A/N: I'm dedicating this long overdue chapter to Mickey's Girl and Pixie07!
The Young Justice team were all gathered in a cramped hotel room. M'gann and Artemis sat together on the cream-colored beds. Superboy and Kid Flash lounged on two wooden chairs with a small scratched table between them. The two remaining members of the Team had arrived last in the room and were forced to remain standing. Even in the small amount of space that was not taken up by furniture and other people's feet Kaldur still looked tall and proud.
"You know, when Batman said we'd be going to France I imagined a slightly more… Not crappy arrangement." Artemis gestured to the room with her gloved hand.
"Here, here!" KF cheered and raised a fist in the air.
"Keep it down, Flash. These walls aren't that thick!" Robin warned his friend. "This may not be the best hotel we've been in, but we're on a mission, not a holiday. Besides De L'Opera is not that bad of a hotel."
Kaldur nodded in agreement. "Now does everyone know what they're supposed to do in the morning?"
Kid Flash grinned. "Yeah, we got it. Wait for the buyer and thief to show up then take'em down and look awesome doing it."
Aqua Lad glared at the speedster and turned his glare to Superboy when a grunt of amusement slipped past the clone's lips. Conner quickly turned the grunt into a cough and shrugged his shoulders.
M'gann sensed the tension and quickly spoke up to save her boyfriend any unwanted attention. "We wait for the thief, let him make the deal and leave. I, along with Robin, follow him while you and Superboy take out the buyer. Artemis finds a location on higher ground where she can keep an eye out and report any danger as well as provide back-up."
Robin gave M'gann a thumbs up and her cheeks glowed red.
"Any questions?" The Atlantean asked. Everyone shook their heads. "Alright, the meet is happening tomorrow at ten, we need to be there at nine. In the meantime, let's all get some sleep."
With the exception of Robin and Kid Flash, everyone filed out of the room to find their respective hotel rooms.
"So, when this mission is done what do you say we go fishing while we're here?" Wally asked while removing his goggles.
"Why would you ever go fishing, you don't even like tuna?" Robin eyed his friend.
"Dude, wrong kinda fish." Wally wiggled his eyebrows dramatically. "If you get what I mean."
"Wally, I'm thirteen! I'm not even supposed to know what eyebrow wiggling means!" The young ninja exclaimed, he threw up his hands and smacked the wall by accident. This room was far too small for even his tastes.
"I don't know what planet you come from, but most thirteen-year-olds know what eyebrow wiggling means, and they fish all the time. C'mon, it'll be fun!"
"Says the guy not raised by the Batman."
"Yeah, you have a point. I mean, the people who raise us have a big impact on who we'll become. For example, the kid of a playboy billionaire Bruce Wayne. I wonder what kind of influence that might have."
"I'm going to bed." And with that, the dark haired boy changed out of his uniform and hopped into bed. Wally had a great time laughing at his friend despite Dick's efforts to appear completely asleep.
"Fine, no fishing. For now."
At nine A.M. the Team was at the meet and twenty minutes later completely hidden from view and ready for the thief to make an appearance.
M'gann had established the telepathic link and the team was ready for the action to start.
Superboy was the first to spot someone coming into the empty building where the Team was waiting. They were positioned on a balcony on the second floor that bordered the massive and abandoned theatre. Along with the man were three guards, all dressed in black slacks and shirts. The man was tall with grey cropped hair and wore a business suit the same color as his locks.
"Rechercher la région et assurez-vous que nous sommes seuls." He barked. Instantly his henchmen split off and began searching the area.
"M'gann, can you convince the guards no one is here?" Aqua Lad questioned through the mind link.
"Yes, just don't make noise. This will be easier if I only have to concentrate on what they can see." M'gann answered.
"Roger that. Everyone remain silent and still. Understood?" The Team's leader broadcasted through the link.
A chorus of agreements came through as the guards reached the second level. After the men searched the upper floor they returned to their boss. "Personne est ici M. Durand."
A moments later, another person walked into the building.
"Is everyone seeing what I'm seeing"? Robin asked. No one answered because they all knew the answer. Entering the room was a child, no more than twelve years old.
"Bonjour Corin. Avez-vous la peinture?" The elderly man asked.
"Bonjour Durand . Avez-vous mon argent?" Corin asked in return.
"Please tell me someone here speaks French." Superboy questioned telepathically.
"The first man's name is Durand. He's asking the kid, Corin, if he has the painting. Corin's asking about his money." Robin pipped up.
"Of course you know French, how silly of me not to have thought of that." Artemis couldn't hide her sarcasm, although Superboy doubted she even tried. "Where'd you learn it?"
Robin quickly replied. "From a clown."
Superboy scoffed, where did that kid come up with these ideas?
Durand laughed. It was a sound that was more menacing than friendly. "Montrez-moi ce que je veux. Je ne suis pas une personne que vous voulez désobéir."
Corin nodded his head and disappeared. In a blink of an eye, he had a beautiful painting held in his hands.
"What just happened? How were we not told he had super powers?" Artemis mind yelled.
"No one was aware of this, Artemis." M'gann answered. "I believe he is either a speedster or a teleporter."
"Teleporter. The Speed Force would have allowed me to see him move if he was a speedster like me. Believe me, he didn't move.
Corin spoke directly to Durand. He puffed his chest out as if to prove he wasn't a kid. "Vous avez la peinture. Maintenant donnez-moi mon argent"
Robin translated to the Team. "You have your painting, now give me my money."
Durand laughed and pulled out a cell phone from his pocket. Corin did the same, and in a few moments, the boy smiled at his screen.
"Must be a wire transfer." Superboy noted.
"Je vous remercie. Voici votre prochain emploi. Je veux que tu voles le Musée des Beaux- arts. Je veux le faire ce soir." Durand said and left the building.
"Uh-oh, guys we have a problem. The kid is being hired for another job tonight."
The moment Robin was done with his sentence, Corin disappeared from the theatre.
"Now we can't track him". Wally chipped in.
Aqua Lad was quick to supply instructions for the team. "Artemis, M'gann, follow the buyer but do not engage. We don't know how much information we are lacking. Robin, do you know where his next target is?"
"He's going after le Musée des Beaux- arts sometime tonight." Robin answered.
"You and Kid Flash get any and all information on that museum. Superboy and I will contact Batman and see if he knows anything."
Four hours later and the Team was back at the hotel for a meeting. Artemis had placed a bug on Durand and was constantly monitoring him.
"Batman has informed me that Durand is a known criminal and is wanted by the Justice League." Aqua Lad started the meeting. "He is known for using orphaned children to commit crimes for him and then pay them off. This is the first time that the Justice League has known him to be working with a super powered individual."
"Do you think Corin is just a fluke?" Robin asked.
"I don't know, so far we can't find anything on Corin. As far as anyone is concerned he doesn't even exist."
M'gann looked shocked. "How could a child not be known by anyone?"
"He's an orphan Miss M. Not too many people care about kids like that." The acrobat said seriously. "If he is an orphan, no one may know anything about him. There's no telling how he came to have abilities or how many other powers he may have."
"So what's the mission, then?" Artemis, who just wanted to get this over with, cast an apologetic look to the Martian. She looked ready to tear up.
"We wait for the boy to strike and stop him. The Justice League has requested that we leave Durand to them."
"No way!" KF yelled. "They can't just take our mission from us, we are not sidekicks!"
"No, we are not. But we have our hands full with Corin, We don't know what he's capable of and I don't feel comfortable separating the team with that kind of uncertainty."
Wally looked ready to protest but Robin placed a hand on the red head's shoulder.
The entire team seemed to get the message; Corin was a big enough problem. One they had to handle.
The team had dispersed and Wally went to grab some street food before tonight's mission. Dick sat alone in the room and turned on his wrist computer. He tapped in a name and waited for the results. A picture of Corin popped up and Dick frowned at the image. Just as he thought, he knew he recognized the kid. It had been years and so much had changed that he hadn't been sure, but it was him. The teen took a few seconds to let the news sink in. Then he erased his last search and began planning the night's mission. Things would be hard if he wanted to sabotage his team.
"Link established." M'gann reported.
The team lay in wait for Corin; no one was sure how things would go down. No one even knew how they would effectively stop a teleporter from stealing when it seemed impossible to contain the boy. Never the less, the Team waited.
Superboy stepped over one of the unconscious security guards and continued on his route. M'gann had mind blasted them long before they had entered for the night. It was a good idea on her part, and Conner couldn't help but be proud of her. The clone was about to report in and declare the all clear when his lungs filled with seawater. He gasped for breath but that only made his throat burn in fiery agony. The half Kryptonian felt panic surge through his body as he passed out.
Wally was patrolling the lower levels where creepy statues lined the walls. Artemis had said these were 'amazing sculptures' but Wally couldn't see what was so amazing about them. Did people really think that men had such big bulging muscles and such teeny tiny unmentionables? Seriously, he doubted any of the Greek gods would have had so many disputes with their children if the god's equipment had been too small to attract a female.
The speedster smirked to himself and stuffed a hand into the bag of chips he'd been nibbling. He dropped the bag of chips when electricity shot through his body. Wally leaped into the air and squinted his eyes at the bright light. Surrounding him was no longer the museum but a circular room the size of Mt. Justice's living room. The walls were completely clear and he could see some sort of warehouse on the other side with bright florescent lights shining in. The shock came again and the speedster began to run. He quickly learned that running fast enough kept the shocks from coming. As Wally ran, he saw the disappearing silhouette of a boy.
M'gann called up the mind link ready to speak to Kaldur. For some reason both Wally and Superboy had been disconnected, something was not right. Right as she began to telepathically speak to the Atlantean, she was shackled inside a metallic box. Holes had been drilled into the top and she could see the bright yellow sun beating down her. Her powers failed her as the heat hit her hard, she could feel herself pass out.
Artemis crouched on the roof of the museum waiting for the signal to leap into action. She felt a person behind her and immiedetly shot out an arrow. She looked for the noise and saw her arrow fly into the clear night. No one was there. She turned to study her surroundings and was pushed to the ground. She hit cold marble and when she looked up, the sky was gone. She glanced around confused; there were walls all around her with money stacked up on shelves. She tried to radio in or use the mind link, but no one answered.
Kaldur finished checking the third floor and asked the team to report in. No one answered. The only thing he was aware of was being completely surrounded by a hungry pryde of lions.
"Corin, Où est mon équipe?" Robin shouted into the darkness. All the power had been cut in the museum including the generators.
"Your team is gone, Richard." Corin answered with a thick French accent. "Why do you interfere? You know the loss of an orphan, let me have my peace."
"I came to help you, I was going to distract my team and get you out of here! Where did you take them? Did you hurt them?"
"Not in the permanent sort of way. But you, you I will hurt."
Corin disappeared and grabbed for Robin, but the acrobat had already leapt from his location and landed away from Corin. "Corin, stop. It doesn't have to be this way! I can help you!"
"No. No, you cannot. I heard of your adoption, I was jealous of it. Why should you get riches when I get nothing? We were raised in the same circus, had a similar tragedy, but you became wealthy and happy. I lurked on the streets of France hungry and begging. This power is all that saved me. Durand is what has given me hope."
"I am truly sorry for this, Corin." Robin shot a tranq at the boy, before Corin could teleport away, he was unconscious.
Robin placed a hand to his ear. "Robin to Batman, request immediate backup and the location of the members of Young Justice."
"Roger that, Robin. Backup on the way. The Justice League will begin retrieving The Team now."
Robin was thankful that Batman hadn't asked questions. Sometimes his mentor's capacity to never pry was annoying, but tonight it was appreciated.
Robin lounged on a recliner at Mt. Justice. He was in the infirmary were the rest of his team lay in beds protesting being trapped. Wally had come out exhausted and twitching from electricity. Kaldur had cuts and scratches covering his body. Miss Martian was severely dehydrated and was nursing a nasty headache. Superboy was fine, but he refused to leave the red headed girl. Artemis had broken her wrist and bruised her knee; apparently, she decided to have an altercation with a bank vault. The vault won.
"Let me say this slowly so you will understand. We. Are. Fine." Wally crossed his arms over his chest.
"You were electrocuted. Repeatedly. Don't make me get your uncle, Wally West." Black Canary poked a finger towards the recalcitrant speedster. "Superboy and Robin are the only ones of you allowed out of this room until further notice, understood?"
The Team nodded, except for Wally who needed another finger poke to consent.
"I can't believe it, we all get owned but Robin takes him out without breaking a sweat?" Wally protests once the Canary leaves the room.
"Yeah, how'd you do it Bird-Monkey?" Artemis asked.
"You read the report guys, its all in there." Robin replied. He didn't even glance up.
M'gann looked at the youngest member for a long time. "Are you okay, Robin?"
Said teen closed his eyes and willed the memories of childhood away. Of Corin, his parents, the circus. Everything. When he looked up again, he was the same Robin as always. He could feel his child self disappearing and the thirteen-year-old protégé of Batman. He let out a happy cackle. "I'm fine guys; I'm not the ones stuck in hospital beds!" He smiled at his teammates.
Robin was telling the truth, he was fine. He knew how lucky he was to have such an amazing life. He was completely and totally okay.
Like so many times before, Robin told the truth. And like so many times before, no one believed him.
Dick fell on his bed face first, not even bothering to remove his shoes. His eyes drooped closed and he was nearly asleep when he heard someone walk into his room.
"What has gotten you so tired?" Bruce asked.
"My stupid teammates thought I was lying about being okay after the mission. They came to the conclusion that because they all disappeared, I became scared enough that I was traumatized or something."
"I'm not seeing why this would exhaust you." The billionaire sat next to his ward who still had his face smashed into the mattress.
"It wouldn't except then they decided to cheer me up. They've been cheering me up all night by playing video games, truth or dare, board games, dance contests, you name it and we did it."
Bruce laughed. "That doesn't sound like too bad of a problem."
Dick humphed. He wasn't going to admit that he secretly loved the attention, besides he was still miffed that the team decided he was a scared little child. And Artemis kept teasing him for making up such a stupid story as 'learning French from a clown'. That's where he learned it! It's almost like they wanted him to lie or something.
"I think you'll be fine after some sleep, Dick."
Bruce got up and headed for the door.
"Bruce, wait! What happened to Durand and Corin?" The young boy sat up on the bed.
"Durand is locked up for good as well as his employees. And as for Corin, considering his age and your… personal affiliation with him, Martian Manhunter erased Corin's memories and suppressed his power. your friend is currently living in foster care in London. He's happy, Dick."
"How did he get his powers?"
Bruce shook his head. "I don't know, I don't think we'll ever know." His mentor eyed him closely, noting the bags under his eyes. "Get some sleep, I'll patrol alone tonight."
With Bruce gone, the teen quickly got ready for bed and shut his eyes. As he drifted off to sleep, he smiled at the thought that his team would always have his back.
A/N: Thanks for reading! Just a small little fact, all of the places mention except for the theatre are real places in Bordeaux France! I'd also like to give a special thanks to Piper1996 for giving me such an excellent idea!
Replies to guest reviews:
Flitterflop said, Nice, it's things like this that make it a bit more believable that heroes can hide their identity, even from other heroes with unbelievable truth. Cool topic, it's almost always interesting to read that particular topic.
Thanks Flitterflop, I appreciate the compliment. I always try to make things a bit more believable if I can! Thanks for reading and I hope to hear from you again!
Guest said: Poor Robin no one believes him
Thank you for reading and reviewing, I feel sorry for Robin to! How could no one believe such an innocent face!?
Guest Said: This is really good can't wait for the next chapter
Here is the next chapter for you, I hope you get to read it! Sorry for it being so late, college does not always allow one to have Fanfiction time.