It should be mentioned I don't own Batman either

'Father, father, where are you going?
O do not walk so fast!
Speak, father, speak to your little boy,
Or else I shall be lost'

The night was dark, no father was there,
The child was wet with dew;
The mire was deep, and the child did weep,
And away the vapour flew

Mount Justice

March 19, 01:49 EST

Batman practically dragged the boy down to the interrogation cell, trying to tone down the indignation he felt that someone would dare to wear the colors his son and partner bore honorably. Seeing the swishing yellow cape and the Robin symbol on this imposter was enough to infuriate the vigilante. Dick didn't deserve to have his good works degraded by some punk.

Once there, he practically threw the boy into the cell before locking the door and retreating to the other side to observe the child through the one way mirror. He maintained his scowl as the kid sneered, pounding his fist on the floor before stalking over to the room's only chair with a dark look on his face.

"You do not have to be so rough with him," Martian Manhunter said appearing next to Bruce with a concerned expression. "The boy is well-trained in keeping out telepaths, as good as yourself and Robin might I add, but I can sense his desire to attack abated once he saw you. Your actions are only making him angry and less likely to cooperate."

"You're letting his age distract you. He's dangerous J'onn, you saw how he went after the Team like that. As young as he is, that boy is trained to kill, you can see it in the way he moves." Batman explained, gesturing to the costumed boy who still glaring into the glass with his arms crossed in petulance. The vigilante turned on the microphone and addressed their captive.

"What are you doing here? How are you connected to the man who you followed out of the portal in Gotham?" The boy did nothing other than purse his lips. "I suggest you talk, you may have been trained to deal with telepaths but that doesn't mean we can't still take that information from your mind." Next to him, J'onn frowned even harder.

"Batman," J'onn stated strongly as he indicated his objection.

"You may find it amusing to dress in that uniform but I can assure you there is a steep penalty for falsely impersonating-" he was cut off from further reprobation by J'onn cutting the microphone.

"Bruce, this is not helping the situation." Batman glared at the Martian before the green man sighed. "I understand you are worried for Richard and the others but you need to remain rational about this. Given the fact that this child woke up handcuffed in an unfamiliar place, I would imagine your own Robin would have reacted similarly." Bruce opened his mouth to object but the Martian continued.

"He needs to be contained and examined but there is no need to be cruel, the League is supposed to be above that. The tests should be done soon and we will know more about him. Until then, Detective, we must go about this smartly." Bruce clenched his jaw but took a step back allowing J'onn access to the microphone. If he tried to fight any more, J'onn might remove him from the interrogation room and Bruce needed all the information he could get on their prisoner.

"This is Martian Manhunter. Batman is right, it is wise for you to talk young man. We have no desire to hurt you, only to discover who you are and where you came from. If we can, we would be more than willing to assist you in returning there."

At his voice, the boy's sour expression abated somewhat as he scrutinized the glass. "Are you and Batman the only ones in the room?" He asked curtly, before continuing. "Is there any chance of being overheard?"

"No, it is just Batman and I. This room is completely safe, no one outside can hear anything being said." Manhunter reassured.

The boy paused for a moment before collecting himself. "I must begin by stating that your current training regimen for the children is downright pathetic. A common street thug could have taken out that sorry group of so-called heroes." The boy said derisively with an annoyed look on his face. "They shouldn't be allowed on a playground much less a battlefield."

Batman frowned at the child's impertinence but chose to ignore it favor of continuing the interrogation. "That's not what we-"

"But..." The boy hesitated, "Grayson is Robin here isn't he? His fighting style is distinctive, even now, it'd be impossible for someone to replicate." Bruce tensed suddenly at the name spoken by the child who now appeared just a little bit remorseful, having averted his eyes from the glass. Robin's identity, and thus his own, was compromised by a child that had neutralized the Team within minutes. Bruce was already going through several of his many emergency contingency plans when Manhunter grabbed his shoulder to hold him in place.

"Bruce, you need to calm down. Hurting him is not going to help Richard." He answered tersely even though he too was worried. Batman and Robin's identity's were among the League's most highly guarded secrets. The fact that a possible enemy was privy to such private knowledge was worrisome.

"Is he unharmed?" The boy asked suddenly. "I didn't know who he was at first, not until I saw that you were... present. I don't believe I caused any damage but I have no desire to see him injured." The boy's tone was still arrogant, but there was a slight undertone of concern.

"Given your earlier remarks on the Team, it seems odd for you to be questioning the safety of a boy you attacked." Batman answered, trying to keep his tone level after the revelation.

"I would assume that with my costume, even the World's Greatest Detective could figure it out. Grayson is my mentor and, though I'm loathe to admit it, my older brother of sorts." The two heroes were stunned into silence.

The kid pouted, hunching his shoulders uncomfortably once the quiet became unbearable. "I shouldn't be saying anything but it seems I don't have much choice. Before I went through that portal, I was in the year 2021 fighting alongside my Batman. We'd encountered a villain named Epoch, I tried to capture him before he escaped though the portal appears I was transported back in time. I do not remember passing through the portal, only waking up handcuffed in an unfamiliar location. The last time that happened, I'd been taken captive by Professor Pyg, so I reacted accordingly." He tilted his head. "I don't know when I am exactly or even where, sometime before 2013 as Grayson is still Robin. We should get this sorted out quickly so that I may return to my own time."

"You're saying you're from the future?" Batman asked, letting a little bit of his incredulity leak into his voice. The boy gave him an annoyed glare through the glass.

"You and your children dress up in colorful costumes and work alongside aliens and super-powered freaks and you're questioning the possibility of time travel?

Batman ignored the flippant statement as he honed instead on one word in particular. "Children?" As far as he knew, Dick was the only child he called his own. Suddenly it was occurring to him that, ten years in the future, this boy, possibly more, could be living in his home and as integrated into the family as Dick was. The thought caused his chest to tighten as he watched the boy wince slightly and turn his head to glare at the wall.

"You can believe what you want but I can't say anymore about the future, which I really ought to be getting back to. Pennyworth will have my head if I'm not back by morning." The casual reference to Alfred did not go unnoticed but Batman did not comment. Either this boy was a very well informed spy or he was actually telling the truth. Bruce wasn't sure which was more terrifying.

"We need to confirm your story first, if you are who you claim to be we will do everything in our power to return you to your own time." J'onn said while Bruce remained lost in thought. "What would you like us to call you in the meantime?"

"My true name is unimportant in this situation. I'd suggest calling me by my title but I suspect you and your band of miscreants would take issue with that. So pick a name of your choosing, it does not matter so long as it can get me back faster." The kid replied with a light wave of his hand. Bruce studied the preteen for a moment.

"You keep saying this but do you have any evidence to back up your claim? Unless you can prove something, we will continue to treat you as an active threat." The boy's eyes furrowed at the question and his teeth sunk into his lower lip in his first show of true nervousness since he was apprehended. A few quiet moments passed as the costumed child seemed to weigh his options.

"I suppose my presence here has already altered the past and any tests will prove as much anyway." He said quietly to himself as he reached his decision and put a gloved hand on his mask. "I am going to need your assistance if I am to return to my future. I know this won't convince you of my benign intentions, quite the opposite actually, but this should be sufficient to prove I am indeed from some time in your future." The child pulled off the mask slowly, revealing at once just how young he was. Without the brave façade of Robin to hide behind, the young boy's rounded features and large eyes marked him as being no older than about 10 years of age.

But it wasn't his youthful appearance that grabbed Bruce's attention. He found himself tensing as he took in the boy's high, well built cheekbones, the way his eyebrows winged ever so slightly on the ends and shallow peak of his hairline. Bruce knew that face, he walked past it everyday as it hung over the fireplace. An old portrait of better times, his mother, his father and himself. There was absolutely no doubt as to who this child was. The boy's curved green eyes seemed to hold his gaze even though there was no way he could see through the glass.

"So then Father, where shall we begin?"

XxX

Whatever was going on in there was taking way too long Robin decided as he paced back and forth, waiting for Batman to come back. He was tense, wound up not only by some crazy ninja kid who had soundly beat them but also by the earlier dismissal. He was going to be 14 in a few days, he was too old to be treated like an unruly child, but the ache in his heart sure made him feel like one. He was one of the youngest heroes out there and was a disciple of the Batman, he should be used to such treatment. But a part of him couldn't help but feel that disappointment from Batman meant disappointment from Bruce which was far, far worse.

"What is taking so long?" Superboy interrupted Robin's pacing gruffly. "When is someone going to come in and yell at us for messing up?" And that was another good point. Since Black Canary had come in and checked them over for injury, they haven't seen so much as a cape from any of the other adults. No one to chastise them or tell them what's going on or even confirm that they were even still there. Artemis was angrily bouncing her leg, glaring in the direction of the door so clearly she was about five minutes from storming out and demanding some answers. Robin couldn't blame her.

"Robin, I have a question. Just before Batman caught the boy, he was able to get in an easy hit. Did he do something to you?" M'Gann asked quietly, obviously sensing the thick tension in the room and seeking to lower it. Robin sighed and ran a hand through his hair. And that was the other problem.

"I don't know, I keep telling myself that I must have imagined it but I know what I saw." Robin sighed as he ran over his crazy theory again. "The way the kid fought, it was familiar. He was using my moves, my techniques against me. I don't know how that's possible, but there's no question that he's studied my movements, probably up close."

"What exactly are you implying there Rob? Is he a stalker or something?" Wally asked, speeding over in a second while the rest looked on curiously.

"I'm just noting that the guy in white earlier was using some highly advanced technology, nothing we have in this time currently. On a separate note, the kid who also came out of that portal not only wears a variation of my uniform but used a fighting style unique to me. It's possible that they could have come from a different place, maybe even a different time." He shrugged, pretending not to notice the stunned faces of his friends.

"Wait, wait, wait, are you saying he's from the future?" Artemis hissed.

"Come now Robin, that seems a bit extreme." Aqualad said calmly over the din of the other teens reacting to Robin's suspicions.

"I'm not saying anything but come on, Miss M is from Mars, KF can break the sound barrier, Supey is a clone of the strongest alien on Earth and you're part fish." Robin pointed out, crossing his arms. "You guys really ought to have a more open mind."

"Yeah but the future seems kind of... out there, even for us." Superboy added gruffly.

"Well, it does make a weird sort of sense," Miss Martin spoke quietly as she rubbed her arms. "It would explain that uncomfortable feeling I felt when the portal opened, it was like reality was being warped."

"Hello? Are you guys listening to what you're saying?" Artemis interuppted. "The future? That is totally impossible! Come on Wally, you're the science nerd here, tell them!" She said slapping her boyfriend's shoulder.

"Time travel has always been a murky grey area," the speedster answered as he rubbed his sore shoulder. "Theoretically you can't have 'pure' time travel because the moment you send someone or something back in time, it permanently alter the future course of events and infinite number of parallel universes are created. So in essence, if by some chance the kid did travel back, the future he's from might not even exist anymore."

"Yeah!" Artemis shouted, "there's no way the brat could've time travelled."

"I knew you were incompetent in battle but I didn't believe you would so senseless as to deny facts." The teens turned around at the youthful voice to find Martian Manhunter and Batman standing with a rather irritated looking kid Robin. They settled into battle positions, noting that their attacker was not restrained in any way. The only precaution taken was that Batman had the boy's utility belt gripped tightly in one hand.

"Listen up, while we are currently unable to confirm for certain, this child has given solid evidence to suggest that he is from about 10 years in the future." Batman said quietly only to be interrupted by the Team sudden yelling, a raised hand silenced them. "We will be looking into the technology used to open the portal to try and send him back to his own time. In addition, we will be tracking down villain who opened the portal before he can cause any harm."

He paused and set his free hand on the boy's shoulder. "Until we can return him, this boy will remain here. He is not going to be leaving the Mountain and he will e heavily monitored for the duration of his stay but he will not be treated as a prisoner, is that clear?" The room erupted again.

"What do you mean? The brat totally creamed us and you expect us to play nice with him?" Wally argued.

"I don't want to deal with any kids." Superboy added crossing his arms.

"We don't even know who he is! He could be a spy or some assassin." Artemis shouted, pointing at the boy who merely leveled her with an annoyed look.

"You don't have any room to be throwing around accusations like that, Crock. Sportsmaster is still your father is he not?" Artemis paled while Batman did his best not to look as frustrated as he felt.

"How do you know my name you little demon? Who are you?" Artemis hissed, reaching out as if she was going to thrash the boy only to be held back by Aqualad. The young boy remained impassive as he crossed his arms.

"I know all of your names because I am from your future and have the dismal pleasure of being familiar with you through him," he replied, nodding the direction of their Robin. "As for your second question, I am Robin which all you'll ever need to know about me." Young Justice stopped their bickering long enough to glare at the preteen who responded in kind. He clicked his tongue and turned up to address Batman. "Can I not work with you? I would be much more useful helping you track down Epoch and searching for a way to return me to my proper time." Batman, his hand still resting on the boy's shoulder, gave it a light squeeze.

"There's not much you can do for the moment, we're mostly gathering data and organizing ourselves. We also wish to verify your story and intentions before we bring you up to the Watchtower, I'm sure you understand." The boy let out an annoyed breath but didn't argue further.

Martian Manhunter chose that moment to clear his throat. "We leave him in your care while we continue our investigations on the Watchtower. You may contact us if you have any questions about what he can and cannot do," He turned to address the boy. "We will return later to get an official statement from you regarding everything you know about the villain." The kid looked like he was going to protest but instead made a brief face and nodded. "Let us know if you need anything, Black Canary is still going to be your supervisor." Manhunter said, readdressing the team before he nodded and ducked out of the room.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Kid Flash said, flailing his arms before pointing to the kid. "What about him? What do we do with him? What do we even call him. We can't call him Robin, we've already got one of those!" Batman paused, turning to give the new Robin a calculating look.

"Due to complications with the timelines, he refused to give us his real name. Any name you choose to call him is acceptable, something like Thomas would suffice." With his back turned, the Batman missed the stunned expressions on the faces of the two Robins upon hearing the name. Robin quickly schooled his expression so not to alert the team as to the significance of that name. Meanwhile, the newly dubbed Thomas glanced over at Robin before quickly returning his gaze to Batman. "Keep him in line, we'll be back." Batman finished as he swept out of the room leaving the Team and their unwanted guest alone.

Wally snorted and rolled his eyes. "Thomas, pfft, kind of an ordinary name for the Batman to choose don'tcha think Rob?" Kid Flash muttered under his breath, giving a best friend a side glance.

"Shut up Wally you don't know what you're talking about." Robin answered gruffly and this time Kid turned to properly look at Robin. The teen's normally cheerful face was like stone as he glared daggers at the other Robin, at Thomas. The kid frowned and turned away from Robin, folding his arms protectively across his chest. The tension in the room spiked as Robin's hands clenched into fists.

Miss Martian floated herself over the young boy and smiled brightly as if that would make everyone get along. "Hello! We weren't introduced before, my name is Miss Martian and I'm from Mars!" She tittered awkwardly, reaching out and grabbing the boy's hand to shake. "I'm sorry for earlier, I'm sure you understand. So I guess you're from the future. I'm sure you miss your friends and family, we'll get you back there as soon as we can, don't you worry." Damian stared blankly at her before roughly pulling his hand out of her grasp and retreating back a few steps.

"I am aware of who you are," he said testily. "You are more annoying than I remember, it's like dealing with Brown all over again."

M'gann smiled knowingly as she settled back on the ground. "Oh? Do I remind you of someone you know?" Damian sputtered and crossed his arms again, his cheeks a bit darker than normal. "It's alright, we aren't going to ask you anything about the future. We just want to get you back home safe and sound, don't we?" She said, addressing the rest of Young Justice. Damian's eyes lighted on Robin for a second before he turned away with a huff, the teen wonder never stopped glaring.

"Home, right." Damian muttered coarsely under his breath. Kid Flash took that moment to slap Robin hard on his back which got him to finally stop boring holes into their captive.

"Okay, I understand you can't say too much but if you are working with Batman in the future then you should know old birdbrain here too!" He zipped forward, putting a friendly arm around the boy's shoulders. "Come on, from one bro to another, you got any good stories to share?" Wally said with a teasing smirk.

"Kid, leave him alone." Aqualad interrupted with only a mildly reproving expression.

Only the new Robin didn't seem to be amused with the speedster's mannerisms and looked up at him with a guarded expression. "You're the original Kid Flash, Wallace West," he stated simply. Kid Flash winced at the use of his full name but took it in stride, patting the kid's head.

"Well you sure know your stuff boyo, I mean of course you know all about me seeing as I am Rob's best friend and all. So do you have any juicy gossip from the land of tomorrow?" Damian stared up at the speedster with unwavering intensity before breaking eye contact and staring into the wall.

"Yes... of course I know of you. You and uh Robin are close, he visits you quite often and forces me to join him sometimes. It is annoying and I take no pleasure from it but, for some reason, you are deemed important." Kid smiled and clicked his mouth while he made finger guns at his friends.

"See! Look at that, straight from the horse's mouth, I am important in the future!" He continued to smile as he ignored the weird feeling in the back of his head that the compliment to him had thus far been the only time the brat had said anything remotely nice. "Hey Rob, your little brother isn't so bad!" He said cheerily, noticing that the kid seemed to perk up a little at that, angling his face slightly so that he was looking over at Robin. He almost looked proud to have his relation to the Boy Wonder said aloud. Robin just huffed in annoyance.

"He's not my brother KF, he's just some kid who claims he came from the future and who knows how true that is? Arty's right he could be this assassin here to infiltrate our ranks and kill us. I bet he's not even really a hero; I wouldn't believe a word he says." Robin spat out and the hesitant look of hope vanished from the kid's face so fast Wally couldn't say for sure if it had ever been there.

"Well you don't have to believe a thing carny trash," Damian hissed out. "But Batman does and until I can get back to my family, you just have to deal with me." Damian paused, the viciousness on his face apparent. "I thought you were supposed to be smarter than this but I guess Batman can only do so much with some untrained charity case." Robin started at the insult but merely clenched his hands into fists to keep himself from teaching the kid a thing or two about his training.

"Now one of you wretched wannabes get me some pen and paper and I promise I'll stay out of your way, not that you do much of anything for me to disrupt." Without another word, Damian turned and stalked off to the far corner of the lounge, falling into one of the chairs. He sat and continued to glare at them until Miss Martian flew off and returned with a spiral bound notebook and pencil. He snatched the proffered items out of her hands and began to sketch in it angrily, acting if the rest of the team wasn't even there.

"Jeez Rob, way to be hospitable." Artemis said. She didn't know if the kid really was who he claimed to be, but he'd certainly acted like he'd just been hurt by a loved one. Miss Martian floated back over to them with her heart in her eyes, sympathy radiating off her person. Even Superboy and Aqualad appeared to be quietly expressing their disapproval over Robin's behavior. Only Kid Flash, Wally, who knew more about Robin's personal life than the others seemed to understand how difficult it was to see some kid swoop in out of nowhere wearing his uniform, taking away Batman's attention and affection. Only Wally had an inkling of how absolutely replaced he was feeling.

But the Team wouldn't understand that, even if he did have the freedom to tell them. So he did the only thing he really could, he turned and stomped out of the room, leaving his friends and their prisoner alone with each other. Who knows? Maybe they'd decide they like the new kid better than him too.

Oh my gosh guys I am stunned and delighted at the response so far to this story! I'm so glad you are interested to see where this will go, especially since these first two chapters are just setting up the story. I did my best to keep everyone in character as much as I could so I hope that came across. I hope you all enjoy this latest installment and that come back next week to see where it goes.