Second Chances

Truths Revealed

Ding-dong! The door opened to reveal Mal, wearing nice dress clothes, standing there with a drink in his hands. Behind him, music played, the smell of burgers filled the room, and familiar faces chatted and laughed. Mal's smile grew stronger when he saw who had come to drop in on the party. "Conner!"

Said friend smiled back as he stepped inside, slipping off his jacket. "Hey, hope you don't mind me coming by uninvited." "Are you kidding?", Mal said, taking the coat and hanging it up. "We were hoping you'd stop by tonight!" He led Conner into the living room, where the older team members were mingling. "Hey, guys! Look who just showed up!"

Conner's arrival was met with a chorus of cheers and happy laughter. Everyone jumped up to their feet to give Conner hugs and thumps on the back. "We missed you!" "Great to see you again!" "How have you been?" Conner laughed. It felt like ages since he had seen his old hero friends. With everything that he had been going through lately, it was a comfort to be around familiar friendly faces.

Imagine his shock and uncontainable joy when he saw Wally standing there, alive and well, next to an ecstatic Artemis.  "Wally!  You're-You're alive!  But...How—?"  "Its a long, complicated story.", Richard said, patting Conner on the shoulder.  "We'll tell it to ya later.  Right now, its time to celebrate!  We haven't seen you in twelve years!  Let's par-tay!"  The Team cheered loudly.

Conner grinned from ear to ear.  His head turned, and his gaze met M'gann's from a few feet away.  She forced a smile at him.  Despite being happy that the others were with him again, she couldn't hide the fact she was disappointed that he was already married to somebody else.  She just sat with the rest of the gang as Conner delved deep into conversation with them, talking about home life, their careers, and other stuff.

"Aw, man!  I can't believe I missed your wedding!", Conner cried to Wally and Artemis.  "Knowing you, Kid, I know it was epic!"  "Aw, its alright, dude!", Wally said.  "The guys and I will be happy to recreate the bachelor party for you sometime!"  Artemis hit him on the arm playfully as everyone laughed.

"Speaking of weddings,", Zatanna said, sipping her cocktail.  "I'm surprised you didn't bring your wife here tonight."  Conner gulped down his beer and looked up with wide, startled eyes.  "M-My wife?"  "Yeah,", Mal said.  "Megan says when she ran into you at the supermarket, she saw you with your three kids, so, y'know..."  "Why didn't she come?", Karen asked.  "Was she busy tonight?"

Conner stared into his beer glass.  "You could say that."  Richard eyed him curiously.  "Is something wrong?"  Conner sighed.  "Well, you see, the truth is, I'm not married."  M'gann looked up.  "At least, I won't be for long.", he muttered.  "I'm in the middle of a divorce."  She released a tiny gasp.  "A divorce?"

Wally moaned.  "Aw, dude, I'm sorry.  That blows."  "Yeah,", Conner said, still staring at his beer.  "It was all so sudden.  One day, we're one big happy family.  The next, she decides to go globe-trotting with some handsome millionaire bachelor.  She sent me the divorce papers in the mail last week.  It was the first I've heard from her in half a year."  Cassie hissed.  "Ouch."

"What about the kids?", M'gann asked.  Conner groaned, tilting his head back.  "She didn't even fight for joint custody!  She practically handed them over to me and hopped on the next plane to South America!"  Raquel shook her head.  "That's one cold mama."

"Well, don't worry, Kon!", Rich said, clapping Conner on the back.  "You're surrounded by friends now!  We're gonna help you forget all about that flaky witch!"  He turned to the other men.  "C'mon, dudes!  Let's hit wasted o'clock!"  The guys all pumped their fists into the air and went, "WHOOOOOOOOOO!"  They followed Richard as he dragged their Kryptonian friend towards the kitchen.