Unaccompanied

Home Alone was playing when Dick and Damian entered the auditorium. Up on the large projector, Kevin McAllister was looking for his cheese pizza, so they were right at the start of the movie.

The two of them paused for a moment to let their eyes adjust to the dim room and see where, among the decorations and other kids, they could sit.

Along the far wall were two tables filled with snacks and one of the volunteer chaperones seated in a swivel chair and watching the screen. While the rest of the room was covered in large pillows, stuffed toys, and beanbag chairs. Despite the cozy atmosphere, the room was not that crowded-,

“Ow! Hey!”

The door opened and hit Dick in the back, knocking him off balance and causing him to fall.

“Sorry! I'm sorry, I didn't see-,”

“Then use your eyes!” Damian snarled, quickly getting in between Dick and the teen who came through the door.

“Damian, I'm okay.” Dick tried his best to calm the younger boy down to avoid making any more of a scene, but it seemed that it was already too late; Damian was furious.

“Watch where you're going!”

“I'm sorry.” The teen looked immediately uncomfortable and backed up until he hit the wall. His little brother stepped protectively in front of him, blocking Damian.

“He said ‘sorry’! Leave him alone!”

The movie paused and the lights turned on.

“What's going on over here?” The chaperone came over and helped Dick stand up, handing him his crutches. “Break it up.”

“He-,”

“Damian!” Dick snapped. “Stop!”

Everyone was looking at them now.

At him.

At his right pant leg, cut off and hemmed only a few inches below his hip, where his leg had been amputated.

Damian looked up at him, and then around the room at everyone staring and dropped his shoulders. “We're fine, ma’am. We'll just go sit down.” He muttered.

Dick followed him. As he passed the other teen, he paused to apologize, but the younger kid, maybe five or six years old, once again stepped in between them holding his arms wide and glaring furiously.

“Leave him alone!”

“Jon, stop.” The teen picked up his brother and turned back to the door. “I- I'm sorry. I'm-, we're just going to go. Sorry for… hitting you.”

They hurried back out to the rest of the party and Dick turned to make his way to where Damian was sitting, knowing that his face was beat red.

Even after the lights went out again and the movie continued, he kept seeing people trying to subtly glance back at him, pretending like they weren't staring.

Maybe he would have been better off just staying at the group home.

Yyyyy

“Are you okay?”

“I'm fine, Jon.” Kon put him back on the ground and took his hand again.

Of course he had to knock over an amputee kid.

This Christmas was going *so* well.

“Come on. Let's go find something else to do.”

Jon perked up and pointed back towards the screams and noise of the party. “Like play with Santa?!”

“Yeah, buddy.” Kon nodded reluctantly. It wasn't like he could just avoid the party entirely until Lois returned for them, after all, and Jon had been really looking forward to it. “Let's go play with Santa.”

“Yeah! Santa!” Jon roared and tried to run ahead, but Kon kept a grip on his hand until they got to the edge of the dodge-snowball area.

He let go and watched Jon tear off after the other kids, picking up fluffy and inflated snowballs and throwing them at Santa and a few elves without hesitation. While his brother was quickly assimilated into the game, Kon found a spot against a nearby wall that was somewhat out of the way of the rest of the party.

Two hours, he repeated to himself.

That's what Lois had said.

He could make it two hours.

And then, when they went back home, Jon would be tired out and Lois would have work to do. Clark was still in space and would be for most likely the next few days, so he’d be able to do pretty much whatever he wanted.

It would be basically silent, and he could recharge his already depleted social battery, curl up in bed with a book or a movie.

Turn out all the lights and watch the snow fall.

Maybe he'd even pull out Grandma's recipe cards again and make another attempt at her Christmas cookies.

Seeing how much fun Jon was having did make him feel a bit guilty about wanting to leave so badly, but that didn't… change…

Huh.

Kon narrowed his eyes and stood up straighter.

There were lights and sparkles flashing across the whole room, in all sorts of colors, but they were all moving.

This one, however, a small red dot on Jon's shirt, seemed to follow him.

It wasn't a sparkle or anything physical that just got caught on him.

It was a light, reflecting off something.

But… it seemed to follow him around as he ran and dodged and even when he threw himself on the ground to avoid a ball.

That was odd.

It almost reminded him of…

A laser.

Kon felt sick.

No.

Calm down.

Stop freaking out.

There was a normal, regular, Christmas related reason for the small red dot.

His head whipped around, trying to locate the source of the light.

Was there a Rudolph he hadn't seen earlier?

Was this part of a game or something?

But then he saw it and he knew.

This wasn't part of the holiday fun.

If it was, the red dot wouldn't be coming from a partially open ‘employees only’ door on the other side of the room.

It wouldn't be right above what looked to be the muzzle of a gun.

They'd found him.

His blood ran cold and every muscle in his body tensed in fear.

They'd come for him.

And they were using Jon as bait.