Disclaimer: I do not own either Young Justice or its related characters. Such are the property of DC Comics, Warner Bros. Entertainment and Cartoon Network. I'm just borrowing them for some non-profit entertainment.

Intrepid Reporter

Chapter Two:

"Who does she think she is?"

"Who?" La'gaan asked in utter confusion at his girlfriend's spontaneous outburst.

They had been lounging on the couch in the Cave's common room. The TV was on, but neither had been watching, their attention focused, instead, on each other and the pleasure of lips pressed together, with hands caressing skin and scales. The prime-time program they'd been not watching had ended and the morning news began. Then M'gann had pulled away suddenly with her exclamation.

"That tart from GBS!"

"You're thinking of another woman? While you're kissing me?" He leered at her suggestively. "That's kinda hot."

"La'gaan, I'm serious." She pulled away from him slightly. Not out of his arms, just enough so that he knew the make-out session was over. "Superboy still looks like he's sixteen, who does she think she is going after a sixteen-year-old boy? I'm sure there's some sort of taboo against it here on Earth!"

"Ya know, she doesn't look all that much older than him." The atlantian informed her. "But why does it bother you anyway? He's a big boy, he can take care of himself."

"Because- …He's a member of the Team. I worry about everyone!"

"Are you guys having an argument?"

Both heads turned to see Batgirl and Wonder Girl enter the common room.

"I gotta say, this is a first." Barbara flopped down in an empty chair, Cass leaned on the armrest.

"We weren't 'arguing'." M'gann insisted. "I was just commenting that that reporter from GBS is to old for Superboy and Lagoon Boy disagreed."

"Its really none of our business what he does or doesn't do in his personal life." Insisted La'gann. "Just like it's none of his business what you and I do and don't do."

"I agree with La'gaan." Babs nodded. "Its Kon's personal life. Besides, Tim seems convinced that there's really nothing going on between them. Its all in your perception."

"Hang one, though." Cass crossed her arms over her chest. "I think M'gann's got a point. She's what? Twenty? Twenty-one? Kon's only five. She really is to old for him. It's a little sick."

"See? Thank you!"

"He might only be five-years-old in actuality, but remember, he's got the knowledge and temperament of an adult. …Well, sometimes an adult, other times he can seem like a whiny teenaged emo-bitch. But most of the time, he acts like an adult. So, looking at it from that point of view, I don't see a problem with it."

"But to her eyes he can't look older than a teenager." Cass continued to insist. "Don't you think there must be something wrong with a woman who goes after a guy who looks barely old enough to have reached the age of consent?"

"But the age of consent differs from state to state." La'gaan threw in. "I looked it up when I came to the surface. Here in Rhode Island its only sixteen, so, Superboy does look like he's reached the age of consent."

"See? So no big issue." Babs shrugged. "Besides, think about this for a sec: Kon's gonna look like he's sixteen for his whole life. That's gonna limit his options for dating dramatically. Basically, the only women who'll ever go for him would be teenaged girls like Cass here-"

"Hey!"

"-or middle-aged cougars. Tana Moon of GBS is still a bit young to fit the 'cougar' label, but, hey, to each their own. And if she gives Kon a chance at happiness, we –as his friends- should support them."

"I think he could do better." M'gann insisted.

"I agree!" Cass nodded.

The conversation might have continued. But Karen entered at that moment and commanded everyone's attention. "Alright, ladies, Nightwing's got a mission for us. So, lets suit-up and get ready for the briefing."

…

"So, Dick's sending a division of the Team to Bialya?" Lois asked as she pored two cups of coffee for herself and Kon. Steam wafted up between them in waves, filling the Lane-Kent apartment with the aroma of freshly brewed beans.

"Yeah." The Superboy took his mug, didn't bother with cream or sugar, and seemed not to notice the piping heat as he sipped it conservatively. "There's supposed to be something underground or some such. He's sending the girls to investigate."

"Does he think Bialya is connected to either the Kroloteans or the mysterious other alien group lurking around?" She added two scoops of sugar and then a quarter-inch of cream, stirred and sipped.

"I don't know." Kon shrugged. "But Dick thought it needed serious investigation and Dick is Team leader." He gave a shrug.

"Any word on Clark and the rest of the Leaguers that went with him to Rimbor?" She had asked this question so casually, but it was a practiced sort of casualness, the kind of tone she usually only reserved for interviews. She missed Clark and was concerned for the outcome of his trial. She knew nothing of Rimborean laws or legal practices and had no idea what her husband was facing. Truth be told, neither did Kon-El.

"No news." He had to tell her soberly. Then, in an attempt to comfort, he added, "I miss him too."

"I know, Kid." She sighed. Then she shook her head and plastered a plastic smile over her face. "It sucks not having him around to wash the dishes and do the laundry."

"Right, 'cause that's all he was good for." Kon played along with her joke. "Not like he ever worked a day-job, paid half the bills and still found time for his hobby of saving the world."

They shared a slight chuckle then lapsed into a contemplative silence.

Kon liked Lois. He would never admit it out loud, but she was much better at being a big sister than Clark was at being a big brother. Of course, this could be due to the fact that she had previous big sister'ing experience with her own younger sister, Lucy. But Kon preferred to think it was because she wasn't afraid to baby you when you needed to be babied or bully you when you needed to be bullied (she also didn't hesitate to try pushing him out of windows when he was being any of the things that –in Lois speak- translated into 'obnoxious bastard'). She was also one of the only people who knew him that hadn't yet asked about Tana Moon from GBS.

That struck him as odd, actually. Lois was almost always gun-ho to jump on any story that was in any way 'Super' related. She was not a gossip columnist, but still liked to be informed on what was being said about whom. If nothing else it would make an amusing anecdote for her to tell Clark when he got back. Then the two of them could double-team him with the teasing. Oh! The teasing! That was another thing that made Lois such a wonderful big sister. ('Wonderful' here may be translated as 'obnoxious bastard'.) Thinking of it that way, Kon was rather glad she wasn't prying into the matter, as everyone else seemed to be. But at the same time, considering that it was Lois, this also scared the snot out of him.

So, he set down his coffee cup and said, "I'm surprised you haven't interrogated me about that GBS reporter yet."

She had set her lap-top up on the counter and had begun proof-reading an article before she emailed it to Perry. Lois did not look up at him when she answered. "No point."

"What? Really?" Not that he was disappointed or anything, on the contrary, Kon was rather relived that she didn't seem to care. But it was just such an un-Lois-like response.

"I already know everything about it." She elaborated and only succeeded in confusing him even further. She corrected an annoyingly common typo, 'form' instead of 'from'; it wasn't nearly as obnoxious as 'lick' instead of 'like' but it still bothered her. After that she continued. "In fact, I probably know more about it than you and Miss Moon do at this juncture. Although… I would like to comment that you are definitely Clark Kent's clone."

"What the hell? I didn't do anything! Why is everyone suddenly saying I got an Intrepid Reporter of 'my own' and commenting how much I take after Clark!"

"Really?" Lois said in her 'get real' voice. She saved the document she was working on and closed the computer. Meeting his eyes, she said, "Kid, pay attention. 'Cause I'm about to tell you your future. Are you ready?"

"Are you psychic now?" He laughed.

"In this instance, yes." She was dead serious. "Here's what's already happened. You've saved her life from a situation of her own making. If it wasn't from her own making then it was something that could have easily been avoided if someone had just acted smarter. Either way, it was just an innocent catastrophe. There was a little light flirting. You gave her the generic 'be more careful next time' line, which she interpreted to mean that you want there to be a 'next time' so that you have an excuse to get your arms around her again."

"What!" He sputtered into his coffee. "That is not true!"

"I'm not saying that's what you meant to imply." She assured him. Lois knew well enough that Kon-El the Superboy was not adept enough to successfully execute even that basic a technique of subtlety. "I'm saying that's how she took it. You, in your innocents and naïveté, -traits you inherited from Clark, by the way- you didn't think anything of it and probably just leapt off to rescue a kitten off a tree or whatever the next crisis was that demanded some super-attention. She, on the other hand, thought to herself, 'Wow, what a handsome and heroic man. That's what a real man should be. I swear, one day, I'm going to find out who he really is and become Mrs. Superman."

Kon raised an eyebrow at the dreamy expression that came over her face as she spoke those last few lines. Reminiscing no, doubt. (She did miss Clark a lot.) "She's not you, Lois." He told her. "Not that I really have any right to comment, since I don't really know her myself. But I'm fairly certain you two are two different people."

"Hush, you." Lois took another sip of her coffee. "That's what's already happened. Now, your future. So long as Clark is off-planet, you're going to keep hanging around town, right? No need to answer, just nod along if I'm right. She's a TV anchor with a nose for news, a penchant for trouble, a willful independence rather like my own, and a very nice figure. –Don't look at me like that, I know you noticed. So long as you're in Metropolis and so long as she keeps being herself, you two are going to keep running into each other. She'll keep flirting. You'll keep dropping the 'next time' phrase. Then, at some point she'll make a move."

"What, like, you think she'd molest me or something?"

"Oh, god, no!" She did a spit-take into her coffee cup. "Well, actually, I don't know. I don't know her. I was thinking she'd probably just ask you what you did with your time when you're not being a hero –that's what I did with Clark- or, if she's bold enough, flat out ask you on a date."

"So, to avoid this scenario you're spinning, all I have to do is either A, leave Metropolis in the hands of the SCU. Or, B, make a point not to say 'next time' when rescuing headstrong female reporters from their own nosiness. Okay. Got it. Thanks."

Lois just shook her head. As Ayn Rand had once said, 'The hardest thing to explain is the glaringly evident which (he) has decided not to see.'

…

The problem with reporters, whether they be journalists or TV anchors, was that they were always at the wrong place at the wrong time. For example, Kon-El had made a point to be in Metropolis this weekend, not to give Lois an update on the Team, but rather to oversee the transfer of a prisoner from Riker's Island, New York, to Stryker's Island, Metropolis. He wasn't a particularly big-time criminal (at least, not by the Superboy's standards), knowing his luck and this city, the guy would probably be exposed to stray wonderanium radiation (not a real thing), get struck by a stray bit of space debris, or suddenly find he was the 'Chosen One' (chosen for what?) while en-rout. –Because that was the sort of stuff that happened in Metropolis.

Kon found a perch on a freight crane that overlooked the whole bay. The Metro PD, in an uncharacteristic bout of foresight, had decided against loading the convict onto the boat at a commercial doc and so there were no surplus civilians –future victims- crowded around the designated doc. Just the police guard, the Stryker's security staff and, of course, an undulating tide of reporters. The Superboy noted that Perry White had sent Ron Troup for this story rather than Lois Lane. Good for him! Ron deserved more recognition at the Planet! (And it would be nice not to have to worry about Lois getting herself into trouble –because he knew she would.)

Then, he saw her in the crowd. No, not Lois. She was covering some union strike for the teachers of the Metro Unified School District. No, it was Tana Moon the Superboy spied in the crowd. His excellent vision zeroing in on her without his conscious thought or even his permission. She had pulled her hair back with an orange plastic clip that matched the same shade as her blazer. Her java skin looked more caramel in the noon sun. Her lips had been painted a shade of red-wine and Kon suddenly decided that he liked her better without make-up. Then he quickly reminded himself that he didn't like her at all, with make-up or without, and forcibly shifted his eyes to something else.

He probably should have kept his eyes on the scene, however. If he had, maybe he would have see the suspicious looking gentleman lurking in the crowd. He would have noticed him weaving his way through the sea of reporters to the front of the line. If he had used his infrared vision, he would have noted that the man's briefcase had a head signature almost the same as the human body temperature. …And, he would have seen this suspicious man, oh, let us call him the Technician for now, he would have seen the Technician slide this case to the convict as he passed.

By the time Superboy did return his attention to the scene –drawn by an exclamation of "Oh my god!" from the crowd- he saw the con pulling a metallic multi-armed vest from the case and donning it with minimal difficulty. Once it was on, however, its multiple robotic arms made quick work of his restraints –and the officers around him. Superboy didn't hesitate. He leapt down to the dock and landed directly in front of techno-vest wearing convict. He didn't say anything, just blocked that man's path.

"And who are you supposed to be?" Asked the con.

"What are you, slow?" Kon shot back. "Do you not know what this S on my chest means? Or do you just not watch the news? I'm Superman's weekend fill-in –Superboy."

"Superboy, huh." He jeered. "You can call me… Sidearm!"

Their battle took them all over the bay. Crashing through concrete jetties, old wooden docks, and container ports for loading freight. The Metro PD had called in the SCU at some point and Dan and Maggie played chasy-chasy with him and Sidearm as their battled raged around the bay. …And just behind the SCU was a contingent of reporters and news cameras, all clamoring to get a clear view of the action and at the front of the line, jogging briskly in a pair of birght orange wedge-heels was Tana Moon, dragging her camera man behind her like a reluctant lap-dog. Lois really had her pegged. A nose for news, a penchant for trouble, and a willful independence. Kon would have also added a certain disregard for personal safety to that list.

The battled ended when Superboy ripped enough of Sidearms multiple prosthetics off so as to render his techno-vest useless. He was carted off by the SCU. Kon looked at the cybernetic appendage he held in his hands and couldn't help but smile to himself, 'Souvenir.'

He was pounced upon by reporters.

"You certainly disarmed him!" Tana Moon pushed her way towards him, her dark eyes sparkling keenly, bright with excitement. "It was lucky you showed up as soon as you had. Did you know this was going to happen?"

A microphone was shoved under his chin. Kon looked down at her, eyes wide with enthusiasm, a slight smile pulling at her red-wine painted lips, the sun giving her java skin that appealing caramel hue. And she was so bold and fearless when trying to get her story –it was very Lois-esque. The Superboy suddenly realized there was a lump in his throat and he swallowed awkwardly.

"No…" He answered. "But I know Metropolis and things like this are bound to happen."

That slight smile of hers widened until she was beaming with admiration. "You showed great forethought in being here at the right time, then."

"I…"

He was cut off by another reporter, an anchor from WLEX. Kon detested WLEX, not just because it was owned by Lex Luthor, but also because… eh, no, he hated the channel because it was owned by Luthor, lets not kid ourselves. "Superboy! Superboy!" He said. "You called yourself 'Superman's weekend fill-in', where has Superman gone? Does his absence have anything to do with the alleged disappearances of other prominent Leaguers such as Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, the Hawks and-"

"I'm not a member of the League." Kon cut him off. "Questions like that would be better directed to Catherine Cobert. If you'll excuse me." He nodded curtly to the WLEX reporter, then gave a slightly more respectful nod to Tana. "Ms. Moon."

…And then leapt away.

…