Chapter 265 - 265: Charisma

[Third Person Pov]

"They really don't trust us, do they?" Kid Flash asked after a moment, staring at the door through which Speedy had left. His usual enthusiasm had dulled, replaced by a frustration he seemed unable to laugh off. "Maybe Speedy was right. Maybe that's all we are to them. Sidekicks."

"My mentor…" Aqualad murmured, his gaze lowered. "My king. I believed he trusted me." There was no anger in his voice, only disappointment, which somehow made the words all the more painful.

"They didn't even tell us about the satellite!" Wally exclaimed, throwing his hands into the air as he turned toward Danny. "Seriously, did you know they had an entire headquarters orbiting the planet? A freaking satellite in space, and nobody thought we deserved to know about it!"

"I wasn't told anything," Danny replied with a shrug, which was technically true, even if he conveniently neglected to mention the other reasons he knew about the League's operations.

Robin, who had been quietly observing the conversation, finally sighed. "I have a better question. Why didn't we leave with Speedy?"

"Because he lacked charisma," Danny answered without missing a beat.

Robin slowly turned his head toward him. "I'm being serious."

"So am I." Danny leaned back slightly, folding his arms. "Look, I understand why he's upset, but let's not pretend the way he handled it was particularly inspiring. He stormed out, insulted everyone in the room, and basically declared that he was done with the League because they wouldn't give him what he wanted. Does that sound like the sort of person you'd want following you into a dangerous situation?"

"He had a point, though," Wally interjected. "I mean, the League doesn't exactly treat us like we're part of the team."

"He does have a point," Danny conceded. "And so do all of you. The League clearly hasn't done a great job of making you feel trusted, and I can understand why that bothers you. But there's a difference between recognizing that someone has a legitimate grievance and agreeing with how they choose to handle it. Speedy was right to question the League. That doesn't automatically make walking away the right decision."

He stepped toward the middle of the room, drawing the others' attention. "I think we're dealing with two separate problems here, and we're making the mistake of treating them as though they're the same thing. The first is that we don't know whether the League actually trusts us. The second is that we don't trust ourselves enough to decide what we want to do about it."

"Look, I'm not going to sit here and pretend we're ready to take on every threat the Justice League faces. We're not. We all have things to learn, weaknesses to work on, and plenty of ways we could get ourselves killed if we get in over our heads. Pretending otherwise would be stupid, and I'm pretty sure none of us wants to find out what happens when we confuse confidence with competence."

"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence," Wally muttered.

"You're welcome. I do my best." Danny's smile lingered for a moment before fading into something more earnest. "They're experienced heroes, and they've earned their reputations. Fine. Nobody's disputing that. But they weren't born knowing how to save the world, either. They had to learn. They had to make mistakes, face challenges, and figure out how to work with people who didn't always agree with them. So why should we expect ourselves to be any different?"

The room fell quiet. Danny glanced from Robin to Aqualad, then finally to Wally, making sure he had all three of their attention.

"Maybe the League doesn't trust us yet. Maybe they think we're too inexperienced, too impulsive, or too reliant on our mentors to make decisions for ourselves. And, honestly, maybe some of those criticisms are fair. But if we spend all our time getting upset about what they think of us, then we're giving them the power to decide what we become. We can't control whether they respect us. We can control whether we give them a reason to."

Aqualad lifted his head, his expression thoughtful. "You suggest that we demonstrate our capabilities through our actions."

"Exactly." Danny pointed toward him. "We can't demand that people trust us just because we want them to. Trust has to be earned, and if we want the League to take us seriously, then we need to show them that we're capable of taking ourselves seriously first. Not by throwing a tantrum, not by trying to prove we're better than them"

"Are you suggesting we become our own team?" Wally asked, eyes lighting up. He was practically vibrating in place. "Because if you are, I am so here for it."

Danny's grin stretched ear to ear. "Maybe. Who knows? We could be the Justice League's junior division… or a couple of teens on a quest to become Titans."

He glanced toward Dick and deliberately raised his eyebrows in an exaggerated, suggestive wiggle. Dick only looked confused. Danny, clearly entertained by some private joke only he understood, let out a low, eerie chuckle under his breath.

"Anyway." Danny slapped Robin across the back hard enough to make the Boy Wonder stumble half a step. "We won't prove anything just standing here. Get to work on what you do best and pull up everything you can find on Project Cadmus."

"Don't tell me what to do," Robin muttered, but he was already moving. He crossed to the nearest computer terminal, fingers flying across the keyboard in a blur of practiced precision.

"Access Denied," the system's AI announced in a cool, neutral voice.

Robin's mouth curved into a sharp grin. "Heh. Wanna bet?" He took the refusal as a personal challenge and only typed faster, layers of security peeling away under his assault.

The AI continued its mechanical refusals, but the tone of the alerts shifted—less absolute, more strained. Whatever Robin was doing was working.

"Whoa," Kid Flash breathed, leaning in. "How are you even doing that? This is supposed to be League property. It shouldn't be this easy to crack."

"It's only easy because it's the same architecture as the Batcomputer," Robin said without looking up. He hit enter with a decisive tap.

"Access Granted." The words flashed green across the screen.

"Alright, let's see… Project Cadmus." Robin's eyes scanned the sparse file. His expression shifted from focus to open surprise. "A genetics lab. Right here in D.C." He scrolled again, then stopped. "That's… literally all there is. No further clearance, no linked files, nothing."

He sat back, one finger curling thoughtfully against his lips. "But if Batman's suspicious of it, there's a reason."

"Then it's up to us to find out what that reason is," Aqualad said firmly, giving a single decisive nod.

Wally's earlier excitement faltered. He shifted his weight, suddenly looking less certain. "I mean… are we sure we want to do this?"

Danny turned between them, eyebrows climbing. "What is today, opposite day? I expect Aqualad to be the one urging restraint and Kid Flash to be the one diving in headfirst."

"I'm just saying," Wally pressed, more measured now. "Batman told us not to investigate for a reason. Are we really going to prove to the League that we can be trusted by doing the exact opposite of what they told us to do?"

Robin and Aqualad both looked toward Danny. Kid Flash followed their gaze a second later. After all, the idea had started with him.

Danny's voice was steady, no hesitation in it. "This is more than just proving to the League that they can trust us. It's about proving it to ourselves—that we're more than sidekicks."

Aqualad stepped up beside him, shoulders square. "We didn't come here for a playdate. Speedy was right about one thing: we came here to take our first step into becoming something bigger than ourselves."

Robin gave Wally a brief, affirming nod. "We have to show them that we're our own people. That we can make our own decisions."

Wally held up both hands in surrender, the grin already returning. "Well, I didn't need much convincing. Count me in."

Danny's smile widened as he took in the matching looks of determination on every face around him. "Then to Project Cadmus we go."

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