Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice or any of its characters. Really, I don't.

This is a sequel to the previous chapter, as well as a bit of a sequel to chapter 2 inspired by Turtledude83's comment.

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Chapter 14: Outburst - Part 2 || Bruce & Conner.

Superboy watched M'gann. Her usual smile was gone and her brow was scrunched together under her red bangs. Her lips moved from time to time as she murmured words to herself, all of her attention focused on the book spread out on the counter.

It was a small cookbook, gifted to her by Kid Flash last week.

Robin had joked that Kid Flash only gave it to her because he wanted M'gann to keep making food for him to eat, but Superboy hadn't paid attention to anything else said then. Instead, he focused on the bright smile on M'gann's face as she hugged the book to her chest and the way she kissed the speedster's cheek in thanks.

Superboy had frowned and clenched his fists in anger then. Angry at Kid Flash for giving her the book. Angry at M'gann for reacting like that. But mostly angry at himself for not thinking of giving her a cookbook before the other did.

Everyone knew how much M'gann loved working in the kitchen, but living in the mountain meant Superboy spent a lot of time with her in the kitchen, watching how she sometimes struggled to adapt to Earth's ingredients and the cooking instructions she saw on TV.

"Superboy?" M'gann called softly.

"What?!"

The Martian blinked, obviously surprised by his gruff tone. "Are you okay?"

"Sure," He replied with a shrug of his shoulders. "What is it?"

"Can you hand me the beater, please?"

"The what?"

"The beater. It's the one with all the wire loops."

Superboy made a quick survey of the utensils before picking the right one and handing it over. The answering smile on M'gann's face made him relax further.

It didn't matter if Kid Flash gave her a book or whatever. What mattered was that she almost always asked him to come to assist while she cooked, and the look on her face as she waited for his opinion after letting him taste something she made.

That was enough. That was good.

They were sitting at the counter a few minutes later, heads bent together as they looked over the book while they waited for M'gann's blueberry muffins to come out of the oven when they were interrupted.

Batman studied the two figures hunched together before calling Superboy's name. He couldn't deny a certain pleasure at seeing that even with their powers, neither had noticed his arrival.

"Come with me."

With that order given, Batman stalked away, not bothering to wait to see if he was followed. If it were any other time, Superboy would be left seething with anger at the man's attitude, but after the mess he caused during training three days ago, he was too busy being afraid and nevous for that.

Batman hadn't been back at the mountain until now, and after Robin had pulled him aside and told him pretty much the same things Kid Flash did, Superboy was starting to think he made a terrible mistake.

He risked everything he had over nothing. Because he was a fool.

So he followed Batman dutifully, watching the edge of the dark cape floating behind him and hoping he wouldn't be forced to leave. What could he do so Batman would let him stay?

"I'm sorry," He blurted out, getting no reaction as the man continued walking. "For shouting and causing trouble the other day during training. It wasn't- I shouldn't have acted the way I did."

"You shouldn't have."

Superboy bit his lip to stop from screaming in frustration. He was trying to fix things and Batman was just dismissing his apology. Dismissing him. He was probably happy to finally get rid of him, tired of Superman pushing him to handle his clone.

Bruce could sense the anger rising in the boy, but it wasn't until they reached the empty mission room that he turned to speak to him. "That was not the right way to address any concern. You're allowed to speak up if something bothers you or you're uncomfortable, of course, but you must do so in a non-confrontational manner. Are we clear on that?"

"Yes, sir," Superboy hurried to agree.

"I understand Robin spoke with you about your concerns regarding his training." The clone nodded once. "Then I assume the matter is closed?"

"Yes."

Bruce could tell that wasn't entirely true, but the clone was too nervous- perhaps even afraid to say anything else.

The truth was, Superboy's outburst had awakened every doubt and self-reproach Bruce ever had about the way he handled Robin's training. It was not that he wasn't aware he turned into a real bastard when they trained, but it was necessary, he had to remind himself. It was also relatively easy to push aside his feelings in the matter when the memory of Dick hurt crossed his mind.

Dick needed to be better; always better if he wanted to stay alive. There was no alternative.

Superboy was watching him anxiously, so Bruce forced the thoughts aside and focused on the matter at hand. He could deal with his own issues when he was alone.

"That's not the reason I asked you to come with me," He said as he turned to reach for the small red object he brought from the Batcave. "This is a red solar lamp. Do you know what it does?"

"It takes Superman's powers away," Superboy replied automatically, never taking his eyes away from the red lamp.

"That is correct, but this lamp was specially designed to be of aid rather than a hindrance and it is yours now."

There was no reaction from Superboy.

"We will continue working so you can learn to control your hearing as well as the rest of your powers, of course, but we cannot allow you to keep losing sleep until we make progress in that regard. This is merely a temporary solution. You will also be able to adjust the intensity according to your needs."

Superboy looked down at the lamp but didn't reach for it. "That means I don't have to leave?"

"Why would you have to leave."

Bruce was sure he already knew the answer. It was moments like this that made it clear he needed to do a better job of listening to Dick. He warned him Superboy wasn't dealing well with what happened.

"Because I was bad. Because you're the leader and I defy you."

Of course Superboy would be insecure about his place here. Why wouldn't he giving his history and with the man who should have been his mentor refusing to even speak to him. The team did their best to reassure him, but they didn't have the authority needed to put his fears at ease.

"That will never be reason enough to make you leave the cave. You have a place here, for as long as you want it." He paused, letting that sink in. "But it is important that you learn to follow orders, and take the time to listen and think before reacting."

Superboy watched him, brows furrowed. He didn't understand why they kept insisting he needed training with all the power he had, but if that was what it took for them to let him stay, he would do it.

"Okay."

Batman was holding out the lamp, leaving Superboy no choice but to reach for it.

"Uh. Thanks," He added belatedly.

Bruce had no doubt there was a better way to handle this; reassure Superboy and make him understand the whys and the hows. He also knew he wasn't going to find it. Previous experiences with Dick showed he may even make things worse if he tried, so he only gave him a curt nod before turning to leave the mountain.

He did the best he could, and he trusted Dick and the rest of the team to help Superboy. He was sure Dinah would be willing to speak to him as well.

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a/n: I'm not one hundred percent sure about this chapter, but it was already written and a few people asked about a sequel to the previous one, so I decided to post it anyway. I hope you enjoyed it! And yes, there's a reason Bruce gave him the lamp now that Superboy was worried about being kicked out the team. Actions speak louder than words after all ;)

Also, yay! This story just reached 300 favorites so thank you so much everyone! And don't forget to take the time to let me know what you think!