Chapter 13

-[Dante]-

"Sorry I ditched you back there. I know it was supposed to be…" he tried to apologize as they reached the apartment.

His attempt got a laugh out of Dinah. "It's fine. Besides, why do you think I brought it up in the first place?"

That got him to pause as he stared at her. "Wait. So you wanted me to ditch you?"

"Not how I would put it. I'd say it's more of meeting new people. Zatara's always been a bit overprotective of Zatanna. She needed a friend and so did you." Dinah admitted as they entered.

"I guess that makes sense…"

"So, how did it go?" She asked, a teasing smirk on her face, causing him to look away.

"She was actually fun. Don't give me that look." He said with a groan as the woman's smirk widened. "I still feel terrible that I ditched you."

"Well there's still time. We can make some snacks and watch a movie." She proposed, lightly ruffling his hair.

"I'd like that." He agreed instantly, causing her to smile.

-[Dante]-

He had returned to the sanctum that was his mind. Around the mansion were the three barriers he put up earlier along with a new defense mechanism.

Curled up in front of the mansion was a creature just as big as the building itself. Nine tails waved in the air behind it as it lay in wait for any who attempted to breach his mind.

He had created a mental guardian in the form of a nine tailed fox. There was never such a thing as being too cautious.

At the moment, he was in the library where the memories of his past life had been completely organized, the room no longer having books lying around.

The different aisles in the section containing those memories were numbered from three to fifteen, each indicating a year in his life. He found it ironic how his last life had ended at fifteen and he'd ended up in a body that also looked fifteen.

Despite achieving his goal in organizing his mind, that wasn't what troubled him. He exited the library, moving into a long hallway and headed for the room at the end of the hall.

The door had a number of five locks on it with only three of them being unlocked.

He frowned as he looked at it. Unlike the other rooms that he had intentionally created, this was one he had no hand in. No matter what he tried, whether trying to force it or will it open, it didn't budge.

He tried moving the room altogether but that didn't work either. The first time he saw it was the night after he first built the mansion. At the time, only one of the locks was unlocked.

It had him worried because he had no idea what was behind the door. There was a part of him that feared that it was something programmed by the Light to control him but the feeling he got just from being near the door convinced him otherwise.

Whatever was behind the door felt like a part of himself that was locked away. The most important and probably the most worrying thing was the power he felt from it.

He could feel the change, the raw power in his telepathic and telekinetic abilities had increased. Though he enjoyed the power boost, the fact that he was unaware of the reason bothered him a lot.

He futilely attempted to push the door open only for it to not budge. He wasn't even surprised, letting out a sigh as he exited the mental plane.

As he opened his eyes, he saw Wally waving a hand in front of his face. "What are you doing?"

"Ah! He's awake!" Wally yelped in shock at his sudden awakening, causing him to arch a brow.

He was alone in the lounge area of Mount Justice before he entered his mind. Looking around, he saw Robin, Wally and M'gann standing around him.

"Dude you've been sitting like that for almost two hours." Robin said in a confused tone.

"Two hours? It sure felt more than that." Dante muttered.

"What were you doing? I could feel your mind there but distant." M'gann asked.

"Mental exercises. It helps improve mental calmness and stability. You should try it Wally." He answered, drawing snickers from Robin and M'gann.

"Haha, very funny." The speedster said sarcastically which only increased the laughs.

"Where are Superboy and Aqualad?" He asked as he stretched his legs off the couch.

"Kaldur is with Aquaman and Superboy didn't want to leave his room, which leaves us with…boredom." Wally said with less enthusiasm as he went on.

"You're kidding. There has to be something here that's interesting. Tv?" He asked.

"Nope."

"Video games?"

"Wally cheats with his speed everytime and takes the fun out of it." This time it was Robin who answered.

"Hey if you're not cheating then you're not trying hard enough." Wally defended with pride.

"Yeah because you know you'll lose if you don't use it." Robin snickered childishly.

"That's not true." His immediate defense and Robin's laughter said otherwise.

-[LexCorp]-

Lex Luthor walked out of a private room in his office, the doors closing automatically as he exited, going to sit in his chair behind his desk.

He had just finished a meeting with the Light to discuss a few matters. Behind the chair stood his assistant, Mercy Graves.

The woman was aware of many of Lex's doings as well as his position in the Light. After all, she was his right hand in all things.

"Sir, may I ask a question?" She asked politely as Lex began sorting through a few papers on his desk.

"You may." He answered, giving her permission.

"The initial purpose of the Superboy was clear and given; to destroy or replace Superman. I don't believe I'm aware of the other clone's initial purpose." She said in a questioning yet polite manner.

Lex wasn't cruel to her but she was always respectful to him in everything she did. Her curiosity only gained his amusement.

"Oh Mercy, always with the smart questions. With Superboy, we focused on a single target but Project Mars was far different." He said, only confusing Mercy more but that was fine.

"While Superboy was made for Superman to meet his match, Project Mars was made with the intent of dealing with the entire league." He clarified, causing her eyes to widen.

"Just him?" She had to ask.

"I understand your skepticism but this is only the beginning. The existence of the Homo Meta species is a sign that humans can truly evolve. That is why Black Canary was selected as part of his genetic template. That evolutionary potential is what we have cultivated into one being."

"I suspect that the evolution process has already begun. And when it begins, we will retake him and allow him to serve his true purpose; to destroy the Justice League."