Author: sififantasygirl
Words: 2,700
Beta: Tari Silmarwen (who's helped beyond belief!)
Rating: T for some naughty words.
Pairings: None, really.
Summary: "Five time Robin felt like he was totally alone and the one time he wasn't."
1)
Shaking slightly, Dick sat down on his messy bed. He pressed his back up against the wall, but it didn't change or help in any way.
This couldn't be real. It had to be a dream. It had to be a dream.
His parents could not be dead!
Why, just this morning, Mom made pancakes for breakfast. She kissed him on the head, and his dad ruffled his hair. Both of them asked if he was tired from finishing at the circus later last evening, and Dick told them he was not tired at all. It wasn't true, he had actually been exhausted, but it didn't matter at the time.
Dick wasn't a little kid. He knew what being dead meant in reference to his parents, just as he knew that there was no one to take care of him.
He just never believed his parents could die on so normal a day, that's all.
The only people who were supposed to die were long, far off relatives and old people who left their relatives a small fortune; not normal people, and definitely not his parents. His parents weren't stupid enough. Well, not counting the time his dad had broken three plates at the same time by clearing the dishwasher, or when his mom had put salt in the salad instead of salad dressing. But still.
He could still see their bodies on the ground, bones pointing in impossible positions. He could hear the snap of their bones as they cracked. Dick could still smell their blood as he ran to them, even as well-meaning people tried to drag him away. A hundred people or so had called the police, but the police wouldn't let him stay with the circus. Said something about "not safe," and "not being stable enough for a growing boy."
So here Dick was, in some random foster home with people he didn't even know, who he knew didn't give a damn about him. He drew his knees closer to his chest and shook his head, glancing at the clock. It was almost noon; soon he would have to go downstairs and grab whatever was in the fridge for lunch.
He never had to do that with his parents.
Mom had always had a lunch ready for him. Most of the time it was a sandwich, either peanut butter and jelly or ham and cheese, but sometimes she would make some sort of surprise food, like pancakes or pizza. Then, they would talk and giggle happily until his dad came up and demanded some food. He had always acted shocked that they would start eating without him.
Dick kept telling himself that those days were gone, and now he was on his own.
But without Mary and John Grayson, he felt totally lost.
2)
Realistically, Robin knew he wasn't alone.
Technically, Wally was in the room right next to his, and Kaldur and Superboy's rooms were just a few feet down the hall. Megan had been given a room slightly further from the boys rooms, about two hallways away (due to the simple fact she was a girl, but no one really minded). Robin could still wake her up if he wanted to talk to her, anyway.
He just really shouldn't be having any problems in the first place.
But real life doesn't work like that. Waking someone up to talk, well, was the last thing he wanted to do right now. Call it pride or whatever, but for once Robin really didn't care about or for words.
See, this night was the first night Robin was spending in his room at Mount Justice. It was also the first night away from Bruce and Alfred in a very, very long time.
Dick always had nightmares as well (not just any nightmares, but the wake-up-and-you're-screaming-out-loud with tears-streaming-down-your-face kind of nightmares), so that was part of the reason he never spent nights over at a friend's house.
He hadn't even gone overnight to Wally's house, even though the speedster had invited him over quite a few times.
Now Dick found himself wanting nothing more than a glass of Alfred's warm milk, or even to go out on patrol. The Young Justice team went to sleep way too early, and he had nothing to occupy himself with. Seriously, the latest person up had gone to bed at eleven. Eleven! Robin hadn't gone to bed at eleven since he was tiny. The shows always ended late at the circus, so as soon as he became good enough to perform he had gotten used to coming home at midnight or even later.
Which helped him as he became Robin and got less sleep because of patroling Gotham City with Batman. On top of that, Dick also had nightmares and insomnia.
Fun stuff.
Dick didn't want to wake anyone up to talk with either, as much as he would love the company. He didn't think anyone would really appreciate that.
Besides, what would he say? Oh, sorry guys, I couldn't sleep so I thought you'd like to keep me company.
They'd skin him alive. Or at least Wally would.
He already had had to prove himself many times, simply because he was the youngest in the whole group by a few years. He hadn't minded having to prove himself, after all, he had been a sidekick, er, partner for longer than all of his other friends combined, but it didn't mean he enjoyed having to show everyone exactly what he could do time and time again.
And besides, he wasn't about to ruin the respect he had earned just because it was his first night in an unfamiliar place.
It would get better, he knew, as his room became more familiar.
But at the moment, he had to say his room was pretty sucky.
3)
"I HATE this," Robin growled to himself, slamming the calculus 3 book down on the table. He scowled, flipping open to the page the teacher had assigned, grabbed a spare sheet of paper, and started scribbling the work down as fast as he could.
Knock knock knock.
"Come in," he answered sharply, not even bothering to look up.
Artemis opened the door and poked her head in. "You busy?"
"Mhmm," he said, scribbling down some numbers. "Why?"
"Um, I may or may not have had laptop trouble."
That caught Robin's attention, and Artemis continued, though she looked a bit sheepish.
"The screen's frozen and I can't get it to stop making these stupid squeaky noises every few seconds. Do you think you can….?"
Silently, Robin nodded and held out his hand for the laptop, which she gladly gave to him. She frowned as Robin was still silent. It was unusual for the smaller boy to not be talking.
"You all right?"
He nodded. "Just busy."
"Anything I can help with?"
"Not unless you can do my homework for me."
Artemis gave him a somewhat sympathetic look. "If it's homework, you're on your own. Sorry."
Her smirk faded as Robin didn't respond. He had flipped the laptop over, taken off the back panel, and was practically reassembling the whole thing.
"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" she asked, a little worriedly.
"Yup." He slapped the back panel on again. "And there, it's fixed." He held it out to her, and Artemis accepted it gratefully. True enough, it had logged back into her account, and the cursor was moving smoothly again.
"Thanks."
"No problem."
"Good luck with your homework."
"Yeah, thanks."
As he started working the next problem, he couldn't help thinking that there was no way anyone could help him with this.
Goddamn sadistic teachers.
4)
His eyes shot open frantically, and precious air escaped from his mouth before he could catch himself, the bubbles making a thin trail to the surface of the water.
Robin could feel the tight, knotted rope around his wrists and ankles, and by shifting slightly he was able to reach the knife hidden in his boot with one hand and started to saw through the rope tying his arms and legs as quickly as he could without slicing himself.
His lungs strained with the pressure of no air, and he was starting to feel uncomfortably lightheaded. Just a few….more…strands…to…go…come on….….done!
With a few kicks he shot to the surface of the water, and sucked in a huge, wonderful breath as he clung to a log next to him. He gasped for the much needed air, gratefully, and with a few kicks made it to shore, which thankfully wasn't that far away.
He began to remember little bits and pieces of what he had been doing before he blacked out; he had been spying on somebody, and talking with his teammates….his teammates! Where the hell were his teammates?
He closed his eyes in concentration as he tried to call out telepathically to Megan, the only person who could pick up on his thoughts, even though he wasn't exactly sure how that worked.
Megan! Are you there?
There was no response, and Robin was starting to feel kind of stupid. He really didn't know how this whole telepathy thing worked in the first place.
Megan! Megan, come on!
…R….Robin? Is that you….?
Robin's eyes shot open, and it was all he could do to keep from letting out a yell of excitment. It had actually worked!
Yeah, it's me. Where are you? What's happened? Is everybody ok?
We're…prisoners, I suppose.
He closed his eyes again.
Today was turning out to be a really crappy day.
Robin?
Yeah I'm still here. Look, don't try anything. I'll be over there as soon as possible. Where exactly are you? And is everyone with you?
There was no reply for a minute.
Yes, everyone's here. We're in a cave next to a big willow tree; Wally said he spotted it as we came in.
Ok. You had better stop talking to me so you can concentrate... I'll be there as soon as I can.
She didn't respond to that, and Robin hoped that she had cut the connection. It was going to be hard enough doing this on his own without someone else in his head, but he wished that he had someone to talk to in person, at least.
He wished that Wally or Roy, or heck even Batman were with him right now. Anything would help.
Because being alone really sucked.
5)
He couldn't help but wonder, in a sort of messed up way, when his team would first notice that he was missing.
Maybe Wally would run in without thinking to knock to get him to play video games, or maybe Megan would want him to try some new recipe she had made.
Robin had felt slightly guilty as he had climbed out of his bedroom window earlier that morning. After all, he hadn't told anyone he was going, but he really wasn't in the mood to leave even a note behind. Out of habit, he had taken his communicater, but knew that Batman would most likely leave him alone, considering what day it was.
Exactly four years ago, on this very day, Dick Grayson watched his parents fall to their deaths.
Time had passed so quickly since then, yet sometimes it seemed like it had taken forever. Had it only been four years? It felt like a lifetime ago; like a dream long ago that he half remembered.
However, today wasn't a day he was ever going to forget.
There was a reason he had wanted to avoid spending the day with the Young Justice team, which was why as soon as he had snuck out his window, he took a bus down to some fishing docks. The docks were on the other of Mount Justice than Happy Harbor, and secluded enough that his team wouldn't be able to find him for quite a few hours, with some luck. Dick was sitting out on the docks now, with his shoes and socks beside him and his bare feet dangling in the refreshingly cool water.
Once a while someone would pass him. Sometimes they would give him strange looks, as if wondering why a kid like him was hanging around, but no one stopped to talk, which was fine with Robin. He was dressed in his usual civilian clothes and shades, so no one thought him out of the ordinary in any way. Just some loner kid who had made his way down to the docks on a Thursday evening.
Robin glanced at his watch. It was almost time to go; the sun would be setting soon, and Bruce and his team would both kill him if he wasn't back at Mount Justice by nightfall. Both of them worried too much. In fact, Robin was surprised that he had been left alone so long. Normally, at least Wally would have been by to check on him.
He shrugged.
Whatever.
+1)
Bzzz. Bzzz. Bzzz.
"Hello?"
"Dick!"
"Oh, hey Wally."
"I just saw the newspaper. Is Bruce really going to be out in Japan for two whole weeks?"
"Yeah, that's right." Dick frowned to himself and leaned back in his chair. Even so, he had to admit he was grateful for the break in his never ending homework.
"So what, you coming down to Mount Justice anytime soon? What's the deal?" Wally asked, excitement beaming into his voice.
"Um," Dick was hesitant to reply. "Well, I was probably just going to stay up here with Alfred. It's only two weeks, anyways, and I'll be fine, so…"
Wally lowered his voice so that only Dick could hear him. "Grayson, if you don't get your ass down here then I'm going to be forced to invade the Manor and make sure that you're still alright! Every day. And while I'm there, you're going to feed me and let me crash on your couch. Is that what you want?"
"Um…."
"The answer is no, Dick."
"I don't want you here, no, of course not! Alfred would kill me."
"Hold on." There were some loud bangs a few seconds later, and it sounded like Wally had set the phone on the counter while he went to do something.
Dick waited patiently for a minute or so before Wally's voice came back on the phone.
"Alright, Artemis," Wally said, "here's the deal. Batman's going to be gone for two weeks, and Robin's not planning on coming out to Mount Justice. What do you have to say about this?"
"Robin? Is this true?"
Robin cursed in hs head as Artemis's voice came loud and clear through the phone. "Yeah, that's true."
"What? What are you thinking? You haveto come down here!"
"Well…"
"If you don't, I'm going to have to drag your secret identity out from Wally and God knows that he'll talk."
"That's definitely true…"
"So are you coming or not, Rob?"
Dick brought a hand to his face. Why did his teammates have to make this so difficult?
"Um….no?"
It came out sounding more like a question than anything, and Dick wanted to die. How come he was able to stand in front of Batman and be ok there, but in front of his own teammates, he lost his willpower?
"Robin you better get your ass down here or else," Artemis growled into the phone. "Say you'll be here?"
"Um, I don't know… I really don't want to…"
"Robin! Stop being the stupid fricking loner and accept that you're part of a team now, you're not alone, and I'm saying goddamnit we need to spend time as a team, and we don't need a team with a missing person again!"
"Listen to the lady, Rob," Wally chimed in, rather unhelpfully.
"Okay! Okay, I'll come. God, you two are the worst friends ever!"
"No, we're the best friends ever. You just don't know it yet," Artemis said.
"Yeah, yeah. Sure."
"We'll see you later today?"
"Fine, yeah, I guess."
"See you."
"Yeah, bye."
Robin was the first to hang up. He hated to say it, but Artemis's words had struck a chord in him.
He really wasn't alone now.
Even now, it sounded too good to be true.