"Ohmygod,Redareyouokay?" Bart was the first one out to him, but Ollie, Bruce, and Damian were hot on his heels.
"'Fine," Tim managed through the full body coughs and stutters, but still leaned into Bart's offered side (the one without the shoulder problem) nonetheless. "Jus' a little wet."
"Yeah, no kidding," Bart snorted through a grin and Tim failed miserably at smiling back at him before Bruce and Damian were suddenly there, pulling at his limbs and putting their hands on his torso like they were trying to reassure themselves that he was still there.
"Red—what happened?"
"Are you okay?"
"Why didn't you radio for help?"
"Whoa, easy, there," Bart chanced laying a hand on Bruce's shoulder, and didn't pull it away when two heads turn to glare at him. "I know you want answers, and far it be from me to step in-between you and one of your babies, B, but Red here just about drowned—he might need a minute to get calmed down before you start interrogating him."
Neither Bruce nor Damian looked too happy about it, but Bart had made a good point, so Bruce settled for standing back up and slipping Tim's free arm around his shoulders to help support more than his fair share of Tim's weight, "You're right. Let's get him out of the water."
Really, they were just down in the tides, barely up to their thighs when the waves came crashing in, but Tim appreciated it nonetheless.
"How long was I under?"
"Five minutes and twenty-three seconds," Damian answered him with a robotic edge to his voice that Tim knew wasn't good.
"New personal record," Tim hummed, as they finally broke free from the water completely, trying not to look over at the rambunctious group of teens (and not so teens anymore) not even a football field's length away. "And not a single one of them noticed?"
Tim was mostly joking when he said it—it was pretty obvious that nobody had been paying that much attention, at least none of the younger superheroes—but he could tell by how much Bruce stiffened underneath of him that he had underestimated just how bad the lack of response was.
"…Clark did," was what Bruce finally ground out as he and Bart eased Tim down onto a boulder to rest, and Tim couldn't help but give a small smile at that. Regardless of how…tempestuous Bruce and Clark's relationship could get at times because of the differences between the two of them, Clark still cared about him—about all of them—and there was no way he would have lost track of one of them in the middle of a battle. The fact that he was too busy doing something else to interfere went unsaid, and Tim was perfectly okay with that. He'd gotten really good at looking out for himself over the last year or so (not that he couldn't before), and he hadn't minded doing it again. He just…would have preferred to not get wet in the process. "The lack of discipline your team has demonstrated today is absolutely appalling, Red Robin."
Bruce was looking down at one of the information screens on his gauntlet as he spoke, so he didn't see the way that Tim's…everything fell in response, but he did notice the pinched strain of Tim's face when he looked back up (and the disbelief on Bart, Ollie, and Damian's), and realized after a second of confusion how Tim had taken what he'd said.
"Red—that's not what I meant—"
"No, it's okay," Tim shook his head, rubbing at a sore spot on his arm as he looked anywhere he could but at Bruce—and that was a bad idea, too, because Diana was talking to Kon, and Cassie was still draped all over his arm, and Kon was smiling, and Tim just wanted to go back to the Manor and crawl into his bed and forget that it had all happened. "I got pretty lax with the rules when I was running things and it's going to take some time for…the ones who are in charge now to correct that mistake. I understand that now."
"Red…" Bruce obviously wanted to say something more—the uncharacteristic emotion clear in his voice as his hand hovered an inch or two above Tim's knee—but Ollie placed a hand on his shoulder and Bruce took the silent suggestion for him to let it go for the time being.
"Sorry, for making you take a swim there, Robin," Ollie grimaced sympathetically as he changed the subject and leaned over Bruce's side to get a little closer to the young man. "But I was hoping the water might provide a little bit of a softer landing than the ground would."
"It did," Tim gave a small little half smile up at him even as he accepted a drink of fresh water out of the cylindrical canteen Bart offered him. Salt clung to his skin and still burned at his nose, but the cool liquid helped. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," Ollie smiled back. "Consider it compensation for that botched shot earlier."
"Deal," Tim gave a real grin this time as Bruce snorted and rolled his eyes, and Ollie returned it before he squeezed Bruce's shoulder as he stood back up. Bruce reached up to squeeze his hand in response—some silent communication passing between the two of them that Tim didn't take the time to interpret—before Ollie let go and made his way over to where Black Canary and Captain Atom had come to wait for him a little ways away.
"How are you feeling?" Bruce asked when Tim looked back to him, and Bart took the canteen away from him and recapped it.
"A little better," Tim answered him, and it wasn't a complete lie because Tim did feel better. The worst of the water had drained from his gloves and the temperature regulation systems in his suit were back on line. (Never mind the fact that he was so sick to his stomach that he was pretty sure he was about thirty seconds away from jumping back into the water to just make it go away.) "Thanks for saving me out there."
"Tt—we didn't save you," Damian scoffed from where he was standing out to Tim and Bruce's other side, arms crossed over his chest as he glared out at the group of teenagers and adults surrounding Conner and Cassie. "You saved yourself."
"That's very true," Bruce hummed with an impressed look on his face as he watched his youngest before he turned back to Tim. "We had nothing to do with keeping you alive. But…you're welcome, Red. We're here for you."
"I know," Tim gave him a wane smile, and the one Bruce gave in return wasn't much better, but he reached out to squeeze Tim's knee, and that said a lot more than Bruce's words ever could.
"Batman," Superman's voice suddenly resonated from behind Tim and it was only the body languages of those around him that kept Tim from jumping out of his skin at the realization that there was somebody behind him.
"Yes?" Bruce didn't snap to attention, but he did straighten his shoulders and flex his abs to pull his chest down and out as he raised his chin in response.
"I hate to pull you away from one of your Robins, but we need your help."
"What is it?" Bruce gruffed.
"The…ship is mostly shut down, but one of its computers is still functioning. As far as we can tell, it's not transmitting, but it is still recording data, and we're not sure how long it will take before it starts transmitting again—or worse."
"Can you destroy it?" Bruce did snap this time—it was just into a protective and defensive gesture instead of one of merely quizzical intent.
"'Manhunter can," Clark answered him with a nod of his head, but all parties could tell by the set of his jaw that neither one of them were certain it would work. "But Cyborg wanted you to take a look at it first, to make sure he hasn't missed something that could activate some kind of an emergency-data emission or self-destruct failsafe—especially considering the circumstances."
"Understood," Bruce nodded his head once, and Clark took it as the go-ahead that it was, and only hesitated long enough to reach down and lay a reassuring hand on Tim's shoulder (which Tim leaned up into gratefully), before he flew over all of their heads and circled around to brace Bruce underneath of his arms. "Are you going to be okay until I get back, Red?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine," Tim nodded his head, trying to brush off Bruce's concern. "It was just a little salt water and some exploding arrows. I mean—who hasn't been blown into the water by an arrow around here before?"
Tim tried to laugh, but it came out more a cough than anything else, and Bruce just stared back at him, completely un-amused, until Tim stopped trying, and pushed himself up from the rock.
"Really, B," he tried again, refusing Bart's help as he swayed until he could stand up straight on his own. "I'm fine. Go with Superman and checkout the computer, and I'll come join you once I get my feet back under me."
"Okay," Bruce agreed with a slow nod of his head after watching Tim for a moment, before turning to Damian. "I want a perimeter check. So far we have no evidence that the clone isn't who he says he is, and Wonder Woman and Cyborg think they have all of the robots taken care of, but the timing of this seems a little odd to me—I don't like it. Take a look around and make sure there isn't something going on that we can't see."
"Yes, sir," Damian answered him tentatively, but Tim could tell he wasn't happy about it by the way he hesitated and looked over at him. Bruce seemed to pick up on it to. "But, I really don't think—"
"Kid Flash will stay with Red Robin until one of the two of us are done."
"Understood," Robin nodded his head, seemingly much happier with that course of events than whatever he had been expecting Bruce to say, and turned to do as he'd been told, stopping just long enough to reach up and squeeze Tim's bicep much like Clark had squeezed Tim's shoulder, before he walked away, swinging his katana through the air and whistling as he went.
"Kid Flash—"
"I'm on it," Bart reassured Bruce before he could even finish, waving a hand in his direction as he did so without turning away from Tim.
"…Thank you," Bruce smiled, once he had recovered from the shock. It wasn't often that Bruce was interrupted (even keeping company with the crowd he found himself surrounded by most of the time), and it seemed as though he still hadn't adjusted to the youngest speedster's carefree attitude, even if he had been a friend of Tim's for years.
"Sure, sure," Bart spared him a glance and a shrug, and Bruce laughed—he actually laughed—before he nodded his head and signaled for Clark to lift both of the two of them up into the air, only to give him another signal to stop once Bruce was only a foot or two off of the ground.
"You sure you're going to be okay, Red?" he asked again, his eyebrows obviously furrowed in concern underneath of the cowl.
"Yeah," Tim nodded his head, feeling a fraction lighter due to—if not bewildered by—what was going on around him. "I think I'm in good hands."
"Copy that," Bruce agreed, sparing Bart one last look before nodding for Clark to take off again—already barking questions and orders into his ear piece as he went.
"Is it sacrilege to say that I miss the other Batman?" Bart mused as he watched Bruce and Clark fly away.
"No," Tim snorted, stumbling and reaching out to take Bart's offered arm to steady himself as he did so. "But I wouldn't let him hear you say that—or Hood. They might get a little jealous."
"True," Bart agreed with a grimace, reaching up to brace the small of Tim's back as the shorter of the two of them faltered even more. "Are you sure you're okay there, buddy? You seem a little unsteady on your feet."
"Yeah, I'm fine," Tim wasn't nearly as patient with the waving off of Bart's concern as he had been with Bruce's. Tim was fine, he'd just…hit his pelvis and his groin funny when he'd landed in the water, and that was why he was having such a hard time standing. Yeah—that was what it was. "Just a little water-logged, and over the love-sick puppy routine."
And that got Bart to snort, "You and me both, Red. You and me both."
"Seriously, though, Impulse. I'm fine. You should go run the perimeter with Robin—"
"Sorry, no can do, hermano," Bart shook his head. "Batman gave me an order, and despite what everybody else seems to think, I don't want to get on his bad side."
"You're not going to get on his bad side," Tim rolled his eyes, gritting his teeth at the fresh wave of vertigo that wracked through his body. "He's just being an overprotective asshole—"
"Well, that makes two of us," a gratingly familiar voice rumbled from somewhere above them and off to the side, and Tim gripped onto Bart's arm as he swayed under the new comer's gaze and the sensation of the air rippling around him.
This time, unlike the first, Kon had all of the splendor and glory that a hero should have when they made their big-entrance, including the sweat soaked abs and glistening pectorals and shoulders that were mysteriously bare to the world, and the faded denim jeans that hung snugly on his hips and left little to the imagination, but the only thing that Tim could think about as he looked up to Kon's sun-haloed face was how his stomach just turned that more with his latest well-wisher's arrival.
"And, I mean, I know I died and all and that must have been hard for you guys, but don't I at least get a hello or something? It's not like we weren't best friends for years or anything."
"Superboy," Bart's face split into a wide grin regardless of the conflicting feelings flashing through his body language and he vibrated beside Tim with the force of his excitement at seeing the third member of their little trio back healthy and alive. Instinctively, he took a step forward, but then he froze and his eyes flicked back down to Tim, and Tim could see the uncertainty and concern swimming in their depths and he immediately a small nod of his head in approval. Bart hesitated for a second, holding back as long as his elation would let him, before his excitement won out and he leaped up into Kon's arms with another smile on his face. "You'reback,you'realive,wethoughtyouweredeadwesawMatchkillyouhowareyouherewherehaveyoubeenIwouldhavebeenoversoonerbutRedheredecidedtotakeaswimandhowareyoualive?"
"Easy there, Impulse," Kon chuckled, pretending to try to push the speedster away, but he obviously didn't try very hard because Bart still had both his arms and his legs wrapped around Kon's torso when Kon 'gave in' and returned the hug, and it warmed a small part of Tim's heart to watch. "It's nice to see you, too."
"Superboy," Bart said his name again, squeezing with all of his might for a long second before he moved and dropped himself back down to his feet again. "You're back."
"Yeah," Kon nodded his head, and Tim looked everywhere he could except at the pair until Kon turned his attention to him—Bart's happy demeanor falling again as he took an unconscious, protective half-step in between them as he did so. "Sorry about the swim there, Rob. I tried to get over to you in time, but the team had me surrounded. You okay?"
"Yep, he's good," Bart nodded his head, answering for Tim.
"But has somehow lost his ability to speak in the last ten minutes or so?" Kon raised his eyebrows between the two of them.
Thankfully (or unthankfully, as it would turn out), Cassie called Bart's name and diverted the conversation, but Tim froze as they both looked up to watch her beckoning him over with a wave of her hand.
"I'm not going," Bart stated immediately, glaring across the field at Cassie and reaching up to latch on to Tim's bicep as he did so.
Cassie didn't seem to like that, and even from the distance between them, Tim could see her eyes narrow and her stance widen.
"Impulse—"
"No," Bart cut Tim off firmly, looking back towards him. "I have my orders and I'm following them. If she has a problem with that, she can take it up with Batman and Superman—not to mention the rest of the League."
"—Please," Tim finished his sentence as if he had never been interrupted, and Bart deflated at the look on his face.
"But—"
"Go find out what she wants," Tim soothed, fisting the still-soaked edge of his cape in his hand as he did so. "Things are bad enough as it is without her being mad at you, too, and I'm sure what ever it is won't take you very long. Just get over there and get it done, and then come back over to me when you're done. Batman can't fault you for that. Besides, you're the fastest man alive. If anything happens to me, you can be right back over in a—"
"Flash," Bart finished Tim's sentence with a roll of his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I got it… You sure you're going to be alright?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine," Tim reassured him again—feeling like it was the hundredth time he'd uttered those words in the last hour—before Bart nodded his head a little wearily and took off after Cassie and the rest of the team.
"Well, that was…weird," Kon spoke up a minute or two later, looking back towards Tim as Tim still watched Bart converse with Cassie in the distance.
"Nah," Tim shook his head a little, speaking quietly and dropping his cape in favor crossing his arms over his chest tightly to try to stop the increasingly violent tremors that were starting to rack his body. His eyes flicked up to briefly meet Kon's during his next sentence before he looked back down at the ground with his last. "He's just worried about me—that's all. Things have been kind of rough the last couple of months, and he feels guilty for playing his part in it."
"Bart did something to hurt you?" Tim could hear Kon's eyebrows rise in surprise.
"Not intentionally—no," Tim shook his head again, shifting his weight to try to ease the ever growing pain in his pelvis and lower back. "But yes, he did. A lot of people did, and I'm sorry if that's making me seem a little unwelcoming at the moment. I've just grown quite weary of people since you've been gone."
"Since I've been gone?" Kon snorted, and Tim had to work to not just punch him in the face and run away. "You've always been weary of people, Rob—it didn't just start after I went away or whatever—but come on, man. It's me. You know I'd never hurt you—"
"Not intentionally, no," Tim rolled his eyes, and had to stop for a minute to collect his thoughts and his balance as a particularly sharp pain traveled up his abdomen—feeling eerily similar to a cross between a punch and a cramp—and his vision went blurry for a moment. "But—but post traumatic st-tress has a funny way of sh-showing itself, and s-sometimes it's hard for the subconscious to differentiate b-between—ow—"
"Um—hey, Rob?" Kon cut him off, lifting a couple of inches off the ground to hover over top of Tim, who had doubled over in pain. "Are you okay?"
"'M fine," Tim quite literally waved off Kon's concern with the hand that wasn't pressed into his stomach in a vain attempt to try to alleviate the pain. "Just hit the water a little f-funny earlier, and am having shockw-waves of pain as the adrenaline w-wears itself off. That's it."
"Really?" Kon didn't sound convinced, as he continued to hover over Tim and run his TTK along Tim's form as he tried to find injuries that he couldn't see. "Because you don't look okay to me. I—"
"What—no—clone—don't!" Damian's voice cut in from somewhere off to the side, but it was already too late. Kon's hand was stretched out in front of himself, and Tim was swaying to the side. Before either one of them could stop it, Kon's hand made contact with the side of Tim's neck and Kon jerked about three feet back as Tim screamed in pain and fell to his knees on the ground.