Giganta Meets the Outlaws:
The Outlaws’ safehouse looked less like a headquarters and more like a place where three different people had argued about decorating and all of them had lost.
Training mats were stacked beside a motorcycle engine. A half-repaired drone hovered uncertainly near the ceiling. Someone had taped a note to the refrigerator that read Do not store experimental substances next to the orange juice.
Giganta paused in the doorway, arms folded tightly across her chest. “This is where they operate?” she asked. Brain-Zarro adjusted his cape with practiced composure. “Yes. The aesthetic appears to be intentional.” “It appears to be a fire hazard.” “That too.”
Red Hood looked up from cleaning one of his pistols and froze for a beat. “Okay. Either we’re being invaded, or Brain-Zarro finally took my suggestion to recruit someone who can reach the top shelf.” Giganta stiffened. “I can leave.” “No,” Brain-Zarro said evenly. “Remain.”
Arsenal slid out from under a workbench, grease streaked across his cheek. “Wait, wait. Is this the scientist you mentioned? The one who understands growth regulation and cellular adaptation?” Giganta blinked. “Yes?” Roy grinned. “Great. Maybe you can explain why my auto-sizing gauntlets keep turning my gloves into tiny mittens.”
“That is because you calibrated the pressure sensors backward,” she said before she could stop herself. Arsenal stared at her. “You know that from looking at them?” “They are emitting a feedback pulse every four seconds.” He looked down at the gauntlets. “Huh. They are.”
Starfire floated gently down from the upper level having visited her sister Blackfire, her expression open and warm. “Friend Brain-Zarro has spoken highly of your intelligence.” Giganta shifted uncomfortably. “That makes one of us.” “It makes several of us,” Kori corrected kindly.
Red Hood set the pistol aside. “Look, Barbara. We know your history. We also know Brain-Zarro doesn’t usually recommend people unless he’s done the math.” Brain-Zarro nodded. “The probability of positive contribution is significant.” Jason smirked. “That’s basically a glowing endorsement from him.”
Giganta glanced around the room. None of them looked ready to attack her. None of them looked eager to praise her either. They simply looked curious. “So what exactly would I be doing here?” she asked. Roy pointed toward a cluttered worktable. “Well, first you’d save my gauntlets from becoming doll accessories.” Kori clasped her hands. “Then perhaps you would assist us in improving our medical scanners. They are currently… how do humans say it… very bad.”
“Extremely bad,” Jason added. “One of them diagnosed me with ‘mild swamp.’” Giganta snorted despite herself. Brain-Zarro inclined his head toward her. “Your expertise would be applied toward protection, stabilization, and recovery.” She looked at him. “And if I make a mistake?”
“Then we correct it together,” Kori said immediately. Roy nodded. “That’s kind of our whole deal.” Jason leaned back in his chair. “We’re not exactly a team built on spotless resumes.” The tension in Giganta’s shoulders eased, just a little.
She walked toward the worktable and picked up Arsenal’s gauntlet. “The wiring harness is misaligned,” she said, examining it. “If I adjust the sensor array, the resizing function should stabilize.” Roy looked delighted. “You had me at ‘stabilize.’”
Giganta set the gauntlet down carefully. “I can fix it. But I’m not promising miracles.” Jason shrugged. “Good. Miracles usually come with paperwork.” Kori smiled brightly. “Then let us begin with repairs.”
For the next hour, the safehouse filled with the sounds of tools clicking, circuits humming, and Roy asking increasingly ridiculous questions about whether the gauntlets could make his snacks larger. Giganta found herself answering him. Then laughing at him.
Then explaining, in spite of herself, how a more efficient energy regulator could improve the team’s equipment. When she finally looked up, the others were listening. Not because they were afraid of her strength. Because they respected what she knew. Brain-Zarro stood nearby, hands clasped behind his back. “You are utilizing your intellect constructively,” he observed.
Giganta rolled her eyes, but there was a smile beneath it. “Don’t make it weird.” “It is already statistically weird,” he replied. Jason chuckled. “Yeah. You’re gonna fit in fine here.” Giganta looked around the cluttered, chaotic room.
For the first time in a long while, she did not feel like a weapon waiting to be pointed. She felt like someone who could help. And when Kori offered her a plate of slightly overcooked cookies as a welcome gift, Giganta accepted one with a quiet, genuine smile.
