Mount Justice

July 21th , 12:00 EDT

Black Canary opened her folder on Kid Flash, taking a nice, long read of him before beginning, just to test that infamously short patience of his.

Before she could even begin, he had already spoken up, "I know what we're here about."

"What is that?" she asked.

"We're here about Gojo," he said easily, "And what I think of him."

Canary grinned indulgently, "Actually, I'm here to get a sense of how you're doing, Wally. But if Gojo is the thing occupying your thoughts, why not talk about him?"

"What's there to say?" he asked, "He's a creep. Always smiling like he's in on some great big cosmic joke that no one else gets to hear, and he obviously doesn't have any respect for me or the rest of the team."

"Why do you think that?"

"During the Mister Twister fiasco, he came in and just…" Wally muttered, "Cleaned everything up by himself. He made it look easy. How is it our fault that his powers are so strong? Even Miss Martian's telekinesis doesn't compare."

"Why does that make him a creep?" Canary asked.

Wally's eyes widened, and then he furrowed his eyebrows as he gave his explanation, "He called us weak! To Red Tornado! Like they'll ever give us a mission now! We couldn't even tell him to stay put while we fixed things. Batman gave us one job, to watch over the guy and make sure he didn't do anything, and we failed at that too. And he asked Red Tornado for headpats! Who does that? And he's probably gonna creep Megan out with his weirdness."

Canary frowned pensively at that. "Has he not made any friendly gestures towards you or any of you on the team?"

000

"He tried to peptalk me into being a sociopath, like him," Superboy frowned, "I don't understand him, and I think it's on purpose. He's playing games I don't get, and it was my mistake to even engage him to begin with."

Canary hadn't expected Superboy to say much, but the boy clearly felt passionate about Gojo. Too bad that passion was almost entirely negative. The way Gojo had drawn him out from his shell of inarticulation was a great step ahead for the young Kryptonian, and yet he had casted himself as a villain. "What exactly did he say?"

"He told me to cut off everyone that disappoints me," Superboy said with a frown, "To be conceited and arrogant, because that's his way to be happy. Then he told me I reminded him of himself," he grimaced at that. "I have nothing in common with that guy."

Canary frowned in concern, "Did you consider that he might have been trying to bond with you?"

"He made it clear that he didn't respect me," Superboy said.

Was that how Gojo kindled friendships? Via challenge? He couldn't have picked a worse target than Superboy. "Why do you think he doesn't respect you, aside from what he has said?"

Superboy shrugged, "Does he respect anyone? He came from a world where he was the strongest, and he's not shy about going around saying that every chance he gets."

"And what do you think of his presence on the team?" Canary asked.

000

"He has been… a rather divisive element in this team," Kaldur revealed, "Though that is not entirely the fault of his own. Rather, it is what he represents to some of us that makes him… difficult to get along with."

"And what is that?" Canary asked curiously.

Kaldur gazed distantly, "Overwhelming power. Power that trivializes all our best efforts."

"You're not trivial," Canary reassured.

"With all due respect, ma'am," Kaldur said, "You haven't worked alongside Satoru Gojo yet."

"And what are your personal feelings on his character?" Canary asked.

000

"I think he's misunderstood," Megan said, looking down at the table pensively, "He's hurting. He just lost everyone he ever knew, and he's grasping for any sense of security. And because of that, he ends up… making things harder on others."

"What do you think should be done about that?" Black Canary asked.

Megan looked at Canary desperately, "I think we should be patient and give him space and understanding. And I know it's not always okay, what he does. I don't think he should have tried to pick a fight with Superboy. But I also think, there wasn't any other outcome, when Batman put him on the team while everyone else was so desperate for real work. He made a mistake."

"You think that Gojo's presence is a mistake?" Canary asked.

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"No! Argh, words are hard," she said, "It's not a mistake. It's the context that made things more difficult. Kid Flash and Robin were itching for work. Aqualad, too, even though he is the most mature of us. And Superboy, he's… young. Too young. He needs to tackle some issues first. And Sa-chan is a whole bundle of pain. I don't think Batman did a good job integrating him." She clenched her fists, and the slightest edge of anger cut through her concern. But she couldn't keep it up for very long. Her hands loosened and her concern returned instead. "It's even harder to deal with things because on Earth, people don't like mind reading very much. And I couldn't read Sa-chan's mind even if I wanted to. His power blocks out everything. It makes it impossible to reach him, even with words almost."

"Your concern is commendable," Canary said, giving Megan a warm smile.

"I just don't know what to do. He deserves better. We deserve better. It's so confusing. We're both hurting each other for no reason."

Canary sighed, "Oftentimes, being human means blindingly groping towards mutual understanding. That can always be reached, as long as you keep trying. Even if trying hurts."

"It does hurt," she said.

Canary was impressed with Megan's insight into the team. Even without telepathy, she could still accurately make out the stress points of all the team's relationships, and was able to judge impartially, not taking any single side.

Clearly, there was more than just a girlhood crush in the making motivating this benevolence. Martian empathy could be considered a superpower on its own.

"Why don't you tell me what you like about the team?" Canary asked.

000

"What's there to like? Robot oversight, League-mandated therapy sessions, and no missions ever?" Robin ranted, "I've had more work tailing Batman for three days than I've had in the last two weeks being a 'team'. Then the first assignment we get, babysitting mister strongest wizard in the demon-and-ghost world, we blow it to hell by needing to be bailed out by his arrogant ass, risking another Star City port incident. So you tell me, what really is there to like?"

"Have you looked hard for it?" Canary asked. "Are you maybe forgetting something? Like Kid Flash?"

Robin's surly expression eased up, and he cracked half a grin, "Hanging out with KF more regularly is fun, actually. And Kaldur's pretty cool, too. Though," his smile fell, "I wish we got Speedy onboard. Would have made things a lot easier. Gojo's… not gonna fit in. He's not right for the team. And I know where he comes from—he's a self-sabotaging weirdo who thinks that arrogance is gonna save him from his pain. Classic villain origin story, so I get why we have to watch him. But honestly…" he sighed, "I mean, it's early days, I guess. I can give it more time. You don't need to tell me that. Honestly, you don't need to tell me anything. I know what the deal here is and I'll tell you if I start feeling a little shaky. We haven't even had our first mission yet."

Canary grinned. The team had more in common with Gojo than they all really knew, in the end. Kid Flash and Robin shared his impatience and arrogance—talent, too. Aqualad shared a graveness and sense of responsibility that Canary could see shadows of in Gojo's attitude—hidden underneath layers and layers of jokes and sarcasm. Superboy shared a destiny of immense power, and background in being groomed as a weapon.

The only one that stood alone in this regard was Megan, who managed to keep a sanitized and broad perspective. There was something eminently special about her. Something that Batman had no-doubt noticed long ago and had accounted for in his team composition.

Canary grinned fondly at Robin. Each and every member had their own foibles and issues and heartbreaking come-up stories. Gojo, especially, was one child in need of lots of support in the coming days as Black Canary would do her best to dig through the muck of his gory childhood and guide him towards the understanding that he deserved better, generally.

They all did. A true success in her line of work would be talking all the kids down from being heroes and convincing them to live ordinary, safe lives. But that wasn't a fantasy that she spent much time focusing on.

At the very least, she could be certain about one thing. Though they were a mess at the moment, in the end…

The kids were going to be okay.