All My Friends Are Superheroes

Summary: Being a teenaged hero is no walk in the park; juggling school, homework, superpowers, friends and family can be tough, especially when you and your secret boyfriend are tiptoeing around teammates, parents and mentors. However, sometimes in life you have to just stop worrying, and let the stones fall where they may. It might not be that bad, after all. Season 1. AU/OOC. Birdflash.

Point Of View: Third person's POV, set in past tense/story format, with dreams/thoughts italicized. The focus will mainly be on Robin and Kid Flash, of course, but I fully plan to further explore their interactions with the team, and also with their JLA mentors. Story starts after the team has been established, right after the end of their first official mission together.

"It has been said 'time heals all wounds.' I do not agree. The wounds remain. In time, the mind, protecting its sanity, covers them with scar tissue and the pain lessens. But it is never gone." - Rose Kennedy

The Dark Knight had been on the Watchtower when he got the alert.

He had been there all morning, attempting to find some clues about where to look for Robin next by using the satellite's highly advanced surveillance equipment, looking over footage taken from the Black Orchid hotel in Star City. It showed his boy getting dragged out of the building by the man they were looking for. The fact that he didn't seem to be trying to fight back or even run away was troubling, but considering he had just seen his best friend get shot, it was to be expected.

Seeing the man knock him out using a sleeper hold and lock him into the trunk of a car did nothing but make his blood pressure rise. His concern for his young partner and adopted son made him focus harder than he could ever remember on his task.

It was because of this that he almost didn't hear the beeping sound.

When he did, however, any and all thoughts of the screens before him fled his mind as he checked the blinking light on his mini computer, looking it over twice, and then a third time, just to make sure he wasn't reading it wrong. Robin's GPS had turned back on, the one built into his holographic glove computer, as well as the one in his communicator earpiece. As soon as he'd processed the location it was telling him, Batman was on his feet and racing for the nearest Zeta beam.

"Batman calling Mount Justice. HOJ slash Watchtower. Designation 02; priority red."

The GPS tracker led them to an old storage facility near Santa Monica.

Despite everything that Mello had told him about the woman known as Anastasia Ivanova, which was mostly all backed up by her long criminal history, a part of Batman was still bracing himself to find Robin's corpse in the warehouse, mutilated and unrecognizable. It had, after all, been more than twenty four hours since he'd last been seen.

When it came to his partner, the Dark Knight was always wary, doubly so considering this was a new enemy he was facing, one that he knew little about when compared to Joker, Poison Ivy, Two-Face, Bane, etc. At least with the Clown Prince, while his instability made him somewhat unpredictable, his fixation with the Batman meant he loved playing mind games, causing him to get reckless and slip up occasionally.

But Anya was meticulous, and unless something managed to rattle her badly enough she wasn't about to make a mistake that would lead to her getting caught.

Which was why he wasn't all that surprised when the only thing that was waiting for them, alongside Robin's utility belt, gloves and communicator, was a prepaid cell phone.

The others kept on searching the property while Batman stepped outside to make the call, there was one phone number already programmed into it. He made sure his temper was in check before he rang the digits.

"Hello, Batman." A woman's voice soon greeted in heavily accented English, "So, the child didn't lie when he explained how to use those devices. Good, I was afraid it wouldn't work."

The vigilante considered her words for a moment, frowning.

Robin would never willingly give out valuable information, he knew that for certain, so something was very wrong (assuming that she wasn't just lying to get into his head). If it had been a plan of his to get the Russian to leave him alone, he would have escaped by now... but that was unlikely given that the accomplice, Pyotr Andreyev, would probably be watching him.

"Anastasia." Batman answered, somewhat stiffly. This wasn't the first time he would have to play hostage negotiator, not even for his own child's life. But just because he'd done it before, didn't mean it was ever easy. "Or do you prefer Anya?" Establishing a connection and empathizing with a kidnapper was usually recommended, but that was if it was someone under duress - like if their crime had been committed in a heat-of-the-moment act.

This hadn't been. Not really. At least part of it was premeditated, since she was obviously the one in charge.

Pyotr was the muscle, Anya was the brains.

She would be too smart to trick, so honestly communicating with her to find out what she wanted would be his only option while the others searched for, and hopefully found, something that could give them a clue as to where she was keeping Robin.

He heard traffic on her end of the phone, she was on a busy route, but that didn't give him anything to go by. There was no distinctive sounds. "Anya is fine." She replied, "I have to say, when I first learned that it was three children that had infiltrated my little operation, I was surprised. Impressed, even. Are your friends in the League of Justice aware that you send little boys to do your dirty work?"

The tone she used was antagonistic; the game had begun.

"I didn't send them," He replied evenly, "But then, you knew that already."

A pause, followed by a quiet chuckle, "Yes, I suppose I did. Your sidekick is very...brave, he tried not to speak, but in the end my persuasion won. It always does."

The image of a grown woman stabbing his son in the shoulder and torturing him when verbal interrogation alone wasn't enough assaulted his mind, and Batman found himself fighting down his temper, "Is Robin okay?"

"He's alive."

The for now didn't need to be added, he heard it in her voice.

"You didn't answer my question," he pointed out, struggling to keep himself calm. If she heard the edge in his voice it would only goad her into playing with him more. He needed real answers, maybe then he could focus on getting her to slip, even just a little, and provide some sort of hint.

"...He is quite sick," Anya eventually told him, which came as a slight surprise, because he hadn't thought that she would answer. "Pneumonia, I believe." Batman cursed internally when he heard that. "When I left he was awake and talking... but he requires proper medical care." Was that... did he imagine it, or did her voice take on a guilty tone just then? He didn't think she was capable, but maybe he'd pegged her wrong. It was possible she empathized with children, simply because of her own difficult childhood. Hmm...

"You're right, he does. Maybe you and I can work something out so we can get Robin the help he needs."

There was a smirk in her voice she responded, "I would like that very much, Batman."

Kid Flash hated feeling helpless.

Especially when it came to his best friend.

The League had left Mount Justice for California a while ago. Batman, Superman, Black Canary and several others had gone to meet up with Green Arrow and Flash, who were still searching for Robin, to track down his GPS signal. He was pissed off that they wouldn't let him go. Robin was a member of their team, and yet they were meant to just sit there and do nothing.

Batman had promised him personally to keep them all updated on the situation in Santa Monica, but that just wasn't good enough!

He was more than slightly aggravated, to say the least, not to mention worried.

Eventually, Mello seemed to notice, because he looked up from the television and gave an irritated noise, "Will you stop with the speed-pacing already? I'm getting nauseated just watching you, and you're creating a draft." He sounded so blasé, and it was kind of infuriating and confusing at the same time, considering the blonde one had been the most urgent last night about finding his friend before something horrible could happen, and now he was acting like he didn't care.

"SORRY!" Wally exclaimed sarcastically, "I didn't realize my heart-stopping fear for Robin was cutting into your shitty reality show!" He was vibrating, the redhead was well aware of that fact. But he didn't seem able to control it at the moment, he needed to let off steam somehow.

"Look, man, if you want to help the League that badly, Matt can help you out."

Wally turned to look at the other ginger, who was completely spaced out, focusing on whatever game he had been playing for the last several hours. Raising an eyebrow, he turned back to Mello with a frown.

Rolling his eyes, the blonde elbowed the other redhead in the side, snapping him out of his trance, "Huh? What?"

"Matty, Kid here needs to know where exactly the Capes ran off to, think you can hack into their system and pick up the signal from the GPS they were using?"

"Hm? Oh, sure, piece of cake." Matt saved his game and tossed it aside, getting off the couch. His back made a terrible clicking sound when he straightened it for the first time in hours. Adjusting the goggles over his eyes, he turned to face the speedster, "I'm a little out of practice, but that shouldn't be a problem though. Lead the way, Baby Flash."

Wally drew his eyebrows together in confusion at the nickname, and he might have questioned it had his heart not been pounding in his ears currently. This guy was a hacker like Robin? Which...which meant that he could find out where the others went, and maybe he could help figure out a way to save his best friend before it was too late. He ignored the part of his brain, the more pessimistic side, that told him it might already be too late. Why else wouldn't they have heard from the League yet? Something had to be wrong.

No, he couldn't think like that, he had to hold onto the belief that Robin would be okay.

"You're kidding me."

Wally was staring at the other redhead in disbelief, because there was no way what he just said could have been true. He had managed to track down the League easily enough, they were at some old abandoned warehouse just outside Santa Monica. He'd been about to run, when Matt had also told him that there was more. Something fishy going on.

Why hadn't the League contacted them yet?

A phone conversation, specifically, where one side was a disposable cell phone, and the other was an encrypted one that was bouncing its signal off of several different cell towers throughout the state.

"I don't get it - aren't encrypted phones untraceable?"

Matt had a smirk on his face as he tapped away furiously at the keys, "Usually, yes, but where there's a will, there's a way... I've got mad skills, and your kidnapper is currently driving on the Pacific Coast Highway. She's an idiot if she used a car still in her name, and...Oh, no. No freakin' way." He pushed his goggles up and squinted at the screen, "You've got to be - that bitch took my car! Well, one of them..."

"What?!" Wally zipped over to the computer and stared at the screen in shock, "How do you know that?"

"Live satellite feed. You've got a pretty sweet set up here, everything is state of the art and seriously expensive. Oh, and that's definitely my ride." He pointed to a red one on the video, "It's a 1968 Chevrolet Camaro, RS/SS. If she damages it in anyway..."

He couldn't believe it... the other boy had actually found her.

The hope that bloomed in his chest was nearly paralyzing, "I-I have to go."

"Well? Then go!" He encouraged, offering a cheery smile. "If Mr. Roboto asks, I'll cover for you."

Giving a slight nod, feeling more grateful than he could express with words, the speedster took off.

They had a chance at finding his best friend now, and he couldn't let the opportunity slide by. When he got his hands on those freaks they were going to regret ever laying eyes on Robin!

"How do I know that he's still alive?" Batman asked Anya, when she first mentioned money.

They'd been on the phone for nearly half an hour, and he knew she was trying to stall for time.

Already knowing that it was what she wanted, he was fully prepared to arrange a trade off, if he could get Robin back and apprehend her at the same time, then it would just be killing two birds with one stone, so to speak (more like killing one bird and rescuing another). But she seemed reluctant to offer any proof that he was actually okay.

"You don't." She answered simply, "But you're going to have to trust me, Batman. I don't hurt children if it can be avoided. He is worth more to me alive anyways. Oh, and if you try to send one of your costumed companions to trick me, I will know it, and I'll have Pyotr kill him before you ever find out where he is." Her threat seemed real, but there was still a hesitance in her tone.

"I-" He was about to speak again, but something stopped him.

Tires screeching, car horns honking, and Anya swearing audibly in Russian - he could also hear the phone she was using being dropped, but luckily it didn't break upon impact.

Shouting.

Pressing the cell a little closer to his ear, he was trying to piece together what was going on, when he heard laboured breathing on the other side.

"Batman?" A very familiar voice addressed, panting, "I-I got her! I got her and I'm bringing her to the warehouse."

It was Kid Flash, and the vigilante almost wished he could say that this was the first time the impatient speedster had caught him by surprise, but it would have been a lie. It wasn't even the first time this month. He had ordered the team to stay at Mount Justice because he didn't want to risk anyone else getting hurt, or worse, by the two maniacs.

The teenager was nothing, if not determined.

Maybe Robin wasn't in the wrong for revealing his identity to him.

Interrogating Anya had led to nowhere, fast.

Almost immediately after Kid Flash had arrived at the storage building with the woman in handcuffs, she had clammed up, refusing to speak at all. He tried his usual tactics, but the Russian was a stoic. She wasn't afraid of prison, and he already knew that because of her upbringing, threats of violence would do nothing but bring out even more defiance.

The young speedster had asked to speak with her, but Flash had outright refused, and he was inclined to agree with him. The redhead had been the one to capture her, and while that was impressive, she would likely not be any more cooperative with him for that reason alone.

Eventually, knowing that Robin was slowly running out of time, and that they were running out of options, he'd asked Martian Manhunter to join them at the warehouse and sift through her mind.

Anything that they didn't already know would help. Batman didn't want to admit that he was starting to get desperate, but...

When J'onn had arrived, he was very clear that he made no promises about what he could learn. Some minds were more difficult to penetrate than others, more naturally resistant to telepathy, and it could turn out that there was nothing he could do. But all the Dark Knight wanted was for him to try. He believed Anya when she said that Robin had Pneumonia, simply because lying about that wouldn't have benefitted her in anyway. If she had been trying to worry him about his partner's health to make a trade more likely, she could have just as easily lied about an injury.

The fact that an untreated case of Influenza could lead to Viral Pneumonia only made him certain that she spoke the truth.

If he was really sick, they needed to get to him, and soon.

So now, they stood across the room from the Russian girl, who was glaring daggers at the Martian. She didn't seem afraid of his appearance in the least, her expression was one of anger.

He knew why.

When their backs had been turned for just a moment, she managed to somehow get her cuffed hands in front of her. She'd overheard them talking about J'onn's mind reading ability, and that seemed to make her panic, because the next thing they knew, J'onn had her pinned against the wall with his telekinesis, after catching a glimpse of her lifting a shard of glass to her own throat.

Clearly, she didn't want anyone in her head.

Everything was absolutely silent in the warehouse for a good ten minutes.

"She is resisting..." J'onn informed them, a look of concentration on his face. "I can see Robin in her mind-"

"Where is he?" Kid Flash blurted out anxiously as soon as he heard that, "Is he okay?! How..."

Batman silenced the boy with a look, knowing the Martian needed to be able to focus. It was out of courtesy that he was giving them a play-by-play of what he was seeing. J'onn didn't seem particularly bothered, but he shook his head slightly at the questions, "I don't know that, yet. She is blocking the location from me. But I can show you-"

His mind was suddenly filled with the last image of his young partner that Anya had: Robin seemed confused and shocked about something, and was handcuffed to a headboard. But the room they were in didn't tell them anything about where he was. It could have been anywhere in California within driving distance of this location. Truth be told, Batman was more concerned with his ward's appearance. He was so pale, so sickly looking. The fact that his mask had been removed was surprising, but if Anya knew Robin's true identity than she would have tried to blackmail Bruce Wayne. Considering she hadn't been in the country very long, and Dick had only been in the news in the beginning when the adoption was first heard of, she probably didn't know who either of them were.

"She's hiding something." J'onn informed them telepathically, "It's not about Robin, but she's worried we'll find out anyway. I'm going to try to break past her mental barrier..."

More silence, until Anya suddenly let out a sharp cry, doubling over and looking distressed, and memories that weren't his own appeared in their heads.

There was a girl, no older than eight or nine, gray eyes filled with tears. Anya. She was sitting on her bed, shoulders trembling, and a similar-looking man sat beside her. He smiled lovingly and brushed her white-blonde hair back, resting his hand on her knee. She seemed terrified by his very presence. The hand started to slide up, under her skirt... the image suddenly changed. Anya was a little older in this one, standing in front of a grave with a blank expression.

Standing beside her, a formally-dressed woman put a hand on her shoulder, and she stiffened slightly at the contact. "It is time to go, Anastasia. Your new family awaits."

Taking one last glance at the headstone of her father, she shrugged off the unwanted comforting gesture and walked ahead, muttering, "Can't be any worse than the last one."

J'onn managed to uncover several other key details that hadn't been part of Anya's known history. From age twelve to age fifteen she moved from foster home to foster home, something he did know. They saw images of her, actually smiling, as she walked hand in hand with a boy. His name was Vladimir, and from the Martian's mental translation of the Russian language, they learned that he, too, was an orphan, living in the same home as her.

A few minutes later, murmuring broke out among the group.

So... that was Anya's secret.

Maybe there was a chance she would tell them where Robin was, after all.

Batman cleared the warehouse before going to talk to Anya.

From what he now knew about her, it seemed more likely that she would open up if she didn't have an audience listening in. From outside, Superman would be able to hear anything, just in case he missed something that could be perceived as important, however likely that was. With this new information, he was fairly certain he could get her to give up.

The documents that he had just finished reading were ones that had been kept hidden from his initially background search on her because they had been made confidential, upon her request.

As soon as he was a few feet from Anya, he crouched down to where she was sitting, and looked her in the eyes, "I know why you wanted that money, Anya."

Her expression flashed with worry for a moment, but she concealed it rather quickly, and gave him an arrogant smirk, "Shopping, of course. Do they not say that diamonds are a woman's best friend?" She was trying to cover up her fear, because she knew that he knew, and it frightened her. Did she honestly think that he was going to threaten her with her "Secret"? Batman had crossed plenty of lines in his career, but hurting a child was not one of them.

Not having time to do this gently, he brought up the image he'd saved on his wrist computer, but took no pleasure in the spasm of pain that passed over her face, "How long have you known your son was dying for?"

From what he and J'onn learned, Anya had given birth to Alexiel just shy of her sixteenth birthday. Her last foster family had forced her to give the baby up for adoption. Despite her drug addiction, she'd been adamant about keeping him, and the choice being taken out of her hands was what prompted her to act out.

The records said that she had run away, but that was a lie. After receiving the money from the family who had privately adopted Alexiel, they kicked her out into the streets. That was why she became a prostitute. It made a lot more sense. Her desire to extort money from him became clearer when he discovered that the boy, who had moved to the U.S. with his family a couple years before she was released from prison, was suffering from a congenital defect of the heart, possibly due to the narcotics she had been taking before giving birth.

He had been ill most of his life, and Anya had been sending them money anonymously for the past several months. But now he needed a transplant. The waiting list was long, and going to the black market meant bankrupting yourself in order to save your child.

It looked like he and Mello had both pegged her wrong, it wasn't just a game.

Not to her, anyways.

All of this waiting was making Wally feel sick with nervousness.

Batman had forced them all to leave the warehouse so he could talk to the woman alone. He didn't like empathizing with the bad guys, but seeing her memories through Martian Manhunter made things a lot more understandable.

Her father had been abusive, that was something that he could relate to. Granted, his only got drunk and beat the crap out of him. He was aware it could be much worse than that. But it didn't mean he didn't understand what it was like to love and hate someone at the same time, because they made you miserable and afraid. He also knew what it was like to have someone you trusted take advantage of you and break your spirit.

They'd been standing outside for what felt like ever, and he was pacing again.

Eventually, he couldn't take it anymore, and zipped into the warehouse while the others were distracted. Only Superman might have noticed him leave, but if he did, he didn't protest. Maybe he could feel the determination radiating off of the impatient speedster in waves.

"You need to tell us where Robin is." Kid Flash told the lady as soon as he was in front of her, ignoring the glare he could feel Batman aiming at the back of his head. "And you need to tell us right now."

The blonde woman stared up at him for a moment in silence, "Why?"

"What do you mean, why? You left him with a crazy murderous pervert while he was sick and defenseless! He'll be dead soon if we don't get to him! Are you telling me that you don't you care at all?"

She gave a little shrug, and winced slightly when it put strain on her shoulders from the handcuffs. Good, maybe then she would feel a fraction of the discomfort her goons had put Robin through.

How could he make her understand...?

It wasn't that Wally didn't feel bad for what she had gone through, but it sure as hell didn't excuse causing an innocent person to suffer!

"Listen to me," He said, trying to keep calm and resist the urge to start screaming at her. "Robin is thirteen. He doesn't deserve any of this. Do you know that he lost his parents when he was only nine? There's no one really left to his family but him. His mom used to read him stories when he was little and sick, to make him feel better, 'cause that's what good parents do. But now he doesn't have them anymore, and he doesn't have us either right now, so he's all alone."

"Kid Flash..."

Wally nearly cringed at the voice that Batman addressed him with, but he wasn't about to stop. Even if it meant he'd be in huge trouble later. He could see that Anya or whatever her name is was starting to listen. She might not care what happened to Robin, but he would make her care, somehow.

"I know what your father did to you." Her eyes widened at that. "I know how you feel, but-"

"You know how I feel?!" Her voice was nearly a shriek, her expression lethal, "How dare you-"

"It made you feel sick to your stomach." The redhead interrupted her, squaring his shoulders, "Like your insides were full of lead and it was slowly killing you. Sometimes you wished it would. You knew it was wrong but you were helpless to stop it. You tried to wash it all away but you couldn't because it was under your skin."

Anya blinked at him and fell silent. "People always told me I was lucky, for having such a great cookie-cutter family, and I used to get mad at them. My father's an alcoholic who sometimes slips up and beats the shit out of me and Mom." He paused, before adding, "Of course, he wasn't like that until I let my baby sister get hit by a car and die." He tried to keep his voice deadpan when he said that, but his hands still trembled slightly. "They blame me, but I don't mind, because I know it was my fault. I never used to think I was lucky, but I guess now I do. Because, even if they aren't the best in the world, I know they love me. They put up with me and my science experiments and my expensive metabolism and barely ever being around. They never dumped me off in foster care, or starved me, or...did what your Dad did."

He moved a little closer, sitting down so they were eye level. "I can't blame you for being angry and cold about everything that happened to you. I would have turned out that way too, I think, if it weren't for my friends." She now looked confused, and swallowing hard, he tried to tell her in a quiet, even tone that probably came out shaky and not very quiet at all, "My teacher assaulted me when I was in the fifth grade, and he got away with it, because I never told anyone, either."

Anya stared at him with disbelief.

"So, I might not understand completely, but...I do, a little bit. I know how it haunts you, no matter how many years go by, and it makes you afraid to trust other people because they could hurt you too. I know what kind of evil is out there, I never knew that people could be capable of such...cruelty, that they could be so depraved. I do now, though. But Robin..." He let out a breath, "He's just a kid, and he doesn't know. I don't want him to ever know. Your friend is just as twisted as your father and my teacher. I-I need to know where he is. Please."

The blonde-haired woman was silent for a moment, before her shoulders slumped and she let out a weary sigh. When she finally looked back at him, her expression was defeated, exhaustion evident in her dark gray eyes. "He's at a former client's house. 1939 Sierra Drive, in Malibu."

Kid Flash nodded his head in thanks, and in seconds was on his feet and tearing out of the warehouse, not stopping to talk to or even look at anybody.

I'm coming for you, Rob.

I know this chapter might have seemed rushed, but I had a lot I wanted to add to it and it was getting kind of long, plus my fingers hurt, so... I did say there would be skips, didn't I? These are just some minor ones. I'm also not very good at being Batman, sorry! The next one will be up fairly soon, I'm sure, since I know where I'm taking this story from here.

Leave a review and let me know what you think so far!