Disclaimer: DC Comics owns all rights to the characters within. They are used without permission and not meant to infringe on copyrights or meant to generate income.

Also, if you have not read my other stories, it would be helpful to do so before reading this one. The chronology goes: Brothers in Arms, Where Do We Go From Here, Tragedies of the Past, Betrayal From Within, Future Sins, Reestablishing Bonds, Parents and Children, New Allies, Rivals or Friends, Public Enemy Number One, Double Date, and Mind Games.

Solar Complications, chapter 1

1.

"Superman, Superboy, you'll never stop me!" Dr. Photonic shouted at the two approaching heroes.

"Let's take this Dr. Light wannabe, Supes," Superboy said. "It'll be a piece of cake."

"First, we've got to take care of the building that's about to collapse," Superman reminded him. "I'll hold it up while you evacuate it."

"Gotcha!"

As the two heroes dealt with the building, the villain irradiated them with various wavelengths of light.

"By my calculations, you should be powerless now!" he crowed.

"I'm fine, what about you?" asked Kon-El.

"It ticked a bit," Superman admitted.

Dr. Photonic drew back. "This cannot be! My calculations were flawless!"

Superboy slugged him across the jaw, and the villain dropped to the ground. Match flew in a moment later.

"I was detained," he explained. "It appears that you have the situation in hand."

"The building is still unstable," Superman said.

Match looked at it, and pieces of rubble flew back to it. Superman fused them in with his heat vision.

"They'll need to give it some real repairs later, but that should take it out of immediate danger," Match said.

"I'll make sure that they understand that," Superman said. "Thanks, both of you, for your help!"

"That guy didn't hurt you, did he?" Match asked. "He's supposed to have light-based powers. They may have interacted with your bodies in unusual ways."

"How'd you know that?" Superboy asked. "I didn't know this guy's name until he spouted it as he attacked us."

"He's in the JLA files. I've studied them."

"He tried to do something, but it had no effect," Superman said.

"Yeah, I guess he's not so good with his powers," Kon said.

"I guess he's more of a Mr. Photonic than a Dr. Photonic," Superman joked.

Kon and Match exchanged a glance at the joke.

"I think I know who you get your sense of humor from," Kon told him.

"I don't think I'll ever tell another joke again," Match said.

"Hey!" exclaimed Superman. "It's not that bad!"

2.

Conner was feeling sick. He had just thrown up and still felt awful. He went to the sink to clean up and get the taste out of his mouth. After that, he went back to the lunch table.

"You look like crap," Max told him.

"Someday I'm going to teach you about tact," Conner said. "I'm sick."

Max looked concerned. "We don't usually get sick. Do you want me to get someone to take a look at you?"

"Nah. It's probably just something that I ate."

Max looked offended. "I cook everything you eat. There's no reason that you should be sick while I am not. Besides, I'm not going to give you improperly prepared food."

"I think I might get Jonathan to pick me up. I'm not sure that I can make it through the day. Are you going to be okay on your own?"

Max gave an involuntary glace at where Dan used to sit. He hadn't been there since the psychics had abducted them.

"I'm not the one you should be concerned about," he said.

"I hate to leave you alone."

"I'll be fine. You don't need to be an overprotective older brother."

3.

"Good lord, son!" Jonathan exclaimed. "You look awful!"

Conner smiled weakly. "That's my family. They're always ready to boost your self-esteem."

"I'll take you home, and Martha will get some of her chicken soup into you. That and some rest should make you feel better."

"I hope so. I don't want to feel like this for any longer than I have to."

4.

"Are you okay, Kent?" Perry asked. "You're not looking like you're in good shape."

"I'm fine," Clark said with a weak smile. "It's probably just a little bit of tiredness."

"Take the rest of the day off," Perry ordered. "You're a good reporter, but if you're sick, you'll make mistakes."

"Lois still works when she's sick," Clark pointed out.

"I've given up telling her to go home. She ignores me and does what she wants."

Clark managed a weak grin. "That sounds like Lois."

5.

"Are you feeling better?" Max asked.

"No," Conner responded.

Max put his hand on Conner's forehead. "You're warm. You shouldn't be up. Go back to bed, and I'll bring you some soup."

Conner made a face. "I'm sick of soup."

"Then I'll bring you a cup of tea," Max said, going to the stove.

"Ugh. Your tea is funny. You put milk in it."

"It's served in a traditional way."

When Conner didn't respond, Max looked over. He had passed out and was lying on the floor.

"Conner!" he shouted as he rushed over.

6.

"Get back in bed, Smallville," Lois ordered. "You shouldn't be up."

"I'm fine," Clark said unconvincingly.

"If your definition of fine means 'about to fall over,' then you may be right."

"You're exaggerating."

"You're pale and sweating. Go rest."

Lois heard a thud and went over to see what happened. Clark had passed out on the floor.

"Clark!" she cried out.

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