I know, this is a very LONG chapter. I want to thank all my readers and followers for the over 18,000 hits in just over 2 years. That might not seem like much to some people, but its a lot more for me. Several I want to thank by name: Brett, Dante... and especially Superboy. I love you all (Superboy especially). But if you love this, do not worry. More is coming very soon in a new series. I would appreciate reviews if you would like to take the time.

Timothy Drake leaned over the broad table of the conference room in Mount Justice perusing the stacks of printed files of the next step in the Team mission. His thin, lean and well-defined physique was only marred by the weary slump of his shoulders and the grey shadow around his eyes from exhaustion. Every so often he would read a line in a file that would lead him to a reference in another, then pound his fist on the table when it didn't lead to a conclusion. He had been working himself too hard for far too long and with too little rest. But Kon came in with a broad plate with a thick sandwich giving off the aroma of corned beef and a big glass of iced tea.

It would have been a beautiful thing to see Kon stride in at that moment, had anyone seen it. As he brought food and drink to his husband there was no hint of pity in his eyes. Kon couldn't love someone worthy of abject pity nor could Tim love someone who viewed him as such. Kon strode in strong and set the sandwich on the table with the drink.

"Tim… take a break and eat."

"In a minute. I just need to find the link between these two and we can finish rooting out the rest of this damned disease." Red Robin said without looking up.

"That wasn't a request. Sit down and eat and take a break." Kon said and he shoved the files aside and moved the plate toward Tim as he gently but firmly pushed him into a chair. There was no pity there. It was a moving moment that no one would ever see. Kon was like an Army medic, some of the most courageous of all men. He gave respect and kindness and showed strength in the same moment. It was young men such as those who often turned the tide of history, either by action or example.

But while Superboy worried over Red Robin, a pair of amber eyes peeked in from the shadows and took a single chance and did what should not be possible. Speed always left a vortex of wind behind him… but the last months of battle had taught him new dimensions of his power and he moved within the Speed-force and was able to "tip-toe" to the table's edge, read the files on the surface of the conference table, and leave without ruffling a feather. His red boots carried him off to the room that he shared with a certain young Hispanic lad.

Red Robin took another bite of his sandwich, forcing himself to not look toward the door to the room and asked:

"Did he get it?"

"Yeah. I'm not nearly as fast as him… no one is. But I saw him." Superboy answered.

"I hate doing it this way, Kon. It's too much like manipulating."

"Tim, you know as well as I do that if we set them on a mission that they will excel at it, but if they do something they think of themselves then they will go beyond what we think they are capable of. They will think outside the box."

"Still…it seems like mistrust or lack of confidence, but it's because I respect their abilities that I came up with this."

"Honey, you are letting them do what they are capable of. Didn't you gripe about Batman holding you back when you were younger?"

"Yeah, but Kon… these guys are…" Tim says as his voice breaks slightly.

"No Tim, they aren't our kids." Kon says softly. "They are like little brothers to us, but we have to trust them. They've both proven themselves time and again. I shouldn't have to tell you that."

"Yeah, you are right as always. I don't know how I got along before I met you."

"Neither do I." Kon said and gave Tim a kiss on the forehead as the red-clad vigilante slid another file from under the stack and both their eyes narrowed in concern at the pages from Superman's computer from Suicide Slum mission long ago.

"I just hope they keep their wits about them." Kon said as they both looked at the name on the file.

"Well?" Jamie asked as Bart skidded to a stop and dropped onto his butt next to his boyfriend in front of the television.

"You were right. He's trying to find Bane."

"So, clearing up all the loose ends from the fear-drug Warworld thing?"

"Yeah, aren't we all?" The auburn-haired speedster exclaims.

"Of course, just confirming. So… let's go find the bendejo."

"That easy, you think? Tim's been trying to figure it out for weeks."

"Remember, I'm from El Paso and he had almost had us so he must have a solid network there. But I know the streets and the pushers. He might have lost his supply of Fear drug, but you can be sure he's pushing other stuff. So let's go skateboarding again, okay hermano?"

Bart's sense of caution, never fully developed, entirely disappeared as they ran to their room, slipped on their Converse shoes, and headed out to El Paso, Texas with their skateboards.

Bart and Jamie made their way to the skate-park near Railroad Avenue in El Paso. They were both dressed in their very non-heroic skinny jeans and hoodies that gave away nothing of their real selves. Jamie looked like a dark-haired emo-boy, and Bart simply looked like he was…well, you know… all that. Subtlety was never a speedster's strongest point. But as they rolled into the park, a bigger (and uglier) guy with an obviously newly-healed broken nose shoved his way past his friends to face the two newcomers.

"Back in the barrio, Jamie? Didn't work out on the other side asshole?" Jamie looked up at the jerk, who was almost a head taller than him and just smirked.

Bart had had enough of that, knowing the hell Jamie went through to come back to his humanity and become the hero that was within his heart. He stepped up in front of the thug, flaunting his sometimes effeminate looking form and wild auburn hair, and stared him in the eye.

"Who the fuck are you, maricon?" The thug says as he raised his chin and puffed his chest.

"I'm the fucking squirrel-boy, asshole." Bart responded in very unusual but simple, quiet rage. In a rush of speed… but not too fast… Bart launched himself into a forward kick into his chest and then planted an elbow into his nose before he hit the ground. The thug's re-broken nose, and now a couple of ribs, would be a long time healing, as would his dignity. It seemed it was becoming a habit for the street-rat. Jamie never knew until now that Tim had told Bart about the first incident when they tried to find a forlorn young guy from El Paso and save him from a symbiote, only to be insulted along with those he loved. But Bart finally had his chance to stand up for Jamie; and damn it felt good. His two compatriots looked down on him bleeding on the concrete for the last time.

"That's twice now that some little 'faggot' has kicked your butt. Maybe now you'll learn something. I suggest you find somewhere else to skate." Bart said standing over the thug.

"He's right, that's twice now." One of his former friends said. "You act like an ass and get put down for it. We're done with you." And with looks of disgust they walk off. Jamie just stood there with a look of surprise at the way Bart stood up for him and simple decency.

Truth be told, Bart didn't skate worth a damn, but he was so fast that he could recover from any spill or any mistake before anyone noticed. Jamie was simple a really good skater. But that was the miracle of the whole Team… Jamie could skate well, Tim could force himself to learn enough and exercise agility enough to look good in a short time, Bart could fake it with speed, and Kon would just break the board and wonder what the point was. But together their skill, agility, speed, or strength was more than enough, as it had become in all things in their lives. They always managed to pool their strengths and augment each other's weaknesses. But sometimes, you simply had to make a point, and Bart had made his.

After a couple hours in the skate park (and both of the guys looking over their shoulder to the warehouse where long before they had tried to steal a kiss and Bane found them) nothing happened and they decided on a late lunch, the speedster especially. They walked to the other side of Railroad Avenue to a taco truck that Jamie knew to be a good one and they bought their lunch. While eating Jamie noticed the owner of the truck drop his awning, lock the door, and start to drive off… in a really big hurry.

"I think they finally noticed, hermano." Jamie whispered to his fast and skinny lover.

"Do they know who we are?" Bart whispered.

"No one is shooting yet, so… probably no."

"Too bad. I'm still mad from the other guy."

"Hey baby-bird… you've been working too hard and not eating enough." Nightwing says to his adopted little brother.

"Kon brought me a sandwich about an hour ago, Dick." Tim responds deadpan.

"Maybe so, but look at you. You're losing weight… skinny as a rail. Come 'on, Wally brought you something."

Red Robin and Superboy are still worried about what Impulse and Blue Beetle are up to when Kid Flash strides up to the table and sets a carry-out bag in front of the young vigilante.

"You have got to be kidding me!" Tim exclaims when he sees the name on the bag.

"No, really, it's perfect for you."

"Wally… you're a weirdo."

"Yeah, but your kind of weirdo." And Kid Flash gives his oldest and best friend a kiss on the cheek. Tim opens the bag and pulls out the hamburger Wally brought from a burger restaurant down the street… "Red Robin." Red Robin burgers were known to be the best, but Wally had to make a joke of it. But Tim had to admit, it was damned good, while Kon stood to the side holding himself trying not to laugh his ass off.

The corned beef sandwich Kon had brought him, followed by the hamburger from Wally, was probably more than he had eaten in days and he was getting a bit sleepy. But he had something to finish up before he trudged off for a nap. Tim tapped away at the computer, concentrating on his task, when he sensed someone silently coming up behind him.

"What's up, little bird?" Speedy asked as he started rubbing Tim's shoulders. The young vigilante forced himself to not shrug off the attention. It's not that he didn't like Roy… he liked him quite a lot. Years ago when they were younger he had a crush on the handsome archer, before he had met Superboy. Speedy never got over it. But he knew Roy would never do anything to harm their friendship… or so he used to think. But the way he had been acting lately made him wonder.

"Just establishing a fake identity in case of emergency." Tim responds as Roy looks over his shoulder at the screen.

"What the hell kind of name is that?" Roy asked.

"It worked once before." Tim said with that tone that really meant he wasn't in the mood to discuss it… especially considering the one time he had used that identity.

Later Red Robin trudges his way to the common room to just stretch out on the couch with the TV on and relax. Kon meets him there, having passed Roy in the corridor, and sets himself at Tim's side.

"This is getting to be a bit of a strain on you, emotionally draining, not to mention complicated." The Kryptonian clone says with concern.

"If you can think of another way I certainly welcome it, Kon."

"I can't. But I wish I could."

Kon certainly wasn't a meathead. In fact, he was very intelligent. But scheming and plotting came natural to all the Bat-family… especially Red Robin.

As the taco truck sped off Bart and Jamie still faced each other finishing their tacos watching each other's backs. Two large box vans pulled out of the open bay of the warehouse they had known previously and sped off southward toward downtown.

"Ready to get to work Cariño?" Jamie said as he dropped the taco wrapper.

"Let's crash the mode." Bart responds and in a flurry of speed his clothes are left in a pile on the ground revealing his red and white speed-suit and he pulls his amber goggle down over his eyes. Jamie looks at the slim speedster and continues to be amazed at his luck in life. The two young heroes were terribly cute, fearless to a fault, loving and good-natured. Tim and Kon loved them deeply and took hope for the future every time they saw the two of them together.

A moment's concentration that wasn't much more than a blink passed and Jamie's symbiote encased him in his black and blue armor. The playful teens at the skate park were now Impulse and Blue Beetle, and with that change came a change of personality as often comes to such heroes. It was mission time. Bart speeds after the vans keeping to alleys and flood canals when he can to avoid being seen while Beetle follows overhead, taking care to stay in the blind spots of the vans mirrors. They continue deeper into the city, passing mid-day traffic and down into the industrial region near the river border with Mexico.

"This is a bad area hermano." Jamie tells Bart from above through his communicator. "Nothing good happens here."

"Sure it does… US!" Bart responds in his fearless fabulousness… usually followed by amusing disaster.

The boys were strong and fearless, but they did lack subtlety. Bart ran straight into the open warehouse as Jamie dove down from skyward following his boyfriend inward.

Tim continued to rest on the couch in the common room, with Kon half asleep at the other end, forcing themselves to conserve their energy. Just then, an alarm goes off and both Red Robin and Superboy jump to their feet with a look at one another.

"You ready for this?" Tim asks his husband.

"No… but yes." Kon responds and they tear down the tunnel to where M'Gann's Martian bioship is parked and waiting for them. The tapping sound of huge claws greets them as Wolf bars their way and he begins barking intently. Before Kon even has a chance to answer the enormous canine, Tim calls out: "Come 'on Wolf." He wasn't part of the plan, but Wolf had made his own intent clear. Kon then remembered how when he was younger Bart used to ride through the loft on Wolf's back tearing the house apart in wild abandon. Wolf had every intention of going to the aid of his little buddy who smelled like candy and his new friend that smelled like burritos… and Bart.

Piloting the bioship, Kon's hands grip the control orbs firmly and he propels the ship to the fastest speed he can manage without crushing Tim from the g-forces. The trip from the east coast to El Paso, which normally would have taken hours in an airplane, took only 15 minutes. But they all knew that 15 minutes could be a long time in battle. The bioship comes to a halt, decelerating uncomfortably for Tim, over the industrial district of El Paso where Bart's signal had come from. Leaving the ship hovering in stealth mode, the two heroes and Wolf drop to the ground and run inward at top speed.

Bart's muscles burn with the strain of dragging Jamie. They had been doing fine, but that new weapon had hit him directly in the center of his chest. The open wound of his armor worried him. Jamie's own flesh seemed whole, but he and his Beetle symbiote were one and the same. He would heal given time… if they had time. His own blood stained the cloth of his torn uniform at the thigh where he had snagged a piece of jagged metal but that wound had already healed.

"Bart!" The young speedster hears as he pulls his boyfriend into the massive room behind him. The sound of Tim's voice had never been more music to his ears. Kon runs to his side and takes the burden of Jamie from him and into his arms while Tim looks Bart over for injuries. While the heroes are distracted and concerned for their friends, Wolf's hackles raise and he begins a deep throaty growl.

"Oh shit…" Tim says as he sees the small army of thugs surround them from the adjoining corridors. He felt like a damned fool. He should have known better, but he was more concerned for his beloved friends and he would never apologize to himself for that. No mission was more important than that. But this time it looked like there was going to be a fateful problem. Like the deadfall trap of three years ago, the simple problem might be insurmountable. About fifty men had them pinned down… and he heard the electronic whine of electromagnets and his eyes followed the sound to a few of the venom-crazed men who held weapons with cables running to power packs on their backs.

"Kon…?" Tim asked in dread. "I know you can handle bullets, but what about rail guns?"

"I don't know honey." He answered honestly.

Tim crouched over Jamie's unconscious body as he assessed their chances… which were slim.

"Welcome back, Niños." A voice calls out to them as the source of the voice follows. Bane had set them up. He knew he was being watched and had drawn in Impulse and Blue Beetle, knowing Superboy and Red Robin would follow right behind. Their plan had gone off without a hitch, except that Bane had plans of his own and they had meshed perfectly. The rail guns were proof of that. The desperation of the situation was inescapable. Tim was a consummate warrior, but all those men and their guns… they could not hope to survive. He looks over to his husband desperately and sees the steely determination in Kon's eyes.

"I love you Kon." Tim says in farewell, then looks over to Bart and he forces a small smile on his face, though the sadness in his eyes in unmistakable. "Bart… run." Those two words meant 'survive', 'get away', 'save yourself', 'remember us well', and 'We love you.' With one hand he snapped his staff open to its full length, and with the other set the timer on one of his exploding birdarangs. They were going to fall, and he knew it, but they were going to sell their lives dearly. Impulse's bright amber eyes crackled with Speedforce as he looked back at his friend. But Bart heard only one word…

"Run!"

So Bart did run… Red Robin launched his birdarang to where a pair of criminals with rail guns stood side by side and dropped to a crouch over Beetle's body with his winged cape covering them both. They would protect him from most gunfire, but not all. But, impossibly, Bart ran in a circle around him and Jamie as a vortex wind began to build. Superboy was briefly astonished and then gathered his wits and began to run himself in the opposite direction at high speed in a circle around his friends. The small army of thugs began to open fire and Tim covered Jamie with his body and cape, waiting for the 7.62 mm bullets to rip into his flesh, but none did. Impulse ran in an unseen blur and intercepted round after round. His own smaller body, though fast healing, would never have survived being riddled with gunfire. But the young speedster starting plucking the bullets out of the air before they could reach him or Red Robin. His fingers burned on the hot copper-encased lead and though he healed almost instantly he was not immune to the pain, but he continued on or Tim would be killed. As he ran faster and faster, time slowed and he saw Kon drag a single enemy into the circle of running heroes. He kicked him in the solar plexus and ran on, not missing a moment in real time. Tim only saw a body crumple within the circle that Kon and Bart were creating with their speed. He suddenly understood what might be possible and he threw another birdarang blindly outward. Kon snatched another thug out of the crowd and tossed him toward Bart, who plucked the birdarang out of the air and drove it deep into the axillary nerve deadening the arm and shoulder of the gunman and leaving him screaming in pain.

It was working. They might survive after all! Tim's confidence grew and he launched birdarangs again and again as Kon tossed gunmen inward to Bart's devastating precision. Some he struck with Red Robin's birdarangs and other he fought himself, but more than half were unconscious broken men when Kon got his hands on them. With an epic cry of defiance and still standing protectively over Jamie Tim rose to full height and shrugged his cape aside and with a spin launched his last four birdarangs around him which each found a target, either of their own volition or intercepted by Bart. All three of the young heroes had accidentally combined their skills and become a deadly maelstrom of steel and speed. Wolf himself found satisfaction in the fear that he instilled in their enemies and began tearing at them from the margins. Kon had long ago ordered him against taking lives, and the fiercely loyal wolf was saddened by that. His mighty jaws got one thug by the leg and he felt the snap of a thigh bone as he thrashed him about, his rail gun dragging the ground behind him by its cable. The giant wolf's muzzle ran freely with the blood of his enemies and he relished it.

Astonishingly, there were only a small few gunmen left; and with disgust at the failure of his men Bane slapped two aside with a great sweep of his hand and strode in. He opened a valve at his belt and the tubing running from a canister on his back began to pulse with fluid pumping into his body. In the storm of speed he reached in and grabbed Superboy by an arm and slung him outward and against a wall.

With dread Red Robin saw his husband impact the wall, then climb back to his feet with a steely look of determination.

"We're above ground and no innocents in the way, Kon." Tim called out.

"You cannot defeat me, little clone." Bane calls out arrogantly.

Kon slowly rises strong and mighty from his fall like a phoenix from the ashes and flexes loose his muscles. "Do you know what it's like living in a world of cardboard, having to hold everything like a delicate egg? No, you wouldn't. Finally, you will understand. Finally, something I can really hit." Not even Tim had seen the indomitable and epic side of his beloved half-Kryptonian clone.

"Rob… go get help." The handsome blue eyes began to turn red in rage and he turned to Bane.

Red Robin and Impulse begin to vacate the warehouse as quick as they can, knowing no harm would come to Beetle as long as Kon lived.

Wolf paced about from side to side, trying to find some way to get into the fight, but the sentient creature knew that the slightest distraction would spell doom in this melee. As the venom pumped into Bane's body his bulk and strength began to grow even mightier. Kon did not wait for the transformation to complete, but grasped his hands together and hammer-struck the drug lord in the chest, sending him flying into the steel support pillar. The steel beam buckled against the impact and Bane stood up and shook his head clear and ran headlong into Superboy.

Wolf found his moment, Bane's back was exposed and Wolf also was behind him. He saw the conduit from the venom canister running into the back of his head. The great wolf rand forward, dug his claws into Bane's back and his jaws clamped down on the conduit and ripped it free with a thrash of his head. Blue venom now mingled with red blood on Wolf's jaws as he loped from side to side while Superboy saw his chance. Wolf had given him the moment's distraction and Kon launched himself forward and drove Bane down with his right fist so hard that he buckled the concrete foundation under them. But he never let up. Kon beat him again and again and gave him no chance to recover.

Tim and Bart made their way out just as the roof of the great industrial building began to collapse… and right into the swarm of police preparing to invade the industrial complex. Bart was briefly overjoyed at the assistance, until he saw the officer with his pistol pointed at his friend.

"Sir, you are under arrest on charges of assault and battery, stalking, and vigilantism." The police captain declares. A second officer steps up to Tim.

"Sir, I despise this. Please know that. If you give me your word that you will not flee I won't handcuff you."

"No, handcuff me. I do not want you being reprimanded for not doing your job." Red Robin responds.

As the handcuffs snap around Tim's wrists many of the officers begin grumbling and complaining.

"You have your orders, dammit." The captain declares.

The door of the police car just closes on Red Robin when Superboy strides out of the warehouse, which crumbles and collapses behind him. Jamie is slung over his shoulder and he's dragging an enormous luchador behind him.

The rage he felt for Bane was nothing compared to what welled within him at that moment. With one great swing of his arm, Superboy uses Bane's unconscious body to slap aside the police car between him and his beloved. The brutality of the action even had the police cringing, though they had no love for Bane. The car settled in a heap when the captain declared:

"You'll be responsible for the damage to that vehicle or we will arrest you as well."

Superboy's gaze said he was not going to be arrested today, or any other day. He gently laid Jamie down on the ground and grabbed a handful of gravel from the ground and as he stood he gripped tighter than a vice… any vice. He looked at the captain with pure rage in his eyes and saw the man's fear. He gripped tighter and tighter and his hand struck out… tossing the gravel at the captain's chest to fall to the ground in a handful of gems. Wolf leaped up to the top of the SWAT van and let loose a deep throaty snarl. The blood staining his snow-white muzzle added a dimension of fear to his threat. Kon shoved past the protesting officers and ripped the back door of the police car off when Tim stopped him with a look.

"No Kon, these are our allies, or should be. We don't help ourselves if we start fighting them. Just get home and call my lawyer. Get the kids to safety."

With sadness and an anger bordering on hatred, Kon lets it go and then looks around at the police officers. "This is not over, I promise you." Most of the cops won't even look him in the eye, such is their shame. As the car holding Red Robin drives off, Wolf lets loose a most mournful howl from atop the SWAT van, chilling the blood of the gathered police officers. As more police arrive along with medical and rescue personnel to drag the criminals from the rubble, Kon gently gathers Blue Beetle into his arms and strides away with Impulse at his side, his last view of the scene was Bane being shackled with a few special police standing over him with their own electromagnetic weapons at the ready.

Kon pushed the bioship to extreme speeds. Without Tim in the ship, he could propel it to speeds that Impulse and he could withstand. Minutes later, back at Mount Justice, Kon rushes Jamie to the infirmary but he already knew that he was recovering. His now allied scarab had done his job well and his wounds were mending. Blue Beetle was strong and tough. It would have taken a lot to do this kind of damage to him, but Beetle and Impulse hadn't anticipated the railguns, just as Red Robin and Superboy hadn't. Laying the slim form on the examination table, Red Tornado immediately went to work examining the healing wounds and seeing to what needed done. Kon had absolute confidence in Tornado's abilities, especially now. Jamie's scarab was a machine. It was a biological machine, but a machine nonetheless, and Tornado obviously understood the working of machines.

Kon ran off to the kitchen and returned with a big handful of energy bars for Bart. The kid had been in two strenuous fights at high speed today and he knew he must be starving; and then he stomped his way to the conference room, leaving Bart behind in the infirmary to look after his boyfriend… and called Tim's "lawyer." Timothy Drake had a lot of lawyers: he had corporate lawyers, patent lawyers, real estate lawyers… Kon knew he was talking about an entirely different person. This was getting too complicated. Kon didn't like complicated at all. For all his intelligence, he preferred to take his challenges head on and overcome them, but he understood the need here. Tim had come up with this plan and subtlety was his strong suit. Snatching up the phone embedded in the conference table, he dials a number from memory.

"Drake Pharmaceuticals, may I help you?"

"Mr. Trimble's office, please"

The secretary transfers the call and confident strong voice answers: "Trimble here."

"Robert, its Conner. They have him in custody."

"Alright, I'm on it."

"Please tell me you know what you're doing. It was hard enough watching him being driven off in handcuffs without wrecking the place and taking him out of there."

"I know it must have been hard, Kon. But this was his idea, his plan. I know it's complicated, but you know him. We just have to do our part now. He has never failed us, so let's not fail him."

Red Robin is led in handcuffs into the headquarters of the El Paso Police Department. He held his head high as officers throughout the building began calling out their protests of seeing the Teen Wonder in handcuffs. The booking officer was ashamed of himself, his department, and the situation. He wanted to keep apologizing, but knew it would be meaningless. All of his questions regarding name, address, and other identifying information were met with simple refusal. Red Robin had no intention of revealing his identity. With two officers guarding him, he was ordered to remove his belt and bandoliers. Releasing the catches and pulling them off his body, he looped them around one another and pressed a hidden button and dropped them into the evidence carton.

"I wouldn't mess with those. I've activated an anti-tamper mechanism and I don't want any of you to get hurt."

Though he was technically the prisoner, it almost seemed that he had complete control of the situation. He was relying on the goodwill of the police officers and his goodwill toward them. But it was a gamble. He knew many of the cops of Gotham, but El Paso was unknown to him. Jamie had told him about the corruption of some of the Department and that a lot of cops were in Bane's employment, but he had counted on that.

"Remove your gloves and we'll get your fingerprints." The officer said. Red Robin had known this moment would come.

"What!?" He exclaimed and his rose to his feet. As he pushed himself up his fingertips pressed hard inside his gauntlets and false fingerprints attached themselves to his fingers. The polymer film would not be seen, except under very close examination. But he had to appear shocked that his true identity would finally be revealed.

"Get that suspect processed and printed and stop this idiocy!" The captain calls out.

After being printed Tim carefully wipes the excess ink from his fingers, taking great care to not accidentally peel off the false prints. The officer reaches a hand up to pull away his mask, and Red Robin takes a step back with a slight cringe. About twenty pairs of eyes focus on the young hero, some in curiosity and some in dismay, as his identity would soon be revealed.

"Let him keep the mask on if he insists and worry about photographs later. We have his prints and we'll know who he is soon enough." The captain states before stomping back into his office. Then Tim hears him say to himself under his breath "There's only so far I'll go on this one."

"Bingo!" Tim thought to himself as his eyes carefully followed the captain.

As Tim is walked down the corridor to the cell block, he endures numerous cat-calls and degrading comments from some of the worst criminals of El Paso. His utility belt and bandoliers were taken away, along with his cape. He only wore his back and red bodysuit that clung tightly to his lithe and toned young body and it really did not hide much, and some of the comments were of a very specific nature. He always took pride in his physical conditioning and relished the appreciation Kon showed it, but this just disgusted him. He took comfort in the fact that there wasn't a prisoner in the entire cellblock that he couldn't brutally subdue if he needed to.

Fortunately for Tim, he was placed in a cell with two very mild offenders who looked like they wanted no trouble and just wanted to get their penalties over with, much less any trouble with the young vigilante. His hardest task was maintaining his dignity and poise. He knew he could be out of the jail in a matter of minutes and had no intention of being in the cell longer than necessary. He sat down cross-legged on the bunk of the cell and forced himself into a state of meditative relaxation. As hours passed through the first night a refused the breakfast brought to him. He couldn't trust that the food would not be tainted, knowing that the police had been undermined. Hours further passed when an officer comes to the cell.

"Robin, you have visitors." And the officer leads him down the corridor to the visitor's room. "Sir, I…. uh… I mean we, most of the other officers and I…. we hate this. Just wanted you to know that. In fact, my own son was starting to be a bit of trouble before you came along. Something about you inspired him. He's an honor-roll student now and got accepted to college here for next year. We're very proud of him. His mother and I thank you for that."

"I'm glad officer…. truly. Thank you."

"By the way, your prints were run through the national database. The captain knows your identity now, Mr. Draper."

"It couldn't stay a secret forever. I've accepted that for some time now."

With a look of profound sadness the officer leads Tim into the visitor's room and handcuffs him to the steel table in the middle of the room and stands to the side by the wall, along with another officer. The opposite door buzzes slightly and Tim's two archer friends walk in, in their civilian clothes, giving the cops some very baleful looks. Neither of them had much use for authority, and Roy himself was feeling rather uncomfortable to be in a jail. Artemis had brought in a paper bag with a big hamburger and fries, knowing that something besides jail food might be welcome. It was a "Red Robin" burger, again. It looked like everyone was going to get in on the joke before it got old.

"Don't worry, they already inspected the food, like I was going to hide a file or lock pick in it or something." Artemis gripes with a sideways look at the cops against the wall.

"You want one?" The other cop who so far had been silent asked hopefully.

"It's nice to see you both." Tim said as he tore into the burger while his foot tapped on the concrete floor.

"Yeah, looks like the birdie got caged." Roy said acidly. It pained Tim to hear Roy take any delight in the predicament of his long-time friend. But that would be addressed in due time. Tim just held his tongue and reminded himself that Roy had been acting very strange of late. The friends spent a few minutes talking and then their time was up. With a look that was both sad and angry Artemis gave Red Robin an awkward hug and headed for the exit before anyone could see the tears that were beginning to pool in her eyes.

"Good luck, Birdy… don't drop the soap." Roy says and he strides off confidently.

At that moment Tim wanted nothing more than to punch him in his smug face, regardless of the changes that have taken place lately. As the two archers left the police headquarters Artemis saw the long look and slight nod Roy gave the captain. It took all her control to not rip into him at that very moment, but the plan required self-control.

Tim was led back to his cell, and then further down the corridor.

"We're putting you in isolation, for your sake. I don't like the looks and comments from the other prisoners." The escorting officer declared.

"That's fine. Thank you." Tim responded softy. Sure this plan was complicated and his own idea, but it was becoming emotionally taxing. And waiting was the hardest part.

"We're back, Kon. Roy went straight to his room." Artemis said as she strides into the conference room.

"How is Robin doing?" Kon asked desperately.

"He is strong and confident, but he is under a lot of strain." She responded and her form shifted back to her normal appearance. M'Gann had disguised herself to get into the jail with Roy. Artemis had protested that part of the plan, but Kon knew that there was almost no chance of Artemis keeping calm seeing her friend behind bars, just as there would be no chance at all if Kon had gone in.

"And our suspicions?" Kon asked.

"It's confirmed. I'm sorry Kon." Artemis was generally a bitter young woman, even if she was one of the strongest of the team. But, she meant it, because she knew they were old friends.

"Yeah, I am too." He responded as his shoulders slumped with his own stresses. "But let's all remember that it isn't his fault."

"No, it isn't. He had some of the same mental patterns as the criminals in Suicide Slums. Also, I got the location. We missed something when we were down there the last time."

"Down where?" Superboy asked in suspense.

"Suicide Slums."

"Okay, I have a couple calls to make. Thanks M'Gann, you were a big help."

"Of course. I'm part of this team too, you know."

"I'm glad Miss M, because we're going to need you.

Kon just reaches for the phone when the giant monitor screen on the wall lights up.

"Conner, I just saw the report on the Reuters newswire, and The Guardian in the UK has just picked it up…"

Kon turns around to face the monitor and sees the worry etched on Clark Kent's face.

"Yeah, we have a plan on that Dad."

"You look tired son. What can I do to help?"

"You can keep Batman occupied before he finds out and does something inadvisable."

"Since you and Robin have a 'plan', how do you expect me to do that?"

"I don't know, this is a complication. We didn't take into consideration that the newspapers would find out so fast. But this has to be done carefully. We don't want anyone outed from the cape closet, okay?"

"Alright. I love you son. Best of luck."

"Thanks Dad, love you too."

The call he had been about to make was suddenly more urgent. Amazingly, the cellphone managed to survive the pounding the keys received on dialing the call. He was happy for that since he had bought the new pre-pay phone only that morning and needed it.

"The newswire has the report. It hasn't hit the television yet…. It has to be done tonight."

The strain of the last two days were starting to fray Tim at the edges. His strong will and confidence in he and Kon's plan helped him along. But he was tired. Also, Kon had been right. He hadn't been eating well enough and if it hadn't been for the sandwich and the burgers his friends and forced on him he would Now that he had been moved to a solitary cell he could at least allow himself a little rest instead of being constantly on guard. But it was only a slight rest as he kept half his awareness ready for anything. He stretched out on the hard cot and closed his eyes welcoming the darkness and moments later the darkness suddenly deepened. Bolting to his feet, he realized that the lights can gone out… the power had been cut.

Five masked men in Nomex suits silently entered through the prisoner transfer area of the El Paso jail. Ironically, the very same area where they ran prisoners out to buses for transport to the courthouse was the weakest point in security. The tallest of the five men pulled out an automatic lock pick device and had the cell block door open in seconds.

"Okay, let's find our target. Lead on." The tall man says to a slighter shorter one as his eyes narrow in slight concentration under the ski mask he wore.

"This way." And he picks up the pace down the corridors, reaching the internal security area. Two officer's jump to their feet reaching for their weapons when a pair of the masked intruders fire darts into their chests and they drop unconscious to the floor. The men snatch up the rings of keys from the jailors and continue down the passage to the cellblock. The shortest of the five intruders then pulls out a small silenced pistol and takes carefully aimed shots, destroying security cameras as they pass.

Tim heard the muffled pops of gunfire and the yells of prisoners thinking an overall prison break was in the making. He knew what to expect, but he couldn't be too careful. He had made a lot of powerful enemies in his short career. He stood to one side of the cell, away from the door. He knew that door was going to open, but just couldn't be sure "how" it was going to open.

Keys rattled in the cell door and it screeched open with the protest of abused hinges. The tall man had turned the cell key in the lock, but the shorter man yanked the solid steel door open with such force that the hinges had twisted slightly.

His eyes settle on Red Robin and he pulls off his hood and drags the slim hero into his arms and lays a brief but intense kiss on him.

"Thanks Kon. Now let's finish this up."

"Alright sir, what's the plan from here?" The taller man asks as he pulls off his own mask, along with the others. Robert Trimble had reverted to his old profession before joining Drake Pharmaceuticals and he had brought some old friends. There were faces Tim knew from his mission in Bialya. His leadership had saved their lives and they had come to return the favor. The shortest was the last to pull off his hood, knowing he would probably get an earful of grief for coming. This last one was no former soldier at all.

"Andreas? What are you doing here?" Tim asks incredulously.

"I was on the e-mail list. We use it to stay in touch with one another. I had to come."

"Why? You know how dangerous this is?"

"This is why." And the young man reaches under the neck of the suit and pulls out the dog tags of Keith Lucas that "Alvin Draper" had brought back for him. Bringing back that single memento of his fallen love had meant more to him than you could comprehend. "I owed you this much at least." Tim gave Andreas a brief hug and took charge of the situation.

"Alright, I need my equipment. That will be in an evidence room. Also, I need to get to one of their secure computers. But I want no one hurt. Most of these cops are good men trying to do a good job."

"Alright boss."

Tim and Kon led the way back through the security portal. The two officers were still unconscious and one even snored slightly. They strode purposefully to the main offices at the front of the building. The night shift, like in any other office, was half asleep and slightly bored. The barreled in and trained their weapons on the few cops who had been taken by surprise.

"Where's the evidence room?" Red Robin asked in that voice that tolerated no argument.

"Through that second door, take a right and it's the first door on the left." And the officer handed over the keys, more than eager to cooperate.

"The Captain?" Kon asked.

"He's passed out drunk on the couch in his office. That's been happening more and more lately. I think his conscious is bothering him."

"Good." Kon says and turns around to ensure they have the room secure just as Tim bolts for his equipment.

Tim returns in moments with the large labelled and sealed box with his equipment. He quickly straps his bandoliers across his chest and his belt around his waist, and clasps his cape over his shoulders. When he turns back around the transformation is quite complete. He's no longer the recipient of a jailbreak, but the self-assured hero with a mission to complete, but exhaustion was starting to etch its lines under the young hero's eyes.

The small team of Spec-Ops operatives with Red Robin and Superboy flee out a side door and are airborne in M'Gann's bioship before any further drama can come of the jailbreak. The ship tears across the sky, taking a high apex trajectory. It shot into the sky, following the curvature of the Earth, then fell at impossible speeds… landing at the entrance to Mount Justice and now carrying an exhausted and unconscious Red Robin. Striding inside, he laid the Teen Wonder on the common room couch and began shouting orders. Tim wasn't the only one who could lead. Tim needed the rest. Kon knew the plan. He made a few calls, and steeled his spine for the last and roused Tim for the end game; and handed him a large cup of strong coffee and an energy bar of his own recipe that he had developed for Impulse and Kid Flash.

Kon was still talking into the phone while Tim woke… having been refreshed by the bare hour of sleep. Friends had been called, as has had allies. The Team never thought they would have to re-enter the sewers of Suicide Slums again after freeing the kidnapped boys. But now this is just what they planned to do. They really needed Brian, but given what had happened to him the first time, they did not have the heart to ask for his help…

Tim and Kon came into the Emporium in the early evening as they did so very often these days. Brett's brow was furrowed in worry and determination. Most of the boys who had survived the old "incident" were already there. It was Kon's idea… just in case their enemy wanted to do some petty hate before his defeat. Brett's anti-meta power would help them some… but their enemy had his own allies of compromised police and thugs. But as Brett took a headcount, Andy came out from the back rooms, after taking a deep and long look in his boyfriend's eyes and said his goodbye; Brian had other work to do with the Team. He loaded his pistol and slammed it into his holster and waited for the night of hell that was to come. He took the same count Brett did (his formerly large H&K was now replaced with a larger high-caliber Desert Eagle that barely fit his small hands.… but Brett wasn't in the sewers that horrible night and couldn't remembers all the guys like he did. Calvin! How could he have forgotten.

The young and spry speedster fanboy came into the shop, far more reserved than ever before. Ever lively and bright, he was afraid this time. He was afraid of being taken, like before. But there was an edge in his flagging confidence as his ruggedly handsome father entered the Emporium behind his son, locked the front door, wedged a chair under the knob, and pulled a shotgun from under his coat and looked over to Andy and asked… "Not a single one… do you understand?"

"Yes Sir." He answered with steel and stone in his eyes… a look he inherited from his boyfriend, the Concrete Angel.

Keith, Calvin's father, looks at Andy and tells him solidly: "Listen kid… I know there's more to you and your buddy than you talk about. Calvin never shuts up, the sweet little bugger. A lot goes on here that keeps him and these other kids safe. But I'm his father and this is my job. But if these kids' other fathers can't be here than I'll be here for them. But you and I can't hold this place without help if things go bad… down there." And the words "down there" reminded him of his failure as a father two years before when Calvin had been kidnapped and held for a very special buyer.

Andrew had grown in strength of heart in that time and looked the rugged steel-worker in the eyes. It was a mighty thing for an 18-year-old to stare down a man like that, and he said…:

"As long as men like you are willing to fight for their families, homes, and lives… there is hope. We are not alone. Have faith." And ironically, dating an "angel" had given him some faith. And just then the heavy footfalls of an enormous steel-clad smith echoed across the neighborhood with his own axe to grind. Andrew yanked aside the wedged door and bolted out of the shop and wrapped his arms around the enormous man with a grin. A burden was lifted from him as he looked up and said:

"Thanks Mr. Irons… Andy said you'd come."

Through the afternoon the chosen heroes had gathered in the rear of the store where Brian and Andy made their home. The team was very carefully chosen… only the most trusted and considered went on this mission. Brian had already said goodbye to Andy, and the others prepared themselves. With a look of doom, Brian, the recently minted Concrete Angel fell to his knees and spoke to the concrete, then the bedrock, beneath them. His power had grown and he had grown with it. The floor opened as the stone willed itself apart to allow its master and he entered with his friends.

Though awed by the power of the boy they had once saved from death or a fate worse, Tim had to be practical. In a shadowed corner, he pulled up his mask and put a few drops into each weary-laden bloodshot eye from a vial that he took from his belt.

"What's that?" Kon asked in a whisper.

"Night vision drops… It's Chlorin CE6. I should be able to see as well as you in darkness for about six hours."

"When did that go into human trials?" Kon asked.

"About 30 seconds ago." Robin said. Kon cringed at the thought of his husband being his own guinea-pig.

Heroes, both meta-human and human worked their way into the deep catacombs of Suicide Slum to rip out what they had failed to destroy before.

The group had been chosen with care: Tim and Kon took the lead and Impulse and Blue Beetle were right behind. Nightwing, Robin's brother, was never a step from Kid Flash. Following in their path were a legion of young heroes: Concrete Angel strode silent as ancient stone while Roy, sometimes known as Speedy and other times as Arsenal, carefully checked every corner as they passed. But every one of them knew that this was a final destination and they looked forward to the moment of open combat. Kon particularly wanted that Apokoliptian in his hands. Every time he thought of that spry and lively boy they adored, Calvin, Superboy became angrier, knowing that his fate might have been so much worse. But, be assured, there was a reason for every one of the heroes present.

Brian now walked the passages that he was once carried through as his power was born of an accidental application of medication for an allergic reaction to drugs that were forced upon him. He left a victim, but now the slender and handsome young lad returned as a conqueror. Nothing within the stones held any fear for him. Knowing that the progenitor of every plan against his friends and the undermining of society was within these deeps, he strode in with a quiet rage. Kon constantly watched him, not out of distrust, but to preserve the mission. Kon would love nothing more than to rip the depths of Metropolis apart with Concrete Angel and purge this evil once and for all.

The group of heroes come to an ancient junction of old red brick and Robin looks about the room and gives silent signals to his friends… and one to Kon when he notices the occasional of Speedy. Never had the look of sadness and determination been seen at the same time. Bart and Jamie went one way; and Dick and Wally another. Tim and Kon dove right in through the center.

"What the hell is going on Brett?" Caleb asked as he ducked into his friend's comic shop. He'd spent the last hour feeling like he had been followed or stalked.

"It's complicated." Brett responded in a flat voice, deadpan, but relented and grabbed the slightly taller blue-eyed guy he liked in a tight hug.

"You think?"

"Will you believe me if I tell you nothing will happen to you here?"

"Like what?" Caleb asked

"Like these friends."… and Caleb's pretty blue eyes widen in the sight of a slim boy with a massive Desert Eagle automatic pistol and a giant man in cybernetic armour.

"Brett… what is happening?"

"Sit down and I'll tell you. Calvin, could you bring us a coffee please? I think your dad might like one too." Brett said kindly and then Caleb saw a look of strength and determination that he had never suspected before. Caleb wasn't sure if it scared or excited him, but he knew he was safe at that place and at that time.

"Come with me." Robin called out to Arsenal and dragged him by the wrist as they turned a corner in the catacombs deep under the city. Brian had gotten a haunted look in his eye and went his own way in a personal mission of either damnation or apotheosis. It made sense that he had demons to purge here. Only the gods could know, but he was needed. Kon had circled around through other tunnels to try to cut off the enemy. But the strength Brian had shown since then was immeasurable. After his rescue he had fallen in love only to lose his mother, thugs who were likely under the same influence they were tracing to its source. From that he had found his strength and had demonstrated it well both at Gotham cathedral and on Warworld… and he could heal the hurt of stone as well as wield its power.

Robin clung to shadows so well that he accidentally lost Superboy. But Superboy found a passage he recognized. He had perfect memory, but even without it he would never have forgotten. It blocked the passage to the chamber that the kidnapped boys had been held in. Only Bart and Jamie's courage had saved them. The memory angered him…

Its here Kon!

The calm voice of Brian penetrated Kon's rage. He heard a place, a time, and what might have been. His rage found focus. Brian could have opened the stone of his own will… but denied a man his right of retribution. Gods help whoever was on the other side of the portal.

Tim had only Speedy at his side, and he wasn't sure of his usefulness. He had sent Impulse and Blue Beetle in one direction and Nightwing and Kid Flash in the other… but had accidentally left himself alone and without support. Robin never let himself doubt, knowing Superboy wouldn't either. Gunfire echoes from distant chambers as his teammates continued the mission. But Robin was alone. He always felt he would die alone… but after knowing what the enemy truly was and what might have been, he made his peace with it and moved on, though he did want his beloved husband at his side. Warworld happened too fast, but this was calculated and he was only human, but he would prove that a human properly skilled and with a strong mind was a worthy adversary.

A police battering ram knocked down the front door of the Emporium. Mentally unhinged policeman poured into the shop, but only to a point.

"These are law-abiding citizens. Desist!" Steel called out from within the darkness of the store. But Andrew gave no such chance. He didn't dare let any of these kids who were his friends be taken or their haven be defiled. He jacked a round in his pistol and fired, ripping into the thigh of one officer who screamed in agony. Calvin's father reacted likewise and fired his shotgun time and again. The cops wore body armour and it hit them like a hammer, but not killing them.

Steel began to wield his massive sledgehammer like a titan of ancient myth. He struck and jabbed with the head and knocked aside gun-barrels with the haft. He had nowhere near the agility of many of the younger heroes, but he also had smarts and dedication. When he couldn't deflect a weapon or its fire, his simply relied on his armour to protect him and covered another innocent in the Emporium with his own body.

"Down you idiot!" Andrew cried out and dived over Calvin and covered him as he fired. A single round of hot 7.62 mm lead ripped into his shoulder and he shrieked in pain. Calvin's father, seeing one of the young men who had protected and befriended his son for so long, became angry… very angry. He leapt up from his cover and fired blast after blast from his shotgun… completely defeating the twisted policemen.

Throughout it all they must have felt that there was a line that would not be crossed. Broken and wounded men littered the doorway; and though Andy was wounded they had inflicted no fatalities. But yet another officer forced his way in. He was the kind you sometimes see in movies or unfortunate news reports, the one who freely gave up his oath, rather than having it twisted from his mind. He fired twice into the Emporium as he walked in, and the blast wounded Keith. He wore full body armor that might even defeat Andy's massive pistol… until the moment he crossed the threshold and his throat erupted in a gout of blood and left his head leaning at a macabre angle as he dropped to the floor dead.

Eventually, combined, the three men held the shop and defended any and all that came to them for protection, and reloaded their weapons while they awaited whatever new hell had come to visit.

A single slim man in a motorcycle jacket and a red mask strode up to the threshold and perused the scene; his rifle still smoked slightly from a single high-caliber round.

"You people need to get your shit together if you think you're going to fight this kind of thing off." His voice was young and handsome sounding, but bitter and angry. Then he drew a pistol and finished off one severely wounded dirty cop, to the horror of the heroes and those they were protecting.

He turned away and strode off and Calvin saw from his hiding place that the light had hit his open jacket just right… and illuminated his shirt, and the Bat-logo on it.

As the Team split into multiple groups, they worked their way inward and deeper into the sublevels of the Metropolis sewers, which were far older than the modern city above. It was a place where only someone like Richard Pickman might have traveled a hundred years ago to paint his macabre art. Red Robin had to rely on his sense of direction and research of old blueprints he discovered with the help of a certain Daily Planet journalist. He strode on with a purpose knowing Speedy would never be but a step behind, of that he was assured. Doubling back from a couple of false turns, he found his route… to a very ancient well that had been covered by centuries of construction. One might expect a dark fetid pool, but it was bright and blue and smelled like the brine of the open ocean. It was fresh and its scent spoke of open seas and pure honesty. The waters began to bubble in turbulence and a handsome dark-skinned Atlantean with unique blonde hair dove out of the water gracefully like a dolphin.

"Is the plan in motion, my friend?" Kaldur'Ahm asked. Tim stood dumbfounded. He had spoken with him over communicators to Atlantis to coordinate this mission, but it was the first time seeing since they had mourned him. With a loud clang, his staff hit the floor. Hands could no longer hold a staff that were now holding a very dear friend returned to them. Kaldur's stoicism must have abated somewhat during his sojourn with death, for he returned the embrace heartily. Tim gathered his wits and his staff and responded:

"It is, but it is chancy."

"No, it is simply unfinished business. You cause yourself only concern by giving it more status than it is due… though I recognize the hazard. But you will have to tell me about you and Kon's transformation. So much has changed. But in due time."

"Let's move on then." Red Robin responded as his mission face came back on; and Speedy's face became paler and ashen.

Knowing that his conspiracy was broken, the Team relied on Sleez calling in all his thugs: either people who were directly mentally altered by him, or black-mailed by him. Either way they had no choice but to fight or the Team had to fight them back. The difference was that the Team was not focused on survival or rescue, but only on retribution. They were surgeons, and sometimes a surgeon had to be aggressive to cut out all the cancer. Sounds of battle echoed from distant passages and Robin, Kaldur, and Speedy ran down an adjoining passage to make their way to their destination… until they were intercepted. Sure, there were dirty cops in the way, but they were only a small percentage of the enemies they faced. The rest were shop-owners, politicians, teachers, and land-owners… people the heroes would normally protect, but had been subverted or had erred of their own will. Unfortunately, they had no way of knowing who was who. The Team was forced to use their mildest techniques of combat, but knew as they went deeper that the inhibitions on battle would be released as they came closer to their enemy's closest allies.

Nightwing and Kid Flash's long unrequited love as teammates and now lovers now became more obvious as their skills augmented one-another. In the confined passaged, Wally would scout ahead and return with detailed enemy placement and his own perceived knowledge of who was a willing or unwilling enemy. But, both remembering the rooftop and the slender man who held the long thin knife to Andrew's throat, they wanted to ensure that it could never happen again on their watch. Wally would speed ahead into a corner and flashes of lightning and enemies would be tossed to Dick to be dispatched and they cleared their prearranged sector of combat.

Impulse and Blue Beetle did much the same, as the little speedster would taunt his enemies to chase him, only to be brought down by the sonic weapons or the jagged blades from his hands. Fortunate or not, Bart's speed ensured that those who truly deserved retribution made their way to Jamie who was more than eager to exact it. Those two boys had allowed themselves to be captured previously in this place and found out firsthand what was truly intended. Neither were feeling all that forgiving, but Bart's conscience was more fully developed. Jamie simply remembered that the young teen who adored the couple was once kidnapped and held for a special client because of his age and beauty. But they were ensuring it could never happen again. Half the Team knew what the two were truly capable of, which they were worried about themselves… but this was not time for doubt.

Brian, the only one here who could, understood fully what had taken place. His rage was well beyond comprehension. Superboy constantly watched over his friend as they covered their own passages. Instead of just wearing his usual dark purple and black uniform that Tim and Kon had designed for him (which he loved) he strode through the tunnels encased as stone and carried his sword salvaged from a shard of slate from the National Cathedral. Simply carrying it gave him strength of purpose and identity, until he drove it into the stone like soft clay and set his hands to the ancient block of the floor at the intersection of several passages. Kon saw that he was coming to a place, psychologically, that he had never been before. This was the same chamber where they had saved his life and Robin "R" shaped last-ditch birdarang saved his life and he lost consciousness. From here on he was fully conscious, of his power and might. The stone would forgive him for any transgressions. Passing the corner of the old passage Kon had blasted through, Kon saw the place where Impulse had annihilated the thug who had tried to use Brian as a human shield. It was an indelible memory… but for all his strength, Kon realized he was no longer leader on this end of the mission… Brian was.

Red Robin and Speedy followed their own passage with the rediscovered Kaldur. His joy was diminished by the mission to defeat another Apokoliptian. To do his part, he often ran ahead of Kaldur and Speedy lending them less chance to fight… and preserving their strength which they would need. After the last three days Tim had little of his own and he would spend it as best as he could. What passed him as he plied his staff with unimaginable skill met their fate at the hands of a consummate archer and an Atlantean mystical warrior-prince... they were better off with Robin. But, according to his memorized blueprints and Brian's communion with the stone, the primary chamber was just ahead… and Robin heard the sound of detonation… of one of Nightwing's birdarangs.

Brian heard the same detonation and his rage was already fired. He snatched his blade out of the stone and strode toward the far wall where the sounds had come from. A vicious gesture from his hand ripped open the wall like the rice paper wall of a Japanese teahouse. One thug rushed to protect the way before the young stone-shifter cut him down like grass with his sword, or would have had not Kon bashed the enemy aside and took the strike on himself.

"Brian… remember what you were and what you have become. You rage is right and true, but we do not kill." Kon implored him as his shirt hung off of him in tatters.

"Speak for yourself, Superboy! Do you know what happened here and what worse would have happened?"

"Yes, I do… I know." Kon said in tenderness… then sensed the source of the rage.

"How could you know… you have it so nice with your fancy boyfriend and a nice life. Not so easy for us flyboy."

Kon recoiled at the rage. Even though he knew the source, the words pained him coming from a friend he loved. There was only one thing he could say to him:

"What would Andy think just now, hearing this?" Kon's heart saddened at the words he was forced to speak.

The empathic attack had gone what the enemy thought was the weakest weapon… and the only one in the sewers who would feel alone. That was unavoidable. Tim and Kon had discussed it with Brian, and they felt he could handle it. His love for Andy would save his mind. It was one element. They needed his stone might, but they needed the others. Nightwing was still new to his love with Kid Flash and was also inherently honest that any thought of jealousy would be alien to him. Impulse and Blue Beetle had all but died for one-another and there would be no stopping them. Red Robin and Superboy shared a love that all others dreamed of and were happy to live in the sunbeam of… it was no option for the enemy. Kaldur's only love was for the Team and his mission, especially after feeling he was a failure on Warworld. Knowing all this, his eyes turned to concern at the scarlet archer.

Concrete Angel suddenly was shamed by his words and found a new source for his anger… behind the far passage, which he destroyed with a thought and followed through as he gathered the rubble around him in stronger armour. The final enemy stood beyond the portal laughing gleefully at him as waves of subversion and desire assaulted the heroes. From two other entrances came the remainder of the Team… in fast desperation.

In an uncoordinated attack and feeling himself the strongest, Angel attacked first, crumbling the stone at the feet of the broad squat creature they found and as he meant to strike, but the waves of mental energy blasted his mind for a moment and disrupted his attack and control over his power.

Kon raged as he ran to the boy's side and tended to Brian, his stone wings already turned to dust. A number of acquired thugs began to work their way inward, much to the Team's concern. Tim ducked into the nearest shadow for a last devious attack. There were too many enemies. As the full Team came in, Nightwing and Blue Beetle broke off and their boyfriends began to run in opposing circles around the creature. It could never be enough just as that. Though Bart and Wally seemed to be holding Sleez in their vortex, it could not hold on forever, but his minions hadn't gotten the memo. The young heroes raged… and Bart and Wally ran faster creating a vortex around their enemy. Kon wanted nothing more than to destroy the creature that had done so much harm, but when he saw the floor of the chamber settle to sand under the feet of the speedsters he narrowed his eyes and released all of his anger and frustration at the crumbled stone. The chestnut-haired boy opened his eyes and they almost immediately focused to the task. He saw the vortex of rubble he had created at Bart and Wally's feet. But to that he added friction of stone and their speed only made it stronger. As the speedsters ran around the stone circle and drew it higher, encasing more and more of Sleez's form, Superboy superheated the stone to ty and melt it to encase the creature.

Just when the battle was won, a choking cry gasped from a young man, known and loved by all the Team… and the reason for all the finger tapping and clicking. He had been compromised and Kon had been the first to suspect… but he didn't know Morse code. The Team had planned around him with Morse. But he now rose and wept horribly as he drew his bow.

"I'm sorry Kon. You are my friend… but…"

The arrowhead seated on the bow had a well-known green glow about it. But he couldn't even say it… that he loved Tim and was jealous of Kon.

"Just run away Kon… so we can be happy." Roy said in anguish. "Please Kon… just let me have him!" and his arrow finger twitched

Roy had never begged for anything in his life… ever. Kon now knew what Sleez had used to manipulate him and it brought him only a deep sadness, not jealousy.

"Roy… it takes two to love. He liked you once, but nothing came of it. I was able to earn his love, but his friendship is for all of us to share. Share it with me." And the forgiving clone held his hand out in offering.

Kon could barely get the words out as the green glow of Kryptonite from the arrow weakened him. But a horrible shriek cried out and Bart appeared right in front of Roy… holding back the green arrow that he was about to drive into his own throat. Roy had changed his mind and was going to take himself out of the equation.

Now they had it confirmed, but they had known for a long time. Roy's peculiar actions and his words made more sense. He and Robin had a teen crush… but Speedy never forgot it. But Sleez infects the mind through desires… and as they got older the desires became more specific and Roy became more jealous of Kon.

"Come away with us Roy." Kon asked calmly, forcing himself to ignore the battle around him and the weakening influence of the arrow on the floor. Bart left with the arrow that still caused Kon pain and weakness and ran back to Sleez. But Kon grew stronger as he strode further from the arrow. He walked into the maelstrom of fire and stone to deal with Sleez. That he had twisted a good friend and teammate angered him… immeasurably. It was time for a reckoning.

The stone encasement was just beginning to crack and the young heroes had to find another method when the chamber erupted in a brilliant green glow. One might have thought them exceedingly arrogant if you didn't know them. John Stewart was the most dignified, and Guy Gardner the most carefree and devoid of concern. But Alan Scott caught the eyes of the young heroes and asked:

"Your idea?" Looking at Tim. "Good job… call in sooner next time."

"It was the only way to know for sure and to ferret out all the dirty cops and clean up the last vestiges of Apokolips on Earth."

"Well… It was well-done"

Three days later, Tim and Kon had arranged to have a party, and everyone was invited. It took some doing as a lot of guys had to blindfolded by Steel and secretly escorted to the Zeta tube to Mount Justice, where the unknown social event of the century would happen.

The lights of the training room turned party room slowly dimmed and black lights illuminated Bart's reddish-auburn hair in an orange glow. He silently put a pair of headphones on behind a console of a mixing board and fired up the music… which opened to the sounds of an electronically altered guitar and a magnificent bass line. The electronic music began slowly and increased in tempo and though the song was well known, it had never been sung like this. Just when the friends and teammates expected the lyric voice of Jared Leto, a single spotlight illuminated on the floor in front of the speedster-DJ and Conner raised a microphone to his lips. The ageless clone hero began to sing and all commotion or talk ended at that very moment. His voice was as timeless as he. It was strong and vibrant, yet youthful and he echoed both sadness and triumph in every note. Every eye was upon him in wonder that the young man who they knew to be a stalwart warrior, whose voice more often held whispered secrets for Tim or threats for their enemies, could sing such a song as though it had been written for him, and that he had given that gift to his friends.

In the middle of the night
When the angels scream
I don't wanna live a life
That I believe
Time to do or die

They all stood transfixed, but Brian in particular took notice of the line and his eyes misted thinking of all they had been through, and had yet triumphed. As the song progressed Kon looked across the room to Tim whose eyes were full of wonder and pride at his husband. Kon's gaze softly intensified. The song was for everyone, but these words were for Tim…

You and I'll never die
It's a dark embrace
In the beginning was a life
Of a dawning age

Time to be alive

The sense of love and peace beyond the struggles they endured was felt by every young hero and their friends as the emotion passed from Kon to Tim and outward to them all. But the song progressed to a triumphal moment and Kon's voice carried clear and epic:

I will never forget
The moment
The moment
I will never forget
This night we sing
We sing on

Then the Kryptonian lad's voice rang out clear in invitation to those around him , tying in with the song. Only a single word in the crescendo of the music:

"Sing!"

I will never forget
The moment
The moment
I will never forget
This night we sing
We sing on
On
On

That's how the story goes

Fate is coming
That I know
Time is running
Got to go

Fate is coming
That I know
Let it go

Here and now
Under the battle of every dream aloud

Do or die
And the story goes on

Every voice in the room joined their voices in what became an anthem of all they had undergone and accomplished; and forgotten were the trials of the previous years, but remembered were the hopes for the future. Lovers and friends came closer together and any thought of tears were washed away in the sea of voices and the only break in melody was the occasional laugh that found itself release in the music. The song ended in wonder and laughter and Kon set down his microphone and took Tim in his arms and they shared a long kiss, as the party began in earnest around them.

Roy was still trying to be "okay" with the rest of the team, but he had Psycrox nearby to help him and their love was growing.

As the night wore on, Roy plucked up the courage to ask Conner for a dance, which he gladly granted in true friendship. It was Roy's way of apologizing and Kon's way of offering forgiveness… which neither of them need to explain to one another.

It was suspected that Calvin was mentally influenced, considering how he was acting, until they found out that Andrew, of all people, had spiked the punch.

"Hey, Jamie….?" Calvin asked while shuffling his red Flash sneakers as his face flushed bright crimson.

"Yeah kiddo.?"

"Can I dance with Bart?" The poor kid's head hung lower waiting for rejection and having his hero-friends think he was just a silly kid.

"Sure, if he wants to… if you promise me I can have the next dance with you after that." Jamie says with a small laugh.

"Yeah!" Calvin calls out and hugs on Jamie.

"Conner… do something about my kid before he gets his feelings hurt, okay?" A tough but handsome steel-worker asks.

"Good luck. He's had it bad since the rescue." Kon says, and wonders (not for the first time) what it might be like for him and Tim to have sons.

Bart, in a pique of fancy, mixed the soundtrack to the old Mortal Combat movie. With a bit of a laugh, Tim and Dick play-fought a beautiful duel between staff and escrima sticks. Bright spark flew from their weapons as the two nimble heroes plied their skills in time to the music to the delight of the partiers.

As the party settled to its end, the die-hard heroes and friend stayed on… and Bart mixed one last song…

Brett came out in a fine black suit and took Caleb by the hand and they danced together alone. Tim and Kon resisted for a while, giving the new boyfriends some space, but finally came out and danced with each other at their side, and then Bart and Calvin, who kept looking up at his hero like it was Christmas morning every moment. Jamie finally came in and rescued Bart (or Calvin, depending on who you ask) and the two heroes took Calvin to a guest suite where his father would meet him soon and spend a very secure night as father and son, having put the old terrors behind them. It would be the most peaceful night either had known since Calvin's mom went to the hospital and never came home.

Kaldur was back home, even though no one had yet asked what had happened. There were extra rooms now since Tim and Kon shared one when they were in the mountain, as did Nightwing and Kid Flash. Before the end of the final song Tim asked Dick…

"Did you get it taken care of?"

"Yeah, your decorating capabilities are well known. That's why I let Wally tidy it up."

"Brother! It's for them, not us!"

"I know, but trust me. It's all good. They'll like it.

The two young men, Brett and Caleb, were escorted half-asleep to the guest room that had been provided for them. Considering this was their after-party from their prom… it was either good or bad. Bad, because of all that had happened, but good because of all that was gained. They had together seen how superheroes their age enjoyed life in such struggle and they loved and envied it.

As the hallway light finally went out, the giggling sounds of Bart were muffled by Jamie's moans, as two other guys learned how to please each other for the first time. Tim and Kon simply went to bed and wrote poetry to each other with their sighs and moans

The entire Team felt lighter and vindicated, and wholly without grief, but life was just beginning and the future was very bright.