Conner’s reddish hair whipped in the wind while dust still hung suspended over the battlefield.
Little by little, the sound of steel clashing against the ground ceased, and silence finally took over.
Conner scanned the area; not a single enemy was left standing.
The few lizardmen who had survived threw down their weapons and fled in terror into the jungle.
Barely a few seconds had passed since the group intervened.
Everything had ended with overwhelming speed—not because their enemies were weak, but because the group couldn’t afford to prolong the fight under a red sun.
Every second meant losing vital energy, so they had fought with absolute force to finish before the weakness became critical.
Travis Morgan, breathing heavily, slowly sheathed his sword.
Tara dropped her bow and ran toward him.
“You’re alright…” she whispered with relief, holding his face between her hands.
Only then did she look up at the strangers who had changed the course of the battle.
Conner took a step forward.
Looking at the woman, he tried to remember where he had seen her; her red hair and determination felt familiar.
However, watching her interact with Warlord was enough for the pieces to fall into place.
If his memory served him right, that woman was Tara Morgan, Travis Morgan’s wife.
Then he turned his gaze to Travis and noticed he was a bit younger than the Warlord he recalled from his memories of Justice League Unlimited.
He seemed to be at a much earlier stage of his life.
A slight wave of dizziness shook him, but he hid it by taking a firm step forward.
The red sun was still draining the energy stored in his cells.
“Pleasure to meet you.
My name is Conner,” he said with a warm smile.
“These are Karen, Laurel, Kara, and Raven.
We were exploring the area when we saw the battle.”
Tara swept her gaze over the group, analyzing the imposing aura of power that still enveloped them.
“What you did today…” she said slowly.
“Not even the greatest warrior of Skartaris could have broken a Deimos ambush like that.” She lowered her head slightly.
We won’t forget the help you gave us today.”
Travis nodded, his gaze conveying deep respect.
“You saved many lives today.”
Conner simply smiled and replied, “We were just in the right place at the right time.”
As they spoke, he felt another pang of weakness, more intense than the last.
He glanced sideways at the motionless red sun; every minute spent there was working against them.
They couldn’t keep wasting time.
“I’m afraid we must leave,” he finally said.
“It has been a pleasure to meet you, Travis.”
The warrior bowed his head.
“Our doors will always be open to you.”
Conner acknowledged the gesture before looking at Raven.
The young woman understood the signal, and a portal of darkness slowly opened behind the group.
Before stepping through, Conner looked back at Skartaris one last time: the impossible mountains, the immense jungles, and that eternally suspended sun.
‘We will return,’ he promised himself.
The return to Dinosaur Island was instantaneous.
The moment they stepped back, yellow sunlight enveloped the group, and the four Kryptonians felt the energy rush back into their bodies like a warm tide.
Karen let out a long sigh, and Kara stretched her arms, visibly relieved.
Only Raven seemed unfazed by the difference.
After returning to the base, the girls retired to rest.
Conner, however, took a different path and walked straight into the laboratory.
In front of him, a massive whiteboard waited, covered in formulas and diagrams.
“I can’t go back like that,” he muttered as he examined the blueprints.
“The red sun doesn’t poison us…
it simply prevents our cells from retaining the energy of the yellow sun.”
He began to sketch the silhouette of a suit of armor.
“A combat armor,” he said with a smile.
“It doesn’t need to generate energy, just conserve what we already have.
An internal battery system that minimizes energy loss.”
This way, they could stay there much longer, and since he had no intention of living permanently in Skartaris, this solved the main obstacle.
As he was refining the design, the laboratory door opened.
He wasn’t aware of the presence until a pair of arms wrapped around his waist from behind.
Conner startled for a second, but then smiled as he recognized who it was.
“What are you plotting now?” Laurel asked, resting her chin on his shoulder as she looked at the sketches.
“The solution to our little red sun problem,” Conner replied, turning around to face her.
Laurel looked over the plans with curiosity.
“Armor?”
“Something like that.
If it works, we’ll be able to stay there much longer.”
Laurel smiled and said jokingly, “Wow, before you were the last one who wanted to go, and now you’re the one who wants to go back the most.”
Conner rolled his eyes and replied, “I never said I didn’t want to go, just that we needed more preparation.” He paused, smiled, and continued, “But now that I’ve been there, the truth is I liked the place, even if our time there was short; and yeah, you’re right, I already want to go back.
There are too many things to discover…
I think the place has potential.”
He turned fully toward her and, without warning, scooped her up in his arms.
She let out a small, surprised laugh before wrapping her arms around his neck.
“And what’s this about now?” she asked with an amused smile.
Conner stared at her.
All the tension accumulated since the expedition melted away.
“I’ve spent almost the whole day turning over how to solve our problem…
I think I’ve worked quite enough for today.”
Laurel understood the intent in his gaze and a mischievous smile appeared on her lips.
She moistened her lips, tightened her hold around his neck, and said: “Then you’d better close up the lab for tonight.”
Conner replied only with a smile and carried Laurel out of the laboratory, leaving the whiteboard behind.
The armor could wait until tomorrow.