As the ship was flying back to the tower, Gar and Joey were busy talking about how Rose and Grant had been. Joey was intrigued at how his father would actually let Gar and Rose date, but he had no worries. He knew his friend would take excellent care of his sister, and if he knew his sister as well as he thinks he does, the same could be said for her.
Kole and Gnarrk were sitting behind them watching the conversation. Both were excited for this opportunity, even though it meant they couldn't be out in the wild anymore. But if it made her boyfriend happy and let him have his family back, they were okay with it.
The ship was about 30 minutes away from reaching the tower, when Slade turned to Gar from the co-pilot seat and spoke up.
"Gar, if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to speak with you in private."
Giving Slade a nod, Gar put the ship on autopilot and walked back with him to a more secluded area. They had reached a separate compartment from the rest of the group, and when the door shut, Slade began the conversation.
"First, I would like to thank you for getting Joey back to me. I have waited a long time to have my family back where it should be and I couldn't be happier."
Gar shrugged his shoulders and gave Slade a smile.
"No worries Slade. I know what it's like to lose family, and I can tell they mean a lot to you. Plus, I'm sure Rose and Grant will be glad to have their brother with them."
Slade nodded and smiled under his mask.
"Yes, I believe they will be as well."
Getting on to a more serious topic, Slade decided he'd go ahead and be blunt about it and not beat around the bush.
"But the reason I called you back here is because I would like to ask you something."
Slade looked to Gar and received a nod as if to let him know to continue.
"How do you feel about being leader?"
Gar's eyes widened a bit at that. To say it was unexpected would be an understatement. He thought it was another mission Slade had for him to be honest.
"Are you asking me if I want to be leader?"
Slade chuckled at his question.
"Not if you want to be leader, but can you BE the leader?"
Gar was beginning to put everything together quickly now.
"I'm going to be leading the team?"
Gar got his answer with a nod of the head from Slade. This was really getting interesting. He had just joined them officially yesterday, and already had his first mission. Now he was being told he was going to be leader.
"Why would you think I'd be best for it? I just joined the team, wouldn't they get upset the new guy is their leader?"
Slade put his hand up to calm the boy down. He figured he'd be against the idea at first, so he decided to give him his reasons for wanting him to lead.
"You've been a leader before. You yourself told me about how you took Joey and some other heroes and helped defeat the Brotherhood of Evil. You have also been doing this longer than any of the other members, including Grant and Rose."
Slade watched as the boy was thinking things over. Gar knew he was right, but he was still questioning the decision.
"What about you?"
Slade chuckled at the question. Gar was really doubting himself and he found it amusing that he was trying to find all the reasons he could to not be leader.
"Gar, I have to overlook and help develop another team eventually. We have three new members and are going to be adding more. I can't lead one team while trying to put together another one."
Slade could see the boy had started to accept his reasoning. He still looked torn about it, so he decided he'd help the boy out.
"I'll tell you what, why don't you speak to Grant or Rachel about it?"
Gar looked at him for a second, as if asking him to continue. Seeing the look, Slade caught on and did so.
"I know you're beginning to form a good relationship with both, so talk to one or both of them and get their opinions. If you ask Rose, I'm sure she'd say that you should. So, ask someone who would give you an unbiased opinion on the matter."
Gar seemed to understand his reasoning and nodded his head in acceptance. A beeping sound indicated that they would be reaching the tower soon. Both left the room, with Slade putting a hand on Gar's shoulder, reminding him to think things over and talk to his teammates.
Returning to the cockpit, Gar could see the tower was in view and that they'd be landing soon. Taking the ship off of autopilot, he began to land the ship on the roof. His nerves were getting to him and he was excited. He knew Rose and Grant would be happy to see their brother again and he was squirming in anticipation to see their reactions.
Once the ship had landed, everyone began to file out and onto the roof. The three newcomers were taking in the site of the city around them and the beauty of it. Turning to Gar, Slade spoke.
"Why don't you take them down to the main room while I put the ship through its program. I'll need to make sure it is in perfect working order and nothing is wrong with it."
Gar gave a nod and turned towards his three friends. He nodded his head over in the direction of the door leading down to the main room and began to walk over to it. The three heroes followed him in and they descended the steps.
While making their way to the main room, Gar turned towards Joey and began a conversation.
"You excited to see your brother and sister, buddy?"
Joey nodded his head and started signing.
"I haven't seen them in years. I had hoped for this day for a long time."
Gar nodded and patted his friend on the back.
"Trust me, they have too. They've been asking your dad about you joining for a while now from what he's told me."
They reached the door to their destination. Turning to the blonde boy, Gar could tell he was excited. Looking up, he could see Kole and Gnarrk seemed a bit nervous. He figured he'd help them out and squash any worries they might have.
"Hey you two, don't worry. When Rose finds out you're dating her brother Kole, I'm sure she'd be glad to pull you around and ask questions. And Gnarrk, you, Jaime, and Cass got along before so I'm sure you'll be fine as well."
He could see them visibly relax and he flashed them a smile. Turning back towards the door, he entered to see his teammates all there. Rose, Grant, Rachel, and Shae were in the kitchen prepping lunch and having a very animated conversation. Turning to the couch, he saw Jaime, Muhammad, and Cass going over files.
He made his way into the room and was spotted first by Muhammad.
"Hey Gar, how'd the mission go?"
Gar could feel everyone turn their attention towards him and see smiles form on their faces.
"Pretty good. A lot easier than expected."
Rose made her way over to her boyfriend. Reaching him, she gave him a quick peck and a hug.
"What did my dad have you do that was so important?"
After giving Grant a fist bump for their greeting of each other, he turned to her and gave her a small smirk.
"We had to go pick up some friends."
He nodded his head to the still open door and she followed the nod. Once she saw who was at the door, her mouth fell open. She was in shock at the sight before her.
She hadn't seen her brother for so long, she couldn't even remember. He had definitely grown and was no longer the little boy she remembered anymore. She saw the smile on his face and she returned it. Tears filling her eyes, she made a dash to the door.
Grant had turned his head as well and he immediately burst into a smile. Like Rose, he hadn't seen his brother in years. Seeing the smile on the boy's face made his get even bigger. He followed Rose over to see his brother again.
"JOEY!"
Rose made it to the blonde hero first and wrapped her arms around him, squeezing the life out of him. He returned the hug and saw that his brother was closely behind her. He reached an arm out and wrapped it around Grant, who came over to complete the group hug.
Gar watched the group with a smile on his face and leaned against the countertop in the kitchen. He felt someone at his side and turned to see Rachel there. She had her eyes on the scene before them, just like everyone else. Speaking quietly, she turned her head slightly towards him so he could hear her speak.
"Your mission was to find their brother and bring him home?"
He gave her a nod.
"Yep. Yesterday on the roof, Slade told me he'd like to find Joey and asked me if I had any idea where he may be."
She turned her head towards him fully and gave him a smile.
"That is very sweet of you. You know Rose is going to love you for this right?"
He turned towards her to give her a smug smirk and a playful remark.
"I thought she already did."
They shared a laugh and Gar turned his head and found Jaime and Cass talking to a Kole and Gnarrk. It looked like they had made their way over to their friends and were now being introduced to Muhammad. Jaime had a huge smile plastered on his face the whole time as he was telling Muhammad old stories of how they had fought together.
He couldn't help the smile on his face as he watched his friends being welcomed with open arms. Shae had made her way beside him now too and spoke to him.
"You seem to be doing your best to get in to the good graces of Slade."
Turning towards her, he smirked.
"Well, I'm trying to make sure that my girlfriend's dad likes me. It makes the relationship easier when they do."
She gave him a chuckle and turned towards Rachel. Jabbing a thumb at Gar, she gave her a playful remark.
"I guess when we hear moaning tonight while we're trying to sleep, we'll know who's room it's coming from."
This made Gar and Rachel bust out into laughter and a smile form on Shaw's face.
Rose turned her head towards her boyfriend and smiled as she watched him and her friends joking around. She watched as he said something that caused the two girls to burst out into laughter and made her way over to him.
As Gar had made a comment about how he had hoped Slade and Grant had rooms on the other side of the tower so he wouldn't get killed tomorrow, he received a hearty laugh from the two girls. Movement out of the corner of his eye brought his attention forwards again as he saw Rose making her way over to him. Giving her a smile, he watched as she returned it before wrapping her arms around him and him doing the same.
"Thank you. This really means a lot to Grant and I."
Kissing the top of her head, he rubbed his hand on her back.
"Of course. Anything for you mamas."
Grant and Joey made their way over to the group as well. Gar picked his head up and saw the two in conversation as they walked over. He caught Grant's eye and they shared a grin.
"Thanks bro, where'd you find our little brother?"
Grant had lifted his fist up for a bump and Gar reciprocated it.
"Last time I saw him, he was in Budapest. I figured he was still there with his girlfriend and I was lucky enough to guess correctly."
This had caught Rose's attention and she picked her head up off his chest.
"Girlfriend?"
Gar chuckled and looked down to meet her eyes.
"That girl with the pink hair over there with giant. Her name is Kole and she's a sweet girl."
He pointed and she followed his hand over to see the two he was speaking about with the three remaining teammates on the couch. They all seemed to be enjoying a conversation about something and Jaime was making them all laugh with his ridiculous gestures.
Leaning down to speak quietly in her ear, Gar spoke.
"I suggest you go introduce yourself. She is probably going to end up being your sister-in-law one day."
She nodded her head and leaned up to kiss him before heading over. He watched as she spoke to the pink haired girl and smiled as Jaime decided to include her now in the tale he was sharing.
Grant and Joey decided to make their way over to the group as well and Gar watched the whole time with a smile on his face. He couldn't have imagined this going any better and he was glad he had gone with Slade to get his friends and bring them back here.
The two remaining girls watched on as well and shared a look with each other. This boy was doing a great job at being the perfect boyfriend for their friend. Not many people would travel hundreds of miles to go find her brother and bring him back to make sure she was happy. They watched their friend conversing with the pink haired girl with one thought in mind; Rose was a very lucky girl.
