Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice or any of its characters. Really, I don't.

Surprise, surprise! I come bearing a new chapter for this series! And I want to dedicate this to the people who have found and enjoyed this fic since I posted the previous chapter. Thank you so much for taking the time to leave your wonderful reviews and favoriting this. You have no idea how good it feel to see more and more people enjoying this fic along with me.

And, of course, thank you also to the people still keeping up with this fic. I hope you enjoy it!

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Chapter 13: Outburst - Part 1 || Conner & Wally & Bruce.

Superboy watched from the sidelines as Batman and Robin's training continued, frown deepening with each second that passed.

This was wrong. He couldn't be the only one who thought that. He looked away and to the rest of the team, watching the faces around him as they witness the same scene. Even Kid Flash was serious this time, and Black Canary was standing to the side, arms crossed across her chest and eyes fixed on the two figures moving.

Batman and Robin had been sparring together for a long time now and Batman just kept pushing and pushing. Berating Robin again and again for anything he supposedly did wrong, but not saying a word about what he did right.

It was as Batman and Robin finished another round and the older man started listing everything Robin did wrong with his angry growl while Robin drank from his water bottle that Superboy snapped.

"Stop! You can't do that!"

He felt the eyes of everyone in the room turn to him but he didn't care. Robin was nice to him and he didn't deserve to be told everything he did was wrong and that he was worthless. And since everyone else seemed to be too scared of Batman to say something he would do it. He had superpowers and Batman was just human. He could handle him. Or so he hoped.

Batman turned his head slowly away from Robin and looked to where the rest of the team was gathered, Superboy among them. Eyes narrowed to slits behind his cowl, he saw him waver slightly under the attention, but the clone didn't look away.

"Excuse me," He growled.

Superboy curled his fingers into fists at his sides before taking a couple of steps toward Batman. "You can't treat Robin like that. He's just a kid!"

"Hey!" Robin protested loudly, looking at him. Superboy wasn't sure what Robin saw on his face, but the boy blinked, turning serious and giving him a half-smile. "It's cool, Supey. I work better under pressure. Besides, did you see that last move? It was pretty sloppy." He finished with a shake of his head.

"I don't care! You're trying to do better and he just keeps telling you it's wrong." Superboy finished with a glare in Batman's direction. "You act all smug and as if you were better than everyone else just because you know how to fight. Canary is better than you! The whole League is better than you! You don't even have powers! You're just a human!"

The clone realized he may have made a mistake just a few seconds after the words left his mouth, but he couldn't take them back now. Jaw clenched, he forced himself to hold Batman's gaze. It was harder than he would have thought.

The room turned deadly silent then. Nobody dared to breathe, much less move as they witnessed it. They barely dared to look in the vigilante's direction for fear of being caught in the crossfire.

"Dude," Kid Flash muttered softly, jaw slacked. He turned his gaze to Robin, noticing the shocked expression on his face as he looked from Superboy to Batman and back.

"You need to take a walk. Now."

Superboy glared at Batman a moment longer. He was still angry, but he couldn't deny he also felt relieved to get away from the man's glare. He stormed away without another word, punching the wall in a burst of fury before he left the room.

Wally exchanged a look with Dick. He nodded shortly before speeding after Superboy.

"Hey! Big guy, wait up!"

Superboy glared over his shoulder at the speedster but didn't stop. He couldn't. If he stopped he would keep hitting things until he didn't feel this hot and hard thing in his chest anymore. Or he would go back and confront Batman again. The mere thought of the man made Superboy scowl. Now he understood why Superman wanted Batman to train him.

Wally kept sneaking nervous looks at Superboy as they walked, trying to think of something to say to help him calm down. Damn. Maybe Kal should have come instead.

"That was pretty intense, huh?" Kid Flash asked lightly but got no response. "I think that was the first time I ever heard someone talk to Batman like that. Not even Superman does that."

That got the clone's attention, making him pause in his stride. "He deserved it."

"He's not that bad, you know."

Superboy only glared at the speedster.

"Really! I mean, yeah, he was, uh," Kid Flash looked around warily. "He was kind of a jerk and stuff, but he pushes Rob so much because he knows he can do better and Bats wants him to be better. 'Cause Rob needs to be the best so he doesn't get hurt."

The clone frowned, thinking it over as they continued walking.

Wally had to grin when he noticed Superboy had led them straight to the room he had picked as his. Looks like storming to your room after a fight was a teenager thing, no matter if you were half-Kryptonian or human. He wondered if Miss M and Aqualad did the same too. Wally was sure Dick was going to have a kick out of it too as soon as he told him-

"What?" Superboy growled, glaring at him.

Right. He needed to help Supey first. "Nothing. Sorry."

The clone kept glaring at him for a moment before remembering it wasn't Kid Flash he was angry with. Superboy entered the room and didn't say anything when the other boy followed him.

"Doesn't it bother you? The way he treats Robin?"

"Of course it does! I don't like it, but I've learned to accept that's just the way they work," Kid Flash said with a shrug. "I mean, what I told you before is what Rob told me when I asked him about it. And I guess it makes sense, you know. Rob is human just like Batman, and they really need to be on top of their game if they want to keep doing what we do."

Superboy frowned, looking down at his shoes. "He doesn't have to be so mean to Robin to help him be better." He muttered.

"Yeah, he doesn't, but that's just Batman being Batman." The clone glared at him. "Look, I don't like it either, but as long as I don't see Rob being affected by the way Bats acts and he says it's okay, I'm gonna trust him 'cause I know how much Bats cares about him."

"He does?" Superboy asked with a frown.

"Of course!" Wally shouted, getting up from where he had sat down on the bed. "I mean, I know he's awful at showing it pretty much all the time, but he really does. You'll see it too, I promise."

Wally wished he could tell him Bats was pretty much Rob's father in every way but blood, and that the same man that acted ruthless and cold during their training also took Rob for ice-cream or milkshakes and burgers after patrol, went to Dick's mathletic competitions, and used the silly gifts Dick give him for his birthday. But he couldn't say any of that.

Keeping secret identities secret really sucked sometimes.

"I don't understand," Superboy admitted grudgingly.

"I know. And I don't blame you, really. They have a very unusual relationship, but it works for them, so." Wally shrugged. "You just need a little more time to see it."

The seconds ticked by, and Wally could see Superboy's confused expression slowly turn into a worried one, a touch of fear flashing in the blue eyes as they met his.

"Do you think he's going to punish me?" He asked softly, all the anger gone from his voice.

"Punish you?" Kid Flash asked back.

"Yes. You're punished when you do something wrong."

"Uh. I don't think so," Wally said hesitantly, not wanting to scare him more. He'll have to tell Dick to try to get Bats to go easy on the kid. If anyone could do it, it was him. "I mean, he isn't going to be happy about what happened, but he wouldn't go all Batman on you. That's just for the bad guys."

Superboy nodded once. He really hoped Kid Flash was right because it just occurred to him that Batman had the power to take him out of the team and order him to leave the mountain, and he could do it now after the way he disrespected him in front of the team. He really didn't want to have to go.

He liked living here with M'gann and Red Tornado and seeing the others on the mountain all the time.

It was his home. The place where he lived now, and while there was no family he could be part of, he was a member of the team. His team.

Without them, he had nothing. He was nothing.

...

a/n: Kind of a sad ending, yeah, but we know Batman isn't going to kick him out or anything like that so it's all good. Mostly. Any comments about Wally's characterization will be very welcome!

And I'm really sorry for not writing anything new for so long, but I just didn't have the inspiration. A while ago someone told me via PM I wasn't doing a good job showing Superboy's temper, so this idea was born. I've had it in my drafts for a while now but I was able to finish it just recently. Right now I have an idea for the next chapter so hopefully it wouldn't take me too long to get it ready :D