A/N: Yeah I know it's been a while. School Summer Semester just ended. I had to move and my house right now currently doesn't have internet. As such I'm on a borrowed computer right now and I'm afraid I don't have time to answer reviews with this update. Though in the next one I'll take in account all reviews I got for this and last chapter. Thanks for reading everybody!

Chapter 26

Betrayals

Wayne Manor was a secluded place. Several miles from Gotham, it allowed Bruce Wayne to have access to forest land, rivers, and, most importantly, solitude. It was for this reason that no one was around to notice that a stealthy, sleek, blackbird jet had landed in Bruce Wayne's personal basketball court.

Nor did they notice the group of mutants waiting just outside the doors of the stately manor. Some of them paced, others chit-chatted amongst themselves, and a few kept checking their watches. But one of them didn't speak at all. Instead she stared at their prisoner.

Jubilee stared at Robin in disbelief and horror. Actually that was not true. She stared at Tim Drake in disbelief and horror. He sat bound, gagged, and unmasked at the foot of the BlackBird. Jubilee just couldn't believe he was there. That he had been in front of her face the entire time.

So many things had fallen into place when she saw him unmasked. Tim's odd behavior and occasional disappearances, his lack of being intimidated by Colossus at their first meeting, how Robin had always tried to keep his face a good distance from hers…all of this made sense now. Robin and Tim Drake were one and the same. Jubilee had found this out when Rogue had revealed Batman's secret identity to her teammates.

Capturing Batman was the plan. Rogue had come up with it during the few minutes she had been in possession of Batman's psyche. Then Lex Luthor had expanded it. Cyclops, Jean, Storm, and Beast were all to detain Superman and try to broker a deal to let them peacefully apprehend Batman. If they did not call the X-men at the appointed time, the mutants that Rogue had led to the Bat-cave were to do what they had to do.

Robin was the wild card, the mistake. It was Cable who caught him. Just outside of a dojo that Batman had gone into. Cable had requested permission to attack Batman then and there. But it was Rogue's operation and she said the only place they could attack Batman was in the cave.

Still when Robin had sighted a team of the X-men doing recon, Rogue had insisted that he be captured. Now they waited with him as their prisoner. They waited for Rogue to bring out her team, waited to see if she had been successful in her plan. Robin was only an afterthought sitting and waiting as well.

Jubilee glanced in his direction. He had his head down, with a defeated, downtrodden look. Colossus and Shadowcat stood a bit off. Talking while facing forward they were oblivious to Robin.

"They have been down there too long," Colossus said. "You should phase down there and see if they need our help."

Jubilee took a step backward. Her eyes still fixed on Colossus and Shadowcat.

"It's only been thirty minutes since they reported that Batman had arrived,"she responded to him.

The young mutant shifted her gaze toward Robin who still wasn't looking up at her.

"I just hope dat de Chere is okay," Gambit commented. "Somting about de Bat has had her spooked since we fought him in Metropolis."

"It was because of the memories she absorbed. Who knows what goes on in his warped mind?" Shadowcat replied with a sigh.

Robin finally raised his head, though his concentration was not on the mutants talking a few feet in front of him. Instead it was on whoever was untying his gag. Once it fell away the Teen Wonder craned his head as far as it could go to see who it was. Then a familiar voice sounded in his ear.

"How could you?" Jubilee hissed.

"How could I what?" Robin replied, turning his gaze towards the mutants in front of him. Obviously Jubilee didn't want them seeing her talk to him. "I should ask you the same thin— Ow! What are you doing?"

"Tightening these things, you're not escaping."

Robin smiled. He knew he was at the point of no return anyway. "Why, Jubes, I had no idea you were into that kind of thing. Don't you think it's a bit public?"

Robin clenched his teeth as the ropes bit tighter into his skin.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Jubilee growled.

"Why do you think I broke up with you?" Robin responded. "After everything that happened I couldn't keep pulling the double agent thing to you. And you guys were trying to kill Batman!"

"He killed Professor Xavier!"

"No he didn't!"

"Explain the footage!"

"Clayface, Mystique, Apocalpse, take your pick."

"Jean said that the Professor was telling her that telepathically before he died."

"Then they must have fooled him too. Batman would never kill anyone. Especially Professor Xavier! He was trying to save him."

"You don't have any proof!"

"Don't you think it's convenient that there was only one eye-witness? The same guy who not even being a mutant seems to be calling the X-men's shots? A guy who has an admitted grudge against Superman and Batman?"

"How can you defend him? Charles Xavier was like my dad!" Jubilee's voice cracked slightly.

"Batman is my dad. I'm his adopted son!" Robin replied. "That's how I can defend him. That and I know he didn't do anything!"

There was a sudden commotion in front of them. The mutants that had been allowed to come on the mission all started straining to see something.

"What's happening?" Robin asked, lifting his head as high as he could see. Instead of answering him Jubilee walked right past and pushed in front of the small group.

Colossus, Shadowcat, Gambit, Angel, Cable, and Cannonball all gasped and let another person into their group. A certain blue furred mutant. Nightcrawler was holding his head gingerly. The other mutants bombarded him with questions. Each trying to find out the events that had take place in the cave. Even Jubilee seemed to forget Robin and ran forward to ascertain what had happened.

"What happened to your head?"

"Where is everyone else?"

"We should get that looked at…"

"Where's Wolvie? What happened to Wolvie?"

Nightcrawler pushed out his hands trying to get a bit more breathing room. The mutants moved away slightly, barraging him to get details. "It was a success," he breathed. "Rogue has him."

"What about Wolverine?" Jubilee insisted.

"I'm fine," the mutant's voice came out in a shiver. Wolverine exited the Manor's doors. The exposed skin on his arms was pink and splotchy like he had been in a freezer too long.

"What happened? Jubilee ran to him placing hand on his arm only to retract it and shake water off. "You're like ice!"

"Blasted bat is tough as nails," he growled. "Haven't been this cold since Bobby decided to have his last 'Christmas in July' party."

"Hey not my fault you got in the way." Iceman shrugged.

"Look we can argue about this—" Kitty started but she like everyone else paused when Rogue finally immerged from the mansion.

She carried the unconscious Dark Knight in her arms, not flung over her shoulder as they might have expected. Rather she cradled him gently the way one cradles a fallen soldier or comrade in arms. Her eyes leaked tears that collected at her chin before splashing onto his batsymbol.

"You did it Che—" Gambit started moving toward her and Batman as did a couple of the other mutant.

"Get away from him!" Rogue yelled, pulling Batman with her. The southern mutant's eyes fixed on Wolverine etched with rage. It only lasted for a moment but they all knew that if looks could kill, not even Wolverine's healing factor would have saved him. Her eyes moved to Angel. "Warren, he's bleeding badly. He needs help. Ah don't know how much longer before he'll bleed ta death."

"You want me to…help him?" Angel cocked a brow, knowing that the blood running in his veins had healing powers.

"Ah told you, Ah'd only help ya capture him if ya didn't kill him!" Rogue screamed, tears of anguish and guilt gushing now. Her hands now soaked in his blood finally released him onto the ground and she sobbed. "Oh Lord what have Ah done?"

"The right thing Rogue," Cable said evenly.

"You call yourselves heroes!" rose above and all eyes fixed onto Robin. He was struggling against his bonds, his face contorted into a vengeful glare that would have made his unconscious partner proud. "Batman didn't do anything except for try and help you! Now that you've almost killed him you won't help him live?"

"We don't owe him anything, kid." Iceman shrugged. But Angel was already complying and dripping some of his own healing blood on the Dark Knight's wounds.

Wolverine turned to Rogue. "Since the kid here is being a pest seems like a good time to ask what you want to do with him."

Rogue stuttered for a moment. "Ah…Ah don't know. He wasn't part of the plan I made while I had absorbed Batman."

"Well we can't turn him lose." Kitty sighed. "As much as I don't like it we're going to have to take him with us and have Jean wipe this from his mind just like she'll do to Batman…if he didn't kill the Professor that is."

"No," Rogue demanded, rising up into the air and glaring at her teammates. "That was never part of the plan! That was Luthor's idea and Ah won't be a part of it! Ah only agreed to help ya'll capture him so ya could finally talk ta him and he could prove he was innocent! If ya'll hadn't been so hellbent on capturing him in the first place this wouldn't'a happened.'

"Now Rogue, just calm down darlin'," Wolverine started, Rogue flew right at his face.

"Don't you be tellin me ta calm down, Logan! Ah have half a mind to wring your neck for what ya did to him!"

"I did what needed to be done, darlin'!" He retorted. "More than I can say fer some!"

"Ya didn't have ta stab him like that!"

"Hey!" Jubilee hollered. "Where'd Robin go?"

The mutants stopped. All of them had been focusing on the verbal combat that Rogue and Wolverine had been engaging in. Their eyes shot to the spot where the Teen Wonder had been. His ropes lay neatly severed. An 'R' shaped shuriken also left there. It took the whole of one second for them to look the other way. Batman was gone as well.

"They're going back inside!" Wolverine roared, running toward the doors of the mansion.

He was yanked back and thrown a good twenty yards away. "No ya don't!" Rogue hollered. "Maybe if you'll cool off a bit by the time you get back here!"

Some of the X-men had paused for a moment, staring at their teammate. But several had already begun tearing into the mansion. Bound and determined that they would not lose their captive. Rogue looked at the few that had paused.

"Let's go!" she yelled darting toward the manor. "But don't hurt him!"

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...

"He can probably hear us right now," Cyclops said pacing the length of the cockpit. A considerable short length.

"There are sound dampeners on the Blackbird," Beast responded from the pilot's chair. "Not even his super-hearing can penetrate it."

"How can we be sure?" Storm asked.

Beast sighed and put it on autopilot. "Because Lex Luthor had his men check it out. If anyone would know it's him."

Both Cyclops and Storm looked at each other. The X-men's leader had stopped pacing. Just the mention of Lex Luthor had caused them all to stop and think especially considering their current situation and impending dilemma. Beast was the first to break the silence.

"Perhaps it would best if we discussed the forthcoming confrontation we will have with the Man of Steel. Commencing with a talk of Lex Luthor."

"Fine with me," Cyclops replied. "I don't have to be a telepath to know that he hasn't led us to a good place. At the time we accepted his help because it seemed that with the Professor's death, Superman and Batman were plotting against us. We needed all the help we could get."

"But he's led us from bad to worse," Storm interjected. "And his additions to Rogue's plan…"

"I know. It won't work now," Cyclops responded. "Not with Jean like that. If Batman remembers…"

"The plan could still work," Beast said. "Emma Frost could still erase the memories from Batman's mind after we know for certain what the truth is."

Cyclops took a seat and ran a hand through his hair. Rogue's plan had been simple. Go to Batman's headquarters with the X-men and confront him there. She had insisted that he could be reasoned with; if he wouldn't listen and he attacked them then she promised they would take him down. She said she would only do this because she knew that if she didn't help them find Batman. Someone was going to get hurt the next time they confronted him.

Then Luthor had gotten wind. He had insisted that if they didn't distract Superman it would only get messier. He had set up the meeting. Before they knew it however he had taken control of the plan. He'd convinced them that Batman would never listen to reason, that unless they used force he would hurt them or they'd be forced to kill him.

So it was decided against Rogue's wishes that they would go with Luthor's proposal, the plan was to capture him and find out what he knew. If he did kill the Professor then they would seek justice. If he didn't…Jean could make him forget what had happened.

It had made sense to them at the time but it seemed the more time that passed the more they realized it had been a mistake. And quite possibly that Luthor was to blame. Now Superman had acted completely the opposite of what they had thought. He had helped them. Saved Jean, all the while their teammates were capturing his best friend.

Storm took a breath. "I do not think we should go forward with the plan. I know that Rogue is still the only one that believes that Batman didn't kill Charles. But after what Superman just did…I don't think we can go forward with it."

"But what if Superman is wrong?" Cyclops asked. "What if Batman is responsible. This may be our only chance at him."

"As much as I am loathe to admit it," Beast answered with a sigh, "Ororo is correct. With these developments I don't see how we could possibly justify our position now. Not unless Batman did indeed kill Charles."

"But we saw that tapes—" Cyclops started but a small beeping noise cut him off.

"We're coming up on Muir Island right now," Beast announced. "We'd best determine our course of action with Superman before we see him face to face."

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Muir Island was a secluded place. Tucked in the rocky coast of east Britain it was perhaps the world's foremost institution for the study of Genetics and Mutation. Its remote location was ideal for this as it discouraged intruders and possible attackers. It was hard to reach by boat but not by air.

This made it easily accessible to the Man of Steel. Moria Mactaggart had been more than a little surprised when he had arrived. Sonic booms accompanying him and none other than Jean Grey wrapped up in his cape. She had wasted no time in getting the mutant woman to the medical facility.

Now the Superman stood on the rocky cliffside of the island, watching as the waves smashed against them, spraying water as high as it would go. He had left the facility the moment he heard the Lockheed turbo jet engines coming. His telescopic vision picked them up from miles away. The same X-men he had left in New York.

He turned back to the facility to see Dr. Mactaggart coming out to greet the mutants, which had no doubt been picked up on the radar. He hovered over to her. She was human. One hundred percent, not a speck of mutant or meta DNA in her. And yet she had made her life's work the healing and aiding of mutant kind. He respected that.

"I cannae thank ye enough," she said in her thick Scottish accent. "If ye hadne brought her here she would be dead."

Superman let a smile curve up his face. "Glad I could help. I only hope she'll be alright."

"If ye don mind me askin," she said, "why'd ye do this? We've all wotched as ye've been in conflict with the X-men. Why're ye so concerned about Jean Grey then?"

The Man of Steel thought on this a moment. "Maybe it's just because I think all life is sacred. And if things had been different between the X-men and me…we might have been allies. I know what it's like to feel different from everyone."

"They're really good people," she said. "Ye haveta understand that losing…losing Charles like that. It was hard on 'em. On all of us."

"That may be," he responded. "But Batman is my friend, and I'm not about to let them hurt him."

Superman's eyes scanned the sky, but he didn't need to employ any of his different visual enhancements to see the X-jet clearing the clouds and coming in for a landing, where he and Dr. Mactaggart were waiting for them.

"Maybe we can talk now," he said. "I dislike the circumstances but I think it's long overdue. If they're willing to listen to me I'm willing to listen to them."

"It's whot Charles wouldhav wanted." Moria smiled.

Superman's cape billowed as did Moria's lab coat from the heated air the jet produced as it landed. No sooner did the ramp lower than did Cyclops burst out with Beast and Storm behind him. Even with his eyes covered by the visor worry was printed all across his face.

"Is she alright?" he cried, going directly to Moria.

"She's stable," she replied. "But she's not conscious right now. An' I daene know when or if she'll be awakin"

Cyclops didn't respond rather he merely nodded and looked at the ground. Then a large hand was placed on his shoulder. He flinched when he saw it was Superman. The Man of Steel's face didn't show any of the anger that they had gotten used to seeing. Instead it demonstrated compassion.

"I can get some people to try and help her," he said, "Maybe if I can find Mar…"

Superman trailed off, finely tuned ears focused in on a sound. Words from half the world away words that he knew all to well. "Superman help!" His eyes turned on the X-men…he was a fool! They had set him up!

"You tricked me!" He took a hard step toward them, leaving a crushing footprint in the concrete underneath him. "After I helped you? If you know what's good for you, you won't go anywhere!"

In a rush of wind and a thunderous sonic boom the Man of Steel rocketed off, away from Muir Island, away from the X-men, in the direction of Gotham City.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

The Mansion shook; Robin gritted his teeth and pulled. Batman was nearly dead weight. His breaths were short and ragged. The Teen Wonder ducked into the kitchen and pulled one of the drawers and finding a hidden switch. One of the walls slid open and he dragged Batman into the compartment, looking back as it hissed closed.

The small closet sized hideaway was one of Wayne Manor's panic rooms. It was reinforced with titanium walls, individual air filters, and shock absorbers that could remain intact under the seismic pressure of .7 earthquakes. Even with all that Robin knew he had only bought himself a few minutes. He could hear the X-men tearing through the mansion looking for him. He looked at the security cameras it displayed. The X-men hadn't found their way to them yet.

"Batman." He grabbed his mentor by the shoulders. "Bruce, wake up! Bruce, can you hear me?"

The Dark Knight stirred slightly, letting out a low moan. Robin shook him a little more. To this Batman responded slightly more, gritting his teeth as he fought toward consciousness.

"Tim," he finally managed.

"I'm here, Bruce," Robin responded, "We're safe for now but it's only a matter of time before they find us."

"Get…get out of here," Batman breathed. "The cave…go…"

Robin shook his head. "Yeah right. I'm not going to leave you with here! The X-men almost killed you!"

"Go…" Batman said with the hint of growl in his voice. "Me…they want."

Batman started to pull himself up, his legs shaking with ever movement. Robin was at his side helping him but the Dark Knight pushed him away weakly while leaning against the wall for support. His head shook as he looked at the teen hero.

"Tim, I said get out of here," he declared.

"I heard you the first time and I told you that I'm not going to leave you here!"

"Look there's no way you'll be able to evade them while trying to drag me down to the cave." Batman's voice grew stronger, but his breathing was growing heavier with each word. "If you try to get me down with you then we'll both be captured."

"But—"

"Get…" He started but clapped one hand on the side of his head. "Get to Dick or Clark. That's the only—"

"But—"

"Go!" Batman's hand suddenly found the control panel and the door slid open. "Now."

Robin hesitated for a moment, they could both hear the mutants getting closer, and judging by the sounds, Wolverine was leading the way. Robin gritted his teeth; he couldn't just abandon Batman, but the detective in him, the part that sounded like Batman, insisted it was the only way.

He couldn't bring himself to say anything. He just stood there and stared at the man that he had idolized, mimicked, respected, and cared for like a father. Batman placed a hand on his shoulder, gave it a squeeze then gave him slight nudge off toward the exit. Robin's boots felt like they had been reinforced by lead weights, but he forced each step to be quicker than the last.

The Teen Wonder reached the exit leading out of the kitchen. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Batman stepping out of the panic room and head toward the sound of the approaching X-men. Robin forced his view forward and burst into one of the main dining rooms. Only to stop dead in his tracks as he was met with one of the very people he was trying to get away from.

"Led us on a merry chase, pup," Gambit said taking several steps forward. His bo-staff drawn and resting against his shoulder. "But we be taking Batman in for de murders. Now don' make this hard on yourself."

Robin responded by extracting his own staff and holding in front of him defensively. "Get out of my way," he growled.

"Nice Batman voice." Gambit assumed a fighting stance of his own. "But dat not gonna help you much."

Rather than throw a comeback, Robin launched himself at the X-man, darting his staff at his opponent's face. Gambit deflected and swept toward Robin's feet. The Teen Wonder expertly threw his feet into the air and slammed his staff down a split second later. Allowing him to pivot in mid air and slam his boots into Gambit's chest.

The mutant tumbled back and Robin's momentum allowed him to somersault to his feet. He charged at the still prone Gambit, arching his staff downward. The Cajun blocked it inches from his face, and then kicked his feet out toward Robin's legs. The Teen Wonder took the blow to one leg, standing too close to dodge. He rolled with the attack and landed in a crouch by then Gambit had gotten to his feet as well.

"How you get so good, pup?"

"Practice, and a relentless teacher."

"Here I thought kid like you be making out with Supergirl."

"Shut up!" Robin snarled, cracking his staff against Gambit's.

Instead of countering with another strike, Gambit's hands lashed out and clasped onto Robin's staff. A bright glow emanated from the staff and Gambit could be seen grinning from behind it. Robin hurled it away. The ensuing explosion knocked both of them off of their feet. Robin collided with a wall, Gambit with a suit of armor that promptly crumbled on top of him.

The Teen Wonder barely had time to get up before glowing pieces of armor were being hurled his way. Gauntlets, vanguards, helmet visor, Robin expertly danced around them. His hand shot to his belt and a series of projectiles with stylized blinking 'R's lashed out, embedding themselves into the walls. Before Gambit could even ask what that was supposed to do the projectiles exploded, covering the mutant in debris.

"Two can play at that game," Robin quipped then charged toward the door. Behind him he heard the sound of someone entering, no doubt drawn by the various explosions. Even as turned into the hallway he heard the sound of something being fired at him. Freezing snow hit the back of his neck, part of the ice beam that had barely missed him.

Before he could prepare some other defense, he felt hands clasp his torn cape and throw him at the wall. Robin's shoulder took the brunt of it as he twisted to see Shadowcat as his attacker. He launched himself at her, foot leading the way in a kick that would have surely taken her out of the chase. Instead he flew right through her and nearly crashed into another wall.

A wall that promptly erupted outward with the gleaming form of Colossus towering over the Teen Wonder. His bulky frame imposed itself through the entire hall. Robin knew there would be no getting around him, not with his steam roller sized hands clasping at him.

Robin was about to wonder how things could get worse with Colossus and Shadowcat pinning him in, but of course things did. Iceman appeared at the end of the hallway, his hands giving off a cyan glow. The Teen Wonder glanced to all sides, completely surrounded by super powered mutants bent on his capture. Just another day in the office.

"Do not fight us, child," Colossus warned as he loomed over him. "It will be easier on you that way."

"Yeah like I don't hear that every other night," Robin snapped, keeping his eyes on Colossus. From the end of the hall, however Iceman's voice called out.

"I'll get him, Kitty phase!"

Robin twisted his head just in time to see a freezing beam of ice jetting toward him. His reaction was instantaneous. The Teen Wonder dove right at Shadowcat. Passing right through her lower body just as the ice beam traveled through her phased upper half and encrusted Colossus in a block of ice. Robin hurled a birdarang upward, cutting a support on one of the chandeliers.

He didn't even watch it crash down onto the icy form of the X-man. Instead he sprinted past the block of ice Colossus was encased in, even as Shadowcat was using her phasing powers to get him out. Robin tried to pick up speed with every step. But he found himself halting in the study. It had been his destination, but the sight of the clock smashed open gave him pause. The X-men really did seem to know everything about them. The teen hero ran to the clock but was again halted.

"I gotta bone to pick with ya, kid," Wolverine's voice interrupted his thoughts.

The mutant had appeared behind him. He was giving Robin the same look people gave a particularly nasty piece of garbage that had fallen out of the trash. He didn't have his claws out but he didn't need to. Robin was intimidated enough.

"What kind a game did ya think you were playing with Jubilee, huh?"

"I'm not going to explain myself to you!" Robin declared, hurling smoke pellets in the mutant's direction and bolting down the stairway. He could hear Wolverine coughing and roaring. Robin didn't dare look back. Wolverine would be right behind him. He needed to stall the mutant. That was the best he could hope for.

With each stair step he started tossing items from his belt, more smoke pellets, flash bang grenades, sticky pellets. His best hope was that Wolverine would step on these and cause them to activate, giving the Teen Wonder the time to activate the teleporter. A long shot but the best he had.

Robin reached the final step. Parts of the cave had been ruined. Especially the computer – slash marks and blood were everywhere. Tim gritted his teeth at that sight. He knew whose blood that was. There was a loud bang from the stairway. Wolverine was coming.

The teen ran to the teleporter and started typing in the destination, but ears finely tuned to hear someone sneaking up on him had him snapping around and raising his last birdarang. Even when he saw who it was he didn't lower it.

"Tim," Jubilee said, her hands were drawn out, ready to fire. "Stop right there. I'm not letting you get away."

"Why? Too afraid that I'll expose this travesty?"

"If you call yourself a hero then why can't you allow us to have justice? Not all of us have the luck to be popular."

Robin inched his free hand toward the activation button. "That's not how it is and you know it. Batman is innocent. You're not interested in justice you just want a piece of him."

"Prove it! Tim, prove to me he's innocent and I'll…"

"What? Tell them to leave us alone? Why do you even care? I've told you everything I could to get you to believe me."

Jubilee's hands quivered slightly. "How can I even believe a word you say? You tricked me from the moment we met!"

"That's not true and you know it!" Robin shot back, his finger touched the activation button and the machine whirred to life. "If you don't believe me on anything else – anything – then believe me when I say that Batman…Bruce didn't do anything! He's a hero…he's…"

Jubilee shook her head at him and he continued. "He's everything I…want to be…"

"A murder—"

"Don't! I'm tired of this. Bruce has been like my father for years! Now you're people have him! And I promise you, Jubilee, that if he gets hurt, nothing will stop me from paying you back! So if you're going to shoot me then do it! Because if you don't then I'm stepping into the teleporter!"

"Tim…I…" Jubilee stammered.

Robin let the batarang drop and turned to the teleporter. His head moved to look behind his shoulder. "It wasn't all a lie, Jubilee, I never lied about how I felt about you...I'm sorry."

Tim took a step toward the teleporter but a hand caught his. His eyes moved to see Jubilee looking at him intently. The hatred they had been displaying gone. It was instead the look she had given him when they had been together in Metropolis.

"He didn't do it," she said. "Did he?"

Robin didn't respond. Instead he nodded to her with a smile, his hand tightening around hers. Wolverine's voice sounded from the other end of the cave. He was covered in grime from the smoke pellets, the remnants of the sticky grenades were plastered onto his costume.

"Jubes! Stop him!"

Before Jubilee could do anything Robin's grip tightened and her eyes went wide as he jumped backward into the teleporter.

Wolverine halted in mid-stride as Jubilee and Robin disappeared in a flash of light. He burst toward the machine but the coordinates had been set for a one time use. He had no idea where they had gone. Rogue's voice rang in the communicator attached to his costume.

"Ah have Batman secured everybody. We have ta go."

"We can't go until we have Robin," Iceman's voice came.

"Robin got away," Wolverine growled. "And he took Jubilee with him."

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Superman made sure his altitude was correct; he was well above anything that might get in his way. This was a good thing because he had no intention of stopping for anything. If he had been flying lower he would have smashed through buildings and shattered glass with the sonic booms his great speed was giving off.

He could still see the guilty faces the X-men had given him just before he had rocketed away. He couldn't believe he had let them do that to him! He couldn't believe they had actually harmed one of their own teammates to fool him into helping. All to get him away from Gotham. All to distract him.

His super-hearing could already pick up the sounds of the battle ending. He was already at top speed and would arrive in a matter of minutes. His eyes went down to the ground, scanning the area with his telescopic vision. He was nearing Bristol, the county that housed Wayne Manor. He moved his eyes away from that area and onto Gotham City itself.

If it had been Metropolis he might have had a difficulty as Lex Luthor had lined so much of it in lead. Thankfully though Gotham didn't give him these same problems. Unfortunately that wasn't entirely true. Wayne Manor was coated in lead paint and the Batcave had been built with similar materials to prevent any super stalkers. Superman rolled his eyes that Batman would give his home the "Lex Luthor treatment" even now as he passed over Wayne Manor was a visual dead spot. He could hear commotion down there but he didn't have time to get Batman's permission.

Superman rocketed past the mansion and into Gotham City proper. His ears tuned to where the battle was. Something had happened. The screams had disappeared. There was no sign of the battle that had been raging just moments earlier. This was bad.

The Man of Steel came onto his target. The building looked like it had been hit with a wrecking ball then had a bomb filled with napalm dropped on it. It took less than a second for his eyes to find who he was looking for. The person that had called for his help. He shot down to him, smoke was rising from his body as he struggled to breath.

"J'onn!" Superman cried, putting his hand under the Martian's head. It was warm to the touch. Someone had lit him on fire. His greatest weakness.

"They…took her…" J'onn J'onzz breathed. "They took Karina."

Next time: Prelude to War.