He was running. Always running now. The blasts erupted right behind him as he zigged and zagged his way between buildings, quickly leaving those pursuing him far behind. He ran for what felt like hours before finally allowing himself the rest he knew he needed.
Breathing heavily and leaning on his knees he looked down at his tattered yellow and red suit and wondering for what must have been the hundredth time, who he was? Where he was? And why did it seem like everyone he encountered wanted him dead...
xxx
September 1 2016
Robin leaned back in his chair, pulling his eyes away from the numerous floating computer screens giving them the break they were almost literally crying for. He swiveled his chair looking out at the expansive new living establishment he and a large part of the team now occupied.
It hadn't taken long for all of the Justice League to realize that the Watchtower was ill equipped to house so many hero's... especially teenage ones. Thus it had not taken long for Batman to offer up one of his less used secret caves as an alternative to allow the youngest members a place to train and in a few cases live.
The cave was set a few miles outside Gotham, an easy access location and was already well suited in the task of offering a training grounds and intelligence gathering. Follow that with a healthy donation from a certain Wayne foundation and they were able to equip the cave with everything a group of teenagers could need.
The league had even managed the installation of a zeta tube . Sometimes being a super hero did have its perks.
It was simple but it worked. The giant entrance area served as the teams official intel/debrief room while doubling as the primary living room when otherwise unneeded. Stocked with oversized couch, chairs, and TV it offered a group of teens the perfect hang out spot.
The next biggest room in true Batman fashion was the training facility. Offering tech only available to those in the tightest of Wayne Enterprise circles it was always ready to give the young blood a true test of their skills.
Of course additions had to be made to incorporate housing so many and a kitchen and living area were quickly implemented. Once again the help of magic and super strength seemed to make the job much easier than it should have been.
All said and done Robin had to admit that he didn't mind the new set up. Sure it meant less time away from the rather impressive tower in the sky but it was far easier to just be the kids many of them were away from the intimidating eyes of hero's like Superman or Batman.
Together Robin, Blue Beetle, the new Kid Flash, Beast boy, Lagoon boy, Wonder girl, M'gann, Superboy, Beast boy, Static and Bat girl each had their own rooms in the cave though there are many more available for less permanent use. And those beds were finding themselves filled with their old Young Justice pals more often than not. Robin had to admit it was probably a lot more fun here than at the tower.
It was the best of both worlds to those on the inside. They had a place to call their own and be themselves when down time allowed it while at the same time working side by side with the Justice League. Barbara acted as commander for the, "Watchcave" as the team had started joking calling it, since she was now Aqualad's second.
That coupled with routine visits from Black Canary, Tigress, or Aqualad to make sure their training sessions continued as scheduled kept them constantly on their toes. Their had been no shortage of missions following the aftermath of the Reach's failed conquering attempt. The damage the MFD's had reaped left the planet nearly crippled and the team was stretched thin assisting anywhere it could.
Robin was forced to shake his head clear as the zeta tube lit up announcing the arrival of one of his teammates. Seconds later Bat girl appeared in full garb and hastily made her way to the computer terminal Tim now occupied.
"Mission time," she announced as she stood next to him and began hitting keys in rapid succession. Robin leaned towards another keyboard jutting from the side as he responded, "I'll summon the team."
"No," Bat girl interrupted grabbing his wrist, "just Bart and Jaime on this one." Robin eyed her for a moment before adjusting the controls he had been playing with and hitting the confirm key. Barely a second had passed before there was a hum and a blur and the new Kid Flash stood before them, new pager in hand, "you rang?" he asked light heartedly holding up said pager. New additions for the entire team calling for immediate presence if activated.
Bat girl turned away from the screen as Jaime came walking in from the same hallway albeit at a much slower pace than that of KF. She hit a button on the keyboard and numerous pictures and news paper articles quickly filled the blank screens.
"Hurry up blue," she started as he formed up in front of the screens with Robin and Kid Flash. "The league has been following a meta for a few weeks now, he apparently surfaced after the countless disasters that followed the fluctuation with the Earth's magnetic field two months ago. Its apparent that he has been trying to aid the local authorities of a small town in the mid west."
"So he's a good guy?" asked Jaime glancing at a picture of this clearly young individual carrying a young girl away from a burning building.
"That's what we thought at first," Bat girl responded before pressing another key, "but after the league ran a facial recognition scan through every main frame across the U.S. we found several states out for his arrest. It seems our would be hero here has a few sticky fingers." The screens flashed with pictures clearly taken by security cameras of the unknown meta inside various establishments after hours helping himself.
"He looks so young," Robin said looking from screen to screen, "he can't be much older than us, we're sure he is a meta?"
"Almost positive," Bat girl responded, "all of his recent heroism's have involved some kind of fire, forest fire, burning building, you know the drill, that coupled with the fact that every break in he is related too has had the lock melted which causes us to believe the kid can take the heat, if you catch my meaning. Your task for right now is to find him. Talk to him if he lets you, bring him in if you can, and only engage if attacked first. We are trying to keep this from getting out of hand and while he may be helping out now, we can't be sure of his future intentions. Lets see if we can keep him on a straight path"
"That's it?" Kid Flash asked inquisitively, "nothing exciting just a snatch and grab?"
"We don't know what he is capable of at the moment and since you three appear to be close to his age we are hoping you will be able to talk him down without needing to resort to unnecessary violence," she scanned their faces waiting for the next complaint, when none came she continued, "when you complete your task radio ahead with its status and there will be a team here when you arrive."
"You want us to bring him here?" Robbin asked surprised. "We do," Bat girl quickly responded, "but we'll meet you outside and see where it goes from there. Take sphere to get there faster and hit the road, if all goes well you'll be back in time for dinner... dismissed."
With that she was gone, back out the zeta tube and on too another assignment most likely. "Always so chatty, the bat family I mean," Kid Flash laughed nudging Blue on the arm who joined in. Even Robin had to smile adding, "you have no idea," as they made their way to the hangar. "At least she was kind enough to leave the coordinates this time," Blue added, "last mission she walked off and completely forgot!"
This chapter ended longer than I was intending but really wanted to describe the new "cave." Not sure how I feel about this story yet or where I'm going to go with it. Just gonna start writing and see what happens. Hope we like the start, don't know how frequently I'll be able to update or how long this will be. Time will tell :)
Disclaimer: I own nothing and take credit for nothing but the story so far... new character might be showing his face soon tho ;)