Title: Hands
Summary: It takes a lot to send Robin in a spiral of memories, or at least it takes a very specific series of events. The team are left to handle a very shaken bird who seems more intent on ignoring it all together then letting them help. And of course Batman swoops in before any progress can actually be made.
Beta: I probably sent this to a beta at some point but this probably isn't the copy that was sent. So please let me know if you find any issues. And know that it is too late and I'm too out of it to do the best read over. Sorry not sorry.
Word Count: Over 2,000 before I added this intro thing
Authors note: This was originally going to be the last chapter for Still A Kid, but my beta pointed out that it didn't really work and I have to agree. It relates back to PTSD more than anything else and it just doesn't work with that I was doing with Still A Kid. But that means you people get it now as what ever you want to call this thing.
This was over welming. Robin hated it, but he had to admit it.
The blast took out Ms. Martian and their com-link. Superboy got her out before any serious damage could be done. But she was too weak to go back in. Aqualad took position furthest away from the flames, teaming up with Artemis to rush the remaining people from the building.
Robin and Kidflash were on the floor above the blast, still six stories up. They lost the east stairwell, the stairs caving in long ago. Robin cursed who ever decided that an advanced science camp should be in the same building as a highly secure, yet highly dangerous laboratory. Seriously, whoever ignored the League's warning about the possible attach should be fired.
Wally appeared back at the top of the stairs, ready for the next group. Robin ushered the next seven kids forward. One of the smaller girls took Wally's hand.
"Go," Robin hissed. He could hear the crackle of fire behind him.
Wally hesitated, worry flashing across his face.
"I need to do one more sweep."
"I'll come back up to help," Wally said, scooping up the girl into his arms. He rested a hand under her, the other carefully tucking her face down.
"Kid-" Robin started.
"Right back!" he interrupted, ushering the remaining kids out from the room before Robin could object.
Robin turned back down the hall, intending to check every room before heading out.
The guys who tried to rob the place took refuge on the top floor, holding themselves up in a conference room. Artemis asked if they really needed to save them if they were dumb enough to blow the place up and then hide out on the top floor. It wasn't their fault they were stupid enough to hide up there.
A low screech started from under Robin's feet, making him stop in his tracks. It grew louder and turned into a rumble. He turned around and ran back the way he came. A roar from the fire and the crashing of the floor giving way drowned the rest of the world out.
Robin jumped through the window, arching around and grabbing the bottom of the window, flames licking at his back. Glass cut his face, leaving small bloody scratches.
A scream cut under the rage of the flames. Robin looked up in time to see a child and large burly man slip from the window above.
Robin flattened himself against the wall, avoiding the flailing kick from the man. Robin dove towards the ground, pulling his grappling hook from his belt. He shot it in the air, feeling the tug of it grabbing an adjacent wall. He let the cord continue to release. The man was closer, within reaching distance. The child was too far, just out of his range.
Robin turned, latching the handle of his grappling hook to the back of the man's pants and switching on the lock. He stopped with a grunt of pain. Robin used the momentum to swing, launching towards the child. He wrapped around the small girl seconds before hitting the ground. He rolled, taking the grunt of the landing.
The child clung to him, sobbing into his chest. Robin held just as tight, to keep his hands from shaking. Above them the crook swing from the grappling hook, roughly ten feet off the ground. Medics and the team swarmed around them; Robin didn't see any of it. The memory of the girl's eyes was burned into his memory. The terror already haunting his memory. The terror already haunting his dreams. It was the same look he saw before they died. It was the same shade of blue and look of desperation that was in her eyes. The screams of a grown woman echoed through Robin's head.
Fingers pried Robin and the girl apart. He was vaguely aware of a parametric taking the girl away.
A hand, the fingers from before, pulled him away from the burning building. Robin struggled, there were still people in there. Villains, the people who caused all this, but they didn't deserve to die.
"The league is here," A voice said, as if reading Robin's mind. Or maybe he said it out loud, doesn't really know.
The screaming in his ears died down, the rest of the world rushed back.
Wally stared at him in concern, a hand wrapped tightly around Robin's upper arm.
"Some of the League are here," he said, "They have it under control. Red Tornado has ordered us back to the mountain."
Robin nodded in understanding, glancing back at the building again. Superman and Wonder Woman were pulling the remaining gang members from the building. Aquaman teamed up with the fire department to tame the flames. Green Arrow and Black Canary stood under the swinging baddy.
Green Arrow pulled out an arrow and shot the far end of the hook; the arrow exploded, crumbling the wall. The man fell the last ten feet, unconscious but alive.
Wally led Robin back to the ship. The rest of the team were already waiting for them.
His hands were shaking. He couldn't get the screaming out of his ears, all three: the girls and theirs. He couldn't close his eyes. If they're close, he couldn't watch. If he couldn't watch, then he can't save anyone. If they can't save them then there will be another set of eyes watching from behind his eyelids, that stared into his mind and crept through his nightmares.
"Robin?"
He blinked, he wasn't watching. But the team was watching him. The ship had already landed, safely docked in their base.
"Are you alright my friend?" Kaldur asked, reaching a hand towards the smaller boy's shoulder.
Wally stopped their team leader, wrapping a hand around Kaldur's wrist. They were both stretched out towards Robin, Kaldur palm up and just out of reach.
They were just out of reach. Her hands, darker than Wally's but lighter than Kaldurs. Kaldr's hands always reminded him of his. Large with long fingers and converted clauses. His built from years of swinging on bars and learning to fly. Kaldur's were from years with his weapons.
They held hands right before they fell, at least they had each other. The little girl wouldn't have had someone.
Robin felt his stomach bubble and bile climbed up the back of his throat. He made it to the bathroom, reaching the toilet before throwing up everything in his stomach. He threw up until there was nothing left and all he could do was dry heave.
HIs stomach clenched again, but the nausea went down. Robin wanted a cup of Alfy's "cure all" tea. He wanted to be home, with Bruce, playing basketball. He wanted to be back in Gotham, fighting one of their baddies.
He didn't want to keep falling.
Robin struggled with his gloves, his fingers sticking to the insides from sweat.
The sounds of a flushing toilet brought him back. He watched the water disappear, before looking up at Artemis.
Right.
The team.
He took a deep breath, finally getting his glove off, the second coming much easier.
"I'm fine," he announced to the bathroom.
"Really guys, don't worry about me," Robin continued, staring down at his now bare hands.
The rest of the team exchanged looks. They didn't need a mental link to form a plan. They all nodded at each other, breaking apart and heading their different ways. Conner, Kaldur and M'gann left the room. Artemis paused at the doorway, to make sure the remaining two get moving. To make sure they don't plan something, a voice whispered in the back of her head. Failing to even convince herself, she was there for any other reason but because she was worried.
Wally pulled the smaller boy off the floor with very little warning. Artemis got a better look at her youngest team member. He was pale and a small layer of sweat was built up above his mask. The shaking in his hands stopped as soon as it started. His jaw clenched, sealing away his emotions. He looked a lot like Batman.
Wally caught her eye, she could see the sadness in his face. Pain for his friend that she didn't quite understand. He nodded at her, she shared a sad smile before she left.
Artemis found Megan pulling blankets and pillows from one of the hall closets. She looked distracted, piling everything at her feet carelessly.
"Hey Megan" Artemis greeted, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," the girl nodded, her voice was a whisper as if scared to break the silence. She twitched her wrist. The bedding slid across the floor and against the opposite wall. A blanket wrapped around Artemis' shins. "I've never seen him like that."
Artemis scooped up the blankets at her feet. Megan flicked her wrist again, floating everything else. The two girls walked towards the common room, bedding trailing behind them. "He looked so small," she continued. "And scared. Like a..." she trailed off.
"A kid?" Artemis offered.
Megan nodded in agreement.
"That is because it is easy to forget that he is." Kaldur interrupted from across the room. He didn't look at either girl, just fiddled with the master remote for the TV. He didn't intend to elaborate, not that the girls needed him too.
The train of bedding piled in the middle of the room. Artemis turned back down the hallway to grab some board games and change out of her uniform. Ms Martian followed after her.
By the time the girls got back from changing and with a carefully selected armful of board games, Robin and Wally were already there. Their uniforms were switched out for pajama pants and plain shirts. Robin's mask was replaced with a pair of sunglasses.
The ebony haired boy clutched a steaming cup of tea close to his chest, hiding his smile behind his mug. He was watching Wally fill his mug of hot chocolate with marshmallows, while Connor looked on with disgusted.
"That's gross Wally," Artemis said in way of greeting.
"I've seen you make tea," The Speedster shot back, "with the amount of sugar you add, you have no room to judge, Arrow Breath."
"He's got a point," Robin said, his voice not as bright as usual. "I know a number of people who would find the amount of sugar you use to be offensive."
Wally pointed a triumphant finger at Artemis.
"Not that Kid Sugar-High is much better." Robin added as an afterthought.
Artemis mimicked Wally's triumphant look. The glaring contest ended when Megan waved a pillow between them and shot a pointed look at Robin.
The youngest was frowning at his hands again. The tea rippling as his hands shook, barely noticeable unless you were looking for it.
"Who wants to play Apples to Apples?" Artemis asked, holding up the box.
They played through the majority of the board games the girls picked out. They pigged out on popcorn, frozen pizza and chips. The night ended with the team streaming movies. Robin fell asleep halfway through the first one, his head resting against Connor's shoulder, wedged between the clone and Wally. Superboy spent the next two movies completely still as to not wake the younger teen.
Batman came in at the end of the third movie, with Red Tornado and Black Canary behind him. He flipped the lights on low, eyeing the team quickly.
He scooped Robin off the couch and into his arms, adjusting the boy so his head rested at the joint of his shoulder. Robin shifted, a hand clutched the bat symbol of his mentor's chest. His nails latched onto the lip on top of the bat's head.
The batman shrugged, his cape falling into place, shielding Robin from sight.
The entire action was with a practiced ease that Artemis didn't want to think about.
Maybe it was the darkness of the room or the sheer presence of Batman himself, but Robin disappeared when the cape fell. The older hero gave no sign of being weighed down, his shape still large, with no indication Robin was in his arms.
He truly was a child tucked under the wings of the Bat.
Batman left without warning, disappearing into the darkness of the unlit hallway. In the distance the computer announced their departure.