CHAPTER 96
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[David Lance POV]
The days went by, and my talk with Batman still hovered over my head, to the point I knew Raven was aware that something was wrong, but respecting my privacy as she normally does, wasn't asking.
"When are we gonna go out for missions?" Superboy asked, arms crossed as he leaned against a wall.
~Soon, at least according to Batman,~ I replied, not at all worried about missions right now. As a newly formed team, we needed to focus on building synergy between us before actually going out. Otherwise, we were destined to fail.
Superboy nodded.
[B-04: Kid Flash. B-03: Aqualad. B-02: Robin.]
So they finally decided to visit.
~Don't worry, Superboy, soon enough, you will be punching bad guys to the hospital,~ I added, with a smile under my mask. Making Superboy smile ever so lightly, finding my comment funny.
"Bolty, you're gonna have to speak up if we're gonna understand you," At this, I turned to see Kid Flash leaning against a wall, a challenging smirk on his face.
"You want to die?" Superboy asked, a frown on his face as he looked at Kid Flash, who, upon hearing the young Kryptonian, was taken aback by his words. "If he speaks in your general direction, there would be no remains to bury. I honestly fail to see why you want to see him talk with that being that case."
"It was a joke, and besides, I can dodge whatever Bolty here has to offer," Kid Flash scoffed, winking at Raven and M'gann. Raven ignoring him, and M'gann shifting uncomfortably at his casanova wannabe attempts.
"I was led to believe your maximum speed was around 720MPH," Raven said with an even tone. "Black Bolt's voice moves faster than that. Mathematically speaking, you can't dodge whatever he throws at you."
Kid Flash frowned before smiling at her. "Babe, you don't know how fast I can truly go when motivated."
Oh god, I think I puke a little bit inside my mouth.
"First of all, not your babe, not now, not ever, not even with brain damage. Second, you should really re-check your material, or you will only be the fastest at being rejected." Raven replied, with a deadpan in place.
Holy fuck Raven.
"Speedy was right about you," Kid Flash muttered under his breath. As Aqualad and Robin appeared behind him.
~Or you are truly out of place, one of the two, don't you think?~ I signed, as Superboy translated for me, much to my surprise.
"What?" Kid Flash said, glaring first at Superboy and then at me after the former pointed at me.
~This is a Superhero team, not a social gathering,~ I said, as Superboy continued translating for me. ~Any pursuit within the team is by all means, unacceptable, at least during work hours. During your free time, you are free to do as you please as long as both parties are okay with said interaction, and by free time I mean after you take your costume out and go home.~
"And who are you to tell me that?" Kid Flash scoffed. "Outside Gothic babe, I haven't heard any complaints."
I sighed, rubbing my temples. ~Aqualad, in the Atlantean army, how would your superiors treat Kid Flash's attitude toward his female teammates?~
"Well... Under Article 48, there are serious penalties for sexual misconduct of any kind. All service members convicted of sexual assault or harassment will face a dishonorable discharge or a bad conduct discharge accompanying the forfeiture of all pay, allowances, and veteran benefits," Aqualad replied like a soldier answering to his superior, making Kid Flash flinch. "Seeing as Kid Flash's approach when it comes to Miss Martian and Raven enters the lowest category of misconduct under Article 48, he would be discharged without pay for making his female fellow soldiers uncomfortable."
~Thank you, Aqualad,~ I nodded, turning my attention back to Kid Flash. ~As team leader, I will not tolerate any kind of harassment. Raven already made clear her dislike over your attempts, so cease before I am forced to kick you out of the team."
Kid Flash flinched once again. "Miss Martian hasn't said anything."
Really, that was his argument? I honestly feel like I'm talking with a brick wall.
"Because she's too nice to voice any hurtful opinions," Raven said, making M'gann freeze on the spot.
~Be that as it may, I won't tolerate this any longer. You will behave while interacting with the team, or you will leave the team,~ I said, making Raven smile ever so slightly. ~If outside team hours, you happen to ignite any kind of spark with any of your teammates, females or males, that's up to the two of you. However, during team hours, you will behave with the utmost respect, am I clear?~
"I could just walk out," Kid Flash growled.
~Be my guest,~ I nodded, pointing at the door. ~If you don't want to confront your problems, I won't force you, but I won't deal with them. Is your life and your calls; you make them, so if walking out feels best for you, go ahead.~
Kid Flash froze in place.
"He's not being unreasonable. Batman would've kicked you out of the team already," Robin said, finally adding some words to the conversation. "All you need to do, is keep your non-existent sex appeal locked during team hours; that's not a lot to ask, is it?"
Kid Flash sighed. "Fine... I apologize if my behavior made anyone uncomfortable."
I could tell he didn't mean his apology; I knew that in his mind, he thought he was right, that he wasn't crossing any lines. For now, though, it was a step in the right direction.
"It's... okay," Miss Martian said. "Just... Well, we don't know each other at all, so it feels weird..."
"Disgusting you mean," Raven said, without even giving Kid Flash a look.
~Very well,~ I nodded. ~With that out of the way, let's go to the training room to show what we can do in order to better work on our synergy. Aqualad, you will supervise with me; your input will be most helpful.~