In this world that has slipped away [Incomplete]

[notlikeanyone]

WHO: Robin III, Superboy.
WHERE: Tim's room in the Clocktower.
WHEN: 12 March.
WARNINGS: DC brand angst.
SUMMARY: Tim knows Lex Luthor is in town and really needs to tell Kon about some future crap.
FORMAT: Quickypara.


Tim had been putting this off for too long already. The Porter hiccup and sudden revelation about Iron Man could only account for so much of that - he was, when it came down to it, afraid of hurting Kon with what he had to tell him.

But that was exactly it - he had to tell him. There was no avoiding it.

So he waited in his room.

Comments

[kryptoniankid.livejournal.com]

Kon took his time, he really wasn't looking forward to the news. It wasn't good news, therefor he didn't want to hear it but he knew he had to, otherwise Tim wouldn't have mentioned it.

There was a knock before Kon peeked his head through Tim's room. "Hey, man," he smiled weakly.

[notlikeanyone]

"Hey," Tim smiled briefly, faint and gone in a second. "Come in." He gestured to a seat in case Kon felt like sitting - or on his bed, that was always an option for Kon - but remained standing himself.

[kryptoniankid.livejournal.com]

He slid into Tim's room quietly, it had been a while since he had last been in it. It felt weird. It also felt like ages since he last saw Tim too. He'd been all over the place those last few weeks, Kon couldn't quite remember the last time they had a quiet moment together.

Kon chose to sit (on the bed) for this. "So..." he trailed off.

[notlikeanyone]

"Right. This is..." Tim scrubbed a hand back through his hair, unsure of where he should start. "When we found this stuff out, in my time, it wasn't under great circumstances, and you needed time to deal with it. That's why I didn't bring it up before - it's kind of... intense." He gave Kon an even, honest look, no mask, just his eyes. Just Tim. "But it doesn't change who you are, or who you can be. It doesn't change anything about who you really are, Kon, because you've decided that for yourself. Okay?"

[kryptoniankid.livejournal.com]

So he really didn't like where this was going. He couldn't really imagine what could be so bad, after all, Tim had already told him he died. Kon didn't want to admit it but Tim was scaring him.

"Just tell me."

[notlikeanyone]

Tim breathed out, slowly, and... yeah, this wasn't going to be easy on Kon.

"Okay. The first thing is that you're not just a clone of Superman. They needed to mix in human DNA to stabilise the cloning process, right?" He bit his lip, but plunged on. "And Lex Luthor was deeply involved in the project, so when that happened - they used his DNA."

[kryptoniankid.livejournal.com]

At first. none of what Tim had said really registered in Kon's brain. There was the part of being a clone of Superman, yeah he knew that. And then came the part that made no sense whatsoever.

"Wait, hold on," he put his hand up, as to stop Tim though he already finished talking. "There is not way Lex had a hand in this."

SORRY I AM SO SLOW

[notlikeanyone]

Tim swallowed, and looked at Kon seriously, openly.

"He was. I guess I can't prove it to you, here, unless I run a DNA test for you, but... well, if you don't believe me, then that's what I'll do." It wasn't just a matter of Kon trusting Tim's word, it couldn't be - not with everything involved.

[kryptoniankid.livejournal.com]

He was joking, Tim was joking, right?

"No. No to the DNA test, no to whatever you're telling me," he shook his head. This was stupid. He wasn't part super villain, he was Superboy. "Just cut the crap, okay? I am not part Lex or whatever. I'm not bad guy."

[notlikeanyone]

Oh, god, it was - so much like it had been the first time Tim had talked to Kon about this, in their own world. He was going to be angry, hurt and upset, but - it was important that he knew, and that he dealt with it.

"Jesus, Kon, weren't you listening? I told you, it doesn't change who you are - who you really are. It's just DNA, you're more than that. You make your own choices and, yeah, you're not a bad guy. You're never a bad guy. But that doesn't change the truth, either."

one day i will proofread my tags. one day.

[kryptoniankid.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, I was listening," he raised his voice to something short of a yell. "If it was no big deal you wouldn't be telling me this."

Kon stood up, his face expressed a mixture of frustration and confusion. What was he supposed to do if it was true? "Look, man," he turned away from Tim. "This DNA...it's all I've got. I'm not like you, I don't have parents or a real family."

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[notlikeanyone]

"I don't -" have parents any more. He cut himself off, because that wasn't something Kon needed to hear right now. Possibly, not ever, not while they were in the City where it didn't even matter.

"You have Clark, and Kara. I know it's not exactly the same, but they're your family. You know that's how they think of you." He paused to take a deep breath. "And the reason I'm telling you about this isn't because it's a big deal, it's because of something else that Luthor did when you were - still asleep, I think. He added something to your mmemories so that you'd respond to him saying a key phrase. That's why - with the younger Luthor here, we have to get rid of that, before he says it accidentally or something."

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[kryptoniankid.livejournal.com]

"You're right, it's not the same," he gritted his teeth, trying to keep his voice even. "You wouldn't understand." No one would. How could they? And more now that for the first time, something his friend knew all along, Tim was telling him about his connection to Lex.

Kon felt ashamed, he was now as much of Lex as he was Superman. "How the hell do you fix, get rid of something like that, Tim?" there was doubt in his voice.

[notlikeanyone]

"No, I suppose I couldn't," Tim replied flatly, quietly. "All I understand is that you should hold onto what family you have, before you - before it's... too late." He moved quickly on from that, bringing his hand to his mouth to chew on the pad of his thumb thoughtfully.

"You got through it on your own, eventually - overcame it with willpower and... that was kind of rough, though." Not just on Kon, and not just on Tim. They couldn't afford a repeat of that, not here. "There should be some kinds of hypnotherapy that could help. Or we could ask a telepath, but we'd have to find a trustworthy one, and - it's your choice, there."

[kryptoniankid.livejournal.com]

So he was bad after all. And he wondered, "Did...Did I hurt anyone?" Kon was sure that the response would be yes. Of course it would, if Lex had control of him that would have been the first thing he would have him do. Hurt others.

He wasn't sure what to do. Hell, he was still having a difficult time just processing the entire Lex DNA in him. Kon felt so helpless. Superboy felt helpless. "I don't know what to do," he said quietly as looked down at the floor.

[notlikeanyone]

Of course he'd ask that, and Tim couldn't deny it. His stricken expression gave away the truth before he could say anything. "You weren't the one donig it, Kon. You weren't in control, and - and it wasn't anything we couldn't deal with." With a cast, and - no. "What hurt the most was seeing you like that, and knowing you'd blame yourself for everything when it wasn't your fault."

Tim reached out to squeeze Kon's shoulder, looking at him steadily. "We'll fix this, and make sure it never has to happen. It'll be okay. And... you don't have to tell anyone else, although I know they'd be okay with it. They're your friends, no matter what or who you're made of."

[kryptoniankid.livejournal.com]

His heart sank. He could just image it, the faces of his friends as he hurt them, Cassie's face. It was just something he couldn't bare to think about any longer.

"You said we could get a telepath, right?" he kept his eyes fixed to the floor. Kon wanted nothing more than to fix this and to also pound the living daylights out of Lex but that would have to wait.

[notlikeanyone]

"Yes. There are several here. I'll check into them all before asking for their help, okay?" Tim wished he could do more, that he could do anything more to help Kon with this, but all he could do was to help him fix it and stop things from happening, and be there to be as supportive as he could. He was no Kent family, but he could try his best to be a substitute. And Kon hadn't actually hurt anyone here, so maybe it'd be enough.

[kryptoniankid.livejournal.com]

It took some effort but Kon finally managed to look at Tim. He was by no means okay with everything, however, he did manage to get over the initial shock. "Look man, thanks," he managed a brief smile. "I mean, for telling me this though, you coulda told me before..."

[notlikeanyone]

Tim smiled back a little, taking back his hand and scrubbing it through his hair. "Yeah. I kind of hate being from the future sometimes, you know? Not knowing if I should say things or not." He sighed and shook his head. As long as he was telling Kon about things that were gonig to happen, he might as well give him some good news.

"You and Wonder Girl end up dating. Like, seriously. By the way."