Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice, but I do own Andie Kyle.

Andie POV:

I bolted up, sitting stiffly on the wooden floor of Robin's room. I placed my hands in my hair; sometime during the night it had loosened from its braid. Hugging my knees to my chest, I allowed my head loll forward and rest upon my thighs. I sighed.

Another nightmare… or more accurately… Another memory.

Flashback Andie (9yr old)

I watched as she ran ahead, pouncing from roof to roof in an attempt to escape from Batman.

She glanced back as I struggled to lug the bag of gems. "Hurry."

Suddenly, a curtain of darkness appeared up ahead. The Dark Knight.

He stood with a grim determination, narrowing his eyes at me and Selina. "You're willing to involve your daughter in the life you live? Have you lost all sense of right and wrong Selina?"

I stretched my neck forward to catch a glimpse of her smiling lips. "There are no fixed notions of right and wrong. I live by my own morals; it is the way of the cat. You should know that by now."

Batman took a step forward. "Your claims are pretentious; you have no moral compass. All that you choose to believe, is just an excuse for your behaviour." He held out his hand, taking another step forward. "Change now Selina. Before it's too late."

Selina narrowed her eyes, and snatched the sack of gems from my hands. "There is nothing wrong with the way I live. I don't ask for redemption or forgiveness because this is the path I choose; it's freedom Bruce."

His grim expression didn't waver. "No. It's called thievery." He glanced down at me. "Which you're exposing your child to."

Selena narrowed her eyes and grasped onto my hand. She yanked me closer, and I stumbled into her side. She rested her claws on my neck, pricking my flesh deep enough to draw blood.

I froze, a low whimper escaping my lips.

"This is life Bruce; thievery, murder and betrayal makes the world go round. And no matter how hard you fight, it will never stop. The people who commit those deeds, live by their own morals."

All five of her talons pressed deeper into my flesh.

"You see, the darkness is an unstoppable force; it is the essence of true power." She edged towards the roofs end, dragging me along.

For the first time, I was truly frightened of Selina Kyle.

She addressed Batman with a steely glare. "I am merely teaching this child what it means to gain power. She must accept the darkness as an ally. Embrace it, as I have done..."

All of sudden, Selina snapped her hand out, flinging me over the edge of the roof. I screamed as I fell backwards, my limbs flailing uselessly in the air. The world blurred and feeling of inertia came over me as two things became clear.

One: I was going to die.

Two: Selina...my mum...was going to kill me.

Her face appeared over the roofs edge, and the wind carried her last words to me. "Until the moment when you embrace the darkness, you are of no use to me. A weapon cannot be weak."

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

I clenched my teeth shut as I re-lived the fear and rejection. Selina was a monster. Her one and only dream, was for me to allow the Cats Essence full control of my being. Because of this, I'm certain she didn't intend to kill me that night... She just didn't want the dead weight. A tear slid down my cheek, and I forcefully swiped it away. If it hadn't been for Batman, things might have gone differently that night; I might have been dead.

I stood up and headed towards the bathroom. As expected, the Cats Essence had healed my broken ankle with a phenomenal recovery rate. As I splashed my face with cold water, I glanced up at the mirror above the sink. My face was a pasty white, and my black hair hung limp against my back. I closed my eyes and took a steadying breath.

I will not let Selina bother me. She is nothing; a mere memory.

I opened my eyes, glancing at the mirror, and within the shiny surface, I saw a nine year old girl... A nine year old me. She held the hand of a beautiful women with black hair and matching green eyes. She smiled, a genuine grin void of malice or hatred or greed. That woman, and that girl... were perfect. They led the life I had only ever dreamed of.

"Knock, knock."

I spun around, and in the doorway stood the boy wonder. He leaned against the doorframe with one eyebrow quirked.

I turned back to the mirror, and the image was gone. I clutched onto the edges of the sink, my knuckles staining white. I wanted that life.

"You're not looking too good." Robin commented. "What's up?"

"Nothing." I brushed past him, re-entering the bedroom. I could feel his eyes following me. Spinning around, I glared at him with all my might. "What? Why are you staring? I told you. I'm fine."

His eyes narrowed. "...I see your ankle has healed."

I fell silent, my anger suddenly vanished.

"Andie?"

I frowned, staring at the floor. "Dick, you need to accept that there are things I don't tell you...things I won't tell you." I looked up, staring into his eyes. "Like now. Don't ask me 'why is your ankle healed?' or 'what's wrong?' Don't ask 'are you feeling OK?' or 'do you need to talk?' Because I won't answer. I'm...I'm not ready to share my past with you."

His face clouded over. For a second I saw a flash of pain, then he became expressionless as he began to leave the room. "Whatever. Keep all the secrets you want."

"Robin..." I grabbed onto his shoulder.

"Next time you decide I'm too untrustworthy to confide in, just remember that you know all of my secrets. You see... I trusted you." He shrugged my hand off and exited the room.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Andie POV:

I leaned back into the chair cushions as Robin entered the Mount Justice lounge. Wally was in the kitchen with Artemis, having a not-so-private make out session.

M'gaan sat beside me with her ever-present smile brightening her face. "Relationship problems?"

I glanced at her and sighed. "Among others." I played with my fingers. "Do you... Do you ever feel like your life is unravelling? Like something...something bad is on the horizon?"

M'gaan placed a hand on my shoulder. "I'm not sure I understand. But I sense a deep turmoil within your mind-"

A loud alarm went through the cave, signalling the start of a mission briefing. M'gaan gave me an apologetic smile, and went ahead to walk beside Conner. I dragged my feet towards Batman's computer, purposely lagging behind. Wally and Artemis walked a few paces ahead.

The speedster slung his hand over Artemis' shoulder. "Why don't we continue our make out session tonight? We could head back to my place and..." He let the meaning hang in the air and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Artemis smiled; it was sinister; it promised pain. She leaned closer to Wally and whispered in his ear.

I watched as his face gradually lost all colour. A cold sweat broke out on his forehead. He vaulted away from Artemis, staggering to a stop with a weak laugh. "I... I was just kidding babe. I didn't mean a w...word. Really. It was just a stupid joke."

"Good." Artemis walked ahead, leaving Wally to regain the pieces of his self-respect.

I tapped on Wally's shoulder, holding in a laugh. "What did she say to you?"

He hunched over. "I prefer not to repeat it."

From up ahead, Robin snorted. "Idiots."

As we stepped into Batman's line of sight, all conversation stopped. He pulled up a hologram from the super computer. "This is Tribeca; a small town within the state of North Mississippi. The League has received an anonymous lead that underground child trafficking is occurring here." He typed a few keys into the computer and the map zoomed in, enhancing the image of an abandoned factory. "This is where you will go. It's a simple reconnaissance mission. If the information proves to be true then the League and higher authorities will handle it."

Robin stuffed his hands into his pockets. "This mission is a joke. But since I have nothing better to do, I guess I'll come."

Nobody said a word, and as we made our way towards the Bioship, I grabbed Robin's upper arm. "How about you drop the attitude? If you're angry with me, then take it out on me."

He pried my fingers from his forearm. One by one. "I'm giving you time Andie. When you're ready to open up and trust me, then I'll be more than happy to 'drop the attitude'."

I ran in front as he stepped into the Bioship. The team were already seated. "And what if I decide that my past is none of your damn business?!"

The team turned around to stare at my loud outburst. I immediately looked away, focusing my attention on Robin. Damn my big mouth.

He shrugged, his face was a blank canvas. "Then you'd be correct. I don't have the right to ask you to reveal your past. But, if you trusted me, it wouldn't be an issue."

My face scrunched up in confusion. "So… so you don't care about my past?"

His voice became tense, but his posture was relaxed. "You're missing the point. It's about trust. You don't trust me enough to share your secrets, you don't trust me enough to let me in… hell, do you even trust me to watch your back?"

I snapped. "Stop. Making. This. About. You!" I shoved my finger into his chest with each word.

A gravelly voice echoed in my mind. "I will kill him. Just let go, and I will kill him."

My head began to ache. IT had been summoned, and IT had half the control of my mind. Soon, IT would begin to show.

"I trust you with my life! And my reluctance to share my past has nothing to do with you!" I yelled in his face.

"That's right…slowly. Slowly hand over your body. You want me; your anger doesn't lie. All I need is half, and I can rip him apart."

My breathing grew faster. I clenched my hands into fists as my nails began to mutate into claws. "I don't want to share my past with you, be… because I'm ashamed! OK?! I'm ashamed of what Selina did to me, and I'm ashamed that she's my mother!" I placed my clenched fists over my eyes. I was certain that my pupils would change next. "Why would I want to share something… that I'm so embarrassed about?" My voice flickered down to a whisper, and I immediately clenched my mouth shut.

Robin said nothing.

I could feel the fangs growing; I needed to calm down. I covered my face with my forearm, and speed walked towards the back of the bioship. No doubt everyone thought I was having some sort of emotional breakdown.

I crouched behind the infirmary bed, hidden from prying eyes. I rested my head on my knees and focused on calming my raging emotions as I spoke to The Cats Essence. "Stop appearing when you're not summoned. I didn't call for your assistance."

The voice grated against my mind. "Your anger summoned me, and your subconscious appealed to me. You wanted my help - you are just unaware of it."

"Shut up! Just… just go away…"

"Your resolve is weakening. The next time you summon me, could be your last. You WILL submit."

Then the presence vanished, and once again my mind and body was my own.

From behind me, at the control panel, I heard Wally sigh. I raised my head over the table to glance at his back. He leaned closer to Kaldur. "Do you wanna tell Rob that he's blocking the airlock, or should I?"

I glanced back at Robin. He was staring off into space, his face as blank as it was at the start of our argument. He hadn't moved.

I slumped back against the table, hidden from view, and cried.

Robin…

How was it? Any ideas about what Robin might be thinking right now?