Disclaimer: If I could change another person, then I could also own DC comics and all their characters. last I checked, people can only change themselves. Darn.

Just an FYI, time's gonna speed up a bit because there's not many more events left or explanations to tell. Just a few more differences here and I'm pretty much done. I don't think this story will make it to 30 chapters, but it's getting there. Though there is some Batman in the next two chapters, he won't be talking to Robin for another... four? I think four. Still working on that part.

Glad everyone liked how Dinah made things right for Robin. I'm afraid the case he ran over isn't going to be solved for a bit. I'm more of a family/friends/humor writer than crime. ^^; Oh well.

Without Me

Ch. 21 – Can't Change Others

"Batman, respond," Superman insisted through the com channels. Since Robin wouldn't talk to him, he thought he'd get someone who could drive some sense home to the kid.

He received a grunt on the other end. "This better be important."

The man of steel breathed out. Batman did not sound happy. It was likely whatever case he was on wasn't going well. "It's about Robin."

"No change on my end," the Bat reported. "I'll contact you when I have something."

"No, it's not about that," his friend tried to explain. He knew as soon as anyone had a way to send the kid back they would. "He found a way out of the mountain while we were fighting the Ice Gang and fought some criminals."

The mortal on the other end seemed to consider what he said for a moment. "Did he come back?"

"Well, yes…" Superman admitted.

"In one piece?" he asked in mild interest.

"A few bruises but no permanent damage. But—"

"Did he win?" his tone not changing.

"That's not the point here!" Superman would have slammed his fists against a consol if there was one. "He took Zatara's daughter with him. He put her in danger!"

Batman's voice darkened slightly. "Somehow I doubt it."

"And when we tried to talk to him, he decked Oliver!" he insisted.

"Who hasn't?" The dark knight gave another grunt. "I'm busy here so unless there's something important, don't bother calling again."

With that the line was cut, leaving an exasperated man of steel gaping at his link. How could this man feel nothing about this scenario? He almost sounded amused. Superman stared into space for a minute, not quite able to fathom why this news only received this much of a reaction.

Superman was tempted to stay there the next few days to watch the kid and make certain he behaved and try to talk to him again, but had to return to work at the Planet by noon the next day. He was there though to note every change in the boy's demeanor.

After Black Canary left the mountain the previous night, Robin set himself towards going to bed. They didn't mention giving him any punishments for his behavior but he went without supper anyway. And as usual, the kid had bad dreams all night long. Clark cringed every time he heard the boy wake up panting and telling himself to calm down, everything was just a dream. It was no wonder he didn't attempt to leave his room until nearly eleven that morning.

King Orin was on duty that day, and the King of Atlantis paid the child little heed. Superman told him about the previous day's adventures while Aquaman was finishing the ice gang's fiasco. The king merely listened and nodded, choosing to take no sides in this case. He did wonder out loud though if all young children were like this; his queen was pregnant with their first born after all, and he worried he'd be a poor father to his child.

When Robin came in with his green lantern shirt and sunglasses, he hesitated to talk to the man. He completely ignored Superman being there, apparently still mad at him about the previous day. Slowly he came towards the man watching the monitors in the main hall.

"Hi."

Aquaman kept his eyes on the screens. "Is it normal for surface children to sleep so late?"

Robin looked away nervously. "I had trouble sleeping."

"Ah." The man nodded in understanding.

"Um…" The boy shifted his feet, bighting his lip as he chose his words. "I'll probably stay in the gym and my room all day, so is it okay if…"

"I'll watch you on the monitors."

"What?" Superman jerked his gaze to the man, unable to believe his ears.

Robin smiled gratefully. "Thanks."

"Robin-" the man of steel started, but was paid no heed.

"I'll just get something to eat now." Quickly the boy darted into the kitchen to find something to eat that day, moving around the other hero as if he wasn't there.

"Wait a minute, Robin!" Superman tried again but was held back by Orin. He looked at the king exasperated. "I need to talk to him."

"I may not know much about children," Aquaman stated, "but I do know a thing or two about people and tempers. Now is not the time. No one ignores you lightly."

"I just need to explain a few things about yesterday," he tried to reason. Truth be told, he just couldn't stand the kid hating him. He didn't mean to hurt the kid yesterday but Robin really didn't understand how things worked there. Really, only meta-children could safely become heroes. Canary was a proven factor, and she was surrounded by the Justice Society growing up. His views had changed a bit since talking to her and Hal last night, but he wasn't entirely convinced Robin was right.

"If this boy is anything like Batman," Aquaman warned, "he's not ready for any of your explanations. Just let him be for the day. I'll keep an eye out for him."

"I really don't think we should just keep an eye out for him," Superman tried again. "I think we need to convince him to get out of this business. You should see the scars on the kid. There's enough to make your head turn."

"Comes with the job." Orin changed screens on the monitors, nodding to himself. "How long has he been doing this? Nearly five years?"

The man of steel looked away uncomfortably. Okay, five years. Batman and Green Arrow didn't have powers and had been at it longer. The scars they had made the kid's look like cracks on a windshield. Their backs were covered in them, and you never wanted to know how many times they hurt their insides. Five years in this business would mean you had scars, whether you were a professional or not.

"Still doesn't make it right."

Orin sighed as he changed monitors again. "Regardless, he's his own man. People are people and we can only change ourselves, not each other."

This silenced him at long last, finding he had to rethink everything again. He didn't want Robin to get hurt. Batman said the boy was dead in their world. What was his Batman thinking putting him so close to death every day he went out as a sidekick? Briefly Superman glanced over to Robin in the kitchen, looking through all the stone and steel between them. The boy was eating cereal, but didn't look like he was tasting it. The forlorn look on his face reminded the kryptonian why the kid was there at all.

This wasn't his home and he knew it. He really wanted to go home.

Bitterly the alien looked away, feeling even more ashamed of what he said. Whether the kid understood the situation or not didn't really matter. This wasn't his world. Somehow they'd find a way to send him home. Green Lantern John Stewart was looking outside their system for interdimensional tech, maybe something like what the boy described to him. Despite taking Zatara's daughter out into the field, the magician was still looking through books to find a spell to send him back. He was probably looking now more to protect his daughter than anything else. Robin needed to go home.

About ten minutes passed before Robin came back into the room to return to the living sector. Superman was about to speak but stopped when he saw the same look as before on the kid's face. He was almost inside the hallway when he stopped and looked back to King Orin. There was a bit of nervous fear on his face, unsure if he should be doing something.

"Um, Aquaman?" Robin started. The king looked over to him to show he had the boy's attention. "Do you know anything about Kaldur'ham? He should be a citizen of yours."

The king's expression didn't change. "I'm afraid not. Is he someone important in your world?"

The boy looked down. "He was Aqualad, your sidekick. Black with blond hair, tattoos, very calming. In my world, he and his best friend Garth helped you defeat Ocean Master a few years back. I was just wondering what happened to him here."

There were faint signs of recognition at some of the other names. Superman watched the king closely for that moment, wondering what the man would say. "I'll look into him. But do know, our public records are not the same as the ones on the surface world. It may take some time before I know anything."

Robin looked up to him for a moment, then nodded. "Thanks. Kal's a great guy. You'll like him."

The kid gave a brief smile then continued down the hall to get some studying in. Superman looked over to Orin, a confused look on his face. "I thought you were already looking for that kid? After Flash told us about all them, you seemed pretty eager to-"

"I already found him Superman." There was a note of pain in the king's voice. "I just haven't the heart to tell Robin the truth. Not yet."

"The truth?" The man of steel looked over the sea king. What truth could he be hiding from this boy just asking about his friends?

Orin shook slightly as he explained. "Kaldur'ham was in a terrorist bombing in Atlantis seventeen months ago. Black Manta sent in a suicide bomber, a surface world idea he twisted into his own."

"Great Scott." Superman gasped in horror. From the other day, they knew one of his friends lives was completely different in a negative way. And this one…

"Worst of it is," the king continued, "he was the bomber."

The man of steel froze, unable to move from this statement. In Robin's world, Kaldur was a hero. In this, he was a madman's dead patsy. How could the difference between the two worlds be that great?

Orin shook his head slowly and continued his routine on the monitors, trying to busy himself. "I do know of the event in question though. I met Garth during that fight with Ocean Master. I took him into my household that very day. He's a brilliant young lad, but I fear he fancies a certain lady a bit much. Maybe I should take him with me while we patrol the seas."

Superman gaped at him. He never even heard of this boy. "What?"

"I've been thinking about it for a while now to tell the truth." There was some amusement in his voice. "He fears with the coming of my child there will be no place for him in my life. I want him to know otherwise."

"Why didn't you tell us before?" his comrade asked.

Orin looked at him for a long moment, staring him down. "Would you have agreed with me if I had? Garth is not my child, and I've only known him as a young man. Our people are different from you surface dwellers; we mature far quicker to ensure our survival. I hardly think of him as a child, merely less experienced. I feared you would not agree with me.

"Apparently my fears were well founded." He returned to the monitors, one displaying Robin hopping back on his bed and taking on the math book again. Inside his room he took off his sunglasses to see better, but also revealing the weariness in his eyes. "If Garth was the first 'child hero' you heard of, I wonder what measures you would take to prevent him from helping me."

Superman found he couldn't argue with the king. Maybe he was taking this the wrong way. Still Robin could have been an ordinary boy. Why wasn't he?

Silence stood in the room for a minute before the alien turned toward the Zeta-tubes. "Try to get him to fix the lock on his door. We really need to be able to get in there."

Clark left work early that evening to take his turn again. He really was bothered by everything and felt he could probably talk reasonably with Robin now. Having the kid angry at him upset him on many levels. He liked the kid, he really did. He just wanted him to be safe.

Superman and Aquaman weren't the only leaguers there that night. When he arrived, Aquaman was still at the monitors, but he could hear a pleasant conversation in the common area. He quietly peaked over to the couches and saw Black Canary and Robin talking animatedly.

"So he's going to be okay?" Robin's relief couldn't outweigh his smile.

Dinah nodded, smiling contently. "Yes he is. I'm transferring him over to a clinic in Seattle."

"That's great!"

"He wasn't terribly happy though when he came to," she told the boy. "But I've never met a person in rehab who was. I told him it's either this or prison."

Robin snickered. "That should have quieted him down."

"It did. I think he understands this is his only chance to come clean." Canary leaned forward in her seat. "You were right. He doesn't want to be a criminal. He just didn't know what else to do. He ran away from his orphanage and had a hard time providing for himself. Apparently he joined a gang for survival and impressed Sportsmaster with his archery skills when he was giving cover during a heist. He started drugs shortly after, trying to forget his guilt for doing all the crimes he committed. He was less of a thief and more of a bodyguard for criminals."

"That's interesting." The boy looked down in thought, but there was some pride in this coming to his face. He was glad the young man wasn't a hard core crook.

"What's even more interesting," Canary continued, "was him asking about Jade. Whoever this Jade is, she might be the real reason he stayed on the opposite side of the law."

"Maybe we could find this Jade and turn her!" Robin proposed excitedly. "If he really likes her, then there has to be some good in her. I mean, there's good in Catwoman."

"Catwoman?" An amused smirk started on Dinah's face. Superman blinked. That rumor again…

Robin grinned. "Yep. She's probably the best of the girls Batman likes. She's a thief, but most times Bruce can convince her to return the stolen goods. Since she's not a killer and has a sense of justice, he really does like her a lot. A lot better lady than Talia."

"Wait," Canary held a hand up. "Batman really does like Catwoman?"

"Yep."

"I thought that was just gossip."

Robin cackled. "Heck no. Do you have any idea how many times I've caught them kissing? And he pouts if he doesn't see her every other month."

Canary laughed. Superman's jaw dropped. Batman always growled at them when they brought up the possibility of him and Catwoman being together. He thought the man was upset at being associated with a criminal. Now he wondered if he was just being his usual grumpy and private self.

Both of them calmed down after a moment. Robin was still smiling, some confidence restored. "It's good to hear he's going to be okay."

"I'll do what I can for him," Dinah agreed, "but he has to change on his own accord."

The boy nodded. "I know. Just don't give up on him okay? Roy's a really great guy. Stubborn as anything, but he listened to you in my world. I think he'll listen to you here too."

"He better not be the only one who will." She gave him a knowing look, making the kid roll his eyes behind his glasses.

"Alright alright. I'll fix the lock. But I still deserve some privacy. I mean, there's bugs and a camera in my room. Can't I at least lock the door when I need to?"

Canary looked up in thought for a minute, considering this. "Makes sense. We should at least have a passcode to enter when it's an emergency though."

"I miss old fashion doors," Robin admitted. "A simple key on a simple lock and you were pretty much done. Security sucks but at least you had privacy. I'll come up with something, but it's not going to be easy."

"Wouldn't have it any other way." They grinned at each other, making Superman a little jealous. That first night he felt like he made a connection with the kid and now he felt it was gone. How was he going to correct this?

A/N: Okay, who didn't love Batman's conversation with Supes? I loved it! First he covers the basics, then like any dad asks if his son won the fight! XD Oh, gotta love him.

As for Kaldur, well I had to tell you all what happened to him. remember inside 'Get Back Up' he ended up being the mole and was set up by his evil dad as Aquaman's sidekick? Well I thought it'd be ironic if without Robin, Kal would be used by his dad another way, one a bit more final. In a way, Robin saved Kaldur's life. How's that for something significant no one's going to know about back in Earth-16? :3 Don't cry too much for him okay? It was the only quick way to end all debate on his fate. Garth's actual story though gets to take place, minus the regular timeline and becoming Aqualad (which I bet will happen shortly after this talk).

And Dinah talking to Robin at the end is to show you what's going to happen to Roy. I have a good twist at the end for him too.

And last of all, Robin's silent treatment to Supes isn't going to last very long. Being angry at him that whole day was actually Dick's way of getting even with him. He knows Clark hates being hated by kids, so this was his way to punish the guy. Fun times. ^^V