Clark was beyond words as he stared at the girl in a glass cage. She had cuffs on her wrists with green strips of Kryptonite. She stood up and watched Clark stare at her. She couldn't have been any older than 10.

She watched his movements carefully, not making a sound.

He inched closer to her, "What's your name?"

She just kept staring at him, he thought she wasn't going to say anything, but then she spoke with a shaky voice. "I don't think I have one."

Clark went up to the glass, "Why are you in here?"

"I don't know. I've never left."

"I'm gonna get you out of here, alright?" Clark said. He touched his earpiece, "Guys, we have a situation in the basement."

"We'll be right there," Diana spoke.

Not a few moments later, the rest of the Justice League walked into the lab.

The girl stared at them, Clark almost thought she was afraid of them, but that wasn't quite right.

Diana went to talk to the girl with Flash as Bruce, Cyborg and Superman tried to figure out how to disable the advanced security keeping her in there.

"What's your name little one?" Diana asked.

"Some of the scientists called me January," the little girl said. "Are you going to let me out?"

Diana nodded, "Yes, don't you worry, we'll get you out of here."

The girl, January, looked hesitant. "I won't have to hurt anyone this time, will I?"

Diana and Barry froze in place.

"What?" Barry asked.

"Sometimes Mr. Luthor comes down here and says he'll let me out, but I always have to do something first."

Diana's heart broke for the girl, "Where are your parents?"

"Mr. Luthor says that science is my mother, and progress is my father."

The way she spoke was far too robotic for a 10-year-old.

"We're going to help you, we're the Justice League."

"I know who you are, Mr. Luthor said that one day I am supposed to destroy you."

Just then, Bruce and Cyborg managed to open the locked door on the side of the room, and unlocked the kryptonite cuffs on her wrists. Barry watched with a hint of concern, but the kid didn't attack them.

Clark felt a little sick as he looked at her raw, red, wrists. Who did this to a child?

"Superman, look at this," Bruce said.

Clark looked over Bruce's shoulder at what looked like a medical report.

"They used your DNA, she's your daughter... sort of."

Clark briefly looked over his shoulder to where Diana was taking a look at the girl's wrists.

"It wouldn't change anything if she wasn't. She's Kryptonian, I'll take her."

Bruce smiled a little, "Is Lois going to be alright with this?"

... Three Years Later ...

"Jan!" Lois called. "Time to get going to school don't you think?"

The thirteen-year-old grumbled. "Why do I even need to go to school? I already know everything."

"It's best to keep up appearances Jan, come on, I have time to drop you off if you'd like?" Lois said with a smile.

"No, that's alright, I like to walk," Jan had said.

Ever since the Justice League had freed her from Luthor's prison, she didn't love to be caught in small spaces.

"Remeber to get home on time, we're having guests over for dinner," Lois said. "Have a great day, kiddo."

"Thanks, Lois, you too."

January walked down to Metropolis Central High School while Lois drove to the Daily Planet.

When she got there, she was greeted by Clark who had left far earlier that morning.

"How was Jan?" He asked, trying not to seem like he cared too much. They had been fighting a lot recently. She'd been sneaking out at night and not telling them where she's been going. Clark was just worried, but Lois understood the girl. She had been raised in a single, white room that she hadn't left unil she was 10 years old. She wanted to be able to come and go as she pleased.

"She's still mad at you," Lois said. "But she's getting over it."

Clark sighed and rubbed his face. "I just- you understand, don't you? She can't just sneak out whenever the mood hits her."

"I know Clark, you're worried, but... she can take care of herself," Lois said.

Perry walked up to them, "So, January snuck out again? You know, I have three teenage daughters, you know what gets them to stay home? Letting their friends come over whenever they want. Sure it's annoying to wake up and find six 17-year-olds in your kitchen eating ramen, but..." Perry shrugged, "It's better than nothing."

Clark nodded as Lois laughed a little, "Thanks, Perry."

Their day went by in relative peacefulness.

Clark texted January asking about her day and she didn't reply. He gazed out the window, looking through buildings to make sure she was in class. She was actually typing a response.

"I'm bored. Big surprise. I see you've been quite unproductive yourself."

"You should pay attention, maybe you'd learn something."

"You're the one who texted me. And this is basic mathematics, Luthor taught me this when I was six years old, I assure you, I would not."

Clark sighed, maybe the kid was right, maybe they should have gotten her a private tutor, but... he just wanted her to have a normal life, now that she was free from Luthor, but she seemed to have a distaste for it.

Her final text of: "Get back to work, Clark." He put his phone down and sighed. It was a long day at work.

When he and Lois got home, January was standing, hands folded behind her back like a soldier, in front of the window. She was staring out at the city with a soft smile on her face.

"Wow, a whole smile! What's got you in such a good mood?" Lois asked, coming up behind her girl and putting a comforting hand on her shoulder.

January glanced down at her phone where she had gotten a text, her lips quirked up.

"Nothing," she said. She went into her room and shut the door.

Lois smiled to Clark, "Well, that's unusual."

Clark was smiling a little, "Yeah, it's good." He stopped and thought for a moment. "Do you think it's a boy?"

Lois laughed and smacked Clark on the arm. "Come on, help me make dinner."

Later that night...

January had just finished setting the table when the doorbell rang. Clark opened it and hugged his friend. "Bruce, how are you doing?"

Bruce smiled, "I'm good. This is Damian, my son, and this," he paused as Selina Kyle made herself visible. "Is Selina, my fiancee."

Lois and Clark looked at each other with a little bit of shock. They knew that Bruce was bringing Selina, but they didn't know that the two of them were engaged.

"Oh! Congratulations!" Lois said, coming to the door.

"This is Lois, and... January."

Bruce almost didn't recognize the girl. The last time he saw her was in Luthor's basement. She had long hair now, looked healthier, not quite so pale.

Clark glanced toward Damian and saw that his heartbeat was a little raised. Why would-? Ooooh... he liked January. That's cute. And January's heartbeat was elevated too! Aww! Clark was a sucker for a good romance. Just ask Lois, he cried through their entire date night movie.

"Hey Damian," January said causally.

"January, nice to meet you in person," Damian replied. He held out his hand, January shook it. Bruce and Clark looked at the two of them in confusion.

"Have the two of you met before?" Clark asked.

"No," Damian replied with zero additional information.

"We text," January supplied.

It made Clark feel better that Bruce seemed equally as confused as he did.

"Uh, alright then, well, please come in," Clark said.

They ate dinner with relatively zero noise from the kids, then, when it was over, Damian and January went into the office.

"Okay this is what I got so far, the program's a little slow-moving, but it'll mine out all the files eventually," January said, showing the code to Damian.

"Hmm, you are not as incompetent as you seemed when we first encountered each other, I am... impressed."

January snorted, "Thanks."

"It was meant as a compliment."

January shook her head slightly. "So, did you bring it?"

"I did."

"Thanks."

"Is the plan still on?" Damian asked.

"Yes, I've been working on it all week, I think it'll work."

"Excellent, I-"

"Kids?" Lois called from the main living area.

Damian and January walked out to them.

"I think we're all going to go out for a bit. Are the two of you alright here alone?" Lois asked.

January smiled a little, "Yeah, we'll be fine. Go have fun or whatever."

"What are the two of you going to do while we're gone?" Bruce asked.

"Scrabble," Damian supplied.

Bruce and Clark looked at each other and shrugged, "Okay, we'll be back before midnight."

"See you," January said.

Her and Damian waited for a little after they left before Damian pulled two suits out of his backpack. One was his Robin suit, and the other was something Damian had gotten made for her.

They went into separate rooms before coming out in their respective suits as Robin and Blue Jay.

"I see it fits well," Damian commented.

January blushed slightly, but it couldn't be seen under her mask.

"Thanks again, Damian."

"It was not an issue. I am glad that there is now someone else who will be able to help me patrol," Damian replied.

"Okay, let's head up to the roof." The two of them went up to the roof of the building, and January put her arm around Damian. "Grab onto my shoulder," January told him. He did, and then he suddenly found himself flying through the air. It was actually quite a pleasant feeling.

The two of them were in Gotham in no time at all, landing on one of the rooftops in crime alley. January was breathing a bit heavier.

"Was that strenuous?" Damian asked her.

"No, it's more like a... like a light jog," January said. She was only half Kryptonian after all, she couldn't expect to have the exact same abilities as Superman.

"Good. We will be needing your strength," Damian started, "Are you impervious to bullets?"

"Yes, I got your back," January said.

Damian nodded, "Here's the plan..."

They were just wrapping up around 11:30.

January punched the last man unconscious and took a step back as Damian went through their phones.

"Got what you need?" January asked.

"Yes." He turned to look at her. "This partnership was surprisingly satisfactory. I would like to continue."

"Same here. That was fun," January said.

Their nice moment was undercut when they were joined by two unwanted and unexpected guests. Clark and Bruce.

"Diabolical!" Damian exploded. "How would you like it if I followed you everywhere and listened to everything you said?!"

"Yeah!" January said in agreement.

"You do do that," Clark and Bruce said at the same time.

"Where did you get this suit?" Clark asked with confusion.

"I provided it for her," Damian said. "I could not have my partner in less than fitting dress."

Bruce and Clark were actually shocked. How did these two manage to coordinate this under their noses?

"Well, she won't be needing it. You're grounded," Clark said.

January just shook her head, "That's not fair, I-"

"You keep sneaking out, you're scaring your mother and I. As long as you live under my roof you'll-"

"Then I won't live under your roof! And you're not my father!" January shouted. She flew off as Clark's face fell.

"Get in the Batmobile," Bruce said to Damian without an ounce of further patience. Damian complied grumpily.

Bruce then turned to Clark.

"Did I... say the right thing? What the hell am I supposed to do?" Clark asked.

"Just go after her Clark, you'll know what to do," Bruce said. He patted his friend on the shoulder and got into the Batmobile.

Clark had some doubts. It seemed to him that Bruce was a natural father, maybe Clark just... wasn't.

He flew after her, he saw where she landed, on the top of the tallest building in Gotham.

"What do you want?" January asked scathingly.

"Listen, Jan, I just... I worry about you. I don't know what I would do if something happened to you."

"Why?"

Clark blinked. "What?"

"Why do you care about what happens to me?"

"Because I love you, January, you're my daughter, you're the only other living person who's Kryptonian, and-"

"There it is," January interrupted. "That's really just it isn't it? You couldn't bear losing me, because you're afraid of being alone? You've never been alone, you've never known what it's like to be so alone that you'd rather kill someone than go one more day-"

"That's not what I meant, I-"

"Then what did you mean?" January snapped.

"I care about you, I want you to be able to live a happy life, and this is the way I know how."

January debated that for a moment before lowering her head, "Then how come, for the first time in a while, I'm actually happy, and then you show up and tell me to stop?"

"You really liked going out and doing that?" Clark asked with a smile.

January shrugged, "Yeah, it was cool, I felt like... like I was strong. And Damian is my friend."

Clark sighed and rubbed a hand on his face, "Listen if you really want to do this... then, I guess you can." A larger smile than Clark had seen on the girl's face bloomed. "But I can't have you going out alone, you have to always be with Damian."

January nodded happily, "Thanks, Clark. I... it means a lot to me, that you trust me."

Clark put an arm around her shoulders, "Of course I do. Gotham's going to be lucky to have you. Now, let's go home. We brought you back some mini donuts."

Lois was waiting worriedly when they arrived back in Metropolis.

January smiled sheepishly as Lois began her rant.

"...I know that I'm not your mother, but I love you, and I care about you, and I need to know that you're out there being safe!" The rant ended.

January nodded, "Okay, I'm sorry."

"Good, now, let's about your school," Lois said.

January groaned.

"We got a phone call from one of your teachers, Mr. Mackenzie, saying that he wanted to meet with us to talk about your grades," Clark said.

"We thought you were doing good at school," Lois said.

"I am, I don't really know what he wants to talk with you about, I have an A in his class."

Lois and Clark looked at each other and shrugged, "Well, we're going to meet with him on Monday."

"Okay, I'm gonna go to sleep," January said.

"Okay, goodnight," Clark said.

Later that night...

Clark seemed restless.

"Is something the matter?" Lois asked.

"Jan's still awake, she's texting with someone," Clark said.

"It's probably Damian," Lois said.

Clark smiled a little, "Yeah, probably."

In the other room.

"I've gotten word that tomorrow night there is a large shipment of drugs coming into Gotham. -D"

"When do you want to meet? -J"

"Come to the manor whenever you are finished with school so we can discuss a plan of action. -D"

"Okay, I'll get there around 3:30. See you then. -J"