WARNING: You know the drill. Bits and pieces, but this chapter is a bit more fleshed out. Kinda felt like a filler episode, but still planning to keep it in.

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It was a little after 5 o'clock - almost time for dinner. Instead of eating however, I found myself sitting outside a door that had become painfully familiar over the last few weeks as I waited for my human to finish a therapy session with a female I knew he regarded as a mother figure and mentor.

Leaning my head against the wall, I couldn't help feeling sad as I listened to what was quickly becoming an unproductive conversation between the two of them.

"I can only imagine how devastating it was. Losing your friends, in essence your family, convinced all the time it was completely real…..I'm sure it must have been horrible for you," she commented sympathetically, only to be met with silence.

Even through the wall I could practically feel the glare he sent her. With a continued patience that only amazed me more with every unsuccessful session they'd had so far, she continued to try and break though to him.

"I do understand how you feel, you know. You're Superboy – you're not supposed to have feelings of sadness or vulnerability."

Shit. When will she learn not to trigger him like that? I thought in exasperation before a predictably loud and overly-dramatic outburst of "You don't know what I feel!" came from my emotionally challenged human. Knowing the drill, I stepped away from the door so I wouldn't get hit when it was violently ripped open.

"Conner!" She called out in a last desperate attempt to convince him to stay, most likely already knowing the futility of her actions as the door opened with enough force that the door handle left a dent in the wall it bounced off of. Seeing the pissed off look in the face of the teenager illuminated in the doorway, I didn't bother trying to greet him and silently let him pass by as he stomped down the hall. Hearing her quiet steps follow him out of the room, he shouted a final "Just leave me alone!" before going around the corner.

Taking a step forward to follow him, I was stopped by a hand on my shoulder. Having come out of the room herself, bird-woman was now looking up at me with a serious look on her face. "I haven't forgotten about you either Wolf. I know it's uncomfortable for you to shift, but I think we should have a talk. What happened during the training exercise affected you too."

Looking away from her face, I glanced in the direction Connor had gone and pushed down the anxious growl itching to leave my throat. I needed to find him and make sure he would be okay.

"See?" She asked, bringing my attention back to her. Brushing the blond shoulder-length hair back from her face, she met my eyes with her own for a second to make sure I was paying attention before instinctively lowering them a fraction.

"I don't think you've left his side even once since the incident. I know you care about him and I appreciate that he has someone to watch his back while he's working through his own feelings, but don't forget to take care of yourself too. When the two of you come back will you please come find me? I have to go back to headquarters and file my reports from today, but I'll be back tomorrow to talk with you all some more."

Letting out a long sigh, I considered her words for a moment before slowly nodding my head in acceptance. Needing to find my human before he did something stupid, I took off in a jog in his direction, following the scent of his anger and self-loathing. Eventually padding to the garage, I got there in time to see him making his way to the hangar door on a red motorcycle.

"Red Tornado, hangar door." He called out to the computer over the low rumble of his motorcycle. Knowing I wouldn't reach him in time to stop him, I was relieved to see Sphere shoot past me and roll in front of the opening door, blocking the exit. Knowing Sphere wouldn't let him leave without me, I padding lightly after to them and sat next to the annoyed Kryptonian, watching in vague amusement as he tried to get it to move.

"Sphere, out of the way! I don't have time for-"

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"Let's see what our boy can do." I could smell the delight rolling of him in waves, and heard him give a shout of excitement in to the cool air before dipping down and riding an air current.

"Return the new Genisphere, and the rest of the technology you have stolen from New Genesis, human."

"Who are you?! What do you

"Let's keep this simple. That," he said emphatically, pointingdown at motorcycle-sphere, "belongs to us. So give. It. Back."

"Forever People, stand down. This one did not steal the new Genisphere, he saved it from the real thieves."

"Apologies!" the gruff teen called out, now smiling widely. "The Forever People embrace you as a friend, ally, and worthy warrior."

"You're kidding, right?" Connor scoffed in disbelief. I couldn't blame him – this entire exchange had done a complete one-eighty and our intruder's sudden friendliness was throwing me off as well.

"Who are you anyway?"

"Us? We are the Forever People," he stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "We are young gods; new gods."

"….Right." Connor agreed doubtfully, his forehead furrowing in uncertainty.

"They call me Serifan."

"I'm Dreamer."

"This is Moonrider, and our leader Vykin."

"And I am named for an animal that does not exist on this world…..but," he added with a smile, "you may call me Wolf."

"This is Wolf," Connor replied back testily, gesturing to me with a tense jerk of his head. I honestly didn't mind if the odd man shared the same name as me, but figured now wasn't the time to try and make my opinion known.

Shrugging, in a no-skin-off-my-back gesture, he thought for a moment before coming up with another name.

"Ah! Bear, then. Yes, Bear is even better."

I rolled my eyes. Wolf was so much better than Bear.

"I'm Con- Superboy," Connor introduced hesitantly, the slipup unusual. I glanced at him out of the corner of my eyes, and he shook his head imperceptibly.

"This is Mother Box, the living computer. She has tracked technology stolen from our home world, New Genesis and has recently found our rescue drill there."

"It is beneath us, 18 meters underground."

"That's a construction site. Perfect cover for drilling…Especially with the Federal Reserve conveniently located across the street."

The government keeps money there," he further explained.

"It's a heist!" the blond one exclaimed excitedly, standing up with his guns pointed in the air. "Come on, partners, let's ride in there guns a-blazin' and round up them outlaws!" he called out in an old western accent, dancing from foot to foot.

"….He's watched a lot of Earth Westerns," the female godling explained lowly, looking embarrassed.

"Yeah, well, there's a time to go in strong and a time to go in smart."

"It is your world Superboy," their leader acquiesced peaceably. "We shall follow your lead."

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"Norman! I brought you a jacket," the woman called out with a sweet smile, holding up the clothing.

"Mom?" The man asked in disbelief. "What are you doing here?!"

Mom, get down! It's not safe.

A billion in bullion, Ugly," a redheaded woman smirked as she glanced over the blocks of gold being transported out of the bank. "That old creep's gear performed as advertised."

"Yeah Whisper," a man's voice agreedfrom behind some rocks. "Gave me a score that tops any my old man ever delivered to Intergang."

"Wait!" Connor whispered, reaching out to stop him. "Guess we decided on the direct approach after all," he muttered mutinously, glancing back at me in exasperation.

"That drill and these carts are the property of New Genesis; you will return them now."

Connor stood and walked towards the group too. "The gold goes back too," he added cooly.

"Interfere and things get ugly," the redhead threatened, standing aside to reveal a stocky black haired man with a thick mustache.

"I'm Ugly," the man introduced with a nasty smile, lifting the strange looking gun in his arms and immediately shooting.

Insert name used his powers to create a shield of earth before pushing Connor aside

These weapons aren't from New Genesis.
They are of the enemy.

What enemy?

They are of the enemy.

What enemy? The enemy.
The gods of anti-life.
These weapons are of Apokolips.

The confines of this tunnel favor their weapons, let us bring this battle into the open.

More room at the top! They're getting away! Move! I have no wish to prolong this battle.

Finish him.

Fear not.
She will protect us.

Who, Dreamer?

The new Genisphere.

Cool.
Wait.
Sphere's a she?

It is time.

Time for what?

All: Taruu!

Okay.
That's new.

Ugly, wait! Wait!

What was that?

Infinity-Man.
We merged to become part of the Source, and greater than the sum of our parts.

"Glad my team's not that close," Connor commented, crossing his arms guardedly.

"Lower beings tend to…fear intimacy," Bear replied with a shrug.

I snorted, huffing out a low laugh while I ignored the scowl Connor sent my way. Bear shot me a curious look and I glanced back at him innocently, thumping my tail on the ground for good measure.

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None of this makes any sense.
How are these humans acquiring technology from both New Genesis and Apokolips?

I'm not talking.

You were not asked.
Desaad.

"Look, I've been remarkably patient –" I shot him a side glance and he quickly amended, "Well, for me anyway. But seriously, what is going on?"

The New gods come from two worlds at war.
Those of us from New Genesis are gods of life, freedom, and the Source.
Our enemies from Apokolips are gods of anti-life, slavery, and degradation.
This is Desaad, god-scientist and chief torturer of Apokolips.
His experiments are pure evil; his works, abominations.
His master Unspeakable.

He is seriously creepy.

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"Mother Box says there's a large cache of Apokoliptian technology inside."

"Infrared vision shows no heat signatures, but even so…." Connor added in, glancing back at me. Noticing something, I pawed at his belt; silently asking if he thought it would be okay for me to shift.

Looking surprised, Connor hesitated and looked back at the others before slowly nodding. "You sure?" He asked, waiting for my confirmation before sighing and lifting off his shirt.

"What are you doing?" Dreamer asked in confusion while the others stared. I grabbed the shirt with my teeth and hid behind the still-transformed sphere, crouching low to shift while Connor explained what was happening.

"Wolf's going to shift so she can tell us something. She wouldn't do it if it weren't important," Connor added, making my lips twitch into a small smile despite the pain of the shift. A few seconds later the last couple of bones snapped into place and I sighed in relief, pulling the shirt over me with shaking fingers before stepping out from behind Sphere, patting the cool metal affectionately as I walked back over to the surprised godlings with a smile.

"You have changed forms!" Bear remarked in interest, his eyes looking me over curiously. Looking displeased when the man's eyes lingered over me a little too long, Connor stepped closer to me and crossed his arms with a frown.

"I'm Wolf," I introduced with a nod, placing a comforting hand on Connor's back. "I generally try not to shift out in the open like this, but you need to know that I'm smelling about a dozen different scents in the area, all very recent. Even if they're not inside, they're definitely nearby; maybe waiting as a trap."

"It is possible they are using cloaking technology," the godling leader replied. "But Motherbox would have alerted us if it detected such. We thank you for your input Wolf, and will proceed carefully."

"We should do a perimeter search," I insisted. "Do a quick sweep and try to pinpoint exactly where they are. If we just go in there without any reconnaissance we could be walking into a situation that ends

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I frowned, feeling intensely uneasy with the situation. Pulling back, I tugged on Connor's arm to catch his attention.

"We need more information, more planning. Going in without that is how we end up dead again," I whispered anxiously, my mind flashing back to the fiery end we'd experienced several weeks prior. "I can't watch you die again," I admitted painfully, hating how afraid I felt in that moment.

"We don't have much choice, these guys obviously aren't too familiar with the recon-style team you and I are used to," he replied quietly. "

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"Still no heat signatures," Connor murmured cautiously, glancing around. I felt my stomach drop with dread as I immediately caught the same scents from earlier – only they were a lot stronger now. "The place is definitely deserted – though I could be wrong," Connor trailed off in a worried voice when he saw me frantically shaking my head, trying to warn the group without making any noise.

Too late, we saw thirteen people appear out of nowhere, their guns trained on us as the sound of their heartbeats and breathing suddenly filled the room.

"This tech masks sound and heat signatures," the mustachioed man from earlier informed us with a sneer as he pointed to a semi-see through visor in front of his face. "The visor filters out illusions; we saw through ya from the beginning."

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These weapons resist my magnetic power.
We'll soon be overrun.
It is time.
This won't take long!

Go!

All: Taruu!

Now, mortal.
Deliver the Father Box.

That can't be good.

Kill the boy and his little dog too.

Connor! I barked out, immediately running after him.

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Wait!

"Good uh, girl. We'll take him down together!" Instead of its usual mechanical beeping response, the sphere turned and rolled away, leaving the two of us staring after it with dumbfounded looks as it left us behind.

Fuck.

"Yeah, can't really blame you," Connor muttered cynically while we turned back to face the giant, god-powered robot preparing to murder us.

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Infinity-Man is now my-My master's weapon.

Why doesn't he get it over with?

I am not one for getting it over with.
Father Box knows my proclivities, and programmed Infinity-Man accordingly.

Attack! Attack while you still can!

Sphere, you're beautiful!

Open fire! All weapons!

Our turn.
Think I'm getting the hang of this.
Pull! Now, that's ugly.

Desaad!

All will suffer. All will suffer!

She's hurt!

The damage may be beyond repair, but Mother Box will try.
The healing process has begun and will be completed on New Genesis.

Sorry, what?

We thank you for your help, Superboy, but we must take the new Genisphere home now.

way!

Why should we leave her with you? To us, she lives.
To you, she's merely technology.

No, it's not like that.

Then what is it like?

We bonded, ok?

In fact, it is.
You may keep her.

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"You know what, Canary? Fine; I'll talk to you."

Perking up, I felt my ears twitch back to better hear what my human was saying.

"Here's the ugly truth. I wasn't devastated. Even with Superman, Tornado, you, the whole League dead and even though I–" I heard his voice hesitate a moment, as if unsure he should continue.

"Even though I left Wolf behind and couldn't save her, and watched Artemis and Kaldur die, and abandoned M'gann I felt…..at peace."

Confused, I did a double-take; turning my head to stare at the wall behind me as if I could suddenly see through it to the person it kept me separated from.

"See," he continued, "from the moment I first opened my eyes in that Cadmus pod, there's been one thing I've wanted and feared. To know what it is to be Superman."

I heard him swallow softly, and imagined the serious look of concentration on his face. Knowing him, he probably had his hands clasped so he wouldn't look like he was fiddling with them.

"And now I know what it's like to be the man of steel; to be the respected and idolized hero that I was supposed to be just like. I – I was happy," he whispered. "Everyone I care about dead or traumatized and I'm actually happy."

With a sinking heart, I listened as he explained himself.

"How do I get past the guilt of that?" he asked in a voice that pleaded for forgiveness. "How do I live with myself knowing that even when I knew Wolf might die, that all my friends were dead or probably going to die I felt like I'd found the moment I was created for? That fulfilling that need for purpose overrode everyone and everything else to the extent I could feel happy," he spit the word out with growing disgust, "while hundreds – no, thousands were dying."

There was a long pause before Canary answered back. When she did though, I wasn't really listening. I felt a confusing mix of emotions swirling through me and I wasn't quite sure how to deal with them.

"Hello, Wolf. Is Connor waiting outside for you?" Nodding, I decided to get straight to the point. I wasn't sure how long he'd be willing to stick around for, and I wanted him to hear what I had to say.

"Yes. And before you ask, yes; I heard what he said. I know he can hear me too, which is good, because I want you both to know that I'm sorry."

Surprised, the blond looked at me curiously. "Sorry for what?"

"I was being selfish, hovering outside the door every time you tried to talk. Connor probably had a harder time trying to tell you how he was feeling because he didn't want to hurt my feelings." Looking over at the door, I listened for his heartbeat, relieved to still hear it outside the door even if it was a little faster than usual.

"I'm sorry Connor," I spoke to the door. "I know I became a little overprotective these last couple of weeks – I kind of overreacted after the simulation."

"That's completely understandable, considering what you went through," bird-woman consoled. Glancing at the door as well, she raised an eyebrow enquiringly. "Wolf, would you prefer that Connor was here with you?"

My instant reaction was to say yes, but I knew I couldn't say it. My human had just been through an emotionally raw and uncomfortable breakthrough and I knew if I asked he would probably come in no matter how uncomfortable it made him.

"Only if he wants to," I eventually decided. Immediately, the door handle turned and a subdued Connor reeking of guilt slid through the crack he made as he opened the door. Closing it behind him quietly, the brunette side-stepped to the wall and leaned against it, his gaze refusing to turn to either one of us.

I felt a brief moment of my own guilt slide through me at the relief and pleasure I felt that he'd come in.

"It sounds like you were one of the last to have the scenario end for you," bird-woman commented neutrally, immediately starting with the topic I felt most uncomfortable with.

"We were trapped on the ship," I murmured. "Robin made green-man run away with green-girl by promising we would follow behind, but we both knew there was no way we could escape in the time left. We had to sit there and wait for death," I admitted with a grimace.

Looking sad, bird-woman leaned forward. "I can't even imagine how horrible that must have been," she comforted sadly. I looked back at Connor and steeled myself for what I was about to say next.

"It was terrifying, but….I was also relieved. Losing Connor, seeing him completely disintegrate in front of me – tasting the fucking ash that I inhaled and was covered in was just –" I gagged, remembering the horror I'd felt at realizing what, or rather who that ash had come from.

"Do you need to throw up?" bird-woman asked, looking alarmed. I shook my head and shut down the images running through my head.

"No, sorry, I'm fine. Losing Connor, losing my pack….it devastated me. I basically shut down emotionally until the end, and it was only in that last thirty seconds of sitting there with Robin and waiting to die that I allowed myself to remember that the person I care about most in the world was dead, and never coming back. Knowing that surviving meant living without him in a world devastated by this attack was unbearable, and….."

I shifted and looked down, feeling ashamed. "We didn't have a choice; there was no way to escape and we were going to die. I know that. But even so, what we were doing felt like….suicide. I mean," I quickly tried to clarify, seeing the look on her face, "it was a suicide mission. I think fast-boy and green-girl were the only ones still in denial over what we were there to do, and I had a feeling going in that I probably wouldn't be coming back out. But still, instead of feeling trapped; at the end I felt….acceptance. Even relief."

I couldn't bring myself to look up at Connor and breathed shallowly, trying not to pick up his scent. "I think that what Connor felt, we all felt to an extent. As terrible as the situation was, it still showed us that we were capable of doing what the team all wished to do someday – step up and fulfill the role the adult heroes have every single day. That scenario was the moment that proved that all our training and work, all our frustration with being looked down on or underestimated by you guys or the public was worth it; that in the end we're not only willing, but able to do sacrifice anything, do anything that was needed to save the world."

I finally looked up at Connor and saw him staring at me, his eyes wide. "We all felt what you did Connor. We all felt validated as heroes and leaders when the world looked to us to save them."

Feeling more confident, I looked back at bird-woman and continued speaking. "I

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