Once upon a time, we were innocent (relatively).
But how can a group of underage vigilantes be innocent?
It was the final ultimatum of Slade. Of Brother Blood. Of Trigon.
For us to stay beautiful and sweet, basking in the vibrant dance of youth. Not that we aren't beautiful anymore. Some people embrace the carnality of pain.
Now let me remind you- we are not freaks of nature, a twisted result. We are human nature. We do not dress to intimidate (though there is Raven). We are well-kept (with the exception of Changeling). We are not suicidal puddles of angst (Nightwing has his moments).
We have our bright moments. We have our low moments. Despite the inhumanity of many of our members, we do emote more than depression.
I know we are going to break up, because it's inevitable. Some of us are too vivacious, some too strong. Honestly, I'll probably be the first to go.
Surprised?
Don't be. I have a life. I have a girlfriend. I want normalcy.
Once upon a time, I hated what I had. The suburban middle-lower class environment. Y'know, the whole "stages of acceptance" shit?
Yeah, that. But then, becoming half-robot puts that in sharp contrast, hmm?
Anyway, back on subject.
I can't say that we ever had youth anyway. What with our backgrounds, we were quite a bit more mature. But as I said, human nature, right?
Funny. It's all the tabloids' fault, see. At the beginning it was all scandal, but now it's shock.
As in "Oh. My. God. Nightwing said the F word. In the middle of public."
Like, what the hell were they expecting? That the older we get the sweeter we get?
Know what? I'll let you in on a secret. Every single one of us, even goody two-shoes Tempest, have killed someone. Not only that, but we watched their eyes die out. Now tell me we're still kids.
And that leads me to the conclusion.
We aren't fucking (Look at that- I can swear!) innocent anymore (as I've said, we weren't anyway). We aren't the manifestation, the epitome of all that is good. We may do good, but ultimately, we're human (alien-wise too). We do stupid stuff, and pretending we don't, making us static characters in the great sitcom of life, is in itself the height of idiocy.