Second Chances

Torn Hearts

M'gann sighed heavily as she stared long and hard at the brochure for the Martian Equality Tour.  She only had one more week before she had to make the final decision to join.  As fate would have it, the last day to make her choice was also the day after Dylan's tenth birthday party.  She sighed again as she thought of her boyfriend's oldest child and only son.

Even though he openly expressed his dislike of M'gann, Dylan had actually grown on her.  She admired how determined he was, about everything, from achieving his goals to making his dad proud, and how stubborn he was to get his way.  But at the same time, he loved his family, was passionate about his interests, and loved a good laugh, even when he was feeling down.

In a way, he reminded M'gann of her little brother back on Mars, M'arc.  M'arc was the only one of her siblings who was also born White.  All their brothers and sisters were Green.  This made it so they were closest to one another, and connected on a certain level of intimacy that was not shared by their other siblings.  M'arc was stubborn, passionate, and enjoyed a nice joke every now and then—just like Dylan.

M'gann had grown fond of Dylan's sisters as well.  Becky was more accepting of Megan than her older brother.  She was a little ray of sunshine, and even gave her daddy's girlfriend little gifts that she had made especially for her out of Play-Dough or Popsicle sticks.  Molly was obviously much to young to understand that M'gann was the woman her father loved instead of her mother, but nevertheless, she never hesitated to cuddle or accept a hug from Megan.

M'gann hadn't expected to grow so close to Conner's children, but she had.  It felt as if they were part of her family, too.  Of course, the wonderful bond she felt with them now seemed damaged since they had gotten that letter from their mother in the mail.  Now that their real mom might come back into the picture, M'gann doubted the kids would still want her around.  She wasn't even sure Conner would still want her around.

Recognized—Superboy, B06. M'gann stood up straight at the sound of the Zeta tubes announcing Conner's arrival at Mount Justice. He was all smiles as he walked into the TV room/kitchen and saw his Martian sweetheart sitting at the dining table. He pulled out a chair and seated himself next to her, giving her a small peck on the cheek. "Hey there, Beautiful."

M'gann offered him a half smile as she felt his lips against her skin. She was so flustered by his small but intimate gesture that she spaced out for a moment, before she was pulled back to reality by the sound of Conner's voice. "What's that you're holding?" Before she could think up an excuse, he plucked the brochure out of her hands and looked at it. As he read it's contents, the smile on his face became stronger.

"Wow! A planetary tour to promote Green-White equality? This sounds amazing!", he gushed. "Are you interested in seeing it? How do you get tickets?" "Well, first off, its a public event. You don't need to buy tickets. Admission is free.", M'gann explained. "Second, I'm not interested in seeing it." M'gann took a deep breath before going on. "They offered me a spot on their tour. They want me as a model for overcoming White racism."

Conner grinned at her. "That's great!" Than he realized that she did not look very happy while saying that. "So...why the long face?"  "Conner, this isn't some musical Earth tour with some sleazy pop star.", she said, parroting the tour manager's words.  "They say this tour is going to last years!  I don't know how long I'll be gone."  Conner felt his heart sink.  "Oh...I see."

M'gann took the brochure back from him and resumed staring hard at it.  Conner felt his nerves rise.  "You're...not really thinking of doing it, are you?"  M'gann avoided his gaze as she spoke.  "Well, its really a great opportunity, and I'd be making the difference that I've always to make.  Besides, there's not much keeping me here."  She began to trail off noticing the hurt looking on Conner's face.