The mission started out normal enough: the Teen Titans were up against the Hive Five, now minus Jinx, as they attempted to steal from an experimental tech lab. Just what it was they were after, the Titans had not a clue, but knew that it was their job to stop them, regardless.

"Split up ever'body!" A Billy Numerous called from where a group of copies were attempting to wrestle Beast Boy as an elephant.

The Billies all joined together and ran one way, Gizmo jetted another way, Mammoth smashed through a wall headed in a random direction, and Private Hive took off running as well. The only ones left behind were See-More and Kyd Wykkyd, who were in the midst of trying to hack into a very large machine that had a doorway; if one peered inside the little window near the top of said door, they would notice that inside this machine's chamber sat an odd, pink gem positioned in the middle of the room on a pedestal-like structure.

Robin guessed that the jewel would be quite valuable on the black market, and that was enough to make the two villains risk their capture just to get to it. The boy wonder looked around, he was apparently left to deal with two risk-takers as his team mates already left, chasing after the other Hive members.

"Stop what you're doing and come peacefully, and I won't have to use force," he called to them.

"Yeah right," See-More called back. "If we're going down, we're going down fighting!"

Robin shook his head. Why couldn't more of these guys be more like Jinx and join our side?

The hero knew that continuing to try the "Good Cop" routine was hopeless, so he lunged and prepared to fight.

Kyd Wykkyd turned to face him, covering for the Cyclops as he continued to try to open the door. But before an actual fight could break out, See-More gave an excited shout and the door opened. He pulled Kyd Wykkyd in with him and the door shut before Robin could follow them in after.

"Ha!" He heard See-More shout through the thick walls of the machine. As he looked through the window, he saw See-More and Kyd Wykkyd looking gleeful and sticking their tongues out at him before turning to the jewel and trying to dislodge it from its thrown, which looked trapped between sturdy metal rings.

Kyd Wykkyd tried to use his powers to teleport the stone out, but that didn't seem to be working; that really should have been obvious since they apparently couldn't teleport into the room...

Eventually both tried to physically pull the gem from its place, but that didn't seem to be getting them anywhere either. Robin took this opportunity to try to hack into the door, himself.

So far it was difficult, the chamber had a lot of security around it. Whatever this gem did, they did not want anyone getting to it. That worried our boy wonder. What could it possibly do that it had to be guarded that fiercely... He tried to clear the thoughts from his head, he could not be distracted right now.

Suddenly, he heard a strange hissing noise. Concerned, he looked back at See-More and Kyd Wykkyd.

Oh no.

While the two were trying to pull the metal contraptions from the jewel, the bending was causing sparks to fly from the restraints and travel throughout the machine.

He wasn't sure if the spark was powerful enough to-

"System On" said a monotone, robotic voice.

-start the machine.

He heard a scream from inside and checked once again. See-More and Kyd Wykkyd were now aware of the danger they were in and running around the chamber, trying to get out.

Robin took out his bo staff and tried to use it to pry the door open. It wouldn't quite fit between the door and the wall, but he needed to try. He couldn't let anything happen to them.

"Don't worry, I'll get you out!"

He pulled and dug the staff into the crack, but the metal of the machine was too much. From inside the panicking continued and Robin started to feel himself stressing as well.

"It'll be okay," he shouted from outside. He tossed the staff and tried to hack it once again.

"It'll be okay," he repeated. But he wasn't so sure anymore. The machine was just about powered up and he was nowhere near to getting that door open.

"Help" and "Please" were added to the shouting now. This making Robin grow even more desperate.

The machine now started to wail and pink sparks ghosted over the machine, up and down. An eerie pink glow sprang up from the window. Robin was now frantic and panicking as well. He decided to forgo the hacking and instead started banging his fists on the door with all of his might.

"See-More! Kyd Wykkyd!" He screamed at the door, praying for an answer.

Silence. Aside from the continued hissing of the machine.

"Robin!" The Titan heard Cyborg yell and turned around.

"Cyborg! Get this thing open, please!"

The robotic teen rushed over. "What happened?"

"See-More and Kyd Wykkyd, they're trapped inside and the machine started. Get them out before-"

He was cut off by the whir of the machine powering down, the sparks disappearing. Robin's heart fell into his stomach.

"Open it!"

Cyborg wasted no more time. He ran up to the machine and worked his magic, in only a few minutes the door was open. Robin rushed in past him and looked around the room; he didn't see either teen.

Where are they? They can't be dead, they can't be.

He spotted their clothes on the ground. Disintegration was the first thought that came to mind but he remained hopeful and went over to them, praying that they merely turned invisible and were now running around naked and making mischief.

He touched a hand to See-More's pile of garments, and noticed a small lump underneath them: too small to be a body... but too firm to be a pile of ash, for which he was thankful for. He started to remove the clothing, what he saw shocked him beyond anything he had expected - it was a baby.

A small baby with dark skin, who had See-More's helmet over his head and was touching it with his little hands curiously. Robin resisted the urge to chuckle. He gently gripped the helmet and removed it from the child's head. He was in for another shock: instead of looking up at him with bright eyes of whatever color, he was looking deeply into eyes that were "dead". He never knew that See-More was blind without the helmet.

The baby searched the air, confused. He couldn't see Robin in front of him and this was upsetting him. He scrunched up his face and started to cry. Robin reacted quickly and grabbed the little boy, holding him and soothingly tangling his fingers into the child's slightly curly, dark locks.

"Shhhh, it's alright. I'm here," whispered until the crying stopped. The baby then cuddled up against him. Robin sighed in relief.

But wait. If that's what happened to See-More, then...

He sprang up, arms still full of child, and all, and went over to Kyd Wykkyd's clothes. He once again untangled the clothes and found another small, silently crying baby with a pale complexion red eyes, and dark purplish-blue hair. He quickly picked up the baby and soothed him as well, feeling guilty for forgetting about him. And the poor teleporter was mute, who knew how long he would have been left crying, alone, had Robin not remembered.

Both children were snuggling into his chest, balanced on both sides of him. Robin turned back towards the door where a silent and shocked Cyborg was standing there watching.

"Let's go," Robin called. They began to make their way out of the building. "Where are the others?"

Cyborg wasn't sure whether "others" meant the rest of the Titans, or the Hive Five, but answered for both. "Star, BB, and Rae rounded up Billy, Private Hive and Mammoth. I took care of Gizmo. We had the police waiting for you to apprehend See-More and Kyd Wykkyd..."

Robin nodded.

"So, what are you going to do with them?" The half robot continued. "They don't seem to know how old they really are, they can't be sent to jail, could they-?"

"No," Robin interrupted "That wouldn't be right. I'll have to talk to the chief and see what the best course of action is. He's a nice guy, he won't want to put them in jail either."

Cyborg made a noise of agreement and relief.

When they finally reached the outside of the building they were immediately surrounded by the other Titans and the Jump City Police Chief, Jean Wremmings.

"Hey, what took so- Dudes, what are those!" Beast Boy exclaimed.

"Tell me those aren't..." Raven asked both Robin and herself.

"Robin, where did you get those children?" Starfire asked curiously.

"That is what I would like to know as well, Wremmings added in.

Robin sighed. "I'll explain everything in private." He looked to Wremmings, who nodded and beckoned everyone to follow him to the side of the building away from all of the fuss.

"Now," the chief said. "Please explain. Are those two who I think they are?"

Robin nodded. "Yes, these are See-More and Kyd Wykkyd. They were attempting to steal a jewel from a machine and ended up getting trapped inside, and accidentally starting it up. And, well, this happened." He gestured to the infants falling asleep in his arms.

"You're saying that, that gem did this?" The chief asked.

"Yes," Robin confirmed. "What will happen to them? They can't be taken into custody like the rest of the Hive Five, they're minds are at their physical ages. They shouldn't be held responsible for-"

"I agree." Wremmings said quickly. "They will not be arrested under these circumstances. However, I am not sure what the best option would be for what to do with them."

"Why?" Beast Boy asked. "Can't you just put them with someone until the de-aging thing is reversed?"

The chief shook his head. "I wish it was that simple. But, truthfully, that wouldn't be the safest option for them. Like you guys, people will recognize that these two are See-More and Kyd Wykkyd. And while they may not be as dangerous as someone like Johnny Rancid, people will still hold a grudge against them-"

Starfire gasped. "And someone will wish to harm them."

Wremmings nodded. "Yes. And while they may have criminal records, to me they are still children, now more than ever, and it is my duty to protect them as well."

Robin stared down at the two, both had their heads leaning against his chest, their eyes just mili-seconds away from closing in blissful sleep. It was at that moment that he realized that even if they did have somewhere safe to keep them, with someone who wouldn't harm them, he wasn't sure that he could let them go.

At least part of that reason was because the Titans Leader felt that he was partially responsible for the Hive members' current state - if only he had been more focused then he could have hacked the system successfully, or if only he had thought logically and called Cyborg earlier... A number of "What if"s would have resulted in a different outcome than this. So Robin blamed a good deal of this on himself

The other reason, he honestly wasn't sure of, himself. He didn't think men had "maternal instincts" so he was fairly sure that, that wasn't what he was feeling. But, he did form some sort of attachment to the to de-aged villains.

His mind was made up. "I'll do it."

Everybody turned towards Robin and stared. "What?" Cyborg asked for everyone.

"I said that I'll do it. It's partially my fault anyway, if I could have just found a way to open that door-"

"Robin," Starfire tried to reassure him.

"No Star. I had a part in this, accidental or not. I need to make it up to them." He looked down at the babies again, now fast asleep. "Besides, they look like they're comfortable just where they are." He said with a small smile.

Wremmings had an unreadable expression on his face.

"Chief," Robin looked at him pleadingly. "You know I would never do anything to harm anyone. You know that you can trust me."

"It's not that it's just..." He trailed off.

"Just?" Robin asked.

Wremmings paused for a short while before sighing. "Alright, I'll agree to it. But this case is more sensitive than it seems. I'm going to send you over their case files so that you know exactly what you're dealing with."

"Please," Starfire asked. "What exactly are we dealing with?"

Wremmings only smiled sadly. "I'll be by later to give them to you as well as brief you on a few things." With that as a final statement, he walked away.

An unexplained calm silence spread through the group. Beast Boy was the one to break it.

"So, where are they gonna sleep? Not in my room."

The chief showed up to Titans tower about an hour or so later. By that time the Teen Titans had arrived home and started planning what to do for their two "guests".

In the end it was decided that the infants would sleep in Robin's room, they would go and buy baby supplies after Wremmings left, and that when missions came up one of them would stay with the children while the others went out.

The police chief was let in and noticed the two children asleep on the couch while everyone else was sitting at the table nursing a cup of coffee. Robin stood up to greet him. "Chief. Can you tell me just what is so important about these case files?"

Wremmings handed Robin two manila folders labeled with the names "See-More" and "Kyd Wykkyd".

"Really, these are confidential. But since you are acting as their caretaker, and because we are unsure of the machine's affects, the information may come in handy. I spoke to the scientists that were working on the device. They confirmed that they knew that the jewel had the power to reverse aging; their experiments show that the body regresses both physically and mentally. However, they were unable to test how the subject was emotionally. The volunteers that they used did not have very traumatic experiences, so they do not know if someone who was de-aged, who had a tragic experience, would experience flash backs, unreasoned panic attacks, or anything connecting them with the event."

"So what?" Beast Boy asked.

Chief Wremmings frowned. "These files contain brief summaries of the histories and experiences of See-More and Kyd Wykkyd. They are, in fact, quite traumatic; that is why I brought this issue up. I want to prepare you for the possibility of one or both of them having an emotional breakdown for an unknown reason."

The Titans looked at the folders, morbid curiosity swelling in their souls, wonder just what was so traumatic that could have happened. They each understood perfectly that anything could be contained in these files, each had their own experiences and knew how ugly the truth could be.

Robin looked to the chief who nodded, urging them to open the folders. Robin touched a finger to the edge of the paper and slowly opened the cover.

Cover Name: See-More

Real Name: Seymour Harris

Date of Birth: January 21, 1998

Mother's Name: Jennet Harris

Father's Name: unknown

Seymour was born blind, into a impoverished, broken family. His mother was a heroin addict who mostly neglected her son. His father's identity is unknown Around the year 2003 when the small family hit rock bottom and the mother could no longer afford her fixes, Jennet sold Seymour for drug money on the black market.

He was sold to an illegal organization where experiments were performed on children. They used him to develop a device that not only could enable a blind person to see, but also increase the quality of an average-sighted human by 1,000 times using different features.

It was about three years later that Seymour used that very device to escape the organization. He was found and taken into police custody. Four months later Seymour went missing again and did not turn up for several years.

Around 2010 he was finally identified as "See-More" through statements, identification, and DNA.

He had apparently been taken in by Hive Academy, and continues to associate with people in that area.

The Titans stared down at the paper with shock and sadness. How could a mother do that to her child? How horrible it must have been to be used as a lab rat for three years. They would have to be careful with this child.

Robin closed the folder and picked up the other one. He took a second to take a breath before opening the cover.

Cover Name: Kyd Wykkyd

Real Name: Elliot Knight

Date of Birth: (Estimated) October 23, 1997

Mother's Name: unknown

Father's Name: unknown

Adoptive Mother's Name: Victoria Knight

Elliot was abducted at such a young age that he could not remember the names of his birth parents. The only records of his existence before officially becoming "Elliot Knight" were obtained from a copy of a receipt from the black market, and a paper detailing the transfer from there to a black magic cult group.

The cult was obsessed with demons and used Elliot as an attempt to make their own. They performed experiments and rituals on the child for years until the day that Elliot gained momentary control over the teleportation abilities they gave him and appeared miles away from their base. By then his appearance had been mutated. He was taken to the hospital by several concerned individuals.

The police questioned Elliot at the hospital, the responses were acted out as he was unable to speak - which was not something he was born with, it something that developed from the cult's influence.

Elliot was later taken into the custody of Victoria Knight, the primary expert that had been helping Elliot re-assimilate into the world. He was then given the name "Elliot Knight".

Elliot stayed with Victoria for several years until he one day disappeared. According to Victoria's statement to police, Hive Academy had an influence in it.

Another dark case. Robin closed the folder, then looked to his team. Their faces all mirrored sadness but there was a spark in them as well that vowed to put their hearts into this. They would not help See-More and Kyd Wykkyd because they had to, but because they wanted to.

Robin looked back to chief Wremmings, "Thank you."

Wremmings smiled and muttered something about needing to get back to the station before leaving.

Starfire and Beastboy went to go pick out baby supplies in the city, while Raven and Cyborg went to go "baby-proof" the tower, leaving Robin alone with the two infants. Robin walked over to the little boys and picked them up, carrying them to his room. He grabbed a towel on the way and laid that down on the bed first before laying down with See-More and Kyd Wykkyd, waiting for Starfire and Beast Boy to get back while hoping for no accidents until then.

He soon drifted off to sleep along side his two, new charges.