"Mooom, you're gonna have to let go eventually."

"I know, I know — just five more minutes…"

Lois had been saying 'five more minutes' for the last half hour as she had Jonathan restrained in the tightest hug she could give him, not budging even an inch. It was nearly midnight with the purply-black blanket of the sky above dotted with twinkling spots, all of the stars looking down on the Kent family; they were on the roof of the Daily Planet that was closed, the city of Metropolis still alive and thriving beneath it. And Jon was going to leave it all behind for the time being — safe to say he was feeling nervous on the inside.

But of course, it wasn't just Jon and Lois on top of the Daily Planet; standing right beside them with a joyful smile as he looked at them both embracing was Jon's dad, not as Clark Kent but now as Superman, having his fun on watching his wife cling onto their son for dear life. Superman then patted her on the back and said, "Alright, Lois, the kid is gonna be stuck here all night if you don't let go. We don't want him to be any later than he already is."

Lois muttered in response, "Let them wait; I'm hugging my baby for as long as I want, maybe even forever — I'm kidding, Jonny." She then pulled away and began fixing his hair meticulously, continuing to speak, "I packed away all of your stuff including your new glasses, and I put a recipe for your Nana's Apple Pie — oh, and I got you the newest phone so that you can call me whenever you want. I also added pictures, Mr K-Bear and your old blanket as well —"

"Mom…" Jon chuckled, grinning as Lois realised the tangent. she was going off of, her face going slightly red before she started to cry again. "Please don't cry, Mom; otherwise I'll cry and then they won't take me seriously when I go over there."

"I know, I know, it's just… this was supposed to happen when you were eighteen instead," Lois sobbed softly as Superman gently held her shoulders to put her at ease. "You were gonna go to college after flying through your grades — you are going to keep up with school, right? Because not even Batman will stop me from setting you straight, Jonathan. School comes first!"

"Yes, Mom, I'll keep up with my grades at the new school — I even had to say bye to Dick and Barbara yesterday. I never saw her cry so much, like ever…"

Superman then chimed in, "We're both so proud of you, Jon — this is perhaps the biggest step in your life so far, so all we can say is… just be you, okay? Because being you is more than enough to being the best you can be, you hear me, son?"

Jon nodded and asked why exactly they were up there at this time. He was then motioned to come over to the platform that was the base of the giant golden globe. His dad pointed to a sliding door on the lower platform as he began to explain, "Now the reason why I brought you up here is to show you what this is — not any normal door but a Zeta Tube, a special transporter that can be used as a means to getting back here if you ever decide to visit —"

"Or permanently come back."

Superman raised his brow at Lois who diverted her gaze away while whistling before he resumed. "You can travel from the facility back to Metropolis whenever you want, Jonathan — it'll be like living next door, alright? Nothing to worry about."

"Right, right…" Jon's voice trailed off as the realisation that he was leaving home was sinking in fast and heavy. It was a relief that living in a secret place miles and miles away was like a walk around the corner, but he still wouldn't be in the same bedroom that was next to the same bathroom with the same slanted mirror. None of it was going to be the same again.

It was time now. Jon swivelled around and hugged his mom tightly one last time (she cried again), taking in the flurry of kisses on his cheeks until they separated, Jon's heartstring tugging when they broke away from each other. Jon and Superman stood by the Zeta Tube door where the young hero looked over his shoulder with suppressed sadness, give a final wave to the crestfallen Lois as alien-like lights started to activate in front of him.

"Ready, sport?" asked Superman with an encouraging smile so infectious that Jon couldn't help but return it, nodding profusely. "Okay — here we go…"

"B0, Superboy One."

The robotic voice was the first thing that his senses picked up when Jon fully stepped into the door, his vision completely blinded by the overwhelming bright lights that slowly started to simmer down. Jon didn't know to describe that experience other than his entire being disassembled before being put back together again. Weird.

The cold nightly air of Metropolis was instantly replaced with something warmer yet not as inviting as Jon's vision began to clear up, leaving his mouth agape at what was in front of him. It was like stepping into a giant teapot within a cave of some sorts, reminiscent of the Hall of Justice, only less "showy" and more… direct. Where Jon and Superman stepped into seemed to be the central chamber and a giant contraption pointing down onto a holographic pad in the centre, and along the rounded edges of the chamber were there circular tunnels that seemingly led to other places. Jon was admittedly a superhero-geek yet he had no clue what this place was.

"If my eyes don't deceive me, then I believe we have our newest recruit." Coming out from one of the many side tunnels was there the soft yet firm voice belonging to a woman, followed by her stepping into view that made Jon's heart flutter as he recognised her immediately. A stunning woman with blonde hair wearing a bustier leotard under a blue jacket as her uniform with her signature choker — Jonathan had to blame his slight preference on blondes because of her.

Black Canary came closer as Jon instinctively scooted back a little into Superman's side, cursing himself on the inside when he knew he was blushing like crazy — she didn't seem to mind as she said, "Jonathan, right? We didn't know if you were coming after the others had their little… 'induction' on Independence Day, but we added you to the system just in case. Better late than never, huh?"

"Y-yeah… um, what is this place exactly? I've never seen or heard of it before."

"That's because it was the old headquarters for the Justice League until we found a better one," interjected Superman, placing a hand on Jon's shoulder. "But seeing as how you youngsters are growing up, we decided to hand it over to you. Jonathan, welcome to Mount Justice."

"Whoa," awed Jon, whipping his head all around to get one good look at everything. "So everyone else is staying here? Like — like college?"

"Well, not exactly — only two other members of the team live here: one of who you'd probably…" Canary gave a glance to Superman who seemed to tense up, strangely enough. "You'd probably get along with. As for me, I'll be your hand-to-hand instructor and someone to talk to about — well, anything, Jon. Anything you like."

Jon nodded with a nervous grin as Black Canary briefly pointed out the directions to his new room before leaving him alone with his father, his body shaking down to the bones until Superman held onto his shoulders as he crouched down.

And it was like the doubt within had been purged when he saw his dad smile before saying, "This is it, Jon — the first real step to everything. I know that I haven't prepared you as much as I should have but there's no doubt in my mind that you'll become the hero you're destined to be."

"Thanks, Dad," Jon quietly laughed, looking down until his chin was gently raised by Superman.

"Always keep your head up, son, and don't you dare let it fall. I love you, Jon-El." The smile grew so quickly on Jon's face as he instantly hugged his father, a small part of him wanting to latch onto his dad's cape like he always used to. But he knew he couldn't, no matter how much he wanted to. Breaking away from the embrace like he did with his mother, Jon watched his dad retreat back towards the Zeta Tube while still waving, Superman's smile strong as ever with a twinkle in eye until like that… Jon was all alone.

Weird. He almost half-expected his mom to come bursting out of nowhere to drag him all the way back to Metropolis. It was strange how it wasn't really hitting him yet. Oh well. Jon then twirled around and followed Canary's directions through the empty tunnels, unable to pick up any sign of his new supposed housemates, thinking almost that he was trapped in a cave all on his own.

But eventually did Jon reach a rather advanced sliding door that scanned him briefly before zipping wide open. And it was big — much bigger than his old one for a fact. Jon stepped inside to see the giant bed along with the desk on the opposite side; it felt as if someone had copied and pasted his room back in Metropolis right over here. Yet that made it all the more foreign, like its attempt of imitation made Jon feel even less at home. No, he had to shake it off; he wasn't going back now.

He then picked up something laying in the middle of the bed; a black briefcase that looked like high-grade technology with the faint red lines glowing across it. Jon barely tapped his finger on it before dragging it back, slowly widening his eyes as he saw it activate to open.

"No way…" he mouthed, reaching for the contents at a slow pace with his fingers trembling, and taking out what looked like his old suit — only that it was better. Way, way better. It was mostly dark blue with more red parts compared to his father's uniform; even looking closely was this not normal fabric but something akin to Robin's suit armour, all with a rolled-up red cape that smelt familiar. A note gently fell from the cape that flapped open as Jon caught it and read:

A gift from Mr Wayne and me. We're all rooting for you, Jonathan. Love you.

Nana Kent

"Thank you, Nana…" Jon whispered, finally ready to begin as he held the note close to his chest. "Today's the day…"