Leadership [Young Justice]

One

"It will take longer than a day to reach a verdict. You knew that when he announced he would be leaving."

Mal was the only one to hear Garth's quick message. The Atlantean was too impatient to wait for him to call Batgirl or even Black Canary, who was still in the gym with Tigress, Rocket, and Zatanna. 

Guardian was going to have a picnic telling this to the team at their next weekly meeting. They used to only meet for missions, or just casually hang out, but as the League's new chairman, Black Canary was stressing the importance of team unity, and thought that meeting on a regular basis would help the team to bond and support each other in the wake of everything that had happened. 

Not one to argue with authority, Aqualad had done as instructed. That submissiveness was going to get Kaldur killed someday, and with the attitude of the Atlanteans he had handed himself over to, that day could be very, very soon.

"I hate bureaucracy," Mal grunted. His helmet felt like it was squeezing his head, so he finally took it off and held it under his arm.

Garth placed a hand on Mal's shoulder. "It was his choice, my friend. None of us could have held him back if we tried."

Mal grinned dryly at the ex-team member. "Not even the Tempest?"

Garth shook his head. "Not even that."

Both men were quiet for a moment, and then Mal realized where Garth was looking.

"Do you want to see...see her?" He asked carefully. He didn't want to invoke the power of the Tempest. "The garden is really nice, and I personally think it's better than that dark, tiny grotto, but I dunno, I guess she might have liked the water down there more, and she did know the cave better than the Watchtower but now that's gone kablooie, so-"

"There is no need to ramble, my friend," Garth interrupted Mal's nervous tirade. "It has been long enough, and I swim past her memorial at the conservatory every day. I doubt what your surface science could conjure could disturb me more than Atlantean magics."

"Well, I'm glad." Mal headed for the zeta-tubes. Karen'd had to call in another rain check for their date, so he stayed at the watchtower later than he meant, but maybe there was some lasagna in the fridge he could eat while he finished his work for his online course. 

Garth interrupted him again. 

"Would you...come with me?"

Mal put on a smile. "Sure thing." He set his plans aside, and lead Garth to the memorial garden.

"How is the team?" Garth asked.

Mal thought, searching for the right world.

"Some days, I just can't tell. Some days I look at those kids and think about how happy and carefree they are, and other days I wonder how they're still alive."

"And Artemis?" Garth asked. He was fully aware, from Kaldur of course, of the loss of their first speedster.

"Recovered, somewhat. Karen'll find her crying sometimes, but ten minutes later she'll be laughing with Garfield along with the rest of them."

They took a right down the stairs.

"You have a new team member though, if I remember correctly."

Mal chuckled softly. "Static. Virgil. He's probably the most sane of us on the team, but that's just because he's new. He was captured by the Reach during the invasion, and got some electricity powers. He and his friends had their own thing for a while, carried Arsenal off with them, but the others got out of the game when they saw just how dangerous it was. Virgil either doesn't care, or doesn't understand."

"Which would you rather it be?" Garth's question made Mal stop in his tracks.

"I don't know."

The two made it to the holo-statues. Past Ted Kord, past Wally, past the Robin who's name Mal would never get to know. They stopped at Tula.

Garth smiled at the fierce look on her face.

"I was wrong to doubt. Your memorial to her is most impressive." Garth said.

"Well, I can't take the credit for it."  Mal mumbled.

"Is Virgil your only new team member?" Garth asked, "Kaldur spoke of several amateur heroes popping up."

"For now, he's the only newbie," Mal rubbed the back of his neck. "That's what Black Canary's talking with Zee and the girls about, there's a whole bunch of meta-teens showing up in these last few months, and Batman wants to keep an eye on all of them.

Garth smiled, but there was emptiness in his eyes. "Well, with your team looking out for them, I am certain that nothing can go wrong."

"Yeah," Mal smiled briefly as Garth walked back to the zeta tubes, and he held his face in his hand.

"Nothing can go wrong." He repeated.

ANGST.

Also I'm contemplating bringing in a seventeen-year-old Cyborg in along with Solstice and Traci