The rest of the team had watched the scene unfold from the rooftops. They all heard Robin shout both in their minds and in the air as he was tossed off the roof. It had distracted them from the fight, and did not go without its consequences. Kid Flash had been cut on the arm with a knife, and Miss Martian nearly passed out from the amount of emotional distress in everyone's thoughts. Robin could have easily saved himself, but something was wrong, and no one was available to help him since they were each battling their own thieves. Luckily Aqualad had signaled Batman once the thieves had come out on the roof. Unfortunately they had only apprehended two of the six villains, and the Scarecrow disappeared almost as quickly as he appeared.
"Oh no, Rob!" Kid Flash shouted and ran to the edge of the rooftop once he was free.
"Is he okay?" Superboy asked, following him.
"Looks like…Batman saved him. We are in so much trouble…again!"
They could see Batman down on one knee next to Robin who was sitting on the sidewalk. They couldn't tell what they were saying, but it was obvious something was off.
"Thanks goodness Robin is safe," Megan whispered.
"Yeah," Wally quickly agreed. "The Scarecrow is the creepiest villain I have ever seen. No wonder people are afraid of him,"
Megan looked up at where her ship was waiting, and then back down to the streets. "Perhaps we should go down and see Robin. I'm worried about him."
"No," Kaldur shook his head. "We should wait until Batman calls for us."
Megan nodded and resigned to wait with the rest of the team. They waited on the rooftop for what felt like hours…at least that's what Wally was complaining about. He kept pacing and checking on their suspects to make sure their bindings were still intact. But really the only thought running through his mind was of his teammate. He wanted to know if Robin was alright.
What could possibly be keeping Batman and Robin from returning to the top of the building?
After a few more moments, there was finally radio contact. "Batman to Miss Martian…can you bring the bio-ship down to street level."
"Yes, of course. Should we bring the villains aboard?"
"No, I will take care of them. You will return to the mountain," Batman instructed.
"Yes sir," she replied, and relayed the message to the team. "We should go quickly."
"Agreed," Kaldur said. They boarded the ship, except for Megan. She flew down to the street and guided the vessel to land telepathically.
Batman was supporting Robin around the shoulders, and it seemed as if the kid would keel over at any second. But what was worse was how upset Robin was. It wasn't apparent on his face, but his emotions were so tangible that Megan could almost reach out and grasp them in her hands. It was to be expected though. When Robin fell she saw every thought that raced through his mind. She did not fully understand it, but it was something she needed to talk to him about.
"Miss Martian, take Robin back to the mountain and escort him the med bay," Batman said quietly. "Red Tornado will be waiting to assist you when you arrive."
"Are you hurt Robin?" Megan asked, looking over Robin. He shook his head no, but didn't say anything other than that.
"Okay," she held out her hand to him. "Let's go back." Robin tentatively took her hand, his own was shaking slightly, and they walked on the ship together. He glanced back over his shoulder, but Batman was already gone. He hung his head down and trailed behind Megan.
As they entered the haul of the ship the rest of the team watched them enter, but kept silent. "Aqualad, will you fly the ship back to the mountain, please?"
"Of course," Aqualad responded.
Megan converted the ship so that it could be flown without telepathic control. "Robin, will you come with me for a minute, please?"
"Um, sure," Robin said. He followed her to the back of the ship. Megan made two extra seats where they could sit down.
"I, um, need to talk to you about you about something," Megan started.
"What's wrong?" Robin asked quietly.
"About earlier…during the fight I saw something. When you fell…"Megan stopped as she noticed Robin flinch slightly. "I saw images from your mind. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude, but you were in so much distress they leaked through the barrier that is normally in place," Megan said solemnly.
"What exactly did you see?"
"I'm not quite sure. When you fell from the roof, I briefly saw two people falling as well. There were no sounds, except for you screaming. And then I think I saw…" she didn't want to say. Robin looked too upset. "I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault," Robin let out a shaky breath. "My parents were murdered…they fell to their deaths a few years ago. The memory came back to me when I fell. I was scared senseless. I couldn't think straight, I thought I was going to die myself," he whispered.
Megan pulled him into a hug. He tensed but finally relaxed into it. "I'm sorry, Robin."
They stayed like that for a few minutes, and then an announcement sounded throughout the ship alerting them to their arrival at the cave.
Robin stood up from his seat, but his knees felt too weak to support him anymore. Megan realized he was struggling to stand, and quickly wrapped her arm around his waist, taking most of his weight.
"I got you," she said.
"Thanks."
They left the ship together. The rest of the team, as expected, was waiting for them by the ship's ramp. Kaldur was discussing something with Red Tornado, but their conversation was hushed.
"Rob!" Wally said once he saw him coming down from the ship.
"Hey," he said with huff, almost as if it were too tiring to speak.
"Are you okay?" Wally asked. He walked over to him and helped Megan support him.
Robin shook his head slightly. "I don't know. I feel like I got hit by a planet or something."
Red Tornado approached the small group. "You need to go to the medical wing."
"Why?"
"Batman does not wish for me to tell you the details until he arrives back at the cave, but your health is in danger," Red Tornado explained.
Robin frowned. He had suspected as much, but he didn't want to admit anything. He knew that everything that had been happening to him recently (the dreams and hallucinations) were not normal. And after tonight he was certain that he knew why. He had never felt so scared, and at the moment anxiety was still fluttering around in his chest.
"I was poisoned, right?" He asked. "That night in the warehouse…those men were working for Scarecrow. He got me. It wasn't just a sedative, it was his fear toxin."
Robin waited for the android to reply. The quiet only reflecting the anxiety he felt, and his heart was about to burst. He could hear its beat in his ears.
"Yes, I am sorry, but you are correct."
"How do we fix it?" Superboy spoke up.
"You can't," Robin answered. "You just have to ride it out most of the time."
"What do you mean by most of the time?"
Robin looked down at the ground, and took a steadying breath. "Sometimes your fears can literally scare you to death."
"Come, we must move on to the medical ward. I need to check your blood pressure, and pulse rate," Red Tornado said and walked out of the hangar.
The team followed him. Megan and Wally helped Robin slowly walk to the other side of the cave. He didn't say anything as he was lost in thought.
"Hey man, everything will turn out okay. You'll see," Wally said smiling at his friend.
"Yeah, we'll help you through this," Megan added.
"I know you will. Thanks," he offered them a small smile.
They led Robin into the medical ward where surprisingly Batman was waiting for them with Red Tornado. Batman was adjusting the instruments, next to one of the hospital beds. Megan and Wally placed Robin on the bed and backed away so that Batman could work.
"I thought you were interrogating those criminals," Robin said.
"I let Black Canary take over for the moment."
Batman placed the pressure cuff around Robin's bicep, and clipped the pulse monitor on his middle finger. He looked at the small computer screen for the results. His frown deepened and Robin tensed.
"What? What is it?" Robin asked trying to look at the screen too.
"Calm down," Batman put his hands on Robin's shoulders to keep him on the bed. "You have high blood pressure, and an accelerated heart beat."
"It's the toxin."
Batman nodded. Red Tornado had informed him that Robin had figured out what was wrong. "Yes I know."
"Do you know how to fix it?"
"Not yet. I do know how it works though. So I will try to synthesize an anti-toxin."
"How does it work?" Wally asked. He was sitting on the other bed. Red Tornado was tending to the cut he received in the fight earlier.
"When adrenaline is released it triggers the toxin. The toxin attacks the endorphins, and instead of feeling good it creates fear. Each time the effect becomes stronger making the fear stronger. If Robin has another…adrenaline rush, it will not turn out well."
"Then that's simple right. Just keep him out of the field until we fix the problem."
"No Wally, even the smallest amount of excitement can be dangerous. So until I get an antidote Robin, you need to keep relaxed and stay calm," Batman said. He then walked over to the medicine cabinet in the corner. "I'm going to give you a mild sedative, okay?"
Robin nodded. "Sure, but why?"
Batman swabbed the crook of his arm with alcohol and then filled the syringe. The needle then pierced his skin, and the fluid was injected into his bloodstream. "If your heart rate gets any faster you'll…"
Robin looked at Batman with wide eyes. "Go into cardiac arrest," Robin finished.
"Yes," Batman patted Robin's shoulder. His expression revealed that he was obviously worried. "But don't worry. I'll fix everything."
"Okay," Robin whispered. Exhaustion and the sedative had overwhelmed him, and he drifted off into sleep.
Batman pulled a blanket up over Robin, and then moved to the exit. The team was waiting there, concern for Robin etched onto their faces. But there was also determination to help him as well.
"What can we do to help?" Kaldur asked, stepping forward.
Batman turned and started walking towards the center of the cave. "Come with me. We have work to do."
It's obviously been a while since I updated this, so I tried to make this chapter a little longer than the others. Sorry about the wait. I hope you enjoy it! I will definitely make sure its not months until the next update!
P.S. Anyone else excited for the new Young Justice episodes airing next week? I AM! It's on my birthday too. I saw a preview for it and it looks interesting. I love Captain Marvel, and I saw this really cute picture of Superboy holding a little kid and smiling. :)