Scene 40 - The Truth
"It seems one hideout after the other gets continuously blown up, isn't it?" Brianna said softly as she stared at the remains of the Hall of Justice. Yet another villain destroyed a sanctuary of the League and once more, the Team had to thank Lady Luck for escaping with their lives. Stepping through the rubble, Ember and Superboy had been trying to salvage any remaining boxes of belongings that they scavenged from Mount Justice and it looked like those who lived at the Cave had to start anew once more. Luckily some of the Leaguers had offered to buy them some personal items like clothes, books, and equipment.
"It's like being re-born again," Conner replied quietly and the brunette looked at him oddly, "Is everything alright? You're a lot more pensive than usual."
The half-Kryptonian shook his head and asked, "Is there somewhere private we can talk?"
Ember raise an eyebrow, "I suppose we can go to my house. My parents are out visiting my brother at his college." The couple hitched a ride on M'gann's bio-ship to the nearest Zeta tube and Conner kept looking at Miss Martian worriedly but Brianna did not notice as she was busy adjusting the splint on her hand. The couple stepped through the tube and teleported to Sage Hills, Brianna's hometown. She gave him an impromptu tour of the town before she led him to a row of houses on the street.
"Welcome to my home," Brianna said happily when they reached the Dian family's dwelling. "Do you need anything to drink?" She asked out of courtesy and her boyfriend politely declined.
The brunette sensed that he really wanted to talk so they sat down next to each other on the sofa and Brianna spoke, "What's on your mind?"
Conner sighed, "Did you notice something was up with M'gann just this morning?" The pyro nodded, "She seemed hesitant to use her powers…"
The blue eyed boy continued, "I think something happened when she last encountered Kaldur."
Brianna shifted in her seat uncomfortably, "What do you mean? M'gann defeated him, didn't she?"
Superboy closed his eyes and it looked like he was torn. "I really don't know if I should tell you this, Bri."
Ember's interest was piqued, "We should be honest with each other…"
Conner inhaled a deep breath and exhaled slowly, "Miss Martian has been abusing her powers."
Brianna was confused and probed a little deeper, "What do you mean?"
He clenched his hand tightly, bunching up the fabric of his trousers and the brunette laid her hand on his knuckle to soothe him. Superboy gave her a small smile and slowly told his tale. "She violently rips out information from her victim's mind, leaving them in a catatonic state. Miss Martian has been doing it for the past two to three years. I tried to make her stop but she deems them unworthy of mercy because they are the bad guys but truthfully, they're still living beings who feel pain like us! She left a Krolotean mindless on a foreign planet back on Raan. It would never be the same again. I'm afraid she did that to Kaldur…"
Brianna's mouth was slightly agape as she slowly digested the information presented to her, "That's how she was able to acquire intel so easily… I thought she just read their minds. I didn't know she broke their psyches. Does Nightwing or the League know about it?"
Conner shook his head, "No… I thought she would stop… on behalf of our… previous relationship; on behalf of me."
Their break up all made sense now.
"So that's why you left M'gann…" The brunette whispered and Conner laced his fingers with hers, "I'm glad I have you now though."
Ember gave him a small smile which he returned before continuing, "Shame on what happened to Kaldur. He did kill Artemis after all…"
Superboy frowned at her words, "In the battle with Despero earlier, M'gann was reluctant to use her psychic abilities on him. It's just odd, she is usually eager to do so, having no qualms about her victims. Her last victim was Aqualad. I think she regrets mind blasting him…"
Brianna mulled over his words, "So you think the information M'gann acquired from him made her change her mind?"
Conner nodded and squeezed her hand, "Why don't we pay her a visit? I think she's at Manhunter's apartment." The brunette nodded in agreement and they left her house to Zeta to Chicago. It seemed he was familiar with the surroundings and swiftly walked down a few streets before entering an apartment building and heading to the top floor.
Knocking on the door near the stairs, he said, "M'gann, Brianna and I are here to see you."
There was a short period of silence and the door opened to M'gann in her human disguise. Wordlessly, she showed them in and the couple sat down on the couch as the Martian poured them drinks and laid it on the table in front of them. The stillness was unsettling and Brianna broke the ice, "Is everything alright, Meg?"
The red head looked up at the brunette and spoke, "I know I let you guys down at the Hall."
Conner shook his head, "You were just reluctant to use your powers. Did something happen back on the Reach ship?" The half-Kryptonian was not mincing his words and jumped straight to the point.
To their surprise, Miss Martian began to apologize, "I'm so sorry, Brianna. It's my fault… Kaldur still loves you and I ruined everything."
Stunned, the brunette asked, "Excuse me? He broke up with me, remember? All of you saw the recording. You weren't there, M'gann."
The alien shook her head, "It'll be much easier if I show you. Could I link us up please?" Conner and Brianna gave their consent and they were shown Kaldur's memories.
The flashbacks started with the Atlantean discussing his undercover operation with Nightwing and his painful decision in leaving his girlfriend behind to keep her safe. Then it moved on to the various times he secretly passed information to Dick. All of The Light's secrets were revealed to them and it gave the Team an advantage. Shockingly, the next memory played was Artemis's death and Brianna cringed, not wanting to relieve that tragic moment. However, another angle of her stabbing was shown and it turned out that the archer wasn't dead! The scene changed to Artemis donning the glamour charm to become Tigress.
The next few moments were of Kaldur typing all the information Dick needed to know onto a flash drive and the note of his love for the pyro. His feelings for her were felt so strongly in the memories and the brunette was overwhelmed by the sensation. M'gann even showed Brianna his thoughts whenever he crossed paths with her. All the regret, pain, and reluctance of hurting her and the Team radiated in waves and Ember knew that he was still a good person, and that he continued to care for every one of them deeply. Then came the scene on the ship where he was brutally violated and Brianna saw that his last thought was of her. After a year since their break up… he was still in love with her.
She blinked away the tears in her eyes and the scene slowly faded and the brunette realized she was back in J'onn's apartment. "I… don't know what to say," Conner said softly and looked over to Brianna with concern.
"He should have told us," The girl whispered very painfully and M'gann replied, "I am so sorry, Brianna. I didn't know he was going to come back to you. I'm never going to obtain information like that ever again… I feel so ashamed!"
Ember stood up to sit beside the red head. Grasping the alien's hand, she said, "M'gann, it's not your fault. If I was in your shoes, I would have hurt him too… We didn't know, he and Nightwing should have let us in on the plan. Kaldur knows he has to take responsibility on the consequences of his actions. Besides, he did break up with me… I am with Conner now and I am happy. It's Aqualad's loss."
She looked up at the half-Kryptonian and gave him another affectionate grin. The boy was touched by her words and looked at her fondly.
Brianna's pity for the Atlantean slowly morphed into tranquil fury for playing her and the Team. It hurt and made her angry that he did not trust her to keep a secret and that he wasn't confident of her survival abilities. She wasn't a little girl, she could handle herself! Injuries were part and parcel of the hero life after all.
The brunette shoved those feelings aside and comforted M'gann, "Besides, admitting to your mistake is the first step to healing. I'm sure you'll learn to overcome it. Black Canary and I are here if you need anyone to talk to. When your uncle returns, you should tell him too."
Miss Martian nodded limply and hugged the brunette, "Thank you, Brianna. I wish Kaldur's okay… I-"
Ember interrupted, "Hush now. Take it one step at a time."
The alien nodded but deep down, everyone knew there would be no hope for the Atlantean. There were some things that once they were broken, couldn't be made whole again.
Author's Note: Season 2 episode mentioned in this chapter, "Cornered". I didn't feel like recapping the whole episode all over again so I just fast forwarded it to the end where the Hall of Justice was destroyed.
So the truth is out and Brianna is understandably pissed off. What will happen when she meets Kaldur in person?
To murdercrowther: Thanks!
To Eszra: Looking forward to it. =)
To piggythelaw: Thank you for the cookies. ^_^
To Molly Grace 16: For about two-three weeks. ;)
To Yaoi-Beloved: Hi there! Thanks for reading my story. To answer your questions:
1) Yes, Brianna is the oldest in the Team. Mal Duncan is the same age as her too so both of them are the oldest. =P Nah, the one year age gap isn't that big, in my opinion.
2) It also means the other party is alive too. Bri conveniently blocked out the "love" part. Plus, she was too angry to think straight. ;)
3) *gives you tissues* Sorry about that. T_T