Disclaimer—I don't own YJ.

Here is the chapter that begins it all! *cue evil laugh* This is going to be a fun ride! ^-^ Hope you enjoy!

Note: There might be errors. Please excuse them.

CHAPTER ONE

Moonlight touched the edges and tops of the numerous buildings that made up Metropolis, leaving the downtown alleyways drenched with darkness. One of those dark alleyways held one special person who went by the name Robin. She was a fourteen-year-old girl with hair as dark as the night sky and blue eyes that were hidden behind her mask. She could be quite the jokester at times, but at a time like this, she was cool, collected, and in control.

"Lelantos, Huntress, do you see Luthor yet?" Robin asked, her eyes peering out of the alleyway and watching the street before her.

"Not yet," Huntress answered through her earpiece, kneeling on the edge of a rooftop.

Lelantos shook his head. "No, and his bounty hunter isn't here either."

"Why can't the bad guys ever be on time?"

Robin rolled her eyes, laughter fluttering in her lungs. "CS, quit whining. It's unattractive and, frankly, very annoying."

"Hey, what happened to you saying it reminds you of a puppy—"

"Streak, please cease your chatter. Rage needs to be able to listen for their arrival," Shark interrupted.

"Please, CS," Robin said before he could respond. "This is important, remember?"

"Yeah, I know. It's just . . ."

Miss M's voice filtered through the earpieces. "We understand, Crimson. We feel nervous too. Even Rage."

"They're here," Rage murmured, sticking to the shadows as he followed Luther's car.

Robin's muscles tensed. "Does anyone see Superman?"

"No."

"Any of the Justice League members? Just because Superman isn't here doesn't mean that he didn't send someone in his place or that another hero didn't catch wind of this," Robin pressed, her worries identical to her teammates.

It wasn't they feared being known to the world and to the Justice League. Well, they would prefer if no one knew of their existence, but Syndicate knew that they wouldn't be able to keep it up forever. What they were afraid of was the discovery of Rage. Being the half clone of Superman, Rage would be a person of interest to the Justice League and Superman himself. Robin was sure that if they learned how Rage had come to be, they would see Rage as a possible threat and enemy. She was almost one hundred percent certain that the Justice League would hold him captive until they figured out what to do with him. Either way, the Syndicate did not want their teammate, their brother to end up with the superheroes.

"Not that we can tell, but that doesn't mean that they are not among us," Shark answered as he arrived to the alleyway across from Robin.

The Crimson Streak came up behind her. "Let's hope it stays that way."

"Ditto," Huntress muttered as she silently climbed down a fire escape and made her way towards the meeting place. "Where Luthor decided to meet is very open and not very secretive. Who meets their bounty hunter in the middle of a deserted street anyway? What happened to empty warehouses?"

"Didn't you get the notice? Empty warehouses are so last season. Streets are the new black," Crimson joked.

Huntress groaned. "Shut up, Bloody Steak, or I'll sic your girlfriend on you."

"Quit calling me that," the Crimson Streak hissed.

"Leave each other alone," Robin ordered calmly. "We've got more important matters on our hands. Save it for later. Shark, is Miss M with you?"

"Yes."

Robin nodded. "Good. Rage, when Luthor's car gets here, meet up with Shark and Miss M. We can't take any chances."

"Understood. He should be there in about a minute."

"Huntress, Lelantos, are you in your positions?" Robin questioned. She needed to make sure that everything was going according to plan. If things went south, they needed to know that Luthor wasn't going to get a glimpse of Rage or have the chance to get his hands on Rage again. No, this was going to be clean and simple.

"Yes, and might I say it's slightly uncomfortable," Lelantos replied, his back and weight supported by the thick tree trunk that was about twenty feet to Robin's left.

Huntress grinned. "Maybe if you hadn't chosen rock, I would be the one in the tree."

"Shut your mouth, Orion."

Robin jumped in before they could start bickering. "Stop fighting. Luthor's here."

Huntress and Lelantos ceased their noise, silently preparing their bows and arrows. They were the eagle eyes and would take out those who saw their faces. There was a reason that Syndicate was known by almost no one. They were cautious and flew under the radar. They were not like the villains and superheroes who constantly flashed their identities, be it their real or fake identities. Syndicate made sure that they could live in peace, having no one attempting to track them down. Well, almost no one. They did have one person trying to find one of their teammates.

Hence the paranoia.

That was actually one of the reasons Syndicate was there. Robin had caught wind of Luthor meeting a bounty hunter and thought perhaps it was about Rage. Luthor had not been happy that his little experiment had broken out and escaped the plans that Luthor had for him a year ago. Not only that, but Robin knew that it had been a mighty blow to the villain's ego that he had been unable to figure out who had helped the clone. It had been obvious that Rage had help because all the security footage had been erased courtesy of Robin. Just imagining the expression on Luthor's face made Robin want to cackle.

"Rage, you okay?" Robin whispered as she watched Luthor step out of his car.

Rage held Miss M's hand and responded quietly. "I'm fine."

No one in Syndicate believed Rage's words. How could they? They knew that Rage was in a permanent state of worry that he would be taken against his will, forced to do another man's bidding. Rage was a tool that Luthor wanted to use and Luthor cared not of Rage's feelings. Luthor didn't care if Rage had found a family and lived how to be human. Luthor's eyes saw only a thing he had made in his lab and something that he needed for future plans. Rage was next to nothing to the man.

"Another car is coming," Huntress said, her eyes seeing the approaching car through her night binoculars. "I don't recognize the car . . . I don't think it is Luthor's regular guy."

Fear flickered in Robin's heart and unease rolled down her back. Hearing that Huntress didn't recognize the vehicle had Robin on edge. Luthor tended to stick to three or four of the same bounty hunters so this foreign car was unusual. It struck something inside of Robin, down deep in her soul where a bit of Rayne Grayson lived. She didn't know what it was exactly, but she knew it didn't give her a good feeling. No, this feeling was bad and uncomfortable. It made her skin crawl and itch. She felt the need to flee and to never look back.

"A new guy?" Lelantos voiced, his words sharp. "Why does that not fill me with glee?"

Syndicate always felt this way when Luthor decided to replace one of his bounty hunters, though that had happened only once before. That had been because Syndicate had taken him out. He had gotten too close to finding them so they eliminated the threat before it was too late. That had been only a couple of months ago.

Miss M tightened her grip on Rage's hand. "Do you think we should leave? What if this bounty hunter isn't a normal human? What if he or she has powers? Do you think this person will know that we're here?"

"I am more concerned about whether or not this is a trap. Luthor could have thought this up as a way to get Rage back."

"Shark, we can't leave," Robin said. "After the last bounty hunter, we need to keep a closer eye on Luther and his little dogs. We have to be one step ahead of him or it's game over."

"Rob's right. We have to stay," Crimson Streak whispered.

Huntress eyed the vehicle as it came to a stop. "It's stopped. The new bounty hunter should be talking with Luthor any moment now."

Robin and the others watched Luthor as he crossed his arms and tapped his forearms with impatience. He didn't hold himself as a powerful, calm boss like he did when he met with his other bounty hunters. Instead Luthor let his real personality bleed out of his body and face and he seemed anxious to see this unknown person. Red flags waved throughout Robin's mind, but she didn't panic. She merely kept two eyes on Luthor and the impeding figure that was hidden in the shadows.

"You're late. I said midnight, not ten minutes after," Luthor said, his annoyance clear in his voice.

"Is that any way to greet an old friend?"

The stranger's sly voice washed into Robin's ears and stirred painful memories from their graves. She took a shaky step backwards into the Crimson Streak as she tried to reason with herself that it couldn't be him. Why would he be here? He had never mentioned being friends with Lex Luthor. She had to be hallucinating, Robin told herself. She had to be.

Luthor smirked. "I must agree with you, Slade. You are old."

"Wait. What?"

"Slade? As in the Slade?!" Huntress whispered frantically.

"You don't mean—"

"How are we supposed to avoid Slade?!"

"Robin?" Crimson murmured into Robin's ear. "Are you okay?"

Robin swallowed and shook her head. No, she was not okay. Someone from her past had popped up from out of the blue and it wouldn't end well for her. Forgive her for not being okay. She couldn't tear her eyes from seeing Slade step out the darkness to where she could see his mask. A hysterical laugh bubbled in the back of her throat, but she remained silent. This was the worst time to see him here. Or anywhere. Period. She—

"That's humorous coming from a man who requires my assistance. Tell me, how long has your precious, little experiment been out and about?"

Luthor's face twisted as he snarled. "A little over a year now. No one can find him and I am running out of ideas. I'm tempted to ask Superman if he's seen the clone."

"Do not worry, Luthor," Slade said. "I will not have the same problems as you and your previous bounty hunters have had."

A shiver went down every member of Syndicate's back. Slade would not be like the other bounty hunters that could be fooled or led astray. He was vastly different and he would not stop until he found Rage.

"Didn't you say that you wanted me to do something in return?"

Slade nodded. "Yes, I did. I, too, have someone I need to find."

Robin bit her tongue to keep herself standing still. She had a pretty good idea who Slade wanted found.

"Who?" Luthor questioned, curious about the person.

"An old apprentice of mine. She slipped away quite some time ago and I would like her back—"

"Luthor and Deathstroke. What are you cooking up now?"

In a split second, everything went to hell. Slade was interrupted and Luthor whipped out the two guns he carried on him, pointing them at the intruders.

"GET OUT! SUPERMAN'S HERE!" Huntress shouted through her earpiece, sending everyone into action.

Shark, Rage, and Miss M fled through their alleyway and kept sprinting until they arrived at the assigned meeting place. Lelantos, in a tree only a few feet away from Slade and Luthor, began to slowly and silently climb down the tree. The Crimson Streak reached out for Robin, but someone spoke behind him.

"I'm afraid I can't let you leave."

Crimson Streak turned to see Wonder Woman behind him and groaned. "Just isn't my day, is it? I'm not supposed to hit girls!"

Flashing a puzzled Wonder Woman a grin, Crimson Streak sped up to her and punched her right shoulder. This hit sent her backwards as she criticized herself for not expecting the teen to fight her. She had hoped that for once the villains would come along quietly, but it was not to be. Crimson moved his attention from the female warrior to his girlfriend.

"Let's get out of here!" he shouted as he reached for Robin.

Robin shoved him back. "Go get Lelantos! Superman and Batman are fighting Luthor and Slade. If you don't get him right now, THEY WILL!"

Robin didn't watch her boyfriend go get their teammate and instead focused her attention on Wonder Woman. How she, Crimson, and Lelantos were going to get out of here, Robin didn't know. If Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman were here just for Luthor and Slade, then the other members of the Justice League would not be too far behind. Some of the other members could be here now!

Across the street, Lelantos and the Crimson Streak were being attacked by Green Arrow and it wasn't going well. Green Arrow had aimed an arrow at Slade's legs only to have Lelantos' body to come between the arrow and its target. Lelantos had grunted and nearly fell over, but Crimson caught him.

"Crap! Le, you okay?"

Lelantos kept moving forward as he leaned on Crimson. "Does it look like I'm okay? We've got to get out of here! They think we're with Luthor or Slade. They're not going to go easy on us."

"We can't leave without Robin!"

"Go! NOW! I can take care of myself," Robin shouted as she attacked Green Arrow. "I'll be right behind you guys."

Crimson Streak hesitated once again, but did as their team leader told. He picked Lelantos up and made a run for it. He dodged the superheroes and was able to safely get away from the situation. His shoulders were tense, though, because they still had one member back there. He had left his girlfriend with a bunch of heroes that wouldn't think twice about knocking her out. What if Rayne didn't make it out of there?

"Keep going, CS! KEEP GOING—" Robin's voice came to an abrupt end, her sentence left unfinished.

"ROBIN! We have to go back, Le! We have to—"

Lelantos punched Crimson's shoulder. "No, we can't! She told us to go, idiot! She stayed behind to keep the others busy!"

"But—"

"We'll find her. Don't worry . . . We'll find her."

Crimson clenched his teeth and nodded. "O-Okay."

"Keep going. We have to find the others and tell them what happened."

The Crimson Streak did as he was told and kept moving forward towards the meeting place where they would find their teammates. It wasn't easy to keep moving. There was a constant turmoil in his heart and he couldn't quit imagining what the Justice League was going to do with Robin. They thought she was a villain, that she was a henchman. If the Justice League was unable to capture Luthor or Slade, they would surely turn to Robin for answers. Not to mention that they would rip off her mask and discovery her discarded civilian identity. What if they put her in the system? Lelantos had told many stories of his foster care families and none of them were filled with rainbows.

All he knew for certain was that he would never forgive himself if something happened to Robin.

"Please be okay . . . Please."

A/N—I know you have questions, but don't worry. Answers will come. This was published on 7-7-15 with the length of 2,660 words.