By the time Robin sees the ticker he knows it's too late.
The team is infiltrating an underwater base to try to find the source of several contaminated water supplies in the recent weeks. He and Kid Flash had zeta-tubed into the murky depths to scope the situation. Miss Martian remained above water, keeping track of the team telepathically.
They hadn't expected the base to be empty. No, not empty; devoid. There were people. There were dead people. There were scientists and aliens, all lying on the floor or sitting against the walls, vacant. Robin and Kid Flash had reacted in shock and reported the situation to Miss Martian; then they soldiered on, deeper into the base.
"Dude, why are they all so…neat?" Wally asks him. Robin knows what he means. There are no signs of struggle; all the corpses look at peace, as if they had taken their own lives. There are no injuries or blood. Poison. They had killed themselves in a mass suicide. But to what end?
"This is creepy." Kid Flash whispers. They are silent because speaking loudly seems irreverent.
They reach the inner sanctum where the core computer resides. The monitor is damaged but Robin knows he can salvage information from the hard drive. Kid Flash stands next to him, waiting for him to hack into the system and answer the mystery of the eerie corpses. Robin plugs his glove computer into the port and starts digging. That's when the timer comes up in the corner of his screen.
The bad guys knew they were coming and had set a bomb that would be triggered upon unauthorized entry of the security systems.
The ticker had been set off the second Robin had hijacked the system.
00:20
He keeps his mind calm while he considers his options. He tries to deactivate it but there is no time. Suddenly sweat is coming out of his pores and seeping into his costume, his heart rate quickens and he feels his stomach tighten. Lessen the casualties, salvage the mission. He can't think straight. Wally is still watching him expectantly, trustingly, not knowing what is going to happen.
00:15
He can't deactivate it fast enough.
Miss Martian will find out. Miss Martian can feel his anxiety and uncertainty. She communicates to him on the mental link. /Robin, what's your status?/
Lessen the casualties /Miss M, I… there's a problem with the security, I… I can't hack it./
Kid Flash's eyes widen, but he doesn't understand. /You can't hack it dude? What are you talking about? You can hack anything!/ He smiles.
00:10
Robin's palms are wet and Wally doesn't see the slight tremor in them. Salvage the mission. He makes his decision. He turns to Kid Flash, and he knows not everyone will make it out alive.
"Wally get out."
Wally takes a step back, confused. "Dude what?"
"GET OUT OF HERE NOW!" Robin pushes Kid Flash towards the direction of the exit. /MISS MARTIAN HELP ME OUT/ He screams into the mental link, showing her everything. M'gann is stunned, /Robin! I-/ There is no time to explain.
00:05
/GET WALLY OUT OF HERE RIGHT NOW/ He's so desperate. /MISS M HELP ME!/ He can almost cry.
/understood./
Miss Martian knows what this means to Robin, and she knows that only Kid Flash can run fast enough to get to the zeta tube in time. He could try to carry his friend but Robin knows full well that wouldn't give them enough time.
Miss Martian knows Wally will hate her after this. She takes over Wally's mind and propels him full speed towards the exit. Miss Martian knows she will hate herself after this.
00:04
Kid Flash reaches the zeta tube on the edge of the base. In a second of clarity he looks back in Robin's direction and tries his hardest to turn around, but there is a bright flash of light and Wally isn't underwater anymore.
00:03
Robin is running towards the zeta tube. He won't make it on time but he knows he sure as hell won't spend his last seconds sitting down.
/Thanks Miss M/ He says mentally. /Let Batman know…thanks for everything and.../
I love you dad
00:02
The door is a full room away.
00:01
In his final second everything slows down.
Suddenly he thinks of his parents on their final moment. His mom is watching him as they plummet towards the ground.
/Robin!/ Wally is screaming at him.
He can't bring himself to respond.
00:00
-end-
K guys I watched Invasion episode 1 and I can't get over it. These must be my feelings flowing out.