When they arrived for breakfast the following morning, the first thing Jason told them (after giving them the standard 'Good Morning') was, "You have Wallace first. Bring your supplies."
The 'supplies', in this case, were standard notebooks, pencils, pens, etc. And a video recorder, in the case of Cass (one locked specifically to her biometrics, in the unlikely case it was stolen or otherwise lost). It didn't take much of a leap to figure out what they would be needed for, but still, the confirmation was disheartening. One of the best parts about being a superhero was how unlike school it was.
After breakfast was over, they trudged over to their room and picked up their book bags, before heading back downstairs. Wallace was waiting for them in the foyer, and guided them to another section of the base, where a classroom was waiting for them. It wasn't a standard classroom, resembling of a mix between a regular one and a small auditorium — or a small college lecture hall. The 'desks' were long counters with chairs in front of them, staggered down with a staircase running through the center, leading all the way down to the bottom, a pitched floor. The bottom level contained a long desk, a pair of whiteboards, mounted on the wall, and a projector hanging above.
"It looks like those academy classrooms from Naruto," Tim noted.
"Good," Wallace responded, stepping aside and gesturing the children in. "That's what helped inspire the design."
At Wallace's insistence, they were instructed to sit only within the bottom three rows and within three columns of the stair case. Tim, perhaps unsurprisingly, elected to sit near the bottom with Cass in the second row, to the left of the staircase. Greta had decided to sit next to him (it seemed she also had a crush on him in this timeline, despite his relationship with Stephanie), while Cassie and Cissie sat on the other side of the stairs, in the same row. Bart and Courtney sat in the row above them, Bart to the right of the stairs and Courtney to the left.
Once they were seated, Wallace set his own notes down, picking up a small remote for the projector and turning it on. As it was warming up, he addressed the class. "Alright. For those of you who aren't already aware of who I am or might have forgotten, my name is Wallace West — the Fifth Flash and Bart's successor. I'm going to be your teacher this morning, and what we'll be focusing on is my specialty: knowledge."
There were groans upon hearing that, but they ceased when everyone spotted the bemused eyebrow Wallace began sporting. Despite himself, he couldn't help but smirk. Happens every time. "And what is the issue with that?"
"I have enough science and math homework at school," Courtney complained as an answer.
"Oh no. We only teach that stuff if you stop going to school. As long as you're hitting the books and maintaining a B average, then you're fine."
Bart blinked. "What happens if we get lower than that?"
"You get tutoring," Wallace deadpanned. "Anyway, my specialty is knowledge — superhero knowledge. Practical information, such as the strengths and weaknesses of both heroes and villains, major battles and other events in the past, the psychology involved in all of the above, etc."
Now the children were starting to look interested.
Well, all except for one, who raised his hand.
"Yes, Tim, you still need to take this class, even though your dad has already made you memorize the general information of every hero and villain in the world and drilled you in hundreds of different protocols in how to handle each one," Wallace lazily answered, not even bothering to wait for the question.
This caused everyone else to stare at Tim in disbelief. Tim ignored them all in favor of blinking at Wallace. "How—?"
Wallace sighed, cutting him off. "I taught three Robins before you. They always ask that same question. And considering how your brother drew upon your experiences as Robin the most while teaching them…" He shrugged, not electing to finish. "Anyway, onto your first subject: team dynamics."
As if on cue, the lights dimmed and the projector turned on, showing three pictures side-by-side: one of the Justice League, one of the Titans, and one of the Justice Society of America. "Recently," Wallace began, "you connived yourselves onto a rescue mission to save myself and my team, and collaborated with these three teams at the same time: the JLA, the Titans, and the JSA. By some kind of miracle, despite that and despite the usual interactions between these teams, there was no chafing over jurisdiction or leadership or anything of the sort. The entire operation, even with how off the rails it went after you all finally got on the island, went as smoothly as these things ever can." He met each of their gazes head on. "I don't think I have to tell you how rare that is, especially in this time."
Some shook their heads, now alert. Cass had her video recorder on, while Tim was already scribbling notes. While the boy was a slacker when it came to actual school, when it came to anything involving being a superhero he was the most attentive student anyone could find. There was a reason he had been the one to finally take down Lex Luthor for good.
"At the same time, however, it's not entirely surprising either," Wallace continued. "Teamwork tends to smoothen out during a crisis, which this rescue mission certainly was. People are less likely to argue when they're on the clock and know that something or someone important is on the line. That's why the addition of a fifth team — my team — did little to disrupt the teamwork between the other four teams, especially when Kyle arrived on the scene."
"Now, here is my question to you: why is it after this situation, and situations like it that happened before it, that these three teams do not collaborate more, despite the fact that they can achieve so much more if they do?"
The children stopped their scribing to exchange hesitant looks with one another. Finally, Cissie raised her hand. "Cissie," Wallace said, calling on the archer.
"Is it because they have…different team dynamics?" She answered hesitatingly.
"Correct," Wallace told her, before turning off the projector. The lights went back to their original brightness, and the projector screen rolled up automatically, revealing the whiteboards. Wallace picked up a black marker, and started making columns, titling each one after the JLA, the Titans, and the JSA respectively. "I want you to describe to me the team dynamics of each of these teams, starting with the Justice League. After we're done, we'll compare and contrast each of these teams and draw our own conclusions. Now, who wants to start?"
There was a lot of hesitation again, before it was Tim that finally decided to bite the bullet. He put up his hand.
"Yes, Tim?"
"The Justice League are…professional."
Wallace hummed. "You could say that for all of these teams, though."
"Yes," Tim conceded, but then defended his answer. "But the Justice League is the most professional of all three teams. While they maintain cordial relationships with each other, and many of the members are friends, they don't live together like the Titans do, and have more distant relationships than the members of the JSA do. The members are more independent — they have their own lives and cities to tend to."
"Well-argued," Wallace complimented him once he finished, and then wrote 'Professional' in the JLA column. He also added other traits: 'Independent Members' and 'Cordial Relationships'. "Anything else?"
Another round of looks were exchanged, before everyone shook their heads.
"Okay then, moving on to the JSA. Courtney, I assume you want to take this one. How would you describe your team's dynamic?"
Courtney rubbed the back of her head. "The closest comparison I can make is that we're a family."
"Elaborate."
"Well…the oldest members have known each other for years. And the younger members, they're associated with other members of the older generation. We're a mix of older mentors, experienced heroes, and rookies like myself, but with this connection that the members of the JLA don't have. So our relationships are much closer and more casual, but there's also something of hierarchy involved because unlike the JLA, we don't all have similar levels of experience."
Wallace nodded along to the explanation, and wrote down a few things under the JSA column: 'Family-like Relationships', 'Mixed Experience Levels', and 'Hierarchy'. "Alright then. That leaves the Titans. Who wants to take that one?"
Now a little more confident, Cassie immediately raised her hand. Pleased, Wallace silently pointed to her. "The Titans are a mix of the dynamics of both these teams," she answered promptly. "Off-the-clock, they all live together in the same base, though some only part-time. They're almost as close as the JSA, but as friends — they've lived together, hanged together, dated each other, and even grew up together. But when they're on the job, they're almost as professional as the JLA. They're a well-oiled machine with defined tactics and they have a leader they follow without question: Nightwing."
"Good, good," Wallace said when she finished, inscribing three bullet points under the Titans column like he had with the other two columns. The first was 'Centralized Leadership', 'Solid Division of Professional and Personal', 'Close Relationships'. "Now we have general ideas of the dynamics of each of these teams. Here's another question: which is the most effective team dynamic of these three teams?"
Silence.
"…are you asking us which is the best team?" Cissie stuttered out, once she shook off her shock.
Wallace shrugged. "I don't know. Am I?"
"This is one of those trick questions," Bart accused him, careful to keep his words slow (well, slower) this time. "The kind that teachers ask to force students to think."
Instead of answering, his cousin shrugged again. "You can debate this all you want, but I think your time would be better spent answering the first question I asked instead. As I'm the teacher, I decide when this class ends, and this class only ends once I've taught you everything I want to teach you today. So…" Wallace leaned against his desk and gave them all an expectant look.
"The Titans."
Everyone glanced at Cassie, and Wallace nodded to her to continue.
"The Titans have the best dynamic because theirs is a balance between both dynamics. They're close off the field, and that bond only enhances their cohesiveness as a team on it because they know they can trust each other," Cassie explained, sounding very firm in her reasoning.
However, there was someone that disagreed. Tim frowned, and shook his head. "I'm sorry, Cassie, but I have to disagree with you. While yes, the close interpersonal relationships of the Titans are a large part of why they're so effective, it's caused them problems in the past before. Remember my brother's wedding with Starfire? And how that led to Raven temporarily turning evil because of her burgeoning feelings for him?" Tim crossed his arms. "As much as I look up to Dick, that could've been avoided if he had kept his relationships with both women professional and maintaining friendships with them instead of electing to date one of them. That's why I feel that the Justice League has the best dynamic. While they're friendly with each other, it's not so much in a way that it allows them to cloud their work on the field."
Wallace wondered if Tim had realized he had insinuated Jason was making a poor judgement choice in dating a teammate too, even as he pointed at a somewhat belligerent-looking Courtney to add to the discussion.
"I disagree with your disagreement," the wielder of the Cosmic Staff asserted, sitting up a little straighter as everyone's attention fell on her. "While yes, the excessive professionalism of the Justice League means they don't allow their personal issues with one another to affect their field work, it also means that they're the most prone to in-fighting. They're teammates first, friends seconds, so the moment there's dissent and they feel like the team can't work anymore, instead of trying to work through their issues they just disband instead. I mean, just look at the current team — what iteration are they? The fifth or sixth? We've already lost count. And even now there's still a lot of bad blood that lingers between certain former members of the JL, years after the original breakup over their respective teams."
She placed a hand on her heart as she continued on with her argument. "That's why, in my completely unbiased opinion," there were snorts following that statement and even Wallace couldn't help looking amused, "I believe that the team with the best dynamic is the JSA. They've disbanded the least amount of times, their current iteration is the longest-lasting superhero team in years, and the mentor/mentee relationships means there's less dissent within the team because of the understanding of a hierarchy."
"But the JSA tends to be very 'old school'," Cassie pointed, not even bothering to wait for Wallace to call on her. "They can be set in their ways and aren't as open to new ways of doing things as they should be. Plus, with their hierarchal dynamic, the older members always lead and have the final say, even in situations where their viewpoints might be biased."
This proved to be the wrong thing to say, because it set Courtney off into a tirade about Nightwing and how having one undisputed leader left an entire team into disarray when Nightwing was conflicted or otherwise indisposed. Which caused Cassie to batter back about the general prickliness of the older JSA members. Then Tim jumped in and the argument really got off the rails. The rest of the students just watched, while Wallace just sighed, before opening one of the drawers of his desk and taking something out: an airhorn.
SKREEEE!
Everyone winced at that increasingly familiar sound. Wallace put the horn back into its drawer and slid it close before eying his class once again. "Does anyone else in the class have an opinion?"
Slowly, Greta raised her hand. When Wallace nodded towards her, she spoke in a halting tone. "I don't know which team dynamic is better," she admitted, "but…but it looks like they all have pros and cons. So I guess…none of them are better?" She shrugged helplessly.
Wallace hummed, and then smiled. "I agree," he said, shocking her and just about everyone else. "There is no dynamic that is inherently better than the other. They are all different, and they all have different strengths and weaknesses. Much like the heroes who employ them."
He then went to the other whiteboard and started writing another set of columns, each titled after a team like the last one. "Bart," he said, calling on his cousin, "describe to me the traits of the average Justice League member."
Bart blinked, and then shrugged. "Adults. And not young adults, like the Titans, but real adults. Almost middle-aged. I guess…I guess they're more settled." He thought things over for a bit. "And I guess they're independent, like we said before. They have obligations outside the JL, and sometimes those obligations take precedence."
Just like before with the other chart, Wallace inscribed a series of bullet points under the JL's column: 'Older Adults', 'Settled', and 'Independent — Outside Obligations'. "Good. Cissie, the Titans."
Cissie rubbed the back of her head. "Young adults. Grown up kid heroes. More dedicated to the team, due to lack of obligations. I'm pretty sure Nightwing and the Flash are the only ones handling their own cities."
Wallace wrote down 'Young Adults', 'Former Child Heroes', and 'Minimal Outside Obligations'. "Greta. The JSA."
"I'm not sure there's a 'standard' JSA member," Greta commented, shrugging. "There's three different kinds: the old veterans, the experienced heroes, and the rookies. And they're all connected to the Golden Age JSA."
"That's good enough for me," Wallace told her, inscribing a final two bullet points — 'Mix of Veterans, Experienced, and Rookies' and 'Golden Age JSA Connection' — under the JSA column. "Now, here's my next question: why did I ask all of you to describe to me what the standard member would be for each of these teams?"
"Need."
Heads whipped around as everyone stared at Cass, who spoke her first word since the class had started. Her video recorder was still sitting on her desk, but the expression on her face was very firm. "Need," she repeated.
Wallace smiled. "Correct," he said, putting the cap back on his marker and tossing it back and forth between his hands before pointing it at all of his students. "A common, but incorrect belief is that the dynamics of a team involve a simple pick and choose. That couldn't be farther from the truth. In reality, they develop gradually as a team gets to know each other better, and forms according to a variety of factors: perception, personalities, lifestyles, wants, needs, goals, etc. That's why the dynamic of every team, not just those three, is different — because no one person on any team is the same, and while they share similarities, they need to accommodate for the differences."
The speedster placed his hand on the second whiteboard, next to the second chart. "Take the Justice League, for example. That team is comprised primarily of middle-aged adults who are fully settled into both their hero and civilian careers, who not only have obligations to the Justice League, but also have obligations to their own cities and families. Hence, their team dynamic is one of equals, and while some like Batman might occasionally take charge, in the end all the members have an equal say."
He then stepped over to the other side of the chart and gestured to the JSA's column. "The JSA, meanwhile, is comprised of veteran superheroes from the Golden Age, experienced heroes that wouldn't be out of place with the Justice League, and younger, developing heroes — such as Stargirl." Wallace nodded towards Courtney, who blushed. "With such an eclectic group of people, a hierarchy of mentorship and leadership only makes sense, because there are three different factions of people in the group who are all in different places in their lives. Some aren't as experienced and confident as others and need guidance, and others feel obligated to help them."
"That leaves the Titans. The Titans are a group of young adults who are more experienced than the standard hero due to their pasts as child heroes — but are also still growing adults trying to find their own places in life and the world and are trying to discover themselves. They might be more experienced than all of you, but they're still trying to get their feet wet when it comes to life in general, whether they want to admit or not. Hence, while they see each other as equals and are casual with each other, they still feel the need to have some kind of authority, a pillar that they can look to and lean on. That's why they have a defined and undisputed leader in Nightwing."
Wallace watched as his students, now very alert, started scribing down as many notes as they could. Except for Cass, though she too was re-reading the words on the whiteboards, repeating them beneath her breath. Jason would be pleased at her progress, he couldn't help but note. It also reminded him to tell her that there was a chance that her fellow classmates would want to watch the progression of the class on her video recorder, to write down any notes they missed.
Once they were done writing, he spoke again. "One of the things you're going to be doing with us is developing your team dynamic, figuring out the roles you want to play while out in the field. I know that in the cases of some of you, you're a part of a different team when you're not here; but when you are here, you're one class, and thus one team. Defining your team dynamic is important, because it helps you develop solid maneuvers and plans for missions, and the more you deepen this dynamic, the better your teamwork will be. One day, it may even be good enough that you won't need to communicate in order to work together and achieve your objectives."
"Though, I need to say this as well," Wallace continued, "You are not going to develop your team dynamic with me. My specialty is knowledge — while I can teach you about the theory and the practical applications, putting it into actual practice is the purpose of your other classes. Instead, you will be developing your teamwork with M'gann, starting this afternoon." He then uncapped his marker again. "Now, moving on. We've discussed the psychology behind the dynamics of hero teams. But what about villain teams? You'll note that there is a distinct lack of villain teams, especially compared to villainous organizations such as the League of Assassins. Why is that?"
Tentatively, Tim put up his hand. "Is it because villains are a 'superstitious, cowardly lot'?"
Wallace laughed. "No, but you're close. It's because most, if not all villains and their goals are inherently selfish. For example…"
Lunch was a more lively affair compared to breakfast. The latter had been more subdued due to the dread of what many of the children believed to be the superhero equivalent of their classes at school. While Jason had to admit that wasn't an unfair comparison, he knew Wallace was an experienced and apt enough teacher to get them engaged regardless. Besides, the subject matter they had to teach was far more interesting to these children than anything a regular high school, even somewhere as elite as Gotham Academy, could provide them.
"So," he asked his two younger siblings while dipping some of his french baguette into his tomato soup. Farther up the table, everyone else was watching an eating contest between Wallace and Bart, trying to see who was the bigger bottomless pit. "How was your first class with Wallace?"
Next to him, Tim was spooning his own soup onto a separate bowl, where a piece of grilled cheese was sitting on the side. Jason had elected to go simple for lunch today and do something a little more elaborate for dinner instead. Across from them was Cass, who was mimicking both of them and dipping both her baguette and her grilled cheese into her own soup, while also crushing some croutons into the stew. "It was…good," Tim replied after a moment. "Really good. Very interesting. Though my head kind of hurts — he asks a lot of questions, and there was a lot of arguing involved."
"You should expect that with his classes," Jason commented. "Wallace knows his class has the potential to be the most boring, so he does his best to make it interesting. And nothing makes sitting in a classroom more interesting than a healthy debate. It also makes it a good compliment for M'gann's class. That's why we typically pair those two classes together."
Tim looked up. "What is her class going to be like, by the way?"
Jason paused. In that time, Cass looked up as well, and both siblings were watching their older brother intently. "M'gann's class is going to be…spirited," he finally answered.
"Wallace said her specialty was teamwork."
"It is," Jason confirmed. "No one knows what it means to be part of a team more than a telepath. It takes a lot of trust to allow one into your mind, let alone allowing one to link it with theirs and the minds of others during a battle. The fear of your privacy being compromised, of having your innermost thoughts possibly broadcasted to others…" He shrugged. "M'gann has faced her own share of distrust in her time, and she's learned how to resolve it and, failing that, work around it in her own ways. You'll learn much from her."
Tim nodded along. "And her classes? How does she teach?"
"Interactive, at least compared to Wallace's. Not as many lectures, but lots of activities. Oh, and minimal combat."
The siblings blinked. "Really? But it's a teamwork class, isn't it?"
Jason eyed him for a moment. "You're thinking about battle maneuvers and combinations, aren't you?" He asked knowingly. "Tim, that's something you'll deal with in my class. M'gann's class is more about building the trust needed in order to use that sort of teamwork."
"What do you mean?" His younger brother asked, perplexed. "You mean, like…trust falls and stuff?"
Jason sighed again. "You'll see."
It was quiet. Too quiet.
But then again, that was only to be expected. His two eldest were living on their own and dealing with their own responsibilities, his next two eldest were with one of them to further their own training and his youngest was staying with his best friend on said best friend's farm. It was only him, his butler/father figure, and the girlfriend of one of his sons.
Make no mistake, Bruce liked Stephanie. She was determined, spunky, and her liveliness had brought at least two of his children out of their shells. He liked her so much that he couldn't understand how his other self had ever disliked her — she was a good girl, despite (or, perhaps, in spite of) the father she had the bad luck to be born to. Honestly, if it weren't for her mother and her obvious romantic infatuations with Tim, Bruce would've considered adopting her himself already. Either that, or at least taking her in as a ward.
But as much as he was fond of Stephanie, she was just one girl. And for all her vibrancy, not even she could fill in all the space in Wayne Manor, at least not without his other children. They made this place feel alive in a way that made Bruce dread the day they all moved out like Dick did. Like Jason was posed to do, whenever he felt they were ready to face on the incoming crises without his constant watch. It made him feel…empty.
At least he had other things to occupy his mind. The USB Jason had given him was a treasure trove of information, containing the answers to most, if not all his questions. Some of the files were locked away, only to be released when he learned of certain events from the mouths of Jason's teammates. One in particular: Flashpoint. Judging by the name, it had to do with the Flash Family and whatever event that had involved the question of Wallace West's existence, something even Bruce had trouble wrapping his head around. How is it that the boy…or man, he guessed, was not supposed to exist yet? Even before he was transformed into an adult, Wallace had already been eleven years old. If he wasn't supposed to exist until now…
Bruce was a detective. No, better than that — he was the World's Greatest Detective. But for all his brilliance, even the cosmic ongoings of the universe and the multiverse stumped him from time to time. Give him a murder or kidnapping or even the secret machinations of an ancient order of assassins, and he'd have all your answers one way or the other. But things like magic and gods and space entities and he'd do his best, but he would be out of his depth. He had just always been good at hiding it.
Jason and even Dick had both seemed to be better about it, but Jason had been dealing with things like this since he was a child and Dick had always been more open-minded than Bruce, and in a way that didn't make him an overly-paranoid bastard like his adoptive father. They knew what they were doing. Bruce sometimes wondered if he ever did.
"Um, B?"
Bruce turned around and stared at his sole remaining chargem who was carrying a sheaf of papers in her arms. While Stephanie was spending her days interning at Leslie's clinic until Tim and Cass returned, she spent her nights at the Manor with Bruce, continuing her training. She hadn't outright confirmed her decision to become a vigilante yet, but the fact that she was already taking lessons in detective work and hacking in addition to her lessons in combat, Bruce knew it was only a matter of time. Tim, with the help of his siblings, already had some preliminary sketches made for her costume when she inevitably made the plunge.
Knowing how intimidating the image of Batman was to his newest student, he removed his cowl to reveal his face. While Stephanie made no outward reaction to the change, he saw the tension leech out of her shoulders immediately, and internally patted himself on the back. He really was getting better at this. "Yes, Stephanie?"
"You know that list of names you gave me to investigate?" For further emphasis, she lifted a piece of paper from the stack. "The one with the names of Gotham's elite?"
Bruce kept his expression cool. He knew exactly what she was talking about. "Yes. What about it?"
"Well, I've been analyzing the movements of everyone on the list, like you told me to, and…" she hesitated.
"You noticed a pattern?" Bruce ventured.
Slowly, Stephanie nodded.
"Did you document it like Tim taught you to?"
"I did," she shuffled the papers and handed a small report to him. He took it from her hand and read through it, furrowing his brow with every line. "About half of those names have departed from Gotham on 'business trips' and 'family retreats' and other similar excuses for the past two or so months."
"I can see that, but Stephanie, for people in that income bracket that's normal." Tim's biological parents came to mind, and Bruce was careful to squash that thought down. There was no need to get angry, especially at the dead.
Stephanie pursed her lips. "I know, B. But that's just the thing. All of the flights listed in there are departures from Gotham."
Departures…? Bruce's eyes widened as the realization hit, just as Stephanie continued on with her explanation.
"There's no record of any of them coming back to Gotham."
Dun, dun, dun! What are those list of names? Why is Bruce so freaked out? What's going on? You'll find out soon enough.
In other news, I hoped you liked the look at Wallace's class. I was going for that 'college classroom' feel, something that would be a lot more respectful to the intelligence of students. That's not always the case, but it generally is from my own experiences.
Next chapter: M'gann's class.
