a/n: very quick fic written on a whim for the anon meme. the prompt was along the lines of 'robin as peter pan' and I kind of went for the quirky darkness/violence of the original book, where peter was a lovable but sociopathic little boy who killed any of his disobedient henchmen and made a habit of kidnapping neglected babies out of strollers.
"I'll never be like him," Artemis muttered savagely to herself as she stormed about her bedroom, digging for hidden bandages and other medical supplies to patch up the fresh welts on her arms and face. She was nine, and she was hurting, and she hated her father more than anything in the world. "I won't grow up to be like him. I won't, I won't, I won't!"
"If you want, I can make it so that you won't grow up at all."
Bristling, Artemis whirled around, tearing a short knife from one of the sheaths on her wrists. Her bedroom was empty – where had that voice come from?
Something moved in the corner of her eye, and Artemis attacked before she'd even consciously registered the threat, purely guided by instinct and her father's (horrible-brutal-endless) training. She fell on the shadow and stabbed harmlessly at the carpet for a good four seconds before she finally regained control of her senses. Then she jumped back, more startled than afraid. "Who's there?" she demanded, voice high and angry, nervous. "What are you?"
A high giggle sounded throughout the room, and suddenly the shadow on the floor leapt up into the air to join a figure perched on the bedroom windowsill. Artemis knew she had closed the window hours ago, but it was open now, curtains flying wide to reveal a grinning dark-haired boy who looked like a circus runaway.
As she watched, the boy leapt down and walked boldly into her room, movements fluid and fearless and cocky in a way that reminded Artemis of Jade. "So – don't want to grow up and turn into your old man, huh?" the boy asked, sneering. "I've been there before. But I know a way out. Come with me, away with me, and you'll never have to grow up, not ever." He smiled, deviously, and held out a hand.
Artemis stared, mind racing. She didn't trust people, knew better than to trust people, and this was ridiculous, but – but he sounded so sure.And Jade hadn't offered to take her.
A sudden wetness tickled her back as the cuts on her neck began to drip downward. Tonight had hurt. If she stayed –
"Okay," Artemis finally said, nervously, and as she hesitantly reached out for the boy's hand, her feet slowly began to rise into the air.
—
"I do not understand," Kaldur'ahm said warily, floating backward as the other boy advanced toward him. He might have only been eight years old, but Kaldur knew perfectly well the difference between an Atlantean and a human, and something here wasn't right at all. "Who are you? And how can you breathe underwater?"
"Oh, that's just a little magic. Don't worry about it," the strange boy said, giggling maniacally. He took another menacing glide toward Kaldur, who was beginning to wish he hadn't strayed so far from home. "Now stop running away already! You've got to come with me, so I can show you something really fun. . ."
—
M'gann didn't know where she was. Hello? She called out telepathically, frightened. Is anyone there?
She heard a high, devious laugh, echoing all around and within her own mind. M'gann trembled, but she decided to try again. Please, I – I don't want to be alone. Is someone there?
A figure suddenly flew down toward her in the empty, cavernous space: a boy, brightly dressed, with skin so white that M'gann was momentarily shocked before she realized he couldn't be a Martian.
"Come on," the boy said, touching down impatiently in front of her. He sounded confident, even arrogant, as if he had no doubt in his mind that M'gann would obey.
She wavered, carefully taking in his appearance. The boy was the most bizarre thing she'd seen up close in all her twenty-two years, but there was something recognizable about him, too. Are…Are you a human? she asked slowly, feeling something like excitement building in her chest. Are you from Earth? Like from the TV shows?
The boy laughed again. The sound wasn't exactly kind, but then, M'gann wasn't used to expecting kindness from strangers. Or anyone. "Yeah, sure, close enough," the boy said, grabbing her arm forcefully and yanking it. "Now come on! Don't tell me you really want to stay and grow up here."
She pulled back at first, resisting, but then stopped and really thought about it. This wasn't – he wasn't offering Earth, but "close enough" would at least be an improvement, right? She ultimately relented, allowing the almost-human boy to lead her into the air, and followed him obediently as he soared out toward a world unknown.
—
He slipped into the lab unseen through his roaming shadow, melting out into the world of grown-ups and scientists just long enough to locate his target. The containment pod was far too large for its lone inhabitant – a small, curled-up figure dressed in white, looking for all the world like an ordinary six-year-old human. The clone was feral, now, unstable, but he could be taught. And besides, a certain level of...volatility, made everything so much more fun. It was worth the risk.
The small, masked intruder got to work, deftly disabling the pesky locking mechanisms that wrongfully separated him from his newest playmate. The pod presently slipped open, freeing the would-be Superboy from Cadmus once and for all. The clone's liberator approached quickly, grinning, before his target could properly awaken.
When the scientists ran in seconds later, shouting, they found nothing but an empty room.
—
"Really? You'll take me with you?" Wally asked excitedly, bouncing up and down on his bed. He'd spent the afternoon being regaled with stories of grand adventures and real magic in a fantasy world, where nobody had to grow up and the kids actually got to fight against the bad guys for a change. To his five-year-old mind, it sounded like paradise.
The other, unfamiliar boy smirked, eyes gleaming in dark triumph behind his mask. "I guess I can let you tag along," he said casually, casting Wally a sidelong glance of mocking evaluation. "But! Only if you promise to be my best friend until the end of time, you hear me? That means forever."
"Of course I will!" Wally yelled, jumping down from the bed to land in front of him. "Duh! Why wouldn't I? Let's GO already!"
Robin smiled and took his hand.