Chapter 1: Two Months Later
Two Months after defeating the Alien Invasion
...
Watchtower
September 21, 23:54 UTC
"So Ms. Lane is the only one besides your mom, who knows that you're Clark Kent?", Superboy asked as he walked alongside his idol, Superman.
"That's right, but please, call her Lois next time you see her, she won't mind." Clark answered with a smile.
"Alright, seems fair enough."
They walked and talked about each other for hours on end to the point they were, in a sense, best friends. But Clark wants see it differently. I've been avoiding him for too long. I think it's time to train him.
"It's late Kon-El, you should go home and rest. We can talk some other time. Do you have a place to stay?" Superman asked his clone.
"Yeah, I do. I've been living with a woman called Mrs. Anderson for a few weeks now. She's a very lovely person, lives in a peaceful house just outside Metropolis. She's technically my mom."
"That's great! Okay then. As long as you're safe that's fine. Good night Kon." The Man of Steel smiled one last time.
Superboy smiled, finally after a long time, and nodded as he walked towards to the Zeta-Beam.
"Recognised. Superboy B-0-4", and within an instant, Conner was gone.
Clark stood there thought the only way to make Conner like him is to train him to be like him, to become the next Superman. He then saw Aqualad and Tigress (formerly Artemis) talking as they were looking through some files. The Man of Steel sighed and walked towards Kaldur'ahm, I guess I should to talk to him first, give Conner an authorised leave for a few months, maybe years.
"Superman. Is there a problem?", Aqualad asked him as he approached.
"No Kaldur'ahm. I just wanted to speak to you about something. It's very important." Superman spoke with a serious voice.
Aquaman's former protégé felt worried for some reason. "Of course, what is it?"
There was a pause. "I've been getting along with Conner so far. And I wanted to ask you if I could take him off the team."
Both members of the Team were surprised to hear this. "Are you sure about this?" Kaldur asked, with a hint of concern in his voice.
"Yes." Superman said without any stutter in his voice, "Yes I am."
Tigress then spoke up, she was uncertain of this as well, "With all due respect, the team won't be the same without him. What would everyone think? Better yet, what would M'gann think?"
He thought about that for a moment then remembered something Superboy told him earlier in their long conversation,
...
Small Flashback
"She was abusive with her powers. Leaving her victims in a catatonic state." Superboy explained with a bit of anger in his voice. He's still not over it yet. Superman was listening very carefully.
"She even tried to erase the memory of me getting angry at her for what she does." this shocked Superman. He now wanted to make Miss Martian pay for what she tried to do. But Superboy wouldn't let him. It would be very un-Superman of him.
"So it was my decision to end the relationship, but it was for the greater good. To think I couldn't recognise her 'touch' inside my mind. Then, she starts dating the rebound guy from the Black Lagoon, La'gaan. He's a jerk to me but, he's good to her."
End of Flashback
...
Remembering what Conner said, there was a sudden change in Superman personal outlook on J'onn's niece. Guess he doesn't like what she did to Superboy.
"I thought their relationship ended because of how Conner puts it? Abuses her victims with her psychic powers?"
Tigress gasped quietly, "He told you? Didn't he?"
Superman's voice was slightly rising up. "He did."
"Did he mention that she broke up with Lagoon Boy?"
"Yes he… wait. What? When did this happen?" Clark was confused now. He was now processing what he was just told. He broke up with her. She starts dating this 'rebound guy'. Now she breaks up with him? For what purpose?
"This happened three months ago. M'gann told me everything. She still loves Conner."
Now she wants him back? Interesting, Superman thought.
"If she still loves my son, why doesn't she tell him straight?", the Man of Steel countered.
"Because she…", Artemis stopped in her tracks, her eyes were widening, including Kaldur's.
The Young Leaguers looked at each other and then back at Superman.
"Did you just say, your son?" Tigress was stuttering in her voice. Did he accept it already?
"YES! My son! Why does that surp… oh.", Kal-El was shocked at his own words. Son?
Tigress was smiling as she wiped water that formed in her eyes. Was she touched or something?
Kaldur finally spoke once more. "So… you have accepted him as your own son, haven't you?"
Superman closed his eyes and sighed, "I have. I always wanted a son with Lois but, Conner is technically my child."
Aqualad smiled, "Very well. As leader of the Young Justice team, I give you full authority to take Conner with you for as long as you want. You are his father now, of course?"
Clark was elated, "Thank you, Aqualad. And yes, I'm his father."
"How long will Conner be gone exactly?" Tigress asked.
"About half a year. Shouldn't take longer than that."
Half a year?, Kaldur'ahm thought. He and Artemis silently winced at those words. But they had no choice. Superman wants to train Conner. He will. He must.
"Half a year it is then.", they all agreed to it as Aqualad shook hands with the current leader of the Justice League.
...
Metropolis Outskirts
September 22, 09:56 UTC
It was morning and Conner had just woken up. He felt groggy and tired, "What the hell happened last night? What day is it?", he grunted himself as he rubbed his eyes. He got up and looked at the calendar in his bedroom wall.
It's Saturday, what am I supposed to do on a Saturday again? Oh right, hang out with Dick, he thought as he raced through his memories, trying to remember his schedule until he heard a female voice from below that snapped him out of it.
"Connor! Breakfast is ready!" Mrs. Anderson called him from down below.
"I'm Coming!" He went to the bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror, he was starting to grow a stubble, Since when could I grow facial hair. I'm just a clone who's gonna stay like this forever. Unless… He then gasped and looked back up at the mirror as a memory came back up.
...
Flashback
Metropolis
September 22, 01:30 UTC
Conner was walking back to Mrs. Anderson's home. He was tired and all he wanted was to say hi to Wolf and Sphere before having a good night's sleep. It was a quiet walk. Probably too quiet. Was he being watched?
Suddenly, a black SUV pulled over and someone walked out of it. A bald man in a suit came up to him.
"Hello Conner, you miss me?", that voice was very familiar. It sounded evil, yet calm.
Of course, it had to be Luthor, and it was Luthor. I can't catch a break huh?, Conner spoke in his mind, angrily.
He stopped and took a step back to make a fighting stance. "What do you want Lex?" He sounded very hostile.
"Relax son, I'm not here to hurt you, I just wanted to give a gift, let's say it's an early birthday present shall we?" He said with the same smirk on his face as he handed out a small box to him. And my God, Conner hated every bit of it. If only he could vaporise him right now.
Conner's face was full of anger. And he growled in frustration, "Screw you and your stupid gift! And I'm NOT your SON!" He proceeded to punch him, but then he remembered.
"Red Sun.", those damn trigger words again. Superboy froze, then stood still, like a tree, with no emotions on his face at all.
"I knew that you wouldn't cooperate with me.", Luthor spoke like if Conner was still listening to him. "So I felt that I had no choice but to do this."
He opened the small box and picked up what was inside. A small syringe labeled "Full Kryptonian DNA".
"This should increase your Kryptonian abilities. MAJOR upgrade to who and what you are now. You'll be able to grow hair and be able to grow like your physical age. Though the Kryptonian abilities will have to be worked on with you 'other dad'."
Luthor opened the syringe cap and stabbed the needle into Conner's shoulder, it would feel extremely painful, but Conner was still basically a mindless robot. Once the DNA was put into Conner, Lex couldn't help but put his evil smile back on him again as he pulled the syringe out.
"Good night, son. Get some rest.", the businessman said one last time once he got to the SUV and drove off.
Conner would be standing there until 3 in the morning, forgetting what happened that time. Until now…
End of Flashback
...
Luthor, Conner said mentally, You son of a…!
"Conner? Is everything okay up there?" Mrs. Anderson asked worriedly as she knocked on his bedroom door.
The genomorph lifted his head up into reality. Oh right! Breakfast.
"Sorry, I'll be down in a minute!" he called out to her. Okay Conner, pull your shit together! Relax. Breathe. It's a Saturday, and you're going to meet up with Dick to hang out.
He got dressed, just in his normal black T-Shirt with the red Superman logo, jeans and sneakers. Once he got downstairs, Mrs. Anderson had a worried look on her face.
"Conner, are you feeling alright?"
"Oh. Yeah, I'm just feeling tired. I came home late, sorry." he sat down and ate his breakfast, bacon and eggs, with a glass of orange juice.
"It's fine Conner, I don't mind if you're late or not. I'm just glad you are here, safe and found." Mrs. Anderson commented. She always has that smile on her face.
"Thank you Mrs. Anderson."
"Oh, please! Mrs. Anderson is too formal! Call me mom?", she begged cheerfully.
"Ok… mom." I like the sound of that.
"That's better." they both smiled at each other. "So where are you headed off to?"
"I gonna go and meet up with one of my friends and hang out, I'll be back before 7."
"Alright. Stay safe.", she said once more.
"I will." he reassured her and gave her a hug, "Bye mom. I love you."
"I love you too." Mrs. Anderson quietly replied as she watched him walk to the front entrance, grab his keys and out the door. "Such a sweet boy."
...
Metropolis
September 22, 10:30 UTC
"So, what are we gonna do today Conner?" Dick Grayson had a quirky attitude today.
"You seem pretty happy today. Did I miss anything important?" Conner asked his best friend.
"It's a Saturday, so of course I'm happy. But no. Nothing important." he quickly replied as they both walked the peaceful weekend streets of Metropolis.
"So… how are things with you and Barbara?"
"Babs and I? We're fine.", Dick answered, "The question is. How are you and Miss M?"
Conner paused and stopped walking. M'gann and I? Oh man! How do I put this?
"Conner? You okay man?", Dick was starting to feel concerned, "Sorry, I shouldn't have brought that up. After what happened between you two?"
"Dick, it's fine, we're past that." he lied. Because he wasn't over it.
The former member of the Team wasn't convinced, his face looked dead serious. "I can tell if you're lying. And you are right now."
The genomorph sighed in defeat. "Fine. But let's get something to eat. I'm hungry again."
"Sure." They both went to a food court and ordered separate meals and sat at a small table.
...
Food Court
"Remember, when we were younger?" Dick recalled the good old times. When they were still the originals, it was all banter and laughs. Now? It was drama and hate towards everyone in certain ways. What happened to them? The maturity?
"I can remember that like it's the back of my hand. It's just that… things are different now Dick. With you retired from the team and… Wally dead" He hated to admit that, everyone else too. "It's not the same without you."
Dick suddenly felt "Okay Conner. First of all, I'm not necessarily retired, I'm taking a leave of absence. Me and Babs both." He took a big sip of water before speaking again, "Secondly, I took a leave of absence after what happened to Wally. So let's not speak about him… please?"
"Right, sorry." They stopped talking for about 30 seconds. And just continued eating.
"Can I break the silence here?" Dick said in a bored voice.
"Go ahead."
"You and Miss M!", Conner closed his eyes and put both his hands on his face. Here he goes again.
"Nothing is going on between us.", disappointment was in his voice.
"…WHAT!?", he yelled while standing up, causing everyone in the food court to look at him.
Nothing? Seriously nothing?
"Richard, sit down! You're making a scene!", Conner quietly screamed at him. He never called Dick by his real name before. It felt weird. Probably never say that again Conner, He told himself.
"What's going on? I thought the two of you made up by now?"
"We have. Just not… in the romantic sense, you know?"
Now Dick understood, "Ah! But you're still friends right? Good terms and all that?"
Conner thought for a moment, trying to figure out his next words carefully. "I… I… I told her that… I couldn't… be with her… for a while."
"Still mad at her, huh?" Dick said referring to that incident, "It's been almost a year Conner."
"I know but… To have her perverted like that!", he said the exact same words he told M'gann a few months ago. "I mean how replacing was I? Next day, she starts dating La'gaan."
"Dude, haven't you heard?"
"About what?"
Now Dick was even more surprised. He still doesn't know? That's weird. I would think Miss M told him already.
"Conner. She broke up with La'gaan three months ago."
The clone leaned in closer to the former Boy Wonder. "Really?"
"Yes really! She obviously still loves you.", he tried to lift his spirits up about this.
Conner wasn't sure about that. "You don't know that." He said sadly whilst taking a deep depressing breathe as he leaned back on his chair. Not all the way. He might break it. Might.
How will I be able to convince you Conner? Think Richard. THINK!, Grayson thought for a moment about something that could make him friend believe him. Got it.
"That night, when they broke up, M'gann asked me where you were." Now he got Conner's full attention. "But I told her that you said something about going out with Wendy Harris?"
"Oh shit." he put his hands to cover his face for second time.
"Yeah, she sounded disappointed. I also remember seeing her crying."
Now Conner felt guilty, but truthfully, nothing else happened that night going out with Wendy.
"But I there was no funny business with me and Wendy. Hell, it wasn't even a date!"
"Then what was it? Friends with benefits?" Dick snickered, trying to put some light on the subject.
"Not funny. She was having problems with her own relationship with someone. I was just helping her get back together with this guy. Wendy and I are close friends too. Heck, she was the only girl who remembered my 'birthday' seven months ago."
Dick felt bad for Conner. Not only because he's his friend, but he was still a clone. He didn't deserve this kind of treatment from anyone. Especially M'gann. He stood up and moved closer to give him a long hug, while he smiled. "It's gonna be alright Conner, you'll see." He patted his back.
This is very awkward, everyone here probably thinks we're a gay couple. Conner thought to himself as he looked across the room and a lot of people were staring at them. Yup. Very awkward. "Do you have any idea how many people are staring at us?"
There was silence. Just pure silence. "Yup."
"Do you think you should let go before people assume differently and do something else? Like finishing your food so we can get out of here and go hang out elsewhere?"
"...Man, I hate it when you're right." Dick let go and sat back down on his seat and finished his burger. They paid for their food, and they were out of there. "What do you wanna do Conner?"
"Visit the Hall of Justice?"
"Alright then, let's go!"
...
Hall of Justice
September 22, 16:25 UTC
"Conner, I've been meaning to ask you something?" Dick said while marveling at the statues of the Justice League Members.
"Sure, what is it?"
Dick observed him, then finally answered, "Since when did you facial hair? You're a clone, you can only stay at 16 physically right? Because you look 22 instead."
Right. I haven't told him about that yet. Conner remembered what happened early in the morning. "Okay, only you and Superman can know about this. Got it?"
"Have you told Superman yet?"
"Not yet, I'll tell him when I see him." How was Conner gonna break it to Clark that Lex Luthor himself injected him?
"Ok, I got it. Start talking."
Conner took a deep breathe, "Ok. It started early this morning…"
...
Two Hour Interval
"Wow man. Can't believe you still have trigger words in your head. But having full Kryptonian DNA now AND you can also age properly. That's good for you."
"Oh it is. I just hate Luthor."
"You and me both brother." he said, agreeing that they both disliked Lex. "So… what happens now?"
"Now? I need to figure out how I'm going to tell this to Superman. Will he approve?"
"You will never know Conner. We'll just have to wait and see what happens."
"Ok. Anyways, I'm gonna go home because I wanna eat mom's dinner."
"You have a mom now?" Dick was surprised. A mom? I'm impressed Conner.
"Yeah, her name's Mrs. Anderson. First name, Deborah. Very sweet lady. And beautiful for her age."
Dick was excited now. Who would have thought he would take an interest into older women? Thank God, he has Barbara to keep him in check. "Who does she look like? Diane Lane? Amy Adams?" and his favourite, "Marisa Tomei?"
Conner once again thought for a moment. Who does she look like? Hmmmmm. Oh yeah!
"Think of her as an older Gemma Arterton, with the kindness of Gina Rodriguez."
"Oooohhh!" Dick felt jealous. "I would love a good Gemma Arterton down there, if you know what I mean." He joked while making a fake laugh, nudging Conner's stomach. He suddenly stopped and cowered in fear when the Superboy gave him a death glare.
"That's my new mom you're talking about, show some respect." he growled, shaking his head with disapproval. "Besides, you have Barbara."
"I know but, she's not experienced."
"It's not like you are experienced with sex either." he countered.
Nightwing sighed in defeat, "Yeah, I guess you're right." he then yawned, "Man, I'm tired. Imma head home, see ya whenever I see you."
"Yeah, bye." They bro-fisted, for the first time actually, and walked their separate ways. Maybe we should do that more often. They both thought to themselves.
...
Metropolis Outskirts
September 22, 17:38 UTC
Conner arrived home, safely. This time, he was very cautious knowing that Luthor might show up again. Gladly, he didn't. That's a benefit for him. Once he opened to the front door, he was greeted by Wolf who barked and licked him happily that his friend and owner had come home. Conner chuckled that his 'dog' was happy to see him. "Hey, buddy! How've you been?"
Wolf barked two times. Conner obviously had no clue what he said. "I don't know what that means but I'll take it!" He walked into the living room, but couldn't find Mrs. Anderson.
"Mom? I'm home!" he called out while taking off his shoes.
"I'm in the kitchen! Dinner's almost ready!" she called back.
He went into the kitchen and kissed his mother on the cheek, "Hi."
"How was today with your friend?"
"It was fine. He was shocked when I told him about you."
"He was?", she stopped for a second and hopefully knew what her son was about to say, "Tell me this. Did he picture me as some nice pretty old woman who he thinks can have a shot with in the bedroom?"
"Yeah he did and… wait. How'd you know that?" he was astonished that she knew about that.
"I hear it all the time. From co-workers kids and all that stuff."
"Wow. You must be a popular woman on the block." he joked.
She smiled at the joke/compliment. "You could say that. But other than that," she put a plate of Pasta in front of him, "Dinner is served."
"Thanks mom." And he ate. And ate. And ate.
That hungry huh?, Mrs. Anderson watched as Conner delved into her cooking.
"Oh I forgot to tell you something Conner." she sat across from him.
"You did?" he asked before taking another mouthful of pasta into his mouth and chewed.
"Yeah. I girl came by a while ago. She said she was looking for you." Conner stopped chewing, and looked straight at his mom. A girl? Who?
"Did she tell you her name?"
"I think it was… uh… let me think. It's start with a 'M'. Megan or...?"
Conner then figured it out, "Megan Morse?"
"Yeah that's her name. You know her?"
Oh I know her alright., he said mentally. "She's just a friend." he told her in reality.
"Oh I see. Here I was thinking she was your girlfriend or something."
Hmph, you don't even know mom. "Did she say anything?"
"As a matter of fact, she did. Hold on!", she stood up to get something from the living room. Conner could still hear her. Thank Super-hearing for that. "She wanted to give you this." She returned with a small box, covered in Christmas wrappings. He took it and laughed a bit.
"Did you tell her that it was too early to celebrate Christmas?" he asked, adding humour into this. She smiled at that but didn't answer his question.
"She said it was important and only YOU can open it."
"Okay then. I'll just finish dinner and check it out before heading to bed."
Once he finished dinner he thanked his mom one more time and said goodnight before heading upstairs to his room, with M'ganns present in hand. He opened his bedroom door and walked over to place the gift on his bed. He took a nice warm shower and brushed his teeth till they were smooth. He still did not like his light stubble that was growing on his face. I really need to get this shaved.
He put on his pajamas and sat on his bed. He kept staring at the gift, wondering if he should open it or not.
Come on Conner, stop being a pussy and open the freaking thing!, one part of his conscious told him.
No, don't even think about opening it Conner! What if it's some poisonous Martian plant we've never seen before? She's probably desperate into killing you since you've been ignoring her every time you see each other., his negative side spoke up.
Holy cow, what is your deal!?
His consciousness kept on arguing about M'ganns present. He trusted his gut instead and decided to open it. Before doing so, there was a note on the top left corner saying;
To: Conner Kent
From: Megan Morse
He took off the note His eyes widened.
Oh God.
It was full of pictures of him and her together back then. They were happy. Laughed together. Slept together, no sex whatsoever. Kissed together.
He looked through them until he saw a letter from M'gann. It was wet, had she been crying trying to write this? The letter read;
Dear Conner,
It's been awhile since you've talked to me. I was wondering how you were. Are you well? Your new mom is really nice to me. She's very pretty. Prettier than me. Sorry if this letter is wasting your time. So I'll get straight to the point.
I understand why you've been avoiding me even when our paths cross sometimes. I know that you will never forgive me for what I did or what I do and I don't blame you, but I am truly sorry for what I'd done to you specifically. I should have known better before even attempting to get into your head. But you were never replaceable, the reason I was dating La'gaan instead was because I wanted someone to make me feel happy. My mistake. You were right all along, he is just a rebound guy.
Every time I kissed La'gaan before, I'd always see you walk away before you saw anything else. It hit me where it hurt. Guess I deserved that, right? When I'm alone, I would always think about you. I can't sleep, and when I do, I have nightmares. About you walking walking away from me, never looking back twice. I wake up, crying, hoping you would never do that to me in reality. But knowing your current state of mind, it seems the dream is coming true.
The paper was still wet.
And I've come to accept the truth. If you hate me, hate me. And you can live a happy life knowing you were right this entire time. I'm ignorant, and selfish. But always remember this, you will always be my favorite boyfriend and I still love you.
I'll always be yours,
M'gann
He had tears in his eyes, and he wiped them before closing the letter and putting it back in the box.
Oh M'gann, he said before closing his eyes. I just don't know if I can love you again.
And he fell asleep.
Then suddenly… KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!
He eyes lids exploded and he got out of bed. Mom? He slowly went to open his door.
As he opened the door, he saw Mrs. Anderson with a tall figure standing behind her.
"Sorry to disturb you Conner, but this man wanted to speak with you."
"Ok...ay?"
"He's all yours sir." Mrs. Anderson said to the man and she left. The man walked into Conner's bedroom. It was Superman.
"Clark? What are you doing here?" Superboy was uncertain why he was there. Had something happened?
"Kon-El. Can I talk to you?"
...
Chapter 1 DONE!
Thanks to talishapeople for the kind review!
To everyone else, please review and be harsh once again! Hopefully you enjoyed the slight Nightwing/Superboy fluff. ;)
I'm trying to make the relationship between Conner and Mrs. Anderson (my OC) to be like Clark and Martha Kent in 'Man of Steel'.
Also, I'm thinking of changing the title of the story, but I'll need your help doing that. Let me know in the review section on what title you want.
Have a great day/night!