Disclaimer: I do not YJ, DC Nation, or Cartoon Network. Cause if I did, YJ would not be on hiatus.


Wally looks down, but does not respond. These five years have changed him the most, Miss Martian believes. He is a changed man in several ways. Artemis must have gotten to him. He puts his hands and his pockets and has an unreadable expression on his face. Dick bites his lip and raises his eyebrows.

"Conner, I don't get what you're getting so worked up over," Dick mentions. Miss Martian looks up from the ground suddenly and stares at the former boy wonder in shock. She then diverts her eyes to her ex-boyfriend. His fists shake in anger until he releases a furious cry and shoves Nightwing by the neck into a nearby wall, creating a rather large dent into it. Wally watches but does not make an attempt to stop the half-Kryptonian. He leans on a piece of Watchtower machinery and says nothing.

The clone continues to hold him against the wall and Nightwing stares at him with a calm expression on his face for several seconds. M'Gann watches with concern evident in her features as Nightwing's face drops and his face contorts in pain.

"Superboy!" He hears her call him and he growls. He releases his grip on Dick and the man in front of him drops to the ground. Conner backs away from him and watches as Nightwing kneels on the ground, holding his neck and panting.

"We know, Dick. We know about the dealings with Kaldur, the lies you've told us….and we know the she isn't really dead," Conner reveals, frustrated. Nightwing looks away and tries not to meet Conner's eyes. Instead, he looks at Miss Martian and comes to a realization.

"You…you did that mind thing to Kaldur…didn't you?" The Martian stares at her shoes and rubs her arms.

"DIDN'T YOU?" Tears flow freely down the young girl's face and Conner waits for her reaction, knowing very well that he may have to step in at some point.

"This isn't about that." All three of them turn to Wally, who has been quiet throughout the ordeal.

"This is about the fact that we lied to them, Dick. That we played them as if they were pawns in a game," Wally says. The two other members remain silent, quietly taking in what their former teammate tells Nightwing.

"Why is this the first time you bring this up, Wally? It's never bothered you before," Nightwing states with a confused look on his face.

"Maybe because Artemis is like them now…a pawn! She can only wait now…undercover and all alone, waiting to see what the Light wants to do with her, all because of this plan you came up with!"

M'Gann and Conner did not expect him to have this opinion on the plan. They expected him to be defensive about it, angry with the two of them…not someone that he had been involved with the plan with him.

"I told you before! I'm terrified for her. She could be at home, right now, safe. Instead, she's surrounded by psychopaths that she must obey," he cries.

"Don't even try putting all the blame on me, Wally. All of us knew the risks of it and the both of you included, accepted that!"

Conner and M'Gann eyes go back and forth from Dick to Wally and Wally to Dick as the two bicker back and forth. She had never seen the two of them like this before. She remembers when all they would do is joke and prank each other. Maybe throw in a good insult to each other every now and then, but they would both laugh it off. How they had been the best of friends and always work the best together.

She felt as if she were watching two completely different people.

She couldn't take it anymore.

"STOP!" They both turn to her, shoulders heavy and their breaths quickened. She throws her hood above her head, something that all three of the boys had familiarized themselves with. She did that when she felt insecure, or unsure.

"This…can wait until later," she murmurs, "but while we're all in one place…I-I just want to know why. Why you lied to us. We're all the original members here. We started it all. Why couldn't you tell us? How could you lie to us?" Her voice rises. She trembles and tears run down her face, non-stopping. She has a look of frustration on her face and her teeth grit before she speaks again.

"Why did you put us through all of this pain and guilt for your personal gain?! Why make me believe one of my closest friends was dead and that our former beloved leader would turn against us because of the death of the girl he loved?!" Conner wipes his eyes angrily and runs a rough hand down his face. Wally looks at the girl in sympathy as she shakes. Dick's eyes soften and he takes off his mask. He lets go of it and M'Gann watches as it flutters to the ground. He sits in a nearby chair and runs a gloved hand through his hair.

"It was to make sure our plan was never discovered," he whispers.

"If all of the original members knew of it, the Light would have gotten suspicious of us from the start. Unexplained disappearances of us from Mount Justice would trigger curiosity. We had to gain their trust first. They wanted to see how Kaldur would go to prove himself to his father and to the light. Artemis's death was the solution to that problem. We faked her death and your reactions were what convinced the Light to believe Kaldur. Conner, your guilt…and M'Gann, your sadness and anger was what persuaded them. It would have looked too unrealistic if the two of you weren't as emotionally connected," he says.

"You manipulated our emotions. How did you feel justified? Were you just okay with doing that?" Wally listens to Conner and decides to answer before Dick dug his own grave.

"It wasn't easy…at all. I remembered Artemis just coming home and crying because she felt so bad about when she had faked her own death. It's sad when you have to lie to your own best friends just for the sake of a mission. It's sad when anyone has to manipulate them for anything, really," he says sadly. M'Gann lowers her hood and walks over to him. She locks her arms around his torso tightly. He burrows his head into her neck and hugs her back. He begins to cry.

For himself.

For everything that has happened.

For Kaldur.

For Artemis.

Superboy and Nightwing look on as M'Gann comforts Wally.

"How long," Conner mutters in monotone. He does not turn to face him.

"I came up with a few years ago, when you and M'Gann were still together." Conner glances at M'Gann when he says that. His features soften when he looks at her and he knows that Dick notices.

"When the two of you," he clears his throat, "you know…it just made the plan look better. The two of you weren't spending as much time together. It convinced the Light that you were too angry with each other to work together." M'Gann releases Wally with a hand on his shoulder and tells him something that the two boys cannot hear. Conner knows very well that he could've used his super hearing but decides against it. Dick decides to address Conner and M'Gann.

"Today…may not be a day of forgiveness and trust, but now that you know…there's no going back. No more secrets of this, no more lies," he confirms. He pulls two zip drives out of his utility belt and hands them to M'Gann.

"These two drives will tell you everything you need to know. About the plan…and about the Light," he says.

"I know it may be hard to learn to trust me or Wally…or even try to trust us again, but I figure this a start," he says. Wally notices tears threatening to spill from his best friend's eyes. It is only a matter of time before Batman's former protege would break.

"I'm sorry," he whispers painfully. Conner nods. Miss Martian walks up to him hesitantly, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Dick...I-"

Without a word, Nightwing pulls her to him and hugs her. Her eyes widen but then close as she hugs him back. He mutters apologetic words over and over. Wally and Superboy look at each other with understanding, as if they sent a silent message to one another. Quiet words echo throughout the room.

"I'm so sorry, M'Gann. I'm so, so sorry."


Thank you for all the reviews and favorites and everything! Means so much and school's been well, you know. So I appreciate everything and thanks a bunch. :)

And to the one guest, who talked about glossing over what happened with M'Gann and Kaldur. You're definitely right about it being in a bunch of these stories. But thinking about it, Conner has been disapproving of M'Gann's ways in many episodes but does not confront M'Gann about it, besides the one time in the bio-ship early on in the season. That has actually disappointed me in some episodes. In following chapters, I will definitely be focusing on that more. But, remember that all this information is so new to Conner and M'Gann. It's shocking to him and it's kind of harder to focus on everything else. The story does not end here and I will do a chapter with the consequences of her actions, in fact her place on the team may be on the line. It will get more in depth in later chapters. Thank you for reviewing.