Title: Two Out of Three
Pairing/Character(s): Cassie Sandsmark/"Wonder Girl", Conner Kent/"Superboy"
Summary: "There's a difference between living up to your expectations of yourself, and their expectations of you: we want to be just like them, and they want us to be the best we can possibly be."
xxx
The photo album showed Superman as a young boy—sixteen at best, tall and gawky, in a shirt that hid any evidence of muscle. The weird curl associated with the world's Boy Scout was gelled back, hidden behind looks of anxiety, goofy smiles, and a collection of books that always seemed to be knocked out of his hands. A thick pair of coke-bottle glasses decorated Clark Kent's face in all of these pictures and completed his façade.
Superman made it look easy.
Clark made it look easy.
But—snap—maybe that was why society had the phrase, 'Take a picture, it'll last longer.' Snap—"Agh."
In the mirror stood a tall boy dressed in a red flannel shirt and a pair of worn out jeans. He was large for his age—(well, technically only six-months old, too) and not even the change of clothes made him appear any more…normal. The wire frames that laced across his features snapped into two, like the countless pairs that lay in a heap before him.
It was almost funny how such a miniscule pair of spectacles felt as though they separated Superboy and Conner Kent.
And when something was 'almost funny' to Superboy, something usually got broken.
"Why," he grumbled to himself, so frustrated that he couldn't help but raise a fist at the mirror, "can't I get this to look right?"
"So you're gonna go with the whole farm boy look?"
The entrance of a new person caught the meta off guard. He flinched, more than a little surprised that someone was able to enter his range of hearing without him noticing. The new presence—a dainty girl with golden blond hair that lit up the whole room and bright blue eyes like the sky. She wore the Wonder Woman emblem proudly across her chest—and although she was barely any taller than Robin, the way she stood made her seem taller. Prouder. At her side looped a golden lasso, much like Wonder Woman's own, but (shivering) he knew from first-hand experience it did more than just sting.
"Wonder Girl," he muttered. Then scowled. "What are you doing in my room?"
The way she smiled eerily made him think of both M'gann and Artemis: sweet and well-intentioned, but invasive and sharp. On the battlefield she was quickly able to think on her feet and rebound quickly, like Zatanna. Wonder Girl was tiny, but strong.
It wasn't that the new teammates didn't earn his respect. Wally seemed especially enthusiastic to have Blue Beetle on the team and Lagoon Boy was a trusted ally of Kaldur's. Adjusting to change had never been a big talent for Superboy. Most things since his birth, he'd have to "deal" with. Getting used to Rocket's presence and accepting Zatanna took a human effort, but he managed.
Somehow, there was still something about Wonder Girl that made him feel intimidated; at edge.
"You know," she said in a steady voice that drilled through his thoughts, "when I first became Wonder Girl, I wore a black wig because I thought I needed to be just like Wonder Woman."
Had it been Kid Flash or Robin or even Kaldur or M'gann, he would have felt embarrassed over what he was doing, pride wounded. Wonder Girl piqued his curiosity. Superboy's fingers laced around his last pair of wire frames delicately, and he looked at the girl through slits.
"So?" he couldn't help but ask.
"I wasn't supposed to become Wonder Girl. Her sister was." She grinned cheekily, much more Artemis-like, and trekked into the room, grabbing the specs gently as would M'gann. "But around the time she was supposed to be inducted, she got injured. Badly. My mother was in the middle of paleontology research, and I stumbled on a pair of magic shoes, that were Hermes's—"
"What's the point of this story?" Straightforward and to the point. Superboy looked down to the girl, who stared back without a flinch. Although he'd barked at her in irritation, she only smirked, waving the pair in front of him. He couldn't help but feel embarrassed, lamely demanding, "Give me back my glasses."
"The point is, Wonder Woman got protective of her and I stepped up because she was—is my greatest hero." She hovered in the air until both teenagers stood at eye-level. The silver bands around her arms glistened beautifully, and in a way all her own, she smiled. "I freaked out, Donna gave me her blessing and—presto, here I am now."
"Without a black wig."
"Without a black wig," she agreed. "It's…tough, being a teen wonder from the Big Three, isn't it?"
Wonder Girl didn't know the half of it. Looking at the blond at a different angle than he did before, behind that impish glance and mischievous smile, he realized there was true sympathy. 'The Big Three'—Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman—were what Wally dubbed as a 'Triple Threat' in the world. For Robin, representing Batman came easily for the youngest teen. Superboy fought months, for his rights as a human being and to be accepted by those around him. And most importantly, to accept himself.
For Wonder Girl, she must have gone through something similar. She wasn't meant to be a hero, much like he wasn't.
"Clark..," Superboy finally admitted under his breath, "invited me…tonight…to visit his parents. He…wants me to come to this town…called Smallville and maybe…maybe discuss living arrangements…become 'Conner Kent,' the right way."
"That explains the glasses," she hummed.
"You knew his secret identity?"
"Robin and I once went to Metropol…it's a long story." Laughing softly, she landed gracefully to her feet. Wonder Girl looked up to him with those odd, human eyes and brows quirked quizzically. She waved the glasses in her hands and shook her head. "There's a difference between living up to your expectations of yourself, and their expectations of you. We want to be just like them, and they want us to be the best we can possibly be."
Superboy's eyebrows furrowed. That was easy for her to say.
"It took a lot of begging and insisting from both me and Donna before Wonder Woman would allow me to become Wonder Girl," she explained. "And after she did, it took me forever to see myself as Wonder Girl, too. Before I could convince myself I didn't need to wear the black wig."
She placed the glasses across the bridge of his nose, then guided the taller teenager toward the unscathed mirror. In Superboy's reflection stood a teenager: tall and stocky, broad and gawky. He wore a flannel t-shirt and a pair of grimy cowboy boots lent from a red-haired, freckled friend, and a pair of wire-frames that magnified the uncertainty he felt. Conner Kent stared straight back at Superboy, waiting for a motion.
"Super strength's really hard to get used to," Wonder Girl muttered. "Trust me—it took three weeks after Zeus gave me my powers before I could put a bra on without ripping off the straps. There—it hides your eyes but I guess that's uh, the point, right?"
"I…right." Mystified at the sight of himself, Conner slowly turned his head to look down at the tiny girl. Through his astonishment, a smile fumbled across his lips. "Thanks, Wonder Girl."
Had the dizzy glasses not been distorting his vision, he would have sworn she was blushing. "You can call me Cassie, you know. Cassie Sandsmark."
"Oh. Well…thanks."
"You're welcome." Cassie lifted from the ground, hovering three feet in the air with the lasso dangling around her belt loop. She soared for the door, handle laced beneath her hand, and smiled joyfully. "I really only came here to tell you Superman's waiting up front. You look good, by the way, Conner. You should show Megan on your way out."
Struggling to keep his smile, Conner nodded. "I'll keep that in mind."
"Alright. Bye!"
"Bye."
The door shut behind him with a small sound. Conner Kent took one last look into the mirror—to the tall boy in a flannel shirt, faded jeans, and a pair of grimy cowboy boots—and held his breath.
Keeping Cassie's words in mind, he made his way to the door, and hoped for the best.
xxx
Author's Note:
In the Young Justice comics, Superboy x Wonder Girl was actually one of my favorite het pairings, haha. I love it to bits, and since she's showing up on the show, I wanted to see if I could do a spin on the couple with Superboy's hotheaded personality. If it happens (and really, it's a big if), then I'm super excited for it! This is just a little note, on what I'm hoping their interaction would be like. :Db