Desert Dust
Part 1: Bird Outta Bialya
He groaned slowly, and his eyes shuttered open briefly as his body attempted to wake up. But the intense light proved too much for him and his eyes closed once more, allowing comforting darkness to overtake his mind once more.
But it seemed the material world did not like to be ignored, he realized as he felt the heat of the ground below him cause his cheek to burn. Almost drunkenly a small part of him realizes that he must be lying face down, and that his face was pressed into the dirt under him.
His fingers twist and he could not help but notice that something encased them that also traveled down his hand and past his wrist. It was tough and solid: Kevlar. It was Kevlar...
His Kevlar gloves scramble in the dirt as he attempts to lift his body for the first time, and he almost flinches at what it was that brushed up against his right arm and side. It takes several long seconds for him to realize that it was his cape.
Then it all came rushing back.
His cape, the Kevlar. His mask, he knew it to be black and white just as he could feel it feet snugly on his face, protecting his identity. Just as his padded red tunic defended his chest, though Bruce always commented on how it should be sturdier. But Robin always disagreed, saying that if there was any extra padding in the tunic then it would inhibit his agility and balance, his two aces in the fight against crime.
Robin. Crime.
Those two words brought a rush of different memories. Fighting, training hard in the bright lights and colors of Hayley's circus with his mother and his father. Trainer even longer and much harder in the cool shadowy darkness of the cave with his dad–Bruce.
The pain, the anger, the funeral, and the loneliness. Losing a home and gaining one, Alfred, rage at crime, at Zucco. Learning the secret, fighting, choosing the right choice then choosing once more during the oath. Bats and birds, and Batman and Robin, and Penguins, Jokers, and Cats. And thieves and villains and heroes and Gotham and...
Robin took one deep shuddering breath, it racked his body and did next to nothing to calm his nerves. But it allowed his thoughts to take backseat as he moved his body into an upright position. Then, from there he placed his feet on the ground and stood.
The whole world tilted sideways and his legs felt like whipped cream, but Robin was able to remain on his feet. Which was something of an impressive feat considering that his head was thumping like a jackhammer and his brain felt like it was going to leak from his ears.
Robin groaned once more and went to feel the side of his head gingerly, but stopped as his eyes took in what was dirtying his fingertips: sand. What Robin had first thought to be dirt, had in fact been sand. Looking around Robin saw even more of it.
It seemed that he was in a desert of some sort, and he had woken up on and around a collection of large rocks that resided in a small canyon of sorts. It explained why his face felt so burned. The solar rays from the sun had heated the boulder which in turn cooked Robin's exposed skin.
"Uggh,..." He voiced. "Where the hell am I?"
But as soon as Robin realized that he spoke aloud he cursed. The he silently berated himself for speaking out loud once again before truly taking in his surrounding. Eyes honed by years of keeping his sight on a thin balancing wire and murderous gunman, keyed in to his surroundings.
Robin couldn't pick out any gunman (murderous or otherwise) in his immediate vicinity, but that didn't say much. At his position he was at an optical and scouting disadvantage, if he wanted to see more of the area he would have to scale the rocky walls to gain a better view.
But doing so also came with risks. It would allow those that he could see, see him. He would be at a disadvantage in combat if there were any snipers or particularly skilled firearm users. Birdarangs were mid to short range weapons and wouldn't be much help if there happens to be too much distance between him and the enemy.
Climbing up to see the view would also reveal his location, something that Robin could only assume was unknown to the enemy. After all, they hadn't came charging at him and his body told him that he had been unconscious for about two hours. So either no one knew he was here or his body was planted here.
Frowning, Robin began to pat himself down. He wanted to make sure that he there wasn't any tracking chip implanted into the fibers of his costume. After a full check he believed that there wasn't any trackers on him or in him, since there wasn't any cuts or puncture wounds on his body.
Where the hell is Bruce? Robin thought to himself, finding it impossible to ignore the fact that his adoptive father wasn't here any longer. While Robin had fought crime solo in Gotham before, this obviously wasn't Gotham. Robin wouldn't have been outside of his city without Batman with him.
Is this some type of survival training? Robin had, (as Dick Grayson of course) been on several survival exercises with Bruce, and it wouldn't be the first time that his mentor had left him to fend for himself over the course of several days. None were pleasant, and none were as Robin, only Dick Grayson. Bruce had reasoned that if he could survive in any environment as a civilian, then he should thrive in them as a hero.
Robin began to take a full inventory of any and all equipment he had on his person at this moment in time. He found several types of Birdarangs, frost and smoke pellets, knockout gasses, along with general (and specialized) poison and paralysis antidotes. Oh yeah... Robin remarked inwardly, this is definitely not survival training. There is no way Bruce would allow me to keep all of this.
Further inspection yielded even more items. Rations, a full water canteen, Wayne-Tech Cyber Viruses, a small rebreather, sonic disruptors and several adrenaline pills and his Holo-Tech Computer with an extended USB cable. I'm fully equipped...
Robin was fully stocked in the middle of the desert while wearing his full uniform. He had to be on a mission with Batman, there wasn't a more likely option available at the moment. But where is he? Indeed, it looked as though him and his mentor had been separated sometime before or during he passed out.
But Bruce wouldn't leave him behind without good reason, especially if he didn't have any kind of orders or message left behind...Maybe there was a fight? Robin didn't really think so, he wasn't bleeding and his suit wasn't torn to shreds. They would be if he was in a big enough fight that caused Bruce to retreat, something that Robin had never seen him do. He had seen the man take on legions of thugs before without backing down...
Maybe I should radio in? Robin frowned, attempting calling his adoptive father was a big gamble. The signal could be jammed or tracked and Robin could end up being chased around a place he had never been in before. Those were not ideal circumstances...
With a nod to himself, Robin raised his left arm and activated his Holo-Computer. He couldn't help but smirk as it's blue screen screen and keyboard came hovering into existence over his left wrist. His agile fingers ghosted across its spectral keys as he brought up his map.
Hmmm...don't see Bruce's marker anywhere... The holographic map didn't pick up any bat-shaped icons, but it did pick up a GPS marker that Robin must have thrown down and a stylized 'A' icon Robin didn't recognize several miles to the west. Where the hell am I anyway?
Intent on finding out just where he and his mentor had landed themselves Robin checked his latitude and longitude and found out exactly where he was: Bialya. The rouge Middle Eastern country North of Iran and Saudi Arabia.
Though Bialya wasn't recognized by the rest of the world powers to be a true country, it didn't stop them from acting like they were. They began as a movement that sprung up sometime during the Vietnam War and grew in numbers under their supposed Queen Bee. The female leader of their pseudo-country.
Bialya as a whole, was filled to the brim with drugs and illegal arms dealings, since most of Queen Bee's supporters were criminals on the run from whatever government's laws they broke. If rumors were true, lately there had been several assassination attempts on Queen Bee's life, something that pointed towards a new Bialyan ruler trying to step up.
Robin could help but sigh. Why couldn't the desert I woke up in be in Nevada? Why? After he had properly bemoaned his location, Robin checked the time and found it to be three hours after sunrise. Then he checked the date and got the surprise of his life.
It was September 4th.
Which was horrifying. The last time Robin had checked a calender was only a few days ago because a new Zorro movie was scheduled to come out on March 8th and he really wanted to see it with Bruce. He had even begin dropping hints at breakfast and after school, just to show how cool it would be if his adoptive father took him.
Robin then spent several moments franticly trying to remember anything that might have happened in the past six months. He couldn't find anything, the days were just...gone. Oh hell, this cannot be good. Robin began to take slow deep breaths in an effort to stave off an impending panic attack as he realized just how blank his memories were.
Why was there such a big memory gap? Was he in a coma? Or maybe he'd been captured and then dumped after they found out his and Bruce's civilian identities? Did they find out who he is? Did they have Bruce? Was Bruce even with him in the first place?
"Calm down, calm down, calm down." Robin chanted to himself as he sat down with his back resting against a rocky wall. "Freaking out won't do you any good. Think Robin, think." As his heart rate slowed down Robin tried to take stock of the situation he was in. It didn't look too good.
He couldn't have been captured, that he was sure of. If he was, he'd been dead instead of lost. No villain with half a brain would have let him go, they'd have killed him or ransomed him off, but that would come only after they revealed his identity to the general public.
The result of that would have Robin thrown in some mental facility, and Bruce thrown in a prison with hundreds of counts of child endangerment. Bruce would also get millions of assault charges, breaking and entering charges, and he'd lose the company. They'd lose the manor, and Alfred would either be jobless and homeless or in prison with Bruce.
But, since none of these things seemed to be happening right now, Robin was sure that his identity was safe. At least, for the time being anyway.
But one of the biggest questions was whether he had come to Bialya alone or with Batman. Robin couldn't figure out any reason why he would leave the country without Bruce, so he could only assume that they were on some mission together and had gotten separated. Or maybe they had split up purposely.
There doesn't seem to be signs of conflict on my end, so we weren't being pursued and forced to go in separate directions. All in all, Robin felt fine. Except for a raging headache, he didn't even have a bump or cute on his head, which put physical force being the result of his memory loss out of the question.
"Okay, I need to stop thinking." Robin muttered as he stood once more. "All this wondering won't do me any good if I don't have any physical observations to back it up." With this in mind, he sprinted across the ground and hurled himself at the rocky wall.
As easily as a spider, Robin scaled the canyon wall without the use of his grappling hook. He didn't want to make too much noise, and the physical act of climbing took his mind off of what happened to him.
When he did reach the top, Robin was greeted with sand, exactly what he expected. Things were even better then he had hoped for, he could see no wondering soldiers or scouts, which meant that his hideout was safe for now.
It wasn't all that great though; no soldiers meant no one to interrogate, which meant no easy way to find answers. Robin wasn't sure where there was a settlement or criminal hideout either, so he had no real landmarks to head to. He was stranded in a desert he had never been to, and that sucked.
He bit his lip uncertainly, Maybe I should radio Bruce. There weren't any soldiers in his immediate area, so even if the transmission was tracked Robin had more than enough time to get away. Even if he didn't know this desert in particular, Robin was more than able to survive in it for quite some time.
Somewhat hesitantly, he raised his left arm and activated his Holo-Computer. Robin was just about to open transmission when he caught a a flash of something. Something that he had been made to forget.
Bruce was in uniform standing in a room that Robin hadn't seen before, beside his mentor hovered a large holographic map of the Middle East. He looked as serious as he always did, which didn't surprise Robin at all.
Batman spoke. "The Watchtower detected a large power surge in the Bialyan desert. Spectral analysis revealed elements non-Terrestrial in origin.
Robin's memory hiccuped again.
Bruce was still speaking. All was the same except that the map was exchanged for a portrait. "Bialyia is ruled by Queen Bee and is not recognized in the League's UN charter. All communications are subject to interception, maintain radio silence."
Robin shook his head forcefully after the memory ended, surprised at how quickly it had shown up and at how it overlapped over his other senses. It was shocking, and much too distracting while out on the field. He wasn't sure if he wanted those memories back as soon as possible if they all sprung up on him like this.
"Huh...guess calling in isn't an option." Now Robin was at a complete loss concerning the situation. He could stay here, and wait for Bruce to show up, but it wasn't even guaranteed that Bruce knew where he was. For all he knew, Bruce could be hurt and unable to reach him, he had been waiting here for some time.
All Robin could do was glance helplessly at his Holo-Computer and hope inspiration would come. It took him several moments to realize that the 'A' icon had started to blink slowly, and Robin couldn't tell if that was a good or bad thing.
It seemed like he had two choices that he could make. He could go in one direction towards the GPS marker that he must have tossed down, or he could head to the blinking icon, that was in the opposite direction.
This is a big decision to make. Robin reflected. This is exactly what I kept on telling Bruce that I was ready for, I guess this is my chance to prove it. He deactivated his Holo-Computer and began to check his equipment once more.
I have to make the right choice. He thought as he double checked his utility belt one last time. I can't afford to mess up here... He began to clip and un-clip his belt in thought, and soon enough he began opening and closing all of the compartments.
I need to – Robin's thought were interrupted as the front, circular part of his utility belt snapped open and a soft green glow began to enter his vision.
With complete and total shock, Robin took it from it's hiding place and placed it in the palm of his hand. It was small and shaped into looking like a ring, even though it was a type of radioactive rock.
Kryptonite. Someone had stashed a kryponite ring in his belt, just like the one Batman kept in his belt at all times. It was a safeguard in case Superman ever went rouge or have his mind overtaken by some else.
A sudden horrifying thought entered Robin's mind. " 'Elements non-Terrestrial in origin'." He breathed, quoting the sentence his mentor spoke in the flashback. "Oh shit." Suddenly this whole situation became just that much more troublesome.
We weren't going after Clark, were we?
-ooO0Ooo-
"Do you think they're going to be alright?"
Batman paused in his checking of Mount Justice's main computer to give his colleague a shrewd look. He took a moment to observe her face, the worry in it wasn't particularly hard to see, even if there wasn't a great deal of it.
"Yes," He began softly, in his hard edged voice. "I believe that they are fine. We have trained and prepared them enough for this. I'm sure of that."
But his answer seemed to do little, as Black Canary spoke there was still the shadow of doubt in her voice. "I know that Bruce, but still. This is the first time a mission has taken them out of the country, aren't you worried?"
Bruce Wayne's eyes narrowed behind his mask even though the rest of his face remained impassive. Was he worried? Perhaps, but he knew that Young Justice needed this mission. They needed this type of sink or swim situation in order to overcome whatever it was that was holding them back.
Truthfully, after Aqualad's decision to stay with the team, it was easy to see that the rest of the sidekicks began to question whether or not they were willing to commit to working together and for the League.
It was obvious that most (if not all really,) chose to join Young Justice on a whim, none of them thought about how it might effect the future. Most of them never had to work without their mentors and didn't understand just how unforgiving criminals could truly be. Most were protected from those kind of situations from their mentors, they needed this wake up call.
"No. And even if I was, they have already been sent out. You should have learned by now Dinah, that second guessing yourself is a sure fire way to get killed. Especially in the field."
Black Canary sighed and shook her head, suddenly she seemed done with their conversation. "I know that, but still..." She took a moment to look him the eyes and finished. "You can't say that you don't worry about Dick. You've raised the kid."
"I'm well aware of that, thanks." Batman drawled, but he answered anyway. "Yes, I've raised him. That means that I know exactly how capable my adoptive son is, and I assure you, he's ready for this. Even if he doesn't think so."
Batman began typing and brought up two profiles, Superboy's and Miss Martian's. "If you need to worry about anyone, worry about these two and Artemis. Superboy's issues are plain to see, he is far too easy to anger and lacks any kind of control. It doesn't help things that his abilities make it far too easy for him to kill."
Black Canary looked annoyed that he would single out the team's clone, she had grown rather close to him during her time training the kids, and it showed in her voice. "He knows not to cross that line Bruce. Despite what you may think, he isn't some kind of human weapon."
"He isn't human." Bruce ignored Dinah's response as he continued. "But you're right, he isn't a weapon. I'm not saying that the boy has the mind of a killer, just that he can end lives far too easily if he chooses to. Not even you can deny that."
Dinah seemed eager to avoid giving an answer as she changed the subject of their debate. "What's your problem with J'onn's girl? She seems stable enough."
Bruce snorted at her obvious change of topic but didn't comment on it. "She is, but she's also far too open. The girl doesn't understand enough about what is going on with the rest of the world to truly comprehend what we sent them into. She's also childish, and tries too hard to fit in and keep everyone happy."
Bruce continued in this vein as he listed why he felt that the girl wasn't ready. "She doesn't understand war or soldiers, two thing that are going to surround her in Bialya. She was sent off planet during the Martian Civil War, so she has no idea what to expect."
"Oh please." Dinah scoffed as she crossed her arms. "Do you really believe that Robin or the rest of them understand war or soldiers?"
"What do you think I trained him to be?" Batman questioned. Dinah didn't get to answer as he spoke again. "I have never sugarcoated what we, or what criminal's do when it came to informing Robin of the truth. He has seen gang wars, serial killers, drug smugglers, rapists and weapon dealers. He has been shot, stabbed, held hostage, and put in the hospital. How many of the others on Young Justice can claim this?"
There was a long, awkward silence between the hero and heroine as Black Canary took in Batman's words. She couldn't find anything to say to that, how Bruce trained Dick had always been criticized by the rest of the League. Many felt, (Clark in particular) that Bruce's decision to throw an eight year old boy into a world full of thugs and criminal's was a bad one.
But, no one could ignore the results. Instead of being a weak, normal thirteen year old, Robin could now go head to head with the world's top athletes. His knowledge of martial arts was almost as diverse as Dinah's, even if he didn't yet have the proper body to utilize them completely.
He was tactically brilliant, a competent chemist, and a great crime scene investigator, all the while being a good detective in his own right, even if he wasn't near on the level of Batman. Bruce trained him to wield various weapons, even if Robin tended to rely on his fists.
He also had several of Batman's meditative and mental tricks that allowed a person to protect their mind or hide it from listeners. The boy had almost mastered several breathing exercises that allowed a person to ignore pain or slow the rate of a heart's beating.
The boy's stealth, agility, and survival skills spoke for themselves.
Dinah smiled a little weakly before breaking the silence. "I guess you really did make him into a soldier. Do you ever regret that?"
Bruce didn't answer.
-ooO0Ooo-
Robin spent several seconds worried about his chances against the Man of Steel before he berated himself for being an idiot. If Superman did go out of control, Bruce wouldn't pick him of all people to help stop him. Bruce would've gotten someone else in the League and given them the ring instead.
I really hope that he still has his ring on him. And I really, really hope that the one I have isn't his. Still, his realization didn't explain how he got a the ring, or why he had it. Did Bruce find some extra kryptonite and gave some to him just to be on the safe side? It didn't seem all that likely, but Robin hoped so, he really did.
But still, all of this new information was making him too indecisive, Robin wouldn't learn anything if he stayed here any longer. He'd have to make a choice, East or West. To the maker or icon...and now it looks like the icon is blinking even more. That can't be good...
"Alright, to the 'A'. If I'm lucky it'll be Aquaman." Now, Robin didn't really believe that, but it was a nice thought nonetheless. He had to stay positive, no second guessing himself.
And with that, Robin the Boy Wonder, set off into the deserts of the Rouge country of Bialya in search of a purpose and lost memories.
He'd never expect just what he would find...or what would find him.
Author's Note:
Yup, saw the Bereft episode and thought that it really had the potential to be a multi-parter. There was a lot of room for character development for everyone, but they just handed it all to Miss Martian .
Not that I have anything against her character, she just isn't my favorite; Robin is. So after thinking about it I decided to pop open my laptop and make this: Desert Dust. A story that'll show just how Robin would step up his game in the face of a tough situation.
He might be a little OOC when it comes to how serious he'll be, but I think the situation calls for it. He's woken up in a place that a few good steps away from being declared hell on Earth because of all the roving violence.
I felt that the conversation between Batman and Black Canary was needed, if only to show just how hard Batman's trained his sidekick. He doesn't seem to be the type that would hold his kid's hand. I'm not saying that he doesn't care, but the lifestyle that Robin chose isn't a game, and I'm sure Bruce would get that point across by showing Robin the reality of it.
Robin's training is the opposite of the rest of his team besides Artemis. All of the other sidekicks were eased into the superhero role and don't live in places a bad as Gotham. I mean, do you see the Flash really going out of his way to show Wally just how bad the world can be?
Now here's the important question: What is a Boy Wonder to do when he is confronted with a raging kryptonian and a girl who's father is a suspected member of the League of Shadows?