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Chapter Text

Superboy sat quietly outside the Justice League’s meeting room. It had been a week since he’d been living at the Watchtower. Metropolis was still recovering from the last intergalactic battle the city had witnessed, and Lex Luthor had been sent to Belle Reve. So Superboy was alone….

Superman had been distant towards him, and brushed Superboy off almost anytime he’d tried to speak with his…father. 

Over the week, Superboy had been able to talk a bit more with the other Justice League members, but most of them were also distant. Like they were trying to pick him apart like a puzzle. 

But he did get to learn a little more about Superman. He leaned the he had grown up in Kansas, that he apparently had a job as a journalist, and that he had two names. An alien name, Kal, and a human name, Clark. Superboy was almost jealous, he wasn’t even give a name, just Superman by Lex Luthor and then renamed Superboy by the press. He didn’t have a human or alien name. 

But maybe he would! Because today, after almost a fully week of ignoring him. Superman had called the Justice League to a meeting to discuss what he’d do about Superboy. 

Superboy wasnt invited to the meeting, obviously. But they were talking about him, so he had every right to eavesdrop on the conversation, it was kinda hard not to do with his super hearing anyway. Plus, he secretly hoped that Superman would take him in, let him come live with him and train him to be the next Superman.  

Lex Luthor had been a horrible father figure to him, but he was sure that Superman would get over the initials shock and take him in. Of course, he understood why Superman was being distant, he had Lex’s intellect after-all, the man had just woken up from the dead and found out he had a kid, it make sense that he’d be confused about it. But time had passed now, Superboy knew that Superman was a good person, surely he’d do some thinking and decided to take his own child in and apologize for being cold to him earlier. 

Superboy crouched down on the floor when he heard the Justice League members take their seats at their meeting table…..

—————————————————

Inside the meeting room, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Shazam, Cyborg, Superman, and a very irritated looking Batman were sat for their meeting. 

Superman got up from his chair to lead the meeting. He cleared his throat before starting, “We are here to discuss what shall be done about the clone.” And Superboy’s heart sank a little, clone??! He was a person! 

Luckily, Batman agreed him. Batman banged a hand on the table, “Clone!? He’s a child.” He glared at the Kryptonian sitting across from him at the table. 

Superman scoffed, “He’s a genetically enhanced and modified version of me.” 

“So your child then” Batman spat. 

Superman pinched the bridge of his nose, “No, he was created by Lex Luthor to serve as a weapon for his ambitious fantasies.” 

All present members of the league could feel the tension in the room. So Barry took one of the team and raised an uncertain hand, “So what do you think we should do with the kid…I mean clone?” He corded himself when Superman glared at him. 

“Yeah, from what we gathered he seems to have most of your powers, but he can’t fully control them yet” Cyborg reported, based on his analysis of all recording he had gotten of Superboy. 

“We can’t allow a creature of such power to go unchecked” Wonder Woman spoke coldly.

Batman crossed his arms, “You have to train him, you’re his father.” 

“He’s not my son. I wasn’t even alive when he was born” Superman sounded exasperated. 

Batman shook his head, “That doesn’t matter, he didn’t ask for any of this. But he’s half Kryptonian, and you’re the only person who can train him.” 

Superman raised an eyebrow, “And how do you suggest I do that?” 

“Take him to Metropolis, train him there.” 

Superman sighed, “I can’t. I literally just got back from the dead, I still need to get so many things from my civilian life sorted out. And Metropolis needs me….I-I didn’t even ask for this?!” 

Batman’s shoulders softened lightly, “I understand how you’re feeling.” 

“Do you? Do you really understand? Has a villain ever used you to create an artificial child to be used as their weapon??” Superman said in a mocking tone. 

Batman shrugged, “Believe it or not…yes.” 

Everyone went silent after that, all staring at Batman who wore a neutral expression on his face. None of them knew who the man was or what he did in his free time, but none would expect him to openly share such information about himself. 

Barry made a confused expression, “Wait, you have a kid?”

Hal put a hand on his friend’s shoulder, “I think you’re better off not knowing.” 

Superman huffed, “Look, I didn’t want to be a father right now, much less have a child with Lex Luthor. I just….I need time.” 

“And what do you expect hin to do while you take this time to think about it?” 

It was Green Arrow’s turn to take one for the team, “Maybe someone else can start his training until you’re ready” he suggested. 

Women Woman shook her head, “Well I won’t train him, I train other warriors of Themyscira.“ 

Barry raised his hands in a gesture of surrender, “Well don’t look at me, I already got a wife and my own kids to look after.” 

“I’m not taking him to Atlantis” Aquaman added. 

“I could take the kid up to space if you want” Hal offered. 

Superman shook his head, “An unchecked Kryptonian out in space alone, that’s a terrible idea!” 

“So what do you suggest? Gonna leave the kid with Lex Luthor?” Hal asked sarcastically.

“Absolutely not!” Kal’s voice grew louder. Scarring nearly everyone at the table, and Superboy in the hall. 

Except Batman of course, who kept a scowl on his face. “Face it Kal, you gotta train him. He’s your responsibility!”

“A responsibility I never wanted or asked for!”

“He could stay with my dad at STAR labs, he could learn some stuff about Krypton and other planets that the scientists are working on.” Cyborg suggested next. 

This one cause Superman’s attention, and he placed a hand under his chin in consideration, “That could be good for him.”

But Supeboy’s breath hitched quietly. He had lived for months, most of his life, in a lab. He had been poked and tested on for months on end until Lex considered him good enough to be introduced to the public. He refused to be sent to another lab. 

“You want to send a kid that was grown in a lab into another one?! Are you serious?” Batman took the words right out of Superboy’s mouth. 

“It would be good for him, he could read their entire database on Krypton and several other worlds, and he’d have access to technology not even Lex had.” Was the best Superman could come up with decent the idea. 

Batman got up from his chair and looked over to his fellow leaguers, “And you’re all okay with this?” 

Everyone kept quiet, what could they even say? Everyone knew that the boy was a clone of Superman, so if anyone could dictate what would happen to the boy was Superman himself. Besides, sending him to live at the lab for a while wasn’t such a bad fate.

After what felt like an eternity, someone finally spoke up. “Uh, can I say something?” Shazam avoided Kal’s piercing gaze.

“Go ahead Shazam” Batman spoke in a softer tone. 

Shazam gulped, “O-Okay, look!” He found the courage to raise his head, “We all know I got my powers when I was really young and….it was hard to learn how to fly, and shot lighting, and control my super strength all by myself. I know what’s it’s like to be a kid and suddenly have a bunch of powers and hero responsibilities just thrown at you. It would have been nice to have someone there to teach me all that….” 

Batman was proud of him, he knew Shazam was just a teenager underneath all the power. If anything, both him and Robin reminded him of his sons.  He looked into Kal’s icy blue eyes, “Superboy needs you Clark, he needs stability. He can’t learn properly if he doesn’t have that.” 

“And you would be the expect at training children I assume?” Wonder Woman directed the question at Batman. 

Bruce rolled his eyes behind the cowl, “As if a lot of you don’t have prodigies of your own” but he held back. “I taught my apprentices the skills they needed to stand on their own. I’m proud of what they accomplished. It’s what you need to do for Superboy!” 

“Wait there’s multiple Robins?” Hal blurted out. 

“I thought it was just the one kid we met a long time ago” Aquaman chummed in. 

Bruce wanted to face palm himself, did any of the other leaguers pay attention to their prodigies. But it made sense as to why Dick and Tim would invited their fellow Teen Titans to Christmas at Wayne Manor. Hell one time, when Dick was still Robin and the Titan Tower got destroyed because of an intergalactic battle, Starfire, Raven, and Beast boy had stayed at the manor for two months while the new tower was under construction. 

Because yes, while Batman had never revealed his identity to the members of the Justice League. A great portion of the younger heroes knew who he was under the suit. And all helped keep it secret. “Two of them joined the titans if you all bothered to pay attention” was all Batman said. 

“Oh..” Hal closed his mouth after that. 

“Enough” Superman brought the attention back to his himself, “Batman I understand what you’re saying….but I’m not ready to train anybody. I need time to sort things about, Metropolis still needs to be rebuilt, the people need to trust me again. Once I do that, then I can take him in.” 

“And how long is th..” 

“And until then he’s going to STAR labs where he can study and not cause trouble to himself or anybody.” Superman said with finality. 

—————————————————

Superboy felt that little hope within him crumble, so both his fathers wanted nothing to do with him, and both just put him in a lab. He wanted to barge into that meeting room and yell at Superman that he wasn’t as better as Lex Luthor as he believed himself to be. 

But if Superman had made his decision then so would he! Superboy got up from his spot on the floor and started making his what he had been told would be his temporary room at the tower. If Superman wanted to send him away, Superboy would do the job for him…..

—————————————————

Inside the meeting room, everyone was silent. “Anyone opposed?” Wonder Woman asked the table. No one spoke a word, Superman had made his ruling. 

Batman knew there was no use arguing with Superman, so he turned around and left the table all together. He would not be a part of this. 

“Where are you going?” Barry asked as Batman walked over to the door. 

Batman put a hand on the doorknob before he spoke, “Since you refuse to see reason, I refuse to be a part of this meeting.” He turned the knob and pushed the door open, “Don’t call unless the world is ending.” And he shut the door behind him…..

—————————————————

“That’s a bit dramatic” Green Arrow spoke up after Batman had left. 

The green lantern held his face with his hand, “Ill never understand that guy” 

They were discussing what had just transpired, but Superman wasn’t listening. He was busy staring a the door that Batman had just walked thought. He understood his friend’s anger, he really did. While they weren’t the closest with one another, Superman had always eeeb how Batman had a soft side for children, carrying lollipops in his belt or comforting them after a battle had been over. Heck, he was probably the leaguer who spent the most time with the Titans and other younger heroes. Of course he’d be angry at Kal’s decision to turn Superboy away.

But Kal needed time to come to terms with everything. He had never expected that the first thing greeting him once he came back to life would be a young teenager calling him ‘dad’. He had never expected Luthor to go as low as to make a clone of Superman and himself. And if he were to have a child, he had always wanted….no expected it would be a with his soulmate, not his greatest hater. 

At first, he had thought that he would never find his soulmate, they were probably Kryptonian and he was the only one left. But after some thinking he came to the rational conclusion that, since he had been destined to reach each, it was well to assume that destiny would provide him a human mate. He had thought that Lois was his soulmate, but the theory was discarded since she couldn’t feel that he was alive, and soulmates were supposed to always be able to feel each other.

He didn’t have many other guesses as to who his soulmate could be, but it wasn’t the biggest weight on his mind at the meet. So now, he hadn’t even met his soulmate yet he was supposed to be a father to Superboy. 

Wonder Woman nudging him on the shoulder brought Superman out of his daze and back to the discussion at the table. 

Cyborg raised an eyebrow at the Kryptonian, “So, STAR labs it is?”

Superman took in a deep breath “Yes.” 

“Hey, don’t let Batman get to ya, I had to live there for a bit after my…..transformation. It wasn’t that bad, maybe he’ll even make some friends” Cyborg added. 

That made Superman be more at ease, he hasn’t asked for Superboy to exist, but he knew it wasn’t the boy’s fault. He had been distant, but he’d make sure the boy was taken care of and safe…

———-———-———-———-———

Superboy was throwing all his belongings into a black double bag, good thing he didn’t have that many belongings anyway. 

He wasn’t sure where he was gonna go the only city he’d lived in was Metropolis but it was the last place he could go to. He just had to be as far away from Superman as possible. 

He wasn’t sure if his father would come after him or not. But Superman would have to drag the boy’s body across the world before he let himself be thrown into another lab. 

“Superboy” a gruff voice came up behind him. 

He knew it wasBatman. He was grateful that Batman had defended him again the other members of the Justice League, but he wanted to be alone, “Leave me alone.” 

Batman didn’t leave, instead he actually came inside the room and shut the door behind him, “We have to hurry.”

Superboy had no idea what the bat wanted, but he didn’t have time to waist. “Didn’t you hear me? I said leave me alone!” He repeated, louder this time. 

Batman let go of the door and tried getting closer, “Listen I need you to…”

Supoerboy snapped, “No, I’m not doing anything anyone tells me. I did everything Lex Luthor asked of me, and he tried to get rid of me when he thought I was a failure!” His voice cracked a little, “I’m not letting Superman put me in a lab again, I’m not a clone!” 

Batman looked at him sympathetically, “I know….you’re a person.”

Superboy met Batman’s gaze, “At least someone thinks so.” 

Batman looked the boy up and down, “You remind me of someone.” 

That peaked the boy’s interest, “Who?” 

Batman smiled softly, “Someone I want you to meet.” He then looked over to Superboy’s duffle bag, “Now hurry up with that bag, we need to go before they finish the meeting.” 

Superboy blinked at him, “Wait! You’re…..helping me leave?!” 

Batman nodded, “Yes, Superman is being stupid and I won’t let him sen you to a lab.” 

Superboy couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Someone…..cared? Both his fathers didn’t want him, one say him as an intellectual property and the other saw him as a nuisance. But why would Batman of all people care about him? They had no relation to each other, why would Batman want to train him, could he even train someone with superpowers? 

Superboy wasn’t sure if the bat could be trusted, he had already been let down by several people he thought he could rely on. But did he even have a choice? It was either trust the bat or be sent to STAR labs…..the choice was obvious. 

Superboy sighed but accepted his fate, “Okay, so where are you gonna send me?” He wanted to know, if not a lab maybe he’d be able to hide out in another big city for a while. 

“I’ll take you to Gotham…” the bat replied nonchalantly. “You can stay with me and some others.” 

Others. Superboy wondered who these others were. He had never been to Gotham before but he had read and heard about it, a dark city filled with crime and asylum patients blowing up buildings. It was no Metropolis, but maybe a place where he could blend in. If Superman found a way to live a life among humans then so could he. 

So Superboy pulled up his duffle bag and zipped it closed, “Okay, let’s go!”

Batman looked skeptical at the half empty bag in the boy’s arms, “That’s…all you have?” 

Superboy felt a shiver down his spine, he knew he didn’t have much, but someone else pointing it out stung a bit. “L-luthor didn’t give me much besides my super suit. A-and Superman never really took me shopping…” he explained. 

Batman nodded in understanding, “It’s alright, we’ll get you more clothes when we get to the city.” 

Okay, so first Batman wanted to take him Gotham, and wanted to take him shopping. Superboy had to ask himself if he wasn’t hallucinating all of this. He shook his head, all those questions would have to be answered later, “How are we sneaking out of here?” 

———-———-———-———-———

Superboy and Batman walked quietly but quickly thought the halls of the watchtower. Superboy used his superheating to keep tabs on what was happening in the meeting room, “They’re on call with Cyborg’s father.” 

Batman nodded as he turned down another hall, “Stay behind me, we just need to reach the hanger where the Bat Wing is” he instructed.

Superboy raised an eyebrow, “You named your ship the Bat-Ship?”

Batman looked over his shoulder to glare lightly at the boy, “You have a problem with that?” 

Superboy gulped, even though Batman was helping him he couldn’t help but still be unnerved by the vigilante. “Nope, Bat-Ship is good” he raised an awkward thumbs up. 

Batman didn’t say anything, just kept walking until they reached the hanger bay. Superboy hadn’t been to the hanger before, but it wasn’t like there was much to see anyway. Most of the Justice League members could fly on their own, Superboy included, but Batman always came in his steel black ship. 

Batman input a code into the launchpad to open the hanger doors. “Get on the ship.” So both Batman and Supeboy hoped into the Bat-Ship. 

“We did it?” Superboy asked as he took a seat on one of the sleek leather seats. 

Batman was busy turning on the ship’s engines, “Yes, now sit down and put on a seat belt” he lightly bushed the boy off. 

Superboy laughed, “I can’t believe Batman is helping me run away from Superman” he said in Alamo disbelief.

Batman paused what he was doing for a moment, “It’s not running away, it’s he said he needed time. We’re giving him time.” He then got back to the steering wheel as the doors to the hanger were fully opened, “Now put on the seat belt!” 

Superboy laughed again but put on the seatbelt like he was told “Alright, all strapped in.” 

So Batman turned on the engine and got the ship to take off from the watchtower. They were on the air, headed to Gotham.

Superboy watched from the glass as the watchtower became father and farther away. He had flown in the air more times than he could remember, but witnessing flight from inside a space ship felt entirely different. It quite hit the same as having the wind blow through your hair and face, but watching from the glass let him take in the full view. 

So they flew in comfortable silence for a few minutes, until Batman typed on the touchscreen of the control panel. Superboy watched as the bag typed out what looked like a phone number on the screen. And after a few seconds, a ringing screen popped up. Batman had called someone.

It didn’t take long for someone on the other end of the line to pick up the call. “Alfred?” Batman called out. Superboy wondered who this Alfred was.

“Yes sir?” An older male voice on the other line responded.

“Please call the boys and tell them to meet me in the cave” Batman instructed. “All of them! Tell them it’s urgent” he emphasized. 

The voice was quiet for a moment….”Should I be conceded sir?” The person on the other side sounded tired. 

Batman sighed, “No, but I need you to do one more thing.” 

“What else do you need sir?” 

Batman’s eyes moved a little to his side where Superboy sat, “Can you make sure that one of the guests rooms is ready for use.” 

Superboy’s breath hitched again. Batman was giving him a room? Seriously, why was this man ready to give him all the things his supposed parents should have been getting him. 

“We are having a guest over?” The voice asked. And Superboy looked up at Batman, as if waiting for the verdict. 

“No, just…..someone will be staying with us for a while and I want them to be comfortable” Batman said. 

“Very well sire, I will call the boys and prep the room for our guest” the voice on the phone replied. 

“Thank you Alfred” Batman spoke and ended the call. 

Superboy knew he probably shouldn’t ask, but his curiosity had been peaked, “Soooo…who’s Alfred?”

“Im Batman, but I don’t work alone you know.” 

Superboy was a little speechless, “Huh, I always thought you did.” Batman never gave off the energy of being a great team player, though Superboy had to keep in mind that practically all he had seen of Batman for the past week was the bat arguing with the rest of the league. 

Batman laughed, an actual amused laugh, “It takes more than just me to keep everything running .” 

Superboy felt good, good considering all the circumstances, he looked at the scenery ahead but his mind wasn’t focused on what his eyes were seeing. His mind was filled with questions and doubts. What would he even do once he got to Gotham? Was coming with Batman the right decision? Would Superman be mad that he fled and come looking for him and take him to the lab?….No! 

He wouldn’t let anyone trap in a lab again, he was a person not a lab rat. Batman say that, so coming with him had to have been the right decision. Yeah, he would go with Batman and figure out what to do with his life from now on. “Thanks by the way” he spoke softly while still looking at clouds. 

“For what?” Batman asks, not removing his eyes from the front of the shop. 

Superboy sighs, “For helping me. Ever since….ever since everyone found out about me being a clone of Superman and Luthor they all look at me different.” His stomach did a turn, “The league thinks I’m a threat, the people of Metropolis thought I was some weapon Lex made to destroy Superman, and a bunch of reporters would ask me questions about my creation, and Superman won’t even talk to me. You’re the first person that……sees me as a person.” He felt a little better saying it all out loud. 

Batman was quiet for a moment, probably pondering over his words before he spoke, “You are a person” he affirmed, “You aren’t a clone Superboy, you were made with Luthor and Kal’s genetics, but you’re not either of them. You’re your own person.”

That makes Superboy smile, he was a person. He was different from Superman and different from Luthor. He would figure out who he was and maybe Batman would help him do that, “Thanks for letting me stay with you.”

Batman chuckles lightly, “Your not the first one.” 

Superboy raised a questioning eyebrow, “You know, I only get like half of all the things you say.” 

Batman laughed again, louder this time…more genuine, “You’ll understand better when we get there.” 

“If you say so” Superboy shrugged and slumped into his chair.  

“I hope you like the room we prepare for you” Batman. 

Superboy felt a piece of his heart heal with that, it was the first time someone actually cared about his comfort….his opinion on something! On the inside, he was doing a happy summer sail in the air, but on the outside he simply said, “Anything is better than a lab.” 

They flew in a comforting silence after that. Batman wondering how he would calmly explain to his sons that they were basically about to get a new brother. While Superboy wondered where exactly they were going, Batman’s….lair?….base?….home? Though it didn’t really matter. 

———-———-———-———-———

Back at the Watchtower, the Justice League meeting had ended and all league members had returned home, expect Superman. 

They had spoken with Dr. Stone and gotten his approval to bring Superboy to STAR labs. Though Superman had decided to wait a few days before bringing Superboy to the lab, after the argument with Batman, Superman decided that he should sit with the boy and properly explain himself to him. Explain how he was adjusting to the whiplash of being cloned…of being made a father without his knowledge. 

Superman hated admitting it, but Batman was right. Superboy hadn’t asked to be created, and he had no right to take his frustrations out on the boy, but he needed time. 

So after everyone left, he walked over to the room he had given Superboy to live in during his stay.  He reached the door and hesitated, he wasn’t sure how to explain the situation, how to delicately tell Superboy that he’d be staying at STAR labs for a little while and after……maybe he’d come live in Metropolis at Clark’s apartment. Well Clark would have to check if he even still had an apartment after being gone for so many months. 

So he knocked on the door lightly, “Superboy, we need to talk” then he waited……..but no one answered. Superman was confused, usually Superboy just stayed in his room doing the day. He used his super hearing to try and find Superboy’s heartbeat, but he couldn’t hear it. 

The heart beat wasn’t there. Wasn’t in the room, wasn’t in the hallway, wasn’t in the entire watchtower….

And Superman panicked, where could the boy have gone? Why did he leave? He pushed the door to the room open and froze. 

The room was empty, the little clothing and personal items that Superboy had brought with him on the first day were all gone. His bed was neatly made, and there was a piece of paper on top of the bed. 

A note Superboy had written for Superman before Batman had come into his room, but Superman didn’t know that. So Kal took the paper off the bed and read the note: 

Dear Superman,

If you’re reading this then I’m already gone. I overheard your meeting, and I’m not letting you shove me into another lab. I already spent most of my life trapped in an underground lab, I don’t want to be sent to another one. So I’m leaving, I’m not sure where but I’m not letting you control me like he did.

-Superboy, a person, not your clone.

Superman felt guilt hit him like a kryptonite bullet! Superboy had heard! Heard Kal say he didn’t want him, that he was going to send him into a lab like Lex Luthor had done. But the worst part was the simple words “a person”, Superboy didn’t want to be Superman he just wanted to be a person, and his own father had told a group of people that he didn’t think of the boy as a person. 

Batman was absolutely right, and Kal had to fix this. He had to find the boy and apologize…..but where could Superboy have gone?

Chapter Text

Jason, Tim, and Dick were sitting on the couch in the Batcave. A few years ago, Bruce had amplified the cave and added a lounge area where everyone could just sit and hold discussions. The idea came to him after the Teen Titans had come to stay at the manor and Bruce had realized that the cave wasn’t large enough for all of them to train or simply coexist without someone getting hit by an on flying weapon.

So the three of them sat lazily on the couch while waiting for Batman, and also for Damian to arrive. They were all wearing their super suits, Dick had put his on because he was supposed to go meet with Starfire, Jason had just returned from patrol with Red Arrow, and Tim had already been in the cave doing research when he got the message from Alfred to be in the cave. 

After a few minutes, Damian arrived, also wearing his suit and with Ace right by his side. “Nice of you to finally join us” Jason remarked. 

Ace jumped on the couch next to where Dick was sitting and rested his head on the man’s thigh. “Hey buddy” Dick patted the dog’s head without hesitation. 

“So, why do you think he called us all?” Tim asked now that they were all present. 

Jason shrugged, “No clue, but I was coming here anyway.” 

Dick scratched the back of his neck, “Well, Star got the weekend off and we were gonna spend it together so I hope it’s not something too serious.” 

Damian glared at his brothers, “Father wouldn’t call us here if it wasn’t serious.” 

Tim tilted his head, “Well last I checked his files there weren’t any big threats after Superman came back.” 

“Yeah. Remember when he called us here when Damian brought a cow home!” Jason reminded them with a laugh. He always got a kick out of reminding Bruce who he called them to ask for help when Damian had basically forced him to bring a cow to the manor with them after a mission. 

“Don’t look at me, I haven’t brought any new animals here” Damian defended himself. 

“Bet he’s bringing another kid home….” Jason suggested. 

“What?” Tim and Drake spoke up in unison. Though neither would be that upset if it were true. 

Dick had watched Bruce bring three more boys to the manor so it wouldn’t be that strange. Plus, all the kids that came to live with them were orphans, like he himself had been, so if Bruce was bringing another kid home it probably meant that it was another orphan, someone who was alone, someone who needed a family ... .like they all had been.

“You think father would do that?” Damian asked. 

“He brought three kids home before he even knew you existed, trust us it’s not hard to believe” Tim retorted. 

“Or maybe someone found out his secret identity” was Jason’s next 

“That would constitute an emergency” Damian agreed. 

Dick raised an eyebrow, “You think one of the Justice League members figured it out?” He would be shocked if they did, he had worked with some of them when he was little and it had always baffled him how none were able to piece together that Bruce Wayne was Batman. Seriously, who else from Gotham had enough cash to finance the freaking Justice League??

“Maybe…” Damian said, “but I have no idea how that could have happened.” 

“Well I know for a fact none of the Titans and our friends would betray our trust like that” Dick stated. 

Damian nodded in agreement, “Fair enough, I suppose none of them have been given reason to be distrusted……at least that we know of.” 

“Let’s just wait and see what he has to tell us,” Jason proposed. And so for the next thirty minutes they all sat together, sharing small talk while waiting for Batman. 

—————————————————

Superboy watched as he and Batman arrived in Gotham. He had been told that the city was dark and edgy, and honestly it was true. The city was the complete opposite of Metropolis’ clear skies and golden skyline. 

Superboy was a bit worried about being in the unknown city, but he had to. He would face the unknown and discover what he could make of himself. 

As Superboy was busy with his thoughts, he hadn’t noticed that Batman had diverted the ship’s trajectory away from the city. “Where are we actually going?” 

“My base is on the outskirts of the city,” Batman responded. He directed the ship towards some fields filled with trees. Superboy understood, he had been to Superman’s Fortress once, it made sense that super heroes need to have bases that are well hidden from any prying eyes. 

They flew towards the trees and up until they reached a cavern, and flew inside the cavern with no hesitation. It was dark, very dark. And long, it felt like they were flying in a dark corridor for hours. So Superboy’s eyes widened when he saw industrial lights inside the cavern. 

“This is the Batcave” Batman told Superboy when he saw the boy’s mouth hanging open. 

“I’m not even surprised you call this place the Batcave” Superboy responded as he kept staring. 

The industrial corridor ended when they reached a large open room with a platform for the ship to land. And Superboy could see that there were other platforms with a plethora of other vehicles. 

Batman landed the ship on the platform and began shutting off the engine, “The boys must be waiting for us” he unbuckled his seat belt. 

“So do I get to know who the ‘boys’ are now?” Superboy asked as he unbuckled his own seat belt. 

Batman sighed, “They’re my Robins….” 

“They’re your sidekicks” Superboy cut in.

Bruce gritted his teeth, “They’re also vigilantes, but they’re also my family” he explained. He clicked a button on his monitor and the doors of the ship opened. “Come, I’ll introduce you” he gestured for Superboy to follow him out. 

Superboy watched as Batman exited the ship and stepped onto the hanger, and as he followed, he noticed that there were four figures walking over to Batman. He didn’t recognize them, but he had heard on the news once that Robin was Batman’s sidekick, though he didn’t think there’d be four of them. 

“Good to see you’re all here” Batman said as he approached the boys. 

“Hey B what’s up?” Dick asked as he approached his father, the fact that he didn’t seem injured was good.

“Why did you summon all of us?” Damian got straight to the point.

“I called you all because we have a situation” Bruce started.

“What is it father?” Was Damian’s next question. 

“Father??!!” Superboy said a little too loudly as he was stepping out of the ship, he had heard every word exchanged so far thanks to his super-hearing, causing all the boys to turn their head towards him. 

“Told you he found another kid!” Jason shouted next, “I should have bet money on that.”

Dick looked Superboy up and down, “Seriously, are a magnet to black haired young boys or what.”

Bruce took a deep breath, “This is a different situation  entirely. And that’s why I need all of you and….where’s Alfred?” 

“He’s upstairs with Roy,” Jason answered. 

Batman raised an eyebrow, “And what are they doing?” 

“Alfred is stitching him up,” Jason said bluntly. 

“What, you didn’t tell us that?” Tim stared at Jason.

“What the hell did you do to him this time?” Dick did a face palm. 

Jason huffed, “Would you calm down, a bullet scraped his shoulder. He’s fine.”

“Uh, alright. Anything else I should know about?” Batman asked in a tired voice.

“Kori is coming to stay the weekend” Dick states.

“Sure, she’s always welcome” and he meant it. Since Dick and Kori were soulmates she was already his daughter in law. Heck, she pretty much was since they were late teens and already dating, even before they found out they were soulmates. 

“Okay, so who’s that?” Jason  asked, gesturing towards Superboy. 

Bruce took a step to the side so that he could probably introduce them, “Boys, meet Superboy.”

“Superboy?” Jason, Dick, and Damian said in unison. 

“Superboy!” Tim nearly pounced onto the other boy with excitement. “Oh my god, someone get me some coffee…” he took one of Superboy’s hands to shake onto his own, “Okay I’ve wanted to meet you since I found out Lex Luthor cloned Superman.”

Superboy’s face contorted into pure confusion, “You did?” He had dealt with weird fans before, but this boy in a red suit seemed stranger than most. 

“Duh, I have so many questions!” Tim let go of Superboy’s hand. “I’m fascinated by the technology they used to create you, since technically you’re not a clone right, Lex must have cloned himself or Superman first and then infused the other’s DNA. Basically creating a child without a female. Right?” 

Superboy blinked, “Uh….” Even with super hearing he hasn’t understood all of Tim’s rambling. Usually people would gush over him to bring a ‘clone’ of Superman, not over his entire cloning process, it made him feel a bit nauseous if anything.

“Does Kryptonite affect you? Or are you immune since you’re half human? Also how old are you? Clearly your ageing was accelerated, but are you gonna age normally now or are you gonna get old really fast too?” Tim kept rambling with questions, he had always been fascinated by technology so finding out that someone had successfully created an artificial clone-child was absolutely fascinating. 

“I’m sorry, I-I don’t know the answers to most of that” Superboy stuttered. He really didn’t know anything about himself, but seeing someone look actually interested in knowing more about him felt…..exciting. 

“Oh..” Tim made a clicking noise with his tongue, “..it’s okay.” 

“Actually, Red Robin isn’t entirely wrong,” Batman said. 

“Huh” Superboy and Red Robin turned to the others, they had been caught in their little moment that they forgot they were still in the hanger bay. “Those are important questions….well mostly” 

“Hey!” Tim snapped at his father, making Superboy laugh. 

Batman turned to the half Kryptonian, “We need to know the full scope of your powers but also weaknesses, the whole point of you being here. We’ll have to explore all of it.” 

“Yeah, it’s fine. We can make a whole file on you” Tim agreed with no hesitation.

“File?” 

Dick walked up to them and put a hand on Tim’s shoulder blade, “Calm down Tim, you’re not supposed to scare him that fast” his voice was laced with sarcasm. 

“Maybe we should move this conversation to the sitting area,” Batman suggested. So they did. They all walked over to the sitting area where Ace was still sitting on the couch. Dick, Damien, Jason, and Tim sat on the largest black couch, while Batman and Superboy sat across from them. 

After they were all seated, Dick started the introductions, he offered a gloved hand which Superboy shook, “I’m Nightwing.” 

“I’m Red Hood” Jason introduced himself next to them.

“I’m Red Robin,” Tim smiled happily. 

“And I’m Robin” Damian was still eyeing Superboy suspiciously, with his arms crossed over his chest.

They started with their vigilante names, like they always did. Revealing their true names always took some time and familiarity with the person they were sharing the knowledge with. 

“I’m Superboy, it’s nice to meet you all.”

“Okay so now, what is he doing here? Shouldn’t Superman be the one to help him with his powers?” Jason questioned Batman. Because sure, Batman was great at training rouge and talented orphans from Gotham, but they were all human! How were they all supposed to help train an alien? 

Batman looked down at Superboy with sympathy, “Do you wanna explain?” He was fine with explaining the situation himself, but offering Superboy the chance to speak on his own behalf. 

Superboy stopped breathing for a moment, he was being asked what he wanted to do. It was honestly sad at how joyous simply being given the opportunity to talk freely made him feel.  “I can do it.”

Bruce smiled faintly and leaned back on the couch, “Go on.”

Superboy took in a deep breath, “I guess you already know I was…made by Lex Luthor. Well now that he’s in prison I thought I would live with Superman too..” he met eyes with Jason, “But he didn’t want me, he wanted to throw me into STAR labs like I’m a lab rat. So I was planning on running away….” that brought a collective gasp between the Robins, who would imagine Superman doing such a thing.

“But Batman stopped you?” Jason then asked. 

Superboy nodded shyly, “Yeah, he said I could live with him….with you guys I guess.” 

“So you kidnapped him against Superman’s wishes?” Damian directed at his father. 

Batman shrugged his shoulders, “He was going to run away either way, I just offered him a place to run off to.” 

Dick smiled widely, “So some things never change.” 

“Huh?”

“We’re all adopted, Batman found us over the years and brought us into his family” Dick explained. 

“Except me, I’m the blood son” Damian stated matter of factly. 

Superboy snapped towards Robin, “What?”  

“Don’t ask” Tim implored, they didn’t have time to go into that whole situation right now. 

“Okay…?” Superboy concluded it was best not to argue. 

“So we’re housing a smuggled alien now? I won’t call Robin’s adoption strange ever again” Jason laughed. 

“Shut up Todd” Damian spat at the older, which only made Jason laugh harder. 

Superboy felt like he was in a completely different world. Both in LexCorp’s lab and at the Watchtower, everyone around him was always extremely serious and detached. But here everyone seemed more laid back, they weren’t coworkers….they were family. 

“Okay but do you think Superman is gonna come looking for you?” Red Robin asked, he was still studying Superboy with his eyes.

Superboy lowered his gaze, “I don’t know, he wanted to send me away so, technically I’m doing him a favor aren’t I?” He ended his self depriving statement with a sad laugh. 

Nightwing felt bad, “Just gotta know in case we have to fight an angry Kryptonian in the near future” Dick awkwardly explained himself. 

“We have enough kryptonite to take him,” Damian said flatly. 

“Don’t be overconfident Robin” Batman said to his youngest son.

“Okay so next question, is he gonna live here with us?” Red Robin asked the next question.

“I brought him here for that exact purpose.”

“Cool, so are we gonna let him in on the whole secret identity thing?”

This made Superboy almost jump in his seat, “Wait….” he turned his body to face Batman properly, “Not even the Justice League knows who you are, but you’re gonna tell me?” He was floored! Today had been the first time he had a proper conversation with the knight of Gotham, and the Justice League had known the bat for years, yet he was being trusted with such information? 

“We’re not gonna live around you wearing our masks,” Jason retorted.

“You guys live in this cave?” 

“Of course not, we have a house, this is technically our basement” Batman answered. 

Superboy looked over his surroundings, “Your basement? You mean this whole secret base is under your house.”

“Just wait til you see the house,” Tim added with excitement. 

Superboy looked into Red Robin’s eyes….well the white eyes of his mask. “And you guys, trust me?” 

“Well you wouldn’t be the first young super to know, honestly it’s mostly just the league that doesn’t know” Tim responded. 

“What?” 

“All the titans know, and other sidekicks know too,” Dick added. 

Superboy didn’t know what to make of that information, but he would definitely be asking about that earlier, “Oh, that’s…..surprising.” 

Batman put a hand on Superboy’s shoulder and spoke in a clear but firm voice, “I’m willing to trust you with this, but you have to swear you won’t tell anyone, not any of the other members of the league, not Lex Luthor, and especially not Superman.” 

Superboy felt a chill down his spine. So Batman didn’t trust THE Justice League with his identity, but was willing to share his most intimate secret with a clone made by Lex Luthor?? 

Well the not telling anyone part wouldn’t be that hard, who would he tell anyway? The Justice League pretty much saw him as a rogue and unchecked clone of Superman. Lex? His creator was in prison, and Superboy didn’t want to see his face anytime soon. He would never risk Lex trying to bring him back to LexCorp. And Superman?? He didn’t want to see his other father, he wanted to be as far away as possible from the Kryptonian. 

So he definitely wouldn’t tell anyone, but that wasn’t the most important thing, the important thing….is that he didn’t want to! Batman was the first person to be kind to him, to see him as more than a clone of Superman, to let him speak his mind, to give him a chance to just be human. Whoever the man was, Superboy would take his secret to the grave. “I promise, I won’t tell anyone” he spoke with vigor and finality. 

Batman smiled, “Very well…” and he reached over his head to unclamp his cowl. And in what Superboy could only describe as slow motion, the black leather fell back to reveal a man with black fluffy hair and icy blue eyes. “Nice to meet you Superboy,” the man said. 

Superboy felt the air be pulled from his lungs, he recognized the man. He recognized Batman! “You’re Bruce Wayne, the billionaire?” 

“Is that shocking? Like seriously, who else in Gotham can afford this?” Jason sounded exasperated. But Bruce just kept looking at Superboy. 

The scientist at LexCorp had a hidden tv at the Lab (that they would hide whenever Lex came to ask for updates on their work), so he had seen clips of Bruce Wayne on the news. “I-I always heard Lex Luthor complain about how he could possibly lose business to an idiot like you…” Superboy laughed. 

Bruce mirrored his laugh, “That's kinda the plan.” 

“You’re a genius! You play stupid in front of everyone so nobody would think you’re Batman!” 

“He gets it,” Dick nudges Jason’s shoulder. 

“I won’t tell anyone Bruce, I promise” Superboy promises once again. 

“Good” was all Bruce said, then he turned to his sons, “..boys?” 

They understood the message, and Superboy watched as the four boys started taking off their masks. 

Nightwing was the first to take off his mask, he looked a lot like Bruce, with black hair and blue eyes. “Nice to meet you Superboy, I’m Dick Grayson-Wayne.” 

Superboy thought that being called ‘Dick’ was odd, but decided it was rude to comment on someone’s name being inappropriate. 

Red Hood took of his helmet in one swoop, only to be another black haired with bluish-green eyes, “Jason Todd-Wayne”

Robin took off his eye mask, “I’m just Damian Wayne.” And yep, he was like a smaller version of Bruce. 

Red Robin was the last to take off his mask, “Tim Drake-Wayne” he smiled at Superboy, his own blue eyes glowing in the light. 

“Nice to meet you all” Superboy smiled at all of them. 

“So what’s your name?” Tim asked him excitedly. 

Superboy’s smile faltered, “I…don’t have one.” 

Damien raised an eyebrow, “You don’t have a name?” 

“Well for a long time Lex just called me thirteen because that was my trial number, then I became Superman but the media rebranded me as Superboy and the name just….stuck” 

“And Superman didn’t give you one either?” Tim asked, he sounded sad….sad for Superboy. 

“No.” 

Tim made an angry face, “Well he’s a jerk.” He then got up from the large couch and moved over to the smaller one and plopped himself next to Superboy. 

Dick, Jason, Damian, and even Bruce were thrown off by Tim’s action. They all shared a worried knowing look but decided to keep quiet for now and just let the scene unravel. 

Superboy wasn’t uncomfortable by Tim’s presence, he felt a little honored that someone seemed so angry on his behalf. “So you didn’t get to pick your hero name, it’s fine but you can pick your regular name.” 

Superboy tilted his head, “I can?” 

“Well you can’t walk around Gotham as Superboy” Bruce reminded him. And he was right, if Superboy wanted to keep a low profile and hide from Superman he would need to change his name. 

Tim wrapped one arm around Superboy’s shoulders, “Of course you can, just don’t pick Richard, Jason, Damian, or Timothy, having repeat names is a no.” 

“Are there any names you like?” Dick asked Superboy.

Superboy raised his hands in surrender, “Not really?” 

Tim placed a hand on his chin, “How about……Ryan?”

Superboy shook his head no.  

And so the name suggestions began rolling in….

“Lucas?…Henry?…Llyod?…Manuel?…Luke?…Brandon?…Alex?…Carlos?…Anthony?…Magnus?…Kai?…Patrick?…Adrien?…Leo?…Austin?…Steven?…Frank?…Conner?… Michael?….” 

“Wait!” Superboy stopped Tim’s rambling, “T-the last one.” 

“Michael?”

“No, the one before that..”Superboy’s cheeks flushed a little. 

“Conner?” 

“Yeah ... .I like that one” his voice was quiet. 

Tim smiled triumphantly, “Perfect, Conner it is then!” 

Conner had been lost in thought when he suddenly heard footsteps in the distance. It was only at that moment that he paid close attention to a set of stairs a few feet away from the sitting area. Based on the fact that the boys called the Batcave their ‘basement’ he could only assume that those stairs led into their actual house. 

Then came the voice, “Hey fam what’s up?…” And out of the shadows stepped a red haired man, wearing what looked like a pair of red and blue pajamas and a white bandage wrapped around his shoulder and upper arm. He looked over at the bat family and sat in the lounge area, until his eyes landed on the new face, “Oh, did Bruce bring another one home?”

Jason jumped off his seat when we saw his soulmate casually walking down the stairs, as if he hadn’t been shot mere hours ago, “What the fuck Roy, your supposed to be in bed!” 

“Master Jason!” came another voice, sounding older and definitely mad. Then a man dressed in a pristine grey suit. “Language!” the man scolded Jason again. 

“Sorry Alfred.” 

A lightbulb flickered in ConnerMd head, “So that’s Alfred?” 

Bruce nodded, “My butler, but he’s part of the family.” So yet another member of the family, Conner couldn’t believe that everyone thought of Batman as a loner when the man was the complete opposite. 

Alfred let Jason fuss over Roy’s bandage and strutted over to Bruce, Tim, and Conner. He looked down at the new boy sitting on the couch, “I see you are all well. And I assume you are the guest that will be saying it over?” He spoke to Conner. 

“Yes Alfred, Conner here will be staying with us for a while” Bruce responded, making Conner smile. 

Next they heard an alarm sound and a message pop up on the main computer across the cave. “What’s that?” Conner whispered to Tim. 

“Just our camera system,” Red Robin answered. 

Dick rushed over to the computer to turn the alarm off, “Oh Kori is here! I gotta get out of this suit.” Then he rushed over to the changing room Bruce had also added to the cave for everyone’s privacy while changing into their suits. 

So Dick changed into his civilian clothes and started rushing upstairs to open the door for his girlfriend. Meanwhile, Jason accompanied Roy back upstairs so he could lay down and rest. And Damian also left, claiming he had to go feed his cow. 

“You guys have a cow?!” Conner’s eyes followed Damian as he walked towards a little area in the corner where a large cow was sleeping on a pile of hay.

“Of course we have a cow!” Damian said with a scowl. 

“Oh boy, welcome to the fam Conner, let’s see how long you survive” Tim joked. 

Bruce glared lightly at his, “He’s joking….mostly. Just don’t comment on Damian’s pets, he prefers to care for them himself.” 

“Got it,” Conner nodded. He wondered if all families were as intriguing as the Wayne’s, they were apparently a group of orphans that were all taken in by a random billionaire but were out at night fighting crime on the streets of Gotham. But at the same time, watching the boys argue with each other or the way Bruce seems fond yet very much done with it. This feels so much better, so much more real, more alive…than anyplace he had ever been. 

Tim then hopped onto his feet and extended a hand to Superboy, "C'mon Conner, let us show you Wayne Manor!” 

Conner hesitated, he looked over to Bruce for extra assurance, and when the man smiled at him encouragingly, Conner gladly took the hand. 

Red Robin walked them to the changing room first so he could change out of the suit. Conner stood outside, checking out the cave as Tim changed. 

“So, you think you’ll like it here?” Tim spoke from inside the changing room. 

Conner had been looking over the computer monitors when Tim asked him the question. He was caught a bit off guard, but replied honestly, “It’s different from what I expected.” 

“Is it now?” Tim raised an eyebrow as he walked out of the changing room in a pair of puffy black pants and a green hoodie. 

“I didn’t expect Batman to be a dad.” 

Tim thought for a moment before agreeing, “I think most don’t.” He nudged Conner’s shoulder with his fist, “Now c'mon, let me show you around…oh and you’re gonna love Alfred’s cooking.” 

Conner laughed, “I bet it’s better than the food at LexCorp, lead the way.” And he followed Tim up the stairs. 

Bruce and Alfred had been talking in the sitting area. Mostly about the upcoming charity gala Bruce would be hosting to introduce his newest foundation. But they also watched Tim leading Conner into the manor. 

Alfred looked at Bruce questioningly, “So you brought Superman’s son into our home, are you sure about this decision master Bruce?” 

Bruce sighed, “I know it’s risky Alfred. I know I’m risking Clark figuring out my identity….but I couldn’t let him be sent off like he’s nothing.” He looked up at the stairs again, though no one was there, “Besides, I think he’ll like it here.” 

Alfred hummed, “I’m sure he will sire.”

Chapter Text

-Back at the Watchtower-

Superman was panicking! He had paced back and forth thinking of where on earth Superboy could have gone. He felt guilty about the things he said and the boy had overheard, and of course, he was worried about what an untrained  kryptonition in an emotionally vulnerable state. 

He had to find Superboy! He had to apology to him. Clark would understand if Superboy didn’t want to stay with him anymore after this, but he still wanted to make sure that the boy was safe. He had just sent the whole league home so he couldn’t call them back for this, he’d have to search for Superboy alone.

But, where would Superboy go? Clark realized that he truly didn’t know much about Superboy aside from the fact that he was an acceleratedly aged clone of Superman and Lex Luthor. And from the bits he got from Lex and Superboy himself, the boy had only ever been in Metropolis and once to the fortress of Solitude. Considering the fact that Superboy was mad at Superman at the moment, it was probably safe to assume that he wouldn’t go to the Fortress, so Metropolis it was!

It was already late mid afternoon, but he couldn’t waist time. So Superman flew out of the Watchtower and headed over to Metropolis. He didn’t have a specific place in mind, he just flew over the rooftops and street corners hoping to find the boy in his blue suit. But after over an hour of scouting, his hope started to dwindle. 

Until an idea struck him, Clark didn’t know why he didn’t think of it before. Was it possible that he had gone to Lex’s home? Yes, he knew Lex wasn’t a good parent to Superboy, but living with Lex had been the only life the boy had ever known. So Clark flew across the city to Lex Luthor’s penthouse.

When he reached Lex’s building, the spark of hope returned because there was a light on in the penthouse. With Lex in Belle Reve, who else could possibly be there? It had to b Superboy. All he had to do was sit down with Superboy, explain himself and hopefully bring the boy back to the Watchtower, or maybe going to Clark’s apartment would be better, maybe that would make Superboy more comfortable. He’d figure out what to do once Superboy was with him. 

So Clark landed on the penthouses’s marble balcony and super its screen door opened to let himself in. The living room was empty, left untouched since Lex’s arrest. But there was a light coming from behind a closed door down the hall. Clark didn’t want to scare Superboy, so he carefully stepped towards the door and gently….knocked. “Superboy, it’s….”

“Who the fuck is there!” A voice cried out in absolute horror from inside the room. But it wasn’t Superboy’s voice, it was a female voice. Worse, a female voice that Clark recognized.

The door flew open and out came a woman wielding a briefcase in self defense. Her eyes widened when she saw who the intruder was, “Superman!??” 

Superman raised his hands in a sign of non aggression, “Mercy, I’m so sorry.” 

She threw the briefcase onto the floor and clenched her chest, “What the fuck are you doing here, you scared the life out of me” she shouted at the Kryptonian.  

“I-I thought you were someone else…”

“I figured” the woman replied bitterly. 

Clark was glad that at least it wasn’t in intruder, but still “What are you doing in Lex’s house?” 

Mercy gritted her teeth, “If you must know, I needed some files that Lex kept on his computer. With him in Belle Reve I’ve been helping to keep the company active…..Plus I have a key.” 

“Oh….well I’m glad the company is still operating.” The fact that Lex Corp still provided jobs to regular citizens that took no part in Lex’s insanity had never crossed his mind. Or that with Lex gone that the company and all those jobs were at stake. 

Mercy glared daggers at Superman, “Is there a reason you’re here? Lex is already behind bars.” 

“Have you seen Superboy?” 

Mercy was thrown off by the question, “What?” 

“Superboy, has he been here?” Clark clarified. 

The assistant tilted her head inquisitively, “I thought you took him after you came back.”

“I did….” Kal stuttered, “...but he left.” 

Mercy perked up at that, “Really? Lex drilled it into him that he had to be like Superman, I’d imagine he’d want to spend time with you.” 

That felt like another kryptonite bullet straight into Kal’s chest, and his guilt intensified. “I…I just need to talk to him. Have you seen him? This is the only place I could think of that he’d run off to.” 

Mercy shook her head, “No, he hasn’t shown up here since he left….and I really doubt he’ll ever come back” she spoke with honesty.

“Why?” 

“Are you serious?” Mercy rolled her eyes, “He was created in Lex’s basement and Lex almost eliminated him when he started acting too independently. I really doubt he’d want to come back.”  

Clark’s mind went blank, “He tried to eliminate him?” Sure Lex had tried to get rid of Clark, but getting rid of Superboy was a whole other issue. Lex tried to eliminate a child? A child that contained half of his own DNA? Clark really had no grasp on the scope of how bad Superboy’s life had been.

“He didn’t tell you?” 

Clark shook his head no, “No, I-I didn’t know that.” 

“Well he did, but backtracked because Superboy was the first successful clone.” 

In Lex terms it meant that creating another clone would be too expensive, Clark knew that. No wonder the boy had run away the second Clark had considered sending him off to another lab, he had so much to make up for. Superman’s shoulders slumped, “I had no idea Lex treated him like that.”

Mercy waved a dismissive hand, “It’s Lex, what did you expect?” Then she saw the broken expression on Superman’s face and her voice grow softer, “That said, I hope that he’s okay.” 

“Huh?” Clark met her eyes curiously. 

Mercy took in a large breath, “You weren’t around when it happened but….Superboy saved my life. I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for him so….I hope he’s fine wherever he is.” 

Superman smiled lightly, “Thank you Mercy. Do you think Lex might know where he is?” he asked. 

She thought for a moment, “I don’t know, you’d have to ask him yourself. Now if you’ll excuse me, I got the files I needed and have to go now….just close the doors in your way out.” She grabbed her briefcase off the floor and left the penthouse, leaving Superman alone with his thoughts. 

He clearly knew nothing about Superboy, so it would be nearly impossible to figure out where the boy had gone. He decided that he had done enough infringing upon Lex’s penthouse, so he went back to the balcony and leaped onto the Metropolis sky. 

He wished he would have payed more attention to what Superboy’s heartbeat sounded like so he could use it to track the boy down, but he had been so negligent towards the boy that it never crossed his mind. So with a determined sigh, Clark made up his mind on what he had to do.

It seemed he would need to swallow his pride and pay Lex Luthor a visit…

—————————————————

-Back at Wayne Manor-

While Clark had been looking for a missing Superboy, Conner had been receiving a full tour of Wayne Manor from Tim. 

Tim was leading Conner up the stairs to the third floor of the manor, where the bedrooms are. “Okay so we’ve seen the library, game room, kitchen, I’ve shown you all the offices we aren’t allowed in, Bruce’s room is off limits unless there’s a fire, and….oh here, our rooms!” He gestured enthusiastically to a very polished hallway with a few doors. 

“How big is this place?” Conner asked sarcastically. He was already tired after seeing so many rooms. 

Tim laughed next to him, “You get used to it, it’s always a shock when we first arrive.” He pointed to the first brown door on the left side of the hallway, “So that’s Dick’s room and at the end of the hall is Jason’s, but since Roy and Kori are staying for a few days be warned, always knock!” He really stressed the last part. 

“And to be clear, Roy is the red haired guy?” He had been able t piece together that Kori was Dick’s girlfriend while Roy was apparently dating Jason. But he wasn’t ready to ask why knocking was so important, he could piece the pieces together himself. 

“Yes, that’s him” Tim answered. 

Conner nodded, “And he’s also a hero?” It may have been a dumb question given the fact that Roy clearly knew of their secret identities. 

“Yeah, he’s Red Arrow. They met on mission once, just like Dick met Kori. Lucky right, meeting your soulmate on a mission” Tim spoke absentmindedly. 

That word again, soulmates. Conner knew, on paper at least what a soulmate was, but he didn’t know how they worked. Of course Lex’s training for him didn’t include anything of the sort, but Conner’s curiosity was peaked. Superman had been angry that Conner wasn’t born from two soulmates. He wanted to understand how these things worked. 

Was it weird to ask your new friend how soulmates worked???Conner decided not to dwell on that dilemma for too long , “Can I ask you something?” 

“Sure.”’

Conner sucked in a breath, “So how exactly does this solemat…..” 

“We’re here!” Tim cut him off as they arrived at even more doors. “Damian’s room is the one at the end over there” Tim pointed to the last doll at the end of the hall. He then turned towards a door on the right side of the hall, “This is my room, and your room is the one next to mine.” 

Conner stashed his questions for later. He really wanted to see what his room would be like, his first time truly having a space to call his own. 

Tim walked Conner right tot the door and nudged his shoulder, “Go on,  open it” he encouraged.

Conner snapped his head towards him, “I’m supposed to open the door?”

Tim rolled his eyes, “Uhh yeah, your first time opening your room’s door.” 

Conner figured it might be some tradition established in the family, so he did as Tim said and grabbed the doorknob, turning it in his hand. And as soon as he opened the door his jaw almost hit the floor, “This place is huge.” 

The room had a queen sized bed in the middle, which to Conner who had only ever slept on a twin sized bed seemed ginormous. There was a desk in the corner, a pair of shelves sitting above the desk, a nightstand, a dresser across from the bed, and a closet right hand side. It had more furniture than Conner had expected, the ‘room’ he had been given at the watchtower was just a bed and a little table next to it. 

“You’ll get used to it” Tim leaned casually against the doorframe, watching Superboy explore his new room like a child that had just entered a toy store.

Conner turned to his friend, “You don’t get it, I’ve had a room before…but this is way bigger.” 

Tim laughed as he also came into the room, “Okay so you have your own bathroom over there..” he pointed to a door adjacent to the closet. “And Bruce lets us decorate however we want.” 

Conner looked at him with confusion, “What do you mean?” 

“Decorate, you know…customize it.” When Conner still didn’t get it, Tim explained a bit more, “Like we’ve all painted our rooms whatever color we wanted, Damian’s got a katana wall, and Bruce let me install all kinds of stuff in my room.”

Conner raised an eyebrow, “What kind of stuff?” 

“Some computers but also power tools, I do some inventing in there” Tim’s eyes sparkled a little when he talked about his inventions, it was clearly something that meant a lot to him. 

“And he just…lets you do whatever you want?” 

“I mean, yes. He did ground me for a few months after I started a fire once, but we usually get to do our own things.” 

“That sounds, amazing” Conner smiled brightly. Bruce really did seem like a great dad, and the idea that he was allowed to decorate his own space. He wasn’t really sure what his style or preferences were, for all the time he’d been alive he hadn’t even picked most of his own clothes. He liked the color red and blue, and he liked black, so maybe he’d decorate his room in those colors. 

“See, you’ll like it here. We’re all a bit crazy, but that’s what makes it fun.” 

“Beats being in a lab” Conner snickered.

Tim hummed, “Well I do like science, but I can’t imagine what you went through.” 

No one could, that was obvious. They were all brought to the Manor by Bruce, but that’s where the similarities ended. Because his parents, Lex and Superman were alive, they just didn’t want him. 

Conner laid down on his new bed to calm him mind, the mattress was surprisingly soft, “Well what matters is that I won’t let it happen again.” 

“That’s the spirit” Tim jumped onto the bed next to Conner, making the other yelp in surprise. Conner glared at his friend, but Tim just smirked devilishly. Conner was about to scold him when another voice came from the doorway. 

“I see you found your new room” Bruce stood under the doorframe. 

Conner hoped of the bed, nearly knocking Tim over the edge. “I did, thank you so much Bruce. I-I don’t know what to say” he really didn’t. There were so many emotions following through him, gratitude, joy, fear, doubt, and so much more that I was impossible to put it into words. 

Bruce sensed the mixture of emotions in his mind and said, “You don’t have to thank me, I just did the right thing. And here, I think you forgot this” he had brought Conner’s duffle bag that had been forgotten in the Bat Ship.

Conner awkwardly took the bag from Bruce’s hand, “My bag, uhh thanks.” 

Bruce smiled at the boys, “Now cmon Alfred just finished making dinner and everyone’s going to the dining room.” 

“Oh you’ll love Alfred’s cooking, it’s divine” Tim commented. 

Bruce turned to leave the room but before he left he told Conner, “You can change out of the suit if you want, we don’t wear them all the time.” 

Conner clicked his tongue, “Right, I’ll change.” 

“See you both downstairs.” So Bruce headed for the dinning room. 

Conner hesitantly placed his bag on top of his new bed close to where Tim now sat with his legs crossed, and started unzipping it. He wondered why Tim hadn’t left he, he probably didn’t want to watch Conner change. But most importantly, Conner didn’t want his friend to see how little he had inside the bag. Having Batman comment on it earlier had been embarrassing, he didn’t want Tim to comment on it too. 

 But before Conner could tell him to leave, Tim spoke, “I forgot to ask, who made your suit?” 

Finally, a question Conner knew the answer to! “Oh Lex’s scientists did something about a special kind of fabric.” 

Tim nodded, though his eyes seemed distant, like he was lost somewhere deep in thought. “Can I study it?” 

“Why do you wanna study my clothes?” 

Tim looked his friend in the eyes, “Because you’ll need a new suit now that you’re working with us. And I happen to be a great suit designer.” 

“You make your own suits?” Conner wasn’t all that shocked, he had seen all the technology and tools the Wayne’s had down in their cave. So he could easily see them making their own custom suits. 

Tim nodded enthusiastically, “Of course! Bruce designs all his suits. And we all design our own gadgets and weapons to our liking. I make my own suits. But if we’re making one for you I need to know how design it for you.” 

“Why would it be different?”

“Well my suits don’t accommodate flight or heat vision” Tim spoke in a sarcastic tone. 

“Right.” 

Conner had been distracted by the conversation that he had absentmindedly finished unzipping the bag, exposing all its contents. And to his horror, Tim noticed. 

“Is that all your stuff?” Tim asked. Though his tone seemed….sad and confused. 

Conner frowned, “Umm yes, I never owned much. Actually most of the time I didn’t own anything…” it felt awful to say it out loud. 

Tim noticed his friend’s change in expression and quickly put a hand on his shoulder, “It’s alright, we can take you shopping to get more stuff. Maybe some room decor?” 

“You’d do that?” His blue eyes twinkled in the light. Conner didn’t even know what he’d buy as room decor? Maybe some book so he can learn more about the world?

“Sure besides….” Tim leaned in “Bruce is paying for it anyway” he finished and they both laughed out loud. And with that, Tim got off the bed and headed towards the door. He grabbed the doorknob to close the door, “See you downstairs Conner” he waved goodbye and closed the wooden door behind him. 

“Bye Tim…” Conner watched the door click shut. 

He was alone. Alone for the first time in his new room. He got his things out the duffle bag, he got his pajamas and placed them on top of the bed. He then brought the other clothes over to the closet. Lucky for him Alfred had left a handful of hangers ready to hang up his clothes. He hung up his extra Superman Superboy suit, his black denim jacket, and a white button up shirt with a matching tie and tux that Lex had given him to wear at a press event. Then he walked to the bathroom to change out of his current one. 

He only had two sets of normal everyday civilian clothes, but they were nothing to brag about. One was a pair of pajamas that Superman had given him, and the other was a pair of black jeans and a blue button up shirt. He got out of his suit and put on the pants and shirt, he wasn’t sure if it was proper for dinner but he didn’t have more options. 

He washed his hands with the lavender soap that was placed next to the sink, discovering in the process that he actually liked the sent of lavender. He then looked at his reflection in the mirror. He looked tired, it made sense since he hadn’t really slept well over the last week. His black hair had gotten longer, Lex had always told him to keep it at a certain length and well kept, ironic for a bald guy, Conner had always wanted to say. But he had never liked it, honestly there had been times when he wanted to shave some of it off. He wondered if Bruce would take him to get a hair cut? He’d have to ask him later. 

He went back to the room and hung up his suit in the closet. He took in a deep breath and headed for the door, his first family dinner ever! He didn’t want to screw this up somehow, it was gonna be perfect. So he pulled the door open and took off for the dinning room.

Chapter Text

Conner hurried down the stairs as he saw the others were already waiting outside the dining room. He spotted Tim, Damian, Jason, Roy, Dick, and a woman standing next to Dick which he had to assume was Kori. 

“Dinner will be served shortly young masters” Alfred’s voice rang from inside the dining room, and with his super hearing, Conner could hear the clicking of plates and utensils being placed on the table.

“Thank you Pennyworth” Damian spoke to the door. 

“Wait, are we supposed to call him by his last name?” Conner asked in embarrassment, he wasn’t aware of all the rules of proper ethics.

“Nah Damian’s the only one who does that” Jason brushed it off, making Conner relax again.

“Oh okay”

Conner reached the bottom of the stairs and before he could take another step , the woman who had been standing next to Dick was right in front of him. “Hello, you must be Conner” she was practically bouncing on her heel, “I’m Koriand’r but you can call me Kori.” She then extended a hand for the younger to shake. 

Conner accepted the hand, “So Dick already told you about me?” 

Kori smiled, “Of course, it’s a pleasure to meet you, and it will be nice to have another member in the family of another species.” 

“Oh..” this was his first time interacting with aliens in a setting that wasn’t a fight, he wasn’t sure how to proceed with that. “So uh where are you from?” Was all he could think of to ask.

“I’m from Tamaran” she seemed delighted to answer. Which probably meant her planet was still around, unlike Krypton, which Conner had learned had been completely destroyed. 

“A few wonderful planets, I’d love to be able to take you all there someday” she said with a delighted expression.

“You guys been to other planets?” Man he had a lot of catching up to do, he had never even left Metropolis before.

“Well Bruce has…”

“I’ve been to space a few times,” Dick answered.

“If you’re like Superman does that mean you can breathe in space too?” Roy asked curiously.

“I don’t know, I’ve never tried that” though he had the feeling that he probably should try that soon.

“So we'll have to try it” Tim wrapped an arm over Conner’s shoulder, “Well find out all the things you can do.” Conner didn’t know who was more excited to learn about his powers, him or Tim, Tim seemed to be winning at the moment.

“I see you’re all here” Bruce stepped into the hall, adjusting the cuffs of his shirt.

“Like we’d miss out on Alfred’s cooking” Jason retorted.

Bruce smiled at his kids, “Well cmon….” He went to the door to the dining room and pushed it open. 

The dining room was huge! With a long dining table set for the eight of them. Alfred had already left all their plates out and their glasses filled with fresh water. So everyone took their seats. Bruce sat at the head of the table with Conner on his left and Dick on his right. Kori sat next to Dick while Tim sat next to Conner. Jason and Roy sat next to Kori, and Damian was sat across from Jason. 

Next, Alfred started bringing in their meal from the kitchen. First a mixed vegetable salad, followed by grilled chicken breast filets with roasted potatoes. As soon as the servings were placed, everyone began to dive in.

“I hope you liked your room” Bruce said to Conner as he started eating his salad.

Conner swallowed a piece of lettuce before answering, “I did, it’s so big, I don’t know how I could fill it.”

“Don’t worry, we were all weirded out at first” Jason assured him.

“I wasn't,” Damian retorted.

“Well you’re a special case” Jason rolled his eyes. 

Alfred came back to the dining room as everyone was eating, “Does anyone need anything?”

“Not right now..” Tim spoke while still chewing on a piece of carrot, making a cracking sound. 

“Master Tim, don’t speak with your mouth full” Alfred lightly scolded him.

Tim swallowed, “Sorry Alfred.” 

“I think we’re good for now Alfred” Bruce dismissed him. 

“Of course, call me if you all need anything” and with that, Alfred retreated to the kitchen. 

After a few minutes of everyone eating in silence, Dick addressed a question that had been on his mind. “So Conner, are you gonna go out on patrol with us now?” He was genuinely curious, he had enjoyed teaching Jason when he first arrived, and Tim too though it took some getting used to after everything that happened to Jason, and while Damian had proved to be the hardest and most stubborn student yet, Dick had always enjoyed it.

Conner looked down at his plate, “I’m not sure.” 

“Well I still need to make you a new suit first” Tim elbowed him. “If you’re gonna fight crime in Gotham, you gotta look the part.” 

Conner smiled fondly, “Thank Tim.” 

“We also need to learn more about your powers,” Bruce reminded them. 

Jason smirked deviously, “Gotta get all the info to make a new contingency plan right Bruce?”

“Jason!” Dick yelled at him. 

“What?” Jason blinked innocently. 

“Kori, would you mind?” Dick asked his girlfriend. 

Kori understood perfectly, “Of course.” And she stepped right on top of Jason’s foot, hard.

 Jason yelped in pain and surprise, “Ouch that was unnecessary!” But everyone else laughed, except Bruce and Conner. Bruce because he was tired and really didn’t want to break up a fight between his sons, and Conner was still trying to understand the connection between himself and a contingency plan.

Bruce cleared his throat, “I think it’s best if you lay low for a while, we don’t know if Clark is looking for you or how well we will reach once he finds out you’re living with us.” 

“He doesn’t know you’re Bruce Wayne right?” Conner asked. 

Bruce closed his eyes and sighed, “No, no one in the league is aware.”  

Dick nearly spit out some of his water, making all eyes turn to him. Roy, Jason, Kori, and Tim all looked at him sympathetically while Bruce glared at him. While poor Conner could only watch, feeling the tension in the room. 

“Dick” Bruce spoke in his deeper, Batman voice, Dick knew he was screwed. “Who knows?” 

Dick knew there was no use in even trying, “Billy knows…”

“What?!” 

“What, he’s a kid, he came over to Titan Tower lots of times” Dick spoke in a quick panicked voice, while also trying to do damage control. 

Bruce gritted his teeth, “And how did the topic of my identity even come up?” 

“Well we were having game night, and we don’t usually go game night in costume. So he saw my face and recognized me…” he gulped, “…sorry.” 

Bruce took in a deep breath and thought for a moment. He weighed the facts in his mind, “It’s fine Dick, I don’t think he’s the type to share that information. Besides, I think I may be the only Leaguer to actually know how old he is.” 

Conner leaned into Tim’s ear, “Who’s Billy?” 

Tim leaned in to answer, “Shazam, part of the Justice League. Don’t worry, we’ll introduce you…at least to everyone in the Teen Titans.” 

“Yeah, I already invited some friends to meet up with us tomorrow” Kori stepped in, trying to change the subject. 

“What are we doing tomorrow?” Conner asked enthusiastically. 

Bruce huffed and turned from glaring at Dick to facing Conner. “I asked the boys to take your clothes shopping. You’ll need more everyday clothing to blend in..” 

Conner blinked up at him, “Oh thanks, I’m not even sure what I should get.” 

“Don’t worry, we’ll help you pick some stuff out” Tim told him.

Conner flushed slightly, “Thanks.” 

“You’re welcome, and let us know if there’s anything more you need.” 

“A-Actually there was one thing….” Superboy stammered. 

“What is it?” Bruce asked. He wanted to know, this was the first time Conner had actually made a request. 

“I…umm I-I wanted to get a hair cut..” 

“A hair cut?” 

“I don’t like it this long” he explained himself, though no one at the table thought he needed to. “Lex always made me maintain it, but I don’t really like it.” 

“Ironic for a bald-ass man with poor taste” Jason spat. 

Conner laughed out loud, “That’s what I said!” 

“Well we don’t care what hair cut you got,” Dick assured him. 

“Don’t worry Conner, I’m sure the boys can take you to the barber,” Bruce added. 

“Yeah we’ll take you to our barber and you can cut it however you want” Jason encouraged, he also hated having people tell him how to dress himself. 

“Do you know what cut you want?” Tim asked curiously, there was a look in his eyes that Conner couldn’t quite place. 

“I’ll have to think about it.” Tim was satisfied with the answer and went back to his food. 

“Kori, can you pass me the salt?” Roy asked as he wanted to add some to his chicken and potatoes.  

Kori grabbed the salt off the table, “Of course” and she extended her arm to hand it to Roy. 

Roy was about to take the salt from her hand, but Jason interjected and took it instead. “I’ll do it, you’re still injured” he growled. 

Roy rolled his “I’m fine Jay, not the first time I got shot.” But he didn’t complain as Jason seasoned his food for him. 

Conner perked up, “You’re used to getting shot!”

Roy stared at him for a moment, it was a weird question at this point. He always hung out with Jason, who handles all types of guns and oftentimes drags Roy into his missions dealing with the Gotham underworld. Being shot at was almost an every week occurrence. But then he remembered that Conner was still new here, “I don’t think we’ve been formally introduced, I’m Roy Harper.” 

“I’m Conner.”  

“And you’re also Superboy right?”

“Yeah that’s me” what could he do? The name had stuck. 

Roy smiled at him, “That’s awesome, I’m Red Arrow. I worked with Green Arrow for a few years but then I went solo and that’s how I met this guy” he gestured to Jason beside him. 

“I think that’s enough Roy,” Jason mumbled. 

“So you guys are soul mates?” Conner asked. 

Roy leaned his head against Jason’s, “Sure are.” It made Conner’s heart feel warm at the sight, just seeing someone be so enthusiastic about having found their other half. 

“Dick and I are also soulmates,” Kori brought up.  

“That’s great, I’m happy for you.”  

“Thank you”

Conner bit his lip, they were already on the topic, maybe now would be a good time. Maybe now would be the moment for him to ask, “Can I ask you something??” 

“Sure.” 

Conner swallowed, “How do people find their soul mates? I didn’t even know they were a thing until recently, Lex never told me about them.” 

“Damn, what did Luthor teach you?” Jason sounded so done. 

Conner nodded in sympathy, “Apparently, not a lot.” 

Kori laughed lightly, “It’s alright, we can explain.” She looked to Dick and squeezed his hand, “Everyone has a soulmate. You find them thanks to a mark on your wrist.” 

“Everyone has a mark on their wrist, the mark is usually a symbol or a word, something that helps you identify your soulmate…” Dick continued. 

That made Conner pause. Everyone has a mark, but he didn’t have any marks, both of his wrists don’t have any markings. Did that mean he didn’t have a soulmate? Was it because he was a clone? His shoulders sagged, “I don’t have any marks. So I don’t have one.” 

Dick’s eyes widened at the switch, “Oh no that not……” He took in a deep breath, “The marks appear when you turn eighteen. You didn't have one before then.” 

“I don’t have one either, see..” Tim pulled up the sleeve of his hoodie to show Conner his bare wrist. “I’ll get mine in two years.” 

That put Conner’s mind at ease. So he could have a soulmate one day. To him, that sounded amazing. Having someone who could help him find himself, help him explore the world. That didn’t sound bad at all. 

He felt well enough to ask another question, “So you guys saw each other’s marks and knew you were soulmates.”

Dick flushed lightly, “Well not really. Kori and I met when we were teens, and we started dating even before turning eighteen. So I was kinda dreading having to get a mark.” 

Kori kissed his cheek, “But then his mark was my family’s crest written in Tamaranian, and mine is the symbol of his Nightwing suit. So we knew we were soulmates instantly.”

“That sounds amazing.” 

Roy joined the conversation, “There’s also another thing, only you and soulmate can see the marks, no one else can see them.” 

Conner nodded, that was interesting. So soulmates were the only ones who could see each others’ marks, that would make it easy to eliminate whoever wasn’t your soulmate. 

He was happy for Dick and Jason for having found their soulmates, who both seemed very nice and they all looked happy. But that brought up a question! Tim and Damian were too young to have marks, but what about….”Have you met your soulmate?” He naively asked Bruce. 

“Why are you so interested in this?” Damian stabbed the chicken on his plate with his knife. 

“Oh umm….what?” 

“Why are you so invested in this? You don’t even possess a mark?” Damian’s voice grew louder, firmer. 

Conner gasped, “Well….it’s because Superman told the Justice League  that he didn’t want to talk to me because I’m his kid, but not between him and his soulmate.” 

Everyone except Bruce looked at him in shock. “No way, he said that.”

“He did, I was there. Now you see why I brought him here” Bruce stepped in.

“I’m sorry Conner” Tim said to his friend with a sad look on his face. 

“Yeah he shouldn’t have said that,” Dick added.

“He can’t blame you for Lex Luthor’s actions, that's just stupid “ Jason concurred.

Conner was happy to have so many people on his side. But there was a little detail nagging the back of his mind….Bruce Wayne didn’t seem to have a soulmate, and he had told Superman that he understood the feeling of having a child with someone who wasn’t your soulmate. But all the boys were adopted, except ....“Wait a minute, you told Superman you understood how he felt, does that mean…”  

Damian beat him to it, “What did you tell them?!” He slammed his fist on the table. 

Bruce’s eyes widened at his son’s reaction. “Just that I understood what it’s like to have your child be made without your knowledge.” This wasn’t how he wanted this conversation to go. He had seen a lot of Damian in Conner, it was part of the reasons that pushed him to bring Superboy into their home.

“So now you tell them about your personal life?” Damian raised his voice. 

“It’s not like that Dami..”

“I’m leaving,” the boy declared. He pushed his chair back and ran out of the dining room. 

Conner tried to stop him, “Wait Damian, I didn’t mean to I…” he didn’t mean to push anyone’s buttons. He had wanted his first family dinner to be perfect but he was already ruining it. He had to do something. 

But Bruce knew it was useless to try to stop Damian, the boy’s stubbornness came from him after all. “It’s okay, he just doesn’t like to talk about his mom that much. His mother was an assassin, she had him without my knowledge. I only found out when he was twelve.”

Conner’s throat went dry. So Damian had also been created by a villain? They were both created by villains using heroes to fulfill their plans, ”That’s…horrible.” So he and Damian weren’t that different, two villain born creations that had been brought to Wayne Manor by Bruce. 

He had to speak with Damian, he had to fix this. So he got up from his own chair, leaving his dinner behind, and started heading upstairs after Damian. 

“Where are you going?” Tim questioned. 

“I need to talk to him, I didn’t mean to upset him” Conner used his flight power to hover above the air and rush upstairs.

“Good luck” Dick called out as Superboy left. “….you’ll need it”

—————————————————

Damian was packing around in his room, he was angry. He wanted to throw something but was holding back as much as he could. He had made a promise to work on his anger management, but he was still carrying one of his katanas in his hand. Meanwhile, Ace sat comfortably on top of Damian’s bed, his ears moving upwards as his master mumbled incomplete sentences under his breath. 

Conner flew to Damian’s door frantically, but paused before even knocking. He didn’t want to scare Damian or start a fight, he just wanted to apologize for making him uncomfortable. So he took a deep breath and opened the door, 

“Hey Damian……woah!” Conner regretted not following Tim’s advice in always knocking, because as soon as he stepped into the room, Ace jumped on him, growling angrily. 

Damian glared at the intruder. He felt satisfied at the look of horror Conner had on his face as Ace exposed his sharp teeth, waiting for Damian’s instruction to bite down. But he didn’t want to cause himself problems for hurting Conner on his first day, so reluctantly told the dog to get off, “Down Ace, he won’t even taste good” and with that, Ace got off of Superboy and jumped back onto Damian’s bed. 

Conner picked himself off the blood and patted down his clothes, he was glad that Ace hadn’t destroyed his only pair of civilian clothes. “I’m sorry Damian I didn’t mean to make it weird, I didn’t think that you….”

“I don’t like others to speak about my mother” the boy spat. 

Conner nodded his head. “I get it, I don’t like thinking about my parents either” he tried to connect with the other. “At least you have Bruce, both my parents suck.” 

Damian didn’t say anything at first, but he slightly uncapped his katana, making a shiver run down Conner’s spine. Damian inspected the blade as he spoke, “Luthor created you to be a weapon, correct?” 

Conner looked down at the floor, “Yeah, I was.” It was still hard to admit, it was pretty much out in the open but saying it out loud still hurt. He wasn’t a weapon, he was a person. He liked wearing leather jackets and using lavender soaps, and still had a bunch more things to learn about himself. 

Damian closed his eyes and put the blade down, “Then I suppose we have that in common.” 

“We do?”

Damian plopped down on his bed, “My….my grandfather needed an heir, and it was my mother’s duty to have one. So they needed the most suitable man to be my father.” 

Conner wasn’t sure if he was allowed on the bed. He looked to Damian for confirmation and when the other nodded, Conner took it as the okay sign to sit. “And they picked Bruce?” 

“He was the only one to best my grandfather, he was deemed most favorable.” 

Conner snorted, “Like how Lex picked himself. He thought that Superman lacked intelligence for being an alien, so the only suitable man to combine Superman’s DNA with was obviously Lex’s.” 

Damian gritted his teeth, “You were made in a lab, you wanna know how I was made?”

“Spare me the details.” 

Damian smirked, “She drugged him, got what she needed and left. She was efficient.” 

“Yes, very” Conner retorted. 

They were quiet for a bit. Just….sitting there, not tension, but a form of mutual understanding. Both had been brought into the world for nefarious purposes and were just trying to understand who and what they really were. 

Surprisingly, Damian was the first to pick up the conversation, “Do you….” he hesitated but pushed though, “…do you hate your father for creating you?” 

“I…I don’t know how to answer that.” Damian stared at him, thinking of judgment more with encouragement. Like he truly wanted to know about Conner’s deepest thoughts on his situation. So Conner started talking, “Well…If it wasn’t for Lex’s weird obsession with Superman, I wouldn’t exist. I owe him my life, but I hate how he treated me like nothing, and can’t forgive him for that.”

Damian looked at him apathetically, “I never hated my mother, even after I met my father and stayed in Gotham. I never hated her….” 

Conner raised an eyebrow, “I feel like there’s a but in there.” 

Damian wanted to hit him with a withy remark, but held back. “After a few months there was an incident.”

“Incident?” 

He didn’t meet the other’s eyes, “My mother and others brainwashed my father into joining their plans for world domination.” 

“Oh, but you guys brought him back so it wasn’t all bad.” Sure having to fight Batman probably wasn’t a walk in the park, but heroes got brainwashed, or possessed, or hypnotized into joining the villains all the time. What mattered is that they got Batman back in the end.

“When I refused to join her, my mother ordered Batman to kill me. She said they could make more.” Conner heard a crack in the other’s voice, but Damian fought will all his will to maintain a neutral tone. “My own mother said that to my face, like I’m just an asset that can be replaced. I never hated her, but now…..I think I do.”

Conner put a hand on his shoulder, “I know how you feel.” 

Damian smacked the hand away instantly, “No you don’t!”

“I do, for the first four months of my life I lived in a lab and was called thirteen, take a guess as to why.” His heart was pounding loudly in his chest. 

Damian tilted his head, “So there are twelve others like you?” That would be horrible, an army of Superboy’s was not something he wanted to live with, one of them was enough. 

Conner smiled somberly, “No. All the others were terminated when Lex deemed them imperfect. He tried to eliminate me too, so I think there may even have been a fourteen on the way.” 

“Well that makes me feel a little better..”

“It does?” 

“At least I can say I'm the only one,” Damian smiled deviously. 

Conner stared at him, “Not funny.”  

“It is to me.” 

Conner sighed, this boy was truly something. “You know, you’re not as bad as they told me you were.” 

It was Damian’s turn to look confused, “Is that supposed to be a compliment or an insult?”

“I’m not sure, but I think it’s a compliment.”

He smiled, “Good, because I know where Bruce keeps a kryptonite sword.”

Conner did not want to ask why Bruce kept a stash of that stuff around, especially since it was supposedly a very hard element to come across, oh and why on earth would someone make a sword out of that stuff? So he just shook his head, “I don’t even know if that stuff has an effect on me.” 

“I wouldn’t mind testing out that theory” his shit eating grin returned. 

“You’re crazy.” 

The young assassin crossed his arms, “No, I’m efficient.” 

Conner laughed, “So, are we good? Does this mean you don’t hate me?” 

Damian’s eyes widened and he thought for a moment, “I suppose it does. I don’t hate you Conner, I think we have a lot in common.”

“I think so too.” 

“If you ever seek revenge I am willing to help” the look on Damian’s eyes told Conner that he was absolutely not kidding. 

Conner tried to play it cool, “Thanks, but I don’t think I’ll need it anything soon” 

Damian shrugged, “Suit yourself, now, get out of my room!” 

Conner didn’t want to anger the other so he got off the bed and left Damian’s room, shutting the door behind him. He got kicked out, but he considered it a win, he made some progress and that was enough.

Chapter Text

The rest of the night at Wayne Manor was calm. Everyone in the house slept peacefully, and no villains had attacked the city in the middle of the night. 

Bruce got up from his bed at five in the morning like he usually did during his work days. He wished he could accompany the boys on their shopping trip, he had been there for Dick, Jason, Tim, and Damian’s first shopping trips, so he was upset about missing Conner’s. Because yes, he did consider Conner like his son already, even if he had two living parents. 

He went to his bathroom to freshen up. He washed his hands with his lavender soap and as he rubbed the soap bar on his hand he looked down at the mark on his left wrist. The mark that was supposed to lead him to his soulmate, but hadn’t been helpful so far. His mark was strange, because not even the world’s greatest detective had been able to crack it. The mark wasn’t really a mark, it looked like a word, but it wasn’t in any language he recognized. 

The letters were written in neat calligraphy, but completely illegible to him. He had searched through language books of both living and dead languages but none were a match. That led him to conclude that his soulmate must not be from Earth, which wasn’t a problem for him at all, his years of working alongside gods and aliens showed him that they weren’t that different from humans anyway. He already had an alien daughter in law in Kori, besides whoever it was, it would be someone who was his perfect match. 

He thought back to the question Conner had asked him the night before. Because no, he hadn’t found them yet, and he had honestly given up searching. He had seen the wrists of almost every member of the justice league, or the rogues, of villains. He was sure that his soulmate was tied to his world, making his soulmate an innocent civilian would be cruel. A civilian shouldn’t be dragged into his world, into the world of Batman. If his soulmate were a civilian, he would honestly rather live his entire life without knowing them than dragging them into his double life. 

His boys were always in constant danger for being related to him, both as Batman and Bruce Wayne. Joker had literally killed Jason just for being Batman’s sidekick, and years ago Dick had almost been kidnapped by criminals who wanted to ask for a ransom from Bruce Wayne. He couldn’t even imagine what could happen to his soulmate. Being alone was safer, he had his sons, he had a family. He could have a relationship with anyone without the burden of being soulmates, it was best for everyone. 

Then he thought about Damian, the son he had with someone who wasn’t his soulmate. Bruce wasn’t ashamed of Damian,of course not, he loved him just like all his other sons. But he would never tell Damian the truth about the night of his conception, he would take the truth of that night to his grave. 

The truth that, Bruce had for a second….believed that Damian had been born between him and his soulmate. Talia had drugged him. And when Bruce was already under its effects she had asked him what his soul mark looked like. In his drugged out state, Bruce had told her that his mark was a word in a language he didn’t understand, he even went as far as showing her his wrist, believing all she would see was clear skin. But Talia actually ran her fingers through the skin, looked him in the eyes, and told him she knew what it meant!

She told him it was a dead language, one used for incantations of the Lazarus pit. She even went as far as reveal her one writs, with a black mark of his bat symbol (or better, a temporary tattoo of his bat symbol). But in his drugged out mind, Bruce had to believe it. He had believed that he had found his soulmate. Sure his soulmate was a criminal, but it wouldn’t be his first relationship with one. He could find a way to make it work.

But he woke up alone the next morning, and when all the drug’s affects had worn off he felt like the worlds greatest idiot. And he hadn’t formed a relationship with anyone since, choosing to focus on his duties as Batman, his business and charity works, and most importantly his sons. 

So Bruce finished getting ready for the day and started heading to the kitchen for breakfast. But he paused on his way down the stairs when he got a notification on his Batman phone. Yes he had two phones, Bruce Wayne’s phone and Bataman’s phone for emergencies and so the league could contact him since they didn’t know his identity. 

He opened the phone and saw exactly what he was expecting to see. A simple message from Superman, informing the league that Superboy was missing and calling them for a virtual call. That made Bruce laugh, a genuine amused laugh. Oh how he wanted to tell Superman “I told you so” and tell him that he would certainly not be helping in the search. Not because he knew where Conner was, no, because he had warned Superman that he should have spoken to Superboy which could have avoided this whole mess. Kal had made his bed, now he had to lay in it. 

“You seem awfully cheerful. I’ve certainly never seen you this excited to attend a board meeting” Alfred said as he saw Bruce laughing at his phone screen.  

“Just a little message I received this morning” Bruce smiled. “Superman texted the league to let everyone know Superboy is missing.” 

“Sounds serious sire” Alfred tried to keep a straight face but also cracked a smile. 

“Yes, maybe I should keep an eye out” Bruce tried to sound serious. 

“That sounds like a good idea sir”.  

Both men then walked to the dinning room and set everything up for breakfast. All the kids came down and the family had breakfast together. Conner was surprised to find that the Wayne’s all had breakfast in pajamas aside from Bruce, he had gotten ready in the same outfit he wore to dinner not knowing he could have come in pajamas. No one minded though, and they enjoyed a meal together as a family, chatting about everyday things. 

When they all finished, the kids all went upstairs to get ready for their outing while Bruce went to grab his work bag. 

“Are you coming with us Bruce?” Dick asked on his to the stairs. 

“I have a full day at Wayne Enterprises, but we can have dinner together later” he wasn’t happy about missing out, but he couldn’t cancel all his meetings on such short notice. Plus he had to discuss plans for his upcoming charity gala.

“So which car can we take?” was Dick’s next question. 

“You can take the black one, just bring it back in one piece this time.” 

“Got it”. 

“I’ll drive” Damian announced from his spot atop of the stairs. 

“No!” Everyone else shouted. Except Conner, he didn’t even know Damian could drive, want he like thirteen? How did he even know how to drive?

“I know how” the young assassin protested.

“And we know of a little something called the law” Dick retorted. 

Damian huffed but didn’t say anything more, just went to his room to get changed. As did everyone else except Conner, who just waited for them alongside Alfred. They didn’t take very long, and soon all seven of them were in the Manor’s garage. 

“Let’s go” Jason said as he took the keys to the car out of their hanger. He was by designated driver. 

“We have time to do some shopping before the everyone else comes” Kori reminded them. 

“Who’s coming?” Conner asked. He didn’t know it took that many people to go shopping for clothes, seven already felt a bit much. 

Kori smiled at him, “Just a few of our friends, Raven, Garfield, and Wally.” She spoke as if those named held any significance to Conner, he just nodded his head as if he understood. 

“What about Garth and Donna or Jaime?” Tim asked about even more people Conner had never heard of. 

“Well Garth is in Atlantis, Donna is with Wonder Woman, and Jaime is with his family.” 

Dick then joined in, “Well I think it’s best if he meets everyone in small groups anyway, meeting everyone at once might be…overwhelming” 

Conner helps happy that someone brought that up. He had already felt a bit overwhelmed yesterday when he first arrived. So meeting even more people made him a little nervous.

“Okay let’s go!” Jason ordered everyone to move as he was already holding the passenger door open for Roy, who still had a bandaged wrapped around his shoulder. 

Conner inspected the car, it had two seats in the front and three fits in the back, and there were seven of them. He didnt have to be a genius in math to know the count was off, “I don’t think we’re all gonna fit in here.” 

“Sure we are.” Jason insisted as he closed the door for Roy.

“How are five people supposed to share the back seat?” 

“Well usually it’s just four and Kori sits on Dick’s lap” Tim answers nonchalantly. Yeah it was a bit awkward but it wasn’t that big a deal. 

Dick opened the door to the back seat and sat on the left seat. Kori then entered the car and moved to sit on Dick’s lap. It was spacious enough that there was somewhat enough room for both of their legs. Conner wanted to say that it would work better if Dick sat on Kori’s lap since she’s taller than him, but they seemed happy with the arrangement so he stayed quiet. 

Dick bucked his seat belt and looked at Tim, Damian, and Conner waiting outside the car, “It’s five now and we’ll make it work. So who’s sitting on Tim’s lap?” 

Damian made a disgusted face, “I’d rather go in the trunk, Conner you do it.” And he rushed into the middle seat before anyone could argue. The middle seat wasn’t the best, but Damian preferred that to loose his dignify. 

Conner’s face flushed a little, “What?”

“It’s just for fifteen minutes it’s not that bad” Tim reassured him. Damian bucked in his seat belt and Tim got into the right seat of the car. Tim got comfortable before staring up at Conner silently telling him to get in. 

“Fine” Conner tried to school his expression as he awkwardly got on Tim’s lap. “This is weird.”  

To his surprise Tim laughed at him, “Sorry, but after all the things we’ve had to do on missions, this is the tamest it gets.” 

Conner was seriously considering whether joining this family of lunatics was worth it. “What have you guys done?” 

“Lots of stuff, survive getting possessed, stitch up friend’s wounds, that time we gave Beast Boy a bath…” 

“What?” 

“Not a fun day.” 

“Are you all done, can I start the car” Jason asked as he turned the keys to start the engine.

“Hit it Jason!” His soulmate encouraged. 

So Jason opened the garage door and headed out of the manor and onto the streets of Gotham. He was good at driving though he preferred his motorcycle to a car. 

“So what’s the first stop?” Conner asked. 

“We’re going to the mall” Kori answered. 

“So Conner, did you have time to think of what clothes you like?” Roy asked from the front seat. 

Conner thought for a bit, “Well…I like jackets.” Which was true, he loved his black leather jacket, maybe he’d buy one in a different color.

“Leather I hope, it’s the best kind” Jason spoke up.

Conner smiled, “Yeah I like those.” 

Jason mirrored his smile, “Good, I know where we can get you some.” Making Conner happy, he liked the fact that he was getting along with his new brothers.  

“Also I need underwear..” Conner covered his eyes in embarrassment. But it was true, he really did.

“We’ll get you some, and socks while we’re at it” Dick said. 

Conner uncovered his eyes, “Thanks guys.” 

And so they continued down the streets for fifteen minutes until Jason got to the mall’s parking lot. Which was also when Conner realized that this would be his first time on a mall, this would be fun. 

—————————————————

-At the Watchtower-

Superman was at the Watchtower, he hadn’t even gone home last time. Actually, he had barely slept at all. After his talk with Mercy and no lucky with finding Superboy, he admitted that talking with Luthor might be the best way to get any leads on the boy’s whereabouts.

Yet, Superman still decided to let the league know of the situation, in case he was wrong and the boy happened to pop up somewhere he hadn’t thought of. So he called all the members on a video call to address the situation. 

“Superboy is missing” Superman got straight to business. Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Cyborg, Flash, Shazam, Green Arrow, Martian Manhunter, and Aquaman had all entered the call. Kal wasn’t the least bit surprised that Batman hadn’t answered, he could only imagine the grin on the man’s face and the words “I told you so” spilling from his lips. 

“The kid left?” Hal asked in disbelief. 

Kal pinched the bridge of his nose, “He overheard our conversation and didn’t want to be sent off to another lab.” 

“So Batman was right” Shazam pointed out. 

“Yes, I suppose he was.” 

“Where is spooky anyway” Hal asked. 

Barry laughed, “You think he’s gonna show up? I’m surprised he didn’t text you an I told you so” he stopped laughing when no one else laughed, “…no offense Clark.”

“It’s alright, I can admit he was right.” 

“So what’s the plan now?” Cyborg asked. 

“Want us to go looking for him?” Wonder Woman added. 

“No…” Superman shut them down, “I’ll look for him but I don’t want an all out search party.” 

“Why not?” Diana asked. 

“He’s already mad at me, and if he thinks I told you all to drag him back here I’ll make it worse. I just want you to keep an eye out, if you spot him wherever you are just, let me know.” 

Everyone understood, “Will do.” 

“Do you have any idea where he might have gone?” Cyborg asked. 

“I searched all of Metropolis, it’s the only city he’s lived in.” 

“And nothing?” 

“Nope.” 

“So what now? You can’t just search every city on the planet” Green Arrow spoke up. 

Clark sighed in defeat, “There’s one person that might know where he went.” 

Diana raised an eyebrow, “Who?” 

“Lex.” 

“You’re gonna talk to Luthor?!!” Hal shouted at his screen.  

“He created Superboy, he might know where he went” was the best explanation Kal could come up with. 

“Well good luck with that” Hal said. 

“Keep us updated Clark” Arthur asked of him.

Superman nodded, “Will do.”

“See if you can get Luthor to pay you child support..” of course Barry made a joke, making Hal almost fall over with laughter.

“Yeah maybe take him to court over that” Green Lanter added. 

“Stop it you two” Diana scolded the duo. 

Barry stopped laughing, “Fine... Good luck Clark.”

Superman thanked them for their understanding and ended the call. He left the Watchtower and flew straight to Belle Reve. He felt awful for what he did to Superboy, he wished he could go back in time and actually talk with him. He just hoped that Lex had something useful to say, it was his only hope. He wouldn’t forgive himself if Superboy was in some kind of danger night, or alone somewhere he didn’t know because he flew away in a moment of anger. “I hope this is worth it” he said to himself.  

—————————————————

-Back in Gotham-

Meanwhile, the bat family had just arrived at the shopping mall. Jason had parked the car and they took the elevator from the garage to the upper floor with the stores. “Welcome to the greatest mall in Gotham” Dick said to Conner as they left the elevator.

“Woah” Conner’s eyes glistened as he looked at all the different stores around him. All the colors and the lights were all so new. “So where do we start?” 

“Well you need…everything” Tim said.  

“Let’s go” Dick called on the group as he started walking towards some of the stores. 

They went to the largest department store the mall had, where they’d find the greatest variety of clothes for Conner to pick from. They wanted to be as helpful as possible. And luck for them, the mall store was pretty empty. 

“I can’t possibly pick anything” Conner said as he looked at the aisles and aisles of clothing. He barely knew what colors he liked, how was he supposed to pick between fabrics, textures, prints, and patterns??

Tim snapped his fingers, “I got it, divide and conquer!”

Conner didn’t know what that meant, “Huh?” 

“Kori and Roy can help you figure out your shoe size. The others and I will pick out some clothes for you to try, that might help figure out what you like” Tim mapped out the plan. 

“Sounds like a plan” Damian said, with a little amount of enthusiasm. 

And before the half Kryptonian knew it, Kori grabbed his arm and started dragging him a to the shoe aisles, “Come let’s go Conner.” 

“See ya” Roy followed after the pair. 

“Have fun” Tim waved them off as he stared at Conner’s confused face. 

—————————————————

Kori took Conner to the shoe aisles. Roy took a seat at one of the sitting benches since he was still injured and couldn’t carry anything. 

“So what kind of shoes you thinking?” Kori asked Superboy. 

Conner though for a bit. “Uhh sneakers?” He settled for an everyday type of shoe. 

“I’d say sneakers, a pair of boots, and dress shoes” Roy added his input. 

“Why dress shoes?” Conner didn’t see a reason to get those. 

Roy smiled knowingly, “You are not prepared for the amount of galas you’re gonna attend.”

“What?!” 

“Bruce hosts a lot of events, and as his kid you’re gonna have to attend.” Kori explained. This was a common experience, she remembered the first time Dick took her to one of Bruce’s parties. It was odd at first, but having reports ask her what being Dick Grayson Wayne’s girlfriend was a highlight of the night. 

Conner deflated a little, “But I’m not his kid…” 

Roy snorted, “Please, of course you are. He already considers us family, he’s called us daughter and son in law before. Trust us you’re in.” 

“Thanks” Conner smiled gratefully.

So Conner and Kori checked out the sneakers and Conner picked a pair of navy blue sneakers with light blue accents. He liked the design and they looked comfy. Kori then picked up a box of the shoes and told him to try it on. So Conner sat down next to Roy on the bench and put on the shoes. 

“How are they?” Kori asked as Conner took a few steps with his new shoes. 

“Too big.” 

She hummed, “Smaller size than.” And she went back to grab a pair in a smaller shoe size. And Conner sat back on the bench while he waited for Kori with the shoes. 

Roy didn’t like the silence so he started talking, “And if you join the Titans you can get a tattoo.” 

“Tattoo” Conner had a somewhat understanding of what the Titans were, and he knew that Dick, Tim, Jason, and Damian were a part of it. But he had never heard anything about a tattoo. 

Kori came back with the shoes and heard the conversation. “Dick started it, a long time ago. After the first time the Titans won a major battle.” 

“What did you do?” Conner asked as he took the box from her hands. 

“We fought against the Justice League when they got possessed, and we won. To celebrate, we all got matching tattoos on our bodies” Kori explained. 

Conner couldnt believe it. So the Titans were so close to the point that they had a matching mark on their bodies. Not a mark given by faith like a soulmate mark, but a mark they choose to get. They chose to be part of the Titans. “And what does it look like?”

“TT for teen titans, what else? And so every new member gets it after their first major mission” Roy told him. 

“That’s awesome.” With that, Conner tried on the smaller pair of shoes and got up to test them on his feet. “These are perfect, thanks Kori.” Well that was one thing he could check off his ‘to do’ list, he had found his shoe size!

“Now we just have to find others pairs you like.” 

So he and Kori went back the aisles to look for more shoes Conner liked. He picked a park of black leather boots, another pair of sneakers but these ones green, a pair of black dress shoes, and more. They got all the boxed and went back to the sitting benches for Conner to try them on. 

And as Conner tried the shoes on, Roy started talking again. “You know, it’s too bad you’re a super not a Robin, or you’d get the Robin tattoo too.” 

Conner paused as he zipped up his boot, “What Robin tattoo?” 

Roy kept going, “Dick was the original Robin, then Jason and Tim were Robin, and now Damian is. They all have a marching tattoo, because they’re all Robin and also because they’re brothers.” 

“That’s…..amazing.” He honestly imagine Dick convincing the others to get matching tattoo with them.

“You know, for a long time I thought Damian didn’t have it” Kori suddenly added. 

“Really?” though Conner didn’t really find that surprising. Damian seemed stubborn, no wonder I’d be hard to get him to get a permanent tattoo on his body. 

Roy smirked, “But then Bruce let us have a pool party and I saw it. Little brat for the tattoo on the sole of his foot. It’s the last place you’d expect. He chose somewhere hidden, classic Damian.” 

 
Not somewhere hidden, Conner’s mind rang, somewhere efficient! Somewhere where the tattoo would be constantly hidden, under socks and shoes. Hidden but always present. 

They then switched the conversation topic and Conner tried on the rest of the shoes. 

—————————————————

Meanwhile, Jason, Dick, Tim, and Damian were browsing thought he clothing aisles of the department store. They had looked at some shirts and pants but hadn’t picked out anything in particular yet. 

“So what do we pick?” Jason asked Tim since this whole divide and conquer strategy had been his idea. 

“Well whatever you want, it’s to help him explore the options” Tim said as he picked a yellow shirt off a rack. 

Jason rolled his eyes, “Well I’m getting a leather jacket, it’s superior.” 

“Fine.” 

“What colors?” Dick then asked as he looked though some jeans. “Maybe Superman colors Red, Blue, and Gold?” 

“Isnt that tacky?” Said Damian. He and Conner had spoken the night before, and Damian had concluded that both he and Conner were not as different as he believe them to be at first. Both were trying to figure out who they were outside of simply who their parents are. 

“Besides maybe his more into black like Lex Luthor” Jason added, and he wasn’t entirely wrong since Conner was in fact a fan of black. 

Tim sighed, “Or maybe we just get a bunch of colors and let him choose.” Everyone seemed to be in agreement with that. “Alright, let’s go.” And so off they went to pick out an outfit. 

—————————————————

After Conner, Kori, and Roy had picked out at least half a dozen pairs of shoes and the boys had all gathered outfits for Conner to try, both groups regrouped at the changing rooms. 

“So did you find shoes you liked?” Tim said while looking over Al the boxes Kori and Conner were carrying. 

Conner nodded, “Yeah, they made me pick out a bunch of pairs. And we also got socks!” 

So they brought all the items to the changing room. It was large and spacious, singing you’d usually see in a bridal shop. There was a large central mirror with a couch behind it. Kori and the boys set all the clothing items down for Conner to try them on, then proceeded to sit down on the couch. 

Tim was the only one who didn’t sit. He stood next to Conner, “Okay time for a little fashion show!” 

Conner flushed again, “Don’t say it like that.” 

Tim nudged him, “Aw cmon get in the spirit.” 

“The spirit of what?” came from Damian sat on the couch. Picking an outfit had been fine, but he wanted to be anywhere else than have to sit there and watch Conner try on all the outfits.

“Of helping a new family member get new clothes” replied Dick.

“That’s not fair Grayson, you’ve done it the most. I got this dumped on me yesterday” Damian protested. 

Dick raised a questioning eyebrow, “You think I wasn’t taken a back on a random night when Bruce brought him home?” He gestured to Jason.

“Hey!”

“No offense Jason” Dick apologies. “Or the night Tim broke…” 

Tim wanted to change the subject so he got the first outfit from the pile and shoved it onto Conner’s hands. Then he guided him towards the fitting room, “And we’re here, now go try them on…” 

Conner was a bit confused at first, but as the curtain to the changing room closer he started changing. The outfit consisted of a sky blue button up shirt with a pair of black jeans and a denim jacket. The shirt fit him fine, but the pants kept falling down from his waist. So he called out to Tim who was waiting outside, “I think these pants are too big.” 

Tim put a hand on his chin, the boys had debated what size Conner might be when they were picking out pants for the outros. “Maybe you’re a 34x36.” 

“It’s get it!” Dick got up from the couch and went to grab a smaller size of the pants for Conner. He came back quickly and handed the pants to Tim, “Here you go.” 

“Thanks Dick” Tim took the pants and gave them to Conner. 

Conner finished putting on the clothes and this time everything got him perfectly. He looked himself in the mirror, it looked different but good at the same time. He also thought this outfit would look nicely with those blue sneakers he had tried on earlier. So he told Tim to open the curtains.

Tim grabbed the dressing room’s curtain, “Lady and gentlemen, first we have…Dick’s choice” he announced as he pulled the curtain to reveal Conner. 

Everyone else sat on the couch like a tem of judges on a pageant. “What do you think?” Dick asked excitedly. 

“I like it, I like the fabric on the shirt” Conner replied making he older smile. 

But Jason was certainly not smiling, “You got him a denim jacket?” 

Dick shrugged, “Tim said to offer options.” 

“I like it, but I prefer leather” Conner took Jason’s side. 

And that made the Red Hood crack a smile, “I like you.” 

Tim then grabbed the next outfit from the pile, “Up next…Damian’s outfit” and he passed it to Conner. 

Conner took the clothes and inspected them. It was a grey suit with a white button down shirt and a green tie. He didn’t question and just out the clothes on. They fit him with an accuracy that was almost scary, Conner had to admit Damian was scary….but he was also scarily good at picking outfits because it looked fantastic. 

So Tim unveiled the outfit and Conner was able to ask, “Damian, why’d you get me a suit?” 

“You’ll thank me” his expression was neutral, not showing any emotion. 

“What?” 

“You heard me.” 

Tim clenched his fist, “What he means to say is, Bruce hosts parties and events and galas, you’ll need one for those.”

“I’m invited?” Again with the mention of parties. With the frequency of them being mentioned one would think Bruce Wayne was a man who attended a party and came home drunk every single night. 

“Of course. In fact, the next event is gonna be in Metropolis.” 

“Really?” 

“Yeah, he’s expanding one of his charities. But onto the next outfit, Jason’s choice.” And Conner got handed yet another set of clothes. 

This time the pants were also black, not jeans but the fabric was still pretty comfortable. Jason had picked a deep red sports shirt to go with it, and a black leather jacket. 

“Okay, I really like this one” Conner said immediately after Tim pulled the curtain. 

“Knew it” Jason said smugly. 

“Thanks Jason, I like the red and black.” 

“I don’t disagree” Roy added his opinion. 

Kori pinched the bridge of her nose, “You’re both biased for the color red. I should make him try something purple.” 

Conner perked up with that. Sure, he liked red but he hadn’t ever tried anything purple. Maybe he’d like it, he’d have to ask Kori to pick something for later as Tim was already shoving the next set to him. 

“And lastly….my outfit!” Tim closed the curtains yet again. 

Tim’s outfit was probably his favorite. He had picked a pair of brown pants, a light green patterned shirt, and an olive green hoodie to pair with it.  “I like the green Tim” Conner spoke as he pulled the hoodie over his head.

“Glad you did” Tim pulled the curtain. And it was his turn to flush a bit seeing Conner in an outfit of his choosing. “So we’ll take them?” 

Conner nodded, “Yeah.” 

“Great! Now let’s get some more” Tim turned to the audience on the sofa. Kori was about to raise her hand to say something when Tim predicted exactly what she would ask, “Yes Kori, you can get something  purple.” 

“Yes!” She jumped off the couch with glee. 

“Hey I want a turn” Roy said sounding indignities. 

Tim face palmed, but Conner said “You can pick an outfit too Roy.”And so everyone left the fitting room again to go find some outfit pairings. 

“You don’t want to pick one yourself?” Tim asked curiously. 

“I like letting you guys pick. You all look so happy.” And they did, Conner felt incredibly lucky to have found such wonderful people. They were all so close, they were a family. They laughed, argued, bickered, they did everything together even if they were as silly as picking an outfit for a new friend. 

Tim smiled at him, “Yeah, we like playing fashion show. But you should pick something.” 

“You wanna help me pick pajamas?” Superboy offered. 

“Of course.”

Conner laughed, “Okay, but you lead the way because I have no idea where they are.” 

Tim nodded, “Follow me.” And he gestured for Conner to follow behind him. And maybe clothes shopping wasn’t that bad after all. 

—————————————————

-Back in Metropolis- 

While the bat kids were busy shopping for Conner’s new closet. Superman had convinced Amanda Waller to let him talk to Lex Luthor for a few minutes. He had to lie through his teeth to convince her to let him talk to Lex, but he didn’t have much choice. Lex had made Superboy, if he wanted information he needed Lex. 

So that’s how he found himself sitting across from Luthor again a thick bulletproof glass panel. Superman picked up a wire phone that was used to speak with inmates across the glass panel. 

Lex looked reluctant to do so, but picked up the phone on his end too. “If it isn’t my least favorite being in the galaxy” Lex started, glaring daggers at Superman. Wasn’t putting him in prison humiliating enough, the alien had to actually show up to the prison too. 

“Hello Lex” Karl tried to keep his voice calm and steady. He knew Luthor didn’t like him, but he needed to maintain a decent conversation. 

“Don’t call me that alien!” Lex barked at him. 

Kal snapped a little, “You should be nicer to the father of your son.” It wasn’t the brightest idea, but maybe using that fact to get Lex to talk about Superboy would work. 

Lex’s brain seems to malfunction for a moment, “F-Father..you mean the clone I made?” 

Shit, Kal said to himself. So Lex also just called him clown, no wonder the boy hated him. “His name is Superboy” he tried to defend a little of his son’s dignity.

Lex rolled his eyes, “Oh yes, the ridiculous name the press gave him. What do you want?” 

Superman sighed, now or never. “I’m gonna be honest with you Lex. Superboy ran away.” 

Lex’s mind froze for a second time. “He what?” 

“He was staying with me, but he got mad at me and vanished. I don’t know where he went…” he was interrupted by Lex’s maniacal laugh. 

“Finally, my DNA is finally showing,perhaps he wasn’t the lost cause I thought he was.” Oh this made being in prison so much worth it. So the clone hated Superman too? That was interesting, was his hatred that profound that it rooted itself into his very DNA and got passed to his clone?

“You tried to eliminate him?” It was Kal’s turn to sound mad. Sure, he had wanted to send the boy away, but eliminated him was absolutely not an option or something Kal would ever dare to do.

Lex didn’t even look guilty, “I did. But now I’m glad I didn’t, so he hates you like I do you say.”

“He doesn’t hate me. It was a misunderstanding, but I need to find him so I can apologize.”

“Well I can tell you he didn’t come see me” Lex spoke in a mocking tone. 

“I’ve searched all of Metropolis, but I couldn’t find him. Do you have any idea where he could have gone?” 

Lex gave him a side eye, “Why would I know.” 

“You made him!” Superman’s voice grew louder. “I don’t know, maybe you put a tracker on him or something. I wouldn’t put it past you.” 

The billionaire shook his head, “No I didn’t, though it’s not a bad idea for a future model.” 

Kal looked at him stone faced, “Are you serious?” 

Lex rolled his eyes again, “Please, I can’t do anything from in here.” 

“I’ve heard you’re getting out soon” he had hear some coworkers talking about it at the Planet but the information wasn’t supposed to be leaked to the public yet, but the thrown off look on Lex’s face was totally worth it. 

Lex quickly schooled his expression, though his eyes always held out distain when he looked at Superman, “I am. But I doubt the clown will want to see me. I admit, I would have thought he would be living with you given that he betrayed me to go see you.” 

“He did what?” 

Lex launched into one of his tirades, “I told him not to go after you when you came back to life. Which I will figure out how you did. But he ignored me and went anyway.” 

Kal stopped listening around halfway of Luthor’s rant, “He didn’t tell me that.”  So Superboy had been mistreated at the LexCorp labs, almost eliminated by Luthor, chose to go to Superman over staying with Lex and Clark didn’t know any of it. He had ignored the boy who took probably the biggest gamble of his life and chosen him over his creator. 

“And I can’t tell you much. I have no idea where he is” Lex finished talking. 

Superman got up quickly from his chair barely looking back at Luthor, “That’s alright, I’ll find him. Thank you Lex.” 

“Uhh don’t thank me!” 

Chapter Text

-Still at the Mall-

The bat kids had left their second store and were already full of shopping bags with Conner’s new closet. 

Dick decided to call off the shopping, and that they should leave the bags back in the car. They still had to take Conner to cut his hair and their friends were coming to meet them for lunch. They had to put all the bags away. 

So it was decided that Dick, Kori, Roy, Damian, and Jason would take the bags to the car while Tim took Conner to the barber shop in the mall. 

“We’ll meet you there later” Jason said as the five of them headed towards the elevators that lead to the parking lots.

“See ya!” Tim called out as he grabbed onto Conner’s arm to lead him to the barber shop. “So you figured out what hair cut you want?”

Conner had in fact thought about it. He had stared at his reflection in the mirror in the morning imagining how he could change his hair. “Shorter for sure, I was thinking of shaving…” 

That made Tim pause in his tracks, and look at Conner with a face of pure horror. “You wanna go bald like Luthor! Oh please don’t, it would look horrible on you!” 

Conner flushed, “What?” 

Tim bit the inside of his cheek, “Ohh I mean, I mean…I like your hair. Just thought bald was a bit much” he lowered his gaze. 

“Thanks…” Conner smiled, “…and for the record I don’t want to go bald thank you very much. That’d be traumatizing.” 

Tim looked up again, “Agreed.” 

So they kept walking to the barber like before, it was on the other side of the mall so they had a long way to get there. 

“You know what I want?” Conner spoke up as they passed a jewelry store. 

“What?”

“I kinda wanted the piercing on my ear.” 

Tim scanned the other’s face, “That would look…..very cool. Matches your leather jacket, bad boy aesthetic you got going on.” 

Conner snorted, “It’s not an aesthetic, it just….” 

“What do you like?” The other finished for him. 

“Exactly!” 

Tim put a hand on his chin after that. “I don’t know if needles can pierce your skin.” 

That made Conner think back to his days in Lex’s lab, because he had constantly poked by needles in there. “In the lab Lex’s scientists would use special needles to inject me, but I don’t know why they were special.” 

“Probably kryptonite,” Tim deduced.

“Maybe.” 

Tim smirked, “Well I have some in my room at home. We can piece your ears there if you want.” 

“You know how to do that?”

Tim raised an eyebrow, “Have you seen the kind of machinery I can operate? Pretty sure I can poke a hole in a person’s ear.” 

Conner threw his head back in a laugh, “You're funny. Also I didn't know you had two tattoos.”

Tim’s eyes widened, “What?” He had never disclosed that information. 

“Roy and Kori told me.” 

“Did they know?” 

“It’s cool, maybe I should get one someday” if his twelve siblings had made it out of Lex’s lab, they could have all gotten matching clone siblings tattoos. The thought made him a little upset, about all the siblings he could have had, the other kids he never got to meet. They deserved better, and he’d made sure he’d be the one to survive!

“If you join the titans that’s already one” Tim said. All the titans had the tattoo and most of them actually got it on the same spot on their body, on their back near the left shoulder blade.

“I was actually more interested in your Robin one. Like what the story is” Conner probed. His curiosity had peaked and he hoped Tim was open to sharing. 

Tim smiled fondly as he spoke, “It was Dick’s idea. After he lost Jason and I joined….he wanted…he thought I would be nice to get it. Like it’s something that connects us. And then Jason got it when he came back, and Damian got it last year.”

“Was it hard to convince him?” Roy had told him so, but he wanted a more detailed response. 

Tim nodded, “Oh yes. He refused it at the first and we were okay with it, it could be something just the three of us shared. But then one day he came to us and said he wanted it, so we took him to get it.” 

“Does Bruce know?” He hadn’t thought about it before. But from everything he had learned about Bruce Wayne so far, he was sure that he’d be cool with it. 

Tim looked at him with a stone face, “He lets Damian run around with a katana at night to fight criminals. You think he minds a tattoo?”

Superboy shrugged, “Probably not.” 

“He doesn’t. And you know where Damian got the tattoo? On the sole of his foot.”

“Why?” It was an interesting place to put a tattoo that was supposed to be a matching symbol you share with your siblings. 

“He said that it’s because it’s where the rest of us belong. Beneath him, because he’s the blood son” Tim did his best impression of Damian’s voice. 

“That’s….very Damian.”

“Sure is.”

“And you’re okay with that?” 

Tim thought for a moment, “He’s changed. I don’t think he regrets it though.” He looked at the stores in front of him and tugged on Conner’s sleeve, “We’re here.” They had arrived at a barber shop that wasn’t very crowded. Tim walked in and with Conner right behind.

Tim scanned the shop until he found the barber that always cut his hair, “Hi Robert.” 

Robert had been sweeping some hair off the floor when he heard his name being called. He finished what he was doing and then walked over to the two boys, “Hey Tim, how are you doing? Here for a cut?” 

“I’m good and no, my friend here is” he gestured to Conner. 

“Hi, I’m Conner,” he introduced himself. 

Robert smiled at him, “Nice to meet ya kid. This is your first time here?” 

“Yes, it is.” 

“Well let’s get you situated then.” So Robert took him to an empty barber chair and told him to have a seat. He sat down and then Robert wrapped a strange fabric over him and that clipped on the back of his neck. Conner was confused by this and looked over to Tim for confirmation that this was normal, and Tim’s nod and thumbs up told him that it was. 

“So what kind of cut are you looking for?” Robert asked after Conner was all situated. 

So Conner explained what he wanted, “Well I like the top part of my hair but I don’t like the sides being this long. Could we…shave the sides?” 

“Shave the sides and keep the top? Sure we can do that.” Robert smiled and went to get his tools. 

“Okay awesome!” Another thing Conner could check out of his to-do list. And he’d be able to get the style he had wanted. 

So Robert returned with the shaver and started shaving the sides of Conner’s head. They weren’t shaven completely, but the hair there was kept short. Then the top part of his hair was kept puffy but Robert had trimmed some of the edges so they wouldn’t get in Conner’s eyes. 

Around twenty minutes later, Dick and the rest of the group arrived at the barber shop. Now all empty handed as all the bags were stuffed into the trunk of the car, “We’re back!” Dick called out as they all entered the shop. 

“What took you so long?” Tim asked, he had been sitting in the waiting area, casually glancing up at Conner to see how his cut was coming along. 

“We got distracted,” Jason said vaguely. 

“Don’t ask” Damian asked as Tim was very obviously about to ask.
 

“Where’s clone boy?” Roy jokingly asked.

“Don’t say that out loud!” Tim chastised the joke, “But he’s over there getting his cut.” Making everyone look over to Conner in the cutting chair. 

“Shaving the sides? Nice choice” Jason commented. 

They waited for a few more minutes until Robert announced that Conner was done. So Conner hopped off the chair and inspected himself in the mirror. After looking at himself for a minute, Conner turned to his friends and he was practically glowing with joy and excitement, “What do you think?”

Tim smiled at Conner’s happy face, “I think it looks great.” 

Dick paid the bill for the hair cut and after that, they all headed over to the restaurant where they had scheduled to meet up with Garfield, Raven, and Wally.

—————————————————

-Back in Metropolis- 

Superman flew out of Belle Reve with disappointment in his chest. He hadn’t gotten any useful information from Lex and had no idea where to look next. 

It was still the early afternoon and he didn’t have work today, so he decided to go visit his parents in Smallville. Maybe that’s what he needed to calm his mind and come up with a plan to find Superboy. 

So he flew to Smallville and changed out of his Superman suit and into civilian clothing before knocking on his parent’s door. He had already visited his parents the week before. They had cried a lot after finally being reunited after Clark was revived. But he hadn’t talked to them about Superboy, he had thought that it was best to keep that issue out of their reunion. 

Clark knocked on the front door and lit up at seeing Martha open the door, “Hey Ma.”

Martha took one look at him and instantly knew something was off, “Clark dear what’s wrong? You look upset.” Her motherly instincts always knew. 

“I….I made a huge mistake Ma” it was more than a mistake but it hurt a lot to admit it. 

Martha looked at him with a sad smile, “Let’s go inside and you can tell us what’s wrong” she gestured for him to come inside. 

They went to the living room and Jonathan joined them on the couch so they could all talk as a family. 

“So what happened son?” Jon asked. 

Clark barely knew how to start, “Did you hear about Superboy?” 

Martha nodded, “That kid that Lex Luthor said would replace you? Of course we heard.” They had been shocked when they saw Lois Lane report on it in the news six months after their son had passed. “You have no idea how sad we were that they were trying to replace you.” She reached over to take one of her son’s hands into hers. 

Clark looked down at their entertained hands, “He’s not just a replacement…” 

“What do you mean?” She asked.

“He’s a clone.” 

Jon tilted his head, “A clone?” He had heard a lot of strange things about aliens and gods after his son decided to be a superhero, but cloning was new. 

Clark sighed, “Lex made him using his own DNA and me. He used my DNA to make Superboy.”

Pa’s eyes were blown wide, “So the boy is a clone of you?”

Clark bit his lip, “Sort of, not an exact clone. More like…he’s like my son.” 

“Your son,” Martha whispered.

“Sort of” Clark repeated.

“So you’re like a father now ....Congratulations son!” Jon patted his back. His son had always wanted to be a parent. Sure having a clone made child was strange, but he himself had raised an alien and helped him learn to shoot laser beams out of his eyes. So what was the big deal about the boy being a clone?

Martha’s face lit up, “Oh that’s why you’re upset. Don’t worry sweetheart, we’ll help you. Just bring the boy here and I’ll cook us a nice meal and we can talk about this.” Clark had always told her about his life plans with his soulmate and lots of kids. But Clark didn’t have a soulmate yet, so being a single parent must have been tough on him and that was why her son looked so tired. But she would help him with everything he could ever need.

Clark felt the knife of guilt twist in his heart even more at his parent’s enthusiasm. They didn’t care about the boy’s origins and looked ready to help him with their grandson. He truly deserved the I told you so from Batam. He sighed sadly, he couldn’t hide it. “I don’t know where he is.” 

“What?” 

“When I found out that Lex created him…I was angry and upset. You know I always wanted kids…” He looked at his left wrist where his soul mark was. He’d spent so many years staring at that mark wondering who his other half could possibly be.

His mark was completely black (all sole marks were completely black), it looked like a sigil but like none he had seen anywhere before. In the center a ‘W’ was carved but in a very elegant penmanship, that at first he didn’t even recognize the letter as a ‘W’. And surrounding it was a wreath that contained five small, spaced out empty circles on it. He had no clue what a W with five little circles could possibly mean, or who it was tied to. 

He hoped that through his job as a journalist where he got to meet tons of people at social events that at one point he’d find his soulmate. He had mapped out their whole life together, they could get a house in Smallville once they wanted to have kids. Clark had always wanted multiple kids so he figured his soul mate probably would too. They would paint their house together and decorate the rooms that their children would sleep in.

The thought of sharing his identity as Superman didn’t frighten him. Sure, the thought that it could put his soulmate at risk did nag at him, but he knew his soul mate would accept him as an alien and all. They were soul mates after all. 

But his little fantasy got shattered when Superboy appeared in his fortress. Because Lex had created a child, a child that Clark hated to admit it, but resembled him quite a bit. He had imagined a boy like  Superboy, a boy with his black hair and bright blue eyes. But Superboy hadn’t been born from the love between Clark and his soul mate, he was born out of Lex’s insane obsession with Superman. It felt like Lex ate and then spat all of Clark’s fantasies right in his face. And he had dished out his anger on Superboy, who hadn’t had any fault in any of it. 

Ma hugged him, “But you wanted them with your soulmate, we know Clark.”

“We’ve always known” Pa joined the hug.

Clark buried his face onto his mother’s shoulder, “I was confused, I just came back from literally being dead. Metropolis was destroyed, the press wasn’t sure if they could trust me, my friends all thought I was gone, and I had to get my job back. It was too much…” he shed a few tears.

“And what happened?” Martha asked him calmly while weaving one hand over the back of Clark’s head.

“I took my anger and frustration out on him. I ignored him, I barely spoke to him, and I thought about sending him away” he admitted it out loud. 

“Clark” came quietly and gasped. 

“He heard, he didn’t want me to send him away. He ran away, he left me a note and left and I have no idea where he is. I don’t know what to do” he cried harder. 

Martha and Jon pulled back from the hug, and Martha removed Clark’s glasses so she could wipe away his tears. “It’s okay sweetheart, you’ll figure something out you always do.” 

“Can’t your other hero friends help you find him?” Jon asked. 

Clark wiped some of his tears with his arm, “No, I won’t send a global search party after him. He’s always mad at me, it would be worse if one of my friends dragged him back here.” 

He thought for a bit, “I think the only one who could possibly help is Batman, he’s great at tracking people down.” Something he had always admired about Batman. The only human on the team with no superpowers, a man who so many villains understated for that exact reason, yet Batman always proved himself as one of the strongest members on the team. 

“So why not ask him?” Jon asked. 

Clark gulped, “Because we argued. He told me sending Superboy away would be a bad idea and I ignored him.” 

“Well then talk to him, tell him he was right and ask for help” his father advised. 

Clark deflated, “He’s just gonna tell me he told me so.” He deserved it, he knew he did. But he wasn’t sure if Batman would help him out or not. 

Martha smiled, “Maybe he will. But if you tell him that you understand that what you did was wrong he’ll forgive you. You two are friends after all.” 

“But what if we don’t find him? I won’t forgive myself if he’s lost somewhere. What if he’s hungry? What if he’s scared? What if he wants to come back but doesn’t know how…or what if one of the villains captured him?” His mind kept racing to the worst possibilities, he would forgive himself if Superboy had gotten hurt after running away because of him. 

“I think you’ll make a great parent Clark” Ma said, making Clark’s spiraling stop. 

“What?” His eyes were blown wide.

She gave him a knowing look, “Tell me sweetie, do you think we don’t worry every time you face one of those villains. You think we don’t ask ourselves those same questions every time you go on those missions to save the world.” 

“It shows you care about him. That’s good.” Jon added. 

“And if you don’t find him, you have to trust that he’ll come back. We always trust that you’ll come back to us Clark, even when we thought you died you came back to us. If that boy is like you in any way then he’ll come back too.”

“Thanks Ma” Clark hugged her again.

After that, Martha welcomed Clark to eat lunch with her and Jon, to which he happily agreed. And Clark made up his mind about two things. First, he would call Batman right after lunch so he could apologize for their argument and ask for his help in finding Superboy. And second, that once he and Superboy were reunited he wouldn’t take the boy to the Watchtower, he would bring him straight to Smallville so he could meet Martha and Jon. 

—————————————————

-At Wayne Enterprises-

Meanwhile, Bruce had spent the last few hours in various meetings at Wayne Enterprises. His current one was the one of most interest to him. Him and his event planning team were discussing his upcoming charity gala.

But this was a special gala, because Bruce was expanding one of his charities, his most important one….his charity for orphaned children. They had already constructed an orphanage in Gotham, and Bruce would often pay the children their visits whenever he had the free time, and he’d often push for more adoptions to be made. 

And after Metropolis got destroyed in the battle with Darkseid, over two hundred kids were orphaned. So he decided to expand his charity over to Metropolis, and this gala would be his big announcement about it. 

“The mayor has already agreed to host us for the gala Mr Wayne” Sabrina, his event planner announced to the team. 

“And we’ve spoken to several news stations and they’ll have live reporters there like you asked sir” David, head of his PR department informed him.

Bruce nodded along, “That’s great, the more visibility the better. This is for a good cause.” Which he truly believed, he wanted as many people to see this as possible. Because while he would often play the part of the idiotic billionaire playboy at parties, when it came to the issues that mattered most to him, Bruce would be a more authentic version of himself. 

Vanessa, head designer for the company raised her hand. “Sir, you said you wanted the design for this charity redesigned. Do you have a certain design in mind?” She asked, because Bruce had mentioned in past conversations that he wanted to design the logo of this specific charity himself since it meant so much to him.

“I’ve been working on a few designs for the new logo. I’ll run them by you next week so we can put it on the invitations for the gala.” He had in fact designed several logos but none of them had felt right yet, but he was confident that the right idea would hit him any second. 

“The construction for the new orphanage site has been approved,” one of his administrators said.

“In the new location we established?” Bruce asked. The biggest orphanage in Metropolis had been destroyed during the battle, so Bruce decided that he would rebuild it. But he didn’t like the location where the original orphanage was, it was too far from local schools. 

His executive nodded, “Yes sir, it’s near a hospital and two local schools.” 

Bruce was pleased, everything was running smoothly. “Perfect, you’ve all done an exceptional job as always.” 

“Thank you sir” his team replied. 

“Is your speech ready for the gala Mr Wayne?” Sabrina asked him. 

“Don’t worry, my speech is ready.” A blatant lie, he had started the speech but hadn’t finished it yet. The current situation with Superman and Conner had overtaken most of his mind. 

But Sabrina didn’t catch the lie, “So now we just need to work on our guest list and event arrangements.” 

“The timeline is always set,” David added. 

Bruce was about to start citing names of who should attend the party, but then his phone rang. This wasn’t uncommon, and he expected it to probably be one of the boys giving him an update of their outing. So he reached his hand into his pocket to retrieve his phone. And to his shock, it was this Bruce Wayne phone that was ringing. It was his Batman phone! 

“Excuse me everyone, I need to step out for a minute..” he got up from his chair as he clutched the phone onto his hand. 

“Is anything wrong sir?” His executives asked. 

Bruce wore a charming smile, “Not at all, just a personal call I need to take. You all carry on, I’ll be back in a few minutes, keep working on the guest list.” 

He left the meeting room and went to his personal office, locking the door behind him. His office was completely sound proof, so he could use his Batman voice and no one would notice. 

He pulled his Batman phone out of his pocket to check who was calling him. And the contact name that popped up was ‘Kansas calling’ aka Superman, because of course Bruce didn’t save their contacts with their actual names. He had expected Superman to text him eventually, probably to discuss the Conner situation, but an outright call meant that Superman was very serious about this. 

Bruce picked up the call, “The world better be ending for you to call me at this hour Kent” he spoke in his Batman voice. He wasn’t mad at Clark for calling, but he sure was for him calling at 2 pm. Bruce hadn’t told the league his name, but he had been clear that they should only call him during the day in case of an absolute emergency. 

“Why are you calling me that?” why Superman’s first response. 

Batman huffed, “I know you’ve been gone for a while but I’ve established that despite what you all think I do in fact have a day job too.” 

Superman gasped, “Oh my god, I don’t check the time. I’m sorry, should I have waited to call you later…I” 

“It’s fine….” Batman assured him, “Just tell me what you need.” 

“I-I want to apologize” Kal sounded nervous. 

“For what?” He 100% knew what it was for. 

Superman definitely knew that Batman knew what he was talking about. But he didn’t have the energy to argue again, “For our argument. I know you saw my message on the group chat.” 

“I did.” 

“So you know that you were right and I shouldn’t have tried to send Superboy away…”

Batam smiled victoriously, “I do like telling you I told you so.” 

Superman frowned on the other side of the line, “Okay I get it. So I’m sorry, I should have listened to you. He’d still be here if I had.” 

“I appreciate the apology.” 

“Thanks, because I wanted to and if you’d be willing to help me find him!” Kal made his request. 

“What?” 

“Find him…” Kal repeated, “I’ve searched Metropolis and even talked to Luthor but couldn’t find him. I have no clue where he went, but you’re the best person I know who can track down just about anyone. So I need to know if you’re willing to help me.”

Bruce’s mind short circuited, he couldn’t possibly agree to that. He would never betray Conner like that, the boy had made it clear he didn’t want to talk to Kal, so Bruce wouldn’t force him to do so. They would talk when Conner felt he was ready. So Batman quickly found out, “Look Clark I…. I can’t answer that right now and I need to return to my job…”

“Oh right, sorry for disturbing you.” 

“It’s fine, I’ll talk with you later” and he quickly ended the call. This was bad, what would he tell Superman?? Conner clearly wasn’t ready to talk yet. He’d have to evade Superman as much as possible. But first, Bruce had a meeting to return to.

—————————————————

-Bonus scene- of what Dick, Jason, Kori, Damian, and Roy were doing while Conner was getting his hair cut. 

They had finally finished putting all the bags inside the trunk of the car, they had even taken some of Conner’s new shoes out of their boxes to make everything fit. But after a long battle with the trunk door, it shut with a clip. 

They all leaned against the car’s side for a moment. And Dick started a conversation, “Sooo, did you guys see the way Tim clung to him?” They all knew who ‘him’ was. 

Jason raised an eyebrow, “You’re not suggesting that?” 

Dick raised his hands, “Why not? I remember how Kori and I were close even before we knew each other, we clung to each other and everything.” 

Jason rolled his eyes, “Well sorry but not everyone is like you Mr. I met my soulmate at the age of fifteen Grayson.”

“Aww cmon Jay, he’s not wrong” Roy wrapped an arm around Jason’s waist. “Didn’t you see the way he took Conner’s arm?” 

“Do you think Tim realizes what he’s doing?” Kori asked Dick. Because she herself hadn’t always noticed the times she had clung to Dick when they were teens, or when she would just look at him for no reason during training. 

Dick thought the question over, “I’m not sure, I knew I had a crush on you, but I never put the dots together that we were soulmates.” 

“Great, so Tim might be soulmates with Conner. That’s fucking great” Red Hood rolled his eyes.

Roy laughed, “Think on the bright side! Isn’t it great that all your soulmates so happened to be people who are also heroes! It'd be kinda weird to explain a lot of the stuff we do everyday to an outsider.” 

“Yeah, explaining the laser eyes and flying would be difficult” Dick concurred. 

“I’m pretty sure we’re all desensitized to weird powers by now,” Jason added. 

Damian wanted to dig a hole and jump into it. He hated the soulmate talk, he didn’t see the need for one anyway. His own father had lived his entire life without one. He crossed his arms, “Well we cannot affirm whether or not the two of them are soulmates as Drake is still two years off from turning eighteen.”
 

“We’re just thinking ahead Damian” Dick replied. 

Damian glared at him, “Maybe focus on your own life Grayson.” 

“Okay but could you imagine having Superman as your father in law?” Roy said. 

“And what about Batman as a father in law?” 

“Well that one isn’t as weird given he’s already my father in law!” 

Jason raised an eyebrow, “Is he? I don’t remember us being married.” 

“Not yet!” Roy smirked, making Jason laugh. 

Kori took Dick’e hand into hers, “Well we don’t really pick our soulmates. Whoever destiny chooses for you is the one, not much to it.” 

Damian wanted to barf, “Should we get going? They’ll start to wonder if we’ve left them behind.”

“Okay let’s go” Dick reluctantly said and they all headed back to the elevators. 

Chapter Text

The bat kids arrived at the food court of the mall. In the distance Conner noticed three figures that stood out from the crowd. A boy wearing a long sleeved hoodie, a face mask, and a cap indoors. A girl wearing all purple and black, that’s also seemed to be particularly covering her face. And a red headed boy who looked the most normal out of the three. And he wasn’t very surprised when Dick waved them over. 

Now all ten of them grabbed a table at the edge of the food court, and Conner watched his friends greet the three strangers. 
And once they were done, Dick introduced him. “Guys, this is Conner, he moved into the Manor yesterday. 

“Hello” Conner smiled awkwardly, not sure how to act in this situation. 

The boy with the mask removed it, reveling a bright smile and green skin underneath. “Hi I’m Garfield” he smiled showing a pair of sharp canines and offered a hand of Conner to shake. A hand that was mostly covered by the sleeves of his hoodie, but they were also green.

Conner wasn’t phased by any of it and gladly shook the hand. He himself was an alien that could fly and shook laser beams out of his eyes, who was he to judge anyone else. But he as curious as to who these other Titian were, “And you’re?” 

Garfield leaned in closer, “Beats Boy, I can turn into animals.” An interesting power, didn’t quite explain how the green skin factored in but it really didn’t matter. 

So Conner turned his attention to the red headed boy. “Conner, nice to meet you.” 

The boy smiled, “Hi I’m Wally, nice to meet ya Con.” 

“Nice to meet you Wally.” 

“He’s a speedster” Tim went ahead and answered Conner’s next question. And this, Conner understood. He had spent enough time with the Justice League to know what speedsters were. 

So Conner turned to the final new face, “And you must be Raven?” 

“Rachael in public, but yes” she replied softly. She had a hoodie covering most of her head but her eyes were fully uncovered and roamed over Conner as if analyzing him. “So you’re Superboy?” 

Conner scratched the back of his neck, “Yes, I was. Might have to change that though.” He wasn’t sure what he would do from now on, if he stayed with the Bats he’d probably have to get a new name or match theirs. Or even if he joined the Titans. He wasn’t sure if he wanted a name so associated to Superman anymore. 

“The boys informed everyone in the titans about the situation” Garfield explained. 

“Situation?” 

“You living with Bruce..” Wally explained. “And don’t worry, no one’s gonna say anything.” 

“We don’t share secrets that aren’t our own to share” Raven finished. 

“Thanks guys” Conner wasn’t that worried anyway. He trusted the bat kids, and if they said their friends could also be trusted then he believed it. 

Dick clasped his hands together, “Enough depressive talk, cmon who wants burgers?” And he started getting up to head to the burger shop in the food court to grab lunch. 

“I do” Kori got up after her boyfriend. 

Damian grunted but also got up, “I cannot believe I have to eat this 
processed garbage.” 

“You can just not order one if you don’t want you know” Jason smirked as he got up but told Roy to wait at the table. 

“Shut up Todd!” Damian snickered.

“You ever had a burger Conner?” Garfield asked the Superboy. 

Conner shook his head, “No, Luthor never let me eat junk food.” 

Tim grabbed Conner’s arm to pull him up from the table, “Well he’s in prison and Bruce Wayne doesn’t mind so let’s go!” And he started dragging Conner to the burger place. 

First, Conner spent at least five minutes just looking over the menu while everyone else placed their orders. He ended up picking a chicken burger with some cheeses and veggies. And Dick insisted that he but a combo with French fries, with Kori hyping up that he would love the taste of fries, so Conner caved and order it. 

Then, Tim and Wally made him try every flavor of soda that the soda machine offered, and asked him to rate them. They concluded that Superboy liked the taste of Cola and was not a fan of Root Beer or the flavor of Fruit Punch. 

Then, as everyone waited for their order number to be called on, Raven quietly stood next to Conner and asked him. “Do you like living with the Wayne’s so far?”

To which Conner didn’t hesitate in answering, “I’m really glad he stopped me from running away.” 

Raven smiled at that before adding, “I ran from my father too. So I know what it feels like.” 

“You did?” 

She sighed and looked over to their friends, “I did, trust me. You found some good people to stay with.” 

That made Conner’s heart skip a beat, because he believed it. He had thought that he was lucky because he was the only clone to make it out of Lex’s laboratory. But no, the luckiest thing that happened to him was Bruce Wayne deciding to add him into his family. So he turned to Raven as simply said, “I know.” 

With that, the conversation was over and Conner’s resolve that he had truly found where he belonged only intensified. 

Then all the kids got their burgers and sat back down at their table to enjoy a nice lunch together. Not as heroes on a break, but simply as normal friends hanging out for an afternoon.

—————————————————

After lunch was over, everyone decided to go to a few more stores before they had to leave the mall. Kori dragged Raven to help her pick out a new pair of shoes that she wanted to wear at the upcoming Wayne gala, while Jason, Dick, Garfield, and Wally went to a video game store. And Damian….well Damian didn’t want to do shopping, so he sat on a bench and resorted to people watching. 

That left Conner and Tim who wandered into a store that sold clothing accessories. Where Conner was browsing the accessories aisle, looking over bags, hats, gloves, belts, and sunglasses. He wasn’t a fan of hats or belts, but gloves certainly peaked his interest. He had already bought three pairs of leather gloves that Jason had helped him pick out earlier, so he didn’t really need more. 

So Conner looked over the sunglasses on display. His father Clark Kent wore glasses, though Tim had informed him that those glasses were actually used to help conceal his identity from the public. Which made Conner rethink his everything about his own civilian identity. He had always flown around as Superboy showing his face, so how was he supposed to be normal teenager Conner if people in Metropolis would recognize him instantly. 

He tried not think about that as he grabbed a pair of sunglasses with round black lenses. He tried them on and looked himself in the mirror, he liked the look of the glasses with his leather jacket. 

“See something you like?” Came Tim’s voice, slightly startling Conner. 

“Yeah I do” he smiled as he checked his reflection before turning around to show Tim. “How do I look?”

Tim crossed his arms, “Wearing sunglasses indoors?…Ridiculous”

Conner raised an eyebrow, “What do you suggest then?” He was a bit upset that his friend didn’t like the glasses, but that’s okay. 

Tim smirked, “You said you wanted a piercing right?”

Conner nodded, “Yeah, I was thinking one on my ear like a ring or something.” He thought it would look nice with his new hair style. Plus, I’d be fun to try one on. 

Tim brought his fist up, it was closed like he was holding something in his hand. He looked Conner in the eyes, “I like these ones” and he opened his hand to reveal two ear piercings. 

Conner took them to inspect. Both were circular. One was bald like his jacket and the other a dirty silver. They were perfect! He snilef at his friend.“Silver and Black, I like them. Thanks Tim.” But then his smile faltered, “No idea how to get them on though.” 

“We can pierce your ears with kryptonite” Tim offered.

Conner laughed, well it wasn’t that absurd. Sure they could piece his ear with a peace of green alien metal. “Well as long as it’s not Damian doing it then I’m fine with it.” 

Tim laughed in response, “Honestly, fair.” 

So they went to the check out to buy the piercings and left the store to go find the others.

—————————————————

After a few more hours, the kids all got back to the Manor completely exhausted. Alfred had helped them take all of Conner’s new clothes inside…and proceeded to take all the clothing items to the laundry room to be properly washed before being hung on Conner’s closet. And after that, everyone had retreated to their respective rooms.

Except for Conner of course. He was sitting on top of the toilet in Tim’s bathroom, as Tim was getting ready to pierce Conner’s ear and insert the piercings they bought from the mall. 

“Are we really doing this?” Conner asked nervously. He wasn’t scared of needless, he had been pretty much desensitized to any form of medical procedure while living in Lex’s lab. But he was questioning whether or not going through with this was a good idea. 

Tim rolled his eyes as he inspected all the tools he had neatly organized on top of his sink marble. “Yes. Now, left or right ear?”

“Uhh right please.” 

“Alright” Tim picked up a needle made of kryptonite along with the black round piercing that was about to go into the helix of Conner’s ear.

Conner pouted, “Do you think Bruce will be mad at me?” 

“Why would he be?” Tim asked absentmindedly. 

Conner bit his lip, “I don’t know? Aren’t parents usually mad when their kids get piercings?” He knew Lex would eliminate him for it, he’ll he would have already been eliminated by his haircut. 

Tim shrugged, “Like I said, he lets us run around Gotham with weapons, drive superpowered cars, jets, and motorcycles. I really doubt a piercing is on the priority list.”

“If you say so.” 

“I know so. Now look the side. I have measure it perfectly so they sit straight on your ear” he gestured for Connor to turn his face to the wall. 

So Tim brought the piercing and the needle to the helix of Conner’s ear. It was the black one, per Conner’s request. “This may sting” he wiped the area with alcohol.

“Go for it” Conner gave him a thumbs up. Though he gritted his teeth in anticipation.

Tim took in a deep breath, “One….two…..three….!” He poked the cartilage with the needle. 

“Ahhh” Conner hissed. 

“Did it hurt?” Tim asked as he clasped the back end of the piercing shut, fixing it in place. 

“A little, but it’s fine” Conner assured him.

Tim hummed and went back to his tools. He knew what he was doing, he was the one who helped Jason will almost all his piercings throughout the years. “Now for the other one” he picked up the silver piercing in his hand. 

So they repeated the process , but this time the piercing went on the lower part of Conner’s ear, where a typical earring would go. They had bought the matching set, with one meant for each ear, but Conner only wanted it on his right side.

After Tim was done, Conner went to inspect himself in the mirror. His ear still stung a little and Tim told him it would for a few more minutes, but nothing he couldn’t tolerate. The piercings glistened under the bathroom light in his reflection. He smiled while looking at himself, now with the new hair and accessories. He looked different to the boy who had been brought to the Manor the night before, but he also felt different too.

He hesitated turned to Tim, “So…how do I look?” 

Tim stood next to him to wash his hands in the sink, “I think they look nice.” 

Conner smiled, feeling more confident. “Thansk, I love the new me.” 

Tim laughed politely and wiped his hands on his towel. “I’d say it’s more…the actual you. The real Conner not the perfect little soldier Luthor made.”

Conner felt his cheek burn, “I agree.” 

Tim stretched out his arms,”Well you should go shower now and get ready for dinner. Bruce should be coming home soon.” It was five thirty now, Bruce usually got home around six on his busier days. 

Conner clicked his tongue, “Right, I’ll go do that.” And he walked out of Tim’s bathroom.

“Wait!” Tim called about before he could leave. His own cheeks burned a little, “Uhh…tomorrow we can start working on your new suit.”

“You bet” that had Conner excited, he had some ideas for improvements from his old suit that he wanted to discuss with Tim.

“You’re getting a mask this time. Bats don’t go around showing their faces you know.” 

Conner smirked and ran a hand though his hair, “But this face is too good looking to hide.”

Tim deadpanned, “Do you want me to hit you?” 

The other rolled his eyes, “Fine mask it is, anything else?”

Tim walked into his room and grabbed the green hoodie he had worn to the mall. He reached his hand inside the hoodies’ pocket and pulled something out, “Yes actually….catch” and he threw an object at Conner. 

Conner caught the object and couldn’t believe what he was holding, “You…you got these?” It was the pair of sunglasses that Tim had called ridiculous. 

Tim looked at him dismissively, “Wearing them inside is stupid. But it matches your esthetic….unfortunately.” 

Conner cracked a smile, “Thanks Tim.” And with that, he left Tim’s room and went to his one bedroom to shower and get ready for dinner. 

—————————————————

Dinner went better than the day before. Alfred had cooked up another delicious meal. And everyone ate it up as they talked about their day. 

Bruce talked about the preparations for the upcoming charity gala in Metropolis, that all the boys including Conner were supposed to attend. Conner didn’t know yet which charity the gala was for, but that wasn’t what worried him. What worried him was Superman finding out about it and crashing into the gala to kidnap him or something. He knew it was an extreme scenario, but anything was possible. 

Then Dick and the others told Bruce about their day shopping. Bruce had even commented on liking Conner’s new hair cut, while Jason and Dick complemented his piercings. That calmed Conner’s nerves, he had been worried about Bruce’s reaction especially but everything he had done today was accepted pretty well. 

The boys even asked Conner what he thought of their friends, to which Superboy replied that he had fun meeting Garfield, Wally, and Raven. To which Kori promises to take Conner to Titan Tower soon so he could meet the rest of the titans properly and they’d do pizza game night. 

So dinner went smoothly and after  everyone was done eating they all left the dinning room to go to the upstairs level of the manor. But as Dick, Tim, Damian, and Jason headed for their rooms, with Kori going with Dick and Roy with Jason.  Bruce called out to Conner. “Conner, could you come with me for a second?” 

Conner turned to him a little surprised. “Sure, what’s up?” Bruce hadn’t commented anything about his appearance or how much money they spent on clothes during dinner. Conner thought that maybe Bruce didn’t want to say anything in front of the others. 

But Bruce took Conner into his study so they could talk privately. He sat them both on the couch in the study before he started talking. “Superman called me earlier.” 

“He did?” Of course, Conner thought to himself. Of course, Superman was looking for him. He probably thought that Conner was out in the world somewhere causing chaos and he needed to get Superboy in check. 

Bruce sighed, “Yes.” He seemed like he didn’t want to have this conversation just as much as Conner didn’t want it. 

“What’s does he want?” Conner just wanted Superman to forget his existed. He was discovering who he really was, and he wanted to do that with the Waynes, the people who took him in and didn’t look at him like he was burden. 

Bruce met Conner’s blue eyes, “He’s looking for you. Said he’s searched all of Metropolie and even went to Lex Luthor.  And said that he wants to apologize to you.” 

“He wants to apologize for trying to send me away!” Conner shouted in exasperation. He didn’t believe it, what could have possibly made Superman change his mind. Had it been the note? No way, there was no change that just a note could get him to change his mind. It had to be a trap. 

“Yes. But there’s more….He asked me, Batman, if I’d be willing to help him track you down.” 

Conner felt a shiver run down his spine. If Bruce turned him in….that would be the hardest betrayal he’d ever felt. He felt betrayed when he realized that Lex tried to eliminate him, he felt betrayed when Superman just called him a clone and tried to get rid of him. He couldn’t handle another betrayal, “And what did you say?” 

“I told him I had to think about it.” That did not ease Conner’s mind at all. Bruce probably say the panic in Conner’s eyes as he spoke in a soften tone, “Look Conner, I won’t tell him I know where you are if you’re uncomfortable. I’m also not gonna force you to go talk to him. We got at your pace.”

That made Conner let out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding. “I don’t know if I’m ready to see him yet” because he wasn’t, what would he even say to Superman? 

Bruce just nodded, “I understand, you can take as much time as you need to process everything that’s happened.” 

But Conner had doubts, “Do you think he’d see he was wrong and apologize to me if he had gone through with sending me away?” 

Bruce stiffened a little, “I can’t answer that, only he can…” it was question not even the world’s greatest detective could solve. 

“I know. But I’m not ready, I want to stay here….if that’s okay with you” he looked at Bruce with almost pleading eyes. 

Bruce smiled, “Of course it is, you’re already part of the family Conner. But you will have to talk to him eventually.” 

“I know.” 

“And after you do, you can stay here if you want. Well can tell him that you want to do training with Batman, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind” Bruce tried to cheer him up a little. 

Conner looked up at Bruce and he did something he hadn’t ever done with either of his fathers. He hugged Bruce tightly, “Thank you so much Bruce.” 

It took a moment for Bruce to realize what was happening, but he quickly hugged the boy back. “You’re welcome Conner.” 

Bruce was unsure of what was the right move to make in this situation. Superman was his friend and lying to him felt wrong, but Conner deserved the take things at his own pace. He had to stay about of the search until Conner felt well enough to meet with Kal. Conner was family now, another son that Bruce brought into his home, he would treat and care for him like he did for all the others. 

Besides, him and Kal had disagreements and fights in the past that they were able to resolve easily, this would just become another one of them….

Chapter Text

It had been a week since Conner moved into the Manor, and the effects he caused were already noticeable. Dick and Jason had stayed at the manor and were spending more time with the family, which was rare for Jason. Damian stayed more time outside of his room. And Tim seemed to be in a happier mode than he had been in a while.

Bruce was proud of Conner. He was happy that he was experimenting to try and figure out who he was. And Bruce was now considering what would happen to Conner once he talked with Superman. He knew that Kal wouldn’t take the boy with him by force, but he probably wouldn’t be happy about the fact that he was living with Batman. So Bruce knew that the likelihood of him having to reveal his identity to Kal was high. 

He had never wanted to reveal his identity. He had worked hard to build his strong image and be taken seriously while being the only mere human with no super powers in a team full of metahumans, aliens, and gods. His friends respected him, and he didn’t want all his hard work to be in vain when his team mates found out who he was. 

The world saw Bruce Wayne as an idiot billionaire who spent money on dumb things and constantly got drunk at parties. It was the perfect way to disguise his identity…..maybe too perfect. Would his team mates view him differently if they knew? Would they look at him the same? He didn’t know, and he had put off on finding out for as long as possible. 

He tried not to think about it at the moment. After all, he was currently getting ready for a press meet in Metropolis as part of the marketing campaign for his upcoming gala. He was already in his suit and was trying to find his most important accessory.

He looked in his night stand, he looked under his bed, and he looked behind his dresser with no luck. So he had an idea, he opened the door of his room and called out, “Conner could you come up here please?”

After a minute he could see Conner flying through the hallway, “You called for me?”

Bruce was still getting used to having a flyer in the house. Kori would often hover in the air in her time there, but it being an everyday thing was still new. “Yes I need your help with something” he gestured for Conner to come into his room. 

Conner hesitated at the door frame, “What is it?” He had been told by all the boys that Bruce valued his privacy and that he didn’t like people in his space. But at least he didn’t throw katanas at your head if you came into his room, unlike Damian. 

Bruce understood his hesitation, “I have a press meeting for the gala coming up but I need something…”

Conner tilted his head, “What is it?” He walked inside the room, he trusted Bruce most of all….well maybe except for Tim.  And he had started seeing Bruce as his true father, as the first person who ever looked at him and actually cared. He had no reason to not trust him. 

Bruce felt happy when Conner came into his room, he was glad that the boy was trusting him more. He wanted Conner to have a safe place, it was part of the reason he had brought him to the manor. 

“I’m trying to find a bracelet, and can’t find it. I think it may have fallen behind a piece of furniture but I can’t find it, and I was hoping your X-ray vision could help me find it.” 

Conner let that sink in. That was it? He could do that. In the last few days he had found that his powers were aurally pretty useful in everyday life. He had used his laser vision to help Tim weld two pieces of metal together, helped Damian dislodge a sword he had gotten stuck on the roof of the bat cave, and helped Jason practice shooting a moving target…after they made sure that Conner had inherited Superman’s invulnerability. 

He looked up at Bruce ready to help, “Sure, what does it look like?” 

“It’s a band completely made of silver” Bruce was vague.

Conner didn’t ask further, he fought that the bats were really vague when they wanted to be. So he got working on looking around with his X-ray vision, he looked  behind the furniture. “Found it!” He called out, he saw a bracelet lodged in between the nightstand and the wall. So he walked to the nightstand, easily pushed it aside with his super strength and retrieved the bracelet. 

Bruce gave him a grateful look, “Thank you Conner, I needed it.”

Conner wanted to say it wasn’t a big deal, but his mind went hazy when he looked at the bracelet. It was different from anything he had ever seen before. It was completely silver, it had a little charm with a W on it and written in a very elegant font. And along with the W were five little charms with colorful gemstones. 

Conner was busy looking at the bracelet that he didn’t release. Bruce had taken a few steps forward and was now standing right in front of him. “Why is the bracelet so special?” He spiked mindlessly and flushed completely when he realized what he had said. “O-Oh my gosh sorry, it’s none of my business.”

Bruce let out a soft chuckle, he took the bracelet from Conner’s hand. “No it’s okay. It belonged to my father, see the W.” He emphasized the W charm, making Conner feel a little stupid for not putting together the fact that the W stood for Wayne. 

The bracelet had belonged to Thomas Wayne many years before. Bruce started wearing it a few years after his parents died, it was the anniversary of their death and Bruce had entered into their old room, just trying to feel some of their presence. He had spotted the bracelet amongst his father’s watch collection and decided to wear it on his own wrist. 

“What are the little gems for?” Conner asked curiously. He had also been warned by the others that bringing up Bruce’s parents wasn’t a good idea. It was a touchy subject so they tried to stay away from it. But Conner wanted to understand Bruce better. 

Bruce turned the bracelet in his hand to show Conner a specific charm. It was a round purple charm, “My father added the Amethyst, it’s my birthstone. It was something to remind him of me.” 

Thomas had gotten the bracelet made the very week his son was born. He wore it proudly on his left wrist, the same wrist that bore his soulmate mark. So on his wrist he wore a mark for his wife, and carried a gem for his son, a constant reminder of his family that he could look at throughout his day. 

Bruce smiled at the memory of when his father had first shown him the bracelet as he closed it around his own left wrist. “After my parents passed ... .it became mine, a way I could feel close to my father. And I added the other pendants to remind me of the boys.” 

He moved onto the next charm next to the Amethyst. It was a blue one, “An Aquamarine for Dick...” the next charm was a bright green, “…A Peridot for Jason...” The one after that was a rich red, “…A Ruby for Tim...” he got to the last charm, “…And a Turquoise for Damian.” All five charms are woven together, just like them.

Conner felt a tug on his heart strings. It was the sweetest thing he had ever heard. “That’s really nice of you.” The world was incredibly unfair, why couldn’t Bruce Wayne have been one of his fathers? He bet Lex didn’t even know when he had been born.

Bruce studied the boy’s expression. Of course he knew that Conner still felt a little like an outsider amongst them. He’d have to fix that, “Thank you, I think I might have to add a new pendant soon,” he added with a wink. 

“What?!”

“Well one for you right?” He spoke in a ‘duh’ tone. 

Conner broke a bright smile,”Really?”

Upon seeing that smile, Bruce knew what he’d have to do. He knew that keeping Conner with his family would mean having at least let Superman in on their secret identities. But to see that joy in not only Conner, but also in his other sons….that made it worth it. 

“Of course, all my sons get one. Speaking of which, do you know when your birthday is?”

Conner deflated a little, “I was created in March…I have no idea when though.” He knew it was March because the scientists always kept a calendar down in the lab. But what day was his birthday? The day he was conceived in a glass jar? The day he first woke up? 

Bruce didn’t seem to care too much about the details, “So another Aquamarine. And  you can pick any day in March and it can be your birthday….except the 20th, that’s Dick’s birthday.” So that’s the second thing that couldn’t be repeated in the family, first it was names and now birthdays. 

Conner felt a little teary eyed, “Thank you.” And he hugged Bruce just like he had done at least a dozen times in the past week. Was it maybe because he was starved for human contact and comfort? Maybe. Did he care though? Absolutely not, especially when Bruce would always return the hugs. 

Bruce ended the hug and ruffled Conner’s hair slightly, “Now let’s head downstairs, the others must be waiting.” 

—————————————————

As Bruce and Conner were heading to the first floor of the manor, Conner heard the sound of a siren blaring with the use of his super hearing. “What’s going on?” Loud sirens were never a good thing. 

They then saw Jason and Dick running towards the grand clock that served as a secret entrance to the batcave. “It’s a scary crow! Spotted in a warehouse with the Joker!” Dick shouted in a hurry. 

Conner’s eyebrows shot up, “What!” He had heard about the Joker in past conversation, he didn’t get the full picture but he understood that Jason really wanted to kill the guy. He had no idea who Scarecrow was, he’d have to ask Tim about it later. 

“We need to go there and see what’s going on,” Jason added as he opened the entrance to the cave.  

“Why are they working together?” Conner asked Bruce. 

Tim popped up out of nowhere and appeared behind Conner, giving him a jump-scare. “Well my last investigations led to the discovery that they’re working on a new fear toxin.” Sure, as if Conner was magically supposed to know what a fear toxin was, though just on the name he guessed that it wasn’t anything good. 

“So do we go after them?” Damian asked as he came to join the rest of the family. 

“I haven’t finished Conner’s suit,” Tim protested. And Conner felt honored that he was already being considered as part of the group to go on such missions. 

“And I have a press meeting in Metropolis in an hour,” Bruce reminded them, though he knew that wouldn’t even stop his kids from going anywhere.  

“So what do we do?” Dick asked, though his mind was already made up about going. 

Bruce pinched the bridge of his nose, “Okay listen, Dick, Jason, Damian go to the wear house and get information. Don’t get into a fight and don’t let them see you.” 

“Got it” Damian bolted to the stairs of the batcave. 

“Can I join?” Kori asked as she and Roy came out of the library. 

“Yes Kori you can go” Bruce told her, to which her entire face lit up. She was part of the family and had helped them with missions dozens of times, they had even made her a suit in the similar style to Dick’s so they could match. 

“And what do we do?” Tim asked, ‘we’ referring to himself and Conner. 

“Because Conner needs to continue training, and you need to finish his new suit.” He wouldn’t let Conner come with them on patrol until he had a new suit to conceal his identity, and they had also been working on training him in more physical combat without the use of his powers. 

“Alright, c'mon Conner” Tim started dragging his friend to the batcave so they could get to work. He had already cut out all the pieces of Conner’s suit, he just needed to see them on his body to make final adjustments before stitching it all together. 

Roy followed the pair and Kori towards the cave’s entrance, only to be stopped by a frowning Jason. “You’re staying, your arm is still hurt” his soulmate put his foot down. 

Roy knew better than to argue, “Okay fine, but you better come back without a single scratch then .” 

“I will” Jason gave him a little kiss on the cheek when everyone else was already out of sight. Because contrary to popular belief, Jason didn’t actually hate physical touch, he was actually really affectionate when he wanted to be. He just didn’t like doing it in front of others. 

Bruce saw it, but he pretended to be checking his watch so as to not embarrass his son. So he quickly walked past them as he went to get his car keys, “I have to go, call the emergency button if you need me.” 

“They got this Bruce,” Toy assured him. 

Jason rolled his eyes, “Have some faith in us would you.” 

So Bruce left for his press conference in Metropolis, leaving his beloved city in the capable hands of his children. And he jotted down a mental note in the back of his mind, he had an aquamarine stone to buy. 

—————————————————

-In Metropolis-

So Bruce got to his conference in Metropolis ten minutes before it started, and ten minutes before his PR team could yell at him for being late. He tried not to think about Dick, Damian, Kori and Jason being out on a mission right now, as right now is supposed to be about the charity and the gala. 

He let his PR team welcome the press, handing out flyers as he got ready backstage. Preparing to get into his charming billionaire persona to speak with his guests. 

“Hello everyone” Bruce said to the reporters as he got on mic. There were dozens of reporters there, some from news papers even outside of Metropolis. This was good, he was raising money for children, so spreading word around was the greatest thing he could hope for. And so the questions began.

“Mr Wayne, why did you decide to expand your charity work to Metropolis?” A news reporter that Bruce actually recognized spoke up. He’d recognized Ms. Vale from the Gotham Gazette almost anywhere. 

He had been expecting such a question, “Well it’s true that I normally only do charity work for Gotham city. However, when it comes to issues of deep concern to me, I don’t care where it is.” 

“And what issue is this charity about Mr Wayne?” Asked a different journalist.

“This charity is about children. Hundreds of children were left orphaned after the battles that took place in Metropolis in the last seven months, and I want to help do something about it.”  After the battle with Doomsday, Bruce didn’t attend Kal’s funeral, but he did notice the damage his beloved city had taken. So right from that day Bruce had spent millions of dollars in helping to get the city of Metropolis back to how it was before, and now after it got nearly destroyed yet again he was ready to repeat the process all over again.

“So this event is about encouraging adoption?” The next question came. 

Bruce smiled, “My goal is to raise funds for the orphanages and schooling of all the kids who need it. If it extends to influencing individuals to adopt, I’ll consider that an added benefit.” 

Then came a question that Bruce was not expecting to get, “Mr Wayne, is it true that you’ve adopted another child?”

The crown stood still for a moment. “What?”

“There are rumors that you’ve adopted another child…” another reporter chimed in.

Bruce’s mind froze for a moment. He wasn’t ever ashamed to talk openly about his belief in adoption or about the fact that he had adopted several kids over the years. But he hadn’t had the talk with Conner yet, he didn’t know if Conner wanted to be adopted into the family. Plus there was still the issue of Clark finding out where Conner was, and who he was living with. 

So Bruce gave the best answer he could, “I believe that is a private matter, I do my best to maintain my children’s privacy. Next question please?” His facial expression didn’t change, but he hoped everyone got the message. 

So the conference continued, with more questions for Bruce about his good deeds in Metropolis and plans for the charity going forward. But one thing Bruce didn’t notice was one Lois Lane sitting amidst the crowd of reporters, without her great partner in reporting Clark Kent. 

—————————————————

After the press meeting with Bruce Wayne ended, Lois Lane went back to the Daily Planet to find her friend Clark sulking in his desk. He had gotten his job back after his miraculous return after six months of being reported missing after the battle with Doomsday. Now, he had been at his desk for two hours already, pouring himself into work so as to not think about his problems.

Lois walked over to his desk, “Hey Smallville, you missed the conference.” 

But Clark was in his own little world. Ever since Superboy went missing he hadn’t stopped looking. Every night he’d fly around different cities looking for the boy, and in the daytime whenever he was on break, he’d look through social media and other news sites for any report of a sighting of Superboy. “It’s been a week Lois and still nothing” he grunted in frustration. 

“Are you still looking for him?” She asked even though she knew what his answer would be.

Clark wanted to bang his head on his work desk, “Yes, every night.” And nothing, he hadn’t found anything. No one in the league had spotted him anywhere around the globe; and no one on the internet had seen him either. 

Lois sympathized with him, she had no kids but she empathized with him wanting answers. “Didn’t you say Batman was gonna help you?” 

Clark sighed, “Well sort of. He told me that it was best to wait a few days first and see if he came back on his own. That going on a manhunt after him would just scare him more.” 

Lois hummed, “Well I don’t necessarily disagree with his logic.” It made sense, Superboy was a child who had run away in a moment of fear, sending an army after him would only scare him more. “And it’s been a week right?” 

“Yes, a whole week. I just want to know that he’s okay at this point” the guilt was eating him alive. He had been so scared the first time he went out on mission on his own, and he was already an adult by then. He couldn’t imagine doing it as a teenager. 

“Well no one in Metropolis has seen him, and I’m pretty sure if anyone saw him it would immediately be put online.” Well that didn't help, Clark already knew that. 

“So you think he’s in hiding?” It was the only logical conclusion. Because how could he be living by himself? He didn’t have an id, a job, he didn’t even attend school, how could he survive in any city on his own. 

“Well try looking at his perspective, he thinks you want to send him to a lab right, and he doesn’t want to go. So what does he do…..” 

“He hides,” Clark finished for her.

Lois snapped her fingers, “Bingo.” 

“Okay so he’s hiding and Batman, the best tracker out there doesn’t want to help me” he sulked. He was baffled that his friend didn’t want to help him, was he just being petty because it was Clark’s own fault that the boy was missing? Because that would be cruel.

“Why do you want his help so badly?” Lois asked in a stern voice. He had a. The entire league of super heroes was just a call away, yet he wanted the only one who didn’t want to help.

“Well he’s good at locating people…”

“Cmon Smallville, I know there’s more in there. You can fly and see things from miles away, you’re not exactly helpless in a search” she shot back.

Clark sighed in defeat, he never won against Lois, “Fine….there is another reason.”

She smiled in victory, no one could keep anything from her, “Now you’re talking.”

There was a logical reason, “If Superboy really overheard our conversation then he might have heard my argument with Batman.” 

She raised an eyebrow, “Which was?” He hadn’t shared all the details of what went down that day, mostly because of his own embarrassment.

“B didn’t think I should send him away, said I was being stupid. That Superboy was my kid and that I should take him to live with me…”

“So you think that Superboy overheard that…”

“If Batman finds him, he’ll trust him. Because he knows Batman is on his side and also thinks I was in the wrong.” There he said it. He knew Superboy was mad at him and probably at every Justice League member who didn’t say anything in his defense. But Batman had, he’d been the only member to stand up for Superboy, had even left the meeting when Kal had ignored him. If the boy was gonna let any member of the league close to him it would be Batman. 

Lois bummed, “Yeah I see your point. Did you tell Batman that?”

Clark felt his face flush, “Not really. He already told me I told you so, plus he thinks I should let Superboy come to me” he could almost picture the shit eating grin on the bat’s face when Clark told him about Superboy running away. “But I’m freaking out!” His voice grew louder, “This isn’t about me being wrong anymore, it’s about the fact that he’s a child and he could be in danger somewhere and it’s all my fault.” 

“Then go tell him that” Lois encouraged.

“He doesn’t like it when I visit Gotham unannounced.” 

Lois crossed her arms, “Gosh that guy has issues. Wait, he knows your Clark Kent right?”

“Uhh yes, why?” He didn’t like where this was going.

“Oh because I have the perfect opportunity for you to go to Gotham. Here….” She pulled out a flyer from her bag. 

“What is this?” Clark eyed the paper she placed on his desk. It was a flyer that was given to her by Bruce Wayne’s PR team at the press meet.

“Bruce Wayne is hosting a gala here in two weeks. You could go to Gotham to interview him about it, a perfect opportunity to visit the city” she offered. 

Clark thought it over in his head. Though he was actually more fascinated by the event in question, “Another gala, what’s this one for anyway?”

“He’s expanding one of his charities over to Metropolis.”

That got Clark’s attention real quick, “What? Seriously? I thought his whole thing was about improving Gotham.” 

Lois laughed, she agreed with him that it was odd. “Well this one isn’t about improving cities. It’s his charity to help orphans. You know he has a thing for adopting kids.” 

“Well I can’t be mad at him for that. I’m adopted too, so I support it” he had seen Bruce Wayne at several events in the past. Sure, the man was an idiot who drank too much champagne, but Clark had a deep respect for a single man who took in four kids. 

“And rumor has it he adopted another one” Lois smirked. She had seen the hesitation in Bruce Wayne’s eyes when the reporters had asked him about his children, she knew there was something behind those eyes, something big.

Clark tilted his head, “Really?” Well it wasn’t that shocking, the man had enough money to care for probably dozens of kids.

“Yeah, some paparazzi took photos of his kids with a new one that no one’s seen before. It would be his fifth kid.” 

Clark rolled his eyes, “He’s a billionaire, he can afford it.” That made Clark a bit nervous, because someone like Bruce Wayne could afford to care for lots of kids, but how would he take care of himself and Superboy once the boy was found? He wasn’t sure if his reporters salary would be enough for both of them? Heck his apartment didn’t even have a spare bedroom. 

Lois giggled politely, “Yeah but can you imagine? Some say he still hasn’t found his soulmate. Can you imagine your soulmate having five kids before meeting you.” 

Clark stiffed in his chair. He had never thought of that. He himself was having a hard time coming to terms with having one kid with Luthor, how would he feel if he suddenly had five? But it’s not like Wayne’s soulmate would ever reject him, he’s a billionaire! “Firstly, I respect adoption. Second, I don’t care about rich people gossiping. I kinda have bigger issues to deal with.” 

Lois rolled her eyes, “Suit yourself, I tend to like some gossip. So you're going to Gotham?” 

“I’ll think about it….” He grabbed onto the flyer on his desk. The charity gala was in three weeks, “ Hopefully Superboy shows up by then” he prayed to himself. 

Chapter Text

Dick, Jason, Kori, and Damian were out spying on Scarecrow and Joker near the Gotham docks, leaving Roy, Tim, and Conner alone in the batcave. Tim and Conner were near the design table where everyone designed costumes and gadgets. Tim was checking the measurements of Conner’s new suit, while Conner 

Alfred had come down to the cave with a tray of snacks for the boys while they waited for the others to return. He then sat in front of the bat computer to monitor the vigilantes out on patrol. 

“I’m borrrreddd” Roy kicked his legs in the air off the black couch where he was seated.

“We know” Tim responded, it was already the fourth time Roy had told them he was bored. 

Alfred moved his eyes away from the monitors, “Would you like to help me monitor the other master Roy?”

Roy hummed, we’ll have nothing better to do anyways. “Sure Alfred” he got up from the couch and went to stand next to Alfred. He looked at the dozen monitors all showcasing different information, some had data, some had life footage, and some just had charts. “Uhh what exactly am I looking at?” He asked the butler. 

Alfred leaned back in his chair. He pointed to the left monitor, “This is where we monitor their heart rates” . It was currently showing the heart rates for Nightwing, Robin, Star Fire, and Red Hood. Because of course Bruce had made sure to include technology to monitor both Kori and Roy on the suits that he had helped make for them. And so Alfred continued to explain each monitor to Roy. 

Meanwhile, Tim had just finished helping Conner onto his new superhero suit. It was similar to the suit that Lex had made for him, but obviously it had its improvements. He wore a full body suit that had red pants and turned into a dark blue that faded into black at the cutoff at Conner’s torso. He also sported a new set of black high boots, and matching knee caps because Tim insisted on them. 

And Conner had insisted on adding a leather jacket to the look, Tim hadn’t been a fan but Jason had been fully supportive. So Tim caved and added a black leather jacket with some spikes that Conner really wanted, he also gave Conner a yellow belt where he could store any gadgets he could want. And the final touch Conner added was a pair of red leather gloves to match his pants. 

“Okay so how do you like the suit?” Tim asked as Conner finished adjusting the collar of his jacket. 

Conner gave him a huge grin, “I love it!” This suit was perfect, he had designed it with Tim and had actually been able to choose what they added to it. And this time, he didn’t wear any Superman logo on his chest. Instead Tim had put his own Red Robin design on the back of Conner’s jacket, insisting that it was so anyone who saw him would know that he is on the vigilante’s side and was part of the bat family. 

Tim smiled too as he watched Conner go look at himself in the mirror of their changing room. “Good, I designed it just for you.” He then looked at the design desk and picked up his maturing tape, “Now hold still I need to measure your mask.” He measured the dimensions of Conner’s face so he could cut his mask to be a perfect fit. 

After getting the measurements, both boys walked back to the design table. Tim was inputting the measurements into his laser cutting machine. While Conner picked up a pencil and started doodling on a blank sheet of paper. 

At first, Conner just drew some smiley faces on the paper but then he had an idea. He couldn’t get the image of Bruce’s bracelet off his mind, the detailing and beautiful meaning behind it just wouldn’t leave his thoughts. He only wished that his parents cared that much about him to the point of carrying something around with them just to remind them of their son. 

So he started drawing the same W as the charm on Bruce’s bracelet. After that, he played around for a bit and ended up drawing a wreath like the ones from the cover of a Greek mythology book he had read in the library, and on the wreath he drew five circles for the gemstone pendants on the bracelet. 

“What are you drawing?” Conner had been so turned off while drawing that he didn’t hear the beeping of the cutting machine, indicating that it had finished cutting. 

“O-oh it’s nothing” he tried covering the paper, but Tim was faster.

“Hey that’s the W from Bruce’s bracelet!” Tim would recognize that styled W anywhere. “He’s shown it to you?”

“Sort of? He lost it and I found it for him.”

Tim’s eyes narrowed slightly, “Huh, he’s usually not the type to lose stuff.” But he brushed it off, “ Did you see the Ruby? That’s my stone since I was born in July.” 

“I was born in March.”

Tim perked up, “Same as Dick, which day?” 

Conner sighed, “I have no idea…”

Tim didn’t need further words to put the pieces together, truly a great detective. “That’s alright, you can just pick a day. Just don’t pick Dick’s birthday.” That made Conner laugh, it was almost word for word the same thing Bruce had said to him. Tim raised an eyebrow, “What’s so funny?” 

“Bruce said the same thing to me earlier.” 

“Well great minds think alike afterall.” 

Conner laughed again, “I guess.” 

Tim opened the cutting machine to take out the finished mask, “And don’t feel bad, your not the only one who doesn’t know”

Conner tilted his head, “What do you mean?” 

Tim shrugged, “Well we don’t know when Damian was born. Bruce kinda just…estimated based on the date that he slept with Talia.” 

Conner grimaced, “I didn’t need to know that.” 

“He picked a random day and so can you!” And with that, Tim brought the mask over to Conner’s face so he could check that the eye holes and nose dent on the mask matched. 

Conner stood quietly as Tim worked, but he wanted to ask his friend something. “Hey Tim?” The way Tim hummed told him he could keep going, “How did you deal with it when you first got here?” 

Tim’s hands stopped where they were, “Like…being part of the family?”

Conner lowered his gaze, “Yeah.” 

“Well he adopted me after my parents died” Tim stated openly.

“Oh, I’m sorry…” 

Tim dismissed him, “It’s okay, you know it’s the same for Dick.” 

“Do you miss them?” Conner felt a little bad asking such personal things, but he wanted to know. He would constantly think about both Superman and Lex Luthor, he even had nightmares about being thrown back into a lab. He needed advice on how the others dealt with their pasts. 

Tim closed his eyes and took a deep breath, “Sometimes…..I visit their graves sometimes, Dick does too. Talking to them helps give some…..closure.” 

Conner blinked at him, “Closure?” 

Tim gave a sad smile, “Yeah like, finality. Like I’m saying goodbye to them, like they were an important part of my life but now I have other people looking out for me.” 

“Closure…” the word felt foreign to him, “I don’t think I can ever get that with my parents.” 

“Well Luthor is just in prison, if you ever wanna talk to him you can just pay him a visit…” 

“I-I…I’ve thought about it” Conner said absentmindedly. He hadn’t meant to share that with anyone. 

Tim’s blue eyes were blown wide, “You have?”

Conner knew that Tim wouldn’t let him out of his one. “I wanted to ask him about how he made me, about all the stuff I don’t know. But I don’t want to be alone with him again.”

Tim placed the mask down on the design table and put his now free hands on Conner’s shoulders. “Listen, if you ever wanna go to Belle Reve, I can go with you.” 

“You’d do that?”

“Of course I would.” 

“Thanks Tim” Conner hugged his best friend. 

“Anytime…” he picked up the mask again, “…Now let’s try on your mask.” He placed the mask over Conner’s face and then stood back, “How does it feel?” 

Conner looked around the room, there what felt like a little mesh fabric over his eyes but he was surprised at how clear his vision was. “Feels a little weird. You know it'd be hard to see through this stuff.” 

“Nah it actually gives you pretty clear vision.” 

“So does this mean I get to go on patrol then?” He really wanted to go out and fight crime again. He had found himself missing it over that past week. 

“You’ll need to be approved by Bruce first,” Tim reminded him. 

Conner sighed, “I know.” 

They stared at each other, but the moment was cut off by a loud siren. It wasn’t the same siren as the one from earlier, this one sounded like an actual emergency alarm. 

“What’s that?” Conner asked.

“The emergency button, who pressed the emergency button!” Alfred cried out as he stared at the red pop up message on the monitor, signaling that one of the vigilantes out on patrol had pressed their emergency button. 

—————————————————

-A little while ago……-

Kori, Dick, Jason, and Damian had just arrived at the warehouse where the footage of Joker and Scarecrow had been sent from. Dick and Jason stopped their bikes a couple dozen feet away so as to not give away their presence, they weren’t here to fight just to gather intel.  

So they got off and started heading to the warehouse on foot.
Like so many places in Gotham it didn’t smell all that great, but here the smell of chemicals was really strong. 

“What’s the plan of attack?” Damian asked as they got close enough to see some of Joker and Scarecrow’s goons carrying several heavy boxes out of the warehouse. 

“There is no plan of attack, we’re here to get information” Dick reminded him. Damian was like that, he’d jumped straight  into action without thinking several times before, which just compromised their missions.

Damian pulled his sword out of his hostel, “My sword can make them talk.”

Jason pushed his sword back, “Look I have dibs on beating the shit out of Joker, but Dick’s right. Follow the plan.” 

“Fine,” Damian growled, but not too loudly.

Dick clasped his hands together, “Okay, Kori and I will go left. You guys go right, stay out of sight.” 

Jason rolled his eyes, “We know.” 

“Follow me” Damian smirked as he started heading to the right side of the building. 

“Just make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid” Dick wished Jason good luck. 

The Red Hood sighed under his helmet, “I’ll try.” And headed after Robin.

Nightwing then turned over to Starfire, he picked up one of her hands on his own, “Shall we my lady?” 

Starfire giggled at her soulmate, “We shall.” Then he kissed her hand and they were off to investigate.

As they walked closer to the building, the smell of chemicals got stronger. Starfire covered her nose, “I don’t think I’ll ever be able to get used to the smell of Gotham.” 

Nightwing laughed, he'd gone through the same thing when he was younger, “You get used to it, I’ll sure it won’t be that bad when we live here….” 

“What do you mean?” Star cut him off, making Nightwing curse in his mind. 

“I mean…in the future right. Don’t you wanna live together at some point” he quickly corrected himself. The reason he had said that was because Dick was actually planning on proposing, he wanted to ask Bruce to help him pick out an engagement ring after his upcoming charity gala. It would be perfect! 

“You mean if we get married one day, you want to live in Gotham?” Star kept asking. She’d be lying if she said that she had never thought about marrying Dick…..even before they found out they were soulmates. 

Nightwing nodded, “I-I do, it’s where my parents are buried, it’s where I grew up, where my brothers all live…” It's also where Bruce lived, and Dick couldn’t imagine abandoning his father. “You don’t want to?” 

“Well I plan to continue training new titans at the tower” of course Dick would never make her give that up, he had a deep love for the hero group he helped create and he’d also love to be able to help train the future generations of titans. 

“Of course.” 

Star placed a hand on her chin, “But I suppose we will need to live somewhere else if we got married.” 

That made Nightwing’s heart skip a beat. He had almost everything planned. He knew that Jason, Damian, and Tim would be his groomsmen, Kori would take their friends to help her go dress shopping, they could get married at Wayne Manor so that all their friends could come without having to hide behind civilian identities, and he’d ask his father to walk him down the aisle. “Plus I’m sure B would…..” 

“Quiet!” Starfire put her hand over his mouth. “Nigthwing, look…” there was a crack in wall of the warehouse, just big enough for both of them to see through it. Inside, Joke and Scarecrow stood in front of an opened container box that held what looked like a bunch of miniature explosives. 

“So this is all we have?” Scarecrow asked as he looked over the explosives. They have twenty full boxes of bombs filled with his newest toxin. 

Joker crossed his arms, “What you wanted more you pile of haystacks! Do you know how hard it is to get the exact drug mixture you wanted!” 

Scarecrow ignored the tantrum, “I just hope that it’s enough for what we have planned.” 

Joke leaned against the box and looked at the fresh bombs, “And you’re sure this thing actually works? I don’t want to get the bat on my ass for nothing.” 

Scarecrow raised an eyebrow under his mask, “Broke out of Arkham recently?” They broke out of the place so often it was practically comical to be sent there at this point.

Joke smiled widely, “Yes I broke up two weeks ago, but I’m sure Batsy wants to send me back.” 

“Don’t worry, it will work.” 

“Yeah it's better! Or I’ll let him dump you into Arkham.” 

“What could that be?” Starfire whispered to her partner.

“A fear toxin made with some new drug?” Nightwing couldn’t even imagine what kind of drug those two had used to make a new toxin, or worse what that toxin did. “Whatever it is, it can't be good.” 

“So who are we testing this baby on?” Joker asked as he then picked up one of the explosives out of the box. 

“I’m sure there will be volunteers,” Scarecrow replied. He was referencing his own henchman, he was sure one of them would be ‘thrilled’ to volunteer. But suddenly, they heard an explosion coming from the other side of the warehouse, “What was that

“Of course” Nightwing didn’t need to see what was happening to know that it was Red Hood and Robin causing the commotion.

Starfire giggled again, “I was starting to wonder when that
would happen.” 

The next thing they knew, the wall of the warehouse got blown up. Revealing a Robin with his sword out ready to attack several of Joker and Scarecrow’s men, “We can do this the easy way or the hard way, now tell me what you’re carrying” he readied his sword. 

While that was happening, Red Hood was hiding behind a pillar as a group of goons was shooting at him. “Robin get down, are you an idiot” he readied his own gun. 

“I’m efficient, Red Hood” Robin deflected several bullets. 

“The bats! But Batman doesn’t come out during the day” Joker shouted. 

Nightwing took that as his sign to join the chaos. He kicked down part of the wall he and Star were spying from. It was made of wood and it was really old, the wall came down fairly easily.  “That’s because he isn’t here right now” he got his escrima sticks. 

“It’s time to end this little plan of yours” Starfire joined him. 

“Who are you?” Joker pointed at Starfire. 

Nightwing narrowed his eyes, “Seriously, she’s kicked your ass like four times already.” 

“Starfire,” she said. 

“Aww the oldest bat’s little girlfriend” Joker then pulled out his own pistol from the pocket of his purple suit. The heroes weren’t sure if it was an actual weapon or a clown prop. 

Dick advanced first, “Yup, now let’s dance clown!” And Star headed toward scarecrow.

“Didn’t Batsy teach you not to break doors?” Joker blocked a punch from Nightwing. 

“Didn’t he already tell you not to drug people? What’s your goal here anyway?” Nightwing then knocked the pistol off his hand. 

“As if I’d tell you” Joker stepped on the hero's foot. 

Meanwhile, Starfire was fighting against Scarecrow, trying to keep him away from the box of explosive toxin bombs. She dodged his attacks but was nearly hit by a bullet coming from the other side of the warehouse. “Watch where you shoot!” 

“Sorry Star” Red Hood apologized as he knocked out another one of the goons. He had lost sight of Damian for a second, but quickly found him inspecting one of the boxes of explosives. “Robin, what are you doing?” 

“These are bombs!” He picked up one of the bombs in his hand and carefully put it in one of the pockets of his suit, “I’m taking one with us.” 

“You’re crazy?” But he wasn’t crazy, sure carrying an unknown explosive on your body was dangerous. But he knew that Tim and Bruce would want to run tests on it. 

Scarecrow then managed to knock Starfire to the ground and Nightwing momentarily left Joker to help his girlfriend up. He then saw the two bats on the other side of the warehouse and saw his opportunity. “Guess we found a test subject after all” he picked up one of the bombs, he activated it, and threw it in Robin’s direction!

Nightwing only saw when it was too late, “No…Robin!” 

The bomb flew across the air…and hit Damian right in the back. “Ahhhhhh” the toxin emptied out and hit Robin’s nostrils. 

“ROBIN!” Nightwing and Red Hood shouted in unison, panicked for their little brother. 

And just like that…..Damian Wayne was out like a light.

—————————————————

-Back in Metropolis-

Clark walked through the streets of Metropolis simply watching the cars pass by. Lois had pretty much forced him to go take and walk and get a bite somewhere after he hadn’t gotten up from his desk in over four hours. He had been throwing himself into work to try and not think about the Superboy situation so much. After all there wasn’t much he could do besides wait for the boy to come back. 

He had gotten a croissant and a coffee from a cafe on the street across from the Daily Planet, but Lois would be mad if he came back after only ten minutes so he kept walking around. He passed by buildings he hadn’t seen since before his ‘death’ but also some that were new, clearly built on top of old ones that got destroyed during the battle. 

There was an entire street that was completely brand new. There was a school that had clearly just received a fresh coat of paint and a new clean roof, and a little street market whose windows still had price stickers on them. But there was still a lot of construction going on in this street, it was even closed off for cars due to the construction. 

There was a large group of workers with hardhats standing in front of the largest building on this street, it looked almost like a little motel but also very endearing. The building was blue with a swing set right in its front yard. Clark’s curiosity peaked, he was a reporter after all, he wanted to know what this new building in the city was. Funny thing, he had actually passed through this street the week prior when he flew by while on his search for Superboy, but he was too distracted by the circumstances to notice the construction. 

So Clark walked a little closer to the group of construction workers. He noticed that a couple of them were carrying a sign that was about to be hung on the outer wall of the bullring, while three other figures watched. 

“So the construction is almost done?” One of the figures wearing a hard hat asked, and Clark recognized that voice. A voice he had heard dozens of times…on tv, on the radio, in person….a voice that could only belong to Bruce Wayne. 

One of the other figures in a hard hat nodded, “Yes Mr Wayne, we’ll be able to inaugurate it next month.” This was Hunter Blackrock, the head of the orphanage’s construction project.

“Perfect” Bruce Wayne responded. Clark could only see the billionaire’s back side but could tell that he was pleased. 

Clark couldn’t believe it, oh how ironic life could be. He had been on the fence about interviewing Bruce Wayne about his latest charity work and now Bruce was standing just a few feet away from him, wearing a hard hat and staining his dress shoes with construction dust. But he was even more surprised when the construction workers finished putting up the front sign and he was able to read the words on it, “Metropolis Children’s Orphanage. Sponsored by Wayne Enterprises.” 

Clark went star eyed, “So he built the orphanage” he whispered in disbelief. Bruce Wayne had built an orphanage in Metropolis, but why? He knew that Bruce had built one in Gotham, which made sense, he was always preaching about how much he loved Gotham and wanted to improve his beloved city. So why would he spend so many of his resources in Metropolis? 

“And how many kids is this place gonna house?” Bruce asked Hunter. 

“I’d say around fifty kids can comfortably stay here” it was believable, the orphanage took up over half of the street block. It could easily be mistaken for a hotel. 

Bruce hummed and turned to Caroline, his secretary. “Good, and have we hired employees yet?” 

“We’ve hired half the staff and are conducting interviews for the rest” Caroline informed him. Bruce wanted every employee to have a background check done and that they would treat all the children with care and respect. 

“We need everyone hired by the end of the month” Bruce wanted everything to be on schedule. 

“Yes Mr Wayne” Caroline then wrote something down on the clipboard she was carrying in her arms. 

Clark was frozen in place. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing, it was as if the entire image he had of Bruce Wayne were completely destroyed. At every party, every event he saw the playboy billionaire everyone else saw, the one would whisper about and say it was a miracle that his company hadn’t filed for bankruptcy yet. And sure, Clark had a deep respect for Bruce for taking in so many orphans, but that didn’t mean that he didn’t see the man as a foolish rich boy like a lot of others. 

But now here that same man was. In front of a construction site, standing amidst his employees getting his expensive clothing all dirty. He wasn’t a playboy idiot, he was a man running an enterprise, a man on a schedule and a quota to fulfill. 

“So what’s next on my schedule?” Asked his assistant as the front sign had been screwed into place. 

Caroline looked over her notes, “Well we have to get back to Gotham, you have more meetings.” 

“Of course I do,” Bruce huffed but he didn’t seem annoyed at all. 

Until Bruce’s phone rang!

Bruce pulled his phone out of his pocket to check for the caller's name. It was Dick, the same Dick who had gone on a patrol mission just a few hours ago. His entire body stiffened “Excuse me for a moment…” and he quickly sneered at the phone, trying to keep his voice at a normal tone “….Dick?” 

No one on the other line answered so Bruce spoke again, “Hello?” 

But then he heard a shout from the other side, “BRUCE!!” Which made Bruce’s heartbeat skyrocket. 

A million possibilities ran through Bruce’s mind, and everyone around him could tell that something had happened. Even Clark could tell that something was deeply wrong. “Dick….Dick what happened?” His voice staggered.

“It-Its Damian, he got hit with fear toxin. We gave him the antidote and he passed out. H-he’s not waking up!” Dick’s voice was laced with panic and concern. 

“Where are you?” Bruce was already walking away from the construction site. 

Dick took in a deep breath, “We’re at home, we drove here with him half conscious and now he’s unconscious. I don’t know what to do” he sounded close to tears.

Bruce swallowed, his youngest son was unconscious and his oldest seemed to be breaking into tears. He had to keep himself calm, “Dick listen to me, get him to his bed and keep watch. I’m coming home!” Bruce turned off his phone and turned to his stunned assistant and bewildered construction workers, “Call my car, I need to get to Gotham NOW!” 

Caroline’s face contorted, “What do mean? We have a lot scheduled…” 

“My son got injured, I need to get home” Bruce was always calling his driver to come get him. He was so distracted that he didn’t even realize that he passed through Clark. 

“You’re leaving?” His assistant asked. 

Bruce gritted his teeth, “My son matters more than business!“ he then took off to the other street that wasn’t blocked for construction. His black car was already on its way to take him back to Gotham. 

Caroline threw her hands in the air, “I guess I’ll reschedule everything.” 

But Clark Kent’s eyes were glued to Bruce Wayne’s retreating figure. “Guess he is a good parent….” he whispered to himself. And I’m that moment two things happened. Clark’s respect for Bruce Wayne grew larger than before. But second, it made his momentarily forgotten guilt return. When Superboy had needed him the most Superman had ignored him, but Bruce Wayne gets one call about his son needing him and he’s rushing to get to Gotham as quickly as he can. The Prince of Gotham was a better parent than the great Superman himself. 

Chapter Text

Bruce’s car had finally arrived at Wayne Manor after the most agonizing car drive of Bruce’s life. The only thing echoing in his mind was a plea to every god in existence of, “Please let Damian be okay.” 

When he’d gotten the call, Bruce’s blood had gone entirely cold….maybe below freezing. He could only imagine Scarecrow and Joker attacking his children. He had already lost Jason to the Joker, he wasn’t ready to lose another one. No, he refused to! 

“We’ve arrived Mr Wayne” his driver announced as the car pulled up in front of the estate. 

Bruce didn’t hesitate, he swung the car door open and hopped out. “Thank you” and he rushed inside the house. He turned his key in the lock and then ran up to Damian’s room. 

He arrived at the room almost breathless from the adrenaline and anxiety. He pushed the door open, “Where is he?” And he was not prepared for the sight of the inside of the room.

Damian had been changed out of his Robin suit and into a pair of pajamas, and was sprawled on his bed. He was unconscious and his face was completely pale. Ace the hound was lying down protectively next to Damian, as if trying to protect him from further harm. And Alfred was carefully inspecting Damian’s body for injuries. 

Dick was crying in the corner, with Kori rubbing circles in his back. While Jason leaned against the adjacent wall, staring blankly at his younger brother. And Roy stood next to his soulmate. 

Dick turned his head to the door when he heard Bruce’s breathing. “You’re here” Dick rushed over to his father.

“What happened?” Bruce asked.  “It was supposed to be a stealth mission.” 

Dick swallowed dryly, “Don’t look at me, ask Jason.” Which Bruce did. 

Jason looked away from Damian, as if looking at the unconscious boy hurt his soul. “We were being stealth…but then some goons spotted us and Damian pulled out his sword and…you can fill in the rest.” 

Bruce walked further into the room so he could take a better look at his son, “What happened after?” 

“We stabbed him with the usual antidote epi pen” Dick informed him.

“But you don’t know what new components they added,” Bruce practically growled. 

“Well it was supposed to lessen the impact.” 

Bruce sat at the edge of the bed, Ace let him of course. He stared at Damian’s sleeping face, “And then….” 

“And then I flew him here…” Kori answered. “We thought it was safer than putting him on a motorcycle.” Once Damian had been knocked out, Dick, Jason, and Kori took down all the goons and quickly got out of there. Dick and Jason had driven back in their motorcycles breaking various speed limits, while Kori flew as fast as she could with Damian in her arms. 

Bruce nodded, “And you’d be right.”  

“He was conscious on the way here, but he passed out when we arrived,” she added.

Bruce didn’t reply. He turned to Alfred, who had just finished inspecting Damian’s hands for injuries. “And injuries?” He wanted to know how bad the situation was.

Alfred cleared his throat, “He doesn’t seem to have any concussions.” 

“That’s because I caught him,” Jason said. Though caught wasn’t totally accurate, he had practically thrown himself in Robin’s direction to catch the boy’s head before it hit the hard floor. 

“He had a few scratches but currently no bleeding…” Alfred continued, “But his heart beats are slow.” 

Bruce bit his lip, “Good. Where’s Tim and Conner?” 

“Damian took one of their bombs and put it in his pocket” Jason spoke again. “He thought I’d be useful to have.” 

“Guess he was right…” Roy tried to lighten the mood. 

“They’re in the cave sire. Master Tim is trying to uncover what drugs were put into the toxin” Alfred informed. 

“Thank you Alfred.” Bruce took Damian’s hand into his own, and his son’s hand was cold, really cold. By this point it had been over an hour since Damian passed out and there were any signs that his consciousness was returning. Bruce tightened his grip on Damian’s hand, he wasn’t used to this. Damian always got hurt, all of them did. 

But seeing the fiery Robin that would charge at full speed at villains three times his size with just a sword and determination…..seeing that boy look so fragile on bed was gut wrenching. “Please wake up Damian” Bruce croaked out, he was doing his best to appear calm, he had to, had to keep face for the others sake. 

“You okay dad?” Dick came closer to the bed. 

Bruce closed his eyes, “I’ve already lost one son to the Joker and his schemes….” He opened his eyes and looked back at Jason, who started back at him. “I refuse to lose another one” made Jason let out a quiet, unheard gasp. Bruce then reluctantly let go of Damian’s hand and got off the bed, he couldn’t be here right now. Seeing Damian’ state reminded him of the night he lost Jason, of the night he held his dead son in his arms. He didn’t want to be reminded of all that right now, “I’ll go check on Conner and Tim, please keep watching him.” 

So Bruce left the room, he couldn’t take the sight of Damian, his stubborn and fiery son looking so pale and vulnerable. He would help Tim find a way to wake his son up as soon as possible. But he stopped in his tracker when Jason’s voice came after him, “Bruce wait, I’m sorry.” 

Bruce turned to face his son. “What?” 

Jason looked down at the floor and bit his lower lip. “This is my fault…” it felt like he had to rip the words out of himself, since he returned it was still hard to express his emotions. He had a cold exterior, but he’d kill for the boys he had come to love as brothers….even Tim that he had once hated and called him Bruce’s replacement. “I should have stopped him. If we’d stayed quiet none of this would hav….” 

Bruce put his hands on both of Jason’s shoulders. “It’s not your fault Jason. It could never be. Don’t blame yourself for something those criminals did, like you said, he’s still alive thanks to you.” 

Jason’s lip trembled, “But…” Bruce pulled his son into a hug. He knew there was at least a seventh percent chance he’d get a punch in the stomach, but he hugged Jason all his will. And surprisingly, Jason hugged him back. 

Bruce put his face onto Jason’s shoulder. It wasn’t often that he got to hug Jason, so he cherished it whenever he did. The boy who had tried to steal his tiers, the boy who became Robin, the son he lost, the son he watched die in his arms, but also the boy who came back. “I love you Jason.” 

Jason let the tears fall, “Love you too dad.” 

 —————————————————

Tim was frantically tapping on the keys of the batcomputer. He had been running a diagnostic on the toxin drug that hit Damian. The full diagnostic of the drug’s composition would take an hour and a half, and it had already been thirty.
 

“Find anything yet?” Conner was sitting on a chair next to Tim just staring at the screens on the computer. He’d really have to ask Tim to teach him how to world the controls on the computer one day. 

Tim slammed a fist on the desk, “No, the analysis isn’t finished.” 

“I hope he’s alright” Conner patted his friend’s shoulder, encouraging him to not give up.

“Me too” Tim gave him a thankful look. He took a deep breath and went back to typing. 

The two of them were still sitting on the computer when Bruce walked into the cave through the entrance in the study. He knew Conner and Tim were together, it wasn’t surprising at all. Bruce wasn’t blind, he was the greatest detective in the world after all. Of course he had his own suspicions about Conner being Tim’s soulmate, the way the two interacted, the way Tim had clung to Conner since day one, the way they were always together. He had seen it all before.

He had known Kori and Dick were soulmates since the day Dick rushed to the Manor just to tell his dad about a girl he met and who took his first kiss. Just from the glint in Dick’s eyes as he spoke about the Tamaranian girl, Bruce knew his son had found his soulmate. And the same thing had happened when Roy had been the teammate to cry the most over Jason’s death, crying as if part of his soul had been taken. And how the poor boy almost had a heart attack when he saw Jason back from the dead for the first time. Bruce knew Jason had found his soulmate. 

He had even correctly predicted several pairings between other Titans and even his own Justice League colleagues. But this ability was also a curse, because Bruce had been able to see so many pairs find out they were soulmates, but he just couldn’t find his own, no matter how hard he looked. 

So he rushed down the stairs and saw Tim and Conner sitting at the bat computer,  “How’s the analysis report?” 

“Bruce! Damian he’s…”

“I know…” Bruce cut off Superboy, “Dick called me.” 

“Well the analysis is still gonna take a few minutes” Tim didn’t look up from the screen. 

Bruce reached the floor of the cave and walked up to the monitors, “Then we wait.” 

So they waited….and waited….

Conner started spinning around on his chair as there wasn’t much he could do. Tim continued to look up information on possible drug combinations that could have been placed in the bomb. And Bruce resorted to pacing around the cave, counting down the time in his head. 

In his pacing Bruce had ended up by the design table, where a pile of disorganized papers lay. He scanned the papers to distract himself, there were some scrapped drawings for Conner’s suit and some new batarang designs that Dick had been working on. But what really caught Bruce’s eye was the sheet where Conner had been doodling, “HisWho drew this?” He held up the paper. 

Conner spun again in the chair and looked over to Bruce. His cheeks flushed when he saw what was on the paper, “Oh…uhh I did.” 

“You got that from my bracelet?” 

Conner nodded shyly, “I did. Sorry…”

Bruce’s brows furrowed, “Why are you apologizing?” 

Conner dorm heard him, “I just couldn’t get it out of my head. I like the meaning behind it.” 

Bruce wanted to tell the boy that he didn’t have to explain himself over a simple drawing, but looking at Conner’s face he decided not to, “I’m glad you like it. Mind if I keep this?” 

“You wanna keep it?” Conner eyed his dad suspiciously. 

Bruce smiled, “I think I have the perfect use for it.” And he did, the drawing was the perfect logo for his children’s charity! It had the Wayne W, and the five circles represented the five children he’d adopted Dick, Jason, Tim, Conner, and Damian who the public believed was adopted. It perfectly encapsulates the message Bruce wanted his charity to have, its desire to help as many orphaned children as possible. 

“Sure, you can keep it,” Conner smiled, happy that Bruce liked his little sketch. So Bruce took a photo of the drawing and sent it to his head designer, then neatly folded the paper and put it in his pocket. 

“It’s done!” Tim cheered out loud when the diagnostic was finished. He hit a button on his keyboard that exported the results to be printed out on the design printer. 

The printer quickly printed out a two page report on all the components of the drug. A list of scientific names that Tim and Bruce quickly started reading though. 

“Can you even understand what that says?” Conner asked as he looked over Tim’s shoulder to read some of the names. To him they all looked like gibberish. 

“Of course I can,” Tim said with pride. 

“So what is it?” 

Tim put a hand on his chin, “From this composition ... .It's a sleep inducing drug.” 

“Sleep inducing?” 

“That’s….unusual” Bruce added. 

Conner raised an awkward hand, “Uh I’m not an expert in fighting deranged criminals, but don’t they usually just kill poeple? Why would they put them to sleep to rob them?” 

“Who says it’s to rob them?” Tim asked. 

Bruce shook his head, “They could be planning something big.” Drugging people and putting them to sleep could lead to several horrible crimes. What could Scarecrow and Joker possibly be planning?? Kidnappings? Robberies?

“Do you think they want to crash your gala?” Tim asked his father. It wouldn’t have been the first time villains broke into one of Bruce’s parties to try and rob guests or just kidnap them. 

“No, it’s not even being held on Gotham” it was extremely rare for Gotham’s psychopathic villains to attack places outside of the city.

Tim hummed, “Outside territory, you’re right dad.” 

Conner clasped his hands together, “Okay, so how do we wake up Damian?” He didn’t really care about what the villain was planning, whatever it was he knew they’d find a way to stop it. But waking up Damian was the priory at the moment. 

Tim looked back at the list of components, “Well the rest of the toxin is the exact same as the usual one. We lessened the drug effect but it still put Damian to sleep. He should wake up naturally in a few hours, maybe a day.” 

Conner’s blue eyes widened, “A whole day?” 

“Yeah” it wasn’t that bar. At least Damian would be okay.

“We’ll still have to go on patrol tonight” Bruce spoke sharply. “If the villains spread the word that one of our own is down, the crime rates will go up.” He couldn’t let that happen, and if Damian was fine then they could patrol at night and leave Robin at home with Alfred. 

Conner perked up at that, and asked Bruce the question that had been on his mind all day. “Uh Bruce? Can I ... .can I join patrol please?” He gave him the pleading puppy eyes. 

Bruce stared into Conner’s hope filled eyes, “Of course you can!” 

—————————————————

So later that night Bruce got into his Batman suit to patrol the streets of Gotham. Nightwing, Starfire, Red Robin, and Red Hood all joined him. Red Arrow also joined as Jason agreed that Roy’s shoulder was finally healed. But the most excited vigilante tonight was Conner! Who wasn’t sure what his hero name was anymore. 

Superboy had been given to him by the press and definitely wasn’t Superman. So now he’d have to find a new name to call himself. But for right now, at least his new uniform was a lot more comfortable than the one Lex had designed for him. 

So the team was standing on a rooftop looking down at the streets. “This is your first patrol?” Red Arrow asked Conner when he noticed the other’s excitement. It was pretty normal, everyone got nervous on their first missions.

Conner shook his head, “Well back in Metropolis I just went to places where I saw criminals, but I never just…walked around  looking for them.” The walking part sure was new. Bruce had made him promise to not use his powers while on patrol, at least until they told Superman about his whereabouts. So right now he was just carrying a bunch of bat themed gear on his utility belt.

“Well welcome to Gotham patrol then” Nightwing spoke enthusiastically. 

Then suddenly the bat signal appeared, shining brightly over the Gotham skyline! 

“What’s that?” Conner pointed to the sign. 

“The batsignal,” Batman said. 

“You have your own signal?”

“The GDP does” , Red Robin informed his friend. 

“Cmon let’s go see what Gordon wants” Nightwing jumped off the building they were in, and Starfire quickly dove down after him. 

“Who?” Conner asked next. 

Tim laughed as he followed Bruce on using his grabbing hook to cross over to another rooftop. Followed by Red Arrow and Red Hood, and by a very confused Conner. 

To Conner’s surprise, after a bit of rooftop hopping, they finally landed on the roof of the GDP’s main building. Where they found an older man sitting on a chair, while looking over some papers in his hand. And as they landed on the roof, they scared the poor man out of his chair. 

“Commissioner” Batman spoke as the man rearranged his papers. 

 “Could you stop scaring me like that, you’ll kill me one of these days” the commissioner glared at the bat.

“Apologies commissioner” he most certainly wasn’t sorry. 

Gordon adjusted his glasses, “Batman. I see you brought your team, good.” He looked over the group of smaller hero’s, he had quite literally watched the Robins grow and change over the years. “Hello Nightwing, Red Hood, Red Arrow, Red Robin, Starfire, and….you’re new” he referred to Conner. 

“I’m new to the team” Conner smiled proudly.

“Why did you call us here?” Batman brought focus back to the present.

“It’s Bane”

Conner leaned into Red Robin, “Who’s that?” 

Man Tim really had to teach Conner about all the villains they fought. He leaned into his friend, “Crazy criminal. Uses a bunch of drugs to make himself stronger and such.” 

“What is it with Gotham villains and drugs” seriously, where was the diversity in theatrics?

“What’s with Metropolis and being attacked by aliens?” Red Hood shot back. 

Conner gave him a side eye, “Very funny.” 

While the boys were chatting, Bataman had been discussing the mission with Gordon, ”Where is he commissioner?”

“Well he got out of police custody and ran to the outskirts of the city. We aren’t sure where he’s going. But he destroyed at least a dozen police cars and caused thousands in property damage” the commissioner provided all the information he had.

Batman hummed, “We’ll handle it commissioner.” And he took out his grabbing hook yet again. 

“Yeah the batfam’s got this!” Nightwing waved goodbye to the commissioner. 

Red Hood rolled his eyes, “We don’t call ourselves that!” 

Dick smirked, “Not officially, but check social media Batfam is our hashtag.” 

“Don’t care” 

So all the kids left the rooftop, leaving Gordon and Batman alone. Batman watched his kid’s diminishing silhouetted with pride,  and wondered if Damian had already woken up back at the manor. “Good luck commissioner” he waved goodbye to Gordon as he followed after his kids. They still had work to do tonight! 

—————————————————

-Over in Belle Reve-

Lex Luthor was not having a good night.

He had been in Belle Reve for over two weeks now, and his lawyers had told him that he should be released any day now. He had lived though two weeks of what felt like absolute torture, but at least tonight his assistant Mercy had been granted a visitation. 

The visitation Lex had beside Superman. Supeman! The whole reason Lex had ended up in Bell Reve in the first place. Though Lex had to admit, seeing Superman’s face when he came in asking about Superboy had been satisfactory. Who would have thought that the great and heroic Superman was such a terrible parent! Oh if only the public knew. 

The guards came to take Lex to the visitation room, where he’d meet with Mercy from behind a reinforced glass, like a criminal. When he arrived there, Mercy was already sitting in a chair on the other side of the glass and holding up the phone so she could speak to Lex. 

Lex took a seat on his own chair and picked up the phone on his end, “Finally you have returned. Tell me, have you all managed to not run my company to the ground?” 

Mercy restrained from rolling her eyes, “Hello to you two Lex.” 

“Have they decided when they’ll release me?” Was the first and only thing Lex wanted to know.

“You’re leaving tomorrow Lex” Mercy informed him.

Lex smirked deviously, “Perfect, I have much more to do.” He studied Mercy, she had a good business casual outfit on but she looked more nervous than usual. “Do you wish to tell me something?”

Mercy gulped, she tightened her grip on the phone, “Superman went to your penthouse?” 

Lex’s eyebrows shot up, “Excuse me?” 

“We went looking for Superboy,” Mercy quickly told him. “He came thinking that Superboy was there, and apparently the kid ran away from him.” 

That makes Lex perk up instantly. “I see. So the boy truly hates Superman….” So this summer that Lex’s genes were finally kicking in, the boy’s superior intellect had finally shown him how terrible Superman is, “... .interesting.” 

“What do you mean?” Mercy tilted her head, her years of working with Lex taught her that the look she was giving her right now meant that he was already scheming. 

Lex smirked, “I mean that perhaps the boy isn’t as much of a failure as I thought.” He truly would have a lot of work to do once he left Belle Reve. 

—————————————————

-In Metropolis-

The next morning, Clark Kent was working on a new article for the Daily Planet. It was an exciting piece about the changes the city was making as it was being reconstructed. 

Clark was halfway through the article when Lois’ voice came close to him. “Hey Smallville, look what I got for you” she dropped a newspaper on top of Clark’s desk. 

Clark was annoyed to be interrupted during his writing but indulged his friend. He looked down at the paper, from the Gotham Gazette, the first page was about Bruce Wayne’s upcoming charity gala. “Uh Bruce Wayne’s gala again?”

Lois furrowed her brows, “What no, look at the back page” she corrected her instructions.

So Clark read the back of the article. It was a picture of Batman and several other heroes putting the villain Bane in handcuffs.  So read the text that followed the image, it talked about how thankful Gotham was for having Batman but also, it said that last night a new hero had been spotted fighting alongside her Batman.

 “Batman has a new sidekick?”  Clark breathed out as he looked down at the picture that captured the new hero. He wore a  similar outfit to Superboy, but the hair and piercings of this hero didn’t match with Superboy. Plus, Batman would have told him if he’d found Superboy…..right?

Or had this been why Batman didn’t want to help Superman find Superboy? Because he was busy training a new sidekick. Was that why he hadn’t replied to any of Clark’s messages for the last few days? He had to find out, his best friend was ignoring him and he had no idea why, but he’d find out! 

Chapter Text

It was ten in the morning and Damian still hadn’t woken up. The family was getting more worried about him. But sadly, today Kori and Roy had to go back to Titan Tower because of an emergency. So Jason geared up in his Red Hood suit to drive them back. They were in the bat cave, with Roy and Kori in their super suits too. All gathered in the batcave for the three to leave. 

“Are you sure you have to leave?” Jason asked as he opened the trunk of the batcar.

“We’ve already overstayed our welcome,”  Red Arrow said, handing Jason his suitcase.

Dick scoffed, “Nonsense, you two are allowed to stay here for as long as you want.” 

Kori smiled fondly, “The Tower needs us.” 

“How did they even manage to flood the kitchen?” Jason then picked up Kori’s suitcase.

Kori sighed, “Well Garfield and Jamie were apparently cooking and set it on fire first…” she had gotten the call from Raven earlier that morning. First the kitchen caught fire and then got flooded as the fire was behind put out.

Dick laughed out loud, “I’m surprised the place is still standing without us.” And Kori kissed his cheek. Dick started into her green eyes, “I’ll miss you. I’d come along but….we gotta wait for Damian to wake up.” 

Jason shut the trunk of the car, “All ready to go!” 

“Thanks Jay!” Roy happily skipped to the car and opened the door to get in. 

“Don’t call me that” Jason held the door open. Jay was a nickname only a select few people were allowed to use, but he didn’t like it being said so loud.

Roy rolled his eyes, “Uhh let me see….no” he stuck out his tongue and jumped into the passenger seat. And Jason followed by getting into the driver's seat. 

Dick and Kori laughed at the cute interaction. “Text me when you get there,” Dick asked his soulmate. He hated being away from Kori for so long, one of the reasons he was excited to propose to her. 

Kori put a hand on his cheek, “I will.” 

“And call if you need me to come and help with anything.” 

Kori caressed his cheek, “I know Dick.”

“I’ll miss you.”

“I’ll miss you two” and they shared a goodbye kiss. 

The kiss was interrupted by Red Hood hitting the car’s honk, “Okay love birds, relax New York isn’t that far from here.” 

Dick glared at him for ruining their moment, “It’s too far and you know it.” He wanted to sound intimidating, it’s not like Jason didn’t miss Roy anytime they were away from each other too. 

“She can fly,” Red Hood protested. 

“But we can't,” Roy reminded him. “Now let’s get moving before traffic gets too bad.” 

Dick let Kori’s hand leave his face, “Okay okay, love you.”

“Love you too” she kissed him again before getting into the car with the Red duo. And Dick stood by as Jason turned on the car and left the bat cave. 

—————————————————

After a few minutes of moping, Dick headed back to the manor to go look for Bruce. While he was upset that Kori had to leave, now was the perfect time to discuss his proposal plan. 

He went to the kitchen first, knowing that’s where Alfred would be. “Hey Alfred?” He found the butler heating up a tea kettle on the stove. 

Alfred looked up from his task, “Yes Master Dick?” 

“You know where Bruce is?” Dick asked him. 

“He’s in his study, working on some more preparations for the gala…” of course he was. When wasn’t Bruce working? Both as Bruce and Batman!

“Thanks Alfred” Dick thanked him.

“Of course. Now I’m off to check on Master Damian” Alfred had been going into Damian’s room every hour to check for signs of consciousness. So far the boy still hadn’t worked up, but the color and warmth had returned to his both.

So Dick headed upstairs to Bruce’s office. He was sweating. Why was he so nervous, he was just asking Bruce to help him plan a proposal. He couldn’t even imagine how nervous he’d be when he was actually proposing, and he didn’t even want to think about the wedding day. He tried not to think about that, he’d take it one step at a time, so he knocked on the office door.

“Come in” came Bruce’s voice from inside. 

Dick swallowed heavily and pushed the door open, “Hey Bruce.”  

Bruce looked up from his laptop to give his son his full attention, “Oh Dick, do you need anything?” He had been finalizing the arrangements for the gala, after he sent his design team the logo for the charity they now had to add it to the decorations and charity forms. 

Dick walked into the room and right in front of Bruce’s desk. He scratched the back of his neck nervously, and gods even his neck was sweaty. “Actually….yes, I need to ask you something.” 

Bruce closed his laptop, “Have a seat. What do you need?” 

Dick took a seat in one of the chairs in front of Bruce, “Your gala ... .It's on Friday right?” 

Bruce nodded, “Yes, it’s in less than two weeks now.” 

Dick inhaled sharply, “Okay so. I was thinking, would you…..would you go engagement ring shopping with me that weekend?” He gave Bruce a hopeful look.

Bruce’s eyes widened as he processed his son’s words, “You….want to propose to Kori?” 

“I do, I think…I’m ready” he was smiling. 

Bruce didn’t say a word as he got up from his chair and started walking around his desk. That made Dick sorry a little,  “Bruce, are you okay?”

Bruce stood in front of Dick and bent his knees so they were at eye level, and so he could pull his son in a hug. “I’m fine, just…wondering where the time went. The nine year old boy I brought home is getting married.” 

Dick hugged his dad back, “Well time passed.” 

Bruce let go of Dick and stared into his eyes, “I’d be honored to take you wedding ring shopping.” 

Dick smiled thankfully, “Thanks dad.” 

“Do you know what you want the wedding to be like?”

Dick nodded, he’d spent countless hours thinking of what his wedding to Kori would be like. “Well I want it to be in our backyard if that’s okay.”  

“Of course, whatever you and Kori want” Bruce would be more than happy to arrange their wedding in the manor’s gardens. And he already knew that Alfred would insist on baking their cake.

“Well I want somewhere private where all our friends can come and not have to hide who they are” especially Kori. He hated it whenever she had to try and make herself look more human to hide her identity, he wouldn’t let her do that on their wedding day.

“And where do you plan to live?” Bruce wanted to know. He knew Kori loved living at Titan Tower and wanted to train the future Titans, but he really wanted to have his children close by. Maybe it was a bit selfish, but he just wanted to keep his family close.

“I want to stay in Gotham..” that made Bruce happy. “I think we’ll look for an apartment in the city.” 

Bruce raised an eyebrow, “Don’t you think raising half Tamaranian children in a building full of civilians isn’t a good idea?” 

Dick entire face flushed, “I think you’re thinking a bit too far ahead.” He had no plans to have kids at the moment. 

Bruce smirked at his son’s embarrassment, “I’m just saying, I own all the land surrounding the manor. We could build you both your very own house.” 

“With our own bat cave?” 

“No, but perhaps a teleporter to Titan Tower?”

“Oh Kori would love that!” Dick bounced on his heel. 

“I know.” With that, Bruce started heading to the door of his office, “Come with me please” he gestured for Dick to get up. 

“Where are we going?” Dick got up and followed after Bruce. The billionaire didn’t say anything as he led Dick through the hall. They passed through Bruce’s room and got to the last door on the corridor. A door that Dick had seen countless times, but never opened. 

“Your parents’ room?” Dick was floored. He’d lived at the manor for over a decade and this was the first time Bruce took him here.

Bruce produced a key from god knows where and unlocked the door to the room. “Come Dick” and he walked inside. 

Dick peaked inside the room, it looked absolutely pristine. The wall paper and carpeted floor was clearly original. The large master bed was made with the pillows perfectly puffed. But it looked lived in, like two people had been here this morning and were out for the day. Dick betted that Bruce hadn’t touched a single thing after his parents’ death, just kept it clean but was sure to not move anything from its place. 

Dick watched as Bruce went into the huge master closet, on the side filled with women’s clothing. He came back in a moment carrying a big black box that he then placed on top of the bed. 

“What is this?” Dick asked as he finally stepped into the room. He felt like an intruder. He’d never met Bruce’s parents, he had no right to enter this space. 

Bruce looked at the box with both fondness and sadness. “This was my mother’s jewelry box,” he said while looking at the box. “I want you to pick something and give it to Kori as a gift, a welcome gift into the family…officially.” Because she already was part of the family. 

Dick was floored! What did Bruce just say? “Bruce I…..I can’t take something from here.” 

“Why not?” Bruce finally looked back up. 

“It’s your mom’s stuff, I can’t take it.” 

Bruce caressed the box, “It was all left to me when my parents died. And everything that’s mine is also my sons’.” 

Dick’s mouth felt dry, “But I’m not….” 

Bruce didn’t let him finish, “Yes you are. Dick you are my son and if they were alive my parents would have loved you like their grandson.” That made Dick tear up a little, he’d heard so many stories about Bruce’s parents…mostly from Alfred. But he’d never imagined what they’d think of him. 

Bruce smiled at his son, “Please Dick.” 

So Dick gave in. He walked to the box and took the box from Bruce. He carefully opened it, both Alfred and Bruce would probably kill him if he damaged it. Inside sat all kinds of jewelry, sparkling brightly in the light. “You expect Jason to give one of these to Roy?” 

Bruce laughed, “No, but my father had a watch collection. I’m sure Roy would love one.” 

Dick felt a bit insulted that he hadn’t ever been offered a watch from Bruce’s father but kept his mouth shut. He inspected a few of the jewelry pieces. He looked at earrings, necklaces, bracelets, each one looking more expensive than the previous one. But what caught his eyes the most was one necklace with a tear shaper amethyst stone. He carefully held it up, “I’ll take this one, it has an amethyst. Kori loves anything purple.” 

“That’s a great choice,” Bruce agreed. He remembered the last time his mother wore that necklace, it had been his seventh birthday party and his mother looked so happy. He could imagine Kori being just as happy as she wore it. Dick carefully put the necklace into his pocket and shut the box. He was excited to give it to Kori, he could picture himself giving it to her once she accepted to marry him.

But a little part of his brain felt a pang of sadness too. Getting married meant that he’d move out for good. “Bruce, can I ask you something?” 

“Of course….”

“Were your parents soulmates?”

Bruce was a bit thrown off by the question. “Yes, they were.”  

Dick  looked at Bruce’s wrist, that still wearing his father’s bracelet. “Do you ever think about yours?” 

Bruce placed his free hand over the bracelet once he caught Dick staring, “Why do you ask.” 

Dick looked into his father’s eyes, “Dad I….I don’t want you to be alone.” Dick was so excited to get married, he imagined himself standing at the aisle waiting for Kori. He found it hard to believe that Bruce had never seen himself in such a position. 

“I’m moving out when I get married. Jason is gonna marry Roy one day and move out too, and Tim…you see it right?” 

Bruce closed his eyes, “That there’s a 65% chance Conner is his soulmate? Of course I see it.” 

Dick paused in his speech, “65?” 

Bruce gave him a cold stare, “I need more information. I successfully predicted you and Kori and Jason and Roy being soulmates.” Truly a curse, how could he be so much better at finding his children’s soulmates than his own. 

“I don’t want you to be alone. You’ve never even told me what it looks like” and he had asked. Dick has always asked since he was little, he had always wanted Bruce to get married and have a happy marriage like his parents had. 

Bruce sighed, he’d told Alfred what his mark looked like but never his children. “It’s a word, in a language I don’t understand. I concluded that my soulmate isn’t from Earth.” 

Dick wasn’t phased or weirded out, he’d be a hypocrite if he did. “Have you shown the league?” 

Bruce wanted to roll his eyes, “No…” they didn’t even know his name, why would he show them his soul mark. “…But I’ve seen the marks of nearly all vigilantes, heroes, rogues, and villains.” 

“You don’t even have suspicions on who it is?” He had been suspicious that Kori was his soulmate during their dating period, there was no way that in over two decades Bruce never had any suspicions. 

Bruce sighed, “I did once?” Bruce had always thought he would take that knowledge to his grave. His humiliating and impossible crush. 

“Who?” 

Superman, it was Superman. Back when they had first met, Batman hadn’t been very fond of him but slowly they became friends, and Bruce had started appreciating several of Kal’s traits. And he had even been fond of his alter ego Clark Kent, he’d even teased the poor reporter at one of his parties. He wasn’t sure when it had happened, but he noticed that his feelings had evolved into a crush. He wasn’t weirded out by his crush, he knew he was bisexual. He’d always known there was a fifth percent chance that his soulmate would be a man. But it couldn’t possibly be Superman. Kal was obviously straight, he’d only ever shown interest in women and even dated his coworker for a while. 

Then he died. Bruce felt extremely upset and even refused to attend the funeral. But he hadn’t felt the gut wrenching pain that soulmates are said to feel when their partner dies. He’d seen the way Roy suffered when Jason died, their reactions weren’t the same. 

But the greatest nail in the coffin came when Superman came back from the dead. He was different from his previous self. But his greatest offense was the way he had treated Superboy. Bruce had always loved and cared for children, heck he’d adopted several of them. So he always believed that his soulmate would also love children and be pro adoption. But Superman had treated Superboy horribly, and argued with Bruce when he’d tried to tell Superman he was wrong. There was no way they were soulmates. 

So Bruce gritted his teeth, “It doesn’t matter. It can’t be them.” 

“Dam, their soulmate was someone else wasn’t it” Dick couldn’t imagine how wrong he was, but Bruce didn’t correct him. 

“I don’t need a soulmate Dick” he wasn’t sure if he was saying it more to Dick or to himself. 

“But I don’t want you to be alone,” Dick repeated. 

“I have Alfred….” 

Dick’s voice got louder, “Bruce, Alfred isn’t gonna…”

“Please don’t say that…” Bruce cut him off. He was quiet for a second before finishing, “I think that day might be worse than the day I lost my parents.” The day he lost Alfred would probably be the day Bruce broke down completely, he knew it would be. 

“I want to see you with someone, since I came here I cheered for you to find your soulmate” Dick told him. He wanted to see his dad experience the same joy he experienced when he met Kori and saw her soul mark for the first time.

“It’s fine Dick. I’ll always have you, the others, my company, and my work as Batman. And grandkids one day” he didn’t need a soulmate, he had a family and he’d spent his whole life caring for them. 

“Okay, but if you ever want to find them I’ll get all the Titans to help out” Dick spoke with full seriousness. 

Bruce smiled at him, “Thank you Dick…..I’ll think about it.” 

They stood in silence for a few moments until Alfred came running down the hall. 

“Master Bruce!!” The man shouted across the manor. 

Bruce rushed out of his parent’s room, “What is it Alfred?” 

“Master Damian is awake!” Alfred informed him. 

Bruce and Dick looked at each other in understanding, “Let’s go!” 

—————————————————

While Dick had been talking to Bruce, Conner had been in his room. He had learned a lot about himself in the last week and half. One being that he didn’t like waking up early, he liked lavender scented soap, and that wearing a robe around the house was very comfy. 

But right now, he was hanging up a newspaper clipping to the bulletin board Tim had helped him hang up over his desk. It was the newspaper from this morning that he had seen during breakfast, an article from the Gotham Gazette about how Batman had a new recruit on his team. Or as the article described him “a new nameless hero dressed in black, red, and blue. Helping Batman take down Bane at the edge of Gotham.” 

His first newspaper appearance where Lex Luthor wasn’t mentioned. Where his clone heritage played no part. Where Superman didn’t matter. The first time where the spotlight was on him and his actions. It was perfect. 

But next to it hung another clipping. An article from the Daily Planet, of when Conner was first introduced to the world. Because while Conner didn’t like being reminded of his past, it was still a part of him he had to face. He only had the clipping thanks to Tim who had kept that newspaper from all those months ago. Apparently Tim liked to store photos and news clipping of things he found interesting or useful to his investigations. Just one more thing Conner liked about him, a list that he found only kept growing as the days passed by. 

“Superboy!” A call suddenly rang in Conner’s ears. But it didn’t come from the house, it also didn’t sound like anyone in it. It sounded like….

“Lex?” Conner’s eyes widened in terror. Had Lex found him? Was he here? Wasn’t he supposed to be in Belle Reve right now? 

“Superboy! Come back here you brat!” Lex’s unmistakable voice called to him again. Lex was calling him, worse he was insulting him just like he always did. 

“What does he want?” Conner covered his ears with his palms, completely letting go of the newspaper clipping. And he didn’t know if he was on the verge of tears or a panic attack. Just hearing that dreadful voice again had him spiraling. After finally witnessing what a ‘normal’ life and family was, he knew he could never return to Lex Luthor, to the man that had almost eliminated him. 

Just as Conner tried to calm himself down, Tim barged into his room without knowing! “Hey Conner….whats wrong?” Tim’s entire demeanor changed when he saw Conner’s panicked state. He shut the door for privacy and ran over to the other and crouched down next to him. “Conner, talk to me.” 

 “Superboy, I know you can hear me!” Lex shouted in his ears again. 

Conner cried into Tim’s shoulder, “I-it’s Luthor, I-I can hear him.” 

Tim’s eyes widened as he rubbed circles onto Conner’s back. “Hear him?” 

“I hear his voice, he’s calling me.” 

Understanding dawned on the boy wonder, “Super hearing…” he muttered under his breath. “The news said he was getting released…You can hear him from Metropolis?” 

“I think I can” so Lex was freed. Freed and his first order of business was to shout at his son? Father of the year really, he couldn’t even go take a shower first? 

Tim held Conner as he calmed down. He knew it was selfish of him to think it but it felt nice. Just him and Conner crouched on the floor together, it felt nice. “Are you gonna go talk to him?” 

“SUPERBOY!” Lex yelled again. 

Conner rubbed away his tears, “I don’t want to Tim, but maybe I should.” 

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to” Tim used the sleeve of his green hoodie to wipe away a few tears, making Conner blush a little. 

Conner knew Tim was right, “But I want to ask him about how he made me. He’s the only person who can answer so many of my questions.” 

“I can go with you,” Tim offered without hesitation.

“You’d do that?” Conner was bewildered, but he really shouldn’t be. It’s Tim! 

“Of course….” Because what if he tried to take Conner by force. What if he had kryptonite? “I’m not letting you go alone.” He wouldn’t let Lex take Conner away, he wouldn’t let his friend go alone. 

Conner smiled through his tears, “Thanks Tim.” 

“Also it’s best to go in your super suit,” Tim reminded him. 

“You’re always right” Conner jokingly mocked him. 

Tim gave him a smug smile, “I know.”

They sat there looking at each other. Minds in sync with no words required. Their little bubble in the world. And finally, Lex’s voice no longer reached Conner’s ears.

Sadly, the bubble was popped by Dick knocking on Conner’s door. “Conner! Tim!” 

“What is it?” Conner yelled from inside, trying to keep his voice steady. And wondering how in the world Dick knew that Tim was in his room.

Dick took that as permission to open the door, he was grinning from ear to ear, “Damian woke up! C'mon!"

Tim hesitated, “Well we have….” 

“We’re coming!” Conner cut his friend off and started getting up. 

“Let’s go!” Dick left as he rushed to Damian’s room.

Tim made a confused face, “What about Luthor?” 

Conner smiled weakly and offered a hand to help Tim up, “He can wait. Family comes first.” 

—————————————————

Damian hated waking up. He had just woken up from the worst sleep of his life to five people staring down at him like vultures over a piece of meat. Not to mention all the questions they all threw at him in unison. 

It took a few minutes, but he was able to piece together that the toxin that hit him contained a sleep enduring drug that caused his terrible sleep. “How long was I out?” 

“You were asleep for over a day,” Tim told him. He had quickly grabbed a pen and paper from Con’s room so he could jot down any important information, and his observations of someone coming out of the drug’s effects.

Damian scoffed, “A whole day? I hope it was worth it.” 

Tim sighed, such a Damian response. “Of course it was. The bomb you brought, I used it to make an antidote.” 

Damian smiled smugly, “Tell Todd I told him so.” 

“Are you feeling alright?” Bruce sat on the edge of Damian’s bed. Usually that’s where Ace would sit but Bruce told Alfred to take Ace out of the room when the dog tried to pounce on Damian when he noticed the boy waking up.

“I’m fine father” Damian responded coldly. 

“I think it’s best if we keep him in observation for the rest of the day” Tim said as he wrote on his paper. 

Damian gritted his teeth, “I was already asleep for a whole day. What else do you want?”

“It’s to make sure that the drugs are completely out of your system” Bruce explained and tried to grab one of Damian’s hands. He wanted to check the warmth and Damian’s pulse now that he was awake. But of course, the boy pulled away. 

“Fine, but first I need to use the restroom.” 

“Do you want help?” Dick offered? 

Damian glared at him, “Try to touch me Grayson and I’ll chop your hand off.” 

Dick raised his arms in surrender, “Okay! You go alone.” 

It took a bit for Damian to get both feet on the ground and leave the bed. He was a little unsteady on his feet at first, but after the first few steps he found his balance again. He went to the bathroom and shut the door behind him.

“Well he seems fine,” Conner said as soon as Damian shut the door. 

“I’d say so…” Tim concurred. “But I want to make sure he's fully conscious and that the drugs are completely out of his system.” 

So Damian was fed some nice chicken soup that Alfred had prepared, and monitored to make sure he was really okay. 

—————————————————

-In Metropolis that Night-

Clark had returned to his apartment after another boring day at the Daily Planet. Boring because all he did was throw himself into work to try and forget about his failure with Superboy. But he hadn’t given up on finding him! He wondered for the millionth time where Superboy was. If he was okay, if he was safe, if he was coming back. 

He made himself some dinner and sat down on his worn off couch. He had lost a lot of his things after his ‘death’ as his parents cleared his old apartment and told the landlord that he was missing after the battle with Doomsday. So after his return, Clark had to find a new apartment to live in. 

After staring at the wall for a bit, he decided to turn on his tv, maybe some unrealistic reality tv show would help clear his mind. And unlucky for him the first channel that popped up once he turned the tv on was the news, the news reporting that earlier today Lex Luthor had been released from Belle Reve. 

Clark already knew this of course. Thanks to his super hearing, he had heard Lex call out to Superboy that afternoon. After hearing about all the things that Lex had done to the boy, Clark really doubted the boy would show up. But Clark used his supervision to watch Lex from his penthouse….just to be sure, and Superboy never ended up showing. 

So Clark changed through a few different channels. Some cooking shows, animal documentaries, even home renovation programs, but he only stopped when his eyes caught the sight of something that deeply interested him.

He stopped at the Gotham Gazette channel. Usually, the channel covered a lot of gossip news amongst the elites of Gotham. But tonight? Tonight a live reporter flew in an airplane following after Batman, Red Hood, Nightwing, Red Robin, and their new teammate that Clark had read about earlier. 

Clark was transfixed, he just couldn’t look away. He had no idea why, why was he feeling such a pull towards the bats? He had no idea, but he let the channel on as he ate dinner. 

—————————————————

-Back in Gotham-

Red Hood had returned to the manor after dropping Red Arrow and Starfire off at Titan Tower. And the bat signal had been lit up again as Joker and Scarecrow had attacked city hall. So Batman, Nightwing, Red Hood, Red Robin, and Superboy all geared up to find them. While Damian had to stay at home with Alfred, and was watching them from the same channel that Clark was. 

The two villains and several goons were running with piles of money and other items they had stolen from city hall as they ran through rooftop after rooftop, with the bat family right on their tail. 

From an airplane reporter Hailey Granitestone was making a name for herself as either the bravest or stupidest reported the city had ever known. “Citizens of Gotham, we are following closely as Batman and his team are chairs after the Joker and the Scarecrow!” The plane kept following them. 

Joker and Scarecrow finally stopped running when it seemed like they’d hit a dead end on the rooftops. So they turned around to face their chasers. 

Joker grinned satisfied at the sight of Batman here, things were so boring when his favorite bat didn’t show. “Hello Batsy! How’s Robin doing?” He pulled out his gun from his inner pocket.

Batman clenched his fist, “He’s fine, unlike you.” 

“You guys are going back to Arkham tonight” Nightwing pulled out his staff as Red Hood loaded his gun.

“We’ll see about that! Boys” Scarecrow laughed maniacally as suddenly armed goons appeared in all directions, surrounding the bats. 

Batman only had the time to yell, “Scathed!” Before the shots started coming. And all the bats ran from the bullets. 

Conner ran so aimlessly, he was afraid that the goons would notice his immunity to bullets. But in his careless running he bumped into the Joker himself. The Joker eyed him from top to bottom, “So, you’re new here. Did Bats already replace the one we knocked out?” 

“I’m still in the initiation phase” Conner cried out as he then tried to deliver a kick to the Joker, but the clown dodged. 

And so the fight continued. Jason fired at the armed goons with his own weapons. Tim used his staff to knock the guns out of some of their hands. Nightwing took on Scarecrow and let Batman have his….whatever the hell he and Joker had. Meanwhile, poor Conner was trying his best to survive a fight where he couldn’t use his Kryptonian powers.

After a while, Red Hood had taken out most of the goons along with Red Robin’s help. But poor Conner was having a hard time against a particularly large opponent. 

Nightwing had managed to knock Scarecrow to the ground with a surprise attack from behind. But things weren’t looking so good for Batman. Because Joker had taken out a dagger during their fight, and driven it straight into the dark knight’s thigh, making him fall on his back. 

Joker was standing over Batman laughing loudly, but his eyes darted to the helicopter nearby. “Hey Batsy, wanna see me do a trick?” Joker took a bomb and threw it at the plane’s propeller, “Oops, looks like I missed!” He laughed as the proper started catching fire and crashed onto a nearby rooftop. 

Batman’s eyes were blown wide  “Get those people out of there!” Batman yelled out the order as Joker punched him again. 

“On it” Nightwing ran quickly, leaving a waking Scarecrow behind. 

“Leave it to us” Tim followed after the older. 

So Nightwing jumped inside the plane since the side door was open. “Okay move it lady, this place is gonna crash” he helped Hailey and her cameraman out of their seats and onto the empty rooftop. 

“We were handling it,” Hailey protested as Nightwing gently pushed her out of the burning plane. 

“Sure” Nightwing rolled his eyes under his mask. He then turned back to the plane where Red Robin had just helped the pilot out of the cockpit. “Is that everyone?” 

Red Robin dropped the pilot onto the rooftop, “Yes it….” 

But then came a scream, “Red Robin!” 

Tim would recognize that voice anywhere….it was Conner’. So he turned his eyes back to  “Huh?” 

His eyes widened when his face met with the reason for Conner’s scream. Because Scarecrow had woken up, and threw a sleeping toxin bomb right at Red Robin. And the bomb hit Tim right in the face, “Ahhh!” He yelled as the bomb hit him, sending him flying backwards from the rooftop.

Conner, who was currently being held down by several goons with guns, but he had a front row seat in watching Tim fall backwards towards the ground.

Scarecrow laughed, “Oh my, looks like I knocked out two of your little birdies huh Batman?” 

Jason froze where he was midway through holding a goon in a choke hold. He had often thought of Tim as his replacement, but he hadn’t imagined that Tim would suffer the same fate he did. As for Nightwing, he too was frozen in place. His mind tried to look for a plan. But he couldn’t fly, he wasn’t Starfire or Raven, he couldn’t save his brother. He was stuck on a rooftop completely useless. But worse, it was his fault! He had left Scarecrow, he had caused his brother’s death!

“NO!” Batman shouted as he saw his son fall. He couldn’t lose Tim, he had already lost Jason and nearly lost Damian yesterday, he couldn’t lose anyone else. He got up but his leg was bleeding and Tim was falling straight into a traffic lane below, none of his plans had planned for this. 

Joker laughed at Batman’s distraught face, “Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll find another one. Right, new Robin boy.” He spoke to Conner who was staring blankly at the spot where Tim had just stood.

Conner yelled! They hurt Tim, they hurt his best friend, the person he trusted and cared for the most. He would save him! Secret identities be damned! He used his super strength to throw the goons off of him. He removed the mask covering his eyes and pulled back his leather jacket. Then turned to Joker with an empty stare, “You wanna play clown? Let’s play!” 

He jumped into the air and summoned his heat vision. He melted all the guns in the villains’ hands. One by one, but incredibly fast thanks to his super speed. 

“What the hell?” Scarecrow yelled. 

“What are you?” Joker asked, pointing his dagger at the boy. 

Superboy smiled menacingly, “You’re worst nightmare!” He found a piece of rope on the ground and picked it up. He used his speed to tie the rope around Joker and Scarecrow. He was angry out of his mind? Yes. But Batman had taught him that the bats don’t kill, and he would respect that. After tying the villains together, Conner jumped down to save Tim. 

It all happened so fast, Bruce barely had time to register what Conner had done. He walked to the edge of the rooftop to see Superboy flying down, “Please save him.” 

Tim fell from several dozen feet. Physics told him that the fall shouldn’t last that long, but it felt like an eternity. “Ahhhh!” Was all he could say. At least he managed to grab the epi pen he had made with the antidote. He uncapped it and stabbed it into himself. If this was how he died, he would at least go out while not being drugged. 

Tim looked down at the ground getting closer. He was gonna fall right in the middle of a busy road, at least he’d probably die upon impact. He started to cry at the thought of all the things he’d miss out on doing. He’d never turn eighteen, he’d never find his soulmate, he'd never move out of Wayne Manor, he'd never solve all the unsolved mysteries he wanted, he'd never see Damian grow up, he’d never get to see Dick or Jason get married, and he’d……..he’d never get to see Conner again.

He’d never see Conner again, somehow that one hurt the most. He’d never get to tell his friend how much he meant to him. He’d have to go face Luthor and Superman alone. He’d never take him out for ice cream like he had wanted. So Tim closed his eyes, accepting his fate. 

But suddenly, he felt a pair of arms wrap around his middle. And someone’s hot breath against his neck. “Gotcha!” 

Tim kept his eyes closed but instinctively wrapped his arms around the person’s neck and….surprisingly broad shoulders? 

“It’s okay, you can open your eyes.” 

Tim trusted the voice, he opened his eyes. “Conner?” He was met with those icy blue eyes he thought he’d never see again. 

“Hey boy wonder, what’s up?” Conner smiled brightly at him. 

Tim looked down at the ground, it wasn’t getting closer anymore. “Did you just?” 

“Save you? I did” Conner stated proudly as he redirected them back up. 

“You just outed yourself!” Tim scolded him. He had even taken out his mask. 

Conner pouted, “Was I supposed to let you fall?” 

“No but…” Tim blushed as Conner tightened his grip on his middle. “…thank you.” 

Conner blushed too, “Always!” He took his mask out of his pocket and put it back on his face, then he flew them both back up. 

—————————————————

When Conner landed them safely, Batman, Red Hood, and Nightwing ran over to them in a heart beat. 

“You’re okay” Nightwing hugged them both. Red Hood joined in tightening the hug. 

Batman joined them in the hug, “Thank you for saving him.” 

“I’ll always save him,” Conner said as they broke apart the hug. He was still smiling like a fool. 

“Ohh my legs feel like jello” Tim couldn’t stand on his own two legs and held Conner for support. 

“It’s fine…” Conner scooped him up, “I’ll carry you.” Which only made Tim blush more as he wrapped his rearms around Con’s neck. 

On the rooftop across from them Hailey had her mouth hanging open, “Did we get that all on camera?” She asked her cameraman. 

“I-I did,” the shaking cameraman responded. They had been live on the air, the world had just seen that Superboy, who had been reportedly missing in Metropolis was now in Gotham City working with Batman and his team.

Superboy held Tim firmly as he scanned the rooftop with his xray vision to make sure they were all safe now. “What do we do with them?” Superboy asked Batman, referring to the two tied up villains.

Bruce’s heart was still beating heavily under his suit. He didn't want to do any more patrolling tonight, almost losing another son was enough whiplash for one night, “Let’s go home.” No one argued, they'd had enough for one night.

So the bat family began making their way back to the manor, jumping from rooftop to rooftop to reach the hidden alleyway where Bruce had parked the batcar. Except for Conner, who flew in the air with Tim in his arms. Tim's antidote has worked as he was still conscious but it still left his body a bit sluggish, so he just let Conner carry him, even leaning his head onto the other's shoulder.

But something was still off, as Batman’s pace was faster than usual. 

“Hey B, why are we moving so fast?” Nightwing asked, still recovering from what had just transpired. 

But Batman didn’t stop. He knew that camera had been on, he knew Superman would often track the team’s heartbeats, and that he was looking for Superboy! With all these facts combined, it was only a matter of time before….

“YOU HAD HIM THIS WHOLE TIME?!”

“Shit” Bruce cursed in his mind. 

Chapter Text

“You had him this whole time?!” Superman was fuming. 

He had practically thrown himself out his apartment window when he saw Red Robin falling. He heard Batman’s panicked heart beat and flew as fast as he could, planning on catching the boy before he fell. But he stopped in his tracks when he saw another super saving Red Robin. 

He saw….Superboy! Superboy rescues the other boy and taking him to safety. 

Kal had wanted to come closer to them immediately. He wanted to grab onto Superboy so he could explain himself and apologize before the boy flew off. But when he saw the bat family sharing a hug, five hearts filled with adrenaline and relief, he restrained himself. He would wait until they left the scene so he could confront them. 

So after almost two weeks of Superboy going missing, here Superman and Batman were once again at a standstill. Staring at each other, one glaring from a rooftop and the other floating in the air.

Conner landed on the rooftop behind Batman, as if he could use him as a shield. And still cradling Red Robin in his arms. Nightwing and Red Hood moved to stand closer to their father, creating a larger barrier between the two Kryptonians. 

Batman clenched his fist, if things got out of hand he had a piece of kryptonite in one of the pockets in his belt. “Superman.”

Kal was still seeing red, “Superboy was with you? Since when?!” He couldn’t believe this. He had told Batman about how he regretted his actions, how he wanted to apologize, how he just wanted Superboy to be okay. And Batman knew where he’d been the whole time, he’d…….he’d kept it hidden. 

“Calm down Kal, there are children present” Batman was not ready for another fight, especially with Superman, his leg had thankfully stopped bleating but he’d surely need stitches.

“He’s with you?” Superman repeated.

“Could we stop referring to him as if he isn’t here?” Conner asked from behind Batman. 

“Can you put me down first?” Tim wiggled in Conner’s hold. He didn’t actually want to be put down, being carried by Conner felt….weirdly comforting. But he couldn’t let Superman see them in such a positive light.

“Are you sure you can stand it?” Conner looked at him with concern.

Tim nodded assuringly, “Well my feet don’t feel like jello  anymore so that’s good.” So Conner put the Red Robin down but held onto his hand just in case his friend nearly fell over again.

“Superboy!” Superman called out to the boy.

Conner raised a hand to silence the other, “If you wanna talk, then come down here and face me….”  Bruce felt proud, Clark knew he deserved the harshness so he floated down the rooftop. 

But Superman’s feet touched solid ground, and a smoke bomb exploded on the rooftop! And the sound of a sword being pulled out could be heard. 

“What’s going on?” Red Hood grabbed onto his gun again. 

“I have no idea” Nightwing also pulled out his weapons.

“Where are they?” A new voice joined in. It was Robin! 

Once the smoke cleared, Batman and the others could see Robin, with an enraged expression on his face and sword at the ready. 

“Robin?” 

“I told you to stay at home” Batman sounded mad. 

“Where are they?” Robin asked again. 

“Where are who?” Red Hood asked. 

Damian gritted his teeth, “Joker and Scarecrow, they owe me a death!” His voice was filled with venom. 

He had been at home with Alfred watching the live broadcasts. The butler had left to go get Damian some soup when he saw. He saw Tim getting hit by a bomb and being sent flying down towards the ground. 

And in that moment, Damian finally understood the pain Bruce and Dick described they had felt when Jason died. He felt his heart clench, he felt anger, sadness, and so much dread. He had to be there and most importantly, he wanted vengeance. 

Damian didn’t stay to watch his brother hit the ground. He ran out of his bedroom and headed straight to the cave. He had dealt with Alfred first, but he dressed in his suit and drove himself to the battle sight. 

Bruce had taught him to let go of his violent tendencies. He had embraced the bat motto of never killing. But they had crossed a line, they touched his family! And even though Damian would die on the hill that he was the superior Robin and that he didn’t care about his brothers….he would absolutely kill for any of them. And Joker and Scarecrow had killed Tim….and sure, Damian and Tim didn’t always get along but Damian would avenge his brother’s death. 

Everyone blinked at Robin with confusion, “What?” 

Damian’s voice was filled with a rage, “They killed my brother….Im owed a death and….” But then he saw him. Saw Red Robin holding hands with Superboy. He dropped his sword and lunged! 

“Red!” Damian threw himself at his brother, knocking them both into the floor. “You’re alive.” 

Tim was so confused, he wondered if he had actually died because Damian had never been this..affectionate with him. But he lightly hugged his brother, “Of course I’m alive.” 

Damian stared at his face, “But ... .I saw you fall.” 

Tim put two and two together, “I fell, but Superboy saved me” he gestured to Conner. 

Damian looked up at Superboy, “Respect clone boy.” 

“Thank you Robin” Conner smiled and then helped the two robins up.

“How did you get here? I told Alfred to keep an eye on you” Batman momentarily forgot about the Kryptonian standing just a few feet away.

Damian avoided his father’s eyes, “I may have locked him out….and he may be unconscious…”

“You drugged him??!” Red Hood shouted. He knew Damian was a bit…extreme, and they still had that bomb from Scarecrow. 

Damian glared at him, “Of course not. I simply hit a nerve behind his neck….” 

Nightwing did a face palm, “We really shouldn’t have sent you to those monks.” 

Batman just sighed, “Fine, but you are grounded.” 

“I’d like to see you try” Robin challenged his father, inciting a laugh from all the others.

Superman coughed. He’d been quietly watching the family interaction in front of him. He saw how comfortable Superboy seemed around Batman’s crew, especially with Red Robin, the one he’d been carrying. He also took notice of the new suit, and he concluded that Batman was responsible for that. 

The cough brought Batman’s attention back to the Kryptonian. “Why didn’t you tell me he was with you? I told you I was worried about him” he tried not to sound like a kicked puppy.

Batman stepped away from his sons and came closer to Superman. He knew Kal wouldn’t hurt him, “I wanted to tell you sooner, but it wasn’t my choice to make that decision.” 

“What?”

The fake knight crossed his arms, “I asked him what he wanted, I followed his wishes.” 

“He didn’t want to see me?” He shouldn’t be shocked, he couldn’t even be mad. It was very obvious that Superboy had been mad at him.

“No, I didn't,” Superboy said. He most certainly wasn’t prepared for this! He hadn’t thought about what he’d say, didn’t prepare anything. But what scared him the most was the thought of what Superman would do once they were face to face. 

But he had made his choice. He knew saving Tim would expose him, he knew it would lead to facing Supeman….though admittedly he didn’t think it’d be that fast. But Tim was next to him, he was alive, that made it worth it.

But before Superboy could move any closer to Superman, Robin grabbed his sword from the ground and pointed it at the Kryptonian. “Superman! Have you come to take Superboy away to that lab?” He even went as far as stepping in front of Superboy.

Red Robin was next, he extended his arm protectively in front of Conner and held his staff with his other hand, “You can’t take him, he belongs with us!” 

“Yeah he’s kinda stuck with us now” Red Hood joined in. 

Nightwing came to complete the barrier, “I honestly expected better from you Supes, but I’m with them. You can’t take him!” 

They all stared daggers at Superman, ready to protect their brother. Batman smiled proudly, he’d always been protective of his boys, so seeing them be protective of each other warmed his heart. It meant he had done something right. 

And Superman was stunned. It had only been two weeks, but Superboy seemed to have woven himself completely into the batfam. 

And Conner? Conner had never been happier in his life! His family was here, they knew how powerful Superman was, but were ready to fight him just to protect their brother. He’d never felt so wanted and cared about. But he knew he had to do this, “Guys…I need to talk to him.” 

Batman stepped toward them, the boys parted to allow their father to pass. He stopped right in front of Conner and bent down to his level. “Remember what I told you, you don’t have to talk to him if you don’t feel comfortable yet….”

“I’ll talk to him…” he tried sounding confident. “I have to.” Batman nodded,he wouldn’t try to talk Conner out of this decision, it was only his to make.

But when Conner tried to take a step forward he felt a pull on the bus hand. He looked down and saw that Tim had grabbed onto his hand. Conner looked at his friend’s face. 

Tim was scared. He was still recovering mentally from the fact that he had nearly faced death. Conner had saved him, he was here right now…because Conner had saved him. Conner was his savior….and a lot more. The thought of Superman taking Conner away was terrifying. 

Conner noticed Tim’s nervousness and smiled, “It’s okay, he’s not taking me away.” It wasn’t a meaningless statement, it was a vow! And it comforted Tim enough for him to let go. 

So Conner walked up to Superman, each step feeling heavier and heavier, he could feel his heartbeat getting faster. But he kept a neutral face, he couldn’t show fear. “Hello…Superman.” He removed his mask and placed it in his pocket, this was a moment to speak face to face, no masks involved.

Clark looked the boy up and down, finally getting a good look. He looked different, this wasn’t the same boy he had ignored before. He had changed his hair now having the sides shaved, he had piercings too, and his suit….he didn’t wear the Superman ‘S’ anymore. 

“Superboy, I’m sorry.” 

Conner’s expression didn’t change, “You’re sorry for what?” 

Damm, two weeks and it seemed that Batman was already rubbing off on him. But “I’m sorry for trying to send you away.” 

Conner raised an eyebrow, “Are you? What made you change your mind?” 

Superman had predicted this, “I didn’t know all the things Lex did to you. I had no idea he tried to eliminate you. If I had known….” 

Conner let out a fake chuckle, “You wanna know why you didn’t know?” Clark stayed quiet. “Because you ignored me. Because you didn’t talk to me!” 

All the bats stood huddled together watching. Watching this less than a month old boy tear Superman a new one. 

“Let me ask you something. If I hadn’t run off, would you be sorry? Would you have seen the error in your ways?” He had asked Bruce that question, and the billionaire had said that the only person who could answer was Superman himself. 

Clark was taken back. “I-I don’t know….” How could he answer that? He had no way of knowing.But if Superboy hadn’t run off he wouldn’t have met with Mercy or Lex, he wouldn’t have learned that Lex had been a terrible parent and even tried to get rid of the boy. He would have shipped him off to STAR labs and probably just went back to his normal routine. 

Another chuckle, “Of course you don’t.” 

Clark sighed, lI’m sorry, I shouldn’t have been so cold to you. Let me explain…”

“Explain what? I heard everything!” Conner threw his hands in the air. “I know you hated me from the start because I’m not a kid born between you and your soulmate.” 

Clark felt his face flush, “It’s not like that.” He didn’t want Batman’s kids hearing about this, though who’s to say Superboy hadn’t already told them about it.

“Really?” Conner’s tone was filled with sarcasm, “You picked a soulmate that you don’t even know over me.” 

“I had just gotten back from the dead, I wasn’t ready to be a father,” Clark protested. 

“And I wasn’t ready to be your replacement” Con shot back.

“I’m sorry.”

Conner looked his biological father up and down, “You know, Lex always said he was superior to you, but you know what….you both equally suck at patenting.”

“I want to make it up to you” Clark was close to pleading. He knew he deserted Superboy’s anger and hate, but he could see how wrong he had been, he wanted to make it right. 

Conner shook his head, “No thanks. You said you only wanted kids with your soulmate, I think you should go try to find her.” 

Clark’s face flushed again, “It’s not like that. I was taken completely off guard. Finding out that Lex had made a clone of us…” 

“I’m a person!” Conner yelled. That one had really hit a nerve, he hated being called a clone. 

Clark’s eyes widened, “What?” 

Conner’s voice was raw with emotion, “I’m a person! I look like you, I have your eyes…I have your hair…but I’m not you.” He felt tears in his eyes, “I’m a person, I like lavender soap, I’m a dog person, I like wearing leather jackets, I like wearing a robe around the house ... .I'm Conner.”

“Conner?” The name felt foreign on Clark’s tongue. His son had named himself. He felt a pit in his stomach, he had always pictured his life with his soulmate and their kids, and yes he even had considered some names.

“My name. It’s Conner, use it” seemed like Damian had also rubbed off on him.

Clark tried stepping closer but Conner took a step back, “What can I do Conner? What can I do for you to be able to forgive me?”

“You can forget I exist. I don’t want to go back with you” Conner’s voice was laced with finality. 

Clark tilted his head, “But you still need training. And I can share with you all the knowledge I have about Krypton…”

“They’ve helped me train…” Conner cut him off. Then we referred to the bat boys. “We ran tests on me. And I want to learn about earth first. I want to stay with the bats.”

Clark felt like a kryptonite knife had got plunged into his chest, “You never want to see me?” He expected hatred and anger, but he had hoped that Superboy would at least be willing to hear him out. But maybe he had too much of Lex’s nature, maybe he wasn’t as forgiving as Clark. 

Conner carefully planned his words, “I’ll come to you if I need something. But I want to stay in Gotham, I have a family here, I’m a vigilante now…” he looked back at his family, “…this is where I belong.”

Batman came closer to the pair, “I’ll take good care of him” he told Superman. He saw the sadness in the Kryptonian’s eyes, but it was Conner’s choice and he would respect that choice. And if Conner chose to stay with him, he would care for him and protect him the same as he did for all his kids.

“Is that what you really want?” He stared into Conner’s blue eyes that were so similar to his own. 

Conner took a difficult breath, “Yes.”

Clark swallowed, he couldn’t take the boy by force and at least he seemed….happy. He had said that he found the place where he belonged, and Clark knew that sentiment. He himself had spent years trying to figure out where he belonged as an alien living amongst humans. It had been hard for him, but the day he joined the Justice League he felt like he finally found a group of comrades who understood him, he found his purpose, where he belonged. And if the bat family was Conner’s league…..he couldn’t take that away, the boy had to stay. 

“Okay, I won’t stop you. You know where I live if you ever need anything.” And so he took off and left for Metropolis.

“Kal, wait!” Bruce called out but it was too late, Superman was gone.  He didn’t want it to end like this, he wanted to talk with his friend. I wanted to explain his reasoning and tell him that things would get better. And he also didn’t want their friendship to be destroyed because of this. 

“You okay?” Tim placed a hand on Conner’s shoulder. 

Conner felt his heartbeat return to a normal pace, “I think so.”

“That was very brave of you,” Batman told Superboy. He would have to talk more with Kal later, and assume that Conner would come around eventually. Bruce should know, he’d gotten plenty of “I hate you and never want to see you again” speeches from his kids over the years, but they always found their way back. 

Conner gave Batman a grateful smile, “Thanks B.” He really didn’t know what he would have done if Bruce hadn’t come after him that day.

“We should go home, I have Alfred to check on,” Batman said. 

Damian grunted, “He’s fine.” 

Batman gritted his teeth, “We’ll see about that.”

So Batman, Nightwing, Robin, and Red Hood started making their way to the bat car. But Red Robin and Superboy stayed back for a second. 

Tim was quiet at first, but he still had so many unspoken words in his throat. “Thanks again for saving me.” 

“I’ll always save you Tim.” 

—————————————————

Later that night, the bats had all gotten home safely. Bruce had gone out to find Alfred, and promptly grounded Damian indefinitely when he found his butler passed out on the couch. And sent all the boys to get cleaned up. 

They all did. They all showered, but sleep came to none. 

Tim was having an especially hard time. He was in his room, a room that for a second he thought he’d never set foot in again. At first he tried to sleep, but only nightmares came. He dreamt of his fall. 

He was falling, and falling fast. He had nothing to grab onto and no way to save himself. He kept waiting for Conner to come and save him, Conner said he would always save him….but Superboy never came. 

Tim woke up screaming! He screamed and jumped out of his bed. His heart was racing, his dream had ended before he hit the ground. Tim placed a hand on his cheek, he had cried in his sleep.

It was three in the morning, he thought about trying to go back to sleep, but he knew that only more nightmares would come. He wanted comfort, he wanted…..

—————————————————

Conner laid awake in his bed, thinking over the choices he had made tonight. He had saved Tim, but the cost was high. Superman knew where he was, hell the entire world knew where he was, it was probably only a matter of time before even Lex Luthor showed up in Gotham. But his family was safe, and he would do all it took to keep them safe. 

The batfamily had stood by him, they defended him! He was Kryptonian, he had immense power, he would learn to use it and keep his family safe. 

He was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard a light knock on his door. The clock said it was three in the morning, why would someone…..was this an emergency? He jumped out of his bed and flew to the door pushing it open. But the sight in front of him wasn’t at all what he expected. 

It was Tim. Tim dressed in his yellow striped pajamas and carrying a pillow with him. 

“Tim, is everything alright?” 

Tim shook his head, “I-I had a nightmare….cant sleep.” He gave Conner a pleading look, “Can I sleep here?” 

“Of course…” Conner stepped aside so he could come in. 

“Thank you.” 

Conner helped Tim lay down and then lay down next to him, covering them both in the duvet. Tim was still shaking from the nightmare, but having Conner nearby was helpful. But Con knew it wasn’t enough. So he effortlessly pulled Tim into a hug, a similar hold to the one he had when he grabbed Tim in mid air like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Tim was happy when he could feel Conner’s warmth and his head was in the perfect place where he could hear the other’s heartbeat. And just like that….Tim was finally able to sleep. 

—————————————————

Damian had heard screaming! 

He hadn’t been asleep, the thoughts of what had happened were too vivid in his mind. But when he heard the screaming he quickly got out of bed and grabbed one of his katanas off the wall. If an intruder had come in he would eliminate them. 

He tip-toed out of his room. Careful not to make a sound, the screams had come from Tim’s side of the hall so he was headed there to investigate. But when he turned the corner he saw that someone else was already there.

It was Jason, “You’re awake?”

The older scoffed that he hadn't been able to sleep either, “Of course, and you?” 

“So no one’s sleeping tonight I see?” A third voice into the hall. Dick Grayson in his blue pajamas and fluffy slippers.

“I heard Drake yelling,” Dick told them. 

“Should we check on him?” Damian suggested. 

“He’s not gonna be in his room..” Dick stated as if it were obvious.

“And how do you know?” Damian asked. 

Dick gave him a knowing smirk, “I just do, follow me.” And so Jason and Damian followed after Dick towards Conner’s room. 

When they reached the door, Dick carefully opened it without making noise. What he found inside made him smile, “Aww that’s so cute!” He saw Tim and Conner cuddling on the bed.

“I’m going to be sick” Damian peaked through the door.

“Still think they ain’t soulmates?” Dick nudged Jason. 

“Fine, I admit you might be right.” 

“Sooo, sleepover at Bruce’s?” Was Dick’s next question, they’d often have sleepovers on difficult nights like this and no one could sleep.

“Of course,” Jason agreed. 

Damian stored his sword, “Fine but I’m not carrying them.” 

Dick looked at Jason, “I’ll grab Tim and you grab Con?” 

“Sure.” 

—————————————————

When Conner woke up the next morning he was confused. He still felt the weight of Tim’s head over his chest, but the mattress felt different. And when he opened his eyes he noticed, this wasn’t his bed…it wasn’t even his room. 

He tried not to move too much so as to not wake up Tim but he wanted to know where he was. He turned his head to the left, and he saw Jason hugging a pillow and Damian sleeping on his stomach with one leg over Jason. And to his right, he saw Dick sleeping on his side and Bruce sleeping on his back. 

How were they all sleeping together? He was extremely confused and tried to remember what happened last night. 

“Mmm…morning” Tim suddenly said, Con’s movement had woken him up. 

“Good morning,” Conner said.

Tim blinked as he opened his eyes as little, “Where are we?”

“No idea,” Conner confessed. 

Tim looked to the side and saw the others also there, “Oh sleepover at B’s…” he yawned, “I’m still tired”

Conner understood as he was also still tired, “Let’s go back to sleep” 

“Okay” and Tim snuggled into his emotional support Kryptonian again. 

Conner would call this the strangest morning he’d had at Wayne Manor, but it might also be the best. 

—————————————————

In case you are wondering what happened between three in the morning and Conner and Tim waking up…..

Bruce had been in his room wrapping a bandage on his thigh when his sons all came in. After Jason had died it had become common for them to have sleepovers on nights where someone nearly died or got severely injured, it helped calm everyone’s anxiety. 

So when Bruce saw Dick carrying Tim in his arms and Jason carrying Conner, he knew what they were silently asking him for. So he and his sons placed his king sized mattress on the floor, and brought in an extra queen sized mattress to place next to it. Forming one huge bed where they could all sleep. 

Dick and Jason knew it was probably better to put Tim and Conner together since it was how they found them. And the moment the two of them were placed down on the mattress they instantly cuddled again, which everyone except Damian found very telling and cute. 

Then Dick, Jason, and Damian all laid down to sleep with them. And Bruce ended his night tucking all five of his sons into bed before lying down with them. 

And Alfred would have a wonderful morning trying to find where all the boys went, only to find all six Wayne’s sleeping on the floor of Bruce’s bedroom.

Chapter Text

-The morning after the news got out that Superboy was in Gotham, fighting crime with the Bats-

Lex Luthor was in his manor having breakfast. It had been weeks since he’d been locked up in Belle Reve, so he enjoyed a full course breakfast of outside world food. He had his phone out and was reading the article from the Gotham Gazette describing the events of what transpired the night before. 

He wasn’t surprised that Superboy was out in the world doing good, he got that from Superman. But he was quite surprised that the boy had allied himself with Batman. So the boy was living with Superman’s coworker yet the Kryptonian hadn’t known where the boy was, perhaps Batman and Superman weren’t as good friends as the media portrayed them to be. 

Luthor was halfway through eating an omelet with his assistant Mercy used her key to enter his penthouse. 

“Good Morning Mercy” Lex welcomed her in between bites of his breakfast. 

“Lex, did you see the news?” 

Lex wiped his lips with a napkin, “Of course I saw, that brat is in Gotham City of all places. And he ignored me!” Gotham wasn’t that far away, Superboy must have heard him and just decided not to answer the call. 

Mercy took a seat at the dining table, “So what are you gonna do now? Go to Gotham and track him down?” 

Lex shook his head, “Why waste my time. He ignored me calling out to him, and I know that the pest heard it. He still has too much of Superman’s habits…”

Mercy restrained from rolling her eyes. So the boy was stubborn and held grudges….yep, those traits definitely came from Superman. “Sure. So what’s the plan?” 

Lex placed down his utensils, “While I cannot drag him back here, I did learn a lot from this mistake.” He put his elbows on the table and rested his chin on his palm, “He hates Superman like I do, but still needs guidance…so he went to that man dressed as an overgrown bat.”

Mercy was not following, “He needed guidance?” 

“Yes….” Lex gave a conniving  smile, “I wanted to skip as much of the early phases as possible. With Superman gone  I needed to act quickly to fill in the void he left. But with him being back….i can take all the time I need.” 

“What are you saying?” Mercy hoped it wasn’t what she was thinking. 

“I’m saying dear Mercy, that I am rebooting project Cadmus!” Just as she feared. 

The plan was perfect! He could make a new clone, use new tactics. If Superboy hates Superman maybe he wouldn’t come to his father’s rescue when Lex managed to get rid of the alien. The boy was only half Kryptonian anyway, more vulnerable than Superman. If the situation came, Lex could simply eliminate the boy as well. 

Meanwhile, Mercy was considering the possibility of handing in her resignation letter.

—————————————————

Superman had called a Justice League meeting that afternoon. Everyone was present, even Batman had come. And he had to sit there while Superman explained that Superboy was safe and was currently living in Gotham City. And Bruce wanted to stab him with a piece of kryptonite for sharing that information with everyone. 

“Wait so Spooky had him this whole time?” Green Lantern asked out loud.

“You helped the kid run away?” Flash joined in. 

Batman groaned, “Did you seriously have to tell everyone?” 

“I thought you liked full reports” Superman was certainly not sorry. 

Batman did a face palm, “Can we discuss this privately?” 

“Of course…” Superman said and started leaving the meeting room. The truth was he did want to talk to Batman alone, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t mess with the bat a little. “…excuse us.” 

So Batman and Superman left the meeting room and went to Superman’s private headquarters at the watchtower. 

“Soooo, who wants to bet this ends badly?” Green Lantern asked the group after the two had left.

“Cmon I’m sure they can work this out like adults” Green Arrow answered, though he wasn’t very confident in his statement.

“Sure…” Hal rolled his eyes. 

“You wanted to talk” Superman said as he closed the door to his quarters so the two men could talk privately.

Batman took in a deep breath. It had been months since he’d been in Superman’s quarters, he’d come to visit after his friend’s death….but he wasn’t here to reminisce about that! “I wanted to explain what happened.” 

Clark crossed his arms, “Go on…”

“After I left the meeting that day I went to find Superboy.” 

“You knew he was listening in?” 

Batman raised an eyebrow, “Of course. I’m surprised you didn’t.” That made Superman press his lips tight. “So I went to find him, he was in his room packing a bag to leave.” 

“And you stopped him?” 

Batam shook his head, “No, I told him he could come with me.” 

“So you took him?” It sounded more like an accusation. 

“I gave him a place to go! He was going to run away to god knows where Clark, chances are he’d get himself harmed or killed. Taking him with me was the safest option.” 

Superman stepped closer, “You let me run around for weeks looking for him 

Batman pointed a finger at the Kryptonian, “You did it to yourself. Also, I asked Conner what he wanted. He said he wasn’t ready to speak to either Lex or you. So I kept it a secret.” 

Clark’s eyes widened, “So he really hates me.” He deserved it, but he hoped that once things calmed down he and Superboy would be able to work things out. He wanted Superboy Conner to meet his parents, maybe take him to meet Krypto, or show him the holograms of Krypton back at the fortress. 

“Oh please, do you have any idea how much I hate your speeches I’ve heard over the years?” He sounded exasperated.  

“The Robins?”

Batman snorted, “Yes, the ‘I hate you Batman’, ‘I never want to see you again’, or ‘I’m better off without your speeches’. Happens all the time.” Which was true, all the boys had gone through that. 

“And how did you deal with that?” Superman wanted to know.

“I gave them space…I let them move out, gave them time to find themselves, let them join the titans, and sent them to Tibet for a few months.” 

Superman was confused on that last one, “What?”

“The point is, that after a while…things calmed down. They came back, I don’t have the best relationship with all of them, but they came back when they were ready”

“And do you think he’ll want to talk to me?” Clark asked sincerely. He wanted to apologize properly, when emotions weren’t running so high. At least now he knew what Conner’s heart beat sounded like, and he’d keep watch periodically, just in case. 

“Eventually. He’s trying to figure out who he is outside of…” 

“Being my clone?” That much was obvious, if the boy's reaction to being called a clown was enough indication.

Batman sighed, he didn’t like when others called Conner a clone. “Yes. He isn’t even a year old and wants to try lots of things. Last week the boys took him to the ice cream.” And to Superman’s confused expression he added, “Lex never let him eat junk food.” 

Batman took a step closer too, “He’s figuring out who he is, outside of Lex’s control and being your shadow. He’s not always Superboy, just like you aren’t always Supeman.” 

“And how do you have a day job somewhere in Gotham?” Clark joked.

“Yes.” 

Clark looked the bat up and down, “Can’t imagine you having a day job. Imagine Batman being an office worker.” 

Bruce smiled internally, this was the Superman he knew. Where had he been for the last few weeks.“You’d be surprised.” 

Clark tiled his head, “I’d be able to imagine it better if I knew who you were.” 

And that struck something inside Batman. He knew he’d have to tell Clark soon, the gala was coming up and he’d probably put two and two together. His friend’s reaction still worried him, but he knew time was ticking, “I’ll tell you someday Clark….on my terms.” 

“I’ll hold you to that” internally, Clark was screaming! Batman had never even hinted at the fact that he’d tell anyone his identity. He checked the other man’s heart beat to make sure it was actually him and indeed it was. 

Batman then gave him a smirk, “I know you will.” He then checked his watch, “Well I better get going before the kids destroy something…” he met Clark’s eyes behind his cowl. “See you soon Mr Kent.” And he headed for the door, he had a surprise to prepare.

“What?” What had gotten into Batman? He’d never called Clark by his last name, especially in such a…weirdly formal way. Was Batman playing some kind of joke on him? He stood there in a stunned silence for a few minutes until Wonder Woman came to check on him once Batman had left the tower. 

“Kal, are you okay?” Diana knocked on the side of his door. 

Superman shook his head to snap himself back to reality, “I’m fine Diana.” 

Diana walked into the room, “I know you, and I know you’re not fine.” 

Clark sighed, she knew him too well, “I just….i wish Batman wasn’t so cryptic. If I knew who he was I could at least go visit them, maybe send Superboy a letter explaining everything….” And he’d get to see Batman outside of work. 

Because truthfully, he’d always been quite fascinated by the bat. His motivations were at the top of his list of curiosities. What in the world could motivate a normal man from Gotham to dress up in a batsuit and join a group of aliens, gods, and metahumans in battle? And the Robin…were they his children? Was Batman married? He guessed he wasn’t, how could he maintain a relationship when he spent so much of his time patrolling his city and sometimes spent weeks away on missions, sometimes even outside the planet. 

Diana brushed his shoulder, “Well my lasso is always available if you want.” 

Clark laughed, he knew she was joking. “I won’t force it out of him.” Sure he’d been curious, but he’d never force anything Batman wasn’t willing to give. 

Diana laughed with him and smiled, “I know you won’t.”

—————————————————

-Little Time Skip- 

Another week had passed. The citizens of Gotham had seen Superboy save the day on more occasions, and one reporter had asked him why he was acting in Gotham instead of Metropolis, but he didn’t answer the question. 

But things were great all things considered. Lex had stopped calling Conner. Tim would come to his room at night more often. Damian let him help brush his batcow. And life with the Wayne’s was wonderful.

And Bruce’s charity gala was the next day. And Conner was nervous for it, he knew he was going, but how was he supposed to present himself? As Bruce’s son? A random acquaintance? Bruce had asked him to come into his office after dinner, so he hoped he’d get some answers. 

Conner was standing outside the office door, his palms were sweating as he turned the door knob and walked inside. “Hey Bruce” , his father figure sat at his desk inspecting some papers.

“Hi Conner” he gestured for the boy to come over. 

“You called me here?” Conner floated towards the desk and stood next to Bruce’s chair. 

“Yes I did. I have something for you” Bruce pulled open a drawer on his desk and pulled out a small black box. 

“You do?” Conner eyed the box, he could have easily used his xray vision to see its contents but chose not to. 

Bruce smiled at him, “It’s a gift….I got it especially for you.” He then placed the box on Conner’s hand. 

“What is it?” 

The billionaire tilted his head, “Why don’t you open the boy and find out?” Always cryptic. 

So Conner unsealed the box and opened it. And inside was….”A….charm?” A round little charm with a blue gem on it. 

“It’s an Aquamarine, your birthstone.” 

Birthstone, the word rang in Conner’s mind. There was only one place where Bruce kept such charms, “Is it for….you’re bracelet?” 

“It can be….if you accept.” 

“Accept what?”

“This…..” and Bruce pulled out a small stack of papers. The top one read in bold letters “Adoption Certification” making Conner’s pupils completely dilate as he read it. Bruce looked at him as if this were the most important moment in his life, “Conner, do you want to be part of the Wayne family ... .officially.”

Conner stared at him, mouth hanging open. “You want to adopt me? Like legally?” 

“I do.”

This was unbelievable, “But how? I’m pretty sure I don’t even legally exist.” 

Bruce laughed, it wouldn’t be the fish’s time, “Simple, we craft the perfect backstory like I did for Damian. You’re a child from Metropolis who was orphaned after the battle with Darkside and your home a got destroyed. You lost everything including your documents. Then I met you and brought you to Gotham where I officially adopted you.” 

Of course Bruce would have an answer for anything, the man was Batman after all. “You’d do all that?” 

“Of course I would. So what do you say?” 

Like he even had to ask, “Yes! Yes I do.” Conner jumped and hugged Bruce his dad. 

Bruce hugged him back with no hesitation, “That’s wonderful, I may have already sent the paperwork to my lawyer…”

Conner pulled back, “You knew I’d say yes?” 

Bruce shrugged, “Lucky guess.” He then lifted up his wrist with the bracelet hanging from it, “You want to put it on?” 

“Yes.” Bruce removed it and handed it to his son. So Conner took the charm from the box and carefully placed it into the string of Bruce’s bracelet, holding it like the most fragile thing in the world. 

“So, how does Conner Wayne sound to you?” Bruce then asked as he clicked the silver band back on his wrist. 

Conner smiled, “It doesn’t sound so bad.” So now he had a name and a last name, things couldn’t possibly get……

“CONGRATULATIONS!” The rats of the family suddenly yelled out. They had all been hiding around in the office, waiting for Bruce’s signal to jump out. 

Conner stared at them wide eyed, “You guys were in on this?” 

Tim was the first to give him a consolations hug, “Of course we were.” 

“Welcome to the family Conner” Dick patters his back. 

“I’m still calling you clone boy” Damian wasn’t a fan of hugs so he simply shook Conner’s hand. 

“And Bruce Wayne adopts another black haired kid” Jason ruffled his curly hair. 

Alfred was the last to come join them. He came in holding a tray with a cake covered in blue frosting that read, Welcome Conner. Along with a pile of plates and utensils, “Who wants cake?” 

And so Conner’s unofficial adoption party took place. They all sat on the couch or Bruce’s office eating cake and the batboys all shared stories of their own adoptions. And Dick promised that they’d have a party at Titian Tower later to welcome Conner and start his initiation. 

After everyone had eaten, the boys all went to their rooms since it was getting late, and Alfred took the dirty dishes. Leaving just Bruce and Conner at the office. 

Conner was just staring at the remaining cake, wondering how in a month he managed to go from neglected lab experiment to legally adopted child of a Gotham billionaire. 

“Are you alright?” Bruce asked him.

“I don’t know what I did to deserve all this” Conner whispered, but loud enough to be heard. 

“Just being yourself is enough.” He put a hand on Conner’s shoulder, “I want to announce at the gala tomorrow, that I adopted you.” 

Conner looked up at his father, “Isn’t he gonna be there.” They didn’t need to elaborate who he was. 

Bruce looked down at the floor, “Yes.” 

“That would risk your identity, you’d have to tell him you’re Batman” Conner knew how much Bruce valued his secrecy, he wouldn’t forgive himself if he was the reason Batman got unmasked. 

“I know. But I think I’d have to tell him either way, I’m adopting his son after all” it was time. Even if he and Superman were never gonna be together like he once imagined, they would be friends and they’d find a way to always be there for Conner. The son they now shared.

Conner fidgeted with the hem of his shirt, “So you’re really okay with him knowing?” 

“I think I’ve kept it from him long enough.” They’d known each other for years, Clark had replaced his identity very early on, maybe it was time to even the field.

“If you’re sure, then I’m fine with it.” 

“Perfect. Tomorrow I’ll introduce you to the world as Conner Wayne th..”

“What about Lex?” Conner hates having to ask. But they were going to Metropolis and Lex was out of prison. Facing Superman was fine when the bags were there, but facing Lex while they were all supposed to just be civilians? That was completely different.

“He isn’t invited..” Bruce assured him. “And for extra security….” He pulled out a pair of glasses from his pocket, “Tim and I were able to replicate Superman’s glasses. These will make you appear different to everyone else.” He handed them over. 

Conner turned the glasses over in his hand. The lenses were round and the frame looked almost identical to the pair of glasses he’d bought at the mall. 

“Tim picked the frames, said you like them like that” of course.

The thought of Tim making a pair of glasses the way he liked made Conner’s stomach do a little flip. “I do, I’ll have to thank him.” He didn’t know yet, but Tim had made the leaned transition lenses because he knew Conner prefers wearing sunglasses. And that way, anytime he was using them outside they would basically become sun glasses. 

“Well we should retire for the night, we have a full day tomorrow” Bruce walked them both out of the room. “Goodnight Conner.” 

“Goodnight dad” Conner waved goodbye as he headed to his room. On the way, he could hear the sound of showers running in the other rooms. He got inside his room but didn’t fully close the door, he felt it a bit open knowing Tim might come in later. He took a shower, brushed his teeth and changed into his fluffy pajamas. He then laid down on his bed to go to sleep.

And as predicted, around forty minutes later Conner felt a little weight being placed over his chest. 

—————————————————

The next morning, Tim and Conner were cuddling on Conner’s bed. Their little sleepovers had become almost an every day thing over the last week, and Tim was getting more sleep than he had in months. And Tim had been telling himself that it was because of the nightmares, but last night Conner had already left his door slightly open, as if he was expecting Tim to come in and close it. 

Tim woke up first as he often did, Conner turned out to be a heavy sleeper. It was ten in the morning and they had to get ready as today was the day of the long awaited gala. So Tim removed himself from Conner’s arms and left the room. Leaving Con’s room always felt… his own room felt…colder than Conner’s. 

Tim went to his bathroom to freshen up, he washed his hands and got upset that his soap wasn’t lavender scented. Conner always got the lavender soap from Alfred because it was his favorite scene. His own soap was anise scented, which was nice….but not lavender. 

Gods what was wrong with him!

Tim splashed water on his face and stared at his reflection, “Get it together Drake!” He was in trouble, and gods he knew he was in trouble. Because a few days ago he had realized that he had started developing feelings for Conner. 

The realization happened when he’d had a nightmare and went to ask Conner if they could sleep together again. Tim had cried in his sleep but forgotten to wipe them off that time. So when Conner saw Tim’s tear struck face he immediately scooped Tim up, placed him on the bed and then got tissues so he could wipe away the tears. That had made Tim’s heart skip a beat, they’d barely known each other for very long but Conner seemed to care a lot about him. And when they cuddled that night and Tim slept to the sound of Con’s heartbeat he realized….he had a crush.

This wasn’t the problem. Tim knew he was gay, he’d known for a while now and he’d had crushes on guys before. But Conner was different, it was different when your crush lived right next door and jumped off buildings to save you. 

He wanted to talk to Conner, he wanted to open up about his feelings. But how could he do that? He had no idea if Conner felt the same, didn’t even know if Conner lived with guys. Sure he’d had crushes, but he’d never had an actual boyfriend. 

He had to talk to someone….but who? Dick? No, he’d only ever dated Kori, and they had literally shared their first kiss like ten minutes into their first meeting. And the same went for Kori. Jason? Probably not a good idea. He barely talked about his everyday feelings, he’d never talk about his intimate ones with his boyfriend. Damian? Absolutely not. Alfred? Nah, he’d probably tell him to court Conner old style. Bruce? Well Bruce had somewhat dated a few times, but it wasn’t a good option. 

He decided to try his luck and knocked on the door of Jason’s room. The shower was on and Jason always took long showers in the morning, so Roy had to be alone inside. And Roy was the perfect person for him to talk with!

Roy opened the door, wearing one of Jason’s hoodies and plaid pajamas pants. “Hi Tim.” 

“Hey Roy, can I…ask you for advice?” Tim was extremely nervous, he’d never had to talk about this sort of thing with anyone. He didn’t even know how to start.

“Sure little Robin, what’s up?” Roy was always happy to help.

Tim summoned all the courage he had, “So….before you and Jason got together officially, you knew you had a crush on him right?” 

Roy tilted his head not sure where this was going, “Ummm…yes?”

Tim fidgeted with his fingers, “So how did you…how did you know he liked you back?” 

A lightbulb flickered in Roy’s head, “Is this about you wanting to know if Conner likes you back?”

Tim’s heart rate was on full blast and his face flushed, “How did you?”

Roy smiled at him, “No offense but,…it’s kinda obvious that there’s something going on between you guys.” 

Tim hurried his face in his hands, completely mortified. “Is it that obvious?”

“Yes.”

“Oh gods!”

Roy felt a little bad, he had been in the same spot in the past. So he stepped out of Jason’s room and brought Tim to a corner of the hallway. “Hey it’s okay.  We’re glad to have you at the g-club.” 

Tim glared at him, “Not funny.”

“Not trying to be. Oh and hey, I’m sure you’ll pull all the cute ones…like me” he wore a shit eating grin. 

“But I don’t even know if Conner likes guys,” Tim whined. 

“Why do you say that?” 

“Because I saw him on the news…” definitely not watching all recordings of Superboy that had been uploaded online back when he still worked for Lex. “He was always flirty with girls. What if I tell him I like him and he tells me he doesn’t like guys, I’ll never be able to face him.” 

“He could be part of the b-club” Roy offered. 

“Maybe” Tim said, ‘I hope so’ his heart said. 

“So what made you realize you like him?” Was Roy’s next question. If he was gonna give relationship advice he would need all the tea.

“It was….” Tim felt his face grow more red. “…after I asked if I could sleep in his room. I had a nightmare and…..” 

“You felt better when he was nearby?” Roy finished for him.

Tim looked at the floor, “….Yes” 

“Classic sign of soulmates!” 

“You think he could be my soulmate?” Tim’s eyes sparkled with hope. He’d never thought much about his soulmate, but he’d never felt the pull everyone always describes feeling. But if he had to pick someone out of everyone he knew to be his soulmate, Conner would definitely be top of the list. 

Roy put a hand on his chin, he had a good amount of knowledge on soulmates, he’d watched several soulmates find each other without their hero team. “Well I can’t say for certain. But…maybe. Soulmates tend to be clingy and you guys have been clued to each other since he got here.”

“But what if he only let me come into his room because he'd be nice? He had Superman’s DNA and Superman saved squires from falling off trees! He’s nice, what if Con was just being nice!” 

Roy rolled his eyes at Tim’s tantrums, “Ah yes, because nothing says nice like abandoning your own kid.” 

“That’s…a fair point!” 

“Also, do you think he’d let you in if he didn’t like you?” 

“But he can like me as a brother and not like….that. Uhh I’m not good at this!” Tim pulled at his hair in frustration. 

“Never been in a relationship before?” Roy teased him a little, but he wasn’t doing it to be mean.

Tim gulped, “I had a crush on a guy before….” 

“Yes?” 

“His name was Bernard but…it could never work.” 

“Why not?” The other asked out of curiosity.

Tim gritted his teeth, he didn’t like thinking about it. “Because I couldn’t tell him about me being Robin. I couldn’t tell him about a whole part of my life and myself. I had to say no when he asked me to go to a pool because I couldn’t even take my shirt off around him. How was Tim Drake supposed to explain all the scars he has!” Because he had many scars that no normal person could possibly justify having.

Of course Roy understood, “Yeah, sometimes I don’t like the fact that me and my soulmate are always in constant danger. But it has its perks.” Perks lol not having to hide who you are, because how were people like them supposed to explain the things they lived through to normal civilians?

How was Garfield supposed to explain his green skin and super powers? How was Raven supposed to explain who her father was? How was Conner supposed to explain that he was a clone hybrid between a villain and a hero? How were any of them supposed to explain their lives being in constant danger? 

That made Roy happy to have a soulmate who was a vigilante. And sure, he wasn’t a fan of the constant danger or Jason having relations with the mob and crime lords of Gotham. But at least he could be his full self with him. 

“With Conner it’s different. I showed him all the gadgets I made, I got to make him a suit…”

“You picked out a bunch of outfits for him!” 

Tim got more flustered, “Can you stop!” He thought he was about to cry. 

Roy put his hands on Tim’s shoulders to ground him. “Okay I’ll stop. Now, if you really want to know if he likes you there’s one question you need to ask him, but…” his body went stiff. “I don’t know if you’re ready to ask him that.” 

Tim perked up, “What is it?” 

Roy looked at the ground, he knew it wouldn’t be easy, and he should know since he’d lived through it. “You have to ask him what he felt on the night when he saw you fall from that rooftop.” 

Tim felt a shiver run down his spine, “Why that?” He and Conner had talked a little bit about what happened, it mostly consisted of Conner telling him that he’d always save him…and Tim’s heart beating a little faster because of it. But they hadn’t discussed what they’d felt on that night. 

“Because his reaction to the thought of you dying will tell you everything you need to know…” Roy answered.

Tim was quiet after that, quietly thinking of what he would even say to Conner. Tell him that in the moment where he thought he’d die he was sad that he’d never see Conner again?

Roy started talking again, “I’ll never forget the day we buried Jason Todd.” He looked down at his wrist with sadness, “Out of all the titans…Star and I stayed the longest. She comforted Dick and I….I just sat there crying. When Jason died….it felt like part of me died with him. He died at fifteen and I was seventeen.” 

Tim couldn’t speak, he hadn’t been around for that. He’d only joined the bat family after Jason was already dead. Roy kept talking,  “In those months he was gone….” The hurt was visible in his eyes, “I turned eighteen. You can’t imagine the pain of getting your soulmark expecting to meet your soulmate ... .just to find out you buried him months before.” 

He remembered, he had been excited to find out who his other half was. He had wrapped his wrist the previous night so he could unravel it at the party his friends had planned. His friends were gathered around him when he saw it for the first time, a mark that undeniably could only tie him to one person….to Jason. 

And he cried. He cried so hard that the party mood was killed and everyone kept asking him what was wrong. He had to pull Dick aside so he could explain, and the then newly named Nightwing was at a loss for words. Roy left the party after that, he couldn’t stay there, so he asked Dick to deliver the news for him.

“I slept on top of his grave that night…” 

Tim blinked up at him, “You did?”

“Yeah, I wanted to be close to him. I wanted to tell him that he was my soulmate. Life felt dull after that..” remembering those days was like stabbing a knife into his heart. The agony, all the people who kept telling him that it was okay and that he was free to pursue other people. 

“But he came back?” 

Roy gave him a sad smile, “I know. The day Dick called me to say that Jason was back I nearly had a heart attack. Not kidding, Raven had to knock me out! I didn’t care that he was killing people or running a mob.” 

“I remember you helped us track him down and bring him back” Tim was already Robin by then. And he remembered how no one explained to him why Red Arrow was so insistent on helping them track down Jason. 

“Of course I did.” He wiped a little tear that had formed in his eye, “So I promise you, ask Conner how he felt the moment he thought he’d lose you.” 

Tim gave him a hug, “Thanks Roy.” 

He knew he’d have to face it, if he really wanted a relationship with Conner he’d have to take the first step. He had to know if the Superboy liked him back. 

—————————————————

Conner wasn’t doing much better than 

He was standing in front of his mirror, dressed in the suit that Damian had selected for him back when he went to buy clothes. But he didn’t have a tie on yet. Because he didn’t know if he and Tim were supposed to match. 

He’d overheard that Dick would be wearing a blue tie and Kori would be wearing a blue dress to match. Jason was wearing a red tie and Roy’s outfit was red. Damian was wearing a green tie. And Tim had said that he’d be wearing a yellow tie. And between Damian and Tim….Conner wanted to match with Tim. 

Because it wasn’t just about the colors, it was about matching a partner. But Conner didn’t really know where his relationship with Tim stood on. He’d never had friends before but he knew that normal friends didn’t cuddle together in their sleep. So yeah…he had a little crush on Tim.

He’d known that since the day Tim comforted him when he’d heard Lex calling him. Having Tim hold him felt nice…too nice to just be friendly. And those feelings only got worse when he nearly lost Tim. When he’d been about to lose him, the moment he threw all the secrecy to the wind to save his friend. And he’d do it again.

So he had a crush and had no idea how to go about it. He didn’t even know if Tim would be into him, did Tim even date guys? Conner knew he was bisexual, known since he’d fly around metropolis and found both girls and guys attractive. Could it have been because it was his first time seeing new people and they all looked interesting to him? Maybe. But it didn’t change the fact that he found Tim attractive. He really needed someone to talk to. 

But who could he talk to? He needed brutal honesty, someone who’d tell him if he was delusional, seeing things all wrong, or if it could be real. Who in the manor could be like that? 

He knew just who could help him!

“Hey Damian?” Conner knocked on Damian’s door. 

“What is it clone boy?” Damian asked from inside. 

Conner took that as the okay to open the door, “Are you always gonna call me that?” 

Damian was looking at himself in the mirror as he combed his hair back. “Would you prefer Kent? Luthor perhaps?” 

Conner grimaced, “Clone boy is fine, just not in public.” 

“Deal. Now what is it?” 

Conner swallowed dryly, “I need….an impartial opinion.” 

Damian’s hand paused, “Go on?” 

Conner felt his face getting hot, “I-I think I like your brother.” 

Damian hummed, “You have feelings for Drake?” He didn’t sound surprised…because he wasn’t, but he was kind enough to not rub it in Conner’s face that anyone with eyeballs could see it.

“Yes.” 

Damian scoffed, “And? How is that my problem?” 

Conner fidgeted with the buttons on his shirt, “I don’t know how to tell him that. I’ve never done this. I haven’t been alive for a full year.” 

Damian sighed, “And this is why I don’t look forward to turning eighteen.” He walked to his bathroom to spray on some cologne. 

“Eighteen? “You think Tim could be my soulmate?” 

Damian sprayed himself twice, “He still has two years before the day comes, but you both seem…emotionally attached.” 

Conner wanted to laugh, a sad and tired laugh, “I don’t even know if it could happen….” 

Damian raised an eyebrow and looked at Conner through the mirror, “You are aware that Drake is homosexual, correct?” 

“HE IS??” 

Damian just kept grooming himself, “He is, so is Todd and father too. They attended an event last year for it.” 

“That’s….interesting”. Truth be told, Tim even had a gay pride flag up in his room, but Conner didn’t know that and when he saw it he thought it probably belonged to some country or sports team Tim was into. 

“He had a crush once too” Damian spoke casually. 

“And how do you know?” Conner felt angry on Tim’s behalf. 

Damian rolled his eyes as he adjusted his cuffs, “Please, he’s too obvious.” 

“Who was it?” It was invading on Tim's privacy, but he wanted to know. Could he possibly be Tim’s type?

Damian finally turned to meet Con’s blue eyes, “You overestimate my interest in Drake’s dating life.” 

Conner raised his hands, “Just thought you guys would run background checks on anyone any of you tried to date.” 

Damian thought about it for a moment, “Not an entirely wrong assumption. But Grayson and Todd have only ever dated one person. All I know is it was some blonde guy.” 

Blonde…so not like Conner, but he bet the boy couldn’t fly soon. “I just don’t know how to even approach him about this.” 

Damian’s stare narrowed, “You are aware my mother drugged my father into having me. I am not who you should be talking about this subject with.” 

Conner deflated, “I know, but I can’t ask Dick or Jason.”

“Why not?” 

“It’s different for them, like you said they’ve only dated one person and it’s their freaking soulmate” how could they understand! 

“Do you think…Drake could be your soulmate?” Damian didn’t ask in a mocking way, but in a way like he was truly interested in knowing. 

Conner looked at his blank wrist, “I don’t even know when I'll get my mark. Physically I’m around sixteen I think, but I’m only nine months old.” 

“And a coward!” Damian spat.

Con’s head snapped up, “What?” 

Damian crossed his arms, “Coward. Because if you can jump off a building to save someone but can’t tell him you like him that makes you a coward.”

“I’m not a coward,” Conner protested. 

Damian snorted, “Then go tell Drake you like him and stop waisting my time!” 

That’s the brutal honestly he came looking for. He’d never know if he didn’t ask, “Okay I will. Thanks Damian.” 

Damian rolled his eyes, “Whatever clone boy.” But when his door clicked shut he looked down at his own bare wrist. It wasn't fair, Dick had a partner, Jason had one, and it seemed like Drake was about to get one too. He didn’t want a soulmate, but a sidekick to go on missions with wouldn’t hurt, “I need to get myself a sidekick.” 

—————————————————

Conner and Tim bumped into each other when they returned from their respective pep talks. 

“Oh hey Conner,” Tim waved at him. 

“Hi Tim.” 

Tim looked his friend up and down and frowned, “You don’t have a tie yet?” 

Conner fought to make himself not blush, “No, I only have a green one.” 

Tim’s eyes sparkled. Oh this was perfect, Conner had no idea what opportunity he had just given him on a silver platter. Tim had wanted this, he had gotten a set of two matching yellow ties. He wanted to ask Conner to wear it but had no idea how. He smiled like a fool, “Oh, I can lend you one. I’m wearing a yellow one.” 

“Do you have an extra?” 

“Of course, come with me” Tim opened the door to his room for them to enter. 

And so Tim handed Conner a beautiful yellow tie. “Thanks Tim” he gratefully took it and started tying it around his neck. But once he finished he noticed Tim was staring at him, “What?”

Tim tilted his head, “You tied it wrong just ... .here let me” and he placed his hands on the tie, fixing it to sit properly on Conner's neck. “There now it’s perfect” he stepped back after a minute when he was done. 

“Thanks Tim” Conner then watched as Tim tied an identical tie on his neck, officially making them match. 

“You’re welcome” And once Tim was done he got the top part of his suit, “Now let’s go, I heard Bruce ordered a limo!” 

And he had! Bruce had ordered a large limo so all eight of them could sit comfortably on their way to Metropolis. The gala hadn’t even started but emotions were already running high! This would surely be a night to remember.

Chapter Text

As the Wayne’s arrived in Metropolis, their limo took them over to city hall. 

When they finally arrived, Bruce got out of the limo first and held the door open for his children to exit the car, “Right this way everyone.” 

“Wow this place looks awesome” Tim hopped out the car and stared at all the clean and shiny buildings in the heart of Metropolis.

“Never been to Metropolis before?” Conner asked him as he got out of the car.

“I have….mostly for business.”

“Or saving the world” Dick corrected. They had fought several alien threats in the streets of Metropolis.

“We’ve never been here just to hang out before” Roy stretched his arms as he got out of the car.

“Well our gala is being hosted by city hall.” It had been hard to get it approved but it would be worth it.

“How are the glasses?” Tim asked Conner as Con was adjusting them on his head.

“They’re fine” it’s not like the lenses changed anything, he had a perfect twenty twenty vision.

“They look good,” Roy complimented him. 

“We all have to make sacrifices to keep our identities a secret,” Kori agreed. 

“I know” Conner had come to terms with that. Though wearing glasses was nothing compared to what some do the Teen Titans had to do.

“So what’s the plan for tonight Bruce?” Jason asked his father.

“I’ll give my speech and you all will come to the stage with me…”

“And what about me and Kori?” Roy asked.

“You two get to stay right at the front.” They always stayed with them in the VIP sessions for events or close by to the Wayne family as they were practically part of the family. 

“Awesome!” 

“And when are you gonna talk to Clark?” Dick asked next.

“Preferably early on in the night, best not to avoid it” Bruce responded. He wanted to prepare the territory and then be honest with him about everything.

“Sounds like a plan” Dick replied.

“Are you nervous?” Tim asked his friend.

“A little” was a bit of an understatement. Conner was very nervous, he felt like Bruce was giving up his biggest secret because of him. That felt wrong.

“Don’t worry, it’s gonna be fine” Dick assured him.

“Well I trust you guys….” 

And so the Wayne family entered city hall, waiting to see what tonight would bring.

—————————————————

Two hours later, all guests and the press had all arrived. The gala was supposed to start in twenty minutes, where Bruce would give a welcome speech to his guests. But right now, he was backstage with Conner waiting for his assistant to give him the sign to get on stage. 

“Are you ready for this?” Bruce asked his son one last time. He didn’t want to hide Conner from the world, he wanted to be able to freely talk about all his children. But he wouldn’t do it if Conner wasn’t ready. 

“Are you sure you want to tell the world, to tell him?” Conner didn’t know what had suddenly gotten into Bruce, Batman had always been so adamant about never revealing his identity to anyone. “I won’t forgive myself if I’m the reason you revealed yourself.” 

Bruce crown he’d down to his level, “Conner, look at me. No one has ever forced me to do anything, I’m doing this because I want to…” because he had to. It was time to let Clark in on the secret. 

Conner nodded, he was still a little apprehensive, but he wasn’t going to back down now, “Okay then, let’s do it!”

Bruce smiled genuinely, “Good. Go wait backstage with the others…” he hurriedly guided Conner in the direction of where Damian, Jason, Dick, and Tim were all wanting. 

Conner looked up at him one final time before going, “Good luck.”

“Thank you.” Luck, he’d definitely need it. Not even he could predict what Clark would do when he found out his best friend was Bruce Wayne….and that Bruce Wayne adopted his son. And before he could second guess himself, his assistant gave him the signal. So Bruce took in a deep breath, “Now or never” the time had come. No more secrets, he’d tell Clark the truth. They’d make things work…for the kids. 

—————————————————

Clark did not want to be here, standing outside Metropolis city hall and amongst a sea of other reporters Bruce Wayne had apparently invited, all with cameras and note pads out ready to get any scoop on the billionaire. Clark wasn’t in the right mind for this, he was still thinking about his talk with Batman from the previous day.

To give Conner space, let the boy come to him when he felt ready to talk. He had to be patient. But that  didn’t stop him from worrying, he knew Conner was staying with Batman. Batman…..

Clark also couldn’t spot thinking about his last interaction with the bat, the way he had called him ‘Mr Kent’. He’d always called his friend by Clark, Kal, Superman ... .but Mr Kent? It was too formal even for Batman. He hoped Batman could handle taking care of a Kryptonian still taming his powers. 

At least now Clark had memorized Conner’s heartbeat, so every so often he would listen for it. It was comforting to know he could find him now if necessary, and he could listen out if Superboy was ever in trouble. He wondered what the other was up to right now, were they all patrolling the streets of Gotham while Clark had to attend another gala? He decided to close his eyes and listen to Conner’s heartbeat and……his heart was accelerated. Not in a near death experience accelerated, more of a nervous acceleration. 

But strangest of all, Conner’s heartbeat was close by. But why? Why would he be in Metropolis? Did he need help from Superman? Did Lex call him over again? Did he want to talk…..now? 

But Clark couldn’t leave the room. For one thing, the doors to the event had already closed behind everyone. But second, it would draw attention to leave. Why would a reporter leave the most anticipated events of the last few weeks before the host even gave his opening speech? Superboy would have to wait, at least until Clark could find a convenient way to leave. 

Clark took a heavy sigh and pulled his notepad and pen from his pocket, there wasn’t much else he could do at the moment. He adjusted his glasses and looked up at the stage where tech workers were setting up screens to showcase the logo for the event and a microphone stand for Bruce Wayne. 

After a few minutes the sound of a microphone being turned on could be heard across the room, and Bruce Wayne emerged from behind a set of curtains. He wore a pristine black tux that Clark would bet probably cost more than his monthly salary. Bruce walked towards his mike and smiled at the crowd, “Hello everyone, I would like to welcome you all to my charity gala.” 

Bruce pulled a small remote from his pocket and pressed the single button on it. The button turned on the screens on either side of the stage…..and Clark Kent dropped the notepad on his hand! 

Because the screens……..

On the screens…..

He saw his soul mark! 

A large W surrounded by a wreath that contained five colored in circles! 

He looked down at his bare wrist…this couldn’t be happening. There was NO WAY that the logo for Bruce Wayne’s charity gala looked exactly like his soul mark. That would imply that Bruce Wayne was his soulmate, there’s no way Bruce Wayne could be his soulmate. A meta human trying to keep a low profile matched with a billionaire surrounded by cameras all the time, there was no way fate would tie them together. 

Clark’s heart was pounding violently against his ribcage. He wasn’t paying attention as Bruce kept talking to the reporters, “This charity holds a special place in my heart. I don’t think it comes as a shock to anyone that I love children, and do as much as I can to help those who are in need.” 

Clark was hyperventilating, he’d glanced up from his wrist and onto the screens again at least a dozen times. He couldn’t deny it, there was a huge chance that Bruce Wayne was his soulmate. But he’d have to confirm it in order to be one hundred percent sure. He’d have to find a way to look at Bruce’s wrist during the party. 

Bruce had spotted Clark amidst the crowd, his friend seemed to be a bit uncomfortable. Which he found extremely odd, he’d have to find a way to check on him once the gala started. But for now, he kept speaking normally. “Which is why I've expanded my children’s charity to the city of Metropolis. With the goal of proving for all the children who were orphaned as a result of the battles with Doomsday and Darkseid. And if it leads to more adoptions being made…..then I will consider that a great consequence.” 

Clark was spiraling, so many questions hitting him at once. If Bruce was his soulmate…. he’d have to tell him that he was Superman, he’d have to call his parents and let them know he’d found his soulmate, he’d have to find a way to tell Bruce that he had a child with a man who desperately wanted to kill him. It was too much, he’d always imagined meeting his soulmate but this was more complicated than his fantasies had been. 

Bruce avoided looking at Clark’s direction, it was time, no backing out now! He cleared his throat, “As I think you’re all aware about my stance on adoption….I fully support it and have adopted several children over the years. All my sons…..Dick Grayson..” and Dick joined him on stage. “…Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Damian Wayne….” All three boys joined him and Dick on the stage. 

Clark watched as all the boys joined their father on the stage. If he and Bruce truly were soulmates he'd have to form a relationship with those four boys. He wondered if Bruce’s children would be accepting of Conner. He assumed Bruce would, after all he adopted several kids off the streets of Gotham.

 Bruce put on a bright smile, “..but I’ve recently adopted a new child as well.” All the reporters and guests collectively gasped, and Clark heard Conner’s heartbeat nearby again. Bruce kept going, “A boy I met when visiting this lovely city. A boy who was abandoned and in need of a home. I took him in, and now….I would like to publicly introduce my son Conner Wayne!” And Conner walked onto the stage. 

Clark had the wind knocked out of him. He stared at the stage, his jaw almost hitting the floor. 

Superboy

Conner, his son…stood on a stage next to Bruce Wayne.

Bruce handed Conner the microphone as the reporters all started frantically writing on their note pads and taking photos. Conner accepted it, “Thanks dad. Hello everyone I’m Conner Wayne. I lived here in Metropolis until I was ironed after the battle with Darkseid. I was left alone, but then Bruce Wayne adopted me into his family….” 

Make eyes look at him with sympathy. Bruce Wayne had always been known for adopting kids in tough situations. But Conner only made eye contact with one person, with a certain Daily Planet reporter who was looking at him with a look of pure shock and disbelief. 

Clark felt like he was about to pass out. Wasn’t Conner staying with Batman? How on earth did Bruce Wayne adopt Conner? Did Wayne even know he was Superboy? But worse…

Gods, his soulmate had adopted his son!

—————————————————

After Bruce Wayne and his kids got off the stage the gala had officially begun. A band was playing soft music, caterers were serving appetizers and drinks to the guests, and a crowd of intrigued reporters and guests were crowding Bruce with questions. 

Clark was still in shock, he was still trying to wrap his mind around everything he had seen. First, he found his long awaited soulmate, and his soulmate had apparently adopted his biological son. Just biological since apparently Bruce Wayne was the boy’s father. 

He knew he had to talk to Bruce Wayne, but he had to speak with Conner first. And lucky for him, finding the boy wasn’t that difficult. He found Conner leaning against a marble pillar with a glass of sparkling soda in his hand. He walked over the pillar, he just had to keep reminding himself that they were in public.

As Clark approached, Conner looked up at him with narrowed eyes, like he had been expecting the other. Which Conner absolutely had been, he had planned out everything with Bruce and the others. They all knew Clark would be in shock at seeing Conner, so Bruce had instructed Superboy to talk to Clark, and all the others were told to keep anyone who came close by away from the two Kryptonians.  

“What is the meaning of this?” Clark whispered when he got close to the boy. He knew Conner had super hearing so there was no need to raise his voice.

Conner took a nonchalant sip of his drink, “Meaning of what?”

“You should know those glasses don’t work on me.” 

Conner snickered, “Well yours don’t work on me either, guess we’re even.” 

Clark hated the attitude, “I thought you were living with Batman.” 

Conner gave him a smirk, “Correction, I fight crime at ninth with Batman. But I needed a civilian identity and place to live.”

Clark sighed, “So you want Bruce Wayne?”

Conner shrugged, “Batman had some connections…and Bruce liked me.” 

Clark pinched the bridge hot his nose, this boy reminded him a little bit of Lex. He remembered reading an article years ago claiming that Bruce Wayne had some connection to Batman, of course it had been taken as a huge joke. But Clark was starting to think that maybe it held more truth than the public had wanted to believe, “Do you even realize how dangerous that is?” 

“What is?”

Clark fought to keep his voice low, “Do they….do they know?”

Conner tilted his head, “Know what?” 

Clark took a step closer and his voice grew harsher, “Your powers…do they know? You could be putting them all in danger!” 

Conner’s head snapped up, meeting his father’s gaze. “I won’t let anyone hurt them! I can protect them, I won’t let anyone hurt them” it was a promise. Losing Tim had been the scariest moment of his life. He would do everything in his power to make sure that didn’t happen again, and not only to Tim but to all his family members. 

Clark felt the conviction on Conner’s voice, “You care about them?”

Conner didn’t faulted, “Of course I do. They’re my family.” 

Clark let out a breath. So Conner had found two families, he’d found a place as a vigilante with the bats and a human identity with the Wayne’s. “I’m glad you found them…”

Conner smiled, “Me too.”

Clark crouched down a little, “Conner…I’m sorry. I hope you know I’m sorry and I won’t try to take you away.” The change in Conner’s demeanor was instant, his shoulders relaxed and a happy smile appeared on his face. 

This was nice, he still had questions and wondered how in the world Batman had been okay with Conner living with such a public figure as Bruce Wayne. But he couldn’t ruin this moment, this was the first decent conversation he’d had with the boy and probably the longest too. So he asked a simple question to keep it going, “I like your name by the way, did you pick it?”

Conner perked up, “I did. I liked Conner.” Conner loved thinking about the day he got his name, Tim had been the one to suggest it. But why would Clark ask him that? He’d overhear Superman talking about the perfect little life he had planned with his soulmate…wait! Maybe.. “What would you have named me?” 

“Jonathan, after my Pa” Clark didn’t hesitate.

Conner raised an eyebrow, “Your dad?” 

Clark didn’t know how Conner knew his dad’s name, he just assumed that Batman probably had that on file. “Yes. I wanted to name my first child after my parents. Martha for a girl and Jonathan for a boy.” 

Conner thought about that, damn so Superman had clearly pictured his future perfectly. Jonathan, he didn’t like it. He was still angry at Clark and didn’t want anything from him, he preferred Conner. A name he had chosen for himself. Plus..”Well I’m not the first anyways….”

Clark looked at him with bewilderment, “What?”

Conner felt a pang of sadness was over him, “I’m the thirteenth clone.”

Clark’s voice grew louder unconsciously, “There’s twelve more?” He couldn’t believe this, he had thought that Lex only made one clone, but he made over a dozen clones.

Conner’s stomach dropped, “No. I was the only one who made it out of the lab.” And he’d never forget that, he was the only one to live. He would try to enjoy every day to the fullest, he’d try everything he wanted, because he wasn’t living for one. His twelve siblings were eliminated so he could live, he’d make sure that wasn’t all in vain. 

Clark huffed, “Why is Lex like that?” 

Conner snorted, “I think the better question is why is he so obsessed with you?” 

Conner narrowed his eyes, “You think I know?” That made Conner let out a laugh. “I can’t believe they let him out of Belle Reve…”

Conner took another sip of his drink, “Hey you only have to deal with his schemes every month. Try living with the guy for half a year.

Conner perked up at that. “Can’t imagine…” because he couldn’t. He could barely imagine all the horrible things Lex had said to Conner. Told him how much he’d wanted to have been the one to kill Superman, how he was superior to any meta human, how he would make himself the new savior of Metropolis. It must have been exhausting.

Clark looked at his son with full honesty, “Conner, I won’t ask you to leave your family. But if you ever need me just call and I’ll hear you.” He was hesitant, but had to let everything out since he didn’t know when he’d get the chance to talk with Conner again. “And I’d like to get to know you, my parents want to meet you, and I could introduce you to my dog.” 

“You have a dog?” Conner didn’t know that, but he did know he was a dog person. It had only taken a day with Ace for him to discover that.

“Yes I do.” 

“Bruce has one, his name is Ace.” 

Clark rolled his eyes, “Of course he does.” He was about to ask Conner more questions, but suddenly Damian came running up to Conner. 

Damian gripped the sleeve of Con’s clothes, “Conner, I require your immediate presence!”

“What’s wrong?” Conner asked his brother. 

Damian gave him a stern look, “Drake needs you!” 

And was all Conner needed to know., “Let’s go!” And so Con followed rapidly after Damian, leaving Clark alone. 

—————————————————

Bruce had finally been able to get away from all the reporters and elite members when the food started being brought out. He told anyone to go enjoy a bite and he’d speak more with them later. So he finally got the chance to find Clark, he was worried as to why Clark had been acting so weirdly during his speech. Had he already connected the dots that he was Batman?

No, Bruce wanted to be the one to tell him. He told Karl it would be on his own terms and so it would be. He found Clark chatting with Conner like they had planned, it was both heartwarming and a bit gut wrenching to see them together like this. On one hand, it was likely the first time the two actually held a real conversation, but Bruce knew that even if Clark asked, Conner wouldn’t leave the family. 

He watched as Damian came to get Conner for something and made his move. He grabbed a glass for a server’s tray and made his way to the reporter, “Good evening.” 

Clark was still looking at the two retreating boys when he noticed Bruce Wayne came up to him. “O-Oh…Mr Wayne!” Shit, shit, did Bruce know? Did he know they were soulmates?! 

Bruce smiled at his friend, “Evening Mr Kent, nice to see a familiar face around.” And he offered a hand for Clark to shake.

Clark didn’t look at Bruce’s wrist, he forgot, too caught off guard by the man actually remembering him. “You remember me?” 

Bruce tilted his head, “I remember you interviewing me a few times, Kent, not to mention you’ve attended several of my private events.” 

Clark tried not to get too flustered, “It’s my job.” 

“Well I remember either way…” He took a sip of his drink, it looked like champagne but was actually just soda, “So what do you think of the event?”

“I-I…I think it’s great” It wasn’t unusual for Clark Kent to stutter, he often did it as an act just like his clumsiness. But today…..today it was real.