Rocket fell to the snow, and her green orb of protection faded.
Wally looked up. He had been trying to wake up Robin, who was muttering and whimpering, but not getting up. Beside him Miss Martian was breathing hard, trying to stand up again, but she was too tired and cold. It seemed the action of fighting had kept the Team warm enough, but now the cold was getting to them. And the shield had failed. The Nuetralizers closed in.
Wally set his jaw, and pushed himself up to his feet. If he was going to go down, he was going to go down fighting for his friends. He was just about to burst into a final run, when a large bright green dome surrounded the teens. His first thought was, Rocket? But when he turned he saw Rocket was still heaped in the snow. And then Green Lantern landed. Followed by Batman, Superman, Captain Marvel, Icon, Flash, Doctor Fate, Hawkwoman, Aquaman, Black Canary, Green Arrow, Martian Manhunter.
And just like that, the fight was over. The Nuetralizers where destroyed in minutes. Wally sank to his knees again and tried to help his friends. But they all need help. M'gann had managed to push herself to a sitting position by the time Green Lantern moved his orb into the warm boundaries of the Neutralizers' base. The League collected the Wolfe girl, then turned its attention to the Team.
Each mentor went to corresponding Team member. Even Doctor Fate watched concerned as Captain Marvel picked up Zatanna. Superman headed right to Conner.
In the past few weeks, his clone and him had been working on getting closer. It was surprisingly difficult for the Man of Steal, but he had quickly grown to love the boy. The two had begun to treat each other as brothers, and this certainly made Clark's adoptive earth parents happy to have another boy to care for.
Now, Conner was starting to wake up, though he continued to flinch and wince involuntarily. He looked up from where he sat as Superman flew over. "Are you okay?" the man asked, kneeling down.
"Fine, I guess," Conner replied. "Just a little-" he shuddered. "Sore. How are the others?"
Clark's easy smile vanished. He looked around the dome. "Not sure." he said. He turned his attention back to the Superboy. "Let's get you to the medical jet. I think the extra doctors just landed."
As Superman pulled the teen's arm around his neck and helped him up, Conner said,"Extras?"
Superman didn't say anything as his eyes caught a hunched black figure not far off. He hurried to get his brother to the jet, and as soon as he had made sure Conner was being looked after, he raced back out into the Alaskan night. The light from the aircraft and the Green Lanterns that were flying around the shed was enough to see everyone in the dome.
But at the moment, Superman was only worried about two. He rushed over to Batman's side. Robin shivered on the ground before him muttering something in a different language. Batman held a bloody cloth to the boy's side, but it didn't look good.
"Bruce?" Superman murmured.
"He-he's going into shock. I'm afraid if I move him-" The dark knight's words died out as the boy on the ground shouted.
"Tata! Mama! Te rog nu!"
Superman placed a hand on Batman's shoulder as the latter froze. "No, please not that." he said, his voice full of fear and worry. Batman tossed aside the red cloth, and gently picked up the boy as he continued muttering.
The Bat turned and headed quickly for the medical jet, Superman right at his heels. As soon as Robin was set down, several doctors rushed over, and the other Team members looked over. Batman backed out. Superman looked at his friend, who had returned his stone hard expression.
"Is everyone loaded up?" Batman growled.
Superman looked around. All but a few of the League who were staying to investigate the base remained. "Yes. Everyone's ready."
"Good." Batman turned and headed back in the jet.
"Batman-"
"I'm fine." The black figure disappeared into the jet and Superman hurried to another aircraft. No doubt his cloaked friend would break all previous records for flying to the Watchtower. And all of those records had been set by Batman for one important cause or another.
Now hopefully this time's important cause would make it.
It started in blackness.
Dick found himself falling, which he didn't recall doing when he was knocked out. Come to think of it, he didn't really remember much about getting knocked out at all. He just figured that this was how things always started when he fell unconscious. Darkness. Falling through darkness. At first, the teen wasn't worried until a scene started unfolding before him. A scene he definitely did not want to see. Not again.
But even though he fought as hard as he could to wake up, or think of some other thing, the scene just became more and more clear, and then he was sucked into it. And suddenly he found himself in Gotham. In a circus tent on his ninth birthday. His worst memory ever.
The whole circus was setting up for the shows this afternoon and night. Dick smiled as he looked around. He always loved the spotlight and how it seemed he could fly when on the trapeze.
"Dick! Dick! Come here, baietel!" called his mother's voice. Dick turned to see his mother and father at the entrance of the tent waving to him. He did a few front-walk-overs and flips to make it over to them.
"Come on, Dick. We're going to look around Gotham for a while before the shows." his mother said.
"Really? Mr. Haly said it would be okay?" Dick replied excitedly
His father rolled his eyes. "Would we have told you otherwise, fiule?"
Dick smiled brighter. "Yes! Maybe we'll see the Batman!"
His parents laughed. "He's just a legend." his father said.
"Just a myth to scare away the bad guys, baietel." his mother added. Dick scowled playfully.
"Nuh-uh. I heard he comes out every night to save people." He turned and walked on his hands, which he did often just to amuse his parents. "And then, at the last moment-" the boy did a flip to his feet. "He disappears into the night!" His parents laughed again.
"Come on, baietel. We won't have enough time to go see everything." His father smiled.
"I'm not a bebelus anymore, Tata. I'm nine, now." the boy smirked as he followed his parents out of the circus tent.
Batman pushed out Green Arrow, who was currently piloting the medical plane.
The green-clad archer grumbled his way into the co-pilot seat. As soon as all the safety and passenger checks were done, Batman punched in keys and the plane smoothly sped up and off to the Watchtower. His face was in its usual set scowl, but inside he was praying that Dick would be okay. Behind him, he could hear the conscious members of the Team talking in hushed voices. Every now and then Kaldur would say something in Atlantean, and everyone urged him back to sleep, or Zatanna murmured her backwards words. But mostly, what got everyone was when Robin would start screaming.
"No! Please! Mama! Tata! No!"
Batman had heard those words too many times, especially back when he had first taken on Richard Grayson as his ward. Every night there had been the screaming. After Dick discovered the Batcave, the nightmares seemed to stop. It happened every once and a while now, but it still crushed the Batman every time he heard it.
Batman ground his teeth and the plane was suddenly going past its limit as the clouds disappeared to Earth's atmosphere.
"Come on, fiule meu. Just put it on." urged Dick's mother.
He made a gagging noise as he held up his new red and black costume. "Mama, I'll look ridiculous. It looks so dansezi ca."
"You better put that on Dick, or you'll hurt your mother's feelings." His father smirked.
Dick sighed. "Fiiiiiiine. But when everybody laughs. What am I supposed to look like, anyway?"
His mother knelt down in front of him. "You'll be out little robin, baietelul meu. Just like I always call you. You fly when you perform, Micul meu Robin."
Dick frowned. "A robin? Tell be you have bird themes too?"
His parents laughed. Dick's mother stood. And then they frowned. "Du-te imbracat, fiule." his father said. "Repede."
Dick turned to where his parents stared. They only completely reverted to Romanian when no one else needed to know what they were saying. A tall man in a suit was strolling over, two large, muscly men at his heals. "Repede." Dick's father said again.
Dick looked back at his parents who were glaring daggers at the men walking towards them. He turned and when into the changing tent, but he peeked through the opening as the men stopped in front of his parents.
"Hello. The name's Zucco. Tony Zucco. These are my brothers. I believe you are the star act of this show, eh? The Flying Graysons. Trapeze, right?" said the man in the suit with a Jersey accent.
"John and Mary Grayson," Dick's father said. "Can we help you?"
Zucco chuckled. "I'm looking for Jack Haly. Heard he runs this circus."
"You'd be right." The rather large ringmaster stepped beside his star performers. "What do you need."
Zucco smiled. "It's more what you need, Mr. Haly. See, my brothers and I can protect your little circus tonight. Gotham's a dangerous place, especially at night. We just need a little - insurance."
Haly scowled. "We don't need your insurance. I've got a fine operation running here, and I don't intend to let a nutjob like you ruin it."
Zucco frowned. "Let me rephrase this." he said, lighting a cigar and putting it between his teeth. "I'm offern' protection from Gotham's criminals, and us. You don't pay up, well." he shot a crooked smile over to Dick. "I may have to find pay in some other way."
"Excuse me, sir, but I believe you should go now," John Grayson interjected stepping forward. "We don't take kindly to threats here."
Zucco smiled. "'Course ya don't. Well, fine by me. Good luck with your show, Mr. Grayson." And with that the man turned and walked off with his brothers.
Dick turned around wide-eyed and changed into his costume, trying to hide his trembling hands as he walked back out to his parents.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, time for our final act. Our most astounding one yet. You won't get a trapeze act like this anywhere else, and all performed without a net! I give you, the Flying Graysons!"
Dick stood with his family up on the trapeze. His mother and father. The family waved and smiled, and Dick's father took a bar down from its hook. He waved once more, and jumped out in the air, doing a flip and catching the bar again. The crowd cheered.
No one heard the click!
Next, Mary Grayson flew out with her husband and they doubled up with a triple sumersault. Dick was preparing to join them, when he heard a CREAK!
He looked up to the trapeze supports and saw that the bolts were missing. He looked down as his parents flew towards him to pick him up. But the ropes snapped without their supports. His parents looked up at their son.
"Mama! Tata! No! Please, no! Mama! Tata!" Dick screamed.
His mother's eyes teared. "I love you, baietel. Te iubesc!"
"Te rug nu! Te rug nu! Tata! Mama!"
His parents fell to the ground. Dick fell to his knees on the trapeze stand. Tears streamed down his cheeks. From somewhere in the screaming crowd, loud laughter echoed around.
"No. No. Please, no. Mama. Tata. Te iubesc. Please, come back. Please. Please."
And then there was darkness again.