Disclaimer: I don't own Young League or any of its characters. Shocking, isn't it?
...
Chapter 11: Utility Belt - Part 3 || Bruce & Conner.
Bruce nodded politely in Dinah's direction as he walked past her on his way toward the lounge area of Mount Justice. The team didn't have a mission today, and their training with Canary ended hours ago, so he expected to find them there.
He had been right, and the sight that greeted him almost made him smile. Almost.
The team -minus Artemis, who had left after training- was in the entertainment room, sitting together in the pair of couches placed there. It was plainly obvious mental detection or super hearing had been involved because the TV was turned off, and they were sitting together in total silence, very deliberately not looking his way.
All except Robin, of course, who turned to look at him with a grin.
It was Superboy who alerted the team of Batman's arrival. He had been listening out around the mountain after getting bored with Robin and Kid Flash's argument about the movie they were watching when he heard Batman's designation announcing his arrival.
Wally had jumped out of his seat as soon as he said the words, using his speed to disappear the half empty cans of soda and the bowls of popcorn they had been sharing before dropping back on the couch at the clone's side and scrambling for the remote control to turn the TV off just seconds before the Batman appeared.
"Superboy," Batman called without preamble, ignoring everyone else. "Come with me."
The clone looked up at him when his name was called and stood up dutifully, shooting a quick look down at his team. They not only looked at Superboy, but also exchanged looks among each other. Bruce wouldn't be surprised if they were using M'gann's telepathic link to communicate.
Maybe Bruce should be annoyed about that, but he wasn't. It was good to see they had developed such a tight relationship in a relatively short among of time, even if, like with everything, there was also a potential danger of them becoming too close. He pushed the thought away.
Conner walked slowly as he tried to remember if he had done anything wrong. He was so focused on doing that that he didn't notice someone walking behind him until Batman spoke.
"I called only Superboy."
"I know," Robin replied lightly. "I'm coming of my own free will."
Bruce looked down at Dick, barely stopping himself from crossing his arms over his chest. He said nothing, his posture making it very clear this wasn't up to discussion. Dick knew him well enough to pick at that without him having to say the words, especially since he already knew what this was about.
He needed to have a serious talk with Superboy, and he couldn't afford to have Dick there to distract Superboy or make light of this.
"Fine! I'll just hack into the security cameras later."
Even though he knew the lenses of the cowl would cover it, he still refrained from rolling his eyes. He had no doubt Dick was going to do just that. That may or may not have influenced on his election of the place where he was going to talk with Superboy. There was no surveillance in the living quarters, after all.
Of course, there was the cowl's recording, but it would be his choice to let Dick see it or not. Maybe.
Batman walked away without a word, confident Superboy would follow after him. Annoyingly enough, he had no doubt the team had started interrogating Robin as soon as he was far enough away. Mostly Wally, even if Miss Martian and Aqualad must be curious too.
Superboy walked after Batman, brow furrowing further when rather than led him to the workout room he walked toward the living quarters instead. Batman walked into one of the empty rooms, motioning for him to step inside as well and close the door.
"Here," Bruce said, handling the black box he had picked from the bed to Superboy.
"What is it?" Conner asked, eyeing the box even as he took it.
"Open it," Batman growled.
Bruce kept his eyes trained on Conner's face as he worked to open the box. He saw the moment his eyes widened as he recognized the item inside, his head snapping up just a second later to look at him.
"This is for me?" Conner asked tentatively, flickering his eyes down to the white belt in the box (almost an exact replica of Batman and Robin's) before looking up again. White wasn't the color he would have picked, but he didn't really care about that.
"It is, as long as you're willing to make a serious commitment."
Lips pressed together, Superboy nodded determinedly.
"The most important rule is that you cannot use the belt until I tell you otherwise. Not in the field and not during training with the team. Are we clear?"
"Yes," Conner was quick to agree.
Batman tipped his head. He regarded the boy before him. "At the moment, Robin and I have access to the belt's system too, but once your training moves forward, only you will be able to handle it."
Superboy nodded.
"This isn't a gift, it's a responsibility," Bruce told him plainly. "As such, you will have to undergo training to learn how to use it properly and not turn it into a distraction or disadvantage instead. I will be taking care of that training, and will reserve the right to suspend it if I deemed it necessary."
Conner furrowed his brow, not really happy about that last part. "That's not fair."
Batman glared at him, but he did address the issue. "I spoke with Black Canary about this, and we agree it could be an asset, both for you and the team. However, the training you're currently undergoing for control and combat takes priority and cannot be suspended nor altered, so any other training would be considered additional work that can be discontinued.
"Nerveless, your performance in the base training with Canary and I would determinate how the belt training develops. If the additional workload starts to affect your efficiency, the training would be suspended, at least temporally, until that change."
Superboy glared up at him for a moment, but he eventually nodded. He didn't like it, but there was nothing he could do to change it if he wanted to keep the belt.
Bruce nodded curtly. "Like I told you before, the benefits of handling weapons could extend past an encounter with Kryptonite, but since that's the more pressing matter, we would start with it."
Conner watched him warily. "So you're going to use Kryptonite on me?"
"No. We have a special training room conditioned with red sun lamps in the Watchtower. It doesn't have the same effect as the Kryptonite, but learning to handle weapons without your powers would be a good start."
Superboy blinked slowly, eyebrow knitting together. "I would be allowed into the Watchtower?" From what he had heard from the others, access to the League's headquarter wasn't something obtained lightly. No one in the team had access as far as he knew.
"Under my supervision and with an imitated access, yes."
The clone almost rolled his eyes. Of course.
"We will start the training one day per week, and adjust it accordingly."
"We can start now."
Bruce pressed his lips together to stop a twitch of amusement from showing. "Your willingness to work is commendable, but I have another commitment shortly. We will start on Monday," He added. "For now, you can familiarize yourself with the objects you will find inside. You can ask for Robin's assistance, or perhaps Red Tornado's if he's available, or you can do it on your own."
Conner nodded, running the tip of his fingers carefully over the white material.
"You cannot use the belt, but you can mention or show it to the rest of the team if you want to," Batman conceded after a moment of watching him.
Conner considered that for a moment before deciding against it. As much as he wanted to show the belt to the team, he didn't want them to know about it in case he didn't get to keep it. He didn't want them to know he had failed.
"Very well," Batman said. He wasn't surprised by the negative answer. Had expected it even. "You can keep the belt in your quarters, or you can speak with Canary about placing it on one of the safe lockers in the workout area."
"Here," Conner blurted, looking away from Batman's lenses. "I want to keep it in my room. Please."
"It is your decision, but you cannot use it, even by yourself."
The clone nodded, looking back down at the belt in his hands.
"The white is a base color," Bruce added, pausing just as he had been about to open the door. "You will be able to change it to the color of your choice later on."
With that last comment, Batman left, dark cape billowing behind him and the corner of his lip twitching up for a second.
...
a/n: Yes, Batman just can't make things simple. Is anyone surprised? Anyway, I'm very sorry it took me so long to post this. The truth is, I've had this chapter written for weeks now, but I wasn't entirely happy with the way it came out (I'm still not, btw) but I know I already let you guys wait long enough, so I decided to post it anyway. So please let me know what you think!
Also, this was the last part of this small arc, at least for a while. I received a few comments asking to see Superboy using the belt, and also about Superman's reaction to it, and while I do want to write that at some point, I have other plot bunnies I want to work on right now, so there's that.
But, thank you very much for reading and commenting!