Emergence 2.9a

– o – o – o – o – o – o – o –

LITCHFIELD COUNTY, CONNECTICUT

August 3, 2010

20:08 EDT

As he and the Team sat in wait not too far from the massive crater left by the League's battle against the now-dismantled robot being packaged up for delivery, Zeke could only roll his eyes as his teammate of a similar age let out another sigh – one of frustration or dismay, he didn't really know.

"Okay, lemme just get this straight first."

"..." The Boy Wonder tilted his head upwards and let out another sigh, the sound of a familiar voice snickering off to their left almost drowning it out. "Alright, ask me again for the seventh time."

Ezekiel glanced back towards Robin before gesturing once more towards the gently humming machine he currently sat atop, the bright blue tricycle apparently his personal vehicle, "I get that it has sensors and stuff, but you're telling me this thing is basically accident-proof?"

"Yeah," Robin replied with a nod, voice almost deadpan. "That is exactly what I've been saying. It's top of the line WayneTech. They pretty much drive themselves…"

"Okay, okay, okay…" Zeke replied with several nods, the tone of his voice making very much clear that it was not okay. Judging by Robin's stare and Kid Flash's continued laughter, that was also very much obvious. As if I didn't have enough to worry about, he grumbled to himself as he turned his head to the side to avoid their gazes, what with freakin' Amazo already, now I look stupid too.

The frown on the thirteen-year-old's face deepened as he leaned forward on his motorized tricycle, the design of his means of transport visibly different from the two-wheeled designs the rest of his team sported. Without a doubt, it definitely looked much safer, but was it wrong to have worries about potential safety? Apparently, if you're a sidekick - excuse me, protege…He rolled his eyes as he thought the specific word, a good chunk of his team apparently disliking the former word for some reason, If you're a superhero protege, safety is the least of your worries.

Ezekiel let out a scoff and made to roll his eyes again only to freeze in mid-roll, eyes suddenly wide as he stared past the sparse collection of brush in front of him.

While the ominous aura of the mission itself and it's details hung over him like the superpowered android version of Damocles' Sword, all of that was almost entirely wiped away from Ezekiel's thoughts as something far more immediate and prevalent took his attention.

The Big Blue.

The Last Son of Krypton.

Superman himself.

The costume, of course, was a bit different than he had expected but that wasn't really anything to be surprised about at this point. While the lack of the bright red trunks was the largest departure from the Kryptonian hero's traditional attire, it was far from the only difference. For one, a red-and-yellow v-shaped pattern around Superman's waist took the place of the expected trunks. Just above that was the distinct "S" shield of the House of El, itself noticeably altered to Zeke's eyes. Larger, wider and higher placed on Superman's chest than Zeke had ever seen it, the red edges of the diamond seemed to blend directly into the red cape flowing out from his collarbone, making it impossible to tell where one ended and the other began.

It was a… different look.

Not a bad one, though.

[https://i.imgur.com/XJy6P1z.png]

Undeniably Superman, yes, but still… different.

Ezekiel looked on, noting more and more differences between the Superman he expected and the one in front of him, some of them small but each one noticeable in it's own way. Even through the forest cover that kept the team sufficiently out of view from any potential watchers from the side of the highway or from above, it did barely anything to obstruct his view of the hero. While slightly shorter than Captain Atom himself, Kal-El was built in a way that the chrome hero couldn't manage to replicate, muscles seemingly in a perpetual state of flex despite how calm the man himself seemed to be.

Oh my God.

It was weird, certainly, just watching quietly as Superman made his way across the small field, each step bringing him closer to where the Team waited. Although, it could have been the fact that Superman was simply walking over to them, instead of flying through the sky. Still, even on the ground, Superman held himself in such a way that it didn't feel right for him to actually be touching the ground.

This was the hero.

The archetype.

The man that this whole universe revolved around.

Zeke held his breath at that same man stopped, bright blue eyes suddenly gaining a slightly distant look to them as he looked over the thin clump of foliage separating the Team and everyone else. The young teen followed his gaze, just in time to catch Superboy raise his head to return the Man of Steel's gaze.

And just like that… Superman turned around and walked away, expression not even shifting.

What… Zeke blinked, whipping his head between both Kryptonians, what was that?

The confusion written on his face was clear enough for even Superboy to catch it, the clone gritting his teeth as he secured his motorcycle helmet on his head. The muttered "Don't ask" that left Conner's mouth a few moments later left Zeke feeling even more out of depth than he expected, his mouth working silently for a bit before he simply shut it and sunk back into his own seat.

The clone had alluded several times before to the idea that Superman and him didn't quite get along, for reasons Conner didn't himself understand, but Zeke had never given thought to the idea that things were quite this bad. Miffed as he was that he wasn't allowed to make his way out of the tree cover to chat with his mentor, at least Zeke was able to wave at the man and receive an acknowledging smile and a nod in return.

The fact that Superman refused to do even half that…

I don't like this. Zeke's unsettled expression sunk into a definite frown, the young teen securing his own helmet as he continued to mull over what he had just witnessed. It honestly hadn't taken long at all for him to start regretting going on this mission.

Truly, he expected more screaming and perhaps… eye lasers.

Something like that but certainly not angst.

"Remember your positioning," Aqualad's voice cut into Zeke's thoughts and drew his focus away from Superboy's issues, the young teen sitting up at attention at his leader's words. "Myself, Kid Flash and Miss Martian will follow the Manhattan trucks."

"And that leaves me, Zeke and Superboy with Boston," Robin cut in, a smirk on his face as he glanced at the two other boys in turn. "Got it."

Aqualad glanced at his smaller teammate, a small smile on his own face. It didn't last long however, as the Atlantean quickly schooled his expression and simply nodded. "Then let us move out." As the last word left his lips, Kaldur revved the handlebars of his cycle and pulled up and out of the forest clearing, Robin right behind him and each member of the team following suit with Zeke once more taking up the rear.

"Star Manhattan is a go," a masculine voice sounded over the team's comms as three trucks began to move; Kid Flash, Aqualad and M'gann giving their remaining team members a look before following after the trucks as they turned onto the road and began heading north.

As his teammates passed him, Zeke glanced around the field, gaze passing over the Justice League members until he once again caught sight of his silver-skinned mentor, the statuesque man standing with his arms crossed nearest to the edge of the crater marring the field. Both mentor and sidekick shared another nod, a moment passing before Captain Atom rose into the air alongside Red Tornado and Wonder Woman, the Flash already speeding away on the road.

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He shook his head, the slight smile he wore fading into a rather discomfited expression. Why do I feel like having the League's help on this mission would come in super handy? His eyelids drooped slightly, gaze flicking over to the trucks parked to the left holding bits and pieces of the disassembled super android. Ah, yeah… that's why.

The boy in blue turned his attention back to his teammates and the trucks not too far from them, only to raise his eyebrows slightly as he noticed Superboy gazing in the same direction he had just been, face set in a rigid scowl. Already expecting what he was about to see, Zeke glanced back and found himself entirely unsurprised to see Superman doing his best to avoid eye contact with his clone, the hero purposely looking up into the direction several of his teammates had taken off in.

… The young teenager flicked his gaze back to Conner, unable to help himself from mimicking the scowl the other boy wore. What kind of Superman acts like this?

Before Zeke could dwell on that thought, another voice sounded off through the comm in his helmet and dragged his attention back to the situation at hand.

"Star Boston is a go."

He let out a sigh, hands gripping the handlebars of his vehicle almost in sync with his teammates. The teenager's engines revved loudly for a moment before the din coming from the truck's engines virtually drowned them out. One by one, the three trucks moved forward and turned on to the road, the three young sidekicks following closely behind.

– o – o – o – o – o – o – o –

It didn't take long for Zeke to realize exactly how right Robin had been about the vehicle he had been so wary about from the moment they had arrived in Connecticut earlier today. Honestly, he barely had to do anything but keep his hands steady, a hard enough task as it was considering how nervous he had felt about driving this thing at highway speeds.

Thirty minutes later and not only had he not yet crashed, but Zeke didn't even think he had come close to doing so once. Hell, he was honestly enjoying himself, the slight but persistent fear that had been part of his cycling experience for the first ten minutes of their journey haven given way to actual exhilaration. He let his mouth pull upwards into a grin, hands tightening around the handlebars as he sped up slightly to match his teammate's faster bikes.

He couldn't help but be thankful that "WayneTech" (wink-wink) had so graciously donated these super-advanced bikes to the Team, especially when they were supposed to be a covert group. Covert, Zeke snorted to himself, only keeping himself from rolling his eyes through force of will. Yeah, we're so covert that we're riding brightly colored motorcycles with matching gear.

It was a ridiculous concept to swallow even for him, the idea that the six of them were supposed to be some clandestine combat group, and he was supposed to be the least experienced one on this team. The whole 'covert' idea that Batman had tried to get them to swallow made no sense with even the slightest bit of thought and, if he was being honest, the ease of his teammate's at accepting something like that so quickly bothered him.

It was like none of them remembered the first mission they had all been on together. A 9 foot tall weather-controlling android that could fly and the massive dragout of a fight that they had to bring him down… Yeah, that was real covert.

The fight against Atomic Skull and Psycho Pirate? Literally a brawl on the front lawn of a nuclear plant in broad daylight with half the staff watching the whole thing. How had that not made the news, honestly?

Is it just me? Zeke let out a sigh as he tried to refocus his thoughts. Maybe it is just me. This is probably another one of those weird differences from what I know again. Like the Teen Titans being not a thing, Robin wearing pants or Aqualad being… different. Frowning slightly at that, he flicked his gaze over to Superboy, the clone keeping pace a few meters ahead of him as he remained as silent as he had been since the beginning of this mission. Superman's a big difference there, too. Why is he ignoring Conner like that? How long has that been going on?

Speeding up even more, Genesis fell into formation right behind both Robin and Superboy, all three of their vehicles forming a triangle behind the cargo they guarded.

Even from behind, he could tell Superboy was still livid, the clone's shoulders hunched in a way that seemed to radiate anger. Robin had certainly noticed Conner's mood, judging from the way the usually chatty Boy Wonder had remained oddly silent over the last half hour.

Zeke's gaze flicked between Robin and Superboy, already having come to a decision. The young teen revved the engine of his trike, increasing his pace just enough to draw Robin's attention. The two sidekicks shared a look, Zeke nudging his head over in Superboy's direction a few times, and it didn't take long for the other boy to get the hint.

Speeding up as Robin eased his own pace, Genesis took the Boy Wonder's place to Superboy's right, the three falling back in triangle formation rather quickly. They remained like that for a few moments more, the silence already a familiar part of their journey.

"So, Superboy…" Familiarity was thrown out the window the next moment, Zeke's words actually drawing the larger teenager's attention.

"What."

Despite not even moving his head an inch, the barely repressed anger in Superboy's tone managed to elicit a flinch from Zeke, but he managed to soldier on regardless. "Just… just wondering, you know… i-if you were okay."

Silence.

"Superboy?" The anxious expression on Ezekiel's face shifted to a distinct frown, determination to actually get somewhere beating out wariness as he pressed the question again. "Seriously, are you okay?"

"...Hn."

A grunt. Zeke nodded to himself, taking that as a cue to continue. "Look, I'm not gonna pretend like really I understand what's going on with you and Superman b-"

"There's nothing going on with me and Superman," Conner interrupted, voice dipping lower, almost to a growl as he cut off the smaller boy's attempt at a dialogue.

"I'm not sure ab-"

"I said, there's nothing going on." The heat in his tone was audible this time, actual emotion that was very distinct from Superboy's usual terse gruffness. "What don't you get?"

"...Oh, I get it," Genesis replied in a deadpan voice. If you don't want to talk, you don't want to talk. My fault for pushing. "I'm just not sure what you think nothing is."

"I said what I said," Superboy replied once more, shutting down Zeke's attempt to continue the conversation. "Leave it alone."

The smaller teenager let out a slight breath, shaking his head slightly at his teammate's stubbornness. It wasn't like he hadn't gotten used to Superboy's attitude over the time he had known him. In fact, he honestly thought it was pretty cool, if he had to be honest. Still, it didn't mean that it couldn't be frustrating when several attempts at conversation were rebuffed with little more than a growl and a scowl.

Especially when that scowl was coming from someone as strong as Superboy. The boy in blue flicked his gaze back over to his right, attention drawn by a sudden movement. No longer focused on the cargo truck and the road in front of him, the clone's gaze was locked on to the sky, what little Zeke could see of his face twisted up in concentration.

Genesis glanced up himself, noting what seemed like a few dots far off in the distance, before glancing back at Superboy. "Uh, Supey, wh-"

"We've got incoming!"

"Incoming?!"Robin's voice sent a rush of panic running through Genesis for an instant, the paralyzing fear suddenly banished to the back of his mind as nothing more than a vague sense of alarm. Ignoring the pop-up informing him of that fact, Zeke banished it with a thought as he whirled his head around in search of whatever could be approaching them.

"Incoming?!" He repeated again, after a few moments of futile searching. "Where?"

Speeding up his cycle until he was even with both Superboy and Genesis, Robin pointed up in the direction Superboy was still focused on, Zeke's gaze following the path of his finger until he felt his stomach drop. "Are those…"

Superboy voiced the only word on his mind a moment later.

"Monkeys."