YJC Chapter 11: A Guarded Mind

| Watchtower

| 2019 March 9, 10:43 AM

To say the Watchtower was impressive would be an understatement. Every wall seemed to be made out of some sort of unknown alloy, holo-technology was available was in every room, and every point of interest was locked behind biometric security. But she didn't get a lot of opportunities to explore.

She was mostly confined to a room making a new suit. Although she would use the wording of "making a suit" lightly. Most of the time she was beside Superboy as he showed her basic design options via holoscreens.

They started with a design that replicated her current outfit and worked out from there. First by making her leggings extend to cover her feet. To get rid of the need for socks and provide basic foot protection, they said. Then they scrapped that initial idea and just integrated a new pair of knee-high boots into the suit itself. Then they added a bit of extra padding on her torso, a firm panel of protective fiber on her palms and fingers, and were even willing to give her a new belt to replace her old one. Apparently it was considered standard equipment.

Even with the redesign, she wouldn't appear all that different. But the material used would offer her a substantial amount of protection and, more importantly, provide a basis from which they could create her other suits. It appeared that this costume was mostly meant to enable the usage of "darkwear" and "polar stealth" that they considered important equipment for their operations.

The issue came when he tried to get her to abandon her cloak.

"It's staying.", Raven stated.

Superboy fixed her with a neutral look. "These suits are all optimized to maintain a comfortable temperature in just about every situation that doesn't involve extreme weather. You don't need it for cover.", he tried to explain. "And if it's about concealment we can give you a face mask. We can have it so it not only covers the lower half of your face, but also work as a gas mask. We can even throw in a domino mask on top of that."

Raven looked him in the eye with certainty. "Not happening." Wearing a cloak was one of the few traditions she had been able to maintain since leaving Azarath. She wasn't going to give it up easily, no matter what reason they threw at her. "You can replace it with another cloak that meets your material preferences, but I will still wear a cloak as part of my ensemble." It was also conducive to her magic in a way. Why create shadows out of thin air when it is entirely possible to surround herself with them via her cloak? It wasn't inherently magical or anything, but it did make things a bit easier for when she wanted to use certain forms of spellcraft. But she wouldn't tell him that.

Superboy almost looked taken aback. Raven had given virtually no complaints to their proposed design changes, but the cloak is where she drew the line? She didn't give any form of demand while she was settling into the HUB either, so this cloak issue was really starting to stand out. "Uh. I can replace it with something that is flame and laser resistant. But I really think you would be better off without it."

Her eye contact didn't waver, and even though all logic told him she was but a tiny slip of a girl, he was beginning to get unnerved at her intense focus. Her reasonable demeanor up until this point was not reliant on his seniority or approval, it seemed. If she didn't like something, she would tell him. His experience and superior height did not appear to phase her.

This meant a lot to her. "I suppose it doesn't matter too much if you keep it." He looked around the room for a moment, a thought coming to mind. His voice became softer. "So, is it uh...a security thing? Do you need it reduce anxiety?"

Raven blinked impassively, not knowing whether to feel insulted or touched at his attempt at understanding. Did he just compare her cloak to a security blanket? "I wouldn't say I need it. But it does make me feel comfortable."

Superboy looked like he didn't entirely buy it, but she didn't give any outward reaction to his obvious thought process. "I like to think of it as a feeling similar to you wearing that "S" on your chest. I find it unlikely that wearing it was always conducive to your covert work."

Superboy's eyes widened a small fraction as he impulsively looked down at his own chest. A black shirt with the superman logo — which his friends often noted as being inappropriate for their off-the-books missions. Even before he joined the Outsiders, he was pushed a few times to abandon the logo entirely. "It's not an "S". It's a symbol of hope.", he mumbled. "And logo wearing only became an issue a couple of years ago." And when had she caught on to his attachment to the logo? Was it that obvious he valued it? The shirt itself could be found in a variety of stores, so it shouldn't have stood out. Even if he was Superboy.

Raven crossed her arms. "I'll take your word for it." Her claim about the logo had been a bold assumption, but she apparently hit on something. She had noticed that he never changed his shirt's style even when he was on downtime, and that she felt pangs of something that bordered on longing and pride anytime Superman appeared on the news. So, it felt reasonable to assume he was concerned about his legacy as Superman's... what did the Man of Steel call him? A brother? A son? She couldn't quite recall. But his DNA was what confirmed that Lex Luthor was guilty of genetic misconduct.

It gave her a leg up in her argument, in any case. The older man gave a distinct and heavy sigh before returning his attention to her. "Alright. I won't fight you if you feel that strongly about this. Just make sure it doesn't get in the way."

Raven turned her attention back to the holo-screen, satisfied. She didn't say anything as Superboy went about designing her new cloak. She saw he was trying to an put an emphasis on defense, attempting to create a draft that primarily used titanium microfibers.

He emitted a grunt in disappointment when he was notified that such a cloak would exceed the recommended weight ratio. He then backtracked on defense and tried to emphasize elemental resistances. But once again the weight was more than what he was comfortable with. "This may take a while. But we can initiate the fabrication of rest of your equipment."

"Yeah, about that…", Raven started. "Don't you think you guys are moving a bit… fast, with me? It's barely been a day and I have already been invited to the watchtower and getting a new suit."

Superboy raised an eyebrow, looking like he didn't understand what the problem was. "Well, it only makes sense. We can't have you going out on the field without protection."

Raven strengthened her tone. "I mean, why are you allowing me into classified areas?"

Superboy gave her a small smile. "Oh, trust me, what you've seen so far is only the tip of the iceberg. What you've seen now is likely all you'll ever be ever to experience — aside from the garden. But to answer your question more directly, it's because we are pretty certain you're staying as a full-time member."

Raven narrowed her eyes. "And what makes you think that?"

"I mean aside from Arsenal, both Canary and Nightwing are fairly sure you'll agree to stay. Both of them are pretty good at reading people." He gave her a look that echoed a moment of uncertainly. "Are they wrong?"

"Not for right now.", Raven sighed. "But am I correct in assuming you have only shown me the lower-clearance sections of the Watchtower?"

"Basically.", he admitted, frowning as he looked over the screen. "The tower's internal security is tight. Really tight. What we've shown you are mostly places where you will be receiving your briefings. Since you're not even allowed into the tower's system yet, its harmless."

Raven frowned. "Good to know."

She felt flares of frustration as Superboy looked things over. "We should just skip to calibrating your contacts."

Raven looked at him. "Contacts?"

"Darkwear contacts.", he clarified. "You will be wearing them a lot. They can be used for identification, night vision, recording, and a lot of other stuff. To tell you the truth, even I don't know all of their features." He shrugged. "But as with as any other form of technology nowadays, they need to be run through an initial startup process. It needs to be able to determine the movement of your eyes and receive messages from your frontal lobe through ocular signals."

Raven did not like the sound of that and it showed, with her mouth turning into a hard frown. These contacts needed to acclimate to receiving signals from her brain? Her form might look exceedingly reminiscent of a human, but her brain* and eyes in particular boasted significant differences.

Superboy quickly tried to calm her fears. "It's not as invasive as it sounds. It doesn't poke into your eye or anything. It's just capable of reading and utilizing information that otherwise doesn't get used. It reads those signals, and transforms them into actions through the provided interface." He nervously rubbed the back of his neck, probably realizing that his 'simplified' explanation still failed to really explain how they worked. "How about we just go ahead and get started. Once the initial calibration is over you need to get some practice in. You'll see just how harmless they are."

-X-

She would have been amazed at the sight of javelins, space cruisers, scouting ships, and an invisible jet of Themysciran origin — but she was a bit distracted by the interface that was literally in her face. While the default user interface was mostly unintrusive, the realization that she was using what would qualify as a computer for her eyes made every part of the UI seem greatly significant.

It reminded her of when she was a tiny child and was presented with her first iPhone, and Raven was absolutely awed at how she could select an option without pressing a button. Sure, she technically pressed a button by putting her finger on the screen, but for the longest time she had associated button pressing with, well — pressing. Applying substantial pressure on a tangible object and seeing it sink down. "Pressing" a button on an iPhone felt more like tapping a glass surface than actually interacting with a regular button.

And now she was "pressing" buttons... by looking at them. Well, looking and registering the existence of the button. If she looked at the general area where a button happened to be located, the button itself would not activate. She was still trying to get a feel for it, but apparently if she didn't look at a button with the intent to use it, the button itself would not activate. Is this why the contacts had to read messages from her frontal lobe? To read the intentions behind her eye movements? She had yet to press anything accidentally.

That being said, there was a certain learning curve as she tried to intentionally activate anything. Mostly because the concept of option selection through a combination of optical movement and neural intention was foreign to her, despite how easy the concept would seem on paper.

It was paradoxically simple and difficult.

She found herself biting her lip as she spotted her teammates in the far distance, standing by a red egg. Trying to get a better look, Raven had to smother her feeling of abject wonder as the lenses zoomed in on them, with the interface showing a new screen as it zoomed in on her place of focus.

She knew the League had access to insane technology but this... this was almost otherworldly despite its uncanny familiarity. The technology of the future.

One of the small icons on the left side of her vision moved. She saw an icon consisting of a black R on a yellow circle move to the top of the logo list, a text box appearing near the edge of her vision. "This is Robin. Still getting used to the contacts?"

Raven looked around for a way to respond. She found what looked like a text option toward the right side of her screen, but she had no idea how to use it when selected. It just showed an empty text box. Was she supposed to type with her eyes too?

Likely deducing her confusion, Robin sent another message. "You can either select the mic button for voice-to-text message or type it out with your hands using the semi-interactive interface."

Turning her attention to the mic option, she spoke out. "You can type responses?" Her speech was almost immediately transformed into a message and appeared on her screen.

"Yeah. You don't see it right now, but we use stripped down and downgraded holo-screen technology to provide a hand interactive interface for the contacts. That way others can't see or interact with it. Just bring up your hands with the intention to use it and try to touch the UI in your sight."

Raven tentatively brought up a hand, trying to feel for the tell-tale tingle that she usually associated with holographic screens. She felt none. But when she tried to touch her screen, she saw the interface change as if she had physically touched it. It was so immediate that she brought her hand back, worried that she somehow broke something.

'Tech companies, eat your heart out', she thought, staring at the new keyboard layout.

It felt peculiar and weird, but she was able type out a basic message. But it was crude, and there were even a few spelling errors due to her unfamiliarity with the keyboard layout. In the end, she fumbled with the interface for about half a minute before she sent out a response. "I suppose this is it?"

The response was quick. "Yes. Now get over here. You've been standing in the same spot looking like you're lost."

Raven quickly found herself trying to close out of the keyboard layout, and looking back towards the assembled group. They were looking back at her, and Robin was sporting a small smile on her face. They all had a feeling of amusement about them, and she had a feeling she looked like an awestruck teen... which she kind of was, now that she thought about it. She was standing awkwardly in the Watchtower's hangar, likely looking like she was touching empty air and awkwardly looking at random spaces.

All of a sudden extremely thankful for her cloak, Raven found herself finally walking forward to greet them. It was only when she got closer that she found herself staring at the red egg. It felt more muted, but it reminded her of that alien ship she rode in with Canary. It honestly wouldn't surprise her if they had an egg-shaped teleportation device, or if they had some sort creature lying in wait to be hatched for transport.

But speculating was pointless. Instead, she was better served addressing her teammates.

She turned to Spoiler, who was currently chatting with Arrowette. "So, um... I'm sorry I hit you with a rock. I thought I was aiming at our enemies."

"That was you?", Robin asked, looking alarmed. "I thought it was a Shadow who sent that rock my way." He rubbed his head in response to the vague memory, courtesy of being hit in the head by an enemy.

Spoiler rubbed the bruised area near her eye. "So long as you don't do it again, we're good. The Shadows caught everyone by surprise and it's not like you knew how to work with us."

"She did help out with getting Robin back.", Arrowette piped up. "She also helped defend me when I was blindsided by smoke bombs."

Robin shrugged but gave Raven an appraising look. "Well, hopefully today's mission will go smoother. But even on the ride over I am sure we can a better idea of who we are working with."

Raven sensed a new presence approaching them, and she turned around to see a new figure gliding toward them. Bald and sporting a complexion that was even lighter than her own, Raven suspected that she was a Martian based on her style of clothing. It was reminiscent of Martian Manhunter's.

The new person in question quickly noted Raven's quick awareness of her, and promptly extended a hand to introduce herself. "Hello. You're Raven right? I'm Miss Martian, and I will be leading today's mission."

For the most part she seemed genuine, and Raven felt feelings of kindness and curiosity ringing predominantly through her empathy. But there was a little feeling of confusion too. The uneasy kind. Like Miss Martian had observed something about her that put her off, or at least gained her attention.

As if accentuating this idea, Raven felt the beginnings of a mental probe. Well, "probe" seemed like an exaggeration, it was honestly closer to a poke. A tentative evaluating touch, as if she wasn't sure what she was looking at. Her mental barriers stood, as they always had, but Raven felt slightly unnerved about at the existence of this new presence in the outskirts of her mental area. Most of the time such presences were hostile and attempted to break past her barriers.

Suddenly feeling like she was making a bad impression, Miss Martian retracted her mental evaluation. "Sorry. I knew you were a psychic, but I didn't expect... You know you don't have to put up mental shields while we're here, right? I don't invade the minds of my allies unless I get their permission beforehand."

She waited a moment, as if fully expecting her to drop her shields at her gentle insistence, but all she got was a raised eyebrow from Raven. "My mental barriers aren't hurting anyone."

Miss Martian frowned a little, but decided to brush it off. Superboy had said she was overly cautious, so it was only natural she would be on guard around a new person. "You missed the main mission briefing because of issues with suit creation. But we can brief you while en route aboard the bio-ship. It will allow us to answer any questions you might have and we can even have you practice using darkwear contacts."

"You honestly didn't miss much.", Spoiler said. "Today's mission was handpicked to be simple and with minimal chance of combat because they want to see how well we work together." She almost seemed irritated, but not at Raven.

Miss Martian gave her a stern look. "It's not just that. We also wanted to evaluate Raven's tracking abilities. We can't test that conventionally, so on-field observations are the best we can do. But we can make a lot of headway in this case if we get this mission done right."

Walking toward the red egg, Raven was only mildly surprised when it began morphing into a familiar shape. So, the bio-ship could transform into an egg? She should have guessed since she had seen its shapeshifting abilities firsthand.

Miss Martian boarded the ship alongside the others, and she took a moment to ease the vessel. Based on what Black Canary told her, her ship was probably overcompensating and trying to get Raven to loosen up. After all, a guarded mind was a universal sign of discomfort or mistrust in martian culture, and Miss Martian had a feeling Raven installed mental shields at the first sign of something unusual. What was more curious though is that she knew how to put up mental shields at all. Most psychics didn't just have that ability, it had to be learned. Trained. Cultivated through months, if not years, of study.

Did she have a bad encounter with a psychic in the past? That would certainly warrant their development. Especially if she met a psychic on par with someone like Psimon, who could all but eviscerate a mind. It would also explain her mental shield's unprecedented strength as well.

What did she deal with, she wondered, to necessitate the formation of mental shields that strong?

Whatever the case, Miss Martian doubted those shields would last forever. Even she could only maintain a mental shield of such magnitude for so long. When that happened, she would have to direct herself and her bio-ship carefully to be as friendly and unintrusive as possible.

| South America

| 2019 March 9, 1:22 COT

The first half-hour was just spent introducing Raven to the Watchtower's data base and search functions. Normally, it would have taken less than five minutes to give a basic overview, but the process was intentionally slowed to ease Raven into using her darkwear contacts.

She now had a decent grasp on basic communications and data inquiries, and for the time being, that was enough. They would be in South America within half an hour, so Robin decided to give his mission overview. "A new cocaine variant, numb-dust*, has been flooding into various countries. But what makes this drug stand out is how it has a low chance of activating a person's metagene. While the chance of activation is low, it has contributed to several emergent metahuman incidents due to its massive distribution."

"It's bad in my town.", Arrowette quipped. "Just last week there was an incident at a rehab center where one of its tenants accidentally killed someone while in a session due to suddenly gaining the ability to exhale toxic gas."

A map showed up on the bio-ship's screen, displaying a northern region of the amazon jungle.

"We are not too sure who is involved in its creation given its complex composition, but its distribution has been traced to a Columbian cartel. Given the area's natural foliage and biodiversity, satellites have largely been unable to pinpoint their location. But we do have a general idea. Our mission is to search a section of the jungle and hopefully locate a few of their labs. We are also to gather intel on how it is made and who is helping them."

He looked to Spoiler, who was currently sitting in a chair that beginning to shift into a recliner. "Virtually everyone will begin their search at the drop off point. But Raven will remain with the bio-ship and act as mission support. If her tracking abilities are of any use, she should be able to direct us from here. But if not, we have Miss Martian who will tell us if she detects anyone's mental presence."

Raven gave a small cough. "I'm sorry, but mission control? I could understand it if I had more experience using all of this... this." She gestured to the ship in general. Then she pointed to her contacted eyes, incredulous. "I just recently learned how to activate the image isolator. If mission control is of any importance, it should not be left to me. Communication will be stunted at best."

Robin shrugged. "Well, you won't exactly be alone. The bio-ship will help you, quite eagerly, in fact."

"And Miss Martian will be with you.", Arrowette said.

Raven hummed in acknowledgement. "Ah, so an elaborate training exercise."

Robin looked sympathetic. "I wouldn't call it that..."

"I'm not judging.", Raven clarified. "Just trying to understand the situation." Looking just as unemotive as ever, Spoiler found herself readjusting in her seat.

"So, when are we dropping?", the blond asked.

Miss Martian spoke up. "The bio-ship is descending to the canopy of the jungle now. We will drop you off in less than a minute. Connecting mental link now."

Raven frowned. 'Mental what?'

No one around her felt as if anything was amiss, but there was a mental force trying to breach her barriers. Far from hostile, it was more insistent this time around. More intent on finding a way through to form a temporary bond of some sort.

A feeling of confusion rippled through the ship, and virtually everyone was exchanging looks between her and Miss Martian. No one was talking though.

Almost as if they were having a silent conversation, Raven saw Robin shooting Miss Martian an inquisitive look before turning his attention toward her for a moment. But then he looked back to Miss Martian as if he somehow asked a question.

The mental presence near her mind increased its pressure, borderline demanding, and the action had Raven instinctively reinforcing her shields. She glared at the martian. "You're not getting in."

She was almost tempted to send out some form of psychic pulse in warning, but refrained. It wasn't like she was attacking her.

Miss Martian held a look of deep concern and confusion on her face when Raven felt the mental force recede. She pursed her lips in thought, and then cleared her throat before she spoke. "I know you may be uncomfortable with the idea of sharing a link, but I assure you there is nothing to worry about. If it's between professional colleagues, the connection is only surface level. It won't go any deeper unless I intentionally pry — and I solemnly promise that I won't."

She said that last part with conviction. The feeling was so reinforced that Raven was suddenly under the impression that Miss Martian had either experienced a major psychic breach in the past or committed the atrocity herself at one point. Neither prospect reassured her. "Your mental prying is not what I'm worried about."

Spoiler looked like he wanted to ask a question but she cut her off. "My mind is not a place for outsiders." She made eye contact with her team leader. "That includes mental intrusions from friends or any well-intentioned martians."

There was an awkward silence filling the cabin. As if wanting to diffuse the situation, the bio-ship began showing Raven the minifridge again, the miniature building in question swinging its door open with an avid eagerness.

Arrowette looked like she was witnessing a major treasure. "Isn't that Kid Flash's stash? I thought he was joking about that." Looking around the room for a reaction, she shrunk a bit when the silence continued.

After a few awkward seconds, Robin cleared his throat. "Well, those are definitely his preferred brand of snack bars and energy drinks.", Robin noted. "And it makes sense. Kid Flash needs to replenish his energy stores on extended missions."

Miss Martian reasserted her grip on the ship's orbs, the action causing the minifridge to disappear into the bio-ship's floor once again. Then she pursed her lips. "The drop point is here. We can get this mission underway, and I can work with Raven from here."

No one said a word, but there was a series of exchanged glances and nods when a hole appeared in the middle of the cabin to reveal thick treetops. The three teenagers descended and the hatch closed, leaving Raven alone with the martian who was practically oozing confusion and... pity?

Raven's glare intensified.

"It will take them some time to find anything useful. But I think we should talk.", she started. "Are these mental... blockades natural for you? Is it just a part of the powers you were born with or did you..." She mulled over her response for a second. "...develop them in response to some sort of experience."

Raven thought for a moment, mulling over how much she should reveal. She had to give the martian something, otherwise she wouldn't drop it. "These mental barriers are primarily artificial."

That was true enough. Half-demons always had some sort of mental resistance, some way to either detect psychic activity in their mind or deflect it for a time. But making a defense as iron-clad as hers took years of cultivation and study. How else was she supposed to repel the mental intrusion of demons? She could even muffle her father's whispers some of the time. But there wasn't much even she could do when he really wanted to have an audience with her.

She could never let them grow weak — and her father was not the only reason they were so strong. "Just know that I have my reasons."

Miss Martian thought the response was incredibly vague. "Can you expand on those reasons?"

Raven's stare was unwavering. "No. I have given you all you need to know."

Another round of silence rang through the ship, and Raven felt Miss Martian mulling over her response carefully. She was put off and slightly unnerved, that much Raven was sure of. But there was also a feeling of uncertainty there.

Her eyes glided over Raven as if she was searching for something. Some hint or inkling of what she was thinking. The search situated on Raven's face for a bit, evaluating it for signs of emotion, but found none. A feeling of great nervousness and trepidation emanated from her person then, and the evaluation of her face went on for an uncomfortably long time before.

"Do you rely on your telepathy for communication?", Raven suddenly asked.

Startled by the question, the martian's hands jolted as if they were shocked. But she quickly regained her composure. "Telepathy is incredibly useful on our missions. It can't be hacked or blocked conventionally, and it also allows members to convey feelings and memories to each other to better provide information. Some may even call it the most useful form of communication we have."

"I got that.", Raven drawled. "But I was actually asking about you. Do you rely on telepathy for communication? Even if you don't talk with it, I have a feeling you rely on it to inform you about what a person is feeling or to determine social cues."

It was something Raven was guilty of herself, in a manner of speaking. With empathy, there was almost no need to evaluate facial expressions or social ticks to determine what someone felt.

"I wouldn't say I rely on it.", Miss Martian defended. "But I am used to having that information on hand." She hoped she sounded calm. But she was beginning to get creeped out.

She wasn't sure Raven was aware of this yet, but her shields were doing more than preventing mental intrusions. It blocked virtually everything about her mind. Her thoughts, her emotions, and even her mental presence.

Even if she wasn't talking to anyone telepathically, she was used to feeling the mental presence of anyone and anything around her. Even animals had a presence if she looked closely enough.

But Raven was... almost nonexistent. By psychic standards, it was almost like she was invisible. Until she laid eyes on the young girl at the Watchtower's hangar, her very presence had gone completely unnoticed. Almost as if she was some kind of ghost. Or an advanced machine, like Red Tornado.

It was only when she looked at and focused on her, that she was able to tell that she did indeed have a mind of some sort.

It was almost like she was dealing with a living doll. One that was so clearly sentient when the martian looked at her, that she was perpetually settled in the uncanny valley. Her pale and near-otherworldly appearance didn't help matters.

She swallowed thickly. "We... can work around it for now." She could arrange some sessions with Raven later. After all, who better to train a psychic than another psychic? "How about we check in on the rest of the Team? The bio-ship is capable of interfacing with darkwear, as well."

A map detailing the locations of her teammates was being shown, the entire front portion of the ship glossed over in mimicry of a computer screen. "I don't wear darkwear contacts myself since it can get in the way of my shapeshifting, but by using the bio-ship, I am more or less able to access the same functions through a telepathic link. But even on its own, the bio-ship is more than capable of performing the same functions autonomously. Try to connect to its screen."

Miss Martian looked meaningfully at her as Raven attempted to navigate her UI. It took her a few seconds, but eventually she was able to bring up the requested feed.

Miss Martian made an almost imperceptible motion with her head. "They say they have not found anything. Spoiler was able to find some tracks that lead to an abandoned building, but nothing that indicated the traffic was recent."

The map indicated they split up, each diverting into separate areas so they could survey a much wider area. So, they probably needed to search another area entirely.

"Can I leave the ship for a while?", Raven asked.

Miss Martian looked weary at the idea. "Why? Can't you sense the area from — oh." She paused. "I guess being inside the ship might get in the way of your senses." Looking at the ceiling composed of organic matter in thought, she silently told her ship to open a hatch for her. "Hide in the treetops to stay out of sight."

Raven's irritation raised another level at the amateurish piece of advice. Did she think Raven didn't already know that? "Got it."

She eagerly stepped through the hole that emerged inside the room, plummeting to the lush foliage below. She felt relieved as the rushing of air surrounded her, practically relishing in temporarily escaping Miss Martian's line of questioning. It was a sentiment that was mirrored in the martian as well, if her empathy was any indication.

Allowing herself to freefall, she turned to temporarily look at what she thought would be the shrinking image of the bio-ship. To her mild disappointment however, all she saw was a clear sky with an out-of-place opening.

'Well, a red alien ship out in the open would stand out.', Raven thought.

Turning around, Raven began to slow her decent as the sensation of soft leaves and hard twigs began to poke her skin. Not enough to hurt her, but more than enough to tell her that large branches were coming up.

It was only when she found herself perching on a branch of sturdy wood was Raven able to finally appreciate that she was indeed in the Amazon jungle. The temperature was warm, the sound of rustling leaves and animal sounds filled her ears, and her empathy was already being flecked with crude feelings.

Animals were always a peculiar case for empathy. The majority of the time they escaped her notice entirely unless she intentionally tried to focus on them. They were very simplistic in their feelings. Only capable of generating base emotions of hunger, fear, and the like — each considerably more one dimensional that what even humans could form. But not all animals were the same. Whales and dolphins tended to feel more similar to humans than, say, dogs and cats.

She always suspected primates would be similar, but this is the first time she was able to confirm it. She didn't have to investigate to know that a good amount of what her empathy was perceiving came from monkeys and apes who just so happened to be in the area.

Her lips quirked in a small smile. 'They almost feel like human infants.'

Taking a moment to gear her mind toward her actual mission, Raven found herself taking a breath as she focused on her empathy. The rainforest practically hummed with life, the sheer amount of simple emotions almost reminded her of a settlement or a small city, albeit one with lower emotional magnitude. It might have been difficult to find individual persons in this light haze, but the same could not be said for an inhabited production site. All she had to do was search for an empathic locus of more distinct emotions. One of focus, drive, senseless euphoria...

'Nothing.' A smudge of disappointment emerged inside of her heart. It appeared locating them would be a bit tougher than she thought.

She bought up the communication tab on her contacts, noticing that someone had already made a chatroom for the group.

Clearing her throat, Raven tried to clear away the lingering feeling of awkwardness as she spoke to the empty air. "This is Raven to Team Alpha. My initial scan of the area has borne no useful results."

Her words appeared on her screen as a text, and it only took a few seconds for her to get some response.

The maroon tinge of Arrowette's text box came first. 'So much for tracking these guys down. I haven't found anything either.' Her icon was that of downward pointing arrow, a fitting representation of her specialty. She idly wondered if Green Arrow used a similar logo.

"So, I take it you still don't have a mind link?", Spoiler asked, her purplish text box accompanied by a similarly colored icon with the silhouette of her masked face. "I suppose that's why we have this tech in the first place. But yeah, I haven't found anything useful."

Robin's text quickly followed. "We can move on to the next area then. We'll regroup at the bio-ship and move on to the next section."

"I actually don't think we should move on just yet.", Raven said. "I want to investigate this abandoned building Spoiler came across. This will also provide Miss Martian the time needed to search for psionic signatures."

There was a small delay before anyone responded. The bio-ship — or rather, Miss Martian — gave her first text then. "About that. I actually already scanned the area. The others were already informed of the results over the link. I don't sense anyone around."

"Don't sweat it though.", came Robin's quick reply. "If you want to investigate, I see no reason to stop you."

"Sending coordinates over now. I'll head over there so I can meet you.", Spoiler stated. Within moments Raven got a notification on her screen of a sent attachment, which she opened to reveal a map. The location was roughly a kilometer away, and Spoiler wasn't too far away from that location.

Not a tough trip at all. Raven found herself falling into a pool of black energy almost reflexively before the next message was even sent. Arriving at a dilapidated structure, Raven found herself comparing it more to a tool shed than anything resembling a house or even a shack. "What's your ETA, Spoiler?"

"That was quick.", Spoiler noted, likely noting Raven's new position on her map. "I'll be there in less than five minutes."

"Understood.", Raven immediately began approaching the rickety structure, looking on impassively as the small building gave a distinct creak. Perhaps calling it "dilapidated" was a bit much. No, it would be more accurate to say the meager building was simply haphazardly constructed.

It was built to serve a purpose temporarily, and so it was quickly built to only last for so long. She could tell due to the lack of rot and wear and tear in the construction materials, the wood itself being neither rotted through nor even just as dirty as its surroundings.

Raven kneeled down near the entrance, solidly placing her hand on the moss-covered dirt. The traces of human emotion were faint, but still there. Weariness from a long journey and a certain amount of drive hit her first, followed by a hint of panic. Either they had been in a hurry or they got spooked on the way over.

She felt nylon pressing on her shoulders, soreness in her legs, and the sound of tired legs traversing through brush and thicket. Opening her eyes, she took a breath. With the sensations still tingling on her person, her legs began to follow the path last traveled.

She found herself walking into a tangle of thick green grass, trailing behind the faint sensations. She was keeping an eye out for them, but she wasn't able to find anything that would serve as physical evidence of their travel. If they had made any footprints in the mushy soil, it had been erased long before now. They didn't appear to have lost any fabric or other physical evidence on the way either.

She continued walking for several meters, her cloak almost continuously catching on errant branches or twigs that happened to be around her. She had to stop her trek on more than one occasion just to untangle the damn thing.

Calling down from her position in the tree branches, Spoiler spoke out. "Yeah, I thought that cloak would be too much trouble."

Wrenching her favored piece of clothing free from the undergrowth, Raven didn't dignify her with a response as she stubbornly followed the trail that she picked up on. She did not like how amused Spoiler felt, though.

"So, what are you looking for?"

Raven swatted away another branch. "Anything. A dropped lighter, knife marks in a tree, a footprint in the mud. My empathy tends to work better when I can make physical contact with something belonging to the person I want to track."

"So, why do you think those things would be here? A bit off the beaten path, don't you think?"

Raven shook her head. "It's faint, but my abilities tell me they were headed this direction. I evaluated the building you found and followed the trail here."

Raven heard the sound of metal embedding itself in a tree as Spoiler lowered herself, coming down to stand beside the pale teen. "So, you are already on their trail? Just by looking at the scene of their activity?"

Raven continued walking. "I also touched the soil, but yeah. I have no idea if these are our guys though. They could be natives. Or survivalists."

Spoiler put her hands on hips, snorting. "I doubt it came from either of those groups. Exploring the jungle for fun isn't exactly popular. Can't you just give us a heading from what you already have? Let's just get in the bioship and head in the direction we are already walking."

"We can do that.", Raven agreed. "But I would rather be thorough. We don't know if they changed direction at some point or if they are actually running away from a production site as opposed to running toward one. They left in a hurry."

Spoiler looked impressed. "You can tell that they were in a rush?"

"Well, it is called empathy for a reason. Mine just stands out due to how it can glance at past emotions.", Raven dryly stated. "But I want to determine why they were panicking. With a trail as faint as this, this sort of panic can from anything. Sleeping in late, for instance. Or getting spooked by the wildlife. Or maybe they got a call from their boss."

Light skepticism emitted from Spoiler then, likely because she didn't see the relevance of such information, so Raven explained. "If I can reasonably determine the cause, I can tell you how reliable this heading actually is. I might even gain insight as to how prepared they are for potential discovery— assuming they are preparing at all."

There was silence for a moment as Spoiler thought it over. "So, if they aren't in your empathic range, you can't track them directly. But if you can get a closer look at the residual marks they left behind, you can use the context to inform you where they probably went and even what mood they may be in later on."

"Basically.", Raven confirmed, finding the simplified explanation adequate. "But there are a lot of variables to take into consideration."

"Variables, huh?", Spoiler murmured, sounding like she was thinking about something. "So... you said we are following their path, right? Like, their shoes were on the same soil we are walking on."

"Yeah. It looks like we won't find anything useful though. So, we can head back to the ship." Despite tempering her expectations, Raven couldn't help the mild sting of disappointment and worry that blossomed in her chest. Going on a mission only to find nothing didn't exactly look stellar on any record, but it especially looked bad for a newbie. She had no idea what their standards were, but she was sure she looked disappointing.

A rush of air left her mouth as she ran a hand through her hair. If she didn't make improvements soon, or at least proved her worth, she wasn't sure if she would be permitted on this team for much longer.

"Wait. Let's take some samples first." Spoiler brought out what looked like a mix between a thumb drive and a thin metal stick. She stuck the tiny tool into the ground, making sure to use her gloves to pad the soil onto the metallic stick before closing it with a thin plastic cap. "Sample sticks. They can help us analyze any substance on them. Normally, I wouldn't use these in a mission like this, but if you are certain that they were literally walking in this exact area, we may find something."

Spoiler extended a few to Raven. "Go a few meters behind us and use them there. Make sure each sample is at least a few feet away from each other."

Grabbing the unfamiliar tools, Raven found herself backtracking as she took swipes of dirt and moss. If they were anything like samples taken by crime units, it would take a couple of days for the results to come in. Although knowing the League, they can probably rush the order to only take a few hours or less.

"You ready?", Spoiler called, gripping a grappling hook. "The ship is already above us."

Craning her neck upward, Raven didn't see anything out of the ordinary as she looked toward the sky. But the odd feeling emitted by the alien ship was distinct enough for Raven to tell i was indeed there. She turned her head slightly as she levitated herself, trying in vain to somehow detect the cloaked ship with her eyes.

She slowed her ascent when she got closer to the treetops, her empathy telling her that the ship was literally right above her, and her eyes eventually caught on to a transparent shimmer. It took a while for her eyes to adjust, but eventually she was able to find the faint outline of the alien vehicle. Not enough to determine how to enter it, but enough to see that there was some foreign object in front of her. It honestly hurt her head just trying to keep an eye on it.

"Over here!"

Looking to her left, Raven saw a black gloved hand waving at her from an opening. Flying into the ship, Raven found herself suddenly becoming aware of all of the presences inside. She had no idea if the ship masked their presence or if she simply hadn't been paying attention, but Raven found herself looking at the entirety of Squad Alpha.

'Well, they did say they were heading toward the ship...', Raven thought.

"Welcome back.", Robin greeted. "We are just going over the sample results."

"Already?", Raven asked, unable to keep a slight note of incredulity out of her voice.

Robin shined her a small but proud smile. "I think you will find that the technology available to us is out of this world. Sometimes literally." He gestured to the rest of the ship. "As I'm sure you are beginning to understand."

Directing her attention to the front of the ship, Raven found herself looking a confusing list of components and isotopes. But Robin seemed eager to elaborate. "I admit that I doubted that you would find anything, but you definitely found a path people were walking on. We found traces of tobacco, rubber, and even sweat in the samples you and Spoiler gathered. We may not have enough to identify anyone just yet, but we can definitely do some investigative work with this information later."

"Incidentally, this trail is heading toward the other area we were going to search. So, it is beginning to look like we may find something after all.", Miss Martian added. She gave the cloaked girl a reassuring look. "You did good work, Raven."

Arrowette was sitting in a chair, looking at the sample results just as confusedly as Raven. "So, you can just, like, tell where people were? Even when they are long gone?"

Raven proceeded to her own seat, waving Arrowette off. "There's a lot to it, but yes. You can ask Spoiler if you want details." There was no way she was going to explain her abilities again. But were they really ok with her performance? They honestly seemed pleased at the results she and Spoiler found. Or they were just content to confirm that her abilities worked even at this capacity.

But what she could tell for certain was that they weren't disappointed. A smooth extension made its way over to her face inquisitively, and Raven found herself swatting it in annoyance. Letting a low growl emit from her throat, Raven stared at the floor of the ship, as if she was somehow making eye contact with it. "If I wanted you to pry at my personal space, I would have let you know. Back. Off."

The impromptu tentacle instantly retreated, something that made Raven inwardly sigh in relief. But it was short lived as her chair instantly did the same and re-merged itself with the rest of the floor. With her rump falling ungracefully to the floor, Raven heard muffled snickers racing through the air.

"You did tell it to back away from you.", Spoiler noted, her eyes crinkling in open amusement. "That applies for any chair it happened to make for you."

Robin and Arrowette were both giving a light laugh, with some of their hands even resting on heaving stomachs. "I've never seen the bio-ship get spooked like that!", Robin remarked.

Raven shot them an intense glare. It had Arrowette immediately piping down, but Spoiler and Robin still had traces of mirth on their faces. Even if it was nervously hidden behind hands and quieted voices.

"So maybe we can try some teambuilding on the way?", Robin suggested. "I know the bio-ship is technically not a member, but she might as well be. Trying asking for a chair."

As Raven stood up, she found herself reassessing the alien vehicle. While simplistic in nature, she did detect a certain amount of wound-up energy inside of it. Like it was apprehensive or nervous. Whether it was in genuine fear or some form of social anxiety, she did not know.

She coughed, not liking the attention of all her teammates on her as she turned her attention toward a blank section on the wall. "Can you... provide me a place to sit? Please."

A place to sit was indeed provided for her, but unlike the chairs provided for the rest of her peers, hers was significantly larger. More padded too. In fact, she was pretty sure this was the message chair it had made for her when she first encountered it. "Um.", she mumbled. "I don't need anything fancy. Can you make it smaller?"

She was expecting it to slim down into something more standard, but what she got instead was a stool. Not even one of the long-legged ones either, but a tiny barely-off-the-ground stool with no back support. It basically looked like a plate on thick sticks.

"It's trying its best.", Miss Martian called, looking somewhat contrite. "But it is used to reading the surface impressions of the minds it comes across. It's how it can anticipate the needs of its passengers so well."

Robin finished her statement, looking as if the whole scenario intrigued him. "But with her mind being completely closed off, it has no idea what she really wants."

Raven bit the inside of her lip, not liking how everyone in the cabin were looking at her like she some sort of oddity. "You know what? I'll just stand."

-X-

"Have I ever told you how much I hate missions like this?", Arrowette moaned. "We have been searching for hours! At least with escort missions we know we are accomplishing something — and I hate escort missions!"

Despite the promising prospects given by the soil samples, the Team had yet to find any production site. They searched one section of the jungle, and the next, and the next — but no dice. The Team was practically in Venezuela at this point.

"Welcome to the investigative process.", Robin dully stated. "Do you have any idea how many hours Batman has to research before he even gives out a single mission? Or how much internet chatter Oracle has to monitor in order to ensure her information is reliable and up-to-date?"

"Investigation and research do make the backbone of any substantial hero group.", Spoiler agreed, her voice sour as she plucked another twig out of her hair. "But that doesn't make me dislike this job any less. I'm going to take a long shower after this." While no one could see it, irritation laced her features. She was hot, she was beginning to smell, and her muscles were beginning to tire from fatigue.

She practically growled into her link, jealous that the martian was able to have easy access to cool air. "Hey mission control! Seeing anything on your end?"

Miss Martian sent waves of apology her way. "No. Neither me nor the ship have seen any sign of human life."

"And Raven?"

"She has not reported anything for a while, but she is on the ground with you guys."

Taking a moment to bring up the text screen on the bio-ship's monitor, Miss Martian found herself inwardly bemoaning the complete lack of a viable connection with her new charge. Having to send out a text message, to take the time to physically type out words that were completely bereft of emotion or visual impressions?

It was unnatural to her. Shallow in a way martian communication simply wasn't. Not that she would ever tell someone that to their face. Every race had its own preference for communication, after all. But still...

"Raven, can you give us a status report?"

She sent the message off with minimal flourish, her brows furrowing as she was forced to keep her attention glued to the ship's darkwear interface.

Raven, for her part, was almost completely unperturbed by the lack of a link. Not when technology could fill the role just as well and was, apparently, readily available. Hence why she readily flattened herself on a particularly large branch as she looked dead ahead at a field of dense foliage. She had followed another trail here and now... she found nothing. Or rather, she didn't see anything. Which was odd when one considered that her empathy told her there should have been something in the area. A lot of somethings, actually. But nothing she looked had matched what she was sensing. There should be people, a lot of people, near here. But she didn't see anything as she was cautiously hurrying about, prowling from branch to branch as she looked for any sign of human life.

It was only at random did Raven get her answer, with her arms and upper torso going through a field of light that temporarily blinded her. It was so sudden she instinctively recoiled and rubbed her eyes, looking forward at the familiar scenery that now seemed too normal for comfort.

She backed off considerably, intentionally trying to get some distance between her and whatever she just encountered. An illusion, probably, arranged in the form of either a wall or a dome of some sort.

She had no idea who casted it, but it was readily apparent to her that it was meant to conceal something. Her empathy has all but confirmed that were several people in the area, but no matter how much she strained her eyes she couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. Just trees, leaves, and even more trees.

But what was more telling is that Miss Martian had yet to make any mention of mental presences. But maybe that was just because she was out of range?

Raven made sure to keep her voice to a whisper. "This is Raven to Alpha Squad. I have found another empathic trail, one that is significantly fresher than the last. But something is...", she paused. "Off. Miss Martian, have you been able to detect anything?"

"No. Everything seems clear over here. But we will head over to you and investigate. Is there a reason you're whispering? Did you see someone?"

"I said I found an empathic trail, right? A fresh one? Under normal circumstances, that should mean someone is close by and I can sense them. But I don't see anyone."

That was enough information to get them cautious, right? She may not have confirmed the presence of potential hostiles, but she gave them enough information to tell them they may be around.

Sounding eager to follow a potential lead, Spoiler's text erupted on her screen with a set of emojis and several unnecessary exclamation points. "Sounds like progress! You're doing great Raven!"

Raven would have rolled her eyes if she wasn't put off by what was in front of her. Or rather, what was not in front of her. Laying down on her stomach, Raven allowed her body to steadily drift ahead, tentatively grabbing any approaching branches that came within reach to look like she was stalking through the branches.

Reaching a hand out to the empty air, her fingertips tingled as they grazed the edge of an invisible film, making the sight before her crackle before her like a glitching computer image. She quickly retracted her hand. What exactly was this? And if she went through, would that set off some sort of alarm?

She hoped that she didn't tip off whoever or whatever set up the barrier.

Staring into what she now knew was a mirage, she contemplated teleporting herself to the jungle ground below. She only had a rough idea of what lay beyond the haze before, but the mere existence of this illusion complicated things.

She felt out of her depth. People who had access to technology like this was far beyond anything she usually dealt with. Maybe she should hide out somewhere to gather more information? Or maybe advise Alpha Squad to board the bio-ship and survey the area that way? Or would that be out of line?

In any case, moving to a different location would be prudent. If on the off chance she did set off something just now, she didn't want to stick around.

There was rush of air as she dropped herself in her own portal, the action taking her to another location several meters away. She knew, logically, that she was in a different location just based on feeling. But everything looked so similar that she felt a sense of déjà vu.

She really needed to get out of the forest.

"Hey, did you just teleport?", Robin's text showed up. "I blinked and now my map shows that you are way closer to me."

"That was the idea.", Raven confirmed. "Although it is nice to know that I 'blink' when on maps.", she mused. She had been hoping there would be a delay in updating her position. But it seemed her position was shown near instantaneously… which meant she had virtually no leeway when it came to the prospect of going off grid even temporarily. That meant no hidden side meetings while on missions and no dead drops. Not unless they wanted to be potentially discovered, at least.

"Yeah. It's kinda amazing really. I'm used to seeing these dots move across the map like a crawling bug. But with you? It just pops in and out. At seemingly random locations. I'm really close by, by the way. Are you up in the trees?"

"Where else would I be?", Raven droned. "The ground is where enemies tend to walk."

"Makes sense.", Robin typed. Raven heard rustling nearby, with a few 'thunks' being heard as Robin presumably used grappling hooks on the thick branches. She saw his head poke out from her peripheral vision. A few dirt stains were on his face, a light sheen of sweat all but confirming that he was probably the one covering the most ground of the two of them. "What's going on?"

Raven pointed a finger, gesturing towards the familiar landscape of tree and wood. "A hidden film of some sort. One that we can pass through easily. As soon as you confirm it, I'll move us to an area closer to Spoiler. I don't know if you'll trip something as soon as you touch."

"Don't worry about it.", Robin stated, suddenly turning serious as he stared ahead. "Hyperspectral imaging shows that something is already there." He looked from side to side, looking to see just how large this alleged barrier of "film" actually was.

"What do you think it is?", he inquired, still staring at the faux distance.

"An illusion.", Raven stated. "One that can be passed through easily. I might have already tipped them off to our presence when I first went through it."

"Well, I don't see any signs of electronic chatter.", he stated, the glow of his red contacts bleeding through the white of his domino mask. He was silent for a few moments, his hands momentarily going up to type and swipe at invisible screens before he made a decision of some sort.

It was not done over darkwear, she noticed, and Raven was left to conclude that they were talking telepathically when Robin turned back to her. "Miss Martian will remain on standby. We will wait here until Spoiler can reach us, and then we will head on in and investigate."

Raven gave a small incline of her head, understanding. "But what about them possibly being aware of our presence? Is it really safe to go in as a group if the potential for discovery is high?"

Robin looked at her with a keen stare. "Personally, I don't think they realize we're around yet. Assuming they are even capable at all of detecting minor disturbances, they are more likely to chalk it up to the native wildlife than anything else." He then gave her a small confident smirk. "But even if they do, we've agreed that it would be best that you teleport us inside. Can't trip anything if we just bypass the barrier entirely, right?"

Author's Note: Numb Dust was used in the comics by Lord Chaos as a food additive in an alternate future. It was meant to make the general populace more compliant with his rule but also had the side effect of encouraging the production of the metagene in the descendants of users. Here it is just a cocaine drug variant brought about by metahuman trafficking.