Murphy's Law kicked in after the notice I gave about re-writing the story. I now have two more people who love the story so now I will have to work even harder to keep them interested. Anyway, Here's the re-write. Please understand, this is the original first chapter divided into three parts so if you read the first chapter, you already know what's happening. I swear, I will let you know when the change kicks in.
Superboy paced his room, arms crossed over his broad chest. He continued to pace not caring that his teammates were watching him warily; waiting for him to finally snap and punch a large hole into on of the walls. He slowed when Red Tornado walked through the room only to start up again with renewed vigor when the android continued on his way. Kid Flash rose from the couch and rushed out after the android only to return shaking his head. The adults were still arguing about what to do with them since their little field trip to Gotham.
It had been a try at letting M'Gann and Superboy work on acting human. Superboy was supposedly going to be getting an identity from Batman sooner or later but it wouldn't mean much if he couldn't at least act the part of a 'normal' teenager. From what he could understand, they had all overheard Robin talking to Batman about names. The one that seemed to have stuck was "Conner" and the team had adopted it happily.
The part of getting to Gotham was easy enough with M'Gann's bioship. They had hidden the ship easily and then they went on to walk the darkening streets of the city. The city as not nearly as bad as the news made it seem. It actually had it's own strange charm; one that was easily shattered. It had been ironic to Superboy that it was a laugh that had made everything crash to the ground in pieces - literally. It been a surprise to find Superman in Gotham fighting a clown but the scene had been lost on Superboy.
He was focused on the boy that had been about to be crushed by a pillar.
Sure he was glad to have his super speed finally but he didn't really care about that. He wasn't proud that he'd gotten yelled at by Superman and protected by a normal civilian. Said civilian was later identified as Bruce Wayne. The boy Superboy had saved was Dick Grayson. He was happy Wayne and a woman who dubbed herself Lois Lane had praised him but it didn't really matter since Superman was not pleased in the least.
"Oh for the love of god shut up!" they heard someone bellow.
They all flinched, those who were sitting sinking into the cushions of their seats. Superboy felt his eyebrow lift and he peeked past the door to find Batman had finally shown up with Red Arrow in tow. Red Arrow was sliding away from the group, his domino mask mostly white as he watched Batman grind Superman down a peg – or five.
"Hey Roy," Wally chuckled once the redheaded archer entered the room. "How's it going?"
"What the hell have I missed around here?" Roy hissed as he joined his friends on the couch. "I was in Star City when Batman suddenly showed up and dragged my ass here!"
"Well at least you got the curtsey call from Batman," Artemis growled. "We were yelled at by Superman because we took training into our own hands."
"What'd you do?" Roy asked, his domino mask facing Wally and Kaldur rather than Artemis. The blonde archer glared at him. How dare he ignore her after all?
"We went to Gotham to work on acting like normal kids," Wally explained quickly. "Besides M'Gann and Kaldur, only Superboy really needs work in that area," he added softly.
"Superboy," Roy sighed. "The clone of the Man of Steel who has no life besides the one you three forced onto him when you broke him out of Cadmus."
"I can hear you," Superboy muttered as he continued to pace.
He ignored the sighs that came from his teammates. He knew they understood the idle threat in those words and he was far more preoccupied with trying to get an idea of weather or not Batman was pissed off at him as well. The very last thing he wanted was Superman on his case again but Batman on his back was even worse in some ways; Batman was paranoid and one could only guess how much so.
"Look," Roy sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "I don't know what the hell happened at the moment so someone fill me in. Now."
"It was a simple trip to Gotham. We were even using a name we'd heard Batman and Robin toss around while talking about Superboy," M'Gann explained. "Conner; I think it fits him!"
Red Arrow sent her soft glare through his domino mask. She chuckled nervously and scratched the back of her neck as she slid behind Kaldur. Red Arrow may not have the same version of the "Bat-glare" that Robin had but then again, the elder boy had his own, patented version.
"Anyway," Kaldur stated calmly, "we went to Gotham to at least let Superboy get an idea of what it's like to act 'normal.' We got there during the night, when most people are out in Gotham, and were passing the park when we found ourselves witnessing something…Odd."
"Odd? In Gotham?" Red Arrow asked. "Sorry but you're going to have to elaborate on that. Gotham itself is insane."
"A clown attacked a charity gig," Artemis interjected. "Superman showed up and started trying to stop the clown. Meanwhile, bombs were going off and the clown was shooting a toy gun that propelled 'BANG' flags like bullets."
"Joker huh?" Red Arrow murmured. "Robin's told me about him. That guy's like Batman's ultimate archenemy isn't he? What was Superman doing there?"
"We're of the mind that his secret identity was at the party or in town and ended up just going. Batman never showed up," Wally explained.
"Nor did Robin," Kaldur muttered, worry seeping into his voice like poison leaching into underground waterways. Red Arrow's mask widened slightly as his brows rose. The redheaded archer then glared at the floor.
"After that?" he questioned.
"Superboy saved Dick Grayson from being squashed by a concrete pillar," M'Gann stated with a smile and a giggle. "Bruce Wayne even thanked him."
"Damn," Roy murmured as he glanced at Superboy who was still pacing, stopping his movements long enough to glance down the hall only to start up again and repeat the cycle. "I guess Wayne's not as emotionally stunted as the gossip rags would have you believe huh?"
"Not from what we saw," Kaldur murmured. "Not that it really matters."
"Why not?" Roy asked. "You saved someone right? You helped out right? What's so wrong about doing your job?"
"Besides the fact we weren't even supposed to leave Mount Justice that night and Superman is still being weird when it comes to Superboy?" Artemis questioned smoothly.
"Yeah, as soon as Joker was in custody – which didn't take long by the way – Superman set into busting our butts," Wally complained. "He actually had the gall to chide us for taking Superboy out of the Mount when we didn't have a mission! The only good thing that came out of it was Superboy now has super speed."
"Yeah! He even said we could have gotten people hurt by taking Superboy out into the world!" Artemis scoffed as she let the original topic continue rolling. "I don't know what Superboy did to the guy but I highly doubt it's a good enough excuse for his behavior and words."
"Man, I thought I had it rough as Speedy," Roy sighed. "Dang Superboy you've got it rough! At least our trainers will at least look at us."
"Roy!" Kaldur yelled.
"Forget it," Superboy muttered though his tone gave away his feelings. "He's got a point; a really sharp one too."
"Sorry," Roy murmured. "I still don't get why Batman dragged my ass here though."
"It may have something to do with Robin not showing up a few nights ago despite Joker showing up at a charity event that was well publicized," Wally suggested. "Maybe Robin was on another mission, got hurt, and Bats is asking you – in his own weird way – to help us out until Robin's better?" The speedster sighed when Roy shot him a questioning look. "Yeah, I don't buy it either," he groaned.
"RECOGNIZED, ROBIN, B01," the computer screamed. The room froze, smiles beginning to grow on their faces – all save for Superboy who was looking down the hall to the Main Hall.
"Holy crap," they heard Green Arrow gasp.
"Whoa kid! What happened to you?" they heard Flash ask.
"Joker happened," Robin's voice growled. "I only came to get a file I left behind," he added, his footsteps beginning to echo off the walls of the hallway. Superboy Stiffened as his youngest teammate brushed past him.
Robin was wearing his usual civilian clothes; black jeans, gray jacket, and red hoodie that hid whatever shirt he was wearing and his almost trademark shades. His head was wrapped in bandages and his movements were stiff, like his ribs weren't where they were supposed to be. His jaw was clenched and his breathing was slightly shaky as he moved, like he was trying to not let tears of pain fall from his eyes.
Red Arrow somehow beat Kid Flash from the couch to Robin's side. He stopped Robin by standing in front of the smaller boy and cutting him off every time he tried to slip by. It helped that Robin was obviously not moving as fast as he could be.
"What the hell happened?" Roy growled as Kid Flash skidded to a halt on Robin's right and Kaldur pulled himself to Robin's left. M'Gann and Artemis sidled up behind him, Artemis glaring while M'Gann looked on worriedly.
"Joker happened," the Boy Wonder repeated. "Get out of my way." With each word, his jaw clenched further and further, his words becoming more and more difficult to discern. Red Arrow glared harder at the shorter boy.
"Bull," he snarled. "Spit it out. What happened?"
"What do you care Speedy?" Robin hissed. "Why are you even here? It can't be because you want into the team so why?"
Roy gritted his teeth and clenched a hand into a fist. Kaldur placed a hand on his shoulder and glanced at Robin like a concerned brother.
"Robin," he began. Robin shot him a glare and he instantly backed off. Robin took the chance to slip past him and disappeared down one of the hallways.
"What is he doing here?" the teens heard Superman question darkly. They felt shivers race up their spines at the sound of the nearly deadly tone Superman – of all people – had just uttered.
"Feel like giving him a reason to not be here?" Batman challenged right back, his tone smirking. "Think about it Superman, he's trained by me. When have I let injuries keep me down and out?"
"He's not you Batman," Superman growled. Superboy glanced down the hall, his blue eyes watching worriedly as the other adults slid away from the top two of the Justice League.
"They're at it again," he heard Green Arrow moan.
"When are they not?" Jon asked softly and in a resigned manner. Green Arrow sighed in understanding. The Martian had a point; those two were usually at each other's throats. It wasn't that they hated each other enough to try to kill, it was just they really didn't – couldn't – see eye to eye on some things.
"I never said he was me," Batman returned. "I just said he was trained by me. If you bothered to notice anything about how he acts around me you would notice he's always trying to get my attention; to impress me."
"I have noticed," Superman stated as his blue eyes glared at the Dark Knight. Batman let loose with a condescending laugh that rolled through The Cave and might as well have shaken the ground beneath their feet. Jon, Green Arrow, Black Canary, Flash, Aquaman's eyes all widened and Superboy could sworn he saw Red Tornado flinch.
"Really?" Batman asked condescendingly once he stopped laughing. "You've noticed it huh? Something so subtle?"
"Subtle?" Superman yelled. "There's nothing subtle about it! He's nearly gotten killed god only knows how many times because of it!"
"Compared to Superboy, Robin's subtle."
The sentence hung in the air heavily, sapping the breath from every person's lungs as well as the open space of The Cave's high ceiling. Superman stared at Batman in shock and Batman was smirking evilly, a dark chuckle seeping from his lips.
"As Robin said, you, Mr. Perfect can't compare to a psychotic like me when it comes to family," Batman snarled as he got very close to Superman, his face in the Man of Steel's. Superman's jaw tightened. "The sad thing is; you at least have a blood relation to your kid."
The last bit was said softly enough for only Superman – or someone with super hearing – to hear. Superboy blinked. What the hell, he thought. Robin's not Batman's son? It's like Red Arrow and Green Arrow then? But…they're so…close…in sync. Even I don't have that kind of relationship with Superman and I'm his freaking clone! How are they not related?
"Back off Batman," Superman growled. Batman smirked again and took a step back.
"Robin had a point you know?" Batman questioned, the smirk never leaving his face. "If you bothered to at least try to get used to him things might get easier; for both of you."
"Enough!" Superman bellowed. "I've told you he's not my problem! He's under your care along with Red Tornado's and Black Canary's!"
"What good is that going to do him when he gets the real powers?" Batman bellowed back without raising his voice a decibel. Superboy felt himself shiver. How could someone yell without raising their voice even the slightest?
"What the hell are you going to do when he gets stronger than he is now?" Batman continued. "What about teaching him about his weaknesses? What are you going to do when he learns that even he can't save someone? What are you going to do if he ends up closing everyone out all because you won't even look at him?"
"Here," Robin stated softly. The teens jumped but managed to not gasp. In Robin's hands was a file that he was holding up to Superboy. The clone took it with a questioning look on his face.
"What is it?" he asked.
"Your name is Conner Kent. You're Clark Kent's sixteen-year-old cousin and you're studying here in Happy Harbor when you're not visiting the folks in Smallville." Robin smirked then. "Or when you're not bogged down with work as Superboy."
Superboy, Conner, blinked in confusion. "Huh?"
"Batman and I put together a basic profile for you to base your identity off of. The Kent family – well two out of three of them – are in the loop on it and are fine with it all. It's not the first time they've taken in a special kid," Robin explained. "Besides, you need someone who'll get Clark off his ass when it comes to your training right?" Robin smiled up at his friend before moving to leave the room.
"Thanks for the save by the way," he added, his voice a soft whisper. Superboy heard him loud and clear though. He watched the Boy Wonder trail down the hall, his movements already getting better, and join Batman. He muttered he was ready to go and the Dynamic Duo shot knowing looks at a slightly shell shocked Superman. The two left in amiable silence that could really only be understood by them and them alone.
Conner glanced at the file in his hands then up to Superman. Their eyes met and he sent the man a glowing smile before turning on his heel and heading to his room.
"Thanks Robin," he murmured with a soft laugh.
If you've already read it, don't review. If haven't I'd love to hear from you.