Title: On Sense and Sight
Summary: "'You only lost sight.' She continued, ignoring Robin's humorless laughter. 'Technically it's just like you're in a dark room. A really dark room.'" Robin loses his sense of sight and Artemis loses sight of her senses. Part one of the "Less" collection.
Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice. If I did, we'd have more than nine and a half episodes.
Special Info About This Fic: Robin and Artemis bonding; First story in the "Less" collection in which Robin needs the help of one of his teammates to get him back on his feet.
Authors Note: This is my first YJ story. We'll see how it goes. It isn't the first time a blind!Robin storyline has been used but I hope this is still sort of original. I'm sorry that its so massively long. It. Just. Wouldn't. End.
Artemis ran a frustrated hand over her tightly pulled back hair and let her fingers twist distractedly around the loose hairs at the end of her ponytail. She sighed loudly and narrowed her eyes. Where is he? He couldn't have gotten too far. She played with the ends of her ponytail a bit longer, feeling the soft strands and trying to delay the inevitable. She was not very pleased with her current mission and not very pleased with the results of their last mission. And it was "technically" her fault from the last mission that she was forced on this one. But she could think about that later. At the moment she needed to find a certain Boy Wonder. Do I really have to find him though? She paused and weighed the pros and cons of being a babysitter versus being fried alive by Papa Bat. Yeah, I probably should find him.
After sulking around Mount Justice for a few more moments, the archer finally summoned up the willpower to call for Robin. "Rob-bin! Where are you? Robin?" There was no answer. She didn't really expect one. At least not yet. He was probably waiting in some shadow to see what she wanted before revealing himself. Typical Robin, she rolled her eyes. "Robin? Batman told me to find you."
Artemis heard the rustle of clothing behind her. She suppressed the need to jump as the hairs on her neck stood on end. "What did he want?"
She didn't even turn around. "Batman suggested—well, he didn't really suggest—that I come help you out and um, check if you needed anything."
"I see," Robin said then let out a wry laugh. "Get it? I see?"
Artemis pursed her lips. "Yeah, I get it. Very funny." She turned to look at the younger boy. Since the mission was over, they both were dressed in civilian clothes. However, Robin was not in his typical jeans and a hoodie. Instead he had on a pair of loose shorts and a gray T-shirt that was a size too large for him left over from the Mount Justice Hospital. His trademark pair of sunglasses was also missing. In its place was a tightly wrapped bandage that wound around his eyes and back of the head at least three times. "Have you just been standing here this whole time?"
He turned a little to face her voice. "You were going to pass here eventually while looking for me. Of course I knew Batman sent you to watch over me. What kind of detective would I be if I didn't figure that out? He sent you to make sure I don't fall into any wells or wander into traffic or something like that." The boy smiled grimly at her. He crossed his arms. "So you can just leave now because I don't plan on stumbling into an elephant stampede anytime soon. Go tell Batman thanks, but no thanks."
"The hell I'm not!" Artemis exploded suddenly. She couldn't see the Boy Wonder's eyes but she bet they probably widened in surprise. Her outburst surprised both of them. "I'm not telling Batman that I'm refusing to look out for his 'baby bird.' He'd probably kick me off the team then bury me somewhere far away where no one would ever look. After, you know, putting me through some form of mental and physical torture."
Robin didn't argue with that. He seemed even less excited than Artemis about their predicament but he knew Bruce would later lecture him about how not accepting help from others could prove disastrous. That's rich, coming from the Batman, Robin thought sarcastically. When was the last time he willingly accepted help?
He frowned and thought about his problem with Artemis again. It was clear that neither of them were very eager about being forced to help and be helped by each other. Robin wasn't exactly the accepting type and Artemis wasn't much of a giver. "I would say just run for your life and I'll find my own room, but…"
"What?"
This time it was Robin's turn to blush. "I forgot the way back to my room. I can't remember if it was fifty-six paces from the seventh door on the left or seventy-two and a half paces from the third door on the right. The closest I got to identifying a room was the kitchen and it was only because Megan was making chocolate chip cookies and forgot the non-stick spray again."
Artemis looked at him. "Well, that's better than what I would have done. I probably would be in the middle of the ocean with my sense of direction."
"When working for the Dark Knight, you learn a lot about direction and locations." The boy tilted his head back and tried to adopt a smug expression.
"Lots of good that's doing you right now." Artemis raised an eyebrow, unable to hide a smile from her face.
The boy's self-satisfied smirk promptly flashed to a look of annoyance. "You try navigating this place with your eyes closed. I think Batman and the others purposefully made this place a trap for the blind."
"I doubt it, Robin. I think that's just your Bat-paranoia showing through. Come on... If you promise to just stay in your room, I'll drop you off and leave. That way neither of us has to suffer too much."
The boy seemed to consider. "Yeah, I guess that'd be the best option. Let's go then."
"Tell the League that if they do not meet my demands in one hour, I will release a very dangerous acid into the world!"
Artemis suppressed the need to roll her eyes. She hadn't been doing this crime fighting thing for long but already she knew the professionals from the amateurs. Clayface was a professional. Joker, she was positive, was a professional. "Periodic" was not a professional. Everything about the "super villain" screamed amateur. His costume was a bright green wetsuit with a periodic table ironed on the front. He would continually stutter in his threats. The fact that he resorted to threats was bad enough. The worst criminals, Artemis knew, went right to the bashing and completely skipped the warnings, letting them—the threats—speak for themselves. Besides, it was apparent that he didn't have any toxic chemicals nearby. His demands were outrageous. No sane criminal went for that much with only the threat of a few mysterious chemicals. And he was going through sidekicks which made that even worse. Too scared to try to take on the League, Artemis thought with a smirk. Was he born with any common sense at all?
Because he was obviously an amateur, Batman had assigned them the mission. All they had to do was cuff him and wait for the boys in blue to bring him back to his mother. Judging by the amount Periodic was trembling, Artemis figured they would be back to Happy Harbor in the next hour. He would clearly be no match for the Young Justice team.
That's when things had to become potentially challenging. It turned out Periodic was not bluffing about his batch of atoms. A huge container swung out into the large warehouse and a reddish orange liquid sloshed from one side and hit the concrete floor. The floor didn't exactly disintegrate but the liquid made an interesting sizzling sound as it boiled away. The entire team watched it for a moment then glanced around at each other.
Do we have a plan…? Wally asked via Martian Comm. Because I do not want to take a bath in Pimpleface's backwash.
Kaldur stood up straighter. This is the plan, he said in a rather confident voice. Superboy, you, M'gann, and I will make sure the toxins do not spill out. They most likely will not harm us as much compared to the others if things become bad. The two other nonhumans nodded. Kid, you should attack from the front and try to distract Periodic. Robin, help out Wally by catching Periodic off guard from the back. Artemis, can you watch us from above and take out anyone or anything that seems to come too close?
Everyone nodded and swiftly got into position. Artemis hastily clambered up onto a stairwell and nocked an arrow, taking a quick sweep of the perimeter. The archer couldn't find Robin. Instead she watched Wally slide down his trademark red goggles and appear next to Periodic in a yellow blur. He had changed out of his stealth costume to be a more eye-catching distraction. He tapped Periodic on the shoulder, laughing at the villain's panicked expression. Wally disappeared in another blur and reappeared ten feet away, waggling his tongue at the science obsessed criminal. Artemis rolled her eyes and turned to see that Kaldur, Megan, and Superboy were working rather well at containing the liquid. Superboy ripped off pieces of excess steel from the interior of the building while M'gann held them in place with her powers. Kaldur used a crude form of soldering with his twin water beams to create a sort of cradle around the unstable container. Artemis was amused to notice that somehow Superboy's shirt had become torn in the process and hung rather loosely upon his built frame. She decided to "watch" him for a moment before the ringing sound of a bullet skittering in the rafters above her drew her attention back to the action. A piece of debris flew and smacked her jaw. She gritted her teeth as a faintly metallic taste filled her mouth. Artemis rubbed the tender spot where a bruise was forming and glared at her attackers.
Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! I wasn't paying attention, she chastised herself. She had promised to pay closer attention since her run-in with Cheshire. Her gaze jerked back to where Wally was trying to dodge being shot. Apparently Periodic wasn't as mediocre as I thought he was. Brightly costumed thugs filtered into the room, each wearing an atomic symbol of some element on their chests. Probably members of his science club. Artemis raised her bow back into the air and fired three consecutive shots, pinning down both Potassium and Fluoride who were both about to blindside Kid Flash. Wally didn't look up but he waved a hand in her direction. Artemis took that as her cue. She jumped off of the stairs, set another arrow, and cocooned Oxygen in an orange foam. The speedster appeared right next to the archer after knocking over Nitrogen.
"How are the others doing?" KF shouted to Artemis over the loud noises of fighting.
"Kaldur, Megan, and Superboy are doing fine, it seems. I haven't seen Robin though." Both teens looked just in time to the aftermath of a smoke bomb. They could faintly smell the thick, clogging smell of the smoke and Robin's maniacal cackle filled their ears along with the sounds of coughing.
"He's fine," Wally turned back to Artemis. "We should probably go after Periodic now. Who'd have thought he'd be so much trouble."
Artemis nodded. "Yeah, he's almost a real villain." She caught Carbon in a net from her dart and loaded up another arrow without looking. "Let's go." The two made their way towards Periodic who was certainly looking a bit pale. He pulled at the ironed-on periodic table on his chest nervously.
"Give up, Periodic. Your element's about to get oxidized." Wally told the man with a confident smirk. Artemis blinked at the speedster.
"What was that? 'Your element's about to get oxidized?' Who are you? Robin? Couldn't you have had the sense to come up with something at least a little better? Or better yet, couldn't you have kept your mouth shut?"
Wally glared at her. "Don't you get it? Oxidation is losing electrons. He's going to lose. I made a joke, which is something you clearly cannot do."
"I'm sorry, Captain Chemistry. I wish I was as smart as you so then I could make stupid jokes too."
"They are not stupid!" Kid Flash insisted. He crossed his arms and glared fiercely at the archer.
Artemis was about to say something not very nice when Robin appeared at her elbow. "Sorry for 'truding on your, um, study date…but Periodic is getting away!" The younger boy gestured towards the bright green blob that was in fact in the middle of making a relatively unnoticed escape.
Kid Flash adjusted his goggles and took a step back for momentum. "I got him," he said quickly.
"No need," Artemis smirked, drawing her bow up quickly. She let the arrow loose with a loud twang. Her expression changed from smugness to a look of horror as she realized which arrow she had just shot. Instead of sending over another net, she had used her last one on Carbon. What was speeding towards Periodic, and incidentally the shakily held holder of the acid, was one of her bomb shots. Periodic ducked and the arrow slammed into the weak metal, the explosive blowing apart Aqualad's hasty wielding. The original container of the acid quivered for a few moments before splitting, sending a torrent of deadly chemicals at the young superheroes.
The brief pause before the chemicals came spilling out allowed everyone to gather some of their wits together. Superboy reacted first. He grabbed Kaldur around the waist and jumped. They cleared the acid in one leap and with the second landed awkwardly on the catwalk above the destroyed container. Instead of trying to fly away, M'gann merely turned intangible and allowed the chemicals to rush through where her solid form had been moments ago. Wally turned to Artemis and before she could even protest, he scooped her up and ran. He went up two flights of stairs and they both crashed in front of Aqualad and Superboy. Artemis wriggled out of Wally's grip, thanked him, and then promptly shouted at him for not warning her he was about to spirit her away. The speedster seemed to ignore her as he scanned the warehouse floor, which still was covered in an orangey red liquid. Miss Martian became visible again and floated towards them. As more of the chemicals fizzled away, Wally's expression became more disturbed.
"Where's Rob?"
Even Superboy now looked somewhat concerned. "I didn't see him before the explosion."
M'gann nodded uneasily. "If I would have seen him, I would have flown up here with him to meet you all. But I didn't see him either."
Kaldur rubbed his gills subconsciously. "Perhaps Robin is safely on the other side of the room."
"Or maybe he's not," Wally snapped rudely. He ran a distressed hand through his windblown shock of hair. He suddenly rounded on Artemis. "This is all your fault!"
The archer looked taken aback for a moment before becoming defensive. "My fault? Who's the one chatting it up with Periodic instead of taking him down?"
Wally flung his hand at the largest fragment of the iron shell that had held the acid before. "Your arrow caused it to explode. If you hadn't been so impulsive, we wouldn't be in this mess!"
Artemis got in the speedster's face. "You're calling me impulsive? Hah, that's rich!"
"It's the truth!" Kid Flash snapped back. "Robin's missing because you had to get all the glory. If you had thought for just a second longer, maybe some common sense would have come through and you wouldn't have shot. Did you not even see you had a bomb strapped to that arrow? Were you that blind?"
The girl's face went blank. Wally was right. If she had waited for an extra second and actually noticed what she was about to shoot then everything wouldn't be falling apart.
Superboy started and pointed to a black form they had all regarded as a shadow before. "He's there!" the metahuman growled in a low voice. The team rapidly made their way down to the now cleared floor, clambering clumsily down the ladders and stairs. Artemis tried not to think too long about the new charred patches on the ground and kept her gaze firmly focused on the ladder rungs in front of her. The moment Wally's feet hit the floor, he was running towards his best friend, shouting 'Rob! Rob!' as loud as he could. The others quickly followed and Artemis, with her human speed, reached him last. All she saw was Robin's dark cloak over a Robin-sized form. The five formed a half circle around the mass and stared at it; no one wanted to lift up the cape and see nothing but a tarnished utility belt. Finally Artemis mustered up enough courage to flick the black cloth to the side. A collective breath was released when the huddled form of Robin stirred slowly.
"Rob! Dude, are you all right?" Wally was the quickest to recover. The younger boy had red patches all along his arms from where the acid must've grazed him. He also had holes burned in the chest and legs of his uniform. His face was particularly nasty. The burns were worse there and his domino mask was completely eaten away apart from a random piece of black above his left eye. Robin kept his eyes shut, little red wrinkles spreading from the corners.
The Boy Wonder sat up slowly and pulled his tattered cloak back around him. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure I am. Remind me to thank Batman for upgrading my cape just a few days ago." The sidekicks blinked, not quite understanding what he had meant.
"Wait… Did you wrap yourself in your cape to escape the acid?" Wally's voice was a cross between incredulity and admiration.
A small smile graced the boy's chapped lips. "What else do you think I did?" He rubbed at his closed eyes.
Kid Flash grinned as well. "Dude! That's so cool! D'ya think Bats could rig me up with a Super Cape too? Well, I guess it'd be a Bat Cape. But if I wore it...it'd be a Super Bat Flash cape...? Woah. I'd only be scared of getting it cau—"
"Robin, are you sure you are fine?" Kaldur prompted.
The little bird smiled faintly again. "Yeah, yeah. My eyes hurt a bit but they'll be all right in a few seconds. See?" He opened his eyes, forgetting they were not covered. The boy froze. His pupils were so dilated that all the others could see in his eyes were black dots with a thin sliver of white. Robin blinked multiple times and rubbed at his eyes again.
"Hey, who turned out the lights," he chuckled weakly. His smile faltered.
"The lights aren't off, Robin," Megan said in a quiet voice.
His smile disappeared and his face paled beneath his burns. "What's wrong?" Artemis asked, feeling a sense of dread in her gut.
"I…I can't see. But I'm sure it's just a temporary thing. It has to be." The Boy Wonder now sounded nervous.
Wally's laugh sounded slightly hysterical. "Let's hope it wears off before Batman comes."
A cold voice behind them caused everyone including Robin to jump.
"I'm only going to ask once: whose fault is this?"
The archer suddenly broke free of her thoughts and froze. Her abrupt stop caused Robin to crash into her back.
"Hey, why'd we stop? Are we there already? Because I've only counted twenty-seven steps…"
Artemis glared at the closed door in front of her. On the door was a note from Batman. She ripped it off and her scowl deepened with each word she read. It told Artemis that she should not drop off his partner in his room and call it a day. To stop her from doing just that, the Dark Knight had triple-locked Robin's room to prevent either of them from getting inside. Instead, Batman's note suggested, the two should actually try some bonding time. The blonde explained to Robin about his mentor's wishes and he laughed.
"Did it actually say 'or else' or did you make that up?"
Artemis stared down at the note. "I think it was implied."
The boy sighed but a smile still played on his lips. "So, where are we going to go?"
She bit the inside of her lip and almost reopened the scab from the past mission. "Um, I don't know. Follow me, I guess." Robin didn't look very enthused. "Come on! It'll be alright." She grabbed for his hand.
The Boy Wonder anticipated her lunge. Somehow he managed to get his hand away before she caught it. "I don't know about this. What if you put me somewhere then run away? I'm at a disadvantage here, just to let you know."
"I won't, I promise." She watched Robin's nervously twitching arm and reached out with her non-dominant hand. Not expecting it to come from that angle, the boy was caught. Artemis laughed triumphantly before dragging him off through the halls of the base.
After passing the kitchen—which Artemis could tell M'gann forgot the nonstick spray as well—the two burst through heavy double doors and kept going. Robin had stopped resisting after the first twenty steps but he still continued to complain. He's almost as annoying as a toddler. When they came to a flight of stairs, Artemis almost considered not telling Robin until it was too late. But then she figured that would only land her in more trouble with the Bat. And she didn't really want that.
"Stairs."
"Wha? Oh! Oww… Ah, thanks." Artemis helped him back to his feet, trying to suppress a laugh. They managed to get him up the stairs after only two more falls.
Once they reach the top of the steps, Artemis pulled Robin through a set of double glass doors, pushed him into a seat, promptly dropped his arm, and stepped back a few steps. Robin's head turned to where her footsteps had fallen. The archer grabbed a plastic lawn chair, dragged it across the deck, and set it in front of him. She sat down heavily and crossed her own arms and stared at her younger teammate.
"Are we outside?"
Artemis nodded. The archer then realized Robin couldn't have caught her nod. "I mean, yep," she added, feeling incredibly stupid. She leaned forward and stared curiously at him. "How'd you figure that out so quickly?"
"Because I heard you scrapping the chair across the floor and it sounded like it was made of plastic. Outside is the one of the only places that has plastic chairs. Secondly, the breeze is stronger and smells like salt. Finally, I can slightly feel the warmth of something on me and it isn't artificial lights." Robin gave her a little, self-satisfied smirk.
"You can do all of that but you can't walk up a flight of stairs?"
"I've been up stairs before." Artemis waited. The tone of his voice sounded like he had a counter statement. "But I usually don't run up them blind," he snapped, his voice dripping with an obnoxiously intentional amount of sarcasm.
"All right, I know you're a bit ticked, but that's no reason to get cranky, Robin."
"A bit? You think I'm just a bit angry? I can't see, Artemis! Or have you not noticed that either?"
The archer was silent for a moment. "I don't see what you're so worked up about," she said softly. "It's not really that bad."
Robin jerked forward in his seat. "You. Don't. See?" he grounded out through gritted teeth. "Give me one good reason on why this isn't a complete disaster and very heavy on the dis."
Artemis thought for a moment before responding. "You only lost sight." She continued, ignoring Robin's humorless bark of laughter for her pointing out the obvious. "Technically it's just like you are in a dark room. A really dark room. And I figured that since you work with Batman in the shadows all the time, you'd be used to working in the pitch blackness of night. I thought you'd prefer that to losing, say, an arm or a leg. At least with sight, you kinda already know what it'd be like. You still have hearing and touch."
"Don't forget taste and smell," he retorted with a sneer. "I can follow the scent trail with my nose and then lick the villain into surrendering. Great plan." However, the boy's voice had softened. He seemed to be considering the archer's outlook.
"Quite frankly, I can't think of a villain that that would actually worked on. Well, you could follow someone like Clayface with your nose…but I highly doubt you'd want to try Part B of that plan."
Robin shuddered. "I'm still getting mud out of places mud should never be. Do you know how many times Batman made me clean my utility belt?"
"Do you know how many times my mother made me clean my bow before I could come back in the house? I could see my reflection in the bow string." Robin smiled at the girl and Artemis felt herself returning the smile. They sat in a comfortable silence for a while until Robin was the first to break it.
"If unfounded means it isn't based on facts and profound means it was really deep, does a plain 'found' mean its somewhere in the middle? Like, you know, under whelmed and overwhelmed. Whelmed is just somewhere in the middle. Found must mean it's kinda deep but not really based on facts."
The female archer groaned and Robin grinned. "What does that have to do with what we were talking about before?"
"Well, it pertains to the next question I'm about to ask. What prompted your rather found approach to my blindness?"
Artemis sighed gustily. "I've been thinking. A lot lately since our past mission, actually. I don't think you were there, but Batman informed me that my lack of thinking almost led to the demise of the team. He basically told me that it was my fault that everything went wrong and I more or less could have killed everyone."
"Ouch. It wasn't all of y—"
"Yeah, well, I think most of it was. Wally was right when he said my impulsiveness almost cost you your life."
"Wait…Wally was accusing you of impulsiveness? Where was I?"
"Under your cape. That was, by the way, pretty smart. How did you ever think of that in such a short notice?"
Robin dismissed the question with an airy wave of his hand. "Oh, Batman's been doing it for years with explosions. We get those capes specially made to withstand wear and tear. It's a miracle though it was able to hold back so much of that weird chemical. I don't even want to think about what those atoms did to me. Enough about the cape though, tell me more about you, Wally, and Batman." He grinned, "Sounds like a horror movie."
"Well, you probably saw me shoot the thing that held that radioactive juice."
Robin nodded. "I did."
"I guess I just lost my senses and wanted to beat the fastest boy alive in wrapping up Periodic." Artemis laughed dryly. "The next thing I knew was that in a whoosh of air, Wally and I were on a catwalk with Kal and Superboy. I think you know the rest."
"Now tell me about Batman," the boy prompted.
"Are you trying to be my shrink?" Artemis earned another small smile from the Boy Wonder. "Batman was not pleased. He didn't exactly say it outright but I could tell he probably wanted me mounted on some trophy wall in the Batcave." The boy let loose an eerie cackle that caused her hair to stand on end. "Wait, does he actually keep people trophies?"
"Maybe," Robin answered cryptically. "If I tell you, you may have to go on the Wall."
Artemis stared at him, unable to decipher if he was telling the truth or not before continuing. "Anyway, Batman said that if I don't work on my, um, recklessness, I'm off the team for good."
"Huh," Robin frowned, "I kinda like you, too. That'd be a shame."
"Yeah, I'll miss you too, Robin." Artemis rolled her eyes. "'Bout as much as Wally."
"Then you'd miss me a lot, right?" Artemis briefly wondered if Robin was related to the Joker; his grins were really starting to unnerve her.
The archer didn't answer. She stared out across the horizon at the now sinking sun. "Were you scared when you saw that huge wave coming?"
Robin shrugged. "Nah, not really. All of my wits had fled right about then so I was acting purely on adrenaline and instinct." He paused. "I was, however, terrified after opening my eyes and not seeing anything."
"Really? Why?"
The Boy Wonder shrugged again. "I don't know. I guess just because I couldn't see and well, that's never happened to me before. Yeah, I've been temporarily stunned or deaf at moments, but never blind. I just felt so…helpless."
Artemis snorted. "You? Helpless? Yeah, right. You're probably the most capable person on our team."
"So? I lost one of my greatest assets. That's like you trying to take on some major villain without your bow."
The archer raised a brow. "I doubt your sight is that vital to you."
A rueful smile graced the boy's lips. "You'd be surprised."
"Anyway, it doesn't matter. Papa Bat is probably going to keep you out of commission for a while because he clearly doesn't trust us very much to keep you safe anymore. It's not like you have to worry about falling into danger."
In a sudden burst of anger that was unusual for the Dark Knight's protégé, Robin brought a closed fist down on the cheap plastic armrest. Artemis watched it cave in slightly from the impact. The action reminded her of her mother in a similar situation that happened not too long ago.
"That's not what I'm mad about!" He shouted in a barely control voice. The boy brought his hands up to the binding on his face and dropped them weakly. "How can I help my team this way?" he asked softly. "What if it is permanent? What'll I do then for the Justice League? Just sit in a chair and answer phone calls? If I can't see then I might as well quit now and save me some grief." The boy's lips pressed together firmly. "If this doesn't wear off, my future seems pretty bleak and dark. Literally."
Artemis leaned back in her plastic beach chair, the plastic squealing slightly. Time for an inspirational speech, whether you like it or not, Bird-Boy. "Well, the way I see it is you're just sick or injured. And what happens to sick people?"
"They die or they become burdens in society." Robin deadpanned.
"No! Gee, Robin, has working with Batman really made you that pessimistic?"
Robin did not answer that question. "Then do they become criminally insane like the Joker?"
"No, silly bird. They get better!" Artemis said in her most patronizing voice. She reached over and ruffled Robin's head with a malicious laugh. The boy pushed her hand away with an annoyed expression. Artemis could imagine him scowling at her through the bandaging.
"Get off of me before you make idiots out of both of us." However, the boy looked slightly relieved. He seemed to be contemplating something then asked another question. "So do you really think it's just temporary?"
Artemis didn't smile but she forced her voice into a chipper, optimistic tone. "Of course it is. It has to. For both of our sakes. If you are permanently blind, Bats will have my skin on the Wall that may or may not be there."
Robin sighed wistfully. "I wouldn't be able to see that happen either. What a disappointment."
Artemis grinned and knowing too well how the boy hated it, reached out to ruffle his hair again. However, Robin detected she had evil intentions and smacked her hand away before it reached his noggin. He beamed at her with the same content smirk.
"You are a jerk."
"But you prefer my company to Wally's, right?" He really seemed to want that question answered.
Well, I'm not going to give him the satisfaction. Artemis raised an eyebrow. "I'm not so sure anymore. You're cute, kid, but don't push it."
Robin's smirk widened. "What do you consider 'pushing' it?"
"If you have to ask, it's probably not a good idea," she replied flatly.
"So, would this be pushing it?" Robin leapt out of the chair, took a cautious step to the side, and clambered on top of the ledge. His arms wind milled for a second but he quickly gained his balance.
Artemis felt her heart suddenly start to pound and her mouth tasted salty. "Robin! Batman will not be pleased when I have to scrape you off from the pavement. If you fall, I might as well just jump right after you. I don't feel like skydiving so get back here."
The boy grinned widely at her before stepping nimbly backwards, arms outstretched for balance. "You were right, Artemis. It is just like being in the dark."
"Yeah, that's great, birdbrain. Now get off of that ledge."
"Have some faith in me. I've never fallen in the dark before." Artemis stared at him. He shuffled his feet bashfully, feeling her glare through the wrapping around his eyes. "Well, actually, I have. But the situation was way more risky than this."
The blonde crossed her arms. "And you probably had someone nearby who actually would try to catch you if you fell. If you start to slip, Rob, I'm gunna watch you fall and laugh." Her threat sounded empty and both teens knew she would risk her own life to save him.
Apparently the raven haired boy decided that Artemis's reactions weren't satisfying enough. He raised both hands in the air and fell slowly forward as if to do a cartwheel. Instead of feeling the cold stone under his right palm, the boy felt a slip of the corner and air. Thrown off with the lack of purchase, the rest of his trick morphed into a disorganized tumble. His mouth parted into a shocked "oh" before he could react and his lack of sight only added more to the confusion. He felt himself tipping overboard but he was too discombobulated to do anything.
Artemis saw his face pale and he seemed to fall in slow motion. She reached forward and grasped his upper arm. It felt warm to her suddenly cold hand. The archer also grabbed the loose fabric of his shirt. She was briefly distressed to hear the thin fabric bunched in her hand pop with strain. With a grunt Artemis heaved the boy roughly back over onto the safe side of the ledge. She pressed her freezing back against the icy stone wall and tried to soothe her jumpy breathing. She briefly wondered why the world was shaking when she realized it was her own nervous trembling. Artemis felt Robin shivering slightly beside her. His breathing was just as frazzled as Artemis's. The girl's death grip remained tight around Robin's arm while she released her hold on his shirt. They sat in silence for a moment, both teens momentarily shocked.
The Boy Wonder recovered first. He let out a giggly laugh and rubbed at his sweaty face with his free arm. "You lied. You said you wouldn't save me but you did." His laugh was too high to be normal. Usually he wouldn't have been so worked up about a near death experience but this one hit him particularly hard. He didn't see it coming and he had no way of saving himself.
"You were an idiot. Don't ever do that again," Artemis growled. "You could have gotten yourself killed!" She was still clutching onto his arm as if he might fall over any second again.
Robin swallowed and nodded slightly. "I know. I won't. Thanks." His sentences were unnaturally clipped.
Artemis tilted her head back and rested it against the edge of the ledge. "Why did you try that?" Her tone was still brisk but it sounded more like a relieved, overprotective mother instead of a furious friend. Robin bit his lip and the girl almost thought she wouldn't get an answer.
"I honestly don't know. I guess I just lost leave of my sense." He flashed a weak smile at the girl beside him.
"Yeah, well, it happens to the best of us," Artemis replied with a dry chuckle.
Robin's smile became less watery. "Thanks again, Artemis, for everything. Especially for y'know…just talking with me. You really helped me see the light." This phrase elicited a loud cackle from Robin and an eye roll from the blonde. "Get it? Because I ca—"
"You're just a riot, Rob." Artemis shook her head at the boy even though she knew he wouldn't see it. "Anyway, I'm glad to have helped. Even though I was forced to help you against my will, it was nice. A bit of a challenge trying to find your spirit and sanity again, but we did it."
Robin laughed again. "It was your fault in the first place, O' Marvelous Archer. You were the first person to lose your mind. Shooting the container? Wow, Artemis, way to go."
"If you remind me one more time about that, I won't hesitate to throw you back over the edge."
"You said that last time. I don't believe you." He looked impossibly smug.
Artemis smiled at him. "Fine. You're right. I wouldn't do that. Batman would kill me."
Robin suddenly looked serious. "You know he's going to ask, right? Batman's going to ask us how it went. If, you know, he hasn't been monitoring us on video camera this whole time." Artemis knew the Dark Knight enough to know that would be exactly the kind of thing he would try to do. She quickly scanned their surroundings. The archer figured he would have the camera hidden and nearly microscopic. Still, she couldn't find any large security cameras nearby.
"I guess we can tell him we talked about stuff." Artemis started slowly.
"Stuff," Robin repeated. "And technically we bonded which was the point of the 'mission' as you worded it."
"So we should be fine. What about your, um, attempt to fly?"
"Don't tell Batman. If he finds out, I'll get my Robin License revoked." Robin turned his head toward her. The expression on his face made it difficult for her to tell if he was being serious or not.
Artemis decided he wasn't and chuckled. "Right. Don't tell Batman." She reached out, grabbed his hand and shook it. "Deal?"
Robin grinned. "Deal." They dropped hands and Artemis slowly climbed to her feet. She offered to help Robin up as well but he was already standing next to her. They headed back towards the door, the Boy Wonder much more confident in his movements than he had been an hour before. Artemis held the door for him and he even managed to go down the steps himself.
"You do know though that Batman probably already knows what happened." He turned and faced the blonde.
Artemis shrugged. "Oh well. We can tell him it was a trust exercise." She placed a hand lightly on his back to guide him through Mount Justice. "I think," she started with a grin, "it is a very found idea."
Instead of protesting her help, Robin simply went with it. "I believe we finally got our senses back. Oh, and Artemis?"
"Mmm?"
"You didn't use found right."
Thank you very much for reading! I hope everyone wasn't too out of character and I hope you enjoyed it. Any feedback is greatly welcomed.