Chapter One
Location: Gotham City
June 25, 2011, 21:45 EDT
Team Year Zero
Robin had actually been looking forward to the Team's bi-weekly Friday movie and game night, which had been on hold due the impending doom of finals. The normally long and somewhat chaotic movie and game night was a sign that school was over and that the Team dynamic was back.
They had all been so unfocused for the past couple of weeks, much to the displeasure of the League. Wally was constantly reading his AP World History notes, everywhere: in between training sessions, during debriefings, during lunch breaks and it had been rumored that he found a way to read in the shower. Flash was so fed up with Wally's study habits that he threatened to burn his notes. Artemis was caught mumbling physics formulas under her breath while fighting Black Canary. When questioned about it, she feebly offered the excuse of the AP Physics exam. Conner, not really feeling the anxiety of finals and AP exams, was constantly helping M'gann revise for her Spanish III final. Zatanna was trapped in a flurry of Pre-Calculus papers, struggling to decipher various operations. Rocket had resorted to speaking in French for a week to review for her French III final. Even he had not been immune to finals anxiety. He had attempted to re-read his entire Honor's Biology textbook in a week.
The only one who had lucked out of finals was Kaldur. Being Atlantean, he was lucky enough to avoid the stress of the education system. He dealt with their chaotic study habits patiently, even willing to quiz them if they asked.
When Wally, the last one to complete all final exams, announced that all his exams were done, Robin was pretty sure the League had a private celebration. Green Arrow came out and said that the Cave should never be that quiet again, ever. Canary was happy to have her training session free of Artemis's physics formulas. And, Batman was just happy to have the Team fully functional again.
So in order to celebrate the end of the school year, M'gann and Zatanna organized the eagerly anticipated movie and game night. M'gann decided to rent Back to the Future after a not so subtle suggestion from Wally. Zatanna had also dropped a couple hints to several games of Truth or Dare, Cards Against Humanity, and Spin the Bottle.
Robin had been so pumped for all of that. Heck, he had even persuaded Batman to let him spend the night at the Cave, which hardly ever happened due to a previous overnight incident that happened over spring break. But after a full two weeks of wheedling, he managed to persuade Bats to let him go.
He had actually been on the way to Zeta to Cave when he got a strange text.
Hello Richard Grayson.
He deleted the text and tried to block the number. But, the number kept texting him.
You can't ignore me, Richard. I know who you really are, ROBIN.
His eyes widened and he quickly typed a reply. In hindsight, he shouldn't have texted an immediate reply. He should have thought his reply through, kept a level head, and not react so wildly. Don't give whoever was contacting him any clues.
What disturbed him more was that this number was texting his personal phone, his Richard Grayson phone, not the phone he used to contact his friends on the Team.
How did you get this number? He typed, eyes narrowing. He had stopped walking and was leaning against a nearby tree.
The reply complete ignored his question. Meet me at the Gotham City Docks 10 o'clock. Come alone. Tell your Justice League friends any of this and by midnight the world will really know what lies behind the masks.
Robin began to type furiously. Who was this? How did he know who he really was? How had this person gotten a hold of the identities of the League?
Who are you? How do I know you won't release your supposed information anyways?
When the reply popped up on the screen, Robin could only imagine the sender laughing at what little choice was left for him.
You don't know.
He scowled and stuffed his phone away. He obviously wasn't going to get any answers from whoever was sending him those messages any time soon. He couldn't trust the sender. But, he had no choice but to do what the mystery person wanted him to or risk potentially exposing the entire League. He had no clue if the information this person had was even accurate, but he couldn't risk it.
He decided to go into a nearby café and collect himself. He'd have to skip out on movie and game night and Zeta to Cave later. He'd make up some excuse to give Red Tornado as to why he was late.
He took a seat near a table by a window. His sweaty hands pulled out his Robin cellphone issued to him by the Caped Crusader. He casually gave it to him one afternoon catching him by surprise. Batman explained that it was better to give a different number and have different phone to contact the rest of the Team. It would lessen the chances of anyone discovering who he really was.
He began to type a text to M'gann. Hey M'gann, I have to skip game night. Super sorry. Something came up. I'll be Zetaing to the Cave later tonight. See you then.
He felt bad about leaving the rest of the Team in the dark, but it was for the best. He couldn't risk any screw ups, not when it came to the League's identities, not when it came to his own.
He peered down at his watch he only had fifteen minutes to head down to the docks, which mercifully weren't too far away from his current location. He sighed and stood up. He could feel his utility belt hidden under a jacket that made him bake in the mid-June sunlight.
He always carried his utility belt in case of emergencies. It had come in handy in making quick getaways and getting into the Dynamic Duo gig when the time came for it.
He hoped for once that he wouldn't need it.
xxxOOOxxx
Location: Gotham City Docks
June 25, 22:03 EDT
Robin looked out over the harbor. The nearby street lights reflected off the water's dark surface leaving an odd orange glow. The shops lining the docks were closed and the whole area was essentially empty.
He peered down at his watch. Whoever had asked for him to show up was late. Robin didn't do late.
"They're late," he muttered to himself. At this rate, assuming this mystery person showed up, he wouldn't be reaching the Cave until eleven, assuming that the meeting would take less than an hour.
"What are you doing here?" a voice asked from across the dock. He looked up and saw a shadowy figure storming down the dock in his direction. As the figure got closer and closer, he could make the figure melting out of the shadows.
It was a tall girl; her blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail that swished back and forth as she walked. She wore olive green cargo pants, black boots, and a black long-sleeved shirt. Her steel grey eyes were wide and, if he wasn't mistaken, fearful.
"Artemis?" he said incredulously. "What are you doing here? You're supposed to be at the Cave!"
"I could be saying the same thing to you too," she shot back evenly. "Mr. Something Came Up."
He grimaced as she said that. A familiar gust of wind and blur of red hair sped past him as she spoke.
"Woah, looks like it's a party here," a familiar voice said. Wally West. "Rob, Arty, what are you two doing here? Don't tell me I'm not the only one who got those texts."
"This just keep getting better and better," Artemis said sarcastically. The red-headed speedster seemed to wilt a bit at his girlfriend's displeasure. Robin often forgot the two were dating and poked fun at their fledgling relationship. "But, it's good to see you though, Wally."
Robin? Artemis? Wally? a voice echoed in his mind.
M'gann? he asked praying that it wasn't her.
He looked out over the harbor as the bioship de-camouflaged. A hole appeared from the bottom of the bioship and M'gann slipped out. The Martian had her hood pulled over and her hands were fidgeting. She flew down and landed gracefully on the dock.
She looked nervous and anxious. Her green eyes seemed to calling out for help, a silent plea begging to be answered.
"Great," Wally attempted to joke, his voice taut with tension. "Now all we're missing is Conner, Zatanna, Kaldur, and Rocket. We just need Batman here to debrief us."
His attempt at humor failed as Conner showed up on the super-cycle, Zatanna showed up behind a nearby shop bathed in a shower of golden, shimmering light, and Kaldur and Rocket showed up together having Zetaed from the Cave to Gotham.
"It appears that we all have been summoned here," Kaldur stated neutrally, his light green eyes surveying the scene. "Am I correct in assuming that we all were contacted under the terms that if we did not, the identities of the entire Justice League would be revealed?"
He and the rest of the Team murmured in a general agreement. All of them lured here under the same terms and circumstances. Robin could make a list of villains who would love to toy with them like this.
The sound of a slow clap brought Robin out of his thoughts. He turned around as a figure emerged out of the shadow, his face illuminated by the light of a shop's sign. He was clad in a grey suit, his red tie the only sign of color on his outfit, Lex Luthor. From side of Luthor appeared Mercy, his weapon wielding personal assistant, and Ra's al Ghul.
"Congratulations on stating the obvious," Luthor commented dryly. "We apologize for our tardiness. We ran into some complications on the way here," as he said this Robin and the rest of the Team exchanged looks, possible guesses as to what their complications were, were being tossed around through the psychic link. "But, no matter, we've come to do business children."
"I believe that you are mistaken," Kaldur said taking a step forward, his light green eyes steely with resolve. "We do not make deals with the likes of you."
Ra's al Ghul gave a humorless laugh. He surveyed the Team, making Robin feel uneasy. He was looking for something, but what?
"Ms. Ervin," Ra's finally said. "How's your mother doing?" Rocket's eyes widen and she made a strangled noise. "You do worry her with your extracurricular activities."
Zatanna put an arm around Rocket who was standing still as a statue in shock.
"How?" she choked out, her voice wavering cracking slightly.
"The information we have is accurate, and we will not hesitate to release it if your team doesn't do exactly as we say," Luthor said his voice hard and unyielding.
"What do you want?" Wally asked his grass green eyes hard and determined.
Luthor smiled to himself, as if he were amused with the whole situation.
"You will do series of tasks for us. No questions asked," he stated smoothly. "You will do it without the knowledge of the League. If the League finds out about this, there will be consequences. I'm sure that you all can figure out what those are."
We can't M'gann said her voice tinged with defeat.
What choice do we have? Robin asked. If we go to any outside source, they'll release the of the entire Team and League.
We're on our own. Zatanna whispered her arm still around Rocket.
"Fine," Robin spat, disgusted that he was even considering complying with Luthor's demands. "What do you want us to do?"
"This should be easy for you, Boy Wonder," Luthor said a small smirk on his face. "You have forty-eight hours to hack Justice League computers and send us File E2. Don't look at it. Just send it to us. I'm sure you know a way to send it to me, right Richard?"
xxxOOOxxx
Location: Mount Justice
June 25, 23:36 EDT
M'gann had flown them back to Mount Justice, telling Red Tornado that they met up for a bite to eat somewhere in Gotham.
She had barely looked at him.
When Luthor said his name, Robin felt like a carpet had been yanked from under his feet. Everything he had worked so hard to keep secret, to protect, was destroyed with two words.
Right, Richard?
Artemis was pissed off and even that was an understatement. He could feel her glaring daggers at the back of his head the entire way to the Cave. The fact that Wally had known his identity hadn't helped his case either. If anything, it made Artemis angrier not just at him but at Wally too. He was expecting a good bit of yelling at him from her later on.
Kaldur was unsurprisingly calm about it. Maybe it was because Bruce Wayne and Richard Grayson were names that didn't hold much weight in Atlantis? Or perhaps it was the fact that Kaldur might have understood why he hid his identity? He didn't know.
Conner's expression was guarded. Robin couldn't out what the clone was thinking. He was silent and staring out the bioship windows. He had been emotionless as Luthor exposed him. Whenever Conner looked at him, he felt as if he was looking through him. Was he trying to figure him out as well?
Zatanna and Rocket were a bit harder to read. The magician was tense and restless. Her clear blue eyes were conveying silent messages to Rocket. The two were close, most likely because they were the newest members of the Team. They hadn't quite formed the bonds that the veteran Team members had created.
As they all gathered in the entertainment room, he could feel the pressure on him increase. Red Tornado had departed for the night and the next League member to show up at the Cave wouldn't be coming until morning.
There was no desire to watch the movie anymore, and Robin could feel it. They or he rather, had two days to find File E2, send it Luthor, and not alert any League members. Normally, this wouldn't have been hard for him. He'd hacked the Justice League before, but the League got an upgrade. He'd need a bit of time to poke around with the new system.
"What now?" Zatanna asked, breaking the tense silence. "I doubt watching a movie would do us any good."
He could feel his lips being drawn tightly into a line. He needed to explain everything to them and gain their trust back.
"Follow me," he said his voice taut. He made his way down the Cave halls to his room. It was next door to Conner's room and was seldom used.
He could feel the presence of the rest of the Team behind him as he opened the door. He flipped the light switch, revealing a pretty bare room. There were only a couple posters of various Justice League members, namely Green Lantern Hal Jordan, Green Arrow, and Flash, on the wall. His bed was neatly made with Doctor Who themed sheets, a gift from Wally.
"We can talk here," he said as Wally plopped on his bed and Team members took root in various parts of his room. "There are no cameras here. And, only Batman knows the override code to this room."
The Team sent wary glances at him.
He had expected this. He needed to get them to trust him, and he knew only one way to get their trust.
He removed his sunglasses. He closed eyes for a moment, hearing someone gasp. And as he slowly opened his eyes, Artemis approached him…and slapped him in the face.
"What the heck, Grayson!" she yelled at him, her grey eyes ablaze with anger. "How could you not tell me this? We go to the same school. You're that freshman that took a picture with me my first day of school!"
"I told you we'd laugh about that one day," he joked as Artemis slapped his arm, still scowling.
"So you're Richard Grayson?" Zatanna stated a smirk on her face. "Does this mean that Bruce Wayne is Batman?"
He nodded. Batman would kill him if he found out that he had revealed his identity.
"He can't know that you guys know though, not yet."
Kaldur put a hand on his shoulder. He could feel the reassuring aura radiating off the collected leader.
"Fear not," he said. "We are with you for this. You needn't worry alone."
He gave a small smile and tried to get himself to relax. These people were his friends and shared a healthy fear in Batman as well. He was in good company.
"Thank you," he said as he let out a relieved breath. "And if we're going to do this, you might as well call me Dick."
"You have such pretty eyes," M'gann commented smiling. He looked over at the Martian who was sitting at the lone desk in his room. Conner was standing behind her sending him a reassuring smile.
"So Dick," Rocket said hesitantly, as if testing to see if the name worked.
"Yes?" he replied teasingly. It had its desired effect. She smiled at his tone and seemed to relax.
"We have forty-eight hours to hack League computers, send File E2 to Lex Luthor, and not tip off the League. Can you do that?" she asked her usual sassy tone back.
He sighed. He honestly wasn't sure if he could. If he had more time, he could probably do all of that and much more on League computers, like program the Zeta tubes to play handpicked songs whenever certain League members Zetaed to the Cave.
"If I had more time," he began slowly, "maybe. The League just updated their computer systems. There's no telling what could have been changed. I'll need to poke around the system first."
"We'll help you, Dick," Wally said from his spot on the floor, his green eyes fierce and determined. "Can you access League computers from your desktop here?"
The speedster gestured at the desk where M'gann was seated at where a desktop computer was stationed.
He raised a brow as he made his way to the desk. "Is that even a question?" M'gann got up from her seat and offered the chair to him. "Sorry M'gann."
"Not a problem," she said giving a small smile.
Robin frowned as he typed away at the computer. The system, thankfully, wasn't changed too drastically. As he tapped into the database, he found that passwords had been changed, the ordering of all the files was changed, and security was overall tighter.
He sighed. This was going to take forever. He could probably crack the system in three or four days, if he wanted to avoid tripping the new security measures. But, he only had two days. If he wanted to get this done in that amount of time, there was no guarantee that the League wouldn't find out about it.
"If I want to get into the system in two days, there's no promise that I won't tip off the League," he said to the others as he continued to type. "If I had a bit more time, this job would be easier but…"
He let his sentence trail. There wasn't anything to really add to it. They all knew the potential consequence of failure. They were on their own. There was no League for back up. If they screwed up, it was on them.
"What can we do to help?" Zatanna asked her voice filled with an optimistic air to it. "I mean there has to be something we can do. This isn't just your task."
He let out a small humorless laugh. "There's nothing really that you guys can do to help, right now. If anything, I guess you could keep the League off my back while I do this. The last thing we need is them snooping around."
There was a period of silence after he spoke. The only sound present was the sound of him typing. He was keenly aware however that Kaldur and Wally were exchanging meaningful looks, most likely trying to communicate without the psychic link, a private matter.
"You guys can go if you want," he said finally. "Our mentors are under the impression that Wally and Artemis are probably making out in a closet right now, or something. Go, I don't want to bore you guys."
Artemis snorted and rolled her eyes.
"Not a chance, Grayson," she said putting a hand on the desk and her other hand on her hip. "This is a Team task, not a you task. Didn't think you could be so egotistical."
The others began laughing, and slowly he felt himself laugh with them. It felt good to laugh with them, not just as Robin, but as Dick Grayson. He was glad that they knew who he was. It was like having a weight off his shoulders.
Now, he could enjoy that feeling a whole lot more if didn't have to worry about a two day deadline and the overall safety of the League to worry about.
xxxOOOxxx
Location: Mount Justice
June 26, 9:17 EDT
Recognized Green Arrow 08. Black Canary 13.
"Woah, you kids look like you died," Oliver said. "Joking, joking. You don't look that bad."
Apparently, Dinah had given him on of her death stares, reprimanding him. The said woman was still in her civvies as was Oliver. The pair had decided to show up to check up on the status of the Team after their game night.
Dick figured that they thought that they had gone wild last night. They probably thought that Wally and Artemis made out in a closet somewhere, Conner took M'gann on a joyride, Zatanna 'kidnapped' him, and Rocket and Kaldur were the only two to actually stay and enjoy the movie.
"So, how was it?" Dinah asked, her presence taking on a motherly tone. "Nothing too crazy happened, I hope."
"We're all in one piece," Wally replied. "The Cave is still standing. Nothing insane ended up on the internet. So yeah, nothing too crazy happened here."
"Well it's good to hear that you all had fun," she began her eyes drifting over to M'gann who was stifling a yawn. "Even if you all are exhausted. I hope you will all be ready for our training session later."
She and Oliver bid their goodbyes and Zetaed to the Watchtower. Batman and the other mentors weren't due to arrive until later, which gave them some time to work on their assigned task.
Robin, how far have you gotten on finding the file? Kaldur asked via the psychic link.
I was finally able to grasp the full scope of the new system at around three in the morning, he replied. I should be able to access the file soon.
Why do they even want that file, anyway? Rocket questioned. What so special about that file that they don't want us looking?
No suggestions were given as to why Luthor was being so secretive. The whole thing was so underwhelming.
It's completely whelming, he stated flatly. We can figure it out later. Damage control can happen after we send the file to Luthor.
Be that as it may, we don't know how important this file is to the League, Kaldur countered. We don't know what we are handing over to Luthor, and in turn, the Light.
Robin, Zatanna said suddenly, her blue eyes meeting his own hidden behind his sunglasses, could you make a copy of the file, so we can look at it after we send it to Luthor?
He gave a small snort. C'mon Zee, that's child's play.
Zatanna gave a smirk, her eyes twinkling mischievously. He knew she probably wanted to say more, but didn't want everyone to hear. Rocket, who had picked up on Zatanna's looks at him, shook her head and rolled her eyes.
"I'm going to kill some time," he said aloud. "I could use some more sleep before Bats and the others arrive.
He gave a pointed look at Kaldur conveying his true message. He was going back to hacking the League.
"Sounds like a plan," Wally said. "I will be in the kitchen if anyone needs me. I can't work on an empty stomach."
With that, Wally sped off to the kitchen to satisfy his bottomless stomach. M'gann and Conner left after him to make sure the kitchen didn't get destroyed in the process, and Zatanna coerced Artemis and Rocket into going out around Happy Harbor. This left Kaldur, the ever responsible leader, with him.
"Dick," he said his voice low, as to not be heard by the security cameras stationed around the Cave, "if you need help-"
He raised a hand stopping Kaldur mid-sentence. Kaldur's presence was reassuring as always, but he didn't want to bore the Atlantean. Besides, he had made a fair amount of progress and hacking was a pretty solitary job.
"I'm fine Kaldur," he said giving him a reassuring smile. "I don't want to bore you anyways. Go enjoy yourself."
The Atlantean seemed hesitant, but eventually gave into his request. Kaldur ended up going to the entertainment room to kill time and potentially join Conner in watching static.
Dick didn't mind the solitude of coding and hacking. It gave him time to think, which was always nice. Being Robin required being both physically and mentally quick. So, having some time to think and act at his own pace was always a plus.
If it hadn't been for the fact that he to work with a two day deadline, Dick could almost believe he really did have a lot of down time before training and that hacking League's computers was just a pet project.
He sighed. One day he would really have this kind of down time, one day.
xxxOOOxxx
So, I know this chapter is a bit long, but I'm pretty happy with it so it's all good! Thanks for reading the start of this story. It was really just a plot bunny that refused to leave my mind…so here we are.
This takes place after the end of season one but before the massive time skip. That's why I figured this would probably be the Year One Team before any other members are added. I'm not quite sure if I'll have new characters (ex: Aquagirl, Tempest, etc.) mentioned in this story. But, I'll figure that out later.
Thanks again for reading, and feel free to drop a review in the box below.