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Betrayal From Within, chapter 3

Serling was concerned. Match looked pretty bad and Kon wasn't taking that very well. It was very clear to her that his nerves were frayed in concern over his 'brother.'

She resisted the urge to shake her head in disbelief. The last time she saw the two of them together they were fighting. Now, they were family, each concerned for the other's well being.

She knew that Match was concerned for Kon, even though he tried to hide it. He kept up an optimistic front and didn't let on how badly he was really feeling. Serling had the data; she knew that he was feeling much worse than he let on.

She would have felt a lot better if Dabney Donovan wasn't working with her. Even though he was in a cell in an off-site location, her skin crawled every time she heard his voice. Since he was in frequent communication with her, that happened far too often for her tastes.

Unfortunately, the man was brilliant and had the best ideas on how to combat Match's cellular degeneration. With his help, Serling had managed to reduce the rate of degeneration.

Serling's screen beeped and she steeled herself before answering. Sure enough, Donovan was calling her again.

"I've had a breakthrough, Dr. Rockets," he said, smiling that oily and arrogant smile of his.

"Don't call me that," Serling said automatically. "You've figured out how to stop the degeneration?"

"Yes, I have, Dr. Rockets. I'll send my findings now."

Serling looked at the file he sent. He had made a few errors, but Serling corrected those. It was a workable solution that would prevent Match's condition from deteriorating any further.

Kon was feeling out of his element as he waited on a rooftop in Bludhaven. He knew that the Kents would be unhappy with him if they knew where he was because no only did Bludhaven have a bad reputation, but it was a school night as well.

A brief burst of enhanced hearing alerted him to Robin's presence a moment before he stepped out of the shadows.

"I got your message that you needed to see me," Robin said. "What's up?"

"Thanks for coming," Kon said. "Do you know about the situation with Match? I mean, his condition and stuff?"

"I'm aware of it. I also know that two top scientists are working on it. Oracle can't find any more, and what's needed is beyond my scope."

"I trust Serling. I know she'll manage something, but the best they can do is to prevent him from getting worse. He's still on life support and in bad health. What's needed is some way to make him better. I've been looking in the JLA database for ways to do that."

"What do you need me for?"

Kon steeled himself for Tim's reaction. "I need you to take me to a Lazarus pit."

Serling went into Match's room to tell him the news about the new treatment.

Match managed a weak smile. "Thank you for all your efforts, Dr. Roquette. I know that you've done your best."

"You don't seem as overjoyed as I hoped that you'd be."

"It is unfortunate that my condition has deteriorated to the point where that won't be enough to save me. We both know that."

Serling looked down. "I'm sorry. I hoped that you didn't realize that. I'm not sure what else I can do."

"Can you comfort Kon when I'm gone? I've tried to spare him the full extent of my condition, but I doubt that I've been successful. He's always shown the disturbing ability to pick up on my true state."

"We'll continue searching. If there's a way to save you, we will."

"I must admit that I never thought it would be like this. I've always thought that there'd be more violence involved in my death, not succumbing to my body's failures."

"You're an optimist, aren't you?"

Match managed a weak laugh. "I've always been a pessimist."

"Are you crazy?" Tim shouted. "I can't believe that you're considering that! It's insane!"

Kon met Robin's glare with one of his own. "It's an emergency. It's the last option out of the ones he has."

"You do know that Batman's tried his hardest to destroy all of them, right? There probably isn't a Lazarus pit left for Match."

"Just help me find the old ones, okay? If there's any liquid left over, I'll find it."

"Forget it," Robin snapped, turning away. "I'm too busy for this sort of ill-thought plan."

Robin would have left, but his feet wouldn't leave the ground. He stared at Superboy in shock; he didn't know that he could hold another to the ground with his powers.

"Robin, I don't want to lose him," Kon said softly. "You're right, this is a bad plan, but it's the only one I've got. I have to try everything I can to save him. Can you blame me for that? I don't want to lose my family."

Robin winced at Kon's words. Having recently lost his father, the plea against losing a family member was particularly effective on him. Robin sighed. He didn't think this would help, but he had to give Kon the opportunity.

"I'll show you where they are," Tim said, sounding tired. "I hope you know that there's little chance of saving him."

"I have to believe it's possible. I have to."

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