Chapter 2:

Jonathan Kent woke up groggily, which was unusual for the energetic teen, but even more unusual was the fact that he woke up bound to a chair some place he'd never seen before. Without thinking, he tried to summon his super strength to free himself before realizing with a start that his whole body felt weak.

"Don't waste your breath trying to escape, Kent." Jon heard a woman's domineering voice call from behind him. He frantically jerked and pulled against his bindings in an effort to see his captor, but before he could complete the turn she circled to the front as if mocking his pitiful efforts. When Jon finally looked up he was stunned. Standing there in front of him was Talia al Ghul, Damian's mother.

"Talia al Ghul? You're the one who-" Jonathan couldn't help himself from blurting out everything he was thinking before he was interrupted.

"That's right, Jonathan. Or is it superboy?" She tilted her head as she acted innocent, her cavalier words a sharp contrast to the shock Jon felt as his secret identity was divulged. "Oh don't act so surprised," she continued mockingly, "I know everything about you Jonathan. I've been watching you for a while. I know your daily routine, I know who all of your friends are, and I know your strengths… as well as your weaknesses." Talia pulled a piece of Kryptonite out of her pocket as she mentioned weaknesses, and Jon could see the cruel look of pleasure on her face as he winced.

"Why- why are you doing this to me? I'm Damian's friend!"

"Trust me, I know all about the relationship between you and my son." Jon tried to stop the blush that was creeping up his cheeks at her ambiguous words.

"It's not… we're not… I mean, it's not that I don't, but he…I don't think he feels that way." Jon's voice grew weaker as he saw Talia's horror stricken face and came to the realization that wasn't what she'd meant to imply. Growing some courage seeing her perfect facade broken, he started to taunt back. "Even- even if we aren't like that, he'll never let you get away with this! He'll never let you kill me."

"Do you really think I hadn't thought of that? I want Damian to come and try to rescue you. And one more thing, if I really wanted to kill you do you really think you'd still be alive right now? I have you bound and helpless while I carry in my pockets the one thing that can kill you. You're alive right now because I need you to be, so be a doll and quietly serve your purpose, hmm?"

"Purpose? What do you mean, purpose?"

"You're quite slow, aren't you? Since you still don't get it, allow me to explain it to you in simple terms. I don't approve of the way you've corrupted my son. Frankly, I've never seen the need for an assassin to have any loved ones. That's why I'm going to remedy that tonight."

"I thought you said you weren't going to kill me?"

"Oh, I won't be killing you. Damian will be."

"That's ridiculous! Damian and I are friends! He'd never-" Jon's words were cut off as Talia walked over to him and placed a gag over his mouth.

"He'd never? Really? Not even if his friend superboy became a threat to the city? You see, I've gotten my hands on this serum that will allow me to erase all of your precious memories of crime fighting together, and then I'll supply you with new ones and turn you into the most dangerous villain Metropolis has ever seen. So how about it Kent? Why don't we bet on whether my son keeps around a little green rock just like this one. He's so like his father in that regard, them and their contingency plans." As Talia placed the piece of Kryptonite on his lap, he could feel the last remaining bit of his strength being sapped out and he felt his vision fade to black once again.

When he finally came to, he could hear the faint sounds of fighting in the background. Damian! He thought with a start, I gotta get free somehow and warn him! It appeared Jon's mind was recovering faster than his body, however, because he could barely produce a guttural grunt, much less loosen his bindings. It was like his own personal hell. He was forced to sit there helplessly and wait for the fight to end. And perhaps for the first time since they'd met, Jonathan watched, really watched Damian fight.

The surly teen fought like it was an art form. Jon didn't even blink as he stared in awe, worried to miss a single second of the marvel before him. Every missed opportunity to watch Damian before suddenly seemed like a waste, and Jon couldn't believe he hadn't fully appreciated the teen before. Whereas other heroes relied on their powers to fight and often employed crude force to defeat their enemies, Jon could see the carefully crafted plan in each of Damian's moves. Years of dedication and hard work that had culminated into the skillfully executed choreography before him.

Jonathan increasingly loathed his powerlessness as he watched the fight continue. He winced as he saw Damian shoot a concerned glance back at him only to take a sharp punch to the gut, and he could tell the boy was getting increasingly desperate to end the fight. He wished he could do something, anything, to help his friend. In that moment, he recalled the words Talia had said earlier about how he was holding her son back. Initially, he'd felt indignant, but now he was starting to agree. Jon thought back to all the times Damian had helped him throughout their years of partnership and was alarmed to find them growing increasingly fuzzy. I'm losing my memories, he realized with a panic, and strained harder to hold on to them before he forgot everything.

"Aarrgh!" he moaned as a sharp pain shot through his head. Wait, pain? He thought in confusion. It was only a few moments before he realized he was regaining control of his body. Jon had so many important things to tell Damian, how he was sorry, the details of his mother's plan, that he loved him, but in the moment he finally regained the ability to communicate with Damian it seemed the most important to convey that he trusted his friend.

Contrary to his expectations, Jon's first words came out sounding like a garbled mess, no doubt a courtesy of the gag currently in his mouth, but Jon didn't have any time to spare. He mustered every last bit of his strength to try and shimmy out of the mouth gag and do the only thing he could do in this fight: reassure… what's his name? He squinted as he fought to remember the name of the boy in front of him. Damian, he thought exasperatedly. Damian, Damian, Damian. He repeated the name to himself in a desperate attempt to force himself to remember as he gnashed his teeth in anger at himself for almost forgetting. The gnashing was just what he needed, however, as he tore through the cloth of the gag.

"Damian…" Jon paused as he struggled to recall the name he'd been repeating just moments before. "Don't worry about me,..." he panted as he caught his breath. "I can…hold on." Jon could hear his own lack of conviction in the words, but based on the way the boy in front of him, D something, relaxed his shoulders, it appeared he'd said the right thing.

He smiled as the boy continued the fight with renewed vigor. He had the vague notion that he recognized him from somewhere, but couldn't quite place it. Still, there was no doubt the costumed teen was his benefactor, here to rescue him from the infamous assassin Talia al Ghul. Jon couldn't remember exactly why Talia had kidnapped him, but given that his father was Superman he guessed it had something to do with blackmailing him. Strange, I thought Dad would be here by now, he thought. He must still be on Justice League business with Wonder Woman and Batman. All of a sudden, Jon knew where he recognized the boy from. He was Robin!

Relieved that he'd finally placed the face, Jon returned his full attention to watching the fight. It was incredible, the two seemed to be in a deadlock as they traded blows. Robin would gain the upper hand but then fall back after a particularly nasty blow before regaining his ground once again. Before long, Jon felt himself reacting to the fight as he let out small cheers and gasps, leaning towards and away from the fight as he reacted to its flow. Becoming increasingly interested, he began to scrutinize their movements and realized with a start that Robin was constantly drawing Talia towards the back wall.

Jonathan glanced quickly at the wall before returning his eyes to the fight. He didn't want to look for too long lest he give away Robin's plan, but he also couldn't stop himself from knowing what it was. From what he could tell, it had something to do with the shelves of chemicals lining the wall, but as for specifics he was stumped. He watched with bated breath as the end drew nearer and nearer, eyeing the distance between the two and the wall, offering up prayers that Talia wouldn't catch on to Robin's plan. It felt like his tension was building until the moment Robin grabbed onto the syringe, and Jon felt himself let out a cheer of triumph as the boy stabbed it into Talia. It was only when she'd finally sunk to the ground that Jon felt himself fully release his breath and unclench his fists.

He was taken aback as Robin raced towards him and frantically untied him as he questioned him profusely.

"How long have you been here? What did she do to you? Are you hurt anywhere?" Jonathan felt himself being overwhelmed by the barrage of questions and even more so the fact that he didn't have any answers to them. Well, except the last one.

"I think I'm fine but-" Jon was cut off before he could ask Robin about the situation as he was pulled into a tight hug. Was this really the same angsty and haughty teen everyone talked about? Before Jon could fully process the boy's bizarre actions, his next words left him stunned.

"Oh thank GOD you're okay. I don't know what I'd do without you. Jon I- I love you Jon."

Jon could feel himself staring at the boy blankly, but he didn't really know how else he was supposed to react. This was the first time he'd ever even met Robin, and now the boy was suddenly confessing his love to him? He could tell he wanted a response though, because Robin was looking at him expectantly. Without thinking, he blurted out the first thing he could think of.

"I'm sorry, but how do you know me?" He could instantly tell it was the wrong thing to say, because Robin looked like he was about to have a mental breakdown. Trying to salvage the situation, Jon continued rambling nervously.

"Sorry, that's not what I meant, it's just, I never thought you'd be a fan of mine since you have your whole angsty loner thing going on. Ah, but that's not to say I'm not a fan of yours. I am. A big fan actually. I've heard tons of stuff about you from my dad, he's superman. He works with your dad a lot, but I guess you already knew that. Oh, I'm superboy by the way, but, um, I guess you already realized that." After he finished delivering his word vomit Jon felt like crawling in a hole to die. This time, the one staring with a blank expression was Robin. Jonathan stared at him in silence for a few minutes while it seemed like he absorbed all the new information. Then, he glanced at Jon and warily asked a question.

"So you're saying…" he paused to take a deep breath before continuing, "that you don't remember me at all?"

Jon was perplexed and didn't know how to answer his question. Robin seemed to think they'd met before, and that certainly made it seem much more reasonable that he'd embrace and confess his love to Jonathan, but he himself had no memories of ever even meeting Robin, not to mention doing anything as intimate as hugging or sharing feelings.

"Are- are you sure you have the right person? I've been told I look like a lot of people, you know, and I mean you said you l-love me, but I don't- I don't even remember meeting you." Although Jon tried to convey his answer as gently as possible, Damian's response was anything but as he smashed his hand through the nearest wall. Jon thought he heard him cursing, alternating between fuck and dammit, as he stormed away. Now this seems a lot more like the Robin I've heard about, thought Jon as he hesitated between leaving the boy alone to cool off or following him. He'd almost finished deciding it was better to stay put when he heard the other boy call him from the other room.

"Ya coming, Kent? What, don't tell me you expect me to carry you the entire way home or something? You're the one who can fly." Jon raced after him and hurried to catch up before sheepishly explaining.

"So, about that… Right now I can't exactly fly. Well, not just fly. I can't use any of my powers. I think it has something to do with whatever Talia al Ghul used to drug me, but I can't exactly remember what that was or how it happened. I think they'll come back eventually though. At least I hope they do." This elicited a loud groan from Robin.

"Leave it to my fucking mother," he cursed under his breath.

"Your mother?! What's she got to do with this?"

"You know, my mother." The teen gestured as if Jon should be picking up on something. "Talia al Ghul?" he continued agitatedly.

"Talia al Ghul is your mother?!" This earned him a sharp tug on his wrist as Robin dragged him away. Jonathan tried to start a conversation a few times as they headed home, but all he got in response was a few short words in response from the moody teen before he decided to give up entirely. Luckily, it didn't take the boys long to traverse the city by foot. When they reached the Kents' apartment, Robin finally spoke to him.

"I'll be needing to brief you parents on the situation," he ordered tersely.

"Oh." Jonathan responded disappointedly. He'd thought maybe the older teen would finally talk to him. Ask for his name or tell him he'd see him later or something. Maybe he'd just deluded himself into thinking Robin cared about him because he'd confessed to him earlier. "Yeah, I'll get them."

Jon rushed into the apartment and hastily blinked back the tears that started to form, not quite sure why the situation made him want to cry. Once he'd steadied his emotions, he called out to his parents.

"Mom? Dad? Um, something happened today and Robin said he's here to brief you guys or whatever!"

"Oh, Damian's here? Why don't you invite him inside Jon? It's the least you could do after he dropped by looking for you earlier?" His mother asked in that, 'I'm telling not asking' way that only a parent can manage to do. It was lost on Jonathan, however, as he began to wonder why the hell Robin had come to his house looking for him earlier. Maybe they knew each other after all? But then why couldn't Jon remember anything?

His father, on the other hand, spared no time for niceties as he opened the door and immediately stepped out to talk to Robin. Jonathan tried to use his super hearing to make out some of the conversation before he remembered he'd lost his powers for the time being and had to settle for regular eavesdropping. All he could make out was something about 'kidnapped' and 'losing memories' before his dad reentered the apartment.

"Lois, you're going to want to hear this," he said in the voice he only used when he meant business. "Jonathan, go and wait in our room. And no super hearing."

"But dad!" He tried to interject, but one strong look and a 'Jonathan Samuel Kent' was all it took for him to bottle up his complaints and trudge to the master bedroom obediently. It felt like ages before his parents finally entered the room to talk to him. Even though he knew they weren't mad at him, he was still anxious to face them. When he looked up, he could see the redness from crying around his mother's eyes and he watched as his father gently rubbed her back to calm her down.

"Jonathan, we need you to tell us how much you remember about tonight. It's very important that we get a good grasp on your physical state." His father talked in a comforting and even tone that made Jon feel safe as he recounted his meager memories of the night. He talked about waking up in the strange building, weak and without his powers, and told them about how Robin had come to rescue him and escorted him home. He decided not to include Robin's confession, though, because for some reason it felt oddly personal to him, like something he wanted to protect from their scrutiny.

"And do you still not have control of your powers? Are they completely gone, or have any of them gone haywire?" His dad's questions were thorough but helpful in allowing Jon to document his experience.

"Gone, I think. None of them have been activated since I woke up, but it's also only recently that I was able to move, so maybe I just don't have the strength yet."

"Hmm.." his father nodded in understanding as he began to think. "What do you say we head to S.T.A.R. Labs and get a checkup Jon? Just to be safe." Jon nodded and gave his approval then left the room to allow his parents to get dressed and ready to leave the house. In the meantime, his father also called his contact over at the research facility, letting them know of their imminent arrival. Once everything was in place, Jon's father grabbed both him and his mother and flew the entire family over to the lab.

The visit felt a lot like getting a physical examination to Jon. He sat and answered questions about his health and how he was feeling then underwent a series of tests. The only difference was that this time the tests were more extensive and diagnostic rather than the usual run of the mill kind. After waiting for the tests to be run, the doctor came back with a zealous look on his face.

"Aha! I think I've gotten it. This serum should act as a counteragent to whatever you were injected with, just wait a few minutes and it should perfectly restore your powers." Jon winced as the needle was injected in his arm and waited impatiently for the effects to kick in. His parents were once again whispering in the hall and he was keen to use his super hearing to spy on the conversation this time.

"You're lucky you came to me. The Kryptonite bonded nerve gas present in his blood stream was quite potent, it's a wonder he even managed to move at all. Without the serum, he likely would've lost his powers for life." Jonathan finally managed to tune in to the conversation as he caught the doctor's voice.

"It's all my fault, Clark. I was home. I was home the whole time and I didn't even know he was taken!" Jon heard the heart-wrenching sobs of his mother as she blamed herself. He almost rushed out of the room to comfort her before realizing if he did that they'd know he'd been listening to their conversation.

"That's not true, Lois." Jon felt at ease as he heard his dad comforting his mom, and he could practically visualize the reassuring nod his dad gave to accompany his words. "Damian never should have withheld this information from us. If he'd just told us we could've done something to stop Talia before it was too late. I know he was just trying to protect his mother, but I just don't know… I'm not sure about how I feel leaving him alone with Jonathan anymore." He wasn't sure why, but somehow his father's words didn't sit right with Jon and he felt oddly protective of the teen. How could they be blaming Robin for all this? It's not like he could choose who his parents were. And besides! He was the one who'd rescued him! And based on that fight it certainly didn't seem like he was trying to protect his mother. Plus, everything had turned out alright in the end, so Jon didn't really see the harm in hanging out together. Not that it seemed like Robin was interested in ever seeing him again. Still, there was that weird confession. Jon was so caught up thinking about Robin and their weird relationship that he almost missed his father's next question.

"And the serum you gave Jonathan, will it restore his memories? Robin mentioned that Jon seemed to have forgotten about them being heroes together, said it was some part of his mother's plan, and I have to agree with his conclusion. Jon acts like he's never even met Robin before tonight." Jon could hear the conflicted feelings in his fathers question.

"I'm afraid not, Clark. Memories are a delicate thing, and can't be recklessly tampered with. If he's really forgotten his best bet is to spend time with the subject of his memories and hope it triggers something. Other than that you can only be grateful it limited itself to damaging a small portion of his mind." The doctor's grave remarks made both Jon and his father pause.

"Thank you Doctor, I'll…think about it." He then reentered the hospital room and slipped back into his usual cheery voice. "You feeling all right now, kiddo?" Jon used his powers to hover over the floor in response before nodding.

"Much better, but dad am I…" he hesitated about how to broach the subject of his memories before deciding against it. They could talk more about it tomorrow after he'd had some more time to gather his thoughts and collect proof. "Am I still going to school tomorrow?" he finished.

"Sure are bud, so we'd better get you home and tucked into bed." Then with a flourish his dad scooped up his mom and they started flying home together. When they got back, his dad set up a blanket on the couch for Jonathan, apologizing that they hadn't fully cleared the toxin from his room yet but promising that it'd be good as new tomorrow, but Jon didn't really mind. It wasn't the discomfort of the couch that kept him up all night but rather the enigma of the relationship between him and Robin.