Chapter 11
Themyscira
May 14, 2011
Themyscira was never to be underestimated. The island nation was known for its beauty, the numerous warriors it produced, and its secrecy to man's world. Multiple topless Amazons were relaxing in a hot spring next to a waterfall. However, the peace and serenity of this beautiful Themysciran morning was shattered by the bellow of a wild animal.
"AHHHHHHHH!" it screamed as it crashed into the hot spring.
The Amazons were quickly on guard. They grabbed their weapons to investigate what crashed into the spring. It was a man who surfaced from the spring, coughing up water. The Amazons were about to attack said man until a divine force intervened.
"Amazons! Stand down." Wonder Woman said as she flew down.
The Amazons, still on guard, were about to argue with the princess of the Amazons until she assisted the man.
"Are you alright, Conner?" Diana asked as she gently laid the exhausted demi-Kryptonian on a tree next to the hot spring.
Conner gave her a thumbs up and saw multiple naked Amazons with their weapons pointed at him. Conner's eyes widen, and Wonder Woman immediately slaps him in the face.
"Ow! What was that for?"
"You know what."
"No, I don't."
Diana turned to see that her sisters all had their weapons pointed at Conner, and she quickly realized that Conner's widened eyes were from the weapons being pointed at him and not the other thing.
"Amazons, lower your weapons."
"Princess, you brought another man to the island?"
"That is what I would like to know." A voice said, attracting Diana's attention.
Diana turned to see her mother, the Queen of the Amazons, and Donna, whom she considers her little sister.
"Diana, why have you brought this man to the island?" Hippolyta asked.
"I've brought him here to help him train how to use his powers. He poses a threat to others if not properly trained, Mother." Diana said.
Hippolyta looked at Conner and noticed many things. Among them is his age, identical facial structure to the Kryptonian man brought here before, and therefore, lack of the elder Kryptonian or his cousin. She was very intrigued by the current situation.
"He'll be allowed to stay for now." Hippolyta decreed.
"Thank You, Mother."
Still exhausted, Diana helped Conner up and onto a horse.
"Donna, can you take him back to the palace and let him rest?"
"Of course, Diana."
"So, where is the Kryptonian Diana?" Hippolyta asked as Conner and Donna faded from their view.
Conner's ride to the palace from the hot spring was short but exhausting after dropping off the horse at the palace's stable. Donna escorted Conner to a guest room, where he took a quick shower. After his shower, Donna gives Conner some Themysciran casual wear. On the balcony of his room, Conner sat in a chair soaked in the rays from the Sun, allowing him to rest while being observed by Donna and a couple of other Amazons.
"So, were you forced here against your will?" Donna asked, breaking the ice between her and Conner.
"What? No. Wonder Woman made the offer to come here, and I accepted." Conner responded with his eyes still shut.
"So, how did you fall and end up in the spring?"
Conner finally opened his eyes, sat up, and faced Donna.
"Wonder Woman taught me how to fly. It wasn't that hard at first but after a while."
"You got exhausted. Had no idea how mentally taxing flying is." Donna finished connecting the dots.
"The distance didn't help."
"You must be hungry after all of that. Come on. Let gets something to eat."
Donna dragged a semi-exhausted Conner out of the place and went off for a very hardy Lunch. The remainder of the day for Conner and Donna was to explore certain parts of the island. Given that Conner was the first man, she and the other Amazons will have actual interaction compared to Superman. While the two received a couple of shocks and glares from the Amazons, most were welcoming and interested in interacting with Conner. After the island tour, Conner and Donna returned to the palace, finding Queen Hippolyta and Wonder Woman waiting for them.
"You'll be allowed to remain on Themyscira for your training. But be warned, it will not be easy." Hippolyta said.
"Thank You, your majesty. When can I get started?" Conner asked Diana.
"We will start tomorrow. For now, let's introduce you to Artemis."
Everyone found Artemis as she was sparing with another Amazon in the training arena. After defeating her opponent, Artemis noticed the new visitor and promptly glared at him.
"Should I be worried? She looks like she wants to kill me." Conner asked Diana.
"It's nothing. She just had a bad interaction with Superman."
Donna dragged Conner onto the training area for a proper introduction to Artemis.
"Conner, meet Artemis, your mentor, while you're here. Artemis, this is Conner."
Conner put his hand out for a shake; however, Artemis took his hand and kicked his legs under him. Artemis' foot was ready to step on Conner's throat; however, Conner performed a backroll and kicked Artemis in the stomach. Artemis spent the next few minutes attacking Conner on the defensive while Conner blocked and was on the offensive. While the two were fighting, Diana noticed something interesting. She expected Conner's fighting style to be more like Bruce's, reliant more on strength and blocking. To her surprise, however, Conner's fighting style combines brute strength and acrobatics, specifically Bruce's and Dick's fighting styles. While Conner does have Super Strength, he isn't as strong as Superman or herself. Learning Dick's fighting style gives him an advantage in dodging the attack versus taking the hit. After a couple of minutes, Artemis finally ceased her attack.
"He's not completely defenseless. Compared to his cousin." Artemis commented.
"Do not compare me to them. The only that relates me to them is that half of my genetics is from them. Other than that, I hold no attachments to them." Conner said, arms crossed, a reminder of his pre-Bruce days.
"No matter, you've been allowed to remain on this island by request of the princess and Queen. You will not be given any special treatment. You will be trained like an Amazon at the end of this." Donna said.
"I expect nothing less."
Time passed Conner spent all of his time training with the Amazons. Days felt like weeks, weeks felt like months, and months felt like years for Conner. He kept on training going through every trial they could throw at him. For every failed trial, he trains even harder and tries again. Initially, the Amazons were hesitant to take him in. But both grew on each other. Conner made many good friends on the island. However, like a story, all things must come to an end. He was given a couple of surprises on the morning of the insisted sending-off ceremony. Hippolyta made Conner an honorary Amazon, a title given rarely to anyone. As an honorary Amazon, Conner was bestowed bracelets of submission, a lasso of truth, a suit with a sword, and the responsibility of being an ambassador of the Amazons to the world. Diana and Conner said their goodbyes to everyone, hopped into the invisible plane, and returned to man's world.
On the ride back, Conner was in awe of his new suit. He began playing around with his lasso and sword. He developed an absolute admiration and respect for the princess of Themyscira. The only issue he had with his time there was time. As Donna and others told him, 'Themyscira does not exist in any time or place that mortals understand'. As part of Themyscira's ability to conceal itself from the world and provide Wonder Woman a way to age slower than her mortal counterparts, Themyscira can be anywhere and anytime the Amazons want it to be. The only major downside for Conner was realizing that Conner was there for 16 years of training and learning. To an extent, he forced himself to remain to learn and train. Diana soon interrupted his thoughts by asking him about his lasso.
"What about it?" Conner asked.
"The lasso my mother gave you is a hybrid of both the lasso of truth and the lasso of lightning. The symbolism of yourself."
"Created by Ares and powered by Zeus. It all depends on my anger. A tool that requires absolute control."
"You understand the power you've been bestowed. This along magically endowing you with some of my pow-"
"I never wanted your power. I just want to know how to control my powers, use them, and figure out a path for myself. I'm thankful that all of you have adopted me in a sense."
"I know the relationship between the two of you isn't the brightest. But you shouldn't lose all hope."
"I never had hope. I just wanted to know what to do and his approval."
"There was a time when I grew tired of giving chances; my naiveté and innocence faded."
"Is that why you disappeared and went back after the war?"
"It is."
"What made you come back?"
"I calmed down, took my time to recover, and despite that, I saw the worst of humanity. I saw someone willing to risk their own lives to help save others. That man restored humanity to me. The fact that they could keep going inspired me. I'll admit, recently, this person caused me to have doubts."
"Bruce?"
Diana sighed, confirming Conner.
"It's hard to imagine what that kind of trauma could do to a child. Yet he persevered, determined to help others. The rest, as you know, is history."
In the Batcave, Bruce was busy gathering information on the Light and his Rogue Gallery, seeing if any connection could be made or to stop another crime. The Zeta-Tube announcement of Conner's arrival surprised Bruce, given that Clark and Kara were on Themyscira for three months. Compared to Conner's one-week leave. His arrival met with Alfred's hug and a glare from Bruce.
"Welcome back, Master Conner. I see your time on Themyscira was eventful." Alfred said.
"You don't know the half of it," Conner responded.
"Since when did the Amazons give out suits?" Bruce asked.
"Since they made me an ambassador between our worlds," Conner responded.
"I'm Proud of you. Now go spend some time with your friends." Bruce said with a grin.
Conner was torn. He wanted to combine elements of the suit Bruce made from him and the one from Themyscira. The design of both suits was similar, meaning Diana had a saying in it. Instead of red, white, and blue, the suit was covered in black, red, and hints of silver. Conner opted to wear both suits instead of combining elements of both suits and left for Mount Justice.
Boredom encased everyone at Mount Justice. Without school or missions, everyone watched whatever was interesting on cable. Even after the Zeta-Tube announcement of Conner's arrival didn't wake them up. Only after Robin noticed a shadow above them their coma soon wore off.
"Dude, you're back!" Robin announced.
Everyone quickly surrounded the demi-Kryptonian and hugged him.
"You've only been gone for a week," Wally said.
"Things work differently over there."
"So, are you Wonder Boy now?" Artemis asked, noticing the suits.
"Nope, but thanks for noticing."
"Con, I need to tell you something," Dick said
"If it's how exposed my body would be because of the other suit. I know that's why I decided to wear both."
"No, you might want to sit down," Kaldur said while M'gann placed her hand on his shoulder.
Dick looked at Conner. He could tell behind his sunglasses that he was pleading with him to sit down.
"What?"
Robin said nothing; he grabbed the remote and switched to GBS News. The TV was on mute, but the headline told him everything.
'Who is Supergirl?'
Robin kept on flipping to the other news channels. Every news channel in the world was running the same story. Some channels had different videos, but they were the same. The blonde girl fitted perfectly beside Superman, wearing his colors with a wide smile.
What was he supposed to feel?
Anger.
Hatred.
Sadness.
It didn't matter. So what if she is now Superman's sidekick? Who cares? He is a partner to Batman and Robin. He has his team, his sisters, and his family.
"Why are you showing me this?" Conner asked.
"I just wanted to let you know," Dick responded.
"Let her do whatever she wants. She has her freedom. I have you guys."
"Conner," M'gann said cautiously said, approaching him.
"I'm fine, truly. There's nothing that you need to"
Conner's sentence was soon interrupted by the appearance of a small floating man wearing a purple suit.
"Heya, kiddo!" The floating man said. Everyone grabbed their weapons and cautiously approached the floating man.
"What… who… who are you?" Conner asked.
"Your old man didn't tell you about me? Oh whatevs. You need a break, a vacation away, and your Uncle Myx knows the place!"
"Who are…"
Conner and the floating man soon disappeared from everyone. M'gann screamed his name. Everyone was in shock.
"Call Batman now!" Kaldur demanded.
Author's Note: I decided to incorporate some things from other DC media. The beginning of the story came from the 2009 Wonder Woman animated movie. In YJ, Diana disappeared after WW2 and didn't return until 2001. I decided to use Diana's loss of naiveté and innocence from the Justice League Unlimited series to show how she lost faith in humanity and consider whether or not they were worth giving another chance and saving as the reason for her disappearance. Bruce never became Batman in this universe until 1999. So it gave her time to see the best that humanity had to offer, thus restoring her faith while being guarded. Regarding making Conner an honorary Amazon during the Superman/Batman: The Supergirl from Krypton storyline, Kara was made an honorary Amazon. Making Conner one in this universe seems fitting as long as he accepts what the Amazons help versus rejecting it.