[CHAPTER ONE]
The team was sitting around the kitchen area. M'gaan was attempting to make cookies while Wally was repeatedly sticking his finger in the batter. Artemis was sitting on the couch texting, next to Superboy who was, as per usual, watching static. Kaldur perched on a stool in the kitchen, trying valiantly to ignore the antics of Wally and M'gaan, while Zatana sat across from him with her head in her arms, apparently asleep.

Wally, finally conceding defeat to M'gaan, slumped onto the counter top and sighed. "I'm soooo bored."

Artemis replied without having to look up. "We know."

Wally sighed again. "I mean, we haven't had a mission in days, and Robin has been gone for almost a week."

Kaldur sighed and looked up. "Did you ever stop to consider that when you complain about not having a mission, you are asking for trouble? The fact that we are currently inactive should be a good thing. Instead, you sit here and wish for lives to be endangered."

Wally looked irritated. "Well, it's not- I mean, why can't- arrg!" He cut off after seeing that he couldn't argue.

Everyone else went back to what they were doing as Wally laid his head in his arms on the counter, his mutterings becoming louder and louder.

He had opened his mouth and was just about to begin again when the Zeta-Tubes sounded. "Recognized, Robin B01, Batman 02."

Wally raced into the mission room as Batman and Robin appeared in the Zeta-platform. "Hey, Bats, got a mission for us?"

Batman ignored him and strode straight to the computer. Wally turned to Robin and was about to speak when he noticed the tension between the dynamic duo.

He closed his mouth, then jabbed his thumb in the direction of the exit. "Heh heh… So, I'm just gonna…" He sped out of the room.

Robin turned to Batman. "Look, I'm sorry I—" He cut off when he saw what Batman was looking at. It was security footage of the team's training sessions.

Batman spoke without looking up. "You holding back in your training sessions won't help. Your lack of practice at your level is most likely why you failed to apprehend those two men."

Robin looked defensive. "Well, sparring for a total of 30 seconds with the members of my team is hardly going to help either. At least my way I work up a sweat."

Batman frowned. "That doesn't justify holding back. Your team needs to know what you're capable of. If they don't, how can they trust you? How can they work well with you, how can Kaldur accurately lead the team if he isn't aware of your capabilities?"

Robin sighed. "It's just—"

Batman cut him off. "I know you were afraid that it would set you apart, but it doesn't matter."

Robin stared at the ground, dejected.

Batman paused, then walked over to Robin, paling a hand on his shoulder. "If they're really you friends, it won't matter. So now the question is, do you trust them?"

Robin stayed focused on the ground for a moment, then looked up. "Yes. I do."

Batman almost-smiled. "Good. Then starting today, you won't hold back."

Robin nodded. Batman let go of his shoulder. "Oh, and if it's a lack of a challenge that you were worried about, I have the solution to that as well."

Robin was puzzled. "I wasn't really worried about that." He paused. "But what is the solution?"
Batman turned back to the computer. "Something I've been considering for a while now. I believe Batgirl should join the team."

Robin slowly nodded. "You think she's ready?"

"She's been ready for a while now, but has had some… reservations. She believes that we take too much time away from Gotham, and refused to leave it 'Unprotected'."

Robin slowly grinned. "That sounds like Babs. It'll be nice to get to see more of her again. With her in Gotham and me splitting time between there and the cave, we haven't really had time to hang out."

Batman nodded. "She'll be arriving this afternoon."

Robin nodded again, then turned and walked out of the room. He thought that he was going to go lie down for an hour or so. Between school, Gotham, and the cave, he had been getting an average of eight hours of sleep a week, especially with the recent Arkham breakout.
In his tired state, he failed to notice the gust of wind that followed Wally's departure from just around the corner where he had been listening in on the Bats' entire conversation.

Robin walked into the kitchen and greeted his friends. They all looked up and acknowledged him for a moment.

"Hey, guys, what's up?"

Artemis grinned at him. "Not much, to Baywatch's chagrin. He's spent the last few hours whining about the lack of missions."

Robin walked up to Wally. "Well, we're gonna be training this afternoon, so you won't have to worry about your boredom."

Wally nodded his head, but avoided Robin's eyes. The rest of the team was puzzled. Robin was Wally's best friend, so why did he seem so uncomfortable around him all of a sudden? Haden't he just been complaining about not seeing him all week?

Robin appeared perplexed as well, but was too tired to dwell on it. If he didn't get some sleep soon, he would keel over as soon as training started. "Well, it's nice seeing you all, but I have to go lie down. I haven't slept in, like, a week."

They all nodded. The team watched him walk out of the room, then turned to Wally. He seemed lost in thought as he stared after Robin, but looked at the others when he noticed them staring. "What?"

M'gaan looked puzzled. "Well, you were so excited to see Robin earlier, and now you can barely look at him. What happened?"

Wally looked uncomfortable. "Nothing. There's nothing wrong."

Artemis rolled his eyes. "C'mon, Bay-watch. You guys usually spend every minute together."

Wally looked away from her. Frowning slightly, she walked over to Wally and put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, babe, what's wrong?"

Wally sighed and looked at her. "I overheard him and Batman talking in the mission room."

Zatana looked up, having woken at all the commotion following Robin's exit. "What's up, guys?"

Connor spoke up. "Wally was spying on Batman and Robin's private conversation and now he won't talk to Robin."

Wally looked offended. "Hey! I wouldn't really call it spying… They just looked really ticked off, and I wanted to know why."

Zatana had an amused look in her eyes. "So, in other words, you spied on them."

Wally sighed. "You guys really aren't gonna let me off the hook on this one, are you?"

Artemis grinned. "Not a chance. So, what did they say?"

Wally looked hurt. "Batman was kind of yelling at Robin. Apparently, he's been holding back when he's with us. Bats was mad because it's starting to hurt his performance in Gotham."

Even Kaldur looked up at this. "Why would he do this?"

Conor looked angry. "What the heck is he trying to do? Sabotage us?"

M'gaan, ever the peace-keeper, spoke up. "I'm sure that he had a good reason. I mean, we're his friends, it's not like—"

Connor interrupted her again. "Exactly. If we're his friends, why doesn't he trust us? Does he think we can't handle it or something?"

Wally looked peeved as well. "It won't be a problem any more. Batman ordered him to stop. Oh, and apparently Batgirl is showing up for training this afternoon."

Zatana and M'gaan looked excited at this, seemingly forgetting about Robin for the moment. "We're getting a new addition to our team? Cool!"

While they went on to discuss their potential new member, Wally still felt betrayed. Robin was supposed to be his best friend. Why couldn't he trust him?

Artemis noticed the hurt and confusion on her boyfriend's face. "Hey, are you okay?"

Wally shook his head. "I don't know. I mean…"

Artemis smiled gently. "I'm sure Robin trusts you; I mean, you guys aren't best friends for nothing, right?'

Wally nodded slowly, still unconvinced.

Artemis sighed. "Sometimes it isn't about trust, you know? I trusted all of you with my life after I joined this team, but I just couldn't bring myself to tell you about my family. I was so afraid that you would't accept me once you knew who I really was."

Wally frowned. "But who your family was didn't change who you were; we were your friends! It's not like that one thing could mess that up."

Artemis grinned widely. "You realize that you—"

Wally sighed in mock annoyance, then smiled as well. "Yeah, yeah, I know."
Leaning down, he hugged her tightly. "Thank's, babe."
She smiled and snuggled closer to him. "No problem."