Batgirl was the last to arrive, having been on patrol across the city when the call came in. BY the time she glided to the scene of Gotham City's 7th platform, she saw M'gaan, Connor, and Kal'dur already being briefed by Tim.
"Robin, what's happened? Emergency Protocol zero-four? Someone's been captured?" Barbara asked, not liking the grave looks on her teammates faces.
"It's Nightwing and Tigress. The Joker's got them, and they're unarmed. Joker wants me and Batman. If we don't show up, he'll kill them." Robin reported, quickly bringing Batgirl in on their situation.
"We don't have time to plan, so we'll keep this simple. Miss Martian will pose as Batman and the two of us will confront Joker. We can keep him distracted while SUperbow and Aqualad cover us from outside the funhouse. Batgirl, you're to sneak inside and be out lookout. Make sure we're not caught off guard. Understood?" Robin ordered. Usually he was hesitant to take any kind of leadership role, due to his own lack of confidence, but now that his brother was at stake he wasn't taking any chances.
There was an uneasy silence among the group before each of them hesitantly agreed. This plan was risky, especially for M'gaan and Tim who would be offering themselves up to one of Gotham's most infamous villains. They had already wasted a dangerous amount of time already and Nightwing and Tigress might not survive much longer!
With everyone in position, M'gaan used her shapeshifting to morph herself into a passable Batman. She walked beside Robin, trying not to react to the gory bodies that littered the fairground. She was surprised to see there were no guards, but assumed this was all part of the madman's plan. He didn't want his goons to meddle in this, he wanted to deal with them himself. Robin kept his eyes forward, leading the way into the funhouse with the bodies (depicting him and Batman) framing their entrance. He walked steadily through the dark maze and hesitated only when they reached the final door that separated them from Joker and their captive team members. He waited for M'gaan's nod before he opened the door. Ther in the center of the room was a pile of bloodied bodies that Nightwing and Tigress were too late to of them were suspended from the rafters: one wearing Nightwing's boots, gloves, and utility belt, while the other wore Tigress' belt and quiver. Beneath them were two crushed communicators, Nightwing's Escrima sticks and Tigress' bow. The silence was broken by a fit of amused laughter as the Joker's taunting voice echoed over the speakers.
"Sorry Bats! You're too late! I was having so much fun with your little bird that I decided to take him home with me! Hahaha! Enjoy the fireworks Batsy! HAHAHAHAHA!" With Joker's taunts, Robin's eyes snapped towards the metal barrel in the center of the room, almost completely hidden by the pile of bodies covering beneath the blood and gore, RObin could made out a small digital screen with numbers counting down the seconds until detonation.
Instincts took over and his hand closed around M'gaan's wrist, pulling her along as he sprinted back into the maze. He counted the seconds in his head as they ran. 14...13...12...11...They weren't even half way through the maze yet, they'd never make it out before the explosion! 8...7...6...5...
Robin and M'gaan skidded to a halt as the wall in front of them burst into rubble. Superboy grabbed the two and threw them out through the hole he'd just created. The three sprinted away from the building as the final seconds slipped away. Robin could feel the heat on his back as the funhouse erupted. They were still too close! They'd never survive! Robin was convinced that this was the end: this was how he was going to die. But instead of the enveloping heat, he felt a sudden chill of water and the sizzle of steam. Aqualad had forged a sphere of water to surround his friends and shield them from the brunt of the explosion.
"Kal'dur, you saved us!" M'gaan sighed in relief, shifting back to her normal appearance.
"Wait, where's Batgirl?" Robin was gripped with a sudden fear as he scanned the area, not seeing the redhead anywhere! He had sent her in to be their lookout, what if she didn't make it out in time! He had come here to save Dick, and now he had killed Barbara!
"I hear her! She's there!" Connor told the others, leading the way to a concession stand not far from the funhouse. Barbara was struggling to pull herself up to her knees, but the burns on her back were too painful to move. When she heard about the bomb, she warned Connor and Kal'dur to save the others as she tried to grapple far enough away from the blast. Unfortunately, she was caught by the blaze, and although her wounds weren't lethal, she would be out of commission for several weeks.
Kal'dur gentle drizzled water over her burns to sooth the pain, while Connor lifted the injured heroine into his arms.
"We need to get her back to the can call in…"
"Robin! I told you to wait at the cave!"Black Canary's voice rang out as she and Green Arrow ran towards the teens. The woman checked over Barbara's injuries with a worried and angry look on her face. If they had just waited for back up this never would have happened!
"All of you, back to the Mountain. Superboy, take Batgirl to the medical bay. The rest of you, go straight to the debriefing room." Green Arrow ordered as the teens filed out. As Robin walked past, Oliver put his hand on the young boy's shoulder to stop him.
"Nightwing? Artemis?" He asked, almost afraid of the answer.
"Joker still has them, and now… we have no idea where they are."