Chapter two! Yay! Going to dive head first into this tale, my buds.
I already did the disclaimser and warnings in the first chapter, also have to add one...
New warning for entire story - Possible character death (I won't say if there will be or not, it would ruin the surprise.)
Chapter Two - Rested
"Scientists estimate the volume of blood in a human body to be approximately 7 percent of body weight." -
The next morning, Robin, stretched, yawning, feeling better, not great, but better, finding the weariness from the last few days leave him almost completely. He scratched the back of his head as he stood, making his way to the shower, peeling off his mask, having fallen asleep in uniform, blinking a few times before stepping through the doorway. Confronted by the mirror, the jolted a short memory of his time with Batman playing before he was able to fully process the horrid display.
"Ahh-!" He startled, hitting his back against the shower door, which rattled, staring at his reflection with wide eyes. Blood smeared across his front, splattering on cheeks, scratching his bright green tights with its fearsome display of the opposing color.
"What…" His hand moved to his shirt, lifting it, turning thusly to inspect his back as well as front, finding he only grew more concerned at discovering the blood wasn't his, body clear of any injury other than the usual scars.
"What is this?" He asked, thinking for a moment it could be something else, maybe paint. Was, Beast Boy, pulling a prank? No… he never got this dark… but, was it… blood? He moved the clothe to nose, smelling it. A metallic scent invaded his nostrils, leading him to drop the shirt.
The clothes were discarded, boy scrubbing himself down, skin raw as he exited the shower, deciding it best not to tell his team, at least not until he knew what was going on himself, not wanting them to think he was mentally falling apart.
He skipped training, deciding he'd have to check the cameras, luckily able to access them from his computer, raising a brow as in one frame he was sleeping sound, and in the next he was covered in the dark crimson river. He also noted the sudden shift in time, skipping three hours.
"What the hell…" He stared at the screen, sighing. He couldn't worry about this now, he had other things he needed to be doing. He looked at the clock in the corner, it was already eight, he'd been rifling through the footage for three hours. He closed his browser, cursing himself for the distraction.
"Sleep in late?" Raven assumed, noting how he seemed refreshed compared to the day prior.
"No, I just had to check something before I came out." He said, settling across from the dark enchantress, who simply nodded her acknowledgement.
Cyborg was beyond confused as he entered the room, seeing a fully alert bird sipping a cup of joe. Opposed to a simple good morning he walked in with a raised brow, questioning the boy on his level of exhaustion, in the end deciding to not focus on the questions, and instead on the fact the boy hadn't fallen asleep yet. It seemed he'd actually been able to sleep correctly the day before, which was good.
He was in top form throughout the day, fighting, as well as reaction time seeming better than before, quickly taking out the few villains starting a comotion, even plasmas seeming easily taken down.
It wasn't until the fourth time the alarm rang that he seemed to stumble, In the midst of the battle was it happened, swatted from the air by the stoned creature, unable to dodge. The boy felt his back slam against the brick, wincing as he heard a crack resinate from his shoulders, crumbling to the ground with a groan, hearing the frantic screams from his friends for his well being. He laid for a while before managing to stand, legs shaking, though it only took a moment for him to balance, still hearing the cries, though in a ringing mess, vision blurred, shaking his head, looking back to, Cinder Block, whose fist dived towards his head.
His team screamed once more, thinking this would be the boy's end, expecting the strike to smash his skull open, splattering the wall behind with his red remnants, simply ending him, but it didn't. Robin was quick to compose himself, ducking, managing to roll out of the way, vision still blurry as he got into a fighting stance, remains of the team at the ready as the fight continued.
"Man! You took a wallop!"
"Yeah, Dude! Are you okay?" Bea and Cy asked as the police wrapped up the scene, Robin, still woozy from the impact, if only just.
"I'm fine." He assured, that all he said before someone suggested pizza.
"Rob, you okay?" They sat out on the porch of the pizzaria, Robin looking to the left.
"Yeah, I'm fine, just thinking." He returned focus to his friends, listening to the conversation shift from movies, t.v., vegetarian v.s. meat, and finally, the last slice of pizza. Robin showed minimal interest in the argument, starring to space as the others, mainly beast boy, Starfire, and Cy, argued over the food. His vision blurred suddenly, making him try to blink, shaking his head when it started.
He gripped his head, gritting his teeth in a pained display, head thumping suddenly, hearing something high spike in his ears. The others, mainly Raven, noticed, saying his name in a question, others hearing, noting his state now, all trying to snap him out of it.
Nails dug into the sides of his head, enclosing around ears as he attempted to cease the high tone protruding from his skull, eyes shutting tight as his vision darkened, tinting red. The leader tensed, setting his chin on the table, gritting his teeth as small daggers pierced through his ear drums. He wanted to cry out, though restrained himself, biting his tongue, lower jaw shaking, muscles tense as the bird continued his desperate display. The high noises became a slur of sounds. His friends surrounded him, trying to get his attention, when his eyes suddenly snapped open, a deep inhale occuring.
"Rob…?" Cy asked carefully, watching as the leader reached a hand to his ear, pulling away with tinted green, complementary red coating the tip of his finger. "Oh, man!" Cyborg screamed, Robin, staring, wide eyed, frozen in shock.
He soon released an exasperated sigh, rubbing his hand on tights, rising, a thin line of red leaving both ears as he began to make his way back to the tower, hearing nothing but the sting of silence as he swung.
The Titans returned a moment after he'd arrived, shouting his name, unaware he couldn't hear, so shouting, concern growing as they didn't gain a response. Eventually they found him in the medical wing, a cotton ball shoved in each ear.
"Robin?" The bird stared at the robotic other, not a spark of acknowledgement showing. "Oh, man… Pass me the Otoscope." Raven was the only one who moved, giving the robotic other the tool to check the boy's ears.
"Don't. Move." He said, sure the boy could read his lips, moving his head to the side, removing the ball from his left ear, tool gently poking through the hole at the side of his head, not noticing the slight grimace, looking for but a moment, before cursing, room a bit shocked. He was quick in checking the other, result the same.
"H-his eardrums are ruptured…" He breathed. "Oh man! That must hurt!" He only now noticed the slight trace of pain, which for, Robin, meant the pain was near unbearable. He turned to, Raven, expression pleading for her to help, which she did, healing his ears best she could, which wasn't much in there current state, but at least enough for the pain to subside.
"Robin… I don't think we're going to be able to fix this…" Cyborg said, dumbfounded as to the reason for the sudden event. "Try and get some sleep and we'll see what we can do tomorrow." The bird nodded, easily able to read the shapes and movement of his mouth, it having been an important skill when working with Batman.
He went to bed early, sorrowful, knowing there was no chance of salvaging even the tiniest bit of his hearing, knowing this was permanent, that there was a strong possibility he'd be forced to step down as leader of the Teen Titans, maybe even leave the Titans all together, forced to go on alone, or even worse, return to Bruce. He curled on his side, he couldn't go back to, Bruce, not now, not after trying and failing to lead his team, being told he wasn't good enough to begin with, not in a direct way, but behind his back.
He'd never hear again… It suddenly hit him, he wouldn't only not be able to be a hero anymore, he wouldn't hear, wouldn't hear the seagulls, the waves crashing against the shore, music screaming from speakers, the voices of his friends, of anyone, he'd even miss the sounds of traffic in the streets and the vial words spewed on the sidewalks. He sighed, he'd simply have to adapt to the change, luckily knowing basic sign language already, at least the letters, so that could help him communicate, not to mention he still had his voice if he kept his volume in check. He didn't want to think about this right now, deciding to pretend the events had been imaginary for the time being, lying in utter silence as he closed his eyes, allowing sleep to take him for the night.
Chapter two has commenced, please remember to tip you wait staff at this time.
Feedback?
…