Well there's another chapter done. Man Drop Zone was a fun. Aztec and the Azteca will be returning but not for a while. The tree will also be very important in later stories, mainly due to it's transformative abilities, and connection to the Azteca as a whole. Hope you enjoyed Drop Zone and get ready for my first original chapter Flip Side. This has been Damont Evermore Peace!

Welcome back to Young Justice: Fall of Cadmus and my first original chapter. My story will encompass not only the television series but the more important comics from Young Justice as well. The story will follow a plot line in which some features of JLU are tied in. I do not own JLU or Young Justice but my OCs are my children so no stealing. Welcome to the flip side.

Young Justice Chapter IX

Flip Side

Gotham City, June 16, 20:35 EDT

The moon hung high in the sky casting a shroud of light over the dilapidated ghetto that was once infamously controlled by the Joker. The only sign of life in the entire ghetto was the sound of feet hitting pavement. Running full pelt down the alleyways was a young girl in a torn Gotham Academy uniform. She had pale skin, bright red hair, and deep blue eyes which were now filled with fear. She raced around a corner and went to her knees as she tried to catch her breath.

"Calm down, Barbara. You have to have lost them by now..." the girl muttered to herself as she stood back up. She decided to stick to the shadows and stay at a calmer pace, while still looking for any way out of the blocked up ghetto. She remembered quite vividly as to how she had arrived in the most hated place in Gotham.


She was walking home from after school activities next to her best friend Dick Grayson, who had been trying to make her laugh the entire way. He'd said goodbye to her at their normal split up point and walked off towards Uptown Gotham. She had continued to her dad's precinct, wishing so badly that she had finally told Dick about the three year long crush she had on him, when, out of nowhere, two guys dressed like mimes had ambushed her and pushed her into a car. She had been quite frightened and had tried to fight free the entire time until finally escaping right after they had entered the ghetto. They had chased after her for a long time, one of them yelling after her,

"You can' run, girly!" The goon yelled. "Your dad wan's to see you!"


That comment had made no sense at all to her, but for some reason, the words still bothered her almost an hour later. Her head was beginning to hurt as she thought about the man's words as if she was trying to remember something she had long forgotten.

She looked up and caught what looked like a stray dog walking slowly toward her. She turned to face it and noticed a second dog walking parallel to the other. Lauren began to back up slowly. As the dogs approached, one moved under a working streetlamp, and that's when she realized just how much trouble she was in. The advancing animals weren't stray dogs, they were mangy hyenas wearing green and purple collars.

Barbara turned and ran down a narrow alleyway, hoping that the now maniacally laughing beasts wouldn't be able to follow her. She looked behind her and caught a glimpse of the hyenas, which, for some reason, were watching her run, but making no move to follow.

The alley opened up in front of her revealing a dilapidated chemical factory, the half dead neon sign on the front of the building reading Ace Chemicals. Barbara froze and her headache began anew as flashes of half forgotten memories began to come to the surface.

A man with green hair holding a vial of glowing red liquid, a woman in a jester's outfit smiling madly, a laugh so much like her own, yet somewhat twisted... and then, nothing.

She was suddenly jerked out of her flashback by someone placing a hand on her shoulder. Lauren looked up and and saw the face of a madman looking back at her. Manic green eyes and wide red lipped smile stood out against milk white skin while a disheveled mess of green hair hung on either side of his face like curtains. He wore a torn Arkham Asylum patient uniform, with a long brown overcoat over it. Barbara had found herself face to face the Clown Prince of Crime, the Joker.

"Welcome home, daughter," Joker said with his signature twisted smile, "Oh Alice, I missed you so much during my time in Arkham!"

Barbara backed away from the madcap clown as fast as she could while stuttering, "Y-you are not my dad, and m-my name isn't Alice."

"Oh, you don't remember me or your mother do you," The Joker said with mock concern, "Let me fix that."

He lunged forward, grabbing a hold of her arm while pulling out a bright red flower from his jacket and wafting it under her nose. Lauren began to laugh maniacally as the world blackened around her. She slumped to the ground, where the Joker knelt over her.

"Come now, Alice, we have so much work to do," He whispered in the girl's ear. Her eyes snapped open but instead of the usual blue they were a bright red.

She looked up at her 'father's' face and smiled, "Anything for you, Daddy."

Mount Justice, July 23, 15:30 EDT

The Cave was mostly empty due to it being the day after the Team's first official mission. KF and Aqualad had gone home to rest up and spend time with their families. Steel was busy checking out a lead on the other Cadmus bases with several League members. Around ten in the morning Supergirl had stopped by and invited Superboy, M'gann, and KD to visit the Kent family farm. Superboy had agreed, after some pleading from his cousin and M'gann. KD, on the other hand, had refused, seeing as it would be a good bonding experience for his blood brother. Hawkgirl had arrived an hour later to use training room while her parents were on a mission and had yet to leave.

Kid Devil and Caesar were sitting at the kitchen table playing a game of chess when Hawkgirl walked in and headed for the sink and poured herself a glass of water. KD looked up from his game, with a wicked grin.

"So Kate, you think Aqualad liked your catsui'?" he asked with a wicked grin.

Katie almost choked on the water before turning and glaring at the Genomorph, her cheeks pink.

"You do know I'm holding an Nth metal mace, right?" she asked, whirling said weapon like a baton.

"Indeed I do Birdie," Kid Devil said, turning back to his game, "Don' worry secre's safe with me, Supie too, bu' i's no' like he would tell anyone."

Hawkgirl sighed heavily and sat down next to Caesar, who shot her a thumbs up before freezing suddenly.

"Wha's wrong mate?" KD asked, nudging the G-Gnome. The little creature turned and locked eyes with him transfer several mental messages.

"Robin. Arrive. Nervous."

KD broke off the connection and shot Hawkgirl a confused look.

"Did Robin say anythin' abou' comin' to the Cave today?" KD asked, brow furrowed.

"No, why?" Hawkgirl asked confused by the sudden turn in the conversation.

Kid Devil motioned for her to follow him, which she did with a raised eyebrow. With Caesar perched on his shoulder he lead the way to the teleporter hub, his ears perked up as if listening to something. As the neared the entrance to the hub he held out his arm to stop Katie and pointed towards the center of the room, before crouching down to stay out of sight.

In the center of the room stood Robin with his back to them. Every holo-screen in the hub was turned on with pictures of a crime scene playing out across them. The center screen showed a picture of a pair of teenagers, which appeared to have been taken on a camera phone. In the picture was Robin arm in arm with a pretty redhead with bright blue eyes. They were both laughing, as if the picture had caught them mid joke. Hawkgirl looked over KD's shoulder and was surprised when she recognized the girl in the photo.

"That's Barbara Gordon," she whispered to KD, "She's Robin's best friend outside of the Team."

"Well apparently she's gone missing, Birdie." KD replied with a frown, watching Robin stare at the center screen, "Robin sounds pretty shaken up abou' i', listen."

"I lost my family in the trapeze incident, I can't lose you too..." Robin said to himself, his voice almost breaking, "I promised you and myself that I would never let this happen again… I let you down."

He hung his head in shame, and was about to turn away from the screen when he felt a warm hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see KD and Hawkgirl standing beside him with comforting looks on their faces.

Caesar made a soft cooing noise as he leapt from KD's to Robin's shoulder. The little Genomorph's horns glowed and he began to rub his forehead against Robin's in an affectionate manner.

"Why. No. Happy."

"Yeah, mate. Wha's goin' on?" KD asked as he naturally keyed into the psychic message, "We're here for you."

Robin looked up at the screens with a pensive look on his face before turning to the others. "I don't know where to begin... Katie, you have some idea of my connection to Barbara. I've known her since the time I first arrived in Gotham. Outside the Team, she is my best and sometimes only friend, other than the rest of the Bat Clan."

KD and Hawkgirl looked up at the screens. The pictures on the left side contained newspaper clippings from three years ago, and the screen on the right showed a rose and a beaker filled with a glowing red liquid. They both shot Robin questioning looks as he pointed towards the right hand screen.

"I was just starting out as Batman's sidekick, I was cocky, even more than I am now. I pulled some stunts that got me a lot of unwanted attention from some of the most dangerous people in Gotham." Robin spoke as three prison profiles appeared on the screen. The first picture showed the pale, sickly face of the green-haired maniac: The Joker. The second picture was of a woman with pale, green skin and bright red hair: The botanical beauty, Poison Ivy. And the third picture was of a blonde-haired woman with a massive smile, wearing a jester's outfit: Harley Quinn. "Somehow, they found out about Barb."

Robin paused and turned his back to the screen, "Poison Ivy made threats and postured for a bit before Batman put her back in Arkham, but not before she collaborated with Joker to make a special rose. Joker then proceeded to kidnap Barbara and used his knowledge of chemistry and the special rose to make a new form of chemical that made the Joker who he is today."

Robin hung his head and the grimace on his face deepened. KD looked up at the screen and began to put two and two together. He snarled at the scene showing off his sharpened canines. Hawkgirl, on the other hand, was holding her hands over her face as she too had seen where this story was going.

"With some poking and prodding from Harley, the Joker decided to not only use the chemical on Babara, but to brainwash her, as well," Robin said dejectedly. "By the time Batman and I found her, she wasn't the same. She was convinced she was the Joker's daughter Alice."

Caesar gave a sad whine and looked up at the screen as Robin continued, "We saved her and we found a way to break through the brainwashing, but Barb doesn't remember any of it. She believes it was all just a bad dream. I thought she would be safe... It's been three years, and Joker hasn't been seen outside Arkham that entire time,I thought…"

Robin trailed off and sank to the ground with his head in his hands. This look of defeat was so uncommon for the young hero that it made Hawkgirl and KD very uncomfortable. Hawkgirl knelt down beside him and put a hand on his shoulder while KD stood nearby analyzing the screens.

"Robin, what's happened?" Hawkgirl asked concerned. He looked up clearly devastated.

"I thought she and her family had gone on vacation. All the recent action took left me out of the loop for a while, but then I got a call from her father," Robin paused and punched the ground in anger, "She's been missing for a month and I didn't even notice! When I found out, I was in such a panic. I told Batman, and he said he and the League would look into it, but then Santa Prisca happened, and everything was put on hold... I realized what happened while we were there."

"Let me guess, mate, it has something to do with this?" KD said, picking up a red and black joker card with a bright green J and a dark purple A on the back. "Is this the bloody clown's calling card? Where did you get this?"

Robin looked up, slightly surprised by the anger in Kid Devil's voice, "I found it next to the computers in the factory at Santa Prisca. It means that not only has the Joker escaped Arkham, but he is also the one who kidnapped Barb. And guessing by the purple A, he's turned her back into Alice."

"So, why did you come here of all places instead of staying in Gotham?" KD asked, staring back up at the smiling Robin and Lauren on screen. He didn't know the girl, but he felt for her and Robin. Brainwashing wasn't a fun experience. He had his fill at Cadmus during all their failed attempts to rein him in.

Robin stood up quickly and stormed over to him, "I was here looking for some peace and quiet, looking for somewhere I could figure out how to go after this, somewhere I could put together a clear plan on how to save her without having the urge to rip Gotham apart in my search!"

Robin then snatched the playing card from KD's hand and made for the teleporters.

He turned and saw that the others had followed him, with Hawkgirl adjusting her armor, KD pulling his hair up as his suit changed modes, and Caesar perched on the genomorphs left shoulder his head cocked expectantly.

"What are you guys doing?" Robin asked defensively. Hawkgirl stepped forward and put her hands on his shoulders. He refused to look at her until she gently pushed his chin up so that his eyes met hers.

"You didn't expect us to just let you walk out of here on your own, did you?" Hawkgirl asked with a smile, "We're your teammates, and above that, your friends. We aren't going to let you face this alone, which, by the way, I know you were going to do. And don't even try to convince me otherwise, I've known you for too long."

KD nodded in affirmation and clapped Robin on the back as they all turned to face the teleporter, "I've always wan'ed to see Gotham, and hey, I know I haven' known you as long as say KF or Birdie here, bu' you can coun' on me mate."

Robin felt his anger and slight sense of distrust began to dissipate as he looked at his teammates, both of which were determined to help him. For a second, his usual cocky grin reappeared, "You want to see Gotham, eh KD, well I think I can show you one better."

Robin walked towards the teleporter with a partial plan already forming in his head. He punched in a unique code and stepped into the teleporter quickly followed by the others, and in a flash, they were gone.

The Bat-Cave, Gotham 16:45 EDT

Recognized B01 Robin, B04 Hawkgirl, B07 Kid Devil, C01 Caesar

"Ugh, bloody hell! I hate those telepor'ers, they feel so unnatur..." KD started to say before stopping and looking around in awe.

"Welcome to my home underneath my home," Robin said with a smile as he gestured around the massive cavern. Hawkgirl and Kid Devil froze in place and stared in shock at the wonders around them. Next to them, in the center of the cavern, was a massive computer. Several walkways lead away from the area towards different vehicle bays. One bay lead to an underground water passage, while the one opposite lead up a set of stairs towards a flight deck.

The center most passage, which lead directly to the computer, headed outside the cave through a waterfall. KD went over to the edge of the platform they were on and looked down. Half of the secondary level was covered in memorabilia from past fights of the Caped Crusader, his wife and the Boy Wonder. The articles included a massive playing card, a blackened, cracked long sword, and a gigantic penny. A loud roar startled everyone except for Robin, who just smiled and pointed to the other side of the lower cavern. In a large paddock stood a young T. Rex. The big brute stomped his feet and paced around his pen angrily as he caught the scent of intruders in his mother's lair.

"Is that a dinosaur?!" Hawkgirl asked in disbelief as she watched the great beast continue to pitch a fit. Robin's smile grew even wider as she and Kid Devil turned to him in disbelief.

"Yeah, well, Thi̱río was a gift to my mother from the people of Skartaris," Robin said as if that explained everything before he gave a high pitched whistle. The sound seemed to have a calming effect on the dinosaur, which proceeded to curl up in the near corner of the paddock and fall asleep, "He's a bit of a handful, but hey, not even Joker is mad enough to try and get past that watch dog."

"I'm not so sure about that, bro," came a voice from the other side of the platform. The others turned and spotted a boy about Robin's age with an unruly mop of black hair, wearing a brown leather jacket over a grey and red kevlar body suit, black biker gloves, and a pair of combat boots. Just like Robin, he wore a dynamo mask, but his had a red fringe. Next to him walked a pitch-black Great Dane, whose ears were pulled back.

Jason Todd walked up to his foster brother and punched him playfully in the arm before nodding at the others, "The Joker has never been 'not mad enough'. And, by the way, bro, I'm really sorry about Barb. I've been monitoring the Bat Computer since you left, but there's been no change at all."

Robin placed a hand on Jason's shoulder and gave him a grateful smile before turning to the others for introductions, "Hawkgirl, you and Todd have met."

Katie nodded and gave the younger Bat Clan smile a friendly smile.

Robin then turned to KD and Caesar, the latter of which was busy taunting the Great Dane from the safety of the former's shoulder, "Todd, let me introduce you to Kid Devil and Caesar. Remember how I told you about the whole incident at Cadmus? Well, KD was one of the escapees and Caesar followed him to his new home shortly afterward."

Jason stuck out his arm for a handshake, which KD received with a grin, "You could say the little blighter and I have a connection of sor's."

Caesar nodded his head before locking eyes with Jason. "Nice. Meet. Jason."

"Whoa, trippy," Jason said, receiving the telepathic message. He shook his head and refocused on Hawkgirl and Kid Devil, "I wish I could have joined you at Cadmus, but Dad doesn't think I'm mature enough yet to join him and Rob on the front lines, which is complete bull considering I'm only a year younger than Robin and he started when he was ten!"

Robin shot Jason a dirty look and quipped back, "Well maybe if you acted a little more mature and got that temper of yours under control, Dad and Mom wouldn't have to leave you on monitor duty all the time. And stop complaining so much. So what if you're not on the Team yet? Dad still lets you help him out here with Gotham. I mean, the twins complain less than you, and they're five!" Robin paused and looked around, "Speaking of whom, where are they?"

Jason glared at Dick for a second before answering, "Last time I checked, they were going to go feed Thi̱río."

Hawkgirl and Kid Devil were a little taken aback by the brothers attitudes towards each other, but they figured that both were just blowing off steam over the transpiring events. Seeing the tension building again, KD decided to jump in and divert the conversation. No one noticed two small shapes crawling slowly towards the Genomorph from behind.

"So how abou' we ge' back to the ma-arg!" KD started to say, before one of the shapes detached from the shadows and tackled him from behind. Robin and Jason leapt apart as the genomorph and his pint sized assailant soared past. Caesar yelped in fear and raced to Hawkgirl using her wings as a hiding place. Hawkgirl just shook her head and watched as Robin made a move to separate the wrestling duo. Meanwhile, KD had managed to free himself of his attacker and was shocked to discover his assailant was a little kid. He was tall for his age, with short, spiked black hair and lightly tanned skin. His outfit was fairly similar to Robin's, except for his mask which had a double diamond design, and the black parts of the bodysuit were replaced with green. Adding to the discrepancies were the facts that the kid was wearing a pair of silver gauntlets and was wielding a Greek-stylized sword almost as tall as he was.

"For Olympus!" The boy yelled, bringing down the sword toward KD's head. Kid Devil was too fast for him, however, and in a burst of flames, teleported behind the attacker and used his tail to knock him off his feet.

"Wha' the bloody hell was tha' for, you little blighter!?" KD demanded, glaring down at the dazed kid.

"Damian Thomas Wayne!" Robin yelled, marching towards his younger brother, "Why are you attacking my friend with a freaking sword?!"

Damian got to his feet and looked down at the floor in shame, "We thought he was a bad guy or something...I mean, look at him, he looks like a bad guy doesn't he."

"I told you he wasn't a bad guy!" cried a voice from behind Robin who turned and spied his sister Donna standing next to Hawkgirl cuddling a now cooing Caesar. Her long, black hair was pulled back into an elaborate braid, while her eyes were covered by blue sunglasses. Around her neck was a necklace that ended in a tiny batarang and a red star. Unlike her brother, she wore regular clothes, namely, a red shirt and black pants. Despite the cold floor of the cavern, she was barefoot, "You never listen to me Dami!"

"Don't call me that," Damien whined as he glared at his sister, "You know I don't like that name."

Katie and Kid Devil cracked smiles as they watched the twins begin to go back and forth.

"Dami!"

"Big Head!"

"Bat Brat!"

"Wonder Hurl!"

"Donna, would you please stop antagonizing Damien," Jason fired over his shoulder before he rounding his attention on his younger brother once more. "Now, you can't judge a book by it's cover. Remember King Croc? He saved your life, and he happened to be former villain. Now he's one of Dad's most trusted contacts in the Underground."

Damian scuffed the ground with his boots and then looked back up at the frowning faces of his older brothers. Dick gestured towards Kid Devil, "Well, do you have something to say for yourself?"

Damian walked up to Kid Devil and went down on one knee like a knight of old, "I am really sorry for thinking you were a bad guy...and for attacking you with a sword. Can you find it in your heart to forgive me?"

KD looked down at Damian with an amused face and place a hand on his shoulder, "It's okay ya ankle biter, but don' you think this is a little melodrama'ic?"

Damian stood up and walked over to his sister who was sitting on the floor beside the Great Dane playing patty cake with Caesar. He sat down and watched as the older kids got back down to business.

KD looked over his shoulder at Damian and then shot Robin and Jason a questioning look, "So, why exactly does your five year old brother have a sword?"

Robin and Jason shot each other a look, before Robin asked, "You do know who their parents are, right?"

KD shook his head and gave them a befuddled look, so Robin decided to explain, "When you have Batman as a father and Wonder Woman for a mother, you eventually learn how to fight. With the twins it's a little different being, they both got their mom's abilities, meaning they are lot stronger, tougher and faster than normal five year olds.

"So that explains how a five year old took down a 5' 9" genomorph with a flying tackle without breaking a sweat." Hawkgirl quipped, earning herself a mock glare from KD.

"Watch it, Birdie." KD warned with an evil grin, "I've got your number."

Before Hawkgirl could reply, a loud beeping noise caught their attention. Robin whirled around and ran over to the Bat Computer his eyes full of hope. He started typing frantically, his face getting more and more serious with each passing second.

"What is it, bro?" Jason asked, as he peered up at a set of blinking lights on the massive holo-screen.

Robin looked up from his typing for a second with a big smile on his face, "My trackers picked up a disturbance near Robinson Park. Here, let me get the video working."

An image appeared, which showed people running for their lives as purple, green and red fireworks rained down around them. The fireworks were shooting from a central location in the park which Robin couldn't see from his current camera. He switched camera views and caught site of the assailants. Two near identical looking men stood shoulder to shoulder with mad grins on their faces as they fired strange rocket launcher/gatling gun combinations. Both overweight thugs were dressed like mimes with black top hats, white face paint, black and white striped shirts and black dress pants. One had a red rose on the right side of his hat while the other had one on the left.

"Who are they?" Hawkgirl asked, watching them turn their guns on a nearby statue and laugh hysterically as it was blown to pieces.

"That's Tweedledum and Tweedledee," Jason said with a look of disgust, "Two former members of the Royal Flush Gang who joined up with the Joker after the League defeated their old boss, their demented twins obsessed with Alice in Wonderland, just like a lot of villains around Gotham.

"Well ain' that iron..." Kid Devil said sarcastically, watching the villainous twins continue to tear the park apart. He was cut off by a massive explosion that brought everyone's attention back to the screen. A stray shot had knocked loss Robin's spy cam causing it to fall knocking off one of the Tweedle's hats. He stopped firing and bent down to pick up his hat and notice the red disk lodged on top.

"'Ey Dum lookie 'ere," Dee said to his brother who had in turn stopped shooting, "I fink this is one of the Bat's eyes."

"Tha' ain' one o' 'is eyes Dee," Dum said as he grabbed at the camera, "I's too big."

"Not 'is real eye you ninny," Dee sighed, slapping his brother in the back of the head, "A camera."

"'Oi! You coulda jus' said tha'," Dum whined, rubbing the back of his skull.

"That's not that Bat's, nor the Cat's, the Hunter's or the Hatter's~!" cried a sing song voice from off screen. The camera suddenly shook as it was snatched from Dee's grasp, "Oh my silly Tweedles only one person has eyes like these, Robin!"

The last part came out a giddy squeal as the camera rotated around and caught Alice in full view.

"Oh God, Barbara I'm so sorry," Robin said, staring up screen in despair. Jason grabbed his brother's shoulder for support, while also grimacing at the sight in front of him.

Barbara's once red hair was now a deep purple, her skin had turned the color of milk, while her lips were now a vibrant green. She wore a short green coat over a purple dress, green stockings, and purple boots. She wore a green rose in her hair and had a crazy look in her red eyes, "Ooooh look, my little birdie's been keeping an eye on me.~ How sweet! Hi Robbie, I've missed you, I can't wait to see you again sweetheart," she paused and a wide smile crossed her face, "Oh, we can have tea, it is my unbirthday you know, oh how fun this will be~!"

With that little exclamation she kissed the camera and tossed it on the ground where one of the Tweedle's stomped on it. KD was the first to pull his eyes away from the screen and shot Robin a questioning look, "Did she jus' call you sweethear'?"

Hawkgirl walked over to try and comfort Robin, who appeared to have slumped down in defeat on the console, while Jason put a hand on Kid Devil's arm and lead him away from the others before looking him dead in the eye, "Barb and Dick have had crushes on each other for as long as I can remember, and believe me that's a long time, the chemical didn't only addle her mental state, it affected her emotions, Lauren has a crush on Dick, Alice has a somewhat unhealthy obsession with Robin…to be frank about it."

KD looked over at Robin with a look of pity, "Does Barbara know abou' 'im bein' Robin?

Jason shook his head, "As far as we can tell no, her affection for him might have something due to the chemical or maybe it's something implanted by Harley, either way it's hard on Rob, as you can very well see."

Katie put her hand on Robin's shoulder, "Are you okay?"

To her surprise and that of the twins, who had walked over to comfort their eldest brother, Robin started to laugh, a relieved somewhat hysterical laugh that seemed to lift a weight of of his shoulders.

Jason and KD shot him odd looks but he ignored them and turned to face them all, "Am I okay? I'm great, I can finally find where they've been keeping Barb!"

"But how?" Hawkgirl asked, "The Tweedle's destroyed your tracker."

Robin smiled at this and turned on his holo-gauntlet, an ovoid screen appearing in the air showing a map of Gotham. A small red dot was traveling rather quickly through some of the smaller streets, "They didn't destroy the tracker they just smashed the camera, which ever Tweedle this is Dum or Dee my tracker is now stuck to the bottom of their foot. I'm going to get her back!"

Jason smiled at the renewed fire in his brothers, before running off to grab some things from the lower section of the cavern. He had a sneaking suspicion he was going to need them tonight.

Meanwhile Robin turned to the twins, both of whom ran to hug their older brother. He knelt down and looked them both in the eyes, "I need you to go up to the house okay, listen to Alfred, keep out of trouble, and watch over Caesar for KD okay. He, Hawkgirl, and I are going to go find Alice."

He lifted a hand to stop Damian from interrupting, "And no, neither of you can come or are allowed to follow us understand? This is going to be very dangerous and Mom would never forgive me if one of you got hurt. I don't think I'd want to deal with Dad either as a matter of fact, so please just this once listen to me and stay safe alright."

Damian saluted his older brother like a soldier before running towards the elevator that lead up to the manor above. Donna however, who was still cuddling Caesar, stuck around for a second longer, to Robin's surprise she jumped up and gave him a bone cracking hug, "I love you, please be careful."

"I love you too, and you know I will. I might peacock a just little bit," Robin joked.

"Come one Ace." Donna said after jumping down with a smile on her face, gesturing for the dog to follow her. Caesar climbed up on her shoulder and waved goodbye to KD before he jumped to Ace's back and made the dog run towards the elevator, with a laughing Donna following close behind.

Robin turned to see his friends smiling at him. He smiled back and then turned towards the entrance of the Bat-Cave. He punched a button on the Bat Computer which caused a platform to raise up showing two motorbikes, and to Robin's surprise Jason.

Jason was dressed for combat, twin bandoliers made an X across his chest, and he had sheathed his trench knives in their holsters. Jason put on his bike helmet and pressed a button on the side. The helmet locked in place around his dynamo mask while the area around his mouth closed making him look somewhat like an android.

"You weren't seriously thinking of leaving me here were you?" Red Hood asked in a deep synthesized voice.

Gotham City 18:00 EDT

The sun had began to set causing a bright red light to illuminate the young heroes running across the rooftops towards the Ace Chemicals Plant. Robin had been able to track Alice and the Tweedles down to the dilapidated slums around the plant before the tracker had suddenly went dead. Jason had suggested that they leave the bikes and pursue the villains on foot in the hopes to catch them unawares. Hawkgirl flew low over the rooftops next to the brothers, while KD clung to the side of the building using his camo to sneak along the brickwork without detection.

Robin glanced at the street below and caught sight of something hanging from one of the light posts. He motioned for the others to stop and pulled out his binoculars. It turned out to be his tracker with a wreath of green and red roses wrapped around it in the shape of a heart.

"Can' I jus' say how odd tha' is?" KD asked as he materialized next to Jason. The only response he got was a elbow to the ribs from Hawkgirl as she landed next to him. Robin ignored them and pulled out his grappling hook, shot it at the lamp and pulled himself after it. He grabbed the wreath on his descent, landing on his feet in the middle of the street. Jason followed suit while KD and Hawkgirl simply leapt to the ground. Robin removed the disk from the center of the wreath, slipping it into his utility belt.

"Let's move, we are obviously getting close and I really don't want to get caught out here in the open." Robin said, placing the wreath lightly on the ground before using his grappling hook to leap to the top of another dilapidated building. Jason shot his own grapple, following suit while, KD simply teleported to the roof of the building. Hawkgirl started at the wreath for a second longer then looked up at Robin, who was busy staring at the smokes stakes of the nearby chemical plant with a wistful look upon his face. She gave a loud sigh and ascended to the roof and landed next to him.

"Are you okay?" she asked hesitantly, Robin began to nod his head in affirmation but stopped himself, "To be honest with you no, not really. I'm so close and yet I don't even know if I can get Barb back to her right state of mind. I might not be able to get her back again and deep down it hurts knowing that."

Hawkgirl nodded and put a hand on his shoulder, "I know how you feeling, at least, I can understand part of the pain, the fear of losing someone you...care for."

Robin gave a slight smile, "Aqualad sure did a number on you didn't he."

Hawkgirl stuttered and blushed fiercely at Robin's comment which only made his smile widen, "And before you ruffle your feathers up too much no KD didn't tell me anything nor did anyone else for that matter. You can't be the protege of the world's best detective with out gaining the ability to read others like a book."

Hawkgirl huffed indignantly, "You better not tell anyone or I swear…"

"Don't worry Kate I'm not going to tell anyone," Robin quipped, "Who do you take me for KF?"

This earned a relieved laugh from Hawkgirl which was cut of by the sound of a massive explosion.

"Get down!" Jason yelled as a series of explosions rocked the building they were on, proceeding. to toss an explosive of his own down onto their attacker.

Hawkgirl peeked over the edge and caught sight of an odd spectacle. Holding a grenade in each hand was a skinny woman dressed in an all white tutu. She wore a rabbit shaped mask that covered the top half of her face and a necklace ending in a pocket watch wrapped around her pale neck.

She deftly dodged Jason's throwing disk with a high pitched giggle and mid flip threw her own explosives at the hidden hero. She then reached into the rabbit shaped bag at her side and pulled out yet another explosive.

"Oh know that won't do," she laughed madly, "You're much too late to surprise me."

"Jus' bloody brillian'," Kid Devil growled, "Firs' the Tweedle's and now the White Rabbi'". he paused and turned to Robin, "Are there any more of these Wonderland rejec's running abou'"

"Well there is the Mad Hatter, he was one of Joker's lackeys for a while but now he runs a tea shop near town square, he's been known to help my dad from time to time."

"Hey less talking more fighting!" Red Hood yelled, ducking another explosive.

"On i' mate," KD said,leaping off the building and landing beside the grenade throwing maniac.

"Gday sheila, care for a dance?" Kid Devil asked, aiming a kick at her stomach. White Rabbit leapt aside with ability befitting her name. She went in for an uppercut which KD parried.

"Dance?" the villainess asked, throwing another punch, "No, no, no there is no time for dancing, I'm late for a date with Miss Alice."

"Well it's abou' time this was over." Kid Devil said, teleporting behind her and slammed her sideways with his tail.

"Ow!," White Rabbit said, slamming into the wall her mask askew, her malice filled pink eyes locked on Kid Devil, "That is not very nice, and it looks like your time is up!" She flipped her white hair over her shoulder and pulled two miniaturized rocket launchers out of her bag and pointed them at the genomorph.

"Tick Tock, I've stopped your clock~," she sang as she pressed her finger to the trigger, "It's struck twelve and now's the time to del...ugh!"

She was cut off by a thunk to the back of the head from Hawkgirl's mace. White Rabbit slumped to the ground unconscious, letting her bag of tricks drop to the ground, which Jason proceeded to kick into a nearby gutter.

Robin pulled a pair of magnetic handcuffs from his bandolier and clapped them around the crazy woman's hands and then connected them to a street lamp.

"Let's move," Red Hood said, "They obviously know we are here now, so stealth is off the table."

Robin and KD shared a look, which ended with both of them smiling mischievously. KD turned to Jason with a red gleam in his eye, "Is that suit fireproof?"


Alice sat at a table set with biscuits, scones, and a tea set. She reclined in a chair facing the front of the factory from the upper balcony, with a cup of tea in her hand which she sipped from occasionally.

"Oh goody, my Robbie should be along shortly, isn't that right Moxie~?" she turned and threw a biscuit to one of the mangy hyenas lying beside her, which snapped it up with relish.

The creaking of the front door of the factory got her attention, her breath caught in her throat as she recognized the figure that entered the door.

"Oh my little birdie is even better looking than before." Alice thought to herself before she hopped the railing and landed twenty feet below without a hint of discomfort. Her pets followed right behind her each one cackling with anticipation as they began to pace around the young hero.

"Oh Robin, how kind of you to join us~," Alice giggled as she walked towards the young hero, "Did you bring me a present?, It is my unbirthday after all."

Robin rubbed his neck nervously as he started into the shattered loving eyes of the girl he held dear, "Of course I did."

From behind his back he pulled out a stuffed rabbit he had discovered in White Rabbit's bag.

"Oh it's adorable~!" Alice squealed as she lifted the rabbit from Robin's grasp, "It's too bad I already have one and she's much more fun. Oh well it is the thought that counts. Here Jabber I got you a new toy."

She tossed the rabbit to the other hyena, which began to rip the rabbit apart as soon as it hit the ground.

"But you know what I really want for my unbirthday Robbie~?" Alice asked, batting her eyelashes, as she leaned closer and closer to Robin's face.

"What?" Robin asked, a hint of anxiety seeping into his voice.

"A celebratory cup of tea!" she said, a huge smile cracking across her face, "Dee! Dum!"

"Yes Miss Alice," came the reply as the twins appeared from behind a pile of crates marked with a large Green J, "What is i' you be wan'in'?"

Alice began to order the Tweedles to bring her and her "Robbie" some hot tea, all the while she continued to bat her eyelashes at Robin and blush furiously every time she caught his gaze.

With her distracted Robin put his hand to his ear, "Now," he whispered.

In a crash of shattering glass Hawkgirl descended through the skylight and landed between Robin and his crazed 'girlfriend'.

Alice stepped back in shock and started at the winged heroine in awe which quickly turned into jealousy and rage.

"Who's this Robbie?!" she asked with tears in her eyes her sing song tone gone, "Did you bring another girl here?!"

"Indeed he did you crack pot," Hawkgirl quipped, "What are you going to do about it?"

That comment seemed to push Alice a little too far, "No one is going to stand in the way of me being with Robin, especially not some overgrown Dodo! Moxie, Jabber sick her!"

The burly hyenas jumped toward the Thanagarian who quickly took to the air, causing the rabid beasts to barrel past. Robin jumped aside just in time to catch Alice running up a flight of stairs back toward her tea table. He took off after her but was stopped by the impressive forms of the Tweedle Brothers.

"The miss don' wan' no one followin' 'er." Dee said, leveling his gatling-rocket contraption at Robin's head.

"En we always listen to the boss's daugh'er." Dum said, raising what looked to be a massive club shaped like a mushroom.

Robin put his hand to his comms again, "Maneuver Azrael!"

He used his grapple to soar of the Tweedle's heads just as a burning portal opened up to the left of them. Jason and KD leapt out of it along with a slightly charred motorbike and tackled the brothers to the ground. The young heroes hopped to their feet and got into a fighting stance as the Tweedles staggered upright.

"I take the ugly with the stick, and you go for trigger happy?" Red Hood asked, unsheathing his trench knives. KD cracked his knuckles, and nodded, "Sounds good mate."

With that they charged, meanwhile Hawkgirl had made short work out of the hyenas, both of which were now laying knocked out at her feet. She made to go after Robin when suddenly a massive hammer landed in front of her.

When the dust cleared she saw a distraught Alice looking at her with hate in her eyes, "You ruined my reunion with my sweet birdie, and for that I'm going to ruin you!"

Alice lifted the massive hammer and swung at Katie's head who just barely managed to parry it with her mace. Hawkgirl shrieked a war-cry and struck back with her metal encased fist.

Jason had managed to disarm Dum, and was busy avoiding his wild punches, which managed to crack the ground when the mad contact. Jason dodged yet another blow and then dropped his trench knives, holding up his hands as if he had given up.

"Wha' is i' you bloody wanker," Dum asked, standing up to his full height, "Go'en tuckered ou'?"

"No," Jason said, nodding his head to his left, "I was just keeping you busy."

Dum looked over just in time to see a firecracker heading straight for his face. It exploded with a flash disorienting the giant of a man which gave Red Hood an opening. He jumped forward pressing his open palm against Dum's chest. 50,000 volts of electricity ripped through the thugs body, flooring him almost instantly. As Dum thumped to the ground Jason looked up and saw KD standing on top of a downed Dee with the crazed man's gun in his hands and a wild smile on his face.

"I love this bloody thing!" Kid Devil exclaimed, loading another shot and fired at one of the awakening hyena's which backed up in fright, "Can I keep i'?"

Jason's answer was cut of by a shriek of pain. He whirled around just in time to see Hawkgirl go flying out the front door of the factory and land in the courtyard. Alice stalked after the injured Thanagarian with revenge in mind.

He and KD raced over just as something black flew past them and hit the ground between the two girls.

Alice froze and looked down at the disk in front of her, it had a crack in it and was smeared with green lipstick. She looked up and saw Robin standing in front of Hawkgirl with his arms spread.

"Barbara stop! Please you know this isn't right, please come back to me." Robin pleaded his voice cracking.

Alice was startled by the sadness in his voice, she lowered her hammer and stared at him lovingly, "My name's Alice, Robbie, now step out of the way so we can be together."

"No!" Robin yelled, stepping toward Alice, "I won't let you do something I know you'll regret Barbara."

"Stop calling me that!" Alice cried, her head beginning to ache, "That isn't my name!"

Robin stepped forward and stopped within an arm's length of her, "Please remember who you are, please!"

Alice took a step back but was stopped when Robin put a hand on her arm, he then lifted his other hand to the mask on his face.

Alice was shocked when Robin pulled of his mask allowing her to see his deep blue eyes for the first time.

"Barb please come back." Dick said, looking into the fractured eyes of his best friend.

He hoped what he did next would bring her back to him, "I love you, you're my best friend."

What happened next shocked everyone especially Alice. Robin kissed her deeply on the lips, a shiver going through her entire body as her red eyes turned blue.

Barbara shook her head and stared in shock at her best friend, "Dick did you just kiss me?"

She looked down at her hands which were still milk white, then back up at his face a playful smile spreading across her face.

Robin almost burst into tears of happiness as he saw his friend back in control of herself, "Yeah uh-sorry I-uh."

Before he could say anything else Barbara grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him in for another kiss.

"Some bes' friends." KD remarked, as Jason and Katie began laughing at the shocked look on Robin's face.

Barb pulled away from Robin with a crazy smile on her face and took a look around, acknowledging the heroes grouped around her, "Dick Grayson, you have some major explaining to do."

Mount Justice, July 23 21:00 EDT

Robin, Red Hood, Hawkgirl, and Kid Devil stood in the middle of the Cave with Batman and Wonder Woman glaring down at them.

"You go out without any real back up, risk your lives against several of Gotham's most dangerous gang members, and don't think to contact the League until after you complete the mission yourselves." Batman started, pacing slowly in front of the young heroes.

"What Batman is trying to say," Wonder Woman interjected, "Is that yet again you have surprised us with your initiative and your resourcefulness, especially you Jason."

Batman waited for his wife to finish and then looked down at his sons with a soft smile, "Wonder Woman is right. I am quite proud of the both of you, so much so I think that it's high time Jason joins the Team, don't you?"

He turned to his wife who gave him a reassuring smile, "I agree completely."

Jason was so shocked he couldn't speak for a second, while KD punched him playfully in the arm, he snapped out of it and gave his parents a thankful look.

"Thank you for believing in me but I don't think I'm quite ready to join the Team yet maybe in a year, but first I think I need to spend some more time on the streets with the both of you."

If Batman was surprised he didn't show it he just nodded and put his hand on his son's shoulder, "That is very mature of you to admit son. Now I believe it is high time you headed home, Alfred has been alone with the twins for several hours now and I believe it is high times someone relieves him."

Jason gave his brother an one armed hug, fist bumped Hawkgirl and KD, hugged his adoptive mother and then ran off towards the teleporter.

Batman turned back to Robin who was watching him with anxiety clear on his features, "We have Atom and Flash looking after Barbara trying to see if the Joker formula in her system will go dormant once more. The Gordons have be informed of your actions and they are quite grateful for the effort you put in trying to save their daughter."

"Thanks Dad, is it alright if I go?" Robin let the question hang, and smiled when Batman gestured for him to head out. Robin ran up to Wonder Woman gave her a hug, waved goodbye to his teammates and ran after his younger brother.

Batman looked back at the others, and waved for them to go. Hawkgirl and KD walked toward the commons area of the cave where several of their teammates were waiting for them.

KF was the first to intercept them, "You guys went on a secret rescue mission with Robin and you didn't think to invite me!?"

"Robin asked us not to." Katie stated simply,walking past him her eyes locked on Aqualad.

"I bet you guys didn't even bother to grab a souvenir," KF whined as KD walked up to him with Caesar perched on his shoulder.

"Don' worry mate I go' you covered," Kid Devil said with a grin, "Caesar show him wha' we found for him."

Caesar pulled something out from behind his back with a flourish, which turned out to be green rose with one of the petals missing."

"You...brought me a rose." Wally deadpanned.

"Well i' was either this or a plush rabbi' shaped bag." KD stated simply as he went to check on what Steel was making for dinner.

Hawkgirl walked up to Aqualad and without saying a word wrapped her arms around him.

"What's this for?" Kaldur asked awkwardly, looking down at Katie.

She just smiled up at him coyly, "Do I need a reason?"

Kaldur looked down at her with a smile, "No I suppose not."

WOOOO! Romanced ya now didn't I. I really enjoyed writing this chapter especially all the little comedy bits. I hope you like all my Wonderland references, which I don't own the rights to of course, they now lay solely in Disney's hands. So about Lauren/Alice yes she will be returning, yes she will join the team and yes you can expect a bunch of more RobinxBarbara in the future, the reason is Zatanna is a Leaguer and therefore she is much too old for Robin so insert fun adaptation of a canon character. I will be taking a short hiatus on this story while I start writing my second story Ben 10:Infinity a crossover of marvel and Ben 10. Remember Vox is eating any flames and spitting them back at ya. This has been Damont Evermore Peace!