The End of the World (Part 5)

Robin scurried across the Bat Bunker, plans forming in his mind. He needed to cause the soda to explode without the explosion causing heat so the soda would evaporate. He had deliberated simply adding mentos, but figured that that would not work as it would cause the soda to go flat. He was no expert in explosives, but Flash and Kid Flash were both Chem Wizes. It was reassuring that at least someone knew what they were doing.

Four hours later, Robin stared at the collection of soda in the Bunker. It looked like it was the entire city's worth. He was glad that he had two speedsters and two supers to gather supplies quickly. It made life so much easier. It would have taken days for him to gather all of the supplies himself. Not to mention, that he had requested large panels the 'special' metal Batman had designed, and there was no way that he would be able to carry those by himself. The metal was supposed to disintegrate under the pressure of an explosive, so Robin really hoped that it would work without the heat.

Gesturing for Flash and KF to follow him, Robin led them to a large steel table surrounded by tool chests, laboratory supplies, and all sorts of chemicals. Basically, it was a chemist's dream. And judging by the drool running down KF's face, he was in his nerdy version of heaven. Robin wished that he didn't have to ruin the mood. "I need a high impact explosive that will disperse the soda all over the city, without causing the soda to evaporate."

Kid Flash looked at him like he was crazy, but his uncle was already rubbing his chin and nodding. "I see what you mean. Normally, I would say that it wasn't possible, but this lab has the highest grade materials that I have ever seen. I think that between me and Wally, we can work something out. It might take a while though."

Robin gave his best Batglare and lowered his voice considerable. "You have three hours."

Kid Idiot laughed and managed to gasp out, "Wow, Rob! Your Batman impression has really improved. I almost believed that you were serious!"

Robin walked away, a small smirk dancing across his lips. Behind him, he could hear Kid Flash's laughter stutter to a stop as he asked, "Wait. He wasn't serious, was he?"

"I think he was."

###

Conner held up a panel of metal and bent it so that it was slightly rounded. From there, he handed it to Superman, who used his heat vision to weld it to another panel. They were trying to make something spherical according to Robin, but at the moment it looked more like a blob. It was slow and tedious work, and Robin was milling about with a full face mask to protect him from any flying sparks. Superboy wished that he would just walk away so that he could spend some time alone with Superman, but the boy did not seem to be picking up on any of his hints.

Conner could hear the weak heartbeat coming from the med bay, and thought that maybe, Robin could hear it too and was trying to distract himself. Robin didn't act like he had superhearing, but Conner wouldn't put it past him to hide any power that he might of had. He hid his identity, and despite being on the team for so long, Conner still knew virtually nothing about his friend outside of heroing. Robin knew where he went to school, his frustration with Superman, how he chose his name, and so much more. But Conner didn't even know if Robin was related to Batman. It was annoying. And it made him angry.

Robin must have felt him staring at the back of his neck, because the boy stood up and shoved the mask off of his face. Conner watched as Robin's brows furrowed in confusion, before Robin turned away and mumbled something about calling Catwoman.

As he scurried away, Conner felt a twinge of guilt at glaring at him. Robin had taken on a lot of responsibility to lead the team and save the Justice League. Not to mention that it seemed that he was having a hard time. Conner just hated lies and secrets. Both of which Robin had in abundance.

"You should be a little nicer to him."

Conner turned sharply to face Superman, unaware that the man had even noticed their interaction. "He means well."

"I don't like secrets."

Superman paused his laser vision and adjusted his grip on the steel sphere. "In a way, I find Robin more frustrating than Batman. At least Batman makes you very aware of the fact that he is keeping things from you. Robin has always seemed open, even though his secrets have more secrets than I can count."

"How can you be on a team with someone like that?"

"You trust that they will do the right thing. That they will share what needs to be shared."

Seeing Conner's doubtful look, Superman lips quirked in a small smile. "Want to know one of Robin's secrets?" Superman didn't even wait for Conner's slow nod before he continued. "He came to visit me, after Batman failed to make me step up as a mentor to you. He came as a civilian, knowing full well that I was avoiding him as Robin. He came, he sat me down and he called me an idiot. After a long and very emotionally blackmailing speech on his part, I finally said that I don't know how to be a mentor. You know what he did? He snorted and asked if I thought that Batman of all people knows how to be a mentor. If I thought that impatient, socially inept, awkward, gruff, and secretive Batman had know what to do with an eight year old child that kept sneaking out of his home to be a 'hero' in a leotard and cape. If I thought that Batman had never messed up when it came to him. And he was right. It took me a few days, but I came to the cave and we went on that walk together. A week later, we went for ice cream. My point is, Robin never told you. And yet, look at what he did. For you. For us. Batman and Robin are hard to get to know, and they do things that I don't always agree with. But when it comes down to it, they are two of the best men I know."

Conner nodded and turned back to his steel plates, suddenly feeling emotional. Robin had done that for him? Why hadn't he said anything? Perhaps it was best that he hadn't. If Conner had known that Superman had only come because Robin had forced him, it would've meant a lot less. But he could've said something later, after Conner and Superman had formed a tentative bond.

Conner didn't like the silence between him and his mentor. "You know Robin's secret identity?"

Superman burst out into laughter and smiled wide. "Only because I know Batman's. Otherwise, I don't think I would know despite the major case of hero worship he had for me as a kid."

"Robin's still a kid."

Superman looked down and shook his head, a sad smile dancing across his lips. "Only the blind would truly believe that Conner. Do you really think that a child would be able to accomplish so much, and have the respect he does from every member of the League? No, he may act childish, but he is far from a child."

###

Robin wasn't sure what Conner's problem was, but he was in the way anyways. He went to quickly check on Batman and found that Agent A was sitting at his side. Not wanting to disturb the moment, Robin slipped away. Going to the small gym, Robin scaled the beams and into the rafters. And then he just sat there. Being up high was calming. It always had been. Batman never found it funny when he joked that he was going to go jump off of a high building when he was angry, sad, frustrated, and basically every other emotion in existence.

Taking out a shiny black phone with the bat symbol on the back. He could use the comms, but he didn't trust that nobody would listen in. Dialing a familiar number, Robin held the phone to his ear and waited.

Finally, she picked up. "Hey, S. I just wanted to check in. I heard that you were hurt."

"I'm fine Kitten. Just a small scratch. How's the Big Man doing? I heard that he was injured."

Robin worried his lip, not trusting that she wasn't lying to him. He could practically guarantee that it was more than 'just a small scratch'. "He's in stable condition. He was conscious enough for a little while to tell me how to solve the problem. As far as I know he's sleeping right now. Agent A was watching over him. He's going to be okay."

Robin was aware that the last part sounded more like a mantra that he was repeating to himself than actual reassurance. If the little humming noise she made was any indication, she heard it too. "I'm glad. How are you feeling Kitten? There's been a quite a bit of pressure on you to perform miracles. To live up to the name Boy Wonder. Even Harley's worried."

Robin wondered how he got to be in the position where his parental figures were a man who dressed like a bat, and a renowned thief. But then he remembered how lucky he was to have parental figures that loved him so deeply. Not everybody was so lucky. "I'm gonna force the Big Man to take me on a no tech vacay to a private island. You should come."

Silena let out a small throaty laugh. "There is nobody to rob on a private island Kitten."

"Yeah, but the Boss will be there. You two will be alone. On a private island. Sounds quite romantic."

"You'll be there, Kitten. Doesn't sound quite that romantic when your man's child is there interrupting. Besides, I know that you want some alone time with him."

Robin grinned. She knew him so well. "Compromise then. We go for two weeks and you come for week number two. As long as you two keep it down, I won't interrupt. Too much."

"You really think that you can get the Big Man away from his precious city for that long?"

"I think that I can get anything I want if I try hard enough."

Robin continued to talk with Silena for a few more minutes before she told him that she had to go and hung up. Robin knew that there was a bajillion things that he should be doing to help his friends. But instead of getting down from the rafters, Robin found himself lying down and staring up at the ceiling. He would be useful in a moment, but right now he would settle for getting his thoughts in order.

###

Wally stared at the device in front of him. They had done the impossible. They had managed to create the explosive that Robin had requested. Vibrating, Wally barely managed to hold still long enough to fist bump his uncle before he was dashing off to find Robin. Robin would be so proud of him for what they had accomplished.

He zoomed around the whole Bunker but could not find his friend. Scratching his head, Wally rechecked the entire Bunker but still couldn't find where Robin was hiding. Wally could feel the swell of panic welling up within him. Zipping up to where the Supers, Wally skidded to a stop, twitching nervously. "Uh, Mr. Superman, Sir? I can't find Robin anywhere."

Superman dropped the giant sphere of metal that he had created. Wally was pretty sure that he was done with it, and that they only needed to pour the soda in it. "Robin? He was just here. Did you check everywhere?"

Wally started to list all the places that he had checked. How was he supposed to know if that was everywhere? It was likely that there were a trillion secret passages. Superman held his hand up and Wally slowly stuttered to a stop. Superman walked towards the gym, with Wally and Conner following close behind. When Superman started to fly up the ceiling, Wally was confused. Did he think that Robin became a bat and was hanging somewhere upside down?

It was surprised Wally when Superman came down, holding a sleeping Robin to his chest. "Batman once told me that Robin likes to be up high when he needs to think. I think Robin scared him the first few times that he found him sitting on the edge of their roof."

Robin shifted in Superman's hold, and rubbed at his mask covered eyes. "I must of fallen asleep. Did I miss anything?"

Wally couldn't help but burst out, "We did it! We made a high impact explosive that won't release enough heat to evaporate the soda, or effect the carbonation levels!"

Robin gave him a small smile. "Cool. Dump all the soda in the sphere, and then we'll attach the device to the outside. After that, we'll have the Big Blue Boyscout fly it to the middle of the city and throw it up in the air. I'll detonate it from the Bunker."

Wally gave him a sarcastic salute, tossed him the remote detonator, and ran over to the soda to start pouring it in the steel sphere. Robin rolled his eyes and turned to Conner. "You're gonna be Supes' backup. You need to protect him while he has his hands full."

Robin sat down at the Batcomputer fiddling with the remote detonator. He watched as Flash and KF finished loading the soda and ran out of the Bunker, presumably to help protect Gotham. He watched as both Supers ran out of the cave, the sphere balanced between them.

Turning to face the Batcomputer, Robin switched to the real time satellite. Licking his lips, he waited for Superman to reach the center of the city. It took longer than he suspected, but Robin supposed that he shouldn't be complaining. It wasn't like he was the one fighting his way through the city.

When they reached the center, Robin activated the comm. "Okay Superman. Throw it as high as you can without it actually leaving the troposphere. After that, make sure you clear the area. The metal should disintegrate, but I can't be sure."

Robin watched as the sphere was thrown, and waited until it reached its apex. After that, he counted. Five. This would work. Four. Batman would be okay. Three. If this failed, they would find another way. Two. He was a survivor. One. They would be heroes.

Robin pressed the button to detonate the bomb. The sound of the blast could be heard faintly in the Bat Bunker, and Robin waited fifteen agonizing seconds for a report. It was Ivy who gave him the relief he desired. "You did it Boy Wonder. The aliens who dared hurt my babies are melting, I just wished that I didn't end up so sticky as a result."

There were multiple confirmations, and Robin sagged in his seat. It was over. They had won. He could relax now. They were all safe. Robin raised a hand to his comm. "We won. It's over. Everybody released from Arkham gets a free pass until they commit another crime. Good job everyone. Robin out."

Standing up shakily, Robin ripped the comm out of his ear. Walking over to the med bay, Robin climbed into the bed with Batman. Robin could knew that Leslie, Agent A, and Doctor Marino were milling about but he didn't care. Burying his face in Batman's neck, Robin allowed himself into the first peaceful slumber that he had since this whole thing started. From the shadows, Agent A smiled as he continued to put away medical supplies. He was glad that they got this moment, before the major cleanup began.

###

Commissioner Jim Gordon put the cigarette to his mouth and took a deep inhale. Leaning against the lit Batsignal, he waited. Raising a hand to his ear, he tried to once again use the comm to contact Robin. He had tried to reach Batman when he had saw the other heroes from the JLA but to no avail. And now Robin was unreachable. In fact, nobody was reachable. The comm was dead.

"They're fine, you know."

Jim turned around, hand on his gun. Sitting on the edge of the roof was Catwoman, looking both calm and confident, two things Jim was not. "Oh?"

"The little birdie took out his comm as soon as he delivered his little speech that the war was won. Agent A went and took the comms offline and turned off the zeta bracelets."

Jim had no idea who this Agent A was, but decided that he wasn't going to ask. If they were related to Batman, the man obviously didn't want him to know. "And how did you come across this information?"

"He texted me."

Jim Gordon had expected her to say a lot of things, but certainly not that. "I see. Do you know Batman and Robin's current condition?"

Catwoman gave him an appraising look. Jim had no idea what she was looking for, but she must have found it. "Robin's okay as far as I know. Batman's banged up. Robin said that he was awake long enough to give them the solution. But I haven't seen them yet, if that's what you are asking."

"We could use them around here."

Catwoman looked around and watched as people who hadn't been evacuated exited their homes and watched as the JLA started the clean up. "It's my understanding that Batman doesn't usually stick around for the cleanup. That tends to be Bruce Wayne's job."

Jim Gordon surveyed the city and turned to tell her just how right she was, but when he turned around, she was gone. "I really hate when they do that." Tossing his cigarette down, he stubbed it out with his boot and walked away. It was time to get back to work.

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A/N: So one last epilogue chapter. It will probably be really short. Anyways, as always, let me know what you think! I love all of your reviews, and they make my day every single time.

I adore each and every one of you and I can't wait to see what you guys think!