Disclaimer: not mine

Not necessarily for this story, but what would be a good new code name for Kon to use if he moved on from Superboy?

Hope you guys like the new fic as well

Chapter 5

Danny stroked black hair as Tim tossed in his sleep, trying to sooth him. Nightmares were to be expected after what he'd gone through and what they'd learned since. He was having a few of his own after reading the reports of what had happened to Tony's victims even years later. And it was very annoying that he kept seeing Tim in the Red suit…but with an abdomen rounded with child. He didn't need that, thank you very much!

Tim shifted in his sleep, pressing closer, and Danny carefully dropped his body temperature a little, smiling when Tim sighed in relief. It was heading into summer and even the nights were getting hot.

They were leaving in the morning, heading for Paris where they would be much harder to find in the considerably larger population plus tourists. Once well away, Tim would forward the information to a magician Tim knew and Ms Lane. Danny hoped any article wouldn't help the other surviving victims, but the man needed to be stopped. They'd already sent the information to the local police since there was no way they'd be able to find them.

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Tim turned from watching the passing countryside to look down at the three messages, hesitating, before hitting send. It was done. He knew it was possible Clark would be able to find him, so he'd be keeping quiet for a while. He hadn't interacted with Clark as much as Dick or Jason had, the man couldn't track his biometrics like…like Kon could have. Tracking his voice though was something he could do.

He'd woken up once again cuddled right up to Danny and feeling utterly relaxed. The upside was that he was getting better sleep than he'd had in years, even including the nightmares. But he didn't want to upset Danny. They'd need to go into the next place as either family or friends so they could get two beds. He didn't want to annoy Danny into leaving, he could do this alone (he could, he'd find a way to deal with wanting contact), but he had to admit it was easier with a partner. He was used to having backup at least close by.

Was there a point to staying quiet? Would Clark even come looking for him after writing him off because of Dick's opinion? Despite everything, he loved Dick, he was his big brother but…he hated how the community saw him as the golden child. It hadn't been just Jason's shoes he'd had to fill when he became Robin, but Dick's as well. He'd been a very different Robin to both of them and it'd made things hard with the older heroes.

"Okay?" Danny asked, looking over at him from where he was driving, and Tim nodded, turning the computer to show the messages had been sent.

It was an almost eight-hour drive between the two cities so they would be driving in shifts and Danny had the first one. They'd also be changing cars at least once during the trip. Maybe they didn't need to be so paranoid, they'd seen no sign of the League in Marseilles, but better safe than sorry.

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Dick hung up and brought up his email, finding the message Zatanna had forwarded. Tim was alive, he had proof that Tim had been alive as of five hours ago. She hadn't checked her email until a few minutes ago. He read the message, feeling sick, and then watched the video footage attached. How had Tim gotten it? Why was the girl wearing a camera?

Tim was in France and what, working a case? Was it Tim who busted in to stop the man? Was the girl someone who agreed to help him and that's why she had a camera? He tried to contact Tim using the email address…but the account had already been disconnected. So, he contacted Babs to have her trace it. Yep, he was in France but the message had been sent on the move, likely a car. So that was a dead end. Great. But at least they knew he was alive.

"Richard?" Damian called, and Dick logged off the computer, getting up to suit up for the night.

He missed his own suit, the lightness and ease of moving…the Batsuit was heavy and not just physically. He'd never wanted to be Batman, but he couldn't let Jason destroy everything they'd worked for with his version. Tim was too young, to broken by too many loses close together, and there was no way anyone would believe he was Batman, he was too small. Dick was too small but closer in size and the suit could hide a lot. If Damian could un-learn what the League had taught him, maybe one day he could take the cowl but that was years from now.

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Lois stared at the email, cursing the fact she hadn't been able to check it over the last few hours thanks to a press conference that had run seriously over time. "Clark!" She called, and her husband appeared.

"Lois?"

"What is Tim doing in France working a case alone…and by the looks of it undercover as a female." She'd gotten a glimpse of the young woman's' reflection and while the makeup and hair were very good and likely able to fool almost anyone; she was not only a woman but an excellent investigator…plus she knew Tim had gone undercover as a woman before.

"Wait…you think that's Tim?" Clark stared at the video, grimacing at the mans' actions towards the obviously incapacitated young woman. "Wouldn't it make more sense for Tim to be the one who broke in?"

"Wouldn't be the first time Tim cross-dressed for a case," she answered. "This was taken at a party in Marseilles. Go, make sure he's okay."

"Lois, Tim knows how to avoid me."

"But he can't avoid me," Conner stepped into the room. "Sorry, didn't mean to eavesdrop but you kept saying his name. Why would Tim be avoiding Clark?"

"Better you get Tim's side of the story since no one else has bothered. He was in France when this was sent," she told him, and Conner nodded, going to change and take off.

"That could go badly," Clark warned. "No one's been able to reach Tim to tell him they're back."

"Better he hears it from Kon than any of the League by the sounds of it," she pointed out.

She didn't think Tim had lost it, as Kon and Bart's return proved, death wasn't always the end or permanent in their world. To dismiss his words as grief was wrong. "Why isn't Tim's evidence being investigated?" she asked, and Clark shifted slightly, making her frown. "You didn't even let him tell you about the evidence? This is Tim Drake, Clark! He would never have approached anyone without evidence to back up his claims."

She'd met the teen maybe four times, and even she knew that. Honestly. Sometimes she had to wonder if the Justice League shared a single brain cell. Sometimes they could pull of things so brilliant…and other times they could be oh so stupid.

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Kon floated over France, closing his eyes as he focused. He knew Tim, he was his best friend, he knew the sound of his heartbeat, of the way his lungs worked…it was a whole system that made each person an individual. He could find any member of Young Justice if they were within range. It'd been a long time though, some of those memorised rhythms could change with age, that was why he had come straight to French airspace, the closer he was the easier it would be to find him, even changed.

He'd been planning to track Tim down for help on finding Lex, but now he was worried about what had happened to him while he and Bart were gone. What could have put a wedge between him and the League? He'd been told Batman died, that it was Dick in the costume now. He'd gone straight to Gotham but it hadn't been Tim in the Robin uniform, some kid with a sword who was nothing like Robin was meant to be, so he hadn't lingered. He'd been at the apartment to ask Clark and Lois about Tim when he'd overheard their discussion.

Slowly, he narrowed his search until…Paris. Made sense if Tim was trying to stay off the radar, it was the biggest city in France even before you added in the tourists.

"Red going out tonight, Tim?"

"Tomorrow," a familiar though slightly changed voice answered. "That was a bit too long in a car."

It was Tim, changed a bit by the time spent apart, he'd be seventeen now. Maybe he'd actually grown a bit? But…who was with him? Everyone had told him that Tim had vanished alone, and he didn't recognise that voice at all. American accent, mid-western? But there was something under the accent, something foreign, English as their second language maybe? And who was Red?

He flew towards them, hesitating at a distance, checking where they were. A hotel room with two beds and two figures. One was definitely Tim; he had grown a little while Kon was…dead. His hair was longer too, and Kon grimaced, he'd lost weight and Tim had never been big. The other figures…definite Wayne adoption bait. His hair was shorter than Tim's but he was taller than Tim, a much better weight too…and the lower half of his face was covered by a mask, weird.

Kon took a deep breath and landed on the tiny balcony, knocking on the glass.

Tim spun and then froze, eyes wide, heart racing way too fast, going way too pale.

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Alex White and Tucker Sullivan checked into the Hotel Bridget in Paris, accepting their room keys and headed upstairs. Alex grimaced slightly at the size of the beds and room but it was only for a few nights. He set his backpack on the desk and his bag on the bed that Tucker hadn't claimed. Was it sweet that he was giving Alex the more protected one?

Tim sighed and began setting his gear up even as Danny stretched. "I'm good here, you want first shower?"

"Thanks. Eight hours driving is too much in one go." He popped his back as he stood. "I'll leave you plenty of hot water," Danny promised before gently running his hand over the back of Tim's neck, and Tim felt some of the tension melt from him.

Tim settled in, checking his intel. A savage grin crossed his face as he read of the arrest of on Anthony Marino. Good. He was hoping Lois still did an article though, the more publicity the harder it would be for him to wriggle out of the charges. Part of him wanted to go back, to make the man pay for what he'd done to him, but that was not right. He did not get to play judge, jury, and executioner.

"Hey," the soft voice made Tim jump slightly, Danny's hand moving to rest on his neck again, and Tim slumped back. He didn't even try to stop Danny from picking him up and putting him on the bed. "You okay?"

Tim shook his head, turning to face Danny, resting his head on his shoulder, feeling an arm move to wrap around him. He shuddered and then went limp as the warmth soaked into him, relaxing the tension now constantly present in his body. From the further research into the other victims, he thought it should fade at least some with time, but for now he was stuck craving touch.

"You're okay, you'll get through this," Danny murmured, hand stroking his back.

Tim drifted, body relaxed, mind going nicely blank (a rare occurrence for him). But eventually, he forced himself to move, Danny letting go immediately. Even before being drugged…trusting Danny so close no longer made him nervous. He knew so little about him and yet every instinct screamed that Danny would never hurt him. He'd never even seen Danny unmasked but he never asked, it'd be like pushing a hero to reveal their civilian id.

He got up and went back to his computer, Danny sitting up on the bed behind him.

"Red going out tonight, Tim?" Danny asked.

"Tomorrow," Tim answered. "That was a bit too long in a car." Between driving for four hours and being crammed into two different very small cars there was no way he was going out tonight.

He froze as a knock sounded on the glass, then spun to face it, they were four stories up! His hand went to his pocket where he kept one of his new discs but never drew it as he stared at the form standing on the tiny balcony. No…it wasn't possible…it couldn't be. All he could hear was his thundering heart as he stared with wide eyes.

"Danny…are hallucinations listed as side effects?" he forced the words out.

"There's a guy four stories up on a balcony barley three inches wide," Danny answered.

So…not a hallucination. And he'd obviously heard Tim, a concerned frown gracing familiar features. Tim took a deep breath and then walked forward, yanking the door inward. "I don't know who you are but how dare you!" He snarled.

Blue eyes went wide. "No, Rob, it's me. It's really me, Kon."

"Kon's dead!" Tim bit his lip, fighting the urge to cry.

"I'm sorry Tim," the look alike reached out a hand to him. "I was revived in the thirtieth century by Legion of Super-Heroes. Brainiac 5 used tech from the Fortress to do it. They got Bart back too. We helped them and then they sent us back, we arrived two weeks ago and were kept in the Watchtower in isolation for safety. They let us out a last week, I tried calling you but your phone was disconnected. I went to Gotham only to find some crazy midget kid as Robin. Lois got your message, I overheard. She told me you were in France and here I am."

Tim stared at him, was it really possible? "Secret," he murmured.

"Greta," was the quiet answer.

No one outside the original team knew Secret's identity. "Kon?"

Kon smirked at him and Tim threw himself forward, Kon catching him. "Whoa, easy there Rob." But he hugged back, and Tim soaked up the contact. Kon had always been so warm thanks to all the solar radiation he absorbed.

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Danny watched the reunion silently, assuming the other teen was Superboy. He'd always kept an eye on the various superhero teams, heck, Amity Park had called for help several times in the early days of ghost attacks, especially when Pariah Dark woke. But no one had ever answered, which led to the city becoming very bitter to anyone outside Phantom and Red Huntress.

But of all the superhero teams, Young Justice had been looked at the most favourably because of the chaos that followed them and how they tried to help no matter what. It was another reason Danny had dropped everything to come help Tim, he was the Robin of that team. Even Amity had mourned Superboy and Impulse, but now they were back? He could feel the very faint lingering death energy about the teen who was barely inside their room, but it was still fading.

"I'm going to grab dinner, want anything specific? You staying Superboy?" he spoke up after the two were quiet for a while, Superboy looking a bit overwhelmed by Tim clinging to him. He figured they could use the space to talk alone.

Tim looked over at him, unshed tears in his eyes, looking grateful. "No snails," he tried for light-hearted, and Danny snorted.

"Not even considering them," he promised.

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Kon wasn't sure who the other guy was, but Tim seemed comfortable with him and he was even offering to leave them alone for a bit. He glanced back down at Tim. "You mind?" he asked, and Tim shook his head. "Sure, I'm not picky."

"See you later," he grabbed a hat and headed out.

Kon gently guided Tim further into the room, getting him settled on the bed. "You okay? I…I heard Lois talking about some footage, of an attack…she thought it might be you?"

And Tim actually flinched slightly. He stared at the floor for a while before eventually nodding. And then Kon listened in horror as Tim explained what had happened and the continuing side effects. He was not flying to Marseilles and using heat vision on a certain appendage, no matter how tempting it was.

"Say the word and I'll fry his ass," he offered, and Tim choked on a laugh, leaning into him. Kon wrapped his arm around too thin shoulders, if Tim needed contact, then he'd get it. "So, who's your new friend and why are you in Europe?"

"His name's Danny, he came to warn me I was being hunted…by the League of Assassins. We've been working together since. He's…he's ex-League, he ran when about a decade ago, has been hiding in the US since. We work really well together and we've been avoiding the League, it's easier with two of us since they think I'm travelling alone."

Kon listened as Tim explained what they were doing, listening carefully to his explanation of breaking into countless museums and galleries, all for evidence of Batman throughout time.

"Bruce is alive," Tim whispered, something desperate in his eyes, and Kon nodded.

"I believe you," he promised. He had evidence! "Want me to kick Dick's ass for all this? Batman or not, I can do it. I can try with Clark, but" he shrugged. He couldn't match Clark and he knew it.

Tim shook his head. "Dick made his choice obvious. He has a new little brother; I was only ever a placeholder."

"Tim…" Kon frowned.

"Not with the team, I know that, but to everyone else? I…I don't know if I can go back to Gotham," he admitted.

"Then don't, there's plenty of cities that could use…Red?"

"It's temporary. I took the Red Robin costume but it doesn't feel right. So, I'm just using Red till I find something. And Danny is Shade on comms."

"You've got my code, make sure Danny has it too. You guys need me, you call on comms or just shout. You can call Bart and Cassie too. Promise?"

"If I need any of you, I'll call," Tim promised, leaning heavily against him. "So, what are you doing now you're back?"

"Ma's working to enrol me at Smallville high and…I'm trying to find Lex. I know he has some labs in Paris."

"I already excavated one of his old labs under Paris."

"Well, then that takes one off the list."

"We were planning to be here for a while, I can help you find others," Tim promised. "And…there's something I need to tell you, about Cassie and…"

"I know Tim, she told me."

"Oh," Tim grimaced.

"It's okay Tim. Besides…I don't think we work, not anymore."

Tim nodded and Kon playfully pushed longish black hair away. "You need a haircut or let it get long enough to tie back."

"You need a real costume," Tim shot back, and Kon laughed, glad to hear some humour in Tim's voice.

"Touché." He smirked at Tim. "What were you doing in one of Lex's labs anyway?" he asked, and Tim flinched.

"I took his equipment," Tim murmured, not looking at him.

"Why?" Tim could get equipment just as good as a bat.

"My girlfriend died. My Dad died. My best friend died. And I couldn't accept it. I couldn't lose you too."

"So what?" he didn't like where this was going, the…numbness in Tim's tone.

"I tried to clone you."

"Tim…"

"But I failed. Like I failed everyone else."

"Tim…" Kon swallowed. "Even if it'd worked, it wouldn't have been me." It might have been a copy of his body, but it wouldn't have had his memories, his personality.

"That's what Cassie said. And…I know that. I know it wouldn't have been you," Tim took a deep breath. "But it would've been something."

He felt sick. He'd been so happy to be back that…it hadn't really hit him how bad it had been for those left behind to grieve. "Between everything you've gone through, Cassie's gone through, and Bart's gone through, I picked a really suck-ass year to be gone, didn't I?"

"The worst," Tim agreed. he got up and walked to lean against the desk and Kon watched him. "I was doing better, I was. Then Bruce…and Dick took Robin, didn't even tell me, the demon brat just showed up in my suit."

"Demon brat?"

"Bruce's biological son…with Talia al Ghul. He showed up a few months after you were gone. He's made his hatred of me very clear, has tried to kill me several times…and Dick still made him Robin."

"Well, Gotham hates the new Robin," Kon smirked and Tim's eyes widened.

"What?"

"You haven't been keeping up with the news from home? He's done some stuff, hurt people. There are calls for him to be kept off the streets, for Batman to keep him under better control and take the sword away."

"Huh."

"Gotham loved the first three Robins," Kon assured him.

There was a knock and then Danny slipped into the room with bags of food. Knowing what Tim had told him, Danny moved way too quietly. But if he'd left a decade ago, how good would he be in a fight if they were found?

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It was a little odd having a third person in the room, but Kon was easy to get along with. Tim had admitted he'd told him why Danny was there, but Kon didn't treat him like a threat or anything which was nice. Then again, what threat would a human ex-assassin by to a Kryptonian? Danny knew he could take him in a fight, could take Superman, if necessary, but they didn't know that. No one would ever know about Dan and how he'd taken out the Justice League as well as most of the planet.

TBC…

Anyone want this to end up Danny/Tim/Kon?