Chương 165: Stand-In.
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(General P.O.V)
A day later after the issue of Arkham asylum escapees and the Atlantis attack had been resolved, most of the League had decided to go home and rest. A shift rota had been quickly drawn up with The Flash and Captain Atom taking point. Usually Red Tornado's help would be indispensable in this kind of situation due to his cyborg physique not needing sleep. Unfortunately, finding him had hit a dead end on all fronts, though Batman had still not given up.
On another issue, Martian Manhunter and Miss Martian had similarly hit a dead end in their efforts to recover Superman's mind from the effects of the healing he had received from Aden.
After an extensive meeting that ate up 2 hours, the League had come to the decision that his family and girlfriend had to be notified of his condition. As the League's president, Wonder Woman had taken up that responsibility along with Black Canary for emotional support, when the distraught Martha and John Kent heard the news.
Lois was even more heartbroken. She ended up kicking Wonder Woman and Black Canary out. Luckily, Connor showed up a while later with takeout from Lois and Clark's favorite restaurant. They stayed up for hours, with Connor listening to stories about Clark. Stories that Lois was only too happy to tell.
And now a few hours later, the Batwing was gently landing on an ice ridden landscape in Antarctica. The hatch opened once the craft had fully descended, and the first person to jump out was Connor. His mouth was slightly wide in awed amazement.
"Up close it looks so much bigger than the pictures he showed me."
Batman landed on the ice with nary a sound and started to immediately walk towards the Fortress of solitude.
"Naturally."
Kaldur intoned, landing on the crunchy snow behind Connor. His descent was more audible than Batman's but looked just as smooth.
"Hurry up. We do not have all day."
Batman ordered from the front. The two teens stared at each other and Connor shrugged, hurrying after him. Kaldur calmly kept pace with him as they walked towards the mega structure constructed through alien means.
Batman soon stopped at what seemed to be the entrance to the Fortress. His gaze drifted down to a doormat on the floor. Connor following his gaze remembered something and bent down to lift it up. Under the doormat was a simple key that dully sat on the ground with cracks running out from its epicenter.
"He told me about this." Connor informed them, with a rare but fond smile on his face. His fingers ran along the notches on the key.
"Curved and molded from an asteroid. This key weighs 500 tons." He added, shocking Kaldur though Batman looked as impassive as ever.
Connor frowned and asked the Dark Knight pointedly.
"I hope you don't expect me to lift that. I can barely even move it."
And that was when he was using his tactile telekinesis.
Batman ignored him in favor of pressing a few displayed Keys on his holographic wrist computer.
A Panel on the side of the huge door slid off, revealing a terminal with a few touch pads constructed on the crystalline surface. Batman tapped a few more Keys in quick succession.
"Override, Zulu Zulu Alpha Zulu Bravo. Designation, Night Bird."
Connor and Kaldur watched intently as the terminal lit up blue, followed by the audible hiss as the door opened. Batman gave a small smile.
"I have my ways."
The three of them walked inside, the two teens were awed by just about everything. This was the base of one of if not the strongest superhero in the world. And they were standing inside it!
Connor's jaw was wide in a strange emotion as he studied the two statues depicting a man and woman holding up a globe. Clark had shown him pictures. These were his biological parents. Jor-El and Lara.
"He told me he'd bring me here whenever we found the time." Connor found himself speaking, lightly touching the symbol of the house of El branded onto one side of the wall next to the two legendary figures.
Kaldur listened in, lightly touching the clone's shoulder in quiet understanding.
"I am sorry, my friend. Take ease in knowing the League will do everything in its power to bring him back."
Connor closed his eyes and calmed his breathing.
"Yeah...yeah, you're right." He found it easy to reply after a few seconds. The only other thing he wished for was that M'gann was with him there.
"Identify yourselves."
A slightly electronic voice commanded as a man in his forties appeared before Batman who was leaning forward on one of the screens displayed. The Dark Knight straightened up and studied the floating vaguely humanoid robot that had just come from one of the dozens hallways.
"Stand down Kelex, I believe these are...not merely uninvited guests."
The Artificial Intelligence created from the true essence of the dead Jor-El had shimmered into being before the console, Superman had installed for others to better interact with the crystal based technology of Krypton.
"Jor-El." Batman acknowledged.
"Batman." The AI responded with a small smile, then his gaze went to the two teens gathered in place. He particularly studied Connor, who was dressed in a t-shirt displaying the Symbol of the house of El. Jor-El seemed to understand something by the brief look of surprise that folded into acceptance on his face.
"I see you brought along interesting company. Would you mind introducing me?"
The AI enquired.
Connor took that as his cue and stepped forward with no one's direction.
"I huh... I'm Kon-El." The Jor-El copy merely smiled.
"I was created from the d.n.a of Superman by an evil organization, to take his place in case he ever turned from 'the light'."
The teen could not hide his disdain for the word. Lex Luthor's evil band of would be world dominators, would forever be one of his least favorite things. Right next to Monkeys.
The smile on Jor-El's face remained, though a touch of concern could also be seen inside his eyes.
Connor tightened his palms.
"I have since escaped from their clutches and I'm now spending my time trying to do good. Like...like..."
"Superman?"
Jor-El offered.
Connor shook his head.
"No, like Kal. He taught me that the man behind the cowl is just as important if not more than the one we see flying in to save people from a burning building. Because it's when we interact with people in our true selves that we understand what good truly means."
"Mmmmh." Jor-El hummed.
"I see. And you are?"
The question was directed at Kaldur. Connor hid the look of dissatisfaction on Jor-El's simple reaction just as Aqualad stepped forward.
"I am Kaldur, a friend of Connor's, Kon-El's earth name. Much like he, I seek to follow in the footsteps of great heroes like Superman and make the world a better place."
"And I am Jor-El. I find it simple if you just refer to me as that. Otherwise the truth is a little more complicated and I do not believe we have the luxury of time." He turned to Batman who was busy combing through the console with practiced ease.
"Based on the terms of your database search, I take it that something has happened to my son?"
And so they told the AI everything. From Superman's battle with Lobo, to getting healed, to going into a coma that he didn't appear to rouse himself from. At the end of it, the technological ghost of the smartest scientist from before Krypton was destroyed was left feeling more than just concerned.
"The radiation from your yellow sun should have fixed any and all issues pertaining to his health."
He observed, walking closer toward a terminal made of Kryptonian crystal material called sunstone.
"We believe the issue might be...soul related."
Connor offered, crossing his hands on his chest.
"As mentioned earlier, the data our associate telepaths got when they dove into his mind, shows a normal psyche, his mental faculties indicate no anomalies. What was missing was his mental imprint, they compared it to a clean but empty house."
Batman added.
"Mmh." Jor-El sighed.
"I don't know how I can help you with this. Krypton's database contains scientific information, data on star maps and multiple alien species. The most I can find on anything relating to the soul or the spirit is texts on Rao the God of Krypton."
The pair of teens looked at each other.
"And?"
Connor insisted to which Jor-El shook his head.
"Not much information on that I'm afraid. The crystals prioritized useful data and information. Something that could have helped my son not only fit in but also help the people of this planet. Anything else was discarded."
Connor clenched his jaw hard enough that he felt as if his teeth were going to crack. Another dead end.
"Where's the gym?"
He asked before storming off into the depths of the fortress anyway.
Jor-El looked at his back in quiet understanding.
"He is so different from Kal yet...I cannot help but compare that stubbornness and determination to a member of the house of El." Jor-El commented, to which Batman nodded before turning to Kaldur and nodding towards Superboy's direction.
"Kelex, follow him and show him the way to the training room. Batman and I need to talk."
The robot pulsed in confirmation before following after Kaldur and Superboy.
2 hours later, Batman, Superboy and Aqualad left the Fortress of Solitude. On Superboy's lap, lay a case, opened.
"Are you sure about this?"
Batman asked softly. He could relate in a way to what Connor might have been going through. Bruce had after all lost both of his parents when he was just a child.
Connor took a few long seconds to consider his answer.
"Yes. Yes, I am. The World Needs Superman. Especially now that the Light have grown confident in their schemes." Connor narrowed his eyes.
"I cannot shoot heat visions, not yet. Neither can I use ice breath or many of his lesser known but useful abilities. But I can now fly, I can punch and kick and save people but most importantly, this symbol will serve as a beacon of hope for them. I can't replace Superman but I can more than do well as a temporary Stand-in."
In the case, a Superman costume was neatly folded, sized down to fit the young teen. The crest of the house of El sat prominently on the chest portion of the suit. Batman smiled from his position in the cockpit. A genuine smile.
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