So, I should probably be doing homework or something :|
Pshh, yeah…

Anyways… On with the story!

Sending a Message
_

It wasn't supposed to happen like this. It was just supposed to be a simple recon mission. A recon mission! Why did those always end badly?
_

It all started out like any other normal mission: Get in, get intel, get out.

Oh, and don't get caught.

Three out of four doesn't seem so bad until you see Robin, curled up in a bloody mass on a temporary medical bed in the bioship.

"Where is everyone?" Aqualad's voice came from beyond the rubble. An explosion in the warehouse had momentarily stunned all within it.

"Here!" Miss Martian answered.

"Behind you," Kid Flash's voice stated.

"Present." Artemis.

"Here," Superboy reassured.

Red Arrow, who had been given the tip about Ra's al Ghul doing business in Tibet in the first place, looked around. "Where's Robin?" he asked. That explosion was pretty small, but Robin had been closest to the bomb.

"Here. I'm fine," Robin answered. He had a small laceration on his cheek, but otherwise seemed fine. He brushed some warehouse debris out of his hair and off of his chest. "Where's Ra's?"

"Escaped," Aqualad stated.

"Don't be so certain." The ominous voice came from the shadows behind Robin. He couldn't turn around fast enough and found himself in a headlock, accompanied by a rather menacing dagger pressed to his left side. "I have a message for the Detective, and it will—be—received," he emphasized. Robin yelled out as the dagger was thrust into his ribcage. With a twist of his wrist and a yank, Ra's dropped the bird at his feet.

Robin grew paler by the second, and though no one would admit it, they somehow knew that it would probably take a miracle for him to pull through.

"Rob?" Kid Flash nervously asked his best friend. He pulled his mask off, becoming Wally West. "Robin?"

"Mmm…?" Robin grunted, drowsily opening his eyes.

"Please try to stay awake. We're on our way home now, okay? Please, please stay with us!" Wally gave his best friend his best pleading face as Roy examined the injury.

Aqualad, however, had managed to contact Black Canary.

"Kaldur? Is everything alright?"

Kaldur looked from Black Canary to Robin and then back. "I cannot say that it is. Robin is hurt." He paused. "Badly."

Canary looked like she might freak out if she hadn't been trained to prepare for the worst. She calmly asked what had happened.

"We were investigating the warehouse in Tibet as planned, but when we found Ra's al Ghul, he informed us of a small bomb that he had planted to 'send his message.' Robin was going to disable it, but it went off. When the smoke had cleared, Robin was fine, but Ra's had disappeared. When we found him again, he stabbed Robin in his side, declaring that 'his message would be heard.'"

The guilt etched on the leader's face was almost too much for Black Canary to bear. She didn't even ask what "the message" was. It didn't matter right now. "How deep is the wound?"

Kaldur excused himself to find out. When he got to Robin's bedside, he found Wally next to Roy looking like he might lose his head any second, Artemis sitting on Robin's other side just as shaken, and Roy examining the injury. "How deep is the wound?" he asked.

"I don't know." Roy shook his head. "There's too much blood, and I'm afraid that if I clean it away to find out, he'll just keep bleeding more. Whatever kind of dagger Ra's was using, it was a damn good one."

Kaldur nodded and returned to Black Canary.

"Well?" she asked expectantly.

Kaldur looked to Robin and then back at Canary. He shook his head. "I'm afraid we cannot tell." He looked down and closed his eyes. "There is so much blood," he whispered dejectedly.

She pursed her lips. "I'll call Batman. We'll have a bed ready for Robin at the cave. Make sure to apply pressure to his wound to try to staunch the blood flow. And Kaldur?" He looked up. "Robin will be okay. He's strong." Kaldur nodded at her and went to relay Canary's message to the others.

He hoped Canary was right.
_

"Rob?" Wally called to his friend. He had sat at Robin's side a few minutes earlier.

"Mmm…"

"Robin? You need to keep putting pressure on your side. Come on, dude, you have to stay awake. Please? You're scaring us over here. Rob?"

"I…I can't anymore," his voice was breathy, barely louder than a whisper.

"It's okay, Rob, we're gonna be home in about two hours, okay? Can you hang on until then?" Wally nearly begged.

"Wally, we…we have to t…talk about this. You guys have to be prepared for…anything," Robin spit out through labored breaths. Roy decided to cut in.

"We don't need to talk. You're weak, but you've lasted this long. You'll be fine until then, I know it," he said determinedly.

"Yeah, what he said," Artemis agreed.

"Guys—"

"No, Robin. Do not be negative. You will be fine. Black Canary said so," Kaldur assured.

"I'm not being negative, I…unh… I'm being realistic. There's a difference." He winced and clutched his side.

"No!" M'gann practically shrieked. Everyone turned to her.

"Uh… Meg? Who's piloting the bioship?" Wally asked.

She ignored him and looked at Robin and rushed to his other side, her face immediately softening. "You'll be alright. I know you will." She seemed to be reassuring herself more than Robin, who had grown paler still.

"Guys, n…not to sound dramatic, but I don't know…how long I can keep this up."

Robin winced again. His wound had not stopped bleeding, but had clotted slightly.

"Robin, please…please stop talking like that," Wally pleaded. His eyes were rimmed with tears threatening to spill. Artemis, who had moved to Wally's side, put her head on his shoulder.

Conner was the only one not hovering over Robin; he had told M'gann to go check on Robin while he piloted. Truthfully, he couldn't stand just sitting around, watching one of his best friends…die. He decided he'd relieve M'gann of her piloting duties and let her help tend to Robin. He couldn't see her being able to think straight, what with her own emotions along with everyone else's pounding in her head.

It was a sad sight, honestly; there was Kaldur, who sat at Robin's feet, feeling responsible for the whole thing, no doubt, even though he knew that Robin would never blame him. Roy sat next to Kaldur on Robin's other side, and M'gann, who could barely contain herself, sat by Robin's head, softly stroking his jet black hair, sniffling lightly. Artemis, who still had her head on Wally's shoulder, was beginning to think that maybe Robin wouldn't make it this time. All thoughts were broken when Robin spoke.

"W-Wally," he said tiredly, the pain in his voice evident.

"Yeah?" Wally answered, leaning in slightly.

"My… my mask."

"It's still on."

"Yeah. That…nn… That's the problem." He grimaced.

Wally suddenly realized what Robin had been trying to say. He wanted the team to know his identity. He didn't want to fight anymore. He was giving up.

Who was Wally to deny what may possibly be his best friend's last wish?

When his mask had been removed, Robin opened his eyes. They were usually so bright and full of energy and life, but Wally had seen how they had become clouded and sullen. Artemis had noticed, too.

"Dick Grayson," she whispered, awestruck. All this time, she had thought that Dick Grayson was just another bratty rich kid. Boy was she wrong. The thinks he had been through; the things he had seen… And now, here they all were, surrounding him on his deathbed.

"Guys, I'm cold." Robin—no, Dick—shivered and began to close his eyes.

Wally finally broke down, not being able to take it anymore. He leaned over Dick's small body, pale as it was, and just cried. He cried for all of the memories they had together. He cried for the things they had gotten each other through. Most of all, he cried because, deep down, he knew that Dick had every right to die. As soon as he thought this, Wally wished he hadn't. It sounded horrible in his head. But as he thought about it more, he realized it was true. Dick done his time on this earth. He had watched his family die, taken from right in front of him. He had changed so many people, touched so many hearts… He had done more in 14 years than most people could do in a hundred. He had more than his fair share of pain, and he deserved to be reunited with his family, even if that meant that his friends would never see him again.
_

Wow, I've never written anything like this before. :/

This took a lot longer than I had expected. Anyways, read and review and I hope I'll have part two up soon. (Although with the way things are going now, I'll be ecstatic if I get it up before Christmas)