Moments-seconds-minutes-hours later Robin began to stir. The white of his domino mask was slowly revealed. "S-Su-Superb-boy?" Robin's weak, timid voice broke the silence.
"Robin!" The clone didn't even try to hide the joy and relief in hi voice.
"Wh-where are w-we?" The boy's head slightly turned to look at their surroundings.
"We are in a cave in Siberia." Robin's face scrunches in confusion. "We are staying here to shelter. I've kept the fire going."His face didn't change. "Aqualad, Kid Flash, Miss Martian, and Artemis are trying to find us. He watched Robin's face turn to one of acceptance and Superboy couldn't help but hope that he wasn't lying. The younger boys eyes closed once more and Superboy tried to swallow the lump in his throat.
"H-hey S-Superboy?" A faint voice called. The clones head snapped down to look at the again (thank God) conscious teen. "I-I need to t-t-tell you n-now while I c-can think st-straight." His fave was set in determination although he was blue and his body was shaking. "I n-need to w-warn you about wh-what might h-happen."Superboy nodded allowing the boy to continue. "R-right n-now I'm hy-hypoth-thermic. M-my body is too c-cold and f-f-far below normal temperat-ture and unl-les everyone c-comes soon I m-might die." His voice was too controlled and calm for any thirteen year old who would be talking about death, especially their own.
"You're not going to-"
"Just in case!" Robin justified with his voice as loud and final as it could. "You need to know and be prepared." His hidden eyes still seemed like they bore into the clone. Superboy accepted this and nodded.
"G-good." Robin took a shaky breath and began. "Soon my b-body will b-become pale and b-blue. I w-wont be warm-m enough f-for my bl-blood to fl-flow. I w-wont have a st-stable control of my m-m-movements and they will b-be sluggish." He took another slow stuttered breath. "You c-can pr-prob-bably hear my p-pulse slowing and-d my breathing..." He paused and took in a loud breath. "M-my m-mind's already bl-blurring and I wont be ab-ble to speak as w-well. S-soon enough I w-will have amnesia. I d-don't know how s-servere and I d-d-doubt I will r-remember y-you." Superboy didn't like the thought of that. This situation was already bad enough and Robin was the only one of them with any knowledge of what to do. "Most importantly I will exp-experienced p-paradoxical und-dressing, m-m-my body will t-try to rew-warm is-self and I will feel over h-heated. Also wh-when I am n-near d-death I will g-go through 'Hide and Die Syndrome'." That didn't sound good. "I w-will want to g-go t-to a small enc-closed sp-pace to die. That's why you cannot leave me alone." Robin locked eyes with him. "Promise me."
"I promise." Superboy agreed, he wouldn't fail him again.
"G-good," Robing sighed and started again. "When I c-can't rememb-ber anything I w-will b-be asking you quest-tions about m-myself and our si-si-situation. I w-want y-you to t-tell me that I'm R-Robin, Batman's partner. I am a p-part of Young J-Justice with y-you, Kid Flash, Aqu-qualad, Art-temis, and M-M-Miss Martian. T-tell me that we are h-here on a mission f-for Batman and you and i are w-waiting for the t-team to p-pick us up." Robin paused and Superboy watched as he scooted closer to the flames, Superboy followed. "Th-here's s-something I'm f-forget-t-t-ing..." His eyes screwed shut as he tried to remember what he needed to.
Superboy just watched. It pained him to see the Boy Wonder so vulnerable and out of character. He could see how hard it was for the boy to even try to remember things. "It's fine, I understand what you are saying." Robin looked up at him and nodded. His head dropped into Superboy's chest. The clone noted that even the small tasks were taking a toll on his energy. The older teen noticed that the younger one had fallen back asleep; he knew that couldn't be good but Robin didn't warn against it so he allowed it. Pulling Robin closer to him, closer to warmth and to the fire, he swore he wouldn't fail him. He would follow every rule to a 'T'.
"I-I'm sorry, Aqualad, they're comm. units aren't showing up on the computer." Miss Martian explained.
"Doesn't your ship have some sort of mind finding thingy? Like-like you can do, you know?" Kid Flash asked, concern gnawing at him. Robin can't be missing, neither can Superboy.
"Y-yes, but it only has a 2 mile radius." She answered as she continued to try and figure out how to locate their teammates.
Aqualad continued to ponder what happened. They had been in each base looking for evidence or what ever Batman had needed, he really didn't find it important right now. Superboy and Robin's safety and lives were though. He and Miss Martian had heard over one of the guards radios that two dark haired teen had been located. Needless to say they had gone over to the central base Superboy and Robin were suppose to be at. When they arrived they saw Kid Flash and Artemis had heard as well and neither of the missing teens were any where in or around the base. He lead the present teens to the Bio-Ship to try and locate their teammates, and upon arrival a message from Robin, containing all the information he had downloaded, was present on the screen with no news about their situation or location.
Kid Flash was getting anxious, Artemis was getting testy, Miss Martian was near tears, and he felt like a failure.
"Let's call Batman." KF suggested after they had been searching for over an hour.
"No," Artemis surprisingly snapped. "We can find them Robin wouldn't give up and just call the League after an hour."
"Robin's the one we're looking for. He's the only one who knows how to hack and track even dead technology." Kid Flash yelled back. "We need to call Batman." He said with a glare.
The blonde glared back and Aqualad knew he had to intervene. "We'll search for about another hour and if we can't find them we'll call Batman."
The girls agreed with this KF's comment made him regret his decision, and through the time they would be searching, would echo in his head.
"What if they don't have an hour."
Robin's began to stir in his arms. This was a good thing. It had to be.
"Wh-wh're 'm I?" He asked, eye's drooping fighting to remain awake.
"We are in Siberia waiting on the rest of Young Justice to come pick us up." He responded with perfection, after all he had rehearsed the lines over and over in his mind.
"'m kay." The boy responded with a nod and drifted back off to sleep.
That wasn't too bad. Superboy decided. It could have been worse.
"Su'er'oy?" The bigger male glanced down "Where're they?" He sounded like a little lost child, asking for his parents.
"They'll be here soon."
"P-promise?"
Superboy felt like he had just been stabbed, like he had been when he was by the green rock. "I promise." Robin seemed convinced by his simple promise and drifted off.
This time he woke up with a jump. It caught the clone off guard especially when Robin practically threw, or tried to, through himself away from the clone. "Robin, what are you doi-"
"Let go ov 'e." He protested with a weak voice. "I d-don't know 'ew."
Superboy felt himself freeze. "Robin, it's me, Superboy. We are on Young Justice together with-"
"Don't know 'ew."
"We work for Batman."
Robin seemed to relax a bit after he said that. "Y-you kn-now Batman?"
Superboy nodded. "You and I and Miss Martian, Aqualad, Artemis, and Kid Flash are on the same team. We work for Batman."
"K-KF w-works with us-s-s?" Superboy nodded. "Where are they?"
Superboy swallowed a lump. "They're on their way. We are waiting here for them to pick us up."
Robin nodded and scooted over next to him, still slightly suspicious. It was only a few minutes of the younger boy watching the fire that he fell back asleep. Superboy proceeded to wrap him back up and hold him one more, sharing his warmth.
That same event had happened twice now. The 'paradoxical undressing' had almost happened. It terrified him how blue he was and his bullet would was now frozen with blood. Luckily Robin had passed out before he could steady his hands enough to remove his clothing.
"Superboy," Robin said stifling a yawn. "I th-think I rememb-b-er what I wanted to t-tell you." His face seemed to light up like a little boy who knew a secret. Superboy waited for him to continue. "I f-figured out a n-name for you." His grin stretched from ear to ear. The older boy blinked in surprise. Robin let out a little giggle but it soon broke off into a pained cough. It was a few moments later, when he recovered his breath that he continued.
"Conner. C-Conner Kent."
Superboy stared at him for a minute. Conner Kent.
"And y-your Kryptonian name is Kon-El." Robin continued to grin at him. "I t-talked to Superman and B-Batman and I w-were able to g-get through to him." The was a mischievous smirk with those words. "You're now Conner Kent here on Earth and Kon-El is your Kyrptonian name." Superboy grinned at the idea of how perfect the whole thing sounded. Superboy had accepted him, he had an Earth name and a Kryptonian name. Robin's smile grew when he saw how happy his friend was. "It's-s-s spelled C-o-n-n-e-r" Robin took a deep breath and forced himself not to stutter while spelling it."K-e-n-t." Robin finished by writing the dirt in front of him. Superboy's brow knitted together as he stared at the name and spelling. Conner Kent. "And-d Kon-El." Robin began to mark in the dirt below the Earth name. "K-o-n dash E-l." Superboy nodded and tried to spell the name once for himself, smile growing while he did. When he finished Robin's smile was weaker. "Good." He mumbled.
"Thank you." Superboy-no Conner whispered.
Robin nodded and drifted off with a simple, "No p-prob Conner."
Robin had woken up about a dozen times now and Superboy continued to tell him what he was suppose to, still using the name Superboy but occasionally, with a ghost of a smile Conner. Conner passed the time by writing and re-writing his name in the dirt and by saying it aloud, the name delightful on his tongue.
"Wh-what?" The weak voice directed his attention once again. "Wh-where 'm I?"
"Robin, we are-"
"Robin?" He asked with a raised eye brow. "N-no I'm Richard Gr-rays-son." Superboy stared in confusion. Richard? "Where's Br-Bruce?" Bruce?
"Richard?" Superboy asked.
Robin looked up at him. "Y-ya. Who are y-you?"
Superboy blinked. "Superboy." Robin blinked, eyebrow raised. "Conner Kent." He tried to clarify.
"N-nice to m-meet you C-Conner. You can c-call me Dick." Dick? "D-do you know where B-Bruce is?"
"Who's Bruce?"
Robin looked at him like he was crazy. "Bruce Wayne, h-he owns l-like half of G-Gotham." Superboy raised an eyebrow. "Wh-whatever." The small boy decided. "What are w-we d-doing here? And-d why is it s-so c-cold?" He asked with a shiver.
"We are waiting for the team to come pick us up."
Robin-Dick?-raised an eye brow. "T-team?"
"Young Justice." Superboy corrected. "We work for Batman."
Robin-Dick's eye's widened."You w-work for B-Batman?" He asked in disbelief. Superboy nodded; he didn't know what the big deal was Robin was his sidekick. "Th-that's so c-c-cool." His eyes began to droop again. "T-tell him 'm a fan, 'm'kay?" Superboy nodded as Robin drifted off to sleep.
Right when their search time had struck an hour Kid Flash demanded they call Batman. Aqualad couldn't help but agree, they were having no luck. It was the best choice, neither of the girls argue with him.
"What's your situation?" Batman asked with a growl.
"Robin and Superboy are MIA, we cannot get a reading on either of them." Aqualad responded.
Batman's eyes narrowed under his cowl and it was the most terrifying look any of them had ever seen. "What?" His voice was so deep and low that Aqualad literally shuddered.
"I'm sorr-" Aqualad never finished. He was cut off by a blank screen.
Minutes later Superman, Batman, Martian Manhunter, and Wonder Woman appeared on screen.
"Wonder Woman you and I are going to scout the area. John meet with them about what they have to try and find Robin and Superboy. Try to figure out where they might be. Superman I want you to scout the area as well. You children stay where you are and wait for Martian Manhunter." Batman was pissed. No one dared to argue with the title he had given them.
Aqualad pushed through his nerves to speak. "When we had arrived on the ship, the information Robin had obtained was already here."
Batman looked straight at him. Covered eyes boring into his soul. "Send it to me." And with that all the League members signed off.
What if they don't have an hour?
Half an hour. Half an hour they had been searching with the League. Half an hour of Batman barking orders. Half an hour of everyone on their last straw. And finally, finally after half an hour Superman said something that renewed hope and brought despair.
"I hear two heart beats. One of them is weakening."
Everyone followed Superman's coordinates and tried to get there as soon as they could. Aqualad could only hope Kid Flash wasn't right.
This time when Robin woke up it was the worse. There was no mentions of Robin or Dick. Nothing about Bruce or Batman. No names just the question. "Who am I?"
Superboy was speechless. How did he answer that, but before he got the chance the sticky feeling came back and Robin began to hyperventilate. His heartbeat had sped up and Superboy had no idea what to. Neither Robin, nor Dick, nor Cadmus, nor anyone had told him what to do.
There was a strangled breath and then Robin fell back onto the hard ground. Superboy was shaking. He couldn't hear his heart beat or breath any more. He needed help. They both did.
Robin was dead.
HoKay so...
Mwahahaha you must either be sobbing or hating me right now (hint: if you review I may bring him back to life) tell me how many of you do hate me right now?
1) I'm super impatient and I know that my wonderful beta Talithi must be busy so I went ahead and posted so when she finds the time to beta this sucker it will be 100000000 times better- I'm so sorry if its kinda bad I just wanted to get it posted for all of you *sob* don't hate me for my awful grammar and spelling!
2) This is going to be a 3 chap thing so one more chapter!
3) No slash-y! Just bros, friends, and maybe if you tilt your head and get high some slash
4) REVIEW FAVORITE ALERTS ARE ALWAYS NICE
5) I own nothing! except for the man who died in the last chapter :D but not Robin just the skeleton
R E V I E W...or Ill KILL Robin! Wait I already did! Mwahahaha I love being evil but if you review I may bring him back to life
ps thanks for reading
feathers!
pps I have a poll on my prof for the next YJ story Ill do so pretty please go vote-do it for the team!