Superboy

Scene 10: Backfired

The easy part had been getting directions to Lex Corp. The hard part, Connor knew, was getting in and confronting Mercy Graves. That was, of course, assuming she was even there. As CEO of Lex Corp, she could have left the building long before he got there.

The sun had now set, and Connor could see Lex Corp ahead of him. He needed to think this through carefully. He was sure they knew he was coming, and he needed the element of surprise.

With this in mind, Connor had gone down an alley and climbed up to the rooftop of one of the buildings. What he lacked in the ability to fly, he made up for by leaping from building to building in single jumps.

This was something was still bothering, though. Ever since he had escaped from Cadmus, he had been trying to figure out why he didn't have all of Superman's powers. That was one answer he intended to find out.

Now Lex Corp was directly in front of him. Even from a hundred meters away, he could see the building very clearly. It was the largest one on the block, for one thing. Not to mention, he could easily see its name on the roof of the building.

Looking more closely, he saw no guards stationed on the roof. It didn't seem right, for some reason. Surely there was at least one guard up there.

On the other hand, it was the best spot for him to make his entrance without raising suspicion. If he smashed through one of the windows, the press would assume there was some kind of break in. As much as he wanted to burst through the front door, Connor knew he needed to be discreet here.

And so with his longest jump ever, Connor landed on top of the Lex Corp roof top. There was still no sign of any kind of resistance. The lack of resistance was beginning to unnerve Connor. Yet now, he had crossed the point of no return. He had to go onward.

As he entered the top floor of the building, Connor could feel so many emotions bombarding his thoughts at once. Fear, anxiety, doubt. He knew why he was here, but then what would he do? What would come next? What exactly would he do with his life?

After escaping Cadmus, he wanted a life beyond just being someone's weapon. But he didn't know how he was supposed to go about doing that. He remembered what Clark Kent had said about continuing to move forward, but how was he supposed to do that? He was the clone of the Man of Steel. He had no idea what things were going to be like for him now.

Before he could think about the matter more, he suddenly heard the sound of an intercom going off. A woman's voice echoed throughout the building, and when she spoke, he knew she was talking directly to him.

"Kr, how good of you to come here. Allow me to be the first to welcome you to Lex Corp. My name is Mercy Graves, and I take you got my calling card? Very good."

"You sent those men after me!" Connor called back, anger bubbling through his being. "Why?"

"Come now," said Mercy Graves. "I heard you had lost your way and needed to be guided home. Yet for some reason, I think you already know this. For instance, you could have used all this time to escape from the city. Yet you chose to come here. Why is this?"

Connor clenched his fists and slammed one of them into the wall to his right. Graves was toying with him, and it was working. She had known he was coming all along. She knew just what to say to get under his skin.

"You know why!" he finally replied. "If I had tried to run, you'd just send more of your thugs after me!"

"Thugs, did you call them?" asked Graves with a scoff. "Come now. They were doing me a service for the greater good. You were made for the same purpose. In fact, I think you know you wouldn't exist if it wasn't for Cadmus. You belong with us, Kr, and you know it."

"No I don't!" Connor shouted back. "I am not a weapon! I didn't choose the path you made for me! I only exist because you wanted to use me for your own reasons. I'm here to make it clear you'll never control me!"

There was a long moment of silence. Connor was almost convinced that Graves wasn't going to answer him now. He doubted had impressed her with what he said, though. She had to be calculating the best way to turn the tide to her favor.

It was in that moment that Connor realized he had made a mistake coming to Lex Corp after all. His priority now had to be to get away from the building as fast as he could. He was not going to allow for Graves the chance to trip him up.

Unfortunately for Connor, he had realized the truth too late. Just as he was going to make his way back to the rooftop, Graves's voice filled his ears again. It was just as he has expected.

"Why are you really here, Kr? Was it really to make a statement equal to Superman? Or did you want to know the truth about your birth? How long did it take for you to fly here?"

Connor stopped dead in his tracks. Graves had done it, said the very thing he had been afraid of. She was using his own curiosity against him.

"Just as I thought," said Graves in triumph. "You're here because you know you don't have all of Superman's powers. You wanted to know why ever since. Well, if you want the answers, I'm afraid you'll have to find me."

Suddenly, a door opened behind Connor. Turning around, he saw a woman standing behind the door. She had brown hair and was wearing a black business suit. Her face was etched with a triumphant smirk.

"I figured you'd get frustrated looking for me, so here I am."

Connor glared at her and charged straight for her. He didn't care what happened next. At that moment, all he wanted to do was show Graves what he could do with the little power he had.

The fact that Graves was leisurely stepping back should have been his first clue that something wasn't right. But once he started moving, it was hard to stop. It wasn't until the door closed behind him that he finally understood what Graves had been planning. He had been lured into a trap, and it had been all too easy.

Suddenly, the lights turned on so abruptly, Connor was left blinded. However, his hearing was not impaired. Vents were opening on either side of him. They were going to release some kind of gas. When he opened his eyes again, he saw that the gas was green.

Yet the gas now being vented into the room was no ordinary gas. The instant it vented at Connor, he began to feel dangerously weak. At first, he couldn't understand what had happened. Then his unasked question was answered when Mercy Graves backhanded him in the face. The blow sent him backward and left him dazed.

"This has always worked on Superman," Graves commented. "I figured using Kryptonite on you was a practical decision too. After all, you are the Superboy, aren't you, Kr?"

Connor never got thechance to answer. He suddenly felt Graves's foot slam into the side of hisface, making his world go black. The last thing he heard before he fellunconscious was Graves calling for security and to bring up everything fromProject Match.