On the other side of the desert, the night is noisy with fighting and shooting. In the middle of everything, Superboy is roaring like a beast.
But chains of psychic energy bound him, wrapping around his limbs, chest, and throat. He thrashed, snarling, but the more he struggled, the tighter the chains constricted.
Before him stood Psimon—calm, mocking, his bald head gleaming under the psychic light.
"Such a simple mind," Psimon sneered. "All rage, all instinct. No guiding hand. You're little more than an animal, and animals obey the leash."
Superboy roared, trying to lunge forward, but the chains yanked him back, slamming him to his knees. His vision blurred red with fury.
Outside, his fists were swinging wildly, striking at anything near—friend or foe. The military groups scattered, unable to get close without risking his wrath.
Miss Martian hovered above the sand, eyes glowing white with effort. I can't hold him physically. I have to reach him… inside.
She closed her eyes, diving deeper into the psychic battlefield.
Inside Superboy's mind, a second presence appeared. Warmth spread through the cold darkness. A hand pressed against the chains binding his chest.
"Conner!"
Superboy's head jerked up. The fury in his eyes wavered.
"Megan…?"
She stood before him in her green-and-white uniform, her face determined, but her voice soft. "Yes. It's me. You're not alone. You don't have to fight this by yourself."
Psimon laughed, spreading his arms as if welcoming her. "Ah, the little telepath. Brave, but foolish. You think you can match me in his mind? I already control him."
Megan clenched her fists. "You don't control him. You're just exploiting his pain."
Her eyes glowed brighter. Threads of psychic light lanced from her hands, striking the chains. They sizzled, loosening slightly.
Superboy gasped, the pressure on his chest easing for the first time.
Psimon snarled. "No!" He lashed out, forming spears of dark energy that shot toward her.
Megan raised a barrier, the impact shuddering through her body. Sweat formed on her brow. The strain was immense—Psimon was older, more experienced, and ruthless. But she had something he didn't.
She turned to Superboy. "Conner, listen to me! You're stronger than this. You're stronger than him. Fight with me!"
Superboy shook his head, eyes wild. "I can't… I can't control it. The anger—"
"Yes, you can!" Megan's voice cracked with desperation. "You're more than Cadmus's weapon. You're more than anger. You're our friend. My friend. Please… come back."
Her words struck deeper than any psychic attack. Superboy's breathing slowed. His fists unclenched. For the first time, he didn't feel alone in the darkness.
Psimon hissed, pulling the chains tighter. "No! You belong to me, boy!"
But the chains trembled.
Superboy's glare burned through the haze. "I belong… to no one."
With a roar, he surged forward, his strength amplified by Megan's light. The chains shattered, psychic energy exploding outward like shrapnel. Psimon staggered back, clutching his head as the backlash tore through his hold but he stable himself and start attacking again.
The mindscape stretched out like a fractured mirror. Fragments of memories floated in the void—shards of Cadmus labs, burning deserts, the Bio-Ship, and the team's faces, broken and scattered.
Superboy knelt in the center, bound by thick, black chains of psychic energy. His roars echoed endlessly, filled with frustration and helpless rage.
And towering above him stood Psimon, calm and cruel, weaving threads of thought into shackles.
"You see, girl," Psimon sneered as Megan appeared in a flare of green light, "his mind is already mine. A simple beast, all fury and instinct. I only needed to fan the flames."
Megan's eyes glowed white as she floated before him. "You're wrong. Conner isn't a beast—he's my friend. And I won't let you control him!"
She thrust her hands forward, sending a wave of green psychic energy crashing into Psimon. The mindscape trembled, fragments of memory scattering like glass.
Psimon only laughed. He raised a hand, catching the wave, twisting it into black smoke. "Such power… but so raw. You lack discipline, child."
The smoke shot back at her like tendrils. Megan barely formed a shield in time, the force pushing her back across the void.
"Your will is weak," Psimon mocked. "Your empathy is a liability."
Megan steadied herself, breathing hard. "No. My empathy… is my strength."
The battlefield warped suddenly. Psimon snapped his fingers, and the void shifted into a twisted labyrinth of Cadmus corridors. Walls pulsed like living flesh, the lights flickering crimson. From the shadows, malformed clones of Superboy shambled forward, eyes blank, snarling as they rushed at her.
Megan's eyes widened. "No…"
The clones lunged. She spun, lashing out with psychic blasts that shattered their bodies into static—but each strike sent guilt stabbing through her heart.
Psimon's laughter echoed through the halls. "Every blow you land, you destroy what he believes himself to be. A failed experiment. A mistake. How long until you break, Miss Martian?"
Megan pressed her palms together, sweat on her brow. "Conner isn't a mistake! He's real, he's alive, and he deserves a life of his own!"
Her aura flared, burning away the false clones in a surge of emerald fire. The labyrinth cracked, shattering into fragments of glass that dissolved into the void.
Psimon's smirk faltered.
Next, he tried a different tactic. The battlefield shifted again, this time into the desert—blinding sandstorms swirling, burying her under endless dunes. Megan struggled, wings straining as the storm pulled at her.
And there, in the storm, she heard the voices of her teammates—Robin's calculating tone, Kid Flash's humor, Artemis's sharpness, Aqualad's calm leadership. Each voice twisted into cruel mockery.
"She doesn't belong here."
"She's hiding something."
"She'll betray us."
The words dug deep, piercing her insecurities. Megan clutched her head, teeth clenched. "Stop… stop it!"
Psimon's figure loomed over the dunes, his voice booming. "They don't trust you. They never will. Because you're not one of them. You're a fraud. An alien pretending to be human."
Megan dropped to her knees, doubt swirling like the sand around her.
But then—another voice. Softer. Different.
'Megan… don't listen.' Superboy's voice.
She gasped, looking up. Through the chains, his eyes were on her—pained, but clear.
"You're… not a fraud," he managed to say, his voice rough. "You're… you."
The storm wavered. Megan's trembling stopped. She rose, her glow intensifying. "He's right. I'm not perfect. I'm not like everyone else… but I don't need to be. My heart is my own."
She raised her hands, and the storm split apart, light breaking through the dunes.
Psimon hissed, stumbling back.
Now the battlefield boiled down to raw will. The void returned, chains tightening around Superboy, Psimon summoning blades of psychic darkness in both hands.
"You will kneel, girl!" he snarled, launching forward.
Megan met him head-on, her aura blazing green. Blades of light formed in her hands, clashing with his. Sparks of thought and memory erupted with every strike, pieces of Cadmus and the Cave scattering like stardust.
They moved at impossible speed, blades clashing, energy waves tearing the void apart. Psimon struck with precision, aiming at her doubts, her fears. Megan struck with conviction, every blow fueled by her care for the team.
Finally, Psimon raised his blade high for a killing strike and Megan caught it in both hands. Her arms trembled, but her eyes blazed.
"You think my empathy makes me weak," she said, voice steady despite the strain. "But it connects me. To my friends. To Conner. To everyone I fight for. That's why I'll win."
Her aura exploded outward, overwhelming Psimon in a flood of light. The chains shattered. Superboy roared free, his fury now his own.
Psimon screamed as the wave engulfed him, his form dissolving into shadow. "No… this is impossible!"
Outside of the experiment tent, the wind are howling with intensity because of the psychic waves energies. All the guards and scientist are sent fly out by the wind tornado and Psimon also sent out towards like a rocket.
Superboy stood tall, breathing heavily, but free. The chains were gone, the storm was gone, and Psimon had retreated into nothingness.
Megan floated down beside him, exhausted but smiling. "You're safe now."
Superboy looked at her for a long moment, his chest heaving. Finally, he gave a small nod. "…You saved me."
She blushed faintly, but her eyes softened. "We saved each other."
*********
Leave the comments and review for this chapter.
Thank you for reading my book.
If you like this book, you can vote and support me with some power stones.