Chapter Text
Aqualad stood tense, wringing his hands together nervously as he watched the others arrive through Zeta-Beam. He began to break down what had happened during the mission, to better understand what went wrong.
'The mission hadn't gone well. The plan was going perfectly until a goon decided the bright idea of sneaking up on Miss Martian, which Superboy, as luck would have it, heard. Conner, then hefts up the man and slams him against some machinery. Sparks fly and moments later we learn that was the main power control panel. The lights blinked off and the other guards became aware of our presence. It then descended into chaos. Robin frantically types at his holo-computer and asks for a distraction to give him time to finish downloading the mainframe. A combination of Superboy damaging the power control panel and Artemis shooting a metal arrow to pin an enemy to a wall missing and hitting the panel causes an electrical fire. This then distracts M'gann from linking the team telepathically. Wally, in his haste to protect Miss Martian from the flames grabs my water bearers and attempts to put the fire out. He forgot the fact this was an electrical fire, under NO circumstances should I allow KidFlash to use my water bearers again, or let him be around electrical fires; considering the explosion knocked him back into a wall, thus rendering him unconscious. Robin shuts down his holo-computer and gives me a thumbs up. Superboy lifts Kid Flash onto his shoulders, looking around for an escape route. As luck would have it, we were boxed in and were forced to fight our way out of the warehouse. Although I apologized profusely and vowed to be better prepared for disaster I worry I'll never have their respect.'
Kaldur'ahm is snapped out of his thoughts as he hears the Zeta Beam announce Robin's arrival. He glances around Mount Justice and finds Artemis sitting on a chair lecturing a still unconscious Wally who lay on the couch parallel to her. Both M'gann and Conner after deducing Wally will be alright retired to their respective rooms, exhausted after the mission. Robin strolls in from the Zeta Tube; despite sporting a deep gash on his cheek, he looks no worse for ware.
Aqualad decides to leave Artemis be, any words of apology would likely not be well received.
He turned to see Robin head towards the kitchen, probably to grab a snack before heading back to wherever he went in Gotham once the team dispersed. Aqualad followed Robin's footsteps to the kitchen to find the caped crusader standing on the tips of his toes trying to reach the top shelf of the fridge where Kid Flash liked to place Rob's energy drinks just out of reach.
"Robin," Kaldur began, "May I have a word?"
"Huh?" The youngest member of their team looked behind him from where he had just snatched a Energy Drink from the shelf. "Oh yeah sure, what's up Kal?"
"Well as you know tonight's mission was nothing short of a disaster, I.. I'm unsure of my effectiveness as leader. I feel like I require more training before I even begin to fit the bill of a decent team leader." Aqualad admitted if somewhat reluctantly.
Robin cracked open his drink and took a sip. "You're kidding right Kaldur?" He asked with a raised eyebrow, "You just started out as leader and when you got into a bit of a rhythm, Artemis joins the team and you get a bit thrown for a loop. You've had redesign all these battle formations and junk." The boy explains. "No one blames you for us running into some trouble during the mission."
Kaldur'ahm began to protest, "Kid Flash was knocked unconci-"
"Kid Flash is always doing something stupid and getting knocked out. He'd do that wether things went according to plan or not. I've literally seen him run into a sign and pass out cold." Robin interrupted.
Aqualad nodded with a smile, "Well that is true."
The thirteen-year old grinned. "Yeah man, that's what I'm talking about. Plans are great and it's always good to have them, but half the time things go wrong; and you just gotta improvise. Trust your team, we got your back." He encouraged, "But don't let Wally become a Firefighter." Robin added.
"Noted." Kaldur said with a laugh. "Thank you Robin, I appreciate your advice. Someday when you are ready, you'll make a great leader."
Robin took a sip of his energy drink, "NOW you're getting traught Kal." He smiled faintly and shook his head, "I think I'll take my time on the whole leader thing. You're pretty good at it, and no offense it seems like a whole lotta work."
Before Kaldur'ahm could respond, they heard a groan of pain, that resembled the sound of a hungover twenty-one year old that just drank themselves sick for the first time.
"Finally you're awake. I'm going home, maybe you should take some fire safety classes before we have our next mission." Artemis called before adding in quieter tone. "I'm glad you're okay." The Zeta Tube then announcing her departure.
Robin smirked and opened up the freezer pulling out an ice pack that reads. 'Speedster Stupidity Injuries Only.'
"Yo KF!" Shouted Robin, "HEADS UP." He called before lobbing the icepack to where Wally lied on the couch.
"Thanks Rob, also owww." Kid Flash complained rubbing his head where the icepack had hit him.
"Just doin' my job as mandatory best friend Walls." Said Robin with a shrug as he headed towards the Zeta Tubes.
"Where are you headed?" Asked Kaldur moderately curious.
"Back to Gotham, I just wanted to see how long it'd take for KF to wake up." Grinned Robin as stepped into the Zeta Beam. "Keep feelin' the aster Kaldur, cause you got it." He said before disappearing in a beam, the Zeta Tube announcing his departure.
Kaldur'ahm smiled faintly,
'Maybe leading this team won't be so difficult after all.'
"Heyyy Aqualad?" Whined Wally lying in a fetal position on the couch, "Can you get me some water?"
Kal sighed in fond exasperation masking a smile,
'Never mind.'