Winter's Ballad: Growth & Love

by Cinderella Girl626

All her life Samantha Freya has quietly followed the instructions of those above her. But when the world gives her the chance to be the leader of her own life, will the poise sidekick of Ice Maiden, Winter, break out of her pod of obedience and listen to her own wants? Perhaps, if she gets some help along the way. -Sort of Back-

12. Just Friends

Authors' Note: Let's hope this gets out sometime soon. Hope you all enjoy chapter 12 and it's pretty mellow plot!

Please enjoy reading and review if you can. :3

On with the chapter!

---

-Freya Mansion

July 27th, Star City 7:15 EDT-

"I don't see how this is good news."

Samantha heard the soft squeak of the plush leather seat beneath her as she leaned back, reminding her where she was. It was a compulsion of hers when she heard the inevitable disappointment her father had to make a point of during her status reports.

Or, as he would put it; A more adult input on the matter.

Her fingers rubbed the soft cotton of her outfit, a white summer dress thrown on to combat the growing heat of July and to ease the pain of any tighter clothes pressing against the bruises that still healed across her abdomen.

Had to thank Kobra again for those.

The hidden social tic was a comfort in these kinds of situations, glad that her father couldn't see her doing it from behind his desk. It helped in some way to ease the tenseness from her fathers' demanding gaze. The brown eyes of a business man scanning her presence for an answer to he'd be willing to accept.

"My position on the team is a much higher rank than even I expected father. It may not be the desired responsibility of complete leadership, but the choice was a group effort." Samantha argued, her own brown keeping the steady eye contact of her father across the mahogany desk that sat between them.

"A democratic group decision. A noble and fair one, but you chose to put the team you were placed on in the hands of another. That's what concerns me." Nikolai continued, hands folding onto the desktop.

"There's nothing to be concerned with. Aqualad is a wonderful leader and a great fighter. The team is in capable hands with him at the helm." Samantha insisted, a hand unconsciously combing through her brown locks that rested on her shoulder.

Her fathers' gaze though, only narrowed more at her words. "And what of your own skills?"

A bit caught off guard, Samantha frowned as her hand froze. "I...what do you mean?"

"You speak adamantly that this new team will be successful with Aqualad leading, yet I have witnessed your skills firsthand. While polish is still necessary, your knowledge and experience should easily list you far above most of your team in terms of station of active leader." Pushing his seat back to stand up from his desk, a tired looking Nikolai Freya stepped away, heading to a window that outlooked the buildings of Star City.

"Do you not believe I have taught you well to protect yourself since you've been born?" Nikolai asked, head never turning as he asked his questions.

"No, I'd never father." Samantha answered.

"Have I in any way hindered your life or given you improper education or poor chances to improve yourself physically or mentally?" The older man asked.

"Of course not. You've given me anything and everything I've ever needed, father." Her voice stopped, a frown appearing on her face and eyes downcast. "Why are you asking me such questions? I don't understand." Samantha admitted, a hint of confusion and frustration fluctuating in her voice.

"I ask because I cannot understand the reason for deciding on being second best, Samantha!" Nikolai stated, his voice raising in tone, body turning to to look at his daughter. "For years you have strived to prove to me your capabilities; to throw yourself into danger by becoming a hero and prance around as a vigilante-"

"And I have! And I am not some beginner vigilante either!" Samantha cut her father off, getting up from her seat as her body was getting caught up in her emotions. "I helped rescue Superboy and reveal Cadmus' true intentions. I've stopped a villain from destroying a town, two more from hurting innocents at the mall, ended a weapons trade in the city, defeated a cult leader and cut off a major supply of a potentially dangerous drugs from being distributed to God knows-"

"SILENCE!"

A loud slam of hands crashing to the desktop to accompany the demand, Samantha's voice clenched shut in her throat and the ice user froze in place, the energy formed moments ago snuffed out and the color in her face disappearing.

"Know your manners, young lady. You never interrupt someone when they are speaking." Nikolai spoke, his rage priming to explode. Holding in his wrath from further damaging his professionally calm image, Nikolai took a deep breath.

As calm as the action looked, the emotion of his demand was palpable. Samantha could swear she still heard the ringing of his voice in the small business office.

"Sit. Down."

"Yes, sir."

Fear radiating through her body and a chill running down her spine at the heavy tone her father displayed, the brunette quickly took her seat without protest.

Eyes watching his daughter, Nikolai combed a hand through the strands of his slicked back hair. "As I was saying before you foolishly interrupted me, you say you are ready for the world ahead, yet you won't even use the lessons I have dedicated to teaching you? Instilled within you for this career you pursue?"

Nikolai took a seat back in his chair, relaxing his body from his tirade. Rubbing his eyes to dull the pain from a slowly building headache, Samantha's father places his hands back on his armrest and stares at the inaudible brunette.

"I have asked you to work on becoming a member of the Justice League since you began your tutelage with Ice Maiden. You took an oath and declared you would do just that to make me proud and bring honor to the family name. If that is the case, why decide to take an inferior position on an already smaller scale? To be the commander of rabble who only look to you when the true leader is absent? Where is the honor in being lesser than what you can become? What you were born to be?"

The teen said nothing, her head dipped downwards to hide her expression.

Frowning at the soundless response, Nikolai sighed. "You may speak, Samantha. And look at me when I'm talking to you. Remember your manners."

"I..." Her voice was quiet, still in shock from the fear she'd felt when her father yelled so loudly. Her body shook to its core, words trying to form in her throat to only fall apart in jumbles and weak gasps.

She said those very things. Her father was right about that. She swore she would make him proud by becoming a hero and training to control her powers. The urge to learn to control them had been great, but the chance to make her father; and by extension her mother proud was an opportunity that Samantha was glad to take.

So why did she choose to be second in command of the team when she had the chance to by the teams' leader?

What could she say? Admit her lack of confidence? Her fear of failing and making the wrong choice?

That would only anger her father, a perfectionist, to the core. His lessons always inscribed a certain level of confidence and etiquette. To uphold a certain manner of professionalism and status, whether as a businessman or a hero.

Be strong physically and mentally. Strive to be the best among the best. Become the symbol and goal others wish to attain.

An elitist. Perfect in every way.

No elite would fear failure for they never failed. The best would not be afraid of their choices because the best never made the wrong choices. Hesitation was never a something to think about.

He'd taught her that long enough for her to understand these lessons. Becoming a rational and calculative person as a result.

But in the end something deep inside her knew better in Santa Prisca. If she'd become leader despite her fears, would the mission have ended with as much success as it had? Aqualad was far more capable under pressure than she ever had been.

She'd made the right choice.

So why did it feel like she was still questioning her own judgment? After all, it she truly was born to be the best, wouldn't the decision to make Aqualad the leader be the right one?

She made the decision, so it was the right one. Right?

"Do you have anything to say?" Nikolai asked again, his voice again rising ever so slightly to get the young teens' attention.

Her fingers gripped her dress tightly, her knuckles turning white from the pressure. Slowly, Samantha lifted her head up to look at her father, long dark brown strands framing her heart shaped face.

Anxious eyes stared back into idealistic eyes.

Her father was always so good with words. Able to speak in a way that broke down whatever argument she used against him. Chip away at any semblance of confidence she had and make her question herself. Samantha never had a chance of winning against him.

"I'm sorry I've disappointed you, father."

Once again, an argument with her father ended with her apologizing.

---

"I was so stupid. To think I believed he would be happy with what I told him."

The "conversation" long since over between Samantha and her father, the brunette sat in the dining room of the Freya mansion, her small frame hunched over the table. Her body felt heavy even when sitting in her chair at the head of the table, the seriousness of the father/daughter argument still weighing on her body and mind. Tiredly, Samantha buried her face in her hands, trying to recover whatever confidence she'd had before she'd spoken with her father.

"I happen to think you are a very smart woman, young mistress." Reginald responded, the taller old man busying himself with a tray of hot tea and assorted snacks. "Your achievements for this mission and your newfound position as a leader, whether secondary or not, is a commendable one. You should be proud of what you've accomplished. Especially given the progress you have made in just a month."

Brown eyes moved upwards to observe the butler a few steps away. Though strained from crying and aching from the lost moisture, Samantha moved her bleary gaze back to the tabletop. Placing her hands back onto the tabletop, she moved a finger to brush a stray tear from her cheek.

"Thank you. It's…nice of you to say, Reginald."

Pouring tea into a colorfully decorated tea cup, Reginald placed the small beverage in front of the heartbroken ice user along with a tiny plate of colorful tea cakes. "I only speak the truth to you, young mistress."

Smelling the calming scent of earl gray tea from the steam of her drink, Samantha wrapped her fingers neatly around the cup and stared deep into pool of dark liquid in front of her.

Quietly inspecting the simple actions of the brunette, Reginald softly spoke. "Is the tea not to your liking, miss? I thought earl gray would suit best for the situation seeing as it's your favorite. Along with the tea cakes you usually desire."

"What?" Samantha asked, the question nearly floating out one ear to the other. "No, Reginald. Its wonderful as always, along with the sentiment." She answered, hoping the smile she showed would be enough to stave away her butler's worry. "I'm just thinking. About things. They aren't important enough to need your attention, I assure you."

She didn't want to make the kind older man be an audience to her whining again. He did enough around the house. Being her therapist for another year wasn't in his job description or a duty he needed to uphold.

Maybe she should steer the awkwardness to something else?

"Are you…still willing to listen to me? Before, you said that you wanted to hear about how my mission went when I called." Samantha asked hesitantly, index finger tracing the rim of her cup. "I can tell you some details if you're still interested."

A knowing smile shining back at her, the butler nodded.

"Of course. I'd love to hear, as always."

The ice user felt the soft tug of her lips. Reginald was never asked to be her therapist, someone to listen to her emotional problems. Yet when she'd tell him he could leave her be at her worst, he'd still sit with her and listen.

At least there was someone in her family life she could count on, even for a moment.

And so, an amount of time passed unknown to the two residence of the mansions' dining room. Excited recollections of dangerous and heart pounding battles spoken by the adolescent heroine from across the table, the once tired and emotionally exhausted Samantha Freya slowly but surely regained her spark. What color had drained from her face returned after just a few words with her friendly butler and flourished further as she regaled specific moments in greater detail.

The heroes escapade through the dark jungles of Santa Prisca.

Blocking a bullet and saving Kid Flash from a close call.

The unfortunate team up with Bane and his eventual betrayal.

Being named second in command and formulating the plan of attack against the Cult of Kobra and Sportsmaster.

And so much more Samantha couldn't list in her head.

However, she did minimize a number of slip ups she had made during the mission. As well as skimming the minor detail of Kobra kneeing her in the stomach.

Her wounded chest wouldn't let her forget it, though.

"And you should have seen how Robin and I fought against Kobra. We may not have beaten him, but our team work shone greatly during the fight. Thankfully Robin and I practiced our team up attack well enough to execute when we needed it." Samantha said, taking a sip of her cooling tea to moisten her drying throat. "If only father had seen that. Perhaps…he would have been less severe in his reprimanding. Or that's just wishful thinking on my part." Adding the last bit, the brunette held the cup close to her face to take in the calming scent of the tea leaves.

"Your father is a bit complicated mistress," Reginald spoke, taking a spoon of sugar and placing it within his own cup of tea. Stirring it, he continued. "I've known him for many years and from my experience, your father has a way of looking at people and listening to their words. He's learned to train himself to spot when people are either not putting in the effort or are not using the opportunities life hands them to better themselves." Sipping his sweetened tea, the butler met the ice users' gaze.

"However, I also know you just as well, mistress. And I know you to be a very hard working young woman, added by the special responsibilities you have compared to others your age. So despite your fathers' misgivings, I am sure you had a perfectly good reason to accept second in command for your team. It takes great courage to admit your weaknesses to your fellow allies and improve for their sake. And I am sure your mother would agree with me if she was sitting with us now."

Blushing, Samantha shakes her head. "You give me too much credit, Reginald. But, thank you for being on my side for this." Putting some sugar into her own tea and stirring the contents within, Samantha rose the cup back to her lips. "I really have to thank Aqualad and Superboy for their help. If not for Aqualad's words of wisdom and his offer to teach me, I may not have even thought of taking the position."

Eyebrow raised at the comment, a subtle smile appeared on the face of the older butler. "I see. And what about Superboy?"

Her own brow raised curiously, Samantha closed her eyes to try and hide away from her butlers' gaze, trying her best to appear unphased by the question. "What about him?"

"You didn't mention him a moment ago. Do I presume he did a little more than Aqualad to help dissuade your fears?"

Her nerves tensing up in embarrassment at the carefully worded question, Samantha choked a bit on her tea and carefully swallowed it back down the proper pipe. Grabbing a napkin to wipe her face of any lingering liquid, she cleared her throat.

If there was ever a time to not remember some intimate hand holding, it was when one was drinking hot tea.

"I have no idea what you may be insinuating Reginald, but I can assure nothing inappropriate happened with Superboy and I that would make you believe he did more to ease my worries than Aqualad did," Samantha replied with a professional and orderly tone.

Yeah. You keep up that lie. Lie through your teeth as best as you can.

His smile growing a bit wider, Reginald added, "Something happened. I can tell."

"And how can you tell exactly?" Samantha goaded confidently, assuming her lie had been perfect.

Samantha could swear she saw a twinkle of mischief in her butlers' eyes. "Your eyes narrow down a bit. Like when a cat is eyeing down its prey or when they are angry."

Shoulders jumping a little in irritation, Samantha felt her lips tug downwards to a frown, along with a pout appearing on her face.

"T-They do not!" The brunette exclaimed, already feeling deja vu from the conversation. Realizing she had been caught in her lie, Samantha placed a hand over her embarrassed face.

First Sigrid and now Reginald? Am I really that bad at lying?

The facial tic was definitely not going to help if she needed to go undercover on a mission, that was for sure.

Mental note. Fix terrible lying in front of the mirror when I get the chance.

Samantha sighed to calm her nerves. Getting annoyed wasn't helping her case either, but by now the damage was already done. Reginald knew something had happened. Not any specific type of something, but a something nonetheless.

And at this point, Samantha couldn't just let Reginalds' mind wander to make any assumption.

Better to clear any misconceptions before ill rumors spread, as her father would say.

"He," Samantha started, trying to find the right words to her explanation. "Talked to me. Gave me advice as best as he could. You know how quiet he is Reginald, so I was touched by them. That's all."

"Talked? That is truly all that happened?" Reginald asked, the butlers face showing that he could tell more had gone on.

The ice user held in the urge to groan. Reginald was just like Sigrid. Ready to tease her any moment they had.

"He….mayofheldmyhand. To ease my worries. " Samantha's voice rushed out, grabbing at her cup of tea and taking another drink to save herself from saying any more. Swallowing, the red-faced teen looked pleadingly at her tea buddy. "That's all that happened. There. C-Can we just move on to something else? Please? I don't want father hearing any of this."

"Of course," Reginald answered, chuckling at the loss of composure from the young heiress. "At the very least, I am glad that Superboy is doing better. He was not as sociable as you claim when he first arrived."

Oh, good. The subject is changing.

Her nerves simmering down, Samantha nodded in agreement. "It's not surprising. Everyone is pitching in some way to help him adjust."

She wouldn't call Wally's lounging and lessons on channel surfing the television very important lessons, but if it helped give Superboy some form of entertainment when he was cooped up at the cave, Samantha could admit that anything was useful if used right.

"I'd like to do more for him. He still hasn't had much time out in the world to see how people act, talk, and interact. The team is a good start, but he won't learn anything new with only a few people in the same environment. His learning will become stagnant." Samantha mused, her mind drifting away to ideas.

"Why not just go see him and talk with him more? It seems simple enough to do and I am sure he would enjoy more company." Reginald suggested.

If only it was that easy.

"I would if I could, but after his lecture father demanded I stay in the city. He figured out I had some lingering wounds from the mission, so he wants me close at hand so I don't injure myself further. I'm already in enough hot water for talking back. I'd rather not strain our relationship further today."

Yet she'd do her best to make good on her promise. To teach Superboy and show him the world he'd only seen from images implanted in his mind. Samantha made up her mind after the mission in Santa Prisca. Superboy was her friend, and as his friend, she would do anything she could to give him the life the team had promised him. Lingering feelings and other responsibilities aside.

To her surprise, Reginald displayed a mischievous smile. That was…curious. "What? Do you have some sort of scheme hidden away?"

"Nothing of the sort. I was just wondering why not simply bring Superboy to Star City?"

The brunette felt an eyebrow raise at the simple question. Had…Reginald listened to anything she just said?

"I've already explained why. Father will get angry if I leave the city."

"Only if you leave for a long period of time. You'll just be leaving to grab Superboy and be right back here before he even knows." Explaining the loophole to the younger girl, Reginald finished his cup of tea and smiled cheekily. "And it doesn't hurt to have someone with you to be an alibi of sorts. If you tell your father you'll be with Superboy, it'll most likely ease his uncertainty and allow you a bit more freedom without him calling you for your whereabouts every five minutes."

The two denizens quietly looking at one another in silent observation, Samantha ended the stare off. Throwing a small tea cake into her mouth and swallowing the delectable sweet, the brunette grinned while holding in the urge to laugh out loud and get her fathers' attention.

"Reginald, you're underhanded and evil. I love it."

The butler chuckled too, placing his empty tea cup on his saucer plate. Playfully, he answered back.

"You have no idea, mistress."

---

"You'll keep him busy for me?"

Neatly keeping her long hair in place behind her ears and wrapping her white purse strap over her shoulder, Samantha turned her head back to look at her fellow partner in crime watching her from the limousine. The mansions' dark and exquisite decor replaced by the civilian graffiti and brick walls of Star City the two hid

Their plan had been made and set. Samantha would head off to grab Superboy and take him out on a redo of their trip in Star City that had been ruined before while Reginald distracted her father long enough for her to get back before he tried to find her.

"You have nothing to worry about, my lady. Your father will be busy with some research in his study for a time. By the time he asks for you, you'll most likely already be out on the town." The gray-haired butler answered confidently.

It was simple on paper, but if anything part was misplaced…

This is starting to feel like a recon mission.

"I'll text you when Superboy and I get into the city than." Thankful for the help, Samantha gestured a grateful smile to her butler. "Thank you again, Reginald. You don't have to do anything to help me, but you still do it even when I don't ask."

Shaking his head knowingly, Reginald smiled back. "It's my pleasure to help you, miss Freya. I've been in service to your father ever since you were born and have watched you grow. I only want what's best for you, as does your father. Our positions on the matter may differ, but I know that you going out to enjoy yourself will do far better wonders for you than being cooped up at the mansion. Please do call if you need anything."

Bowing politely to Samantha, Reginald headed back into the plush car, waving goodbye before driving off from the hidden zeta tube point.

Waving back and watching the limousine drive off into the distance, Samantha let her hands fall to her sides and headed into the zeta teleporter. Moving her finger to place her finger on the security pad, Samantha stopped herself.

"Oh, I almost forgot." She muttered, snapping her fingers. Activating like a light switch flicked on, Samantha's long brown locks were bleached out from the roots and downwards in pure white, the color washing away any hint of her original appearance. The familiar chill of her ice powers rolling through her body, the ice user sighed out a breath, chill fog escaping her lips while she pulled out a small compact from her purse.

Opening it to inspect herself to be sure her hair and eyes had completely changed, Samantha clicked her mirror shut and placed it back in her bag, reaching out to the security pad and awaiting the security to identify her.

Good thing it's getting easier to switch between them.

"Recognized. Winter, B04."

Eyes closing shut to shield her retina from the bright light of the transportation, Samantha took short but quick steps forward, her brown strap sandals making little to no noise. Knowing she was at her destination, she stepped out into the base's briefing room, the temperature around her dropping a few degrees in no small part to her powers.

"Wow. Who turned up the AC?"

Head turning towards an all too recognizable voice, Samantha rolled her eyes at Wally who'd appeared beside her out of nowhere in his usual "blink of an eye" fashion. "Haha. I'd say that was very clever of you Wally, but then I'd have to acknowledge that your mind is just as quick as your mouth, which it isn't." She spoke, her head turned ever so slightly to smirk pridefully at Wally.

"Haha to you too." Wally retorted. Green eyes hastily inspecting the white-haired maiden, the red-headed speedster whistled. "Someone looks dressed up today. Are you going out somewhere?"

"A dress doesn't mean a girl is trying to be fancy." Samantha explained, shaking her head at the idea of explaining fashion to the speedster. "But if you must know, I'm planning to go out into Star City to unwind from our mission. Getting nearly shot in the head three times calls for some r&r."

Hearing mention of getting shot, Wally frowned and nervously rubbed his neck. "Hey, I said I was sorry about that."

Unimpressed, Samantha stared at Wally as he attempted to clear himself. "I'll accept the apology once I see some improvement. Such as learning to take some things slowly." She finished, placing a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "Is everyone else here today?"

"Nope! Just us!" Robin joined in, his voice reverberating through the large rooms of the base as he stepped in alongside Superboy. The Boy Wonder was dressed in a black blue t-shirt and dark jeans and added sunglasses, while Superboy went with his usual shirt, jeans, and boots combo.

"Really? Where are M'gann and Kaldur? They're not here?" Samantha asked, curious for her other friends' absence.

"M'gann said she was seeing her uncle." Superboy muttered with a shrug, looking disinterested with the update he spoke.

"And our leader had to go with Aquaman to Atlantis. Something about helping him better his fighting techniques for some future missions." Robin added, jumping in to add some enthusiasm to the conversation. "You need us for something?"

"Well…no, not particularly. Or at least, not everyone." Samantha muttered, frowning a little at the mention of some of the team being gone. Now that she thought about it, was her plan a little selfish? Only asking Superboy to come with and explore the city did sound like an insult to the others. Or that she was giving special treatment to him. She'd need to be objective as a leader.

Maybe it's time to abort this mission before something falls apart.

"Hmmm…That's sounding pretty suspicious." Wally said, leaning in close to Samantha while placing a hand on his chin in thought.

Not enjoying the close proximity, Samantha pushed Wally's face away from hers. "I'm not being suspicious. And why don't you remember personal space?" Wiping her hand of any potential germs, Samantha looked back at her male team mates.

Wally was a nosy person at heart and Robin was a detective through and through. If she didn't want them butting into her business or bugging her about what she was talking about, she'd either have to leave now or reveal what it was she was talking about.

Well, she wasn't going to leave after just getting there.

"If you must know," Samantha began, looking at Wally, "and as I said before when you first asked," Samantha continued, moving her gaze to look at everyone. "I was planning to go into Star City and relax after the mission we had, but since Superboy was probably stuck here again I thought it be more appealing to bring him along than going alone. He could learn more about society, experience events Cadmus only taught him, and interact with other people besides us while he's out there."

Her brain reminding her of the mission a few days ago, Samantha chuckled. "I also owe him a shirt since one get ripped up during the mission."

At this point Samantha knew her attention was drifting to the boy in question. Eyes settling on the taller figure of Superboy, he made no movement or facial expression to indicate he was surprised by her words. It was just his usually stern face staring back at her, although it was lacking any of the animosity or anger it tended to have.

"As long as Superboy is okay with it, of course. We don't have to go." Samantha made sure to mention, eyes drifting away from the super teen.

"However, since we are a team it may be more beneficial if we all go together. We haven't all had much time to spend together outside of missions. Which in there lies the problem." Samantha concluded. "I'd rather not leave M'gann and Kaldur out of any fun."

How would this fare when the rest of the team wasn't around to join?

"Welp, you don't have to worry much about that. As fun as walking around a big city for hours sounds, there's a mecha cartoon marathon and soft seat for my butt already needing my attention." Wally answered, shrugging his shoulders and turning to walk away from the group.

Shaking his head at the speedsters' answer, Robin smiled and shot a dorky finger gun at Samantha. "And unlike sir lays a lot, I've got an appointment to tune up my utility belt. Don't worry about it too much, Sam. We can all get together and do something when we're all here and free."

Or….maybe it would work itself out.

"Oh, okay." Samantha spoke, a little disappointed at the answers from her team. Her idea was a bit hasty, but at least this meant she had more time to actually plan something when the team was together. "Well, I guess it's just you and me again, Superboy." She said, looking at the bored super human.

Waving goodbye to his friends, Robin stuck his tongue out playfully at the snowy haired girl. "You guys have fun doing whatever it is you're doing." The boy wonder said, wiggling his eyebrows in a suggestive manner before sticking a finger close to his mouth, his voice mimicking a gagging noise.

"Wha? Sammy and Supey? Seriously?" Wally's voice echoed through the hall, adding to Robin's comment with hints of exaggerations laced in his words.

Obviously, he was trying to get on her nerves.

She was sad to admit it worked.

The gestures painting a pretty clear picture for what the younger tween was suggesting and finding her impatience growing at added gossip from Wally, Samantha yelled out to the retreating boys. "We're just going into the city. For learning purposes! Nothing else!"

A stuttered answer echoing on the walls of the cave, Samantha only heard the combined laughs of Wally and Robin answer her.

Both boys gone from her sight, Samantha groaned quietly, placing a hand on her forehead for a small chance of comfort against her swelling embarrassment.

Relax. Those two are just messing with you. It's nothing they haven't done before.

"Honestly, those two sometimes." Samantha muttered.

"Are we going?"

Superboys' voice cutting through her moment of discomfort, Samantha whirled around to look over to a confused super clone.

Right. He was still there.

"Sorry. Yeah, we'll get going. I mean, if you still want to." The ice user sputtered out, not really sure what was going on anymore. From her suggestion being given, getting shot down, and the tease from Robin and mutual silence from Superboy, was her plan still in motion at this point?

"I got nothing else to do." Superboy responded blandly, adding a shrug to show he had nothing left to say.

That was…probably going to be the best answer she'd get out of him.

"A-Alright, than." Samantha responded a bit hesitantly, swinging her arm in a joyful motion. "To Star City for some fun filled learning."

I hope this turns out better than last time.

---

-Star City Streets-

July 27th, Star City 8:30 EDT-

"So, Cadmus taught you with those strange Genome creatures right?" Samantha asked, she along with Superboy walking side by side down a quiet sidewalk in Star City, finishing her text to Reginald and sending it.

It was an early morning, but the city was already bustling with people of various places and appearances. Businessmen with briefcases in hand walked with a cellphone glued to their ears, school kids chased one another down a grassy path towards the school bus stops, and others in none of the above categories either sat at cafe's talking with friends or enjoying the early day weather before it grew hotter.

If only Samantha could go back to using her powers. At least she wouldn't cook in the upcoming heat. Sunburn was murder on her light toned skin.

"Mmhmm." Superboy muttered, making no real effort to verbally speak. His eyes moving to objects and people one after another, the clone was more focused on observing all the things that went on around him.

The noises were so loud.

Not one person was doing the same thing as anyone else.

"This isn't too much for you, is it Superboy?" Samantha spoke up, moving her head over to look into Superboys' blue eyes. Noticing his gaze elsewhere, she said, "If you ever need a break, just tell me and we can stop."

Eyes stopping on a building a few feet away, Superboy looked back to Samantha who stared back at him. "I'm fine. There's…just a lot going on."

Nodding to show she understood, Samantha stared out at the sidewalks and streets of Star City. "It is a little bit tough to take in if you aren't used to it." Shrugging a shoulder, the brunette smiled to the shellshocked teen. "But that's why we're here, right? To help you get used to this kind of stuff and know what to do in a given situation."

Motioning for Superboy to follow alongside her, Samantha went to the closest important spot the two would need to visit, and stopped a few steps away from the building entrance. Looking up at the large building, Samantha pointed to it. "We'll start our lesson here. Did Cadmus deem it necessary to know what a bank is?" Samantha asked playfully.

Eyes gazing up at the same building, Superboy nodded. "A bank is a financial establishment that invests deposited money by customers, pays out when required, makes loans, and exchanges currency." Superboy concluded, his voice not showing any sign emotion or inflections.

Uncertain on how to answer the sudden reciting by Superboy, Samantha let out a dry laugh. "Y-Yeah. That's…right." Placing a hand on her hip, Samantha continued with the lesson. "Alright, you know how the bank works. Do you know how to do any of the things you just listed?"

"I…" Superboy tried to answer, but just as he spoke a single word he closed his mouth, eyes narrowing down and lost in thought.

While the unanswered question seemed to plague Superboy from the way his face fell, Samantha's thoughts on the silence were far different from what Superboy had to be thinking.

I was right. Cadmus may have stuffed Superboy with all the knowledge in the world, but without actually knowing how to do any of it with his own mind and hands, it's useless.

"Hey," Samantha said, placing a hand on Superboy's shoulder. "Don't worry. You're not in trouble for not knowing. It's not your fault you don't know how to do this kind of stuff. This is a learning experience, so you can learn today." Taking her hand away, Samantha pointed a thumb towards the bank entrance. "I can't show you everything you listed, but if you want you can come in with me and I can show you how to withdraw money from the bank. I need to get some cash for our day out anyways."

Staring in the direction Samantha pointed to, Superboy stayed quiet for a good thirty seconds, only to give his usual shrug to her. "I guess."

Giving her own shrug to his answer, Samantha walked with Superboy into the bank, the two a bit out of place in the large building that was filled mostly by adults. Plush red chairs and couches were scattered across the room, desks placed to the side for questions and paperwork, and neatly dressed men and women talking with various different people about their specials on cards and offers for credit. Far to the left in the back stood a large row of booths covered by what looked like a thick layer of glass to the untrained eye.

The only thing that helped to stand in the way of criminals getting their hands on large sums of money; and the one thing that could save a banker from danger in a tense situation.

Superboy silently following behind her, Samantha headed towards the bankers' line to await her turn.

"What do you think of a bank at first glance? It's not too boring?" Samantha asked curiously, turning around to watch Superboy stare at the bankers, furniture, carpet, and anything else his eyes could spot.

"Do banks usually have so many cameras?" Superboy questioned.

"Hm? I'd hoped they did. I don't count them every time I go into one." Samantha admitted, following Superboys' gaze to a camera in the corner of the ceiling. "You said it yourself. Banks hold the money given to them by customers. It makes them the predictable targets for villains or lower time criminals looking to make some easy money. The cameras are needed to spot them for the police to investigate."

"I thought that was what the Justice League was for. To stop all the villains from doing whatever they wanted." Superboy commented, sounding as if he was having trouble understand something.

Feeling like he wasn't getting the entire picture, Samantha shook her head to signal Superboy's mistake. "That may be true in hindsight of what you may already know, but just because we or any other hero has powers or abilities better than the average person, doesn't make us the only line of defense."

Humming a bit to herself to focus her brain on finding the right words, Samantha spoke up. "I mean, it's not wrong to want to be the first ones to the scene of danger if we have the powers to stop a criminal faster than anyone else, but that doesn't mean we should forget about the normal men and women who risk their lives.

We may be strong, but not even a hero can get to every crime. The police do as much hard work as the League does, so they should be given the same respect. Working together is far more productive than working separately and individually, so there's no reason we should be in competition with one another." Samantha asked, looking back to Superboy.

His face still showing the reluctant expression from before, Superboy's eyes gazed back to the inquisitive brunette's. "That…makes sense."

Her thoughts on the matter concluded and feeling like she'd answered Superboy the best she could, Samantha noticed a banker on the far end of the row of bankers wave her over.

"C'mon. It's our turn." Beckoning the dark-haired teen to follow, the two headed towards the banker in question for their necessary transaction.

Removing her bag from her shoulder, Samantha pulled out a rectangular blue wallet with white snowflakes printed on the leather and took out a red debit card, handing it to the female banker. "Good morning. I'd like to make a withdrawal, please. Eighty dollars all in twenties."

"May I see a form of identification?" The banker asked.

"Of course. Here you are." Handing the cashier her identification card, the woman walked off to check her records.

"What'd you hand her?" Superboy asked leaning in to watch the Banker, most likely curiosity getting to him.

"The first card was a debit card. If you have the bank hold your money you can open an account and get a card like I gave her to allow you to use it. It's just an easier way to carry your money around with having a stack of bills with you. But you should really only use it if necessary." Samantha explained plainly.

"The other card was my identification card. It tells people who I am, my address, what I look like and some other minor things. It's sort of there if there's an emergency and people need to identify me or if I want to withdraw money from my card. Only the person who's named on the account can use the debit card, so having your identification helps to be sure nobody steals your money."

"Here you are, miss Freya. Please have a good day." The banker greeted, walking back and handing back the precious plastic.

"Thank you. You too." Samantha spoke back with a kind smile. Taking her things and placing them in their rightful pockets, Samantha along with Superboy headed out of the bank, the two enveloped in the warmth of the July heat once again.

"Do I need to get one?" Superboy asked, the question gaining Samantha's' attention,

"A what?" Samantha asked, fumbling with her wallet to make sure everything was in order.

"A debit card, or one of those identification things." Superboy asked.

Clasping her wallet shut, Samantha hummed in thought. Superboy would eventually need to get necessities like those handled, but how was that supposed to go? He may have been grown for only sixteen weeks, but all in all, he looked like a teenager her own age. Important issues like those were handled by the parents.

What does he do if Superman won't even see him? He can't do much without some of those things. Unless they expect him to just stay in the cave to give him food and a place to sleep.

She hadn't thought that far ahead in terms of helping Superboy adjust. She was knowledgeable, but not well taught enough for important things like these. Someone a bit older and more experience would be better suited.

Like Ic Maidene? Or Batman? Maybe even Green Arrow if he was available? It sounded so weird to think of asking any of them of them, but if it needed to be taken care of for Superboy's sake…

"I don't know, but we'll surely have something figured out when that time comes." Samantha answered honestly, a smile appearing on her face to hide her uncertainty. "There's still a bit more I want to show you. I promise it won't be as boring as what we just did."

"As long as it isn't shoe shopping like that one time." The super powered teen muttered.

Aw, he made a joke.

"I promise it isn't."

The heroes taking on the next set of pavement towards their new destination, Samantha made it a good idea to point out small things on the way. Adding detail to things such as people walking their dogs, the idea of transportation and shops open for selling specific goods, Samantha hummed a light tune of satisfaction at the arrival of their next location.

Halting next to the petite brunette and placing his hands in his pockets, Superboy moved his head up to stare at the brick building in front of him, along with a fenced basketball court area a few feet away and a flagpole. "What's this place?"

"The city's local high school. Star City High to be exact." Samantha spoke, eyes scanning the building. "It's where people our age go to learn about the next level of mathematics, science, history, English, and other various subjects in their education level." The brunette scratched her cheek. "As well as learn how to interact with others. However, that's all I really know. My knowledge of this place is a bit lacking since I was homeschooled."

Ah, Public school. Her only knowledge of it had been from silly TV dramas and cartoons every now and then. It looked stressful at some points, but other times it looked interesting enough to keep her attention.

Going to classes to learn. Participating in extracurricular activities that wasn't just singing. A chance to get away from other responsibilities and just focus on herself and find her own way.

Going was out of the question, sadly. Her father wouldn't allow it, saying she was too good for them since she was little. For someone like her, a higher education and quiet environment away from distractions were the best options to nurture her talents.

Making friends with people my age isn't a distraction. Or was that some excuse he made so he could keep an eye on me? Even for father, being that overprotective won't help me much.

"But I hear it is a wonderful institution of learning." Samantha finished hastily, realizing she'd been quiet longer than she intended. Brown eyes stared at Superboy. "Have you thought about going?"

"To school?" Superboy asked incredulously. "Why?"

"Why? Why wouldn't you want to?" Samantha asked back. That was an odd response to reply with. Why wouldn't someone want to go to school? Learning was so much fun! Getting to know facts you never heard, touch up on moments in history that shaped their society to this day, becoming more acquainted with cultures that were a part of your family and heritage.

The continued unenthusiastic face of Superboy was a stark contrast to what she thought on the subject.

….Okay, Samantha calm down. Not everyone is you and likes to learn.

"You'll get to meet so many other people your age. Or, not your technical age, but your physical age. Sixteen." Samantha explained, brown eyes drifting away to stare at the high school. "It's a great chance to go and absorb facts about new forms of knowledge and people in the same place at the same time. Brushing up on cultures you may want to see in the future. Making friends with people who in turn can teach you new things every day. Your hitting two birds with one stone by going." The ice user described, punching her hand lightly into her opposing fist for effect.

Unfortunately, it didn't seem like Superboy understood the metaphor from the way he just stared at her, puzzled by her words.

"Why would we want to hit birds with stones?" Superboy asked.

Frowning, Samantha stared at her fellow team mate, not sure if she'd heard him right. Realizing she had, the brunette pulled her fist away from her hand and let her arms fall at her sides.

"W-We won't. And don't. It's a figure of speech." She muttered, feeling a bit bad she was making Superboy's learning experience tougher to understand. Was the punching into her hand what threw him off?

I'll have to ask Wally and Robin to teach Superboy what sarcasm and metaphors are next time I see them.

"We're not going to throw rocks at birds. Just forget it, Superboy." Scratching her head in thought, Samantha walked down the sidewalk, turning her head back to Superboy. "Let's move on. The school isn't open to the public right now and we can't see much more from this point. I'll explain more about it on our walk."

Seeing the bored expression of Superboy unchanged, the clone followed after Samantha and the two walked side by side down the calm school district.

Noticing the sour expression on Superboy's face, Samantha too felt her lips fall down in concern. Was her little trip boring the clone that much? Or was he just acting his usual disinterested self?

He seems…so bored with this.

If it was the former then she was doing a pretty bad job. And if it was the latter she was doing an even worse job.

The whole reason I did this was to show Superboy people, places and things he's only seen in his head, maybe even make up for the fiasco back at the mall a few weeks ago. None of it seems to be out like I thought.

Was it…her?

If it was her, Superboy would have declined her invitation back at the cave and he would have been very clear about it. So it wasn't her.

Was it the places they were going?

We've been to a bank and a high school. Not bad places to start a learning experience on adapting to his role as a teenager…but they are kind of boring.

Samantha shook her head, frustration getting to her.

Superboy's sort of like a kid. Nobody enjoys just learning about things. He needs to find things and experience events that he'll enjoy and catch his interest rather than what I think will.

She had been taking him to some pretty boring places for the sake of learning. Perhaps she should look at this trip in a different angle? Less learning and more fun?

"Superboy," Samantha spoke, the clone turning to look at the brunette next to him. "Why don't we go somewhere you want to go next?"

"Aren't I supposed to be following you?" Superboy responded, confused by the sudden shift in direction.

Samantha's expression was mixed. Did he think he was meant to just follow her every word? Man, she really was doing this the wrong way.

"That was true at the start, but this whole day is to dedicate seeing people and experiencing things that you want to see. If I end up dragging you around everywhere I think you have to look at and learn about, I'll be making the same mistakes as Cadmus did. And there's no way I'm letting that happen." The brunette answered confidently.

"But I don't know where to go." The clone answered back, uncertainty evident in his voice and on his face.

Smiling, she nudged Superboy with her elbow to lighten the mood.

"Don't worry. It'll be fun. Not knowing is part of the adventure. This is your trip. I'll follow you."

Head lowering to look at the ground and his gaze narrowing in deep thought, Superboy raised his head back to look back at Samantha, saying nothing but communicated with a nod.

"Okay, but don't get mad if we get lost."

She nodded back joyfully.

"I'll make sure we don't."

---

The plan was working. The plan was working!

The brunette couldn't' help but be a little proud of herself for giving the reigns over to Superboy for their next stop. The idea of dragging him around did not appeal to her, so to let Superboy get to choose the next place was both a comfort for her and a surprise in of itself.

He'd been so cautious about where to go when the two walked through the streets. Every now and then Superboy would stop to look at a store or restaurant, only to walk ahead moments after. Whether it was out of fear or uncertainty, their traveling had taken up about half and hour until Superboy finally stopped somewhere he thought was a good place to look at.

To think the first place he'd stop was a music store.

"Is there anything you like so far?" Samantha asked, standing next to Superboy who listened to some songs thanks to a pair of sample headphones.

Superboy replied with his usual "Superboy Shrug" as Samantha called it, taking the headphones off and putting them back on the rack. Holding a CD in hand, his eyes gazed over the artwork and title. "I kind of like this one. It had that instrument you told me about. Electric guitar."

"Ooh, let me see." Moving closer to take a look at the CD, Samantha smiled at the art cover. "Ah, it's a rock genre CD. That's a good one."

"You know what it is?" The clone asked.

"A bit, but only from what Wally or Robin mention. Rock music isn't really my forte." Samantha answered, shaking her head and looked out at the quaint music store.

While it was a bit small, the selection of music was large enough for the average groups of kids and music fans alike to get lost in. Shelves of CDs neatly stacked by the walls for onlookers to take a peek in, posters of various artists across the world were plastered on the walls. Even some instruments for sale and play in the corner.

Speaking of instruments…

"Oh, they have a piano here!" The brunette exclaimed, energy bubbling within her chest at spotting the larger tool from where she stood.

"A what?" Superboy asked.

"Another instrument. One I like very much. It's fantastic. I'll show you." Leading Superboy to the instrument in question, Samantha walked over to an ebony black grand piano in the far corner of the store. Untouched and shining reflective rays thanks to the bits of sunlight peaking through the windows, Samantha pulled out the matching black piano bench and took a seat.

Moving her smaller fingers to open the cover of the piano, the brunette smiled at the sight of pristine ivory white keys.

"What does it do?" Superboy asked, standing next to the piano seat and staring at the many keys of the piano Samantha touched.

"It plays music for one, but to be more specific a piano plays notes similarly to a guitar. They follow a familiar set of notes and chords, but instead of strings, a piano player presses keys that are arranged in a scale from lowest to highest." Samantha carefully explained, laying out the details as smoothly as possible for Superboy to understand, pointing to parts of the instrument as she spoke.

Nodding to show he understood, Superboy pointed to the piano keys. "Do you know how to use it?"

"Yeah. I have one at my house, but I don't get to play it much anymore. With my lessons and my hero career taking up more of my time, I lost the chance to go back to it." Samantha muttered sadly, frowning at remembering her abandonment of the instrument.

"Here, just listen. It's not the screeching of guitar rifts, but it has its own unique sound." Moving her fingertips across the many keys to get a feel for the large instrument, Samantha took a deep breath finally let her fingers stop on a few keys and carefully pressed down on them, causing loud yet pleasant sounds to reverberate through the air of the music shop.

The sound ringing in her ears drums, the brunette felt a chill run down her spine. It was pleasant, her muscles coiling in pleasure and the pain from the bruises on her chest momentarily disappearing.

The tones she pressed were weak and small, just hitting the lowest note to show what the instrument was capable of. Brown eyes looking at Superboy in the corner, she smiled a bit at seeing him actually paying attention, only to turn her attention back to her playing.

Moving on from giving an example of the sounds the keys made, Samantha slowly drifted her fingers along the keys and began to press some in slow but calm succession, the sounds mixing together to craft into a song.

It was a slow, yet comforting song. A ballad in tone, mixing with quiet notes and growing larger and larger with each keystroke to describe the song becoming powerful, soon enough falling in notes to become quiet again.

It felt as if she was singing with her voice the way she heard the notes raise and fall with every once of effort she exuded.

Fingers tapping on the ivory keys a bit longer to let the song flow to its end, Samantha smiled at the sounds still ringing around her despite her fingers already freezing to a halt. A breath of shaky content sighed out from her lips, Samantha let her hands calmly slide off the keys and fall onto her lap.

Looking up from her lap, Samantha chuckled to herself, realizing she'd forgotten where she was. To get so distracted and forget where she was so soon; she must have been tired. And to make the song she meant to be only a few seconds run on for what felt like five minutes, perhaps even longer.

Had Superboy gotten bored with her example? It had been so quiet. Surely, he had left to go do something else.

"Sorry. I didn't mean for that to go on for so long, I got a bit sidetrack-" Realizing she had gotten a bit lost in the music, Samantha turned her head, anticipating the sight of herself apologizing to nothing but air next to her.

Only to freeze in place at seeing Superboy still next to her, eyes staring right at her.

Not at something behind her or in front of her. Not even the piano. Superboys' eyes seemed to be focused right on her, his blue eyes diving right into her brown.

She was a bit shocked at first, surprised that the clone hadn't just run off to go do something he wanted. It was comforting, however also surprising to Samantha. Yet after the shock wore off, the brunette felt a weight fall on her shoulders at the super powered teens gaze. She couldn't shake it off even if she wanted to.

Like he was putting her under some sort of spell.

"I-Is something wrong, Superboy?" Samantha asked in a hushed whisper, not sure whether her voice was quiet to hide Superboys' identity or if was because she was so absorbed in the boys' gaze. Her lips could barely move to form a word.

Seeming like her hushed voice had caught even his attention, the clone blinked; eyes refocusing for a moment. The eye contact broken, Superboy shrugged and turned his head to the side, looking away from Samantha.

Although a routine reaction of his, it felt…different. The shrug looked tenser than how it usually seemed. A rushed motion as if trying to hide something. But what would there be to hide from her?

"That was…good."

Was he embarrassed?

"Oh," Samantha spoke, she too popping out of her stupor. "T-Thank you. The piano did all the work, really." She mustered out, trying to make a joke to break the tension that as between them.

What was going on with her? She was no better than Superboy at the moment.

Fingers unconsciously rubbing the piano keys. "How do you like it? The…piano, I mean." She uttered, correcting herself at the last second.

Eyes moving back to look at Samantha who sat in the piano chair, Superboys' mind recalled the sound of the piano keys she pressed so effortlessly into a song. The way she looked so focused and calm when she sat there, ignoring the world and everything around her to just play something for him.

His face straight and showing no hint of confusion or uncertainty, Superboy spoke out with what Samantha could only guess was truthfulness.

"I think I like it. The piano."

Samantha had to turn her face away after that. She couldn't let Superboy see her face. How much it had to be bursting with red.

"Right. The piano."

---

Friends. Your just friends. Prolonged eye contact means nothing!

Leaning on a wall of a quaint clothing department, Samantha casually awaited Superboy to finish putting on a shirt she'd promised to grab him on their next stop. Given that one of Superboy's died a heroic sacrifice protecting her from a hailstorm of bullets, it was the least she could do.

This time she wanted to get him something a little more colorful for his wardrobe, at least to help clash with his dark copies of shirts, but sadly her persuading had not worked out all that well. Willing to compromise in the end, Superboy had agreed to get a different colored shirt, however Samantha's compromise had to let Superboy pick the shirt himself.

Which in turn lead to him now trying on another Superman insignia shirt, only this time it was a blue "S" rather than red.

At least it's a different color.

Alone with only her thoughts to keep her company, Samantha felt her thoughts wander away to the teens' time walking around the city.

So far she was happy to see Superboy was having a good time. A little disappointed in herself for making this trip less fun at the start though. That could have gone far better.

Thank goodness she'd realized her mistake before she'd made the trip an even more boring experience.

So why did she feel…sick?

No, maybe sick wasn't the word she wanted to use. She felt nervous and tense, that squishy feeling she would feel around Superboy having crept up on her during their time in the music store.

She didn't despise the feeling, but after her newfound viewpoint on the situation of her companion, having it come back to her made her feel…guilty. She felt weak, vulnerable even. Like she'd been stripped down of her clothes and powers.

Her conviction over the declaration she made had been so strong days ago and it sounded so easy when she said it to M'gann in the caves living room. There should not have been any problem.

"I'm…happy enough just being his friend and being by his side right now. Seeing him happy and helping him learn about the world is enough for me."

Words echoing inside the walls of her mind, Samantha shook her head. "As it should," she muttered. Nevertheless, she bit her lip; uncertain.

We're here to be heroes after all.

She believed them. Taking the practical approach with Superboy was more beneficial to him than what she wanted. What she wanted shouldn't even have been a part of the decision.

Standing around and thinking about it though wouldn't change the situation any faster than she wanted it to. No matter how many times she ran the reason through her head and made excuses for what was right or wrong in her eyes.

I never expected to ignore something like love…like…whatever this feeling is, to hurt so much. I thought it would be easy to just forget about it. Pretend like it never happened. Am I…always going to feel like this?

"I think I like it. The piano."

She felt her cheeks heat up at the memory. God, she didn't want to remember that. She would never admit it out loud, but a small voice inside herself had hoped Superboy was talking about her during that split second of conversation.

How could she have fallen so far so fast? What was this, some cliche love story?

"Will you stop it already?" Samantha muttered, feeling another wave of nervousness creep through her stomach. Placing a hand on her stomach, the teen pulled a hand up to check her watch.

The two had been in the clothing store long enough. A change of venue would surely help her own mood. No need to sour Superboy's experience with her emotional conflict.

"Superboy, are you decent?" Samantha whispered quietly, questioning whether she should peek around the corner for her friend as her hands fell back to her sides and pushed herself lightly off the wall she leaned on.

"Am I what?" The boy replied back, clearly not understanding what she said.

"I'm just asking if your done getting dressed."

"I think so."

Samantha felt a brow raise curiously at the answer.

He thinks so?

The sound of a door opening behind her, Samantha stepped out from around the corner to spot Superboy, but felt her body go rigid at the sight before her.

There stood Superboy in only his shoes and pants. His shirt discarded and holding the crumpled form of what was most likely the new one he'd tried on, the sculpted clone in all his muscled glory stood calmly in the changing rooms and stared back a shocked looking Samantha.

"It fit." Superboy answered in a deadpan tone, trying to hand Samantha the shirt in his hand.

The brunette couldn't get a word out. She tried, but her voice came out as breathless air every time she tried to form some sort of word to communicate her shock.

Her mind finally fast forwarding past whatever level of shock she was in, Samantha hastily rushed over to Superboy and lightly pushed him back towards the changing stall he'd just walked out of.

"W-Why aren't you wearing a shirt?!" She questioned, her voice harsh but kept to a hushed whisper to deter any attention from her half naked companion. She was just trying to ignore the fact she was touching Superboys' unclothed body.

Larger than the five foot one ice user pushing him, Superboy didn't budge very much from where he stood. Sticking in place, Superboy stared down at Samantha who was still trying to force him back into the changing stall. "You said we we're getting me a new shirt. I have it."

"Where's your old one? You need to put that one back on." Samantha replied, urging Superboy to move.

Superboy turned back around, eyes flickering from Samantha to the shirt in his hand. "I thought I was wearing this one."

"This one is to take home. You still need to wear your old shirt, Superboy. We're just buying a replacement for your old one, not switching out shirts, that's not how stores work." The brunette explained, trying her best to keep her eyes above Superboy's shoulders and not put her hands anywhere indecent.

God, those abs were distracting. And everything else was just…

How can shopping be so difficult!?

"Just…go put your old shirt back on. Please? You remember what I told you? It's rude to change in front of a lady, or potentially be seen half naked by one who doesn't know you." Samantha pleaded quietly, taking the shirt in his hands and motioning to the changing room.

Silent for what seemed way longer than ten seconds, Superboy complied with Samantha, turning around and heading back into the changing room.

Making sure to shut the door behind him in case it somehow decided not to close, Samantha sighed and leaned on a nearby wall.

I just iterated how I'm supposed to see Superboy as just a friend and then THAT happens?!

Not caring about her situation, Samantha crushed the shirt into her face and muffled a groan.

It's like the world wants to watch me suffer.

---

"Please be more careful next time when your changing, okay?"

"I forgot. You can't blame me for it forever."

"I can keep reminding you until you remember, though." Samantha retorted, a small smirk crossing her face.

It hadn't been long since the two left the clothing store. Buying Superboy's' shirt and the clone assuring he'd make sure not to have it happen again, Samantha (after making sure she'd calmed down from the mini emotional roller coaster of hers) followed behind Superboy to an arcade, a shoe store that didn't trap them in never ending suffering, a small cafe where the two grabbed some lunch and oddly enough a flower shop.

It'd been a bit cute to see the last place, the large muscled Superboy standing around such fragile and colorful flowers. A little odd, but he ended up enjoying the pleasant fragrances and the bits of random facts of flower meanings she remembered from books she'd read at home.

Not to mention he enjoyed the same flower she did. Myrtle. Specifically both white and red.

Note to self. Try to procure some Myrtle to brighten up the cave.

"Not every day, I hope." Superboy answered back, turning a corner and stuffing a hand in his pocket, the other holding the bag containing his new shirt.

"I'll try my best not-"

"Wow, did you see that?!"

"Is the Justice League going after it?"

Cutting herself off mid sentence at the mention of the Justice League, both Samantha and Superboy stopped in place on the sidewalk, turning towards the commotion of voices. Walking at a faster pace towards the mass of voices, Samantha could spot a good amount of people crowded nearby, most likely the source.

An electronics store just some feet away, citizens of Star City circled around the store's window showcasing stacked TV's. Each screening the same channel, the news headlined a plane that had lost an engine during its flight course to Metropolis.

"This doesn't look good."

"Are those passengers going to survive?"

"Mommy, I wanna see!"

"Don't look dear!"

Samantha felt her hands grip tightly around her purse strap. This was one of the worst things to see when being a hero. It was easy to understand that as a normal person people got hurt or in accidents all the time and nothing could be done to help.

But when you had powers that made you stronger than most and let you be able to make a difference, watching a crime from somewhere you couldn't reach somehow tugged at the heartstrings. Made you feel as vulnerable and helpless as you did before becoming a hero.

She already knew she couldn't do anything, but man did Samantha feel useless right now.

And deep inside she prayed somebody would do something.

"This really doesn't look good." Samantha couldn't help but mutter, standing beside Superboy who also looked at the TV screen.

"Yeah." Superboy responded. It was surely all he too could say in the situation. Neither of them could do anything about it but watch and hope.

As the television screen showed the camera from the news crew zoom as far as it could on the crashing plan descending nearby the city of Metropolis, a sudden blur of color flashed across the screen.

"Wow, what was that?"

"That's got to be a hero! I bet it's Green Lantern!"

"No way! Batman!"

Feeling her eyes narrow in on the screen as best she could at her spot in the crowd, Samantha held her breath in anticipation, perhaps one of the few who'd been able to catch the colors that went past the screen.

Blue, red, and a hint of yellow.

For all the heroes in the league, it was surprising nobody had guessed that hero first when they hoped for someone to arrive. It was his city after all.

"It's him."

Head turning to gaze at Superboy, Samantha noticed the hard gaze that Superboy had glued to the screen. He'd know, wouldn't he?

"Look! The plane!"

The sounds of excited viewers getting Samantha's attention back to the screen, the crashing plane heading towards the large city was still falling….but at a slower rate?

No, it isn't getting slower. It's being pushed back.

There was only one person who could do that in record time.

The news camera taking its time showing the plane slow down in midair, the large aircraft astonishingly halted in the sky, though the damage was still apparent from the smoke coming out the broken engine. Ever so slowly the plane turned upright and began to descend back towards the ground, but the trajectory had shifted from the city towards the closest airport.

The news copter that'd filmed the incident live moving closer to the saved plane, the camera zoomed further towards the bottom of the plane which seemed to be holding the weight of the aircraft. Just a speck from a far off distance, the camera lens cleared the image of the speck to reveal the figure of Superman clad in his infamous uniform and cape which whipped in the wind.

"And here it is folks! The plane that was once ready to crash down in the heart of Metropolis is now slowly making its way to the city's airport for maintenance! All thanks to the heroic spirit and quick action of the city's golden hero, Superman!" The voice of the TV reporter exclaimed, the television speakers blasting the message to the viewers spectating on the sidewalk.

"Go, Superman!"

"Good to know we've got guys like him on our side."

"I can't believe he's holding that all on his own and flying."

"Mommy isn't Superman the coolest?!"

Hand resting on her chest as she sighed in relief, Samantha gazed at the multitude of TV screens now showing the image of Superman resting the plan to the ground, smiling and waving to the police offers and fire fighters to help the passengers and take out the burning engine.

Even with what she knew about Superman and the feelings she had on the subject, she'd give credit where credit was due.

I hope I can do things like that when I get into the League. That's the kind of work a real pro hero can do.

"At least everyone is okay, huh Superboy?" Samantha whispered quietly, smiling a little at the look of happy onlookers and viewers.

No answer.

"Super-huh?" Hoping to ask why Superboy was suddenly so quiet, the brunette gasped in surprise to see that the taller boy was no longer next to her. "S-Superboy?" She whispered again, hoping she'd just misplaced the powerful teen.

"Oh, no. Not again." Samantha muttered under her breath, moving around the small crowds of people trying to watch the news. Poking herself out of a few crowded sidewalks and jumping off the ground to try and peer over the taller citizens, the ice user groaned. "How could I lose him again? Superboy? Please tell me you're around here somewhere. Pop out and scare me by accident if you have to."

Unfortunately, her quiet call had gone unanswered, even with her targets' super hearing probably able to catch her quiet plea.

Okay, we really need to get him an Earth name and soon. We can't keep doing this every time we get separated.

Heading to an empty sidewalk corner and moving her head back and forth to try and spot anything close to resembling the tall, dark, and silent boy, Samantha moved onto her tippy toes and thankfully spotted her target.

He was heading…towards the park?

"Superboy, where are you off to?" Samantha muttered, checking both ways to cross the street before rushing down the crosswalk towards the park entrance. Hand holding the strap of her bag to make sure she didn't lose anything of value, the ice user ran along the neatly paved sidewalk in search for her friend. "He couldn't have gotten that far."

-Star City Park-

July 27th, Star City 3:40 P.M. EDT-

She stared out at the large park in front of her, eyes spotting picturesque scenes along the green grass fields. Men or women playing with their dogs, parents taking their kids out to play sports, an occasional couple enjoying their company together with a picnic.

And just a few feet away, Samantha spotted a figure sitting alone on a shaded bench. Sticking out like a sore thumb, the figure sat hunched over with their hands lazily on their lap, as if trying to tell others to stay away with their demeanor.

She already knew who it was from where she stood.

Sandals quietly knocking against the sidewalk, Samantha was enveloped in the shade of a nearby tree as she stopped at the empty side of the bench Superboy sat on. Unmoving and making no sign to show he'd even noticed her walk by, Samantha's lips turned downwards into a saddened expression.

"You know," She spoke, trying to get Superboy's attention. "It's rude to leave a girl like that without telling them where you're going."

"Mmm." Was the response Superboy gave, nothing close to anything intelligible for Samantha to make out.

It wasn't any sort of reason to explain him walking off, but it wasn't an apology either. It was just the way he talked when…

Taking her purse off her shoulder and moving to sit on the empty seat on Superboys' left hand side, Samantha placed her purse next to Superboy's clothing bag. "It's also a little rude to not give a girl a proper answer, either."

"Mhmm."

Another grunt was her answer.

Leaning forward a bit to keep her gaze glued to Superboy's scowling face, Samantha placed her chin in her hands and leaned in to continue watching the clone sulk. The silence continued between them, despite Samantha arriving and simply sitting quietly next to the clone for about five minutes.

She didn't want to say it, but if Superboy gave her no choice…

"Did you leave because of the news report?"

"Mmhm." Another grunt followed by a twitch of the hand.

It was faint, but Samantha saw Superboy's fingers twitch as if wanting to grip tight into a fist. Blue eyes glaring down at nothing on the ground, the ice user could tell what she said got to the boy.

Did she dare push further?

Please don't let this be the thing that ruins Superboys' day. Today was supposed to be different.

Putting her hands down on her lap and back arching to lean further to try and look Superboy in the eye, the brunette spoke up. "Has…he called you? Contacted you at all?"

The unnerving silence between the two, Samantha stayed in place to hear or see any sort of answer that gave that Superman had done something. Anything that showed Superboy was getting some kind of familial attention he needed and wanted since getting out of Cadmus.

Superman couldn't have been quiet for this long, could he?

"No." Superboy answered harshly, making Samantha pull back from the clone. "He hasn't."

Samantha felt her stomach drop at the answer.

"Oh. Superboy, I'm sorry-" Samantha spoke.

"I don't need your pity." Superboy spoke up, cutting the ice user off. "I don't care anyways."

"I'm not pitying you, Superboy. I'm worried about you. And I know what you just said isn't true. You're hurt about it, I can tell." Samantha responded back, eyes glued to the clone. "Anyone in your position would be sad and angry about their father not contacting them or trying to talk things out."

"Yeah, well not just anyone has Superman for a father." Superboy retorted back, raising his head up to stare back at Samantha and his eyes alight with frustration.

Stiffening a little by her friend's harsh gaze, Samantha closed her mouth shut and turned away from Superboy.

Don't be scared. You know he didn't mean to yell at you. Superman is still a touchy subject. He's still learning how to control his emotions.

Unsure of how to proceed, Samantha just sighed and sat beside the brooding super clone and awaited any sign of his personality changing. She wouldn't leave him on his own feeling the way he was, but having to watch him think about all of this drama and look so confused felt like torture to the ice user.

He wouldn't talk the way he was now and any kind of support she tried to give was swatted away. Was there anything she could do to fix this?

When I was always feeling bad, Reginald would do something nice for me. Get me flowers, take me out, share something sweet. . . .

Wait, the last one!

Attention moving back and forth around where Superboy and she sat, Samantha spotted a small ice cream cart off in the distance. Eyes drifting to her saddened ally, Samantha nodded determined to herself before reaching for her purse.

"Superboy, I need to get something real quick. Could you just stay here and watch our things. Please?" Samantha asked quietly, pulling out a bill and looking at her friend for an answer.

Eyes once again glued to the dirt ground, Superboy nodded, not giving any sign of a verbal answer her.

Sighing, Samantha did her best to smile and got up from her seat. "I'll be back, okay? Promise." With a smile not seen by the clone and a wave of her hand, Samantha headed off down the road to her next destination.

Money in hand and moving around any people that nearly bumped into her way down the walkway, the brunette slowed in pace and stopped in her tracks at the small ice cream stand neatly tucked nearby some shady trees and benches.

Let's hope to the ice cream Gods that it isn't all gone today.

"Why hello, young lady. You look quite nice today." The shopkeeper complimented from behind his stand, adjusting his glasses a bit and noticing Samantha with a kind smile.

"Thank you. Good afternoon to you." Samantha responded back with a proper bow, the high society greeting long ingrained into her system. Rising back up, the brunette scanned over that variety of flavors the owner had. Each one sounded delicious to have on the hot day it was.

But which one do I get Superboy?

From what she knew, he'd never had ice cream before. He didn't have any flavors he liked or disliked, but if she chose one he ended up not liking, it would mess up her own plan.

"Which do I choose?" Samantha muttered to herself, head turning back to look at Superboy from afar.

"Hm? Having trouble deciding, miss?" The owner asked.

Attention moving back to the owner, Samantha rubbed her neck and sheepishly nodded. "A bit. I know what I want, but I can't decide for someone else."

"Ah. You with that boy over there sitting on the bench?" The old man asked, pointing to Superboy in question. The old man shook his head. "What's wrong with that boy? Looking so glum when his nice girlfriend is trying to get him something sweet to eat."

Face aflame at the misconception, Samantha shook her head hastily to correct the older gentleman. "N-No! We're just friends, sir. He's…having some family trouble, so I wanted to try and cheer him up, but I actually forgot he's never had ice cream before, so I don't know what he'd want." Samantha spoke, fingers fidgeting with one another.

Eyes widening in surprise at the comment, the old man starred back at Superboy in disbelief before turning back at the nervous brunette. "Never had ice cream, you say? I'll get you and your friend something special then. Just hold on a minute."

Taking the vendors' word for it and waiting for a good few minutes for the man to work his magic, Samantha was greeted moments later by the vendor with a large sized ice cream cup, filled with a scoop of vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry ice cream topped with chocolate sauce traced to make the ice cream have eyes and a smiling face, along with a single cherry nose and two spoons already prepared.

"Here you are. I call it the smiley sundae. The biggest main flavors of ice cream and topped with chocolate sauce and a cherry. I'm sure at least one of these will get his tastebuds going." The vendor explained, handing Samantha the icy treat.

"Thank you!" Samantha exclaimed, smiling back at the cute design on the ice cream. "Oh, how much is this? I didn't see anything like this on the menu."

"Aww, it's not on the menu. I thought it'd just be nice to whip something up nice for your friend over there." The vendor spoke, looking over back at the sulking Superboy. "From the way your friend looks over there, he really needs something to help him out. The ice cream may be the trick to helping him feel better, but you got to do just as much on your own. Good friends like you are what people need to get them through the tough times dear, not food."

Taken aback by the wise words given to her, Samantha stared down at the ice cream, only to move her gaze back to the ice cream man.

"Thank you for the advice, sir. I'll keep it in mind." Samantha thanked, though she ran over and placed the twenty dollar bill she'd grabbed into the small tip jar of the vendor's cart. "And I know I'm technically not supposed to pay for it, but my conscious wouldn't let me sleep well without compensation for the food. Or the wise advice."

A hearty laugh escaping the old man's mouth, the vendor nodded and walked back to man his store. "You're a good kid. Hope you and your friend enjoy that treat."

"We will. Thank you again." Another bow was given to the vendor, Samantha carefully headed back to Superboy as fast as her feet could take her without potentially ramming into people or letting the ice cream melt.

Able to spot the bench where Superboy still was sulking, Samantha felt her lips stretch out into a smile and move to stand in front of the teen. "Superboy, I'm back. Thanks for watching everything."

"Mhmm."

"You're still going to grunt like that? You keep doing that and I'm not going to give you what I ran off to get." Samantha challenged jokingly, hoping a change in mood would somehow help Superboy.

"You got me something?" Superboy asked, hint of surprise making itself known in his voice.

Smile growing wider at an actual answer this time, Samantha reached the sundae out to place in front of Superboy's face in all it's delicious glory. "Tada! I got ice cream!"

The colorful treat staring him right in the face, Superboy moved his head up to look at Samantha's ecstatic face. "What's an ice cream?"

Chuckling at the question, Samantha continued to smile. "It's food. It's sweet and cold, so it's good to eat on hot days like this. I thought it would make you feel better since…you know." She muttered, hoping to push the subject aside.

Blue eyes moving from Samantha back to the frozen treat, a dark brow raised at the sight of the food. "Why is it smiling?"

"It's a smiley sundae. It's just a drawing using chocolate sauce. It's really good, trust me." Moving to take her seat back on the bench next to Superboy, Samantha placed the ice cream between the two and handed Superboy his own spoon and took hers. "You've never had ice cream before, so the vendor gave me the most popular flavors. Vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry to snack on, plus a cherry to eat if you'd like." She mentioned, pointing each flavor and taking a bite of vanilla for herself. "Try it. It's really good. You can have any one you want."

Given the choice, Superboy played with the spoon in his hand and stared off for a few seconds, inspecting the dish in front of him. Utensil moving back and forth between the scoops of ice cream, Superboy decided to settle in on the flavor she'd taken a bite of; vanilla.

Quietly watching to witness the clone's first taste of ice cream, Superboy put the spoon in his mouth and let the ice cream's taste wash over his tastebuds.

"So? How is it? Do you like vanilla?" Samantha asked curiously.

Silence her response, Superboy made no move to speak, but body language such as his eyes blinking a few times and his lips pursing in confusion at the sudden taste invading his mouth showed that at least he was registering the flavor.

The brunette thought something might have been troubling when she didn't get a word out of the clone, however just as she was about to ask again, Superboy reached his spoon back into the delectable treat and swallowed another bite of vanilla ice cream.

And then another.

Then another.

By the third bite of ice cream, Samantha just smiled and accepted the silence as is, knowing that Superboy was a guy of action.

He wouldn't be eating it if he didn't like it.

"I'll take your word for it." Samantha said, answering her own question and taking a bite of strawberry ice cream and sat alongside the super clone devouring the sundae at record speed.

But…then he stopped.

Spoon still held in midair holding the melting remains of strawberry ice cream, Superboy closed his mouth and stared down at his spoon, eyes narrowing in on the food as if he was inspecting the melting process of the semi-solid sweet.

"Superboy? Is something wrong?" Samantha asked, confused by the sudden halt in his eating. Had something gone wrong with the food?

The boy in question didn't answer her. Instead, his head turned to the right, face turning away from her gaze. Why?

"Superboy?" Samantha asked again, starting to feel a little worried at the silence.

A second later Superboy turned back around, though his gaze still stayed downwards to avoid her own. Tough to see from where she sat, hints of stress seemed to appear on Superboy's face. Brow furrowed, eyes staring intently at the bench, a frown on his face.

He looked disappointed.

"Su-"

"I-"

*RING*

A sense of fear gripping the two teens for unknown reasons, the two closed their mouths shut; fear that they would cut one another off again. The other noise forgotten, both Samantha and Superboy stayed silent and continued staring at one another, hoping the other would speak up again and talk.

*RING*

The ringing noise coming up again, Samantha's brain jolted her out of her stupor. Her attention focusing on the noise that had ringed to life again, Samantha shifted her eyes towards where the sound was coming from.

"Oh, sorry! That's my phone." Samantha hastily answered Superboy and her breaking eye contact as the brunette reached down for her purse. A bit relieved the phone had snapped her out of her staring, the teen turned on the screen of the phone and stared down at the caller ID.

CALLER: ROY HARPER

She frowned.

What was he calling her for?

Superboy sounded like he wanted to say something to me, but Roy only calls unless it's important. I haven't talked to him since that fight. What could he want?

A dilemma now in her court, Samantha suppressed the urge to throw her phone and debated what to do. Looking over to an unsure looking Superboy, Samantha smiled. "Umm…I have to take this. Can you wait here real quick?"

Superboy frowned at the question, but he nodded. "Yeah."

"Thanks. It won't take long." She answered with a reassuring, getting up and walking off with the phone in hand.

It better not.

---

Leaning on the trunk of a shady tree a bit away from where she'd left Superboy, Samantha flipped her phone open and placed the speaker to her ear. The click of the phone line connecting to the other line, Samantha felt her brows furrow.

How naive she was to think today would be a stress-free day.

"Hey."

No answer.

"…Hey." The deep voice of Speedy answered back hesitantly.

She sighed over the line, hand gripping her phone tightly and the other moving a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Didn't think you'd pick up." Speedy continued, a small hint of his usual joking charm in his words. It wasn't the full confidence that Samantha was used to, but it was still there.

"You know me too well, Speedy. I don't waste my time on things that don't deserve my attention." She answered back, mistrust very clear in her response.

"Cold as ever. You're sounding a lot like your father."

Squeezing her phone tighter, Samantha hissed through the phone. "If this is all you wanted to say to me I'm-"

"Wait, wait! Don't hang up!" Speedy yelled through the phone.

Pulling the phone away from her ear, Samantha moved the phone close to her face to stare at the caller ID on the screen. Thoughts shuffling back and forth about what to do, the brunette sighed and placed the phone back to her ear. "Fine. But you're on thin ice with me."

"I know," Speedy responded, his voice sounding rushed and tired. "I know. I'm sorry. I didn't call to insult you. That just came out. I…didn't mean it." An angered sigh traveled through the phone line.

Fingers loosening from the device, Samantha leaned a foot on the tree. "So? What'd you call for then?"

"I…called to apologize."

She felt her eyes roll.

"This is a really bad apology than. What kind of jerk apologizes on the phone to someone? The least you could do is do it face to face." Samantha answered sadly, a frown dragging her lips downward.

"I know. It's stupid the way I'm doing it, but I hear you're busy nowadays like me."

"Who told you that?"

"Kid did. Robin too. They both called and told me all about that mission you guys had in Santa Prisca."

A groan escaped her lips. "Of course it was them. I'd hoped those two would keep our missions confidential. A little secrecy of our activities is more important for the work we're doing."

"If it makes you feel better, it was so they could convince me to join the team again. Something I mentioned, along with some others, were still against." Speedy answered, emphasizing the last bit of his comment to her.

Good. At least that means he listened. He should know exactly why I was against it.

"Good. You remembered what I said." Samantha replied, arm crossing over her chest and leaning on the phone to hear Speedy better. "I guess I'll let you off the hook for that. For now….Go ahead then. Give me your best shot, Roy."

She knew from the tone he was giving him that she wouldn't accept anything half assed.

"Yeah." He answered, hearing home go quiet on the line and take a deep breath.

When was the last time she ever heard Roy sound nervous about anything? Had he ever heard him nervous?

"Look, you know I'm not good with apologies. We're both kind of the same. Strong-willed and determined, but we're stubborn when it comes to our viewpoints. Me, a little more maybe." Speedy started.

"Maybe?" Samantha commented, eyebrow raised at the comment.

"Hey, I'm not done."

"Right, sorry. Go ahead." Samantha answered, feeling herself smile at how annoyed he sounded. However just as she felt herself smile, she urged herself to stop. There was no reason to smile when Roy was still in hot water.

"I," Speedy started, going silent for a bit as he tried to gather his thoughts. "I said a lot of things that day. Back in July at the hall. I was angry about it all. I'd been training and waiting all my life to get recognized for all the hard work I did when I was younger and that day was supposed to be the day I…we were all supposed to become true partners to our mentors. To fight alongside them as equals and not be treated like some dumb kids." Speedy explained, his voice slowly raising in anger with each word he spoke.

Memories flooding back into her mind of the day, Samantha twirled a strand of her hair in between her fingertips.

She said nothing, letting Speedy continue.

"Instead of what we were promised and trained for most of our childhoods, what do we get? Lies in our faces, patronizing from our so-called mentors and thrown into another web of lies to make it convenient for them and keep us in line. I was pissed and angry for what they did to me. I didn't even feel like I was a partner to my own mentor after what happened. He didn't even try to defend us in our situation,"

Stopping for a moment to catch his breath, Roy sighed and his voice fell to a somber tone.

"In the end, I just wanted out of there. I was tired of the League getting in my way and outraged with wasting my time on it at all. But…I unintentionally threw my rage at you too, Samantha. It was unprovoked and you were just trying to convince me to calm down and stay with you all, but I bit your head off and yelled things at you that I shouldn't have. Things…that were private between us."

Fingers freezing in her hair, Samantha felt her teeth grit against one another.

It was true. Things he'd argued with her that day were things she never told most. Her dreams, her wants, the problems and disagreements with her father that had gone on for years. She'd told them to him out of close friendship and confidence.

And in the end, he used them against her for his own anger.

"I'm sorry," Speedy repeated, trying the best he could to convey his emotions through the phone line. "I know an apology like this after so long is rude and immature for someone. Even me, but I want you to know that I mean it, Sam. I've had a lot of time to run everything I've done over my head since that day, and I get what you meant before. About how selfish I was being. I said things out loud that can't be taken back; things that people should never use against someone they're friends with. I acted like a real ass.

I can't become somebody like that to the person I…"

Frowning, Samantha shifted her gaze to the phone to her ear. Reaching her hand to lay on her chest, Samantha quietly spoke up. "Roy?"

Hearing nothing at first, a gruff scoff answered her call.

"It's nothing," Roy answered, trying to dissuade Samantha's worry. "I got to go. I'll…see you around. Get you that apology face to face sometime?"

Unable to form words for a moment, Samantha caught her breath and felt her face heat up a little for some reason.

"Yeah," She answered, slowly finding her voice. "I'd…like that, Roy. I'd appreciate the gesture."

"Alright. I'll see you around." Just as the call was about to end, Roy spoke up. "Oh yeah. Congrats on becoming sub-leader. You earned it."

"…Thanks."

The phone line disconnecting the call between her and Roy, Samantha sighed, shutting her phone and placing it against her chest.

That….had been a far different conversation than Samantha had expected to have with Roy.

The way he talked, the way he sounded. It seems like he really listened and thought about what I sad. Even with the dumb way he apologized by calling, he wasn't making fun of anything or arguing his point further. He just…apologized. For everything.

Had working on his own somehow made Roy a bit more mature?

"I really hope his new life is working out the way he wanted." Samantha muttered to herself, moving away from the tree she leaned on. "Best to get back to Superboy. He has to be getting bored sitting around waiting for me."

"I'm not bored." A voice answered her.

"Ah!" Unable to hold in a yelp of surprise, Samantha twisted around to face Superboy, the much taller boy calmly standing behind her.

How did he do that without her noticing? Had he heard her talking to herself?

"Don't do that, please. If you couldn't tell, I'm sort of jumpy." Samantha muttered, placing a hand on her chest as her heart slammed against it. "I thought you were going to stay on the bench and wait for me."

Face scrunching with discontent, Superboy spoke as his eyes moved down to his side. "I was, but something came up."

"Something came up?" Samantha asked, her brown eyes following Superboy's gaze.

She had not noticed whatever it was when Superboy first arrived, but there seemed to be something behind his back.

Or rather, a someone.

A tiny figure clutched to the pants leg of Superboy, the small head of a black-haired boy poked out from behind the gigantic clone in comparison. Blue eyes wide with uncertainty, fear, and threatening to tear up, the boy sniffled and a quiet voice peeped out of him.

"I-I want my daddy."

Unsure of how to respond to such a strange sight before her, Samantha momentarily stood quietly in place before she realized what she was looking at.

Switching into a mix of Winter and mature young adult, Samantha bent down to the grass to stare eye level with the child. "Hey, it's okay. We'll help you find your daddy."

Hiding away behind Superboy's leg for just a second, the small boy peeked his head back out to look at Samantha. "Y-You will?" The boy asked, sniffling a bit.

"Uh huh. Me and my super tall friend you're holding onto," Samantha mentioned, eyes looking up to Superboy as she mentioned him. "What's your name?"

"C-Conner." The boy answered, moving a bit closer to Samantha after answering.

Seeing the boy move closer, Samantha reached into her purse pocket after getting it handed to her by Superboy. Taking out a small handkerchief, Samantha wiped away a few small tears off the child's cheek and let him use it to wipe his nose.

"That's a nice name. I'm Samantha. And my big friend next to you is-" Looking over to stare up at Superboy, the brunette frowned a bit at finding her next words.

She couldn't just say Superboy was his name. Well….maybe she could, but she couldn't risk others hearing her. Yet again was the problem of no Earth name for Superboy coming up.

Think Samantha, think! A name shouldn't be that hard!

"This…is my friend, Conner," Samantha answered, her voice sounding a bit unsure of her own answer. "I-Isn't that funny? You guys have the same name." Feeling like her little lie would hold, Samantha winked to Superboy, pleading mentally that the clone would catch on and play along.

An eyebrow raised at her as a response. Not a good sign.

Confusion slowly appeared on his face. Once again, not a good sign.

"Why are you blinking one eye at me?"

Feeling a painful stab inside her chest at the question, Samantha's face fell and the brunette face palmed at the unanswered question.

There was a lot Wally and Robin were going to need to teach Superboy.

Deciding to forget the social flub and ignore Superboy's question to distract the young boy, Samantha turned to focus on the smaller of the two Conners and mustered up a smile. "S-So don't worry. I'm sure your daddy will be able to tell you two apart."

Giggling and shaking his head, the smaller Conner looked up at Superboy. "I know that. My daddy knows what I look like."

Amused at seeing the young child no longer afraid, Samantha reached a hand out to him. "Here, take my hand. You can help make sure I don't get lost while we look for him."

His mood getting better and feeling he could trust her, the young boy walked over and grabbed Samantha's hand, his small fingers entwining with hers. Standing back up on her feet, Samantha walked alongside the sidewalk of the park with the young boy beside her; Superboy following quietly beside them.

And so Winter and Superboy were off on another "mission".

---

"Who do you think would win in a fight? Superman or Batman?"

"Ooh, that's a tough one."

The three walking after each and every small playground they could spot, Samantha and Superboy had ended up becoming the playmates of the smaller Conner on their little expedition. With time passing by fast and the worry of not being able to find his father creeping up on him, Samantha decided to dissuade the boy's worries by playing games and answering fun questions.

Most being about superheroes. Especially once the young boy had spotted Superboy's shirt.

"Batman does have a lot of gadgets and he's super smart." Samantha playfully argued.

"And he has the batmobile!" The smaller of the two Conners answered excitedly.

Laughing with the young boy at the sight of his energy, Samantha turned her head to look over at Superboy, still the most quiet out of the bunch. Even after all their talking and chatting through the day, was he still not ready to be sociable with people?

"What do you think, Conner?" Samantha asked playfully, leaning over to Superboy to try and get his attention.

"What?" Superboy asked, realizing that Samantha was talking to him.

"Who would win in a fight. Superman or Batman?" Samantha asked, eyebrow raised at the teen and lightly elbowing him to get his attention.

"Yeah! Who'd win? Who'd win?" The tinier boy asked, jumping up and down between the two teenagers.

Eyes drifting away from the two, Superboy shrugged his shoulders. "How should I know?"

A bit taken aback by the answer, Samantha's jovial attitude simmered down and she chuckled lightly to ease the tension, though her expression turned downcast. She couldn't force Superboy to participate if he didn't want to."Y-Yeah. I guess it is tough to decide, huh?"

Noticing the sudden shift in temper from the brunette, Superboy looked back at Samantha to try and say something, but closed his mouth a moment after; deciding to stay silent.

Silence communicated on both ends, another voice broke out between them.

"Are you guys fighting?" Conner asked.

Surprised by the sudden question, from the young boy no less, Samantha starred wide-eyed for a moment before shaking her head. "What? N-No, we aren't fighting, Conner. Me and…bigger Conner are just talking. That's all."

"Oh. Okay." The boy answered, giving Samantha a big smile.

Samantha couldn't do anything else but smile back. How she wished she could have the bright optimism of this child.

"Conner! Are you here!?"

Swiftly turning towards where the voice was coming from, the smaller boy lets go of Samantha's hand and ran towards the voice. "That's my daddy!"

"C-Conner! Wait for us!" Samantha cried out, taking off along with Superboy behind the young boy.

Watching the boy make a beeline towards an older man with black hair and wearing nice pants and a work shirt, the older man smiled widely and bent down on one knee, reaching hands out towards the small boy.

"Conner! You're okay!" The man exclaimed, wrapping his arms around the small child in his arms.

"Daddy!" Conner exclaimed, wrapping his tiny arms around his father as best he could. Gripping tightly onto the man's shirt, the boy was lifted off the ground and nestled into his fathers' shirt.

Thankful at the sight of both son and father reuniting, Samantha and Superboy stopped running beside one another; the brunette taking a few deeps breaths of relief at their search finally being over.

"Thank goodness. I'm glad we found you." Samantha said, smiling to Conner and his father.

Turning towards the new voice, Conners' father smiled gratefully and walked over to Samantha and Superboy. "Are you the ones who found my son? Thank you! Thank you so much! You don't know how worried I was when he disappeared out of my sight."

"It's fine." Superboy muttered, looking a bit uncomfortable at the many thank yours being thrown at him. Eyes avoiding the man's gaze, Superboy turned his head away.

A bit mores sociable and speaking for the two of them, Samantha nodded and gave a thumbs up. "It was no trouble. We're just glad Conner got back to you safe and sound."

"I am too. Conner, what do you say to the nice man and woman who helped you?" Conner's father asked, urging the boy to look back at the two teens.

Pulling his face away from his father, Conner moved a slightly tear stained face to Samantha and Conner. Smiling, the boy cried out "Thanks!", only to submerge himself back into his father's shirt.

Chuckling at his sons' behavior, Conner's father stared gratefully at Samantha and Superboy. "We mean it. Thank you so much."

"Just keep an eye on him better." Superboy added though he made no move to look at Conners' father face to face at his comment.

"Su-C-Conner!" Samantha sputtered out, a bit surprised by the slightly harsh comment. She knew as well that the boy's father had not done such a good job watching his own son, but to call him out like that?!

Family and fathers must still be a touchy subject for him.

"It's okay," The older man answered, trying to calm Samantha down. "He's right. I should have looked after my own son more closely. I won't make the same mistake again." Keeping a good grip on his son and thankfully nodding to the two teens, the father and son duo waved goodbye and walked off from the park.

Now back to their group of two and their latest adventure now over, Samantha sighed and felt her shoulders sag a bit. "All's well that end's well, huh?" She asked, looking over to the quiet clone next to her.

"Yeah. I guess so." Superboy muttered, eyes still focused on nothing in particular and never making eye contact.

"Hey, c'mon," Samantha spoke playfully, nudging an elbow into Superboy's arm. "We did our good deed for the day and fulfilled our duty as heroes. There's no reason to guess we did okay."

"Sure. No rest for heroes." Superboy replied, walking down the sidewalk of the park as if trying to get away from the brunette.

There he goes. Back into another one of those moods of his. Just like when he saw Superman on T.V.

Would trying to talk about his mood get him mad again like before? It was highly likely, but Samantha didn't feel right leaving Superboy feeling the way he was, acting the way he was.

Quiet, unsociable, hesitant, uncertain.

All of that progress having him open up a bit more and enjoying himself went down the drain if she allowed it to continue.

Not this time.

"Hey, wait up," Samantha called out, jogging a bit to catch up with the fast pace of Superboy. Catching up to him, Samantha slowed down her pace and took a step forward in front of Superboy, halting him in his tracks. "What's wrong, Superboy?"

"Nothing." He deflected, trying to get around the smaller girl.

"It's not nothing. I can tell, you know. And I don't like being lied to. Especially twice in one day." Samantha retorted, not backing off from Superoy's efforts. Worry swirling in her eyes, Samantha grabbed Superboy and pulled him off to the side away from others attention.

The two alone beneath a shady tree, Samantha rubbed her arm nervously, trying her hardest to calm her nerves. Out of all the times she'd been with Superboy since meeting him, she never thought she'd have to be forceful with him. And to have to be so to just talk…

"You have the same look on your face from before when…you know." Samantha ended cryptically, however it was obvious as to what she was referring to.

She could already tell Superboy knew what she'd meant, given his eyes narrowed to the ground and his brows scrunched with anger.

"You can tell me. Are you annoyed with me?" Samantha asked.

"No." He answered.

"Were you having a bad time today? Did I do something wrong?"

"No."

"Did it have something to do with Conner before? Or…his father?" Samantha hinted, trying to ease the subject into the conversation.

Grunting at the latest suggestion, Superboy stared out at the park ahead of them, the light of the setting sun illuminating the park grounds and people still enjoying the daily activities. Seeing he wasn't willing to answer her, Samantha frowned and stayed silent, deciding to follow Superboy's gaze to the picturesque image in front of her.

"I…I don't get it."

Turning to the sound of Superboy's voice breaking the silence, the shorter brunette stared up at her companion, his eyes still gazing out into the illuminated distance.

"What…don't you understand?" She asked quietly.

Hesitant at first to answer, Superboy turned his head away for a moment as if trying to hide from her. Moments later he turned back and blue eyes moved to stare into her chocolate brown.

There it was again in his eyes. Uncertainty, fear, confusion, disappointment, anger. All of those emotions clashed in the deep blue of his eyes, yet even the harsh emotions would not deter Samantha from breaking away from his gaze.

And slowly his lips started to move.

"Conner's father…His son disappeared to go off on his own and got himself lost. Probably messed up something important for his father and made him run around looking for him for nearly an hour. Even after all that worrying and effort, Conner's father was still happy to find his son. He didn't even yell." Superboy explained, hands digging into his pockets. "I don't get it."

Already Samantha felt like giving Superboy an answer would be a challenge. It was tough to make sense of what kids thought or why people did what they did in general. To explain to Superboy why someone would choose to make a choice or do something a particular way was difficult in of itself.

When there were so many reasons to guess why, would a simple answer be enough?

"I'd say…it's because his love for his son outweighed his anger." Samantha answered simply, a hand gripping the strap of her purse. "Yelling would have been the most likely of outcomes for any person who went through what he had to, but at the end of the day what a mother or a father wants most is their child happy and safe. Yelling wouldn't have done anything good and just finding his son safe was enough for him."

The small bit of heavy dialogue over, Samantha leaned on the tree behind them and kept her eyes glued to the back of Superboy, who'd made no move to follow her.

"Look, Superboy," Samantha began. "I know you don't like talking about it with me or the rest of the team, but I…we can all tell that whenever Superman comes up, you just sort of shut down. Or worse, you get angry when we know you don't mean to."

Silent, Superboy did nothing to speak up or respond back to her. Instead, the clone turned his head back over his shoulder, eyes focusing on the ice user.

Taking the silence as the go ahead to continue talking, Samantha spoke again. "You don't have to bottle it all up. The anger, the disappointment. Whatever it is your feeling, there's no reason to just keep it inside," Samantha preached. "I know people who do the same thing. Holding in their emotions and letting them out when they reach a boiling point. It isn't pretty sometimes."

God, was she rambling at this point? Was she making any sort of sense in the least? For as particular as she was in details and observations, Samantha could never overcome the uncertainty of failing.

This subject was so….hard to talk about. Perhaps it was because of her own issues with her father and family life, but all Samantha wanted was for Superboy to know he wasn't alone in any of these feelings.

So…just say that.

Scratching her neck lightly, Samantha felt her gaze burrow onto Superboy. "So, I guess what I'm trying to say is that…you don't have to just stay quiet whenever you get mad or want to talk."

Moving away from her spot and walking over to stand back next to Superboy, both turned to stare at the setting sun in the distance, the orb of light descending behind the large skyscrapers of Star City.

"I'm…your friend."

Even if somewhere deep inside something else wants more.

"The team and I are here for you."

I'm always here for you.

"You don't have to go through any of this alone."

You aren't the only one with father problems.

"There's no need to stay quiet whenever you want to say something."

You can talk to me if you need to.

"So…don't shut us out, Superboy. We're a team. We stick together through the easy and the hard times." Samantha concluded, a small blush creeping across her cheeks at the speech she'd just spoken to her team mate.

Had any of it resonated within him? Or did all her words fall flat?

"I-I mean you don't have to listen to anything I say, but it's just some advice. Good advice, in my own opinion-"

"…I'm sorry."

Well, that was an answer.

Confusion overwriting her nervousness from her previous words, Samantha stopped talking and turned her gaze to look up at Superboy, the super powered teen's face now crestfallen.

"You're…sorry?" Samantha repeated, still trying to grasp if she'd heard his response correctly. "S-Superboy, I'm not trying to scold you. I'm just giving advice because I worry about you. You don't need to apologize to me."

"I'm not apologizing for that," Superboy answered, turning to look at Samantha face to face. "I'm apologizing for before. Back…when I yelled at you."

"When you…Oh!" A spark of a memory flashing in her mind, the brunette felt her mind recount back to their time in the park, sitting side by side on the bench after seeing the news report. "Oh….That. It's okay, Superboy. I already knew at that time you didn't mean to yell. You were just caught up from everything with Superman."

"Really?" Superboy asked surprise in his voice at being forgiven so quickly.

"Yeah, but if it makes you feel better, I forgive you again." She answered with a reassuring smile.

Nodding at the reinforced forgiveness from his team mate, Superboy shifted his gaze back to the park that began to grow dim. Sighing deeply, Superboy's hands fidgeted in his pockets and slowly he began walking towards the park exit. "I'll…try. If I do get mad about something like this again…I'll try to talk."

Smiling at the slow acceptance of her words, Samantha followed and shook her head. "You don't have to force yourself to. If you don't want to talk, you don't have to Superboy. I'm just saying that if you want to, I'm here."

As lovely as her comment had been, Samantha cleared her throat and coughed in a closed fist as the meaning of her words hit her.

"The team and I, I mean. We're all here for you. Whether you just want to talk or need help." Samantha corrected herself, following alongside Superboy back to their respective homes.

"Okay." It was all that Superboy needed left to say. It was short, but to the point. Just like he was

Purse on shoulder and dress flowing in the slight breeze of the dusk night in Star City, Samantha's eyes drifted from the lights dotting the park and city sidewalks to the tall super clone next to her.

I'm happy to know Superboy was okay listening to my advice. Even more so, I'm just glad he enjoyed at least some of this trip. I wanted it to go well, for nothing to go wrong like last time.

Yet even through the memories the two would surely share together of the days events and words spoken, Samantha couldn't help but feel a small ping of sadness echo through her heart, her mind focusing in on a particular event in time.

The way he looked at Conner and his father when they found each other. I didn't want to say more, but I know there's more to what you're feeling Superboy. The way the two looked so happy to be with each other, embracing each other and never wanting to let go, words of love and protectiveness pouring out so easily and truthfully.

You weren't just angry still at not hearing from Superman. You were jealous.

I…was jealous too, to be honest. I wished I had the same relationship Conner and his father have with my own father. That's why I know what you're feeling.

"How was your day?" Samantha asked, the question directed toward Superboy. "Did you have a fun time at least, Conner?" She joked lightly, using his fake name playfully.

A small chuckling escaping his relaxed state, Superboy shrugged and looked over to Samantha. "It was pretty good. Not sure about keeping the Conner name. I'll stick to Superboy."

"I can live with that, but at least tell me this worked out better than the last time we were in the city." Samantha questioned, smiling with curiosity.

Staring at the smiling girl, Superboy again shrugged his shoulders, but a smaller smile of his own peeked out. "It worked out much better than before. Thanks."

Pride welling up inside her, Samantha moved a hand to grasp at the cloth of her dress, slender fingers gripping onto the fabric with glee.

A sting of pain ran through her chest, yet she masked it with a relieved smile directed at Superboy.

"What are friends for?"

---

Man, this took way longer than I wanted it to. That's what you get when you work in a completely different environment and try to write. Gets all your ideas and motivations all screwy. XD

I hope to get the next chapter out as soon as I can, but I don't know the schedule since school will be starting very soon for me. If necessary, I'll most likely be putting chapters out in parts to make it go a little quicker.

Until than, enjoy your days. ;3

Next Chapter: Schooled