Author's Note – I do not own any of the characters, Marvel and DC do.
The icons of the Protectors are shown in my Institute Saga DeviantArt gallery.
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Chapter Two
Protectors
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"We've already dealt with most of the outstanding issues, so now we need to discuss icons." Superman said as he looked at his team, most of whom were slumped in satisfied pleasure, a legacy of his mother's cooking. "Some of us don't have icons. I have my S in a diamond and Patriot has his shield, but…"
"I will use the symbol of Latveria." Connor said firmly.
"Union flag for me." Betsy chimed in.
"I will use the newer flag of my country." T'Challa stated.
"I… have no idea." Sedara admitted. "The kanji for Gate perhaps? In honor of my adoptive parents?"
"I'll have Xavier's symbol." Kevin sighed, rubbing at his stomach with a contented sigh. "He led me in the X-Force and he saved me from Apocalypse."
"If I may," Connor said tentatively, "May I suggest that we use a map of the world as our team logo, maybe with the team name over it?"
Clark blinked, then pulled a small device out of his pocket, activating its solid-hologram function. For a long moment, his fingers flew over the interface area, then an image formed in the middle of the room, turning so that everyone could see it.
"Something like this?"
The assembled team stared at the image for a long moment, then several nodded.
"Looks good." Isaiah finally said.
"And something like this for the individual variants?" Clark asked as the image split into eight, with each new image changing slightly to incorporate the hero's insignia. The original image itself remained unchanged, but the hero's icons appeared around it.
"I like them!" Sedara chirped with a wide grin and most of the others made noises of agreement.
"And our mission, sir?" Patriot asked.
"Primarily planetary and above." Superman said firmly. "There are other teams who are dealing with local problems, such as Generation-X, the Henshin Rangers and the New Warriors... even if they do need more training. The Avengers and the X-Men can deal with larger problems, we are here for anything that is likely to affect the whole world or more. If we had been together at the time, we would have led the charge against Thanos."
"So we need to learn to command." Connor said. "To lead disparate elements into battle as part of an overarching structure."
Everyone stared at the teen in surprise and he raised a sardonic eyebrow. "You do remember who my father is? He raised me to be the best I could be. Nothing less would do for the future ruler of Latveria."
"Kid has a point, though." Morph agreed. "We do need more experience."
"Which is why I have contacted the other teams." Clark agreed. "If you agree, then all of you will temporarily serve alongside the teams in the field, working with their leaders so that you can see for yourself how they operate. This will also help you to learn more about all of the other heroes."
"I heard that New Krypton has its own team now." Betsy interjected and Clark nodded with a wry smile.
"Yes. They call themselves the Companions of Rao and are led by Taurus, formerly the chief of security of New Olympus. All three nations contributed to it and there are nine Champions, reflecting the original nine who fought for Rao in Kryptonian mythology. There are three Kryptonians, three New Olympians and three humans, a mutant, a meta and a tech-user, and they often split into three mixed teams."
"Nine is a good number for that." Connor agreed. "Will we work with them as well?"
"Of course." Clark confirmed. "In fact…"
Clark tapped at the device and the icons vanished, being replaced by a schematic of what appeared to be the solar system, but one with almost twice as many planets.
"Our solar system." Clark said and several of the others gave him odd looks.
"Clark, as much as I would like to believe you…" Patriot began, only to be interrupted by Connor.
"Interesting. You have the Yggdrasil dimensions."
"The what?" Several people asked and Connor looked at Clark, who nodded and explained.
"The Yggdrasil dimensions. They aren't alternate dimensions like the Justice League realities, but they aren't completely in our space either, although the Sun shines there as well as here. They exist somewhere between the physical and metaphysical realms. Asgard, Vanaheim, Nidavellir, Alfheim, Jotunheim, Svartalfheim, Helheim and Muspelheim."
As Clark listed them, tags appeared connected to each of the extra planets.
"Hel is unusual in that its frequency of existence means that the souls of the deceased often end up there and it resides between the other worlds and world of Muspelheim, home-world of the race known as Demons, and also close to the realm known to us as Heaven. Heaven is not a world, but more of a hyper-dimensional meta-plain… we don't really have the words to describe it. Svartalfheim is a dead world, once home to the Dark Elves, although we can't rule out their return after after the Thanos Incident."
"That's gonna throw the astrophysicists into a panic, once they find out about these new worlds." Sedara muttered, caused several people to quickly stifle their chuckles.
"The orbits are difficult to show properly due to the dimensional variances, but every five millenia… give or take a century, the worlds align in what is known as the Convergence. One happened very recently, while we were dealing with Thanos, in fact. Apparently the previous time it happened, the Dark Elves almost destroyed all life on the other planets in their attempt to dim the sun to something they found more comfortable."
"Then what the hell happened this time?" Patriot demanded and Clark shook his head.
"Nothing. The Dark Elves were conquered by Thanos for use in his army and we took them down. Anyway, although our primary duty is to protect Earth, our remit extends to the other planets. I have already arranged with General Zod that we will be allowed to operate on New Krypton and I am heading to Asgard the day after tomorrow to seek permission from Odin to do the same in the realms that he commands."
"How long before our team gets members from them as well?" Betsy joked.
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"How do I look?" Sedara asked, spreading her arms and spinning round so that everyone could see her new outfit. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail while her upper face was half-obscured by a semi-transparent visor with metal highlights that gave the impression of a serene expression, giving her a reserved, sober appearance.
Her outfit consisted of a skintight dark red bodysuit over which she wore a blue knee-length kimono with elbow-length sleeves and which was held closed by a red sash. Blue shoes protected her feet and embossed in red on the back of her kimono was the kanji for gate, stretching from her shoulder-blades down to just above her belt.
"Nice." Morph grinned, then he glanced at Betsy, who was watching with a grin. "You've changed as well."
"Just my colors." Betsy admitted, looking down at her outfit. "I darkened them a bit so that I wouldn't clash with Clark's colors."
"I talked to my father and he agreed to my decision." Connor said as he entered the briefing hall. "He approved my uniform change."
Everyone turned and stared at Connor's new look. Although the black under-suit was the same, the tunic he wore was no longer green, but was a deep red.
"Joining the fashion parade?" Betsy snarked, causing Morph to bite his own fist in an attempt to not laugh. Connor simply shook his head with a resigned expression.
"I decided to make this change for several reasons." He stated.
"Including the fact that technically, he is also my son." Clark supplied, causing everyone other than Connor and Isaiah to stare at him in shock. "What, you didn't see how we resemble each other?"
"Honor-father, stop teasing them." Connor said firmly. "My father, Victor von Doom, sought the greatest being on the planet to be my second parent, both to let me eventually surpass him and to avoid the genetic degradation that pure cloning causes. My true-father realized that Clark Kent was one of the very few on this world who could equal or even surpass him, under the right circumstances, therefore my true-father acquired my honor-father's QNA and integrated it with a sample of his own to create me, for which I am grateful."
"That's… weird." Betsy finally said. "So, you wearing the S as well?"
"Clark offered, but I declined." Connor shrugged. "I respect Clark, but I exist by the choice of my true-father and so his symbol is the one that I wear."
"A choice that I understand and respect." Clark said with a proud nod. "Of course, Connor hasn't met his brother yet."
Connor blinked, then smiled. "I look forwards to meeting Chris. My father had considered calling me Superboy, but the name had already been taken."
For a moment, everyone stared at Connor, then his lips quirked with a slight smile.
"Did… you just prank us with that last bit?" Morph gasped, then he grinned widely. "Oh, I like you!"
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"…and here is Camp X." Clark said as he led his team out of the bunker holding the Door connecting the re-purposed base to the Xavier Institute. "We acquired it from SHIELD and it is where Captain America trained before he actually became Captain America. We now use it to house most of the students of the Xavier Institute, they like it as it gives them twice as much bedroom space as they had in the mansion."
"What happens if it rains or there's a cold snap?" Betsy asked curiously.
"Special projectors line the main paths." Clark said. "If it rains, they create rain-free routes. If it's cold, they create virtual corridors of warm air. While this is an open-air base, we refuse to let the weather get in the way of learning."
"Nice." Connor nodded as a group of kids ran past. "I assume this place is secure?"
"The same defenses as the mansion." Clark supplied.
"…and this is part of the institute too." A voice said from behind them. Connor and Clark both turned and found themselves staring at Spider-Man… and Spider-Man.
"Peter?" Clark asked and the red-on-blue Spider-Man waved while the shorter red-on-black Spider-Man was still looking round. "You have a… mini-me?"
"Huh?" Peter asked as he pulled off his mask. "Oh, meet the newest member of the New York Guardians, currently known as Spider-Boy and my sidekick. He wanted to go by Anansi, but apparently there's already a hero of that name active in the League reality, plus it sounds too much like nancy, and you can imaging the taunts that would cause."
"Pleased to meet you." Clark said with a smile. "I see you've already been outfitted by Forge."
"New costume and web-shooters." Spider-Boy said. "Still need to learn how to use them, though…"
"He's got a knockout skill, but his spider-sense is weaker than mine." Peter said with a smile and a shrug. "Still, it's good to have a sidekick."
"Hey!" Spider-Boy protested, then he looked round. "This place secure?"
"It's as secure as Kryptonian tech can make it, so it's safe to reveal your true face." Peter confirmed and the younger teen pulled off his mask.
"You can call me Miles." The dark-skinned youth smiled. "It's cool to meet you, Pete's told me loads of stories about you."
"And if you visit, I'm sure you'll hear plenty of stories about Peter." Clark smiled, causing the older teen to glare at him in amused annoyance.
"Anyway, I'm taking him to the assault course to do a couple of runs without touching the ground." Peter supplied. "After that, it's back to HQ, then college for Miles."
"Man, can't I just ditch this day?" Miles grumbled as he followed Peter towards the training area.
"Hey, I was a full superhero and still graduated with honors." Peter shot back.
"That was… different." Isaiah finally managed.
"You get used to it." Clark chuckled. "Now, moving on…"
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Authors afternote - This is the first posting, the prologue and the first two chapters. I'm going to aim to post a new chapter every saturday evening, maybe more if future chapters prove easier to write than expected.