Chapter Text
“Kent!” Damian snapped as heard the whirling sounds of a machine coming to life.
He whipped around to see Jon standing near a piece of equipment that Damian’s father had stowed deep in the Batcave’s collection of strange machinery and devices that Batman has come across or confiscated. A collection the two of them were supposed to be taking inventory on but Jon had kept being so fascinated by each one and wanting to touch buttons and knobs and it seems he finally gave into the impulse and now this strange thing was starting to turn on.
The machine had a platform base and a console off to the side of the archway that had an oval shape to it, like a strange kind of door. Damian had no idea what this one was supposed to do, it’s function or it’s danger level but he had a feeling they were about to find out.
“I didn’t touch it, I swear!” Jon moved further away from it. “I just walked past it and it started…doing that!” He said, gesturing at the machine. “What do we do? How do we turn it off?”
“Like I know.” Damian scoffed, moving closer to the machine and grabbing Jon by his uniform cape and jerking the younger boy behind him as the whirling got louder and faster.
“What are you doing?” Jon yanked his cape out of Damian’s hand. “/You/ should get behind /me/. I’m the invulnerable one!” Despite this Damian didn’t allow Jon to get in front and if he forced the issue he could accidentally hurt Damian which he’d never risk.
The archway began to fill with pulsing light and it almost looked like a substance that started to jiggle and spread to fill up the shape of the arch.
“Kent, go find my father and bring him here, whatever this does is doing it and we need to be properly prepared.” Damian said, his eyes searching for some kind of power source, there was no cable connected to electricity and there was no other thing other than the console and arch.
“I can’t leave you here alone! What if it blows up or something like…comes out of it, like lasers or something?” Jon grasped on to Damian’s cape to tug him further away from the thing, his resistance doing little for Jon’s super strength.
“I can take care of myself and if any of those things do happen, father will know how to deal with them since he’s more familiar with this than we are. Now go!” Damian tried to shove Jon off. “The faster you do this the faster you return.”
Jon puffed up his cheeks frustrated but let Damian go and nodded, zooming off to go search for Batman so he could bring him back to make sure Damian stays safe.
It wasn’t too long after Jon had left that the machine seemed to quiet, to reach some kind of peak and leveled out. The energy in the arch shifted from a white blue sort of color to pure white and it pulsed strangely, much like a ripple in a still pond. That’s when something broke the surface of the energy, a black gloved hand, to be precise, reached through the energy field.
Damian drew his sword and stood at the ready, someone was coming out and he had to be prepared for the worst. If this supposable portal was in his father’s possession, whatever that could come from it could not be a good thing.
Slowly more of the person emerged from the arch, they were wearing a Super uniform but this one was black and white, white rings around the forearms and around the calves. They had a white cape that blended into the top of the uniform. The person who walked through was looking back as they moved completely out and now that they made it to the other side they moved ice blue eyes to look around until they landed on Damian.
Damian’s sword dropped a fraction as a familiar face began to smile at him, stretching across the face so much it would have been painful if they were human. There was a soft breeze as they zoomed right up into Damian’s face, the grin looking a touched manic up close.
“Damian~” Jon, this Jon, this strange Jon that was not the one Damian knew said to him, breathing out his name like it was precious. “I found you.”
Damian shifted back, keeping his sword between him and this stranger with his best friend’s face, this Jon found this action strange. He tilted his head slightly as he studied Damian carefully and looked so…relieved?
“Who the hell are you?” Damian sneered, moving back when the Super tried to hover closer to him, he hadn’t kept his feet on the ground since he moved to Damian.
“Do you not know me?” Jonathan asked, his expression started as disappointed but morphed into a smile, into glee. “Oh yes, tell me you don’t, tell me I am the first you’ve seen with this face~” He moved closer, pushing away Damian’s sword with ease and when Damian tried to keep him back Jonathan snapped the sword with his fingers.
“Why do you look like Superboy? What are you? Where are you from?” Damian dropped the hilt to his ruined weapon, he didn’t like this one bit but there was no Kryptonite down here, he’d have to go to another level to get his hands on some and that wasn’t a likely option.
Jonathan’s face fell hearing this, clearly disappointed. “You know one? That makes this difficult but…I don’t care.” He said, catching Damian’s hands when tried to uselessly swing at him when Jonathan reached for him. “You are the same, oh Damian, I have been a disaster without you.” He cooed, pulling the older boy closer. “I won’t break you, not this time, I promise, I’ll keep you well.”
“Get the hell off of me!” Damian struggled knowing full well that he was no match for super strength but damn if he would just allow whatever this imposter had planned go on without some resistance.
“Be still, my beloved, I will not hurt you.” Jonathan spoke softly, holding Damian’s wrists in one hand and peeled Damian’s mask off of his face, Damian’s green eyes widened hearing the affectionate name. “You are so beautiful, why are you hiding it?” He careless tossed the mask off the edge of the platform. “I have searched so many worlds, so many places just to find you again and…oh Damian, I have missed you so.”
“I am /not/ your Damian.” Damian growled and tried to jerk away when Jonathan grabbed his face to keep him still, glaring at this fake Jon. “Get your hands off me.” He snarled.
“Such fire, ugh, I’ve craved it.” Jonathan sighed wistfully. “Burn me, my love; I have been without it for far too long.” He hummed and Damian scrunched his face as Jonathan moved close, he had an idea of what this imposter wanted from him but like hell he’d let him but he couldn’t break away from Jonathan’s steel grasp.
“Dami, I can’t find your dad! Is he off world-“ The pair looked over at this interruption, Jon having returned just in time to see some weird version of himself about to kiss his best friend. “Wha…”
“Is that what’s in this world?” Jonathan snorted unimpressed, looking Jon over in his Superboy hoodie and ripped jeans. “There is no way he has you, so at least there is that. Beloved, let’s return home.” He said, ignoring Jon and refocused on Damian.
“I’m not going anywhere with you.” Damian sneered, attempting to pull away again but this time Jonathan’s fingers tightened to the point of being painful, very painful and if he continued Jonathan would crack Damian’s jaw bone.
“Let go of him!” Jon screamed, squaring himself up and his eyes starting to glow red with threat now that the shock was worn off and replaced with rage.
“Never, never again.” Jonathan said while keeping his eyes on Damian. “You won’t stop me, nothing will stand in my way of taking my beloved back home with me. I have searched so long for you, Damian, I could not bear the loss. You drove me mad even from beyond the grave and now that I have you again I will never let you go.”
Jonathan leaned in again but jerked back when lasers zipped between them and he glared at his double, Jon’s eyes still red and ready to go again.
“Let. Him. Go.” Jon growled, moving closer to them but halted when he saw the pained expression on Damian’s face from Jonathan’s grip.
“You brat.” Jonathan hissed. “Stay out of this, he’s not yours.”
“Yes he fucking is!” Jon snapped, shooting off this heat vision again, forcing Jonathan to dodge and moved him and Damian out of the way.
“What a nuisance.” Jonathan tutted irritated, dragging Damian over to a large of collection of what looked more like scrap metal than anything and Jonathan twisted some long pieces of metal around Damian to keep him in place. “Please pardon me, beloved, but it seems I have to carry out the grim task of killing myself, I will only be a moment.”
“Don’t you touch him!” Damian screamed, he couldn’t get out of his restraints and he couldn’t just sit by while this…person tried to kill Jon.
“Tell him to stop interfering and I’ll spare him.” Jonathan said, turning to face the other Superboy. “Otherwise I end him here and now.”
Damian didn’t know if Jon could take this counterpart, if this new Jon was stronger or had different powers. The only thing Damian could tell was that this one meant what he said, he’d put Jon down for good if pressed, he could sense that much from this doppelganger.
Jon rushed Jonathan in a fury, always just barreling right in recklessly and Jonathan did nothing to stop him, only calmly waiting till Jon was close before back handing him. Jon went flying and crashed into some machine they had logged earlier, smashing it to pieces on impact.
“Oh, he’s so weak.” Jonathan muttered disappointed and even disgusted. “Why do you keep him around? He couldn’t possibly serve you in any way.” He sneered looking over at Damian. “I will make a far better match, you will see.”
“Go to hell.” Damian snarled, trying to wiggle his hands down to his belt, any tool he could get his hand on would be at least something.
Jonathan looked away from Damian as the pile of shattered machinery scattered when Jon emerged, screaming and furious. He rushed Jonathan again, who just rolled his eyes and once again waited for Jon to come to him. He held out an arm to swat him like a fly, but this time Jon stopped short of his range. He caught Jonathan off guard long enough to grab his arm and flip Jonathan over his shoulder, a move Damian had taught him, and slammed the imposter into the ground on his back. Before the other could try to get up Jon stomped his foot against his chest while still holding Jonathan’s arm, the crater they made growing deeper and if they weren’t careful this level would crash to the one below.
“You will never take Damian anywhere.” Jon growled, his eyes still glowing red.
Jonathan stayed still for a short while and Damian felt some relief that Jon seemed to be able to take care of this but then a cold laugh started to fill the space. Jonathan grabbed Jon’s arm that was holding on to him and threw him again, sending him crashing through a few walls and objects. He got up to his feet and the smile on his face reminded Damian of the Joker, twisted and mad, he loathed seeing it on such a familiar face.
“That wasn’t bad.” Jonathan said amused. “But still so sloppy, you’re still so…” Jon had come barreling back and this time Jonathan met him in the middle, catching Jon by the throat. “Weak.” He hissed out the word in Jon’s face, squeezing tight.
“Stop!” Damian shouted, he hated this, he couldn’t move, he couldn’t do anything. He was so helpless and Jon was…
“I will be so interested to watch the light leave your eyes, what a unique opportunity this will be, to watch myself die.” Jonathan hummed, lifting Jon up into the air and watched him choke and struggle in his hold.
“Stop!” Damian could see how the lack of oxygen was starting to affect Jon, he was struggling to breathe and this rate Jon would… “If you stop…I’ll go with you, willingly!”
Jonathan lowered Jon to his feet but didn’t let up around Jon’s throat, Jon’s eyes widened further as he looked over at Damian. He wanted to protest, to tell him not to do that just for him but his throat was closing fast.
“Would you?” Jonathan asked, tilting his head slightly, looking at Damian with interest and floated over to him. “If I spare him, you will be mine?”