MARVELOUS

Chapter 1

"We so need a magic user," Artemis groaned as she rubbed her shoulder. It still hurt from where Klarion had blasted her into a tree.

"Agreed," Kaldur nodded. He had first degree burns on his hands that Robin was currently tending to.

"I don't like magic," Conner scowled. It was one Superman's (and his) only weaknesses, the other being kryptonite.

"What about Zatanna?" Kid Flash asked suddenly.

"Who is that?" Miss Martian looked up from the chair she had collapsed in.

"She's the daughter of Zatara," Batman answered. "But her father has made it very clear that he doesn't want her involved in the superhero business for quite some time. However," he hesitated then continued speaking. "I will have to speak to Captain Marvel first but I may know of another magic user close to your age group."

"Really?" Robin looked at his mentor in confusion. "I didn't even know he had a sidekick."

Batman hesitated again. "Captain Marvel doesn't really have a sidekick. It's…complicated."

Kid Flash rolled his eyes. "We're superheroes; when is it not complicated?" everyone had to agree.

"I'm sorry; you want what?" Captain Marvel was definitely confused.

"I want Billy to join Young Justice," Batman didn't waver.

"Are you kicking me out of the Justice League?" Captain Marvel couldn't help but feel hurt. He had spent a lot of time trying to prove himself to the older members, a task that wasn't always easy when they couldn't decide what to make of him. They alternated between asking him to stop a rampaging Superman or explaining how to use the communicator slowly because they thought he didn't understand how the call button worked.

"Not at all," Batman hastened to reassure him.

"Are you sure? Cuz it sounds an awful lot like that," Captain Marvel crossed his arms and scowled. He should have known Batman was up to something when the standoffish hero showed up in Fawcett city, near the remains of Captain Marvel's home. "Wait a second," his eyes narrowed when something occurred to him. "Does this have anything to do with my place getting demolished last week?"

Batman at least had the good grace to look slightly sheepish as he said, "I would be lying if I said that wasn't a factor. However, the Young Justice team does need a magic-user and Billy is relatively close to their age. Whether you're willing to admit it or not it certainly wouldn't do you any harm to have a more stable home life."

"You sure about that?" Captain Marvel asked sarcastically.

Batman winced then continued speaking. "They won't hurt you; you know that, right?"
Captain Marvel rolled his eyes. "I know, I know. It's just," he hesitated and Batman remained silent, waiting for him to collect his thoughts. "My head knows but the rest of me not so much. It's very difficult to break ingrained habits, plus I worked hard to earn my place in the Justice League: I don't really want to give that up."

"Young Justice doesn't have tri-weekly meetings to discuss the world's situations," Batman reminded him. "Plus you'll get to eat M'gann's cooking every day."
Captain Marvel blinked. "On the other hands it couldn't hurt to give it a shot."

"I thought you'd see it that way," Batman smirked. "But seriously, Billy, just try it for a week or two and see how things work out. If they don't then I promise not to bring the subject up again."

"Fine," Captain Marvel sighed reluctantly. "When do you want Billy up there?"

"I spoke to Captain Marvel; a magic user about your age will be arriving tomorrow morning," Batman informed them.

"That was fast," Kid Flash blinked. "Even for me."

"Under the circumstances haste seemed to be for the best," Batman explained. "Billy will be staying for two weeks to determine if this is a good fit or not. Captain Marvel will be unavailable during that time so Black Canary will be taking over as den mother until further notice."

Robin raised an eyebrow. "So Captain Marvel's not going to be here while his sidekick is?"
Batman let out a heavy sigh. "Captain Marvel's absence is unrelated to Billy's stay. Sort of," he amended. "If he feels like it Billy can answer all of your questions in the morning. Before he arrives there are a couple of things I would like to discuss with you."

"Like what?" M'gann did her best to look serious as Conner started complaining (via their telepathic link) that Captain Marvel probably hated his sidekick the same way that Superman hated him.

Batman hesitated then began explaining. "Billy startles easily so unless you want to get turned into something or sent to another dimension try not to scare him."
"You honestly expect us to believe that?" Kid Flash scoffed as he crossed his arms.

"The first time I met Billy he turned me into a bat," the flat tone of Batman's voice making it clear that he wasn't joking.

"Then we shall follow your advice to the best of our abilities," Kaldur promised.

"He's not overly fond of physical contact but that would also fall under startling him," Batman warned.

"Anything else?" Artemis wasn't a genius or even good with people but she could connect the dots enough to know that they were going to be dealing with an abused kid which was always fun. She had no doubt whatsoever that Captain Marvel was not the one responsible but had probably taken the kid on as a sidekick just as an excuse to get the kid out of a bad situation.

"Nightmares but that's usual for everyone," Batman frowned at his pager. "I've got to go now but if you don't mind make sure one of the guest rooms is clean and ready for him."

"As you wish," Kaldur nodded.

Batman turned and left, the zeta-tube announcing his departure.

"Well this should be fun," Robin broke the silence.

"Did you get anything from that?" Kid Flash asked, fully aware that all superhero clans (his included) had their own secret tells in everything they did and said.

Robin paused, gathering his thoughts before speaking. "Billy's obviously been abused at some point in his life but I don't think it's a current problem. I've read some of Batman's notes and he thinks that Captain Marvel is homeless which is probably why he said it was 'a matter of haste'. Captain Marvel's probably going to be using the two weeks that Billy's here to see about actually getting a place for both of them."

"What do you mean he's homeless?" Conner was still confused but was now beginning to understand that Captain Marvel didn't actually hate his sidekick which was a relief because he genuinely liked the man. Captain Marvel was always nice to him and had been the only one to actually come out and tell Conner that Superman was most likely not going to come around.

Robin looked slightly uncomfortable but answered anyway. "Basically it means that he doesn't have anywhere to live-he probably sleeps in abandoned buildings and alleyways."

"That's terrible," M'gann gasped, looking horrified. "He always seems so happy."

"Like I said, it's just a theory. It might not even be true."

Kid Flash shot Robin a look. "It's Batman's theory which obviously means that it's true."
"I must agree with Kid Flash," Kaldur spoke up. "I have never known Batman to be wrong about anything."

Artemis rolled her eyes as she stood up. "We could talk about this all night or we could go ahead and get the kid's room ready. I'm tired and would like to go to bed at some point tonight."
"Good point," Kid Flash yawned.

"We should all try and get some rest," Kaldur said reasonably. "Tomorrow will be a very long day."

A/N: This story is in progress so I make no promises that it will get finished but I'm currently working on chapter 5 right now so it's a decent possibility.