Chapter Two: Shame

When they arrived at the cave, Batman was already there. No one was quite sure why he was there, since they didn't radio ahead and tell him about Robin and how he was hurt. It's true that they were out of contact for a long time, so perhaps that was what called him to the cave. Either way, he wasn't happy when Wally walked out of the bioship with Robin right by his side. He was conscious, and had been for bits and pieces of the long flight home, but he was so unsteady on his feet and in so much pain that he was leaning on Wally for support.

As soon as Dick saw Batman waiting for them, he gave a momentary pause. Kaldur glanced over at him and saw the expression of shame. Robin, you do not need to feel shame, he thought, aware that Robin would be unable to hear that message with M'gann's telepathic link offline. It was obvious that Robin didn't want Batman to see him while he was weak and injured.

"Batman," Kaldur began, stepping towards the man to try and save Robin from his prying stare. "I would like to report on the mission."

As if snapping out of a daze, Batman looked over at the young man who stood in front of him. By that point, Kid Flash and Robin were past them, heading to the medic bay. Artemis was several steps behind with M'gann by her side. She was not as wounded, but still required attention.

"Alright," Batman said after a few moments. "Report."

As Kaldur ran through his report, he saw Batman's frown deepen. He wasn't sure whether it was because Kaldur somehow failed at leading the team, or if Robin's stubbornness had gotten him into trouble yet again.

The moment the report was done, Batman silently stalked back to where Robin was being evaluated by their automated medical AI. The facts were in: one rib fractured, four others bruised. He also suffered from smoke inhalation. Artemis was better, with one bruised rib and smoke inhalation. The only reason she was able to get away with such minor injuries was because Robin shielded her when they were falling. And the only reason Robin got away with his injuries was because of his bullet-proof vest making the impact less severe.

Batman didn't even have to look at the rest of the team to tell them that their presence was no longer welcome. They all trickled out and closed the door. Artemis stayed in the room, lying in a bed on the other side of the drawn curtain. Even if Batman was aware of that, he didn't convey it.

"Aqualad said that you stayed inside to retrieve samples of the drug," he said after a moment.

"Yeah," Robin nodded.

"Do you have it?"

"Yeah," he said again. He reached into for his belt and pulled out a vial of blue liquid. It was completely intact thanks to the strength of the belt. He winced as he handed the vial to his mentor. Batman lifted it and looked at it with the light behind it. Of course, nothing stood out with this weird drug.

"I expect to hear your report tomorrow," Batman said as he put the vial in his own belt. He turned and walked out, closing the door behind him.

"…Harsh," Artemis said from the other side. She reached over and pulled the curtain, revealing herself and seeing Robin's facial expression. Honestly, he didn't seem too amazed by it.

"It's okay," he said quietly. "That's how he acts when he's worried."

"He acts like a total jack-"

"And anyway, I gave him the right to," Robin interrupted. "I risked your life and I shouldn't have."

"You didn't risk my life, I did," she corrected. What she would always remember, though, was how he landed on the ground so she wouldn't have to face the concrete. Her armor wasn't as thick as his; if she had landed, it would have put her out of commission for months. Or permanently. And Robin…he was lucky too. Unbelievably so. "But it doesn't matter. We're alive, and we have the intel and the drug. Soon we'll know what this was all about."

Robin leaned back into the pillows more, closing his eyes. "Hope so," he said quietly. With that soft spoken answer, Artemis noticed that Robin had pain pills and water next to his bed. He had obviously taken the drug and it was now influencing him. Most medicines took longer to take effect, but the league could afford the best.

Within minutes, Robin was out cold, and Artemis was alone with her feelings of guilt and shame.

*…*…*…*…*…*

The world kept spinning, and so did the rest of the team. That week as Artemis and Robin were forced to bedrest, the rest of them trained against each other. Those matches were more passionate than usual. Every one of them had reason to feel frustrated with themselves.

Kaldur, leader of the team, had been closest to the vials in the first place. If he had grabbed one, Robin wouldn't have stayed behind and gotten one.

M'gann told herself that she should have done something. She had no clue what that something was, but it kept nagging her mind. She should have done something. She should have done something…

Conner was always upset when his friends were hurt. Robin in particular. He was such a small, human kid that put up such a strong front that he seemed invincible. He didn't like seeing him walking around in pain.

And Wally…he was the worst. Black Canary offered therapy to him and he turned it down. Talking about it wouldn't help. His best friend and the girl he had a mega crush on were almost crushed by a building. Even if he didn't blame himself for anything, he hated that he couldn't make the two of them better.

That was why in his current match against Kaldur, he easily grabbed Khadlur by the arm and flipped him onto his back with vigor and viciousness he didn't normally show to his teammates. Kaldur looked up at him and grunted, only slightly surprised. They all knew that the Kid Flash they were working with the past week wasn't the same as he was before the incident.

Off on the sidelines, Robin sat, sipping some water and watching the match in his street clothes (and sunglasses, obviously). "Nice down, KF," he shouted to his friend.

No. No, it really wasn't, Wally thought to himself. He shook his head and released Kaldur, though he still held out a hand to help him up. He wanted to apologize, but the words simply wouldn't come. Fortunately for him, Kaldur understood, accepted his hand, and gave him a nod. Once he was on his feet, Wally walked over to Dick and sat down next to him.

"Shouldn't you be at a tutoring session or something?" Wally asked casually, grasping for the waterbottle he had next to him.

"It's Saturday," he reminded him.

"Yeah…and you've missed school all week, so…"

"So, I'm milking this for all it's worth," Dick said lightly. "I don't have to go back to school till Monday, so I'm not going to worry about schoolwork till then."

"How's the big guy feel about that?" Even though Wally knew that Bruce Wayne was both Dick's adoptive father and Batman, he avoided using the name. The last thing he wanted was Batman's vengeance for accidentally revealing his name to the crew.

"I'm here, aren't I?"

Wally took that as, "Bruce wants me to study but can't force me to." He looked ahead of him, seeing the training room completely empty except for the two of them. "Are things still…?"

"Weird? Yeah."

The redhead nodded silently. Dick was his best friend, so of course he told him about how Bruce basically grabbed the vial and ran after this mission. The next day, Dick gave his mission report and Bruce didn't scold him or anything. He didn't do anything that conveyed emotion at all. It was only when Dick asked if he had any progress in identifying the liquid that Bruce retracted and almost yelled at Dick. He told him not to worry about it, which of course encouraged Dick to spend all his spare time researching the files he snagged at the warehouse.

Ever since then, though, there was some tension between the two of them. Bruce was hiding something, and Dick had no way of finding out what the deal was. That and being forced to sit still was seriously testing Dick's patience.

"Recognize. Miss-Martian-B-5."

The teleporter to their left glowed a bright white light as the voice made them aware of a new guest. M'gann walked in donning her street clothes and carrying a large tray. As soon as she saw the two of them, she ran over to them. "Hey!" she greeted warmly. "I bought cookies."

"Amazing!" Wally shouted, he jumped to his feet just as soon as M'gann reached them and snagged five right off the plate. "What happened to baking, though?"

"The oven's broken," she said. "Tornado's looking at it right now."

"Um…does Tornado know anything about kitchen appliances?"

"Not that I was seeing. The last I saw, he was trying to figure out how to turn the light on."

Wally and M'gann both laughed, probably more than the situation called for. By that time, Dick was on his feet.

"How are you feeling, Robin?" M'gann asked, just like she always did the moment she saw him.

"Great," he responded. "Ready for action."

"I wouldn't say that," a new voice input. Conner, Kaldur, and Artemis were walking over to them to join the conversation. It was Kaldur who had spoken the comment, and it was he who elaborated on it as they made their way closer. "Batman told me that you're not allowed to go on a mission for the next month."

Wally spit out the cookie he was chewing on, the mush making a lovely pile on the ground. While Artemis groaned in disgust, Wally looked over at his best friend. "Dude, a month?! You didn't tell me that."

"I'll easily cut that time in half," Robin said confidently. "I've always healed quicker than Batman thinks."

"In any case, Batman will make the final decision," Kaldur said. "That is how he has always done things."

Yeah, well Batman's not quite acting like his usual self on this one, Robin thought glumly. "Did he tell you guys anything about the pathogen?"

"No. I assume he's still researching it."

Robin knew that nothing took Batman that long; it had been a week, and he'd been hanging out in the Batcave ever since he got the thing. He knew what it was, but he was keeping it a secret from the team. Why?

"Recognize. Batman. Zero-two."

The caped Crusader walked in alone, reporting directly to the computers. It was only after he was stationed in front of them that he spoke. "Team. Report for mission."

All six of them walked over and stood in front of the screens as Batman pulled up a map of a specific region in Idaho. "Numerous reports say that a Cadmus shuttle crash-landed in a field two days ago. The Justice League has been keeping surveillance over the area, but nobody has come to claim the wreckage yet. Your task is to scope out the area, and if clear, sort through whatever the cargo was. Aqualad, you'll have a list of specific items to look for. If it's not on that list, leave it."

"Understood."

"Suit up and leave immediately. The search will take all night. Be gone before dawn hits."

Robin saw Aqualad glance over at him, but he met his gaze and shrugged at him. Batman just gave all of them the mission report, Robin included. That meant that he was allowed to go on this mission.

Of course, Kaldur always strived to be on good terms with Batman, so he began to speak. "Batman-"

"You may take Artemis if she feels ready for the mission. Robin stays behind."

"What?" Robin cried in surprise. "Batman, come on, I…"

With one look, Batman made him fall silent. Just as quickly, he shifted his vision to the archer. "Artemis, are you ready for the mission?"

"Yeah, I'm good to go," she confirmed.

"Wait," Robin interrupted. "What about last week? What about the pathogen?"

"This is not an appropriate time to bring that up, Robin," Batman said coolly. "I've just assigned a mission that everyone should now be preparing for."

The rest of the team got the hint and dispersed, rushing away to their respective rooms to get changed or just avoid the conversation. It was so unusual to see Robin lash out at Batman like that, and it made all of them uncomfortable to see that kind of immature behavior from Robin. Yes, he was a child and he could be a goofball, but when it came to Batman, he was beyond respectful. Seeing anything different was alarming.

Robin didn't even wait for everyone to leave the room before he spoke to his mentor again. "Something panned out with that pathogen, didn't it?" he pressed. "What is it?"

"I'm still researching."

"For a whole week?"

"Yes. Is there anything else?" The mask amplified the expression that he saw so much when he was still in training: The expression that dared him to press back further. And he knew from experience that the moment he pressed, he'd be sorry he did.

"…No," Robin sighed. He ran a hand over his hair and turned, heading towards the teleporter.

"Where are you going?"

"Home. I'm benched for a month, right?"

"Yes."

"Recognize. Robin. B-Zero-One."

The light engulfed him, and he was gone, back to Gotham. The rest of the team would wonder where he went, but it didn't matter. He had a goal in mind, and he was going to complete it before Batman found out.

He was going to break into the Batcave's archives and discover what it was Batman was keeping from him.

*…*…*…*…*…*

Author: Thanks for reading! In this section, I'll respond to people and ramble about updates and such.

Canoyessenia555: There will be some Wally/Artemis, but aside from that, I don't have anything planned.

Girlgeekjf, Guest, and call-know-it-all, thanks for reading and dropping reviews! Hope you all will continue to provide your feedback.

And to the rest of you people who just subscribed without reviewing, welcome! I'd love to hear your thoughts too, but I'm at least glad that you're watching the story.

The next chapter may be late (like 2.5 weeks away) due to real world obligations and lack of internet access. Just a heads up.

Peanut