Author's Note: Disclaiming that I've never read the comics, and I'm getting whatever additional information I need off of the DC comics wiki page. If I mix different universes together, well... deal with it. Onward and upward.

They met at seven in the evening unless they were off handling an alert, or he was. Tonight, apparently, was a slow night because the communication went through and there was Robin, sitting alone in the dark. "Hey guys. I don't have long tonight." He glanced at something over the computer. "I've got to head out on patrol soon. I just wanted to check in and see how that fight with Galtry went."

Beast Boy crossed his arms over his chest with a scowl. "I could have done without that reunion." Then, as it occurred to him, "Hey! Are you checking up on us?"

Robin raised an eyebrow. "If you mean 'am I keeping up to date with what's going on in Jump' then yes. Just because I'm not there right now doesn't mean it's not still my city. Or my team."

Cyborg waved a metal hand. "Man, you worry too much. I can handle the Titans network just fine."

"Yes," Starfire agreed, leaning in towards the screen. "You must keep your attention on doing what must be done in Gotham so that you may return to us soon!"

He smiled, that soft smile that was just for her, and someone in the background made a noise that did not sound pleased. Robin looked over the computer again and scowled. "I'll be home soon, Star. I promise."

Beast Boy, apparently over his annoyance with Galtry, sat up straighter. "Dude, what are you doing there anyway? You've been gone for a month. What happened in Gotham that's so bad that you're still there?"

Robin shook his head. "I've already told you. I can't talk about it. I have to go now, but I'll talk to you tomorrow." He shut off the computer and leaned back in his chair, sighing. Nicolas Galtry, infiltrating the tower. That must have been hard for Beast Boy to deal with. If the changeling didn't talk much about his time with the Doom Patrol, he talked even less about his family. None of them did, really, but Robin knew from personal experience how hard it was to have to face someone from your past. Tony Zucco was an enemy he would never forget.

A low, irritated voice dragged him out of his reverie. "Done daydreaming?"

He grit his teeth, glaring at Batman. "I could always go home, if that's what you would prefer."

Batman's face was impassive. "I'd prefer you to get off your ass and go patrol, then go home and teach that team of yours some more respect. I would never allow you to question me the way they do you."

"Don't I know it." Dick muttered under his breath, but he got to his feet. Patrol now. Argue with Bruce later. He didn't bother to take the R-cycle. He needed stealth over speed for his quarry. A little over a month ago, his guardian had contacted him suddenly in the middle of the night. There had been a massive break out at Arkham Asylum, and Babs had gotten caught in the crosshairs, taking her out of commission until her broken leg healed. He was needed back home.

He had known that returning to Gotham would mean that he had to play by rules he didn't like, would have to follow orders he didn't like, but Robin had always been and would always be Batman's partner, and when Gotham was in this much danger, well... he'd come back. He hadn't wanted to, but he had, and he knew he would make the same choice again. He scrambled up the side of a building, perching on the roof and scanning the street below. It wasn't a nice part of the city, but he was nowhere near its dark, seedy underbelly. Trash gathered in the gutters and it smelled of wet asphalt and smog, but the street was clear. Rain clouds were gathering, which was nothing new, but not something he was looking forward to. He checked the street again and moved on, darting along the rooftop and leaping to the next.

It had taken them barely a week to catch Scarecrow, but that wasn't particularly surprising. Batman had subjected him to that fear gas hundreds of times until he learned to ignore the pounding of his heart and the lies his eyes were telling him. Scarecrow's biggest problem was that he was always looking for the biggest and most immediate reaction. It made him easy to find, although Dick had gotten a nice reminder of exactly how awful that gas was. He'd been pale and shaky for days, and it had taken him at least an hour on the webcam with the Titans to convince them not to come to Gotham when they saw how much of a mess he was. It was another two days before he was sure they wouldn't ignore his orders completely. Batman hadn't been happy.

"He's never happy." Dick growled to himself, crouching in the shadow of a gargoyle on a church. A couple walked side by side on the street below, oblivious to their observer. Neon lights shone in the windows of the buildings they passed, and someone had gutted a car down the street. He cast around for movement, but saw nothing.

"What was that?" Bruce's voice was in his ear, low and annoyed.

He shifted slightly for a better look down an alleyway, but still, nothing. Whoever had stripped the car was long gone. It didn't matter. He had a bigger target. "You heard me."

A beat of silence. "You're going to miss things if you don't stay focused. Are you this chatty with that team of yours?"

His grip tightened on the edge of the building and he was certain that Bruce could hear his teeth grinding through the sensitive earpieces. He replied while he shimmied down a pipe and into an alleyway. "I haven't missed anything, and how I lead the Titans is none of your business." They'd stopped Slade, saved the world from a demon from another dimension, defeated the Brotherhood of Evil, and in doing so, had brought together a network of young heroes that rivaled the Justice League. What would it take to impress this guy?

He crept through the street, keeping to the shadows, and started up a fire escape, scanning. Always scanning. They'd caught Two-Face and the Riddler a little over a week and a half ago. Robin had taken the Riddler. More than Zucco, maybe even more than Deathstroke, he wanted a rematch with Two Face. He wasn't some weak little kid anymore who would get so easily caught, so easily beaten. It grated that Bruce hadn't given him the chance, especially considering all the trouble it had caused him the first time.

"It is when they're used against you. Or did you think wearing a new suit would mean I wouldn't recognize that it was you stealing from me?"

He almost missed his grip to the next rooftop, fingers scrabbling against the gutter and he slammed into the brick wall with enough force to knock the wind out of him. There was no grace in the way he pulled himself over the side and dragged in a breath. "I would be surprised if you don't have a tracker planted on me even in Jump. And I handled that situation." He'd also stolen from a lot more people than Bruce, but everything had found its way back once they'd beaten Slade.

"You're too attached. It's a weakness you can't afford to have."

"Weren't you the one accusing me of being chatty a minute ago?" he asked through his teeth.

"Robin, I'm not sure I want you going back there."

That time he really did miss his grip, and only his grappling hook stopped him from being splattered on the pavement below. He stopped under the shadow of a satellite dish. "You do not get to make that call." There was movement below. A woman, by the figure, walking alone, wearing a trench coat against the chill in the air. He crouched, leaning over the edge of the building with a frown. He'd reached the worst parts of town by now, where no sane woman would travel solo, but there was something very familiar in the confidence of that walk, the sway of her hips, that told him that this was no sane woman.

"I'm your guardian, and I-"

"Harley Quinn." This was what he'd been seeking. They'd reunited Poison Ivy with Arkham just last week, and now all that was left was these two. Harley and the Joker. "I'm following."

"I'm on my way. Do not engage."

He rolled his eyes. "This conversation isn't over," he hissed in reply, and darted along the rooftop after her. Her legs, below the bottom of her coat, were pale, no trace of the red and black get-up that he was so used to, but it was her. He climbed down a fire escape and dropped to the pavement on silent feet, then darted into the road behind her. There was a trick to tailing someone when they're on the street alone and you're in uniform. He kept to the shadows, ghosting from one piece of cover to the next, letting her stay well ahead of him. He ducked into the shadows of a parked car and surveyed the street behind him. He wouldn't put it past the Joker to sneak up on him while he tailed Quinn. All was quiet, and when he turned to move again, she was gone. He crept out from behind the car, scanning the street from side to side to find where she went. A slight flicker on the ground caught his attention and he knelt on the sidewalk, studying the ground. This stretch of sidewalk... hadn't there been construction here recently? And it was a different shade from the rest, just barely noticeable if you looked closely. He prodded it carefully and his fingertip passed through the concrete, light bouncing off him to reveal the hole still in the ground. A hologram.

Clever, but not clever enough. The street beside him was clear, with no available cover, but there was a store awning overhead, with metal beams supporting it, and he leapt up to grab one and started making his way across. They were thin, not really built to hold his weight, but he moved carefully, keeping his head low. The fabric of the awning moving with wind that didn't exist would be a dead giveaway. Joker was smart. He had to be smarter. Almost there. Now all he had to do was grab the last beam and swing across and over the hole. As soon as his hand closed around the metal, there was a low hiss and the awning filled with gas, catching him off guard. His fingers went numb and he dropped, crashing through the hologram and down into the hole beneath. He could hear heels approaching, and then a blonde was grinning down at him in his blurred vision, hand propped on her hip. "Been a long time since I seen you around here, Sugar."

The last thing he heard as his vision faded to black was laughter, cold and insane.