DarkMgc – Thanks. I try to learn with every story I write.
Gordhanx – I used both Damion and Cassandra in Darkness Falls when Bart goes into the future. This time I get to develop them and use them more.
Eric the Looney – Dude, the questions you have…spoilers. But regarding Carter, I chose the name to keep the male Kryptonians initials CK, although I nearly went for CJ, Conner junior. Then after going over both, I decided on Carter in the end. So that's how wee baby Carter got his name.
PinkRedRose – I had to make a choice and by going this way, his death makes it personal for the black ops team to bring them into the story more. But don't worry, this story's only getting started and has a ways to go, so…(spoilers)
Ben A – Artemis works the front desk at a doctor's office and Wally is involved an electrical tech. In the comics, Cassandra Cain was a mute for a time because she didn't learn to read or speak (I think). I added the scar to show how dedicated she is at what she does and how much of a fighter she is. As for the rest of your questions, you'll just have to keep reading. Oh, and I'm actually waiting for the sequel Bears on a Boat.
Guest – Raven's empathy is magic based as with all her powers (lineage). Only he had trouble controlling her powers in Darkness Falls, which is why she is now on the Titan team.
Missvisableninja – My bad, I'm not around babies much but thought they could do simple sentences like that.
4.
Quarc
April 24
13:42 UTC
Amid a torrent of Lex Corp scientists, sophisticated machinery, and armed guards, Lex Luthor, Queen Bee, and Ra's Al Ghul stood along a wall in front of a glowing pool of green liquid. Known as a Lazarus Pit, the liquid substance held the power of rejuvenation, granting anyone who stepped foot in it to be healed and gain a sense of immortality for a price. What that was, only Ra's knew and he was not telling anyone.
Extra lights had to be brought in with generators so the people occupying the underground chamber could carry on about their business and were the last of the equipment to go. No one was careful to not disturb the surrounding pillars or damage the intricately carved walls that were hundreds if not thousands of years old while a demolition team was busy wiring explosives every few yards.
"Such a shame this pit is not like yours, Ra's," Lex said as he monitored the men hard at work. "Another pit would have been beneficial to us."
"I agree, Luthor," Ra's responded with his hands clasped behind his back, not that you could see them as his green and yellow embroidered cloak covered all but his head. "If it were not for the Kryptonite saturating the water, it would have been worth keeping."
"Men, always wanting more when they have enough." Standing to the right of the two men, Queen Bee, in her usual black and gold attire, spoke down upon the masculine sex. "If you are through with this pathetic country, I would not mind leaving as soon as possible."
"Patience, my dear," Lex told her. "The final details need to be looked over before we continue. After all, the League have no reason to suspect we are still active in a very discreet way and if we do not cover our tracks properly, they will undoubtedly find us out before we have a chance to finish what we started so long ago."
"I'm just surprised you are so willing to go along with this," Ra's said. "Given how regular mortals go about praying for their most cherished possession like they do has me curious as to why you would be so willing to surrender yours."
"It's called self-worth Ra's. I know what I am worth and what I want is worth so with that in mind, I may as well see to it I get a proper return for my investment. Klarion and Savage had what every man wants to obtain but has no idea what to do with. With them and Manta out of the way, we can now get to the much larger picture."
"Then what of Mister Corbin?"
"I have my plans for him. With Mercy preoccupied with both software and hardware modifications, Mister Corbin will be taking her place as not al of us can depend on a rejuvenating pool or bend others to our will. I have paid both the Shadows and Queen Bee handsomely for both his services and various resources. All I ask is for you both to be ready for when the time comes. After that, the world will literally be ours for the taking."
"And reshaping," added Queen Bee.
"Precisely," grinned Lex. "It will finally see the Light and be unhindered."
Happy Harbor - Beneath Mount Justice
April 25
13:34 UTC
"Good, keep it up. Remember, set your rhythm and do not hesitate. Keep them off balance as you attack and do not let up."
Watching from a shielded observation room, Barbra Gordon sat in her wheelchair and studied the various recruits as they participated in their training. Since the invasion of Gotham by other worldly forces bent on enslaving the human race, the second one in less than a year, she has been confined to the traveling metal seat and would be for the rest of her life. There were days where she thought about what she could have done differently to not have ended up in the situation she was currently in and maybe she would be better off not being on a team of heroes as she could do little more than root from the sidelines and monitor active field members.
Those thoughts were not only pushed, but banished from her mind as she remembered who she was. She could do a lot more than sit in a seat and perform monitor duty. She had years of experience to pass on to the next generation of young heroes. She could access electrical systems for squads in the field and monitor their vitals or get them backup if need be. She could even teach them how to hack into databases and design programs for them to use.
"Those playing defense, make the others play into your game. Break their rhythm and have them conform to yours to take the advantage."
As Barbra continued to monitor the younger crowd train, the door behind her slid open to allow Kara Zor-El and Cassandra Sandsmark entry. Both girls snuck up behind the redhead who was busy going over the computer panel before her to read the amount of power being used within the training area. It was only one of three large terminals within the room with several large screens mounted on the walls above them.
Being extra quiet, the two girls floated several inches off the floor with their breaths held. Each carried something for the unsuspecting woman and wanted to be able to get the drop on the former Batgirl. Their efforts were cut off as the female protégé of Batman knew they were there the entire time.
"Afternoon, Kara, Cassie," Barbra said with a grin.
Slumping, Kara let out a sigh as Cassie set foot on the metal floor and groaned.
"Aww, how did you know?" Cassie asked.
"Old habits." Using the drive stick on the armrest of her chair, Barbra turned to face the two and saw a small cake in Cassie's hands. Kara held a bottle of ginger ale and three plastic champagne glasses. "What's this for?"
"Well," Cassie began, "it has been five years since a certain pointy eared woman took the team by storm and showed a girl doesn't need super powers to hang with the guys."
"And I'm just trying to learn to learn how to celebrate things so I asked Cassie if I can join her," Kara added. "She said yes."
Barbra could not help but grin at the Kryptonian. "Thank you Kara, I appreciate it."
Handing her one of the plastic glasses, Kara went about pouring the drink as Cassie cut the small cake she held. The three soon had a slice and something to drink as the demi-Amazon raised her glass.
"Here's to the girl turned woman whose milkshake brings all the boys to the yard wherever she goes," Cassie quipped as she raised her glass.
"Whatever that means," Kara agreed as she rose her drink and Barbra laughed. "And thanks for helping me with Earth customs."
"No problem, Kara," Barbra said. "And thank you for this, it means a lot."
"Well this is just a preliminary to tonight," Cassie said with a mouthful of cake. "We have reservations at that Japanese restaurant where they make the food in front of you. Girls only."
"Ohh, girls only. Does that mean some moronic super villain's going to try something stupid while we try to have a good time?"
"We'll see."
"Wait, does that happen often?" Kara asked. "Because when Kori and I were exploring the world, we really didn't run into problems like that."
"Not counting the mudslide in Venezuela? Or the avalanche in the Andes? Or the earthquake in Tokyo?" Barbra asked.
"No, no, not really."
"It's kind of expected of us to get into a scrap with a bad guy," Cassie explained. "Like tradition."
Spearing a bite of her cake piece, Kara nodded. "Then I'll look forward to it." She then ate the pastry as the others did the same.
Daily Planet
April 25
18:42 UTC
"Pick your feet up, Jimmy. We got a deadline to meet." Rushing through the crowded floor of the Daily Planet's makeshift news room, Lois Lane-Kent directed traffic as she and her photographic partner, Jimmy Olsen, hurried to get the story they finished covering to the printer for tomorrow's edition. "I need you to get the best shots to Perry and then down to layout. They're waiting for your graphics to get this thing out by tomorrow morning."
"On it Mrs. Kent." Grabbing the jump drive from his computer, the young red headed man palmed the device with his best follow-up shots of the incident at Metropolis Airfield a few days ago.
After an investigation by the local police and federal agents, it was discovered the small aircraft originated from South America and was documented as carrying foreign dignitaries. It was a fact made stranger by the type of craft and no record of any dignitaries leaving any country in South America. Nothing was found luggage wise and there were no traces of any bodies whatsoever. The only clue they had found was what looked like blood packs smeared along the ground where the plane crashed. Testing proved it was not human.
No sooner had Jimmy left the room when a hand caught the door before it could close. Entering the news room was Conner Kent who was looking for Lois above the heads of the large group of people. It took some time for the young hero to spot her sitting at a foldaway desk and make his way over to her through the crowded room.
"Hey, Lois." Taping the reporter on the shoulder, Conner drew her attention away from her computer.
"Oh, hey Smallville Numero Dos. What'cha doing here at the center of construction avenue?" Turning back to her computer, Lois finished up her email she was in the middle of typing. She never removed the pen from her mouth as she tied her black hair in a messy ponytail and the younger version of her husband went on.
"I just wanted to know where Clark was. I needed to ask him something, uh, not for the public."
Hitting send, Lois, grabbed a mug of coffee on her desk/folding table and took a sip. "Well, if you want to talk with him in private, it's best if you go to the west side of the building where they're still working on the conference rooms. The construction crews left for the day a few minutes ago but they already have the lights working. I'll call his cell and tell him you're here. He's been in Perry's office long enough."
"Thanks. I'll be waiting for him."
"Nuh, uh, need news on my nephew first. How's he doing?"
"Good. J'onn's already back from Mars and he's with M'gann celebrating Barbra's anniversary at the cave before I take him when they go out."
"Is he still matching skin tones?"
"Yeah," Conner chuckled. "Everyone likes to pass him around and see him change skin tones. Just don't like it they call him a hot potato."
"Well, what are you gonna do besides beat up Dick and Wally for calling him that?"
"I could think of a few things."
Slapping his leg lightly, Lois rolled her eyes and grinned before reaching for her phone. "I'll call Clark and tell him where to met you, but bring Carter to see us more often."
"No problem, just, try not to freak out when he shifts to his Martian form. He does that from time to time now."
"Can't wait to see that."
It took a few minutes on Conner's part, but soon, Clark was meeting him in the conference room he was waiting in. Aside from the workbench, there was nothing in the unpainted, two windowed room, not even carpet. The ceiling tiles were in place, but that was pretty much it as far as aesthetics went. Still, the smell of sawdust still lingered in the air.
"Sorry that took so long," Clark said as he closed the door behind him. "Perry's still treating this place as if it were one hundred percent." He then took his glasses off and looked Conner over. "So, Lois said you had some questions for me?"
Pushing away from the wall he leaned on, Conner placed his hands on his hips. "Yeah, it's about the team."
"Which one?"
"The Titans. I...I still don't think I'm right for the role as their leader. M'gann keeps reminding me to do and say things and most of the choices I make I have to question them about three times before and after I make them. It's like-"
"A weight is on your back?" Clark asked.
"Yeah. With the old team, I could lead a squad. I got orders from Kaldur, Dick, or one of the League members but now-"
"But now, you have a five person team and no one to give you orders to send down to them. You had a reason to not question what you told them because of the experience of the others who were telling you what to do, right?"
"Well, yeah." A part of Conner was surprised Clark knew how he felt, although with him being Superman, one third of the Trinity of Heroes, he should not have been.
Exhaling a long breath, Clark moved to stand before him and crossed his arms. "I'm going to tell you the secret of being a good leader, Kon-El. This is something you, as the head of the Titans need to hear. I thought by now you would have discovered it on your own seeing as you are a seasoned veteran, but that was my fault. I should have worked with you more once the new black ops members joined."
"Ok, so, what's the big secret?"
"The secret to being a good leader is, never send others into a situation you would not go into yourself and never think you can protect everyone."
Clark paused for a moment to let those words sink into Conner's mind before continuing.
"As Kryptonians, we are basically indestructible. We are roughly the most powerful beings on Earth and as leaders, need to remember others may not be able to handle the same situations as we can. It's in those times when we need to put ourselves in their shoes. If you were, say, Vibe, would you put him in a situation you couldn't handle? Those are the things Batman, Wonder Woman, and myself think of every time we gave you orders. Now you already know about your team's strengths and weaknesses, you know how to have them complement each other, the only thing left is for you to learn to trust them like we had to learn to trust you and the other original team members."
A moment passed with the two standing in silence when Conner nodded slightly. "So that's it? I just have to put them in situations I know they can handle?"
"That's right."
"But what if I'm wrong? What if I send them on a mission and one or all don't come back?"
"Kon-El, you can't protect everyone from danger. Unfortunately, that may happen one day. You may even send them on routine patrol and one doesn't come back. You can't follow them and protect them from harm every minute of every day. You need to trust them. That was why Batman wanted you to run the fail safe mission with them, to see how they would react when faced with overwhelming odds."
Clark then stepped closer to his 'brother' and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I know you and M'gann don't want to do that to them, but it is a necessary thing to do. Eventually, there will be a time they will be faced with those odds. All you can do is trust they will do everything in their power to continue fighting. Remember when Ma and Pa took you to church? There will never be more than what you can handle put on you."
Letting out a breath, Conner nodded and looked back up into Clark's eyes. "Thanks."
"Anytime." Flashing Conner a grin, Clark donned his glasses again and went back into his 'civilian' mode. "Now, if there is anything else, let me know. If not, then don't forget to visit Ma and Pa with M'gann and Carter. And Lois wants to see him too."
"I know, she already told me."
"She tell you how she got some new things for him?"
"No."
"Notice J'onn's trying to get him hooked on Oreos?"
"M'gann's parents are doing the same. Must be a Martian thing."
"I tell you it's because of you, Lois and I got married faster than what I had planned?"
"About a hundred times. For the man of steel, you sure had cold feet."
"And for a clone of me, we are nearly nothing alike."