Serenaded by pleasant farewells of their peers as they departed and the singing of the zeta tubes which flashed intermittently between each departing group, both the kryptonian and the martian disappeared to further explore the Cave. Conner was still a little a sour that Superman hadn't shown up to welcome him to the Team, but he swallowed the bitter feeling and followed after the excitable martian. As they poked their noses into cupboards and illuminated darkened rooms, all the while the chipper girl chattered about this and that. Amongst the slurry of words, Conner was able to pick out the girl's name—M'gann M'orzz—and her love for Earthen culture (as seen on TV). Eventually, the pair found themselves in the bedroom wing, where they trotted between the empty rooms in search of one that fit their tastes.

"…There are so many rooms to choose from, so I guess we can have our pick" M'gann chirped as she led the way down the corridor to the wing that held the aforementioned bedrooms. "These look great! There's a lot of potential here, I can't wait to put up some posters! Oooh! I have to see if we get television reception in here! I guess before we pick one we should see what the others are…like? Conner?"

"In here" Conner called from the room across the room.

"Wow! This room is the same as the one across the hall! Same size & everything!" M'gann commented when she found the kryptonian in the bigger room across the hall. "Are you going to take this one?"

"I don't know" Conner shrugged, glancing about the empty room with lips pulled into a thin line. Sure, the bigger place might've been a nice fit for anyone else—as told by M'gann's many exclamations—but it was far too much for the clone. Especially since he had essentially spent his whole life inside a test tube. Instead, Conner retreated from the room and continued down the hall in search of something smaller.

"Jeepers! You could fix this place up to by very comfortable!" M'gann continued to chitter on until she eventually realised she was alone. "Wouldn't that be cool! We could be right across the hall from each…other? Hm, I wonder if this if going to be a habit? Conner?"

"In here" Conner called from the end of the hall where what must've once been a storage room, sat.

"Oh" Again, the martian followed after the kryptonian's voice to find him standing in the doorway of the much smaller room. Granted, there was enough room to comfortably move about in it, but still. "Wow! This room is so different from the others. Conner? Are you thinking about taking this room? Because the two across the hall from each other are so much big—"

"—I think I'll take this one"

"Oh, okay"

"This feels more comfortable than the other rooms" Conner smiled as M'gann joined him inside the small room. Though with an extra person, it felt more cramped than cozy.

"Wow—whew! Yes, definitely a uh, cozy room" M'gann agreed after a few awkward moments were spent trying to dance around wayward limbs in the tight space. Eventually, she was able to extract herself from the kryptonian and return to the hall, leaving Conner to acquaint himself with the small space.


"Recognised: Martian Manhunter 07" Chirped the Cave computer, announcing the elder martian's departure as his niece ran to greet him.

"Shall we M'gann?" Manhunter greeted with a flutter of his cape.

"Yes!" M'gann beamed as she joined him at the zeta tubes, leaving Conner on his own with only the ever elusive Red Tornado as his only companion.

"Recognised: Ms Martian B05"

"I'll see you soon!" She threw over her shoulder at the clone before the lights swallowed both of them, whole.

After being alone for so long, Conner wasn't sure why the silence suddenly seemed so suffocating without the others there with him. He'd only known them for a short few moments, so why did it hurt to be alone again? Standing alone atop the holo pad, Conner found himself missing Wally's dry puns and groan-inducing quips that he'd shown a penchant for over the last few days he'd spent with the speedster (something that he apparently shared with his mentor as well). Brows furrowed in confusion as he recalled his fondness for Robin's eery laughter whenever he disappeared (though part of him was also reminded of the countless telepathic lessons regarding a certain Gotham jokester with a penchant for laughter) and Aqualad's gentle touch & cool tone that had guided the clone through the nuances of life on the surface. Then there was M'gann's excitable nature and Raven's equally calm one that he felt drawn to; like two sides of the same coin.

"Is something wrong, Superboy?" Red Tornado's electronic tone dragged Conner from his thoughts, bringing him back to reality.

"Hm? What?" Conner blinked dumbly.

"Do you have any questions about the place?"

"Yeah, I'm uh, no…"

"Very well, I must return to the Hall of Justice to retrieve encrypted programs to update a few of the computer systems here at the Cave" Red Tornado threw over his shoulder as he left, carrying a large cargo box with him.

"There's a lot of history here, isn't there?" Conner hummed, stopping the Leaguer's retreat.

"Yes" Red Tornado paused, "This is where it all started. When the Justice League was first formed, this as their base of operations. Mount Justice was hollowed out by Superman and it became the home of the Justice League after a crisis brought them all together. But nowadays, the League uses the Hall of Justice in Washington, DC"

"All of them would be here on a regular basis, huh?" Conner asked, even though his thoughts were more focused on the fact that Superman had built the place he would now call home.

"This was where they would all convene, Superman included" Red Tornado replied, as if he knew the clone was more focused on the elder kryptonian.

"A crisis brought them together? I guess it's kinda like how we came together, then?"

"I apologise, I do not understand the query"

"…Nevermind"

"Very well, I shall return shortly"

"Recognised: Red Tornado 06"

And soon enough, Conner was alone once more, though he was too submerged in his thoughts to notice. He leant against the doorway, mind racing with the jumbled thoughts of the last few days running through his head.

"Hurry! Hurry!"


"Big K, little r! The atomic symbol for Krypton!"


"Superman's clone?!"


"This is wrong"


"Hey guys? He's awake"


"Son, you sure do pack a punch!"


"We only sought to help you…"


"What about…Conner? Y'know, like Kr? Conner? Does that work? I think that works"


"You couldn't wait three days?!"


"I choose…freedom"


"Get on board or get out of the way!"


"Weapon designation: Superboy. A clone force-grown in…sixteen weeks?! From DNA stolen from Superman…"

"Stolen from Superman…"

"Superman…"

"Superman…"

"Superman…"


KLICK KLICK KLICK!

"What—?" Conner's head jerked over towards the sound of computer keys echoing through the cavern. "I thought I was the only one here? Hello?"

"Hahahahaha!" The manic cackle sounded high & loud, nothing what like Robin's laughter.

"Now, I know someone's here!" There was a beat of silence as nothing moved and only Conner's heartbeat responded to his shout. But then the sound of frantic footsteps flashed passed, catching his attention. "Hey!"

"I've got to contact the Justice League!" The strange boy muttered under his breath as he hurried over to the computer console, red vest fluttering behind him. There was no emblem imprinted anywhere upon the boy, that told the clone whom he belonged to—in fact his whole aesthetic reminded him more of the pop culture lessons that he'd been telepathically feed.

"Who are you?" Conner rose his voice as he came out of the shadows. But it was the creak of the floor beneath his feet that caught Red Vest's attention.

"What are you doing here?" Red Vest irritably shot back over his shoulder.

"Do I know you?"

"You're not s'posed to be here!"

"Yes, I am!"

"You can't be here!"

"I'm part of the Team. Is there anyone else here with you? I'm sure they can verify…" Conner blinked as the kid disappeared in the split second he'd turned away. "Where'd that kid go? He was right here…What is going on? SHOW YOURSELF!"

"Hahahahahahahahaha!" That same cackle from before, echoed back from the darkness making the hair on the back of Conner's neck stand on end. How could something so jovial, sound so menacing?

In the blink of an eye the room around him shrank, becoming enshrouded by darkness. For a moment, Conner wondered if Raven was still there, but then he remembered she had left alongside the others.

"This is Snapper calling all members of the Justice League!" Snapper's fingers raced across the computer keys as he dialled any one of the Leaguers who would listen. Alas, none of the calls had yet to be returned.

"Where did—?" By now, Conner's confusion had been replaced by the tension that was running wild in the room. "This doesn't make sense! You—this room—everything keeps disappearing and reappearing! It's—is this place haunted?!"

SMASH!

"What was that?" Snapper's head jerked up towards the noise, eyes blown wide. His fingers had frozen above the keyboard, his shoulders tensed and hunched up around his ears. It was about the stillest he'd been since he'd arrived.

"I don't know" Conner hummed, brows furrowed in thought as he too jerked towards the noise.

"Oh man! I think someone else is in here!" Snapper turned back to the computer with a serious sense of urgency.

"Really?" Conner quirked a brow at the boy's back. "You think that, do you?"

"I need to get the Justice League here, ASAP!"

"I have trouble believing any of this, at this point"

"Hahahahaha!"

"Oh no…!" Snapper breathed in despair when he finally heard the laughter which had been plaguing Conner for most of the day. "What're you doing here?! You're not s'posed to be here! You can't be here!"

"Who are you talking to?!" Conner demanded as the vested boy repeated the same accusations he'd thrown at the kryptonian, over his shoulder at whomever was still hidden in the shadows.

PAF! PAF! PAF! PAF!

"Ugh!" Snapper groaned as he was darts embedded themselves into his spine.

"Ow!" Conner winced as the same happened to himself. The prick of the darts in his chest were annoying, but the feeling of the drug (because what else would paint the metallic tips purple?) as it coursed through his system felt far worse. His lids were suddenly far too heavy, his movements far too sluggish. Snapper too, appeared to be suffering, but unlike Conner the drug seemed to have hit him much harder. Where Conner could still stand, blinking rapidly to clear his vision, Snapper swayed from side-to-side, his speech slurred drunkenly and his eyes struggled to stay open for more than a few moments.

"Isss thehhheeee—" Snapper slurred as he stumbled about drunkenly.

"I guess that answers that question" Conner hummed, as he nonchalantly plucked the darts from his chest. "You can't shoot ghosts"

"Ohhoho!" The cackle changed to a chortle as whomever lay in the shadows crept up behind them. "You're feeling it now, aren'tcha? Loss of co-ordination, difficultly speaking, confusion—it's all part of the effect, y'see. But y'know what'll feel worse?"

"Huh?" Conner turned to the voice only to be hit over the back of the head. His vision became spotted with dark dots, sending him to his knees as he cradled his aching head.

"Awww! Did the lil' boy get a bump on his head?" The voice maliciously cooed. "You led them right to me, y'know"

"You wha—?!" Snapper slurred as he dropped to the floor, eyes slipping shut at last.

"But how?" Conner groaned, "I haven't been anywhere—!"

"—You're a riot kid! But you gotta admit, you didn't see this one coming, did you? Don'tcha just love surprises?" The voice finally stepped out of the shadows to reveal the Joker in a fine two-piece suit. Conner's breath caught in his throat at the sight of that lecherous grin. "You're famous, y'know that? You're going down in history as the guy who sold out the Justice League. Ahahahahaha!"