Batman, The Flash, Green Arrow, 3 Green Lanterns, Wonder Woman, Black Canary, Superman, and…well, you get the point. Quite a few Justice League members sat around a large café table eating lunch and drinking coffee silently.
It wasn't that they didn't enjoy talking to each other, it just happened that this day was slow and there wasn't much to talk about. At least, not until Red Tornado entered the cafeteria. He dropped the latest issue of Justice Weekly right square in the middle of the table between Wonder Woman and Superman.
"I believe this belongs to collectively all of us," he spoke in robotic monotone. Dinah smiled at him.
"Thank you, Red," she said as she reached over and held it up.
"Oooh, you should read out Strange's new column! I hear it's very popular with the younger heroes," Oliver Queen suggested. He was a big kid at heart.
Dinah rolled her eyes, but nevertheless opened the page to the week's Dear Adam and began to read.
"DEAR ADAM: I feel like I'm much weaker than the other superheroes and that I'm often excluded from franchising missions. Not only missions, just the League in general. I feel almost like I don't fit in. What should I do? - ODD ONE OUT.
"DEAR ODD ONE OUT: Do not fret! I am 100% positive that there is a select group of teenage fangirls citizens who pay utmost attention to you and only you. I mean, try looking up fanfiction sometime. I assure you that even though you might not feel like it, you are powerful and important. I know this just because I know that every single member of the Justice League is there for a reason. You all bring something special to the table. Maybe you should see someone to talk to about your feelings. This sounds like a self-esteem issue. I wish you the very best, - ADAM."
The superheroes all looked at each other.
"Wow, I didn't realize someone here felt that way," Dinah said to break the silence.
"Me neither. Bruce?" Ollie wiggled his eyebrows at the dark knight.
"What?" The dark knight answered in return.
"Really? 'Less powerful than the other heroes?' As in someone, such as yourself, that doesn't have powers? 'Odd one out?' For sure would be you. And God knows out of all of us, you're the one who needs therapy the most," Ollie teased. The bat didn't bite.
"The person in the submission isn't me, if that's what you're implying," Bruce said plainly. He noticed the one person who wasn't laughing at this point: Flash. He already knew Barry was the one who had sent in the submission. He was Batman after-all. He wouldn't tell the others, though. You never knew when you were going to need a bargaining chip. The others, however, seemed to have a different agenda.
"I could use my lasso of truth to figure out who wrote it," Diana offered. Bruce smirked as he saw a bead of sweat form on Barry's forehead.
"Diana, we don't need to take it that far," Hawkgirl said.
"If everyone is quiet for a moment, I can use my super-hearing to detect whose heart is beating the fastest," Clark interjected.
"Don't you dare!" Black Canary said. "First of all, the fun of this is supposed to be that the person remains anonymous. Secondly, this issue is not some joke. Someone on our team is dealing with real emotions. We should respect their privacy and try our best to be all-inclusive from now on. If anything, this column has provided us with criticism to help us create a better team," Dinah reprimanded. Everyone took what she said to heart except Oliver.
"Nah, screw that. Everybody hush so Clark can hear who it is," he said. He received a punch in the arm in reply.
"It's so obvious," Batman mumbled.
"What was that?" Ollie asked. The Flash went as red as his suit.
"I said, 'It's so obvious!' Don't you see?! The person in the column! He's just joking around to try to cover it up!" Bruce exclaimed.
It struck everyone with apparent realization.
"What?! No! I feel totally included! That's crazy," Oliver tried to reason, but it was too late. Everyone was now firm on the idea that Green Arrow had self-esteem issues.
"You should've talked to me, babe," Dinah said quietly to Oliver.
"About what?! I don't have any problems!"
"Just because you do not have powers does not mean you are anything less than remarkable," Martian Manhunter tried to comfort the best he knew how.
"I AM NOT EXCLUDED! I FEEL GREAT! ARROGANT, EVEN! Bats, I'm so going to get you for this," Ollie said as he was bombarded with questions and self-help books.
Batman chuckled as he excused himself from the chaos that ensued and made his way to the zeta-beam teleporter. Barry laughed and sped over to Bruce.
"Hey, thanks," he said softly. Bruce shoved a slip of paper into his hand. "What's this?"
"Counseling. And, if you ever need to talk…I'm here," Bruce said in his usual monotone voice. Barry hugged him. "Get off of me or die."
"Love you too, batty."
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