held up his right hand and placed it on Superboy's head. "Then there was Flamebird, the beacon of hope for all innocent civilians who had all the power in the world. That's you Connor." The younger Kryptonian couldn't hide his smile as the name just felt so right to him. He gave his brother a quick hug before nodding his head in aggreance.

Professor Hamilton cleared his throat again and spoke, "I hate to break up this touching moment you two, but there is the little matter of some tests we have to run." Connor groaned at the sound of that but was immediately taken back by the large holographic projector that came on in the center of the room. "Oh what now" Hamilton sighed and looked up to the screen.

"Warning, incoming space pod inbound to Earth. Destination, South Korea." The machine said and showed a satellite image of a space pod approaching Earth at ridiculous speed.

"If that pod hits it will be taken as an act of war!" Said John Irons. Connor turned to Clark who was already out of his reporter uniform and in his Superman costume. He was right, it was more armored. He presumed it was the same Kryptonian substance, but his still kept the same color scheme. The only difference was the small traces of metal lines and his color now rose near the top of his neck.

"Sorry professor it will have to be a field test then, where's your nearest Zeta tubes?" The professor pointed in a direction and told them down one floor, first floor on the right. The two Kryptonians bolted for the door and headed down stairs. They entered the giant ring and were transported to South Korea. No other Leaguers or Team members had arrived yet so it was completely up to them. "Alright Flamebird, we'll fly up and try and slow it down before knocking it off into the pacific." Connor nodded and followed his lead.

The pair bolted into the sky and Clark was instantly amazed at how fast Connor already was. They booked it to where the shuttle could just be seen coming near Earth. They reached the lower atmosphere and Superman took a massive breath, indicating that Connor do the same. He could feel a strange cold feeling in his lungs and tried to concentrate his new ability. They both exhaled and large gust of frozen air towards the pod, trying to shut off its engines. They shorted out but it already had more then enough momentum to keep going. Both the heroes flew to its side and pushed it towards the ocean. They continued to carry it until they had reached a place far off the coast of either country. There they rested the pod on the water where it began to float. They examined it and saw that on the cockpit was etched their S shield. Their eyes went wide as Superman went to open the cockpit. As soon as he had pried it open lights turned on an a girl who looked to have been knocked out slowly opened her eyes. She looked between the two of them with fear in her eyes and spoke out in Kryptonian.

"Where am I?!"

DUN DUN DUN! Who is this girl and where did she come from (any basic level dc nerd will know this). If you liked it please favorite and follow. If you have any positive or negative feedback please write me a review and I will work on any problems there were for next Chapter. Anyways I hope you guys have an amazing week and a happy Easter, I will see you all next Sunday with Chapter 2: The Girl From Outer-space.