DC X LOTM: A Beyonder in DC

Alexander "Alex" Kent had always been the odd one in the Kent family. Unlike his older brother, Clark, who possessed the godlike abilities of a Kryptonian under a yellow sun, Alex was just... normal. No super strength, no heat vision, no invulnerability. Just an ordinary young man trying to carve his own path in a world where his brother could juggle planets.

And for the most part, he had accepted it.

Living in Smallville had taught him the value of hard work and resilience. He helped on the farm, studied engineering, and tinkered with inventions in his spare time, hoping to contribute in ways that didn't involve punching meteors out of the sky. But deep down, a small part of him always wished for something more—something that could make him stand beside Clark, not just behind him.

He never expected that wish to be answered in the most terrifying way imaginable.

The Night It All Changed

It was supposed to be a normal evening.

The night sky stretched endlessly over Smallville, a canvas of stars twinkling above the quiet countryside. The air was crisp with the scent of freshly plowed fields, and the distant hoots of owls filled the silence.

Alex sat on the porch of the Kent farmhouse, flipping through his notebook filled with sketches and designs for a new project—something that could revolutionize energy efficiency. He had always been a thinker, an inventor, someone who used intellect rather than brute strength.

Then, the world... stopped.

It wasn't a gradual thing. One moment, he was sitting there, listening to the rustling wind. The next, absolute silence.

The trees stood still. The air itself felt frozen, like an invisible force had clamped down on reality. Even the distant hum of nighttime insects ceased, as if they had never existed.

Alex blinked.

His fingers trembled as he dropped his notebook, the leather-bound cover landing against the wooden floor of the porch with an unnatural thud—too loud in the silence.

He stood up, looking around.

Nothing moved.

The wind had stopped blowing. The world was frozen in place. Even the distant headlights of a truck on the road had halted mid-motion, suspended as though time itself had been put on pause.

Panic surged through him. He tried calling out.

"Clark? Mom? Dad?"

His voice echoed strangely, swallowed by the unnatural stillness.

And then, it happened.

The air rippled.

A pressure—vast, suffocating—descended upon him, pressing against his skull like an invisible hand gripping his mind.

A presence loomed over everything.

It was something beyond comprehension. A formless, titanic force that made his very existence feel insignificant, like an ant standing before an ocean. His body convulsed, his knees buckling as his vision swam with impossible symbols—ancient, eldritch, vast in their meaning yet incomprehensible in form.

For a brief moment, he saw everything.

Threads of fate stretched endlessly, intertwining and shifting with an unseen will. Concepts of time, space, and destiny unraveled before him like a tapestry being rewoven in real-time.

And in that moment, something took notice of him.

A presence gazed upon him—not with eyes, but with an awareness so immense it felt like a god's attention had been drawn.

Then, the whispers began.

They spoke in no language he knew, yet he understood them.

"Witness."

"Become."

"Choose."

A flood of knowledge—forbidden knowledge—poured into his mind.

He saw paths—22 of them. Each one a different existence, a different way to become.

The Fool. The Seer. The Red Priest. The Tyrant. The Scholar. The Sleeper. The Justiciar. The Mother. The Doorkeeper...

Each Pathway carried a weight of destiny, an evolution of power and meaning.

And then—pain.

Unbearable, excruciating pain.

It was as if his entire body was being rewritten on a fundamental level. His blood boiled, his bones twisted, his mind expanded beyond human comprehension. He felt like he was dying and being reborn simultaneously, his very soul reshaped by forces beyond his understanding.

When the agony subsided, he collapsed onto the porch, gasping for breath. His fingers dug into the wooden floor, his body drenched in sweat.

The world remained frozen for a few more moments. Then, with a sudden rush, everything snapped back into motion.

The wind howled. The trees swayed. The distant truck continued its journey as if nothing had happened.

But Alex knew.

Everything had changed.

The Awakening

His body felt... different.

He could feel the pathways within him—all of them. The moment he had been exposed to that vast presence, something had forced all 22 Beyonder pathways into him, locking them within his soul.

Each one slumbered at Sequence 9, their potential dormant but undeniable. He instinctively knew that he had become something that should not exist—something even beyond what the Justice League could comprehend.

His breathing was ragged. His heartbeat thundered in his chest.

Then, a whisper echoed in his mind.

"Act accordingly, and you shall ascend."

The meaning was clear. He needed to act in line with the pathways to advance. No rituals, no external forces—just acting.

He clutched his head as the knowledge settled.

He was now a Beyonder. The only Beyonder in the entire DC Universe.

And that made him the most dangerous anomaly in existence.

Because if the Justice League ever found out what he was...

They would never let him go.

First Steps Into the Unknown

Alex forced himself to stand, his limbs still trembling from the ordeal. His mind buzzed with new instincts, new understandings of the world around him.

He needed time. Time to figure out what this meant, what he could do.

But one thing was clear.

He had to hide.

He had to ensure that neither Clark, the Justice League, nor anyone else realized what had happened to him.

If they found out, they would try to control him. Study him. And if they ever saw what he could become...

They might try to destroy him.

He took a deep breath, staring at his hands.

The paths were open. The power was his.

And if he played his cards right...

He would not just survive in this world.

He would thrive.