I did my stretches and began to skip on my feet, getting everything nice and loose, while Black Canary did much of the same. I tried not to get distracted by her as she did some rather impressive stretches.

I pushed my Six Eyes, absorbing her form with them, understanding every inch of her body at once. In a moment, all my sexual desire ceased as I entered battle mode, and saw her only as a sophisticated lump of flesh in need of a thorough dismantling.

She thought I was an overconfident teenager with delusions of grandeur. She thought I had anything in common with my 'teammates'. The thought was hilarious to me. I turned off my Limitless. Then I realized—she did say no powers. But my Six Eyes were undoubtedly a power. Uh. Maybe I would get my ass kicked after all. "Do you have a blindfold?" I asked her.

She raised an eyebrow, "You're that confident?"

"If you want to fight me with my eyes uncovered, it's your funeral," I chuckled. "But nothing gets passed these pretty blue eyes, Black Canary. You won't win this."

"I'm eager to see that," she said, "Are you ready?"

I snorted. Alright then, "Yes, teacher."

We ran up to each other. I threw a probing punch, avoiding her grapple with ease and taking a step back. She threw several strikes which I weaved past like they were nothing, and then I grabbed her arm, broke her balance, and used the force of her strike to throw her over my head and on the ground. She bounced ignobly on the hard light surface on the floor.

Black Canary didn't stay down for even a second, even as the computer announced her KO. She rolled out from her back and on her feet like water, fluid and controlled, and before I could blink, her hands were raised. I could see her eyes narrow as she assessed me, her stance tightening just slightly. I had to admit, the way she moved was impressive.

"Nice move," she said, not sounding the least bit shaken. "Now that I know you're good for it, I'll stop holding back."

I grinned at her, "Please do."

We circled each other, her steps light and precise. I threw another punch, aiming low, but she sidestepped just enough to graze past my fist, shifting her weight and aiming a quick jab at my ribs. I twisted, feeling the sharp sting of her knuckles as her punch connected.

Not bad, I thought. She was fast and close—too close for me to get another clean throw in. I tried to sidestep to regain some distance, but she was already on me, pressing forward with a combination of strikes. I blocked one, dodged another, but she was relentless, her fists coming at different angles with impressive speed.

When I saw an opening, I stepped in, aiming to grab her wrist again. But she twisted just as my fingers brushed her arm, slipping out of my grasp and sliding around behind me. Before I knew it, her arm was around my neck in a solid chokehold, and her knee pressed into the back of my leg, forcing me to my knees.

"Still so confident?" she murmured with a hint of a smile, her voice right by my ear.

I grinned, twisting sharply and breaking her hold, but just barely. "Come on," I panted, "This all you got?"

She smirked and sprang back, giving me a moment to catch my breath. I could see the glint of respect in her eyes—she was impressed, but not about to let up. She charged again, this time staying low, aiming a kick toward my side. I blocked it, but the force of her strike nearly threw me off balance. She wasn't holding back anymore.

In a flash, I shot forward, grabbing her arm to throw her, but she ducked and used my momentum to hook her leg around mine, sending us both tumbling to the floor. We grappled, rolling across the hard-light surface as I tried to pin her, but she was slippery, always moving just out of reach. For every move I made, she had a counter, her experience showing in every quick adjustment and well-placed strike.

Finally, I managed to lock her arm, twisting to pin her shoulders down. She pushed back against me, her strength surprising, but I held on. "Give up yet?" I asked.

"Not even close," she shot back.

With a burst of strength, she shifted her weight, bringing her legs up and hooking them around my shoulders. Before I knew it, she'd flipped me over, and were it not for some last-minute movements that I made, I would have landed on my back and not my hands and feet. She stood over my bowed form, hands on her hips, smirking down at me.

"Had enough?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Not down yet," I grinned, throwing myself at her again.

And on it went. I used everything Six Eyes could tell me, teasing out every ounce of my bodily control. Working without Cursed Energy was a fun and unique challenge, but I wouldn't go down just like that. That would only prove to her that I was Junior League material, and I wasn't.

I was stronger than her. Stronger than most of the League. She needed to see that.

Finally, after minutes of intense back-and-forth striking and grappling, I put her on the floor, hand pressed to her back and my other hand holding her arm, twisting it to the edge of her rather impressive flexibility.

The computer projected a hologram of defeat.

"Interesting," she groaned as she got up to her feet and looked up at me, "That extrasensory perception of yours is sharp. You've trained."

Of course I have. Why wouldn't I? "I'm sorry teacher. You don't have anything to teach me. Should I get a blindfold?"

"There's no point in that," she said with a shrug, "When I said 'no powers', I meant your telekinetic abilities. If your eyes are always on, then it doesn't matter. Let's do two more rounds."

We did.

I didn't hold back.

Neither did she. She was like a cockroach, or an octopus. Very difficult to stamp down, very difficult to hold or catch as well. I could see why they had made her a superhero. She was good, by all accounts. Perhaps that was a superpower of hers, preternatural skill in hand-to-hand combat?

Too bad I had my own superpower. We fought for around ten minutes on both rounds. The first round took three, and due to the resulting exhaustion of not using Cursed Energy, the next round had stretched into seven to eight minutes while Black Canary took advantage of my burgeoning exhaustion and lacking stamina.

I needed to correct that at some point. No way I was going to let poor cardio be the end of me. Ideally, I'd never again be caught lacking by a super-strength bastard with a knack for tricks and cheats.

I still managed to put her down, both times. They were hard-won victories, and I didn't know whether to be angry at my own poor showing or impressed at Black Canary's boundless skill.

"Impressive," She said, getting up. "Especially considering you're even more effective in long range."

I gave her a cocky grin, "I'm effective in all ranges." Even short-range. I could have splatter her with a cursed energy-imbued strike if I wanted, and her fragile body would have had no way to endure it.

"Now, for defensive maneuvers. Computer, activate projectile resistance program, level four."

She stepped out of the way and I reactivated Infinity. The computer began to generate almost a dozen orbs made of white light.

"Beginning in five, four, three, two, one."

The orbs shot at me. I stopped them.

"Nothing gets through, teacher," I said over my shoulder. "You can go up to level one hundred if you'd like."

"This unit doesn't go that far," she said, "Computer, level ten, please." This time, the projectiles had tripled in number. "These are also far faster. As fast as bullets. Are you still confident?"

"Ah, bullets, my only weakness," I said with a chuckle, "Yes, I'm confident. Run it."

They were fast, but not faster than the perception granted to me by the Six Eyes. When I really focused, they became rather slow.

As expected, they were caught in my extended field of Infinity, widened to accommodate more projectiles.

A moment later, they disappeared.

"Any limits on speed?" Black Canary asked.

"No, my eyes could easily follow them," I said, "You can go faster if you'd like. It doesn't matter anyway. Nothing gets past Infinity unless it was specifically made to cancel out a cursed technique. And nothing in this universe should have that power."

"Computer. Level twenty."

This time, I was almost surrounded by a semi-circle of hundreds of floating orbs.

The computer counted down and then they shot off. They were almost twice as fast as the last orbs, but ultimately, still very easy to keep up with. And none of them came close to getting past Limitless.

Then from right behind me, Canary threw a—ball bearing. I caught it in my hand. Then, I turned around and grinned at her, "Nothing gets past my Six Eyes either, Black Canary. I can still see you even if I am turned around."

"Hm," she hummed, clearly impressed. "Do you need to be conscious of an incoming proectile for Infinity to work? That's why I tried that."

"No," I said, "As long as it's up, anything that approaches me will be slowed to a near-stop."

"Hm. Computer, level thirty."

And on it went, until level fifty, which this unit capped out on. In that one, I was surrounded by a dome of hard light orbs that moved unpredictably, and even when they were caught in my Limitless, they tried their best to pry themselves out, yet failed.

Their trajectories and unpredictability didn't matter to me. As long as I had Infinity, I was protected.

"Alright, time for evasive maneuvers," Canary said, "Computer, level one. Don't use your… Limitless for this one. Just avoid the balls."

I shrugged, pulling Infinity closer to my skin, but not turning it off, just in case. One orb formed before me, and shot towards me. I dodged easily. I didn't even have to use Cursed Energy to do so. This was purely within human capabilities. "What level is the edge of human ability?" I asked her.

"Batman can clear level fifteen by just dodging," Canary said.

"Level sixteen, then," I said. "I still have Infinity on, so I won't get hurt, but I will do my best to avoid."

"Computer, record and report if the hard light balls have been manipulated by Gojo's telekinesis."

"Acknowledged," the computer said, "Shall I set to level sixteen?"

"Yes."

The computer started counting down as orbs began to form in front of me, almost thirty in number. They began to shoot at me in staggered sets. I pumped Cursed Energy through my body. My eyes brushed upon every projectile and I easily weaved through them.

"Level complete," the computer announced, freezing the balls in the air.

"What about fifty?" Canary asked.

"Bring it on," I grinned.

This time, I really had to push myself, pumping Cursed Energy through my body and accelerating every aspect of my physical strength to keep up with my Six Eyes. It was fun, too!

And on level fifty, the balls curved right back to try and hit me as well, meaning it wasn't just about dodging individual balls, but figuring out where to move so that I wouldn't get checkmated by the collective movements of the balls forcing me in an awkward position.

Near the end, they almost did, and I had to execute a precise jump, positioning my body nearly horizontally, arms and legs spread to avoid the balls.

Unfortunately, I couldn't land on my feet, and I had to use Blue to right myself in time. Not that it violated the rules of the game, since I wasn't using the neutral Limitless to stop any of the balls.

A few seconds afterwards, and the round finally ended.

"You have super speed," Black Canary observed. "And flight."

"And super strength," I said with a grin. "Cursed energy is a very versatile power, but even then, I am exceptional. Surely, Batman must have told you I was the strongest person in my world."

"He may have mentioned a thing or two," Black Canary smiled. "Still, it's impressive. You are very impressive, Satoru Gojo."

I chuckled, "I know, I know."

"I would like to test this super strength later on, but for now, I want to continue with more defense testing, this time with elemental threats."

Black Canary moved on to other drills using elemental projectiles—bolts of lightning, balls of fire, explosions, beams of freezing. None of it came through. Of course it wouldn't. The lasers were the only thing to come even a centimeter close to my skin, but in the end, Infinity was Infinity, and this light could not penetrate that unfathomably large distance.

Then, finally, Black Canary showed me her own superpowers. A super scream.

My ears felt a moment of pure agony until I unconsciously filtered soundwaves out via Limitless, achieving relief only a moment later.

Canary saw my wince and stopped, "Did that get through?"

"The sound got through," I said, "That felt uncomfortable. Like someone screaming into my ear. I filtered it before any damage could be done."

I needed to get on programming Limitless fast. There was no telling what the freaks of this world could do.

"Makes sense—you can't filter out all sound, or you wouldn't be able to hear anything. Likewise, if I pointed a laser pointer directly in your pupil, that would probably hurt you, wouldn't it?"

Regretfully, I nodded, "There are ways to reduce this problem. I am not the first to have my combination of powers, meaning I have a user's manual. Soon, I should be able to program my Infinity field to detect threats and automatically adjust as needed."

"Interesting power," she said. "Let's move on."

000

I was already doing civilian evacuation drills before she came, and I liked to think I had gotten rather good at it. I could carry around almost fifty people without causing any serious damage to them, and I could also do that while blocking hits with Limitless and taking out opponents with Blue—not Red, though. If I used Red, I would just kill most of my enemies.

I didn't even think to use Purple on anything. Clearly, that one would be reserved for especially powerful robots, or villains that the Justice League didn't mind me killing. Not that that was very likely.

Over the course of a few hours, I did see Aqualad and Superboy appear for brief moments to watch me train, before leaving without so much as a 'hello'.

We moved on to strength training later on. With maximum cursed energy output, my strikes clocked in at about 30,000 joules per punch. To put that in perspective, each punch carried roughly the energy of seven sticks of dynamite. Not bad, though that kind of direct, brute-force output was a little too crude for my tastes.

When it came to measuring the energy output of Red, I finally saw something more satisfying. The computer had me use it against the same hard light wall I'd struck before, which managed to withstand the impact somehow. But the reading showed that Red unleashed a solid 800,000 joules per strike — about the energy released by two hundred sticks of dynamite, or the equivalent of several large artillery shells. It was easily enough to demolish an entire building, that was for sure.

"How hard can Superman hit?" I asked.

"Superman's metrics are classified," Black Canary said with an apologetic shrug, "But I will say, way harder."

I frowned. "I can hit harder," I said.

"The cave's equipment isn't rated for harder hits," Black Canary said, "You already managed to almost drain the power core with your Red. In fact, we will have to wait a bit before using the hard light projector."

I sighed, "So weak."

"May I ask why you call it Red?" she asked, "And why you call the telekinetic grab 'Blue'?"

"You may ask," I grinned at her.

She raised an eyebrow at me, slightly impatiently.

Okay, she didn't want to play my games.

"Cursed techniques are visible to me, because I have cursed energy. Such is the case for almost all cursed techniques. But for people like you who have no cursed energy, it is all invisible. Even cursed spirits are invisible. Which is why our world of jujutsu is secret. That, and because, if the world knew about us jujutsushi, they would be so afraid that their negative energy would increase, and create even more cursed spirits. How annoying, right?"

"So in your eyes, Blue is blue, and Red is red? What about Infinity?"

"My Infinity is only visible to me," I said, "Because I can see Cursed Energy with my powerful eyes. But for the average jujutsushi, they see nothing, same as you."

"Thank you," she said, "You've been very forthcoming about your powers."

I chuckled at her, "You think I did it for free? When you reveal how your cursed technique works against an opponent, it becomes stronger. Now that I have told you this much, you will never stand a chance against me."

She raised an eyebrow, "Interesting. Why does this happen?"

"Cursed energy reacts to risk," I explained, "If I supplemented my techniques with gestures and incantations, then I would become even stronger, but it becomes easier to react to my techniques."

"So if you tell people how your powers work, that puts you at greater risk of being countered, so your technique grows stronger as a result," she said with a pensive frown.

"Exactly! Alright, teacher, what's next?"

"Can you block light from reaching everything but your eyes with Limitless?" she asked.

I tried. It was… hard, but only as hard as blocking out telepathic waves was. In her view, I became a pitch black void in reality. Everything except for my pupils were shrouded in pure darkness, as though I was a black hole that ate all light and reflected none.

I wondered if I could perhaps curve the path of light around me and become fully invisible instead. Why not? Limitless gave me the power to bend space as desired, creating gravitational phenomena as a result. I focused intently and finally—

I turned invisible to Black Canary. Except for my pupils, they still needed light. Her eyes widened at that, and she turned her head to look at me from another angle, and then her eyes flattened into neutrality, "Nifty, but I can still see you."

"I know," I said with a grin, "But I gave this my first try. I'm sure I can master it in time." I released my impromptu cloak and spread my arms. "Ta-da!" Black Canary shook her head in amusement.

"Impressive," she said, "The reason I asked this was because of the stealth applications that this power might have. As I told you, the team will be mostly focused on covert operations. That means that while your Red and Blue are probably not the best fit, you do indeed shine in other areas, which I want you to focus more on."

"Of course, of course," I said with a laugh, "I am perfect at it either way. Nothing is difficult for me, least of all hiding. I just don't have the practice because I have never needed to hide before in my life. Why should the strongest ever hide?"

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

"Subtlety has its place in hero work," she said, "Even Superman can't do what the Batman can, and he provides vital work for the League via stealth."

I rolled my eyes, "Sure, sure. I will perfect the stealth cloak soon enough. I assume you also want me to fight with my strength instead of throwing around Blue and Red. Boring, but I can do that too." It would be a fun challenge, if anything. Not that it would slow me down any. If Robin could be a hero at twelve years old, jumping around with acrobatics, then I could easily do the same without even imbuing my body with cursed energy.

"That's all for today, Gojo. Thank you," she said, giving me a respectful nod, "We will meet again tomorrow, this time discussing costumes."

Hah! Costumes.

"You find costumes funny," she said, folding her arms and smiling.

"No, not at all! I love Superman's cape and the underwear he wears over his pants."

She chuckled, "You don't have to wear a costume if you don't like it. We won't force you."

"That's too bad, I think I would look great in a skintight suit," I chuckled, taking on a hero-pose, legs spread and arms on my hips. "Alright then, see you tomorrow."

"Red Tornado will give you a mobile phone and a personal computer that will connect us in case of anything," Black Canary said. "Until then, enjoy your evening. Try to make friends."

"You know my rule," I told her. "No weakling friends."

"Try to reconsider that rule," she said before turning around and heading for the Zeta tube. "Until next time."

"Bye-bye," she said.

000

It was apparently three o' clock once I got off from Black Canary's battery of tests. I took another shower and got changed to a different set of non-descript sweatpants and hoodie. After finding Red Tornado and getting the electronics, I asked to use the Zeta tube. The robot gave me the clearance to do so, and I used it to visit Gotham City.

The Zeta tube spat me out from mount justice to a phone booth in an abandoned corner of the city, and I immediately latched onto the numerous ideas I had on how to do this myself.

I realized, with a start, that I had never even considered incorporating Red into spatial transportation, even though I now had access to it and its ability to create a divergent infinity—far more energetic. That propulsive potential, combined with Blue's attractive force and ability to pinch space, would allow me to do crazy things.

I put a pin on that for later—also vowing to use the technique on an inanimate object before deciding to fling myself through space time.

With practice, I would be able to get to my home dimension with ease. Then I could put all of this behind me like a bad memory.

Gotham was… kind of ugly, at least the neighborhood I had appeared in. I didn't expect to encounter much crime in my wandering, but I was itching to go to a city and see the sights, and also use my money on better clothes and a nice pair of sunglasses tinted to my satisfaction.

And also eat some good food. Maybe fill up on some desserts and ice cream?

I first went to go get a burger in a place that sold them. It was… greasy food. Made me feel tired after eating it. But it tasted great. After that, I went and had some ice cream at an ice cream store, taking a walk around the city to find a clothing store with clothes worthy of my body.

I could look good in anything, honestly, but I was itching to get a nicer shirt at least, something more fitting for summer.

I bought several button-ups, short and long-sleeved (though I was planning on folding up the sleeves on the latter), in varying colors of white, blue and black. I bought myself several black slacks as well, and some white shorts.

Shoes were a must. I bought several pairs of shoes, white and black sneakers, and a pair of black leather shoes in case I wanted to feel fancier.

Finally, I got myself a few wrist-watches and a nice pair of round sunglasses at maximum tint. The shopkeeper didn't have anything stronger, which forced me to put in a custom order for this model of glasses, only tinted to the point that anyone else couldn't be able to see through them. The man didn't ask any questions, thankfully.

With all that done, I ordered myself some food from a place that sold 'Shawarma'. It was clearly middle-eastern, and the smell made me really want to try some. It was a giant slab of meat that was cooked from the edges, and then shaved down with a long knife into strips that were then wrapped in flatbread along with a bunch of raw vegetables and sauce. Ingenious.

I ordered six.

By the time I was back in the cave, I was down three thousand dollars, but up by a great amount in terms of clothes and knowledge.

"Recognized: Satoru Gojo, B-07," just as the light from the Zeta tube cleared, I saw a couple of the team playing air hockey with the hard light computer—Kid Flash, Robin and Aqualad.

"Hey!" I shouted indignantly, "How come you only do fun stuff when I am away?"

"Because we don't like you," Kid Flash said.

I pouted, "Alright then, no shawarma for you."

Kid Flash looked at me in shock, "Wait, you brought food?"

I put my paper bags filled with down and brought the plastic bag filled with wraps wrapped in aluminium foil to the air hockey table. I threw one at Robin, and Aqualad—they both caught them.

Then I took one for myself and looked at the game. "I've never played air hockey before. Can I try?"

Aqualad looked at the wrap mysteriously, "How does this taste?"

"I have no idea," I replied honestly, unwrapping the foil and taking a big bite from the top.

The answer was: it tasted good. "So goooood!" I gushed, slipping into Japanese accidentally. Robin looked the wrap over.

"It's not poisoned, is it?" Robin asked.

I laughed, "Why would I need poison to kill any of you?"

Aqualad shrugged, "If it is, I'm largely immune anyhow." He took a bite and his eyebrows furrowed, "Complex," He said, mouth full, "Interesting."

Robin shrugged and started digging into his.

"…Do you have more?" Kid Flash asked shawarmalessly.

"That depends," I said, my own mouth full as I grinned and Kid Flash, "Are you sorry?"

Kid Flash looked between Robin and Aqualad for support, but I had bought their loyalty with food already.

"Fine," he growled, "I'm sorry. That was mean. Can I have a wrap now?"

I lifted a wrap out from the bag next to me with Blue and tossed it over to him. He caught it easily and dug into it with gusto.

In the meanwhile, I used Blue to carry my bags to my room.

"You went shopping," Robin said.

"Yeah," I grinned, "Batman gave me some money," then I frowned, "It was supposed to be more, but he didn't like that I was so mean to you." A thousand dollars a month. That sucked. And I had spent three so quickly! This country was seriously expensive. Maybe I should see if the Zeta tube could take me to Tokyo instead? Still, there wasn't much I could get for that much a month.

I should definitely look at keeping myself fed by going to Tokyo every day, though. The nightmare of unseasoned rice and meat still hadn't left my mind. Yuck.

Kid Flash snorted, "Serves you right," he said, his mouth full.

Aqualad took a step back from the air hockey table. "You can have this round with Robin while I eat."

I finished up my wrap, having eaten at a much faster rate than he, and took his place while Robin summoned a hard light plate next to him to keep the food.

The game was pretty simple, so I didn't pay much attention to it, instead just talking, "I didn't know the computer had these options," I said.

"It can do pretty much anything if you get the right security clearance," Robin said.

"Clearance we're not supposed to have," Kid Flash said.

"You hacked it?" I asked, grinning.

"A little," he said, slamming his handheld thingie against the puck, sending it flying at a straight line for my goal. I let him score, just to give him the incentive to continue playing.

"Nice," I said.

"You know," Robin said, "Gotham has much better Shawarma places if you know where to look."

I didn't say that I had come from Gotham. How did he know? Ah, he was the detective's stepson, wasn't he? Impressive. "Obviously, I don't," I said with a grin, "I am a tourist in this world."

"Why didn't you go to Tokyo?" he asked me.

"Because I wanted to get kidnapped by the Penguin or the Joker," I said with a grin, "Why would I not go to a city I have only read of in comic books?"

"Gotham's not a joke, you know," Kid Flash said to me sourly. "Neither is the Joker."

"The Joker is not a joke?" I asked, shocked. "Is that not his whole thing?"

"Ha ha," Kid Flash said, but Robin did smile at that.

"I mean, you walked into that one," Robin said to Kid Flash.

Superboy walked in and I threw him a shawarma wrapped in foil with Blue. He caught it and looked at it. Then at me.

I wondered if he would throw it away or step on it.

Instead, he approached the table and unwrapped the foil.

"Why doesn't he have to say sorry?" Kid Flash asked sourly, "For upsetting the great Satoru Gojo?"

"Because I kind of like him," I said, "Kind of."

Superboy then spoke to me, "I gave some thoughts to what you said."

"And?"

"I think you need mental help," he said gruffly before taking a large bite out of his shawarma.

Oh please. Mental help needs me.

"I already had a session with Black Canary," I said with a grin, "She did not say I needed it." Not exactly.

"Why would she say that you need mental help?" Robin said with a chuckle. "I mean, it's her job, so she'd want to give it to you, of course."

I looked at Superboy with a raised eyebrow, "Do you think you don't need it?"

He gave a half grin, "I think what I need and what you need are miles apart."

I laughed. "Good answer. Want to play after I beat Robin?"

"Uh, sure," he shrugged.

"I'm up three points!" Robin said.

I laughed. Without even looking at the game, I slammed the puck so hard that Robin didn't have any time to position his hand thing, scoring me a goal instantly.

"Luck," Robin groused.

The next two goals proved that wasn't the case.

Robin angrily grabbed his shawarma from the floating hard light plate and stepped back. Superboy took his place and put his wrap on the plate. Then we started playing. "You know," he said, "Hearing you train all night long is really distracting. Do you ever give it a break?"

What the…? "How can I help that you have super hearing?" I asked.

"Why do you do it?" he asked, "Doesn't it get boring?"

"How can it be boring when I'm getting stronger?" I asked, "And I need to be stronger so I can travel back where I'm from."

He groaned and shrugged, "Whatever."

"I wouldn't get in his way," Kid Flash said, "I do hope you can figure it out as quickly as possible."

I looked at him with a grin, "Maybe I should drag my feet a little bit, see the sights before I go home?"

Kid Flash frowned, "I thought you said you were needed where you came from?"

"They can wait—I'm on vacation after all," I said, "No cursed spirits. Just funny villains with funny names."

"Please," Kid Flash scoffed, "How bad were those "cursed spirits" anyway?" he made air-quotes with his fingers.

"They were the stuff of your nightmares, Kid Flash," I said with a grin, "Someone like you would not even be able to see them with your eyes. They could kill you before you would ever even notice. That is, if you are lucky. Usually, they take their time to really enjoy the suffering of their victims before ending their lives. They are made of negative energy, after all. The more fear and hatred humanity feels, the stronger cursed spirits get." I shrugged, "Not that I really have to worry—I have never been threatened by a cursed spirit in my life. They are all the same to me."

"You really think it's magic you're doing, huh?" Kid Flash asked. "And that these curses are born from 'human negativity'."

I blinked, "I mean, yes. I should know how my world works better than you."

"It's all the same if you live in a universe with constant laws," he said, "Then there is no room for magic. Just science and phenomena you can't explain yet."

I snorted, "Nerd."

"And proud of it," he said, arms folded, and mouth covered in shawarma juice. "I got my powers because I recreated the Flash's science experiment."

Now he was just boring me.

"Maa, where is Megan-chan?" I said, looking around.

"In her room," Superboy said.

"Haven't seen her all of today," I said with a sigh. "I miss her."

"Back off," Kid Flash said. I looked up and regarded him with a stunned smile, "She probably wants nothing to do with you."

"Aw!" I swooned, "Are you in love with our Miss Martian, Kid Flash?" Superboy paused the game to raise an eyebrow at Kid Flash, who gaped and wrestled for words. Before he could reach them, I continued, "She can read minds, can she not? Doesn't that mean she already knows?" My grin widened, "And if she does know, Kid-chan, don't you think if she liked you back, she would have said something yet?"

"Yeah? What do you know anyway?" he spat, "You just arrived in this world. You have no idea how things work!"

I laughed. "I don't think things are that different, Kid-chan."

"Lay off him," Robin said to me plaintively.

"What?" I asked, "He started it! And I finished it! And I will do it again and again until he learns his lesson."

And now I knew an excellent way to rile Kid Flash up. Playing with the jealousy of inadequate boys was just so much fun!

"Gojo," Aqualad sighed, "And Kid Flash. This needs to stop. Here."

Kid Flash glared at me, "What? He's the creep who just came in and can't help but insult us all the time!"

"I didn't insult you today before you started things, did I?" I asked.

Kid Flash's glare died down in intensity, "No, but yesterday—"

"I talked to Batman already," I said. "And is it my fault that—"

"Stop it," Aqualad commanded, "Both of you. Now."

I raised my hands in surrender, "If he doesn't talk to me, I won't talk to him. Can we do that, Kid Flash?" I suppressed my grin, however. He would have no choice but to talk to me at some point as I would keep making moves on Megan.

"Fine," he said.

"That's…" Aqualad hesitated, "That's not what I wanted to propose. I would rather you two get along than keep silent. We are teammates. We need to learn better communication."

"I know, I know," I said to Aqualad, trying to appear contrite, "But if we don't talk to each other for a while, then maybe when it is mission time, we will forget our problems and communicate more properly?"

"Sounds like a horrible idea," Robin said. "I can't be the only one thinking that, can I? Superboy?"

Superboy shrugged, "Honestly, it sounds like a plan. I might even do that myself."

I pouted, "I thought we had a connection, Superboy."

"You thought wrong."

Hah. Whatever.

For being a bunch of heroes, they sure were quick to judge.

So far, Superboy had been only a single goal away from beating me while I hadn't scored a single goal myself yet. I decided to catch up then, spending as little effort as possible getting a goal each and every time while Superboy raced to keep up with my pucks. Once the game was over and I had won, he frowned at me. Then said nothing as he stepped aside.

"Alright, alright," I said, backing up as well, my hands raised, "I know when I'm not wanted. I will just go to my room and cry for a bit. Good night, team."

Then with that, I turned to leave, with the final wrap meant for Megan floating behind me.

Those kids were such mouthy weaklings. Incredible, really.

000

Aqualad watched Satoru Gojo leave, back hunched over, wearing a hangdog expression as a plastic bag floated behind him.

"Finally," Kid Flash gave a gasp of relief. "I never thought he'd leave."

"Dude," Robin said, "Can't you chill a bit? He was being pretty normal just now."

"Normal?" Kid Flash asked.

"He brought us food when he didn't have to, played with us evenly even though he could have just beaten us instantly every time," Robin listed off, "He probably was trying to say sorry for yesterday, you know? In his own… weird way."

"Sorry? He made me apologize!"

"He was trying," Robin maintained.

Aqualad had to agree, "You also antagonized him first."

"I wouldn't waste my sympathy on him," Superboy said, "He views us as beneath him. He said as much to me this morning. He doesn't respect us."

…It was hard trying to defend Gojo. He clearly didn't want to be defended, or modify his behavior to better fit in. But he had brought them all food. And he hadn't risen to any of Superboy's provocations, not like yesterday.

That talk with Batman must have really worked.

"Yeah," Robin shrugged, "But what he says and what he does aren't the same thing. Look, the guy clearly has a screw loose—"

"Ya think?" Kid Flash asked.

"But you can't say that he's not making an effort," Robin said. "Even if, deep down, he has an ego the size of Rhode Island. And besides, we should probably cut him some slack. We barely know anything about him, but we do know that he pretty much lost everyone he ever loved with no guarantee that he could ever make it back."

"He doesn't seem upset," Superboy said. "And if he is, he's really good at hiding it. But that's got nothing to do with me. I don't want to be his friend, I don't want to get to know him. He stays out of my way and I stay out of his."

"Oh, so now you're taking the 'bigger man' route," Kid Flash said. "You wanted to beat the crap out of him just yesterday."

"Still do," he said. "But I've got bigger things to worry about than him anyway."

Kid Flash snorted. "Whatever. I won't talk to him anyway. I bet he's the one who's going to talk to me first. Guy can't ever shut up!"

"Look at it this way," Aqualad said, "If our team can't be coherent, then Batman won't send us on any missions. If only for the sake of having work to do, why won't you just bury the hatchet?"

Kid Flash scoffed, "I get it. That's why I won't talk to him, unless it's mission time. See? Easy."

Aqualad shook his head. This team would never meet Batman's approval.