4 Chapter 4

-[Dante]-

"While I'm all for having a healthy mind, you still need to take care of yourself." Dinah said.

"That doesn't explain what we're doing here." Dante retorted as the woman led him through the store in the mall.

After that night, he'd spent most of the next day arranging and organizing his mind. Had his powers not been mind related in origin Dinah would have been more worried than she was when she found him in the same position after many hours.

With three pairs of hands on deck, he had managed to sort out a decent amount of memories within the hours that he had.

He could feel the slight difference in mind, the reduced amount of stray thought and the slightly reduced strain on his mind speaking for themselves.

"Though your suit can change to whatever you want, you'll still need some actual clothes for when that's not available. We'll also have to talk to J'onn about getting you more of those." Canary added as she handed him a few clothes to try on.

The best part of it all was that neither of them were paying for any of it. They had gotten mail the previous morning, a small envelope with a Batman logo on it.

Inside the envelope was a card and a note that read 'For Expenses'. That very card was being put to good use as Dante made his way to the changing room.

He stopped in front of it, turning to Dinah who stood a few feet behind him. "Is this really a good idea?"

"What do you mean?" Dinah asked in confusion.

"You can't tell me you don't see them too." He said in exasperation, watching the woman's confused expression turn to amusement.

In the clothing store they were currently in, a few pairs of eyes were following the pair, especially Dante. He'd have been more comfortable if they were just people that wanted to beat him up but it was different.

In front of the changing room, a dark haired girl who was obviously an employee stood, a flustered look on her face as Dante walked towards the room.

"Please come in!" The girl said, excitedly opening the door for him in a way that almost made him shiver.

'At least don't say it like I'm at a club.' Dante complained internally.

-[Unknown Location]-

In an empty conference room, eight monitors were active and set up in a round manner, figures shrouded by light presenting them each screen.

"What do you make of this?" A male voice asked from one of the screens.

"We're indeed in a peculiar situation. We're now aware that the league is willing to employ young heroes to do their dirty work." Another male answered.

"And the rest?" The previous voice asked only for a wizened male voice to speak up from another screen.

"Though the temporary loss of the weapon can be played to our advantage, I'm more concerned about the other one." The voice said.

"Security footage says he escaped on his own before joining up with the young heroes. It seems his mind grew faster than we anticipated, growing autonomous." The second voice from earlier spoke.

"He is of considerably more value than the Superboy. Though he has yet to awaken it, that evolution will come soon enough. I trust you will handle that when the time comes." The wizened voice from earlier said in a questioning tone.

"Of course, leave it to me." A female voice answered this time from a different monitor.

"Good. In due time, everyone will see the light."

-[Dante]-

He frowned as they walked out of the store. Dinah barely held in a laugh at the disturbed look on his face.

"It wasn't that bad." She defended poorly as the boy grumbled.

"I blame you." He muttered, getting a laugh from the woman.

Who else would he blame? Dinah was a very beautiful woman, him being a clone of her and bearing her appearance in masculine form put him far above average in the looks department.

If it wasn't for the slight mental nudge he made to one of them, they'd have followed him into the changing room a few times.

Other than the encounters of near harassment, Dante wasn't just idling away. He was practically a new method of using his powers even as they perused the mall.

His mind was partially focused on maintaining a telekinetic barrier around his entire body just above his skin. He was taking the shielding concept from the usage of Aura in RWBY and Gojo's 'Infinity'.

He had to admit that the amount of concentration required to keep it stable and constant was great. As it was, he couldn't affect other things too powerfully while keeping the barrier up.

He wanted to get to a point where he could use it constantly and without the need for active concentration. The best way to learn was from experience which was why he'd been doing his best to hold it up all day.

"Now let's get you some shoes." Dinah said as they made their way to the next store.

-[Later]-

After Dante had spent most of the day shopping with Dinah, he had returned to the 'comfort' of his mind to continue its organization while still making a conscious effort to keep the barrier up.

He'd spent the rest of that day as well as most of the next day working on this, wanting to get both projects fully operational as soon as possible.

Dinah also wasn't a hard person to live with. He'd thought it would be awkward seeing as how she was now basically a mother to what amounted to a 15 year old teenager but the woman took it all in stride.

Although Manhunter was a bit busy, the Martian had reached out to him through Dinah to tell him that they would be meeting very soon. Apparently, very soon meant very soon.

Dante along with Superboy, Aqualad, Robin and Kid Flash stood in what they were informed was Mount Justice, the Justice League's former base of operations.

Batman, Hawkman, Red Tornado, Aquaman, Black Canary and Captain Marvel stood in front of the teens. Among them, Batman was the main spokesperson.

"Since you five are determined to stay together and fight the good fight, you'll do it on league terms." Batman announced before gesturing to the android in their midst. "Red Tornado volunteered to live here and be your supervisor, Black Canary's in charge of training. I will deploy you on missions."

A curious frown emerged on Robin's face as he arched an eyebrow. "Real Missions?"

"Yes, but covert." The dark knight insisted.

Flash spoke out from behind them. "The League will handle the obvious stuff. There's a reason we have these big targets on our chests." He said, referring to their logos on their costumes.

"Cadmus proves that the bad guys are getting smarter, Batman needs a team that can operate on the sly." Aquaman added, almost making Dante snort.

From what he could remember, they were anything but subtle in carrying out their missions.

"The six of you will be that team." Batman concluded, causing a look of confusion to appear on Robin's face.

"Six?" He asked as Martian Manhunter walked out of the shadows with a teenage girl who shared his green skin and Martian aesthetic with the exception of the shoulder length red hair.

Dante had already felt their mental presence there from the beginning of their introduction to the cave.

"This is the Martian Manhunter's niece, Miss Martian." Batman introduced the Martian girl who shyly greeted the teens.

"Liking this gig more every minute…" Kid Flash muttered with a smirk before stepping forward. "Welcome aboard. I'm Kid Flash. That's Robin, Aqualad, it's cool if you forget their names."

His attempt to flirt flew over the girl's head as Dante and the others stepped forward to meet the girl.

"I'm honored to be included. You must be Dante!" The girl said, getting excited as the blond boy walked forward.

The boy's eye glanced at Martian Manhunter who smiled almost apologetically at the girl's enthusiasm. "Though I informed her of you, I underestimated her excitement."

"I'm so excited to meet my new cousin! That does make us cousins, right?" Miss Martian had to pause and look to Manhunter for confirmation to which he nodded.

"It's nice to meet you too." Dante responded in an attempt to assuage the girl's excitement.

"I can't wait to tell you all about Mars." She said as Robin called out to Superboy who looked extra grumpy.

Dante purposefully avoided that bomb as the clone walked up towards them. He was very aware of the difference between how he was treated by Martian Manhunter and Black Canary and how Superboy was treated by his own genetic donor.

Dante only frowned as Superboy brushed against his shoulder as he reached them, not even willing to react just yet. It wasn't like anything he could say would make it better so why rile up the ticking time bomb.

After introductions were done, they began to split up into groups. "Superboy, most of us will be leaving. You are not to go anywhere. Just sit tight until Red Tornado returns." Batman said, drawing Robin's glance.

"What the problem, Batman?" The boy wonder asked.

"We're headed back to Gotham." The dark knight answered simply as he and Robin made their way to the Zeta Tubes.

"We will be leaving as well to gather M'gann's belongings. I brought her by to familiarize herself with the new living environment first." Martian Manhunter said as Kid Flash walked up to Superboy.

"Hey while we're gone you should probably pick out a room. It's going to beat sleeping upright in a closet the way you do…you know, all Dracula-like." The speedster said as Flash led him to the Zeta tubes.

"No worries, Supey. We'll be back before you even know it." He added as the Zeta Tubes announced their departure.

"It might not be a bad idea to pick out rooms. We're the only two from the team who will actually be living here full time." Miss Martian said to Superboy, reminding him once again that Dante's genetic parents were actually interacting and helping him.

The clone merely stomped off in frustration to go and check the rooms out. The young martian seemed a bit confused at his sudden frustration. "Was it something I said?" She asked, drawing a sigh from her uncle.

"It's nothing to concern yourself over. Why don't you go along and pick out a room." J'onn suggested, exciting the girl once again as she flew off into the cave.

The sudden departures left Martian Manhunter, Dante and Canary as the last ones there.

"Black Canary has informed me of your mental exercises these past few days. If I may ask, what are you trying to achieve?" The green Martian asked politely.

"I was trying to check whether Cadmus left any imprints on my mind after they…created me." Dante answered.

"I'm impressed you even thought of that. Did you find anything?" Dinah asked as she walked up to them.

"Yes actually, I did. They left a trigger that would activate when a specific phrase is uttered by a specific person. It would cause me to basically be a puppet if that person said that phrase to me." He revealed, Dinah's eyes widening a bit.

"That way they could make you a sleeper agent without you even knowing."

"Yes, though I wiped it out after I found it." Dante waved off.

"I'm genuinely curious about your quick adaptation to your powers. Even natural born Martians would need some level of training before they can attempt something as precise as that." Manhunter noted.

"The G-gnomes at Cadmus taught me how to use telepathy. Other than that, I've been mostly figuring it out as I go forward." Dante said, truthfully.

"Interesting. I will perform a check up on Superboy's mind for this trigger. I will also have to be sure that you have properly dealt with it as well." Manhunter proposed. "I will also assist in helping you master your abilities. I understand that you have yet to fully learn all of our abilities."

"Thank you, I appreciate it." Dante said with genuine gratitude.