Disclaimer: Young Justice and all related characters and story plots belong to DC Comics, Warner Brothers, and the network on which it airs, Cartoon Network. I am making no profit from this story whatsoever.

Author's Note: I know! I promised this would be up this morning, but there were technical difficulties with the website (and I'm sure I'm not the only one who experienced it). But, it's still Monday where I am, so at least this is still getting posted on the same day.

Currenly working on Chapter 5 and I hope to have it up within the next couple of days.

Open Wounds

MOUNT JUSTICE
SEPTEMBER 10, 2:16AM EDT

Superboy narrowed his eyes as he studied the image of the man on the screen. Tony Zucco. The name had no significance for the clone, but obviously it did to Batman if the Dark Knight had kept records on him.

He studied the information that Batman had managed to collect. He had dark blackish-brown hair and brown eyes, a typical trait in most Italian-Americans, Superboy understood, thanks to the knowledge that Cadmus had the g-gnomes implant into him. He was thirty-five years old, weighted a hundred and ninety-five pounds, and stood at six foot one. He had no notable identification markings.

He pretty much sounded like an ordinary criminal. And he was definitely human. Batman would have put it in the file if he had any special powers.

"Tony Zucco?" questioned Kaldur, jarring Superboy out of his thoughts. Naturally, the other members of his team had been processing the facts provided by the Batcomputer, too.

"I know that name… Why do I know that name?" wondered Artemis aloud.

"He's gotta be a big deal. I mean, Bats doesn't keep records like this about just anybody," said Wally, who was chewing on an apple that he must have gotten from the kitchen when nobody was paying attention.

"Why would he need all those aliases, though? I know the bad guys like to hide who they are in order to throw the cops off their trails, but having five different identities, plus his real name?" Megan said.

"It might just mean that he knew Batman was onto him," said Kaldur.

A strange sound alerted Superboy to the fact that something wasn't quite right. Tuning out the rest of what their team's leader was saying, he focused in on the sound. Now that he was listening, it sounded exactly like a… heartbeat? If it was, then it was really, really fast. And there was another noise that accompanied it. Was that… wheezing?

"Maybe there's something you can tell us, Superman. I mean, you recognized him right away, didn't you?" Superboy heard Artemis ask as he cast his gaze around to locate the source of the palpitations and heavy breathing.

It didn't take long, as the sounds caused him to glance sideways in the direction of the Boy Wonder. Robin hadn't said a word since he'd practically whispered Simon Dirks' real name. He stood frozen, staring at the man on the screen. Superboy couldn't see his eyes beneath the domino mask, but from the rest of his facial expression, he could tell Robin was dazed.

"I… only know him by reputation," Superman was saying hesitantly. "Zucco was one of the major mafia bosses in Gotham City four years ago. It was the same deal, promising insurance to businesses and sabotaging them when they refused to pay. One of his stunts… actually… killed… two people."

"That's horrible!" gasped Megan.

"I can't believe Batman never caught this guy!" exclaimed Wally furiously. "He should be rotting in a jail cell right now, not roaming the streets, planning to strike again!"

As Wally continued to rant, Superboy continued to study their youngest teammate. Robin was clearly gasping for air now, his heart pounding a mile a minute against his ribcage. He was shaking, too, and obviously so.

Superboy's suspicions had been right. Something was wrong. He'd never seen Robin behave like this.

"It shouldn't be much longer before Batman arrives. As soon as he does, Aqualad will – "

"Robin?" Superboy asked, cutting Red Tornado off without meaning to.

Surprised by the young Kryptonian's sudden interest, the rest of the team and the three League members stared at him, and then followed his gaze over to the boy in question. In the sudden silence, Robin's erratic breaths were even more noticeable. Superboy found himself wondering how his super hearing hadn't picked up on it before.

"Hey, Rob, you okay, man?" asked Wally, his tone concerned, as he took a careful step towards his best friend. "Rob?"

But it appeared as though Robin hadn't even heard him. If anything, his breathing only became more erratic and the palpitations grew worse.

Before anyone else could say anything, before they had even moved, Superman was suddenly standing in front of the Bat's partner, kneeling down so he'd be at eye level and placing his hands on the boy's shoulders.

"Robin, look at me," said the Man of Steel, his voice calm and soft. "It's okay. Don't look at the screen, look at me. I'm right here, Robin. Everything's okay now."

It took a little more coaxing before Robin finally broke his gaze away from the image of Tony Zucco. When he did, he looked Superman directly in the eyes. The older man took this as a sign and, nodding, moved his hands to just beneath Robin's arms. As he stood up, he lifted the black haired boy into his arms. Unfortunately, that put Robin directly eye-to-eye with Zucco's picture and when he realized this, he let out a petrified whimper and started struggling against the Kryptonian holding him, like he was trying to get away.

"Take it easy, Robin, I got you. You're okay, you're safe," Superman spoke softly, all ready starting to move away from the gathered heroes. Without stopping, he called over his shoulder. "Contact Batman. Tell him what's happened. And make sure the kids stay here." And then the two were gone.

No one moved. They were all staring after Superman, trying to piece together what had just happened. Superboy glanced over at their mentors in time to notice the significant look that passed between Black Canary and Red Tornado. His eyes narrowed suspiciously.

Once Superman had brought the trembling thirteen-year old into the living room, he walked right over to the sofa and sat down, placing Robin right next to him. Now that they were alone, he could really give Bruce's son a good onceover. When Superboy had called their attention to the young bird, Clark could tell that the boy was in the throws of a panic attack. And right now, it was only getting worse. His chest was rising and falling way too fast for the Boy Scout's liking. Carefully, Clark lifted Dick back into his arms and let him rest his head against his chest.

"Shh, calm down, Robin. Just breath with me, okay. Breath with me," Superman encouraged softly, making sure to take deep and even breaths himself.

The process was agonizingly slow, Clark keeping himself in check so that his chest would rise and fall in slow, precise movements, Dick's ragged gasping morphing into choked sobs as he buried his face in the older hero's chest, tears soaking the S insignia. But the young teen just wasn't calming down.

Black Canary tentatively stepped into the room, watching the scene unfold with worried eyes. "I got through to Batman. He was just getting back to the Batcave. He said that he'd be here as soon as he could," she said softly, not wanting to disturb the traumatized boy any more than he already was.

Superman nodded. "Thank you, Dinah," he said.

The blonde woman nodded in acknowledgement. "How is he doing?" she asked after a brief silence.

"Not that good," sighed the Man of Steel honestly, allowing his fingers to run through Robin's dark locks as he buried himself further into the alien's embrace.

"The kids have been asking about him. They don't understand what set him off," Dinah told him.

"Do you?" asked Clark, turning his blue eyes upon her now. He knew that it wasn't just the Young Justice team that was kept out of the loop. There were very few within the Justice League who actually knew the true identities of Batman and Robin. It had nothing to do with the fact that Bruce didn't trust them and more to do with the fact that he was very overprotective of his ward. Of course, he had a good reason to be, especially now that Zucco was back on the streets of Gotham.

Black Canary gave a grim smile. "Bruce figured that, since I was going to be taking on the role as the team's trainer, it was important that I knew exactly where Robin's acrobatic strengths come from. That, and he knew that there would be times where his memories would distract him," she explained.

He nodded. So now that Black Canary knew, that brought the total number up to seven with in the League.

The boy in his arms was finally starting to quiet down. His quivering had lessened considerably, and he was no longer gasping for breath. Even his sobbing had subsided for the most part. He didn't pull away from the Kryptonian, still seeking comfort and knowing on some level that this was where he'd be safe until his adopted father arrived.

Superman remembered the day he met the Boy Wonder. It had been about a month after the Dark Knight had taken him in. Back then, it was unheard of for heroes to work side-by-side with junior partners. The arrival of Robin was quite the novelty, one that intrigued many reporters all over the country. None of the League was sure what to make of it. They just couldn't see the Batman teaming up with a young boy, especially after how challenging it had been to get him to agree to join them three years previously.

And then Lex Luthor hired Black Mask and Clayface to kidnap Lois Lane and bring her to a warehouse in Gotham City as a way of luring Superman to him. When Superman had gone down under a laser gun that emitted red sun radiation, Batman and Robin arrived to lend a hand. When the battle was over, the Man of Steel was able to get a better look at the youth. Lois' inquisitive nature had provided most of the important details, like the fact that the boy was only nine. Superman had been so shocked by that little detail, he pulled his colleague aside and, while Lois fawned over Robin, actually questioned him about the wisdom of this decision. Batman had, of course, gotten defensive, like he usually did when his actions were under attack. He escorted his son away pretty fast after that, keeping his hand on the boy's shoulder all the way back to the Batmobile.

It wasn't until later, when Luthor carried out his true plan to use the technology he'd stolen from Jervis Tetch (a.k.a. the Mad Hatter) that he himself had combined with Kryptonite in order to control Superman's mind, that he saw exactly what had attracted the billionaire to the acrobat. Robin had clearly been scared, for Superman as well as for Batman and himself, but he never let it show. He'd been able to keep his cool and hold his own against the Man of Steel. Clark had certainly been impressed.

And it didn't hurt that the kid had the most irresistible puppy dog eyes the Boy Scout had ever seen.

"Superman," said Dinah softly, drawing him out of his thoughts. She was looking down at Robin. Following her gaze, he saw that the Batman's protégé was finally still, his deep and steady breathing indicating that he had drifted off.

He sighed in quiet relief. Maybe now the kid would find a little bit of peace.

"Dinah, could you go get me a washcloth?" Superman asked in a whisper as he began to remove the damp domino mask.

Black Canary nodded and left the room. The Man of Steel reached into Robin's utility belt and pulled out the dark shades he kept in one of the pockets for emergencies. He'd put them on once the boy's face was dry. He knew it wasn't worth the effort, that Batman would easily be able to see how upset his partner had been, but it was the least Superman could do.

The child in his arms shifted slightly, a low moan escaping his lips.

"Bruce…"

Clark winced, tightening his arms protectively. He was doing everything he could think of, but he knew it wasn't enough. Right now, what Robin really needed was the closest thing to a father he had left.

"He's coming, Dick. He's coming for you, I promise," Clark whispered.

Okay, so there's the fourth chapter. Please leave nice reviews. iTunes is really pissing me off, and I need something that's going to cheer me up right now. (Anybody every hear of an Audio CD not burning due to a "Medium Write Error?" Because the people at the Apple company have no clue how to fix it. Figures! They just make the program! God forbid they should know how to fix their errors!)

Sorry about ranting. Just had to get that off my chest.

Keep your eyes peeled for Chapter Five. Here's a hint: More on Dick's past, courtesy of Bruce Wayne.