Robin was sulking, not that he would ever admit to doing something as childish as that. He had gone home to Wayne Manor after the last mission, intent on finishing his school work as fast as possible and then heading back to base. Unfortunately the neglected pile of work took him all night and by the time he had gotten back to headquarters he was disappointed to find it empty. The other teens were off enjoying a rare moment of free time.

He was sprawled out on the couch, channel surfing on the big screen TV when he heard someone approach behind him. He immediately flipped around, springing into a crouch, one hand already reaching for his utility belt.

"Hey! Calm down now, it's only me." It was Superman, standing with his hands up as though anything Robin could have done could actually hurt him. "You gotta watch it with those toys Bruce gave you. They can pack quite a punch." He smiled down at the young boy, trying to hold back a chuckle. The boy was glaring up at him, still crouching.

"Pfft. As if any of this stuff could hurt you. I have a hard enough time sparring with Conner." Robin flopped back on the couch, head tilted back, watching the Man of Steel out of the corner of his eye. He had never been alone with Superman before. In fact, he had hardly ever been this close to the Last Son of Krypton before. Like every member of the League, he was almost impossibly fit, and very tall. He seemed a good bit larger then Bruce was, and broader as well. He idly wondered if Superboy would one day be that tall.

"Conner?" Superman tilted his head slightly, trying to think of a hero with that name.

"Superboy. We call him Conner. Cadmus never gave him a real name and, well, it seemed fitting." Robin turned his head and looked Superman in the eye. "Not that you would know much about him. You hardly ever come around here to help us train." Everyone knew that Superman had been avoiding his clone, and Robin had seen first-hand how upset it made the younger hero.

Superman fought to hide how upset Robin's words made him. He couldn't deny that he had been avoiding Superboy, but he couldn't bring himself to approach the boy. Everything about him seemed to set his teeth on edge, it was unnatural. "Well then. How about I spar with you now? Working with me might help you learn how fight with …Conner…a bit better."

Robin raised an eyebrow. "Really? You'd work with me?" Superman was notorious for almost never practicing, and certainly had never done so with any of the younger heroes before. He never had a sidekick or protégé, and getting to train with him was one of few chances to practice with someone who had almost limitless strength and endurance. "Okay then. Let's start-NOW!" He shouted and rolled off the couch in a smooth motion, pulling out a smoke bomb and tossing it at the alien.

Superman laughed and grabbed through the cloud of black, easily catching a hold of Robin's ankle. "Smoke bombs don't work on me. X-ray vision. Hiding doesn't help." He pulled the boy back by his foot with a quick jerk.

Robin swung himself around and used his free foot to kick at Superman's arm. Using the leverage he pushed himself as far away as he could and snapped his heel back, aiming for Superman's fingers, loosening his grip just enough to pull his foot free. He dove forward into another roll, landing in a low crouch ten or so feet away, throwing knives in hand. He tossed two and then moved in quick, keeping a knife gripped in his hand as he went for the larger man's chest, flinging his whole body into the blow.

The taller hero stepped back and sideways, quickly grabbing the boys wrist and twisting it so that he dropped the blade. The knives Robin had thrown had both missed their mark as he slid to the side. "Fast but not fast enough." He spun Robin by his wrist and slammed him chest first into a nearby wall, the plaster cracking slightly at the impact. It was simple enough to hold the boy there, pressing down on him as he scrambled to find a way out of his grasp.

"Damn it!" Robin kicked his legs back viciously, hitting Superman's shins again and again with his heels. He jerked his shoulders back and forth, trying to dislodge him. "You're too heavy…"

Superman chuckled, leaning a little harder. As he pushed up against the boy he could hear his breath coming shorter and shallower, gasping as his lungs had less and less room to expand. Yet no matter how hard he pressed Robin didn't yield or ask him to stop. Batman's ward simply gritted his teeth and struggled harder, jerking his whole body back and forth. It was sort of pleasant, Clark thought to himself, being able to be this rough on someone. Despite his delicate, almost feminine appearance, Robin was holding up well against his strength. Almost without thought he found himself pressing himself against the boy harder, digging his fingers into his ribs and back of his neck, bruising the pale skin. The small whimpers that escaped the boys throat were cute and he grinned a bit and pushed his fingers harder, drawing another low groan of pain out of him.

"You need me to go a little easier on you, kid?" Superman whispered in Robins ear, sliding his leg in between Robin's thighs and pulling up on his cape, forcing him off the ground. He was enjoying Robin's little gasps of pain, but there was still a nagging voice in the back of his mind warning him not to push the boy too hard.

But Robin simply shook his head, panting as he struggled to get enough air into his lungs to gasp out a quiet "no."

And with that Superman felt his last bit of resolve crumble. He grabbed Robin by his hair and pulled him back roughly, hovering a few inches off the ground, before slamming him into the ground, his heart racing as he heard the air rush out of the boys lungs. The Boy Wonder struggled under him, flipping onto his hands and knees and trying to drag himself out from under the crushing force of the larger man. Superman took full advantage of the position, grabbing him by the arms and wrapping a hand around his neck, applying a steady force against his windpipe.

"You made a mistake in rushing me. You're fast, but I'm a lot stranger then you are. Close quarters aren't going to work to your advantage." He smiled and shifted back onto his haunches, forcing Robin onto his knees, his back pressed up against the mans chest.

Superman reveled in the feeling of the small boy, the smell of sweat and smoke still clinging to his skin. The thin material of his costume allowed him to fully appreciate the way his muscles spasmed under his skin as he tried to wrench himself free of the alien's iron grip.

"What is going on here?"

Superman dropped Robin, jumping back faster then the eye could follow. The Red Tornado was standing in the doorway, watching the scene in front of him.

"Oh nothing much, just showing Robin here some new moves is all. You know how boys like to rough house." Superman chuckled and ran a shaky hand through his hair. He mentally cursed himself for being so distracted, he hadn't heard the android approaching, and now he had no idea how long Tornado had been watching them. He shot a quick glance at Robin, who had pulled himself to his feet. His hair was mussed and he was dripping sweat and covered in a fine layer of plaster dust.

Red Tornado turned slightly to address the boy. "I see. And how was the exercise? Did you find it helpful?"

Robin looked up at Superman and smiled. "Yeah, yeah it was great." He grabbed Superman's cape and pulled him closer. "I'm hoping we can do it again some time soon."

Superman nodded, not trusting himself to respond. "OK, well I have to get going, lots to do. Well, I'll see you soon, Boy Wonder." With that he gave a quick dazzling smile to Red Tornado and sped off down the hall.