Scion page 1

Superboy tried to keep from smiling as he leapt through the city. If he seemed too eager Superman might find him creepy – more creepy than he probably already did. But Superboy could barely contain his happiness. Superman had asked him to come patrol Metropolis with him. Finally, he was out of Mount Justice without the other teens. Superman was making an attempt to talk to him, the thought alone made him giddy. It had been all he wanted since he became cognizant. He'd be able to connect with what was possibly the only family he had. He was going to find out more about himself and his powers. It felt like his heart would burst out of his chest. Ever since he woke up he had only felt one thing – uncertainty. And it made him furious. It was like everyone around him knew stuff he didn't and they wouldn't tell him. In fact Robin had told him that when he asked something about Kryptonians, he just told Superboy it was something he should ask Superman. No one understood his frustration – how could they? He was a clone of an alien, how could anyone even begin to comprehend.

"Superboy!" He looked up when he heard his name. He bit his bottom lip. The pain made his smile diminish and he watched Superman land in front of him. "I'm glad you made it." That simple statement made him grin from ear to ear. But after a second he realized it was just a standard pleasantry – Superman probably said that to everyone. "Did you…um jump all the way here from Rhode Island?" he asked.

"No, there was a zeta tube under the—

"12th Street Bridge. Now I remember." He said quickly. Superboy noticed the abashed look on his face. Superman could fly after all it was natural he would forget about a tube he didn't need. An awkward silence fell between them and Superboy suddenly felt very subconscious. He knew Superman was looking at him face. Probably thinking how weird it was to see someone else with his features. "So…have you ever gone patrolling before?"

"No." Superboy answered.

"Well, it's relatively easy work compared to dealing with the 'rogues gallery'." Superman explained. "It's basically a stakeout until someone breaks the law."

"Sounds simple enough." Superboy said. That uneasy silence happened again but this time Superman smiled a little at him.

"Well…it takes a while for things to get started – it's still early. Why don't you tell me about your powers."

"They're the same as yours – I can't fly or shot lasers from my eyes though."

"They're not lasers." Superman chuckled. "It's actually projectile heat." Superboy looked a little confused and Superman knew he was wondering what the difference was. "A laser is made of light – my vision is made of heat."

"Oh." Superboy said – it still seemed like he didn't understand but Superman let it go. He suddenly looked up.

"Hey guys!" Superboy rolled his eyes when he heard a girl's voice. Superman smiled.

"Zero." He greeted the girl as she landed on the roof next to them. Superboy just grunted. He hated it when she tagged along on their patrols. There was just something about her that didn't sit right with him. He certainly wasn't jealous about her stealing time with Superman. There really was something unsettling about the new comer. He didn't buy her 'little girl lost' story and ever since the day she came into their lives it seemed every minute was spent trying to figure out where she came from.

He and Superman had stumbled upon her on one of their previous nights about a month ago. Superman saved her from a group of meta human traffickers. Now she was part of their team. They named her Zero when she confessed she couldn't remember what her name was. In fact she didn't remember anything about her life or how she came to have her powers. She earned her moniker because of the only identifying mark on her – a set of zeros branded into her right wrist. Miss Martian had tried to read her thoughts and revive her memories like she had done for them on their mission to Balia but the act had caused them both great pain. Naturally mind linking was out of the question too. Superboy was annoyed because she was a huge liability on missions not to mention they discovered her powers were laced with Kryptonite. She pretty much had 'Lex Corp science experiment' written all over her. And despite their efforts to uncover some truth about it they always hit a dead end.

"Joining us for patrol tonight?" Superman asked. Superboy rolled his eyes but he didn't see it. It was usually just him and her – with no memory she pretty much had no where to go so she stayed at Mount Justice but teleported to Kansas nearly every night to train with Superman. Since he's the one who found her she was his responsibility. Robin often made jokes about them 'doing more than training' – sometimes she didn't come back to the cave until the next day. Superboy was already annoyed with their sudden close relationship but he didn't want to be disgusted by it too. Before she could answer Superman's question an explosion rocked the building they were standing on. Alarm bells sounded and the pop of guns could be heard.

"I guess I am now." She answered. She took off her hoodie to reveal a dark blue haulter-turtle neck shirt with a white 'S' crest on the left side of her chest. Superman just smiled at her and they took off. Superboy sighed before he leapt off the side of the building. He wondered if he and M'gann were so sickeningly sweet to one another. That was one thing that got on his nerves about her relationship with Superman – their near constant flirting and 'eye humping' was definitely creepy. She couldn't remember exactly what age she was but there was no way she was older then sixteen. Superman was literally twice her age but they grinned and giggled at each other like it was no big deal. Superboy may have been born in a tube eight months ago but he knew what pedophilia and statutory rape was. In fact in his week as 'den mother' Superman had taught them all about various laws and ethical no-no's. Superboy tried to put it out of his mind as they fought.

The night had two bank robberies, an attack by a few members of Intergang and a man threatening to jump off of a crane. When Zero snuck up behind him he actually slipped and plummeted a few stories before she caught him. He resisted until she tossed him on the ground.

"No. No! Why did you catch me?" he man ranted as he grabbed her by the arms. "The light has it's hold on me. I need to escape."

"Let go of me." She said as she tried to get out of his grip without hurting him. He paused for a second and stared at her.

"It's you!" he gasped.

"What—

"Defector from the light, they'll get you too. No one is safe because of you!" He rambled on. She shoved him harder when the police approached to take him away. He stumbled right into them and they handcuffed him.

"That was weird." She mumbled to herself. "We done already?" Zero asked when Superman landed next to her. She was a little disappointed that she might be heading back to the cave so soon. It had been a while since she had been out. A few weeks ago she and Zatanna had gone to get smoothies. And yesterday Wally was telling her about 'fast food' – particularly fried chicken. She wanted to try some. She gasped when a flash bulb went off in her face. The media had been covering the story of the jumper and now that he was apprehended they were eager to get a shot of Superman and his team.

"Superman! Superman this way!"

"Superboy how about a smile for the front page." She felt Superman pull her over to him. She looked up and he also put his arm around Superboy's shoulders. "Superman who's the new girl wearing your symbol? Is she the new Supergirl?"

"This is Zero, my newest protégé." He said proudly. She beamed and fifty flash bulbs went off.

"Is she an alien too?"

"Where'd she come from?"

"What are her powers?"

"Alright, that's enough let's get back to the cave." He said before he ushered them away. They all took off for the secret entrance to the zeta tube and he escorted them back to Mount Justice.

"Good night Conner." Superman said louder than he meant to. Conner just gave him a weird look as he headed to his room. He spared a glance back at them when Zero giggled at something Superman whispered to her. Once he reached his room he concentrated his hearing and after a minute he picked up the sound of their voices.

"…liking it so far?" Superman asked as he slowly walked Zero to her room.

"It's an interesting life." Zero answered. "Not sure if I'm really cut out for it."

"I believe you are." Superman said as he put his arm around her. She smiled but it soon faded from her face. "What's wrong?"

"Just thinking about my 'past' life."

"You remember it now?" He asked excitedly.

"No, I was just wondering who I used to be." She sighed and looked up at him. "Do you ever wonder what would've happened if your planet hadn't blown up?"

"All the time." He said. "It's entirely possible this planet would've been destroyed as well if I never made it here. I would've been normal on Krypton – no powers, just plain ol' Kal-el."

"Do you think you'd be happier?" She asked.

"I can't say. Sometimes I dream of having a normal life and it makes me happy. But more often then not I'm happy right where I am." He said. "Would it make you happy to remember who you are?"

"I guess. I'd know who that girl in the mirror is. What she likes, who her family is. Knowing would definitely be better than all this trial and error I constantly have to do. Did you know wasabi is really spicy?" Superman chuckled at her question.

"Yes, I've heard some truth to that." He said as he patted her shoulder.

"I suppose if I was normal I wouldn't be able to fight crime with you." She shrugged.

"That's definitely a plus." He smiled at her when they reached her door. "Good night, Zero."

"Good night Superman."

"Zero, I told you – you can call me Clark when we're alone." He reminded her as he opened the door for her.

"Ok…Clark." She smiled and looked up at him for a long moment. His eyes were so brilliant – just about the purest blue she had ever seen. She fondly remembered the first time she had looked into them. She always felt so safe around him. Even though he trumped her height by nearly a whole foot she was never intimidated by his massive bulk. His broad shoulders and his perfect physique. "Good night." She held her ground when he leaned towards her.

"Hey girl. You're getting back late." They both jumped when they heard Zatanna heading down the hall. Superman straightened his posture and cleared his throat.

"Patrolling." Zero answered as she smiled at her friend. She glanced at Superman.

"Checking up on her?" Zatanna asked a little annoyed. She agreed with Superboy on that – it was irritating to constantly have the older heroes spying on them.

"Just making sure she's settling in okay." He said before he bid them both good night. When he left Zatanna pushed Zero into her room and closed the door.

"What was that?" She demanded to know. Zero just blushed and shrugged.

"I was being friendly."

"Yeah, friendly like a hooker." Zatanna quipped. Zero rolled her eyes.

"You're telling me you've never had the hots for a guy older than you?" She asked.

"Well…" Zatanna trailed off. Zero knew she was thinking about Batman, Red Arrow and J'onn Jones. She shook her head. "This is different. I would never actually go after any of those guys."

"Why not? You could totally have them if you wanted." Zero said.

"You think so?" Zatanna entertained the thought for a moment before she grinned at Zero. "I see what you did there." Zero just smirked.

"Plus just look at M'gann. She's actually over forty years old but she's dating a three month old. Normal relationships, in this line of work – they just don't happen."

"Good point." Zatanna relented. "I just hope you know what you're getting yourself into."

"I do. And if I don't I'll just figure it out like I do everything else." She smiled.

"Wake up." Zero groaned opened her eyes when she heard someone in her room.

"Ah!" she screamed and hugged the blankets to herself when she saw Batman looming over her. "What the—

"Get dressed." He demanded.

"Get out!" she yelled. She picked up the closest thing to her and threw it at him. He caught the alarm clock like it was nothing and tossed it on the foot of her bed.

"I said get dressed. And meet me by the tubes." He said before he left. Zero got out of bed and got dressed. As she passed the kitchen she glanced at the clock. 5:17 AM.

"What the hell is so important that—" She trailed off when she saw Superman waited near the tubes as well. It seemed a lot had happened in the four hours they had been apart. His expression was stern and unreadable. Zero felt the sudden urge to run to him but she just walked up to the two men and crossed her arms. "What's going on?"

"Let's go." Batman said before he programmed the coordinates of their destination into one of the tubes.

"Not until I find out what you want." Zero said. She held her ground when Batman glared at her over his shoulder. He then looked at Superman who seemed to be at odds with the thoughts in his head.

"Tell her now or later. I really don't care. But we're running out of time. I'm definitely out of patience for this." He said. Superman sighed and hung his head like he had done something terribly wrong. He took a deep breath before he met Zero's gaze.

"Zero… we found your father." He blurted out. For a moment she looked surprised before she smiled wide.

"What? How?" She asked excitedly. "Who is he?"

"Actually, he found us." Superman said as he ushered her into the zeta tube. She looked around the Hall of Justice before she focused on Superman. "He saw you on the news with me and Superboy." They walked into the main room and Zero froze when she saw the man standing with his back turned to them.

"Luthor." Batman said. He turned around and smiled at Zero. She took a step back.

"No." She said as she hid behind Superman a little. "He—that's not—I—" She looked up at Superman pleadingly but he avoided eye contact.

"Calin." Lex spoke and she looked at him sharply. "My little girl…" He approached her with his arms out and she recoiled.

"No!" He stopped and stared at her.

"What's wrong with you?" he asked. If Superman didn't know any better he'd swear that Lex was actually hurt by her rejection. He honestly looked like he didn't know what was going on with her. "Don't you remember me?"

"No." Superman answered for her. "And since she doesn't I'm going to have to ask you to leave—

"Wait!" Lex said as he pulled out his cell phone. He pressed a few buttons before he put it to his ear. "Mercy. Bring Corin inside."

"Who's that? Someone you paid to play her mother?" Superman asked. Batman looked a little surprised by his quip. Lex seemed to ignore him and turned toward the door when Mercy walked in.

"Oh my God." Zero was more concerned with the girl that walked in behind her. She could swear she was looking in a mirror. Superman only looked away from her when Zero started whimpering.

"I don't under…stand…" Her eyes rolled back and she collapsed to the floor.

"Calin!" Lex was by her side before Superman could even react. "It's alright, baby. Daddy's here."