Chapter Title: Hall of Justice
Gotham City
July 4, 12:00 EDT
In the heart of the city was a park. Boasting sprawling greenery and carefully manicured landscapes, towering trees with their branches stretching towards the sky offering shade and seclusion, paths meandering through the park lined with ornate and vintage lamp posts, and at the center of it all, a small pond where a local population of ducks made their home.
The park usually boasts a big visitation rate since it offers a nice reprieve from the hustle and bustle of the city, but with it being the Fourth of July, the park was packed. Families picnicking and barbecuing, enjoying the warmth of summer, and celebrating Independence Day.
But this nice scene of tranquility was not destined to last.
"Ahh!" yelled a group of people as they ran away, confusing those who did not know what was happening.
VOOM VOOM
A blue beam swept over some terrain, causing the ground to be frozen over. Another sweep of the beam hit two people escaping, encasing them in blocks of ice. With each sweep, more and more people were being turned into blocks of ice.
On a rock platform next to the pond, the blue beam swept over the top of it, creating chunks of ice and dropping the temperature. Then, a figure appeared wearing a black and blue cryogenic suit with a sleek but simple design, with various hoses and pipes throughout, while wielding a large futuristic gun of sorts. His head was encased in a transparent helmet-like dome, showing the pale blue-skinned face of the man beneath it.
The family that happened to be barbecuing next to the rock platform huddled together in fear, recognizing the man to be the villain Mr. Freeze, a Gotham City staple.
"Enjoying family time?" said Mr. Freeze, with his raspy smoker-like voice, as he pointed the cryo-gun at them and froze them, "My family has other plans."
Mr. Freeze then slid down the ice ramp created by freezing the family, landing back on the ground, and charging his cryo-gun to freeze more people.
Before he could freeze more people, a flying object hit the barrel of the cryo-gun, catching him off guard and knocking his aim off course.
"Batman, I was wondering when..." said Mr. Freeze, turning in the direction from which the flying objects came, but seeing nothing.
"Hahaha." echoed a young laugh while Mr. Freeze looked around for his foe as a figure jumped off the rock platform, catching Mr. Freeze's attention.
The figure landed on Mr. Freeze's helmet, jumping off of it with the force from the landing and the jump being enough to knock Mr. Freeze down. When the figure landed on the ground, he threw two objects at Mr. Freeze's helmet, cracking it.
"Oh. Boy Wonder." said Mr. Freeze, seeing that it was not Batman but his sidekick who had arrived to thwart him as he stood back up, "The Bat sent you to drag me off to prison? Frankly, I'm underwhelmed."
"Great. But I'm kind of in a hurry here." said Robin, an impatient look on his face.
"Kids. Always in such a rush." said Mr. Freeze with a smirk.
"Not talking to you." said Robin with his own smirk, causing Mr. Freeze to turn around and see a figure in the air with a gray, round shield on his left arm.
As the figure descended on him with the shield at the ready, Mr. Freeze's eyes widened in surprise before being hit straight on by the shield, breaking his helmet and knocking him unconscious.
The figure was none other than Max, who was going by Arsenal and had been joining Batman and Robin on their outings for the past month. He was dressed in a black and grey outfit with a black hood and mask, looking like a very generic template of a hero. The outfit also had a black and white ring that served as Max's logo/symbol. The outfit was just a temporary placeholder for Max while he came up with something that he liked.
"Nice job, you two." said Batman from atop the rock platform before jumping down and walking up to Mr. Freeze with cuffs.
"Yeah, yeah. Can we go? We're going to be late." said Robin, impatiently.
"We're an hour away by plane." said Max, "Less on the Batplane."
"Yeah, but I've been waiting for this day forever! I don't want to be a second late!" said Robin before turning to Max, "Why aren't you more excited? This is the big leagues!"
"I've only been doing this hero thing for a month now, more or less. I never thought I'd be here, so anything more than this is already a bonus. Besides, I haven't been waiting for this forever like you and the other three." said Max, as calm as always.
"Okay, let's go." said Batman as the Batplane hovered above them with ropes coming down for them to board.
"Yes! Whoo-hoo! Finally!" said Robin as they all boarded the Batplane and took off to Washington, D.C., where the Hall of Justice was located.
~
Washington, D.C.
July 4, 14:00 EDT
The Hall of Justice was a modern architectural marvel, combining sleek lines and futuristic elements with classic motifs, reminiscent of traditional government buildings. The exterior of the Hall features a towering, domed structure with gleaming white marble.
In front of the Hall, across the small pond, stood Batman, Robin, and Max, all three of whom were staring at the Hall.
"Awesome." said Robin as he took in the Hall.
"Nice." said Max.
"Oh, looks like we're not the first ones here." said a deep and regal voice.
The three turned their heads to see who it was and saw it was Aquaman and his sidekick Aqualad, both in their hero outfits.
"Aquaman." said Batman, nodding at him, which Aquaman similarly returned before turning to look at Max.
"This must be your newest protege, Arsenal. Nice to meet you, son." he said, hand outstretched for a handshake, one that Max returned.
"Nice to meet you, Aquaman. Big fan of your ocean conservation efforts." said Max.
"Most people would be fans of my hero work." said Aquaman, an eyebrow raised in curiosity.
"I'm a fan of that too, but I think taking care of the planet is also important."
"Haha, thank you." he said before gesturing to Aqualad, "This is Aqualad, my protege."
"Nice to meet you. Arsenal, but just call me Max." he said, shaking hands with Aqualad.
"It is nice to meet you as well. I am Kaldur'ahm, but call me Kaldur." said Kaldur.
As they waited for the others, the two adults talked while the three teens talked. Robin and Kaldur were already friends, and Max was quick to become his as well. Max quickly discovered that Kaldur seemed to be the calm and cool-headed type, something he recently learned came from a troubled past.
'Troubled pasts seem to be a common thing in this line of work.' thought Max before focusing on the conversation at hand.
After a few minutes, Green Arrow and Speedy arrived, with Max being introduced to them. He found Green Arrow to be funny, while he found Speedy to be hot-headed and impatient, but still he talked with him.
WHOOSH WHOOSH
"Oh, man. I knew we'd be the last ones here." said Kid Flash, who appeared with Flash.
"Whoa, new guy." said Kid Flash, appearing next to Max, "Kid Flash. Call me Wally."
"Arsenal. Call me Max."
"Alright, you guys can chat some more inside. Let's go." said Flash.
"Sweet!" said Wally, fist-pumping.
The group then went to the Hall of Justice, bypassing the crowd of tourists outside, hoping to look at some heroes.
"Is that Batman?"
"Who's that next to Robin?"
"New guy. Started with Batman like a month ago."
"Oh, my goodness. I see Flash and Flash Jr."
"His name's Speedy. Duh."
"No, Speedy's Green Arrow's sidekick.
"Well, that makes no sense."
Hearing that comment made Max grin a little, earning him a little side-eye from Speedy, surprising Max since his mask was still on.
"Ready to see the inner sanctum?" asked Green Arrow.
"Born that way." said Speedy with a confident smile.
"I'm glad we're all here." said Kaldur.
"Have all four sidekicks ever been in the same place at the same time?" asked Wally.
"Don't call us sidekicks. Not after today." said Speedy, emphatically, clearly not a fan of the word sidekick.
"And there are five of us." said Robin.
"Oh, right. Sorry. First time at the hall. I'm a little overwhelmed." said Wally, looking at Max with an apologetic look.
"Don't worry about it." said Max, not taking offense at Wally forgetting him.
"And why are you overwhelmed? Mr. Freeze was underwhelmed. Why isn't anyone just whelmed?" asked Robin as they entered the Hall of Justice and laid eyes on the seven massive statues of the founders of the Justice League.
"Oh. Maybe that's why." he said as they looked in awe at the statues, having stopped in front of a pair of doors that said "Authorized Personnel Only."
The next moment, the doors slid open, revealing two other League members, Red Tornado and Martian Manhunter.
"Robin, Speedy, Aqualad, Kid Flash, Arsenal. Welcome." said Martian Manhunter before turning around and walking into the hallway while the group followed him, "You now have unlimited access to the gym, our fully-stocked galley, and of course, our library."
The hallway led to the library, which was a giant room with bookshelves stocked with books lining the walls and comfortable-looking chairs everywhere, a big screen with three smaller screens and some instrument panels, and a statue of Lady Justice overlooking the whole thing.
"Make yourselves at home." said Flash.
With those words, Max, Robin, Kaldur, and Wally all sat down in the comfortable-looking chairs, while Speedy stayed standing. The adults, on the other hand, grouped up.
"Quick debrief to discuss the coincidence of four ice villains attacking on the same day. We shouldn't be long." said Batman before turning around to face a pair of doors that read "Justice League Members Only."
A camera popped out of the ceiling and scanned each of the League members, calling out their designations before the doors opened.
"That's it?! You promised us a real look inside, not a glorified backstage pass." said Speedy, angrily.
"It's a first step. You've been granted access that few others get." replied Aquaman.
"Oh, really?" said Speedy, gesturing to the ceiling where glass windows showed tourists taking pictures, "Who cares which side of the glass we're on?!"
"Roy, you just need to be patient." said Green Arrow.
"What I need is respect." said Speedy, turning around to look at the other four, "They're treating us like kids! Worse, like sidekicks! We deserve better than this!"
Hearing that, the four just glanced at each other before looking back at Speedy.
"You're kidding, right? You're playing their game? Why?! Today was supposed to be the day!" he said, angrily gesturing, "Step one in becoming full-fledged members of the League."
"Well, sure. But I thought step one was a tour of the H.Q." said Wally.
"Except the hall isn't the League's real H.Q." said Speedy, causing everyone's eyes to widen in surprise, "I bet they never told you. It's a false front for tourists and a pit stop for catching Zeta Beam teleporter tubes to the real thing, an orbiting satellite called the Watchtower."
Green Arrow turned around to look at Batman, who crossed his arms.
"I know, I know. But I thought maybe we could make an exception." said Green Arrow while Batman's eyes narrowed, "Or not."
"You are not helping your cause here, son. Stand down, or..." said Aquaman, stepping forward.
"Or what? You'll send me to my room? And I'm not your son! I'm not even his. I thought I was his partner. But not anymore." said Speedy, looking at Green Arrow and sounding a little hurt before grabbing his cap and throwing it down on the ground, surprising the four sidekicks.
"Guess they're right about you four. You're not ready." said Speedy as he walked past the four, with Robin, Kaldur, and Wally standing up, before continuing to walk and exiting the hall, leaving everyone in silence.
BEEP BEEP
Hearing the beeping from the computer, everyone turned to see Superman appear on the screen.
"Superman to Justice League. There's been an explosion at Project Cadmus. It's on fire." he said.
"I've had my suspicions about Cadmus. This may present the perfect opportunity to..." said Batman, approaching the computer with the rest of the League members. But before he could finish.
"Zatara to Justice League. The sorcerer Wotan is using the Amulet of Aten to blot out the sun. Requesting full League response." said Zatara, who appeared on the corner of the screen.
"Superman?" asked Batman.
"It's a small fire. Local authorities have it under control." he responded.
"Then Cadmus can wait." decided Batman, pressing one of the buttons on the control panel, "All Leaguers rendezvous at Zatara's coordinates. Batman out."
At those words, the League members started to move back towards the doors while the four sidekicks walked up to Batman.
"Stay put." he said.
"What? Why?" asked Robin.
"This is a League mission." said Aquaman.
"You're not trained." said Flash.
"Since when?" asked Wally.
"I meant you're not trained to work as part of this team." Flash rebutted.
"There will be other missions. When you're ready." said Aquaman.
"But for now, stay put." said Batman, putting a lot of emphasis on the latter part before walking away with Aquaman and Flash while Green Arrow and Martian Manhunter trailed them.
With all the League members entering through the open doors, they shut behind them, showing the words "Justice League Members Only" as if to mock the four sidekicks.
"Ugh. When we're ready? How are we ever supposed to be ready when they treat us like... like sidekicks." said Wally.
"My mentor. My king. I thought he trusted me." said Kaldur, sounding a little betrayed.
"Trust? They don't even trust us with the basics. They've got a secret H.Q. In space." said Wally, gesturing with his arms to the sky.
"What else aren't they telling us?" asked Kaldur.
"I have a better question. Why didn't we leave with Speedy?" said Wally, causing the group to fall silent.
"What do you think, Max?" asked Robin.
"Not my place." he said.
"Why? You're a sidekick too." said Wally.
"But not for as long as you guys have. You guys have a level of trust with your mentors that I don't have. It must sting to know they don't trust you. To me, it's just a given. I mean, we're kids, they can't tell us everything." said Max.
"So we have to show them we're not kids." said Kaldur, "What is Project Cadmus?"
"Don't know. But I can find out." said Robin, smirking at Kaldur's question and understanding what he wanted to do.
Robin then walked up to the computer and started typing away at the keyboard.
"Access Denied."
"Heh. Wanna bet?" he said before continuing to type and causing a bunch of code to appear on the computer screen.
"Whoa. How are you doing that?" asked Wally.
"Same system as the Batcave."
"Access Granted." said the computer before a picture of a building appeared on the screen.
"All right, Project Cadmus. Genetics lab here in D.C. That's all there is. But if Batman's suspicious, maybe we should investigate." said Robin.
"Solve their case before they do. It would be poetic justice. And it would show we're not kids." said Kaldur, making Max realize that even though he was calm, he was still a teenager who could behave impulsively.
"Hey, heh, they're all about justice." said Robin.
"But they said stay put." said Max, trying to be the voice of reason.
"For the blotting-out-the-sun mission, not this." Robin rebutted.
"Wait, are...? Are you going to Cadmus? Because if you're going, I'm going." said Wally before the three of them turned to look at Max.
"Fine, let's go." he said, relenting, knowing that they would go with or without him.