I can't believe I didn't' get any chapters done this summer but I have been extremely busy with getting my driver's license, homework, vacation, and college stuff. Italics=thoughts, "Italics with quotations"=Kahji Da.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Tim's POV, Mt. Justice, 9:30 pm
I stumbled again while walking down the hallway, following Jaime, Bart, and Roy (Arsenal). "You okay, hermano? You keep stumbling." Jaime said, looking concerned as he turned around.
"Yeah, just got dizzy." I responded, leaning against the wall.
"You don't look so good. You feeling alright?" Roy asked in his 'whatever' manner.
"Really hot. I think it's just a bug. Can you guys tell Nightwing I'm going to lay down? I don't think I'm up to training." I said.
"Got it! Feel better!" Bart said in his usual, energetic voice. I forced a smile and walked back toward my room. The dizziness got worse with each step until I had to lean on the wall to stay upright. I barely managed to unlock my door and make it to my bed before I collapsed. My body felt like it was on fire and I curled in a ball. What the hell is happening to me?
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Dick's POV, 9:35 pm
"Where's Robin?" I asked as Blue Beetle, Impulse, and Arsenal came in without Tim.
"He wasn't feeling good so he went to lay down. He said he wasn't up to training." Arsenal said.
"Yeah. He was stumbling a lot and leaned against the wall a lot." Bart said quickly.
"Yeah, he didn't look too good." Jaime added. I felt my concern grow. Tim's always been good at hiding things so, if he was stumbling around that much, it must've been bad.
"Alright. Pair up and start sparring." I said, watching as they paired up. Once they started, I walked over to Superboy. "Conner, mind watching them? I'm going to check on Robin."
"Go ahead, Wing." Conner said, nodding.
"Thanks." I said, slipping out. I hurried down the hallway and knocked on Robin's door. "Robin? You alright?" There was no response and I felt even more worried. Tim's a very light sleeper. "Robin?!" No response. I entered the normal bat-code we all use on our doors and walked in. A whimper made me look over at the bed. I pulled the tangled blankets off the small form and gasped in shock. Tim was curled in a ball, but he was covered with dark scales and small stubs were growing out of his head.
"Tim, what's going on?!" I asked.
"Don't. Know. Hurts." Tim growled, holding his stomach.
"Did-Did your parents ever tell you about anything like this?" I asked.
"N-No." Tim said, moaning.
"Alright. I'm going to call Batman. He might know something about this or at least know what to do." I said, getting on my communicator. "B, something's wrong with Robin. You should get here ASAP."
"What's going on?" Batman's voice replied.
"He's turning into… something. He-" Tim let out a loud, pained growling sound. "He's in pain and said earlier that he felt very hot. I don't know what to do." I explained, brushing Tim's hair out of his eyes.
"I'll be there as soon as I can." Dad said before hanging up.
"Hear that, little brother? B's on his way. You're going to be fine." I said, kissing his forehead and trying to comfort him as another wave of pain caused him to moan and curl tighter into himself. Hurry, B.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Bruce's POV, Twenty Minutes Later (9:55 pm)
"Batman, B01" The computer announced my arrival. I ignored it and hurried towards Tim's room. I hope I can do something to help him… I walked into his room and my eyes widened in shock when I saw a 6 foot long half-dragon, half-human form grunting and growling in pain with its head in Dick's lap. Dick was sitting behind it and petting his head, whispering comforting words as its tail thrashed in – seemingly – pain.
"What the hell is going on?" I asked, looking closer at what I assumed to be Tim.
"Don't. Know." The creat-Tim- growled. I walked over, took my glove off, and put a hand on his forehead, not knowing what else to do. His forehead was so hot it almost burnt my hand. "What's. Happening. To. Me!" The last part was more of a roar as a wave of pain seemed to crash into him.
"I don't know." I answered, honestly. "But, you'll be alright. You're strong."
"Hurts." Tim growled, blinking tears out of his eyes.
"I know. Just let it happen. Don't try to stop it, alright?" I asked, pulling the cowl off and sitting on the bed next to him. He nodded gently and took a deep breath. Dick went back to stroking the sharp looking black spines that sprouted out from in between two fairly small horns. I took a closer look at the scales that covered Tim's body. Previously, I had thought some were green and some were purple but, now, I realized that they were like oil: in some light, they were black but, in other lights, they were green, purple, blue, red, and other colors in between. Spines were starting to grow out of Tim's spine and, not knowing what else to do, I gently stroked them down and vowed to stay there until his transformation ended.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Tim's POV, Two Hours Later (12 am)
The stabbing and stretching pains finally stopped, leaving me exhausted. My eyelids felt heavy and my head felt like it weighed several tons so I kept it on Dick's lap and let the rest of my body go limp. "Has it stopped, Tim?" Bruce asked, hand brushing the side of my face. I nodded sluggishly and he gave a small smile. "Good."
"Go to sleep, Timmy. We'll figure out what to do about this tomorrow, okay?" What is he talking about? Oh well. Too tired to care. sDick put in. I let out a murmur of agreement and rubbed my head on his hand. Whatever he was doing, it felt good. I curled up a little bit, and fell asleep.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Dick's POV, the Next Morning
I jolted awake when something roared by me. I immediately looked for the source of the roar and found a 6 foot tall inky colored dragon looking at a burnt. Yesterday's events came back to mind and I hopped out of bed. "Timmy, calm down." I said. He turned his head, revealing huge, freaked out blue eyes. He let out a few confused, panicked sounds but stopped I had to jump out of the way of a stream of fire. His mouth snapped shut and he whimpered. "Look, freaking out won't do anything. Stay calm and we'll figure this out." I said as B sprayed the flames with a fire extinguisher.
Tim laid down, but his tail thrashed back and forth and he accidently knocked his dresser over, causing him to jump out of the way and ending up in his closet with clothes tangled on his head and back spikes. I laughed as he gave B and me a pathetic look. "Calm down and stay still." I walked over and began untangling his clothes from his spikes. "There you go!" I said when I finally got everything untangled.
"Try meditating and focusing on turning human." Bruce suggested.
Tim laid down again, closed his eyes, and took slow, deep breathes. His body started shrinking but his scales didn't fully disappear. "Well, you got it most of the way! That's a start…" I encouraged him.
Tim looked in his mirror and sighed. "I think I just need to relax more." I opened my mouth to ask why he didn't just relax more, but Tim gave me a look in the mirror – my mouth snapped shut.
"Want some of your tea? You always seem to relax after it." Bruce asked.
Tim nodded "Yes please."
"I'll get it!" I said, leaving the room and heading to the kitchen.
"Hey, is Robin okay?" Impulse asked as soon as I walked in.
"He's still sick, but he'll survive." I replied, starting to make the tea.
"Great! I'll go say hi!" Impulse said quickly, leaving before I could tell him not to.
"No, don't-! Damn it!" I said, running after him.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Tim's POV
I was sitting on the floor, meditating, when Bart burst into my room. I froze, eyes wide. "Oh my God!" He yelled.
"Bart!" Dick yelled, coming around the corner, followed by the rest of the team. I felt my breathing speed up and I could feel myself start to change.
"Leave!" Batman roared, causing Bart to speed out and the rest of the team to flinch back. Nightwing slid in and closed the door behind him. "Relax, Tim. You need to relax."
"But-they-they know! What if they don't accept me? And now I'm transforming a-again! I-I can't calm down!" I roared as I finally transformed the rest of the way. I could clearly hear the team talking not far outside my door.
"It's okay Tim. There's no way they won't accept you. They're not exactly normal either. You'll learn to calm down with this, it'll just take time." Dick said, hugging me and stroking my head spikes. I quickly found myself relaxing. Thank God for big brothers.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Conner's POV
Robin is a dragon. I sat on the couch while the others on the team kept talking over each other. Eventually, I had enough. "Shut up!" They all fell silent. "Why does it matter? None of us are exactly normal so why should this matter?"
"It doesn't, hermano. It just surprised us." Blue Beetle said.
"Well, when he comes out, you guys should probably tell him that. With all of your yelling, he probably thinks you don't accept him." I responded.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Conner's POV, 12 am
A small click distracted me from the static on the tv and I looked around. Robin was edging out of his room, closing the door silently behind him. He cautiously padded into the living room, heading for the kitchen, before he froze when he noticed me. "M'gann put an enchilada in the fridge for you." I told him before looking back at the tv.
"Th-thanks." He said, shrinking back into the shadows.
"No problem." He walked into the kitchen and I heard the refrigerator open and the microwave running. Once the microwave went off, Robin tried to sneak back past me to go back to his room. "You don't need to hide, you know." I said. He flinched. "You're our friend and we accept you. Besides, you look much better than La'gann." I said with a wry grin. It still kind of hurt to see M'gann with him, but it was for the better.
"Thank you." Robin said, looking thankful. It was much easier to tell his emotions with his eyes uncovered. I guess the glasses and mask don't stay on his scales very well. He nervously bit his lip before walking over and sitting on the couch next to me – well, he was actually crouching so that he didn't hurt his tail.
"I think your scales look cool."
"I guess so. I'm still freaked out about this whole thing." He said, taking a bite out of his enchilada.
"If there's one thing I've learned, it's that freaking out about things just makes it worse. What happens, happens, and you can't always change that." I told him, thinking back to my first year on the team.
"Thanks." Robin said, smiling and, for the first time, he seemed not to care about his appearance. Once he finished his food, he stayed and sat with me until he fell asleep on the couch. Not long after, I fell asleep too.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Jaime's POV, The Next Morning
"I do not see the point of this. I do not need practice." The voice in my head said as I finished putting on my tank top. "You might not, but I do." I responded, opening my door and walking towards the gym. "Two heat signatures up ahead. It seems the Superboy and an unknown are sleeping in the living room." That made me freeze. Someone had snuck into the Mountain without the alarms going off. I put on the Beetle armor and snuck into the living room, looking around for the intruder.
I stopped and smiled. Robin might be a leader, but there were still moments that made me remember that he is younger than me. He was laying on the couch, upper half curled into a ball, with his legs on Superboy's lap. Conner was sitting with his head tilted slightly back, softly snoring. I took the Beetle armor off and took a picture, sending it to Nightwing. Though he usually seems like a cool older brother, there are other times where he gets overprotective and mother hen-ish. This picture will make his day. I put my phone away again and continued on my walk to the training room.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Jaime's POV, Two Hours Later
I walked out of the locker room after a cool shower. The smell of bacon, eggs, and waffles floated down the hallway and I walked towards the source. To my surprise, Robin was not only still out of his room, but he was helping M'gann with cooking.
"Smells delicious." Bart said, suddenly right next to me.
"Thanks." Robin and M'gann said.
"Smells great!" Nightwing said, walking in. "So, you finally stayed out of your room for more than a few minutes." He grinned and walked over to Robin.
"Yeah, well, I can't change what's happening to me, but freaking out won't make it better." Robin said, smiling.
"Smart human." Yeah.
"Well, it's great to see you out and about, hermano." I said, bumping his shoulder as I passed him.
"Good to be out. I just hope I can figure this out soon." He replied.
"You will." Superboy said, walking into the kitchen.
"And then you'll be able to roast marshmallows without a campfire!" Gar said, excited. We all laughed and sat down for breakfast, wondering about what today would hold.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
The End! Again, sorry it took so long. Please review!