Chapter 2
Cold, Cold
Robin POV, Watchtower, March 23, 23:19
The first thing I was aware of was the cold. It was surrounding me. No, not just surrounding; it was inside of me. There wasn't a warm spot on my body, inside and out. My eyelids were heavy and I was sure that if I hadn't been numb from the cold, I would be in intense pain.
I tried to make noise, but I could only get a small groan out, but it was hard. I tried moving, but my entire body was numb, so I gave up. I know I couldn't speak, and the only thing I could spell was something similar to hand sanitizer. I decided to move on to my hearing. When I focused, I could hear an obnoxious beeping in the background, along with voices.
"…Batman, I had no idea—"
"No one did, but that doesn't excuse her behavior. She needs to be taken down, Manhunter."
"If we can at least—"
"She killed one of our own, J'onn! There's no going back from that!"
Killed! Who killed? One of our own? Did that mean—no, nobody was dead. At least, I didn't remember anyone dying, but I didn't remember much of anything… I was going to be leaving soon for home, it was my birthday, and then M'gann came out and they were surrounded… Mr. Freeze was there.
"Iwanttokillyoumyself,BoyWonder.Ifyousurvive,thenI'lltakecareofyoulater."
I was trapped. And then it was cold, and…
"—Do not blame her for what happened to Robin!"
"She's as much at fault as Freeze is!"
"She didn't lay a hand on him!"
"But she was the one who let them inside the mountain! She was the one who betrayed the team!"
"But what Freeze did to Robin was not her fault!"
"In case you aren't aware, Jon, but my son could have died in there!"
I froze. Well, I was already mostly frozen, but I couldn't believe what I had just heard. Bruce had just called me his son… his son. Not just Dick, or Robin, but his son.I couldn't wait to tell Wally!
"He's alive, Bruce," this was a new voice now.
"If I had gotten there a minute later, he wouldn't be!"
"Then just be grateful that you made it in time." I finally recognized Superman's voice.
"How is Barry?" J'onn asked.
There was a pause before Superman finally replied. "Not good. He and Artemis are together right now discussing it."
"Superboy and Kaldur?" Bruce asked.
"They're fine. Aquaman just brought Kaldur back to Atlantis and Superboy will be out of it for a couple of days, but nothing too serious."
"And Artemis?" Manhunter asked.
"She's…"
"Not well?" Bruce asked.
"The girl's been through so much in 15 years… this had to be the worst part of it all. They had a thing for each other you know, even though they wouldn't admit it."
Artemis was upset. Barry was upset… they hadn't mentioned Wally yet, so… no. It couldn't be. Not Wally. Wally would never—he was Wally West, the Kid Flash! The fastest kid alive! He wouldn't…
"Losing Wally has hit everyone hard," Superman said. "Oliver is trying to calm Roy down still."
NO! Not Wally… anyone but Wally. My best friend! He couldn't… he wouldn't leave me here! I finally let a sound out, though it wasn't what I had hoped. It was meant to be a gasp, but it turned into a sob. Loud and inhuman, almost a scream of angst.
Batman came running in, coming to the bed as fast as he could, "What happened?" he asked.
"Wally—" I chocked out from in between sobs.
Batman's frown deepened, "you know." It was more of a statement than a question.
"W—what happened?" I managed to say. I could barely produce the words between my weakened state and the sobs.
"He was protecting Artemis. M'gann let them all into the mountain."
"Megan?"
"Artemis chased her away after…" he didn't need to finish the sentence.
"Artemis should have killed her…" it was a small whisper, but I saw Superman in the doorway with an appalled expression.
"We don't kill," Batman scolded. "It was the first thing I taught you. No matter what, we donot kill."
"She killed him first!"
"And Zucco killed your parents first," Bruce said, but immediately flinched after. "Dick…"
"I get it… we don't kill… no matter what."
"It doesn't make what she did right, though," Bruce said.
"Have you… found her?"
"Not yet, but we're all looking. We're also doing some research on the Light."
"Ra's," I said. It got the point across.
"We know he's involved, but we don't know how many others. Turns out the Injustice League was just a front that they used to distract us."
"How's everyone… else?"
"Kaldur is being brought to Atlantis, though I don't know the extent of his injuries. Superboy is going to be fine and Artemis just has some minor cuts and bruises."
He started walking away to a counter in the room, producing a sling from one of the drawers. "What I want to know is how all these villains got out of jail."
He came back over and picked up a small remote from next to the bed, pressing a button and causing it to rise in the back.
"Did you catch… any?" I asked, watching as he pulled a chair over and sat down next to me.
"One," he replied before peeling away some of the blankets. I was amazed that I was still so cold after seeing how many fleece blankets and comforters were pilled on top of my body. It made sense that I couldn't move. "Can you move your right arm at all?"
I tried, getting slight movement, but I hurt, so I shook my head.
He went back over to the count and grabbed a roll of bandages, coming back over and bent my arm gently, obviously trying to not make it hurt. He wrapped it up tightly and placed the sling under it, fastening the strap around the back of my neck.
"Who?" I asked.
"Cheshire," replied. "Artemis was able to knock her out and she's being contained now."
Bruce pulled the mountain of blankets back up to my chin and stood up. "Get some sleep. I'll be back in a little while," I nodded and let my eyes close as I felt the head of the bed dropping back down, unaware of the figure floating outside of the lone window looking out into space.
…to be continued…
