Chapter Text
The new uniform doesn’t feel much different than the old one, Tim notes. Small blessings , he thinks, a little bit of leftover normalcy for him to clench to.
He can count those on his fingers, especially now that he looks at the city in front of him and isn’t greeted by Gotham’s familiar architecture, but instead by the tall glass buildings that make up the city of tomorrow.
Metropolis.
His new home for the next year.
Tim lets out a deep exhale, rolling his shoulders to try to alleviate the tension he can already feel building up on them.
Hi, I’m Tim Drake. You may be wondering how I got myself in this situation , he thinks to himself with a scoff.
It’s much less complicated than Tim expected it would be, the series of events that led him to be on top of a building in Metropolis wearing a red and black Robin suit and with no Batman in sight.
In the end, it all boils down to one thing: business. With Janet Drake’s death, Drake Industries took a toll almost too big to recover. That is until Lex freaking Luthor decided to take an interest as a show of “good faith” and “wanting to invest where he sees potential for greatness”.
For his father, Luthor is nothing but a good man trying to make a better world. Tim supposes that front would have fooled him too had he been just Jack Drake’s snobby son instead of Robin, the Boy Wonder. But he is Robin, so he did his digging.
The reasons for Lex Luthor’s interest in Drake Industries are two major things: the first, and most obvious one, is the amount of kryptonite currently under DI’s custody after a lucky find in a dig site. The second, and least obvious one, is the extensive and advanced research by Drake Medical Inc on cloning . So there’s that.
Lex Luthor’s involvement in Tim’s life is simultaneously a major pain in the ass and the best thing that could’ve happened in this situation, because Luthor is technically considered a supervillain, which means anything to do with him warrants a hero keeping an eye out for trouble, which means Tim won’t have to give up on Robin while being on Metropolis, he’ll just need to be a little more… stealthy . Hence the change of clothes, among other things.
Besides, Metropolis is still Superman ’s city, and although Big Blue doesn’t have rules about other heroes operating in his territory like Batman does, Tim doesn’t want to get on the guy’s bad side. Bruce told him Superman would be made aware of Tim’s presence, but still. Tim actually respects Superman a whole lot, the least he can do while in his city is keep his after-hours activities in check.
So, all that brings Tim to where he is now, doing reconnaissance on a LexCorp building so he can plan out the rest of his investigation that will, hopefully, put a stop to whatever evil plan Luthor is cooking up.
It’s not a busy night by any means, especially having Gotham as a comparison, so Tim lets himself relax a bit on the roof, eyeing the movement inside the building from his secluded spot.
In the end, he ends up a bit too relaxed, he thinks, because It’s only his years of training that stop him from flinching hard when he hears someone landing behind him. Shit. Had he already made Superman mad enough to warrant a visit?
“Yo! You’re that Robin dude, right?”
…That’s not Superman.
Tim turns around, coming face to face with a big grin, ridiculous sunglasses, and a leather jacket with spikes on it. Oh, and of course, the very identifiable ‘S’ symbol that really ties the whole look.
Superboy . Also known as the reason why Lex Luthor is so into cloning lately.
The young hero’s file on the Batcomputer is surprisingly small considering Batman is a paranoid freak on his best days. Still, it contains the basics: hero name, age, power list, greatest feats, worst mistakes, a couple of pictures, and, as a footnote, the damming information:
A clone of Superman mixed with Lex Luthor’s DNA.
And look, Tim is not one to judge people for who their parents are. Can they even be considered his parents anyway? Maybe donors is a better word? Experiment participants? Whatever, the point is that Tim doesn’t judge people for things they cannot control, but that doesn't mean he’s not going to be careful around the boy.
Luthor is a genius as much as he is a madman, is not too far-fetched to think he may have done… something with the boy. Besides, Superboy’s overall cockiness rubs him off the wrong way, Luthor DNA or not. Robin has never been a very extravagant hero and any mission Superboy goes on seems to end in an explosion. So yeah, not very compatible.
The other weird thing is that there’s no information on his file about whoever is behind the mask, or, better said, behind the sunglasses . Tim knows for sure that is not because Batman doesn’t know who he is, Bruce would never allow such a security breach, so the real reason remains a mystery for the time being.
Like, Superman’s file also doesn’t have his civilian name on display, but that’s Superman . And Tim’s not even sure if their civilian selves are affiliated or not, even though they wear the same symbol. Superboy has been working more or less alone for a long time now, apart from a few missions that included all the Supers or the Justice League.
The Luthor thing probably rubs Superman the wrong way too, Tim imagines.
“Superboy” Tim greets, voice the most neutral he can manage without sounding rude.
It’s not that he doesn’t like the other boy, he doesn’t even know him that well to really form any strong opinions, but Superboy’s energy seems a bit…much most of the time. Not exactly what Tim needs for a reconnaissance mission.
“The one and only” Superboy’s grin gets wider. “But you didn’t answer my question.”
Tim can feel the boy’s eyes scanning him and the only thing that keeps him from recoiling from the gaze is the knowledge that, unlike Superman, Superboy doesn’t have X-Ray vision. Not that it would have mattered if he did, all Bat’s costumes were anti-x-ray approved. Still, the action brings a frown to Tim’s face. It’s not exactly comfortable to be scrutinized like that.
“Yes, I am Robin” He answers simply. He’s not feeling very talkative today.
“Cool!” Superboy appears totally unfazed, floating closer to Tim and still eyeing him weirdly. “But you don’t usually wear red and black though, right? Why the costume change?”
Tim just shrugs, hoping the lack of a proper response translates into how much he wants this conversation to end. To really drive his point home, he turns back to the building he’s supposed to be watching. Once more, the other boy is not affected by his behavior and floats closer to Tim, laying down in the air.
“Mysterious” Superboy teases. Robin gives him a side glance. “Heh, I like it” He winks. Tim rolls his eyes. “And don’t worry, you still look cute”
And that makes Tim freeze.
That…is not what he expected.
Of course, Tim’s aware that Superboy is a bit of a flirt, he doesn’t exactly hide it in his interviews, but he didn’t expect the other boy to be so…forward about it, especially with another cape. Could he be plotting something with that? A way to lower Robin’s defenses and make him more vulnerable? It’s not impossible that’s the case, so Tim maintains his serious expression.
“Can’t really say the same for someone wearing sunglasses at night” Tim answers, unamused.
To his surprise, again, Superboy actually laughs at the comment.
“Well, I’ve been told they compliment the look,” He says, smirking. “But enough about me. What’s your deal, Rob? I thought you Bats only operated in Gotham and we’re definitely not in Gotham right now”
“Astute observation,” Robin says dryly. Superboy grins again.
“Can’t be just pretty looks, can we? I’m sure you understand” He turns his body around to get a better look at the building Tim’s been studying. “What has Lex Luthor done now that warrants a trip all the way down to Metropolis?”
At first, Tim wants to keep quiet. Superboy’s affiliations with Luthor are still unclear to him, which makes him a possible liability. But they could also make him the best informant Tim can hope to have. If he plays his cards right. Thankfully, Tim usually does.
“LexCorp has bought a big share of Drake Industries, a Gotham-based company,” Robin tells the boy. “Jack Drake, the current head of DI, is here in Metropolis working with Lex Luthor on opening the Metropolis branch. I’m here to make sure nothing bad is going on behind the scenes.” Tim eyes the boy by his side. “You wouldn’t happen to have any information on it, would you?” It’s a long shot, the direct ask so early on, but Tim wants to test his waters.
“Nah” Superboy shakes his head, barely taking time to think about the question “I tend to stand far away from anything Lex Luthor related”
“Oh?” Robin asks as if he doesn’t know why that could be.
This time, Superboy is the one that shrugs without offering any more details
“But I can help you if you want” The super offers “You need to get into this building here?”
And here’s where Superboy’s interference will stop. Tim does not need to deal with trouble so early in this investigation.
“Not today” He shakes his head. “And don’t worry Superboy, I can handle this”
“Well, I’m sure you can” Superboy agrees, his voice still carrying that flirty tint to it. “But a little help goes well from time to time. And I would love to help you out”
Superboy winks again and Tim doesn’t even try to stop his eyes from rolling.
“Thanks,” He says, but he doesn’t sound as annoyed as he did at the beginning of the night. Superboy definitely notices the change too, if his bigger grin is any indication.
“Anytime Rob” He salutes “I’ll leave you to it, but just shout if you need anything.” He moves away from Tim to get ready to take off “I’m looking forward to seeing you again. You know saving pretty boys is kind of my specialty?”
“...Bye Superboy”
Superboy flies away laughing and Tim completely ignores the way his cheeks fluster and his heart beats a bit faster at the last comment. He will not , under any circumstances, fall for Superboy’s cheap flirting attempts. They are all probably a plan to catch him off guard or something anyway. Superboy cannot be trusted. Not yet, at least.
Tim sighs, returning his attention to the building. Focus on the mission , Bruce’s voice says in his mind, Only the mission. And that’s what Tim plans to do.
Turns out, focusing only on the mission will be a bit harder than Tim thought it would.
Lex Luthor is a very extravagant man, Tim finds out, because suddenly Tim’s face is all over Metropolis’ papers, standing proudly next to his dad in one of the only professional photos they’ve ever taken together.
The published article features all of DI’s biggest achievements, Luthor’s desire to promote more connections with Gotham City (Ha, Bruce will love that one), and, unfortunately, five whole paragraphs about Jack Drake and his family, two of those talking only about Tim and painting him as a very high achieving, stuck-up arrogant prick. Not a good look.
Luthor is the Big Name™ of Metropolis, so it’s no wonder anything to do with Lex would be the talk of the town for a little while. Tim supposes it’s all for good press, to maintain Luthor’s image of a good man trying to better the world with technology. What Lex’s PR team doesn’t take into account is how that type of article will affect the life of Jack Drake’s teenage son who needs to enroll in a new school in the middle of the school year. Not that they would care either way.
Back in Gotham, the Drake name didn’t hold that much more prestige over other household names below the famous Waynes. In Metropolis, that was supposed to be even less of a problem. But then Luthor enters the equation and little unimportant Tim Drake becomes Timothy Jackson Drake, the Heir of Drake Industries, child prodigy that skipped a grade in middle school and will probably be a big name in LexCorp once he graduates.
Talk about blowing your cover.
Tim has to pretend he isn't seeing the way everyone seems to be staring at him as he walks the school's corridors trying to find the principal's office. Once he does, he's quick to enter, going straight to the bored-looking secretary.
"Good morning," Tim says, smiling his most charming smile. The secretary looks up at the greeting, not looking any less bored. " I'm-"
"I know who you are" the woman cuts him off.
Tim's jaw snaps shut. She looks back down, shuffling papers behind her desk before handing some to Tim.
"Just sign those. I'll ask a fellow student to give you the tour"
Tim hums in agreement, taking the papers to read them.
"Thank you," He says. The woman doesn't answer.
And they say Metropolis people are the polite ones. Tim's had Nigma's goons be less rude.
He shakes his head almost imperceptibly and focuses his attention back on the papers. After a few moments, he can hear the secretary speaking again, this time to someone outside the office.
"You. Kent. Come here"
The person, whoever this Kent is, doesn't seem that happy about being called if the resigned sigh he lets out as he comes closer is any clue. Tim doesn’t look up yet, focused on finishing the paperwork so he can leave the secretary alone.
"Yes, Ms. Johnson?" Kent greets.
"You're going to be showing Mr. Drake here around the school today"
"Ah" Kent begins. "Not that I wouldn't love to, but I have History right now so-"
"You were going in the opposite direction of your History class, Mr. Kent."
Kent lets out a humorless chuckle.
"Busted" He complies, deflating.
Ms. Johnson doesn't say anything else and Tim takes that as his cue to sign those papers faster. By the looks of it, this Kent guy is not very excited about his presence either.
God, Tim is going to kill Lex Luthor and his stupid PR team.
"Here you go" Tim finishes the papers, gives them back to Ms. Johnson, and turns to greet Kent, hoping he can change the boy’s vision of him.
The polite 'hello' dies on his lips as Tim comes face to face with the most handsome boy he's ever met.
And mind you, Tim's not usually one to get affected by silly crushes. He's Robin, for crying out loud! Pretty people can't be a point of weakness.
But well, he's not Robin right now. And he definitely wasn't ready to have his whole sexuality crisis flash before his eyes because the guy in front of him is so good-looking. How can someone even be so pretty? Why do his eyes make Tim want to write poetry?!
"...You ready for the tour, buddy?" Kent raises an eyebrow.
Oh, shit , Tim thinks, he's been staring way too long.
"Yes!" He exclaims, almost yelling. Kent frowns at him again and Tim panics "I love school tours" He adds.
Ha, ten seconds in and he's already made a fool of himself thrice. Tim is going to shoot himself with a Batarang.
"Okay?" Kent's frown deepens and even then he's still so beautiful. Tim wants to cry. "I'm not sure if you're being ironic or…?"
"No! I mean, yes? Kinda? I don't really love school tours actually but that's not, hm" Shut up Tim! , his brain screams. His brain is right. Tim closes his mouth and takes in a deep breath. Kent is looking at him like he thinks he's insane. "Sorry. Let's go?"
Kent blinks. Even his eyelashes are pretty. Oh God.
"Suuure" Kent nods slowly. He looks at Ms. Johnson in what looks like the last attempt to get himself out of that situation, but the woman doesn't even spare him a glance. Kent's shoulders drop and he motions for Tim to follow him out.
"Let me see your schedule," Kent asks.
Tim passes it to him silently and shivers lightly when their fingers brush. Tim almost facepalms. This is the most stupid he has felt in a long time.
"Ok, we both have math next period." Kent nods to the paper. " I'll show you where all the other classes are and then we can go together?"
"Sure" Tim puts the schedule in his backpack, trying to regain his cool "I didn't happen to catch your name?"
"Conner" The boy answers easily, not really looking at Tim "Conner Kent"
Conner , Tim repeats the name in his head. That's a nice name.
"Cool" Tim answers back "I'm Tim Drake"
Conner scoffs, looking briefly back to Tim. "Yeah, dude, I know."
"Oh" Tim chuckles awkwardly "So you've read the article then"
"The Daily Planet is kind of a big deal here in Metropolis" Conner explains. Then glances at Tim from the corner of his eye "So is Lex Luthor"
The way he says it is a bit weird, Tim can't help but notice. Luthor is a mildly controversial figure to the general public, mostly because of his declarations about the Justice League and Superman, but his most villainous feats can't be traced back to him in any way that counts. Tim's only aware of his dark side because of his side gig, a side gig Conner can not under any circumstances know about.
"Yeah, I'm aware" Tim chooses to say.
"That's why you want to work for him?" Conner presses. Uh oh.
" I don't want to work for him, per se" Tim shrugs, trying to sound casual and not let his plain distaste bleed through. "It's…a possibility I guess. I have plenty of other options"
"Because you're oh so smart?" Conner teases. It sounds a bit too bitter to be read like a joke.
" I don't mean it like that" Tim defends himself. Jeez, does he have to screw up every conversation with Conner? "Besides, I'll just be in Metropolis until my father finishes up his business stuff. Then is back to Gotham"
"You can't possibly prefer Gotham City over Metropolis" Conner eyes him in disbelief.
"And why not?" Tim asks.
"Uh, hello?" Now Conner really looks at Tim like he's talking to an insane person "The Joker? Scarecrow? Poison Ivy? A terrorist attack every week?"
"Metropolis has its fair share of supervillains too," Tim says.
"Sure, but that’s why we've got Superman and Superboy" Conner argues.
"Well, we've got Batman and Robin" Tim counters.
Conner crosses his arms and looks away. Tim can't tell if it's just a trick of the light against the boy's tan skin or if there's really a hint of a blush on his cheeks.
"Ok, I guess Robin is kinda cool," Conner says after a moment and it takes a lot of willpower for Tim not to trip and fall at that statement. "But Gotham still loses points for all the rest. And" Conner adds, holding his hand up for emphasis "Superman could totally win over Batman in a fight"
The thirteen contingency plans back at the Cave beg to differ , Tim thinks. But he can't really say that, so he just shrugs.
"Perhaps" He concedes "But Robin would totally kick Superboy’s ass"
Especially if he's working for Luthor , Tim thinks but doesn't say again.
"If Superboy lets him maybe" Conner looks away again, the maybe blush back on his face. Tim can’t contain his scoff.
"Please" Tim has only met the guy once, but he can tell his type is all brawl and no brain. The super strength is a problem, sure, but Tim's been trained by Batman and he's fought the likes of Bane before. Plus, that's not even counting the little green ring he has on his belt for emergencies, though Tim’s sure he wouldn't have to resort to that.
But, again, is not like he can tell Conner that so he settles for a light dig at Superboy’s antics "Superboy would be too busy fixing his hair or something to see what's coming"
Conner stops walking so abruptly Tim almost bumps into his back (not that he would really mind touching that defined back and- ok, no, shutting up now).
"Wha-" Tim begins but Conner cuts him off before he manages even a word out.
"What do you mean by that?" Conner asks, serious. He looks weirdly offended.
Oh God. Is Conner a Superboy fan? Has he just bad-mouthed Conner's favorite superhero or something?
You dumbass!, Tim’s brain screams at him. Fix this!
"Uh" Tim says, very eloquently. " I mean like, hm, well" Conner frowns and Tim didn't have to be a genius to see his patience wearing thin. Shit. "It's just that Superboy is a bit, hm, vain?"
"Vain?" Conner repeats back. He doesn't sound any happier.
"Yeah? Like, he's kinda cocky? And his missions seem to always end up with everything going up the air sooo…" Tim stops talking.
It seems like the right thing to do because Conner is looking at him like Tim’s a supervillain himself. So much for trying to make good first impressions.
" So you don't think he's a good hero," Conner says. It doesn't sound like a question.
"No! That's not it, I swear" Tim tries to defend himself, though the situation seems pretty unsalvageable by now. "I just don't really like his style it's all"
"Because he's an arrogant narcissist," Conner says back, eyeing Tim up and down with barely contained distaste. Tim barely contains a flinch.
"Those are not really the words I used" He tries. Conner scoffs and turns away from him, starting to walk again.
"Sure thing, Tim Drake" Conner practically spits his name out. This time, Tim does flinch.
That has to be a record or something. Meeting the prettiest man in the world and immediately acquiring his hate? That’s why Tim can’t have nice things.
The rest of the tour consists of Conner pointing out the doors and telling Tim what’s behind them in the most monotone voice possible. The walk back to their math class is awkward as hell, the silence that stretches between them tenser than Tim’s shoulders after a long night of patrol.
Once they arrive, Conner immediately leaves his side, walking towards a group of guys Tim assumes are his friends. Tim once again ignores the way people seem to stare at him as he walks toward an open table closer to the front of the class. The teacher enters the room a few moments later, eyeing the students there before settling his gaze on Tim.
“You’re the new Drake kid, yes?” The man asks.
“Yes, sir” Tim answers with a polite smile.
“Heard you’ve got quite the brain” He continues, eyeing him up and down as if trying to access his worth “I’ll want to test it out. Hopefully, you’ll set a good example for the rest of the class”
Tim just nods. A few correctly solved math problems later, the man, Mr. Miller, is smiling at Tim like it’s Christmas. After taking the chalk back, he rests a hand on Tim’s shoulder, effectively keeping him from returning to his seat, and addresses the rest of the class.
“You all could learn a thing or two from Mr. Drake over here,” The man tells them and Tim wants a hole to open up on the ground and swallow him hole. “Use him as inspiration” He pats Tim’s back.
The whole class giving him dirty looks would be enough to really settle his first day as a complete failure, but Conner’s icy glare is what really puts the nail in the coffin. Tim wants to cry.
He’ll fix this, Tim promises himself. He’s not sure how yet, but he’ll do it. He’s not losing his chances with Conner because of goddamn Superboy . No way.
“Mr. Drake, you think you can solve this one too?” Mr. Miller calls.
One problem at a time , Tim thinks to himself and reluctantly accepts the chalk again.
Conner likes to think of himself as a very easygoing person, so it’s not too easy to get on his bad side (except if you’re like, a supervillain, but Kon guesses that’s a given). That said, Tim Drake really manages a special feat that day, because the guy really rubs Conner the wrong way.
Conner’s first contact with the other boy comes in the form of a front page on the Daily Planet promoted by no one other than Lex freaking Luthor which is like, a major red flag already. Then, as if that’s not enough, the article talks about the Drake kid as if saying “Meet your future boss! He’s so much better already than you’ll ever be!”. It’s annoying as hell and It really doesn’t help that the only picture of the boy the article offers is one of Timothy looking every bit the pretentious prick the article paints him as.
So yeah, can anyone really blame Conner for having his doubts about this kid? The answer is no if you’re wondering.
Now the thing is, after first reading that article, Timothy Drake is not much but the average stupidly rich kid Conner’s never going to meet so Kon doesn’t really give the boy that much thought. Then it all changes when he decides to skip History and karma decides to be a bitch.
Timothy Jackson Drake stands in front of him and boy does he look way more awkward than Conner expected him to. Awkward and weird. Not that great of a start, but also not as bad as Conner imagined him to be.
That is until he started talking about Superboy.
And look, Conner knows he’s not perfect, all right? He tries to bury his insecurities deep when he’s wearing the ‘S’ but he’s not unaware of his faults. That doesn’t mean he wants stupid Timothy Drake to rub them on his face.
And sure, Timothy can’t possibly know he’s talking to Superboy himself, but that’s not the point! The point is that Tim’s rude . Rude and annoying.
“I feel you dude,” Brandon tells him as they take their textbooks out of their lockers for the next class. Brandon is a very cool guy, especially when Conner needs to rant. “You saw him at Mr. Miller’s class acting all prodigy child so we could use him as ‘ inspiration ’. The fuck is up with that?”
“Right?” Conner agrees, rolling his eyes. “It’s like he thinks he’s so much better than everyone just because he's rich and smart. It pisses me off"
“Totally” Brandon nods. They close their lockers and walk to class.
Conner's inspection of Timothy’s schedule earlier showed him they wouldn’t be sharing any more classes that day, so that's a relief. It makes his annoyance towards the boy fade a bit, as he focuses on other things.
Conner’s almost ready to leave the disastrous encounter in the past when the subject of his displeasure shows up waiting for him in front of his locker after the final period. Tim’s looking around anxiously, picking on his nails. He looks so out of place Conner almost feels sorry for the guy. Almost .
He gets closer then and Timothy’s gaze finds his own. The boy holds it until they’re right in front of each other, the silence between them just as tense as it was earlier.
“Can I help you?” Conner asks, raising an eyebrow.
Tim has to look up a bit to meet his eyes, especially with Kon standing at full height as he’s doing at that moment. He’s staring at Conner with a weird mixture of feelings Kon can't quite comprehend.
“I wanted to apologize,” Tim says after a moment, seemingly having collected himself “I can see how my comments were a bit out of line. You see, I’m very new here in Metropolis so I’m not very, uh, acquainted with your heroes”
The words seem genuine enough, but the leftover annoyance still lingers on Conner’s mind so he’ll not let himself be won over that easily.
“You seemed to have a very strong opinion,” He crosses his arms. Tim at least has the decency to look mildly embarrassed.
“Yeah, I’ve been told I can be a bit too needlessly intense at times” Tim shrugs. “I just- I think we got off to the wrong start, you know? It really wasn’t my intention”
Again, he seems honest. Conner figures he can let loose a little bit, though he’ll keep an eye out for trouble from the Drake kid.
“...Okay” He offers. Timothy’s eyes light up.
“Great!” He says with a smile Conner has to begrudgingly admit makes him kinda cute. Not that Conner would ever go for that, he’s not into rich jerks.
Tim stares at him then, as if waiting for something. Conner stares back, not really sure what the boy wants. They stay like that for long enough for it to become painfully awkward.
“Anything else?” Kon tries, already a bit irritated again. That seems to wake Timothy up.
“No!” He shakes his head, taking a step back “Sorry. I’ll stop keeping you. Sorry.” Then, looking very unsure about his moves, Tim waves a little bit. “Uh, bye Conner”
“Bye” Conner answers but doesn’t wave back. Tim lowers his hand, a blush creeping up his neck, and turns to leave. Kon watches him go with a frown.
What a weird guy , he thinks to himself as he opens up his locker and gets ready to leave.
Well, whatever. Kon's not going to dedicate any more brain power to Tim Drake and his weirdness because school's finished and that means he can finally do as pleases.
Turning into Superboy and flying over Metropolis is one of Conner's favorite things to do. The wind rushes next to his ears and the sun is hot against his skin as he flies up to observe the city he came to love so much.
Kon takes in a deep breath, smiling. Metropolis seems to be pretty peaceful at this time, so Conner will be able to decompress a bit before going back to business.
He's laying down in the air, enjoying a nice cool breeze when he hears the movement on his side. Opening one eye, he waves lazily at his visitor.
"Hey Clark" He greets. They're both too high up to need to care about names in the field.
"Hello Conner" Clark greets back and flies closer.
Conner moves to look like he's sitting and they both take a moment to contemplate the view before speaking again. It doesn't matter how many times they see it, it never loses its charm.
After a while, Clark glances back at Conner. "You seem happy" The man observes, an easy smile on his lips "Had a good day at school?"
"Eh." Conner shrugs " I'm just happy to be here, I guess. To be able to do this" He shrugs again "This view can better any mood"
"It can" Clark agrees.
The moment of silence stretches a bit once more before Conner breaks it again.
"Actually, something interesting did happen today," Conner tells "I met that Tim Drake guy, he goes to my school"
He doesn't bother explaining who Tim Drake is to Clark, not when the Daily Planet was the one to publish the article. Clark definitely didn't write the thing, Luthor’s front page specials are always done solely by his own writing team, but he's definitely read it. Besides, even if he didn't, Lois would have complained his ear off about it: she hates Luthor’s front page specials with a passion.
"How was it?" Clark asks.
"He's kind of a douche, to be honest," Conner tells him, leaning backward in the air and using his TTK to support his back "You know what he said to me? He told me he thinks Superboy is cocky and vain "
"Ouch" Clark winces sympathetically.
"Right? He apologized later but that was still hella rude"
"Well, at least he apologized, right?" Clark tries. At Conner’s shrug, he tentatively adds "Maybe you should give him another chance. You never know"
Conner narrows his eyes at him.
Something in Clark's tone is sounding off which makes Kon's 'prepare for trouble' alarms start blaring because Clark is a master of stalling bad news.
"What aren't you telling me?" Conner asks directly. Judging by the look on Clark's face is nothing too serious, but still.
Conner's suspicions are immediately confirmed when the man looks away.
"Well, whether or not we like it, Lex Luthor is a very influential man" Clark begins "He seems to be pretty adamant about boosting this deal with Drake Industries to try to pave the way for more cooperation between Gotham City and Metropolis"
"Okay? And what that's gotta do with us?" Conner asks. Clark sighs.
"There will be an event next week" The man finally tells "It'll have a lot of government representatives along with Luthor and the Drakes and since the point of the whole ceremony is Metropolis' relationship with Gotham the mayor wanted special security for the night"
And with that, things fall into place.
"He wants us to play bodyguard?" Conner asks, incredulous.
"Not us" Clark reluctantly says "Monopolizing my attention for such events is seen negatively by the general public. That's not what the mayor wants"
Conner scowls even harder.
"Wow, nice to know I'm really high in their regards" He rolls his eyes. Clark puts a hand on his shoulder, trying to bring some comfort.
“I know it’s not ideal, but going against the mayor on this is not really worth it at this time. His cooperation with our work, unfortunately, depends on things like this” Clark sighs again. It’s clear on his face that these types of deals tire him out too, especially since he’s been doing them for so much longer. It’s all part of the job, Conner knows that, but he’s still annoyed. More than that, he’s still hurt .
It took a long time for him to be able to see Metropolis as his city too. And even now he’s repeatedly reminded as to why that is: Superboy may do however many good deeds he wants, he’ll never be seen as anything more than a cheap copy of Superman.
“This sucks” The boy comments, crossing his arms. Clark hums in agreement.
“It does.” He squeezes Conner’s shoulder “But you’ll do fine, I’m sure. The idea of your presence it’s mostly to impress the Drakes”
“That’s why you wanted me to give Timmy Douche another chance to be less douchey?” Conner tries to joke. It wins him a grin.
“You can start by not calling him Timmy Douche,” Clark says back. “Especially not to his face”
“He’d survive.” Conner shrugs “Also, are the Drakes even all that special in the first place to warrant this much effort from everyone? Isn’t like, Bruce Wayne the big name of Gotham?”
Clark hums again.
“The Waynes are Luthor’s end goal” The man explains “He seems to be under the impression that the Drakes are his gateway”
“Well, are they?” Conner asks.
“In a way, I guess,” Clark says, now full into his journalist mode. The info dumps that job brings him are worth the hours in an office chair, the man told Conner once. In moments like this, Kon totally agrees. “Drake Industries has done some jobs in partnership with Wayne Enterprises over the years, but that’s true for most Gotham-based companies. Before Luthor’s intervention, the company was expected to declare bankruptcy in the next few months, so they weren’t doing all that well. Speculation says its because Janet Drake was really the one making sure DI stayed afloat”
Was , he said. Conner looked up at Clark in question.
“She died a little over a year ago” He explains gently.
Ouch , Conner thinks, so Tim’s lost his mom.
The knowledge certainly doesn’t erase Kon’s impressions of the boy, but it certainly earns him a bit more sympathy. Losing people is never an easy thing.
Just thinking about it makes Conner anxious so he’s not going to think about it anymore.
“So there’s no direct connection between the Drakes and the Waynes?” Conner asks, wanting to move away from the subject.
“Not if we’re talking strictly about business.” Clark continues, taking the cue to move on “Drake Industries doesn’t seem to have any more connection to Wayne Enterprises than your average big Gotham company.”
“And what if we’re not talking about business?” Conner frowns.
“Then that’s where your friend Tim comes in,” Clark says. He continues before Conner can contradict the ‘friend’ statement “He’s stayed with the Waynes multiple times in the last few years when his parents went on trips and is constantly seen chatting with Bruce Wayne or his son at events. Lex seems to be under the impression the boy is friends with the family”
Conner takes a second to process that information. There’s something weird about it, from Luthor’s real intentions to Tim’s role in the deal, though Conner can’t quite pinpoint what it is.
“That wasn’t on the article this morning” Conner observes. “That feels odd”
“Tim’s connection to the Waynes isn’t exactly kept under wraps, but it’s also not really announced” Clark’s voice shows he’s just as intrigued by the situation as Conner. “Jack Drake has never used it in his favor during business deals for example, which makes me wonder if he’s even aware of his son’s affiliations”
“Or maybe Tim doesn’t hold that much power over the Waynes as Luthor thinks he does” Conner suggests.
“I don’t know if he’d go to such lengths if he didn’t know something for sure” Clark sighs “Something we probably don’t”
And doesn’t that sound amazing? Conner honestly wants to scream.
Being a Super, his relationship with Luthor would suck no matter what, but the whole ‘being a clone made of the man’s DNA’ surely spices things up.
His tension must be showing on his face because Clark’s hand finds his shoulder again.
“Hey, I have good news too,” The man says, obviously trying to lighten Conner’s mood. “You know who’s here to help with the situation?” Clark smirks down at him “ Robin”
Conner immediately blushes, earning a chuckle from Clark. Cursed be the day he let the man know about his silly crush on the other hero.
"Shut uuup" Conner whines pushing Clark, who didn't stop chuckling, and burying his face in his hands.
The first time Conner saw Robin, he had just started acting under the Superboy name and was struggling to see worth in the position. Carrying the 'S' shield was an honor, of course, but being seen as Superman’s sidekick was really rubbing him off the wrong way.
The scientists back at CADMUS worked really hard to engrave into his brain that he had to be the best superhero the world has ever seen or his fate would be to be destroyed and replaced by another experiment a number higher. Actually meeting Superman changed his view on the matter a bit: he did not need to see other heroes as competition, he could see them as allies.
Still, those types of problems are not resolved in a day and the feeling of inadequacy lingered on Conner's mind every time he read anything about himself in Metropolis papers. What good is a sidekick in a world of well-established big heroes?
That's when Conner met Robin.
Robin is Batman's sidekick, most people know him and refer to him as such, but that doesn’t seem to bother the boy even a little bit. In fact, he wears that title proudly .
More than that, it’s clear to Conner that everyone who worked with Robin in the League respects his work and his input, asking him questions and trusting his answers. Once, Conner saw Wonder Woman address Robin directly in a mission debrief even though Batman was sitting right there. It was awesome.
The power and confidence Robin has are what Conner aspires to achieve one day and because Kon’s heart cannot control itself, that admiration soon morphed into something more. Not his fault Robin is cool and pretty. Deadly combo right there.
And mind you, Kon is not one to be shy about his crushes. He’s a flirt, he likes to make his affection known so he and whoever is on the receiving end of it can act on it or move on. But this thing with Robin feels…different somehow. More special.
It took Conner a long time to get the courage to talk to Clark about it. He began the conversation as inconspicuously as he could manage, asking the man about Lois and how he showed interest in her, but his ‘hypothetically speaking’ game didn’t last long. One thing they don’t tell you about Superman is how hard it is to lie to him.
Of course, having your da- mentor know about your crush on your workmate you’ve barely ever talked to earns Conner a bit of teasing here and there, but it’s worth the support he also gets. It’s because of that support that Kon doesn’t immediately change the subject when Robin is brought up.
“I actually saw him yesterday,” Conner tells Clark after a while, letting his hands fall from his face though he’s still sporting a blush. “We talked a bit”
“Did it go well?” Clark asks with interest.
“I’d say so” Conner answers honestly yet shyly. Robin is a bit on the too-serious side of the hero spectrum, but he seemed to be slowly but surely opening up as they talked. And Conner heard the boy’s heart accelerate after Kon called him a pretty boy. .
“That’s good chum” Clark smiles at him “I’m sure he’ll be of great help in the case” He nudges Conner a bit “You should talk to him about the event. Maybe he can keep you company” The smile morphs into a smirk “Just don’t do anything I wouldn’t do. Ma says you need to at least invite your lover to dinner before trying anything else”
Conner pushes a chuckling Clark away again, the blush back at full force, but the idea doesn’t sound too bad. Maybe he can ask Robin out for a work-thing-and-totally-not-a-date-thing-unless-you-want-it-to-be-a-date-thing.
That’d be nice.
He keeps that in mind when, much later, he finds Robin again. They’re back in a building next to LexCorp, but this time Robin has a lot more equipment with him: he’s typing furiously on his computer and tinkering with devices Kon has never seen, doing things Kon can’t hope to understand. Finding the other hero again had been surprisingly easy for Kon, but the Super guesses Rob wasn’t really trying to hide (He’s heard stories about Bats and disappearing acts from Clark. When one of them doesn’t want to be found they are not going to be found)
So, after stalling for a bit to make sure his presence wasn’t completely unwelcome, Conner asks Robin if he wants to keep him company at Luthor’s event.
“No” Robin answers with no hesitation at all, as soon as the words leave Conner’s mouth.
“What?” Conner almost whines. “Why not?”
“I won’t be available that day” Rob explains and, before Kon can whine again, adds “And you’ll publicly be there. I can’t publicly be there, that’ll defeat the purpose of my stealthy investigation”
And as much as it pains Conner that is a really good point. Kon deflates a bit.
“Ok” He concedes “You’re right”
“I usually am,” Robin says back and Conner can see he’s fighting down a smirk.
“Smartass” Conner says with no real heat behind his words. He floats closer to the boy, eyeing the screen. “Whatcha doing?”
His movements make Robin tense up and move his body to shield the screen, eyeing Conner suspiciously. It simultaneously sucks, because it means Rob doesn’t trust him enough to let his work be seen, and it’s very flattering, because it means Rob thinks Kon would be able to figure out whatever the hell is going on that screen. Either way, Conner moves away, the last thing he wants is to make Robin uncomfortable.
“I’m going through as many LexCorp serves as I can remotely” Robin answers him after a moment, going back to his work. “I don’t want to risk breaking into the building just yet.”
Conner hums at the information. It’s definitely different than his usual approach to things, but he guesses Robin is more of an expert when it comes to stealthy acquiring information. Which reminds him-
“I wanted to ask your opinion on something,” He tells Robin. The other boy nods for him to continue but doesn’t stop typing. “I spoke with Superman earlier today and he has some theories as to what Luthor may really want with the Drakes” Conner begins.
That makes Robin stop. He turns and Conner can feel his insides twist in excitement at receiving Rob’s full attention.
“What did he say?” Rob asks.
“He thinks it’s a way to get to the Waynes” Conner promptly answers. “Especially because of the son, Tim Drake. He seems to be friends with the Wayne family, though that’s not really information he or his dad parade around”
Robin suddenly feels tenser. Before he can ask the boy if he’s feeling alright, Rob looks away and starts talking to himself in hushed tones. The words are too meshed up for Conner to understand, so he just patiently waits until the other hero comes back to him.
“I think there may be something there” Robin agrees “I’ll look more into it”
“I’ll see if I find anything out at the event” Conner is quick to add, hoping to be useful.
“That’d be awesome. Thanks, Superboy” Robin nods at him and goes for his computer again. Kon has to act like those words don’t make his heart race.
He doesn’t want the conversation to end, so he continues on. “Did you have any other theories?” He asks. Work talk seems to get Robin’s attention the most and the way the boy turns back to him only confirms it.
“...One” Robin says after a while, seemingly having thought over that answer a lot. At Conner’s inquiring stare, he adds “Drake Industries is in possession of a considerable amount of Kryptonite”
“What?!” Conner exclaims almost instantly. He did not know that. Holy shit. His thoughts start bumping around in his head like they’re on a very badly designed rollercoaster and after a while of struggling to form coherent words what his mouth spits out is “Tim Drake has access to Kryptonite?!”
And wow that was so not what he wanted to say to Robin. The other hero frowns at him immediately.
“I’m positive he has no access to the substance,” Rob tells him slowly, suspicion clear in his eyes “Why?”
There’s no way he can tell Robin that he’s worried because Tim Drake told Conner Kent about his hatred for Superboy earlier that day without outing himself. So he’ll have to lie his way out of this one. Lie to a guy trained by Batman.
Oh God.
“Well” Conner starts, hating how unconfident his voice sounds even to his own ears. He’s blowing it. Oh no “He seems to be the center of this whole thing, doesn’t he?” He tries “I just got worried”
Robin eyes him for a while longer as if evaluating how much effort he should put into extracting the truth out of Conner. Kon hopes he gives up, he’s not sure he would be able to lie if Robin does as much as asking him for the truth. Thankfully, Rob takes pity on him.
“...Okay,” The other hero says, even though he does not sound convinced.
“Anyway,” Conner says quickly, desperately wanting to change the subject. “You think DI will give it to Luthor? The Kryptonite?”
“I’m not sure yet” Robin takes pity on him again, letting the conversation flow “Jack Drake seems pretty easily convinced by Luthor’s efforts,” He says bitterly.
“That sounds bad” Conner comments. Rob hums in agreement, but it’s clear his attention is almost fully back on his computer.
Without knowing what to say next, Conner just sort of…stays there. He’s enjoying watching Robin work: the way his nose scrunches up when he sees something he doesn’t like, how he bites his lip while concentrating, how fluffy his hair looks, how fast he can type. He’s so dangerously pretty, Kon can stay there for hours just watching him.
Rob lets him have it for just a couple of minutes before looking back up to stare at him in question.
“Do you need anything else, Superboy?” Robin asks.
“Nah, I’m just admiring you” Kon answers honestly.
The effect the words have on Robin is immediate: his heart accelerates and even with only the bad lightning from the computer screen Kon can see the blush on his cheeks. It makes Conner smile and Robin scowl.
“Don’t you have anything else to do?” Robin asks. He sounds annoyed, but Kon can still hear his heart so he’s not that easily fooled. “Supervillains to stop?”
“This ain’t Gotham, Rob” Kon answers easily.
“Well, I’m sure there’s a cat in a tree somewhere begging for your help” Rob snaps back, but without much heat. “So you should go now. Shoo”
Conner chuckles but obeys the order, he doesn’t want to test his luck by pushing Robin too far. He wants this thing to work between them after all.
“Alright,” Kon tells him. “See you around?”
“Yeah, yeah” Rob waves him off but there’s a hint of something in his voice.
Conner counts it as a win.