Title: Shatter the Silence

Author name : StarStorm

Email: knightstarstorm@lycos.com

Pairing: Superman/Batman (implied); Superboy/Robin

Rating: Strong PG-13 possibly R for language.

Summary: Kon and Tim prepare for the future of Young Justice as Superman, Nightwing, Alfred and Oracle confront Batman about Spoiler.

Disclaimer: Not mine, but if DC don't want 'em no more, I'll take them in.

Archive: Batslash, WWOMB if you want them.

Notes: Third in an unnamed series, the first two are "Going Through the Motions" and "Where Do We Go From Here?"

-picks up immediately after "Where Do We Go From Here."

Dedication: Rea, Arlene, thank you both for all your work. Wanna do it again?

Enough blather, on with the fic!

After Nightwing's phone call, the boys had gone back to their projects, leaving Cissie to entertain herself. It wasn't that they didn't want her around, but the Cave needed a lot of work, and she didn't know enough about computers to help.

Finally, she'd wandered down to the training hall, surprised to find her targets still set up. One empty quiver and an hour later, the ex-heroine headed back towards the wardroom. At the last moment, she veered into the kitchen, grabbing some cold cans of Zesti. Alvin and Kon could probably use them by now.

About to open her mouth and announce her arrival with refreshments, the young woman stopped and couldn't keep from staring.

Robin was still sitting at the table, but Superboy had abandoned his work on the lights to wrap his arms around the Teen Wonder from behind. Both of them were looking down toward their hands, busily moving in Robin's lap.

Cissie saw Kon's mouth move, but couldn't hear what he was saying. Alvin raised his head a little, turning so that Kon's lips brushed his ear, and so that he could also make sideways eye contact.

Superboy said something else that caused a grin to crack the usually serious features, then Robin looked back down, his mouth moving in reply. Kon snickered and curved his head to nuzzle Robin's hair.

Blushing furiously, Cissie backed out of the room, her mind in a whirl. Safely in the kitchen, she leaned against the wall and tried to process. Had she really seen what she thought she'd seen? Or was she ready for the little men in white coats?

A yelp made her want to look again, but the thought of what she might see next stopped her cold. There was such a thing as too much information, and watching Robin...definitely fell into that category. If that was what was going on, that is.

She sat down at the table and popped the tab off the Zesti can, chugging it like she wished it was something stronger.

Things had really changed around here.

Lost in thought, Cissie didn't notice Alvin stroll into the kitchen until he spoke. "Geez, you must be thirsty."

"Hunh?" She blinked at him, then, blushing, she glanced at the table. "Yeah. I'm..very thirsty. I'll bring more later, pay you back."

He gave her an odd look as he walked over to the sink and washed his hands. Pulling a paper towel off the roll, he dried them and went for a drink of his own. "Are you okay?"

"What? Yeah," she nodded vigorously, trying not to look at his..belt. "I'm peachy, why?"

"Just curious. The last week is the most we've seen you in months."

"I quit the team, Al, remember?"

Robin nodded, leaning against the fridge. "Yeah. I know. But I just want to make sure *you* remember that you're welcome to just hang out. No hero stuff."

Mentally shoving everything she'd seen tonight into a little corner of her mind, Cissie met her ex-leader's eyes. "If I'm here when the team's called out, I'm going to want to go with you."

"Maybe not."

"I know me too well, Robin. I'm an adrenaline junkie, just like the rest of you." She shook her head and looked away. "I can't risk it."

"You didn't kill him, Cis."

"Not for lack of trying."

He pushed off from the fridge and walked over to her. "I know where you've been. And I'm telling you, you're strong enough to come back to Young Justice if you want to."

"So I just wait for it to happen again?" Doubt etched her voice.

"I do," he shrugged. "When my first time came, I would've beaten the bastard to death if Green Arrow hadn't pulled me off him."

"What happened?"

Robin took a swallow of soda, and summarized the events of nearly two years before. "I was going to Gotham Heights High. People were being transferred in from Lower Gotham, and they wanted things the way they were at L.G.H. Which meant guns and drugs. A friend's dad gave him a gun for protection, and Karl got himself killed right in front of the trophy case at school. Green Arrow was in town, and the two of us went after the gangers. When they turned over their supplier, I tried to punch his ticket." He shrugged again. "End of story."

She looked down at the table. "I'm not like you, Robin. If I fall over the edge, I'm not coming back."

"You're more like me than you think you are," he replied cryptically.

"Why do you say that?"

"You hunted him down. You looked for clues, you followed the leads. It was a nice piece of work." The Teen Wonder took another swallow of his drink. "The only difference is you carry a projectile weapon, and I don't. And it only takes an instant for you to lose control of that weapon."

"I know that," Cissie snapped in annoyance.

He gave her a look she'd never seen him give an ally before. He was sizing her up, measuring her against something. Without conscious thought, she straightened her back and raised her chin, meeting his eyes in challenge. Robin's face quirked into a knowing grin at the motion, and without breaking the stare down, he raised his Zesti to his lips again. "You'd make a good Bat."

Of everything she'd been expecting him to say, that wasn't one of them. It took a second for her to respond, to try and change the subject. "It's my understanding that you and the Dark Knight had a falling out."

He nodded. "Yeah. Which means when he catches up with me, I'm going to be short some bulletproof armor and fancy toys."

What got Cissie the most was how blank and neutral his face looked, and how loaded the words were in contrast. Not willing to beat around the bush, the archer came right out and asked, "Why're you acting so weird? You offering me your job?"

Robin snorted, "In a way, yes. But not the one you think."

Cissie rolled her eyes. "If you get anymore Hemingway, Al, I'm leaving."

"He doesn't know any other way to be," Superboy commented easily, taking one of the Zestis off the table. The archer jolted a bit at the sound of his voice, not having heard him enter the room. The clone moved to his leader's side, and the united front they presented did nothing to ease the butterflies she was beginning to feel.

"You asked if I were offering you my job," Robin reminded. "I'm not. What I *am* offering is leadership of the reserve team."

She shot a wild look at Superboy, but received nothing from that quarter. "We..you..Young Justice doesn't have a reserve team."

"Not yet," Robin acknowledged. "I wanted to see how you felt about it."

Off balance, Cissie asked the first question that popped to mind. "What about Kon? He's always wanted to.." Her question fell off as she saw the silent communication going on between the pair in front of her. It lasted only a moment, but it was long enough.

The vigilante turned his attention back to her. "When Batman finds me, he's going to take the uniform back."

"You said that already." Grasping the obvious.

"I know I did." Robin's voice never changed tone or inflection. "But I want you to think about that for a minute. What it means."

Neither teen so much as blinked until she figured it out. "You won't be as well protected in a fight."

"And, to paraphrase you, 'I know me too well.' It's not the adrenaline I'd miss, it's that I've got a real problem telling people to do something I'm not willing to do myself."

"I think I speak for everyone here when I say, 'hunh?'"

Kon's lips twitched, recognizing the quote. He didn't correct her about the 'everyone' though, since he and Robin had talked about this for a *long* time before she'd popped in for a visit. Fact was, if Mohammad hadn't come to the mountain, the mountain would have gone to Mohammad.

"I'm going to stay with Young Justice. But I'm not an Oracle; I can't sit on the sidelines and tell the team what to do in a fight. I've got to be right there in the middle of it." He tilted his head to the side. "You followin' me?"

She nodded and he continued, "Without my Robin gear, it'll be real easy to put me out of the game if someone is determined enough. In that scenario, Superboy's in charge."

"Okay, I get that. Except I still don't know what that has to do with me?"

"If I go down, you get the rest of the team the hell out of the way and call for back-up," Superboy answered bluntly.

"Why me? Why not Cassie? Or Empress?"

"Artemis isn't training Cassie to be a team player, she's training her to work alone. Like Wonder Woman," Robin told her.

"But Wonder Woman is with the JLA. And Troia is a Titan."

"The JLA comes together when the world is about to end," Superboy again. "That's it. No training, no playing."

"They have a telepathic link when they're in the field that invalidates the need to train together," Robin narrated.

Cissie noticed Kon's eyes crossing slightly, but he didn't say a word, leaving Alvin to continue the explanation.

"The Titans have never had a telepath in the mix that could link everyone the way the Manhunter can. That means they needed to train to prevent any of them from being hit by friendly fire. Troia helped found the team back when they were younger than we are. She's never worked solo, even if she *was* trained for it. That set of skills has atrophied."

"But Cassie.."

Alvin shook his head fiercely, cutting her off. "Artemis is teaching her to stand alone. I'm telling her to be one in a group. Trust me on this Arrow, something's gonna give, and it's gonna be Y.J."

"I think you're underestimating her," Cissie defended.

"I'd rather underestimate than over. If I ask her to take on more responsibility with the team, and she leaves, we've got a Wonder Girl shaped hole in our battle plans."

"And a strong chance we won't get to fix it before the next Apocalypse," Kon added, pushing off from the counter and going for the fridge.

It was his attitude that was bugging her the most, Cissie realized in the back of her mind. When she was a member of the team, you rarely saw Kon without a grin and a smart remark.

Things had really, *really* changed around here.

"What about Empress? She seems capable," the archer heard herself say. It was nice to know one part of her mind wasn't gibbering insanely at this whole conversation.

"Empress is a wild card," Robin answered. "There's a chance she might take charge, save the rest of the team. There's a chance that she'll escalate the fight, putting the others at more of a risk. And there's a chance she'll run like a rabbit as soon as Kon hits the ground." He sighed tiredly, and Cissie saw lines around his eyes she'd never noticed before. "Like with Cassie, I'd rather be wrong about her, but I *have* to be prepared to be right."

There was nothing she could say to that. During the lull in conversation, she and Robin finished off their Zestis while Kon fiddled with something in the microwave.

"The cheese stands alone," Cissie muttered, popping the top on the second can of Zesti. She looked at the young man standing in front of her. "You want to be prepared if you're right about Cassie and Empress, but are you prepared to be wrong about me?"

Robin never hesitated. "Yes."

"What would you do if I left again?" The archer *had* to know.

"Put our heads between our knees and kiss our asses goodbye," Kon countered, his back to them.

She raised an eyebrow. "Sounds like a plan."

"If you say no, then at the next team meeting, I will give a standing order that in the event of Kon and I are taken down in a fight, Young Justice will immediately retreat to Titan Tower and wait for help," Robin told her, giving Kon a reproving look.

Hearing such a swift, matter of fact answer, it occurred to Cissie, "You've been thinking about this for a while, haven't you?"

He nodded curtly, "Ever since the last time I updated our case files."

"What was in the case files that made you go all General Patton?"

"Mostly Bedlam. I finally got a hold of copies of the Titan's case files on that mess. Four or five heroes were responding to emergencies any one of them could have handled alone. Whole sections of the world were unguarded, and three hundred and forty kids died. If we had been better organized, how many of them would have lived?"

"You've been tearing yourself up over something that happened forever ago? Al, I knew you could brood, but *this* has *got* to be a record."

Kon made a noise that could have been a suppressed laugh. "Oh yeah, I called the Guinness Book, he's definitely in the running."

Robin shot him another look, which Kon blithely ignored. The Teen of Steel had a plate of something in his hand as he turned back around to face the room.

"Yours is on the counter," he told the shorter teen. "And yours," he pointed to Cissie, "is still heating up."

"What is it?" she asked suspiciously. Last she knew, neither of the boys could cook to save their souls.

"Last night's Chinese. Hope you like chicken chow mein."

"You've got enough for three?" She *was* kinda hungry, now that her stomach had stopped fluttering.

Kon openly snorted this time, as he sat down across from her and dug into his food, "Are you kidding? One plate from Mama Wong's could feed an army."

***

It wasn't tension, per se, that had filled the kitchen during their discussion, but whatever it was, it had eased off by the time the trio had eaten their fill.

"So why didn't you come to me sooner about rejoining the team?" Cissie asked, wondering if she had room for a Fortune cookie.

Robin finished chewing before he answered, "It's been one disaster after another, and we've never quite found the time. But with everything that's happened," he shook his head uncomfortably, "if we don't do it now, we're going to be up the creek without a paddle real soon."

"You really think he's coming for your stuff?" There was no need to clarify the 'he'. She could only mean one man. A Bat-man.

"Long Ears is who tripped the alarms last night," Kon replied, reaching for a napkin.

"But he might want to.."

"Arrow, we love you and all that, but put a sock in it. Birdboy and I have talked that thing to death, and he won't change his mind. The Bat is gonna strip him naked and the only thing we can do is wrap 'im up in blankets before we all go blind."

In the short time she'd been back, Cissie had actually gotten use to the more serious Kon-El. This wisecrack caught her completely off-guard, and she only had an instant to turn her head before she snorted her Zesti through her nose.

Glaring at his lieutenant, Robin handed her some napkins to clean herself up. "Like you couldn't turn a few people to stone," he shot back.

Superboy just smirked and kept silent. Wiping her face, Cissie remembered the scene she witnessed earlier.
"Gotta keep one part of you stony, or you wouldn't be as much fun," she teased, trying to let Robin know she was okay with him and Kon being, well, partners.

But the Teen Wonder was squinting at her in puzzlement, "What?"

The grin slipped, and she looked from one to the other and back, seeing only confusion. "You mean you two aren't...oh shit." The smile faded completely, and she looked at the table, flushing red.

"Aren't what?" Kon asked curiously.

"Never mind. Forget I said anything."

"Cissie." Alvin's voice was quiet, but it was in his patented Leader Tone.

"I thought," the archer took a deep breath, then raised her head and met Robin's eyes, "that I saw Kon giving you a hand job earlier."

Kon-El choked, staring at her wide eyed. Then he fell sideways off his chair and burst into laughter. Robin just blinked, completely at a loss for words.

Tilting her head to the side and wearing a rueful look, Cissie asked, "You sure you want a raving lunatic back on the team?"

"I was just asking myself that same question," Robin replied.

"C'mon, Wonder," Superboy howled from the floor, "we could use the comic relief!"

Their leader leaned back in his chair. "I thought that was you."

***

"Then who's senses am I in control of?" Batman asked from the doorway.

The clocktower was deadly silent as the Dark Knight stepped from the shadows and into the light of the living room.

Barbara was the first to recover. She ignored his question, asking one of her own. "What are you doing here?"

"I need some information on Cobblepot's known associates."

"You know how to work the computer, get it yourself. I'm eating dinner."

Batman turned away from her, moving towards the computer center. "I'd appreciate it if you'd inform me when you're going to be offline."

"And I'd appreciate you going to Hell on a postage stamp," she returned sweetly. "Why don't you ask Spoiler to get the facts for you Bruce? Or is she too stupid to know how to use a computer?"

"Spoiler is none of your concern."

"I suppose the same is to be said for Master Timothy? That he is not our concern either?" Alfred queried mildly.

"I don't have time for this." Forgetting the information he needed, Batman started to leave, finding his way blocked.

"Make time, because you're not leaving here until we get some answers," Dick challenged, stepping closer.

"Get out of my way." The words were growled.

"Not a chance."

Impatient, the Caped Crusader tried to push past anyway. Dick held his ground, "You're not getting away that easy, Bruce."

Batman retreated from Nightwing a step, then pivoted, going for another window, only to find himself hemmed in by the Man of Steel.

Blue eyes bore into the lens of Batman's cowl silently as the Dark Knight tried to sidestep. "You've improved your two step," the Kryptonian commented nonchalantly. "Too bad we're not dancing."

"You don't belong in my city," Batman snapped at Kal.

"I'm not in blue tights and I'm not in glasses. That means I do. Or have you forgotten?"

For the first time, Bruce Wayne took a good look at the man standing in front of him. His hair was loose and wavy, not slicked back the way Clark Kent and Superman wore it. The broad chest was covered with a black t-shirt, his legs covered in black jeans, and well worn black work boots completed the outfit. Superman was never out of his trademark blue and red, and Kent never wore jeans, t-shirts, or work boots, preferring loafers, slacks and polo shirts for casual wear. For that matter, he never wore unrelieved black either.

Of the three persona the alien could have confronted him with, he had chosen the one Bruce least wanted to deal with. His ex-lover.

Kal raised a sardonic eyebrow as he saw recognition in the eyes behind the mask. "So, Alzheimer's hasn't set in yet."

"I don't have time for this," Batman repeated, his voice laced with measured calm. But Kal could hear the other man's heart going like a trip hammer.

"And I don't have time to keep cleaning up your messes, yet here I am," Dick snapped from behind him. "Why'd you tell Spoiler who he was?"

"It was necessary." God, it's been so long since I've seen him like this...

"Was the phone broken? Did you forget Alfred's number?" the younger man persisted.

Batman didn't answer, still staring at Kal. Why didn't you stay with me?

"You drilled the importance of our secrets into Tim before he put on the mask, and then you go out and tell Clue Master's daughter, Tim's *girlfriend,* that he's Robin. He watched someone *die* to protect our identities, and you couldn't even swallow your damn pride long enough to ask Alfred a simple question," Barbara broke in. "What the hell were you thinking? What if Spoiler tells her father what she knows?"

"She won't do that," Bruce answered absently. I never thought I'd lose you.

"How do you know that for sure Master Bruce? We hardly know anything about this girl."

"I trust her," the detective responded, coming back to the conversation with a jolt at Alfred's question.

Kal chuckled ironically. "You don't trust anyone but yourself Bruce. Try again."

"I don't need to explain anything to you," Batman growled, angry with himself for letting his mind wander.

"Fine. You can save your explanations for Diana, Wally and Arthur if anything happens to Young Justice because Robin is distracted and not leading them properly," the Man of Steel shrugged, stepping aside at last. "After all, you're much better at telling strangers the truth than you are your own family. Takes less guts."

"People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones, Kal," Batman hissed, for the Kryptonian's ears only as he walked to the window.

"My secrets have never endangered anyone's life, Bruce," Kal shot back, keeping his voice low.

"Haven't they?" The two words were loaded with more than even Dick could decipher, even as he stepped forward in protest.

"Hey, wait a minute..."

"Let him go Dick. After all, what's a few more costumes in glass cases? Another 'good soldier' memorialized because of his pride?"

Alfred paled and even Barbara recoiled at the vicious strike. There was no way on Earth Bruce would ignore *that.*

And he didn't.

The fist was in motion before anyone could blink. Kal caught it effortlessly, giving it a squeeze that could have crushed bone.

"You bastard," the vigilante snarled, his rage blocking the pain in his hand. "How dare you bring Jason into this!"

"You can't stand being reminded of your mistakes, can you? But you just keep on making the same damn ones." Kal released Bruce like he was throwing away a piece of trash. "You couldn't admit you missed Dick, so you brought that poor kid into your home, tried to make him into what you'd driven away. You couldn't admit you screwed up to Alfred, so you bring another innocent child into the line of fire."

"Spoiler was already there!" Batman roared. "At least with my training, she'll live to see another day!"

"Says you." Finding dogshit on his boots wouldn't have made Kal sound so disgusted. Barbara laid her hand on his arm, facing Bruce, but the Dark Knight had rallied, preparing to leap from the window.

Kal's teeth bared. "You spend so much of your time running from yourself, maybe you oughta change that costume to red with a coupla lightenin' bolts. The only fear you strike around here is your own."

But Batman was gone. Alfred sighed, "That certainly went well."

****

The eighth time Robin twitched his shoulders, Superboy sighed and shook his head, setting down his soldering iron. "Wonder, just go to bed already. Staring at that screen cross-eyed ain't gonna fix the problem."

"You're probably right," the other teen answered with a yawn. "What time is it anyway?"

"Dunno. Late." Kon gave the circuit board he was working on another look, then swore.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing much," the Teen of Steel rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "I just soldered the wrong wires together."

"Good thing I wasn't holding them this time," Robin shut down his terminal and hauled himself to his feet.

"How're your fingers, by the way?"

"A little sore. The glove took most of the damage."

"Sorry 'bout that," Kon apologized, then snickered quietly. "I can't believe Cissie thought I was getting you off."

"She watches too much Queer as Folk. Her gaydar's gotta be set to DefCon 5 by now," Robin answered, stretching the kinks out of his back and walking over to help Superboy clean up.

They worked in silence for a moment. "You ever thought about it?" Kon avoided looking at his friend as he asked.

"'Bout what?"

"You know..guys?"

Robin snorted in derision, "I don't have time to think about girls, let alone guys." He watched Kon for a second before asking curiously, "Have you?"

"Not really," the clone replied with a shrug. "I guess anything's possible, if you like somebody enough."

"Mmmph," Tim yawned again, his jaw popping. "Okay, that does it. I'll see you in the morning."

"I should get here 'round nine, 'kay?"

"You're not staying?"

"There's only two rooms with a bed in 'em, remember? And Cissie's got the other one."

The Boy Wonder tilted his head to the side, regarding his teammate. "You snore?"

"Hunh?"

"Do. You. Snore?" It was enunciated carefully.

"Don't think so. Why?"

Robin shrugged, "You can stay with me."

Kon looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "And here I thought I wasn't your type."

"You're not," the vigilante countered, "I've got better taste."

A piece of balled-up paper bounced gently off Robin's temple. "Just for that, I'll snore right in your ear."

***

Kon felt like his head had just hit the pillow when the alarms jolted him into wakefulness. Beside him, Robin stirred, then cursed, lunging for his discarded uniform.

In under two minutes, both heroes were dressed and heading to the control room. Cissie stumbled out of her room, her quiver on her back and bow in hand. "What's going on?"

"No idea," Robin answered tersely, extending his bo-staff. "Haven't gotten the security linked to the rooms yet."

"I'll scout ahead, make sure the perimeter hasn't been breached." Superboy whispered. Robin nodded in reply, "Arrow, you take the circle. Come up behind the control room just in case they're already through. Stick to the shadows."

"Got it," the archer slinked past the Teen Wonder, nocking an arrow.

****

Batman jerked as warning klaxons began blaring in his ears. The Dark Knight's surprise turned to a measure of pride as he realized Robin must have updated the security since Young Justice had taken over the cave, and that *he* had missed one of his protégé's traps.

A figure in blue and red appeared in the hallway leading from the living quarters just an instant before Batman walked into an invisible wall.

Superboy landed a few feet from the trapped man and hurried to the computer banks, shutting down the alarm system. Scowling at Batman, the Teen of Steel called out, "Stand down Y.J. False alarm. It's just a rat." The scorn in his voice reassured his hidden companions that he wasn't being forced to say anything.

"A rat?" A young female voice responded from the darkness. "I thought those sonic things kept them away?"

"Not if you've recycled the wires to fix the com," Robin answered her.

Batman tried to open his mouth to tell his partner who 'the rat' was, but he couldn't. "I'll reset the equipment, you guys can go on back to bed," Kon told them.

"Mi'la tu'tu?" Robin called, sounding much closer than before. Batman frowned at the strange dialect the younger man was using. It wasn't anything he'd ever heard before.

But Kon understood. Robin had switched to a language only obsessed fanboys would know. *Is everything all right?*

One cry would send the Teen Wonder into sneak attack mode, but Kon didn't use it. Instead he called out, "Ti'u!" *Yes.* Get some sleep, Tau'ri." *Human.* "I'll be done in a minute."

>From the corner of his eye, Superboy watched the intruder, careful to use enough Goa'uld to reassure Robin that he was okay, but not enough that Batman could start picking it apart. He knew the Bat never unwound enough to watch "Threshold: T-1" but even t.v. languages had basis in reality land. Kon wouldn't put it past the Caped Crusader to try deciphering the mystery, given enough to work with.

The clone's keen hearing picked up Robin's tired mutterings. "A rat. Arrows and bo staves against a rat. I swear, I'm gonna turn Imp loose on this place tomorrow and get all the woodland warriors out of here. This is getting ridiculous."

Superboy kept working with the computers, scanning for any other members of the Bat family, until he heard doors closing in the living quarters. Then he turned to his prisoner.

"What do you want?" He released the telekinetic hold on the detective.

"That's not your concern." Batman started forward, only to walk into another wall.

"Robin's my friend. You hurt him, and you're expecting me to step back and let you do it again? Sheeyeah right."

"I need to speak with him."

"Do the words you're gonna say include 'I'm sorry'?"

"That's none of your business."

"Then I'm calling the JLA and have Superman come get you. You don't have the permission of any member of Young Justice to be in the Cave, and I'm not releasing you on your own recognizance."

Batman glared at the boy, but Kon-El ignored him, turning his back and booting up the communications array.

"^Watchtower.^"

"Green Lantern, it's Superboy. We've got a minor situation down here and we're requesting Superman's assistance."

"^I don't know where he is, Superboy, but I can give you a hand.^"

"Hang on." A slender black eyebrow rose as Kon looked at Batman. "This can stay between us, or the biggest tattletale in Heroville can come down here and cart you home like a kid from the principal's office." An inscrutable look came into his eyes. "You oughta know, the League alone can form an Olympic quality gossip squad on five minutes' notice, but Flash used to be a Titan. It only takes them two." The clone glanced at the clock. "So, unless you want Captain Marvel hearing about this over a bowl of Apple Smacks, I'd say you've got ten seconds to make up your mind."

After a pause that lasted eight seconds, "This will stay between us," Batman ground out between clenched teeth. His gut told him Superboy would do exactly what he'd threatened, even as his mind howled in protest.

"^Lantern to Superboy, you still need help down there?^" It had actually taken eleven seconds for the League member to contact the younger team.

Kon watched Batman as he answered, "Never mind GL. Robin's got it under control. We're good."

"^Okay, you say so. Oh hey, got a second? Flash wants to talk to your leader.^"

"He's tied up at the moment," Kon lied smoothly. "But I can give him a message."

Flash's voice came over the line, "^Arsenal is still interested in hearing what Robin's got to say, so next chance Baby Bat gets, tell him to give the Tower a buzz, okay?^"

"Gotcha. Superboy out."

"^Watchtower out.^"

His back to the vigilante while he shut down the com unit, Superboy closed his eyes, and held a mental congress. Okay, you've backed Batman into a corner, blackmailed the guy, and now you're going to interrogate him. Have you *lost* your *mind*?! He's gonna remember this, he's gonna hunt you down, and he's gonna murder you with a rusty spoon!

The thought was almost enough to make him back down, but a sudden memory of the feel of Robin's shaking body in his arms, and the sound of his leader crying, forced Kon to take a deep breath, putting the Steel back into the Teen of Steel. You've gotta do this. Give up now, and he'll never take you seriously again. You've got to play it through, Kid.

With one final scan of the area, Kon reset the alarms and faced Batman again. "The kitchen has more chairs. Shall we adjourn?"

In the early days of Young Justice, only the quiet rustling of his cape would tell Superboy that Robin was around. After several times of the vigilante coming up behind him and scaring him half to death, Kon kept one ear out for the sound.

Batman's cape was heavier, but it made about the same amount of noise as the older hero followed the younger one into the dining area.

"Soder, Zesti or coffee?" Inane, but it was the first thing that popped into Kon's mind.

"Excuse me?"

Damn, did he *have* to sound so neutral all the time? "We've got Soder and Zesti, but the coffee won't be ready for about," Kon looked at the timer on the scavenged machine, "ten minutes."

"I'll wait."

Superboy nodded. "Cream and sugar?"

"That's fine."

Batman studied the boy as Kon gathered up a mug, spoon, and the fixings for the coffee and sat them on the counter. He was nervous, but doing a decent job of covering it under a veneer of politeness. Briefly, the detective wondered who'd taught the clone manners, then dismissed the thought as irrelevant.

As Superboy rummaged in the refrigerator, however, Batman's patience started to wear thin. "You wanted to talk?" he reminded icily.

"And I wanna be awake enough to remember the conversation," Kon shot back, pulling out his stash of caffeinated Soder. "Not everyone can go on four hours sleep in three days like you and Wonder can."

For an instant, the Dark Knight couldn't figure out what Diana's protégé had to do with anything. Then he recalled that Superboy had always called Robin 'Wonder Boy' instead of 'Boy Wonder.'

Kon popped the top of his drink and took a long swallow, welcoming the sugar rush. Not only did it wake him up, it gave him an instant to think.

"Why'd you toss your partner out of Gotham City, and leave him fending for himself up here?"

"That's none.."

"If you say it's none of my business, I swear to Rao I am not going to be responsible for my actions," Kon interrupted matter-of-factly. "You agreed to talk, so *talk.*"

Rao, the Kryptonian Sun God. How does he know about.. "I did not 'toss' Robin out of Gotham. I suggested he leave until he could conduct himself in a more respectful manner."

"Why did you tell Spoiler his identity after you forbade him to reveal it himself?"

"It was necessary."

"For what?"

Batman glared at Kon-El through his lenses, beginning to really hate this little tête-à-tête. His fingers twitched near his utility belt, then stilled. I am actually considering using a vomit pellet against Superboy just so I don't have to answer him? My God, Kal was right.

The thought was a sobering one.

"You didn't answer my question," Superboy reminded him.

"I didn't know where he was. Spoiler seemed like the best option to find out."

"Then you'd already determined Nightwing and Oracle wouldn't be any use to you?"

"Yes."

"And exactly how did you expect Spoiler to be of any help when she was missing half the puzzle? Until you told her, she didn't know Robin in civvies."

"There may have been..other things she knew about him that I..wouldn't."

Batman noticed the uncomfortable look in Superboy's eyes as the meaning behind his words sank in, the first such expression, and fired back with his own question.

"What does Robin's problems with me have to do with you?"

"I already answered that question," Kon took another swallow of his soda, meeting Batman's gaze calmly.

"He wasn't paying attention," Robin's voice rang through the kitchen. "So you'll have to explain it to him again." The youngest member of the Bat clan stepped into the room.

Superboy moved between mentor and student. "Hey, Wonder, thought you went back to bed."

"I did. But it doesn't take this long to reset the security systems."

"Right." In the excitement, Kon had forgotten where he was bunking for the night. Robin would know he wasn't back, wouldn't he? "Want a Soder?"

Robin ignored the question, going around Kon to face his teacher once more. "You could have knocked."

Batman didn't answer, just looked at Superboy as if to say 'Leave.' Kon returned the look with one of his own. 'Not a chance.'

"You wouldn't have let me in."

"Yeah, I would've. I'd've even had everything boxed up and waiting for you."

Under his cowl, Batman raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

Fairly certain there wasn't going to be a fist fight, at least not yet, Superboy moved to the coffee maker as Robin answered mildly, "You're here for the equipment. I really hope Steph fits into it all, 'cause you know Harold doesn't like her much."

The Dark Knight's eyes snapped to Kon at the use of 'real names,' but the Teen of Steel was busy with something on the counter.

As if reading his mentor's mind, Robin smiled grimly. "Kon doesn't know your name, but I've told him everything else. Hell, I mean, if you can trust the daughter of a known criminal, I can trust the next best thing to Superman, right?"

His back to them, Kon closed his eyes and swallowed hard. Oh shit.

"Who else have you told?" The temperature in the room dropped thirty degrees with the question.

Robin shrugged. "What's it matter? I'm not your son, and I'm not your ward. There's nothing to tie us together."

"Robin." The threat was implicit.

"Coffee's ready!" Kon nearly sang, sliding a cup of coffee across the table to Batman. "Cream and sugar, right?" He pushed another cup into Robin's hand. "Here you go!"

Despite his..cheerful..attitude, Superboy kept himself between his leader and the Caped Crusader, breaking their stare down with his body, since his original plan failed.

"How much did you hear, when we were talking earlier?" Kon asked Robin in low tones.

"I heard that he thought Steph and I were screwing around," the Teen Wonder answered in disgust.

"Did you hear he was worried 'bout you?"

Robin snorted, but Kon persisted. "Or that he didn't throw you out, he just wanted you to get frosty?"

The younger man ripped his mask off, glaring at Kon. "Don't believe that. I know what I heard."

"Red, he uses double talk like a shield." A small noise behind him told Kon that Batman had heard that remark, and didn't like it. Oh well, too bad, so sad. In an even lower voice, the Teen of Steel added, "You know him better than I do, but he demands, he doesn't ask. Would he be sitting here, drinking coffee, if he wanted the uniform back that badly?"

Through the audio enhancers in his cowl, Batman heard every word the pair exchanged, including Robin's hissed, "How do I know you're not pinning him to the chair?"

"You don't," Kon acknowledged. He didn't reveal that he'd only dropped the T.K field once he'd faced the detective and was convinced he couldn't disappear. "But you know I can't control what comes outta his mouth. If he was here against his will, don't you think he'd try to threaten his way out? He's used to scaring the socks off the JLA and we're nothing compared to them."

Robin looked away, accepting the truth in Kon's words. "So what do I do? I can't forget it ever happened, and I can't forgive him either."

"I don't think he's here for either one. Forgiveness only means something if you think you've done something wrong. He doesn't. He couldn't find you, got worried, and did something he thought was right. I know you don't like it, but you've got to admit, if you'd been in serious trouble, wouldn't you want him to pull out all the stops to save you?"

Safely behind his lenses, Batman blinked in surprise. Given his protective behavior, the last thing Bruce expected was for Superboy to suddenly switch sides, defending him from Robin rather than the other way around.

Obviously, the change startled Robin as well. Batman could see that his eyes had narrowed. "Just whose side are you on anyway?"

Superboy was silent, but his back straightened, and with arms folded over each other, he stared down at Robin from his few extra inches of height.

"You didn't answer my question, Red. Wouldn't you want him to.."

"He could have just asked Alfred!" Robin growled, interrupting. "He didn't have to tell Spoiler!"

Batman painfully cleared his throat, causing both boys to turn to him. "I. Didn't. Want. To admit to him. That I'd lost track of you. That I was so focused. On other things. That I didn't know. If you were safe."

As Robin's gaze turned disbelieving, Kon winced. He knew what that admission had to have cost the older man.

The silence grew thicker, and as Batman looked down at the table, Superboy nudged the coffee mug at him again. This time the Dark Knight picked it up, taking a large swallow. Damn he was tired. Tired of defending himself from the League, of defending himself from his partners. His every little choice being analyzed like the secrets of the universe by people who should know better.

Bruce didn't move when Tim dropped heavily into the chair across from him, just watched quietly as the boy took a deep drink from his own mug. For the first time, he saw the dark shadows under his apprentice's eyes. "I thought you'd decided to move out of here."

Tim snorted. "A wise man once said, 'set-up someplace cosmic, show it to the press, then *don't* live there.' Doing repairs or starting over, it's the same amount of work either way. And since that reporter spilled the beans about the resort," he trailed off and shrugged. "We decided the Cave was more secure after all."
"The team sat still long enough to take a vote?" Bruce didn't know what possessed him to ask that question in that particular tone of voice.

"Actually, Superboy and I decided without them. If they don't like it, they can lump it," Robin answered, too tired to notice that his mentor sounded, for an instant, like Nightwing. He picked up his empty mug and tried to take a drink. "Huhn."

A quick glance around the room revealed that Superboy had left, giving the vigilantes privacy to talk. Tim got to his feet and poured himself another cup, raising the pot in offering to Bruce, who shook his head.

Back in his seat, slowly spinning his spoon through the murky brown liquid, the teen commented quietly, "Kon's right. If I'd've been in trouble, I wouldn'tve thrown the hissy fit. I'd've kissed your feet for saving me, and kept right on fighting the fight." Blue eyes locked on Bruce's through the cowl, the same way Kal's had earlier. "But Alfred still would've been quicker."

There was nothing to say to that except, "You're right."

Silence again, as Batman finished his first cup and Robin started on his second. "What made you come looking for me? Were you even after the suit?"

"No, I didn't come here to take anything away from you. I figured you'd be with Young Justice, since you'd left Gotham." He paused, then admitted. "And I knew Nightwing hadn't heard from you, because he wasn't giving me any grief."

Tim flushed, "Uhm, he knows now."

"He made that clear earlier this evening." It was said in the bass growl of the Bat. "Along with Alfred, Oracle and Kal."

"Kal?"

"Superman."

The teen winced, "Oh geez. I didn't know everybody was gonna jump on you. I didn't even mean to tell, it was all Tempest's fault."

"What do you mean by that?"

"We were invited to a Titan's party. I knew Superman was there, but I figured he needed to talk to Arsenal..you know..leader to leader?" Batman nodded and Tim continued, "Anyway, everyone was watching t.v., then Tempest cast this spell, and the next thing I know, I'm singing like a.." His lips twisted in a quick grin. "Like a Robin." The grin vanished, replaced by utter mortification. "I spilled my guts. Dick found out what happened, Superman, the Titans, Y.J. Oh my God, I am so sorry."

"We're even." But the abrupt motion Batman made getting out of his chair revealed his true feelings. The Dark Knight strode to the coffee machine, glancing at Tim before fixing himself another cup.

"I'm sorry." Tim repeated, flinching.

The mask slipped again, and Bruce Wayne sighed. He took a sip of his drink, and, not looking at the young man, said, "Tim. It's okay."

He could feel his student's puzzlement at the remark. Kal, when I see you again...

"You have nothing to be sorry for. I don't know what Tempest's reasons were for casting the spell you mentioned, but I'm positive you didn't ask him to. Did you?" It was a rhetorical question, but Tim shook his head anyway.

Bruce stared into his cup. "Sometimes, I think it's easier to work with Stephanie. I..don't mean anything to her, what I think, why I do things the way I do. She does as she pleases. You." He took a breath. "I meant so much to you that you did everything in your power to..fix me. To heal the wounds Jason's death left. You went to Dick. And when he couldn't help, you decided to do it yourself."

Tim stared, goggle eyed and silent as his mentor continued. "You've always seen..the man under the Bat. Until all I left you...was that."

Lost in his thoughts, Bruce missed Tim's eyes widening to the size of pie pans. For a wild moment, the teen wondered what the hell Kon spiked the coffee with.

"You believed in me. When I didn't believe in myself." The words weren't coming easily at all. Tim could almost see them being dragged out piece by piece from Bruce's mouth. "You still do. And because I'm..afraid, of letting you down, I push you away."

The walls that had fallen during the brief conversation slammed back up, the Bat was in full control once more. He drained his coffee, setting the mug carefully into the sink. "When you're ready to return to Gotham, let me know. I'll send the Redbird to pick you up."

And with that, he was gone, leaving his apprentice to stare at the space where he'd been.