A/N: I'm so sorry I failed to update last night like I promised! I was all set to do so, I swear, but after a few minutes I got so tired I was literally falling out of my chair! And because I was so tired my writing was crappy, and both you guys and my self-respect deserve far more than that! Thus I waited until today to revise and finish this.

I will warn you, though: this chapter, for some reason, was extremely hard for me to write, hence the reason for its reduced size in comparison with the first two. For that I apologize and cross my fingers in hopes that the next chapter will be easier and you'll still like this one all the same (even if not as much).

And once again, holy cow! Two chapters, and on the cusp of 60 reviews and even more favs and alerts (not counting deviantART)! Wow! Thanks so much to everyone for having so much faith in this fic even when it bogs me down (like this chapter did)! I can't thank you enough for your awesome support!


Deafening silence reigns for a split second. The four remaining teammates trade glances, and it really comes as no surprise when they don't take it as well as Robin would have liked.

"Are you insane?" Superboy bursts out all at once, voice rising in volume with each word. "You'll only be playing into his hands!" Beside him, Aqualad takes sixteen-year-old's hand and rubs slow circles on its back with his thumb, calming the clone immensely. Truly, Superboy is only being protective—ever since he met the child, there has always been a guarding connection between them—and neither Batman nor the Boy Wonder can thank him enough for that. He clenches his free fist and closes his sky-blue eyes tightly. Several seconds pass before they open again, begging silently. "Please…I'm asking you to reconsider. "

Kid Flash zooms around Batman to skid to a halt at Robin's side, folding his arms across his chest and staring intently at his best friend. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Robin is basking in the fact that he's never seen the speedster look so serious.

"Look, man," Kid Flash says, putting his hands on his hips, "you've been in this business longer than any of us, and you know the Joker inside and out. None of us blame you for wanting to kick some serious deranged-clown butt! But as your best friend, I have to side with Supey on this." He quirks a smile and extends a hand toward Batman. "Besides, we won't be going in alone if we've got Bats here!"

Robin smiles minutely. In all honesty, he'd expected this from his friends, protective and wonderful as they are. But no matter what they say, no matter how much it hurts him to see their pain, he's still going—nothing will change that.

And even with Batman there, he considers, if anything were to happen to any one of them while Robin himself was hiding away, he would never forgive himself.

"I agree, Robin!" Miss Martian butts in, flying forward and taking Robin's hands in hers. "Last night, my galaxy readings suggested something ominous in the near future, and now I know that this is what they meant!" She shakes her head furiously, tears entering her eyes and coloring her voice. "Please don't go!"

Aqualad touches both Kid Flash and Miss Martian gently on the arm, and the two teens stand down as their team leader rests a warm hand on Robin's shoulder.

"Your decision to accompany us is a noble one, Robin, and despite our guarding impulses, we are glad to have you. But—" his eyes flash suddenly, darting Batman's way before flitting back to the younger boy, "—are you sure this is what you want? You realize there is no going back."

Batman's protégé has never looked more like his mentor than he does now. Indomitable. Fierce. Ever-loving.

"Of course I am," he assures lowly, peering up into Aqualad's eyes with all the ferociousness the undersea-boy expects from the Dark Knight's under-wing. "I won't let you put your lives at risk to fight my battles." His narrowed eyes lock onto the floor, clenched fists trembling as his mind flows into dangerous territory. "I've come too close to losing those I care about too many times before. If it were to happen again…" he trails here, with so much strife tinting his warbling voice that he almost can't catch his breath. Batman, catching on in a fraction of a second, rests a large hand on the boy's free shoulder and squeezes strongly. At this Robin's airflow frees, and he breathes deeply prior to looking up at his team with a far calmer air, though they can sense the swirling, painful memories that linger just beneath. "If putting myself in the heat of things means keeping everyone I love safe, then so be it."

Aqualad nods slowly, understandingly, and with utmost respect before taking a step back. The child will be a leader to outshine all the others one day. Aqualad can feel it.

"Then it's decided," Batman settles. "Young Justice, move out!"


Once Miss Martian's cloaked Bio-Ship leaves Mount Justice behind, Superboy asks something that makes the others wonder why the matter hadn't been addressed earlier.

"We're not just going to waste time scouting around for him, are we? We do know where he is, right?"

Kid Flash, Miss Martian, and Aqualad turn to gaze at Batman as well.

"No, we're not," Batman answers gruffly, "and his location has been right under your noses the whole time."

"The answer's in the poem," Robin picks up, expression drawn as he forces back a demon his friend's can't help him fight. "'But Bird without Bat/Wings clipped and blood drawn/Leaves just a carcass to find at dawn,'" he recites, staring down at his lap. All the while, he's been absentmindedly digging his nails into his flesh with an animalistic fury, and after another moment, Batman reaches over to lay both hands on his charge's to prevent him from piercing his body-armor and drawing blood. The Dark Knight's eyes narrow meaningfully, and the boy soothes with a soft, loving smile. Sighing, he folds his hands in his lap and reveals softly, "A deserted tract of land just outside of Gotham, where Batman and I first met."

-The circus grounds.-


A/N: If you don't understand how the poem explains the Joker's location, let me explain (I actually just thought that detail up as I was writing this chapter; it was only meant to have the first chapter's meaning and nothing else, initially): Batman and Robin are an unbreakable team. Yet, in watching his parents die Robin was all alone, scarred and feeling like he could never 'fly' again. With no Batman around (just yet; pretend Robin's just run to their blood-covered bodies), he feels dead and lifeless. Joker wants to remind Robin of that time in order to play with his mind while also revealing his location in that sick way of his.

Also, none of the boy-boy interactions are meant to be taken as slash (no offense to those who like it). In my fics the male teammates will only ever be what they are: teammates. (Though that doesn't rule out the girl-boy relationships...though I'll tell you now I'm not a romance person.) Just to let you guys know.

Explanation of Robin and Superboy's interaction (as they might not seem as close in the show as they do to me) : since the first-second episodes when Robin helped Superboy up after he really got thrashed by Blockbuster, and then when Superboy jumped on top of Robin to shield him from the crumbling building, I was convinced they had some kind of connection.

One of my readers on devART, Mana-hime, was inspired by the Joker's poem to the point where a beautiful art piece came out of it (appropriately called "Bat and Bird...")! If you'd like to view this gorgeous masterpiece, go to the deviantART website, switch categories from 'Popular' to 'Newest,' then type in the title of the picture. It'll be in 'Scaps' with the 'Mature Rating' gray stop-sign symbol on it.

Thanks so much for reading, as always!