So here's the deal. It's ridiculously late, and I have class in the morning very early. But I had to pan this idea a little before I forget it.
Summary: Superman wasn't reacting the way he normally would, especially not to the newly discovered Superboy. Diana notices, Bruce notices, but most importantly, Robin notices. What happens when he decides to investigate, dragging the team along with him.
What Robin will never forget is the days when he was younger, and he and his Uncle Clark would play all day on the fields on the Kent home in Smallville. And he would most certainly never forget when his beloved uncle told him, 'He would give anything in the world to be a father'. And now that chance had been dangled in front of him, in the form of Connor, and he shot it down. That's when Robin grew suspicious. Yes he noticed that his uncle had stopped hanging around with him and Bruce, but he just figured he was off saving the world. He realized his uncle's constant good mood and sunny disposition had vanished, but he blamed it on the stress of being Superman. But this, this was going to far. He was going to find out what was wrong with his Uncle Clark if it killed him.
It had been months before the team noticed Robin's 'pet project', or as Wally liked to call it, 'The Superman Stalking'. And by then he was already too deep and had come to them for help. So that's how our story begins. The scene, The Metropolis underground, and so far, nothing.
"Robin!" Wally complained again, aggravating the nerves of everyone, even their calm headed team leader. "You said there'd be action, but so far it's been nothing but sewer control!" Artemis, who had seemed to had lost the battle with patience, growled out, "I swear to God Baywatch, if you don't stop complaining I will shove one of my arrows so far up your ass, it will never see the light of day again." Kaldur'ahm looked disapprovingly at Artemis for her language choice, and then turned to Wally. "Kid Flash, I am very sure that Robin has a good for making us track through sewers to search for Superman." All four pairs of eyes locked on to The Boy Wonder (yes four, as they decided to not include Superboy on this particular mission.
If Robin felt insulted by the criticism Wally and Artemis had been given throughout the entire mission then he made sure not to show it. Calmly, he explained once more, "We are not looking for Superman, we are looking for clues. Reasons why he's acting so strange, so," he led off, not finishing the thought, that didn't stop Wally though "Jerky?" He finished for Robin, acting innocently. Robin gave him a watered down version of the bat-glare, but reluctantly nodded his head. "Yes, Wally, jerky."
"You guys," M'gann asked quietly, "Are you sure it's a good idea to not include Superboy on this?" She looked reluctant to keep such a big secret from a boy she had such strong feelings for, I mean, they were practically looking for his father. "M'gann," Artemis said to her fellow female, "It's for the best; you know how he gets when we bring up Superman." The male members nodded in agreement, making M'gann sigh and nod her head. "I guess you're right."
Suddenly, silence filled the tunnels as the team trudged along. None of them had anything else to say. The silence remained until M'gann gasped out and clutched her heart as if she were in pain. "M'gann," Kaldur asked worriedly as the team member in question landed silently on the palms of her feet. "Are you okay? What ails you?" M'gann looked at them with a mixture of shock and discomfort, before gasping out, "I'm fine, but whoever was in here before wasn't." The rest of the team looked terribly confused, so M'gann gently shook her head, trying to clear it, before explaining. "I'm am an empath, I can feel others emotions," The general look of the others was still best described as blank, so she continued. "If there is a strong enough emotion in one room for long enough, it can leave an imprint, which then I being, being an empath, can pick up."
The others started to understand at different degrees, Kaldur and Robin doing the best with Wally and Artemis still trying to grasp the concept. "How long can these emotions linger, M'gann?" Kaldur inquired, looking curiously around the large cylinder of a room. "It depends on the strength of the emotion," she replied, "And I felt a horrible pain, agonizing." She shuddered, and Wally, being the closest one to her wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Robin looked pale as his mind ran through the scenarios, just like Batman trained. "How strong was the emotion M'gann and how old would you say it was?" M'gann looked at the youngest member curiously before gently placing a hand on the wall. She shuddered again. This time when Wally tried to comfort her, she pushed him away. Before he could feel too dejected, she explained. "If I touch you, your emotions will interfere with my reading." Wally nodded and stepped away. M'gann began again, "It's so hard to tell, it feels old, a few months old, but it's so strong because the pain was continuous. Whoever was hurting was hurting this much for such a long period of time that the mark will stay for much longer." The others absorbed the new information, quickly falling into team mode. Kaldur took lead, while Artemis grasped M'gann's hand and tried to transfer happy thoughts. M'gann smiled at her closest friend on this planet, or any planet, and Artemis smiled back.
"Team," Kaldur ordered, "Look around and see if we can find any clues as to who was held here, and who and what was causing them so much pain." So the team did as they were ordered, searching he place high and low, literally, for who was in so much trouble.
After long minutes of searching, Robin called out, his voice trembling. "I found something." He did not sound happy or cocky about his discovery, which only made the rest of the team crowd him even quicker. The item he held in his slightly shaking hand was a torn piece of red cloth, an item only Kaldur and Wally recognized at first sight. Artemis and M'gann though were not so informed. "What's so important about a torn piece of table cloth?" She asked unimpressed. Wally looked at her like she had three heads, while M'gann looked like she agreed. Robin, however, was scanning the surround parts of the concrete room with a scanner produced from his utility belt. When it dinged, his face grew pale. He turned to the others and said in a slightly trembling voice, "It's 100% positive, the room is lined with Kryptonite." M'gann and Artemis gasped almost in sync, now understanding the significance of the red cloth. "The person in trouble, in pain, is Superman."
Suddenly, metal walls started to block the entrance, sealing their only way out. Wally quickly wrapped his arms around both of the girls' waists' running them at top speed out of the room. Before Robin and Kaldur could even blink, he was back for them. Kaldur denied, practically throwing Wally Robin before grabbing the red cloth and Robin's machine before running after them. He barely slid under the grate before it closed. With that, the team kept running, Wally still carrying Robin, until they were out of the sewers and back in the Bioship. The gasping hero's, all except Wally, sat in their designated seats trying to catch their breaths. Finally, Artemis managed to gasp out "We…have…to…tell…Batman"
Yay, now I can sleep! And it only took an hour and a half. I hate myself. But loved this chapter. Hope you liked it, I worked very hard and sacrificed much (sleep). I'm surprised I can still type. Oh well, see you soon with a second chapter!