A Robin, Red Robin 11

He listened and wrote the suggestion on the white board Kid Flash had brought. Where he got them? He didn't care. It worked for them.

"But how young?" Celine asked. She knew the importance of learning how to control her powers but when should it start?

"Some of the youngest here are fifteen, that sounds like a decent age to me," Kyle said, he was among the older ones in the room.

"Nightwing was twelve when he joined Batman," Conner said.

"And I am ten," Damian said from his place on the couch, but now sandwiched between Leonid and Paco.

"But you are not a Titan," Paco said before getting a punch in the gut.

"We could check how mature they are and if their parents are okay with it," Kiran said.

"Those are two big ifs, but it sounds good when dealing with kids," he admitted though he was a child to the eyes of most of the world.

"Should we also put a limit on how old they can be, to join?" Bart asked.

"I don't see a reason why, anyone disagree?" he asked and no one did.

"What about leaving the Titans?" Miguel asked as he was more interested in sticking close to his home.

"Once a Titan, always a Titan," Conner said.

"Let's make that a rule. If any of us ever goes solo, we can still count on the others," Jaime said.

"I like the sound of that," he said before writing it in big letter.

There were disagreements too.

"No, you will destroy the reef if you do that," Garth said standing up.

"Well, we need a way to escape if things get ugly," Paco said standing too and facing him.

"Why not use the transportation thing Kid Flash is working on," Miguel said who clearly looked uncomfortable as he was between them.

"It will require a lot of energy if that is shut off…" Bart started to say, now seeing an issue he hadn't counted on before.

"We need to think of an auxiliary power source and we don't have to destroy the reef to create an emergency escape. I spotted a cliff a few miles away," he said. They could make an opening on the face of the cliff and disguise it.

"But building a tunnel like that will take too long, and what if it floods?" Leonid asked.

"We will build it under the crust in a way that it doesn't," and he knew he could rely on Leonid to help with it. The young man had been an aspiring architect before he was pulled into the world of capes.

"Fine, but-" still, someone wouldn't let it go so quickly.

When the meeting had started, he had almost no idea what they would be doing. They kept saying they wanted to be different than the League, be more direct. All BS. It was just an idea, but it wasn't solid until they started to add more to it. They wanted an accepting place, a safe place; one where they could meet others like them. Be a community without fear of being judged by the hand life handed them. It turned from a team of young heroes to something else. He was thankful to them for giving them a direction. Maybe one day he would tell them… maybe.

"Who votes for T shaped tower!" Bart shouted suddenly.

"Again with that?" Conner said as Bart drew a cartoonish t shaped tower in a corner of the whiteboard.

"Why the heck not?" Jaime said glad his friend hadn't forgotten his idea.

"It would be like putting a target on ourselves," Conner said crossing his arms.

"Like any old tower wouldn't do the same, might as well make it stand out," Paco said backing up his friend.

It would just look silly, wouldn't it? He thought as they started to talk about it. The League had the Hall of Justice, and now people knew of the Watchtower. They had to do something just as iconic. Wasn't how that worked?

"It seems like most agree," Bart said smugly as the Beetles high fived.

"Red?" Conner sighed as he looked at Kara, who had voted for the T shaped tower with a smug smile.

"If one of you can produce a good, workable design," he said; they could at least try and they had quite a few talented people.

"One, what about twenty, or thirty?" Kyle said as the creative juices started to flow and one design after another began to appear around them.

"One, so you better make it count," he said unable to hold back his laugh.

8888

He waited in the basement of a building downtown. This was the first of their exercise training. They had to find a way to sneak into the building undetected. They all had communicators to let him know if they got into trouble. At the top of that, the rest were looking after them from the outside. In his hand, he held files he would assign them as they arrived. Superboy had given him the idea. Many things were going on in San Francisco and he had tried to look into all of them on his own.

"Stop looking so pleased with yourself Drake. It's disgusting," he heard Damian say as he landed behind him. Of course, the kid would only take two minutes to break in.

"Good job Robin," he said to the kid as he went through the files. Now, in which one would he get the least trouble with… all of them could turn to dangerous situation if left alone. He was going with him, so he handed him a random file. "Wait until the rest get here."

But, of course, the kid didn't listen and opened the file with a skeptical look. He didn't skip on the criticism as he pointed out what a sloppy detective he was and how he would never be anything like his father. He stopped listening around the time he said he should stop trying and concentrated on the communication between the others.

"You are not beating us. You are going from the roof to the basement," Miguel said.

"Hombre, don't tell everyone else my plan," Paco said.

"Don't worry, no one is following you," Celine said next with a laugh.

"Who will follow me tonight?!" Paco shouted through the communicator making most of them cringe.

"No one," Kiran said before the rest laughed.

They were going to get caught if they kept at it, but it would be a lesson well learned.

"What about for a drink?" Paco asked. He knew he would need to have a talk with Thorax about boundaries around the younger members.

"Count me in," Leonid said, another talk he would need to do with someone older than him. Why couldn't anyone else be the leader again?

"You are not old enough to drink in this country," Celine reminded her friend.

"Not old enough," Leonid muttered under his breath. Okay, at least he could count on Celine to keep him in check.

"You buying?" Kyle asked.

"C'mon man, I just moved into town," Paco laughed nervously.

"And I am broke," Kyle reminded him before they laughed.

"Keep it professional," Superboy said before the line went quiet again. He guessed his friend was reminded too much of the mental link they used to share with M'gann.

"Where did you find these idiots?" Damian said rolling his eyes.

It was around five minutes before the next one arrived. It was Kiran and she did it through an air shaft.

"Hoff!" she puffed when she landed before she started clearing away the cobwebs from her hair, "please don't tell me they are always that dirty."

"They are worse," Damian said with a smirk.

"You must be tons of fun at parties," she said before accepting a folder from him.

"Aww man, I am third?" Paco said as he came down the service stairs, not flashy but fast.

"But you entered through the roof," Kiran said clearly shocked.

"Elevator shaft," he answered before Paco grinned.

"Fastest way down," Paco said before he explained Kiran how to do it if she ever needed to.

One by one they all made it to the basement. Last to arrive were Miguel, Celine, and Leonid, though their time wasn't bad at all for their first time.

"Wait, isn't that cheating?" Kara asked with a frown.

"I never said you couldn't work together," he told them before he saw some of them frown as they tried to recall his exact words. Indeed, he didn't. "Your next exercise will be more challenging. This will be about information gathering."

"Wait, this sounds more like spy stuff," Leonid said though he looked nowhere disappointed.

"Well, did you think the bad guys always announce what they are up to?" Garth said having done a few missions like this with them in the past.

"Most of what we do is information gathering. What good would it be to turn them to the authorities if there is no proof," Jaime said going over one of the files he had prepared.

"Believe me, it's pretty crash when you get a hang of it," Bart said.

"You never did," Conner reminded him though Kid Flash made it up for it with his speed and sneaking about.

"Is not my fault you can't appreciate my innovative acting skills," Bart said with a broad smile.

"Right," Jaime said before they shared a knowing smile. Bart had the acting skills of a five year old.

"You will not engage in any fight. If you come across any trouble, you will tell us, understood?" Conner added in a serious tone.

They heard what they wanted to hear from them, but he knew there were a few who would not hesitate to fight. They were no strangers to the feeling. It took them a while to get used to being able to handle things without fighting. For what he understood, Superboy was of the ones who had the most trouble in the past. Difficult to believe when he eyed everyone as if they were already punching someone in the jaw.

8888

He could be sitting with Superboy or Blue, or Kid Flash catching up with what they had been doing. Though it was just one week, it felt like an eternity since he actually got to talk to his friends. Instead, he was stuck making sure Damian didn't hurt anyone. Though, he was starting to believe that it might have been unnecessary.

The kid was showing off in the skating park. He used his incredible agility and flexibility to impress everyone who set eyes on him. He was not charming, but just the same it attracted the kind of crowds they wanted. Damian played the mysterious cool kid, which worked just fine for them.

Damian was smug, something he knew would take a long time to fix, but he was great at gathering information. It seemed the League of Assassins had taught the kid more than just wielding a sword. He wondered if it was a good thing.

He was able to learn that around a certain hour at night a van stopped by the park. They sold parts for bikes and skateboards, but there was a particular package which didn't contain any of the two mentioned before. It seemed the cops that checked in the area didn't know any better as the kids never opened the packages at the skating park. Instead, they gathered on the roof of an old building and Damian was invited.

"You are not bad at all," he said as they met outside of the park. He had been watching him from enough distance away as to not look suspicious. "Though that personality only works with teens and kids."

"I got it done, isn't that enough?" Damian said as he threw him the skateboard.

"You could be better," he said before the kid turned around and glared at him.

"Who do you think you are?!" he shouted poking him in the chest.

"You are right, forget I said anything," he said by stepping the child and walking on.

He could sense the boy glaring at his back. It wasn't a lie. The kid wasn't a Titan; he was Batman's Robin.

"Who has finished?" he asked his friends.

"Kiran, Kyle and Paco," Conner responded and he could hear a smile. They must have done great.

"Kiran was the first. She did it perfectly even though she is now known in the media. If that isn't talent, I don't know what it is," Bart said excitedly. He knew he still needed to have a talk with Bart. He missed the old days when all he had to worry was about kicking butt and not getting himself killed.

Kiran had disguised and blended into a culture different than hers. She had gained people's trust fast and efficiently, uncovering a ring of prostitution which exploited teens and young adults. Kiran was somehow able to hold back her indignation and play out the part of an ignorant teen who just wanted money.

"I need to scrub, that man was disgusting," she said as they met at their meeting point, the basement again. She shivered as she rubbed her arms, but she was also laughing. The thrill made her eyes shine and he knew she loved it.

"I have never done something like that before," Kyle said, "whenever someone sees a Lantern, they just run and we usually have to try to interrogate them. That was a lot easier."

"Yours was a bust, what are you talking about?" Paco said with a smirk.

"Yours too," Kyle responded.

"I admit it has its charms," Garth said being the next one to arrive. "Though I understood only a few of the things those men by the peer were speaking about, it was entertaining to see how much actually humans know about the sea." Garth had caught word of traffickers by the peer and around when they made their deliveries. If things went well, he would get his hands on the people who had brought the women he saved a few weeks ago.

"Speak only for yourself. I don't think I have ever flirted with a woman before and I am not repeating it anytime soon if I can help it," Miguel said as he continued to remove the lipstick from his cheek.

"But you were such a natural," Bart said, who had been looking after Miguel, trying to hold back his laugh.

"I just imagined it was my Gabe," Miguel said proudly.

"Aww," Kiran said before she hugged her friend.

"That's sweet and all, but can we not do it again anytime soon?" Miguel said before accepting a tissue from Kiran; that plus some lotion removed the lipstick mark.

Conner and Kara arrived at that time. The Kryptonian girl looked pissed while Conner just looked for a way to get away from her. He guessed things didn't go so well on that end.

"Your looks can be of great advantage to you in this case," Conner said though he didn't deny it was taxing. Though, anyone who said their good looks were a burden deserved a good kick in the face, but that was just his opinion.

"Yeah, attracting every creep in a one-mile radius is always such an advantage," Miguel said with a smirk when he noticed the glare of a few others.

"I understand the importance of such exercises for everyone else, but with my powers there is no point," Kara said looking away from them.

"Can you read minds?" he asked her.

"No," she said with a frown.

"Then you have to do this," he told her before turning to the next arrival. Leonid arrived dirty and bruised.

"Sup'?" he asked as if he didn't look as if he had gotten into a brawl.

"He is fine," Jaime said walking behind Leonid with Celine, who seemed a little upset. "And, I would have done the same if I had been in his place."

"A guy tried to pull me into a car," Celine said rubbing her arms as if she was cold.

"And ai punched his teeth in," Leonid said crossing his arms as if daring him to say he had done wrong.

"I told you if things got out of hand you had to ask for help," he said stepping up to the taller young man.

"I didn't need help," and there it was. That was exactly the kind of attitude he didn't want them showing towards him in front of the rest.

"Take the rest back to my place. Leonid, you will stay here with me until I say so," he said with a calm, commanding voice which he was sure Batman would have approved of.

"You arre not my type, bird boy," Leonid said getting gasps from just about everyone.

"Didn't you hear me?" he said looking at Jaime, who was the one who looked the most reluctant.

"Loud and clear," his friend said though he didn't look friendly or happy with his decision. But, at least he didn't challenge him in front of the rest.

In a minute, they were gone and only he and Leonid were left.

"You can't do that. You will place the rest in danger," he said matter of fact.

"She is my friend, I am not going to allow anyone to hurt her," Leonid said standing his ground.

"It's good you see things that way, but you have to measure how much you can do. What if the man had a gun? You are not bulletproof and if you had decided to show your powers you would have not just given yourself away, but Celine's chance of living a normal life as well," and he knew that was very essential to Celine. If he was really her friend, he should already understand that.

"You don't seem to have a problem with Kiran just telling everyone in the world about it," of course he would bring that up. He respected Kiran's decision, but it was starting to cause him trouble.

"I never said you could not go and tell the world who you are if you want, but don't pull the rest into it," he too wanted something that resembled a life when he returned home.

"Rob, c'mon, I was just looking after my friend," Leonid said though he didn't sound so sure anymore.

"I said that is fine but, she is the least likely to get hurt of all of us in the long run. She only wants to take the training to be able to protect herself and to control her abilities," but she was smart, strong, and gifted. It was really a loss for them.

"But you want her to do more," Leonid said somehow able to read his thoughts.

"That's her decision to make, but you…" he stepped closer to the taller and stronger looking young man and looked at him daring him to defy him again. "You are going to follow instructions until I believe you are ready to do things on your own, you got it?"

"Alright, kid… Red Robin," Leonid said really looking defeated.

"Let's go back," he said and realized it would be better for him to talk to Leonid of a few other things.

They took the long way back to his place and he talked to him about some of the rules they had not established. These were rules he chose for their unique circumstances, and personalities. He knew he couldn't push Leonid too much. So, he made them short and clear. Leonid made very few questions. It seemed that as long as he saw someone as a leader he would respect them. But besides that, Leonid was also cunning. He was looking for a crack in his armor; a weakness that would tell him if he was worth following. He didn't let any show.

After dropping Leonid with the rest who would arrange another training exercise with them, he set up for the major's office. He knew that most of what they had talked about, like the tower would never happen, if the major didn't get the support for the Titans to be officially accepted in San Francisco. They would still be there, just not actually accepted. It would be just like back home, but it didn't mean he liked it.

Dressed in his uniform, he made his way towards the governmental building on his motorcycle. He knew he was drawing a lot of attention to himself as he made daring turns and jumped over buildings.

"Don't you think you are a little harsh with them?" he heard Jaime say flying behind him, "Kid told me of what you said to Kiran."

"Did she complain?" he knew she didn't, but Bart was a bleed heart when it came to her. He was starting to think he really should have left her out, but was that fair? Kiran was the one excelling at everything he asked her to do.

"No but… but it doesn't make it right. You are treating them like you don't trust them," Jaime said breaking him out of a line of disloyal thoughts.

"In a sense, I don't. They are still new at this," he reminded his friend stopping on an alley near the government building.

"Gha! Stop using logic and listen to yourself. If you had been in their place, do you think you would have been happy following someone who didn't trust you?" but he didn't need to reply to that question. He looked at Blue, and though he was wearing a mask, his friend understood right away "forget I asked that."

"You want to join me?" he asked Blue who seemed to turn round and go back to the rest, "you know I trust you, right?"

"You better," Blue said with a laugh.

When they entered the office of Alissa Jackson, the woman was working behind her desk. The major sat typing on her laptop, only giving them a glance before she kept on going.

"What do you want?" she said without glancing at them.

"Your answer," he said as red flags started to be raised. There was something strange about the whole situation.

"No, we don't need vigilantes, especially children," she said stopping and then closing her laptop, "You may leave, I am going home."

"Blue, do a body scan," he told his friend.

"You will not do such a thing young man," the woman said but looked more worried than outraged.

"She is normal," Blue said a moment later with a frown.

"No, she is not," he stepped closer to the woman who claimed to be the major stepped back.

"I am not the one running around every night in a costume," she said, her hand reaching for the doorknob.

"The Alissa Jackson the others talked to early today was willing to listen and was even interested in expanding the conversation. You are not. You are trying to cut this short so we wouldn't notice the difference," Superboy had told him how she had sought to know more about their background, and they had suspected it was partially also because of curiosity.

"It's late and I need to get home to my kid," she said defensively.

"What is his name?" he asked.

"What?" she froze.

"Your son's name, what is it?" he asked again, eyes narrowing. Once Blue saw he wasn't paranoid his hand turned into the stapler gun.

"I- he…" her eyes searched the room. There were pictures of the teen but none that would give a hint to his name. This, whoever it was, was a rookie.

"What sport does he play?" he asked driving the last nail into the coffin.

"I will not have you interrogate me in my own office!" she shouting trying to get out of the deep hole she was in.

Then then heard a loud bang on the wall.

"I am on it, restrain whoever that is," he said running to another door.

"More like everybody," he heard the man say before he opened the door leading to the other room.

Inside he found the real Alissa Jackson. The woman's forehead was bleeding. On her effort to get them to notice her, she had bumped into the wall, lost her balance and hit her head on the corner of a small wooden table. Even then the woman trying to fight unconsciousness, which was the best thing she could do, for she might have a concussion. He hurried to remove the gag from her mouth.

"They have Zak!" those were her first words.