Mount Justice

  August 28th, 01:15 EDT

  It turned out that Kaldur did have parents. I'd always assumed that he was some kind of orphan or something, like Robin and… wait, who else?

  It seemed like Robin truly was the only orphan in the team. Superboy didn't quite count—he did have a parent, just a deadbeat one.

  In any case, we had spent an hour visiting them. Eventually the topic of Tula came up, and most of that hour went to comforting Kaldur awkwardly while he tried to assure his parents that it wasn't a big deal even though it really was.

  In the end, he had made up his mind. He would continue as Aqualad and stay on the team.

  We Zeta'd back into the Cave while Aqualad gave us the final portion of the story of how he became Aqualad—saving Atlantis from the Ocean Master, with the help of his horrible 'friend' Garth.

  I bet Garth couldn't say that he was on the same team as the ones that actually took down Ocean Master, could he?

  Robin and Wally were playing hard-light foosball when we came in. They both stared at me in horror.

  I looked down at myself—right, I was still wearing the manslut toga. "Greetings, surface-dwellers!" I said, raising a hand, "Let me show you the traditional greeting of our people," I started twisting my hand to make it look like a fish. Kaldur looked at me in slight disgust.

  "Imagine if I had stereotyped your Japanese heritage similarly," Kaldur said, scowling.

  I grinned at him, "I'm curious to see what your take on us would be. Please go ahead."

  "I would not sink to that level," Kaldur said.

  "Right, because the Japanese are beneath you, I get it, I get it." Kaldur didn't engage any further.

  Wally zipped up before us, "You guys went to Atlantis?!" He looked up at Kaldur pleadingly, "Why didn't you bring me, man?"

  "I would have preferred not to bring Gojo either," Kaldur admitted, "But in the end… it was for the best. We caught a seasoned super-villain today."

  "No way!" Robin cried, walking up to us, "Who? Black Manta?"

  "Ocean Master," Kaldur said. "It was Gojo's suspicion that led us to investigate him closer. Gojo, do you mind sharing what it was about him that set you off to such an extent?"

  I shrugged, "Meh. I just didn't like his face is all."

  "Really," Robin snarked.

  "I mean, if you want the technical details, assuming that makes any sense to you at all: his body language didn't match with his vital signs. His insides and outsides were out of synch, which clued me in that he was a liar. And to be honest, I don't hate liars right off the bat, but something about him still annoyed me. Maybe it's because he was royalty? Maybe I don't like royalty," I shrugged, "Could be the case."

  Wally looked disgusted at me, "So you busted a super-villain purely off of the vibes he gave you? What the hell, man?"

  "Pretty blue eyes, remember?" I grinned.

  Megan yawned, "I'm going to bed," she said. I pulled her in for some good old Atlantean-style PDA. A brief kiss, but enough to make her really happy.

  Oh, you kinkster, I chuckled.

  Stop it! Her green skin took on a slight blush.

  She sauntered off towards her quarters, hips swaying about. I watched her leave for almost twenty seconds before—

  "Earth to Gojo," Robin said, grinning at me mischievously.

  "You'll understand when you're older," I told him. "Anyway, anyone down for a round?"

  "You need to change, dude," Wally grimaced at me, "This isn't Atlantis, have some decency!"

  Alternatively, I heard Megan speak in my mind, You can wear exactly that and join me in my room.

  Huh. Air-hockey with the boys, or alone time with Megan wearing Atlantean silks?

  Just the fact that you had to consider it—

  Wait!

  I teleported to her room, and saw her lying on her side on the bed, head resting on her hand, and a lascivious expression on her face. "You did good work today," She said.

  "So did you," I said, my mouth dry. "Care to celebrate?"

  "I thought you'd never ask."

  000

  The next day became a whirl of ceremony and activity. King Orin, with a heavy heart, did indeed grant us the highest civilian honors that Atlantis could give, an unprecedented feat for a pair of outsiders like Megan and I.

  "I award you three the Sea Star of Valor," Aquaman said, pinning a golden star on the clothes over our chest. Thankfully, today we all brought our costumes, since our feats were heroic, and therefore belonged to our heroic personas. "Know that Atlantis owes you a deep depth of gratitude. On behalf of this realm, we thank you, Infinity. Miss Martian. And Aqualad."

  Thankfully, that was all it was—no grand feasts or anything like that. That probably had more to do with Aquaman's mental state, having to find out that his brother was in fact a huge bastard that secretly hated him all this time.

  We did, however, have a brief chat with the Aquaman after he had delivered his speeches and the guests of the ceremony were just milling about in the main square, celebrating the fact that chaos and devastation had been averted thanks to us.

  He floated over to the three of us, expression stony, but also tender simultaneously. He tried his best to project cheer, and I realized then, that the burden of kingship must have been a great one. In the wake of this tragedy, he was forced to celebrate in order to maintain the faith of the people.

  "Titans," Aquaman gave us a nod.

  "Your majesty," Megan and Kaldur greeted while I was still wrestling with the right words to say. "Your majesty," I trailed after lamely.

  "May I ask how you knew that Orm was a traitor?" Aquaman asked, looking at the three of us in turn. "What did I miss?"

  There was no easy way to answer this question, was there?

  "Gojo has good eyes, your majesty," Kaldur explained, "The best I know."

  "At first, it was just distrust," I admitted, "But the longer I watched him, the more I observed his… dislike for you." No other way to put it than that, really, "When you announced that you were with child, he… to me, his outburst was quite obvious."

  "Outburst?" Aquaman asked, shocked, "I… I did not see any outburst."

  "He made sure to react when no one was watching," I said, "Or, when he thought that no one was watching. And try as he might, he couldn't hide his heartrate or breathing from me. Or the tension of his muscles. Or a hundred other tiny and subtle signs that betrayed his state of mind."

  Aquaman's eyes were wide as he looked at me. In the end, he could only give a sigh and a pained nod, "You did good, boy. Keep up the good work."

  Then he turned to leave.

  Rather than talk about the king's sadness, for Kaldur's sake, we glossed over that conversation. Luckily, Garth and Tula had arrived. Kaldur split off from us to talk to them.

  He gave Tula a hug and Garth a stern nod, and that was that. A moment later, he swam back to us.

  I waved at the pair. When Garth locked eyes with me, I showed him my medallion and stuck my tongue out at him. He scowled in shock at that. Hah. Sucks to be a Sea Star-less loser like him—couldn't be me.

  "Gojo, stop it," Kaldur said quickly and in a clipped tone as he swam over to us, "You are embarrassing me," he said through closed teeth.

  "Can Tula say that her boyfriend was awarded the Sea Star of Valor?" I asked, tapping at his chest where Aquaman had pinned his cute little medallion. "And can Garth say he has friends as awesome as Megan and I?"

  Kaldur groaned.

  "Sa-chan, you're not helping," Megan said softly.

  If that wasn't help, then I didn't know what could be.

  "They are my closest friends in the world," Kaldur said. Poor guy.

  "They didn't even tell you they were dating," I said, "Like, they couldn't have relayed anything? You had to find out in this way? I'm just—explain to me why you don't hate them."

  Kaldur looked down and shrugged his shoulders, looking slightly defeated, "The heart wants what it wants."

  I looked thoroughly disgusted at that.

  Sa-chan, Megan said sternly, and I stopped there.

  "Did they apologize?" Megan asked. Kaldur nodded. "I think a period of separation would be for the best, then. Let the emotions cool down a bit before you meet again."

  "I thought much the same," Kaldur said.

  "And in the meanwhile, get yourself a hot surface babe," I said with a grin, "One that's even stronger than Tula."

  Kaldur sighed, "Your brain works in mysterious ways, Gojo."

  "Moving on is the best medicine," I said, "How is that wrong?"

  "I don't believe I am ready for any such thing for a long… long time."

  I slumped over, sighing. "You're choking out the water with all that gloom, you know. Let's get you on social media, first thing first."

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  I already pulled out my phone and started typing away when I realized—no data coverage in Atlantis, unfortunately.

  "We'll be here for you, Kaldur, always," Megan promised again. Kaldur looked a little aggrieved at that. "Why don't we talk privately?"

  Wow! Just because I'm terrible at this?

  …I mean, kinda, Megan replied.

  I couldn't argue with that.

  The moment Kaldur and Megan left me behind, I was immediately mobbed by a group of adoring Atlanteans, an eclectic bunch of people with varying degrees of fishy features.

  "Infinity!" one shouted. Even at this distance, Megan was making sure I could hear them all speak via telepathy. "Thank you!"

  "Is it true you're dating the Martian?"

  "How long have you been a hero?"

  "Are you dating Kaldur as well?"

  I locked in on that question, "That's a secret! Don't tell anyone!" I squealed.

  They especially liked that. I answered as many of the questions as I could, as inaccurately but also entertainingly as possible, making Megan dearly regret leaving me alone for even a moment.

  Thankfully, we only had to spend another hour milling about and swimming among the celebrating Poseidonians until we could finally sneak away and leave via Zeta Tube with our Sea Stars of Valor.

  In the Mission Room, two figures waited for us. Batman and… Wonder Woman.

  "Mission Time?" I asked, looking around. No one else had assembled but us three.

  "No," Batman said, "I see you've been awarded by Aquaman. Good job, team."

  "It was an honor!" Megan said, hands clasped together as she looked dreamily at the sky, "I've always been so fascinated with Atlantis, ever since I learned about it a few months ago and… now I had an opportunity to help!"

  "It was an honor to be of service once more," Kaldur said soberly, "But I cannot deny the regret that I feel, for my king."

  "It was a tragic turn of events," Batman said, "But thanks to your efforts, a notorious criminal has finally been brought to justice, and you've saved a city."

  "Yesterday, you rose to the occasion," Wonder Woman said, arms folded, regarding us with stony neutrality that only enhanced the potency of her compliments. "You proved that your team are indeed worthy of the responsibilities we have afforded to you. Right now, I should like to speak with Satoru Gojo. In private."

  Kaldur looked at me, eyebrow raised as if to ask 'what did you do now'? Even Megan gave me the same look.

  I was equally lost. "What did I do?"

  "Nothing," Wonder Woman said, "But I've heard from my colleagues at the League that your opinions on the use of violence in the field are quite atypical. I would like for us to discuss this warrior's burden, from one warrior to another."

  My eyes widened at that. Another lecture? "Sure," I said, stepping forward.

  Wonder Woman started floating off the ground. "Follow if you can."

  She flew out through the Cave, navigating with expert ease until she was out. I warped outside and took off, flying next to her as well, lying back-first on the air, arms wrapped behind my head as though I was lying on a sofa. "I don't think there's much to discuss, honestly," I said. "I've… mostly gotten the picture. The place of a hero is to put yourself at great risk to ensure that criminals are brought in to justice. No pre-emptive measures. If you spring a trap because you weren't thorough enough in beating the fight out of a criminal, then that's just the risk of doing business, I guess."

  "What would you rather do?" Wonder Woman asked, sounding genuinely curious.

  "I'd rather make sure they never did anything else in their lives, since it's more than likely that they'll just return and do more crimes."

  "And what informs this world view? The fact that this is a comic book world, in which the writers are incapable of coming up with original antagonistic characters for every one that we imprison?"

  "You Leaguers sure do talk," I said, "Well… I don't have a leg to stand on. Klarion told me as much. My world's apparently also a comic book. Probably a manga. Somewhere out there in the multiverse. But… all that thinking is over now," I promised, "I'm just as much a part of this world as you are."

  I brought out a globe of raw cursed energy, something only I could have seen in usual circumstances. A fireball of blue tinted in jagged, black outlines. Now, it refused to remain a single color, ever-changing like the chaos that Klarion had infused me with. And the way Wonder Woman glanced at it told me that it was visible.

  "Do you want to know what happens when people like Sportsmaster die?" Wonder Woman asked me.

  "I imagine they'll be replaced by stronger models," I said with a shrug, "Kill that one and a stronger one comes out next year as well? Like… smartphones in this new world."

  "Kill these criminals without a fair trial and the public loses trust in us," Wonder Woman said, "They will turn on us, thus invalidating all our efforts to inspire humanity towards betterness."

  "Really?" I asked, "Don't we have options to mitigate that? We have telepaths, don't we?"

  "Are you referring to mind controlling the populace into loving us?" Wonder Woman asked.

  "Or just… the TV people," I said with a shrug, "They pretty much decide how regular people think anyway. Way more efficient to get those guys on our side. Doesn't even have to be mind control. Batman is wealthy as can be. Why doesn't he own a TV network?" Then I remembered what Superman's job was, "Well, at least one person in the League is working to sway public opinion. Also, where are we flying towards?"

  "We're just flying," Wonder Woman said. I looked down at the ground and saw a city. "So you have an inkling of the role of heroes in the public eye. You know that a large part of our work depends on us remaining in the people's good standing. And that means respecting the power structures that ensure they won't just be killed out of hand."

  "If they don't commit super-crimes," I said.

  "And how can that be objectively determined by the people without fair trial?"

  I hummed. "I have to admit, my former line of work didn't put much emphasis into dealing with the public. I'm slightly out of my depth."

  "It is good that you admit ignorance," Wonder Woman said, "You've matured in the time you've been in this world."

  "You've kept tabs on me," I observed. "Wise. I'd have been offended if you and your League were content to just watch me from afar. I wouldn't say I've matured. Really, it's more that I've started to glimpse into a bigger picture. The rot that exists in this world, that is." And how little a destroyer could do to make things better by just destroying. The real solution existed in surgical precision. I didn't have that. Not yet, at least. "I'm never going to be the guy that feels a deep and unconditional love for humankind. I've seen too much for that to ever happen. But this doesn't require love. It's just strategy in the end, right?"

  "You consider this a war," Wonder Woman observed. "Quite a few of my colleagues do."

  "A war with rules," I said with a shrug. I flipped over in the air and folded my arms instead of keeping them behind my neck.

  "That is an illusion," Wonder Woman said, "A war can never truly have rules. No amount of discipline and honor can prevent a warrior from succumbing to hatred, not indefinitely at least."

  "Then what do you consider this?" I asked, "What is this if not a war?" I grinned, "Your team's okay with sending minors into deadly conflicts. That's a drastic measure that would imply the level of hatred that a war brings about, wouldn't it?"

  "Not all of us agreed with the formation of this team, for that exact reason," Wonder Woman said, "But we determined that it was either this, or letting you all roam free, being heroes on your own terms. Outside of League oversight. It may seem arrogant or controlling for me to say this, but the tightrope that the League walk is a challenge that we do not expect any of you to overcome. It isn't just about personal power, of which you have plenty, but it is about maintaining inspiration. Ending war, by every means necessary."

  "Every means?" I asked with a grin.

  "The means that could realistically end a war. Death or grievous injury does not bring about this coveted end. No matter how many you kill."

  I sighed, "So you're telling me I need a better costume, and a flashier stage presence."

  Wonder Woman looked at me and cracked the smallest grin, "Your costume could use some creativity, yes. But that is not really the core of my argument. What are you fighting for, Satoru Gojo? What inspires you to risk your life in defense of those who cannot help themselves?"

  "Ask Megan," I said with a shrug, "She seems convinced with the answer she arrived at. Besides, isn't that sort of a personal question?"

  "You should mull it over," Wonder Woman said, "You need not share the answer with me."

  "Well," I said with a shrug, "I like jujutsu, uh, sorcery. My power. I like practicing it. Back home, it was pretty straightforward—exorcise curses and move on to the next fire. I wasn't really a hero, but more of a firefighter in that sense—or a janitor, really, cleaning up after humanity's emotional dysregulation. And when the occasional curse user came out of the woodwork to screw things up, we'd be given leave to respond to them however we saw fit. In any case, even if we brought them back for questioning, they'd be executed at the end of the day. Now that I'm here, fighting alongside you heroes, I…" Hmm. "I was going with the flow. Path of least resistance and all that."

  "You're used to taking orders," Wonder Woman said. I frowned sharply at that.

  "I don't take orders all willy-nilly," I said, "I do work that only I could do. There's a difference."

  "Why did you feel the need to take down Ocean Master?"

  "Because he was scum, and I clocked that immediately," I said, "Because yeah, some part of me does care about people. The pitiful ones, anyway. Maybe they make me feel better about my own situation?"

  "Your warrior's heart is moved by the plight of others," Wonder Woman decided. Kind of an exhausting conversation. Reminded me quite a bit of Canary.

  "Why do you fight, Double-U Double-U?" I asked. "What moves your warrior's heart?"

  "Much the same. A revulsion for war and a desire to bring about peace in any way that I can. I am no stranger to the act of dealing death," Wonder Woman said, "You will find that there are quite a few among the League who are not. Batman and Superman are somewhat unique in this regard, Batman especially."

  "So what if you killed someone?" I asked.

  "I would stand trial, and the courts would decide my fate," Wonder Woman said, "When a hero deems it necessary to kill, often they make sure that this act is in line with the justice system's prescriptions on self defence. However, we never try to cover any of it up. Nor do we sneak in extra bone-breaking strikes when the law isn't looking."

  "I wish I cared more," I said, "I'm not saying that to be scathing, but just because I really do. Because then I'd get to avoid all these talks."

  "Are you truly so vulnerable that you cannot afford to take any chances? Against a villain who does not have any powers?" Bullshit, Sportsmaster was stronger than any human had any business being. But whatever. I guess that, too, was a function of this magical new world of superheroes.

  "I just lost my head is all," I bit out, "Sportsmaster was nothing. I could have taken him in with ease. I get it, okay?"

  "Then why didn't you? Where did this hatred come from?"

  I looked at her in irritation, "Is Canary sick or something? Are you subbing in for her?"

  "You need not answer any of my questions if you don't want."

  "This conversation is slightly pointless," I said, "I mean, aside from the fact that I was turned into a Lord of Chaos' ticking time bomb, I guess. In that case, please feel free to dress my morality down."

  Where the hell even were we? I looked around. Just an ocean of corn fields sustaining America's ravenous appetite for sugar.

  I sighed, "Sportsmaster reminded me of someone that almost killed me. Not to say I had a panic attack. I was pretty cold when I did what I did."

  Wonder Woman looked at me in sympathy, "It is a great burden, living under the shadow of such a dark event, unable to strike back at your foe."

  "I guess," I said with a shrug. "So… tell me your deal," I said, "You come from an island, right? With only women? And you have ties with Greek myths? I never read any of your issues, so I can't say I know anything about you aside from super-speed, strength, and your, uh, rope of truth-telling." I said, looking at her side that carried a roll of rope.

  She gave me a sincere smile and told me the story of Themyscira, her background, and indeed, her Lasso of Truth.

  Our journey took us to Metropolis as she continued to regale me. At the end of our story, we met Superman, standing in the sky, arms folded, and expression stern.

  "Long time, Superman!" I said, giving him a wave.

  He gave a faint smile, "I've heard about your exploits, Satoru."

  "All in a day's work," I said, putting my hands on my hips and striking a pose in the air. "Inviting more people to the intervention, I see," I told Wonder Woman with a grin, "That's daring of you. Not really sure what outcome you're expecting, but I'll roll with it. So—any nuggets of wisdom, Superboy's deadbeat dad?"

  Superman lost his grin.

  "Infinity," Wonder Woman said, scowling at me in disappointment, "Have some respect."

  "Nah," I grinned, "I'd rather have loyalty. Respect is overrated. And Superman hasn't earned mine yet."

  Wonder Woman sighed.

  "That's… unfortunate," Superman said, "I will say you've earned mine, however. I wanted to see you. And perhaps have another chat, learn how you're adjusting."

  "Chat with your son," I laughed, "I'm good. Honestly."

  Superman sighed, "As you wish." He descended down through the clouds, disappearing.

  "Was that truly necessary?" Wonder Woman asked.

  "Most certainly," I said, "I have no idea who that man is, and all I've observed thus far is a man that's not worthy of my respect. The comics I read don't mean anything compared to the real deal. Anyways, was that why you flew me here? To have a talk and for Superman to have another talk?"

  "He was insistent about wanting to meet you again," Wonder Woman said.

  "And rather than Zeta into the cave, risking seeing his estranged son-figure, he'd rather you fly me across the country and chat with him in the skies instead of, I don't know, buying me a coffee with his big adult-work salary? I don't know if you know this yet, but Batman pays me in peanuts," I laughed, "Which is insane considering how rich he is."

  "Superboy is not Superman's son, Gojo. You know this," Wonder Woman said, "And you can imagine how difficult things must be for Superman."

  "I can imagine," I said with a shrug, "But I can also see with my own eyes how much it sucks for Boy. Every day, really."

  "Your loyalty is commendable, if nothing else," Wonder Woman said.

  "Are we going to do hero work together? Stop a mugging in progress?"

  "Would that satisfy your urge for battle?"

  "Afraid not," I said, "Not much would, that doesn't also threaten the existence of an entire city. A pity. Well," I sighed, "I can't say it hasn't been interesting talking with you, Wonder Woman. But I trust that you've gotten what you came for by now. Which is to say, in more polite terms—please get off my back. I'm sorry, but I just—I had to say it."

  Wonder Woman snorted, her lips quirking upwards slightly. "Will you believe me if I said that I truly was interested in learning your perspective? And that it was never my intent to lecture you?"

  "That's what all these talks become, given enough time," I said with a shrug. "Convey my regrets to Superman—or not. I don't really care. I hoped that I proved fascinating enough to be worth this time."

  "I would not feed your ego so lightly," Wonder Woman said. "But I will say I'm happy to know that you've connected with your team in so many ways. I'm glad that you've managed to find your place, for however long your visit will last."

  "Thanks," I muttered, trying for a smile. I looked over my shoulder, and focused intently on Happy Harbor, that infinitesimally tiny spot in the distance that was covered up by the earth's curvature.

  With precise manipulation of cursed energy, I appeared back in the Mission Room. Superboy was training against some hard light opponents. His martial arts forms had sharpened quite a bit.

  With practiced precision, he tackled, pushed, struck and tripped each opponent. Each bit of contact reddened the hard-light constructs slightly, indicating damage. His goal was to minimize that damage—the more effective he could be against weaker opponents, the faster he could take them down before they turned the table and used his boundless strength against him.

  After thirty seconds of fighting, he had downed all eight opponents, 'cuffing' them to prevent further movements. "Good job!" I said, clapping slowly.

  "Twenty-nine seconds," the computer announced. Superboy frowned.

  "I'm plateauing," he announced gruffly.

  "Eh," I shrugged, "Might help to focus on something else then. How does human shield training sound?"

  "Painful," he muttered. "That'll just be reflex training mixed with resilience training, right? Reaching for every hard light projectile zooming by."

  "It's only painful if you don't hit them right," I said, "And instead you let them hit you. Fists, elbows, knees—you have to decide the terms of the hit in order to tank it right, you know? Why don't you give it a go?"

  He groaned, "Sure. Computer? Mix resilience and reflex training."

  "And after that, a round or ten with me!" I grinned.

  He rolled his eyes. "Fine, whatever."

  000

  Ten rounds turned into thirty, before we got bored and switched things up with more focused drills to tease out every bit of bodily control that could bridge the gap between Superboy and Canary. I didn't just spend my time tending to his training needs either.

  I also further acquainted myself with my cursed energy, testing out the different ways that it had been affected by the injection of chaos magic. It seemed like most of my difficulties boiled down to an annoying shift in the terms of control, from focused and willful to instinctual and smooth, responding to thought like never before.

  I still hadn't had any occasion to test out what would happen if I went through extreme emotional imbalance—how that would affect the use of my powers. I couldn't imagine that it would be anything good. Maybe I'd throw Reds everywhere? Or maybe I'd overdraw on my Blue, causing everything and everyone in the vicinity to float in the air helplessly—but otherwise not harming them? Or maybe I'd release a Purple in an indiscriminate wave somehow, destroying everything in my vicinity like an arcane nuclear blast?

  I hadn't even mentioned anything about the vengeful cursed spirit that I could become in the event of my death, yet. Now I had so many other things to worry about on top of that. Dammit. Whatever.

  I had ended up training with Superboy for six hours before we just naturally fell into a lull, Superboy lying on the Mission Room floor while I floated, spread-eagled.

  I sighed. I hated these weird silences, "You think of a name, yet?"

  "No," Superboy said.

  "You need one for school."

  "I don't need school."

  "School will be fun," I said with a grin, "I'm sure of it."

  "We'll be lying," he said, "All the time."

  "That's the fun part," I said, "They have no idea who we really are. I think it's kinda exciting."

  He hummed, but didn't say anything.

  "I do have a last name in mind," I said, "Kent. If you want it."

  "Why not make it the first name?" he asked.

  "It's an old-fashioned name. You wouldn't want to go around being called Kent."

  "There's another reason," he said, voice suspicious.

  I just shrugged.

  Once more, silence.

  "You know," I said, "I told you that one time that I cut off my parents, right? Well, the truth is… they kind of cut me off first." Why was I talking about this? "Since I was born with the lucky combination of technique and trait, the Gojo clan's leadership wanted to control me better, by getting my parents out of the picture. They didn't really resist, and stepped back and let me get taken care of communally. When I found out, I decided they didn't matter to me either. I guess it was just my anger, really. But that anger didn't matter, either—they never really cared to reach out."

  "Why're you telling me this?" Superboy asked.

  "I don't know," I shrugged, "I… saw Superman today. And I remembered how he's been to you. And I realized… there's not really an easy way to get over that kinda thing. I mean, I guess I must have lied to myself for a long time as a kid, thinking none of that about my parents mattered… until it ended up not mattering for real."

  "What did he talk to you about?" Superboy asked.

  "Nothing," I chuckled, "I told him to take a hike."

  "Why?"

  "Guess it just didn't feel right, talking to him, while he refuses to give you the time of day. Didn't feel right to let that slide, you know? We're a Team after all."

  "…I don't understand you."

  I snorted. "And you never will. Connor." Hm… that sounded right. I had never seen anything on Superboy in comics, cartoons or movies—maybe he didn't exist outside of this 'continuity' as it were—but Connor, to me, felt right. To an almost arcane level. Like the universe had labelled him Connor far before he had ever even existed.

  Or maybe I was just being silly, and for some reason, I just liked the name Connor? Could be either or.

  "What?"

  I shrugged, "Connor. I don't know. Sounds lame, but… it sounds right, too. You're a Connor."

  "It's an inside joke, isn't it?" he said.

  I flipped over in the air and gaped at him. "Why would you ever accuse me of something so in-character, Connor? Connor Kent?"

  "Connor Kent," he repeated, tasting the words, "The Kent's for Nelson, right?"

  Ah. That connection just occurred to me, "Sure."

  "He deserved better than what he got," Superboy sighed. "Connor Kent, then."