The Watchtower's observation deck was quiet save for the faint hum of circulation fans. Beyond the reinforced glass stretched the Earth itself, a blue and green marble haloed in white clouds. But Connor wasn't looking at it.
He sat hunched forward in a chair too small for his frame, fists clenched on his knees, jaw tight. He looked less like a teenager and more like a caged lion—ready to lash out at the first sign of hostility.
Across from him, Black Canary sat with her legs crossed, calm and composed. She was wearing her Black superhero suit, wirh her breasts pushing against the fabric of her clothes.
Thus was also why Connor felt hostile, mainly becasue he didnt know why he felt a little hot in his face looking at her. He was afterall only a few months old technically...
"You've been quiet a long time," she said, leaning back slightly. "I'm not here to interrogate you, Connor. I'm here to listen."
Connor's eyes flicked up briefly, narrowing. "Listen to what? I dont have anything to say besides what you know already, that I'm a science project with your friend's DNA stamped on me!" His voice cracked between bitterness and lonliness he felt.
Dinah didn't flinch. She folded her hands over her knee. "That's what they told you. I'm asking what you think you are."
He almost laughed, but it came out sharp, humorless. "Doesn't matter what I think. I'm not a person. I'm just a mistake, thats what everone seems to think anyways."
He was clearly reffering to the dismisal behavior that Superman gave him, not only him.
He overheard the league talking about how a Cadmus official has publically stated that his 'creation' was just a mistake.
Thats all he was...
The words landed heavy, echoing in the quiet chamber. Dinah let them breathe before answering.
"What others think about you does not define you, you decide that yourself. So I'll ask again. What do you think you are?"
Connor shifted, shoulders tight. The memory of the Cadmus walls pressed down on him—the endless white rooms, the scientists' eyes, the constant drills. He heard Guardian's voice in the back of his head, barking orders. He heard Desmond calling him 'asset.' He remembered Zane charging in like a madman, unchained, fighting for no one's command.
"I don't know," he admitted finally, voice low. "All my life… it's been cages. Tests. Orders. But when I fought out there, when I saved people… I didn't feel like their weapon anymore." He swallowed, fists tightening. "I felt… human."
Dinah's eyes softened. "That feeling? That's the real you. Not the DNA, not the cage. That moment you chose to act—that's You. And that's something no one can take away from you."
He looked at her, uncertainty flickering. "And if Sup...Society never eccepts me?"
"Then you learn to accept yourself first." Dinah leaned forward, her voice soft. "Nobody's approval should be your goal Kid, just your own."
For the first time since leaving Cadmus, Connor let the words sit without rejection.
"Also, do you actually have a name. I feel awakward having to call you kid all the time." The silence was broken by Dinahs question.
"...I never really thought about it...."
---
The sedan rumbled along the backroads outside Metropolis, its headlights carving pale tunnels through the dark. Inside, the mood was quieter but no less heavy.
Serling sat in the backseat, her posture stiff, arms wrapped around herself as if warding off the weight of the night. Artemis drove, eyes flicking between the road and the mirror.
"You're not safe out here," Artemis said finally. "Cadmus took you once, and they'll try again. They don't let go of assets. And to them, you're still one."
Serling's jaw tightened. "I'm not anyone's asset. I'm not going back in a cage."
"No one's saying you are." Artemis's tone softened, but only slightly. "But you can't just vanish on your own. You need backup. League-level backup."
Zane stretched in his seat, yawning theatrically. "Hate to break it to you, Doc, but she's right. You're basically walking around with a bullseye painted on your forehead. I dont want to admit it, but we cant really protect you all that good, not with a target on our backs as well.
Letting the Capes play hot potatoe with you is your best bet."
Serling's gaze cut toward him, sharp. "You think this is funny?"
"Funny? Nah. Amusing? A little." He smirked, tapping the visor resting on his knee. "Look, I get it. You don't trust them. Neither do I. But between Cadmus carving you up in a lab and the League sticking you in some safe house with a panic button? I know which option I'd pick."
Zane was right, she knew that. At the end of the day, the Justice League will protect her with their lives....the only problem she has is that she's probably gonna be watched by them 24/7.
For a moment, silence hung. Serling exhaled slowly, her shoulders sagging. "…You're both right. I don't like it, but I can't keep running forever."
Artemis nodded, satisfied. "Good. We'll drop you off where its safe, then I'll make the call. They'll keep you off the radar, at least until Cadmus cools off."
Serling looked between them, her eyes lingering briefly on Zane. "And you? Cadmus won't stop hunting you either. You know that."
Zane flashed a grin, sharp and careless. "Let 'em hunt. I like the exercise."
But Artemis noticed the flicker of something behind the smirk—a flash of weariness he didn't want anyone to see.
The car pressed on through the night.
---
In the Watchtower's central command, the hum of monitors filled the vast chamber. Holographic screens projected the smoldering ruins of Cadmus facilities, League operatives combing through the wreckage.
Superman stood with his arms crossed, cape brushing the floor, his expression complex, not really paying attention to the screens.
Batman lingered at the main console, typing with precise strokes, the glow of data lighting his cowl. Martian Manhunter hovered nearby, his calm presence a counterweight to the tension.
"Cadmus made a public Statement pretty fast, said their under new management. That those experiments were all carried out by select few and that they would be laying for the damages." Batman stated as he commed through a list of all Cadmus member apprehended.
"Clearly a lie, I dont need to read his mind to know that." Manhunter spoke from the side.
"What shall happen with the...Individuals we found...." Manhunter chose his words carefully when he reffered to the Genomorphs they found in Cadmus.
They were all subjected ro horrible experiments and they needed propper care. They were innocent in all of this.
"I have a Island that they can be sent to for a while, until we can find them a proper home." Batman, the billionaire spoke casually.
".....I see." Was all Manhunter could say to that.
"We can't leave him unmonitored," Superman suddenly said. "He's unstable. Dangerous."
Martian Manhunter's red eyes glimmered at Suoermans uncharacteristic behaviour."He is also a child, born into captivity. Stripped of choice. His instability comes from pain, not malice."
Superman's jaw tightened. "He's still carrying my powers. If he loses control—"
"Then it is our duty to guide him," Manhunter interrupted smoothly. "Not abandon him."
Batman's voice cut in, steady, uncompromising. "I have a solution."
Both men turned toward him.
"I've been assembling a team. Young, untested, but capable. He'd fit. It would give him structure. A chance to prove himself in the field without being smothered by us."
Superman frowned. "…Children."
"With power and skill far beyond those their age," Batman corrected. "Ones with potential to do good. And like it or not, he needs to be among people his age. If he's treated only as a weapon or as your shadow, he'll break."
Silence stretched. Superman didn't like it, but he couldn't argue. Martian Manhunter gave a quiet nod.
"Then it is decided," J'onn said.
Superman turned toward the stars beyond the viewport, his reflection caught against the glass. He didn't speak, but the weight in his shoulders said everything.
He doesnt usually act like this, but knowing someone used his DNA to make a physical clone of himself, left him unsettled to say the least.
---
Elsewhere, Connor stared at his reflection in the Watchtower's window. The Earth spun below him, vast and alive. For the first time, he was seeing it from outside the cage. For the first time, it felt real.
Dinah's words lingered: That's You. That's the real you.
His reflection looked back at him, the 'S' on his chest torn but defiant. He didn't feel like Superman. He didn't feel like Cadmus' weapon either.
He felt… unfinished.
But maybe, just maybe, that was enough.
"Connor...lets go with Connor."
....
Patreaon
/Williamstewart