Daughter of Superman

A Real Talk

Superboy opened the door ten seconds later. His eyebrows shot up when he saw who was at the door, and his eyes went wide. Superman suddenly felt more guilty than anything. The poor boy looked so incredibly surprised... And he shouldn't be.

He was still wearing the tattered uniform from Cadmus, and Clark had to frown at that. They didn't give him anything to wear?

"You're still wearing that?" he asked, a little irritated, but not at the boy.

Unfortunately, the boy didn't realized that. He suddenly passed from surprised to offended.

"It's my solar suit." he said, the voice almost a copy of his own too, only younger and a little more angered. He was a little defensive, and Clark realized he failed him again.

He took another deep breath.

"I'm sorry, that's not what I meant," he sighed. "I mean... No one gave you anything proper to wear? Your clothes are torn and dirty."

The boy looked a little less guarded, but shrugged. Superman didn't know what to say about that now, so he changed the topic.

"Can I come in? We need to talk."

Superboy nodded and opened the door a little more, letting him in. He stood awkwardly by the door, even after the boy closed it and went to stay in front of him, by the bed, but still standing.

"I'm sorry," Superman blurted out. "For flying away yesterday, without so much as a proper talk with you. That wasn't very nice."

Superboy's eyes warmed up a little, and he seemed a little more relaxed.

"It's okay," he dismissed the older hero. "You're probably very busy."

"It's not okay," Superman insisted. "I should've treated you better. Can you forgive me?"

The boy looked surprised, relieved. "Now... I need to talk to you about something else. Something a little more... private."

"And what is it?"

He looked right into the boy's eyes, and saw nothing more than a child trying to understand this new world that he was suddenly in. He took a deep breath and sat on a chair nearby, and Superboy sat on the bed, looking at him warily.

"This is not common knowledge, and I would like to keep it that way."

'Keep my secret, please. Help me keep her safe.', was the unspoken plea.

"Sure..." the boy whispered, a little agitated and uncertain.

"I have a daughter," the hero said, seeing how Superboy's eyes went wide again, his heartbeat stopping for a minute and then racing. "I had her when I was on my twenties, and she's almost sixteen now."

He stopped, trying to understand Superboy's reaction. He looked surprised, shocked and... rejected?

"I see." he said, his voice low and rough suddenly. He cleaned his throat and talked again, but he looked stiff. "So you don't have time or space for me. I understand. That's not what I want..."

He could see the conflict in the boy's eyes. Could hear it in his heartbeat. He was quick to stop the boys assumptions, though.

"That's not what I'm saying, Superboy," he spoke calmly, and the boy look at him confused. "I said that to you because she wants to meet you, and I thought you should know about her before that."

He looked nervous now, and Clark decided to keep talking, until he had said everything, or the boy would have a heart attack. Probably.

"After I left Washington yesterday, I went home. She was still awake and I talked to her. She was mad that I hadn't brought you with me then," he smiled nervously, looking away from the boy for one moment. "We talked, and that's when I realized how badly I had treated you. That's why I am here now. I wanted to apologize. And as  for my daughter, I want to meet you. I want to get to know you. I... I want to be your mentor, if you still want that."

Superboy looked like a gaping fish, and Superman was so nervous he couldn't do anything but stare, waiting for the boy to answer.

"I... don't know if..."

"She and I would love that." he interrupted, trying to convince himself too. "She always wanted a brother. And you both can easily pass by twins."

Superboy blinked. Several times. Confusion in every one of his features.

"You want to take me to your home?" he asked, seemingly recovering his talking skills.

"Yes."

"And mentor me?"

"Yes."

The boy looked unsure, and Clark wondered if he really had made that bad of a first impression to get a reaction like this from his request.

"You only have to come with me to our place if you want," he added, trying to make the boy more comfortable. "I'll still be you mentor regardless, and I'll train with you, teach everything I can so you can learn more about your powers and how to use them. Since you want to stay with us heroes, I will help you. Gladly."

Clark found that this was true. Even if the boy didn't accept going to his place, he would be happy to teach him about his powers and other things in general. Maybe having a boy to take care wasn't on his plans, but now that Superboy was here, he could not see anyone else having what it was needed to take care for the boy properly. It had to be him.

Superboy did seemed relaxed by the idea that going to Superman's house was optional, but the hero was hoping he would accept. Not many people in the League knew Superman had a daughter, and it would be difficult to prevent Madine from coming to the Watchtower to meet Superboy if he didn't come with him to Metropolis.

"I think..." Superboy interrupted his musings with a small voice. "I think I want to go."

Superman gave him a warm and genuine smile.

"That's wonderful."

The boy smiled back, and suddenly Clark realized that he could do this. He could be a father for this kid. Because despite his physical appearance, he was less than a day old, and despite his knowledge, he didn't know a lot of things. Clark could teach him. Madine would help, too, happily.

"So..."

"I need to get back to work," Superman said, giving the boy a small smile. "So I can't take you home now. But as soon as I'm out, I'll come back and we'll go, okay?"

"Ok."

"Martian Manhunter will help you pack and I'll come pick you up by the end of the day." he said, getting up, the boy mimicking him.

"Sounds great."

He made a move to leave, but hesitated at the open door, looking at Superboy, who was fidgeting. He made his mind right after hearing his beloved daughter's voice in his head, screaming at him: 'just hug him!'.

And that's what he did, surprising the boy completely. After a few seconds, he let go, smiling.

"Thank you for the second chance."

"I can tell you the same," the boy said, a smile in his lips and the blue eyes shining a little.

Clark waved, and then went in the direction of the zeta tubes, ready to hear the deafening scream of delight when he called Madine to tell her she had just won a brother.