Young Justice Superboy's ReRun

**Notes: **Title curtsey of my brother.

The prompt for this one comes from the short minimised version of the prompt. The long prompt is long and there's a lot in there I didn't include. The short version:

_"tldr: Conner gets sent back in time, becomes Clark's brother and best friend, realizes it was all meant to happen and lives up to the present and then deals with the fall out" _(full prompt can be found on; the young justice anon meme slash 5597 dot com ?thread=17510877#t17510877)

For this story, I'm keeping how Superboy doesn't physically age, which happens in the show anyway *shugs*. Hopefully it makes sense - it might not be completely liner because time travel but I hope you enjoy.

* * *

**Superboy's ReRun**

* * *

Superboy's head hurt and his limbs ached. He had punched down the giant robot which had been attacking Happy Harbor and it had exploded in light and then…

He opened his eyes to expansive blue sky. His friend's voices were absent and he was most certainly not in Happy Harbor.

"Ah, you're okay." Superboy immediately turned back to see a man in a plaid shirt. He was holding a pitchfork and looked like the guy out of a painting Kid Flash had shown him once. "What are you doin' out here, boy?"

His voice was kind and Superboy decided he liked the man.

"I was with my friends," he explained, keeping it simple because this was a civilian. "And there was a light. And now I'm here."

"Here's Smallville, Kanas," the man explained with a smile. Superboy didn't think he knew where that was. Robin and Kid Flash made jokes about 'not being in Kanas' but he didn't understand them. Plus, he didn't think that would help when you weren't in Kanas. "Ah, you're lost," the man seemed to realise.

Superboy nodded.

"Come meet my wife and she'll cook you up something while we figure this out."

Superboy stared dumbly at the man. They didn't know each other and this man was offering to help him?

"Why?" he croaked out.

"Why? Because my wife would like the company. If you really want, you can help my son out on the farm until we figure out how to get you home."

Superboy didn't even have to think about it. He took the man's offer.

* * *

The man introduced himself as Jonathan Kent, to which Superboy excitedly introduced himself as Conner Kent and they spent some time marvelling at the coincidence of their last names.

He led Conner to a farmhouse with a veranda and flyscreen door. There was a shed down the path and a tree with a broken swing.

"Clark!" Jonathan bellowed as they entered the house. Jonathan pulled his shoes off with his feet, without reaching down. Conner tried to mimic the movement but his shoes got caught on his ankle and he fell down.

"I'm comin' Pa!" A teenager stumbled down the stairs, his glasses bouncing on his nose and his laces untied.

"Clark, shoes off inside. What would your Ma say if she saw you?" Jonathan scolded kindly.

Clark sighed and grumbled that she was at the market and the shoes were clean, so what was the fuss? He took them off though.

"Clark, this is Conner. Found him out in the fields with no idea of how he got here."

"Really?" Clark questioned with a frown. Conner stiffened when he looked at him and wondered where he had seen that face before. "How come?"

"I have no idea," Conner responded as Clark moved closer to him.

Jonathan looked at both of the teenage boys. They had similar dark hair, the same blue eyes and the exact same searching expressions.

He frowned and went to get a mirror.

"We look exactly the same!" both boys gasped when he pointed it out. Clark had slipped his glasses off and was now staring at Conner as if he was a gift.

"Are you like me?" Clark asked hesitantly.

"Like you?" Conner echoed.

Jonathan thought he knew the best way to test it was to go out to the shed. He told Conner to lift the tracker while he replaced the wheel.

Conner took his words at face-value and lifted the tracker. With his hands. Right off the ground. Clark was surprised it had been that easy.

"I think we need to teach you how to protect those gifts," Jonathan commented with a chuckle.

"Gifts?" Conner questioned, confused. Clark explained that Jonathan was referring to his powers and then showed Conner his powers. They laughed over their similar abilities, although Clark wasn't a fan of jumping high like Conner was and Conner wasn't a fan of moving a faster than normal speed like Clark liked doing.

It wasn't until Martha Kent, a lovely woman who actually reminded Conner of M'gann although she was human with greying hair, arrived home that he realised he was in the past.

He explained that he came from the future to the stunned Kent family who, to his despair, didn't have the first clue how to help him. In this time, there was no League for guidance and no Batman or Superman to help him.

"It'll be okay, son," Jonathan tried to comfort him with words while Martha rubbed his back. It was a soothing gesture which made him jump and tense at first but soon calmed him.

"He can stay here until we figure it out, right?" Clark suggested, sounding a little too eager to keep the only person who was like him nearby.

"He can," Martha said after a silent conversation with her husband. "Although, it may take a while so only if he's okay with it."

After a few moments, Conner nodded. He didn't know the first thing about this time and while he missed his friends, they were around yet. These people were willing to open their home to him and he didn't want to refuse.

* * *

Clark taught Conner about school and how to act so that he didn't give away his powers. Conner helped Martha; "call me 'Ma', dear", in the kitchen while Clark helped out on the farm. Sometimes Conner joined Clark and Jonathan but he preferred being in the kitchen with the smells that reminded him of his old friend.

He was introduced to the school and the town of Smallville as Clark's long-lost brother. His story was that his guardians had died so he had been placed with the only family he had, his brother and his brother's adoptive parents.

Brothers. Conner loved the sound of that and it made Clark smile and loop and arm around him protectively.

Months went by and he was no closer than figuring out how to time skip back than he had been before. To make matters more confusing, he wasn't even sure he wanted to go back. Clark and his parents felt like his family and mentors, more than Superman ever had and, while he missed his friends, he was looking forward to seeing them in the future. He would almost mentally match his physical age by then too, with a few extra years.

* * *

Conner was Clark's confidant. He listened to all his girl troubles; there were more than he expected of serious Clark. Conner was the one who cut his hair all 'punk', as da was prone to saying, and purchased short jackets to Ma's horror. Conner felt a little like an outside at school, although he hung around with Lois and Clark. He didn't like hanging around with Lex Luthor because he knew the teenager would grow up to become Superman's greatest enemy.

"Isn't that more of a reason to be friends with him?" Clark pointed out one night when Conner told him about Lex's status in the future. "Maybe he just needs a friend to keep him from going down the wrong path."

Conner didn't know whether he agreed with that but he did make a bit more of an effort to get along with the frustrating teen. But, sometimes Lex reminded him of himself before coming to this time and he just couldn't stand it.

* * *

Graduation came and went and Clark announced that he was going to Metropolis. Ma and Pa were proud but sad and forced a promise from their older son that he would return for visits. After all, it couldn't be that much of a journey when you can fly.

Conner had been upset when Clark developed that power and he had locked himself in their room for hours. Part of it had been jealousy that he hadn't developed that power and another part had been further confirmation of what he had been suspecting for ages.

Clark Kent, the person he considered his brother, was going to become Superman.

Graduation brought a similar feeling of loss. Conner wasn't game enough to leave Smallville. He had a reputation in town for helping anyone who needed it and rushing into danger without thinking. Even Clark had been pulled into his 'we need to help!' moments even now and then.

Conner didn't think he would last a week outside Smallville without becoming Superboy again and trying to save the world.

"Conner?" Clark called softly from the other side of the door. "Please let me in. Is this about me leaving? I'm sorry."

"It's not that!" Conner called back, unable to bear the despair in his brother's tone. He knew Clark had spent nights worrying over this decision and leaving their parents alone. "I just-" Don't want you to become Superman and forget about me? How could he say that? "Wish I could be like you and not just look like you."

"Me at sixteen," Clark muttered, loud enough for Conner's superhearing to pick up. It upset Clark a bit, how Conner refused to go to any facility and get himself checked out when the realised he wasn't ageing physically at all.

Frantic, Conner had explained it away as another one of his powers. Clark got flight, he got eternal youth. Or something.

Conner didn't want to go to a hospital or facility. He didn't want to be reminded of Cadmus.

"Conner, you don't have to be me. You're you. Conner Kent. Kon El. My brother who likes cooking, animals, leather jackets and motorbikes. The one who chose to stay in Smallville with Ma and Pa to help out on the farm. Although, it's okay if you want to come with me. Ma and Pa say they can handle the farm."

Conner finally opened the door to stop Clark from talking. He knew if he didn't, his older brother would just keep going.

"I'm going to miss you," he said, completely used to the bone-crushing hug Clark responded with.

Conner was one of the only people in the world Clark could hug without worrying about breaking bones or snapping them in half.

* * *

Conner tried to avoid getting in discussions with Ma and Pa about Clark's second career as Superman. He made non-committal noises and executed the ninja escapes Robin had taught him, which felt like years and years ago even though it technically had yet to happen.

* * *

"The Justice League? Well, at least you're making friends," Ma said when Clark came home with the news of the hero team-up.

"Who's on it?" Pa demanded to know.

"Uh, me, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lanter, Aquaman, and Martian Manhunter," Clark said.

"Batman? That Gotham myth?" Pa questioned with a raised eyebrow and an 'I disapprove tone' in his voice. Conner wondered where he had heard about Batman.

"Yeah. He's a good leader, except he doesn't want to lead us. Says I'm better at facing the masses."

"Sounds like he's pushing all the work onto you, Clark. Do be careful," Ma said, placing a pie in front of the men at the table.

Clark practically dove for the pie as soon as it was placed before him. It was his favourite.

"Batman wouldn't do that," Conner said quietly.

The room paused.

"And how would you know?" Clark asked using Pa's raised eyebrow motion.

"I know," Conner responded, staring down at his pie. It wasn't his favourite but that was okay, because Ma made his favourite when Clark wasn't around. "I shouldn't have said anything."

"It this one of those future things you won't tell us?" Pa asked, the same kindness in his voice which had been there the first day they met.

"Yeah."

"As long as this Batman does right by my boy, it's alright," Ma declared with a nod, as if that fixed everything.

Conner nodded and said that Batman wouldn't do anything to hurt Superman, unless he deserved it. Which sparked mock hurt from Clark and his parents listing off every memorable accident the boy had caused growing up, even throwing in a few of Conner's so both men's faces were warm and flush.

* * *

July 5th came. With the rising sun also came Superman, who floated outside Conner's window and rapped on it with his knuckles. He was breathing heavily, not even the thrill of flight managing to calm him.

Conner had been expecting this. The moment he opened his window, Clark had floated in and was pacing across the floor.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Clark demanded to know. His tone was frustrated and angry all in one, a tone Conner had been familiar with back when he was Superboy and not Conner the farm boy.

Conner took a moment to admire Clark's Superman suit. He hadn't seen it close up in the past few years and was a little shocked to have his brother be Superman in front of him.

"Well?" Clark questioned.

"Tell you what?" Conner asked, playing dumb.

"So a clone of me, who looks exactly like you, turns up and you don't know a thing about it?" Clark was furious. If it wasn't for their parents sleeping somewhere in the house, he would be yelling.

Conner looked at his feet. This was probably as much of an admission as Clark would get.

And he had no idea how to handle this.

"Just answer this question; is the clone you?"

"It can be hard to tell with time travel however," Conner trailed off with a nod. The clone was probably him. His hair had grown out from the style he had back when they were in school to the length it had been when he first arrived but no longer.

Clark went just as silent. He pulled the chair out from Conner's desk and planted himself on it, hanging his head in his hands.

* * *

Surprisingly, Clark still treated Conner like Conner, the guy he grew up with. It probably helped that he had no idea how to approach the clone running around with the Team.

Conner was getting a really good insight to how his appearance had messed with Superman.

* * *

"Batman says he's supposed to be my son but he's not! He's you, making him my brother, right?"

* * *

"Every time I look at him, I see you. But he's just so angry and it hurts. I just want to bring him here and make pie together or race down the path like we used to do when we were younger but I can't because he hasn't done that yet."

* * *

The back door swang open and a familiar blue and red figure stormed through the kitchen. Conner waited, knowing that another comment was coming.

"He hates monkeys."

Conner frowned.

"I do hate monkeys," he growled. Thankfully, there weren't any monkeys in Smallville.

Clark sighed and dropped into the nearest seat. Conner pulled out ice cream for them to share.

"I know. But when Robin told me that I froze. I wanted to say that I know, that you hate monkeys the way you love your silly jackets and fingerless gloves."

Conner frowned playfully at him and pulled the ice cream out of reach for the comment about his clothes. Clark just stared up at him with alien blue eyes and drawn eyebrows.

"I know you. But this is not a you I'm used to. What am I supposed to do?"

Conner wondered if had crossed Clark's mind to just inform the League about his brother. However, he knew Clark wouldn't do that without Conner's permission.

* * *

A few weeks later, there was a knock at the door. Conner was busy playing a video game on the couch while Ma opened the door and let the visitor in. The voice and heartbeat were familiar but it wasn't until the man stepped into vision that Conner put it together.

"Batman?" he questioned at the stranger in front of him.

"Bruce Wayne when I'm like this, Conner."

Conner shifted so that he was sitting straight and looked up at the intimidating man. Truth way, if it wasn't for the sunglasses, he might not have recognised the name.

"Did Clark-?"

"Clark hasn't told me anything. I'm here because I started looking into things I overlooked before, like how his clone ended up with the same name as his brother. A brother I hadn't met."

Conner sighed and stood up. He looked Bruce Wayne, Batman, in the eye.

"It's not Clark's fault. He's protecting the secret of my existence."

"I want details; specifically who you are and why you are here."

Superman flew straight from the roof of his office to his parent's home in Smallville to find Bruce Wayne sitting at the table with his Ma, Pa and brother.

"Hey Clark," Conner greeted him with a smile and a wave.

"You know who that is, right?" Clark asked, staring at Bruce Wayne like he was an illusion about to burst into smoke or something.

"Batman," Conner said proudly. "He wanted to ask me some questions."

"You know, you're a little too trusting sometimes," Clark sighed.

"Pot, kettle," Bruce muttered under his breath. Super-hearing picked it up and Clark found himself explaining the idiom to his younger brother.

* * *

_Today's the day. _That was the feeling Conner woke up with. He ate breakfast with Ma and Pa and then did the jobs on the farm as the sun rose. By lunch, he figured it was time to go.

"Something special on today, Kon?" his Pa asked when Conner put on his favourite fingerless gloves (a gift from Ma) and a long sleaved black shirt with the red super symbol on it.

"Perhaps," Conner said. Pa frowned. Sometimes, Conner's 'head-in-the-clouds' expressions bugged the man. He just didn't get why Conner didn't just explain and chose to say things that others might not understand.

There was a knock and Superman walked in. He stood there and smiled at Conner, the first weight-free smile he had given since the 4th of July.

"Ready to go?"

This. This was why Conner had made this decision. Why he had told his brother that, regardless of what happened today, he would allow Superman to introduce him to the Team and the League.

To see Clark smile again.

"Alright, let's do this."

"Boys," Ma called, causing them both to freeze. She held out a wrapped package. "I made a pie. Be sure to share it with your friends."

"Uh, thanks, Ma," Clark said, awkwardly taking the pie. Conner took the pie from him and cradled it in his arms like the precious thing it was.

"Thanks, Ma!" he said with a wide smile.

"Excited, aren't you?" Clark asked.

* * *

Superboy growled as the robot knocked M'gann and then Robin right out of the air and into a wall.

"NO!" he bellowed, leaping at the robot and knocking it down. He crushed the front, setting off a chain reaction that resulted in a bright explosion.

"SUPERBOY!" Five voices yelled simultaneously.

There was no sign of their friend in the smoking remains of the robot.

"No," M'gann moaned, "why?"

"Superboy," Kid Flash muttered in a despondent tone.

"We… we have to report this to Batman," Robin choked out.

M'gann called her ship and brought them back to Mount Justice. The incomplete team stood before Batman and Black Canary. It was difficult to report what had happened and it got harder as other League members appeared.

Flash and Aquaman came out first, the Flash accepting a quick millisecond long hug from Kid Flash.

Green Arrow followed by Martian Manhunter and, oddly enough, Wonder Woman.

"Why are you here?" Black Canary asked.

"I was invited," she responded. This was met with raised eyebrows and frowning looks.

The Team continued explaining, thanks to Kaldur and Robin who alternated speaking when the descriptions because too much.

Batman's face was impassive, even as the rest of the League gasped at the telling of how Superboy sacrificed himself.

Finally, Kid Flash asked the dreaded question.

"Is it possible that Superboy's okay? That it just transported him somewhere or something?" M'gann hadn't been able to sense him and not even Robin's trackers could locate the missing teammate. They didn't want their hope taken away however, Kid Flash needed to know.

"Yes," Batman said to the League's horror. Black Canary even hit him for giving the children what they saw as false hope.

And then the computer announced Superman's arrival.

"Sorry, I'm late! Has Superboy-" He paused when he noticed all eyes turned to him, more eyes than he had expected.

"Yes," Batman responded and Superman made the mistake of letting his relief show on his face.

Not only were the League, minus Batman, giving him dirty looks but five teenagers were about to kill him. M'gann floated and was ready to tear his mind apart in anger. Robin had Batarangs in his hand which he didn't throw out of deference to Batman.

"YOU!" A red-faced speedster.

"How DARE you!" An arrow shot to his face, which he dodged.

And a smug voice, rising above all the others, with a familiar and cheeky lit;

"Didn't you tell them we brought pie?"

The room froze.

Superman glared over his shoulder at his brother. That was the exact same tone Conner had used when he got A marks on their history tests back in High school.

Conner's smile was the same too. Superman reminded himself that his brother had probably been waiting for this moment for years.

"Team, this is my little brother, Conner Kent."

"I crash landed in a field like all good Super Kents," Conner added holding up the pie was a warning to hold of on hugs and please don't crush the beautiful pastry. "Or so Ma says."

Superman placed a palm to his face with a long-suffering groan.

"Around seventeen years ago, Conner Kent, a.k.a. Superboy, crash landed near the place where Superman grew up," Batman explained, taking attention away from the Super brothers in at the entrance.

"You knew about this?" Robin asked, part annoyed and part proud. Batman was Batman after all.

"Yes."

"He stayed for pie," Conner commented and Robin gave Batman a betrayed glare.

"As you can probably tell, Superman's family took Superboy in. Also, as a side-effect of the clone process, Conner doesn't visibly age."

"So he still looks the same as he did um," Superman trailed off as the time travel made time difficult to put into words.

"This morning and seventeen years ago," Batman finished. "Do keep in mind that seventeen years have passed for Superboy so he won't be the same as he was for you this morning." Batman gave a silent dismissal and the group separated into two teams.

"Megan, you have to try Ma's pie," Conner said as the Team rallied around him. "She's even willing to give you some cooking lessons."

M'gann nods and Conner tries to ignore the tears in her eyes. His eyes are stinging too because, finally, finally, he can be with everyone. He can tell them about Ma and Pa and about his brother, oh the stories he has about Superman pre-Superman.

"Dude, you're, like, totally mellow about this," Kid Flash said, sounding baffled.

Conner paused to consider this a moment.

"Is it because Superman accepted you?" M'gann asked.

"Oi, stop badgering him with questions," Artemis said.

Conner chuckled and the Team stared at him in shock.

"Let's just say it's been an interesting seventeen years."

* * *

Superboy rejoined the team, making him the oldest member minus Red Arrow. He hung around with Kaldur a lot more, going swimming with the Atlantean and just talking. He spent a lot more time outdoors and brought back injured animals from time to time for M'gann to coo over while he cared for them.

He cooked and was key to keeping Kid Flash fed. Although there was the time when Robin convinced him to put overload some biscuits with cinnamon as a prank, causing Kid Flash to be wary of anything Superboy fed him after spending time heaving with tears leaking from his eyes. Artemis took pictures.

It wasn't idealistic. Seventeen years away from the team meant that Superboy didn't really fit back in right away. The Team had expectations of him which weren't going to be fulfilled. He had more control over his powers but little experience using them in the situations the team faced. He needed intensive training with Black Canary in order to fight. Just throwing punches that didn't hit wasn't cutting it, now that he wasn't running on blind rage most of the time. Superman was a frequent visitor, sometimes even rivalling Batman in over-protectiveness.

However, Conner was going to make this work. His brother was watching over him.

And he had a promise to fulfil.

* * *

Back in high school, Conner had one friend who was his and not Clark's. His name was Bart Allen and he claimed to come from the future too.

Bart was younger than Conner but Conner was willing to overlook that.

Conner knew Bart for half a year before the boy vanished.

"This is right, you know?" Bart said to Conner once.

"What?"

"You. Being here. In the now."

"Really?"

"Yep. See, when I come from, you're like one of the older members of the team. You sometimes bring up things Superman did when he was younger, especially when training us."

"Training?"

Bart nodded vigorously.

"I come to the team much later than you, my friend. I know all." Bart nodded wisely and Conner laughed.

"Sure you do."

"Just relax and grow up. This is a place of peace." Bart reclined and stared at the sky. "Doesn't fit me but fits you. Farm boy."

"You think that's an insult but it's really not. Would you rather race?"

Bart jumped to his feet in what looked like an instant.

"Yes!" He started stretching.

Conner sighed and climbed to his feet. One of the first things he learnt about Bart was that he was a speedster, like Wally.

He was faster than Conner and he knew it.

"Kon, make me a promise," Bart said as they got ready.

"What?"

"If I win, you'll stay with the Team in the future. No matter what happens with M'gann…"

* * *

_ Eventually, Superboy has to sit M'gann down and tell her that he won't date her until she's out of school. Because, while he may be mentally seventeen, almost eighteen, and physically sixteen, Conner Kent is the same age as Superman on paper._

_ It's indecent and he's going to wait until she's eighteen. M'gann, who dreamed of a high school romance, couldn't understand why and they grew distant with each other. Even though there was talk of adjusting Conner's data so that his records matched his mental age, it wasn't going to happen until after he was older than a high school student._

_ He watched as M'gann dated other guys._

* * *

"…or the accidents you have…"

* * *

_ He grabbed the girl and smashed through the wall to get her out. Unfortunately, he brought the whole building down, burying the information they had come for._

* * *

"…or what happens on missions…"

* * *

_ The door to the room opened and Superman walked in. Conner hid his tear-streaked face from his brother._

_"Conner-"_

_"I was so close! If I had just been a few seconds faster!"_

_"No one blames you."_

_"One dead, three in hospital! There's a little girl whose parents were told that they don't know whether she's wake up!" He had been too slow to stop the explosion. Kid Flash had been too slow with getting everyone out. Robin had been too slow to crack the intel and locate the bomb and Artemis had pulled him away before the explosion, too pre-occupied keeping Robin from rushing to his death. M'gann had been knocked unconscious by the psychic backlash and unable to help them find survivors in the rubble. Aqualad had done his best to keep them together and keeping the resulting flames from spreading to other buildings._

_"You were trapped under rubble," Superman said quietly, "and the girl you protected will be able to receive treatment. You did all that you could." Clark pulled his brother into a hug. "We can try but sometimes we can't save everybody."_

* * *

"…so that we can meet again in the future, okay?" Bart finished.

"Okay."

As they crossed the finish line, Bart winning, his super-hearing picked up Ma calling him and Clark.

"That's Ma. I'll see you later!" he said with a wave at Bart before heading home. He met Clark at the door.

"What have you been up to, little brother?" Clark asked, having grown an inch taller since Conner had joined the family. They were a while away from figuring out Conner's frozen aging process.

"What about you?" Conner asked in return. Clark flushed and opened the door, calling for Ma as a distraction.


End file.

Young Justice, Family