Scream and Shout, You Know No One's Gonna Be About (Young Justice)

R

Gray searched the crowd and cautiously pushed through, stopping at the front. The demon cocked his head in curiosity and readjusted his sunglasses. Who were these guys? Gray smiled lightly in amusement as he looked at the weirdly dressed humans.

That one looked like ketchup and mustard, even if the electric bolt on his chest turned that into a completely different direction.

That one had a pretty weird hat, even for a human.

And... did that one have gills? Yeah, that one wasn't a human, that was one of the things Gray would bet his afterlife on.

There were also adults that were weirdly dressed, too, but unlike the younger humans, Gray recognized them. Batman, Aquaman, and Green Arrow.

"Is that Batman?"

"I see Flash and Flash Jr.!"

"His name is Speedy!"

"No, Speedy is Green Arrow's sidekick."

"Well that just makes no sense."

He perked up in barely noticeable interest upon finding out the young saints' names. Once again readjusting his sunglasses, Gray turned around and pushed through the crowd for the second time.

*****

When Gray entered the building, he watched as the funny-hat kid, now known as Speedy, walked up to Green Arrow.

"That's it? You promised a real look inside, not a glorified backstage pass!" Speedy growled.

"It's a first step. You've been granted access very few get," Aquaman stated calmly.

"Oh, really?!" Speedy gestured over to a group of people taking photos of them from behind glass, "Who cares which side of the glass we're on?" Gray snickered at that.

Gullible...

"Roy," Green Arrow said, stepping in, "You just need to be patient."

"What I need is respect," Speedy spat, shortly afterwards turning around to face the other human pups, "They're treating us like kids! Worse, like sidekicks! We deserve better than this."

The remaining two pups, Aqualad and Kid Flash, looked at eachother with questioning faces, and then stared at Speedy again. 

Speedy looked surprised for a second before narrowing his eyes, "You kidding. Your playing their game?! Why?! Today was supposed to be THE DAY! A full step into being full members of the League."

Kid Flash took on a normal voice, "Well, sure. But I though step one was the tour of the HQ?" Aqualad nodded in agreement. Smirking, Gray rested his chin on his palm. Clueless little pups...

"Except The Hall isn't the League's real HQ," the two pups perked up in surprise, "This is just a false front for tourists! And a pit stop for catching zeta beam teleporter tubes to the real thing: An orbiting satellite called the Watch Tower."

Green Arrow glanced back at Batman with a hopeful look on his face. Though, Batman just crossed his arms glared, "I know, I know, I just thought that maybe we could make an exception?" Batman's glare narrowed further. Green Arrow's hopeful look was gone as he looked back at the young humans when Aquaman spoke up.

"You are not helping your cause here, son. Stand down, or--"

"Or what?! You'll send me to my room?!" Speedy said in a challenging voice, cutting the man off, "And I'm not your son! I'm not even his," he admitted, referring to Green Arrow, "I though I was his partner," he paused, "Not anymore."

Speedy took the hat off his head and threw it to the ground, "I quit." He turned around sharply and headed towards the door. As he passed, Aqualad and Kid Flash stood up, "I guess they were right about you two. You're not ready," Was the last thing Speedy said as he exited the room.

Gray watched in interest as the alarm went off just as the hot-headed pup left the room, and he stared at the computer. Soon enough, Superman appeared on the screen, "Superman to Justice League. There has been an explosion at Project Cadmus. It's on fire."

"I've had my suspicions about Cadmus," admitted Batman, "This may be the best time to--"

"Zatara to Justice League," another face popped up on the screen, "The Sorcerer Wotan is using the Amulet of Aten to block out the sun. Requesting full League response."

Batman glanced up at Superman, "Superman."

"It's a small fire. Local authorities have it under control," the Krytonian assured.

"Then Cadmus can wait," Batman held on a single key on the keyboard and said something Gray couldn't fully hear. 

Batman turned to the two remaining pups, "Stay put."

Kid Flash frowned, "What? Why?"

"This is a League mission." Aqualad stepped in.

"Your not trained," Flash added.

An eye roll from Gray.

"What?! Since when?!" Kid Flash asked.

"Not trained for orders on this team," the adult speedster finished, gesturing to Batman and Aquaman, seeing that the other members had already zeta beamed.

"There will be other missions. When your ready," Aqualad pointed out soberly.

"But for now, stay put," Batman ordered. Batman, Aquaman and Flash turned away from the two, and Gray could see Green Arrow and Martian Manhunter speak, though he couldn't pick up what they were saying. The remaining adults soon left the room.

Gray blinked with a curious expression on his face, and converted his attention back to the human pups. 

"Augh! When we're ready?! How are we ever supposed to be ready when they treat us like... like... a sidekick!" Kid Flash spat in anger.

"My mentor... my king... I thought he trusted me," Aqualad said, looking and sounding hurt.

"Trust? The don't even trust us with the basics! They have a secret HQ, in space!" Kid Flash shouted, throwing his hands up. 

"What else are they not telling us?" Aqualad asked more to himself than the other, "I wish we could just earn their trust," he paused, then looked at Kid Flash, "What is Project Cadmus?"

Kid Flash mirrored Aqualad's lost expression.

The gray-eyed demon took off his shades and a small smile graced on Gray's lips as he finally stepped out of the shadows, "You pups probably don't know, but I can find out."

Kid Flash and Aqualad tensed in surprise, "Who are you?! How did you get inside The Hall?!"

Gray shrugged, "You can call me "The Gray-Eyed Demon". That sounds cool. Oh! How about "Stalker"! Wait... Forget I ever said that. As for getting into The Hall, I dunno. Well, I do, and it was kinda easy."

Kid Flash perked up, "You're that demon named Gray everyone was talking about! I thought you were a myth!"

Gray grinned, "Aw, I'm famous! And no, not a myth. Right here. Standing right across the room from you."

Aqualad narrowed his eyes at the demon as he spoke to Kid Flash, "Is he dangerous?"

The speedster pup shrugged, "I don't know. As far as I know he hasn't been doing any good or bad. But if I had to guess then he's probably completely harmless."

Gray paused and shot a glare at the two, "I like you too," he murmured sarcasticly. The demon then clapped his hands together, "Now! About me helping you. I can find out more about Cadmus."

The two beings fell silent, as if considering the offer, and then Aqualad frowned, "You're probably a villain," he pointed out.

Gray rolled his eyes, "Okay, okay. I guess you don't want to prove yourself useful to the League. Don't worry, it was just an offer." he turned away casually and started to stroll out of the fake HQ.

He could feel the gazes of the two pups on his back, "Wait," Aqualad murmured.

Stopping, Gray turned around with a, "Yeeees?"

"Help us," Kid Flash finished for Aqualad.

Gray chuckled, "With pleasure."