Chapter 2: Snapped

To the reviewers, I understand what you are saying, and I apologize if most of you thought that I was snapping. Well, I wasn't.

If I hurt your feelings, I didn't mean to directly.

But don't worry, it won't happen again. Promise! :)

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice.

The Next Day

Mount Justice

March 21, 09:38 EDT

Conner kept himself secluded in his room yesterday after his small fiasco with M'gann trying to reach into his mind. No one dared to disturb him. They thought he might have snapped on them if they bothered him. And he understood why; he could be pretty scary when in a bad mood. He had just finished taking a shower. Now he was sitting on the edge his bed. In his hands, he held a picture frame. It was a photo of the original team. Him, Robin, Kid Flash, Aqualad, Artemis and Miss Martian; all of them standing together, arms around shoulders. A light smile appeared as he remembered the old days. He missed it dearly.

He was obviously not keen on change. But change eventually happened. It was inevitable. Kid Flash and Artemis retired, the latter now dead. Kaldur turned against the Team, blaming them for the death of Aquagirl. Nightwing was now leader; Conner had no problem with that. His relationship with M'gann was gone. And it was HER fault. Her carelessness intruded and ruined what they had thought was… special. Now she was dating 'jerk-face the rebound guy' after he dumped her.

Now, today was his birthday. And he knew that M'gann would try and apologize by throwing him one. He was not going to buy it. Not. One. Bit. Besides, they were having a crisis. Artemis is dead and 'jerk-face' is being held captive, so he hoped for no parties.

A knock on his door came; he put the photo away inside his drawer cabinet.

"It's open." He said as stood up and walked over to his desk, placing both hands on it.

M'gann appeared at his door. She was holding a cupcake with a lit candle on top. Conner had to hide a grimace and suppress a sigh.

"Happy Birthday, Conner," She greeted.

"Hmmm…" That was his only response. His back facing her.

M'gann frowned but immediately gave a weak smile, "I figured that… you didn't want a surprise party, so I just made you this."

Conner chuckled and turned to face her, "You're damn right about that."

The Martian sighed and placed the cupcake on the top of his cabinet drawer, "Conner… you still seriously can't be upset with me."

"Well, I am. Because I shared something with you and you tried to get rid it!"

"I was just trying to make you happy!" M'gann reasoned.

"TRYING TO MAKE ME HAPPY!?" Superboy exclaimed, "BY REMOVING SOMETHING I'M AFRAID OF!?"

"YES!"

He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He wanted to fix it, not get rid of it. But it was something he wanted to fix himself. Snorting bitterly, he said, "Get out."

After a moment's silence and hesitation, M'gann replied emotionally, "Fine. I can't stand seeing you do this to yourself."

"Do what?" Conner mocked her.

"Isolate yourself from everyone else! And barely sleep! That's not healthy for you!" She scolded.

"Wow! That's not healthy for you!" He impersonated her in a more feminine tone before he derided her even more, "So, are you, my mommy, now? Telling me what's right for me?!" He pointed a finger at her viciously.

She opened her mouth to speak. No words. Then, "Conner… I… I care about you."

"Care about me!?" Conner repeated as his nostrils flared, "Do you really?"

"Yes!" M'gann shed a small tear. She felt that more were to come, "Because it hurts me to see you like this and speaking to me that way."

"Do not sympathize with me." He chuckled darkly. His anger was in full force.

"I'm not." She retorted.

"Really, then what are you doing? Bringing a cupcake with a candle and saying 'Happy Birthday' and as if nothing previous happened? Well, let me tell you something; You're living in a fantasy world where EVERYTHING is yours to take or throw away. "

"..."

"I think you'd prefer a sob story. Wouldn't you like that? Something that you would think and cry about before going to bed?" He raised his voice as it darkened. M'gann did not speak, she could only watch him rant on. She wanted to leave, but she knew she had to stay otherwise the situation would worsen, "Am I a sob story to you now? Is that who I am?"

She was about to say 'no' but Conner spoke quicker.

"You attempted to tamper with my mind twice and constantly kiss your new boyfriend whenever in front of me as if I'm not there! You must care… SO MUCH FOR ME!" He shouted and slammed his fists on the wall, making it crack. It made her jump as more tears strolled down her face. Her lips mumbled, her eyes fearful, face paled. M'gann didn't say a word as she sniffed hard.

Conner panted heavily and proceeded to calm down, "Get out before it gets worse."

She complied and slowly walked out of his room, closing the door gently. Superboy could hear her light sobs and sniffs fade away. He turned back to sit on his desk chair, contemplating what he just said to her. Conner sighed and covered his face. He whispered, "Shit."

Then he noticed the cupcake was still there on top of the cabinet drawer. A frown came upon his face as he stood up and walked over to it. Picking it up with his hand, he stared at it. It felt like an eternity but eventually… he blew the candle.

Happy Birthday, Conner.

Eight Hours Later…

Mount Justice

March 21, 17:33 EDT

Nightwing, Mal, and Superboy, who was finally out of his bedroom, were in the Cave's mission room.

"Aquaman has all of Atlantis on the case," Mal spoke, "Says they're searching the seven seas for Lagoon Boy and his captors."

In front of them, was a hologram of the Earth.

"It's a big planet," Mal pointed out, "And that's a LOT of water."

Conner was behind him and he placed his right hand on Mal's right shoulder, "We'll find La'gaan."

"And Aqualad. I want his fish head on a platter for what he did to Artemis." The African-American squeezed his fist, wanting revenge.

Superboy sighed, "I don't suppose we're any closer to identifying the Light's new partner?"

"Not even close." Nightwing answered sadly, "Even if we did, we still wouldn't have a clue on what we're up against."

"Yeah. I'm gonna… go and take a walk." Conner said before he passed Nightwing, heading towards the Zeta-Tube. But he was stopped by him, "What?"

"I saw M'gann come out of your room, crying." He said, "What did you do?"

Conner's brows drew together and shoved Nightwing away, "I spoke my mind."

Nightwing's eyes squinted as he and a curious Mal watched him storm off into the Zeta-Tube.

"Recognized; Superboy, B-0-4."

The first Robin closed his eyes, He finally did it. He snapped.

Ivy Town

March 21, 19:15 EDT

Conner was sitting down on a bench in the park. He had a nice view of the sunset as it slowly made its descent. A few meters ahead of him, was a young couple, about his age. Laughing and holding each other's hands, and kissing. He wished he still had that with… her.

As he got lost into his thoughts, a stranger, or so he thought, put a party hat on top of him and exclaimed, "Hey there, birthday boy!"

This person was a Caucasian girl with blue eyes and short black hair. Conner recognized her instantly; Wendy Harris. She blew a party horn at him in a cheerful manner.

"Oh, hey there Wendy." He greeted non-enthusiastically.

"So, how old are you today?" She asked as she sat down next to him.

"Six."

She raised a brow in confusion. Was he being serious? She didn't know, but he was.

Conner's eyes widened, realizing his 'mistake', "I… I… I mean… twenty-two. I turned twenty-two at '6' PM, exactly." He felt relieved in his mind, Good save there, you moron.

Wendy nodded and commented, "Well, at either age… you look… EXACTLY the same as the day we met."

He really wished he could age properly. He looked at her then down at his feet, sadly. Until Wendy playfully pushed his shoulder.

"That's a compliment you big goof!" She laughed before reaching for his 'S' shield t-shirt, "Although, even Mal outgrew the Superman t-shirt when he hit eighteen."

He slightly moved away from her, "Yeah, well I'm not big on change."

"Or surprises, am I right? That's how I remember your birthday; there's no way I could forget. Not with the huge surprise parties, Megan threw for you year after year."

He groaned softly as he heard her name, "I hated those parties."

Wendy crossed her arms and examined his facial expressions, "Mmmm, I don't buy it. You, Conner Kent, pretended to hate them. It made Megan happy to throw them for you so secretly… you loved it."

She wasn't wrong. Definitely not wrong. He did love them. And he wanted it back. But as of now, he knew it wasn't the right time. He smiled, "You know me pretty well."

The brunette returned the smile but soon both of theirs disappeared once they realized they were surprisingly close to each other. They backed away in unison.

"So… any parties this year?" She asked to make it look not awkward.

"No."

"Really?"

"Yes. I didn't want one if I'm being honest with you."

"Why not?"

It took him a few seconds and partially lied, "Just didn't feel like it."

Dakota City

March 21, 18:17 CDT

"M'gann, listen," Zatanna tried to reason with her, "Conner was very upset."

"I was upset!" She groaned in frustration, "He should've known better."

The Magician sighed, "You act as if you're his mom. And let's not forget what you did to him."

Her eyes widened and gazed at her in astonishment, "How…?"

"I'm one of the two people you shared that incident with. Artemis was the other, remember?"

"Oh… right."

Zatanna's eyes bored into her, "And if I were you; I wouldn't have done something like that to a guy like Conner."

"So you're saying it's my fault our relationship is long dead?"

"Yeah." She gave her a serious look.

The Martian stopped walking in shock; her eyes still gleaming. Zatanna continued walking, "Come on, Raquel is waiting for us. But wipe those tears away, first. We don't want any drama at her bridal shower."

M'gann nodded, not saying another word as she contemplated what Zatanna told her. She sighed, She's right. I shouldn't have. It IS my fault.

Blüdhaven

March 22, 04:01 EDT

Nightwing leaned on a crate and waited for Aqualad and Artemis (now Tigress).

"Where are you guys?" He whispered.

The timing was right as the two appeared. Aqualad spoke, "I apologize if we are late."

"Only a minute. Not bad." Nightwing grinned then looked at Artemis/Tigress. She wore a burnt orange and black suit, with a hard orange mask that covered her forehead, nose, and cheeks. The mask itself resembled and stylized the face of a tiger, "How are you doing?"

"I'm still alive and my cover's not yet blown so… I'm guessing that's a good sign." She said sarcastically, "So what's the plan?"

Nightwing stopped leaning on the large wooden crate and walked towards them, "Kaldur, has the Light welcomed you properly yet?"

"No." The Atlantean shook his head, "Not yet."

"Then this is going to hurt but… blowing up the cave may be your final step."

Both the undercover members blew their eyes. Seriously? They both thought.

Unsure she heard him correctly, Tigress gaped at him, "You have got to be joking! The Cave!?"

"It will show the Light how Kaldur is 'throwing away his old life'," Nightwing explained.

"Although, it seems inevitable. Blowing up the Cave may push me further into officially joining the Light. Then…"

"We can find out who their partner is." He concluded.

"Okay, besides that, what about Conner's situation?" Artemis noted worriedly, "Are we gonna fake his death?"

"No. We cannot." Aqualad said, "If we do that, the Team will be divided and that is the last thing we need."

"So… capture him?"

"It's the only viable option." Dick looked down in thought, "Kaldur, are you ready to exchange?"

"I am afraid I could not get what you wanted. My father insisted I accompanied him to places elsewhere."

"Understood," he nodded

"How about you?"

"No. Too busy today." Nightwing looked down in thought.

"What is wrong, my friend?" Aqualad placed a hand on his shoulder like he did for him the day before.

"Conner was… let's just say off, today."

Tigress raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean by 'off'?"

"He finally snapped at Miss M."

The 'former' Archer said, "That's not good. Because…"

"Because he might willingly join the Light. We cannot afford to lose him this way."

Tigress winced, M'gann… you should never have done that.

"Has your dad given you another assignment besides what the Light ordered him to tell you?"

"Yes, the Light's partner is in need of prisoners for their experimentations," Aqualad looked away in anger, "But I do not wish to ask for members of the Team."

"We have no choice Kaldur. Tomorrow night, infiltrate the Cave and capture anyone who is there."

"Does that include Superboy?"

Nightwing huffed and shook his head, "It's too risky. If you knocked him out, he'd wake up eventually and attack all of you. Kill you, even."

"So what do you suggest?"

"Find a way to help us rescue Lagoon Boy AND the others who you captured. I'll… go to the Batcave after this and gather some… Kryptonite." He said the last word with sourness in his voice. Tigress and Aqualad couldn't help but feel the same way; she frowned.

"We will exchange in the Cave?"

"Yes. But you have to make it look legit. Then wait for me to escape; I will send you a message once the cost is clear. Then blow the Cave sky high."

Aqualad and Tigress nodded. Afterward, they left saying their goodbyes and Nightwing left to find a Zeta-Tube to the Batcave. This HAS to work…

Once again, I sincerely apologize for my remark in the review section. I did not mean to hurt anyone.

I also apologize if this chapter felt either too rushed or the time stamps were confusing for you (EDT is eastern daylight time, and CDT is central daylight time, in case you didn't know that). Also, you might all think Conner's being an ass towards M'gann, as a matter of fact, he's not. He is standing up for himself because he wants her to know what she did to him emotionally since she wouldn't listen or even attempt to understand. Conner is technically an emotional wreck if you think about it.

But overall, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please review and let me know what you all thought.

Have a great day/night!