They had made it to Smallville and had taken them no time to find the supposed Church of Unity. At first glance, it was easy to tell something wasn't right with the inhabitants of the town. Their skins were pale, their eyes void of light, and there were tentacles sprouting out of their mouth as they connected to the giant parasite resembling a mutated squid. Definitely it wasn't right. They had gone in with a plan. Blue would knock out the civilians, Kid Flash would carry them out at a safe distance, he would distract the creature, and Robin would plant the incendiary bombs around it. Everything had been going well until he saw Kara among the congregation. The Parasite wasted no time in placing one S against another S.
Now, as he lay in a crater outside looking at the bright Kansas' night sky, he wondered if his jaw was broken, or at least fractured. He sensed her before he could hear her. Her mind was the mind of the parasite. Kara was nowhere to be found in there unless they freed her, but for that they would have to defeat the creature first. He jumped back and watched as she landed on the spot where his head used to be. This thing wasn't playing games, but neither was he.
He launched at her with his fist loaded of his tactile telekinesis. He didn't have the actual Kryptonian strength, but he was not far off. He landed a punch in her gut. She heaved for a moment before glaring at him with her dilated eyes, which quickly turned red. He raised a barrier just in time to stop her from frying his face with her heat vision. He pushed forward using the barrier staying free of harm until he was a few paces from her. She launched a punch to try to break his barrier, which would have worked had he not dissolved it the moment she did. He stepped to the side and landed a blow with both hands on the back before pinning her to the ground.
He had never tried this, and it really worried him. He placed his hands on the sides of her head before attempting to knock her out. He couldn't keep fighting her. The others had probably covered but him, but the last part of the plan was something he couldn't skip on. He was successful in entering her mind, or better said the mind of the creature which was linked to that of every person from Smallville. He cringed as he was bombarded with more information than what he had been ready to. Of course, the parasite took advantage of this and threw him off much like a rodeo bull. Supergirl punched him square in the jaw sending him back through the hole she had initially punched him out of the tent.
He called out to his teammates worried he would land on someone and hurt them. When he landed, it was on dirt and with Kid Flash looking at him worriedly.
"Stand back," he said before launching at Supergirl, who had just entered the tent. He had to stop her now. He tackled her with the force of a stampede of elephants. They broke out of the tent and through a group of trees until they were deep in the forest and far from the parasite. He hoped their link would be weaker and tried again to knock her out. This time instead of attempting to find her he pushed images into her find. The forest was burning and blazing around them. From his previous intent, he had caught this was what the creature feared the most, so he pushed the image further until she screamed in horror and lost consciousness.
He rushed back to his friends to find them outside of the tent along with the unconscious civilians.
"What about Supergirl?" Blue asked trying to see if she nearby.
"Knocked out," Superboy said landing next to them, "but not for long. Let's get this over with."
He concentrated on the tent, undid it completely and wrapped it around the creature tightly before forming a sphere around it. They didn't want anyone caught in the blaze. He heard the small beep of Robin's detonator and cringed as he did his best to keep the sphere in place. The creature inside screamed and writhed in pain until only ashes were left.
"How could we ever thank you," said a man standing up. He was dressed in the robes of a priest. He guessed this was the man Simon had spoken of, the one who brought the creature with him.
"Don't thank us yet," Blue said pointing his cannon at him before saying something in an alien langue.
"Reach trash," the priest growled before his eyes rolled back and his chest opened like a great mouth. Hundreds of tentacles launched at them, but they didn't get far. Superboy had created a barrier between them.
"Kid," Robin said handing Kid Flash the last of the incendiary bombs. He watched as the kid vibrated his molecules through his barrier before planting the bomb on the fake priest. He turned the barrier around them to surround the creature before Robin detonated the last bomb. They watched a little stunned as this creature too burned in agonizing shrieks.
"It hid among the civilians thinking we wouldn't detect him," Robin said approaching some of the ashes and getting a sample.
"What else could you expect of a parasite?" Kid Flash said stretching.
A few moments later the people of the town started to wake up and throw up the parasite out of their system. They rushed to the woods unsure of how they would explain the whole matter.
"We didn't think of that," Blue said, "what are we going to tell them?"
"I think that's a job for Superman," Conner said as he sensed the worry of the people from Smallville. They tried to recall how they arrived at that spot and why they felt so sick.
"Agree," Robin said glaring at the sample he took.
"You think there might be more?" Kid Flash asked that the rest were thinking.
"I am not sure," Robin said, "Could you send me all the information you have on it?" he asked Blue.
"You got it," Blue said rubbing his eyes. He could see he and Kid Flash were exhausted.
"Kon?" they all turned a little wary to watch Supergirl stumble out of the woods towards them, "what happened?"
"I will explain on the way home," he said.
He couldn't believe he had forgotten about her for a moment. She stumbled a little and he was by her side at once. She cringed at his touch but didn't fight him. Still, he wasn't going to place her through that after the night they had. He could see the bruises he had left on her and felt guilty though he was hurting just as bad. He stood back and used his powers instead to support her towards the Supercycle, which waited where they had asked her to. He had placed her on the seat before they took off to return to Metropolis.
"So, what happened?" she asked leaning back and closing her eyes.
"You were infected with a parasite," he started, "it took control of you and I had to fight you so the others could take it down."
"We fought?" she asked noticing for the first time his bruises.
"It was so crash," Kid Flash said with half-lidded eyes, "parasite or not, you got some cool moves."
"Ehm, thanks," she said then realizing she was sitting between Kid Flash and the Beetle. Robin watched them curious from the seat above.
The rest of the ride went quietly. They stopped when necessary to drop his friends until only Robin remained.
"Could you please take Sphere with you? I have no place for her in the apartment we have now," he asked Robin.
"Yeah, we need to look into that," Robin said as Supergirl, feeling better, left the cycle. They watched for a moment as Robin flew away with it.
"Why were you in Smallville?" he asked her as they flew the rest of the way.
"I got a call from Mrs. Lang," she said keeping her eyes ahead, "she said she had the recipe for Mrs. Kent's pie and I believed her. You can laugh if you want."
"You know I won't," he said with a frown, "I don't know why you always expect the worse of me. I thought after this you would change your mind."
He closed his eyes. Why the heck should he care what she thought of him? He turned his head and glared at her fiercely, but she was just looking ahead. He believed she didn't care. If someone wasn't Kryptonian, she couldn't be bothered with them. Well, he wouldn't bother with her.
"I will tell Kal to check on you in the morning," he said before he flew ahead of her without another word. She didn't try to stop him or catch up with him. That was fine with him.
He arrived as the sky started to turn red with the first lights of the day. He landed on the roof where he had left his civilian clothes. Once changed, he went back to the apartment where Clark was watching the morning news with his usual cup of coffee.
"Everything went well, I imagine," Clark said with a smile.
He went to get a cup himself and sat next to his mentor, "it worked fine." But he couldn't hide his smile. It had not been perfect, but it had gone better than he expected. Then, he remembered Supergirl, "Kara was there," he said, "she is fine now but I think you should go check on her."
"Thank you," Clark said standing at once worried about his cousin. He watched him reach for his coat ready to leave, "I won't be long."
"What did you think of my article?" he asked just as he was about to leave.
The Man of Steel froze before looking at him with a smile though he could tell it was to encourage him more than anything.
"Well?" he asked no longer fooled by the act.
"The article was good, I sent you my reply with the things you could work on," he paused for a moment and then said, "it was very informative."
"Really, is that all you got to say?" he said walking up to him with a scowl, "just informative?"
"We will talk about it later," Clark said before leaving before Conner could say anything else.
"Just like old times," he said slumping on the couch for a while.
"What's like old times?" Simon asked stepping out of Clark's bedroom. He had evidently not been sleeping much due to worry. There were heavy bags under his eyes and his skin looked pale.
"It's nothing," he said as the kid sat, "let's just say Clark and I didn't always get along."
"Bummer," he said not interested one bit, "so, what happened?"
"Some heroes went to Smallville, vanished the evil space parasite, so you know?" he hoped the kid would get some hours of sleep before leaving.
"Really, it's over? We are not looking to an alien invasion or something like that?" he asked giving Conner and incredulous look, "how do I know you aren't infected?"
"You are kidding, right?" he said leaning his head back so he could stare at the ceiling. The kid was driving him mad.
"You were gone a long time. You could have been converted to preaching the word of the Unity in that time," he said shuffling back as if a few inches apart would be the difference between life and death.
"Well, for once I could have already knocked you out, stuffed you into a suitcase and be in my merry way to Smallville. Second, I was only a few blocks away waiting with my friend to hear from the heroes before coming back." He said throwing his arms in the air, "happy?"
"No," Simon said, "but I guess it would have to do. When is breakfast?"
"When Clark comes back, he went to check on our cousin," he said flipping through the channels. He was not cooking for this brat. They had spent a good amount of the night helping him and he couldn't even say thank you.
"Kara lives close by?" he asked, his cheeks turning red immediately.
"Yeah," he said a little curious at his reaction, "she lives a few blocks away from here." More like in the other side of town, but the details didn't matter. "She has been under the weather for a while."
"Oh," he said fidgeting.
He had seen this so many times before that it was no longer funny. The kid had a crush on a girl who much older than him and didn't even know he existed. Well, he thought to himself, not that Kara noticed anyone.
"I am doing some homework, if you are hungry just use the kitchen," he said getting his backpack and laptop before he started going over the revisions of his article. Simon did go to the kitchen to get some breakfast though it was just a bowl of cereal. It didn't take him more than an hour to do the revisions before sending the article, minus his note to Clark, to Lois Lane. He remembered seeing her at the site of their return from Kid Flash's time and wondered if Superman knew then what she knew.
"Good morning Simon," Clark said coming in. "I just called your parents and told them where you are. Finish eating and wash up. You and I are going back to Smallville. Will you be fine on your own Conner?" he said the last to him.
"Yeah," he said as he worked on another project for school, "I am going to Jaime's place later. It's his birthday."
"Have fun," he said going to take a shower while Simon finished his breakfast.
"Is this common for you?" Simon asked him as he typed his latest assignment.
"What do you mean?" he asked not looking away from his screen.
"The aliens and crazy shit," Simon said with a pout.
"Language!" Clark called from his room.
"Not really," he said stopping for a moment and scratching the back of his head, "but it's over. There is no point in worrying about it anymore."
"But what if more come?" the boy asked with a dark frown already imagining the worst.
"Then we call the heroes again to help us," Conner said going back to work.
"The League?" Simon asked.
"What?" he stopped again and looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
"You mean the League, right? You just keep calling them heroes," Simon said.
"Not all heroes are in the League," Conner said holding back the urge to sigh.
"But you called Superman and Superboy, right? They are part of the League," Simon said though his mind seemed miles away. Something was running through his mind, "unless Superboy is not affiliated with the League and you know it."
"What are you talking about?" he said no longer able to hold back his sigh.
"Nothing," Simon said though Conner could see the wheels of his mind still turning and turning.
"All yours," Clark said coming out, "hurry, it's a long drive." Once the kid was gone he turned to Conner, "that kid is smart."
"Too smart," muttered Conner though his mentor heard him distinctly.
Half an hour later they were gone and he had time to have a quick nap before taking off to Texas. He knew they had agreed not to use the League's Zeta beams, but they had to find a better way to move around. He dreamed blank which was his preferable state of sleep. He had peace of mind. He sat meditating in an empty space just being but not doing anything.
"Conner?" he heard someone call before he opened his eyes and saw M'gann before him in her old green Martian form.
"This is not happening," he said closing his eyes again.
"Sorry for intruding into your mind like this," she said kneeling before him before he opened his eyes, "I just couldn't get hold of you and we were worried."
"We?" he asked.
"Well, we thought something was going on in Smallville and when we went to check it out we found a high mound of ash. I sensed your psychic trace and we imagined you and the rest had been there," she said with a frown.
"All is well," he said, "we defeated it and Tim took a sample with him to study. You can ask Blue for information in the creature; his armor has some knowledge of it. Now, please go away. I need to rest."
"Oh, okay," she said readily to leave.
"M'gann?" he said stopping her for a moment, "be careful, that thing was able to control Supergirl." Maybe it could control Martians too.
"Understood, thanks," she said with a small smile before fading away. He sighed and gave up meditating. Thanks to her appearance, parts of his powers were now active and he could sense the person about to knock on his door. He was up, right before tried knocking on their door.
"What?" he said and wondered what she would want so early in the morning and he was also not in a good mood. He just wanted to sleep.
"I read your paper, I want to publish it," she said stepping inside without being invited.
"Isn't there something you wish to tell me to change?" he was sure there was something that could be improved.
"It's okay, now will you just sign here and let me publish it?" she said bringing a creased piece of paper from her handbag.
"I haven't decided yet," he said going to lie on the couch.
"is this what you heroes do on your weekend? That's pretty dull especially after yesterday," she said leaning on the sofa.
"I am seeing some of my friends later and I want to rest, so please leave," he said turning away from her.
"Alright, I won't push you to sign… yet. But, you got to tell me at least what happened yesterday. I can't remember seeing Clark so worried before," she said and though she tried to hide it he heard the clear tone of concern. Well, she didn't need to bother.
"We traveled to an alternative post-apocalyptic future and helped save it from complete destruction," there, now he could get some sleep.
"C'mon kid, I will not get out of your hair until you tell me," she said trying to get a pick of his face.
"I just did," he said sitting up.
"You are not serious… are you?" she said looking at him wide eyed.
"I am," he said with a glare, "now go publish it, see if anyone believes you, and let me sleep."
"But why?" she asked before he had enough.
"BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT WE DO!" he shouted at the top of his lungs making her jump back. He realized what he had done before looking away from her and saying in a lower tone, "look, I am really exhausted. For you guys, it was one day but for me it was a whole week. At the top of that, last night we went to destroy an alien parasite that took over Smallville. I have only slept for," he looked at his phone, "two hours since coming back."
"I thought you guys didn't need to sleep," she said before getting a glare from him, "sorry."
"Superman can skip a few nights and at that only sleeps three or four hours when needed. Since I am half human I need more than or I start tearing throats," he said feeling one of his eyelids twitch.
"Alright, I will get out of your hair for now, but tomorrow come see me at the Daily Planet. There is something we need to talk about," she said walking towards the door.
"What?" he asked.
"If I tell you now you won't be able to sleep anymore," she said with a smirk, "see you later." And the closed the door behind her.
888
The sun was setting by the time he made it home. He had a better afternoon than he had expected, especially after a few more hours of sleep. He had seen his friends for once in a long time not plotting something or fighting some evil. It was just a birthday spent in the backyard with laughter and good friends. He also had the chance to talk to his friends about the interview Lori wanted. Before they had left to Bart's time, he would have expected a solid no from all of them, but now they were indecisive. They no longer had to worry about the League telling them what to do, but that meant a higher level of responsibility for them.
The apartment was quiet when he entered. He went to the window and watched as the nightlife of Metropolis started to stir. He changed to his uniform and left for a night patrol. He had received a call from Clark while in Smallville and told him he would stay for a few days to help people understand what happened. It seemed the League, just as M'gann had told him, had picked on what happened.
He flew around the city enjoying the sights as well as listening for any significant trouble. He decided to do a turn around the new building of the Daily Planet. It was a mighty structure containing the latest tech that any reporter would want. It was tempting to get his article published by them but then as he flew downtown he wished he wouldn't have to choose. Cat Grant even at that time was working in her glass office. She was usually painted as a party girl, but she was hard working.
An explosion interrupted his thoughts. It took him no time to know where it came from. The place was under attack at least once every week. Superman usually took care of it. He preferred to stay away from the guy as much as possible, but he guessed it would happen sooner or later.
He reached Lex Corp a second later. The top floor was on fire and he could hear the shouts of those trapped inside. He entered unharmed and reached a room where the staff was sheltering from the fire. They looked to be to the point of suffocation. He wrapped them in a protective barrier before pulling them out of the building. He placed them on the roof of another and checked if any of them needed medical attention. He had made it in time before they got seriously hurt.
"Mr. Luthor is still inside," one of them said.
Probably hiding in a safe room, he thought before returning to the building. He concentrated and sensed for Luthor. Sure enough, he found the safe room entrance near his desk, but it seemed it was not enough this time. He found the door open and the room flooded with smoke. It seemed Lex was going to have to hire a new security team.
He found the egomaniac lying on his side with what appeared to be nasty bump on the head. Whoever had tried to kill him had left the job undone hoping the fire would take care of the rest. He lifted created a shield around him and pulled him outside of the building. He hated doing this, but he couldn't leave him unconscious in case he had a concussion. He placed his hand on his forehead and forced him to wake up. The man had coughed up a storm before he was able to open his eyes. He started holding his head and flinched when he found the bump. While the man checked himself, he took the chance to extinguish the fire by cutting off the air it was feeding on.
"I guess we would cross each other's paths sooner or later," Superboy said not remembering the last time he talked to the man. It seemed an eternity ago, but he remained very unchanged.
"I would have preferred much later," Luthor said coughing a little, "I can't believe he sent the kid. Where is the respect between nemeses, you know?"
"After what you did to me, I wouldn't know," he said unable to help rolling his eyes.
"What I did to you?" Luthor asked.
"Forget it, I don't care to listen to your twisted words anymore," Superboy said turning his back on him.
"Wait a moment kid," Luthor said with a frown, "this is my first time meeting you."
"Hilarious Luthor, let's never meet again," he said readily to leave.
"I am serious!" Luthor who rarely raised his voice shouted. Superboy said turning around to face him, and then he said "I would have remembered meeting the Boy Scout's sidekick."
"I am not a sidekick…I must be crazy to do this, but what do you mean by that? Or this one of your tricks?" he asked with narrowed eyes.
"Look, I am all for laughing at you tight wearing freaks, but that's just what I meant. I have never met you before," Luthor said crossing his arms.
"Project Kr?" Superboy asked.
"Never heard of it," Luthor responded.
"Camus?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.
"We had a few dealings in the past, but I would have remembered them making a clone of Superman for me. Not that I would ever want another one your kind around unless he were under my-" Luthor frowned as he paused for a moment, "you said Project Kr, right?"
"Look, there is a robbery on the other side of town and the guy has hostages. I don't have time for this," which wasn't really the truth, but this conversation was making him very uncomfortable. Still, it worried him that someone might be messing with the memories of Luthor. "I will stop by tomorrow and bring you something, but in the meanwhile I would recommend you to talk to your allies to see if they can tell you something."
He didn't waste another moment and left. Still something kept nagging at the back of his mind but he couldn't tell what it was.