Chapter II
Akin to that of a shadow, Robin clung to the darkest avenue of descent as he soundlessly departed the rooftop. Returned once more to street level, Robin's hawk-like glare immediately soaked in the tremendous havoc perpetrated by him and his teammates and struggled to process all that had just transpired. The once tranquil strip now lay in catastrophic destruction. All around him were the macabre mementos of adolescent carelessness and irresponsibility. Throughout his long, short life, Tim Drake had been blessed and cursed to experience powerful images and instances that have defined the person he is. Perhaps more so than one human being should ever be called to do, he had risen to triumph over the loss and pain of loved ones.
This however, was something he had never seen or dare imagine possible. Alone in the heart of the street, his feet mere steps from the bank where in which this chaos stemmed, Robin's roving eyes observed in disgust the reckless destruction of property and endangerment of lives, all the while reminding himself that it was his team that not only allowed this travesty to occur, but directly caused it. Before him he saw a toppled car consumed with incendiary flames, presumable from an explosion. Further down the street to his left, another automobile was dislodged into a light pole, completely obliterating the windshield glass, windows, and hood. To his right, he watched as a tearful young woman with a crimson gash on her chin embraced her father behind a police barricade. In addition, every corner of the street and radial buildings were cluttered with critically bruised and broken bodies in need of severe medical attention.
Each vision enflamed Robin as the reality of the morning's actions settled in. First and foremost, he and his friends, no, teammates, were tasked with preserving the peace and helping others. Certainly, they had all succeeded to varying degrees of snubbing out the bank robbers, but their absolute disregard for the well being of the city, civilians, and especially their opponents sickened him.
Invoking his engrained ninja philosophy, it would be a defeat just to have been seen, let alone cause such a demonstratively vocal rampage throughout the city. Soon however, Tim remembered that despite the detriments of his teammates, he was, after all, their leader. Thus, regardless of how egregious, the performance of his team directly reflected him. It was his responsibility to ensure this needless carnage would never come to pass again, and responsibility was not to be taken lightly for Tim Drake.
As Robin contemplated the damage around him, he was soon joined by his six approaching allies, and together assembled stood Young Justice. From out the sky landed the brazen Superboy, his right hand perusing the deep pocket of his leather jacket for his signature black sunglasses. To Robin's right stepped the flirty Spoiler, ever so slightly shifting the weight of her vivacious body onto her left hip, subtly making Robin all the more regretful for patronizing his Superhero tights. Transformed from out the composition of a thick tan smog emerged the enigmatic Secret, her shaded eyes glinting ever so briefly an inviting gentleness.
Arriving beside the Secret came the warm hearted, unassuming XS, her roaming eyes eager to absorb as many sights, sounds, and experiences the world had to offer. As did Superboy before her, Wondergirl alighted next to her teammates, but with markedly less fanfare. Her clunky kneepads and uncoordinated stride made her modest entrance familiarly awkward as she, caught within a liminal space, was neither as intimidating as Superboy nor as seductive as the Spoiler. And, as the six others united, the final member effortlessly zipped alongside, his gargantuan sneakers screeching to a halt as he arrived on scene. Folding his arms, the jaded Impulse pondered what took so long for everyone else to finally show up.
As Robin stood in shock of their work, the rest of the team saturated in the butt kicking clinic they had just exhibited. Breaking the short silence, Superboy, in his self assured voice, remarked, "It's cool Rob, most people are speechless when they see a masterpiece." Slightly raising an eyebrow and placing his hand on his chin, Superboy half jokingly added, "Of course, when you're like me and you see a masterpiece in the mirror everyday, you're not quite as shy."
Minus his attached vanity, five of the six other members whole heartedly agreed with his sentiment. Through their eyes, the ravaged city and unconscious bodies were tangible testaments to their flawless execution and stylish maneuvers. XS excitedly began to speak, her focus especially locked onto the remnants of her simulated tornado, "Superboy's right…" Pausing ever so shortly, XS was full aware that those two simple words would be more than enough to inflate Superboy's already distended ego.
Just as she had anticipated, out of the corner of her eye, she could see the Kid's eyelids shut and smile widen as he basked in the unsolicited admiration. He knew he was a masterpiece, and it was about time someone else had the courage to say it, he thought to himself. Jenni did her absolute best not to crack even a smile before her next utterance, which very much nearly killed her to hold in the laughter. Finally, as Superboy seemed primed to be hauled back down to Earth, XS added quickly, "…we really did a perfect job this time! No one got hurt and no one got away!"
It was not in the Kid's expectation to hear anything short of Superboy's the smartest, wittiest, bravest, most handsome person in the world! In fact, his mind was so made up of what XS would say that even after she spoke to the contrary, he maintained his overtly proud smile, requiring several seconds to register what she had actually done. Dragged back down to reality, Superboy playfully shot a stern glance at XS as she, in return, giggled at her bothered friend.
Adding to what XS had said Secret seized the opportunity to vocally contribute. More than anything else in her mistreated heart, Secret longed to be heard. The companionship shared between her friends was something she hungered to be a part of, but a part of her, the all too often deciding part of her always hesitated to speak. The fear had become her cage, for it was the iron bars that withheld her innermost desires. Her friends and everyone else in the entire world seemed so much surer of themselves than her. They were all perfect, they were all better than her. She was just a puff of smoke, an invisible, inconsequential nobody.
Here however, she did not have to fret over being laughed at or disregarded for what she might say. Branching off what XS had already stated Secret could seamlessly insert her harmless words to the conversation. Meekly, the others heard Secret utter, "…I don't think any of those guys even threw one punch…"
A sudden discomfort overcame Wondergirl as she listened to Secret's sentiment. Though the others apparently agreed with Secret, Wondergirl knew the gnawing truth. She had been victorious, but also she had not been perfect. Once again in her life, she began to think, she was not perfect.
Those words hung beside her as ghoulish memories revisited her. She repeatedly demanded of herself, why had she waited so long to attack the robber, why did she allow him to pistol whip the hostage? Increasingly more nervous, she quickly aimed to dispel any noticeable hesitation and more deeply, lingering guilt. Wondergirl blurted out, "…Yeah, we really dished out some cold young justice!"
Up until then Impulse had remained silent, but something in her rallying cry awoke his attention. Perhaps it was the passionate fervor with which she spoke. Or, more likely, it was the noxious cliché that odorously reeked of effort. Scathingly responding to her corny comment, Impulse retorted, "Never. Say. That. Again. Ever."
The simple yet strong words of Impulse generated quite a few laughs amongst the team. Even Wondergirl, while initially hurt by his derision found the insult favorable over the team learning of her failure to protect the hostage. She too laughed, but her smile and chuckle were more tools to bury her festering guilt than any semblance of enjoyment.
As the team laughed over Impulse's sardonic comment, Stephanie Brown noticed one young superhero who, as she knew him to normally do, failed to share in the humor. Inquisitively, Spoiler leaned her arm against Robin's perplexed shoulder and said, "So what's on your mind, sexy boy?"
Without blinking, Robin's eyes turned slowly towards Spoiler. Though he loved her and once, had been in love with her, Tim Drake was in no mood to play. Nevertheless, before he had the opportunity to speak, Superboy, of all people, interrupted and responded to Spoiler, "Well, I…"
Unimpressed, Stephanie cut him off, "I wasn't talking to you Kid. If I was going to address you, I would say something along the lines of, hey arrogant, self absorbed, shallow, egotistical boy, what do you think?"
Enthralled by the heated exchange, Impulse, Wondergirl, and even Secret in the background roared in a chorus of, "OOOOOOOOOOO!!" egging on more insults. As they all knew him to be, Superboy was not one to be upstaged. Unsurprisingly, it was a trait the Spoiler and he shared.
Casually, Superboy replied, "Oh, I forgot, pinky over here has a thing for the boy wonder. Just remember Rob; you're supposed to get crabs during dinner, not the morning after."
Three of the four members of the crowd really got into it now as they raucously added a second, even larger, "OOOOOOOOOO!!" Unflustered, Spoiler quickly shot back, "You're just mad that the last action you got was with a "stranger" named left hand!"
The crowd erupted with Spoiler's remark, eliciting another mammoth, "OOOOOOOOO!!" with Impulse anxiously hopping up and down next to his cousin in rampant anticipation of Superboy's comeback. Contrary to her friends, Jenni Ognatz stood in stark confusion as to the unexpected turn of events. Mere minutes ago, she had assumed, or as she began to think, taken for granted a turgid bond of friendship between her teammates. Now however, the lauded companionship amongst two of her dearest friends was unraveling before her very eyes. Even more incomprehensible was the fact that her beloved cousin and two close friends were encouraging the implosion of the team.
Deeply confused, XS whispered to her cousin, "Why is it funny that they are saying such hurtful things to each other? Do they not like each other anymore?" Irked, in part that his cousin failed to see the beauty in 20th century culture, and also because she was obstructing his enjoyment of the battle, Impulse impatiently responded, "Duh. Are you serious? …Oh yeah, I forgot who I was talking to. They don't really mean what they're saying, they're just joking, you know."
"Oh," Jenni replied, still trying to grasp this rather nebulous concept, "…I think I understand. It is funny to pretend to hurt others!" Finding himself drifting into her realm of confusion, Impulse hesitatingly responded, "Kind of, well, not really, it's like, um, …look, just watch the two of them and enjoy, you'll pick it up over time."
With no desire to let down the electric audience, Superboy confidently leaned back, elevated his head, smiled, and began, "You know what I think…"
Piercingly interrupting Superboy, a familiar, though relatively unheard voice spoke, "I think it's time we get back to the Justice Cave." Robin, in a rare domineering tone, issued a direct order to his friends. "Aww, c'mon Rob, we were only messing around, right pinky?"
Stephanie answered, "What's wrong with you this time, wonder boy? Your red underwear on too tight again?" At her and Superboy's lackadaisical comments, Robin briskly shot a cold, condemning expression at Spoiler and the rest of the team. With that slashing stare, Robin debated if he should say what he really felt. He had their attention at last, and he knew he had to scold them for their reckless behavior. Not only that, but they were all so hideously proud of their actions, compounding his rage.
Still, a part of him hesitated. It truly pained him to rain on their fun. They were all having such a joyous time enjoying each others company, and the mere thought of berating his friends gave him the uncomfortable feeling of acting like Batman. He hated when Batman didn't trust him or questioned his methods. He admired Batman, he respected Batman, but he greatly feared becoming Batman.
Instead, Tim bottled his volcanic thoughts. Frigidly, Robin turned around and started walking. The six others, save one Bart Allen, fell in line and turned away from the city side wreckage. A certain auburn haired speedster had no intention of so willingly complying with the end of the afternoon's entertainment. Determined to reignite the fun, Impulse said just loudly for everyone to hear, "…yo' mama?"
Any other situation, any other time Superboy, Spoiler, and maybe even Robin would have given in to their brimming laughter, but alas, this was neither the time nor the place. Impulse's best efforts were met with the worst results, silence. Eventually, Wondergirl, subconsciously seizing the opportunity to vent her disappointment in herself, lashed out at her teammate, "Grow up, Impulse."
All together, yet strangely apart in many ways, the team embarked on their return to the Justice Cave.