In Cadmus, making a mistake would lead to punishment. Make a big enough mistake you’d be disposed of. Even so, it still doesn’t change the fact Cadmus was the first place where he was taught and raised. One cannot simply just toss away what they learned with the flick of a wrist.
He always thought there was nothing after death. Cadmus never bothered with philosophy or spiritual needs. All they needed was obedience and nothing else. Yet, when he left Cadmus, he learned about religion, about beliefs and about theories of what might be after death.
That was if there was an afterlife.
There was never a moment that he thought of taking up any of these beliefs, even if there was a chance that made him a little closer to normal people. He was a product from Cadmus, even if it existed, it won’t apply to him… A creation from science.
o.o.o.o.o
Two months ago, he officially died in a fight against Superboy Prime. His body was exerted beyond what he could physically handle and he died in the arms of his girlfriend Cassie, Wondergirl. He hadn’t expected there to be anything when he died. Yet, he found himself awake in a hidden bunker.
Confused, he flexed his hand slowly, the tendons stretched comfortably without pain. He sat up in a hurry and patted himself down to check for other injuries. “… I’m alive?” A puzzled expression crossed his face.
The creaking door drew his attention to the windowless room. “You’re awake.” A calm voice spoke.
Conner’s face lit up as he jumped to greet the man. “Hey!” He chirped brightly, but instead of warm greeting, he was met with a punch to the stomach and sent crashing into the wall. To his surprise, the wall held and he slid to the ground with a groan.
“What are you doing here?” The man growled.
“What was that for pa?” Conner groaned. He glanced up to his father’s cold blue eyes.
The man of steel faltered for a second. “What did you call me?”
“Pa?” He scrunched up his brows. “What’s going on? Where are we?”
“… You don’t know why you’re here?” Superman said cautiously.
“Don’t be naïve.” A dark voice interrupted. “It’s obviously a ploy to throw you off. Why did Cadmus send you?”
“Cadmus?” He watched as Superman stepped aside for Batman to enter. Why would they think he was from Cadmus? “I think we have a huge misunderstanding here.” He held up his hands defensively. “What happened when I died? I mean… I thought I died…”
“If you insist to pretend to know nothing. We have other ways to convince you.” Batman reached into his utility belt.
“Batman—” The man of steel protested.
“Get out.” The man ordered. “It’s obvious you’re not fit for interrogation.” The man of steel had no chance to argue as the dark knight revealed a piece of glowing green kryptonite.
“Ah!” Conner raised his arms in front of him as he scrambled back to get away from the rock.
A short distance away, Superman shared the same cry of agony as he fell to the ground. However, unlike the older super, Conner felt no pain. He peeked an eye open over a timid arm. His father was on the ground still groaning in pain, while Beyond’s father stood there with the glowing rock.
“Why are you here? Why did Cadmus send you?” He asked again with a growl.
I get it now… Conner sighed. “… This isn’t my world.” He said in sad exasperation as he lowered his hands. “You can put away the kryptonite Batman, it doesn’t affect me. Kryptonite from other realities doesn’t affect non-natives.” He kept his hands raised submissively as he stood.
The dark man stared at him for a moment longer before putting away the rock. It wasn’t because he trusted him. It was because he was at a disadvantage. Conner was not affected by the kryptonite and with it meant Superman wouldn’t be able to do anything if he was to attack.
“Talk.” The man ordered.
After exchanging stories on their respective worlds, Conner found in this reality, he and Beyond never left Cadmus. Their hostility towards him was due to the fact that the XIII of this world had a hand in destroying the Justice League. Even though there was an obvious his age difference between him and the other project, Batman was hesitant to trust him. Superman on the other hand was a little more willing. Neither of them trusted him to help until they were faced with a battalion of Cadmus projects.
Lex Luthor had managed to overrule the amendment of presidency for only two terms and was going for a fourth. Cadmus and various other government operations were under his ruling. The destruction of the Justice League wasn’t enough; he wanted to utterly destroy Superman. He was nothing in short of a dictator. If he wasn’t preoccupied with ridding of Superman he would have gone for the world.
The battalion had Superman at their whim, had Conner done nothing the man would have died in their hands. In his haste to save Superman, he revealed himself to the native Cadmus and sparked the utmost fury from Luthor. The XIII of this world was the man’s loyal and obedient son. It was infuriating to see a look alike help his most hated enemy. Superman trusted him immediately after Luthor ordered for his head, but Batman still had his uncertainties.
Not long after, he was introduced to the Teen Titans. With the Justice League disbanded, the Titans was allowed continue on the condition that they register their civilian names to the government. It was Luthor’s show of goodwill to the public. This stunt was nothing more than a side circus. Keep the masses entertained and they continued to love you.
With Conner on their side, they found the location of several Cadmus facilities and discretely looted the place for equipment and whatnots. If they were to sabotage them successfully, they needed the gear to do so. Unfortunately, being the youngest of the projects and with no more than a year in Cadmus, he knew very little and even less about the former projects. The only ones he recognized were the resident XIII and Galatea.
He hadn’t noticed it at first, but he quickly realized Batman was with them almost every step of the way. He was wondered if Cadmus somehow stopped the man, but that wasn’t the case. He spoke to the resident Nightwing leader of the Titans. What he found—stunned him. Tim… was gone. Gotham was gone. Everything was gone.
Gone…
He was so surprised he couldn’t say anything as he listened in horror. Shortly after the No Man’s Land announcement, Cadmus and the Suicide Squad moved in and eliminated what remained of Gotham. It didn’t matter if they were villains or innocents. No one was spared. Batman was out of Gotham as Bruce Wayne at the time trying to convince the public to revoke the No Man’s Land ban, but his effort was wasted. No one was left in Gotham to save.
Tim, Oracle, Batgirl, Catwoman, Black Canary, Huntress… They were all gone.
The only reason Dick was still alive was because he was in Bludhaven at the time, but even though he lived, Conner could see the bitter survivor’s guilt. He and Batman fell out of contact though Superman had tried many times for them to reconcile. It wasn’t until later he realized that his pa had somehow managed to convince Batman to stay with him, at least for a while before they decided to find a way to take down President Luthor and his legion of anti-heroes.
Conner played the role as a spy, impersonating the resident XIII for weeks. While it was difficult and stressful, he’d at least got to spend time with the resident Superman and developed his dormant powers. Nearly two months in this world, he noted it was no different to being inside of Cadmus. This world was suffocating. He worried over every move he made, every data he gathered. What would Beyond do if he was in this situation? He found himself asking every time he lost hope.
He missed the cold little advisor. Even though he had no more than two years of memories, he was still very fond of that quiet boy. Beyond taught him many things and even helped him break out of Cadmus. His only regret when he died was leaving his catatonic friend.
He thought he could handle spy-work, it was something he would get better with practice. Until he saw him.
Beyond…
This boy—no—young man was nothing like the Beyond he knew. He was much older. He was cold… and unforgiving. The look in his eyes could’ve cut him to a million pieces and he would’ve felt ever slash. There was no warmth in him whatsoever. He could remember his icy tone even long after their meeting.
He was nearly in tears by the time he made it back to Superman. It was just too much. He never heard Beyond use such a tone towards him. Even though he knew this young man was not his friend, it still stung. The young man planned for this encounter. He studied his every move. It wouldn’t be long before he lost to the other project and end up brainwashed to be just like the resident XIII, if not worse.
“What happened?” Batman demanded when he found returned.
“Bruce, I don’t think this is the appropriate time—” Superman was ignored.
“What happened?” Batman grounded out.
Conner shook his head. “It’s okay pa. He needs to know.” He rubbed his arm nervously. “They know I have an immunity to Kryptonite… and I met with the Beyond of this world…” He muttered. “If he’s anything like the Beyond I know, my days are numbered.”
“Beyond?” Batman questioned.
“He’s a project too, but he was created to… well… deal with you.” Conner shrunk away from Batman’s narrowed eyes. “Back home, he usually does all the cover ups and advise on what to do with loose ends and whatnots.”
Batman was silent for the moment as he thought over his words.“… Who do you think is capable of facing him that you trust?”
Conner glanced up with a puzzled look. That was a strange question to ask. “…Beyond from my world…He knows Cadmus from the inside out. If it wasn’t for him I wouldn’t be out of Cadmus.”
Batman said no more as he left the room with a flurry of his cape behind him.
Not knowing what else to do, he and Superman followed the dark knight. The man probably expected them to follow him.
“… Um... Batman?” Conner asked hesitantly when they found him busy on some contraption. It looked vaguely like the transporter used in the Justice League. “What are you doing?”
“You didn’t tell him Clark?” Batman said lowly as he messed about with the controls.
“Tell me what?” Conner said with confusion.
The man of steel frowned. “We found out how you ended up in our world. It was a prototype transporter for the Justice League that was scrapped early on, but since we needed equipment… we tried bringing it back online, but instead you came through. It breaks up your mass in one reality and reassemble you in another, the way you’re supposed to be.”
Conner frowned, that was probably why he was alive; the transport repaired his body. “… So you’re sending me back?” He said in disbelief.
“No.” Batman said bluntly as the machine came to life. “We’re bringing someone else over.”
“Bringing someone over?” Superman shouted. “I thought we agreed to send him back if the situation gets worse!”
“I lied.” Batman said dryly.
“You were going to send me away!” Conner said in outrage, but was quickly forgotten when he spotted a small form materializing onto the transporter pad. He turned to Batman in horror. “You didn’t!”
“You said you trusted him.” The man replied.
“He’s in no condition to be traveling anywhere!” Conner snapped before his face paled. “Oh god, I can’t go home after this!” He held his head in terror. “His whole family is going to kill me!”
“… I don’t think that’s your greatest problem right now.” Superman murmured quietly.
Conner stopped in the midst of his panic-attack and turned his attention back to the transporter. His heart dropped as a different sort of terror ran through him. “…Beyond…” He croaked and raced to the small and blood-covered body. “BEYOND!”
“Bruce.” Superman whispered worriedly. He could see the dark knight’s face pale. The boy wasn’t only covered in blood, but judging the holes in his clothes, he was shot—multiple times.
“I’m fine.” Batman muttered as he walked over to the teen and young boy. “Is he dead?”
“… No.” Conner sighed in relief as he finished inspecting the boy. “He’s just asleep. There are no injuries on him… though, the blood does worry me a bit.”
“As long as he’s okay, let’s put them to bed.” Superman started.
“… I hope this doesn’t make him any worse than before.” Conner murmured as he stood with the boy in his arms.
Batman interrupted him. “What did you mean earlier when you said he was in no condition to travel?”
Conner’s expression dropped as he cradled the boy’s head closer to his chest.
“At least put the boy into a comfortable bed first.” Superman tried interrupting, but the dark knight glared at him.
“It’s okay…” Conner started quietly. “A few months before I appeared here, Beyond was captured by Cadmus… Normally, the punishment for betraying Cadmus would be termination…”
Superman tensed, while Batman continued. “But he was valuable to them. Judging by his counterpart here.”
Conner nodded. “When they got him… They wanted him to work for them again, wanted him to stay loyal to them… Beyond didn’t want to and was tortured and brainwashed for weeks before we managed to find him.”
“You don’t have to do this now.” Superman said with a concerned look.
Conner shook his head. “We managed to get him back, but he was quiet for months… I managed to get him to react sometimes, but he rarely did much else.” He studied the boy in his arms sadly. “His family must be worried sick.”
“He’ll be more comfortable in bed.” Superman placed a hand on his shoulder and ushered him towards the living area. He glared at Batman on his way out as if daring the man to question the boy any further in his state of distraught.
The dark knight stayed quiet as he cleaned up the area and moved to his surveillance room. He may not be able to ground the boy or his friend for answers, but he could at least watch them and find answers there.
o.o.o.o.o
I’m scared…
That was the last he remembered before everything faded in his mind. He never expected another coherent thought.
Where… am I? He wondered groggily with his eyes still closed.
He felt no pain and he was on a fairly comfortable bed. Quite strange, given he was shot a good handful of times. There were no particular smells in the air that stood out. No sterility—not a hospital. No dank smells—not the cave. He smelled food, but not Alfred’s cooking… Just where was he? He tried listening for sounds, but it was quiet.
He peeked his eyes open before the hazy room came into focus. It wasn’t a place he was familiar with, but it doesn’t seem dangerous either. He pulled off his covers and sat up carefully. He placed a hand over his heart. His fingers felt through the hole of his shirt in search for a fleshy would, but there was none. He frowned in confusion at the lack of injuries, but that was not what concerned him. He had no clue where he was.
Slipping off the side of the bed, he landed on the ground with his bare feet. He noted his shoes were missing, but with a brief glance he found his bag sitting on the chair next to the bed. This was quite peculiar. Was his mind transferred to an uninjured body? That couldn’t be it. He still wore the same clothes and he was quite certain it was still his body. He searched through his bag.
The RSS flashlight and the invisibility cloth were missing. Either item was valuable with what they could do. Without them, he was not only at a disadvantage; he was defenseless. Confused, lost and scared, he wasn’t sure what to do.
“Beyond! You’re awake!” The door crashed open before the most unlikely person appeared before him.
XIII…
He stiffened when his fellow project hoisted him up. “Beyond? Are you okay?” Conner asked worriedly..
“…XIII? What’s going on?” He whispered.
He was confused and terrified, but at the sound of his voice. Conner’s eyes widened. “You… talked!” He was flabbergasted. “When did you—how did you?” He laughed excitedly. “This is awesome! You’re better!”
Terry was glad to see XIII again, but he needed answers. “If you’re quite done XIII, I would like to know where we are and what’s going on.”
Conner scratched the side of his head with the free hand that wasn’t carrying Terry. “Well… I’m not sure I know how to explain it… but I know someone who can.”
He was skeptical at who XIII was talking about, but at this point he just wanted answers. It wasn’t long before they came to a hallway and spotted Superman talking to someone in another room. The man of steel stopped in mid-sentence and turned to them with a smile.
“Ah, you’re finally awake, we were starting to get worry.” The man said cheerily. “How are you feeling?”
“He’s fine.” A dark voice interrupted before a familiar cowl came into sight. “He was walking on his own before.”
Terry clung onto Conner as his breathing labored. “What’s wrong Beyond?” Conner held onto him gently.
“It’s not dad, it’s not dad, it’s not dad.” He rambled desperately as he buried his head in the other’s shoulder. His dad was warm whenever he looked as him. This man was cold and distant.
Conner patted his back gently. “Of course not, this Batman is the one that brought us here.” He said soothingly.
“The boy just woke up from a traumatic event. You don’t have to scare him!” Superman scolded.
Scare? Terry frowned as he pulled away from Conner and glared at the man of steel. He was not terrified. He was distraught from seeing a man that looked like his dad.
“No way…” Superman gapped at the familiar set of eyes. He glanced between the boy and the dark knight. “You’re Bruce’s son.”
“Conner.” Batman’s eyes narrowed at the half-clone before the other laughed sheepishly and took a step back away from the man.
“I-I didn’t tell you about that?” He laughed nervously.
Terry raised a hand to stop him and motioned to be placed down. “I’ve forbidden him to speak about me needlessly. It’s not his fault that you did not specify information about me.”
The man frowned as he stared him down. “What is your name?”
“Which one are you asking for?” Terry replied evenly, not wavering in the least against his stare.
Batman stared at him a moment longer debating whether or not this boy was going to lie to him before speaking again. “… The one your family given you.”
Terry stared up to the man confidently. “My name is Terrence Wayne.”
If not for his blood-crusted clothes, he would’ve made it a majestic sight at his declaration.
“And you go by Beyond in your time during Cadmus.” The man stated. “I will be brief. I brought you here to assist us with the matters of Cadmus.”
“…XIII isn’t enough?” Terry frowned.
“Tea’s alive here. You and I never left Cadmus in this world.” Conner added.
“… I see...” Terry murmured as his mind ran through what he knew of Cadmus. “I’ll need to know the differences between our worlds before I agree to anything.”
“But Beyond.” Conner protested.
Terry raised a hand to silence him. “I don’t like giving empty promises. If I agree to anything, I want to be certain I can fulfill it.”
Superman gave a warm smile. “You’re free to stay here as long as you need.”
He glanced at him warily, but Conner was quick to reassure him that they could trust them.
In the first week, Terry compared the histories between their world and this world. Up to No Man’s Land, the histories were nearly identical. The aftermath however, branched off differently. Gotham was destroyed, the Justice League was disbanded and the hero registration act was in place.
Once he was certain of the history, he went through what little Cadmus records they managed to gather. Galatea was still alive. The Supergirl clone shouldn’t be hard to manage with their supply of kryptonite and the RSS. This world’s Cadmus never developed the RSS and would not be able to use it against them. They had an advantage against their Kryptonian clones while their Conner had immunity towards their Kryptonite.
While Beyond was a considerable threat, Terry knew Beyond was only as powerful as what Cadmus allowed him to command. His concern would be towards the people who worked under his alternate self. Battle wise, he wouldn’t worry about Beyond’s fighting prowess. He was trained as an advisor, not a fighter.
Cadmus however, does have the Ultimen. From the lack in numbers and duplicates, they might actually be the originals. If their project had completed, the Ultimen wouldn’t have suffered degradation. But all thoughts on the Ultimen disappeared when he spotted Anna and the rest of Project Meta in Cadmus’ battle ranks.
How was the possible? He frowned.
Was the clown rejected when he came for them? No, they would’ve killed him and gone off on their own. Joker had cleared out the facility, they wouldn’t have any loyalty concerning to Cadmus. Unless… Joker never came to retrieve them.
Terry shook his head, that clown wasn’t relevant. Whatever that was supposed to happen, didn’t. Which meant Project Meta stayed with Cadmus in the whole duration. He grabbed one of Clark’s reporter notepads and started a timeline.
Project Meta remained, which meant Project Beyond was integrated and assigned to command. With him managing Project Meta, meant he was never the Voice. He would’ve stayed away from all domestic affairs aside from the missions Cadmus assigned the team to. Which meant he never had the time to search into his origins and thus never met Batman.
Terry’s hand paused briefly. If that were the case, Project Meta would be involved in Thanagarian attack… That meant Project Ultimen was not activated early and was given time to complete and stop the degradation process from occurring at all. With them as an alternative idol from the Justice League, they would have depleted the league’s support form the populace. They were the first to sign the hero registration and made the movement to destroy the league’s credibility.
With so many projects active and no sign of degradation or termination, by the time Galatea came about, she couldn’t afford her destructive behaviors as she did in his world. She would’ve been terminated otherwise.
As for XIII, he was the fruit of Luthor’s manipulations. With Beyond busy with Project Meta, there was no time for him to interact with XIII much less plan for an escape. This XIII would’ve been trained for combat and termination like Galatea. He closed his eyes as he sorted through the information in his mind. It would but difficult, but it wasn’t impossible.
“I’ll assist you with Cadmus.” Terry gave his answer in the second week.
“Yes!” Conner cheered excitedly. “I knew you would come through Beyond! So what’s the plan?”
Superman was startled. “You have a plan already?”
“Plan, yes.” Terry tossed his stolen notepad to the table. “The means, not yet.”
Batman raised a brow.
“If you want to take them down one at a time, the method is in that pad, but I wouldn’t recommend it.”
“Why not?” The man of steel frowned.
“Because you won’t succeed.” Conner quipped. “Sure, you can probably take out one or two of them if you’re lucky. But once Beyond finds out, it’d be a trap you’ll be walking into the next one you try.”
“Then what is your plan?” Superman crossed his arms.
“If we’re to succeed, we need to take them all out at once. And by all, I mean each and every one of the projects.” Terry said seriously.
“That’s crazy! How are we supposed to do that?” Superman said in disbelief.
The boy raised a brow in a similar manner to Batman.
“… Okay fine, you and Bruce can probably find a way to gather them all, but how are you going to face them? They’re meta-humans and Kryptonian clones.” Superman argued.
Terry glanced over to Conner briefly and turned back to the older man. “We’re going to need a weapon that targets only Cadmus projects.”
“There’s no such thing.” Batman inserted.
“Not yet, but we’ll develop it.” Terry concluded.
“… How?” The man frowned.
“We have two former Cadmus projects on our side. We can be the test subjects for the weapon.” Terry replied evenly.
“This is ridiculous! You’re going to put yourselves through harm for this?” Superman said in disbelief.
Terry’s expression hardened. “In order to succeed, sacrifices must be made and we’re aiming to terminate.”
The other man’s eyes widen. “We do not kill!”
“You’re not given a choice. Either they die or you die. Your values would not be taken into consideration by them.” The boy said sternly.
Conner quickly interrupted. “Beyond knows what he’s doing, he doesn’t kill needlessly.”
“But he’s okay with killing?” The man said in disbelief and turned to Batman for help.
“I don’t have any alternative plans.” The dark knight replied as he stood. “What do you have planned?”
“I’ll need my flashlight back.” Terry said.
Conner flinched at the mention of the item. “You brought that thing with you?”
“It’s very useful. I regularly use it as a defender and a source of heat.” Terry explained.
“Flashlight?” Superman asked in puzzlement.
“The flashlight is a red sun simulator. With kryptonite being their major weakness, they overlooked other methods.” Terry replied.
“Beyond was the one to suggest they build it.” Conner quipped.
“Why do you need it?” Superman frowned.
Terry raised a brow. “How else am I going to get a blood sample from XIII? Your Kryptonite has no effect on him.”
Terry busied with research in Batman’s labs as he attempted to develop a perfect weapon against Cadmus. The RSS’s research was left in Batman’s hands. The dark knight had replicated the project to a larger and more useful scale. He’d though he’d be left in peace to work, with Conner busy with his Kryptonian training with Superman. Unfortunately, Clark Kent had to keep up his appearance in the real world and Conner was left with an abundance of free time.
“Beyoooond!” Conner called out his name cheerily as he entered the lab.
“Handling hazardous materials here XIII.” He retorted dully.
“Doesn’t affect me.” The half-clone chirped in singsong.
“I can use the RSS then dump it on you.” The boy warned him.
“…” Conner became silent at the threat, but he didn’t leave.
Ten minutes of silence and Terry sighed in annoyance. “What is it XIII?”
“I just have some questions that’s all.” Conner said quietly.
“Don’t you have powers to practice?” The boy murmured as he slid a glass of sample under the microscope.
“I needed a break.” The half-clone chirped.
Terry frowned; the cells were still alive. “You’re not busy, but I am.”
“You don’t have to stop, you can just talk can’t you?”
“…Fine.” The sooner he got this out of XIII, the sooner he’d be left alone. “What do you want to talk about?”
“I was wondering, what’s the difference between you and the Beyond here? Because you left Cadmus and he didn’t. And don’t say it’s because of possible termination. This Beyond would’ve know that risk already.”
“I’m not going to talk about this.” The boy said as he discarded the sample and went back to his notes.
“Why not? You don’t have to stop what you’re doing.” The super pouted.
“I am not discussing a matter that requires self-analysis when I’m handling delicate and toxic chemicals.”
“… Fine, be like that.” He could hear the other blowing a raspberry.
He gave up pretty quickly this time. The thought touched his mind briefly before he dropped it in favor of working with the chemicals.
Little did he know, Conner resumed questioning at the dinner table with Clark and Bruce. The man of steel had insisted they call them by their names when they were out of costume.
“So Beyond, you still haven’t told me why you really left Cadmus.” Conner said cheekily as he popped a carrot into his mouth.
Terry glared at him. “Did you want to fight your father?” Conner shook his head in response. “Well, neither did I.”
Conner tilted his head aside. “But the Beyond here doesn’t seem to have a problem… so what makes you two different?”
Terry bluntly answered. “Because I care.”
“I don’t recall that ever happening.” Conner paused with a frown. “... I recall you being nice, but it’s very questionable to why you were being nice in the first place.”
Terry said nothing as he continued his dinner.
“You know, I really wonder why I trust you sometimes. You’re just as manipulative as my mother.” His mother being Lex Luthor.
Terry stopped eating and lowered his fork. XIII was having doubts again, while tedious, he needed to reassure the idiot before he does something stupid. “Fine, if you want to know that badly, I’ll tell you.”
Conner looked gleeful at the chance to learn more about his fellow project. Bruce and Clark were no different. It was strange to them that Cadmus held Terry at such high regard.
“Seven years ago, I was placed in an integration program with Project Meta. You would probably know them better as the Royal Flush Gang.”
Conner nodded, he has heard of them, but he wasn’t familiar with them.
“A few weeks into the integration, the Joker attacked the facility and took Project Meta. Everyone on site was either killed on sight or died from the Joker’s gas. I managed to hide and wait for help through the vents.” He cupped his glass of cold water. “But even then I wasn’t safe. They heard me crawling through the vents and fired at me. I had a bullet through my leg.”
“What happened next?” Conner was captivated by the story.
“The Joker left with Project Meta. I waited for five hours before help came.” He chuckled without humor. “I thought I was valuable to them, but it turned out I wasn’t.”
Clark had stopped eating and listened intently. Bruce was no different, but he looked in deep thought.
Terry continued. “I was reassigned during recovery. I needed to gain my worth back… but then the Joker showed up again.” He paused as the events replayed in his mind. “His target was Las Vegas.”
“… Why there?” Conner said with a puzzled expression.
“The Joker never has a reason for what he does.” Bruce muttered quietly.
Terry noted a look of concern cross Clark’s face when he spoke, but nonetheless he continued his tale. “Las Vegas was a prime entertainment capital in the country it was ridiculously easy to plant multiple bombs without the residents noticing quickly… He planted twenty-five.”
“…He wanted to blow up the city?” Conner asked in confusion.
“That’s the distraction.” Terry inserted. “He had the whole event broadcasted on prime time television, his aim was to get as many viewers as possible… There were approximately fifteen to sixteen million people watching according to the rating.”
Clark frowned. “Why did he need so many viewers?”
“Among Project Meta, there was a girl named Anna, she’s a telepath of sorts. Joker wanted to use her power to drive the masses insane.” He frowned deeply. “He lied to her to use her.”
Conner became quiet. Terry rarely spoke of any of the projects in such a manner.
“During the integration, I’ve studied Project Meta more closely than anyone else in Cadmus, they had me monitoring the whole event.” He grinned in amusement. “It was the first time I saw Batman. Long before I know he was my biological father.”
“So... The Justice League pretty much took care of rest right?” Conner added.
“More or less.” Terry continued. “The following year I was stuck in Cadmus with duties as the Voice.”
“Voice?” Clark questioned.
“It was mainly detective work.” He took a sip. “And shadow advising the president.”
Clark coughed in disbelief.
“But I suppose the most relevant part of this story is probably during the day where all the adults disappeared.”
“Oh! I heard about that from Tim.” Conner said excitedly. “Apparently everyone fourteen and over was sucked into this weird sub-space dimension or something.”
“… Can’t say I know his side of the story, but I was in transport to one of the other facilities when they disappeared. The car I was in along with a street filled with other cars went into a chain accident.”
Conner’s eyes widened. “Were you okay?”
“No, I died.” The boy said sarcastically before the other pouted and became silent again. “I got out fine, but with the adults missing, I had no clue what was going on. Then I heard crying and went to investigate. I found a girl strapped to seat inside of another car.”
“You saved her right?” Clark questioned.
Terry grumbled an annoyed response. “She wouldn’t leave me alone.”
Clark and Bruce looked amused.
“I tried heading towards the Cadmus facility when a group of kids found us and somehow I found myself babysitting.”
“How was it?” Clark asked in amusement.
“Dreadful, I rather have an assassin after me.” He grumbled. “But then…”
“Then what happened?” Conner asked, but Terry was lost in thought. “Something wrong Beyond?”
He swatted away the offending hand. “When I got the girl back to her mother… the woman hugged me…”
“And?” Conner pried some more.
“… I guess that was when I started getting curious to who my parents were.” His expression dropped. “I guess I have to thank her…”
“Was she the girl who gave you a kiss?” Conner gushed.
“How did you—Never mind that! Why is that even important?” Terry huffed.
Conner covered his mouth as his shoulders shook in mirth.
“Just what is so funny?” Terry frowned.
“She had a crush on you.” Conner grinned.
Terry’s eyes widened. “No! I don’t want anymore girls trying to tackle me out of no where!” He protested indignantly.
Bruce raised a brow. “Tackle?”
“Beyond have a lot of admirers back home at school.” Conner said slyly.
The younger boy looked irritated, almost as if he was going to pout. “I don’t see what’s so funny about being tackled.”
The supers couldn’t hold it in any longer as they burst into laughter at Terry’s innocence. However, the boy noted they weren’t the only ones amused.
Bruce… was smiling… that warm and familiar smile. Terry’s heart warmed as he returned a small smile. He missed that kind gentle look.
I know it’s not home… but just for now, let me pretend…
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