Chapter 53: The News.

More advance chapters on P@treon.com/Saintbarbido.

(Jon's P.O.V)

Robin and I sat on a log beside the Bio-Ship, letting the cool evening air wash over us as Aqualad and the others finished handing over the rescued scientists to the Interpol agents. He'd contacted them prior to the mission, which was a relief. We couldn't trust the Bialyan authorities—not with Queen Bee in power. It was good to know Kaldur had thought that far ahead.

"Our Atlantean best friend makes a good leader," Robin muttered from my side.

"Yup," I agreed. "It's good to know the Team is in safe hands. At least for now."

Rob turned to me with a raised brow.

"Oh, come on," I said, rolling my eyes. "It's obvious Kaldur is only holding the position for you until you're ready."

"Kent, I have no idea what you're talking about," he replied, puffing out his chest in an imperious tone. "But I acquiesce that I would make a pretty whelming team leader. At least in my humble opinion."

We shared a laugh, and for a moment, it felt like old times.

All in all, The Brain's operation had been dismantled. He and Mallah were secured, and it was another victory for the team.

As we prepared to leave, Supergirl stopped me at the entrance of the Bio-Ship.

"Miss Wrecking Ball," Robin greeted.

"Keep moving, bird boy, or get wrecked," Kara growled, leaning against the hatch with her arms crossed.

"Not very nice, Auntie," I said, then sighed at myself. "Then again, when have you ever been?"

She smirked. "Exactly. Anyway, what took you so long to make it back to the ship? Your little girlfriend was beginning to get restless."

"Her name's Raven. Be a little more respectful," I urged as she followed me into the cabin, the hatch closing behind us. "And to answer your question, the animals and I were bonding."

After the rescue, there had been one large issue to address: what to do about The Brain's experiments. Gorillas, elephants, tigers, even a white wolf—all twisted by Kobra-Venom and controlled by neural collars that forced them into mindless aggression. With The Brain captured, I refused to leave them like that. They weren't weapons. They weren't experiments. They were victims. And I had the power to help.

So, as the others secured The Brain and Mallah, I had knelt beside the most affected creatures, placing my hands against their fur and scales, feeling the corrupted energy that ran through them. With the collars gone—Connor had used his new laser vision to deal with that—they had calmed. Some even met my gaze with something close to recognition, as if they knew I was trying to help.

I closed my eyes, tapping into their bodies with my Ki—not to destroy, not to harm, but to reverse. Ki wasn't just physical energy. It was balance. And if The Brain's venom had twisted them into something unnatural, then I would guide them back to what they were before. To what they were meant to be.

The hot red glow of Weasel's Ki signature spread from my palms, sinking into the mutated creatures, unraveling the mutations at their core. One animal after another, the unnatural enhancements faded. Fur and skin knitted, their muscles relaxed, their anger softened, and their eyes cleared of the forced rage.

All except for one.

A magnificent white wolf—its eyes glinting with almost human-like intelligence—had stood apart from the others, still carrying remnants of the serum. Before I could fix him, Powerboy stepped between us, resting a hand on the massive wolf's head.

"I'm keeping him," he said, grinning. "I think he likes me."

The wolf gave a low, approving growl, pressing against Powerboy's side. I guess there were some things not even my presence in this world could change.

I sighed, shaking my head. "Fine. But you're cleaning up after him."

Now, watching Connor idly scratch the wolf—whom he unironically named Wolf—behind the ears as we flew back, I knew I had made the right call. The jungle would heal, and the animals would return to what they were in due time. Our part was to make sure the ones responsible were punished accordingly.

As we soared through the night, I spun around in my chair to face our captives, already skimming their thoughts for useful information. The Brain's pod sat fuming on Mallah's shoulder, his mechanical casing whirring as he processed his failure.

"This will not stand," he seethed. "The Light will punish you children! C'est une promesse, pas une menace. Vous allez regretter d'avoir croisé notre chemin!" (Translation:-"This is a promise, not a threat. You will regret crossing our path!")

I smirked, switching to broken French just to annoy him. "Ah, oui, mon petit cerveau. Très petit. Ne pas comprendre." (Translation: "Ah, yes, my little brain. Very small. Not understand.")

Amidst the Team's laughter, The Brain's face plate twitched in irritation. "Do not mock me!"

I leaned back switching to a serious look. "If the Light comes for us, all the better. It'll save me the time it would take to look for your little evil club. Either way, you'll all reunite in Belle Reve soon. Think of it as a very uncomfortable family gathering."

A smile worked its way onto my face. "And thanks to using my Jedi mind tricks on your brain, The Brain, I know when and where the next meeting is taking place."

Mallah growled, his restraints straining in response to The Brain's rage-filled rant, but I wagged a finger. "Ah, ah. Big guy should stay put unless he wants a reminder of why he's in cuffs."

The cracking of Powerboy's knuckles cowed the gorilla.

Raven rolled her eyes. "You're enjoying this too much."

"Evil geniuses bring out the best in me," I admitted with a grin. "I just can't help but be... inspired."

The Brain's synthetic voice dripped with venom. "You underestimate us, you meddlesome children. This isn't over. The Brain will not forget."

I leaned in slightly, grinning wider. "Oh, I'm counting on it. But while you're in your cell, try not to think about how 'meddlesome children' outsmarted you."

("Now, if you don't mind, M'gann, how about giving these lovebirds some privacy.")

In response to my mental request, the Bio-Ship formed a wall around the captives, cutting off the string of French insults midway.

I turned around and found everyone staring at me. "What?"

"Dude, I meant it when I said I was glad you were back, but now I really, really double mean it," Wally said, flashing me a thumbs-up.

"Too bad he's still leaving the team," Artemis reminded him.

"Oh. Bummer. Still not taking it back," Wally shrugged.

"I guess what everyone is trying to say, Superboy, especially after this mission, is that we have no problem with a second team," Aqualad told me with a rare smile.

A smile that was reflected on everyone's face.

"You guys..." I choked up, refusing to use Oneness to center my emotions. Say what you will, but no amount of power could replace my bond with these people. With my friends.

"We always have your back, Jon. Always," Robin said, patting my back.

"Thank you," I said, looking up. The gratitude was heartfelt because it was a sign of their acceptance and of regaining lost trust.

"Please let me join you guys!" Shazam, who had been so quiet throughout the mission that everyone had almost forgotten about him, blurted out. A look of nervous excitement was on his face.

"We're full, sorry," Robin said, dashing his hopes.

"But... I hear someone else is hiring," Boy Wonder added with a mischievous grin sent my way.

"If you're completely honest with us, then I'll think about it—" No sooner had I said that than—

"SHAZAM!" Shazam yelled.

Reacting in milliseconds, I used my link with the Bio-Ship to create a hole in the roof as a bolt of magical lightning tore in from the sky. Gone was the form of a Greek god, and in his place was a boy a few years younger than us.

"H-Hello, everyone. I'm Billy. Billy Batson."

After some stern warnings to Billy for his reckless behavior, we made it back to base. There, we found the entire Justice League waiting for us. After the mission debriefing, they broke the news: seven members, including Dad, were preparing to leave for space, responding to the Guardians of Oa's call about Apokolips. The rest would stay back to handle the increasing number of threats rising on Earth.

The den mother would still be Red Tornado, but the supervisor and mission handler would no longer be Batman—it would be Black Canary. It was telling that no one argued.

They asked the Team to be on standby to help out when needed and then left with The Brain and Mallah.

Afterward, my mind wasn't on the League leaving—or rather, I didn't want to think about it. Fortunately, I had something else to focus on.

Raven had decided she wasn't going back to Themyscira and wanted to live with me—at least until we found new members.