Disclaimer: not mine

Poll is up on my ffnet profile for Tim's new name in this

Chapter 3

Kon held Tim gently, not wanting to risk hurting him. He could hear Tim's heart racing as their lips brushed together and Kon knew his own was well. Tim shifted closer and Kon slid one hand into his hair slowly, enjoying the feel of the strands running over his fingers. Tim's hand slid up the back of his shirt, pressing into his skin, but then he pulled back, panting, face flushed. With his hair a mess from the cowl and Kon's fingers and flushed face he looked beautiful. And apparently, he said that out loud from the way Tim went even redder.

"When I woke up in the future, I was so scared I'd never see you again," he admitted.

"Kon, I…I did something. You were gone, then Bart…I'd lost my dad, Steph…"

"Cassie told me," he cut in to spare Tim trying to tell him. "It's okay Tim. I get it, you lost so much and there was a chance you could get something back. You've always been the crazy scientist on the team," he grinned at Tim, and Tim blinked at him. "I can't say I would have done it, but I understand."

Tim shivered and clung on tighter, burying his face in Kon's shirt. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

"You've got nothing to be sorry for," Kon promised. He gently tipped Tim's head up and kissed him again, just a soft quick one. "I…I love you Tim." He had to tell him, he'd lost the chance once and he would never risk that again.

Tim stared at him with wide eyes, was that good or bad? And then Tim was wrapping his arms around his neck, kissing him. "I love you too, Kon."

He was so relieved about that. He picked Tim up, spinning him, making him laugh. "So…"

"Boyfriends," Tim grinned, knowing what he was thinking. He always did. "I'm just so happy you're back."

Kon grinned at him, kissing him again just because he could now.

"Who knows you're back?" Tim asked, resting his head on Kon's shoulder and Kon kept his arms around him, lose enough Tim could pull away if he wanted.

"Well, we showed up on the Watch Tower," he reminded him. "I asked them not to tell you and Bart went along with it. Wanted to do it myself then…didn't realise you'd have changed your number even after Diana explained you'd fought Batman."

"And she didn't give you the new one? She's the only one who has it, well other than Jay."

"Jason?" he asked in surprise, and Tim nodded.

"He's here. Apparently, Diana had to get him out of the Manor once he found out that Dick…that he was talking about sending me to Ark…" Tim couldn't say it, and Kon blanched.

He tightened his grip on Tim, he wasn't locked up there. "Jason swore if Dick had done it then he would have gotten me out. But he…just because he wouldn't listen. I was right!" Tim went limp against him, and Kon held him up, carefully running his TTK over him, checking for unnoticed wounds. "I was right," he whispered.

"Of course you were," he agreed. "You're always right, it's part of your charm and one of your most annoying points all in one."

That got a wet, weak chuckle.

"Want me to kick Dick's ass?"

Tim shook his head, but he was going from limp to just relaxed which was good. Kon gently ran his fingers through Tim's hair to help him stay relaxed.

"So, you and Jason are good?" he asked.

Before he died things had been getting okay, Tim had been happy that Jason would sometimes ask him intel and had even rushed to back him up when he'd gotten overwhelmed in a fight. Tim had wanted so desperately for Jason to accept him; Jason had been his hero before he died. Kon had remained wary, he'd seen Tim after the Tower attack but Jason had apologised for it, had worked to do better so he'd given him a chance for Tim's sake.

"He came, he believed me," Tim answered, and Kon could tell he was holding something back but he didn't push, not yet anyway. Tim stepped back and Kon let go, watching him quickly wipe at his eyes. "You wanted to get settled back in first, right? I bet Ma baked like crazy when you showed up."

Kon laughed and nodded. "Got me back into school but it just…isn't the same."

Tim nodded. "I guess I've pretty much dropped out."

"I wanted to give you space for your search," Kon admitted. "Krypto went out and grabbed a bunch of my rogues, brought them to Smallville to try and cheer me up. I've been…doing my own bit of crazy I guess. I've been keeping a journal with a list of things Superman and Lex Luthor do and I'm checking them off."

"Seriously?" Tim asked, a smile teasing at his lips.

"Yeah…I'm that paranoid now."

"So you decided to take a break and track me down or…?"

"I uh, might need your help with something?"

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Jason sighed as he got a message from Tim saying he'd be a few hours since Kon needed a hand with something in Paris. If any dead hero was going to come back, Superboy made sense, after all Superman had. And he was happy for Tim.

He would never forget the sight of Tim in a bloody and singed uniform slumped on his couch. He'd thought it was Tim's and had panicked, worried the kid was dead or dying. And then Tim had moved, breaking down in heartbreaking sobs and Jason had known someone was dead, had feared it was B or Dick. He'd known about the fight but had been busy with his own thing and it was better that he stayed in Gotham if they weren't around to help keep things under control. He hadn't known who had died till Tim had sobbed out Kon's name as he clung to him. Jason had to throw his clothes out, unable to clean the blood from them and Tim had moved to a new uniform after that, one that honoured his teammates since Bart had been gone so soon after as well.

He grabbed his phone and messaged Diana to check what was going on. How had the clone come back? He sent the message and then frowned; sure that he'd spotted movement on a nearby rooftop. Paris had no vigilantes of its own but people did go onto roofs for a variety of reasons. Still, it was something to keep an eye on.

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Tim led Kon down beneath the city towards one of Lex Luthor's many hidden labs. He hated the identity crisis Kon was going through, that he hadn't been there to support him but there was nothing he could do about it except try to help him now.

"Thanks for taking a "time out" to help me get a jump on this."

Tim shrugged, "I already excavated one of his labs here." It was where he'd gotten the cloning tech.

"If you want my help on your search, I'm just a phone call or shout away," Kon reminded him.

It had been a while since he had the ability to just yell for help, it might take a while for him to remember he could again. "If I need you-"

"Or Cassie and Bart," Kon was smirking at him, he just knew it.

"Or Bart, I'll call," he agreed, not that he planned to call. Jason was all the back-up he should need. He didn't feel comfortable calling Cassie, if he needed someone with that kind of skills, he'd be calling Diana.

He heard Kon sigh. "No, you won't. You just gave me your "Starfire" voice."

"My what?" he glanced back at Kon, confused.

"The patronising tone, completely insincere."

"Hey, can you take the cowl off down here?" Kon asked him.

He'd pulled it back up when they left the hidden spot on the roof since he didn't want Tim Wayne spotted in vigilante gear. "Take my cowl off why?"

"Because you're not a cowl kind of guy. You've never been one." Kon reached out to rest his hand on his shoulder so Tim stopped walking. "Maybe I'll get used to is some day, but right now it's freaking me out. You're wearing one of Jason's uniforms…one he wore when he wasn't exactly the best of people. That uniform is all leather and armour, it looks like it weighs a ton. What happened to the plain old "classic" Robin look?"

"I changed the suit after…after you and Bart and then Dick gave it to Damian. Once Bruce is back, I can work on something new."

"Tim…this isn't a punishment, is it?" Kon asked warily.

"What are you talking about?" Tim asked warily.

"I know you Tim," Kon stared at him, and Tim tried to keep eye contact.

He reached up and removed the cowl. "Better?"

Kon reached out to caress his cheek, smiling sadly. "There you are," he whispered, and Tim tried not to blush. "Though you really do need a haircut," his tone became teasing, and Tim smirked.

"You need a real costume," he shot back.

"Touché." Kon grinned at him.

Tim shook his head and started walking again, finally reaching a sealed door. "Want me to pick it or…"

In answer, Kon stepped up, pulling it apart easily. They stepped inside and Kon sighed. "Looks like Luthor hasn't been here in a while."

"Sorry Kon, this is the one I uh…scavenged."

"You stole Luthor's tech?" he asked, and Tim shrugged.

"Know anyone else who has top notch clcloning equipment?" Tim asked in return, and then Kon wrapped an arm around him, tugging him into his side. He hated the stutter on the word but it had been a very difficult time.

Kon gently turned him around, wrapping him up in a hug, physically and with his TTK. Tim slowly relaxed when Kon didn't say anything about what he'd tried to do. He'd known all along that it wouldn't bring Kon back, even if the body was identical the person wouldn't have his memories. It would be more like Kon's twin brother or kid who had never met him. Heck, at one point Tim had run out of pure samples and ended up substituting in some of his own DNA…if that had worked, he and Kon would be parents. That was what he didn't get about Luthor and Clark. Kon wasn't a true clone, he had two DNA donors, just like anyone. He was a test tube baby sure, but a clone? But Kon thought of himself as a clone so he still used the term for him.

"I messed up so badly, Kon."

"Shh, it's okay Tim," Kon whispered, kissing his forehead.

"I ran out of pure samples, was scrambling for anything…I used my own DNA to take Luthor's place." That made Kon's eyes widen. "If it'd worked…" he swallowed.

"We'd have a kid," Kon finished, and Tim nodded.

"It came so close to working Kon," he admitted, he remembered watching the screen, how it almost hit 100% before failing.

"If it had, then we'd have a kid and that would be okay. Maybe one day we'll have kids, yeah? You can continue Bruce's adoption tradition or figure out how to make kids possible. Maybe we'll decide that's not for us."

Tim swallowed, leaning against him. "You're really planning long term," he whispered.

"With you? Definitely. You aren't getting rid of me, Tim," he promised before moving across the room to sit, Tim cradled against his body.

"Even though I'm an overly paranoid neurotic mess?"

"Hey, that's my boyfriend you're talking about," Kon chided, squeezing gently. "Between everything you've gone through, Cassie's gone through, and Bart's gone through, I really picked a suck-ass year to be gone, didn't I?"

"The worst," Tim agreed with a half hysterical sounding laugh. He leant forward, burying his face in his hands. "I am so screwed up right now."

"I'd say we both are. Want to know the worst thing?"

"What?" Tim asked, leaning back against him again.

"I don't want to find Lex to send him to prison… I want to find him to see if there's anything good inside him at all. Hell, not even Superman can do that. So, we're both on impossible missions that everyone else will say we're crazy for doing."

Tim snorted. "Thanks Conner," he murmured, content to just sit quietly together in the abandoned lab.

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Kon kissed Tim again, holding on tight. "Promise you'll call," he whispered, relieved when Tim nodded. "Stay in contact, please. Let me know how things are going, even if it's just a one-word text."

"I will," Tim agreed, smiling at him. "And you do the same, you've seen me get lost in a research spiral, don't follow my example."

"Deal." With one last kiss he floated up from the roof, Krypto at his side. He looked down at Tim who watched him even as he pulled his cowl back into place. With a final wave he took off for the States.

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Jason relaxed when the computer beeped, showing Tim was back online…and headed back to the hotel. Sure enough, he soon heard the familiar sound of a grapple in use then the soft thud of boots against the windowsill as Tim braced himself to then get inside since Jason had left it open for him. Tim just stood there for a moment and that worried him but then he pushed the cowl back and moved towards the bathroom.

Jason rang down for room service since he was back, some light food and a good hot drink, not coffee though since it was late. It wouldn't be as good as Alfred's but hopefully the hot chocolate would be nice enough, it was Paris after all, surely, they'd make it nice and fancy.

The knock came as Tim left the bathroom, drying his hair with a towel and dressed in sleep pants and t-shirt for bed. Jason opened the door to let the food be wheeled in and tipped the man before reaching out to pull Tim over to the table.

"Jay…"

"Food, then you can sleep," he ordered.

Tim sighed but obediently put some food on his plate, accepting the mug of hot chocolate. Jason gently ruffled wet hair before getting his own plate. "I have a boyfriend," Tim murmured, and Jason blinked, well…that explained a lot. "Kon, he…he kissed me, before he faced Superboy Prime the last time."

No wonder the kid had been in such a state when Jason found him. He was surprised that Tim had made it to his safe house, the nearest Zeta was a good ten-minute ride away and Tim hadn't had a bike with him. He'd gotten a copy of the report, knew Tim had been one of those to find the body, as if he couldn't have told that from the blood on his uniform. And he hadn't said anything to anybody, unless he'd talked with the Bart kid?

When Tim didn't seem able to eat anymore, he got him up and to the most protected of the two beds, tucking him in like a kid. He sat on the bed, just petting still damp hair to try and sooth him to sleep. While he knew Tim would be very happy to have Kon back, it still would have been a highly emotional evening and those were exhausting. Thankfully, Tim was soon asleep.

Jason stayed up a little longer, checking Tim's gear over for him and then packing it all away for secrecy before heading to bed.

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Tim lay on the couch in their room, staring at the ceiling while Jason worked on cleaning his weapons. "Hey Jay?"

"Yeah Timbo?"

"What do you think will happen when we get B back?" he asked, feeling Jason focus on him.

"Well…he'll kick Dick out of the cowl and take it back. Hopefully he'll make Dick see what an idiot he's been too. Though Diana got a good start on that."

"And Damian will be Robin," he whispered.

"If B keeps that brat as Robin, then he's a bigger idiot than I thought. Robin is meant to be the light to Batman's darkness and that is not Damian. If he is that dumb you can always join me in the Alley, the two Reds. And no, you don't have to use lethal force."

Tim mustered a smile for his brother, happy that Jason would accept him not just working in his territory but as a partner. "Thanks Jay. I think…I think I might be done being a bat," he admitted shakily, no matter how much it hurt. He'd honestly never really planned on anything beyond Robin. His relationship with Bruce and reasons for taking on the cape had been different to Dick and Jason. And if Jason hadn't died, who knew how long he would have stayed Robin.

Jason had stopped cleaning, staring at him, and then he nodded. "Okay, if that's what you want."

"Not going to argue?" he asked warily, and Jason snorted.

"I'm the last person who'd push for you to remain connected. And with Damian around…it might not be safe for you to go back."

Tim shuddered but nodded. Sooner or later, the brat would get lucky.

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Jason walked back to the hotel, enjoying the evening air. In the morning they'd be leaving for Italy, a country he'd never been to before. He'd travelled around the world for his training after the League brought him back but that didn't mean he'd been to every country.

He saw the hotel up ahead and saw the light on in their room, the shadow of Tim moving about. The shadow vanished and then Jason's heart stopped as the room blew up. NO!

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"It's him. Bloody sexy," she commented as they watched the young man on the screen. "Are we killing him?"

"Quiet Pru," Owens snapped as he took aim.

"My Lord…we've got him."

"Indeed, we do."

"He's moving around a bit. Are we shooting?" Owens asked, glad for the explosive ammo since it wouldn't really matter how much he moved, the whole room should go up.

"Master, do you want him dead?" Z asked for the final word. "…I see."

"What'd he say?" Pru asked as Z put the comm away.

"He said we can try."

"What does he mean by that?" She demanded but Z turned to Owens.

"Do you have the shot?" he asked.

"Close enough," Owens answered, smirking. He fired and they watched as the room erupted in flames, blowing out the windows. A little public but they'd be gone before anyone worked out where the shot came from.

"Huh. I thought a real-life superhero would he harder to kill or something," she muttered, disappointed by how easy it had been. Maybe the bats were only good in Gotham? Hadn't his predecessor died while not in America? "No wonder Batman's dead, his backup's crap."

"We'll wait for the body to be pulled out. Stake out the morgue, then collect his head," Z stated, pretty standard for this kind of job. "The Mast will-" he cut off as Owens' head snapped back, sending the man reeling, collapsing and clutching his face.

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Jason raced from the roof the shot had come from. As much as he hated himself for it, there was nothing he could do for Tim now. But he could take care of whoever had dared to kill his brother. He prayed that Tim had seen it coming, had made it out of the room, but he knew the odds of that.

He made it onto the roof, ducking low, but it was empty…spent casings, a lot of them, someone had been shooting wildly. There was blood splattered about…a grapple gun and a shattered golden coloured disc…Tim? He hadn't been in the room?

But if Tim made it out…where was he?

TBC…