Disclaimer: You recognize it, it's not mine.

These author's notes are never going to be long, I'll let my story do the talking.

Batman knew something was wrong as soon as Red Arrow walked up behind him.

Bruce had declined to join the rest of the Justice League for the induction party of its newest members, choosing to analyze the micro-chips that Young Justice had recently acquired in the computer labs in the lower section of the watchtower.

Bruce had to give the team credit,as they had performed exceptionally. They had worked around each other's weaknesses, covered each other when their plan was interrupted, and adapted and took control of the situation. Even the addition of a new member, Rocket, hadn't slowed them down too much. In less than a day, she had integrated into the team dynamic flawlessly. Some members of the League couldn't have accomplished that.

Placing the nano circuitry into one of the holo-sensors, Batman studied the magnified chip on the screen in front of him. There was nothing obvious he could determine by just looking at the chip, so he set the computer to run the normal tests. While it was scanning, Batman turned to the computer and began to cross reference any connections between this new technology and others that the League or the Team had previously encountered.

He was halfway through his search, when the door behind him slid open.

The distinct footsteps of Red Arrow walked closer.

Batman narrowed his eyes, but did not turn away from the terminal. Something was off.

Roy would never have left the party early, especially when it was a party for him. Roy would never say it, but he loved the attention. He had always wanted the praise that he thought he deserved, and the party was the perfect place for the Justice League's compliments to feed Roy's ego.

So why was he here?

He certainly wasn't going to get any compliments from Batman.

"So," Roy said, grinning cockily, "are you ever going to join the party?"

These words made Batman's suspicions grow. It was well known that he did not party. He was not a social person, nor did he ever try to be. The only time he ever was, he was 'Brucie Wayne' at a gala, or some other equally boring function. And anyone who acctually mattered knew he hated those too.

Roy's tone caught Batman's attention as well. He was cocky, as if he expected some kind of praise from the Dark Knight. That was dangerous. Red Arrow would have to be put in his place, if he didn't get his ego in check soon.

Red Arrow continued to walk closer to Bruce's work space, and with each step, what Clark had dubbed Bruce's 'Bat Paranoia' steadily increased.

"This Bio-circuity is disturbingly sophisticated." Batman responded, keeping one eye on the younger hero.

And it really was. From the brief time Batman had been studying it he had found circuits similar to the Amazo robot, fused to an organic creature, as well as low level mystic charge. It was a combination of technologies that surpassed anything the modern world had to offer. And it proved that a large scale organization of criminals existed, on that was much bigger than the Injustice League.

Turning to inform Red Arrow of his discovery, he saw the other pull something out of his utility belt.

Grinning, Roy looked up and reached towards him, "I'll take that as a no."

Seeing a flash of red in Roy's hand, Batman's instincts took over. Kicking his leg out, Batman struck the archer in the stomach. Red Arrow gasped and curled around himself, dropping whatever he was holding. Moving with his momentum, Batman spun and kicked out with his other leg, hitting Red Arrow in the head, and Roy dropped to the floor unconscious.

Landing on his feet, Batman inspected what Roy had dropped. It was an identical copy of the chip that he was studying.

Batman ran what had just happened through his head. With the way Roy's hand had been positioned, the chip was supposed to have been placed on his neck. A chill ran up Bruce's spine, but before he jumped to conclusions, he turned back to the computers. The data collected from the chip confirmed his suspicions.

He knew mind control when he saw it.

Grabbing the chip off the floor, and the one off the scanner, he moved all of his research into his holo-glove. While it was transferring, Batman crouched down next to the unconscious archer and examined the back of his neck. There were no visible marks on his neck, but that didn't mean something wasn't there.

Rising back to the computer, he pulled security footage from the league party upstairs. Rewinding the footage, he narrowed his eyes when he saw Roy wrap his arms around Dinah in a quick hug. Zooming in, Batman could see her falter for a moment. If anyone else noticed, they paid no mind, because it seemed like she was shocked by his open affections. Batman knew better. During the hug, Roy had snuck the chip on her neck.

Bruce knew that the two would have quickly infected everyone else. He was the last target.

Not wasting needing to see any more, he unplugged his glove and ran.

If the League was comprised, going through the Zeta-tubes was not an option. So Batman sprinted to the javelin hangars. The spacecrafts were always ready to deploy for a world catastrophe. Batman thought this qualified.

He jumped into the closest ship and used the emergency override to bypass standard protocols. The floor opened up beneath the spacecraft, and he shot out of the Watchtower.

Looking in the rear cameras, and seeing small figures pursuing him, Bruce knew he was far from safe.

As he angled the craft down towards the planet below him, he typed an order that he had hoped he would never have to give.

Pressing send, Batman turned his eyes back to the controls. There was no way he could save any of the Team in time. It was all up to Robin now, if he wasn't already too late.

He awoke to the sound of his alarm.

Blearily reaching out to his bedside table, Robin tried to smash his alarm clock back into silence.

"Nooooooo..." he mumbled dejectedly, only half awake.

Surprisingly, his hand only hit open air, and his momentum carried him off his bed and onto the floor in a heap of blankets. Jolting awake, the first few thoughts that went through Dick's head was something along the lines of 'where the heck am i' and 'five more minutes'.

Regaining his senses, he saw he was in his very unused room in Mount Justice. Slowly, he remembered the events of the other day.

After their mission, the entire team had been exhausted. And Robin had been too tired to make the commute back home. The rest of the team had probably followed his lead, and crashed at the mountain too.

Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Robin looked around and saw that it was his holo-glove that had woken him up. It was beeping at a volume that wouldn't have woken most people, but most people weren't him. He jumped out of bed and reached for the device. He turned the alarm off and looked at the time. Robin blinked, it was 1:17 in the morning.

"Seriously?" Robin muttered, realizing that the alarm was because his mentor had sent him a message, "Can't a guy get his beauty rest?" Chuckling quietly, he unlocked his glove and opened the message.

His humor quickly faded as he saw what it contained.

LEAGUE RED KRYPTONITE PROTOCOL.

He read the message again, to make sure he wasn't misreading it. But no, it was still the same message.

This was bad.

Only he, Bruce and Alfred had access to these contingencies. There was no possibility that someone could have discovered their meanings, there were no computer files on it, no records. They had memorized the Red Kryptonite Protocols, so unless they were dealing with a mind reader- Robin cut off that train of thought. Anything was possible. Everything was up in the air.

Suddenly, he didn't feel so tired.

Of course, Clark knew what Red Kryptonite was, after his first encounter with it.

Robin remembered when that had happened. He had been Batman's partner for a few months, and Superman had been exposed to the rare rock while fighting his arch-nemesis, Lex Luthor. The strange variant of kryptonite turned Superman into a mind controlled puppet. The most powerful man in the world became the most powerful weapon, and for reasons that only made sense to psychopaths, Lex had ordered Superman to destroy Gotham's protector.

Batman had tired to fight Superman, but there was only so much he could do. The fight had eventually turned into the deadliest game of cat and mouse throughout Gotham. But while Batman stalled, Robin had looked for a way to free Superman. The search had led him to Lexcorp. He had found the cure, and was just about to leave, when he had stumbled upon Luthor himself. It had felt really good to punch him in the face.

Afterwards, when Superman had been cured of his brief mind control, Bruce had only given vague details of their fight, but warned Clark away from any color of kryptonite.

Once the alien had left the cave, Bruce had sat down and taken his adopted son into his lap. Then they talked. They both agreed that there had been too many close calls while trying to get Superman to snap out of it. It had taken them too long to take control of the situation, and it had nearly cost them their lives.

This single conversation planted the seeds for the Red Kryptonite Protocols. The Protocols were set in place so that if someone they trusted was being mind controlled, without access to the old memories or feelings of the host, they would be prepared.

Blinking, Robin looked at the first word of the message. This designated who was dangerous, and who they would have to fight. Robin gulped.

He knew that together, he and Batman could take down any single Member of the Justice League. They had trained for that. The entire League, at the same time, was a different story.

A sharp bang brought the Boy Wonder out of his thoughts.

Quickly jumping to his feet, Robin scrambled to put his gear on. While slipping one foot into his boot, and re-checking every compartment of his utility belt, he hacked into the mountains security cameras. It didn't take long to find his team.

M'gann, Zatanna, Rocket and Wally were in the main training room, their blank faces turned toward Black Canary and Red Tornado. Kaldur and Conner had just entered the room and were dragging a kicking and screaming Artemis toward the group. Her flailing legs had probably caused the loud noise he had just heard.

The Archer only fought harder as she was brought in front of of Black Canary. Robin watched helplessly as Tornado stepped forward and placed something on her neck. Artemis gasped and her eyes widened for half a second, until her face cleared and she stood up, mirroring her teammates.

Robin's eyes widened. Artemis, one of the most stubborn people he had ever met, besides his own mentor, had been turned into a mind controlled zombie.

Scanning the screen, Robin realized his entire team had joined her.

Robin was alone.

Then Black Canary said something that made his heart stop.

"Get Robin"

Swearing like a sailor, and mentally apologizing to Alfred because of it, Robin sprang into the ventilation shaft at the top his wall. Crawling as fast as he possibly could, he sent his own message back to Batman.

TEAM RED KRYPTONITE PROTOCOL.

Now, if he didn't get out of the mountain in time, Batman would know exactly what they were up against.

Robin crawled through the vents and towards the garage. He scanned the area below him. Seeing that it was clear, he jumped down from the vents and ran to his R-cycle. Unfortunately it was parked on the far side of the vehicle bay, closest to the exit, and before he made it halfway there a yellow blur intercepted him.

Robin didn't stop sprinting, even as he threw small pellets at the ground near Wally's feet.

His usually expressive friend lifted one foot and crushed the marbles beneath him, thinking that they were supposed to trip him up. Instead, a pink foam spurted out from underneath his foot and wrapped around the speedster's body, leaving only his face exposed.

Without breaking stride, Robin leaped over his best friend. Placing a foot on Wally's foam covered shoulder, Robin used his momentum to fly through the air and land on his bike.

At his signal, the bay doors slowly opened in front of him. But before he could make his daring escape, Robin heard heavy footsteps to his right. He pressed his body flat to the bike as arrows flew above him. Robin spared a glance over his shoulder and saw his Team racing forward. Artemis was now aiming her arrows at his face, while Superboy, Zatanna, Aqualad and Rocket were sprinting directly for him. Ms. Martian was holding back and trying to free Kid Flash.

With a roar, Superboy leaped at the small boy, and grabbed his cape.

Choking, Robin reached for his neck, the cape automatically releasing and flying into Superboy's face. Turning back around, Robin floored it. He sped out the small opening of the bay doors, scraping the sides of his bike, and he used the emergency lock down procedure to close them once he was through. They slammed together much faster than they had opened.

Robin winced slightly when he heard a bang on the other side of the reinforced door.

"Note to self," Robin muttered, as he sped towards safety,"Mind control does not make Superboy less angry"

After leading Green Lantern and Martian Manhunter on a chase involving several double backs, multiple switched vehicles and even one exploding building, Batman was finally confident that he was not being followed. Bruce was now driving into Gotham in a 'borrowed' car. A long trench-coat covered his bat-suit, while his gloves and cowl were discarded next to him.

Turning down a decrepit alley, the disguised Batman stopped his car next to one of the brick apartments.

Across the road was a train station for one of the old town subways. It looked abandoned, trash littered it's entrance, and the stone pillars inside had been eroded away.

Most people had forgotten about the decommissioned railway when the newer and cleaner light rail had been constructed above it.

Bruce was not most people. He cautiously got out of his car and walked down into the abandoned station, scanning the rooftops for any sign of someone tailing him. He couldn't afford to be followed.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, he turned to the pillars on the far side of the loading platform. His fingers tapped along one of the broken tiles on the side. One of the tiles cut into his finger, drawing a drop of blood. A few seconds later, the outline of a door appeared.

As it slid down and revealed a dark hallway, a female computerized voice said, "Recognized-" Bruce cut the computer off. "Override, BW_1047." The voice did not respond, But Batman could hear the multiple traps in the hallway being disabled. Bruce stepped into the doorway, and it slid shut behind him. A few meters past the entrance, and the lights suddenly illuminated the elevator in front of him. He stepped inside, and he could feel it going down for a few moments before the doors opened again.

In front of him was a literal fortress.

Weapons of various sizes and deadliness were stored in racks along the wall to his right, anything from nun-chucks to sabers to lasers were displayed. Bruce knew that if he went far enough back, he would even find multiple guns, not that he would ever use them. On the other side of the room, a large computer monitor was starting up. The computer was almost an exact replica of the Bat-computer, and as soon as it was on the two supercomputers would sync each other's data. A circular training platform took up the center of the room, while further back, multiple types of vehicles were displayed. Near the vehicles, one medium sized tunnel led away from the bunker, and an unhooked Zeta-transporter lay dormant next to it.

This was the base that was even more secret than the Batcave, and Robin had jokingly called it the Bat-Bunker.

Unsurprisingly the name had stuck.

Bruce's eyes immediately locked onto the figure standing in the training arena. The tension in his shoulders loosened when he saw that it was his ever-faithful butler that stood waiting for him.

"Ah, Master Bruce I am glad to see that you are unharmed."

"I'm glad you got my message Alfred," Bruce greeted, "Has Dick shown up?" he asked.

"I am afraid he has not," Alfred confessed. Sensing his charge's silent distress, he offered some comfort, "However, it is quite a long ride from Happy Harbor to Gotham. I am sure the young Master is quite alright."

Nodding, Bruce turned into Batman once again. Taking off the trench coat covering his uniform, he walked over to the large computer and restarted the research that Red Arrow had interrupted. There might have been something that he had missed that could give him an advantage over the mysterious mind controlling chip.

As he was working, Alfred took stock on all of their available supplies.

They worked in quiet harmony for a good part of an hour.

Their silence was interrupted when the sound of a engine down the small tunnel alerted the two to the fact that they were no longer alone. A small red and black motorcycle sped into the bunker, and its rider sprung out of the seat before it had fully stopped. Before Batman knew what had hit him, a small boy was hugging him tightly around the middle.

"Bruce!" Dick yelled, excitement written all over his features, "You're alright!"

Smiling, Bruce hugged back, "I'm glad you're safe, Dick"

A small cough broke them apart. Smiling at his two charges Alfred began,"As much as I am glad that the two of you are unharmed, what exactly are we safe from?"

Growing serious Bruce moved to the computer.

"What were dealing with is one of our worst case scenarios." He gestured to the small chip being scanned "The technology that the Team had confiscated the other day has been used against the League. I am now certain that this chip, once placed on someone's neck, will offer complete control over that person's body." Alfred gasped. Glaring at the small chip, Batman continued, "Now each person of the League-"

"and Team" Robin interrupted, coming to his mentor's side to study the chip.

"-and the Team," He amended "have been infected with it. Giving complete control of the most powerful beings on earth to an unknown adversary."

"Dear Lord!" Alfred exclaimed, "Everyone is infected?"

"Until we know better, then yes, we assume that everyone associated with the League is infected" He stated solemnly.

"So what you're saying, " Robin said quietly, placing the chip on the table. "Is that we have to take down the Justice League."

Gotham city was uncharacteristically quiet. No major Villains cackled in the alleyways, nor were there any normal people walking through the streets. It was far too early for anyone to think of getting out of bed. The smog that constantly surrounded the city lay undisturbed in the morning. However, the silent streets did not mean that there was no one in the shadows.

Two figures leaped through the darkness, the rooftops their highway in the mist. The duo were silent wraiths in the night, leaving no indication that they were there. Even if someone on the ground looked directly at them, they would only see blurs racing by.

Finally, the two stopped and crouched on a building. The smaller one switched on his holo-glove, while the larger stared down through the skylight. Through it, unsuspecting scientists could be seen working, not caring about the late hour, and unaware they were being watched. Batman turned to his young protege, and with unspoken communication, they began.

1 hour ago

After Dick's morbidly accurate observation, Batman, Robin and Alfred had swapped stories.

Batman quickly told them how he had caught Red Arrow trying to place the chip on him, and his quick escape from the watchtower. Robin had been shocked at Red Arrow's betrayal. To think that one of his oldest friends had been the mole was heartbreaking, and Dick quietly hoped that Roy had been under the chip's control the entire time.

Robin then explained how he had escaped Mount Justice, and Batman was impressed by how quickly Robin had avoided his entire team. The skill that he had demonstrated by avoiding his superpowered friends showed just how capable his partner had become. While his mask was on, Robin could easily push past his emotions to complete the mission. Dick, however, could not. As soon as he pulled off his mask, his emotions poured out.

"Bruce... I was right there. My friends were in danger, and I just ran. How can I be a hero if I didn't even try. If I tried I might've saved Artemis and-"

Bruce cut off his son's ramblings and put his large hands on his shoulders, "Dick, there was nothing you could have done," He grimaced, "And if you had tried to save Artemis, you might have gotten infected as well."

"Yeah...I guess so," He mumbled and looked down. Soon, Robin's trademark smirk was back on his face, and he faced his father. "And we can't have have you facing the most powerful group on earth all alone, now can we old man?" And he jokingly hit Batman on the shoulder.

Bruce scoffed and playfully pushed Dick away. Rolling with the push, Dick dramatically fell backwards and flipped back onto his feet. Bruce smiled, glad his son hadn't been too daunted by the task ahead of them. "Lets get to work." he said, turning back into Batman.

Remarkably soon, under the circumstances, they had a plan. Alfred left for Wayne Enterprises to pick up some necessary equipment. People would not question the butler's presence in the tower so early in the morning, and he would be able to meet with another trusted friend, Lucius Fox. There they would be able to prep the different equipment designed to incapacitate different members of the Justice League. Both men would continue to work from the tower until Batman or Robin returned.

As Alfred left for his own mission, Batman and Robin had agreed that they needed a professional to study of the hostile chip. They needed to know exactly what they were dealing with to understand and counteract its effects. After another quick discussion, they had departed, leaving an empty bunker behind them.

Present time

I can't understand why any of these scientists would ever want to take the 4:00 am shift, but I'm glad they did. Thought Robin, as he stared down from the roof. The small workforce at Star Labs makes our jobs so much easier. Looking through the skylight, he smirked when he saw a change in the shadows in the corners of the room below him. There's my cue. I think I'm going to have a little fun.

Robin saw his chance to slip in when the two scientists below rose to greet another man. Said man was returning to the room from a coffee break. The two walked over to the door, where the new arrival held their coffee. Using the extra noise to his advantage, Robin jumped down from his viewpoint in the rafters and slid into one of the seats that the scientists had just left. Waiting for them to notice him, he spun around in the chair.

Finally, the other man left the room. When the scientists turned around, the last thing they had expected to see was the Boy Wonder, spinning around in their chairs and giggling. Noticing the stunned silence, Robin smoothly stopped the chair so he was facing them. Oh this is too good. Robin thought. They look like they've seen a ghost celebrity and they can't decide whether to ask for an autograph or run away.

Deciding to mess with their minds a bit more, Robin met their gobsmacked gaze,"Evening, gentlemen." He said in his best foreign accent. Hardly waiting for their reply, Robin turned back to the computers in front of him. "Your building does have the best equipment for studying bio and nano circuitry in Gotham right?"

The coffee in the men's hands spilled to the floor. "How...W-What?" Stuttered one man. I'm going to call you Dr. Twitch thought Robin, noticing how the man's hands had started to shake.

"We need to study some Nanotech, using your facility would be a great help." Robin interrupted, his eyes never leaving the screen.

"H-help... you?" The Dr. Twitch exclaimed.

"We?" Said the other. Ah Robin mused. You must be Mr. Smarty Pants.

"Yep." Robin replied, eyes never leaving the monitors.

"Robin." Barked a sharp voice. Both men jumped and spun around, coming face to face with THE Batman. "We cannot waste time," He strode to his partners side, not noticing or caring that them men in front of him looked like they were going to faint,"I've triggered the alarms of other research centers, but it will not distract the League for long. We have only a few hours until they locate us." Turning to the two men, he growled,"We need of your facilities. Contact your top scientists and get out."

The men wasted no time, and began fumbling with their phones to contact their superiors. I should have named them Dr. Stutter and Wet Pants with the way their acting. Robin thought.

Once they had made their respective phone calls, the scientists rushed out of the room, barely stopping themselves from squealing in fright. As soon as they left, the real work started. Batman put one of the chips into the high-powered micro scanner, searching for anything his scans had not already picked up.

Robin stood up from his chair and took a small device out of his belt. He then moved to an open area of the floor. He placed a circular disk the size of his hand in front of him and pressed the top of it. The disk began to hum quietly, and Robin took quick steps away from it. He then pressed a button on his glove. Three legs shot out of the bottom of the disk, and it shot into the air, creating a large pyramid with the disk at the top. Robin stepped underneath it. A blue light scanned him, then a robotic voice spoke.

"Authorized, Robin B01. State desired location."

"Atlantis. Facility 2A." Robin stated.

"Connecting. Please wait." said the robotic voice.

Robin stepped back and glanced at his mentor. "Lets hope they get the message."

They didn't have to wait long, as the voice suddenly said, "Connected. Queen Mera G04"

The hollow pyramid hummed again, and suddenly a life-sized holographic projection sprung to action on the floor.

The hologram showed an underwater lab, with 4 people floating in it. Robin recognized the one in the center as Queen Mera, wife to King Orin. He had never met her in person, but she was Royalty, and he quickly remembered to give her the proper respect.

"Your Majesty," Robin bowed, placing his right fist over his heart in the Atlantian salute Kaldur had taught him."You received our message."

"Yes Robin," Mera stated, her eyes weary. She gestured to a small package the man beside her was holding. "as well as your package."

Robin smiled. He and Batman had gambled, and it had payed off. By modifying their teleporter in the Bunker, they had been able to teleport a small object anywhere in the world, without another Zeta-Tube to receive it. With only enough power in the bunker for one trip, they had sent the second chip to Atlantis, along with a message. They had hoped that the Atlanteans would have access to information and technology that people on the surface did not.

Turning away from the queen, Robin studied the three people behind her. The older man on her right he could only assume to be one of Atlantis's scientists, and the two people on her left he recognized as Kaldur friends, Tula and Garth.

"Is Batman there?" Mera asked.

"I'm here Your Majesty," Batman greeted, walking out from behind the table "Has your side made any progress?"

"Indeed we have," Said the older man," In fact we've identifi-" as the scientist continued to talk, Robin noticed Batman subtly signaling him to patrol the outside of the building. Taking this as his cue to leave, Robin made his way to the door. I know it makes sense to have someone on lookout, Robin internally mumbled, but I was looking forward to studying the chips. Before he could reach the door, he was stopped by the projection Tula walking in front of him. Technically I could still walk through her, Robin pondered, She isn't actually in front of me.

"Robin," She pleaded,"Do you know how our comrade, Kaldur, fares?"

He sighed and shrugged, "Honestly Tula, I have no idea, I was too busy running for my life to really pay attention."

Tula slumped with grief, and Garth swam over and put an arm around her to comfort her. "You will notify us if anything changes, yes?" Garth asked.

Robin nodded to the pair, "Of course I will, stay whelmed." Ignoring their confused looks, he walked through her hologram. Once outside, he sighed. I know I shouldn't be mad at Garth, but from what Kaldur has said, he broke a major rule of the bro-code. Dating the girl that your best friend is madly in love with is a big no-no. It would be like me dating Artemis. Wally would never forgive me. Laughing quietly at his two oblivious friends, he moved to the exit.

Near the front entrance, he saw two new frazzled scientists walking in. They looked like they had just woken up, rolled into their lab coats, and left for work. Hiding his amusement, he pointed the dazed scientists towards the main laboratory. Robin then went outside and grappled up to the roof. Pulling out his binoculars he crouched down and waited.

The sun had nearly risen when Robin spotted the motorcycles. Using his binoculars, He confirmed exactly who was speeding down the highway towards them. Cursing, he contacted Batman. We don't have enough time, it's only been 30 minutes since Batman radioed in. We're close to making a prototype antidote and vaccine, but how close? Robin raised his hand to the comm in his ear.

"We've got company" he stated.

Quickly Batman replied, "Who?"

"If I'm not mistaken, Black Canary, and all the Arrows." Robin informed. "It seems like whoever is controlling the League is grouping the people with the most experience together." It makes sense, he added silently, even if their mind-controlled, there's some familiarity to fighting alongside your partners. They're less likely to fight the mind control if they're around family.

"ETA?"

"Ten minutes, tops"

Batman was silent as he contemplated their next move. We could try to move the scientists, and start somewhere else. But that would take time that we cannot afford. Our only real option is to fight them, and buy the scientists the time they need.

A few more tense minutes passed in silence before Robin interrupted it again.

"ETA five minutes, Batman should we engage?"

Resigning himself to the mission, Batman told the scientists to pick up the pace, and swept out of the room. When he reached the main lobby, Robin leapt down from the rafters and stood next to the Bat. Both stayed that way, side by side, waiting for the inevitable.

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