Chapter Fourteen: Return
It was another waiting game. That seemed like all the team could do these days. It had been six days since Dick was rescued from Sportsmaster and Lex. Everything from then on had been falling into place, sort of. There was a brief scare that Robin had pneumonia because of injuries to his chest and exposure to the cold, but he was bouncing back. That was the friend they knew; Robin always bounced back.
However, they couldn't see that with their own eyes. Bruce took Dick back home and had Dr. Thompkins caring for him there instead of at the cave. That put him out of their reach, because if a bunch of random teenagers showed up at Bruce Wayne's house at a time like this, there would be suspicions raised.
The media had taken an interest in where Dick Grayson was and why he wasn't at school for three weeks. The answer Bruce gave was simple: Dick wanted to go see Haly of Haly's Circus. He wanted to reconnect with his past and speak to a man who had been close to his parents. After that, Bruce and Dick went spelunking to work off the tension and Dick hurt himself. Bruce politely asked the media not to investigate further, due to the fact that Haly's Circus was a very sensitive matter to both him and Dick. So sensitive in fact, that Dick was going to stay home longer to recuperate emotionally and get caught up on the schoolwork he missed before he returned to society.
So far, there was no more pressure from the media or from Lex Luthor. He went back to his business as if nothing happened. Sportsmaster had escaped them that day, but he didn't reveal anything to the world either. It was all coming to a close.
Only to Conner, it didn't feel like that at all. It felt like a bitter beginning.
Ever the observer, he saw everyone that week and how they were coping. Wally was spending a lot of time with Artemis whether she liked it or not. He played it off as wanting to flirt with her all the time, but Conner saw paranoia shining in Wally's eyes whenever Artemis was out of sight. Yeah, she could protect herself—they all knew that. Still, nobody was taking any risks since she had been the original target.
Artemis was still carrying the guilt of that. Conner noted that whenever she had a moment, she was checking with Black Canary to see if there were any updates on Sportsmaster, or Luthor, or anyone else who may have been involved in this whole thing. The answer was always "no."
M'gann wasn't in the cave often. She was off at cheerleading practice, or with her uncle for further training. She wanted to be stronger so that nobody else would have to go through this again.
Even Roy and Kaldur were startled by the whole thing. Roy stuck around and sat with Kaldur a lot, talking in hushed tones about the long recovery Robin had in front of him. And then they would suddenly get up and start sparring, either to become stronger or to take out their mutual frustrations.
Conner had his frustrations. He was the clone of Superman, yet he had a fraction of his power. Superman had the power to save the day against any odds. He was a shield and sword for his friends. If Conner was as dependable as Superman, Robin never would have suffered that kind of abuse.
He was angry at his own weakness. He wanted to fight to make the anger go away, but he wasn't the same person he used to be. He fully recognized that if he got in a fight with one of his friends like Kaldur or Roy, he'd wind up hurting them in his fury. That was why he often sparred with Black Canary. Though she was human, he knew that she could handle his fists. And then after the fight, they would sit down and talk. Sometimes it was about his feelings of inadequacy and failure. Other times, it was how the team was coping. But mostly, it was about Robin, who hadn't reached out to any of them since the incident.
That day, Canary wasn't around. It was right around supper time and even though some people had families to eat with, the whole team found themselves at the cave. A part of them hoped that Batman would come by and give them an update.
It didn't come during dinner. After dinner, Kaldur and Artemis were sparring while the rest of the crew watched in silence.
"Recognize: Robin. B01."
All their eyes darted to the zeta portals. After the light dulled, they could all see him. The first thing to note was that he didn't have his mask on or sunglasses to mask his identity; there wasn't a point in that anymore since the whole team knew his identity. Even Roy found out the truth when someone (Wally) accidentally said his real name one day.
The second thing they all noted was his appearance: He did look different in street clothes, but he was noticeably frailer than he was before. And he was always such a tiny thing.
Nobody wanted to be the first to ambush him, and so they sat or stood dumbfounded.
"Don't look so cheerful," Dick called jokingly as he approached the group. "Don't I get a proper hello?"
"Dick," M'gann whispered. She ran over to him and wrapped him in a gentle embrace. It was obvious she was relieved he was both physically present and able to crack a joke. After her ambush, Artemis came over and joined the hug. They were both tearing up as they held onto their smaller friend with the appropriate tightness.
When they released Dick, the whole team was there. The boys were more hesitant to give physical contact, but Wally dared to set a hand on his best friend's shoulder. "Good to see you, dude."
"Yeah, good to see you guys too."
They all noticed how he seemed a little breathless. His chest cavity obviously wasn't fully healed, and the damage he sustained made it hard for him to breathe.
"We should all go to the lounge," Kaldur offered. "M'gann made cookies."
"By the hundreds," Conner said with a straight face. That was no joke he made, so that simple statement of the truth made them all laugh—except for Robin, who could hardly breathe, let alone laugh.
"Sounds great," Dick agreed. "Let's go."
*…*…*…*…*…*
The whole team sat in the lounge, sprawled out across couches and floors. Wally had turned on the Playstation and was playing a game with Artemis, all the while showing Dick the sick moves he taught her recently.
That conversation was just one attempt to restore normality to the group. Roy knew it and so did everyone else, including Dick. Roy may not have had the therapy sessions with Black Canary, but she still gave her advice to everyone: Whenever Dick returned to the cave, it wasn't their job to find out what happened to him or ask him how they could help. Not immediately, anyway. It was their job to be his friend and to treat him the same way they always did.
But that was easier said than done, because everyone's treatment of him was so over the top that it was obvious they were all still thinking about him and the trauma he experienced.
Even Roy, who jumped on board late, couldn't help pondering everything. So far, they had few answers. Dick gave Batman general answers with no specifics. His story? He and Artemis were ambushed and he was taken. They gave him fear toxin and kept him under with a g-gnome to see what kind of effects the toxin had on his mental state. He was sedated for almost two weeks before Sportsmaster woke him up, gave him the antidote, and he was saved.
That was a pretty short story for a guy who was kidnapped for two weeks.
There was more to it and they all knew it. The doctor said he suffered some mental trauma, because when they first brought him back, he refused to be sedated. And when he looked at him earlier, he was obviously exhausted. Roy hadn't looked over at him in a while because he wanted to save him from the onslaught of stares, but he glanced over then and saw a surprising sight: He was already asleep on the couch.
Everyone else was so busy acting lively for Robin's sake that they didn't even notice he was passed out. He grabbed the TV remote and shushed everyone, ordering them softly to "be quiet." They all followed his gaze and saw Dick asleep and understood. The video game was turned off, the lights dimmed, and the crew sat around the U shaped area on their seats.
"Well, here we are," Wally said quietly. They all wanted to speak, but none of them knew what to say.
"It was a nice surprise for him to stop in," M'gann agreed at the same volume.
"He probably wanted to come as soon as possible. He knows he had us worried," Artemis said.
"We're right to be worried though…He looks terrible. And I'm not just talking about physically." Roy was the one who said it, and even if he was a bit blunt, everyone agreed with his stance.
The silence that fell over the room after that was tense.
"So what do we do?" Conner finally asked. "You know he's not going to want to talk about it."
"There is nothing we can do…except continue to be here. Robin will speak when he is ready."
That was true. A while back, after M'gann hijacked a training simulation and the whole team went into therapy with Black Canary, Robin opened up. He was good at sharing his problems when he was ready to. Now it was just a matter of waiting.
Again.
Waiting.
*…*…*…*…*…*
Black Canary had her work cut out for her. That's what she always thought whenever she was put into a situation like this one. She loved her team; the teens were often wise beyond their years and capable of handing the hardships that were thrown at them. They could throw their fists like adults but at the end of the day, their hearts were still childlike.
Even Robin, who had a tragic past with losing his family, was still a child in her eyes. The prodigy of Batman, the boy wonder…He was the victim of a terrible crime this time around, and it was her job to walk him through it.
After a week and a half of being back, Dinah had hoped that Robin would come to her requesting a session. But he didn't. She had to hunt him down.
And that was what placed them in the "therapy room." It was just the two of them. Batman was welcome to join them, but he thought that Dick might try to tone things back if he were in there with him.
"Robin," Canary began quietly. "Thanks for coming." It was polite small talk; they both knew he didn't have a choice in the matter.
"Yeah. Sure." His tone was unreadable for once.
"At this point, I think it may be best to jump right into it. Can you tell me what happened during those two weeks?"
"I already told Batman. And the team."
"Yes, I know," she said soothingly. "But speaking about it helps. You know how it helped you before as you wrestled with the reality of a situation."
"I don't have to wrestle with this. I already know what happened."
This tone was totally unlike Robin. It was so argumentative. Defiant.
"If you don't want to discuss it, what do you want to talk about?"
"I don't want to talk about anything. I don't need therapy."
"Robin…" She leaned forward on her seat. "…You're not alright."
"Never said I was. But I'm dealing."
"How? How can you deal with the fact that you were drugged and sedated for thirteen days?"
His left eyebrow twitched at that comment. However, he kept his mouth shut and just stared at his counselor. It was rare for anyone to actually see his eyes—he used to wear the mask or sunglasses. But now Canary could actually see his face without any obstructions and what she was hardness. A wall was erected and it wouldn't be coming down in one therapy session.
Black Canary leaned back in her chair and nonchalantly crossed her arms over her chest. "We can either discuss all that, or you can choose something else for us to talk about. Which do you prefer?"
He pondered it, but only for a second. "Tell me about Lex Luthor."
"What do you want to know?"
"How did Batman persuade him to stay quiet? Is he really going to stay silent?"
"It was blackmail with a recording of Luthor saying he kidnapped you. And I do think he's going to keep his mouth shut. Not just anybody can cross Batman."
"And Sportsmaster?"
"In the wind for now. But the threat against you is over. Neither of them will have a chance to get close and even if they did, they crossed Batman. That doesn't bode well for either of them."
"Is he hunting them right now?"
Silence.
"Black Canary," Robin said more firmly.
"This is a conversation you should have with him."
"He's not hunting them," he realized. He grasped at his armrests and stared at the ground. "I knew it."
"They have threatening knowledge. If we were to push them…" They both knew what could happen. One of them could take a risk and reveal the identities of at least Batman and Robin. There was no telling what other facts they extracted from Robin's mind while he was connected to that g-gnome. That was why Canary had another proposal ready for when Robin was in a better mental state. They would have to discern what was taken by having M'gann or her uncle dive into Dick's mind to see what he thought over during that time.
However, that was the same as making him relive it. There was no way they could inflict that on him right now, even with their identities still at risk.
"I think that's good for today," Robin declared. He rose to his feet without waiting for a response. Whatever the response was, he obviously wasn't going to be swayed by it. Canary called after him that they would meet again tomorrow, but he was already halfway out the door when she said it.
Yeah, she had her work cut out for her.
*…*…*…*…*…*
Author: Holy comments Batman, I got a few replies this time! :o Thanks to Beautiful Knight, Red Blaze 16, and whoevenareyou for your comments. Red Blaze, I currently have three chapters beyond this one set in stone, and I'm not sure how many more I'll do beyond that. It all depends on inspiration and time. I have ideas for how to draw the story out further, but if I don't feel confident I can complete it, then I'll stick with my simpler path. At this point plan for at least 20 chapters in the story.
Hopefully with the summer, I'll be able to update more frequently. Thanks for following the story so far!
Peanut