Superboy and Lena — A Quiet Confrontation
Two weeks.
That was how long it took for the truth to stop feeling like a punch to the chest and start feeling like something he could carry.
Not forgive.
Not forget.
Just… carry.
GREEN LIGHT
The Watchtower briefing room was quiet when Batman finally gave the nod.
"You're cleared for field deployment," he said, eyes never leaving the hologram of Africa rotating above the table. "Mission parameters are simple. Infiltration. Capture. No escalation."
Professor Ivo.
Nautan Africa.
A hidden facility rebuilding adaptive android tech—another attempt at creating something that could copy the Justice League.
Superboy stood straighter without realizing it.
This wasn't about proving himself.
This was about moving forward.
WHO KNOWS — AND WHO DOESN'T
Most of the team still didn't know.
They knew he'd gotten stronger.
They knew his control had improved.
They knew something had changed.
But not what.
Not how.
Not the power that slept beneath his skin.
Aqualad knew—Aquaman had told him, leader to leader.
Miss Martian knew—she always knew more than she said, and she'd followed him once, quietly, carefully.
Nightwing suspected.
Batman knew everything that mattered.
And Lena Luthor…
She knew more than anyone else wanted her to.
THE CONFRONTATION
Superboy found her in the Watchtower's secondary lab—away from cameras, away from people, away from judgment.
She was recalibrating a diagnostic console when he spoke.
"Lena."
She froze.
Slowly, she turned.
"I was wondering when you'd come."
He didn't sit.
Didn't accuse.
Didn't raise his voice.
That scared her more than anger would have.
"I needed time," he said. "Not to cool off. To think."
She nodded. "You deserve that."
Silence stretched.
Finally, he asked the question that mattered.
"Did you ever think about telling me?"
Lena swallowed. "Before I knew? No. After I found out?"
She hesitated.
"Yes. Every day."
He studied her—really studied her.
Not Lex's sister.
Not a scientist.
Not a villain.
A woman trying not to become something worse.
"You didn't choose this," he said.
"No," she whispered. "But I'm still responsible for what came from it."
That answer mattered.
THE LINE BETWEEN BLOOD AND CHOICE
"You know," Superboy continued, "I've been engineered, cloned, manipulated—my entire life. People always decide what I am before asking who."
He met her eyes.
"You didn't do that."
Lena exhaled shakily.
"I won't ask you to forgive me," she said. "And I won't try to be something I'm not. But if you ever need anything—anything at all—I'll be there."
He nodded once.
"That's enough."
Not forgiveness.
But not rejection either.
MISSION CALLED
The comm chimed.
"Team, move out," Nightwing's voice echoed. "Transport in five."
Superboy turned to leave, then paused.
"One more thing."
She looked up.
"I don't care whose DNA I have," he said calmly. "I decide what I become."
Then he walked out.
AFTERMATH
Lena sat down slowly, hands trembling.
She hadn't been absolved.
But she hadn't been cast aside.
And somehow… that felt like hope.
BACK WITH THE TEAM
As Superboy joined the others at the teleporter platform, Miss Martian smiled at him—soft, proud.
Aqualad gave a subtle nod.
The mission ahead was dangerous.
Professor Ivo.
Adaptive androids.
Secrets buried under steel and code.
But for the first time since learning the truth…
Superboy felt steady.
Grounded.
Ready.