Emergence 2.7 (Non-Beta Draft Preview) (Patreon)

Emergence 2.7

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HAPPY HARBOR, RHODE ISLAND

July 28, 2010

9:22 EDT

He wasn’t surprised when Conner walked out to watch him.

Not really. 

Conner often seemed to behave a lot younger than the age he looked, spurred along by his curiosity more than anything else. The half-Kryptonian seemed to learn simply by just observing; keen blue eyes taking in so much of the world that he was still rather new to.

So, no, Zeke wasn’t at all surprised when Conner made his way out of the cave, gaze locked on him from the moment he cleared the entrance. What was surprising was how quickly the clone caught up to him, Conner slowing his pace until he appeared to be almost walking compared to Zeke’s hurried strides. 

“Hey.” Seemingly uninterested eyes locked onto his as Zeke glanced over at the taller boy to his right. This path through the forest surrounding Mount Justice was rather well-maintained, easily wide enough for several people to walk without touching any of the trees. A good thing too or Superboy’s sudden rush forward might have seen a quick rise in Happy Harbor’s logging industry.

“H-hey, Kon.” Both syllables came out in rather hurried breaths, his lungs pushing himself just that extra bit to force out the words. “Wh-what’s up?”

Conner didn’t answer, simply continuing to watch him as he kept up that frighteningly casual stride as he kept up with Zeke’s twenty mile an hour sprint. “Nothing.”

That was the usual response, again something that didn’t manage to surprise Zeke. It was definitely an improvement from the days where the young clone would simply look skywards when presented with the question.

What again managed to surprise Zeke was Conner’s reply. “What are you doing?”

Barely holding himself back from widening his eyes at his running partner’s sudden interest, Zeke opened his mouth and responded with the first thing he could think of. “T-training.”

That seemed to satisfy Conner’s curiosity, at least for a few moments, before the clone spoke up yet again with another question. “Why are you wearing that bag and why is it full of rocks?”

Zeke glanced back at the backpack in question, unsurprised that Superboy had been able to suss out what was inside it; not that one needed super-senses to be able to make out the noise of rocks tumbling around. Adjusting the straps on his shoulders again, Zeke flashed Superboy a slightly tired grin.

“T-training.”