YAY! They're closing in! Now to be sure about the intel...

26 - Found Something You Have, Eh?

"I want to meet this tip of yours," M'gann insisted over the speaker. The entire team was in a conference call soon after Dick made it back to the manor and told Bruce what he learned that afternoon. Needless to say, he was no longer in lockdown from the cave. In order to find and verify the possible location of Superboy's imprisonment, they needed the batcomputer. As soon as they had a list of places the Drakes went to recently and found the 'hospital', they were finding as many signs as possible to verify he was there.

So far everything was looking good. Entertainment items meant for teenaged boys were stashed among the shipping manifests. The new facility had red solar lamps and electrified doors inside its construction plans. Also classified shipments were hand delivered to the location. That meant kryptonite.

Only confusing part: it was a medical research facility, partly acting as a hospital for terminally ill patients suffering from organ failure. The only catch for the patients being there was they had to submit to testing for possible cures. It was Luthor's latest play for the humanitarian award, and it was working. Should have known it was a front. Why was he keeping Conner there?

"Not really an option Megs," Dick told her, already working on hacking into the building's system without being detected. Pretty tricky since it was Luthor's systems instead of others, but he was getting there, slowly. "I talked to him as a civilian, and he's eight. He doesn't do secrets too well."

"But he probably saw something we could use and didn't tell you!" M'gann was very, very anxious about this, and anyone listening in could tell. She really needed to relax. "I could look into his head and-"

"Your uncle's going to take a look into his mind tonight," Bruce informed her as he continued to verify their information. Small things, like packages, food, even bathroom supplies, were going to point them in the right direction. Though little would be suspicious being bought through the hospital, one had to wonder why higher quality of food was being sent there. And games. And designer clothes. Shipping and receiving rarely lied. "He has more practice, with children in particular."

"And he's a friend," the teen insisted. "A really good kid. We don't want him getting hurt."

"I wouldn't hurt him!" She whined back, only for others to step up.

"In your current frame of mind, you may, on accident," Kaldur coolly stated.

"Yeah she wouldn't..." Artemis had started, but stopped partway through their leader's observation. "Oh."

"I'm not saying you do it on purpose M'gann," Dick restated, "just that I don't want to risk a kid's mind. He's a pretty sharp kid, and if you two accidentally compared notes, I'd be toast."

"Hmmm... Toast."

"You're not helping Wally."

"Then don't call me when I'm hungry." There were a few comments about how he's always hungry running around the group call before they got on topic again. "So, how long until we can rescue him?"

"We need to do recon first," Bruce insisted. "Get the lay of the land."

"We know where he is!" M'gann insisted. "Why can't we go after him now?!"

"This is a civilian occupied building," the man insisted, dropping his voice just a little further down. Dick tried not to feel anything during this conversation because he knew exactly how both of them felt. "Critically injured civilians and doctors who specialize in saving them. If we act too quickly, innocents will be hurt or die. We need a plan of action that will minimize casualties and exposure. Without a plan, which has to be followed to the letter, this will be a disaster."

"Heavy on the dis," his partner added in a murmur. "Luthor can get people to believe we're sabotaging his good name with the right footage. This would wreck the League's image, and all of ours individually."

"This has to be an extraction. Just an extraction." Bruce was in Batman mode right then, instructing them as usual. "No one can be seen by the cameras, by the staff, or by anyone currently in residence there. No property damages, no interrogations."

"What if Luthor has some super powered nut job guarding him?" Artemis' question was quite viable. Knowing Lex Luthor, he wouldn't have the clone unguarded. "Do we fight the guard?"

"That is why we're doing surveillance first," the Bat insisted. "To know what we're up against and make a plan that effectively takes care of all possibilities while accomplishing a single goal."

"Sound planning," Kaldur agreed. "What do we need to do?"

"There are only two team members capable of performing close surveillance without being identified. Clearly only one of you can control yourself during it." Dick winced in sympathy for M'gann. That was nearly a slap in the face for her. The others either didn't have secret identities or were known to the bad guys for other reasons. "Wallace, you're going inside to shadow one of the doctors."

"Huh?" Many of them had to agree. What?

"It's not unusual for high school students entering college shortly to shadow medical professionals for a few days to see if they really want to go into that field," he explained. It was actually quite simple. "You're the right age and in the right position to qualify without suspicion. Papers and credentials are already being processed, along with a temporary identity. All you have to do is follow a doctor for the day, get the lay of the land, and report back."

"You want me to go undercover?" The idea was pretty hard to get around. He wasn't the best at that kind of work.

"You have the scientific background to ask questions and not sound out of place, and a face Luthor can't identify as a threat." There was a slight smirk on the man's face. "And when we're done with you, only your mother will recognize you."

There was silence for a moment on the other end before Wally admitted what he thought as soon as they made him the central part of their plan. "We are so screwed."

"I see you're enjoying your puzzle."

Conner only looked up briefly before going back to the job he was working on. The picture of a cozy farm in a yellow field looked back to him, with several large holes in it. It was maybe a quarter done, or a fifth. Hard to tell. The thousand piece puzzle was tricky. "Not like I have much else to do. Take it you're done terrorizing people for the day, Metallo?"

"Who says I did at all?" The metal man seemed to smirk at him, smugness in every feature. The tin man liked seeing a hero in confinement. And considering all the fight left this kid, watching him being an obedient lapdog was twice as satisfying. Three times when he remembered this was Superman's clone. "Not everything I do involves people you know."

"What do you want?" The teen gave him an annoyed look, really wishing he could use heat vision or something. All he could do was glare venom at the thing, figuratively.

"The doctors want you for a checkup," Metallo stated simply, thumbing over to the far door. "Apparently there's supposed to be some kind of change in you by now."

Sighing, the clone let go of his next piece and stood up. Great. Another doctor's appointment. He was a lab rat once again. Pushing himself off the table, Conner got to his feet and started towards the double doors leading to the medical part of that building's floor. They had artificial kryptonite around it that turned off whenever he was summoned, and that was when red solar lights turned on beyond them. This exit was on the far side of the apartment, opposite the door lined with real kryptonite leading out of there. He had explored the other side as much as he could before, but every exit out of that part was lined with the green gems. Real or not, they still hurt and he couldn't get past them.

Seeing the lights beyond the door were red and not a hint of green, Conner just kept going, his handler following after. He really was a whipped puppy now and didn't fight back. This was just life.

It wasn't long before he went into one room and took his shirt off so they could start the physical. Doctors surrounded him, put wires on him, and he did as he was told. Everything from running on a treadmill to being poked and prodded until the cows came home. He could almost swear people were watching him through the windows for scientific study as the assessment went forward. He cast the shaded glass a cold look before choosing to ignore them. May as well get this over with.

On the other side of the glass though, a bespectacled young man with raven hair and freckles was trying not to have a panic attack. Conner was alive and well, though nowhere near as spirited as last they saw each other. But there he was, breathing and able.

What was keeping the guy there? All around him were just doctors. Well, the light was red in there so maybe he didn't have his powers. And Batman mentioned artificial kryptonite bracelets. Was that what was on his wrists? Some doors had a strange green lining. Was that the same thing? This was getting scary. Superboy not fighting though was the scariest bit. Since day one he was a fighter. Now he wasn't fighting, at all.

What happened to him?

"Easton!" The shadowing teen jerked his eyes back to the doctor he was supposedly paying attention to. "Stop staring. The patients don't like being on display."

"Sorry," 'Easton' murmured, going forward. He kept looking around every day during the assignment, getting the lay of the land. He only had one day left and was lucky to get this far. "It's just... fascinating."

"The human body usually is. Now come on. There's a lot of paperwork to do."

The teen nodded and followed. "So... what's he being tested for?"

"It's just a physical," the doctor insisted. "I'm not partial to details. More than likely though, he suffers from some kind of organ failure."

"But he's running," 'Easton' pointed out. "I thought really sick people couldn't run without-"

"It was probably caught early or a pre-congenital condition," the man insisted. "May even be recovering after a transplant. It's hard to tell without the facts. Now let's go."

The teen nodded, looking one more time to the clone beyond the glass. When that day's recordings from his glasses entered the computer, he knew of at least eight people who would be ecstatic. Location confirmed. Security established. Layout certain. Conner didn't look like he was in danger so after his cover was done with his stint there, they could make their move. 'Easton Cove' was a fairly good identity and he may need it again.

A/N: recognize 'Easton'? I like giving Wally that name. Now it has a last one. And with Wally's background in science, I though he'd be the best choice for the undercover job. The whole thing could easily blow up in their face, so they had to do this before rescuing conner. What I find most interesting is how placid he is now. The next chapter will show that some more, but it's also kinda a filler. Conner has to know why Lex wanted him back so badly now. So much fun! XD