"Time travel? Seriously?" Cassie demanded the two older heroes, her hands on her hips.

Bruce and Clark exchanged looks. The rest of Young Justice looked equally confused and incensed. All except for…

"Robin!" Secret called out, noticing her teammate's guilty demeanour. "You knew?"

Robin rubbed his arm sheepishly. "Jason told the entire family the night he got home," he admitted.

"Got home? Where did he go?"

This time, all three exchanged looks. "Jason is the second Robin," Bruce finally said, sighing.

That shocked the entire team. "But the second Robin died," Bart pointed out, aghast.

"It's a long story. But the gist of it is that Jason came back to life, and when he did, his future self's soul merged with his past self. At least, that's what it seemed to have happened. Either way, he had all these memories of the future and came home as soon as he could once he realized what happened."

"And now the same thing has happened to Kon?" Cissie wondered.

"It seems so. That's why I let Jason stay in there alone with him. He's the only who can understand what Kon-El is going through right now."

The members of Young Justice exchanged skeptical looks. Bruce sighed again.

"Let me put it this way: according to Nightwing, when Jason first saw him again, he had a breakdown. It's because to him, Nightwing had been dead for over twenty years."

A pall of silence covered the room as the children stared at Batman, stricken with horror.

"That's what Kon-El is going through right now. I don't know how many years some of you have been dead to him, but the fact is that you were, and that means he's going to be very emotional around you for a while. And different. It's still him, of course, just much older than you remember but…you should prepare yourselves regardless."

Once again, Young Justice curried looks among themselves. They were finally beginning to understand the severity of the situation, of the true emotional turmoil their friend was going through. It was a very sobering idea.

"Who else knows?" Cassie asked, voice quiet.

"Wonder Woman," Batman immediately answered. "My entire family, including my youngest son. The Birds of Prey. And…a number of high-ranking members of the League of Assassins."

Young Justice blinked. "And you aren't worried about that?"

"Oh, we are," Robin replied, rubbing the back of his head. "But Jason managed to cow them all into silence after he killed Ra's al Ghul. So they shouldn't be a problem for the time being. Besides, with Kon coming back too, it's very likely this won't be a secret for much longer."

The team of teenage superheroes blinked again, whether in disbelief of how nonchalantly they were treating the idea of so many potential enemies knowing such a dangerous secret, or the idea of someone around their age killing one of the most notorious supervillains in the world. And the idea that the members of the Bat-Family, the most notorious proponents against killing, were okay with that.

"That's…a lot, Robin," Cissie finally said for them all. The rest of their friends nodded their agreement.

Robin slumped his shoulders. "Welcome to my life for the past seven months."

Another period of silence fell over the room as everyone thought over all they had learned in the last hour or so. In particular, Tim, Cassie, and Bart tried not linger over the statements Kon had made about their deaths when he had still believed this all to be a hallucination. That was walking down a road that no wanted to see the ending of.

"What do you think they're talking about in there?" Secret wondered curiously, gazing at the door of the infirmary.

"I imagine they're catching up."

Everyone glanced at Superman. He had stayed conspicuously silent ever since they had exited the infirmary room, face deep in thought. Now he was speaking up, however, though there was unquestionable sorrow in his expression as he too gazed at the infirmary door.

"When Jason spoke to me about my future, he told me Kon died eight years before he did," Clark further explained. "That means to him, Kon has been dead for eight years."

The children swallowed at hearing that.


"Eight years, huh?"

"Yup," Jason confirmed, now seated in a separate chair, next to the upper part of the bed. Kon had laid back on his pillow, arms settled into his lap as he stared up at the ceiling, trying to comprehend this new reality.

He was in the past, with his best friend — and to his best friend, he had been dead for eight years.

"How?" Kon asked.

"…Lung cancer. Diagnosed when I was forty-eight. Died when I was fifty."

Kon exhaled deeply at that. "Oh, Jay…"

"It's fine, Kon," Jason waved him off, chin on his hand as he leaned his elbow against one of the armrests. "You and I both know how much I didn't want to die in that suit. The cancer gave me a reason not to, even though it meant I would have to give it up to Terry sooner."

The Kryptonian hybrid shifted his head to look directly at Jason, a quizzical look on his face. "You gave it to Terry? But I thought you didn't want him anywhere near the mantle. He already had a hard enough time convincing you to make him Robin." Went unspoken was the reason why. Kon knew how touchy that subject was with his best friend.

Jason sighed. "It was always going to be him, Kon. I kept denying and denying it until he saved my ass from Joker VI. After that, I couldn't fight it anymore."

"Huh," Kon replied noncommittally. There was nothing he could say to that. "Speaking of successors, how was mine?"

The former Batman smiled. "Jon was doing fine when I died. He's finally the hero we all knew he could be. You would've been so proud, Kon."

Kon grinned at that. "Good. I'm glad I left you all in good hands." He hummed. "What about the others?"

"Well, Helena and Dam got engaged."

The former Superman sat up at that. "Seriously? You actually gave your blessing?"

"I wasn't that overprotective, Kon."

"Tell that to the rest of Helena's suitors," Kon deadpanned.

Jason scowled at him. "Yeah, well, they've been dating for years. I've known Dam since he first arrived on Earth. Hell, I taught him. If there was anyone I could trust with my little girl, it was him."

"Yes. I'm glad you finally realized that."

That earned Kon a small push, which did absolutely nothing to budge him. The Kryptonian hybrid laughed. Jason felt his lips twitch, until he gave in too, chuckling. "I was overprotective, wasn't I?"

"An overprotective, overstressed, and overworked single dad," Kon confirmed, smiling. "And we wouldn't have had you any other way."

Jason smiled back. "Well, as for everyone else, M'gann was doing fine, as was Wallace. Both were enjoying the singles life, as always."

"Please tell me M'gann at least moved out of the Watchtower."

"She is never leaving that Watchtower and you and I both know it."

Kon reached up and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "That darn workaholic Martian. Just like her uncle."

"Yup," Jason agreed, popping the 'p' for emphasis. "Kaldur finally took on a new Aqualad: Prince Arthur."

"I imagine he wasn't happy about that."

"Oh, he wasn't. From what I heard Queen Atlanna had to make it an order. And you know Kaldur — whatever the Queen says, goes."

"Always loyal to a fault, that one," Kon commented. "Kyle?"

"Got back together with Soranik. Got married. They had a son right before I died, named Saarko."

Kon grimaced. "Even after the second Sinestro Corps War? And after what he did to Sinestro and the Sinestro Corps to end that war?"

"That didn't stop them from having casual 'totally-hate-not-love' sex on the reg years later," Jason pointed out.

"True," Kon conceded. He then peered at Jason pointedly. "What about Donna?"

Jason opened his mouth for a moment, then closed it. "She was doing fine, last I checked," he finally said.

Kon crossed his arms. "Jason…"

"We got together after you died."

Upon hearing that, Kon looked up to the sky and muttered a relieved 'Finally!'. But when he looked upon his best friend again, he realized that Jason didn't look nearly as happy as he should've been. "What happened?"

"Nothing, really. We were happy, madly in love, and then I got diagnosed with cancer and broke up with her without telling her why."

Kon sighed at that, slapping a hand against his forehead. "Oh, Jason"

"I didn't know how to tell her, Kon," Jason confessed, guilty and more than a little heartbroken. "It was going to hurt her no matter what happened but I thought…I thought that if I broke us up, she would have any easier time moving on when I finally bit the dust. And because…because I didn't want to admit to her I didn't want to fight it."

Kon sat up straighter, eyes wide. "Jason…"

"I was tired, Kon. I was so tired. And I wanted to live, for her, for my family, but…it was never going to be enough for them. For her especially. And I didn't want to tell her I wasn't strong enough to fight for her. I was a coward and she deserved so much better."

Jason buried his face into his hands, regret permeating from him. Kon stared at him, at a loss, before sighing again and reaching over to place a comforting hand on Jason's back.

"Look, Jay. I might've not been there for your relationship, but I was there for your friendship. And if I know anything about you two, it's that Donna wouldn't have held it against you if you had told her everything from the beginning."

"I know, Kon, I know," Jason groaned, lifting his head to look at Kon again. "She told me as much the last time I saw her. I was an idiot for blowing it up like that. And now…" He looked away.

"There's still a Donna here," Kon pointed out weakly.

Jason gave him a dull look. "Who still sees me as a little brother. Who still has a living, breathing Roy here with her. We both know how much Donna loved him. I'm not gonna stand between that, especially since this is Lian's best chance in this timeline to have a mother that isn't that bitch Cheshire."

Kon winced. "Maybe. Look, Jay, I know Donna loved Roy. But I also know she loved you just as much, if not more. And we both know that as much as Roy and Donna loved each other, their relationship was incredibly turbulent. Maybe it will work out this time, maybe it won't. But if it doesn't, then maybe, years from now — you might have a chance."

Jason swallowed. He didn't agree, but he couldn't refute that either.

"Enough about the old timeline. What about the new one? What have you mucked around with?"

The second Robin leaned back into his chair, glad for the subject change. "Well, I brought Damian and Cass home early. Started up on Tim's advanced training. May have given him a tablet with details on everything I knew about Young Justice's first run. I left it to him whether or not to use it, but I guess with you here, that really doesn't matter anymore."

"No," Kon concurred, voice a bit wistful. "I guess it doesn't."

Jason hummed in agreement. "I also killed Ra's again."

"Again? But wouldn't you need…" Kon trailed off, and then he adopted a flat look. "Jason, did you die again?"

"…It was to protect Damian and Tim?"

"Jason!"

"Oh, come off it Kon! Don't tell me you wouldn't have done the same thing if it was your family on the line!"

Kon groaned and leaned his head against the headboard of his bed. "You're as reckless and impulsive as ever."

"Look who's talking," Jason retorted, crossing his arms.

"Fine, we're both reckless, impulsive assholes. That's probably why we get along so well."

"Nah. It's because you like my cooking so much."

"True," Kon admitted. Jason's cooking was God's gift to Earth, in Kon's opinion.

Jason smirked. Then, he adopted a more serious look. "What are you going to do now?"

Kon paused as he thought his answer over. "…I'll finish things up in Hawaii, find some closure with everyone there. But after that, I'm moving back onto the Kent Farm with Ma and Pa, if they'll have me."

"They will, Kon. You know they will."

The other boy smiled. "Yeah. That sounds just like them. It'll be good to see them again."

Jason nodded a bit. "And what about Young Justice?"

"…I want to stay. No, I'm going to stay. But…" Kon closed his eyes. "…How can you stand to look at any of them, Jason? Knowing everything that happened to them?"

Jason adopted a far-off look. "I didn't, actually. At least not at first. When I saw Cass and Damian…it was easier to pretend. Pretend that Cass had just been de-aged, that it wasn't Damian but a clone of him or something. Or at least something like that. It was just so much easier to pretend that they weren't the sister I left behind, the brother that I held in my arms as he died."

"But when I saw Dick…" Jason inhaled. "When I saw him, I couldn't deny it anymore. He was so young, and yet he looked so much like the big brother I lost. He looked alive and I…I broke down. Right in his arms. I recovered well enough afterward, and held it together long enough until I had to tell the truth to everyone at the Manor. And then I broke down again."

Kon gazed sadly at his friend. "And now?"

"It's easier now. But…it's going to be hard at first, Kon. I'm not going to lie. You're gonna have a hard time letting them out of your sight for the first couple of weeks."

"I'd imagine so," Kon exhaled again. "Anything else?"

Jason rubbed his arm. "I haven't told Clark about Kara yet. Or about you being half-him, half-Luthor."

"…Okay, I can understand the second one, but why not the first one?"

"Because we have no idea where Kara is and I didn't want him to fret over it when there is absolutely nothing we can do about the situation right now," Jason stated blandly.

"Valid point," Kon conceded. "And I guess now that I'm here you figure it would be better if it comes from me?"

"It's like you read my mind," Jason noted.

"We worked together for too long for me not to see where this was going, Jay," Kon deadpanned back, then sighed. "Fine, I'll do it. Is there anything else?"

Jason shook his head, only to stop. Slowly, his face became pensive. Kon frowned. "Jason, I know that look. What's nagging at you?"

"…A question. Something that's been at the back of my mind ever since all this started, and now that you're here, it's come to the forefront."

Kon's frown deepened. "What is it?"

Jason looked at his closest friend, dead in the eye. "Why are we here?"


It was over an hour before someone finally exited the infirmary room. Jason stepped out, a little more disheveled and still without his mask or domino. He looked tired, but happy, all things considered. He closed the door behind him, and observed the rest of the people present.

"He's ready to talk," the former Batman said. "Young Justice first, then you, Superman."

The teen heroes jumped to their feet at that (or in the case of Secret, floated up), and quickly rushed to the door. Jason stepped away to give them full access, though he placed a hand on his brother's shoulder to stop him before he could enter.

"You need to tell them, Tim," Jason told him seriously.

Tim swallowed. "But you said that it was my choice to tell them or not."

"I did," Jason admitted, "But the situation has changed. Kon already knows your secret identity, and I just revealed my face and name to all of them. It won't take them long to connect the dots once they have time to think it over. It's better you tell them now, get it out before they can figure it out themselves and confront you with it."

The third Robin tightened his fists with that. As much as he wanted to dispute Jason's words, he knew his older brother was right. The cat was already out of the bag, and it was only the stress of the situation that no one else had commented on it. Besides, there's no one he had left that he really needed to protect — both his biological parents were dead while his adoptive family was already in deep with the vigilante life. His girlfriend already knew his secret identity too. It was pointless to keep the secret from the rest of the team any longer.

"Alright," Tim finally said. "I'll tell them."

Jason gave him a proud pat on the shoulder before walking away, finally clearing Tim's path into the room. The current Robin inhaled one final breath, before stepping inside, unknowing of what, exactly, awaited him there.


Kon had gotten out of his bed after he told Jason he was ready to talk to them. But when the team, his team, stepped into the room, he was beginning to wonder if he should've just stayed in the bed. He already felt his legs begin to tremble, ready to collapse. Cissie and Greta were hard enough; the last he had seen them, they had been adult women with husbands and children of their own, long out of the superhero life. But as for the last three…

Bart, I was there when they erected your statue in front of the Flash museum. Cassie, I was there when they placed your body on top of a pyre to burn, with two coins on your eyes. Tim, I was there when you died.

Jason was right. This was hard. Probably the hardest thing he had ever had to do, and Kon had made plenty of his own hard choices over the years.

But it looked like he wasn't one the only one having a hard time. His friends were twisting and turning too, none of them knowing what to say. The only one who looked even remotely control of himself was Tim, but that was to be expected — he had already gone through this before with Jason. He just had never expected to go through this again with his own best friend.

He had never expected to go through this again at all.

And Kon…he had never expected something like this to happen to him. He had fantasized, of course. Every major superhero of his time did. They had all lost too much not to. But if he ever did expect something like this to happen to him, he'd figure it'd be in the afterlife, when they were all dead.

Not when they were alive.

Not when they were all alive.

Not when they were stuck in the past, completely unaware of a future yet to come. A future that Kon had lived in for over twenty-seven years.

God, how did Jason do this for eight months?

Finally, it was Tim that bit the bullet. "Jason told me how I died. Saving a friend from Lex Luthor. He didn't tell me which friend, but now…it was you, wasn't it?"

Kon inhaled a shuddering breath. He was always the smartest of all of us. "…Yeah. It was."

"Good."

The current Superboy blinked at that firm, almost relieved response. "…What?"

Tim didn't look repentant. "If it was you, then that means I know it was worth it."

At that, Kon crumbled. He surged forward and pulled Tim into a hug, one that his friend returned. "I've missed you, Tim," Kon whispered into his friend's hair, feeling some of his tears return. Tim didn't say anything in response, just patted his friend on the back.

They stayed like that for a bit, and then Kon finally let Tim go, clasping him on his upper arms in one final gesture of affection. Tim smiled back in return.

"Tim?"

Both boys blinked when they saw the rest of the team staring at them expectantly. Tim grew fidgety again, but a steadying hand on his shoulder from Kon stilled him. He saw his friend smiling at him encouragingly at him.

"You can trust them, Tim. We didn't betray you in the first timeline, we won't betray you now."

Hearing that, Tim steeled his resolve. He reached up and removed his domino mask, finally revealing his face to his team. "My name…my real name is Tim Drake. Or Tim Drake-Wayne, as you would've probably heard over the news."

The entirety of the team blinked as one. Then Cassie gasped. "That's why your brother looked and sounded so familiar! He's Jason Wayne!"

Tim sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah. I guess you remember him from the karaoke video?"

"It's actually kinda hilarious remembering that now," Kon chimed in. "Getting Jason to sing back in the day was like pulling out teeth — painful, but so worth it in the end. All the women in the JL loved to swoon over him, even if they knew they never really stood a chance with him."

"Why is that?" Tim couldn't help but ask, but Kon mimed zipping his mouth shut. That wasn't his secret to tell, after all.

He gave Tim's shoulder one last squeeze before moving forward to meet everyone else. He headed to Cassie first, cupping her face. Even though their relationship didn't work out in the end, a piece of his heart would always belong with her. "Cassie Sandsmark. Beautiful at any age."

Cassie blushed at that. Then, smiling, she embraced Kon as well, allowing him to bask in her presence like he had with Tim. When they let go, Cassie bit her lip. "How did I die?" she asked hesitantly.

Kon swallowed. "There was a war. Between the Olympians and the Titans of Myth. You participated in it, and you died in it. And as per your will, you were cremated in the Ancient Greek custom on Themyscira. I attended it, one of the few times a man was allowed on Paradise Island."

He almost said more, tempted to tell Cassie the truth of her heritage. But that would be too much right now, and technically that wasn't his secret to tell either. It was Helena Sandsmark's. He would have to meet with the woman eventually, perhaps implore her to tell the truth to her daughter. Cassie deserved that much, at least.

He moved on from Cassie to Bart, who for once wasn't twitchy, itching to move. The speedster looked uncharacteristically subdued. Kon smiled at him nonetheless, and pulled him into a hug. There hadn't been a body to bury when Bart had died, alas. Forcibly sealing someone into the Speed Force didn't allow for that.

"Who was it?" Bart asked, when they let go.

"Inertia," Kon admitted, feeling Bart's pain when he saw his friend wince. "Or Zoom, as he was calling himself at the time. Since you were the Flash by then."

"I was? But what about Wally?"

Kon flinched himself and looked away, shaking his head. Bart let out an "Oh," in realization, and became silent again. Kon gave him a comforting squeeze on the shoulder as well before moving onto the last two members of the team.

Now these two, he didn't feel so awkward around. He smiled at Cissie and Greta, feeling lighter than he had before. "You don't know how weird it is, seeing you two like this. Last time I saw you two, you had both been married with kids of your own, having long left this life behind you."

The archer and ghost looked at each other, then back at Kon. "Seriously?"

"Yup. Even showed me some pictures of your eldest son's middle school graduation, Greta."

That caused everyone to freeze. "Greta?" Secret asked quietly, disbelievingly

Kon's smile widened. "You real name. The name you had before you died. Greta Hayes."

If a ghost could stumble back, then that was what Secret did. "My name" Secret muttered numbly, eyes wide.

The current Superboy gazed at her sadly, before seating himself back on his bed, gesturing for the team to gather around him. They did, albeit slowly, still trying to comprehend everything that Kon had told them. He would have to take it slower in the future, he realized. Give them time to process it more. After all, this was barely scratching the surface of everything that had happened in all the years that had passed before they had died. Before he had died.

"Okay. What do you want to know? Mind you, there are some things I can't tell you yet. Either because I'm not ready, or you're not ready. Or simply because I can't."

"How did you die?" Cissie asked first, before anyone else could say more.

Kon sighed. "And of course, that's the first question you ask. And as for the answer…well, after Superman — the first Superman, died, he had to have a successor. 'The world will always need Superman,' someone told me once. And since Jon wasn't up for it at the time, it fell to me. Someone didn't like that."

"This… 'Prime', you said?" Tim postulated, face grim.

Kon felt his own face grow dark. "Yeah. Superboy-Prime — or Superman-Prime now, I guess. He's an alternate version of the current Superman from another Earth. There was this…Crisis, you see, and his Earth was destroyed. He was sealed in a pocket dimension, but got a front row-view to our world. He didn't like how dark our world was, sought to change it, and became murderously insane in the process."

He leaned back onto his headboard, lost in memories. "He hated me. Said I wasn't the real Superboy, said he was the real Superboy." Kon snorted. "He was wrong, of course. He wasn't worthy of that name, let alone the Superman name. Hell, this death wasn't even the first time he killed me. At least this time I got him back."

"Wait, what?" Tim reeled back. "You mean you died before? Like Jason?" The rest of the Young Justice found themselves startled again, horrified at the thought.

Kon looked down at his sheets, trying to avoid everyone's accusing eyes. "A year from now. I was revived by sticking my body into a Kryptonian Regeneration Matrix. Since I was half-human, the process took over one thousand years. After I was revived, the superhero team in the future, the Legion of Super-Heroes, helped send me back to my own time to reunite with all of you." He didn't mention Bart's own revival. That was a tale for another time.

Now everyone looked cold. They would've lost their friend a year from now. Sure, he would've come back, but just the idea of it hurt. In the midst of their thoughts, however, Tim cottoned on to something. "Half-human? But I thought you were a clone of Paul Westfield?"

Kon shook his head, looking even more tired. "No. That was just a lie to obscure the truth from the actual reason for my creation. I'm really a half-Kryptonian, half-human clone of Superman and…" he sighed. "Lex Luthor."

Young Justice gaped at him. Kon grimaced. "Yeah. I didn't take it well either when I found out. Turns out daddy dearest commissioned me to be his inside agent for the superhero community. When that didn't work out, he washed his hands of me — until my powers started growing at an exponential rate a couple of years from now. Then he kidnapped me and…" he glanced at Tim and then closed his eyes. The rest didn't need to be said.

"Your powers?" Cassie pressed after another minute of silence.

Kon rubbed his hands together. "Since my aging has been reactivated, in about a year or so, I'll start developing Kryptonian powers like Jon in addition to my tactile telekinesis growing stronger. Those powers will — eventually — equal the strength of Superman's."

"Wow…"

"Yeah," Kon smiled. "Pretty cool, huh?"

"Really cool," Bart admitted. Then he grew a little sad. "You don't really need us anymore, do you?"

Kon clicked his teeth in denial. "Bart, I will always need you guys. If you're worried about me leaving the team, don't be. I'm not going anywhere, not as long as you'll have me."

His friends exchanged smiles, and then piled on him as one. Kon half-heartedly complained before falling into laughter. It felt…good, to have this again.

And, for the first time since he woke up into the past, Kon knew things were going to be alright.


They talked a little bit more, with Kon confirming the plans he had told Jason, along with touching on some things he had glossed over — such as how, exactly, Greta had a son seeing as she was currently a ghost. Then, after they were done asking questions, he asked for them to leave so he could talk to Clark in private. There were some things that need to be kept between them, Superman to Superman.

Superman. He had called himself that at first to ensure he couldn't be taken away, that people would notice if he went missing. And now…now, it was undoubtedly his mantle. He was Clark's equal now. It was unbelievable to think about.

Was this was how Jason felt, when he realized that Bruce and him shared a mantle? That they were equals now? He would have to ask Jason later. He would have to ask Jason a lot, later.

When Clark entered the room, Kon got up from the bed again. They stared at each other for a moment.

Then, Clark said, "Superman, huh?" with that smile of his, and that's all Kon needed to hear. He hugged this man, his mentor, one of the people closest to ever being a father for him, taking comfort in feeling those strong arms around him again.

When they let go, Clark adopted a more serious look. "Do you hate me for that? For leaving that burden on your shoulders? Jason told me how you died, Kon, and I'm sorry you were taken from your family so soon."

Kon took hold of his wrists and shook his head. "It's fine, Clark. It was my choice in the end, and I never regretted, not even once. I was my honor and privilege to take on your mantle. I only hope I did justice by it."

Clark lifted his hands to Kon's shoulders. "I know that you did."

After that, they moved to the bed, sitting next to each other. Most of the conversation was a rehash of the previous one Kon had with his team, including explaining his origins as a half-Kent, half-Luthor clone. Clark was a little offset by that, but told Kon that if it didn't matter to his future self in the end, it didn't matter to him. That made Kon smile again, happy to have that reassurance once more.

They continued talking about the family. Kon waxed on about what Jon had gotten up to, and Dam too, including excerpts about his humorous courting of Helena under the watchful eye of Helena's overprotective father. This eventually segued into a talk about Lara, Clark's younger child. And then…

"…she eventually ended up becoming the second Supergirl when she entered her teens."

"Wait, the second Supergirl?" Clark cut in, confused. "Then who was the first?"

Kon swallowed. "God, I hate Jason so much right now for dumping this job on me," he muttered, rubbing the bridge of his nose again.

"Kon-El," Clark said firmly.

"You're not the last full-blooded Kryptonian, Clark. Nor the last surviving member of the House of El."

There was a moment of silence as Clark just stared at Kon, almost unable to comprehend the words just spoken. "…What?"

"Her name is Kara," Kon continued, cringing slightly. "Kara Zor-El. She's your cousin, the daughter of your Uncle Zor-El and his wife Alura In-Ze."

"But…how, why?" Clark was unable to formulate any sentences, lost.

Kon sighed. "She was originally sent with you to the Earth, with the intention of having her raise you and protect you there. But her pod got lost along away, in what we believe to be the Phantom Zone. It eventually got dislodged from there, however, and arrived here on Earth. You two found each other, and after accepting her into the family, she became Supergirl, one of the most powerful heroines on Earth."

"Why didn't Jason tell me about her?"

"He was going to, Clark," Kon quickly defended his friend. "He told me himself. He just didn't know how, especially since there wasn't anything any of us could do about it as it currently stands. We don't know where Kara's pod is right now, we just know it'll arrive here within the next year or so. He didn't want you to obsess over it too much — you've already got your plate full enough as it is."

Clark sighed, not denying the logic behind that. It was all true, after all. Still… "How did she die?"

Kon looked down, the pain of the memory still fresh in some ways. "She died in 2027, fighting off Doomsday and a villain of hers named Reign with the rest. It was her death that inspired Lara to become a hero and her successor. It's…it's what inspired me to become your successor after Jon refused the mantle for the first time."

2027. That meant she died two years before Clark himself did. Clark wanted to be angry, but at who? He couldn't blame Jason for not telling him, he felt uncomfortable enough talking about his own family's baggage. Kon had just gotten here; he was even more blameless than Jason. Doomsday? A mindless beast that he couldn't get rid of permanently no matter how much he wanted to. And this Reign, he wasn't even sure of he or she even existed yet.

So he let it go. He had no choice. "Will you help me, then? When she gets here?"

Kon looked at him as if he was ridiculous for even asking the question. "Of course! I loved her too, you know."

"Good," Clark smiled again. "I'm glad I'll have you by my side when the time comes."

His clone took his hand at that, and smiled back. That was all that needed to be said.


There was more to be said, of course. There always was. But it was soon becoming nightfall, almost time for them all to return home. As the members of Young Justice began to depart, one by one, Bruce, the only person present who hadn't gotten a private audience with Kon, approached him as he and his children waited for the Bat-Plane's autopilot to fly itself here.

"Are you going to do the whole 'paranoid ass' shtick?" Kon asked dryly the moment they were sure no one else could hear. "Because I'm telling you, I've been working with members of your family for decades, and I'm sure Jason has already got that part covered."

"I'm certain he does," Bruce admitted. "I just want to know how different he is now, compared to how you knew him before you died."

Kon shrugged. "It hasn't been long enough for me to form a solid opinion. But, if I were to say one thing, it's that he seems a bit happier than he usually does when he's on the job."

Bruce nodded shortly at that. Then he walked forward, as the Bat-Plane flew into view. Jason, who had been standing behind them, walked forward to follow, only stopping momentarily to stand next to Kon. "You'll take care of him for me, won't you?" Jason asked. There was no need to elaborate on who that 'him' was.

His best friend smiled at him. "You know I will."

Jason smiled back. "Yeah. I guess I do."

That said, he ran forward, jumping into the back of the plane. The door snapped shut, and the plane lifted itself before zooming off into the direction of Gotham. Kon watched it go for a moment, before flying off himself.

It was time to go home.


We'll be doing a bit more with Kon later. Let's just say the beginning is going to be something of a wild ride first, and leave it at that.

Next chapter: an interlude, about the World's Finest.