Please, for the love of all that is good in fanfiction, write a review. Even better, make it thoughtful and specific as to why you think as you do. Reviews are the ambrosia with which writers sate the muses. I swear on pain of eating Star Fire's pudding that I will personally respond to every review. Note that I reserve the right to base the thoughtfulness of my response on that of the review.
This chapter was written with the help of AlsoSprachOdin, my beta reader. His timely and thoughtful critique and knowledge of various superheroes forced me to maintain a higher standard of quality and to think of every angle from a logical viewpoint. You Teen Titans crazies out there can also thank him for not allowing me to turn this into a Batman novella. ;)
I'm giving you a forewarning out of the kindness of my own heart…this chapter has a lot of exposition through dialogue. It's necessary because, in my effort to be "realistic", I need to logically lay out how and why the Teen Titans would launch a surprise attack on an unsuspecting Justice League. If you can comfortably accept the idea of TT vs JLA without any logic and just want to enjoy action, feel free to skip this chapter, though I like to believe I'm a good enough writer that you won't be able to call it torture. However, if you're like me and you need to see some justification, and then read on.
Time: 0530, 10 DECEMBER 2010
Location: Titan's Tower
There was something very bad to be said about the false, white glare of electricity. What it was, he really wasn't quite sure, though if he were honest with himself, Robin would admit that it was guilt by association rather than any innate quality of electric light itself. The soft yellows, reds and violets of natural light were reserved for the sun, which meant daytime, pizza, hard, but rewarding training and the exhilaration of crime fighting.
The halogen bulb on his desk flickered slightly, undoubtedly feeling the hatred being leveled at it from his maskless eyes. Concurrently, artificial light was reserved for unholy hours in the morning, long stretches of frustration, cold stake-outs and the sickening, ever-present veil of fatigue past all reasoning and why the heck was he waxing poetic about the evils of artificial lighting?
The light dimmed before emitting a soft, sizzling noise.
Robin let go of the sigh he'd been holding in for at least the last half hour while he collected his thoughts. He was tired, dead tired to be perfectly honest, which, of course, Robin was, hence why he had been contemplating the action of homicide directed toward an inanimate object. Wow, geeze, he was really, really tired, dead tired to be perfectly…
Without another glance at the offending desk light, the exhausted Boy Wonder woodenly plodded towards the little ceramic cubicle that served as his shower room. After rotating the handle only a quarter turn clockwise, Robin did his best not gasp at the icy water, the shock of the temperature providing an instant wake'y up'ppy. Robin grimaced. Well, maybe it wasn't quite as effective as he might make it to be, but it did help. Sometimes you could be subtle about your methods in staying up and alert. One could switch tasks to maintain interest, change points of visual focus, etc. Eventually though, you just had to say "screw it", and use brute force.
His nerves sufficiently raw from the assault they'd just endured, Robin exited his shower and walked over to where his uniform lay neatly pressed on his bed. The skin tight pants slipped on first, followed by his reinforced top. The golden utility belt which he had prepared earlier in the night wrapped snuggly around his waist before he moved on to steel toed boots, the inevitable gel/hairspray combo, fire proof gloves and the sable and yellow cape. As was appropriate, the mask came last, sealed airtight against his skin by polycarbonate based glue that might as well have been liquid cement save for how easily it dissolved on contact with pure nitrogen.
Robin looked up into the mirror and inspected himself: faultless, as was expected. It was the ritual he started everyday with, quietly affirming that it was time to go to work and check his fallibility at the door. The immaculate uniform was also part of his image as a leader. Robin would need the respect and deference that came with the position today because of what he was proposing they do and, as a result, he gave himself one more redundant look-over.
Satisfied that nothing was out of place, Robin turned as if to leave, but then stopped, thinking better of it. As he stared back at himself, he inexplicably felt the old manic energy begin to burn at the edges of his mind. This was going to be different, unexpected. No one would expect "Robot Robin" to pull something so utterly against the grain. The overly white smile he'd worn all the way back from the Watchtower slowly reappeared as another idea formed. With two long strides the Boy Wonder reentered his bathroom and turned on the faucet. When the water was sufficiently hot enough i.e. able to cook a lobster in two seconds, he plunged his head in and began to scrub furiously. A few seconds of hot water and vigorous cursing was all it took for the slew of chemicals he'd stuck in his hair to go swirling down the drain. A little more abuse from his red, terry cloth towel (monogrammed too, with a little robin stitched on, but he'd confess undying love to Kitten than let anyone find out).
Robin's feet soon carried him down to the kitchen where he grabbed one of the energy gels he kept at the ready for when he managed to severely overextend himself. Plain coffee was unappealing to him and the fancy stuff just gave him a stomach ache. Besides, drinking the stuff was like eating a liquid sundae with caffeine. The only other alternative, Raven's tea, tasted like old gym socks. Or, that is to say, what he thought old gym socks might taste like. Had he mentioned he was tired? Yea, perhaps he had, in excess even, but you'd have to understand just how important it is for Robin to appear alert and coherent when getting ready to lay down his plans. If Robin wasn't in order, how could his teammates expect his ideas to be?
The Boy Wonder snagged a bottle of water from the refrigerator to wash down the last remnants of the sticky syrup before he took the staircase up to the rooftop. Once there, Robin simply paced, running his ideas around in his mind, testing them again now that the last vestiges of fatigue had burned away. By the time the sun had peaked out half-way from under the Pacific waves, Robin was done thinking. It was time to check on the crew anyway.
"Hey Robin, what're ya doin' up here? Meh, don't bother, I don't care! Breakfast is ready and guess what?" It looked like the crew had come to him instead.
"You cooked breakfast?" Robin asked, taking a guess on what could have the changeling excited so early in the morning.
"You bet, and guess what else." The little green teen was almost waggling his eyebrows at Robin. It was vaguely funny and disturbing at the same time.
"Starfire's moved on to mayonnaise?" He asked, walking past Beast Boy and back into the elevator. He would have preferred the staircase again, but he didn't feel the need to listen to Beast Boy rag on him all the way down about how stupid he was to take the stairs when he could just ride the elevator.
"Nah, though that would be kinda cool. Or hey," Robin grimaced. Beast Boy was the supreme and undisputed master of tangents and leg pulling. Best to cut him off before he got a headwind going or he'd never shut up, "What did you make for breakfast?"
"Oh, yea, I made orange smoothies and strawberry Muesli. That's absolutely zero tofu. Did you know I could make something without using tofu? I bet you didn't." The elevator began slowing as they reached the living room.
"I wondered a couple of times, yea, but I kinda figured that you could make something without tofu." Being the loyal vegetarian that he was, Beast Boy was also the master of tofu. In fact, he was too good with it because practically everything he ever made used the gelatinous bean derivative.
"Good morning friends!" His conversation with Beast Boy was interrupted when Starfire's upside-down head appeared floating at the top of the elevator door.
"Good morning Star." They chorused.
"Yo, Beast Boy!" And good morning to you too, Cyborg, "These smoothies are awesome! You need to show me the recipe." The metal man was busy stuffing down the horrible looking slop in his bowl that appeared to be some sort of yogurt/musseli combination. Robin's stomach grumbled as he stepped past the now upright Starfire and headed towards the table. Mexican, Robin bet it was like Mexican: disgusting to look at, but good to taste.
Grabbing a bowl for himself, he threw in some various berries before taking a seat next to the smoothie prepared for him. In no time at all, he found himself surrounded by the rest of the Titans as he ate. "Of course, they're expecting the announcement."
"Alright everyone, take a seat." All the casual chatter died away. Robin smirked. They were really worked up about this, though that was to be expected. As soon as they'd left the Watchtower's cavernous docking bay, Robin had told them that they might be attacking the Justice League inside their own base. This had understandably caused an uproar, but Robin had delayed in giving out any further details. Thankfully, the trip back and the team's exhaustion had given him the time he needed. Now, all that was left to do was let the dice fall where they might.
"Here's the deal everyone," he said, looking out at their eager eyes, "Batman has asked us to attack the Watchtower." Before they could even gather air for the inevitable questions, Robin held up a hand to forestall them.
"Let me finish now," their leader said, making sure to make eye contact with each member, "Batman feels that the Justice League's security is too weak. Given how many more members they'll be inducting over the next few years, they can't any breaches. By expanding, they become more powerful, but they also become more vulnerable because they're making themselves a bigger target, both from the inside and out….I don't have to remind you about traitors." Robin could see their faces momentarily darken. No, he'd never have to remind them.
"I personally agree with Batman on this. Now I'm going to tell you Batman's plan," Robin paused and held up his index finger, "and them I'm going to tell you my plan and we'll debate what we want to do, if anything." Quiet nods all around; good, this was progressing better than he had anticipated.
"The original plan is to have Batman take the Javelin and a partner down to a predetermined location where we would ambush them. We would fly the Javelin up to the Watchtower where we would take out anyone on guard duty, secure them, and then fly on home. Take a look at these," Robin placed a stack of papers in the middle of the table. "The main problems we'd have to deal with would be Superman and Wonder Woman, compromising world security by temporarily disabling several heroes, not to mention a very pissed off JLA . Batman will take responsibility for all of this. He'd make sure that when we attack, we're not dealing with the two most powerful members, that we're doing it at a time when it's not going to compromise global security and he'd also be the one to explain the purpose behind the attack. After all, it's his idea." He paused and took a casual sip of his water. Robin was a bit parched and it helped refocus his audience, or so his tutor had said.
"Bottom line is that Batman wants to teach the Justice League a thing or two about paranoia and he wants us to be his teaching aid." Robin took his eyes off of the outline he'd finished last night to survey the group again. Let's see, completely bewildered: expected, vaguely excited: excellent.
"ZoMyGosh, this is like, freaking awesome!" Wood scraped against the white linoleum as Beast Boy stood up, "I mean, how cool would it be to say that we beat fought the Justice Leagueand won?!" Robin chuckled slightly. He doubted it was visions of sugar plumbs dancing in front of Beast Boy right now. The lawn gnome might still be a little scrawny, but over the years he'd become quite the lady killer. And if you could claim to have beaten the Justice League, well, how many guys could match that?
"You really think we could pull this one Robin?" Cyborg was leaning over the table to look his masked compatriot directly in the face. "You really think we can beat…I mean, this ain't some sissy little Brotherhood of Evil wannabe. This is the Justice League of America we're talking about; capital J, L, kick your Ass, saved the world more times than I can count, Justice League."
Robin managed to keep his face set to a decent Raven impression as he leaned forward and met Cyborg half-way, "Yea, I think we have a very good chance."
"Well then count me in baby, waaaoooo!" Cyborg pumped his armored fist into the air.
"Um, Robin…" Robin blinked under the mask as he found Starfire also leaning close to him. He motioned for her to continue. "You have another plan you wanted to tell us?" He blinked again. Starfire was being unusually restrained.
"Yes, I do," He looked up to where Beast Boy and Cyborg were competing in who could think up the most epic battle scene where, of course, one of them would be defeating multiple League members in vicious hand-to-hand combat. Raven was less than amused.
"…and then I'd bet Superman would be so impressed that he'd make us honorary members!"
"Hey guys, quiet down for a second. You haven't heard everything." It took Robin several tries, but eventually the other two boys were calm enough for Robin to begin speaking again.
Once Robin was sure that he had everyone's absolute attention, he asked, "How would you guys like to take on the entire Justice League and I mean all of them: Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, Green Lantern, Hawk Girl, Martian Hunter? How you would like to take them on and win and not just in some five on one that Batman arranged, but how about winning a real fight?"
Cyborg laughed, "Sure, I'd love to do that, right after I finish growing my afro."
"He's serious." Raven's intense eyes were practically boring into his forehead. It was making him nervous, but he kept going. He couldn't risk losing momentum, especially not so early in the game.
"I am." That had the convenient effect of causing everyone to go completely silent. Beast Boy and Cyborg were looking at Robin like he'd sprouted a second head. Raven, however, looked almost pissed, if that were possible. He vaguely wondered why she was so uptight recently. It was unusual.
Starfire, however, looked apprehensive, "But how Robin? How can we do this thing?"
He did his best to flash one of his trademark grins before saying, "I was just getting to that."
"Oh yes, please tell us Robin. Tell us how we are going to take on, what did you call them: 'the most powerful organization this world has ever seen' and manage to do it without, as you have also said, endangering ourselves, innocent lives and without completely enraging the Justice League?" Raven's acerbic question hit Robin as soon as he'd finished speaking.
"Yea, I mean," Beast Boy awkwardly scratched the back of his head. It was something of a nervous tic of his, "it would definitely be cool and all, but, I mean, this is serious." Robin fought the urge to laugh. He was being lectured on seriousness by Beast Boy? How droll.
"Gee, I never would've thought," he responded, letting some edge creep into his voice. Raven didn't have exclusive rights to the sarcasm department. Robin didn't let himself linger on that long though. He couldn't let his friends think of this as only individual passion.
"This is possible. I wouldn't even bring it up otherwise, you know that." Robin allowed himself a sigh before going back all business, "OK, this is how it goes. In a straight up fight with the Justice League, we lose."
"You're not inspiring-"
Robin plowed through before Cyborg could finish, "However, I think there's a way we could take the Justice League and win and do it without collateral. The key is Batman's files on the Justice League." A semi-circle of blank looks was already surrounding him. This, too, was expected.
"You guys can make fun of me for being paranoid all you want, but whatever I am, Batman's about a thousand times worse. Several years ago, he was nearly expelled from the Justice League because he decided it'd be a good idea to think up death traps for each of the members." (2) He got several pairs of very wide eyes with that remark.
"Yea, not the trusting type obviously. Well…" Robin fought the urge to smirk again, "while I was still in Gotham, I managed to find out where all those plans are located." There eyes were a little wider. "And conveniently enough, it's also the best place to look for any records of past Just League meetings."
Robin paused a bit to let this sink in before driving home his point, "Don't you guys see? If we can get a hold of Batman's files, we can find out exactly how best to defeat each individual member and we'll know when to attack without jeopardizing any lives."
"But why, I mean, we already have our chance to kick some butt? And from the sound of it, you don't even really have a plan yet. You need all those super secret files and then, maybe, we'll have a plan." Robin could practically taste the irony. How long ago had he prayed that Beast Boy would just wise up a bit? Conveniently, he'd finally acquired some common sense just in time to start attacking Robin's plan.
"First off, I already have a definite plan to get a hold of those files. Once we have those, it's simply a matter of deciding whether or not we want to fight the whole League or if we even want to fight at all."
Starfire chimed in as well, "Robin, I do not like this idea, not at all."
"And why is that Starfire?" he asked in what he thought was his most reasonable tone.
"Because this is just another case of your ego affecting your head." There was Raven again and here comes Cyborg, "Robin, you have to admit that this looks like you're just trying to prove something to Batman."
Robin felt the mask's adhesives pull against skin as his eyes tightened. He had already thought of all these objections and prepared his counters. The acrobatic crime fighter had spent the entire night neatly preparing his case in a logical manner. And now, as he faced accusations he had counted on, his neatly arranged argument were falling to pieces. It wasn't even his plan that was at fault; it was like he simply couldn't keep everything in his head. It was all falling apart and you know what? He couldn't have cared less.
"Fine, I admit it," Robin practically spat this out. Screw being the perfect little leader. "I want to do this so I can prove to Batman and everyone else, once and for all, that I am capable of acting on my own without his interference. I want him beaten so badly that when we're done, he can't find one. Single. Thing. To say that I did wrong." Robin allowed his anger to carry him away and slammed an open palm onto the table, causing their drinks to rattle. "And you know what else? I'm tired of everyone treating the Titans like we're a bunch of third rate crime fighters, like we're a bunch of little kids the 'adults' let loose so long as they don't cause any trouble. Have you gotten sick of it yet?" He was actually ranting. Robot frickin' Robin was actually ranting and raving. By God, it felt good!
His friends were looking at him like he'd lost his mind. In a way, he had. "Hey, I feel ya' too man. I mean, usually I'm the one moanin' and groanin' about how we get the shafted by the other heroes out there, but that's still not a good enough reason to-"
Robin cut off Cyborg easily. He'd built too much momentum. "It's not? How is anything going to change otherwise? Besides," he let his voice slip back into sarcasm, "if the almighty Justice League can't deal with a handful of kids, then maybe they either need to shape up or start looking for some replacements." Oh, boy. "Charged statement" indeed. The rest of the Titans simply sat in various degrees of shock. Robin might have been the firebrand when the Titans had first formed, but he had long since made himself into the perfect reflection of the ideal leader: consummately weighing risks, aggressive, but knowing when to retreat, the group before the individual. Sure, there had been exceptions in the past, read "Slade", but by and large his teammates were simply used to what the Titans had molded him into. This sudden reversion back to what he had been before the Titans, before responsibility of Jump City and their lives, well…it shocked them. Of course, Robin, being Robin, wasn't going to let them get away with that.
Crossing his arms, he spoke in a tone of exaggerated reasonableness, "I tell you what, you guys are mostly worried about getting in trouble, right?" Raven's mouth started to move. Like he was going to let her interrupt now. "So, why don't I just ask permission?"
He held an open hand towards Beast Boy, "Cell phone."
Wordlessly fumbling with his pockets, the changeling managed to produce the Blackberry they had only recently bought him for Christmas. For the life of him, Robin couldn't figure out why he would need the miniature computer. After all, since when did Beast Boy have complex itineraries to make and keep? But then, Robin had the frankly redundant R-Cycle, so it was all fair. Taking the proffered appliance, he asked, "How do you turn this thing to speaker phone?"
Beast Boy looked down at his feet, mentally trying to remember what the proper way was, "Uh, menu, profiles, settings…general…no, sound and alarms, then-"
Robin was already there, "Got it."
"Oh…good." Beast Boy looked up at him expectantly, unsure of what he was doing as Robin quickly punched in a number by memory. He'd only ever used it once many years ago, but as was typical, Robin had been forced to memorize it until he doubted he'd forget it even if he died.
Several rings then, "What is it?" His friends started slightly. They recognized that voice. It was impossible to forget once you had heard it in person.
"I've brought up your request with the team and they definitely liked it, but I've been thinking of something different." Gotta make sure to get that "I" in there, "If we're going to test preparedness, why not go all the way? Give us a year and permission to attack whenever and however we see fit and by the end of the year, we'll have 'killed' the entire Justice League."
There was some faint crackling from interference.
"Look, you want a real test of the Justice League's security and alertness. What could be better? Train as you fight and fight as you train, right?"
There was only more silence outside of a faint rustling. Robin tilted his weight to one leg and did his best to affect an air of nonchalance, but he anxious.
"…"
Robin forced himself not to move. It was all pointless, no, worse than pointless if they didn't get permission. He had come up with his own, nearly mutinous plan precisely because he did not want to be in anyway dependent on the Bruce. Now that he was committed, he needed Bruce's approval, if only because it would let him take the path of least dependence and the most opportunity to defeat his mentor in a real battle. It was completely messed up. (3)
Silence….
"You have a year." There was a soft click as the line went dead. Smiling faintly, Robin looked up to where his fellow Titans sat. The pieces were in place. He'd done it.
"Well, we've been given the go ahead. What's it going to be?"
They told him. He grinned. Robin spent the rest of the day unnerving his cautiously enthusiastic teammates with an insane smile.
Had he mentioned he was tired?
Red Notes
1) It is possible to make some legitimate claims of OOC behavior in Robin and Raven. For Robin, the question is why would he be so willing to A) pull something so outrageous on his mentor B) take such inordinate risks when there is no physical threat and C) risk being alienated by the entire Justice League? My response is that Robin and Batman's relationship has simply deteriorated to the point where he's that desperate to prove himself and his team. Robin in all of his incarnations has always been portrayed as impetuous and while I think it's a stretch for him to resort to such drastic measures without an additional outside threat, I also think it's a definite possibility. As for Raven, this is simply one of the ways I envision her coping with her newfound feelings. I envision Raven quietly experimenting with her new emotions (remember that bit about novels earlier?) while hiding her new sensitivity under a cover of extra prickliness.
2) This comes from The Tower of Babel, where Batman's ideas for taking out the other League members were discovered by Ra's Al Ghul. In the end, the Justice League members cast a vote whether or not to expel him. Batman left before the decision could be aired, but the majority voted against him.
3) If Robin's antagonism towards Batman seems weird, don't worry, it's very much part of his character, especially with Dick Grayson's as Robin. The TV show never made mentioned it, if anything, the Apprentice arc made it seem as if there were no problems. This is utterly untrue as the two have a long history of conflict. In fact, Nightwing was created as a way to become more independent of Batman.
