Chapter Text
“Kon, wake up. Kon. Kon!”
“Conner, earth to Conner.”
Conner looked up to find five sets of eyes on him; the rest of Young Justice twisted around in their seats to give him mildly judgmental looks as the bio-ship hovered.
“Dude, were you sleeping?” Wally asked. “I mean, I know Rob’s mission briefings are dull, but—“
“Hey!” Robin protested.
“—it’d be nice to know you actually know the plan for kicking ass before we drop in on Harvest’s top secret base.”
“Um, no?” Conner said.
“No? No, you weren’t sleeping? Or no you don’t know the plan?” Artemis asked.
It hadn’t felt like waking up, but he supposed he must have because the past several minutes were a blank. In fact, he barely remembered getting on the bio-ship in the first place, but he supposed after several months on the team the missions were beginning to blend together.
“…no,” Conner tried again.
M’gann stifled a laugh. “I’ll catch you up.”
“No,” Kaldur said. “Focus on keeping us out of sight, it’s paramount that we infiltrate NOWHERE unnoticed, we only get one shot at this.”
M’gann turned her attention back to the skies, the ship invisible as they flew.
“It’s an information gathering mission only,” Kaldur said. “The mass shipment of medical supplies we tracked fits with Harvest’s ambitions of tailoring his own generation of meta-humans. We are going to infiltrate the base, download any available information, case the lay out, and then leave.”
“And if we find kids?” Artemis said, raising an eyebrow. “You just expect us to leave them there?”
“Once we have the information we’ll deliver it to the League and they’ll move forward from there,” Kaldur said. “We’re not equipped at this time to take on Harvest.”
Harvest, a villain from the 31st century who had come back in time to try to control the next generation of meta-humans. Or create his own army to kill wipe them out once and for all if he couldn’t. All of Young Justice’s interactions so far had been with his Ravagers as they went about abduction metas from across the globe who were never seen again. Or they hadn’t been until the League managed to capture one and revealed the Ravager to be a meta who was kidnapped three years prior, now blindly loyal to Harvest. Loyal enough to hang himself in his cell before they could get the location of NOWHERE’s base out of him. An autopsy had shown signs of experimental surgeries over his time in captivity as a way to increase his abilities.
“I still think we should have gone undercover,” Robin said. “That way we could be certain about the location of the missing kids.”
“You want to be bait for the guy who is kidnapping metas, experimenting on them, and then brainwashing them to be his own personal foot soldiers in a war against metas?” Artemis asked.
“It would be the most efficient way of finding where the kids are being held,” Robin argued.
“And how did Batman like this idea?” Wally asked.
Robin scuffed his boots. “…he threatened to ground me.”
Wally snickered.
Robin shoved him. “Shut up.”
“It wouldn’t even make sense to use you as bait anyways, you’re not a meta,” Artemis pointed out.
“No one is being used as bait,” Kaldur said. “We’re going to gather information for the League to use to find the missing children and take down Harvest.”
“What if someone’s in immediate danger?” Conner asked.
Kaldur pursed his lips. “Define immediate danger.”
“Someone’s on the table being experimented on,” Conner said, meeting his gaze head on.
Kaldur gave him a long look. “If it comes to that, I’ll make a judgement call.”
“What would there be to judge?” M’gann said, glancing around. “I mean, we’re heroes aren’t we? We’re supposed to save people.”
“M’gann’s right, there’s right and there’s wrong,” Wally said.
“There’s right and there’s wrong and there’s hundreds of missing kids at stake if we blow this op,” Artemis said.
The ship was quiet, the lack of an engine making the silence stretch out unbearably between them. The words felt like an unspoken pact as they lingered in the air, one they had all agreed to by not speaking up.
“We’re not leaving anyone to die,” Kaldur said finally. “I will never make the call to sacrifice the few for the many. No one’s life is anymore or less important than another.”
Robin met his eyes. “We’ll contact each other. Make a judgement call as a team.”
Kaldur nodded. “Together.”
Conner nodded and this time he listened as they went over their entry points, mission parameters, and exit plan once more.
“If you see Harvest, do not engage,” Kaldur said. “Is that clear? We’ve been given direct orders from the League.”
“Since when do we take orders from the League,” Conner said, the words so automatic it felt like a reflex.
Wally scoffed. “When don’t we take orders from the League? I mean, yeah, maybe we’re their covert op team, but let’s face it, we’re still JV to them.”
“Maybe you guys are JV, I’ve been doing this for five years,” Robin sniffed.
“Yeah? So you’ve been to the Watch Tower?” Artemis raised an eyebrow.
“Wouldn’t tell you if I did,” Robin said. “Confidential.”
Artemis rolled her eyes.
“You so totally have not been up there,” Wally said. “You would have told me.”
“That would be totally not fidential if I did.”
“That’s… not a word,” M’gann said.
“It is if you understood what I meant,” Robin said.
“Focus,” Kaldur said. “We’re five minutes out.”
The bickering died down as they approached a base in the mountains. To the untrained eye it would look a lot like a shutdown ski-lodge but even without x-ray vision Conner could tell that the building had been reinforced more than any ski-lodge would ever need. It was built right into the cliffside and the main body had to be at the heart of the mountain. Depending on how creative the architect, the facility could have dozens of levels working their way down miles into the mountain.
“Thermal’s not picking up any heat signatures,” Robin said, tapping at his screen. “Not that I expected it to with how thick the walls are, but not even traces of heat to indicate live wiring.”
“You would think the Bat would have tech that could see through walls,” Artemis said.
“That’s not how cameras work,” Robin said.
“Any chance Superman’s x-ray vision finally kicked in for you?” Wally asked.
Conner glanced at the mountain. It continued to look like a mountain. “Nope.”
“I’ll go check the perimeter.” Wally flicked his goggles down.
The usual bright yellow and red of his suit had been changed to white with grey details and no doubt a decent amount of insulation. A glance down told Conner that his usual t-shirt had been swapped for a white long sleeve, the S on his chest a muted grey, though it didn’t feel all that much warmer, not like the fur-lining Artemis’ hood or Robin’s cape. Kaldur’s arms were bare but Conner supposed the cold didn’t bother him particularly when he spent time living on the ocean floor.
“I’m going to open the link,” M’gann said, glancing over her shoulder. “Okay?”
Conner blinked at being addressed directly. “…okay?”
The mind link opened between all of them and despite the warning Conner still startled at the presence of something other in his mind as though this mission despite the dozens of others before would be the one where they used actual comms instead.
“Ready?” M’gann asked, opening a port in the ship, and letting a ladder dangle over open air.
“Always, beautiful,” Wally said, descending the ladder, and disappearing into the snow below (although judging by the blinking dot on Robin’s arm band, they still technically had eyes on him).
“It’s bad enough hearing what comes out of your mouth, I don’t want your poor excuse for flirting in my head,” Artemis said.
“Don’t be jealous, Art, I’ve got plenty of lines for you too,” Wally said.
Artemis managed to transmit a gagging noise somehow.
“How did you do that?” Dick asked, staring at her with wide eyes.
Artemis looked smug.
“Mission details only, please,” Kaldur said.
“Sir, yes, sir,” Robin gave him a snappy salut.
Kaldur sighed out loud and over the link.
Wally popped back into the ship, flipping his goggles up. “Perimeter is clear. I’d say park the ship on the West side of the mountain, we’ll circle around to the entrance.”
“Just walk through the front door?” Artemis asked. “That’s our sneaky plan?”
“We’ll put the ship down on the West side,” Kaldur said. “M’gann will phase through, tell us if it’s clear, then we’ll go through the front door.”
M’gann set the ship down and they stepped out into the cold. Conner sank into the snow until it reached his knees and he frowned down at his feet. M’gann didn’t have the same dilemma, practically floating beside him.
“You okay?” M’gann asked, tilting her head to one side.
“Fine.”
Conner trudged along after the others, circling around towards the front of the lodge. Straining his ears, he listened for sounds of movement, but he could only just make out the sound of water moving in the pipes and electricity keeping the heat on.
“I can’t hear anyone,” Conner said. “The heat is still on and the water’s running.”
“Heats on? Good enough for me,” Artemis said, shivering beside him.
“I’ll go look,” M’gann said.
“Be careful,” Conner said.
M’gann pinked slightly, giving him a soft smile before disappearing through the rock face. They stayed crouched in the snow, the entry doors just insight, but still several yards away as they waited for M’gann’s reappearance.
“It looks empty. No one in the first level at least and there’s no guards posted by the doors.” M’gann phased back out beside them. “There’s a keypad, I don’t know the code.”
“If there’s a lock, I can pick it,” Robin said, heading for the front doors, though he came to an abrupt stop a few feet away, holding up his hand. “There’s cameras. KF.”
Wally caught the can of white spray paint Robin tossed him. “White out the lenses? Smart.”
“One of us has to have a brain,” Robin said.
“Hey, my scores on the PSATs were above average!” Wally protested.
Artemis snorted. “Above average, I bet you tell that to all the girls, huh?”
Wally pinked, taking off in a blur to white out the lenses rather than try to come up with a rejoinder.
“I don’t understand,” M’gann said, glancing at Conner. “What was the joke?”
Conner shrugged.
“I’ll tell you when you’re older,” Robin said.
“Focus,” Kaldur said.
“Cameras out,” Wally said, skidding to a stop and spraying them with snow.
Robin attached his arm band to the keypad, running through number combinations until the door clicked open. Any appearances of it being a ski-lodge disappeared once they stepped inside. The interior was carved from stone, their steps echoing as they moved through the halls. The electricity was still running, the lights left on, and the heat running through the vents.
“Creepy,” Artemis said.
“Spread out,” Kaldur said. “We need any files they have.”
Kid Flash and Robin split off one way, Aqualad and Artemis the other, and Conner pushed forwards with Miss Martian. Deeper into the mountain, they found a set of stairs, and worked their way further down. According to the link, the others had found other staircases leading in various directions.
“We’ve got computers,” Robin said. “I’m uploading files as we speak, if I’m lucky I’ll find video footage, patient files, and schematics.”
“We’ve got boxes of supplies, medical equipment, and tech it almost looks like prosthetics,” Artemis said.
Conner opened the first door he found and his stomach turned. In the center of the room was a metal table, bloody gloves and gauze littering the floor, and equipment discarded hap-hazardously. Every inch of him felt numb as he took in the scene like he had been injected with anesthetic though obviously whoever had been strapped to the table hadn’t been afforded that mercy. There were no tanks, no monitors for vitals, not even an IV line.
“We found a… a treatment room,” M’gann said.
“I’m scared to ask, but what do you mean by treatment?” Wally asked.
“There’s blood,” Conner said. “It’s not just a base, the kids had to be here. They were experimenting on them here.”
“Steady,” Kaldur said. “Look for patient files, anything that could give us an insight into exactly what Harvest is doing to them.”
Conner picked up a wad of gauze. “It’s fresh. They could still be here.”
“Conner, stay on mission,” Kaldur said.
Conner turned on his heel and ran down the hall, opening every door he crossed, but all the surgical rooms were empty. He took the stairs in seconds, barely noticing M’gann calling for him to wait for her to follow as he burst into what looked like an arena. Blood stained the stone floor, crusted in layers from old black marks to fresh puddles that stuck to the soles of his grey boots. The stone walls were chipped and scratched like people had clawed at them, trying to reach the stands above, rows of empty seats looking down at him.
M’gann appeared next to him. “Conner. Are you okay?”
“The blood’s fresh,” Conner said. “They were here. The kids were here.”
M’gann squeezed his arm. “We’ll find them, Conner.”
A blur skidded to a stop beside them, Robin hopping off of Wally’s back once they were no longer moving at breakneck speed. It took Kaldur and Artemis another minute to catch up.
“Woah,” Wally said, turning in circles. “It’s like the Colosseum.”
“Harvest made them fight,” Robin said, tapping at his armband. “He only wanted the best for his Ravagers. The files… he wasn’t just trying to boost their meta abilities, he was giving them cybernetic enhancements too. Building his own personal army.”
“Where is this army?” Artemis said.
“Spread out,” Kaldur said. “Don’t engage, just because it looks empty, doesn’t mean it is. If you do find the children, don’t let them become aware of your presence, we don’t know their state of mind.”
Conner opened his mouth to argue.
“If they’re here,” Kaldur said. “We’ll alert the League and they’ll rescue them. They have the ability to contain dozens of meta humans, we don’t.”
“Contain?” Conner repeated. “They’re victims.”
“Who are likely brainwashed,” Robin said. “They might be resistant to being rescued. Violently resistant.”
Conner huffed.
“Kid Flash.” Kaldur inclined his head.
“On it,” Wally said.
The search of the floor only took Wally thirty seconds before he returned with a protein bar hanging out of his mouth.
“There’s dozens of cells, but they’re all empty,” Wally said around his mouthful.
“Chew first, Kid Mouth.” Artemis pulled a face.
Wally took an even bigger bite, chewing exaggeratedly.
Robin tilted his head to the side, tapping at his arm. “If the blood was fresh, but the cells are empty then they’ve left in a hurry. If they had gone through the snow we would have seen them, there has to be another exit in the mountain here. An escape tunnel, if I can just find the schematics…”
“But why did they leave?” Artemis asked. “I mean, how did they know we were coming, it was empty by the time we landed the plane.”
“And why would they leave all their information behind?” M’gann asked. “I mean, if they knew we were coming wouldn’t they at least try to hide the evidence?”
“The only reason to leave this much behind without trying to wipe it is if it’s a trap,” Robin said, looking up. “They don’t expect us to make it out of here alive.”
“You have the files?” Kaldur asked.
“All downloaded,” Robin said.
“Then let’s get out of here,” Kaldur said. “The building’s clear and we have what we came for.”
“But the escape tunnel—“ Robin began.
“Dude, you just said they left the info because there’s a trap they don’t expect us to make it out of somewhere here, I say, we blast,” Wally said.
“What about the missing kids?” M’gann asked. “They could be nearby!”
“And getting blown to bits or incinerated or whatever other booby trap they left for us won’t help them,” Artemis said. “Getting the JL this information will.”
Conner ground his teeth, but he followed the others back the way they came until a sound caught his ear. Footsteps. Turning on his heel, he ran back towards the sound. In his head, the others shouted, but they were only a few steps behind him. There were glowing hand prints on the walls as he passed and he drew up short at the end of the hall. The others stopped just behind him. Conner peered around the corner to find a young boy in tattered clothes leaving neon handprints on the wall as he walked towards the arena. Robin slipped up beside him, stealing a glance at the boy before frantically tapping at his armband.
“His file says he has an explosive meta ability, his touch leaves residue and when he claps his fingers together it ignites,” Robin said. “Guys, when it ignites, it’ll bring this whole mountain down, it will look like a rockslide, no evidence left behind, nothing suspicious in its wake.”
“Great, that’s great, I’d really prefer not to get crushed to death so can we get out of here?” Artemis asked.
“Harvest doesn’t care about his Ravagers. They’re foot soldiers,” Conner said.
Wally frowned at him.
“He’s not heading towards any escape tunnel,” Conner said. “He’s going to bring the mountain down on top of himself.”
“Conner, don’t, he could alert NOWHERE to our presences here,” Kaldur whispered. “If they know we managed to collect their files before getting out then the information might not be worth anything to us.”
Conner stepped around the corner. “Hey, stop.”
The boy looked up at him from the level below, he held his hands up, only three inches apart.
“You don’t have to do this,” Conner said, walking towards him slowly. “You don’t want to do this. NOWHERE doesn’t deserve your loyalty. Harvest left you to die. You’re a sacrifice.”
Two inches between his hands.
“You can come with us. We can help you.”
One inch.
“Don’t.”
Kid Flash grabbed him around the middle and he only caught a glimpse of the boy putting his hands together before the building blurred around him. Even at top speed, he could see the mountain crashing down as Wally tried to out run the explosions bringing the rocks down around them. The floor gave way as they burst out the front door and they went free falling through the air. Conner twisted, wrapping his arms around Wally so that when they eventually hit something solid, hopefully his own body would cushion the landing.
“Catch!” Robin said.
Through the blur of snow and debris, Conner caught sight of a line being thrown, and he caught it with one hand. It jerked their free fall to a stop and would have wrenched his arm out of its socket if he were any less invulnerable. The ship was invisible above, but the line hauled them up into the belly of the ship like fish on a hook. Kaldur was holding the other end of the line, reeling them in, while Artemis and Robin yanked them both up. The floor of the ship closed underneath them once more and M’gann steered the ship through the sky as the mountain crumbled behind them. Wally dropped onto his back, trying to catch his breath.
“I said don’t engage,” Kaldur said.
“I thought I could save him,” Conner said, looking at the ruins already fading in the distance.
Kaldur’s face softened, putting a hand on his shoulder, and giving him a reassuring squeeze.
“Some people don’t want to be saved,” Artemis said.
“That doesn’t mean it wasn’t worth it to try,” Robin said, tapping at his arm. “There’s no name in his files. I’ll start looking through missing reports, try to get a match so the family can be notified. So they… so they can stop looking.”
It was a quiet ride back to Mountain Justice.
“I think you did the right thing,” M’gann said as they stepped off the ship.
“I didn’t save him,” Conner said. “And you all barely had time to get out because I made us backtrack into the mountain. I almost got everyone killed.”
“You did your best,” M’gann said.
“Superman would have done better,” Conner said, walking off to his room, and closing the door behind him.
The room itself was void of any personal items. Mount Justice wasn’t built with more than a bunker in mind. The room he had there was only intended for a hero who needed to lay low or crash after a long mission. All it contained was a bed, nightstand, and closet that only held a couple versions of his uniform.
Leaving the winter version of his uniform on its hanger, he changed into pajamas, and stepped into the ensuite bathroom. It was habit that had him looking off to the side as he brushed his teeth and washed his face rather than look at his own reflection. Out of the corner of his eye, his reflection almost appeared warped, like a painting with water damage. With a frown, he turned towards the mirror.
Conner met his own gaze. It was technically Superman’s face that he was wearing, it certainly looked like it, but the eyes weren’t his. His gaze didn’t hold that unwavering certainty that everything would be okay. It didn’t say that he believed in the good of humanity. Then again, whether it was a mirror or Superman’s gaze itself when Conner looked into those blue eyes they never held any of those beliefs in Superboy.
Conner tried to look away, but the gaze followed him, and this time it was the bathroom that warped around him like a running watercolor.