AN: Sorry about the lack of fluff friends! I needed to get this out of the way, but the next chapter will start to show more fluff I promise!
The Dark Knight eyed him wearily. From what he had from the team this kid could potentially be extremely powerful. But seeing him cower before the superhero, small hands trying to cover up a face larger than they are, he could see nothing but a scared child.
"Give me back my hat." Cal had murmured, not wanting anyone to see him like this. Not even the other orphans had seen his face when he had come back that day, and he intended to keep it that way.
"We'll return it as soon as we ask you some questions." Blunt, yet still overly terrifying to the young teen.
"What kind of… questions?" Nervous hesitation surrounded the shadowmancer and came off him in waves.
"Only two: One, where did you get your powers?" Cal flinched. "Two, we can help you out with your trouble with the law, and save your home, if you are willing to work with us. Do we have a deal?"
If Cal were drinking anything, he probably would have spit it out in the hero's face. "The first one I can't honestly answer, but what about question two? I mocked your team, said some pretty messed up things, and now you're telling me you'll save my home for no reason and I have to work with them, and some of the scariest people in the world, with no strings attached?"
Batman raised an eyebrow. "That's essentially what I'm saying, yes. One member of the team actually vouched for you and that's enough to give you a chance. But I will warn you from now." If the slits in Batman's mask could get any smaller, they probably just did. "If you so much as jaywalk from this point on, it's straight to jail. Do I make myself clear?"
Cal whimpered out a noise of agreement and Batman threw him his clothes. In all his years, the Dark Knight had never seen someone change so fast, and was slightly shocked to see the shadows cover his face like a veil.
There was a slight moment of hesitation. Cal could have used this opportunity to get the heck out of Dodge if he wanted to, but something against his better judgment went ahead and blurted, "I suppose I should get the hated glares over with, huh?" His voice was much larger than it was a moment ago, and he supposed with the shadows hiding him, he had nothing left to fear.
"Follow me." Batman turned, and walked briskly down the hall, with Cal actually keeping pace.
It was 15 minutes walking through a maze of corridors with the silent hero before Calvin noticed a change in the interior. It spilled out into an open expanse, wide enough fit the huge supercomputers that took up a fraction of the room. The rest of it was a flat platform, surrounded by the walls of the actual cave. Loitering around were the members of the team he had encountered earlier, as well as three others he recognized immediately: Red Tornado, a Green Lantern, and Black Canary. Surprisingly enough, not everyone was staring at him with some bad intention. The Lantern Corps member looked almost intrigued, with a slight smirk on his face, and the girl who had read his mind smiled slightly and waved at him. He was almost tempted to smile back, but he did not want her to see his serrated teeth, so he settled with a nod almost unnoticeable and a frown.
"Team, I would like to introduce a new member. This is-"
"Caligon. The name's Caligon." No way was there ever a superhero named Calvin, and he didn't want to resort to something stupid like Shadow or something.
"Caligon will be working with you from here on out. M'gann, you'll be his chaperone." Superboy's jaw nearly dropped when Batman spoke those words.
She flew over with that same smile on her face, and surprisingly, there was no hostility in her expression. "Nice to meet you, Caligon." She held out a hand for him to shake but he didn't return the gesture.
"Likewise. Now could you tell your dog to stop growling at me?" He responded haughtily to the piercing gaze he felt from Connor's direction.
"What did you just call me?" Superboy's voice was irradiating the anger he felt inside at this newcomer's remarks. Caligon had lashed out at the one person who had showed Superboy what it was to be kind to others, and now the newcomer had the audacity to direct his aggression toward him? Not on his watch.
"So I guess this is the part where I ask you to show me around?" Cal ignored the clone, focusing more on his chaperone, much to the chagrin of the former.
"Um, yes. I can show you your room first if you'd like." She responded with a slight frown at his remark toward Connor, but remained polite for now.
"All I really want is a kitchen right now, to be honest. It feels like I haven't eaten in three days." He smiled a bit too wide and she gasped at his teeth. His mouth shut immediately.
"Um… Okay." She flew off, and he followed her, guessing she was going to lead him straight toward their source of food.