A/N: Thanks for still reading, and all the favorites! I really do appreciate it. And welcome to my new readers! I'm still slowly chipping away at this list of prompts.
This one is probably going to be a little longer than most, and is kind of similar to a prompt I came across on the YJAM, although I can't recall if it was ever filled. If not…consider this a fill?
I'm not completely pleased with it, but I don't really see myself improving it any more if I rewrite it yet again, so…
Danni-Phantom13: I know you suggested more Daddy!Bats, but the prompt list I'm working from doesn't quite call for it…yet. I do have some planned though, I promise!
Prompt: Prepared (Five times Robin had something randomly useful in his belt, and the one time Batman had what Robin didn't)
Prepared
Everything was a blur of motion and sound. We needed to get out and fast, before this became a full-blown mess. Talk about in over our heads. I guess I've learned not to hack the Hall of Justice computers anymore…even if it is the same system as the Batcave.
I watched as Wally, Kaldur, and our new friend Superboy all failed in their attacks against this Venom-hyped behemoth. Electricity, speed, strength. All of us weren't doing anything but making him more pissed off. I took a second to crouch behind a pillar, tapping my glove to activate the embedded computer and starting to track his movements. The scientist was barely recognizable, his attacks fueled by desperation and rage. One of the pillars shook as he punched Aqualad repeatedly, the ceiling beginning to collapse and chunks of debris falling toward us.
Pillars…support beams…maybe…?
"Of course!"
Typing quickly, I pulled up the blueprints of the building over the hidden C.A.D.M.U.S. lab. If we knocked out enough of the beams, and in the right direction, then maybe…
"KF, get over here!" He ran to my side, full-speed as the pillar broke, Superboy and Aqualad continuing to attack the Venom-pumped monster. We shared a glance as the ceiling groaned.
"Got it?"
"Got it!"
He took off again, distracting him as I called to the others, showing them the hologram and pointing out the other weaknesses. Working together, they managed to keep him occupied while I pulled chalk from my belt, drawing a large X on the ground to mark out where we needed him for the collapse. Luring him to the center, Kid Flash skidded out of the way just as the former scientist yelled and stepped onto the water covering the markings. Aqualad sent electricity coursing through the puddle, and I activated the timers in the explosive birdarangs I'd thrown into the remaining pillars.
Rushing together, the four of us outran the collapsing walls as far as we could before we crouched, huddled on the ground with our arms over our heads. The lab collapsed around us, a huge pile of rubble and smoke.
In the first few seconds of silence, once we were sure everything had settled, KF sent me a curious glance.
"Dude…you carry chalk?" I rolled my eyes, not bothering to reply as Superboy shoved a large slab of the former ceiling off of us, freeing us from the rubble.
/Recognized: Robin B01/
A quiet humming echoed down the hallway as I stepped out of the zeta beams. Everything was quiet; nobody was on the training floor. Must be not be here yet. I headed for the source of the humming, my cape billowing out behind me gently. I noted the empty living room, catching sight of M'gann hovering a few different ingredients onto the countertop, stirring a bowl full of her newest baking attempt as she hummed. She set the bowl down on the counter as I walked over and hopping up onto one of the stools.
"Robin!"
"Hey, M'gann. What are you making?" I smiled back at the martian, glancing over all the ingredients and trying to guess the answer before she spoke.
"Cookies!" I nodded, having guessed correctly. "The others aren't here yet, and I had some time before training began, so…" her voice trailed off, and I glanced up to catch her frown as her eyes swept over the supplies she'd laid out.
"Something wrong?"
"Oh nothing important," she smiled reassuringly. "I can't seem to find my little measuring cup is all." I reached into my belt, grinning as I passed her a 1/8 measuring cup.
"Will that work?"
"I—yes, but how-?" Her puzzled gaze followed me as I stood and stretched, heading back toward the doorway.
"They're useful for evidence collection sometimes. I promise, it's clean." I turned away and continued down the hallway, intent on getting through some homework before the others showed up. "Comm me when the others get here!"
Snap.
"Agh, no way!"
The angry exclamation and preceding elastic sound echoed out of the target range, and I stopped in surprise as I reached the doorway. There was only one other person who spent as much free time here as I did, and she was currently attempting to beat my accuracy record. I smirked as I walked over to one of the benches lining the wall, setting down a small bag and fishing out my birdarangs carefully.
"Something wrong, 'Mis?" I inspected each weapon, double-checking that none of them were explosives so they could be reused later. Glancing at the archer as she walked over toward the wall, I caught her dismayed expression just before she pressed the button to bring the targets in close. She walked along them in a line, pulling out her arrows as she spoke.
"My bowstring," she held up the bow in one hand while she collected arrows, "I was this close to destroying that accuracy record and it snapped on me." I snickered at the mention of my record, but chose to stick to the subject for now.
"You don't carry a spare?" She shook her head as she joined me at the bench, laying out her arrows and pulling off the broken string from the pulleys.
"Nah, had to replace it last week after patrol with Ollie." The disappointment was clear in her tone. "I haven't been able to pick up a spare yet." I grinned, rifling through my belt for a moment before holding my hand out toward her. My smile only widened as she caught sight of the coiled, fresh bowstring as I dropped it into her hand, confused written plainly on her face.
"What—"
"They make pretty decent tripwires, sometimes." I stood, walking over toward the keypad on the wall and hovering my hand over the commands to set the targets through their pre-programmed movements. "Now, about that record…"
I vaulted over the back of the couch easily, landing with a bounce next to Superboy as he scowled.
"Hey, Con, how's it going?" He crossed his arms, intense stare directed toward me instead of the ground. My eyebrows twitched upwards at his expression. "Woah, who put the dis in your aster?"
"My head," he frowned. "Noisy." I tilted my head thoughtfully at that, my own arms mimicking his and folding across my chest.
"Noisy thoughts or noisy sounds?" He glanced at me, curiosity flickering through his eyes.
"Sounds…why?" I grinned, uncrossing my arms and holding up a finger as my other hand flew to my belt.
"Try these." I held out my palm, cupping it slightly to prevent the two small objects from rolling away. He picked them up gingerly, turning them around and examining them. "I usually have a pair or two if I know I'm going to be heading into a firefight. They're also great for working with explosives." Conner nodded in understanding, twisting first one and then the other into each ear.
"How is it now? Hear anything?" He simply smiled.
"Run through it again." Kaldur sat across from me, diagrams and countless files spread out on the table between us. He scratched at his arm absentmindedly as I groaned, letting my head hit the table with a dull thud.
"Kal, I've memorized it backwards, forwards, and sideways. I think I'm good." He frowned, rubbing the spot he'd just scratched before pushing a case file towards me.
"You'd forgotten the timer on the bomb in the last scenario." I sighed, picking my head up and dragging the file closer.
"I didn't forget, I was just off by ten seconds." I skimmed through the pages again, reading all of the information I'd already memorized.
"Ten seconds that could cost you the mission." The Atlantian was still for less than a minute before he was back to scratching, this time at his opposite arm. I frowned thoughtfully; he probably didn't even notice.
"Are you okay?" He stopped abruptly, raising his head to glance over my confused expression.
"I am fine; why do you ask?" I gestured at his arm, where his fingers were still unconsciously itching. "It is nothing." My eyes rolled behind my glasses and I tugged my utility belt out of my sleeve, searching for a specific pouch and pulling out a small container to throw at him. He caught the tiny bottle deftly with one hand, twisting it to search for a label.
"Lotion." I picked up my pencil again, erasing a few numbers on the page and correcting them. "It helps with dry skin." He raised an eyebrow.
"You have dry skin?" I laughed, shaking my head.
"It also happens to be great for loosening restraints and healing skin tears from my acrobatics training." Slowly, the Atlantian smiled, uncapping the bottle and pouring some onto his hands.
"Thank you. Now…about those plans…"
It was supposed to be a simple mission.
Yeah, because that's not the most cliché sentence in existence when it comes to the team. One thing led to another, and covert recon became ambush became captured and in need of rescue. Currently we were dangling above a large tank in the middle of the aquarium we were supposed to be protecting from break-ins, the chains dangling in neat lines from the ceiling and holding each of us aloft over a different area of the water. Our captors were in a side room, discussing what to do with their hostages. Regardless of what they decided on, it didn't change the fact that the team was facing imminent death of the aquatic variety, due to the shark infested waters below.
"We can't wait for them to make a decision." Aqualad was the only one with a shot at surviving the tank, aside from maybe Superboy. Then again, he wasn't full Kryptonian; his human genes would give him some form of vulnerability despite his strength. I nodded in agreement with his words, not bothering to spare time for a reply. I hadn't stopped twisting and wriggling in my chains since the thugs had moved into the other room. They made one huge mistake, a mistake that Kid Flash noticed before any of the others.
"Dude," he swung lightly, having given up his own attempts at breaking free. "Your belt!" Five heads swiveled towards me, suddenly attentive.
"I know," I grunted, slowly loosening the chains enough to twist an arm free. They tightened to make up for the slack almost immediately, and I reached up to pull my weight onto my free hand, loosening the rings of chain around my torso and other arm.
"Do you have anything in there that could get us out of this mess?"
"Chains? Yes. But that water—"
"HEY!" My words cut off abruptly; one of the thugs had appeared to check on us and spotted my in-progress escape. He stormed over to the lever mechanism keeping our restraints held above the water. Uh-oh. "If you're so eager to go swimming with the fishes, why didn't you just say so?" He grinned darkly, yanking the lever controlling the pulley over my head. Before I could even react, I was suddenly plummeting into the water.
"ROBIN!"
My brain kicked into overdrive, knowing the splash would only draw the attention of the sharks. I had maybe minutes. Thrashing and twisting against the chains, I managed to work my arms free, patting at my utility belt and trying to find something I could use that would help. My eyes opened, sealed from the water by my mask, and I released a muffled yell as I came face to face with a huge tiger shark. Bubbles streamed from my mouth until I snapped it shut, saving my breath. A muffled clattering reached my ears from outside the tank, and suddenly, I froze.
With a sudden plunk, a silver canister floated down between myself and the shark, fizzing gently as it released its contents into the water. The shark backpedaled immediately, his friends keeping as far away from me as possible. Grinning with relief, I swam up and over to the side of the tank, finally breaking the surface, gasping and holding the edge tightly.
"Robin!" Miss Martian and the rest of the team were standing on the side of the tank, wearing various expressions of relief while Batman tugged the remainder of the chains from around Kid Flash's arms. Without waiting for a reply, Miss M's eyes glowed and she floated me out of the water and over to the group. I laughed as I was deposited on the ground, looking up and spotting the shattered glass skylight where Batman must have made his entrance.
"Thanks, Miss M." I nodded to my mentor as well, silently thankful for the rescue.
"Dude, what was that stuff? I thought you were going to be eaten alive!" KF zipped over to me, wanting to see for his own eyes that I was still in one piece.
"Bat Shark Repellant," Batman and I answered simultaneously. I snickered at the bewildered expressions of my teammates.
"I don't usually carry it," I explained. Batman held out a hand, pulling me to my feet after he saw that I was alright. He frowned, glancing at my belt.
"But perhaps you should."