A/N: This one is a free day, and, just to be dramatic, I'm making it a KOTOR AU
(Mostly because I've been updating A Boy and His Ghost recently, and Atton Rand and the Handmaiden just showed up to cause trouble in that story)
This one, I'll admit, gave me the most trouble. I actually cut a lot from it. The original image I had in my head had Darth Sion showing up, along with Cassie and Bart being added to the mix, but it was already complicated enough without them so I cut them all out
(Along with a rather graphic scene involving Kon blowing Darth Sion's head off because that man can take more punishment than Halo does and still keep going)
Anyways, Enjoy! :)
Published: 8/1/2019
Warnings: None
Featured Character:
Conner Kent
Tim Drake
Supporting:
Dick Grayson
Jason Todd
Antagonist:
None
TimKon Week IV - Kotor AU
Waking up to the nauseating familiar feel of Kryptonite was never a good sign. At all. Conner was only half Kryptonian, so the effects on him weren't as bad as they were on others, but still… It hurt. It hurt like hell.
Being near Kryptonite was like having your blood boil. It was like having it bubble up in your veins as your body rebelled against you, all while twisted green light bent you to it's will.
As if the Kryptonite alone wasn't enough, Conner could feel the metal bonds keeping him pinned in place. Wrapped around his arms, wrists, and legs, designed to keep him completely immobilized.
And, of course, the chair was uncomfortable too and Conner really wanted to shift around a bit, but that apparently was not going to happen any time soon.
Whoever the hell had done this, they'd gone through a lot of effort to make sure Conner wouldn't be able to get loose.
Suddenly, Conner felt the Kryptonite moving away. Not entirely, annoyingly enough, but just far enough to the point where Conner didn't feel like his insides were leading a revolutionary war against him.
"I can tell you're awake," a voice called. "I've got a monitor linked right to your brainwaves, Jedi. If it starts spiking too high, well… That Kryptonite will get just a bit closer."
Conner's eyes snapped open. There was no point in pretending if his captor already knew he was alert.
Now, Conner Kent had never been the best Jedi. He could completely and utterly admit to that. While he was a telekinetic prodigy to the point where he could disassemble things if he got close enough to them, Conner… Struggled with other aspects of Jedi-hood.
Like that whole 'be a virgin forever' concept, which Conner had already broken over a dozen times. Or the whole 'don't grow attachments' crap, which Conner had also broken several times.
Or, that one time the Jedi Council took one look at the Mandalorians murdering trillions and had told them not to act. Had ordered them not to fight.
Conner had kindly told them to screw off and had followed Revan to war regardless.
So, all in all, Conner Kent was not the ideal Jedi. He just wasn't. He liked his freedom too much for that, thank you very much.
With that being said…
Blue eyes were staring right at Conner out of the face of one of the cutest guys he'd ever had the grace of looking at. Conner had absolutely no shame in looking the guy over, eyes raking over him. Some of the old stingies at the Jedi Temple would have had a field day over something so innocuous.
Cough cough Vrook Lamar cough cough.
Killer eyes, killer looks, killer bod, light tanned skin…
It was a shame Conner would probably have to kill him, but eh.
The main raised an eyebrow, glancing at one of the monitors that was hooked into Conner.
"... Why are you aroused."
"A hot guy has me strapped down in bondage. It's one of my kinks," Conner shrugged. Or attempted to at least. The bonds didn't exactly provide mobility, and the Kryptonite was close enough to keep Conner from using his enhanced strength.
"... You aren't a very good Jedi," Hot guy commented.
"I never said I was," Conner confessed. "I was always a naughty, naughty boy."
Hot guy arched an eyebrow.
"So so naughty you followed Revan to war," hot guy hissed out, crossing his arms. "and we all know what happened to every Jedi that followed that psychopath turned out."
Ouch. Okay, now Conner was officially offended.
"Revan can burn," Conner snapped, and was pleased to note the look of surprise on the Bounty Hunter's face. Well, at least, Conner assumed it was a Bounty Hunter.
Who else would capture a Jedi like this and keep them bound and contained like this? Conner was 99 percent sure he was about to be shipped off to Nar Shaddaa, because of that bounty the Exchange had placed on Jedi.
Not nice. Nope, not at all.
"If he can burn, why'd you follow him?" Hot Bounty Hunter guy said, sounding genuinely puzzled.
"Oh, I liked him at first," Conner admitted and was annoyed as a smug sneer appeared on the Bounty Hunter's face. "Before he broke. Before he snapped. He wasn't content to fall on his own though, now, was he? Oh no, he had to go on a killing spree which slaughtered a good half of his troops, and then broke the other half before setting them on the Republic. So no, I don't like that psychopath at all in the slightest."
Arms dropping to his side, the Hot Guy shot Conner a look of pure astonishment. Astonishment that quickly morphed into disgust.
"You realized exactly what he was, and let him convert everyone anyways?"
Conner had to laugh, so he did.
"Are you kidding me? You do know the biggest slaughter Revan orchestrated was at Malachor, right? You know, the literal end of the war?" Conner pointed out. "I was there. I was at Malachor, and let me tell you, there was something wrong. There was something wrong with that world. Something evil. Something twisted beyond all measure. That- that was when I-"
Conner bit his lip and turned away. He might not be able to move his body, but his head was free game. His captor wasn't a total sadist, it seemed.
Malachor V. A world of evil.
Revan had gathered the tattered remains of the Republic Fleet there in order to bait the Mandalorians. The Mandalorians, in turn, saw Malachor as a cursed world. A taboo in their culture.
The Mandalorians, a species that thrived off murder and death, that exalted war and destruction, had feared Malachor. They viewed the entire planet as one large epicenter of malice and hate, one that they, for the most part, attempted to avoid.
Considering Revan had used the world to convert millions into Sith before setting them on the people they'd once fought to the death to protect, Conner was inclined to agree with them.
"That's when you ran," the Bounty Hunter finished, voice soft.
Conner looked back at him and nodded stiffly. That moment had been Conner's greatest shame.
No. Wait. It hadn't.
Running, and then turning his back on the Galaxy when Revan had started his campaign had been Conner's greatest shame.
Apparently, Hot Bounty Hunter Guy, and Conner really needed to learn his name, agreed with that sentiment.
"Let me get this straight, not only did you run, you didn't do a damn thing when he came back and started slaughtering worlds left and right?"
Conner lifted his chin up slightly.
"Yes," Conner admitted, because he wasn't going to beat around the bush. He wasn't going to bother making excuses for his crime.
And Conner really did consider it a crime.
"I turned my back, and I ran. I ran away from it all. I ran away from the Jedi. I ran away from the Republic. I ran."
I couldn't fight against them. I couldn't fight against those I'd once called friends. I couldn't kill those I'd once trusted my life to. I couldn't do it without losing myself, so, like a coward, I ran instead.
Conner said none of this, of course.
His captor wouldn't want to hear any of it. Conner himself didn't want to hear any of it. Excuses, all of it.
Not that it mattered, of course. He did have to admit, this little set up the Bounty Hunter had to keep Conner trapped was one of the more advanced ones he'd come across, it wouldn't be enough. He'd get loose eventually.
And, who knows, maybe he'd spare the guy. Conner usually killed Bounty Hunters when he came across them, since a good majority only cared about the paycheck and didn't give a damn about any collateral damage they inflicted, but this guy? This guy just looked hurt.
Hurt, angry, and really really pissed. Like, about to smack Conner pissed. Which he did. Conner's head swerved to the side, the slap knocking the wind out of him.
Whoo, that kid hit hard!
Conner liked it. He probably shouldn't. Regardless, Conner twisted his head to grin up at the Bounty Hunter.
"Let me guess, you take it personal?"
The Bounty Hunter's eyes narrowed in unmasked hatred. Ah. Joy. Whatever. Conner was used to that.
"You ran while the Sith bombed my planet to ash! Of course I take it personally!" the Bounty Hunter snarled.
Planet to ash…
Conner tilted his head, eyes narrowing.
Suddenly, it clicked.
"You're from Telos," Conner spoke. Or Taris. Possibly Taris. Malak had bombed two worlds to smithereens, but Telos had been hit first, and had definitely been hit worse.
Blue eyes narrowed into slits.
Yup. Definitely Telosian.
"Do you even know how many people died?" The Bounty Hunter demanded.
"Seven hundred and eighty nine million, six hundred and thirty four thousand, five hundred and ninety two," Conner recited dutifully, again to the shock of his captor. Conner tilted his head slightly. "Estimated," he added on, because those kill counts were rarely entirely accurate.
The Bounty Hunter gaped at him.
"If you have my things," Conner continued on, "I've got a data pad with the names of every single confirmed casualty in the war. I look at it, every night. I remind myself that I ran when I could have made a difference and saved some of those lives. Then, every morning when I get up, I try to track down refuges and reunite the ones that I can."
Conner could visibly see confliction on the Bounty Hunter's face. Confliction, shock, surprise. Complete and utter bewilderment. Conner wasn't what he expected. Conner wasn't what he expected at all.
Then, without another word, the Bounty Hunter turned to leave.
"Wait!" Conner called. The man paused, not bothering to turn. "What's your name?" Conner asked.
The man turned, eyes narrowed.
"Why? So you can cross me off your list?"
"What? Can't a guy ask for a cute guy's name? Or are you not into that?"
The Bounty Hunter spluttered, face flushing. Psh. This was too easy.
"Wha- I've got you captive and I'm shipping you off to Nar Shaddaa! I hate literally everything you stand for, and you're… You're trying to flirt with me?!"
"Is it working?" Conner wagged his eyebrows.
The man's jaw dropped as he stared at Conner incredulously. Then, mouth snapping shut, he turned to depart. Conner was surprised when he stopped at the door.
"Tim Drake. My name is Tim."
Then, he stepped through the door and let it shut with a hiss.
Conner waited several moments. Then, with a grin, he turned his head towards the Kryptonite shard, which was just far enough away that Conner could still access the Force somewhat.
"Distract, distract, distract. Get's 'em, every ti-"
The door opened and a different man, one dressed in blue and black armor, leaned through, only to throw a small bat-shaped object at the little arm holding the Kryptonite shard. It swerved closer to Conner and he groaned, head leaning down as the nausea took over.
"Nice try, Jedi!"
With that, Conner was left alone.
Conner hid a smirk.
Tim sighed, fingers swiping at the Jedi's data pad to see if the information he'd given him was legitimate or not.
Conner Kent. Or, as his native people would have called him, Kon El. A half Kryptonian Jedi Knight, probably the only Kryptonian left in existence.
Kryptonians were a strange species. They absorbed sunlight and could use the energy given off by it to perform incredible feats. Enhanced strength, visual powers, one notable Kryptonian could freeze things by breathing really hard.
There was a reason the Kryptonians had been hunted down and exterminated. Kryptonite had been developed specifically to kill them, and it worked wonders when mass produced. This, of course, occurred decades before Tim had even been born.
Speaking of birth, Conner hadn't even been born in the ordinary sense. The head of LexCorp, a now defunct Super Corporation, had attempted to recreate the Kryptonian hero known as Kal El. They'd only half succeeded before the Republic had raided the operation and shut the entire thing down.
Kryptonite should still work to keep him depowered, though. From what Tim had seen, it caused a severe allergic reaction, causing the body to rebel on itself. Jedi and pain did not work well together. The more pain and discomfort you put them in, the harder they found it to access their precious Force.
Dick entered the room, shooting Tim a disappointed look.
"Timmy, you left our prisoner away from the Kryptonite."
Tim didn't answer. He was too busy scrolling. Scrolling, cataloging, verifying.
…
Tim remembered the Battle of Telos, although to call it a battle would be a lie. Plasma and fire, reigning down from the skies, aimed specifically at the areas of highest population.
Not at military bases. Not at strategic locations. The places with the most people.
Telos had been an example. Tim still remembered the burning brightness of turbolasers, tearing their home to smithereens.
The image of Bruce, burning away into nothing, there one second and gone the next, was one Tim would never be able to get out of his head.
He should hate this Jedi. Tim hated all Jedi, really.
It was ironic, really, considering he'd spent his early childhood idolizing them. He'd wanted to be them. What kid wouldn't want that? What kid wouldn't want the cool powers, the badass laser sword, to go on adventures?
That was then, this was now.
Tim was older.
Tim was wiser.
Tim had matured past stupid childhood fantasies.
Jedi, Sith, didn't make much difference, really. Both were two sides of the same coin, as far as Tim was concerned. Two factions of a broken belief, fighting endlessly against one another in order to achieve some measure of so called 'balance'.
Balance, they called it, while the rest of the Galaxy burned.
There was a reason that, when Revan had returned, calling himself a Sith and declaring war on the Republic, they had named the conflict the Jedi Civil War.
Because that's exactly what it had been. Jedi fighting Jedi, with the rest of them caught in the crosshairs.
Jedi and Sith were just two names for the same thing.
And now, they had a Jedi in their cargo hold, ready to be carted off to Nar Shaddaa with the rest of them. No one knew exactly what the Exchange wanted with Jedi, only that they were never seen again after they were handed over.
Tim should be happy. He should be elated. This was another blow to the Jedi. They were already low in number after the Civil War. Soon, there would be none left. All of them, finally gone.
Tim should be happy.
He should be thrilled.
He… He kept scrolling.
"Timmy?" Dick was now standing before him, hand reaching out to grip at Tim's shoulder before looking down at the data pad with Tim.
Tim had it paused over a file which showed Wayne Manor. Clearly, their Jedi had never gotten to it. Otherwise, he would have recognized Tim, right off the bat.
Considering billions had died in the conflict, this wasn't surprising.
Dick pulled back, surprise etched clearly on his face.
"Are we doing the right thing?" Tim asked, voice low.
"The right- Tim, he's a Jedi. Jedi lie and Jedi fall and they all go insane eventually, one way or another," Dick said bluntly. "Hell, this one followed Revan to war. He's probably already corrupt."
Tim looked up.
"He isn't, though. He helps people. He genuinely helps them. Look!" Tim showed him the data pad, flipping to another screen. Dick humored him, glancing at the page Tim had brought up. "He's spent the last three years since the war ended hunting down any refugee he can find and helping them out in any way he can."
Conner had run. Tim knew that for a fact. Conner had admitted it, and Tim didn't need the Force to tell shame had been coming off him in waves when he'd said it.
If it had just been shame, Tim wouldn't be second guessing this. If it had just been shame, Tim wouldn't be having second thoughts. Shame coupled with apathy would have been enough for Tim to have killed him right there, at that very moment, no matter how many Credits it would cost them in the long run.
Except, it wasn't just shame.
It's one thing to do something wrong. It's another to pretend you never did it, and this? This was the opposite. Conner had admitted his guilt… And he was doing everything in his power to correct it.
Overdoing it, if Tim was being honest. One man alone wouldn't have been enough to stop someone as powerful as Darth Revan. That man had been an utter monster on the battlefield and had taken out Mandalore the Ultimate himself in single combat.
"Tim, are you hearing yourself?" Dick said. "'He's not like every other Jedi'. 'He's different'. Uwu."
"You did not just say uwu out loud."
"This is serious Tim!" Dick snatched the data pad away. "So what if he has a guilty conscious?" Dick claimed, but Tim could see the same confliction he himself was currently feeling in his brother's eyes.
Eyes that were widening slightly as he looked over the data..
"See!" Tim exclaimed, waving his arms around for emphasis. "If he just up and turned his back, I wouldn't be second guessing this Dick! He's already helped thousands! Maybe… Maybe we should let him go. I mean, there are plenty of other Jedi tha-"
Tim didn't get to finish.
The alarms blaring interrupted them, followed by Jason's voice bellowing over the intercom.
"While you two princesses are arguing, our prisoner is escaping!"
Tim's jaw dropped. Prisoner was wha- how in the hell would he even escape? They had him pinned down with Durasteel bonds that even a Lightsaber would have a hard time cracking, on top of the Kryptonite!
Pushing the data pad back into Tim's hands, Dick had the audacity to shoot Tim a condescending 'I told you so' look before turning around, running back towards the cargo hold.
Conner flexed his arm, getting out some of the shakes. It was a bitch, accessing the Force while being subjected to Kryptonite poisoning, but Conner had managed it.
He'd literally spent weeks on end training himself to do so. His Master had had a field day when she'd caught him.
The second the Kryptonite had been far enough away that Conner no longer felt it draining on him, he'd shattered the bonds. Most Jedi wouldn't be able to use telekinesis to do so, but Conner? Oh, he'd always been a goddamn outlier.
Conner had more raw telekinetic strength than any other Jedi he'd ever met, including Revan. The downside, annoyingly, was that Conner's range was about a meter and a half, but eh, considering he just disintegrated durasteel, he was fine with it.
Stalking towards one of the walls, Conner placed his palm along it and let himself feel.
By the time Tim and Dick had made it to the Cargo Hold, their prisoner was long gone.
Cursing, Dick pulled his comlink out of his pocket and dialed Jason. Which, personally, Tim found ridiculous since Jason should be able to see them on the cameras, but eh.
"Jay, he's not here!"
"... what part of escaping did you not get?"
Dick rolled his eyes so hard Tim was surprised they didn't fall out of his skull.
"You know what I mean! Where is he!"
"Not sure. He took out the cameras," Ah. That explained things. "And the heat sensors. And he's not using the doors, so I'm not sure how he's getting around."
"... You're helpful."
"I exist to- shit!"
"Jay? Jason!"
The sound of battle came across loud and clear along the line, the deafening sound of a blaster going off before it was replaced by static.
"Damnit!" Dick cursed, tossing the comlink aside before shooting Tim a look. "Still think we should 'let him go?'" Dick demanded.
"If he's hurt Jason," Tim said, grip on his vibrostaff hardening, "I'll gut him myself."
Tim really would. All he and his brothers had left were each other. Every other person they'd known and loved had burned with their world.
No Jedi was going to tear them apart.
No matter how hot the guy in question happened to be.
Jason cursed, pushing off a piece of the security console off of himself. Sitting up, Jason glanced around at the utterly trashed security room. Blowing a strand of sweaty hair from his face, Jason stood.
Other than a few bruises and a couple of small cuts, Jason wasn't seriously hurt. Well, other than his pride, maybe. What kind of Jedi stomped on the ground to make the floor shake?
That bloody Jedi had waltzed in here while whistling, of all things, and had started making a goddamn mess before Jason could stop him.
He'd made the consol explode with a touch of his hand, but not before typing who knows what in there. All Jason knew was that now the Jedi could walk around through the doors without any of their sensors picking it up.
Doors…
Clearly, the guy didn't need them. Sure, he'd come in through the one here for the security room, but that was the only door Jason had detected opened that wasn't tied to Dick and Tim's biometric signals.
On the bright side, the Jedi had left the navigational console alone, so they'd still be able to fly the ship. Really, what in the hell had been the poi-
Duh. Jason face palmed. Cursing again, Jason began to kick at the remains of the security console, which was exactly how Dick and Tim found him.
Jason, clad in his underwear of all things because Jason couldn't be bothered to wear clothing half the time, was swearing and kicking at the remains of the security console by the time Tim and Dick reached him.
"Stupid-Kriffin-Half Kryptonian-Jedi-Son of a Schutta!"
"Jay! Are you okay?" Dick, already in mother hen mode because of course he was, got to Jason first and started knocking dust out of his hair and shoulders.
"I'm fine!" Jason snapped, hitting the hand away. "That shit pinned me in place by stomping his foot. What kind of Jedi does that shit?"
Tim blinked.
"Did you not read the report I sent you?" Tim asked, because he could definitely remember putting in Kent's unorthodox telekinetic techniques in there.
Jason turned to glare at Tim.
"No, I didn't read the damn thing! You usually overdo it with those reports of yours anyways!"
"Clearly," Tim huffed, crossing his arms, "I didn't overdo it this time."
Dick pulled away from Tim, glancing down at the destroyed ship parts around them.
"He took out anything we could use to track him, which is weird because we already couldn't track him."
Jason rolled his eyes.
"Obviously, he's going for the Escape Pods. I mean, what else could he go for?"
Escape Pods… Tim curled one hand into a fist, punching at his own palm. His brothers turned to look at him.
"That's it! He's going through the walls!" Tim realized. "He deconstructs them, then reconstructs them. Which works just fine with the walls if he manages to hit a part that isn't crawling with wiring, but, if he tried the same with the Escape Pods…"
"He wouldn't be able to reconstruct it back in the right order," Dick finished.
Jason spun, kicking another piece of panel from the ground to retrieve one of his blasters that had been stuck underneath.
"What're we waiting for, then? We've got a Jedi to catch."
Tim sighed.
"Would it kill you to put some clothes on first? Like, I don't know, maybe the suit I custom modified for you specifically designed to resist Jedi Force techniques?"
Jason paused in his scavenging.
"... That would be useful, I suppose."
Tim facepalm.
Halfway to the Escape Pods, Tim stopped. Jason and Dick stopped with him, turning to give him looks. Tim waived them off.
Jason and Dick, too focused on their task and too accustomed to Tim up and leaving whenever he had a brilliant idea that usually ended with them beating whatever they were fighting against, didn't bother to wait for him after that and ran on ahead.
Their captive was obviously trying to get away. There was no denying that. He'd disabled any security protocols that might get in his way and had made a mess of their ship in the process.
But…
Tim remembered the data pad. All those files, all that information…
He honestly could not see Kent just leaving that behind. Not while he was using it to help others out. If he was actually doing so, Tim realized, and not just pulling his leg. Jedi did tend to pull tricks. That was their M.O.
A part of Tim really wanted to believe Conner was being honest, though.
Which meant they were going the wrong way.
Conner would go for the data pad first.
Turning, Tim made his way back the main hold.
Conner sighed as he flicked through his data pad. Luckily, it looked like they hadn't done anything to it. They'd even left his lightsaber nearby, which was notably neat. Conner shut the data pad down, knowing full well he'd have to get an expert to check it over to make sure there wasn't some sort of virus on the damn thing tracking him.
Jaime, maybe? He was good with computers, right? Or was it just that weird alien bug computer thing he had attached to his back? Conner wasn't sure, but he'd give it a shot.
Then, the sound of the door sliding opening alerted Conner that he was no longer alone.
Placing the data pad back on the table, Conner turned.
There, standing at the doorway, was Tim, a vibrostaff held in his hands. The damn thing had a cortosis weave too, which would either be highly lightsaber resistant, or might just shut his blade off, period.
It really depended on the purity of the material. Of course, if it was the shut off kind, the staff wouldn't last long before falling apart because cortosis that pure tended to be brittle as fuck, but Conner supposed he was about to find out.
Conner pulled his lightsaber from his hip, holding it up before him. A snap hiss followed, the familiar blue light illuminating him.
"I'm surprised you didn't go down to the Escape Pods," Conner commented.
"Too obvious," Tim replied. "How did you plan on getting out?"
Conner twisted his blade, stretching out his muscles slightly. After being stuck immobilized for so long, he needed a little movement to help him out.
Something told him Tim wouldn't be as easy to take out as the other Bounty Hunter had, although that was mostly because Tim looked armed to the teeth and Conner had caught the other guy in his pajamas.
"Escape Pod," Conner affirmed. "I just rigged the room before them to lock down when you pass a motion sensor. After that, I was just going to go around the three of you. There are three of you, right?" Conner asked, falling into a Soresu stance.
Defense wasn't exactly Conner's style, but he really was not aiming for a kill here.
Tim arched an eyebrow.
"Too simple. Did you really think we'd fall for that?"
As if on cue, the comlink Conner had linked to the one he'd left near the Escape Pods went off with the sound of an explosion. Tim looked alarmed before one of the Bounty Hunter's voices came through it.
"Son of a bitch! That shitty Jedi just locked us in here!"
"I can see that Jay, I have ey- is that a comlink."
The sound of shuffling could be heard on the other end.
"You're dead when we get out of here, Jedi. Dead, you hear me? I don't care if we lose half the bounty if we bring them your corpse, DEAD."
Conner picked up the comlink, grinning.
"Timmy first, sweetie," Conner said before crushing the thing with his tkk. Tim shot him a look of alarm which made Conner rolled his eyes.
"I don't want to fight you, Tim," Conner said. "You're a good person, from what I can tell. But, I'm not letting you cart me off to Nar Shaddaa. I've got too much to atone for."
"You want to atone by avoiding punishment for your sins?" Tim said incredulously.
"My sins amount to apathy," Conner corrected. "What I'm guilty of isn't something I did. It's something I didn't do. And now, I'm choosing to do something about it, and there are too many people relying on me now for me to just sit here and let you take out your rage on me."
Tim didn't bother with any more words. Tim just attacked.
Tim remembered what Jason had said about Conner pinning him in place by stomping his foot.
Most Jedi had a wide telekinetic range, but it lacked much control. Force blasts, flinging small objects, the works. Conner Kent, on the other hand, had a short range but abnormally high levels of control over anything within that range.
Tim's suit was designed with that in mind. An electric field was generated by the thing, a small little energy barrier that honestly wouldn't do much against a direct blast, but Tim wasn't going to stay still long enough to be hit by one of those. It would, however, prevent Conner's focused hits from immobilizing him.
Tim rushed in, a batarang leaving his finger tips.
Conner moved to slash it in two but the batarang dodged, spinning behind him before opening fire. Conner deflected several blasts as Tim tossed himself onto his knees, sliding across the ground, vibrostaff swinging.
Conner leapt over Tim's swing, but the distraction cost him as the batarang's tiny blaster managed to hit his shoulder. Hissing, Conner stomped.
Tim rolled as the floor shook. Durasteel ripped itself from the ground, a spike of it cutting into the batarang without warning. Then, Conner was on him, slashing away.
Tim blocked each blow with his staff before swinging a few of his own. Tim spun and parried several blows before tossing a smoke grenade on the ground.
Conner let out a sigh.
"Really? A smoke grenade? That's your master plan?"
Ignoring him, Tim leapt back before using his wrist launcher to shoot a rope up at the ceiling. Swinging on it, Tim launched himself into the air as Conner waved his hand, telekinesis causing the smoke in his immediate vicinity to vanish.
Tim fired a tiny missile, aiming it right at his head.
The Jedi swore, leaping out of the way as the missile hit the ground, causing a small explosion.
"Dude, this is your ship! I did not go through the trouble of not breaking anything important for you to do it for me!"
Tim wasn't listening. Instead, he was flinging more batarangs out, which began to swirl around his opponent, opening fire as he deflected bolt after bolt.
Tim let himself fall, vibrostaff swinging.
Conner deflected another bolt, causing it to hit the last Batarang before turning to block Tim's blow. Tim smashed right into him before using the momentum of the swing to leap over him, rolling in mid air. Landing, Tim spun and pressed the offensive, backing his enemy towards the corner.
Conner parried each blow, leaving them somewhat evenly matched.
"Nice suit," Conner smirked at him before blatantly looking Tim over. Tim couldn't keep the blush from his cheeks.
"Would you stop flirting! I'm trying to hurt you!"
Conner leapt back only to blow a kiss in Tim's direction.
"Baby, you can hurt me all you want."
Tim deadpanned, lowering his staff slightly.
"That's the best you've got?" Tim was not impressed.
"Er," Conner responded eloquently. "Are you from Naboo? Because, baby, I want you to be my boo."
Tim spluttered.
"That one was even worse!"
"I find your lack of nudity disturbing."
Tim rolled his eyes.
"Okay, now you're just being rude."
"Baby, it's me and you. Baby, I want you to get Hoth with you."
Tim couldn't help the snort that left his lips.
That was his mistake.
Conner Kent moved. An open palm smacked into Tim's suit, shattering the defensive field he had set up to keep Conner's brand of Telekinesis at bay. Tim was flung back as his suit was disassembled, leaving him sprawling.
Tim attempted to get up to attack when he found himself pinned in place, immobilized.
"I honestly can't believe that worked. I mean, hey, usually I prefer to be the one to be tied up, but I like this image."
Flushing, Tim twisted his head to glare up at Conner. While Tim couldn't move any part of himself touching the floor, which included all of his limbs annoyingly, he could still move his head.
"Shut up! You're a creep!"
Conner smirked, crouching down in front of Tim to look him in the eyes.
"A creep that's got you hot and bothered," Conner said, and Tim really, really wanted to hit him. Conner leaned in closer. Tim couldn't help but look down at his lips before his eyes snapped back up to his eyes. Conner's smirk widened. "Give me a kiss goodbye?"
Tim glared.
"What, you aren't gonna just take it? You've got me immobilized."
Conner frowned at him, pulling back.
"Timmy, consent is sexy. It's my biggest kink, right after bondage."
"I don't need to know your kinks!"
Conner shrugged.
"You keep flushing whenever I mention anything sexual, which you really need to work on by the way. I mean, I'm personally not gonna hurt you, but there's at least one Sith Assassin I've met who runs around who yells sexuality explicit things to distract people before he guts them."
Tim spluttered again.
Standing to full height, Conner stomped again. Tim felt the Telekinetic field pinning him in place dissipate. Blinking, he stared at Conner incredulously.
"I'll be going now," Conner told him. "If you want to keep trying to stop me, you're welcome to do so."
"... Why?"
"Because, you're one of the people I failed. So, if it makes you feel any better locking me away, be by guest. I'm not going to go down easily, though."
Tim still had a shard of Kryptonite on him. He'd kept it in his utility belt behind lead casing, because Kryptonite was toxic in general. The radiation it gave off could cause any number of effects in the long term.
Tim could use that. True, he was within Conner's tkk range, so it wouldn't take much for Tim to end up pinned on the ground again, but all Tim needed were literal seconds.
Then, Conner walked over to the table and picked up the data pad and Tim… Tim sighed, hanging his head.
"... I'll talk Dick and Jay into letting you go," Tim said, because Conner might be a coward who ran, but he was also a man trying to make amends, and that was a thousand times better than every other Jedi Tim had come across.
Conner turned to beam at him.
"Cool! Wait, it's not nice to call other people Dicks, Tim."
"... That's his name!"
"... Oh wow, your dad was an asshole then."
Tim picked up one of the pieces of his suit and flung it at the clone full force. Laughing, Conner ducked under it before making his way out. Rolling his eyes, Tim stood and followed.
"Oh, by the way, you might wanna find some clothes first, unless you want everyone seeing those beauty marks!"
Tim flushed.
Jason and Dick stared. Conner stood to the side, looking smug, because of course he was. And Tim? Tim kind of wanted the floor to swallow him whole.
"You want to let this shit go after all the trouble we went through to get him?" Jason hissed.
"We paid off a waitress to spike his drink," Tim reminded.
"It was a very expensive bribe!" Jason defended. "And look what he did to our ship! I mean, yeah, it'll still fly just fine, but he took out all our security protocols!"
"In my defense," Conner raised a hand, "you were keeping me trapped here against my will while trying to sell me off to gangsters that make the Hutts quiver in fear."
Tim kicked him.
Jason turned to Conner, lifting up a single finger and pointing it accusingly at the Jedi.
"Now, you listen here, clone, I-" Jason began hotly.
Dick's hand on his shoulder interrupted him. Pausing, Jason looked back, but Dick wasn't looking at him. He was looking right at Tim.
"Tim, are you sure about this?"
Tim looked at him then looked back at Conner.
Tim had spent years hating Jedi. He'd probably spend the next few still hating them. But… There was something about Conner that Tim couldn't quite place his finger on. A sense that told him that he knew him. A strange sort of connection Tim couldn't quite explain.
Tim trusted Conner, he realized. He didn't know why, but he did.
Tim looked back at Dick and just nodded.
Dick stared back for several seconds, eyes searching Tim's features. Whatever he was looking for, he found it. Nodding, Dick turned to look at Conner.
"Alrighty then. We'll let him go."
Jason flailed a bit.
"Wha- Dickie," Jason began. Conner snickered and Tim kicked him again while Dick shot Jason a firm look, shutting him up.
"We're letting him go. For now. There are plenty of other Jedi we can hunt down who deserve it more."
Jason turned to glare at Conner.
"What sort of metal mojo did you pull, clone?"
"That only works on the weak of mind," Conner informed him. "Well, that, and I'm shit at telepathy."
Tim stared before shaking his head. Nope. Nope, not getting into that one.
"Alright. I guess this is goodbye."
Conner grinned at him, something Tim was becoming increasingly familiar with. "Guess it is," Conner said, before turning to stride towards the Escape Pod.
Tim had argued that they could just drop Conner off at the nearest world, but the Jedi had insisted. Considering they'd tracked him down, drugged him, and stuck him in their cargo hold, Tim could see why.
Regardless, Tim wanted one last thing before he left.
"Hey, Kon!" Tim called. Conner turned. Tim walked right up to him and then, uncaring of the fact that both his brother's were watching, lifted his arms and wrapped them around Conner's back, pulling him in close. "Don't I still get that kiss?"
Rolling his eyes, the Jedi pulled Tim in for a kiss while Jason began to holler in the background about how the 'evil Jedi had seduced Tim and they just had to stop him and blah blah blah'.
And Tim?
Tim just drowned it out, because this? This was nice.