Finally got this done, ugh. I can only really write on weekends right now, and I decided to get another chapter done on this. Tribulation is next; promise.

I DON'T OWN THIS

Wally sighed and closed his eyes again. This was the third time in an hour he'd woken up, which was weird, considering he'd always been a deep sleeper. He settled back into his chair again.

It had been three days since the… incident with Joker in the warehouse. Incident…

Wally snorted. That's what they were calling it. An "incident." That made it sound like it was an accident. That was a terrible name for what happened. If it had been up to him, he would have called it a…

He didn't know what he would have called it.

Wally sat back up. His head hurt. Too much thinking, he decided.

Lying in front of him, nearly smothered in stark white blankets, was his best friend. Robin.

Dick.

The Boy Wonder had been completely unconscious for all three days. Though Wally didn't want to admit it, he looked almost… dead.

He wasn't of course, but if you ignored the heart monitor and only saw the paleness and the bandages and the bruises and the wires, then…

Wally shook his head to clear it. He wasn't going to think about that.

"Rob's not going to die," he muttered.

He was alone in the room. His team was watching a movie, though he had denied the offer. His place was by Robin's side. Usually, Wally would have accepted to get his mind off things, but this was a different situation.

Batman wasn't even on the planet. He'd left the day after the failed mission. Wally had refused to leave Dick's side since, except for food. He knew how afraid his friend was of being alone. Waking up in solitude would be bad.

Wally watched his motionless friend. "You've got to wake up, Dick," he muttered.

A few hours later, Wally snapped awake again. He hadn't even realized that he'd fallen asleep. He closed his eyes again almost instantly. He'd been doing this for the past twenty four hours; jerking awake at even the thought of Robin moving. Robin hadn't moved even once.

Another groan was heard. Wally's eyes flew open. "Rob?"

Robin's eyes were wide open as well, but Wally could read pain all over his face. Smiling, the speedster stood up.

"Robinohmygoshyou'refinallyawake! I'vebeenwaitingforlikeforever! You'vebeenoutforthreedaysandiwassuperworriedbecauseyoudidn'tevenmoveandalland…"

Robin's eyes narrowed in confusion. "D-dude, sl-" He looked confused again.

"Sorry; too fast; you just woke up."

Robin still looked confused, and now worried. "S-sorry… S-say it sslower…"

Now it was Wally's turn to look confused. "Dude, what's wrong with your voice?"

Robin took several seconds to reply. "N-nothing."

"You're stuttering and stuff. And your voice sounds kind of weird…"

"N-no I-I'm not," was the delayed reply.

"And you're delayed."

"S-sorry." It was only slightly delayed this time.

Wally narrowed his eyes. "Dude, what's wrong?"

"N-nothing…"

"Liar."

Robin said nothing, struggling to sit up. He winced and fell back on the bed, rubbing his head. "W-what's with the b-bandage?"

"Dude, don't you remember?"

Robin thought for a minute, closing his eyes.

"You don't have amnesia, right? You remember who I am, right?"

There was no reply.

"Hey, Robin?"

Said hero still said nothing, biting his lip.

"Rooobin…"

There was still no reply.

"Hey Dick, what's wrong? Are you just ignoring me?" After a few more moments of silence, Wally shook his friend's shoulder.

Robin's eyes snapped open. "I-I remember what h-happened, yeah."

Wally's eyes narrowed. "That wasn't what I asked."

"I-it wasn't?" Robin looked confused. "B-but you-"

Realization dawned on Wally's face. "You can't hear me, can you."

"W-what makes y-you-"

"I've seen enough movies, bro. You sound just like those deaf people. And you didn't know what I was saying. You're just reading my lips, aren't you?"

Dick looked down, ashamed. "I-I'm sorry…"

"Why are you sorry?" Wally sat down next to his friend on the bed.

Robin said nothing. Wally realized he was looking down and poked him in the shoulder.

"What?" The Boy Wonder looked up again, his bottom lip trembling.

Wally noticed it immediately. "Bro…" Without really thinking about his friend's injuries, he wrapped his arms around the smaller boy. He could feel Robin's wince, but within seconds, Dick had his arms wrapped around Wally as well, burying his face in his friend's shoulder.

As was expected, Robin refused to let any tears fall. But his breath was shaky. Wally refused to remove his arms until Robin pulled away and started making hand signs.

"Uh, Rob? I don't know sign language…"

Robin bit his lip. "O-okay. W-where is B-Bruce?"

"League mission," said Wally slowly. "He's on a different planet."

Now Wally was sure his friend was about to cry. "Wait! The team is here! I'll go get them!" Wally sprang off the bed and ran towards the door.

"W-Wally, wait!"

Robin's cry was lost as Wally sped through the mountain. He finally stopped in the living room.

"Heyguys!" he shouted, his words blurring together. "Robin'sawakeandheneedspeopletobebyhimandbatsisn'thereandhealsocan'thearanythingandhe'slyingaboutitandI'mreallyscaredbecausehe'skindofdeafandIdon'tknowwhattodoaboutitand-"

Artemis smacked Wally upside the head. "Slow down, Kid Mouth."

Wally rubbed the side of his head. "Right. Sorry."

"What has happened?" asked Aqualad, rising to his feet.

"Umm, Robin's awake…"

"That is good!" The team began to smile at one another.

"Yeah, but-"

"Can we see him?" asked Miss Martian excitedly, floating out of her chair a bit.

Wally scratched the back of his head. He knew his best friend shouldn't be alone, but also knew he didn't want to seem weak. But he didn't have a choice. "Yeah, okay. C'mon." He headed back at a more normal pace, the team following behind him.

"Is he okay?"

"He doesn't have amnesia, right?"

"He is not in too much pain, is he?"

Wally scrunched up his face. "Uh, sort of, no, and I don't know."

"How can you not know if he's in pain?" asked Superboy, confused.

Wally shrugged. "I'm not the best at reading people." Well that was a complete lie. Wally could read Dick like a book. But he also knew that his friend was in more mental pain than physical right now.

The team stopped outside of the medical bay. "Umm, lemme go in and talk to him real quick. You can come inside in like five minutes." Wally walked inside, leaving his team outside.

Robin was sitting up in bed, legs swung over the side as he tried to stand.

"Dude!" Wally was by his side in an instant, helping him back onto the bed. "What are you doing!?"

Robin flinched at Wally's touch, becoming immediately defensive. After recognizing Wally, he said nothing, shaking as he sat there in an upright position.

"What were you thinking?" asked Wally slowly, making eye contact with the injured boy.

"I-I don't know…"

Wally sighed. "Right. The team is outside; they want to see you."

"Did you tell them?" His voice still sounded weird, but his responses were less delayed.

"No, but Rob, you can't hide this from them forever. They'll figure it out eventually."

Robin nodded. "Don't tell them, okay?"

Wally looked torn for a second before nodding. "Okay. But I don't see why you don't trust them."

"I do," Robin protested. "It's just-"

"Robin?" M'gann poked her head inside the door.

The Boy Wonder noticed the presence of his team mate. He responded with a shaky "H-hi…"

She smiled and walked further into the room, the rest of the team following. "How are you?" she asked, excited. "We were really worried; you were out for such a long time, and-"

"Megan, slow down," said Artemis, smiling a bit. "He just woke up; you'll give him a headache."

"A headache?" Miss Martian turned around to face her friend. "How would that give him a headache? I mean, I would understand if…"

Wally tuned out the conversation, looking down at his best friend. Robin stared ahead, a small but very fake smile on his lips. Sighing, he placed a gentle hand on the younger's shoulder.

Dick looked up at him. If it had been anyone else, he would have seemed just happy to be around his friends. But Wally knew him better than that. He could read the confusion, worry, and sorrow in his friend's gaze, even with the mask on.

"Robin?" The team had moved closer, and only now had Superboy realized that the injured boy wasn't listening. Wally squeezed Dick's shoulder lightly, nodding slightly towards Superboy.

Robin turned his head to look at Superboy. "What?"

"Robin, are you alright?" Aqualad looked at him, concerned.

It didn't take Wally very long to realize that his best friend hadn't seen Aqualad speaking. "He's just tired," he said, speaking for his friend.

"Well you should sleep then," said Artemis. "We'll leave so you can rest, okay?"

Robin glanced up, confused. Wally just nodded. "Yeah. We'll get out of your way so you can rest, Rob."

Dick's expression changed to one of fear and worry. "Okay." His voice was still slightly hesitant.

Wally helped his friend lay back down. "It's okay. I'll come back. I'm not going to be gone for long."

Robin nodded and laid down slowly, wincing a bit. Wally smiled at him, then followed his team out of the room. Wally was the last one out, and he turned the lights off as he left.

"C-can you turn them back on?" asked Robin in a whisper. "Please?"

"Of course." Wally knew his friend couldn't hear him, but figured the return of light would be a good enough response.

"Thanks…"

Wally smiled a bit and walked out of the room. As soon as the door had closed behind him, he realized that his team was still standing there, looking mad.

"You owe us one heck of an explanation," said Artemis, crossing her arms. "What aren't you telling us?"

Has anyone figured out what the challenge was yet?