Disclaimer: if ownership of awesome TV shows was possible, there'd be a lot more money in my account. too bad i'm only making ends meet.

YAY! got some writing mojo back! guess that last chapter just took more out of me than I thought. So here's their attempt at contact! Enjoy!

Where's Robin?

Ch. 10 – Burnt Packages

It was nearing midnight before everyone had gathered again in the main hall with their pieces to the care package in hand. Conner found a small box in the mountain and quickly everyone put in their letters and small tokens for the boy wonder to use until they could get him home. M'gann put in cookies while Kaldur gave up a scarf (it took some time for them to find their leader later and tell him what they learned). Roy put in a silly picture of the three of them back in the day with a note to do it again some time on the back. Wally added a bird whistle to it, saying it was a private joke between them. Conner and Artemis could only give letters with the others. Batman's was just a quickly written note, but a brief look at it stopped any objections to his small token.

Stay strong. I'm coming for you.

Once all the paper and goodies were in the box, Batman had Red Tornado bring in the offensive device. Wally tensed when he saw it along with many others. Roy glared towards it, wondering silently if that really was the cause of all of this. No one wanted to touch it.

Within seconds a blown up video in slow motion of the sequence KF pressed appeared on a screen. Batman then looked towards Red Tornado again. "Stand where Kid Flash did yesterday and keep it focused on the spot Robin was standing. Kaldur, place the box exactly where he was. We want to recreate the event as much as possible. Everyone step back."

Immediately after he said those words, the floor around the box was free of living people for about twenty feet. Wally was right next to his uncle, almost in the kitchen while the others made certain they were far behind Red Tornado. Batman stayed next to him as he charged up the device. Once the sequence was in place, the android clutched both handles and gripped the send button.

Again there was a blinding flash of light but no snap. Instead they heard something crackle and pop. Once everyone else's eyes cleared enough to see, they gaped at the result. Batman had thrown his cape over a smoldering heap on the ground, smothering a fire.

"What happened?" Artemis demanded, getting close to the man and his smoking cape.

The dark knight growled as he knelt over to pick back up his cape. He looked very odd with out it, and very angry. "It burned up."

"What?" Conner asked as he charged up next to him.

"What do you mean it burned up?" Roy piped in. Everyone closed the distance quickly, staying clear of the alien tech anyway.

"Take a look for yourself." Frustrated, Batman whipped his cape back on as he knelt down next to the remains of the care package.

"It's possible," Flash started, kneeling next to him, "the beam has some kind of mass requirement for transport to work. The distribution of the energy from it is meant for storage. We didn't ask what kind."

"And Robin made the cut," Kaldur murmured in a low tone. Every teenager turned back towards Wally, their faces on borderline murderous. The speedster gulped, his eyes widening in fear. He really had come pretty close to killing his best friend after all.

"How much does Robin weigh?" Flash asked, not knowing the looks his nephew was getting.

"Hundred and ten. The package couldn't have been over ten. Closer to five," the Bat conjectured, analyzing over placing blame.

"So it'd have to be heavier. What do you think the minimum is?"

"Based off of the energy distribution, pressure, and output," Red Tornado surmised, "one should estimate items fit for transport must equal the equivalent of fifty pounds."

"So most people can get through," Flash concluded, "but not most packages or signals. We'd have to make it fifty-one pounds. The heavier the better I bet. Less damage I'm guessing."

Batman shook his head. "Contact Guy. Find out what else he knows about this thing."

"Would have been nice to know about a weight requirement." Both leaguers got off the ground, more frustrated than mad. Batman tapped his cowled ear once as Flash turned to the others. "Well, that didn't work."

"And just how close to killing Rob did he get?" Artemis demanded, pointing vehemently at Wally. The guy looked like he was ready to have another panic attack.

"Not as close as you think. Besides his natural weight, Robin's armor and gear makes him about three times the minimal amount for transport. Add the fact that he's pretty much protected from anything Gotham throws at him, I'd say he's physically fine."

Wally perked up with an idea. "So we can make a bigger package and it should—"

"We don't know how much power is in that thing Wal," his uncle reminded him. "For all we know, the battery's near empty and we have no way to replace it. We can't risk trying again."

"What?" a few of them asked in unison, several faces covered in disbelief. There really was nothing more they could do for Robin after all.

Flash gave a half shrug and a head shake, disappointed in himself and the situation as well. "Look, it's the difference between getting him home and making everyone feel a little better. From this we've concluded he's physically fine. Add in how well we know him and you know he's going to be okay. We just have to wait until we have the tags."

"Damn it."

Everyone's attention turned to Batman as he growled and stomped towards the zeta-tubes. He was clearly not happy with something he just learned, whatever it was.

"What's up Bats?" Flash asked, trying to break the growing mood of the group.

"Multiple breakouts at Arkham. Joker's one of them." Everyone visibly cringed at the mention of the madman. Robin's stories and the brief fight they had with him before was enough for them to have nightmares. How Batman could deal with that clown was beyond them.

"Need any help?" Wally practically jumped at the idea. Anything to get away from the glares he was getting from certain people in the room. Even the psycho clown.

"No need." The Bat looked towards Black Canary for a moment as the tube lit up for transport. "Get the kids to their homes. I'll be back as soon as I'm done."

"But—" The tube lit up, taking the dark knight away before anyone could try and convince him to let them help. The group stared after his departure for a moment before Flash spoke up, shaking his head.

"Typical Bats."

"Okay kids," Black Canary started, finally putting in her two bits. "It's been a long day. Everyone head home and get some rest. Training tomorrow at ten am."

A/N: yep, Bats is gonna be busy for a bit, and so is the team. They really can't do anything more for Robin so what are they gonna do? =P I'm having a friend who'd like to torture Joker just for fun tell me how to work him thankfully. She's so much better with bad guys, especially that psycho.

yeah, i speak star trek. a mass problem and an energy problem would stop them from doing anything more I think. they can't risk losing too much power and it would take a lot to punch people through realities. just a thought.