-Sha'lain'a keeps a secret, M'gann talks with Kaldur, and somewhere in an elevator an exchange is had-

"Is it just me, or is the ship more cramped at the bottom of the sea?" Artemis brushed her fingers through her hair anxiously. 

"It's the ocean pressure. It makes the ship compact in order to protect us from being crunched."

"Reassuring." She muttered.

She wasn't the only one on edge, ever since they reached 7 leagues under sea level, Wolf had been pacing in circles, whining and howling. It was a three person effort to keep him quiet.

"Note to self, leave the dog at home next time we travel to the sea floor..." Dick muttered, offering Wolf another piece of peanut butter sandwich, which he refused, letting out another earsplitting wail.

"We're lucky sound doesn't travel down here." Wally groaned, covering his ears. "Now how are we supposed to find Kaldur? Even if we find the Atlantis, it's a whole cotenant!" 

M'gann shrugged. "I'll follow our path last time to his parent's place. "I need you guys to sooth Wolf for me while I go out to find him."

"Can do. We'll keep an eye on the ship."

"Okay, but everyone stay inside, this is so dangerous for humans. " M'gann told them. "Human's are... squishy. I'll have the bioship shift an airlock for me to exit, but it might get pretty cramped in here."

"We can take it." Artemis said. She grabbed the distressed Wolf in a hug. As he often tried to, Wolf began lapping at her hair, grooming her. She shuddered. "Be quick."

"I'll try." And with that, she stepped into the airlock, and released herself into the deep.

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"Bruce." The man faced the wall of the elevator, hearing the doors click behind him. "I have to ask something."

"Ask."

"You said that I need to make a claim for superboy."

"Yes."

"Even if I don't want to, I'm not going to let the light gain another super soldier." Clark took a second to breath. "But what if he doesn't want me to?"

"Could you blame him?" Bruce asked. Clark didn't say anything. "Clark, I couldn't care if he hates you, or if you hate him," He lied. "You just need to make a claim and meet the bare minimum of convincing."

"How?"

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M'gann tried to knock on the doorframe, hand slowed by the deep sea drag. She didn't know the traditional way to invite herself in. "Hello? Hello? Let me in!" She called, barely remembering to switch languages. 

'Kaldur? Can You hear me?'

"Who is it?" M'gann saw Sha'lain'a, Kaldur's mother in the darkness of the hall.

"I'm Kaldur's friend. M'gann."

She glided out of the shade. "Oh, yes. We've met. I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry to interrupt this late..." She paused. "It is night time here, right?"

"Well, it will be shortly." She replied. "Would you like to come in? Kaldur'ahm will be home shortly, he asked to help running errands." 

"I really just want to..." The excuse they'd created about Kaldur leaving something at the mountain died on her tongue. "There's an emergency and he's needed on land again." 

"An emergency?"

"Yes, Superboy, the other one who you met with me, has been captured, and they needed me to come get Kaldur I was the only one who knows where he lives." M'gann didn't specify who 'they' was, if Sha'lain'a thought it was the league, that was just a misunderstanding.

"Then we need to get Kaldur going with you right away." Sha'lain'a said, seriously. "At king Orin's word, yes?"

"Yes, but..." She wasn't sure how to explain this without setting off any alarm bells. "It's a secret rescue mission. You're one of two adults who know about it. We think there's someone on the league who doesn't want us to save Superboy, so you can't talk about it freely or we might be stopped." The martian danced around specifics as is they were red hot coals. "Aquaman will know as soon as Superboy is retrieved, but everyone has agreed we can't tell members of the Justice League in the event of a security breach."

"I see." She thought. "As long as it's been approved, I suppose I shouldn't put your friend at risk by telling anyone."

"Thank you." M'gann blurted out, feeling a bubble of tears flood her eyelashes and disperse into the water.

"Sit down, while you're waiting, darling. I can ask Calvin-- my husband-- to bring anything you need." She pulled M'gann down by her shoulder, soothing the martian with great concern.

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It was barely cognisant of the passage of time. It was barely cognisant at all. Light and shapes flooded the world. There were sounds, but the constructs of them escaped it. 

The only thing it found its focus on was a thick, hot, ring tied around its throat. It once again raised its hands to remove the thing causing this discomfort.

Bad. 

Ndaloje atë.

Vous ne pas le touche.

Bad.

No eres nuestro hermano.

A jolt of sharp agony cut through it, causing miniscule, tight, spasms. 

It's head began to clear from the pain, and everything was dark. It was barely cognisant of the passage of time. It opened its eyes. Light and shapes flooded. There were sounds, somewhere.

The only thing it found was a hot, ring around its throat. It raised its hands to remove the discomfort.

Stop that!

Usiedzieć.

Tau lava o le usitai!

BAD!

BAD!

Pain needled through every muscle: felting, ripping. Everything was dark. It was barely cognisant. It opened it's seers. Light and shapes. There were sounds.

The thing it found was a ring around it. It once again raised its hands to remove.

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"Just, be present." The words escaped, more personal than intended. "It's been four years and Dick still outpaces me. He doesn't care if I care how class was, he just wants to tell someone. Just be in the room incase he needs a body to tell."

"Not to insult, but I'm wary of your parenting skills."

"I may not be a conversationalist, but I'm a damn better parent than you've been."

Clark actually shut up for a few seconds. "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize to me." 

The doors clinked open in the underground garage and Bruce stepped off, headed for his car. He didn't bother looking back at his colleague.

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"Be safe." Sha'lain'a embraced her son tightly, taking the bag from him.

"I will, mother."

"Keep my son safe." She told M'gann, the lightness of her tone not hiding the desperacy beneath.

M'gann nodded, seriously. "I'll try."

Once they were alone, just outside the city lines, Kaldur turned to her, his words echoing over the link. 'M'gann, what are you doing?'

'We're doing back to get Conner.'

'We can't. We tried. We... I lost him. it will only make things worse to go against the league.'

'What else can we do? Kaldur, we have to at least try! No matter what the leauge says, he needs help and we can help! I wouldn't. We can at least say we tried as hard as we can. We might get screwed, but can we say we tried if we gave up under orders?'

'I want to help people. If this mission goes wrong...'

'But what if t goes right? The team needs you! We can't do it alone! and we can't just sit back and wait for someone else saves him. What did Batman say? Breaking laws to save lives?'

Kaldur when quiet for several seconds, drifting solemnly beside her. His entire life, his purpose, working under king Orin. Saving people. Which was more important? 'Where's the Bioship?'

Rough Genomorph Translations:

bad, stop that, Don't touch that, bad, you're not our brother

stop that, sit still, just obey, bad, bad