The Root at the Heart of the Problem
After the previous harrowing adventure when Robin nearly lost her, Robin decided that it was finally time to assist Melissa out by getting to know her better, much better than he knew her now. Melissa was an amiable, friendly, autonomous, considerate, compassionate, caring individual, but Robin could tell that something was definitely bothering her deep down inside her, no matter how much she tried to camouflage it (apparently Robin could see past the outside, unlike many people). Maybe, Robin figured, just maybe, by getting to know her better, the Superfriends might be able to help Melissa gain more trust in her new friends. It was definitely worth a try and Robin was determined to lead the way. Robin knew that there was more to Melissa than met the eye and he wanted the others to see some of what he saw in her. The trick was to get her to come out of her protective shell while making sure that she felt safe to do so.
Since Melissa had proven herself in the episode where Superman lost his memory, the Superfriends, partially due to Robin's strong persistence and insistence, decided to assist Melissa in a way she never anticipated. They were extraordinarily lenient and patient in working with her and began to appreciate that a whole other side of her personality was now shining brightly through, as they encouraged her to keep going. This aspect of her personality was much more outgoing and adventurous than her normal behavior that she had shown them so far, but still just as caring and compassionate, if not more so. What was the reason for this turn of events, the Superfriends wondered. The Superfriends had to question just what was with Melissa since they were now seeing a completely separate side of her personality, a much softer, gentler aspect as well, as if her more feminine traits were coming to the surface. Now, her tomboyish side did not completely vanish, but it seemed to back off a little so that her softer, gentler more feminine side could be seen. A side that many were not aware was extremely vulnerable and easily hurt.
What they could not comprehend was why it took so long to divulge this side of Melissa, an engaging, extremely delicate yet cheerful side – with a wholehearted, childlike liveliness and wonder as well as a fervent, passionate, fierce zeal for life, as well as an extreme exuberance that was seldom seen in her unless one genuinely knew Melissa. Little did the Superfriends discern that Melissa had a profound, disheartening, excruciating secret that aggrieved her more than words can articulate and so she hid it deep within her scarred, torn-up, battered, and bleeding heart. All they knew was that there was more to her than meets the eye, as if she was a brave young girl trapped in a scared, pained adult body with wisdom showing in the eyes, the wisdom that is only gained through suffering. The secret that she held in her heart was one of such immense and intense pain that she could not bring it to light and refused to bring it to light due to the anguish it caused her. Though the pain was from long ago, it still stung as if it were a fresh bleeding cut.
She desperately hid the forbidden secret in hopes that it would never again become known or surface unexpectedly, as she figured that if her friends knew, they would forsake her, as it seemed that some close to her had in the past (and some had used her weaknesses against her after turning on her, making her life even more miserable than it already was). Therefore, even though she still kept her secrets, she allowed the Superfriends to know more of her authentic personality, a choice she would later question, as she often did when she started showing her true self to others. Part of the questioning was due to her intense internal struggle to figure out which part of her was actually her and which part or parts were shields she put up to survive the torment and trauma that she devastatingly, excruciatingly, and agonizingly endured so long ago and had not dealt with as of yet.
Melissa felt rather awful and dejected that they had to rescue her from the previous escapade where she almost did not make it (because she was used to doing the rescuing, not being rescued by others). However, through that exact same petrifying adventure, she seemed to recognize that she might have found the person she was looking for. This person was a gentleman who would be compassionate, thoughtful, caring, empathetic, and considerate but also would have many of the other qualities that she sought. However, before she would be able to settle down, she would have to confront her melancholic, forbidding, heartbreaking past head on, a task that she knew could either make her stronger or kill her. She hoped against all hope that, when the time came to face it, it would not kill her. The Superfriends could assist, but only one person would be able to liberate her this time, and it was someone who had been there all along, knowing each sorrow, defeat, and agony as well as each individual trial and tribulation. Someone, to be honest, that Melissa sometimes forgot was, is, and will always be around.
This whole escapade all started out on the overcast, drizzling morning after Melissa had arrived safely home from the Justice League Satellite to recover from her numerous injuries from when the killjoys attempted to takeover the Earth, but they were defeated by The Superfriends, with a minute amount of help from a battered, bruised, broken, and bleeding Melissa. Her entire body was a wreck, to say nonetheless. She was bruised, burned, beaten, bloodied, and broken as well as bandaged (the bleeding had stopped and she was starting to mend), but that did not stop her from doing what she could, in fact she probably did a little more than she should have, but that was just the way Melissa was. Nothing was going to stop her from doing every thing that she could, and that included cuts, bruises, pain and the like.
She was stubbornly determined to bounce back, no matter what tried to stop her or get in her way. Melissa had learned very early on that obstacles were meant to be conquered (alone) no matter what the expense, for if one falls one has to pick oneself back up with no help from anyone else. However, this was not always the best way to go, as friends can help more than going at it solo. (Melissa still had to learn that not everyone was going to desert her the way some other not-so-good friends had done.) Therefore, even Robin had to gently restrain her a few times and remind her that her energy level needed to be rejuvenated. She was not one to allow others to care for her as she saw it as a sign of weakness that could be exploited. It took Robin quite some time to convince her that it was ok to allow others to help her, yet something deep inside her caused her to conditionally consent to the others helping her – as she was tentative of their intent but realized that she had no choice but accept the aid they generously offered her as they refused to take no for an answer.
It was at Melissa's unyielding and unwavering assertion that she would be fine (if not better off) being taken care of at her apartment that the Superfriends finally relented; ultimately letting her go home even though they knew she would require much more care. Melissa was exceptionally autonomous and resolute (much more so than was good for her), but had her key faults that the Superfriends could not get past or figure out why she was like that. Superman and Robin (as Wonder Woman was busy, Aquaman needed to get back to the seas, and Batman was on duty) had tenderly escorted an injury-worn Melissa home to make sure she got there unharmed. Robin had decided to stay to make sure Melissa was safe as well as having no further posttraumatic complications from her wounds and treatment, as well as from the amount of blood she lost. Melissa had forgotten at first that Robin had stayed and so she was somewhat shocked the first time that she got up out of her bed, which Superman and Robin had sweetly, gently, and carefully tucked her into due to the extent of her numerous injuries.
Some time after Superman had left (to patrol Metropolis and as much of the country as he could) and Robin and she had fallen asleep, Melissa abruptly awoke and slowly stumbled out of her bedroom after taking several minutes to get up from the welcoming, familiar bed, pain shooting sharply through her entire body in numerous different locations. She never realized how complicated it could be to be on the run – she thought to herself as she reminded herself to continue to breath through the pain, which was tolerable at best and excruciating at worst. Her bandages restricted some of her mobility, but she did what she could, hence why it took several undertakings before she was able to get out of her spongy bed, that and it was too early for more pain medications, something she wanted to avoid if possible (as many medications knocked her out).
She stumbled slowly and agonizingly across the room until she could rest and catch her breath in the doorway before heading out into the living room. Once in the living room though, she was startled when she noticed that Dick Grayson (Robin) had decided to snooze on her uncomfortable futon. (He was traditional and did not believe in sleeping in the same bed together until married and no one but her knew about the airbed that was not being utilized – well, no one had asked as it had been put away). She had completely forgotten he had stayed as she was coming out of a pain med induced fog.
She calmed down, though, remembering almost immediately that he had stayed to make sure that she had no posttraumatic complications from her situation and to make sure she was doing well. Dick still had his Robin costume on, but he still shook, as Melissa tended to keep her apartment a bit cooler than most people did and he did not have much in the way of blankets or covers on (and his Robin attire was not exceptionally warm). She gazed upon him with soft, tender, round eyes filled with love and compassion; in her heart, she knew that he must be the one. She felt an overwhelming rush of anxiety, knowing that he must be quivering due to not having any covers on. She could not help but felt needed and a need for this person, a new feeling for her, as she had always been so sure of her independence. Additionally, her compassion for others kicked into high gear, although it kicked into a much higher gear than usual, which she found slightly peculiar, but she decided to just go along with it rather than wasting her limited energy fighting it.
Apparently, Robin was used to being in various diverse surroundings, and he had figured out how to sleep anywhere, especially when he was extremely exhausted. She wondered if she should turn the heat up, but then she would be unable to slumber. (Melissa's philosophy regarding the cold was one can always put more on when its cold, but one cannot take more off if it is sweltering.) He looked so adorable and precious sleeping there, but she knew he was uncomfortable, even though he was peacefully sleeping there. She also knew, though, that he would be unable to get enough sleep if she did not get him something to keep him warm. The nurturing and nursing aspect of her strong personality kicked into high gear at the site of Robin sleeping while shivering, they kicked in extremely strongly.
She could ascertain, though, that he was so exhausted that he could perceive neither the cold nor the discomfort he might experience from sleeping on the unforgiving, insubstantial futon without covers on his body. She speedily (as speedily as she was able to) got a thick, soft, warm comforter, covered him up, and sweetly tucked him in – placing a minute, affectionate, delicate kiss on his warm forehead. He looked so serene sleeping there that she could not help but examine his brawny, muscular torso leisurely rise and fall with each subtle, deep breath that he took (even the small pudginess of his abdomen was endearing. Robin was not quite as robust as any of the other superheroes even though he worked out habitually; he still had some "baby" fat on him). She also got him a soft, comfortable pillow, and gently and affectionately lifted his sleeping head to place it delicately on the supple pillow, careful not to disturb the sleeping Robin. His shivering ceased as his body warmed up due to now being covered by the warm, soft comforter. Moreover, his apparent discomfort ceased as he began to get some real sleep. Melissa had taken care of him, and it made her feel contented.
(One who knew Robin well could ascertain it had been awhile since Dick had been in the circus with his parents – who had died tragically in an accident/murder – , he was now bigger, stronger, and tougher now, which is how Bruce Wayne had taught him to be.) At least he did not snore, she thought to herself and silently laughed as she watched him with loving, adoring eyes, while listening to him converse in his sleep. His deep, sensuous voice sent chills up and down her spine, as she had always had an emotional yearning for deep, rich, baritone/bass voices. He never realized that voice sent chills down her spine as she never let him in on the secret. He did not have blond hair, but his dark, royal blue eyes seemed to pierce straight into Melissa's heart, at times making her weak in the knees though she never let on about it.
While standing by his side and watching him, she timed her breathing to his and almost fell asleep standing up. Not an especially sensible idea she thought (as she caught herself before she could slide down and land on the floor), and so she just continued to monitor his broad chest as it subtly rose and fell for at least the next few minutes. She did not who he was talking to, but knew somehow that it was someone important in his life. Her first thought was either his parents or Batman/Bruce Wayne, but he did not speak clear enough for her to understand and determine who he was talking to, and she was too tired to process what it was that he was saying. While watching Robin slumber, though, uncertainties began to plague Melissa's mind, causing confusion, sadness, and ambiguity. The outer pain that she now had she knew would mend and heal, but the inner turmoil, wounds, and aches were now rearing their ugly heads, demanding immediate attention from her limited energy.
She knew deep inside her heart that she was falling for him, but an enormous apprehension arose from the same area since none of the Superfriends, especially Robin, knew anything of her excruciating and tear-filled past. It was a history that caused her to suffer plenty of agony and anguish over her short life. Additionally, it was a woe that longed to be healed and prohibited her from getting what she desired the most – a loving, faithful, Christian husband so she could have a family of her own, with little ones running around and surrounded by an atmosphere of love. She had visions in her mind of what the "perfect" home would be; she knew it would not be without its struggles or disagreements, but she could see love, tenderness, kindness, and a family that had found its home and contentment at last as well as a family that centered its life around Christ.
Her serene and hopeful visions were marred by the uncertainties plaguing her now mystified mind. She was tremendously anxious that if she told them her heartbreaking secrets, her new friends, the Superfriends, especially Robin, would abandon her because she was too much work and she had too many issues to comprehend or believe. She also felt they might abandon her because they would think her stories were so "outrageous" that she must be dreaming them up. She was not even sure if Robin would be able to handle the authenticity of what she told him if she gave up her most safeguarded secrets. So she puzzled as she continued watching him, a serene expression of pure, untainted, unadulterated innocence written on his sleeping countenance, (something that would never describe Robin while he was awake, as in his eyes were volumes of wisdom gained from multiple tragic experiences – extraordinarily similar to what shone through in Melissa's eyes if one looked just right).
Melissa could not exactly put into words or describe as to why she had fallen for Robin. When she first met Robin, she really thought he was just kind of the irritating associate to Batman, and she decided to infuriate him because it was enjoyable and it let her blow off steam. She never said anything intentionally callous; she just teased him like a sister would tease a brother that constantly aggravated her. Melissa did not ever want to be rescued (at least the first few times she needed it) by Robin because she wanted to prove herself as a robust, competent individual – not someone who was fragile and delicate like archetypal girly-girls. She never dreamed, at first, that she would end up falling for him the way she did. Robin had somehow penetrated the deep, solid, unyielding walls surrounding her forbidden broken heart and persevering soul, which took a while for her to believe, and then (or now) she had to deal with how she would enlighten him about herself, something she had not thought of before as the question had never arisen before now. Before now, so many people had been unproblematic to deceive, but Melissa suddenly found herself in a situation where all her defenses had been penetrated to the core and she was uncertain of how to handle it, as she had always avoided it by using her carefully placed defenses, which she assumed to be impenetrable.
While Aquaman had always been Melissa's favorite Superfriend (mostly due to his blond hair and blue eyes), Melissa knew she could not have him or any of the other older male members, as they were all taken. She knew Aquaman was married to Mera and had a son, Superman had a girlfriend – Lois Lane, and (Bruce Wayne) Batman was a bit of a player when it came to women, although Batwoman (a.k.a. Kathy Kane) tended to be Batman's girlfriend more often than not. Many of the other male heroes were too old for Melissa or were already in relationships. And while Melissa thought Hal Jordan (Green Lantern) was attractive, she knew he was taken. As for Marvin and Zan, they were too young for her and neither of the boys were interested in Melissa in terms of a dating relationship. Marvin was more interested in Wendy and being a superhero that saved the day, while Zan was not even sure what it meant to be in a dating relationship on earth because he was too new to the planet. Moreover, with Melissa's pickiness regarding relationship material requirements, it left Melissa with exceptionally few choices among the Superfriends or anyone else for that matter.
Moreover, when they first met officially, Robin treated Melissa as if she knew nothing about anything, and thus the distrust and contempt was reciprocated when the two first met. Robin felt resentment that she had to take care of him after the whole regression fiasco – even though he was clandestinely appreciative of her heroic efforts, which he knew were extremely precarious and perilous. However, Robin still regarded her like she was an irritating little sister, attempting in many ways to thwart her from helping at times, although Batman got on Robin a few times when Batman started to discern that Robin was doing this to Melissa, as Batman stated that Melissa did not deserve what Robin was doing to her. Robin never thought that this exasperating, irksome girl he met in extremely unwelcome circumstances would eventually win his heart and love with her strong determination and willingness to help all those in need, (except herself).
As anticipated, Robin took longer to become conscious of his feelings for Melissa, as it appeared that she did not need anyone – although Robin received a few key hints that Melissa was not as hard-hitting, callous, durable, and resilient as she appeared when he went to her apartment that night that Superman lost his memory. Her multifaceted, independent, fiery personality undoubtedly frightened and overwhelmed him, yet thoroughly mesmerized and completely enthralled him at the same time. She was a most unique individual who swiftly and surreptitiously ensnared his heart like no one ever had before. Robin never thought that such an eccentric, peculiar, irritating, irksome girl would turn out to be the very woman of his dreams.
Often overlooked and overshadowed, poor Robin did not have anybody yet as Wonder Woman was taken by Steve Trevor and too old for Robin and Batgirl and Supergirl had boyfriends (Wonder girl was too concentrated on her Amazon studies to have a boyfriend as of yet). Melissa guessed that this is where her feelings (and possibly his, though she did not know he liked her) started. Additionally, most of the other female superheroes were not interested in Robin, as there was Batman and other heroes available or the women were taken. Jayna and Wendy were not ready for relationships and were not interested in Robin, as well as they were too young for Robin. Wendy more so because she wanted to go on to school and do many things before she wanted a relationship, and Jayna because, like her brother, she was not sure about the way relationships worked on earth. And so, Robin and Melissa were thrust together in a way that neither wanted at first and in a way that neither anticipated.
Moreover, as she now watched an exhausted Robin sleeping soundly curled up on her uncomfortable, cheap futon, she just did not know what to make of the conflicting feelings that she felt welling up inside of her mind and her heart. She wanted someone and for the first time felt like there was a need in her heart, a need and a longing for the man lying right in front of her. She could not explain it away nor contradict it, no matter what excuse she tried to make up or use in her mind. She had always felt that she was independent, and never had felt a need like this before. It was peculiar, unbelievable, intimidating, and breathtaking at the same time, in addition to being wonderfully exciting, nerve-wracking, and new.
Moreover, the fact that she felt the need for someone bewildered her and made her feel awkward. Her rebellious, defiant, insubordinate personality was making it hard for her to swallow that she felt a true need for someone else to be in her life, even though it was something her heart (and mind) desperately desired. Melissa's independent tomboy side was constantly at war with her more feminine side, the softer, gentler side that she frequently pushed aside. It was as if God had drawn them together, despite their feeble and pathetic (as well as juvenile) objections (at first). If only she could keep him, then she would know that her life goals would finally be in her grasp. (However, she knew there might be a chance that because she loved him so much, she may have to let him go but she hoped that was not the case). Therefore, so she did not to wake him, she slowly sauntered back to bed to retire and instantly fell asleep (literally), and she began to dream a dream – more like a nightmare – that she would not soon disregard. Little did she know she had actually passed out and was in a mild coma, having a panic/stress attack of sorts due to her severe loss of blood from the last episode.
As she slowly sailed silently away into her "dream" world, she found herself flying toward her old schools that she went to when she was much younger (places that she loathed with a passion and for an extremely good reason). She was flying of her own accord on fervent winds that blew her into the terror and horror of yesteryear, as it was a dream, and as she hovered above the ground, she watched herself as an innocent youngster. She, with help from the wind, gently and cautiously set herself down in her childhood schoolyard (a technique that she had remembered from retraining Superman during that fiasco) and began watching what had happened to her while she was still so immature and extremely vulnerable (as well as rather exposed). She was not prepared for what she was about to witness, nor the rush of emotions that would soon overwhelm and almost consume her.
She saw an especially appalling scene that stretched out before her dreadfully curious yet shocked and horrified eyes, one that she could not transform even if she desired to (as she desperately wished she could). A devastating scene that brought thick streams of cold, brackish tears to her round, soft, aggrieved grey-blue eyes. In this world, there was no pretense, and every single raw emotion that Melissa felt came pouring out without any control or restraint, as not even her struggling, resilience, and determination could thwart the deluge of emotions that she experienced, as they drowned out all her defenses, which she had originally believed were impenetrable. Her body was wracked with all kinds of emotions she never thought she had; moreover, she never admitted that she had.
Melissa's tremendously distraught expression held two flowing streams of brackish tears that would not cease nor depart, as her broken, hurting heart was now making up for all the years of tears that she had never cried, due in part to her firm belief that crying showed weakness and she did not want to be seen as weak especially by those she deemed as her adversaries. Although her head excruciatingly throbbed and her heart felt as if it was bursting, she was unable to look away from the devastating, agonizing scene that lay before her tear-filled eyes. The overwhelming torment she was experiencing was almost more than she could bear, yet she could not turn away from the scene even though she desperately wished she could. Something, or someone, was focusing all her attention on what had happened in a way she could no longer avoid it. Even her eyes refused to close, making sure she saw what was in front of her in the minutest detail. The over stimulation was almost too much for her to handle as she could feel her energy start to seriously wane and depart from her weakened body.
She devastatingly observed her familiar, scheming, old contemporaries teasing and mocking her innocent-looking, helpless, vulnerable younger self and there was naught she could do about it, as one cannot alter what has already happened. She began to weep even more, as the agony, anguish, and vehemence overwhelmed her severely shaking body, assaulting her very senses to her core, and the absolute death-grasp control she had so long had over her emotions was gone, instantaneously evaporated in this world where nothing stays concealed or suppressed, especially the most extremely powerful emotions that implore for release. Each and every excruciating, emotion filled minute detail was played out blatantly in front of Melissa's saddened and crying eyes, the demoralizing assault cutting deeply, penetratingly piercing her right in her exceptionally broken heart and anxious soul.
This terrorizing nightmarish world had stripped away all the walls built up to thwart the showing of emotion, allowing the vulnerable human side to come forth, and removing the robot she had created. Melissa was having tremendous difficulty withstanding all the devastation to her and her self-worth as a human being, as the demeaning, callous, insensitive, unsympathetic, heartless, merciless, vindictive, spiteful, unforgiving expressions and mockeries rang in her perfect listening ears. She was so traumatized, that she collapsed and crumpled onto her stiff hands and wrists as well as her weakening knees. Grief overwhelmed her as she realized that she no longer possessed the strength she thought she had. What was happening, she wondered. Had her own strength abandoned her just like everyone and everything else?
In her present age and circumstances, she was completely imperceptible to the people she saw callously, insensitively, unsympathetically, inconsiderately, and injudiciously attacking and teasing her younger self as well as her browbeaten, persecuted, victimized younger self. She could perceive and sense the intense agony as it was unsympathetically, indifferently, apathetically, unconcernedly, and uncaringly inflicted upon her younger self, no one yet realizing all the devastation, depression, and angst it would cause in the future, nor the anguish it would cause the brokenhearted and grief stricken Melissa, and it appeared that no one cared about the consequences of their actions. Well, unfortunately for her, kids (as well as the adults of the time) only think about the here and now.
All the adult Melissa could do was stand there completely frozen, watching while crying, as she knew there was no way she would be able to console her younger self. Additionally, she knew no one else would try as no one had ever offered her comfort or protection from her foes, even the boys she was somewhat friends with did little if nothing to shelter her from her abusive female bully who seemed to take no greater pleasure in making Melissa's life miserable, like a living hell on earth each and every day and most of the time multiple times a day. She watched as her younger self sometimes quietly and sometimes loudly took the savage cruelty dealt upon her, blow after heartbreaking blow, and was dumbfounded by the response or lack thereof, as if she was made of solid, frozen, unyielding, unfeeling stone or steel. She saw her younger version start becoming an island in the midst of all the chaos, a deserted island bare, lonely, forgotten, and lost adrift in the stormy seas of life, which were not very fair or forgiving. Moreover, since the island was not as beautiful as other islands, she was often overlooked and unwanted, or so she had perceived herself to be.
The intense, passionate agony, anguish, desolation, heartache, tears, vehemence, enmity, animosity, hate, rage, ferocity, antagonism, resentment, sorrow, angst, yearning, misery, depression, isolation, seclusion, exclusion, oppression, loneliness, pain, spite and any and all other emotions felt by her younger self were excruciatingly and dreadfully palpable unemotionally, expressionlessly, and blatantly etched resolutely on the inhuman, stony, frozen, coldhearted, unfeeling, unyielding, stoic yet aggrieved, indignant, incensed, flat-affected countenance of her younger self, as if she no longer possessed human feelings or emotions of any kind. The absolute coldness, bitterness, remoteness, aloofness, lack of interest, unresponsiveness, apathy, indifference, and distantness of her very own reaction traumatized her, absolutely chilling her to the bone as well as petrifying her to the very core of her being as she could see her intense, dazzling, vivid, bright, fiery spark for life all but die out. However, the adult version of Melissa could perceive that behind the cold, blackened, glossed-over, steely blue-gray eyes blazed an intense inferno of fury, resentment, and rage that burned vibrantly, intensely, dazzlingly, and fiercely and tears that would never be expressed due to a belief that in order to survive, one was required to prevent exposing any kind of Achilles' heel or chink in the toughened armor. She literally watched her younger self's personality shut down right in front of her eyes with no one else none the wiser.
Due to her own limited perception of having no other choice to survive, she watched herself as she transformed from a loving, carefree human child to an unfeeling, unemotional automaton in a human shell (something subhuman or inhuman – an android), something that could not feel nor did it need to feel as it could survive on its own with little maintenance or love. Watching her younger image shutdown right in front of her was the most disturbing image she could imagine, as even hope seemed to leave her younger self's body (even though hope never left, but was deeply buried). As she watched the gruesome and disturbing transformation, it petrified Melissa even more; this revelation was not what she anticipated it would be – it was worse, much worse than she thought it was and much worse than she imagined it could be. The adult Melissa realized all the things she had shut out and it made her head spin. What had she done? Was that really the only option to survive the trauma? But then, she noticed that there appeared to be no other alternative as ending it all was not a viable option and no one wanted to listen to her or comfort her though this extraordinarily difficult and trying time in her existence. She had learned to face the cold cruel world on her own starting at an age when innocence should shine through and a child should not feel the burning sting or the cold shoulder of the cold cruel world.
Her brokenness was hidden from those around her as she had learned that no one wanted to help her or even listen to her. She had to learn to deal with her bully alone and found the only out she could find that would allow her to exist in some form, even if it meant being less than human ands tucking any sort of human emotions far away where no one could reach them, not even her. The telltale eyes were the only place where one could tell Melissa had hidden secrets, and that was only if one looked extremely closely and carefully, which most people overlooked, assuming Melissa just had issues with the world and was a disturbed individual. No one ever suspected the real reason that Melissa had shut down. The toll on the young one's person was unfathomable, and Melissa remembered that she had no trusted adult to tell because he parents did not want to hear it and those at school ignored it and/or her (where many of her desperate pleas for help went unanswered). At this point in her dream, however, only the grown Melissa could see it, as the cold, dark, blackened, unfeeling, stone cold blue-gray eyes on her younger self told the entire devastating, distressing, excruciating detailed account of each and every hard-fought, heartbreaking, agonizing, excruciating, anguish-filled skirmish and battle of a seemingly inexhaustible, unceasing, never-ending war of words (and later on actions) fought solely to survive and nothing more, as it took all her energy just to keep her surviving.
Additionally, these stony, pained eyes showed each bloody red badge of courage marked on her scarred heart that would never show, but would continue to multiply; each one piling up on top of each other as the years rolled by with no help offered from those around her as those who could helped either ignored or pooh-poohed the situation. Moreover, very few if any of those wounds healed as Melissa just had buried all those deep inside her, hoping and praying that they would disappear. Nothing aggrieved and pained her more than seeing those who could have prevented this whole situation or at least have comforted her and helped her though it turn a deaf ear or give her traumatizing situation the cold shoulder, as if she was not important enough to save or the saying "kids will be kids". That in and of itself was bad, but nothing compared to the other phrase she heard so often that she thought she might puke.
Her most hated phrase of "get over it" continued ringing in her ears, angering her to no end – no one could possibly understand all the torture and distress she had been through and yet all they could say was "get over it" as if her feelings and experiences still did not matter and still giving her the cold shoulder. How can one be so callous and uncaring to tell her to get over something that she never had dealt with in the first place? Tell her that. She just could not understand what had gone on. What had she done to deserve this? Why had those who were placed in her life to protect and/or assist her fail to do so? Why did she have to go through this alone? What had selected her as one who would fall through all the cracks and why had she alone been selected? Why was she not worth saving? What was wrong with her that made everyone turn against her? These questions, plus many others, ran through her mind, plaguing her as she attempted to process and deal with all the trauma that had happened in her short lifespan.
Her exceptionally excruciating past flashed before her shocked, tear-filled, soft grayish-blue eyes. Oceans of emotions viciously billowed up inside her, bursting forth uncontrollably as water thundering through an overflowing dam: fury, abhorrence, agony, angst, anguish, animosity, distrust, mistrust, extreme rage, irritation, intense distress, anxiety, excessive cruelty, suffering, skepticism, disparagement, despondency, ambiguity, oppression, hatred, loneliness, sorrow, affliction, depression, doubt, and distress – just to name the minority of the multitude that overwhelmed her and rocked her to her very core. She was finally facing what she had so long pushed (or more so shoved) away from herself in hopes that it would have somehow magically disappeared before she would be able to attempt search for it to deal with it. And yet even now, she did not know if she had the strength to deal with it as it felt like all her strength had been abruptly and rapidly sapped right out of her, as if someone had just pulled the rug out from underneath her feet.
Moreover, the other, even more demoralizing part of this nightmare was to witness that those who possessed the power to have stepped in to impede this whole predicament deliberately chose not to stop the abuse for their own unexplainable rationale, which broke her battered and broken heart even more – was I really not worth saving, she pondered. The thought came to her mind that maybe the reason she was not saved or protected was because she was not human, she was less than human (or inhuman) and maybe she did not deserve to be saved, as only true human beings get saved not robots in human shells (androids), or robots in disguise. Life had played a cruel ruse on her and had dealt her a severely depraved hand as well as a devastating blow as she learned that if she wanted help, the only ones she could depend on were God and herself. Trust was not a luxury that she could afford, as she was never sure who could really be trusted, as many she had trusted in the past had dangerously violated her timid trust and hurt her profoundly, nearly killing her childlike, persevering, optimistic spirit entrenched inside her, hidden from view.
Meanwhile, in the real world, Melissa did not realize, due to her passing out, was that her loud thump when she crashed onto the bed caused Robin to jolt wide-awake. For a split second he was vaguely disoriented (as what typically happens when a person jolts wide awake from a deep, sound sleep), but then recognized that he was in Melissa's slightly cluttered residence (as she had been on the run for last couple weeks plus her time up at the JL satellite and was unable to clean it). He had come home with her after she was released from the sickbay in the JL satellite just to make sure she was okay, as she had been appallingly injured and had lost quite a bit of blood from her previous adventure on the run. Little did he know that Melissa was going to require him to pull through for her again (especially so soon after the last endeavor). He looked around for just a second to get his bearings.
He immediately noticed that someone had given him a warm, soft comforter and had gently, lovingly, affectionately tucked him in, and he assumed it had been Melissa. He thought it was extremely considerate, thoughtful, and caring of her. He counted his blessings, as he knew that she always watched out for him whether as Robin or as Dick Grayson, never giving either identity away that they were the same person – a ruse he knew from experience that was extremely complicated and fraught with peril. He now knew that he could completely trust her with his secret as she had done such a good job proving her worth and more. Robin's feelings for Melissa were now overwhelming his heart, and sometimes clouding his judgment, although she reminded him to make sure he stayed focused on current assignment. Robin still did not want Melissa to assist him, but the difference now was that Robin did not want Melissa to help for fear that she would be injured or worse – killed.
After hearing the raucous rumble, though, he hastily ran back to her bedroom and found her passed out on her bed, and breathing rapidly and shallowly – signs that were not indicative of a healthy person, and signs that she might possibly be having a severe panic attack – signs he had learned from her due him secretly watching her doing her job as a nurse plus all the times he talked to her about nursing. Due to the magnitude of blood she lost after the last adventure and the amount of stress she had suffered during the last adventure, Robin was extremely anxious and apprehensive when he saw her there, lying immobile other than for basic functions, such as breathing. He almost cried as he realized that if he did not do something, he might lose her forever. It took a few minutes for him to clear his head enough to think of what to do next, as seeing her lying helplessly on the bed tugged resolutely on his heartstrings. For the first time, he was hesitant in reacting to what had just happened. All he knew was that he was not willing to lose her.
As soon as he saw her and gathered most of his wits (while trying to prevent himself from crying), Robin swiftly called the Superfriends to come help him out. Batman and Superman for some mysterious rationale did not get the message right away or else they were occupied, but Wonder Woman and Aquaman did, along with the kids. They all headed out in Wonder Woman's invisible jet to aid Robin, who they could ascertain from the message had a major predicament at his location. Since he was at Melissa's place, they had to wonder what would be a quandary that Robin would be unable to handle alone. Nevertheless, they took off swiftly to help Robin. Little did they know what they would see when they arrived at Melissa's humble residence.
They speedily made their way to Melissa's residence and found Robin attempting to rouse Melissa and crying out in frustration of being unable and helpless to do so. Aquaman rushed in and helped Robin load her up into a car so that she could be taken back to the infirmary in the Hall of Justice, as Aquaman had no mode of transportation to get her up into space, and Wonder Woman's invisible jet could not land close enough. Robin's gait was slightly wobbly, but he went with the others to make sure that Melissa survived again. This time he could not grasp what had happened to her. Maybe she had lost too much blood and they had sent her home too prematurely? Who knew? Maybe they should not have listened to her when she said that she was ready to go back to her home. Robin started blaming himself, but stopped when he realized that Melissa was going to require him to pull through for her in able for her to make it through this time. He needed to pull himself together in order to be there for her, something he never thought would happen – she needed him.
Meanwhile as her body was being compassionately, kindheartedly, gently, and cautiously moved out of her cozy and familiar apartment by her concerned and anxious friends, Melissa was still ensnared in that atrocious dream world that mandated her to watch her anguishing past yet again without reprieve. As she watched, she felt particularly vulnerable as all she endured came back to haunt her, flooding her eyes with appalling, ghastly, and atrocious images she had hoped had long since vanished and departed. However, everywhere she turned she saw another juncture in her short existence where she was suffering from some form of persecution, whether it be from her repulsive school bully or herself wrestling with feelings, being unable to talk to anyone as she felt that no one believed her and trusting no one. She had become a loner and outcast with few friends – just enough to survive. She really had become the robot in a human shell, very few feelings left that were ever allowed to show through.
The agony and angst felt as genuine as it did the day it was inflicted, if not worse as it was almost as if it was a fresh wound, stabbing her right in her exceptionally vulnerable heart. She just wanted it all to end. She just froze, powerless to move and defenseless, tears streaming down her reddened, edematous face. Even her fallen tears seemed to mock her. She wanted no part of this, but her heart and mind had other ideas, they wanted her to get through this so that she would be able to have an open relationship with Robin, but she did not understand that – how could suffering or re-experiencing this agony bring her closer to anybody, she wondered. Maybe closer to suicide and ending it all, but not closer to someone else – she thought.
The heartbreaking images overwhelmed her and even though she could not take anymore, she was required to watch as all the agony, anguish, sorrow, and grief of her past that she had been harboring sprang up like wells, each showing her more pain from her past that she had not dealt with. After seeing all that her heart wanted to show her, she crumpled to her knees, then fell forward, and ended up in the fetal position, crying uncontrollably and shaking under a shady tree near a bubbling brook that even seemed to snicker at her and her excruciating angst. She felt so detached, alone, unwanted, unloved, despised, inhuman, forgotten, and forlorn. Her faith had sustained her, but it did not (nor could it) take away the anguish that she was suffering. Even though some of the wells were dry and closed from the time she had counseling, many wells remained open (some Melissa was not even aware of) and Melissa was now forced to take care of them. She was too traumatized to even know where to commence. A thought entered her mind about just ending it all, but that did not seem right or possible, and it seemed like the loser's way out, allowing someone else to win – and that was improper, intolerable, and absolutely deplorable in her mind.
Next thing she knew, as she was sitting in a fetal position crying near a weeping willow tree with its branches hiding most of her shaking body, a familiar group of voices came up to her. She recognized them as the Superfriends. First were the kids and the twins with their respective pets. She did not know if they would notice her, so she said nothing and continued silently sobbing, fearing that she was all alone in her pain and suffering. Following the young ones were the senior members of the group: Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Batman, and finally Robin. Melissa uttered not a word as she figured that she was invisible to them too in this nightmarish and horrendous world that she was held hostage in. However, she did not know that she was incredibly noticeable to these Superfriends, and they spotted her, curled up and crying as well as writhing in pain, seizing uncontrollably just from all the stress. They stopped and quietly approached her, concerned at how she looked, but none too sure how she would respond.
Superman was the first to address her, calmly asking her what was wrong in his deepest, most soothing (and anxious) voice. Melissa could not articulate, but just continued crying and quivering, almost to the point of convulsing. Batman and Aquaman were not sure exactly what to say, as saying the erroneous message would be counterproductive and cause more problems. Wonder Woman just stood there, uncertain as to what to do next as none of them had really ever seen Melissa in this condition. The kids were unable to approach her because the Superfriends kept them back, hesitant how Melissa would react if someone approached her. Who would dare approach her when she was like this? They assumed it did not matter now that Melissa would not be able to rationally converse with them.
Suddenly, Robin, of his own volition, was the only one who dared to approach her, somehow instinctively knowing that he could calm her down and only he knew how. He did not say a word, but placed a firm yet gentle guiding hand on Melissa's proximal shoulder. He gradually and lovingly moved her into a position so that she was crying on his shoulder while he held her affectionately in a hug, rocking her soothingly side to side to comfort her as well as calm her down. The rest of the Superfriends were bewildered, but Melissa eventually stopped trembling and crying and was able to be coherent. How did Robin know exactly what to do and what exactly was bothering Melissa?
She finally began to enlighten them about the scenes she had seen, and all the problems and anguish that they caused her. Even though this was in Melissa's mind, the Superfriends were still shocked at what she had to say. They had no idea that she had gone through such trials and tribulations when she was younger. The part that surprised them even more was the way she had inadvertently chosen to deal with the issues – she tried to bury them so in hopes that they would evaporate. Only now did Melissa realize (she explained) that the way she unconsciously chose did more harm than good. The fact that she chose that way at all baffled her, but she guessed anything to survive. Even though the Superfriends were shocked by this, to Melissa's great surprise (and relief), none of them left or ran away from her. Maybe, just maybe, the Superfriends were better friends than she had originally thought.
It was then that Melissa and the Superfriends noticed a red brick road, various bricks were bright red while most others were a much darker red and very solid. Unknowing to exactly where it would lead, Melissa and the Superfriends started down the long and windy path. Grave danger lurked ahead, but no one could tell for sure what threats there would be. The solitary warning sign in the area was the decrepit wooden sign with blood-red letters that stated, "Root of Bitterness, this way -." At this point, no one was too sure what exactly that meant, and no one knew that most would not last to see the final destination. Melissa had an inkling, as the road looked somewhat familiar to a thoroughfare she had traversed before, only this road trip would be slightly longer, as she had taken a short cut last time, by avoiding a few things here and there, which would make this journey much more difficult than last time.
As they started going down this bumpy thoroughfare, sinister and ominous looking vegetation were flanking the path to the right and to the left as the travelers were passing through the Forgotten Forest, the bare trees reaching their exposed branches over the passageway in hopes of ensnaring those journeying down this desolate, depressing passageway. Since Melissa was in the middle of the trail, between Batman and Robin, with Superman leading and Aquaman bringing up the rear, the only vulnerable ones were the kids and Wonder Woman. Everyone was keeping a lookout, but no one (except possibly Melissa) knew that these stark trees were a trap waiting to be sprung. The only question in Melissa's mind was who would be taken from her first?
Before anyone realized what had happened and in order to discourage Melissa, the trees sneakily and swiftly reached out and grabbed the young heroes, seemingly knowing that they were some of her friends who were closest to her even though they were not guarding her directly. The sinister, blackened, gnarly trees took the junior Superfriends completely off the pathway, which meant that the kids were now lost and unable to be saved, as once one went off the path; it was not possible to find your way back. Melissa did note that her friends were taken, and as much as it aggrieved her, she knew that they would wish for her to continue on toward her ultimate goal while leaving them here, as they believed she had the strength to make it, especially with the rest of the Superfriends still surrounding her. Therefore, Melissa somehow found the strength to keep going, even though she could still feel the fresh sting of losing her close friends. She was starting to comprehend possibly why the thoroughfare was dark crimson in color, and becoming a brighter cherry color (as well as more gooey) as they proceeded down the meandering, twisted, deformed passageway.
While Melissa was in a world of her own, out in the real world, the Superfriends were exceedingly anxious because now that they had brought her to sickbay, her heart was racing, as was her breathing – and there were no indications of what had caused her condition. Her body also shook from some kind of induced stress, but they could not tell what had caused this. They had no idea what to make of it. Even Batman and Superman were extremely concerned about her condition (which was rare as Melissa more often than not said she was fine no matter what came her way). Both Batman and Superman furiously studied medical books to attempt to determine the source for this circumstance. After determining that a loss of blood was the biggest culprit that they could find, they began to quickly transfuse blood and fluids into her system, as dehydration was also determined to be a primary culprit, with the blood loss a close second. They continually gave her intravenous fluids in hopes that she would come around soon. Superman even checked her over with his supervision and found something that needed to be repaired and he repaired it quickly. All they could do now was patiently wait to see if Melissa would come back to them.
Robin, still tremendously shaken up, kept a vigil at Melissa's side talking to her and reminding her of all their adventures to make sure she did not forget. Melissa had told him at one time that people who were in a coma could hear and exposing them to familiar things can potentially bring them out of the coma sooner, and so Robin was trying his best, knowing full well in his heart that Melissa would do the same if the roles were reversed. He hoped and prayed for the best. He knew it would be a complicated, rough road ahead, but he was going to hold out hope that all would be well in the end, just as Melissa always did. In his right hand, he held the precious, special necklace that Melissa always wore. It was not made of gold, silver, or any type of precious metal, but it was especially meaningful to Melissa, as it showed how strong her Christian faith was. On the beaded chain was a small pendant with a "basketball" in it and around the outside was the verse from Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Now that Melissa was out cold, Robin held the necklace close to his heart, reminding him that Christ would give him strength to get through this, no matter what happened. The chain was not long enough for Robin to wear it, so he kept it in his hand or in a special pocket so he could keep her close to his heart
Only when Robin was alone at Melissa's bedside did he shed any tears, realizing that if she did not come out of this, he might lose her forever. He had to do everything in his power to prevent that, and so exhausted, he prayed wholeheartedly for Melissa so that she would come out of this condition. He trusted that God would answer his prayer, but Robin knew that God did things in His own time. Robin held out hope, just like Melissa would if the situation was reversed, that all will be right in the end, whatever ending that was. Never before did Robin appreciate how optimistic and hopeful a person Melissa truly was until the situation was reversed and he had to be the one who held out hope (at a time when he had no idea what had happened to Melissa). He saw her cheerfulness and optimistic personality complimenting her defiant, independent yet caring personality, and he now longed for the indescribable personality that Melissa embodied when she was well. There was just something about her and her indefinable personality that Robin was not willing to give up just yet. In addition, he boldly prayed that he would not have to give her up, as to give her up might just break his heart and destroy him.
Meanwhile, back in Melissa's dream/coma (nightmare) world, Wonder Woman kept a much sharper eye out as they moved further down the path. Having past through the Forgotten Forest of loss, six of the original starters were still on the path. The remaining travelers did their best to protect each other, especially Melissa, as she was the one who needed to follow this path until the end. While they were all saddened by the first loss, they knew they had no alternative but to move along. Melissa knew that she would lose friends along the way as she had partially traveled this road before and several of her regular, best friends from college disappeared on her way before the point she was now at. If Melissa stopped for any reason now, though, she may never make it to the end and problems would occur. As they continued, no one was aware that the next trial would be the Desert of Doubt and Death.
As they slowly approached the shimmering, ebony sands, the scorching, blistering sun was biding his time, waiting for them to penetrate deep into his territory before he rose to cause his damage. None knew that where they were now entering was another device to dispirit those who were attempting to get to the root of bitterness, in the center of the Land of Heart. As they journeyed further into the merciless, unforgiving desert with its mountainous sand dunes, the blue-white sun rose unexpectedly and hastily heated up the ground and surrounding area. However, thanks to being in the middle of all the heroes and their capes (but mostly thanks to Jesus and her faith in Him), Melissa survived the ordeal, however, one of her closer friends, was taken from her. Aquaman, who urgently required water every hour to survive, was lost in the black shifting sands, severely dehydrated by the sweltering sun, and unable to continue down the road any further. Melissa cried and almost stopped, but a calm, heartening voice inside her encouraged her to go along, reminding her that the best way to save her friends was to continue forward, and so the weary little band forged ahead. In addition, as they left the desert, they realized that they were now down to five; the group was shrinking after each trial. No one could figure out why, but they knew they must keep moving along the meandering, scarlet path.
Moving further down the crimson road, they noticed, as they kept getting closer, that more and more bricks were becoming bright cherry in color and less were dark burgundy in color. Now Wonder Woman had taken Aquaman's spot in the rear, and still kept a sharp lookout. Quickly they were approaching the next trial on the path. Moreover, as they walked, they had no idea they were approaching an open meadow that was guarded by invisible raiders who would take what they saw fit. Their primary objective was to discourage those who tread the path without directly attacking the person because they were unable to form a direct attack as part of having the power to be invisible when they chose to be.
Prior to moving on, Superman scanned and scouted out the open meadow, and seeing nothing suspicious, encouraged the others to follow him through. However, since the raiders of this valley could not be picked up by any of Superman's special powers, he had no idea what he had led the group into as they walked across the grassland. All of the sudden, a rustling of leaves was heard, and the raiders attacked. However, they were not able to reach their intended target of Melissa, partially due to her friends and partially due to their limitations. Despite this, the raiders did their best to discourage Melissa by taking Wonder Woman with them, leaving Melissa more vulnerable since there were only three friends and her left. Batman and Robin now went from by her side, to on either side and slightly behind Melissa, to make up for the loss of Wonder Woman as well as the others. Robin was beginning to wonder just where this red thoroughfare would lead, not knowing or understanding that this was the road to the very heart of the Root of Bitterness, a foe that only one person would be able to challenge and defeat.
Melissa was once again stung by the actions of what had happened down the red brick road (that seemed to be come slightly less solid as they proceeded). She cried again, but kept going, pushed on by her friends that remained with her as well as the stirring in her heart and soul. The red thoroughfare was turning brighter red, and not only that but also was becoming much less contaminated, as if one was getting closer to the source. This sight not only encouraged but also discouraged Melissa as she knew she was getting closer but the closer she got to the goal, the more friends she lost. But she knew that she could not afford to stop. She must, at all costs, continue on to the very end – something inside her told her so. And since the voice inside calmed and soothed her, giving her a sense of peace, she listened to it and followed it closely and carefully.
Therefore, slowly trudging ever onward, the little band of wearisome explorers came to a technology-controlled ravine that needed to be descended in order to continue following the red brick road. Since Melissa had no gear on (and her dream had acted as if it were reality at this point), Melissa was gently flown down by Superman, as was Robin. However, Batman decided to try the Bat-rope, but was captured as the canyon wall held surreptitious doorways. These concealed doorways were hidden in order to capture and prevent those who continued down the path until the person was so discouraged they would give up. It took awhile for the small group to realize that Batman was not coming down, and they realized that he had now been captured. It was a little difficult to swallow, but they needed to leave him and move on. Now the group consisted of Superman, Melissa, and Robin, although no one realized that another member had been there the whole time, invisible to the naked eye, however the presence could not be shaken off by Melissa. This voice kept encouraging her to move on, to not stop until the end. This calm, reassuring voice encouraged her that when she kept seeking what she was in search of, she would find it.
After making it through the discouraging canyon, the little group came to an unassuming quiet stream surrounded by beautiful green grass that smelled as fresh as grass does on a cool summer's day just after it had been mowed, and decided to rest for a short while, even though Melissa was anxious to move along, somehow knowing that they should not stop. The grass was extremely lush and inviting without a brown spot to be found. A towering oak tree with lush, full branches sat near a tranquil, harmless tributary (to entice the person journeying to stop and rest long enough to forget moving on). Robin was a little hesitant to rest as was Melissa, but Superman said it would be a good idea, since both Robin and Melissa were mortal and Superman could keep an eye out. However, the path had other plans for another one of Melissa's friends. Melissa was not prepared to lose another friend, but she had come to expect it. Even though it was expected, the anguish that she felt was no less agonizing than any of the other previous snatchings had been.
As Superman was trying to fly up in search of the castle (flying above the ground that was off the path) that this root of bitterness was supposed to be in, he suddenly fell to the ground hard and writhed in pain. Robin and Melissa heard the crash and wondered what had happened. They ran over to see that Superman had crashed to the ground (now completely off the path, touching the ground outside of the path) and was writhing in excruciating pain, due to what had just happened to the green grass. The grass, which the moment before had been soft and swaying in the breeze, had changed, turning into green kryptonite, behind Robin and Melissa's backs, and Superman told Robin and Melissa to move along and leave him here, as saving him would prevent her from reaching her ultimate destination. Therefore, with heavy heart, Melissa and Robin moved further down the red road, although now it looked like a pulsing liquid and they found a small craft to continue onward. The path had now turned into a flowing stream of cherry colored liquid, looking a lot like bright red blood oozing from a fresh wound or a wound that had not had a chance to coagulate or congeal yet.
As they approached the dilapidated, black castle, massive weeds began surrounding the lone pair, attempting to choke the spark of seeking out of them. Robin, in trying to help Melissa, encouraged her to run as fast as she could, telling her that he would be right behind her. Moreover, while both made it through the weeds, that was nothing compared to what they ran into next. Something that Melissa would recognize and something that not even Robin would be able to help her with. They went through the thick wooden doors that had been designed to keep people out, but were broken down due to some prior trip down a different path to this place (counseling), but it was obvious that the previous visit did not get very far past the enormous wooden front doors of this decrepit, intolerable, ominous fortress.
Once inside, their senses were overwhelmed by various pungent smells, eerie sounds, and horrific sights, even the air felt sinister as if something was breathing heat down the back of their necks. They continued on, with the things assaulting all their senses getting worse until the reached the grand center room of this unholy, dilapidated, sinister castle. In the center of the largest of all the castle rooms, an enormous, revolting, hideous aged blackened tree that looked like it had died many years ago by burning was flourishing, its roots planted steadfastly in the "supple" ground. Robin and Melissa noticed that from its roots came the blood red path that had led them here, to this spine-chilling locale. Melissa now understood why the path was now red – it was the blood from this root of bitterness, which kept it alive. The red brick road had led Melissa here, a place where she knew was a place where many secrets had been hidden and feelings lay unexpressed. There was even a diminutive crack in the wall around the root, which was exactly where the blood had oozed from to lead Melissa here (as the first time Melissa came there was no trail to follow).
All the hurt, frustration, anger, and pent up emotions were locked in the tree, and that was what had caused it to mature, flourish, and endure. These withheld, constrained emotions were the very lifeblood of this Root of Bitterness. However, before Robin or Melissa could do anything, a creepy, barren branch reached out and instantly snatched Robin, leaving Melissa to fight the Root alone in the process. Melissa now found herself alone, facing the Root of Bitterness and knew that it was more than she could handle alone. She had no idea what she was going to do, as she had lost all her friends along the way, including the Superfriends. She had forgotten about one friend who would never leave her, and would be the only one who could help her and save her this time. Moreover, He was much closer to her than she realized.
Out of the blue, Melissa heard a sweet voice, a soothing, calming, comforting voice overflowing with love, hope, and peace. It was a familiar voice that had been there when she suffered through her past, and a voice that had been there when she experienced joyous times. This particular voice had always been there even when she could not always hear it. Melissa suddenly recognized this one voice, the last friend left. It was Jesus speaking gently and calmly to her broken heart. He reminded her to lean on Him and to cast her cares upon Him. Melissa dropped to her knees right there and knew that she needed to pray and trust God to remove this root of bitterness from her heart. She knew what she had to do, and she did it right then and there.
While she knelt to pray, the tree, thinking it had won started to reach for her to envelop her in a wallow of self-pity and animosity toward the rest of the world. As the tree attempted to greedily wrap its thorn-spiked, creepy bare branches around her to smother her, it realized that there was a field of force around her body. The harder it tried to get her, the more it began to realize that it had lost, as her last friend who would never desert her fought this battle for her, one that the sinister tree could not get rid of no matter what and one which limited the trees growth. The friend the tree hated the most now fought the tree, with more power than the root itself could even imagine.
The tree suddenly felt a tremendous terror and a new wind that it had not felt before. Melissa was defeating it, but it had no idea how. All Melissa did was kneel there, with her eyes closed, head bowed, and hands clasped whispering something under her breath that the tree was incapable to make out as a regular human language. Groans that were generally beyond the human hearing range were all the tree could make out that came out of her mouth, moans that also were beyond the human vocal range, ranging from extremely high to exceptionally low. This terrified the root as it realized that it had no way to protect itself from this friend who could not be stopped by any trap that it had set up to protect itself. This was especially now since the one individual who had been feeding, tending, and guarding it, now resigned from her post and allowed Jesus to remove this root from her heart, more so begging for Jesus to remove this root of bitterness from her heart.
Melissa kept praying and praying earnestly, asking God and Jesus to remove this root of bitterness in her heart and to give her a more discerning heart to God's will. She also asked God to take away her spirit of timidity and show her that she had the confidence to finish the tasks that he had set for her to accomplish. As she was praying this, the tree shrieked and shriveled, attempting to be defiant to the very end and not going away without a fight, just like Melissa. Melissa was completely unaware of it happening as the shield covered and protected her, but trusted and believed that God would never forsake her nor would He let her take on more than she could handle (with His help). She prayed and prayed as, unbeknownst to her, the overgrown ominous tree began to shrivel and die (although it would be a long time before it would ever be truly dead and a difficult fight).
As the tree began to shrivel and die, the red road began to coagulate and harden, as the blood stopped flowing and healing began to occur, starting in Melissa's wounded heart. Melissa cried, yelled, and moaned while she prayed as all of these pent up emotions were being released, not to return – she was convulsing violently as well. But after each intense release of unbridled emotion, Melissa felt better and stronger, knowing full well that she could climb this hurtle, as long as Jesus would give her the strength, which would be forever as long as she relied on Him and not her own strength. Her confidence also became stronger because of all that had happened, particularly confidence in herself and her God given abilities. She knew that she could do whatever she set her mind to as long as it was what God had planned for her. And she knew now that she would be able to help herself, with help from God, by telling her friends what had happened so that she could form true friendships with them.
Meantime in the normal, regular world, Robin, who had been watching her like a hawk, suddenly noticed the drastic change in her body systems. Her breathing rate had slowed to normal, as had her pulse, and her blood pressure dropped – she had finally come out of the panic stages, the violet shaking was over. Her expression was innocent, tranquil, and serene, almost too peaceful for what had occurred. These sudden and drastic changes terrified Robin as he thought she might be dying and seeing Jesus to be taken to heaven. Little did Robin realize that in Melissa's dream world, Jesus was helping her defeat and remove her root of bitterness and heal her broken heart. All Robin could do was uncomplainingly wait until Melissa would hopefully and finally come around. He had fortitude, but waiting this long was really trying his patience, and his feelings for Melissa. Yet Robin realized that Melissa would remain for longer (and had waited much longer for him) if the circumstances were reversed without complaining, and so he continued his vigil, not realizing or apprehensive that his health was not doing so well. His number one priority at this time was Melissa's condition. He could feel a gap in his heart as he realized his true feelings for Melissa, life without her would be extremely difficult to tolerate or bear.
As Melissa was concluding her desperate prayer in her own world, she noticed that the tree had been greatly reduced in magnitude and she knew that her unadulterated prayer had been answered. She knew that she would need to continue working on this, but Jesus would help her. She could feel him beside her, lifting her up; as she was tired from her journey. She felt like she was flying like Superman could in the real world. She also now felt a need to tell those who were closer to her what had happened so that they could fully understand what had happened and she could stop running from her past. Running was never going to solve anything and she realized that if she wanted to move on, she had to confront her past head on and tell others so that she could release that which held her back and made her hesitant. If she could get her friends to see beyond her shortcomings and her history, then she knew it would be another step on the road to recovery. In fact, she realized that the more honest she was and the more she was ready to move on, the weaker the root became.
As Melissa walked out of the dilapidated castle and into the bright, gorgeous sunshine, she noticed a group of people waiting for her. She saw the kids, Aquaman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman (as well as several other friends she had lost along the way). The only person she did not see right away was Robin. Where could he be? Suddenly, from behind the group, Robin came forward, still having the wound from meeting the Root of Bitterness. Melissa rushed to him to give him an enormous embrace, which healed the wound. However, this reunion would not happen in the way Melissa expected, as she suddenly felt herself being drawn away. She was literally ripped from his warm embrace, unsure of what had just happened. She kept her eyes on him until he faded away. Tears welled up in her eyes, what was going on? Why now? Why did the dream decide to rip her away at this point?
As Melissa was getting ready to kiss Robin in her dream, she slowly began to wake from her coma. After a few minutes of shock trying to figure out where she was, Melissa recognized the Hall of Justice sickbay and began looking around the room, noticing flowers and "get well soon" cards. After scanning the room and allowing her eyes to adjust to the dim light, Melissa noticed Robin was asleep, as it was late at night, and Melissa sat up in the bed and looked at him curiously. She wondered how she had gotten to this place and how long she had been out, as she thought she just had had a regular sleep cycle. She knew, somehow, that Robin had brought her here, but she could not figure out why. However, she did notice her familiar music and a petite nightlight that allowed her to make this place familiar and she wondered who would think of these little touches. In her heart, she knew it had to be Robin, as none of the others knew her that well. She also noticed the IV and the intravenous fluids, which made her even more curious. What had happened to her? Nothing happened that required that, or did it – she pondered.
As Melissa was finally getting her all of her bearings, she immediately noticed Robin, curled up asleep in the reclining chair next to her sickbay bed. She could see that he was shivering and chilly (as well as exhausted) and so she carefully, due to the IV pole, and silently got up from her bed to get him a comfortable, warm blanket as well as a pillow to rest his head on. She quickly found a blanket and cushion and delicately tucked him in, giving him a small peck on the forehead before she climbed back into her infirmary bed to rest, not realizing how long she had been out in her coma. She just knew that she would need her rest to take care of Robin, and anyone else who needed it. Before she fell back asleep, she noticed that Robin had stopped shivering and was actually beginning to get some worthwhile yet fitful sleep. She drifted off to sleep, peacefully resting in order to be ready for the coming day. She knew she would need her full strength to take care of Robin, or at least as much strength as she could muster, considering she still felt particularly fragile.
Later on that night, a lethargic, exhausted Robin woke up to the beeping of the IV machine; somehow it had become unplugged and was running on empty. Due to his tiredness, Robin did not notice the blanket or pillow, but plugged in the IV pole and put a new bag of intravenous fluids up. He figured that someone else must have come in and accidentally unplugged it or he forgot to plug it in from earlier. He checked on Melissa and saw that she was still out of it (or so it appeared). He desperately prayed that God would return her to him. Hoping for the best, he decided to try to rest again. He settled back into his chair, after scooting just a tad closer to the bed. He fell asleep once again. Melissa woke up just after he fell asleep, and noticed that the blanket had fallen off. Therefore, she quietly tucked him back in, and then fell asleep in her infirmary bed, as her energy threshold was still incredibly minimal. After she crawled back in bed and fell asleep, morning slowly crept in.
The next morning, Robin woke with a bit of a start, as if something had startled him. He slowly realized that he had been tucked in but was not sure who did it, as Melissa was still lying fast asleep in the bed next to him. He also realized that his head had been resting on Melissa's supple (and slightly flabby) abdomen, but that was not too unexpected, as it had happened the night before – Robin guessed that he had been making sure Melissa did not leave him. As long as she was warm and her abdomen was moving, she was alive and fine. He quickly got up as the other Superfriends were going to come in soon to check on Melissa, and he could ask them if any of them had given him the blanket. He looked at Melissa, anxiously hoping that she would finally wake today, as it was the morning of the third day since she had passed out, and the beautiful golden morning sun shone brilliantly, intensely, vibrantly, dazzlingly, flamboyantly, and luminously outside. It had been grey and cloudy with thunderstorms the past two days, and he was happy to see the bright golden sun, hoping that it would mean good things for Melissa and himself. He quickly said another prayer before he sat up to continue his vigil at Melissa's bedside. After making her look somewhat presentable, he prepared for the super guests that were about to arrive.
As the Superfriends came in one by one to check on Melissa, Robin asked each one the same inquiry. Superman, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, and Batman all denied giving him a blanket, saying that he must have gotten cold and got one himself. Either that or he sleepwalked. However, they were perplexed when Robin avowed that it looked like he had been carefully tucked in. No one could figure it out, although most thought that Robin was just sleep deprived, as he had not been getting much rest due to Melissa's fragile and delicate condition. Robin was beginning to feel like he was possibly losing it. Maybe it was just his imagination. He began to crack under the strain – what was going to happen and why couldn't he do anything about it? He felt so alone.
As the other Superfriends left because of missions, Robin remained at Melissa's beside. He knew that she might panic when she woke in a strange place, and he wanted to be there to comfort her and prevent her from panicking. He even had music (Melissa's iPod) constantly going and a small light always on should she come around when he was asleep so she will not freak out. Robin even found reassurance in her eclectic taste in music, as if it was her speaking through her music to him, (although several choices left a lot to be desired and left quite a few questions in Robin's mind to some time ask Melissa about it – if got another opportunity). Robin had no idea that Melissa had such a variety because she listened to certain songs depending on her mood. He did understand that music spoke to her and that she only listened to certain things at certain times, but he just did not realize how much influence her mood and music played in her life. She was not just a lover of sports but also a lover of the performing arts.
While Robin was staring blankly out the window with tears in his big, soft, deep royal blue eyes and dozens of unanswered questions in his heart, Melissa finally woke up from her catnap. In noticing that Robin was staring out the window confused and crying, she silently went over to him and placed her left hand gently and soothingly upon his right shoulder. The extra pressure on his broad shoulder made Robin almost jump out of his skin, and he turned around quickly, throwing a punch before asking questions, as goons before had grabbed him when this happened. Melissa, expecting this particular reaction, dodged the blow, although the full glass of water that was sitting on the tray table next to the sickbay bed was not so fortunate. The water splashed on the sheets as Melissa realized that she must act swiftly with her restricted energy to pacify a distraught Robin. Robin had reached his breaking point and he needed her to take care of him– that much she knew.
As soon as she was able to, Melissa settled Robin down by affectionately holding him in a warm, soothing, loving embrace, instead of the other way around, as Robin was a nervous wreck, as he had not left Melissa's side during the entire duration of her being in the Justice Hall Sickbay. (Moreover, since Robin was fatigued, Melissa was effortlessly able to handle him and gently restrain him to calm him down by rocking him tenderly back and forth, almost like a mother rocks an infant to calm it). Robin then realized that Melissa was no longer in the bed and was holding him strongly yet soothingly to help him control his instilled reflexes so that he could not injure her. However, he could see several small contusions on her left arm that he knew with absolute certainty he had left from jumping up when she reached out and gently placed her hand on him. Since he was so exhausted, he did not fight her but instead just broke down in Melissa's warm, soft arms and together they sat holding onto one another, neither saying a word, but neither needing to, knowing it was not necessary. They both cried tears of joy while embracing each other tightly, after locking lips. They were happy to be reunited, and Melissa stated that she wanted to head home.
Robin, who had been so stressed out, broke down and cried happy tears on Melissa's welcoming shoulders, now that Melissa was back. She had survived, as she somehow always does. While she gently stroked his back, Melissa informed Robin that she had woke up last night and found him shivering in the chair and had tucked him in. Robin, still a little in shock, just gave Melissa a bigger hug. Melissa actually noticed that Robin was to the point where he could almost not function, and that was not good, Melissa knew that from experience as a nurse. In addition, her focus abruptly shifted from her health to his health, which was suffering precariously at this point, much more so in her mind, although neither had a great amount of energy at this point.
Melissa gave Robin something to sedate him after leaving the Hall of Justice and getting somehow back to her apartment. Robin needed his rest, she knew, and he would not get it being in the Hall of Justice, and she was determined that she would watch him to make sure he got the rest he desperately needed. She placed him on the inflated, comfy Aerobed® in her apartment, wrapping him up like a baby and allowing him to rest. He looked so adorable that she could not fathom ever leaving him or having him leave her. He was now sleeping, and she could tell it was the restful sleep that would help him regain his full strength. Hopefully, this rest would help him as she realized that her own strength was much more fragile than it typically was when she was at full strength, something that would take awhile to reacquire.
She neglected to tell the other Superfriends what had happened because she wanted Robin to rest and not be disturbed. Also, she needed some time to process what had happened to her and she was unsure how she should approach or broach the subject with her friends. Millions of anxious questions filled her head, precluding her from focusing and remembering to ring the Superfriends. She knew she needed to regain her vigor as well and so she lay down and took a siesta. She was still not back at 100 percent, but she thought that she was much better than Robin was now. She knew that if she did not regain her strength she would not be able to give to others, but she also knew that Robin needed her help. In other words, she was again at war with herself.
When the others returned to the Hall, they found Melissa and Robin gone. What had happened? They checked the Justice League recorder, but somehow it had enigmatically been turned off during a certain crucial time frame. No vehicles or supplies were missing except the Bat Multi-craft. Superman and Batman surmised that maybe Robin had decided to take Melissa back home in hopes that she would wake up there, as all of Melissa's stuff was gone as well. Maybe Melissa was getting worse and Robin knew that she would rather be at home than here, but something about that scenario did not make sense. Robin would have informed the others if that were the case. Aquaman and Wonder Woman checked in the computer to see if there was anyway of knowing what had happened. Some how the cameras in the place had temporarily blanked out simultaneously. This puzzled the Superfriends. Then, Aquaman was the one who reminded the Superfriends of Melissa's watch tracking device and told the others to verify that to see if they could locate Melissa, knowing that there was an excellent chance that Robin would be close in tow.
Using the unknown, hidden tracking device in Melissa's Superfriends wristwatch, the Superfriends learned that at least Melissa had somehow traveled back to her home in Decatur, Illinois, possibly by Robin deciding to let her rest in her own home – maybe things had gotten worse and so Robin took her home one last time. Not surprising, but especially curious, as the other Superfriends thought that Melissa was still in a coma-like state. Superman and Batman flew to the area of Melissa's apartment. They were not prepared for what they found, but slightly agitated that no one had informed them of what was going on.
Once they arrived at Melissa's place, they banged loudly on the apartment door, and most shockingly, Melissa answered, through the door as she was petrified of who was at the door as she had no way of knowing it was her friends, especially after the thunderous banging. Superman informed her that it was he and Batman coming to check on exactly what was going on and the door better be opened. Melissa let them in (to their surprise) and cowered toward the back of the room (to their greater surprise) – she was still exceptionally fragile from her whole episode. For once, both powerful, impressive, mighty heroes saw Melissa delicate, fragile, ill, terrified, wounded, frightened, enervated, defenseless, vulnerable, helpless, and susceptible as she promptly cowered in the distant corner, shaking significantly and unable to stand up on her own. Superman and Batman were befuddled as this whole situation was bizarre and Melissa was acting extraordinarily different from normal.
Almost immediately, they realized they might have been a little too demanding and tried to make Melissa feel more comfortable so they could ask her questions. Superman even soothingly lifted the quivering and fragile Melissa up and set her on the couch, making sure not to hurt her any more than she already was. Superman and Batman were exceptionally astonished, as they had expected that Robin decided to take Melissa back, not the other way around (except for the fact that Melissa did not know how to operate the Bat Multi-craft, so it must have been a joint venture). Melissa told them to not be so loud as Robin was asleep and was not to be disturbed. Robin had expended most of his vigor keeping vigil while Melissa was unconscious, and Melissa was returning the favor out of the kindness of her heart and her intense feelings for Robin, though they could see she did not have much more vigor than Robin had when they last checked in on the pair. In fact, she had much less vigor than Robin, but they knew from the experience of Melissa taking care of Superman that Melissa will care for others even at her own expense.
When they asked about Robin, she feebly pointed toward the airbed in the guest room. They looked in and realized that Robin had been so exhausted from keeping vigil at Melissa's beside that now Melissa was caring for Robin, an ironic twist. Robin was tucked in with a warm blanket and looked like an overgrown baby sleeping time away (no one knew Melissa had sedated Robin to get him to rest). They left Robin in peace, shut the door to the room, and headed back to the living room to quietly talk amongst themselves, trying not to wake Robin in the process. Melissa was allowed to rest while they chatted, but that did not stop Batman and Superman from expressing their concerns over what had happened.
After a couple hours of lecturing Melissa (without Melissa having much of a chance to get a word in edgewise, nor having the strength to do so) about leaving without telling them, Batman and Superman asked Melissa to tell them what had happened while she was out as her vital signs fluctuated quite often. They explained to her that she had been out for three whole days and had to receive fluids among other things to help her gain strength and survive. Melissa was shocked by this, but knew that maybe that was why she had the dream she did. As for what had happened, Melissa said she wanted to wait until Robin was better to talk about that. She was unsure if she would be able to tell the story more than once, and so she wanted everyone to hear it at one time.
And, at that precise moment, Robin woke up, feeling better, full of energy, and realizing that he was in an unfamiliar yet familiar place. Robin noticed that he was in a room with all kinds of Minnesota paraphernalia and noticed that he was lying on an airbed, wrapped up in a warm blanket and a gentle comforter. Robin slowly climbed out of the airbed and erratically walked out the guestroom door, still tired from his vigil, only to see Bruce and Clark, in their superhero costumes, talking with Melissa about him and what had gone on. He could tell that Melissa still had extremely little energy, but he realized that it did not stop her from focusing her limited energy on him. He had more energy than her and yet she was still willing to put her life on the line to make sure he got better. He realized at this point just how special she was to him.
Robin made his presence known, and Melissa halfway jumped up to give him a huge embrace and a kiss, which used about all the energy she possessed. Robin, of course, reciprocated the actions, helping Melissa to remain standing long enough for the hug and kiss, then assisting her back to the futon so that she would not fall. Bruce (Batman) and Clark (Superman) smiled and laughed. Robin and Melissa had obviously had feelings for each other for a while; however, it took the last two episodes where Melissa was almost lost for Robin to realize his feelings, as Melissa had realized her feelings already, just was unsure how Robin would take what she had to tell him (fairly soon).
After the happy reunion, Melissa asked Superman to fly them to the Hall of Justice so she could tell them what had happened to her. All waited in eager anticipation of what she was going to say. Melissa took a huge gulp, as she knew that once they arrived at the Hall of Justice and all the Superfriends were assembled, she would be completely opening herself up to all who were present and she was terrified although she knew it needed to be done, especially if she ever wanted to keep Robin. She prayed sincerely and desperately that what she said would not push Robin away from her. If it did, it might just crush her, more so than anything else that she ever had experienced as she was still fighting her depression that was caused by the very things she was going to divulge. She inaudibly, pleadingly prayed all the way to the Hall of Justice and left everything in God's more than capable hands. If anyone knew the way to go, God did.
Once at the Hall, Melissa sat all the members down and began to elucidate about her dream that she had experienced. She told them about her nightmare in as much detail as she could remember (which was quite a bit). She talked about the red brick road and the stripping away of all her protection and friends, which demonstrated vulnerability. She talked about this first, as the first horrific part of the nightmare would come afterward, that is if it needed to be exposed. (She was extremely anxious and nervous about this whole thing, but knew it was vitally important to explain.) The Superfriends were surprised at the vividness in which she remembered the dream and what happened to each person. At least it had a somewhat successful conclusion.
After she told the finale of that nightmare, the Superfriends questioned her further, realizing that there must be more to the nightmare that Melissa was not telling. Melissa then finally gave up one of her longest, most painful, most guarded secrets of what had happened to her at many different junctures in her short life. She talked about the incessant bullying and about how she felt so alone because she could not converse with anyone or trust anyone to believe her about what was going on. She spilled the beans of what she had gone through, every last facet that she had memorized. Melissa poured her broken heart and anxious soul out, releasing much of the pain and grief that had been pent up for so many years. Tears filled her gray-blue eyes, anguish filled her shaky voice, and vehemence raged through her trembling body, causing her to struggle to stay cool, calm and collected. She was using absolutely every ounce of her restricted energy to keep herself from bolting and hiding. As she kept going, she began to severely tremble, from combating staying and talking rather than bolting in her wounded and weakened condition. At the conclusion, Melissa was almost incoherent and was bawling (as well as petrified). She was so strained from resisting the instinct to flee that she just dropped down onto her hands and knees in defeat, hoping and praying that they would still accept her now that they knew the shocking truth of her short life.
All the Superfriends, especially Robin and the Twins, were stunned to heed what she had gone through in her life, all the experiences she survived just to get to be where she was today. They had no idea that bullying like that happens so prevalently, and that Melissa was living proof. Her fragile and powerful emotions poured out, as if an old dam had finally been unplugged and allowed to drain much of the build up and the extreme pressure that had been built up behind it. Even though she could laugh at some of it, most of it was too painful to elicit any sort of reaction besides tears, hurt, pain, and possibly anger. And, they did not realize how it felt to survive such a tumultuous time especially with the person feeling like she had nowhere to turn and was left completely alone with no support visible in the person's eyes. This explained a lot about Melissa's past actions and why she was proficient in survival during the times that she had. She had been a survivor all her life, only trusting that she could rely on God and herself, although more recently she had started to learn that she could sometimes trust others to assist her. This really opened the Superfriends' eyes to see life through Melissa's eyes. Now they were able to understand her much better.
After Melissa exposed her most vulnerable aspect as well as her most guarded secrets to all who were present, she was somewhat relieved, but also immensely petrified that her friends would abandon her. (As some had done in the past and most of them had no idea.) She had even mentioned that to them, which surprised them to no end. Now that they knew her most fortified secrets about her life scars and trials, there was nothing left to do but await their reactions. Minutes went by where no one said anything, drawing sweat to Melissa's apprehensive brow and causing her enormous anxiety – as those minutes felt like hours. It was so still one could hear a pin drop.
After what seemed like forever to Melissa and her poor broken heart and body, Jayna finally broke the silence in a different way than anyone expected, particularly Melissa. Jayna went up to Melissa, raised her head up, and gave her a colossal embrace, as Jayna now realized how and why Melissa could understand how the twins felt, though the experience was different, Jayna now could see the numerous similarities between Melissa's experiences and hers and her brother's experience, although there was one vast difference (besides being from different worlds). The biggest difference, Jayna realized, was that Melissa had to deal with everything by herself alone, something Jayna did not know if she would have had the strength to survive if she did not have her brother for support. Melissa wept aloud, unable to prevent the deluge of tears now flowing in two solid streams from her terrified, saddened blue-gray eyes. Zan also went up and gave Melissa a gigantic hug. The others were still in such a state of shock that they did not move and were unable to move.
Robin, after learning all of Melissa's past, now understood why she kept this side away from others. She had such a soft, caring, gentle, loving, sensitive side that to counteract it she had to become tough, extremely feisty, independent, apathetic, fierce, sarcastic, unyielding, and downright cold even though she had a heart of Blue and Gold that bled bright red. Her heart was scars upon scars, not all of them healed, as well as some wounds that had not even begun to heal yet. Being durable, inhuman, emotionless, and hard-hitting was how she survived all those years of torment, as crying, acting altruistic, being human and being soft would have shown weakness to her adversaries. She had learned that lesson a lot earlier than most people, at least in Robin's mind, who did not know in 1st grade that showing weakness was grave, the way Melissa did. The "robot" that Melissa transformed into became a prison to her in which she had become trapped, unable to escape her own protective creation. Her walls had worked so well to keep others from getting in that only now she realized she left herself no way out.
Robin knew from all of Batman's years of teaching that to show weakness to your enemies was the surest way to be defeated and exploited, but he learned that much later than Melissa did. This was when he realized why his innocent, joking remarks that one time hurt Melissa so much, even though she did (tried) not let it show. He had done the very thing that hurts her most, and he was incensed at himself for doing that. He could not believe that he had done the one thing that cuts straight to her heart and yet she still wanted him and he wanted her. The only thing, he learned, that made her hurt worse than her secrets and her past was being abandoned by those she loved and trusted – which had happened a couple of times previously, leaving her feeling even more alone and vulnerable as well as her confidence and trust in herself and others shattered.
After Robin had finally learned that the rationale for Melissa never crying in public, he realized that all the crap that she had put up with was just unbelievable, as he did not understand how anyone could be so cruel to someone so benevolent, mellow, lovable, and compassionate even if she did have a bit of a fiery, rebellious, defiant side. She was so gentle, caring, and soft inside that Robin truly realized that Melissa was still working out who she really was, and her two or more sides were at war with each other, each not yet ready to work together to find Melissa's true self. Robin was so astounded and dumbfounded that he decided that he had to escape from the room because he just could not handle the reality of what had just been said by Melissa. The information was too heavy to handle without being able to process it.
As he headed out, he hoped to sneak out without being caught, but he had no such luck. Melissa saw him out of the corner of her eye leaving the room, and fearing that he no longer wanted her or to be her friend, began to bawl uncontrollably, as her knees gave out from under her and she crashed to the ground heavily, bruising her knees and hurting her wrists. She felt that she just lost the one thing she wanted to hold onto so dearly. Wonder Woman, noticing that Robin had walked off and Melissa's reaction to the action went to talk to Robin. Wonder Woman obviously knew that Robin had no clue what he had just done by walking out to do whatever he needed/wanted to do.
When Wonder Woman finally reached Robin, Robin was kicking the ground, perturbed as well as perplexed. She walked up to him and asked him what was wrong. Robin told her that he needed to get away and think. The reality of what Melissa said just was too much to take in all at once and Robin required sometime to consider it. Wonder Woman asked if Robin realized that the way he left the room made Melissa feel like he was abandoning her. Robin suddenly jerked around when Wonder Woman said that as that was not what he intended. He realized that he had just done what Melissa had hoped and prayed he would not do when she told her narrative. He also realized that if he did not go back in there promptly and profusely apologize as well as beg for forgiveness, he might lose Melissa forever, something that would crush him completely. He knew precisely what he needed to do, but the question was would Melissa ever exonerate him for his perceived callousness (he wondered)?
As Robin promptly headed back inside, he could see with his startled eyes that the bawling Melissa was being warmly and gently consoled by Jayna and Wendy (bruises apparent on Melissa's knees, hands, and wrists) while the other males stood around, not wanting to get involved but in tremendous shock that Robin would opt to disappear at that precise time without any regard for those around him, especially Melissa. Superman and Aquaman were standing there, cross-armed, sternly and intensely looking at Robin, as was Batman – the scornful looks on their stoic faces spoke volumes, as they knew that one never does that when another opens herself to the other, exposing her most vulnerable points. Marvin and Zan were just watching as they lacked the experience to comprehend exactly what had happened because of Robin's actions, but were learning that what Robin did was not what was supposed to happen nor was it appropriate. They both glared at Robin, mimicking the scornful looks they saw on the older members countenances.
Robin felt extremely minuscule, if not microscopic, as he passed by each of the older Superheroes, already feeling dreadful and blameworthy that he had made Melissa feel like he abandoned her. It was now much more evident to Robin that he had done the erroneous thing by choosing to leave the room when he did, as at least five sets of angry eyes glared crossly and unsympathetically at him. Robin could not look a single person in the eye as he continued walking progressively and carefully toward where Melissa was sitting, still crying with streams of tears dropping from her tear-filled, soft, hurt, bluish-gray eyes and her wet, reddened, edematous face.
Melissa was not looking as she was still sobbing on Jayna's shoulder further away from Robin. Robin, feeling small in all the unsympathetic glares, sauntered slowly up to where Melissa was sitting and sat down next to her, soothingly taking Jayna's place while trying to evade the irate gaze in Jayna's piercing, purple eyes as well as Wendy's intense, blue-eyed stare. Even Jayna and Wendy, who were inexperienced in art of dating and relationships (Jayna was unsure how things worked here on earth), knew enough that when someone opens herself up to someone the last thing she wants is for the guy to walk out and make her feel like he has abandoned her. In other words, the guy was basically shooting her down when she is the most vulnerable; as she has just opened herself completely up to be judged with no protection between him and her very heart and soul.
Robin gradually reached for her hand, hoping against hope that she would not pull away. At first, she did pull away a little, but then she let him grasp her hand. Jayna and Wendy moved further away at this point, still giving Robin the irate, belittling glare, and Robin gave Melissa a gigantic embrace and profusely apologized, hoping against hope that Melissa would forgive him for what he had done. Melissa, bless her heart, forgave him after telling him exactly how he made her feel. Robin took that in stride (as he had just learned her secrets) and finally asked her to officially be his girlfriend. Melissa was so surprised that she almost toppled over in her chair on top of Robin. She said yes, and the others were happy for the couple, although the other male Superheroes quickly and quietly took Robin aside and told him never to walk out on Melissa again, or he would have to deal with them. Both Robin and Melissa let out an enormous sigh of relief, knowing that the feelings that they felt were mutual and reciprocated.
Not too long after this adventure, Dick Grayson (Robin) and Melissa were wed, after a surprise proposal by Robin which was an adventure that all the Superfriends were in on and allowed Robin to rescue Melissa (who had no idea what was going on until afterwards, but fortunately she still said yes). Melissa's friends and family were invited, along with Robin's friends. Firestorm, Speedy, and Kid Flash were the groomsmen while Aqualad was best man (in their normal identities of course). Melissa's friends were bridesmaids and Melissa's sister was her maid of honor. Bruce Wayne, Clark Kent, Arthur Curry, Hal Jordan, John Jones, Barry Allen and Ray Palmer were all ushers. Diana Prince, Wonder Girl (as her normal self), Wendy and Jayna were handing out the bags of rice. Zan and Marvin helped seat people as well. Cyborg was unable to attend the wedding, but sent along his hardiest congratulations to the happy new couple. Snapper Carr, who was unable to attend due to being out of the country, even sent his congratulations to the happy new couple. It was an exquisite, picturesque, romantic wedding, not extravagant but simply elegant.
Even though married, Robin still goes and helps the Superfriends. Melissa does her job as a nurse as well as helping out the Superfriends when they need it. People ask her all the time what it is like to be married to Dick Grayson and have Bruce Wayne as well as Clark Kent as a close contact. Melissa says nothing, letting them think what they want as she knows that she has been given the secret trust of the Superfriends, especially Aquaman, Superman, Batman, and Robin. Robin and Melissa are even now expecting their first little ones to arrive soon, triplet sons. Everything has ended well for Melissa and she now looks forward to what lies ahead, knowing that she will be taken care of no matter what happens in the future.