In-joke: Superboy says "No capes, no tights." Which is a reference to Smallville (2001), which originally operated under a "no tights, no flights" rule imposed by the producers.
According to the show's producers, this is the episode that defines the series. It's the covert ops show they wanted the series to be overall. In the beginning when Greg Weisman and Brandon Vietti were kicking around stories, this was the kernel of one of the stories Vietti thrown on the table. He wanted to see the team thrown into a bad situation and they have to figure out what's going on; they don't even have the intel that they need and have to investigate further.
This episode takes place on June 19, June 22, and August 4.