"This place is huge." Conner said as he looked at the bright orange walls and ceilings. It was certainly more welcoming to him than the dark, dull halls of Mt. Justice.
He felt something akin to superficial nausea at the thought of being shut in again once he had to go back there. He also felt angry at the fact he had been robbed of the fact he was never told of his family.
Jason had been surprised and very genial, treating and calling him his brother like he'd known him since forever. Kara had also been welcoming, treating him with the same disposition she gave Alice. Alice, his sister, his older sister had been absent most for most of the time he'd been here, but she seemed perfectly understanding of what he was going through.
Jason, Kara, and Alice had all accepted him. So yes, he felt very robbed of the people that had accepted him so completely. 'This is my family.' He thought. "It's very…orange."
Kara smiled. "Yeah, but it's nice. Then again, a change of scenery is always nice."
"You have no idea." Conner said dryly.
"Conner! Kara!" Alice yelled and they both saw Alice running toward them at human speed, a tall, blue mech following her.
"Alice." Conner said in greeting.
Alice nodded at him and looked at the mech, while gesturing to Conner. "This is my other little brother, Conner." She then looked back at Conner. "Conner, this is my husband, Blurr."
"Nice- to-meet-you." Blurr said in a high, fast voice.
Conner flinched at the sound, but more so at the fact he could understand him. "Husband?" he repeated. "That is another term for mate, right?"
Alice nodded. "Yeah, and since we're gonna live pretty long lives-hopefully-we're mated for life." She explained. "And trust me, it took a lot for Blurr to want to marry me."
The bit about Blurr being good for Alice came to Conner and he had a feeling that Alice wasn't always so 'calm' as she was now. "I take it he is very brave then."
Kara snickered and Alice looked at him flatly, but surprisingly she didn't look angry. "You haven't even met the 'Cons yet and already you're saying something I've heard them tell me a hundred times already."
"'Cons? Decepticons?" Conner questioned. Alice nodded. "I've heard reports that they're…evil, so why do you sound so familiar with them?"
Alice snorted. "That's not by choice, I'll tell you. It's actually Jason that's friendly with them. Some of them like him, but most just treat him like a pest they can't squish. And the fact that Kara is here has Jason going to their ship all the time."
"Chrysalis,-won't-Jason's-absence-be-noticed-by-his-friends?" Blurr questioned.
There was a moment of silence before Alice broke it. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it, but maybe Jason will be back before they get suspicious enough to realize he's not actually here instead of assuming he's trying to prank them."
The thought of Jason coming back, and him subsequently having to go back, made Conner look down. It was something Kara did not miss. "Conner, what is it?"
"It's just that…" Conner trailed off, but the genuinely concerned look on Kara's face made him continue. "It's too lonely back at Mt. Justice; do I really have to go back when I've gotten my powers-current powers-under control?"
Kara gained a thoughtful look on her face. "I was never able to adopt Alice because Clark was still alive, but if you want, I'll adopt you so you won't have to go back in the dark."
"Adopt me? As in, me becoming your son?" Conner questioned. "But what about…"
"Screw what anyone says." Kara said fiercely. "If Clark doesn't want you, then it's his loss. He doesn't deserve a third chance to be a father." She continued furiously. "I may not be the person you hoped to accept you, but know that no matter what, even if you don't want me to adopt you, I'll always be a phone call away if you need me." She said sincerely.
Conner stared at her; then very carefully, he hugged her. "Thank you."
Kara hugged him back. "Like I said, I'll always be here if you need me."
Jason walked into the Mt. Justice entrance after he'd spent the better half of the day shopping with his mother, though people had stared at him and whispered "Superboy" under their breath. Jason had found that rather annoying, but had ignored it for the most part.
The rare moments he could spend with his mom were sparse ever since he'd gone to live with Alice.
At the moment, he heard hurrying footsteps and looked back to see Megan running towards him, a panicked look on her face.
"There you are! Where have you been, Jason?" she rushed out.
"With my mom, what's going on?" Jason asked.
"It's Batman!" Megan replied. "He wants to speak with you."
"Aw hell." Jason swore. "Where is he?"
Megan looked at him in confusion before she remembered that this wasn't Conner. "He's on the monitor, and since I'm the only one who actually knows you're not Conner, I volunteered to look for you so everyone else wouldn't be suspicious."
"Heh, that was nice of you." Jason said thoughtfully. "But you still didn't answer my question." He pointed out.
Megan blushed. "Oh, follow me."
Jason followed her to an empty room with a computer and saw Batman on the screen. "Where is everyone else?"
"Away, I wanted a private word with you." Batman answered with a pointed look at Megan, who let promptly. There was a beat of silence. "Hello Jason."
Jason tried to show no visible response to his correctly guessed identity. "Jason, who is Jason?" he asked plainly.
Even with the cowl, Jason knew Batman didn't look convinced at his acting. "Before your father inevitably storms Mt. Justice to demand why 'Superboy' has been spotted shopping with Lois Lane, I'm going to give you the opportunity to explain yourself and where the real Superboy is."
"Conner." Jason said acidly. "My brother's name is Conner." He hissed before he began to speak again. "Conner phoned me and we agreed to meet-he said he overheard you and dad talking and heard me and our sister being mentioned and got curious if you were wondering how he knew about us-and after we met, I took him home to meet Kara and Alice." He paused. "How come we were never told about him?"
"The whole explanation first." Batman said.
"Fine, I missed my mom and wanted to see her!" Jason snapped. "Is missing my mom or dad so wrong?"
Batman didn't comment on that before answering Jason's first question. "The reason you were never informed of Superboy's existence was because your felt it was not necessary to notify any of you. He said you may find the fact he has a clone to be shocking."
Jason snorted. "Well that's stupid." He said derisively. "I mean, Conner told me he was a clone and I didn't freak out. And neither did Kara or Alice. He's still my brother." He said resolutely. "And I mean, what's to say dad didn't think Conner was me when he and dad met? I mean, I look almost identical to dad when he was younger, just like Conner." He said huffing. "Not to mention I've been able to fool everyone here that I am Conner, I even tricked the scanner!"
"That is something that will have to be fixed you leave." Batman added.
"So, does this mean you're not gonna rat me out?" Jason asked.
"Where is Superboy?" Batman asked pointedly.
Jason rolled his eyes. "With Kara learning to control his powers. I mean, if dad won't step up, you can count on Kara to." he replied. "So are you gonna rat me out?"
"As you pose no immediate threat other than a reminder to have the security updated, there is no need for your father to be informed of this or anyone else for the time being." Batman replied before his tone turned steely. "Though you will be held accountable for your own actions, because unlike your brother, you fully know what you are capable of, understood?"
There were very few people Jason was genuinely afraid of, but at this moment Batman shot to the top of the list. "Yes, I understand."
