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Wally was flirtatious. Never touchy, but yes, flirtatious.
M’gann tried her hardest not to let her annoyance show—clearly, she wasn’t interested. She thought she had made that clear by not directly responding to any of his advances or invitations to go on dates. She wasn’t going to bluntly tell him to go away, no matter how tempting it was—somehow she felt that Wally definitely wouldn’t take it well.
While he tended to play at being a carefree beta (Artemis had been kind enough to teach her about mankind’s secondary genders) trying to get in every girl’s pants, she knew he was a deeply sensitive person. Being a telepath, she was able to sense the emotions around her when they got intense.
He took criticism very harshly. Their den mother, Black Canary, was strict and unforgiving when it came to careless mistakes during combat training. She had felt his emotions fluctuate between self-loathing and anxiety when he was critiqued, despite the big grin on his face. It had only gotten worse when Robin and Artemis began ribbing him in jest. Wally shrugged their comments off like it had been nothing, only it hadn’t been nothing.
This made her more sensitive to Wally’s peculiar changes in emotion than the rest of the team. She was really curious to know why he changed between emotions so much compared to the rest of her teammates—surely it wasn’t a normal human trait? Perhaps it was a speedster thing, though she hadn’t been around the Flash enough to compare. Robin and Artemis were human, but they hardly had the same levels of anxiety and doubt Wally exhibited internally on a nearly daily basis.
But no matter how tempting it was for her to read Wally’s mind, she refrained. He would know (the team had become accustomed to the feeling of her probing their minds to set up mental links during missions) and then he’d get even more anxious.
So she smiled and acted like she didn’t know any better, allowing Wally to flirt with her to his heart’s content.
It was a Saturday, and the team was headed to Central City Mall, where Wally had insisted they hang out so he could show them around. This was her first time in Central City, and while it had been a shame Artemis and Robin hadn’t been able to make it—she was still delighted to have additional bonding time with the rest of her team.
And Conner, she thinks, fighting back the urge to giggle happily. He had shown romantic interest in her and they had agreed to try ‘dating’, keeping it a secret from the rest of the team for now. She really enjoyed spending time with him, doing normal teenage things. Today would be amazing.
She walks next to him and their team leader, Kaldur, having shifted to her human disguise upon exiting the zeta tubes. They were crossing the street, heading to the entrance of the mall where Wally said he’d wait for them.
When they got there, however, he wasn’t the happy, excited redhead she had expected to see.
Instead, Wally was stone-faced and quiet, looking like he had seen something horrible. His hands were clenched tightly into fists by his sides and his clothes looked rumpled like he’d been running.
“Wally?” M’gann resists the urge to fly over and instead increases her walking speed, followed closely by Conner and Kaldur. “Are you okay?”
The speedster jumps, looking alarmed. He hadn’t seen them approaching.
“Oh! Hey, guys,” Wally fixes the same fake grin she had become so accustomed to seeing. “Ready for a day of mind-blowing fun, beautiful?”
“Of course!” She smiles, as usual, ignoring his little nickname for her. She was thankful Conner didn’t show signs of possessiveness, unlike the other human alphas Artemis had told her about. He seemed to trust Wally, so she would too. “Where should we start?”
She notes with relief that his anxiety levels are dropping, exchanging a quick glance with the blue-eyed Kryptonian. Conner didn’t say anything, even though she knew he noticed it too. Kaldur placed a firm hand on Wally’s shoulder, guiding him to the sliding glass doors.
The speedster goes back to his usual self, rambling about the different foods they should try at the food court and the sick new game that had just been installed in the arcade. To her amusement, the game he wanted to try was a Justice League themed game where you got to play as different heroes, fighting against each other.
“Dibs on Flash!” Wally grins, walking backward as they head down the rows of shops. “Anyone else is fair game.”
She laughs softly at his obvious adoration for his mentor, asking polite questions about the Flash’s combat abilities. Any passer-by would have thought they were fans of the Flash, Wally loudly making theories about his powers and his ability to break the sound barrier in less than two seconds from the start of his run. She had a strong feeling Wally had always been a fan of his mentor. Was it a reason he ended up becoming Kid Flash? She’d have to ask him about that one day when they were in the cave away from prying eyes.
Only M’gann, Kaldur and Conner knew the information Wally provided them with was real. He was incredibly smart, listing not only the magnitude of the Flash’s powers but also the science and physics behind them. She had a little trouble keeping up, along with Kaldur. Conner understood easily, his education from the G-Gnomes proving useful.
As they reach the entrance to the food court (Wally hadn’t been exaggerating) (it was huge!), Wally stops talking abruptly mid-sentence and suddenly turns very, very pale. His anxiety levels are through the roof, M’gann easily picking up on his distress.
Just as she’s about to ask what’s wrong, an older-looking teen comes striding up to them, a scowl on his face. He was tall, though still shorter than Conner, with dishwater blond hair. His posturing is all aggressive, eyes narrowed dangerously, fangs bared, and she somehow knows—this male is an alpha.
“There you are!” He yells, looking pissed. “You’ve got some nerve ditching me, West.”
Wally does nothing but freeze, looking very much like ‘a deer in headlights’ (an analogy she had learned from one of the human television shows). Much to her shock, the blond reaches out and snatches Wally’s arm in a tight grip, causing the redhead to wince in pain.
Conner snarls and gets between them, shoving the blond away roughly, but also reigning in his strength so as not to arouse suspicion. Normally, M’gann would try to talk him down from his anger—it simply wouldn’t do to go picking fights with the humans. But this was different! Who was this person, and why did he treat Wally so rudely?
“Who the fuck are you?” The blond demands to know, dusting off his shirt, not backing down under Conner’s steely glare. When nobody replies, tense from the shock of being confronted in such a way, the blond turns to Wally, hazel eyes locking with emerald ones.
“Don’t tell me—you’re taken?”
“No! He’s just a friend,” Wally croaks, hands coming to rest on Conner’s back.
“Bullshit!” He rages on, trying to get by Conner and to Wally. The Kryptonian refuses to budge, stretching his arms out in an attempt to shield Wally from any possible advances. This makes the blond even angrier. “I can’t believe I wasted two whole weeks trying to court you! When you were taken this whole time!”
“I told you, it’s not like that! And I said I wasn’t interested!” Wally protests, gaining some courage now that the guy had no chance of getting to him. “I don’t want an alpha—I’m only fifteen for Christ’s sakes!”
The blond chuckles darkly.
“Who would believe you? You act like such a whore,” His words are like scathing like ice, and Wally sucks in a sharp breath, looking like he’d just been punched in the gut. M’gann is aware of what that word means. It was a horrible word, one that Wally definitely didn’t deserve to be called, despite his flirtatious nature. She feels her blood boiling in rage, angry at the way this stranger was speaking to her friend. The rude alpha continues his verbal attack. “Flirting with beta girls all the time and trying to act like something you’re not! Any alpha would’ve thought you needed to be pounded into submission—"
M’gann snaps.
She steps forward and her fist flies, nicking him in the jaw and causing him to fly back a few feet, landing on his ass.
Wally, Conner and Kaldur gawked at her in shock. She’s breathing heavily, caring little of what her teammates might think as she takes another step forward. It’s a miracle she doesn’t instinctively levitate over to the fallen alpha—she tended to do that whenever she was confronted, her ability to fly giving her an advantage over any non-flying opponent.
“Don’t talk to him like that!” She says, her voice trembling with barely suppressed rage.
She comes to a stop before the groaning alpha, a bruise already blooming across his face. A small crowd had started to gather, whispering excitedly at the commotion (“Woah, that chick sent him flying!).
Whoops! Maybe she should have held back a little (though this person certainly didn’t deserve it)… humans were weaker than Martians and her strength was considerably higher than a majority of their population.
“The fuck… what kind of freaks do you hang out with, West?” He snarls, a trickle of blood escaping his busted lip. This time, Wally gets mad, stepping out from behind Conner and coming to stand beside M’gann.
“Don’t you dare talk about my friends like that! You’re a piece of shit, Riley! Just leave us alone,” Wally shouts.
His confidence is short-lived when the alpha – Riley – grabs his arm and yanks him down onto the floor, snarling, teeth bared. The alpha’s hands are tearing at Wally’s shirt, exposing his neck, where a white patch had previously been hidden underneath the fabric.
Wally yells and lashes out, kicking Riley in the crotch ("Fuck!"), just as a couple of security guards approach the group, pushing their way through the crowd. Kaldur has to hold Conner back (he’s absolutely furious) and M’gann resists the urge to deliver a second kick to the alpha’s genitals, and instead wraps her arms soothingly around Wally, easing him a safe distance’s away.
They watch as security hauls a struggling Riley to his feet and restrains him, flanked by a worried, elderly omega and her alpha husband. The couple had seen the commotion and had the good sense to quickly alert the staff to what was going on, who had then called security.
“Are you alright, dearie?” The woman asks. She seems to be emitting pheromones M’gann is unable to smell or sense, as Wally slowly starts to calm down, leaning towards her unconsciously. “What an atrocious young man! Grabbing you like that—is chivalry dead? Jacob, do you think we should call the police?” She turns to her husband, the man’s brow furrowed and wrinkled as he considers her words.
“That’s up to the boy, Liz.” He says finally, arms crossed.
Wally quickly shakes his head, much to the team’s collective reliefs. Their mentors would have been upset with them for getting tangled with law enforcement while in civilian identity. “No need for that, ma’am! Sir. Thank you for your help,” He stands, M’gann instinctively intertwining her hand with his to keep him steady. “My friends here won’t let anyone hurt me.” He says with the utmost confidence.
A swell of pride blooms in her chest and judging from the tiny smiles that cross Conner and Kaldur’s faces, she knows they feel the same.
“That’s lovely, sweetheart—but don’t you think we should let your parents know at least?” The woman fusses good-naturedly over Wally’s appearance, helping to fix his clothing and scanning him for injuries. “You look awfully young.” Wally frowns, looking conflicted.
“Please be assured, we will be letting Wally’s guardians know about this,” Kaldur steps in, his soothing voice easing their frazzled nerves. “For now, it would be best if we brought him to a more private location.”
M’gann notices the crowd, a sea of curious faces and cell phones held up to attention, taking pictures and videos. Yikes! She hoped they didn’t end up on the internet. Or go ‘viral’ (though she was still slightly confused why humans compared gaining rapid infamy with bacterial infections).
“Well then, if you’re sure,” The woman nods, still looking slightly uncertain. Her alpha husband puts an arm around her waist comfortingly. M’gann can’t help but smile at the loving gesture. Humans were so interesting, so physical, unlike Martians. “Do be careful on your way home, dearie.”
She places a handful of colorful candies in Wally’s palm and closes it gently, patting his fist.
“Thank you,” Wally beams, giving the old couple a genuine smile. His emerald eyes are sparkling with happiness at their kindness. She hopes Wally smiles like that more often. It suited him. Much better than fake smiles and sleazy grins. “How can I ever thank you?”
“Oh, there’s no need for that! Just be careful and remain safe!” The woman tuts. “Omegas have to look out for each other. Don’t you think?” She gives him a wink. They give the group one final wave before departing, the crowd slowly dispersing as well.
M’gann blinks, processing the woman’s words.
Oh. Oh!
Hello, Megan! That sure explained a lot!
Wally turns back to them, biting his lip.
“I can explain. But first, let’s go somewhere private.”
Wally guides them to a stairwell void of people. Nobody uses the stairs in the middle of the day, the fire escape is supposed to only be used for emergency purposes.
Her fellow redhead shakily sits on one of the concrete steps, running a hand through fiery red hair.
Conner is by his side in an instant, cradling Wally’s head and guiding it towards his neck, much to her and Kaldur’s surprise. They’re talking in soft whispers, and while M’gann is unable to pick up on pheromones as humans and Kryptonians can, she knows Conner is using his alpha biology to soothe Wally and calm him down.
“My friend,” Kaldur starts, looking concerned. “Why did you keep this a secret?” There’s no question on their minds what he’s referring to. “Did you worry we would think lesser of you?”
Wally scowls, lifting his head to meet Kaldur’s eyes. “I don’t want my gender to be a reason for people to treat me differently. Hell, I’m Kid Flash,” M’gann is thankful they’re alone and wonders what Batman’s reaction would be at Wally so brazenly declaring his hero identity in a public place. “I can take care of myself.”
She steps forward, sinking down to her knees next to Conner and Wally, doing her best to move slowly so as not to startle him. “Wally…” She starts, but the speedster sighs.
“Really you guys, it’s not a big deal!”
“It’s not that we don’t trust you to take care of yourself,” She continues stubbornly, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. “We just want to help! Is this why you’re so anxious all the time?”
Wally purses his lips. Conner gives M’gann a meaningful look, loosening his arms on the omega and allowing her to approach. They both knew she was better at talking, though she was touched by his efforts to soothe Wally in his own unique way.
“I… People would talk,” He relents, clicking his tongue. “They’d think I’m a liability. I know omegas have more freedom now but crimefighting? Do you know how long it took me to convince Flash that I was ready to join the League? And they still didn’t trust me—didn’t trust us,” He glances at Kaldur, who nods in agreement, both remembering how exactly they ended up at Cadmus. “Roy and Rob are alphas. Kaldur’s a beta. And yet they were still treated like… like sidekicks! If the other Leaguers knew what I was, they would freak.”
“Does Batman know?” M’gann asks.
“Yeah. Why?” Wally frowns, looking defensive.
Kaldur cuts in before Wally's mood takes a turn for the worse. “What I think M’gann means to say—is if Batman himself has allowed you to join our team, and the Flash has faith in you to go on missions without him—”
“Then they don’t think you’re weak! Not at all!” M’gann finishes cheerfully. “I can’t pretend to understand what you’re going through, Wally. But making mistakes during training or on the field doesn’t mean you aren’t capable! We’ve seen what you can do. You’re strong.”
Wally’s eyes shine with hope as he clings to her words like a lifeline. Conner clings onto Wally in turn, making M’gann giggle. They were adorable! She had no idea Conner had such a sweet and protective side (as a Martian capable of flying and telekinesis, she hardly needed protecting). Kaldur chuckles and joins them on the ground, leaning against the graffitied wall.
“Nobody would think you weak for being an omega,” Kaldur chimes in patiently. “All we’re asking is that you be honest with us. We want to be fair to you. However, our civilian identities mean we have to act differently in public and that sometimes puts us at a disadvantage.”
M’gann and Conner both nod in agreement.
“Tell us if anyone is bothering you,” Conner grunts. “I’ll beat them up. The League can’t do anything to hurt me.”
“Conner!” M’gann chides (but giggles anyway).
“Aw, Supey. You do care,” Wally jokes, wiping a fake tear from his eye. Conner remains serious, waiting for Wally to answer the question. “Okay, okay, jeez, don’t give me that look. Everything’s chill, honest! People in school aren’t normally this aggressive. Riley’s just a bad egg in the basket.”
“You’re absolutely sure?” Kaldur asks.
Wally nods.
M’gann smiles, content with his answer. She could sense his emotional ease and Conner seemed to believe him, so she would as well. It occurs to her that Conner is very protective of Wally. Perhaps he had already known of Wally’s secret?
Her eyes meet his and she probes his mind, requesting entry. He frowns, arms unconsciously tightening over Wally’s again (“Conner!”), but consents anyway.
I care about him. A lot. I’m not going to stop protecting him. Conner informs her.
There's a subtle message—but M’gann has always been talented in picking up the little nuances in thoughts and emotions. She knows what the Kryptonian is trying to say, can sense his insecurities. Will she be bothered by his protective nature towards Wally? She appreciates him trying to clarify this. She knows that humans could be possessive over their insignificant others, unwilling to share their affections.
Good thing she isn’t like them at all.
Oh, Conner. I understand. And I do, too. Wally’s very important to both of us. She assures him.
Conner gives her a warm smile. She returns it, feeling her heart swell with adoration and pride for her… her boyfriend (boyfriend!). A warm glow fills her cheeks. She knows how important the speedster is to him and she wouldn’t have it any other way.
“So… can we keep what happened here today a secret? Uncle—uh, the Flash would go nuts. No point getting everyone riled up over something that already happened.” Wally pleads, looking hopeful.
“Under one condition,” Kaldur says. “You tell us if this happens again.”
“I promise,” Wally agrees instantly, with no trouble. He bites his lip and speaks again. “Thank you. For… for being my friends.”
His words are filled with happiness, and yet a strange, wistful loneliness M’gann can’t understand. It makes her heart ache painfully with sympathy. Had Wally always felt this way? She marveled at how complex his emotions were, like a tangle of differently colored strings. She only hoped that he would let them in, bit by bit. Friends supported each other, and she was determined to do just that.
“We love you, Wally,” She declares, smiling, moving forward to wrap her arms around Conner and Wally. Kaldur follows after her, albeit a little more awkwardly. Conner’s muscular arms wrap around all of them. And Wally is squished in the middle, his cheeks slowly turning as red as his hair. “Thank you for trusting us.”
The speedster croons, content, his arms coming to wrap around her waist.
And M’gann doesn’t mind at all.