Title: And sang a kindred soul out to his face, yet human (Reference)
Series: Three red words Story #7
Fandom: DCU (AU from Nightwing #93 and mid-Robin: Unmasked, spoilers in an AU way for Identity Crisis and Under the Hood)
Summary: Superboy puts his hands in his pockets. "He'd beat me at any argument and convince me he had the right idea until my brain kicked in, and -- they're -- they're hurting people."
Rating: All ages
Notes: Thanks to Zee, Katarik, and Te for listening, and Betty for making sure it made sense.


Steph knows damn well she had her jumpline secured, and that when they fail, you don't just sail on up, so she's warned. She's dreading hearing from Superman -- the dirty boyfriend stealer -- so it's a relief when somebody else says, "I hear you guys could use some backup."

She looks up. Superboy's costume is not really a costume at all, and it throws her for a second, but she recognizes him anyway. The first thing to do is hit the comm. "B, code 64." And then she smiles. "We don't need help, thanks."

He sets her down on a higher roof and backs off while she takes care of the grapple line. "You haven't managed to get Tim back yet." Superboy runs a hand through his hair. "But, man --"

In her comm, Batman says, "Acknowledged."

"-- I'm pissed off at him, too. But if I thought he'd listen I'd be there right now, grabbing him by the ear and dragging him back."

"He doesn't want to be Robin anymore," Steph says. She straightens her belt, completely not accidentally also checking to make sure the green K pouch is there. "He left."

"Well, yeah, but --" Superboy frowns at her. "You guys were dating, right?"

Steph knows her smile is tight and sad and looks like nobody's so much as Tim's. "You know he's gay, right?"

"I figured it out. Eventually. But --" Superboy waves his hands. "You're his friend, too."

"So are you, according to all the records I've seen." She folds her arms over her chest. "So you go tell him he can't do what he's doing."

"No way." Superboy puts his hands in his pockets. "He'd beat me at any argument and convince me he had the right idea until my brain kicked in, and -- they're -- they're hurting people."

"I know." Steph sighs. "I can't call him either -- or drop by -- because I know how freakin' smart he is, and he'd make me feel like I wasn't thinking when I disagreed with him. Like it was just that I couldn't really understand the world, not as well as he does."

Superboy punches one hand into the other. "That -- I -- you're not dumb."

"Neither are you." Steph smiles and feels like she's putting it on, acting. "I saw your report cards."

"Damn." Superboy grins at her. "Guess there aren't any secrets, huh."

"Not in Gotham." She shrugs. "What did you need?"

"You guys -- well, you totally never needed me before but -- I --" Superboy shakes his head. "You're the good guys, and -- and I wanna help." He glances at her costume. "You were Spoiler, right?"

"Yeah. But --"

"It looks good. You look good. As Robin." Superboy shrugs. "And I want to help you out."

Steph puts her hands on her hips. "We're not the only good guys. And Batman doesn't like metas."

"I know." He frowns and spreads his hands. "I just -- I miss him, and the Titans -- we just don't talk about this stuff. But I miss the guy who betrayed me."

"The Titans have had their share of traitors."

Superboy snorts and gives her a narrow grin. "Like Nightwing?"

Steph can't help smiling back a little. "I meant like Terra. But yeah, him too."

"Yeah. Nobody wants to bring that stuff up, so I keep looking for him and hoping he'll show up every damn weekend." He gives her another appraising look, marginally more professional. The kind of look a football player gives a cheerleader who's hoisting somebody in the air, maybe. "Are you going to join?"

It hasn't come up in words, but there've been enough files for her to read. "Not while Starfire is still affiliated -- it's --"

Superboy sighs and kicks at the roof. "It's complicated. And I can't stop missing him. I keep thinking -- maybe -- and then -- no."

Steph puts her grapple on her belt and touches his shoulder. He really is just wearing a t-shirt, and it makes her think about all the stuff she's talked about with Batman about metas. "Me, too."

He looks up at her and she knows he doesn't have X-ray vision yet, or didn't used to, but it's like he's looking under her mask anyway. "Yeah. Bastard."

The look in his eyes reminds her he does have heat vision, and that maybe his control's not perfect. It would be really useful to have a meta around. "This is maybe not the best place to have this discussion."

Superboy laughs and looks for a second like the guy she used to have a poster of on her wall. "Maybe not. Should we hit the big bad Batcave or something?"

"You know where it is?" She sounds like Tim in her own ears, dry and sharp and commanding. Superboy shivers under her hand.

"Robin -- god." He rubs the back of his neck. "Man, for a second there I forgot you're you. But -- um -- I've been there, and it -- echoes funny."

"Probably we should talk to Batman before you show up there."

The shadows behind Superboy shift and Steph grins. Superboy blinks and turns around. "Uh. Hi."

Batman says, "Your training has been neglected."

"Man, I know, I'm sorry --" Superboy takes a step toward him. "But I could totally learn."

"Your allegiances may be problematic."

"No way. Not that." He looks more like Superman for a second than Steph ever thought he could. "I'm so pissed off at T -- that other guy --"

"And Superman?" Batman asks.

Superboy frowns like he's got no idea what's going on. "He's Superman. I -- why, what's up with him?"

Batman doesn't explain, so Superboy looks at Steph.

"He's -- involved with -- Tim."

Superboy takes off, floating backward like just taking a step back wouldn't be far enough. "No way. He's Superman!"

"And?" Steph says.

"That doesn't make any sense," Superboy says, but he lands. "Are you kidding? They're --"

"It has to do with the mores of Kryptonian culture," Batman says. "They do not specifically prohibit the kinds of actions -- they -- are taking."

Superboy crosses his arms. "I'm not part of Kryptonian culture. I -- no, man. I'm not going to move to fuckin' Blüdhaven."

"At present," Batman says.

Steph sighs. She's not a teenybopper anymore, she likes this guy, and he's about as sincere as you can get without breaking something. "You trusted me, B."

It gets her a quick glance. "You proved yourself, Robin."

Steph nods. "Yeah, and -- and we should give him a chance." She gives Superboy her best Robin look. "He'd be the most obvious plant in the history of ever, and -- he hasn't been on any of the 'haven cameras, right?"

Batman's look clearly says Steph should stop undercutting his authority.

She grins. It's kinda part of the job description.

Superboy looks at Batman, then at her. "You -- I'm really not going anywhere near them."

"And he hasn't made any phonecalls to -- to them, right?"

"True," Batman says, quietly.

Superboy rocks on his heels. "You've got the phone records? Wait, no, of course you do, forget I asked. No, I didn't call him. Them. Anybody. I'm good."

"Besides, B, he can give me a ride." Steph holds out her hand to Superboy. "O can keep an ear out for a night."

Superboy takes her hand like they've just met and stares at Batman. "Um. So -- can I stay?"

Batman clears his throat. "This will not be easy."

Steph snickers and tries to stop herself.

"No kidding. Um, sir." Superboy puts his arm around Steph's waist. "So -- yes?"

"For now," Batman says, and Superboy lifts Steph right off her feet into the sky, squeezing her.

"Know what?" he says in her ear, maybe a quarter mile up or so.

She turns a little. "What?"

"You're gonna be my favorite Robin ever."

Steph laughs. "You were always my favorite Superboy."

"Aw, thanks." He does a big loop. "You -- you can't tell me your name, right?"

She thinks about the files and all the rules. "Well -- you know Superman, and -- and Tim. And B, right?"

Superboy winces at Tim's name, which only makes sense, because it sucks to have to mention him like that. "Yeah."

"Steph," she says. Flat-out. If he's training with them and he's got superhearing, it won't take him time to figure it out anyway, so she may as well make it easy.

"Kon, then," he says, and she can hear his smile. Not as bright as it ought to be. "You know how damn long it was before I knew his name?"

"Tell me about it." Steph pats his hand. "We were dating for a year before B told me."

Kon chokes. "Batman told you his name? Before he did?"

It still hurts to think about. All the ways Tim never trusted her, and -- and now he never will, because she's on the wrong side which was his side and --

And it's over. "Yeah," she says. "But -- water under the bridge, you know. We should get there or he's gonna beat us to it, and if he gets there first while we're flying --"

"Makes sense to me -- Steph." He twirls them a little. "So -- which way?"

She checks the compass in her gauntlet. "Hey, didn't you say you could hear the place?"

"Right, okay. Just -- don't say anything, I'm not really great at this yet."

Steph holds her breath for a few seconds, and then they're oriented, heading in a direction that's east and down and down some more.

*

"Damn," Kon says, bracing his elbows on his knees and bending over to breathe hard. He's standing on the mat in the cave, not floating, so he's got to be pretty tired already. "Are you this hard on Steph, B. G.?"

"Yes," Cass says.

Steph looks up from her map of Chicago. She's never been there, but with the gang movement lately, she may need to go, and Robin doesn't get to ask for directions. "Sometimes she's worse," she says.

Kon looks up, his face red. "Man. But you're not a meta."

"Nope." Steph highlights another street by the docksides. "That means all I've got out there is me."

"And your team," Cass says. She waves a hand at Kon. "Again."

"I'm all bruised already," Kon says, rolling his eyes, but he straightens up and gets into a halfway decent stance.

Steph puts her feet up on the table and traces routes. "You get used to it, Superboy."

"Ow -- I -- ow -- Cass, dammit --" There's a thump. Steph looks up to see Kon flat on his back. "I coulda flown, you know."

Cass raises her eyebrows. "Then fly."

Kon shakes his head. His hair is damp with sweat and he looks more human than Superboy should. "Maybe next time."

Steph flips to another section of the map. "You should be nicer to him, B. G. He can't take your speed."

Cass laughs, darting over to steal Steph's highlighter. "He has to learn."

"So do I!" Steph says, but by the time she grabs for the marker, it's long gone.

"C'mon, Robin, stop sitting on your butt," Kon says, folding his arms. "You gotta stay in shape."

"I have to patrol tonight, you guys," Steph says. Training with Cass always exhilarates her and means she really needs a shower and a nap more than anything else. She gets up and joins them on the mats anyway.

"Exercise strengthens the body," Cass says, definitely quoting Batman, and she draws a pink dot on the tip of Steph's nose with the highlighter, too fast for Steph to stop her.

"That's not cool." Steph manages to forget how fast Cass is long enough to throw a couple of punches at her and sweep a decent hook kick.

Cass grins at her. "Better." She puts another dot on Steph's hand in the middle of a punch. Then the highlighter floats out of her hand.

"Get her," Kon says to Steph, tossing her the highlighter with his telekinesis.

"Only if you hold her down," Steph says, winking at him.

Cass trips Kon and he falls all wrong, again, with a groan. "Learn," Cass says.

"God, I'm trying." He rolls, grabs her ankle, and holds her still with his powers long enough for Steph to draw a heart on her cheek.

"There," Steph says, and Kon lets Cass go.

She bear-hugs Steph and throws her back a few steps, then comes after her with moves way too fast to see. Steph can counter more of them than she used to be able to, but she's still nowhere near good enough. If Cass landed any of them as more than a touch -- well, it wouldn't be training with Cass, and it would hurt like a bitch. When she runs out of breath, she lets Cass trip her and lies on the mat, panting.

Cass takes the highlighter and draws a heart up next to her eye, where the mask will hide it. "It's fair now," she says, and pulls Steph up.

"Except for him," Steph says, jerking her chin at Kon.

"Easy enough."

"Hey, now," Kon says, holding his hands up. It's not a defensive stance, it's surrender, but it doesn't stop Steph from throwing a punch -- pulling it, too, because she doesn't need to bruise her knuckles on aura or alien skin or anything -- and Kon dodges, and Cass gets him in a headlock.

Then he floats all three of them up to the ceiling. "Let's see you get out of this one."

"We could," Cass says, and she twists around and draws him a heart on his cheek, too.

His grin is quick, and they're heading for the floor already. "Yeah, you're good, B. G."

Steph punches him in the arm when he lets her go. "You guys should get back to your sparring."

Kon hugs her again and messes up her hair something awful. "Yes, Mom."

Steph splutters and shoves him away. "It's Robin, dammit."

"Yeah." Kon smiles at her crookedly. "I know."

*

By the end of the week, Kon stops being drop-dead exhausted at the end of the training sessions and starts actually using the comm and listening while they're on patrol. He talks to Steph about movies, about sports, about music, in between pushups and stretching and all the physical movement practice Batman leaves him as homework while Batman's off doing the actual Batman stuff.

It's nice to have company while she's patrolling. Batman's usually covering a different part of the city, and so's Cass. Neither of them chats, ever. Kon is way better at making her smile, and the muggers always get freaked out when she giggles for no reason they can see.

There's something bizarre going down at one of the jewelry stores in the gem district, but she's not ready to ask for help -- there's only maybe four of them -- or dive in without casing it, so she stops on a rooftop to watch for a while.

"Taking a break, K," she says.

"That's cool." Kon makes a hoarse little noise -- Batman's got him lifting weights. "And man, it's too bad jerks like Jason come back from the dead when, you know, guys like John Lennon don't," Kon says, and Steph's about to laugh and agree with him when she gets whacked on the back of the head and everything goes dark.

When she wakes up again, she feels like her entire skull is beating out the intro riff from Revolution and she's going to die, except it's also very breezy and she's got her head on somebody's shoulder.

"Uhh," she says, instead of saying, "I'm really going to try not to puke down your back, but it's a challenge."

"I've got you," Kon says, super softly, and he pets her shoulder. "We'll be at the clinic in about a minute."

"Gonna die," she says, and it's not a question. It's just how she feels.

"Hell no." Kon holds onto her everywhere at once with his TTK and she leans into it. "You've got a heck of a goose-egg, and a concussion, but you'll be okay. Cass is covering your beat for tonight."

Steph closes her eyes. It doesn't make the wacky lights behind her eyes better. "'kay." Then something clicks in her throbbing head. "You -- cave? What?"

Kon laughs and makes himself stop when she winces. "I snuck out as soon as I heard you go down, S. B's gonna --"

"Kick your ass," she says, but she's smiling.

"Yeah, but you're okay."

"Not yet."

Kon knocks on the door of Leslie Thompkins' clinic. "It's gonna be fine, Robin. You're gonna be fine."

Leslie says, "And who -- oh, god," and lets Kon float Steph right onto a bed even though it's not like Robin's ever floated before.

"Superboy," Kon says. "Um. Sorry. I didn't get my costume on."

Leslie shakes her head and says, "I've seen worse. Does he know --"

"Yes," Batman says from the doorway.

That's when Steph passes out again.

*

She wakes up again with Kon holding her hand. "Hey," he says. "Told you you'd be okay."

Steph closes her eyes because the light is way too bright. "Okay is pushing it."

"Alive, anyway." He squeezes her fingers. "Hey, you should get whacked on the head more often. I didn't have to train tonight."

"Ha, ha -- ow." Steph groans. "Lucky you."

"Gotta look on the bright side," Kon says. "The nurse'll be by in a few minutes. Want me to call B?"

"Ow." Steph winces. "Talk softer. And turn the lights off."

"No prob." He does it without letting her go. That telekinesis stuff is pretty cool. "I can call him quietly," he says. "I know Alfred's worried, too."

"Okay," she says. "Maybe in the hall or something?"

"Gotcha."

Kon comes back in after and just sits with her, not saying anything. It's the best kind of company.

Batman shows up some time later -- Steph's not too sure of her time sense with the concussion -- and says, "You may be better off recovering at home."

"The bats --" Steph says, wincing already.

"Your mother is a fully qualified nurse," Batman says. In Bruce's voice.

Steph squeezes Kon's hand so hard it would probably hurt if he wasn't Superboy. "You think you can talk Alfred into bringing me cocoa?" she asks.

"Indubitably," Bruce says, and Steph closes her eyes.

"Cool."

Leslie clears her throat and says, "I'll want to see you tomorrow, Robin."

Steph smiles and says, "I'll drop by."

"You most certainly will not." It's pretty clear where Batman learned his command voice when Leslie whips hers out. "I'll see you at ten-o'clock tomorrow night, and if you're not at home, we will have words." There's a thumping sound and Steph peeks. Leslie's poking Batman right on the bat.

"I'll be there," Steph says. "Promise."

Kon says, "So, um. What's your address?"

Steph winces. "Look, my mom's gotta work. And -- ow, my head -- you should keep an eye on somebody with a concussion, right?"

"Absolutely," Leslie says.

"B -- don't you know somebody with a buncha cameras in his house?"

She can hear Bruce sigh all the way across the room. Good thing for the Batman image there's nobody in the room but family. "You're sure, Robin?"

"Completely." Steph uses Kon's hand and sits up and tries not to let them all see how much that hurts. "Whoa -- I -- let's go home?"

Kon holds her up with his TTK and grabs a blanket, too. "No problem."

"If you have a moment," Leslie says, while they're headed out the window.

Batman is entirely using his Bruce voice. "Of course."

*

The first time Steph wakes up, Cass is there with breakfast and painkillers. "You're all right," she says, smiling at Steph.

"Not yet," Steph says, and she closes her eyes and covers them, too. It hurts too much to talk right now.

"Sorry." Cass touches her hand gently, but if anybody gets what Steph is thinking without having to hear it, it's Cass. "Take the pills." She presses a glass of water into Steph's hand, then the pills.

Steph swallows them, wincing, and smiles shakily at her.

Cass says, "You're welcome. Leslie says twenty minutes before you fall asleep, and." She picks something up off the table and sits on the edge of the bed. "Once upon a time --"

There's no way around it. Steph has to peek, even though it hurts her eyes. "Fairy tales?" They've been working on really practical stuff so she doesn't have to have somebody help her at crime scenes, but not so much with the fiction.

"Alfred said they might make you feel better." Cass shrugs. "Do you want silence?"

"It's okay." Steph closes her eyes and lets Cass read to her, helping her guess at the harder words.

She falls asleep to the soft murmur of, "...and they all lived happily ever after."

*

When she's been awake for more than half an hour at a time, she gets the cocoa and a bunch of files to read from Alfred and Bruce.  Just after she starts reading the second file, though, Kon comes in and says, "So I'm patrolling tonight."

Steph sets down the cocoa. "I think I have a head wound. What'd you just say?"

Kon sits on the edge of the bed. "Me. Going out tonight. With Bruce. And Cass."

"Whoa." Steph closes the file and drops it on the floor. "That's -- he's really rushing you, isn't he?"

"Hey, I've done the vigilante thing long enough," Kon says, frowning. "It's not like I don't know the rules."

"Sorry," she says, thinking of her old poster again. "Right, you've been in the biz for ages, but -- you don't really know Gotham."

Kon nods. "Right, which is why I get to be all hooked up. Fully loaded comm, armor I probably won't need, the works. Cass is going to be shadowing me hardcore all night."

Steph blinks at him again. "Armor?"

"Give me a sec." He flies out, not superspeed-fast but really quickly, and comes back about a minute later.

His bodysuit doesn't look like it's heavily armored under all that dark red, but she's damn sure it is. Mostly it's not form-fitting enough to show off his muscles or the stuff between it and his muscles. There's a gold belt thing -- over one shoulder, and his belt's gold.

So's the set of pouches around his thigh.

Steph grins at him and reaches down to tug up the floppy blue boot. It slumps right back into place so he's still asymmetrical. "I could never get the stupid thing to stay in the right place."

"It worked," Kon says, and he crosses his arms. "I mean -- I was talking to Bruce about -- about everything, and -- and why you're here. And. Your dad."

"Spoiler --" Steph closes her eyes. "I --"

"Tim didn't explain. About you. And how you just -- don't have powers or training or cash or anything, but you went for it, and did this, and -- you're okay with this?"

"Sure." She shrugs. "I mean, your dad --"

Kon shakes his head. "Don't remind me."

"At least yours are good at what they do," Steph says. "And what are you calling yourself, anyway? No mask, no hood, no cape, no S --"

"Not Superboy."

"Nah. All that red --" Steph puts her chin in her hand. "-- oh, he didn't brief you on that?"

Kon blinks. "On what?"

"Uh -- it's a stupid kid thing."

He laughs and floats a little. "You know what my first costumes looked like, right?"

She's actually blushing. She blames the headwound. "I had posters. So -- yeah. Anyway -- the Spoiler costume, um, it was eggplant. The color. And I made sure people knew that. So -- you could say, 'Actually, it's burgundy,' or something, but -- that would be really -- you know. Gay."

It's not a discussion they've had, at all. Mostly they don't talk about Tim except when they have to. But -- "You know, your ex is running around calling himself Flamebird? So --" Kon grins crookedly. "I could be Rainbow Lad and people would just smile and nod. But -- I think I'll stick to calling it red for now."

"Good plan." Steph reaches over and pokes the shoulder strap. "Still, it's gotta be weird not to have the S."

"That's his," Kon says. "And -- and, yeah, it's weird. But it's better."

Steph nods, winces at the pain, and says, "Yeah. So you're just wearing red." She bites her lip. "You could be -- well -- Redbird."

Kon looks at himself and turns around to give her a better view. "Redbird, huh?"

"Robin's taken."

He stops smiling and gives her a serious look that makes her want to kiss him. "Steph -- I know. I really know."

"It's okay." She reaches for him without really thinking about it because he's been around all the time since she got hurt, and he hugs her tightly. "I didn't think you were -- I -- it's okay."

"I was thinking of Spoiler -- if you didn't mind, you know -- but I can go with Redbird," Kon says, really quietly. "Has there been anybody else who used that codename?"

Steph squeezes him. "Just -- the last Robin's car. No actual people, I don't think."

"Jeez." Kon laughs and kisses her cheek and kisses her, light and soft, and lets her go. "Why don't I just call myself the Batmobile?"

"Because I will laugh at your ass," she says, and lets him back off. Her head's pounding again. "I think I gotta take a nap. Play nice with the bad guys, Redbird."

"I'll be good," he says. "Tell Leslie I said hi."

"You bet." She hits the light and lies down as slowly as she can. "O, you awake?"

"Still monitoring, yes," Oracle says.

"You're the best."

"We all do what we can. Go to sleep, Steph."




Further note: Kon's costume is a direct homage to this one, without the cape and hood. This is a page from Robin #30 or thereabouts, written by Chuck Dixon.


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