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Peja's Wonderful World of Makebelieve Import
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2020-11-05
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Fairy Tales Can Come True

Summary:

The Cartoonist has attacked, and now Tim is a fairy. No, not like that. …Well, actually, yes, that too.

Work Text:

Fairy Tales Can Come True

***

Fairy tales can come true, it could happen to you. If you're young at heart...
Jimmy Durante - Young At Heart

***

"The Cartoonist? What kind of freaky name for a supervillain is that?" Kon demanded with a snort. "A fitting one, I'd think," Tim replied, grimacing sourly. Kon was currently something reminiscent of Hercules - the cartoon version, of course, to go by the brown and blue toga - but thankfully still had his powers, minus the flight. Cassie was some weird conglomeration of Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm from The Flintstones; she had her super-strength, but also no flight. And a prehistoric hairstyle complete with authentic bone in the ponytail, plus a rather nifty club made of indeterminate, but apparently indestructible, materials. Bart was a Mexican Mouse - Speedy Gonzales, if Tim remembered his Looney Tunes right. As fast as ever, but with a new addiction to cheese. Anita was bright blue and as smoky as Secret, probably the Genie from Aladdin - and her powers had been augmented, somewhat, though at the price of her seeming solidity until she learned to control them, plus, she couldn't go anywhere without her 'lamp' in tow - and Cissie was a fox. A vixen, to be precise, and dressed similarly to the original Speedy. Tim vaguely remembered a Disney movie viewed at a preschool birthday party with all the characters as animals. He thought it was Robin Hood. Tim was the worst off; he was a fairy. Not only did his transformation come complete with shimmering iridescent rainbow wings, and a knee-length forest green tunic with no pants, but he was also a foot shorter. The fringed fairy shoes that completed his new ensemble were also more embarrassing than the pixie boots on the first Robin uniform. He didn't even have any cool new abilities aside from flight to compensate for his sudden lack of dignity. No fairy dust or wish-granting powers; not even the ability to shrink to small sizes. Tim was just glad that apparently the lack of change in his skin color meant that he wasn't Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty; the only thing that would make this worse would be if he got turned into an evil fairy. No, actually, the only thing that would make this worse would be if Kon started laughing at him. Tim still wasn't sure why Kon wasn't, but he knew it was only a matter of time. Sometimes being a superhero sucked, and sucked big. Although, the flying was kinda cool, even if the wings itched somewhat. And he kept shedding glitter everywhere.

***

Thankfully, it was summer, so the fact that it would take up to a week in some cases for the team's transformations to wear off wasn't too bad. Also Slobo had gone off to attend the alien equivalent of a monster truck rally on Blitherix 6, so he wasn't around to make things worse. And pretty much everyone else was...coping...with things. Secret had taught Anita how to control most of her new powers, though she was still tied to her lamp. Cissie really didn't like her fangs, though she had mostly gotten used to her tail. Bart appeared to really like his new appendage - for what reason Tim didn't want to contemplate - and his new understanding of the Spanish language. Cassie just said she'd be glad to get her easily controllable hair back, and Kon, while missing his ability to fly a whole lot, seemed to be bearing up okay. Tim had to sleep on his stomach - a position which he'd never found to be comfortable, especially since it left him open to attack - because of his wings. Being a superhero really did suck. And he expected Kon to start laughing any day now. Well, laughing at him, since he'd been laughing at Bart's antics since the beginning. Tim had let out a chuckle or two, himself. But he was still waiting anxiously to find out what teenage torture Kon had in store for him. Kon had been looking at him for the past three days, and despite all his vaunted intellect, Tim didn't understand those looks. And if he didn't understand something, that usually meant it didn't bode well for his continued dignity. Not always, mind, but this was Kon-El, and while they were friends, Kon had an even more juvenile sense of humor than Dick did. And Kon was looking at him again. Tim gritted his teeth and counted to ten in Kryptonian, before finally giving in to his frustration. He had had enough; it was time to beard the metahuman in his Fortress of Solitude, as it were. It wasn't really a fitting analogy - as Kon was almost certainly not angry at him, and he was the one avoiding Kon, because Kon was acting out of sorts and completely weirding Tim out - but it would have to do. "Kon?" Tim questioned, flapping his wings to hover next to his friend. He really didn't like that he had to use his new wings in order to look people in the eye, and he loathed that he was back to being the shortest person on the team again. Why was Slobo never around when he needed him? "What is going on with you?" He folded his arms over his chest, and hoped his glare would let Kon know how serious he was. He really wasn't in the mood to be trifled with. "Uh, nothing much, man," Kon said in a rather squeaky voice, and that was a very weak denial. Kon believed that Tim was serious, all right, but perhaps he could dial his glare down a notch or two, or else Kon wouldn't be coherent in his explanation. "Nothing much?" Tim said, eyeing his friend narrowly. "Then why having you been staring at me for the past three days?" Kon flushed and looked away, presumably embarrassed at having been caught. "Well, I'm kinda missing my tactical TK," he said, shrugging. "And being able to fly. You're the only flier on the team, now, so..." He shifted uncomfortably and looked away. Ah, so that was why Kon wasn't teasing him. He was envious of Tim's new 'super power.' Tim could understand; it had to be easier to get temporarily used to the addition of new powers/appendages than their absence. It had taken him nearly the entire three days previously to figure out that his control over his wings was greater if he wasn't actively thinking about them; apparently, flying was an instinctual thing, which, considering that Kon could do it from the moment he was de-tubed, Tim should have realized much earlier. "Believe me, I'd trade places with you in a heartbeat," he said dryly. It wasn't an entirely altruistic offer - he'd like to get back to being only the second shortest member of the team - but, well, he wouldn't have made the offer to Cassie. Still, considering Kon's shifty behavior, Tim thought there had to be more to it than that. But it couldn't possibly be for the reason he wanted it to be. Could it? "And that's it?" he asked, his displeasure causing his wings to buzz faster. Kon nodded rapidly - too rapidly; he was definitely hiding something. Tim snorted. "Somehow, I'm finding it hard to believe you." He eyed Kon's shuffling feet, and felt his wings buzz, sending him higher into the air. Locking eyes with Kon, Tim said, a pleasantly sharky smile on his face, "Why don't you tell me what's really going on?" Kon gulped at the ferocious look that had entered Tim's eyes. "Um...er...it's just that... Um..." He suddenly blinked, looking as if a light bulb had gone off inside his head. "Wings! Um, I like your wings," he blurted out, blushing. And then he sent a pointedly sideways look at the sparkling, shimmering appendages in question. Tim might have believed him, if he hadn't been able to tell that Kon had just come up with that excuse off the top of his head. "You do, huh?" he asked, and made a plausible show of being startled, complete with his own uncomfortable faked fidgeting and blush. He ducked his head and asked, "Why?" peeking up through his bangs. "They're..." Kon seemed at a loss to explain his reasoning - which made sense, because that hadn't been his reason to begin with. He finally said, "They're kinda pretty. That's all." He shrugged diffidently, as if it was of no importance that he'd been ogling the pinky-purple glittery wings on his best friend's back. And, well, pinky-purple glittery wings that had suddenly sprouted on someone's back could deserve a second or third glance, even in their line of work. But Tim was not about to let this go. He knew that Kon wouldn't if their positions were reversed. He hid an evil grin and prepared to move in for the metaphoric kill. "So you think I'm pretty?" Tim asked innocently, and at Kon's reflexive nod, he made his eyes go wide and startled. "Really?" he said, making sure to let out a gasp. "I didn't think you liked me like that." "I, um, er..." Kon stuttered, face flushing and paling in turns, like a light-up toy blinking on and off. Tim was surprised. He really had just been joking with Kon - he hadn't actually thought that Kon could feel like that for him, no matter how much he hoped for it - but maybe Kon wasn't joking...about being attracted to him. With his luck, though, it would turn out that Kon just had a serious wing fetish. "You...you do?" Tim asked. "Really?" And he mentally chastised himself for sounding so hopeful, but Kon was looking rather... And that finally seemed to flip some switch in Kon's brain, and his face seemed to settle on a happy medium of 'tanned with pink cheeks.' "Um...yeah, I, um, I do, man," Kon admitted. He then searched Tim's face, and must have found what he was looking for, because he followed that assertion up with a surprised, yet pleased, "You too?" Nodding dumbly, Tim said, "Yeah, I...do." He did, he really really did. Like Kon, that was. He'd just...thought that Kon liked Cissie. And then Cassie. And now, apparently, him. Kon grinned. "Cool," was all he said. Tim couldn't help but laugh, even as he rose higher into the air. Yeah, it was pretty cool. Tim blinked as the ceiling approached him and forced himself to fly lower. Well, sort of cool. Apparently when he was cheerful - Think happy thoughts! - his wings started beating faster. Kon's grin was even wider as Tim descended down to hover next to him once more. "You know, Tim, I don't think the Cartoonist was all that off in his...interpretations of us." Tim's eyes narrowed. He wasn't the only 'fairy' here if Kon was to be believed. "What do you mean?" he asked guardedly. "Your nickname for me is Peter Pan...Timerbell." And then Kon's smile was the grin of smug superiority at having hoisted Robin on his own petard. Tim rolled his eyes, groaned and moved to shut Kon-El up - with a kiss.