Here's Chapter two. Enjoy!
Chapter Two:
Zatanna sighed as she and the others stood inside Superman's Fortress of Solitude. They were currently thinking of a way to stop Child once and for all.
Conner was currently in a solar pod, absorbing enough yellow solar radiation to not only heal his injuries, but also to recharge his solar-cells and regain his strength.
Zatanna remembered how shocked she had been when she saw that Conner was alive and badly injured.
Flashback:
Zatanna stood there frozen in shock as she stared up at Doctor Fate, who was currently trapped in a crystalized fist. She couldn't believe that even with their combined efforts, they still could not stop Child.
Suddenly, a honking sound caught her attention.
Zatanna turned around and was suprised to see a school bus all the way out in the North Pole.
"Hey goody-ten-shoes! Been looking for you everwhen!" Klarion said impatiently.
"Klarion?!" Zatanna said, shocked to see that he was now a living school bus
"Well duh!" the Chaos Lord said snarkily.
"We thought Child killed you?" Zatanna said in a confused tone.
"She killed Teekl. So I've lost my familiar, my anchor, and my best friend." Klarion replied sadly.
"Klarion now uses that vehicle to anchor himself to the mortal plane." Doctor Fate explained.
"Brilliant deduction, genius." Klarion replied sarcastically.
"This is perfect, now you two can team up." Zatanna said.
"Out of the question! The witch boy can not be trusted." Fate said sternly.
"Agreed, but right now you need each other." Zatanna argued back.
"Look, I don't like it any better than you, Naboobie. But Child has the backing of the Chaos Lords. So, we don't got a lot of choice here!" Klarion yelled.
"Nabu, you know it's true." Zatanna said.
Fate sighed. He knew Zatanna and Klarion had a point.
"If we must." He said
"Excuse me, I don't mean to interupt your conversation. But this guy here needs some serious medical attention." The bus driver said as he exited the school bus with a barely conscious Superboy leaning on him for support. They were closely followed by a young girl who had a ghost like appearance.
" Conner?! How can this be?! We thought you were dead." Zatanna said, shocked to see that her old friend was "back from the dead".
"It's a long story, Zee. I couldn't tell you even if I wanted to." Conner said wearily as he struggled to continue standing.
"Klarion, how did you end up finding Superboy?" Zatanna asked, turning to look at the former Chaos Lord.
"I found him crying out for help while traveling through a pocket-dimension known as the Phantom Zone. He was the only hero I could find at the moment and made a deal with him. If I helped him escape from the Zone, he had to help me out in return." Klarion said.
"Well then it's a good thing we're here at Superman's fortress of solitude. It has the medical technology to heal Conner's injuries." Zatanna said as she and Khalid helped Conner walk towards the fortress.
"We do not have time for this. Child continues to wreak havoc across the world. We must leave now if we are to save the world." Doctor Fate said sternly only to have Zatanna shoot him an angry glare.
"Look here Nabu! I know the fate of the world is at stake here. But, so is the life of my friend, and I am not about to let him die just because you think stopping Child is more important. I'm taking Conner inside to get his wounds treated. So either get onboard, or get out of the way!" Zatanna said angrily, shocking everyone around her, including Fate himself.
"Very well, Daughter of Zatarra. I will allow you to treat Superboy's injuries. But then, we must find Child and stop her before she destroys the world. Agreed?"
"Agreed. Now let's get everyone inside before we all freeze to death out here." Zatanna said as she led everyone into the fortress.
"Hey, how am I gonna fit in there?!" Klarion cried
"Oh, I almost forgot. "Knirhs sub ot yot ezis". Zatanna said, making the massive bus shrink down to the size of a toy truck.
" This'll do for now." Klarion muttered as he followed the others into the fortress.
Once inside, Zatanna and Khalid helped Superboy into his solar suit and helped him lay down in the solar pod. Now all they had to do was wait for Conner's solar-cells to fully recharge, and for his injuries to heal.
End Flashback.
Zatanna's thoughts were interupted by the sound of footsteps aproaching her.
She turned around to See Conner walking over to where she was standing. His injuries were healed and he was now dressed in his mission gear. The only difference about him was that his hair had grown into a mullet when he was in the solar pod.
"Hey Conner, how are you feeling?" Zatanna asked, happy to see her friend fully recovered.
"I'm fine Zee. As Nightwing would say, I'm definitely feeling the aster." Conner said jokingly.
"That's good to hear. Because with Child being as powerful as she is, we're gonna need all hands on deck if we are to defeat her."
"Agreed, so what's the plan?" Conner asked, ready to help out in any way he could.
"First off, we need to help Klarion find a new cat to be his familiar. Then we'll summon Child to our location and stop her once and for all." Zatanna said as they all stepped outside and Zatanna returned Klarion's school bus form back to it's original size.
After arriving at the Old Salem Animal Shelter. Zatanna, Traci, Khalid, Mary, and Conner brought out cats for Klarion to choose. Only to have him reject all of them.
"What are you looking for exactly?" Zatanna asked impatiently.
"I'm not looking! The cat's suppose to look for me!" Klarion shouted
Everyone then heard a tiny meow come from the side of the school bus. Looking down, they saw a tiny little kitten rubbing up against Klarion's school bus form.
"There! That's it, that's the one!" Klarion cried happily.
"What was the point of coming to an animal shelter if he was gonna pick a stray off the street?" Khalid asked, confused.
"It's magic, baby. Remind me to tell you how I found Leroy." Traci said to him
"Now all it needs is a name!" Klarion said gleefully.
"Um... "She". All she needs is a name." Khalid corrected him after checking the kitten's gender.
"I guess you could name her after your old cat." Zatanna suggested.
"Please, you have no imagination. New cat, new name. Something totally original. I've got it! I'll call her Teekl!" Klarion said
"But that was.." Mary began before Zatanna shot her a "don't" look.
"Now that the witch boy and his familiar have shared the bond of naming. The animal has truly become his anchor." Fate explained
Klarion then exited the school bus and regained his corporeal body. He then took Teekl from Khalid.
"Lovely to meet you, Teekl. We're gonna have such fun." Klarion said happily.
"Come. Child continues her rampage." Fate said as he created a mystic ankh to take them to the ruins of the Tower of Fate.
"You and the kids stay with the bus. We'll be back to send you home." Zatanna told the bus driver.
"Assuming the world survives at all. Oh, and Superboy? Consider your debt to me paid in full." Klarion said snarkily as he followed Fate and the others.
Conner nodded and was about to follow, when he was stopped short by Zatanna.
"Conner, I want you to stay here with everyone else." Zatanna said
"But Zee, I can help. I'm at full strength!" Conner protested, not wanting to be left out of the action.
"I know you are. But being half-kryptonian means you're vulnerable to magic just like Superman. And with Child being as powerful as she is, I don't want to be the one to bring your dead corpse back to M'gann. It would just kill her." Zatanna said softly.
Conner understood. After all, he didn't want to actually die before getting the chance to see his beloved fiancée again.
"Alright, just promise me you'll be careful." He said, not wanting to lose one of his closest friends.
"I promise. If all goes according to plan, we'll be back before you know. And I'll take you home." Zatanna said as she went through the mystic ankh before it vanished.
Hours later...
After Child had been successfully defeated, Conner watched as Khalid, who had now taken the mantle of Doctor Fate, sent the school bus and it's passengers back to it's original time.
"So let me get this straight. Khalid, Traci, Zatarra, and you all agreed to be hosts for Doctor Fate once a week. And the reason you left Mary out, is because you're afraid she's too much like Nabu himself?" Conner asked.
"That's pretty much about it." Zatanna said.
"I don't mean to interrupt you two. But, I think it's time that Conner explains how he survived his "death" on Mars." Zatarra said.
"Yeah, I'm curious to hear how you ended up trapped in this "Phantom Zone" dimension." Traci chimed in.
"Look, I already told you. I have no idea how I survived from that bomb explosion back on Mars!" Conner yelled, clearly having lost his patience with them.
"But I can." A new voice called out to them.
Startled, Conner and the others turned around to see the same ghostly looking girl that had been with Conner in the Phantom Zone.
"And you are?" Zatanna asked curiously.
"My name is Tinya Wazzo, but you can call me "Phantom Girl". It's certainly better than "Ghosty"." Phantom Girl said as she shot Conner an unamused look.
"Okay, Phantom Girl. Can you tell us how Conner here survived from being vaporized by a viral bomb that was laced with kryptonite?" Zatanna asked.
Phantom Girl looked at them and sighed before taking a deep breath, and began to tell her story.
And that's the end of chapter two. Leave a review, and I'll get chapter three posted here soon.
-Jedi Master 325