Been busy as a bee. (You try building 3 robots in such a limited time.) Not all the no-update time has been filled with robots, though. (It's also been filled with hermit-crab deaths. =( Aww...) My schedule should be clearing up a bit in mid-March. Then it'll fill up again in May. Therefore, I'll have April halfway-free! YAY!

So who's been watching Young Justice? According to Wikipedia (not the most reliable source, I know), that Robin is the same as this Robin.

I would like to thank the people that have reviewed/ added to Story Alerts/ added to Favorites. I try to keep this story clear and easy to read. I'm seriously sorry for the shortness of all the chapters. I write without glasses and I can hardly see my computer screen from 8 inches away without them (and 8in is really pushing it) so I write with a really big font size and that messes with me sometimes.

As always, I make mistakes and, as long as it doesn't interfere with my (dramatic pose) vision, I will make any necessary corrections pointed out to me. As it says somewhere in my profile, I don't believe in editing. (I believe in hopefully doing it right the first time.)


"Mr. Grayson, why did you suddenly leave for Italy?"

"Is there any truth in the rumors saying that you left because of expulsion from St. Bartleby's?"

"Who are your friends?"

"Why come back now?"

The reporters swarmed around the Titans, shouting out questions, taking pictures, recording for the news... It was rather claustrophobia-inducing.

"This is Korinna Andrews, Raven Roth, Victor Stone, and Garfield Logan. They're friends from school. I've never been expelled, not even from St. B's. I left because I felt like I needed a change of scenery. And I'm back now because... It's the holidays. And, of course, because I get more gifts if the presents don't have to be shipped overseas," Robin answered expertly, grinning.

Anyone who knew him as well as the other Titans did could tell that it was a completely fake smile.

A few Gotham City Police Officers had to part the crowd before the Titans could even move. They had to pause twice, once for a group photo for a magazine and another time for Robin to autograph random papers and stuff, but they finally reached the limo waiting for them.

Miraculously, Alfred had managed to circumnavigate the crowd. He was waiting for them in the limo, and he seemed like he was waiting quite a while, judging by his slightly smug smile.

As soon as the doors were safely shut, Robin collapsed and glared at Alfred.

"You invited the fanclub?" he demanded.

"You have a fanclub?" Beast Boy laughed.

"He has 4 and I only invited one," Alfred informed them.

"Four fanclubs? What'd you do to earn four fanclubs?" asked Cyborg after he picked his jaw off the floor.

"There's the Richard Grayson Admiration Society, the Flying Graysons Fanatics Association, the 'Robin is better in Gotham' club, which is a response to the 'Robin is a Titan' sect of the Teen Titans fan administration," answered Alfred. "Did I miss any?"

"No," Robin said angrily. "But BB's got, like, five!"

"Five?" Cyborg shouted. He looked at Beast Boy as if he were trying to see the appeal, but was unable to.

"I'm a STAR!" BB exclaimed happily, jumping to his feet. He fell over when the Richard Grayson Admiration Society finally moved out of the way and the car started moving.

Beast Boy's antics were quickly ignored by the other Titans in favor of staring out the window at Gotham.

"It looks scary," Starfire commented.

"That's just the gothic architecture and all the shadows," Robin said. "There's not really anything to be afraid of."

"Of course! There's absolutely nothing to worry about if you make sure to stay on well-lit streets, not to talk to too many strangers, not to get lost, and to stay away from the city's so-called 'red zones'," Alfred said reassuringly.

This, understandably, did not reassure Starfire at all.

"So why do you have a fanclub as Grayson?" Cyborg asked.

"Money probably," Dick said, shrugging.

"And the humanitarian work," Alfred added. "It was after that thing in Africa that the fanclub started expanding to what it is today."

"Bruce said I needed to amass community service hours for college."

"But you didn't need to go all the way to Africa to do so."

"Frequent flyer miles," Robin said as justification. "And it's all Clark's fault!"

"Don't blame Clark," Alfred scolded.

"He's the one who leaked it," Dick pouted, knowing he already lost.

"But he did not mean to," said Alfred, and therefore ending the argument.

"I'll know I deserve that speech credit when I can beat him in an argument," Robin muttered to his friends.

Meanwhile…

It was a regular day at Arkham Asylum when…

"Unca Hattahl!" A teenage girl screeched, bursting into the rec room the more dangerous inmates were occasionally allowed in if they behaved.

"Chessie!" Jervis Tetch, also known as the Mad Hatter, greeted happily. "How have you been, dear child?"

"I'm sorry, Unca! I didn't mean to be almost late! It's just that… The little birdie wasn't in his tower!" 'Chessie' pouted.

The Mad Hatter pondered this for a second.

"In that case," he exclaimed, "we can go back by railway!"

"Just what I was thinking, Unca Hattah!" Chessie exclaimed.

"You might want to step back," the Hatter advise the Penguin, who was watching them from his seat on the couch facing their tiny TV.

The Penguin, being a smart bird, moved to the other side of the room. Everyone else followed his example.

It was a good thing they did.

BOOM!

A series of explosions rocked the whole building. When the dust cleared, two things were clear.

There would be no TV for a while and…

There was now a straight path to the outside world where said TV once was placed.

All the other inmates looked in surprise at Jervis and his niece, having previously underestimated them, just in time to see 'Chessie' put on a mask of a grinning cat and run, giggling, out the new corridor. The Hatter followed. (And was that Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum?)

The Joker laughed.

"Chessie!" he said in between giggles. "Chessie like Cheshire!"

And he laughed and laughed and laughed…

And ran after them.


Oh! And I forgot to mention that I'm supposed to be chosing what classes to take next year so those thoughts might have bled in here when I was translation from hard-copy to digital. (This was originally supposed to be 2 chapters but I ruled them as too short.)

They should be at the Manor in the next chapter. Questions, comments, concerns...?