"So, Jake do you want to give us your thoughts as the League is almost certainly going to chew us out for leaving the peace summit just after we dealt with a couple of villains, and we hadn't even captured the so-called mastermind of the assassinations in Ra's al Ghul?" Wally asked after we all got into the Bioship and began the couple-hour trip back to the US.
"He has plenty of good reasons, right?" Galatea leapt to my defense seemingly almost completely on my side but either way, I nodded to Wally's request.
"It's simple... I have noticed the villains we have been fighting have been entirely too... Focused on their goals. no longer does it seem they are working towards their own petty goals as much, instead they seem to be moving towards some grander purpose." I explained bringing forward a general outline of the Light. "Hence I believe some if not more than a couple of villains are working together for some kind of grand plan. One that will bring us no end to the trouble, and I would swear upon my very life that Luthor, and Ra's al Ghul, staged the whole damned series of assassinations so Luthor could bring his influence into Rhelasia."
"You can only be so paranoid that..." Before Wally could decry my words Robin cut him off.
"Actually Wally, Batman himself has been noticing trends in villains working together more often as the League has become so influential not even including the fact that, if necessary, League heroes will go help other cities when their own calms down that Villains are feeling almost ganged up on. So, Lorde has a point but other than his gut feeling we don't have any solid evidence of Ra's al Ghul and Luthor cooperating."
"Luthor kept on looking at me and Galatea as well," Superboy grunted with Galatea nodding.
"Honestly thought he was looking at my girls, but yeah he definitely was eyeing me and Conner," Galatea confirmed and hearing those words I decided to throw my own two cents in.
"Yeah, well he is on the board of directors for Cadmus... Wouldn't surprise me if he wasn't there watching you two grow up during the cloning process." Hearing that, the bioship went silent as nothing more could be said as no criminal wrongdoing had been made in the creation or mind control of Galatea or Superboy as such actions technically weren't illegal at all.
"And I thought my family life was complicated," Artemis muttered making us all snort as we all knew that her parents were villains we would typically put away and now her sister was still in traction beside her crippled mother.
"So, Robin, how's the new kid Bats adopted, is he turning out alright?" I asked and Robin loudly face palmed making me chuckle as the Robin I knew as Tim Drake started to go on about how the new kid was a complete little shit who literally hid away half of the silverware just outside their property for when he supposedly, inevitably got kicked out.
"It's not even him being a street rat that bothers me and Batman, it's just his attitude... Literally, he is an asshole at the best of times, and he doesn't mind getting violent to get his way." Robin complained about Jason Todd, and I nodded in understanding as shit heel siblings were something I wasn't too unfamiliar with due to having a large family and cousins that lived down the roads that were monsters of the worst kind.
"Should put him in a headlock till he calms down." Galatea offered throwing me a look and my face twitched at the reminder of how I broke Galatea's little temper tantrum down in Hell.
"Huh... Batman already has me and himself kicking the crap out of him in training. Maybe surprise headlock training could work." Robin mused and I sent a wordless prayer for Jason Todd.
"Galatea, after we get some rest and get our schedules switched back to US time let's go on that date, I owe you," I said after a bit of silence and then the Bioship lurched as Megan violently twitched and whirled around to look at us in her rotating chair along with everyone else in the ship.
"Wait! Just like that, Jake! That's how you going to ask her out on a date!? No flowers or chocolate or setup!" Wally cried pointing at me and Galatea dramatically while Robin nodded while Conner watched the scene with interest after he and Megan shared a look.
"Bah, I hate flowers, and I can buy whatever chocolate I want in whatever flavors I want. Why do I need my man to get me that stuff just to finally take me out on the date I asked him out first too?" Galatea asked frowning as she truly didn't understand the whole male chasing the female dating aspect as she was far more... Simple in her desires, she knew she liked me, she knew she found me attractive, and she decided to make her desire apparent, and I accept her advances, end story.
Wally and Robin both just pointed at me in dumbfounded defeat as Artemis burst out into laughter being the only 'normal' girl on the team she however knew why the younger and middle teenagers in Robin and Kid Flash was so distraught in me landing the blunt with her desires Galatea.
"They don't have a girlfriend yet Galatea," I said patting her on her bare knee getting her attention to me, and then I looked at the two boys in front of me. "Look, before I became a Hollow although I wasn't some mega Chad breaking hearts left and right, I did do some dating, and the best advice I can give you is just being casual, that whole 'be confident' shtick is a lie, as girls and young women can see the desperation and fake persona you put on," I explained looking back on my old lifes' fuckups
My old man gave me that same line and I took it way too damn far when I went on a date with some tight muscle shirt with a cocky attitude and even worse, I wore too much AXE body spray.
"Oh, and don't cheat, especially in this hero/villain community, it's too small and everyone knows everyone and if you were to cheat on a heroine, I assure you that you will end up blackballed," I said looking to Artemis who firmly nodded.
"Yup, the girls in the League have our own chat group that we use to keep each other posted on your idiots' little escapades," Artemis said smugly as she waved her little wrist computer I saw Robin tense and I wondered if he and Batman had hacked into it.
"Uhm, can me and Conner come with you guys on the date, we don't know how humans do dating?" Megan asked blushing heavily as Conner looked to the ground while Wally and Robin wailed in their seats about how unfair it was.
"I would prefer if our first date was just us, but this coming weekend we can do a group date between us four." I offered already making up a little mental plan of taking them to the mega mall that had its own little amusement park that could keep us all busy for a few hours.