When Superboy woke up the next morning, the closet door was open and Core was nowhere to be seen.

He sighed to himself and got up, wincing when he hit his arm against the side of the bed. He had forgotten about his injury, sleep still clouding his mind. When he looked around, he noticed a folded note on his desk and walked towards it.

If you need me, I'm probably somewhere in the vents. Use something to find me, I guess, if I haven't found you first.

Go eat breakfast. Your team's worried about you.

Ciao.

~Core.

Superboy shook his head at it, tossing it in one of the drawers. He grabbed some clean clothes, taking a quick shower before heading to the kitchen for food. Robin was cooking some eggs, seeing as M'Gann wasn't allowed to cook breakfast for... Reasons. They don't like to talk about it.

"Hey, SB," Robin grinned, giving a two-fingered wave. "Scrambled or over easy?"

"Scrambled," He answered, taking a seat at the bar in the kitchen.

"How're you feeling?"

"Fine. Sore."

"At least it's not as bad as it could have been," The bird shrugged, cracking a few eggs on a pan.

Superboy flashed back to what Core said; "You could have died today," and nodded, "You're right. Sorry… For worrying you guys."

"It's okay, SB. Just try not to do it again, okay?"

"I'll try but no promises."

"Recognize Batman B01. Recognize Black Canary B07. Recognize Red Tornado B04."

The team looked at each other in confusion when the heroes walked in but stood to meet them. Batman had a blank, if not calculating, look on his face as he studied the YJ team one-by-one. He stopped in front of them, his cape following slowly behind, "We have reason to believe Core is here."

"What makes you think that?" Robin immediately questioned, a large grin on his face. "He's totally playing you, isn't he?"

Before Batman could respond, Red Tornado spoke up, "I sense someone in the mountain that is not authorized inside."

"What?" Black Canary turned to the superhero, "Where are they?"

"In the air vents."

Superboy's eyes widened, something that thankfully went unnoticed by all except Robin. The Boy Wonder tilted his head before he mouthed 'oh, shit.'

"It's Core," Batman said without a trace of doubt. "We need to bring him to Justice League Headquarters."

Robin shifted from foot-to-foot before pointing towards one of the halls, "I think I saw him over there! Damn," He whistled, eyebrows raising. "He can still run fast."

"Let's go," Canary and Red Tornado ran off while Batman stayed behind. He looked at the boy and the rest of the young heroes before also walking away.

"SB," Robin spun towards the clone, grabbing one of his arms. "You need to get Core down here and in the Bioship before Bats realizes I lied!"

Superboy was surprised for only a small moment before he pulled out a chair and stood on it, opening up one of the vent covers. He looked inside before raising his hands and clapping, using a bit of his strength.

There was a small thump and a soft 'son of a bitch!' as Core slipped out, landing on the floor agile like a cat. He stood up and brushed off his pants, ignoring the young superheroes for a moment as he turned to Superboy, "Seriously? I know I said to find something to get my attention but that? I almost lost my hearing."

"Core," Robin spoke up, grabbing the nineteen year-old's attention. "The JL are here again. RT sensed you in the vents."

"Sh- Okay, Miss," He turned to M'Gann, who squeaked in surprise. "Where is your alien ship thing?"

"It's called the Bioship," Artemis supplied.

"Yes, that."

"Um, it's right over here."

Five minutes later and Core was in the Bioship and the Justice League members were finished with their search around the mountain. They looked disgruntled and Canary sighed, "He escaped again. I really wish he didn't stay and train with you," She directed the last bit to Batman.

"We'll have to search Headquarters now," The Bat said, ignoring her comment. "He loves to give a chase."

The YJ team watched them go, oddly silent. Finally, Wally spoke once they were fully gone, "We're holding a wanted man in the Bioship."

"He's not a criminal," Robin said, crossing his arms.

"He's still wanted by the League."

"That's true."

When the two young heroes turned around, they were surprised to see Core back in the living room and poking Superboy's arm with an interested expression. He was whispering something to the super, who was nodding seriously. He said something back, which made the nineteen year-old let out a laugh, shaking his head.

"What are you doing?" Wally asked, zooming over to look at the teen of steel's arm.

"I'm making sure his arm's healing correctly," Core answered without looking up, not bothered by the speedster. "And it is. It should be fully healed in three or four days."

"Is that Kryptonian cloth?" Robin wondered, leaning forward to study it.

"Mmhm, swiped it from Superman's place," Core rewrapped it before patting the super's cheek with a grin. "Hey, wanna get some blueberries from the fridge?"

"Sure," The clone stood up, making his way towards the kitchen.

"So, you're the one that's taking the blueberries!" Artemis exclaimed, snapping her fingers.

"Heck yeah! I love 'em!" The nineteen year-old dug through the fridge. He whined when he couldn't find the blueberries but pulled out a container of cheese pizza. "I love blue food. It's fucking awesome."

"I do not understand," Kaldur spoke up, having been quiet the whole time. "Does blue food taste different than the rest?"

"No," Robin shook his head. "Core's always been like that."

"Dude, score!" Said nineteen year-old held up a juice box, holding the straw in between his teeth. He looked up at their weirded-out expressions and raised his eyebrows, "What?"

"Nothing," They shook his head while Wally muttered a 'I thought he'd be more… Mature…'