Leon stood a little apart from the rest of the group, his back leaning against the wall as the others laughed and talked around the new arrival. The room was full of energy—heroes bonding, names being exchanged, jokes being thrown across the space. Still, he found himself detached from it all, his thoughts drifting elsewhere.
*Honestly,* he mused with a sigh, eyes narrowing slightly as he watched the newcomer animatedly chatting with the others. " When I first saw Miss Martian in the show, I really liked her. That bubbly attitude, her kindness, the way she carried herself—it all seemed so genuine. She was the heart of the team back then. But later seasons really… did her dirty. Who would've thought that same cheerful girl would end up lobotomizing villains, tearing through their minds like that? "
He rubbed the back of his neck and exhaled sharply. The memory of those storylines still annoyed him.
*And the whole thing with Superboy… man, that was painful to watch. First, the perfect couple, the sweet chemistry, the shared innocence. Then suddenly, conflict, manipulation, heartbreak. She starts going too far with her powers, Conner calls her out on it, and it all falls apart. Next thing you know, she's dating Lagoon Boy—from the same team no less! And she's kissing him in front of Conner? Seriously? That's just messed up.*
A weary chuckle escaped him. *Damn, she turned out nasty. Should I try to interfere before it goes down that route? Maybe stop them from getting together at all? But… it looks like they're already giving each other those goo-goo eyes.* He glanced across the room where Miss Martian and Superboy shared an awkward yet soft look, the beginning of something fragile.
*Too late probably. Still… maybe I could help guide her a little. Teach her restraint before things spiral out of control. But… ugh, the whole act of innocence while doing so much damage—it's maddening. No one would suspect someone like her could manipulate Conner's feelings that deeply. And after all she did to him, he just forgave her like that, like nothing happened. Not even a year later, bam—they're back together. Dude... have some self-respect. I get it, you missed that Martiandussy, but come on, bro. Hold your ground for once.*
Leon groaned softly and pressed his fingers to his temples. *Just thinking about it is giving me a headache.*
A soft tap on his shoulder snapped him out of his rambling thoughts. He turned to find Raven standing there, her violet eyes calm but laced with faint concern.
"Everything alright, Rae?"he asked with a half-smile, trying to downplay the storm of frustration still circling in his mind.
Her gaze lingered on him for a moment longer before she spoke. "I can feel your distress," she said quietly. "You seem… uneasy. Do you dislike her?"
He blinked, slightly taken aback by her perceptiveness, then chuckled lightly. "Haah… It's nothing. I was just thinking about this new team of ours."
Raven nodded slowly, though her expression remained thoughtful. "They're good people, from what I can tell. Good hearts, good intentions. Maybe give them a chance, Leo. They might surprise you yet."
He looked at her—truly looked at her—and a small, genuine smile tugged at his lips. "Maybe… maybe you're right," he murmured.
For a brief moment, the tension in his chest seemed to ease. The sound of laughter from the others grew louder, drawing both their attention back to the team regrouping around the couches.
Across the room, Kid Flash was already whispering dramatically to Miss Martian, one hand half-covering his mouth as if that could muffle him from the rest of the group. "And those two lovebirds right there," he said, jerking his thumb toward Leon and Raven, "that's Silver-Knight and Raven. P.S.—don't stick too close to them unless you *really* wanna get swamped by waves of PDA."
The whisper failed spectacularly; everyone heard him.
Raven slowly turned her head toward him with a glare so icy it could have frozen hell itself. Kid Flash yelped, ducking instantly behind Robin for cover. "Abort mission!" he whispered hoarsely, earning only an unimpressed look from Robin.
Meanwhile, Miss Martian—standing a few feet away—tilted her head slightly before stepping closer to Leon and Raven, her expression bright and open. "Nice to meet you two!" she exclaimed, her voice ringing with genuine enthusiasm. "Ohhh, I'm so happy there's another girl on the team!"
Before Raven could react, Miss Martian grabbed hold of her hands and began bouncing lightly on her feet, her green face beaming. "Oh, and call me Megan—that's my human name!"
Raven exhaled softly, the faintest twitch of a smirk ghosting across her lips as she resigned herself to the contact. Meanwhile, Leon crossed his arms and almost chuckled at the sight. The contrast between Raven's calm stoicism and M'gann's effervescent energy was… something else.
"She may still be salvageable," Leon muttered under his breath. "But we'll have to see how this all goes."
It was then that a sudden echo resonated softly in everyone's minds—a cheerful voice that wasn't spoken aloud but heard internally. *Hi, everyone!*
Leon stiffened, already sensing what was about to happen. He turned his head just in time to see Superboy tense, his fists clenching as an irritated growl escaped him.
"Get out of my head!" he snapped, his voice sharp as he turned on Miss Martian. The room fell into a heavy silence. Everyone froze—the earlier warmth replaced by awkward tension.
Without another word, Superboy turned and stalked out of the lounge, leaving behind only the fading echo of his footsteps.
Miss Martian stood frozen, her sunny expression faltering as guilt fluttered across her features. She looked down, embarrassed, rubbing her arm nervously. The others exchanged uneasy glances, unsure how to bridge the sudden gap left by his departure.
Leon sighed softly, shaking his head. "And there we go," he muttered under his breath, the corner of his lip lifting in resigned frustration.
Kid Flash awkwardly cleared his throat. "Sooo… maybe an icebreaker game next?" he offered weakly.
Raven rolled her eyes, arms crossing once again. Leon could almost hear her mental groan. Still, even amid the awkwardness, something about this disjointed, chaotic group gave him a flicker of hope. Perhaps with time, they could truly become a team—if they managed not to kill each other first.
" It's alright ... Let him cool down first I'll go talk to him later, It's not your fault M'gann he.... went through some stuff .." Leon states then,
Aqualad, " Things are different around here, Your powers here are an extreme invasion of privacy "
Kid-Flash " Plus our encounter with The Genomorphs gave us and mostly Superboy some bad taste ".
Leon: " Since you didn't know it's fine for the first offence but please understand people here can't speak to each other through their minds so they might feel abit angry...
But it's alright nobody will blame you for your mistake so relax M'gann and... about Superboy let me handle it alright. " Leon says to her with a smile of understanding, to which M'gann simply nods not knowing what to do so she trusts Leon to help patch things up." Please tell him I'm sorry I didn't know "
Leon nods then walks out the lounge as well.
He let out a long breath and finally stepped out the room on his search. Raven gave him a small nod, Then Leon left searching for Superboy, while walking ahead he thought Maybe Raven was right. Maybe they all deserved the chance to show who they really were—beyond first impressions, beyond expectations, beyond what the *show* had made them.
***