Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice or any characters related to the show. Young Justice is owned by DC Comics parent company Warner Bros. Discovery.
Chapter 7: The Powers Conundrum
January 13,2011
The previous 9 days were interesting for the team. Unless you were Wally, who had the unfortunate pleasure of returning to school. However, that was more pleasant than Artemis, Kaldur, and M'gann's current situation. Ever since the mass killings at Cadmus. The team assisted the League in investigating Cadmus and all its involvement with the Light. So far, nothing other than the information that the G-genome was able to give to M'gann everything was gone. All digital and paper records were destroyed. Before they could continue with anything, the team saw every leaguer except the Thanagarians running out of the building.
"What's going on?"
"There has been a breakout at Belle Reve Penitentiary. The League has been called in." Wonder Woman responded.
Artemis, Kaldur, M'gann, Hawkman, and Hawkwoman continued their investigation and search until Artemis had an idea.
"Aqualad, do you still trust me?"
"I do."
"Remember during the Louisiana Bayou op where I said I saw Ivo?"
"Yes?"
"What if the Light had someone on the inside of Belle Reve?"
Kaldur thought about it for a moment. Since Artemis explained her family and why she did what she did. Kaldur did wonder if Ivo was there during the op. How did he get out of Belle Reve?
"If the Light does have someone inside Belle Reve. That would mean…."
"All of 'this' and the breakout is a smokescreen."
Both hawks were now interested in what the proteges were talking about.
"Hawkman, Hawkwoman, can you really not remember anything that happened to you while under Savage's control?" Kaldur asked.
"All I remember waking up to a massive headache." Hawkman responded.
"I woke up with my body in pain as if I was doing something for an extended time." Hawkwoman responded.
Artemis thought about it for a moment, and given everything she learned from her Father and the shadows, she came up with one conclusion.
"The Light now knows we know about them. Events for the past 6 months and possibly years have been choreographed. Could all of you be sent into space during the 16 hours?"
Both thanagarians looked at each other and cringed at the thought. If Savage sent them away in space for 16 hours, they could do who knows what given their power. The question they wanted to know 'What purpose does it serve to the Light?'.
Later that evening in Mount Justice. Wally was caught up on recent developments and Artemis' theory.
"What about Cadmus? What was the point or purpose of doing all of this other than give us a smokescreen?" Wally asked.
"Cadmus was created to be at the forefront of genetic engineering. The genomorphs were living proof of that genetic engineering. They created Conner as a failsafe if Superman went rogue or if he was a threat to them. Luthor said that the Light saw Match as a failure, whereas he saw him as a learning experience and that both he and the original Roy were liabilities. They're liabilities because they can't be controlled." Kaldur said.
"So the light did all of this…."
"Because they lost their value because they couldn't be controlled." Artemis finished Wally's question.
"I guess Luthor only summoned Conner to Santa Prisca so they can finish programming him."
"Speaking of Conner, have you heard the news of him recently?" M'gann asked.
"Nothing M'gann."
January 11,2011
The past 6 days were very dull in the Wayne household. Conner would've continued his training. However, things would change during a sparing session with Dick in the red sun room. It was Tuesday morning. Dick and Conner were sparing with bo staffs. Dick taught him offensive and defensive techniques while Bruce continued his investigation into Cadmus and the Light. After two hours and a lot of frustration with trying to learn defensive techniques, something odd occurred.
Conner wished he could just fly off to avoid getting hit. But he was doing this since he didn't have that power, and he needed to be able to defend himself with whatever he had around him. Suddenly, as the bo staff was about to come down, it started glowing blue and floating. Dick was surprised; Conner was terrified.
"Dick, what's happening to me?"
"You're floating and glowing blue."
"WHY AM I FLOATING!? WHY AM I GLOWING BLUE!?"
"I don't know. Stay right there."
Dick quickly ran out of the room to find Alfred, who was in the manor dusting, and to call Bruce.
"Alfred, Alfred Conner is floating."
"That's very good, Master Dick. His Kryptonian powers only need time."
"Nooo… Alfred, he's floating and glowing blue in the red sunroom!"
Alfred walked to the red sunroom to see Conner floating and glowing blue.
"I will call Master Bruce immediately."
Meanwhile, at Cadmus, sublevel 37, Batman was looking for anything related to the Light. The entire facility was scrubbed clean. There's practically no evidence. That was when he got the call.
"Master Bruce, you must return immediately. It regards Master Conner."
"Did he injure himself?"
"No, Master Bruce, but you should see yourself."
Bruce grunted and promptly went to the nearest Zeta-Tube back to the Batcave. He can only hope Clark didn't find out about him taking Conner in. While Alfred was calling Bruce, Dick tried but failed to calm Conner.
"Don't touch me. Don't get near me."
"Conner, you need to calm down."
"HOW CAN I CALM DOWN. I'M FLOATING AND GLOWING BLUE IN A ROOM SUPPOSED TO STOP ME FROM USING MY POWERS."
"Conner, you need to calm down. There's a perfectly reasonable logical reason for all of this."
Conner, still floating, isolated himself in one part of the room, trying to get away from everyone else. Dick walked over and tried yet again to calm him down. But when Dick looked up at Conner and wanted to touch him, he felt something blocking him. It was weird, but Dick would file that away for later. There were more important matters at hand.
"Conner, look at me. You're going to be alright. You're going to be fine. Breath in your nose and breath out of your mouth. Breath in…. Breath out…".
Conner was hyperventilating and continued to do so until Bruce arrived in the room, still wearing the cape and cowl, to see Conner floating and glowing blue on one side of the room. Bruce walked over and looked at him again.
"Conner, look at me. You need to calm down."
"Bruce, you told me I wouldn't devolve."
"You aren't devolving. I ran the DNA test it showed no changes."
"Then what's happening to me?"
"I don't know. But I can't find out if you're up there panicking. Calm down and listen to the sound of my voice. Concentrate."
Conner finally calmed down in seconds and stopped floating and glowing. He was just hugging his knees.
"You'll be alright. You'll be alright. It's okay. We're here for you." Bruce said, southing Conner.
Dick walked over with a cup of water. Everyone just sat on the ground, comforting Conner. After 20 minutes, Bruce got up with Alfred to grab a kit to draw blood. While outside the room, Alfred and Bruce had a conversation.
"Bruce, what could this mean?"
"I don't know. Conner is unique. He's half human and half Kryptonian. It could mean anything. But we must draw his blood to ensure he isn't degrading or devolving."
"Of course, Master Bruce."
Both men returned from the Med bay with a kit to draw blood to find Conner stroking Wolf's fur and Dick next to him. Conner looked up, seeing the two men knew what would happen next. Conner went ahead and placed his arm on the table Alfred brought in and drew blood. Alfred withdrew the needle and put a cotton ball and band-aid on Conner's arm. Bruce grabbed the vile of blood and went upstairs to the main computer to analyze it.
"Let's call it for today and get something to eat." Dick commented.
Conner followed Alfred upstairs, where he made some pizzas for them. Dick just noticed Conner was eating slowly and staring blankly at the table.
"Conner? Are you alright?"
Conner has yet to respond. He just stared at the counter.
"Am I going to die? Am I devolving?"
Alfred and Dick didn't know how to answer. To be fair, they both saw Conner's fear of devolving. They saw a child and an adult. An adult willing to sacrifice himself for his friend's safety. But they also saw a child who, for the first time, was happy and living his life, only to have it ripped away because of this new development.
"Conner, we can't answer that question right now. You're unique. You're a Kryptonian human hybrid. We know a bit about both sides, just not what happens if both are combined."
"Bruce said I couldn't devolve if I stopped using the shields."
"Conner, I don't think you're devolving. This may signify that you're growing up and evolving, and some of your powers are coming through.
"But that doesn't make sense. The red sunroom is supposed to depower me. How can I float and glow blue? What does it even mean?"
Alfred decides to intervene.
"Master Conner, Master Dick, that's enough conversation regarding powers for today. Master Bruce is working to find out why. Only when more is known will there be more discussion of powers. Am I understood?"
"Yes, Alfred." Both boys responded and continued to eat their individual pizzas. Conner didn't argue with Alfred because he said Bruce was trying to find out what going on.
Conner thought the rest of the day was distracting, while Dick thought it was fun. After Lunch, they gave Wolf a bath (which he outright hated). Afterward, Dick had Conner fix his motorcycle while the Boy Wonder upgraded the tech on said motorcycle. Dick didn't realize how mending things could really calm Conner down.
By the second hour into the repairs, Conner was just relaxed. However, Dick didn't know that it didn't take Conner long to fix his motorcycle, so he needed something else to do to relax. Alfred and Bruce permitted him to inspect and repair any damages to the Batmobile. Of which Conner was happy to do.
Conner was in heaven. The batmobile was a technical marvel, and it was brilliant, given how everything was set up. Over the next couple of hours, Dick watched Conner's joy in fixing the Batmobile. It was a good challenge for Conner and made him forget everything that had happened earlier.
Bruce, on the other hand, was outright stumped. DNA analysis showed Conner wasn't devolving. His DNA was precisely the same, but it didn't explain him floating or glowing blue. After Conner fixed the Batmobile, Bruce subjected him to a full body scan. The results could have been more exciting. His body wasn't changing at all. In fact, his body hasn't changed since he was scanned after being liberated from Cadmus. It doesn't matter if you're Kryptonian, Martian, Thanngarian, or whatever an individual's body has to age. But Conner's scans show he wasn't aging externally, but internally he was. So internal aging could explain why Conner now has new powers. But said powers (the floating and blue aura) were defiantly not Kryptonian.
After repairing the Batmobile, Conner and Dick were in the living room enjoying Cottage pie for Dinner; when Bruce joined them for dinner afterward, he had to tell them the news.
"So I can't age?"
"Not exactly. Internally you will age like everyone else. But externally, your appearance will remain the same forever."
"So I won't devolve?"
"No, you are not. These new powers are the results of you aging internally. I need to conduct more tests to find out for sure."
"Whatever is needed."
That same night Bruce subjected Conner to more tests, including one brain scan. The results were interesting, to say the least. Conner isn't a typical Kryptonian or Human because of the genomorphs downloading information into his brain via memory implants versus actual experience resulted in Conner only having a few parts of his brain active. But that was to be expected. What was more interesting was the brain wave activity. It resembles that of those who have telekinetic or psychokinetic abilities.
Throughout the years, there have been multiple experiments regarding psychokinetic abilities. Until the existence of the Justice League, no one could find scientific evidence of psychokinetic abilities. So Conner could be telekinetic. 'Interesting' Bruce thought he would have to test his theory the following day since patrol.
The following day Bruce subjected Conner to an Electroencephalography(EEG) to test his theory. As the scans were being performed, Bruce quickly grabbed a bo staff and attacked Conner. However, before the team could even land on him. His blue aura activated, and the staff only hit aura, not Conner. Before Conner could even formulate a sentence to figure out why Bruce attacked him. Bruce continued his attack. Bruce went on the offensive and attacked Conner with the bo staff ferociously. In a matter of seconds, Conner could perform a floating backflip to avoid the staff and remain in the air.
"What the hell are you doing? Why are you attacking me?"
"Alfred."
"Your theory is correct, Master Bruce."
"Theory? What theory?" Conner said while slightly agitated.
"When we performed the scans on you yesterday, we also did a brain scan."
"I remember."
"The deep brain scan showed two things, first, because of the genomorphs downloading information into your brain via memory implants versus actual experience. There're a few parts of your brain that are active. It was atypical for humans and Kryptonians, but that was to be expected. The second was your brain wave activity. It resembles that of those who have telekinetic or psychokinetic abilities. Your being able to defend yourself before I could attack showed you have telekinetic powers."
"But that doesn't make sense. Luthor doesn't have telekinetic powers. So, where did I get them from?"
"The Genomorphs." Dick quickly supplied.
"What?" Conner asked.
"The genomorphs were genetically engineered. One of them had telekinesis, while another could generate electricity. That may have influence how you got your powers. You did say you were a genomorph." Dick responded.
"My theory is that when Cadmus was trying to create you, they combined both Superman and Luthor's genes while using the genomorphs as a template. Which could explain why you have certain powers."
"But how did you know when Master Bruce was about to attack?" Alfred asked with an cocked eyebrow.
Bruce and Dick stared at Conner, who finally gave an interesting answer.
"I've been getting weird sensations for the past couple of days. Whenever we do stretches, I can feel everything. The metal in the cave shifting ever so slightly, subtle vibrations on the air or ground. If I reach out, I can feel it."
"How far?"
"From my Bedroom to the Batcave. But I can go further."
"That's an interesting development." Dick muttered.
"So what do we do now?"
"We continue training only. We modify your training to include mental exercises."
"Okay."
"Is there anything else you need to say before we get started?"
"I've been having weird dreams?"
"What sort of 'weird dreams'?" Alfred asked.
"Whenever I sleep at night, I have these weird dreams where I feel like I am in Luthor's shoes. I can see and remember things that I've never had happen to me before."
"Epigenetic memories."
"What're epigenetic memories?"
"Because Luthor used his own DNA as a way to stabilize you. It modifies your DNA and gene expression, allowing access to some memories while not altering your DNA. You get Luthor's memories because part of his blood is inside of you."
"Oh great. I can't wait to see what I can do with all of that ego." Conner responded with sarcasm.
"We continue training, but this time we modify the routine so that we can include mental exercises so you can control your other abilities."
"Of course I had to get his memories." Conner muttered.
The remainder of the week yet again continued with Conner training. Only now with mental exercises. The mental activities allowed Conner to concentrate and develop consistency when using his TK powers.
By Friday evening, however, their training session had to pause for one massive reason. Bruce got the alert about the breakout at Belle Reve. Thus, he and the entire League were needed to contain the situation. Dick and Conner repeated their usual routine of finishing training, dinner, and patrolling for Dick while Conner went to bed.
On the other hand, for Batman, the League, and the rest of the team, things were a disaster. Following the breakout at Belle Reve, the League arrived on the scene and secured some escapees; however, most escaped. Batman's investigation revealed that all the cell doors were opened from master control. Specifically in the room of the warden. After half an hour of interrogation(using Diana's lasso and J'onn), Hugo Strange confessed to opening all of the cell doors and allowing the Light access to whomever inside the prison at the behest of Vandal Savage and the Light. Batman left Belle Reve and headed to the cave to update the team(including Canary and Tornado) regarding Belle Reve and the connection to the Light.
"So who's taking the blame? This is, after all, now public." Wally asked.
"The US government is. They built the prison and vetted the people. The League only sent people there as a gesture of cooperation with world governments."
"Why didn't the league perform background checks or research?" Kaldur asked.
"The government refused to cooperate with the League's request for staffing information. While we had illegal means of acquiring the information. Any attempt to manipulate operations at Belle Reve would set off alarms and have the government and the world reconsider their relationship with the League."
"What happens now?" M'gann asked.
"Nothing the League is working to put back all escapees in Belle Reve."
"Batman, could they release everyone so the Light could stretch our resources?" Artemis asked.
"It is possible, Artemis. All of the Light's actions were performed with a reason and purpose."
"The massacre at Cadmus was because all of the genomorphs lost their value to the Light. The Light created Cadmus so that they could create Conner as a failsafe if Superman went rogue or if he was a threat to them and to be on the cutting edge of genetic engineering." Artemis said stating her theory.
"You believe the Light killed all the genomorphs because they can't be controlled."
"Yes."
"But what about Conner? Why didn't they kill him?" M'gann asked concerned for Conner.
"Conner is too public, M'gann. What happened on the Metropolis bridge revealed his existence to the public. If Conner was killed-" Artemis responded
"If Conner was killed, people would start investigating everything." Wally finishing Artemis' sentence.
"Which would reveal the Light to the public." Tornado supplied.
"What about the missing 16 hours?" Kaldur asked.
"We are we on that front?" Batman asked looking at Dick.
"Our Zeta-Tube logs indicate the 6 leaguers that were missing didn't use a Zeta-Tube. The logs weren't wiped or anything indicating another transportation method." Dick responded.
"Could the League be sent off the world via another way?" Dinah asked.
"Its possible. Our worst-case scenario is the League was sent off the world and caused conflict. In the meantime, you'll be working with your respective mentors with training and tracking down any escapees from Belle Reve."
"Yes, Batman."
Batman, Black Canary, and Red Tornado left the cave to head back to the Watchtower. Upon the three leaguers arrival the dark knight briefed the entire league regarding Belle Reve, Artemis' theory, and his plans to combat the Light.
"You want us to stop recruiting?" Green Arrow asked.
"The Light was created as a way to counter the Justice League. The events of the past 6 months have shown that not only have our enemies banded together but orchestrated crises. The League was created to stop these crises, not to start them."
"But what about other heroes worldwide? Fire, Ice, Blue Beetle, Blue Devil…" Captain Marvel asked.
"Until we can defeat the Light, we cannot-"
"Batman, if we recruited more members, we could stop them faster." Flash interjected.
Batman glares at Flash's suggestion.
"The Light was created as a way to counter the Justice League. The events of the past 6 months have shown that not only have our enemies banded together but orchestrated crises. The League was created to stop these crises, not to start them. They have been under our noses for so long. They financed Cadmus, which created Superboy and Red Arrow. Combined with creating alien bio-organisms that mind-controlled us into doing who knows what. We were defeated in no time. The only thing that saved us was the team."
Everyone in the room took a moment to realize that what Batman said was true. They were defeated without a fight in a matter of minutes.
"Our enemies are getting smarter, and we've lost the battle. We need to win the war. This is why I am recommending that we perform two actions."
Everyone looked at the Dark Knight for his suggestions of what would happen next.
"First, declare a ceasefire on recruiting more heroes so that the Light doesn't expand. Second, allow the team to become the leading group that engages the Light."
Everyone protests at that latter proposal for obvious reasons.
"Batman, I am not going to allow you to send kids into battle and to do work that we can perform." Wonder Woman passionately responded.
"We have no choice Wonder Woman. In a matter of minutes, the entire Justice League was enslaved to Savage. There was no battle. Six leaguers, including the two of us, went missing for 16 hours. Our best-case scenario was that Savage sent us somewhere to perform a secretive task. Worst Case scenario, we engaged with no mercy and caused untold destruction and conflict."
"They're no reports of the 6 leaguers engaging in any conflict on Earth." Green Lantern (Hal Jorden) responded.
"That is my fear. If we were sent off the world, Savage had a reason for doing it. The only thing that stopped us from continuing was the team. They are our only method to slow and even defeat the Light. Unless someone in this room has a plan on how we will tackle the Light and the ramifications of the missing 16 hours, I'm all ears."
No one in the room said a single thing. Everyone looked at each other, knowing they were used. To make matters worst, they had no idea what they did. It is easy to admit fault for a crime the person committed. But not knowing it killed most of the leaguers.
"All in favor?"
20 'ayes' were voiced.
"All opposed?"
"Meeting adjourned."
Meanwhile, a certain boy wonder, was being grilled by his team at the cave.
"How is he, Robin?" Kaldur asked.
"He doing fine. He has been very busy with Bats and me training him."
"Why isn't he here with us tonight?" M'gann asked want to make sure Conner was fine.
"He is back in the cave resting. We train him 10 hours a day, 7 days a week now. He is determined to prove himself and master everything we teach him."
"Are you sure you aren't overworking him?" Wally asked?
"He's determined to beat my 6-month goal."
"What 6-month goal?" Artemis questioned.
"When Batman first took me in, he trained me in everything he knew for 6 months before I could head out to patrol. Conner is determined to beat that 6-month goal."
"I just hope he doesn't overtax himself with all of your training." Kaldur commented.
"He won't. Is anyone interested in a quick sparring session before I have to go on patrol?"
Everyone nodded their head and proceeded to spar each other.
Hours later, their mentors returned to the cave with news.
"Recognized: Batman 02, Red Tornado 16, Green Arrow 08, Black Canary 13, Aquaman 06, Martian Manhunter 07, Flash 04." the Zeta-Tube system informed.
All 7 mentors/leaguers stood in a rank-and-file position awaiting the team's full attention the team obliged in return.
"The Justice League has made the executive decision to halt all recruiting for both the team and the league." Batman growled.
"What does that mean?"
"It means we won't get any more members to either the League or the team." Robin supplied.
"After careful examination of the events of the past 6 months, the League has concluded that if we continued to recruit more heroes, it could trigger a response by the Light. So for the time, we will engage in a ceasefire." Canary responded.
"Will the Light really go for this?" Artemis questioned.
"The Light was created to counter the League. This and the second thing Batman has to say could remedy the situation." Red Tornado commented
"Batman has convinced the League that the 6 of you will be the main strike force to battle the Light in all conflicts." Aquaman said.
"You were able to save us from Savage's control. Combined with all of you being outsiders from the League. You are our best option to find and defeat a savage and the Light." Flash and Green Arrow commented.
The team looked at each other but came to an agreement.
"We understand and accept the task." Kaldur responded.
Authors Note: Thanks to everyone for reading and for those who commented. In line with his comic counterpart Conner will receive telekinetic-like powers. However, it isn't TTK, I'll respect Greg Weisman's decision on that since it's an odd power, and I don't know how to write that in at the moment. Conner will have different(but similar) capabilities since he is a genomorph. The breakout that I wrote is canon, but I delayed it by a couple of days since there's no definite date of when the actual breakout happened in canon. My main reason for writing the ceasefire was to exclude any more characters for later chapters. One thing that some will comment on regarding Young Justice is how the show keeps on introducing new characters but never explores them after the season they debuted. This is a shame since, after the season, they are somewhat forgotten, like Karen(Bumblebee), Mal(Guardian) and Cyborg. While I would like to add more characters, it would be too much to tackle and deviate from the story.