#wip: superpup

[suzukiblu]

WIP excerpt for LadyKarma behind the cut, who requested "shenanigans with any version of Kon" and is getting "Superpup". Listen, yes this is technically the start of a "new" WIP but ALSO-technically this WIP tag already existed sooooo . . . (( chrono || non-chrono ))

So apparently Kon is a dog right now. 

Worse: Kon is a puppy right now. Couldn't even be a cool badass junkyard bruiser, no; he's all fluffy curly black fur and soft floppy ears and huge blue eyes and tiny clumsy everything. 

It is literally fucking mortifying, yes. It is fully fucking mortifying. 

Also, it's fully fucking alarming, because it's really, really hard to figure shit out right now. He knows he's not a dog. He knows his name–his names. He's just having a little bit of trouble figuring out much else. 

He's having trouble thinking, is what he means. And he's not usually all that great at thinking as it is. 

Kon honestly should probably be having a total goddamn freakout, actually, but is mostly still stuck at the “how does having four legs work” stage, because that one is really, really being an issue at the moment. Mostly it’s an issue because, uh, there is absolutely a cackling asshole magic-user tossing fucking fireballs at his stupid fluffy curly ass while he tries very hard to dodge them. He really does not think the asshole magic-user turned him into a Kryptonian-invulnerable puppy, he cannot imagine why they would have, so he definitely, definitely does not wanna get hit by any of those. 

Why a fucking puppy, seriously. Who the fuck turns a dude who’s just trying to do his superhero super-duties into a fucking puppy for it? Over a fucking basic-bitch midnight jewelry store robbery, even? Kon was literally just flying back to Smallville from his latest off-planet escapade when he'd randomly caught the sound of shattering glass and screaming just outside Kansas and obviously gone to check it out and make sure nobody was getting murdered, and this is what he gets for that? Turned into a fucking puppy and getting fucking fireballs chucked at him? 

Magic is such goddamn bullshit, seriously.

At least the jewelry store clerk got away, he guesses. Like–that’s good. Just it’s less good how bad his fucking brain is working, and he does actually feel pretty damn close to freaking the fuck out, because like–because it’s–

Kon, to his disgust, is pretty sure he’s actually scared right now. Like–the tiny puppy-brain hardware that is currently running his personal software is scared, anyway, because everything’s loud and messy and all smashed-up and broken and whoever the fuck this asshole magic-user is is like–is mean! 

Kon is actually even more disgusted over the tiny puppy-brain hardware making him think a wannabe-supervillain doing some barely-above-petty theft is being “mean”. Like seriously, that is just . . . what. What even is that? 

Goddamn bullshit, again. 

“Fetch!” the asshole magic-user gloats, lobbing another lazy fireball across the scorched-up jewelry store that Kon barely skids to a stop in time to avoid running into the path of, tiny paws scrabbling desperately on the linoleum floor. Which is absolutely just cheap-ass linoleum, because this isn’t even a nice jewelry store, just some shitty chain one in an outdoor mall. How the fuck is a shitty chain jewelry store supposed to be worth traumatizing a clerk and turning a superhero into a fucking dog and trying to fry them? That is way too damn much investment for a shitty chain jewelry store! 

“What’s wrong, Superboy, don’t wanna play?!” the asshole magic-user crows, summoning up another pair of wickedly-bright fireballs as Kon dives beneath one of the shelves in stupid puppy-brained panic. Very, very big fireballs. Way bigger than a stupid fluffy floppy-eared puppy, for fucking goddamn sure. 

What a fucking prick, Jesus. 

“Heeeeere, Superboy,” the asshole calls mockingly, strolling forward across the cheap-ass linoleum and tossing both fireballs up and down in his hands as he does. Kon would like to at least growl at the asshole or, like, bare his teeth or something, but the only damn thing the stupid puppy body and stupid puppy brain manage is to fucking cower under the damn shelf, stomach flat against the floor and tail tucked between his legs. 

Maybe he is, actually, having that total goddamn freakout right now.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. He needs to think. He needs to think. He’s already bad enough at thinking as it is, though, and this asshole’s so big and scary and being so mean and–a-and–! 

Kon thinks, maybe, he’s getting worse at the thinking. The thinking isn’t . . . isn’t working that great, he thinks. He . . . he thinks it’s . . . it’s all . . . s’all slow and weird and stupid and . . . and . . . 

“Aw, don’t like strangers, boy?” the asshole magic-user taunts, dropping into a crouch a few feet back and down just low enough to grin viciously under the shelf at him, and the creepy magic fire in his hands lights up his eyes all glowy and sparking and lightning-bright, and his smile is too wide and his teeth are all bared and the jewelry store’s dark and it’s dark outside and dark everywhere and he’s so big and it’s so scary and–! 

The fire flares up brighter, and Kon shrieks in terror. 

Or–no: Kon howls in terror. Howls high-pitched and panicked and shrill, a noise he didn’t know a dog’s throat could even make. The asshole laughs, because he’s a fucking asshole, and then reaches forward with a hand wrapped in fiery flame-y burny scary scary scaryscaryscary–! 

Kon shrieks/howls again, and his stupid stupid stupid dog-sized brain is all fritzed-out with terror and the useless useless useless dog-sized body fucking cowers and flattens completely against the floor and hides its face behind its paws and everything’s burny-bright and hot and he’s so fucking scared and–! 

“Jesus FUCK!” the asshole magic-user yells as the light goes out with a crashing sound, and suddenly the whole store is full of booming, echoing snarling. 

It’s so scary. 

There’s more crashing and snarling and yelling and then–

Then there’s barking. 

The stupid puppy-brain Kon’s brain is currently trying to use hears barking, and what’s working of Kon’s brain hears–recognizes– 

Kon hears Krypto barking, and the puppy-brain hears another dog–hears a species that can pass for another dog, anyway–and Kon doesn’t know if it’s him or the puppy-sized brain doing it, but one of them wails. The aggressive barking gets a lot more aggressive, and glass shatters and fabric rips, and the magic-user shrieks “Fuck this!”, and magic light spills everywhere as the air makes a tearing sound, and then his voice cuts off and all the light vanishes in a blink, and Krypto stops barking. 

“Wuff?” Krypto says into the empty echoing store. 

The puppy curls up into a tiny, trembling little ball underneath the shelf and sobs. 

[suzukiblu]

Superpup cuz who can resist puppy kon! Not me that's for sure

It’s scary, Kon thinks without meaning to, and buries an upset whine in his–paws, because he’s got fucking paws right now–buries an upset whine in his paws and huddles in tight against Krypto’s chest. Because–because it is Krypto, and he’s so small and everything else is so big, and it’s so hard to think–

The puppy sobs into Krypto’s fur, and Krypto bumps its head with his nose and sniffs at it a few more times, then starts licking it again and nuzzles it, and . . . and everything’s really scary, still, but . . . but Kon can almost think right, with Krypto calming the puppy’s stupid puppy brain down. Almost. 

At least he–at least he can think, a little. 

And at least he remembers he’s Kon. 

As “scary” as everything feels to the stupid puppy’s brain, forgetting his own fucking name of all the fucking things–that’s just fucking terrifying. 

[suzukiblu]

WIP excerpt for Drakel behind the cut, who asked for something soft and is getting some "Superpup". content warnings: not necessarily a full-blown anxiety attack, but a character in a compromised mental state is actively panicking while thinking very unkind things about themself, and is at least getting CLOSE to anxiety attack territory. (( chrono || non-chrono ))

Something crunches outside–a footstep on gravel, maybe, or a big scary monster that’s gonna come eat them–and Kon whimpers in terror and hides against Krypto, which is something he’s never done once in his fucking life, and the little puppy-brain thinks: is it the scary bad man again, is he back, is the scary bad man gonna hurt him again, he doesn’t wanna get hurt again, he's scared–! 

Krypto growls low and threatening, baring his teeth at the door as his hackles raise, and a flashlight sweeps across the room, and a voice says–something, the puppy-brain can’t process it, and Kon can’t process it through the puppy-brain–and Kon huddles down as small as he can against Krypto’s chest and whimpers. Another voice says something, and Krypto barks sharply, and the voices both curse in surprise and fall back, and then Krypto snatches Kon off the floor in his teeth–grabs him by the scruff with his teeth–and tears out of the store at super-speed with him in his mouth. 

Kon yelps. 

Krypto flies fast, and the whole world blurs and it’s all rushing wind and speed, and the stupid fucking puppy is still fucking scared, and Kon–and Kon–

Kon had felt a whole lot safer curled up against Krypto’s chest, it feels like, stupid as that thought is. 

The puppy really, really wants to hide again, though, and Kon can’t think about anything right, can’t even–can’t–

He just wants Clark to show up and fix this, even if he’s gonna give him another stupid lecture about not being so reckless and stupid and–

He just wants Clark at all, he thinks, even though it’s a stupid fucking thought. 

Then the blurred world and rushing wind and speed all stop all at once in a jarring jolt as Krypto lands–somewhere, Kon’s too dizzy to really figure out where just yet–and in the same instant, and a voice exclaims, “Krypto! What are you doing, boy, you know better than to come to the apartment like this!” 

Krypto sets Kon down all nice and neat on a concrete balcony and wags his tail, and Clark comes out through the sliding glass and onto the balcony too, looking stressed and looking around like he’s looking for something, but Kon doesn’t care, because it’s Clark. 

He tries to say that, on some stupid crammed-down reflex–tries to say “Clark” or “Kal” or even “Superman”, or just “HELP me!”, but the only thing that comes out of his mouth is a pathetic and scared-sounding yelp. Clark pulls up short, looking startled, and looks down at him, and seems to just be noticing him for the first time. The stupid puppy-brained puppy feels exposed and vulnerable and terrified of the huge looming scary thing taking up the whole stupid world and whimpers in fright as it skitters back between Krypto’s legs clumsily and tries to hide underneath him even more clumsily than that. 

Krypto barks as proud as every time he’s ever shown up dragging a supervillain by the cape or “fetched” a whole-ass tree out of the ground instead of the normal-sized stick somebody’d tossed for him, then plants his butt on the balcony and wags his tail even harder, panting happily up at Clark as the stupid fucking puppy burrows in and hides against his stomach and whimpers again. Because it’s fucking scared, and Kon just wants Clark to make it better but Clark’s big and scary right now just like the scary bad man was and Clark’s gonna be so mad that he messed up something as basic as just some random fucking robbery so bad, and Clark’s gonna think he’s so stupid and gonna tell him he’s so stupid and–and–

And Clark’s gonna be disappointed in him again. 

He’s so stupid. He’s so stupid, he’s so stupid all the time, he never just thinks and right now he’s even worse at thinking than usual and Clark’s gonna think he’s so stupid and so dumb and gonna hate him and–! 

“Oh,” Clark says, and drops down to one knee, his face and posture and everything all going all soft all at once as he reaches out with a big and planet-crushing and gentle hand. “Who’s this? Are you lost, buddy? Need some help getting home?” 

The puppy wants to be home, and Kon knows where home is, so that’s all his stupid crammed-down brain can process before the both of them are bolting forward into Clark and trying to jump up into his arms, all freaked-out panic and distressed yips and whines. 

“It’s alright, buddy,” Clark murmurs, his voice just as gentle as the hands that could crush a planet are wrapping the puppy–and Kon–up into themselves and pulling them in to cradle against his chest right where the “S” goes. Right where the El crest goes. 

The El family crest, that Clark still lets him wear. 

Kon bursts into sobs that the puppy makes as hitched, stuttered whimpers, and Clark smoothes a big-heavy-gentle hand down their back and makes a soft little shushing, soothing sound and keeps cradling them right there. 

The puppy feels almost as safe as it did hiding under Krypto, and Kon feels–Kon feels– 

Kon feels stupid and useless and weak and scared and like the most worthless fucking Super that’s ever existed, the most useless El that’s ever existed like he’s even really a real one of those, and–a-and–

And safer than he’s ever, ever felt in his whole stupid, useless, worthless existence. 

Kon cries mortifyingly harder, and the puppy snuffles and whimpers and whines, and Clark holds them soft and secure and safe and murmurs gentle, gentle things in a tone of voice that Kon can’t even process the sound of; can’t even understand the words of. 

He doesn’t think even Ma’s ever talked to him like that. 

Everything’s still so, so scary and all weird and wrong, b-but . . . but he . . .

Krypto barks proudly again and wags his tail happily, and Kon mostly manages to stop crying, and Clark keeps stroking that big-heavy-gentle hand down his back over and over again even while he does, and . . . and it’s fine, it’s alright, it’s okay now; it’s fine. Krypto was smart enough to save him and smart enough to bring him to Clark and Clark is smart enough to save him too, smart enough to find someone who can help and take him to them, to someone who can fix him, so–so it’s fine, and he’s okay, and the scary bad man’s not here and can’t get him or the stupid puppy’s stupid puppy-brain ever again, because Superman has them, so they’re–so they’re–

So they’re safe, Kon thinks in a weirdly painful kind of relief, and the puppy buries their face in Clark’s chest. 

Clark’s the safest place in the whole world.

[suzukiblu]

SUPERPUP!!

Aw, Krypto has a puppy now! XD. At least he's in good paws!

He wants to say something, but all that comes out is a keening little whine that sounds as close to a sob as a dog’s throat can make, he’s pretty sure. It just–it’s scary, it’s scary, it’s so scary, he just–everything’s so scary! 

Krypto licks the puppy’s fur, and the puppy whimpers and burrows in as close to him as it can get. It’s not–why can’t he think, Kon can’t think, he just wants to think, he’s already so bad at thinking, why can’t he just think?! 

Krypto makes a whuffing noise, then nuzzles the puppy again. The puppy just sobs again.

[suzukiblu]

more super pup!!! yay ❤️

It’s so scared, still. It’s not–it doesn’t–this isn’t right, Kon knows, so the puppy knows, but the puppy’s brain is too little and too young and too small to understand what’s actually “wrong” here, so it’s just scared, so Kon’s in a body being run by a tiny little puppy-brain that’s just scared, and Kon’s mind can’t fit all inside it, can’t control it, can’t calm it down, can’t– 

Krypto nuzzles the puppy again–nuzzles Kon again–and whines in concern. 

[suzukiblu]

superpup for wip wednesday please?

Something bumps the puppy's head and it screeches in terror and scrabbles back farther under the shelves. The thing follows after it, though, and it's gonna hurt it, it knows the thing is gonna hurt it, it's so big and scary and big and scary and–

The thing licks its fur. 

“Wuff?” it says again, and sniffs at the puppy. The puppy–freezes. The thing licks it again, and a big heavy paw snakes in under the shelves and hooks around the puppy and drags it out, and it shrieks and–

[suzukiblu]

a little bit of Superpup, if you please? <3

He needs Superman, Kon’s crammed-down mind manages to think in the tiny little brain it’s crammed-down inside. Superman’ll fix it. Superman’ll help. 

He needs–he needs Clark. 

Clark’ll make it better. Clark’ll fix his stupid fuck-ups and come and save him and–and–and he just wants Clark. 

Clark always makes it better, when he doesn’t make it worse.

[suzukiblu]

Kon is having a bad day but he's such a cute doggo. More Superpup please?

The puppy–Kon–sobs, and hides his face against Krypto’s chest. Krypto noses at his ears a little, folding his paws in closer around him, and makes a warbling crooning sound. Kon’s heard him make it before, a couple times when he was real upset about something stupid and Krypto was trying to make him feel better. 

It kinda does make him feel better, but also makes him feel a whole lot worse for no good reason. He doesn’t . . . he isn’t . . . 

He needs help, he manages to think. He needs–help. He needs . . . somebody who does magic stuff, or . . . or somebody . . . 

[suzukiblu]

Gotta ask for SuperPup for WipWednesday, because it’s adorable

The puppy keeps sobbing in its hiding place underneath the shelves, all distressed whimpers and whines and wails, and something in the back of its head is vaguely aware that it's . . . something else, it thinks, but . . . but it can't remember, and everything's so big and scary, and it can't remember! It–it can't–! 

“Wuff?” something says from in really close, and the puppy keens in fright and huddles in smaller on itself. It's not–it's not supposed to get small when it's scared, it remembers. It's supposed to be big and scary itself. 

But everything else is so much bigger, and it's all just so scary!

[suzukiblu]

superpup

The puppy remembers it’s Kon-El, and Kon nearly chokes on the vertigo-dizzy feeling of snapping back into–focus, almost. Like waking up, almost. Groggy and overwhelmed and nauseous, but . . . 

‘Krypto?’ he tries to say, but it doesn’t come out as a word; it comes out a confused whimper, and still sounds fucking scared. 

It is incredibly, extremely fucking embarrassing. But the puppy’s body is still all jacked-up on stress and adrenaline and whatever the fuck magic dog bodies have in their magic dog veins or what the fuck ever, and it’s still so hard to fucking think. Just–the brain’s still too small, it feels like. Too little. A dog’s brain, and a little dog’s brain on top of that. Like–a fucking baby, not full-grown.

[suzukiblu]

superpup please? little puppy guy kon has been spinning in my brain

The thing wraps the puppy up with one paw pinning it tight against its chest and then starts licking its fur even more. The thing is . . . 

The thing has fur too, and it smells like . . . 

It doesn’t smell scary. 

It smells safe. 

The puppy blinks rapidly. All it can see is white fur, and a draped edge of red fabric, and a gold . . . thing, hanging above its head a little, just dangling there and . . . 

A gold–tag. 

A gold crest.

[suzukiblu]

For the random word prompts have some crafty words: knit, crochet, sew, mend, needle, thread and scissors. I gave you a lot because I don't think many people use enough craft Hobbies and skills in fics and I love reading about my favorite characters using skills I love.

Tbh I don't really have much prose-wise for craft stuff at the moment, I'm pretty sure everything craft-related on my docket is still in very loose outline form? Like ALL my uses of "needle" are ethically-dubious-lab-related, for SURE.

Buuuuut I can give you this very professional outline excerpt from a crack AU where Kon gets turned into a small and adorable puppy and things get ridiculous and cute and low-key emotional from there, if you want a little bit of crafting, lol.

Krypto picks puppy!Kon up by the scruff and takes him home to Metropolis lol 

Clark is puzzled, Lois is amused, 10yo!Jon is DELIGHTED because Krypto had a PUPPY!! 

Clark: Krypto didn't HAVE a puppy, Jonno, he just–

Kon, actively floating through the living room 

Clark: . . . uh. 

Jon: :DDD 

Clark: h o w . 

Lois: . . . well, WE had JON, sooo . . . 

Clark, panicking juuuuust a little: Oh my GOD how did this never occur to me as a thing that might be a thing?! Oh my GOD!!

And then Kon is Doomed because now they all think he's KRYPTO'S BABY lol 

meanwhile Jon is bonding with the new pupper/fellow hybrid who he wants to grow up and fight crime with and Krypto is trying to teach Kon how to speak Kryptonian Dog and also dadding the hell out of His Puppy/bestie hahaha 

And Damian sulkily resents that Jon's dog likes DRAKE better than HIM

Jon talking to Ma about maybe making "Scout" his own lil' collar-cape like Krypto's and Kon like, DIVES into her scrap basket and comes up with some black scrap leather and like, BARKS over it in an attempt to get them to realize HE'S NOT ACTUALLY A PUPPY DAMMIT

Jon, a little embarrassed: . . . do you, uh, think Kon would think it was dumb if we made Scout a little leather jacket like his? Since he's a Kryptonian hybrid like–us?

Ma, fucking CHARMED by both that idea and Jon's cuteness: Well I think we're GOING to so he'd best just be flattered. 

Kon like . . . very confused as to why Jon even wants to do that, but also GDI JON AND MA COME ONNNNN 

Kon so, SO grudgingly getting measured for an S-shield pupper-jacket which of COURSE Ma immediately makes and Jon helps by sewing the embroidered El crest patch she makes onto the back 

Jon may or may not bedazzle it

Lois is destroyed by the c u t e 

Kon, internally: what is my life.

[suzukiblu]

WIP WEDNESDAY GAME

Slimmed-down post/rules, but originally taken from @/kedreeva.

It’s WIP Wednesday! This week's winning theme is "get this superhero a baby, stat". Did a couple bonus slots just to mix it up a little pace-wise for myself, one of which is to try out a secret new thing that works ✨secretly✨, mwahahaha.

Here’s how it works:

I will post the file names of [ AMOUNT REDACTED ] WIPs, and will also post a snippet of new content from one of them to get the ball rolling.

Send me an ask with the name of one of the listed WIPs and I will write you a minimum of three sentences in that WIP in response!

Multiple requests are fine, but please send them in separate asks. Just a little easier for me to fill them that way, and also easier for people to read through the WIP tags smoothly later.

If you’re reading this, you’re invited!

WIP names:

interdimensional kidnapping via Robin (( chrono || non-chrono ))

superbat apiary (( chrono || non-chrono ))

superpup (( chrono || non-chrono ))

two-thirds more (( chrono || non-chrono ))

YJ accidental baby acquisition (( chrono || non-chrono ))

bonus round: "get this superVILLAIN a baby, stat."

hereditary behaviors (( chrono || non-chrono ))

bonus round 2.0: 👻 MYSTERY SLOT 👻

I am the slot of mystery! mystery is my slot!!

snippet from “interdimensional kidnapping via Robin”:

“You're a fucking disgrace,” Jason says dubiously. Tim doesn't know if he's talking about the probably-obvious desire to propose he's looking after Bernard with or the state of his kitchen. Fifty-fifty, maybe. Or maybe just both. 

It's Jason, so yeah, probably both. 

“I could possibly stand to go grocery shopping,” he decides to go with. Jason, again, rolls his eyes so obviously that Tim can tell through the domino. 

Admittedly that's a skill most Bats pick up pretty quick, considering. 

“You need to feed your kid actual food, so yeah, you do,” Jason says, still more dubious. “So please tell me your boytoy can actually cook or I'm making you a month's worth of casseroles and telling Agent A on your unprepared asses.”

[nonbinary-octopus]

awh, poor Kon!! I was getting so ready to be "aww cute" but mostly I wanna comfort the poor lil pup!

yay for Krypto!

WIP excerpt for LadyKarma behind the cut, who requested "shenanigans with any version of Kon" and is getting "Superpup". Listen, yes this is technically the start of a "new" WIP but ALSO-technically this WIP tag already existed sooooo . . . (( chrono || non-chrono ))

So apparently Kon is a dog right now. 

Worse: Kon is a puppy right now. Couldn't even be a cool badass junkyard bruiser, no; he's all fluffy curly black fur and soft floppy ears and huge blue eyes and tiny clumsy everything. 

It is literally fucking mortifying, yes. It is fully fucking mortifying. 

Also, it's fully fucking alarming, because it's really, really hard to figure shit out right now. He knows he's not a dog. He knows his name–his names. He's just having a little bit of trouble figuring out much else. 

He's having trouble thinking, is what he means. And he's not usually all that great at thinking as it is. 

Kon honestly should probably be having a total goddamn freakout, actually, but is mostly still stuck at the “how does having four legs work” stage, because that one is really, really being an issue at the moment. Mostly it’s an issue because, uh, there is absolutely a cackling asshole magic-user tossing fucking fireballs at his stupid fluffy curly ass while he tries very hard to dodge them. He really does not think the asshole magic-user turned him into a Kryptonian-invulnerable puppy, he cannot imagine why they would have, so he definitely, definitely does not wanna get hit by any of those. 

Why a fucking puppy, seriously. Who the fuck turns a dude who’s just trying to do his superhero super-duties into a fucking puppy for it? Over a fucking basic-bitch midnight jewelry store robbery, even? Kon was literally just flying back to Smallville from his latest off-planet escapade when he'd randomly caught the sound of shattering glass and screaming just outside Kansas and obviously gone to check it out and make sure nobody was getting murdered, and this is what he gets for that? Turned into a fucking puppy and getting fucking fireballs chucked at him? 

Magic is such goddamn bullshit, seriously.

At least the jewelry store clerk got away, he guesses. Like–that’s good. Just it’s less good how bad his fucking brain is working, and he does actually feel pretty damn close to freaking the fuck out, because like–because it’s–

Kon, to his disgust, is pretty sure he’s actually scared right now. Like–the tiny puppy-brain hardware that is currently running his personal software is scared, anyway, because everything’s loud and messy and all smashed-up and broken and whoever the fuck this asshole magic-user is is like–is mean! 

Kon is actually even more disgusted over the tiny puppy-brain hardware making him think a wannabe-supervillain doing some barely-above-petty theft is being “mean”. Like seriously, that is just . . . what. What even is that? 

Goddamn bullshit, again. 

“Fetch!” the asshole magic-user gloats, lobbing another lazy fireball across the scorched-up jewelry store that Kon barely skids to a stop in time to avoid running into the path of, tiny paws scrabbling desperately on the linoleum floor. Which is absolutely just cheap-ass linoleum, because this isn’t even a nice jewelry store, just some shitty chain one in an outdoor mall. How the fuck is a shitty chain jewelry store supposed to be worth traumatizing a clerk and turning a superhero into a fucking dog and trying to fry them? That is way too damn much investment for a shitty chain jewelry store! 

“What’s wrong, Superboy, don’t wanna play?!” the asshole magic-user crows, summoning up another pair of wickedly-bright fireballs as Kon dives beneath one of the shelves in stupid puppy-brained panic. Very, very big fireballs. Way bigger than a stupid fluffy floppy-eared puppy, for fucking goddamn sure. 

What a fucking prick, Jesus. 

“Heeeeere, Superboy,” the asshole calls mockingly, strolling forward across the cheap-ass linoleum and tossing both fireballs up and down in his hands as he does. Kon would like to at least growl at the asshole or, like, bare his teeth or something, but the only damn thing the stupid puppy body and stupid puppy brain manage is to fucking cower under the damn shelf, stomach flat against the floor and tail tucked between his legs. 

Maybe he is, actually, having that total goddamn freakout right now.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. He needs to think. He needs to think. He’s already bad enough at thinking as it is, though, and this asshole’s so big and scary and being so mean and–a-and–! 

Kon thinks, maybe, he’s getting worse at the thinking. The thinking isn’t . . . isn’t working that great, he thinks. He . . . he thinks it’s . . . it’s all . . . s’all slow and weird and stupid and . . . and . . . 

“Aw, don’t like strangers, boy?” the asshole magic-user taunts, dropping into a crouch a few feet back and down just low enough to grin viciously under the shelf at him, and the creepy magic fire in his hands lights up his eyes all glowy and sparking and lightning-bright, and his smile is too wide and his teeth are all bared and the jewelry store’s dark and it’s dark outside and dark everywhere and he’s so big and it’s so scary and–! 

The fire flares up brighter, and Kon shrieks in terror. 

Or–no: Kon howls in terror. Howls high-pitched and panicked and shrill, a noise he didn’t know a dog’s throat could even make. The asshole laughs, because he’s a fucking asshole, and then reaches forward with a hand wrapped in fiery flame-y burny scary scary scaryscaryscary–! 

Kon shrieks/howls again, and his stupid stupid stupid dog-sized brain is all fritzed-out with terror and the useless useless useless dog-sized body fucking cowers and flattens completely against the floor and hides its face behind its paws and everything’s burny-bright and hot and he’s so fucking scared and–! 

“Jesus FUCK!” the asshole magic-user yells as the light goes out with a crashing sound, and suddenly the whole store is full of booming, echoing snarling. 

It’s so scary. 

There’s more crashing and snarling and yelling and then–

Then there’s barking. 

The stupid puppy-brain Kon’s brain is currently trying to use hears barking, and what’s working of Kon’s brain hears–recognizes– 

Kon hears Krypto barking, and the puppy-brain hears another dog–hears a species that can pass for another dog, anyway–and Kon doesn’t know if it’s him or the puppy-sized brain doing it, but one of them wails. The aggressive barking gets a lot more aggressive, and glass shatters and fabric rips, and the magic-user shrieks “Fuck this!”, and magic light spills everywhere as the air makes a tearing sound, and then his voice cuts off and all the light vanishes in a blink, and Krypto stops barking. 

“Wuff?” Krypto says into the empty echoing store. 

The puppy curls up into a tiny, trembling little ball underneath the shelf and sobs.