"I need to speak with Superman." Conner stood tall facing the two adult superhumans, seemingly undaunted in his determination.
"Uhhh" Flash looked over at Martian Manhunter curiously.
"I'm sorry Superboy, he's not here right now." Jon replied, his voice strong but monotone. Flash looked around the large room of the Justice League headquarters subconsciously. Superman wasn't there. Flash and Martian were scheduled to monitor the tower tonight. Flash wondered what the Kryptonian might need.
"Well, where is he? I know it's him. He's the reason you didn't tell me." Martian's eyes narrowed and he watched Superboy carefully. The Flash looked between them uncomfortably.
"Wait. What's going on here?" The two aliens didn't respond, watching each other for a moment.
"He's probably at work right now. I'm sure the Kents have his phone number; you could call him when he gets off tonight." Superboy glared at the Martian. Jon made it clear that he knew exactly where Superman was, and knew about the situation with Cadmus from the beginning. It was unsurprising that a mind-reader would know this kind of information, but it frustrated Superboy nonetheless. He was supposed to be the carbon copy of the man of steel, and yet he didn't even know whether he was supposed to be on Earth, in the satellite tower, or off in another dimension. Superboy turned to look at the Flash for a moment. Martian Manhunter wasn't about to tell him anything, and the Flash didn't seem to know. He ran his fingers through his hair quickly in frustration before turning to leave. Flash watched as Superboy flew past the large windows overlooking Earth and disappeared.
"Jon?"
Superboy returned to his home with the Kents. He would have to wait until at least seven before he would be able to call Superman on his home number, and it was unlikely that he would reveal anything to the young Kryptonian anyway. Conner finished his chores and dinner before escaping out to the barn. Thisiswherehegrewup.ThisiswhereSupermanlived.Wheredoesthatleaveme?WheretheHelldoIfitin? He watched as the sun started to set over the farm. TheworldalreadyhadaSuperman.Some days, it seemed to have all the heroes it needed.Whatcouldanyonepossiblyneedwithme?
Later that night:
Bruce sat in the Batcave in front of the computer, his dinner growing cold beside him as Dick nibbled on pieces of chicken. Dick couldn't help but recall the events from the day and wonder if he should tell Batman about Superboy's distress. Superboy had seemed so upset about Cadmus… He couldn't help but feel that upsetting the young man was his fault. How was he supposed to know that Superboy didn't know about the mission's relationship with Cadmus? Sure, they were part of a covert team and information didn't exactly flow freely between Young Justice and the Justice League, but it wasn't exactly like they were hiding anything, right?
"Uhh. Batman?" Dick ventured cautiously. Batman didn't turn around or even notify Dick that he had heard, but Dick hadn't really expected him to. "I was talking to Superboy today… and uhhh" the already elusive train of thought was lost when Bruce turned to face him. He was still wearing the Batsuit from tonight's rounds but he had removed his mask.
"This is about Cadmus?" Bruce ventured. Dick looked startled for a moment before mentally smacking himself. OfcourseBrucewouldknow.Bruceknowseverything… God,howdoeshedothat?"
"Yeah, actually. I might have mentioned that we were dealing with Cadmus in passing and—"
"Superboy didn't take it so well, I presume." Batman seemed completely unfazed.
"No, he didn't. How do you… What's going on? I figured that someone would have told him, especially considering that it relates to the entire reason he exists in the first place!"
"There are some in the Justice League who feel that it may be better to conceal any information from him. They think it would be better to figure out what we're dealing with before informing Superboy."
"Why? What are we looking for anyway? Cadmus is non-operational. They're taken care of, right?" Robin watched his mentor carefully. Justwhatareyouexpectingtofindwhichwouldbeworthkeepinghiminthedark…?"What aren't you telling me… us… him?"
"Cloning is a difficult process, Dick. Even on humans…" Bruce's blue eyes watched Dick's carefully. Bruce was trying to tell him something. "I never told you not to mention anything to him. That's my fault. I'm sorry to put you in that kind of situation."
"You never told me not to mention it… but you knew I would have figured it out by now." HewantedmetotellConner.Whatever'sgoingon,hewantsmetofigureitout.Something'sgoingonandBrucedoesn'twanttocoveritup.