A/N: ...I'm back! I told you I was still working on this, didn't I? ;)

Before I get on with it, I just wanted to address a couple things. First of all, I changed my username! I used to be shattered rainbow and now I am batastrophe, which I think is about 10000x better. I was super over my old username about, oh, five years ago, but never thought of anything to replace it until now. And just to be extra confusing, I changed my profile pic at the same time (now it's Batgirl from Year One and it's bright and colorful and full of action and I love it). Apologies if this was confusing for anyone, but it's still the same old me.

Secondly, most of you probably don't care about this at all, but I went ahead and made myself a tumblr associated with my fanfic self. It's batastrophe7 . tumblr . com (remove spaces) and I encourage anyone who feels like it to follow me and talk Young Justice/comics with me. I post fic over there too, and sometimes maybe if people are interested I will post WIP scenes from Blackout. (I diagrammed a fight scene that happens in a few chapters and I kinda really want to post it but don't know if anyone will care...? Tell me what to do.)

Thirdly, (and this one's super important.) Have you all heard the rumors about Young Justice season 3? Basically, on Feb 1 Netflix (finally) released season 2 for streaming. Ever since then, Weisman et al have been encouraging fans to binge watch it to demonstrate that the show is still popular and has demand and, most importantly, could be lucrative. There are some pretty serious rumors that Netflix is viewing those numbers and considering picking up the show for a third season...so basically, the point is, if you would like more YJ and you have Netflix, STREAM IT NOW. Seriously. I've had it running on auto on mute for the past...several weeks...heh. Unfortunately I think you can only do this if you're in the US or Canada, but if you are, please consider streaming a few of your favorite eps and boosting interest in the show on the part of Netflix!

Fourthly, (okay, this is getting excessive, but it's been four months and I have a lot to say?) I posted another YJ fanfic! It's called 'Limits' and takes place during season 1. It's short and v. cute and it's basically about Robin falling asleep in the Cave and the Team being cute and him being cute and then there is daddybats and it is cute. Go ahead and check it out.

And finally, about this story: I'm honestly really sorry it took me this long to get up, but suffice it to say that portions of this chapter did not want to be written...and unfortunately I think it shows in those portions...but you've all waited long enough, so here it is regardless! Also I'm kicking myself for bothering with the timestamp nonsense that I'm 9999% sure nobody actually pays attention to, and it turns out is ridiculously annoying and actually delayed this chapter quite a bit. (I literally have a dedicated document on my computer that is just keeping track of the timestamps in this thing.)

And lastly, since y'all waited so long, this chapter is extra long. (It's almost 9,000 words. Remember that time I posted a chapter that was only like 900 words? Yeah idk what I was thinking either.)

Okay! On with the fic!


Chapter 9: Meanwhile, Part III

Gotham City
March 14, 19:32 EST
Team Year Four

Batman arrived in Gotham just as the sun's last rays were snuffed out by the horizon, throwing the city's distinctive skyline into shadow. As the shuttle had raced toward Gotham, Batman spent the time thinking about the Blackout and how it could have happened. He concluded three things: First, although it would be far simpler to use a large-scale EMP emitter, the culprit had not done so. Second, since an EMP wasn't used, that meant that several of the services affected by the Blackout had been targeted separately, yet simultaneously. And third, and most importantly: whoever the culprits were, they were a large and terribly efficient organization that had resources across the entire globe.

But to what end? Why target the entire world?The simplest purpose Batman could see behind such an attack was to terrorize, to cause mass panic and unrest. But then again, most organizations large enough to pull off an attack on this scale wouldn't simply want to watch the world burn. Even the evilest villains and organizations Batman had faced committed their crimes in order to gain something, with the exception of the Joker. But a world-wide blackout was a far cry from Joker's usual style and certainly outside his means, besides the fact that he was currently in Arkham Asylum.

What then? A ransom? It was possible. It was a tactic the Injustice League had used before. But under the current circumstances, how would the culprit issue a ransom demand, let alone expect the government to be able to coordinate the funds? Yet he couldn't rule out the possibility until he knew more about how the Blackout was orchestrated.

But before he could investigate further, he needed to check a couple things in Gotham. Earlier, he had told Flash that they needed to focus on the big picture rather than individual emergencies, and while that was still true, it also wouldn't do for Batman to be completely absent during the crisis. He needed to sustain what confidence the GCPD had in him, mainly through Gordon, and provide the commissioner with context. Besides that, his larger motivation was to ensure nothing catastrophic had happened in Gotham because of the Blackout; prison breaks were all too common in his city.

Batman flew the shuttle low and silent over Gotham's streets. As he approached the police station he could see the changes that had already taken hold of his city; here and there, electrical transformers had burst into flames, threatening to burn down neighboring buildings. Emergency responders were still working on evacuating the thousands of commuters who had been stranded on the subway, and those who couldn't make the long journey home that night on foot had gathered around small fires burning in parks and on street corners for warmth. Vandals were smashing the windows of abandoned cars, stealing stereos and tires, and looters were already breaking into convenience stores. He itched to put a stop to it, but understood that he would only be treating symptoms of the larger problem. He flew on.

He set the shuttle down on the helipad atop the police station and leaped down to the roof, passing a dark Bat Signal pointed uselessly at the sky. He hoped the Commissioner would be in his office, otherwise it would be a wasted journey. He secured a grapple line and lowered himself down the side of the building, counting the windows until he came to Gordon's office. He perched on the windowsill and peered through the glass. The room was dark, of course, except for the beam of a police-issue flashlight which cast eerie shadows on Gordon's face as he flipped through a bundle of papers on his desk. Batman quietly picked the lock on the window, then silently opened it and slipped inside.

Gordon looked up abruptly when he felt the draught from the window but took a few moments to spot Batman in the shadows.

"It's about time you showed up," he grumbled as he finally spotted Batman.

Batman raised an eyebrow under his cowl. That was the second time someone had said that to him in as many hours.

"We've got a city-wide power outage and communications blackout," continued Gordon, oblivious. "The force's organization is gutted, I've got people rioting on the streets, and the mayor wants to call in the National Guard, except none of the phones are working. And I'm really doubting," he concluded, lighting a cigarette, "that you have anything good to tell me."

"I'm afraid not, Jim," said Batman. "The Blackout isn't just in Gotham—it's affecting the whole world. The League is working on finding a solution, but I'm afraid I won't be able to assist things on the ground here until we do."

"I'm sorry, I'm still back on the part about this being the whole world. The whole world?" Gordon took a long drag on his cigarette and then sighed, the smoke billowing around his face. "You know, at first I was going to ask how, but I realize that's probably an exercise in futility. What can I do to help stop it?"

Before Batman could answer the door to Gordon's office swung open and a petite woman with red hair strode in, holding an armful of papers and a flashlight.

"Dad, I've stationed Detectives Hernandez and Buckley at the hospital, so they can cover anything there—oh!" she said when she looked up and spotted Batman. She glanced between the two of them, then settled her gaze on her father, who also seemed a little taken off guard. "Someone you want to introduce me to, dad?" she asked flawlessly.

"Uh, this is my daughter, Barbara," said Gordon, looking annoyed. "She's taken it upon herself to coordinate a communications system during the crisis."

"Which, as I was about to tell you, has already been used successfully to rescue three car crash victims and subdue at least one riot." She frowned. "I thought you were quitting smoking."

"And I thought I asked you to leave police business to the police, but we can't all get what we want," grumbled Gordon, though he stubbed out his cigarette anyways.

Batman looked at Barbara as Gordon was distracted with the ashtray. He silently sent her a question: are you useful here?

She nodded. But silently questioned back: Do you need me?

He considered for a moment, but it seemed she was more useful as a civilian in the GCPD right now than she would be as Batgirl. He shook his head the slightest amount.

"This…communications system," Batman began, directing the question at Barbara. "Have there been any reported sightings of any of my people?"

Gordon looked sharply at Batman. "I actually forgot. This Blackout…It means none of you capes have radios either, do you?" Batman ignored him. He didn't like to betray weaknesses in his or the League's organization, even to Gordon, but the answer was self-evident.

"No," said Barbara, adjusting her grip on the pile of papers in her arms. "Some of the guys downstairs were getting a little concerned. They've gotten used to you guys swooping in."

"Figures," snorted Gordon. "They condemn you bats when you're around, only to complain about it when you're not."

Batman frowned. The news elicited a mixed reaction. On the one hand, it meant that at least Robin hadn't snuck out and attempted to quell the madness single-handedly; he'd rarely been out in the field even under Batman's supervision and was strictly forbidden from venturing out alone. It seemed that, thankfully, Tim took his rules a bit more seriously than either of his predecessors had. But on the other hand, while he knew why Batgirl hadn't been sighted, it meant that Nightwing was unaccounted for. It was entirely possible that he too was at the Batcave, and equally possible that he had gone to Mt. Justice and was now stranded in Happy Harbor. But there was no point worrying about it at the moment. Wherever he was, Batman knew Dick would be doing whatever he could to help out with the crisis. It was his nature.

"One last thing, Jim," said Batman. "Arkham."

It was almost as though you could feel the temperature in the room drop. All three of them knew who was incarcerated in Arkham right now, and why.

"The first thing I did was send people over to make sure that place was still airtight," growled Gordon. "I'm not letting that sick bastard get loose on my streets again."

Batman nodded, and felt something in his stomach unclench a little. If he were honest, making sure Gordon had Arkham under control was his main motivation for coming here tonight. He turned toward the window, easing it open again.

"You'll let me know," called Gordon, "if there's something I can do to help end this?"

Batman paused. "I will, Jim. But I sincerely doubt there will be." With that, he fired his grappling gun and ascended to the roof. Gotham was in the commissioner's hands, for now.


Batman flew past Wayne Manor toward the dense forest that lay beyond the mansion, setting the shuttle down in a clearing a few miles away. Normally he would have landed the shuttle in the Batcave alongside the Batmobile and Batplane, but under the current circumstances that wasn't possible. Though the Batcave was powered independently by a hydrogen-fueled generator, without radio signals he had no way of opening the entrance and no way of signaling Robin or Alfred without revealing a Justice League shuttle hovering above Wayne Manor.

Pressing a series of seemingly random buttons on the control panel, Batman opened a secret compartment that no one else in the Justice League would have been aware of, except perhaps Superman, if he had bothered to scan the shuttles with his x-ray vision. Inside were a few sets of civilian clothing, some that were anonymous in nature, some that were more like something Bruce Wayne would wear. He quickly changed into a set of plain civilian clothes, stowing his Batsuit in the false bottom of a knapsack, which also contained some essential survival tools: a compass, knife, bottled water, lighter, and flashlight. He doubted he would need most of the items; he had paid careful attention to the direction he was flying. But it was always far preferable to be prepared.

Outside, he draped a camouflage net over the length of the shuttle, obscuring it from any potential aerial viewers. He was far enough away from any hiking trails that he didn't expect any errant hikers to stumble upon it, though if they did, the camouflage net would not hide it well enough. Even so, he'd landed far enough away from the manor to avoid suspicion. It wasn't ideal, but it would have to do.

Slinging the knapsack over his shoulder, he consulted the stars and set off towards the manor, choosing to let the stars and the nearly-full moon illuminate his path rather than use the flashlight in the pack. He moved at a brisk pace, aware that every moment spent in the woods was a moment wasted. He eventually found himself hiking up a hill, and once at the top of it, he paused to get his bearings. He could barely make it out in the darkness, but Wayne Manor was about a mile and a half ahead of him, and beyond it Gotham sprawled beneath a blanket of stars. It wasn't the first time that he had seen them with such clarity, but it was the first time he had seen them over Gotham. He paused for the briefest of moments. Once the Blackout ended, it would be a sight no one would ever see again.


Mount Justice
March 14, 19:44 EST
Team Year Four

"Conner! You're back!" M'gann said as Conner landed the Super-Cycle in the hanger and leapt down from the pilot's seat. He could feel her nudging in his mind—he still felt irritable, on edge, and was tempted to throw up his walls against her, but instead took a breath and forced himself to relax.

"Conner, what's wrong?" she asked on a private mental link, her voice quiet and concerned.

"I'm alright, M'gann—at least I'm pretty sure I am. Don't worry. I'll explain to everyone." He felt her worry ebb, but she still gave him a concerned glance.

"It's good that you're back," said Kaldur as Conner approached the group. Conner looked at them in slight surprise; along with the team members he and Zatanna had left behind, the Flash was also now among their number, standing slightly to the side of the group, speaking seriously to Garth and Tula, their faces dimly lit by the emergency lighting in the Cave. "The Flash has just given us some disturbing news. Miss Martian attempted to reach you telepathically, only you did not remain within her range like I requested." There was a slight note of warning in his voice and Conner glanced away guiltily. He hadn't really meant to storm off, but he just felt like there was so much noise in his head—he couldn't deal with the mental voices of the Team at the same time. "But no matter," said Kaldur, his voice warming again. "You and Zatanna are here now."

"Yeah, and we might have some disturbing news of our own," she said, walking up from behind Conner, a hand to her temple. "Though we're still working out the details," she muttered, frowning.

Kaldur raised his eyebrows, questioning, but Conner responded first. "You go first," he said quickly. "It might help if Zatanna and I had some context."

"I'll get to the point then," replied Kaldur. "It seems this 'Blackout' is global—shortly after six o'clock Eastern Standard Time, all electronic communication, including cellular, radio, and online communication stopped working—why, we don't yet know. At the same time, all power outside of independent generators and battery power failed."

Conner blinked, shocked, and Zatanna's eyes widened, a hand flying to her mouth. "'Global?'" she repeated. "That could be catastrophic!"

"And it has been in some parts of the world," said Kaldur.

"So what's Flash doing here?" asked Conner. "And what's he planning with Garth and Tula?"

"He explained before you got here," said M'gann quickly. "Since all communications are down, the League doesn't have any way of communicating other than through the Flash—he's been running messages for the rest of the League since the crisis started."

"A Flash Pony Express," said Zatanna. "Crude, but effective."

"Flash has reported that there's a nuclear power plant in Rhelasia that's overheating in three of its reactors," continued M'gann. "Captain Atom is there now, and can absorb any excess radiation the reactors give off, but he's powerless to stop them from actually melting down. But if he can cool them down soon, he can avoid meltdown to begin with."

"I believe the words he used were 'nip it in the bud,'" said Kaldur, a hint of a smile on his lips. "The reactor is coastal, but the cooling mechanisms that normally move seawater through the cooling chambers aren't working because of the Blackout. Aquaman is currently unreachable in Atlantis, and is likely otherwise occupied."

"So Flash came to the Team because we have the only available Atlanteans," said Conner.

"Yes. Flash is briefing Tula and Garth on the situation in more detail," said Kaldur. "They will depart shortly."

"What about you?" asked Zatanna.

"The two of them should be more than sufficient to contain the situation," said Kaldur. "I am more concerned with how the rest of this Team can work to solve the crisis." Kaldur frowned at Conner and Zatanna. "I am also concerned by your behavior. You said you had news for us?"

Conner and Zatanna glanced at each other, unsure. Zatanna sighed. "We're…not exactly sure what's going on ourselves. Honestly, it's more of a hunch than anything—"

Kaldur smiled at Zatanna. "This Team has embarked on important missions on hunches before," he said. "If I recall correctly, your very first mission with us was entirely based on pursuing 'a truly dumb idea.' Any clue, no matter how seemingly inconsequential, could prove to be invaluable."

"Kaldur," interrupted Garth as he walked over, Tula just behind him. "Tula and I are ready."

"Good," said Kaldur. "You can take the Super-Cycle now that Superboy is back. Work with Captain Atom until this and any other situation he encounters are contained. We will stay in contact with you through the Flash."

Garth and Tula nodded, and a few moments later they were gone, the roar of the Super-Cycle echoing back through the hangar.

"So what's this I hear about you guys having news?" asked Flash, zipping over to them.

"It's…not exactly news," said Conner, pressing his palm to his head and frowning. "But something's not right. I didn't really notice at first, but ever since the Blackout started I've been feeling…off."

Flash looked sharply at Conner, his gaze intent. "Off how?" he asked.

"I'm not entirely sure," he said. ""I just feel…irritated. Annoyed. There's too much noise. But that's not even the weirdest bit. Whatever this is, it's affecting Zatanna and Wolf too."

Flash turned to Zatanna, the concern evident on his face. "Same symptoms?" he asked.

"Not exactly," said Zatanna uncertainly. "It's…I feel like there's this pressure in my head. It's not noise, exactly…I don't know," she said, shaking her head. "It's difficult to focus. I hadn't even really realized it was happening until Conner made the connection between how we were feeling."

"Wolf isn't exactly average either," said M'gann. "Conner, you said you felt like there was too much noise. With your super hearing and Wolf's enhanced biology, maybe you're both picking up on some sort of frequency the rest of us can't hear!"

"Except that I don't have super hearing," said Zatanna, clearly frustrated.

"No, but it's increasingly clear that whatever is causing you and Superboy's symptoms is connected," added Kaldur. "This suggests both a sonic and magical element."

Flash pursed his lips, thinking. "I talked with Superman earlier, and he was acting similarly," he said. "And he's all the way in Metropolis busy catching falling planes, which rules out the possibility of this being caused by something you might have been exposed to on a mission. Whatever's going on with this Blackout, I'm willing to bet whatever you two are picking up on is in the center of it."

"What about…other magic users in the League?" asked Zatanna.

Flash sighed. "I haven't located Doctor Fate yet," he said. "But whatever it is you're sensing, he's likely picked up on it too. I'll keep an eye out for him, but he can be…elusive." Zatanna avoided the Flash's eyes, frowning. "For now, pinning down this lead is your top priority," he continued. "Superboy, do you think you can hone in on whatever's making this noise?"

Conner frowned, concentrating. If he really focused, he could hear a dim, shrill buzzing, but it was so...distant. "I'm not sure," he said slowly. "It's so faint I didn't even notice I was hearing anything before. I can hear something if I really try, but I don't know if I'll be able to track it to the source."

"What about you, Zatanna?" asked M'gann, hopefully.

"I'm not even sure what it is I'm detecting," she said doubtfully. "I have a few ideas I can try, but I'm going to need some time to figure this out, let alone see if I can pinpoint where it's coming from."

"Okay," mused Flash. "Keep looking into this. It's the first solid lead we've had on this disaster since it began."

"The first?" asked Conner, startled. "What's the rest of the League been doing?"

"Putting out fires," said Flash grimly.

"So who's finding the arsonist?"

"Batman is working on figuring out who's behind all this," said Flash, "but I haven't had the chance to check in with him since this all began. I was planning on heading his way next, before going to the west coast to liaise with Black Canary and Green Arrow." Flash rubbed his head, thinking.

"Flash," said Kaldur, "I suggest that the Team remains here and investigates these clues, focusing on finding the source of this…disturbance, whatever it may be."

Flash nodded. "I'll head to Gotham, report what you've found out to Batman, and see if he's dug up anything of his own. I'll head back here afterwards and get you all up to speed…I'll have to push back going to Star City for now. And get ready for an away mission," Flash added. "Most of the League is tied up with emergencies right now. If you find out where this…whatever it is, is coming from, I think you guys are going to be the ones going after it."

Kaldur nodded. "Agreed. We will see you shortly, Flash."

Flash nodded quickly, and then was gone.


"Alfred?" called Bruce, entering the manor. It was nearly pitch dark inside, except for a lone nineteenth-century style kerosene lamp placed on a side table that cast and eerie flicker across the entrance hall.

"Ah, Master Bruce," said Alfred, appearing from the direction of the kitchen. "I'll admit I wasn't certain if I should be expecting you to arrive through the front door or from downstairs, or indeed if you would be returning home at all tonight."

"Only briefly," said Bruce, handing Alfred his nondescript coat. "Where's Tim?"

"Downstairs," replied Alfred, following Bruce into the study. "Will Master Tim be accompanying you tonight?"

"Most likely," replied Bruce, turning the hands on the grandfather clock. He sensed Alfred frowning behind him, though the butler didn't say anything. "Alfred, he's got to cut his teeth sometime," said Bruce, pausing before opening the door. "He's trained with me for months. He's been ready for weeks."

"That may be, sir," said Alfred. "That may be."

Bruce sighed inwardly and opened the entrance to the Batcave, choosing to ignore Alfred's concerns for the time being. Alfred had never wholly approved when Batman first took Dick out as Robin, though with time he had come to accept it, and even support it. He had had similar reservations when Jason came along, but again accepted Bruce's decision on the matter. But after Jason…Alfred had a difficult time understanding how Bruce could allow another young person take up the mantle of Robin. But what Alfred didn't understand was that the decision wasn't theirs to make.

When he first became Batman, his goal had been to strike fear into the hearts of criminals, to intimidate and threaten; what he hadn't expected was to inspire. Before he knew it, what had begun as a solitary crusade had become an effort of teamwork, uniting him with heroes across the country and the globe through the Justice League. It shouldn't have surprised him, or other members of the League, when young people began to emulate them and take on mantles of their own. Robin had been the first, and at the time there had been severe backlash from many members of the League—how could he endanger a child like that? A boy who was just nine years old? But the choice was never truly his—Dick had wanted to be Robin, had needed it, and nothing Batman could have done or said would have dissuaded him. It was a desire he understood all too well, even if his fellow Leaguers couldn't.

And then, perhaps in a similar way to how Batman inadvertently inspired other heroes, Robin somehow inspired other youths. Suddenly there was a Kid Flash, and Batman found himself an unlikely ally in Flash about whether or not it was moral to send children into the field. How could he stop the kid? Barry had asked him, shortly after Wally had replicated the experiment and gained his powers. There were few things as strong as the determination of a teenager. Better to take him on and train him than let him out there on his own, unexperienced and unprepared.

Soon Green Arrow also found himself with a young protégé. How could he possibly stop him? Ollie had asked. Better to give him a roof over his head, keep him from falling in with the wrong crowd or getting into a fight he couldn't win. It was safer this way, wasn't it? Better to train him to become a hero than let him get killed trying to become one on his own, right?

Perhaps he was at fault for putting them in danger; they were young, impressionable, and swept up in the idea of helping make the world a better place. But Batman had learned, if they had the strength of will to begin fighting, to complete the grueling months of training and sleepless nights, then it would be foolish to think they lacked the strength of will to continue fighting just because an adult told them 'no.'

He had learned that the hard way with Dick, once. And again with Barbara.*

In truth, Batman had large reservations about having a new Robin. Dire predictions that his teammates had made years earlier had finally come to fruition, but everyone was too heartbroken to even think of uttering "I told you so." And perhaps now, with so many other young heroes having proved their worth, mettle, and determination, the rest of the League understood why he had allowed Dick to become Robin all those years ago. But Jason's death…he couldn't even talk about it. It was a raw wound that he couldn't bear to treat, or at times even acknowledge. He had never exceled at processing emotional trauma, never would. So when Tim had arrived, nervous and intimidated yet completely certain that Batman needed a Robin, and that that Robin could be him, he had initially wanted to reject him, send him away and let the mantle of Robin rest with Jason. But Tim was persistent, and in the end, he was right. Perhaps he did need someone to temper his darkness, his grief…but more than that, how could he stop him?

It wasn't his choice to make.

As he had expected, the Batcave seemed largely unaffected by the Blackout; the lights shone down brightly on the computer bay, the screens illuminated and filled with rapidly scrolling lines of code. Tim was sitting in Batman's chair in front of the monitors, in his uniform but with no mask, typing madly at the keyboard, the code from the screens emblazing stripes across his face. Without saying anything, Bruce walked up behind the boy while Alfred deposited the plain coat Bruce had handed him in a wardrobe filled with disguises. Tim was so absorbed in what he was doing that he didn't hear Bruce behind him, even as he leaned in closer to examine the lines of code streaming past on the screens. As far as Bruce could tell, Tim was attempting to hack something, but he had to admit that the speed and skill that Tim was using right now were beyond even him. Bruce was no stranger to hacking himself, but Dick was a prodigy, and under his tutelage, Tim had surpassed Bruce's skills weeks ago.

"C'mon," Tim muttered under his breath, his fingers flashing across the keyboard. "C'mon, just a little…aww, no!" His typing became even more furious than it had before, a frown creasing his brow under the reflected lines of streaming code. "No, nonono!" he said, almost yelling this time, and shoved the keyboard away from himself. "Dammit!"

"Language," said Bruce mildly from behind Tim. To his credit, Tim's jump of surprise was slight enough that most people who weren't bat-trained wouldn't have noticed it. "What's all this?" asked Bruce. Tim turned around to face him, looking slightly guilty.

"Well…umm, I was trying to hack…something?"

"Care to elaborate?" asked Bruce.

"Right," said Tim, unconsciously sitting a little straighter. "After I realized that all communications were down in addition to the power going out, I knew that it had to be intentional, so I ran a full diagnostic on everything I could. Systems in the Batcave are working reasonably well, but I couldn't get online. A local power outage, even a local internet outage shouldn't affect the Batcave…we don't exactly rely on the usual service providers. Then I figured out the issue isn't the Batcave at all—our systems are working perfectly. I couldn't access the internet because the internet wasn't accessible—almost like it wasn't even there." Bruce nodded. The information wasn't new to him, but he was still impressed that his young protégé had managed to deduce all that from within the Batcave and without any external aide.

"There are only a few ways to cause a total internet collapse," continued Tim. "The most likely scenarios are actually accidental—there could be some finger trouble that causes a cascading failure, or nodes could overload…but this was clearly on purpose. The thing is," said Tim, turning back to the computer screens, "the internet is full of vulnerabilities that someone could easily take advantage of to cause this, it just doesn't make any sense to do it, which is why nobody has before. Taking out the internet doesn't benefit anyone."

"But clearly, someone has done it now," prodded Bruce.

"Right," said Tim, refocusing. "So if someone wanted to cause an internet collapse, it would make the most sense to release some kind of malware."

"A virus?"

"More like a worm. With that, you could initiate a cascade, corrupting every routing table or domain name server, or even disable every router on the planet."

"I see," said Bruce, fascinated. He hadn't realized Tim had excelled so far when it came to technology. "And what you were just doing…?"

"I hacked in and was trying to trace the worm back to its source to find a location…I hope that was okay?"

Bruce raised an eyebrow, amused. "Did you find one?"

"No," said Tim, turning away again and hunching over the keyboard, the frustration clear in his voice. "I didn't even figure out what exactly the worm is doing, just that it's there. The code—it's too complex for me. Whoever the other hacker is…I'm not on their level."

"Did you encounter the other hacker?" asked Bruce, examining the code. Tim wasn't exaggerating; it was incredibly intricate.

"No," said Tim. "No sign of them."

"And you covered your tracks?"

Tim actually looked mildly offended. "That's the first thing Nightwing taught me how to do," he said.

"So they won't be able to trace you back here?"

"No!"

"Good work," he said, turning away from the screen. Tim looked surprised.

"So…you're not mad?" he asked, hesitatingly.

"You did good detective work here. We now know there's a malicious worm that caused the internet failure, which is more than we knew before," said Bruce. "Why would I be angry with you?"

"Because I used the Batcomputer without your permission, and risked opening us up to a malicious hacker and…you know, I'm gonna stop talking."

In spite of himself, Bruce found he was amused, though he didn't allow the sentiment to show on his face. Despite Tim's assuredness that Batman needed a Robin, he had a troubling tendency to underestimate his own capabilities. He consistently showed impressive initiative, but lacked the self-confidence to go with it. Bruce suspected that it stemmed from Tim feeling the need to fill the shoes of both Robins before him. Though it had been several months since Tim began training as Robin and a few weeks since his first time in the field with Batman, Tim was still cautious about overstepping any boundaries with his mentor, which was amusingly in direct contrast to his predecessors, who had both made it something of a pastime to ignore express commands.

Bruce walked over to the changing area and began putting on his uniform. "The code," he said to Tim, who was still perched in front of the Batcomputer scrutinizing the screens, "do you think you learned enough about it to try again?"

Tim paused and considered for a moment. "I figured out some key information when I went in the first time, but in order to do it I tipped my hand. Whoever that hacker is, they're crazy good. If they don't already know, they'll figure out pretty quickly that somebody was poking around in their code. Whenever we go in a second time, odds are they'll be ready for us." Tim sighed, glaring at the screens. "And I'm just not good enough to take them down one-on-one."

Bruce walked back across the cave, now in uniform, but with the cowl still pulled back. "Could Barbara do it?" he asked.

"Maybe," said Tim doubtfully, "but honestly, Bruce? I think we only have one shot to do this. And I think we need our best hacker to take it. "

"Dick," said Bruce, pursing his lips. Dick, who was nowhere to be seen.

Tim nodded.

Before Tim could say anything else, they were interrupted by a gust of wind and suddenly the Flash was in front of them. Tim's eyes widened in surprise at the sudden appearance, but Bruce hardly reacted. He'd been expecting Flash to drop in sometime around now, anyways.

"Hey, Batman," he said, leaning his hands on his knees, catching his breath.

"I believe some refreshments are in order," remarked Alfred. "And perhaps some nourishment as well."

"Alfred, you are amazing," said Flash, straightening up and wiping some sweat from above his lip.

"No trouble, Mr. Allen," said Alfred, smiling a little as he ascended the staircase toward the kitchen.

"What do you have to report?" asked Bruce.

"I've contacted nearly everyone in the League," said Barry, drawing back his mask and mussing a hand through his hair. "Everyone except for Doctor Fate, Aquaman, Black Canary, and Green Arrow—as far as I can tell, Aquaman's somewhere at the bottom of the ocean, Doctor Fate's not in any of his usual haunts, and I haven't made it over to Star City yet. I wanted to check in with you before heading over that way." Bruce nodded, and Barry went on. "I dispatched our flyers to airports like you told me to," he said, detailing which Leaguers were in which parts of the world, "and I also checked in on Captain Atom. He's got a situation in Rhelasia."

"What kind of situation?" asked Bruce.

"A bad one," said Barry, summarizing the situation with the nuclear reactors.

Bruce nodded. "Did you dispatch the Atlantean Team members?"

"Aquagirl and Tempest are en route to Rhelasia now with the Supercycle, and they should be more than enough to assist Captain Atom in cooling down the reactors. But that's not even half of it," said Barry waving his hand impatiently. "Before I even talked to Captain Atom, I checked in with our other League members. Nobody had anything unexpected to report except Superman. Said he couldn't put his finger on it, but something felt 'off.'"

"Off? In what way?" asked Bruce as Alfred reappeared with a tray full of sandwiches and a few bottles of water.

Barry shrugged as he grabbed one of the sandwiches absently. "I know, right? How vague can you get?" His eyes widened as he took a bite of the sandwich. "Alfred, these are amazing," he said after he swallowed and the butler smiled appreciatively. Bruce cleared his throat, irritated. "Right," said Barry, refocusing. "He said it was almost like a sensation, or a noise. And he was really short with me," said Barry crossly, gesturing with the sandwich. "I mean, practically rude. And then he just flew off—didn't even get to fully brief him."

Bruce narrowed his eyes, suspicious. It was certainly out of character for Clark, but they had yet to get to the point. "How does this relate to your visit to the Cave?" he asked.

"Superboy," murmured Tim from where he was still seated at the computer, his eyes wide in understanding.

"Exactly," said Barry, pointing his hand with the sandwich still in it towards Tim. "Same symptoms. And not only him—Wolf and Zatanna too."

"Zatanna?" interrupted Bruce, surprised for the first time this whole conversation. If Zatanna was suddenly affected by whatever was causing the Blackout, then that meant—

"Sorcery," he said at the same time as Tim said "Magic," identical notes of realization in their voices.

Barry looked back and forth between the two of them, chewing. "Okay, that was a little scary," he said, swallowing.

Barry summarized the rest of his conversation with the Team as he plowed through the remaining sandwiches. "So, long story short, while Aquagirl and Tempest help out Captain Atom, the rest of the Team is going to locate and investigate the source of the noise Superboy's picking up, and the magic that's affecting Zatanna."

"Belay that," said Bruce quickly. "Send in the rest of the Team, but I need Nightwing in Gotham. He's the best hacker we have, and we need him in order to get the internet up and running again."

Barry blinked at Bruce, momentarily surprised. "Nightwing wasn't at Mount Justice. Just Aqualad, Aquagirl, Tempest, Miss Martian, Superboy, and Zatanna." He frowned at Tim and Bruce, who both looked surprised. "I thought he and Batgirl were in Gotham, with you."

"Batgirl is accounted for," said Bruce quickly, "assisting the GCPD as a civilian."

"If I may," interrupted Alfred, coming forward, "but Master Dick mentioned he was heading to campus today. Perhaps he was there when the Blackout struck."

Bruce frowned. "Dick doesn't have class on Fridays."

"It was a meeting with his academic advisor, to discuss course options for next semester," said Alfred. "Though he did say he wouldn't be home for dinner—I was under the impression he was going to see his friends at Mt. Justice. Like you, I assumed he was there when he did not return here after his meeting."

"Clearly he never arrived," said Bruce. "Which means he's most likely still in Gotham."

Bruce grimaced as he remembered the gridlock blocking most major streets, the frozen light rails and the mass of pedestrians he'd seen while flying to and from the police station. The university was on the opposite side of Gotham from the manor, and without working comm-links, Dick would have no way of telling them his position. It would be nearly impossible for Dick to get home via car or public transit, and even if he used his jump lines to traverse Gotham by rooftop, it would still take a considerable amount of time for him to make it home. Gotham was a big city, and there was a reason they generally used the batmobile to get around it.

Bruce glanced to the side and noted Nightwing's uniform was still in the Batcave. Earlier, he hadn't thought much of it. Nightwing had multiple uniforms, and upon seeing this one still in the Batcave he had deduced that Dick was at the Mountain with the rest of his Team and had merely suited up there rather than here, as he often did. But now it seemed that Dick was somewhere in Gotham and out of uniform.

"He could still be in the city," said Tim, hesitating, "but realistically, he could also be anywhere else there's a Zeta-Tube. Just because he didn't Zeta to Mt. Justice doesn't mean he maybe didn't Zeta somewhere else."

"Alfred, did Dick say for certain he was planning on visiting Mt. Justice?" asked Bruce.

"Not as such," said Alfred, wearily. "Only that he hoped to catch up with some friends. He's seemed more tired than usual since the Zsasz case last month," he said, referring to a particularly long and brutal string of murders Batman and Nightwing had been investigating until they had caught the culprit, one Victor Zsasz, who now resided in Arkham. "He knew you weren't expecting him on patrol tonight. I think he was hoping for a bit of a night off."

Bruce sighed, frustrated. Dick was growing up, and although he still lived in the Manor, he and Alfred were trying to give him a little more independence, especially now that he was in college. It wasn't surprising that Alfred wouldn't know exactly where Dick was—he'd shown time and again that he was old enough to take care of himself, and Bruce tried to respect that, difficult as it was sometimes. And normally, this wouldn't be an issue—Dick never left home without his comm-link, and could always be contacted with it. Only no one had anticipated a world-wide radio failure. Even with all his contingency plans, Bruce hadn't been prepared for this. It was no wonder that it turned out magic was involved—it simply shouldn't be possible to block all radio signals world-wide under normal circumstances.

"I can zip out and see if I can find him," offered Flash, a slightly worried tone to his voice.

"No," said Bruce, cutting him off. "Dick can take care of himself, and we still need you for vital communications. The Team is already making considerable headway towards solving at least one aspect of the Blackout—we follow that lead for now. Send the Team in as planned, and continue liaising with myself and other League members. You still need to check in with Green Arrow and Black Canary. But first ask the Team if they knew what Dick's plans were tonight—that could tell us whether or not he's in Gotham now. If he is, he'll either try to make contact with us here or with Batgirl. Alfred, if he turns up here on his own, tell him taking out the malicious worm and the enemy hacker is his first priority."

"And where will you be, sir?" asked Alfred.

"There's little more Robin or I can do from here," replied Bruce, pulling up his cowl. "It's time to do some investigating of our own."


"Are you sure this is going to work?"

Conner, M'gann, and Zatanna were seated cross-legged on the floor of the Cave, the dim green glow of the emergency lighting casting eerie shadows across their faces, a map of the world spread on the floor in front of them. M'gann was seated between the other two, and Kaldur was standing just a few feet away, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Don't tell me you're nervous," said Zatanna, shifting slightly into a more comfortable position. "You're not the one about to bring your teammates into a mystic trance."

"It's not that," replied Conner. "You've both saved my butt enough times already to know I'll be in safe hands. But is this really the best option? This could be some kind of trap. And with all of us psychically linked—"

"That is why I am standing by," said Kaldur. "If anything should go wrong, I will not be affected. I can ensure your physical safety, and will try to snap you out of the trance should anything go wrong."

"Though this isn't without risk," cautioned Zatanna. "We're going into this blind. We should all be prepared for anything."

"Besides," said M'gann, "we've already tried everything else we can think of. Your super hearing may be strong enough to pick up on this disturbance Conner, but it's just not strong enough to trace it. And none of Zatanna's spells have worked to either help you locate it or to determine what exactly is going on on her end of things. This is our best option."

"And our last option," said Kaldur. "Remember that so far, this is the only clue we have to ending this Blackout. If we cannot pursue this lead, we will be back at square one."

"You're right," breathed Conner. "Okay. I'm ready."

"Ready as I can be," said Zatanna, closing her eyes.

"Me too," said M'gann. She smiled once at Conner, taking his hand in one of her own, then took Zatanna's in her other. "Linking us now."

M'gann's eyes glowed green and Conner felt himself linked to his two teammates. It was different from how they were normally linked for communication; instead of merely hearing M'gann and Zatanna in his mind, he could feel them enter it.

"Conner," said M'gann through the mind-link, "We've entered your mind psychically."

"I know," he responded. "I can feel you both here."

"And we can hear it too, now," said Zatanna. "You really weren't kidding, were you? It feels like a swarm of bees."

"Focus on it, Conner," said M'gann. "Push everything else away."

He did, honing in on the noise, focusing all his intent on the faint hum in his ears until it was all he was hearing.

"I'm ready to enter the trance now. Are you ready?" Zatanna's voice was clear in his mind, and he nodded. He distantly heard her voice in the real world as she invoked the incantation to enter the trance, and almost immediately he could feel his own body enter it as well. It was…strange. Almost like meditation, his whole sense of awareness narrowing to the sound in his ears, only now he could almost…feel it as well. There was something electric about it, a sensation rather than a noise.

"This signal is full of mystic energy!" said Zatanna internally. "And it's strong. They're somehow working in concert together."

"I can feel it too," said Conner. "It's…it's overwhelming. It feels like it's under my skin. I don't know how much longer I can stand this."

"You won't have to for much longer," said M'gann. "Zatanna, can you locate the source?"

"Does Batman have gadgets? Now that I can lock onto the signal this strongly, it should be no problem."

"Do it!" said Conner, straining. He didn't need to tell them he couldn't hold on to the connection much longer; he knew they could feel it too.

"Etacol retnecipe fo yrecros!" she cried in the real world. Conner felt something flare within the connection, something red and hot and angry.

"Disconnect us now!" cried Zatanna, and the psychic link severed. Conner's eyes snapped open and he fell with a grunt to the floor. The fall took him by surprise; he hadn't realized they had been floating off the ground.

"Zatanna, are you okay?!" asked M'gann, turning immediately to their teammate. Zatanna was propped up on one arm, her other hand at her forehead.

"I think so," she said shakily.

"Did it work?" asked Conner. "Did we find a location?"

"It worked," said Kaldur, kneeling before the map on the floor. He rose and held a hand out to each of them in turn, helping them to their feet. "You are all unharmed?"

"Seems like it," said Conner, giving himself a once over.

"I broke the psychic link before anything could spread between us," replied M'gann.

"I'm fine," said Zatanna, "But something on the other end felt our disturbance when I located the source. I cut us off from the trance before it could follow it back to us, but I think we've tipped our hand. Whoever this sorcerer is, they know we're on to them."

Kaldur nodded. "Nevertheless, we were successful," he said, gesturing to the map. The other three Team members knelt in front of it. The Cave had emergency backup power, but not enough to generate the elaborate holograms they usually used in the mission room, and had used in the past when locating sorcery. Instead, they had resorted to using a paper map of the world M'gann had found in a box of her old school things, and a few pushpins. Before the mind-meld and trance, the map had been unmarked. Now, a single red thumbtack stuck upright in the map, speared straight through the heart of Al-Qawiya, Bialya.

"Gotcha," murmured Conner, and grinned.


It wasn't long before the Flash returned, his entrance sending a few loose papers and the map on the floor flying.

"Whoops, sorry 'bout that," said Flash, quickly nabbing the map out of the air. "What's your progress?"

"We have a location," said Kaldur, walking toward Flash.

"Al-Qawiya," said Conner, approaching behind Kaldur. "The capital of Bialya."

Flash's eyes widened a little bit behind his mask. "Also the hometown of Queen Bee!"

"Which means we may be dealing with not only her, but the rest of the Light as well," said M'gann, her face hard and serious. "And we still don't have a clear understanding of what this signal is even accomplishing, even if we know where it's coming from."

"How did you figure out where it's coming from?" asked Flash.

Zatanna summarized how M'gann had linked her and Superboy psychically, allowing them to lock on to the signal using both of their powers.

Flash took in the group for a moment, clearly impressed. "You're telling me that you three managed to link all your powers together to figure that out?" he asked. "That…is some seriously advanced stuff, guys. I don't think anyone in the League has ever attempted something on that scale."

M'gann blushed slightly, and Zatanna glanced sidelong at Conner and M'gann, then quirked an eyebrow at Flash. "It was necessary," she said. "And we're used to sharing our thoughts with each other. This wasn't so much of a stretch," she shrugged.

"And more importantly, it worked," said Conner, folding his arms.

"Crazy well, actually," said Zatanna, picking up where she left off. "I couldn't detect the signal on my own before, but after tapping into it with Conner's hearing, it's clear that what he's been hearing is directly linked with sorcery. I'd go so far as to say it's actually being enhanced by it," she explained.

Flash frowned. "I just spoke with Batman," he said, running his thumb over his chin thoughtfully. "He's got a lead on the internet failure, so I doubt this signal is related to that. But we still don't have any explanation for how the power grid or radio signals have been affected. I don't see how a noise could possibly affect the power grid, even a magically enhanced one, but it is possible that this is what's blocking radio signals."

"Like radio jamming?" asked Conner. "But I thought that normally could only affect a certain area at a time, and only a specific frequency."

"Normally, yes," responded Flash. "But perhaps with magical enhancement…"

"One could create a jamming signal to block all frequencies globally," finished Kaldur.

"It's only a theory," shrugged Flash, "but whether or not this signal is behind the radios not working, I'd say it's definitely contributing to the Blackout somehow. Batman's onboard with the Team going in to investigate, but be careful. We won't have any of the usual ways of contacting you, and I may not be able to locate you once you're in."

"We understand that we won't be able to call for backup," said Kaldur, solemn. "But the world is at stake. We will take the risk."

"One more thing before you go," said Flash, holding up a hand. "Do any of you know if Nightwing was planning on visiting the Cave today?"

Conner blinked, and looked at his other teammates, all of whom seemed equally surprised. The question just seemed to come out of left field.

"…I haven't heard from him since yesterday," said M'gann. "He didn't mention coming over tonight."

"Though he does drop by unannounced sometimes," added Zatanna. "He doesn't always tell us when we'll see him next—he usually doesn't really know. He's a busy guy."

"We had no scheduled training today," added Kaldur. He paused, slightly worried. "Is there a reason you're asking?"

Flash sighed, rubbing his hand behind his head. "I mentioned Batman's got a lead on the internet angle. Turns out, it looks like there's a malicious worm that seems to have caused it, but neither Batman or Robin have been able to hack it. Nightwing's our best hacker, but nobody knows where he is."

"What do you mean, 'no one knows where he is?'" demanded Conner. "I thought you said you were tracking everyone down!"

"I'm working on it," glared Flash, raising his hand in defense. "He's only one of a handful I haven't accounted for yet. I was just hoping maybe he'd told one of you what he was planning on doing tonight. It would make finding him a hellavalot easier."

"Sorry," said M'gann, a note of worry in her voice. "He doesn't always tell us his plans."

He frowned at the floor, his hand dropping. "He told…somebody…that he was going to try and catch up with some friends tonight. We were trying to figure out if he meant you and just never made it before the Zetas went down, or if he went elsewhere. For all we know, he could be across the country in California catching up with Wally!" He shook his head, straightening up. "Don't worry about it though. I'll find him."

"He's probably just stuck in Gotham somewhere without a ride," said Zatanna, though not unkindly. "Knowing him, he's probably already halfway through solving this crisis on his own." Conner snorted appreciatively at that. It did sound like something Nightwing would do.

"You're right," said Flash, smiling. "And you four have a mission."

"We'll take the Bioship to Bialya to investigate and shut down the signal," said Kaldur. "We'll report back here when we're done. If we're not back in 24 hours—"

"We'll send in backup if I don't see you by then. Good luck."

Kaldur nodded, and Flash was gone, leaving a gust of air in his wake.


*I'm referencing both Batgirl: Year One and Robin: Year One, two excellent comics about the origins of two of my favorite characters. If you haven't read them/don't want to/can't, basically Batman tries to get both of them to stop being Batgirl/Robin respectively, with very limited success.


A/N: Okay! Thank you so much for reading that massive chapter and to those of you who've continued to follow along after all this time! I don't know why, but this chapter was really difficult to get out and I know it's far from perfect but I'm just glad it's out of my system and published. (And guess who's finally back next chapter..! Hint: begins with D and ends with ick.)

A super, super special thank you goes out to Estel-Undomiel25 who's reviews have (on several occasions) given me a kick in the butt and helped me keep writing. It's just so great to know that at least one person out there is still thinking of this story. :) Virtual cake for you!

Okay, that's it from me for now! Next chapter is about done, so you shouldn't have to wait as long for it. In the meantime, go binge some YJ on Netflix, hang out with me on tumblr (if you want, srsly no pressure), and please, leave a review! ;)