"Robin? Wake up, buddy. We're there."

Robin opened his eyes. When had he fallen asleep? He couldn't remember, but he remembered hearing Mike telling him that they were going to Haven. What was Haven? Who were these people, anyway? They certainly weren't a horseback riding instructor and a student, that was for sure!

"Welcome to Haven," Jerry said as he got out of the car. "Think of it as your home away from home."

Robin looked up at the old country house. From some of the books he'd read, he could tell that it had once belonged to a gentleman farmer, and it would probably be about ten or twelve rooms inside. It was an old Tudor-looking house, but it also looked rather homey.

"Haven is a house?" he asked, closing the car door.

"You betcha, but it's really a lot of different houses. They're all over the place."

"Why?" Robin asked, following them up the front walk to the door.

"Well, no matter where our agents are; they'll always have a place to call home," Jerry said, taking out a key to unlock the door. "Don't make too much noise, everyone else is probably asleep."

Robin followed Mike and Jerry inside and up some stairs to the second floor. "You two will have to share a room," Jerry whispered, opening up a door for the two boys. "Mike knows where everything is. Get some rest, and I'll see you in the morning."

With that, Jerry left, leaving Robin with even more questions than before.

Mike sat down on one of two twin beds, slipping off his shoes and coat. "What a night," he said, stretching out and pummeling the pillow with his fists. "I'm about ready to sleep for a week."

"Before you do any sleeping, you'd better explain to me what's going on!" Robin said, feeling entirely at loose ends. "Who are you people, and why was I brought here? Why do you have agents and houses all over the place?"

Mike put his hands behind his head and regarded his friend. "How much do you know about Slade?"

"That is one thing that constantly drives me crazy," Robin complained, sitting down on the other bed. "I know that he's a criminal, he's diabolical, and I have to stop him. He's good at understanding the human psyche and is an expert at manipulating your emotions. He's highly intelligent and has incredible resources to use. In short, I don't know much more than that."

Mike nodded. "He hasn't been operating in the States for long, but he's been going a good long while everywhere else. You and the Titans are—"

"Hang on," Robin said, interrupting. "How do you know about the Titans?"

"We've been watching Slade since we formed, and we know that you are Robin, leader of the Titans and protégé of Batman. He kidnapped you some time ago and tried to force you to be his apprentice, and now he's trying it again. Anything I've missed?"

"How did you find that out?" Robin asked, amazed.

"Slade has a lot of people working for him, and not all of them are loyal, let alone working for him by choice," Mike said grimly. "They always tell us what's going on."

Robin nodded, taking it all in. "Okay, so what were you saying?"

Mike picked up where he'd been interrupted. "You and the Titans are not the first to battle against him. We've been fighting him for decades."

"Decades?" Robin said worriedly. "How old is he anyway?"

"We're still not sure," Mike said, shrugging. "We think he's found a way to prolong life."

Robin shuddered. He could be fighting Slade forever. "How are you and Jerry mixed up in this?"

"We're both agents. He's my dad, and I've always moved around with him, doing work for Haven. Slade did something to him—don't ask me what, I don't know and I don't think it would be a good idea to ask—but it was enough to motivate Jerry to join up. He's a really good agent, too," Mike added with pride.

"Are 'Jerry' and 'Mike' your real names?"

Mike looked at him. "Those are the ones we use the most often."

"Oh."

"Look, why don't we get some sleep?" Mike suggested. "We can talk some more in the morning, and wait until you have one of Molly's breakfasts!"

"Who's Molly?" Robin asked as he climbed into bed.

"She's the lady who takes care of the house for us, and she's also a great cook! Just you wait, she'll stuff you up to the top and pack you a snack for later!"

Robin smiled. That sort of sounded like Alfred whenever he got worried that he wasn't eating enough. A few weeks before his birthday he'd been sent a package full of cookies with a note that told him he'd better eat, he'd been looking quite thin on the news broadcasts.

Space

Beast Boy managed to slip inside the house as a mouse. It was old, musty, and did he smell cheese?

Focus, he told himself. Find Robin, and then you can look for food.

It took about two hours, but he found the Boy Wonder blissfully asleep upstairs. Mike was in the next bed. Beast Boy scuttled under Robin's bed and tried to think. This place was strange. It was an old farm house, but it was full of high-tech equipment that he was sure the CIA had trouble getting! What was going on here?

At that moment, he decided to do a little on-site investigation work and find out. Maybe these people could help them squash Slade off the face of the planet once and for all. That would be nice. Deciding that Robin was safe for the time being, Beast Boy scurried out the room and headed down to the kitchen, looking for something to eat.