AN: I would like to thank those that took the time to read my first chapter, and to those that had supported my story whether through reviews, favourites, or the PMs. You're all appreciated and I love that my first chapter was able to draw people in. Here is the second chapter of Rogue Agent, and I hope it's not a disappointment. I apologise for the delay in updates. I had change the side story so that it didn't overwhelm readers with Marc being handed a bad hand, which set me back a lot as I had to change up many things with the story. However, now that plot is sorted and back on track, updates should be more regular. However, as I am dealing with a chronic health condition, if there is a delay, then health is most likely the cause of it.

Chapter Two

In the aftermath of his near escape after the battle with the robot manticore, Marc found that he dreaded the dark and especially when his sleep was broken only to find that the darkness pressing in on him. During the day, he found that it was easier to force his mind to suppress any memory or thought of the monster that had given chase just two days earlier. If he forced himself to think of any subject related to science, mathematics, history, or literature- he found that he could forget the terror that he had felt as he ran for his life or the moment when he realised that somebody had programmed the monster… robot… to go after him. However, when he was asleep, he found that he could no longer control what his mind did, and that both memory and trauma associated with his last mission took complete control and plagued his nightmares. It was often that he woke in the night from these dreams, drenched in cold sweat and paralysed with fear as the nightmare faded away only to repeat the cycle every time he closed his eyes.

Two nights after the incident found Marc in the throes of a nightmare… perhaps the worst one of them yet. As usual, it hadn't been a bad dream in the beginning, but it had slowly morphed into one. He had received an award at school for something and had gone on stage to receive it when he felt terror rise in his throat and he found that he had to run away. When he had pushed his way through a set of heavy double doors, he discovered that the school had become a maze of corridors that went off to nowhere no matter the door he opened to get through. He knew that he was being pursued by an unseen entity and had to get away, but despite the growing sense of danger and the fact that he had to get away as quickly as possible, he could not determine what or who he was running from.

However, once he came across a door that did not look familiar to him and opened it, he found himself back in the dark warehouse. Fear gripped him tightly as he stepped further into the warehouse, the door that he had entered through slammed shut behind him which caused him to start violently and glance back only to see that the door had vanished leaving him with no way to escape. He tried to swallow the sense of dread that he felt rise in his chest as he glanced about him, he saw schematics of a building that looked oddly familiar to him along with a few detailed outlines of weapons. Before he had a chance to get a good look at what these weapons were, Marc could suddenly hear the voices of his siblings screaming for him to help them. Yet, his search for Lee, Megan and Tony went nowhere as they seemed to be on the move whenever he got close to them. A flash of red caught his attention as he rounded a corner, something that seemed out of the norm that moved quickly out of sight, but the moment he stepped forward he discovered himself face to face with the manticore instead.

He found himself running, screaming for his siblings, but more specifically yelling for Lee who would have been there in a heartbeat to save him if he hadn't been captured… or worse. Before he had a chance to even think or make sense of the situation, the manticore had him cornered and was just about to deliver the fatal blow when Marc woke with a start, his heart thumping wildly in his chest as a strangled cry tore from the back of his throat. He shivered violently under his blankets, the darkness pressed in on him as he struggled for air, but the panic made it impossible to think or to calm his breathing. His eyes were wide in terror, and he gazed about wildly at the dark just as shapes started to emerge in the shadows of the night. The latest nightmare that had tormented him started to fade away, but it had felt so real that it took awhile for him to remember that he was in a safe place in his bed and in the bedroom that he shared with Tony.

Shakily, Marc pushed himself up onto his elbow and peered around at the shadows of his room groggily. He rubbed tiredly at his eyes and looked towards the nightstand that held the digital alarm clock that told the time and suppressed a groan. It was just after one in the morning, which meant that there was going to be another five and a half hours until daybreak, and that he would have to endure the darkness until then. The thought was not a welcoming one, and Marc found that he could no longer fight the sense of dread that had taken hold of him, and his breathing quickened as he fought back the urge to get out of bed and run to safety.

For several long moments, he fought back the panic swelling in his chest, and willed his breathing to return to normal by slowly counting backwards from ten. From the top bunk came the sound of soft snoring, and Marc suddenly felt relief wash over him once he realised that he was not alone in his bedroom. Earlier in the night, Lee had come to inform him that Jerry had sent him a warning that the Spiez team was about to be sent on another mission but had stood firm on Marc staying put until he had clearance from the WOOHP medical team.

Marc had tried his best to hide the hurt he felt at knowing he was to be left behind while his siblings and spy team went on a mission but had forgotten how truly observant his older brother was. Lee had pulled him into a one-armed embrace, careful to not touch his aching shoulder and held him tightly.

"You're still part of our team, Brainiac. Besides, you're on leave only temporarily. You'll be back on missions in no time, but you've got to focus on healing and getting better first," said Lee in a low voice. "Don't think that this is Jerry telling you that you're no longer a spy or belong on our team."

Marc didn't have the chance to say anything in response before Megan hurried into the room and told Lee that Jerry was ready to bring them to WOOHP. She stood awkwardly in the door as she watched Lee gently squeeze Marc's uninjured shoulder and tousled his hair before he stepped away.

"As soon as we get back, we will tell you everything about our mission," Lee had promised, ignoring the look that Megan had thrown his way after he had said the words. "Just make sure that you don't do anything to make those injuries worse. We'll check in on you if we can with our MPComs. Mom said that there's chicken noodle soup in the slow cooker that is ready to eat but that she's going to be coming home late. Dad should be home soon. If you need anything, don't hesitate to call me…"

"Lee, Jerry's waiting for us. We need to go now," said Megan impatiently, but she threw a worried look in Marc's direction and appeared as though she wanted to say something more when Tony's surprised yelp and the sound of a vacuum was heard. The time for their debriefing at WOOHP had started and so the two eldest siblings had run off without saying another word to Marc and left him alone.

Obviously, his siblings had returned sometime in the night but had decided not to wake him up. Perhaps Lee and Megan had made the decision to allow him to get some more rest and that they would tell him of their mission in the morning. They had not checked in during the night, either, and though Marc knew that this was probably due to their latest mission being difficult- he could not help but feel the resentment that he had allowed to fester close his heart. He felt isolated and as though he was being left out deliberately, and his heart panged at the thought of Lee, Megan, and Tony continuing their spy missions without him… and allowing the gap in their sibling relationship to get wider until there was nothing anymore.

Suddenly, Marc felt a wave of anger wash over him. He was angry that he allowed himself to be a target of a villain, angry that he had allowed himself to get hurt, and most of all angry that he was weak enough to fall victim of this villain. He knew the risks of being a spy and had willingly put himself in danger while on a mission. He knew the risks… and yet… Marc punched his pillow and lay back upon it, ignoring the way his injured wrist throbbed in pain.

He had been captured and held prisoner before, he had even been nearly killed in the process by some villains during some of his previous missions. However, he had always relied on his intellect to get out of those situations. He prided himself on being a strategist, always planning- always being steps ahead of a villain and able to foresee their next actions and counteracting with his own to stop them. He had learned how to fight of course; Jerry had personally seen to that as hand-to-hand combat was part of the job description, and he was often told that sometimes intelligence wasn't enough to fight a battle.

And yet… Marc was always the weakest in comparison to his siblings. A fact that was often used against the Spiez when it came to villains. If he wasn't captured or held prisoner, the criminal usually used his physical weakness to their advantage and would get away.

While none of his siblings voiced it out loud, Marc knew that they often discussed it behind his back or kept their thoughts to themselves. He couldn't help but notice the disappointment in Lee's eyes or the look of exasperation in Megan's face. It was even easy to imagine that Lee and Megan's overprotectiveness of him was nothing more than hidden contempt over the fact that he was included as a member of their spy team.

At the end of the day, the only thing Marc had going for him was his intelligence. It was the one thing that defined him and that he had been proud of. However, his 'great' mind had failed him the day of the robot manticore attack. He had found that he couldn't think and that in his surprise that he could not strategize a way to get away safely. When he had voiced this fact hours after the attack to his siblings, he had noticed the looks that were exchanged and especially the silence that had followed his statement.

"It's normal for your mind to go blank when you are in danger and don't know what to do." Lee had looked at him so sympathetically, that it had been so easy for Marc to believe him. "You responded accordingly. Your body went into flight or fight mode, and that's perfectly normal. It doesn't mean that you're stupid, bro."

"You're not weak, either." Megan's green eyes were fixed beadily upon her twin, watching his every move and reaction closely. "I know what that brain of yours is saying to you, and it's lying. You responded the way any of us would, and you also kept Tony safe. Your brain didn't just shut off and decide not to work. It just responded to a stressful and dangerous situation in a way that kept both you and Tony alive."

"You're a great spy and an even greater brother," Tony chimed in from where he sat cross-legged on the top bunk. "Maybe in your panic your thoughts were moving so quickly that it felt like your mind was empty? Sometimes that happens to me when I am facing something dangerous and need to act quickly."

Lee smiled fondly towards their youngest brother before he resumed his position by the door of Tony and Marc's bedroom. He had been leaning against the door with his arms folded across his chest, but Marc was not fooled by the nonchalant gesture. He knew that his eldest brother was listening for any signs of their mother's footsteps in the hallway outside and was closely watching the scene in the room before him. His eyes missed nothing, and though Marc would never admit it out loud, Lee reminded him of a hawk whose keen eyesight saw everything. He always felt that even though he never said his true feelings out loud, that Lee always knew what was going on and that he could hide nothing.

"It's exactly what Tony has said, Marc," Lee said brightly, noticing the way that Marc had suddenly withdrawn into himself again, but he pressed on. "Your mind didn't fail you. It's just during moments of high stress, you were overwhelmed. Which is perfectly normal…"

He clenched his teeth tightly as he tried to get into a comfortable position to attempt sleep once again, but the pain in his shoulder and wrist throbbed worse than ever, and his head dully ached though he could not pinpoint the source of the pain. He knew that concussion headaches were the worst and that he'd have to suffer through them for a few more days, but he also knew about post-concussion headaches and that those could last for a few months. He sighed and felt resigned to his fate but couldn't help feeling that Jerry would use his condition to refuse to allow him back to WOOHP and going on missions.

If this was to be the case, Marc was in for at least three months of absolute boredom and misery. He was most certainly not looking forward to it and hoped that Jerry would at least allow him to work without having to go on missions. He could still be useful in the lab or on the computer. He didn't have to go out in the field. The next time he saw Jerry, he'd argue his case and hopefully he'd be allowed to return to WOOHP on a reduced workload and he'd still be doing his part for his team and not be seen as an unwanted burden.

At the thought of his boss, he frowned and slowly rolled onto his back so that he was looking up at the top bunk. He rubbed at his shoulder absently as his mind once again begin to whirl with thoughts. Jerry's radio silence in the matter regarding Marc's last mission, and the fact that the older spy had been distant even when asking him about his progress and how he had been holding up worried Marc. Usually, Jerry kept in constant contact with his spies and updated them frequently- even when they weren't on a mission. Complete silence on Jerry's end was so uncharacteristic and out of the norm, that it was cause for concern.

As he lay staring into space and wondering what it all meant, his ears picked up the sound of footsteps in the hallway. He half raised himself on his elbow and listened closely, his heart thumping wildly in his chest as the footsteps came closer before they stopped outside of his bedroom door. He grabbed for the first thing he could reach and held it tightly in his fist before slipping quietly out of bed and shakily stood to his feet. The item that he had grabbed from the nightstand turned out to be his small reading light and wasn't much of a weapon, but he figured that if he threw it the right way, he'd have the advantage of surprise on his side.

However, just as he felt that whoever was on the other side of his door was about to burst in, the footsteps continued past his bedroom to the bathroom. Marc heard the click of the light switch and saw a small sliver of light briefly flitted through the crack underneath the door before the bathroom door was shut. He released a breath of air that he hadn't realised he was holding and felt relief flood through him, but a second later that relief faded away and he felt embarrassment wash over him.

There's nobody here but your family. Nobody is going to hurt you, he thought furiously to himself as he lowered his reading light and gazed about the room. Yet, he was still terrified even though his heart rate went back to normal, and he knew that he was safe, and nobody was going to hurt him. The sliver of moonlight from the window did little to comfort him, and the long shadows cast by the darkness seemed to take a life of their own so that it was easy to imagine monsters lurking in his room.

Finally, when the terror threatened to overwhelm him once more, and he felt like he could no longer take it, he threw open the bedroom door and crashed out into the hallway and into Lee who had just left the bathroom to return to his own room. Marc heard his older brother grunt in surprise as the two nearly crashed into the wall on the opposite side of the hallway.

"Whoa there, bro!" said Lee as he gained back his footing and steadied Marc, keeping a tight hold of him when he was trembling too hard to have complete control of his legs. Lee frowned at this but said nothing, allowing Marc to gain his breath back. "What's wrong, Marc?" he asked after a few minutes when he felt that his brother was calm enough to talk.

Marc opened his eyes and noticed that the hallway was dimly lit by a light that Lee had left on in his room, but his brother had left the door half open so as not to blast light into Megan's bedroom across from his. As usual, his sister had left her door open a crack- but the room was dark and still.

He allowed his brother to help him stand upright but he still felt numb with the fear that had overwhelmed him moments earlier. For a moment, he remained silent as he tried to find the words that could explain what was wrong without causing Lee to worry more about him.

"N… nothing is wrong, Lee." Marc looked nervously into his bedroom and took a shaky breath. "It was just a nightmare. It's nothing…"

Lee looked at him with an unreadable expression on his face. A moment later, he brushed a hand through his hair and sighed softly. Marc swore that he could feel the cogs in Lee's brain turn as his older brother put pieces of the puzzle together and came to one conclusion.

"Why don't we go downstairs and have a cup of hot chocolate?" Lee asked him, gesturing down the hallway towards the staircase. "I'll be down there in a few seconds. I've got to turn off my light first. However, I think we need to have a talk."

Marc watched Lee walk down the hallway and disappear into his room, leaving him alone with his thoughts and a feeling of dread of what this discussion was to entail.

By the time Lee had entered the kitchen, Marc had claimed a seat at the breakfast nook. Bright yellow floor length curtains covered the large bow windows, giving the nook a cozy and comforting presence. The lights had been turned on, along with the electric fireplace that emitted both a soft glow and warmth. A large bench circled the maple table but left enough space for people to get in and out or to even put in an extra chair at the end of the table. Lee knew that this was one of Marc's favourite areas of the house as it was filled with light, and it was often that he was found curled up on the bench with a book.

He noticed that Marc had taken out two mugs and had set them on the counter beside the black kettle that he had turned on and repressed the urge to smile. His brother had taken out their special mugs that they had received at Christmas by their great grandparents. He went to the cupboard that held the hot chocolate and glanced towards the breakfast nook, noticing immediately that Marc appeared forlorn and exhausted with dark circles under his eyes and had his eyes resolutely upon the table.

"Hm, we've got some of that pink hot chocolate that Megan loves so much, but we've also got rich and creamy, candy cane, and the one with the ridiculously small marshmallows. Which one do you want?"

Marc looked up from the table and peered over Lee's shoulder to where he could see the boxes and cannisters of hot chocolate. His eyes lit up at the pink and white cannister that contained the candy cane hot chocolate. Lee pulled it off the shelf without a word before he grabbed for the box containing the sachets of the rich and creamy. He spooned a generous amount of the candy cane into Marc's mug and put the contents of the sachet into his own and waited for the kettle to boil.

He turned away from the counter and leaned against it, one of his hands upon the countertop and took the time to properly look at his brother who had returned to staring down at the table. His silent study hadn't gone unnoticed by the other boy who grumbled a sullen reprimand about how staring at others was considered rude.

Lee sighed and decided to break the silence. "Your nightmares are getting worse."

It was a statement and not a question, a fact that wasn't lost on Marc who glanced up to stare at Lee with a startled look in his eyes. However, he decided to answer in the affirmative with a quick nod before lowering his eyes back to the table where a series of emotions flitted across his face so quickly that it was hard to gauge what his thoughts were or how he was feeling. To Lee, it was as though he was watching a battle go on, one that was taking a physical and mental toll on his younger brother, and he suddenly felt his overprotectiveness as eldest sibling spring into action.

"Do these nightmares have anything to do with what happened a few days ago?" Lee asked, careful not to say the words 'robot manticore' or 'monster' as he had noticed the affect of these words on his brother in the aftermath of the attack. He noticed the way that Marc's shoulders had tensed and was worried that he had pushed too far when to his relief, there was a nod in answer. "Do you want to talk about it?"

For a moment, Marc was silent as he traced a line upon the table, but a moment later he looked up at Lee with a haunted expression on his face. His eyes were full of a pain that nearly broke Lee, but he remained resolute and silent as he watched his younger brother struggle with finding the proper words to explain what was going on.

"The nightmares are becoming worse each time I close my eyes. They are becoming more vivid and it's almost like my memories of the event, but they are contorted into something more horrifying. I am on my own in these dreams, but I hear you, Megan and Tony screaming for me, but I can't find you and then the… the monster is chasing me, but I can't get out and I find myself cornered." The words tumbled out of his mouth so quickly that Lee could barely keep track of what was being said. "However, throughout the dream, it's like there's flashes of memory. I see schematics in one flash and then in another there's a flash of red… but it isn't you. I followed whatever it was and came across the robot. I'm not crazy, Lee… I'm not…"

Lee set the two mugs of steaming hot chocolate upon the table and immediately rushed to his brother's side, pulling him into a tight hug and did his best to soothe him. He noticed that Marc seemed to collapse into his embrace and had begun to sob into his shoulder.

"It's okay. Everything's alright. You're safe," said Lee soothingly into his brother's hair. "What you're going through is normal given the circumstances. You're not going crazy. Here, why don't you take a sip of your hot chocolate? Didn't you say that chocolate contained some… whatsit called? Something that helps make you feel better?"

Marc pulled away from the hug and offered Lee a wan smile as he wiped at his eyes. He leaned forward and pulled the Sherlock Holmes mug closer to him but didn't take a drink, instead he wrapped his hands around the cup and allowed the heat to warm his hands. Lee frowned but didn't push it as he recognised that his younger brother was deep in his thoughts. For a few minutes, the two brothers sat beside each other in companionable silence, each in their own thoughts. Lee took a sip of his own hot chocolate and leaned back on the bench with his right arm upon the backrest. Beside him, Marc stared gloomily into his cup with a troubled expression upon his face.

Out of all his siblings, Lee found that Marc was the most inscrutable out of all of them. It was often difficult to gauge his emotions and what he was thinking. Of course, Megan was usually the only one who was able to really know what her twin was feeling and seemed to be the one to get him out of his head. Sometimes, Marc allowed his emotions to show on his face, but these were usually brief and difficult to catch unless they were specifically looking for a response.

However, Lee was not Megan and didn't know what to say or do in order to get his brother to continue talking and away from his mind. He knew that he wasn't to push, otherwise Marc would shut down. Yet, he didn't want to remain silent out of fear that his brother would feel that he could not speak.

"Your nightmares aren't the only thing bothering you, is it?" Lee asked, finally breaking the silence, his eyes upon his younger brother.

"What makes you think that?"

"Well for one, you're not drinking your hot chocolate. For another, you're evading my questions." He paused for a moment, debating whether he should bring up what had happened within the last twenty minutes before deciding that he had to. "You ran out of your room as though you were being chased… and… Marc, you…" he pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes to take a breath before releasing it slowly. When he opened his eyes, he noticed that Marc was watching him closely, his brows knitted together in an expression of worry. "I know that there's something bothering you. Something other than those nightmares you suffer through multiple times a night."

Marc's face lost its colour and he turned to face Lee with widened terror filled eyes. "How did you…?"

"Tony told me."

The reply had been so simple and to the point that it took a moment for Marc to understand the implication. When he did, he felt as though a cold hand had reached through his chest and had squeezed his heart. He had thought that his night terrors had only inconvenienced him, and that Tony had been asleep the entire time he would wake in the middle of the night. He felt embarrassed and wished that he had made the decision to return to his darkened room to continue suffering in silence.

"I… I didn't realise that… I am sorry for being a nuisance, Lee. I really am. I am trying to control…"

Lee placed a comforting hand upon Marc's arm and stopped him, giving him a sad smile. "You're not a nuisance, Marc. Why do you believe that you are?"

"It's not just that I feel like I am a nuisance, it's the fact that I feel like I am a… a failure," admitted Marc, his eyes returning to his cup of hot chocolate. He felt suddenly ashamed of himself and tried to hide it by finally taking a sip of his warm drink. He could feel Lee's eyes burn into him but didn't dare to turn to look as he was sure that his older brother was judging him.

"Why do you feel like a failure?" asked Lee in a low voice, his attention now fully upon Marc who squirmed slightly under the weight of his scrutiny. "Please don't shut me out! I want to help you the best I can, and I can't do that if you shut down and don't tell me anything."

Marc took a long drink of his hot chocolate to collect his thoughts. He felt that he had to tell Lee the truth because maybe his brother would be able to understand. However, there was a part of him that wanted to keep what was bothering him a secret because he felt that Lee would probably agree with the negative things that Marc's brain was telling him.

"Marc…" pleaded Lee gently. "Tell me what is going on in that great mind of yours."

"Do you… do you think that I belong on the team?" Marc asked suddenly. The question clearly caught Lee off guard because the eldest Clark sibling stared at him in disbelief for a few moments before answering.

"Of course, you belong on our team, bro! Is that what's been bothering you this whole time? You've been questioning yourself on whether you belong with WOOHP?"

Marc nodded, still unable to meet his brother's gaze, but he could see him out of the corner of his eye and could tell that Lee appeared upset.

"Marc, you are not just a member of our spy team, but you're also my brother. You will always belong here. You're one of the bravest and smartest spies WOOHP has ever had, and it's not just your siblings that are proud of you, but Jerry as well. You do have what it takes to be one of the best WOOHP agents. Our team wouldn't be the same without you and your smarts."

Silence followed Lee's outburst, but he could tell that his words had an impact on Marc because his brother looked over at him with a bright smile that bespoke of his happiness. However, it seemed that there was still a part of him that didn't believe that he had heard Lee correctly, and his smile faltered as he regarded him with wide eyes full of wonder.

"Are you… You're not saying that because you're obligated to, are you?" Marc asked hoarsely, his eyes catching hold of Lee's with an intensity that the older spy immediately recognised as determination. However, something else burned in his brother's eyes, an intelligence that went beyond his years- and he found that his admiration and respect for Marc burned just as fiercely as his overprotectiveness of him. "You're not lying to me when you say that you're proud of me and that you think I belong here? You don't think I am useless or that I am dragging down the team or anything?"

"I am being completely honest with you," said Lee with a bright smile to match that of Marc's. "You are a vital member of our spy team and not only that, but we're family, and that's never going to change."

They finished the rest of their hot chocolate and washed up after themselves, talking idly on other subjects before they turned off the lights and headed up the stairs. Lee saw Marc hesitate outside his room, peering anxiously into the dark room, but a moment later- his young brother squared his shoulders and walked through the doorway and shut the door. For a moment, Lee stood outside of his room, but a second later a proud smile tugged at his mouth and the eldest Clark sibling finally returned to his bed.

End Notes: I wanted to give Lee more of a older brother role in this chapter. Mostly because we see this play out in the canon and I feel that given the circumstances that Marc really needs his big brother. I was going to add more to this chapter, but decided that this long chapter needed to end and I feel happy with where the chapter left off.

If anyone's noticed mistakes that I didn't catch in the final edits, please don't hesitate to let me know. Thank you for reading!