Author's Note: This is the beginning of my "reboot" on this story for those who may not know it. New scenes will be added and some scenes will be edited for improvement. This is one story I want to get right, so please enjoy! The idea originally came to me from reading a Dick Grayson origin story called The Beginning by anakinlove. I was little disappointed with how one of the biggest scenes went and I even asked the writer if I could play with that scene a little bit (They said yes, by the way, so I'm very thankful for their blessing.) I don't want to say much about it because it might spoil later scenes, but all I can say is that Dick and Bruce had a tense relationship until that point in the story and I thought it was resolved too quickly.

Disclaimer: All Rights to Justice League Belong to DC Comics and Cartoon Network. Batman and Robin Belong to Bob Kane and Bill Finger. This Takes Place in the DC Animated Universe and is also my version of it, so it is a slight AU...ok, it's more of an AU that originally stays faithful to the original cartoon at first before it slowly evolves into something different. Kind of like that Naruto fanfiction, Team 8 (incredible story, by the way, and helped me think of how to write this story better.) Only Fair to Warn You.

"I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that's why."

Lennie Small. Of Mice and Men.

Prologue: Intruder?

He should have stayed at home...

Their feet landed softly on the steel floor beneath them, making no sound at all, as if the two figures didn't exist at all. The first figure was tall by more than six feet, wearing a dark cape that draped down past their ankles, also concealing most of their body from view. Their companion stood several feet behind them; at least four feet tall, their face hidden by a gray hood attached to an equally dark cape. The taller figure stopped in front of a door and placed a hand on the wall right next to it, resulting in a section of the white-stained wall sliding down to reveal a keyboard. He typed in the numbers: 1-9-3-9, automatically making the door slide open. Stepping in, the taller figure gestured to their smaller companion to come inside.

The room was completely empty, save for a bed and a large monitor. The walls were lined with titanium and lead in-between. Even the floor was bare, cold to the touch. Light briefly filled the room before being almost consumed once more by the empty void of darkness as the smaller figure barely entered the room in time. The taller figure reached into their belt and pulled out what looked like a remote. The tall figure clicked a button and the monitor before the two figures flashed into life. It would be assumed to be a he, although their face was largely concealed by a cowl that resembled that of a bat's head with long, pointy ears that gave the idea of being sharp and dangerous. Even his eyes appearing as nothing but white slits.

What little face that was seen in the blinding light of the monitor were the lips, which were a pale pink, and the chin, which was covered with stubble. The rest of the figure's attire was concealed by the cape, but every now and again, you could see a gray leotard with black tights around the groin with a symbol on the chest which also resembled that of a bat.

The figure heard the bed squeak from added weight and sighed. The smaller figure was barely seen in the darkness, but it was clearly a boy. His face was covered with a much simpler mask, one that covered his eyes and made them appear to be white, giving an impression of a raccoon. The man only saw the boy's face for a moment before the lad noticed he was being looked at and turned away.

"Robin." The man began in a gravely voice, like one who hadn't tasted water in days and reminded you of sandpaper. "We can leave any time you want to. We can head back and-"

"And what?" The boy called Robin muttered quietly, his voice was squeaky, like a mouse, and difficult to hear. "We can head back and what? Forget that this all ever happened? Ignore each other for the next two years?" With each question, however, Robin's voice grew stronger and louder, switching from a squeaky mouse to what may have sounded like a tough teenager voice.

"That wasn't what I meant." The man replied harshly. What little that was seen of Robin flinched at the voice. The man seemed to have noticed this and spoke a little softer now. "I meant that we could wait a while longer before jumping the gun on the others." The man walked over to the bed and sat down. He barely raised his arm, as if to wrap around Robin's shoulder, before he stopped himself and let his arm fall back onto the bed.

"But this was your idea."

"You should know by now that I can make some rash decisions sometimes."

Robin looked up at his companion, his eyes widening to the size of a barn owl. The older man looked down at the boy blankly, either unimpressed or not amused with Robin's look. When this continued for another minute, the man cleared his throat, making the boy blink with surprise, startled by the unexpected sound.

"Do you still want to do this?" The man asked Robin in that slightly softer voice.

"Yes."

"Yes what?" The man questioned in a tone that demanded complete obedience, unaware of the involuntary flinch coming from Robin.

"Yes sir." Robin gritted out, as if he was just being asked to eat a disgusting vegetable. "Am I supposed to just walk in there and say 'Hi, my name's Robin and I work with-"

"You wait for my signal, like we talked about." The man interjected. "And do you remember what the signal is?"

"Three beeps, then five, and then two more from my utility belt." Robin held up what appeared to be a wristwatch on his hand and mimed typing with his other hand, the code etched into his mind by heart. His next response implied uncertainty, almost as if there weren't anything else after the pre-mentioned signal. "And then I just waltz in there and-"

"Show no fear." The man stood up abruptly, his voice giving no room for argument. "We're already going to get into a lot of trouble by doing this, and we can't make it worse by having you come off as a spoiled brat."

"I never said I was spoiled!" Robin gaped in shock. "And who ever said that I was?"

"Just wait here and don't leave the room or give your position away, alright?" The man ignored Robin's indignant protests as he got up from the bed. Right as he was about to walk out of the room, he stopped and turned around. His tone suggested that his final words were more of an afterthought. "Oh, and in case you get bored, feel free to use the monitor. I've uploaded Stardust onto it and there's a controller behind the screen. Just press the center button on the controller to get the game set up. I...thought you might like it." And with that, the man walked out and closed the door behind him.

As Robin got off of the bed and started looking behind the monitor screen for the controller, all the while muttering. "Whatever you say...Batman."

This was going to be a long day.

Space. In a word, it can be defined as eternal. To Martian Manhunter, it could be defined as emptiness. He looked down at his emerald-green skin, his hands resembling those of humans except longer and thicker-looking. How long was it since he felt the warmth of his beloved's hands against his? Or from one of his darling children? As he looked out a window in the giant space station better known as the Watchtower, so many thoughts appear with each sight that the darkness of space holds. So many months have passed already, and yet the ache in J'onn J'onnz's heart had not lessened one bit.

He missed his family, his friends, his home. Never again could he hold his children in his arms, feel his beloved's lips against his, spend the rest of his days living a normal life outside of fighting. Now the Justice League was his life, his present and future. There was nothing for him to look forward to aside from combating threats upon the Earth that most people aren't able to handle. J'onn never enjoyed violence, he preferred to mend wounds instead of creating more. This was not what a medic should be doing, but Superman once told J'onn that the world wouldn't be willing to accept the poor man should he live among them. Despite the cheers that J'onn would hear from people as he flew above them like an angel, Superman made it look like that those who cheered were merely putting on an act.

It made sense as well from what J'onn had experienced firsthand. How younger children would be pulled away from him by their parents, hostility radiating off of them like heat. Older children would often mimic the actions of the adults around them, going so far as to start throwing rocks, glass, cans, and whatever else they could find.

He had once heard of a mirror from a conversation between a mother and her little girl as J'onn drifted in the dark of the night. He was outside their window when he heard the mother speak of it, how the mirror would show one's innermost desires to the one standing in front of it. The concept interested him, and so J'onn pressed his body against the brick wall of the building the mother and daughter were in, allowing his skin to become the same color as the stone he was pressing against.

The mirror was from a story, where a boy, an orphan, looked into it and saw his entire family standing before him. Someone explained to the orphan how the mirror could drive people mad from what they saw. Perhaps J'onn was one of those people. How he longed to find a mirror like that, not just his family but the rest of his brethren as well. But as J'onn J'onzz looked at what little reflection he saw in the clear glass, all he could see right now was his own reflection; his emerald-green skin, his ruby-red eyes that somehow radiated so much life - at least, according to one of the younger-if not the youngest-members, the Flash - and his blue cloak with a red X over his "bare" chest with what Batman calls "blue tighty whities that would make people blush," whatever that meant.

This was just one of those times where J'onn wished he had never left Mars, that he should have died in flames along with the rest of his people. He still woke up sometimes holding his family closely as the fire licked at their skin, burning them all alive.

Those were the good dreams.

"Are you alright?"

J'onn turned around to see the worried face of Diana, another member of the Justice League. Standing around five feet and nine inches tall, everything about her screamed perfection. Her breastplate had the crest of a pale gold eagle stretched across the front, and was mainly ruby-red. The lower part of her armor was blue and covered with white stars. And her golden tiara that adorned her head went well with the silky, dark hair that fell down her shoulders. Her skin was so olive, it was almost golden. And her eyes, those pale blue eyes that were so soft you could cry from joy. Then J'onn thought of My'ria'h and imagined his throat dry in order to prevent it from moistening further.

The silence was almost deafening when J'onn broke it, his eyes closed in an attempt to hide how hot his eyes had become. He just wanted to be alone right now, he didn't want the others to see his weakness.

"How long has it been since we've met one another?"

"Six months, three weeks, five days-" Diana paused for a moment. "And at least twelve hours. Why do you ask?"

"It often feels longer." J'onn sighed. "Sometimes...I wish I were no longer alive. My wife...my children. They're gone and I'm still living...it doesn't seem right. Why couldn't I have died alongside with them?" The mere mention of his family brought up unbidden memories. The sound of his beloved whispering in his ear felt too real, the firm pressure of his children against his arms couldn't be an illusion. Tears flowed from his closed eyes, hot streams staining his face until a gentle hand cut off the flow of sadness. It felt cool to the touch..."cool as cucumber?"...was that the phrase that Flash used last week?

"Don't say that, J'onn," Diana sounded so close to him right now, he felt his mouth beginning to water again. "Never dwell on the past, it does no good."

"I appreciate your concern Diana," J'onn turned away from the woman, unable to look at her properly. He swallowed, trying to rid his mouth of the excess saliva. "But this is something that you wouldn't-"

"Understand?" Diana cut the Martian off and walked into his line of sight to show a small glare, not a harsh one like Batman would, but a disappointed one nonetheless. J'onn felt his chest grow heavy with apprehension. Diana continued, "You are not the only outsider, J'onn. I was certain Superman reminded you of that. As did I."

That was true. Diana left the Amazon island of Themyscira around the same time J'onn was discovered on Earth. He didn't ask the princess about her home, it didn't seem right. Nor did she feel comfortable bringing it up at all during conversations unless it were to support the arguments she had with the mysterious Hawkgirl. And Superman wasn't known as the Last Son of Krypton for nothing. But J'onn was certain that the male hero never felt alone, he must have had parents on Earth that loved him dearly if the Man of Steel could act so positive most of the time.

"Forgive me, Diana." J'onn lowered his gaze. "I forgot."

"You're here for a reason," Diana continued gently. "Just remember, we're here for you, J'onn, no matter what."

The Amazon proceeded to take one of the Martian's hands and hold it with both of her own. That same coolness J'onn felt against his cheek spread through his fingers from the simple contact, making his hands less heated. He welcomed that feeling, it reminded him of home. J'onn responded by placing his other hand over Diana's, with a small smile barely covering his face, appreciating the kind gesture. But on the inside, J'onn feels that Diana in all of her wisdom and wonder-not a play on the name the media gave her a few months ago, Wonder Woman-would never understand J'onn's pain the way he understands it.

You're here for a reason. Hah. A darker corner within J'onn's mind wanted to throw Diana's comment back in her face in spite. She didn't watch her family die. She didn't watch her entire home go up in flames for centuries until something inside snapped and made her go to war with those parasitic monsters. She isn't the last of her kind, wasn't greeted by hostile humans who would capture and torture her for the sake of "science". He was the one who went through the darkest pains of Hell itself.

How he still curses the gods of Mars for whatever joke they are playing with him. What reason would it be aside to give J'onn witnesses to his failing sanity?

The sound of metal doors sliding open snapped J'onn out of his pessimistic thoughts. Without thinking, he withdrew his hands from Diana's, unable to understand his discomfort with other people seeing them like this. Entering the room was John Stewart, also known as Green Lantern, his usual attire of greens and blacks with a lantern-shaped symbol on his chest being covered by great amounts of chocolate syrup and ice chunks slowly dripping down his uniform. The chocolate-brown skin that wasn't covered with ice cream looked puce with rage from what J'onn could sense. It wasn't murderous, never like that for the most part, merely...irritated.

Behind him was Hawkgirl, the only other female on the team. Her name was rather literal, with a helmet that resembled the head of a hawk, with light red hair that curled down to her neck. Even her eyes bore the same golden color of hawks from what J'onn had seen of those creatures so far on Earth. A yellow sleeveless tunic with dark green leggings. What made her stand out the most was the large wings that stretched out on either side of her, and a mace the size of a short sword was tucked away in the belt on her hip.

In Hawkgirl's hands appeared to be a wide glass with a straw, and also didn't seem bothered by the melting ice cream in her hair and helmet. Last one behind them was Flash, dressed in a bright red suit similar to a body-suit with yellow lightning bolts on either side of his head and on the center of his chest, licking chocolate syrup from his fingers with delight. He always seemed to have a reason to smile, not even Batman frightened him that well.

On the outside at least. J'onn could always feel the fear radiating off of Flash in a similar fashion to those hostile to him. He never asked the man how he hid it so well to everyone else though. For some odd reason, he didn't even feel comfortable going in the young man's mind, even if it was to merely contact him via telepathy.

"I don't care how good your milkshakes are, Flash!" John barked with his head turned towards the Speedster, "If you forget to put the lid on the mixer again after pouring a carton full of ice cream in it, then you won't be just red. You'll be black and blue too!"

Flash didn't seem to be listening to the Marine. He merely gave a dramatic pose and spoke in a pathetic French accent, clearing using his 'I don't give a shit but I think this was funny" voice.

"Zat iz the price ve must pay for 'ur aut!"

"That wasn't art," John retorted to his companion while Hawkgirl snorted at Flash's retort. "That was disgusting and inconsiderate!"

"You're just upset that I dropped your frappe by accident. You should have seen the look on your face." Flash grinned widely as if recalling the Green Lantern's reaction at the time. "And if there's anyone who should be complaining right now, it's the woman who wields the electric mace."

"You're just lucky this tastes so good." Hawkgirl commented with a frown in-between sips, though her lips curved slightly in what J'onn suspects is supposed to be for Flash's eyes only. He never felt comfortable prying into Hawkgirl's mind either, taking her refusal to take off that helmet of hers as a sign of vulnerability.

"Having a little trouble in the kitchen?" Diana smirked at her messy colleagues.

John merely pointed at Flash for an answer. Hawkgirl simply kept on drinking her frappe with content. Flash blushed with embarrassment and continued licking the chocolate sauce off of his fingers. J'onn felt his lips curl ever so slightly at this. At least there were some perks to living on Earth. It was just one of those days where he thought those simple words.

"Did you make one for Batman?" Diana asked to no one in general. It was obviously not the case, Batman hardly showed up at the Watchtower to begin with...let alone, interact with the others save for Superman. J'onn knew that Diana hoped that the grim hero would actually begin to interact more frequently though small matters, even if he didn't open his mouth. She always seemed curious about Batman, radiating feelings J'onn felt too embarrassed to bring up. The irony was that Diana herself didn't understand what she was feeling, possibly because they were...unknown to her.

"I thought he wasn't here." Hawkgirl shrugged. "And if he was, he'd probably stay inside of that room of his with the doors closed."

"Weird." Flash frowned, pondering at those words. "The door was open and I heard voices in there and..." He stopped speaking altogether as the other heroes looked at him suspiciously. This did not look good. J'onn prayed that whatever they were about to hear wasn't that important.

"What voices?"

"I...dunno." Flash replied hopelessly, showing visible signs of discomfort from the intense attention that he was now receiving. J'onn felt a pang of sympathy for the man, the times that he acted absent-minded always seemed to have a negative backlash. "Different?"

Hawkgirl reached for her mace, John held up his right fist that wielded an emerald ring on the third finger, Diana's eyes darted as if expecting an attack while Flash simply shifted uncomfortably in his place. J'onn had to put his foot down before something was broken...again.

"Before anyone panics, let me check the security system." He replied calmly as he walked up to the main computer. "Batman could merely be communicating with someone back in Gotham."

"Like a Batwoman?" Flash suggested sarcastically.

"..."

"Sounded high-pitched to me..." The young man added pathetically .

Several moments passed tensely as J'onn's frown deepened and deepened as he looked through each of the cameras. He scanned each one, seeing no signs of any interference with them. Though none of them were even remotely close to the room that Batman always resided in...

"No security systems have been breached." J'onn concluded. "Though it would be best to start investigating Batman's room just in case. But proceed with-"

Before he even finished his sentence, a gust of wind blew over him as Flash dashed into the hallway.

"-caution." J'onn finished slowly.

"Let's go after him before he hurts himself," John's body was suddenly encased in a thin green aura as the ring on his hand glowed, lifting him several inches off of the ground. Hawkgirl flapped her large wings a few times before her feet also left the ground as well. Both comrades pressed their arms together and dove out of sight into the same hallway that the Flash dashed into.

"I'll call Superman on the way." Diana said as she too started floating in the air, though the way she held herself in the air was more angelic than the militaristic styles from John and Hawkgirl. Right before she flew out of the room, Diana called back. "You should call Batman first before catching up with us."

J'onn pressed his ear to activate his communicator, inwardly groaning at the task he would have to do. Of all of the people he had to deal with, Batman clearly avoided contact with everyone else for a reason. So any attempts to reach out to the man were met with very mixed results.

Mostly negative.

"Batman." J'onn kept his voice level, anticipating that hostile voice of his comrade's. "Where are you?"

"In the gym." Batman's gruff voice came in slightly disheveled, as if he were caught in a compromising position. An image of Diana came unbidden into J'onn's mind again, requiring great sense of will from the Martian to banish the thought. Why was he thinking about his friend all of a sudden? "What is it?"

J'onn sent a silent prayer to the gods to help him handle whatever reaction he was about to have with his grim colleague."We believe that there might be an intruder on board the Watchtower..."

Flash wasn't surprised when he reached the destination first, noticing that the door to Batman's room was still left ajar. Though the flashing lights and the sounds of explosions were new. This was a first for the young man; he never got close enough to even touch the door to Batman's room, let alone, see it. The Speedster was expecting to see Batman's computer doing some analy-whatever it did while the Caped Crusader was gone. When he entered, however, he was not expecting to see the computer screen showing a video game in use. Especially one that reminded him of a game he has on his Playstation 3. There was a ship that appeared to be circling a planet while destroying any asteroid or weird centipede-looking creatures.

Definitely a game he had on his PS3...

But the one thing that made Flash's eyes widen the most was a someone sitting sideways in Batman's chair. A groan came from the figure in the chair in the same high-pitched voice that the Speedster heard earlier. Was it a kid? If so, then how did a kid get in here?!

It was obviously a boy sitting there, completely oblivious to the hero that walked into the room. The combination of the dim lighting and the blaring screen made it almost impossible for Flash to see anything else.

"Come on, just one more ship." The boy muttered under his breath, frustration seeping from his voice. "No, no, don't hit me you stupid alien! Aww, come on! At least I got a new high score..."

Just then, Flash zoomed in front of the kid and snatched the controller out of his hand before he could react.

"Sorry. Game over, kid." the Flash teased. He got a good look of the intruder now; a black cape with a yellow underbelly was covering the boy's back, dark green gloves covered his hands, heavy-looking camo boots decorated his feet, dark-gray pants with a red tunic were also a part of the outfit, a domino mask concealed his eyes, and the strangest thing a part of the getup was a yellow R crest over the place where his heart would be. And he didn't look older than eight or nine. What was going on here?

The costumed boy blinked twice at Flash as if confused. Flash also stared at the boy, trying to see who would break contact first. For some odd reason, he felt like he was being probed by that boy's stare, like he were an animal choosing the best course of action to attack its prey.

"Was that a joke?" The boy finally asked. "Or were you thinking I'd give you a turn?" Right as he said this, the boy chuckled at his own little joke.

"That wasn't a joke." Flash kept his voice calm, not wishing to frighten the kid. He most certainly did want a turn, but not in the room of the most frightening man that he ever had the misfortune of knowing.

"If that's the case, then I got a good joke for you. Knock-knock."

Flash frowned. "This isn't the time for-"

"Knock. Knock." The boy repeated impatiently.

"Who's there?" Flash sighed.

"Interrupting hero." The boy replied with a growing grin on his face.

Flash was so annoyed that he didn't suspect a thing as he said. "Interrupting hero wh-?"

The boy snatched the controller out of the Speedster's grasp while he talked and continued playing his game as if the conversation never happened. Flash mentally kicked himself for walking into that joke. So much for being the fastest...

"Excuse me? I'm talking to you." Flash spoke louder this time but the boy continued ignoring him. He stepped in front of the screen. "You know who I am?"

"Blocking my view?"

"That's not what I was talk-"

"Flash, the least you could have done was wait for us before barging in here!" Flash turned around to see John in the doorway, his large frame blocking most of the light from coming in. He scowled at his younger colleague with frustration for several moments before turning his attention to the boy in Batman's chair, clearly directing his attention back at the screen once more. John's eyes widened, and he rubbed them for a few moments as if to ensure that he was seeing things properly. The shock must have still engulfed him, since the next words to come out of John's mouth were-

"What are you and who are you doing?"

The boy broke down into a fit of giggles at the comment, and even the Flash joined in despite himself. It was just too much for him at the moment. Not exactly the best question to be asking a kid. John blushed when he realized what he just said and glared at the Speedster now. "Oh grow up! You know what I meant!"

"Yeah." Flash smirked. "But maybe the kid doesn't know. Maybe you should have tried something more on the lines of-"

"So anyways, how's your sex life?" The boy piped in, his voice taking on an odd accent as he did this. John's right eyebrow twitched at the comment.

"Like that!" Flash broke down into further laughter before he felt a hard whack on the top of his head. Instinct lead to Flash rubbing his head, trying to ease the pain now residing.

"Don't encourage the kid!" John withdrew his hand before turning his attention to the boy again. But Flash had barely heard what John had said just now...he just suppressed any further laughter and tried to keep his eyes on the kid, who now had John slowly advancing on him.

"You're in big trouble, young man!" John growled he reached out to grab a hold of the boy. The boy slapped the hand away and jumped off the chair. The look of mirth was now replaced with a glare that Batman would have been jealous of.

"You're not the boss of me!" The boy snapped. John tried grabbing him again, but the boy ducked underneath the older man and threw a punch at him. John was sent flying several feet across the room, landing on his stomach. Flash stared with shock, already beginning to question if their unexpected guest had a death wish.

John groaned as he pulled himself off the ground before firing a green net from his ring, but the boy merely took off his cape and used the underbelly as a shield, neutralizing the green ring's powers. Flash felt a pang of sympathy for his older colleague, that ring of his was always neutralized by the color yellow. The boy pulled out a small metal rod that became a staff when he pressed a button on it and charged towards the Green Lantern before him. He twirled it like a baton before striking Green Lantern over the head with it, the blow being blocked by a green barrier that the Marine managed to produce out of his ring.

Flash lunged over and attempted to catch him, but the kid somehow dodged that too and countered with a strong kick to the stomach. Pain spread throughout Flash's torso, but he dealt with worse before. He merely smirked, trying his best to hide the pain. He refused to give someone the satisfaction of hurting him.

"Guess you aren't as weak as you look."

"Guess you aren't as fast as you look either." The boy remarked, a smirk spreading across his face as well. He then started to run out of the room, with the Flash and John trying to keep up. Flash assumed that with his speed, there would be no problem when it came to capturing. He was now finding his ideal outlook being challenged by some random kid dressed like a vigilante who seemed to have everything but the sink inside of that belt of his. Each time Flash or John got even remotely close, the boy merely threw small explosives and even marbles at them to trip them up.

Flash ended up falling victim to an unexpected spillage of marbles, his speed quickly becoming his downfall. He wasn't able to stop, the glass beads underneath him reduced traction and therefore, control. He prayed that he would quickly regain traction again only to see that the hallway they were all running in had a turn up ahead. A sharp turn.

Flash brought up his hands and started spinning in a circular manner, hoping that he could create enough wind to push him away from the oncoming wall. He found himself becoming disappointed when he realized that he was going too fast and merely brought his hands to his face in a useless effort to protect himself. As the wind was knocked out of him from the collision, Flash silently wondered how the others were going to handle the boy...

Robin struggled to hold down his giggles, he was that nervous and excited at the same time. He couldn't remember the last time he had this much fun from simply running. Well, running and throwing stuff at the people chasing him. It brought up good memories. The sound of a body colliding into a wall made Robin almost come to a complete halt. He wasn't trying to get someone that hurt; he was just bored. Maybe he should go back and check up on-

"Flash! You okay?"

"Give...a few seconds...I'll be alright..." The second voice, Flash's, sounded a little groggy at the moment. Robin felt his face grow warm with guilt, he didn't mean for that to happen...he should go back and apologize-

"When I get my hands on that kid, he's going to pay for this!"

Then again...maybe not...

Robin kept on running, picking up speed when he started to feel the Green Lantern's nostrils flare close by. A second sound followed close by, resembling the sound of a jet plane, confirming that the Flash had made true to recovering quickly. Didn't Batman say something about a fast healing rate? He reached into his utility belt when he saw a tall woman with wings fly in, Hawkgirl, followed by another woman that he was all too familiar with based on those images that he saw Batman looking at back at the cave during those times he managed to avoid being detected. Wonder Woman. Princess of the Amazons. And apparently just as pissed off as that Green Lantern.

Maybe that's her normal face?

Just as he saw that ferocious look upon the woman's face, Wonder Woman's expression started to falter. As if she was actually paying attention to who was standing right in front of her. Hawkgirl flapped her large wings out in front of her as she mimicked her companion's expression. For several moments, Robin could feel time slow down as both sides tried to stare the other one down. Or to be more precise, Robin was the one trying to stare down the two women who seemed to be looking through him.

"Don't let his size trick you! He's tougher than he looks!"

Robin looked over his shoulder to see the Green Lantern soaring in the air, his body shrouded by a green aura. As he turned around in preparation for a retreat, he noticed Hawkgirl swooping in with her mace raised. Or to be more precise, he saw Hawkgirl swooping in with her electrified mace raised, the electricity cackling brightly. Right as she was about to strike, Robin jumped and pushed off of the woman's shoulders with his hands to gain more momentum, and then rounded it off with a roundhouse kick. As Hawkgirl crumbled to the ground, Robin proceeded to dance around on one foot, now experiencing the hard way that the helmet on that woman's head was hard.

"I'm pretty sure John meant to stop him, not crush him." Flash's voice piped up now, his tone sounding a little like a teacher reprimanding a student for bad behavior.

Hawkgirl groaned. "If a former Marine says not to be deceived, I'm certain you're supposed to listen."

"He's a kid!"

Robin ducked underneath a punch that Wonder Woman threw at him, clearly not comprehending what Flash was trying to say or simply didn't care enough to listen. As he grabbed his opponent's wrist with one hand and delivered a perfect punch with the other, Robin tried to recall what those files Batman made him read said about Wonder Woman. Wasn't there somewhere on the file that stated that Wonder Woman was a little punch-happy? As he saw a thin, but sturdy looking arm intercept his blow briefly before a fist obscured his vision making Robin duck again, he made a mental note never to get on her bad side if they ever met again. Ever.

He back-flipped several times to give himself some distance, not taking note of the fact that Wonder Woman seemed to have stopped attacking altogether. Suddenly, he felt another presence, almost like there was a ghost in the room. Minus the visible breath part.

It felt like it was getting closer as the Green Lantern fired a thick beam made of the same green aura surrounding him towards Robin from the small ring attached to him. Recalling that yellow somehow counteracted the effects of the ring, Robin removed his cape and flipped it so that the yellow underbelly was facing the Green Lantern, acting as a makeshift shield. But instead of going for another angle, the Lantern man just seemed to continue pressing forward with his attack. As the eerie presence grew stronger, Robin realized what the source was and smiled.

"No offense, but the whole 'distracting the enemy while your friend does a sneak attack from behind' thing is not original. Nice try though, um...Martian Manhunter? Is that right?"

The green glow of the beam faded, allowing Robin to turn around just in time to see a tall, green figure materialize seemingly out of nowhere. Martian Manhunter. He probably didn't expect someone to detect him, judging the look on his face. That turned out to be a mistake however, when Robin took advantage of his dazed confusion to leap over the Martian and pushed off of the man, knocking him off balance as a result.

But before he could even run two steps, he felt something wind itself around his waist before tightening, pinning his arms together and making him lose his balance. Robin looked down to see what was binding him and noticed the thin, golden rope. He looked up to see Wonder Woman holding up the other end of the rope with a triumphant smirk on her face. She proceeded to walk over and use the rest of her simple rope to tie his hands behind his back and locked his ankles together for a good measure.

No matter, he could get out of these types of knots before, why should this be different? He tried to shift his weight, trying to find a place where the knot would be weaker around his torso. When that didn't work, he tried to get his hands from out behind him in the hopes of being able to work on his wrists more easily. Robin frowned. The rope was thin, but it just felt...tight.

No matter how hard he struggled against the bindings, he couldn't break free. A sense of panic washed over him. He shouldn't be stuck like this! He was supposed to know how to get out of every situation. He couldn't even reach for his utility belt that Wonder Woman was just so wise to leave on his person. As Robin squirmed ever more frantically at the rope binding him, he started to suspect that it was more out of confidence rather than carelessness.

"You can struggle all you want." His female captor leered down at him. "But I could use this lasso on Superman and he wouldn't be able to break free."

"You obviously haven't tried it out on him yet!" Robin threw back. No way in heck was she going to make those kind of assumptions about the strongest man in the world. Maybe even the universe. He was starting to look like an idiot now, Robin was now flopping like a fish out of water. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the others looking down at him. Pitying him. He must be looking pretty pathetic right now.

"Let me go!" Robin protested, his pride going out the window. Batman would be so disappointed right now.

"Thank you, Diana." Martian Manhunter nodded with approval. "Perhaps it would be best to ask this boy how he got here."

"Why don't we untie him a little first?" Flash suggested before a near unanimous stare down from the others seemed to have withered his opinion. Robin couldn't help but hear the man mumble. "He's just a little kid."

He didn't need sympathy...did he?

Green Lantern stepped forward. "So how should we do this then? Good Cop, Bad Cop? Direct Approach? Threaten to call his parents?" Robin could swear that he felt that last suggestion being thrown at him specifically.

"I think I might be able to help with this." Robin turned around in the direction of the voice. His struggling was all but forgotten as he made eye contact with the source. He knew that his heart was racing, he felt closed in from the combination of being tied up and having several people surrounding him. So many things that he wanted to say, but also unsure of how to express them without the others hearing. Eight months. That long since the two were in the same room together.

Dressed in complete blue with red tights around the groin. Jet-black hair with eyes so dark-blue, they resembled water. Robin fondly remembered a comment how his eyes looked so similar to his. His chest had a red and yellow symbol that resembled an S. Trailing behind him, besides the red cape of course, was a dark, billowing figure. Batman. Robin almost felt as if he were being plunged into a bucket of ice.

The man in blue knelt down to his level when he got close enough, ignoring Wonder Woman's look of confusion, and proceeded to begin untying Robin. The boy could sense that the man was being as gentle and quick as he could. He briefly gave Robin a simple look, a look of reassurance and to calm the heck down. Robin didn't care that other people were watching; the moment his bindings were off, he latched onto his savior like a lifeline. To his relief, the embrace was returned. It felt so good to see him again.

"Thanks Superman." Robin breathed quietly. Superman's response was to to ruffle the boy's hair, despite the returning grumbles coming out of the boy's mouth. Leave it to him to ruin a perfectly good moment.

Flash was the first to speak up, voicing the one thing that was on everyone's minds,

"Uh, Superman? Do you know this kid or something?"

"Even better." Superman smiled. "I know who's responsible for him."

"Why wasn't I informed of this earlier?"

The temperature seemed to have dropped by ten degrees. Or at least by Flash's perspective, that is. When Batman came closer, he felt a pang for the boy as he looked like he wanted to crawl under a rock, pressing his back against Superman for support- emotional or physical- who gently placed a hand on his shoulder. The boy seemed to have calmed down a little, as his face became blank.

Batman looked down at the young boy. "You were supposed to wait for my signal." Wait a second, Batman knew about this?!

"I was." the boy explained in a quiet voice, clearly uncomfortable with the taller man's presence. "But...I think the...door was...open."

The door? That was what started this whole mess in the first place, Flash realized with shock. Now it looked like the kid was going to pay for his mistake. Flash should have ignored that stupid door.

"And you're expecting me to blame you for a careless mistake on my part?" Batman questioned. The boy sighed with relief as he heard this.

"Is someone going to explain what's going on or do I have to make you start talking?" Hawkgirl raised her mace threateningly.

Batman turned to his confused colleagues while Superman and the boy shared a grin with one another. "This was meant to be a surprise. I'd like to introduce you all to Robin. He's my new partner...and my son."

Flash definitely wasn't in Kansas anymore...

This is a reboot to the original Dynamic story that I was working on last November. I'm actually glad I decided to redo this, since I've actually fixed a good bit so far in my opinion. I'll be updating the other chapters throughout the week, so don't worry about any delays, but feel free to make any suggestions on what I should add or take out if you are a reader of the original Dynamic story. I'll do my best to make Robin sound more like a kid and add more to his personality.

Please give Constructive Criticism in the reviews. I will do my best with this series and am also trying to write in the way they did in the "Justice League" cartoon, so I'm sorry if some of the dialogue didn't sound as good as you'd hope it would be. DC Animated Universe Forever! Happy Readings!