"Are you sure they flew this way?" 

Superboy had taken the direction Damian had given him barely 30 seconds ago. However, he wasn't sure how the elder boy knew which way they had to fly. Right now for him every single one of those seconds seemed way too long and he was more than just tense. Robin, on the other hand, sat quietly on his back, his legs tightly locked around the younger boy's torso so he could once again tap around on his minicomputer.

"It is the right direction. If you don't believe me, then use your ears and eyes already! You'll put us both in danger if you're so unfocused."

Reminded that he still had those abilities, Jon now turned his head wildly back and forth to try to use his senses to find his father. He just had to make sure that nothing had happened to him. Even if the boy didn't know what he was going to do, if that shouldn't be the case. Gosh, what would his mother say?

Suddenly, a blow to the back of Superboy's head interrupted his building panic. Surprised, Jon looked over his shoulder at this demon-bat: "What?"

Damian had punched him in the head and was now looking angrily at his partner before speaking up angrily:

"I told you to focus and not mess up even more! If your mind isn't focused, neither is your body. Because in case you haven't noticed, you're not even flying very controlled anymore!"

In fact, Jon also noticed now that he was swaying in the air and Damian had to hold onto his shoulder with one hand in the process. Only more rattled by this, he frantically replied to Robin:

"How am I supposed to stay focused when Dad's in trouble?!"

Without warning, two hands placed themselves on Jon's eyes

"Hey! Get your hands-."

"SILENCE! Now stop thinking and just keep flying. You're useless to me if you can't manage to stay calm. So breathe in and out slowly and then try to concentrate only on your ears. Tell me what you hear."

Superboy tried to follow the request, but he could not filter any specific sounds. Everything within a 50 km radius was pounding on him like water through a broken dam.

"It's not working! Now get your hands off before we hit something!"

Jon tried to shake Damian's limbs from his eyes, but he remained stubborn:

"You didn't breathe!" 

Briefly the boy sighed before calmly continuing: 

"Ok, New lesson for you. You are currently not Jonathan Kent, a normal 10-year-old boy who is afraid for his father, but Superboy. Accordingly, you are a hero and a hero must keep and radiate calm in any situation and not show weakness , so innocent people wont get frighten. As soon as you crumble, they'll also crumble, panic and lose hope. You hold lives in your hand. So think of me as a terrified citizen who needs to be taken to a bunker with sounds of battle in it. Now breathe in and out slowly, and tell me what you hear below us first."

Jon thoughtfully filled his lungs with the fresh night air, only to release it again after a short moment.

He was not Jon, but Superboy.

Again the boy tried to filter all these chaotic sounds and describe them to Damian:

"I...um...I hear an owl and several insects below us. And something trudging through the forest. Maybe a deer?"

A slight smile spread across Damian's face:

"Very good. Now expand the radius and tell me where the bunker with the battle sounds is."

Superboy wove his ears between roaring cars, screeching animals and various noises from Metropolis. At first he didn't seem to find anything, but then he heard thick wood splintering in the distance, followed shortly by dull popping sounds.

"I think I've got them. Things seem to be breaking a few miles ahead."

Slowly, the Two Hands that had covered his eyes moved away and again wandered to the small computer before its owner nodded in satisfaction:

"There you go. Now just concentrate on getting me to the bunker and get going."

Superboy did as Damian told him and only seconds later something red flashed in the distance.

Both boys saw turquoise lightning sparking around it again and again, occasionally illuminating the two figures on the horizon. But the closer they got, the more a green glow flared up, showing out the outline of the monster.

Damian had a bad feeling. He leaned forward and grabbed Jon's shoulders to make them both more streamlined and picked up the pace:

"Now just ignore me and fly as fast as you can towards them."

"But what if you fall off?"

Damian watched as the creature in the distance grabbed Superman and now lit up completely in a green tone:

"JUST DO IT!"

Superboy stubbornly looked ahead and quickened his pace yet again, until it made Robin's cheeks wiggle.

Jon's eyes widened in horror when he saw how this beast grabed his father and rose its tail, only to sink it as well as its sharp teeth into Superman's body a second later.

Shocked, the boy cried out desperately for his father, as the first tears began to gather in his eyes: "DAD!"

Superboy blanked out everything. He only saw how this creature was about to kill his father and flew blindly towards it without thinking.

Damian tried to give Jon instructions so he wouldn't lose him to his panic again, but the boy couldn't form any words because of the strong wind. However, he managed to pull something out of his belt and thank God, Superboy slowed down on his own thanks to the Kryptonite they were racing to. Damian warned him about what he was going to do just a second before: 

"Close your eyes!"

Robin jumped off Jon's back a few feet before they would have hit the monster and skillfully threw the small lightning bomb directly at the feathered creature's head.

Both, Superboy's hard impact and the bright flash of light made the creature yelp in pain and caused it to let go of Clark. But just as the light weakened on the monster, so did the Kryptonite weaken Jon. Like a shot bird, he bounced off the hard feathers and landed hard in the dense thicket of the adjacent forest.

Damian, on the other hand, grabbed the falling Superman by the torso with his legs and left the writhing creature alone in the sky.

While they were still heading to the ground together, Robin grabbed the sides of his cape, it stiffened it with the help of electrodes and slid rather bumpily with the Kryptonian towards the open meadow.

Overturning several times, they hit hard, so that a bruise or two was not left out and both lay gasping for air in the high gas, a little apart from each other.

Damian was the first to stir. Sternly, he looked up at the black night sky, where that flashing green monster was still screeching and rubbing its blinded eyes. However, it didn't take long before it could see again to some extent. With its luminous irises, the creature looked down at the boy and their eyes met.

Damian wiped away some blood from under his nose with one hand and went into a fighting position, ready to take on the monster. 

But stangely enough, it didn't attack. Instead, it just held its position in the air with its four wings and stared at the boy on the ground.

"What is it? Come on, I can take you on even by myself!"

Furious, Robin yelled at the beast as he pulled his katana from his back and challenged it. But unfazed, it just still fluttered silently in the sky. The lightning also ceased and it resumed its original black color, leaving only the monsters eyes visible on this dark sky.

Damian lowered his sharp blade, which flashed in the pale moonlight. There was something strange about this thing. As absurd as it was, the boy suddenly didn't feel it would harm them anymore, and those deep eyes made him forget what grudge he had against this creature in the first place.

A few seconds of silence passed until finally the winged creature swooped down on him, flew just above his head and disappeared in the night sky behind him.

Wordlessly, Damian watched it, still fascinated by this strange bird, until finally an agonized groan startled him from the side.

Superman layed on the ground in a pool of blood, struggling to breathe. Robin immediately rushed to him to get a picture of his injuries. He quickly dropped to his knees and analysed the extent of the damage, when Superboy, still a bit confused, stomped out of the adjacent forest. His eyes widened in horror as the boy saw how his father layed bleeding among all this red dyed grass. Panicked, Jon ran towards the two while frantically calling his father's name:

 "DAD, DAD!"

Sliding on his knees at the End and with tears in his eyes, the boy landed next to Superman's body, just across from Robin. Still in shock, he inquired about his Fathers condition: "What's wrong with him?"

Damian's brows drew closer in thought. Although the wound on his shoulder was very deep and some flesh was missing, the other one worried him more. He pointed to the gaping puncture:

"See the green glowing bits inside? When that thing pulled its tail out of his stomach, it must have lost Kryptonite shards that are now stuck to the inside of the wound."

Jon folded his hands in his black hair in disbelief:

"Oh God. Dad. We can't let him die! We've got to do something! Hospital, he has to go to a hospital!"

"There's no time for that." 

Calmly, Damian removed his cape, as well as his gloves, and pulled a small pen pouch from his belt. With practiced hands, he dabbed most of the blood away with the piece of cloth and unzipped the bag, which then revealed several medical instruments.

Surprised, Jon inquired:

"What are you going to do?"

Damian didn't even look at him as he answered and pulled out a scalpel, as well as what looked like extended tweezers, from the bag:

"I'm going to operate on him now."

Jon was blindsided:

 "Are you crazy? He needs to be taken care of by a doctor, not you! You'll kill him!"

Both instruments were already sinking into the adult's body when the elder boy replied again:

"The spike has injured several organs and an artery. Before we get to the hospital, he would already be dead. I have completed various medical studies. I know what I'm doing."

Perplexed, Superboy just stared at him. It never ceased to amaze him what his fighting partner could do. Nevertheless, the scared boy remained skeptical: 

"But doesn't the environment have to be sterile? Your cape and fingers are way too dirty for that!"

Robin just took the first splinter out of the weakened flesh and at the same time, annoyedly gave Jon a task, so that he was distracted and Damian could continue working quietly:

"Instead of asking stupid questions, you might as well use your cape and press it onto his shoulder, so your father won't bleed to death on us. You are Kryptonians. Once the Kryptonite is out, Superman will heal all by himself. Then it won't matter if there's dirt inside the wound."

Not knowing if it was really right, Superboy also removed his cape and paused briefly as he looked at the shrattered shoulder. With trembling fingers, he pressed the fabric onto the wound and began to sob. All of this was just so wrong.

Damian knew he was asking everything of the boy. It was the first time Jon had ever seen the dark side of crime fighting with all its harshness. Although Damian had described it to him many times before, words could never prepare him for this.

He knew that all too well.

Once again, two of the green splinters found their way out of the weakened body, and strained, Damian searched for more. From the fact that the wound was not healing, he knew that there had to be at least one more in there.

Jons had regained some composure when his blurry gaze settled on his father's pale face. Shallowly, the adult breathed in and out. He struggled agonizingly for oxygen and sweat run down his forehead. 

Jon had never seen his father so weak. He knew him only as a constant dam, which could be broken by nothing and protected everything behind him with a carefree smile. To see this dam now in ruins laying in front of him, frightened the 10-year-old immensely and made him realize how right Damian was when he said that when the hero crumbles, so do those he protected and believed in him.

The boy turned his tear-stained face to his partner and asked a question that only deepened the furrows in Damian's brow: "Can you save him?"

Concentrating, Damian continued to search for the lost kryptonite: "I'm on it."

Suddenly, a jolt went through Superman's body and Robin knew something was truly wrong. Even as his fingers sank into the wound, he felt no more resonance coming from the organs and Jon's panicked exclamation confirmed the rest:

"He's not breathing anymore! DAMIAN HE'S NOT BREATHING!"

Robin ignored this at first and focused only on finding that damn shard. He blanked out Jon's distorted screams and continued to search quietly. It had to be somewhere.

To his relief, Damian eventually found the Kryptonite among all the blood and torn tissue. Quickly the boy pulled out the green shard, hoping it would be the last one, and quickly stowed it away in a small box, together with the others so they could not cause any more damage.

But this did not de-escalate the situation. He still had to bring the Kryptonian back to life and that won't be easy.

Robin pulled out of his belt the bullets Superboy knew only too well. Briefly he instructed the boy to move away from his father's body before shocking the men with these little things. As if remote controlled, Supermans many muscles spasmed under the electricity, only to go limp again seconds after. Damian repeated the process and Jon just pulled his legs to his chest sobbing as he watched his father being hit by the electricity again and again.

Eventually, Robin ran out of the life-saving stun bullets and was forced to switch to older methods. His blood-covered hands placed themselves over the Kryptonian's heart and began massaging it. However, Damian quickly realized that his arms were too weak to push in Clarks strong torso. Even though he didn't want to do this to Jon at a time like this, he had to involve him again. Superman's life depended on it.

"You have to do the chest compressions. I'm too weak to do it."

Stiff with shock, the boy could only look at him with widened eyes before he shook his head and spoke shakily: "I...I can't do it."

Damian however left no room for that:

"You will now come over here and do what I tell you! Right now you're not Jonathan Kent, you're Superboy, remember? SO PUT YOUR HANDS ONTO THIS CITIZEN'S CHEST, RIGHT NOW AND GET HIS FUCKING HEART BEATING AGAIN!"

Jolted by this, Jon slid back up to the limp body. He tried to ignore the fact that it was in fact his father lying there in front of him, when his trembling fingers also moved to the muscular torso. Damian grabbed them and guided them to the right position before instructing him how to apply the pressure.

Superboy began rhythmically compressing the strong chest while Robin pulled an oxygen-filled mouthpiece for dives from his belt and with a quick flick of his wrist, turned it into a ventilator. He rested Clark's head on his thighs and instructed Jon to pause at intervals so he could fill the adult's lungs with air, only to have the heart massaged again.

Like that, five minutes passed in which both boys just rigidly did what the situation demanded, until finally the sign of hope came.

Damian registered how the wound on Superman's shoulder minimally closed and only seconds later the Man of Steel took his first breath.

Immediately, both boys paused as the unmoving chest suddenly rose and fell again. 

A huge stone fell from their hearts. Jon because he had his father back and Damian because he couldn't have forgiven himself for letting Superman die in his presence.

The wounds began to heal.

With the weight off their shoulders, Robin let himself sink back in a relaxed manner so that he now braced his hands behind him and looked up at the starry night sky. Once again, he got to turn the tables at the last second. This had been quite a challenge even for his cool head and that should mean something.

Damian was closing his eyes when Jon unexpectedly pulled him into a hug and buried his head in the older boy's neck. Thanks to Superman, who was still lying on Robin's thighs, he could not escape this gesture and so he had to give in to the wet sobs on his sholder: 

"Thank you! Thank you for bringing him back!"

Shaking his head, he just patted the younger boy on the back in resignation: "You really are a super jerk. We both saved him."

After a few seconds, Damian pushed Jon away from him. He really wasn't one for such sentimentality, no matter how much his partner needed it now:

"Ok, ok, that's enough. You're going to get your snot and water all over me. Besides, Batman is about to arrive."

Surprised, Superboy now wiped his nose dry:

 "Batman?"

"I contacted him as a precaution when we flew after Superman and informed him that this critter can hurt Kryptonians. In response, he just wrote that he was on his way. He's probably just coming to ground us."

Jon let out a short chuckle before looking worriedly at his father's face again. The wounds were already half closed, but his skin still looked very pale and he stroked his hair briefly.

Damian noted this: "He'll be fine. He just needs some rest so his body can compensate for the lost blood and then he'll probably be top fit again tomorrow morning when the sun comes up. Let's wait for Batman and let him sleep for now."

Exhausted, Jon let himself sink even deeper into the tall grass. He was tired and this night had taken everything from him. Finally, to pass the time and distract himself, he began asking Damian questions:

"Doesn't it bother you at all to be confronted with something like this?"

The latter just looked at him a bit confused:

"Do you mean the monster or the fact that I resurrect people. Because I grew up with both and see no reason to panic about something like that. Either you act or you lose right away. Although I have to admit that it was the first time I ever treated a Kryptonian."

"But does it really leave you so cold?"

Thoughtfully, Damian looked down at Superman before answering Jon:

"I'm expected to show no weakness. I was just doing what the moment asked of me, and that's when things like feelings would just mess you up. That's why in the future I'm going to teach you how to separate yourself from them in certain situations."

Shocked, Jonathan looked at the elder boy and protested:

"So I can become an indifferent block of ice like you?"

With a serious tone, he answered him:

"So you can learn the difference between a hero and a simple boy!"

Calmly, Damian began to explain himself:

"In case you didn't notice, your superpowers didn't do what you wanted earlier. It was due to your emotions messing you up. I need to be able to rely on you in an emergency, otherwise it could be one of us next time laying half dead in the gras. Besides, it's simple meditation that I'm going to teach you. So you can finally separate Superboy from Jonathan. I'm not going to turn you into a robot, if that's what you're thinking. Although...a robot would be quite nice. They don't talk as much nonsesnse as you."

With a provocative smirk on his lips, Damian looked at his partner.

But Depressed, Jon just pulled his legs to his chest:

"I don't even know if I want to be Superboy anymore."

Briefly, Damian looked thoughtfully at the younger man and then replied: 

"It's your decision whether you want to take on this responsibility. There is only yes or no. No in between. But instead of thinking about retireing, think about what would have happened if Superboy hadn't been here tonight. That's the more important question."

Suddenly, both boys were interrupted as loud jets flew over their heads and bright lights lit up the meadow.

Batman's jet landed not far from the two boys, sending the long blades of grass swirling in the strong wind. Quickly Jon wiped the last tears from his face, while the pilot already approached them with stong steps.

"What happened here?" Snappishly Batman asked this question as he saw Superman lying on the ground in a pool of blood, which also partially covered the boys. Jon winced violently at the serious tone, but Damian on the otherhand, was compleatly calm and briefly described the situation to his father.

 Batman nodded curtly before stepping up to the unconscious Clark and wrapping one of his arms around his neck so he could lift him: 

"I'll overlook the fact that you simply disobeyed the rules again this time. For now, I'll contact Lois to let her know that Superman can rest under our supervision."

Jon startled at the mention of his mother. Quickly, the boy rushed to the Bat's side to dissuade him:

"Please don't call Mom! She worries enough as it is and she won't let me out of the house alone anymore if she finds out about this!"

Briefly Batman looked to the child that begged him with big blue doggy eyes, before speaking monotonously:

"I'll see what I can do. But don't get your hopes up too high, because I can't control the media."

In response, the boy just hung his head dejectedly.

Arriving at the jet, Bruce strapped Clark into the pilot's seat and put another oxygen mask on him. He directed Jon to sit in the back chair before explaining to the boy what was about to happen:

"The jet will fly you to the Batcave, where Alfred is already waiting for you. He will then take care of Superman and prepare your beds. Damian and I still have to investigate the matter on site. So don't wait for us and get some sleep."

Hesitantly, the boy nodded at him to signal the Bat that he understood.

Batman pulled two more jetpacks from a compartment in the back of the plane and then headed outside before the jet rose into the air to set off towards Gotham.

Together, father and son watched the black plane fly away until it finally disappeared in the distance. A brief moment of silence fell between the two and Batman just eyed the boy with his stereotypical glare.

Damian, of course, noticed this angrily:

"What?"

But his father just continued to stare at him with that look and Robin began to protest:

"Oh come on, if I hadn't interfered, Superman would be dead by now!"

The adult now became very serious:

"It could have turned out differently Damian. This time you not only put yourself in serious danger, but Jonathan as well. If it had not been for your good luck, I would have had three deaths tonight. You should have contacted me when you registered the anomalies in the lab."

"Superman was on the scene, after all. So that wouldn't have been necessary!"

"It would have been necessary because you had no authorization from me to act and you disobeyed orders with that defiant action."

Damian just crossed his arms and looked petulantly to the side. Resigned, Batman sighed briefly before holding out one of the jetpacks to his son:

"Here. We should hurry before the evidence will be destroyed."

Still annoyed by their brief conversation, Damian snatched the jetpack from Bruce's hand and flew off without waiting for his father.

What should he do with this boy.