FlashBack
Chapter 13
Star City
10am
10/13/2011
Dinah's Thursday was supposed to start like almost any other. 7 a.m., she would be inside her shop either preparing for walk-in customers or filling orders for other customers. By 8 a.m., her shop opens up for walk-ins. She would typically close up shop at 5 p.m. and repeat the cycle during the weekday, assuming she didn't need to chase people out of the store because of a league emergency. On this particular Thursday, however, she got an unexpected visitor that forced her to close up shop early. She led him to her upstairs office and quickly closed up shop for the day.
"Is there a reason why you wanted to do this here?" Black Canary asked, entering the room.
"Privacy." Conner responded, taking his seat.
"The cave is private. What happened after Metropolis?" Dinah asked, getting to the point.
"It's complicated." Conner responded after a minute of staring at Canary.
"We have all day."
"I fell." Conner said after taking a deep breath.
When Mxyzptlk snapped his fingers, Conner went from inside the Watchtower to falling. As soon as he landed, he looked up to see four people. To his left, an older man and a younger man wearing nearly identical suits. To his right, he saw Superman without his classic 'undies' uniform and HIMSELF! But half of his face was red, and some of his hair was gone.
"What?"
The thing Conner was able to say as one of the figures shot heat vision and thankfully missed. Instantly, he threw a smoke bomb, fired his grapple, and got out of there. The fighting started. There were so many fights. M'gann was fighting against a woman in green with a giant eyeball? He and Superman were fighting against a father and son duel (given their similar facial structure), and a shapeshifter and another creature were fighting each other. He opted to help the man in a black and blue uniform and the woman in orange and kicked their foe far. Before he could, a white figure came at him and attacked him with telekinesis and telepathy. Conner realized the figure was a white Martian. He did his best to shield his mind, but the Martian continued his attack; it was futile. The Martian saw tidbits of his life. Conner's mind was under assault. He quickly pressed a button on his belt and activated his explosives. The blast sent both Conner and the Martian flying. Conner landed in the arms of the foe he was going to attack, and the foe tried to crush him. With his belt being gone. He quickly pulled a dagger out of his boot and stabbed the man in the leg. However, the man yelped in pain before Conner even stabbed him. His dagger was encrusted with Kryptonite, which he grabbed before heading to the Watchtower earlier. An insurance policy in case Superman or Supergirl tried anything. It clicked in his mind. Their foes were Kryptonian. Everyone was still battling it out. Conner saw an older Rocket coming out of a yellow sphere. A Kryptonian woman with a green eyeball tried to attack him. In an instant, Conner used his sword and unexpectedly sliced the eyeball in half, destroying it. The woman screamed and tried to attack him before she, too, was sliced vertically in half by Conner's blade.
"Wait, Stop. You killed someone?" Canary asked.
"That night, I killed every Kryptonian except for my counterpart and Superman's counterpart."
"You killed someone."
"You try dealing with insane Kryptonians that want to turn Earth into New Krypton."
"You could've wounded them."
"I did. They got back up and tried to kill me. I don't take pleasure in killing, but if they don't stay down and acknowledge defeat, then…"
"How did other Kryptonians die?"
"They tried to level Metropolis Plaza and injured everyone else. They then went off to attack me. The youngest tried to flee using the Sphere Rocket arrived in, but it exploded."
"Your handy work?"
"I planted explosives with telekinesis while no one was looking. Didn't want anyone to flee."
"Aftermath?"
"I considered fleeing. I didn't know if I was in an alternate universe, the future, or both. I surrendered to them, given my limited options. The league tended to everyone's injuries. While I was put into an interrogation cell in the Watchtower."
"Why not the mountain?"
"It was destroyed. Upon my arrival, Batman and Wonder Woman interrogated me."
"Who are you? What are you doing here? Why did you kill the Kryptonians." Batman asked.
While Batman's methods were effective, they were losing time. The league needed to know who they were dealing with. Wonder Woman grabbed her lasso and was about to place it on Conner.
"If you wish to know who I am, remove my mask; the answers are yours." Conner said.
Wonder Woman removed Conner's mask, and both heroes were shocked at who was before them.
"By the gods." Wonder Woman said. She quickly grabbed her lasso and placed it on Conner.
"How long were you interrogated for?"
"Almost two hours. I told them most of everything. During the interrogation, it became clear that I was both in the future and an alternate universe."
"What happened after that?"
"I was presented to the leaguers that were present. They told me they'd try to help me find my way back. I was to be watched over every minute by someone with Kryptonite just in case."
"What happened to the White Martian that attacked you earlier?"
"The blast that sent us flying killed him."
"You killed a white Martian?"
"I killed M'gann's brother." Conner said plainly, to Canary's surprise.
"When did you find out?"
"When I was being presented to everyone."
"Is that why M'gann and J'onn took a quick trip back to Mars a couple of weeks ago?"
Canary looked at him. His lack of response was confirmation.
"You stayed on the watchtower?"
"I was there for about a month. Most of my days were either stewing in boredom or fixing stuff. Most of the time, their magic wielders attempted to send me home. It was interesting Nabu was unable to see or sense me. Zatanna was limited in her skills."
"Zatanna?"
"Zatara's daughter in their universe. Everyone who knew magic couldn't send me back."
"Did the other Superman and Superboy not offer you a place to go?"
"Superman did, but I declined. I didn't want to mess anything up."
Canary just looked at him.
Conner sighed. "I spent the first six months of my freedom waiting for Superman. I didn't want to disappoint myself."
"But did he offer you a chance?"
"I would've been gone in two months assuming the imp showed up. No point in reminiscing about what could've been mine."
"But what if you were stuck there?"
"But what if you were stuck here?" Superman asked.
Conner just looked at the man of steel. Every attempt to send him back so far has failed, and while he wouldn't mind staying in the WatchTower. He knew what he had to say to alleviate any concerns or thoughts. He didn't want their pity. It wasn't his world.
Conner sighed. "Fine, I'll go."
Clark walked with Conner and was joined by Superboy. They soon exited the Zeta-Tube in Smallville and were joined at the farm. For Conner, it was nearly identical to his Superman's memories. Robbing him of the surprise and everything he wanted. Wolf and Sphere soon perked up when they saw the new visitor and were astonished at what they saw. Clark soon introduced Conner to the whole family passively. However, an unexpected voice soon caught him off guard.
"Uncle Conner! Uncle Conner! Uncle… Conner?" A little boy said, jumping up and down.
"Oh, Conner, I want to introduce you to Jonny, my son." Superman said.
"Our nephew." Superboy said.
Clark was about to introduce Jon to Conner's counterpart when everyone heard a thud and saw that Superboy's counterpart had fainted.
While Conner was passed out, the Kent family discussed everything about him: his arrival, where he was, etc. Clark mentioned that this time was much shorter, unlike his first attempt to establish a relationship with Conner. Superboy did note that his counterpart was a bit more distant, which was not surprising given the circumstances. The man of the hour soon woke himself and everyone by slicing the coffee table in half. Lois quickly grabbed Jon for everyone's safety.
Conner just stood there staring at the little bundle of joy. Both Supers noticed his heart was beating very slowly.
"Didn't realize you could have kids?" Conner joked.
"Johnny, this is your… other Uncle Conner. He's going to be staying with us for a bit." Superman said, introducing little Jonny to Conner.
"He has a kid, and you fainted?"
"It's a nice shock to the system, wouldn't you agree?"
"Your counterpart was accepted, and Superman has a kid. Do you have resentment against them?"
"I was taught, whelmed, and feeling the aster."
"That doesn't answer my question."
"No, I didn't resent them in any way. Was I shocked that he has a kid? YES! I have his memories, including a conversation with S.T.A.R Lab scientist on the possibilities of…spreading his seed."
"Jealousy then."
"Being in another world where everyone you know has different lives is already a big enough shock to the system. But let's keep on piling everything up, shall we?" Conner said with sarcasm.
Canary just looked at him.
"I'm not jealous."
"You keep mentioning him as Superboy what does that mean?
"He's public. I confronted him about it."
"Why did you go public?" Conner asked.
He and Superboy were on Kent's porch. Superboy was playing with Jonny and Wolf while he was enjoying a cup of tea.
"I needed to be a symbol of hope for others." Superboy responded.
"There're other ways of doing that without being public. Secrecy is the greatest weapon that any of us have."
"You don't get it now, but you will later. I need to be out there helping people, helping my brothers."
Conner sighed; his brothers and the original Roy Harper and Guardian were still alive in this universe.
"Have you ever considered that you be adding fuel to the fire? Any action you may take can be a double-edged sword. I've only been here for more than two months. Yet the direction your world is taking concerns me."
"You don't get it now, but you will later."
"Get What? Seeing my counterpart for filling his programming? Being the replacement?"
"Is that what you view me as?"
"I don't think any of you see what's going on. I compared notes with other leaguers. You haven't won a single battle against Savage and the Light. At best, you are an inconvenience to them. Ask yourself a simple question: 'Are you helping the world or prolonging the inevitable'."
"You may view it as that. But there's nothing wrong with giving people hope."
"There is when hope doesn't appear. Don't give people fake hope. That symbol is nothing more than a symbol. Time will eventually tell us whether or not you did good or bad."
"I've made my decision."
"You should've asked the Legionnaire before they left."
"Legionnaire?"
"The future version of the Justice League. Based in the 31st century, Superboy was their inspiration. Something will happen in 2030 and create them. They were also involved with the Metropolis battle that I landed in."
"Your discouragement was ineffective?"
"To my knowledge, Superboy would resume his public hero life as soon as I departed. Despite my warning. Superman told him to keep on doing what he thinks is right."
"How was your relations with the Superman and his folks?"
"Distant. I spent most of my time on the farm doing chores, fixing tractors, etc."
"You didn't go on any team missions?"
"I went on one after Superboy asked for my help. The mission involved Queen Perdita. Vlatava discovered something, and she arranged a secret shipment to S.T.A.R Labs in Star City."
"Why did he ask you, and what was in the shipment?"
"He asked me since someone on the team had a close relationship with Perdita. I was asked to substitute for the sake of judgment, and I didn't know what was in the shipment."
"Was it Kid Flash?"
"It wasn't, I won't say, for the future's sake, but they weren't happy about me substituting them. We compromised. I was to be in the shadows while they would be public in this fight. The plan was to distract everyone long enough for Perdita to be rescued. Do you remember the Kryptonite-powered robot named Metallo that terrorizing Metropolis before Doomsday's arrival?"
"I do."
"In that universe, Luthor created him, and he was to be Superboy's executioner. We were in a LexCorp factory in Bialya when Superboy encountered him. The other team was able to rescue Perdita, and I intervened. I was able to remove Metallo from Superboy as well as the Kryptonite. We did, however, argue over the Kryptonite that powered Metallo."
Wonder Girl tied up Devastation and Mammoth up. Superboy was on the ground in pain from the Kryptonite. Miss Martian and Tigress soon arrived to assist everyone. Conner meanwhile took the Kryptonite and placed it in a lead line compartment on his new Utility belt that he requested from Batman for this mission.
"We must leave immediately." Conner said.
"What a Hypocrite! You can't let your precious Superboy die, but you have no problem watching the new kid kick it. He needs that rock to survive now. So are you gonna let him have it or watch him die without it?" Devastation asked.
"He needs sunlight. Get him out now." Conner whispered to M'gann.
M'gann began moving both Conner and Match, but Superboy intervened.
"Wait, give him the Kryptonite, let him live." Superboy said weakly.
Conner didn't have time to argue. He grabbed his sword and sliced off a piece of Metallo's back, exposing his backup system. Metallo screamed in pain.
"I'm not that stupid. Your systems have a backup. I think you have 30 minutes of reserve power before you shut down. He's not going to die. Nice trick playing on our kindness." Conner said.
Everyone nodded and began to move. Superboy, however, pleaded again.
"Please just-"
"I'm not going to give him something that can harm you. He has his reserve power. He's not going to die. He's going to shut down in half an hour, assuming Daddy Luthor doesn't come and rescue him." Conner said, pinching one of Superboy's nerves and knocking him out. Conner then wrapped his lasso around Devastation, Mammoth, and Metallo.
"What are you doing?" Tigress asked.
"Wiping their memories about this. I don't want them to know of my presence." The lasso soon shined, and all three of them passed out.
"You wiped their memories?"
"It would be disastrous if more people knew about my presence. During the fight, I disabled all electronics in the building to ensure no one knew I was there."
"Conner, you can't just go and wipe-"
"What if the light found out about my presence? What if their Savage and our Savage partnered? What I did was to protect everyone."
"I'm not denying it. But let me understand: Mxyzptlk transported you into another universe whose timeline was in the future per se. You spent three months with them. Of which you claim you have no jealousy or resentment. But why did you need to come here? You could've told Batman all of this."
"What happened before landing in their universe shook me. Mxyzptlk wanted to torture me. He showed me a glimpse of other universes, their histories, and events."
"What did you see?"
"Some good, some bad. I honestly don't know what I saw. It's been compressed in my mind, and it's slowly decompressing. I see worlds. I've seen their possible future, and it's not good. J'onn has told me he couldn't do anything regarding the compressed memories."
"You mentioned many individuals, Yet there is only one person whom you haven't mentioned at all."
"He's another reason why I came here."
"When does Wally die?"
"June 2016 at the Arctic."
"Just because it happened there doesn't mean."
"But what if it does?"
"Conner, I'm sorry, but it's part of our job. We see the best and the worst, and they will affect us no matter what."
"Did you know he retired from the hero life? He and Artemis. They lost so many friends, and they left. They only came back because of a favor and the fate of the world. I don't want to lose him. I only agreed to be public so we could hang out more and have more time before the eventual end."
"We can't save everyone, Conner. But we do the best we can to save everyone."
Do you want to know how I got back?
"Not really."
"In short, another imp named Nite-Mite and Gsptlsnz found me. They told me that Mxyzptlk was killed by their Tribunal for interfering in our affairs. It wasn't the first time he was caught up in this, and they brought me back here."
"Conner, you need to realize even with the greatest amount of preparation, you can't prevent things from happening. It could be the universe's will or fate, and you need to acknowledge it."
"I know. But I want to do everything I can to stop it."
"Does that include learning sorcery from Doctor Fate?"
"I'm sorry?"
"Kaldur told us."
"You don't need to be a Homo Magi to use magic." Conner responded in defeat.
"Conner, you can't just-"
"Can't what? Kryptonians are vulnerable to magic. I might as well get a little protection while I can… and if there is any way to save him."
"Conner, you're putting so much effort and stress over a possibility."
"A possibility that can happen. I've been in a universe of the worst-case scenario where they didn't take much option. We need to take action."
"Conner, the league and the team exist so that we can each help each other. You don't need to do all of this on your own."
"I will do whatever it takes to make sure whatever the light is planning never happens and to save Wally."
Epilogue
"It would appear our test was a success, wouldn't you agree?" A Lord of Chaos said.
"Agreed, the child has proven that he is up to the task." A Lord of Order responded.
"Are you sure we should entrust this child with the fate of this universe?"
"We have all seen the outcomes in other universes. Universe 16 and 52's outcomes prove to be unsavory for anyone."
"And what of Mxyzptlk? Was the Tribunal's termination part of your plan?"
"Mxyzptlk was only needed to test and transport the child to his sister universe and implant knowledge of the other universes. He needed to be terminated to ensure the continual stability of the multiverse."
"What of concealment of the child? If our counterparts learn of the child then-"
"Our counterparts are occupied with the Savage and the oncoming storm. If the child fails and the anti-life equation takes hold, we all will perish."
Epilogue 2
Dinah was in the shop again the following day, prepping orders until an unexpected visitor came to pick up a quick order.
"Well?" Bruce Wayne asked.
"He visited me earlier and confessed. I can't tell you much, but I can tell you he's changed. He was transported into another universe's future with similar events. He is doing everything he can to prevent tragedy, including learning from Fate." Dinah responded.
"Anything else I should know?" Bruce asked.
"He more you than Robin." Dinah plainly said, handing him his order and walking into the back room.
As Alfred drove Bruce back to the Zeta-Tube, Bruce's comm rang.
"Batman"
"It's Lantern. Guy Gardner returned; he found our missing planet." Hal Jordan said.
"That's good."
"No, it's not; he has the worst news. We need an emergency meeting."
"Understood."
Authors Note:
Yes, this is a crossover between this story and the end of Season 4/ Young Justice: Targets (Earth 16).
The Emerald Eye does have a weakness to Kryptonite. Also, I'm not trying to make Conner a killer. Given his situation, he had no choice but to kill the Zods, given they were hell-bent on making Earth New Krypton. I'm not dissing Zatanna, but a portal to another universe is entirely out of her and everyone's league.
Conner refers to his counterpart as Superboy simply because he was able to become Superboy. He doesn't resent or have jealousy towards Superboy. The reason why he is so down compared to Superboy is his upbringing. Conner waited for Superman but gave up after New Year's, whereas Superboy was beginning to be accepted by Superman on New Year's. Superman and Superboy began to develop a relationship while Conner was tossed aside for Supergirl and began considering other options. It should also be noted that since Bruce has taken Conner in, Conner has a darker tone on life given certain aspects compared to Superboy. His conversation with Superboy about publicity and a beacon of hope symbolism showed different ways to address problems. Superboy becomes public to inspire others and help the meta-human and alien communities. In contrast, Conner prefers to hide in shadows like his mentor to get work done. Given his background of what symbols mean and can do to others, he doesn't care about the publicity.
Regarding Conner's use of his lasso to wipe Devastation, Mammoth, and Metallo's memories and his learning magic in the Titans TV series, Donna Troy mentioned that her lasso can wipe people's memories, so I added that here. Greg has said that you don't need to be a Homo Magi to use or learn magic, but it's beneficial if the user needs to perform at a high level.
