9Poets. Geniuses. Revolutionaries. Young Justice has been called all of these things. But the real story, the story of how the band came to be, is a mystery to them all.
The lights flickered, the crowd's screaming filled the auditorium as the first song's intro played. The lead singer leaned closer to the microphone, a small smirk in place as he started the concert.
Would you believe it if I said it all started...
"Ooh, yeah. Mm. Breakthrough"
...in detention.
"The rules in here are simple." Miss Lance stated simply, looking over the students she'd have to watch for the next hour. "No eating, no drinking, no sleeping," she sighed before continuing to recite the list she'd been given, "no talking, no tapping, no texting. You break a rule, l add another day of detention. Are we clear?"
Silence.
"Great."
Artemis Crock: lead guitar. Wally West: keyboard. Megan Morse: bass. Conner Kent: drum god. And Dick Grayson, future frontman for Young Justice.
It was this ragtag group of five that started it all.
Miss Lance stood suddenly, "Alright. I have decided, rather than let you twiddle your little thumbs for the next hour, we are going to put those thumbs to use." She handed out a few dishrags, "We're gonna clean up around here. We're gonna unpack, and we're gonna turn this storage room into a music room."
She eyed the sad excuse for a classroom, "I mean, we might as well make the best of it, right? We've been banished to the basement." The exposed pipes squeaked before the distinct sound of a toilet flushing was heard overhead.
"Did you hear that?" Miss Lance exclaimed, shocked that the school board would even consider this room inhabitable, much less a classroom. "Ooh. You know what? If they spent a fraction of what that new gymnasium cost to keep this music program alive, I-" another flush.
"Ooh." Miss Lance rose. "That is it. That is it." She repeated.
But if this is good to be told right, it needs to be told from the beginning. The morning it all began.
"Come on, Artemis. You don't wanna be late for your first day, do you?" Mrs. Crock (happily divorced), urged her daughter as she parked. "Look, I know this is hard."
"Transferring to a new school a month into the year?" Artemis sighed, understanding that her mom had her best interests at heart. "It'll be fine."
"Artemis," Her mother sent a look of concern.
Artemis patted her mom's arm, "Trust me, mom, I'll be fine."
"I know that you didn't want to make this move-"
"Gotham Academy is one of the best schools in this region." Artemis informed her "It's for the best."
Miss Crock's phone rang before she could thank her daughter. "Hold that thought." She answered the device. "Hello? Yes, Mr. Johnson. I left the paperwork on your desk..."
Artemis shrugged, escaping the boring one-sided conversation by getting out of the car. She made her way toward the front door, eying the crowd of students stereotypically loitering outside of the school.
"Ho-ho, check out the new girl." One of the multiple jocks taunted.
Artemis rolled her eyes, wherever you were in the nation, jocks were just the same.
A guy beside him smirked, "Nice hair."
Meanwhile, Wally West was at the opposite end of town, impatiently sitting in the front of his Uncle Barry's truck, glaring at the building before him. More specifically his uncle's girlfriend entering.
"Have fun." His uncle waved to Iris as she entered the community college.
"Hey, uncle Barry," Wally turned away from Iris as she waved back, "don't you think it's a little weird that your girlfriend's still in college?"
"She's 28, Wally." Barry shrugged, pulling out of the lot carefully. "She's just taking a photography course."
"Look, uncle B, when guys go through midlife crisis, they- They buy a sports car, right?" Wally encouraged. "What do you say? We turn in the truck, get a sports car?" He paused, adding. "I would fully support that."
Barry rolled his eyes at his nephew's behavior. "Give Iris a chance, for me."
"Why is everything about Iris?" Wally pouted. "'Iris wants Chinese food.' 'Let's watch Iris's favorite show.' 'Can't pick you up from piano practice, Iris called.'"
"Hey, I apologized for that." Barry defended.
"Yeah, I know." Wally stared out the window at the trees passing by, glaring at the university fading in the distance. "You know, whatever. Just hurry up. I'm gonna be late for my history presentation."
Barry laughed, "Sorry, Wally."
While Wally was dealing with his uncle, Connor was facing the issue that was his perfect older brother.
"Are you excited, Connor?" Mrs. Kent looked back at her youngest son with a smile, which he returned with a confused look. "Soccer tryouts are today." She clarified, unphased.
He paused, pretending he'd remembered. "Oh. Right. Yeah, I'm- I'm thrilled."
"Oh, your mother-" Mr. Kent started.
"We." Mrs. Kent urged.
"-thought you might like to have this with you today, for luck." Connor's father handed him a worn out soccer ball. "It was your brother's."
His mom held back a sob, "Clarke scored the winning goal at state finals with that ball."
"Mom, what are you crying for?" Conner fumbled with the soccer ball, "Clarke's just away at college."
"I... Oh." Mrs. Kent pouted, missing her oldest son as her youngest headed toward his doom: high school, noticing Megan Morse as he headed to the door.
"Whoa. Uh." She was pulled back to her car by her dad.
"Remember, Megan, you need to speak to your teachers about extra credit." He insisted. "Get your GPA up for the college applications."
"But that's a couple of years away yet." Megan started to walk away again, only to be pulled back.
"It's never too soon to think about your future, sweetie. Understand?"
Megan nodded, starting to make her escape again, to be pulled back a third time. "Yes, Papa."
"Is that...?" He eyed her, with borderline concern. "Is that lipstick you're wearing?"
Megan pretended to be shocked at the accusation. "No, Papa."
"Because you're too young for that sort of thing." Mr. Morse pointed out.
"Yes, Papa. I'm late. Um..." She slipped from his grip, "Bye, Papa!"
"Meg-" she'd succeeded in her escape, though, so he simply called "Don't forget, extra credit." As his daughter ran through the hallway.
"Please don't see me." She repeated quietly as she avoided her boyfriend, making her way toward the girl's bathroom.
The bell rang through the halls, a warning to students who were still loitering, as Barry's truck pulled up and Wally ran past.
"Have fun." Barry called as he pulled away.
Dick, however, was not as lucky as Wally to get a ride. Or, he'd told his ride that he preferred to be environmentally friendly. Whatever that meant. It was easier to explain than being dropped off by Bruce Wayne's butler.
Chaining his bike, he managed to spill my bag's contents. Muttering a "Way to go, Dick." As Wally ran passed him.
Megan snuck out of the girl's bathroom to bump into her boyfriend, Logan Chase. "Hey. There you are."
"Hey, Logan. You scared me."
"Well, I've been looking all over for you, angelfish." He took her hand in his, starting down the hall. "So the band and I, we're gonna ditch this morning, head on over to to practice for the Halloween Bash." He paused, stopping the duo's stride with a smile. "Wanna come?"
"Sure, I'd love-" her father's warning ran through her head. "I can't."
"What? Come on, Meg." Logan held both of her hands. "We barely see each other as it is."
Megan thought about it. "Well, maybe this Saturday. I'll tell my dad that I've got a study group, or-"
"No, you know I got Mudslide Crush rehearsals all weekend, plus soccer practice." Logan sighed. "Come on. Just this once?" He pouted, knowing he could get her way more easily that way. "For me? Don't worry about Wilson, all right? He's with the new girl."
Speaking of the new girl, Artemis was seated across from the principal, a Mr. Slade Wilson. He invoked fear in student's hearts with just a glance. Some students had even nicknamed him Deathstroke. Yet Artemis had faced worse.
"Artemis is actually very excited to be attending school here." Mrs. Crock sat beside her daughter, a small smile in place, trying to not feel intimidated with the man's almost threatening gaze upon her.
"Yes, I can see that." He turned back to Artemis, eying her shirt. "But I'm afraid that shirt is..."
She looked at the simple print, it only held two words. "What? Is there a dress code here?"
"Well, heh, no, but there is an unwritten line, and that shirt crosses it." Slade smiled though, it looked more pained than his previous expression.
"What about freedom of expression? Do you have that here?" Artemis read the simple words: question authority. It wasn't like she was planning anything, she'd just found the shirt funny at the time. It really added to the badass image she was aiming for.
"Artemis, just...cover up for the day, okay?" Her mom handed her the cardigan she was wearing with a sigh. Agreeing with her daughter because, honestly, it was just a shirt.
"Artemis, is it?" Mr. Wilson said with another fake smile. "l run a tight ship here. I don't know how they did things back in Star City, but in my school, students respect the rules." He paused, adding. "Written...and unwritten."
Artemis looked away, before noticing a couple in one of the multiple security feeds. She nodded toward the screen, making Slade turn towards it. He quickly paused it to zoom into the two teenagers. With a smirk he got both faces: Megan Morse, and Logan Chase.