"Now that's what I call a restaurant with a view!" Wally remarked as he set his tray down on table as he admired the blue planet below. The view was both magnificent as well as serene as the Earth below stood out like an amethyst in the black void of space.

"Restaurant? More like a cafeteria." Artemis corrected him.

"Actually, the food is pretty good here, especially for a cafeteria." Robin added.

"So how did everyone's training sessions go?" M'Gann asked.

"Superman began to train me in the basics of flight." Connor replied as he sampled his lunch. "Hey, this is pretty good food."

"Green Arrow had me do some acrobatic exercises. He really pushed me. After that he shared some of his newest arrows with me."

"Flash taught me how to vibrate through walls without getting a nosebleed."

"Aquaman taught me some advanced telepathy techniques to use with sea creatures."

"The Martian Manhunter began training me in density shifting."

Aqualad put his fork down an addressed Robin.

"What did you and Batman do together?"

"Let me tell you." The Boy Wonder replied.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

To say that Robin was disoriented and confused was an understatement, and he wasn't because he had been teleported twice within the span of 5 minutes. I was hard to describe how he felt, but if asked later, her would have said that it felt like one of those dreams, the ones where you're at school, it's the last day of the semester, you never attended class, today was the final exam and you don't even know where the classroom is.

He was in the Batcave, yet nothing was recognizable to him. The Batmobile was different, the Batcave was different, Babs was different (though he actually liked this version of Batgirl better than the one at home, even though he preferred the black and yellow costume his Batgirl wore). Even Alfred looked different.

Batman was standing in front of a lab workbench, assiduously studying the computer display. After a long, silent pause he grunted.

"Your DNA is identical."

Robin crossed his arms and shifted his weight, ending up in a cocky and somewhat defiant posture.

"I already told you, Cyborg found the same results in his own DNA test. The Two Kid Flashes also match."

"No offense, but Cyborg is not only a teenager, he didn't even finish high school."

"He seems pretty competent to me. You should see the security system he made for Titan's Tower."

The Dark Knight turned and glared at the young teen.

"A security system that has been breached on multiple occasions by Mad Mod, The Hive, The Puppet King, Brother Blood and Deathstroke. Of course Robin had to build their headquarters right in plain sight, in the middle of Jump City Bay. He might as well have painted a bull's eye on it."

The young boy wonder eyed his counterpart's mentor carefully. He was beginning to understand why Robin had walked out on the Batman.

"So what happened with you guys? Why did he bail out on you?"

"Perhaps you should ask him yourself."

"I would, but he isn't exactly the most approachable guy in the world."

"So you noticed. Tell me Robin, what is your opinion of the Teen Titans?"

Robin didn't answer immediately. Instead he took in his surroundings. While the Batcave was different, it was also familiar. The museum section was there, with the giant penny that trapped Two Face, the robot version of Scarface's giant head, and many other relics from past encounters with villains, including Deathstroke's sword.

"I heard that they were able to beat Deathstroke."

"They didn't capture him." Batman corrected him.

Robin grinned as he replied.

"Neither did you."

"Only because he left town for Jump City." Batman replied in his monotone. "So I take it you approve of their setup."

"They're a good group Bruce. They fight well, and they really are a team. Robin doesn't even have to tell his teammates what to do; they each know what their role is. But most of all, they care about each other."

"So you really believe they fight well? Is that why Raven and Beast Boy are injured?"

Robin narrowed his eyes, trying to read the parallel version of his mentor. Just like his version of Bruce, this one was inscrutable, an unreadable dark mystery. It was obvious though that he had an ax to grind with the Titans, and it wasn't just because of his counterpart, the other Robin. While he found TT-Robin to be a bit of a jerk and even a blowhard at times, he had to give him some credit. He had stood up to Bruce, something he knew that he couldn't do, at least not at this point in his life. And he envied the Titans. They operated independently, they had their own place while Robin and Beast Boy even had hot girlfriends (he did agree with Wally that Raven was a bit over the top creepy.)

"We all get hurt once in a while."

"It's because of their lack of discipline. The very fact that they are engaged in romantic relationships with each other is why they are not as effective as they could be. Love affairs and being a super hero don't go together. It clouds one's judgment. You worry about your lover instead of focusing on the task."

Robin was about to tell Bruce that there was no hanky panky going on in Titans Tower, but knew that it would be a waste of time to tell him. He also didn't agree that they lacked discipline, he had seen the grueling training Robin subjected to his team without playing favorites to Starfire, but he kept his opinion to himself. Instead he chose to switch gears.

"When do we get to go home?"

Batman approached one of his consoles.

"The Justice League is working on finding a way to send you and your team home. But I'm going to be honest with you; the probability of locating your universe of origin is looking very, very low now."

"How low?"

"I'm afraid that it's less than one chance in a million."

The young Boy Wonder frowned.

"I know this is not welcome news Robin, but every cloud has a silver lining."

Robin felt a pang of concern reverberate through his entire being. This Batman was telling him that for all practical purposes he and his friends were trapped in this dimension, unable to find their way home. What could possibly be his good news?

"What would that be?" He asked in a clearly defeated tone.

"We can start a Young Justice League in this reality. The truth is that we have been thinking about this for some time, and came close to implementing it until …"

"Until what?"

"Until my Robin decided he wanted to be independent."

"And founded the Teen Titans." Robin added.

"That was not his original plan. The Titans were an afterthought. Even after the incident with the Gordanians they were not an official team. That happened later. To be honest we didn't think they would last more than a few months."

"But why Batman?"

The Dark Knight folded his arms.

"Other than Robin, only Beast Boy has any formal training with a proper mentor. The other 3, while gifted, are poorly trained. Because of their amateur status the Titans have had far too many close calls with disaster. Take the Geomancer, Terra Markov. After Deathstroke trained her she was able to easily dispatch Robin and his team. She exploited each team member's weakness: Raven's inability to control her anger, Starfire's naïveté, Cyborg's easy going nature, Beast Boy's romantic feelings for her and most of all, Robin's steadfast belief that everyone can be redeemed and deserves a second chance. He should have known better."

"I still don't understand Bruce, what does this have to do with the Young Justice League?"

Batman paused for a moment before replying.

"We made a mistake with our first attempt at forming the Young Justice League. We treated Robin and his peers as children, so they rejected us and built their own clubhouse so to speak. Now there will be a second chance to do it, and we have learned from our mistakes …"

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"So you're saying that they won't treat us like kids this time?" Artemis asked.

"So far I like what I'm hearing." Superboy added.

"What do you think Megan?" Robin asked.

"Well, I really had no problem with the way we were treated back at home, but I can tell you guys are pretty excited about this. What do you think Kaldur?"

The Atlantean once again was his usual somber and serious self.

"We must not forget that our objective is to return home. I understand that the odds are severely stacked against us, to the point of all hope being lost."

"So what do we do?" Artemis asked. "Do we waste away, spending the rest of our lives waiting for the path home to be found?"

"Or do we adopt this universe as our new home and move on?" Robin asked.

"What about you Wally? You haven't said anything."

"What about the Titans?" He asked.

"Look Wally, I really like the Teen Titans. I respect their independence and their accomplishments, but even you have to admit that they are really rough around the edges. I think we should train with the Justice League. Once our training is complete, who says we can't go back to them. Besides that, we left Megan's ship with them, it's not like we're not gonna talk to them anymore or stop being their friends." The archer replied.

"Artemis makes a very good point." Kaldur added, just as Batman approached them.

"I see you have finished your meal. Please come with me, I have something to show you."

The 6 teen heroes obediently rose from their chairs and followed Batman out of the mess hall, and were watched by the many lesser members of the Justice League who were also eating a meal in the celestial dining room. Batman led them down along hallway and into a small auditorium, where he indicated them to take a seat. Once they were seated Batman took his place behind a podium and was joined by the other mentors: Green Arrow, Flash, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter and Superman.

"Today each one of you had a brief training session with your potential mentor. I'm certain that Robin has already explained everything to you, but just to be clear I will formally deliver our offer to you. The probability of your eventual return to your universe is miniscule, infinitesimal to be exact. We will continue to in our search to locate it and if we are successful you will return to your home."

Batman paused, cleared his throat and continued.

"In the meantime, we are prepared to complete your training. Once your training is complete you will be admitted into the Justice League as full members."

"Full members?" Superboy asked.

"Yes, full members." Batman replied.

Wally shifted his stance, adopting a defiant pose.

"In other words, we'll just be your sidekicks again."

Batman nodded.

"That is correct Mr. West. However, we have prepared a training program for you, a program that is intense and hands on, were you will be pushed to your limits and will quickly reach your potential. We estimate that it will take approximately two months to complete. Upon successfully completing your training you will no longer be sidekicks."

Murmurs of surprise and excitement echoed throughout the room as the teens quickly exchanged remarks with each other.

"If you accept, you will be paired with your mentor. There will be no missions to interrupt your training, except in the most exceptional of cases which should be rare as the rest of the Justice League will be able to cover for us. You will spend all of your time with your mentor and won't have any time to interact with anyone else, not even your teammates."

"What about the Titans?" Wally asked.

"They are not part of your training program. Once your training is complete you will be free to do whatever you please. Of course as full members of the League there will be certain expectations of you. That said, you will be under no obligation to join the League and could return to the Titans if you are so inclined."

It was then that it dawned on Kaldur that Aquaman would take him back to Atlantis for the two months. He knew that it would be busy during the training period, but after it was done he would be able to rethink his role on this world, his role as a leader, as a hero and even as an Atlantean. Maybe, he began to wonder, if maybe there would be a place for her in his new life. Kaldur was a realist, he had seen the odds of returning home and understood that they might as well get used to living in this familiar, yet different world.

A world where Tula still wished to be with him.

Kaldur and his team conferred in private and after a few minutes they responded.

"Batman, we accept your offer."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The alarms at the bank were still ringing when the three Titans arrived. Cyborg's sonic cannon was charged and deployed, Starfire had starbolts in each hand and her eyes were glowing their signature fluorescent green while Robin had his bo staff in one hand and three bird-a-rangs in the other.

The bank lobby was a large and cavernous room with marble floors and walls. It was also deserted. The numerous teller stations were unoccupied and the room was so quiet that their footsteps echoed loudly off the marble. Robin then noticed that in the far corner of the room that some of the desks were smashed. He pointed towards the desks, using his other hand to signal to his teammates to remain silent. They slowly approached the pile of desks and once they reached it Robin gave the signal to attack.

The three Titans leaped over the mountain of destroyed furniture as Robin shouted his signature "Titans Go!"

And stopped dead in their tracks as they saw Terra tie up the last of the bank robbers. The blond geomancer was once again wearing her tan colored unitard and gave the three Titans a friendly smile.

"What took you guys so long?" She asked innocently.

Robin gave Terra a glare as good as any Raven could have delivered. While he had been an advocate for the blond in the early days, he now had his doubts about her. Some would argue that she had redeemed herself, offering her own life to save the city from the underground volcano she had inadvertently awakened. Robin often wondered if she really did it for Beast Boy, to save him. One thing that had not changed over the years was the cocky attitude she acquired as Slade's apprentice.

Robin stared into the young woman's blue eyes. One thing they shared, other than her brief tenure as a Teen Titan, was their servitude to Slade. What he couldn't fathom was how she had willingly become the one eyed villain's servant. Slade had coerced Robin into servitude, threatening to murder his friends with the nano-probes he had planted in their bloodstreams if he refused. But Terra had joined him of her own free will. He then also recalled a big difference between Terra and himself: His teammates rallied to free him from Slade, while placing themselves at great risk. They would never had done that for the blond geomancer.

"What are you doing here Terra?" Robin growled.

"What does it look like? I'm fighting crime."

Starfire frowned at the remark and became airborne, rising over her teammates. She hovered in front of Terra and scowled at her.

"You are not a Teen Titan!" The princess reprimanded her.

Terra laughed.

"I never said I was. You guys don't have a monopoly on fighting crime, you know? Or do I need your permission to be a hero?"

Robin dropped out of his fighting stance, allowing his muscles, which were literally preprogrammed via "muscle memory" into perfect combat stances, to relax. As he exhaled he could feel the tension oozing out of this body, like air leaking out of a balloon.

"She's right, we don't have a monopoly and she doesn't need our permission." He replied breathlessly

Terra grinned triumphantly as she traded glances with Cyborg and Starfire, who were now showing the confusion they felt on their faces as the police stormed the building and hauled the bandits away.

"Well, I guess our work here is done." Terra crowed as she began to walk away. "We should get together sometime; maybe have pizzas or something. See ya!"

Terra summoned the same granite surfboard she had used to bring Raven back to the Tower, and quickly flew away.

"What was that all about? Since when is Terra a crime fighter?" Cyborg asked.

"I agree with friend Cyborg, this is as you humans would say, the fishy."

Robin watched Terra disappear in the distance.

"I think we should have that pizza with her, I have a lot of questions for Terra." He sighed. "She's right; our work here is done, even if she did all the work. Let's head back to the …"

Robin was interrupted by a loud chirp in his utility belt. He drew his communicator and flipped it open, revealing and Raven's face on the small display.

"It's Red-X. He just broke into the Metropolitan Museum. He's probably after the Mayan jewelry display." She informed her leader in her monotone.

"That's just two blocks away!" Cyborg interrupted.

Robin cursed his luck. Encounters with Red-X were never pleasant, or easy for that matter, and he was now down two team members. A voice in the back of his head was telling him that maybe going after Red-X without Raven and Beast Boy wasn't a good idea. But then all he could see was the cowl, and the steel cold eyes glaring at him through the eye openings, piercing him with their disapproval, their accusation of incompetence, of being reminded that he was just a kid. The unspoken accusation burned, like a hot dagger stabbed into his midsection, twisting as it lacerated him, sucking the life out of his very being. It was like when they had been in Tokyo and Commander Daizo had dismissed them with a laugh. He remembered the humiliation of being ineffective, and the fear was back. If he backed off now, what would Bruce say? And if he failed how could face Bruce again?

Or worse, how could Robin ever face himself?

Failure was not an option.

"You guys heard Raven! We have a mission. Titans Go!"

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It's a little late now, so I'm skipping the mail bag tonight.