In his way to school, while riding his motorcycle, he got stuck in traffic which made him late for his first class. It wasn't like he could abandon his motorcycle and fly off to school. Through the whole school day, even after weeks had passed since the interview, people stared at him as he walked by, whispering rumors and other nonsense. Usually, he didn't mind his civilian life to fall into a routine, but this was not one of those occasions. He didn't like to try Kara's breakfast experiments every morning or he got the stare from Clark, he didn't like patrolling the city while also staying alert for the members of Infinity Inc., and he definitely didn't like listening to someone every morning agreeing with Leslie Willis' morning broadcast.
Now, he sat behind a table with Lori as they watched another 'charismatic' student try to join the school's news online channel. Since what happened with the Titans the school had received enough donations to open a small studio of their own. The school trusted him and Lori to run it. Lori, of course, was their main anchor, while he remained behind the cameras bringing stories and monitoring the broadcast.
"And I can be very funny, you know, like I can make anyone laugh," the young man said with what he guessed was a charming smile. It wasn't working.
"Make him laugh," Lori said pointing at Conner. He raised an eyebrow at her to which she only shrugged.
"Ehm…" the young man started when he turned to look at him.
"Next!" Lori shouted before the young man walked away. "You know, this would be a lot easier if you said something, or better yet, became one of the anchors," she told him as they looked at the long list of people trying out.
"I don't have enough time," it was the truth. With the Titans, also patrolling Metropolis, school, and this he barely had time in the day.
"I know, I know, you sly fox, you," she said with a teasing smile and wiggling eyebrow suggestively. Of course, there was also his 'not girlfriend' who he had been going out with for the past few weeks; Kaitlin Fairchild.
"Don't do that," he said running a hand down his face.
"So, what can you contribute to the news blog?" Lori asked their next candidate.
"Well, I am really cute," a young woman that wasn't even part of the journalism program at the school said. She threw suggestive looks his way, and he was sure some at Lori too.
He resisted the urge to slam his head against the table. At the end, he was close to dragging his feet towards his motorcycle. Lori followed closely behind him as cheery as ever as she went over those who might actually be good.
"Look at the bright side, we can report in just about anything we want," she said as they reached the parking lot.
"If we did that, the school would shut us down," they had been given a long list of things they couldn't do, it just happened he was the only one to read it.
"But then we could go all rogue and start an online news channel of our own and-" Lori started with a bright light in her eyes.
"You want to work with Lois and Clark," which meant she needed to finish her degree and get an internship at the Daily Planet.
"And for some strange reason you can't decide if you want to," she said giving him a slight glare. He knew she wanted them to continue to be a team, but he wasn't sure that was what he wanted. It would be great to work in a place like the Daily Planet, but something else was calling to him.
888
When he came out of his pod all he worried about was living up to the expectations of being Superman's clone. When he took on a civilian identity, he only did it because he was told to. At the time, he thought it was pointless. He had no idea how much that side of his life would come to mean to him. For a while, he thought he had lost it when his new abilities awakened, barring him from most of the world. Now, he worried about where to go with this part of life. Though years had passed and he had proven to be more than just a clone, he still felt at times like he was living in Clark's shadow. Going to the Daily Planet where Clark would be one of the co-chief editors just felt like he was treading on his shadow again. But, if not the Daily Planet, where was he supposed to go?
"I like the quiet types, but this is getting ridiculous," Kaitlin said sitting next to him at their table.
"Sorry, I was just thinking," he said before he realized some of their companions were looking at them.
"When are you not?" Kaitlin said teasingly before glancing at Lori, "Let Luthor handle it; she seems to enjoy bossing others around."
"It's true," Lori said shamelessly, "all part of being a Luthor."
"And you don't?" he asked Kaitlin with a smile.
"That smile should be against the law. You could get anyone to do anything you wanted with it," Kaitlin said slapping his arm.
"Like?" he asked her as he leaned forwards.
"Oh, now he flirts, now he-" he gave her a quick kiss and pulled back. "Forget the smile, those lips overall definitely should be against the law."
"I feel like I just saw something I shouldn't have," Lori said to Kara.
"Tell me about it," Kara said faking to gag.
A baffled laugh escaped him before Kaitlin kissed his cheek and then laughed as Kara covered her eyes. Since they had met, he found Kaitlin loved to tease her as much as him. Kaitlin didn't want them to be an item, but at times like this, it felt like they already were. Around them, the retirement gala for Perry White reached its peak. The Bulldog, as some called him, had given his speech demanding of Clark and Lois to do a good job or he would come back and make them cover a dog show. For some reason, both seasoned reporters shivered at this. The shoes they would be filling were big ones, but Perry White believed they could do it.
Mr. White also thanked Bruce Wayne for arranging for the gala. Wayne hadn't cut on the expenses to make the night unforgettable. The dinner, decorations and ambient overall were perfect. Even Bruce Wayne had shown to the event and congratulated Mr. White, telling him his own father used to look forwards to his articles.
"Knowing the chief, he would have been happy just going to a pub," Lois said a short laugh. It seemed that after the disaster with Galaxy Communications, Lois had finally decided to dump Jonathan Carrol. Jimmy in the meanwhile was suppressing the urge to take pictures of the whole place and chatted up with Lori and Kara.
"True," Clark said with a short laugh. Still, there was some edginess to the both of them. The chief editor position was initially only Lois' until a few weeks ago when Cat Grant sold ClarkCatropolis to Luthor, and Bruce Wayne bought the stocks of the Daily Planet.
"Clark, I have to go," Diana, also known as Wonder Woman, said as she got up. She had come to the event as Clark's date. When he had first seen them together because of the bet they made, he had thought it was a one-time thing. But it was becoming clear they liked being around each other. He hadn't gotten around asking Clark if it was because of their many years of friendship, or something else.
"Do you want me to-" Clark started to get up.
"No, that won't be necessary. Please, enjoy the night," she told all of them with a polite smile.
A few tables away, they spotted Bruce Wayne also get up and followed closely behind Diana.
"If I didn't know better, those two…" Lois started to say as she followed them with her eyes.
"They are good friends, just like her and I," Clark said checking his phone before frowning. He was sure there was something going on, but they didn't want to pull him out of the event.
"So, that's what they call it nowadays," Lois said before Jimmy rolled his eyes at her.
None of those at the table needed to be psychics to know things were not going to be easy for the two of them once they started working together.
888
There was so much smoke, fire, and fear. His chest tightened until he remembered the smoke and fire couldn't hurt him. It took him a second longer to realize the fear he was feeling was not his own. There were drawbacks to his powers, not that he would ever admit it to anyone. If he wasn't careful he could feel what others did. Now, ahead of him was a burning building and everyone still inside was filled with fear. Even the infant who held tightly to his mother's bosom felt something was wrong.
He spotted Supergirl ready to blow the fire out, but couldn't find a spot where those inside wouldn't be hurt. Then they heard it. The foundations of the building started to crack because of the intense heat. A second later the building started to topple. Everyone who had been watched froze in horror. Without thought, he stopped the building from falling and keeping it together with his TK.
"I can hold it on my own; get them out of there," he told Kara before a shadow covered both of them.
"Need a hand?" he didn't bother to look back knowing it was Skyman.
"Get those on the windows. Supergirl will get those deeper inside," he said closing his eyes and hating they were being helped by him, but he had to swallow his pride. With his TK keeping the building together, he knew what had happened. It started at the boiler room. Some kid had snuck in to smoke and there was a gas leak. The rest was history, and so was her life. Her charred remains would be buried by the crumbling building once he let it go.
"Let me go!" he heard someone shout before he spotted Supergirl carrying an old man wrapped on her cape. He looked hurt but that didn't stop him from struggling. She gladly handed the old man to the paramedics "You stupid alien!"
She didn't acknowledge the insult and flew back into the burning building, but he saw her fists clench tightly. Thankfully, the rest of those she rescued were a lot more cooperative.
"Everyone, stay back!" he shouted once everyone was out before he nodded at Supergirl who then blew a strong gust and extinguished the fire.
"Can we save the building?" she asked him as he still held it in one piece.
"No, but I need to ask you a favor," he said before she gave him a strange look. He explained what happened before her expressive eyes became filled with sorrow, "there was nothing we could have done."
"I know, but…" she didn't finish and flew into the building, and to the boiling room to get the corpse of the girl out. He heard the shocked gasps of everyone when Kara came out carrying the body on a blanket.
"I am letting the building go," he announced before releasing it and then flying back to watch it crumble.
"My home! Why didn't you save it!" he heard someone shout, but he paid them no mind. He approached the officers and firefighters to explain what had happened. Someone threw a soda can at him, which Kara caught in midair before glaring at the same old man she had rescued.
"The building's foundation was already compromised," he said to the officers and told them of what they would find in the boiler room for their official report.
"No!" he heard an anguished cry and saw a man crying over the corpse of the girl as they closed the body bag. "Why didn't you save her!" he heard the man cry as he started marching towards him, fury and pain emitting from him like the powerful waves of the sea, threatening to drown him. The man got face to face with him and poked him in the chest, "you are not heroes!"
"Sir, step back," one of the officers said placing a hand on the distraught man's shoulder.
"You are defending him! He let my little girl die!" the man shouted at him face to face.
"She was gone before we made it here," he said clearly, before speaking in a lower tone so only the man could hear him, "she was smoking in the boiler room, where the explosion happened and the fire started."
The man's eyes went wide before he checked his pockets for a pack of cigarettes he knew he wouldn't find there. His fury turned into guilt before the man crumbled to the ground just as broken as the building they had called home.
"I am sorry," was all he could say before looking at the paramedics for help. That seemed to snap them into action and they rushed to the man.
"Why her?! She was my-" the man said as they took him to one of the ambulances.
"Kon El," Kara said looking at him worried.
"Let's go," he told her before they took off.
They were quite a few feet in the air before they heard someone calling to them. They turned around and waited for Skyman to catch up to them. They had kept their contact with Infinity Inc. to the minimum, but this was bound to happen. The man dressed in red and white with white stars on his chest offered them a condescending smile.
"You kids okay? You should have told me. I would have gotten the girl," he said to them.
"Much appreciated Skyman, but we are fine," Supergirl said trying to offer a polite smile.
"Alright doll, I believe you," Skyman said with a smile that said he didn't.
"Doll…" Kara repeated the word with a frown.
"Are you patrolling tonight babe?" Skyman asked "we could do it together. You know? The more the merrier."
"Is he insinuating what I think he is?" Kara asked him with a cringe in Kryptonian.
"Better not think about it," he said as his stomach did a weird flip. While they had been talking to the officers and firefighters Skyman had been basking on the adoration of those who had been watching.
"C'mon, we are all looking after Metropolis. It will be fun. What do you say pretty thing? After this, you must want to have some fun," Skyman said while looking at her from top to bottom and back.
"Let me go! I am going to make him eat his words!" a moment later and Skyman would have been crashing down. He held Kara by the shoulders and kept her as still as possible.
"I wish I could," he said still feeling goosebumps. A young girl had just died and the man was trying to get Kara to go out with him. What was wrong with him?
"What is she saying?" Skyman asked not one bit bothered, actually, he seemed to enjoy the reaction he got from her.
"She does not like being called a doll, or a babe, or you," he said glaring at him.
"You guys are so funny, so what are you? Like siblings?" Skyman asked digging further under their skin.
"In the name of Rao! No one will know! Let me at him!" Kara shook with indignation.
"I am a half clone of her cousin," he said keeping his tone as even as possible.
"You mean Superman, right?" Skyman asked with a smirk. Of course, he already knew that.
"Yes, their fathers were siblings," he said trying to buy time for Kara to calm down.
"Then why don't they look anything alike? I mean, are you sure they are related? You are like so hot and he isn't, not that I swing that way," Skyman said.
"We could throw him into the phantom zone; Kal El will never realize it," Kara muttered under her breath with a wicked smile.
"Is she okay?" Skyman asked him when they heard her chuckle.
"No, but that's normal for her," he said with a roll of his eyes.
"Shut up Kon El," Kara said before elbowing him.
"Actually, Kryptonians consider those types of comments very disrespectful," he said but he thought most human women probably considered objectification offensive too.
"What?" Skyman said raising an eyebrow at him as he looked at him as if he was no better than a kid.
"It means you are being rude and if you talk to her like that again you will answer to me," Superman said as he arrived at the scene, probably having heard what was going on a few moments ago, "and no Kara, we are not throwing him into the phantom zone."
"Oh wow, hold it there Supes, she is a grown woman, right?" he asked them but only met with blank stares, still Skyman went on "she can make choices for herself. So, like get on with the times starting with your costume."
"What do you want to do Kara?" Superman asked in a calm tone as he stared at Kara.
"I want to drag him to the lowest sea level until his empty head implodes," she said as she glared at Skyman and though the man didn't know what was said he knew it wasn't good.
"Better get back to patrol, rain check alright?" he said trying to throw another flirtatious smile before flying away.
"Idiot," all three of them said.
888
"I can't believe Luthor isn't taking the fall for the red kryptonite," Lois said as she went over some last minutes articles at her desk.
"Really?" Clark asked sitting on the sofa as he went over the layout of the next day's issue.
"Sarcasm doesn't suit you Smallville," she said saving the last and sending it to him, "and then he has the nerve to launch his own line of superheroes."
"They are still people Lois, not fashion items," Clark said as he made space for that last article, and thankful the online platform allowed for more flexibility than the paper ink issues. Usually, if they couldn't fit it on the paper, they could in the online platform.
"Tell that to Trajectory," Lois said turning her monitor and showing Clark the latest add the speedster woman had launched "talk about sellouts."
"They are still doing good," though he didn't like them, especially Skyman. Thankfully, since their last conversation he stayed out of his way and especially Kara's. Kon El wasn't so lucky.
"On whose side are you?" Lois said as she got up and went to her personal espresso machine, oh the perks of being the boss.
"On the side of people not getting hurt or killed," he said doing the last touches before sending the finished layouts to start the printout and the online platform.
"W-well!" Lois said shaking with frustration, "I know they are hiding something."
"If they are, I am sure the League is already looking into it," and they were, but they just couldn't find anything solid yet.
"Or the Titans," Lois said with sipping her supercharged coffee, frustration going down by the second.
"Or the Teen Titans," he said remembering the other name was starting to catch on after Blue Beetle said it during the interview. He thought it was catchy though not all accurate as some of their members were already in their early twenties.
"Not you too, adding 'Teen' takes away from their-" Lois started before she jumped, almost dropping her cup of coffee when she spotted Conner standing at the door of her office, "kid, you are as silent as a grave! You almost gave me a heart attack!"
"Thanks, Conner," though Clark already knew he was there for about a minute.
"No problem," Conner said handing him the bag with some of his favorite takeout food. Since Clark had started as co-chief editor he saw him even less. He had to take over the patrol in an hour and thought of hanging out with him until then.
"Well, aren't you going to tell him?" Lois asked giving Conner a skeptical look.
"Tell him what?" Clark asked though both of them already knew what was coming.
"Why he hasn't entered his application for an internship with us? What else?" Lois said crossing her arms.
"Do you want to?" Clark asked him with all sincerity.
"Not sure," Conner admitted.
"Well, there is still some time to decide," Clark gave him a reassuring smile that said he trusted his judgment.
"I can't believe you two. Clark, tell him he has to," Lois puffed.
"He is not my father," and the moment Conner said it, he regretted it. Clark couldn't hide how uncomfortable that statement made him. Genetically speaking, he was his parent, but they opted for more of a sibling relation. It was less awkward (though not entirely).
"I didn't-" Lois started to say realizing she had hit a raw nerve when Conner snapped at her. The kid rarely ever talked back.
"Neither one of you have the right to make decisions for me," he interrupted her unable to look at Clark. As he left he thought he should have said that from the beginning.
"Shoot," Lois said after Conner was gone.
"Lois," Clark sighed.
"I know, I know I screwed up. It's just that… well, I don't know. I just thought with ClarkCatropolis gone he would… isn't that reasonable?" she said cringing before adding, "you said his parents were traveling through Europe, what do they say?"
"They have not been involved for quite a few years," Clark said as he started to unpack the food, "but that's beside the point. He is at an age where he can make his own decisions."
"All the wrong ones," Lois muttered before she saw Clark looking fixedly at the containers though she knew he wasn't really looking. "Not that it would be your fault or anything like that," she added lamely.
But Clark didn't see it like that. He remembered how Conner had told him not to hold back because of him after the incident with the red kryptonite. Though Conner was much more mature than someone of his physical age and especially someone of his real age, Clark had seen something else that didn't fit with that. Even after weeks of the incident, he still had no idea of what to call it.
"Earth to Smallville," Lois asked waving a hand in front of his face. He blinked and looked up at her, "ehm, sorry. I didn't mean to make things weird, but you know me. I never think before-"
"Don't worry about it," Clark said looking at his favorite dish, but not feeling like eating, "you were just unlucky to step on one of the things he really hates; being told what to do."
"That doesn't make me feel any better," Lois muttered before he handed her one of the containers with food, "thanks."
"I think I know what you can do to make it up to him," he said offering her a gentle smile.
888
Mount Justice was the first place he could call home. It was the place where he didn't have to worry about hiding who he was, or who might come after him. The first people he could call friends, the first he could trust, and the first one he loved was all connected to this place. When it was destroyed almost everything that was his also went with it and all those connections were almost destroyed. He had not come back since the cleanup though there was almost nothing to salvage. It was strange to be back. He kicked a rock as he waited for the rest. Why did they have to meet here of all places? Or was it only him that saw this place as the physical representation of what they had lost in each other? Trust.
"You look as cheery as ever," Artemis was the first one to arrive on a motorcycle. She was in her Tigress uniform which only reminded him further of their betrayal.
"I am sorry about your sister," he said as sincerely as possible. He hadn't had the chance to talk to her in a while, but Bart kept him up to day.
"Let's not talk about that," she said leaning against her motorcycle with a grim smile, "heard you are some sort of celebrity in Metropolis now. How is that going?"
"It will pass," he said with a shrug. He hoped it would be sooner than later.
"Everything does, doesn't it?" she said before they spotted the bioship.
Kaldur, M'gann, and Dick all came out of the ship and went to meet to where their kitchen once had been. They were all silent for a moment. He knew he wasn't the only that was remembering Wally stalking the place like a predator, just waiting for someone to lower their guard to snatch their food. He was the only one missing, and it tore at them even further.
"So, Aquaman," Dick started trying to break the somber mood.
"Kaldur is fine, we are all friends," Kaldur said, and he knew right then that he was the one who had arranged all of this. It was only last week that the League and the Team celebrated his place in the League. He had gone too but didn't stay long. Metropolis needed someone that wasn't Infinity Inc. looking after it.
"Are we?" he asked them crossing his arms.
"Always the life of the party," M'gann said with a slight roll of her eyes.
"I am just being realistic. Things are not the same as they were seven years ago," he told them.
"Alright, who had the great idea to invite Super-downer?" Dick said with a strained smile. But, no matter how much they tried to make fun of the situation, it would not change.
"Things are different, and we might not agree with the decisions some of us have made, but we will always be friends Kon El. That's the reason I called to all of you tonight," Kaldur said with a nod his way. Kaldur had always respected his point of view, even if it was considered merciless at times.
"So, this wasn't to gloat you were in the League and we weren't?" Dick asked.
"It totally was," M'gann said teasingly though almost all those present had already been invited to join the League.
"I believe we should not lose contact with each other. Though we are going in different directions, we can still help each other. Me in the League," Kaldur paused until some of them stopped smiling, "Miss Martian with the Team, Superboy with the Titans, Nightwing in Blüdhaven, and Tigress as an independent agent."
"What do you mean by an independent agent?" M'gann asked looking at Tigress.
"I guess it makes sense we stay in contact," Artemis said before telling the truth to those who didn't know, "Jade abandoned Lian and Roy and went back to being Cheshire. I think something happened to force her to do this, so I am going after her."
"The League just became aware of this, but it seems it has been going on for a while," Kaldur said unable to meet Artemis' eyes. She didn't tell him though they were together now, or maybe not anymore. There was an uncomfortable silence between them. They all knew that whatever had been growing between them was gone now. Again, it all came down to trust.
"I know," he said since Red Robin had told him of his search for her with Red Arrow, Tempest and Spoiler back in Gotham, "but I thought Roy didn't-"
"He is wrong," Artemis said defensively, "my sister wouldn't abandon them just like that."
"Then I guess this is a good time to let you guys know you won't be seeing much of me. Blüdhaven, as it turns out is taking all of my time," Dick said, and he knew this to be true because he kept dropping Damian with them more often, "I am sorry M'gann, I wish I could be of more help with the new members."
"Don't worry. Actually, Wonder Girl is stepping up her game and is a lot of help. She gets along with the new guys just great. The one I am more worried about is Garfield. Since Red Robin assured him he was already accepted, but needed time to train their current members," she said giving him a sly look, as if he was stealing her little brother.
"How is that going?" Dick asked.
"They are good," he responded easily.
"You aren't telling us something," Artemis said with a raised eyebrow. They knew him well enough to know that he didn't like secrets, and when he had to keep one, his responses were usually short.
"I thought you would know by now since it seems Red Robin still confides with you," he told Dick.
"Not everything," he said with a smirk. Well, he was going to wipe it off his face.
"Our new members are progressing just fine. We did have some problems at the beginning with discipline and boundaries. The bigger issue is how Red is handling or better say, manipulating some of the more personal aspects of Kid Flash, and Blue's lives," he had never seen Blue look so angry or raise his voice so much. Kid Flash pretty much let it go and focused on showing how trustworthy his girlfriend was.
"What do you mean by that?" Dick asked; the smirk was gone.
"That red head in the party," Artemis said putting the pieces together.
"Blue's ex," he explained before a few of them flinched.
"But I thought he only wanted to be friends with her," M'gann said before they all looked at her, "we had a little talk."
"I believe he does, but Tracy Thirteen was there. She was going out with him as Jaime before he told her who he was… that same night. For some reason, Red Robin doesn't want them together. Just as well, Tracy declined our invitation to the Titans," he wasn't surprised Tracy had figured it out as well since she was a supernatural detective. Still, the mystery remained why Red Robin didn't want them together.
"And Bart?" Artemis asked concerned.
"He told his girlfriend," he said with a shrug.
"That kid," Kaldur said with a sigh.
"In his defense, the girl figured it out all on her own before he admitted anything," for some reason Bart had expected him to shout at him when he learned about it. He didn't think it was wrong, especially since the girl already knew but choose to keep it a secret.
"She looked kind of sweet," M'gann said before they all looked at her again, "what can I say? People trust me."
"Rao only knows why," he said before he got a shove from the Martian. "But before that he was showing interest in one of our members; Solstice."
"Kid got good taste," Dick said with a smile.
"And she was just as interested; before she found out he was dating someone else," he said feeling a little more at ease. He didn't know how to handle that one, but to give Solstice some space and something to destroy.
"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned," Artemis said before they all looked at Dick.
"We had similar problems," Kaldur said clearly not trying to laugh as the source of most of those problems was standing among them.
"Heh, yeah, they will grow out of them," Dick said though clearly he still carried some of those problems.
"And what about you Supey? Still fighting your way out of mobs of girls?" Artemis asked though she clearly had forgotten she had been one of them when they first met.
"I am seeing someone from school," he said.
"I was just joking! Seriously?" Artemis said.
"Yes," he said with a cocky smile, which got the rest to look at him as if he had grown another head.
"Let me guess, another journalist student," M'gann started to say before he nodded, "gha! what's you guys falling for reporters!"
888
He counted himself lucky he had made it to Metropolis in one piece. They wouldn't let him go until he told them more about Kaitlin. For a few minutes there, it was almost like the old times. Maybe Kaldur was right. Even if they were going different places, they were still friends. He liked the idea of that. Though Mount Justice was gone, they still had those memories.
Before he made it home, he got a message saying they had a visitor. It was their code for saying; don't fly through the window, use the front door. As he got out of the elevator he realized who it was. He wanted to turn around and stay somewhere else like the farm or the fortress. But, he strode on until he opened the door and found Simon Valentine, Smallville's own paranormal investigator, sitting on their couch and eating what he believed was his dinner.
"Look, Simon, he is here," Kara said getting up from her place next to Simon and rushing to him, then she whispered, "help me."
"Did you run away from home again?" he asked Simon.
"Actually, I am here to look at colleges," the teenager said.
"But you-" he couldn't be more than fifteen.
"I skipped some grades," the kid told him with a smirk.
"He will be staying with us for a few days," Clark said from the kitchen.
"I also wanted to talk to you about what happened last year in thanksgivings," Simon said looking at him with a more serious expression, "it was the Leach."
"What?" it took him a moment to remember. Last Thanksgiving the Leach had been a little too close to the Kent farm. Supergirl and Superman fought against the Leach before they got help from the Martians. When gone, Simon visited the site to investigate and found a spot where the Leach had taken all the life.
"I went to the place where Superman last fought him, and the dirt sample had the same effects as the one in Smallville," Simon said before pointing at said samples sitting on the coffee table.
"But what would the Leach want in Smallville?" he asked trying to feign innocence even further.
"I think it was you," Simon said as they tried their best not to shock any shock, "I mean, you are all friendly with the League. You probably have become targets."
"Actually, that makes sense," Clark said tapping his chin in thought.
"And you call yourselves reporters," Simon laughed, "The League probably defeated it before it could get close to you."
"The Leach probably thought we would be an easier target when we were in Smallville, instead of Metropolis," he said wondering if they would have to cut down on their visits to the farm.
"But that doesn't explain all the strange things that have happened in Smallville," Simon said with a frown, reminding him he thought Clark was involved.
"Oh, not you too," Clark said with a sigh.
"What?" they asked.
"I have a friend who already investigated all of those things. I will give her a call and she will send you what she found," Clark said offhandedly.
"Seriously?" Simon asked wide eyed.
"Yeah, when I told her about my hometown, she just couldn't leave it alone," Clark said with a yawn and headed to his bedroom, "don't stay up too late."
888
He didn't like people staring at him. He never had. It made him feel like 'it' more than a 'him'. It made him feel like they could see through him and see he wasn't one of them. Not human, and not Kryptonian; not born but made.
"You know I did you a favor, right? Motorcycles are not-" Simon started to say after the umpteenth time someone took what they believed was a discreet picture of him.
"Shut up," he said trying to focus on his book and ignore the stares. Clark asked him to keep an eye on Simon while he checked out his school.
He knew it was useless to get to his class by the time they arrived, which was very late. He decided to get the whole thing over with and started showing the kid around the college. He led him to the applied science buildings where the kid gushed at everything he saw. He got a few stares again, but this time for being away from his own side of campus.
"Do you know what this is?!"Simon asked him excitedly as they stood behind an observation window. Around them, students were taking notes of what was going on inside.
"The most advanced particle accelerator in the country," he said which got him more gawks.
"Yeah! And they are-" Simon started to say.
"Testing for supersymmetry, which would be more effective if they didn't think of Gluinos as particles, but waves," he said before a few of the students around stared at him with open mouths.
"I don't like you," Simon said crossing his arms.
"Then stop trying to talk to me as if I was a jock," he said with a roll of his eyes. Since he met the kid, he couldn't come to terms that he probably smarter than him.
"But you are a journalist student," Simon said glaring at him as if saying he had nothing to do in his field.
"You don't have many friends, do you?" he said annoyed before the kid looked at him with wide shocked eyes.
"Asshole," Simon said before he started walking away.
He followed him silently to the other buildings, not saying anything as they watched other experiments and even listened to parts of lectures. He had missed another class by the time he realized what time it was and sighed.
"Let's get something to eat," he told the kid before they went to the cafeteria where Lori and Kaitlin were waiting for him.
"Hey there," Lori said as cheerfully.
"This is Simon, he came from Smallville to check out the school," he told them before going off to get them something to eat. He had well in mind to send the kid back to the apartment afterward. Thankfully Lori and Kaitlin were intrigued by the young genius. This also gave him a chance to catch up on what he had missed.
888
When he finally got home that day, after more classes, the school's news online channel, following a lead on a story, and patrol he had never missed his bed so much. He collapsed immediately after getting changed and didn't bother with the blankets. His life was not a mess, just too busy. Part of him wanted to throw out the window half of his responsibilities, but he couldn't. He groaned against his pillow before using it to cover his head trying to damp out the sound of the night. Eventually, he found sleep, but it wasn't restful.
He knew it was a dream because he had been in this dream before. He swore if the Red Hood had anything to do with this he would make him pay with the same coin. It was the same suburban home from his sand dream, but this time, instead of being a teenager he was a young eight year old boy eating breakfast with his parents. Lois and Clark were talking about where they should go eat that Friday night and asked the boy who said he wanted to go to the movies. Unlike last time where he had some control, this time, he had no control at all. He was no better than a spectator as he listened to Lois and Clark laugh saying they would eat first and then go watch a movie.
It was the picture of a perfectly happy family and the longer he watched them, the sicker he felt. He kept repeating to himself that he didn't want this. As the young boy brushed his teeth he had a glance of himself as a child. Then, the reflection of bathroom's mirror stopped brushing while the boy kept on going.
"You know, it isn't fair what they did to you. Denying you all of this," the reflection spoke and he knew it was the same copy of him he fought back when was first in the dream.
He wanted to say to him that he didn't want it, but the boy kept on through his routine as if the mirror wasn't talking to him.
"C'mon Kon El, you know you are lying to yourself," the mirror said "that's why it hurts so much. You can't deny it. You feel it every time you see a parent with their child; jealousy, outrage, and overall there is the loneliness of being the only one of your kind."
He remembered the girl who had died in the fire and the way his father had grieved for her.
"Will anyone ever mourn you like that when you die? Do you think Kal El will?" he was thankful when the boy finally left the bathroom to get on the car to be driven to school, but it didn't last long. On the car window, he met with the talking reflection again. "You know you want to go to the Daily Planet. They will look after you, nurture your skills further and beam at you proudly like real parents do. Lori is already like a sister to you. You won't be alone anymore."
He wanted to say no. In the eyes of the world, Conner Kent was an adult who made his choices based on what would be best for his career, not because he wanted to be doted on. He wanted to make a name for himself, bring the truth to the light, and help others.
"Why do you keep lying to yourself Kon El?" laughed the reflection before the window started to crack and then broke completely. The other he remained flying just outside the window watching him with a smile that said he knew all that there was to know about him, and then he reached for him and shouted, "open your eyes!"
He woke up with a gasp and sitting up before he spotted Simon in the middle of his room. The boy had a pair of tweezers and an empty Ziploc bag.
"You have three seconds," he said glaring at the boy who ran away immediately, slamming the door close behind him. This was going to be another long day.