Chapter 99:

Chapter 99:

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Enjoy!

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[David Lance POV]

Much to my incredible surprise, after his defeat, Superboy had decided to join during training.

Nevertheless, it became immediately apparent to me that while open to the idea of training, Superboy was not entirely comfortable with the entire situation.

During training, he carried himself stiffly as if he expected to be insulted or provoked at any given moment. More than not, he would avoid making eye contact with anyone in the room unless we were sparring.

When he did make eye contact outside sparring situations, his entire demeanor would change in a different direction. He would hold his head high with an air of defiance around him.

One didn't need to be a genius or have the ability to read minds to know what he was thinking when he did this.

That air of bravado demonstrated that, on some level, he thought he was better than the rest of us; even when failing, that; this training wasn't going to be enough for him. I could see it in his eyes.

I wasn't angry about this. Not even bothered, really; in fact, I welcomed his behavior with open arms to an extent, as long as it didn't interfere with the training directly, because I knew that this show he was putting on for the rest of the world was nothing but a self-made mask to hide his fears.

To hide the fact that deep down, he thought that he wasn't enough.

It was simply a matter of time before he came to terms with himself, so until then, it was more than enough for me that he actually wanted to train, even if he didn't believe training would help him at all.

Now.

On the matter of Miss Martian. Well, that was a completely different can of worms.

She had immense power, but little to no skill or control over it. Talent like no other, but lack of confidence to capitalize on it, in short, from a psychological point of view, she was a wreck, perhaps one even bigger than Superboy.

I had severely underestimated what decades of racism, abuse, and other factors had done to her.

Be that as it may, working with her was proving to be easier than one would expect, all things considered.

While it was true that she had many, many problems. She was, unlike Superboy in most situations, open to the idea of a helping hand because, unlike Superboy, she was willing to accept her shortcomings, well, almost all of them.

In fact, because of this, she was eager to prove herself. If I had to take a guess, she was not only trying to learn but gain any semblance of approval and acceptance from us.

Did did Raven call me a basic bitch?!

"I did," Raven nodded.

...

....

Well, time to use one of my secret weapons.

~You just won yourself a M'gann breakfast,~ I said, smiling at my choice of punishment.

At this, Superboy snorted in a faraway corner, slipping out of his sulking persona.

"And how do you intend to make me eat, said breakfast?" Raven asked, one of her eyebrows perking up.

I smiled, an impish smile at that. ~Oh Fabio, the darkness within me consumes me, for there are two souls within me, one bad, one evil, both in love with-~ I hadn't managed to finish what I was saying when Raven had materialized in front of me, using her magic to stop my hands.

"How did you find that out?!" Raven hissed, her eyes glowing black.

I blinked a few times at her, Disney style. ~You used my library card~

Raven froze. ".... Well played."

"I Ehmm what's happening? And why does my breakfast feel like a punishment?" M'gann muttered, confused as hell with the situation.

"It's an earth thing; couples fight all the time according to the internet; this is what some people call a love fight or a fight without bark," Superboy replied.

"I won't even dignify that with a response," Raven said, turning around to mildly glare at Superboy.

"You guys aren't a couple?!" M'gann gasped. "I could've sworn you were; I mean, you can read each other's thoughts without a clear connection! On Mars, only lovers can do that!"

Well, this is getting weird; time to bail.

~So library?~ I asked Raven.

"Yes," Raven nodded, engulfing us in her magic.

On the good side, M'gann and Superboy were showing some behaviors that were to be expected of their ages, like teasing; sadly they picked the worst target for teasing, Raven, and a mute by a choice. But, nevertheless, it was progress.