It was the perfect idea, Kaldur had thought. What better way to get the team to bond than by playing a game? He had done his research, and it seemed that this game of "hide-and-seek" was a popular game among humans. He presented his proposal to his teammates but did not anticipate their reactions.
Robin started smirking, while Wally blanched. Artemis just looked bored -but, then again, that was her default look right now, just over a week after joining the team. Superboy was unreadable, as he always was when not in combat. M'gann was the only one who looked excited.
"What's hide-and seek?" Superboy asked.
"I've heard of it. It's a game where the 'hiders' attempt to conceal themselves so that they will not be found by the 'seeker.' When the 'seeker' finds a participant, that person must then help find the rest of the 'hiders.' The winner of the game is the person who remains hidden the longest." M'gann explained.
Wally still looked troubled.
"What is the problem?" Kaldur asked.
"Uh, Kal," Wally started, only to be cut off by Robin.
"The entire point of hide-and-seek is that the hiders can actually be found by the seekers," Robin explained, bouncing on his heels. "The problem here is that Wally's got super-speed, so he could just keep moving, and M'gann can turn herself invisible."
"I see," Kaldur contemplated the possible solutions for a moment. "Then we shall not use our powers," he concluded.
"Asterous," Robin smiled.
"Um, correct me if I'm wrong, but don't most Earth games include a prize for the one that wins?" M'gann asked the group.
"We could use these cookies," Robin pulled a box out of nowhere to show the team. The smell of warm chocolate instantly hit their noses. "Agent A made them this morning."
"Really dude? Awesome!" Wally did a small fist bump in the air.
"Who would like to seek first?" Kaldur asked.
"I'll do it," Artemis spoke up, surprising everyone. "So, uh, how high should I count to?"
"A hundred should suffice, I believe," Kaldur told her.
"Okay," she closed her eyes and put her hands over them, then started counting. "One, two,"
The rest of the team walked quietly out of the room then split up to find hiding spots. Kaldur took the box of cookies that Robin held and placed it on the kitchen counter as they walked through.
"Ninety-nine, one hundred. Ready or not, here I come!" Artemis declared. She started walking around the mountain, trying to find everyone.
She heard a cackle come from nowhere, and she tried to find where Robin was. After nearly ten minutes, she gave up, and continued through the mountain.
She found Superboy first, as even with M'gann's explanation, he didn't completely understand the game and had just lain on his bed with a blanket over his body.
He trailed behind her as she went through the rest of the mountain. They heard Robin's laughter a few more times, but he was just as elusive as when Artemis had tried finding him on her own.
Wally was the next to be found. Even though he had found a good hiding spot -behind the television- his suit was bright yellow and red, and Artemis had spotted him easily.
The three of them chatted as they continued looking for the others, still followed by Robin's cackles.
Superboy found M'gann hiding in a cupboard in the kitchen and Wally found Kaldur in the pool locker rooms.
The five of them kept searching for Robin.
Two hours later, they were still searching.
By now, most of them were very annoyed. Wally was bouncing on his feet, clearly wishing to just run through the entire mountain until he found Robin and kept on looking up at the ceiling. Artemis kept on reaching up to where her quiver would normally be, her other hand curling to grip a bow that wasn't there. Superboy kept on clenching and unclenching his hands into fists.
They all split up to cover different parts of the mountain, thinking that Robin might be moving from place to place to evade his pursuers.
About thirty minutes ago, Wally had went into the kitchen and his yell of despair had had the rest of the team running there, weapons out. They came in to find him in the empty kitchen, staring dejectedly at the kitchen counter.
"Did you get scared all alone Baywatch?" Artemis said in a baby voice, lowering the bow she had picked up while sprinting back from the pool.
"You guys," Wally moaned, "Look!"
They all looked around. The kitchen was empty besides them, as it had been when they ran in.
"Is this some kind of Earth tradition that I do not understand?" M'gann asked Artemis.
"No, no," Wally gestured at the kitchen counter. "Look!"
"It's empty, Baywatch." Artemis said exasperatedly.
"Yeah," Wally explained. "It's empty." He paused for emphasis, "As in, it's empty of the box of cookies that Kaldur put in here when we started playing."
At those words, they all looked at the kitchen counter again. Sure enough, there was no sign of the white cardboard box that Robin had brought with him, and there was a few crumbs and a chocolate smear on the counter.
"I see that he wished to collect his prize early," Kaldur said.
"Argh," Wally grumbled, running his hands through his hair as he left the room.
Eventually, they all ended up back in the monitor room, still no closer to finding Robin than they had been.
"Robin, dammit where the hell are you!" Artemis shouted exasperatedly.
Her exclamation was greeted with yet another burst of laughter. They all turned, trying to see where he was.
"C'mon Rob, we give up already," Wally whined.
Artemis shrieked, causing everyone to turn towards her.
Robin had dropped from the ceiling of the cavernous room with only a thin wire from his waist to keep him from falling. He now hung, upside down and eight feet off the ground, in front of Artemis.
"That game was totally whelming!" He grinned widely.
He detached the wire, prompting another shriek -this time from both Artemis and M'gann. Doing a series of flips in the air, he landed on his feet. He turned to say, "We should do that again," before disappearing. They heard him yell, "I need to get back to Gotham for patrol," before the zeta beams activated.
"Okay, I propose a new rule," Artemis said. "No playing hide-and-seek with Robin. Ever."
They all agreed.