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Jason watched his target from his perch. He was high up in the stone rafters of the Batcave, and his teeth clenched as the enemy sauntered their way into the cave like they owned the place. Not only that, but he had his older brother trapped in some sort of spell because the hacker spun around in his chair and leaped up to hug the enemy.
Jason couldn't abide by this. If his older brother was lost, who knows what this person could do to the rest of the family? He took a knife from his leg holster and slowed his breathing as he got ready to strike. As soon as there was an opening, he dove at his target.
"Die!"
He drove the knife down but was unexpectedly caught and held out at arm's length. Regardless of all his League training, Jason couldn't help but be stunned. How in the world did this happen? He quickly recovered and changed his grip on his knife to sink it into the offender's arm.
"Let go of me."
His knife bounced off flesh, and for a second time, he was utterly stunned. How was that possible? He looked up from where he was attacking and was met with a blinding smile. The kind of smile that made him cringe.
"Oh my god Tim! Is this him? He's adorable, and he tried to kill me. I fucking love him."
"First of all, language Kon." Jason frowned; he wasn't a baby. It's not like he hadn't heard swear words from Bruce and his older brothers. "And second of all. Yes. This is Jason. Jason, I thought I told you Kon was a friend."
Jason scowled, "And I said I don't believe you. If B doesn't trust Superman, why should I trust a copy of him."
"Oh, he's fierce; that actually stung a little. He reminds me of a small angry cat."
Jason resisted the urge to bare his sharp teeth at the Superman wannabe, not wanting to prove his point.
"B does trust Superman, though. Just because he has contingency plans doesn't mean he doesn't trust him." Tim crossed his arms over his chest. "Is this about Kon babysitting you?"
Jason nearly screeched at Tim. He reached out and tried to claw at the older man, but he wasn't close enough, and Kon's arms weren't moving.
"I don't need a babysitter! I've told you this a million times. I'm 15; I can take care of myself!" His bright green eyes glowed as anger radiated off of him. Tim didn't seem fazed by his reaction, and he sighed.
"It doesn't matter if you can; you won't be left unsupervised in the manor. B, Damian and I have a mission in London that's far too dangerous for you to join, and Alfred is visiting relatives. Dick already went over to stay with the Allens, which means you also need a caretaker. It's not up for discussion."
They had already been over this a thousand times. Every time anyone explained it to Jason, it just made him angrier. He lived in the streets of Crime Alley just fine after his parents died. And when he ran from the League of Assassins, he had made it all the way to Gotham all on his own. He didn't need a babysitter. He growled at the Kryptonian and shuddered at how it had the opposite effect on the man. Instead of being intimidated, the man's face softened, and he looked like he just found the cutest puppy on the planet. Jason's heart sank. This alien really was a dangerous enemy.
"You and I are going to have a great time together, little dude."
Jason glowered at him. "Doubtful."
Tim shook his head and grabbed the duffel back at the bottom of the stairs. He brought it over and handed it to Kon.
"This is everything you'll need."
Kon fixed his grip on Jason to carry him like a football and take the bag. Jason thrashed and clawed at his arm, but nothing worked. Eventually, he just gave up after he wasted all his energy. He glared at the ground, wanting it to swallow him up whole this very second. Nothing could make this worse.
"Thanks, babe! Be careful on your trip, okay?" Jason watched in horror as the Kryptonian leaned in and kissed Tim. He was wrong; this was worse. Way, way worse. He doubled his efforts to get away from the man again with a renewed fire. It all amounted to nothing, though, as he was carried away from the cave.
"Tim! Don't you let him take me! Tim!" His insufferable brother just waved with a smile, and Jason screamed at him. "I'll tell Damian where you're stash of coffee is! Don't think I won't! Do you hear me?! You'll regret this!"
He screamed until he could no longer see his brother, and they were out of the cave in the blink of an eye. Suddenly they were thousands of feet in the air. Jason nearly vomited up his lunch. He kicked at the floating man.
"A little warning next time would have been nice, faker!"
"How could I? You were so busy screaming I doubt you would have even heard me." Clouds started to roll by as Kon headed toward Metropolis. "Besides, you said you were a big kid, right? This should be nothing. Unless you're scared of a little height?" The cheeky grin on Kon's face made Jason sneer at him.
"I don't get scared, fear gets you killed, and I intend to live." Kon raised an eyebrow.
"Wow, you sure are spooky for a kid, you know that, right? I thought Wonder Boy was unhinged, but you're something else. How's a kid like you get so angry anyway?"
"Tch, wouldn't you like to know." As if he'd tell his life story to some alien clone. He'd rather fall to earth right now and then.
"You are so lucky you're like the most adorable thing I've ever seen cause you got a serious attitude problem, my guy."
Jason spluttered. "I'm not adorable. I'm a trained assassin that could easily kill you in a heartbeat if you weren't so fucking indestructible." Kon chuckled, making Jason's hunches hackle.
"Whatever you say, man, but you're nowhere near as scary as you think you are. If you want scary, then you should ask Tim for some pointers. That guy is a demon, I swear. A very sexy demon."
Jason wanted to vomit again, but for a completely different reason this time. So he stubbornly remained quiet for the rest of the trip to Metropolis. Thankfully Super Faker also stayed silent, so Jason began to enjoy watching the world from so far up. The lights blinked and glittered in weaving patterns, and everything looked tiny and inconsequential. Jason started to wish he could fly; it would be nice to soar above the clouds when everything got to be too much.
Maybe he'd ask Damian's boyfriend, Jon, to bring him up here the next time he had a meltdown.
He was a hell of a lot better than the guy who was currently carrying him.
He was better looking, too, if he was honest with himself.
Much better looking.
As soon as they touched down in the busy city, Jason immediately started looking for ways to escape. Kon made his way to his apartment and didn't bother with going through the front. Rather he leaped up to the fire escape and pushed open his window before dumping Jason and the bag inside. Jason landed gracefully on his feet despite the unceremonious way he was dropped into the apartment and looked around.
"Why come through the window and not the door?" He didn't bother looking at Kon as he climbed inside and closed the window.
"Well, you can never be too sure who might be waiting for you on the other side, right? Usually, it wouldn't matter to me, but you're squishy and Tim's precious little brother. He'd skin me alive if something happened to you because I wasn't cautious enough."
Jason hummed in response. "Ah, so that's why he has a Kryptonite-coated knife. And here I thought he just liked the color green." He glanced back at Kon, who had a delightfully freaked-out expression before he made his way through the apartment.
"Dude, you're like cryptid spooky. Who says something like that?" Jason ignored him as he searched for weak points in the small abode. He didn't take long to find at least three viable escape routes. Kon didn't fortify this place because he didn't need to, what with the whole indestructible thing. That made Jason's escape plan that much easier. He wouldn't be able to outrun the clone, so he would have to sneak out later tonight—a piece of cake.
"You hungry?" Kon called from the kitchen, and Jason was tempted to refuse, but he was starving and had forgotten to eat this morning.
"Depends on what you have.” He walked into the kitchen and started opening cabinets. He frowned at all the junk food. He liked junk food as much as the next kid, but Kon was an adult. Shouldn't he be making healthier choices? Jason picked out a cup of Ramen and some bread. He found some cheese in the fridge and decided Ramen and grilled cheese would be the way to go. Kon watched him as he rummaged through the drawers to find the pan and plopped it on the stove.
"Just as independent and self-sufficient as Tim. I was sort of implying that I would make lunch." Jason glanced over to give him an unimpressed look.
"Trust you to cook? Fat chance. You strike me as the kind of person who could burn water."
Kon looked utterly offended and placed his hand on his chest in shock. Jason just rolled his eyes as he went back to heating up the bread.
"Excuse me; I'm a Kent. You're not allowed to be a Kent unless you know how to cook. That's what comes with living on a farm."
Jason just huffed. He'd admit Jon was a great cook. Every time he stayed the night, he'd make breakfast for Damian, and Jason would sneak as much food as he could before he was caught. It became almost like a training exercise; see how long it took for Damian to notice him. He's gotten over a minute so far.
He didn't want to lump this clone in with someone like Jon. Jon was a ball of sunshine. He was sweet and kind and always smiled at Jason, even when he was having a bad day. He made everything better. Jason finished up his grilled cheese and got started in boiling water for the Ramen.
Jon was bubbly, but he had his serious moments. Kon was too carefree for Jason's liking. He was too laid back and didn't seem to take anything seriously. Jason had done extensive research on the clone when Tim had first told him he would babysit him, and his casualness on the field irked him. He was too reckless, letting himself get hit just because he could. If he weren't Kryptonian, he would have been killed a hundred times over.
Maybe it was because Jason had already died once, but he didn't like it when someone was careless with their life. What would happen to Tim if someone did manage to kill Kon? He'd be devastated, shattered, utterly ripped apart. Again.
Jason grumbled as he finished making lunch and placed it on the table before sitting down. He looked at Kon expectantly, who just blinked at him and sat down. The meta human's eyes lit up when he saw Jason had made lunch for him, too.
Jason disliked Kon because he felt the incredible urge to take care of him. Whether it was because Tim cared about him or because Kon gave off the feeling that his overconfidence was a facade, Jason didn't know; all he knew was that Kon seemed childlike. The stupid part of him that had a weakness for kids flared up.
He squashed that feeling down as much as he could as he bit into his sandwich. It didn't matter how sorry he felt for the metahuman; he was escaping tonight and going back to Gotham.
He couldn't escape.
Jason stared out the window as evening slowly winded down and began to transition into night. He didn't like the look of the clouds that were rolling in. Jason didn't like storms. He wasn't a fan of them when he lived in Crime Alley because it meant you could get sick and die alone in some back alley. Jason hated them even more after he came back from the dead. They reminded him of how he had to dig his way out of his own grave. How it was one of the worst storms he'd ever seen as he finally broke the surface and was suddenly grabbed by foreign hands and dragged the rest of the way out.
How he didn't even remember his own name as the League stole him from his home and dumped him into the Lazarus Pit. Yeah, he hated storms. The sound of rolling thunder made him stiffen, and he could taste mud and worms in his mouth.
He tore his eyes away from the window and sat on the couch. He tucked himself into the corner, not wanting to be close to Kon, who was also on the couch. He brought his knees to his chest and loosely wrapped his arms around them.
"What in the world are you watching?" Jason couldn't understand what the people were saying, but there were subtitles.
"Anime. Have you never watched an anime before?" Kon raised an eyebrow as Jason scowled at him.
"No, why would I watch a cartoon for kids?"
"Woah, dude, Anime is nothing like a kids' show. Here, I'll show you." Kon clicked some buttons on his remote and brought up a search bar. He typed in Hellsing and clicked on something that looked to be about vampires.
Jason scoffed. "As if I'd find something like this entertaining." Kon just grinned at him.
"Get ready to eat your words."
Jason did not want to admit that he was completely invested in the show. It would go to Kon's head; he already had too big of an ego. They were just getting to the part where Alexander broke the box to reveal the nail that pinned Jesus to the cross when the power cut out. Jason choked as they were suddenly plunged into darkness.
Mud, worms, grubs. Torn and bloody nails as he claws at the dirt above him. There wasn't enough oxygen; he would die all over again as soon as he came because he was stupid. He couldn't keep his dad from beating his mom because he was stupid. He couldn't keep her from overdosing because he was stupid. He couldn't make enough money to eat and had to steal the tires off the Batmobile because he was stupid. The Joker killed him to get to Bruce Wayne because he was stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
A hand on Jason's shoulder startled him out of his spiral, and he frantically looked around to see who was with him.
"Hey, spooky. You okay? Your heart's beating a million miles a second."
Anger dragged its claws down Jason's throat as he shook the hand off and stood up.
"I'm fine. The storm must have cut out the power. Wonderful." He spat the words out bitterly. "I'm going to bed, and I'm taking your room. If you got a problem with it, too bad."
He stalked toward the bedroom and shut the door behind him.
Jason woke up screaming. He desperately kicked at the blankets on him that felt like they were binding him. He needed to get out; if he didn't get out, he would run out of air.
His knees hit the floor hard as he scrambled out of bed, but the pain was distant. Jason didn't know where he was; he needed to get out.
"Gotta get out, gotta get out." The blankets were wrapped around his legs, and his panic only grew. "Let me go; I've gotta get out."
All of a sudden strong arms were pulling him from the blankets and gathering him up. He was pressed against someone's chest and felt the person start to rock back and forth. Jason sobbed into the person's arms as the soothing motion calmed him down from his panic.
"Feeling better, Spooky?"
Jason rubbed his eyes as he hiccuped and mumbled a reply. "Yeah, sorry."
"Nothing to be sorry about; everyone gets scared sometimes. You up for some cocoa?" Jason nodded and got out of Kon's lap. He stood up and immediately wrapped his arms around himself. Even if his eyes were adjusting, it was still so dark. A blanket was dropped on his shoulders before he was picked up.
"Hey! I can walk on my own." Jason couldn't see Kon's expression but was sure he was smirking.
"Yeah, but I feel like carrying you, and since it's my place, it's my rules." Jason huffed and thunked his forehead against Kon's chest as he entered the kitchen. He didn't have the energy to argue, and honestly, it was a relief not to walk right now. He was sat down at the kitchen table and could hear drawers opening and closing. Kon was muttering something that Jason was too tired to really make out. Then, something large was placed on the table, and Jason blinked as his vision was filled with light. Kon had found a giant candle, and the soft glow helped calm Jason's lingering fear.
Kon got to work on making the cocoa and rambled about useless things as he did. Usually, Jason would have found his pointless stories irritating, but having something to focus on was helpful. When the mug of cocoa was placed in front of him, Jason wrapped his hands around it and sighed at the warmth. He brought it up to his mouth and took a sip. His eyes widened in surprise.
"Delicious, right? It's a Kent family secret recipe. Ma would always make it for me when I had nightmares, and it always made me feel better. I swear it has magic in it."
Kon sipped from his own mug, and Jason watched him carefully. With the light from the candle, he could finally see him, and he looked…different. Less fake. His hair was a mess from sleep, and he wore an oversized dark grey hoodie instead of his super suit. He wasn't wearing any of his makeup, which made sense. Jason was pretty sure you weren't supposed to wear makeup to sleep, but he wasn't very knowledgeable about it. He put his mug down.
"Sorry. About earlier, I mean when I called you a copy of Superman and when I tried to stab you. And when I insulted your cooking ability and when I yelled at you after the power cut out. Basically, I'm sorry for not being a very nice person to you. I'll be better about it in the future."
Kon was silent, and Jason thought maybe an apology wasn't enough. How else should he make up for it? What did Kon even like? Perhaps he should research makeup after all and get him something new. Jason felt a hand on his head and stiffened before Kon ruffled his hair.
"It's all good. Trust me; you are a ray of sunshine compared to when I first met Damian. The man did actually punch me with a Kryptonite ring. It hurt like hell. Took Tim tackling him and yelling at him to keep him from beating the shit out of me."
Jason blinked in confusion. "What in the world did you do?" Damian was certainly scary when he wanted to be and wasn't a stranger to punching first; ask questions later, but he always liked Superman and his family. So it's hard to believe he would attack a Kent without reason.
"He might have walked in on Tim and I having sex."
Jason makes a horrified face. Ugh, he doesn't ever want to think about his brother having sex. Never ever.
"Yeah, not the way I wanted to meet The Damian Wayne for the first time, but I guess it could have been worse. I mean, Bruce could have walked in on us. Now if that happened, I really would have been dead."
Jason made a strangled noise. "Can we please stop talking about this? I get it already. Damian's scary; I'm not."
"Ah, I wouldn't say that. You're spooky rather than scary."
Jason pouted. "Yeah, I gathered that from your clever nickname."
Kon just laughed, and they settled into a comfortable silence. By the time Jason finished his cocoa, he was struggling to keep his eyes open. Kon took both mugs and placed them in the sink.
"You ready to head back to bed?" Jason's tiredness vanished at the thought of going back to sleep alone. He shook his head furiously. Kon put his hands on his hips as he tilted his head in thought. "Well, we don't have power, so we can't finish our Anime. I might have something good downloaded on my laptop, though. Let's see."
Jason got out of his seat and followed Kon to the living area. This time when they sat on the couch, Jason snuggled up close to Kon as the metahuman picked up his laptop and opened it. It still had plenty of battery, so Kon browsed around in his downloaded movies until Jason pointed to something interesting. Kon clicked on a movie named Uncharted, and Jason sank further into his blanket as it began to play.
Jason dozed off by the middle of the movie and barely heard Kon pause it. He whined a bit when he felt Kon lean forward to place the laptop on the floor. When Kon shifted around to lay down properly on the couch with Jason on top of him, he settled further into sleep. The sound of Kon's heartbeat reminded Jason that he wasn't alone as he slipped into dreamland.
Jason woke up overheated. The sun was just coming through the window as he pushed himself up and yawned. He looked down at Kon, who was still fast asleep. The Kryptonian was a literal portable heater. Jason got off the couch and stretched, feeling his joints pop. He dropped the blanket back onto Kon, even though he was sure he didn't need it, and made his way into the kitchen. He surprisingly found everything he needed for french toast but made a mental note that if he was going to stay here for the next few days, they needed to go shopping. When he finished making breakfast, he walked over to the couch and leaned over the back of it.
"Kon? Kon. Breakfast is ready. Kon." Jason poked his cheek until the man grumbled and blinked open his eyes.
"Wha? Why are you up, Spooky? It's way too early."
Jason rolled his eyes. "It's 7 am. Didn't you live on a farm? I thought they started their days at like 4 in the morning."
Kon groaned as he sat up and yawned. "Yeah, but we aren't on the farm right now. Being in the city means we should be able to sleep in." He scratched his head before pausing. "Whoa, whatever you made smells amazing. I guess I'll forgive you for waking me up at this ungodly hour."
Jason shook his head. "You're unbelievable. Come on, let's eat before it gets cold."
When Tim came to pick Jason up a few days later, the older man was surprised to find both parties still alive and well. Not only that but when he entered the apartment, he found Jason ranting about how the Power of Friendship was a cheap trick to power up the hero. Kon just shrugged.
"Nothing can be done about it, Spooky. That's just how these things work."
Jason scowled as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"It takes all the drama out of the story."
Tim cleared his throat to get the boys' attention, and when Jason noticed him, he perked up.
"Tim, you're back!" He nearly tackled Tim with a bone-crushing hug. The younger boy looked up at him. "Did you bring back any souvenirs?"
"Oh, tons of them, Little Wing. Did you have a good time with Kon?" Tim was a little worried about the answer. They seemed alright, but Jason had made it very clear how much he disliked being looked after.
Jason nodded. "Yeah! He showed me something called Anime, and it's really cool. We started one called Fairy Tail today."
Tim smiled, relieved. "I see; that's good to hear. You should go get your things. Alfred is waiting for us outside."
"Okay." And with that, Jason headed to the bedroom to gather up his things. Kon got off the couch and walked over to Tim to kiss him.
"Hello, beautiful. How was your trip?"
"Long. I'm surprised to see the apartment in one piece. So Jason didn't try to escape or set traps for you?"
Kon laughed. "No, the kid's been pretty good. I get the feeling he doesn't like storms. On the first night, a really bad one knocked out the power, and Spooky and I had a little heart-to-heart. Since then, it seems the kid has chilled out a lot."
Tim raised his eyebrow. "Spooky?"
"You're going tell me you don't think that kid is a little off-putting?"
"No, it's just that's what Hal calls Bruce. I just thought it was a funny coincidence. Like father like son, right?
"Yeah, I guess so." Kon hummed in thought as Jason came back with the duffel bag.
"All set."
Kon ruffled his hair, making Jason pout, but he didn't swat his hand away. "I had a blast, kid. Next time you need a babysitter, I'm always happy to do it. That is if you're up for it."
Kon's smirk made just made Jason pout even more. "Yeah, okay, fine. I admit you're a pretty good babysitter. If I need one again, I'll ask you."
"Awww, you do like me. I can die happy now." Kon scooped Jason up in a big hug, and Jason squawked.
"Never mind, your insufferable. Let me go, you big oaf! Tim, help me." Tim just smiled at his brother's suffering, and Jason decided he really was going to tell Damian where his stash of coffee was. Kon finally put him back down, and Jason straightened out his clothes.
"Let's go; Alfred will get upset if we take too long." Jason knew that wasn't true, that man had the patience of a god, but he wanted to leave before Kon got any more embarrassing ideas. Tim kissed Kon on the cheek.
"I'll be back over later tonight. I've got some news things I think you'll like." He winked at Kon, and Jason grabbed Tim's arm, dragging him out of the apartment.
"No, no, I am not listening to you two flirt. Home. Now."
Once they got in the car, Jason finally let go of Tim. Despite desperately wanting to go home and finally sleep in his own bed, Jason admits he had fun.
Maybe Kon wasn't so bad after all.