Hey there. I'm taking over this story from Asha Carcella who is an absolutely spectacular writer and I hope to be able to bring it justice. I've not written any of this chapter, it's all her start to it. I just wanted the whole story to be in the same place. Rainbowlalaland is going to beta this story and help me out with it. I really, really hope that I can make this as good as it was with Asha's writing and I promise to try my hardest.
Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice or anything recognizable.
XXX
Drip drip drip drip.
It was almost silent, the darkness from the clouds personifying the somber mood. The sun was setting, hence the almost empty streets. The lasts of the innocent scurried home without a second thought, closing their doors, trying to hide themselves away.
It was a rule now. Actually, it was more of a silent one. If you went out at night in Gotham you hadto travel by car. You also hadto go with a group of friends. If you didn't, you could bet a million dollars that you wouldn't return home to those who were waiting for you.
Drip drip drip drip.
Honestly, doors or thick walled houses wouldn't be able to help you. Well, that rule only applied for the guilty. For the innocent, thick walls were their havens and doors, their sanctuary, but they honestly didn't need it. Batman and Robin let them be, yet they never said anything. After all, fear is a great weapon. They both took that lesson to heart, mostly because it was true.
Drip drip drip drip.
Robin briefly glanced towards the drops of water that were slowly falling one by one from the pipe overhead. He was in an alleyway, rats hurried across the ground in search of a place to stay or perhaps for some food. He would never know, but what he did know was that the rats, in a way, resembled the people of Gotham. Their all loners, never trusting, scurrying away to find something better for themselves,he thought.
From his hiding place, within the shadows, he watched with irritation as the new lowlife on his list pulled out his newly stolen money. You would think that after hearing rumors of serial killing bats and birds that he wouldn't have come to Gotham. You would also think that crime in this godforsaken city would stop.
Drip drip drip drip.
Standing up from his crouched position, Robin approached the thug who was counting his money. He really is just a lowlife with no sense of training; surely he could have heard the slight scuffle of my shoes.Pulling out his favorite knife from the holster around his mid thigh, Robin slammed the unsuspecting thug's head against the bricked wall of the alleyway.
"Ow, fuck! Who the hell are you?!" the man screamed as he dropped his money and was pressed harder into the wall.
"Who the fuck do you think I am?" Robin growled in the man's ear.
Drip drip drip drip.
The man tried to turn slightly and catch a glimpse of his attacker. Upon meeting masked eyes he started stuttering and pleading for his life. He kept on saying he had a family to feed. He kept on saying that he wouldn't do it again, but all Robin heard were lies. Lies, the one thing he couldn't stand.
Without a second's hesitation, Robin punched the man across his face. He fell to the floor with a thud, another apology already on the tip of his tongue. Robin just snorted and stalked over to the man who tried to crawl away. For his efforts, Robin gave him a kick to the gut, which sent him sputtering. Grabbing the man by the hair, he forced his head back. Within a few seconds the man was out cold, a bloody cut running across his neck.
Drip drip drip drip.
XXX
"Wolf, would you please get your lazy ass off the remote?" Wally repeated for the third time.
"Wally, leave him alone," Connor said scowling, "he's trying to sleep."
"But he's sitting on the remote on purpose!"
"He's a wolf, he doesn't know any better."
"Stop defending him! How can I work the TV if I don't have the remote?"
"Maybe you could get off your lazy ass and manually work the TV," Artemis shot at the pouting teenager.
"But it's so far!" Wally whined loudly while throwing his hands into the air for emphasis.
Artemis was about to snap at him when M'gann walked into to the room, a bunch of shopping bags floating around her form. Zatanna and Gar were currently walking with her, both were talking about random things. Upon seeing the many shopping bags, Wally immediately forgot about the TV remote. He sped towards M'gann, ready to see what food items she bought this time.
Bouncing with expectation, Wally said," Please tell me you bought-"
"-Snickerdoodles," M'gann cut Wally off while using her telekinesis to produce the treat from one of the bags.
"Babe, you rock my world," Wally said as he snatched the packet from mid air and made his way to the couch.
Sitting down on the couch again, he realized that Wolf had moved off the remote, which was currently in Connor's hand. Wally gaped at him and stuttered. Artemis snickered at his expression, and then continued to work on her laptop.
"You and Wolf planned that!"
Connor didn't even bother answering him; he just smiled slightly with Wolf resting on his lap. Changing channels, Connor finally rested on the news, which was showing their friend Kaldur, fighting alongside Aquaman.
"Hey, it's Kaldur! Make it louder!" Beast Boy said, running up to the couch and planting himself right next to Wally.
"We are live from Mozambique, where the well know heroes, Aquaman and Aqualad, are fighting off Black Manta," the reporter said as the camera zoomed in on the ocean. In the distance, blurry figures could be seen fighting, waves were crashing around wildly but it was too far off be of harm to anyone who was watching from the beach.
"Yay, go Kaldur! Go kick some a-" Garfield started to say, but he cut himself off when he saw the look M'gann gave him.
"In other news, the body of Thomas Hector has been found in Gotham. It is believed that he was killed by Batman's new partner, Robin. Gotham's police force advises all Gothamites to make sure their houses are locked before six in the evening and-"
"There's another one of them?" Artemis said, her brow furrowing in thought. She and he mother had lived in Gotham for a total of three days. After hearing about all the killings that were going on and the fact that every civilian seemed scared shitless, Artemis and her mother had moved to Star City, where she eventually became Green Arrow's protégé.
"What do you mean 'another one of them'?" M'gann asked.
"You don't know about Gotham, do you?" Zatanna asked the clueless girl, who just shook her head from side to side.
"First thing you need to know babe, is that the whole city is off limits to all heroes," Wally said, whipping crumbs from chin.
"What? Why?" Garfield asked this time, he too didn't know that much about the 'off limit' city.
"Batman doesn't like heroes messing around with his city," Artemis said.
"But what if he ever needs help with something?" M'gann asked.
Wally snorted loudly, "If he ever did need help with something, the League wouldn't help."
"Why not?" she asked.
"Batman's a criminal," Zatanna explained, "My dad used to tell me stories about Batman to keep me away from that place. Apparently he has no mercy for criminals, he doesn't agree with the League locking them up. He only believes in killing criminals."
M'gann gasped, "Why doesn't the League do anything about him?"
"He beat Superman once," Connor said, "he told me. He said Batman got hold of some kryptonite, almost beat Superman to a pulp after that."
"Why'd he spare his life? I thought he was a killer," Gar asked.
"He said that Superman wasn't a criminal, and that he only killed criminals."
"After that, no Leaguer tried to interfere with what Batman was doing in Gotham, ever again," Wally added.
"That's horrible," M'gann said.
"Yeah, but despite the fact that criminals get killed in that city, more psychos seem to surface every other day. That place is riddled with fear and insanity," Artemis explained.
"And now, apparently there's another one out there, calling himself 'Robin'."
The rest of the Team turned to the red head standing there with a scowl adorning her face. She sighed and walked over to where everyone else was sitting. She plopped down next to Connor and Wolf and started to pet the wolf's head affectionately.
"Hey Barbara," Wally winked at her.
Overlooking the speedsters flirting, she added," It's so crazy, my dad has his hands full as Gotham's commissioner. Apparently this new guy is just a kid, about our age! And he's already going around, slitting people's throats."
"You live in Gotham?" Zatanna asked incredulously.
"I used to, but it got so hectic my dad sent me and my family off to Central City," she sighed, " But he stayed, he said that he could still help to save Gotham."
"And you think that he can't save Gotham," Connor stated, catching onto what she was getting at.
"It's not that. Well, sort of. I mean, my dad's leading this covert team into trying to find out who Batman and Robin are, but here's the thing. What's going to happen if they do catch them? If they do manage to, Gotham probably won't know what to do. Despite the killing, some people still believe that what they're doing is the right thing."
"It'll send Gotham into a storm," Connor said.
She nodded," And, as much as I hate to admit it, Gotham needs Batman and Robin."
XXX
"Seven cargo ships, all docked on the coast of Japan and waiting to be loaded with the most dangerous arms money can buy," Canary stated, "this team's mission is to stop that cargo from reaching its destination. Co-ordinates are being sent to Oracle."
"Who are we after?" Connor asked.
"Penguin," Canary said, pulling up the man's profile.
"I thought Penguin was Gotham business," Oracle stated, her eyes narrowing.
"We can't be sure if Batman or Robin will show up, like I said, this is all taking place in Japan. While Penguin is indeed a Gotham villain, we can't take the risk of Batman or Robin not showing up to stop the cargo," Dinah explained further.
"So what's the plan?" Wally asked.
"It's up to you, just know that if you intercept anything out of the ordinary, contact the League immediately," Black Canary told them sincerely.
XXX
"Gotham's suffering now, more than ever," Bruce said quietly to his ward.
Dick turned his chair so that he could also look out across the vast city from one of the windows of Wayne Tower. His mind roamed over the past few days as he soaked in what Bruce said. His hands instinctively went up to his tie to loosen it and relieve his tension.
"We aren't doing enough," Dick stated thoughtfully.
"True, but we also need to rethink our way of doing things."
Dick turned around swiftly, his hair falling messily over his forehead as he did so. What's Bruce thinking? Is he thinking of stopping what we're doing for this city? Then what was the point of starting the entire thing? What was the point of creating a symbol such as Batman and Robin?
"Dick, do you know why the people of Gotham are panicking?" Bruce asked softly.
"Everyone's dying all around them?" Dick tried to supply.
"No. They're out of the loop. They don't know what we're trying to accomplish here. There is no plan," Bruce reiterated, "When they think about Gotham, they all see anarchy."
"So what are we going to do about it?"
Bruce's eyes narrowed further, "They need to see who's in charge."
XXX
"Me, Oracle, Artemis and Miss Martian will be Alpha squad. Zatanna, Superboy, Beast Boy and Kid Flash will be Beta. Alpha squad will be in charge of taking down guards, discreetly. Beta will stop the cargo from loading onto the ship," Kaldur informed them as they closed in on their co-ordinates.
M'gann, without being told, put the Bio-ship into camouflage mode. Everyone also changed their attire into stealth mode. "ETA, 4 minutes," the Martian girl said.
M'gann steered the ship so that they were situated right above one of the largest cargo crates. Immediately, Alpha squad jumped out from the hole M'gann made. Quietly, they snuck into the darkness as the Martian used her mind to fly her ship closer to the loading bay.
Miss Martian turned completely invisible, while Oracle's completely black costume and mask blended into the darkness with ease. Aqualad and Artemis stayed behind the two girls as they were the least stealthy of the group. Naturally though, when compared to the members of Beta squad, they were significantly better.
"Miss Martian, the mental link," Kaldur whispered.
"Links up," she said," I also linked Beta."
"Good, Beta squad, give us ten minutes to take out as many guards as possible," Kaldur ordered and received a chorus of affirmations.
Moving from their spot, Oracle and Kaldur turned right while Miss Martian and Artemis turned left. Silently, Oracle snuck up behind a guard who had a lead pipe under his arm while he tried to light a cigarette with his hands. Maybe if he had been paying more attention to the slight movement in the shadows and not his cigarette, he could have avoided Oracle who pressed down on one of his pressure points.
Kaldur came up behind her, he too taking down a fair share of guys. Together, they stuck to the shadows of the crates and out of the light that came from the tall light posts. Eventually they met up with M'gann and Artemis.
"I can't believe we're actually being stealthy for once,"Artemis thought.
"Beta squad, it is time for you to move out," Kaldur thought through the mental link.
"Artemis, don't jinx it," Wally thought back.
"I think it's too late for that!" Oracle said as she pushed Artemis out of the way.
A second later, bullets seemed to rain down on the Alpha squad. One thug had climbed onto one of the smaller cargo crates after spotting one of his friend's unconscious bodies. Swear words spilled from his mouth as he kept on shooting, bullet shells falling to the crate with soft clangs.
Artemis, Kaldur and Oracle ran to the shadows, trying to hide themselves from the onslaught of bullets. M'gann then used her telekinesis to push the guy off the crate, but the damage was already done. They could hear shouting coming from around them as other guards ran out, all trying to find the source of the gun fire.
"Beta squad, your mission remains! Stop the cargo, we will contact you if we need back up," Kaldur ordered as he pulled out his water bearers and took on a defensive stance.
The first few guards started to run around the corner, guns of all calibers waiting to be used in their hands. Before either member of the Alpha squad could do anything, the first few men who rounded the corner dropped, their guns sliding across the hard floor.
"Who the hell did that?" Artemis asked out loud.
"It wasn't me I swear, you would have seen me throw my shurikens," Oracle said.
"M'gann?" Kaldur asked, his eyes narrowing from the answer he knew he would receive.
"I didn't do it!" the Martian girl said, her voice rising slightly.
"Then who-"
Thugs from all sides started to pour into their small pathway between the crates. Training kicking in, they each tuned out their other thoughts as they started to kick, punch and doge. Shurikens, water, arrows and men flew about, total chaos ensuing. But as the rest of the team came to help, the number of thugs slowly dissipated. That's when Superboy realized that something was very wrong.
"Guys, half of these thugs aren't breathing," Connor said out loud.
"What?!" Beast Boy said turning back to his normal self and pressing his ear to one of the thug's chests.
Kaldur knelt down and pressed two of his fingers to one of the men's necks. There was no pulse. As he pulled his hand away he realized that there was blood on the tips of his fingers. He hadn't noticed it at first because of the low lighting. Also, he had been completely consumed with taking down the bad guys.
Next thing they knew, there was a loud snap and click and before they knew it, Superboy, Kid Flash and M'gann had inhibitor collars around their necks. They all tried to pull it off while the rest of the Team looked around to find the source of their new attacker. They couldn't see anything, they only heard the smash of glass and screaming-no, it was more like begging. A single figure started to drag Penguin to where the Team stood, their eyes narrowed, ready to attack.
"Stand down!" Aqualad shouted taking out his water bearers, shaping it into a mace.
The figure snorted loudly at him and just continued to walk up to them, Penguin in tow. "You should have left Penguin to me; you have no business with Gotham's scum. And if I was you, I would be the one doing the standing down. Those collars around your friend's necks aren't simple inhibitor collars. I could kill them with the press of a button," the person taunted.
"Who are you?" Oracle asked, her anger seeping through.
Finally, the kid stepped into light, just shy of Wally's height, "An angry red, I like," he said as he winked at Barbara.
Artemis gasped, "You're that kid, Robin!"
Robin did a short bow showing off the sniper rifle he had strapped to his back. He wore a black and red outfit, a small yellow 'R' printed on the left of his armor. His hair was jet black and a domino mask covered his eyes. Spikes stuck out from the forearms of his armor. The light was still bad but they could all see the blood of the thugs slowly dripping down them.
"Pleasure to finally meet you, Artemis Crock. Actually, I think I'll call you Arty," he said with a smirk.
Artemis glared back, how did this guy know her name? This kid, despite the sniper rifle strapped to his back and the bloody spikes of his armor, seemed like any other kid. He was joking around. He didn't seem like he was a murderer. In fact, if you took away all of his weapons, Artemis would have thought he was just a normal kid. She took an arrow and aimed it at his chest.
"Drop Penguin, he's ours," Zatanna spoke for Artemis.
"Wow, possessive. I like that quality in a woman," he said, flashing a smile at the girl, "As to your request, Zee, I don't think I can do that."
"How do you know us? And don't call me that!" she snapped at him.
"Well," Robin said lazily, "I know that you're all part of some team or whatever, but that's for me to know how I found out. Anyway, I think I'll call you Supey, em, you can be KF, Miss M, Zee, Arty, BB, Kal and Babs."
"Stop with the nicknames!" Connor shouted, "What are you going to do with Penguin?"
"Geez Supey, I knew you had anger issue, but would you calm down? Penguin's my business, and all I can tell you is to stay away from Gotham."
"Why should we listen to you? You're a murderer," Kaldur stated.
His whole demeanor seemed to change as those words left Kaldur's mouth. Robin's mouth twitched slightly and his eyes narrowed to slits. All the fun fell away from his face in an instant, while he tensed up. Without another word, Robin pulled out a gun from the almost hidden holster around his mid thigh. He pointed it straight at Penguin's head; the Team tensed up and shouted at him to stop.
"You don't understand," Robin ground out in a voice that made everyone stand completely still and hold their breath.
"What? We don't understand that you're doing the right thing by killing criminals?" Wally shouted at him.
His face hardened more, his voice harsh "And you're doing the right thing by letting them live? Either could be right, you heroes are just too full of yourselves to see that. Who gave you the right to distinguish the line between good and evil? You just lack the courage to do what needs to be done! Being a hero is all about 'justice' and giving people what they want. But, being a symbol you have to give the people what they need, not what they want."
"You're mixing up justice and revenge, they're two different things," Beast Boy added.
"There is a difference, I'll give you that, but you and your hero buddies are too stupid to see where those two things overlap and become one."
"There is no honor in killing criminals. Heroes should not stoop to that level," Kaldur shot back.
"Well then it's a good thing that I'm not a hero," Robin said as he clicked back the hammer of his gun.
"Please don't kill me!" Penguin whined, sweat running down his face, "You'll never find out where the rest of the cargo is!"
Anger flashed across Robin's face as he slammed the villain into one of the crates. Penguin cried out as his head hit the metal with a thud, his vision swimming. He grabbed the hand that had a death grip on his shirt and tried to remove it.
"Where the fuck is the rest of the cargo?" Robin growled out.
"I-I-I," Penguin stuttered loudly, his eyes screwed shut. Robin dropped the man to his feet and punched him across the face. Penguin fell to the floor, his hands immediately finding the sore spot. Robin grabbed him again and slammed him against the crate harder.
"Robin, stop it!" Miss Martian cried out with the rest of the Team who tried to get to him.
"Don't you dare move," he said as he pointed the gun straight at Zatanna's head.
Turning his attention back to Penguin he snarled, "Now, you're going to tell me where the rest of the cargo is or I will kill you."
"Australia! It's in Australia!" he screamed out.
"Robin, he has told you what you want, let him go!" Kaldur shouted.
"And then what, Kal? He'll go back to killing and his dealings while we try to find him all over again?"
"Please, don't do this," Barbara said.
He grinned at her, "Babs, enlightened me with your fiery personality, why not?"
"Killing is wrong, it's what makes us different from the criminals. I know Gotham needs you and Batman, but please, we can figure something else out!" she cried out.
Lowering his gun from Zatanna's head, he hit its hilt against Penguin's forehead, knocking him unconscious. He didn't put the gun away; he just twirled it around his one finger like a cowboy.
He scoffed," 'Figure something else out'? From where I come from, you follow the lead of-"
"Then just follow the lead of Red Arrow, the first side-kick!" Wally snapped, despite his liking for the nicknames Robin gave his team.
Robin let out a bark of laughter, "First side-kick my ass! You guys have no idea! Red Arrow wasn't the first kid out there kicking villain butt. I was, but of course your goody-goody mentors told you it was Roy! They wanted you to follow in his footsteps."
"That's not possible, you're new!" Superboy said.
"Please, I was just under wraps so that I could go public when it was the right time," Robin said as he walked up to Barbara. The Team tensed as he got closer to her, but he just tutted at them and pulled out a small remote that probably controlled the inhibitor collars.
"And you thought now was a good time to come out? Why?" Barbara asked the taller teen, despite his close proximity.
He walked around her and sniffed her hair, getting even closer. She could feel his muscled frame lean against her in the slightest way. "You're hair smells like lavender," he said lightly. She could fell all of her team member's stiffen at the comment, but she knew they couldn't do anything with that remote in his hands. As soon as he was there, he was gone, moving onto Zatanna who was as stiff as a pole.
"Gotham needs to be shown," he finally answered as he winked at Zatanna and played with a lock of her hair. Leaving Zatanna, he quickly walked back to Penguin, pointing his gun straight at the man's head.
"Shown what?" Artemis asked.
The blow of the gun was the next thing they heard. A few of them screamed out while M'gann ran over to Garfield to shield him from the horrifying sight of Penguins blood splattered across the floor. The lighting was still bad, but they could all still see it, their eyes seemed to be transfixed on it.
"Shown that what we're doing may not be right, but it is necessary."
XXX
"Why didn't you call the League?" Roy ground out, his fists clenching at his sides.
"We were in a situation where calling the League would have made it worse," Kaldur said evenly.
"We could have helped you!" Roy said, the protective older brother coming out, "What if one of you got hurt? It was me, Kaldur and Wally who found Superboy down at Cadmus, but you know that I see all of you like family! You should have called and let the League come help; one of you could have been hurt."
"Roy, we had no choice. He had these special collars on us," Wally said.
"He would have killed them," Gar's shaking voice reached their ears.
Roy sighed heavily," Fine, just…head to the Med Lab so Canary can check all of you again. This Robin guy is dangerous."
"We're lucky Batman wasn't there," Zatanna grumbled.
They all silently moved to the Med Lab, their thoughts running wild, thinking back to their time in Japan. After Robin had shot Penguin and then disappeared, chaos seemed to break loose within the small team. Zatanna and M'gann screamed at the sight while Gar crushed his face into the side of his Martian sister. Through the chaos, the sound of an almost silent click was heard and the collars that restrained most of the Team fell away. Reaching the Med Bay in silence, M'gann opened up the mind link.
"I can't believe they're babying us again," Artemis said.
"What I can't believe is that Roy is doing most of it," Wally grumbled.
"That doesn't matter right now. What matters is that Robin is still out there, probably brutally murdering others," Connor reasoned.
"Knowing the League, they will just push this matter aside and hope that we too forget," Kaldur said.
"Knowing the League, they'll probably take away some of our missions that could 'dangerous',"Oracle grumbled.
"They don't think we're capable of handling it,"Zatanna added bitterly.
"We can't just sit around and do nothing about it, we have to do something," Gar said as Canary looked him over.
"Gar's right. Remember what Robin said about the League telling us lies about Roy being the first side kick? I wouldn't put it past them. They lied you guys about the Watchtower," Connor said, folding his arms over his chest in an angry matter.
"If this is true, then it seems that Roy has also not been truthful with us," Kaldur said while his eyes narrowed slightly.
"Guys, are we really going to listen to some estranged killer? I mean, I am angry that the League didn't tell us about the Roy thing, if it is true, but he could have just been telling us a lie. He's a killer, I wouldn't put it pasthimto do that," M'gann interjected.
"I agree, but there is always the possibility of him not lying to us. What would he gain from it? I also do not believe that he is as heartless as the League makes him out to be," Kaldur said.
Immediately he received a few shocked looks and others who tried to hide theirs. Canary was cleaning the small cut on Oracle's knee, knowing that the Team was having a telepathic conversation. As much as she hated it, she couldn't really do much about it.
"Kaldur, are seriously taking to heart what that kid said?" Artemis asked.
"No, I am not. But, I did notice that he did not appreciate being called a murderer. Maybe Robin was being forced into doing it? Or maybe…he is just confused and needs some…direction," Kaldur suggested.
"Kaldur, you can't be serious," Connor replied angrily.
Giving Connor a look, Kaldur continued," I do recall that most of us have been confused before and needed the right people to help them onto the right path," he then spared a glance at Artemis who looked down.
Wally grinned slightly, "Fine, so, how do we find this oh-so-allusive Robin?"
"I think I can help," Zatanna and Oracle replied together.
XXX
Maybe it was the silent rage that constantly swam in his eyes that made them stay away from him. Maybe they were afraid of the power his 'family' held within the city. Or maybe it was the brooding silence that he kept throughout the day that made everyone squirm under his gaze.
Dick decided that he should just let it be. If people at school were afraid of him, who was he to say anything? If people would cower under his brilliant blue gaze, who was he to do anything about it? Stay under the radar, Bruce had told him. He couldn't help it; the people at school just seemed to be afraid of him. It did somewhat keep him under the radar.
"Bye Al," Dick said as he got out from the silver Bentley.
"Good day Master Richard," Alfred responded.
Rubbing his sore ribs from the kick in training he received, Dick made his way to his locker, bag slung over his one shoulder. As usual, no one approached him. Sighing, Dick glumly trudged up to his locker and started on the lock. It's not like I bully people, he thought.
Letting out an almost inaudible growl, Dick chastised himself for thinking like this. It never bothered him about not having friends before, so why was it bothering him so much now? His thoughts, involuntarily, kept on going back to the team of sidekicks that he met a few days ago. They looked so determined and…happy.
Internally shaking himself, he closed his locker and made his way to his English classroom. He needed to stop thinking about that stupid team. Instead, his mind wandered to the inevitable three hours of training he would receive when he got home. He was just about to sigh again, when his phone gave off a single vibration, signaling that he had a message.
XXX
"I can't believe he gave you his number," Wally teased out loud.
"I can't believe that he gave both of you his number," Artemis said, her gaze going from Oracle to Zatanna.
"I didn't know he gave it to me!" Oracle said, her cheeks going pink despite the chilling night air.
"Yeah, he slipped it on us just before he left," Zatanna argued for the both of them.
"Is he even coming?" Connor grumbled for the fifth time, his hand resting on top of Wolf's head.
"He said he'd be here," Barbara explained.
"And we had cause to believe him? Guys, what if he tries something?" M'gann asked her elegant brows arching.
"Don't worry Miss M, I come in peace," Robin said flashing a grin, his tone teasing. His lithe form dropped from one of the taller buildings in Star City, "though I thought I was only meeting Babs tonight."
"We just want to talk," Kaldur said evenly, his eyes shining in the dim light.
"Sure Kal," Robin mocked as he sat on the edge of the building facing them," what's up?"
"We have an ultimatum for you," Kaldur explained.
"Listen," Robin said waving a hand around carelessly," If this is one of those things were you guys try to convince me that I have some good in me and that I should stop killing then you won't put me in jail, then I'm not interested. What I am interested in is getting to know every curve of that red head over there," Robin said, a smirk covering his face when Babs made a face.
"No thanks," Wally mumbled thinking that Robin hadn't heard.
There was a second's pause, then Robin unexpectedly started laughing. Clasping at his sides, Robin almost fell off the side of the building, "Good one KF," Robin wheezed out.
After Robin finished his laughing and calmed down, Kaldur asked, tension leaving his body, "Will you listen to us now?"
Robin shrugged his shoulders, giving the Team another view of the gun strapped to his back, "Sure."
"Leave Gotham and come live at the Cave," Kaldur stated as Robin's gaze hardened.
"And then what, you can put me behind bars?"
"You can start new. We can convince the League to take you in," M'gann suggested, "We can help you."
"Who said I need help," Robin frowned as he fingered the gun at his thigh.
"Listen, we're just saying that there's more to life than doing what you're doing," Zatanna said slowly.
"Like I said, your perception of what right and wrong is distorted by fools that think they know what they're talking about," Robin replied softly, but they could all hear the bubbling anger behind his words.
"You don't have to kill, we can give you a family," Artemis supplied.
"I have a family," Robin said, his voice not as angry as before, a slight falter was heard though.
"Leave Gotham and we can help you," Wally pushed.
"I said I don't need any help!" Robin said angrily.
"If you and Batman continue like this, Gotham will be destroyed and then you would have worked for nothing!" Connor retorted.
"Gotham is none of your concern. The Bat signal is up; the people now know who's in charge! I don't need you; Batman's the one who helped me!" Anger flared within Robin as the absurd words of the Team reached his ears.
"Batman isn't helping you!" Gar said back.
"How sure are you that he even cares about you?" Zatanna shot at him.
"Look what he's making you do!" Oracle added.
Robin stared at them, his vision going blurry. His thoughts were muddled as the word he'd been denying for so long, were spoken out loud. Who did this team think they were? Challenging him and Batman? They were making Gotham a better place, who were they to judge?
"Please Robin," Kaldur said softly," Please consider our offer."
Dick stared back at him, his mind twirling around. Kaldur's voice was so soft, and that look in his eyes was so familiar. The only thing he could place it as, was caring. But why would Kaldur care for him? He was a murderer, as they had made so clear to him before.
"I don't need help, and I don't need any of you," Robin whispered, his voice taking on a dangerous tint.
"Please Robin," Barbara said, kindness and caring seeping into her eyes. What was with this team and caring? As Robin looked at each of their faces, he could see it, clear as day. He could even see it on the face of Superboy who was trying to hide it.
"I-I can't," Robin stammered out.
In an instant, Robin threw birdarangs around wilding, his precision at throwing objects coming in handy. Effectively, Robin had cut Artemis' arrow in half and Wally was pinned against the wall. Using that moment, Robin tried to make his exit while the rest of them were distracted.
He tried to slip into the shadows but for the first time he was unsuccessful because of the wolf that immediately tackled him. The huge animal help him to the ground but Robin punched Wolf right under his eyes, the metal on the knuckles of his gloves left a huge gash there.
Next thing he knew Superboy and Aqualad were charging at him, but his reflexives kicked in and he flipped over them with ease. He threw down a smoke bomb and kicked both of them in the back. They flew forward, but Robin was swiftly kicked in the gut while Kid Flash ran circles in the smoke to make it disappear.
Dodging the next attack from Oracle, Dick ducked low and then bounced back up to punch her across the face. Robin couldn't help the blow that came to his face this time, courtesy of Artemis who had ditched her bow for hand-to-hand combat. He heard someone say something that sounded like gibberish and next thing he knew, he was tied up with his own rope.
He started struggling against his bonds, but they were too tight. Zatanna came floating above him; she had a stern look across her face as the rest of her team mates came up to see her handy work. Connor was currently helping Wolf whose one eye was shut tight while blood dribbled down part of his snout.
"Let's take him back to the League."
XXX
So from here on it's going to be my writing. I hope you enjoy this story.