His name was Conner Kent, but he supposed he would respond to XIII as well. Where to start his story? From the start of his productions? From the moment he was awake? Or maybe the short span of a year he spent in Cadmus? No—we’ll start from when he decided to flee.
At the time, his was known only as XIII, Project Superman XIII to be exact. Cadmus was going to assign him into the duties of another cloning project, Project Supergirl Galatea. She had died in action, disobeying orders in her last moments. It wasn’t the fear of death that kept him from accepting the job. Rather, it was the violence and bloodshed he needed to perform in order to take her place. Not wanting to do such things, he decided to flee. But to flee from Cadmus was not something anyone can simply do just because they felt like it. Especially, not projects like himself, they have even less of a choice compared to its employees.
Fortunately, he needn’t worry. There was a fellow project that was looking for means to escape Cadmus. His name was Beyond, Project Batman Beyond. A strange little boy, not that he was older than the boy by normal means, but he was definitely strange. He was small for his age, looked about six or so when he was actually eight, but what was most surprising about Beyond was his stretch of power without actually having any. It was Beyond that planned for their escape and gotten them away from Cadmus, but they separated soon after.
“We’ve been together for too long.” Beyond commented as they stayed to the shadows of the alleys, watching the civilians pass their hiding spot.
“What do we do then?” XIII asked quietly.
“We split up.” The other boy said as if it was the simplest thing in the world. “They’re going to be searching for pairs. By splitting up, we’ll buy some time before they switch their criteria to searching us individually.”
“But…” XIII argued weakly, he wasn’t sure what to do.
“You head towards Metropolis and find your father. I suggest going to the Daily Planet building. There’s a high chance he’ll be lingering around there or in the actual building.”
“What about you?” XIII asked worried.
“I’ll stay in Central for now. It’s too risky for both of us to be in the same city. We have a higher chance of staying out of Cadmus’s grasps this way.”
“…All right…” XIII was reluctant, but forced a grin. “The game is still on! Whoever gets caught first owes the other favors!”
Beyond’s lip twitched up a little before cautiously scouting the area. “Get going, this time take the skies, and fly as fast as you can to Metropolis. They’ll be startled enough to give you some extra time before they gather up their manpower.”
XIII nodded as he started to hover. “Good luck Beyond.” He said and propelled himself into the sky. As he sped towards Metropolis, he faintly heard Beyond’s footsteps running the opposite direction.
This would be the first time he separated from Beyond, the first time he won’t be able to run around the corner and find him in his usual workspace. He felt the tears rush to his eyes and he held back the urge to bawl. It hasn’t been five minutes and he wanted to go back to his fellow project. It felt so strange not having the other’s voice telling him what to do or berate him for the mistakes he made. The tears poured from his eyes as he furiously rubbed them away and focused getting to Metropolis. This was no time to be crying, if Beyond knew, he would berate him for being so childish.
Compared to Superman, his powers haven’t fully matured and his speed was relatively slow compared to the man of steel. Even so, he knew better than to take his time. Cadmus would be on his trail soon enough and he have to find his father before that happened. It took him fifteen minutes to travel from Central to Metropolis and another five to find the Daily Planet.
Beyond said there was a high chance that his father lingered the area, but he had no clue where to start looking. Theoretically, he could just cause havoc and his father would appear, but that was not how someone asks for help. Maybe someone in the building would know how to contact him? XIII flew to the windows of the building and peeked in. There were plenty of people running about the place with paperwork and whatnots… but how to get their attention? He wished Beyond was here to tell him what to do, but the other boy wasn’t there. He was on his own.
He decided to knock on the glass gently, hoping not to break the glass while trying to catch someone’s attention. And attention he got. He could clearly hear the startled gasps of the workers behind the window. They murmured furiously in excitement as they wondered who he was. He sniffled and tried to rub his nose free from drippings. It seemed like he wasn’t going to get any help here…
“XIII?” A familiar voice called out from behind him before he turned around. Superman was floating before him. “What are you doing here?”
“… I ran away from Cadmus…” He said meekly.
Superman’s features softened before he placed a hand on his shoulder. “Let’s take this conversation somewhere more private.” He led the boy to the outskirts of the city and away from the inquiring eyes below.
“…About what you said a few months ago… Is the offer still open?” He sniffled and rubbed away the remaining tears.
Superman was silent for a moment before sighing with a smile. “Of course, the offer is still open. I’m glad you decided to leave Cadmus.”
“…” XIII was surprised the man asked him no questions involving his run away. He expected an inquiry or two.
“Cadmus is probably looking for you now right?” The man noted with a thought. “Hmm… come on, I have a place they can’t get to easily. We can go there for now, at least until we figure out what to do about them.”
He thought it was going to be just that simple. Superman would accept him and then everything will be all right… At least that was what he hoped. His father took him to the Fortress of Solitude. He was right about it being a place that cannot be reached easily. With the Arctic waters and the depth of fortress, it would take more than a set of directions to get there. Even Cadmus would need some advance equipment to venture through the dangerous terrain.
“This is my Fortress of Solitude.” His father introduced him as they came out from the icy waters.
XIII stood in awe as he followed the man down the halls and into the gallery of exotic animals. He couldn’t help but run up to one of the windows and stared at the strange creatures. Beyond would’ve found these creatures interesting. The boy would probably study the habits of the animals and note how they could be used as weapons or something work related. At the thought of the other boy, XIII found himself tearing again.
“XIII?” His father placed a hand on his shoulder when he knelt down sobbing with his hands still clinging to the edge of the windows.
He quickly rubbed his eyes and forced a smile. “Sorry, I was just thinking about Beyond.”
Superman frowned. “The Voice? Why?”
“He would’ve found these animals interesting… well… more interesting then the super power warthog…” His sniffled before started crying again. “BEYOND!!!!! WAHH!!!”
The older man was startled by his sudden outburst of crying and tried to consol him, but it made no difference, XIII wouldn’t stop crying. Eventually, he made his way through the fortress with XIII sobbing behind him before he reached his computer and contacted someone that was more familiar with situations like these. Well, the only person he thought that was familiar with these situations anyway.
“What is it?” A gruff voice echoed against the icy walls. XIII stifled his crying to hiccups as he glanced up to the screen. The mannerisms sounded very much like Beyond, even if the voice was considerably deeper and more mature.
“Ah… Morning Bruce, I’m glad I caught you before you left for work.” Superman greeted brightly. “There’s something I need your help on.”
“What help do you possibly need this early—” XIII started sobbing again, the man sounded so much like Beyond, but it wasn’t him. “… Is that crying behind you?”
“… Yeah.” Superman stepped aside for the camera to catch sight of XIII. “He’s what I need help with.”
“That boy is from Cadmus.” The man droned.
“He ran away from Cadmus.” Superman defended him.
“Don’t be dense.” The other continued. “No one leaves Cadmus simply because they want to; especially, not by a child like him.”
“Bruce.” His father gave an exasperated sigh. “He came to me crying… he’s still crying now!”
“He’s a threat.”
“He’s a child!”
“Why bother consulting me on the matter if you’re convinced he’s not a threat?” The man growled. XIII couldn’t help but whimper again, he sounded so much like Beyond!
“Um… well… I don’t really have any experience with handling kids. Kara was pretty much grown when I found her…” The man of steel said sheepishly.
The man was silent. “… And you decided to call me?” Bruce said in deadpan.
“Well… yeah, you had children in your care before. So I thought…” He chuckled weakly.
“…” Bruce stared at Superman a moment longer before finally speaking again. “Fine, I’ll talk with him.” XIII sniffled as his father dragged him to the front of the screen. “Your name is XIII.”
How’d he know? He didn’t recall his father calling him XIII at any point of their conversation. “…Yes.” He said.
“I’ll get straight to the point.” Bruce stated firmly. “I’m giving you a chance to explain and defend yourself. And I suggest you to be truthful or we’re sending you back to Cadmus.”
XIII shuddered. He could imagine the punishments he would endure if he were to return to Cadmus. Despite this terror he felt, his mind paused briefly on the man’s threat. It was so venomous. Yet, the man hadn’t needed an ounce of anger behind his words to sound threatening… Beyond’s father?
“How did you run away?” He asked. Not why—but how. The chances of him being Beyond’s father was very high. The details to his runaway were not missed.
“I asked Beyond for help.” He murmured. “I knew I wouldn’t be able to get far if I didn’t have his help.”
“And he helped you?” The blue-eyed man asked.
“… Actually… he was the one that hinted that I should run away.” XIII murmured. The man raised a brow in a very Beyond-like manner. “To tell the truth, I hadn’t thought of running away before. At least not until he told me what Cadmus was going to assign me to.”
“Assign?” Superman asked curiously.
“They were going to have me fill in Galatea’s spot and resume her duties…” He trailed off for a moment as he remembered the dreadful videos Beyond showed him. He shuddered again.
“He didn’t just help you. He left Cadmus with you.” The man’s conclusion snapped him out of his thoughts, surprising XIII and his father.
“He left?” Superman gapped in surprise.
“We were together until a while ago. He said separating will make it harder for Cadmus to find us.” XIII sniffled and rubbed away the gathering tears at his eyes.
“And who is this Beyond character?”
“Bruce, I told you he’s—”
“I want him to tell me.”
XIII’s flinched at the sudden glare directed at him. Bruce and Beyond looked nothing alike, but something about those glaring blue eyes just screamed Beyond… Maybe his fellow project won’t kill him for giving out his information to his father. “He’s part of the reconnaissance department and gets a lot of detective work assignments, but he also does cover-ups for Galatea’s missions. I heard that he did some shadow advising… but that’s not his main priority.”
“And what is his main priority?” the man asked.
“… Are you going to hurt him?” XIII asked worriedly. He was asking an awful lot on Beyond. Hopefully, not to harm him.
“We don’t hurt—”
Bruce quickly interrupted Superman. “Depends on whether or not you’ve been truthful about him and his duties.”
“Bruce!”
“If you don’t hurt him…” He worried for his fellow project. What if this man found out Beyond is his son? Would he hurt Beyond? “He was in charge of monitoring Justice League activities. You’re not going to hurt him are you?”
“Why are you so worried for him?” Bruce asked him.
XIII’s shoulders slumped. “Cadmus dispose projects that outlive their uses or if they disobey orders… You’re not going to do the same are you?”
“Dispose… projects? The Voice is a Cadmus project?” His father said in shock.
His question was ignored as Bruce continued with his next one. “Fine, both of you are projects, but what makes you believe he won’t betray you? Why do you trust him?”
“…Why does Superman trust Batman?” XIII asked.
The man was silent for a moment before turning his attention to Superman. “I’ll see what I can do to help. Have you thought of a name for him yet? I doubt he can use XIII with Cadmus looking for him.”
XIII glanced at his father curiously before he smiled and answered the dark man. “Hmm… I think Conner Kent would be suitable. Kon-el for his Kryptonian name.”
“Fine.” The man said bluntly. “I’ll call you when I’m done.”
“Um…” XIII started hesitantly before those glaring blue eyes concentrated on him. “Are you Batman?” The man in question glanced over to his tense father before cutting the connection. “Pa?” His father was sweating profusely.
Apparently, Batman had the same effect on his father as Beyond had on him. They could trust them indefinitely, but if they were angry, they better run. The man said he would help, but to the newly named Conner, he had a feeling there was still some skepticism against him. He wasn’t bothered, if this man was Beyond’s father, it would be stupid of him to trust so blindly. His father on the other hand, was as naïve as Beyond noted. Once he gotten Batman’s help, he took them to Smallville, Kansas. His father was so trusting. He was going to introduce him to his family. Conner found himself standing outside of the house watching clouds as he waited for his father to explain the situation.
“Hey! What are you doing outside of my house?” A familiar voice snapped him out of his cloud gazing before he turned to her with horror over his face.
“G-G-GALATEA!” He screamed before zooming through the door and hid behind his father.
“What the—” His father started, but he quickly interrupted.
“It’s Galatea! She came back to life! She’s going to kick my ass!” Conner shouted frantically and screamed in terror when the girl walked into the kitchen.
“Clark! How does he know about my clone?” The girl snapped.
“Take it easy Kara.” His father raised his hands defensively as she crossed her arms. “Everyone I would like to introduce you to Conner Kent, our newest addition to the family.”
“… Clark, how old is this boy?” Pa Kent asked curiously, whom Conner would later know as Grandpa Jonathan later.
“When did you knock up a poor girl and not tell us?” The woman said in good humor, Conner would later know her as Grandma Martha. “Was it Lois or Lana?”
“Ma!” His father said in embarrassment.
“He’s from Cadmus isn’t he?” Kara spoke up. Conner stayed behind his father fearfully.
The man of steel was startled that she figured it out so quickly but continued. “Yes, but he’s nothing like Galatea. He’s been through a lot to get out from there.”
The girl looked skeptical. “… If you say so Clark.”
“So… Ma, Pa? Can Conner stay here? I can’t really keep my eye on him in Metropolis.”
“Of course Clark, but you’re going to enroll him in school yourself when his paperwork gets done.” Ma Kent said.
“I will, I will. Thanks ma, thanks pa.” He said before he felt a tug at his arm.
Conner glanced up at his father frightfully. “You’re leaving?”
He ruffled his hair affectionately. “Cadmus will never come here looking for you and it’s best for you to stay out of sight until we get your paperwork done.”
“But…” He glanced over to Kara warily.
“Kara is nothing like Galatea.” His father chuckled and turned to her. “Before I leave, I want to talk to you for a sec.” She sighed and followed him out the door. “I’ll come back later tonight, just try to make yourself feel at home.”
Conner reluctantly released his arm before he disappeared with Kara through the door. Not even a full day passed and already two people left him. He felt like crying again, if not for someone approach him from behind and placed a warm hand on his shoulder.
“Conner right?” Pa Kent said warmly before ushering him out of the kitchen. “Let’s get you situated. Clark’s room should be fine right?”
“Oh dear, is this all you came with?” Ma Kent said in a huff. “That Clark can be so forgetful.”
“No worries Martha, he can wear Clark’s old clothes until Clark takes him out shopping for some new ones.”
The Kents were truly too kind, the only person that suspected anything at all was Kara… but then again it might be his paranoia of her being the person Galatea was cloned from. Even so, she did try to get along with him while he was in Kansas. Sadly, he soon found himself bored. Two days into his stay in the Kent residence, he found himself restless and itching to fly outside in the fields and bright sun.
And he did.
It was the most exhilarating thing he had ever done. In Cadmus he rarely saw the sky, stuck indoors, running training after training. The only time he saw the sky was at night when Cadmus was under fire… but it was hardly enjoyable since her was in trouble… He waited for punishment for leaving without permission, but it never came. Instead, his father decided he needed a productive outlet for all his energy.
“Where are we?” Conner asked in puzzlement. His father took him to a building that resembled a giant T.
“Since your paperwork isn’t exactly done yet, and you’ve been getting a little restless. I’d thought you’d want to get a little exercise and help out at the Titans’.” Superman answered.
“Titans?” Conner questioned. He knew little about the outside world. Cadmus works on a do as you are told basis and Beyond usually gave him learn it yourself speeches for things that weren’t important. Things like the Justice League and the Titans.
“They’re the equivalent of the Justice League… but more of your age range.” His father explained.
“Oh…” What else could he say to that?
“Welcome to Titans Tower Superman. We’ve been expecting you.” A young woman with bronze colored skin and long flowing red tresses greeted them.
“Thank you Starfire. Do you think you can take over showing Conner around? I have some business to attend to.”
“You’re leaving again?” He was tempted to sulk. This would be the third time this week he was been sent off somewhere else.
“Sorry, I’ll try to make some time okay?” Superman said before leaving.
Conner gave a dejected sigh before turning to the woman his father called Starfire with a smile. “Hi! I’m Conner.”
She returned the smile before ushering him into the tower. “I’m Starfire as you’ve noticed Superman call me, but feel free to call me Kori.”
Since it was fairly early, there weren’t many titans walking about. His father’s decision to send him here was probably a spur of the moment thing. Other than Kori he saw one other girl code name Raven, but her real name is Rachael. She was quiet and kept to herself. She reminded him that Beyond was elsewhere and it wasn’t likely for him to see him any time soon. Kori told him that most of the titans were still in their respective schools, at least the younger ones were. The older ones like Nightwing and Cyborg were at their civilian jobs.
To him, the tower was no different from the Kent’s residence. There was still nothing he could do. It was torture… At least until the TV started dancing and the couch he sat on started waltzing with the coffee table. He quickly floated off the couch with a baffled look on his face.
“What on earth…” He started. “Did I activate a training program?”
“No!” An obnoxious voice interrupted him.
“Who said that?” Conner searched for the voice.
“ME!” The voice continued before the TV danced in front of him. The channels flipped rapidly before it stopped on a small man in a purple suit with a matching top hat.
“Who are you?” He asked curiously.
The little man grinned before he pulled himself out of the TV. “I’m Mxyzpixilate!”
“Mixa-what?” He was puzzled.
“Mxyzpixilate, a being from the fifth dimension.” The man explained. “I thought I’d give you a visit and say hi since you’re new in town. You’re Superman’s son aren’t you? Superboy!” Conner found his father’s symbol zapped onto his black tee shirt. “Hmm… the yellow doesn’t suit you.” He zapped away the yellow, leaving only a red symbol on the shirt.
“… Is there any particular reason for this visit? … Mixy?” Conner asked. He couldn’t help but feel a little cautious around this strange being, but curious at the same time.
“Hey, only chicks can call me Mixy!”
“I can’t pronounce your name!” He protested.
The newly named Mixy waved it off. “You don’t have to say my name! The game is for you to make me say me name backwards.”
Conner tilted his head aside. “Why would I want to do that?”
“Because you want this stuff to go back to normal!” The little man huffed furiously.
“Oh… the stuff here normally doesn’t do that?” He asked innocently, highly amused by Mixy’s irritation. He finally figured out this being. He was an imitation of Rumpelstilkskin. Why he would know anything about Rumpelstilkskin, you may wonder. Apparently, that little tidbit is considered normal knowledge for most teens of his age.
“Of course they don’t! Are you slow?”
“No, I could fly at Mach 3 almost.” He answered.
Mixy stared at him in disbelief before shaking his head. “Yeesh and here I thought you would be a challenge! Even that Bizzaro is more fun then you!” With a snap, he disappeared and everything returned to normal at the tower.
“Hehe, that was interesting.” He said in amusement.
“What was interesting?” A cheery voice interrupted him. He glanced down from where he was floating and spotted a red haired youth standing below him dressed in a yellow and red outfit.
Apparently, Mixy’s appearance killed sometime for him and school let out. The first to return to the tower was Bart Allen, Kid Flash. He spent a good hour with the speedster playing games until the other titans returned. Slowly and gradually he met with each and every one of the titans. Despite all the titans he met, only one caught his attention indefinitely.
“What are you doing?” Conner asked curiously as he watched Robin, Tim Drake. The rest of the titans greeted him with a warm welcome and an interest at his presence, but Tim only gave him a brief wave before he buried himself with work.
“I’m looking over the areas in Gotham that was recently damaged by the tremors.” The other boy replied as he scrolled through the reports.
“There was an earthquake?” Conner asked with concern. What if Beyond was there?
His worries were unfounded. Beyond was not in Batman’s care, not much he could do there. The days following after he found himself attached to Tim like he had with Beyond. He didn’t hover over him, simply because he found Beyond irritable when he did it to him. He opted to stay as close as he could to Tim at a comfortable distance. It was a horrible attempt to replace Beyond, but he couldn’t do anything else without making himself miserable again.
“Where are you going?” Conner asked curiously when he spotted Tim getting up from the couch.
“Conner.” Tim grounded out exasperatedly.
“What?” He tilted his head aside.
“Stop stalking me!” The other snapped.
“But I’m not.” Conner protested.
“You’ve been following me for the past week! You’re the first to greet me, you’re always in the same room I’m in, the only time you haven’t was when I was in the bathroom! And just now, you’ve even gone to asking me where I’m going just because I stood up!”
“Are you… angry?” Conner was puzzled.
“Who wouldn’t be?” Tim growled.
“Oh… Sorry.” He apologized sheepishly and left the room filled with puzzled titans.
Tim was nothing like Beyond. Even though he did act a lot like him at first, he simply wasn’t him… Conner climbed up to the roof and sat at the edge of the tower watching the sunset. He wished he knew what Beyond was doing. Unlike him, Beyond was human; he was not invincible. If anything it was likely he could die from a simple cold. He sulked at the thought. He didn’t want a dead Beyond.
“Conner?” A soft voice called out.
He glanced back as spotted Cassie, Wonder Girl. “Hey Cass, what’s up?”
“About what happened with Tim…” She started. “Are you okay? Tim was a little harsh.”
He waved it off. “Nah, Tim’s a nice guy. I know someone much scarier…” He became quiet for a moment. “I guess that’s why I was a little disappointed when Tim wasn’t all that scary to me.”
“Not scary?” The girl gapped.
Turns out, the titans were terrified of Tim when he’s pissed off, save for the older titans. It was pleasant spending time with Cassie. She tried to cheer him up, even though it didn’t do much to help his mood. He stayed on the roof long after sunset and long after Cassie left. It was the least he could do for his depressed state.
“Hey Tim.” He greeted the teen wonder when he stepped onto the roof. “If you came to apologize, you don’t have to. I did sort of stalk you after all.”
The other was silent, but he walked over to where he sat. “Why did you stalk me?”
“… You reminded me of Beyond… I guess I was sort of just trying to replace him, but I guess I couldn’t.” He turned to Time with a bright grin. “You guys are different when you’re mad.”
Tim raised a brow. “How so?”
“Hehe.” Conner chuckled. “Beyond is scarier.”
The other found a grin gracing his lips before a bellow of laughter escaped from him. Tim couldn’t replace Beyond, but he was a comforting friend to have. He found that very important as time passed and he became a regular titan. Between the boring schoolwork and trying to fit in, he found himself missing Beyond very much. The dry humor, the blunt remarks… He was afraid that he would forget how Beyond looked.
At least, until the episode with his brainwashing came about… He didn’t know what happen. One moment they were facing off some villain the next he found himself standing with Cassie beaten to the ground, Tim’s arm broken and the rest of the titans littered about the area injured. His father was there too. He explained what happened. Somehow he was controlled by Lex Luthor—his other father. Early during his production, there were trigger codes ingrained into him for precautions… At least he thought it was due to precautions. Lex had used him to attack the titans.
Not long after, he took off from the titans, worried that he’d hurt Tim and the others again. He felt hopeless. He tried so hard fitting in and adapting to the changes, but it doesn’t seem like anything worked. He sulked at the Kent residence when Tim suddenly called, but instead of Tim at the phone, it was Beyond! He wanted to cry in relief that the other was all right, but instead the other had reassured him and made him hopeful, joyful and even fearful in the span of minutes. Beyond had that effect on people.
He really thought the other was going to kill him for suggesting that he was related to the Joker, but weeks later, the boy called him and told him he’s forgiven. Of course, that wasn’t within it own brand of oddity springing up. Who knew Beyond would get rabid fangirls that’d try to tackle him in the halls with hugs.
Months later, having not seen or heard from either Beyond or Tim, he was getting a angsty and depression set in. Krypto whined pitifully at him when he sat at the top of the titan’s tower. It was still strange how he was rewarded for running away from school. Not that he complained, Krypto was an excellent companion.
“You’re feeling miserable too huh?” Conner said depressingly as he rubbed Krypto’s head.
The dog nuzzled his hand and tried to tug him to his feet.
“… Yeah, I shouldn’t sit here and make myself anymore miserable…” He said as he stood up and sighed. “If I want to see them that much, I should go visit!”
Krypto barked excitedly at Conner’s renewed energy.
He chuckled as the dog head butted his leg. “All right, you can come too. I think I heard Tim mention something about Beyond getting a dog the last time I talked to him.”
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