A/N

Hello my pretties! I am on a ROLL! Two stories in a row, two days in a row! But guys, I don't own anything. Ever. I'm not old enough to own things. Even my brain. I don't own that either, I'm loaning it from a friend.

Those Stupid Pancakes

Overall, Slade was having a good day. He had successfully stolen a priceless electronic component, managing to evade his little bird. In addition to that, he was able to complete his next invention and been able to work on his next plans for domination. Ah yes, today had been a good day. And it was going to get even better.

Overall, Robin was having an awful day. Apparently, every single villain in Jump had decided to try to commit a crime today. Today, also known as his birthday. Robin was proud of his team though, since they had caught all but one villain and promptly sent them to jail. So maybe he was just blowing everything out of proportion, but the fact that he wasn't allowed to enjoy his birthday didn't make this day a good day.

Robin sighed under the searing heat of his shower, rubbing the water out of his eyes and sighing- deep in thought. What could he possibly be thinking about on his birthday, you may ask? Jump's favorite criminal. Robin remembered how angry he was at his team when they had lost him in the smog of the city. It was misplaced aggression, of course, and he had to apologize sooner or later. And worst of all, Robin didn't even get a call from anyone to wish him a Happy Birthday.

Turning the dial to shut off his shower, Robin stepped into his room and turned on the light at his desk. Maybe some work would clear his mind. (A/N Yeah right Robin. You dummy. Oh, and by the way, Robin is dressed now.)

Robin analyzed the blueprints for the part Slade had stolen and sighed in frustration. Wow, he thought, he was sighing a lot lately.

Suddenly, there was a knock ripping through the almost complete silence in Robin's room. He cursed slightly, hating himself for being so surprised.

"Who is it?" The tone in Robin's voice was harsher than he would have liked, but there was no way to fix that now.

And then the lights went off.

Robin spun around, toward the door, then toward the light switch on the complete opposite side of the room.

"Who's there?" Robin's voice held a hint of warning in it, in case someone on his team had decided to play a prank. This was NOT funny.

Then the lights shuddered back on, and Robin realized he was alone. Everything was untouched, except for a medium sized box set in the center of Robin's bed. It was a birthday present. Robin stared at the blue polka-dotted box with a hint of suspicion, though, and warily walked over to it.

"It isn't going to explode, you know." A steel voice echoed in the room. Robin turned on his heel, instinctively reaching for his Bo staff. It wasn't there, he realized. Despair settled in his chest as he realized that his belt was in the bathroom.

"Aren't you going to open it? It's my gift to you, Robin." Slade's unwavering voice crashed on to Robin's ears in waves. Robin, absentmindedly stepped toward the present on his bed, and also away from the hulking frame that was leaned oh-so casually against his doorframe.

Finding his voice again, Robin spat out, "What are you doing here, Slade?"

Slade only chuckled in response and gestured vaguely toward the present on his bed.

"It's your birthday, isn't it?" The funny thing with Slade is that even when he's asking a question, Robin thought mutely, it sounds like a statement.

Robin, now thinking along with speaking, almost asked about what Slade was going to do with the part he stole earlier that day. Almost.

Finally, Robin was standing next to the dreaded present and realized that Slade probably wasn't going to leave until he opened it. To his surprise, the menacing figure turned to leave the room, dropping a few additional words into Robin's mind before leaving.

"Tell Bruce that he should take better care of hiding his identity."

Robin froze, and in that statement, in that moment, his entire world crashed around him. But when he looked back to his door, only an empty space lay where Slade was standing only moments ago.

Stupid, stupid, stupid! Robin lectured himself. He was RIGHT THERE! You were practically standing next to him, but you didn't do anything? Stupid!

The only thing left in the room was Robin and the present. He needed to open it.

He slipped his hand under the brightly colored box top and lifted. His eyes went wide for a moment, and his mouth lay open in shock.

What the -

Language, Robin, Language. Don't worry, I won't keep you hainging for long, I just want, I don't know, 4 reviews? I already have the next chapter in my mind, I'm just not going to write it until I get what I want. I'm soooo mean to you. But all it takes is a sentence going:

"You're mean! WHAT'S IN THE BOX?"

Some advice would be nice too, though.

~Lurvles,

Anya