This is the first time I am writing the heroes of Young Justice. I hope I get them right. This story takes place at the end of August and can be set between the episodes Denial and Downtime.
Warning: Just one little word . . .
Kid Flash. B-03.
"Hey," he called as the light from the zeta-tube faded and he appeared in the cave. "Any idea why Batman called us together?"
"I think it is safe to assume that he has a mission for us," Aqualad answered.
Kid Flash zipped over to where Miss Martian was standing. "Hi, beautiful," he smiled at her.
The green-skinned girl looked at him with amusement. He really was funny, she thought as she smiled a greeting at him.
"Ugh." Artemis crossed her arms and rolled her eyes at his attempts to flirt with the alien girl.
Wally West was fifteen and semi-excited to start his sophomore year in high school. He much preferred to spend his time at Mount Justice to getting picked on by the bullies in his school. It was ridiculous considering that he could literally run rings around all those blockheads, but had to allow them to stuff him in lockers throughout the school year just to save his secret identity. But then his uncle, Flash, had impressed upon him regularly the importance of protecting his identity at all costs. And even if he hadn't, his best friend, Robin, was constantly doing the same.
Superboy was looking rather irritated, but then he always looked irritated. Ever since they had rescued him from Cadmus, he spent the majority of his time angry although he didn't understand why.
"So where is he," Superboy asked. "He asked us to be here and he and Robin still have yet to arrive."
"I am sure they will arrive any minute," Aqualad assured him. His was the calming influence; the voice of reason. It made him a good leader; the natural choice.
Robin. B-01. Batman. 02.
The light faded to reveal the Dynamic Duo, but it didn't take a telepath to be able to sense the tension in the air that arrived with them. Robin set the duffel bag to the side out of the way, and walked over to greet the rest of the team.
Kid Flash could tell that Robin was annoyed by something, and put his fist up in a gesture of solidarity to let the younger boy know he was here for him. Robin's mouth lifted into a small smile as he fist-bumped his best friend.
"Hey, KF," he said. "Hey, guys." Robin waved half-heartedly to the rest of the group before turning to face Batman with the rest of them.
Kid Flash leaned over, speaking out of the side of his mouth. "What's with the duffel bag, man? Does it have something to do with the mission?"
"No," he said, because it was all about Scarecrow being on the loose in Gotham City, and as Batman wasn't the kind to bring in help from the outside often, it was unlikely to have to do with anything that was going on here. "But it looks like I'll be staying here for a few days."
"Really? That could be cool," Kid Flash told him. He tilted his head as he thought about it. "I can see if my parents will let me stay over while you're here. Might be the last chance we get to have a sleepover since school's starting in another week."
Robin grinned at that. "Yeah. I didn't think of that!"
This could work out okay, after all. It would be fun hanging out with Wally, and if he could get back to Gotham without Batman's knowledge, he knew that he could count of KF to watch his back. The image of him and KF returning Scarecrow, bound and gagged, back to Arkham before Batman flitted temptingly through his mind.
"You're going to be staying with us, Robin," M'gann asked him. "That would be fun! I can bake us a fresh batch of cookies to celebrate. I'm getting a lot better at it," she admitted shyly.
Her cookies had been coming out just this side of charcoal, and so far, Kid Flash was the only one who could actually stomach the snack. But then Kid Flash also had a stomach made of cast iron and a metabolism that worked so fast that food poisoning would be out of his system before the first symptom could show. Eating M'gann's cookies wasn't nearly the same risk for him as it was for the rest of the team, Robin thought amused.
"Okay Team, listen up." Batman called their attention back to him. "I have a mission for you."
Robin turned with the rest of them. Maybe a mission might be the thing to ease his irritation at being left out of the Scarecrow investigation.
"There is are shipment of chemicals that are coming in tonight; one of which is a part of a toxin so deadly that I put a red flag on it that alerts me whenever it is being purchased or moved in bulk. The chemical by itself is inert, so there should be no danger to you if you become accidentally exposed." Batman explained pulling up on the holoscreen views of a wharf.
Robin frowned. The picture looked familiar.
"My research has indicated that the villain that will be receiving the shipment is being funded by an outside source. The villain in question would normally not have the means to create this toxin in any quantity, nor would he have the funding to hire the help that I suspect we will be running into. Normally, he would prefer to work alone or with only a few selected thugs as security. That he isn't suggests strongly that he is working for someone or some group that has the means to provide him with both the equipment and resources to create this weapon in bulk and the men to protect it."
"Do we know who the outside source is," Aqualad asked.
"No. Although I have my suspicions, there is not enough evidence to support any theories at this time," Batman growled. "But I don't expect that situation to last. If the mission goes as planned, our villain will be able to supply us with that information."
A diagram of the warehouse came up next; red dots indicating the presence of security popped up throughout the interior, on the roof, and encircling the outside of the building. Six green dots popped up next, moving in conjunction with one another as the red dots began disappearing from the screen with each green it encountered."
"You mission will be to provide back up. You will be encircling the warehouse taking out guards and preventing all the trucks but one from leaving with the shipment."
"All but one? Why let one get through," Superboy asked, scowling.
Robin spoke up. "To discover where the lab is located because if this is being loaded onto trucks, then, well . . . You see the point."
"Kid Flash and Miss Martian will be following the transport. I will contact you to let you know which truck to let through. That will be the one you will be following. You will maintain contact with me the entire time. Is that understood?" Batman looked at the two team members.
Kid Flash grinned. He got to spend part of the mission with M'gann to himself. He leaned over and whispered to Robin. "Sweet."
Miss Martian nodded her understanding.
"You won't be alone on this mission," Batman continued. "I will be leading it, and your orders will be coming directly from me. You will have your communicators on at all times and will obey orders exactly as they are given, word for word. If you can do this, everything will go accordingly and with relatively few complications."
"We're going to be working with Batman?" Kid Flash's eyes widened. "I don't know if that's the coolest thing ever or the scariest."
"And who is the villain we are going up against," asked Artemis.
"Scarecrow."
Six pairs of eyes widened, and a few gasps as they exchanged looks. Scarecrow was one of Batman's heavy hitters. Robin began to get an uneasy feeling. He scowled, shaking his head; his hands curling into fists.
"Where will you be in all this, if I may ask?" Aqualad spoke up. "I only see six green dots?"
"I will be with you." Batman murmured. His gaze, however, fell on Robin.
"NO!" Robin yelled. "No! You can't do this! This is my team!"
"And they will be assisting me in your absence," Batman answered calmly.
The other five present looked startled, not only by Robin's angry outburst, but with the fact that he was being left off the team. Scarecrow was a Gotham villain. The man had never attack outside of the city that anyone was aware of. That Batman would choose to bring in the team, but leave Robin behind seemed inconceivable.
"We can't do this without Robin," Kid Flash burst out. "He's part of the team!"
"Batman, I mean no disrespect, but out of all of us it seems that Robin would be the one best suited to assist you in this mission," Aqualad frowned. "I don't understand why you would choose to leave such a valuable resource behind."
"Because on this particular mission Robin's presence would not be an asset, but a liability," Batman told them.
"Says you," Robin disagreed, throwing his hands up in frustration and anger. "Batman, please, it has been three years. Nothing has happened in three years! J'onn fixed it. It's over. I deserve to have the opportunity to . . ."
"The team is excused. Robin and I need a moment of privacy. Be ready to depart in ten minutes."
Kid Flash opened his mouth to object, but was silenced by Artemis' hand. Between Artemis and Aqualad, he was pushed out of the room behind Superboy and Miss Martian.
"You can't do this," Robin argued. "I thought you had a real mission for the team."
"This is a real mission," Batman countered.
"Yeah, well, I meant one that included me," the boy snapped.
"I'm sorry that nothing has come up. I would like nothing better than to distract you with a mission of your own. Since that isn't the case, I would suggest you find something to entertain you in the meantime."
"But why are you taking the team?" Robin really wanted to know.
"Because whoever is paying Scarecrow to recreate the toxin he used on you three years ago has deep pockets. His escape from Arkham was instigated by someone on the outside, and he has proven that he is willing to kill to get what he wants. The men that are guarding Scarecrow this time aren't common thugs off of the street. They are well-armed; I suspect well-trained; and there will be plenty of them."
"All the more reason you need me," Robin said, spreading his arms out. "Surely you can see that."
"I'll admit that I can use the back up this time; that is the reason I am taking the team. I would have used one of the League but all of them are currently engaged in missions of their own. It is like Aqualad said, you are an invaluable resource. One I don't intend to lose." Batman explained. "So, you need to stand down."
"You would risk the lives of the team, but not mine," Robin asked, anger making his voice rise again.
"The risk isn't the same, and you know it," Batman growled, his own temper flaring.
"What? Because they have super powers and I do not? Artemis is just as human as I am, and you're taking her," Robin was yelling now.
"It has nothing to do with that," Batman barked at him. "You are at risk when it comes to the Scarecrow. You still have a trigger, Robin; an unknown trigger that will kill you!"
"J'onn took care of that! He fixed it so that it won't kill me," Robin argued. "I might get a panic attack or something, but how is that different from being infected with fear gas?"
"He didn't fix it! He couldn't fix it, Robin! He didn't know what the trigger was, so he had no means of locating it; no way to eradicate it from your mind." Batman yelled back. "It is still there! And exposing yourself needlessly to Scarecrow is foolish because that man will not be able to see you without wanting to activate it . . . Just to watch you die!
There was a beat; a moment of silence as Robin processed this announcement.
"B-but J'onn said . . ." he stammered.
"J'onn said what he said so you could resume your life without the constant fear that anything you might see or hear could kill you." Batman admitted, reluctantly.
"But you let me go back to school; go out to public events; watch the news; go back on patrol! How could you do that knowing this?"
Batman's jaw tightened. "Because you wouldn't have allowed me to wrap you in cotton and hide you away where you would be safe. You would have rebelled, much as you are doing right now. I couldn't stop you . . . And if you were going to die, I didn't want you to do so angry at me. I did what I could; supplying an AED in every classroom of your previous school and your present one."
"You did that? I-I just thought that was something that all schools did." Robin frowned as he did remember seeing one of those red boxes in every classroom. "There's one in the cafeteria and the gym, too. Are those from you as well?"
Batman nodded once.
"But, what about at home? I remember all those crash carts you had in almost every room. They disappeared after that last session."
"I donated them to the various hospitals in Gotham, and one to Gotham's Free Clinic, and replaced them with the smaller AED units. You'll find one in each of the rooms, tucked away in a cabinet or drawer. I keep one in my desk at work for those days you come to visit me." Batman explained.
"I don't understand," Robin said. "If you did all of that, why not let me face off with Scarecrow?"
"I suspect that Scarecrow is the key to the last trigger."
Robin shook his head, vigorously. "No, that can't be right. I've seen pictures of him; on the news, on the Bat-computer, in the hard files."
"I cannot stop you from living your life, but there is no reason that I need to thrust you into the presence of the madman who tortured and experimented on you; of whom I strongly believe has the means to destroy you on a whim! If anyone has the ability to activate this last trigger it would be Scarecrow." Batman snarled. "Don't ask this of me because I won't do it!"
"I don't get it," Robin argued. "I don't see the difference between this and Zucco!"
"The difference is training you to have a better than fighting chance or putting a gun to your head and helping Scarecrow pull the trigger," Batman grimaced.
"Batman, please," Robin pleaded with him. "If Scarecrow could have killed me, he would have before now. I need to be a part of this! I need to help stop him!"
"Damn it! I watched you die, Robin. I will not willingly do that again; not if I can prevent it by leaving you here. This discussion is over. You will stay in the mountain until we return." Batman told him grimly; breathing hard. "Do you understand?"
When Robin didn't answer him immediately, he repeated his question. "Do you understand me?! You will not disobey me in this."
Robin turned around. He didn't want to look at Batman at that moment. He walked over to his duffel bag still beside the wall near the zeta-tubes where he had left it. Grabbing up the bag, he moved off in the direction of the living quarters without another word.
REACTIONS?
Go on . . . I can take it. :P