Yue

 28th January

07:33 GMT -5

Kon gives him a nervous smile as Match's eyes start to focus, and I notice that his sclera are now white rather than black. I'm a.. little nervous, given what happened last time we had Match in this position.

"Hey… Kon-El." Match blinks in surprise at the sound of his own voice. "I.. know who you are."

"Yeah. We thought it would be a good idea-."

"I attacked you." Match's eyes move away and he frowns. "I think… And-" His eyes focus on me. "-you, you were there."

"Ah… You remember that?"

"Yeah. I don't.. remember why. Oh."

"What?"

"Cadmus messed up with making… Me. So my brain chemistry didn't work right and I was angry all the time. And I.. know that, but I don't…" He looks around at the room rather than the people in it. "This is Superman's Fortress of Solitude. No one.. told me that. So how do I know it?"

Kal-El takes a step forward. "While we were fixing your genetic damage, we thought it would be a good idea to make sure you would know what was going on when you were well."

"Oh." His frown deepens. "Huh."

"You remember anything else?"

Match's jaw tightens. "I remember the tank."

Kon nods, grimacing. "Yeah, you and me both. Anything other than the tank?"

Match's face stills, then he shakes his head. "No. Am I.. supposed to?"

Kon shrugs. "The genomorphs programmed me with a bunch of things. I thought maybe they did the same with you."

Match frowns again, eyes narrowing as he concentrates. "I think… Pictures and… Voices? But it's all… Really unclear. Like a buzzing or.. something."

I nod. "Given your state of mind, it isn't surprising that the programming didn't take."

"What were they programming me to do?"

"Probably the same thing they programmed me for. To be a Superman they could control."

Match blinks again, then focuses his gaze on Superman. "Superman's taller than me."

"For now, but-." Kon cuts himself off. "Jor-El? Match is gunna keep growing, right?"

"Match will continue to grow normally, and will probably grow to be approximately the same height as Kal-El."

"So I was supposed to.. grow into it?"

Kon frowns slightly. "Does it bother you?"

"No, I'm… Just trying to make sense of… Stuff." He looks around our little group again. "Can I get up?"

Kon blinks in surprise. "Ah, yeah, sure." He holds out his right hand and Match cautiously takes it, allowing himself to be pulled into.. a…

Oh… dear. Alright, he's basically a few hours old. I wasn't expecting a great depth of emotional depth. But there's… Nothing. Not even the 'be like Superman' drive Kon had. The knowledge Jor-El programmed him with is… Probably there, but I can't see it because it isn't connected to anything. It's not even at the level of hearing a news broadcast about people you've never met; that sort of thing triggers a weak empathic reaction.

Okay, none of that is a total surprise. Krypton used this system for programming soldiers, not for creating complex, well-balanced individuals. And even for telepathic intervention, creating attachments usually requires there to be attachments first. But as a wise robot in Isaac Asimov's stories once said, people often disproportionately value ideas merely because they were the ones who came up with them. He will come to value things eventually, there isn't a-. No, there is a simple, orange light based fix, but I'm not going to do it unless it turns out that he can't learn to value things.

Kon half-turns towards us. "Do you know who everyone is?"

Match nods. "You're Kon-El, Superboy, but… Brother? We were both made by Cadmus, but you're… Half Lex Luthor?"

"That's right."

Match turns to Kal-El. "Superman. Superhero. Based in Metropolis."

Kal-El nods encouragingly. "That's the Cliff's Notes version, anyway."

"I'm a.. clone of you. Is that… Important?"

Kal-El shakes his head. "It's only as important as we choose to make it. I didn't.. react well to finding out about Kon-El, but I've had a lot of time to think things through since then."

"So it is important?"

"Ah…" Huh. It's actually not making him uncomfortable, he just isn't sure how to answer it well. "Having a child and raising them properly is a big responsibility. And it wasn't one I was prepared to have dropped on me like that, particularly… If I hadn't been there from the start."

"I'm not your son. If anything, I'd be your brother. We're genetically identical."

"… True, but if I had a younger brother your age I'd-." He pauses, probably rethinking what he'd been planning to say. "I'd want to be involved in his life as well."

Match… Sort of nods, as if he isn't sure what to make of the statement. Which he isn't, as what programming Jor-El gave him only explained familial ties in the abstract. His eyes move over to me.

"Paul, the Orange Lantern. Superhero."

"An Orange Lantern, these days. Nice to see you up and about."

He nods, not sure what to make of me. Or… Anything else.

"M'gann M'orzz. Miss Martian. Superhero."

M'gann smiles broadly. "Hi. How are you feeling?"

"Disconnected. Like… I know who you all are but not what that means. Or-. No, it means that I know you from my programming and not from interacting with you, but I don't know… What the difference would feel like."

"Do you want me to show you?"

"Ah… Yes?" He blinks. "Oh, not-. Not with telepathy, not right away. I think I should… Learn how to do that for myself."

M'gann nods and Match turns his attention to Kara.

"Kara Zor-El. Kryptonian. I don't think you're a superhero."

"That's because I'm not."

"Um." He looks around the group again. "I think… Most of the people I know about are. So… How come you're not?"

Kara looks away for a moment. "Because I've only been on Earth for a few months. The whole idea of someone… Being so much more powerful than everyone around them, and using their powers like that… Isn't really something I've gotten used to yet."

"Oh." He considers her answer for a moment, then files it away. "And you're my… Cousin? Aunt?"

"Something like that. Clones don't quite fit normal family relationship models."

"No." Match nods. "I see that. So… What happens now?"

Kon smiles warmly. "Since we actually had time to plan for this, we've got a few different options for you, about where you could live, and go to school… Things like that."

Match nods in a slightly disinterested way. "Okay. So what are they?"