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Name, name, name, c’mon, what would be a good name…
This was the mantra that Tim and probably Kon had going through their heads as they tried to devise a new “Super name” in Tim’s apartment. Kon was no longer in his teens (at least, physically), and after seeing Tim’s new name change to Cardinal, it must have spurred the other man to do the exact same thing. As Tim was head deep in Bruce’s latest footage from last night's attempted bank robbery, he had received a knock on his apartment window from Kon, asking for a second opinion on new names.
The former Boy Wonder remembers feeling warm at the thought that he was the first person Kon went to for this kind of thing. Tim knew first-hand how sacred a second identity was to someone, especially for Kon, whether he was going by “Superman,” “Superboy,” or Kon-El, and to be a part of that made Tim’s heart swell. It’s times like these that he sees how far they’ve come as best friends.
So far, the two had written down a list of all names thought up, no matter how ridiculous. Kon expressed vehemently that he was definitely keeping the S, in both name and costume before they even got started. Tim would never dare question or deny him of that; the former Boy Wonder knew how important the S shield was to Kon, just like it was important to the other Supers!
That, however, left them with limited options and ideas…
“What about uhhh… Solar Flare?” Tim suggested, leaning on his kitchen table while he tapped the pencil toward his face in thought. Kon, who was looking off to the side in his own ideas, glanced at Tim.
“I don’t dislike it, but I want to think of some other ideas, y’know?” Kon responded, sounding unsure. Tim nodded, writing the name under “maybe”. That was probably the most positive he’s reacted to the names they’ve come up with so far.
The first one that the two almost immediately crossed off was Superman. While Kon had picked it up for a period of time, he wanted something that would fit him more, so he didn’t want to take it again. Others included Supershield (”Maybe if I still didn’t have my powers.”), Metropolis Kid (”That’s a blast from the past, but I thought you were trying to get out of the childish alias?”), and other names Tim was a little too embarrassed to bring up again, even in the safety of his mind (“Sky Man? The first name you could come up with was Sky Man? Are you sure you came up with Cardinal?” “Look I had to go over so many bad ideas before getting to Cardinal, also YOU FLY HIGH IN THE SKY, IS IT THAT BAD???”). Currently, nothing really caught Kon’s eye yet.
As the young Super leaned back on his chair obscenely far, to the point where the detective was sure he was using his TTK to keep himself steady, Tim noticed a glint come from the metal buttons of Kon’s jacket. Hm, Tim wondered…
“Hey, Kon. Quick question,” Tim asked, thoughtfully. Kon to perked up as he continued. “Why not we go over stuff or questions about yourself? That could help get us thinking of a good name.”
Kon shrugged. “Sure, it wouldn't hurt,” he said passively. Tim decided to ask the first question on his mind.
“Has your jacket always been about style, or is there a reason you always wear it? When we first met, I had always thought it was the former,” He commented. Kon let out a small laugh.
“Maybe both? My first jacket was the first thing I was given when I was let out of Cadmus early. The kids who broke me out gave it to me as a way to ‘lay-low,’” he said, putting air quotes on the last part. Tim’s shoulder tensed at the mention of Cadmus. He knows all about Paul Westfield and his true intentions for a “Superman” back then, from both Kon’s account and what Bruce could gather on the shady cloning organization.
Still, that last part sparked some intrigue.
“Oh, so you’ve had that jacket ever since?” Tim questioned, earning him a cackle this time from Kon. Before the former Boy Wonder could defend himself, Kon was quick to respond, wiping a tear from his eye from laughing so hard.
“No, No, it’s not you! It’s just I’ve had to go through so many of those things,” he said exasperatedly. “You ever wonder why that other than the back of my jacket, I never really style it much?”
Now that Tim thought about it, there was no way Kon would have had access to some strong material for his jackets back then. Not in his early debut, at least.
“Huh, I never thought of that,” he responded in surprise. Kon shrugged.
“Yeah, well it became such a staple that I was willing to keep getting new ones despite how many times I tore through the old,” he replied, adding, “Although, with the new name change, I’m debating on finally putting that to rest.”
That got Tim to jolt out of his thoughts like being dumped in cold water.
“What!?” Tim explained, making Kon shrug, refusing to look the other man in the eye.
“I don’t know why you’re that surprised. You already saw me experiment with my look a bit earlier in the years. Besides, I’ve always seen myself growing out of it once I moved on from the ‘Superboy’ titled. Maybe even take Supes’ cape, but I guess that wouldn’t work here…” he explained, trailing off in thought at the mention of a cape.
Normally, Tim would be behind any decision that Kon would make, including name changes, style changes, and so on. He trusts Kon.
Then, why is it that this time Tim can’t find himself supporting this one?
Just the idea of such a key part of Superboy, something that Tim knew he was proud of, felt so off. He thinks of how Kon has grown over the years. How despite it all, Kon always found a way to come back to him and his friends and family with a sure smile as he would adjust the jacket on his form. To Tim, it all brought together a look that just defined Kon.
“Tim? Buddy? Did I shock you that much?” Kon asked, letting out a sheepish laugh that didn’t sound genuine. Tim had to fix this.
“But what about right now? Do you want to ditch it?” Tim challenged.
”I mean, that would be the next step, wouldn’t it?” Kon replied dismissively. Tim frowned.
“Not necessarily.” Kon raised an eyebrow at the response. He seemed to be looking at the detective very pointedly.
Okay, on second thought, maybe Tim needs to reword that.
“Alright, yeah sure, when I changed identities, I went over a costume change, but-!” Tim emphasized just as Kon was about to open his mouth for a retort. “It’s not like I ditched the Robin role entirely. I took what worked for me and improved that, and maybe gave it all and upgrade,” he added. Honestly, he couldn’t imagine himself abandoning that part of his hero identity, not entirely. It isn’t that far off from his Red Robin moniker, and that definitely wasn’t a huge change from Robin. It felt more like a next step for Tim, not just throwing something away.
Kon rubbed his chin, processing Tim’s words. As he did so, Tim pressed further. “Do you really want to get rid of the jacket, or is it just something you’re convinced should happen?”
That question caused Kon to reel, taken back by Tim’s words. Then for a minute, Kon just stopped and stared at the table with an unreadable look on his face.
The longer Kon didn’t respond, the more anxious Tim felt in response. Was that too much? Did he misread the entire thing? Please tell me Tim didn’t just lose Kon’s trust and leave him.
Tim was about to stutter out an apology until Kon finally responded, “I guess you’re right,” with finality in his voice. This time Tim was thrown off.
Still thinking there needed to be some apology, Tim continued babbling out, “A-are you sure? Because really, I’ll always support your decision, I just-,” Kon looked to Tim fondly, which paused what was likely going to be some word garble from the detective.
“No, no. I trust your judgement, Rob” Kon assured. “That’s why I have you here in the first place! But…” Kon trailed off. Tim felt warm at the first statement, sure his face must be a little pink. He wasn’t sure why, but every time Kon has directly mentioned how much trust he had in the detective left him dizzy. When Kon then trailed off, however, it caused the former Robin to look at him quizzically. The Super then let out a dramatic sigh, resting his head on the table.
“Maybe an upgrade wouldn’t hurt?” Kon hinted as if Tim would ever actually outright deny him of something Kon genuinely wants. “It’s not like I need new ones anymore with my TTK strong enough to protect it, so with the new name I can have a new suit and jacket like you did.”
Tim beamed. “Of course! Hey, how about you customize a new one! Maybe some pins, patches, spikes or studs?” Tim suggested, trying to think of things that Kon might like to add.
After a couple of seconds of silence Tim looked over to Kon and noticed a look that almost seemed like absolute adoration in Kon’s eyes. Tim wasn’t sure if he’s ever seen a look like that on the young Super and Tim kind of wished he brought his camera for it.
Ahem
However, all too soon that excited twinkle morphed into mirth as he chuckled, “What about my new hero name, though? Y’know, the whole reason I knocked on your window.”
Tim shrugged, a smile gracing his features. “We can get to that later. Besides! A new look may help give us new ideas,” he replied.
After scheduling their next time off to see each other (and god the thought that Kon is still seeking input from him in his new identity is not doing his heart any favors), the once-Superboy flew off, list of names in hand, leaving Tim to finish up the rest of his long-abandoned assignment.
Prior to their current meet-up, the two had found online the kind of jacket they would use to base Kon’s customizations. Kon tried convincing Tim that he could pay for it despite his near non-existent income, but after the Super’s eyes glowed seeing a particular jacket on the computer screen that was definitely too expensive for Kon, it was all over. They then decided on a time to meet up to gather everything they needed at the Kent’s home, outside where the sun was high and the weather was perfect for the occasion.
Tim made sure to have the jacket ready, while Kon came prepared with all sorts of accessories. Spikes, studs, patches, you name it. There was no way they were going to be able to fit all of what Kon had on just one jacket, but seeing the absolute glee on Kon’s face was infectious, and Tim couldn’t help but stare as the Super rambled about all the ideas he had to make the new jacket his.
It wasn’t until Tim felt a strange little tug to his cheek a bit that he snapped out of it, finally noticing that Kon had been waving his hands in front of him, likely for some time now.
“Heh, sorry about that,” Kon said sheepishly. “I kept waving for your attention and didn’t want to scare ya’. You okay over there?” At the concern on his face, Tim kept opening and closing his mouth, trying to say something despite his face starting to heat up.
Was it weird that Tim wasn’t freaked out that Kon essentially used TTK to pinch his cheeks? Or at least, he kind of was, but not in like a scared way but maybe-
Before he continued down that rabbit hole, Tim realized now is probably a really good time to respond to Kon.
“Yeah! Yeah, sorry everything is fine. Just trying to think of some ideas for your new jacket,” he finally responded, flushed.
Tim really hoped Kon couldn’t feel or hear his heart beat pick up.
Whether Kon was fully aware or just chose to ignore it, Tim couldn’t tell, but after doing a once over to the detective, the Super continued talking about the customizations.
“Anyways, I think the best place to start are the S shield patches. I’ve done those plenty enough on my old jackets, so that’ll be easy, but then we can move on to some spikes on the shoulders and map out where the studs should go from there,” Kon explained, resuming his joyful expression. Tim smiled fondly.
“Alright, well just let me know what I can do to help,” Tim said, already placing the jacket flat on the table so Kon can get to sewing first. Kon responded by going to his speaker he had already set up outside and inserted one of his CD’s in. Some music to pass the time.
Kon was putting on the final touches when Tim once again glanced over to see Kon rocking out to another song that played on one of his burned playlists. Tim couldn’t fully recognize the tune, but he could see Kon was in the zone, putting on some small patches in the front.
Kon was mumbling out the lyrics until the song had referred to a “solar Superman,” to which Kon raised his voice, overdramatically yelling that verse to the sky. Tim snorted at the scene.
As he continued to listen to the song and Kon’s humming, however, a part of it caught Tim’s attention.
Supernova
Once Tim heard that line, he looked back to Kon hard at work finishing the last patch. Kon’s introduction in Metropolis was almost like a Supernova, in a way. At least, that’s sort of how Kon came into Tim’s life at least. Also, the detective always felt that there were many qualities to Kon that seemed “out of this world.”
His eyes, for starters, were this other-worldy blue, beyond anything from Earth at least. Definitely inhuman, which wasn’t a bad thing Tim thought. There were also instances where Tim could sense the Super’s TTK. If Tim were to give a visual of what it felt like, the colorful, wavy patterns of a Supernova would be a good descriptor (did that make sense? Tim wasn’t sure, but he felt it fit at least).
“I got one,” Tim interrupted, completely halting Kon’s progress as he looked at the former Boy Wonder with a head tilt.
“Huh?” he asked, confused.
“Your new name,” Tim clarified. “What about Supernova?”
Kon looked at Tim thoughtfully, then back at his jacket. He then quickly continued his needle work.
“Hold on, lemme just finish one final… there we go!” Kon exclaimed, then picked up the garment, flipping it to the front and back to marvel at their work. He must have thought it was in great condition, because the Super started to put it on and did a full 360 walk around to face Tim.
“Well? I know we haven’t started on the suit yet, but does this look like Supernova to you?”
What Tim saw made his fingers twitch to take a picture. The jacket itself was only somewhat different from Kon’s past one. Unlike his first style, this one was cropped, and had zipper pockets in the front, but that was about it. Kon’s added accessories, however, made it really stand out. To start, Kon added more S shield patches besides just the one in the back. This time, there was one for each shoulder. There were also small patches in the front: symbols for Impulse, Robin, and Wonder Girl reminiscent of their Young Justice days. Next, three large spikes on each shoulder of the jacket. Square studs were also lined along the end of the jacket and the zipper pockets. While Kon’s leather jacket has always been a signature look that Kon wore proudly, this jacket just felt like a step in the right direction for Supernova, not just Superboy.
Of course, all of those things paled in comparison to how Kon just glowed in it. Tim could tell Superboy–no, Supernova–was proud, and Tim couldn’t do much else other than stop and stare, knowing his face is surely red at this point. He really needs to get a hold of the pausing and staring.
“You look perfect, Kon,” Tim muttered, as the puzzle pieces started to quickly click together in his head.
Oh.
Oh.
Well, Tim was screwed.