Vex stepped toward Superboy, the silence of the Cave amplifying the sound of his own boots against the cold stone. The Kryptonian clone stood like a statue carved from granite, his jaw set in a permanent, defensive scowl. Up close, the Sharingan revealed things that no biometric scan could catch. I could see the way his muscles were perpetually coiled, a hair-trigger of raw, unchanneled energy waiting for a reason to explode.
"You are remarkably intense," I said, stopping just a foot away from him. I was well within his reach, a move that made Kid Flash tense up behind me, but I didn't back down. "Interesting, your baseline emotional output is higher than most people's peak. It is actually impressive."
Superboy's eyes narrowed, the blue depths of his pupils reflecting the crimson glow of my own. He looked down at me, his chest heaving slightly with a breath he didn't technically need as much as he thought he did. "Just get it over with. I do not like people in my space."
"I am not going to hurt you. I am just going to borrow a bit of that stubbornness," I replied. I held my right hand up, the grey, lifeless ring hovering inches from the center of his chest. "I need you to think about the one thing you want more than anything else. Not a wish. Not a dream. A demand. The thing you will not let the universe take from you, no matter what. Focus it right here."
I saw the pulse jump in his neck. His eyes closed in deep thought. He was thinking of the sun. He was thinking of the name he didn't have yet. He was thinking of being a person, not a weapon.
The Sharingan flared, the three black tomoe spinning so fast they nearly blurred into a solid ring. I could see the sheer, staggering weight of his will—it was a raw, green torrent of energy that held back by a dam of pure anger. I reached out, my fingers brushing against the fabric of his shirt, right over his heart.
The contact felt like a physical jolt. It was not just electricity; it was a resonance. For a moment, the Cave, Batman, and the rest of the Team seemed to dissolve into the background. There was a sudden, sharp clarity to the connection.. a spark that felt unexpectedly personal. He was solid, grounded, and utterly immovable, a mountain of a person. I found myself caught by the sheer gravity of his presence.
"That is it," I whispered, my voice sounding more grounded than usual. "Hold that feeling."
The ring erupted.
A blinding pulse of emerald light flooded the cavern, turning the shadows into jagged streaks of green. The grey metal of the band hummed a high, crystalline note, turning a vibrant, glowing emerald that radiated a steady warmth against my skin. The internal capacitor was singing, finally drinking its fill.
"Enough," Batman's voice cut through the light, sharp as a batarang.
I pulled my hand back, the connection breaking with a faint crackle of static. Superboy stumbled back half a step, looking slightly dazed, his breathing heavy as if he had just run a marathon. He looked at his chest, then up at me, an unreadable expression crossing his face—it wasn't just anger anymore. It was a flickering, confused curiosity.
"The ring is at twenty-four percent," I said, checking the HUD that only I could see within the green depths of the gem. The crimson in my eyes faded back to a calm brown as I deactivated the Sharingan. "That is more than enough to be useful. Thank you, Conner."
The boy froze at the name. "How did you... I do not have a name."
"You do now," I said, trying my best to cover my slip-up. I had forgotten he didn't have a name yet.
Giving him a small, enigmatic smile before turning back to the Dark Knight. I kept my posture relaxed, hands tucked into my pockets to hide the slight tremor from the adrenaline. "Now that the ring is functional, we should talk about Santa Prisca. There is a factory there producing a venom-derivative mixed with something much worse. If we do not move in the next twelve hours, the first shipment hits the black market, and your 'covert' team will have a very loud problem on its hands."
"I have not authorized a briefing on Santa Prisca," Batman stated, his voice dropping an octave into that "interrogation" register he loved so much.
"You did not have to. I am already three steps ahead of the curve," I said, meeting his scowl with a steady look. "The Light is playing a long game, and I have the playbook. So, are we going to stand here and debate my credentials, or are we going to go break some expensive toys?"
The Team looked between me and Batman, the tension in the room thick enough to cut. I had given them a name, a charge, and a target. Now, I just had to see if they were brave enough to follow the guy who knew all their secrets.
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Q: What do you think his first power move will be?
AN: I know it a bit strange I'm starting at Santa Prisca instead of happy harbor but i just couldn't think of a way for him to be naturally introduced into the squad otherwise