Well, I thought I'd be nice and post a new chapter before I leave the interwebs for several days :O

This chapter is about M'Gann - her guilt towards what happened with SB in season 2

Next chapter should be back to Arty and Wall-man
Shh...it might involve spies... ;o

Disclaimer; I do not own YJ. Proof? I wouldn't have canceled the show.

Guilty as charged

Sometimes, M'Gann didn't know what she was doing.

After what happened with Connor, she felt so guilty, so deserted, that she would end up throwing her frustration at him.

It's his fault this happened. He forced you to read his mind – the criminal would have gotten away if you hadn't tried to erase his memory!

But in the end, she would wind up back where she'd started, and know that it was a complete lie.

Most of the time, this would happen when M'Gann was alone, late at night.

She'd curl up in her bed, wrap her arms around her knees, and stare at the cave walls around her. The gray slate on two of the four sides had been completely covered in photos – all starting from when she'd first joined the team and continuing over the next five years.

Artemis, Zatanna, and M'Gann each shared a multitude of these photos – at least half of them were of the three in general. But sometimes, having all her old friends and her new friends surrounding her, would just feel like she was an accused in court, facing the judge as he brought the gavel down.

Her past chained her – the second wall, very much like its counterpart – was missing a quarter of its photos directly in the center.

Those she had taken down, not even a day after she and Connor had parted.

But every once in a while, the martian would take a look at her wall of memorabilia and she'd find a stray that she had missed before. She would shriek, jump forwards and snatch it off the wall, hold it in her hands and wonder how she could search for a lighter without any of her fellow team members becoming suspicious.

In the end, she would end up sitting on her bed, staring at the photo of her younger-self and Connor. Soot would be smeared across their faces, M'Gann's tangled auburn hair matted with dirt and debris, Connor's shirt ripped (as always) but their eyes would be glowing with mirth. Connors mouth would have quirked into a small grin, eyes on her, as M'Gann beamed at the camera.

Tears would well up in her eyes and she'd wipe them away when she heard a knock on the door, L'Gann's voice sounding as he asked if she was in her room. She would tuck the photo under her bed, where several others were beginning to collect dust, straighten herself out, double check to see if there was any evidence of tears still on her face, and meet the Atlantian at the door.

M'Gann was sure that she'd found happiness in L'Gann – initially, she had been convinced that he'd helped her get over the bad break up with Connor, and had become her new reason to smile.

Each scowl Connor tossed over his shoulder when the pair entered the room was responded to with a curl of her lips. If he said something insulting, M'Gann would reply with the same amount of malice.

L'Gann took her side, obviously.

Consulting with Artemis one day – however – proved to be her breaking point.

M'Gann was in the midst of her new tirade; Connor and L'Gann had been paired up as sparring partners, and the clone had thrown the Atlantian across the room and broken his arm. M'Gann, in a fit of rage, used her telepathy and threw Sphere in SB's general direction, leaving an imprint of his head crumbling in the cave wave.

In Connor's defense, L'Gann had been taunting him, and Superboy's temper had not changed much over the years, but M'Gann refused to acknowledge it.

"It's like he's TRYING to break us apart! It's turning ridiculous! If he hurts L'Gann again, I'm going to grind Connor into the ground!" M'Gann shrieked, lifting a pillow and tossing it.

Wally, taking that as his cue to leave, kissed Artemis politely on the forehead and ducked inside of his bedroom, where he would remain for the rest of the martian's visit.

"M'Gann…" Artemis started, feeling sympathy for SB.

She'd seen the pair through thick and thin – M'Gann had been the only one who could calm him if he went off; Connor, however immature, was protective of M'Gann and a best friend. Half the time when M'Gann would need to rant, she'd go to Connor. He wouldn't understand much, but he'd reassure her, give her a gentle hug, and tell her everything was going to be alright. They had been inseparable until M'Gann's mistake.

"Don't you think…it's not really Connor, but you?"

The martian stopped the archer with a sharp look, her eyes flashing dangerously as her hands flexed. Artemis knew her friend wouldn't attack her, but she really didn't want to have to buy another lamp – or a television. Or a kitchen.

"Just listen, okay? Connor and you were close, but that sudden separation could have left both of you shell-shocked. You found a new supposed-happiness in L'Gann, and I get that. Connor was immature, and can still be. But L'Gann mocking him isn't going to help anyone in this situation. You acting as childishly and trying to break his neck isn't either. Don't you think it could all just be…a guilty conscience?"

M'Gann stared at her best friend, eyes narrowed in rage and scrutiny. The blonde stared back, completely calm, but mentally preparing to have Wally order a new sofa, waiting for the martian's explosion.

Finally, M'Gann rose. She shouldered her purse, straightening her coat. "I should probably be heading back."

Artemis rose as well, and the two hugged before M'Gann started down the street towards the zeta tubes. Artemis closed the door behind her and sighed, shoulders falling, pinching the bridge of her nose between two fingers.

"How'd it go?" Wally said from behind her.

"I don't even know," she replied, leaning against him.

His arms wrapped around her frame, head resting on her shoulder.

"Does it look like they'll make up anytime soon?"

"I doubt it. M'Gann's too stubborn to realize this is as much her fault as it is Connor's and L'Gann's. She refuses to apologize, and as long as she isn't, Connor won't either."

"That's pretty stupid."

"Tell me about it."

The war was over.

The alien's had fled.

The Justice League had returned, and were welcomed back with open arms.

Wally was missing. Artemis, Barry, Dick, and Impulse were all taking it hard, but refused to stop looking.

For now, the team was parting ways, and for some, it seemed like old relationships were being stitched back together, the bleeding stopped, and medicine and bandages wrapped around to allow them to heal.

M'Gann stood outside of the new make-shift gym; Connor stood shirtless, hitting a sandbag as it swung back and forth, each movement precise and coordinated.

How M'Gann had failed to notice, she had no idea, but Connor really hadn't changed. Thinking that one day, she would have grown old, while Connor hadn't physically aged a day since his "birth", saddened her. But, she decided, she'd make the best of the time they had together.

She stepped into the room and Connor caught the sandbag, stilling it, and turned to meet her. A light sheen of sweat glistened along his brow, his hair sticking to his forehead. His hands were bound in strips of gauze and tape, wounds on his chest healed and scarring with fleshy-pink tissue.

"Hi," she said meekly, clasping her hands behind her back.

"Hi," he returned monotonously, dipping his head in a brief nod. He turned his attention to his hands and began unwrapping them.

A moment of silence ensued as the martian worked up the nerve to say what needed to be said.

"I'm sorry," she said finally, staring at the floor.

Connor paused, but didn't turn to look at her.

"I'm sorry about everything. I was stupid and rash, and I let my head get away from what I knew was right. I ended up hurting you, hurting the team, and hurting L'Gann," Connor stiffened when she mentioned the Atlantian, "And I allowed myself to continue to be stubborn and selfish, when in my heart, I knew what I should have done in the first place. I should have apologized. But my ego wouldn't let me, and now it's taken over a year for me to finally realize it and to confess my wrong-doings."

This time, she looked up, and Connor met her gaze. "I'm sorry," she murmured, eyes welling with tears.

Connor's stance relaxed and he turned towards her, closing the distance between them, and hugged, her. M'Gann returned it, arms wrapping around his torso.

"Apology accepted,"

In which it ends w/o the two making up as a "couple"
And I refuse to acknowledge Wally'd "death" once more.

Nyuk nyuk nyuk

Thanks to everyone who reviewed / favorited / followed.

See you all again soon :D

~Aoi~