A/N So now we come to the end of this little story. I had fun writing it and I'm sure I'll be doing more writing in the future. But again, drawing is my priority, so I'll mostly stick to that. This chapter was interesting for me to write because I usually stick to action. But who doesn't love a bit of character development here and there?

Anyway, enjoy guys.

Chapter 6

The team filed into the bio ship after what seemed like hours of work, though it honestly hadn't been more than forty five minutes. They had found a few people still alive, mostly guards, which was something. But Conner was surprised to realize he was feeling tired, and not just physically. The events of the day just kept adding and adding one on top of the other until he was mentally wiped out. Conner was angry at himself for getting mad at his teammates. It was disappointing and frustrating that after all this time he was still having problems properly controlling his emotions. For a while he thought he was getting better, with the support of Black Canary, but after tonight he was starting to doubt that. Then there was the fact that everyone had gotten hurt tonight. Conner would of thought that he being, well, himself would have meant he could protect his friends. He could have taken the force of that building for Robin and Artemis. He could have been more careful when they had started with the distraction and noticed that the slight dizziness he had begun to feel was Kryptonite. He could have stopped all his friends from being caught if he had only kept a level head. Why did he keep doing this? Why did he keep letting himself and his friends down? The worst part was that he knew his anger was at least partially responsible and he didn't know what to do about it.

Sitting down, Conner just stared out the window contemplating the night's events for a few minutes before M'gann spoke up and broke the tense silence smothering the ship's occupants.

"I'm sorry." she said. And her voice sounded broken. He slowly dragged himself away from the ocean flying past under them and looked up at her. What did she mean she was sorry? Why should M'gann feel bad?

"For what M'gann?" Kaldur asked gently.

She sighed and looked over at Aqualad. "If I'd thought to read those guards' minds, maybe none of this would have happened." Conner was surprised to see her eyes shine with tears before she hung her head. "I keep forgetting important things like this because I'm so inexperienced and it ends up getting the team hurt. Happy Harbour, the training exercise, and now this..."

"Hey!" Wally said consolingly. "Don't blame yourself. None of us knew it was a trap. We're the ones who are experienced. We should have suggested it, but we didn't." He shuffled uneasily in his seat. "Besides, if there's anyone who should be blamed it's me."

Conner stiffened slightly at this. Wally was feeling guilty too? Why? He had helped to save them hadn't he?

M'gann sniffed and looked up at him. "Why you?" She asked. "You didn't do anything wrong."

Wally frowned and swiveled his chair back and fourth while looking down at his feet. "When you guys first got compromised, I ran ahead and showed myself to the guards despite Rob telling me not to. If I hadn't been hurt, I bet rescuing you guys would have been so much easier. I bet we would have been able to get you guys out so much faster. Conner wouldn't have been hurt as badly, you and Kaldur wouldn't have been exposed to that fire for as long, and Robin and Artemis..." He trailed off, now looking out the window like Conner had done earlier.

There was a slight pause where Conner could only marvel at his teams similar feelings before Kaldur spoke again.

"I must admit, I too feel guilty. As your leader, I should have been there to lead the team, but instead I was unconscious. I am disappointed in myself. But..."

He paused and everyone turned to face him, eager for some sort of advice. "Every mission will have failures. There will always be opportunities we did not take that in hindsight looked to be the better and wiser choice. It is easy for us to focus on these mistakes and regret our actions. But that will not help us to improve. Instead we need to learn from what we did wrong so that next time, we can do better. That way, we can turn our mistakes into advantages."

Wally sighed and leaned back in his chair. "I guess," he said. "But that's easier said then done."

Kaldur nodded. "True. But we must try. Otherwise our failures will keep hurting us long after they are meant to."

"You're right Aqualad." M'gann said softly. "Next time-" She looked up determinedly. "Next time I'll be ready."

Conner stared at her, surprised. How had she been able to accept Aqualad's words so easily? M'gann had been upset just a moment ago but she looked so resolute now. Leaning back, he thought about what their leader had said. Learn from your mistakes. Had he been learning from his? Not really. He just got angry when he made them, which led to more mistakes. When he thought about it, maybe his biggest fault of all was exactly that. Being unable to see what he did wrong. So then, what had he done wrong? He acted impulsively instead of thinking things through. Maybe if he trusted his friends and listened to their ideas before rushing in, things like this would happen less. But the issue was that he didn't know if he could trust himself to be patient. He wanted to be able to. But how?

"I feel stupid," he admitted to the room at large. "Sometimes when we're in the field, it's like..." He trailed off, not knowing what to say or how to say it. Admitting things to Black Canary was hard enough. But talking openly with his team was even more difficult. "It's like I don't know how to control my own anger. I let it get ahead of me. Black Canary told me to channel it. And I've been trying. But sometimes when things get out of hand, I just... can't."

Admitting this almost made him feel ashamed, and he glanced over his shoulder to see how the others were taking it. But to his surprise, they didn't look taken aback by his confession at all. M'gann appeared a bit impressed, Wally uncharacteristically somber, and Kaldur understanding.

"Conner," Aqualad said, leaning forward slightly and resting his chin in his hand, "you have always had problems with anger, which is unsurprising considering your past."

Conner folded his arms across his chest and looked away as Aqualad continued.

"But mere months ago, you didn't even acknowledge your anger as a problem. You were unable to see how it affected the others on this team. The fact that your are struggling with this says a lot about how far you have come in such a short amount of time."

Conner didn't move, but inside he felt his heart lift. Did Kaldur really mean that? He had never thought about it that way before. Had he really been making progress? If his team was able to see it then it had to be true. Right?

"Thanks Kaldur." He said quietly, relaxing his posture a bit. "And I'm sorry guys. For tonight."

Wally laughed weakly. "You too huh? Dude, you were exposed to your one and only weakness and had the living daylight beaten out of you when you were down. And you think this was your fault?"

Conner felt slightly taken aback. "Well, yeah," he said hesitantly.

Wally shook his head. "Jeez, there's something wrong with all of us."

M'gann giggled. "Thanks for being such a great team guys." She said as she turned the ship inland. And Conner couldn't help but agree. He knew he had a lot of learning ahead of him, but with these guys who were willing to forgive and encourage, maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

It took every once of self control to remain the master of his emotions as Batman waited for the rest of the Justice League to arrive. It couldn't have been more then twenty minutes before Superman had returned from taking both Artemis and Robin to the cave for medical treatment. Dr Leslie Thompkins -Dick's physician- would be there. He had called, asking her to be at the cave on standby immediately after receiving the distress signal from Kid Flash. Red Tornado and Black Canary would be there as well. Both had extensive training in medical procedures. He knew his son was in good hands, but god, he needed to be there himself. He needed to know he was okay in person. But there was work to be done, and it was vital he set a proper example to the team. Not to mention there was no way of getting off this island without Superman other then the Martian Bioship. And that wasn't really an option. Not while there were lives to save. So he had crushed his emotions down like he always did and helped Superboy and Miss Martian to locate more survivors. He knew there was nothing he could do for Dick now, but that didn't stop every fiber of him from longing to be with his son.

They had found three more people before Green Lantern arrived. Two guards and a scientist. Not long after that Hawkman and Captain Marvel flew in to assist, and by that point, Batman dismissed the team and told them to go back to the Cave for medical treatment. They were good kids really, and they had worked hard despite the injuries they had sustained. Batman had seen the blood on Conner's shirt, the way Miss Martian struggled to lift large object with her powers and how she walked instead of flew, the obviously untreated wound on Wally's leg which he had ordered the boy to tend to once they had finished helping Artemis. But none of them looked to be in too bad of a condition to keep working. It had been between their comfort and peoples lives. Batman had made the right choice, even if it had been the more unpleasant of the two. It was a bit strange to remind the team to keep moving. Robin often worked through far more extensive injuries then most of the team had suffered tonight. It was something Bruce had been trying to discourage for years.

Still, it was time to go home. The rest of the League could handle cleanup.

So now Batman stood alone, looking up as the Batwing alighted almost noiselessly on the island. He had stayed and helped the team work, helped administer first aid to the wounded, helped pull rubble from the many who had lost their lives in the explosion. Now he was ready to see his son. He needed to know that Dick was okay.

Batman turned on his communicator. "Superman?"

Clark was beside him in a matter of seconds.

"You've seen the kinds of weapons that were stored here correct?"

"Of course." Superman's face was serious. "Looks like the ones the league has been tracking for months."

Batman nodded. "Kid Flash told me the scientist we found earlier seemed to be at least partially in charge. I would question him myself, but..."

Clark put a comforting hand on Batman's shoulder. "Say no more my friend. Me and the others will figure out exactly what was going on here, and why the team's mission went so off course. Leave it to me. Right now. your boy needs you most."

Batman nodded, grateful, before striding towards his plane. He could almost feel the Dark Knight's detached demeanor melting off him to be replaced by Bruce Wayne's frantic worry for his child. Hold on Dick, he thought. I'm coming.

If Dick had a dollar for every time he woke up in a white, sterile room smelling of alcohol to find himself in considerable pain with no idea of how he'd gotten there, he might be richer then Bruce Wayne.

First he heard the rhythmic beeping of the heart monitor reading his pulse, the repetitive sound was almost comforting. Next there was the nearly complete silence of the background, but for the snippets of movement from somewhere far off. People in other rooms going about their business. Then there was the light scuffle of blankets being moved when he tried to adjust himself into a slightly more comfortable position. And if he were lucky, he would hear...

"Hey kiddo."

Dick blinked several times, waiting for the stark white of the florescent lighting to be accepted by his retinas. Then he looked around at his surroundings. Not in the Batcave or a hospital, but Mount Justice. Huh, never woken up here before. But he had already memorized the look of the place. The high tech medical machinery and neatly polished surfaces would almost be like the Batcave if the walls here were a stony grey instead of blinding white.

And then Dick looked over to see Bruce. Yup, there he was, sitting on a chair next to his bed with his cowl pushed back and looking like crap. Stubble adorned his chin and his eyes seemed almost purple due to lack of any proper rest. Dick always wondered about that. Yeah he was sure his guardian was worried and all, but it had to be boring sitting around and waiting for him to regain consciousness all the time. Why didn't he sleep while he waited? Dick would be fine waking Bruce up when he himself regained consciousness. But it didn't matter how serious the injury was. If Bruce was there, he would make himself suffer due to mental self torture and sleep deprivation.

"You know, you don't look so good." Dick said, his voice raspy. "Maybe you should lay down too."

Bruce smiled. "I'll be fine. It's yourself that you should be worried about."

"Bruce." Dick began pointedly. "One of these days you're going to be fighting one of the bad guys and just collapse from exhaustion. And I'll have to save your butt."

Bruce shook his head slowly, though he was still grinning "Come on, you know Alfred keeps me in better shape then that." He paused, looking at Dick intensely. "How you feeling buddy."

His shoulder definitely hurt, but the pain was easily manageable. He was probably on something for it. Looking around, he spotted a plastic cup filled with water on a small tablet next to his bed. "Like I could use some of that." It was weird how waking up in one of these rooms was usually accompanied by a sore throat. If it was really sore, it meant that Dick had been intubated. But his throat didn't feel that bad right now, so maybe it was simply a bit dry.

Bruce acted immediately, grabbing the cup and holding the small clear straw sticking from it to Dick's mouth. He drank thirstily. Well, he wasn't thirsty per se. An IV drip next to his bed told him he was surely getting more then enough fluids, but the water felt nice going down. He was still enjoying his drink when Bruce took the cup away, to his very great annoyance.

"Easy there." Bruce said. "You've been heavily sedated for quite some time."

Dick scowled. He never in all his thirteen years got sick from medicine. Alfred had learned this long ago and usually gave him things to eat an hour or so after coming out of general anesthesia. Basic food like toast and sliced fruit, but food all the same. Jeez, all this thinking about food was making him a bit hungry.

Bruce was staring at him funny now and Dick looked up at him. "Sorry." He said sheepishly. "Just thinking."

Sighing, Bruce sat back in his chair and folded his arms. "Do you remember why you're here."

Dick started. He had been day dreaming about food, not the incident that got him here. "Uh..." He said thinking hard, and images started swimming in his mind. He couldn't put them together though, so he decided to try to piece together the days events from beginning to end. School, the manor, homework, and then the Cave. Yeah, they had been deployed on a covert mission to investigate an alleged illegal drug operation. And now Dick was remembering things really fast. Being ambushed. His friends getting captured and Wally being an idiot and getting injured. Finding out about the illegal weapons, rescuing his friends, and then...

Robin looked up at Bruce. "Please don't tell me a building really fell on me."

Bruce crooked an eye brow but didn't deny it.

Dick sighed. He must have been on some serious pain medication for him not to be feeling those kinds of injuries. He quickly moved his fingers and toes. They all worked. Huh, nothing badly broken then. That was cool. Meant a fast recovery time. Probably. He wondered how his shoulder was doing, but wasn't quite ready to ask about that yet.

"How are Wally and Artemis and everyone doing?" Dick asked. "Shouldn't Artemis be here in the medbay?"

"Artemis's leg required special treatment from a Orthopedist." Bruce said while rubbing his eyes tiredly. "She's in the hospital recovering. "Kid Flash was lucky. The bullet to his leg wasn't deep, and his body's rapid healing process had stopped any major bleeding before it become an issue. Dr. Thompkins treated it here in the cave. He has orders to stay off it for two weeks, but I've already seen him trying to use the leg."

Dick smiled. Typical Wally.

"As for Superboy, once his exposure to the Kryptonite was stopped, he recovered quickly. He had a few fractured bones, but they had already started healing by the time anyone could look at them. And Dr Thompkins is confident there will be no complications from the incident."

Dick nodded, unsurprised. What else could he expect with Conner being Kryptonian and all. Still, he wished he could heal that fast.

"Miss Martian," Bruce continued, "is fine. Again, once her exposure to dangerous levels of heat was dealt with, she began to recover nicely. Same with Aqualad, though he was given extra fluids and monitored for a few hours to be safe."

"Wow." Robin said. Relief for his friends making him feel a bit faint. "And... how about me?"

Bruce's expression darkened further, and he clasped his hands in front of his face as he leaned forward. "Do you remember being trapped under the building?" He asked.

"Not-" Dick began, then stopped himself. "Well, a little. I remember talking with Artemis a bit. But not too much after that."

Closing his eyes, Bruce waited a few seconds before speaking. "I'm surprised you recall as much as you do. You went in to hypovolemic shock."

Dick stared at his mentor. The news kinda struck him dumb and he wasn't sure how to take it. "I lost that much blood?"

Bruce nodded.

"From what?"

"You had been impaled by a metal support beam. Luckily it was kept in place while you were trapped or you would have hemorrhaged to death. As it was..." Bruce paused again and Dick could swear he could see the man shiver. "It was a close thing."

Was it weird that Dick felt worse about how much it bothered Bruce to see him hurt them he was bothered by actually being hurt?

"Wow." He said lightly, trying to break the mood. "We really got the smackdown on this mission huh?"

Bruce finally looked up at him again before straightening in his seat.

"Considering what you were up against, I would say you adapted to the situation quite well."

How you adjust to the unforeseen is what determines success. Hadn't Batman told the team that not too long ago?

"What do you mean considering what we were up against?" Dick asked, fiddling with the tape on his left arm holding his IV in place. "Were you able to figure out why we were ambushed?"

"Yes." Bruce said, and there was anger in his voice now.

Okay, this would be good. Wanting to sit up, Dick started to push forward with his arms. That was a big mistake. His left shoulder suddenly erupted in agony and he froze with the sudden onslaught of pain, his breathing hitching. Bruce was standing over him in seconds, concern written all over the man's face.

"I'm fine Bruce!" He gasped, laying still and waiting for the pain to subside. It did, slowly. The agonizing nervy ache started to diminish into the dull throb he had woken up with. "It's just my shoulder didn't hurt that bad, so I thought moving would be okay."

Bruce sighed and reached down to prop up Dick's pillows for him before gently slipping a hand under his back and sliding him up onto them. Dick appreciated it. Laying down and talking to someone was annoying, to say the least.

"Dick, didn't I just say you were heavily sedated. You're on some serious pain medication right now. But just because you can't feel the full effects of your injury doesn't mean they're not there."

Nodding, Dick fidgeted a bit more to get comfortable in his new position, being exceptionally careful not to jostling his shoulder. "Yeah, sorry. That definitely wasn't intentional." His shoulder was still throbbing painfully as Bruce nodded before slowly sitting back in his chair.

"So?" Dick pressed. He way overstood why their mission had gone so catastrophically wrong. "Why were we ambushed on the island and everything?"

Bruce scowled. "We don't know all the details yet. The Justice League is still putting the pieces together."

Dick rolled his eyes. Bruce was such a good detective he already know a lot of what was happening. He was just being cautious.

"From what we have gathered, the Justice League weren't the only ones not wanting those weapons to get into public hands."

"Really?" Dick cocked his head. "But who else would be concerned with something like that?"

"We're not completely sure yet." Bruce said slowly. "But Sportsmaster and Wotan seemed to be under different orders than the rest, based on what Kid Flash and Superboy have told us. From what we can understand, they infiltrated the facility before hand. And I'm willing to bet they were the ones who tipped the Justice League of criminal activity on the island."

"Okay." Dick said, turning this new information over in his mind. "So they were like spies. But if they wanted the operation shut down, why not just do it themselves? Why lie about what was really going on there?"

"For a few reasons, one of them being the team." Bruce said darkly. "If we had been told of the kind of weapons being kept there, we would have never sent you on that mission."

"We could have handled it if we knew what we were up against." Dick said quickly. Bruce smiled at him.

"That's not the issue Dick. The kind of power those types of weapons contain would be devastating if they made it into circulation. The League has been tracking their development and has wanted them out of commission for a long time. The nature of the mission would normally call for a full League operation."

"Okay." Dick said slowly. "That's the League. But why would Sportsmaster and Wotan have wanted us there?"

"Think Dick." Bruce said, though not unkindly. "By luring you to the island instead of the Justice league, Sportsmaster and Wotan could take the team off guard if they played their cards right, and possibly obtain information that would be useful to whoever they were working for."

"But how would they convince the people actually developing the weapons to go along with that?" Robin asked.

"After talking with Kid Flash, I have a pretty good idea." Said Bruce. "They were told they could use you and the others on the team as collateral to keep the League away from their operations."

Right, Dick remembered that now. He snorted. "All that would really do is get the League's attention and make them mad."

"Both of which they accomplished." Bruce agreed.

"So." Dick said, piecing the events together. "That's why Sportsmaster decided to blow up the base once we showed up to free M'gann and Conner and Aqualad. He knew he wouldn't be able to get much more information from anyone once we rescued the others, so he took the information he got and blew up the facility like he was supposed to."

"Exactly." Bruce said. "Though, you got one part wrong."

Dick frowned at his mentor. "What?"

"Sportsmaster wasn't able to get any information. Despite interrogating the team using less than human methods, they refused to tell him anything about the League or the team."

Was Dick actually hearing a hint of pride in Bruce's voice?

"We can take care of ourselves." Dick said proudly.

"Yes." Bruce said. "You all got out safe despite the trap laid for you, so I'd say that's correct."

They both lapsed into thoughtful silence then, the heart monitor the only sound echoing through the otherwise quiet room. Dick's brain was working hard now. It was Batman's affinity for solving crimes rubbing off on him.

"Bruce." He said as he riffled through his thoughts.

"Hmm?"

"Who is Sportsmaster working for? He's shown up a lot lately. I mean, at first I thought he was just taking odd jobs like most lowlifes. But like you said, he had an agenda this time, just like he did all the times we've run into him before this. Whenever weird stuff's been happening he's there."

Bruce ran a hand through his hair while he looked at Dick, though the man's eyes were deep in concentration.

"I agree." He said. "Something's been going on that Sportsmaster is involved in. He seems to be wherever new forms of weapons are created. I wouldn't be surprised if he stole the blueprints of the weapons being developed at the facility on the island before blowing it up. That's another reason for why he could have been there."

Dick nodded in agreement. "He got the Venom from Kobra right? And his daughter Cheshire was there when the nanobots were stolen. It's like he's collecting weapons."

"Exactly." Bruce looked more tired then ever as he leaned forwards again. "This is going to need a lot more investigation Dick. But that's enough detective work for today. I think it's time you get a bit more rest. There will be time to deal with Sportsmaster and whatever the man's planning when you're better. But for now, your priority should be healing."

Dick's brain was still moving a mile a minute as he thought about all the pieces. Sportsmaster, hybrid weapons, venom, nanobots, increased criminal activity, and a possible organization controlling it all from the shadows. He wanted to dive right in and figure out what was going on. He didn't want to sit here in a stupid hospital bed and wait for his body to heal.

"How long will I be out of commission?" He asked Bruce suddenly.

His guardian scratched his chin. "Leslie's not entirely sure yet. Though your injury to the shoulder was initially serious, your lucky in that it should heal fairly fast."

"Perfect." Dick said happily, already reveling in the kind of challenge this case was posing.

"With the proper rest." Bruce cautioned, his voice suddenly stern. "Your shoulder isn't the only thing in need of recovery."

"Concussion?" Dick asked. He had suspected one after all, what with the dizziness and so on.

"Yes." Bruce said looking unhappy. "Along with some serious bruising and lacerations. It's amazing nothing was broken."

Dick shrugged his good shoulder. "Guess the good guys do get a break every once in a while." He grinned. "Or in my case, I didn't get a break, did I?"

Bruce's sigh was long suffering and he was just about to answer when there was a loud knock on the main doors to the med bay, which had been tightly shut their entire conversation. Not surprising as Bruce had his cowl down and Dick's face was uncovered.

"Not again." Bruce muttered.

"What?" Dick asked curiously. "Who is it?" He paused, his grin growing wider. "It's totally Wally isn't it?"

Bruce groaned in acknowledgment while pulling his cowl over his face. "He's been at it every few hours since early yesterday."

Dick blinked. "Yesterday?" How long had he been out exactly?

There was another fast knock on the door, followed by an all to familiar voice. "Come on! Conner said he thought he could hear Dick talking! I promise I won't mess with the X Ray machine again!"

Dick chuckled at that last bit while looking over at his mentor. Bruce was frowning as he began walking over to the door.

"Batman." Dick said quietly. The one word asking if his friends could come in to see him.

"You need your rest Robin." Batman said firmly as Dick stuck the mask resting on his side table to his face.

"But the last time I saw them was when they were all hurt and stuff. I promise I'll rest after I see them. Please?"

Batman stood staring at him for a few seconds before sighing. "Twenty minutes." He conceded.

"Yes!" Dick said, beaming at him.

Batman stepped forward and opened the door softly, but didn't immediately move out of Wally's path.

"Kid Flash." He addressed the teenager with a bit of steel in his voice.

Robin could imagine his friend fidgeting and guessed he had actually moved back a step or two if the click of crutches on the tile floor was any indicator.

"Uh, hey Batman." He said nervously. "I wasn't trying to, uh, disturb you or anything. We just wanted to see Rob."

We? Dick tried to see past Bruce but the man's broad figure took up the majority of the door.

"Twenty minutes." Batman said. "And absolutely no roughhousing."

"We understand. And we didn't mean to intrude, we merely wish to see with our own eyes that Robin is recovering well." Okay, that was definitely Kaldur's voice. Dick tried to push himself up slightly to see over Batman's shoulder from his position, but that made his own shoulder twinge. He hissed and Batman looked back, but he had already rearranged his face into a neutral calm. He was such a ninja.

"We'll be careful." M'gann said softly. "We promise."

Batman nodded before making his way through the door. And then suddenly, the whole team was there. Wally bouncing up and down on one leg, M'gann floating and carrying a tray of delicious smelling cookies, Conner, his face more relief then scowl, and Kaldur, walking to stand next to Robin and smiling at him.

"Rob!" Wally burst out the moment he laid eyes on his friend. "Dude we haven't seen you in forever!"

Robin rolled his eyes in a sort of 'I couldn't help it' kind of way before fist bumping his best friend. "How's your leg?"

Wally held it slightly off the ground to show off the cast already complete with signatures. "Doesn't even hurt any more. Already healing like crazy because I'm so awesome."

"Right." Robin snorted, turning to the others. "Hey Kaldur, M'gann, Conner, you guys look a lot better."

"Thanks Robin." M'gann said, offering him a cookie which he took all too readily. If Batman hadn't told her not to bring them then he couldn't have wanted Robin not to have one. Yeah, that reasoning was good enough.

"Yeah." Superboy smiled faintly. "Definitely feeling the aster."

"You too, look much better then the last time we saw you." Kaldur added.

"Yeah?" Robin asked as he bit into the chocolatey goodness that was his first morsel of food in what sounded like days. "I actually feel pretty good right now all things considered."

Wally started slightly. "Oh dude, before I forget, I've been meaning to give this back by the way." And he threw something he had been holding onto Robin's lap.

Looking down, Robin recognized the bright yellow colour and rough fabric of his utility belt immediately. "Nice!" He said, looking up and grinning. "Thanks bro! Where'd you find it?"

Wally raised an eyebrow. "In an evil science lab made to develop weapons of destruction guarded by a bald assassin of doom."

Robin rolled his eyes before turning back to Kaldur. "Any word on Artemis?"

"Some." Kaldur said. "We have received word that Artemis is recovering nicely and is wanting to finish her recovery here at the cave. Hopefully we will see her back before long."

"Wish we could just go see her now." Wally added. "But the Justice League is keeping it a secret as usual."

Robin looked around at the others annoyed expressions and could sympathize with his friends. But as the team didn't know Artemis's true identity, he knew seeing her was pretty much out of the question.

"Aw come on Wally." He said happily. "You two would just end up fighting and both pulling your stitches or something."

"Hey!" Wally said, jumping up from the chair he had been sitting in and banging his bad leg on Robin's bed. Dick couldn't help laughing with his friends as he jumped around.

"Point proven." He said amused, as Wally glared at him. "So did you guys hear about what happened on the island? Apparently they wanted to use us as collateral against the League and had a set up and everything and we still came out on top."

Conner raised a solitary eyebrow.

Dick got the point. "Uh, relatively so." He corrected himself.

Wally snorted as he sat back down.

"Okay fine!" Dick said. "But we technically foiled their plan. So that means we won."

"That we did." Kaldur said nodding. "The mission was, when it all comes down to it, a success, as far as stopping their illegal operation. That is what we are here to do after all. Stop crime and save lives."

The others nodded.

"Something still bothers me though." Conner said. "You said sportsmaster was the one to blow up the buildings, right? So who was he working for? If not the weapons dealers?"

"Yeah," said Robin, sinking further into his sea of pillows. "Me and Bats were just talking about that. Sportsmaster seems to be getting around a lot lately."

"Well," M'gann interjected. "We are usually there to stop him before something too bad can happen."

"Good point babe." Wally said as he put his hands casually behind his head. "As long as we're here, he's gonna be miserable, along with anyone he's working for."

Robin smiled at his teammates, his heart light. Yeah, maybe they had all gotten their butts kicked in their last mission, but it seemed it had in general brought the team closer.

"At the very least," he said, "whatever Sportsmaster has planned? We'll be there to stop him. Together."

The others smiles clearly said they agreed wholeheartedly.

And for the second time since forming themselves into Young Justice, Robin found himself thinking that this team thing might just work out.