Robin carried the child onto the bioship and walked to his seat. "Miss M, do you think you could-?"
"Already on it, Robin," the Martian girl smiled, her eyes glowing green. The chair expanded so it was more comfortable to hold the child. The girl lay her head on his shoulder and seemed perfectly content. More than that. Her eyes started drooping and Robin noticed the way she seemed to be relaxing into him more and more by the minute. After her head bobbed for the third time, Leech sat up straight.
Robin smiled. "Hey, if you wanna sleep, it's okay. No one's going to hurt you here," the boy wonder promised.
Leech shook her head. "If you fall asleep then they get you," she mumbled. "You let your guard down..." the child yawned. "Y-you're dead..." she finished quietly.
Artemis closed her eyes, remembering the same thing drilled into her when she had trained with her dad. "You're safe here. I promise. Take it from someone who's been in the Shadows and made it out. These are not people that you need to be afraid of." The archer's promise seemed to soothe the child enough for her to lean on Robin again and fall asleep. The rest of the team filed onto the bioship. When Kid Flash made it on, Robin glared at him.
"What?!" Kid asked indignantly. And loudly. "I didn't even say anything!" Leech stirred.
"That," Robin pointed at his best friend's mouth, "would be the point of the glare!" Robin whisper-yelled. "If you wake her up, I will end you."
Kid Flash rolled his large green eyes and pulled down his cowl becoming Wally West. "Dude," he said quietly...well, for Wally. "You don't even know this kid. Why are you being all protective of her?"
Robin shook his head. "I...I can't put my finger on it...I just...I saw her and...She was a kid... She was scared." Robin looked at his best friend hoping that he understood. And Wally did. Robin looked at this little girl, and saw himself. Plus, Robin was just inherently nice to kids. He couldn't help it. If you messed with a kid, that was the end of it. He would destroy you. Socially, physically, mentally, emotionally...it didn't really matter how, so long as you were destroyed.
As M'gann set the bioship on course for the Cave, Kaldur walked to the back of the ship to call Batman. "Aqualad to the Cave. We have Leech...no, sir, she came willingly...yes, there was a fight...No, I did n-...I did not think it rig-...Batman, if I may." Robin turned at the forceful, yet still respectful tone that Aqualad used. And it appeared to be working.
"I need to get him to teach me that," Robin muttered.
Aqualad continued talking to Batman. "She's a child, Batman. I did not think it right to collar a young girl, who was already frightened of us. The goal was to bring her in, yes?...We have done that..." There was silence on both ends of the com. "Understood. Aqualad out." The young Atlantian walked back to the front of the bioship as if nothing had happened and took his seat by Robin.
"Aqualad," he said in slight awe.
Kaldur turned. "Yes, Robin?"
"I...You...You just sassed off my mentor and you're acting like nothing happened!" the boy wonder whispered excitedly, not wanting to awake the sleeping child in his lap.
Kaldur's eyes grew wide. "Forgive me. I meant no disrespe-"
Robin laughed softly. "Don't apologize! You were totally traught!" Kaldur'aum tilted his head with a bemused expression on his face.
"Um...thank you...I suppose." The leader looked to Wally for assistance.
Wally shook his head. "Don't look at me. I may be his best friend, but that doesn't mean I understand his word play anymore than you do." Wally had long ago given up trying to understand Robin, deciding to just enjoy the ride in perpetual confusion.
Artemis turned to Kaldur. "Did Batman say what we were doing with her?" The archer felt a protectiveness over the child, having experienced first hand what it was like to live in the Shadows.
"He suggested that we put an inhibitor collar on her to suppress her powers-"
"Kaldur, she's a child!" Artemis fumed, standing up from her seat. Wally, sitting next to her, wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her on his lap.
"Easy, babe," the speedster soothed.
If the Atlantian was afraid of her, he didn't show it. In an calm and even voice, Kaldur replied, "I am aware that she is a child, Artemis. Which is why I respectfully declined his request."
Robin chuckled, shaking his head. "Kal, Bats doesn't make a 'request,' he gives an order. And you straight up told him, screw you."
Kaldur blanched. "I assure you, I did not."
Robin shrugged, accidentally jostling Leech. She blearily blinked her eyes and started to sit up, but Robin just eased her back into him, rubbing her hooded head. "You may not have used so many words, but that's pretty much what it meant." Robin finally said once he was sure that the girl wasn't going to stir again. Again, the females on the team were gushing over how cute Robin was with the girl.
"I don't think there's anything more attractive than a guy who's good with kids," Zatanna said dreamily, her chin resting on her hand. Realizing what she had said out loud, she blushed. "I-I ...uh, what I meant was-"
Robin, blushing a little as well, played it off like he didn't care. "You don't have to say anything, Zee. I know what you meant." Zatanna sighed and leaned back in her chair. "You just made a totally chalant pass at me because you want a piece of the Boy Wonder," he smirked at his girlfriend's new found shade of red. When Zatanna stammered out that she was not making a pass at him, Robin feigned hurt. "Oh...so...you don't want me...okay." he busied himself with readjusting Leech so she was leaning more on his chest than his shoulder.
"No, Robin, of course I want you," Zatanna said quickly, blushing more deeply. "No! That's not-"
Wally chuckled. "You dawg!" Artemis swatted the back of his head. "Ow! Artemis!"
"Shut it, Kid Mouth!" Robin hissed. He looked at Zatanna. "I'm sorry, Zee, but I just couldn't resist." He flashed his patented smile that he used as Dick Grayson to charm adults when they got too suspicious of some bruise or cut he was trying to hide. Zatanna, to her credit, really did try to be mad at him...but that smile. She just couldn't do it. The young sorceress smiled and looked away, hoping her dark hair would conceal her still flushed cheeks.
~YJ~YJ~YJ~YJ~
Robin sat by the bed in the room they put Leech in. The girl was still asleep, but he didn't want to leave her alone. He heard the soft, even footsteps of his mentor. "Aqualad briefed me on what happened."
"And?" Robin asked, not looking away from Leech. He couldn't put his finger on it, but there was something really familiar about her. He felt like he had seen her face before.
Batman came to stand behind him. "He told me that you were the reason that she came so peacefully." He was silent for a moment. "Good job."
"She was so scared," Robin mumbled. "She was scared of us, Batman. Why was she with the Shadows in the first place? What are they doing having a kid steal for them? Did they really not know? And why would she be afraid of us? She had to know that we're the goo-"
"Dick," Batman grabbed his son's shoulder, kneeling down by the rambling boy. He had already made sure the team wouldn't be coming by anytime soon, so it was okay to use Dick's name to grab his attention. The boy immediately stopped talking, taking a breath. "I don't know why she was with the Shadows, or if they know that they have a child working for them. What I do know is that this can all wait until tomorrow."
Dick raised an eyebrow, leaning back in his chair. "Since when does the Dark Knight 'wait until tomorrow' to get anything done?"
"He doesn't. But Robin does. Especially when he's running on only three hours of sleep," Bruce replied. Dick had been running himself ragged trying to keep up with school so that he could still train, go on patrol and go on missions with the team.
"I-...it was four and a half," he argued. "Besides, you run on two hours of sleep, and you don't see me sending you to bed."
Bruce chuckled. "That's because I'm the parent. I send you to bed, not the other way around. Besides. I can sleep through meetings. You, on the other hand, can't sleep through school."
Dick frowned. "I could...my teachers wouldn't enjoy it too much, though." As he was trying to argue he didn't need sleep, Dick stretched his arms back and yawned.
"You need to sleep, Dick," Bruce said, ruffling the boy's black shaggy hair.
Dick chuckled. "Sleep...such a foreign concept. I guess it wouldn't hurt to catch a few hours of sleep before school." Robin stood up and started walking out of the room. They went through the Zeta-tubes, coming out in the Bat Cave. It wasn't until they had both changed back into Dick and Bruce and started going up the stairs before Dick realized something. "Wait..." he stopped mid-step.
"What is it?" Bruce asked.
Blue eyes narrowed. "There's no school tomorrow...it's Friday...You tricked me!" Dick cried out indignantly.
"No...it must have just slipped my mind," Bruce defended, looking away from his son.
"Nothing slips the great Detective's mind! You totally tricked me," Dick argued. "I can't believe you."
Bruce shrugged. "You're still going to bed," he answered simply. Before his son could argue with him anymore, he was cut off by a large yawn. "C'mon, Richard. Time for bed." Bruce ran a hand through the boy's hair and gently grabbed his shoulder, guiding him up the stairs.
"I'm still not tired, Bruce," Dick complained. Bruce didn't comment, but wondered at how grown up he was becoming. Or course, there were things that never changed like the fact that Dick always tried to push through his need for sleep and be like Bruce. His foot slipped on a step and he stumbled, but Bruce was of course there to catch him. Bleary blue eyes looked up at him. "Shut up," he muttered and continued walking. Bruce kept his laughter to a low chuckle. A cup of Alfred's hot chocolate and the first ten minutes of Frequency later, Dick was fast asleep on the couch. He was face down with an arm pinned under his chest. Bruce turned off the movie and gently picked the scrawny teenager and carried him to bed.
~YJ~YJ~YJ~YJ~
"Recognized, Robin B-01."
Robin stepped out of the Zeta tube in his civilian clothes. Wally raced over-presumably from the kitchen-to greet him. "Dude, where'd you go last night? I thought you would have kept silent bat watch over that kid last night," Wally teased, lightly bumping his fist into Robin's shoulder.
"I was. Then Batman came and tricked me into going home. . . and he and A thought it'd be fun to let me sleep in," Robin answered, clearly not amused.
Wally shrugged, throwing his arm around the shorter boy's shoulders. "Well, at least those bags are starting to disappear," he replied cheerily. Robin shook his head, wondering just how much Wally pretended not to see. He changed the topic from himself.
"How is she? Has she talked to anyone yet?" Robin questioned, walking towards the room they had put her in.
"She hasn't woken up yet. I can't say that I'm surprised. I talked to Artemis. She said that the Shadows can be brutal with even the youngest members of the society." Robin nodded grimly.
He opened the door to Leech's room and walked in, sitting on the edge of her bed. He watched the easy rise and fall of her chest. She seemed to be sleeping peacefully, unlike earlier last night. Her black hair spilling across the pillow, her porcelain skin and rosy lips reminded him of Snow White. He wondered how someone so innocent looking could get mixed up in with the League of Shadows. "What happened to you?" he whispered.
sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry! I took forever, I know. I have been terrible at updating. I know that this isn't the only story that has been neglected. I'm going to try and be better about that. I hope you guys will keep reading and continue to put up with my hiatuses Which really, when you think about it, makes me very qualified to be a Young Justice writer. I mean really, that show had how many breaks? Anyway, really sorry! I hope that you like this chapter and continue to enjoy this revised version of this story.
~YJ-Obsessed