A/N - My try at a Superboy and Ms. Martian romance one-shot. It's rather fluffy though and definitely not my best work. But I hope you'll enjoy it.
Disclaimer - Yes, I have no affiliation with the DC industry except for my fan love for its universe. Simple.
Silence. Complete and total, undisturbed silence. That was odd to a boy with super hearing, with the ability to make out a whisper meters away from him. The Kryptonian clone reasoned himself that his way of describing it was incorrect. He could discern the small noises that the technology inside of the fortress made as they lay dormant, waiting to be used and the gentle breeze that came through the vents. Every syllable that the actors of the nearly muted show spoke could be understood, but that wasn't the problem.
The fact of the matter was that he was bored. Extremely and utterly bored out of his artificially rendered mind. None of his male teammates were in, having to help out their respective partners on stopping various crimes and fighting villains from their rogues' galleries. Artemis had the same dilemma with Green Arrow, and the Black Canary and Red Tornado were away on official League business. For a moment, Superboy wondered if he should visit Metropolis again, but remembering his awkward and disappointing encounter with Superman halted the growth of the idea, throwing it away to the farthest recesses of his mind.
There was only one person he knew that was still at Happy Harbor, but she was nowhere to be seen. After their usual morning greetings during breakfast, Megan had informed him that she would be busy doing something outside of Mount Justice. Since he was not a mind reader like her, Superboy had no clue as to what it was she was doing. Though he was curious, he was just too darn stubborn to ask her what it was.
He supposed that it was one of his faults, but he thought about it as a strong defining characteristic he had gained after escaping from the Cadmus facility. Of course, being obstinate was keeping him on the couch and glaring at the television screen as the commercials for hair products and magical gravity defying items played through. He had the faintest hope of developing laser vision if he knitted his eyebrows together long enough. It hadn't happened yet, but the thought ran through his head once in a while.
Superboy scoffed at the silly notion, "Yeah. And maybe if I jump off a cliff every day, I'll be able to fly."
"Superboy?"
Caught off guard, he turned his head so swiftly in the direction of the noise that, if he had been a normal person, his neck would've cracked. Realizing who it was, the dark-haired teen relaxed his shoulders, shifting his sights back to the TV, "Oh, it's just you."
Slightly offended by the statement, Miss Martian frowned, "Just me? Have you been on the couch for the whole time I've been gone?"
"Yes," there was no hiding it from a telepath.
"I've heard that being exposed to a television too long is bad for mental growth," she informed him, waiting for a reply that never came. Sighing, she continued. "Would you like to come outside with me? I want to show you something."
She'd finally gotten the courage to say it, but the color on her lips forced her to retreat to the way she'd come in. Hopefully, Superboy was following and wasn't using his heat vision to see the rise in temperature on her cheeks. And with that, she almost jumped for joy when she saw him exit Mount Justice with her. As usual, his arms were crossed along with his mask of complete disinterest, beaconing her to continue. Nodding, Megan led him through the forest, neither wishing to speak as they trekked through the foliage.
They passed by the greenery through what seemed like it was an eternal silence. It was only when the Martian was positive that they were almost there, that she allowed herself the small victory of convincing Superboy to go with her. Without warning or any rational thought, she gripped his wrist firmly with her palm and propelled both of them forward past the trees and bushes towards the light ahead that signified a break in the dense flora. As they broke through, time slowed to infinitesimally long increments.
Unbeknownst throughout the whole journey, they had been walking uphill, leading them to an elevated ridge, just a smidge shorter than Mount Justice, that had a brilliant panoramic view of a majority of the island. For once, Superboy really didn't have anything to say as the Martian released his arm. Megan smiled as she stared on at his awed expression.
"I spotted this place when we were coming back from our last mission. I spent all morning trying to find the right path to follow."
"Why?" Superboy asked, shaken out of his trance.
"In the beginning, I just wanted to check it out, until I noticed that the air currents were pretty strong as I was flying up here. It reminded me of something that some of the Justice League members advised to me. They said that, even without wings, a person could use them to soar faster or stay in the air longer. For me, I believe, it will help me with my telekinesis."
"What do you mean?"
Ms. Martian didn't answer, strolling forward until she was just inches away from the edge of the cliff. She turned, holding out a hand to him, "You've always said that you wanted to fly."
The clone was stunned, giving himself a few seconds to register what was happening. Raising his hand, he slowly reached out to Megan's. When she was sure, his grasp firmly in her own, Megan lifted off the ground, already feeling as the wind tousled her hair and brushed her exposed skin. For Superboy's part, he ignored the sensation of an invisible force lifting him up, instead choosing to revel in the moment as the trees below him turned into a forest of broccoli.
For the two flyers, nothing could have possibly changed the carefree moment as they soared through the sky in sync. Megan's faced beamed with delight as she witnessed her friend cracking a rare and sincere smile. However, they were so lost in the moment that they didn't notice a flock of migrating avians until it was too late. On sight, the geese scattered around the two, feathers scattering in all direction as they squawked in protest as their formation was broken.
Caught off guard by the aquatic birds, Megan's concentration slipped, allowing Superboy to feel the full force of gravity as he went hurtling back down to earth. Now, as the clone of Superman, the impact wouldn't faze him too much; but because of his underdeveloped powers, it would definitely hurt. Every second the ground came closer, the teen's happy thoughts were thrown away by the turbulence his body caused. Ms. Martian was meters away, trying her best to catch up and renew the telekinetic hold on her friend.
Superboy could feel his clothes tearing in different places as he met the tree line, breaking branches and twigs from their perches as he went. But, they didn't slow him down in the slightest. Bracing himself for the inevitable, he moved his arms to protect his face as he drew closer and closer… only to experience his heart missing a beat as he was telekinetically caught inches away from meeting the dirt. As he was placed steadily back on his feet, the incessant sound of Megan apologizing over and over assaulted his ear drums.
"I'm so, so sorry, Superboy! Agh, hello, Megan! I should have never have believed I that I was capable enough to do this! This is entirely my fault… I'm really sorry, Superboy…"
The Kryptonian raised his hand to silence the Martian's self-depreciating babbling, "Look… it's alright. Let's just get back home."
Nodding somberly, Megan began to lead him out of the forest. They stopped just in front of the entrance as she rubbed awkwardly at her arm, "You know, I'm really sorry."
"I already told you, it's nothing," Superboy reasserted as he continued forward, the transfer system's female voice beginning to recognize him. As the portal opened, he turned to face her. "And next time, pay more attention to the skies."
Dumbfounded, M'gann stood stock still for a moment as her teammate disappeared into the mountain. A wide grin graced her face as she cheered to herself. Today had turned out to be quite wonderful.
A/N - So, yeah... I actually finished this a week ago, but I was steeling myself up for disappointed reactions.