Tales From the Cave-Beauty & the Superbeast

Everything Changes

M'gann clung on tightly to the horse's long mane as it galloped past the trees and the barren greenery towards home.  She didn't care that she made a promise.  She had to get out of there and back to her father and Pinocchio.  Besides, they needed and appreciated her more than Conner or the Team.  Even though she felt a little guilty about leaving them behind, she was certain they would get on fine without her.

She was halfway through the forest when she heard a howl from somewhere above her.  She looked up to see a pack of wolves gathered on top of the slope, the same pack of wolves who had chased Geppetto into the Cave in the first place.  They looked hungry and not very friendly at all.  They growled and snapped their jaws loudly before charging towards her.

Her senses kicking in, M'gann hit her toe against the side of the horse.  It whinnied and began to go faster, just like she had desired.  The wolves gave chase and followed them, biting at the horse's hooves as it ran.  It managed to skirt around the edges of a partially frozen lake, but this gave the wolves the opportunity to go the other way around and cut off both horse and rider in their path.

When they jumped in front of them, the horse reared back, throwing M'gann from the saddle and into the snow.  As it kicked at the wolves, M'gann broke a thick branch off a tree and approached them, swinging the branch at them like a club.  She did her best to fight back at the attacking animals, but there were just too many for her to hold back.

One of them caught the branch in it's killer jaws and ripped it out of her hands.  It's sharp, powerful teeth easily snapped the branch in two.  The force sent M'gann tumbling backwards to the ground.  The pack surrounded her, leaving her no way out as they stalked towards her.  Crying tears of fright, M'gann shut her eyes tight and waited for her impending doom.

All of the sudden, a mighty war yell shook the trees and forced M'gann to open her eyes.  The wolves no longer had their cruel gazes on her, instead their eyes were fixed on the strange-looking man with twisted features and body proportions standing behind them.  M'gann gasped loudly.  It was Conner!

He lunged at the wolves and began to battle them.  They bit and clawed at his skin, yet he dudn't seem to feel them as he threw them off of his person.  He was just as outnumbered as she was, yet he fought them off easily nonetheless.  The wolves stood before him, still looking up for a fight, when an ogre-like roar caused them to run back into the trees, whimpering like scared little puppies.

M'gann quickly rose back on her feet and over to her horse when she looked over her shoulder.  Conner was looking right at her, but something in his eyes had changed.  He looked so weak and pitiful, something M'gann could barely remember seeing him as.  He took a few tired steps towards her before he stumbled and collapsed into the snow.

She turned back around and started to mount her horse again when she stopped suddenly.  She looked back at Conner, lying on his side, his eyes closed and his breath short.  Reluctantly, she slowly walked towards him and knelt down beside him.  She placed a gentle hand on his side and shook him slightly.  "Conner?"

Conner forced himself to open his eyes at the sound of her voice, to see him kneeling before her.  He was surprised, to say the least.  In all honesty, he had expected M'gann to abandon him in the snow once she was safe.  "Y-Yes?"  "Conner, can ypu stand up?"  "I-I think so.", he muttered, wincing as he moved.  M'gann supported him as he got back on his feet.  "C'mon.  Lemme take you home."
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Conner lay on the sofa in front of the fireplace, dressed in soft white cotton pajamas and covered with a thick wool blanket.  A few feet away, M'gann used Zatanna to pour a bowl of hot water.  She sprinkled in a pinch of salt and submerged a dishcloth into the water.  She squeezed the excess liquid out and looked back at Conner, staring emotionless into the fire.

She sat next to him and took one of his arms, which now bore some nasty claw scratches.  Apparently, the rose had not been the only thing that was magic around here.  She held up the wet cloth.  "Now, this may sting..."  She pressed it to his wound.  The moment the material made contact with his skin, he roared in pain.  He yanked his arm away and growled at her.  "That hurt!"

M'gann looked behind her to see the Team was backing away.  It was obvious from the looks on their faces that they were scared of the full brunt of Conner's anger.  But M'gann only straightened up.  She was not about to let him bully her.  "If you hold still,", she told him calmly.  "It won't hurt as much."

"I don't need to listen to you!", he snapped at her.  "If you hadn't run away, none of this would have happened in the first place!"  "I wouldn't have run away if you hadn't scared me half to death!", she retorted.  Conner was taken aback by her boldness.  No one had spoken to him like that in nearly four years.  "Well...well, you should have stayed out of my room like I told you to!"

"Well, you should learn to control your temper around others!"  Conner had no response for that.  Deep down, he knew she was right.  He grunted and turned his head away from her.  M'gann stared at the dishcloth in her hands for a moment and sighed.  "Look, I'm sorry.  You're right, I shouldn't have trespassed without your permission."

Conner nodded.  "See?  Its your fault I got hurt."  She gingerly pressed the cloth back on his wound.  "No.  I didn't ask you to come after me.  You decided to do that yourself."  She looked up at him.  "Thank you."  His face softened.  He turned his head back to see him giving him a shy smile.  Seeing it on her face made him softly smile, too.  "You're welcome."

M'gann felt her heart flutter just a tiny bit.  She was feeling something, a hint of something that she hadn't felt in a very long time.  She didn't stop smiling, even after she finished applying his bandages.  "Try to get some rest."  He nodded and settled into the couch.  M'gann looked back to see that her friends were stunned.  "I knew you'd be able to bring out that side of him.", Kakdur said.  "You always have been."

"Why do you let him push you around?", she asked.  "After everything he's done to you?"  "The poor guy's been turned into some sorta circus freak.", Robin said.  "Its the least we can do for him."  "But he's cursed you, too.", she said.  "And you've done nothing."  The Team all cast their eyes downwards, and M'gann could feel the guilt and shame radiating off of them.

"You're right about that, M'gann.", Artemis said sadly.  "When you ran away, and the poor boy locked his heart away from the rest of the world...we did nothing."  M'gann gasped, her eyes widening slightly.  It was then that the Team told her everything—how her departure had left Conner crushed, how he had sworn never to love anyone ever again, how he had let himself become cruel and unkind towards others—and how his friends had just sat back and watched it happen.

They explained that one night, he had turned away an old beggar woman because the rose she had offered him in exchange for shelter reminded him of M'gann, and how she had punished him by turning him into a hideous ugly beast.  That had been nearly four years ago.  Now they only had a few more months left to break the spell.

"What happens if its not broken in time?", she asked them.  "Than Conner stays a beast forever.", Artemis told her.  "And the rest of us become..."  "Knick-knacks.", Wally finished for her.  "Antiques.", Robin added.  Kaldur cleared his throat.  "Rubbish.", he said harshly.  "We become rubbish."  His voice was more severe than that time they had failed fighting Clayface.

M'gann's heart sank.  Somehow, she could not help but feel responsible for their compromising situation.  If she had not run away from home all those years ago, Conner would not have sealed off his heart and become a beast on the inside.  Than he wouldn't have offended the enchantress and have her curse him and his friends.  "I want to help you.", she said.  "Is there anything I can do that'll help break the spell?"

The Team looked at one another, uncertain what to tell her.  She couldn't make herself fall in love with Conner again.  It had to happen naturally, or else it wouldn't happen at all.  "I'm afriad there is nothing you can do about it, M'gann.", Kaldur said sadly, shaking his head.  "We have made our bed.  And now we must lay in it."