To his surprise, there was only one person there to meet him: a young, muscular man with a handsome face, carrying a towel over his shoulder. Combined with the smell of fresh sweat, Jon was pretty sure he just worked out and never showered, as hastily interrupted as Jon had been when Mr. Johnson took him from Dr. Bradford. This guy wasn't anyone Jon could think could reasonably stand-in for his father. Maybe an older brother?
He vaguely reminded Jon of the athletic jocks at school, the type who would mostly ignore him at best and bully him at worst, more likely to chase after Sarah and the other stuck-up cheerleaders than show him the least bit of respect. However, this man flashed Jon a grin as he looked him up and down.
Was he... checking Jon out?! Shit, he didn't realize Jon wasn't a girl! He must not have been told.
Jon opened his mouth to correct him before this got out of hand. "I'm not a boy. I'm a girl. They made me look like a boy, but I... No, I..."
Damn Mr. Johnson and his dialog protocol!
The man looked surprised. "I don't think you look like a boy at all. You look pretty smokin', if I do say so myself."
Jon gulped. Looking like a girl meant that a guy was going to check him out sooner or later, but Jon didn't expect he would have to interact with him directly. What would happen when the dude realized the truth?
"Thank you," he squeaked. Wanting to be polite, he repaid the compliment, looking at the man's muscular arms. "You also look..." nice, he meant to say, but his mouth said, "...hot."
Jon's eyes widened as he realized what he said. He was flirting with a guy. A guy was interested in Jon, and Jon was flirting with him. His already flushed cheeks seemed to get even hotter.
The man flashed his teeth as he smiled charmingly. "My name's Mike Matthews. It's nice to meet you."
"I'm Linda Lee Danvers," Jon said automatically. His heart beat quickly. The more he did this, acted like a girl to Mike, the deeper trouble he would get in if/when Mike realized the truth. Also, and perhaps more of a pressing concern, was that a guy was into him, and Jon had to deal with that.
Mike leered at Jon now, and Jon fidgeted nervously with the edges of his skirt. Was this what it was like to be a girl? Did Karyn have to deal with this?
"Not for long," spoke the familiar voice of Mr. Jones. The black-suited man walked in the room from behind Mike, giving him an affectionate pat on the shoulder. "I'm glad to see you two are hitting it off so well. You're going to be working very closely indeed."
Mike smiled at the pat and looked curiously at his superior.
Jon just felt embarrassment. Mr. Jones was there? He saw Jon flirt with Mike? Apparently, it didn't bother Mr. Jones, if he just let it happen.
"Miss Danvers is our rising star here at MOON Labs," Mr. Jones told Mike. "Mr. Matthews, meet Supergirl."
Mike looked at Jon with astonishment. "Supergirl? Wow, are you really?"
Jon nodded. He appreciated Mike's admiration but wished it could be without being seen as and talked about like a girl. He supposed he should be grateful that Mr. Jones didn't reveal his true sex to Mike, but there was an undertone of condescension in the way he said 'Miss'.
"Miss Bradford supposed that our young Miss Danvers would need a set of foster parents to ground her," Mr. Jones said. "I say, bullshit. Miss Danvers may be a minor, but she isn't a child needing to be babied. I say, fine, give her a civilian alter ego and a family to live with, but make it deserving of a superhero! She needs to be able to move around without obligations of school and homework. She needs a family who can assist her, not shackle her. Therefore, I say, emancipate her and take the best male agent we have and assign him to her as a partner!"
Jon started to perk up. So, this Mike guy was, like, his sidekick? Things were getting fun again!
Mike looked at Jon. "Sounds like my kind of assignment. So, what did you mean about her not being 'Linda Lee Danvers' for long?"
That was a good question. Jon tensed as he imagined Mr. Jones would say, 'Because Linda is a boy named Jon.' His breath caught in his throat. He looked at Mike, dreading how he would react.
"Because," Mr. Jones said, "...she will soon be Linda Lee Matthews. As partners, you will assume the alter egos of husband and wife."
