Chapter nine

Clark was trying to pick the sturdiest baby clothing in a store full of frilly baby dresses what seemed to be infinite soft animals, when Conner patted him and pointed at a table of stuffed bunnies. Clark was trying to test the strength of a pair of small overalls without actually tearing them in half, so he just bounced Conner on his hip and said, "Hmm."

"Da. Dad," Conner said insistently, pointing at the bunnies. Clark froze, and glanced down at Conner. Part of him wanted to correct him. Part of him wanted to hear it again. No, a thousand more times.

"The bunnies?" Clark asked weakly, walking over and crouching down so Conner could reach out and pluck one of the bunnies from the table.

"You want that?" Clark asked. Conner nodded excitedly, squeezing the bunny's ears. Clark hoped he didn't tear it in half, and went back to trying to do the same with the overalls. He picked the most rugged clothing he could find, and tried to get some shoes, but found that Conner refused to wear them. It was just as well, Clark supposed. He'd never really seen the point of those tiny baby shoes. He'd push the issue when Conner was old enough to walk. Which was probably not so far off, he realized with terror.

When they were back home, Clark started making dinner and let Connor play in the kitchen. He was tapping wooden spoons on the floor and so far not breaking them, when Clark accidentally knocked a jar of baby food off the counter. He reached out to catch it, but realized that he didn't need to. It was hovering in the air, held in place. Conner was staring up at the jar, face furrowed in concentration.

"Conner?" Clark asked slowly. Conner blinked and dropped the jar. Clark caught it before it hit the ground and set it back on the counter. Okay. So he needed to find out what information Batman had from Cadmus. Because he'd sure never used any kind of telekinesis. Conner, feeling like he'd done something wrong was just starting to cry, and Clark was scooping him up from the floor when the phone rang.

"Mom? This really isn't a great time," Clark tried to say, but it was too late. She'd have to deaf not to hear Conner crying.

"Clark, is that a baby? What's going on? Do you have something to tell me?"
There was no saying no to Martha Kent. That was how Clark ended up putting on the suit and a baby carrier, and flying out of metropolis as gently and inconspicuously as possible. When he touched down at the farm Martha came hurrying out of the house and then stopped. Superman was taking Conner out of the baby carrier, trying to get him to stop wailing. It wasn't that he disliked flying, he'd loved it. It was not flying that he hated.

"Oh my lord. Clark, what happened?" Martha gasped. She took Conner out of Superman's hands without asking, and started bouncing him in her arms. "He's as heavy as you," she laughed. "Now come into the house and explain yourself."

He followed her inside, and they sat down in the living room. Conner was absolutely enchanted and shocked. He stared at everything. The books, the pictures on the mantle, the empty coffee cups on the table, the rug on the floor.

"It's not what you think," Superman started by saying. Martha raised her eyebrows at him. "Well, I mean. He's my clone. And my son, now," he said awkwardly.

"Of course. I guess I knew I was never going to get ordinary grandchildren. Actually, I didn't think I was going to get any. So what's his name?" Martha cooed.

"Conner."

"Good choice. Now go get changed out of your suit, and we'll have dinner. There's clean clothing on your bed if you forgot." Clark had, and he thanked her. Pa Kent came in for dinner, and he was surprised to say the least, but no less happy. Clark felt silly for how immature he'd acted before. And Conner, who would only allow other people to hold him for so long, fell asleep on Clark's lap mid-way through dinner.

"Tiring day?" Martha asked. Clark nodded.

"For both of you, I bet. Now you know how we felt," Jonathan said. Clark suddenly felt more grateful to them than ever before. Martha sent him home with some old baby clothes (that she guaranteed could stand up to anything) and a few slices of pie. At the door, after she hugged him, she smiled down at Conner.

"You know, if things get too busy for you, you can always call me to babysit."

"Really?"

"Well, if I get to have a grandson all of a sudden, you can't blame me for wanting to show him off a little. And snag a few more opportunities to squeeze his adorable cheeks. But Clark, wherever he came from, I want you to be careful of," Martha told him. Superman frowned.

"Why?"

"They might want him back." Clark returned home with that chilling thought running through his mind over and over. When he arrived home, he took off the cape and costume, and laid Conner, who had mercifully fallen asleep on the flight home, down in his crib. Anyone who wanted to take Superbaby would have Superman to contend with, Clark thought, and smiled a little. Then he got his justice league communicator. Normally he'd just call Bruce, but he really needed to talk to Batman.

Fortunately, he was more likely to answer at night than during the day.

"Batman here."

"I need to look at the Superbaby's files from Cadmus. Anything you've got. Everything you've got."

"What happened." Batman asked, although it sounded nothing like a question. Clark rubbed the back of his neck. "Superman."

"He has… unexpected powers. I really need to look at those files."

"I'll get Robin to send them over. In fact, I can get him to bring them over," Batman said. In the background, Clark heard a familiar voice cry out: "What? Why?"

"You don't have to do that," Clark started to say, feeling slightly like he might have gotten Robin in trouble. He had a knack for that.

"He'll zeta over in civvies and drop them off. Batman out."

Clark collapsed on the couch and tried to think if he knew anything about Kryptonians having telekinesis, but nothing came to mind. There was a sharp knock on the door, and he opened it to see Dick Grayson looking tired and somewhat annoyed. He had a file folder tucked under his arm.

"Come on in," Clark said.

"I'd say I can't stay, but I actually think I should tell you this myself. Bats and I were going to call you about these files anyways, but he said it was better to say in person," Dick said, ushering Clark to sit down on the couch.

"What is it?" he asked.

"The Superbaby isn't your clone," Dick said. Clark blinked at him.

"That's impossible, he looks just like me," Clark said.

"Yeah, he isn't. Cloning a Kryptonian with human technology is actually kind of impossible. Cadmus had to throw some human DNA into the mix to get it to work. Superbaby isn't your clone, he's your biological son," Dick told him. Clark was suddenly glad that he was sitting down already.