"Can you believe that prick!?"
"Arrow... We were there to see it."
"He tried to grope Stargirl, Avenger! You cannot tell me you weren't about to rip him a new one!"
Crimson Avenger shook his head as he stood to the far side of the entrance to the room the rest of humans were heading towards, then looked at the enraged blonde with narrowed eyes. "I was already preparing the burial site."
Green Arrow paused in his ranting as soon as the other man had said such a serious thing, then shook his head and moved so he stood in front of the observation glass of the room they were currently in. It was a small room created for recreational purposes. But, over the past few days, the less superpowered members of the Justice League had taken to using it as a kind of club house.
"Yuh've really got ta temper yer temper, pardner." Vigilante breathed out as he dropped onto a nearby chair, grabbing his hat to pass a hand through his slicked back black hair. "Was puttin' the feller in his place really worth the probation the boy scout assigned?"
"Damn right it was!" The blonde growled, glaring at the cowboy as the rest of their group accommodated themselves inside of the room and around the table. "He thinks he can get away with anything he wants just because he's got powers?" He hissed in indignation, then crossed his arms over his chest. "I'd punch him a thousand times more and get the same damn punishment if it means getting the bastard to learn his place."
"His place?" Vigilante repeated in a slight gasp. "Arrow, if I didn't know better, I'd think yuh were talkin' 'bout some animal."
The blonde glared at the cowboy, "That's exactly what I'm talking about. A superpowered animal with a nice shiner on his pretty little face."
Stargirl looked from one man to the other, blue eyes wide and confused, before she situated herself beside S.T.R.I.P.E., deciding to just keep quiet as the men fought over what had just happened to her. She hadn't liked being touched by that creep... But she was prepared to defend herself. She hadn't needed Green Arrow and the rest of the men to step forward and try to protect her.
"Fer some reason, I never thought I'd hear words like those from you, Arrow." Vigilante's voice had become deep and sounded saddened, catching the attention of everyone in the room. "Man handling people 'til they do what you want... I thought that was something left only to the bullies."
The blonde archer was still angry, but his sneer didn't seem as venomous as before. "We can't just let these people come in and do whatever they want to us just because they're stronger! Listen, Vig, I may not be able to shoot beams out of my ears, but that doesn't' mean I'm about to let any that can strong arm me!"
Both men were caught on the opposite side of an argument. And it was somewhat odd to not see Vigilante backing Green Arrow up. The man had always seemed like the kind that would never back down from a fight if it he deemed it worth it. Especially when it dealt with people that tried to bully their way through life. Yet, here he was... Going against Green Arrow.
"I'm gettin' too old fer this..." Vigilante muttered softly to himself, then looked up at everyone else. "We're gettin' too old fer this."
"Friend, you do not have to say any more." Shining Knight spoke up, only to have the cowboy shake his head slowly.
"No, Sir Justin... I got to get this off o' my chest 'fore it kills me." The man's eyes hardened for a moment before they softened once more and he looked down at the table he sat at. "We're just humans... Who are we foolin'? No one, that's who. No one but ourselves. We're fools fer thinkin' we could ever stand up ta super powered bein's like the metas."
After he had said this, none of those around him tried to speak up against his words. Instead they all allowed his heavy words to sink in, to weigh them down.
"We're old souls, Sir Justin... Truth be told..." The man sighed heavily, but when he next spoke, his voice had somehow become just a bit lighter. "Though, in this world with newfangled trinkets poppin' up e'eryday an' with enough superpowered capes ta fill up a giant space station... Maybe it ain't all that bad ta be like us." Vigilante sighed as he looked outside the Watchtower's observation deck, dark green eyes scanning over the vast nothing that was space.
"What do you mean?" Stargirl's attention perked up at the light tone the cowboy's voice had taken, taken aback to hear it after the very serious, very heavy points he had just stated a few seconds ago..
The man looked down at the blonde teenager and just looked at her before answering, "Not sure if it counts for you, lil' filly, but it does for the rest o' us old coots." As he said this, he motioned to the other heroes standing to his side, all in their different poses and stances as they listened to the cowboy.
Crimson Avenger leaned against the wall beside the large window with his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes closed, which gave him a relaxed appearance. But he had listened to the conversation between Green Arrow and Vigilante from the beginning and had found himself agreeing more and more with Vigilante's melancholic yet understandable stance.
Shining Knight was seated a bit to Vigilante's left, in between him and Crimson Avenger. His spine was straight and his face blank, even though he still wore a cast on his legs, a grim memento from his encounter with the rampaging general.
S.T.R.I.P.E stood with his arms crossed to Stargirl's left, his face plate not permitting any of his emotions to be seen.
And Speedy, who was barely ever up in the Watchtower, stood to the robot armored man's left, his face drawn in with what could be seen as annoyance or anger, even though he had not interrupted once in the conversation between his ex-mentor and the cowboy.
"I mean... We carry on like little soldiers, don't we?" Vigilante asked the girl, "Ah ain't too much of a soldier man myself, but... Well, the way I see it is this: Every day we wake up and fight. On and on. Like clockwork."
"This isn't very uplifting, Vig." Green Arrow muttered as he glared at the cowboy, back resting against the observation glass with his arms crossed over his chest.
"Yuh didn't let me finish, Arrow." Vigilante bit back sharply, then turned back to Stargirl. "As I was sayin'... Kid, we work day in an' day out fer the betterment o' the world. We get up every day an' no matter how many bruises we have on our body, we get our sorry asses onto this Watchtower and are sent around the world ta help those that can't help themselves."
Now his eyes took on a sadder glow and Stargirl found her heart tug at the sadness he allowed them to see.
"Sometimes... I admit it... It's hard ta get up after we've been kicked down. Sometimes it's easier ta stay down an' save ourselves from the lickin' we know we're goin' ta get... But... An' this is where the old fashioned way of thinkin' ain't too bad, Arrow. But when those times come, we put on our big kid pants, pick ourselves up, an' hit back harder than we have before."
"I've seen some kids with super powers give up just because they've ended up bleeding." Crimson Avenger pointed out from his spot against the wall, giving Vigilante a soft smirk. "Or because they didn't get the recognition they thought they deserved."
Speedy faltered for a second before he spoke up, although he kept his gaze on the floor. "Or because an archer in green punched them in the face."
Everyone around him turned to look at him, making the red head shrug and look at Crimson Avenger. He made sure to avoid locking eyes with Green Arrow. "He left the League. Shayera told me while Superman gave Ollie his punishment."
A moment of silence in which all of them looked at the red head, all the while he tried his best to maintain cool under their gazes. But soon the attention was taken away from him.
"Exactly." S.T.R.I.P.E. spoke up for the first time since the group had begun the conversation, making them all turn to him this time. "I think I get what Vig is trying to tell us. Even without any superpowers, we were taught to always fight for what we believe in, to never give up until we have it."
"The younger children do not seem to have that." Shining Knight added, which got a sigh from Green Arrow.
"With that I agree, Sir Justin." The green clad man spoke up, then turned to Stargirl. "Listen, kid, you and Speedy both have shown maturity and perseverance that I don't think any of us had in our younger years. What I think Vigilante's trying to take us to is that, even though you two are some of the youngest members of the Justice League-"
"You want us to believe we're old souls?" Speedy cut in to interrupt the other archer, voice laced with sarcasm. "Come on, Ollie."
Green Arrow's mouth curved in slight annoyance at the red head's attitude towards their talk, but didn't have to say anything because Stargirl stepped in then.
"Speedy, don't be so mean to Green Arrow!" She scolded, "Besides, it's good to finally be called mature." The blonde girl smiled up at the men around her, "It was about time you 'old coots' noticed how much I've progressed."
Her step-father smiled back at her from behind his face plate, although it wasn't seen by any around him. And most of the men around her gave a smile of their own, although Speedy only shook his head with a soft scoff. The man was a tough nut to crack. But he was listening to speak, rather than storming off like he would have done a few weeks ago before they had all gotten their asses handed to them as a team.
"So... When y'all truly think o' it..." Vigilante looked around at all of the people around him, his green eyes twinkling now. All traces of sadness had been dashed away. "Maybe it ain't that bad ta not have any powers. We may not be able ta do as much as some o' the other members o' this 'ere League, but we sure as heck never quit 'til we've completed our mission."
After he had resumed everything that had been said during the conversation, everybody in the room felt a sort of lightness. As mere humans in a super powered world, they had all had their moments of doubt. They had all wondered if what they did truly was worth it. If they truly caused a change in the world. But now they knew that there was something that no one would ever be able to take away from them. Their will. The inner strength. Their perseverance.
"You know, guys, I'm real happy you included me in your little group of awesome humans." Stargirl smiled broadly at all of the men, "Makes me feel like one of the guys."
"Ain't nothing to it, filly." Vigilante responded with a wink, only to have Green Arrow finish his thought for him. "Hell, kid, maybe we'll even invite you to poker night with us."
"Out of the question." S.T.R.I.P.E. growled with a step towards the man, threatening him against the very idea of his step-daughter joining them on their game.
"Oh, come on, Pat!" Stargirl whined mockingly, then moved to stand beside Vigilante and wrap an around his broad shoulders. "You'll let me join, right, Vig?"
The man looked from the young woman over to the man in the robot armor, the raised his hands in defense, "I plead the fifth, pardners."
The answer had everyone in the room breaking into a small fit of chuckling. Even Speedy cracked a smile at the very absurdity of what they were doing. Especially after the severity of the past topic.
"And to think... This all started because Ollie punched a guy in the face." The red head scoffed slightly, although the small smile on his face never faltered.
"And I would do it again and again!"
Another round of laughter broke out among the group, completely dashing away the tense atmosphere that had settled over them while Vigilante had dominated the past topic.
Yes, they weren't the strongest when it came to physical feats... But they were strongest when it counted.
And, really, that's all anyone could ever ask for.
Please review and tell me what you think.