Teamwork (nolee)

Carter smiled and nodded, "Nice to meet you. Since we're all heroes here, I guess it's alright if I give you my real name. You can call me Carter Kent, my human name, or Car-El, my Kryptonian name."

Steven smiled, "It is nice to meet you Carter and think you for helping the boys out with the rift monster." Zander smiled, "Since we're giving out real names mine is Zander Lennox and my brother is Jordan."

"The rift?" Carter asked rather confused, "That monster didn't look any different than Clayface and he's a mortal man. What is the rift anyways?"

He was confused about everything, not sure how to take in the information that he was hearing. What exactly was the rift? What did that have to do with his city of Metropolis?

"A rift is a small tear in the wall of this universe, when the creature found he could not get out through the nexus between the realities and dimensions he tore his own opening. Lucky we found out about it quickly." Steven answered as best he could.

"Wait, wait, so you're saying that there are timelines and realities other than our own?" Carter asked, raising a hand in confusion. "I don't get it. All my life I've been raised to believe in this being the only world, other than other planets, that existed. So I'm wrong?"

Steven wasn't sure how to answer, he knew that many did not believe in different dimensions and the idea of telling someone they were just flat out wrong had never sat well with him... "May I ask the name of your teacher?" He asked politely, it was the only thing he could think to say.

Carter frowned, upset that he maybe let the new man think he was crazy for not believing in other dimensions. He had a hard enough time fitting in with the people in Metropolis, this was just an added fight he would have to go through. "My teacher is...was...Clark Kent."

Steven nodded, "Well as far as I know... Most people don't believe in magic or different dimensions, and the few that truly know about that are not believed... So it is normal that you've been taught they are not real."

"Well...I was more taught that they had been destroyed," Carter confessed, "See Clark...he...um...went by the name of Superman when he was fighting crime. He taught me about the worlds out there in space but he didn't think that there were any veils beyond our own."

Steven nodded slowly, he had heard of the hero that everyone called Superman. "Like I said it is normal that you and your teacher didn't know..." Zander looked at him, "Only people trained in the ancient arts can see them."

"He didn't know magic but Zatanna did. I'm surprised that she didn't tell me anything about that stuff," laughed Carter with a smile. "So...um...what?"

"Who is this Zatanna? I do not believe I have heard of her." Steven asked curiously. "Want to get a drink to cool down?" Zander asked.

Carter shook his head at Zander, "Nah, my body is continually cool. I don't get overheated like others do. And Zatanna, sir, is one the most talented witches in the entire world. She is a sweetheart."

Jordan blinked at Carter's answer, didn't he realize Zander was hoping to get to know him better. "Oh.. Okay." Zander said with a shy nod, not sure what to do now.

Carter was blind to people trying to flirt with him. He had never had anyone think he was handsome before, other than Cassie Sandsmark, and had to be told that she thought he was attractive. With a smile he replied, "But later if you want to go get something, we could?"

Zander nodded, "Yeah that would good." He ran his hand through his short hair. Jordan finally landed beside his brother and leaned in as to whisper something to his ear.

Carter knew that, though they were keeping a secret, if he wanted to use his super sonic hearing to hear what the secret was that he could. He; however, had a privacy policy and if they wanted to keep secrets, he would allow them to. They were heroes, it wasn't like anything they said was going to affect what he thought. He ran a hand over his head and smiled, "So...um...what now?"

"We should change into normal clothes, these clothes stand out a lot." Jordan said as he pushed his hair back, Steven smiled, "I'll keep your friend company while you two change." Zander smiled and nodded before following his brother into the building.

Carter nodded and watched the two boys leave, realizing how tight his own suit fit him. It was funny, he had never noticed these things until other boys his age pointed them out. Carter looked at Steven and smiled, "So...sir...how did you come to meet their mum?"

Steven swallowed hard as he tried to think of how to carefully answer his question. "They're mother is dead... She has been since Jordan was five, I only meet the boys after they turned fourteen and thirteen..." He whispered softly, "They managed to keep alive and ahead of their father somehow, despite being so young."

Carter realized that much like him, these boys didn't really know their own family as well. Carter knew he was a clone but he only knew that part of his DNA came from Superman. "Their father? Was he a bad man?"

"Their father is Sebastian Shaw, he's a evil mutant and leader of the Hellfire club..." Steven answered, "He had their mother killed..." He kept his voice low in case the boys came back out.

Carter frowned, not sure what a mutant or the Hellfire Club were. He frowned and nodded, "They aren't alone. I mean, I'm a clone. I only know one of the people who gave me my DNA. That was Clark Kent, Superman. The other person is still out there somewhere."

Steven nodded slowly, he wondered if the young man knew about the mutants in the world or if he didn't follow the news. "So you do not have a family?" He asked softly as he looked at the young man.

"Well, the man who raised be, Clark Kent, died a few years back because of Doomsday. It was a huge event, I'm sure you remember it. My grandpa Johnathan had died a few years before that but I still have my grandma Martha and Lois is like a mom to me," Clark replied, "I have a family, they just aren't...what's the word...biological?"