Be Partners

Truthfully the past twenty-four hours or so had been a blur. One minute Artemis, Conner, and M'gann came clean about their connections to the Light. Then the Team went to Santa Prisca and nabbed Blockbuster, Bane, and essentially cleared this whole mole business…or so they thought.

"The mole was Red Arrow," Batman announced.

"R…Roy?"

"No way!"

"Batman that cannot be. He was Green Arrow's protégé. We have all known him for years."

Hearing that Roy, one of his closest friends was the mole that had been sabotaging the Team this past month shook Robin to his core. For a few seconds he tuned out what Batman and Red Tornado were explaining…until he heard the word clone.

"The clone was pre-programmed with a drive to join the Justice League which is why he was so angry over any delays to his admission and why he refused to join the Team. This Roy Harper had no idea he was a clone or a traitor…When he was finally admitted, his secondary programming kicked in and he attempted to betray the League to Vandal Savage. Fortunately, I had deduced that Red Arrow was a clone. We were prepared," explained Batman.

"Savage was subdued, but Red Arrow escaped. He is now a fugitive, armed and dangerous," added Red Tornado.

Finally, Robin couldn't take it anymore and asked the question on everyone's mind.

"What, what happened to the real Roy? To our friend?"

"We don't know. He isn't at Cadmus. We have to face the possibility that the real Roy Harper is dead."

Silence filled the thick air. Wally and Kaldur hung their head in mourning. Robin barely held onto his tears. Immediately Zatanna came forward and grabbed his arm resting her head on her shoulder not caring how this must look to the Team.

She squeezed his hand and gently whispered into his ear, "It's ok. I've got you."

Robin squeezed back and nuzzled his cheek to the top of her hair.

Kaldur had attempted to sway Batman into letting the team find Roy, but Batman refused. His claim that Roy was now a League member making the situation a League affair essentially killed the discussion.

"Tornado, stay with the kids."

As Batman left, Kaldur attempted to rally the Team.

"Clone or no clone, Red Arrow was one of us. We will go after him."

Abruptly, Red Tornado shut down while holding something peculiar.

"Tornado!"

"What happened to him?"

And just like that, the end of one adventurous blur marked the beginning of another.

After comparing notes between Red Tornado's and "Roy's" accounts of the Watchtower attack and the technology used to enslave the heroes, the Team immediately began working on a cure. They enlisted the help of Queen Mera and Doctors Roquette Spence and Vulko to reverse engineer the Starrotech. However, something didn't sit well with Robin.

"We're gonna need every advantage we can get. Superman alone outguns us. I need to pull out our last line of defense."

"Robin, you have something that can be a deterrent to a mind-controlled Superman?"

Robin stopped, turned around, and flashed Kaldur a mischievous smirk. Confusion and doubt plastered the faces of the team…all except one.

"I trust you," Zatanna boldly announced.

Robin's smirk melted into a warm smile.

"Thanks, Zee. I really appreciate it."

Deciding to let Robin go on his little errand, the team dispersed. As Robin moved towards the exit, Zatanna followed.

"Uhh Zee? What are you doing?"

"Following you."

"Um…aren't you needed more here? To help with the magic aspect of the curotech?"

"Not really. Queen Mera and I finished off the spell already. They're working on the nanotech part or whatever now."

"Ok. Um I'm kinda going somewhere private."

"True. But I have a feeling, you need me more right now."

"Yea but, Zee, I'm kinda going somewhere…..like….super private. Like Batman will beat my ass if I let you in private."

Zatanna just raised her eyebrow and gave him a glare….not a full on batglare, but still a scary one.

"You're gonna force me to grant you Zeta tube access anyway aren't you."

"And that's why I love you. You're smart."

"Recognized: Robin B-01"

"Recognized: Zatanna Zatara B-08"

"Whoooa. So this is the Batcave!"

"Shhh. I'm not supposed to even bring you here!"

"Holy shit is that a T-Rex!"

"Yea yea it's a robot. It was part of a theme park that some crazy scientist hacked. Batman thought it'd look neat down here."

Quickly grabbing Zatanna's hand to prevent her from wandering off, Robin led her to the cave's armory where a large vault and a security panel laid snugly in the back. As Robin began work hacking the panel, Zatanna placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, Robin? I've been meaning to ask. Are you ok?

"Huh? Yea Zee. I'm fine. I just gotta focus on the mission. We need our….deterrent if we're ever going to stand a chance."

"Robin….don't lie to me. Are you ok?"

Suddenly, Robin stopped typing. Zatanna hugged him from behind and rested her head just behind his right ear.

"Baby, it's ok. It's just you and me. I told you before. I've got you. Just let it out."

"He….I thought he was my friend, Zee. For three years, we trained together. Joked together. He….he supported me. Him, me, Wally, and Kaldur we….we were brothers. We had always dreamed together that we'd join the league one day. That we'd fight side by side not only each other, but with our mentors….as equals."

Finally, tears Robin had been holding in began to fall. He put one hand on hers, gently rubbing the gold trimming of his birthday gift to her.

"And now….now I don't know what to think. Was….was it all fake? All that inspiration and encouragement to join the league? He's saved my life more than once, but was it all just part of his programming? Were we even friends? Maybe…..maybe if I had noticed. If I saw the signs. I could've…..stopped this clone and saved the real Roy. Or prevented this whole takeover from happening"

"Shhhh Robin, it's ok," Zatanna whispered as she began to lovingly rub his chest, "You were just a boy. You're still young. You can't do everything."

"But I'm supposed to be a hero. I'm supposed to save people. I can't even save my friend."

"You don't know that! The real Roy could still be out there. And based on how Red Arrow is acting out there, I'm positive all those years were all real to him too. He looks distraught…heavy on the dis. Batman even said Red Arrow had no idea he was a clone. Regardless of who he is, Red Arrow is still your friend, one of your best friends. More importantly, you ARE a hero. You're my hero. You saved me from despair when I lost my dad. You've done so many things a normal fifteen-year-old could only dream of."

Finally, Robin turned around and held her waist as he faced her. Zatanna began to cup his face.

"Honey, what's done is done. This Roy is an almost perfect copy of the original in almost every way. He fooled everyone, including Batman. That's all in the past. But right here. Right now we've got a chance to save the league and go after the original Roy. The best thing you can do now, is believe in yourself. Believe that we can do this. Ok?"

"Darling…..you're amazing and so so beautiful."

"I know. But it doesn't hurt to hear it more often."

Zatanna pulled him in for a passionate kiss. Just as she was about to slip her tongue in, Zatanna was pushed away as the happy couple were rudely interrupted by a man who could never be considered rude.

"Ahem. Master Robin, is there a reason you've brought a guest into the Cave without permission?"

"OH uh….Hi! uh…Agent A! hehe this is uh…Zatanna Zatara."

Standing before them was the longtime Wayne family butler, wearing his usual butler attire and a gold pair of aviator sunglasses. Bats and their sunglasses….

"I'm well aware of who Miss Zatara is. Welcome to the Batcave, madam. However, you've yet to answer the question of why she is here. Not only that, why are you breaking into the emergency weapons vault?"

"Uhh hi! Agent A. Um I'm Zatanna…but you uh already knew that hehe. Um well we REALLY need umm…uhhh Robin what exactly do we need behind this vault?"

"We need the kryptonite."

"Exactly, sir. We need the…Wait….WE NEED WHAT?"

"Master Robin…..explain."

After Robin quickly recapped the events of Red Arrow enslaving the League and the Team's plan to infiltrate the Watchtower and cure everyone with the developing curing tech. Agent A decided to let Robin's transgression slide. He even offered to bring refreshments to recharge to young couple.

"You've got a perilous task ahead of you. The least I can do is provide you with some fresh lemonade."

"Thanks, Agent A. Don't worry, we'll get Batman back."

"Of course you will, sir. It is lovely to finally meet you, Miss Zatanna. Master Robin here is absolutely smitten with you. And I can understand why."

"Oh…um thank you, sir," Zatanna replied with a faint blush.

Agent A left the two in the armory to get that delicious lemonade.

"Wait…Agent A! We still need to open the vault!...ugh"

"Don't worry babe, you got this," Zatanna encouraged him with a kiss on his cheek.

"I dunno, Zee. This is supposed to be an overwhelmingly impenetrable vault…"

"Alright. Black Canary, Reds Tornado and Arrow are in position and about to board the Watchtower. Miss Martian, full speed ahead."

"Roger Kal. Out of curiosity, who hasn't been to space?"

Everyone raised their hands.

"Welp, enjoy the ride then."

As Bioship broke through Earth's atmosphere, the team couldn't help but stare in awe at the stars in outer space. Wally was absolutely shaking with glee. Artemis just marveled at the vast emptiness. Kaldur remained focused on the mission at hand…but still appreciated the beauty of the stars. Conner stayed stoic…and even ate a few Scooby Snax he kept hidden in his pocket.

"Dude! I can't believe we're in space! This is sooo wild."

"For once Wally, I have to agree with you. It's beautiful up here. I wish my sister could see this," Artemis mused.

"Hey guys….this is gonna work, right?" Rocket asked nervously.

"This has to…..because I don't know what we're going to do if it doesn't."

Kaldur's answer caused Zatanna to tremble slightly. Her boyfriend of course immediately sensed this and he leaned forward and grabbed her hand from behind.

"Hey," he whispered, "Twice as many stars in the sky, right?"

"Because you live," replied Zatanna relaxing a little.

Like a well-oiled machine, the team one by one cured leaguers via their curotech that removed the Starrotech programming and made them immune to further attempts at mind control. Unfortunately, the element of surprise was lost. The Watchtower became a battle royal free-for-all amongst earth's greatest heroes.

Robin had just cured Hawkgirl when Wonder Woman nearly lassoed him. Rocket fortunately shielded him and then trapped Wonder Woman in her own bubble.

"Can she escape your force bubble?" he quickly asked

"Not if she keeps punching it! The kinetic energy only makes it stronger. BUT I'm stuck here. Anything I do risks freeing her."

Out of the corner of his eye, Robin spotted Batman gliding from the ledge above. Robin reacted quickly, only to be thrown towards the opposite wall. Fortunately, Rocket flew away leaving the Boy Wonder and the Dark Knight squared up and ready to fight. Robin made the first move, throwing smoke bombs in an attempt to blind the Bat. He lunged forward and spun to kick only to meet a fist to his face.

Meanwhile, Superman and J'onn J'ones double teamed Superboy with Superman punching him down. M'gann tried to sneak up behind her uncle but was caught immediately. She transformed into her white Martian form and incapacitated J'onn just enough to give him the curotech. But, she was distracted and missed Superman sucker punching her from the side. Conner, now angered, lunged at Superman…..only to be punched through the floor.

Batman moved with incredible speed and precision. Robin could barely block and keep up with the flurry of attacks. A knee to the ribs. A chop to the shoulder, a kick to the head. Robin was now in full retreat trying to flip backwards and recenter himself. Batman was relentless. He timed his own jump and landed right in front of Robin's face and grabbed him by the tunic. It was then Zatanna came rushing into the main hall and saw Batman slam her boyfriend onto the ground.

Anger suddenly boiled inside of her. Hero or not, nobody hurts her birdie.

"Teg yawa morf mih!" (Get away from him).

Batman was pushed off his feet but not before he tossed a grenade at Zatanna. In seconds Zatanna was surrounded by a thick black cloud of tear gas causing her to cough and choke. Batman appeared out of nowhere and slammed his shoulder into her. Being less experienced in hand-to-hand combat, Zatanna could only curl up into a ball and hide her face in her arms as Batman mercilessly struck her.

Dazed after Batman's recent blows, Robin finally got up to see his girlfriend being attacked. He shot two grapple lines at Batman's arms stopping the attack and hoping to pull him off of Zatanna. Instead, Batman flipped and spun pulling Robin closer and kicked the Boy Wonder in the face. Robin staggered back, pulling out two escrima sticks and charged back into battle. They gave him a slight advantage as Robin landed hard blows to Batman's shoulder and head. But experience continued to prevail as Batman broke one escrima stick and grabbed Robin's hand to throw him to the wall again. Disoriented, Robin suddenly couldn't see Batman, only to be punched from behind down the hole in the floor landing next to Superboy.

"We're never gonna beat them one-on-one," Robin exclaimed.

"Plan B?"

"Yea…..but you're not gonna like it."

"What's the play?

"Hold Superman down…and close your eyes."

"Done."

As Superman and Batman glided down to their level, Superboy spun and threw Robin at Batman. Robin landed a kick to Batman's stomach and as they fell to the ground, Robin administered the cure. Superboy meanwhile was able to grab ahold of Superman and held him tightly against the wall.

"You sure about this, SB?"

"Just…..do…it!"

Robin pulled a small lead case from his belt and opened it to reveal a sliver of kryptonite. Both one and a half-Kryptonians immediately felt the effects and collapsed writhing in pain. Robin gave Superman the cure and quickly closed the case.

"Ugh…kryptonite….it hurts."

"That's why Batman keeps it in an overwhelmingly impenetrable vault in the Batcave….well more like whelmingly penetrable vault."

With Superman being the last leaguer to be cured, Vandal Savage and Klarion made their quick escape, effectively ending the battle in victory for the heroes. Robin immediately rushed to Zatanna's side cradling her in his arms as she recovered from the tear gas.

"Hey there, beautiful. You ok?"

"I am now, my dashing hero."

Robin helped her up as the Team gathered around a dismembered Red Tornado.

"Congratulations Team. You have won the day."

Just then the League computer chimed in, sharing the date, time, and little fireworks emojis on screen.

"Happy New Year, Justice League."

As "Auld Lang Syne" began playing over the speakers, M'gann pulled Conner into a sweet kiss. Raquel mustered up her courage and kissed Kaldur on the corner of his mouth. Wally scooped up Artemis in his arms.

"I should have done this a long time ago."

"No kidding."

Robin, a little shocked, was happy his best friend stopped dancing around his feelings.

"It's about damn…whoa!"

Zatanna, not wanting to be left out, pulled her boyfriend towards her as she kissed him without abandon. She did notice however, the Robin slightly flinching as she hugged him tightly. As Robin melted into the kiss and wrapped his arms around her, he licked her lips asking for permission. She let his tongue in and the young couple were completely lost in their own world. After some time, as they pulled away, Robin bit Zatann's lower lip and smirked.

"I KNEW IT!"

Immediately pulled back to reality, Zatanna and Robin looked towards an angry Artemis still in Wally's arms.

"YOU TWO ARE TOTALLY DATING. NOBODY KISSES LIKE THAT IF THEY'RE JUST FRIENDS! ALRIGHT PAY UP YOU LOSERS!"

A raucous argument ensued as the Team vehemently tried to figure out the exact timeline of when Robin and Zatanna got together. Kaldur and Conner stood to the side, enjoying a bag of Scooby Snax. On the floor, Red Tornado could only sigh as he observed the teenagers be….well teenagers.

"Human customs still elude me."

Back at the Cave, everyone began dispersing to their own rooms to rest after a long-fought battle. Robin was just about to Zeta back to the Batcave but Zatanna grabbed his hand. Ignoring his confused questions, Zatanna just dragged him back to her room. With the door closed, she eyed Robin up and down.

"Sit down."

"Uhh ok. What's going on, Zee?"

"Evomer s'nibor trihs" (Remove Robin's shirt)

"WHOA WHOA ZEE. Let's talk about this first ok?"

Again, ignoring him, Zatanna began to caress his arms and chest. However, she didn't have a look of lust on her face, but a look of concern.

"You're hurt."

All over Robin's chest and arms were dark red, black, and blue splotches. Painful bruises littered his body with a prominent black mark over his heart and red and blue spots on his lower abdomen. His arms were bright red, and his neck even had a small cut on it.

"I'll be fine Zee. I've been through worse. I'm worried about you. Batman did hit you pretty hard."

"Birdie, I'm fine. Just some redness on my arms. You saved me just in time. What about you? I felt you flinch when we kissed earlier."

"I'm ok. I'm gonna need a few days to get my usual mobility back, but I should be fine. Really. There's no need to trouble you for… OHHH"

Hoping to shut him up, Zatanna began licking and kissing each and every bruise on Robin's torso. She started slow with the one by his waist, then worked her way up to his abs, made a detour and kissed his arms and shoulder, came back to the middle to focus on the one over his heart. After a long kiss on his neck that would definitely result in a hickey in the morning, Zatanna finally arrived at Robin's lips and peppered him with kisses.

"Let me get you some balm and help you recover."

"Zee, babe, there's really no need for this."

"Oh. So you don't want your girlfriend to rub and massage your torso with her bare hands?"

"…..well I mean….when you put it that way."

After some light tickling and totally thorough application of the eucalyptus balm, Robin attempted to put on his tunic only for Zatanna to grab his hand.

"Stay with me….tonight…..please?" Zatanna batted her eyelashes clearly hoping he would say yes. Of course, Robin could never refuse her.

"Ok. Something tells me this was all a mischievous scheme…..but I'm ok with it."

Zatanna used magic to change them both into pajamas. Zee got her usual white tank top with red Robin sweatpants while Robin got a red and black pair of shorts. No shirt though. They climbed into bed with Robin spooning Zatanna. He pulled the covers over them and they began to relax. After a moment of silence, Zatanna spoke up.

"I tried to free my father today. It didn't work."

Robin's hands at her waist pulled her close as he kissed her shoulder.

"It's ok. Give it time. We'll get him out. I promise."

"But what if..."

"Shhhh. We'll find a way. We'll get there. You will see him again."

"Thank you, baby. I love you."

"Say it backwards."

"Sigh. I evol uoy, Yob Rednow." ( 😉 )