Tim ducked out of their Volvo in the basement parking garage and into the shadows far beneath the building with the rooftop penthouse that he and Kon now called home. Fortunately, they had a private elevator to their home. Owning the building had its advantages, the young vigilante thought. Kon was dressed in his office clothes, but Tim hadn't had a chance to change from his uniform and with the damage at CADMUS, and they had already attracted enough attention. Stepping into the elevator, Tim entered their security code and held the door while Kon carefully carried his bundle in. They waited impatiently for the elevator car to make its long ride to the top and open into the foyer of their home. He strode carefully, almost drifting, down the far hallway and into a bright bedroom that wasn't just a riot of color, but rather looked like an armed uprising of a giant box of crayons. Bart had decorated it with the best of intentions. They preferred more subdued colors, but Bart knew what kids liked. He might have grown a little older, but it was unlikely that the lively speedster would ever grow up. Sounds coming down the hall grew in volume as Bart himself came in carefully carrying an armload of compact equipment and medical supplies.
"I got everything you asked for Tim. Is…. Is he okay?" the speedster asks nervously as Kon pulls the small hospital blanket off his bundle and lays the boy on his new bed.
"I think so. He seems to be sleeping normally now. We weren't going to decant him for a couple more weeks yet. Something about the existence of another cloning chamber called to Match and he destroyed the chamber with him in it. He had a little more growing to do, but if there are no other problems he should be okay. The accelerated growth might be uncomfortable for him out of the chamber until he reaches the age we intended."
All the time, Tim just stands to the side watching Kon's extraordinarily strong hands tend the boy so very gently. Bart sets up the small portable medical monitor that he retrieved from Tim's study, and stacked the other supplies to the side. They were generally well-stocked in medical supplies since Tim wasn't a metahuman and he often received wounds that needed medical treatment and they couldn't very well take him to a hospital.
"Bart, did you bring some clothes with you like we asked?" Tim asked their younger friend. They had called ahead in the car on the way home and has asked Bart to bring some things of his.
"Yeah, I still have most of my clothes from when I made it back here." He responded. What he meant was 'when he made it back in time' and the speedster was just a small lad himself.
"Could you bring him something he can sleep comfortably in?"
Bart disappears from the room in a backdraft of air and runs to the guestroom where he left the bags of things he brought. Kon looks up from the deeply sleeping boy and over to his husband and the look in his eyes is utterly heartbreaking in its beauty. Delight and wonder dance with a fierce love and protectiveness in the deep blue eyes and he says softly to his husband:
"Honey… come see our son."
Tim pulls off his gloves and lets them drop to the floor and peels the mask away from his eyes and steps over to the edge of the bed and reaches down and carefully takes a small hand in his. In his sleep, the little boy gripped his father's hand tightly… and rather strongly. Not much could move Tim after the years of fighting and loss he had experienced. But the beautiful lad with dark brown hair and angelic face was enough to melt any barrier. The two new fathers looked at one-another with such a look of wonder, joy, and love. It was a look only for each other that wrote volumes in a way that no spoken words could.
"Let's get him cleaned up." Kon said then he and Tim carefully pulled the solar suit off their son. He only had half of the Kryptonian DNA that Kon did, but Kon thought that it would be enough that the solar suit would help him as his grew in the chamber. With a couple of damp cloths, they carefully cleaned him up and wiped away the gelling remains of the fluid from the cloning chamber.
"Oh my God!... he's perfectly adorable." Bart softly said from behind them. They were so focused on the boy that they had heard his return. The two young heroes shifted aside to make a little room and let Bart get a closer look. His bright amber eyes grew wider and wider in delight. In the future he had known, and had saved, births were almost causes for grief considering the future every human being had, but this was completely different. He was seeing life in a new and wonderful way.
"You didn't bring Jamie with you?" Tim asked as he started to carefully set aside the small solar suit so he could wash it and save as a memento, alongside Conner's that he had kept.
"Oh, he's here. Just before you came up he went topside with Wolf to let him do his business and get some air. He thought "big and fluffy" might scare him."
What Bart called 'Topside' was the roof of the second level of the expansive penthouse. The roof had bright green grassy lawns and gardens above the city of Metropolis. They had an extraordinary outdoor kitchen where Kon loved to grill, and an herb garden that Tim alone tended do. He loved the fresh herbs for cooking when he had the time… and had started dabbling in some rarer and more dubious herbs that he could use in his crime-fighting pursuits. Kon didn't always know which was which so only Tim messed with it… for everyone's sake.
Bart handed over some of the things he brought and Tim and Kon carefully dressed put the borrowed underclothes and pajamas on him and pulled the blankets up to his shoulders. Bart had a permanent sense of cuteness and had brought his footie pajamas that he wore for a short time before he outgrew them. Tim noticed that even though he was a skinny little thing (like Tim was at that age), he seemed to weigh quite a bit which was probably due to Kon's DNA. Kon heard someone sigh in delight and looked over his shoulder just as Jamie softly say to himself:
"Madre de Dios! Es un niño hermoso!" [Mother of God, he's a beautiful boy!]
In his excitement he reverted back to the Spanish of his birth that he hardly used anymore. All by themselves, Jamie's fingers found Bart's and they twined together and they held hands while they looked on their new little friend. Wolf slowly loped around to the opposite side of the bed and craned his enormous head forward and sniffed at the sleeping boy's hair. Wolf was an intelligent sentient creature, but he was still an enormous wolf and the two of them looked on carefully while Wolf examined the sleeping lad. Suddenly the bed creaked slightly as the giant canine stepped up and onto the bed… and quietly laid down. Kon was about to shoo him off until Tim touched his shoulder and softly said:
"Look honey!"
Wolf curled up around the small sleeping boy and looked at the four young men in the room as if to say: 'I'm protecting him now, go take care of whatever you need to.' They could barely pull themselves away while their son slept in his deep preternatural sleep. Bart grinned while silent tears slid down his cheeks, as did Jamie, though he tried to hide it behind his Latin bravado. But you could see the love in his glistening black eyes and a suddenly fierce protectiveness. Every so often, Tim or Kon would pull away from their embrace to check his pulse or his breathing, just wanting to be certain he was healthy. But finally, they both carefully stood up from the edge of the bed and started to leave him to rest when they heard a small voice behind them:
"Daddy?"
They both bolted back to the bed's edge to find their son sleepily looking up at them with his bright green eyes and his small arms held out for a hug. Tim got there first and finally got to really hold his little boy. He wrapped his own slim but strong arms around him and the little lad almost immediately fell back to sleep in the young vigilante's embrace. The only other time they had seen a smile like that on Tim's face was his wedding day. But it was becoming clear that they couldn't leave him alone at the moment, so Tim carefully carried their son into the large but comfortable living room and laid the boy on the couch. Kon brought a small pillow and blanket and tucked him in comfortably and Bart turned on the television with the volume way down and turned it to Ben 10 cartoons. Wolf loped over and laid down on the floor in front of the couch and went right to sleep. In his sleep, the little boy's hand drifted out from under the blanket and petted Wolf's head on the floor next to him.
Kon forced himself away to head over to the adjacent kitchen and put on some coffee while Tim quickly changed out of his uniform. The four heroes found themselves comfortable seats to the side of the great room, but where they could keep an eye on the sleeping lad, and quietly sipped their coffee until Kon finally broke the silence.
"Would you guys mind staying for a few days and help us with…"
"Conner." Tim interjects.
"Huh?"
"His name is Conner." Tim repeats emphatically.
"I was thinking Jack." Kon says and sees Tim melt a little bit, since Jackson was Tim's father's name.
"No… I think Conner is better." Tim says with finality; and there wasn't much chance of changing his mind when he got this way.
"Okay, but he didn't get the green eyes and brown hair from me so it comes from your side of the family. His last name should be Drake."
"Really guys? You didn't think of this before?" Jamie asks.
"Well no." Tim answers sheepishly. "We picked out schools, activities, clothes (though we haven't bought them yet), but somehow we forgot a name. We even picked out a couple of uncles." He says with a smile looking at Bart and Jamie.
"I want to be a big brother! That's more fun!" Bart exclaims, then slams his hand over his mouth for fear that he woke the boy. "He's already going to have a bunch of uncles."
"Good point." Tim responds with a smile. "Whichever works for you."
"Woohoo!" Bart says softly with a grin. "Besides, he's already wearing my hand-me-downs… kind of a big-brother thing."
The discussions among the two couples continue long into the night. Bart and Jamie finally trudged off to the guestroom to get some sleep and Tim and Kon dozed off in arm-chairs near the couch where their son slept. Sometime in the night Bart and Jamie trudged their way back into the great room dragging blankets behind them and Bart softly vibrated his hand on Tim's shoulder to nudge him awake, while Jamie woke Kon.
"Go get some sleep hermano." Jamie softly said. "We'll look after him. You need some proper sleep."
The two heroes who inspired and protected the citizens of Gotham and Metropolis as Superboy and Red Robin now did the most domestic of things: they dragged themselves out of their chairs and gave their son a kiss on the cheek and a hug to their friends and went to bed, having been awake and weary for almost two days.
Hours later found the bright late-morning sun beaming into the windows over the bed. Tim wearily pried his eyes open to discover little Conner curled up between them on the bed, right in the center of the sunbeam. Apparently he did have some of his Daddy's attributes as he had more color to his face and was half awake looking fondly at his father. Neither one said a word, but the little boy pulled himself closer to Tim and laid his head on his shoulder and went back to sleep. Tim closed his eyes and let a few tears of unbridled joy drip from between his eyelids and he wrapped his arms around his son and drifted back off himself.
XXXXXXXXXX
Some time later, Tim woke up to an empty bed. It was momentarily that half-awake sensation where you wonder if what you experienced earlier was a dream. He looked about the bedroom and both Kon and little Conner were gone… but he heard laughter from down the hall. Well, there was nothing for it. He climbed out of bed, pulled on a pair of lounge pants and a t-shirt, and headed towards the kitchen and laughter in search of his husband and son… and coffee.
He was greeted with giggles as Kon handed him a steaming cup of coffee, which he sorely needed. Conner appeared to be the very picture of health. He was bright-eyed, laughing, active… and making a mess of the breakfast table with Bart.
"Hey Tim… little Conner is making my boyfriend stupider." Jamie says with a smile.
Tim's smile eats up his face as Conner's spoon drops with a clang into his bowl of Coco Pebbles and shrieks "Father!" and runs to Tim and hugs him fiercely. Tim manages to keep breathing while in the grip of his son, but if he couldn't have breathed, he could die happy before letting the hug end. But the little lad finally relents and Tim gives his son a kiss and tells him:
"You might have to be careful son. You're stronger than you think."
"That's what daddy said too. I'm sorry."
"Never be sorry for a good hug." And he hugs his son again, but this time he notices that he is more careful. The hug is firm and full of love, but not so crushing. He then to managed to get a kiss from his husband whose eyes are full of love and wonder.
"So, Conner, would you like to go shopping? We need to get you some clothes and some things for school, you know."
Tim then has to try to keep his coffee from spewing through his nose when he hears: "Can Bart come too? He says he knows what the cool stuff is. But why do I have to go to school? Didn't daddy make me smarter… before I was awake?"
Shopping with Bart was always an experience, but shopping for little Conner with Bart in tow was certainly going to be epic. But he also heard another thing in the boy's comment. 'Before I was awake' might just be how he could accept that he was not a normally born boy like others. He suddenly thought: "Eat your heart out Gepetto… we got a real boy. Pinnochio's a slacker."
"Yes, you are smarter. But you will make a lot of friends and learn a lot of things that you can't find out in books or computers. So, why don't you get dressed while I get woke up, okay son? And then we'll go have some fun." And Tim's heart pounded as he still wondered if he was dreaming or not.
"Okay!" he says brightly and then grabs Bart by the hand and heads down the hall to get dressed. He hoped that Bart had used some sense when he brought clothes for the boy. He wasn't known for modesty, but he had been running about in boxer-briefs which for him was downright modest as hell. But the upside… he loved his daddies and had already made friends with Bart, which was pretty much expected. The boy was healthy, smart, and adapting real well. He would do a lot of growing in a short time, so shopping might be a weekly thing for a while. Tim thought about the impact that would have on his credit cards. Sure, he could afford it, but he was still somewhat frugal by nature. But also… there was another thing to plan for. There was a whole Team of heroes… friends really… more like family that would want to meet Tim and Kon's son. Had to play that by ear since he was already one step away from spoiled rotten in just a day.
Tim finally has a chance to talk to his husband and asks: "How did he recover so fast? It's wonderful, but is everything okay?"
"Yeah, I wondered too. But apparently when he crawled into bed in the night he caught the right spot to get a lot of 'natural' sunlight in the morning. Not sunlamps and radiation emitters like I used in the lab, but real sunlight. It's already made up for the weakness of his being decanted too early."
"It's wonderful. He's a beautiful little boy and looks a lot like you in the face." Tim says with pride.
"Yeah, but he got your feistiness and his hair and eyes certainly aren't mine."
"I thought about that. We both have black hair and blue eyes, but my grandfather had brown hair and green eyes. He was known as being quite handsome in his youth."
"See... told you!" Kon says proudly now that they sorted out the mutual influences.
XXXXXXXXX
Half an hour later found the family along with Bart and Jamie in the car heading to the mall. For a boy who had no personal knowledge of human society he caught on pretty well since he took Bart by the hand and bolted for the mall entrance, then stopped.
"Daddy… is it okay if me and Bart go shopping?" Conner asked.
"Sure son, you two go have fun… but wait… take this." And Kon handed the boy a brand new cellphone. "Bart can show you how it works. Just call us so we know how to find you, okay?"
"Thanks Dad!" Conner says and then bolts of into the mall with the speedster in tow.
Jamie follows along behind Tim and Kon, kinda feeling left out since his boyfriend ran off with the new boy. But Kon is very familiar with feeling like an outsider, especially when he was first rescued, and pulls Jamie next to him and asks his advice.
"Okay… maybe you don't know what kids like, but you know what Bart likes; and he's still a kid at heart. What toys do you think he would like?"
"You know I love you guys, right?" Jamie asks.
"Of course Jamie, why?" Tim asks.
"I think he already knows some things… like naturally knows." Jamie answers carefully. "Bart put on the Transformers movie this morning and little Conner loved it. He said that he liked that there were heroes that were normal people but no one knew about them; and that even normal people did good things."
"Oops…" Kon said.
"Tim… you did not tell him about your other job, did you?" The handsome young man who was Blue Beetle asked.
"No… we wanted to be a normal family."
"Hermano, do you think your son would be ashamed about how you and Kon and Bart saved my life, or saved all those kids in Suicide Slums? I do not think so. My father was…. not a good man, but you are. You and Kon both. Let your son be proud of you."
Tim gives his friend's words a lot of thought for a moment and says:
"We want him to have a normal life and be a normal and, hopefully, happy boy." Tim says
"Maybe I am saying too much, but I love you so I'll take the chance…"
"Go ahead Jamie, you can't hurt my feelings. I know how much you love us;… and we love you too." Tim answers with a friendly pat on the shoulder.
"Conner will probably try to do something heroic even without knowing about us. It might be better if he knows and you and Kon train him right and help him use his natural gifts of your reflexes and intelligence and Kon's strength and dedication."
"Jamie… I don't want him to be caught up in the pain and hazard that so much of the Titans has had to deal with." Tim says.
Jamie takes Tim's hand and stops right in the middle of the mall and looks his dear friend in the eye and says:
"Tim… many of our enemies know who we really are… and they will learn that you have a son. It can be a way for them to hurt you."
No one will hurt the Conner Drake. We will prevent it, Jamie Reyes. Jamie heard the sibilant voice in his mind. He agreed 100% with the Beetle symbiote but now was not the time to tell his symbiote that he was trying to explain it gently to his friend.
Tim turns about to Jamie and says: "Then what the hell do you think we should do? Put him in a uniform and put him on missions?"
"Honey… I think you missed what he means." Kon says returning to the two. "Jamie is right. Conner is naturally strong, but he is innocent and trusting and we do have enemies that will use him against us. We did not think of that. Many of our friends gave him their knowledge and teaching during his growth, but he should know how to handle himself in case someone comes after him to get to us."
"I wanted him to be a normal and happy boy, like I never had a chance to be." Tim says sadly
"Tim! How dare you!... He has love... he has a family… he already has friends, like Bart… he is smart and strong… he has people who will look after him besides us. He is a normal and happy boy." Kon chastises his husband. "But do you want him to be a victim?"
"Never!" Tim answers then calms again. "You're right Jamie, and you too Kon… I guess I didn't think about him being OUR son. I understand. We should love and protect him no matter what. And, you are right Jamie… we hide from the public, but Kon and I would be horribly wrong to hide from our own son…"
"So we train him and let him be what his heart desires." And Tim's heart beats harder, telling on him as he thinks about fighting evil with his husband at his side along with their son.
"Titans hell… think about what the Drake-Kent family would be like!"
"That's better, my friend." Jamie answers.
"When did you become a family counselor Jamie?" Tim asks as Kon stands silent feeling vindicated.
"I'm not… but I know a good family when I see it."
"Well, we are glad you are a part of it." Tim responds and gives the handsome young dusky lad a hug… and then notices mall security running down the corridor to the department store.
"I don't think we need to wonder what that is all about." Kon said seeing the rent-a-cops.
XXXXXXXXX
"This looks expensive." Conner says as he enters the department store.
"Maybe, but your daddies can afford it, big time. Don't you think they want you to have nice clothes?" Bart answers as he grabs a cart.
"I guess… "He answers uncertainly.
Bart and Conner run right to the boys' department and start looking at clothes to buy. Bart's a fashionista and is already considering what will look best on his adorable little brother and decides to work from one end to the other.
"Okay… underwear, t-shirts, and socks…"
"I don't want to look stupid." Conner states plainly, but keeps looking to Bart for advice.
"No worries… tell me a few things and I'll help… do you like fun socks?"
"Yeah, I think so. I'm not sure what it is that I'm supposed to like." He answers, almost sadly.
Bart being the most openly affectionate of all the friends and family stopped dead in his tracks. He turned around facing the small boy and went down on a knee to not stand over Conner and held his hands and his amber eyes bore into the confused green eyes of his little friend.
"What do you mean supposed? Do you think because you were "born" different that you don't decide for yourself?"
"Daddies made me, didn't they?" He asked a little sad and confused.
"Okay Conner… so you think that you're like a car they picked out and want the right upholstery and paint job and cool rims and the best stereo?"
Conner starts to shudder a bit and bites on his bottom lip like he was trying not to cry. Seeing his reaction, Bart knows he hit a nerve and isn't sure if he should take the strong approach (not that his soft-hearted personality would be any good at it) or the tender approach, so he tried to do both at once, which really meant as strong as he thought right for the confused boy.
"Conner… you are no different from other boys. It takes two people to make a child. The only difference is that your daddies did it a different way, a much harder way. That shows how much they love you. But they would want you to be your own person with your own personality. I know that much. They took care of me after I was hurt very bad by someone. They helped me be what I am now. They never tried to change me in any way at all. They would want you to be yourself too. So, do you understand? You were made from love, now show that love back and be a strong young man and try to find out what you like and surprise them."
"Bart? Is that why they like you, because you're so smart?" The small child of heroes asked his new friend.
"Well, yes. But maybe it's because by being myself they can love the real me and I can love them back."
Conner wraps his little arms around Bart's neck in a hug and says "Yes, I think I might like fun socks."
"Great, they have lots of stuff that looks fun." And Bart exhales in a minor crisis dodged and decided he was doing pretty good for a big brother.
The speedster and his little friend and brother pick out a selection of colorful socks and a couple packages of regular socks for school. The speedster had to force himself to be a little bit practical… and I mean really concentrate on it, so after picking out some great colored t-shirts to match the socks, he also picked out a large package of white t-shirts as well. Moving down the next section, Bart wonders that no one in the store has offered to help them find anything. Maybe the service there is just missing, until a young severe looking lady turns the corner and offers her help. Bart face-palms… here he is with what looks like a little kid, and himself looking younger than he is, picking out underwear in the boy's department of the store. 'Oh god, please go away' Bart thinks to himself before the woman gets a stern self-righteous look on her face seeing the slim and spry speedster helping a little kid pick out underwear.
"I really don't think this is appropriate! Where is this boy's parents? I'm calling security."
Now, in addition to all his powers of speed and the extraordinary benefits it gave him, he had another skill... being a smart-alec. Often it sent enemies into a blind rage and took away their ability to think and calculate, and sometimes, it just shut someone up. But this time, he had his own reputation and the reputation of the boy he already adored to think about. He carefully turned to face the woman and directed his bright amber eyes at her and just let fly.
"Really lady? What is wrong with you that you you make the worst possible assumption about people inside of a few seconds? Is that really where your mind went? Maybe you should have your head checked. Can't a guy help his little brother buy some clothes? So, while his very wealthy father tries to decide if this store is worth buying why don't you go back to your counter and stuff that attitude back into that giant purse you drag around with the last vestiges of your shattered life and contemplate whether or not you will have a job in 30 minutes."
Conner stands awe-struck at the calmly spoken tirade and finally says as the sales lady slinks off: "Wow Bart, that was awesome! How do you do that? Can you teach me how to tell people off like that?"
"Just stick with me kiddo. I'll teach you plenty." Bart responds with a grin as they turn their attention back to clothing and forget about the clerk.
"This! I like these!" Conner says happily as he pulls a package off the rack. It's a package of Ben 10 briefs in bright green and white.
"He has a cute sister too. Her name is Gwen." Bart tells the boy just to see if he's wrong about something. The speedster had excellent instincts for certain things.
"So… I think he's better!" And… maybe Bart isn't wrong he thing to himself with a supressed laugh. Maybe it's genetic? But he lets Con put three packages of Ben 10 undies in the cart, along with one of Star Wars Rebels. Feeling scandalized and vindicated at the same time, they move on to shoes and clothes. Bart managed to talk Con out of the size 5 Doc Martin boots. Sure, they were fiercely cute, but he might grow out of them so fast that it would depress him if he didn't get to wear them much. But Bart did find the last pair of 'Justice League' Converse sneakers that they had in Conner's size, which he was excited to find. But Bart was… Bart; so helped Conner find a few pairs of jeans and some slacks, but were almost all skinny cut. But Con was a pretty skinny boy and they did look quite handsome on him. Unfortunately, Bart knew he had to get Conner some school uniforms, so khakis, white shirts, and blue sweaters went into the cart… and to the changing room before they checked out. Conner looked like the perfect little school boy when wanted to, but even though he was only 2 days old and and looked 12 and had the brains of any adult, he still seemed to like darker colors on the surface and the bright colors hidden. He was certainly going to be complex and was showing a facet of Tim's personality. Tim could be dark and severe on the outside, until you got to know him, then was the brightest most loving person you could find.
Just as the two are about to head to the counter to pay for Con's clothes, the boy sees a shifty looking man snatch a wealthy-looking woman's purse and head for the exit.
"Bart… he stole from her!" He says in a whisper to his friend as he let go of the speedster's hand.
"Who… what?" Bart answers, having not seen the theft. But Conner did, and chose to do something about it and followed the thief and confronted him.
"That's not your stuff and I think she wants it back." Conner said standing straight with his shoulders back. Bart just hung his head thinking 'that's not how you do it… no style.'"
"Bugger off you little rotter!" The thief answered, then took one look at the young boy and laughed… and made a big mistake. Conner didn't know much just yet, but he did want to be taken seriously. He reached for the purse strap and the thief slapped him aside like an irritation. Conner didn't fall the way he expected and his hand hurt much more than he expected.
"It's not yours!" Conner said a little louder, now with a grip on the purse strap.
Bart had fought through Suicide Slums and Warworld and endured a personal trial to save Jamie, to say nothing of his personal discovery in Superman's Fortress of Solitude, so this was a very small thing. But now this was his little buddy and the son of his best friends. But Bart stopped himself when Con yanked on the purse strap harder and brought the thief to eye level.
"You're a bad man!" The boy stated with determination.
The thief was unsure about really hitting a kid… but finally made up his mind. That moment would rent space in Bart's head for some time. The thug thought it would be easy… beat aside the boy in his new clothes that got in his way. It didn't work out. When he tried to hurt the boy, he only hurt himself. Conner Jr. hooked the thief's ankle with his foot and dropped him like a sack of potatoes on the hard marble floor. Conner then picked up the purse off the floor and returned it to the lady who owned it. Bart could have immediately intervened but he was so caught up in seeing the boy stand up to the purse-snatcher that he didn't move a muscle.
Within moments, Tim and Kon… with Jamie close behind, came to the department store just in time to see a police officer tighten the handcuffs on the thief.
"Bart, I thought you were supposed to keep him out of trouble?" Tim quietly asked the speedster, who was doing his best to keep a straight face.
"It was all him, Tim, I promise." Bart answered honestly.
"I told you hermanos. I don't think you'll keep up with him easily." Jamie said smugly to the hero couple, then went to Bart while Conner showed his daddies all the nice clothes he had picked out with Bart's help.
"Daddy…" Conner said earnestly "Bart said Jamie wanted to take me to another store for stuff. Is that okay?" And the charming boy looked up at Kon with his bright green eyes in a pleading look that seemed too much like he and Bart were conspiring against him. But Tim and Kon had no defenses against such an emotional assault.
"Sure son, but let's see if Bart and Jamie can save some time for us to spend with you too, okay?" Kon responds, while Bart deftly tucks Tim's credit card in Jamie's back pocket, the one he had been carrying since their trip to Disney World. But if he thought his clumsy attempt at sleight-of-hand fooled Tim he was mistaken. He did notice it and found it endearing.
"Thank you daddy… I love you." The boy says in abject gratitude and hugs his fathers tight. Neither Tim nor Kon release the hug too fast, for the love of a son was something each had privately dreamed of when they themselves were practically kids, long before they discussed it themselves. But you would never have believed Jamie's reaction had you seen it. The gentle affection and kindness in his heart was seen by so few. The family and Team knew him better and was blessed to only know the real Jamie. He came from a rough neighborhood and a culture that required a man to act in certain ways, but the somewhat macho young Latin teen eagerly took Conner's hand and led him to the next store that he wanted to show him and smiled the whole way. Conner was having a great time with all the attention he was getting and was becoming very comfortable with his friends, enough that he asked:
"Jamie… can I have a ride?"
The handsome Hispanic boy answered: "If you want, though other kids here might think your being silly."
"So… they will just be jealous that they don't have a friend like you." Conner said plainly; and Jamie then pulled him up onto his shoulders. How could you argue with that logic? And he walked down the aisle with Conner on his shoulders proudly.
"Oh, oh, oh… Jamie! A candy store… can we go in?" Conner asked kicking his feet in excitement, and then slid off his shoulders deftly and landed silently on flat feet. Jamie wondered for a moment how an untrained kid could be so silent in new shoes on a mall floor and do it so naturally, but the thought didn't last long as he was dragged into the store by the hand amidst the laughter of the young clone. But was he a true clone? He was the combination of two people who loved each other and wanted that love to endure through another generation. Maybe 'clone' was too simplistic a term, just as the boy could not be defined too simplistically either. He was already naturally adapting to open society and was open to all the experiences with a sense of wonder.
The senses were assaulted by every candy and confection known to the little boy… candy of every color and flavor. Jamie liked candy as much as the next guy, but didn't know what to do as the young son of his hero friends dragged him about the store staring at every colorful bit of delight he could find, until a very pretty girl rescued him.
"Would your little brother like to try something?" The sales associate asked. She was a very pretty girl and dressed in a decidedly anime style in vibrant patterns of white, red and black. She wore it bright and her hair in pigtails, like she was trying to be as colorful and sweet as the candy. The look she gave him was certainly award-winning, but Jamie only thought about Bart who looked like a red and white candy cane when he was dressed for action as Impulse. But what made her the most charming was how she treated Conner.
"I'm Haley… what's your name?" She said sweetly.
"Conner… ma'am."
"Ma'am! Well aren't you a handsome and polite little guy!" The assistant said.
Conner blushed a little bit until his attention was taken away by the delight of the place and she took him about and helped him pick out some candy. Minutes later she brought him back to Jamie with a big bag of Peanut M&Ms that he had picked out in his favorite colors... and a bag of gummy candy in the shape of shields. The dusky hero pulled Tim's credit card out and paid for the purchase and the girl said:
"Bring your brother back any time. He's such a nice kid." But her eyes never left Jamie's handsome features. But she would have to be blind to think Conner Jr. was his brother. Jamie had raven black hair and mysterious and sexy black eyes, nothing like the boy.
"I think we'll have him through here often enough." He said honestly.
"We?" Haley asked.
"Yeah, my boyfriend is his big brother. I'm the 'uncle' that gets to spoil him." Jamie says with a satisfied smile. The poor girl gets all deflated, but she's gotten used to it. The poor thing has never been able to nail down a nice guy, and her self-steem has gotten worse since she found out who her birth mother was. But she tried not to bring her personal life to work, which was hard to do in a place like this.
"Thank you Haley." Junior (which Jamie was already calling the boy) happily said to the girl.
"You're welcome Conner. You take good care of your friend, okay?"
"I sure will." And little Conner flashed her such a smile that she was instantly at ease. In fact, it was becoming a habit for the young lad.
They left the candy store and just before they reached Jamie's destination, they went into the restroom to clean the candy residue off his hands. Conner decided he liked the Peanut M&Ms most. It was peanuts, chocolate, and candy all at once… basically perfect. But the interaction was something none would have suspected. More than a few enemies had seen Jamie on the wrong side of his sonic cannon while he was encased in his symbiotic armor as Blue Beetle, but he was as fun and gentle as he endured being splashed by Con while he cleaned the chocolate off his hands while they both laughed.
All tidied up and refreshed, they walked the last 50 meters to the store Jamie wanted to take him to. There was lively music playing inside but it was slightly dark as was the color of most of the clothing. There were things they sold that Jamie would steer his friend from, but there was a specific reason, besides cool t-shirts and accessories, for Jamie bringing him to Hawt Topiks. Conner's jaw hit the floor in a sense of wonder… and maybe in recognition. Jamie managed to catch the bag of candy from his hand before he dropped it in shock.
The little boy felt something comfortable in the store. It was quite small, but packed with slightly punky clothing and accessories. T-shirts, jewelry, and odd bits were everywhere. The music faded to "Youth" by Disco Fries and Conner was delightd in the place that normally would have been meant for older kids and young adults. For a moment, Jamie misunderstood his reaction and thought he might have made a big mistake by bringing him here. But the t-shirt collection was epic and Conner already found what he wanted. He frantically but neatly started sorting through the stacks and asked:
"Jamie, what's my size? I want both of them!"
And the hero turned uncle saw that the shirts he was picking out had red S-shields of Superboy and Robin's logo. They had long been cult heroes and their son was desperate for the gear. He got t-shirts of both styles… especially the Superboy ones, but he almost shrieked when he found the last Robin cap in the store. After a few other items, they headed out and the boy looked up to his friend with his bright green eyes and asked:
"Jamie, can we go to that Justus store we saw on the way here? I want some pants to go with this. I think daddies would like it."
Jamie wasn't sure what he meant, but he saw what was happening and was torn between keeping the precocious kid in reign or letting him be himself. He decided to do his best and let the boy be himself and try to keep Tim and Kon from going ballistic later. In Justus, Conner found a pair of pants and shoes that wanted to go with his t-shirt and cap. After paying for the clothes, Jamie followed him into their dressing room and helped the kid change… and hoped he would survive the afternoon, and took him to the food court to meet his dads and Bart for lunch. And he hoped like hell that not restraining the boy's interest wouldn't get him in trouble with his friends.
When they first came along, Bart saw his boyfriend with a really cute and charming boy in serious fan-gear, until he realized it was little Conner. Tim and Kon almost came out of their seats in the mall food court when they heard Bart's squeal, then they saw their little boy… and they squealed along with him. Conner had changed into a long-sleeved black Superboy t-shirt and slim black cotton pants with a series of cool straps running down the legs that narrowed to high-top sneakers. He had a seatbelt style belt with Superboy's logo and a chained wallet with Robin's symbol on it. Jamie had thought to put a little money in it to give him something for himself, and set his Robin cap on his head and made sure his hair looked just right around it, and finished it off with a pair of black sunglasses just like Tim usually wore in public.
In a way, he had all the attitude of a young John Conner from Terminator, and the looks of a boyband mascot, but with an earnest intensity that was trying to understand himself, but wore his innocent strength so naturally.
For a moment, the young clone of heroes stood still and asked:
"Does this look okay, daddies?" He asked with eyes that were hoping so, even behind the glasses. He wanted his dads to be proud of them, and they already were. Tim and Kon felt what every parent must feel at some point: that they had given the world something wonderful.
XXXXXXXXXX
After a quick lunch they make the short drive to the toy store near the mall. Tim can literally feel their son vibrate in excitement as they park and then he looks over his shoulder to the back seat to find that its Bart vibrating in delight with a stupid grin. Tim and Kon had intended to get some "educational" toys, but never had the chance since Bart grabbed Junior's hand and bolted to the the store the moment the car stopped.
"I told you he was making my boyfriend stupider." Jamie said laughing.
In the end, he ended up with action figures, Legos, a very large Erector set, and a multitude of other things. He plopped himself into about 20 different beanbags before finding the right one; and then we he thought no one was looking, he put a satin mask and cape dress-up set in the cart. But Jamie happened to see it out of the corner of his eye and thought to himself "I told you hermanos."
With their shopping complete... for now, they decided to make a detour on the way home while Junior dozed happily in the back seat between Bart and Jamie. The moment the car came to a stop, Junior wole bright-eyed and follows his parents into the Emporium. As usual, Calvin was spending his afternoons after school at the store helping Brett out. He looked up from tidying the spinning comic book rack when the doorbell jangled and Tim and Kon (who he knew quite well) walk in with an adorable kid in serious fangear. Junior pulled off his sunglasses and propped them up on his head over his cap and looked about with bright green curious eyes. Calvin's jaw hit the floor and his hand hit the call bell on the counter... a lot... an awful lot.
"Calvin, can you get that?" The familiar voice of Brett calls from the back room. The bell keeps ringing for a couple seconds longer, then suddenly stops. He runs over and sticks out his small hand and says "Hi, I'm Calvin." Junior shakes his hand and says "I'm Conner, but I guess you can call me Junior since its Daddy's name too."
Calvin looks up at Tim and Kon and silently mouthed the word "Daddy's?" The two heroes both nod their heads vigorously with silly grins on their faces in affirmation. Calvin takes a second to wrap his mind around the news and then grabs Junior's hand and drags him to the other side of the store.
"Uh...hello?" Bart asks the empty air. Calvin rushes back with a giggle and gives his speedster friend a hug and then goes back to Conner.
"Hey guys! What's going on?" Brett says as he comes out from the back room with a stack of new magazines to stock the racks.
"Hi Brett." Conner greets their friend as they all exchange hugs. "We thought we'd bring someone by and see if he and Calvin would get along. He hasn't had a chance to make any friends his own age.
"Poor guy, how couldn't he? What is he, a test tube baby or something? What is he, 12-ish, and no friends?" Then Brett sees the lad's face at a distance as Calvin pours yet another cup of coffee for Junior. He seemed to look a little like Conner, but with the thinner wirey frame of Tim...
"Oh God guys... I didn't mean it like that... I didn't realize... crap..." For a moment Brett feels like he's insulted his friends in the worst way, but Tim and Kon both chuckle at his error.
"Conner, come over and meet Brett. He's the owner of this shop." Tim calls out to his son, and the spry boy comes back to the front of the store with a cup of coffee in one hand and a magazine in another with Calvin close behind him. Calvin quickly grabs Junior's cup as he fumbles trying to be polite with both hands full, and once he has one free he shakes Brett's hand. Brett takes a long look at the boy and sees the influence of both fathers in him. He has the innocent playfulness that Kon often showed and the intensity and sincerity of Tim. His features were Kon's, and yet the hair and eyes, even if they were different colors than Tim's, somehow still reminded him of Tim.
"Good to meet you Conner. Are you and Calvin getting along okay?"
"Yes sir. He's my new friend." Junior says with a bright award-winning smile, matched only by Calvin's."
"Go easy on the coffee son. You don't want it to keep you up all night." Tim cautions him.
"Oh, Father... this picture looks nothing like you. They need a better artist." And the boy hands his father a tabloid with an artist's drawing of Robin.
Just behind him Jamie chokes on a laugh and says "I told you so." and pats both his friends on the shoulder as he walks past them.
XXXXXXXXXX
It had been a very long day for the family, and wasn't quite over yet. They said their goodbyes at the Emporium, along with a promise from Calvin to come visit, and they drove home. Little Conner was dead asleep in the car and Tim carefully picked him up from the back seat and held him close and carried him to the elevator. Bart carried up several large bags of clothes and Jamie and Kon got the rest, which comprised the heaviest stuff since they were the strongest.
The group of friends silently made their way into the penthouse to find Bruce Wayne silently sipping a cup of coffee and reading a newspaper in the living room, waitin for them. He sets the paper down and seeing the sleeping boy in Tim's arms he quietly sets down his paper and walks over toward his son and looks at his... grandson... for the first time. The realization is a lot for the Dark Knight, but it is a pleasant one.
"When were you going to tell me?" Bruce asks in a whisper.
"When we were sure he was going to be okay. If it wasn't it would be hard enough on us, we didn't want to spread the worry."
Bruce Wayne wrapped his broad arms around Tim with little Conner between them and just silently held them for a moment before reluctantly letting them go.
"Go get him to bed, I'll see to this stuff with the boys." Bruce tells his son. Tim and Kon get Junior into bed and with a round of hugs and kisses goodnight and as they shut off the light and gently close the door they hear the soft voice of their sleepy son say: "I love you daddies."
They head back to the living room and gratefully accept cups of coffee from Bart. It had been a long day. It was just yesterday That they had saved their little boy from the mindless depredations of Match, which was a matter they had yet to resolve, not to mention an unauthorized lab in the CADMUS offices that Conner had built; and had a long day of shopping and getting Junior acquainted with some friends and the real world. It had been quite a success, all things considered, and the little lad had even foiled the simple crime of purse snatching. Bart wasa still irritated about the woman at the department store, but Kon had explained to him that some people are just nosy busibodies who dwell in their own world of self-righteousness and to blow it off. Tim, of course, would have a nice chat with a certain store manager about it.
"Okay, I want you both off patrols and missions for the next week." Bruce Wayne declares. "I know, neither of you work for me. I'm saying this as a father and now you two need to take a little time to be fathers yourselves. Kaldur can take care of your Team for a few days. You two have to get used to this yourself. You still have to get him into school and a baby shower or birthday party, whatever you want to call it, to consider... which will be tomorrow at 6:30 here."
"What?" Kon asks incredulously.
"I took the liberty of sending messages to your friends." Bruce says with a grin.
Bart and Jamie chuckle to themselves as they lay out newly purchased clothes, removing tags and getting ready to put them in the wash. Spotting the mask and cape in one of the bags of toys, Bart gives Jamie a silent look, which he responds with the glare that tells him 'don't say a word' and the speedster smiles and tucks it into the bottom of Junior's new backpack.