Artemis Crock
Mount Justice
Saturday, October 6th, 2012
Artemis started when the holographic display lit up the floor.
"Alright. Now, everyone, pay attention. We have a lot to cover today and I only have a minute to do it," Black Canary instructed from the middle of the training floor.
"Why? Is there a supervillain summit that you have to break up? A giant robot attacking the city? A radioactive lizard monster from Japan that wants our donuts?" Wally asked. He and Robin shared a grin at the thought.
"No," Black Canary responded, "I was referring to your relatively short attention spans."
Robin, Wally and Kaldur laughed at her response, and Artemis suddenly got the feeling she was missing an inside joke. But the usual feeling of jealousy was missing today. After the last mission, finding out Kaldur knew that there was a mole and having the team almost fall apart from it, Artemis was more than happy to miss out on a few jokes. Anything was better than being at each other's throats and it was obvious everyone else felt the same way.
As Canary began explaining the day's exercises, Artemis' mind kept wandering. She trusted Kaldur. If he hadn't told them the truth because he thought it would just make them paranoid, then the lie was justified. He was right to think it would happen, because it did.
As much as it stung to know that Kaldur had been suspicious of her, she got it. Between Jade, her dad and her mom's old life, Artemis should've been on the other side. Well screw that. Being one of the good guys was so much better. She worked for the freaking Justice League! She'd met Superman, fought giant tigers, traveled across the world, and found a group of friends like she'd never had before.
Most of the time, being a superhero was really fun.
"Artemis, you're with Superboy. Remember what we talked about with your reliance on aggression."
Ugh. As long as that didn't happen.
She walked onto the floor anyways and settled into a fighting stance. Across from her, Conner did the same.
"Want to try number three?" Conner asked.
"Sure," Artemis answered, stretching her neck and shoulders in preparation for the sparring routine.
They moved together.
Superboy lunged out first with a punch at chest height. Artemis slid to the side and followed up with a spinning hook kick. Superboy caught her leg with his elbow and put his hand just above her knee. She jumped as he used the hold to throw her backwards, giving her the momentum to roll when she hit the ground. She popped back up to her feet and they approached each other.
Again, they moved at the same time. Superboy punched and she blocked it with her forearm, redirecting the momentum. With the opening, she swung her elbow across his face and spun with the movement, finishing with a back-kick to his chest. Superboy stumbled backwards, but got his arms up in time to block Artemis' next strike. He kicked out and she jumped over his leg, but his swing caught her across the chest. She managed to keep her balance but now Superboy had the advantage.
He jumped into the air, reaching fifteen feet before plummeting back down. Artemis dove out of the way, ending up behind him. She kicked at the back of his knee and dropped him onto one leg. Superboy reared back as she kicked again, hitting her foot with enough force to knock her over. They jumped up at the same time and the fight continued.
They traded blows. Artemis got some good hits in, but the more she blocked, the more her arms hurt. And Superboy had started bracing against her kicks, so she couldn't get a strong enough attack in. She lunged forwards, aiming a punch at his midsection. He was ready.
The next thing Artemis knew, his foot hooked around her ankle and her momentum— plus a strong push— hurled her to the ground.
"Fail. Artemis, B-07," the computer announced.
"Wow. What a shocker," she muttered in response to the computer, accepting his outstretched hand to be pulled back onto her feet. Conner shrugged, doing his best not to look smug and failing pretty badly.
"You didn't do that badly."
"Thanks, Conner. That really means a lot," she teased, rolling her eyes. He grinned back at her. Black Canary pulled up the hologram depicting their sparring match.
"Good work, both of you. Conner's right, Artemis. You did a very good job," she turned to the rest of the team, "Now can anyone tell me where Artemis went wrong?"
Robin's hand shot into the air, "She had to spar with Superboy!"
Kid Flash snickered. Black Canary beat her to a response.
"Very funny. You of all people should know how important it is to train against opponents that are much stronger than you, Robin. In a real battle, the experience could give you the slightest advantage to defeat or stall a stronger opponent until help can arrive."
"You sound like Batman," Robin teased.
"Well, Batman is right," she crossed her arms and grinned, "Now can you actually answer the question please?"
"She let him get too many hits in. She should have taken advantage of the fact that Superboy always waits before he throws a punch to get out of the way."
"I don't!" Superboy retorted, crossing his arms angrily.
"Except you do," Robin raised a finger towards the hologram, swiping backwards to rewind the video a few seconds, "Right here. You pull back your fist here, but it's another half second before you actually punch. That's enough time for Artemis to duck, move back or land a blow like she did right there. You're still telegraphing everything."
Artemis couldn't help but smile when the recording shows her spinning under Superboy's arm and landing a kick on his solar-plexus.
"Good," Canary said, turning to the team again, "Learning to read your opponent's movements is something I want you all to work on. If you can see what the enemy wants to do, you can react and counter it."
Kid Flash raises his hand in the air, "So, and this is purely theoretical, if someone tries to go against a much stronger opponent, like Rob facing off against Superman, would there be anything that he could do or would he basically just be bird food? Ow!"
Robin glowered after slapping his friend on the arm, "I know how to fight against someone stronger than me. I spar with Batman every day."
"So you think you could take on Superman?"
"I'd do better against him than you could. At least I'm not in danger of tripping myself."
"Dude! I could totally last longer than you in a fight. And I would definitely beat her time against Superboy."
He jerked a finger towards Artemis and she snapped, "Oh yeah, Kid Mouth? Prove it!"
"Fine!" Kid Flash retorted before turning to Superboy, "Don't feel too bad about losing to me."
Superboy rolled his eyes and exchanged a look with Aqualad before moving back onto the mat.
"Just try not to get hurt too badly," Superboy smirked, "Hey Canary, can we make this a little more fun?"
"I don't see why not," their trainer responded, typing into the holographic console. Sections of the floor randomly began to rise and fall, creating a landscape of crevices and hills and general obstacles to navigate.
"This will be more fun," Kid Flash joked, "Although this match is as good as over."
He was right. Kid Flash had the advantage at first, getting several hits in rapid succession, but he couldn't knock Superboy out of his stance. He zipped back and forth, using the landscape to hit different spots. He did well until Superboy figured out which sections of floor would move, and then it was a different match entirely. He dodged some hits and let some of the others make contact, but it was clear he had a plan. Artemis and Miss Martian giggled when Superboy maneuvered Kid Flash into stepping on an ascending tile and he tripped face-first, definitively ending the match.
The computer announced, "Fail. Kid Flash, B-03."
"Good try," Superboy offered, helping Kid Flash pull his foot out from between a section of uneven tiles.
"Yeah, yeah, I'll beat you next time," he retorted humorously. Robin snickered and Artemis laughed with him.
"Alright, guys. Let's hear it," Black Canary announced.
"Kid Flash was faster and landed more hits, but they didn't do enough to throw Superboy off balance. Superboy also had an easier time navigating the field. The terrain put Kid Flash at a big disadvantage," Artemis said.
"It was unfair to change the environment. It gave Superboy a huge advantage," Miss Martian told Black Canary, but Kid Flash shook his head.
"Nah, I should have been paying more attention."
"You can't always control the battleground," Aqualad added.
"Anyway, I want to see Robin beat that time," Kid Flash joked, leaning against Superboy who shook his head in exasperation but let him do it.
"What, ninety seconds? That's not even hard," Robin retorted. Artemis rolled her eyes at the boys, but Robin seemed serious.
Was he actually going to try it? Sparring practice was one thing, but that wasn't what they were betting on. Superboy was no pushover (literally) and she had the bruises to prove it. This was a terrible idea.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Black Canary asked doubtfully. Apparently, Canary agreed with Artemis.
"Oh yeah. Besides, I'm smaller and faster than he is. He won't be able to touch me."
The Team exchanged worried and dubious glances, but the thirteen-year-old refused to budge. Miss Martian bit her lip. Robin met her gaze and nodded, giving her an easy smile.
"Alright," Black Canary agreed hesitantly, resetting the training floor to its normal conditions. They waited for the training pad to return to normal before walking out. Conner settled into a fighting stance, but Robin just nodded his head.
"Whenever you're ready," he called.
Canary nodded, and the fight started. Conner threw the first punch, not surprised when Robin side-stepped. He swung again, holding back the majority of his strength and again, Robin moved away. They both froze for a few seconds, watching each other. Then Robin moved forwards and Superboy let a fist fly right towards Robin's face. The Boy Wonder moved like lighting, leaping off the ground and flipping. Hands pressed down on Superboy's outstretched arm and then Robin was behind him. A hard kick slammed into the back of his neck and he stumbled forwards. He blinked, whirling around to face the acrobat. Robin was standing in a fighting stance, a smile on his face.
Robin was enjoying this, Artemis realized. He wasn't worried at all. Superboy seemed to realize the same thing, because he rushed forward at full speed. Robin dodged the next series of blows, dancing away from the punches before they had a chance to get near him.
It was incredible. Artemis couldn't count the number of times she thought Conner was about to land a devastating hit only to have Robin dance away.
Conner lunged forwards, swinging his fist in a wide arc. Almost too quickly for her to follow, Robin leaped forwards so that he was parallel to the ground, grabbed Superboy's arm like a bar and swung himself forwards. His heavy boots slammed into the side of Superboy's face while his momentum carried him in a flip around the Kryptonian's arm. Superboy was pulled backwards by the full weight of his opponent, his head going to one side while his arm was dragged the other way and his entire body twisted with Robin's. Superboy landed hard on his stomach with a crash. Robin landed on Superboy's back, still holding his arm in a tight lock. The cave fell silent. Artemis' jaw dropped and she blinked dumbly, trying to process what she had just seen. M'gann and Kaldur gasped in unison. Wally let out a choked, "Dude!"
Out of the corner of her eye, Artemis saw Black Canary's hand fly up to cover her mouth in shock.
Robin just took down Superboy. A thirteen-year-old with no superpowers beat a Kryptonian. Behind her, she could almost feel Kaldur and Wally's surprise, and no small feeling of awe. Robin released the arm and patted Conner on the back. Then he pushed himself back onto his feet and reached down to his teammate, who was gingerly turning himself over.
"It's like I said, Conner," Robin said, holding out a hand to help Superboy up, "Taking down bigger guys is part of the gig."
Superboy grinned good-naturedly and accepted the hand.
"I didn't think you meant me," he muttered and Robin cackled.
"Hey, live and learn."
Kid Flash sped over.
"Dude! That was awesome!"
"Yes, it was," Canary added, putting a hand on her hip, "It looks like you've been holding out on us, Robin."
"You have definitely earned your title, Boy Wonder," Kaldur complimented and Robin blushed.
"Can anybody tell me something that Superboy did wrong?" Black Canary asked the team.
"He failed to adjust to his opponent's strategy," Kaldur said, looking at Superboy apologetically.
"Partially correct," their teacher responded, "Superboy did recognize that certain attack patterns were not working, and he adjusted for that. However, Robin was fighting defensively and patiently. He knew that a single hit could end the match, so he based his strategy on not getting hit. Superboy should have recognized his advantage and fully utilized it. That being said, both of you had excellent form, and I can see a lot of improvement."
Dick Grayson
Wayne Manor
The doorbell rings and Alfred nods appreciatively at their punctuality.
"I'll get it!" Steph and Timmy call at the same time before sprinting out of the room at the same time, trying to beat the other in their race. Cassie waddles after them with the considerable speed of a five-year-old ninja.
I hear them argue all the way to the front door about who gets to open it and I can't stifle the laugh. I set down the last fork as Alfred places a pot on the table with a proper flourish. The smell of chicken and herbs fills the dining room and my mouths waters. My stomach lets out a loud rumble. Jason must have been even hungrier because he's risking Alfred's wrath by scrounging through the cabinets, just out of the kitchen's line of sight.
He digs into a box of crackers and the temptation grows. Alfred wouldn't notice if I just had one, would he?
Alfred straightens, dusting imaginary dirt off his hands.
"Now, if Master Jason would kindly remove himself from the pantry, I believe we are all set."
Jason freezes like a deer in the headlights and I resist the urge to cackle again. It's not about being a mature older brother, it's that making fun of him will lead to him tackling me and then we'll both lose dessert even if it wasn't my fault. When Alfred makes chocolate cake, you don't take chances like that.
"It smells amazing, Alfred!" Uncle Clark compliments as he walks into the dining room with a bowl of salad and three of my siblings hanging off his shoulders and arms.
"I hope we're not late," Aunt Diana adds, holding out a bouquet of flowers. Sheepishly, the Amazonian princess admits, "I wasn't sure what to bring. After last time, I thought it was safer not to bring food."
"No bad bwownies!" Cassie cheers from her perch on Clark's right shoulder.
"I liked them!" Stephanie is quick to defend her idol, hanging upside down with her arms and legs wrapped around his left arm.
"You like everything Auntie Diana makes, Steph. You'd eat haggis if she brought it," Timmy points out matter-of-factly, latched onto the Kryptonian's back.
"What's haggis?" Steph asks, scratching at her blonde hair that hangs freely off her head.
"It's a Scottish delicacy made of a sheep's heart, liver and lungs that's cooked in the lining of a stomach," Clark tells her, trying not to smile when she immediately begins to gag dramatically. He catches my eye and winks. I smile back, but guilt bubbles in my chest. Conner can't get even a minute of Superman's attention, while he's here having dinner with my family. Clark has to at least acknowledge the fact the Conner exists. He might be a clone, but he's a hero and he's my friend.
Alfred must have relieved her of the flowers, because Aunt Diana comes over and gives me a hug. I hug her back. Her grip is strong but it feels really nice. In a lot of ways, she's the closest thing I've had to a mom since I was eight. It's always kind of strange to be around Superman and Wonder Woman. The first time I met them was as Clark Kent and Diana Prince less than a month after I came to Wayne Manor. They were Aunt Diana and Uncle Clark from the beginning. Now, as a (sort of) member of the Justice League, they're older heroes to respect and look up to. When I'm Robin, I can't bug my Uncle Clark to take me to a baseball game over the weekend or beg Aunt Diana to let me ride in her invisible jet. None of my teammates have the same kind of relationship with them. Not even Kaldur, Wally or Roy.
I was the first sidekick; that came with a few perks. But Conner would be so jealous, and everyone else would probably be jealous too if they knew.
"Dinah tells me you've been improving a lot," Diana confides. My heart pounds, but I shrug nonchalantly.
"She's a good teacher, I'm a quick study, it's fun to make everyone else look bad. Take your pick," I toss out a few excuses. It sounds like she's just paying me a complement, but there's also a chance she's trying to figure out where those skills are coming from. She rolls her eyes at my wide-eyed grin, but she doesn't look suspicious.
"I see."
My stomach turns and I take that second to call, "Jay! Come say hi."
Jason glances at the table longingly but shuffles over.
"Hi."
"Sorry about him. He hasn't eaten in two minutes."
"So his empty stomach prevents me from getting a decent greeting?" she teases. Jason shrugs. After a second, he darts in for a quick hug, then pulls back like it never happened. God forbid he ruins his cool guy image.
"Master Bruce should be joining us shortly. In the meantime, if you would all release Mister Kent's limbs, I'm sure he would be most appreciative."
"Awww!" Timmy complains.
"Do we have to?" Steph whines.
"It's alright, guys. I'll take you for a ride after dinner, if it's okay with Alfred," Clark offers. Immediately, four pairs of eyes point at him with laser like focus.
"I will defer to Master Bruce."
"Defer what to me?" Bruce asks, stuffing his cell phone into his pocket.
"If Uncle Clark can give us a ride after dinner!" Steph cuts in before Alfred can answer.
"Do you want him to?" Bruce asks her seriously and she nods excitedly, her head bobbing up and down.
Bruce turns to Clark with an exasperated eye roll.
"You're trying to steal them from me, aren't you?"
"He would never," Diana laughs, flipping her hand in front of Clark's face. She puts her arm around Bruce's shoulders, adding, "Because I'm going to steal them first."
"Alright, alright, enough banter it's food time!" Jason interrupts, pounding his fists into the table.
"Foo!" Cassie squeals, slamming her hands into the table in imitation. Timmy, Steph and I all look at Bruce imploringly.
Bruce shrugs, "It looks like we've been overruled."
It takes some maneuvering, but finally everyone is sitting down, tearing ravenously into the salad and fresh bread.
"How's school going?" Clark asks, "Dick, you just started high school, right?"
"Yup. It's fine."
"You like your classes?"
"Eh."
"I like my classes!" Timmy exclaims.
"You only have one class, Timbo," Jason rolls his eyes.
"Jason…" Bruce says. Jason huffs.
"Sorry, Tim."
"Miss Garra is the best! She makes us cookies every Friday 'cause we have an oven in the room!"
"It's not fair!" Steph whines, "My class never gets any cookies but our classroom is across the hall so every Friday we have to smell them but we don't get any!"
"That is unfair. If one class gets cookies, every class should get some kind of treat," Clark agrees.
"Why does your classroom have an oven?" Diana asks, brow lowered in confusion.
"I dunno," Timmy shrugs.
"Our school used to be a middle school," Steph explains, "But then it got turned into an elementary school and everything got changed around. One of the upstairs bathrooms used to have a shower."
"Oh yeah, I remember that shower!" Jason grins through a mouthful of lettuce and cucumbers, "Mikey and I dared Ally to turn the water on and she flooded the hallway!"
"And then they had an assembly for the whole school to yell at us for being irresponsible," I add, "Didn't they get her on video?"
"Yup! They called her to the principal's office over the loudspeaker. You should have seen her, it was awesome. Mr. Rabil was yelling at her and trying to get her to confess and she started crying that it was an accident and she couldn't figure out how to turn it off and they let her off the hook completely. It was hilarious!"
He looks up to see Bruce, Aunt Diana and Uncle Clark giving him matching expression, with one eyebrow raised in a 'you want to try that again?' look. I decide to get him off the hook, mainly because when it happened, their stunt plus the mandatory assembly got me an extra weekend to study for a math test. That story is part of Gotham Primary Academy's lore. Jason is lucky Bruce doesn't know that the water ended up flooding the downstairs music room and some kids in my year brought down rubber ducks and had duck races.
Another reason to help him out; I won nine dollars in one of the races.
"Didn't Ally transfer to theater school?" I ask.
"No, she got cast as the stand-in for Annie on Broadway," Jason beams, "She says the principal's office was her big debut."
That gets a laugh, and the tension is gone. But judging from the look in Bruce's eye, the statute of limitations for that event is nowhere near expired. For now, though, Uncle Clark is happy to answer Tim's sudden peppering of questions about the tsunami he stopped over Sri Lanka. Alfred has barely taken the lid off the chicken when my phone suddenly buzzes in my pocket.
I pull it out surreptitiously and check it under the table. It's a short text with just the number '8.' And it's from Slade.
Shit.
I'm doomed. Oh, this is a disaster, heavy on the dis. My heart skips a beat and I stuff the phone back into my pocket.
"Um… can I be excused for a second?" I ask.
After a moment of suspicious silence, Bruce nods slowly. I push my chair back and make my way to the bathroom, trying not to break into a run. This is bad. I totally forgot that training with Slade was tonight. With Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman- not to mention Alfred- here's no way I can go without being caught. With shaking fingers, I type, "Aunt and Uncle here. Can we reschedule?"
The next few minutes pass at a snail's pace. My heart pounds and my feet retrace their steps across the tile floor and back. I'm such an idiot. How could I have forgotten? I'm about to pull my hair out when the phone finally buzzes again.
"Friday at 7. 4 hours."
I exhale, letting all the stale air out of my lungs. Catastrophe avoided. I breathe slowly, trying to get my heart rate back down to a normal beat. I run my fingers through my hair to smooth it down which normally helps me calm down. When I go back to the table, everyone is going to want to know what happened. With his super-hearing, Uncle Clark definitely knows my cellphone went off. He'll have told Bruce— who hates cellphones at the table— and then Bruce will want to know what happened.
What am I going to tell them?
Sorry about that, guys, but I had to reschedule my secret mercenary training because I forgot you two were coming over and now there's no way I can sneak out.
Yeah, that would go over well. Oh god, what am I going to tell them? My mind is racing but I can't come up with a decent excuse. I glance down at my phone, scrolling through my messages when Artemis' name catches my eye. I click on it, opening our text conversation. The last time she texted me, she wanted help with her calculus homework. Somehow, I misread it and panicked because I thought "a part five" was "apartment fire," I figured it out pretty quickly, but it's perfect for right now. I walk in front of the mirror and put on my best sheepish face. I take a deep breath, open the bathroom door and make my way down the hall back to the dining room. When I enter, the noise cuts out and everyone looks at me.
"Is everything okay?" Bruce asks, his concern obvious.
I scratch the back of my neck and laugh in embarrassment.
"Yeah, false alarm actually. I misread Arty's text and… well… the good news is that her apartment isn't actually on fire. Sorry about that."
"It happens to the best of us," Uncle Clark says diplomatically, "You wouldn't believe some of the Freudian slips you hear when you're interviewing someone. There was one time with Steven Hawking—"
"Who do Amazons get married to?" Steph asks suddenly, interrupting Clark mid-sentence. He stops dead and blinks at her. Aunt Diana coughs into her hand, but it's the worst pretending-not-to-laugh cough I've ever heard. The knot in my stomach fades as any remaining suspicion disappears. Steph couldn't have come up with a better distraction if she'd been trying.
"Um, I don't…" Uncle Clark tries to answer.
"I thought they married each other," Timmy says, frowning in confusion. Cassie laughs and claps her hands together.
"Mawwied mawwied!"
"Some of them do," Aunt Diana says, mimicking Uncle Clark's diplomatic tone while fighting to keep her smile down, "Although many Amazons don't get married at all. However, my mother's decision to loosen the borders may change that."
"I want to marry an Amazon!" Tim declares.
Jason and I snort.
"Whoever you choose to marry will be very lucky," Aunt Diana smiles adoringly.
"I wanna marry an Amazon too!" Steph announces. Uncle Clark coughs into his drink. Jason and I snort even harder.
"Nobody is marrying anybody for quite some time," Alfred intervenes smoothly, "Given that, I believe the particulars can be saved for another day. Might I suggest that in the meantime, you all adjourn to the living room while I set up dessert?"
"Or…" Aunt Diana suggests in a sing-song voice, "I did bring the invisible jet."
"Can we?!"
"So long as you bring them all back," Bruce warns with a lightness that means he's kidding. Aunt Diana winks and Jason, Tim and Steph charge out of the dining room.
"You're not going with them?" Bruce asks.
I shake my head, "I'm kind of maxed out on flying things right now."
There's only so long I want to be cooped up on a ship, and between the cross-country and international flights on the bioship, I'm good. Plus, the Invisible Jet doesn't have that many seats and it gets really cramped fast. Bruce picks up Cassie from her high chair and Uncle Clark and I follow them to the main living room. Cassie and I play patty-cake on the couch while Bruce and Clark settle into armchairs, discussing some article Lois wrote. It's not long before Cassie starts yawning and her eyes start drooping. She crawls onto my lap and curls up, playing with the strings of my sweatshirt with tiny fingers.
"Uh… Bruce? A little help here?" I ask a few minutes later, when she's totally asleep and my legs are going numb. Bruce looks over and apparently the sight of Cassie sleeping on me is one of those special moments that puts a real, tender smile on his face.
Bruce picks Cassie up gently, and she stirs long enough to look up at him blearily, "Bedtime, princess."
She nods once and her head falls forwards against his chest. Uncle Clark smiles as they leave the room, then he goes back to his magazine. I frown.
I have to say something to him. It's the perfect time. But how do I say it?
I cross my arms and lean forward in my seat. Uncle Clark fidgets with his glasses before looking up from the magazine, grinning at me in his classic, "I'm a mild-mannered reporter don't worry about me" look. I let out a huff.
"You're being an asshole," I say bluntly.
Uncle Clark frowns, his lips pinching together into a thin line. He doesn't respond.
"What do you have against him? Sure, I get it! It sucks that Cadmus stole your DNA and made a clone of you without your consent. That's really high on the list of things that aren't okay. But don't take it out on Conner! He didn't have any more say in this than you did."
"I know that you're trying to help, but you really don't understand the situation."
"So, explain it to me."
"Dick, please, not now."
"Why not now?! You're just going to keep ignoring him if nobody says anything!"
"Dick…"
"No! Conner is my friend and he deserves better! He's smart and funny and a hard worker and he just wants to get to know you! But you don't know any of that because you've never even bothered to try!"
A weird look crosses his face. It's a mix of frustration and hesitancy but at the end, there's a narrowing in his eyes that means he's found a lead that whoever he's interviewing let something slip that they didn't mean to.
"Fine," he says, leaning forwards, suddenly all-business, "I will sit down with Conner and try to get to know him. If..."
I roll my eyes. Of course he wants something.
"If… you tell me who texted you during dinner."
Oh shit.
"W… what are you talking about? I already told you."
"Dick. I can hear your heartbeat. I know what it sounds like when you're lying, and I know what it sounds like when you're on the verge of a panic attack. You want to take a wild guess which of those I've heard tonight?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," I deny, painfully aware that my racing heartbeat couldn't make the lie more obvious.
Uncle Clark doesn't say anything. He just looks at me carefully like I'm about to give him the key to cracking a big story.
"If you don't want to tell me, I won't make you. But I don't want to hear another word about the clone. Alright?"
"No!" anger wins out, "Superboy deserves better than that! Why is it so hard for you to just give him a chance?!"
Uncle Clark takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly.
"Dick, I know he's your friend, but there are things I can't explain to you. Things I'm not prepared to deal with, and it wouldn't be fair to either of us for me to pin those things on him."
"Everyone has stuff that they don't want to deal with, but you don't get a choice!"
"You don't understand. You have no idea what it's like to have a role you never asked for to be pushed onto you!"
My heart pounds and blood rushes to my head. I have no idea what it's like?! Try being forced into a secret apprenticeship with a mercenary who makes you lie to everyone you care about.
"I guess you're right," I sneer, standing up, "I'm probably just not ready to understand. Just like I wasn't ready to know about the Watchtower or join the actual Justice League."
"Look, I know you're mad, and you have every right to be, but please… this is really difficult for me."
"Oh sure, I get it. I'll just tell Conner that his existence is hard for you."
Uncle Clark sighs.
"I can't do this with you right now. We can talk about it later, but I really cannot deal with him right now. I know!" he interrupts me before I can launch into another tirade about how Conner isn't just a problem to be dealt with, "He deserves to be treated well, with good mentorship that can give him what he needs. That just can't be me right now, okay?"
I take a breath, side-eyeing the wall next to me, "Fine. We'll talk about it later."
AN: Robin may not have noticed any, ahem, changes his body may be going through, but everyone else sure has. But you know, I'm sure they'll just leave it alone and not investigate any deeper.