A/N: Wow the response to this story was great! You guys are wonderful, I really appreciate the support ;D I'm sure this chapter will raise more questions than answers, but I promise I won't keep you in the dark for too long!
Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice. I would love for it to star airing again, though!
Finding a hacker shouldn't be too hard, she thought.
There were lots of brilliant, busy minds around here, she thought.
She thought wrong.
Finding someone capable and wiling to hack the Gotham Academy system was like mixing oil with water. It just wasn't happening.
Well, that wasn't entirely true. Technically she had found a 'person' or at least the name of the person. In fact, it was the only hacker name that seemed to exist in the minds of these Gotham students.
Robin.
As stuck up and conceited as the students here could be, they weren't easy to crack. Sure, some were willing enough to mention this 'Robin's' existence, but beyond that? Nada.
Artemis was practiced in the art of leaning and leveraging, but she'd rather not resort to that. She wanted to be as casual as possible.
The problem with that was that these kids were afraid to even mention Robin and those who did only seemed to deal in rumours.
A conversation about grades. Stay casual. Try to get that anxious girl in biology to tell her where you'd go if you needed a mark increased on the down low.
"Y-you mean like by hacking the grade system? I…I wouldn't know that. Why would I? I wouldn't be involved with him…I mean, I don't know a him. I don't know anything about that sort of thing at all. Sorry."
A conversation after track practice, letting the boys drool over her scantily clad, glistening form.
"Robin? Keh, that guys a myth. Just some hero for nerds to dream about swooping in to jack up their grades."
"I heard he only does it if you can prove that you deserved a better grade. Like that time when Mr. Frost flunked that girl because she wouldn't" –
"Dude. You make him sounds like he's some sort of hero. He's a vigilante at best. I heard he's just a disgruntled ex-employee of Wayne Industries. Probably one of the dope-selling janitors."
"That would explain why he also helps wipe juvi-records and drug busts if you pay him enough. Wouldn't be good for business otherwise."
"No way man, that's not what he does. He only does grades."
"But I thought you told me that after the cops crashed your party" –
"Dude. Shut up. He only does grades. You got that?"
Over by the lockers after home-room.
"I heard he's a first-year student! Some sort of boy genius!"
"No way, he's one of the hunky seniors!"
"Well, obviously he's hot. You can't be a hero and be ugly."
Behind the bleachers.
"The first rule about dealing with Robin is don't talk about Robin. It's better if you don't even think about him, cause I'm pretty sure the dude can read minds."
Up on the hill, pretending to look for a smoke.
"Juvenile records? Maybe. All I know is that the teachers can't catch him. Some people think he is a teacher. That's bull, though. He's too cool for that. Not…not that I know anything about him. I don't associate myself with that sort of person."
Back in class again. She'd come full circle. Everything from nervous denial to squirrely descriptions of his looks or work led Artemis to believe these rich kids knew more about Robin than they'd care to admit.
It was time to take more drastic measures.
"Whoa, what the hell, blonde?" The gaunt-looking boy whined when she slammed him into the wall, twisting his arm precariously behind his back.
When she'd lured him out of class, he probably thought he was about to score. This just wasn't his lucky day.
That being said, she had cut it pretty close, leaving herself just a minute to the bell. This would have to be fast.
It was a good thing it was easier to find out about the school's local drug dealer than this mysteriously hacker.
"I know what you do, Cameron. I know all about your extracurricular activities."
"Look, if you're looking for some product, I" –
"That's not it. I just find it suspicious that someone as dumb as you has gone so long without marking up your record. I'd think you'd have been kicked out of a school like this by now."
"…I don't know what you're talking about."
A subtle increase in pressure on his arm. He tensed against the pain which was about as much as he could do with his face shoved into the brick wall.
"Who is Robin? How can I find him?"
"I told you, I don't" –
A harder twist. Enough to make him squeal in pain like the pig he was.
"Who –is –Robin. I'm not asking anymore."
"Okay, Okay! I'll tell you! His name is" –
Whatever Cameron was about to say was cut off by an echoing cackle of pleasure, swiftly followed by the shrilling of the school bell, singling the end of the period.
Artemis whipped around, releasing Cameron without a second thought.
That laugh. It was way too perfectly timed, stopping Cameron from speaking and wasting the last few seconds until the bell.
Her gaze was immediately drawn to the end of the hallway by the sound of squeaking shoes. There was a redheaded guy leaning casually against the wall, typing away on his phone.
Right when her narrowed gaze set on him, he glanced up, a massive grin spreading across his face, visible even from down the hallway.
Just as the doors burst open, releasing throngs of restless students into the hall, her phone buzzed. It was a cheap, for-emergencies-only flip-phone. No one had this number except her mother.
Panic blossomed in her chest. Had her mother fallen from her chair? Had her father found them? She snapped it open with fumbling fingers, anxiously scanning the text.
Robin: OTHER WAY.
Her head snapped up, looking desperately –but ginger was long gone. Big surprise.
Spinning in the other direction, she searched for the redhead's partner at the other end of the hall, only to realize the brilliance in "Robin's" plan.
There were students everywhere.
But she wasn't going to be so easily dissuaded. Her sharp eyes glanced quickly from face to face rapidly analyzing and rejecting faces.
Too dumb. Too loud. Too depressed. None of these were right.
By the time her desperate eyes found the end of the hall she'd rejected every pimply faced, straight-laced kid in front of her.
Had the text been a rouse? Was it really the redhead who –wait.
The tip of a shiny toed loafer poking out from around the corner.
She set off, weaving in and out of the churning mass of eager students.
100 meters to go. Was every student in Gotham Academy in this hallway?
50 meters.
The loafer disappeared.
She picked up the pace, going from impatient girl to charging football player. She was no longer dodging people; it was up to them to try dodging her.
She belted round the corner grinding to a halt. This hallway was just as busy, and just as full of straight-laced nobodies.
She let out a breath of disappointment, allowing her body to relax. He was gone. She'd blown her chance.
She turned around slowly –only to come face to face with a boy.
She was surprised for two seconds –and then she saw his grin and knew it was him.
She didn't have to look at his shiny loafers or well pressed uniform. The slicked back hair and expensive clothes were just a costume to help him fly under the radar.
That playful grin said it all and set him apart from the other neat little dolls at this school. He was playing this game, and he was enjoying it for the sake of the game.
"You're pretty determined when you want something, Ms. Crock," he said, hands slotted casually in his suit pockets. His blue eyes seemed to shine delightedly up at her.
"I haven't even gotten started," she assured him, glowering down at the little weasel. "You haven't exactly made it easy."
"Me? What makes you think I had anything to do with this? My name isn't Robin. I'm Dick Grayson, and even if I wasn't Dick Grayson, I still wouldn't be one to tell anyone to tell or not tell anyone anything," he said, raising one fine eyebrow at her.
His talent for disarming the English language was obviously a distraction method.
"I'm sure you tried really hard to stop the rumours from spreading," she replied dryly.
"Well, perhaps I don't…discourage the rumours. And maybe I did enjoy watching you run around a little bit," Dick admitted, cheeky expression not showing a shred of remorse.
"So Robin's been watching over my witch-hunt? Why choose to do the big reveal now?" Artemis asked sharply.
"Robin's a strange guy. If I had to guess, I'd say he saw you were getting desperate. I'd say you managed to catch his interest with your…situation," he told her.
She frowned at his disassociation with the name Robin, but knew it wasn't worth pursuing. This kid was way too smart to be that obvious.
"What exactly do you know about my situation?" She asked, again feeling a wave of dread come over her.
This Dick Grayson wasn't threatening or dangerous on first glance, but there was a wicked intelligence behind his perfect façade.
She wasn't entirely certain she was safer with him knowing her background than she was with Mr. Harper knowing.
"Nothing at all, of course," Dick said in a questioning voice, as though he couldn't imagine a reason why he would know such information. "It is Robin's philosophy to let his customers provide only what information they desire. It provides a better challenge, and builds a certain…trust. We wouldn't want to make anyone uncomfortable."
"We?" Artemis questioned, head spinning.
It was no wonder "Robin" was such a hard individual to pin-point.
He was a person, a group, a hero figure and a dangerous hacker all in one. Catching the one, true Robin was like trying to catch smoke.
"Robin has many associates." That devilish grin had returned.
"So is he or one of his associates willing to help me with my situation?" She asked through gritted teeth, fed up with this game of cloak and dagger.
"Would I be here if he wasn't?"
"I suppose not. So how does this work?" She asked, glancing around uncomfortably at the students swarming around her. "Do we cut class right now, or…?"
"Be patient," Dick admonished, "Robin would never be so rash. He will get in contact with you after he's talked to one of his associates."
"And how does he plan to do that?" She questioned suspiciously.
There was a scuffle at the end of the hall, and Artemis glanced over to see the same redheaded boy from before looking anxious and apologetic as he all but danced in fear around the bigger, dark skinned senior who was currently wearing gingers coffee all over his superman t-shirt.
How exactly he managed to acquire the coffee since she last saw him also tugged at her mind irritably.
She heard a mocking cackle from behind her, and felt her stomach drop to her toes. Spinning round, she searched desperately for the mysterious boy but all she got was thin air and fading laughter in the crowds of students all around her.
Her phone buzzed, and she pulled it out slowly, reading the text with trepidation.
ROBIN: UNTIL LATER, MS. CROCK
She put down the phone, letting out a breath of exasperation. Out of necessity, she looked back to where the redheaded clutz had been 30 seconds ago.
Unsurprisingly, he was long gone leaving the guy with coffee all over him bewildered and enraged, but all the same, still victimless.
"You and me both buddy," Artemis muttered, "You and me both."
A/N: So I threw in a bunch of characters from the show, just to do little cameos…bonus points if you can name them all! But really, I'd love to know what you guys think and what you think is going on with this whole "Robin" operation. See you next week! ;)