Chapter Text
Her name was only said in whispers that his super hearing captured when the others thought he was not listening.
Lois Lane.
The great journalist. The Nobel Prize. The wife of Superman. His mother.
He barely remembered her anymore, just mere glimpses of a sweet voice and a gentle hand on his head. When he was ten, his father had given him a photo of her but refused to talk about the love of his life as always. For the leader of the Regime, the memory of the human he lost was too painful.
The only time he truly spoke with Jon about her was when he told him about her death. He was barely a kid, still unsure of why they lived on a huge castle in the middle of New Metropolis, why there were servants who bowed in front of him and called him “young prince”. Jonathan Kent might have been young then, but he knew his father was no king, he was a superhero, the last son of Krypton. So, he asked his father, who still used the name of Clark Kent at that time, why were they treated like that when they were just people.
“Because we are not just human, Jon,” he smiled. “We are Gods.”
And then he showed him. How Superman had worked along with the previous Justice League, mere humans who thought villains deserved a second chance to be better. Young Clark Kent with his lovely wife and his recent born son had thought the same. Until that day, when the Joker took the life of Lois Lane and erased the old city of Metropolis from the surface of the planet. His father explained how he had realised then how far some humans could go only to see the world burn. How their minds were twisted by greed and evil. On that day he had promised himself he would bring justice to Earth in the name of his lover and he would build the perfect paradise for his son to rule.
“And that’s what the Regime is, son,” he pointed to the shining city of New Metropolis. “It is the land you will rule one day as a true God. A place where there is no crime and no suffering.”
Since that day, those words had rented a permanent space in Jon’s mind. Being the heir of almost half of a planet was not easy, but he was not alone. He started training with his older brother Kon as soon as his powers started developing (okay, maybe Kon was not exactly his brother and Rao knows he and his father did not have the best relationship, but for Jon, he was still his brother). His cousin Kara did not spend that much time in the castle as she was busy dealing with the Insurgency, but she still made some time to teach him about battle strategies and combat techniques every time she dropped by. Which was like once or twice every three months because keeping the border against the Batman was not easy even for the Regime’s forces.
Which now that he thought about it was almost as taboo as his mother’s name. He knew because of Kon that his father and Bruce Wayne used to be best friends before the death of Lois Lane, but not even he dared to ask Superman about his former friendship with his now worst enemy. Jon liked to think that there was still hope for them to be friends again because he had seen the way his father looked at the old Justice League table he hid on his quarters and he knew how much he missed his old friends. After all, it was a matter of time that the Insurgency realised how wrong they were for defending those low lives criminals. No one who dared to take an innocent life deserved a second chance.
Although they had not let him enter the Council until just a few weeks ago, Jon had heard a thousand times how his members condemned the heroes that supported the Insurgency. But his father never said anything about it, so Jon just knew he thought differently. Probably he understood how his friends wanted to keep the people safe. They just did not get it yet. But they will, because after all these years, Jon had made it his personal mission to make his father happy again, and he would only be able to do that if he made his old friends realise they were simple humans and could not understand the implications of good and evil. Their intentions were good, after all, it was not their fault to be born as such a weak species unlike his father and him. They only needed some time to see it, some gently pushing them in the right direction.
And he was going to be the one to do it.
“Excuse me, can you repeat?” asked Hawkgirl, one of the members of the Council.
“I’m going to infiltrate the Insurgency,” Jon repeated while the whispers intensified.
“With all your respect, young prince, but you are a bit young for that,” stated Green Lantern.
“Jon is already eighteen,” Kon winked at him. He had always been his best supporter. “And he is strong enough to kick my ass in the training rooms.”
“Training is not the same as a real battle,” it was the first time his father had talked since the meeting had started. “I will not send my son to a death sentence.”
“Please, dad, think it for a second,” he begged. “Unlike Kon and Kara, no one in the Insurgency had ever seen me. They don’t even know I exist.”
“Yours and your father’s resemblance is undeniable,” the quiet voice of Raven rose among the others.
“Not if I use the glasses,” he said mentioning the camouflaging system on his dad’s old lenses. “Look, we have to face that I’m the only one who can surpass the barrier.”
There it was, his biggest ace. The Gotham barrier was the main problem the Regime was facing to defeat their enemies. A huge wall made of an alloy of kryptonite with red sun lantern surrounding them along with magic warding that made it impossible for the Lanterns to do anything. It had been years since the conflict began and yet not one of their operatives had been able to surpass it. But Jon was different. He was half-human and although he had the same weak point as his father, he could resist them long enough to sneak inside the city. Or at least he hoped so.
“We have received information that next week a group of refugees is going to cross the barrier,” Cyborg locked his eyes with him. “It would be a great opportunity to mingle with humans and enter Gotham unannounced.”
“See, even we could orchestrate an attack with Kara, so the Bats are busy enough to not notice him.”
“Silence,” Superman glared at Kon, obviously not happy with the boy suggesting plans to him. “Leave the room, I need to talk with my son in private.”
The rest of the Council stood up and left without a protest. Kon patted Jon on the shoulder and gave him a faint smile, wishing him good luck. The moment the door closed behind them, he left a heavy sigh escaped his lips. He knew what was coming.
“Dad, please, if you would just listen…”
“I didn’t let you sit with the Council so you could propose a suicide mission,” Superman punched the table with enough strength to create a crack without breaking it.
“Then why? Why would you, in the name of Rao, put me in this chair?” facing his father was probably not the best option but he was tired of being treated like a baby.
“Because you need to learn how to rule, Jon, and that starts by understanding how important you are.”
“I will never earn their respect if I don’t fight too!” he shouted standing up from his chair. “You already showed your worth, but there is no reason for them to follow me unless I show them what I can do.”
“Jonathan,” Superman floated to his side, caressing his cheek. “You have to understand me, I can’t lose you, you are the only thing left in my life.”
His heart melted listening to the words of his father, a man many feared but few understood. Jon had never met him before the tragedy that caused the rise of the Regime, but many had talked about his old cheerful character. Now he barely smiled and the frown on his face was mostly a constant. But he was still a doting and loving father, Jon was sure he could not ask for a better dad.
“I know,” he put his hands on his shoulders. “But I need to do this. If I discover their kryptonite storage, we could get rid of it and finally defeat them. Then… then maybe they will listen to you again.”
Superman smiled faintly as if he did not believe him but still wanted to support him no matter what. Jon knew it had been almost two decades of war but giving up was not in his dictionary and he truly thought he could make this work.
Now he only needed to get ready to enter Gotham.
Having always wore elegant and expensive clothes in the palace, Jon thought it would take him long to get used to ordinary clothes. But the broken jeans and leather jacket Kon had given him before leaving were quite comfortable. He had refused to wear the sunglasses though, in favour of a similar pair of glasses his father wore when he was Clark Kent. His brother had hugged him before leaving, making sure he remembered the alarm hid on the glasses in case something came out wrong. The last thing he saw before losing sight of New Metropolis was the shadow figure from his brother’s side of the palace. No meta could enter the small tower where Kon lived and even his father never set a foot there. There were whispers of a ghost living there, but Jon knew better. He waved at the figure and blue eyes stared at him while he flew away.
The border with Gotham was a no-man land that refugees from the Regime usually used to try and enter the city. Kara was in charge of controlling that the people who passed were not criminals, as his father did not see a problem in letting civilians leave New Metropolis. However, due to the richness and safety their city provided, very few decided to leave the Regime to cross the border. After all, the only people who wanted to leave their land were the criminals that were condemned to death by the laws of Superman. That was why when Jon mingled among them, he was surprised to see a little girl holding a toy car with a tutu in the middle of all those good for nothing scumbags.
“Hey, little one, what are you doing here?” the girl looked at him scared and hugged her toy. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to hurt you.”
“M-mum told me she was going to Gotham,” she answered. “I don’t like my aunt, so I’m going to Gotham too to look for her.”
Jon hummed in response, probably her mother had been condemned and decided to leave his daughter behind so she could have a peaceful life in New Metropolis. Which made him a little angry because the woman should have faced her destiny instead of abandoning her kid. He walked the rest of the path next to her, taking her hand when the echoes of a distant fight started to increase. Lucy, as she introduced herself, was a bit quiet but seemed to trust Jon enough to stick with him. If the information they had recovered was right, the group would meet with one of the Gotham heroes close to the gate so they could check their credentials and grant them access to the city. Kara and the rest were supposed to cause a commotion to facilitate his entry.
Maybe he should have known that his dear cousin was not one to hold back. The first explosion caught them by surprise when the familiar black plane had landed just a few minutes ago. From the reports, Jon had studied before he recognised Nightwing and Batgirl surveying the papers the refugees gave them. The moment the bomb burst, Batgirl shouted something to his partner, and she got on the Bat-plane so she could try to stop the advance from the Regime side.
“Listen up folks!” Nightwing screamed. “We are going to open the gate, the ones who have their certificates approved, run as fast as you can. The rest follow me!”
“Hey Lucy,” Jon whispered while they followed the hero. “I’m going to need a little favour.”
While the huge doors of Gotham city opened, Lucy and Jon approached Nightwing with a little smile. The girl gave him their papers and when the hero stared at Jon a bit too long, she smiled saying how his older cousin had been super good with her. Nightwing was going to say something when the Bat-plane came crashing against the wall. Batgirl landed just a few meters away, injured but not severely. With a horde of super-enhanced humans starting to fall on them, Nightwing did not have the time to be suspicious of him so he let them pass while he screamed for reinforcement. The moment they got the green light, Jon dragged Lucy inside the city using just a tiny bit of super speed.
Behind the gates, the city of Gotham gave them a dark welcome. Most of the buildings were destroyed and without Nightwing, there was not any hero to guide them most of the humans were just running wildly into the deserted streets. However, Kara must have been going harder than expected because a bunch of humans from her army flew into the city. She herself could not do such a thing due to the guarding and even he felt his powers weaken the moment he crossed. Jon took Lucy into his arms and started to run faster while the gate closed just a few metres behind trapping the humans from the Regimen inside. Most of them started to chase the refugees, shooting from their blaster weapons. It made Jon a bit angry that they were just shooting anyone, but he supposed war was like that. Although he admitted it was harder to accept when two of the soldiers started to chase them. He took Lucy in his arms and started running away, dodging the blasts he could without letting his powers show. After all, the Bats were watching all the time.
He heard a whistling in the air and one of the soldiers crashed on the ground with his suit exploding. His partner shared the same luck but this time his blaster shot one of the skyscrapers and the debris started to fall on them. Jon began to panic.
There was no way he could save Lucy and himself without using his powers and even if he could use them, he was still depowered from crossing the gate. His mission was going to fail even before it started.
“Hold the kid!” a voice suddenly screamed.
Following the command, Jon made sure to hold Lucy tight when he felt someone lift him the sky and in a mere second, he was flying over the roofs of Gotham. It was amazing. A peak from behind showed him a boy, probably his age or maybe younger, with a green mask. He did not need to see the golden R on his chest to know who just saved his life.
Robin, the son of Batman.
The young vigilante dropped them some streets away and turned on him almost the second they touched the ground.
“Is the kid okay?” he shouted at him.
“Yes, thank y- ” Jon let Lucy on the floor, pushing her behind him.
“You are one of the refugees, aren’t you?” Robin took him by his collar. “Tell me where the hell is Nightwing.”
“I don’t know, there was an attack and…”
He was in the middle of explaining when another soldier turned the corner of the street they were in. Robin was faster than him and pushed Lucy down while shooting a batarang to the power source of the suit. However, the blaster was quicker than the vigilante was expecting it and it hit him right on his head. His body fell to the ground with a dry sound, the side of his head bleeding profusely and part of his mask destroyed.
Jon stared at the young boy in front of him. He could just leave him there to die and no one would know, he would just be one less enemy for his father. But he saved his life. And he could not let Lucy witness that. So, he kneeled next to him, cutting a part of the cape to bandage his head. His eyes stared at his face and it only took him a second to recognise him.
This must be Damian Wayne, son of Bruce Wayne.
Of course, he already knew his secret identity. But the Insurgency did not know that and a mere civilian knowing the real identity of Robin could be useful for him to introduce himself inside their forces. Maybe this mission was not so doomed after all.
It took him a few minutes to finally find someone from the Insurgency. The Black Bat barely spoke but seeing his younger brother unconscious while a young boy was carrying him in the back, she seemed to understand the situation without needing any words. The vigilante took Lucy’s hand and guided her while Jon followed her just a few metres behind. In a park not too far from there they found the familiar black plane. Several heroes that Jon recognised were already gathering there, tending to the wounded and making sure everyone was alright.
“What the fuck happened?” the Red Hood was practically stomping in their direction his hand dangerously close to his gun until Black Bat raised a hand to calm him down.
“Robin injured, not lethal” at the words of her sister the Red Hood took his hand away from his weapons.
“Is that so?” the vigilante turned to Jon. “Okay, explain. And you better have a good explanation of why my baby brother is bleeding.”
And the problem was Jon could have just answered what happened and no one would doubt it. But the thing was that the person who was asking him represented everything his father and him despised. The Red Hood was a criminal, a lowlife scum who took the lives of many others in his revenge against Batman. How could they forgive someone like that and welcome him as a part of their forces? The Insurgence would sooner or later join his father’s side, but he was not going to let people like the Red Hood survive to see it. The only thing that Jon wanted to do right now was to use his heat vision to melt the helmet and its inside once and for all.
“Robin saved us!” said Lucy waking him from his macabre dreams.
“Oh, yeah,” he tried to keep his composure. Black Bat and Robin were outstanding heroes who, to his knowledge, had never taken a life, so they did not deserve to be the aim of his hatred like his partner was. “We were running away from some of the soldiers that got into the city and he got injured trying to save us.”
“Fine,” grunted the Red Hood. “Black Bat, take the Demon Spawn to the headquarters, they will treat him there.”
“Wait!” he stepped back. “I want to go with you.”
“Listen, kid…”
“No, you listen,” Jon frowned. “His mask felt, I know who he is. And if my assumptions are true, I also know who you are.”
Jon knew he was risking a lot trying to play that card. In New Metropolis everyone knew the real identities of the members of the Regime, mainly because no one dared to do anything against them and because they worked as full-time heroes. However, things were different on the other side of the wall. Although almost half of the world had already plaid allegiance to his father, the other half was either neutral or allied with the Insurgence. So Bruce Wayne still needed to pretend to be a billionaire playboy if he wanted to keep his family safe from the people who supported the Regime. Apart from that, his status as a civilian granted him a lot of benefits when using neutral countries on his behalf. After all, the Council suspected Batman to keep the kryptonite hidden in one of these lands. However, there was still a possibility of their intel being incorrect and maybe the bats have given up their civilian status, in which case his hopes of using Damian as a bridge to enter the Insurgency would fail.
“I swear when he wakes up, I’m going to glue that mask…”
“Good,” Black Bat interrupted the Red Hood. “You come. Kid stays.”
It was a bit sad for him to leave Lucy behind, but she would probably be safer there in the medical bay than in the Insurgence’s headquarters. Also, they still believed he was her cousin, so Black Bat promised him that she would take good care of her and contact him if something happened. The girl waved him goodbye while the door of the plane closed, and Jon waved back with a sad smile on his face. Maybe he could come back and visit once he was sure of his place inside the Insurgence. Perhaps even help Lucy find her mother, although she was probably better without a criminal in her life. He was thinking about finding the woman first and making sure she never contacted Lucy ever again when the Red Hood approached him with a blindfold.
“Okay, kid, I need you to...”
“I’m not a kid.”
“Whatever just give me my brother and put this over your eyes,” Jon stared but took the blindfold without letting Robin go.
“I’m not letting him out of my sight,” he was not going to let go of his connection to the Insurgency. “He saved my life. I owe it to Robin to take him to safety.”
Although it was obvious that the Red Hood was not happy with his statement, he did not say anything. It took them at least two hours to finally land in which Jon supposed were the secret quarters of the Insurgency. His companion pushed him by the arm for a few minutes until he could finally take the blindfold off. When his eyes got used to the artificial light, he found himself in what looked like a little infirmary. An old man in a butler outfit was smiling at him.
“Thank you for making sure young master arrived safely,” he pointed towards one of the beds. “If you don’t mind letting him here, I will make sure we have nothing to worry about. I’m Alfred Pennyworth by the way, please don’t doubt to call if you need anything.”
“Jonathan Laney, but please call me Jon” he shook his hand once he left Robin on the bed. “And thank you for your offering but I’m fine.”
“How is that possible?” suddenly asked the Red Hood. “Even the little kid had some minor cuts, how is that after all of that commotion you don’t have any injury.”
His mind was already racing to find an excuse when the door suddenly opened, and Batman stomped inside the infirmary. Jon had imagined several times how would be to meet his father’s old best friend, but none of them prepared him for the truth. Because all this time, he thought the only reason why Superman never really wiped Batman out of the map was that they were friends once and his father was still somewhat fond of him. However, now that he had the man, the legend in front of him, he could see how stupid that was. Batman commanded respect with his mere presence, even with the white part of his mask covering his eyes Jon could almost feel his stare on him. Although thankfully it did not last much as his focus was soon directed to the young boy on the bed.
“Alfred, how is he?” his low voice seemed to echo in the room.
“Don’t worry, sir, the young master is quite alright,” explained the butler. “He just has a mild concussion.”
“What about the others?” Batman turned to Red Hood.
“Nightwing had to help Batgirl with the gates but they are both fine. No casualties, but…”
Their eyes turned to Jon, who tried to look everywhere but Batman’s eyes. The Red Hood whispered something to him and the dark knight nodded in acknowledgement. With a gesture, he indicated Jon to follow him, letting the others in the infirmary. Batman walked in long steps which made it a bit difficult for Jon to keep the pace especially when he was trying to capture all the information he could. The headquarters seemed to be underground if judging by all the artificial lights that illuminated the halls. The doors were unmarked so he was unsure of what was behind each one of them, but his super hearing could capture the sound of some machinery just some floor behind them. Batman led him into what seemed to be a huge conference room, where Green Arrow and Black Canary seemed to be enjoying some coffee.
“Red Hood told me you know about Robin’s identity,” Batman took a seat, but he did not offer one to Jon, so he stood.
“Yes, sir,” he answered. “His mask fell and I discovered he is Damian Wayne,” the hero sighed, obviously hoping he was going to say another name.
“You see, Jon, you are not the first person who discover who we are,” explained the bat. “But all of them were people who we already knew and therefore had our trust. You, however, are a complete stranger and you must understand that this makes it a bit more difficult.”
“I understand, that’s why I have a proposition,” Batman raised an eyebrow. “I want to join the Insurgence.”
“Civilians cannot join our forces, Jon.”
“I know, but I’m not just a civilian,” he tried to put on his friendliest smile. “Look, I’m not going to tell your identities to anyone, but I want to stand up and make a change. I’m not stupid, I know I cannot fight in battle but maybe I could help around. Just think of it for a second, it’s a win-win situation. You keep a close eye on me and I can help you take down the Regime.”
“The kid has a point,” Green Arrow approached them. “We always need a hand around here.”
“And with all of us is impossible for a civilian to do something without us knowing,” added Black Canary.
Jon almost wanted to laugh at the thought of him as a mere civilian. He was a god among men, with his superspeed he could do whatever he wanted before they even blinked. The Insurgence was so sure about their defences that they never thought about a half-kryptonian like him entering Gotham. Their mistake will cost them dearly when they realised someone like him nullified all his contingencies. And without hopes, maybe they will be more open to his father’s ideals and finally join their side. The right side.
“Very well,” finally said Batman. “But you better be ready, this is not going to be easy.”
Black Canary made him a quick tour of the public rooms inside the headquarters. He was going to start helping Alfred around the compound in anything the friendly butler needed. It has been a few hours now since he started sorting the different drugs in the infirmary and he has already seen more than a familiar face. Batgirl had dragged an injured Nightwing first, followed shortly by a few soldiers who got in the middle of the attack, then Wonder Woman herself had entered to whisper something to Alfred. His position for the moment was being really helpful to collect intel about the state of their enemies. Apparently, his father’s continuous attacks were starting to hurt the morale of the Insurgency, who could barely keep Superman forces at bay. The soldiers had also mentioned how other countries seemed to begin withdrawing their support to their cause as they started seeing the results of the Regime. Jon could understand that after all New Metropolis was practically paradise: there was no crime and as long as you lived by the Regime’s rule you could live a peaceful and happy life.
“Master Laney,” called Alfred. “Do you mind taking these to young master Damian to the training room? I bet he hasn’t eaten yet.”
The butler was offering him a bag with sandwiches and a bottle of water. Now that he mentioned, Robin was not on the bed when he returned from his talk with Batman. It seemed a bit dangerous for a weak human like him to be in the training room after being injured in battle, but maybe he just liked to spend the time in that room. If he remembered correctly, Damian Wayne must be around his age so maybe he could approach him in a friendly way that would make it easier for him to get certain information. So, when he entered the room, he made sure to put on a friendly smile. However, Robin completely ignored him in favour of kicking the dummy’s head out of its body.
“Ehem,” he coughed but the human still ignored him. “Mister Pennyworth gave me some food for you.”
At last, the mention of the butler seemed to produce a reaction. Damian sighed, not happy with a random kid interrupting his training, but finally approached and took the bag without even a thank you. While he munched the veggie sandwich, Jon took a good look at him. With all the fuss of the battle, he had not noticed his tan skin covered in little scars. Even though he was probably older than Jon he was still a few centimetres shorter. His dark hair was quite short with shaved ends and spiked with gel and although he did have muscles, his body seemed to be rather slim. But his attention was quickly taken by his eyes. Now without the mask, Jon could see the most beautiful green reflected in them and for a moment he got lost in that emerald shade. Until Damian turned to him with a raised eyebrow.
“Do you want something?” his tone was definitely rude, but Jon cannot seem to be mad at him. After all, he did save his life at the gate.
“Shouldn’t you be resting?” he asked instead. “You were injured because of me, I’m worried you are going to make it worse.”
“That was nothing and I didn’t save you,” letting the now empty bag in a corner Damian started to walk towards the training field again. “I was just doing my job.”
“Whatever,” that kid was a total asshole. “With humans being so weak I was just trying to avoid you breaking a bone or something but it’s up to you.”
“Did you just say that humans are weak?” Damian suddenly turned, his green eyes staring at him.
“Eh… well, we are,” he shrugged. “In comparison to metas we are totally weak.” Well, at least you are, he thought. I could crush your pipe before you even blink.
“They may be stronger and faster,” the boy stood right in from of him. “But we are not weak, I could wipe the floor with any of them.”
And Jon really wanted to laugh at that statement because it was utterly ridiculous. The only reason the Insurgency had not lost was that they kept hiding and using dirty tricks on them. Without that, his family would have crushed them long ago. But he must admit Robin had guts claiming such a thing without even doubting it. But his pride prevented him from letting Damian go that easily.
“Okay,” he smiled. “Prove it.”
“Would love to but we are a bit scarce of metas.”
“Then fight against me,” Damian raised an eyebrow again at his proposal. “I lived in New Metropolis and I might not be a meta, but I know how they fight, and I assure… you’re not going to have it easy.”
“Fine, we will see who bites the dust.”
Of course, Jon was not going to use his superpowers against him, that would jeopardize his whole mission. But no one would notice if he just applied the tiniest of super strength and super speed to his movements. After all, this was just a friendly lesson for Robin to remember that he was just a human fighting against the true gods of this planet. They stood at the other side of the field, facing each other. Damian counted to three and rushed against him. He was quite fast, but Jon already knew he would try a front attack and raised his arms to stop his kick. It still impressed him how strong his blows were, especially knowing he was still injured. Jon took him by the ankle and threw him against the wall, but Robin made an air pirouette and landed with a dangerous smile. He was holding off against the new kid in fears of hurting him, but he obviously knew his way in a battle.
“Very well, warmup is over.”
Before Jon even noticed him, Damian was at his side, kicking him right on the stomach. Even with his super senses, it was impossible for him to detect where the punches were coming from. It was as if Damian disappeared and appeared out of thin air, not letting him even a second to breathe. Jon fell on the ground completely exhausted and felt a cold metal on his neck. Damian was over him with a sword in his hand.
“You lose,” he stated. “So, remember this, humans are not weak.”
It was as if time stopped then, with Damian staring at him with his beautiful green eyes. Jon felt his heart skip a beat in front of this mere human who dared to point a sword at him. This boy who defeated him in a few minutes while being injured and that wore the pride of his race on his chest. And Jon remembered those little stories he heard about how intrepid his mother was and asked himself if this was what his father saw in her. A burning soul ready to fight against everything that dared to go against them.
He was quite sure this was the first time he ever admired a human.
It was also the first time he wanted to kiss someone.