"I never really thought about leading the team, but if no one is up to the task then I am willing to be a leader. And Superman also taught me to try and resist giving to violent solutions if it can be avoided, I guess I still have some ways to go" Patriot said to Hakon as they helped clean up some of the mess that was caused by their conflict between them and Icicle. He wasn't sure if he had the experience and training to be the team's leader, and today sure wasn't going to show that he did.

---

[i]Patriot's Journal

I am now going to keep important happenings in my career as a superhero in a journal. I have made a mistake in today's act of heroics and have badly injured a criminal. Most would not care how badly beaten a villain is, but I am part of a team founded by the Justice League, and the League doesn't believe in excessive violence unless it is absolutely necessary. I was created to be a hero for the American people and if I expect to become the country's greatest hero then I would have to prove myself a worthy hero to the Justice League. Instead I have possibly ruin a good first impression, and I can only hope that the League will forgive me for my mistake.[/i]

Back at HQ, Batman and the Engineer were giving them a lecture on restraint and Patriot expected this to happen. But what he didn't expect to happen was when the Engineer put his team membership to a vote, meaning that he could be kicked off of the team. Things had gotten even worse for Thomas now, and who knew what Project Cadmus would say if he had blown his chance to become a part of the Justice League in the future. He wouldn't argue or get angry, he would take the all of the blame for the team.

"I am sorry for my mistake in using excessive force against Icicle, I take full responsibility for what happened today and I ask you to not punish my teammates. I only wish that I had chosen a better course of action in the detaining of the villain" he said to the two League members. There was no point in pointing fingers and if he was going to be thought of as a leader then he would need to act like one, which he was doing now by taking all of the blame. His hopes in staying on the team rose when he saw Superman enter HQ, he hoped that his mentor would be argue for his continued membership with the team.