Hey there! So this story takes place after Batman and Robin fight in the season 1 finale of Young Justice. I do not own anything. I hope you enjoy!
Batman couldn't believe it. He was under someone else's control. He was forced to do things. He was forced to fight Robin. He often prayed that Robin would never have to fight Batman for any reason. His prayers weren't answered.
When Batman woke up after his fight with Robin, he was confused. Very rarely was Batman ever confused. He didn't remember what had happened. All he knew was that he and a few other Justice League members were just lying on the ground with confused looks on their faces. Superman was next to him.
"Is everyone okay?" Superman managed to yell while trying to stand. He got a few grunts and a 'yes' for responses. Superman was finally able to stand, but his balance was a little off. He slowly walked over to Batman, who was just standing up.
" What happened." Batman growled to Superman.
"I was hoping you could tell me. I feel like someone just used Kryptonite on me." Superman said with a suspicious look on his face. Batman gave Superman an awkward glance. Then, out of the blue, Robin popped up with Superboy.
"Batman! Are you alright?" Robin asked, walking up to his mentor.
"Fine. What happened here?" Batman asked his protégé. Robin gave Batman a strange look. He was surprised that Batman didn't remember.
"You all were under Savage's control. Red Tornado planted a biochip inside all of you through your necks. It took control of your brains." Superboy explained. The Justice League members were gathered by then and were all looking at each other strangely. Batman didn't know what to say. How could he have let this happen? He looked down at Robin, who was standing right next to him, and noticed that his face looked a bit swollen and bruised. He also noticed how Robin was leaning on his left side to keep pressure off of his right.
Then, the memories started coming back.
He remembered fighting the team. He remembered battling Robin. Batman got quite a few good hits on Robin. Ones that would definitely leave marks. Maybe even broken bones.
Batman had to go somewhere else. He didn't know where, he just didn't want to be around other people right now, except Robin. He had to make sure he was alright. Batman gently grabbed onto Robin's shoulder and pulled him along as he decided to leave the Watch Tower. Other Justice League members did the same shortly after. They would have to focus on fixing the Watch Tower later.
Batman noticed that Robin was walking a little slower than usual. He had a painful look on his face. Batman walked them to the zeta beams and beamed them straight to the batcave. Robin was concerned. Batman would never leave immediately after something like that. Also, he never beams them straight to the batcave.
"Robin, are you okay?" Batman asked as soon as they stepped foot in the cave. They both stopped walking and looked at each other. Robin was surprised at how concerned Batman sounded. This wasn't Batman talking. This was Bruce.
"I'm fine." Robin barely said. Was he fine? He just had to fight the one person he hoped and prayed he would never have to fight. His mentor. His father. Batman managed to hit him hard. Robin was pretty sure he had a broken rib or two.
Batman could see on Robin's face that he was very bothered by what happened, even though he lied about it. He was not fine.
"Don't lie to me, Richard. You're walking weird and your face is bruising. Get to the medical room." Batman demanded. Robin headed over to the medical room while Batman took off his cowl and became Bruce. He let out a deep sigh and then followed Robin to the medical room.
Robin sat on the bed and took off his mask, becoming Richard. He looked up to Bruce as he walked in. Bruce's face just looked flat out weird. There was a large mixture of emotions splattered on his face. It was way too hard to read.
"I think I have a broken rib." Dick said quietly. "It hurts to breathe."
Bruce looked over at Dick, then over to the phone. He walked over and picked up the phone to call Alfred down to the cave. In less than 30 seconds, Alfred was in the medical room.
"Good Heavens, Master Dick. Are you alright?" Alfred asked, noticing the large bruise forming on his face and the awkward way he was breathing.
"He said that something's wrong with his ribs." Bruce said quickly. Alfred grabbed a chair and brought it over to where Dick was sitting.
"Lie down, Master Dick. Master Bruce, I suggest you go change out of your costume. You look hurt yourself. I will escort Master Dick to his room when I am finished." Alfred demanded. Bruce obeyed and left Alfred to check Richard.
"Please remove your shirt, Master Dick." Alfred said once he sat down. Dick started undoing the belt to his costume so he could take his shirt off. It hurt to do this, so Alfred ended up helping him at the end. Dick then laid down on the bed and noticed that it hurt less when he was lying down. He could breathe easier. Alfred put gloves on his hands and began gently pressing down around Richard's ribcage. The left side didn't hurt much when Alfred was pressing around but when he got to his right side, Dick almost couldn't handle the pain. He gasped out loud. It made Alfred immediately take his hands off.
"It looks like you definitely broke a rib, Master Dick. Maybe even two or three. I can wrap you up in no time. You will have to take it easy for a week or so. No going on patrol. Now, tell me. What happened?" Dick closed his eyes for a minute and took a breath. He opened his eyes and looked into Alfred's.
"Batman had a biochip put in his brain and lost control of himself. He and I fought. He did this to me, but me and the others on the team were able to save him and all of the other Justice League members." Dick explained. Alfred was blown away. He knew of Bruce's fear of fighting Dick. He knew that it would make Richard look at him differently. It would create a fear inside of Dick-one that Bruce was terrified of.
"My word." Alfred said. He then got up and walked over to the cabinets. He pulled out a pill bottle and grabbed a cup and filled it with water. He brought the water to Dick and placed one pill in his hand.
"Broken bones don't heal themselves. You need rest. Let's get you up into your room." Alfred explained. Dick realized that the pill was supposed to help him sleep. Alfred helped Dick stand up and slowly walk over to the elevator that led to the mansion. They got in and Alfred pressed the 2nd floor button. The elevator brought them right to the hallway that leads to Richard's room. Alfred opened Dick's bedroom door for him and they both walked in. They were startled when they saw Bruce, now in normal clothes, sitting next to Dick's empty bed.
"Good Heavens, Master Bruce. You frightened us." Alfred said. Bruce looked over to Dick and noticed the wrappings all around his torso. He was holding a cup of water and some medicine.
"Rest, Master Richard." Alfred said calmly. Dick put the medicine in his mouth and drank the water to swallow it. He then climbed into his bed and snuggled into the blankets. Alfred quietly left the room and closed the door. He left the light on so Bruce could talk to Dick. There was silence in the room for about 2 minutes before Richard spoke up.
"Alfred said it's just a couple broken ribs. I'll be better in a week or two." He heard Bruce sigh.
"I never wanted this to happen." Bruce said, sounding sad. "I feel like a fool for allowing all of this to happen. I knew that Savage and the others were up to something. I should have seen that coming. Your team should have never had to go through this. You should have never had to fight me." Bruce explained. Dick could hear the disappointment in Bruce's voice. That was a tone he never used.
"It was terrifying." Dick whispered, sounding like a child. While they were fighting, Robin couldn't fight to his full capacity. His head kept telling him to attack Batman, but his heart kept telling him to hold back. Robin always knew what to do. This was the only time he didn't, and he didn't like that at all. If Bruce had to, he would fight the members of the Justice League like he fights the villains. Robin could never do that. This bothered him.
"I'm so sorry, Dick." Bruce said eventually. Dick was surprised. He didn't remember a time where Bruce had ever apologized to him for something. He looked his adopted father in the eyes.
"I don't want you to be afraid of me. You and I are partners. We need to be able to trust each other. You saved me. I trust you more than ever now. Do you still trust me?" Bruce asked. Dick thought about it for a minute. Of course he still trusted Bruce. He just couldn't shake this hint of fear he now had of him. Watching Batman fight to his fullest extent toward villains was awesome. Watching Batman do that exact thing to him was beyond scary. Would Robin have to be on constant guard in case something like that happened again? All of this whirled around in his head before he felt a huge wave of exhaustion flow through him. He wanted to sleep, but he knew that Bruce wouldn't sleep until he got an answer.
"Yes. I still trust you. I just can't have something like this happen again." Dick explained.
"Trust me. It won't." Bruce said in his Batman voice. He noticed that Richard's eyes were getting heavy and he was beginning to fall asleep. He began slowly running his hand through Richard's hair, soothing him. Bruce looked at the bruise on Dick's face. It wasn't too bad. It would be gone in 2 days at most. His ribs were what worried Bruce the most. That must have been one hard kick. He was impressed by Robin continuing to fight after that.
After a few minutes, Dick was in a deep sleep. That medicine sure worked great. Bruce decided to leave Dick's room and head down to the batcave to call Superman and check up on everyone. After a moment, Superman's face was on the screen.
"You sure left fast." Superman said as he answered the video call.
"I had to make sure Robin was okay. We fought and I broke a few of his ribs." Bruce said in his Batman voice. Superman looked concerned.
"He'll be fine. He takes after his old man. I got my memory of the incident back. Robin used Kryptonite against me while Superboy had me pinned. Mind explaining to me where that came from?" Superman said with a questioning glare. Bruce changed the subject immediately.
"How is everyone?" Bruce asked.
"Everyone is recovering. There were no serious injuries reported, except for me because of the Kryptonite." Superman brought back up. Bruce sighed.
"Clark, you know me. You know that I have a plan for everything, so don't take it personally. I would never use that on you unless I absolutely had to. And look, there was a time where it was needed. I have no idea how Robin got ahold of it, but I will find out. Now, since Superboy helped save you, I think it's time for you to go have a talk with him." Bruce said. Superman gave a defeated look, fully understanding Bruce's reason for having Kryptonite. He was also right, Superman should go speak to Superboy.
"Fine. Superman out." He signed off. Bruce leaned back in his chair and sighed. He needed to settle his mind down. Everything was okay. Everyone was okay. The league is in one piece, Richard is taken care of and is healing, and the villains lost. Bruce turned his focus on to Richard. He made a mental note to ask him how he got the Kryptonite.
That kid was such a sneak.