Chapter Text
The area Conner was in was dark and brittle. Brittle really was the best word to describe it, it felt like any wrong move could shatter it instantly. He didn't know fully how he ended up here, all he remembered was going on a mission to see something involving someone's evil plan and then… Here.
But in a sudden, the world shifted again, and he was back in Smallville. The sun fluttered down through the sky, hitting his face. The smell of corn wafted through the air. But something about all it felt… Wrong. Conner didn't know what, so he took off. With a small hop, he jumped into the sky, and flew off to Metropolis. The wind was cool and crisp against his face as he flew. He always liked the feeling of flying, but even then, he knew something was wrong about it today.
He flew onto a rooftop in Metropolis, and saw Superman flying around- probably responding to a call. So, he said one word to Clark- knowing he'd hear.
"Hi?"
Clark flew faster than he did, so he came quickly.
"Hello citizen, why are you on the roof?"
…Citizen?
"Uhh…" Kon said, "You do remember I can fly too, right?"
"No?" Clark said, "What's your name?"
"What do you mean?! You're my dad!"
"I don't have a child-"
GREAT! He's back on this thing. But… Why is he acting like he's never seen him before?
"Don't you remember?" Kon said, "We just got done stopping the Doom of Doomsdays, Doomslayer with Supergirl and Steel! It's me, Superboy!"
"…I'm the only Super…?"
Suddenly, sirens blared as Superman flew off again. Kon just looked where Superman was, and just… Sat there. He thought he could genuinely hear the noises of the city die down, despite his super hearing. He didn't know what to think, just that there was no way that just happened. There's no way Clark would have forgotten him.
…Right?
Flying off to gather his thoughts, he flew into the lower atmosphere. The cold shocked him awake more than anything else could. He flew there for a second, before hearing a familiar cry, coming from New York of all places-
Cassie.
He immediately flew off to New York, not caring as much that Clark didn't remember him, because surely. Surely Cassie would, right? Then with her and the rest of Young Justice, they could fix this mess, right? The air became warmer as he dove down into New York, and saw an odd sight. Cassie was fighting someone with a mop of black hair and a black suit with red neon lining. Kon looked at the person, and jumped in the way for Cassie.
"What are you doing you dumb ass?!" Cassie shouted, "Nobody can survive a hit from him but me!"
Catching the punch, he noticed something about the other person… They had the House of El logo across their chest. Cassie was also in a much, much, skimpier outfit than she would ever wear.
"Cassie, do you not remember me…?"
"Why would I forget you?"
"I… We're best friends-"
"I don't know you, now get out of my way!"
And with one super powered shove, Kon was sent flying into Times Square. He felt his head reeling- that punch only didn't knock him out because he's half Kryptonian but… Cassie would never use excessive force like that on anyone not a super… And she was acting like she didn't remember him either?! Was this all a prank, or some sick joke at Kon's expense? He looked around, and saw two somewhat familiar outfits…
Red Robin and Kid Flash.
Surely, SURELY! Surely they had to remember him! He flew over to them, and noticed something off about the way they were standing. Bart was much less fidgety, even if he'd never mention that he was fidgety to Kon. Tim, meanwhile, seemed much more laid back and less stuck up. Less traumatized, maybe was the correct word?
"Bart, Tim?" Kon asked quietly.
"How do you know our names?" Tim said, "I do not remember telling you mine, and Bat security is-"
"Really impressive- Look, I've had it! I've already had a weird day, so if this is a prank-"
"We don't know you!" Kid Flash said, running around Kon and speaking quickly, "I mean there's this weird dude who's just floating there, and said if this was a prank- Why would we prank someone we don't know!"
"Impulse…" Kon said.
But Kid Flash just continued ranting, Kon was tuning him out by this point, because Bart would've responded instantly to his old codename.
"Rob…"
"I was never Robin, so unless your just going with that as a joke," Red Robin said, "I want you to leave."
And Kon did, he took off into the air, and just sat cross crossed in the air. He… Everyone… Steel and Supergirl were gone, he highly didn't wanna go to Lex, even if Lex would remember him. Was this all some kind of cruel, twisted joke, all at Kon's expense? Or was this a crisis that erased him?
He looked at his phone, and looked at the numbers on them. Everyone he'd knew… He saw the numbers on his phone book, but decided to not even try. If this was a crisis, they wouldn't pick up the phone anyways. Kon felt something warm and wet roll down his cheek, and he wiped away a tear as he flew away. He started to cry- man he just got his life back together, and now it was thrown into upheaval again! He just sat there, crying for a while, letting the emotions flow over him. He looked at his phone, and didn't take much into account as he mindlessly tapped at the apps, trying to find something to distract himself with.
In hindsight, he really should have paid attention…
As he clicked one of the apps, it opened with a small loading screen, before the screen booted back out to his home screen. He then went to tap another app, before red and black rippled started flowing out from the app's icon and around his whole vision. His vision swam, as he tried keeping a desperate grip on reality… but it didn't work, and the red and black surrounded him as he could only watch.
He was then falling.
He tried using his flight to stop the falling, but it was like he was powerless to stop it. He just kept falling, until he hit the cold, hard ground.
Looking around, he saw interconnected tunnels of what looked to be a train station. Getting up and dusting himself off, he looked around, and then at his phone. He didn't know how he ended up here, but he wanted out. He couldn't hear anything. He could barely see anything that wasn't red or black. Didn't Tim- the real Tim, not that weird version, teach him a calming technique? He could try that! Maybe that would help!
Five things you can see.
He could see the train tracks, but no trains. Benches with that dumb hostile architecture. Red and black, no other colors, nothing else in the color department. The tunnel walls, and some signs. He walked up to one of the signs, trying to read it, but nothing was understandable. It was like he was trying to read scribbles.
Four things you can feel.
He could feel the cold, hard ground, as well has the sign, cold from disuse. He could feel the weight of his clothes, and if he'd get metaphorical, the weight of memory. He couldn't feel much else from where he was currently standing, aside from the wall maybe.
Three things you can hear.
That's the thing, even with super hearing, if he even still had that, he could hear nothing. No train sounds, no beeping, nothing. In fact, the silence made him even more on edge, he just hoped it wasn't a sign anything would go wrong.
Two things you can smell.
Again, he could smell nothing- this calming technique was really failing him, because focusing on his senses was only raising his alarm bells. The air didn't smell crisp or anything, it just… Didn't have a smell. Nothing wafting on no breezes.
One thing you can taste.
He could still taste his spit, but that was about it. He'd probably want to eat, if he had a clue where he was.
Okay, so calming technique failed! That's just fine and dandy, he didn't need a calming technique anyways. Just then, he heard noises. They rang out in the silence, and as he turned around, he saw creatures, made of red and black shadows. He decided he was absolutely not dealing with this, and thus, he started running. He didn't know where he was running, he just needed to get away from the noise in the silence.
However, more red and black shadows appeared around him, and he was surrounded on all sides. He tried using his Tactile Telekinesis to create a barrier of the ground around him, but his powers refused to work with him, and the ground stayed out, and the creatures got closer, and Kon could taste his own fear and-
"Are you going to let this be your end?"
Kon felt a weird weight appear on his face, backing up, he grabbed onto it. He hit one of the creatures as he tried pulling the weight on his face off, but he had no luck, it felt like it was sewn into his face. He looked around at the creatures, and felt part of him just… Give up. Either everyone knew him still, and were toying with him for fun, or nobody remembered him, and he would be alone forever. Either way-
"You have fought so hard, so long. Why won't you fight now?"
Kon knew he shouldn't trust the weird voice that invaded his mind, but something about it felt so trustworthy, like he should trust it's words and answer it's questions, but he knew he shouldn't, right?
"Because… I…"
"Your rebellious spirit still burns, though it's dimmed."
Rebellious spirit? he thought he was pretty rebellious already, but if the voice was saying it dimmed. Did it dim because of one day, or was he not as rebellious as he thought? Either way, he felt a little spark of hope, maybe that was why he couldn't assess his powers? He had to try anything.
"Than how do I reignite it?"
"We will make a pact."
A pact? Again, he felt as if he shouldn't trust it, not without a good lawyer present… But the voice felt so trustworthy, and with the creatures surrounding him and his powers not working, he had to take the pact, if he wanted to even have a chance of survival.
"I am thou, thou art I… To the Metropolis Kid, show the world why it was wrong to forget you, and how strong you can be!"
Something in his mind told him to reach for the mask, and so, he did. The mask was still tightly sewn onto his face, but he decided, you know what, there's nothing else he could do but potentially take it off. Everything in him was screaming at him to take the mask off, so he gripped onto the bottom two hooks of the mask, and tore it off. Blood gushed from his face, and he felt a phrase come to him, a phrase distinct, one he'd never heard before but one that felt like he 'd known it his whole life.
"PERSONA!"
Blue flames ripped from the ground around him, causing the shadow creatures to back up. The flames licked away the blood from his face, as his outfit started shifting. The material of his outfit started shifting from a spandex to a leather material, the material expanding a little. The House of El Symbol changed to a four point star one, on his chest. The colors darkened a little, becoming deeper and more secretive. His sunglasses burned away, as the mask had coverings for his eyes like them anyways. His hair was fluffed a little as his fingerless gloves rode to cover his fingers and up to his elbows, over his jacket, which became more like a long cape with sleeves. The flames resided, and behind him was a massive imposing figure with long, shaggy hair, a Greek-like toga, and a MASSIVE knife.
"Tear the shadows apart, Brutus!"
The creature behind him- Brutus- attacked the shadows, cutting them to shreds. Kon punched a few of them, leaving them open and prone to Brutus. Kon felt a rush of power unlike any he'd felt before- and that's saying something because he'd had many rushes of power before! The shadows retreated after the ones that surrounded him were cleaved. What remained of the other shadows retreated into the ground, and Kon breathed a sigh of relief as he sat down on the floor. Brutus disappeared into blue flame as this happened.
"What… What was that?!" Kon said.
Kon pulled out his phone again, and opened his camera app, looking at himself. He decided to put the mask- shaped like the four armed galaxy of the milky way- back on his face. He looked like how he usually did as Superboy, but with longer gloves, darker colors, and a mask instead of sunglasses.
"Okay, now that I'm no longer getting actively threatened, how do I get out of here?" Kon said to nobody in particular.
Getting up, he started walking around, trying to find anything of interest. He didn't have his usual powers, but he was still well enough with hand-to-hand, and now he had Brutus, just in case. Finding a door, he felt it open, and he watched as the his vision swam in red and black, once again.
Waking up once again, he found himself… Back in New York. It seems like the city was a little destroyed from a battle had, but the false versions of his friends were gone, from what he could hear- Oh sweet Ra! He could hear everything around him again! His outfit was back to normal now, too! He didn't know what to do with himself now, though… So he just flew off, and flew, and flew, before ending up in a random city on the east coast. Using some of the pocket change he had, he got himself a less suspicious outfit, one that looked more like a civilian's. Wearing this outfit, he started walking around the city slowly, looking for something to eat. He really should eat something, but he only had so much budget… So fast food it was. Walking into the burger restaurant, the smell of cheap food wafted into his nose, he waited by the counter, before buying and receiving his food. He should likely go back to Smallville, but would Ma even recognize him? Nobody else had…
He really didn't want to find that out.
He couldn't return home, he couldn't return to anywhere, so he was just… Stuck. He didn't have a home, a city to protect, he still had his powers, but what use were powers when you couldn't protect anyone you loved?
For the first time in his life, he was well and truly lost.
He ate the food he got while he pondered just what to do next. he couldn't go back to heroism, not yet. After all, wearing a House of El symbol when Superman doesn't know you is a bad sign… But he didn't really know how to be a regular civilian. And with that whole other world thing… Maybe he could protect other people that end up in there? Deciding to go with that, he decided to go to the library. Maybe, if this was a crisis, he could learn about the state of the world…
Walking to the library, he took in the city he ended up in, it was a seaside city, and Conner took it in as he walked into the library. He grabbed a book about superheroes from the nonfiction section (he's made that mistake before), and started reading it. He felt a little bit of rage bubble underneath his skin, as he read. Heroes had not existed for just five years! They've existed since the 40's! Whatever messed with the timeline really messed it up this time! But even then… What could have happened? He felt rage bubble up inside him. How- Crises don't do this! And this one managed to mess with the timeline so much- He was scared, but he didn't know what to do. Running out of the library, he started screaming. He had to let it all out.
Why was he left behind?! Did the world just not care enough to remember him in whatever it did?! Why could he still remember…
"WHY?!" He screamed at the sky, knowing people would find him crazy, but he didn't care.
"Why…" He whispered as he fell to the ground in despair. He just sat there, hugging his knees and hoping that nobody was really paying attention to him as he just… He just…
He just wanted to go home…
But could he, even?
Where was his home, anymore?
Would anyone even remember him in Hawaii or Smallville? Not even his closest friends or mentor remembered him, so who's to say Ma or Mercy did? He didn't want to find out, he wanted to pretend everything would just go back to normal.
But something, deep in his mind, told him it wouldn't be that easy.
He needed to be alone right now, gather his thoughts without the chance of anyone hearing him. But where could he go?
He remembered the weird experience from earlier, and looked to the app on his phone again. He opened it, and his vision swam with red and black, once again.
The first thing Kon noticed was that he was back in the outfit he wore after getting Brutus, but that didn't matter, he was alone again.
And so, he screamed.
"WHY?!" He belted out, not caring, "IS THIS ALL SOME KIND OF SICK JOKE? WHO LEFT ME BEHIND TO REMEMBER WHILE EVERYONE ELSE FORGOT? WHO DIDN'T REMEMBER ME? WHY CAN NOBODY REMEMBER ME? WHY? Why… Is it always me?"
He felt his mind run through the many issues that he had gone through, how in his very short life, he had gone through so much… And now this…
Sitting there, Kon curled up into himself, when he noticed a small creature walk up to him, they looked like a rabbit, with the long ears on the back of their head. The creature walked up to him, and seemed to look at his eyes.
"You aren't a Shadow?" The creature said.
"Shadow?"
"You, state your name and how you got here."
"Conner, I tapped an app icon and ended up here."
"Oh, this is the Metaverse."
"Metaverse?"
"It is the realm of cognition, the subconscious of mankind. You are currently in Mementos."
"I…" Kon said, "Is this your home? And are you a rabbit?"
"I guess you can say this is my home, and I'm not a rabbit. I don't know what I am, but I am more than a rabbit."
"What's your name?" Kon said to the little chibi creature.
"May."
"Really?" Kon said, taking off the mask he got.
"You see," May said, "Those with corrupt enough hearts can warp the Metaverse, corrupting areas into Palaces. But I can't deal with these Palaces on my own."
"So how do I help?"
"…You just believe me? Like that?" May said.
"Not like I have any other leads on this strange place," Kon said, "And everyone I know are… Missing."
"What happened?"
"Wish I could tell you," Kon said, "It seems like they all just… Forgot me… I don't want to think about it…"
"I understand, but how about we try finding a way out?"
The duo started walking out of the area, exiting through a large door back into the real world. Kon looked around for May, and saw a little black and white rabbit near him.
"May?"
"Huh, guess I am a rabbit," May said.
Kon picked up May's rabbit form, and started walking throughout the city. He doesn't known this city at all, and May didn't know it at all either, so he started to look around, May in tow…