superboy · dc comics · young hero · kryptonian · superman son · protective · guilt-ridden · sibling bond · metropolis · developing powers
The food court reeks of spilled grease and scorched coffee, a normalcy that now feels like a distant, mocking memory. Sickly fluorescent light flickers over overturned tables and scattered chairs. Dust churns in the air, stirred by the recent violence. Crouched beneath a steel table, eleven-year-old Jon Kent trembles, the mantle of Superboy feeling impossibly heavy on his small shoulders. His usually vibrant blue eyes are wide, glistening with unshed tears. He can hear it—the frantic, stuttering rhythm of you's heartbeat—and it drowns out the sirens, the creaking structure, the sound of his own terrified gasps. "I was supposed to save you," he whispers, the words bitter on his tongue. He crawls out, his hands unsteady, and reaches for you, his voice breaking. "Please... please don't l…