The telescope in the Mount Justice observatory had for years stood huge and defunct, its eight foot wide objective lens staring blindly at a thick black sheet covered with dust. Back when Mount Justice had been League headquarters, the huge telescope had been the first line of defense for spotting danger coming from the skies. Through its lenses the Justice Leage had seen countless invasions heading towards Earth and had stopped them all, but once their technology improved and their headquarters location changed the telescope was forgotten and laid in dusty ignominy.

M'gann had been drawn to the old, grand telescope about a week ago and she and Conner had taken off its sheet, polished it, oiled the gears, and brought it back to a semblance of life. It was a strange thing to do, even for her, and while Conner, as usual, had not criticized or asked her why, if he had done so she wouldn't have had an answer for him. She couldn't say she had any interest in astronomy on a whole, not enough to be in the observatory frequently, but more and more she found herself drawn to the small, forgotten room and staring through the smudged lens up into star spattered sky. For her, the huge, unwieldy telescope was always pointed in the same direction, 5.83 to 4.99 degrees – the direction of Mars.

It wasn't much to look at even with the high-powered telescope at its full strength. Through the concave lens Mars was a faint red orb stationary in the night sky. It was identifiable by its redness but had no truly discernable features. There were gorges and crags and mountains and craters a plenty on the surface of Mars but the telescope was not powerful enough to bring them into detail, though M'gann which it could.

She hadn't though she would miss Mars. She had gone through a lot of trouble leaving and while she certainly had more friends and more adventures on Earth than she had ever had on Mars, home was, well, home. As flawed as it might be, Mars would always have a piece of her and right now she was very much missing that piece.

Green fingers turned the dial on the right side of the telescope, trying to bring Mars further into focus. The near-rusted gears jolted from disuse and clicked softly as she adjusted focus just enough to spot a huge crater near the southern hemisphere of the planet. If her Martian geography was correct the city of H'rnn'amal'a'ak was directly beneath the sizable crater. She wondered what they were doing deep within the sprawling cities beneath the hard red stone. Was their turmoil in the cities again? Were they content? Had J'onn sent them more Earth broadcasts? The possibilities were endless on both sides, but M'gann figured, for the moment, there was more camaraderie than strife going around, for Martians seldom quarreled during one of their few planet-wide celebrations.

The Festival of Awakening would be in a few days. Martians all over the planet would be celebrating, giving gifts, their minds joining in harmonious swells of togetherness, almost like singing. She had snuck aboard the Manhunter's ship the very night of the festival, when everyone else had been in revelry.

A year had passed since then.

It boggled M'gann's mind how so short of a time could evolve into so much. Saying a lot had changed was a gross understatement of the fact; practically her entire world and outlook had changed. She had friends and adventure and Conner. She had Conner.

The thought of him warmed her hearts and helped stave off some of the homesickness she was feeling. She giggled inwardly as she imagined Conner's face adorned with the bright blue stripes they painted on to celebrate the Festival of Awakening. She imagined giving him a carved stone ornament, the traditional gift for lovers. She would have made him one in the shape of his new companion Wolf.

She closed her eyes and in her mind she pictured them snuggled up together in a traditional Martian home, the lights of the outside underworld red and welcoming, the heat from the lava deep at the core of the world warming their cold subterranean home. They would be laying on a lakash, with Wolf at their feet. She could well imagine them enjoying the togetherness, her head resting against Conner's chest as they took a well earned respite from the wild celebrations flowing throughout the city. She liked to hear the sound of his heart, liked to feel his arm around her shoulder. She would link their minds so that they could hear the mental reverberations of joy. Then she would gently reach out and her three long white fingers would clutch his hand and–

M'gann's eyes snapped opened. She looked down at her hands horrified about what she might see, but they were still human hands, green but human. The Martian heaved a deep sigh of relief and flexed her hands for surety. When she was confident her humanoid form had not slipped, she felt her heartbeats fall back into their normal rhythms but she still frowned at her hands. These had not been the hands she had pictured in her daydreaming. They had been so different so…

No. She shut the thought out painfully, best not to dwell on it. Not now.

With a sigh M'gann bent down and pressed her eye back to the telescope again, still trying to get a better glimpse of Mars. Maybe her homesickness was good for something. Maybe it could drive far sadder thoughts away.

She had never heard Conner stop at the door of the observatory. Lost in her daydreaming as she was, she had never even felt his presence mentally and she certainly didn't see him slip away and head back to the base of the cave, his face a study of deep contemplation.

0000

The door to Conner's room slid upwards silently, allowing the Boy of Steel into the dim interior of his private quarters. While Wally's room was cluttered with junk food wrappers and worn-out sneakers, Aqualad's room was neat and adorned with creature comforts from Atlantis, and Robin's was filled with half disassembled tech, Conner's room was Spartan at best.

A twin-sized bed bereft of sheets or pillows sat against the left wall, an empty wooden desk with a single chair and a lamp stood in front of him, and a closet to his right, with three extra shirts and one extra pair of jeans, made up the entirety of Conner's personal space. There wasn't even a window.

As the door lowered behind him Conner strode to the desk and tapped the lamp to its highest setting. He slid into the chair and clicked a button on the right side-panel of the desk. A wide computer screen rose from a hidden niche within the desk's surface.

Once the screen was at its full height, the pixels winked from black to blue and the Justice League's icon rotated in the center of the screensaver.

"Superboy," a computerized voice said. "What can I do for you?"

Conner stared at the screen silently for long moments, pondering that same question. He had only a few unformed thoughts about what he wanted to do. He was not good at speaking what he felt, but showing was another matter, the only problem was then, how did he show what he felt? The silence filled the room as Superboy's head filled with more scattered thoughts. He hated when his mind got like that, so cluttered loud. Action, that was what he knew best. That was the only thing to do and he would move on from there.

Pushing away the bulk of his propagating thoughts he finally growled, "Tell me about Mars."

"Any specifics?" the computerized voice queried.

Conner shook his head. "No. Whatever you got."

The computer chirped an acknowledgement. Unencrypted files began to open. Articles, interviews, and old mission reports came popping up, filling the screen with panels of information.

Conner stared at the opening files and almost, almost smiled. It was a lot but it was a start.

And, slowly, an idea was starting to take shape.

0000

"Whelp, that's another jaunt up and down the east coast in the books," Wally proclaimed as he entered the cave. The speedster cracked an expansive yawn and stretched his arms. "Just in time for me to get home. I'm bushed."

"Aw why, you accidentally made a wrong turn at Albuquerque or something?" Artemis quipped.

"Nope, but I did see the Wicked Witch of the West fly by. She told me to say hello," he replied cheekily.

Artemis scoffed and batted at one of Wally's hands. "Jerk."

Wally made a face of feigned agony. He waved his hand dramatically, as if it were on fire. "Ouch, I'm so hurt. You've got claws like a tigress."

Artemis rolled her eyes. "Wally they're all just called tigers. There's no such thing as a tigress," she said as she began to walk with him in the direction of the Zeta Tubes.

"Is too," Wally declared.

"Is not!" she bickered back.

The Zeta Tube began to glow and the pair were still arguing as the gold hue enveloped then and they were finally gone.

Conner waited until the last echo of their argument faded then he slowly appeared from around a corner and strode towards the Mission Center's computer. He tapped in a code of 2011 on the console and while the program activated he looked up at the center of the domed roof where Red Tornado's quarters were stationed. The circular hatch leading to the Red Tornados abode was closed. The seam that split the doors down the middle was sealed tight and glowed a soft, pulsating red. That meant that Red Tornado had interwoven himself with the Mountain's defenses. Until dawn the cave was on lockdown. At least, that's what Red Tornado thought.

The teens had left the cave on multiple occasions for their own ventures. Robin had hacked the system the first week they'd been there. It could feed a loop of nothing on the camera's all night. They didn't use it often, it wasn't wise, certainly with the Light on the rise, but tonight Conner made an exception. Tonight, for the first time, he was the one who turned on the loop.

When the feed was running, Superboy took a step back. His stoic, focused face showed not a hint of the feelings swarming within him. He had never felt anything like it before, like bees buzzing around in his belly and brain. He could feel his pulse ticking against the side of his neck and his blood rushing though his ears.

Conner took a deep breath then closed his eyes and reached out mentally. "M'gann?" he probed, knocking on that private mental door she had stationed in their minds. It was easier to do now, like breathing.

Half a heartbeat later he felt her enter his mind. She was like a light in the dark.

"Hey Conner, are you joining me and Wolf for movie night?" she asked chipperly. "It's a good one, Rita Farr is in it."

Conner almost smiled at her sunny tone. Unless they were on a mission, M'gann always watched a movie on Friday night, though she always fell asleep before the end. Wolf, surprisingly, had become her consummate movie-watching companion. The mutated canine was wholly loyal to Conner but when a movie started to play on Friday nights all bets were off.

"Another time." He paused a moment the blurted, "I was hoping you could meet me in the south hall. There's… well… just come okay?" He never was good at explaining anything and he hated that it all seemed to just come out at once, but mastering the art of conversation had not been a thing taught to him at Cadmus and he hadn't learned to master it on his own yet. He doubted he ever would.

He sensed a spark of worry in M'gann's mental state. "Is everything alright?"

"It's fine." He hoped. "Just meet me there, okay? Five minutes?"

"On my way now."

The mind link faded into the background leaving Conner alone in his mind once more. He blinked several times then looked his hands and realized he was trembling slightly. Frowning, he curled his hands into fists and fought to master himself. He had come to far now. No turning back.

Sucking in a deep breath, Conner fortified his courage and forced himself to walk calmly to his destination.

M'gann was already waiting in the hall when he arrived. She floated a few inches off the ground looking everywhere for trouble. Conner wanted to shake himself for causing her worry, but it would all be worth it.

He hoped.

"Conner there you are," M'gann said aloud as she spotted him. "I was starting to get worried."

"Sorry, I got a little… distracted." The was almost the truth, another turn of phrase might have been 'fighting tooth and nail not to chicken out'.

M'gann glided over to him, her gaze still filled with worry. "That's a light way of putting it. I wasn't going to say anything, but I noticed you were acting a little… strange all week. Distracted… distant…."

"Just been busy." Conner shrugged.

"Busy?" M'gann repeated confusedly.

Conner lifted his arms, holding out his hands to her. "I want to show you something."

M'gann slowly slid her hands into his. "Alright," she replied, her voice a strange mix of confusion, uncertainty, and anticipation all rolled into one.

Conner took a moment to revel in her touch. Her hands fit perfectly in his. He unconsciously stroked her knuckles with his thumb then walked backwards to the door of his bedroom.

M'gann said nothing as they stood at his door but he could hear the uptick in her heart rate. How, he couldn't tell, he could barely hear anything over the hammering of his own heart.

"Conner?"

"Close your eyes, just for a second."

Her soft gaze searched him a moment longer, then slowly she closed her eyes. Conner elbowed the entry button on the wall and the door hissed upward. He walked backwards into the room, leading M'gann within. He stopped in the center of the room. His throat felt dry, his knees weak, though it didn't show.

"Okay. Open your eyes."

0000

M'gann opened her eyes.

The world around her was warm and red.

M'gann had never been into Conner's room before but she was certain it had never looked like this. The bulb in the single lamp was a dusky red and the shade had been painted to match. Dark swaths of fabric hung in swags from the ceiling and along the walls. The rich aroma of cardamom filled the room, a scent very similar to one on Mars.

She looked to her right and there where a bed should have been as an impressive imitation of a lakash. There was no more mattress or bed frame to be seen, only soft pillows and thick, plush covers on the floor, all arranged or knotted to look like a kidney-bean on its side.

It really was like stepping back into a room on Mars.

"You were spending a lot of time in the observatory," Conner began to explain mentally. "I took a peek at the coordinates on the telescope and then I did some digging. I figured you must have been missing home. I couldn't take you up there so I thought I'd bring Mars here to you."

Tears burned M'gann's eyes but she blinked them back, refusing to let them fall. She didn't want her vision to blur and take away from any of the room around her. "Conner it's just like home."

Conner grinned, his gaze filling with happiness and relief. He so rarely showed so much emotion around the entire team and though M'gann sometimes felt selfish that he introduced the growing parts of his heart and mind to her first, she cherished it dearly.

"I saved the best for last," he said taking another step back. He let go of her right hand and pushed his arms behind him. His fingers fumbled against the desk until he finally clicked the button for the computer. While the screen did not rise, speakers built into the desk began to emit a strange strobing sound and M'gann recognized them instantly – noises of Mars. While no amount of technology could record Martian mental harmonies, there were noises simply native to Mars that satellites and exploratory vehicles that had once roamed Mar's surface had been able to pick up.

The soft whushing of freezing wind over arid, dry rock, the slow groan of tectonic plates forever shifting at Mar's crust, and beneath it all the strange ambient hums that no scientist on Earth had ever been able to understand, until Manhunter had revealed they were the sounds of the city beneath the stones, filled the room.

Emotion clogged M'gann's throat.

She was home.

With a gasp of joy she rushed into Conner's arms and wrapped her arms around his neck in a hug. "Thank you, R'egga," she replied mentally. She didn't know she had said it until a second later.

Conner tilted his head curiously "R'egga? What does that mean?"

M'gann's cheeks heated. "It means love in Martian. It's reserved for a partner."

A small vertical line formed between Conner's brow as he puzzled out the meaning. "It has a break in it so that means it's also possessive. 'My love or this lover is mine'."

Surprise made M'gann's eyes widen. He had learned a thing or two about Martian speech as well. "Y-yeah," she stammered. "If you don't like it I won't–

Conner silenced her by gently laying his brow against her own. "I like it."

The words were clear and firm and warm in her mind, just like Conner. She turned his words over in her mind, savoring them just as she savored the moment with him. He liked it. He liked it. And oh how she loved him.

She looked into his eyes and felt herself falling in love with him all over again. She felt elevated in a strange new way she never had before. It frightened and thrilled her all at once, and she realized suddenly they were on the brink of something new.

M'gann could feel it like an electric charge between them, drawing them to each other. He hadn't engineered it, she knew, it simply was. Conner's eyes were half-lidded, inscrutable. He lifted her chin with the side of his hand and brought his mouth down for a kiss. Her mouth caught his, tasting the heat and harshness of him. It felt like he was on fire and by H'ronmeer how she wanted to burn.

Her fingers carded through his hair.

His thumb caressed her jaw.

A paw found the entry button outside the door and pressed it.

The door lifted open, spilling the sterile white light from the hall into the dimly lit room. The heat was chased away as Wolf sat at the door. An unmistakable look of irritation rested upon the mutated wolf's lupine face. The rim of a popcorn bucket hung in his jaws, kernels of popcorn still falling out.

M'gann squeaked in surprise and took a step back from Conner. Panic filled her eyes then fled just as quickly as she realized that it was only Wolf and not Red Tornado, or H'ronmeer forbid, Black Canary. She put a hand over her mouth, holding back a laugh of amusement and relief. "Oh Wolf I'm sorry, I forgot all about the movie."

The mutated wolf gave a small grumble and flicked his gaze over to Conner as if to say "you know better, it's movie night."

Conner couldn't help but laugh and lifted his hands to show that he was standing down. "Sorry, boy, it was the only time I knew I could make the surprise work. She's all yours now."

"No." M'gann laid a hand on his shoulder. "Let's have movie night in here. Martian's love watching TV after all. It'll just feel even more like home."

Conner grinned. "I'll setup and you refill the popcorn?"

"Deal," M'gann replied.

Conner began to turn to attend to the hasty setup, but M'gann suddenly squeezed his shoulder, holding him there for a moment longer. Her smile was gone now, replaced with a sudden flood of anxiety. "Conner, before we restart movie night, I think you should know… about what just happened... I don't… I don't think I'm ready for that next step yet."

She hadn't wanted to stop, but Wolf's intervention had finally reigned in her senses. It would have been so easy for her to have just thrown caution to the wind, to delve into the depths of what she felt, but she knew in her hearts she couldn't, not now, perhaps never, not while secrets still burdened her. She couldn't do that to him.

Confusion flicked across Conner's face. Her allusions seemed to fly over his head until realization struck him like a bolt of lightening to the chest. His eyes widened with surprise and panic. "That? No, M'gann believe me, I didn't plan for that to go down. It… it just happened but I swear I didn't think we would. That was never my intent here."

"I know," she replied, her smile slowly blooming again. A surge of adoration for him flooded her hearts. "You and ulterior motives go about as well as fire and water." She leaned up on her tiptoes and gave him a peck on the mouth. "Thank you all the same, though, it still feels good to hear."

Conner opened his mouth to give a playful retort but before he could Wolf growled. The long tail of the massive white beast swished impatiently as if to say the movie wasn't going to watch itself.

M'gann couldn't help but laugh at the grumpy beast and finally pulled away from Conner. She approached Wolf and took the popcorn bucket from his mouth and ruffled his ears. "Alright, let's make some new popcorn and get movie night started."

Wolf snorted as if to say "finally."

Cleaning up the old popcorn and the making of new popcorn making was a breeze. By the time she arrived back at Conner's room the desk had been angled towards the lakash and the computer screen was fully raised from its hidden compartment, casting ambient light into the dim Martian-made room.

Conner stood between desk and lakash as if trapped, unable to decide what to do or where to go. His face still bore its normal focused and intent expression but she could feel his hesitation radiating off him. She didn't need to read his mind to tell what he was thinking. Where should he sit? Should he stand? He didn't want to seem like he was trying to overstep her boundaries she had just so freshly established. Conner hadn't meant to ignite the fuse and now he was wary anything might be perceived as him trying to light it again.

The Martian felt a hint of guilt stab her, seeing as she was the catalyst for his trepidation, but watching him standing, there not knowing where to go or what to do, was also adorably cute.

M'gann laughed brightly and too the initiative. She grabbed his hand, pulling him to the lakash. He didn't need to fear. They were clear with one another now and she trusted him utterly and even though she wasn't ready to cross that line, he was still her boyfriend.

As she stepped into the nest of blankets and pillows she lost her footing on the edge of a pillow stolen from the longue area and the two of them went down in a sprawling heap.

Conner managed to save the popcorn from another spill and the both of them laughed at their awkwardness until they got comfortable in the nest of pillows and blankets.

Wolf sniffed the room then prowled inside. He spun twice at the foot of the lakash then hunkered down, head on forepaws, his lupine face looking at the screen.

The door to the room suctioned close again and once more it looked like they were in a traditional home back on Mars.

M'gann spoke a word and the computer screen began to play the movie. The ambient noise of Mars still rolled out in the background as the movie's music swelled. She placed the refilled popcorn bucket on Conner's lap and leaned her head against his chest. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and she could not help but snuggle closer against his side.

For the first time in a week contentment and peace washed over M'gann. She felt her homesickness abate with every thump of his heart. She smiled lovingly, though she knew Conner couldn't see it. Even had she been offered a teleportation to Mars at that very moment she wouldn't have taken it. All she needed was right there.