LOVE + FEAR | Damirae

HOMEWRECKER

— E P I L O G U E —

— L E G I O N    O F    D O O M    H E A D Q U A R T E R S —

The ghostly pallor seared his eyes. Holograms hummed around him. They made it easier to pretend Lex wasn't there.

"You won't let this go, will you?" Lex appeared spectral, bathed in the moonlike shine. An annoying figment of his imagination.

Conner ignored him. He continued to scribble physics formulas across the touchscreen table. That was one of the perks of being Lex's spawn. The whole brainiac part.

"I can fix everything," Conner murmured. It was more of a personal assurance than actually talking to Lex.

"Hmph." Lex stared at the blue text. "I'll admit, I see the potential. But it's a total reset. You have to be willing to sacrifice everything to do it."

Kon kept writing.

"Not to mention, everyone else would have to start over, too."

His pen flew across the touchpad, shrieking in protest.

"Which, I suppose, is the point. You and your fixations...you must acquire that from me."

Conner focused on the hum of the screens. It was doable — with the right technology. It would cost a bajillion dollars, but thankfully Luthor genes were expensive. Kon could make blueprints easy —

Lex's hand slammed against the table. He leaned over to be eye level with Conner. "Are you listening to me?"

Conner just nodded along. He already knew the warnings that Lex was throwing at him. He didn't care. "I know."

Lex looked away with a miffed expression. For a minute there, he almost looked like a father.

Mercy shifted from the shadows of the room. She put a hand on Lex's arm and he shrugged her off.

Mercy looked at Conner. Her lips parted like she was about to say something, but then sharply closed them. Her heels clicked as she left the room.

Conner kept writing. He stole a glance every now and then at Lex. Lex stood at the window, looking out. Lots of the headquarters were missing. It was more of a large, abstract art piece of workmen and wooden panels at this point. The drilling sounds from people putting the building back together were hurt Kon's ears.

They're still trying to fix the destruction from —

Kon flinched away from the thought. All of his focus went into the small, fluid movements of his hand.

"I know you were infatuated with my assistant," Lex said carefully. "But all of this, just for one girl. One dead girl..."

Small snapping sounds caught Conner's attention. Tiny cracks bloomed across the stylus. Like wounds. Conner laxed his grip.

That was the lie they sold to lex. Rachel Grey died by the hands of Raven. Ironic. What's sad was how true it was.

Ray.

The love monster from her head shortly followed whenever Conner thought of her. He shuddered to think of that walking freakshow, but that was all the proof he needed that he was doing the right thing. Love wasn't monstrous. It wasn't supposed to be.

'Let's just stick with being happy for now.'

That was the real lie. How could Conner make her happy at all, with things the way they were? How could Conner make Raven when it wasn't just Raven anymore? It was Raven and Da —

No. Conner would only cause her pain now. He was sure of that.

Kon set the deformed stylus down and rubbed at his eyes. "If I could go back — even before then. To the minute we met..."

'Sorry for crashing your party.'

'Don't apologize. I don't mind.'

No, even before then. Save Raven from all the timeline heartache. Terra's betrayal. Trigon's invasion. Azarath's demise.

If it was to preserve the most beautiful thing Conner had ever seen — Raven's smile — it was worth it.

Lex turned back to him. His face was twisted in...pain? "I know I'm not the best father figure. But this comes from a place of love. Perhaps...it might be best to move on? I know you won't like that. But personality defects aside, you have good looks. You have manners. People like you. You're...good. It wouldn't be hard to meet someone else."

Conner shook his head. This wasn't some stupid crush. He owed Raven everything. She was the first to go out of her way and do something nice for him, no ulterior motive. The first to skate down the halls with him and not complain about scuff marks on the floor. Everything about her calmed his senses and made them all go haywire at the same time.

And now she probably doesn't even want to see me. The way things are...she doesn't deserve that. It's better this way. To start over.

"No. It's the right thing to do." Conner looked up at the blue screen. S.T.A.R. Labs documents were scrawled across every electronic surface. Detailing one theory.

The Flashpoint.

Clear the board. Start again.

THE TITANS WILL RETURN.