Disclaimer: not mine. DCU canon followed for Adventure Comics and Wonder Woman mainly. A secret identity or two have been purposely ignored for the sake of the dialogue, but nothing too serious.

Warnings: Spoilers for AC #1 and WW #33.

Smallville. Kent Farm. Night. Conner Kent.

Conner looked again at the notebook, displaying both pages: What did Superman do? /What does Lex Luthor do? Then he turned the page and stared at the empty sheet.

He took his pencil again and wrote a new title: What will Superboy do?

He stared at it for a few seconds, but nothing came up. Closing it, he went to sleep.

Metropolis. 1938 Sullivan Place. Night. Lois Lane and Clark Kent.

“How’s your mom?”

“Fine. Happy to have Conner back.”

“I think it’s a good idea he decided to go back to Smallville.”

“Yes.”

“You still look worried.”

“I found him in Lex’s house. Claimed he was over it, that he wouldn’t go to him.”

“You think he’s lying?”

“I think he’s still dealing with his roots.”

“Clark, he’s living with your mom, he’s going back to the titans. What makes you think that?”

“He was trying too hard to sound convincing and confident.”

“He’s a smart boy, Smallville, he’ll figure it out.”

Smallville. Kent Farm. Morning. Martha and Conner Kent.

“I talked with Ka-- Clark yesterday.”

“I know, he came to visit before seeing you.”

“I was thinking about what I told him, about how I feel.”

“And that is?”

“Excited about tomorrow. Like having this desire of not looking back, leaving the past away, hope renewed. Get in the car, drive as fast as you can and don’t look back.”

“Do you know why cars have rearview mirrors?”

“To control what goes on behind you, to se who overtakes.”

“It also shows you where you’ve been.”

Smallville. Kent Farm. Night. Conner Kent.

What will Superboy do?

1 - Will not forget his past.

Metropolis. 1938 Sullivan Place. Morning. Lois Lane and Clark Kent.

“I have the meeting with Perry and then I’m going to stalk a source.”

“The Press conference is in half an hour.”

“I’ll be working from home the rest of the day, so give me a call if you can make it to lunch with me.”

“Will do. Have you seen my belt?”

“Which one, hon?”

“The one with the LJA communicator.”

“I thought you didn’t have a meeting until Friday.”

“I had an idea about Kon. I’m calling in a favor.”

Sky. Somewhere over Kansas. Morning. Kon-El and Wonder Woman.

“So, Superman asked you to come?”

“He’s worried about you.”

“He shouldn’t, really. I’m ok.”

“I saw Cassie yesterday. She didn’t mention you.”

“I...I haven’t seen her yet...”

“So you’re not that ok.”

“I want it to be perfect with her, that’s all.”

“Can I ask you a question, Kon?”

“Shoot.”

“Have you ever thought about where do you belong?”

“It’s a broken record question to me.”

“I know. I’m asking.”

“You probably know I have. What’s the point in asking?”

“My insides tell me you don’t know where or how can you even belong, which only adds more inner turmoil inside your troubled mind.”

“Seeing yourself as the clone of such a hero is a blast. Even if I’m a clone, I am Superman’s clone, and I’m cool with that. And then, suddenly, they turn my world upside down. ‘Guess what, dude. One of the most dangerous and sick men in the world, by the way Superman’s nemesis, is also your daddy.’ Where do I really belong? The hero business. Other than that, I’m still not sure.”

“I disagree.”

“Right.”

“You do belong, you just don’t see it.”

“What do you mean?”

“You said you liked being the clone of Superman. And that you hated feeling that a part of Lex Luthor was also inside yourself.”

“So I should choose my own lineage and stick to it?”

“I recently neglected my Amazonian heritage. But I can never deny where do I come from.”

“Yeah, I get that, but I come from a tube.”

“Have you ever read anything about the Greeks?”

“Gods, art. Amazons, obviously.”

“The Greek aristocracy had a strong notion of lineage. That sentiment of belonging to one common ancestor grouped and organized them. The notion of belonging, as it happened with the Greeks, is fundamental at some point in our lives, Kon-El. But not necessarily an essential thing.”

“But you still talk about amazons, which you can’t deny as being a part of you. What about mine? Cadmus-El-Luthor house?”

“This burden you’re carrying is of no use, Kon-El. You have a family, people who care about you and love you. Luthors go by lineages. Kents don’t. To me the choice is easy.”

Smallville. Kent Farm. Morning. Conner Kent.

What will Superboy do?

1 - Will not forget his past. Heritage choice.

2 - Will plant his roots.

Gotham City. Tim Wayne’s house. Afternoon. Conner and Tim.

“So, Red Robin.”

“Yes.”

“And then another Robin, which makes...”

“Robin IV; or V if you count Stephanie. He’s with Batman now.”

“Plus a new Batgirl, that makes her the third?”

“Fourth at least.”

“Batman sidekicks’ history is very confusing.”

“Nobody’s perfect.”

Smallville. Kent Farm. Afternoon. Martha and Conner Kent.

“So who revealed your heritage to you?”

“My best friend.”

“And how did you feel about it?”

“Angry. Confused. Afraid.”

“Why did your friend do it?”

“He thought I deserved the truth. I don’t know, I guess he’s right, but that only made me more confused, Ma. Thinking I was Superman’s clone was good enough for me. Why did I need to know about Luthor?”

“Sometimes the truth hurts, and sometimes it takes you through paths you’d rather not walk.”

“You will lecture me about the difficult path against the easy choice?”

“No, you don’t need an old woman to tell you that, and you have a more than competent friend for that.”

“So, he gave me the truth. I guess I should be thankful.”

“You already are. Truth becomes you, Conner.”

Smallville. Kent Farm. Afternoon. Conner Kent.

What will Superboy do?

1 - Will not forget his past. Heritage choice.

2 - Will plant his roots

3 - Will stick to the truth (and justice)

Conner turned the page back.

What does Lex Luthor do?

1- Lies to Superman.

“This is all very confusing.”

Gotham City. Tim Wayne’s house. Afternoon. Conner and Tim.

“Why didn’t you take Nightwing? That’s the coolest costume of all.”

“Already taken. Apparently the name was not registered.”

“There’s a new Nightwing in town?”

“There’s a new kryptonian Nightwing in town.”

“Wha-- kryptonian?”

“Batman sidekicks might cripple, die, disappear, turn evil and pop out like mushrooms, but at least they stay informed. Dude, don’t you talk to Superman?”

“Well, he’s kinda busy right now, you know?”

“And you’re kinda avoiding. I’m not going to lie to her much longer.”

Metropolis. 1938 Sullivan Place. Late afternoon. Lois Lane and Clark Kent.

“Still working on O’Connor’s piece?”

“Corrupt senator using public funds and influence for self promotion? You bet I am. How’s your day so far?”

“The usual. Covered the HWO press conference, stopped a fire in Tuscany, made a patrol over Afghanistan...you know.”

“And Superboy?”

“Diana thinks he’ll be fine. Ma does too.”

“Hey, and if not let me have a talk with him: Wonder Woman, Martha Kent and Lois Lane, personal Superboy advisors.”

“Scary trifecta.”

“What? I’m more than entitled to sit a kryptonian in my divan, don’t you think?”

“I’m sure of it. But I don’t think Kon would appreciate the exclusive exposé on his return splashed on Sunday’s edition.”

“You think I would trick him? Come on, Smallville, you know me better than that.”

“Precisely.”

“Clark...”

“Ok, you wouldn’t. But just out of curiosity, what would you tell him?”

“Well, he’s a teenager with angst mixed up with that Kent-El never-ending hope. I’d go for a direct approach. You know: Kon-El, you’re over age for the nature versus nurture thing, right now your mixed gene pool matters very little. You were born; you’ll eventually die; what you do in the meantime comes from what you have behind the eye. Use those brains hiding inside that cute shell of yours and stop moping. That’s basically what I’d tell him.”

“One of a kind. You’re one of a kind, Lane.”

“Better believe it, Kent.”

Smallville. Kent Farm. Late afternoon. Martha and Conner Kent.

“Clark told me you were returning to the Titans.”

“Yes, that’s my intention.”

“Will it be soon?”

“I...I need to sort something out, erm, before going back.”

“Oh, so it’s about a girl.”

“What? No, wait it’s...I didn’t say it...How did you know?”

“Sweetheart, you’re a part of Clark. You babble as he did when he was in love with Lana.”

“Well, that’s it, I’m part Clark, but I’m also part Luthor, and--”

“Conner. Stop it.”

“I want to deal with this dark side thing first. I don’t want to hurt her.”

“You never sort things out on your own when it affects other people, Conner. You do it together. Haven’t you learnt anything these past days?”

“Yes, but--”

“Light and dark. They are always inside us. You’ve gained a lot already: you already know your dark side.”

“But what can I do?”

“Don’t let it swallow you.”

Smallville. Kent Farm. Early evening. Conner Kent.

What will Superboy do?

1 - Will not forget his past. Heritage choice. Will deny dark side.

2 - Will plant his roots

3 - Will stick to the truth (and justice)

4 - Will sort everything out before returning to the Titans full time.

Sky. Somewhere over Kansas. Evening. Superman and Superboy.

“How was the talk with Diana?”

“Ok, I guess.”

“Ma told me she also spoke to you.”

“Yes she did. Now I get where do many things I admire in you come from. And before you ask, yes, I also talked to my best friend. But no, I haven’t talked to anyone else. And after all these enlightening conversations, I’m only sure of one thing.”

“Which is?”

“I’m confused. Everyone has told me different things, and all of them are right. So I shouldn’t deny my past but neither dwell on it; my lineage is there but I should not take it seriously, although I cannot fight who I am.”

“So you’re more confused now?”

“I’m doing all this searching thing on my own, but, you know, if someone’s gonna tell me anything else, I’d rather take some blunt words, not another thoughtful speech.”

“Get over it.”

“What?”

“You’re...you’re a teenager. You should stop moping around about your mixed heritage, because it really doesn’t matter anymore. You were born and you will die, you don’t get to chose those, but what you do now is your decision. Use your brains, you’re smart. So deal with it and move on.”

“...You’re sure you’re Kal-El?”

“...Did it help?”

“I...yeah, actually it did.”

Metropolis. 1938 Sullivan Place. Night. Lois Lane and Clark Kent.

“You’re the best.”

“What was that for?”

“A praise to my clairvoyant wife.”

“Clairv-- you stole my lines with Superboy?”

“Borrowed a few words.”

“I see...Did they work?”

“I think so.”

“That’s an extra point to get the byline on Superboy’s return, mister.”

Smallville. Kent Farm. Night. Conner Kent.

What will Superboy do?

1 - Will not forget his past. Heritage choice. Will deny dark side.

2 - Will plant his roots

3 - Will stick to the truth (and justice)

4 - Will sort everything out before returning to the Titans full time.

Conner stared at the page for a few seconds, unconvinced. Then he used the rubber and wrote something new.

Mrs. Kent called him from the kitchen.

“Conner, supper’s ready!”

“Be right there, Ma!”

Looking again at the notebook he smiled and went to the kitchen.

What will Superboy do?

1 - Cassie

fin

Author’s notes: This was a little something that came to mind after reading the first issue of Adventure Comics. As I'm not a reader of Young Justice or the Titans, Tim-Con interactions might be a little off, but they were used to lighten up the story a bit.

For Conner Fans I do have a rec: Author xenokattz has several fics involving Conner Kent: Correspondence, Bloodlines and Sunshine, first set in final crisis; last two in a very particular and highly recommended Smallville universe.

Thanks for reading.