Alright I've been slacking I'm sorry! But rather than doing readings for class, I wrote this chapter. Granted it may not be the greatest of chapters, but a filler is needed here and there. Enjoy this chapter! Also if you have a twitter you can follow me Nina_ElizaD!
April 29. 19:45. EDT. Happy Harbor. The sun had almost completely set upon the horizon. Darkness was settling down the shore, and a chilling wind blew through. M'gaan stood completely still. Any movement and an arrow would shoot through her skull, killing her in a swift single blow. Forced to comply and cooperate, she fell to her knees. "What do you think you're doing?" Kaldur barked, "Stand up."
Miss Martian stood up. She could density shift and fly away, but where would she go. No one had known she left Mount Justice, and it wouldn't be easy to lose Kaldur and Tigress. She could be completely surrounded by henchmen and have no idea. She was inevitably trapped. "What do you want with me, traitor?" she asked snidely.
He began to pace around her, slightly sinking in the sand. "Why are you out here all alone M'gaan?"
"None of your business."
"You seem in no hurry to return to Mount Justice, so obviously you're running away from something…but what?"
"Like I said, it's nothing that concerns you."
"On the contrary. It concerns me quite a bit. You wouldn't happen to feel betrayed by your teammates would you?"
Her eyes widened. She did feel betrayed, by Superboy, and even by Nightwing for enforcing Superboy's idea to put her on suspension. "What does it matter to you?" she whimpered.
"Well, I have a proposition for you Miss Martian. Recently, you and Superboy infiltrated my ship in search for your fellow teammate Lagoon Boy, but were unfortunately unsuccessful. What interests me is the strength of your power. You telepathically assaulted my mind, and if Superboy hadn't knocked you unconscious, you may have put me in a catatonic state."
He was right. Superboy prevented her from doing something that could be good, or could have been terrible, but the fact that he intentionally knocked her unconscious was heartbreaking.
"The fact of the matter is," Kaldur continued, "we could use power like yours on our side, on the side of the Light."
"Never!" she barked. "You betrayed us and now you think that I'll betray my team? My friends?"
"And you don't think they've betrayed you?" he said soothingly. "Think about it…isn't it odd that no one has come to find you yet? You have obviously left without telling someone. That's why you haven't tried to escape yet. You would have to explain leaving the base. We've been following you Miss Martian. We know that you snuck out using your Martian powers. You can't hide anything from me."
He was completely right. "What do I have to gain if I join you?" she asked sternly.
Kaldur shot a glance at Tigress, who looked at him disconcertingly, and then he looked back towards Miss Martian. "You will be appreciated and respected. You won't have to hold anything back. You will be able to reach your full potential. Everything you fight for is not as it seems. You're missing key pieces of information about whom and what you're fighting for. You're not trusted." He nodded, and Tigress lowered the weapon targeted at M'gaan's head.
She didn't flinch or attempt escape. Kaldur's words seemed so appealing to her. Given the light of recent events, if she had never telepathically assaulted her former companion, she wouldn't be in this situation. But M'gaan reflected on that particular instance. It was so easy for her to do it. She didn't hold anything back, and didn't feel any remorse at all. She wanted to do it.
She was torn between two personalities. Her true nature of wanting to fight for justice was at war with this new evil maturing personality, that it felt good to hurt people. She had two options available to her. She could turn against her friends and work for the Light and truly develop this new evil identity, or she could work as a self-enforced double agent. She could prove to her team just how truly valuable she is, and that suspending her from missions was the worst possible thing they could have done.
'I will just have to see how this plays out. I have to prove myself. I need my respect back. I'll show them all.' She thought to herself.
"Fine, you win. I'll join you." She stated calmly.
"Excellent, now if you'll head this way." He directed, extending an arm to a rising manta flyer. A ramp extended and Miss Martian boarded the ship. Momentarily, Kaldur stood behind to consult Tigress.
"I hope you know what you're doing," she strongly stated.
"It was the only way to maintain our cover. If I had disobeyed my father, it could have created…complications." He replied.
"How will we tell Nightwing?"
"We'll have to arrange an unexpected rendez-vous to reveal the news."
"I have to know though…why didn't you reveal who I was and our true intentions?"
"Miss Martian is fragile, I don't think any more feelings of betrayal would do her any good, or help our cause at all."
"And what exactly is our cause Kaldur?"
"I'm still trying to figure that out..." They both proceeded to walk onto the manta flyer as night had fully set upon Happy Harbor. The ship had descended into the depths of the Atlantic Ocean, and Miss Martian would now have completely abandoned her teammates. She was a deserter.
April 30. 2:35. EDT. Mount Justice. Superboy was unable to sleep. The base was dimly lit, and dead silent. His guilt fueled his insomnia. He tried to justify his actions, and even though he could rationalize punching M'gaan in the head, it still felt wrong. He betrayed her trust, and essentially ruined her. He understood how important the team is to her, and with one fell swoop, he took it all away.
He wandered through the halls of the base, just thinking. Multiple times had he passed her room, and yearned to go inside to properly apologize. How would she react? Would she accept and understand the reasoning behind his actions or would she irrationally lash out and shut him out?
He walked into the weight room of the base, and started throwing jabs at a punching bag. A couple blows and the seams cracked open, letting the beans flow out. He unlatched the chains, allowing the bag to thud to the ground. He walked over to the utility closet, grabbed another bag, hooked it on and pounded away.
It wasn't long until he had gone through three punching bags. The utility closet was empty now. He sat himself in the sea of beads that were spread across the floor. He lay on his back staring at the ceiling. "Ahem." He sat up when he heard a feminine voice. He looked up to see Cassie leaning in the doorway in her pajamas.
"What are you doing up?" she asked playfully.
"I-I couldn't sleep," he stuttered slightly.
"Mind if I keep you company?"
"No go ahead."
She walked over and sat next to him. She giggled.
"What is it?" he asked.
"You made quite a mess here. You better clean it up before everyone wakes up."
"Yeah, I guess I should." Awkward silence. They sat in a brightly lit exercise facility, in the middle of the room, not even looking at one another. Cassie twiddled her thumbs. After a while she turned towards him. "Okay this is ridiculous!" she exclaimed, "You need to stop blaming yourself for other people's actions! You're not a babysitter Connor! You're just you, and you should only be responsible for yourself."
He looked at her in shock. He couldn't believe that someone who was biologically six years younger than him was so mature and right about him. "You're right Cassie. About everything." He sighed.
"Look Connor, I like you. I think you're a great fighter, and really sweet, but you need to stop worrying about other people." She leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Goodnight Connor, try to get some sleep, okay?"
He looked at her in awe, and watched her walk away. She was right, and he was completely amazed. When Superboy first met Wonder Girl, she was bubbly and impulsive. Now she has matured so quickly. It was impressive.
Although she has displayed romantic interest, he still unfortunately had feelings for Miss Martian, and although she was quick to rebound to Lagoon Boy, he still cared. There was too big of an age difference between the two, despite physiologically appearing sixteen years old, she is too young for him. He can't continue to lead her on, in hopes of romantic interest.
Besides, inter-team relationships barely work. Things have changed on the team since M'gaan and Connor were together. Mal and Karen weren't a prime example. Even M'gaan and La'gaan had kinks to work out.
He let out a deep sigh. As sweet as Cassie is for caring so deeply about him, everything that has happened in the past few days is his responsibility. He has to take responsibility for M'gaan's actions, since he still wants to be a part of her life, whether he wants to publicly admit it or not. He has to clean up everything that is going on.
He stood up and walked out of the weight room. The base was still fairly dark, but he managed his way through the lit hallway. He walked past Cassie's quarters and even stopped for a few moments. He contemplated knocking and being honest with her, but rather he chose to wait until morning to explain everything to her. She has a right to know everything after all the support she has given him.
He continued walking until he reached M'gaan's door. It was late, but if he had put this off until later, the guilt would tear him inside. It was gut-wrenchingly painful as it. He knocked on the door. "M'gaan…I don't know if you're sleeping, but can we talk please? It's important, and it can't wait until morning."
No response. He knocked again, slightly louder.
Nothing. He debated walking away, but something felt wrong. She was a light sleeper, and would have at least responded with a gargled half-asleep groan. He pushed the door slightly ajar. "M'gaan?" he whispered.
The light in her room was still on, and he stepped into the room completely. The bed was empty. His eyes widened, and he felt his stomach turn upside-down. 'She never left her room' he thought. He became extremely worried. M'gaan was missing.
He quickly ran to the control room and fiercely typed on the keypad, sending a call to Nightwing who had spent the night in Bludhaven. A large screen popped up, "Superboy, what's the problem?" Nightwing answered.
"M'gaan is missing," Superboy said sternly.
Honestly, writing this chapter was tough since I didn't want to be too mushy and I want it to make sense. If you hate this chapter I totally understand, because it was difficult to write. I'll try to make the next one way more action-y! Please review! - Fire Bender =)