Finally, another boring day at Gotham Academy was finally over. Two days had it been since Jon had to fight off the terrorists that almost killed his mom, the most heart wrenching two days of his life. Not because he was barely on speaking terms with his parents after the whole incident but that there was absolutely nobody else that he could confide in that knew his secret. Ellie screamed at him for locking her in the van before giving him two kisses on the cheek that made him melt completely — even then was it not enough that he felt more alone than ever. Barbara was ill with a bug at home and Dick being busy with his 'other' life as well only contributed to the day dragging on and on. Ever since that did nothing seem to go right for Jon at all. Nothing.

"Oh, sorry," he awkwardly apologised to a taller pretty blonde girl with a ponytail that he bumped into, quickly shuffling away when she gave him a dangerous glare. Forever a repellant to girls he was. Jon joined the swarm of school kids spilling out through gates, nearly all of them in pairs and groups while he was a one-man team. Nothing like a good apple pie at the new Bibbo's Diner to cure the loneliness away. He even had another for a Justice Shake — his, Dick and Barbara's absolute favourite.

Jon quickly crossed the street, narrowly avoiding a ticked-off cyclist, making his way to Bibbo's when he felt a buzz in his back pocket. He took out his phone and stared at the screen, his mom's picture with him staring right back at him. Lightly sighing, Jon then answered the call and mumbled, "Hey, Mom. I'm on my way home, I promise — I'm just stopping by at Bibbo's with my friends."

"The new one in Gotham, right? Perfect! I'm already here — see you in ten, sweetie!" and then she hung up the phone. That was weird; she seemed awfully chipper despite it being pretty tense in the house between them. Jon just shook it off, hoping that he could get his pie and head back home for a nap.

The new Bibbo's wasn't that far from Gotham Academy, only being a fifteen minute walk if you were talking with friends — so you could imagine how quickly Jon arrived there. He attempted to push through the pristine doors that were automatic, always falling for it every time (Barbara made fun of him for it as well), and he peered around the diner until he picked out the back of his mom's head. Taking in a deep breath, Jon began to unsling his thick backpack as he trudged over to the booth where Lois was sitting at — and his dad? What the heck was going on?

"Jonny!" enthused Lois, flashing her perfect smile at her son who raised his eyebrow at her. "You got here fast, huh? Well, sit down, sweetie?"

Jon cautiously sat down with his face unchanged, looking over at Clark who also had a smile on his face — maybe Jon was reaching too far but this wasn't normal, right? "Uh, you guys aren't like being mind-controlled by aliens, are you?"

But Lois just rolled her eyes as the waitress came around with a platter of desserts as she replied, "Oh, stop being dramatic, Jonathan. There's nothing wrong with your parents wanting to share some dessert with you after school — it's your favourite, right?"

Jon nodded as the waitress poured the custard on top of his portion, his mouth instantly watering. This was definitely a medium to soften the blow to whatever obvious bad news that they were going to inflict onto him. But apple pie was still apple pie and he still got to keep his weekly allowance. And so Jon dug in, not noticing his parents gazing at him lovingly, then to each with a hint of worry in their eyes.

"It's, uh, it's been a while since we all been to Bibbo's together, huh, sport?" said Clark, pushing his glasses up the exact same way Jon did. "Gotta say, this one might have our home one beat."

Jon just shrugged and took another spoonful. "Yeah, it's okay, I guess. Mr Wayne paid for this place which is why me and my friends usually get discounts here — you know, Dick Grayson?"

"Right, right. Where are they, by the way? You said you were coming with friends." Jon barely glanced at his parents before embarrassingly revealing that he was actually alone. "Ah, well, at least that means we can talk privately then."

Jon put down his spoon, ready to brace himself for what was to come: they were grounding him more, no wait, they were gonna take his powers away for a certain time. He was ready for anything — almost anything.

Clark cleared his throat with Lois doing the same a little louder, prompting him to begin speaking to Jon. "Jon, your mother and I have been speaking a lot recently about… everything that's happened," he started off as Jon shuffled uncomfortably in his seat. "From the time you snuck out to be with Robin and the terrorist ordeal: the point is that we've had a lot to discuss of your near future."

Jon diverted his gaze to Lois, then went back to his dad. Lois then gently held Jon's hands in her own, a smile that seemed to mask a tad of sadness as she then said, "Seeing you in those situations had my heart nearly jumping out of my chest but… we were — we are willing to reconsider your grounding so that you can join the other young heroes."

"Wh-what…?" Jon barely stammered as his eyes were nearly about to burst out of their sockets. "I-I don't think I heard you properly, Mom: did you say that you're letting me join the other heroes…?" Lois looked over at Clark briefly before gently nodding her head. "But… but why?"

"Because you were right," Clark answered, taking Jon's other hand. "Every day passes where you're getting stronger and so are these overloads — but maybe that's because we never really taught you how to control them properly; how to be yourself. Because we don't want to stop you from being who you are, Jon, and that is a good person. A good person with a lot of power to do good in this world. You're growing up fast, Jonny, and it's hard to admit that we're having trouble keeping up with you."

"But," did Lois interject, "with this opportunity for you to train and become less bullheaded can you hopefully slow down a little bit just so that we can catch up, okay?"

Jon nodded profusely, beaming with every tooth showing. "Oh man, this is… this is…! I promise I won't let you guys down! I-I'll train like a beast and get everything perfect down to the littlest detail — I mean, I haven't had my heat vision come on yet but I'm sure it'll come in any day but… Mom? What's wrong?"

Lois' watery eyes brought his rambling to a halt as she dabbed her eyes and insisted that she was fine, telling Clark to say it instead. Jon felt a shiver travel down his spine as his dad sighed before straightening himself to say, "Batman only just agreed to have you on the team of the younger heroes, pointing out that you're massively undertrained compared to them: that one is entirely on me, I can say that for a fact. But…"

"But what, Dad…?"

"You already have a hectic schedule with going from city to city for school, on top of training with the others until you're deemed ready to be out in the field. So, because of that, you're, um… you're gonna train and live at their facilities while also moving schools again."

…

"Oh…" was all that Jon could even say. This… well, he didn't expect this at all. Joining the team was his absolute dream — to be alongside heroes his age, fighting the good fight. But he didn't want to leave Dick and Barbara behind at school, let alone his own home. "So, there's no way for me to stay home instead?" he asked quietly.

"See, Clark?" Lois exasperatedly pointed out, her eyes still wet. "Why can't he stay home with us? Moving schools again so soon could fuck with his educational environment — sorry."

"Lo, Jon's very bright and a capable kid, but he already has a lot on his plate and we can't let him manage all of that without the proper support. Come on, you know I'm right."

"But he can do it — with our help! We know Jon best, not… not Batman or whatever other superhero that wants to get in our business —"

"I'll go." Lois gasped a little bit, turning to face Jon who had been following the conversation intently before he said in a blunt tone, "If that's what it takes for me to be on the team… then I'll do it. I'll move places, I'll move schools: I'll go."

Lois then bit her lip that quivered instantly with the tears cascading down her face. It was Jon's turn to hold her hand as he then said softly to her, "Mom, I was so scared that I was gonna lose you because I didn't know what to do. But now, now I can learn to be a real hero with everything that you taught me, you and Dad. Didn't you say that being a hero comes with sacrifices? Well… you're the greatest hero I know, so you gotta make this sacrifice, right?"

"He's not wrong," smiled Clark, putting his muscly arm around his wife. "The kid gets his bravery from you, you know. Always jumping in headfirst to danger — remember?"

Lois blew out air from her nose and smiled sadly, cupping Jon's cheek softly, and brushing her thumb across it. "I know you'll be okay; you are my baby boy, after all. Just promise me that no matter what, no matter if anyone tells you any different or tries to hurt you, that you always protect your heart because that is where all your real power comes from. Right there."

"I promise, Mom. I'll make you proud, both you," assured Jon as Clark gave him an affirming nod. He couldn't believe his ears, never truly feeling like this day would come but it finally did. His heart was booming like it could go on forever and ever and he really believed that. He was gonna be a hero…

"You show the world who you are, Superboy…"

Author's note: and that's the first arc done! Hope you enjoyed and be on the lookout for the next one. Later.