Young Justice: Solstice

Thirty-Seven

Back on the Watchtower, there were still questions to be answered. Batgirl was very concerned about the connection between Rankor, Tiamat, and Blue Beetle's Reach, and so was Robin, too, after he stopped hugging Cassie and made sure that she was one hundred percent okay.

"I love you," He blurted out suddenly. Beast Boy and Kid Flash stated laughing. At least her mom wasn't listening when she told him that she loved him too.

"You're only fifteen," I whispered, teasing.

"You're only nineteen," She shot back.

"Teenagers!" Artemis sighed.

"You were no better," Kaldur told her.

"The simplest explanation," Helena said, "Is that all these creatures fell from the heavens and tried to wreak havoc on their worlds. Bialya is right smack in between Mesopotamia and Mohenjo- Daro's civilization, and with trade routes like the silk road, they would have shared their own stories with other civilizations."

"But then why does Mars have the same three inscriptions?" Batgirl asked, "We know Mars has had their own encounters with Reach scarabs, but did they have a Tiamat and Rankor terrorizing them as well?"

Superboy coughed awkwardly, standing with Miss Martian and Gar. "I think we can answer that."

All of us faced the three of them. Artemis folded her arms crossly. "Can you also answer why Miss Martian lashed out at Solstice like fifty times when we were in Pakistan?"

"And why she's been acting so strange since you guys got back from Mars?" Karen added.

"Guys, stop," I said, "I appreciate that you guys want to stand up for me, but M'gann is your friend too. I don't know what she's been through, and she's entitled to her privacy, but you guys have told me many times that she's been through a lot, especially right before I came in and threw off your whole team dynamic."

"No, Kiran," It was the first time I'd heard her say my name, "You deserve an apology. And an explanation. But as you said, that can be handled in private. For now, I think I can explain Mars' connection to Tiamat and Rankor."

"Do tell," Batgirl invited.

Miss Martian lowered her hood, folding her hands in front of her. Her auburn hair was neatly clipped at her chin, curling up at the ends. Her hair was more of a sickly green than a bright green, like when the sun shines through a leaf, and the circles beneath her eyes was a blueish black. Artemis and Karen immediately regretted their outbursts.

"Rankor and Tiamat were Martian beasts of untold power, born in the middle of Mars' great Magic Era. Unlike Earthlings, Ancient Martians did not have the resourcefulness or the willpower to defeat them, and so they simply shot both of them into space, where they believed they would either fade from existence or find a civilization that would destroy them.

"Unfortunately, it seems both these creatures were promptly shot into Earth."

"How come we didn't know about this when we were facing Tiamat?" Zatanna asked.

M'gann's face was overcome with guilt and she stared at the floor. "It is something the Martians were ashamed of, not being able to defeat their own demons. No one even remembered the creatures until we arrived to help B'arzz O'oom excavate the engraving site."

"He recognized the beetle iconography from when we helped to purify his scarab, and wondered if the other two stories could possibly be related to Earth," Superboy explained.

"We didn't encounter anything weird, though," Gar almost complained, "But M'gann had some pretty weird dreams.

Cassie harrumphed, rubbing her metal bracelets, "Well, thank goodness for all-powerful gods and their heroes, I guess." She muttered.