"Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence"
― Vince Lombardi
oOo
Kid Flash was a little bit noisy when he ate, but he tried to keep it down as much as possible when in public. That wasn't enough for everyone, though, especially not Artemis.
"Would you quiet down?!" she hissed for the thirteenth time (1). Standing in a movie theater munching as loudly as possible seemed to Artemis like the perfect way to ruin an evening. If you can even call it that, she thought. This showing is at midnight, and I'm already about to fall asleep.
"Where's Robin?" Megan wondered. It wasn't every day that all six of them got to go on an outing together. "He said he would be here."
"Does he have patrol?" Kaldur wondered quietly, adjusting his turtleneck. It would be a major disaster if his gills were discovered while he was in public like this.
Wally sighed and swallowed his popcorn bite. Even with the extra large size, it would be gone before they sat down. "I texted him to ask if he could come. Batman must have said no to this, too."
Conner raised an eyebrow. "You asked him before?"
"If I could go to his place. I kind of expected Bats to say no to that one. But, come on, hanging with the whole team? AND no identity worries. No one wonders why you're wearing shades if you're watching a 3D movie. Dang, I forgot to tell him what we were seeing, maybe he didn't like the movie choice...?"
Artemis suppressed the urge to slap him upside the head. "When does Robin ever NOT text back immediately, dork? It's like you two were separated at birth or something..."
Kaldur looked around the theater and checked his watch. Turning to the others he made a decision. "The film will start in ten minutes. If he is not here in five, we must go see it without him. If he has not answered, perhaps something else is more... engrossing."
oOo
"Engrossing" did not begin to describe the situation. Robin was on his knees, pleading his mentor to say something.
"Batman, please! Come on, get up! Please wake up, I need you!" It had always done the trick for him, when Robin himself was unconscious. Imploring the subconscious to listen to a call of desperate need. Dick needed to feel wanted,it was the circus in him. Growing up in a world of wonder with passionate people who were all close as family and extremely affectionate left its mark. He would've answered to a needy call.
Bruce wasn't like that, though. Tell him something's wrong. Tell him the world needs him. Tell him you need him.
"Bruce, I can't do this alone. You have to wake up! You have to help me!" Trying not to envision the scolding that was sure to proceed whenever Bruce was able and had found out about Dick using his name in costume, Robin held back more waves of tears while gazing at his silent mentor.
White lenses lifted for a fraction of a second before drifting back into dreams. Robin was panicking.
He checked and rechecked his pseudo father's declining heart rate, listened to his breathing, prayed on and off, yelled at Batman some more and eventually broke into a fresh wave of self blaming tears.
Then, in a quiet moment in between sobs, a noise went off.
It took a second to realize someone was calling him on his comm link.
He sucked in a breath. Idiot! He scolded himself. Why was I not calling for help?!
"Yeah?" He answered slowly, trying to gather his wits and go about this whole situation properly.
"Dude!" It was Wally, and he sounded somewhat ticked. "Are you coming or not? Because we're gonna have to go without you if you don't show in, like, five minutes. I even bought you a ticket, dude, but you weren't answering your phone. Oh yeah, about that, Artemis thinks you-"
Robin interjected before the speedster got carried away. "Wally, I need you to stop talking and listen to me, understand?"
Wally stopped taking immediately, sensing the urgency in his friend's voice. "Kay, man, I'm all ears."
"Batman's been stabbed and his heartbeat is fading. I can't get him anywhere as fast as you can and I-" He stopped for a breath when the words caught in his throat, amid choking tears. "-I just need someone to help me. Pier 17, the docks."
"Happy Harbor. On my way, Rob, hang in there."
Robin nodded as the connection cut, blinking back hot tears and then simply shutting his eyes when he failed.
Failure. That's all I am tonight. Rushing into everything, so impatient. How does Bruce put up with me? I'll be better, Bruce, I promise. Just don't leave me...
"Here!" Wally's voice bounced across the pier as he skid to a stop, in full costume, and knelt next to the fallen Bat and the sobbing Bird. "I'm here," his tone was quiet and reverent, an unusual fit for him.
"Can you carry him?" Robin whispered, wiping his eyes and meeting Wally's gaze.
The determination in his friend's eyes calmed the teary bird as the speedster replied firmly, "I will." In a blur, Kid Flash scooped up Batman and disappeared down the road.
Robin dropped his head into his hands and sank into his knees as his father zoomed to his chance of survival in the Cave, shrinking from a large dependable figure to a small black dot swept up in a streak of yellow and gone in the blink of an eye.
Come on. You have to make it. You have to. I'll do anything. Just be alive...
oOo
Artemis looked at the sliding door in disbelief. "So now the glutton has abandoned us too? Attached to the hip, those two. I meant it."
Kaldur again scanned the area and turned to give an assessment. "Perhaps something is wrong?"
Megan clasped her hands together, worried. "Oh, I hope not!" She whispered. She knew very well just how violent Gotham City could be. The television documentaries alone were terrifying.
"Should we do something?" Conner mumbled, ready for the wait to be over with.
"I myself have grown weary of suggesting patience as the answer. We ought to communicate to Wally and find out what's wrong," Kaldur decided.
With the shrugs of affirmation from the others, they simply walked out of the theater.
"So much for a movie," Megan sighed. When the others all looked at her, she blushed and defended herself, "Earth technology, it's all so interesting..."
Kaldur, checking the area to see if anyone else thought it refreshing to stroll around Theater Street in Happy Harbor at midnight and finding no one was that adventurous besides the four of them, pulled out his comm link and fixed it in his ear, calling Kid Flash and only getting silence.
His brow furrowed and the others became anxious. "Try Robin!" Artemis suggested.
Robin picked up with a hoarse voice and a heavy heart, but at least he picked up. "Aqualad?"
"Robin!" The Atlantean answered, relieved, and then switched his comm to speaker mode. "Are you alright? Kid spoke a few brief words with you and then left suddenly. Do you know what the problem is?"
A moment of indecisive silence, and then, "Batman was stabbed in the side tonight."
Artemis gasped and Megan covered her gaping mouth with a hand, while Conner and Kaldur looked at each other with concerned eyes. "I will not press at this moment for an explanation, but can we help in any way?"
Considering Kaldur's words, Robin hesitated yet again. "Get to the mountain and zeta to the Batcave. You know the code on the tube console?"
Kaldur stuttered, genuinely shocked, but responded, "Y-yes, I was told for emergency reasons, but...but, I thought..."
"This is an emergency."
"...What about Batman's rule? Will we not deduce your identity by venturing to the Batcave?"
"You won't as long as you stay IN the Batcave. Don't go upstairs or anything, and you won't figure it out. Batman brings civilians and others in there occasionally to administer serum and whatnot. I'm sure he won't mind..." I hope he won't mind, he didn't add.
Kaldur took in a breath and assured Robin, "We'll be there."
As Aqualad cut the connection, Superboy did some speculating. "Kid Flash is running Batman to the Batcave. That's why he wouldn't answer. Robin's probably making his way to the Cave, too, from wherever he is."
"Batman...stabbed..." Artemis mumbled to herself. It seemed impossible. Batman was an invincible titan. A dark knight that dwelt in never-dissipating shadows.
"I wonder how it happened?" Miss Martian whispered, suddenly afraid to use her outside voice.
"We will know when we need to. Now we make our way to Mount Justice," the leader once again made the group decision and the four heroes went jogging to the camouflaged bioship, hidden in the woods.
oOo
Robin swung from building to building, lighting briefly on each rooftop before flying to the next one. His every thought, every ounce of energy, was on following Wally and following the dark mass he held. Visions of the blood between his gloved fingers and the fleeting seconds in which white orbs flitted open pushed him harder and harder, faster and faster.
All of him pushed for the Cave.
oOo
Merry Christmas to everyone who is reading this. This is your gift, Chapter 2, with an extra special cliffhanger to spice it up. Thank you to those who dropped a review on the last chapter, keep doing what you do! Please tell me what you think, if you think at all!
(1): This is one of the many "thirteen" hidden throughout my stories. Keep an eye out, there will be more.
Also, if you hadn't noticed, I am especially fond of alliteration and cannot help myself most of the time! Elisa thinks it's the poet in me. Prose has always been my favorite, though.
Do remember that reviews are a day-changer. Getting that one little email from Fan Fiction just paints the sky a brighter shade of blue! Have a Merry Christmas.
-Ava