Hey guys! It's been such a long time. Good lord. I've been reading a lot of fanfics, but haven't had time to sit down and write.

My newest obsession is Young Justice, obviously. Especially Robin. So I had to write some fluff, angst, whatever.
Enjoy! I'm super sorry if the layout of the story is confusing. I kinda pumped this out without another thought and no beta.

Reviews on what I can fix or just how much I rock are always appreciated!

Introduction: Joker

It was only for a few minutes. Since they found out the league of baddies and took them down, it was only a matter of time until the League got here and sorted the rest out. They just had to keep watch and make sure none of the villains escaped their hold.

The most unnerving was the Joker. His shrilly laughter kept on going and going. Artemis felt chills run down her spine. Just looking at him, she could just tell that he was off. That he wasn't human at all.

It's when he starts talking that it seems the swap area becomes even quieter.

"You knew I was coming for you little one," he says gleefully. The words don't sound right on his tongue. "When the kettle jumped into the fire, towels flapped on the hooks…"

He's looking straight at Robin right now. M'gann uses her telepathic link. "Robin, is he talking to you?"

Robin looks back at Joker, no emotion on his face. Joker cackles and keeps on talking in this odd rhythm. "And the dog crept off, groaning, to the deepest part of the woods… Little bird, don't you know?" He's laughing insanely now, as if this was the funniest joke in the world.

Robin's eyebrows are furrowed for a second, like he's disturbed or trying to process this new information. He shoots off a thought to everyone, "Everyone, stay quiet."

And then he talks. His voice carries a sudden burden, but the team stays silent. "In the hackles of dry bush a thin laughter started up."

Joker is laughing will glee. "Yes, yes! That's it!"

Robin continues, his voice grows steadily ominous. "Mother scolded the food warm and smooth in the pot, and called you to eat."

Joker stops his laughing abruptly, as if to hear Robin's words. The silence is thick. The team doesn't know what's going on. Robin's voice is just above a whisper now. "But I spoke in the cold trees…"

Joker grins the widest grin in the world. It looks like his lips might even rip. "New one, I have come for you, child hide and lie still…" He cackles like and repeats this like a mantra. "I have come for you, I have come for you, little birdie. Go hide and lie still, little birdie!"

Robin cracks a grin. "Wendigo dies and the human lives in the end. She frees him."

The team doesn't understand anything. To M'gann, the mental link is the strongest, and she sees small flashes of pictures. She blocks them out quickly.

Joker turns cold, silent, and then growls at Robin. Suddenly, he's screaming profanities and then he's laughing again. "Well played, little birdie, but how many die before he's freed? Little birdie, go hide and lie still!" Robin's smile doesn't go away. He knows he's won this. Before they knew it, the League is here.

It's silent the way back. No one knows what just happened. No one except Robin. Once they are in Mount Justice, Kid Flash breaks the silence. "Dude, what the hell was that?"

Everyone wants to know. Robin shrugs. "I can't tell you the whole story, because I think that would compromise my identity…" His mouth becomes a thin line, thinking. Finally he decides with, "I've been fighting with Batman a long time against the Joker. So we've got our inside jokes. Ha! Get it? Joker and jokes?" Robin laughs and it's suddenly childish again. The joke is a little painful at best.

The team doesn't get it. Wally almost doesn't want to let this go. Superboy is way more confused than per usually. But there's a silent agreement that they won't push Robin about it. It occurs to them that Robin has been fighting crazy people like Joker before their team. They can't see this happy Robin with the Robin they just heard talking with the Joker.

He sounded sinister, so on top of what was going on in the Joker's head. How can one do that? Aqualad isn't sure if he should report this to Batman, but decides he won't. It didn't endanger the mission otherwise. It was just, in colloquial terms, plain weird and creepy.

=====0=====

It wouldn't be until a few years later that he would unveil his secret identity to Wally. He would bring up this event and Wally would stare in silence and try to remember. He gets chills from remembering this scene.

Robin, Dick Grayson, explains, "It was a poem one of the people at the circus used to tell me. Wendigo is some ancient, mythical beast from Native American stories. He eats people and is horrifying. The version she told me though was that a girl manages to free the human trapped in the beast and thus, the beast dies forever."

"Dude, this still makes no sense." Kid Flash says bluntly.

Robin shrugged. "I don't know where he pulled the poem out from, but I knew it. It was more like a game than anything. He was trying to freak me out. Doesn't work if you know the whole story."

Kid Flash sighs. "Sounds like a weak play. Yeah, it was kinda creepy but I mean, it seems like you would've shaken it off regardless."

Robin shrugs again. "When I first started patrolling with Batman, I made my rookie mistake when I fell into a Joker trap. It was short of actual death, the torture, I mean. And Batman was in a rage. It was one of the most horrifying things I've ever gone through. My head probably makes it more terrifying than it was but anyways-"

Wally interrupts. "Holy shit, Joker did what?" He can't imagine some nine year old being tortured. A nine year old. He can't get over how nonchalant Robin sounds.

Robin looks at him. "It wasn't bad, okay? I'm alive now, right? But I made the connection to the poem. Wendigo is 'posed to be this cannibalistic demon that can control other humans or take human and attack other humans to eat their flesh. That night, I'm pretty sure the Joker was going to eat me. No lie."

Wally grimaces. He doesn't like this conversation anymore. Yeah, he's glad that Dick Grayson trusts him, but this is too much. He's sorely tempted to leave to room right now and plan an attack on Joker. Robin almost laughs at Wally's reaction. "But that's what I think. Dunno if Joker actually had that in mind, trying to drudge up some old memory, or if he's just plain crazy. Probably the latter."

Kid Flash looks at Robin, eyes full of worry. "Aren't you still traumatized or something?"

Dick looks at Wally with disbelief. "Dude, I've been patrolling Gotham with or without Batman since. It's going to take way more than a rookie mistake and some crazy Joker to stop me."

Wally just raises and eyebrow and laughs along. Secretly, he wonders what kind of person Dick Grayson really is. Sure, he knows his identity, but forever, he's like some sort of enigma. Not like Batman, and not like Joker, but somewhere in between. The only thing Wally knows for sure is that if he had been stuck in a situation like that, he would've given up being a speedster.

Joker gave him the fucking creeps.

Introduction: Scarecrow

Fear is a survival mechanism. The brain feels distress in a negative situation. Some even think fear should be a basic or innate emotion. Others believe in the exploitation of fear.

It was a plan gone wrong. They had separated too early in the game. It wasn't even thugs that brought them down, but Superboy himself. The warehouse sprayed something from the ceilings. Aqualad hears Robin shout something about not taking in the gas.

Did he know the perp?

Suddenly, it's chaos. Superboy is in a rage. M'gann is racking the team's mental link, trying to calm Superboy down. He's yelling incoherently and ripping apart the cargo and machinery in the warehouse. He's throwing things around and when Aqualad goes to approach him it's like the CADMUS labs incident all over again.

Somewhere in between trying to stop Superboy from killing them, everyone gets some part of the fear gas. Robin swears at something like Scarecrow and after that, Aqualad is hit with something and he falls unconscious.

When he wakes up, he has a migraine. At first, he doesn't know why. Then he is hit again with this scream. It vibrates throughout his head and then he hears it too. It M'gann. She's screaming, crying, something.

And it hurts the mental link. He's cringing. He wants it to stop. He feels exhausted and stands up. He can feel his adrenaline pumping though.

In the middle of the warehouse, it's a scarecrow. Or a man in a scarecrow suit. And then finally he thinks it through, it's the Scarecrow. Something sparks in the dark and explodes. Was this Artemis's arrow? There's a misty smell throughout and Aqualad starts seeing pictures explode in front of his eyes. There's Black Manta and then Garth is dead. There's so much blood. Tula is dead... His home... gone... and then Black Manta has his hands around his throat...

The lights of the warehouse flick on and it's a blinding sun. Aqualad feels brought back to reality for a moment. He lowers his arms, which had been going for his neck. Scattered throughout the building are his teammates. Robin comes flying in at the speed of Kid Flash, it seems.

"Can't teach an old dog new tricks, I guess." He laughs and rams into Scarecrow who seems to throw a grenade of sorts into the air. More gas? An explosion? Aqualad's head is so muddled.

In a flash, it's over. It had been an explosion. Sort of like a last minute plan to get away, aimed to kill the Boy Wonder (the only one who didn't get hit by the fear gas). Aqualad will ask how he avoided it later.

But instead, the rubble the explosion makes is the downfall for the Scarecrow. It's a sloppy mistake and Robin tsks. He calls Batman in for some backup. Superboy is still under, but in case he wakes up. Robin doesn't have any antidotes on him. For now, the Scarecrow is caught.

He knows he'll be scolded by Batman for that later.

=====0=====

Back at the mountain, everyone is silent. Everyone except Robin. He's excited for a relaxing movie night.

"Hey. So I really wanted to watch the new Transformers so that's what I got. I hope that's okay, but man, it looks so cool!" Robin exclaims happily, flopping on the couch.

It's a little bit awkward and as the DVD is loading, Artemis explodes. "How can you be so nonchalant about this?" She slams her hands down on the table. M'gann looks up and almost goes to try and calm Artemis down. M'gann stops herself. She remembers what she saw.

Robin peers at Artemis through his shades. His lips are thin. "You guys were hit with fear gas. It's what Scarecrow uses. It basically makes you see your greatest fear," He sets the popcorn down and stands up, looking at everyone. "It's just your fear. Maybe it's something you'll get over, maybe not. But like the cliché, it's the first step is admitting it."

Artemis's hands close in a fist. She wants to pummel the kid. Superboy speaks up first. "No."

Robin shrugs. "If you need a therapy talk, I can go get Canary. But think of it like this. What if you'd be hit with fear gas when you were ten?" Robin let's his voice slip for a second. He tries to cover up but everyone hears it. He throws the remote down on the couch. He hates using his age as a reason. He regrets this as soon as it leaves his mouth.

Movie night is officially over. He heads into his room. Artemis slumps into her chair. It hadn't even occurred to her, but it should have. Scarecrow was a Gotham villain. Aqualad puts a hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay. We all should've known and been prepared."

Everyone feels a second of hopelessness, seeing their youngest member lose face like that. Wally stands up abruptly, letting his chair fall. "Screw this." He says through gritted teeth. He heads to his room as well.

That weekend, Dick Grayson stays at the Wayne manor. Alfred is doing his rounds and he hears crying. "Master Grayson?" He questions as he opens the door to the boy's room.

Dick looks up, tears running down his face and having a running nose. He sniffs and sobs some more. He doesn't mind crying in front of Alfred. Batman, sure. His teammates? Definitely. But Alfred was his comfort.

"I-It's the s-st-stupid f-fear g-gas…" He rasps out. He doesn't want to remember the faces of his parents, broken and dead. He doesn't want to see the same thing happen to his team.

"Should I get the antidote, Master Grayson?" Alfred asks, with a comforting touch to his back.

Dick shakes his head. It wasn't the gas. It was merely the memory that came with it. Alfred has a knowing smile and says, "Then some cookies and some warm milk it is, then."

Dick cries a little bit more but know it's nothing Alfred can't cure. Alfred leaves, making a mental note to tell Master Bruce. Maybe this is too much for the child.

On Monday, he comes back to the mountain and in his dorm room is a note from Kid Flash. I'm sorry. If you need to talk to someone or anything, y'know…KF out

Robin smiles a little bit. It will be a little rocky for a few days. His team mates will be in awe and worry as he pushes himself a little bit more in his training and may black out twice, but he will get back into his practice of cracking jokes and pulling pranks.

M'gann will try to make some emotional connection with Robin and he'll blow it off. Because that's Robin.

Introduction: Two Face

Harvey Dent is hard to look at. His disfigured face struck pity, fear, and disgust into M'gann's heart.

He had this coin he kept on flipping up into he air. The light caught the coin and then it fell into his palm. He faces the Young Justice League.

"I have several important guests hear tonight. But some of them won't be around to see the show…" The stage lights up and the bags are over their heads and there's a noose around the necks of eight people. All are standing on a chair and a henchmen is ready to kick one of them out. There are two spotlights on Two-Face.

"You choose the person and then we see the outcome, yes?" His voice is chilling.

M'gann has thoughts going through a mile a second. Could KF get to all the people in time if there was a distraction? Could they cut all the ropes? Suddenly, she feels a cold metal behind her head. A double barrel shotgun.

"I don't want other games being played while this is going on. There's only two games here tonight. This…" And he flips the coin. "And this." The gun gets cocked.

Suddenly Robin says, "What about our game, Two-Face?" Two Face freezes.

Robin smirks. "There are more than two games going on tonight, Two Face. We still haven't finished the first game. The one between you, me, and Batman." The team sees something go through Two Face, like he's caught in an act and doesn't know what to do next.

"Don't you remember? You had me and gave Batman a choice. But we never finished that game. So here I am, back." Robin points to himself and gives a laugh. "Should I call Batman to get here?" Two Face jerks violently and then yells.

"Go." Is all Flash hears and he scoops M'gann up. The shot fires and the '22 Masks Theater' is under chaos. Two Face is pulling out every weapon he's got, and he's got all the right shots. He gets Aqualad in the arm, Artemis in her left leg. But he's looking for Boy Wonder. The one who made this situation imperfect.

And there he is. Flying from the balcony, down to the stage. The shot gets Robin, even as he tries to dodge it. There's sudden pain down his side but he doesn't stop. He falls on top of Two Face but is then greeted by two other henchmen on stage.

By the time the thugs are down, Two Face is gone and Robin collapses.

=====0=====

The League is there in no time and demands a full report. Batman leaves after he makes sure Robin is under medical care and will make it. He's going to kill Two Face. The League doesn't bother him or try to stop him. No one likes an angry Batdaddy, and cursed is the one who has his wrath.

The rest of the team is conscious, but worried. M'gann spoke up. "What did Robin mean by the last time he had been… playing a game with Two Face?"

Flash lets out an irritated sigh. "This kid. Probably from one of this patrolling nights with Batman and got hurt…" Wally looks at his uncle. "Why doesn't he tell us this? Doesn't he know he's the youngest?"

Barry pats his nephew on the head. "It's probably because he's the youngest that he doesn't tell you. He's already got the Dark Knight on his back, nagging him about this. He doesn't need the rest of the team."

Superboy says something after some silence. "He is different from… from what I thought he was," He says solemnly. He looks at the boy on the bed, with the IV drip attached to his arm. "He leads a more dangerous life than most."

Everyone had to agree. The usually smiling, laughing, joking Robin must be a façade. There was no way someone so young could go through all this and not end up a little messed up in the head. Wally tried, vehemently, to protect his friend, but in the end, even he had to question.

Who exactly was Robin?

It's Dick Grayson's 21st birthday. The only people he invites to the Wayne Manor is the old team. They broke up, of course, and found their own new personas and became major league superheroes. But they remember to be there for their old Robin.

Bruce is out of town on 'business'. Alfred had let the liquor cabinet unlocked but makes sure to keep Bruce's favorites locked in their personal crates. And then he slips into his room and lets the children have their fun.

By 2 in the morning, everyone is a little bit buzzed, at the least. And Dick starts to talk. Everyone at that party knows Dick Grayson as Dick Grayson as well as old Robin. They had come to learn about him and his traumatic past.

It explained some things, but not all things.

"I don't know what I'd do without you guys…" He says, a little bit slurred. Everyone takes another drink and cheers to that. Dick pushes himself up from his chair a little bit and speaks more seriously and somberly. "No, really. Batman did his best, from what he got. He made Robin, well, Robin…" Everyone is listening but Robin is looking at the wine in his cup. It's a beautiful dark red. "But even with that, I would've probably gone crazy. Gotham's a dark place. It seems everyone has their demons and it plagues us daily…" He stops. He doesn't know how to word it.

"Sometimes, I don't know. I know I'm supposed to be the Robin. But then I can't. The-the demons here…" He gestures to nowhere in particular. "It can get a little bit too much."

Wally has his hand on Dick's back. There's a moment of shared silence. They appreciate this, what Dick has said, has admitted. He looks at them, his blue-gray eyes, seem suddenly more burdened and mature. "It could've gone a lot of ways. I could've just left it. Lived the rest of my life somewhere else. I could've died for justice…" There a small smile that lights up on everyone's face. The dying for justice was such a cliché. It was one of Wally's favorite battle cries as well. Along with 'dying for the woman he currently loves'. But then Dick's voice drops. "I could've ended up in a mental ward, with a room next to the Joker." This isn't funny.

M'gann says this first. "No, you wouldn't have, Richard." It's soft and comforting. Dick looks at her. "No, not with you all there. Thank you."

There's a moment. It's a rare moment that happens every once and a while. They all suddenly see the pain that Robin, as Robin, must've gone through. It's not a first person experience, but they see it. This confusion, his trauma, his part in the mess he could call a life.

They will never claim that their support of Dick Grayson saved him, but that's what Dick Grayson believes. Of course, there was his father, Bruce and then Alfred. And his real parents, and the rest of the Leaguers that was always there. But.

Dick says that thing. "But really, it was always been the team."

It's those rare moments when they see Dick Grayson as their Robin. He is unstable sometimes, but he's gotten better. Bruce is thankful that he can leave his son in their hands. In Aqualad's, Artemis's, Wally's, Superboy's, M'gann's.

Wally raises another toast and everyone drinks. They sing another round of happy birthday. Dick Grayson feels loved, in comfort, and relieved. He feels so safe.

"You've got a cute son, Bruce." Barry says, chuckling. Little Dick Grayson is hiding behind Batman. Bruce has no idea how Dick snuck along to the Watch Tower. Maybe his cape was getting too big and flowy… He lifts Dick up and gives Barry a thank you nod.

This little boy was his pride and joy. The rest of the Leaguers saw the difference in Batman that day. He was less serious and even laughed once. It was crazy!

Wonder Woman was looking for Batman, she had some new notes on the whereabouts for their villain. She needed him to add in these additional coordinates. Instead, she found Batman rocking Dick to sleep, using various voices to sound like the other Leaguers. Wait, was he telling a story?

Wonder Woman smiled to herself. This was too cute. And she could always get him the coordinates later.

In Bruce Wayne's arms was a sleeping child. The future Robin and Batman's sidekick. There would be dangers, yes. But until then…

Bruce looked at Richard Grayson. He sighed contently. Even with all the evils of the world, there would always be a good. A hope. A light. He gently laid Dick on the couch and was reluctant to leave.

He stayed a few moments more before he left to find Wonder Woman.

D'awww. I hope you guys liked that. I was trying to go for something dark, but I just couldn't help the fluff.

I just got into DC-verse and haven't had a lot of time to get character things down, esp. for the baddies since all I know about them are from the show, so basically, Joker. But that's no excuse! I know. If there's something OOC, I'm so sorry!

YJ and everything in here belongs to DC, well, not the plot anyways.

xoxo, Stamps