Chapter Text
Conner could feel his head pounding. It was ringing in his ears and making him dizzy. He was covered in mud from the mission and it had dried into his skin, forming a dry, sticky layer that made him itch. He wanted to shower, to bury himself in his bed and forget everything. But M’gann…
‘Shower, and then come to my room Conner.’ They were still telepathically connected. His head kept pounding. He could feel himself slipping. He needed to sit down for a minute.
He leaned against the wall. Deep breath. In and out. Just like Clark taught him. Bile was rising in his throat. His eyes were drooping closed. Maybe he could take a quick rest. Just for a few minutes. Just for… a little while…
“Kon-El? Kon-El!”
Clark immediately grabbed the boy. His breathing was labored, his face was pale and sweaty. No Kryptonite. No magic. What was going on? Clark gently shook the boy’s shoulder. Nothing. Completely unresponsive.
Conner could hear frantic voices above him. He could hear Clark. He recognized the smooth tenor. His head was still pounding. He could feel something dripping out of his nose. It smelled like blood. His nose was bleeding. That never happened to Clark. Just another way he was defective. He groaned, forcing himself to open his eyes.
The light was harsh and it hurt. Clark was sitting beside him, running a hand through his hair. It felt nice. Much better than when M’gann did it. “Conner?”
Conner turned his head slightly to look at Clark. He tried to smile. It didn’t look like much of a smile. More like a grimace. Like he was about to puke. “Are you alright?”
Conner groaned before closing his eyes again. The lights in the cave were too bright. Clark’s long fingers were still gently curling around his locks. He leaned into the touch. It felt so nice. Please don’t let her ruin it.
“Conner!”
She came flying over to him, pushing Clark’s hands away. He didn’t like that. He immediately missed the warmth that always seemed to be emanating from Clark. He didn’t want her. M’gann began cooing at him, rubbing her hands in his hair in that way, the way she knew he hated. “Oh my God Conner, are you ok? What happened?”
There were so many voices floating across the room. Nothing but meaningless words, bits and pieces of phrases that made no sense. “Doctors” “He needs to-” “Help” “It’s not a sickness” “No, it’s worse than-”
He groaned. He could feel Clark looking at him, looking at both of them. Studying. Storing information away into the back of his brain. He does that a lot. Puts things back there and won’t bring it up until it’s appropriate to do so. That’s why he loves Clark. He waits. She doesn’t.
They end up taking him to the infirmary. She goes with them. They’re all there, sitting in those uncomfortable chairs while they wait for the scientists on call to take a look at him. They poke and prod and find nothing. There’s nothing physically wrong with him. They’re all confused because Kryptonians don’t just pass out in hallways for no reason. Stress is suggested. Yeah, he’s stressed, but not because of their missions. It doesn’t matter though, because he can’t tell them. She won’t allow it.
She still has his psyche in a chokehold. She coaches him telepathically. He nods when she wants. Says what she wants. He does everything that she wants him to do without a second thought. And then the chokehold relaxes, and he doesn’t even remember exactly what he said or what he did, just that he did what she wanted. And Clark is looking at him. The look seems… scared? He can’t tell. His mind still feels sluggish and foggy and he just wants to rest. His eyes begin to fall shut again.
Clark is almost pushing Bruce out the door. They walk and Clark is talking frantically, waving his hands around in the way that he does when he’s upset. “She’s doing something to him Bruce!”
Of course he noticed the way his eyes glazed over the second she made contact with him. He answered the scientists’ questions automatically, almost robotically, like he wasn’t in control of his responses. But maybe he had just been tired. The boy had passed out in the middle of the hallway after all.
“I’ll keep an eye on them. If there’s any foul play going on, you know I’ll find out about it.”
“We need to tell J’onn.”
“We don’t know what she’s doing, if she’s doing anything at all. Let’s wait, actually catch her in the act. Maybe get her to do it in front of the security cameras so we have physical evidence.”
Clark frowned and looked away. Bruce rested a hand on his shoulder. “Trust me on this.”
A pause, then a soft sigh. “Alright.”
Clark immediately walked back to the infirmary to check on Conner while Bruce went to the security room. He needed to figure out what exactly M’gann was doing and there were cameras everywhere. It would be difficult, almost impossible, to avoid every single one in the cave.
Clark was about to walk into Conner’s room but he stopped. M’gann’s eyes were glowing green and she was murmuring something. Her voice was so soft that if he hadn’t had super hearing he probably wouldn’t even have heard her. But he did.
“That was a close one. You almost got me caught, and if I had gotten caught, you would have gone down with me. You’re apart of this, you know that? You don’t even know the things you’ve done, the horrible things I’ve made you do. You don’t even remember. But I do. I remember. I was there. So unless you want the league to find out, you better do as I say. You got that?”
Clark’s eyes widened and his hands clenched into large fists. Fingernails dug into his palms, little red lines forming. He was seeing red. He managed to speed down the hall just fast enough that he didn’t blast heat vision through the door. He flinched at the burn marks on the wall. ‘Conner first, wall later.’
He sped back just in time to see M’gann run her fingers through his little brothers hair. Her eyes were still glowing and he was murmuring in his sleep. “What are you doing?”
She jumped at the sound of his voice. A nervous smile. Hands twitching at her side. A crinkle under her eyes that people made when they were about to lie. Liar. An abusive liar that hurt his brother. “Oh! Superman! I didn’t see you. I was just scanning Conner’s mind to see if he’s having any mental issues that caused the passing out earlier. But nope! All clear!”
She was about to leave but a large arm blocked the doorway. Green eyes glowed. ‘I can do to you what I just did to Conner. Now move!’
His eyes widened but he didn’t back down. He just looked at her. His cold, ice blue eyes reminded her so much of Conner’s. He was so much like Conner. But that wasn’t a good thing. That made him weak, weak to her.
A blood curdling scream ricocheted across the tower. Blood poured from his nose and his nails dug into the walls. The cracking of steel in his hands. Laughter. Screaming. His name being called from across the hallway. And he still wouldn’t move.
She tried to telepathically push him out of the way but it didn’t do a thing. The door frame was tearing apart in his fingers. He wouldn’t be able to hold onto it for much longer. She could see a bead of sweat on his forehead. So her brain blast had done something.
Before she could attack him again Leaguers and Team members were swarming the doorway. Superman collapsed on the ground. There were shouts as hero after hero attacked her. Hands grabbed at her. There was shouting and fists flying. Conner just sat and watched wide-eyed. It was Martian Manhunter that managed to get her on the ground with the help of Supergirl.
Batman immediately clipped an inhibitor collar around her neck. A tranquilizer dart courtesy of Green Arrow and she stayed down. The entire time Conner watched in horror and something that Batman couldn’t quite identify.
Clark immediately rushed to his brother. Long, impossibly warm fingers brushed the curls out of his eyes. A gentle kiss that was so much like Clark planted on his forehead. Dick, Kaldur, Artemis, and even Zatanna swarmed him, asking him if he was alright, hugging him, promising him that it would never happen again.
He couldn’t help but feel that this had been way too easy. She should’ve put up more of a fight. She should’ve been able to knock Clark off his feet, however temporary. So why hadn’t she? It didn’t make any sense. Everything happened way too quickly.
“Kon-El.”
His head shot up to find Clark looking at him. He still had blood coming out of his nose. Clark wrapped an arm around him. He could smell sunshine and remmenants of cologne and outside. He could hear familiar voices talking about what to do with M’gann. Manhunter sounded absolutely heartbroken.
Clark didn’t ask how he was feeling; he knew the answer. He just hugged him closer, like he was afraid Conner would bolt if he let go. It felt good to be wanted. She never really made him feel like that. But Clark did. Dick did. Artemis. Kaldur. Even Zatanna. Even Batman. But not her, no, never her. Clark ignored him for the first year of his life and yet he had become much more welcomed than she was.
A long sigh. More soft murmurs outside his door. He had superhearing. He could make out every single word. Mentions of M’gann going to Belle Reve. Talk of a trial. He hated that idea. He didn’t want a trial, and he didn’t want to see her. He just wanted to disappear, just for a little while.
Batman walked in and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Conner, we’re going to have to interview you. Nothing too invasive, I promise, and if you want Kal there we have no issue with that. Dinah will be helping you, mentally speaking and before the actual interview takes place, she will have some questions about your relationship with M’gann and of course your mental health. I will be conducting the actual interview. Is that alright?”
He nodded automatically.
“Are you nodding because you’re actually ok with it or because you think that’s the answer I want to hear?”
He had to stop himself from nodding again. His eyes widened. His heart felt like it was going to burst from his chest. The lights were so bright. Were they always this bright?
“I’m ok with it.”