Title: Ruffled Feathers

Summary: The five times Robin flew, and the one time he was caught. First chapter: Joker gets some help from The Light, proving disastrous for the team. Heavy on the dis.

Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice (obviously, otherwise Wally wouldn't have died and season 2 would have just been a dream.)

It was a simple enough mission. It wasn't even supposed to really be this complicated, and yet there they were, fighting for their lives, and once again, Robin was left wondering how all of their covert missions turned into, well, this.

Kid Flash was dodging bullets left and right, looking like he might be starting to slow down because of hunger; he hadn't been able to pack food before they all had left that morning. He was doing a good job of trying to blend in with the darkness of midnight, but somehow the henchmen were always getting too close for comfort with the unrelenting shooting into the nearby forest. KF had also been tripping from time to time, just showing everyone how fatigued he really was.

Superboy wasn't doing much better with holding off his own group of henchmen. No matter where he threw his punches, the baddies always seemed to know his next move. He wasn't getting anywhere with his attacks, and his rage looked like it was getting the better of him. Not good.

Artemis had been holding back on her arrows, trying to save them for when they were needed, but even then they were becoming scarce. She had twelve of them left, and her arm was getting a bit tired from having to pull back her bow every time she shot an arrow. Which was more often than she would have wanted to. Now down to ten arrows, she was looking around for a fast and easy escape, though none seemed to be a good route. She, like the others, was surrounded.

Miss Martian looked to be ok, but really she was becoming worn out. With the constant shooting, she couldn't stay hidden without becoming distracted trying to dodge through the bullets. On top of that, no matter how many guys she took out, more kept coming in to replace them. It was like they knew she couldn't hold up much longer, because now they were making sure she couldn't go anywhere. She was surrounded, and she couldn't do anything about it. Not even fly up, for now they were somehow shooting fire arrows near her, which was weakening her increasingly. Besides, even if she could get away, there was no chance in leaving her friends behind.

Aqualad hadn't been too bad to start off, using his water-bearers to take the shape of any weapon he needed. Now, however, he was getting tired. The magic he used didn't take much of his energy, but that wasn't saying it never took any energy. That, combined with him throwing his weapons where they were needed, was beginning to wear him down. And now the enemies were closing in from all sides. This could not be good.

Robin was doing well in fighting, but even he had begun to show the signs of exhaustion. He was doing not as many flips as before, and was focusing on dodging the very sharp weapon thrown his way. He, unlike the others, wasn't fighting off the multitude of henchmen. No, this villain had made it clear that Robin was all his. After all, it was his villain. But something wasn't right. Something was a little off on how organized all of these people were. And it was starting to get a little weird.

Guys, can any of you get away? He said through the mental link, silently thanking Megan for being able to keep it open.

No, it appears we have been set up. I am surrounded, as is the rest of the team. Kaldur informed him.

Yeah, man, if I could find a way to run and contact the Justice League, believe me, I would. It looks like these nutjobs planned this entire thing out Wally told them.

And I am sooo not liking these clown masks. Yeesh! Artemis added.

How do they keep dodging my attacks!? No matter where I try to hit, they always move before can actually land the punch! Superboy practically growled.

Um, guys? I'm not sure how much longer I can keep this link up. It's getting a little hard to even float right now. Megan said.

Ok, just whatever you do try not to get captured. There's no telling what he might do. Robin said. And that was when everything went even more downhill.

~Earlier that day~

"Wally, what are you doing?"

"Eating. What does it look like I'm doing?"

"Being a pig. Now could you stop making airplane noises when you stuff the food into that black hole you call a mouth? It's really starting to get on my nerves. You know what? While you're at it, try to STOP TALKING FOR AT LEAST FIVE MINUTES."

"But then you would miss the melodious sound of my voice! Wouldn't want to upset you." Wally said with a wink. "And fine, no more airplane noises."

"Well, at least you know how to actually ACT your age." Artemis said while rolling her eyes.

Wally then proceeded to make train whistle sounds, complete with a, 'chugga-chugga-chugga-chugga woot woot!'

"Ugh! You are impossible, you know that? Fine, I'm eating my waffles in the living room with Megan and Conner. Much less annoying." She said, glaring at Wally while walking out of the kitchen, plate in her hands.

Wally, who was sitting at the table across from an empty chair previously occupied by Artemis, looked at his best friend, (Who was sitting on the counter) matching his glare. Finally he gave up saying, "Oh come on! You know no one can match a Bat-Glare! Not even a mini one!"

"That's the point." Returned Robin, a small smile on his face from his victorious glare. Batman would be proud.

"Hey, in my defense, it was very funny." Wally said.

Robin raised an eyebrow.

"In my other defense, that wasn't a good defense."

"Noted."

Wally decided to change the subject. "So, where's Bats at? Didn't he say he had a new mission for us today? Or was that supposed to be next week?"

Robin dropped the smile, becoming serious for a moment to answer. "No, it's today, Bats is just getting everything all sorted out to see everything we might go up against." He then smirked, saying, "You know, in case it might be a little too whelming."

As if on cue, Batman's voice came over the hidden speakers in the cave. "Team, report to the mission room for debriefing."

"Man, is he always so serious? How do you live with the guy?" Wally asked while eyeing the rest of his waffles sadly, knowing he wouldn't have time to eat the rest.

Robin just laughed, taking away Wally's plate of food, giving it to Wolf before he could even protest. Then he laughed again at seeing Wally's face, staring openmouthed at his used-to-be-breakfast.

"Come on we'll be late if we don't go now!" He said, then ran towards the meeting place, cackling on the way there in a way that made it echo around the mountain.

When everyone got there, Batman began. "We have reason to believe that someone has been using a type of poison to make people do what they want. The poison is administrated through a liquid, having to be consumed before taking full effect on the victim. Few victims have been found, and those found were people who worked somewhere important. One found was a banker, who we guess may have been used to steal money from the bank. Your mission is covert only. I would look into it myself, but the Riddler and the terror twins have escaped Arkham Prison, and need to be tracked down immediately. I've sent the coordinates to Robin now. Get into your outfits and go as soon as you all can. I'm still not clear on who you will be fighting if it comes down to it, but hopefully you will not need to engage at all."

Everyone nodded and left to go get changed into their hero getups.

Inside the Bioship, everyone was staying quiet as usual, with a few jokes or comments thrown out once in a while. Finally, Megan announced that they were ten minutes to arrival. The team stayed quiet for the rest of the time, the silence was only broken when Robin reminded everyone to stay hidden, and that any contact with the League would not get through, because of the place being in a dead-zone.

One by one, they all jumped out in to the open, after turning on the new stealth-tech made into their suits.

Meg'ann, link us up. Kaldur instructed.

Everyone online? Megan asked. She didn't really need to ask, but after doing it the first time, it had become a sort of 'tradition' or 'good luck saying.'

After hearing a yes, yep, yup, grunt, and a you know it, beautiful, they all split up into pairs. Superboy and Megan, Artimis and Kaldur, and Kid Flash and Robin were the usual pairs, and it stayed the same most of the time, besides when something else came up that called for a new pair or a mix-up.

They all went three different directions, keeping in contact through the mind link. Which is a good thing but also a bad thing, especially when there's a very bored speedster in the company. Three Barney songs, four SpongeBob songs, and five very annoyed teammates later, Superboy let everyone know he had heard men faintly talking about a 'package' arriving soon.

Everyone, go to Megan and Superboy's position as soon as you can. Try to not be seen. said Kaldur over the mind link.

Got it. Rob and I will get there in a few minutes. Wally assured.

That's where it all went wrong.

Surprisingly, it wasn't Kid Flash who alerted them. It was Artemis. Complete accident, it wouldn't have even mattered if the men hadn't looked into it. All she did was take a step, right onto a dry twig. When KF and Robin got there, it was a battlefield. The bad guys had all come out of the surrounding buildings at hearing gunshots. They almost resembled ants coming out of a nest after being poked with a stick. Within minutes, they were surrounded. Within hours, they had no chance of escape.

And the queen ant? (Well, it would be more of a king ant but they die so… never mind. Irrelevant.)

None other than the Joker. Who seemed very happy to see the young heroes.

Ok, so that's my first story! I really hope you all like it! I'm going to split each chapter into two chapters, so you have something to (hopefully) look forward to! I'm not really sure where Kaldur was at breakfast, so just imagine he was swimming or something. So, yeah, I'm also trying to work on writing settings better, because as you can see, I'm not too good at it right now. the setting is supposed to be like bunch of warehouses surrounded by a forest in a kind-of-but-not-really valley. That's about it, review please! I'm not completely sure on when I will update again, it might be around a few days or a couple weeks. but I will update as soon as I can. still review, because if you don't, I wont know how many people read my story. Until next time! -Agent Ladybug Over and Out!