Captain Marvel was currently standing outside of the Hall of Justice. The team was inside discussing his membership, a membership that's probably non-existent now.
The man hung his head, beating himself up from ever keeping his identity a secret. 'I should've told them who I was from the start, maybe it would've prevented this from happening.' Before he could think of anything else a nagging voice in the back of his head reminded him that the league would've just turned him away. They would've thought he was too young and immature from the job. There's honestly no good outcome. Either way they league would've felt like they couldn't trust him, identity known or not. He's just a kid to them. Nothing else.
The hero was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard the doors starting to open. He turned to see the whole league staring at him. Some with disappointment, others with anger. Marvel felt like his feet were glued to the floor. He tried to move, but he just stayed put.
"Billy." Black Canary called. "Why don't you come join us?"
Hesitantly, Captain Marvel made his way to his usual seat. Feeling even more awkward now that he was sitting with them.
"Now" Wonder Woman boomed, breaking the silence, "shall we get to the topic at hand?"
"Should Captain Marvel stay on the team or should he leave?"
The question just seemed to make Marvel tense. No one seemed to notice though.
"I really don't think it's a good idea to let him stay. He's only 10 years old, and even though he shows that he is powerful, he can also get hurt." The Flash spoke.
"Precisely why he shouldn't be on the team." Aquaman muttered.
"I don't see why his age is an important matter. He's an ally and a powerful one at that. Wouldn't it be best to keep him with us?"
Green Arrow turned to Red Tornado. "He's only 10." He said, stressing the numbers, "He shouldn't be involved in things like this.
"Superboy is less than a year old, but we still send him on missions."
"Leave him out of this. We're talking about Billy, not Kon-El."
As the other league members started to get on in the debate, Marvel started to fidget and sweat. Tears were starting to prickle in the corner of his eyes and he tried to blink them back with everything he had.
"It's not only his age that's the issue here. It's also the fact that he lied!" Wonder Woman exclaimed.
"He knows that it wasn't mandatory to reveal his identity and he used it to his advantage." Batman spoke.
"It was still an important secret that shouldn't have been kept from us!" Wonder Woman was now standing up, her hands slammed down on the table.
"Weren't you trained to kill since birth?" The Dark Knight demanded.
"I am an Amazonian warrior. Billy is a 10 year-old human boy. He has no business being here!"
"And you think that kicking him out of the League would be any better?!"
As the argument between Batman and Wonder Woman started to grow, Captain Marvel was now sweating profusely, his breathing seemed to be getting shorter and the noise started to become louder. He couldn't think, his own thoughts became incomprehensible. He could make out Solomon trying to calm him down but it was useless. He just wanted all of the yelling to stop. He didn't want his friends to be arguing over him. He didn't want them to only see him as a kid. He just didn't want to be alone anymore.
The more frantic his thoughts grew, the more the air seemed to have a metallic taste and smell to it. It seemed to frazzle with electricity. The static slowly to show.
The first ones to notice were Batman, Superman and Black Canary. Batman because he was next to Marvel, Black Canary because she was paying attention to Billy's responses, and Superman because of his super senses.
Nobody seemed to notice that Batman was no longer paying attention to the now one-sided screaming match he was having with Wonder Woman.
There was now a pounding in Marvel's head, from the frustration or the noise he didn't know. The only thing he knew was that he wanted to stop. He wanted the screaming to stop. He wanted the pounding to go away. He wished that everything would just "STOP!"
Captain Marvel stood up, his chair being knocked aside. "Would everybody please just stop!" He sobbed, the tears he was holding back now starting to drop freely. "This is exactly why I didn't tell you! I knew that you guys would react like this and I knew that you guys would treat me like a kid! I know you guys don't want to see me get hurt and I know you guys don't think I should be involved, but this is my choice." Captain Marvel, no, Billy cried. "It was my choice to come and join your team. It was my choice to stay. And it was my choice to do something good with the powers I've been given!" Billy moved away from the table, shutting his eyes tight. "No, I didn't choose to have these powers, but they were given to me because there was no other option. I was the only choice at the time. I was the only one that could stop the harm that was coming." Billy opened his eyes again, bringing his hand to his chest with his tears flowing once again. "All my life I've been keeping this mantra in my head, "Do good and good will follow." I've been doing good my whole entire life, and just when I thought that maybe I was wrong it finally followed." Billy's voice started to crack and break. "I was given the ability to help people. I was able to help the one's that need help and I finally wasn't alone anymore. I didn't only have to rely on myself anymore. Just when I thought I was being accepted into this team you guys turn me away." Billy's breathing finally went back to a normal pace. He brought his hands to his side and looked at the team with a steely expression. "Just because you guys kick me out from the League doesn't mean I'm going to stop being a hero."
The room was silent, only Billy's footsteps to the doors being heard. With one last look to the league Billy took a deep breath and said, "I'll never stop being a hero and your decision won't change that."
He then proceeded to go to the zeta tube, leaving the League to think about the mistake they just made. They never should've thought that pushing him away would've been the right thing. It was never the right thing.
