Stayed up waaaay too late finishing this guy. I have GOT to crash. See how much I love all of you? *faceplant at desk*
Elise stared at the molecular structure in front of her. She was missing a hydrogen atom somewhere. There should've been five of them in this compound, but her diagram had four that she could see and no space for another. Am I losing my mind? It wasn't the first time this semester she'd thought that. Diagramming complex molecular structures occasionally made her rethink her choice of major.
"Hey everybody," a cheerful and familiar voice called into the campus pizza parlor where Elise had taken her homework. "Someone said I could find a hot brunette rocket scientist around here?"
An opening like that surely had everyone's attention. There was absolutely no mistaking that sing-songy voice, either, and the girl fought the reluctant smile she felt forming. To be truthful, she'd actually missed it since she'd moved out here. And not just because the voice's owner brought a breath of home with her. Sighing, Elise sat up and shook her head. "Chem, not physics, for the hundredth time," she said drolly without actually looking around.
"Oooh, even better," Kala laughed, strolling over to plop down in the other side of the booth. "Rocket scientists are so last year; mad scientists, now, they're all the rage this season."
The usual wave of affection swept through her then. Some things never changed; Kala being Kala was a constant in a currently-unpredictable new world. "You're impossible." Elise couldn't help a smile when she said it.
Kala leaned toward her and said in a low voice, "Hey, you and I know that I'm too perfect to exist, but don't tell the crowd, okay?"
Elise dissolved into laughter. How could she not, with Kala's irrepressible smile and the devilish gleam in her eyes? In the last three years, Kala had become more polished, more Goth if that was possible, but her off-the-wall sense of humor hadn't changed a bit. When she could stop snickering, she managed to say, "You, perfect? If I admitted that I'd have to give up my claim to the title."
"Touché. And that would be a damn shame for all of us." Kala shrugged, and picked up a slice of Elise's pizza. "Mmm, mushrooms and olives. God, I miss that. You're my new best friend."
"I was always one of your best friends, and you're a shameless mooch. Hands off my lunch." She swatted Kala's hand when the other girl playfully reached for another slice. "What brings you randomly to sunny California this afternoon?"
"Gothapalooza, of course. Not like you haven't been hearing about this on and off for a month." Elise stifled more laughter; the tour had an actual name, but every band involved mocked it. "We were in Texas, and I figured we're halfway here, so I might as well take an evening and come see you. Besides, our newest member made the mistake of saying Sebast can't hook up in a cow town."
Elise groaned at that. "Oh my God. He'll be lucky if he doesn't get shot. Why did you even let him run loose?"
Kala snorted and rolled her eyes. "Like I could stop him. Sebast thinks he's a force of nature. Besides, if he can hook up in a backwoods Alabama gas station, he can hook up anywhere. There's a reason we always have a bottle of Listerine in the glove box."
"Wait, wait. Alabama? Backwoods Alabama? How the hell…?"
She shrugged. "Don't ask. He's the Queerfinder; it's like his superpower or something. We stopped for gas and he went in for smokes. Next thing I know, the 'Open' sign is off and he's gone for half an hour. Morgan and I were just about to call the cops when he strolled out. And he didn't pay for the smokes."
"Oh my God! Is he still pulling that high school bullshit?" Elise clearly remembered asking Sebast one time how he always managed to have cigarettes and condoms and the occasional beer. He had winked and told her about two different boyfriends who worked in convenience stores.
"Only occasionally. Besides, he probably only did it because it was an hour from the highway in Alabama, of all places. The guy's name was Dwight. Sebast had to have a souvenir, so he wheedled the smokes. Freakin' Marlboros, too. I hate those."
Elise rested her face in her palms. "Sebast is … there are no words for Sebast."
"No, there are words, just not polite ones. And a lot of gestures, too." They shared a chuckle at that, and Kala added, "Sebast is just trying to find himself. In every man he meets."
"Has he at least given up on Morgan?" Elise asked.
"Officially, yes. Unofficially, I believe we're at 'as long as we're both still breathing I have a chance' status."
"You know, if you and Morgan…" Elise began, but Kala shook her head briskly.
"Nuh-uh. Sebast met him first, and we don't poach on each other's men. Remember how that worked out sophomore year?" Another snicker, and Kala continued, "Besides, I might just have another option open."
"Oh really? Do tell." Elise leaned forward.
"Try half-Japanese, carries a freakin' katana around everywhere, speaks five languages, and he's a singer." Kala smirked. "Oh yeah, and Allen is Shinto. I am officially dating a pagan guy."
"Still won't shock your mom," Elise pointed out. "She's unshockable, Kala."
"It's not about shocking Mom. It's about being around a guy who probably won't ask me to judge an armpit-farting contest. You know, something that's been lacking in my life since Nick left."
"You've been spending too much time around these boys," Elise teased.
"Try occasional fourteen-hour-drives in the van with them. I've come to the conclusion that the vast majority of the male population under the age of 30 is just disgusting. Which is why, if Allen doesn't work out, I'm coming back to California to lure you back into the family." With that she batted her eyelashes melodramatically.
Elise heaved a deep sigh. "At least you acknowledge that I'm not dating your brother right now. He doesn't."
A uncomfortable silence followed that statement, Kala looking away with a sigh. No surprise there, a moment of regret pricking Elise sharply. That had been a little too blunt maybe. While Kala agreed that her twin was far too serious on the topic, it was bound to be just as painful for her. No one had been a bigger cheerleader of their relationship. It was a relief when the other girl finally cleared her throat. "Are you surprised?" Kala asked sardonically.
"I had to ask him to change his Facebook relationship status three times! I had to threaten to post it on his wall before he actually did it."
Kala just shrugged. "I guess it just takes some people longer to get over things than others.
"That's not fair," Elise shot back. "It's not that I want to get over him. It's that—we were fourteen! Hell, we were sixteen when we got back together, and he's already planning the wedding."
"You know, Elise, if you're gonna keep on with the 'we can't be together' thing, you have to find some new excuses."
Elise glared at her. "Shouldn't he be the one saying he wants to play the field before we settle down?"
"Why? He's smart enough to know when he's onto a good thing. There's no rule that says you have to have a horrible relationship before you can appreciate a good one. That's just movies. Besides, if you want to see the rest of the world, try all the cuisine before you marry a nice boy, you should get on with it already."
"I am, actually," Elise replied icily.
That was enough to rock Kala back on her heels. Another silence, those hazel eyes wide with an aggravated surprise Elise knew all too familiarly. They just stared at each other, neither venturing a peep. No surprise who broke it first. Kala gritted her teeth and narrowed her eyes. "Wow. This is news. We've been talking once a week and this was never even alluded to. You weren't even going to tell me?"
For one second, Elise wanted to snap back at her. Kala did entirely too much meddling in her love life; she knew perfectly well that the dark-haired girl thought she and Jason were idiots for not getting on with it already. She meant well, she truly did, but she'd never learned not to give unwanted advice.
Still, they'd been friends a long time, and Kala's temper was hotter than hers. A fight was the last thing either of them wanted with their visits so limited. So Elise swallowed her initial grumpy response and said calmly, "No, I hadn't told you because I'm going on my first date with Corrin this weekend. So I figured I'd catch you up on Sunday if there was anything to tell, and if it fizzles, then there's really nothing to tell."
Somewhat mollified, Kala leaned her elbows on the table. Yeah, the news wasn't exactly what she had wanted to hear, but they both knew the ways of relationships. Only the little frown between her brows hinted at her loyalties. "Corrin, huh? What's he like?"
"I don't know. This girl in my chem lab, he's her brother's friend. She set us up. For all I know he could be a complete waste of my time."
"But you will keep me posted, right?" Kala asked, giving her a tiny smile. "Because if he doesn't treat you right, I'm gonna come out here and kick his ass."
Elise sighed. "Kala, I can kick his ass myself. I don't need your blue belt assistance, or any other assistance you had in mind to provide. I appreciate it, I really do, but you don't have to."
Kala stared at her for a long moment, then offered her fist, knuckles toward Elise. "Okay, fine. Just remember, whether you ever get around to marrying my brother, we both know you'll always be kind of a sister to me, okay? God knows you know all the family secrets. And you were mine first and don't you forget it."
Chuckling again, Elise fist-bumped her. Leave it to Kala to phrase it that way. "Sure thing. Besides, Kala, no matter what happens from here on out, I'll never lose touch with you." She lowered her voice to add, "Friends who can bring you fresh bagels in Berkeley—from your favorite deli in Metropolis—are a thing to be cherished."
At that, Kala tipped her head back and laughed openly.
It was wonderful to see her again, and the evening hanging out did Elise a lot of good. She'd needed to relax for a little while. But thinking back on what they had said, their discussion stayed with her. As usual, Kala left her with as many questions as answers.
Especially that thing about new excuses. That had burned. It was still the same problem: Jason was absolutely, utterly sure that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Elise. It wouldn't surprise her to find out that he'd tentatively named a couple of their kids. Love, marriage, children, he had it all figured out.
She'd actually started to think it was a good idea. By senior year, Elise had lulled herself into seriously thinking about marriage and everything else. They were lovers by then, and she'd never been so intimate with anyone, or so comfortable with that level of intimacy. It just felt right with him, and not just the physical side of things. That was nice enough—more than nice enough, and she did miss it—but it was the falling asleep in his arms and waking up to his ridiculous sleepy-bear face that tugged at her heart. Missing him was a physical ache most days. After all, Jason knew her like no one else, and she was the only person outside his family who knew the whole truth about him. They had so much in common that they seemed destined for each other. It would be so easy, so right, to take up her destiny with him.
But, nothing in life was ever perfect, and she didn't trust anything that felt so easy. The first stumbling block had been choosing college on opposite coasts. Jason's first choice of school was Johns Hopkins, and he had the grades to get in. Yet when he found out she was looking at Berkeley, he'd been all too willing to change schools just to be with her. Elise had vetoed that automatically, without examining why at the time.
Only recently, when she saw the big headline unveiling Superboy to the world, did she realize what was really wrong. It wasn't that she didn't trust perfection. The simple fact was, she could easily settle in with him and have a happy life at Jason's side. But Elise didn't want to just be a superhero's wife. Sure, for other people that was probably an achievement in itself, but she wanted a doctorate, a career, a chance to change the world in her own way. Maybe even to save the world, a little bit, not with superpowers that were an accident of birth, but with the knowledge and experience she was etching into her brain every day.
When she looked at that article, Elise wondered if she could have both. Or would that feeling of rightness just make her dreams fade away? Sure, she'd be happy with Jason, but she didn't want to be known just as the woman who sewed up his cape and raised his kids. Look at Lois—she had a career and a standing of her own. Everyone in the caped community probably knew she was Superman's wife, but they referred to her as the media liaison for or as the editor of the Daily Planet. She was no one's little woman. And Elise was close enough to her to know just how dearly she'd paid for that independent recognition.
Elise didn't know if she was strong enough to be Dr. Thorne when the easy, comfortable, safe, and happy role of Mrs. Superboy was sitting right there waiting for her. Did she have the determination to choose the harder road? Or would she wind up just being a satellite orbiting his planet?
Right around then, she realized she'd framed the question in cosmology terms, his major, and groaned. No, if she and Jason were ever going to work out, she had to know first if she could achieve her goals on her own. She had to be Elise Thorne before she could be Mrs. Jason Kent.
And if he didn't see that, well, she didn't want to hurt him by explaining it in plain terms. Jason would never, ever think of her as a footnote to himself. Elise knew that very well. And it wasn't so much the opinions of others that worried her, in the end. It was her own mind, her own goals, her own self-image that she was concerned with. If she couldn't stand apart from him, how on Earth could she stand beside him when he was growing into his legacy as a superhero? He was the son of Superman! An ordinary girl would get swept up and lost in that, and Elise had to prove to herself that she was way more than ordinary before she could risk losing herself in him again.
Not exactly the best thoughts to have right before bed, but Elise rolled over and recited the periodic table—with atomic weights—until she fell asleep. And when she dreamed, it was of trying to glue atoms together into molecules instead of wistful fantasies of the life she could be leading.
…
Jason sat in Tim's chair in Titans Tower, cradled his head in his hands, and sighed deeply. "This sucks," he muttered.
Cassie rumpled his hair as she walked past. "Tough it out. Besides, now we can tell Tim we really, really missed him."
He just looked askance at her. "Don't ever leave me to settle an argument between Arrowette and Kid Flash again. That wasn't my idea of fun."
She dropped into the chair across from him and put her feet up on the console. "Jason, I couldn't stay. Everyone knows Cissie and I are friends. No matter what I said, I'd be screwed. If I sided with him, she'd be hurt. If I sided with her, he'd say I was playing favorites."
"Tim ought to be here," Jason grumbled. "He could've pulled out one of his great 'I am Robin, hear me roar' moments and made them both shut up."
"No, Cissie would snark at him on principle, and then you'd have to break that up, and neither of us can claim we're unbiased where Tim's concerned," Cassie pointed out.
Jason shook his head. "The girls are less obnoxious about family rivalries than the guys. I mean, Steph and Cissie get along."
"Which just proves women are smarter than men." Cassie grinned at him, clearly trying to lighten his mood.
It worked, a little. "Yeah, right. Sounds like you spent a little too much time on Themyscira. Back off the hard-core feminism. We're about equality around here."
"This from the son of Lois Lane?" Cassie teased, smirking. Kicked back in her chair and with her feet propped up, she had a lot of denim-clad leg on display. Quite spectacular leg, at that, but Jason was the son of Lois Lane and didn't stare.
He also didn't comment. "Whatever. I wish Tim wasn't holed up in Gotham."
Cassie shrugged. "Well, so do I, but the Big Bat has put all his kiddies on curfew. He's paranoid as hell about this Red Hood guy. You ask me, the sensible thing to do would be to let us help. The guy is good with guns, so why not bring in a couple of bulletproof people to play tag with him? The detectives can find him, you and I can help smack him down. Teamwork, and everybody wins."
"When Uncle Bruce perceives a threat, he goes on lockdown," Jason said. "On some level, he doesn't trust anyone other than himself and his kids to take care of Gotham."
"Yeah, but you trained with him. Why won't he let you in?"
"I'm not a Bat. Cassie, sometimes I think the only reason he lets the Birds of Prey operate in Gotham is because he needs Oracle's resources."
"So very true," Cassie sighed. "Well, what else can we do? If we sneak into Gotham, he'll flambé us. And report it to the League. It's bad enough I still have to worry about Mom cramping my super-style; I don't need Batman getting me in trouble with Diana too."
"If it gets bad enough, she and Dad will lean on him," Jason said. "For now, he has it under control. They'll take care of this new guy, the power balance in Gotham will settle down, and everything will be back to normal." At least, that was how he hoped it would go.
Cassie swiveled her chair back and forth in a short arc. "Yeah, and that's not all that's wrong with you. You're brooding, and that's Tim's forte. Something else is up, something personal. Spill, Superboy."
"Tim being on lockdown in Gotham with this maniac is personal," Jason insisted.
She didn't quite dismiss that, but she could be annoyingly perceptive. "He's Red Robin. He'll kick ass and take names like usual. What's going on in the civilian side of your life?"
"It's nothing," he said, trying to shrug her off, but Cassie was too good a friend to let him, and he knew it. After a moment of staring expectantly, she kicked his chair, and he glared in aggravation. "Okay, fine. It's personal. I just found out Elise is dating some guy in California." Kala had, of course, texted him and warned him not to panic.
"Isn't she your ex?" Cassie asked.
Jason huffed out an angry sigh. Nobody got it; he wondered why he kept being surprised. "No, we're just taking a break. We've spent more time on break than in a relationship, I think. I'm ready for the break to be over, and she's dating other guys."
"That's kind of what taking a break means, Jason. Was the phrase 'see other people' ever used? Or 'explore our options'?"
"By her," he admitted grumpily.
"Do you know why she wanted to take a break?"
He paused for a long moment before grumbling, "She's afraid of getting committed so soon. She thinks we're too young to be serious, and she wants to make sure this is what she wants forever before she commits."
"Oh, and you're perfect and she can't possibly find anyone else this good, so she should shut up and marry you already?" Cassie shot back.
"No! That's not how it is," Jason snapped. "She's happy with me, Cassie. I think she's scared of being that happy. Someone told her you have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince, and she just wants to make sure she kisses enough frogs to fill her statistical quota."
"In other words, she's a realist and doesn't believe she found her Happily Ever After in high school," Cassie commented. Jason just glowered.
She sighed and rolled her eyes. "You are so hung up on this girl, Jason. Maybe you should quit chasing her if she's so dead-set on running away?"
"No," he retorted immediately, and with enough force that Cassie looked startled. "She's the one, Cassie. The one. If I try to imagine the perfect girl for me, she's exactly what I'd picture. She's just … amazing. And Mom and Dad like her—even Kala likes her, and she's normally evil to all my girlfriends."
"How many other girlfriends have you had, anyway?" Cassie asked. She was swiveling the chair again, and Jason was coming to recognize that as a sign of impending interference.
"Enough," he said shortly.
"I'm looking for a number between two and two hundred here, Super-stubborn," Cassie said.
"Enough. Four or five." A lot less than some Titans, and quite a few more than his father had had.
"And how many of those were high school?"
The answer was all of them, and they both knew it. "What's your point?"
Cassie leaned forward and looked at him seriously out of blue eyes that were almost exactly the same shade as his own. "Look, Jason. All I'm saying is maybe you should actually think about taking this break seriously. I know you love her, but maybe you should look around at your other options a little."
"Cassie, I know most people don't fall in love with someone when they're young and stay in love forever and ever. If that was true, I'd probably have red hair," he replied, trying very hard not to let his annoyance show. "But I'm not being blind. I love Elise. The last time we broke up, I dated someone else, and it failed miserably. She was a spy for Luthor."
"Not every girl is a spy, Jason."
"No, but it's just not worth it, Cassie. Elise knows me, and I know I can trust her. All the girls I meet when I'm out saving people are just chasing the cape. They don't know me. And all the girls I meet in college and stuff, I have to keep secrets from them, and that's no way to start a relationship."
Cassie was starting to look as though she couldn't quite believe what he was saying. "Okay, I kind of understand not wanting to date civilians. Keeping secrets sucks, and most of them don't really get what we do. And the cape-chasing is annoying. The attention can be nice, but it gets old. No one wants to be wanted for their powers."
"Exactly!" Jason exclaimed. "I'm kind of worried about a girl who wants to date Superboy, anyway. As far as the world knows, he's got no family, no job, no concept of a normal life. And he's constantly out saving the world."
"With a bunch of girls in tight pants, if they wear pants at all," Cassie added, grinning. She got serious again to add, "Plus you've got the same problems I do—exactly when are you supposed to tell someone you're half human? That's not something you save for the pre-nup, but it's definitely not first-date material, either. It just makes dating weird."
"You get it," Jason said, relieved. "You really get it. And see, Elise knows all that stuff, and it doesn't freak her out. I mean, she's a scientist too. She's more interested in figuring out how Kryptonians and humans are genetically compatible than in getting all weirded out by me being part alien."
Cassie gave a heartfelt sigh. "Trust me, I get it. But you know, there is another option."
"Become a monk?" Jason said.
She snickered. "No, Super-dense. Date a cape. I mean, we've got quite a few of them running around these days."
He blinked. The thought had honestly never occurred to him. Jason considered his fellow Titans to be more than just colleagues. They had to entrust their safety, their lives, to one another quite often. Relationship drama was the last thing they needed. "Yeah, no way. Office romances never work out, and when they flame out, everyone around gets burned. Trying to date another Titan would be like that times ten."
Cassie raised one eyebrow at him. "Okay, I'm going to have blow your logical fallacies out of the water here. Number one: your parents met at work, both ways around, and everyone wants a relationship like that. Number two: why automatically assume it's going to flame out horribly? Which leads me to number three: other heroes have had stable, happy relationships with other capes."
"What, like Dick and Kory? Or Uncle Bruce and Diana?" Jason scoffed.
"No, don't even try to count Batman. He's got an on-again off-again thing with that Talia al-Ghul, for crying out loud. I mean like Barda and Scott, or Arthur and Mera, or … hell, your parents ought to count. Your mother sure isn't a civilian."
"My parents aren't the happy-ever-after you think they are," Jason warned. "For starters, I was the ring-bearer at their wedding. And we had some pretty major fireworks over the years. Sure, they're a Hallmark card now, but it wasn't always all roses and puppies. The crap that went down before Nevada ended up with both of them dropping divorce on the table."
Cassie sighed heavily. "Yeah, but they didn't split up, and they're the definition of super-couple. My point is, it can work. And maybe instead of moping around pathetically, you should give it a shot. I'm not saying you should propose marriage to a girl and then go sleep with your first love like a certain someone did. Just go on a couple dates. It might even be fun."
"I'll think about it," Jason said, knowing he wouldn't. On top of all his other objections, on top of the fact that he just didn't want to date anyone else, he was one of the unofficial leaders of the Titans. Any relationship he had could cause accusations of favoritism from the rest.
"You do that," Cassie said. "It'd be worth it just to see you smile once in a while. See you later." With that she got up, tousled his hair roughly, and headed out.
Smoothing his hair back with a frown—what was it with girls always wanting to mess up his hair?—he called, "Yeah, see you!"
From the hallway, she called back, "Who knows? Maybe if you pull your head out of the clouds and look around, you might just find someone who suits you better than Elise."
He laughed, muttering, "I doubt it," as he went back to scanning the case log.
…
Clark was gone during lunch, and Lois took advantage of his absence to talk to his pet reporter, letting her know there might be an opportunity opening in the City department, where all the real stories were. After all, she was an extremely talented young woman, and Lois hated to see her languishing in International. Unfortunately Krista saw through her and wasn't interested in switching departments. Luckily for both of them, she phrased her refusal with the same grace that had led to her sharing Phil's byline on the story Clark had sent her to steal from him a while back.
Lois took the setback diplomatically, in spite of Perry chortling at her. After all, a little competitiveness between departments kept everyone sharp. And besides, Lois and Clark had a stern rule: infighting in the office stayed in the office. At home was totally different. She didn't snark at him about stealing her stories once they got home, and he didn't tease her about trying to steal his reporter in the elevator after work.
Actually, he should've at least smirked at her about it. Lois eyed him warily, wondering what the deal was with lunch. Normally she could figure out where her husband was by watching the news, but not today. Kal-El was awfully subdued, which generally meant bad news. "What's up?" she asked as they walked to the car.
"I'll tell you when we get home," was all he would say, and Lois somehow managed to wait. She knew him in all his moods, and closed-off was only one of them when something seriously bad had gone down. She knew she'd hear it—she was his chronicler and confidant from their earliest days together, and more than a decade of marriage had only brought them closer.
Home, and the dogs needed to be let out, and the answering machine light was blinking, and Kala must've snuck in during the day because there were dishes in the sink, but none of that mattered to her husband. He caught Lois by the hips, lifted her up so she was sitting on the counter, and leaned his head against her shoulder with a long sigh. She ran her fingers through his hair, soothing him, and wrapped her legs around his waist. His hands were under her jacket, pressed against the small of her back. Whenever he was stressed or depressed or otherwise drastically out of whack, Kal-El sought comfort in closeness, as much contact as he could get.
"Tell me," Lois murmured, kissing his temple.
"Bruce found out who's been slaughtering the drug dealers in Gotham," he replied, his breath warm against her skin.
"Who?" she asked. She'd been hearing about this new villain for a little while, someone smart and deadly and damn well-trained, someone who'd gotten away from Bruce more than once. Someone who thought nothing of killing a bunch of drug lords' lieutenants just to make a point. He was in on the drugs and the weapons and everything else, making himself a major player in Gotham City and provoking all the usual gang of crooks in the process. This Red Hood guy was really getting himself onto Bat-clan's shit list in a big way.
Kal-El sighed, that terrible heavy sigh. Lois hated it; he let himself carry far too much responsibility and guilt, especially for things that weren't his fault. And Bruce had refused outside help from the first time he encountered the new guy. The Bat could stonewall with the best of them, but sometimes he took it too far.
"If Bruce knows, I damn sure hope he told you, or I'm going over there and he can tell me," Lois muttered darkly.
Kal-El's voice was low and desolate when he answered her. "It's his son. It's Jason Todd."
She froze. The boy who shared her son's name had haunted her for years. When he died, Bruce went off the rails. Oh, not like any normal person. Bruce had gone cold and dark and silent, and since he was already pretty goddamned grimdark, that was a frightening thing to see. He blamed himself, and he wouldn't let anyone help him shoulder that burden. Kal-El had tried, Diana had tried, and Lois knew both of them had been bluntly rebuffed. The loss of Jason Todd was a wound in Bruce's soul that no one could heal, not even Tim Drake. Tim was the one who kept Bruce functioning and sane—Batman needs a Robin—but he wasn't healed.
And now, he was back. Alive, somehow, but Lois had seen stranger things and his reappearance wasn't what shocked her. Finding a former Robin on the wrong side of the law was more surprising than the dead returning to life. "Wait, what? Is he sure?"
"Jay made sure of it. He gave Bruce blood, hair, and tissue, and all of it tested a 100% match in the Batcave computer."
"How is that even possible?" Lois asked, still trying to wrap her mind around the idea of someone with Bruce's training going on a crime spree.
"I have no idea. Lois, I'm worried for Bruce." He huffed a short laugh, and added dismally, "I'm more worried for Jay. I remember the boy. Bruce says he should've seen this coming, that Jay would've turned to a life of crime if he hadn't intervened. All I saw was a bright, mischievous boy who'd been dealt a bad hand in life. What happened to him to cause this? And more importantly, can we save him?"
Lois hugged him tight, pressing her cheek against his. "I don't know, Kal-El," she whispered, wishing she had a better answer—or any answer—for him. All she could do for now was hold him close and be the shoulder he leaned on.