THE WATCHTOWER
December 19, 15:41 EST
Dinah Lance was normally a composed, patient woman, but even she was struggling to keep her temper in check at the moment. The source of her aggravation? A certain Man of Steel.
"Look, I'm really sorry about this," Superman said apologetically, running a hand through his hair. "Lois and I have already made plans, so…. Well, I hope you understand."
Dinah smacked her fist down on the table. "Damn it, Clark! What I understand is that you're not even willing to spend time with your son during the holidays."
The Kryptonian sighed in exasperation. "Conner's not my son."
"Don't give me that 'he's not my son' crap. But you know what? Fine. If you really don't want him, he'll come stay with me."
With these parting words, Dinah turned on her heel and stormed out of the JLA conference room.
MOUNT JUSTICE
December 19, 16:03 EST
"God, you're such a pig!"
"Am not!" Kid Flash protested.
"M'gann baked these cookies for all of us." Artemis jabbed him in the chest to accentuate these last three words. "I leave for five minutes, I come back, and voila – not a single one left."
Wally smirked. "You snooze, you lose. Besides" – he wagged his finger at her – "'tis the season for giving."
"You should take your own advice," huffed the archer indignantly.
Rolling his eyes, Superboy took a sip of his hot chocolate. Were these two ever not arguing?
The rest of the Team had already left for the two-week break. Aqualad had gone back to Atlantis, M'gann and Zatanna were staying with J'onn, and Robin went back to…well, wherever he came from. Conner envied all of them; they didn't have to put up with Wally and Artemis's constant bickering – alone.
When the Computer announced Black Canary's arrival, he all but chugged the rest of his hot chocolate before sprinting to the main hall to meet his mentor.
"Well?" he asked hopefully. "What did he say?"
Dinah slowly exhaled, unsure of how to begin. "Conner, I'm so sorry…."
Pain flashed across the clone's face. "Well, thanks for trying. I don't really care anyway," he quickly added, trying to sound indifferent.
Canary wasn't fooled. "I know you were looking forward to spending time with Superman," she said softly, wrapping her arm around his shoulder. "Please try to understand. This is really hard for him."
Conner didn't say anything. He clenched his fists and then unclenched them.
"But you're more than welcome to stay at my place," Dinah offered.
He ducked his head. "I don't want to be a burden."
"You wouldn't be," she assured him.
Conner gave her a small smile. "Thanks…for everything."
"No problem, Kiddo. Have you already packed?"
"Yeah. I'm just bringing my toothbrush and towel."
Dinah nodded. "All right, let's get going."
"Holy crap!" Wally exclaimed. "Guess what I just heard from Conner?"
"He called you a pig, too?" Artemis deadpanned.
"He's shacking up with Black Canary for two whole weeks! Man, I am so jealous." The speedster flopped down on the couch. "I guess having a negligent dad has its perks."
She snorted in response.
"Conner's gonna be alone with one of the hottest babes in the entire Justice League!" Wally continued. "He's probably already planning how to put the moves on her." He wiggled his eyebrows for emphasis.
"You're such an idiot," Artemis said derisively. "Conner isn't even 18. So that's, like, totally illegal."
"Actually, the legal age of consent is 16 in Maryland, Georgia, North Carolina, Kansas, Alabama, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Delaware, Indiana, Alaska, Virginia, Wyoming, Maine, Nevada, Arkansas, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Michigan, New Hampshire, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Vermont, Mississippi, South Dakota, Montana, and Nebraska."
"Leave it to you to know all that," Artemis scoffed.
"Oh, I'm sure I missed a few," Wally replied. "But basically, as long as they do it in one of those states, Canary won't get in trouble."
"Ugh, you're so disgusting! Superboy and Black Canary are not going to hook up!"
"Wanna bet?" he challenged.
"Are you kidding me?"
"How much?"
Artemis smirked. "Fifty bucks."
"Deal."
They shook on it.
STAR CITY
December 19, 13:48 PST
"It's not much, but it's home."
Conner glanced around the modest apartment, taking in the beige sofa, the hardwood floor, the 20-inch tube television, and the kitchen island. Fashion and gossip magazines were strewn across the coffee table.
"You can sleep on the pull-out bed," Dinah offered. "There's only one bathroom, I'm afraid, so we'll have to share it."
Out of curiosity, Conner picked up one of the magazines and flipped it open to a random article. "21 Naughty Sex Tips," it read at the top of the page.
Dinah quickly snatched it out of his hands, blushing. "Um, what do you say we go to the mall? We could get you some new clothes."
"Sure, I guess."
"Great. Let me change first." She strode towards her bedroom.
"Wait," Conner called out before Dinah could close the door behind her. "What are 'naughty sex tips'?"
"I don't know," she lied. "You're the genius, remember?"
