Sorry for the cliffhanger. And sorry that I'm giving you another one at the end of this chapter, but this plot line is turning out to be longer than I originally thought. I hope to finish it up in Part 3. But until then, enjoy Part 2! You know, either enjoy it, or get hit by feels, or maybe even both? (I hope for both.) Whichever you prefer.
Also, reviews are always appreciated, as are favorites and follows! Oh, and as a bonus, y'all get a little Wally POV.
(I'm about to shut up, I swear, but I just wanted to point out that I do not own any of the characters you're reading about. The creators of Young Justice do. Except for maybe the random civilians, but I don't think those count.)
No no no no no no no no no.
This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening. Robin was fine. That crack hadn't come from the way his best friend's head had slammed into the wall. Robin would get up any second now and leap back into the fight with a witty comment.
But as Wally watched Robin slide into the water and remain completely motionless, the fact that the Boy Wonder was fine seemed more disputable than not.
"Robin!" Artemis cried from her position next to Kid Flash. She notched another arrow, a glare turning her eyes dark and stormy. "You're going to pay for that."
Wally didn't hear Bane's response as he was too busy darting over to his downed teammate. Only, on his way there, he halted in his tracks and cringed when M'gann's voice sounded loudly in his mind.
"No!" she shrieked and then was suddenly silent.
Conner's worried "M'gann!" was faded, as if the telepathic link was compromised. Had Miss Martian fainted or something? Wally sure hoped not. She was their primary source of communication. But he pushed that thought aside long enough to close the last bit of space between him and Robin, gently propping the Boy Wonder up to make sure his head stayed above the sewage.
"I-I'm okay," M'gann said, her voice shaky but not at all faded since she'd restrengthened the link. "But Robin. He's-"
"Is he alive?" Kaldur demanded in a concerned voice that caused Wally to quickly feel for a pulse.
Yeah, he's breathing. Barely.
"No, I...Something's wrong," M'gann said. "His mind. It's-"
"Can we worry about Robin's mind later?" Artemis asked, sounding somewhat apologetic but also determined as she let an arrow fly at Killer Croc, who had regained his footing. "Kid and I could really use some help down here."
"Superboy and I are nearly there."
"Stay here," Wally heard Conner say to M'gann. She put up no protest. Wally figured she was probably too shaken up to get into the fight. He kind of wondered if he was too shaken up to get into the fight, but he quickly snapped out of it when Artemis barely avoided a swing from Croc's tail.
Wally was about to assist her when Kaldur and Conner burst in. Conner beat Wally to knocking Croc away from Artemis, but Wally didn't really mind. For once, he slowed down long enough to ask, What's the plan? We need to get Rob out of here!
"Artemis, Kid, you two take Bane," Kaldur ordered, his tone impossibly calm considering what was going on. "Superboy and I will handle Killer Croc. We will all protect Robin."
Without another word, the four teammates leaped into action. Superboy ducked to avoid a swipe from Croc's tail, acting as a distraction as Aqualad summoned the water at their feet and threw it in the form of a miniature tidal wave. The force of the water sent Croc hurtling backwards into an adjoining tunnel.
Meanwhile, Kid Flash ran circles around Bane in his own act of distraction while Artemis readied another arrow. When Bane's back was turned, she let it fly at the tube jutting from his neck. It sliced the material in half, effectively putting Bane's Venom out of commission. Now they just had to deal with a physically fit man, but at least he wasn't inhumanly strong anymore.
Back at Superboy and Aqualad's side of the room, Killer Croc had managed to use his powerful swimming ability to fight against the flow of water. The villain broke free from the tidal wave, smacking into Aqualad and causing them both to go tumbling a few yards. Aqualad gritted his teeth and pushed against Croc, barely stopping the creature from biting his face off. Though, the heroes arms were shaking from the effort it took to keep Killer Croc at arm's length. Fortunately, Superboy stepped in, grabbing Croc's tail and using his super strength to twirl the villain above his head like a lasso. Croc groaned at the irony before he began to let out grunts of pain as Superboy slammed him into the ground again and again, swinging him by the tail all the while.
At the other side of the room, Kid Flash let out a brief moan of pain as he rolled through the water, courtesy of a punch from Bane. He rolled to a halt in front of Robin, taking in the sight of his too pale, too still friend. The anger at Bane for what the villain had done to his friend sent fresh adrenaline surging through Wally.
"Hang in there, Rob," he muttered, pushing himself to his feet and whirling back around to face Bane. "This jerk will never hurt you again if I have anything to say about it."
Bane smiled in response, as if he found the whole thing comically cute, before charging at Kid Flash. Wally was about to dodge out of the way when Bane's strides slowed.
"No!" the villain yelled in protest, glancing down at the ice that had suddenly surrounded his lower body, effectively stopping him in his tracks.
"Never turn your back on your opponent," Artemis said smugly, proud of the work her ice arrow had done.
Kid Flash pumped his fist in triumph. "All right! Did you learn that from Black Canary?"
Artemis shrugged. "Something like that."
Superboy and Aqualad approached their fellow teammates, leaving an unconscious Killer Croc and several Croc-sized dents in the ground in their wake. Conner surveyed the work Artemis and Kid Flash had done with Bane, nodding his head slowly. "Not bad. But you forgot something."
He reeled back and landed a solid super strength punch right in Bane's face. The ice broke as the villain flew backwards from the force, slamming into a far away wall and sliding into the water. He didn't get up after that.
Conner dusted his hands off on his jeans. "That's better."
Normally, this was the point where the team started cheering and congratulating each other. But this time, the worried silence was thick enough to feel. Wally and Kaldur hurried over to Robin, who had yet to move. Conner retreated down a nearby tunnel to retrieve M'gann, and Artemis approached the hostages, setting each of them free.
"Oh, thank you!" the young woman who Robin had saved breathed gratefully, rubbing her arms to relieve the pain from the rope burns. "I..." She trailed off, casting a concerned glance over at Robin. "I hope he'll be okay. When he wakes up, can you tell him how grateful I am?"
"Sure," Artemis said shortly, her mind more focused on their downed teammate than on the girl. "You guys need to get out of here. Go down that tunnel and take the first right. You'll soon find a manhole you can crawl out of."
The civilians all nodded their thanks and quickly made their exits, all of them more focused on getting out than on the worried tension in the air. The young woman had been the only one to say anything, and even she was leaving now. Though, that was probably for the best.
Wally barely noticed any of this. He even jumped slightly when Artemis came over and laid a hand on his shoulder, asking, "How is he?"
"I don't know." Wally shook his head, glancing briefly over at Kaldur, who had stepped aside to contact Red Tornado. "It's...I think it's bad, Artemis."
"It is bad," M'gann said aloud as Conner helped her over to the others. She was mostly walking on her own, but she still seemed a bit greener than usual. Wally figured Robin's mental agony had hurt her pretty bad. "His mind. It's..."
"Red Tornado is sending Batman and Superman to help clean up here," Kaldur informed the others, accidentally interrupting M'gann. When he became aware of his mistake, he said, "My apologies, Miss Martian. Please, continue."
"M-Maybe I should wait until Batman and Superman get here," M'gann said, biting her lip uncertainly.
"No way!" Wally cried indignantly, his worry for Robin causing some anger to flare up again. "I want to know what's wrong with Rob now."
Artemis didn't even punch him for his rudeness, but he assumed that was because she was as desperate to help Robin as he was.
M'gann nodded. "Right. Robin's mind is...Well...There's something wrong with it."
"Wrong?" Conner prodded gently, encouraging her to continue. For once, he didn't even seem to care that he would have to see Superman.
"I can't explain it. But it's empty. Cracked. I think..." She glanced down at Robin, biting her lip harder. "I don't think he's waking up any time soon."
Batman was with Red Tornado in the Mt. Justice Cave when Aqualad called in. Even before Kaldur started talking, he knew something was wrong. The team rarely called in League help. Batman didn't show any outward emotion, but on the inside, he couldn't help but feel a bit concerned.
"Red Tornado, are you there? This is Aqualad."
"Go on, Aqualad," Red Tornado answered. Batman was almost jealous of the android's one-note tone of voice. He himself tried very hard to keep his tone always gruff and even.
"I am requesting League assistance. We have wrapped things up here with Killer Croc and Bane and require help moving them to a secure location."
Red Tornado nodded once, his mechanical body whirring as he did so. "This is good news. I can send Superman to help with the clean up."
"There is another thing. I need you to prepare the medical wing. Robin is down."
The final three words sent a chill down Batman's spine, but he showed no signs of the worry flowing through him. Robin was never down. He occasionally blacked out for a few minutes, but he always got back up afterwards. If Aqualad was reporting Robin's status and asking for medical attention...Well, that couldn't be good.
Red Tornado turned his head to look at Batman. "Understood. I will send Batman as well."
Batman nodded once to show he understood and quickly whirled on his heel, not wasting any time in getting to the team's, and Robin's location. He mentally encouraged Robin as he did so, even though he knew his apprentice couldn't hear him.
Hang in there, Dick. I'm coming.
Batman gracefully dropped into the sewers, barely making a splash as he did so. He stepped to the side as Superman brushed past him, easily pulling an unconscious Killer Croc behind him.
"You better get in there, Bruce," Superman said quietly. "It doesn't look good."
Batman knew at that moment just how terrible things had to be. How did he know? For starters, Superman had used his alter ego's name. Plus, if Superman was worried, then something had to be horribly wrong.
And he was right. Upon ducking into the open space, Batman took in the scene, his jaw clenching at the sight of the team all crouched around Robin, some form of worry on each of their faces. As he neared them, he could easily see the problem. Robin was deathly pale and his chest barely moved. Not to mention there was a dark patch of blood on the wall behind him where his head was resting.
"What happened here?" he asked lowly, for once not finding any amusement in the way the kids jumped at his silent approach. He wanted to immediately scoop Robin up and get him out of there, but he didn't want to move the Boy Wonder until he knew the extent of his injuries.
"BanegotaholdofRobinandhethrewhimintothewallandRobinwasn'tfastenoughtosavehimselfandhehithisheadreallyhardandMissMartiansaysthat-"
"Wally!" Artemis smacked his back and he was forced to suck in a breath. "Slow down and breathe before you pass out."
Wally nodded, taking several deep breaths. In his silence, Kaldur took the opportunity to explain. Slowly. "Robin was forced to encounter Killer Croc and Bane without backup."
Batman's shoulders stiffened. He almost wanted to scold his unconscious protégé, but that obviously wasn't an option. Besides, maybe Robin had had a perfectly good reason to rush ahead without his team.
"I cannot blame him for his actions, even though he was disobeying a direct order. If he had not have intervened when he did, a young woman would likely have gotten hurt."
So, Robin had had a good reason to go in without backup. Batman almost wished he hadn't taught his apprentice to be so heroic. Maybe none of this would have happened. But, of course, Batman couldn't go about thinking like that. He would have done the same thing in Robin's position.
"What does Miss Martian say?" he asked Kid Flash as he gently pushed aside the speedster and Artemis so that he could kneel next to Robin in order to get a better look at his condition.
Wally blinked once, as if he was surprised that Batman had understood any of his nearly unintelligible rambling. "Um...Miss Martian says that there's something wrong with his brain."
That did it. If Robin's brain had taken any damage, leaving him here for much longer without medical attention was way more dangerous than moving him. Batman quickly (but carefully) picked Robin up and started toward the exit. "Miss Martian. Explain."
"Right. Okay," M'gann said, her voice both halting and nervous. "I couldn't read anything in his mind. It's almost as if his mind is...broken."
"Define broken," Batman ordered, his voice even harsher than usual as he held Robin close to him and accepted Superman's hand up, allowing himself to be pulled above ground. He didn't admit it, but he was glad that the Man of Steel had stuck around. Superman could get Robin to Mt. Justice much faster than he could.
"Take him," he said curtly, gently passing Robin over to Superman. "Get him to Mt. Justice. He needs help. Now."
Superman didn't argue as he easily cradled the Boy Wonder in his arms and took off like a rocket. Batman briefly noticed how Conner didn't even seem to care about Superman's appearance. That definitely meant the whole situation was dire.
"Um...Mr. Batman, sir?" M'gann questioned hesitantly. "Did you still want me to explain more?"
"Yes," Batman said shortly, wanting desperately to know what was wrong with Robin. Although, he still kept up his calm, cold demeanor. But it sure was getting harder to do so.
"Usually when someone is unconscious, all I can sense is blackness," M'gann elaborated. She seemed shaken, but Conner's hold on her hand seemed to help. "But with Robin...Well, it was dark, but it was also broken. It was like his mind was shattered."
"You're saying his brainwaves were irregular?" Wally broke in, always the scientific one.
"Something like that, I guess. All I know is that something was obviously wrong with his mind. I..." She bit her lip, and Batman absently noted how that spot was already redder than it should have been, as if she had bitten that spot earlier. "I don't think he's going to wake up."
"But he will wake up," Artemis said. Batman suspected her voice held more confidence than she was feeling. "He's just in a deeper state of unconsciousness than usual, right?"
When Miss Martian shrugged nervously in reply, Batman's heart sank farther than it already had. M'gann couldn't seem to put Robin's mental state into words, but Batman could guess what the problem was. If he had to bet, he would say that Robin was in a deeper state of unconsciousness, as Artemis had said. But Batman had a feeling that this 'unconsciousness' wasn't exactly that. No, he suspected that Miss Martian was right. He suspected that Robin wasn't going to wake up any time soon, and the thought made Batman all the colder on the inside.
His Little Bird was lost in a place where his Guardian Bat couldn't find him.