Gotham City, New York. Gotham Harbor:
It's a surprisingly peaceful night in one of the most dangerous cities in the nation, Gotham. Gentle waves roll into the walls and poles of the artificial wharf. Lights from the city are shining on the horizon. Dockworkers are loading and unloading massive shipping containers from and onto cargo ships.
As anyone knows, in Gotham, a night like this is too good to last very long.
A bright blue-ish light suddenly appears, drawing the attention of all men in the vicinity and blinding many close enough. A few seconds roll by and it only gets brighter. The dockworkers decide that potentially being blown up is not worth the $15.47 hourly pay rate. All of the men got out of the forklifts, abandoned the ships, and ran from the machines' main control stations to make a break for the exit. The light slowly becomes brighter until it envelopes half of the docks of Gotham Harbor. It then implodes, funneling its passenger down to the ground.
The night is dark once more, and the city now has one more occupant.
Laying on the asphalt in the middle of random machine parts and glass is the half-Kryptonian hero himself.
Superboy.
Not only is he misplaced in the multiverse as of now, but he is also injured from the previous fight. As he regains consciousness, he feels the extent of his injuries and extremely weak, too weak to get up.
'What happened? When did it get dark?' Was his first thought when opening his eyes. The next one was expletives he overheard Artemis mumbling after her and Wally's arguments. He hasn't experienced pain like this since... CADMUS.
Superboy would rather not be reminded of that period in his life.
Focusing on the present, he needed to find out where the heck he ended up. Superboy is sure that before his lights went out, he was with his team and the Justice League trying to shut down Luthor's crazy machine.
Maybe he shouldn't have ripped up those circuits and wires. What's done is done, though, and all he can do is get home ASAP.
Superboy tries to sit up from his supine position on the ground but is stopped by a wave of dizziness and extreme fatigue. He doesn't understand why. Did he get hurt that bad?
He turns his head to look at his surroundings as best as he can. To his right is just mangled machine parts and glass. To his left is more of that, and a sizable chunk of glowing green rock. That is what's spelling trouble for Superboy. He has seen this stuff in the past, just never knew what it was and he still doesn't have a clue. All he knows is that it weakens him, and causes him pain if close enough. This means with his injuries, if Superboy lays here too long, he will eventually die.
He can't let that happen.
The young hero puts nearly all of his strength into getting himself onto his elbows to lay on his side. The effort makes pain radiate from his gut. Superboy grunts, holding in the pain he's feeling, as he looks down at what is causing it. There's a decent-sized piece of shrapnel sticking out of his stomach, slowly oozing blood. Superboy is in deep trouble. He has no first-aid supplies, his teammates are gone, and if he's found here then there's no telling what he'll be subjected to.
Speaking of being found, Superboy hears jet engines approaching from the west. He turns over onto his back again to see what's coming. It's certainly no civilian aircraft, but it doesn't look like military either. He will never admit it; this makes him afraid.
The ship lands about fifty yards away from Superboy. He tries to scoot away from it but also moves closer to the Kryptonite. He's stuck between a rock and a hard place. All he can do is sit there and hope that whoever is in that ship belongs to the good side.
As the engines slow to a halt, the hatch ramp lowers and five figures exit the aircraft. Superboy can see them approaching and he has a gut feeling that they're familiar. Unfortunately, his vision was blurring, so he can't distinguish who exactly is walking in his direction. The closer they get, the more nervous Superboy becomes. At least, until he hears a voice.
"Superman, stay back until we can contain the Kryptonite!" It was a man's voice that Superboy swears he's heard before, or at least something similar.
Wait... "Superman"?
The Justice League found Superboy pretty fast. He should be relieved (along with irritated), but something is still off. That gravelly voice talking to his genetic donor sounded like Batman. His voice didn't sound exactly the same, though.
Speaking of the dark knight, he appears in Superboy's line of sight, kneeling beside the young hero to assess the situation. Now that he can see the older hero, Superboy knows this isn't the Batman he knows. The costume is wrong. This Batman's suit is slightly bulkier, making the man look stocky. The cowl is thicker, too. The only thing about this man that is 'Batman' is his eyes. Their arctic blue shade is an exact match. As Superboy is observing the doppelganger, the Bat says something to another of his teammates.
"Cyborg, get that Kryptonite contained in a lead capsule. I need to get this bleeding under control. Flash, get me the-" Before Batman can finish his sentence, said speedster is to the jet and back with the telltale red pack.
"-first aid kit?" Flash finishes the dark knight's order, setting the kit on the ground. Batman immediately opens it and sifts around to find some gauze.
As that's going on, Cyborg is coming back from the jet with a lead capsule for the green rock. He passes Superman, who is staring at the young man laying on the blacktop. He's panting harshly as he loses blood, becoming paler by the second. He looks to be in his mid-teens despite his muscular stature.
Just a kid.
A kid who looks... strangely familiar.
Superman is not the only one that thinks this. Batman sees the resemblance, and Cyborg's scanners pick up certain traits, too.
Now's not the time to dwell on that, though. Batman rips open a package of thick gauze and presses it on either side of the shrapnel. Superboy lets out a shout of pain, trying to move and get away from the cause of his pain. Another pair of hands hold him down by the shoulders to prevent that. They are strong, gentle, but his left shoulder feels like it's burning. At this point, blood loss, Kryptonite exposure, and pain is getting to Superboy. He goes lax and his head lulls to the side, passing out cold.
"Hey. Hey! Kid?!" Batman tries to rouse the teenager, with no such luck.
Meanwhile, Cyborg crouches over the Kryptonite chunk and scoops it into the lead container. As soon as the green glow disappears, Superman walks toward his comrades tending to the boy. The closer he gets, the more he realizes why he's so familiar.
It's like looking at a version of his younger self. This is unreal. The Superman T-shirt the kid is wearing only makes the situation more strange. Where did he come from? What's his name? Clark believes he's the only Kryptonian left alive on Earth, but is he really? Is this boy like him?
So many questions that need answers, but now isn't the time. Batman gets the man of steel's attention.
"Superman, get him into the Batwing. We need to get him to the Batcave, Alfred can do something for him there." Superman doesn't need to be asked twice. He kneels next to the boy as Diana and Bruce make their way to the jet. Superman lifts the unconscious Superboy in a one-person lift, arms around the back and under the knees. Cyborg follows both of them, lead capsule in hand, while Flash is already waiting in the cockpit.
A stretcher is waiting for Superboy when Superman carries him onto the jet. He sets the boy down carefully, trying not to dislodge the bandaging. He's already lost enough blood as it is.
Cyborg straps the boy down as Batman prepares the plane for takeoff. Both men along with Diana stay in the cargo hold. As the hatch door closes, they slowly lift off the ground. The engines kick in full force and they're off to Wayne Manor. With the speed of the Batwing, they'll be there in five minutes, tops.
Now that the boy is no longer in certain peril, Superman takes the opportunity to do a more in-depth examination, via x-ray vision. Arms and legs reveal nothing other than multiple contusions and minor lacerations. The left shoulder is dislocated, which would explain his wince when Diana had to hold him down. His head is fine, but about four of his ribs are cracked.
The real trouble is where the shrapnel is buried in his gut. It's at an upward angle and is digging into the boy's liver. That's not good.
"Tell Batman to tell Alfred to prepare for surgery. The metal pierced his liver and he has severe internal bleeding." Superman tells Cyborg. Said humanoid nods and briskly walks to the steps leading to the cockpit. As he leaves, Diana turns to Clark with worry marring her usually firm facade.
"It is bad, isn't it?" Superman looks at her with a mirrored expression, no need for a verbal answer. "Do you think he will be alright?" She places her hand on Superboy's creased brow. Superman flips his view to one of determination.
"He's in good hands. And..." He looks down at the spitting image of himself.
"...I've got a feeling he's a survivor."
If only Superman really knew.