This one's longer, with a super cameo. heh heh...


7

Beast Boy's promise proved more difficult than he expected. It took him a few hours to get a hold of his old team. They were on a stealth mission until then. When he explained things to Elastic Girl, she immediately did everything she could to help him. Problem was, they didn't have a direct line to the League off hand and had to return to one of their bases in order to get a line out to them. That took another day, but the call from the League was worth it.

Superman was on their big screen, returning the call. "Ah... hello? Titan's tower?"

"Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!" The green titan was royally freaking out, and he wasn't the only one. Cyborg's jaw dropped, having thought one of the lesser known Leaguers would have responded, not the most well-known hero in the world! Raven was momentarily stunned while Starfire was just confused, being one of the few people who never paid attention to pop culture or modern events. No one was quite prepared to speak with this guy.

"Uh... Is Beast Boy there? I was told he needed to talk to someone in the Justice League about one of our members."

"Uh... yeah! Yeah!" BB clapped his hands together excitedly, trying to get a handle on things. "Before we start, I just want to say-"

"We need to talk to Batman." Raven took charge before what Beast Boy said made the famous hero tune them out entirely. "We need his help with Robin."

"Robin? Is he okay?" Concern and worry entered the man's voice, energizing him as he questioned them. Superman knew Robin? And he seemed genuinely concerned about him.

"Not exactly." She and Starfire looked away for a moment while Cyborg got a hold of himself. This wasn't about them. "Something... happened last week and we don't know how to help him. We thought Batman would be able to-"

"What happened to him?!" The man of steel's strong response startled all of them. What connection did he have with Robin? He was acting like a worried relative.

"He... was kidnapped and-"

"Kidnapped?! Again?!" Frustration appeared on his face. "And Batman isn't all over it?! Those two..." A hand ran over his face, clearly irked at the turn of events. "Okay I'll be right over to find him. Then I'm giving Bats a piece of my-"

"We already found him," Cyborg interjected, as surprised as everyone else that he was willing to go so far for their leader. Why hadn't Robin talked about his connection with Superman? The Leaguer looked surprised. "He's in medical right now and he's physically fine. It's the after effects we're worried about."

"After effects? You mean nightmares and appetite problems?" The tension that appeared on his face minutes ago evaporated in favor of curiosity. Well, at least he was easy to reason with. "Those shouldn't be a problem for very long. He's gotten over a minor trauma like that dozens of times. Just give him Peanut, some lemon bars and scones, and some time, and he'll be right as rain before you know it. He doesn't stay down for very long. Still should-"

"What the heck is Peanut?!" Beast Boy asked at the same time as Raven butted in.

"Slade did something to him! Pumped him full of chemicals we don't know!"

"What?" This really took the alien for a spin. Shock played on his face, clearly not expecting this. "They drugged him?"

"A lot." Cyborg took it from there. "We ran an analysis of his blood and tested what we could from the room we found him in, but we can't ID most of the things in him. They aren't common street drugs either. There's some kind of... mind altering drugs."

"He cannot sleep," Starfire added, saddened. "He lays down and closes his eyes, but he does not sleep. It is as if he is both awake and asleep at the same time. He hardly speaks, and usually when he does, he only says names we do not know. He turns away from us."

"He... What?" Disbelief entered his face. "He's... not..."

"When we found him, he was locked in a dark room and there was some gas in the air," Cyborg continued. "We were agitated for a while, and a bit jumpy, but our tox-screens came out clean. But he could hardly move!"

"Sounds like quite a cocktail if he's not doing that." The man's eyes moved rapidly, thinking fast.

"We need to talk to Batman," Raven continued. "He's the only name he's said we can identify and he has all of Robin's medical records. We don't know what to do to help him."

"You've been giving him liquids? Saline? Glucose?" Superman looked back to them, making sure they were doing the basics at least.

"Yes we have. No change, other than he can move now. He just doesn't."

"Hmm..." The Kryptonian looked down in thought for a moment before typing rapidly. "I'll do what I can to get Batman to contact you, but I'll have you know he's not easy to deal with. Robin's the only one I know of beside myself and Agent A who can make him see reason, and I'm hit or miss. But he always listens when it comes to his son."

"SON?!" All their jaws dropped at the idea. They never heard of Batman being referred to as Robin's father. They didn't even look alike! And wouldn't he be Batboy if he were Batman's son?

"In everything but name and blood." That made a little more sense. Superman kept typing. "It may take a while to get him to call you and it'll be a short call if at all. It's how he is, brooding stubborn mule. In the meantime, I'll try to send one of our medical expert allies over to you to check him out. Dr. Midnite if I can, or Manhunter. Even Flash if I can get a hold of him. The coms are on the fritz and quite a few of us have been getting swamped. I need to check something in a bit to see if someone's trying to invade Earth again."

"But..." Starfire stepped forward, begging almost. "You will make certain Batman will come for him, yes?"

A knowing smirk crossed his face. "Yes, I will. I've got a trump card on Batman, and when doubled with Robin's needs, I can guarantee he will be involved as soon as he is notified. So just hang tight until Mr. Tall, dark and broody comes to call."

Relief flooded the teens, knowing that Batman would be able to help Robin somehow. His condition worried them, a lot. It looked like it worried the most powerful person on the planet as well. Exactly how Robin knew Superman was something they'd have to ask him once he snapped out of whatever state he was currently trapped in.

"Just curiosity," the man started again, still typing, "who has he asked for? You mentioned he said names."

Raven sighed. "Mostly Peanut and Batman, and his parents. He also said Bruce, Alfred, and Clark a few times. And some woman named Barbara once."

For some reason, this brought a smirk to his face, shaking his head. "He would."

"What's Peanut?!" Beast Boy demanded, trying not to sound whiny. It made Superman chuckle.

"She's an elephant. If you ever get past the bat-level security to his room, you'll see her. Take that and give it straight to him." He shook his head, still smirking fondly. "He's seventeen. He really should be outgrowing it by now. But everyone wants comfort sometime."

Something went off in the background, making the man scowl. "Robot starting earthquakes in Metropolis. I have to go. Tell Robin Uncle C sends his love and will slap B next time he sees him for being an ass. He'll get a kick out of that."

"Uncle C? B?"

"He'll know what I'm talking about. I'll come by as soon as I'm available. Keep an eye on him, and if he hugs you," Superman gave them all a serious knowing look, "hug him back. He needs them. Superman over and out."

The light of the screen flickered off, connection cut. The group as a whole just stared at it, a mixture of feelings running through all of them. "Dang... who knew Superman and Robin were so tight?"

"Peanut's an elephant?"

"Robin's dad is... Batman?" Cyborg looked at the girls. "Did either of you know about this?"

Both of them shrugged. Raven had guessed, but Starfire was practically told. Nearly. "Robin said his parents were dead," she revealed after a moment's thoughts. "That someone and an Agent A like this Superman mentioned, took him in and then he became Robin. I believe Batman must be this someone."

"The guy did say he had two dads," Cy admitted, remembering the previous week's conversation. "I was kinda hoping both of them were alive. Dang..."

"Think Agent A is his second mother?"


A/N: I think I love ending chapters or with punch lines. Clark was lots of fun here and the Titans get to learn a bit more about Robin! Were the titans still in character? I hope so.

So! I've got a question from my followers. haven't made a poll for it because I have no ideas. Anywho, if you were to read an original story, not a fanfic, every week like a serial series (ie, Sherlock Holmes back in the day, Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, ect), what kind of series would you read? I've got several ideas piled up, but I'm not sure if they'd fly with a publisher. Yes there's an opportunity out there for me I want to try, but I need roughly 13 short stories that are part of the serial completed before applying. I don't now if people would read them in that format either. So tell me, what kind of story would you come back to every day and tell the editors you want it to go beyond the initial 13 chapters? Please let me know.

Next chapter Batman comes back!