A/N: The sister-fic to my other story "Paternal". Superboy's POV.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

He wouldn't take me in. He wouldn't even look at me like a son. I was a clone, a mistake, a reject. That was all those glassy blue eyes would see in me.

But someone else gave me a chance. She looked me in the eyes and took my hand. She led me in the right direction with just the talk of being ready for something that I was still unaware of. I needed my chance and she was offering it to me.

All I wanted was a chance to prove my worth. Superman may only see me as a clone, but I am capable of so much more. I live with emotions. I know rage, pain, hatred, fury. I know love, joy, peace, happiness.

Does he not see that I am just like him?

I must be someone. That was why I took her hand instead of his. I could've chased that silly red cape of his and begged to be his son. But I never would've been fully accepted. I am a clone, not a son.

She was willing to take me under her wing. She's not like him. She's open to help and open to talk. She looks at me and sizes me up like I've got some sort of hidden potential that she needs to help me unlock. She knows that I'm more than a weapon.

She's shown me that I'm capable of losing. She's shown me that I'm allowed to be wrong. She's shown me the place that I was meant to fill upon this team. She lets me do what I feel is right before showing me what is wrong. Black Canary isn't afraid to let me make mistakes. That's what a mother is supposed to do, right?

She has meant more to me than he ever could. Superman is an outrageous goal that I no longer want to reach for. If I can settle for less that is truly more, I'm willing to do so. Black Canary may not be Superman, but she treats me the way I want to be treated. She sees me in a different light than he does. If he won't be my paternal figure, she is my maternal one. I don't need both. I need one or the other.

I wanted to have a father first. I thought he would take me in. But I was wrong. I was horribly wrong.

Instead, Dinah took me under her wing and showed me who I was, who I could be, what I could achieve. She was everything he could never be.

A/N: I like it. Review!

~Sky