Superman was quite used to things being...well, odd. He was also quickly becoming used to the idea of alternate universes where things were not as he was used to them. Unfortunately, these universes had a tendency to meet up with each other more often than anyone would have liked. At least this time the dimension jumpers were kids and kids that happened to be on their side.
The teen that had introduced himself as Aqualad seemed to be in charge for the most part. There was a Robin and Superboy with him and Superman was quick to ascertain that the rest of their team had been left behind. Which meant that someone would be missing them and hopefully that someone would be able to use the technology that had sent them to his world to bring them back.
Until that time, they needed a place to stay.
"There really isn't anywhere for you to go," he said, rubbing at his chin in thought. Separating them to their respective mentors would be a bad idea. Superman didn't have the time to take on another Superboy; Aquaman didn't like the idea of dimension travellers; Batman was all kinds of problems at the moment. However, keeping them together meant they would be harder to hide away. The Watchtower was out of the question. That really only left one place.
"Although there's always the Tower."
"The Watchtower?" Robin asked. Superman shook his head.
"No, Titans Tower."
"Who are the Titans?" Aqualad asked, his arms crossed and a small scowl on his face.
"The Teen Titans," Superman said. "They should have plenty of extra room to take you. C'mon." He gestured for them to follow him to the closest teleporter and they were on Titan's Island soon enough. The tower was twenty stories high, shaped like a giant T, and a sight for sore eyes. It had been awhile since he had been here.
"Wow," Robin said from his side. "Not a covert team then?"
"Depends," Superman replied. "Some of them are more involved in surveillance than anything else, while others just sort of smash things." He began moving again, not necessarily wishing to stand around on the Titans' lawn. The last time he'd done that Superboy had accused him of being creepy. The front door of Titans Tower was open to visitors and he quickly lost his three charges to the twenty foot statue inside the front lobby.
"These are the Titans founders," he explained. "Robin, Kid Flash, Speedy, Aqualad, and Wonder Girl. They started this team so that kids like them would have a place to go. It was about support and learning from one another. I don't think any of them dreamed it would take off like it did."
"How big is this team?" Robin asked.
"I'm not sure," he replied truthfully. "The roster is huge, much bigger than the Justice League's. However, it's also top secret so the only person who ever knows the full roster is the Head of Operations. They put together teams for missions or pick out certain members for individual assignments. The Titans do a ton of recon work and most of that information is funneled through the community for everyone else to use. They've been instrumental more than once when determining the outcome of a fight."
"Is the Head of Operations the leader?" Aqualad questioned staring at his near-opposite intently.
"No," Superman replied. "The Founders are technically the leaders. They have authority over everything but Head of Operations works the day to day. He's the guy you go to first. He determines who's active and who's not. He's who we're here to see."
He led them through another door that took them to what looked like a waiting room. Superman was very familiar with this room. It was considered to be extremely rude for a non-member to drop by out of nowhere. To allow for mentors and others coming by the Tower, the Titans had set up a meeting room. You had to check in at the desk with whoever was on door duty and then you had to wait in an adjoining room to see if the kid you wanted to see was ever going to show. At least, the so-called 'mentor room' had free coffee.
It was just his bad luck that the Superboy of this world was working the desk. He had homework spread out and was deeply engrossed in calculus, but he looked up at the sound of the door and then blinked stupidly for a moment.
"What. Is that?" he asked, nodding to the three dimension jumpers.
"Alternate dimension problems," Superman said brightly. "Is Red Robin here?"
"He's really busy," Superboy said. "He's been wrapped up in some big case with the Outlaws."
"The Outlaws?" Superman questioned, concerned. Despite the fact that Arsenal was a founding member of the Titans, his presence always made people nervous. Superman suspected it was because he and the other two ex-Titans were considered to be the 'bad' ones. Not evil, but definitely not the shining model of what the Titans wanted their members to grow into. He was honestly surprised that they were meeting in the Tower. He had been under the impression that Red Hood thoroughly hated this place. Although, he was pretty sure Red Hood hated everywhere.
"Yep," Superboy said, smiling at him. "Here, fill this out." He handed the older Kryptonian a small pile of paperwork held together on a clipboard and a pen.
"What is this?" he asked. He had never been asked to fill out paperwork before.
"This is a case request," Superboy told him. "The computer won't open a file on them until all of these things are answered. Since you made first contact, you get to fill it out. Have fun."
"Superboy, just call Red Robin and get him down here to take care of this," Superman ordered hoping if he sounded stern enough he would be able to squeeze out of this. Doing Justice League reports was bad enough, he didn't want to have to do it for the Titans too.
"Not until I have the paperwork," Superboy replied and the look on his face said that he was very much enjoying this.
"I have things to do."
"Look at the sign," the boy said, pointing to the sign hanging from the ceiling above the desk. It was blue with white lettering that said Welcome. "Does that sign say I care?"
"Superboy," Superman snapped. "I don't have time for twenty pages of Teen Titans bureaucracy!" This was not the first time that he had been held up at this desk and it was always Superboy who held him up. The others who pulled shifts here were more than willing to cut corners for him. Superman knew the kid just liked to give him grief. He seemed to find it deeply amusing.
"Look at the sign," he repeated, pointing up at the sign again.
"I see the sign!" Superman snapped. Sighing, he grabbed the clipboard and pen. "I really hate it when you get this shift."
"Me too!" the boy shouted after him as he stormed towards the 'mentor room' with the three jumpers hot on his heels. While Superman was doing the paperwork, filling in boxes and describing how he'd come to find the jumpers in Metropolis, the kids were peering out windows and helping themselves to coffee.
As Superman started the last few pages, Red Hood entered so silently it took the other Superboy to tell him someone else was there.
"Who are you?" he asked and Superman looked up. The older teen didn't have his helmet on and he was smirking, looking pleased with himself.
"I heard from a very gossipy check-in worker that we had dimension jumpers in the house," he said, eyeing the kids contemplatively.
"Yes," Aqualad replied, standing up to meet Red Hood straight on. He must have smelled a threat. Smart kid. "We were pushed through."
"Pushed, fell, skipped through; who cares?" Red Hood said with a shrug. "It's the fact that you're here that's interesting. Superman, why are you bringing them to Red Robin?"
"Because Batman's too complicated," Superman replied, trying to block the rebel out by finishing his paperwork.
"Well, just try not to get beaten to a pulp."
"We can handle ourselves just fine, thank you," Aqualad told him coldly. The boy's tone was quite dangerous but it only made Red Hood smirk. However, he did back out of the room and Superman heard him speaking with people outside for a moment before everything went quiet again. He must have left with the other Outlaws.
"Ignore him," Superman told the jumpers. "He enjoys watching other people squirm."
"Why does he have the Bat symbol on his chest?" Robin asked. Superman briefly wondered if he shouldn't answer the question but there were so many people in the Tower who could tell him about all the rumors that he decided the barebones truth was best.
"He was a Robin," he said and the kid raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Now he primarily works on his own but every now and then someone in Gotham will call and he'll go running. He still has some loyalty to Batman even if he does try to kill him a few times a year."
"Seriously?" Robin questioned. "Why would he try to kill him? And why would Batman keep him around as an ally?"
"Because they're family, despite everything," Superman said.
"Where am I in all this?" he asked. Superman smiled kindly. Of course this particular Robin would be worried about that. He always was.
"Oh, don't worry. I'm pretty sure you're the glue that holds them all together. Plus they all seem to like you even when they don't like each other." The kid smiled at that and Superman knew he could live with what little information he'd given.
00000
After Superman slapped the paperwork down on the desk in front of Superboy, the kid finally picked up the phone to call up to Red Robin about the situation. Superman had a suspicion that all of this was unnecessary because Red Robin had known all about these dimension jumpers from the moment they had touched the streets of Metropolis. Red Robin was just that kind of person.
"Kay," Superboy mumbled. He hung up and nodded to Superman who led the jumpers to the elevators. The Titan's War Room was on the sixteenth floor, just above the training facilities and just below the archives. The top three floors were devoted entirely to living quarters including the kitchens, a recreational pool, the bedrooms, and several different rooms with tvs, movie projectors, and gaming consoles. It was quite the place.
However fun the upper floors were, this particular floor was buzzing with a tension that Superman hadn't seen for a long time. Wonder Girl, Kid Flash, and Aquagirl were all looking at a topographical map of the Pacific Ocean and discussing who knew what. They stopped dead when they caught sight of him and the jumpers. Superman simply nodded politely at them and kept walking to the Operations room where Red Robin was holed up.
The office was huge with three desks, nearly twenty filing cabinets, a large computer bank, and a conference table. Superman was honestly surprised to see the new Robin sitting at the conference table reading a file not only because he was technically too young for the team but because he hated Red Robin. The hero he was actually looking for was at the desk he'd claimed as his own during his time as Head of Operations with a laptop open in front of him and carrying on three different conversations at once.
Superman led the jumpers to the conference table and listened while they waited, pointedly ignoring Robin's assessing glower of these three new anomalies. Superboy shifted uncomfortably.
"I don't care if it looks hard," Red Robin was saying into the Titans communicator. "Just do it." Ignoring the reply from that person he addressed the person on the phone he held in his right hand ordering them to either get their final reports in or to clear out their room in the Tower. He slammed that phone back into its cradle and moved on to the phone he was holding in his left hand. He started speaking Chinese and Superman had no idea what was happening there.
"And what sort of team do you have?" Robin asked, bringing Superman's attention back to the kids around the table. He was clearly only addressing the other Robin which anyone with eyes could peg as Dick.
"We do covert operations mostly," the jumper told him.
"With what team?" Robin pressed. For some unsightly reason, the kid had a sword on the table in front of him and Superman wondered if he had used it on someone and was now waiting to be picked up by an adult from Gotham. It made his skin crawl just a tiny bit.
"It's alright," Superman interrupted when the jumpers sort of shifted around in their chairs a bit. "You don't have to tell anyone."
"No, it's okay, I guess," Aqualad replied, though with an incredible amount of uncertainty. "We belong to Young Justice." Superman smiled a little, suddenly feeling incredibly nostalgic. That had been a simpler time; at least, it had been for the kids. It was unfortunate that it had ended the way it had.
"Yes, we had one of those as well," Robin said and the jumpers looked much more interested in him. "They were an abject failure."
"Not entirely," Superman defended. However, his own perspective on what had happened was a little more unbiased than the kids'. Superboy had been a wreck and he had heard that the others hadn't been much better off. There was little doubt in his mind that it had been their introduction into the Titans that had been their saving grace. The Teen Titans had gotten through to Superboy in a way that he hadn't been able to. Probably because he was the adult and everything he said was wrong.
"Whatever they were, they're over," Robin said.
"What happened?" Superboy asked, clearly concerned. He must have been worried that the same thing could easily happen to his own little group.
"Oh, they got a Titan killed," Robin said coldly.
"That's enough," Superman snapped. He should really talk to Batman about this kid. This was quite unsettling. No Robin, not even the second, had been this cold. "They didn't get anyone killed. Someone died in the line of duty and that was it. Don't you have somewhere to be?"
"Tsk."
That was all the verbal reply he got but the boy did stand up and leave the room, sword and all.
"Wow," said the remaining Robin under his breath. Superman didn't reply. Thankfully, Red Robin ended his call, grabbed his laptop, and joined them. He took a seat next to Superman and nodded at him in greeting.
"How are you?" Superman asked, genuinely curious. Red Robin looked like he hadn't slept in days.
"Busy," he replied, tapping away at his keyboard. "Dimension jumpers huh?"
"Yes," Aqualad replied. "We were sent in to investigate an abandoned lab and were attacked. They sent us here."
"Who was it? Someone you had come across before?" Red Robin asked.
"No," Aqualad told him. "But they had been on Batman's radar for some time apparently."
"Everyone's on Batman's radar," Red Robin mumbled. "Can't keep the guy out of my system." He pointed at his laptop as if to emphasize the point.
"Seriously?" Superman asked, surprised. "You can't keep him out?"
"I'm not Oracle," Red Robin replied. "Let's get back to the point. Did other people know you were there?"
"Yes," Aqualad replied. "Our teammates probably reported it the second they could. The Justice League will likely become involved."
"Which means they'll be working with the tech to bring you back," Superman said and Red Robin nodded while simultaneously peering at his screen in a curious way. "What?"
"Nothing, I just think Superboy's trolling you again."
Red Robin gave the laptop to him and Superman read through a slightly revised, computerized version of the paperwork he'd filled out. Superboy had apparently thought it necessary to add that the jumpers hadn't surprised him but scared him and that he had apparently screamed like a little girl. He rolled his eyes and handed the computer back to Red Robin who began modifying the report into something a little more professional.
"So, are they good to stay here?" he asked. Red Robin nodded.
"Yes," he said. "You can leave if you have somewhere to be."
"I need to have a conversation with Superboy," he replied and stood up. He left without saying good bye, mostly because he was fairly consumed with why Superboy seemed to be annoyed with him this time. He didn't think he'd forgotten anything important but he was always fairly preoccupied so it was entirely possible.
00000
"You'll stay here while the people in your world work to get you back," Red Robin said, finally closing his laptop and giving the three jumpers his full attention. "Since they have the device, that's your best hope. I have a few people I can call to see if we can expedite the process from our end but that's all I can really do for you beyond room and board."
"Thank you for that," Aquaboy said, completely sincere. "We did not wish to be separated in a strange reality."
"Understandable," Red Robin said. "You aren't the first jumpers we've had and I doubt you'll be the last. However, this won't be a vacation. You understand you'll be expected to pitch in?"
"As in missions?" Robin asked and the older teen nodded.
"We'll give you the full evaluation and I'll see what I've got sitting in the to-do pile," he said and the three jumpers seemed a little surprised at this. "I've got an inbox full of things that need attention and not enough people to pay attention to them. A few extra hands could go a long way."
"Deal," Aqualad said, perfectly content with doing his job while he waited to go home instead of sitting idle. His two companions nodded in agreement as well.
Red Robin watched them for a moment, gaining any information he could from them. Aqualad was clearly the leader of this particular grouping and based on the ease with which he took control of the decisions and debriefing, it was likely that he was the leader of the team as well. This surprised Red Robin considerably, not because he thought Aqualad incapable but because of the Robin sitting next to him. This Superboy was clearly confused and overthinking his situation. He was probably comparing this world's Superman with the one he knew. For some reason, it had made him sad. Red Robin made a mental note to poke around into that further.
He also picked up on their individual tells, tics, and mannerisms that made each a unique person. Superboy was stiff, unsure of himself, and based on the way he'd been glancing at Superman it stemmed from a sense of rejection from his source material; Robin was young, maybe 12 or 13, and he was using it as an excuse to defer to Aqualad. Red Robin had seen him open his mouth several times as if to take control of the conversation only to close it without even trying. Aqualad seemed perfectly capable of leading these kids as they were today. Red Robin wasn't so sure about the long term. He'd need more interaction to come to a conclusion.
"Follow me," he said, standing up. He led them from the office, through the now empty war room, and to the elevators. He punched the button for the top floor and they were deposited in the kitchens. Superboy had gotten off from desk duty and was currently doing his chores for the week. He had drawn the short straw and was assigned to clean out the three industrial sized, walk-in fridges they had. He was currently in the communal fridge going through the milk, butter, cheese, yogurt, fruits, and vegetables they kept to look for anything out of date. By the look on his face, there was plenty that was out of date. He tossed a container of yogurt into the large trash can he'd wheeled in behind him when Red Robin brought the three jumpers to stand in the doorway.
"How's this going?" he asked, crossing his arms and casually leaning against the cold, metal frame.
"Disgustingly well," Superboy answered. He opened another container yogurt, gave a small yell of disgust, and dropped it in the trash can with a look of horror on his face. "This should really be done more than once year."
"We're lucky to find the time to do it once," Red Robin told him.
"Then we should hire someone," Superboy said. Red Robin hummed. They both knew it would never happen.
"I came to ask you if you would pair with our new Superboy for training this afternoon," he said.
"Sure," Superboy said with a shrug and looked at the other one to make sure it was cool with him. The jumper nodded and smiled.
"Great, where's KF? I was hoping he'd give them the tour."
"I'll find him," Superboy said and in the blink of an eye he was gone. Red Robin closed the door to the fridge. He led the jumpers down to the training room where they found Wonder Girl, Aquagirl, and Starfire doing various exercises. Red Robin went to where Starfire was currently trying to melt an alien metal sheet they'd found a few years ago and had been unable to destroy. People used it to test their powers full throttle without putting holes in the wall. Superboy had used to it to hone his laser vision.
"I thought you left with Red Hood and Arsenal," he told her when they drew level.
"I wanted to see these jumpers," she replied and cut off the flow to her star bolts, turning to greet the three new kids. "I'm am Princess Koriand'r of Tamaran. You may call me Kori or Starfire."
"I'm Aqualad and this is Robin and Superboy," the Atlantean supplied. Starfire turned her haunting green eyes to Robin who put on a brave face but was clearly uncomfortable. At least he was to Red Robin's well trained eyes.
"I know you," she said and put her hands on his shoulders. "We are allies in this world and this team has never known a greater leader." She bent to kiss each of his cheeks and when she straightened she turned to Red Robin.
"Have the founders been made aware of these jumpers?" she asked.
"Yes. I sent them all a message after the report hit our system. None of them have replied yet."
"When you see Nightwing, please tell him I have not forgotten him."
"I will Kori," he nodded. "Thank you for meeting with me today."
"Always my friend," she said and patted his shoulder. "I must be going." As she walked away Red Robin watched the three new kids watch her leave. Starfire had always been the most exotic beauty on the team. At least, these boys knew enough to keep their mouths closed.
"Cassie!" Red Robin shouted across the gym. She looked over from the punching bag and he gestured her over. As she drew near he told her simply, "The jumpers."
"Yeah, Superboy told me about you guys," she said. "I think he's told everybody in the Tower by now."
"Humph," was all Red Robin responded with. "Help them out will you? Kid Flash is supposed to give them the tour."
He walked away back to his office, leaving the newcomers with Wonder Girl. He watched them on the security cameras as they moved through the different levels of the Tower and were then deposited in their rooms.
00000
Red Robin had a private conference call with three of the original Titans: Tempest, Nightwing, and Flash. Both Arsenal and Donna had not responded to the message he'd sent. He hadn't expected them to. The meeting was brief as the three men saw no reason to interfere in his decision until necessary. They left him to his own devices and asked to be notified if the situation changed. He had no intention of informing them about anything.
00000
Superman had been unfortunate enough to find the new dimension jumpers as they landed. These ones were clearly following the others. He didn't even need to ask to know that. Batman, Black Canary, and another Superman had landed on the same rooftop that the three boys had landed on. He had given them an explanation regarding what had happened to the boys and agreed to take them to Titans Tower.
As this was a Saturday, both the Tower and the island was bustling with activity. There were people running drills in the wooded area, in the sky, and in the Tower itself. Others were in the library doing homework or working on cases. And Superboy was once again at the Welcome Desk. He eyed the group of adults with suspicion before he reached for a clipboard of papers and a pen.
"Absolutely not," Superman snapped, before he could put them on the counter. "Call Red Robin down here."
"There has to be a case file," Superboy replied, sitting back in his chair and propping his feet on the desk. Superman was well aware of the visitors behind him watching intently.
"No, there doesn't," Superman told him, reaching over the high counter and swiping at the teenager's feet. Superboy rolled his eyes but put his boots on the floor where they belonged. "They're here to pick up the kids."
"What kids?"
"The kids I left here last month!"
"Oh, those kids!" Superboy exclaimed. "Yeah, no."
"Why not?" Batman asked, cutting into the conversation just as Superman opened his mouth to ask why Superboy couldn't be helpful.
"They aren't here," Superboy replied, avoiding eye contact with all of them. "I can give them a message if you'd like."
"Where are they?" Black Canary asked.
"Where's Red Robin?" Superman asked, determined to get to the bottom of this. "Did he send them into the field?"
"That's none of your business," Superboy replied. "But if you fill out this paperwork, it just might become your business." The teenager smirked and Superman had the very faint impression that Superboy being at this desk once again was by no means a coincidence.
"I really don't have time to fill out another case request," he snapped and immediately regretted it when Superboy pointed up at the Welcome Desk sign.
"Does that sign say I care?"
The blue and white sign suddenly burst into flames as Superman's frustration with the Teen Titans reached an all time high and he tilted his head back, eyes burning, and sent a burst of heat at the wood dangling above his head.
"Dude!" Superboy exclaimed. "Not my sign!"
Superman leaned back over the counter, grabbed the phone, and held it front of Superboy's face.
"Red Robin," he said. "Now."
"Fine," the boy complied with as much scowling as he could manage. They all listened as he had a very curt conversation with Red Robin. He hung up. "He'll see you. Don't burn down the Tower."
Superman led them through the Tower, acutely aware that the three adult jumpers were looking at everything they passed. When they reached the War room, he was surprised to find Nightwing and Tempest at a table containing the same topographical map he'd glimpsed the last time he was here. They looked worried.
"Superman," Nightwing greeted, eyeing the three guests.
"What's going on?" Black Canary asked. "Where are the boys?"
"Not here," Tempest replied, curtly, still looking at the map.
"We lost contact with them," Nightwing said, clearly hoping to be helpful.
"So they were put in the field?" the other Superman said. "Why?"
"Because they were here," Nightwing replied, sounding as if that should have been clear all along. "They passed our evals and operations thought they'd make a good fit for the job. This isn't a daycare. Everyone pitches in."
"Operations?" Superman asked, crossing his arms. "You mean Red Robin. Where is he?"
"Right here," Red Robin replied, walking into the room ahead of Superboy, who was still looking miffed. He took a seat at the table and raised his eyebrows. Batman took the cue.
"What kind of mission did you send them on?" he asked.
"Routine," Red Robin told him. "At least, it's routine for us. Apparently, it was above their paygrade. We weren't counting on the fact that they rely on adult supervision." He spat out the last of that as if it was a personal insult.
"Young Justice answers to the Justice League," Black Canary said, about to start some sort of justification.
"We do not," Red Robin interrupted. "As far as we know, they accepted the job to prove something-to themselves or to us-and got in over their heads. We lost contact 48 hours ago. We sent in reinforcements 36 hours ago. We haven't heard from any of them yet."
"Who did you send?" Superman replied.
"Nobody from the Titans," Nightwing snapped and the two former Robins glared at each other.
"They were all Titans once," Red Robin said.
"The Outlaws," Superman guessed, feeling so exasperated he actually felt the need to sit down in one of the many open chairs. "You sent the Outlaws on a rescue mission?"
"I didn't send them," Red Robin replied haughtily. "Nobody sends the Outlaws anywhere. I called them and asked politely."
Nightwing snorted.
"Blackmail is the term I would have used."
"Seriously?" Superman asked. "What could you possibly have on him?" He was, of course, referring to Red Hood. The former Robin was by no means subtle when it came to his criminal activity and he had even less shame regarding his past actions. What would someone like Jason Todd be desperate enough to keep quiet?
"Where did you send them?" the other Superman asked, bringing the conversation back to where it should have been.
"None of your business," Superboy repeated.
"Excuse me?" Black Canary replied. "We have a right to know."
"Not here you don't," Tempest told her, finally looking up from his map. "This is a Titan's job, not whatever your group is called. You don't have any authority here and you have even less leverage."
"Superman," Nightwing said softly. "Take them back to the mentor room. Please."
00000
The three adult Jumpers were not pleased regarding this twist of events and they were even less pleased to be shunted into the mentor room.
"Is there any way we could get the information regarding the boys and get to their last known location ourselves?" Black Canary asked.
"Not without setting off the alarms," Superman told them. "The only person who can consistently get into the system is Batman and even he can't do it undetected. Red Robin always knows when he's been poking around in the files."
"There has to be something we can do," she pressed. "Those boys are our responsibility."
"Right now the Titans are claiming that responsibility," he told them, trying to sound comforting. "They know what they're doing. They'll find them."
"Why would they even put them on a job?" Batman asked. "They weren't here long enough to muster up any amount of trust, especially not when it comes to a job this secretive."
"It's probably not a secret at all," Superman told them.
"Meaning?" the other Superman asked.
"Meaning that this was probably a very routine job just like Red Robin said. But the Titans aren't known for handing out details on how they operate especially when it comes to jobs gone wrong. They're very picky when it comes to things that could impact the amount of respect they have in the superhero community."
"But they still won't tell us what it was," the other Superman said, but Batman was shaking his head.
"No," he said. "Red Robin wouldn't tell us. Nightwing probably would have, given time."
"Red Robin can be secretive," Superman said, nearly smiling at the fact that they would never know just how much of an understatement that was. He opened his mouth to say something further but movement outside of the windows of the mentor room caught his eye. "What the hell?"
The others turned to see what he was staring at. There, in the lobby, was Robin, Batgirl, and several people he recognized as Batman's allies. Batman, Inc. it was called. They all looked as if they'd been a battle of some kind and were heading for the elevators. Robin suddenly stopped, turned to glare at them, and made his way into the room letting the others leave him behind.
"More of them?" he asked when he drew level with them.
"Yes," Superman replied. "They're here to pick up the first group."
"Tsk."
"You wouldn't know where they are, would you?" he asked. He would never be able to trick this boy into giving him any answers but he was curious to see if Robin would be just as closed mouthed as his brothers had been.
"Last I heard they were in the middle of a mess," he snapped. "Wouldn't expect anything less."
"What do you mean?" the other Superman asked.
"I saw those evaluations the same as everyone else," Robin sneered at him. "They weren't anything special."
"Don't be rude," Superman chided, ignoring the bristling from Black Canary. "What are you doing here?"
"We were looking for the missing superstars," he sneered. "There was some, hmm, trouble extracting ourselves from the situation." Superman thought Robin's way of speaking was incredibly creepy given he was only ten. He wondered if anyone else felt that way or if they just ignored it.
"Where were you?" Batman asked. Robin eyed him contemplatively, licked his lips, and for some unsightly reason answered the question.
"Arkham of course," he replied, smirking deeply.
"This doesn't have to do with the Pacific ocean?" Superman asked, thinking of the topographical map he'd been seeing lately.
"No," Robin sneered. "That mission has been happening for months. It's top tier only."
"Then what's going on with Arkham?" he pressed but Robin just smirked and left for the elevators. Superman wondered where Red Hood was. Was he still in Gotham? "Damn it." He dug around in his armor, pulled out a phone, and pressed a number on his speed dial, putting the call on speaker.
"What?" was Batman's gruff greeting.
"What is Red Robin doing sending dimension jumpers into Arkham?" he asked.
"Ask him."
"I'm asking you," he snapped. "I've got Justice Leaguers looking for some missing kids."
There was a long silence and then suddenly the line went dead.
"Where are the boys?" Black Canary asked, sounding extremely worried.
"Why would a kid send another kid into Arkham?" the other Superman asked. The other Batman was strangely silent.
"I don't know," he answered honestly.
"I bet I could tell you," came a voice from the doorway. And there they were. The missing jumpers. There were quite a few bruises on Robin's face and the other two looked as if a decent wind would knock them over but they were there.
"What did Red Robin send you into Arkham for?" Superman asked before anyone could be distracted.
"He wanted something out of the file room," Robin told him. "The file of a man named 'Thomas Karzenski'. Know him?"
"No," he replied, wracking his brain. He found it very curious that Red Robin would send in a group of jumpers he didn't know to retrieve a file he could have likely just have had faxed over. No one could tell him that Red Robin didn't have a connection inside the Asylum willing to break a rule like that. The kid could have set that up in his sleep.
The three kids started reporting to the others and Superman tuned them out, wandering out into the main entryway, pondering the curious events surrounding these Young Justice kids. If he hadn't been so distracted and if his guard hadn't been down, he probably would have sensed Superboy. He probably wouldn't have had time to dodge but Superboy's laser vision hitting him in the back wouldn't have been a complete surprise. He was thrown fifty feet through a wall and into a storage room. Before he could get to his feet he felt the crush of the kid's tactile telekinesis on his chest, pinning him to the floor and immobilizing him. He looked up to see a full out fight taking place between the Teen Titans and the jumpers.
The dimension travelers didn't last very long.
Not against a full fledged assault by Red Robin, Superboy, Wonder Girl, Kid Flash, and a couple of other kids he didn't know. Superman had a suspicion they had never seen anything quite like a bunch of super powered teenagers descending from the upper floors with more precision and skill than some JLA units.
It was quite the sight.
00000
Half an hour later and Superman was still giving Superboy a lecture. It was happening through the special glass of the Teen Titans holding cells. The power dampeners were on and Superman was more than a little uncomfortable. He wasn't sure why Superboy had considered him enough of a threat to their mission that he had to be locked away in a cell with the jumpers. Perhaps if he wasn't yelling at the kid through glass, he might have been getting somewhere.
"I still don't understand why you don't just ask me for a favor instead of, whatever that was," he practically yelled at the unrepentant teenager. "Or do you just enjoy throwing me through walls?"
"Kind of, yeah," Superboy replied. He was on watch duty, probably because he was the most likely of them all to be able to stop a jailbreak. He was sitting in his chair, on his phone, and acting so much like a teenager that Superman kind of wanted to hit him.
"What is going on?" he demanded. "We're on lockdown because Red Robin is doing something sneaky. I get that. It's everyday with that kid. But why these jumpers? Why send them into Arkham at all when he could have sent a Titans squad? They would have at least done it without all the fuss."
"Hey!" Robin protested. Batman touched his arm, silently telling him to shut up. Superboy didn't even look up from his phone.
"Not my business," he said.
"What?"
The kid looked up, finally annoyed enough to give Superman some eye contact. Unfortunately, he was all attitude as well.
"What exactly makes you think that any of this is a Titan's job?" the kid asked, smirking.
"Who's op is it?" Superman asked, but the answer came to him before he'd even finished the sentence. "It's Batman's isn't it? Of course it is. What did he want you to do?"
"Nothing, he has no idea I'm doing anything and I have no idea what any of them are up to," Superboy said with a shrug. "We took in the jumpers because Titans Tower was the most logical place to stash them. Red put me at the desk because he knows I can stand up to you. You wanna know what Batman's doing poking around in other dimensions, you better ask him. I'm just doing my friend a favor."
"Well, your friendly favor has gotten you in trouble," Superman replied. "You're benched."
"I didn't do anything wrong!" Superboy protested vociferously, standing up and looking as if he was going to fight Superman tooth and nail even though they were separated by that special glass.
"Really?" he exclaimed throwing his arms wide to remind Superboy that not only had the kid attacked him, he'd locked him up. He pointed a finger at the teenager and tried to sound as stern as possible. "Let me out."
"Bite me!" Superboy snapped, giving him as ugly an expression as he could. They probably would have gone on spitting arguments at each other but the door to the cell bank opened and Red Robin walked in. Everything fell silent and tense.
"Can I have a moment?" he asked Superboy politely and the clone nodded, gave Superman one last attitude-filled look, and left. Red Robin pointed at the other Superboy through the glass and gestured him forward. Once the boy had taken a cautious step forward Red Robin took out a photo and pressed it to the glass. It was a surveillance photo, high resolution, and showed an aging man dressed in black and carrying a sniper rifle.
"This is Thomas Karzenski," Red Robin said. "He was a guard at the Cadmus lab where you were made."
"What?" the other Superboy exclaimed, thoroughly surprised. Superman immediately sensed a tension between the adult jumpers. The other Superman looked downright uncomfortable.
"How did you get that?" Black Canary asked.
"This photo was taken in Gotham," Red Robin replied. "Our Gotham."
"He's a jumper?" Superman inquired wondering if any more of them were going to crawl out of the woodwork.
"Yes," Red Robin said. "He was sent here on a mission from Cadmus. He made contact with some of the heavy hitters in Gotham, asking them if would be willing to begin work across the dimensions. For what purpose we have yet to determine. However, when Karzenski made contact with the Joker it appears that he was...unprepared for the type of crazy Joker is. He was captured, tortured, and left in a gutter to die once they were bored with him."
It was a chilling story and Superman watched the Young Justice kids closely to see their reactions. As far as he could tell, they were taking it all in like professionals but there was also a sneaking realization that Red Robin was purposefully not telling them what Joker had done.
"He was lucky to survive," Red Robin continued. "And once he was medically fit, he was transferred to Arkham. We sent you in to get his file in order to determine if he had managed to babble out anything relevant."
"But why send us at all?" Robin asked. "Why not send one of your own?"
"Because of him," Red Robin said, pointing at the other Superboy.
"Me? What do I have to do with this? I never even met him."
"We wanted to see if the people Karzenski was working for had eyes on the Asylum," Red Robin said. "I knew that if we sent you in, without backup, it would look as if Young Justice and the Teen Titans were working together. I figured it would draw out whoever is trying to get a foothold here and it did. The riot you experienced wasn't a result of unlucky timing. Whoever was running Cadmus, is setting up operations in our world."
He took a moment to glare at the clone with such ferocity that the kid looked distinctly uncomfortable. Superman recognized it as an interrogation tactic Batman used quite a bit. It wasn't the most aggressive but it had just enough threat behind it to make even him nervous for what would happen to the kid if he didn't answer correctly. Superboy opened his mouth, probably to defend himself, but Red Robin cut him off.
"I'm going to ask you once," he said, cold and efficient. "Do you know who was running Cadmus Labs?"
"No," Superboy said and Superman could tell that he was telling the truth. His heartbeat was steady. He nodded at the Titan, confirming the answer. Robin and Aqualad glared at him, probably wondering if he was a plant.
"This doesn't explain why we're locked up," the other Superman said. His arms were folded across his chest and he looked fed up. Superman was wondering what the answer was to that himself.
"Boss didn't want you to leave the tower quite yet," he said.
"Where is Batman?" Superman asked.
"He's on his way," Red Robin promised. "He's got something to say to you."
He left without another word. While Superman was rarely weirded out by the promise of his friend arriving, he felt distinctly nervous now. There was a real possibility that whatever Batman had to say was going to be infinitely more concerning than anything Red Robin had just said.
00000
They were left to more or less bicker amongst themselves, waiting for Batman to arrive with his inevitable demands and little to no answers. The adult jumpers were by no means pleased with what they'd heard and Superman could hardly blame them. There was something happening on their world and it had taken a particularly manipulative seventeen-year-old to get them to recognize it. Superman was far too used to the so-called 'Bat-Brats' to feel much surprise or annoyance but he could hardly expect the jumpers to feel the same way. Although, the other Batman seemed merely curious.
"So, was this whole jump an accident?" Robin inquired. "Or were we supposed to travel here?"
"I highly doubt anyone on this end purposefully brought you here," Superman told him. "It sounds like Batman took advantage of the opportunity to get some intel and that was it. He's probably finished with you."
"Oh, well, I'm glad we were of some help," Aqualad replied, a thick layer of bitter sarcasm beneath some rather polite words. Superman shrugged.
"Why lock you up?" the other Superman asked, giving him a once over. He shrugged again.
"Probably didn't want me mucking around in his op," he replied, truthfully. "Could've been worse though. One time Flash got knocked unconscious and locked in a closet on the Watchtower after he blundered into one B's ops. He never got over it either."
There were some side glances aimed at the other Batman and Superman tried to smirk. It was always satisfying to give Batman a taste of his own medicine; apparently it didn't matter that he wasn't his Batman.
Finally, after what felt like hours, the door opened again and Batman entered. He had more armor than the other Batman and Superman was left to wonder if it was because he was older or because he'd been through so much in the last fifteen years. Regardless, he just felt more dangerous.
He had a file with him but he never bothered to open it. For the first half minute, he simply looked at them, particularly Superboy, as if he was trying to size them up. He was probably wondering if it was worth telling them anything at all.
"Please tell me you know who's behind all this," Superman said into the increasingly stretching silence. "I've got my own work to do, you know."
"I know," Batman replied but it didn't sound as if he actually cared. "They're called 'The Light'. We have no names. It's a group; most likely global; they're probably familiar to you. Red Robin told you they were running operations in our world. I'm here to tell you that if you can't handle your own problems, I will."
With that, he left the file on Superboy's abandoned chair and left the room. Red Robin came in almost immediately after he cleared the doorway, punched in a code on a wall panel, and the cell opened.
The other Batman picked up the file on the way out.
00000
"You should prepare yourselves for war," Superman said to the jumpers. They had been led to a lab beneath the Tower where Red Hood had apparently been rigging up a trans-dimensional doorway. He was highly skilled in this type of phenomenon and Superman had a suspicion that he was the one who had done most of the investigating in the other world.
"We'll handle it," the other Batman said. Superman gave him an intense look.
"If you don't and it spills over in our world, Batman will eat you alive," he warned. "He's not playing and you haven't seen anything like him. So do it."
"We can do our jobs," Black Canary snapped.
"Really?" he asked, feeling uncharacteristically snide. "Because the Teen Titans have a file that says differently. Those kids need training and if they don't get it soon, you're going to have a bunch of dead kids on your hands. Then see how Batman treats you."
He left them on the platform, annoyed that they didn't seem interested in taking his advice. He couldn't blame them; he hadn't said any of it with any sense of diplomacy but he was tired of having other worlds bring their wars to his own. They had been through this more than once and he was entirely supportive of Batman and his threats.
Standing next to Batman and Red Robin by the control panel, he watched as Red Hood typed in several commands and the jumpers finally disappeared.
"You think they can handle it?" he asked Batman.
"I think they'll be enough of a threat to keep the Light from being too interested in our world," he replied. "What happens in their dimension isn't our problem."
"You didn't bring those kids here, did you?" he asked. Red Hood laughed a little and Red Robin smirked. But Batman didn't answer and Superman never asked again. He simply left to find his own Superboy and remove him from the Tower. He had been completely serious about him being benched.
The teenager protested, whined, and called him a few names but he left more or less willingly. And when he bought the kid a strawberry milkshake (Superboy's favorite), he was more or less forgiven.