Whoa BUDDY, do I have a long chapter for you guys. No lie, this will take you forever to read. I feel bad for those people who just started reading this story, because whoa momma!

Anyway, sorry this took so long. I was busy. Well, not really. But I was lazy, so there. Laziness is a disease, so you have to forgive me. Everyone forgives the sick. Its, like, human nature or something.

Anyway, I guess that's all. Ignore typo's. I'll fix them later.

Enjoy!

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Panic. Panic. Okay, it was time to panic. And when that didn't fix things, then it was time to panic some more.

"This tall," Victor said, holding his hand a few inches beneath his chest, "Black hair. Big blue eyes. Round face. Loud. Cant miss him."

"Sorry," the nurse said, shaking her head, "I haven't seen him. Is he a patient here?"

"Yes," Victor sighed, "I already told you that."

"I'm calling the police then."

"Sure, go ahead. Call. But they wont come... again."

Victor shook his head, heading back to Tim's room. Tim's empty room.

"Any sign?" Gar asked, when Victor entered. "Alfred said he's not at the manor, and Nick hasn't found anything downtown either."

"Did we check the buildings and patrol sights?" Rachel asked, entering the room.

"Yes," Victor answered her, "But we already found him there. He wouldn't go back."

"We need to call Dick," Rachel said, going into her meditation stance, "We can't just keep pretending like this isn't happening. He'll be mad if we keep this from him."

"Okay," Gar said, "But how-"

"Shh." came Rachel's voice in his head, and he allowed her mind to enter his.

It wasn't using a phone or sending a text, but it was the only way they could get in contact.

"Erm... Rachel?" came Dick's voice.

"Rachel, is that you?" came Nick's voice, and she could already see him, perched on some gargoyle, looking confused.

"Yeah, yeah, everyone. Its me. We're all connected." she told them.

"Hello friends!" came Kory's cheerful voice.

A chorus of hellos went up and Rachel merely waited for silence.

"Hey, little lady." Victor said cheerfully. "We missed you. Rachel told us about how you lost your memory and stuff."

"Yeah, dude," Gar added, "Sucks big time."

"I am alright," Kory assured, "A little confused on most things, but Richard is most assuredly filling me in."

"We finished?" Rachel asked, getting mental nods of heads, "Great. Dick, Kory, we called because we have a little problem."

"Yeah," Nick agreed, "Tim's gone."

"What do mean, gone?!" Dick and Kory exclaimed, simultaneously.

"Gone as in run away," Victor clarified, "We can't keep him here in the hospital to save our lives."

"Dude, he's wild. I'm telling you." Gar exclaimed "He acts just like you."

"He tried to escape from the hospital four times. Made it three." Rachel said, proving their points.

"Make that four now," Nick corrected. "He did a good job this time too. I can't find him anywhere."

A mental groan came from Dick.

"Just... keep looking." he said, "He can only go so far, right?"

"Not really," Gar said, "He's just about healed, but the doctors want to keep him another night, just to be sure."

"Then expand your search," Dick said, "Look where you wouldn't normally look. Think 13-ish thoughts. This isn't anything but hide and seek. Think dark places. Shadows. And make sure all the Batmobiles and vehicles are at the cave. I'll kill him if he took one."

"Way ahead of you," Nick said, "Already in route."

"So how 'bout you?" Victor asked, "Heard there was a setback. Hows it going now?"

"We are still trying to complete our original plan," Kory said, "We are also in route to find Adeline. We figure we are close now, so we should be back later today."

"Just hurry, dudes!" Gar cried, "Remember that surprise I had? Well, it has a time limit on it!"

"Man, it just better not be another one of your tofu buffets," Victor gagged, "That was the worst day of my life."

"Dude, you know you loved it."

"Only someone suicidal could love that stuff."

"That's a lie!"

"No it ain't!"

"Yeah it is!"

Dick felt Rachel cut the connection and he rolled his eyes, sitting back in the taxi. It had taken most of the morning to find a road, considering the fact that they were in the middle of nowhere, but with their shields, getting to town was pretty quick.

They asked around for a while, and it seemed that Adeline Kane was actually pretty well-known. The taxi driver knew her personally and was taking them that very moment. Thankfully it was close, too.

Dick looked to Kory, she was twisting the gold key between her fingers, like she had been doing all morning.

"What do you think it opens?" she asked, flipping it around.

"I don't know," he responded, "Maybe a locker or something. It's not normal. So no house key or car key."

He looked at the key over his shoulder. The length of it was circular, like a cylinder and it didn't have any ridges or juts, it was smooth and rounded, instead. Nothing like a normal key.

"Where do you think Tim is?"

She sighed, resting her head back.

"I don't know. He is good at hiding."

"Yeah," he agreed, looking out her window.

"Here we are." the taxi driver said, pulling up to a small ranch house. "Ms. Kane's house. That's 15.95"

Dick paid the money and Kory and him got out.

Not very big, Kory observed, and Dick opened his mind to her.

No decorations or lawn furniture.

Grass it neatly cut.

Shrubs are kept neat.

Nothing personal about it.

A house said many things about a person. And so far, Adeline's house said that she didn't want to stand out or be noticed. There was nothing about her house that drew attention. It looked like all the other homes and sat plainly. Maybe she was hiding something.

"So, who are we?" Kory asked, referring to their identities.

"Lets just play it cool," Dick told her, "We'll say we're relatives, hoping to find out a little more on our great grandfathers side."

"That's a lot."

"Just follow my lead."

Dick rung the doorbell, then cheerfully rapped on the door. Time to pretend.

Kory was never one to really be good at lying and acting, but being a princess had its advantages. She learned all about face control and learned a good deal about how to read people. If Dick could do most of the talking, she was sure she could follow his lead and play her part.

A woman answered the door. She had black, curly hair that reached just passed her shoulders. She was smiling brightly, wiping her hands on an apron she had on. It was caked with smudges of all kinds of things. The smell of bacon and pancakes wafted out behind her.

Dick just remembered how hungry he was. He hadn't eaten in a great deal of time, his last meal consisting of cookies and milk back at the Odds Family's place.

"I'm Kory," Kory said, snapping him from his food trance, "And this is Richard."

"Yeah," Dick said, shaking his head, "You wouldn't, by chance, be Adeline Kane, would you?"

"That's me-" she said, and before she could really finish the word, Kory had rushed forwards and hugged the woman tightly.

"We have been looking all over for you!" Kory exclaimed.

"Well in that case," the woman laughed, "Come in, please. I just made breakfast."

She stepped back to let them in, and Kory and him shared a look. This was going easier than they had expected. And... they got food in the process.

"I'm afraid I don't recognize you two." Adeline said, leading them to the dinning room table and pulling plates and forks from her cabinets and drawers.

"Don't feel bad," Kory said, "You wouldn't. We're family of Nathaniel Wilson's."

A funny look crossed Adeline's face and Dick didn't fail to take note of it.

"Both... of you?" she asked.

"She's my step sister." Dick explained. "Twice removed."

"We've come all this way to learn more about his side of the family," Kory said.

"A bit of a family tree project."

"I see," she said, placing food on the table, "But I'm afraid I'm not part of that family anymore."

"No," Dick smiled, "But you were married to our three times removed cousin Slade Wilson, Nathaniel's son. And learning about him is just as good, right?"

"I suppose." she said.

Not very eager, Kory noticed.

Not at all. She's suddenly very conservative.

Are we being too forward?

A little, but anything less might not get us the answers we need. Just keep smiling, and keep asking questions.

Dick looked to Kory who nodded her understanding and took a bite of her food.

"How long were you and cousin Slade married?" Kory asked, and Dick could tell she was weaning her way towards the deeper questions.

"Oh, about 5 years," Adeline said, more comfortable with that topic, "We had two kids. Your... three times removed first cousin once removed, I guess. Or something like that. Joey and Grant."

Dick recalled Tim saying something about her having a son. A blond kid with blue eyes.

"But your divorced now, right?" Dick asked, receiving a nod from her. "From the few times I met him, he wasn't all that nice."

"He used to be good with kids," she sighed. "When Grant was born he was so happy. But he started taking these jobs and they changed him."

It would be extremely helpful to figure out what jobs he took. It may just answer one of his biggest questions: who was Slade.

We need to know what jobs he took.

How? Do you really think she'll tell us?

Not a chance, but she doesn't have to. We're telepaths, remember?

And you know how to read her mind?

Cant be much harder than reading yours, right?

Perhaps. I will try it, if you get her talking about it again. I have a feeling that will help.

"What kind of jobs did he take?" Dick asked.

"Oh nothing, nothing." she said. "Just, not quite your office job, is all. But he did it because we needed money. He loved us."

Anything?

I am not sure. What is a 'mercenary'?

And there's out answer.

Why?

A mercenary is like an assassin. They kill for money.

So, her Slade, is our Slade.

Exactly.

"And what about Nathaniel," Kory asked, "Were you close?"

"Oh no," Adeline chuckled, "Slade's father was a deadbeat loser. He was on the wrong side of the law. Went a little crazy at the end of his life too."

She still believed Nathaniel was dead. She had no idea his death had been faked and that he was now Gunner Wilson.

"What do you mean, crazy?" he asked.

"Well," she said, "After his house caught fire, they brought him outside and he kept mumbling about his wife, which is very understandable, but he went on and on about killing her. I believed so hard that he had cared for her, too."

If he cared for his wife, why burn her?

"Slade didn't much care for his father and we only saw him probably once a year."

"How did Grant and Joey take it?" Kory asked.

"Oh," she sighed, "Well, Grant had already... died. He died in a freak accident, and Joey didn't much know Nathaniel."

So Grant was dead. How unlikely that it was a freak accident.

"What kind of accident?" he pushed, knowing it was unwanted, but needed.

"He was kidnapped," Adeline sniffed, "Some unfortunate plot to get to my husband."

Now that, Dick believed.

"He was a good boy," Adeline said, dabbing at her eyes, "A good boy."

Kory grabbed her hand, lending comfort and getting a smile from Adeline.

"Okay," she said, smiling, "Anything else, I can answer for you?"

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Ryan was freaking out.

The envelope he had in his hands was crunching under them and it looked as if it had gone through thick fog and some water, but really, he was just really sweaty.

And it was because he was freaking out.

He had clear instructions on how to get to Gotham and how to get back, but really, he wanted neither. He wanted to drop the manilla folder in the middle of the ocean and make a sharp turn to the right and fly until he couldn't anymore. But he knew he could do that, Luther could track his every move with his suit.

Luther said it was so that he could point Ryan in the right direction, should he get lost, but Ryan knew Luther was still suspicious of him and wanted to keep close tabs on him. And that was why he was flying just how Luther had instructed him to.

Ryan wasn't sure what he would do when he finished the errand. He refused to go back to Luther's and he still had that tablet in his suit with proof. He would simply shed his suit, only, it seemed to be stuck to him. Literally. He couldn't pull it away from his skin. It was like glue. He'd of peeled all his skin off, just trying to remove the suit.

He was flying away from... Metropolis, where Luther lived, but as a city, Gotham, he knew, was seen on the horizon, it was getting darker. They had different time zones, and going at Ryan's speed, it was quite interesting to see the world turn to night so quickly.

It was late twilight when he reached a checkpoint of his search. The top of the GCPD. It was easy to find, the light that was on it was shining a bright bat in the sky. It was kind of hard to miss. Stealthily, he flew down the side of the building to street level.

This was the part he most feared. Seeing other 'humans', more like himself than any other creature he had ever seen. He wasn't used to seeing so many. Luther, himself, and Mercy was it. That was all. He knew, personally, no one else, but suddenly, he was thrown in their midst.

He walked down the street, folder gripped tight and head down. He avoided the streets Luther told him to and went down the ones he was supposed to. Lucky for the both of them, Ryan had an impeccable memory.

He looked up a the green street sign: 7th Street. He was supposed to turn left down this street.

But there was only one streetlights down that street, but it barely lit anything, and the street was so little that no cars could go down. It looked like... what was that word... an alleyway... that was it... it looked more like an alleyway than anything.

Trash cans and trash was lined lazily on the side of the two brick walls. A few cats hissed and made sounds. Big, black, trash bags were torn and something small with a long tail ran by.

Ryan was scarred. The street was so dark, despite the single light, but he was under strict instruction not to show any powers. Luther stretched the meaning that it would mean his life. Not could. Not maybe. Would. Heroes, apparently, weren't welcome in this part of the city. This did nothing to make him feel better. Starfire and him looked very similar, and she was a well-known hero.

"Lost?"

Ryan whipped his head around behind him. He wasn't supposed to talk to anyone, but the voice was close. It was the first bit of recognition he had gotten since he had been here.

"I ask, because you look lost."

Ryan finally spotted the speaker, but only because he had finally shown himself. Ryan figured he could search and search and not see any evidence of the speaker without the speakers permission. The speaker, now revealed to be a boy, walked from the shadows and into that alleyway behind him.

"Cant talk or something?" he asked.

"I'm not supposed to," Ryan said.

Mental slap. He wasn't supposed to be talking.

"Under someones instructions or something?" the boy asked, "It's not like a kid to walk around with a manilla folder."

"Something like that. I can't say." Another mental slap.

"Look, I'm a good guy. If you come with me and tell me whats wrong, I can take you to people who want to help."

"I can't just leave."

"But you want to, right? This isn't some kind of 'prove yourself to the underworld' kind of thing?"

"I... don't think so. I don't want to be here, if that's what you mean."

"Alright great," the boy said, "Then come on, whoever instructed you isn't stronger than me and my friends. Your protected."

The boy turned, prepared to just waltz Ryan and himself away to safety. As if it were that easy. As if all that needed to be done, was to simply turn around and go, but it wasn't that easy. If Ryan could just turn and go, he would have. Long ago, actually.

"I can't go."

"Why not?" he asked, a bit frustrated. "I told you, your protected."

"I'm being watched," Ryan said, motioning to his suit. "Its got trackers all through it, and this folder? It has a tracker in it too. If I don't deliver the folder within my time frame, bad things are going to happen."

"What kind of bad things?"

"I don't know, he just said bad things and I believe him. He's hurt me once before."

The boy walked around in the alley a bit. He passed by the single street light and Ryan finally got a proper look at him.

He had seemed rather imposing when he spoke, but Ryan could now guess that he was no older than Ryan himself. He was fairly short, compared to Ryan and he wore very colorful clothes. He had black hair that look like it hadn't been combs in days, and Ryan knew what that looked like. His own hair resembled it on more than several occasions.

His eyes were covered in a domino mask, and though the one he wore wasn't familiar, Ryan had seen masks quite a bit when he was traded around. The boy wore a black cape, with a yellow-ish underside. But Ryan also noticed small hints of bandages under his clothes. A bulge here, and bit of gauze showing there. Ryan was no expert, but pain he knew. And the boy walked a bit like he was numb, or on painkillers.

"Stop staring at me," the boy said, not even moving to look at Ryan as he watched his own pacing feet. "Whats your time?"

"5:45" Ryan told him, not even sure what that meant.

"That's in 5 minutes. Your gonna have to do this."

Ryan looked to the end of the alleyway. A dark, dirty, brick lay at the back and an even dirtier red door was on it. Ryan was instructed to go inside, but he found he was frozen in his spot.

"Let me take some pictures," the boy said, taking something from a black belt around his waist. "Alarms will probably go off it you open this, but that's okay because this is an x-ray camera."

Ryan didn't know what the boy was talking about, but it didn't matter now because the boy was currently pushing him to the door.

"Just go in there," he said, "Do what your assigned to do and come back out. With a few minutes, I'll be able to hack into your suits frequency and free you, okay? Just whatever you do: take the money. Nothing says phony more than someone declining money. Out here, that's all people worry about."

"But... but..." Ryan had no excuses. He just had to suck it up and go into that door.

At least now, he had a semi-friend waiting for him.

Ryan looked behind him one last time, seeing the boy dive behind a trash can, and knocked like he was showed. The door opened slowly and Ryan gulped, going in.

It was so dark that Ryan couldn't see a thing. But he eyes began adjusting and he found that it was probably always this dark. The place smelled like smoke and some other things that probably wasn't good for you. It was loud, too. Screaming and hollering. People cursing and a few loud bangs of something went off every few seconds.

Ryan walked straight back, like he was told to do. He was looking for a Rupert Thorn. A big man, with white hair, and who smoked. That was the description he had to go off of.

Someone grabbed his arm, and Ryan spun around fast. He found, shockingly, that it was a lady so much older than him that it didn't even make sense that she was concerned about him. And despite he old age, she wore practically nothing.

"Aren't you a bit young to be hanging with the big boys?" she asked.

Ryan pulled his arm from his without much strain and tried to continue on his way, only for her to block him again.

"Its alright, you don't have to be scared of me," she smiled, showing only about 3 teeth, "I don't bite."

She grabbed his arm again and leaned close to his face. She reeked of something that had to be making her intoxicated. This close, Ryan could see that she actually had about 5 teeth, total.

Good for her, he guessed, but she was making him uncomfortable now.

"I have the key." he said, the phrase Luther had told him, should anyone here give him a hard time.

The lady let go of his arm and backed away, bumping into what looked like a cross between a crocodile and a man. The thing had been playing something that involved colorful balls and a stick. The stick he had in his hand had run through the green table the balls rolled around on, ripping it.

"Sorry Crocky," she said, but 'Crocky', or whoever, grabbed her with little difficulty and snapped her neck.

It dropped her lifeless body and looked right up into Ryan's eyes. It growled, showing its teeth, and Ryan made a dash for it. This place was a filthy, dirty, dangerous mess. No one cared anything for one another's life. In a way, it was like the Gordanians, but at least Ryan had had bars to separate himself from the things. Here, he was out in the open.

He reached the back of the place and looked frantically for a big man with white hair and who smoked. He saw his target and rushed over to the man. The man looked exactly like Ryan had been described too. He had on a white and black suit and was smoking something huge.

"Rupert Thorn?" he asked, getting a nod. "I have the key."

Ryan practically shoved the manilla folder in the mans hand. He was close to having a breakdown. It was must've been too small in there. The smoke was getting to him and he couldn't breathe. And something, he wasn't if it was a man or woman, was staring at him uncomfortably. He just wanted to get out of there.

Rupert took the folder and flicked his wrist at a girl beside him. The girl walked up to him, another creepy smile on her face and barely any clothes covering her as well, and put some green stuff in his hand. This had to be the money the boy was talking about.

With a nod, Ryan made a beeline to the door. He didn't have whatever key they were talking about now. He wasn't sure if his lifeline phrase would work anymore.

Thankfully, though, he reached the backdoor without any trouble, or if he had any, he walked right out of it. He threw open the door and rushed outside, a cool breeze greeting him. He took a moment to breathe in the fresher air. Gotham didn't have a great air quality, but it was so much better than that place.

"You do it?" came a voice, and Ryan jumped, seeing the boy come out a shadow from behind him.

"Yes," Ryan said, breathing again, "It is done."

"Well if you can survive that place, than your pretty good. But anyway, I found the frequency and your home free."

"You mean... Luther can't track me anymore?"

"Luther?" the boy asked, "You mean, Lex Luther? He's the one whose got you tagged?"

"No, he's the one whose tracking me. But... now he's not, correct?"

"Correct." the boy said, but his mind clearly wasn't in the answer, "Where are you staying? I'll make sure you get home."

"That's the thing," Ryan said, following the boy who was beginning to leave the alleyway, "I just got to this planet. I don't live anywhere. I came here looking for Starfire. I think she and I are related."

The boy leaned forward, looking Ryan right in his face.

"How did I not notice that?" he asked himself. "No matter, then you should come back with me. I know Starfire. She and my brother are... teammates. Their just... teammates."

Ryan really hoped this kid was telling the truth. The last person who said they knew Starfire had him come out here and doing some dirty work. Ryan was done doing favors only to get an inch closer to what he wanted.

"How long till we reach our destination?" Ryan asked, watching a moment as dozens of people passed them by.

"Depends," the boy said, "Can you fly?"

The boy was far too eager, it seemed, to hop on Ryan's back as Ryan lifted into the sky. Ryan had already gathered than humans didn't fly, and he had to say he loved the feeling himself.

In moments Tim had pointed them in what seemed like random directions and they had landed on a big lawn in front of a big house. The boy jumped off Ryan's back with surprising ease, despite looking numb and being covered in bandages.

"Aw man," he complained, crouching on his knees, "Wally's been here."

"Wally?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah. My friend. See?" the boy pointed at the grass, which had what looked like deep footprints in them going in a million different directions. "He doesn't wait long."

Ryan stepped in the grass, barely seeing an indent where his foot had left off.

"He must have been here for a long time," Ryan disagreed, "He'd of had to walk in his same steps many times to get that kind of imprint."

"Not Wally," the boy argued, "He's... quick on his feet. He probably ran over and was gone within a few seconds."

Ryan wasn't sure how that was possible, but he kept his mouth shut. He didn't know who 'Wally' was and didn't want to insult the boys friend. The boy...

"I never asked your name," Ryan said, and the boy looked mildly startled. "Mine is Ryand'r. Or Ryan, I suppose is more in your language."

The boy silently pointed up at a window and Ryan took the hint, flying them both up. Ryan ended up taking them to a neat room. Blue paint, neat bed, huge library. If Ryan had a room, he'd want it to look just as clean and neat as this one.

"My room," the boy said, closing his window and curtains back.

He flicked on a light and went through some drawers, pulling out some pants and a t-shirt. Without even caring, he stripped down and changed from his colorful clothes into the other clothes. Ryan took that awkward moment to look around some more. A bathroom was attached to the other side of the room. That too was clean, every white tile on the floor sparkling. Every inch of the huge mirror shinning.

"It's not dirty in there is it?" the boy called and Ryan shook his head, forgetting that the boy couldn't see him.

"I wasn't here long," the boy said, fully clothed now and checking in the bathroom to make sure it was clean, "Rachel has this place, like, mentally monitored or something. She found me withing minutes of my being here."

Ryan, again, was confused. He didn't know who Rachel was, and was it a bad thing that she found him? If it was, then why come back here?

The boy had made a complete change of clothes. His colorful cape and clothes were gone, replaced with boring gray sweats and a plain blue t-shirt. His domino mask was gone too, instead bright blue eyes were wide-eyed, but Ryan had a feeling that they were always big like that. Ryan's himself were probably just as big. He looked incredibly pale with the lack of his colors and his dark hair. The boy he... the boy...

"Your name." Ryan pushed. Thinking of him as 'the boy' seemed so impolite. "I never got it."

"My name." the boy repeated. "I'mmmmmmmmmmmm..."

He dragged the last word out so long Ryan was sure he was going to pass out from lack of oxygen. But after a moment, he took a deep breath before continuing the m in the word.

Ryan looked at him, his eyes slightly lidded as boredom was creeping in. Luther had given his name easy enough, and Mercy's had been said without a problem either. Why was his name so hard to explain?

Ryan scratched his arm, an itch creeping in, but froze when he realized that the suit moved freely. He wasn't attached to it anymore. When the boy -ugh- broke whatever frequency was attached to the suit, he must have freed Ryan from the suits grasp or stick or whatever held Ryan to it.

Zipping down the front a bit, he pulled the tablet out, inspecting it for any kind of damage.

"Er... Ryan?" the boy asked, watching him oddly. "How many things do you have in there?"

"Just this," Ryan said, turning it on like he remembered.

Looking at the boy, he had struck an image in Ryan's head. Pale skin. Dark hair. Blue eyes. Going through the files in the tablet, Ryan finally found the pictures. He pulled up the same one that had Richard and Kory dressed up, and handed the tablet to the boy.

"You are related?" he asked, and the boy looked up at him with more than a few reasons to be confused.

"Richard Grayson," Ryan clarified, pointing at the screen. "You are related to him, yes?"

"Kinda," the boy answered, "He's my brother. More specifically, my step-brother."

"You... step on him?"

"No," the boy said, smiling a bit, "His... his step-d- erm, his foster dad adopted me."

"I see," Ryan said, nodding, "Like a trade. He is not really your father, nor your brother. Not by blood."

"Just law." the boy said nodding.

"And Koriand'r." Ryan said, pointing again at the picture, "She is your Starfire?"

"Yeah, that's Kory."

Ryan watched the boy press some buttons on the tablet, and more pictures came up. Ryan had no idea how to do that, but he watched as the boy did numerous things, going through files and documents. Clearly, he was good with technology.

"This is Lex Luther's tablet isn't it?"

Ryan nodded, "I took it from his desk in his office."

"Asterous." the boy said, scrolling through some numbers.

Ryan took a seat on the floor, not feeling nearly comfortable sitting on the boys bed. He leaned his head back against the side table, closing his eyes, and just let himself relax for a moment. That feeling of passed danger was setting in and it was making him feel tired.

Something bumped him and he cracked open an eye, seeing the boy sitting next to him. The boys legs were crossed in a way that didn't look comfortable, but his features were relaxed so Ryan let his eyes close again.

"Tim." he said suddenly, and Ryan gave up trying to rest. "My name, is Tim."

Ryan held out his hand respectfully, and Tim shook it graciously.

Ryan tried to look and see what Tim was doing on the tablet, but it seemed as if he were downloading it to some main computer, and Ryan didn't know what computer he was using, so he looked around the room for the 3rd time. Being that close to the floor now, Ryan could see that the room wasn't as spotless as he had thought.

Deep, red stains littered the floor, and though it seemed as if someone had briefly tried to get it up, Ryan recognized that rich color. It was blood.

"What happened to you?" Ryan asked, still staring at the numerous stains on the floor.

"Oh that?" Tim asked, nonchalant, waving a hand "That's just juice."

"No it isn't and your covered in bandages."

Tim looked down at himself, trying in vain to hide any obvious hints of his injuries, but it seemed futile and by time Tim realized that, he seemed frustrated with himself.

"Its nothing, really. I'm fine."

Tim had stopped typing on the tablet, and was just staring at the stains, like Ryan had done moments ago. There was some story behind whatever happened, and though Ryan itched to figure out what it was, he didn't want to pry either. It really was none of his business. He shouldn't have asked in the first place.

"Well..." Tim said, as if Ryan had asked again, "My... my step-dad beat me."

"He beat you?" Ryan asked, a bit shocked.

Tim spoke as if he had no problems. He was clearly confident in himself. Not afraid to voice his opinions. Getting beat though, that was always a problem. And even still, Tim had said it himself, he was a good guy. He had waited for Ryan when Ryan was close to a breakdown. He had given instructions and freed Ryan from his suit. He didn't seem like someone who even close to deserved a beating.

"Yeah, but its alright." Tim said, laughing a bit as if it were a bit humorous, but his voice held no mirth "I'm fine. And he's sick. He didn't know what he was doing."

"I think he did."

"Look, I'm fine okay? It doesn't hurt anymore and like I said, my step-dad is sick. He didn't mean it."

"Did you do something wrong?" Ryan asked, scolding himself a second later for prying.

"No," Tim spat, but softened and Ryan realized he wasn't actually angry at him. "Well, you're not from this world, so telling you stuff isn't really like revealing a secret. See, Wally, my step-dad, Bruce, my brothers, his friends, Kory; we're all what you call heroes."

"You help people," Ryan said, letting Tim know he could skip the explanation.

"Right," he continued, "Like I did you tonight. Anyway, a couple of days ago, Bruce and I were taking care of a robbery. One of those simple ones where a guy just breaks in a jewelery store and runs like an idiot. The smart thief's usually just turn themselves in when they see Bruce, so this doesn't normally take long."

Ryan was impressed. He was very familiar with leaders and imposing situations. He knew how to get attention. Respect. Fear. And while he had never used those tactics, he knew it would take some time and a lot of effort to get that kind of regard. To have that much of an effect must make Tim's step-dad a very important, or imposing, figure.

"We had both thought the guy was alone," Tim continued, "But we chased the guy into an alleyway and he had a friend in one of the upper building windows, and the guy opened fire."

A few select terms, like 'open fire', were a bit confusing to Ryan, but he nodded his head anyway.

"Bruce gave me the signal and I went after the guy who had the jewelery, while he went to take out the guy with the gun. Long story short, he got away. Sucker punched me and tossed the bag of jewels down a sewer drain. Bruce was furious at me. I let the crook and the jewelery get away."

"Then what happened?" Ryan asked, not even worrying about prying; he was too far deep in the story.

"Then he beat me," Tim said, his voice dropping, "Right there in that alleyway. I was so embarrassed."

Embarrassed? How about hurt. In pain? Guilty? Embarrassment would be the last thing on Ryan's mind. Yes, it would probably be there, but not as a dominant feeling.

Apparently, Bruce was not the paternal type, and Tim was not the kind of person who worried too much about pain. Perhaps he did care what other people thought about him, because if he was embarrassed then he must have cared a lot about what Bruce thought about him. And from that story, Ryan was pretty sure that Bruce didn't deserve that kind of respect. That kind of devotion. Tim didn't need to prove himself to that man and it almost made Ryan mad. He hated people who looked down on others. Who took advantage because they were smarter, or stronger. Be they alien, human, young or old. He had been through that and it hurt to hear others go through it as well.

"But he's sick," Tim said, going back to typing on the tablet "He didn't know what he was doing. Bruce would never hurt me. He cares."

Something in his voice made Ryan feel bad for him. It sounded like he was trying to convince them both of this. How many times had Tim said his step-father was sick? That he didn't mean it? Too many for it not to mean something. Tim was absently defending his father without thought. Like an automatic machine, programmed to do only one job. Trying to get Tim to see that his father was wrong was like trying to get that machine to do something it wasn't programmed to do. It just wouldn't work.

"Ok." Ryan said, sensing their needs of changing the subject.

Tim was glad the subject was dropped. He hadn't said anything about that night to anyone; but he was pretty sure Rachel already knew. She looked at him a little funny and had a weird knowing look to her. But then, she always looked like that.

You talking about me?

Tim should have known this was coming. Rachel found him half the time he ran away, and being back in his room, he knew it would only be a matter of time.

Just thinking to myself.

You do know you're in trouble, right?

You said that the last few times.

Yeah, but this time Dick knows.

Crap.

Yeah, double that crap. Because Nick freaked out a little this time.

Then double crap.

Whose there with you? I sense another presence.

A friend I ran into. I think it's that kid Luther was going after, he sure enough had him tagged.

You sure?

Positive. Ryan's got a lot of proof here too. I'm looking through some of Luther's files... things are not looking so good.

Dick will want to know this.

Already uploading this to the main computer. It'll be done by the time they get back.

Your still in trouble.

If I do it neat enough I may get an easier sentence.

Doubt it. He'll kill you.

Probably right, but its worth a shot.

Whatever. Look, we're all headed back. You wont stay here and I see no need anyway. Vic will hack the computers and sign you out. I'll finish the healing process myself. Just don't leave the house again. I'll kill you myself if you do.

Roger.

Rachel dropped from her meditative stance and watched a moment as Nick swung into the hospital window, the dark cloaking him.

"We find him?"

"Yeah," Rachel said, a black shield forming under her. " He's back at the manor. Vic will sign him out. I'm going back."

"What?" Victor exclaimed, "How can you let him off the hook like that? He ran away."

"He wont stay here," Rachel said, allowing Nick to jump on her shield, "He was only supposed to stay until tomorrow anyway. I'll keep an eye on him myself. But this hospital atmosphere is driving me mad. People in Gotham have a lot more problems than people in Jump do. There's a lot of pain in here. Its starting to hurt."

"Lets just go," Gar said, "I'm tired of chasing that kid all over town and he'd just run away again. He's crazy."

"Fine," Victor said, taking hold of Gar's feet as he shifted to a pterodactyl, a flew out the window, "But if he starts bleeding like that again I'm bringing him back."

"And I wont stop you." Rachel said, moving her disk out the window behind them. "It would serve him right to be put back in there."

"I think my punishment will be a bit worse."

Everyone turned their heads to see where that last voice had come from.

"Dick, man." Vic said, "We were starting to wonder when you were coming back. Thought maybe you eloped."

"Greeting friends!" Kory cried making the shield she was on go a little faster to catch up with the others. "We have missed you greatly."

"Planned on stopping in to see Tim," Dick said, "When we saw a pterodactyl fly out a window."

"I didn't sense you near," Rachel said, and Dick could hear a bit of irritation in her voice.

"That block," he explained, "I think we have that mind block thing you put on us."

"Right," she said, nodding her head, "I forgot."

"Find out anything important?" Nick asked, sitting down crossed legged on Rachel's shield.

"The Slade's are the same." Kory mentioned, "But his ex-wife is quite nice and generous."

"She gave up a lot of information." Dick agreed, "But she wasn't as up-to-date as we had hoped. She still though Nathaniel had died in a fire."

"And we ran into a quite interesting family," Kory said, going off of what Dick had told her, "We have acquired a key from them that seems of importance. They were affiliated with Gunner."

"He must have spies all over the place," Victor said, "Way out there? He may be watching us right now."

"I wouldn't be surprised." Nick said, as they approached the manor, "This is Slade we're dealing with. He's always a step ahead. And now it's not just him. It him and his dad. That couldn't possibly make things easier for us."

"It would make things easier for us if he could make things easier for us." Gar said as they made their way towards the house.

"What have you found," Kory asked floating off her shield while did leaped off, "You have found out information, too?"

"Gar and I found the nanobots that's controlling Bruce," Nick said, "I've cross referenced the engineering and design and confirmed that it was work of Jervis. I also ran a scan of the poison that killed him; its of Tameranian origin. Hard to come by."

"And I've kept my eye on that Gordanian ship," Victor said as they climbed the front stairs, "All the kids have made it back safely to Tamaran."

"And the boy," Rachel said, "The one Luther was after, he's safe. He's actually right-"

Rachel stopped as the front door was flung open quickly. She wasn't surprised to see Alfred standing there, but she was a little shocked to see that the house was full of people.

"Go through the kitchen," Alfred said, because closing the door back quickly.

"Oh great," Nick sighed, "A dinner party."
"Another party?" Garfield asked, "Didn't we just go to one?"

Dick led them all around the house. They had to climb through a big, neatly cut hedge that was shaped into a W. Vines and flowers were intertwined all through the hidden, overgrown path they had to take, so it took a few minutes to try to get through it without getting cut by the thorns on the vines.

"This has actually been a slow week," Dick said, "Usually there are more than one parties in a day. About three dinner parties and probably about five or six big ones that Chris comes to help with."

"Chris is here?" Rachel moaned.

"No," Nick explained, "Like I said, this is just a dinner party. Alfred will pull our clothes for us, but the concept is the same. You still have to mingle with boring people. You still have to smile a lot. And you still have to meet boring old people."

"Will the food be better?" Victor asked, "Because that other party's food was disgusting."

"Alfred's cooking for this," Dick said, "This food will rock your socks. And he knows you're a vegetarian, Gar, so there will be tofu."

Gar did a little dance. "Man, I love Alfred."

"Everyone does," Dick and Nick said simultaneously.

Opening the back door with a hard yank, they all walked into the kitchen, where food was set up all over the counters. Ham and crab-macaroni took up half a table while turkey and shrimp cocktails and jello shots took up the other half. Three whole counters were devoted to desserts, ranging from homemade ice cream to red velvet cupcakes and to freshly baked apple pie that still steamed and left the smell of cinnamon wafting through the air.

"I've died haven't I?" Victor asked, and it took Rachel's powers to get him to stay at bay.

"No touching." she said.

Nick silently taped Gar and a small table and it only took Gar a second to figure out that it was full of tofu.

"Tofu has never looked so beautiful," he cried, "It's not gray and it's not blobby. It's so colorful and pretty! Look at all the colors!"

"Yeah grass stain," Victor said, still bound by Rachel, "That almost looks good enough to eat."

"No touching," Dick said, "Alfred can tell if a shrimp has been moved. No dessert if you mess with it before its time."

"Do you think theirs vegetarian dessert?" Gar thought out loud, squealing when Kory pointed to another table set off to the side. "Is that a vegetarian red velvet cupcake? Is that milk-less ice cream? How do you even do that?"

"Quiet," Rachel said, following Nick up some back stairs, "We came in the back so that we don't get noticed. You guys yelling will definitely get us noticed."

"You know you want some of that food," Garfield said, poking Rachel with his elbow. "You know you want some tofu, Rae. Don't deny it. It'll only make things harder later."

Rachel rolled her eyes but chose not to respond to him. It only encouraged.

"Just change and head down," Dick said, "Smile. Mingle. With any luck, this party will be over by midnight and we can ditch and come up with our next plan."

"Already done," Garfield said, pushing a button on his holograph ring and appearing in a dark blue suit, "I'll just head down and check on that food."

Garfield ran back down the stairs before anyone could object. He hadn't combed his hair or brushed his teeth again, but what did it matter when his mouth would be full of that vegetable salad anyway. He didn't like being in a room full of snobby adults, so he'd probably ditch more than once too, so his hair wasn't really anything to be concerned about. Most of the time, when he actually managed to hold a conversation with an adult, he had no idea what they were talking about. He just ended up nodding and ditching for a good ten or so minutes.

Garfield rushed into the kitchen, but sighed when he saw the it wasn't empty. One of the maids was there stirring some red sauce in a pot. She was dressed rather pretty for a maid, made up in a long black dress and her black hair twisted up in a bun.

Gar turned, deciding to head out and wait for one of his friends to come down, when he remembered something. As far as he knew, Alfred was the only butler there. Knowing that the woman didn't belong in the kitchen, he headed back, seeing that she was still there.

"Hey," he said, prepared to shoo the woman away.

"Oh Garfield," the woman said turning, and Gar saw that it was actually Mrs. Grayson. He had forgotten all about her.

"You look dashing." she said.

"Thanks," Gar said, all at once feeling like he should run from the probable intruder, "You look nice too."

"Just something I threw on," she said, waving her hand, "Where are the boys at? I can't seem to find them."

"Changing. We just got back from the hospital."

"So late?" she asked, "I hate for any of you to travel so late at night."

"We-"

"I know, I know," she cut him off, "Teenagers. You want to do what you want when you want. You don't want an old person like me telling you what to do."

"No, its alright." Gar said, and he actually meant it.

Even if she wasn't really anyone's mother she still acted like one. It seemed like forever since any of them had some kind of parental guidance. They lived on their own. Did what they wanted. Acted how they felt. They screamed and fought with each other. Did whatever they felt like doing, be it sleeping in or working out. It was kind of nice to have a woman take a maternal interest in them. In him.

"Well come help me cook, Garfield." she said, "Alfred is a wonderful cook, but I think his food needs a little more of a woman's touch."

Gar wasn't a woman, but he approached her, cautiously, anyway.

"Dick been out of town?" she asked, casually. "I haven't seen him as much as Nick. His girlfriend either."

Gar swallowed while he stirred the sauce. What should he tell her? That Dick and Kory had gone out looking for clues on Slade and Gunner? The very person who may be behind Mrs. and Mr. Grayson's whole existence?

"They were here," he lied, "They just like their privacy."

"So they are together, huh? Wonder why he didn't tell me."

"No," Gar explained, "Their not. At least, not officially. But they dance around each other all the time. Everyone knows they like each other."

"I guess my baby is the lock and she's the key then."

"Which is funny," Gar chuckled, "Because Kory just found a key. Maybe it goes to his heart."

"A key?" she asked, her voice suddenly serious. Inquiring. Not humorous, like Gar meant it to be. "What kind?"

"Nothing special." Gar said, backtracking, realizing he may have said something that shouldn't have been said, "Like a car key. Or a house key. Probably goes to one of Bruce's motorcycles. You know he has like, 6?"

"Where'd she find the key?" she continued.

Gar ignored her, "I mean, who has that many motorcycles? You know he doesn't name them or anything. He calls them by their numbers. Like 'Alfred, could you get motorcycle number 4, for me?' who does that?"

"Garfield," she snapped, getting his attention, "Where did Kory get that key?"

"She found it in the hallway, upstairs." Gar said, trying to sound nonchalant, "It was just laying there, no biggie."

Mrs. Grayson didn't look convinced though. She looked angry as she stirred the sauce, splashing it up a little and onto her dress.

"I should find my friends," Gar said, excusing himself quickly.

He really hoped he didn't just cause a problem.

"Already causing trouble?"

Gar turned around to Rachel's voice. He should have known she'd be done getting dressed first. She didn't dress to impress. She dressed not to cause attention to herself. Showing up in her leotard or jeans in a party where women wore extravagant gowns would cause more attention to her than she wanted.

But now, she wore a black part dress. It was totally the opposite of what Gar would have expected. The dress was kind of short, coming just below her knees. While it was a halter at the top, right below her waist it poofed out into a big, fluffy, princess like bottom. The bottom was covered in red lace, checkered in the design of roses. She had left her hair alone and the only makeup on her was mascara. She wore black ballet flats. But besides that, she still looked like Rae.

"You look great Rae." he said, and while her face didn't change, she actually got some color to it.

"You look... nice, too." she said, and Gar puffed out his chest a little. She rarely complimented anyone. Let alone him.

"Is Tim coming down?" Gar asked, "He'll help me steal some food."

"No," Rachel said, "Alfred probably wont let him. Half the people in there are going up on the jello shots and the other half are draining their cocktails. I have a feeling Alfred keeps Tim in his room for these types of parties."

"Good for him," Gar sighed.

"You guys are too cute," Victor said, coming up behind him. "Dick and Kory better watch out. More love birds on the way."

"Shut it or I'll shut you," Rachel warned, but her cheeks got a little pinker.

Victor looked similar to Gar himself. A dark blue suite, no tie, no dress shoes, just white sneakers.

Gar glanced behind Victor to see Dick, Nick, and Kory had made their way down as well. Nick and Dick looked exactly the same, in their black suits and, surprise, no ties or dress shoes, but black converses. Kory looked kind of similar to Rachel in her dark green dress and flats. But instead of having a halter, hers was sleeveless, and instead of lace, she had sparkles.

The three of them, being Kory, Dick and Nick, nodded their heads over and the three of them, being Gar, Vic, and Rae nodded back. It was that knowing of acknowledgment. That settling feeling in your mind where you know your not alone. It was that nod of 'hello' and 'I know where you are', that made Gar get that sudden feeling of remembering how much he loved his friends. How even in these kinds of situations and these kinds of days where they had to go around pretending like they were having fun, they were still the same on the inside. Kory would still stick close to Dick. Nick would still roll his eyes when he thought people weren't looking. Vic would still only smile genuinely when there was food in front of him. And Rachel would still look bored, as if the whole situation was pointless. And it wasn't just their attitudes. It was their dress too.

They all looked their part. They weren't as neat and tidy as the adults. Their was no hair gel in their hair. No bow ties, or even ties. Just open jackets and plain white, half tucked in, shirts. And heck, they had on sneakers; no dress shoes. The girls dresses weren't as long or froufrou-ish. They wore minimum makeup. But this was how it was supposed to be. They weren't here to pretend they were adults. They weren't going to pretend like they were having a grand time. They were teens, and their party-looking outfits said just that.

Gar liked this party much better. It was less glamor and glimmer, but it was more of his style. His friends looked like his friends. They acted like his friends. No phony smiles. No long conversations. No unnecessary politeness.

"Alfred's bringing out the appetizers," Vic said, "I'll grab you guys a bite."

He was gone before Gar could insist that he wouldn't eat meat, and he was in the process of going to tell him, when he happened to catch something out the corner of his eye in a nearby window. It was so dark out the windows that he could barely see a thing, still though, there were windows all over the house and in the main party room, so he looked out a few more windows and just happened to catch another bit of movement, at least he thought he did.

"Whats wrong?" Rachel asked, nudging him.

"Someones outside," he explained, "It could be paparazzi, but I don't know."

"I sensed someone too, but being in a room with so many people I wasn't sure. Come here," she said, grabbing his arm and leading him to a nearby and currently empty hallway. "Watch my back."

She let her head drop and her eyes darkened to black. Gar did as he was told, standing in front of her to block the sight of her black eyes. To anyone behind him, he might look like he was talking to her.

"I do sense someone," she said, "No, people. There are people outside. A lot of them. And they don't want pictures... they want... they want Kory."

"Why?" Gar asked, watching as her eyes went back to normal, "What do they want with her?"

"I don't know," she said, "But I've strengthened the bond on her and Dick's mind."

"We got to tell the guys," Gar said, making his way out the hallway.

"Right," she agreed.

They had just made it to where Nick and Kory were talking animatedly about something, and Dick was watching them approach, concern on his face, when the sound of silverware hitting a glass quieted the room.

"Can I have your attention," came the strong voice of Bruce Wayne, "First, I'd like to thank you all for coming to the dinner. Its means a lot to me that you support this new advancement in my weapons department of Wayne Enterprise. Now by now, you've all smelled the food and I wont make you wait any longer to have some. If we could all move to the dinning room, we could begin eating."

"Whats wrong?" Dick asked, when it was noisy enough to speak again, "What happened?"

Rachel could see it all in his face, he had sensed something too. But he wasn't as experienced as her. He didn't know how to interpret those odd feelings to make them make sense. Rachel had been able to channel that energy and find out what caused it, he was just stuck with that feeling of foreboding.

Someone bumped Rachel in their haste to get into the dinning room, and both Gar and Dick had stuck out a hand to steady her. She waved them off, looking to Kory briefly to see a woman push her a bit roughly too.

"This isn't another stampede is it?" she asked, and Dick seemed to look around for the first time.

"We better sit down first," he said after a second, "These people are drunk and hungry. We should get out of doge."

They were all pushed around a bit, but Victor had been waiting for them a few feet ahead and they used his bulk as a bit of shelter. A lot of people just went around him, and that took a lot of the chaos down.

By the time the managed to get to the dinning room, a lot of seats had been filled at the big dinning room table. A few seats were still scattered around, and they all looked at each other before splitting up to get to them.

Dick found himself a few seats away from Gar, but right across from Victor. Kory was out of his sight range, but he felt her down the table to his right. He could see Rachel to the far end of the table near the head, where Bruce was sitting and his brother was at the very end in the opposite direction.

"Weren't even going to say hello, were you?" came a voice and Dick turned to see that somehow, Barbara had managed to secure a seat right next him. He hadn't even known she was there.

"Oh, hey Babs," he said casually, "Whats up?"

"Nothing much. Just filling in for dad. He caught the flu, but wanted people to know he supported Bruce. So, here I am. His kin and social media."

"Tell him I said get better."

"Will do."

Can you hear me Dick?

Dick hadn't realized Rachel was trying to get into his mind.

Yeah, sorry. I'm open.

Like I said, there are people outside, Gar said, Rae and I both noticed them. There's a lot, too.

There's no perimeter breech, Nick observed, Their definitely not invited.

"Did you hear me, Dick?" Barbara said, unintentionally pulling Dick from the chat, "I said dad really wants you over for dinner."

"I can't," Dick said, his mind opening back up.

-will do? Came Vic's voice, Bruce is too busy with the party. We have to do it on our own.

Do what? Dick asked, I missed what you said.

Nick spoke, this time. We were going to-

"-busy, right? You've got new friends. A girlfriend. Heck, your dead parents are back. You're just as happy as you want to be, right?"

Dick ignored Barbara.

Richard? Came Kory's voice Are you alright?

Dick's pocket vibrated and three vases on the table burst. Luckily, the people were either too drunk to notice or too happy with Alfred's food. Too much was happening for Dick. He couldn't keep his focus on three different things.

Dick fished out his phone and went to the message he had just gotten.

Wndw brst up hre. 3 dozen or so blck capes. 2 many. Falling bck.

That was from Tim. Apparently, their was a break in up stairs and their were a lot of black capes- or villains, most likely with powers.

Dick stood from his chair quickly. He made eye contact with his brother, and Nick had begun to stand to.

"Hey!" someone called, "Dickie wants to make a toast!"

Dick had the sudden urge to sit back down. He didn't want to make a toast, he wanted to go save Tim!

"Go ahead," Barbara said, bitterly loud, "Toast to Bruce."

She even handed him a cup. So she was pissed he was ignoring her, but she didn't need to act like that. She knew him enough to know that he didn't like giving toasts and that he only stood like that in an emergency. He didn't even know what he was toasting to.

But everyone, be they drunk or not, was looking at him, and he had no choice but to take the cup from her. A chair squeaked and he saw Nick try to sneak out, but Bruce cleared his throat and glared, forcing Nick to sit back down.

"Well," he said loudly, looking around nervously, "Again, thank you all for coming."

Dick was trained by Alfred in etiquette and the likes, he made sure to look around and make eye contact with as many people as he could, but looking behind a certain man, he happened to glance out the window behind him. It was dark out and Dick couldn't see a thing outside of it, but he was sure something moved sharply, and Dick had reason to believe that someone was out right at that moment.

"On behalf of my step-father," he said slowly, his eyes still trained outside that window "I think I speak for him as well when I say that working at Wayne Enterprises is a tough line of work, full of much disappointment and criticism."

Dick realized Rachel and Gar's seats were empty and sighed a little to himself when he realized they had gotten away from the table. Rachel may have alerted them of something going on upstairs. Gar may have simply changed into a small animal disappeared while Rachel could have ghosted into the floor.

"It's a rare and beautiful time," he continued, "When Wayne Enterprises gets a success as big as this one. And not by ourselves do we achieve this, I might add."

Behind that man, the window, something was poking underneath it. A few of the guests glasses burst when realization hit Dick. In a quick second, the window was pried open with a crowbar and lifted up, allowing dozens of men to file into the house. Right in front of his eyes. They were all dressed in black, not one inch of them showing any skin. They were in a room separated from the room the men were in only by a short corridor. Anyone could plainly see it. It was all the eyes on him that kept people from seeing that action.

Nick suddenly slipped under the table and a second later he came out on the other side of the table and had jetted down the corridor. A few of the men froze, some of them ran, and a few others ran back out the window. Dick couldn't see all that was happening, but someone slid on his back, back towards the window and a few other guys ran out. So Dick figured Nick was taking care of that problem.

"Many people have added to the success of Wayne Enterprises," Dick continued, not even bothering to look around anymore, "People have put in years and years of work, not just for a paycheck, but for my father."

Dick felt, rather than saw, Kory's version of escaping the table. She merely excused herself and stood from her chair, walking out calmly. Dick followed her with his eyes as she disappeared. Victor took her hint and did the same. A blue and green light lit the room down the corridor and many more guys in black rushed out the window. Thus leaving Dick alone.

"And with that," Dick said, "I'd like to wish not just my father, but the whole company and staff, many more years of success and many more products of good fortune."

Everyone clapped politely and held up their glasses, but Dick didn't even bother. Instead, he speed walked around the table and hurried down the corridor. He could hear, both mentally and out-loud, some murmurs of his odd behavior, but he ignored them.

Reaching the room at the end of the hall, he saw that it was littered with people in black. A few burnt circles in the walls and a broken table, but that was all. Dick wanted to shut the window, but doing that involved walking over to the window, shutting it, and locking it, and that required time. Time Tim may not have had, so he hurried up the stairs instead.

He hadn't made it halfway before the sound of chaos, or battle rather, hit his ears. His mind led him to Kory, but he trusted her enough to take care of herself and instead went towards Tim's room. The boy probably would even be there, as smart as he was and as good as he was with hiding, but Dick had to check first.

He hadn't even made it to the door before a man was into it and threw the door off its hinges and back into a wall. The man slumped back against the door and Dick looked in to see his brother toss another guy out the door.

"Seen Tim?" Dick asked, and Nick shook his head.

"I've searched the room already. Nothing."

"He's not up here," Rachel said, coming up behind them, "I think he's above us."

Dick didn't waste any time going to the nearest staircase and going up another level. He had to say though, this was smart. The level above the rooms was basically a maze. It had few rooms, but it had many long and criss-crossing hallways that were poorly lit. It was a good place to hide.

Nick was right behind him and Victor's loud feet could be heard going up another set of stairs. Raven ghosted herself and Kory through the ceiling and a hawk flew over Dick's head before shifted into Gar.

The moment they all reached to top of the level, Dick gave them the signal to split up. Their mission was to find Tim and get him back to safety. Being a somewhat partner of Batman's, Tim had to know enough to protect himself, but three dozen was a lot to handle on your own and Tim was still so young.

Dick looked down a hallway seeing Rachel pass by, and behind her, down another hallway, Dick could see Nick going the other way. A labyrinth. This whole level was. It was confusing to even Dick. But he shook his head, continuing down the hallway he had chosen. He wasn't planning on turning down any hallways, for fear of going in circles, but a certain hallway called to him and he wasn't about to let this instinct go by.

He walked down the dimly lit hallway, feeling Kory not far from him, probably doing the same things nearby. So gradually that Dick barely noticed, Dick could hear the pounding of numerous footsteps, meaning either a lot of people had recovered, or a whole new batch of black capes were headed their way.

Dick's search got a little more frantic and suddenly, which way his mind wanted him to go didn't really matter. He quickened his step, jogging and whipping his head back and forth for a simple sign that his brother was near.

"Dick."

Dick stopped, skidding forwards just a little bit, and looked far down a hallway and seeing Tim, staring at him. Relief flooded him, and he noticed quickly that a boy, probably no older than Tim, with red hair and from the looks of it, orange skin was with Tim.

"Tim." Dick said, his voice echoed with that of a females and he looked a little further down the hallway to see Kory skidding to a stop.

"Hey." Tim said, waving at the both of them a bit sheepishly.

Dick was in the process of making his way towards the boys when he froze. It wasn't so much as what he felt was happening as what he knew Kory was realizing. It didn't make sense to him. One moment everything was a little better, but the next, Kory, she was changing. Or thinking. Or something was happening. He couldn't explain it.

Kory?

He tried, but her mind was a blank slate. He looked at her from down the hall. She was frozen stiff, her arms hanging loosely and her mouth slightly agape. She was in shock.

There was a loud bang and something hit the wall beside Dick. Spinning on his heels, he saw that the recovered batch or new batch of men had found them and they had guns. Which was totally new, since he hadn't spotted any guns before.

Focus snapped into place sharply and like always, Dick's hero instincts kicked in. Dodging another bullet, he put a shield up in front of him, protect the boys and Kory. He backed up, trying to get them closer together so that he could try moving them on a shield.

Tim didn't seem alarmed in the least by what was going on. Instead, he seemed to be trying to get his friend out of his own little mind breakdown.

Dick was carefully trying to get as much of a reading on the boy as he could, and at first, he realized little more than the fact that he was clearly Tameranian. But then, looking a little closer, looking at the boys eyes, his skin, his hair, his round face. He realized something; this boy wasn't just a Tameranian. No, he was directly related to Kory. Closely.

"Ryan?" Dick asked, sucking in a breath when the boy looked up at him, "Oh god."

"What?" Tim asked, curiously, "Whats wrong? Whats wrong with Kory?"

Tim ducked down, his hands going over his head as a new round of fire opened, now shooting his shield from all sides. He was surrounded. But Ryan stood, his face barely shifting as he stared at his sister.

Dick just shook his head. What was wrong with Kory? Well simply put, she had recognized her dead brother. It had taken her no time to acknowledge who he was and she had simply shut down. And Dick was sure he couldn't blame her. Loosing a brother, Dick couldn't imagine. Finding out years later that he was alive? Yes, it begged a little bit of a shut down.

Another round of fire opened and Dick found his shield buckle a bit under the pressure.

Raven! He called, I need to go down. I'm surrounded.

He didn't even get a response as the floor shifted to black and they all fell through. They landed in Tim's room, which was currently in shambles.

The shock of falling through the floor must have shaken Ryan quite a bit because he was no longer in a shell-shocked state. Instead, he looked scared. His eyes wide as he sat on the floor, wondering just where he was and how he had gotten there.

"Rachel can do that," Tim explained, his hand going to Ryan's shoulder for comfort, "We're fine."

Dick found Kory in the same stance he had left her in. Standing. Shocked. A bit confused. Cupping her cheeks in his hands, he pressed his forehead to hers, searching her mind a bit, and pulling her from her stupor. She jolted, as if cold water had been thrown on her while she was asleep.

"What happened?" she asked, and he was vaguely aware that she was speaking Tameranian.

"Your fine," he said in English, knowing his Tameranian was as butchered as it got, "Ryan, he's here."

"But he's dead." she said, shaking her head, and he felt her drifting, as if she was going back into shock.

"He's not dead." he said, pulling her back from her mind. "He's here. He's confused. And he's afraid. He needs you."

Kory pulled back from him a bit, and he let her go. She watched Ryan a bit, who had gone into an odd version of the fetus position. Tim was trying to talk to him, but he was shaking his head no, like he didn't understand. Which may have been the case. He was new to the planet, after all.
"Tim," Dick said, and Tim left Ryan, and went over to him.

Dick led Tim out the room and they stood watch in the hallway, giving Kory at least a little time to reintroduce herself to her brother and maybe get him to calm down.

"The party over?" Tim asked and Dick had to laugh a bit.

"Your really not effected by any of this." he said, earning an odd look from Tim.

"Why would I be effected?"

"Well, we got Ryan in the fetal position. You tell me."

"He's not usually like that," Tim said, motioning behind them, "He's been through a lot too. I think it's just happening too fast."

"And you would know what a Tameranian who just got here has been through."

"I admit it, I don't know nearly any of what he's gone through. But what he has told me is... depressing."

"Fair enough."

Tim opened his mouth to say something, but Dick shushed him. The sound of quick feet were clicking up the stairs. Dick went into a fighting stance, but something was off about that. Tim followed his lead, but Dick dropped the stance and held his hands out, allowing energy to flow.

"What are you doing?" Tim hissed.

"It's not a cape," Dick said, moving Tim's tossed door back into place, "Its Ms. Stevenson. She has to pee."

"What?" Tim asked disbelieving.

"Move." Dick hissed, "This level is littered in capes. Push the guys into Nick's room."

Tim snapped to reality, grabbing the nearest unconscious guy and with clear struggling, pulled him into Nick's room. Dick scooped up another dozen or so with his shield and pushed them in as well. Tim cartwheeled out the room, dusting off any dirt and bunching up his clothes where their were rips or tears.

Tim went back to Dick, who uncomfortably began brushing his hair with his hands and trying to get it to stay down. Ms. Stevenson's shadow rounded the corner and Tim plastered on a bright smile. Their was a sudden groan and both Tim and Dick turned to see that they had missed a guy, right behind them. Dick's eyes widened and he and Tim shared a look.

Ms. Stevenson was hurrying by, and Dick dropped to the floor beside the cape and through his arm around the guy. Tim did the same on the other side just in time for Ms. Stevenson to be seen.
"Timothy, Nickolas, Richard." she acknowledged, speeding to a nearby bathroom and slamming the door behind her.

The moment things were in the clear, Tim burst out laughing.

"He looks nothing like Nick, not that you could tell."

The guy murmured something again and Dick used his powers to throw the guy into the wall across from them and then stuffed him into Nick's room.

"Your getting pretty good," Tim said, talking about Dick's powers.

"Yeah," he agreed, "I guess I just stopped trying to over think things. Its easier when you just feel."

"Nicks gonna be so mad when he goes to bed tonight."

"He'll see all those bodies and freak out."

"I'm blaming it on you."

"No," Dick argued, "You were party to the madness. It's on you too."

"There you are!"

Dick slouched. He had forgotten about her.

"Ah," Tim whispered, "Your girlfriends here."

Dick made a face and Tim bit his lip, trying not to laugh.

"Is deserting me fun to you? Where on earth were you? You and your friends have some kind of secret meeting or something?"

Tim snickered, and Dick could tell he thought this was all hilarious.

"We were just... chilling." Dick said, "Thought we'd ditch for a while."

Dick looked to Tim, who had curled his lips in, trying hard to hold it in.

"How come I wasn't invited?" Barbara asked, "I can help. Don't you know who I am?"

"'Course I do," Dick argued, "But this isn't your fight, Babs. We're figuring this our on our own and we're doing a pretty good job. I appreciate your help, but I don't need it."

She took a step back. "You did not go there, Dick." she warned.

Tim stood, running down the hall and Dick swore he saw tears in his eyes. This was so not funny, despite what Tim thought. Barbara could be urk-some, but she was still his friend. She did actually mean something to him, but as much as it hurt him to hurt her, he didn't want anyone unnecessary getting involved.

"Dick," she said, "I'm gonna forget you said that, okay?"

"Okay." he said, feeling so stupid for saying that.

"Good," she continued, "Now come on, everyone is leaving and your supposed to be at the door saying goodbye. Alfred is furious."

Dick stood and was about to head down, "Wait, I'll meet you down okay. I have something to check."

Barbara was probably in the midst of arguing, but Dick opened Tim door and went in, closing it behind him before she could get in a word.

Kory and Ryan were sitting cross-legged across from each other on the floor. Kory was crying hysterically... but, she looked happy. And just seeing Ryan upright was a step for him.

"I take it all is good?" Dick asked, squatted beside them, "I see we're breathing okay. Eyes are naturally wide now."

He took Kory's chin and turned in various angles, causing her to laugh.

"I'm fine," she waved him off, rolling her eyes, "I was just... shocked."

"And for good reason," Dick said, "I can literally feel how you do. This does bode a bit of a melt down. You were entitled."

Ryan had said something then, but Dick hadn't heard. His mind had gone somewhere else. Standing up slowly, he walked to Tim's window and looked out.

"You alright, Richard?" she asked, walking over to join him. "Whats wrong?"

"Get Ryan out," Dick said, opening the window, "I'll be back."

Dick hoped out the window, not even bothering to create a shield. He had escaped out that house enough times to know how to get down from any window.

Dick expected Kory to do as he told her, but he didn't quite expect for her to meet him down on the ground.

"I'm just looking around," he told her.

"Then I shall too," she said stubbornly, "You sense something, and I shall not let you venture by yourself."

Dick didn't say anything. Trying to get her to go back was like Nick trying to get him to go back. That would never happen. So he opened his mind to her for quick communication and headed towards the gardens.

In the winter, Alfred didn't tend to them much and they tended to be a bit overgrown and unruly. Which is what they were now. Dick fought his way through, helping Kory when he could, heading in a direction he couldn't explain. It may have been to a significant place, and it may not have been. He wasn't sure yet.

Coming out a particularly thick brush, Dick found they had made it to the center of the garden. It was a big clearing here, full of statues and tall trees and stone benches. It was beautiful in the spring and summer, but a bit scary in the winter and at night. The stones statues looked real and haunted. The non-working fountains looked big and imposing. The trees were especially tall and the dead grass added to the atmosphere.

"Someone is here," Kory whispered, her back pressing up against Dick's so that they had less blind spots.

"I know," he told her back, "And now I know who."

"Very impressive Dick," came a deep, mocking voice, "I'm very impressed. Trusting your powers like that took courage for you."

"Where are you, Slade?" Dick growled, his head whipping back and forth, "Come out and fight."

"Oh I have no doubt there will be a fight," he said, "We missed our chance on our last encounter with your little slip."

Kory braced herself. This could potentially be very bad. They were out of ear-shot. Far from their friends and the manor. Tim and Ryan were with Rachel, but should something happen, could she protect them all? Maybe this was a trap. A lure to get her away from her clearly wanted brother. Or maybe Slade really did just want them, because he certainly didn't want to talk.

"Then stop talking and fight me," Dick growled, eager to fight as always.

Slade chuckled, "My boy, you don't even know what you'd be fighting for. Doesn't knowing your prize make you want to protect it that much more?"

"No games," Dick uttered, "Just you and me."

"No," Slade said, showing himself finally by coming out of a shadow and into the moons glow, "You'll need help this time. No more holding back. Perhaps your girlfriend might be of assistance."

"Leave her out of it." he snapped, not even bothering to deny the statement.

"You brought her in to it when you allowed her to follow you. You sensed foreboding didn't you? Now you must pay for ignoring it."

The moment he charges, run.

No.

Kory said, before blocking him out. She wouldn't run this time. Slade had said it himself, he wasn't holding back this time. Dick, let alone Robin, had never beaten Slade before. Ever. And maybe it was because he always took the man on alone. If Kory were to help in this fight, could they actually win it?

This is not up for discussion, he pushed in and she was mildly surprised that he had bypassed her block.

You cannot do this alone. You need my help.

You don't understand him like I do. I'm not risking you getting hurt because we think this will work. You run. No questions.

I have no questions to ask, but I do have a statement. I'm not going. And you cannot make me, nor will I oblige or bend to your will.

Dick knew if they kept this up, they'd only get angrier. They'd feed off each others energies and a fight between friends all but blocks out the common enemy. It was dangerous to get upset with her. Because she would only get angrier and therefore so would he.

He had to force himself to calm down.

"Are you two finished?" Slade asked, getting their attention. "I can recognize a mental conversation from a mile away. But I must warn you, I'm not very patient."

Slade circled them, his single eye watching them both carefully. And they watched him back. He got closer with every step in his circle and before they knew it, he was right in front of them.

"Getting thin, aren't we?" Slade asked, grabbing Dick's face and twisted it around before he could object. "Perhaps you should have eaten some more at that party. It wont do if your too weak to fight."

"I'm not weak," Dick spat, snatching his face back, and Kory could feel his irritation bounce off her own emotions.

She worked hard to bite back a rhetorical answer or response to that. Richard wouldn't like that and it would only make Slade angrier. She had to keep her emotions in perspective. Ignore Dick's emotions all together, because playing off of his emotions wouldn't bode well for either of them.

"I beg to differ," Slade continued, continuing his slowly irritating walk around them, "You can't be too tough if you run to your father at the first sign of danger. And days later, you still haven't figured out whats going on. What this is all about."

Kory could hear Dick growling deeply. He didn't have a response to that. Neither of them did, well, at least Kory's wasn't a helpful response.

"This is how it's always been," Slade said, "You chasing me. Me outsmarting you. I've always been steps ahead, letting you believe I was only a few. It was much more fun to watch you flounder around. Trying to protect what you cared about."

Slade stopped his walk, stopping just in front of Kory.

"It'll be satisfying to see something you love so much die."

"You wont touch her," Dick said, his voice so low she was sure only she could hear him.

Slade chuckled, "Is that a threat?"

"It's a promise."

"And not a very good one. Try having leverage before you threaten, boy. Then maybe people will take you seriously."

"I'm all the leverage you need."

"I'm sure. See, the problem you have, Dick, is that you make more promises than you can keep. You promise your city that you will protect it, and yet, you are ignorant to the crime it is being subjected to at this very moment. You promised your parents before they died that you would do your best in everything that you did, and yet you fail almost daily. And you promise her,"

Kory jumped, Slade's hand grabbed her face, painfully squishing her cheeks together.

"You promise her," he continued, "To protect her. To love her. And yet here she is, staring death in the face."

Kory's face was, disobediently, coloring red, and she knew Dick's face was ruby as well. It wasn't like Slade to say something like this, especially now. Kory was always very aware of her feelings. She wore her heart on her sleeve. She knew she loved Dick. But did he feel that way back? Or was Slade mocking her somehow? It was the strangest thoughts to be having in the midst of battle.

"How does that feel?" Slade asked, finally letting her go, "How does it feel to let her down?"

"Anything akin to how it must have felt to let Grant down."

Kory's eyes widened. She bit her lip. She bit it so hard she felt it begin to bleed. She had said that, hadn't she? She had not only insulted Slade, but she spoken about his past. Let the kitten out of the bag. He knew now, that they knew who he was.

Oh, Kory. Dick sighed and she couldn't help a little tremor go through her.

She had taken her own anger, plus Dick's, and totally went awol. She was in trouble.

"What was that?" Slade asked, taking a step towards her.

Back to back aside, Dick was now protectively in front of her. His arm was out and she knew he felt as if he needed to explain her. He wanted to make an excuse for her. Claim she was ill. Mental. Unable to think clearly. Delusional. Because as much as Dick may have hated it, he didn't deny it. He was, to a degree, afraid of Slade. Afraid of all he could do. And Kory had just given him an invitation to attack. To kill her.

"She didn't mean that," Dick said, explaining like the knew he would, "Your fight is with me. Not her."

"No," Slade said, his voice frightenly calm, "I heard what she said."

"Just ignore it," Dick cried, nearly pleaded, "Just... just take it out on me."

"I plan to."

Without a moments notice, Slade had sprung, seeing the unnecessary-ness in prolonging any longer. Kory didn't have time to turn. To run. To do anything. Dick had been better prepared though, as he had caught the first punch in both of his hands, but instead of Slade retreated from the failed hit to go for another, he put most of his strength into his current punch.

Kory could see Dick's arms strain under Slade's pressure and in an instant, Slade had overpowered Dick and Dick had flown back, throwing them both to the ground. She heard Dick grunt, but quickly shake it off as he hoped up. Jumping up herself, she came face to face with Dick, but he wasn't looking directly at her.

Kory couldn't see Slade, and Dick was looking behind her, so she closed her eyes. He was there. Right behind her. Probably with some gun or pointy stick, ready to kill her. Her concentration was shot and all over the place, she doubted she could make a shield even if she wanted to. She was just too afraid, and like she had thought earlier, she wore her heart and emotions on her sleeve.

Death didn't come instantly, like Kory had thought. Instead, she was snatched off the ground backwards and she felt a strong arm wrap around her neck. Her hands went up to the arm automatically, but she didn't claw or try to beat Slade's arm away. She knew it was pointless. He was much to strong.

"Tell her," Slade said, his voice dangerously low. "Let her know how you really feel."

Slade was talking to Dick. He still had that bewildered, not quite sure what was happening, look on his face and Kory mimicked it. What was Slade getting at?

"Tell her!" Slade roared, "I wont kill her until I know it will hurt you the most. Tell her you love her. And I want honesty."

Kory felt a tear roll down her cheek. This wasn't fair. To either of them. And she couldn't even defend herself. Not with her words, because she had none, and not physically, because she was immobilized.

"Kory," Dick started, his voice shaking and she knew he was afraid for her. Of what might happen, because that single word sent millions of thoughts from him into her mind, "I..."

Kory let out a breathless scream, as Slade's grip tightened. "Time, Dick. Time. She doesn't have much of it."

"Kory, I love you." he choked out, and his voice hitched in such a way that Kory just let out her tears.

It wasn't fair.

"Good." Slade said, and she knew, or maybe felt, that he was going to kill her then. She closed her eyes tightly.

But something stopped him. She felt his muscles clench and strain, but his grip never got any tighter. She opened her eyes, seeing Slade's arm engulfed in a white light. She looked up, seeing Dick, his eyes glowing white, his hands glowing green. And even odder, his hair moved as if wind was blowing it back, but Kory felt nothing. She wasn't sure how he projected that energy the way he had. Their was no clear lineage from his hands to Slade's arm. He was somehow creating it in a different spot. That was something Rachel did.

But his hair, even from where she was, she could see, the roots were red. Bright, vibrant red. He had told her hair had don't the same thing, only black. But she had been emotional when it had happened to her. She had been afraid and confused. And it had just been her roots. It wasn't just his roots. Stripes lined his hair. All through it, red, angry streaks.

Maybe this happened to him too. Maybe their emotions were playing off each other harder than they had thought. Because if his face said anything to her, it was that he was angry. Very angry.

Slade grunted under the strain of freeing his arm, but Dick didn't look a bit like he was struggling. With a twitch of Dick's head, Slade's arm was pulled from Kory and she dropped to the ground, seeing out her peripheral Slade being tossed far back.

Dick dropped too and Kory felt his exhaustion. That simple move had taken a lot out of him. He was strong, but not that strong, and neither of them had meditated in a while. But Kory sat up and Dick army crawled to her. The red streaks was suddenly gone from his hair and he looked more tired than angry.

"I'm okay," she said, knowing she had answered about four of questions right there. "Are you?"

He didn't respond and honestly, she didn't expect him to. Instead of talking, he stood up, pulling her up too.

"If we're gonna do this," he said, "We have to work in sync. Keep your mind open, it'll only take him a moment to get back here."

Kory would be lying if she said she wasn't nervous. She had never fought Slade before. She had never fought anyone big like that with Dick period. Dick normally liked having his own enemies to fight. He didn't want to have to worry about accidentally kicking one of his friends in the face. He wanted to give his all without complications.

This would be new for the both of them.

There was a distant yell, and Kory took a deep breath. Slade was beyond furious. It would take more than just skills and powers for this fight, Kory knew. She'd have to think like Dick. Fight like him. Move like him. She wasn't strong anymore, so she'd have to dodge like him too. Even more so, actually. Slade was no ordinary human being. He had extraordinary skills too.

"You ready?" Dick asked going into a fighting stance as Slade appeared at the edge of the garden, fuming.

"I am." Kory said, mimicking his stance.

Because she knew, this fight would be one for the books.

A/N: Good grief that was long. My fingers ACHE!Seriously. They burn. I'll have to, like, soak them in ice water or something. And then Bryce, my bro, will have to type for me and write my homework and... you know what... that doesn't sound too bad. Hehe, maybe that's a good idea. Hehe. Hehehehehehehe.

Ooooookkkkkk.

Like I said, I get crazy in the mornings. It's 12 (which isn't that late for me) but whatever. Whoooooooo! Yeah!

You know what, I better just quite while im ahead.

Night. Or morning. Whenever you read this.

Read and Review.

_ScarletDrake