AN. Sorry about the delay the "Real World" decided to get in the way of my life.

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Kaldur froze, ethereal terror digging icy claws into his soul. The shadows slithered down the walls, and oozed across the floor to gather at his friend's feet like a horde of obedient hounds. A fraction of a second elapsed before some unseen, unheard signal, sent them surging forward to ooze over and around the smaller boy enveloping him in an inky, dark void. Leaving behind a curiously oppressive void. As if Robin and everything touching him had simply ceased.

"Kitsune," he breathed, shock and alarm filling his breast. A few feet away Zatanna shook her head in horrified denial. "Worse." She whispered, voice tinged with palatable terror. "Nogitsune."

Dismay washed over Kaldur, a tidal wave crashing against a breakwater, tossing his worldview violently asunder. All fox spirits were tricksters, but Kitsune were among the most dangerous of the Nine Courts. Not Malevolent by nature like the Kumiho, but powerful, cunning and vicious when slighted. Kitsune had a very strong moral code and they took extreme offense when people deviated from their moral worldview. The problem lay in the fact that what a Kitsune found to be morally acceptable rarely followed the same thought patterns as those of any other species.

Kaldur didn't know enough about Kitsune to tell them apart though he knew they were divided along clan lines. He wasn't sure if Nogitsune were a subspecies or a clan. All he knew about Nogitsune could be summed up in a singingly sentence: Across the seas of time where Nogitsune trod chaos followed.

Robin was a formidable advisory when his temper was aroused. He was also a friend and one he trusted with his life, but he was also impossibly young. Too young to have any real control over his formidable powers. Kaldur was not looking forward to placing himself between a Kitsune and its prey.

Power flared outwards, bathing the room in an aurora of blue light, icy lightning crackled and an artic wind flashed across the confines of their small refuge as dancing tendrils of vibrant blue light exploded from the void. Twirling wildly, a raging blue inferno caught in a gale. Snow erupted across the ground at feet of the monster that had just appeared in their mists.

Infinitely more intimidating then a fox had any right to be.

The creature that appeared in their mist was about the size of a German Shepard. 95 pounds of whipcord and lean muscle Robin's Silver coat shown in the darkness as if light by internal fire. The tip of his tail awash with vibrant blue flame. A symphony of blues danced behind him, an Arora Borealis kicked up by the soft, subtle movements of his tail. Blue fire twined around his limbs and wreathed his neck. Eerie blue white light flared at his nostrils, liquid fire welling up behind his teeth to spill from parted jaws in a visible deadly miasma.

The girl threw her hands out and a stray shadow struggled to free itself from its brethren. Screaming defiance as it rose up from the floor between them twisting and bucking wildly as it fought to forge itself into a new shape.

Kaldur swore and forced himself to move between the giant spectral corvid, and the ethereally terrifying yet far more physical threat of his enraged teammate. Stomping down on the primal aspect of his own nature that sat up and took notice of the deadly predator in their mists as it never had before. He knew two things with absolute certainty. One what he was about to do was by definition suicidal and two, whatever Robin was he was not a Kitsune! Kitsune didn't appear in ice, snow, fire and shadow.

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Kaldur rubbed his temples as he sank to the floor with a grimace. He was physically and emotionally exhausted. It had taken the better part of an hour to defuse the situation. Robin's transformation proved taxing, though Kaldur wasn't sure if that was a result of his as yet unidentifiable species, age or inexperience. Regardless Robin's transformation left him ravenous and stuck in yet another physical form. He'd bolted down three cans of Spam in a few neat bites, and collapsed upon the strangely persistent indoor snowdrift. Their guest sat a few feet away floating slightly above the ground working her way steadily through the food they had given her.

Kaldur shifted slightly, he wanted nothing more than to close his eyes and sleep, but he was the leader and he had one more job left to do. "I am Aqualad." He informed their guest mildly. "These are my teammates. Miss. Martian, Superboy, Artemis, Zatanna and Kid Flash." He gestured to each as he spoke their names. "That is Wolf," he added when the mammoth Lupine made an indignant noise. He glanced over at Robin who sprawled belly up upon a patch of snow that grew alarmingly with each swipe of his flaming tail. Suppressing the urge to groan when Wally sprinted over to stand over his friend, hopefully the two wouldn't get into too much trouble. Wally dropped down beside the boy turned canine and indulged himself by scratching the thick, still faintly glowing fur around Robin's jaw. Robin's tail wagged frantically at the attention, inundating them with more snow and creating a small but extremely obvious, indoor aroura borealis.

Kaldur pinched the bridge of his nose and groaned in annoyance at their display of reckless abandon. "That is Robin," he admitted mildly, "My second in command… when he's not…" he trailed off and gestured at the great silver and gray fox in a sweeping inclusive gesture.

"A dog?" she responded in an utterly unimpressed tone.

"I'm a Fox!" Robin's snapped indignantly.

Kaldur resisted the urge to roll his eyes "Yes."

"Raven."

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Wally couldn't help the slight smile that spread across his face at the sight before him. Raven sat cross-legged and floating in midst of Robin and Wolf who were currently engaged in a game of tug-of-war against Connor. The clone holding one end of a makeshift rope toy Raven had mystically braided together out of rags. They hadn't been able to get much information out of the darkly mysterious girl, and what they had been able to gather didn't paint a good picture of her life.

Wally didn't even want to consider what would make a girl hardly Robin's age flee her father. Still the girl was calm and controlled, bordering on unemotional actually.

It was weird.

Disturbing actually.

She just floated there, a still, dark, presence in the middle of the natural chaos produced by several raucous teenagers. Softly chanting three repeating nonsensical words.

They weren't really sure what to do with her at this point but had decided that they were going to keep her with them for now. They'd let the League determine the best course of action when they finally returned to base.

An eventuality that was looking further and further away with every passing moment. They hadn't made any headway in undoing whatever the hell Klarion and Zatanna had done to Robin. Artemis, was insisting that they needed to figure out exactly what the fuck Robin had been transformed into, in order reverse the effects of the combined spells. For his part Wally was having trouble handling this. There had to be a scientific explanation for this!

Science had never failed him.

There was a scientific explanation for everything.

So there had to be a rational explanations for the Arora Borealis Robin seemed to create every time he wagged his tail.

Some sort of bioluminescence maybe?

He groaned and tried to banish his chaotic thoughts. They would only distract him, and he had a job to do. Still he was worried about leaving Robin alone. He stepped on his apprehension and reminded himself that even trapped in the body of an enormous, Shadow loving, fire breathing, flaming fox Robin could take care of himself. Regardless he wouldn't be entirely alone, Wolf was staying behind as well. Though Robin had argued that the great Canine's absence would be noticed. He'd been over ruled.

Kaldur needed to gain access to the Royal Atlantean Library and he needed to do it without tipping off Aquaman or Queen Mira.

Hence there plan to distract the League.

Robin had advised them that there were too many variables involved in their plan. He'd offered to help but no one was really interested in letting him participate at least not until he'd learned some control over his powers.

Hopefully they'd have him back to normal long before that became a necessity

In the end it had been Raven who'd helped them to solve the problem. Like whatever the hell Robin had been turned into she had an affinity for Shadows and the ability to travel through them. Unlike Robin, she could control them. For the sake of this mission she would be taking Robin's place.

For a team that had trained together, the prospect of having someone new filling the shoes of a trusted and respected friend, leader and teammate, it was a daunting prospect.

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Superman glared at the screens in the watchtower. The expression on his face more easily associated with Batman's forbidding continence then his own. Still he couldn't help it. Conner and his team were missing. If someone had told him he'd ever be this worried for his clone when Dick, Wally and Kaldur had first liberated the boy, he'd have had them rushed to a medical bay for a CAT scan. Yet, here he was worrying over the teenager who he had finally accepted as a little brother after the horrible events of New Year's Eve…. And the worst lecture he'd ever endured from his royally disappointed mother. He still couldn't believe Robin – of all people – had set his mother on him. Though he was glad Conner had such a good friend there to watch his back.

Conner

His half Kryptonian little brother.

Conner who'd vanished on a mission for the League.

Conner who'd never seen the Fortress of Solitude or even the ship Clark had originally landed in. Conner who knew nothing of his history. Conner who he'd been secretly calling Con El for the past few weeks. Conner who he was worried sick about. If he was this terrified for his brother, what must Bruce or Barry be feeling? Dick was Bruce's SON. His fourteen year old son.

For all Wally was older, he was still Barry's nephew.

He turned his attention back to the monitors, and tried to find any sign of the missing team. Wind tore through the watchtower along with familiar laughter. "Kid – kid Flash, B03. "The computer chimed in belatedly interrupting itself scant seconds later as Wally exited the Watch tower at top speed.

Clark lunged for the controls desperate to figure out where the hyperactive little hooligan had gone.

Wind kicked up across the watch tower as Flash, bolted into the monitor room, fingers flying across the keyboards at supper speed as he tried to locate his nephew.

Maps bloomed across various screens, as the team's various designations rang out in time with the rapidly flashing points of light that flashed across the various maps at random Zeta points and equally random intervals. They appeared and disappeared, lighting up the screens in a frenetic, chaotic lightshow.

"What the Hell?" Barry demanded.

"Clearly, they do not wish to be found." Martian Manhunter stated from somewhere above them and to the left.

"Aquaman, A-0-6" the computer chimed in.

Batman shifted, eyes narrowing as he took in the myriad of flashing lights. "The question is why." He commented mildly. One eyebrow lifted, beneath his cowl. "And where are Robin and Aqualad in all of this?"

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Aqualad stood on the sandy shoreline of a Californian beach, gill caps clamped shut against the heat. Gazing down at the small timepiece in his hand, and silently counted down the seconds to the exact time the plan dictated. "Now," he said softly to the darkly clad girl floating cross-legged at his side.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos," she intoned. Before the great black wings of a spectral raven enfolded them. They reappeared standing above the Atlantic Ocean, just out of reach of the ebbing and flowing waves. A storm as imminent, he could tell by how fiercely the waves churned the water's surface, could gage the incoming fury in the splattering, aggressive mist that assaulted the thin shield upon which he stood. He gazed down into the inky black water, before turning his attention back to the girl floating silently at his side. "My thanks," he said simply and dove into the waters below. It was a long swim across the Old Roman Trench, which Surface-dwellers called the Romanche Trench and into the very outskirts of the great city of Poseidonis. If he swam fast and true, he would reach his goal by midnight.