"I can't believe we left him," M'gann looked down at her hands miserably.

"M'gann-"

"He wouldn't have left any of us."

"But-" Kaldur tried again.

"No, Kaldur, M'gann's right." Artemis frowned, brushing a tear away from her eye. "Robin wouldn't have left us."

"But at what cost?" Kaldur asked, "We did not know what they would have done had we have not left."

"We could have helped though," Artemis protested. "We could have bargained or-"

"Bargained what?" Kaldur snapped, "You heard Robin, he told us to leave. Do you think he would have let one us turn ourselves in in exchange for him?"

"No," Wally spoke up raspily. "He wouldn't."

"But-" Conner frowned. "He'll be okay, right?"

"Right," Kaldur nodded, trying to make himself believe it. "He'll be just fine."

Tony glared angrily at the stubborn teenager in front of him.

"Kid, I'm trying to talk to you!" He reasoned exasperatedly.

"Mmm," Robin responded, looking at the ceiling.

"Look, okay, Pepper wants me to talk to you. So talk," Tony spread his arms and sat down.

"No."

"Okay, I'll talk. What questions do you have?" Tony leaned forwards.

"Can you leave?" Robin sulked.

"No."

"Hmm," Robin responded.

"Kid, it's me or Fury, so if I were you, I'd spill."

"No."

"Okay," Tony sighed and opened the cell door. Robin perked his head up to watch him enter the cell and lock the door behind him. "I'll wait."

"Are you just going to sit there?" Grumbled Robin after a few minutes of Tony staring at him.

"Yep."

"Why?"

"Because."

"Because is used as a word or phrase that stands for a clause expressing explanation or reasoning. You can't say 'because' and not explain." Robin stated exasperatedly.

"Mhmm, is it?" Tony grinned, "I gave my explanation with silence, as did you. I think that's fair."

"Whatever." Robin turned back away from Tony, crossing his arms.

"Hey, kid-"

"No."

"What is wrong with you?" Tony glared at Robin.

"Excuse me?"

"I barely know you and I already think you're insufferable, annoying, intolerable, abrasive, intrusive-"

"So?"

"So why don't you defend yourself?"

"Maybe I simply don't care," Robin suggested, his voice laced with annoyance and sarcasm.

"Really though?" Tony smirked, " I don't think so. I think something messed you up so badly, you think this is the way to go. Something in your life makes you feel like this is the way to go. Something-"

"Shut up," Robin's voice has laced with anger, his hands gripping the bench underneath him so hard, his knuckles turned white. "You don't know anything about me, or my life, or anything!"

"So tell me."

"I don't want to, because I don't care." He turned a glare on Tony. "I don't care if you're going to assume something messed me up. I don't care if you're going to sit here, asking questions and expecting answers. I don't care if you wait around in this little cell forever because you think I want to talk to you, because I don't!"

"Sounds like you don't care about anything."

"I care about plenty, you just didn't fit the bill." Tony gazed at the odd child in front of him.

"Well I tried," He announced as her stood up and reopened the door. "You can't say I didn't try," Tony mumbled as he left.

Personally, Natasha couldn't tell what Tony was trying to accomplish when she watched the video of his conversation with Robin, but, she couldn't deny at least some of it would be useful to her. She would have to talk to Robin again herself, of course, to confirm her suspicions, but the speech clues were important. Knowing the exact definition of 'because' was not exactly a common thing, and it suggested English being a second language. Which would make sense, if she was following the snap inquiry she has made in Tony's lab, when he chose to use 'thee' as a version of 'me' instead of the more natural English response of just 'ee' or 'nee'.

"That kid doesn't want to talk about anything!" Tony burst into the room angrily.

"It seemed like he had plenty to say, if only to get information out of you, you just didn't go about it right." Natasha looked at him reprimandingly.

"Well, you go try to talk to him!" Tony gestured angrily as Natasha raised an eyebrow.

"I already have."

"He lied to you! While he was under truth serum," Tony scoffed, "I'd say that went even worse than my conversation did!"

"There wasn't much to call a conversation, Stark." She narrowed her eyes, "And he obviously would rather talk to a less observant party such as yourself."

"I'm not less observant!"

"Well you sure seem it!" She took a deep breath, "Just him reacting to your statements gives us information, I want you or Steve to go in later, you both seem less threatening."

"Have Steve do it, I'm gonna go try to find the other kids." Tony grumbled as he walked away, "And don't try to rope Banner into your confrontation, he's helping me in my search!" Natasha shook her head exasperatedly.

"Hey, Steve?" She spoke through her comm set, "I need some assistance."

"Too professional to say 'help'?" Tony's voice filtered back.

"Is that you volunteering, Stark?"

"Nope."

"What do you need, Natasha?" Steve asked.

"How do you feel about talking?"

Steve stepping into the room holding Robin uncertainly. Natasha had said he would accidentally let thing slip if he thought he was with a less attentive audience. Steve wasn't sure. All he had previously seen from the child was snarkiness or defiance, sometimes worry or defensiveness over his team and secrets, but he didn't pin Robin as one to let information slip, unless it was on purpose. Natasha had said something about verbal slip-ups, like a slight accent on some words or overstressing something that shouldn't be stressed at all in the English language.

'Try to get him to say Crayon,' Natasha had suggested, claiming it was a word that could discern many things about origins, accents, and original languages depending on the way it was said. Steve had wondered how the heck he could bring up a Crayon in a conversation without it being suspicious.

Robin was leaning tiredly up against the wall when Steve walked in, snapping up when he registered the older hero.

"I'm beginning to wonder why you keep sending different people in," Robin commented warily.

"I am too," Responded Steve as he locked the door. Sitting down across from the teenager he took off his helmet, which he had forgotten to do with the excitement going around. Robin looked at him cautiously.

"I hope that isn't a gesture you expect me to return," He stated, gesturing to his mask.

"I'm sure it's one you'll be asked to return in the future, but I'm not asking that right now."

"Then what are you here to ask for?"

"I'm just starting casual conversation." Steve smiled, "So we can get to know each other."

"No, thank you," Robin smirked back, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I'll ask a question then," Steve grinned, acting as if he hadn't heard the attempt at a shut down. "What color are your eyes?"

"A deep, dark red that will stare into the darkness of your soul and pierce you to your very core." Robin's voice became serious, "Hence the mask."

"Well it must be a heavily defining feature if you feel the need to cover only your eyes as an alternative to your entire face."

"Something like that."

"Are they blue?" Robin raised an eyebrow. "I seem to remember someone saying once, 'his eyes are blue, very, very blue'."

"You seem to be going off both the incorrect name I gave you and the incorrect description I assume Artemis gave you." Robin scoffed, "You also seem to be suggesting that I really am Richard Grayson. Trust me, if I was that kid I wouldn't have to do what I do. I could pay for world peace."

"Can you tell me who Orion Lee is?"

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me." Robin's forehead creased in confusion.

"Orion Lee," He repeated slowly, before a mix of realisation and oh-shoot-I-screwed-that-up crossed his face.

"You know, one of the Justice League members you gave up earlier?" Robin looked away. "So you really did lie. I wouldn't have believed it."

"What are you guys trying to gain here?"

"Anything you'll give us," Steve admitted. "What are you hoping to gain?"

"Are you serious?"

"Yes."

"Did you guys really get communication to our mentors?"

"I'd assume so." Steve looked at him skeptically, "You seem to have more questions for me than you did for Tony."

"I do," Robin stated simply.

"Can you say Crayon for me?" He burst out suddenly. Robin smirked.

"No."

"I just want you to say Crayon, is that bad?"

"You're trying to label where I come from in the United States by locating my speech patterns. It isn't a very effective tactic, and you're assuming I even live in America."

"Do you not?"

"That's for you to figure out, isn't it?"

"It is," Steve agreed. He put his hand to his ear-piece and turned away from Robin, who perked up, trying to see what he would do. "You good, Natasha?"

"Yeah, I think I have enough, you want to leave?" Steve nodded, knowing she could see it. "Okay, I'm gonna wait until you're out, I want to analyse something."

"Okay, Nat." He turned to open the door.

"Where're you going?" Robin piped up.

"Out," Steve said curtly.

"Where are we?"

"What?" Robin sighed.

"I asked, where we are."

"Meaning?"

"Where is our current location?"

"Manhattan."

"Cool." Robin leaned back against the cell wall.

"Anything else?" Steve frowned, "Where did you think we were?"

"Have fun with your going out," Robin responded with the annoying innocence only a child could put into their voice.

"Have fun with your staying in," Steve shot back.

Natasha really wanted to take Robin's mask off. Sure, she had gotten plenty from Tony and Steve's conversations, and a 'Nat, that would be so unethical' from Bruce when she brought the idea up, but a facial recognition scan would be so much more helpful. She could probably get a general list though Tony's computer into another dimension thing, but she wanted to find out what this kid's deal really was, not just 'a general list'.

She already knew he was foreign, and that he lived in America but had probably immigrated at a young age, or been raised in America and taught his parents customs. The way he had reacted to Tony's accusation of not caring suggested trauma. That only narrows it down to a couple thousand. Oh, she really wanted to take his mask off.

"Tony?" She spoke through the comm, "Can I use the software you developed to sneak on the other dimension?"

"Yeah, Natasha. What were you looking for?"

"I have a few specifications," She hesitated. "And I want to run a search on Richard Grayson."

"I thought you guys figured he lied?"

"It doesn't hurt to check."

"Uh, it hurts me, that's my time you're wasting."

"Stark, it's two searches, I'll be there in a minute."

A minute later Natasha was looking at all the black-haired, light-skinned boys in the other dimension. And there were a lot. Flicking through the pictures, Natasha began to realise they wouldn't get anywhere without the color of Robin's eyes.

"Found anything yet, Nat?" Tony was leaning back in his chair, feet propped on the desk.

"No. Can you look up Richard Grayson?"

"Uh huh," Tony typed in the name. "Looks like we got quite a few results." When he transferred the pictures to the screen Natasha stepped back in shock. There were thousands, if not millions, of photos.

"How famous is this kid?" She wondered. Her eyes raked over the photos curiously. Many showed a teenage boy standing next to an older man, there were some of him speaking in front of crowds, she was sure she saw a few magazine covers too. But what really caught her eye was a picture of two boys, Grayson and a red haired boy sat on the steps in front of a manor. "Stark, run a search on Wally West."

"On it," Stark pulled up some pictures. Sure enough, one was the same photo, the two boys laughing on the steps.

"Well, that certainly changes things."

"How?" Tony frowned. "You aren't even sure Robin is Grayson."

"Well I know how to find out." She frowned, "If he managed to hide his identity from someone he saw inside and outside of costume hours, I want to know how he did it." Stopping at the door she asked, "Tony, can you run a search on Robin? Figure out everything you can."

"Sure, Tasha."

"You don't know anything about me, or my life, or anything!" Tony remembered what Robin had snapped as he stared at the article in front of him. The title picture showed the brightly colored hero being carried out of a building by a man dressed in black.

'Thanks to our photographers we have acquired a photo of the Dark Knight having to carry his young sidekick after a particularly violent fight with Joker. This photo has caused us to ask, how young really is Robin?' Tony scrolled down the page, frowning at the photos of Robin in combat, before his eyes fell on one.

It was taken from far away, but the vigilante unconscious on the ground was clear enough. 'Too dangerous of work for a child?' The caption read.

"What are you looking at?" Steve asked, walking up behind him.

"What are they letting this kid do?" Stark mumbled.

"Excuse me?" He leant over Tony's shoulder, visibly tensing when he saw the limp form, one that obviously belonged to Robin. "Dear God."

"I think Natasha was looking for you," Tony said, turning away from the screen.

"Why?"

"I actually don't know. She probably wasn't even looking for you actually. But you might want to check on her before she does something reckless."

"What is she going to do?" Tony wordlessly pulled up an image of Richard Grayson.

"Shoot."

"Talk some sense into her, please? I don't want to deal with that kid any more ticked off than he already is."

Steve found Natasha stalking down the hall outside Robin's cell.

"Natasha!"
"Yes, Steve?" She turned towards him impatiently.

He looked at her carefully. "What are you doing?"

"To talk to Robin."

"Nat, I really don't think he'd appreciate that."

"Since when are the feelings of a detainee our priority?"

"Since our 'detainee' began to look not even out of high school yet!"

"That doesn't change the fact that they popped up into our world and almost immediately attacked us! We don't know anything about them!"

"Natasha, I think you should calm down before you do something you'll regret."

"I don't live with regrets, Rogers." And she turned to walk back down the hallway. Steve grabbed her arm.

"Romanoff."

"Let go of my arm, Steve, before I do something you'll regret." There was a glint in her eyes that told him she wasn't kidding.

So he let go. He was not going to be one of the reasons this team fell apart. Now he only had to hope these kids wouldn't be either.

"Where is my nephew, Bruce?" Flash's voice was very low, very dangerous, and very out of character.

"I have no idea, Allen." His eyes narrowed at the younger man. "But I've been looking."

"Well then why aren't they back yet? You're the almighty Batman!" Barry taunted angrily.

"They've disappeared off the face of the Earth."
"Surely you've heard something!"

"I have. And you're right, Allen. I am the almighty Batman. So I'd advise you shut your mouth. Might I remind you my son is missing too." Barry opens his mouth to object but Bruce cut him off again. "Please don't jump to the conclusion that I am slowing in my investigation simply because Wally is on the Team." He glared coldly, and turned his back on the other hero. "I'll let you know when they'll be back."