This was where Watchtower's so-called story was trying to come into focus (and never really did). It's after Conner gets back from Smallville. Again, if you've been following this story, you'll recognize the chapter so you can - and may - ignore it. I swear, I will let you know when the change kicks in.
Conner sighed as he fell back onto his bed in Mount Justice, his duffle bag falling to the floor as his fingers loosened their grip on it. A smile was gracing his face as he thought back to the past month he'd spent in Smallville with the Kent Family.
Well, he'd spent the month mainly with Martha Kent since Clark was so busy in Metropolis rather than at home. As a reporter, Clark had his own strange schedule that had to come first. As a superhero, he had yet another schedule to deal with. Balancing both took talent and time to pull off. Conner knew he had a lot to learn.
He'd had so much fun there though. He'd learned a ton about how to act a bit more normal. He was amazing at farm work apparently, Martha saying he was as much a natural as Clark was. Martha had been so glad to have a helping hand around the place too. She'd gotten so much done in one day once she'd explained what he had to do and how it would help him in the long run.
He was going to have more control all because he'd put nails into wood to fix a few steps in a barn? He learned how Clark had spent his days at the same time? Sounded good to him. So what if he had to figure out what the hell an irrigation ditch was for? He could handle that just fine. Martha had been very supportive of it all too. She'd explained it all calmly and patiently and she also laughed companionably when something went wrong – like the fact he accidentally nearly brought down the barn when the sawdust made him sneeze.
There was – had been – a hole in the side of the barn. Martha had chuckled and told him how to fix it. Then Lana Lang showed up to say hello only to see the teenaged version of Clark, the hole in the barn, and a very cheery Martha. After loosing the ability to speak for a while as Lana pointed at Conner with wide eyes and a gaping mouth, Martha was finally able to stop laughing and explain. Connor had been surprised to say the least; who was Lana and how the hell did she know about Clark?
"Childhood friends," Lana had explained. "I was one of the first to know what Clark could do." She'd chuckled then. "Just so you know, this town has always been a tad weird since the first meteor shower so when I saw you, I thought Clark had been hit with some type of – oh I don't know – ageing ray of some type."
Conner chuckled at the memory. He'd learned a lot about Clark from Lana as well. There was the fact that Martha wasn't going to explain things about her son that Lana would – like how awkward he was in high school. Conner smirked at how easy it was for him to visualize the image of a bumbling, teenaged, Clark Kent. The fact it came almost automatically only served to prove to Conner that he had plenty to learn on how to act human.
He just didn't plan on making himself look like an idiot while doing it.
"I see you're back," Artemis cooed gently from the doorway. Conner sat up and beamed at her. She looked at him with wide eyes, her mask causing them to look bigger than they – probably – were. He chuckled as he bounded over to her.
"You would not believe how much fun I had," he said before waltzing down the hall.
Artemis snorted softly before following him, a smile on her face. She was extremely glad at how pleased Conner was with himself and his life. It was infinitely better than watching him brood over Superman ignoring him…again. When she managed to catch up to him in the recreation room, he was talking to Kaldur, M'Gann, and…Red Arrow. What was he doing here?
"So this Lana girl is like Superman's best friend who will protect his secret?" Roy asked somewhat skeptically. Conner nodded.
"How is she to you?" Kaldur asked in a brotherly way.
He wasn't being mean really. He was just being…protective. It was kind of understandable. In all respects, Conner was technically the youngest of them all but since he seemed to be more mature than he really was; they were all going to act like he was sixteen years old. Though, there were moments that Conner had his moments as a sixteen week old and they all acted like it was their job to help him through whatever was causing him problems.
Hence the little trip up to Gotham for a practice run at being 'normal' rather than extraordinary.
"She's like…what are the words I want? Uh…she's…a big sister kind of," Conner stated as he scratched his head as he tried to figure out how he wanted to express his feelings. Artemis chuckled and sat down on one of the stools. She and Red Arrow shared a glare and then returned their focus to Conner.
"A big sister? Really?" M'Gann asked. "That sounds great! I'm sure you'll fit right in."
"Thanks," Conner chuckled softly as he scratched the back of his neck. Artemis looked at Red Arrow out of the corner of her eyes and couldn't help but see his scrutinizing look. It was like she was looking at an older – pissier – Robin. A pissier Robin with red hair to boot. She let her eyes fall back to Conner's smiling face. It was nice to see that expression on him.
She found herself hoping Superman would get to see that expression. Then Conner suddenly frowned, his blue eyes sweeping over them.
"Where's Robin?" he asked.
"Probably on a mission with Batman for the past two weeks," Roy murmured. "It wouldn't be the first time they've been held up."
"Yeah," M'Gann stated. "I'm sure there's nothing to worry about."
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