With the Team, at the Bio-Ship...
"I sure hope Wolf already found them." Miss Martian said to the team, all of which are waiting inside of the Bio-Ship to keep warm from the cold and wind.
"Well, whatever's taking them so long to get here, he better be bringing them back." Superboy stated, folding his arms against his chest and keeping his gaze in front of him through the window of the ship. He's been using his Super-Vision the moment his canine companion ran off to go find Kid Flash and Robin after giving him a command when Batman cut off communication with them. So far, he sees nothing but trees and snow, and he would be able to tell if Wolf and the guys are coming back with his Infrared Vision to detect their body heat.
Even though Black Canary has taught him to control his anger and become more patient than he has been when he first joined the team, her teaching methods on keeping him calm are failing him as the minutes slowly passes by. He wasn't frustrated that they had to stay in Alaska and continue to freeze to death, even though they're in the Bio-Ship to shield them from the cold. He's frustrated that two of his surrogate-brothers hadn't came back to the ship and could be dying from the cold, making his family incomplete and not together. He's even more furious that if Wolf doesn't bring Robin on the ship and present him to Batman through the hologram-screen, the Dark Knight will cut their time together from a whole week to two days, which could possibly go smaller if the Boy Wonder were to be called back to Gotham if trouble were to be too much for the Dark Knight to handle on his own.
"They better hurry; only one minute until half the time is up and then we'll have to report back to Batman." Artemis informed, keeping her eyes on the timer that showed it to be 5:57 before five minutes has passed. Since Aqualad told the Dark Knight of Robin and Kid Flash hasn't returned to the Bio-Ship and that they haven't seen them since the explosion, Batman was more than ready to get on the Bat-Plane and head for Alaska, himself, to search for his missing bird. However, knowing that he and the Justice League have to let the team solve or fix their own problems when on a mission, he decided to give them a little time challenge to find their missing comrades:
If Robin and Kid Flash are to return to the Bio-Ship within the next ten minutes, then he will talk to the Justice League on having the Team join them on a mission that'll require them to be on a covert mission. He even promised to allow Robin to stay an extra three days at the mountain, no interruption or exception, unless it's of outmost importance to return to Gotham City. However, if none of them return when ten minutes is up, not only will the Dark Knight cut the time of Robin staying with them from a week to two days, but he'll also bench them all from any mission assignments for a whole month and will increase their training time from four hours a day to seven hours a day... Along with a possible chance on taking the Boy Wonder off the Team, to at most be a part-time member if it's for a mission that needs a hacker.
None of the group wanted that in the least, especially on having their bonding time with Robin to be more shorter than it already has been, let alone be taken off from the team, their family. So, with a quick decision on letting their best tracker to go off to search for them first, Conner had Wolf leave the warm-comfort of the Bio-Ship and head off through the cold snowstorm to track down the two guys' scents and bring them back on his own. If the white-beast were to not be able to find them when the first five minutes are up or has found them but cannot bring them back on his own, then the team will fly to where Wolf's destination is located from the assistance of M'gann's Telekinesis Powers.
Twenty seconds went by and with another thirty-seven more seconds to announce five minutes has gone by, Superboy grew more and more impatient on waiting, that his continuous fidgeting was growing more and more stronger and louder, so close to have the front of the Bio-Ship to sink further into the snow. Miss Martian winced from the way the Bio-Ship being forced to go down another inch or two into the snow, which felt like a migraine is forming within her mind, thanks to her and the ship being connected by mind and thought, and is making it difficult to sense out for Wolf and the two boys if the half-Kryptonian kept on his continuous fidgeting.
"Conner, you're hurting us." She told her boyfriend, who immediately stopped when he didn't realize that his thumping has been hurting the ship and his girlfriend and forcing them to sink into the snow. Even though it's forbidden to speak their actual names when on a mission, they're all inside the ship and with nobody to hear in on their conversation, then it was alright to speak their civilian names.
"Sorry, M'gann." He apologized, gazing down to where his feet are set to rest on the floor and winced from the sight of a dent going through the floor that his right-foot has made. "I didn't realize how much strength I was putting into my leg." The moment he had stopped his thumping, Miss Martian's migraine immediately stopped and both she and the Bio-Ship no longer felt the pain building up. Though, because of the continuous tapping digging into their mind, the martian can't get them out of the snow that they sunk into until the ache that's been left by the headache completely goes away.
"There's no need for you to get upset over your action, Conner." Aqualad comforted the half-Kryptonian, who sat at the left-side of the sixteen year-old at the front of the Bio-Ship. "Although, if it isn't too much to ask, can you get the Bio-Ship out of the snow, so that M'gann can open the hatch once Wolf arrives with Robin and Kid Flash?" Seeing that it would be best to give Miss Martian a few moments away from the negative energy, the half-Kryptonian silently stood from his seat and made his way to the back of the ship, where he made his way through the Storage Room and the Bio-Ship made a hole big enough for Superboy to reenter the frozen wasteland of Alaska. Though the face of the ship is buried into the snow, the ground below Superboy isn't even a mere foot away and when he hop off the Bio-Ship, his feet barely went an inch deep into the snow he landed on.
'Damn,' he thought to himself. 'I knew that my continuous tapping would cause the ship to lose its balance and possibly sink into the ground, but I wasn't expecting it to actually go through the snow, since the ground is as strong and solid as concrete, especially when I barely used even a quarter of my strength to cause it to go down.' He then placed both his hands underneath the back of the ship and after making sure that his grip won't go slack and accidentally let go if the snow makes his grip slippery, he slowly but quickly pulled the ship out of the snow. It took him eleven seconds to get the whole Bio-Ship out of the snow and another six seconds to gently place it on another spot that won't give away from the extra added weight. The moment she felt the ground beneath her won't collapse and have them trap in the snowbank again, the Bio-ship opened the hatch to allow Superboy back within the warmth and comfort inside herself and await with the rest of the team. With that time being used and adding another seven seconds when he made his way out of the Bio-Ship, Wolf and the two boys now had thirteen seconds left until the half time is up.
Conner wished that he has the ability to fly like Superman, so that he can go find him and then quickly get them to the Bio-Ship to contact Batman in just under five seconds. Sadly, thanks to his human-blood, it only gave him half the powers of Superman and limits the use of his powers. Still, if Conner were to be given a chance to become a full-Kryptonian, he would choose to stay as a half-Kryptonian... Although, he would very much like to have his human-blood to be from somebody else that isn't of Lex Luthor, the Light or any villain that has tainted-blood coursing through their veins.
Just as he set a single foot on the hatch...
Awoo...!
Superboy ceased himself from taking another step further on the hatch from the cry of the howl, which sounds to be close by to the ship and followed by the sound of heavy feet running through the blanket of heavy snow, and turned his gaze to see what was behind him, where he sees an army of snow-covered trees that all have icicle hanging on every leafless branches that the trees each carry on their trunks... Also, a massive white-wolf coming his way, with an arctic-white cape snag around his neck and seeming to be carrying a figure on his back... And, running besides the large creature, is none other than a cape-less Boy Wonder, Robin.
"Wolf?! Robin?!" Superboy called out through the snowstorm, hoping that his Super-Vision isn't making him see through a hallucination being caused by the rapid hailing fall of snow.
"No time to talk, Superboy! Get inside!" Robin hollered out to the half-Kryptonian, who was soon running beside the preteen and white-wolf on the hatch and were then inside the Bio-Ship. Without greeting or acknowledging the rest of his fellow teammates, Robin quickly opened a holographic-screen, with the help from the Bio-Ship's Computer Frame, and made contact with the Justice League at the Watchtower. Luckily, or very unlucky, Batman answered the call and gets to see his protégé right before his eyes through the holographic-screen of the Watchtower. "We made it back," the Boy Wonder plainly told his mentor.
"I can see that," the Dark Knight replied back. "And would you mind telling us what took you and Kid Flash this long to return to the Bio-Ship, when the rest of your team came immediately after your objective has been completed?"
"One, you can ask Kid Mouth that once he wakes up." Robin replied, jerking a thumb to where Wolf has deposit the redhead to his original seat after getting him off his back the moment the white-animal unclasped the folds of Robin's cape from around his neck. "And two, it was all thanks to his idea that caused us to separate from the rest of the team, thus having us unable to return to Mount Justice the moment Kaldur's Group got to the Bio-Ship before we did." Even with the Dark Knight having to be out in space and only communicating with him through screen, the team could still feel the cold and dark feeling of his glare towards the unconscious Speedster, though it feels like he's glaring at everybody else like before except his protégé. "And before you do anything else, don't you dare blame Kaldur or the others for not looking for us when we got separated." The preteen then folded his arms and gave his mentor his own bat-glare, though it would technically be known as a bird-glare for being a bird hero. "And don't even think about taking away any of my whole week at Mount Justice time with them, or I'll have to inform Agent A about you trying to keep me away from my friends."
Batman immediately ceased his glare at the team and turned his gaze towards his protégé, who kept his glare at his mentor that shows he wasn't kidding and will do whatever it takes to stay with his siblings and pack-mates, which includes bringing up the one person who has power over Batman, himself: Agent A. AKA, Alfred Pennyworth. The name has been given to the butler since the very first day the Young Justice Team has been made, which was seven months ago and the anniversary of the Team being together for a whole year will be five months away, and ever since the butler heard of Dick finally interacting with people around his age, Alfred always made sure that Bruce doesn't do anything to ruin the boy's time spending with his own team and actual friends, even if Bruce were to have a good reason to have the boy come home earlier than expecting him to actually comeback.
Knowing he can't win the battle and Robin has already won the war, the Dark Knight let out a deep sigh.
"Fine," he said. "No punishment will be given to the Team." Everyone, even Wolf and not counting Kid Flash, let out a deep sigh of relief when they were spared from both the Bat-lechure and Bat-punishment from Batman whenever something goes wrong on the mission. "However..." Immediately, fear came back to the group and Robin gave him a glare of confusion. "Once you all get back to the mountain, Kid Flash and I will be having a talk of what his actions almost cost you all to a pay."
'Again, should've seen that coming.' Robin thought to himself, as he nodded his head to his mentor. "Alright, I'll let him know that when he wakes up. If he doesn't get up by the time we arrive, I'll use some smelling salt to speed up the process."
"Good. I'm sending both Green Lanterns, Superman and Captain Atom to take Mr. Freeze and Clayface to Belle Reve. I shall see you all at the Briefing Room. Batman, out." The moment the screen died and the image of Batman no longer in view, Robin let out a deep breath of relief he held within his lungs when he had thought his threat on using Alfred would fail him and quietly made his way to his seat, which was at the back and on the right-side of the ship, next to the Captain's Seat. Before anyone could see it coming, the Boy Wonder collapsed into his seat and let out a low moan, which sounded to be in a mixture of exhaustion and a bit more in a pain. The whole team, including Wolf and except for Wally, stood from their seat and made their way to their youngest teammate and brother, with M'gann being the first to get to him for being the closest to his seat.
"Robin! Are you okay?" She asked in concern, her older-sister instincts kicking in and checking over her baby brother for any signs of injuries that needs to be treated. "Are you hurt? Did you sprain something? Were you attacked?" With her hovering over the boy, Conner, Kaldur and Artemis could only watch what was going from behind and couldn't get anywhere near the Boy Wonder.
"I'm fine, M'gann." Robin reassure the martian, giving her and the team a tiring but strong smile. Already, he can sense their doubts on believing his answer and can sense M'gann trying to read his mind on what happened to him and Wally before Wolf found them. Already, Robin was able to block out the part where he and Wally were surrounded by the Were Pack and skip to where Wolf was carrying the both of them back to the Bio-Ship. 'It's a good thing that both Uncle J'onn and Bruce taught me to empty my thoughts and put fake images to replace the original; they would freak if they found out that I've been talking to wolves who have bodies like Shire/Clydesdale draft horses, even though they would eventually come to believe that the snowstorm had been making me see hallucination. Still, I can't let them get suspicious if M'gann tells the others she saw me and Wally surrounded by wolves.'
"Are you certain, Robin?" Kaldur asked, getting down on his knees beside M'gann to examine the color Boy Wonder's visible skin underneath his Polar Stealth-suit. "Your skin looks paler than usual and you appear to be out of breath, especially when you collapsed into your seat."
'Again, hate the downfall and consequences of being half-Were.' "Hey, you would be out of breath, too, if you had to carry an unconscious Kid Mouth on your back after landing roughly into a pile of snow from an explosion, which is caused by said Speedster over there." The whole group turned to stare the knocked out redhead, who was snoring in his sleep and was murmuring unclear words in his seat. Wolf, who stood in front of Kid Flash and is holding Robin's cape within his mouth, was finally able to glare down at the redhead for being the fault of the explosion of Mr. Freeze's Lab. Artemis facepalm herself from the preteen's words, not sure if she should feel embarrassed or frustrated that her Speedster-Boyfriend did something so stupid and nearly cost them a teammate to be taken off their team.
"I should've known my idiot boyfriend would be the cause of the explosion," she grumbled out. "And if it wasn't for him, we would've been back at Happy Harbor, drinking hot chocolate and getting warmed up, rather than being stuck here in the cold." Robin can tell that everyone is still very tired from being up most of last night, thanks to his mentor when Dick didn't wait for him or Alfred to pick him up at Gotham Academy, and that if they don't leave at this second, the Bio-Ship will eventually go to sleep from the temperature dropping and then they'll be trap under the massive pile of snow.
"Well, what are we still doing here?" He asked the group, bringing out his cheerful mood to have the rest of the team stay whelmed. "Let's head back to Mount Justice and get us some hot chocolate!" The team already knew what he was doing when he brought out his cheerful mood voice, which they actually dub as 'The Cheer Up', but they smiled in gratitude for lifting their spirits and after checking over the boy once more to be sure he isn't badly injured from the fight with both villains or after carrying Kid Flash from landing into snow, the team went back to their seats and were soon set sailing in the air.
While they made their way away from Alaska and are crossing over States to Rhode Island, Wolf made his way towards Robin and draped the cape over the preteen, who seems to be trying to get some sleep or to keep warm from the way he curled himself into a ball in his seat.
"Thanks, Wolf." the preteen whispered to the white-beast. "Though, it would be best to let KF have it until we reach Happy Harbor." Wolf snorted at the boy's suggestion and simply sat down at the right-side of the boy's seat, placing his head down to rest on Robin's left-side, since the boy is laying on his right-side and has pulled his legs up against his chest.
"He can warm himself up, Brother." Wolf told the preteen, not seeming to show any concern for the sleeping redhead. "His Polar Stealth-suit is still activated and his Metabolism will keep his body heat from dropping, especially when he's unconscious and can't eat anything at the moment." Robin sighed and, rather than argue with the white-wolf, simply laid his own head on top of Wolf's, using him as a makeshift pillow. "It would be best if you get some rest, Brother. I'll wake you once we reach Happy Harbor."
"Okay," the preteen whispered back. "If KF wakes up before I do when we get back to Happy Harbor, can somebody tell him that he's a dead man after discussing with Batman about the mission?" He asked the Team that time, as he gets himself a bit comfortable in his seat with the straps still clinging him to his chair.
"I'll gladly tell him that, Rob." Artemis volunteered, glaring at her boyfriend's knocked out form and popping her knuckles a bit. "I'll even add in an extra punch in the head, to remind him to warn us the next time he's goes pulling another stunt like that, again."
"That's good... Thanks, Arty..." Robin murmured out and before his mind fell into blackness, two questions came out of nowhere inside his brain. 'What happened to my grandfather, and what's going on with the Canyon Pack?'
Now Back at Mount Justice, 6:12 PM...
The moment the Bio-Ship reached the garage of the mountain, Wolf nuzzled Robin's head with his snout, adding a small lick to the cheek to stir the preteen out of sleep. At first, it looks to be working when it got him to stir, but quickly shows it wasn't working when he ceased his stirring and the Boy Wonder continued to sleep.
"Brother? Come now, it's time to wake up." Wolf grunted out, which sounded like a couple of yips to the teammates. Wolf tried again to wake the boy up, this time, pulling the cape off the child and nipping Robin on the left-side of his neck, which is still covered by his Polar Stealth-suit. "Dick, we're back home. It's time to wake up and go see Bruce." Again, Robin was completely unresponsive and kept on sleeping the seconds away, not aware that the Bio-Ship has now landed within her spot in the mountain. 'Something's not right; he usually wakes up long before we reach our den. Is he truly exhausted from having to haul Wally through the heavy snow?' In fear that the boy had overdone himself with their fight with Mr. Freeze and Clayface, along with them being separated in Alaska, Wolf began to whimper a bit and licked the boy's face again. The Team caught on to the animal's distress and Conner made his way to the two Teammates in the back, kneeling down beside the white-wolf and checking over the still sleeping Boy Wonder. Wolf pulled back from licking the child's face and turned to his friend/brother, whimpering in worry. "Conner, something's wrong with him; he won't wake up."
Though Conner and nobody else on the Team can understand what Wolf is saying, The half-Kryptonian knows that the white-wolf is completely worried for their baby brother of the group. After getting a closer look at the boy and using his Super-Vision to look within Robin's body, did he see what the problem was.
"He's alright," he told the group. "He's completely dead to the world; pushed himself too hard and judging from how much weight he lost, he must be doing intensive training for a good while that would make him forget to sleep or eat." The straps that clung the boy to his seat underneath his cape released him, thus allowing Conner to gently lift the Boy Wonder into his arms and to sleep within his safe hold.
"Hmm..." The sound of a sleeping person caught everyone's attention and turned to where the sound just came from, which came from the redhead of the group, who's been stirring in his sleep and looks to be finally waking up.
"Finally... It's about time he comes out of sleeping." Artemis grumbled, making her way to stand in front of her boyfriend so that when he wakes up, she'll be the first he'll see in his line of vision. The moment green-eyes opened underneath the cowl of Kid Flash, both blinded a bit from sleep and small sand in his eyes, the redhead let out a loud yawn and stretched his arms out, getting whatever sleep he has left in his body to come on out.
"Ahh... Man, did I needed that nap." He murmured out, not realizing that he's back with the Team and are listening to what he's saying, as he rubs both the sand and sleep out of his eyes. "My muscles are so sore and tired, my body almost feels like it's been blast away from an explosion."
"Oh, you're not too far from that, Baywatch." The Speedster ceased his rubbing his eyes out and when he saw what was in front of him, he swore that his heart had instantly ceased from how she seems both angry and disappointed at him.
"Oh...! Uh... H-Hi, Arty." He greeted the blonde, nervously laughing and giving her a small wave to act his friendly-self that he knows will not work on his girlfriend. He noticed that the rest of the team staring at him, with the exception of Robin sleeping within the hold of Conner's arms. His nerves immediately flew south for the Winter, having a gut feeling that he was the cause of something bad. "Uh, hey guys... How's it going?"
"'How's it going'? Why don't you tell us how it's going, Baywatch?" Artemis replied and before the redhead could ask another question, the blonde brought a fist down to his head and left him cradling his injured head in his arms, wincing and grunting on how much strength his girlfriend put into that punch.
"Ow! Geez, Babe, what was that for?!" He cried, rubbing the sore area of his head with both hands, while his girlfriend made her way to the half-Kryptonian to check up on their knocked out baby brother.
"Well, Wally, if you're to recall, you pulled a stupid stunt on us, without giving us a heads up, and had us all separated in the cold parts of Alaska." She explained to her boyfriend, while keeping her attention on their youngest member to look for any tears on his suit that may show injuries to the poor boy. "Not only that, you were knocked out the whole time and Robin had to carry your deadweight body through the thick snow, having to cover you with his own cape to keep you warm, until Wolf found you guys. He was able to stay conscious when you guys got to the Bio-Ship and after contacting Batman at the mountain, until he collapsed into his seat and then fell asleep the moment we took off."
Guilt immediately spread through the redhead's body and seeing the exhausted form of his little brother, made Kid Flash regret on having Mr. Freeze's lab self-destruct, even when he knew that it was the only way to end the fight with Mr. Freeze and Clayface, along with preventing them from repeating their actions on getting the Ice of Ymir. Still, he should've told the team what he was going to do when the Mind Link was still on while they were in battle. If it weren't for his Flash powers to have him think too quickly and had thought things through his plans, the team would be having hot chocolate, eating some of M'gann's homemade cookies and discuss with Robin on what they should do while spending the whole week at Mount Justice.
"Oh yeah, by the way, you're a dead man after our discussion about the mission with Batman." Artemis warned the redhead, before she and the rest of the group made their way out of the Bio-Ship and leaving the garage, with Wally remaining behind in wonder on what his girlfriend just meant from what she said. With quick speed, the Speedster caught up with the others in three seconds flat in the hallway.
"What do you mean by that?" He asked Artemis, sounding a bit worried and a little scared on the part where the archer called him a dead man.
"Before Robin collapsed, he told Batman on why you two got to the Bio-Ship later than the rest of us did and right when he almost went to sleep, Robin told us to tell you that you're a dead man after we finish discussion about our progress of the mission with Batman. So, if I were you, I'd say my prayer and write my Will before you end up six feet in the ground."
"Wait, what?" Already, from his quick thinking, the idea of the Dark Knight killing him made the redhead quiver in fear, which almost looked like he's trying to vibrate his molecules through the floor and hide underground with the worms and moles.
"I do not believe that Batman will actually kill you, Wally." Kaldur reassured the redhead, as he used his left index-finger to push the button on his belt buckle to deactivate his Polar-Stealth suit.
"I know that, Kaldur. It's not the literal killing part that I'm scared of." At that moment, the team found themselves walking into the Briefing Room, where they see their mentors, Black Canary and Red Tornado waiting for them to arrive, including Batman... And boy, they thought he was plain scary before and even with a cowl covering his face, seeing him completely pissed off and glaring down at the them made the teens wish they were still at Alaska and were buried under mountain of snow.
[That's what I'm scared of!] Wally
[Wow... And I thought he was naturally scary, and didn't need to try to be scary... Boy, do I feel sorry for you, Baywatch.] Artemis
The team felt lucky and glad that M'gann has put up the Mind-Link for them, because they weren't sure if they can talk at all from the way the Dark Knight glares down at them, almost as if he was the Kryptonian and is trying to use Heat Vision to melt the teens out of his sight.
"What's wrong with Robin?" Black Canary is the first to start the conversation, who looked worried at the small twelve year-old being held within Conner's arms and not showing any signs of waking up in the least.
"Merely exhausted and overexerted himself during the mission." Kaldur reassured the blonde and the rest of the Justice League, which brought out a huge relief to all (including Red Tornado), except for the Dark Knight. "He'll be back on his feet, after some well earned rest." Again, the Atlantean's words didn't seem to satisfied the Dark Knight in the very least, which makes the team wonder what he's going to do to them if their baby brother doesn't wake up and save them from Batman's terrible wrath.
"What was the cause that forced him to overexert himself?" The adult asked, crossing his arms and giving the team the coldest Batglare that ever lived. "And don't tell me 'it was from fighting against Mr. Freeze and Clayface'; he's been trained to withstand much more than the two villains can do to him, even if he were to go against the both of them on his own." Acting on instinct and not wanting to take the blame for the sake of one of their own fault, the team, including Wolf, stepped back to have Kid Flash to have the redhead out in front of them, silently signaling the Dark Knight 'the cause' of Robin overexerting himself. The young Speedster didn't notice his teammates had backed away, until he noticed the way Batman gave him a full Batglare that almost made him wet himself and then found himself standing out in front of the team.
[Seriously, you guys? Thanks a lot!] Wally
[Hey, you're the one you screwed up on the mission with your stupid idea, so you have to take full responsibility of your actions. We also warned you that you're a deadman, which you should've seen coming, and Robin already informed him that you would explain on why you two returned to the Bio-Ship late right before he collapsed.] Artemis
"Kid Flash..." Batman scowled at the redhead, bringing the fifteen year-old out of the Mind-Link and staring up fearfully at the Mentor of Robin. "Robin informed me that you would explain to us on why the both of you took your time returning to the Bio-Ship, when the rest of your team had been waiting for you at the ship." Kid Flash wished that he could vibrate his molecules through the floor beneath him and live underground with the worms and the moles until the Dark Knight forgets what made him angry, but knowing that Batman will hunt him down until he finds him, along with not having the ability to last long underground and getting a bloody nose if he tries to phase through the ground and/or wall, he decided to get it over with and told the League Members what he did on the mission.
"Well... You see... I may had overloaded Freeze's machine that he was using to make Clayface invulnerable to the cold, which also destroyed his lab and... I guess, the explosion made us separate from each other when we got caught in the debris field?" At that moment, everybody in the room felt bad for the redhead Speedster, because Batman was giving him one terrifying Batglare that could be the dark-version of Superman's Heat vision, only it doesn't let out beams of burning light. Instead, it dives straight into the heart and soul of its victim and have them experience their exact fear of the Batman. At that moment, Kid Flash felt like he was going to melt into a pile of mush at any second from the Batman's Ultimate Batglare, which he usually let out at full force whenever someone or somebody had harmed or even hurt his Little Bird in any way that would have the twelve year-old unconscious or even close to dying.
"Team," Batman grunted. "Everyone except for Kid Flash, you're dismissed." He then turned his gaze to Conner, who gently held the Little Bird within his hold and being accompanied by both Wolf and M'gann. "Superboy." Both teens and animal ceased their walking and turned to stare at the Dark Knight. "Take Robin to Med Bay and let both Black Canary and Martian Manhunter to check him over. If his injuries are only minor and are in no need of medical treatment, you may take him to his dorm." The half-Kryptonian nodded his head in a response to the Dark Knight and, without saying anything else or giving another glance to any of the other Justice League members or the terrified Kid Flash, did the three of them made their way out of the Briefing Room and for Med Bay to get checked over.
As the three made their way to Med Bay, Wolf stared down at the twelve year-old with concern and worry held within his golden-yellow eyes. Leaning his head down, he gently nuzzled the boy's head that's hiding underneath the cowl and let out a feel whimpering in hoping that the child would wake up if he hears the distress coming from a member of his pack.
"Brother, what's wrong with you?" Wolf questioned the sleeping pup, nudging the boy's head, which almost had the cowl of his Polar-Stealth to be pulled back and reveal his face to the half-Kryptonian and martian.
"Don't worry, Wolf, he'll be okay." M'gann reassured the distressed animal, as she leaned over from the left-side of her boyfriend to pull the white-cape over the Boy Wonder's body for a substitute blanket to keep him warm until they get him an actual blanket. "You'll see, all he needs is some sleep and then he'll be up before you know it." Even though that he believes her and knows that the boy will eventually wake up, deep down inside and at the back of his mind, Wolf knows that something is up, and the only one who can answer the question of the animal's worry, is the sleeping Were-pup who is completely out of it and no longer connected to the Land of the Living for the time being.
In Dream...
The blue sky is covered in black-grey clouds, which released the rumbling of thunder and struck down fierce lightning from its domain. The rain falling from their creators fell over the land, feeling more like falling shards of ice than drizzling water. The wind, instead of releasing gentle stroke of air that would brush through the land as if petting the life of Earth with its tenderness, blew with anxiety of unsettlement, as if sensing a disturbance and is trying to use its entire strength to send the disturbance over the edge of the land and wash it away into the river.
With the falling shards of the hard rain continuously pelting down his face and entire being, Dick sets his eyes upon the large-figure standing on top of the cliff he stood below, his Cerulean/Sapphire-eyes glaring out anger and determination to his opponent, who stood up high and mighty on top of the hill as if he were a god and that nothing can hurt him. The large-creature is the very same creature that came to him into his dreams nearly a week ago, the same Were that still haunts him in his nightmare and yet fuels his heart the fire and will to keep fighting for a purpose to prove himself worthy of being a true Were. The Were standing above him glared back at the pup, his blood-red eyes sending a simple message that can be perfectly read within his iris: 'You're dead to me, and shall be put down by my fangs'. Lightning came down behind the large-Were, darkening his face to bring out the danger and horror of his red-eyes that can struck fear into the heart of his opponents and/or victims... His gaze can possibly triumph the Batman's own Batglare when he brings fears into the heart of his enemies.
"Why did you live? How did you survive the night your pack fell to their deaths?" Dick's eyes widen from his words, suddenly feeling the cold-hand circling its grasp towards his heart and the shivering dread shivering down his spine.
"Wha...? How did you know my pack died? How did you know what caused my pack's death?" He growled, feeling the clenching feeling tightening around his heart and wanting the feeling decease before he loses his temper and snaps, which he nearly did when the full-Were, rather than answering his question, simply let out a low menacing chuckle. Dick's mind then went back to the Arctic Pack, recalling the conversation they had and how they refused to tell them of the news that his grandfather was involved in; they told him to look for Hook Fang for the answer on what was going on with his grandfather. For some unexplainable reason or thought, besides that he somehow knew that his pack were killed from falling, the pup feels as if the red-eyed Were was also involved to whatever the news was about, thus making him believe that the full-Were did something to the father of his own dad and uncle.
"What happened to my grandfather, Iron Heart?"
The chuckling immediately ceased the moment the third question has been brought up. The smirk, that was just on the Were's face, fell off and was replaced with a blank-look, with his eyes still holding the grudge and anger for the small-pup down below the cliff he stood above of and his claws digging into the hard granite ground that lays beneath his paws. Despite not having any of his questions answered, the silencing of the full-Were's laughter was all the answer Dick needed, which fueled his rage and had him now raising his hackles and showing his rows of sharp-fangs towards the beast.
"You did something to him, didn't you?" He snarled, his lips pulled back, his ears out and forward and his tailed lifted up as if somebody's pulling on it to make it straiten out while in the air, his posture now in his threatening position and giving his opponent a warning to not mess with him. His question, once again, only answered with silence, though the full-Were's posture looks as though he's going into his challenging pose, with his ears forward out and his tail curled up high and proud in the air. Dick's anger grew from the challenging position the large-creature was sending him, that he crouched the upper-half of his body to the granite ground to show that he isn't going to be backing down the challenge. "Tell me, now! What did you do to him?!... Who are you?!"
"All in good time, Pup. We shall meet in actual life, face-to-face..." The full-Were grunted out, his lips lifting up to present the child his eleven inch fangs. "Only then, will you soon meet your fate... Just like those cowardly, insignificant, good for nothing life-rulers you call your pack, 'family'!"
With that being said, his ears flatten and lifted his jowls to reveal his many rows of sharp fangs that he's intended to use to bring the death of the half-Were, and by using the strength he holds in his legs, he sprinted down the cliff, thrusting himself in midair when he launched himself from the midpoint of the cliff. At the same time the full-Were started running, Dick also made his way up the cliff and when his enemy was in the air, did he pushed himself as high he could go to meet his attacker, face-to-face. Just like before from his previous sleep, their fangs becoming mere inches away from the other and ready to tear each other's throats out, until lightning came down from above, then all went black.
End of Dream...
Now Waking Up...
"NO!" The moment he snapped his eyes open, did he launched himself off of the bed and landed on all fours to the floor, gasping for breath and glaring down at the carpet floor as if it was his opponent he's pinning down. If he was in his wolf-form and not in his human-form, his claws would've left some markings into the material of the floor and if the team were to see those claw-marks, they would be blaming Wolf for something he didn't do.
Even when he heard the sound of footsteps running towards the door of his dorm, he didn't seem to be paying any attention to the sound of his friends and pack-mates calling out to his hero-name or that his door just opened to allow them access into his room, too caught up on trying to catch his breath and to fight off the urge on turning into his wolf-form.
"Rob! Dude, you okay?" It was Wally that spoke to him and it was always his voice that would somehow snap the half-Were back into reality if his mind was ever lost in thought, but even that didn't seem to have gotten through to the Were-Pup or his mind keeping him in shock on having two dreams of that Black-Were wanting to kill him for simply existing. "Rob? Can you hear me?"
He then felt a pressure on his left-shoulder, which snapped him out of his trance of glaring down at the floor below him, but it didn't help him get over the state of shock of his dream. In fact, what the redhead did by placing a hand on his shoulder, isn't the best move to make on the vulnerable pup at the moment. Heck, none of the Team members, not even Wally, Conner or Wolf, were expecting the Boy Wonder to swiftly grab ahold of the redhead's hand that's been placed on his left-shoulder, get behind the fifteen year-old and pin him to the wall, as if he were some criminal that just robbed the bank and is resisting arrest.
"Ack! What the hell, Rob?!" Wally cried out in pain, wincing from the pressure of pain building up inside of his shoulder from the way his arm's being held behind his back in a way that could possibly make it fracture if the twelve year-old added any more pressure into the arm. "Dude, seriously, let go! You're going to tear my arm off!"
Immediately, both Conner and Kaldur are at the boy's sides, with Conner on his right-side to forcefully but gently as he could to make the twelve year-old let go of the redhead's arm, while Kaldur went to the left-side of the child to place himself in-between the two in case the twelve year-old tries to grab Wally again once they're separated from each other. When the contact broke from each other, Robin then turned his attention from the redhead to the half-Kryptonian, his eyes, being covered by sunglasses, glaring dangerously at the sixteen year-old who dare to intervene and force him on letting go of his captured intruder to come up on him from behind while in his vulnerable-state, and decided to attack the one who kept a firm grip on his right-hand.
"Robin, stand down!" Kaldur ordered, grabbing at the boy from behind and keeping him in a Nelson Hold before he could try to lay a hit on the worry and confuse Kryptonian. "You're safe, my friend. We're no longer in Alaska, but back at Mount Justice of Happy Harbor." The Atlantean's words and actions seemed to have only angered the boy even more, because now he was now trying to bash the back of his head against Kaldur's face to make the other sixteen year-old let go of him and try to free his now trapped legs from the half-Kryptonian.
Artemis and M'gann could only watch the scene playing before them, as they tend to Wally and his injured arm that was just badly sore from behind held in an odd angle and was lucky that it wasn't sprained or broken, again. Even though that M'gann can use her Telekinesis powers to stop the boy from struggling, she knows that'll most likely make him even angrier and she wouldn't be able to handle his negative emotions if they get any more out of control.
Not wanting to see his brother, who's also been more like his own pup he'd never gotten the chance to have when he used to be a regular wolf, Wolf trotted over to the two struggling teens and, using all of his strength but being as careful as he could be to not injure the boy, placed the top-half of his body on top of Robin's small body and pressed down until the boy was finally lying on his back, still being held back by the two sixteen year-olds and still trying to break free from their combined grip. Ignoring the confused looks on Kaldur and Conner's faces and only keeping his golden-yellow eyes on the Were-Pup, who was glaring up at the white-wolf through the sunglasses before turning away from meeting the creature's eyes, Wolf finally spoke to the boy as calmly and reassuring as possible, knowing that at the smallest sign or hint of dominance or signal that he wants to challenge the boy will instantly have Robin go into a panic-mode and will once again try to break free from the teenagers' grip to fight the white-wolf.
"Dick, you must stop, right now, before you end up hurting yourself and another one of our pack members." The moment he heard a familiar voice and the comforting presence of one who truly knows who he really is, Dick turned his head back to stare at the large white-wolf who sat beside him and gently nuzzle his head with his own, letting out whimpers of worry and sadness on having to witness the child acting like a caged animal that's been misused by some humans' own way of life. "Pup-Brother... Whose also been like my own Little Pup, we're not your enemy. We are your pack-mates, your family. You're safe with us. You don't have to keep fighting, anymore... It's time for you to stop, and to let us help take care of you."
His words finally gotten through the boy, who took in every word that the genetically-engineered wolf has just said to him and has finally ceased his attempt to attack and/or break free from Kaldur and Conner's restraints.
"I'm fine now, you guys can let me go." He muttered out, his voice sounding tired as if he just woken up, which he actually just did, but is still loud enough for the team to hear him. After a few glances with on another, along with M'gann and Conner making sure that he's actually calmed down and isn't pretending to be alright so he could get out of their grip and attack them again, Kaldur and Conner slowly released the preteen from their grip and backed away to give him space to get up on his own. Once he was released, Dick placed his left-hand on top of Wolf's head, who now laid beside him on the floor and gently nudged their heads together. "Thanks, Wolf."
"Anytime, Dick." The large-creature then had his head against the boy's back and, while gently grabbing a part of the preteen's black short-sleeve with his fangs, Wolf pushed Dick back to his feet and soon had him leaning against the wall for support, since his legs started shaking from the shock he's still going through and the fear on what he almost just did to Wally and tried to attack his two older-brothers for keeping him away from tearing Wally's arm off of him. "You sure had us worried there; first you didn't wake up when we came back to Mount Justice after leaving Alaska, then you slept for three days straight, and finally we find you up and almost tearing Wally's arm off and acting as if you were held captive by Were Hunters."
"Uh, dude, what the hell was that all about?!" Wally yelled at the vulnerable preteen, who's face has grown pale from the news Wolf had just gave to him on having to be asleep for three days and was found hurting one of his brothers. "I get that you would still be mad at me for the stunt I pulled on the mission, but you didn't have to try and tear my arm off to make us even!"
"Wally, enough." Kaldur ordered the redhead, glaring at the Speedster down to tell him to not talk back or disobey his command, even if they aren't on a mission at this very moment. "I do not believe that Robin purposely meant to attack you or behave in such a manor that would compare him to a wild animal... No offense, Conner."
"None taken," the sixteen year-old replied. 'At least I get an excuse for my animal behavior; being kept in a pod for sixteen weeks and not ever having any human connections during my creation, can make anyone go feral. Robin, however, he's the last person I would ever expect to lose control or to show any kind of dominance towards us.' The half-Kryptonian saw the twelve year-old cringed from what Kaldur just said about him being compared to a wild animal, which made the sixteen year-old wanting to burn the Atlantean with his non existing Heat Vision for just saying that right in front of the preteen as if he wasn't in the room with them.
"Robin?" M'gann questioned, seeing the confused look on his face and sensing the fear inside of his mind. "Are you okay?"
It was pretty clear that he isn't okay, but she saw and had been told that by asking somebody if they're okay or not is the best way to express their worry and concern for those they care about, especially when it's a friend or loved one involved. Just seeing him trying to stand up straight and not using the wall as support while petting and comforting the distress genetically engineered wolf, just made the martian's stomach turn inside out and almost sick, herself, from sensing how mentally exhausted he is.
"I'm... I'm not sure, M'gann... I'm not so sure at all..." He mumbled out, keeping his right-arm around Wolf's neck and leaning against the beast's side, as they slowly and slightly sluggishly made their way out of the Med Bay and down the hallway.
"Hey! Just where do you think you're going?!" Wally cried out, already getting over almost having his arm torn off and being overly concern over his friend's wellbeing from how he looks ready to collapse and pass out at any second with each step he takes. The two ceased their steps for a moment, with Wolf glancing worriedly at the twelve year-old, who kept his head low the whole time he got to his feet.
"Out... I need some air... I'll be back." Robin answered, continuing on down the hallway with his wolf-companion, not seeing the uncomfortable looks his team has on their faces on letting him go off on his own, especially when he just woken up from a three days rest.
Now Outside; in the Woods...
Once Dick and Wolf got out of the mountain and were far enough away from the cave's security cameras to watch or hear them, the twelve year-old removed his arm off of the wolf's neck and leaned himself against a tree, sitting right back down to the ground and panting out as much breath he can inhale from the night's cool-air.
"Dick, what's going on?" Wolf grumbled out, sitting himself in front of the boy and giving him a glare that tells the Were-Pup to stop hiding what he's keeping from him and the rest of the Team. "You're hiding something from the Team and I have a feeling it's got to be from whatever that Were Pack told you about." His golden-yellow eyes soften a bit from glaring down at the boy, now looking more worried than usual and confused, sort of like how M'gann was looking at him a moment ago. "I'll understand if you wish to not tell me, for this being a Were problem and all, but as a member of your pack, I demand to know what troubles you and why you went berserk on Wally like that."
Removing the sunglasses that succeeded on covering his eyes from the Team and placing them in his pants pocket, Dick wiped away the sweat off of his forehead, which he let out a tiring sigh at the same time, then lifted his head to have his Cerulean/Sapphire-eyes to stare into the wolf's eyes, which the blue-iris' held constant pain, sadness and fear within the depths of his soul. Immediately, Wolf knew what that look means.
"The nightmares are getting worse." Dick told the wolf, no longer having the strength to hide what he's been holding and hiding from the Team, the League and Batman. "And, for some reason, the dreams are somehow being connected to what Arctic Wind and his grandfather were trying to tell me." Wolf cocked his head to the side.
"And what was it that they were trying to tell you?" The boy turned himself to the side, staring out at the many rows of trees before him and hearing nothing but the whistling wind and the few owls that dared to come out in the cold, Winter's night.
"I'm not one hundred percent certain, but I have a hunch that it has something to do with the Canyon Pack." He then stared back at Wolf. "I think something has happened to my grandfather and the Canyon Pack is in grave danger."
TBC...
Sorry for the delay (be glad that I'm actually able to update the story [though, there could be a chance of me putting some of my stories on Temporarily Hiatus until I can get back on them), but I'm sort of in a tight schedule and life likes to mess with me a lot (and when I mean 'life', I mean my family).
Also... Even though I haven't gotten those kind of reviews (yet), but if you ask me if there's going to be any slash pairings in the story... There ISN'T! I don't do Slash Pairings (I still don't get if bromance is considered a gay pairing or not. If it is, then I don't do that, either.), not a big fan of slash pairing (I have nothing against slash writers; slash stories makes me feel uncomfortable), and will never make a slash pairing. So, remember: My Young Justice pairings (for all Young Justice Stories that I do) will be Spitfire, Supermartian and Torpedo (Kaldur and Raquel, if you don't know; found the name on Young Justice Wiki in the "All About Shipping" Page) [Sorry Chalant and/or Maneuver 7 (DickXBabs) people; Dick's not going to be having a girlfriend/love interest in this story or the sequel(s) to the story; explanation will come in future chapters].
R&R