More Young Justice Trash

Separated (Part 4)

-In which the kids adjust to their new living situation, and more pieces click into place for Batman-

The night was long. Conner slept on the wet concrete, and the others piled atop him trying to conserve heat. Kaldur didn't sleep at all, gently petting Artemis' hair as he stayed vigilant, watching for threats. They didn't worry as much about other homeless individuals, they tended to keep their heads down, say to ask for a smoke or check if they were okay. The teens were were known for occasionally sharing their stolen food with others on the block, so they were hardly seen as strangers.
They also tended to get attention being on the street so young, and would occasionally get harassed by drunkards and assholes telling them to 'just go home'. 

On top of all that, they now had Batman to watch out for. 

The dawn came clear and frigid. Kaldur was grateful to have grown up without sunlight, giving him quite the cold tolerance. He pulled Artemis tighter to keep her warm. He didn't have a jacket-- Conner was still wearing it-- so all he had to offer was body heat.

"Kal?" She murmured, cuddling into him.

"Yes?"

"Mhm." She snuggled closer. "Warm." 

He smiled a little and returned to petting her hair. He cared the world for his friends; he wouldn't let anyone hurt them.

"Last night I was camped out to find the cocaine thieves from earlier this week," Bats began, pacing. "Only two people returned to the scene; both children."

"That's distressing," Arthur admitted. "But why did you call me here?"

Batman fixed him with a look. "One of them was clearly Atlantean."

That caught Orin off guard. "Atlantean? I thought it was in Gotham."

"It was." Bats growled. "Do you have any idea why an Atlantean child might be on land-- let alone in Gotham?"

"Well... Well there's a chance they could be a deserter."

Ah yes, the Atlantean child militia. They were lobbying against it, but as of present it was still operational. "You think one of them could have fled on land to escape service?"

"It's possible... I can ask to see the records if it would help?"

"I think that would be best." Before Batman could decide whether to mention the smaller child, the screen between them blinked to life. "Black Canary? What is it?"

"We have some news regarding an attempted assassination yesterday." Dinah explained. "By Cheshire."

"I'll be right there."

"Y'know," Wally remarked later that morning. "We're kind of lucky we got kicked out."

"Please explain."

"I mean, now we don't have to worry about getting rid of all that coke, right?"

"Ever the optimist." Dick said, stuffing his elephant into the fireproof box-- the only had one, so it stored all of their cash and keepsakes.

"Maybe Batman wanted to help us?" M'gann suggested. "Maybe he just wanted to stop us from doing drugs?"

"Two for two on hopeless optimists." Artemis replied, applying deodorant. Now that none of them had a change of clothes, shoplifting a bar of deodorant had been the first course of action. It was hard enough to maintain any sort of hygiene while on the street.

"We'll need more supplies." Kaldur remarked sadly. "Wally?"

"Sure, name a store." He sighed. "I want Conner as backup.

 The video still filled every screen in the main room, Canary and Arrow leaning over one of them.

"What is it?"

"We found a clip of Cheshire at the scene, but the assassination never took place." Arrow explained. "Someone-- not one of us-- must have stopped her."

"On that topic." Canary interrupted. "You'll want to watch this."
The video was grainy and full of noise, but you could faintly make out a figure exiting a car.  "Keep an eye on her." 

Bats did, he watched her approach the stadium that was hosting a political debate the previous day.

"Three, two, one... there!" They paused the video, displaying several short figures darting into sight. "Go frame-by-frame." Oliver advised.

They did. five frames; that was it, five frames that showed several small figures tackling the assassin into an alleyway.

"So?" Canary asked, stepping  back. "We think it might be a gang with their own motives."

Batman frowned. The way they moved, darting on screen, barely more than shadows... they were the exact same as the figures from the docks. "I'll need to look into this."

"You could wear any shirt! Why do you need that one?"

"I just do!"

"Break it up, please." Kaldur called blearily, awoken from his nap. 

"We almost got caught cause he had to grab that stupid shirt!" Wally complained.

"It's not stupid!" Conner replied, gripping it to his chest. He shucked Kaldur's jacket and pulled on the shirt, looking down at the crest proudly.

"What matters is that you didn't get caught." Kaldur allayed. "Now, show us what you got."

"It sounds like you have some misbehaving children on your hands." Alfred set down a cup of tea. "How will you manage?"

Bruce ignored the pointed sarcasm. "I don't know how they ended up together, or how the two of them ended up with that gang, but I don't like it."

"Well for all you know, the rest of the gang could be children as well."

Bruce ignored this facetiousness. "It's not just irresponsible, it's dangerous to get kids involved with those things, whether their human or not."

He remembered how the children had returned to that house, retrieving the stuffed toy and nothing else. They were kids,  they clearly didn't think to grab their clothes or sleeping bags, just the toy. He tried not to think about the implications.

"Your dinner will be ready shortly." Alfred announced. "Now, if you don't mind..."

Bruce nodded, leaving the kitchen. He needed to get those kids away from their gang as quick as possible, maybe try to get them a plea bargain to minimize time in juvie...

They had their food at least, but without their camping stove or bowls, it was hardly pleasant to eat. They ate concentrated soup from the cans, stomachs relieved to be given anything at all.

M'gann gagged, and got back to eating.

"I know, it's gross." Dick reassured. "But we'll survive."

Wally was forced to eat almost twice as much as the others, meaning he gagged and almost vomited the most. Still, he kept it down, preferring to eat this strange soup-gelatin than starve.

Suffice to say; dinner was miserable, and having eaten, the teens took their meds and prepared to sleep again-- should they be able to. Conner and Artemis took 'a walk', taking the cigarettes and mysterious little box with them. Nobody pried, they respected that their friends were trying.