I don't own Young Justice or any related characters.

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Mount Justice

April 2, 02:39 EST

The Cave had been recently rebuilt and remodeled after the explosion Kaldur had caused while operating undercover. They had found another location and moved from the Watchtower back to their own base of operations.

"Conner, I don't understand. You don't remember? How do you not remember?"

"What is there not to understand? I don't know what to remember. I don't know where she is. I don't know what happened! Get off my case!"

"I'm not on our case. This situation took a completely unexpected turn. Anything could've happened to you. I'm just concerned about you. I don't want anything bad to happen to you."

He looked at her with confusion. He knew she still had feelings for him, it had indeed been him that had broken off their relationship to begin with. But her confession to her emotions, was a little unnerving. He still had feelings for her, but didn't know if they were strong enough to let her back in his life after she had betrayed him like she had. He knew she had broken up with La'gaan, and he figured he had likely been the reason for that, but that didn't mean he was just going to drop everything so she could return like nothing happened. He would always care for her, but he didn't know where that left them relationship-wise.

M'gann recognized the look on his face and blushed as she quickly tried to retract her statement. Sometimes she spoke before realizing the words escaping. It was a lot more difficult on Earth to communicate by mouth. On Mars, everyone knew the true intentions of thoughts. Here, words had multiple meanings, and if strung together wrong, it could result in very uncomfortable social situations like the one she found herself in now.

"Look Superboy, there has to be something you remember about this. If Cadmus was able to incapacitate you and Batgirl, they must be doing something more advanced than anything we've seen in a long time. I'm not the only one looking into this. There's Aqualad, Nightwing, -"

"Nightwing is not my boss. As a matter of fact, he stepped out on this team. If he has something to say he knows where to find me."

He stood to his feet to exit, walking out to his new room with a sense of urgency.

"Superboy."

"Forget it. Don't talk to me."

Blüdhaven

April 2, 15:10 EST

Dick laid waste to the punching bag, showing it no mercy, the last roundhouse kick sending it flying off the chain. He bent over and rested his hands on his knees, his chest heaving up and down as he took deep breaths. The sweat dripped from his forehead, running into his eyes. He undid his hand wraps and wiped his face with his undershirt.

He hadn't slept since he had dropped Barbara off at the hospital in Washington DC. He had wanted to bring her to Gotham, but she was in no condition to make the trip even with the zeta tubes.

Every time he closed his eyes, he could see her frail form, so broken and battered in his arms. And no matter how much he tried to convince himself it wasn't his fault, he couldn't seem to shake the feeling of guilt that clung to him like dead weight. He had dropped her off at Washington General and they had started operations immediately. He couldn't bring himself to stay. After he made his way to Blüdhaven, he had called Wayne Manor and informed them of the situation. Bruce, who was away with the founding seven trying to improve relations with other planets, had been linked on the three-way as could be heard over the line losing his temper. Alfred was clearly upset, but Tim stayed relatively quiet. He had been attacking his body with a vigorous workout in his apartment ever since.

He moved to pick up the punching bag. He wanted to see Barbara, but didn't know if he could face her, knowing he could've- should've- been there. He set the equipment to the side.

"Set up Training Scenario B-415." The electronic opponents emerged from beneath the floor. It was days like today that he was grateful Bruce had such wealth and was so paranoid. It had been he that had suggested the system be put in his apartment. Today he needed it.

One after the next, the lifelike opponents went to the ground, another popping up in its place. While it was difficult, it was only doing so much to quell his wrestling spirit. The session soon expired as all the opponents were disposed.

"Maybe you need a real sparring partner. Apparently Bruce's hardest training simulation wasn't enough for you."

Dick's head snapped up. The youngest Robin walked into his apartment living room dressed in jeans and a t-shirt.

Dick smiled slightly as he watched him walk in. "I don't think you can beat me in those clothes."

Tim removed his t-shirt revealing a black undershirt similar to Dick's.

"Try me." He stepped in front of Dick, a smug smile on his face.

They began, Tim taking the first strike. For a while they went blow for blow, Dick more going through the motions as opposed to actually fighting Tim. He had definitely improved, but he still had a ways to go before he could beat him, and even farther before he could beat Bruce.

He caught his foot as he tried to catch him in the stomach.

"You're telegraphing. Any skilled fighter is going to catch it."

It was only a few exchanges later before he had to correct him again. Dick had a free hit to the abdomen after Tim had tried to flip over his opponent's leg sweep.

"It's taking you to long to catch sight of your attacker. You never take your eyes off of them, even in a flip. Otherwise you leave yourself open."

Tim struck at Dick, connecting to his face. As he stumbled, Tim closed the distance. He ducked as Dick recovered with a feign. Tim was now off balance, and Dick took advantage of it, kicking out his foot that held all the weight. Tim rolled into a somersault landing on his feet. He wound up to come at his opponent. Dick grabbed his other arm and brought him towards him. Tim pushed with all his might to escape, but was again off balance. As Tim started his descent to the ground, Dick caught him and placed him in a chokehold.

He released him after a few seconds.

"It takes you long to throw a punch. I can catch it and deflect it back to you, and throws you off balance. There should never be a time when you're off balance. It gives your attacker the advantage. And never give your attacker control of what you do. The moment that happens… you're dead."

He helped his younger brother off the floor.

"Didn't know I was getting a training session."

"You have to watch those things. This stuff isn't something that you can half do. If you don't correct that stuff fast, it could be the difference between winning or …I don't want you to end up like..." He couldn't finish his statement. He looked off into the distance; he couldn't look at Tim. He inhaled deeply, releasing a deep sigh.

"She woke up a few hours ago."

He turned to face Tim. "When did you see her?"

"I'm actually passing through here on my way back. I went up to Washington after you called. When you hung up I went out on patrol, but I kept thinking about her so I took a zeta to the hospital. When I got there, they said that she was still in surgery. So I gave them my number. Went to school, and they called me in 6th period. I called Alfred and we went up there. We stayed for about an hour."

"So you skipped out on class and left Gotham alone while Bruce was out?"

"I left when my patrol was over, and how many times have you missed class to go off on a mission? But Dick, you're missing the point."

"No. No, I see it, I'm just diverting it to something else."

Tim saw his downtrodden expression despite how much he was trying to hide it.

"She asked for you." He tried to make his face as pleasant as possible. "The doctor stopped as we were leaving. He said she...she was awake. So we stayed for a little longer."

Dick could hear the stutter in his voice. "What happened?"

"Nothing. That's everything."

"Tim, don't lie to me."

"Well, she did ask for Superboy first."

Dick's faced turned into a scowl nearly identical to the ones that Bruce often used.

It was Tim's turn to sigh. "The doctor, he did stop us as we were leaving. He wanted to know if we were related because they needed permission."

"For what?"

"They think she might've been raped."

Dick closed his eyes as the picture from that night flashed in his mind. He wiped his hands over his face before returning to reality.

"Dick, I'm sorry."

"Why? You didn't attack her. It's not your fault."

"But it's not yours either." There was a pause as he waited for Dick to respond, but it never came. "Look, I know you need some space. I'll go. But she's gonna be alright. And right now she needs a friend more than nan avenger." He picked up his shirt, and walked out the door.

Dick stared around the room. He had to go see Barbara. It didn't matter what he was feeling, Barbara needed him more. She needed someone to be there for her. Besides that, she was essential in finding out what happened at Cadmus. Superboy was useless. Then he could truly have justice, for her and for him.

Washington General Hospital

April 2, 17:47 EST

The monitors beeped softly in the background. Her head pounded in on itself. Her body was sore everywhere else. Her torso had been wrapped in countless bandages, and she had overheard the doctors saying she was going to need a metal pole down her leg that was now propped up. She wasn't dead, but at this point she felt she might as well have been.

She took a deep breath in and regretted it as her chest cried out. All she wanted to do was click her heels three times and wish this whole mess over. The problem was she still didn't quite understand what mess she was in. When she closed her eyes and tried to remember what happened, all she got were flashes of torture. It sent chills down her spine, and her heart went racing. She could feel herself going into an anxiety attack, when a knock came to the door.

"Come in," she strained to say. Her face scrunched at the sound of her voice. It was hoarse, not the smooth sound she was used to.

The door cracked as a head popped through.

"Is this the room of a Barbara Gordon?"

The cheery, child like nature of Dick Grayson made her smile to herself. He had always been there for her, and this time was no different.

"Not if there is a Richard Grayson looking for her."

He put on an accent. "Good because my name is Julio Estevez." He smiled at her and entered, flowers and chocolate in his hands.

"Are those for me?" She watched him as he made his way to the seat next to the bed.

"Yeah. The flowers are courtesy of Bruce Wayne. I figured you want something a little more practical. And this Hershey seemed to fill that spot."

"With almonds?"

"Is there any other way?" Dick smiled at the joy that he was able to convey. He was glad he could do this for her, and he was truly happy to be there with her, but seeing her this way was tearing at his heart. She had always been a confident, strong figure in his life. To see her reduced to this, it forced him to put things into perspective.

As he looked down through her injuries, he felt an anger stir up inside him. Whoever did this was going to pay dearly.

"Dick?"

He snapped out of his thoughts.

"How are you feeling?" He asked.

"You've seen how I look. Probably fifty times worse than that."

"You don't look that bad."

"Don't flatter me."

"Does your father know?"

She shook her head. "No. As far as he is concerned, I'm still at Gotham University. I know I need to tell him about this, but I don't want him to find out like this." She could see the distracted look on his face. She forced herself to sit up to see him better, gritting at the pain in her chest as she did so.

"Hey, take it easy," Dick stood to help her reposition. His face was tantalizingly close to hers. She had always felt feelings for Dick, and had a suspicious feeling he had them for her too, but she knew there was no way he could want her now, not like this. She watched as he retook his seat.

"What have the doctors said?"

She looked over her own injuries. "A grade 3 concussion, 2 broken ribs, 3 bruised ribs, and a supracondylar femur fracture as far as I know."

Richard rubbed his hands together. He wanted to tell her, but he didn't know how. She could see he was holding something back. As he tried to form the words on his tongue, his head told him to leave it be. He didn't need to vote more than what she was now.

"I should've been there last night." He turned his head away, a scowl forming on his face.

"Dick, please don't do this. This is not your fault. If anything, I should be thanking you. I don't remember much from last night, but I know you were there."

"Tim told me you asked for Connor when you woke up this morning. Same thing happened when I found you, but surprise, surprise, he's nowhere to be found."

"Dick, you can't blame him either. He did everything he could, we were just overpowered."

"Barbara, he was your partner. He left you for dead, and didn't bother to come look for you."

"Richard, you know as well as I do that this is part of the job we took. We all knew the risk when we signed on. This happens sometimes."

"Not to us it doesn't!" He held his head in his hands, his fingers intertwining with his hair.

"I know." This was the first time he had really heard the hoarseness of her voice. He had blocked it out earlier, but now her voice seemed so soft, so broken, so small, so distant. He looked up, she was no longer looking at him, but at some point on the ceiling above them.

"When I woke up and realized to some extent what had happened to me, I was terrified. Not at what had happened to me, but the fact that it had. The reputation that Batman has, you have, Tim even, I have always felt inferior, like I had to work harder to even measure up. This kind of thing doesn't happen to the Batclan and the fact that it happened to me of all people, just has caused me to think, what am I worth."

"Barbara, you're worth more than you know. I've never meant to make you feel inferior. It's just seeing you like this, strikes a nerve. Just seeing it makes it more real because this has happened to us before."

They took an impromptu moment of silence as they remembered Jason.

"What do you remember?" He asked.

"Not much."

"You said you and Connor were overpowered."

"I was just assuming. I don't really remember much of last night."

"Barbara, please. You have to give me something."

"Dick, I don't know. All I remember is waking up this morning."

"So you're not trying to protect Superboy?"

"He doesn't need protecting; he didn't do anything."

"Exactly. That's why you're here now."

"Richard, I told you. All I remember is waking up this morning."

Dick did his best to hold back his temper. "Then who visited you today?"

She was confused as to where he was going with this question, but she answered him anyway. "Tim and Alfred. Why?"

He paused before he answered. "Then what was Captain Atom doing here?"

Her eyes widen with surprise. "I don't know what you mean."

"Don't play dumb Barbara. I saw his name on the visitor's log when I signed in. No one knew you were here except for those I told: Tim, Alfred, and Bruce. All very adept at the art of secrecy. You were unconscious until about one o'clock, and you were hoarse. There is no phone in this room. Your father doesn't even know where you are. What was he doing here?"

"I don't know Richard." Her face was hard.

"You know, I understand you not wanting to talk about what happened. The most likely thing is you don't remember. Fine. Or maybe it's you don't want to relive the experience. It might be you don't want to tell me because you don't trust me. You think I might go do something rash. While it would hurt, I understand. But we've known each other for nearly a decade. So why tell Atom before you tell someone who has been to hell and back with you?"

"Dick don't do this. You don't understand."

"Then make me understand. What happened? Why tell him and not me?"

"Nothing happened Richard." She had gone back into her shell. He wasn't getting anything else out of her. The doctor entered the room.

"Mr. Grayson, we need to perform a few test. We're going to have to ask you to step out."

"Yeah. I was just on my way out anyway."

He looked back at Barbara as he left. Her arms were crossed on her chest as she looked out the window. She had checked out. He exited the way he entered.

This was a tangled mess. Not only was Superboy a suspect, but now Captain Atom was apart of this. And he had effectively shut out his best way of learning what happened. This was getting out of hand fast, and it had just started.