Sorry this chapter is so freaking short. I promise that future chapters will be much longer. I just had this all planned out in my head and when I finally wrote it all down, it ended up being a lot less lengthy than I'd intended. I have a tendency to do that.

Also, it's just kind of hard for me to write from M'gann's perspective, BUT she's currently important to the story, so 'tis a must. I might drop her later, but we'll see how it turns out, I guess.

Chapter 5: M'gann

Conner? Conner?! M'gann screamed through the psychic link at the Superboy, but there came no reply. Another explosion rattled the complex, causing her to look to Garfield and make sure that he was okay. He was, however, not where he'd been standing just a moment ago.

M'gann was immediately stricken with panic. Conner wasn't responding, Tim was nowhere to be found, and as if those things weren't already bad enough, now Gar was missing. They had just finished checking all of the rooms on their side, so she had no idea where he possibly could have gone off to.

The room grew warmer, the crackling noise of flames suddenly becoming more and more audible. This was so bad. "Gar!" She was too out of focus to even try to use her psychic link. "Garfield! Where are you?!" Her heart pounded, fire and the sound of falling debris the only thing she could hear. Turning every which way, she flew down hallways and in and out of rooms in search of him, being sure to avoid the sections of the building that were now engulfed in flames.

After checking so many rooms, she stopped, taking a deep breath to calm herself. She could not lose him. Just as she was about to reestablish psychic connection, the world around her was ripped apart with a loud BOOM! She cried out as a large chunk of the ceiling toppled down on her, burying the Martian in concrete. She shook her head to clear her vision, eyes widening at the sight of the approaching flames. It was all happening so fast that the fire came close enough to weaken her before she was able to become intangible and escape.

She was trapped.

Her nose and throat stung with smoke as she coughed in an attempt to be rid of the pain. Eyes drying, she couldn't see a thing. All she could do was wait and hope that one of her teammates would find her, save her. Closing her eyes, she remained still, taking this time to reflect, to compose herself, to remember while she still could…

Garfield was ten, she thought. He was ten and they had just gotten back from going out for ice cream. She held one of his hands while Conner held the other, swinging him back and forth through the air as they walked. His contagious laughter had brought smiles to everyone's faces as the three of them made their way to Garfield's room at the Cave.

"Okay, kiddo," she'd said, "It's getting pretty late. I'd say it's time for bed."

"For once," Garfield yawned, "I agree with you. I'm exhausted." As he walked into his room and made a quick change into his pajamas, M'gann looked over at Conner. He was staring at her, a small grin on his face. Blushing from the attention, she smiled back at him, tucking some of her hair behind her ear.

As Garfield jumped into bed, M'gann walked over and sat down next to him, pulling the covers up over his shoulders. She brushed his hair away from his face, kissing him on the forehead before turning off his light. "Goodnight, Gar," she'd said.

"Night, Sis," he responded. "Night, Conner."

It was dark now, so she really couldn't see him, but she knew that Conner's face had turned red. Her smile grew as she heard the surprised excitement in his voice. "Goodnight, Gar." He made his way over to M'gann and placed a hand on her shoulder as she stood up, and they walked out of the room, gently closing his door. They stood there, facing each other for the longest time until M'gann grabbed his hand and led him down the hall to the door of her room. Upon reaching it, she faced him again, looking up at him with a smirk on her face.

He blushed. "What?"

She giggled. "He really likes you."

Conner's expression softened, and he chuckled. "Yeah, heh. I guess he does."

It was then that she realized they were still holding hands, and she took that opportunity to pull him closer and wrap her arms around his neck. He returned her gesture with a wicked grin as he placed his hands on her waist. His touch made her sides tingle with excitement as she gazed into his eyes. His deep, vivid, electric blue eyes that made her weak at the knees. Her favorite part about him. Obviously due to impatience, Conner closed the space between them, pressing his lips against hers. She tangled her fingers in his raven hair as she deepened the kiss, standing on her toes.

God, she'd loved him, she really did. Every single inch of him. And it was when they kissed like that, that assured her he'd felt the same way. Everything had been so perfect…

M'gann cringed as she snapped back into reality, cursing at herself under her breath. How could someone manage to screw that up? Her heart physically hurt just thinking about it. "I'm so sorry," she whimpered, "so, so sorry…"

"Why are you sorry?"

M'gann's eyes shot open at the sound of another voice. "Gar!" She screamed. "Oh, thank God you're alright!"

"Of course I am," he said. "You, on the other hand. I can't leave you alone for five minutes, can I? Let's get you out of here." He stepped back a bit, shape-shifting into a gorilla before jumping over the fire and grabbing hold of the fallen ceiling. Lifting it up ever so slightly, he clutched onto M'gann's waist and pulled her out, dropping the debris and leaping away from the mess.

M'gann coughed as Gar cradled her in his furry arms. "Thanks, Gar," she murmured with a small smile and half-lidded eyes. She was barely holding on to her consciousness, but she somehow gathered just enough strength to finally reestablish the psychic link. Have you seen Conner?

Not since we got here, no. He continued to maneuver his way down the heated hall and around flaming pieces of the complex as M'gann's heart sunk. He had to be okay. He had to. He was Superboy for God's sake. Nothing on Earth could hurt…

Her stomach dropped as she mentally repeated those words: Nothing on Earth. What if…no. No way. This was Queen Industries they were talking about here. Oliver Queen would never…

Mind running rapid, she expanded the psychic link, desperately searching for his voice. Conner? Conner, please. Please answer. There was a moment of waiting.

M'gann? Man, it's nice to hear from you again. Are you okay?

M'gann smiled at the familiar voice. Tim! Yeah, I'm fine. What's happening with you?

Just finished restoring the tube. Though I'm not sure how much use it's going to be now that the entire building is burning to the ground. What even-

I'm not sure, she explained, I think maybe… She paused, not really wanting to think about what Conner may have done.

Tim must've taken note of that because he spoke up. Did Gar find you?

Yeah. We're on our way out right now. I can't take much more of this fire. Just as she thought that, Garfield smashed through the side of the building and carried her out, gently setting her down on the ground. She lay there, propping herself up on her elbows, gazing at the fiery destruction before her eyes. Tim, where are you?

Bottom level. Wait…where's Conner?

M'gann bit her lip. I…I don't…I lost contact with him. He's not responding.

There was a long minute of agonizing silence before Tim finally said something. I'm going after him.

M'gann sat up. No! Tim, get out of there now. It's too dangerous for you to be-

If he's hurt, then I'm his only hope, he interrupted, I have to help him.

Then I'm going with-

No,he stated firmly, The fire's spreading too quickly. With your weakness, you would only hold me back.

I can help! Came Gar's voice. He'd shifted back into his half kid, half monkey self. Let me-

NO. M'gann and Tim said in unison. She stood up and walked over to Garfield, putting a hand on his shoulder as he stared at the ground, pouting.

You've done enough already, she claimed, I can't have you risking your life like that again. He nodded his head in understanding, hopefully getting the real message of M'gann's fear of him dying the same way as his mother: Through Queen Bee's actions. She turned and faced the burning building once more. Please reconsider this, Tim. If anything happens to you-

It'll be on me, and only me. Got it?

M'gann clenched her hands into fists, silently accepting what he was implying. Tim was…strong, and very self-motivated. How did he always manage to know exactly what to do?

No matter what happens, it's all my fault. I did it on my terms. There's no way you could've stopped me. Okay? He paused, probably waiting for her to say "Okay," but she never did. How could she just sit here and let him do this? If anything went wrong, Dick would never forgive her. She wouldn't be able to live with herself, seeing another Robin go. M'gann, I need you to promise me. Promise me right now that you won't blame yourself. Promise me that you'll tell everyone that this was all my fault.

She hesitated, biting down on her lip even harder.

M'gann!

I promise! She answered, tears welling in her eyes. What was even happening here? Her breathing quickened, frozen where she stood.

Good. I'll try to contact you when I find him. Stay connected.

She swallowed. Tim?...be careful, yeah?

I'll do what I can.

She thought about going in there after him, not caring about what he'd asked, but as much as she hated to admit it, Tim was right. All she would do is slow him down. Sometimes being a Martian really sucked.

It was then that she felt a small hand grab onto hers, holding it tightly. She squeezed it back, her eyes never leaving the flame-engulfed building. All that they could do now was wait.