FudoTwin17: Yo, bros. I'm gonna have fun writing this chapter.

Cat: Mainly because it has a lot of angst.

FudoTwin17: Yup. Lots and lots.

Dog # 1: As well as another flash back, the League, and some more focus on the planning by our favorite evil group of brainwashed superheroes.

FudoTwin17: Yup. Hopefully, this will be a good apology for the awful filler last chapter as well the long silence in which I updated my other YJ/TT story without updating this one. For some reason, people like it when I update both stories at the same time. *shrugs* Now, without further ado, I give you the next chapter.

Cat: She doesn't own YJ or TT.

Chapter 9

Robin took a deep breath when he woke, shaking and out of breath. Trying not to think about the memory he'd just had to relive, he slid up and into his bathroom. He was thankful that when they built the Tower, they'd created a separate bathroom for each of them. He'd hate to think what would happen if Starfire or Beast Boy saw what condition his restroom was in.

Walking in, he tried not to look at it. The large mirror on the door was no longer a mirror as only a few shards of reflective glass was left to show him his reflection. The mirror of his medicine cabinet was really three mirrors, and they were almost always folded so that he couldn't actually see the mirror. If one looked in drawers, he only had the necessities of a bathroom, and they had been hastily thrown in, some not even taken out of the package.

The truth was that Robin had trouble staying in bathrooms. Though this restroom was larger than some, bathrooms were always small, and they made him claustrophobic. He didn't like to stay in them long, which would explain why nothing was organized like his room's drawers or his desk (though after a long time of research, they usually were kinda messy before he fixed them up, a habit he'd gotten from West Gotham Psychiatric Hospital).

And the mirrors?

Well, he couldn't look at his eyes anymore.

He could remember when everything revolved around his eyes. His friends wanted nothing more than to see them. People always noticed his overwhelmingly blue eyes. He used sunglasses to hide them and his mask always kept them out of sight. He used to love his eyes, the exact same shade as his mother's.

Now he hated his eyes.

His hands shook as he slowly peeled off his mask.

If Robin had a mirror, he would have seen how the right side of his face slowly turned into Dick Grayson's. If he'd had a mirror, he would have seen how the left side marked him as property of the exact same group that had kidnapped and tortured him for months upon months.

Though Robin-Dick (no, Robin was the front, the mask) didn't have a mirror, he knew exactly what it looked like. In black ink were three dots beginning underneath his eye. After the three filled in circles was a sharp half-circle that melted from black into a deep purple. Stretching from the half-circle were two thick lines that turned into sharp points that reminded Robin a bit of a dragonfly's wings, though not quite.

The tattoo was beautiful, but to Robin, it was hideous and made his eye as such. It marked him as theirs. They had been planning on using him to his full potential. They had marked him as not only useful but the one they wanted in their top ranks.

His heart pounded as he stripped from his sweaty clothing. Dick couldn't help it as his eyes kept glancing back over to the mask, desperate to put it back on. However, he refrained, stepping in the shower and closing the curtain.

The hot water burned his pale skin as he washed his hair and body quickly. He didn't want to look at his scars any longer than he absolutely had to. He hated every one of those scars that reminded him of how he couldn't save his friends. He hated the lines spelling out 'happy birthday' on his stomach to the burn on his side to the nasty scar on his chest from his and Zatanna's last fight before she couldn't do it anymore.

Dick closed his eyes, remembering how she had stood over him, tears running down her face and his blood on her hands, shouting and laughing and saying that they won and that she couldn't handle another day fighting against her friends-the people that she loved. Quickly, he shook his head. He didn't want to think about the beautiful girl and her fall. He couldn't do it.

The water stopped as he slid out of the shower, quickly finding a towel to wipe himself somewhat dry and slightly dry his long black hair that fell around his face, covering dark blue eyes. He pushed his damp hair out of his face to press the mask back to his face (where it belonged).

He sighed in relief, shoulders sagging just slightly before he drew himself back up to full height and wrapped the towel around himself, holding it against his hip just in case. With that, he opened the door leading back to the room and took a few steps forward.

However, he stopped cold in the doorway as his eyes and ears showed him the exact thing he never wanted to happen.

Robin felt frozen, as if he couldn't move. He was paralyzed (like his uncle-just like his uncle-no, no, no thinking of that). He couldn't move as he realized that the four members of his team-his new team-were standing there in his room, obviously having been waiting for him.

He couldn't do a thing as they turned around from having heard the door open.

He couldn't do a thing as their eyes widened in horror, eyes trailing down from his face to stare at the ugly scars marking his body.

He couldn't do a thing.

Not a single thing.

. . .

Superman sighed as he flew across Metropolis, his mind still reeling from Batman's words the last night. Clark had known Dick before he was Robin. He'd been a cute eight year old, though sad. The boy had a charm to him that made people want to be around him-want to protect him. Clark had seen it from every single member of the League that met him to each of the other sidekicks he had met.

Superman let a troubled look cross his face as he touched down at Metropolis National Park, frowning as he stared at the large monument to himself.

A voice in the back of his head snarled that he didn't deserve it. To tell the truth, he knew he didn't deserve it. Sure, he'd saved lots of people, even the world, but he failed those he was closest to. He failed Dick, the boy he couldn't save fast enough. He'd failed Batman-Bruce, who had lost a son and a team. He'd failed Kara, who'd lost a friend, an almost-family, and had lost someone that Superman had especially failed.

Superman had failed Conner. He could still remember every time he'd run away from the boy who'd only wanted someone who could help him, be a mentor to him. Conner had needed a role model and Superman left the Batman to do it.

Clark hadn't even known his name until after the team's kidnapping!

Superman was a failure. How had he failed so horribly?

When the man thought about it, he could understand how Dick didn't come to him over what the League had done to him. Not only did he fail Dick, but he failed Conner, Dick's friend. Superman closed his eyes, remembering.

Clark had never told anyone about it, but Dick had yelled at him-screamed, really. Dick had been angry, angrier than Clark had ever seen him. To tell the truth, the Kryptonian was sure that Dick had never yelled at anyone like that.

Superman sat down at the feet of the monument, taking a deep breath.

It had been at the Watchtower . . . .

. . .

Superman tiredly walked the halls of the Watchtower, watching as familiar figures walked past like Icon and Plastic Man. It had been months since Robin returned to the streets of Gotham, never laughing and capturing villains without playing with them. The new Robin was darker, and, though the press could only speculate on the reason why, Superman knew.

And he wished he didn't.

Superman paused when he saw the object of his dark thoughts staring out a window at Earth. He wasn't moving, practically a statue. It unnerved Superman.

Robin wasn't one to stay still unless he absolutely had to. He was always moving, laughing, doing something! He wasn't still. It was wrong.

Slowly, Superman felt himself approach. He hadn't had any time to really talk to Dick alone. Batman or Batgirl or someone was always around, watching him or talking to him. Superman felt like Dick needed to tell him that they were sorry about what happened-that they cared. Dick didn't need to be alone anymore.

He wasn't alone anymore.

When Superman arrived behind the boy, he stopped, ready to speak. However, Dick beat him to the punch.

"You know, from here, Earth looks so peaceful. You'd never think that it'd have so many problems and evil within it." The eerie calm that was within Dick's voice made every hair on the back of Clark's neck go up. "I bet no one would ever guess that there was so much bloodshed and war down there."

Before he could continue, Clark spoke gravely. "Dick." He placed a hand on the young boy's shoulder, watching his dead expression as he stared out of the glass. "I'm sorry about what happened to your team."

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Clark knew he'd said something wrong. An angry look immediately came across his face and he shrugged his hand off of his shoulder, turning to look at Superman, fists clenched. "Don't." He growled.

To say Clark was startled was an understatement. Clark went to speak only to be cut off.

"Don't say how sorry you are for something you're not." Dick growled, fists clenching even harder at his sides. Faintly, Superman was glad no one else would have to see this. Dick wouldn't want them to. "You may be sorry for what happened to me or to KF and Kal and Roy. You might even be sorry for what happened to-to Miss M and Arty, but you're not sorry for what happened to Superboy."

Clark's eyes widened. "I-"

"No." Dick growled, voice sounding almost demonic. "No, you don't get to talk now. You had time to talk before we were kidnapped. Months. For months upon months, you had time to talk to him, to show you cared, but you didn't. You don't care, and you have no idea how he suffered for that. You know, he waited until the last possible moment to get a name because he thought you would name him. He wanted you to have that honor. And you. let. him. down."

Clark didn't speak as Dick's voice grew louder. "You never even asked his name! He looked up to you! The only thing-the only thing-he wanted was you to accept him for who he was-who he chose to be! But you couldn't do that, could you? You couldn't even talk to him! Superman." Dick scoffed angrily. "You're no super man. You may be strong, but Superboy-Conner, you know, the name that Miss Martian gave him-was much stronger than you. He is-" Dick's voice cracked. "-was twice the man you will ever be. I can't believe he looked up to you so much! I can't believe I looked up to you so much!"

Dick gave a broken laugh, turning away from Clark for a moment. Clark deliberated only for a second before reaching out toward the young boy. "Dick-"

Immediately, Dick had turned to snarl at him, his heart beat picking up loud enough that Clark almost thought it was his own. "Conner went through so much! I should have given him more credit. He was still holding on when there were only four of us left! I don't know how he did it after Miss M was gone, but he held on! You wouldn't have been able to do it." The bite in his voice was so ferocious that Clark couldn't help it as he flinched.

Dick laughed again. "And it's sad, you know, that someone like you could be used against him. You're worse than a deadbeat dad. At least they acknowledge that they have a child! You wouldn't even admit that. I still can't believe that Lex Luthor was a better dad to him than you were! That whole 'he's not my son' bull? That's what they used against him."

Clark was startled. He had heard from Batman that no one could get Dick to talk about what had happened when he'd been in there. Of course, they knew it was bad from the scars, but . . . they hadn't been able to get him to say anything about it other than a few simple sentences.

They broke them. They're dead. I'm sorry.

But now that Dick was talking . . . Superman only wanted him to stop.

"Each one of us had something in our past that they would torture us with! How do you think it felt? Huh? Sitting there and hearing Conner be slowly broken down using the one thing that could really get to him? The only thing he wanted was someone who could connect with him. No one else could do that but you." Dick took a deep breath. "Well, there was Kara, but she doesn't count. She couldn't fix the damage that you caused. In the end, that's how they broke him. It's your fault that he broke!" His loud voice echoed for a moment, seemingly extra loud to Clark.

Then, the boy spoke softly. "It's your fault Conner is dead."

With that last sentence, the boy turned away, his cape falling around him darkly.

Clark could only stare.

. . .

Clark rubbed his temples. He didn't know what to do. Slowly, he stood, turning back to the statue and wondering. How could Young Justice be back? How could they possibly be alive? But, most importantly, Clark wondered how they could possibly be trying to kidnap Dick.

They were his team-his family. How could they possibly do that? Why would they?

There were so many unanswered questions about what had even happened to them, though, that Superman didn't want to think about it. The truth was that the League didn't really know what had happened in there, and that they probably would never know.

He sighed.

Superman wanted to fly down there and help Dick, but . . . that haunting monologue made him hesitate. Would Dick want him there? And what about Conner? What would Conner do if he saw him?

Clark sighed. This was a nightmare.

"Superman!" A familiar voice called. Immediately, Clark blinked, turning around to watch as none other than Supergirl landed in front of him, smile on her face. "Hey! What's up?"

Clark smiled tiredly before a painful thought hit him. Kara didn't know that Young Justice was back. She didn't know about any of it. They were all her friends back then, he remembered. She had been pretty young and, before they planned on putting her on the League, they planned on letting her join Young Justice so she could have some friends her age. He remembered how much she loved having Conner-Superboy around. She loved him like family before she even met him. Clark could even remember the times she had got on to him about Conner.

Clark took a deep breath before looking at the confused look on her face. "Kara, sit down."

She blinked before doing as he said, looking up curiously at him. "Clark, what's going on?"

Slowly, Clark took a deep breath. "Kara, Young Justice is back."

She seemed to freeze. Superman was sure that he could hear her heart skip a beat at the news. Her eyes were wide. Suddenly, though, she grinned. Then she was on her feet. "They're back? All of them? Even Conner?" The happy note in her voice made Superman cringe.

"Kara," He spoke softly, "they're not-"

"I know." She spoke softly. "They've been through a lot, but they're back! Once they're all better we can be a family again! It'll take a while, but I know they can do it! They'll be back to themselves soon, and Robin-"

"Kara." He spoke again, interrupting her. Her giddy smile immediately fell and he lowered her back into a sitting position against his statue. "Kara, they're not-they're not on the right side of the law." Though he spoke softly, he could see that his words had shattered her entire world. "They tried to kidnap Robin."

Her eyes widened dramatically before she looked like she was going to cry. "Oh, Dick." Her lip trembled. She took a deep breath before seeming to get it back under control. "We need to get over to Titan's Tower right now."

Superman hesitated. "Kara-"

Immediately she was on her feet. "Clark! Are you just going to sit back while Conner is out there? We can finally save him! And-And the rest of them! Artemis and M'gann and Wally, Zee, and Kaldur-and maybe, just maybe, Dick will come back, too."

Superman sighed. "Okay, but-"

Before he could even finish the sentence, she was gone, bolting into the air. Taking a deep breath, Superman went after her, his heart pounding.

. . .

Wonder Woman took a deep breath when she realized what she had to do. Zatara hadn't been at the JL meeting, as usual. He hadn't been to one of their meetings since Robin (and only Robin) had been found.

It seemed almost cruel to call him up, but Wonder Woman knew he needed to know. Her hand slid to her communicator before she stopped.

This kind of news was something one had to do in person. After all, she needed to make sure that he understood the situation. His daughter was back, but at the same time, she wasn't. She was . . . She was different.

This kind of news would devastate him.

Wonder Woman slid into the seat at the computer, ignoring Martian Manhunter's presence as he walked up behind her. She had a mission as well as a father to console.

. . .

"Are we all ready?" Spoke the leader softly to the full room. Kaldur's head ached, but he didn't let it show. After all, everything would be perfect once their missing link was back. Everything would be perfect.

"You bet, boss!" Exclaimed Wally, his suit having the hood down.

Artemis rolled her eyes, one hand pressing her black mask over her face. "Yes."

Conner nodded, smile firm on his face while Whirlwind slid one of her soft, green hands into one of his firm, strong ones. Her voice was soft when she spoke. "We're ready."

Zatanna grinned, turning her gaze away from the former Miss Martian and Superboy. Soon she would have her partner in crime (literally) as well. "Typhoon, I think the real question is whether or not you're ready."

Kaldur just smiled at her before receiving a nod from Roy.

"Good. Then we shall wait." Before Wally or anyone else could complain, Kaldur continued. "Tonight we shall strike."

. . .

FudoTwin17: Well, I feel like that was enough. Did you guys like it?

Cat: I hope so, because she has more work to do before updating.

FudoTwin17: Yup. Bye, guys. Oh, wait! I forgot!

Dog # 1: Figures.

FudoTwin17: Do you guys want Rocket to be in this story? Because I kinda do and kinda don't. I like Rocket, and if I had waited a little longer to write this story, she'd be in it. Seriously. At first I was like, yeah, team fic! And then, Zatanna was introduced, and I was like, DARN IT, GREG! So, I figured out how to include her, but then, after that, they were like, now you can have Rocket! Isn't that great? And I was like DARN IT, GREG! So, do you want her? Please tell me!

Cat: Now she is done. Thank you, and have a good night!

FudoTwin17: Or at least a better night than poor Robin. Peace, bros!