Jon Kent: Made Of Steel(Superboy Self Insert)

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(General P.O.V)

With Talia and the League of Shadows unconscious, Jon gently set Kara down on the grass. He turned to Miss Martian, who floated into the air, her gaze scanning their teammates.

Her telekinesis dealt with the ropes on Robin and Artemis, while Superboy shattered the collars on the rest.

"Are they okay?" Jon asked, his voice low but urgent.

Miss Martian nodded. "Yes. The dampeners didn't harm them, just suppressed their abilities. They'll wake up soon."

Jon exhaled in relief, shoulders dropping as he cast a complicated gaze on the unconscious Kara.

Her face, so peaceful now, was a stark contrast to the rage she had shown during their battle.

Anger simmered beneath the surface—not at her, but at the League of Shadows and whoever had twisted her into this.

"Superboy," Miss Martian said softly, her voice pulling him from his thoughts. "What are we going to do about her?"

Jon's expression hardened with determination. "We're taking her with us. I'm not leaving her behind. In fact, we're taking them all in. Call the Bio-ship M'gann."

Before she could respond, the rest of the team began to stir.

Powerboy was the first to sit up, groaning as he rubbed his bruised face. Robin followed, blinking rapidly as he took in the scene.

"What happened?" Boy Wonder asked, groggy.

"A lot. I stopped the Fog, saved your butts and ended it with a family reunion. All that matters is we won." Jon said with a smile, helping Aqualad to his feet. "But it's not over yet. We've got more to deal with."

"Doc, you alright?" Jon asked Roquette after burning off her restraints.

"Yeah. T-thanks Superboy." She croaked, haunted by the experience.

The group quickly gathered themselves, though their expressions showed a mix of exhaustion and confusion.

Artemis' eyes widened at the damage to the school through the collapsed gym wall. She whistled softly. "Man, this place is toast."

"Don't worry about it," Robin assured with a grin. "Wayne Enterprises owns Damage Control—a subsidiary of LexCorp. They'll have this fixed before the week is out."

Artemis raised an eyebrow. "Wait, Wayne Enterprises owns LexCorp? When did that happen!?"

Robin shrugged. "Recently. And it's Just the damage control division. And no, LexCorp's shady projects, like Cadmus, weren't part of the acquisition."

"Figures," Jon muttered, his gaze drifting to Speedy's unconscious form.

Kid Flash frowned, following Jon's gaze. "So, uh… are we going to talk about the elephant in the room?"

"What elephant?" Artemis asked, crossing her arms.

"Speedy," Kid Flash said bluntly. "He's a traitor. I was about to run for help when miss Wrecking Ball was outpunching Powerboy when a red arrow tripped me. One guess as to who shot it."

Artemis scoffed in amusement. "Oh, the irony. All this time, he's been accusing Jon of being the mole, and now we find out it's him."

Dr. Roquette, who had been silent until now, shook her head vehemently. "No! No! Spe- Red Arrow isn't a traitor. He saved me from the League of Shadows. If he were working with them, he could have just let them kill me. Or done it himself."

"Unless Talia had no intention to blow his cover but was left with no choice when it looked like Kid would escape." Jon reasoned. "It could be brainwashing. Cadmus tried something like that on Powerboy. Speedy could've been captured and programmed without anyone's knowledge."

Of course Jon was aware that it was more than that. The real Speedy was being held in a Cadmus facility somewhere. He'd tried looking for him when they saved Powerboy but he must have already been moved by then.

Robin nodded solemnly. "If that's true, it means he's not the one at fault. He's a victim, just like Connor and Raven."

"Maybe. I don't really like him but I don't know enough to judge." Artemis admitted with a sour look.

With everyone's attention turning to the leader, Aqualad broke his gloomy silence and gave his input. "We can't make assumptions. The only way to know the truth is to hear it from Speedy himself."

Jon glanced at Miss Martian. "M'gann?"

She floated toward Speedy, placing a hand on his forehead. Her expression was somber as she concentrated. "I'll wake him."

("M'gann, could you scan his mind while you're at it? Just in case.") Jon privately addressed through their mental link.

-0-

Speedy's head throbbed as he slowly opened his eyes.

Immediately, he blinked against the bright security lights, vision clearing to reveal the concerned faces of his teammates.

His body felt stiff and uncomfortable, a glance downward, and he found his arms and legs restrained with zipties.

"What… what's going on?" he asked hoarsely. "Why am I tied up? Guys?"

A grim Aqualad stepped forward, his voice calm but firm."Miss Martian discovered something in your mind while waking you up, Speedy. Mental Programs and Instructions to work against us. You've been compromised."

Speedy's brow furrowed. "Compromised? What are you talking about?"

Jon crossed his arms, his expression unreadable. "You're a mole, Speedy. The real traitor. Whether you knew it or not, Cadmus used you."

Speedy's eyes widened in horror. "No… no, that's not possible. I'd never betray you! I-"

"That's the thing," Jon said coldly. "You might not even be the real Speedy. For all we know, you're a clone."

The words hit Speedy like a punch to the gut. He shook his head, his voice rising in panic. "No! That's not true! I'm me—I *am* me!"

But even as he said it, a part of him...had always felt...unreal. Fake.

"Ever experienced unexplained blackouts? Maybe found yourself somewhere you shouldn't be? Or your quiver missing some arrows when you remember replacing them?" Powerboy softly asked, unusually somber. "The nightmares are the worst part. It feels like you're not you. It makes you angry and you can't understand why."

"I- You're...no. Everything you say makes sense but I'm me, Dammit!" Angry blood shot eyes glared at Powerboy.

Speedy turned to his long term friends, imploring. "Dick, Wally, Kaldur...you guys know me! I'm the real Roy! Me! I'm Red Arrow! I can't be the traitor!"

Expecting understanding, what he found was mainly skepticism, distrust and concern.

"No this is not right! Remove the zip-ties! I'm Speedy, I'm-"

"Stop. Enough." Aqualad interrupted in a hard tone, shattering his hope.

Speedy's despair turned to rage and the target of it became Jon.

"You...this is your doing! It's all your f-" The archer seethed at Superboy, not expecting Jon to cut him off.

"Me! You're blaming me? I'm not the one who attacked Wally and helped the League of Shadows! Look around...you think the Team would lose to these clowns if you hadn't switched sides?! They could have died you fuc-"

"Superboy!" Robin grabbed Jon's shoulder. Jon shrugged him off and let go of his annoyance with a slow breath.

"I'm fine." He calmly told Robin and met Speedy's glare evenly. "Don't prove Connor's point, man. I get that we don't like each other but this is not a conspiracy against you. If it were, Roquette would be in your corner defending you with her life. And so would the guys. They've known you longer than they have me, for chrissake. So stop deflecting and listen for once. Please."

The group exchanged uneasy glances, expressions ranging from sympathy to suspicion.

Finally, Wally sighed, running a hand through his red hair. "This isn't something we can figure out on our own. We need help."

Robin nodded. "Agreed. It's time we called Batman."

Aqualad placed a hand on Speedy's shoulder, his tone softer now. "Speedy, we will find out the truth. But for now, we need you to trust us."

Speedy lowered his head, his voice barely above a whisper. "I don't know if I even trust myself."

---

As the group loaded up the Talia and her Shadows in began in Miss Martian's bio-ship, Jon cast one last glance at Kara, still unconscious and lying peacefully on the grass.

He crouched beside her, brushing a strand of golden hair from her face.

"You're coming with us," he quietly muttered. "I don't care what they did to you. You're family, Kara. I'm going to bring you back."

Miss Martian hovered behind him in support, "We'll help her, Jon. I promise. Let's go."

Jon nodded, lifting Kara in a princess carry and turning to the team gathered around the Bio-ship.

Despite the damage left in the wake of the unexpected developments, the mission was a success and he still had his friends.

And together they would face whatever the future had in store.