Chapter Text
Neal had been waiting for this day for months.
Discovering that Superman, the only one of his kind he’d seen in years, had been cloned ? It was beautiful! A Kryptonian child born on Earth for the first time, and was already well on his way to adulthood. Neal couldn’t have been happier for Kal-El, and had half a mind to shout some old Kryptonian congratulations for the man from a tall building- but ultimately decided against it. Superman would show up to see who was speaking, and as much as he’d like to ask the man where he’d gotten the cloning done, his cover as “human man” would be blown forever.
It was when Neal opted to listen in to check on the kid when he was glad he didn’t say a single kind word to Kal-El.
He hadn’t meant to do any sort of spying, but it was quite fair that he felt the need to check up on the new clone- that old sense of community running deep. He just wanted to see how the kid was settling in, and if he had a name yet.
But what he heard made his blood boil.
Constant berating, being disregarded, judgment without support- Neal almost believed he was listening in on the wrong satellite.
While all of those things were reprehensible in their own right, the real straw in the stack was hearing that Superman didn’t consider clones worthy of parentage- not just Conner (because yes, he did have a name, Clark. )
As the child of a clone himself, he felt particularly angry.
Neal’s mother had been cloned from her grandmother’s sister, who volunteered when her parents couldn’t have children but had still wanted another baby. According to great aunt Shan, it was like having a twin who was younger than you.
So Neal knew a thing or two about clones.
He also knew a thing or two about child abuse , given the fact that he had eyes and lived in a densely populated city.
Another thing he knew a thing or two about?
Kryptonian law.
—-
“KAL-EL!”
Superman spun around and looked down to spot Neal, who was standing up on a park bench.
Neal was so happy to hear that Superman had just stopped some crazy thing in the park, and that Superman was sticking around to help clean up the goo and weird bugs in the park, and that the park was just on the edge of his radius .
He couldn’t have left the office fast enough.
“What did-“
Neal cut him off, “That’s not important, the point is I’m leaving you and I’m taking the kids.”
“..Huh?”
By this point a small group of people, including reporters, were paying attention.
Good.
“Oh don’t try to act so innocent,” Neal proclaimed loudly, “Don’t think I don’t know what you did!”
Deliberations sounded among the crowd, while Superman looked very confused, and somewhat irritated.
“Sir, I-“
“SIR!” Neal shouted, “After all this time, when the chips are down, you call me SIR!?”
Neal stepped up onto the back of the bench to stand eye-level with the Man of Steel.
“Kal-El,” he whispered, “You are going to go to your fortress and search your little computers for mentions of the law Adiv Aonah Zrhythrev. While you do that and build your case, I will be taking Conner down the street to my unguarded, open air apartment so I can talk to him. And you are going to let me.
Superman looked more dumbfounded at first, and then very quickly it morphed into solemn realization that this was some kind of shakedown.
“I don’t know who you are or what you want, but I-“
Neal quickly pulled a small, lead-lined bag from his pocket and held it up to the man’s face.
“I’ve spent a lot longer honing my kryptonite resistance than you, Kal-El. Do you want to risk it?”
Superman’s eyes lit with fear, and he blinked- putting on a false smile as he nodded before loudly addressing Superboy- who was standing nearby, and definitely heard everything.
“Superboy, please escort this man back to his apartment- I’m sure his nurses are looking for him.”
Oo, clever, Neal thought as the spark of greedy interest was snuffed in the eyes of the reporters, now that the idea of Superman being a deadbeat dad was gone.
In their minds, at least.
Conner had a harder time disguising his disagreement with the situation, but managed a smile and nod as Neal held out his hand and allowed the boy to “help” him down.
People made a path, and the two began down the street.
“What do you want from me?” Conner growled, “And how do you know my name?”
Neal shushed him as they passed a small gaggle of cleanup volunteers heading into the park.
“Firstly, I’m Kryptonian- yellow sun gives us enhanced hearing, as I’m sure you’re well aware.”
Conner grumbled.
“As for what I want with you, that would be best discussed in depth when we get upstairs. My place is just up here,” Neal said, pointing at the end of the street they’d turned on to.
——
“So, Conner,” Neal said, pouring a glass of cold lemonade and setting it on the patio table in front of the lid, “I want to ask you a few questions, and I want you to tell me the truth.”
“I’m not telling you anything,” Conner bit out, gripping the arms of his chair- leaving dents in the metal.
Neal sighed, sitting down.
“I know, I know- I would have explained better in the park, but this sort of thing is best kept private.”
He leaned back in his chair, taking a sip of lemonade before continuing. “Do you feel safe at home?”
Conner blinked, his grip on the chair fading completely as he stared at Neal.
“What?”
“Is there anyone in your life that makes you feel unsafe, or unwanted?” Neal asked, crossing his legs. “Someone who you believe should be helping to guide you, but ultimately proves your greatest adversary in your daily life?”
The Kryptonian teen stopped for a moment, leaning back on his own chair as he thought about what Neal had said.
“It’s alright if you don’t say it out loud just yet, Conner,” Neal assured softly. “But soon, Kal-El will come back, and he will want to take you with him. The law of Adiv Aonah Zrhythre allows me temporary custody of any kryptonian child to remove them from what I perceive to be a dangerous situation- and yes, Conner, that does include genetic clones, my own mother was actually a clone- but I will have to give you back over to him. The only way I don’t have to is if he proves to having been unfit to care for you. If that happens, you can stay here as long as you want- or if you want to go somewhere else, I’ll help you get there.”
Conner was stunned. A touch of anxiety and optimism seemed to course through him as he said, “Do.. do Kryptonian laws apply on Earth?”
Neal smiled. “Thanks to all the aliens coming down here, the UN and Oa declared that if a non-Earth citizen broke a significant enough law from their home planet, law enforcement from that planet could come to handle the situation. This exact law falls under what they call significant.”
“But Krypton doesn’t have any authorities anymore.. right? I mean, they..”
“Imploded,” Neal confirmed. He pushed aside his feelings about that for now- that was for his journal.
“And Krypton had a hierarchy for everyone, and I happen to be the only Kryptonian on Earth with any sort of rank, automatically putting me on that hierarchy. And also at the top,”
Conner smiled a bit at that.
“So yes, Conner, I do have a legal standing if this is put on a galactic court level, as the default ruler of Krypton. So,” Neal poured Conner some more lemonade- the kid had already had two, but that damned metabolism ey?- “What would you like to do?”
A faint woooosshh could be hard in the distance, and it sounded man-shaped.
Conner turned to look in the direction and froze, before quickly looking back to Neal and said..
“Don’t let him near me.”
..And Neal took off over the balcony.