Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice or Vanessa Masters' OC.
A/N: It's been a long time coming, but here is your request at last, Vanessa Masters! I hope I did your character justice
Title: Sinking Stones
Pairing(s): La'gaan/Superboy
Summary: What will you do for the one you love?
Warings: yaoi, AU, possible OOCness, merConner
Xxxx
It dawns on him that morning.
La'gaan's face is soft in the blue light that reflects off the television, and he's completely limp in Conner's arm. When Conner touches his face, he can feel the soothing combination of rough scales with the smooth white flesh, but he can also feel the rough scars that have healed. There are visible and hidden scars—scars that Conner has traced with his tongue and mapped with his hands.
As La'gaan leans into the touch, his lips forming silent words, it dawns on him.
La'gaan is going to die.
No matter how long Atlanteans live, no matter how durable they are, they will die.
La'gaan will die.
While he continues to live—the boy who can never grow up. Conner will die like a Norse warrior—in battle with blood on his teeth while La'gaan will either die in battle or grow old and die—brittle and small—in Conner's arms.
Conner grits his teeth and La'gaan stirs against him, his strong heartbeat no longer a comforting sound.
-X-
Atlantis no longer feels like home.
Home is Conner's bedroom perfumed with sweat and sex; home is Conner's strong chest supporting his head when he no longer has the strength; home is Conner's smile and voice; home is Conner's hands as they run up and down his lithe frame without hesitation or a hint of disgust; home is Conner.
His friends are curious, but they do not question until they feel La'gaan is ready to speak, but even then, it is sweet Lori that approaches him first.
"La'gaan, what's the matter?'
La'gaan swallows back bitterness and talks softly, as if he is telling some deadly secret:
"He's not letting me in, but I won't let him go through whatever he's feeling alone. I need to figure out what's going on his head."
Lori's eyes narrow.
"What happened, La'gaan?"
-X-
Nightwing had watched over the training session: arms crossed, eyes narrowed, back straight. He searched every move, every flex of muscle for any type of insecurity.
Conner's body was riddled with tension. Every muscle had been tight, and La'gaan and Nightwing would swear that they could hear his teeth grinding together.
It had been a simple move—grab La'gaan by the ankle in midair and flip him onto the ground. Despite Conner's tenseness, the move had gone off without a hitch, and La'gaan had landed flat on his back. La'gaan had grunted as the breath escaped his lungs, and Conner had been at his side the next instant.
"Are you alright?"
La'gaan nodded and groaned as he slowly sat up.
"I-I'm fine."
"I didn't hurt you, did I?"
"It would be training if I didn't get beat up a little, Conner."
"I just don't want to hurt you."
"And you didn't. I'm fine."
Conner shook his head and quickly stood up. Nightwing's eyes flittered to La'gaan.
La'gaan stood up slowly and followed after Conner.
"Conner, what's wrong with you? You're never like this during any other training session."
"I'm fine."
"No, you're not."
"Yes, I am."
"No. You. Are. Not."
La'gaan had reached out and grabbed Conner by his bulging bicep. He moved in front of him and placed his hands on Conner's chest.
"What's wrong, Beta-ray?"
Conner growled and grabbed La'gaan by the wrist and shoved him back.
"Just drop it! I'm fine!"
Conner had moved past La'gaan and stepped into the zeta-tube. The computer read off his name, and he disappeared into a haze of soft light.
La'gaan had startled when Nightwing placed a hand on his shoulder.
"It's best to leave him alone when he's like this."
La'gaan had shaken his head and stepped away from Nightwing towards the zeta tube.
"There's something wrong, I know it. We've always been so open. I need to know what's wrong with him. I won't let him shut me out. I won't let him suffer alone."
Nightwing had managed a soft smile.
"Atlanteans are so loyal."
La'gaan had looked over his shoulder and managed a small smile back:
"You have no idea."
-X-
"And that's what happened."
Lori nodded her head slowly in understanding, as did Toppo and Blubber.
"Well, don't just nod; give me some kind of advice."
Lori's hand went up to her cheek, and her eyes were distant as she searched through her memory. After a moment, she startled, furrowed her brows and startled again. She looked at La'gaan, her normally soft eyes hardening with intent and she said:
"How much would you do for this man?"
"Anything and everything."
"Everything?"
"Yes, I'd cut out my heart and give it to him if I had to."
Lori nodded, seeming to come to a conclusion, and she leaned forward.
"I can only think of one solution, go the witch."
Toppo spluttered and Blubber released an unapproving groan.
"No!" Blubber exclaimed. "La'gaan, think about this. You want to risk life and limb for one man?"
La'gaan nodded.
"I love him."
"Love is not worth risking your head!" Toppo's hands were in fists at his side.
"Look, I appreciate your concern, but I'll be fine."
"La'gaan. . ." Toppo began, but Lori held up her hand.
"No. C'mon you guys, you know La'gaan. Once he gets an idea in his head, he has to go through with it."
"You're the one that suggested it to him!"
"Yes, but he could have said no."
La'gaan chuckled and took Lori's hands.
"Where can I find her?"
"Please be careful. I don't want you to get hurt because of me."
"I did this of my own violation, Lori."
Lori nodded and began to speak:
"You have to go where the trenches are deep and dark; swim down until you feel your fear beginning to choke you, and then start swimming straight. Keep swimming until you come upon Vanessa's cave. You'll find her there."
"How do I know what her home looks like?"
Lori raised her eyebrows:
"Trust me; you'll know."
Lori threw her arms around La'gaan's neck and kissed his cheek:
"I hope the one you love is worth this. May Neptune be with you."
-X-
The home of the witch was simple-looking on the outside—the traditional gaping mouth of a cave, but the inside was an entirely different story. The walls were a soft pink, and beneath La'gaan was a garden of stone hands that twitched as La'gaan slowly moved of them. There were also. . .voices—disembodied and soft, like a chorus of dissonant children, never growing in sound but staying constant.
"Okay, it's not time to panic just yet."
As La'gaan ghosted over a hand, it stuck out at him.
"Rule number one: Never say it's not time to panic!"
La'gaan growled as the hand swung him through the water, and soon, other hand joined in. The voices picked up in volume, speaking of betrayal and murderer and love won but lost. La'gaan felt his magic pulse through him as he began to change his shape, but it seemed no matter how big he was, the hand still clawed at him, biting into his flesh.
"Let me go!"
La'gaan gagged as a hand shot to his mouth and another one to his throat. His vision was turning black around the edges and as he swallowed around stone fingers, a voice called out:
"What in the world is going on here?"
The hands seemed to pause but continued to go about their attack.
"Stupid hands! This is why I loose clients! Let the boy GO!"
There was a light, sharp and bright, and La'gaan felt the hands slide away from him. He hovered for a few moments, one rubbing at the mark forming around his throat. He flinched when he felt a hand resting on his trembling back.
"I'm so sorry, dear boy. Those stupid things think anything that moves is food other than me. Are you alright? No one travels this far unless they have business with me."
The black fades from La'gaan's vision, and he turns to look at his savior; the woman has pale skin and long black hair; her eyes are sharp and predatory, but there is a kindness in them that La'gaan can see. Her fingernails are sharp and painted a shade of red that matches her dress, and the dress itself has a long slit up the side to reveal a smooth, soft leg.
"Wh-who are you?"
The woman smiles and says:
"I'm Vanessa, my dear. Or, as you Atlanteans like to call me, The Dark Spectre Witch. I'm pleased to make your acquaintance."
La'gaan startled and swam away from Vanessa, and the witch threw back her head and laughed.
"Oh, come now. I'm not going to turn you into a frog or some horrendous thing like that. Come with me, I know why you're here."
Vanessa turned and swam deeper into the cave. La'gaan followed at what he prayed was a safe distance.
When they entered the belly of the café, La'gaan glanced around. Above in a smaller orifice, La'gaan could make out a small bed. When La'gaan averted his eyes to the front, there was a large cauldron cradled by steam. There were smaller cabinets that lined the cave walls, filled with things La'gaan had never learned about in his schooling.
"What are those things?"
Vanessa smiled at La'gaan over her shoulder.
"My own. . . personal ingredients. Now! What can I do for you?"
La'gaan swallowed his nerves and spoke with what he spoke with what he hoped was confidence:
"It's my boyfriend. To humans, he's known as Conner Kent; to his father, he's Kon-El; to those he saves, he's Superboy; to me, he's my special one—my Beta-ray. I need to know what's going on with him. Please, you have to help me."
Vanessa nodded slowly and moved over to the cauldron. She peered down into the smoke, eyes distant—searching for signs only recognizable to her eyes. After a moment, she said:
"He's afraid."
"Of what?!"
"Losing you."
The silence that followed was broken by the soft shushing of the moving ocean.
"Wh-what?"
Vanessa sighed, but her eyes never left the steam as it curled into the air like snakes.
"My sweet boy, your Conner will live forever. Eternal life is not his gift, but eternal youth is. Your lover will die in battle, not of old age or in your dream house be the sea. You will die, whether from battle or old age, you will die. Four hundred years of life does not equal immortality."
The world tunnels in, and the discovery rings like the aftermath of a shot pistol.
"I-isn't there anything I can do?"
Vanessa smiled but it wasn't cruel in its intent. It was more like a child that had discovered something mischievous.
"What will you do for the one you love?"
"Anything and everything."
Vanessa stared at La'gaan long and hard, but the smile never once left her face.
"Very well, but what I'm about to tell you is not for the faint of heart. This is powerful magic, and every action warrants a consequence."
"What must I do?'
Vanessa glided over to the cabinet and rummaged through the vials. After a moment, she pulled out a dagger. La'gaan eyed the weapon with large eyes.
"Where did you get that?"
"Before the age of sorcery, there was a time when Atlanteans needed weapons such as these, but when magic was established and became a practiced art, the need for solid weapons died out. I retrieved this from a hidden chasm. Isn't it beautiful?"
True enough—the handle of the dagger was a pale-pink conch shell, and the blade that it cradled was a bright silver that sparkled in the light of Vanessa's cauldron.
"What must I do with this?"
Vanessa didn't answer at first. Instead, she went back to her cauldron, closed her eyes and dropped the blade into the liquid. She muttered words that were unknown to La'gaan and retrieved the weapon.
"Listen to me, very careful. You must somehow draw blood from your Conner with this. I don't care how you do it. I don't need a lot, just enough for the spell."
"Conner's only weakness is Kryptonite."
Vanessa chuckled:
"Oh, my dear, you think I haven't spent my years researching Superman?"
Before La'gaan could question, she continued:
"Once you get the blood, the dagger will return to me. After that, you will have to wait and see."
She offered the dagger to La'gaan, and he took it without a second thought.
"Now, go on, I have some preparing to do."
-X-
The zeta tube hummed and La'gaan stepped into the cool belly of the cave.
"La'gaan, where have you been?"
"Just visiting some friends in Atlantis."
La'gaan wrapped his arms around Conner's neck, the dagger feeling light a weight in his hand.
"Ow!"
"Sorry, love, my talons are growing again."
-X-
The mission happens in a blur:
"Get out of the way!"
"No! Duck, M'gann!"
"Artemis!"
"Look out!"
"Superboy, move!"
There is one moment that is frozen in time:
There's a knife, long and sharp—glowing green with poison—attached to the end of the mechanical giant with a human face stretched over the metal surface. The knife cuts through the air, the wind whistling as the steel slices through it, and hits true in Conner's chest. There's a sick squelching sound as a lung opens and fills with blood.
La'gaan is sure is screaming, as are the others, but there is no sound. There is only the image of blood painting Conner's lips like a gloss and his body sinking into the water like a stone.
-X-
In her cave in the darkness, Vanessa smiled and started to speak ancient words that made the sea turn hot and the darkness burn with light.
-X-
Love is a strange and fickle thing; a thing of beauty that breaks hearts and kills marriages; it brings babies and bastards and makes liars out of men and whores out of women. However, humans are beautiful things because love is so sacred to them, as it is to us.
How far would you go to protect your love? How much would you do to be with them forever?
-X-
The rebirth is painful—legs and flesh and bone meld together, asphyxiation burns and is replaced with euphoria; the light is painful but is soon beautiful and soft beneath the waves.
Conner opens his mouth, fills his lungs with new air, and breathes a name.
-X-
"La'gaan!"
"Anex Orin, what is it?"
"I need you to return to Atlantis, quickly."
"What's wrong?"
There's the brief buzz of static and then in disbelief:
"Conner's alive, and he asking for you."
-X-
Conner has always been perfect, but now his perfection is enhanced.
The tail he sports is comprised of shimmering red scales, a soft silver underbelly, and soft black fins running down the length. His eyes are as sharp and beautiful as ever, shimmering in the Atlantis' artificial lights. The sunlight plays with his black hair, and there is a scar on his chest is reminiscent of an exploding star.
"B-Beta-ray?"
Conner smiles and responds softly in broken Atlantean:
"I'm here, La'gaan. I'm here."
La'gaan couldn't stop from swimming into Conner's arms.
-X-
No matter what the state, love is a pure thing. In the hands of humans, it can be used to sate lusts and break people. It can be abused, misused and tainted with human sentiments. It is a deadly thing, but it is still beautiful—like a snake with shimmering scales and loaded poison.
Happily-ever-after may be a fairytale, but for some, happily-ever-after is obtainable. Defy your morals, you ethics and sacrifice for love. Then, and only then, can love truly be found. Who knows, maybe your happily-ever-after is just a story away.
Come and see me, my dears. May Vanessa the Witch make all your wishes come true.