Spike , Part 2 : Never Meet Your Heroes .
Spike didn't bat an eye, as he walked through the portal. He was used to teleportation spells, why would a bit of tech that can do the same thing frighten him.
Superman had gone with the boy through the zeta tube. He was the one who found him after all. He felt it was his responsibility to get him comfortable.
An orange girl in her early 20s was standing next to a control panel, in a futuristic room, but Spike didn't even seem to understand that any of that was strange. He didn't even seem to comprehend that orange women with pure green eyes, without a hint of white, were not the norm.
"Hello Spike," Smiled the young woman.
Spike smiled right back, "Hey."
"Starfire," Superman got her attention. He held up a few shopping bags, and passed it over to her. "Just a few clothes, and toys we let him pick out at the Hall of Justice."
She looked at the 20-something bags in Superman's arms. Rolling her eyes, as she took them. "Let me guess. They're all Batman related."
Superman chuckled, "Actually they are mostly Golden Age based. We don't exist in his universe and the Justice Society only exist in Comic books."
"Oh," Starfire snickered, "One of those, eh? Always fun."
"Anyway, I should get going. Need to help repair the damage this little guy caused," Superman ruffled Spike's hair. It was an odd sensation. Little strands of fur, moving about, instead of the single piece flexible fin, he used to have.
Starfire gave him an almost begging look. "Won't you say hi to Conner, before you go."
Superman suddenly went rigid, "Sorry but-"
"He's been asking about you. He was really excited when Batman told us you were coming."
Superman groaned, "Of course he did. Look I-"
"With respect, you're the closest thing he has to a father-"
"But I'm not his father!" Superman snapped, "And people should stop encouraging him, to think of me like that! You're doing more harm then good, by offering the kid more then I can give him.
Spike looked up at the Kryptonian, a weird expression on the boy's face.
Superman felt obligated to explain, "Conner is a clone made from a combination of my DNA and my arch nemesis, Lex Luthor. The League rescued him from a bad place some months ago and brought him here."
Spike continued to stare at the man, analysing him.
"He's a good kid, but he's not 'my' kid," Superman insisted. "Genetics aside, I'm not his dad."
"..." Spike just continued to stare before finally saying. "You are nothing like Super Stallion."
Superman visibly flinched, "Sorry I couldn't live up to your expectations." Before abruptly activating the Zeta tube, and leaving.
Spike looked at him all but run away. Then, when he was gone, the young dragon looked at Starfire, "Are all heroes like that?"
Starfire sighed. She probably shouldn't have brought Conner up, to Superman. Not around the new kid, at least. Especially when he wasn't even a proper resident of their universe, and thereby no doubt got a bad impression of the lot of them. However, the man was leaving anyway. She couldn't just let him go though, not without trying. Conner was going to be heart broken, as it was.
"Come on," Starfire said to the new boy, purposefully ignoring his question, "Let's get you settled in."