A/N: This was a spur of the moment piece, but I think it turned out well. I hope you enjoy and that you review the piece.
Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice.
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It had started out from innocent curiosity, but isn't that how most problems start? Trying too hard to satisfy curiosity, it can be a dangerous thing. After all, curiosity did kill the cat.
The team had become too curious. They wanted to satisfy that curiosity at whatever cost. But what could be so intriguing that it could enthrall the team into doing anything that was needed to satisfy their curiosity? It was something simple, though. It was Robin's name.
Everyone wanted to know his name, but he and Batman wouldn't let anyone learn it. Kid Flash was the most curious member of the team, because he hated the fact that he didn't even know the name of his best friend. It had driven him into recruiting the other members of the team into working with him. However, the team wasn't very successful. No one could think up a way to find it out. They tried everything in their power except force and M'gann's mind reading. They refused to use force, because he was one of them and they were also scared of what he or Batman would do. They refused to read his mind, because they didn't want him to find out that they knew and M'gann wasn't skilled enough to do it that discretely yet. The only chance they would have to use that would be if he had fallen asleep, but that wasn't something the "Boy Wonder" did in front of others. Until today…
Wally was the one who discovered it – Robin's bedroom door at the mountain was slightly ajar. Wally hadn't told Robin that he had broken the lock slightly. The door shut and would appear to be locked, but a little air current would open the door quietly. Wally couldn't help himself and peeked inside. In the bed was a sleeping Robin.
Robin was still in his civilian attire and sunglasses, but that didn't mean much. What mattered was that he was asleep. Wally was tempted to try to pull off the shades, but Robin would wake up and get mad at him or Batman would get pissed at him. It could also shatter the trust between him and Robin if he was caught. That was why Wally hadn't done it before. Actually, that wasn't true. Wally had tried before but failed miserably. Robin had been awake and observant. If the shades were even touched, then Robin would wake up and know something was wrong. Wally thought it over and realized what he could do, he could go and get M'gann's help. If Robin was asleep, then he wouldn't be guarding his mind and M'gann could discretely take a little peek inside.
It was that thought that had led Wally to running through the cave to find the Martian. She hadn't been hard to find as it was that time of day when she tended to bake cookies in the kitchen. Wally was correct, too, she was in the kitchen baking cookies. The red haired Martian smiled a warm welcome to Wally and gave a polite "Hey, Wally". Wally returned the greeting and started to talk in a hushed voice.
"Robin's asleep in his room and the door's open!" Wally said excitedly.
"Oh, okay?" M'gann replied "It's good that he can get some peaceful sleep."
Wally realized right away that they hadn't been thinking the same thing. He hadn't fully expected her to be on the same page as him anyways. M'gann had been reluctant to join, the only one more reluctant than her to join in was Kaldur. M'gann thought that it would be an unfair invasion of Robin's privacy, and she had been told early on by her friends that she couldn't read minds without permission from the person first. She couldn't care much about who the bird was under his mask, because he was practically her little brother. That was why she was happy she hadn't had to use her powers on him.
"M'gann, that wasn't what I meant," Wally said with a slight groan "Robin's asleep, which means that we have a chance to use you powers on him to discover his identity!"
M'gann hadn't thought of that, but she didn't want to do it. However, she knew that more of her team would be disappointed with her if she didn't do it. All she hoped was that she wouldn't regret her choice in helping.
"Hello, M'gann!" The Martian said with a smile and a light face-palm. On the inside, M'gann didn't want to jeopardize her friendship with Robin, but she would contribute a little to Wally's plan.
"Come on, Megalicious, let's hurry so he doesn't wake up!" Wally said as he grabbed her arm and started running. She had to fly after him to avoid falling into the floor or the walls.
"W-W-WAALL-LLYY!" M'gann called as she was tugged "S-Slow d-down!"
"Sh, you might wake Robin up." Kid Flash quietly as they got close to Robin's room.
M'gann inconspicuously rolled her eyes at that comment, he was making more noise than she was by running. They had quickly arrived at the bird's room. It still held him, sleeping soundly, inside. M'gann smiled at the sight, because the boy looked so happy with whatever he was dreaming.
"Okay, Megalicious, all you have to do is find out his name." Wally whispered "That's all, that isn't invading his privacy, because he was given that name to be called by from his parents." She knew that Wally's reasoning was flawed, because after spending time around the team she learned that if a person didn't want something known by other then it was private. It could also be private if it was something personal, which Robin's name definitely was.
Wally guided her a few feet into Robin's room. He thought it'd be easier for her to do it from there. Honestly, the room was pretty dark, which made it difficult to make out most of the stuff on the walls. The boy on the bed was pretty clear though, he stuck out like a sour thumb. Wally then noticed this poster sitting on the wall, a poster for the Flying Graysons.
"Whoa, I didn't know Rob had idols." Wally whispered to M'gann as he pointed out the picture. "I just thought he looked up to Batman, I didn't have a clue. I wonder if he went to their last performance."
"Why?" M'gann asked curious.
"It was in Gotham, where Robin lives." Wally clearified, "It ended in the death of the majority of the acrobats, though. I think he's honoring them by having this relic."
"Really? That's sad. "M'gann frowned "To have your heroes die like that couldn't be enjoyable."
"He actually caught their killer too, it was his debut to the crime fighting world." Wally added.
"He must've really admired them if he became Robin to get their killer, and then he saved so many lives too." M'gann said, she admired what the boy had done "He definitely honored them, they can rest peacefully now."
"Yeah.." Wally added simply.
Wally and M'gann hadn't intended to, but by leaving the door completely open they attracted the attention of the other team members that Wally hadn't bothered to gather. The first to walk in was Artemis and then Conner. Kaldur came to the doorway but didn't enter. It was rude to enter without permission, which he believed that the rest of his team did.
"You could have gotten us, too." Artemis whispered. "We want to know just as much as you."
Conner just nodded.
"I would have enjoyed being alerted as well." Kaldur spoke softly.
"Sorry, but I didn't think of getting anyone except M'gann." Wally said sheepishly while rubbing the back of his head with his right hand.
"Kid Idiot just wants the knowledge all to himself." Artemis gave a little glare.
"We haven't even started yet." Wally defended.
"Yeah, yeah. Let's just get on with this so we can get out before bird boy notices." Artemis said as she leaned against the wall.
"Are you okay with this, M'gann?" Conner asked. M'gann simply nodded her head.
"Okay, then let's begin." Kaldur suggested as he received confident and determined looks from everyone except M'gann.
"Okay." M'gann said simply as she turned towards Robin and sat on the floor, criss-crossed. She put her hands to her temples and focused. "Sorry, Robin" she thought to herself.
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Her eyes started to glow as she began to sort through his thoughts. Unintentionally, she saw what he was dreaming. She saw it through his eyes. Vivid colors surrounded her, she was in a big top colored red. She was up on the trapeze with a teenage boy with raven colored hair and blue eyes. The boy was well toned, as was everyone else on the trapeze.
"And now for the Flying Graysons!" The ring master yelled into the crowd. She recognized the name from poster in Robin's room. "Hello, M'gann, he's dreaming of being with his heroes on the trapeze!" M'gann thought happily. That was a nice thing to think about, and it made sense because he was an acrobat. The group performed routines with much elegance and dexterity. She was amazed at the dream, but she forgot that she wasn't supposed to be prying into it. M'gann was just about to delve into his mind for the name when something disturbed her.
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Wally was impatient. He was too impartient. The others had told him to calm down and wait, but he thought that M'gann should be able to find the name quickly. Instead, she seemed to be smiling and enjoying whatever she saw.
"M'gann, what're you seeing?" Wally whispered, curious and slightly jealous.
"Wally, leave her alone. You'll mess up her focus." Conner warned. She had made mistakes here and there before, but this wasn't a time that she could afford a mistake. She was in the mind of one of their teammates, their family member, and they couldn't afford to, and didn't want to, mess him up.
The others were patient, but Wally just kept vibrating and saying things like "hurry up, M'gann." It was getting annoying.
"Still yourself, Wally, if you don't then you might wake Robin." Warned Kaldur.
"Kid Idiot would be the one to mess this up." Groaned Artemis.
"I wouldn't wake him if M'gann would work faster." Wally rebutted. "She's ignoring us too."
"She's focusing, leave her alone." Conner said slightly angrily. Wally came up with a way that he thought would help M'gann know that they needed to hurry. He moved next to her focused body. He knew she was immersed with Robin's mind to sort through, but he figured he could speed her up. So he grabbed her shoulders, and received an agitated glare and grunt from Conner, and worried looks from his other two teammates. He ignored it all, though, and started to shake her vigorously. He figured that if he shook her fast and strong enough, then he could get through to M'gann. He was wrong. Instead it snapped her focus.
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M'gann had been focusing so that she wouldn't see anything but a few thoughts or memories, namely the ones containing Robin's name. She had unintentionally pried into his dream, but she had moved on. That was until there was an enormous disturbance in her focus and mind. She felt her physical body going berserk and was being partially brought to it.
It was hurting her in every possible way. She was Wally shaking her "W-W-W-W-Wally! NO!" She yelled. Then her mind and focus broke, while still connected to Robin's. At that point all she felt was intense pain. Intense wasn't descriptive enough, she couldn't truly describe the pain. It pierced through every fiber of her being at such an extreme level. It was through her mind, everywhere. It was too much for her, and she started to give a piercing scream- an extremely high frequency for a scream. It was loud enough that if it was an object it shatter steel. Everyone had to cover their ears from the pitch, but she wasn't the only source.
Robin was experiencing everything that she was. Their minds were blending and seeing every nook and cranny inside each other's mind. Every moment the other had experienced, every secret the other had known, every event of the other's life they saw it all. They experienced every emotion and every thought that the other had all through their life at the moments they had experienced it. It had happened so unexpectedly and viciously. All the pain, fear, joy, hatred and happiness that the other experienced, all the moments and thoughts of the other's life was thrown into each other's mind in one instant. They experienced their own moments again, and they experienced each other's.
It had been nearly a minute and the screaming died down from both of them. Robin sat up in his bed, body drenched with intense sweat and obvious tears falling from his hidden eyes. His hair was messily draped over his face and one hand was on his forehead. He took the hand down and hugged himself.
M'gann wasn't much better off. She was drenched in sweat, and her chest was rising and falling quickly as she inhaled and exhaled in a quick pace. She also curled into herself with a waterfall of tears coming out of her eyes as she rolled onto her side.
The others didn't know what to think. The four got slightly closer to comfort the two and to apologize to them for that experience. They also felt bad for getting caught in the act of peeping, but they felt more apologetic over the apparent pain that the two had just been put through because of their curiosity, they should've left everything alone.
"R-Rob, M-Meg? Are you okay?" Wally asked as concern flooded through him. This was his fault, he just knew it. He saw Conner going towards M'gann so he went to go towards Robin, but before either of them arrived at the person they were going to comfort the bird spoke.
"G-get out o-of my room, now." Robin stuttered out with a voice that was cracking and full of pain.
"Rob, listen I'm-"Wally started but was cut off.
"LEAVE!" Yelled the younger boy, the voice was pained. The yell caught four off-guard. Wally had backed up considerably and was now right by the doorway again. As was the rest of the team, minus M'gann who was still on the floor.
"M'gann." Conner said as he reached for her.
"Leave us alone." M'gann spoke as her voice cracked and her stream of tears failed to cease.
"What?" Conner asked as he froze in place.
"LEAVE US ALONE." She raised her cracking voice to a shout. That had caught them further off-guard, because both of their quiet and happy members snapped at them.
"Robin, M'gann." Kaldur said uncertainly, but the group had mostly backed out of the room. Wally had stopped and the doorframe and turned back towards Robin, then took a step forward. A bird-a-rang hit the door-frame by Wally's face.
"Now," Robin said harshly as he looked towards the doorway. They could tell, even through the shades, that he was giving them a light glare.
The four teammates backed completely into the hall, and M'gann used her powers to pull the door shut and forced it to lock. Once they were alone, Robin turned on the lamp next to his head. The light barely illuminated the room. Shadows cascaded around Robin and M'gann. Tears were still flowing through their eyes.
"I'm sorry, Dick." M'gann spoke softly with a sniffle.
"I-it's okay," Dick said just as softly. M'gann climbed onto his bed and gave him a hug.
"I'm s-sorry about your parents a-and invading your mind…." M'gann spoke as she hugged him. She hadn't intended for it to turn out that way. If Wally wouldn't have touched her, then it wouldn't have happened. But she still felt it was her fault for not objecting. She knew it was. She now knew and felt everything that the poor boy had in his entire lifetime, and she couldn't look at him the same again. She now knew what he had been through and respected him more. Her little brother was a trooper, but she wasn't sure he would want her to consider him her brother.
"Like I said, it's okay. It wasn't your fault… None of it was.." Dick said in a whisper. He now knew everything about her. That she was a white Martian, that she looked at the team as a family, and that she hadn't known J'onn long before they came to Earth. "You're still my big sister and your secrets are safe with me."
That made her happy to know. She didn't want him to shove her out. It seemed that he was pulling her in instead, figuratively and literally as he hugged her back. The two sat their letting the rest of their tears fall while in their sibling like embrace.
"Thanks, and I won't tell them anything either." M'gann promised. The two were closer than anyone else on the team now, because they knew everything about one another. It did change their outlooks, though.
Dick felt much closer to M'gann, but, at the same time, he felt more detached from the others because of what happened. M'gann was experiencing a similar feeling, except she still felt connected to Conner, she loved him after all and he had just been following the others.
Curiosity may have killed the cat, but it also hurt the bird.
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A/N: So how did you feel about the piece? I plan on making this a two-shot, and I'll work on the next update of "The Start of the X" this weekend.
Please review and stay-tuned!