DC: Don't Utter A Word

Chapter 93:

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[David Lance POV]

After Batman and I finished talking, and he was about to leave with Roy, he offered me something. To join the team he was forming as their leader.

I was honestly taken back by his offer, questioning his objectivity in the entire selection process.

Batman without missing a beat explained I was the most qualified individual to lead them, as I had in his own words, the training, the mentality, and maturity to act efficiently.

I frowned, accepting his points and reasons for his decision, but telling him that I honestly worked best with Raven more than with any other person and that more people in that mix would affect efficiency.

Batman agreed with this quickly, saying that that was exactly the reason he wanted me to lead the team, saying that my work with Raven was an example of what teamwork should look like, and what he expects from the team.

I sighed, rubbing my temples, reminding him that while I was flattered he was offering me this position, I wasn't exactly the best, my treatment of Roy's clone by tossing him into portals being the prime example I still had things to work on.

I also pointed out that there were other options within the roster, like Aqualad, who previous to becoming a hero was part of Atlantis army.

Batman nodded, saying Aqualad was the second in line for that position because of that, but that he still wanted me to lead them.

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I sighed. ~Batman, I I don't know, I mean, I don't even want to join the team to be entirely honest, I kind of enjoy the freedom I have as I am now.~

"I am aware of that, and believe me if the situation wasn't like this, I would be offering you to join the League instead," Batman replied, placing a hand on my shoulder. "You of all heroes of your age, have proved to have all that we look for in a League member and more. For all intents and purposes, you are a member of the League, but I need you to operate as their leader for the time being."

Well. This is weird to get used to; I mean, Batman complimenting you, it just feels weird. ~Very well, but only until Aqualad can take the mantle.~

I had a long list of reasons for not wanting to join the team, some personal, others not, but I could see why Batman wanted me to take this role.

Right now, as far as we knew, there were two clones out there, one was trying his absolute best to join the League, the other was angry and part of the team.

Batman wanted me to keep an eye on the latter of the two, while he kept an eye on the other one. Divide and conquer type of shit.

"That's all I can ask," Batman replied.

~Before you leave, how soon do you think you can find a room to keep Match on?~ I asked, seeing as he was about to turn to the exit.

"A few hours maybe less, I will be contacting you with the details in a bit," Batman replied, walking to his car, where Roy's unconscious body was buckled to the copilot seat.

Well, I guess Raven and I will join the team.

Fun

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Batman gone, I contacted Raven to talk about what I had talked about with the Dark Knight, a few moments after, a portal opened, with Raven floating out of the portal in a sitting position known in yoga as Agnistambhasana.

Taking a deep breath, I quickly explained to her the situation, and what was needed from us at the moment.

"Is this a bad time to want to go solo?" Raven said in a calm tone.

I sighed, knowing she was joking by the way her eyebrows moved ever so slightly, but nevertheless, deciding to tell her she had an option. ~I know you were joking just now, but if you truly don't want to join this team, you are in your right not to.~

Raven sighed. "I won't leave you alone. That unfortunately is the price I have to pay for having befriended you." She finished with a faint smirk on her face.

I smiled, rolling my eyes at her. ~Well, just for that, you can't say no now. I revoke your refusal privileges in this offer now.~

Raven sighed in fake defeat, before she replied in an emotionless tone, "Oh nooo"

I inwardly chuckled at that. The emotionless tone of the drawling no being very hilarious in my opinion. ~This will be complicated, Robin is being eaten by the guilt, Kid Flash is a showoff with self-esteem issues, and Superboy is an angry ticking bomb. The only one that I feel it will be easy to work with is Aqualad.~

"That makes for fifty percent of the team, counting us," Raven replied.

I nodded. That percentage was accurate for now, as Miss Martian, and Artemis had yet to join, and that could and would upset that balance of teamwork I was looking for.

Miss Martian lacked all manner of experience, and Artemis, well, she had other kinds of problems, so in short, I had my reservations about how working with them would be initially.

Chances were that Miss Martian would take a neutral stand, in order to not insult anyone, while Artemis would take a headstrong approach to most things, trying to prove herself.

Of the two of them, Artemis was most likely the one I would manage to work with the best the fastest, as her problems with teamwork compared to the rest were minimal, and easy to tackle.

Miss Martian, on the other hand, would take a bit longer to fit in in terms of efficiency, with her massive inexperience and almost pathological need to be liked that stemmed from her life under racism, promising to affect her performance.

"What are you thinking?" Raven asked, snapping me out of my train of thought. "You have that look that says, I know something you don't."

I smiled. ~Well, kind of, but you know~

"I didn't ask how you know whatever it is, you know. You should know by now that I fully respect your privacy, so that's beyond the point," Raven said with a deadpan expression. "What I do want to know is if whatever you were thinking right now is something I need to know or can know. I will remind you once again before you answer that I trust you, and therefore I don't care where this information is coming from, so feel free to answer if you can."

I paused, blinking a few times. That was a pretty straightforward way to remind me she has never questioned the knowledge I technically pull out of my ass.

~I apologize, it's just well, you know, hard to say something without giving a source or something,~ I sighed, scratching the back of my head. ~But you're right, I should know by now that you trust me to have a good reason to not tell you.~

"I feel like I should say, duh, but I won't," Raven replied, still wearing her deadpan expression.

You kind of did but I will let it fly for now

~Well, in order to answer your question, yes, I know something you should probably know,~ I smiled, taking a deep breath before answering. ~In a few days or so, I'm not sure, two members will join the team I was asked to lead. The first one will be Miss Martian, who, as the name suggests, is related to Martian Manhunter, the next one and last, will be an ex-criminal turning good, known as Artemis~

"Anything I should know about them?" Raven asked with a thoughtful look.

I nodded. ~Miss Martian is probably the strongest psychic around when it comes to raw strength and potential, so there's that And Artemis, well, she's a skilled assassin trained by many masters that just now managed to escape her life. They both have their personal problems, Miss Martian, the scars racism left on her, and Artemis, the scars her family left on her.~

"Racism?" Raven asked, tilting her head. "That seems remarkably stupid for a race of shapeshifters, at least from a phenotypical point of view. So is their racism based on social class, power, or something else?"

~Is mostly phenotypical.~ I answered.

"No comments of that," Raven replied, her face conveying how stupid she found what I had just said.

I sighed. ~From what I know, there are a few colors in the Martian pallet of skin, those being Green, Red, Yellow and White, if I'm not mistaken, with White Martians being the ones everyone seems to hate and well, you can guess her color.~

"She's a white martian," Raven stated, and I nodded.

~She will probably hide that bit of information from anyone in the team,~ I added, sighing once again.

"We have a lot of work ahead of us, don't we?" Raven said with a sigh of her own.

I nodded.

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