Chapter 25: Prime

Going back to a few minutes ago, Batman was briefing the rest of the sidekicks in the Hall of Justice regarding their role.

“As I know your mentors have told you, you will be joining a subdivision of the Justice League, the Young Justice. While the League operates in the light, your group will be responsible for recon, covert, and intel gathering missions. The League will be watching your every move. Once you are ready, then you will get to join the League.”

Batman spoke solemnly and didn’t sugarcoat anything.

The reason was simple. If this isn’t what they want, then they are free to leave.

Robin smiled as he already knew about this. He didn’t mind at all. For him, this is at least a development from the usual treatment.

“No problem Bats.”

“Sweet. I’m in!”

Kid Flash laughed, not really caring about the whole joining the Justice League thing. As he sees it, since his friends are joining, then he should join in on the fun too!

“Hmm, I suppose that’s acceptable. I’m not staying for long though. I’m joining the Real League soon enough.”

Speedy snorted but didn’t decline. This was still better than being treated as Green Arrow’s shadow all the time.

Kid Flash rolled his eyes at him.

“Oh yeah? Wanna race on it?”

“Heh, you may be fast, but not that fast.”

“Hey, just because you’re called Speedy, doesn’t mean you're faster than me.”

Kid Flash and Speedy started to glare at each other.

Seeing the two like that, Wonder Girl rolled her eyes at them.

“Boys.”

“I don’t understand what you mean? Are they not boys?”

Miss Martian tilted her head and didn’t understand what Wonder Girl meant. She had only recently interacted with humans shortly after her uncle, Martian Manhunter, had found her.

As a White Martian, she was afraid of revealing her identity to others so she had disguised herself as a Green Martian. Even so, she was still cautious with interacting with other people, afraid that she would slip up and reveal herself.

Kid Flash quickly changed focus and appeared beside Miss Martian in a flash.

“Baby, you know it.”

“???”

Wonder Girl facepalmed and sighed.

She knew firsthand how flirty this guys is, hitting on every women he sees. Naturally, as a beauty herself, she was once a target of Kd Flash too.

Well, it didn’t last long though. After trashing him a few times, Kid Flash had grown to fear her instead.

In his mind, he decided to include Amazons in the No Touch list…

Not minding any of them, Aqua Lad looked at Batman and nodded.

“I am fine with this arrangement as well.”

Batman nodded and turned around as he walked towards the Zeta tube.

“Follow me.”

With that, the rest of the gang looked at each other and no longer spoke. They all started to head in and followed after Batman in the Zeta tube.

[[Recognized, B-03: Robin]]

[[Recognized, B-04: Kid Flash]]

[[Recognized, B-05: Speedy]]

[[Recognized, B-06: Wonder Girl]]

[[Recognized, B-07: Aqua Lad]]

[[Recognized, B-08: Miss Martian]]

After passing through, Kid Flash looked at Speedy smugly.

“Heh, number 5.”

“...That doesn’t prove anything other than you’re childish, Kid Flash.”

“You-...!”

Robin sighed and waved the two off.

“Stop it, you two.”

He then turned to Batman and asked.

“The number started at 03. Who’s the other two?”

Batman fell silent as he also expected his little brother and the other two here...but they’re not.

Don’t tell me that kid is sleeping with those two as well…? I need to give that brat a piece of my mind.

Batman thought so and cleared his throat.

“...Before that, I need to explain to you all. While I do said that the League will be watching you, there will be someone here who will be responsible for supervising you and training you all.”

Speedy frowned at that.

“You may be thinking that we’re just kids, but do we really need a nanny?”

Wonder Girl crossed her arms, clearly dissatisfied as well. She was an Amazon. Since when do Amazons need a babysitter?

Kid Flash was pretty excited though.

“Who is it? Superman? Green Lantern? Is it Flash? If it is, then I’m not doing this anymore! I didn’t get away from him just so he can supervise me again!”

Aqua Lad and Miss Martian were silent. They didn’t really care if there was anyone watching over them. As long as their freedom isn’t too restricted, then anything else is fine.

On the other hand, Robin’s eyes sparkled.

“Is it him!? Batman! Is it him!?”

Batman showed a rare smile and nodded.

Robin shouted in excitement and raised his arms high.

“Yessss!!!”

While the others were confused as to who they were talking about, the Zeta tubes started to flash again and revealed two figures.

Unlike them, these two weren’t in their costumes and they also haven’t heard of them before.

[[Recognized, B-01: Raven]]

[[Recognized, B-02: Supergirl]]

Seeing the two beauties in fashionable clothes and even wearing sunglasses, Kid Flash’s eyes turned to hearts and was about to run towards them but thankfully, Batman was quick and grabbed him by the collar.

Then, another figure appeared from the Zeta tube.

[[Recognized, A-00: Prime]]

There revealed a man with a handsome face wearing casual clothes while holding onto a bunch of paper bags.

Hearing the name that called out, he let out a surprised tone.

“Oh? Prime huh? Damn Batman, you finally changed it!”

Batman chuckled.

“Heh, the last time was just a joke. After all, if I keep using that, my identity will be blown soon.”

Lucas laughed dryly and glared at Batman.

What joke!? Joker will surely be proud of you if he hears this!

Lucas sighed and looked at the others.

“Ah, sorry we’re a bit late. These two kept insisting on eating lunch in Paris…”

“...”

Rachel just rolled her eyes at him.

“You didn’t tell us that today’s the day.”

“Right. This is your fault.”

“...Give me a break, I kept telling you both!”

Dammit, how come these two are ganging up on me now? Don’t they hate each other?

Lucas sighed again and cleared his throat.

“Anyway. I suppose I should introduce myself...but I think that most of you know who I am anyway.”

Lucas dropped the bags and walked forward with a smile.

“Name’s Lucas Wayne. Now also known as Prime. I will be supervising you guys from now on. Providing training and missions to you all. Nice to meet you all.”

Everyone heard his introduction and had different reactions.

Robin was the most excited. He was finally going to be trained by his Uncle Luke! The very first Hero!

“This is going to be so awesome!!!”

Kid Flash had his jaw dropped to the ground.

“Lucas...Wayne!? As in...THE Lucas Wayne!? THAT Lucas Wayne!?”

Lucas laughed.

“Yep. The one and only.”

Speedy also snapped out of it and couldn’t help but doubt.

“But...I heard Lucas died in that fight against Darkseid?”

“Well, I was thrown out in the galaxy and was wandering around for 5 years. I only just got back about a week ago.”

Lucas shrugged as he expected this question.

Aqua Lad stepped forward and shook hands with him.

“It is a great honor to be able to work side by side by you, sir.”

“Don’t call me sir, it’s weird. Feel free to call me Lucas or just Luke. Ah, I guess in missions, you need to call me Prime.”

Miss Martian appeared confused.

“I apologize, I have not heard of your name in the past. I only arrived on Earth recently.”

“It’s fine. I’m sure you will get used to life on Earth soon.”

Lucas nodded and didn’t mind that Miss Martian didn’t know him. He originally wanted to say that she will fit in soon enough but that sentence sounded weird…

Finally, Wonder Girl came up at him and stared at him with stars in her eyes.

“Err…”

“Hi! I am Donna Troy! Also known as Wonder Girl! Diana has told me so much about you!”

“I-I see...umm, aren’t you too close?”

Lucas sweated. Donna’s eyes seem as if she wants to eat him right up…

Just what has Diana been telling her about me!?

Lucas thought and made sure to question Diana thoroughly tonight. En, she might not be able to speak properly though.

Suddenly, a figure came in between the two.

Kara glared at Donna while separating them.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Kara. Supergirl.”

“...Hoh?”

Kara seemed intent on using her full strength on their handshake but didn’t expect that Donna was also super strong…

Like that, the two held hands and silently glared at one another.

Lucas scratched his cheek and coughed.

“Ahem. I think you all know each other well enough. I’ll introduce these two.”

Lucas pointed at Kara first.

“Her name is Kara, she is a Kryptonian and also Superman’s cousin. About a week ago, she had arrived on Earth. For now, I am training her in using her powers so she would be able to control herself better.”

Next, Lucas pointed at Rachel who was quietly looking at the others behind his back.

“This one is Rachel. Don’t think she’s shy, she’s actually quite the demon- ah!?”

Lucas saw Rachel was pinching him and yelped in pain to satisfy her. Anyway, it didn’t really hurt…

“Ahem. Due to circumstances, she is also unable to control her powers. I’ll say this now, in this room, aside from me, she is the most powerful person here. If she loses control and I’m not here, then you can all just pray and wait to die.”

“...”

Everyone, including Batman, looked at me in surprise.

Kid Flash laughed dryly as he was still thinking of flirting with the girl.

“Ha...haha...it can’t be that exaggerated...right?”

“I’m serious. Her father is at the same level as Darkseid. And her potential is even greater than her father. Now you tell me if I am exaggerating or not?”

“...”

Batman frowned and looked at Rachel for a moment before turning to Lucas.

“Since you brought her here...can you take responsibility for her?”

Once he said that, the atmosphere suddenly became tense.

“Heh, you’re looking down on me bro. I wouldn’t invite her if I can’t stop her. Plus, what I said was simply her potential. Right now, she is still far from reaching that potential. As long as I guide her properly, she would be able to get stronger and control herself properly. By then, she will be a force we can count on when the time comes.”

Rachel blinked in surprise as this was also the first time she’s heard of her potential.

She looked at Lucas’ smiling face and didn’t know what to say.

Does he really have that much confidence in himself? Or is it...his trust in her?

Batman fell silent for a moment before nodding.

“Understood. Since you said that, I’ll believe you.”

Hearing that, Rachel sighed in relief. She was afraid that she’ll be causing trouble for Lucas for staying.

Now hearing what Lucas had said, and recalling how he told her she won’t be locked up, an indescribable feeling appeared in her heart.

She felt safe around Lucas and also felt secure. As if no matter what happens to her, Lucas will be there for her.

Lucas laughed and patted her head.

“That said, you can piss her off as much as you want. If she loses control, I’ll take care of it. She’s not exempt from bullying!”

“...”

As soon as he said that, a shadow appeared beneath Rachel and a huge black raven appeared behind her as she glared angrily at Lucas.

“Lucas…!”

“Ah!? Wait! Why are you hitting me!? You’re still in control, right!?”

“No. I’m not! I can’t control myself. Watch out~”

“Liar! You’re in full control! Ah!?”

Rachel ignored him and continued attacking while Lucas just ran away.

Seeing them like that, the others can’t help but worry.

...Are we really going to be okay?

Batman sighed and looked at the others.

“Anyway, though he is a bit too playful...you can count on him when it matters. He may not look like it, but he did drive Darkseid away by himself. He also defeated the whole Justice League by himself. For now, him being alive is a secret to the world and only a select few know he is alive. I trust you all know how to keep a secret.”

“Don’t worry bats, we know what to do.”

Robin smiled and assured Batman.

Batman nodded again and turned to leave.

“For now, get used to this place. This will serve as your headquarters for now. When there is a mission, Lucas will let you all know.”

Afterward, Batman left.

Robin and the others looked at each other for a moment. Finally, Kid Flash broke the silence.

“How to say this...I didn’t expect Lucas Wayne...the very first Hero...to act like a big brother from the neighborhood.”

“Yeah...I thought he’ll be overly serious like Batman and we’ll be forced into rigorous training or something....”

Speedy nodded as well.

Robin grinned.

“Heh, you don’t know Uncle Luke well! He is also a ladykiller!”

“Huh?”

Robin looked around and spoke in whispers.

“You see, the other day, I saw him with-”

“I see you’re into gossiping now, Robin. How about we start training now?”

“E-err, wait. Uncle Luke, I was just-”

Lucas didn’t care about him and started to drag him by the collar to the training room.

“Nooo! Help meee!!!”

“...”

The others saw Robin off with indifferent gazes. He had only dug his own grave, who told him to not shut his mouth?

Donna couldn’t help it so she continued where Robin left off.

“Actually, he had already slept with Wonder Woman, Mera, and Batgirl!”

“Wonder Girl! To the Training Room!”

“Yes!”

“...”

The others were surprised when they heard what Donna said.

Kid Flash started to grumble.

“Damn, I need to ask him how he did it!”

Speedy, Aqua Lad, Miss Martian, and Supergirl looked at him with half-closed eyes.

No, you need to at least be as handsome as him before you can even think something like that...

Supergirl no longer minded him and simply looked at Wonder Girl who was heading to the Training Room.

...Why does it feel like she is more excited than afraid of the training...?

Ah, is this what Lucas mentioned about Masochists? Un, I should tell Rachel. I think they will be good friends!

If Rachel knew what she was thinking, she would probably go crazy and release the demon inside her, laying waste to the whole world…