The Return of Superboy Part III
-or- "I Never Met an Amazon I Didn't Piss Off"
Starring Superboy, Wonder Girl, Impulse
June 10 2000

Metro: The Habitat: Bart's Room

        Bart's room is reasonably well-lit, and not nearly as much of a
hellhole as his room in the New York headquarters was. There're posters
all over the room - bands, movies, and a couple of posters of Golden Age
heroes. Bed's a simple Harvard frame, desk is hella messy, floor is mostly
clear. There're boxes stacked in one corner, and an electric guitar
leaning against an amp nearby.

Bart Allen is draped across his bed, upside down, feet on the wall and
head hanging off the side, playing Pokemon on his gameboy. You laugh, but
-- that shit's addictive, I tell you!

There's a faint knocking at your door and oh... one point two seconds it
flies open and there's Superboy standing in the frame. "Hey Bart! Do you
know how hard it was to find you? I looked everywhere. The cafeteria. The
gym. The girl's locker room." He shoots you a wink at that and steps
inside. "I should've known you'd be down he... POKEMON! What are you
doing, Bart? That stuff will warp your mind!!" Feinting horror, he rushes
over to you. "Oh no! It's too late!" Then he grins widely and begins to
laugh at his own joke. Ah... Almost like the good old days.

"No -- I -- wait! Grife! NO!! Ohhhh, SB, you SUCK!" Rolling off his bed,
Bart brings the screen of the gameboy up to rest against his forehead.
With a mock sniffle, he shakes his head. "Jigglypuff, I weep for thee. I
did my best! I did!" There's a moment of silence, then Bart stands and
brushes himself off, switching the gameboy off and setting it on his bed.
He raises his eyebrows at the Kid. "Come on, Pokemon's better than
Unreal."

"Ehn. I'm more of a Tomb Raider man, myself." Looking up at ... well
nothing on the wall, his mouth hangs open and he mumbles something.
Something about Croft? Lara maybe? Yeah.. You know it is. Shaking his head
after a moment as if to wake himself, the Kid lifts his hand up to wipe a
little bit of drool that's running down the side of his face. What a
pleasant image, no? "So Bartholomew, I was wondering if you have room in
this swanky motel for another guest or if I need to find someone to bunk
with. I'm sure Lois wouldn't mind." Then under his breath he adds, "I know
I wouldn't."

With a resounding *thump* *thud* *whomp*, the door to Bart's room echoes
with a quiet pounding of knuckles. Of course, the pounding isn't two
seconds died down, before it cracks open a minute bit, as a platinum
blonde head pokes itself around, viewing the contents within through
goggled covered eyes. "Heeeeeey Bart? You decent?" As /if/ Cassie would
have a second to view him if he /wasn't/.. so she isn't that worried about
just barging into the room, as the door continues to swing the rest of the
way open. .. Her not yet seeing the Kid..

"Yarrg, not if you call me Bartholomew, Rockstar Boy," winces Bart,
spinning his desk chair around to straddle it; he leans his arms across
the top and rests his chin there. "And - your room's untouched." Oh ow,
another flinch -- doesn't *anyone* respect doors? Not privacy, just doors,
I'm talkin' about. The thing's gonna be splinters by morning, I *swear*.
"Cass! Naw, makin' sweet monkey love to my computer again." He clears his
throat. "And Superboy is taking pictures."

"EEP! I'm not!" Superboy calls out in the best femine voice he can manage
while not laughing. Then he looks over to Bart and quirks a brow. "Yeah..
If I wanted to sell them to the Inquisito... Now that you mention it..." A
sly smirk comes to his face as he pretends to ponder. Need to keep that
good humor going if Cassie's going to be here. To quote Bart, grife. The
Kid was hoping to at least get settled in before meeting up with Imp's
ball and chain, but he supposes now is as good a time as any. He will just
make sure he keeps his distance. Inconspicuously, of course.

Ball and chain!? Ball and chain? Oh, yes, Cassie would definitely have a
few words about that, as the teenaged superheroine parts the door the rest
of the way open, pausing only as the door parts open.. to gawk first at
Bart, then .. then to The Kid. The smile that was on her face, the wide,
excited grin of one that had something to say - fades into a line, and
then a scowl, as her brilliant light blue gems dance back onto Superboy.
Behind the goggles, her eyes narrow down to slits, as her attitude adjusts
accordingly. "So you decided to join us again, oh mighty Superkid, how
nice, excuse me while I contain my enthusiasm."

Ohh, boy. Here it comes. Bart closes his eyes, lowering his head slightly
so he's resting his mouth on his arm instead of his chin; he opens them
again and watches impassively for a moment. The Kid -does- have this
coming - he has to have known that. You don't go AWOL for a godawful
length of time and get off scot-free. Finally, he raises his head again
and asks quietly, "Cassie, what were you gonna say?"

Superboy nods in greeting to Cassie, his smile about as big as hers was,
but he manages to keep it there. "Wonder Girl. Charming as always." Okay,
maybe just a -little- dig. Just a little one. Okay, it was a big ol' smack
in the face, but isn't he allowed to do it every now and then? "How have
you been holding up?" he continues on, trying to hold some sembelance of a
normal conversation with the girl just before he's undoubtedly saved by
Bart's question. Nah.. He's still gonna hear it and yes, he knows. But at
least this time he has a real reason and not some lame ass excuse about
walrus men and who knows what else.

"I'd rather not say it in front of strangers." Comes Cassie's response to
Bart's question, as her gaze narrows down on Superboy again, mouth drawing
into a line, straight, narrowed, and most certainly /not/ pleased with the
situation right now. Turning to face Superboy completely, her hands plant
onto her hips, poised there - in .. of all things .. Donna's old Wonder
Girl suit still. (One of the things she was going to tell Bart about but
now .. no way..) Like the little Amazon she's trying to be, her eyes never
once waver now, as her voice rings out, cold as ice. "Isn't it about time
you flew off to some island, I'm sure five minutes have already passed, or
are you waiting for your croonies to swarm over you, so your ego will
inflate more?"

Ouch. That was really harsh. Especially the 'stranger' part, that
was...impressively harsh. Remind Your Humble Narrator never to get on
Cassie's bad side, please. At any rate -- Bart is bright enough to know
when it's not a good idea to try and sidetrack the young Amazon: he'd only
end up getting her mad at him, too. So he just lowers his head slightly
again, offering Superboy a pair of raised eyebrows and 'hang in there'
vibes.

Ouch. That bit. Hard. But Superboy will just need to shrug it off. Hey,
he's tough. He's the Kid of Steel, after all. "Nah. Decided I'll stick
around. Heard you guys were into some trouble and thought I could help you
out a bit. Since I am a celebrity and all." The dead smile on his face
flares up slightly as the right corner of his mouth lifts, though he's not
expecting anyone else to share in his facade. As for the flying off to
some island. Right now that would be a bad idea. He just managed to leave.
And the remark about his ego? Water off a duck's back. The stranger
comment? More like oil. But he won't let it get to him. He knows women.
He'll just sit here, let Cassie get out whatever's bugging her this second
and then everything will be fine and dandy again. Oh yeah... He knows
women real well.

Oh? He knows women really well eh? Well, Cassie isn't your typical woman,
she's been trained by /Artemis/, and that amazon has taught /her/ well.
For one thing, you can forgive once and let it go, twice and you're the
fool to trust him again, not without proof, and right now, Cassie doesn't
see a bit of change, nor redeeming in this figure that stands in Bart's
room. Oh no. She doesn't. Her mouth sneers up at the corner, and with
every ounce of energy she has, she refrains from stepping forward to deck
that quirk of his mouth right off his lips. Her hands balls slightly on
her hip, then relaxes, though her shoudlers, and very stance remains
rigid. His cocky words just tend to irritate her more, and even if she
/isn't/ a telepath, it doesn't take one to jump to conclusions and read a
number of things about Superboy's voice, manors, and especially
expression. "How kind." Her voice is, once again, neutral, though a tinge
of disgust rings through. "Bart, I am so out of here. The last thing this
team needs is to have wannabe heroes running around, claiming the glory
when it goes good, and running at the first hint of danger." Coward? She
called him a coward? Well, yeah. "I'm going home."

"Cassie," comes Bart's voice quietly, as he lifts his head again. There's
a blur, and suddenly he's not sitting in his chair anymore - he's standing
in the doorway in front of Cassie. "I yelled at him and he didn't flinch.
You yelled at him and he didn't flinch. I told him about the DEO - all of
it. About Dinah, about the media - about J'Onn and Batman. He didn't find
something else to do, and he didn't disappear overnight. In fact, he
offered to go undercover and try to turn the tide. He's here to help, now
that there *is* danger." He speaks low and fast, trying to get through
before Cassie pushes him out of the way, trying to communicate this. His
eyes are earnest, concerned, as he looks down, facing Cassie, and his
voice goes even quieter. "And this is a problem...where we need, you know,
we need all the help we can get."

Yes he thinks you did and even if Wonder Girl doesn't step forward,
Superboy does. "Hold on there, Jane of the jungle. You wanna talk to Imp,
talk to him. I'll go. It's obvious I'm not wanted here anyway." Looking
over to Bart, taking his eyes off Cassie (and likely his life into his own
hands), he reaches into his pocket and fishes out the broken pieces of his
communicator, moving to toss them to his friend but stopping as the speed
demon moves. Then, deciding he doesn't need it anyway, he flicks them over
his shoulder to land onto Bart's bed, even as the boy starts talking.
Another step is taken toward Cassie and more importantly the door, but
then he stops and opens his mouth, then closes it again, thinking it
better not to voice that little tidbit of info right yet.

Parting her lips to state, 'By Zeus what gave you the first clue', but
instead, she's stopped by Bart's plea. Now, if there is one person on this
earth beyond Cissie that can calm Cassie down, and actually force her to
listen that would be Bart. No matter /what/ she feels about Superboy right
now, no matter how betrayed not just for /her/ friendship, but more
importantly, for /Bart's/... After all, Cassie and Superboy -while
friends- where never as close as she saw Bart and Superboy were. It is
that reason she gets more pissed off, it is that reason that she will
listen to Bart, one hand lifting upwards to tug off her goggles, and wring
the poor plastic around and around in her hands.. With a low breath, she
turns slightly, just enough to view Superboy, and offer a quiet warning.
"If you ditch .. us.." She puts in 'us', though there is another hint in
there, as though she wanted to say something more singular.. Continuing,
she phrases each word slwoly.. "Again, I don't care where you go, you and
I /will/ have a 'talk'."

Bart Allen visibly relaxes, exhaling mightily, sinking into the doorframe
a little. He holds his hand out, past Cassie, his eyes meeting Superboy's.
"Gimme your communicator - I'll get you a new one." Yeah - the
communicator on his bed. The one that's in several extremely
broken-looking pieces. The one that made it difficult for the Kid to let
the team know what happened to him. "And...I think now would be a good
time to explain what went on," he says apologetically.

"I didn't 'ditch' you the last time, Cassie," Superboy informs the young
Amazon. "But did you bother to ask where I've been?" Shaking his head, he
of course knows the answer to that just as well as you both do. Nope.
Never asked once. As his hands slip back into the pockets of his jacket,
he cocks his head to the side and asks, rather bluntly, to just Cassie as
she seems to be making the big deal of his whole disappearance. "And while
I was gone, how many times did you try to find me? To see if I was in
trouble? To see if I needed some friends?" Again, he knows the answer to
that, too, and only now does he look at Bart. "I had an extended vacation.
Decided to visit Tana for the holidays and got sidetracked.. But I think
it's taken care of now." At least he hopes so.

"Why you slimey, low down, arrogant, stick in the mud." Comes Wonder
Girl's response, uhm, yeah, okay, attack the Amazon, good idea. She /had/
calmed down, you know.. Now that he's trying to put her on the defense,
she's going for the attack. Spinning around on her heels, her eyes blaze,
as the goggles go *crrrack* in her hands, the glass breaking into a
thousand different shards. "Why should I even /bother/ to look /you/ up,
when you left us so quickly the /last/ time? Huh? What reason have you
-ever- given us, or me, or Bart to even /desire/ wanting to look you up.
Frankly, the only reason I'm not decking you clear into the next room is
because of Bart, and the fact we /do/ need help. I'm just not so certain
we need /your/ kind of help, mister." She's in the air instantly, floating
above the floor as she speaks, still snarling the goggles now floating
down to the ground to crunch there again. "But guess what, /now/ that
you're here, I wont be. You know, I /was/ going to try, but thanks to your
big mouth, you can forget that. I am so gone."

Great. Just /swanky/, that is. Superboy blew that one - so Bart just lets
Cassie storm out this time, hoping when she stops fuming he'll be able to
fix this one. As she goes past him, he looks down and away, face set.
"Kid," he says to the older teenager, "I ran myself out looking for you
for two weeks. Two weeks at near lightspeed - do you know how much
distance that was I covered? I pestered Dolphin to look underwater, and I
pestered the League to look in space - until the Secret came along. Then
we were kinda busy with her, and the DEO. And frankly, with the number of
times you've gone and come back perfectly safe in your own sweet time, and
that -we- haven't been able to find you...can you blame Cassie for not
really trying? I mean, honestly speaking, can you?" He pauses and says
softly, "I'm not condemning you. Just sayin'."

No one ever said Superboy had much tact. Starting for the door again, he
looks at Wonder Girl and shakes his head. "Like I said, Cassie, stay. I'll
go. I'm sure the others would be just as glad to see me leave as you will
be." And then he stops. Stops dead. They.. did.. look.. Turning back to
his young friend, he grins. "Thanks, Imp. Thanks for trying." Taking a
breath and look around the room, he turns one last time for the door. "I
guess I've made enough of an ass out of myself for one night." Dear gawd!
Superboy admiting he's wrong? It's... freaky. "I'll be around, Bart. Drop
me a line sometime." And with that, unless someone tries to stop him, he's
gone.

Well, Superboy is going to find that leaving is a wee bit impossible, when
an Amazon wannabe is waiting just outside the door, mouth set into a still
line. She heard what was said, she knows what was going on, though she
can't help but continue to keep her face.. extremely neutral. Instead of
doing the testosterone bit and rubbing it in that he's wrong, though,
Cassie does the Wonder Woman, bit, that she really has to work on, and
manages to block the door.. a little, at least.. as far as she can,
considering she isn't that big to begin with. If he gets past her, or not,
thats up to Superboy, though she's there, to state. .. "Hey.. kid.. 'fore
you go..." Cassie reaaaally would prefer to deck him, but no.. Bart trusts
him. Must.. think.. of Bart.. "Running off again like you are.." That last
part she mumbles under her breath, mumblemumblemumble.. (She can't help
it, she's still ticked..) Though the next is loud and clear. "There's
probably some important information you should know about, beyond the fact
that we're probably /still/ being watched and if you're going to do any
kind of infiltration it probably wouldn't be best to be seen flying out of
the enemies headquarters.." *deep breath* "So uhm, anyway, think we can
just, kind of, start over?"

Standing there and gaping at Cassie for a good fifteen seconds,
Bartholomew Henry Allen II very suddenly grins. "Aw man..! If I were Wally
I'd be yelling 'group hug!' But I'm not, so I'm not!" He steps back
slightly and tugs Superboy back into the room the rest of the way,
spinning the chair back around and pushing him lightly back into it. Then
he stands there, you know, arms crossed, still grinning. And his hair's in
his face again. "Obstacles #1 and #2 passed, Kid, but I'm warning you now
you're gonna get -ice- from Robin. Also, beyond the information Cassie's
gonna let you in on, I should also eventually tell you some other stuff.
And whenever you're ready, a more full explanation of the 'sidetracked' in
your holiday activities would be much appreciated." He glances at Wonder
Girl and raises his eyebrows as if to indicate it's her turn.

Running off. Driven off. What's the diff, eh? Stopping at the door as even
Superboy is not going to test Cassie's patience too much longer, he looks
into her eyes with the same neutrality she is giving him. As she speaks,
however, his face softens slightly and a hint of a smile appears there.
Now, we all know what's coming next. Some comment about Cassie finally
becoming close to the Kid. Wanting to be around him. But, haha!, it
doesn't come. Not this time. Instead he just nods and removes a hand and
offers it to the girl. "Truce?" is all he asks before he's suddenly yanked
away and finding himself on his butt. "And ice from Robin? What the heck
have I gotten so far?" With a gaping grin to show he's still trying to be
good humoured about it all, he looks back and forth between you both.
"Yeah... You're right Bart. You do deserve to know what happened to me."
And maybe it'll make accepting him back a little easier, to boot.