Disclaimer: I do not own either Young Justice or its related characters. Such are the property of DC Comics, Warner Bros. Entertainment and Cartoon Network. I'm just borrowing them for some non-profit entertainment.
Told You So:
M'gann was barely aware of La'gaan's arms around her shoulders. Vaguely, somewhere in the back of her mind, she thought she should be happy (or at the very least relived) to have him back. Him and the rest of their kidnapped Team members. And all the abducted civilians, as well.
But she wasn't.
Or rather, she didn't feel happy. Or even relived.
Instead she felt… dismayed? Yes. Dismay. Shock. Confusion. Like she had been lied to. She had been lied to. By Nightwing. By Artemis. By Kaldur. Oh, god! Kaldur! May H'ronmeer strike her down for what she did to Kaldur!
It was a ruse. It had all been a ruse. Kaldur's betrayal. Artemis' murder. All faked. Just to get a spy on the inside. A spy in the Light.
And she had ruined it.
M'gann had ruined everything. She wiped his mind. Reduced him to nothing more than a drooling vegetable. Useless to anyone. Useless to the Team. Useless to Artemis, still in the enemies' camp. Useless to Nightwing. With her one act, born out of rage, and had destroyed Nightwing's carefully laid plan and ruined their chances for stopping the Light once and for all.
But more than that…
More than that, she had torn apart Kaldur's mind. Destroyed him. Destroyed her friend.
Oh, god! H'ronmeer forgive her!
Nightwing piloted the bio-ship to the Hall of Justice in DC to let off the rescued civilians so they could be debriefed by Captain Atom before being returned to their homes. M'gann did not help. She remained seated, eyes staring off at nothing.
Vaguely, she was aware of La'gaan moving away from her. Going to help herd the civilians or administer first aid to their people. Gar went with him. She was left alone in the bio-ship.
Alone, but for one.
The ship's only other occupant heaved a weighted sigh and rose from his seat. Crossing the small cabin to stand in front of her, he crossed his arms over his chest, but said nothing.
M'gann looked up at him. Still wearing the enemy's armor uniform. Its black plating wrapping around his muscular frame like a tight shell, mouth set in a thin frown, crystal-eye staring down at her. He was so handsome. Even when angry, always so handsome. She didn't used to care about appearances before coming to Earth. Coming from a race of shape-shifters, looks had never really mattered. But that was before actively trying to assimilate herself into American, Earth culture.
He had originally just been part of her attempts at assimilation. Nothing more than a means of filling a role. The beautiful but ditzy cheerleader with the handsome jock boyfriend. That was what she wanted, and he filled the roll perfectly. She thought they both fill their rolls perfectly. She thought she had assimilated.
But it was only on the surface. No more real or true than the shape she preferred to wear.
Conner had been a tool. An accessory to her. Something to complete the image of what she wanted to be.
But all it had been was an image. A shift in form. A social form, rather than a physical form. But a shift none-the-less. It was not her true form. Her true self.
Try as she might, M'gann would never escape her white-martian heritage.
Coming from a race of shape-shifters, physical differences don't mean much. It's the underlying psychological differences that separated the peaceful green-martians from the war-like Whites. 'War like'… Oh, how true that seemed to be in her case. She tried to fight it. Tried to hide it. But she was what she was –a monster.
She had been warned. He tried to tell.
She hadn't listened. He was wrong. He didn't understand. He would come around. She was right.
Oh, how wrong she was.
She tried to erase his memory of ever disapproving of her methods. And in so doing, she lost him. Lost her accessory. His role was suddenly empty. Her role was suddenly incomplete. Her image ruined. The image she so carefully crafted.
But still she didn't change.
Instead she found a new accessory. Not as handsome as her first one. But still strong and capable of filling the part. She built a new image around her new accessory. Not just him, but her younger brother as well. She assumed a different role and crafted a new image for herself.
But it was still just an illusion.
She would never be able to change the real her underneath the social roles and living accessories. Her patterns didn't change.
And now Kaldur… Kaldur…
Oh, H'ronmeer forgive her!
The Superboy cleared his throat conspicuously. "Listen…"
It was then that she broke. The whole flight she had been in a daze. But at that one word. At the sound of his voice. Her first accessory. The one who allowed her to craft her first image. She broke down and cried.
Cried.
She finally understood. All his disapproval. His pleading for her to stop. His decision to leave her. She understood. She was misusing her powers. She had gone to far. She became what she'd been trying to deny all her life.
White-martian.
Monster.
M'gann looked up at Conner. Auburn eyes meeting crystal-blue. Tears trickled down her cheeks and she finally admitted. "You were right!"
…
END
(A/N: But I still don't want them to get back together. Admission of guilt does not absolve one of guilt and she still has a lot to answer for in the series.)