Wow! You guys seriously want Superboy to have a utility belt, don't you? I still cannot believe all the wonderful comments I received from the last chapter! It was thanks to your amazing support and interest that inspiration strike and I decided to expand this idea. Enjoy!

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Chapter 10: Utility Belt - Part 2 || Bruce & Conner.

"Alright, boys, girls," Canary called once Kid Flash was back on his feet. "We're done for today. Good work everyone."

As they started walking to where they had put their things, Superboy noticed Batman moved for the first time since he had stepped into the mission room.

Batman arrived at the mountain halfway into the training session, making the eyes of everyone in the room turn to him, and even Black Canary and Artemis paused in their combat. He said nothing, merely sent a curt nod in Canary's direction, which prompted her to continue and made Robin relax where he was standing. He walked silently to the opposite side from where the team was standing and settled to watch the session.

Conner turned to look at Robin, surprised the youngest member of the team was still with them rather than with his mentor now that the training was over. His attention was pulled away when Artemis complained loudly about Kid Flash eating again. A chocolate bar this time.

"Superboy."

The familiar growl made Kid Flash trail off mid-sentence and the group paused on their steps. Conner turned slowly to look back at Batman, but the man said nothing, eyes hidden behind white lenses trailed straight at his face in silent command.

Superboy lowered his eyes, hands curling into fists at his sides. He hadn't done so well during training, but he had kept his temperament in check this time. Mostly. Either way, he hadn't done worse than the rest of the team, so he didn't know why Batman thought he deserved a personal lecture now.

Turning back to the team, Superboy got a warm smile from M'agan, a small nod from a frowning Artemis, thumbs up from Kid Flash (which, according to the speeder, were a sign of support or something like that) Kaldur put a hand on his shoulder for a second, a familiar calm expression of his face. Robin just grinned, a strange kind of grin.

Robin acted strangely a lot, so Conner didn't pay much attention to his reaction. He walked toward Batman, flickering his gaze to where Canary was also watching the scene as he tried to prepare himself not to react to whatever Batman was going to say.

Even when Superboy reached his side Bruce said nothing, turning instead to glare at the rest of the team, the order to leave loud and clear even in the silence. They looked away and hurried along, all except Robin. Of course.

Superboy shifted his weight from foot to foot, watching Batman's glare deepen gradually somehow as Robin's smirk grew little by little. They said nothing, just kept looking at each other for a long time before Robin huffed and turned around, walking away without a word. Superboy blinked, confused about what had just happened.

"I see you have learned to adapt better to Canary's training and are starting to listen to her advice."

"I, uh, yeah."

"Good. You still have a lot to learn before you reach an acceptable level of control and combat skills."

Batman saw Superboy clench his jaw and curl his hands into fists at his sides as he glared daggers at the floor, but the clone didn't say anything. Bruce nodded in approval. It was progress too, and a very important one. Before, the clone would have snapped; yelling or even physically attacking someone when hearing something he didn't like.

"Robin assured me you're interested in acquiring a utility belt," Batman said after a moment of tense silence. "Yet, you have not said anything."

Conner blinked in surprise, not only by the sudden change of topic but also by the topic itself. He hadn't known he was supposed to talk to him about that.

Something he had learned early on-even if he didn't fully understand it-was that sometimes what people said wasn't what they mean. Batman generally gave direct answers to everyone so he hadn't been sure what his comment about 'discussing it later' really meant. And, when the man hadn't brought it up again in the next two weeks, Conner had simply assumed it was his way of dismissing the idea.

"I didn't ask him for one or anything. I- We were just talking about his belt the other day."

"His belt." Bruce echoed.

"Yes. He told me about some of the things he kept there and I was just thinking about it. About how having stuff like that could be useful."

"For you." It wasn't exactly a question, but it wasn't firm enough to be considered an affirmation either. Bruce never doubted Dick's word about this, but he had wanted to discuss the matter with Superboy before making a decision.

"Yes. I was thinking about the times when I get exposed to kryptonite. My powers are gone then and I don't have any way to attack or protect myself." Superboy looked away, eyebrows furrowed. "It distracts the others."

Bruce regarded the teenager before him. He could hear himself telling Clark not too long ago that the issue with Superboy was just about teaching him the basics on how to control his powers. No special tricks or advanced techniques. Just control, plain and simple. He also remembered Clark's resolve about not wanting to give him the tools to beat them later.

He could not say he trusted Superboy. Not with so many blanks yet to be filled about his creation and with so little time of treating the clone. It was absurd to even consider the notion.

Trust was earned and Superboy hadn't earned his yet. But he hadn't done anything to make him doubt his intentions either. And he couldn't deny he was mildly impressed by the fact Superboy was thinking about additional elements to use in battle when just months ago, he claimed that with his powers he didn't need combat training.

It was a remarkable progress in such short time.

Bruce had been thinking about the possibility since Dick mentioned it, of course, and had seen no problem in providing him with tools for him to try if he wanted to. In fact, without Superman's heat vision or flight, it could be useful if he learned to handle weapons to attack at a distance. It would be tricky, teaching him to handle weapons while he still had his powers, but it could be done.

And even if he would be more resourceful, kryptonite would come in handy if they ever needed to stop him. Without his powers, they would face someone skilled but of average or lowered strength.

"There are several other instances where you could benefit from the use additional tools. Even with your powers."

Superboy nodded hesitantly. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to say something right now. He still wasn't used to Batman's long silences and the stares that made him uncomfortable, but he still didn't look away.

"Do you think you could benefit by using additional weapons?"

"I don't know," Conner replied after a moment of thought. "I think- I'll like to think I would."

"And you want a belt. Like Robin's."

Superboy thought about denying it, but in the end decided against it. The worst it could happen was that Batman said he couldn't have one. "Not if it's a problem. I just thought I could be more efficient in battle with it."

After a moment of silence, Batman gave a curt nod. "You can rejoin the rest of your teammates."

Conner watched him for a second before nodding slowly and turning to leave. He was even more confused now.

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a/n: No utility belt for Superboy yet I'm afraid, but you know Batman. He never does anything without thinking it through. But we all know there's a little bird that wouldn't leave him forget about this, even if he wanted to. So, there will be one more chapter to wrap this up, which I hope to have up soon. Thank you again for all the support and I hope you enjoyed it!