I want to thank everyone that reviewed/favorited/followed/read this story, and I'm so sorry I haven't been updating. I've had a busy couple of days, and I hope this is satisfying. I may be able to update again later, but no promises! Enjoy!
Kaldur knew his responsibilities as a leader. He had to know how to bring out the best and worst in his team, their strengths and weaknesses, and although he knew he would never fully understand them, he learned certain expressions meant different things. With some, like Megan, her face was open. Every eyebrow lifted or eye narrowed was unbelievably obvious to what emotion she felt. However, with others, such as Robin and Artemis, he knew that their emotions were buried behind a mask, and he had to observe the smallest details to comprehend how they felt.
He assessed the team. Kid Flash was relieved, and Megan was as well. Superboy seemed lightly confused, but that could be attributed to anything in the room, from his team to the structure of the room. Artemis was biting her lip lightly, face blank and calm. Her fingers twitched as if trying to beat a rhythm, but she crushed the impulse quickly. Robin's face was completely blank- too blank. There was an almost invisible tilt of a frown. Neither of them wanted to go, and as a leader, Kaldur knew it fell to him.
He gave himself a quick assessment as well. His heart was beating a bit faster than usual, and his mouth felt somewhat dry. That would have to do, because he was going to protect his team members for at least a few moments.
His even steps seemed to echo quietly. Maybe it was because of the thick silence hanging over the room.
His eyes closed slowly.
And with the blink of an eye, there were three projections staring at each other.
One was surveying the room. He looked the same as Aqualad, and had an intelligent gleam in his eyes. The next was dressed in all black with red accents. His eyes were narrowed immensely, glaring at everything in the room. The last one was a normal teenager with a jacket. He had a relaxed smile on his face, and there were no gills visible.
Robin instantly went to the glaring image. The rest of the team hesitated for a few moments before following. "Hey, Kal, who's this?"
Kaldur stared hard at the black and red clad teen. "I do not know."
"I guess we don't always understand ourselves completely," Megan murmured, gently touching Kaldur's arm. "It's just part of being a teenager."
He nodded, still glancing warily at it.
As the team moved closer to the normal human Kaldur, Artemis stopped in front of the image. Her eyes narrowed dangerously, and her lips were pursed. She then moved on; the team didn't need to see her suspicious.
The next one grinned. The whole team seemed to relax at his attitude. "I've always wanted to be normal, in some part of me, just like the rest of the world." Aqualad muttered softly. Everyone heard him despite that, and all nodded in understanding.
The last one was neither smiling nor frowning. He just watched calmly. "This is my biggest part of me. It possesses leadership skills and respect." He said humbly.
"And he's smart, too," Wally tacked on.
"Calm, too. Even when we screw up missions spectacularly," Artemis added, giving Kaldur a slight smile.
The team stepped back and allowed Kaldur to step once more on the platform before coming to them.
"We have all done well," He stated immediately. "Opening up like this requires the greatest trust possible in a team, and I am glad to see it." He pivoted to Robin and Artemis. "We will not judge you."
The entire team glanced to the gleaming platform. It went unspoken; it was someone else's turn.
