Sleepflying...

[notafraidofyou]

Tim and Kon should probably have gone to bed earlier, but they were having too much fun. Kon was on a mattress on the floor in Tim's room even though there were enough rooms in the Manor for them each to have their own. It wasn't really a sleepover if they were in different rooms. Tim had turned out the lights, but that was just so Alfred didn't come in and yell at them.

"Now it's really a party!" Kon said quietly, grinning.

Tim laughed and pulled out a bag of pretzels that he'd stored under his bed. "Definitely," he said, reaching back underneath the bed for the hidden cans of zesti.

Kon grabbed a pretzel. "It's way more fun hanging with you than just alone at home. Clark goes to bed like, early when he's not fighting crime or working on an article late."

"Seriously?" Tim made a face. "Bruce never does. I don't even think he sleeps half the time."

"Well, yeah, he's the big bad Bat." Kon stuck fingers up next to his head in an approximation of the Batcowl and made his Battiest expression.

Tim bit back a laugh. "You look deranged."

Kon snickered. "That's cause I'm Batman."

"Since when is Batman a lunatic?" Tim paused and laughed. "Forget I asked."

Kon grinned and grabbed one of the Zestis. "Do you ever stay up all night?"

"Sure!" Tim said grinning. "Not a lot, because Batman likes me to get sleep on school nights, but sometimes I can't help it."

"I've tried a few times. But it's never worked." Usually he just wakes up in his bed anyway. And still has the nightmares he hasn't told anyone about.

"It's not a lot of fun," Tim admitted. "I'm usually tired for the next few days when it happens."

"Makes sense. Still, it's gotta be useful that you can do it."

"I guess." He shrugged a little. "So... what do you want to do? We could watch a movie."

But Kon didn't answer. He sat up got out of bed and walked to the window.

"Hey!" Tim frowned deeply and went to the window with him. "Something wrong? Did Clark call?"

Kon ignored him and pushed open the window.

"Kon." Tim put a hand over his to make him pause. "Talk to me. You're acting really weird. What's up?"

Kon looked at him with absolutely no recognition in his eyes. Then he stepped out of the window. He paused for another second to look at him, almost as if he were about to say something.

"...I'm coming. Just hold still for a second." He latched onto Kon and held on tightly. "Okay. I'm good."

Kon barely waited for Tim to be secure before flying off close to full speed. He wasn't holding onto Tim, and he still wasn't saying anything. Just flying for Metropolis as fast as he could.

It was a good thing Kon was flying fast, because there was no way Tim would be able to hold on very long like this, and Kon didn't look like he was in a catching mood.

Kon landed on the side of a mountain and brushed aside a plant to reveal a pad. He put his hand on it and a light turned green. "Lionel," Kon stated clearly, and there was a chime. The rock slid open.

Tim followed warily, wishing he had his Robin gear. This was so weird. Who the Heck was Lionel?

There wasn't much in the cave. Just a safe and a computer. Kon opened the safe and pulled out a costume. It was all black with a full face mask and gloves. Lined in lead, too. There were no markings on the costume. Without looking at Tim at all, he started changing.

"Kon?" Tim asked, approaching him with a frown. "What's going on? What are you wearing?"

Kon didn't answer. He walked over to the computer and pressed a few buttons, then walked to the outside of the cave. He was ready to take off again, but once again, he hesitated.

"...Time to go?" Tim asked. He grabbed onto Kon again, this time settling more comfortably onto his back. "Ready."

Kon took off before he was done speaking and started flying. This time, he didn't go as fast. He flew into Metropolis and stayed low and out of site, flying through dark alleys and skirting the edges of buildings.

"What are we doing?" Tim whispered. "You hate this hiding in shadows stuff."

Kon reached behind him and clamped a hand over Tim's mouth. For a moment, he pushed, just a little, as if thinking about trying to dislodge Tim, but then he stopped and dropped his hand.

"Got it," he muttered under his breath. No more talking.

Kon made his way to STAR Labs and used his TTK to open the door on the roof without tripping any alarms.

Tim frowned a little, but kept his grip on Kon's back, clinging to him like a monkey. What was going on?

Kon flew through the darkened halls and into Dr. Hamilton's lab. He turned on the computer and pulled a thumb drive out of his glove. He inserted into the computer and started typing.

"Kon..." Tim whispered into his ear. "I don't think you're supposed to do that..."

Kon put his hand over Tim's mouth again and kept typing with one hand. There was a quiet beep, and he was in. Kon couldn't always access all the skills he'd had programmed into him. Hacking was one he didn't know he had normally.

Tim reached to grab Kon's typing hand and force him to stop for a second. Since when had he learned how to hack STAR Labs?!

Kon shifted stance and threw Tim off of him. He dragged a file to the disc. It started copying the information onto the disc. Kon turned away from Tim again.

Tim twisted and nailed his landing. He'd worked with Dick for too many hours not to. "What the Hell is going on, Kon?" he demanded.

Kon clamped his hand over Tim's mouth again, but it was too late. A guard had heard him. "Heeeey, who're you? You're not supposed to be here!" the guard said.

Tim tried to pry Kon's fingers away from his face so he could speak. Wait--no. On second thought--it was as good as a mask right now, and he was still in his pajamas.

Kon flew at the guard and knocked him out in one smooth motion. The guard crumpled, and Kon went back to the computer.

Tim stared. "Kon--you could have hurt him..."

Kon didn't answer and went back to watching the computer copy the files. It was almost done.

Tim approached slowly, keeping his eyes on Kon. Without warning, he threw himself at the computer, grabbing for the thumb drive. Something told him they really shouldn't be copying these files.

Kon had been mostly ignoring him, but as soon as Tim moved to grab the thumb drive, he moved to stop him. Tim managed to get the drive out, but Kon grabbed his arm and yanked it and the disc towards him. There was a sickening crack of breaking bones and Kon stopped. "...Tim?" he said quietly. Without another word, he scooped Tim up, using his TTK to hold the broken arm steady and flew out the window.

Tim was pale with pain, and keeping his teeth clamped shut to keep from shouting. He didn't know what had changed--other than the obvious--but he was really glad Kon was acknowledging him. He wasn't sure he'd be able to hold on right now.

Kon had some kind of buzzing in his head. He felt like he was half asleep and he didn't really know what he was doing. He knew he was holding Tim tightly and carefully, but the rest of what his body was doing was entirely out of his control. He was in front of some kind of cave and then inside it, then he opened a safe and put the thumbdrive he'd been clutching into it. He changed out of the costume and into his pajamas, still holding Tim steady with his TTK, and started flying again. It was like one of his nightmares, but so much more real. And even though he knew he felt like he must be dreaming, he couldn't wake up.


They... weren't headed back to Gotham. It would get complicated if he wasn't in bed in the morning. "Where are we going?" Tim asked.

Kon shook his head, trying to clear it. "Home," he said, voice hoarse and sleepy. "I go home and go to bed."

"Okay," Tim said, frowning a little. "But you were staying with me tonight, remember?"

"I'm going home," Kon repeated. They were almost at Clark's apartment.

Tim nodded slowly. Kon wasn't really interacting with him right now. But-- "I broke my arm. I need to see a doctor."

Kon managed to look at him, his expression slightly panicked. "It's a dream. You're fine in real life." He floated outside the window and slid it up soundlessly.

"No--it's real. I need to see Doctor Thompkins in Gotham." She probably wouldn't tell Bruce what had happened if he asked her not to. Patient confidentiality.

Kon slipped into be, still holding Tim, and promptly fell asleep.

Okay. Weird. Tim shifted a little in Kon's grip--trying to be careful of his arm--and shook him. "Wake up."

Kon blinked awake and looked at him. "...Tim? Why're you on top of me?"

"You wouldn't let go. I need you to take me to a clinic in Gotham."

"Wouldn't let go of-- what's wrong?" He sat up a little. For some reason he was holding onto Tim really tightly with his TTK. "Weren't we at your place? Why are we in my room?"

"We were. Um. You did some sleep-flying. I tagged along, and we ended up here." Kon didn't need to know that he'd broken his arm. "You don't remember?"

Kon shook his head. "I mean, I had a dream." It was worse than usual. "I was doing... I don't even know, but it was bad." He frowned. "You okay?"

"Um. I fell. I'm pretty sure I broke my arm."

"In my dream, I did it," Kon said quietly. "I don't know why, but that's when it got more clear and real."

Tim nodded, biting his lip. "It--was an accident."

Kon gave him a panicky look. "I shouldn't have--I'm sorry, Tim, I didn't even--do you think they've all been real? Oh god, I hurt you. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay. I just... need to see a doctor. You've been doing a pretty good job holding it, but I might need a cast for the day to day stuff." He gave Kon a tiny smile. "But you have to help me figure out what to say to Batman."

Kon nodded and opened the window again. "I'm-- you're my friend. Is Batman gonna kill me? I don't want him to kill me! Superman's gonna kill me. Tim, what do I do?"

"I won't let him kill you. I promise. We'll figure it out." He eyed him thoughtfully. "You have a lot of dreams like you did last night?"

"Yeah, they've been happening every few nights for a while now. D'you think... Tim, I'm a hero, I can't-- I don't want to be a bad guy." Kon started flying them to Gotham as fast as he could, still holding Tim carefully.

"You're not a bad guy, Kon," Tim said firmly. "You'd know. Superman would know, and if you were, he wouldn't let you live with him."

"That was before I hurt you!" Kon gave him a worried look. "He'll probably make me go live on the farm again or something! Or not go out and patrol, or I don't know! I don't want to do bad stuff!"

"It's not like you did it on purpose--you were asleep!"

Kon shook his head. "Still. I can't trust myself."

"I trust you," Tim said, punctuating his words with a little shove.

"Why?"

"You're my best friend. You're my only friend that's not family. If I don't trust you, who should I trust?"

Kon gave him an unhappy look. "What if I go all not in control again and hurt you worse?"

"Then I'll punch you, or something."

"I'm invulnerable."

"I'll borrow the Kryptonite, then I'll punch you."

"...promise?"

"...You really want me to punch you?"

"If I'm all mind controlled and trying to hurt you?" Kon gave him a worried look. "Yeah. Definitely."

"Okay. I promise, then."

Kon nodded shakily. "Thanks."

"Do you know where to find Dr. Thompkins?" Tim asked, frowning a little.

Kon shook his head. "Where is she?" they were almost at Gotham.

Tim gave him the address. "It's not in a very nice part of town."

"I think I'll be okay. I'm kinda strong." Kon gave him a half smile and flew to the clinic.

Tim elbowed him a little with his good arm. "I think I heard that somewhere."

Kon grinned. "Will she wonder why Superboy's bringing you in? Should we have an alibi?"

He shook his head. "Nah, she knows. She disapproves at Batman every chance she gets, but she's known him since he was a kid."

"Oh, wow. Is she really old or something?" Kon landed outside and went to the door. "Do we tell her I did it?"

"She's pretty old, yeah. Um... Well, it's up to you." Tim frowned a little at him. "If we tell her, she might say something to Batman. I'm... not sure I want to tell him until we have a better idea what's going on." And until they could prove that Kon wasn't dangerous to him. He was not going to lose his friend over a stupid broken arm.

"...I don't wanna tell Batman. I mean, he could probably talk, but he'd be really pissed, wouldn't he?" Kon closed his eyes and tried to believe he didn't deserve it. Tim wasn't mad at him. He opened the door. "Um, hello?" he called.

"Yeah, he would," Tim said quietly. "So--it was an accident."

Kon nodded. "Right. I'm sorry, man."

Tim shook his head as Leslie came around the corner. The moment she recognized him, her face turned stern. "And what brings you in here tonight?" she asked, folding her arms across her chest.

Tim gave her a winning smile. "My friend and I were horsing around, and I fell. Landed on my arm. It might be broken."

"You fell."

"Yep."

"Really?"

"That's my story, and I'm sticking to it."

"I tried to keep his arm as still as I could," Kon said. He still felt sick and guilty, but he hoped it could be passed off as worry.

She made a skeptical noise in the back of her throat, but motioned for them to come in. She pointed Tim toward a bed, and he boosted himself onto it easily with his good arm. He swung out his legs a little.

Kon walked over and sat in a chair. "Um, you gonna be okay?"

Tim gave him a wry little smile. "You know, I have had worse."

"Yeah, but." Kon shrugged. Okay, it technically wasn't different, but the other times it hadn't been him.

Dr. Thompkins probed Tim's arm carefully giving him a thin smile of sympathy when he hissed with pain and went pale. Kon had been doing a good job keeping it still enough that it only throbbed, but when Leslie pressed on it, the pain flared.

Kon jumped up. Tim sounded like he was in pain. "Is he..."

Leslie waved him back. "Relax. I need to see how bad it is."

Tim gritted his teeth, biting back any noises of pain he wanted to make. Kon was already freaking out without him making things worse.

Kon sat down again. "Um, aren't there like, pain numbers or something? Can you give him some?"

She looked at Tim with concern. "How bad is it, Tim?"

He grimaced a little. "Good painkiller kind of bad."

"I can get them!" Kon said. "Where are they? They kill the pain, right, not you?"

"Yes," Leslie said, a little dryly. "Taken in the correct dosage. That cabinet." She gestured. "The bottle says 'Vicodin' on it. Bring him one of those, and a glass of water."

"Okay." Kon went over to the cabinet and grabbed the bottle. He poured a cup of water and tried not to shake too much. "Here," he said, handing them to him.

Tim took the pill with the water, grimacing a little at the taste. "Ugh." But he'd feel better in about twenty minutes, which was the point of taking the thing in the first place.

"Is it helping?" Kon asked.

"It will," Tim said with a half smile. "It needs a few minutes to get into my system, though."

Kon nodded a little and smiled back worriedly. "Sorry."

"S'okay." Tim held still while Dr. Thompkins wrapped his arm in casting material. "This is gonna suck," he complained. "No way I'm gonna get to patrol until this cast is off."

Leslie raised an eyebrow. "Good."

"Should I cover for you?" Kon asked, frowning a little.

Tim laughed. "You want to be Robin?"

Kon smiled a little. "It'd give me practice for Halloween?"

"No way you're gonna be able to fool Batman."

He winced. "...would I have to work with him?"

"Duh. I do."

"Maybe I shouldn't, then. Batman's kinda scary."

"He'd probably figure it out anyway," Tim said, smiling wryly. He lifted his arm. "Hard to hide."

Kon winced and attempted a smile. "Yeah, I guess."

Tim reached over with his good hand and punched Kon's arm lightly. "Relax. Not your fault."

Kon opened his mouth to argue, then glanced at Leslie and just nodded.

Tim glanced at her. "Am I all set? It's late." He faked a yawn. "Boys my age are in bed at this hour, right?"

She swatted him lightly on his good shoulder. "Sure. Let me give you a prescription for the painkillers, if you need them, and a sling to help keep your arm still. And rest it, Timothy," she said sternly. "I'm going to call Alfred in the morning and pass your doctor's orders along to him."

He groaned. "No fair."

Kon smiled at him. "I'll come hang with you while you're housebound."

"That'd be cool."

"Want me to fly you home?"

"Sure." The painkillers were startiing to kick in, and he was feeling a little loopy.

Kon looked at Leslie. "Uh, I can take him, right? I'll be careful not to jostle his arm or whatever."

"Yes. Be careful with him, though. And don't let him do anything else stupid tonight."

Kon nodded. "Nothing stupid, right." He picked up Tim and started flying. "Uh, thanks, Doctor."

Tim sighed as they headed back toward Wayne Manor. "She's telling Alfred. No way I'm going to be able to sneak around doctor's orders now."

"That sucks, dude." Kon frowned. "But it means you'll get better faster, right? How long do arms take to stop being broken?"

"Depends on the break." This one wasn't the worst ever, but it wasn't great either. "It'll be a few weeks."

"That sucks. But I'll visit as much as you want me to. Every afternoon if I can."

"You don't have to--really. I know you have homework and stuff with Clark. And I'm pretty sure Batman can find something to do with me, even if I can't go out."

"Cause he's Batman and always makes you do stuff?" Kon thought for a second. "Hey, you think he'll let you miss school tomorrow or something?"

"I wish." Tim shook his head. "I think if the pain's okay, I'll have to go."

"Awww. Will people wonder about the broken bone?"

"Sure. But I skateboard." Tim grinned. "I'm pretty sure I can deflect."

Kon grinned back. "That's good. I can, uh, still stay the night, right?"

"Duh. I'm not going to kick you out."

"Kay. Just, uh, making sure. What are you telling Batman?"

"Um... I'm thinking skateboarding still sounds pretty good."

"...will he buy that?"

Tim frowned a little. "Don't know. Might be a hard sell, since I've been home all night."

"He wasn't, though. Maybe we went out for late night rollerblading?" Kon flew them in through the open window and set Tim down gently.

"Maybe." Tim shrugged carefully, avoiding moving the bad arm. "And we didn't tell Leslie how it happened..."

Kon nodded. "What do I do about the me doing bad stuff while I'm asleep? I don't wanna do it again. I might hurt someone!"

"Um." Tim frowned again. "Well, we could talk to Nightwing. He might have an idea."

"And he won't tell Batman or Superman?"

"We could ask him not to?"

Kon nodded. "That could work,” he said slowly.

Tim gave him a little smile. "He's Nightwing. He's, like, the best big brother ever. He won't tell."

"Then we should do that." Kon smiled back hesitantly. "Tomorrow?"

"Definitely." Tim yawned hugely. "I don't want to have to wait up until he gets here from Bludhaven. It's late, and the painkillers are making me sleepy."

Kon nodded. "Me too. This could explain why I keep waking up feeling exhausted."

"Yeah." Tim gave him a sidelong glance. "Happens a lot, huh?"

Kon looked down. "More than I'd like it to. And I had no idea it was anything other than just crappy dreams!"

"I'm pretty tired when I have bad dreams, too," Tim said, making a face. "I can see why you'd make the mistake."

Kon nodded. "I didn't figure I was actually doing that stuff. I still can't totally believe it."

"Me either." Tim frowned thoughtfully. "Hey--do you know who Lionel is?"

"Lionel?" Kon shook his head. "No, why? Who is he?"

"I don't know." Tim shrugged his good shoulder. "But I think it was a password or something. You said it before."

"Huh." Kon frowned. "Maybe Nightwing would know?"

"Maybe. You were wearing a weird costume, too. And you were all sneaky. Like me. You hate that stuff."

Kon nodded and made a face. "It's boring. What costume? Where'd I get it?"

"From the Lionel place. It was black, and it had a full face mask. It was weird."

Kon frowned. "Do you think you could find the place?"

"Maybe... it was in Metropolis." He grimaced a little. "I don't know it as well as I know Gotham, but I could try."

Kon nodded. "Thanks. Maybe we can go with Nightwing tomorrow? I mean, if you don't have other things to do? And we can come up with an excuse for Batman?"

"Sounds like a plan." Tim flopped back on his bed, narrowly avoiding the bag of pretzels they'd had out earlier. "But sleep now sounds good."

Kon nodded and also lay back. "Thanks for having me over and stuff."

"You're my friend. I like having you over. But--you're welcome." Tim turned his head to give him a wry grin. "Hell of an overnight, huh?"

"Heh, yeah." Kon yawned. "Let's not repeat it."

"No, we should definitely repeat the overnight part. Just not the sleepwalking and injury part."

"Well, yeah. That's what I meant." Kon smiled a little.

"Mm." Tim yawned again. "I'm getting tired, and I feel really high. I should go to sleep before I start talking about weird stuff."

"Start talking about weird stuff?" Kon grinned and shook his head. "Night, Tim."

Tim snorted lightly with laughter. "Mmhm. Just be grateful I haven't gone on and on about my abiding love for my sneaky Robin toys. Because I could. Go on and on. And I'm getting weird. 'Night, Kon."

Kon laughed a little. "Night," he said again, but it was a long time until he managed to actually fall asleep.