Title: Still a Kid: Broken Bones and Communication
Word Count: about 2,645 words
Summary: Mall's suck. People are organized and Superboy doesn't have a filter. Oh yeah, and a little girl breaks her leg.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters and I write completely for fun and not for profit!
Idea: This idea came from a prompt I got from a prompt from goodstoryfan. I hope you like it!
Author's Note: Review please?! I know some people might not be able to because I used to have an Authors note up so it conflicts with chapter three reviews. Feel free to go to a different chapter or leave an anonymous review or pm-ing me!
Also I am so so so sorry that this took so long. If anyone saw my Authors note from before, then you are caught up. For everyone else, the short story is that I've decided to start writing again. Whooh! Things will hopefully be rolling again.
Robin really hated missions that involved malls. They were always too complicated - the building, not the mission. He could navigate Gotham with ease, and it was listed the second most complicated city in North America. Admittedly it was one of the things Bruce trained him for, but he picked it up pretty fast.
But he hated malls, especially indoor malls. At least with apartment buildings or labs, everything ran on one security system. With malls it was hard to say if the blueprints would be accurate or not. And based on experience, a lot of stores didn't follow fire code, meaning exits were blocked, vents covered and doors that shouldn't exist did. People were everywhere, and he hated to admit it, but they were like cockroaches.
Yeah, Robin hated missions that involved malls. He liked Gotham because they didn't have too many shopping malls. Stores lined the streets, their buildings old with history, and somehow still standing. But they didn't have the same kind of malls.
When Red Tornado brought up the information for their current mission, Robin did his best not to groan. It wasn't going to be a fun mission. And Robin should know should know; he was pretty good at finding the fun in missions.
A group of unknown assailants locked down Happy Harbor Mall twenty minutes ago, taking a handful of people hostage for security. Robin had to give them props, secretly of course. For a mall robbery-hostage situation, these guys were much more organized than one usually expected. They covered their tracks, and blocked their entrances and exits. The scrambler was a great touch, a military grade machine that blocked incoming and outgoing frequencies throughout the building, preventing anyone from calling for help. The power was already cut, knocking out the lights. The emergency generators brought back the minimum security to different locations around the building. These guys were organized. It was understandable when then why Robin was suspicious at how easy things seemed to be for the Team.
"We need to take out the scrambler," Robin said over the mental link.
"Missing your technology already?" Artemis snipped from across the hall.
Robin stuck out his tongue in her direction, "No," he whispered, "But it would be nice to have access to things. Maybe a backup in case we need to use the coms."
"Good plan Robin," Aqualad agreed through the link, "What is the location?"
Robin ducked down a side hallway, according to the signs, it led towards the bathrooms. Artemis followed, taking up guard at the entrance. The younger teen pulled up the schematics for the building, suddenly glad he downloaded them before entering the building. "It depends on how many they have," he said through the link. "Based on the size of the building and the grade of the interference, my guess is that they have one in the middle of the building. Probably the second floor." Robin closed the holographic blueprints and joined the archer at the entrance of the side hall.
Artemis signaled an all clear from her spot and waited for Robin to agree.
"This is military grade equipment," Robin continued over the link while following after the blonde. "Not cheap and ridiculously powerful. There'd be no point in having more than one, and smaller machines wouldn't be able to do this much damage." The duo slipped between the shadows, the only lights came coming from the emergency exit signs and the entrance behind them.
"Okay," Aqualad said, squashing any further questions. "What is everyone's locations?"
"Robin and I are on the first floor," Artemis explained, "Near the east entrance and moving forward. We've yet to see movement."
"Superboy and I are still on the third floor," Megan said through the link, "north entrance near the popcorn store."
"No movement," Superboy added, "But I hear people further in."
"Kid and I are on the second floor, south side of the building." Aqualad said, "Head towards the middle of the building, and let us know if you find anything."
"Move carefully everyone," Robin added. "Something doesn't feel right with this place."
Everyone murmured confirmation and the link fell silent.
Robin and Artemis darted between vantage points, signaling back and forth as they cleared the hallway. They ducked behind a giant built- in -planter filled with waxy plants and an overgrown tree.
"People in view," Megan said, voice floating through her teammates heads.
"Anyone have a view of the hostages?" Artemis asked.
"They're on the second floor. M'gann and I can see them"
"We have eyes on the scrambler." Robin said over the link. He pointed up through the glass railing of the second floor. They could see a slowly spinning dish on top of a black box, with blinking lights. The ceiling above was a dome of windows, letting in more than enough light to see by.
"Robin and Artemis, take out the jammer. Miss Martian and Superboy, protect the hostages. Wally and I will take down as many as we can." Aqualad instructed. Artemis pulled an arrow from her quiver, as he talked, aiming at the upper floor above.
"If I blow it up, will it break the machine?" she whispered to Robin. The two humans ignored the confirmations from the rest of the team over the link.
The smaller hero smirked back, "Let's find out."
"Everyone might want to get away from the jammer." Artemis said over the link, releasing the arrow. The arrow landed on target, bursting in a small explosion. The glass around it shattered, and people started shouting. The two heroes ducked from the rain of glass from above, Robin flipping his cape over them both. They could hear the rest of the team moving through the floors above them. The younger teen pulled a grappling hook gun from his belt, "Ready?" he asked. Artemis took his offered hand and they took off into the air.
They landed on the second floor at the same time a scream came from above.
Suddenly Wally appeared looking over the edge of the third floor. "Is the jammer down?" He yelled, voice in panic. Superboy yelled in the background as someone started sobbing.
Robin flipped, kicking a man in the face and landing in a crouch next to the computer. "Give me a sec."
The younger hero plugged in his wrist computer, typing on his keyboard. Aqualad and Artemis grouped together, guarding the hacker from attackers.
Wally appeared at Robin's side in a blur of red and yellow, "We need paramedics called as soon as possible." Robin nodded in understanding, not looking away from the screen.
The computer chirped at the same time Artemis took out the remaining bad guy. "We're back on!" Robin yelled, already running towards the stairs. He pressed a few keys on his computer, sending out a prerecorded message to the emergency response teams. "And police have been notified."
He found the rest of the team gathered around one of the hostages, a young girl, younger looking than Robin with an even younger boy next to her. Both children were crying, the girl had a hand wrapped around her lower leg, hands covered in blood.
"One of the guys got her leg with the butt of his gun." Wally whispered as the other boy passed.
Robin slid to his knees, assessing the damage.
"Hey there," he muttered, pushing away the girls hands lightly. "What's your name?" He asked.
The girl sobbed louder instead of answering, and tightened her grip on her leg.
Robin turned towards the boy next to them. "What's your name?" He prompted.
The boy looked between the girl and the sidekicks. "Adam," he whispered.
Robin started pulling medical supplies from his belt, "And hers?"
"Amanda," Adam answered, "She's my big sister and you have to help her," he ended in a rush, tears streaking down his face.
"We are. The paramedics are on their way right now to take her to the hospital." Robin smiled at them both, ripping open a packet gauze. "And if Amanda would let me, I would love to see if I can help until they get here." He turned to the girl to address her directly, "Amanda, I need to see your leg."
The girl shook her head, letting out a loud sob.
"Amanda," he said again, drawing her attention back to him. He gently peeled her fingers back, keeping eye contact the entire time. He held her hands in his hands, grabbing one of the disinfectant wipes from the small medical kit in his belt. He cleaned off her hands before gesturing Adam closer. "I want you go to hold his hands," Robin continued, still talking directly to the girl. "I want you to focus on them, on your little brother." The girl nodded, allowing Adam to wedge himself at her side.
"Adam, let me know if she is squeezing too tight." Robin said, peeling off his gloves allowing for more precise work.
"I can do it." Adam rushed, scooting impossibly closer.
Robin smiled reassuringly, "I know you can, but I need to know if she squeezes more, so I know if the pain gets worse."
The boy nodded, turning towards his sister again.
"It's broken." Connor announced from a few feet away, startling both of the children.
"I know Supy," Robin said, working carefully to wipe away the blood. He held back a wince when he saw the white of bone sticking out before it disappeared under a new layer of blood.
"That could get infecting," Connor continued, missing the disapproving looks from his other teammates.
The girl let out a long whine.
"Superboy, stop; you're not helping." Robin snapped, covering the wound up and stopping the blood flow. "Wally, go see what is taking the medics so long." He couldn't add pressure with the bone sticking out, but he'd do the best he could to slow down the bleeding.
Wally nodded, taking off back down the stairs, towards the front entrance.
"They might have to cut the leg off," Connor added.
The girl let out a piercing scream that echoed around the otherwise empty mall.
Robin growled at the older teen, "Superboy, shut up or leave."
The sound of yelling in the distance interrupted whatever the clone was going to say. "They're almost here," Wally said, appearing next to Artemis. "They had to get the power back on." As if on cue, the elevator lit up, the doors sliding open. Three paramedics came running out, pulling a gurney with them.
It was a flurry of movement, as they loaded up Amanda. One of the medics ended up carrying Adam with them.
"No!" Amanda screamed before they could get her moving. She reached out for Robin's hand desperately. "Don't let them." She sobbed, the rest of her words getting lost.
Robin darted forward, taking her hand in his. He ushered the medics forward, walking with them towards the elevator. "You're going to be fine," Robin soothed, "These nice people are going to fix you up." They paused right outside the elevator.
"They aren't going to cut off your leg," Megan jumped in, smiling reassuringly at the child. Robin heard the parametric next to him sigh in frustration. "We promise."
"Adam is going to keep an eye on you the whole time." Robin continued, ignoring his team mate. "Right?" He looked towards the little boy.
Adam nodded, "I'll watch you 'Manda."
The girl looked between Robin and her brother before nodding. She released the hero, who stepped aside for them to roll her into the elevator. Adam waved goodbye as they left the doors sliding shut between them.
Robin sighed before turning back towards the team. Behind them, medics and police officers mingled with the hostages. "Thank you," one said before anyone on the team could speak. "Their mother made it out before the lockdown," he explained.
Robin nodded in acknowledgment, scooping stooping down to pick up his forgotten gloves. "It's part of the job," he said with a tight smile.
The team mingled for a little bit, explaining the situation to the cops and helping a bit with clean up. Robin steered clear of the rest of the team until they finally left for the ship.
"Okay dude, what's wrong?" Wally asked the moment the doors closed behind them.
Robin huffed, running a gloved hand over his face, "Look, I don't want to get mad at you guys, because you don't know better. But you can't say stuff like that." Robin looked pointedly between Superboy and M'gann. The ship came to a sudden stop, hovering midair outside the mountain. M'gann turned around in her seat.
"You don't tell a little kid that they might have to cut off her leg." Robin said, staring down Superboy.
The clone frowned back, "I would want to know."
"Yeah," Robin rolled his unseen eyes, "But you also have superpowers."
Now he just looked more confused, "You would want to know."
"Because this is my job." Robin said, "Normal people, especially little kids, won't want to know that kind of thing. They just want it to stop. You need to be reassuring, not spitting out worse case scenarios." Robin stared Superboy down until he nodded in understanding. He turned slowly in his seat to smile lightly at Miss Martian. "And M'gann -"
"She didn't do anything," Connor interrupted, angrier now than when he was called out.
Robin ignored him, "Don't ever make promises you can't keep."
"I didn't," M'gann said.
"You told her that the medics won't have to cut off her leg." Robin explained, his voice gentle. "You promised that they wouldn't."
"But they won't," M'gann pressed.
"We don't know that for sure. There might be a slim chance of something bad happening, but at the end of the day, we could be wrong." Robin explained.
M'gann nodded once, looking sad and lost in thought. The ship jumped to life again.
"So we don't get sued?" Wally asked, not angry, just curious.
"No," Robin shrugged, "You're just being honest. We need them to trust us, the only way we can do that is be as honest as possible. We can't perform miracles. Just mind what you say to them. Even outside of an injury, just watch what you promise," Robin sunk low in his seat. "You never know if you can keep them."
His posture indicated the end of the conversation, leaving the rest of the team to mull it over. M'gann landed the ship, the team trudging out to stand in front of Red Tornado and Black Canary for debriefing.