I do not own Young Justice. I just love it very much.
Kaldur, M'gann and Conner had just arrived to Mount Justice. The whole team had to be there by 3:00pm. It was a school day, so Batman had to wait for 3 members of the team to get out of school in order to give them a new covert mission. He was going to allow the team to go to Gotham and help him locate the Joker. Arkham had another breakout and the Joker and a few other villains escaped. Batman and Robin were tearing apart the city looking for them, but couldn't seem to find them.
It was only 2:40, so there was still time to wait. Wally got out at 2:45 while Robin and Artemis got out at 2:30. They should be at the mountain soon.
5 minutes had passed when they heard the zeta beams announcing Wally's arrival. Someone was eager for a mission.
"Good afternoon, Wally. You sure got here fast." Kaldur joked.
"Yeah, I got here in a flash." Wally responded with a smirk. Conner groaned. "Are Rob and Artemis here yet?"
"No, not yet. They should be very soon though." M'gann answered.
"Slow pokes." Wally snickered. He then zipped into the kitchen and grabbed a snack. When he returned to the main room, they all heard the zeta beams announcing Artemis. She walked up to the group and spotted Wally eating cheese puffs.
"Of course." Artemis scoffed to Wally.
"What! I need to restore my energy for the mission." Wally said in his defense.
"Do we even know what the mission is yet?" Artemis asked.
"Not yet. Batman and Robin should be here any minute now to give us the assignment." Kaldur explained. They continued to wait for Batman and their last team mate.
Right as the clock struck 3pm, the zeta beams announced Batman's arrival. Batman walked up to the team and looked at them for a second. He noticed that Robin wasn't there waiting.
"Where is Robin?" Batman asked in his usual dark tone.
"He has not arrived yet." Kaldur answered. Batman was surprised. Robin was never late.
Batman pushed the communicator on his glove that only connected to Robin. "Robin, you're late." He waited a few seconds and got no response. "Robin, report." Batman demanded. Nothing.
Batman walked toward the computers and the team followed. Batman could locate Robin's tracer in his utility belt from the computer. Before he could sit down, the screens turned on and there was nothing but static. The team jumped back. The static started clearing up and all they could see was an empty room.
"HELLOOO KIDDIES!" Joker yelled as he jumped in front of the camera. The team jumped again. This caused Joker to laugh hysterically. Batman didn't even move a muscle.
"Oh! Good! Batman, I'm glad you're here. I have something of yours." Joker smiled evilly. He walked away from the camera for a second and came back dragging Robin behind him by his cape. Robin didn't look injured, but he was unconscious. Batman tensed up.
"Why so serious? He's fine, just taking a little nap. He'll need it for later." Joker said creepily.
"Joker, let him go. You have nothing to gain from hurting him." Batman said angrily. Joker laughed in response.
"Oh yes I do. I have the opportunity to make you very, very, very angry. Nothing would make me happier than to see you angry, Batsy." Joker taunted. The team didn't know what to do. They've never had to deal with the Joker. They all just heard awful stories from Robin about this guy. He was dangerous, and now he had Robin.
"Breaking out of Arkham was a piece of cake. But you'll probably find me, get your cop buddies to arrest me, and then take me back to Arkham like you always do. So I thought, better piss off the bat as much as possible while I'm out!" The Joker said in a creepy, excited tone.
"So tune in tonight at 8pm sharp to see the show! I can't wait to see your eager faces! HHAAHAHAHAAHA!" With that, Joker turned off the camera and they lost sight of Robin. Nobody moved for a full minute.
Conner decided to break the silence. "Batman." Batman slowly turned around and faced the team. They all had looks of horror on their faces. "Leave me to review the recording to get clues on his whereabouts." Batman demanded.
"Wait, you expect us to sit around and do nothing while you look over the video?" Wally yelled.
"Do you know where he is?" Batman hissed. Wally stiffened up and shook his head 'no'. "Then there isn't much we can do yet." Batman thought for a minute. In a way, Wally had a point. "Ms. Martian, get your ship and scan Gotham from the sky. Report back to me immediately if you see anything suspicious around the outskirts of Gotham. Take Conner with you. Stay out of sight. Kaldur, I want you to check the coast. There are multiple buildings on the shore that used to run on power generated by the water. Stay hidden and report any activity in that area. Artemis, help me review the recording. Move out." Batman demanded. M'gann and Connor immediately turned and ran to the ship. They were gone in less than 20 seconds. Kaldur went to the zeta beam and was gone. Artemis went over to the computers and grabbed a seat.
"Hey! What about me?!" Wally shouted. Batman grabbed Wally by the arm and brought him into the kitchen so they were out of earshot from Artemis.
"Robin went to school today. The Joker must've just grabbed him on his way to the zeta beam. I want you to go search for any clues around his school and work your way to the hidden zeta beam in the alley. Report to me immediately if you find anything." Batman ordered. Wally nodded and took off running. Batman went back to the computers and joined Artemis. She had already pulled up the video and was looking it over.
"Restart it." Batman demanded. Artemis started the video from the beginning again and they both watched it carefully. Batman needed to get Robin back fast. He tried not to let his emotions get to him as he reviewed the recording. He started trying to figure out what the Joker used to knock Robin out. He needed to know that he was okay.
Batman could feel Artemis glance at him from time to time. She could see a faint trace of emotion on his face and it shocked her. Batman had feelings?