AN: this is my first story, please be kind with the reviews. I will accept constructive criticism but no insults whatsoever. I really like reading the New 52 comics though a lot say the new Superboy is not that good but I think he is. I always thought that the Superboy from Young Justice would eventually get his powers but since the show is over and there are no signs of it coming back I decided to write this.
AN UPDATE: Chapter revised and rewritten (RR)
Waking Up
He had dreams he never talked to anyone about. They were dreams about flying, about aging, and about feeling whole. Every time he woke up he reminded himself of the truth. If something was meant to happen, it would have happened by then. Many said he was lucky because he didn't physically age. They didn't know what they were talking about. He had already distanced from some of his civilian friends because they were noticing he hadn't changed since they met. He watched the kids he helped train start reaching his height; some of them would be taller than him in a few years. For all of his life, he would always be a 'boy' and not a 'man'.
Then, he changed. It scared him so bad he couldn't find the will to stop running as fast as he could through the Mohave Desert. Everything blurred past him. It was only when he felt out of breath and saw a radiant moon that he stopped. A small cloud of dust surrounded him because of his sudden stop. He savored the silence of the desert and though he had done well in throwing out his communicator as he fell back on the desert floor. He stared up at the star filled night sky still trying to catch his breath. This had to be some sort of dream, he thought as he tried to make sense of what happened. If he had stayed, everyone would be fretting over him, treating him like a child when he didn't feel like one. So he was seven years, and he looked sixteen, but that didn't mean they could treat him like that.
He groaned before slamming one of his fists against the ground. He needed to think of this rationally. First of all, this wasn't so bad. Finding out part of him came from Lex Luthor was bad, not this. But, why now? Why not a year or more ago? Things would probably be very different.
It was slightly over a year since they had kept the Reach from conquering Earth. The world would probably never know it, but it wasn't the League who stopped them. It was the Team and he couldn't have felt more proud to be part of it until he learned of their losses. He thought of Wally and wondered what he would have thought of all of this. Artemis surely put up a good front in front everyone but she was always distant. It wasn't a real victory, he thought bitterly. They had come across difficulties through that year too; some more horrifying than he would like to remember. The attack on Batgirl was at the top of his list and he wished to get his hands on the Joker.
He spread his fingers on the dry ground and took a deep breath. The shock ran through his body like lightning for a few seconds and then he took it all in. He could feel everything. The extensiveness of the desert and the sky and all that lived in them and between them. Every heartbeat, every breath, every life starting and ending; it was amazing and terrifying. This was not a dream. Never in his wildest of dreams, he could have felt this.
That morning felt like so long ago. It was a morning like any other when he first realized something was different. Or maybe things had already been changing but he just didn't notice. As usual, he ate breakfast with M'gann at the Watchtower's cafeteria. They had been talking about the usual things like previous missions and the friends they had in common. He had spaced out, bored of the repetitiveness of it. M'gann didn't like that. She used her powers to pull his plate away from him with a playful smile. They tried to rekindle their relation starting by being friends again, but in a few months, they realized they could never be more than that.
Sometimes even being her friend felt strained. She tried too hard like at that moment while she claimed he didn't even try sometimes. He gave her an amused look to show her he was trying and then reached for his plate. She pulled it higher with a short laugh. Now, he knew many had their eyes on them. He really didn't like people watching him. Maybe, he thought, he should just grab some more food and go to his bedroom. What if she got mad at him for leaving her behind? He wasn't getting up on the chair to try to reach the plate because he knew she would just bring it even higher.
Then something happened he could describe right away. He felt dizzy for a fraction of a second. It was as if he wasn't seated but above. No, it was like a part of him reached for it. Then, he could feel his plate.
Lying on the dry ground of the desert he realized this wasn't entirely true. It was more than just the plate. He could feel everything around him; the cafeteria and everyone in it. But he wanted his plate back so he didn't realize it until then.
"How did you do that?" M'gann asked him as the plate landed in front of him with wide eyes.
"What are you talking about?" he asked her confused. He had thought she had stopped playing and returned it to him when she sensed his annoyance.
"I…" she started before shaking her head, "never mind" she believed then that maybe one of the League members had decided to help him.
When she left there was frown on her face. She was confused, but he could tell something else was bothering her. He thought of the time that maybe it was because someone from the League got involved. They usually stayed out of each other's business. Still, he couldn't think of who could have been. As the day progressed he started to believe something else was going on.
In the afternoon, he was working in the ship hangar. It was one of the things he liked to do on his own accord. He knew it might be the Luthor genes he was carrying, but he liked working with machines and he was good at it too. It might also have to do with the encyclopedic knowledge Cadmus put into him. Either way, he liked tinkering with machines and especially engines. He and Hal Jordan were replacing one of the Javelin's engines, not a very common treat.
"…faster than me, but still is a pretty nice engine. Kid, pass me the welder" and then Hal felt the welder land on his open hand, "thanks."
"For what?" he asked before Hal looked back to see him carrying the old engine away.
"No…nothing," Hal laughed nervously, "I guess I used a construct without realizing."
He stared at the Lantern with skepticism. He didn't recall seeing him create any construct while working on the ships ever. The once test pilot preferred to work with his own hands when it came to them for old times' sake.
He started to suspect something was going on but it was only when he was loading the ships with provisions and other necessities that he was sure of it. Since the missions had been few in between and they were still in summer break, he took his time only carrying one box at the time when he usually could balance three. After his first trip, he found more than half of the boxes gone. He went back to the ships and found them there.
He went to the training rooms where he spotted Black Canary sparring with Robin while others watched.
"Kid Flash?" he called from the door. It was not that he didn't appreciate the help but he really wanted to do that on his own. It gave him some peace and quiet.
"Yes, Supps?" Bart asked appearing before him with a large smile as he munched on a bag of chips.
"Did you move the boxes?" he asked the kid who gave him a confused look, "the ones with the supplies for the ships.
"Nope, I was in the training room with Blue," he said before tilting his head to the side with a small frown, "are you feeling okay?"
The way he was looking at him startled him. It was as if he was seeing something else on him.
"Yeah," Conner said closing his eyes. He was actually starting to feel a little dizzy again.
Bart didn't look convinced but didn't push the matter any further.
"I have to get back or Black Canary will have my head. Just call if you need anything, alright?" Bart gave him a friendly smile before going back to watching the spar.
He thought then that something was wrong with him. He was sure he could feel just as he saw the worry on Kid Flash's face. His mind was playing tricks with him. More than once Clark told him to take it easy. With college, missions, training, and also helping with maintenance he believed maybe he was right and he was pushing himself too much. After finishing loading the remaining boxes, he went to his small bedroom. It was a far outcry for space from what he used to have in Mount Justice, but he couldn't complain since it served its purpose. He collapsed on his bed, face first and willed himself to sleep for a few hours.
He dreamed he was back in his pot in Cadmus, oblivious to the world outside. He only knew he existed and without knowing he felt lonely that he had never experienced anything. Then the G-Gnomes made themselves known to him before they turned on the sound in his brain and he heard sound for the first time. He didn't know what it was until the G-Gnomes started making sense of it for him. They told him Desmond and Dr. Spence were discussing.
"But we won't know that unless you let me run more tests on him," Dr. Spence said as she motioned to him inside his pot.
"We are not waking it up for something as absurd as a hunch," Desmond narrowed eyes on her; "the weapon's readings just became stable."
"But what if he wasn't brain dead this whole time; we would have ended Project Kr weeks ago if we really believed that" she said looking at him and something told him she didn't see him as a weapon, "we knew Project Kr was going to be something different than a human or a Kryptonian, what if this is it?"
"Absolutely not," Desmond said slowly and angrily "he will either have his abilities or a failure and then exterminated"
You close minded fool, and then he could hear Dr. Spence's thoughts all thanks to the G-Gnomes, you want a carbon copy but he is much more than that.
This was no longer a dream because he remembered he had thought the same as her. He was more than a copy though he didn't know at the time what he was. He knew he existed and had been lost in his conscious mind for the past few days trying to figure it out. He knew he had hands, legs, a head, a stomach but they all had the same meaning to him as the hair growing at the top of his head. It all mattered to him because it was him. His thoughts didn't come from his head; they came everywhere, including his small toes. They were his eyes and ears, and then he knew what Dr. Spence and Desmond looked like without having to open his physical eyes.
Not yet, the G-Gnomes whispered when he thought it might be a good idea to tell them what he thought, not here. And the G-Gnomes helped him push the thought to the back of his mind and forget it until then.
He woke up startled and breathless. Every single thing he just saw he knew had actually happened. He could feel it as he looked around his room and saw everything that was his floating around. He knew this wasn't a dream as his laptop floated into his closet and out again. The moment he centered on the laptop something stranger happened. He could feel everything about that laptop; every circuit, every piece, everything he could and couldn't feel when he held it on his hands. Then, everything fell down to the ground in a heap with a sound so immense that made him jump out of his bed. He realized the sound came from more than just his own things.
He rushed outside and ran down the hall into the cafeteria to spot trays and plates all strewn on the ground. The League and many of his teammates were trying to find the source of the phenomenon. He walked back slowly before he headed to the control room. Every step was taken carefully as if stepping on glass. He could feel the circuitry in the walls, the people behind closed doors. Everything as he reached the control room and saw Batman and Martian Man Hunter trying to pinpoint what exactly had happened. Then Martian Man Hunter froze and turned to look at him with a shocked expression
"Conner?" he asked, and he knew the Martian knew he was the source of everything.
"I…" he said stepping back because now he could feel the alien's trying to enter his mind. The sprinklers burst open spraying him with water before the walls started to groan as if something heavy was leaning against them, "I…"
"Calm down Conner," the Martian said stopping his proving so he would not make things any worse, "we just need to talk"
"No," he said before turning around and running away as fast as he could.
He jumped into the first Zeta-Beam he had found and come out somewhere in Texas. From there he had started running without real destination until he ended here. As he lay on the dry ground he wondered why he ran away. He knew he could trust the League and his friends, but part of him kept telling him that he had to get away from them.
"That is amazing," and of course, they sent Clark to get him.
He looked around and realized he had lifted a few boulders in proximity without meaning to. Unsure he did his best to lower them down.
"It doesn't feel amazing," Conner said as he stood up to face him.
"I imagine," Clark sighed, "new powers are never easy"
Conner was quiet for a long time. He had been told many times by Clark of the difficulties he had when he first got his powers. No one was there to guide him and more than once it had caused him trouble. He couldn't even start to image how frightened he had been as a child when he got his heat vision and burned more than half of the Kent's crops.
"I need to learn how to use them before I go back," he said remembering how just being frightened had messed everything around him.
"What about staying at the farm for a while, there is plenty of space to practice" Clark offered, besides since his parents passed away the house had been too lonely.
"I don't want to mess anything up," he knew how much that house meant to him.
"Believe me, you won't break anything that I didn't break at one point," Clark said patting him on the back after he stood up, "c'mon, let's get you settled."
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OLD CHAPTER VERSION
Becoming Superboy 1
Conner thought it had all been a dream and even if it had been true he thought it would never happen now. He was stuck in eternal sixteen so there was no chance whatsoever that he would change. But he did. He ran as fast as he could through the Mohave Desert. He stopped once he spotted the radiant moon above. A small cloud of dust drew around him. He was glad he had thrown out his communicator as he fell on his back and stared up. He needed time to think on his own. This was not as bad as learning part of him came from Lex Luthor's DNA, but it was not welcome either.
The year before they had stopped a whole invasion while some of the heavy hitters of the League had been off planet; it had been one of their proudest and saddest moments in the Team. That past year wasn't without its difficulties but nonetheless it had been a good year. What a way to end it, he thought bitterly. He sat and placed his hand on the dry ground. He was shocked for an instant but then he took it all in. He could feel the extensiveness of the desert and all that lived on it and underneath it. It was amazing and frightening.
It had all started that morning, it had been a usual morning as he and Megan ate breakfast together at the Watch Tower. They had been talking about some assignment that he could not remember now. Then she had used her powers to pull his plate away from him with a playful smile. They were back to being friends, but he thought she tried too hard sometimes. Still, he played along and reached for it just for her to make it go higher. He felt multiple sets of eyes watching his back. They were not alone in the Tower's lunch room and he was starting to get a little annoyed. He was not about to get on the chair to try to reach his plate again just for her to bring it even higher.
Something happened then, he didn't realize it at first, but he could actually feel the plate. As he lay in the dry ground of the desert he recalled this was not true. He was actually able to feel the whole lunch room and everyone on it. But his mind was centered on the plate and his wish for it to come back to him. Then it did.
"How did you do that?" Megan asked him before he gave her a confused look.
"What are you talking about?" he asked still confused. He had thought she had stopped playing and returned it to him.
"I…" she started before shaking her head, "never mind" she believed then that maybe one of the League members had decided to help Conner.
As the day went by she and other realized this was not the case.
Conner was, even if he said so himself, rather good with machines. It might be because he had all the knowledge Cadmus had put into him or that he truthfully liked tinkering with things. At any rate, he had been helping Hal Jordan with one of the League's ships.
"…faster than me, but still is a pretty nice engine. Kid, pass me the welder" and the Hal felt something land on his hand, "thanks"
"For what?" Conner asked before Hal picked from where he was working to spot the kid carrying the old engine away.
"No…nothing," Hal thought that maybe he used his ring without meaning and pulled the welder himself.
Conner finally started to suspect something was going on as he loaded one of the ships with provisions and other necessary things in case of emergencies. This was a job he usually liked before it gave him some time alone to think. Though he had super strength he still decided to carry at the most two heavy boxes at the time. After returning from his first trip he found more than half of the boxes gone. He went to the other ships and found them all in their corresponding places.
"Kid Flash?" Conner called with a frown on his face. It was not that he didn't appreciate the help but he really wanted to do this on his own.
"Yes Suppie!?" Barth said appearing before him with a large smile as he munched on a bag of chips.
"Did you move the boxes?"
"Nope, I was in the training room with Blue," he said before tilting his head to the side with a small frown, "are you feeling okay?" he could sense there was something different about his friend but wasn't sure what.
"Yeah," Conner said closing his eyes. He was actually starting to feel a little dizzy which was extremely rare of him.
Barth had not been convinced at all but knew better than to push the matter, "I have to go back or Black Canary will have my head, just call if you need anything, alright?" he offered and after Conner nodded he left.
Maybe he had been pushing himself too much lately with college, missions, training and then also helping with maintenance. He went to his room and lay on his bed before falling asleep. The dream, or rather a suppressed memory came to him at that time. He had been in his pot back in Cadmus oblivious to the world outside but then the G-Gnomes turned the sound on his brain and he could hear Desmond and Dr. Spencer discussing.
"But we won't know that unless you let me run more tests on him" Dr. Spencer said as she motioned to the resting clone.
"We are not waking him up for something as absurd as a hunch," Desmond said with narrowed eyes, "his readings have just become stable"
"But what if he wasn't brain dead this whole time; we would have ended Project Kr weeks ago if we really believed that" she said looking at the clone with wonder, "we knew Project Kr was going to be something different than a human or a Kryptonian, what if this is it?"
"Absolutely not," Desmond said slowly and angrily "he will either have his abilities or considered a complete failure and then exterminated"
You close minded fool, and then he could hear Dr. Spencer's thoughts all thanks to the G-Gnomes, you want a carbon copy but he is much more than that.
And back then he had thought that she was right. He could recall he had a conscious mind for more than just those past few days but it was as if it was not just centered on his head like now, but all over his body. He could tell exactly how Dr. Spencer and Desmond looked like and even the chamber he was in without having to open his eyes.
Not yet, the G-Gnomes told him when he thought it might be a good idea to tell them this, not here. And the G-Gnomes helped him push the thought to the back of his mind and forget of it until then.
He had woken up scared because now he could feel it. He looked around his room and saw his computer, books, clothes, anything that wasn't attached to the ground floating about. But that wasn't the strangest thing. He could actually feel them. Every circuit, every curve, and every texture as if he was touching them with his bare hands. And then he dropped them and everything crashed down in a broken mess. The sound was so immense he realized that the things in his room had not been the only ones floating about.
He rushed outside to spot the League and many of his teammates trying to find the source of the phenomenon. He walked slowly, as if stepping on glass towards the meeting area where Batman, and Martian Hunter were trying to pinpoint what exactly had happened. Then Martian Hunter froze and turned to look at him.
"Conner?" he asked
"I…" he said stepping back because now he could feel the alien's trying to prove his mind. The sprinklers at top of his head burst open spraying him with water before the walls started to groan as if something heavy was leaning against them, "I…"
"Calm down Conner," the Martian said stopping his proving so he would not make things any worse, "we just need to talk"
"No," he said before turning around and running away as fast as he could.
He had jumped into the first Zeta-Beam he had found and come out somewhere in Texas. From there he had started running without real destination until he ended here. As he lay on the dry ground he wondered why he had ran away. He knew he could trust the League and his friends, but still part of him kept telling him that he had to get away from them.
"That is amazing," and of course, they sent Clark to get him.
He looked around and realized he had lifted a few boulders in proximity without meaning to. Unsure he did his best to lower them down.
"It doesn't feel amazing," Conner said as he stood up to face his mentor and friend.
"I imagine," Clark sighed, "new powers are never easy"
Conner was quiet for a long time. He had been told many times by Superman of the difficulties he had when he first got his powers. No one was there to guide him and more than once it had caused him trouble. He couldn't even start to image how as frightened he had been as a child when he got his heat vision and burned more than half of the Kent's crops.
"I need to learn how to use them before I go back" he said remembering how just being frightened had messed everything around him.
"What about staying at the farm for a while, there is plenty of space to practice" Clark offered, besides since his parents passed away the house had been too lonely.
"I don't want to mess anything up," he knew how much that house meant to him.
"Believe, you won't break anything that I didn't break at one point" he patted the young hero on the back before standing, "c'mon, let's get you settled"