Chapter Text
Jimmy was having a normal morning, at least normal by his standards, which definitely isn’t most people’s normal. Today was the morning of the first Superfest, and he was definitely excited. A whole day of appreciation for the heroes of the city. He’d get to spend a fun day hanging out with his friends and meet some of his fans. As well as launch his new comics, and hopefully get a better flow of income after he’d blown all of his money. But in any case, he was kind of betting that something crazy would happen. In fact, Jimmy would be more surprised if some sort of situation didn’t come up. It was with this thought in mind that Jimmy set forth into the convention hall, Clark, Lois, and Kara at his side.
As they walked in, he couldn’t help but proclaim his excitement, “Whoo! I am ready to get this party going! Soon this superfest will be overflowing with life.”
Kara grinned and flew up to the side, “Oh! I am also excited. I am more than ready to showcase my strength to the public!”
Jimmy smiled as he listened to Kara speak with Lois and Clark. It was nice to see her happy and becoming acquainted with Earth. As he asked her to hand him the box full of watches, he noted the energy shift as she said, “Of course, it is my pleasure, Jimmy Flamebird.”
It was spoken with admiration and affection that he couldn’t help but give a small smile at, despite his uncertainty. At least until Lois popped up next to him and cleared her throat. He jolted and quickly shifted to passing out the watches.
“Here, guys, these are to make sure we stay connected!” As he spoke, he watched Clark’s face shift to confusion, “Flamebird watches?” Not noticing when the box he tossed aside hit Lois in the face.
Jimmy spoke up, answering the question, “They’re to connect Superman all quick and easy.”
Lois spoke up, “Jimmy, I don’t know if we really need those.” To which he said, “My dear friend, when was the last time we had some sort of event like this that didn’t get attacked by super-villains or something? Obviously, they’re necessary.”
Kara swooped in and proclaimed, “Well, I thank you very much for this token of your affection, Jimmy. I will cherish it.”
He spluttered. No matter what Kara said, it really wasn’t like that; they were for everyone. He jumped to immediately deny that it was something special, but Kara was already flying ahead out of earshot.
Lois, next to him, gave Jimmy an unimpressed look. She declared, “Jimmy! You have a real shot with Kara, what gives?” He looked away for a second before announcing that he would call Clark.
Lois continued, “Look, I get it, she’s Supergirl, and you’re just Jimmy.”
Jimmy scowled, “Thanks a lot.”
Lois sighed, “I would know better than anyone what you’re feeling, but I also know that she likes you and you like her, so why are you sabotaging it yourself? And in any case, she cares about you, Jimmy. You were one of the first people to accept her, and now you’re just going to end up hurting her.”
He frowned, “Look, I’m not going to trap her in a relationship with me, not when she has the whole world to see, and I don’t even know if I’m ready for a relationship with her. In any case, it wouldn’t last, not when I’m me; she could do so much better than that.”
Lois glared, springing forth on her feet as she shouted, “How can you say that?! Who knows if it would or wouldn’t last.”
Jimmy sighed, “Lois, Kara spent her whole life in a cage, and she’s only just getting to see what the world has to offer, to find what makes her happy. I won’t get in the way of that.”
Lois asked, “What if that's you, Jimmy? You make her happy.”
He looked away, “If that’s the case, she can tell me herself after she’s gotten to live a little. I couldn’t live with myself if I pursued her now.” Lois gave him an unmoved look; she was still rooted in her opinion.
“Listen, I have this all under control; no one’s feelings will get hurt. Kara will have her chance to gain experience in this world freely. Without anyone weighing her down. No relationships need to get complicated; everything is fine the way it is.”
Lois started to speak, “But Jimmy-” But he interrupted, running forward, “-Hey look, we’re here.” Lois rolled her eyes, mumbling to herself, but dropped it.
As they walked over to the front of the booth, Clark shared his opinions on Jimmy’s new comic line, looking and acting unimpressed. All the while, he grinned, spreading his arms, and started hyping up his comics, trying to get his mind off his earlier conversation with Lois. Whatever she said, it didn’t matter; he had the situation under control, and everything would be fine.
And thinking of Lois, she quickly popped up to decry her villain status in the books, not looking happy as he explained his reasoning. She jumped into talking about her general dissatisfaction with being here at all, getting into an argument when Cat Grant popped up out of nowhere. As she swirled away, Lois set about looking for a story, dragging Clark with her.
As Jimmy started setting up his stand, Kara appeared behind him, asking if she could help with anything rather enthusiastically. He startled and told her that there wasn’t really anything she could help with. She rushed around offering her skills in hot dog grabbing until Cat materialized in front of her.
She spoke, “Jimmy, Supergirl, you two sure do spend a lot of time together, care to comment, lovebirds?”
Jimmy hastily denied her, “Nope, nope, and another nope, we’re not lovebirds or birds of any kind, maybe Flamebirds, nothing else.” He turned to Kara, “Yeah, let’s do a couple, or, no, two single hot dogs!” Kara flew off, “Of course.”
He turned back around and looked at the reporter in front of him, “Look, I know what you’re thinking, and you’re wrong.” She scoffed, not responding and instead just giving him a look.
Kara swooped back in proudly announcing her spoils, heaving up two terrified people. He signed, and the exchange went on as she loudly declared that she brought over the people they were for Halloween. Saying, “Look, it’s who we dressed as, for our couples costume, do you remember? I do?” She grinned brightly.
Cat gave him a sly look, “Nothing between you? Huh?” Jimmy groaned, she laughed boisterously, and walked off. Kara shot him a look, clearly picking up on his mood. She let the people down and walked over to him.
She said, “May I speak freely?” He agreed right away, “Yeah, always.”
She started to speak the start of a conversation he really didn’t want to hear, “You might not have noticed, but I feel for you, romantically. I want you to be my mate, the way Clark and Lois are.”
He stood there, blushing as he responded, “Kara, I care for you too. But there’s a whole world out there, you shouldn’t settle for me before you’ve seen it. Clark, Kal-El, he had a chance to see that world before he got together with Lois, and you haven’t.”
Kara said, “I do not understand, Jimmy.”
He sighed, looking down, “What if there’s somebody out there who’s better for you? Who makes you happier? What then? This is such an important decision about your future. Are you sure you’ve seen enough to make it?”
She drew back, “Are you… Are you saying that-” But she was interrupted by a speaker announcing, “All attendees, please make your way over to Hall S for the Supergirl Panel Palooza.”
Clark flew over, “Alright, guest of honor, are you ready for your big debut?” Kara looked around uncertainly.
Jimmy spoke up, “Got get em… Pal.”
They flew off, and he was left standing there, feeling awful. He made his way over to Hall S, finding a seat and then bearing witness to one of the most awkward panels of his life. It was near unbearable to sit through, his mind whirling. It only got worse when Kara floated up dramatically, inviting any bachelor to come talk to her at her booth, stating that she had an important decision to make about her future.
After it ended, he found himself back at his stand, watching the line of men by Kara’s booth while leaning against the palm of his hand, grumbling. He spoke to himself, “I knew she would find someone better, I just didn’t know it would be today… Aaaggh! This is a disaster!”
He loudly divulged when a voice spoke up, responding to him, a familiar voice, “No, this is.” He turned, and there stood Lex Luthor, holding one of his comics. “Who drew this, James?” He shook his head, “A slender frame for Superman, never.”
Jimmy marched over to where Lex stood, unintentionally bringing their height difference to his attention as he looked up. “Why are you even here, Lex?”
He smirked, that stupid, annoying smirk, and said ‘You know I am so glad you asked. Like you, James, I am an entrepreneur on a mission.” He gestured at his stand that was down the hall a little, “Always on a lookout for innovative opportunities.”
Lex gave him a look, smiling broadly and getting closer to him, “And I have found an exceptional one.” Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a LexCorp card and handed it to him, invading his space all the while.
Lex grinned, walking over to him and planting a hand on his shoulder. It was warm; against his will, he blushed slightly. “Stop by the presentation today. You’ll love what we have to offer. Such a clever mind would surely benefit.” He walked away, but not before he shot Jimmy one last smirk and said, “Really, just come by any time, I’d be happy to talk. After all, I wouldn’t be here without you.”
He left, leaving Jimmy standing there, holding his card, tracing the spot Lex’s hand had rested on him. He hurriedly shook himself and crumpled the card up, tossing it in the trash. But Lex’s words stuck with him, and he couldn’t help thinking to himself that maybe it would be worth it to stop in some time. If Lex was offering, why shouldn’t Jimmy use the opportunity to learn more about the presumed enemy? He justified this to him to himself as he reached down to retrieve the crumpled card from the trash and tuck it into a jacket pocket. It had nothing to do with Lex’s sparkling smile or his inviting words, nothing.