July 10th, 2010 - 04:40 PST
Superman was always acutely aware of who and what was in his presence at all times, no matter the moment, no matter how comfortable he'd become…there was always this sense of vigilance that permeated ever aspect of his life. The Watchtower was one of the few places, he thought, that he could really relax...being in orbit and all. Beside him, Orin, or Aquaman, as most people knew him, pondered the annals of deep space as the two of them waited in tentative silence for the rest of the league members to appear, though each party was quickly appearing. The mission had been sparse for the better part of the earth day, with the moon quickly rising on whatever portion of the world they were set above, and the Man of Steel watched it in quiet revelry, soaking up to beaming, golden light of the sun with a relaxed sigh...a sound he didn't make too often nowadays.
But he relished the few times he would.
It was hard to tell when he would feel this sort of bliss again, especially with some much happening now...it was best to make to most of what he could.
Glancing at him, Orin smirked, leaning carefully against the cold glass of the mission room as he looked about the room and noted the growing presence of other heroes around them, with most making conversation amongst themselves.
"Can't help but think that part of the reason we commissioned the Green Lanterns to install all of these glass panels in the vacuum of space was so that you could sun-bathe. Not that I'm particularly bothered by the notion. I think it's nice, actually seeing you smile for once." The former king chided softly, and at his words, Clark sighed, though not from exhaustion, but gentle agreement.
Things had only become more tense over the last few years following the abandonment of Mount Justice, and with Cadmus and just about every villain and antagonistic presence pressing down on them from all sides, it was enough to make even him tired.
Nodding, he pulled his arms close to him again, smiling back in turn.
"I like to make the most of the little moments when I can. What about you? Have you been back to see Mera and Artur? I'm sure they miss you." The kryptonian offered the question, hoping to change the subject.
He wasn't too fond of talking about himself to too long.
At the mention of his wife and child, the man grinned sheepishly, though Clark could feel his body sag with dismay.
He was anticipating the answer was a definite no then.
"I've been hoping to arrange a visit to be with them for a time, seeing as we've seen so little of each other for what feels to be ages…but things never seem to work out in our favor. Current circumstances, especially, make it difficult to find that sort of time. I'm sure you can understand." Orin admitted, losing his smile for a breath as he gazed back down, down to the shimmering blue ball that was their shared planet…and where both of their families surely were…living on without them.
Living despite their persistent absences.
Continuing to grow and change without them to pay witness to it.
Growing older, reaching milestones…all right there…and they couldn't be with them.
Realizing that his mood was taking a shift, and so was Aquaman's, he placed a gentle hand over the other man's shoulder, parsing a quiet look of understanding to ease his worries.
"Don't worry; it won't be long until we've cleared up this mess. Once things have settled down, we'll all be able to take more time to just be…us. To go back to our families, I'm sure of it. But for now…" The Man of Steel assured him in a calm, understanding voice, shooting him a light smile as, after a moment of considering each other, the crowd began to thicken. Zatara, Flash, Wonder Woman, and a host of other heroes came to inhabit the space, and with a subtle hand, brought their brief respite to an end. It was Orin this time that met the other's gaze, smiling.
"Right. Back to work." He exclaimed, and pushing gently off the window, they began to walk over the others who'd gathered into a small group, each nodding respectfully to each of the two founding members before turning to listen to Batman who'd, walking up to them with Martian Manhunter in tow, begun to speak.
"Good. Now that we're all here, we can begin our - " Interrupting the bat was the sound of an activating portal, and without any pomp or circumstance, two figures, Black Canary and Red Tornado, both of which were making a brisk pace into their headquarters only to be met with the collective stares of the other league members that had been there far before they had. Superman wasn't one to sweat the details, much less when it came to being a minute or two late to a surprise meeting that, frankly, none of them really wanted to be in; of course, knowing the two had their hands full tending to the new, prospective "Little Justice League", as many of the older members had aptly put it, it was to be expect that might have their hands tied. It was considering the group of younger heroes that his mind flashed the face of that boy...his...clone, a face so identical to his own that the first time that he'd met him, he almost thought he'd been looking into a mirror, as sickening at the thought was.
In fact, it was so sickening that he cast the thought from his mind, focusing, instead, on the quickened breaths and thrumming hearts of his two, fellow members, and thought their exasperation strange, as if they'd just been running from somewhere.
His interest was piqued enough with that alone, but Batman wasn't pleased.
He was far more stringent when it came to being tardy.
"Red Tornado, Black Canary: you're two minutes and fourteen seconds late. What happened?" The darkly-clad man asked, and as always, he didn't mince his words. That was something that he appreciated about the man's candidness...though it was nicer when you weren't on the other end of it. The two looked at each other, then to Superman, strangely enough, before Canary stepped forward, waving off the Bat's concerns.
"Oh, just a little...accident. At Mount Justice, but he should be fine now. We got M'gann to watch over him." The woman started, crossing her arms as Red Tornado nodded, corroborating her story, but this only sparked the interest of Flash as, sauntering up to accentuate his presence, he spoke, tone questioning.
"He? What accident?" He asked, pondering precisely what the rest of the league had been thinking, though most of them grinned at the notion. For the majority of them, the novel concept of having a Mini League, of sorts, was something of a hilarious concept, if a necessary one. They were all aware that their protégés were becoming anxious and far too willing to commit to risky business to sate their need for validation and purpose, as Batman suggested was the cause of their...defiant behaviors. It was enough, they thought, that having some sort of outlet for their antsy behaviors was the best call they could have made, even more with two competent mentors to watch over them, and the bat himself to give them hand-me-down missions that the league couldn't be bothered to tend to. Of course, Clark wasn't one to put it like that, not in such a...dismissive way, but it was nice to have that little fire put out, or at the very least, tamed, so to speak.
But they still needed guidance.
However they wanted to look at it, it was now their responsibility to keep up the charade, however long it took to prepare them all to really be enacted into the league, though most of their members were quite certain that it would be a long, long time before any one of them would truly be ready for the most...pressing matters their organization were primed to handle. For now, the man thought as he watched some of the members relax their shoulders at the mention of the Little League, each of them were perfectly content with just listening into the antics the teens would almost certainly get themselves into.
Even Orin leaned in, amused at the prospect of the kids getting in some sort of trouble in their absence. After all, most of them had grown up around the members of the League, likened to sons, daughters, and siblings to the majority that had a chance to see them grow up. However, Canary cleared her throat, attempting to put off a feeling of a relaxed cadence, but once Clark saw her eyes dart over to him, only to flicker back to Bruce, the Man of Steel knew at once that something was up.
"Ah, well, it's just that...little Supe had a bit of an upset stomach. Nothing much to report, but, you know, he did throw up. That's all. Red Tornado thinks his body's still adjusting to, you know, being out in the world and not a lab and things like that. Stomach was a bit upset, but he was mostly fine." She reported, and at the mention of the boy, the room went still.
But none stiller than that of Superman himself.
"Yes, the clo - I mean, boy, is fine. He's on bedrest right now, and as Canary reported, he is being watched over by M'gann as she was more than happy to offer herself to the task. That is why were two minutes late. We sincerely apologize." He affirmed, and the room grew tense at the near mess-up the robot had made.
Most members of the league knew better than to make the boy's existence a point of conversation around his predecessor...seeing as it soured his mood so much. It was odd, though, that the two could look so alike in their irritation, and even more so now when Clark felt his good-natured smile fade from his lips as the face of his clone came to mind again.
The face of the weapon Cadmus intended to use.
The reminder of his...weakness.
The abomination that should have never been.
"Right. How is the kid doin' anyway? He adjusting okay and everything? Been a few days since I've been to the mountain; he seemed to be doin' well enough." Flash continued, clearing his throat in hopes of keeping this uncomfortable conversation going. Black Canary answered, brushing her hair over her shoulder to look at Clark.
The man steeled himself against her gaze.
"Oh, he's doing really well, actually. A bit of a temper on him, but he's just feeling things, you know? He's a good kid. You guys should come see him, sometime. Might do him some good to see other faces apart from mine and Red's. Just a thought." She added, staring, for a long moment, at Clark before Batman cleared his throat, noting the growing tension.
"Right. Well, good to hear he's adjusting. As a matter of fact, that is the perfect segue-way into this meeting was meant to be about." He announced, and, with a look to Superman as well, he gestured for the other heroes to follow, which they did, even as most looked about warily, breathing out with relief as they seemed glad the awkward moment had passed. However, the kryptonian lingered quietly behind most of the group, his own thoughts turning as they made their way to the conference room.
It wasn't a mystery to him what they were trying to insinuate, if their cautious, but numerous, looks were anything to assume something by. He knew exactly what they wanted to say, though none of them, thankfully, had the nerve to say it distinctly and specifically to the man, but all of them had quickly understood, from the first day the clone had been "liberated" from Cadmus and apparently adopted by the league (seeing as he had no other family to call his own, or rather, any that they knew of), that the Man of Steel wasn't that fond of the boy.
But Superman would likely amend the statement, and say that he wasn't, in any regard, fond of it at all.
And calling it a boy was generous on its own.
Clearing the main mission hub, the heroes walked about the halls, and the kryptonian sighed as, ahead of him, Flash shot him a few curious looks before turning away, speaking amongst a few of the members ahead as his sharp ears picked up every words.
"Heard he hasn't been back to Mount Justice since we found the kid."
"Can't blame him. Couldn't imagine having another me walking around like that."
"Heard it doesn't have all the powers, though...what do you make of it?"
"Probably wasn't made right. Cadmus shouldn't be tampering with that sort of thing."
"The thing isn't right for the league. I don't know why they took it in."
On and on, they continued to converse about the clone, yet for the most part, he agreed. He hadn't been shy about his disdain for the boy, not that he was particularly concerned with whether it was earned on the child's part or not...something within him, a subconscious animal that lived and breathed and reacted before he could think, was already affirmed in its disgust. He knew very well that the clone hadn't asked to be made -
To have been created in the way that he'd been, to have been result of rap -
"Hey, Supe. You okay? Looking a little spaced out there." Wonder Woman, or Diana, as he knew her, stepped beside him, looking ahead to the whispering, muttering voices with a biting look, and with a flash of realization just a minute or two too late, they were urged into a stunned silence as the amazonian scowled before looking at him with a soft look. Her question rang in his ears for a second, cycling over and over again as he nodded curtly, refusing to look her in the eye.
He couldn't afford to crack.
The man shoved the spiraling thoughts and memories from his mind quickly, and responded, correcting the shakiness of his voice.
"What? I'm fine, Diana. Just a lot on my mind, that's all." He lied, though he was able slap on a face that didn't give anything away, as far as he could tell, the reaction so practice and pristine that the woman almost looked convinced for a moment.
Almost.
"Okay, just...you know you can talk to us, Clark. I know it's a lot, with everything else that's happening, and to find out that Cadmus somehow managed to...what could they have even used to do this? There's no way you'd willingly give them stuff to work with, so how - " She started, but Clark felt himself sicken at the question, and quickly, seamlessly, he made his attempt to change the subject.
He didn't...want to go back there. Back to the memory of him waking up in that lab...
Waking to find Luthor there, staring at him. Smiling.
Waking up to find himself stark naked...hishands on his skin...touching him...making him -
"Let's just - let's focus on Cadmus, okay? The clone - " Before he could finish, Diana corrected, her eyes, though gentle, were stern.
"Superboy." She was earnest and simple with her remark, and with a sigh and biting scowl, he refused to acknowledge the name.
Itwouldneverbe an El.Itdidn't have the right to bear that name.
It wasn't even supposed to exist.
"Hmm, well, anyway, it is the least of our concerns. We still have the fifty-levels to investigate, the organization behind it, and intel relating to all of that mess. Howitcame to be isn't important." He spat, and quickly, he walked ahead, leaving her, and her speculations and questions, behind. He didn't have to entertain anyone's pondering about the logistics of some freak's creation, nor should they be thinking that hard about it.
The thing had been lucky enough that the majority of the league, for better or for worse, seemed to tolerate the idea of one of their esteemed leader's having some half-baked replica, and even more mercifully, had allowed him to be in their care, even with his staunch refusal to acknowledge it. However, he was, by no means, obligated to be around it, to pretend as if he were okay with the situation, and he damn sure wouldn't be playing house with the one reminder that existed that even he, the esteemed Man of Steel, could be bested at the worst of times.
And he'd be damned if he would be forced to stare that thing in the face.
To break bread and share legacies with such a - a -
"Alright. Everyone, take your seats. We have some things to review first relating to Blockbuster." Batman started, and as he commanded, the rest of the heroes, including Superman, went to sit, and with a heavy breath, he turned to focus on the screen before them and Bruce who'd went to stand beside it. The kryptonian did his best to cast the thoughts of the clone, of everything, to the back of his mind, determined, in no uncertain terms, to forget about all of it, at least, for the time being.
Hopefully forever.
As he settled into his seat, and Diana, and some others, did as well, he pushed all of it away.
The clone wasn't his responsibility, his burden to bear...and he'd be damned if he let the fucking thing consume even a second more of his thoughts. Making little effort to reconcile his choice, the man sighed softly, and with a smile, he focused his attention on Bruce and the screen as the report and meeting began.
-(Same time, Mount Justice)-
"P-please...please, no more - " The girl didn't wait as she ripped into the prisoner's mind, rending from their brains every shred of information she could find before leaving them still, a broken thing in a broken chair that they'd desperately tried to throw themselves from, if only to get away from her touch. Of course, it wouldn't have matter if they'd been in the chair, in this room, on the floor, or two chambers down; there weren't many places that her targets could hide that she wouldn't eventually find them. Stepping over to the chair and poking the green martian that had went limp a few seconds prior, her innocent eyes gleamed with disappointment.
"Aw, thought this one would have lasted a little while longer. That's...unfortunate." She hummed, shrugging slightly before turning to the screaming voices beside the rendered husk, a handful of men, women, children, and various others that she'd been tasked with...questioning. She was far too adjusted to the practice of interrogation to be naïve to the begs and wishes of guilty-folk.
Her heart had long closed to it, and instead, filled her with elation.
She looked to her new friends, and their excited smiles, and she smiled back, holding out her hands to touch the temples of a little martian girl, her parents shouting with glee as their child was prepared for questioning.
"Please don't - " Miss Martian's mind superseded their desperation, and filled in the blanks. They were excited, her brain told her as her parent's cries turned to laughter. They were begging her to continue, begging her to cleanse their child, begging to be done next.
"Clean us, clean us!"They all shouted in unison as her fingers pressed against the child's skull.
"Rend us, rend us!"They all cried in unison as the child began to thrash hard enough that she was certain she heard something crack inside of them.
They allscreamed, they allcheered, they alldanced, they allsang. All her new friends, celebrating...as they met their ends.
...
...
...
M'gann could be patient, she thought, as a flicker of memory echoed in her mind as she looked upon the sleeping boy before her and smiled. Lifting her hands from his head, she knew, too, that she could be 'd known well what it looked like when she played too hard with friends; they all broke too soon, too easily, her mind reminded her as she took in his peaceful face, stroking his smooth face carefully as if he were made of glass and she were terrified of breaking him.
Because she was, see. She'd never had something so pretty to call her own, something that could be all hers if she could just...figure out how to make him stop being...like this. The girl didn't have the earth word to express it, but there was a word in martian tongue, to describe a difficult lover, and at the notion of them being lovers, her face swelled a deep turquoise green, a squeal of embarrassment escaping her as she hid her face in her hands.
No, M'gann! Friends first, then...th-then...,She sputtered, looking him up and down again, and landing on his private area, the place where she'd touched before. Taking her hand from her face and regarding the bright, green palm, she used her other hand to stroke it with fondness, her eyes squinting at it briefly before turning back around to consider his body.
That perfect thing.
That thing that called to her.
She could barely contain the desperate sound that echoed past her lips as her reached down, down upon her own body and began to inspect it. M'gann hadn't exactly had much time to consider the very form that she was inhabiting, yet, ever since that day, two days ago, she recalled, that she'd laid eyes upon that perfect boy, Kon-el, she knew his name, she couldn't, for the life of her, get him out of her head. From his dark hair, his piercing eyes...everything would have been good if he weren't so...so mean. It was rare, she found, to see him actively smiling, much less at her, even in the short time they'd known each other. It was quickly becoming apparent to her that he was just a grouch, though she couldn't begin to guess why; there weren't many times in her life that she'd felt very angry, she thought, and that couldn't have been more true now as she ran her hands over her small breasts, sighing as they hardened under her touch.
She shivered, whining quietly under her breath as she turned to face the clone, bit her lip as she traveled lower, lower under she palmed her waist, and sighed with relief as she stepped closer to the bed.
He was still, unaware as her hand slipped into her own pants and beneath her underwear; M'gann flinched at her own touch as she fondled herself.
This feeling wasn't new.
None of it was...but it felt stronger, more intense, around him, around Superboy. Every motion that she made called with need she couldn't understand, and for a time, long before she'd even left Mars, she remembered well enough when these...sensations, these urges, started.
But they were softer, less apparent.
Yet now...
"K-Kon...Kon..."She whimpered as she masturbated over his sleeping body, the boy completely unaware of her desperation, her arousal; she'd since resorted to slipping a frantic hand into herself, thrusting trembling fingers in with fervor that only worsen as her form came undone. White, placid skin shimmered like scales over her body as every ounce of focus she'd allocated to maintaining her body was broken. Any other time, she would have rushed to regain it, to cover her natural body as he clothes were stretched out of shape to accommodate her form, but it didn't bother her, even when she reached out to touch him again, his chest this time, drool dripping from her lips. She leaned down to plant a sloppy kiss to his mouth, the boy remained unmoved even as her tongue slithered around in the warm cavity.
She wanted him, she thought savagely, reaching down from his chest to stroke his soft member again, and she chanced reaching into his briefs, brushing light hair and flaccid flesh with interest.
She wanted him, oh, she wanted him so badly...but a voice in the back of her mind said otherwise. A careful voice, a wiser voice than her addled, baser martian instincts could even fathom as she released him, and leaned up, though her hand didn't stop moving.
Wait,it said, commanding patience where she wished to eat him whole, and she whined with indignity as her climax grew closer. There was a decisive sense of hesitation as her reason urged her to give her natural inclinations pause...not that she was particularly well-versed in listening. She could be patient, her stunning career in the martian army made that very clear...so it wasn't out of the question for her to exercise so little self-control when she so seldom had the chance to be herself. For a moment, she wanted to staunchly refuse that higher order thinking.
She wanted tomarkhim.
She wanted tohavehim.
She wanted himinsideof her.
Now, now, now.
Why should she have to wait, she thought, as a heat built in her hips.
She's waited long enough. He was the one, he was hers, right?
So, she should have him.
But the voice persisted.
You'll break it too soon. Friends wait to do this, don't they. For lovers...he has to want it, too...,It reminded her, and even through her mounting orgasm, she could see the reason in it.
Waiting and being careful meant he would last. Meant that he could learn to love her...not be forced to. She wanted him to like it, right? So that meant she had to be mindful and selective...and patient. Always patient, she thought, as she stared at his crotch with mourning. She couldn't force it too soon, and even this, she thought, as she leaned against his chest, drool pooling and soaking the fabric of his grey shirt, was more than she should have been doing, but she couldn't help it. No one had explained what these feelings were, or how to manage them...but doing this always seemed to make them sleep, if just for a bit. She relished the soft breathing of her future mate against her ear holes, the gentle thrum of his heart in his chest as her body shivered with need.
She was close, she was so...so close.
Bend him...bend him...then break...slowly...slowly...not too fast,Her reason suggested, and just as she reached her peak, a violent tremble quaking through her bones and through every muscle as the bed creaked with her weight. Removing her hand from herself, she noted the dripping mess that dropped between her fingers and soaked into the spot on his shirt where she'd laid her palm to rest, the girl's hand leaving vile fluid upon his clothing, thoroughly ruining it for good. With the clarity that came after she finished, she considered her own thoughts.
She'd never...bentsomething before. During the war...she'd always been told to take it all at one time...subtlety hadn't exactly been her strong-suit. Even now, looking up at him and attempting to recover after...what she'd done, she still felt that terrible urge to do it all again, the bend him to her will right then and there, no questions asked. But she'd seen what would come of it, what...she'd reduced every other person, every other martian, to, doing that same thing, again and again.
It never worked,she thought, recalling very much the empty-eyed zombies that had been left behind when she was finished with them.
This time, she thought, was different.
This time...there were too many eyes, too many thoughts, too many voices, to just do it without discretion, she realized as she raised her soaked hand to his lips and rubbed them against his mouth. She loved the touch of his pearly skin as she slipped in a long finger into the cavity, smiling as she imparted, what she felt, was a part of herself onto him.
He didn't stir, but she didn't need him to.
She smiled.
If she could bend him, slowly...carefully...then he could be hers, right, She thought as her grin widened.
Every other friend that she'd had before snapped too easily. Like broken toys, they were fun...until they stopped working. They would stop laughing, they would stop giggling, they would stop playing.
She didn'twanta broken thing.
She wanted something that would last, and just this one time, she thought, she could try to keep them in one piece...at least...for now.
Taking her finger from his mouth, she stood up.
Yeah, that's what I'll do! I'll keep his head all in one piece, I think! I just...have to figure out how to do that while...making him better...,She wondered, put a wet finger to her chin as she focused on her form, and after a moment, she was shifting back to her lesser form, Miss Martian, and she looked at him again, considering his beautiful face. It wasn't too often that she had to consider her action, even less when so much, she felt, was at stake, seating herself next to him again, her hands firmly, carefully in her lap as she stroked his cheek, she cooed softly.
This one would last,she thought, smiling softly.
Then they could have fun.
They could play, and play, and play, and love each other, forever and ever, she thought, leaning down, this time, to kiss him delicately upon his lips.
That was right, she thought.
She him could be together...forever.
She just had to figure out had to bend him.
