{This is ASL}
"Normal Talking"
Thinking or flashback
'Telepathic linkup'
"Writing"
Natsu's moves
Emphasis for anger
"Shifted Halfling speaking"
~~~~*/|\*~~~~
Deviation-
The Targets- Part 1
~~~~*\|/*~~~~
September 7th, 19:20 at Taipei- Summit Peace Conference
Clawed fingers gripped the ledge of the building a little over half a mile away. Black markings that rippled over pale skin blended in perfectly with the night sky overhead and navy blue eyes peered down at the gathered crowd. "Tche… with all these humans bent outta shape for a peace conference? What makes you think He's gonna be around here?"
The wind picked up slightly and armored heels clicked on the concrete as the one the man was speaking to answered. "There's only one way to find out. Do you have his scent, Devil Slayer?" a pale nose twitched before a head of black shaggy hair nodded. "Yeah. It's overlaid by another- that's weird… think he has a mate now?" Scarlet hair shone briefly in a high beam before the woman vanished from sight. "An abomination like that? Unlikely. Acnologia escaped us once… he won't get the chance to do it again, especially with the price we had to pay. Cobra's information was spot-on."
Navy blue eyes and grey eyes glared down on the gathered humans of this plane. As a bright light enveloped the blood-haired female.
"The Black Dragon has a son, and he's here on this world parading as a hero. The very image… it makes me sick."
=›◊‹=
Roy hid behind a pillar as he watched the crowd for any enemy signs. Beside him was a teenage boy with dyed brown hair and mismatched eyes of red and gold. {All clear on the west entrance, Roy.} the teen signed. His concealed wings itched a bit, but he couldn't pull them out until the mission was over.
"Good job, Salamander." The red archer whispered. He gazed at the younger boy and couldn't help but feel guilty. If he had been there for the Halfling, maybe he wouldn't have been hurting as much. His eyes had yet to regain their spark, but he was no longer a walking catatonic zombie. "Hey, if you need to leave the Junior League for a while, you're welcome to crash with me for as long as you need." Salamander nodded before his dull eyes slid to the right. {I have school later today. I need to go.} the red archer nodded, waving discreetly as the Halfling left, his part in the mission over.
Roy couldn't chase after the Halfling without blowing his cover so he needed a new set of eyes. gritting his teeth and groaning at the situation, the ginger leaned back against the column and tapped his earpiece.
"Aqualad."
"It's Red Arrow. Salamander ran off and I need a new set of fingers to tap into the Justice League's files. Tell me the exact height of Cheshire from the League of Shadows."
Back in the mountain Aqualad frowned at the news of Natsu suddenly leaving in the middle of a mission, but didn't comment as he accessed the League's database. "Checking… got it. Cheshire Cat is exactly 1.2 meters."
"Uhh… that doesn't tell me-." The Atlantian smiled in amusement. "She's 5'6, Red Arrow, and exceptionally dangerous." The vermilion Archer grunted as he surveyed the crowd. "Thanks for the tip." Aqualad paused before asking. "Do you need assistance?" Roy huffed. "Nah. I have- well had Salamander with me before he had to leave for school…" Roy hesitated before tacking on. "He's still shaken about the Kryptonian and your martian couple, it's obvious. They haven't become official yet, though?"
"No, but Natsu has been seen around here less and less… He's Regressing, Red Arrow. The Mountain is… rather quiet without him, and none of us who know 0f his condition know how long he has past this stage."
Roy sighed before nodding. "I'll try to keep him out of trouble, but lately… he's sliding away from me too. Oh, I found a match by the way."
"Good luck… Aqualad out."
"Yeah."
~~~~*/|\*~~~~
September 7th, Mount Justice, 6:41 EDT
Superboy worked on his motorcycle in the Hangar while Sphere, the alien orb-thing the Team brought back from their little escapade in Bialya rolling around in the background as he worked. The clone set his wrench down as the nagging thought, the feeling like something felt wrong during that mission, that still felt wrong, wriggled in not just his mind, but his chest as well. He didn't make much of it at first, but ever since that mission, he'd felt off.
Megan seemed different as well, but Natsu had been drifting farther and farther away- he was hanging out more with Roy than anyone nowadays, and his eyes were… dull. It bothered the kryptonian clone to no end, but whenever Natsu was around and Superboy tried to ask him about it the Halfling got a pained expression before Kaldur, Wally, or Robin came to sweep the Halfling away to somewhere else with a huge amount of tenderness and touching and head-pats and side hugs that the Halfling sank into- it made Superboy feel… sick? No that wasn't right- it was bubbly and hot and similar to anger or irritation, but not at the same time…?
Megan would say that it might be an earthling phase, or maybe even envy (that awful feeling would make sense of it was), but Superboy wasn't so sure.
And Megan…Superboy felt happy around her, he really did… but if that was the case, why did it feel like he was being poked and prodded back at Cadmus whenever she touched him? be it a simple pat on the shoulder or a hand on his arm, something didn't feel right. But as soon as those feeling came in her presence, something made them go away- it was probably nothing; either way he didn't like feeling angry, at least not for very long.
Sphere suddenly paused in its rolling and beeped questioningly. The sound of wings fluttering pulled Superboy's attention and one of the two people on his mind appeared behind him. Dull gold and red eyes blinked slowly before they glanced at the motorcycle. "Uh… I know you're not big on vehicles, but I'm just doing some tweaks, in case you want to watch or- well, yeah." This would be the first time Natsu fully approached him since they returned from Bialya.
Natsu didn't make a sound, he just blinked again before turning and walking a little bit to the right before sitting down.
Superboy watched the Halfling's movements, the sudden thought of "Was I like that when they first met me?" fluttering in his head before he looked back to his motorbike.
Internally, Natsu felt like he'd eaten a bunch of rocks- heavy and a bit sluggish, but if he couldn't have Superboy the way he wanted… well he'd stayed away from his Nest long enough, and even though he could detect what Megan did to a faint degree- dragon Mates couldn't be tampered with on the Dragon's side of things- he couldn't go against her yet. Yes, Natsu planned to drag the green girl through the ringer, but if he did it now everyone would suggest that he was jealous. Not that they would be too far off, but dragon mates were something you never fuck around with.
Was it strange that despite all this, Natsu couldn't bring himself to truly hate her?
'We're starting school today… you need a name.'
Superboy hummed, thought internally glad that Natsu was speaking to him again and not in two or three-word sentences. "I know. Red Tornado and Martian Manhunter have 'John' as their first names, but it sounds… not me, if that makes sense…" Natsu hummed.
'I can give you some suggestions if you want. I know what it's like to not be addressed as you.' Superboy blinked before pausing and looking over at the dragon-boy sprawled like a cat on his side in a beam of sunlight, tail flicking at the water languidly and cooling his spearhead pleasantly. The gold marks spiraling across Natsu's folded wings and the scales on his shoulders and taloned feet seemed to sparkle in the sunlight streaming in from the ceiling window of the hanger.
Suddenly, the clone's mouth went dry at the sudden image the Halfling portrayed- Natsu looked very pretty he didn't dare say that out loud or Natsu would probably kill him.
But this isn't right- I have feelings for Megan… don't I?
"Uh- Um… sure?"
Something in Natsu's gaze flashed, a hint of that spark, before it was gone. 'Alright. I've got…'
An Hour Later
'Free?'
"No, I don't think so."
'Justin?'
"No."
'Laricade?'
"Ugh, no."
'…fine then… Gray?'
"What kinda name is-?"
'alright, alright. Gods you're a tough one to please… what about…?'
Over the last hour, that brief spark had been coming back a bit more, but it faded after a few seconds each time. It was enough, Superboy thought to himself, that Natsu was making a comeback from whatever funk he had fallen into, though whatever he'd been afflicted with couldn't really be called a 'funk'.
'Oi, you hear me?' Superboy blinked and refocused on Natsu, his friend's blank face filling his vision- Natsu had moved closer without alerting the clone's hearing. That was unsettling and… strangely curious, how did he do that? "No, sorry. Can you say it again?"
Natsu huffed, smoke coming from his mouth. 'I said, what about Conner. Conner Kent?'
The clone opened his mouth to refute it before actually stopping to think. He let it roll around, mouthed it for a bit, spoke it aloud lowly before he rolled his gaze to the ceiling in thought. "... Yeah," he said after a few minutes. "Conner sounds good. Is Kent for your late… uh..."
'Yeah, let's go with that.' Natsu felt a vindictive glee at messing with Superman through assigning his alter ego's surname to his technical son. Also, for the first time in a month, Natsu smiled- truly smiled without looking like he was hiding pain.
The rosette nodded before leaning back and stretching, arching his back downwards like a lazy cat and curling his tail up while spreading his wings upwards, the sceathers shivering and clinking melodically in the air, before mismatched eyes half-vanished under lidded eyes as they looked away from the clone's sky blue. 'It suits you.' The dragon-boy mumbled. 'In Irish "Conner" is derived from a phrase that means, in rough terms, "He Runs with the Hounds". I thought you looked more of a dog person than a cat person anyway.'
The newly named Conner was about to retort, glad that playful banter had been achieved with his old friend, when Kaldur, Red Tornado, Martian Manhunter, and Megan came into the hangar, the girl carrying three lunch bags and sporting a bright smile. "you two ready for school? I packed our lunches- peanut butter and jelly for me a Superboy, and a tuna fish sandwich for Natsu-!" 'I'll buy my lunch, thanks.' Natsu said flatly, narrowing his eyes and snorting black smoke through his canine teeth. Though his eyes were once again in their dull lifeless look his tail stayed off the ground even if it flicked back and forth like he was irritated. John focused on the anger and indignation rolling off the Halfling towards his niece and narrowed red eyes. Natsu merely sighed and looked away, calming himself with a deep breath.
Megan paused, looking at the Halfling with an unnerved gaze to which Natsu subtly raised his lip to, showing the very tip of his right canine. The message, unseen to everyone but the Martian girl and the Halfling was very clear:
I know what you did.
John, in the meantime, was speaking to Superboy about how the beginning of School was of great importance, and thus had to pick a name. "I've already got one picked out… Conner Kent."
The group then looked at Natsu who merely blinked. 'I'm not changing my last name. The most I'll do is put on my medallion and set it to what I would look like without my dragon parts, but that's it.' In the end, no one argued his case- My mother was the last Dragneel and she never took His name. I carry both halves of my blood with pride, and I won't hide it to that extent.'
=›◊‹=
Etherious Dragneel combed his fingers through his pink locks as his eyes, now back to their original gold color, dully looked from one person in the schoolyard to the other. He trailed behind Conner and Megan, who walked side by side, and took in the smells and other sights that came with a public school setting. He sighed before smiling- maybe it won't be too bad being here. There are plenty of distractions, aft-.
"Dude, is that hair color even natural?"
The Halfling paused, brow twitching in irritation as he fingered the mini notepad in his jacket pocket.
"He's pretty cute though, I'll give him that."
Etherious rolled his eyes before quickening his pace to catch up with Conner and Megan, but a tall and muscular teenager stepped into his way, making the disguised Halfling bump into him. "Lookie here… we got a Fairy in our yard, guys." Natsu locked up. "With hair like that, you gotta be into the D, huh?" Etherious's gaze flickered to the tall male in front of him before skimming the crowd. His visual quest landed on Conner and he felt a surge of relief when he saw the clone pushing his way through the gathering crowd of teenagers.
"Come on, man- leave him be." A cool hand came on Etherious' left shoulder followed by a breeze that smelt of wintergreen, mountain snow, and deadly ice. A chain that dangled a cross-sword pendant jangled as the one who came up behind Etherious came into view. Black spiky hair and pale skin filled the Halfling's vision and a jarring sense of nostalgia ripped through the dragon-boy, but he didn't know why. "They're new here, ain't that right?"
"What's it to you, Fullbuster? Just because you can get away with stripping in the buff doesn't mean you're better."
"I'd have at disagree," a strong voice said. The crowd parted to show an imposing figure striding towards them. Conner had stopped, Megan's hand on his shoulder and pulling him back so they could observe the two newcomers. "At least Gray doesn't hurt innocents just because he can."
The dark-haired male smirked as he saluted the red-haired girl. "Nice to see you on my side, Titania." A tick mark formed in the redhead's forehead and the ravenette flinched back, almost hiding behind Etherious. "S-Sorry!" Conner stared in confusion as even the larger guy stepped back at the girl's dark look. "Look, Scarlet, I don't want any-."
*Snap*
"alright, alright guys- Erza shouldn't you be heading to the Student Council room right now?" the girl blinked her grey eyes before nodding to the teacher who spoke. "You're right, sir. Gray, let's go."
Etherious blinked as he watched the two strangers leave. Something was telling him it wouldn't be the last time he saw them, but something about them made him feel sad and happy at the same time. "Hey, we should hurry to class too." Megan said, her brown eyes flitting from Conner and the smaller male.
=›◊‹=
"…and the last one to introduce is Etherious Dragneel. He transferred from Keystone High due to his father traveling for work. Etherious, how about you tell us something about yourself?"
Turning to the white board, Natsu picked up a dry-erase marker and started writing.
'I like cats, fire, dancing, and working out. Not much to tell, really… and don't use my full first name, please call me Ether if you have to.'
Conner blinked at the name choice- given his real one was Japanese in nature he would have thought Natsu would go with another season, like Fall or Spring. However, the name felt nice in his head. not as nice as his real name though. His mind supplied helpfully.
Across the aisle next to him, Megan eyed the clone with an unreadable gaze.
When lunch rolled around, the Halfling had left saying he wasn't eating in a place that practically served overstimulation the moment you stepped through the doors. When the taller boy entered the room, he instantly understood Natsu's reasoning- Conner didn't want to eat in the lunch room either, and he was in the threshold.
Despite what Megan said to offer platitudes, it was loud. There were too many smells and colors and things everywhere that his kryptonian senses couldn't assimilate properly, and if he saw one more superman symbol on a shirt he was gonna punch someone.
"H-hey, where-?"
"I'm going somewhere else to eat. It's too noisy." As an afterthought, he tacked on. "Please don't follow me."
He still didn't know the layout of the school very well, but he just walked where his feet decided to go, only pausing to take a bite of his sandwich every once and a while. He was next to the library, the smell of books and ink wafting through the air, when he paused at a window. Looking out on a group of trees, he saw Natsu sitting on a branch, lunch tray empty and to the side while the Halfling himself laid on a branch in the tree napping. Though fall was setting in the weather was still pleasant, not too warm and not too cool. Natsu took whatever opportunities he could find to soak up the last of the warm season's sun. Conner stared at the transformed Halfling before deciding that eating outside was appealing.
~~~~*/|\*~~~~
Natsu sighed as he felt the breeze card through his hair. The sun overhead felt absolutely divine, and if it wasn't his first day of school he would be content to just lay here and nap forever. "Hey, there you are." A golden eye cracked open and looked down to see Conner looking up with a contemplative look on his face. The Halfling shifted before raising his hands to sign, and since the clone wasn't fluid in ASL yet her also spoke with his mind. 'I told you it was noisy in there.' Conner averted his gaze before sitting in the grass at the foot of the tree facing the branch Natsu was on. Pulling out the remains of his sandwich, Conner settled down and leaned his head back as another breeze went through the yard.
"Can I ask you something?"
Natsu looked at him, the illusion from the medallion not covering the still dull-eyed look the Halfling carried.
Conner shifted, slightly uncomfortable. "What did the guy mean when he called you a- a Fairy?" Natsu stiffened before he sighed. 'It's complicated… but the best way to say it is that I don't like girls.' Conner blinked. "But you're friends with Megan and Artemis?" Natsu huffed wryly before continuing to sign and speak. 'No, Baby blue, what I mean is I don't like girls in a 'kiss-kiss-fall-in-love' sense. I like boys… and that's not very liked here on Earth. It comes with the works- slurs, derogatory terms. Not many people know I'm gay, and pink is usually a color associated with being homosexual.' Conner just sat there and listened before speaking. "It must be hard having to hide even more of yourself."
Natsu blinked in confusion before cocking his head. "I mean… you have to hide under Heat Mirage when we fly over cities in the day because of how people react… and that time on the bridge with Superman… it makes me feel… a sort of pain." The clone tapped over his heart with a puzzled look before glancing at the Dragon-boy over him. "Right here."
Natsu's eyes narrowed.
"You're a really great person, Natsu. You try harder than anyone on the team, you get hurt to protect people and you take verbal slurs and physical beatings only to come back stronger. I guess that's what I admire about you." The Halfling raised his hands to respond but the bell for lunch to end rang. Conner stood and patted off the bits of dirt, grass, and twigs that got caught on his clothing.
"You are you, Natsu. Don't let anyone take that from you."
And the clone left, Natsu sitting on the tree branch with shock in his eyes before it was turned into a gentle sort of sadness. they warmed before he smiled at the back of his retreating ma- friend.
'Thank you.' As Conner rounded the corner out of sight, Natsu's phone rang. pulling it out he answered it.
'Sup?'
"Hey, kid... I might need more help than I thought..." the Halfling sighed, stuffing his free hand into his jacket pocket. 'What is it?'
'Natsu was called in to help with the Taipei Summit Meeting. Something went wrong.'
The clone frowned as the martian relayed the news before looking off at the direction of Mount Justice from his desk. He couldn't help but feel worried, and when the teacher turned on the TV, Conner knew that worry was rightfully felt.
"The streets are in utter chaos! The attempts on North and South Relasian leaders have been stopped, but-!" a roar ripped through the skies over Taipei and a flash of purple and gold was seen between buildings. the news reporter screamed and ducked, shielding herself from falling debris. "It's an all-out dragon fight over our heads, people! The League's Salamander and a foreign snake-like dragon are fighting over our heads as we speak!"
Conner straightened, his fists clenched as he heard the familiar roar and saw the flash of gold fire reflected in the windows. The flames drew the camera upwards and showed Natsu in his dragon form, seriously injured but fighting who Conner remembered being told was named Cobra. The gold was instantly cut off and the kids in the class as well as the teacher shouted or went pale when they saw the reason why.
"SALAMANDER!"
