Chapter 6

-[Happy Harbor]-

-[Dante]-

"I'm so excited! I've never been to a cinema before!" Miss Martian practically squealed beside him as he paid for tickets at the counter.

She was in her casual outfit with the only difference being her now caucasian skin color rather than the usual green.

They, along with the entire team, were at the mall. After the incident with Mister Twister in which the sidekicks plus Superboy were harsh on the inexperienced Martian, there was some awkward friction between them.

Mostly due to them not knowing what to do after overreacting to M'gann's mistake in judgement. At Dante's 'suggestion', they had planned an outing to smooth out the tension.

The boy himself hadn't been planning on joining but his fellow Martian was insistent on his presence. In his opinion, she was cute in a younger sister kind of way.

[Alright I know you're excited but try not to spoil the locals.] He said, projecting his thoughts into her mind.

[Sorry! It's just so exciting.] Even her thoughts were pulsing with excitement.

Grabbing three tickets from the attendant behind the counter, he gave one to M'gann and Superboy each, the latter reluctantly taking it.

Pointedly ignoring the clone's obvious yet misplaced grudge against him, he ushered them both to an eating area in the mall where Wally, Kaldur and Robin sat in wait.

"We've got tickets and the movie doesn't start for another hour. What do we do until then?" He asked.

The other reason for this outing was for the purpose of team bonding. Though it wouldn't happen immediately, there was nothing wrong with laying the foundation.

"We can try the arcade downstairs." Robin suggested.

"Do we even have money to pay for that? I spent the last of my allowance on these tickets." Wally grumbled, throwing Dante a stink eye.

"Don't blame me for your poor spending habits." The blond boy had a deadpan expression as he spoke.

"How did you even pay for those tickets!?" Wally asked in frustration.

Dante still had the card that Batman sent so he was a bit covered financially. He had no doubt that the man could track whatever he was purchasing but it just wasn't a concern for him at the moment. It wasn't like he was buying something illegal.

"What is this…arcade?" Kaldur asked in honest confusion.

"Ooh I can explain…" The Martian girl began excitedly spouting what she knew about malls and arcades, some of which were true and the others not so true.

-[Batman]-

Reading the reports about the incident that the team were involved in, Batman couldn't help but frown.

Manhunter's words still played in his head about Dante's ever increasing growth. The boy's abilities were developing too fast.

He had files for each member of the Justice League and how to take them down if they ever went rouge or succumbed to manipulation. The sidekicks were essentially younger and inexperienced versions of their corresponding mentors so it would be easier to take them out if the situation called for it.

The problem he had encountered was relating to that same issue. Unlike Martian Manhunter who was dangerously weak to fire, Dante had no such weakness.

Due to his Martian DNA, he possessed a certain level of enhanced physical strength and speed. Along with that his telekinesis was powerful from what the reports said and the piece of scrap metal that they sent away to be disposed of.

'The only thing lacking is real world experience.' The dark knight notes.

So far, the boy hadn't engaged in any form of physical combat so he was only half sure that Cadmus didn't teach him fighting styles.

This was a situation where they'd simply have to overpower him if it came down to it rather than a simple weakness that could be exploited.

Hopefully it wouldn't come to that.

-[?]-

In a bland room in a house, a dark haired man stood with a frown on his face. His physique was of something to envy, a build of pure muscle yet not disproportionate to his size.

In front of him was a very young boy also with dark hair, hunched over the floor, coughing and audibly struggling to breathe.

"Get up and take this seriously! We're not stopping until you get it right." The man said, harshly pulling the boy up to his feet, ignoring his state. "Again!"

Struggling on his feet, the boy adjusted his body into a defensive martial arts stance, trying his best to ignore the hellish aching of his body.

Faster than the boy could react, the man's fist slipped through his guard, delivering a powerful blow to his chest.

"Ackkk!" The impact sent the boy hunched over once again in even more pain, coughing out what little nutrients his body had.

The man looked very displeased at the boy's 'weakness', his displeasure bordering on actual anger as the boy lay on the ground almost unmoving.

"What are you still doing there? Get up!" He ordered.

With labored breaths and aching limbs, the boy struggled to push himself to his feet. "Y-yes s-sir."

He found himself punched in the face sending him to the floor once again as anger emerged on the man's face. "What did I say about stuttering? Up!"

"Yes sir!" The boy managed to shout with whatever he could muster, placing his hand on the wall to assist himself to stand.

"Good. Now, again!" The man said, throwing a powerful punch to the boy's face.

Dante woke up with a start, the phantom pain from the dream still lingering. He felt a line of sweat roll down his face as he forcibly calmed himself.

'Why am I remembering this now?' He thought as he got off the bed, moving to the shower to cool off.

Ever since he started organizing his memories, some of them became more vivid and easily recalled during the process with flashes of those particular memories occuring.

This meant that his apparitions were currently working on the earlier parts of his childhood at the moment.

Even with this body, the martial arts his father drilled into his skull and being didn't fade away. They were still there, waiting to be called on at any moment.

Doing a quick check, he found his mental shields and defense were still intact. He'd been slowly strengthening them as he progressed with his telepathy so he was fairly confident in them.

Getting out of the shower, he called on his organic clothing, putting them on. Martian Manhunter had gifted him quite a few of them.

The clothes shifted into a plain long sleeved black shirt, black pants and casual shoes. Camouflaging himself, he opened up the window before flying out of the house and into the city.

He stayed high up in the air, casually drifting past the busy city. The passing of time didn't cross his mind even once as he toured the sky, eventually stopping atop a building.

Sitting at the edge of the building, he peered down at the civilians and vehicles that paraded the streets.

He had no aim other than enjoying his evening flight, unfortunately, that was ruined by an arrow that shot towards him from behind only to be frozen a few inches before it could touch him.

"Come out." Dante said, not turning back. He felt the person flee, running away as fast as he could to escape his telepathic range.

He turned to the arrow that his barrier had stopped only to see the tip shining brightly.

*BOOM!*

The arrow exploded powerfully, engulfing him completely. When the smoke finally cleared, Dante could be seen, standing unaffected despite the attack.

He frowned, having an inkling on who it could possibly be. He was already in a slightly foul mood and this assailant attacked at this time.

Just as he rose from the ground to take chase, the communicator in his ear rang, irking him a bit as he answered it, hearing the voice of Gotham's dark knight telling him to return to the cave for a mission.

'I already know your mental signature. When next I find you, you're not escaping me.' Dante thought, his eyes gaining a cold glint for a moment.