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Where Do We Go From Here, chapter 1

There's a time for understanding and there's a time for frustration. Match's behavior was crossing the line from the former to the latter.

He's gotten healthier, at least physically. He's still a good fifteen to twenty pounds lighter than I am, but that's an improvement over the forty that he was at the time we found him.

His attitude's really starting to piss me off though. He's not annoying; he's not smug; he's just...distant. Maybe that's the way he's always been, but it didn't seem like it before.

Maybe I'll stop tiptoeing around and just ask him what's going on.

Match was watching a news program when Kon walked in.

"What'ca up to?" he asked.

Match turned around. Kon noted that he looked calm, as always. He also noticed that Match's hair had grown down to his shoulders.

"I'm keeping up with current events, Superboy," he replied.

"You don't have to call me that. You can call me Kon."

"Kon?"

"Yeah, it's my name. It's short for Kon-El."

"I wasn't aware that you had one other than Superboy. Connell is a good name, but why something Scottish?"

"It's not Connell, it's Kon-El," Kon said, stressing the two different syllables. "It's Kryptonian; Superman gave it to me. I'm named after one of his cousins."

"Oh. I didn't know that."

Kon took a look at the program Match was watching. "Hey, is that in French?"

"Yes. It's helpful to get a different perspective on events."

There was a pause.

"Okay, I'm not good at this," Kon admitted. "What's wrong with you?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that you're distant and not talking about what happened to you."

"What's to talk about? It happened."

"Now I know something's wrong. You didn't try to deny it."

"The ordeal was physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausting. It also depleted whatever solar reserves I had."

"Weren't you in some sort of trance? That's what the Martian Manhunter said."

At that moment, Match gave me a bitter smile and let some of the pain he'd been bottling up show. This display of emotion showed me that there was a serious cost to his survival; a cost that no one had guessed at.

"Telekinesis is a psychic power," Match lectured. "It's not an automatic power like Wonder Woman's strength."

"I know that," Kon said. "What are you getting at?"

"It means that I had to actively exercise my power that entire time. What the Martian Manhunter thought was a trance was actually me focusing all my concentration on regulating my body's functions."

"You only did it while you were awake, right? You couldn't have done it when you were asleep."

"No. If I let myself fall asleep, I would have cut my survival time by two-thirds."

Kon gave him a shocked look. "You mean, you were awake for those entire three weeks?"

Match nodded. "The human mind's not supposed to stay awake for that length of time. It's especially not supposed to be aware of being buried for that time."

Match started crying. "It was awful! Knowing about the rubble all around me...knowing that I could only survive if someone found me..."

Kon hugged him and let him sob on his shoulder.

I had no idea that he had been through all of that. It's...incredible how strong he forced himself to be. It's incredible...and a little horrifying. I can see now that the events had traumatized him. I hope that he'll let me help him recover.

Many thanks to everyone who commented on my earlier story, Brothers in Arms. Where Do We Go From Here? is a continuation of that story with a little more of a psychological focus on the characters. It may not have as many action scenes, but I hope that everyone enjoys it!

Any and all comments welcome!