Chapter 8: The First Day.
Wayne Manor
1/24/2011 6 am
Today is an exciting day in the Wayne household. It's the first day of school for Conner, who is now a student at Gotham Academy. Hopefully, he won't repeat what happened at Happy Harbor High.
"Don't worry, no one there rides a skateboard. Most of them are pretentious. Just try to stick to a low profile." Dick commented.
"I'll try." Conner said as he pulled on his school uniform. What Bruce or Dick failed to mention when he was attending Gotham Academy was the prospects of wearing a school uniform.
"It's not that bad. You learn to live with it after a while."
Conner detested the uniform. It's uncomfortable and constricts his body. The were only two things saving the suit from being destroyed by Conner. The first was Alfred's glare/wrath if he destroyed his suit. The second was Alfred tailoring the suit to be one size bigger than his standard size just so Conner doesn't feel confined to the solar suit when Dick, Wally, and Kaldur found him.
"Morning"
"Good Morning Master Bruce." Alfred said.
"Morning Bruce." Dick and Conner said.
"Excited for the First Day?"
"I hate this monkey suit."
"Your sacrifice is noted and appreciated."
By 6:15 am, everyone had finished their breakfast. Bruce got into his car and drove off to Gotham for Wayne Enterprises. While Dick and Conner got into their car's back seat, Alfred drove them to Gotham Academy.
En route to Gotham Academy, Conner asked Dick a solemn question.
"How is Roy(Red Arrow) handling everything?"
"He's taking it rough. When the League first arrived, Roy demanded to see his template. Canary told me that she is currently counseling him, trying to figure out what to do. I know you want to continue your training, but you also need to see her."
"I don't need to see her."
"Yes, you do, Conner. If it's not because of the Genomorphs, it must be Superman's rejection or what happened in the simulation. We all still have scars from it." Dick said as he looked outside.
"Why did you mention him?"
"What?"
"Why did you mention him?"
"I mentioned him because you have a lot of anger, hatred, and resentment because of him. It would be best to resolve it before you go out in the field."
Conner and Dick looked at each other, and what the two saw was completely different. Conner saw someone who was scared. While Dick saw iron-will determination to do whatever was necessary to bring justice.
"Being honest with you. I had everything you mentioned regarding Superman. But I gave up on doing anything to get his attention." Conner said.
Dick looked at Conner with shock.
"After the simulation, I confessed to Canary what I felt in the simulation. I was happy in the simulation when I became him. I was happy when all of you died. The moment I died, I was at peace."
"Conner."
"I wanted to be him when I opened my eyes in that pod. I knew what it felt like. I was happy for once. I'm happy that everyone I cared about was either dead or traumatized. How can I live with that and the guilt?" Conner said solemnly.
"After our session, I started talking to her more. I realized that despite my being happy about being Superman. It's something I never want to happen to me ever. Seeing the people who care about me. My friends and family killed made me realize I never wanted to be him. Luthor's involvement only cemented that. When he used me to find genomorph city, he shut me down with two words. It just showed what all of you were trying to show me. To become a person not connected to either persona. To be a person and find my way." Conner confessed and felt Dick's hand on his shoulder.
"I'm happy for you, Conner. I'm glad you saw that you didn't need to become him."
"So, how do I look?" Conner questioned.
Dick grabs his phone, takes a picture of Conner, and shows it to him.
"You look perfectly fine to me."
Conner stared at his glamor charm.
"Are you sure this is going to work?"
"It's going to work. Don't worry about it."
"Young Masters, we have arrived." Alfred said as the car pulled into the drop-off zone of Gotham Academy.
"Enjoy your day Young Masters."
"We will thank Alfred." Both teens responded.
Dick and Conner exited the car and headed inside Gotham Academy's registrar's office to retrieve Conner's schedule for the day. After they retrieved Conner's schedule, they had time to meet some people before attending class.
"A quick word of advice. Be the quiet kid in the background. They will pick on you for being a 'charity case' like me. Please don't do anything to engage them. Sit in the back, pay attention to the teacher, do the work, and ignore the bullies." Dick advised.
"Can't it be that bad?" Conner questioned.
"I was bullied for the first couple of weeks I was here. I've punched a couple of people because of it. Don't be like me. Don't get your emotions involved, especially because of your strength."
"Got it."
They went off to meet some of Dick's friends, at least he thought. Conner was expecting to see some unfamiliar faces. So seeing Artemis made him panic slightly. He could only hope that the glamour charm would work. He didn't want to ruin Dick's surprise announcement to the team.
"Hey, Artemis, Babs, and Bette."
"Hey, Dick, who have you got there?" Barbara asked.
"Meet my new brother. Conner Kent."
"Nice to meet you, Conner." Artemis and Barbara said while giving him a handshake.
"Nice to meet you too."
"Nice to meet you, Conner. I'm Bette, your student liaison." Bette said while giving him a handshake.
"Nice to meet you."
Bette grabbed Conner's schedule and gave it a once over. At the same time, Artemis and Barbara were eyeing Conner, to Dick's dismay.
"I feel sorry for you. You have Physics with Bahr, Calc with Hall, and US History with Evans. They're all difficult." Bette said.
"It can't be that bad."
"Yeah, no, I have Chem with Bahr. She's very strict with everything." Artemis commented.
"Evans drills the entire US constitution into your skull." Barbara added.
"But overall, your schedule isn't bad or anything. More shocked that you got three open periods."
"What other classes does he have?" Barbara asked.
"English 11 and French."
The rest of the girls took a look at Conner's schedule. It was interesting.
1st: Calculus
2nd: Physics 11
3rd: English 11
4th: French 1
Lunch
5th: US History
6th: Open Period
7th: Open Period
8th: Open Period
"Hey, we have the same French class. You can sit by me if you want." Artemis said.
"That'll be great."
"So what's going to do during open periods?" Barbara asked.
"Probably spend some time at the library finishing homework." Conner responded.
Bette directed Conner inside Gotham Academy and began his tour of the school with Artemis, Barbara, and Dick behind them.
Everyone looked at their watch and noticed it was time for the first period. Everyone walked to their respective classes and started their day.
It didn't take long for word to spread about Conner and who he was associated with. Super-hearing can be a massive pain in the ass. Everyone had their reservations about him. But didn't approach him, given their recollection of what happened to some people when they threatened Dick.
Overall the day was better than Conner thought. But it was the first day, so that could change. He took Dick's advice and sat in the back of the room to not garner any attention from anyone. Calculus, Physics, and English were easily given his Cadmus education.
French was interesting. He took up Artemis' offer of sitting next to her in the back of the classroom. Conner knew Artemis already knew Vietnamese and French because of her mom. So why was she taking this class? After the teacher finished his lecture. The entire class worked on their assignment while Artemis and Conner talked.
"So why are you taking French?"
"Language of love?"
Conner gave her a really face.
"It's an easy A for me since I already know it. What about you?"
"Easy A for me as well."
Their conversation came to an abrupt halt as Conner soon sensed the teacher getting closer, so he began to speak broken French to Artemis to make it look like they were doing work. It worked. The teacher just walked past them with none the wiser.
"Are you sure you can speak French?"
(Speaks in French): "I think I can." Conner said
(Speaks in French): "Nice Job."
Class ended on time for lunch. Conner still hanged with Artemis, who was enjoying her lunch with Bette, Barbara, and Dick. Conner admired the food since it was significantly better than Happy Harbor High. The three girls wanted to grill Conner about his life. But it wasn't their story to tell, so the girls respectively didn't ask.
After lunch, all 5 of them went outside, grabbed some sun, and walked around. They needed to stretch, after all; being cooped up in a building for 5 hours is just outright horrendous.
Conner's final class, US history, was also more accessible than expected. The class was involved with a lecture on the Mexican-American war, so all he did was doze off.
Afterward, Conner went to the councilor's office and requested information for two AP exams he wanted to take: US history and Microeconomics. After a quick lecture from the counselors who were against it, Conner filled out some forms, paid for the test, headed to the library, and finished all homework he got from the day. The day ended with Alfred picking him and Dick up and heading back to the manor where Conner could now finally ask his question.
"You never told me Artemis went to the same school as us."
"That's not going to be a problem, is it?"
"It isn't. I'm going to assume she's attending because of Bruce."
"You're correct, Master Conner. Master Bruce wanted to ensure that Miss Artemis stayed on the straight and narrow." Alfred interjected.
"So, how was the first day?"
"Boring, to be honest."
The teens arrived back at the manor, where Wolf greeted them as well as a snack from Alfred. Hours later, Dick finished his homework while Conner continued to take the tests Bruce gave him for detective work. Conner spun around to see Dick coming down the stairs.
"Can I confess something to you?" Dick asked as he walked over to the Batcomputer and Conner.
"Sure."
"You told me in the car earlier that you were at peace and happy when Kaldur, Artemis, Wolf, and everyone else died in the simulation."
"I did."
"I was terrified."
"I know."
"What?"
"You were feeling guilty after all of us died. You were finally in charge. Yet you sent all of us to our deaths."
"How did you know?"
"It wasn't hard to find out. I can't imagine what it must've felt like for you."
"I don't want to be 'The Batman' I don't have the heart and stomach to do it."
"But you're willing to continue to help people. Continue to be the hero."
"Yes."
"But not in his shadow."
"That thing inside of Bruce that drives him to do whatever for the sake of the mission isn't me."
"Dick, have you told him?"
"I haven't."
"I don't think he wants you to be 'The Batman.' He helped you get justice. I think he likes you not to become him but become better."
Both boys looked at each other for a second before the silence was broken when Wolf comforted both ravens.
"The simulation messed us up, Dick. We can both agree that the simulation changed us for better or worse."
"Conner, I never knew you felt at peace."
"I was at peace. But I also felt guilty seeing everyone die, and finally becoming Superman changed me. I don't want to become him in any way. I want to be me. I'm afraid of not being able to live. That's one of the reasons why I took Bruce's offer. He gave me a chance to become something else."
Dick hugged Conner."
"Don't worry, Conner the Team, and I will help you get your justice against Lex and the Light."
"Thanks."
"We should get upstairs. Bruce will be back soon, and Alfred almost has dinner ready."
"Alright."