9 Chapter 9

-[Mount Justice]-

-[Dante]-

The entirety of the team stood at attention in the mission room, lined up as Batman paced in front of them.

"Part of being a hero is that we will never fully understand any situation that we walk into. More often than not, we are reacting to situations." The dark knight said, nobody moving a muscle as he spoke.

"You noticed a possible change in the mission parameters, you assessed it and acted accordingly, mitigating the risks where possible. Because of that, a terrorist organization as well as two super criminals have been rounded up. Along with that were over two thousand doses of the Kobra which have now been seized." He turned to look at all of them, his eyes pausing at Dante for a moment. "Well done."

There was a collective release of breaths that everyone had been holding back since the beginning of the briefing.

"You are dismissed. Dante, Aqualad, stay behind." With his words, they didn't waste time in vacating the room, leaving just the three alone.

"Of the members of the team, you're objectively among the least experienced, yet you developed a plan to suit the mission and adapted accordingly." Batman said, facing Dante. "I'm appointing you as the leader of the team."

Dante's eyes widened briefly. He knew he was aiming to be the team leader but he didn't expect Batman himself to appoint him the position.

As if sensing his shock, Batman continued. "Your actions in this mission speak for themselves. Aqualad will play an advisory role to you."

Dante turned to Kaldur who nodded. "I am not opposed to this arrangement."

If one were to consider the mission report, it would be obvious why Kaldur was given the role rather than Robin or Kid Flash who had experience.

While the latter two argued for who would be leader, Kaldur calmly accepted the new point of view and tactics.

"I have a question. What will be done to the Kobra Venom we obtained?" Dante asked.

"For now they're being sent to Star labs for analysis. We still don't know how Kobra managed to get their hands on the Blockbuster formula. For all we know, Santa Prisca could be one of many production factories." Batman answered, earning a nod from both of them. "Any other questions?"

"I was going to bring this up later but now would be as good a time as any." Dante started, gaining a confused look from Kaldur. "Batman, what is the real reason you approved this team?"

Even Kaldur looked confused at the question but Batman stayed silent, prompting Dante to continue. "From what I've come to know about you in the short time I've lived is that you don't hesitate when it comes to something important."

"Something Aquaman said on your first day didn't make sense to me. 'Batman needs a team that can operate on the sly'. Those were his exact words. If you really needed this team, you would have done so before Aqualad, Robin and Kid Flash's rebellion." He said, causing Batman to narrow his eyes.

"Where are you going with this?" The man asked.

"Looking at it from an outsider's standpoint, it looks as if you only did it to placate them." Batman didn't deny or confirm his statement but that wasn't the point to what Dante was saying.

"While some may view the team as a stepping stone to the league, I see it as so much more." He said, referring to the three former sidekicks.

"Explain." If Dante didn't know better, he would say that he felt a bit of intrigue in the dark knight's tone.

"Just like you said before, the Justice League will still handle the big stuff but there are many more cases that are out of the League's reach. Many that would slip through the cracks due to the relatively low priority when compared to the other issues you handle. This team would be the answer to those cases."

"Though we will still be dependent on the League, we will have a certain degree of autonomy in some decisions. You can't teach a man how to hunt if you keep feeding him everyday. In this way, we can grow to be something similar if not as great as the League." With that, Dante ended his speech. Even he was slightly surprised that he didn't stutter even once.

There was silence in the room as Batman narrowed his eyes. The silence lasted for a while, Batman staring straight at Dante who didn't look away.

"You've given a valid point. I will take it under consideration." Batman said as he turned to exit via Zeta Tube, the machine announcing his exit.

Kaldur who had been present so far, had a contemplative expression on his face. More serious than Dante had seen on his face. "You have given me much to think about. What brought this on?" The Atlantean asked.

"You, Robin and Kid Flash, you three aspire to eventually join the league. Ask yourselves this, after that, what next?" As he spoke, he could see the gears turning in Kaldur's head.

"This team is one of the few things I, Superboy and M'gann have. You can make different arguments but when you take the team away, we're really just people with nothing to do with ourselves." At that moment, the realization hit Kaldur, having just realized how important this was.

"I'm not a hero because I want to, it's because I have nothing else. This is all I have." Dante said as he turned to leave.

"Dante." As he neared the Tubes, Kaldur called out to him. "On the behalf of Robin, Kid Flash and myself, I wish to apologize. We did not know how much this opportunity meant to you. We apologize for taking it for granted."

Letting out a smile, Dante spoke. "There's no need for apologies. Everyone has to have something driving them after all. Yours is a bit different from mine but it doesn't make it wrong either."

Kaldur nodded in understanding, allowing Dante to exit the cave.

-[Batman]-

Arriving at the watchtower, Batman had some thinking to do. Dante wasn't wrong about him putting together the team to placate the sidekicks.

Logically, why give them important missions that could be easily handled by more experienced members of the League.

Some of the missions that he had intended to give them were generally inconsequential missions in which the event of their failure wouldn't present a large loss.

Dante's speech had exposed that, yet the idea had merit. A team of young heroes somewhat separate from the league. A team that the League could trust to take care of the less threatening but still important issues.

New vigilantes were popping up around the world and a good number of them were young. Instead of squandering their talent and endangering their lives by working independently without supervision, they would be able to join the team.

Clone or not Dante was brilliant, something he wouldn't deny. With this passionate idea he had given, he had reduced the amount of skepticism Batman had about him by a decent margin.

He had a few calls to make.

-[Later]-

-[Dante]-

'You know, when I gave my pitch to Batman, I expected him to take a few weeks at least…not two days.' Dante thought as he and the rest of the team were gathered in the mission room, waiting for the dark knight to arrive.

«Recognized. Batman-0-2!» The Zeta Tube announced as the man arrived in a flash light.

"You're all here, good." The man said, walking to stand in front of them. "In the light of your recent mission, some things have been brought to my attention. There are going to be a few changes here."

Kaldur's eyes subtly drifted to Dante as Robin spoke up, indicating that Batman hadn't discussed this with him beforehand. "What kind of changes?"

"As you're already aware, Dante has been appointed leader of the team." Batman reminded, getting a grumble from Wally. "The team will now be allowed to choose some of its own missions, provided that they gain my approval."

Wally's eyes widened in surprise as did the rest of the team, save Kaldur and Dante. "Really!?"

Batman only nodded before continuing. "Though you will be granted a certain degree of autonomy, the League will still oversee most of the team's actions."

"While we do not expect perfection from you, you would do well not to disappoint." Batman said, his words seemingly aimed at Dante who only smiled.