Hi guys . . . *promptly falls over and starts snoring.*

I've had a really slow writing week, a headache, an earache (possibly infected blah) sleeping problems, and the completely horrible inability to concentrate long enough to read a book.

basically? not good.

So. I really hope you enjoy this chapter XD

Guest reviews:

Guest: Thank you!

Guest: Ah, cliffhangers are wonderful to write and horrible to read. ^.^ Yeah, especially since the show has been canceled we need more Young Justice. Unfortunately a lot of authors for the series have recently begun to quit. Lack of inspiration is getting everyone :/
He's my favorite character as well. I don't know the other two Robin's quite as well for one, and for another, Dick is just . . . amazing. Nothing can beat the original Robin.
I'm glad you like the way I've been writing them. Tim is adorable. Jason tries (and fails) not to be adorable. Batman and Alfred are amazing as usual. And Daddybats! most important part if you ask me. Love Wally too.
Thank you so much! I'm so glad that you are enjoying this story, and thank you as well for the long review!
Season 3, where are you?!

Thank you to the others who reviewed, followed, favorited, and read silently!

Disclaimer: If I owned Young Justice, this would be an episode not writing. Also, you wouldn't be finding it on . . . . .

Chapter 3

Gotham City

April 22, 1:30 EDT

Barbara Gordon sat on the roof of the apartment building she and her dad shared. Normally she would never have been out this late, (her dad would have freaked) but today was a special situation. For one, her dad wasn't home, and wouldn't be home until the next day. He'd called to tell her he was following a lead on the Grayson case, and that Bruce Wayne said Tim wanted her to call him.

What Bruce meant by that was "Batman wants to talk."

One year before, Dick had told her he was Robin. They'd been friends for a long time, and he trusted her, he'd said. Bruce wouldn't be happy, but he'd have to deal with it. Suddenly watching Batman and Robin fighting Two Face or the Joker had seemed less amazing and more worrying. She was always waiting for a text from Dick, or Alfred, to let her know that her friend and his foster father were both alright.

She'd come over more and more, and slowly Dick had started training her. At first she knew it had been a desire on his part to have her be able to defend herself better than the self defense classes her dad forced her to take would, but when he saw that she was good at it, they'd started talking about seeing if Bruce would actually let her fight. Last month they'd brought the idea to him together, and once he'd gotten over his initial anger, he'd said he would think about it.

Barbara was pretty sure he was done thinking about it now. Robin's disappearance would be noticed soon, and having the appearance of a new hero would be distracting. Not only that, but with additional help, Batman and Robin would both be less likely to get injured.

Dick had been working on teaching her how he and Batman communicated with only a series of looks, something she'd seen them do out of costume as well. It was impressive how they'd figured out how to talk without saying a word, but far more impressive that they'd actually made up a language out of infinitesimal facial expressions.

He'd also taught her the code words. "Tim wants her to call him when she gets home," for instance, was a way of saying, "See you tonight."

How that worked exactly, she didn't know. Of course, she also figured that if Tim had really wanted to talk to her, he would have just called. Every member of the Wayne family had her phone number, including Alfred.

"Barbara."

She turned with a slight gasp when she heard Batman's voice. She hadn't noticed when he came up behind her, and she knew that right about now Dick would have been scolding her for not paying enough attention to her surroundings. "Batman," she returned, hearing her voice shake slightly. Just seeing him made her think of Robin. If he'd been in costume, would he still have been taken? She doubted it. He could have fought back, even with an injury.

"You'll take on the name of Batgirl. I'll train you, and when Robin returns, he'll continue in assisting with your training. In a few months, if I think you're ready, I'll take you to meet the Team," Batman said.

Barbara felt her jaw drop. This was not at all what she'd been expecting. "You . . . I . . . What?" she finally managed.

Batman gave a sharp look. "You heard what I said. Be ready. Training starts tomorrow."

And with that, Batman turned and melted into the shadows, leaving Barbara sitting on the roof, completely and utterly confused.

Gotham City

April 22, 2:20 EDT

Jason was not happy.

Sure he'd wanted to patrol with Bruce, but in his head he'd also always included Dick with them. He certainly had never imagined that his big brother being gone would mean Bruce would not only want him to patrol, but to join the Team. He was also pretty sure that the Team wouldn't like it either.

Dick and Alfred had been working on Jason's suit for some time. Ever since Bruce had decided that he could become another of Batman's partners, Dick had take to the idea with enthusiasm. So it was that when Jason put it on, it not only fit perfectly, but was exactly what Batman wanted for his partners' suits. It was kevlar, and had bulletproof padding. At least, theoretically it was bulletproof. It was the same stuff that had failed to stop the bullet that hit Dick.

Jason had to admit that it was pretty cool to be suited up and standing next to Batman. He'd witnessed his discussion with Barbara, and now he was following his mentor across the rooftops of Gotham towards the nearest Zeta tubes.

He'd already had his shouting match with Bruce about meeting the Team, so he just continued in frosty silence. He was not happy about this. He didn't want to take Dick's place on the Team, or anywhere, and yet he couldn't help but feel the creeping sensation that that was exactly what was happening.

Apparently, Batman thought that everyone would be awake and at the cave, but Jason didn't see why that would be. After all, it wasn't like they would be expecting Batman to come by with news at 2:30 in the morning.

He sighed, and followed his mentor as he swung down into an alley with an old phone box that disguised the zeta tubes, and prepared himself for meeting the Team.

Mount Justice

April 22, 3:00 EDT

Artemis winced at the expression on Troia's face. She and Wonder Woman had been on a mission and incommunicado for the past two and a half weeks, and no one had known when they would be back, so she hadn't heard about Robin.

Tula and Garth had come back to the surface as soon as Aquaman told them the news, and they were standing with Kaldur as he calmly tried to explain what they knew about Robin's disappearance. Batman had given them permission to tell the entire Team Robin's identity, although Garfield was left in the dark. Currently M'gann's brother was staying with Martian Manhunter.

"So let me get this straight," Donna said quietly. "Richard Grayson is Robin, Bruce Wayne is Batman, Robin was kidnapped as a civilian, and he hasn't been found, and you all are stuck here unable to do anything to help?"

Everyone flinched as Kaldur nodded.

Donna looked around the room, and sighed, rubbing her forehead tiredly. "This sucks," she mumbled. She'd gotten back an hour earlier, and had been surprised to see everyone at the mountain. They'd been camping out in the living room, the girls sleeping on the couches with the guys on the floor. Most of them had actually been awake, talking in hushed tones. It was what had happened every night since Robin went missing. As soon as anyone who went to school got back, they would join in the discussion about what they were going to do to find Robin. A week with no news was driving them all crazy.

It'd taken them an hour to explain everything that had happened and answer any questions she had, but now, Artemis wondered what Donna was thinking. She was the newest member of the Team, but she'd fit right in, and was good friends with Robin from before she'd joined.

Her slightly wavy black hair was tied back in a ponytail, and she was still wearing her suit, but Donna didn't seem to notice. "How is Batman taking this?" she asked, looking around.

Everyone exchanged glances. "We haven't seen Batman since he told us," Artemis admitted. "We have no idea what's going on. No one in the League will tell us anything."

Donna frowned. "That's ridiculous! He's our teammate, our friend! We have a right to know what's going on."

"Oh, so that's why you thought everyone would be awake," someone said before anyone could respond.

Artemis whirled at the vaguely familiar voice, and froze. Batman was standing there, glaring at them all, and standing next to him was . . . .

"Robin?" M'gann sounded confused as she levitated herself over the couch and towards him.

At first glance anyone would have thought it was him. The boy was roughly the same height, and was wearing a very similar suit, but his hair was a slightly different shade, and a different cut. He seemed to be a little taller than Robin, and was more like Wally in build. His suit was different enough that Artemis could tell that there was no way it was him.

The kid glanced at Batman with a frown on his face. "Not the Robin you're thinking off," he said quietly.

Artemis blinked as she realized why she recognized his voice just as Wally spoke. "Little Rob 1! What are you doing here?"

The kid snorted. "Really Wally? I already told you to drop that name. And I'm here because Batman wants me to temporarily join the Team."

There was a sudden silence. Everyone turned to look at Batman, who seemed to be completely calm. "You're replacing Robin!" Artemis accused, and she could hear the fury in her own voice. "You can't do that!"

"Batman, is there a reason for this?" Kaldur asked. He was trying to stay calm, but even he sounded angry. Artemis couldn't believe that her friend's mentor, his father, would replace him after only one week.

Batman nodded. "Robin is not being replaced. I've been training both of them together for the past nine months. When Robin returns, he will be reinstated into the Team if that is what he wants."

"If that's what he wants?" Artemis echoed. Everyone exchanged worried glances. There was no way that this would convince Robin to give up his life as a hero. Right?

"Besides, I don't want to replace Golden boy anymore than you guys want me to," the new Robin said sharply. "As soon as he comes back I'm out of here."

"Robin, that's enough," Batman said sharply. "I'll leave you here to get to know your teammates. They already know Richard's identity, you may tell them yours if you so wish. When Richard is back the rules will be stricter."

With that, Batman stormed out of the cave, leaving everyone in a stare off with the new Robin.

Wally was the first one to move. "So, any news? How've you been? How's Timmy?" He sped over to the younger boy, who ducked his friendly arm and snorted.

"How do you think I'm doing Wally? Dick is gone, Bruce is going insane, and now he's dumping me onto the Team while he leaves Tim with Alfred and tries to take care of the whole situation by himself because Talia al Ghul thought it would be a good idea to kidnap my older brother!" Jason tore off his mask, revealing furious blue eyes. "I don't even want to be here Wally. I might have wanted to join the Team, but not under these circumstances, not now! Batman isn't even letting you guys look for him! He only sent me here so that I wouldn't get in his way."

Artemis hurried forward. "Slow down Jason, you don't know that for sure," she protested weakly, although she didn't even believe that herself.

He laughed coldly, turning on her. "Sure Artemis, I bet you believe that about as much as I do. If I'm going to be stuck here, then I'm going to get some sleep. Only bother me if you want a batarang thrown at you or a punch in the face." With that, the younger boy stalked out of the room in the direction of Robin's bedroom, although how he knew where it was Artemis wasn't sure.

Connor growled and punched a wall, knocking a good portion of stone loose. "He's right. Batman isn't telling us anything. Who's this Talia al Ghul, and what's the big deal about us helping? Robin is our teammate, our friend! We have a right to try and find him."

Artemis shuddered. "Talia al Ghul is the daughter of Ra's al Ghul, Connor. She's not an easy person to track down. Nor is she one of your run of the mill villains. Her dad runs the League of Shadows, and she's one of his top ranking assassins. It's been rumored among assassins that Ra's and his daughter have known Batman's identity for years." It would certainly explain why Batman was getting Jason somewhere safe. It was obvious that he thought the boy might be the next target.

Everyone was silent as they digested what Artemis said. No one needed to ask where she'd gotten the information. Her mother was a former criminal, her father a mercenary, and her sister actually worked for the League of Shadows.

Donna sighed, slumping down next to Zatanna and Rocket, who were sitting on the couch. "I take back what I said earlier," she muttered. "This really sucks."

I don't know Troia well, so if I have her out of character, forgive me.

We've had an appearance by Babs, Jason joining the Team (and not being happy about it) and lots of unhappiness in general! yay! . . . . .

wait . . . . .

anyways! Thoughts! Questions! Ideas! Comments! Constructive criticism! REVIEW!