Hi guys. I'm updating today despite the fact that I'm sick and in pain, and haven't finished the next chapter. I figure it's best to update on time since I have this week's chapter anyways.

Guest reviews;

Guest: Nope, none of those! Although I bet that the hints at the end of the chapter might help a little bit.

Thank you also to The Shadow Keeper, thebibliophileshavethephonebox, and Up-In- the-Clouds1285 for reviewing, and to all others who are silent readers :)

Disclaimer: Sadly, if you believe that I own Young Justice, you are mistaken.

Chapter 9

The Watchtower

May 13, 10:00 EDT

Captain Marvel was bored. He was on duty with Batman of all people, and that meant that there was going to be nothing fun to do (unless there was an alert) until he was off duty again.

Of course, Batman was multitasking. He was not only keeping watch, but was also searching for anything, anything at all, that might give him a lead on Robin's whereabouts. It was a search that all of the League had helped him with when they were allowed to, however, Billy was only twelve, so he hadn't been able to help much. He knew there were still some arguments that he would be better off with the Team than with the League, but each time, the core members of the League defended him (much to his relief), and he'd been able to keep his position and League status.

Be that as it may, recently he'd been wondering himself if he should spend more time with the Team. The loss of Robin had hit everyone, including the League, incredibly hard. Of course, the League's reaction to the loss was to work harder than ever, and the more solemn they were normally, the more they seemed to harden. Even the Flash and Superman seemed less optimistic than usual.

So Billy had been left with a whole bunch of incredibly serious heroes who were all at the very least ten years older than he was. Every time he got lonely (or bored), he reminded himself that he was the one who had chosen to join the League in the first place. Sure they'd extended the offer, but he hadn't needed to accept.

He was proud to be a member of the League, and that was always what kept him there despite it all.

So instead of being down on earth with the other, younger heroes, he was up on watch duty with Batman. There'd been almost nothing since Robin's capture. It was almost as though the other villains had all heard that the young hero had disappeared, even though Batman had found a replacement.

Billy didn't know who the "not Robin" was, but he was most definitely not Robin, and everyone knew it. He'd also gotten the feeling that almost everyone else knew exactly who "not Robin" was. Billy hated being left in the dark, but suspected the secrecy had something to do with keeping Batman's secret identity, so he let it go. Besides, he still felt as though if he made one wrong move he would be kicked off the League, and he really didn't want that to happen.

There was a sharp curse, and Billy jumped, shooting a look towards his companion.

Batman looked furious. He was reading something from a screen in front of him, and his glare was growing fiercer with each passing moment.

Billy gulped. Usually Superman or Wonder Woman was around to deal with Batman when he was like this, but both of them were currently elsewhere. Superman had mentioned something about helping a friend, and Wonder Woman was currently dealing with one of the few League missions they'd received in the past few days, along with the Flash and Martian Manhunter.

"Um . . ." Billy said hesitantly. "Batman? Is-is there something wrong?"

The Gotham hero turned to look at Captain Marvel, making him flinch backwards. Batman's glare was always a sight to stay away from, but now, Billy had a feeling that not even Robin would have been able to stand against that look.

Of course, Billy doubted that the glare would even be in place if Robin were there, but that was besides the point.

"Captain Marvel, contact Green Arrow and Black Canary. Tell them to meet me at the Cave. You stay here and keep watch. I should be back in an hour or so," Batman growled, and without another word, he stalked away, leaving Billy behind him, breathing a sigh of relief that he was still alive.

Mount Justice

May 13, 11:00 EDT

Tim stood in the middle of the room, glaring at Jason. Both of them were unmasked, although Jason was in uniform, blue eyes meeting blue eyes. Roy and Wally were a few feet away, exchanging uncertain glances. They weren't really sure what to do in this situation.

Tim had showed up at the mountain nearly an hour earlier, looking determined. He'd resisted all attempts to get him to leave, and had then followed Jason around until the older boy snapped.

Every single Team member had gathered into the main room at some point, although Tim wasn't sure when that had happened. He recognized them all from Dick and Jason's descriptions, some of them (M'gann, Kaldur, and Connor) from that time last Christmas when Dick had called in the Team to help beat Joker, and Wally, Roy, and Artemis he knew from the times they'd visited Wayne Manor.

Tim knew that Jason had informed Batman almost as soon as he'd made his way into the Mountain, but all the same, he was staying right where he was until someone told him what was going on. For the past month he'd heard very little news. Jason was almost never home, and Bruce was gone even more, either as Batman, or as Bruce Wayne. Alfred had spent the time working harder than ever, and Tim was left to do schoolwork sent to him by his teachers, and wait around praying that he would someday have his father and both of his brothers with him again.

The worst part was that he half expected to get a call saying that not only was Dick lost forever, but so was Jason, or Bruce . . .

Finally he'd gotten sick of it. So he snuck out while Alfred was busy, and made his way to Mount Justice. He'd probably get grounded later, but for now he was not going to leave until Bruce and Jason (or anyone for that matter) told him what was going on.

He could hear Artemis and Wally whispering, and heard the amusement on Wally's voice. Of course he would think this was funny. He'd been at Wayne manor enough to know exactly how things worked in the Wayne household. He could probably even guess why Tim was here. In fact, knowing Wally, he was probably on Tim's side in this whole thing. If he knew that Tim hadn't been told anything, he'd at the very least understand why Tim had snuck in.

"Recognized, Batman, 02, Green Arrow, 08, Black Canary, 13," the zeta tube activated, and Batman entered, his arms crossed over his chest and a fierce glare already focused on Tim. Green Arrow and Black Canary were behind him, looking slightly confused, an expression which changed as soon as they saw Timmy.

Tim returned Bruce's glare without even flinching. "I'm not leaving," he said stubbornly. "Not until you tell me what's going on."

Bruce sighed. "Timothy Drake, you are out of line."

"I'm out of line?" Tim said, snapping. "Bruce, Dick is my older brother! Sure we aren't related by blood, but he's taken care of me for years! He was my only friend until you took me in and I met Jason and Alfred, and I don't even know if you've been looking for him, because you don't come home, you don't call, and you don't even tell me whether or not you are alive after missions. I'll hear over the news that Batman and Robin saved the day, and Alfred and I will have to sit and wait to see if you'll call to tell us you're fine, or if we'll have a body to bury."

Tim's voice shook and both Jason and Bruce flinched. "I just want my brothers and my dad back," the boy whispered. "Is that too much to ask?" The entire cave was silent, and Tim suddenly realized that he had said all of that in front of everyone on the Team. He flushed, and looked down at the floor. Usually he wasn't very outspoken around strangers, or even around Bruce, Jason, Alfred and Dick.

After a brief pause, Bruce sighed, slipped off his cowl, and stepped forward. "Tim," he said gently, all remnants of Batman gone. He ran a hand over his face, and Tim saw the dark circles under his eyes. That was all Jason needed. His mask was already off, so all he needed to do was move. Suddenly he was standing next to Tim, and had his arm slung around the younger boy's shoulder, ruffling his hair. Tim leaned into Jason, relieved at the reaction. He could feel tears trying to escape, and shook his head. He would not cry.

"We're idiots," Jason said. "You know that, right Timmy? We're all idiots."

Tim laughed, but it was strained. "Yeah," he said hoarsely.

Bruce was suddenly there, and he put his hands on Tim and Jason's shoulders. "What do you say about us three going to the hideout and having dinner together?" he said softly.

Tim blinked. They hadn't had dinner together in more than two months because of Bruce's schedule, and Dick's missions with the Team, then Dick's disappearance. "With Alfred?" he asked hopefully. It was rare that they managed to convince the butler to actually join them for a meal, but maybe this was a good enough reason.

"If he agrees to it, then yes," Bruce said, his mouth twitching up into a smile. "I bet he'll even make cookies."

There was a slight sound from the other side of the room, and Tim glanced towards it to see Wally staring after them with a longing expression on his face, and Tim smirked.

Bruce paused next to Green Arrow and Black Canary. "Dinah, stay with the Team for the rest of the day. Find them something to do that might actually distract them. Oliver, Captain Marvel is on duty at the Watchtower, and he's probably wanting some backup right about now," he said quietly, although not softly enough that Jason and Tim didn't hear him. The two heroes nodded, and headed in opposite directions, Green Arrow leaving before Bruce even started moving again.

"Alright," Bruce said, breathing a relieved sigh. Now that that's taken care of, let's go surprise Alfred, shall we?"

Tim and Jason both nodded in confirmation, and Tim finally relaxed as Bruce led him and Jason through the zeta tubes.

This day had certainly turned out better than he'd thought it would.

Blüdhaven

May 13, 14:00 EDT

Talia smiled as Richard paced in his room. The boy was feeling penned in, having woken up from his long sleep a few hours before. It was obvious that he was wondering who his new trainer would be. Of course, none of the people he was thinking of were the person Talia had found. He was ruthless, dedicated, and most importantly, looking for an apprentice. So she was giving him one.

Oh yes, this was going to be perfect.

Hmmm . . . . maybe to Talia . . . .

I actually had to add something when I was editing this time. Oh well. Hopefully it's not noticeable, and my editing isn't too horribly marred by how I feel.

I really wasn't planning on writing most of this chapter, but I felt like I wasn't doing Tim enough justice. I really think he would take a risk and break the rules after nearly a month of not know the secrets others are keeping from him. Yep.

Talia's hinting :)

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