Green eyes snapped open, sliding over to glare sleepily at the cellphone skittering along the night stand. This was the third time it had buzzed in 2 minutes, and he was about ready to just crush the damn thing.
He had checked the screen the first time it rang, but it was an unknown caller. So he’d tossed it back on the table, hoping they’d go away. However that tactic was seemingly ineffective this time. Plus it was his civilian line, so not a Titans emergency, and it wasn’t any of his friends ringtones.
Conner glared at the phone as the screen went dark. ’It’s probably just some stupid telemarketer.’The phone ceased buzzing, and the sudden silence echoed.
Conner held his breath for 30 seconds, waiting, but the phone didn’t ring again. He sighed, relieved, and rolled over hoping to still salvage some sleep.
His eyes slid closed, just as the buzz of an incoming call started again.
Growling, he rolled over just enough to snag the phone in two fingers, aggressively thumbed the ‘answer call’ button and brought it to his ear. “What?”
“Jeez SuperClone, who pissed in your cornflakes?”
“Do you even know what time it is?” He covered his face with his hand, repressing a groan, and steadfastly ignored the odd twist in his gut and heat in his face, as he recognized the voice at the other end of the line. Why the hell was Jason Todd, of all people, calling him at two in the morning?
A chuckle drifted over the line, warm and amused. “Night time is crime time m'friend, and crime don’t sleep. Or however th'sayin’ goes.”
Conner bit back another groan, running a hand through his hair, trying to wake himself up enough for this conversation, and trying to ignore how the rough baritone of Jason’s voice made heat flare in his abdomen. It wasn’t new, this attraction to Jason, but he’d been able to ignore it for the most part, and not acknowledge that he was crushing on his best friends older brother. Hard.
“Jason, I swear to God, if you don’t have a good reason for calling, I am going to fly you to Everest and leave you at the top in nothing but your thermals.”
’How did the Red Hood, of all people, get my civilian line? Maybe Tim?’ Who am I kidding, he’s a Bat, he probably hacked the damned Tower.’
“Oh, promise?” Conner could just hear the eyebrow waggle that accompanied that comment.
He had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from grinning, though he was sure his voice gave away his amusement. “What do you want?”
For anyone else there would have just been silence on the other end, but Conner could hear the way the other was shifting, like he was nervous, could hear the creak of kevlar over the line as fists were clenched.
"Well, I…um…?”
“Jason?”
A heavy sigh followed by a deep breath, settling nerves. “I…I need your help.”
“What?” Conner sat up straight in his bed, surprised by no means covered what he was feeling.
“Don’t make me say it again, Kent.”
“Sorry, it’s just… why me? Why not one of your brothers or-”
“If I wanted their help, I’d be askin’ them, ‘stead of callin’ you at ass'o'clock in the mornin’.”
Conner blinked into the darkness of his room for several moments, surprised by not only the seriousness of the other man’s tone, but by the uncertainty.
The Red Hood was a lot of things, uncertain was rarely one of them.
“Look, if you don’t want to help, you can just say it, I get it,” another hard breath and the shifting of leather. “Especially after alla the shit I put you'n Tim, and the Titans through. I ain’t gonna be offended-”
Conner could practically taste the lie, could hear the way Jason’s heartbeat picked up, how his breathing had gone too even, trying to hide his disappointment? Hurt? Both? ’What is my life right now?’
“Hey now,” Conner said as he threw off his covers, tone calm as he tried to reassure Jason, and who would of thought that would ever be a thing, the Red Hood needing reassurance. “I never said I didn’t want to help. I’m just surprised you asked me is all.” He peered around his room for a pair of pants as he rolled out of bed. “And are you needing Superboy’s help, or Conner Kent’s?”
“Oh, well…both, actually.”
And he could hear the relief and the smirk in Jason’s voice, as the other recovered his equilibrium. Conner could feel the echo of a smirk appear on his own face, as he grabbed a pair of jeans off the floor, pulling them on. “Well lay it out for me, man, what kind of trouble are we getting into?”
“See? This is why I called you and not my brothers. Y'don’t ask pointless questions.” Jason laughed, and Conner could hear him throwing several somethings into a bag. “Okay, here’s what’s what.”
A couple hours, and another phone call later, Conner pulled up outside the precinct in New York’s Upper East Side. He checked his appearance one last time in the rearview mirror. He didn’t have much in the way of undercover gear at the farm, and hadn’t had time to do anything major to alter his appearance. So he’d settled with a set of coloured contacts, glasses, and some casual clothes. Or as Jason had so eloquently put it, “None o'that punk shit y'usually rock, Cloneboy. Half of ya is from Kansas, and the oth'r 'alf was raised there. So try t'actually look like yer from Kansas.”
He hadn’t really been sure how to take that, but he’d grabbed one of his older t-shirts, one that Bart had gotten him as a gag gift after he spent that first summer at the Kent farm, it said 'farmers do it better’ in cursive font on the front, a plaid flannel shirt that he’s not sure the origins of, a dark leather jacket that he was leaving in the car, some old, worn jeans, and his heavy boots.
As he stepped out of the car and looked up at the glass, metal, and stone building, he narrowed his now brown eyes, and looked through the building. Some of his xray vision was spotty thanks to the lead in the building materials, but he got a pretty good look at how the building is laid out, and where they’ll need to go once he gets Jason.
He closed the door to his borrowed Honda 2 door - courtesy of over paranoid Bats having stashes in every major city they frequented - and rolled the info Jason had given him over in his head as he approached the building.
Jason had said he and the Outlaws had tracked some sex traffickers out of Detroit, sending kids between the ages of 10-13 out to different cities. Arsenal had followed the trail of one truck to Star City, and Starfire was out in Miami on another. Jason’s van had brought him to New York, and following it through the city had led him here. One of the few precincts in the city with an underground impound lot.
Jason needed an excuse to get into the precinct, which he had several ways of doing on his own. It was the second part of the plan that he needed help with, and with the other Outlaws on their own jobs, that’s where Conner came in.
He had a plan to get in, get the van, and get the kids out. What he needed was backup for the execution of the plan itself.
Conner rubbed his palms along his pants, trying to physically shove away his nervousness. Covert wasn’t usually his style, and he wasn’t sure if this was going to work.
But Jason had reached out and asked for help, and while yes, a part of him was confused and a bit suspicious, considering the Titans history with Jason, a bigger part of him did not want to screw this up. He really didn’t want to dig into the why that was at this moment, especially as he, rather abruptly, found himself facing down two cops. So lost in his thoughts that he hadn’t realized he’d entered the precinct.
“Is there something we can help you with, young man?”
Conner stared at the uniformed officer blankly for a few moments, before his brain kicked back into gear. “Umm…oh, uh yes, sorry.” He coughed and shoved his nerves to the side for a moment, instead sending the officers the time honoured smile of ’my friend is an idiot, I don’t want to be here, but I’m the only person available.’
He slouched slightly and rolled his shoulders inwards, doing his best to hide his height and bulk. “I’m here to pick up a friend? He called about 20 minutes ago. Darcy Bennett.”
One of the officers turned and began typing on the computer in front of herself, the other looked through the piles of paper he had. Conner silently cheered, as he still found the name Jason used hilarious, and he wasn’t sure if his amusement was visible or not. ’God, Jay is such a nerd. Here’s hoping these guys aren’t into the classics.’
He shoved his hands into his pockets to keep from fidgeting, as he waited for them to pull up Jason’s file, and decided to take the time to look around the building again, now that he was inside. Looking around the main and upper levels didn’t tell him much more that he hadn’t already seen on his way in. He did however, notice a small office near the back of the building. Unoccupied, dark, door locked, window slightly ajar. ’Bingo. Part 2 taken care of. Now, where are the kids.’
“Hey kid?” Conner turned his attention to the officer not typing things into the computer, he was the older of the pair, with graying hair around his temples. “It’s gonna be awhile longer. He’s not quite done being processed. Why don’t you take a seat and we’ll call you when we’re ready to take you back?”
“Sure thing.”
Conner dropped onto a near by bench, and slid his phone out, using it to cover the fact that he was looking at the floor. Or rather through it to the lower levels. There was one lower level beneath them that seemed to be the evidence locker, and then the floor below that was the impound lot, if the dozens of vehicles of various makes was any indication. He looked through the vehicles as fast as he could, idly scrolling through his phone, until he came up on the one they were looking for. Tucked into the far south east corner, was a dark blue panel van, with tinted and covered windows, and a Michigan license plate. The six kids huddled and tied together was a bit of a give away too.
He checked over each child as much as he could. He wasn’t as adept at reading vitals as he would like to be, but from what he could see none of them appeared injured or in immediate distress.
He looked up from his phone just as the younger officer at the desk, with her blonde hair tied back, called his name. It took every ounce of willpower Conner possessed not to rip into them and demand how they could be so incompetent at their jobs. That they could be so unaware of the crime being perpetrated right under their noses. How they could not know that there were SIX terrified kids bound and gagged in a van two floors below them, and they had zero clue.
Conner took a breath and pushed the rage down, for once thankful that he didn’t have heat vision. He honestly didn’t think he would have been able to control it, or keep from setting something on fire. Those kids didn’t need him to be angry. They needed him smart and not arrested, if he and Jason were gonna have any kind of chance if getting them home.
“We good to go?” He asked as he stood, placing his phone into his back pocket, before shoving his hands into his jacket pockets, so the officers wouldn’t see how much they were shaking.
“Yeah he’s all squared up.” The officer said as held the door open, leading the way deeper into the precinct. Conner slid passed him and followed the second officer further into the hall. “He’s being released on bail, and he has a court date in a few weeks. Make sure he shows up.”
“Won’t be a problem.” Conner gave them an easy grin, hoping his anger didn’t show. ’He doesn’t even exist outside your system, and I’ll bet he won’t even be in it after tonight anyway. ’
The officer just nodded again and led Conner through a few more doors, and down another hallway, before coming to a stop before a blue, steel door, with only a small narrow window halfway up the door on the far right side.
The second officer, knocked twice before turning the handle, and stepped into the room. “Bennet, your ride is here.”
Conner stepped around the two cops and into the room, not even bothering to stop his amusement from showing on his face. Jason was leaning back in his chair, arms behind his head, and legs spread out so he slouching in the too small chair. He looked comfortable and relaxed, not bothered by being arrested in the slightest. Seeing him so uncaring, while amusing, was not what was making Conner laugh, no. What had the Superman clone fighting back a very undignified giggle was the fact that Jason’s white shirt, his jeans, and even some of his hair was stained an unusual shade of pink.
Jason tilted his head looking Conner over from head to toe, mouth quirking slightly at his chosen outfit, before he controlled his amusement, and giving him an easy grin, arched into a stretch. His back arched away from the chair, and thighs strained against the denim of his jeans, body stretched in one smooth curve, before rising from his chair.
Conner thanked every God listening that neither the officers - who were facing the wrong way - or Jason, who turned to immediately grab his jacket, saw the blush that spread across his face. ’Get it together, Kent! Now is so not the time to be distracted by wanting to jump your bestfriends brother.’
“'bout time man, been waitin’ on ya f'forever.” He was playing up his lower Gotham accent more than he usually did, letting some of his words blur together. He slipped his jacket on, scowling at the pink flakes on the sleeve, as he made his way to the door.
Conner watched the way the soft leather pulled across Jason’s shoulders, bunching as he rolled them to work out the last of the stiffness from sitting for so long.
He gave himself another mental slap, praying the blush was gone from his face, before smirking back at the taller teen. He laid his own mild midwestern accent on just a bit thicker than normal as he replied. “Jeez, what the fuck were you arrested for? Attacking a fairy?”
Jason shot him an unamused look before grinning unrepentantly, “Well it involved 3 bottles of strawberry milk, some C-4, and a rather unfortunate pigeon.” Jason paused as he came even with Conner and the cops, head tilting to the side in thought. “I do feel bad about the pigeon though.”
“Well that explains all of this pink shit.” Conner laughed and flicked at the white streak in Jason’s hair, where it was stuck together in a dried clump of pink.
Jason smacked his hand away and shoved at him, “Shut it, ya ass.”
Conner chuckled once more, letting his shoulder roll with the shove, making sure Jason didn’t accidentally hurt himself.
The older officer coughing caught the attention of both young men, and they both turned to look at him. “If we could move this along, gentlemen? We do have other things to attend to.”
Jason started to open his mouth, no doubt to say something both hilarious and scathing, but since they were trying not to get arrested, again, Conner did the only thing he could think of. He wrapped one arm around Jason’s shoulder, and clapped a hand over his mouth, cutting off whatever witty retort he may have had. He managed to keep a straight face when he felt Jason’s tongue against his palm, protesting being silenced in such a way.
“Of course Officer, our apologies. We’ll just be on our way.” He turned to Jason, taking his hand away from the others mouth, wiping the wetness off on his pants. “Come on, Bennett, let’s just go, and let the nice Officers get back to their jobs.”
Jason continued to scowl, but Conner could see the amusement dancing in teal eyes, as he gave a mock bow, “Then by all means, lead the way, darlin’.”
Conner jerked his head away as he felt another blush spreading across his face and led the way out of the room, following behind the younger officer.
The pair escorted them all the way out of the building, keeping watch until Jason and Conner had climbed into the car and were pulling away.
They stay silent until he makes a left turn up the street, leaving the precinct behind, before Conner starts to laugh. “Strawberry milk and C-4? Really?”
Jason joins in with a bark of laughter, “Don’t judge Cloneboy, s'all I had on hand. I needed something messy and flashy that wouldn’t land me immediately behind bars. A misdemeanor seemed th'easiest way. ” He shrugged his shoulders again before twisting his neck from side to side, groaning appreciatively when it popped. “'Sides I completed my half a'this. The Roybot Bugs are planted, and ar'already searchin’ through th'database, and I got trackers on the 2 cops I know f'sure are in on it, and on two I suspect are. I gots arrested for a reason.”
Jason waved a hand in a ’so there, beat that’ gesture.
Conner smirked as he pulled into the alley Jason had told him about earlier, where he had stashed his Red Hood gear and a Ducati. “Dark blue van, far south east corner, Michigan plate number DBT 0467, parked between a silver Honda Civic and a black Audi A8.”
“Nice!” Jason reached across the car and lightly punched Conner’s shoulder. “See, knew I could count on ya.” He turned before the other teen could respond and opened the door to step out of the vehicle, unfolding himself from the seat.
Conner shook his head before pulling the visor down, to take out his contacts. Since they weren’t something he used often, it took him a few tries to get them out, though he was proud that he didn’t poke his eye this time. Once they were out and placed back in their container, he shrugged out of his plaid shirt, leaving it in the passenger seat, before he opened his own door and pulled himself out of the driver seat. Reaching back into the back seat to grab his leather jacket and his 'Superboy’ shirt as he exited the car.
He reached behind his head and pulled the t-shirt off in one smooth easy motion, and tossed it through the still open car door to join his plaid one.
When he straightened up, new shirt in hand, he almost bit through his own tongue at the sight of a shirtless and scarred Jason on the other side of the car. Jeans were already changed into the more durable black cargo pants of the Red Hood. His hair was wet, bits of water dripping down his neck, back, and chest, from where he must have used as water bottle to wash the pink out of his hair. The body suit was hanging loosely, bunched up around his waist, ready to be pulled up, before the armour went on.
And it really wasn’t fair, Conner had known he had a thing for the second Robin for a while now. Ever since he had reconciled with Tim, and was actively trying to do better by the younger Robin. Especially given as he had also now been “replaced.” Making sure Tim was getting some semblance of sleep, making sure his more frequented safe houses, and his perches, were stocked with easy to reheat Alfred-made meals, and helping him out with cases. He liked the older vigilante’s sense of humor, how far he would go to help a friend, once they’d been claimed as such. Admired how he had learned to harness is anger and channel it to still do good.
He’d been able to ignore his attraction for the most part, as the Titans and Outlaws rarely worked together, and when they did, Jason was in full Hood regalia, helmet and all. So he could pretend it was someone else under the hood. Someone he could ignore, and dismiss as not really worth the time beyond the immediate mission.
Now though? Now there was no ignoring it, not with the image before him, a sight he won’t be able to forget if he tries. Seeing Jason half in his suit will mean Conner will now subconsciously put him there every time. No more pretending. No more self denial.
’Oh shit, he’s hot.’
He must have made some sort of noise, because Jason is looking over at him, one brow raising in question. And Conner is already thinking of an excuse to spout off, only to see Jason’s eyes widen, in surprise? Maybe? And he watches teal eyes travel from his face down to his own bare chest and arms, to the Superboy shirt still held limply in one hand.
And it’s only because Conner is already focused on Jason, that he hears the older vigilante swallow. Hears the way his pulse speeds up, and how he sucks in a breath as he quickly turns his face away, turning a bit so hes not looking at him straight on, can just see Conner out of the corner of his eye. See’s the way his tongue darts out quickly, as if his mouth had suddenly gone dry.
And while Conner could be socially awkward at times, he wasn’t stupid. He’d dated Cassie for a year, had watched Bart and Tim dance around one another long enough, to know what attraction looked like.
A small thrill worked its way up his spine, couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing, wanted to be sure. “Jason? Are…are you okay?”
“M'fine Cloneboy,” he grumbles out, sliding his arms into the body suit and zipping it up, reaching for the first bit of chest armour.
Conner, hides a small triumphant smile as he slips on his jacket. He can see the blush that spreads across Jason’s face, hear the way his pulse kicks up even more. Embarrassed at having been caught out.
“Stop wastin’ time and let’s go get these kids, 'fore the cops move'em again.” He sets the last of the body armour into place, and reaches for his holsters, clipping them on in smooth, efficient movements. “I got a tracker on th'van, but f'they switch vehicles we’re fucked.”
Conner shakes his head as he closes the car door. Now was not the time to worry about the fact that his crush on Jason Todd may not be as one sided as he thought.
The older vigilante was right. They had a job to do.