His body didn't hurt. That was the first thing Conner sensed when he awoke.
Normally the Boy of Steel felt something after a massive battle. He wasn't invulnerable like Superman, after all, only extremely durable, and while he could withstand most projectiles and bullets of large calibers he couldn't withstand endless rounds of tank shells and get up unscathed or endure say, a nuclear warhead. He had his limits, or, at least, he had had them.
And though Perfection's fire beams didn't really count as a projectile, he thought he should have been feeling something, yet he felt perfectly fine.
Was he dead? He pondered, then, more concernedly asked himself, was M'gann dead? Where was she?
"We're alive," M'gann assured him soothingly through their mind-link, her words bringing a cool kiss of relief to his sudden, fiery panic. Though his eyes were still closed he felt her squeeze his right hand. "And I'm here."
"That answers that, then," Conner sighed in relief though the link. "But where is here exactly? We still on Santa Prisca?"
M'gann hesitated over the answer. He could feel her wariness which nearly rekindled the alarm in him. "There is no Santa Prisca anymore."
"Then where are we?"
"You're not really going to like that answer," she said at last.
"What could be worse than being on Santa Prisca?" he asked with a mirthless snort.
Before M'gann could respond or explain, Conner slowly opened his eyes to see a sterile white operating room light hanging directly overhead. To his right M'gann stood over him in her Miss Martian form and to his left the face of Lex Luthor looked down at him.
"You!" Conner bolted upright, a hand grasping the front of Luthor's still perfectly immaculate suit. "What have you done!"
"Conner, wait!" M'gann cautioned aloud, putting a hand on his wrist. "I know this is Lex Luthor but circumstances have–"
"—Forced us to call a truce," Luthor finished easily as if Superboy wasn't an inch away from throttling him.
"Is he for real?" Conner demanded to know through the link.
"Unfortunately," M'gann replied. "You've been out for a day or so, Conner. A lot's happened since then. Like, a lot a lot."
Conner's blue gaze bored into Lex hatefully. "Where are we?" he asked again, this time out loud.
"Black Manta's ship," M'gann informed him.
"Yes, the terror of the seas was kind enough to scoop you heroes out of the ocean and not murder you all, with a good word from me, of course," Luthor added.
"We don't owe you anything," Conner snarled but released his grip on Lex's suit.
Luthor smiled and calmly adjusted his askew tie. "Agreed. I didn't have you saved out of the goodness of my heart. I need you. Well, as matters stand, we need one another. The fact that you do not have a Bell Reve collar around your neck is sufficient enough to prove that I do not intend you harm. Consider that you are not prisoners aboard the Manta Ray as a gesture of good will."
"There is nothing good about you, Luthor," the Boy of Steel growled.
Lex shrugged mildly, neither denying or admitting his words. "I'm sure we can argue the validity of that another time, but we have other business to attend to. Perfection takes precedent over your petty familial hatreds doesn't it?"
Conner glared balefully at him but said nothing.
"I'll take your stony silence as a yes, then," Lex continued amiably. "Once you feel sufficiently recovered I have called a meeting on the Manta Ray's bridge to hopefully explain our mutual predicaments." He tilted his head thoughtfully. "Though, if I were a betting man, I would say you feel perfectly fine, don't you?"
Surprise broke through Conner's hatred. He did feel fine and it bothered him that Lex knew. "How do you know that?"
"The damage that Perfection did to you healed with astonishing rapidity and while you were recuperating I made a few observances." He tilted his head to M'gann. "With the Martian here of course. It was nothing invasive but she really had no choice in the matter seeing as I'm the foremost expert in the world on clones and your other friends we scooped up from the ocean desperately wanted to make sure you were alright. It appears your full invulnerability was activated during the attack, a thing of traumatic stress and pain seems to have jumpstarted it."
"He's telling the truth," M'gann confirmed. "I was here the whole time. You're just as invulnerable as Superman now. It saved your life from Perfection."
Conner looked at his hands and flexed them, not knowing how to feel on the matter. Physically and mentally he didn't feel any different but the fact that his invulnerability had kicked in cause a wellspring of worry to form. Was it just the start or was this all there would be?
"Hey so I guess getting our asses handed to us wasn't all bad, then," Icicle Jr. laughed from Conner's left.
The Boy of Steel leaned back and looked behind Luthor to see Icicle Jr. just sitting up in his own infirmary bed and rubbing at his sore neck. Perfection's handprint still lingered on his blue skin, the imprint of her digits seared around his throat. "Wish we could have all gotten something decent out of that attack, but I'm alive, so hey, I'll take it."
"Are you the only one who made it?" Conner asked not seeing any of the other members of the Fatal Five.
"Naw, Black Menace did too, but that's it," Junior rasped as he came to his feet. "That bitch killed all my buddies so get your ass up and let's get moving. I don't know about you but I'm ready for some payback."
"So, you're on our side now?" Conner asked with confusion.
"Circumstances being what they are…," Luthor interrupted with a wry smile. "I'd say we're all on the same side."
0000
Black Manta, Aqualad, Zatanna, and Red X were already waiting on the bridge as Lex guided Conner, M'gann, and Icicle Jr. to the expansive hub of the ship.
Black Manta and Aqualad stood on the left side of the Manta Ray's bridge while Zatanna and Red X stood on the right, neither side taking their eyes off the other.
The bridge of the Manta Ray had never hosted so many secrets. Red X still had her helm firmly attached to her suit, keeping her identity hidden from Luthor, while Aqualad's deception remained intact, still appearing as if he were on the Light's side.
Conner and M'gann joined Zatanna and Red X on the right side of the bridge while Icicle Jr. slid over to join Black Manta and Kaldur on the left. Lex put his arms behind his back and sedately walked down the center of the bridge until he stood between both teams.
A cold, congenial smile tugged at the edges of his mouth but it didn't reach his eyes. "I trust that we all understand that this is quite an abnormal situation," he began evenly. "However, given what occurred on the now sunken island of Santa Prisca I believe it behooves us all to achieve a mutually beneficial arrangement."
"You will get little from these 'heroes'," Kaldur snarled hatefully. "They are too blinded by their own self-righteousness."
Lex tipped his head in a Kaldur's direction and smiled just a little wider. "While you may be correct, Black Menace, their leader has still agreed to hear us out."
"You've spoken to Nightwing?" Zatanna asked suspiciously.
Lex put his hands behind his back and nodded. "Dear Miss Mercy Graves was kind enough to stay behind on the surface world, just in case I needed someone reliable to do my bidding." He shrugged. "And finding your friends wasn't that hard." He added enigmatically, "Not with what's going on now, anyway."
Before Zatanna demand an explanation, Lex turned from her and faced the front of the bridge. "Black Manta, will you please connect my private link to the surface?"
A displeased scowl sat firmly upon Black Manta's face but he obeyed. He tapped a few keys on his gauntlet and brought down a trio of screens from the bridge's ceiling. When they flicked on, Nightwing, Kid Flash, and Artemis appeared on the separate screens, each looking for more worse for wear than when the team had last seen them.
"You guys alright?" Nightwing asked through the mental link.
"Just fine, Dick," Zatanna assured him.
"Good, because when Mercy Graves tracked us down and gave us this frequency I thought it was just Luthor wanting to gloat. If M'gann hadn't mind-linked us all again, after we got separated, we wouldn't know where you guys are or if this was a trap."
"It may still very well be a trap," Kaldur cautioned. "We will have to tread carefully but for now we should hear what Luthor has to say. He did request my father spare your lives. He must have done so for a reason."
"I trust you all have said your silent hellos and confirmed that this isn't a trick?" Luthor asked patiently. "I am quite aware you are able to commune telepathically with the Martian's aid. We employed the late Psymon just the same, though not through such great distances. However, might we proceed with the conversation in a manner that isn't telepathic?"
"Make it quick, Luthor," Nightwing warned.
Lex slowly shook his bald head. "Would that I could… Nightwing, was it? I know you must be rather busy with your own woes, but I can hardly be succinct."
"Then quit the CEO act and tell us what's going on," Zatanna demanded.
"Atlantis has attacked the surface world," Black Manta spat hatefully.
The team stuck in the Manta Ray looked to Nightwing. "Is he telling the truth?"
Nightwing nodded in grim agreement. "For all intense and purposes, yeah. We've been running from Atlantean patrols until Mercy found us. They're in the cave, the Watchtower, everywhere, fighting in every major city on earth."
Vexation clouded Kid Flash's masked face. "But why would Aquaman do this?"
Luthor shrugged. "It wasn't him, per se. We planted Perfection as a spy in Atlantis just as we suspected the League planted Kaldur as a spy in our ranks. However, once we were assured that Black Menace was on our side, we used Perfection in other ways, having her swim to the Manta Ray's location to be augmented with upgrades before returning to Atlantis. And when we weren't doing that I and Black Manta had our own little, shall we say, side-project for her. She infected the mind of the hero Lagoon Boy and because he was so close to the royal court she won her way inside, infecting the minds of Aquaman and his wife, turning them into sleeper agents and thus the whole of the seven seas with her.
"It was our intent to use said army against Vandal Savage should the day ever arise that we sought to replace him. However, now that Perfection has gone rogue she's used our machinations for her own ends. She's butchered every single member of the Light save myself, Black Manta, and the chaos lord Klarion. We believe Klarion may have joined her but the rumors have not, as yet, been verified."
"Where's the Justice League while all of this has been going on?" Conner asked, crossing his arms over his bare chest.
Kaldur cut him a stern look. "Since you heroes are all lapdogs for the League, we were hoping one of you would know."
"Watch it, traitor," Zatanna cautioned. "Unless you want to be turned into a goldfish."
Black Menace reached for one of his aqua-hilts. "I'd like to see you try."
"Please, we cannot afford to face each other as enemies at this time," Luthor cut in before either could make a move. "If this threat is to be faced with any hope of success then we need an alliance. Wouldn't you agree, Nightwing?"
Nightwing's mouth pursed distastefully as if he were eating something sour, then, at length he sighed. "I can't believe I'm saying this but you're right." He tapped a button that the team could not see and a video player appeared on the screen, showing the League in the heat of battle on the Watchtower. "Security cameras in the Watchtower showed this going down thirty-minutes after Perfection sank Santa Prisca."
He tapped the button to start the video and the League jolted into motion, here Shazam flying at Mera, there Aquaman using his trident to battle Wonder Woman. More Atlantean elite guards were filling the Watchtower, La'gann amongst them.
The League was obviously holding back, not wanting to do any major damage until they could figure out what was going on.
Batman called a retreat to Earth so that they could regroup and assess the situation but the Zeta-Tubes had been disabled. He called on Dr. Fate to teleport them away and the sorcerer rose in the air, calling upon the magic of order. A towering, golden ankh appeared behind the heroes and they began to retreat through it. Just before it closed however, Mera lifted her hands, intoning her own Atlantean magic against the ankh and Dr. Fate.
Dr. Fate roared in pain and clutched his helm as he swayed in the air and finally fell. He would have crashed to the floor had Superman not caught him.
The ankh, instead of fully closing, flickered and faded but an outline of it remained in the Watchtower as if made from glass.
"No!" Zatanna screamed as the video froze.
Luthor arched a brow. "Not a good sign I take it?"
Zatanna cursed and began to pace. "The spell didn't get finished. They're stuck in the in-between, the plane between the magical world and the physical. What Queen Mera just did is incredibly hard to time. If my… I mean if Dr. Fate couldn't finish the spell then it's… frozen until either Queen Mera decides to finish it herself, or if Dr. Fate manages to locate his way out of the in-between manually, which could take centuries! Eons!"
"I suppose that means the calvary isn't coming," Black Manta commented grimly.
"Zatanna, if we can get you up there can you finish the spell?" Nightwing asked.
Zatanna stopped her pacing and looked back to Nightwing's screen uncertainly. "Maybe. I'm not as powerful as Queen Mera or Dr. Fate but I can take my best shot. What I can't do, though, is magic myself up there. I don't have that kind of power yet."
"So we'll need a Zeta-Tube and you'll need time to do your thing," Nightwing concluded.
"Which means she's going to need some help keeping Aquaman, Queen Mera, and soldiers off her," Artemis said. "And or Perfection if she gets wind of what we're doing."
"In the meantime will need to attack Atlantis," Black Manta announced. "I have an idea on how she is executing her control over the Atlantean scum. If we can get to the heart of the city we can free them from her thrall which will take Aquaman and his army off of our necks."
Luthor hummed thoughtfully as he scrutinized the problem. "Thankfully for us there is only one Perfection. She can't be in two places at once, so if she's down in Atlantis it will make it easier to free the heroes, or, reversely, if she's fighting to keep the heroes from being free we can liberate Atlantis."
"It sounds like we'll need to split up," Conner concluded.
Luthor smiled at him. "My thoughts exactly. Zatanna, Kid Flash, Nightwing, Artemis, Red X, and Black Manta will assault the Watchtower."
"Hold up, who put you in charge?" Kid Flash erupted in protest.
"Furthermore, why should I part with my ship?" Manta demanded.
Luthor sighed haughtily, as if the answers were obvious. "I am Perfection's creator. I know how she thinks better than all of you." He looked to Nightwing. "You, I trust, have the skills to access this Watchtower so you can get, let's call them Team Beta, where they need to be." He turned to Black Manta. "And you will go with them because you know more about fighting Atlanteans than anyone alive, and the king of the Atlanteans is currently up there.
"As for my team, Team Alpha, Kaldur is more than capable of captaining the Manta Ray in your absence and getting us into the city with as much stealth as possible, while the Martian, Superboy, Kaldur, Icicle Jr., and myself will provide a challenge for Perfection in Atlantis." He held out his hands as if the solution was right before their eyes. "If one team should fail and the other succeed we will have still struck Perfection a grievous blow and if neither teams succeeds we won't really care anyway because we'll all be dead."
"And what's to stop you from betraying us, Luthor?" Conner asked.
Lex shrugged laconically. "Nothing," he admitted. "But the fact of the matter is Perfection is after my head as well, and if that weren't the case, I will not spend my life beneath the heel of a mad android. Much like you, son, servitude has never suited me."
"What do we think, guys?" Kid Flash asked through the mental link.
Nightwing sighed. "I hate to say it. Really, really hate to say it, but Luthor's right."
"We're just going to trust him?" Conner scoffed.
"I know you don't like it, but we don't have much of a choice," M'gann replied. "While I battled with Perfection I got glimpses into her twisted mind. She's not only coming for Luthor's head, anyone who denies she's perfect is going to die. Millions are going to perish and if her madness descends further possibly the entire world. She's barely stable and its only getting worse."
The grim reality set in for the heroes as each slowly came to the realization of how dire the situation was.
"Alright," Nightwing said at last. "Let's get to planning."
0000
A change was coming.
M'gann couldn't help shake the feeling that they were on the brink of something major. She hadn't felt this way the first time they had tangled with Perfection but now that they were planning round three, she sensed it like humans could smell rain before it fell.
Whether it was good or bad change she didn't know and that worried her all the more.
Standing at the back wall of Black Manta's war-room, M'gann watched as Luthor, Conner, Kaldur, Zatanna, and Black Manta hashed out some of the finer details of the coming attacks. She could hear them all just fine but after hours of meticulous detailing her mind needed a break. She pushed their voices to the back of her mind, allowing herself a few precious moments with her inner thoughts, especially about Conner.
Though Perfection's attack had triggered Conner's invulnerability the simple fact was that if it hadn't he would have died. In fact, in every altercation they had had with Perfection one of them had nearly perished. What were the odds that this time would be any different? Now that they were heading into the heart of Perfection's domain wouldn't it be worse? Though they wouldn't shy away from the danger that faced them she didn't want to lose him. She never wanted to be without him. Even the thought that she might have to bury him made her want to fall to her knees in weeping terror.
"Worried?" a voice that M'gann wasn't very familiar with asked over the mind-link. She searched for the speaker and spotted Leana just as she joined her against the wall. The woman leaned against the cold metal and crossed her arms shrewdly. She kept her helmeted face towards the gathered heroes and villains but M'gann could sense the curiosity radiating off of her.
"Yes," M'gann admitted, not trying to hide it. She doubted her face was showing anything less.
"Conner or Perfection?"
M'gann sighed. "Both."
Silence pervaded the mind-link as M'gann was drawn back to her worrisome thoughts. She thought Red X would leave, considering her curiosity slaked, but instead she nudged her head faintly towards Conner and Lex. "Have you noticed those two stand the same when they're concentrating?"
M'gann blinked in surprise at the observation. She expanded her attention not just to Conner but to Lex and saw that Leana was right. The pair faced the interactive war table, both their hands planted on the edge, shoulders hunched in concentration, their right ankle hooked behind their left ankle and their heads tilted faintly to the right. Though Conner was still shirtless and Lex was dressed head-to-toe in his expensive suit, the fact that that was the natural way they both felt comfortable standing while deep in concentration was undeniable.
M'gann frowned. "Well, won't be unseeing that."
"It's not a bad thing," Leana laughed. "When I learned about Superboy I wondered what he was like. Half-Superman, half-Luthor. And when I learned he was a hero I thought 'neat the Superman genes won out, take that dad,' but for the brief time I've spent with you guys I've realized I've been wrong. Conner's 'good side' didn't win out over his bad. He's a lot like Superman, sure, but he's a lot like my dad too. He's stubborn, driven, and will fight like hell for what he wants. He didn't just get Superman's good qualities, he has my dad's good ones too. Conner made himself the man he is, but there are parts of them that are parts of him. He chose to be good and if he has any bad qualities chooses to fight them. He's got the best of both worlds, M'gann, that Superman hope with that Luthor stubbornness. So don't worry, if anyone is ready to face off against Perfection it's him."
"Why are you telling me this?" M'gann asked suddenly. She liked Leana but the vigilante had kept rather aloof from the heroes and was hardly the comforting type. Though Conner was her brother they hadn't known each other that long to create such a familial bond.
Leana shrugged. "I know we really only just met but I feel a kinship with Conner, he's family. I can read his face just like I can read dads. He's worried too but he's trying not to show it. I suppose his thoughts are running down the same vein as yours, how to stop Perfection."
"It's more than just the worry of how we'll stop Perfection, Leana," M'gann admitted anxiously, her eyes fixed on Conner's back. "We've lost to Perfection in every altercation. What if it's worse this time? I… I can't lose Conner. I don't think I could bear it. He's my heart."
Leana turned her head to peer at her and though M'gann couldn't see her face she sensed Leana regarding her critically. "Oh, so that's it," she said, her mental voice sounding surprised.
"What is?" M'gann asked in confusion.
She sensed Leana smiling behind her helm. "I understand now," the vigilante clarified. "This scares you so badly because what you feel for him is greater than a silly little crush or a fling. I thought I had a good grasp on how deep your relationship with him went but I was wrong; it's deeper than I thought. Oh so much deeper."
0000
Three days at full speed, that was how long it would take to reach Atlantis.
Though Zatanna might have been able to get them there faster she needed to meditate, study, and keep her strength and, insofar, the Atlantean host hadn't yet taken over the entire globe. Other heroes were fighting the Atlantean onslaught, unknowingly buying the two team's precious time.
But until they could reach Atlantis all they could do was wait.
Conner paced the confines of his small cabin restlessly, working the days planning over and over in his head. This is what things had come to, a desperate alliance with their enemies, with Luthor of all people. He had never thought he would be willingly on his side but there he was.
A thousand different anxieties from a hundred different directions bombarded him all at once: What if he liked working with Luthor? What if joining with the Light to attack Atlantis brought out the evil in him? What if the changes going on inside him weren't good? What if he was going to end up like Perfection, degenerating into madness and horror? What if they didn't succeed? What if Perfection managed to stop both teams? What if he wouldn't be enough? What if he had to watch M'gann die? What if–
"Jeez dude you look like you're about to eat a bowlful of Kryptonite," Icicle Jr. snickered from the cabin door.
Conner whirled and turned to face the villain, his fists clenched. He had been so distracted he hadn't even heard the criminal approach the cabin or open its door. "What the hell do you want, Junior?" he challenged, his body tensing in preparation for a fight.
"Hey chill man, we're on the same side at the moment," the criminal reminded him. "And just call me Cameron, the Junior shit is lame. Wish I'd never taken the fucking name, but hey that's what I get for trying to impress my old man." To prove he meant no harm, Icicle stepped inside and tossed Conner a shirt. "Look, here's a little peace offering for ya."
Conner caught the shirt and stared at it skeptically. It was black, much like their covert dark wear, and smelled of brine. "Thanks," he replied gruffly as he pulled it on.
"Hey don't thank me, I stole it out of Black Manta's shit," Cameron chuckled. "It looked like you could use one. Hell, looks like you could use a couple of beers too and so could I. Since Perfection killed my old drinking buddy, Mammoth, and Kaldur has a stick up his ass, I figured you're next in line."
"I don't drink," Conner returned flatly, hoping to chase Cameron off.
If the ice-criminal was dismayed he certainly didn't show it. For all his faults he was an outgoing villain who wasn't picky about his friends. "Damn, that's a rough deal. Can't get drunk?"
"No because I'm eighteen," Conner shot back.
Icicle rolled his eyes. "Dude so am I, who gives a fuck? We've both broken bigger laws than that." Before Conner could reply, Icicle slapped a palm to his forehead. "Oh right, right, hero, goody-two-shoes types." He leaned an elbow against the edge of the door and tilted his head inquisitively to the side. "You think that Red X girl cares, though?" He snapped his fingers as if epiphany had struck him. "I know, maybe you could ask her for me, you know, scout around and see what she likes. Manta keeps this ship loaded with tons of booze, there's gotta be something she'll drink. And while you're at it, maybe you can put in a good word for me, you know, tell her that I'm the coolest thing this side of the Arctic."
Conner heaved a disbelieving sigh. "In three days we're about to be in the biggest fight of our lives and you're trying to get me to set you up with Red X?"
Icicle Jr. shrugged and stepped fully inside the cabin. "Yeah and so what? Why the fuck do I care about what happens in three days? Far as I know I'm not there yet."
"That's… surprisingly deep, but no, find someone else to help you hit on Red X." Conner shook his head.
Cameron held his icy hands out pleadingly. "Aw c'mon man, I thought the bro-code was universal, and I kind of saved your life back on Santa Prisca so you owe me."
He stared at Cameron skeptically. "M'gann gave me the rundown of what happened. You didn't save my life, you were pissed at Perfection for killing Mammoth. And why are you asking me? Go ask Kaldur. Red X isn't exactly one of the good guys."
"Kaldur's too busy trying to act like Black Manta to even think about being a wing-man for his 'underlings'," Cameron air-quoted the last word disdainfully.
"So you think I'm next in line to help you?"
The criminal pointed at Conner with the icicle-sharp finger. "Of course I do, and even if Kaldur was down for helping me out you're the best guy for the job. If there's anyone on this ship that knows anything about picking up girls it's gotta be you."
Conner arched a brow. "Why would you think it's me?" Wally and Dick's had been the charmers of the team before dating Artemis and Zatanna. He didn't know the first thing about picking up girls. There had only ever been one woman for him.
"You bagged the Martian didn't you? You don't just get a chick like that overnight, you gotta have the moves," Junior expounded.
Conner eyed him sharply. "Who told you me and M'gann were together?"
"I got eyes don't I?" Cameron snorted. "They way she didn't let Luthor out of her sight for a single second he was in the infirmary with you, how she held your hand, and hell she even kissed you once when she thought I was asleep. Fuck, I could see it in the way you two fought for each other back on Santa Prisca; you tanked a firestorm for her. Who couldn't see it a mile away? I'm dead sure about it. You two get along like newlyweds. The only question I'm asking is when did the two of you tie the knot?"
Conner stood stunned, blinking at the observant Icicle Jr.
Junior read the owlish stare instantly. "Wait you two aren't…?"
It wasn't anyone's business, especially not Icicle Jr.'s but Conner found himself unable to tell the criminal to leave or shut up. In fact, if anything, he felt himself wanting to talk about it. Though he had tried to push it away, it had been one of the many anxieties bombarding him. "I've thought about it," he admitted lowly. "It just hasn't been the right time."
Icicle sighed in exasperation and threw his head back. "Fuck, what is it with you heroes and timing and rules and all this dumb shit? So if we survive this attack are you quitting the hero business or something?" He spread his hands in a gallic shrug. "Which, you know, not complaining about, more fun times for me, but is that the plan?"
Conner huffed. "Don't even think about it, Junior, and no we aren't going to stop being heroes."
"Then when will it ever be a good time, dude?" Cameron asked. "It's always going to be some bullshit, maybe not this dire but something."
Sighing again, the Boy of Steel pinched the bridge of his nose. What the hell was his life right now? "I can't believe I'm getting relationship advice from a super-villain."
"Is it that or you just can't accept the fact I'm right?" Junior flashed him a shit-eating grin. "Look, I like living my life in the moment, doing things that'll bring the next wad of cash or thrill. I'm not worried about the next day or if some goody-two-shoes hero like you is around waiting to stop me. Some things you just gotta make the leap for and fucking figure out how you're gonna land on the way down. Think about it this way, if we're really going to be dead meat at the bottom of the ocean in a few days, do you think in your last moments you're going to look back and be satisfied that you never bothered to ask her when you had the chance?"
0000
"Some things you just gotta make the leap for and fucking figure out how you're gonna land on the way down." Icicle Jr.'s words replayed through Conner's mind over and over.
He didn't know why those particular words stuck out to him the most, but they refused to leave him alone. Hadn't that been his whole life, going for something and figuring it out as he went? What made it different now, he wondered? Was it the magnitude of it? Was it the leap he feared?
No answer he dredged up in his mind seemed wholly correct. Maybe there was no one right answer to his thoughts but there was one thing he did know – Icicle Jr. was right. He didn't want to admit it, but he couldn't deny it either. M'gann was his better half, she was everything to him. They had overcome so much together, broken a part and come back stronger too. There was no one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with but her, of that he was certain, so why hadn't he asked her?
"Conner?" M'gann's voice softly filled their private mind-link. "Is something wrong?"
"Hmm? Why?" he asked in return, dodging the question.
"I sensed you were troubled," she replied honestly. "Zatanna is about to take watch, maybe we can talk about it?"
Though they did have an alliance with Lex and Black Manta none of the team trusted them. They had set up their own private watch, one member of the team staying alert and awake, in case Lex or Black Manta should betray them. No one wanted to wake up in the middle of the night with an ability-inhibiting collar being forced around their neck.
He filled the mind-link with assent. "Sure. I'm not tired anyway."
The mind-link went quiet for a moment then he felt her again, in the room, before he could see her. It was like a sixth sense now. He could always tell when she was nearby.
"We should really be resting," M'gann commented as she materialized in his cabin in her Miss Martian form. "We'll need to be at our best to face Perfection."
"I know, but I've had a lot on my mind," Conner admitted as he rose from his bunk.
"Me too," M'gann replied gently. She hugged herself, her face clouded with anxiety. "I'm… scared Conner."
"I am too."
She looked away, trying hard to keep her emotions in check. "I don't want to lose you. I don't know if I could handle it."
He knew exactly how she felt. "It's too fresh, too raw. It's like finding something precious you lost only for it to be taken away again. I don't ever want to experience that again."
"Exactly," M'gann sighed. She looked up at him once more, a frail smile suddenly lifting the edges of her lips as a gentle thought overcame her. "You know, for a little while, I was glad we were laying low in that old house. It felt like ours, like we could have been there forever, our only troubles old electrical wiring and figuring out what was for dinner. I don't regret that we chose this life, this is what we both want to do, but I guess experiencing that just makes this fight all the harder to face." The small smile vanished, replaced once more with her fear. The thought of going back there without you is just… I can't do it. I can't do any of this without you. What I feel for you is greater than anything I've ever felt before. Sometimes it scares me, how much I love you."
Looking deep into her eyes, feeling the rich sincerity of her words through their link, Conner understood then what Icicle Jr. had meant. What he and M'gann shared went deeper than anything he had ever felt. Their relationship was a perilous thing. It was a risk to their hearts and minds and souls but one that they willingly wanted to share, despite the dangers they put themselves in. The future was always coming, the present was always now and that was where they were. They stood on the edge of their lives, not knowing what was below. But Icicle Jr. was right – he would just have to leap and figure out the rest on the way down.
So, feeling scared shitless and woefully inadequate, Conner leapt.
Strongly but slowly, Conner sank to both knees. He knew traditionally a man got on one knee but it seemed wholly insufficient, especially when he was empty handed. "M'gann will you marry me?" he asked aloud.
M'gann stared at him silently, her wide eyes searching him as she processed the question.
A shadow of dread crossed his face at her silence. His stomach leapt and twisted as if he were plummeting through the air. "I know this probably isn't the how or where you wanted this to happen, and I know I don't even have a ring, and hell we're in a super-villain's hideout and this shirt was stolen from Black Manta so no nice location or a suit and tie either, but this isn't just on a whim or because we're about to have the fight of our lives. I mean it from the bottom of my heart. And I know I can't offer you much of anything, not even the guarantee that we're going to live to see next week, but I–
M'gann fell to her knees and embraced him in a hug. "Conner Kent you were all I ever needed," she sobbed happily against his neck. "Yes."
Emotion clogged Conner's throat and tears misted his blue eyes but he didn't shed them. She said yes! He put a hand on the back of her head, his fingers carding through her rich red hair and wondered how he had ever gotten so lucky. Surely there must be something to fate. Roughly three years ago now he hadn't existed and she was from another planet, but they were soul-mates just the same.
Slowly M'gann's sobs of joy began to sputter into laughter. She gripped the shirt hugging his body, resting her head against the side of his neck. "I love you so much, Conner, and I know I shouldn't laugh, but you really stole a shirt from Black Manta?"
Conner laughed at the ridiculousness of his present state as he kissed the side of her temple. "Technically Icicle Jr. did, but it's funny you bring up Black Manta…."
0000
A pounding on Black Manta's private training-room door jolted the aquatic menace out of his meditations. He always trained and meditated profusely days before a battle, especially ones against Atlanteans. He wanted to be at his best and they offered him only the hardest of challenges.
He cracked open an eye and located the large digital clock on the wall. The time read three a.m. Annoyed but curious, Manta rose and tapped a button to open the five-inch-thick steel door that protected his personal training space.
He was expecting to see Luthor, epiphanied with a new plan or a devastating new development in their already tenuous machinations, but instead, Kaldur, Icicle Jr., Red X, Zatanna, Superboy and Miss Martian stood at his door.
The ever-stern Black Manta arched a brow and looked to Kaldur for an explanation, but the expression on his son's face told him that Kaldur didn't really know what was happening either.
"Trouble?" Black Manta finally asked, unable to ascertain the meaning of the visit.
Kaldur heaved the most disbelieving sigh Black Manta had ever heard before. "Not of the normal sort, father," Black Menace assured him.
"Then what sort is it?" he asked, genuinely curious.
Kaldur rubbed the back of his neck, as if trying to find the best way to way to put what he was about to say. "Two of our guests request a most… unusual favor."
0000
An unusual favor was putting it mildly.
Though Black Manta was a super-villain, according to maritime law, as captain of his vessel, he was able to marry those at sea. Pirate captains had not been excluded from this rule and had been able to preside over marriages so, as a villain, it stood to reason he could as well.
That wasn't to say he was keen on the idea, but the utter gall of it was something Black Manta had to respect. That, and Kaldur had privately assured him that if they made it out of the confrontation with Perfection alive it would horrify the League to no end. And that, in the end, was what convinced him.
Black Manta was many things and petty was most certainly one of them.
So, in his own private training-room, he presided over the marriage of Superboy and Miss Martian.
It was a less-than-ideal place for a marriage, even he had to admit that. His training-room lacked any sort of beauty or comforts. It was cold and barren save for the many weapons that lined the walls. But on the other hand it suited the strange gathering perfectly for the survivors of Santa Prisca looked no better than the room itself. The betrothed heroes still reeked of smoke and ash from Santa Prisca, their clothes scuffed and dirty and soot smeared. There was no sunshine, no dresses or suits, no rings or flowers or music, but the Martian and the Clone looked at one another as if there was no place they would rather be.
"Heroes and villains, we are gathered here today in the sight of man, Atlanteans, magicians, clones, and whatever gods Martians worship to bind these two in holy matrimony," Black Manta began, pulling pieces of the ceremony that he remembered from his own wedding and making up the rest as he went along. "I would assume if anyone here had any objections they wouldn't have come knocking on my door at three in the morning." He looked from Conner to M'gann as if still trying to decide if they were just messing with him or not, but the sincerity on their faces was all too real. "There are no rings, because this certainly was not planned in any way, shape, form, or fashion, so if you two have any words, speak them now."
Before either could speak, Icicle Jr. crafted two rings of ice and tossed them to Conner and M'gann. "Here." He wiped a frozen tear from his eye. "Don't say I never did anything good for you, man."
"Softie." Leana nudged Junior in the ribs.
Junior shrugged. "I'm a sucker for this kinda shit. It's beautiful."
Though Zatanna was conserving her strength, she whispered a backwards words over the rings so they wouldn't melt.
Conner and M'gann offered smiles of thanks to villain and hero. "Thank you, both of you," Conner said sincerely.
"We won't forget it," M'gann added, her voice filled with joy and happiness.
Conner ran his thumb around the bright blue band of ice then lifted M'gann's hand and held the ring at the tip of her fourth finger. "M'gann, you're everything that means anything. I know its cliché, but you bridge all the gaps in my life. Being a clone I sometimes wondered if I had soul but when I was with you there was never any doubt. You are my soul-mate. I don't deserve you and I promise to never for one day squander or take for granted your love. I promise to love, honor, and protect you for the rest of my life," he vowed as he slipped the ring on her finger.
"Conner, some things are just meant to be, but I didn't know I believed that until I met you. We come from two different worlds, literally, two different ways of life and yet I've never been more certain about anything in my life – we were meant for one another. There were so many things that could have stopped us and almost did, but I'll be forever grateful to you that didn't give up on me. When all my strength and belief was gone you gave me yours. When I despaired you took my hand and led me through. You are my rock. For all the trials and evils we've endured, all the bumps and hardships, I'd do it all again without question to be with you. You are my soul-mate, my heart and with you I'm whole. I promise to love, honor, and protect you for the rest of my life." She slipped the ring on his finger.
Black Manta blew an enigmatic sigh through his nose. "Though this is by far the strangest thing I've ever done, by the dubious powers vested in me as captain of the Manta Ray, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride."
Conner and M'gann leaned towards one another, love deep in their eyes. Their lips met tenderly, sealing their bond with a kiss that felt just as breathtaking as their first. As they finally pulled away M'gann swapped from her hero form to her Martian form and their brows met in her Martian fashion, their bond one of Earth and Mars.
They could have stayed like that forever, basking in their love for one another, then Black Manta asked skeptically, "Is that my shirt?"
