October 23; 5:11pm
Dixie was scrolling through the television for the past hour when someone knocked on her door. "Come in," she said, her eyes still trained on the television as she mindlessly switched from channel to channel.
"Hey, champ," Bruce said, entering her room.
The thirteen-year-old glanced away from the television to look at her adopted father before nodding in acknowledgment and turning back to what she was doing. She hears Bruce sigh as he enters the room, walking up to her bed and sitting down beside her.
"What are you watching?" he asks, trying to start a conversation with her.
"If you're here to tell me about the therapy session with Black Canary later, I already know," she shoots him down before he can even start. "I got a message about it from Wally this morning."
"You've been talking to him again?"
"No, it was the first time one of us messaged on another after the… simulation, didn't reply to it though," she shrugged.
Bruce sighed once more, she's been hearing sighs a lot for the past few days, before getting up. "Well, Black Canary arrive early to the Cave and is already talking to Conner, you might want to go there already."
Dixie just hummed as Bruce left the room, her adoptive father staying by the door before resigning and leaving her alone once more. A part of her said that he deserved the silent treatment she's been giving him especially since he was the one who orchestrated most of the simulation but there's also a part of her that knew that what happened was beyond his control. He couldn't have predicted that M'gann would have taken over the simulation, making them forget, even J'onn didn't expect it. But it was through the simulation that made her realize what she was being trained to do if she were to be the next leader of the team.
Dixie glanced at the clock before turning off the television, might as well head to the Cave like what he told her to do. She threw on her usual jacket and her signature sunglasses before exiting her room. She quietly made her way through the hallways, relief flooding her system when she saw no one in the Batcave. It was rare for the Batcave to be empty, either with Damian or Jason training or Tim or Bruce using the computer for a case, and yet here it was empty. Now that she thought of it, she hasn't seen her brothers for the whole day but she just brushes it aside, she'll question it later when she gets back.
She steps through the Zeta-Beam, the teleporter announcing her arrival to Mount Justice. No one greets her when she arrives but she expected this and was grateful, she wasn't sure how she would act around the others just yet.
She sees Martian Manhunter alongside Captain Marvel and Captain Marvel, she nods to them in acknowledgment before heading to the living room of the cave. On her way there, she passes the kitchen and sees M'gann stirring a bowl of batter mindlessly, obviously not focused on what she was doing as Kaldur leans on the counter, eyes unfocused.
The thirteen-year-old continues to make her way down the hallway before entering the living room where Artemis and Wally were also residing in. She contemplates if she should just go to her room but the redhead glances up, noticing her. He doesn't say anything but leans his head to the space of the other armchair.
Robin internally sighed but conceded, walking in the room, making her presence known to their other teammate before sitting on the empty chair. The three of them remain silent, none of them knowing what to say, all of them too wrapped up in their own thoughts.
Being here in this room again reminds her of the injured soldier— Private Jason Bard, and when Wally entered the room, bringing news of her becoming the next leader to guide the team to their death.
A few months ago she thought she would have been a better leader than Kaldur, trained more, and had more experience than most of them combined, but now a part of her is scared. She thought leading a team would be easy, come to second nature to her just like all the flips and stunts that she pulls every time, but now she's not so sure she has what it takes to lead the team if something similar to the simulation would happen in real life. Kaldur was too soft-hearted, too caring, but that's what makes everyone love him, he cared for all of them, making sure to save everyone he can up to the point of his demise.
Robin, however, wasn't trained for that. She was trained to not see her teammates as family, to send them out to die when needed to. The simulation was a rude stab from reality, for her to realize what she was trained to do when the time comes for her to take up the role as the leader, for her to take up her father's cowl.
"Artemis, it's your turn now."
Robin's head snapped up to see Black Canary standing there with a frown, calling on the blond archer for her therapy session. The Girl Wonder didn't even realize when the hero entered the room nor when Conner left the recreational room from his session.
The thirteen-year-old glances, eyes looking down to the ground as Artemis stands up, following the hero into the room, leaving her alone with Wally.
"Did you guys talk about the simulation?" Robin finds herself asking the speedster, catching the redhead by surprise.
"Uh, no we didn't," Wally answered, voice sounding a bit skeptical, unsure of why the Girl Wonder was asking about that. "I wanted to give her space cause who knows what she's thinking? She was the first from us to die, I don't know what could be going on in her head right now. Plus, why would I need to talk about what happened after her death to her? It's like rubbing it in her face that it was her death that made the simulation go out of control."
Robin stared at the ginger before nodding before breaking eye contact with her best friend and turning to focus on the wall in front of her. "Makes sense," she murmurs.
"Why? Is something wrong?" Wally asked, concern leaking through to his voice.
Robin turned and glared at the redhead, the speedster wincing. "Sorry, yeah not the best time to ask that question."
The thirteen-year-old pursed her lips, turning away once more, the room now filled with awkward tension. "I just think that she deserves to know how much her death affected all of us, especially you. You two are always bickering and fighting and after the simulation, I thought you would have wanted to apologize to her for all those fights, to be closer without needing to bicker all the time."
"What? No way," Wally shoots down. "Like how would that fix anything that happened between the two of us."
"She's our teammate and our friend, even if the two of you always fight doesn't mean you don't care for her," Robin argues.
Wally doesn't say anything after that, the room relapsing into silence. Robin sighs, bowing her head, "You two would have to talk without fighting at some point, it's not good to constantly butting heads with one another if you both mean it or not."
The thirteen-year-old stands up, leaving the speedster alone to mule over his thoughts. She makes her way into her room, entering the password before entering. She removes her sunglasses and places them on the bedside table as she sits on the edge of the bed. She stays in her room for who knows how long when someone knocks on the door.
Sighing, she stands up, putting on the sunglasses once more before opening up the door.
"It's your turn," Black Canary smiled sadly.
Robin silently nods, following the hero to the recreational room.
"It's been a while since we did this," Black Canary said as she opens the door for the thirteen-year-old to enter receiving a hum of agreement from the teenager. "Though I never liked the circumstances."
That received a chuckle, "I mean who would?"
"That's true," the hero said as she took her seat opposite her. "So, I heard that you haven't been talking to anyone about it."
"Wow, starting already just like that," Robin smiled sadly, her eyes shifting to the floor.
"Robin, we talked about this the last time we did this, it's not good to hole yourself up about things like these," the hero said sadly.
"I know that, Red Bat even got mad at me because of it," the thirteen-year-old said, trying to defend herself. "But every time I try to talk about it or bring it up, I just lose the ability to talk or form words. How do I tell them about what happened in the simulation cause I sure don't have the strength to do it."
"You're hurting, we all see that," Black Canary said but Robin cuts her off before she can continue.
"Hurting? Try traumatized. I finally become the leader and end up sending all of my friends to their deaths. I-I- I know I did what I had to, but I hated it," Robin started to ramble. "When we started this team, I was desperate to be in charge. Not anymore. And- and that's not even the worst of it. Y- you can't tell Batman."
"Nothing leaves this room," the hero promises, tone firm.
"I always wanted, expected, t-to grow up and- and become him," Robin starts to say, her eyes trained on her hands, haunting her. "An-and the hero bit? I'm still all-in. But that thing inside of him? The thing that- that- that drives him to sacrifice everything for the sake of his mission? That's not me. I- I don't wanna be the Batman anymore."
"Robin, when I met you, you were just nine, still so new to the hero life," Black Canary said, her voice firm but Robin can't look to meet her eyes. "You were so energetic, a ray of sunshine, literally jumping all over the place. Your father was this brooding man that everyone feared, sending every thug or thief, whoever to the hospital with dislocated and broken bones, it was only when he got your brothers when he toned it down. But it wasn't until he met you when he started to open himself more to us and the League."
"What does this have to be with me now wanting to take up his cowl?" Robin asks, eyes looking up at the hero, the pain so evident in her eyes.
"I can't promise you that you won't have to take up the cowl but you have your family to guide you," the hero said. "But when the time needs to, you don't have to be the Batman your father was or is, it's you who's wearing the cowl, you can change what Batman means to you and others."
Robin stays silent, sure it sounded cliche but the hero was speaking the truth.
"You should talk about the mantle of Batman with your family when you're ready to talk about what happened in the simulation but if you're still not ready, talk to the rest of the team, you all need to talk to one another, it's not good for all of you to stay in denial or to be holing it all into yourselves. You all faced this as a team, remember that."
"Thanks, Aunt Diana," Robin said, getting up, knowing that her session was over. "I'll… I'll do that."
"I know you will," Black Canary smiled, getting up as well leading the teenager out the room before leaving to call whoever was left.
The Girl Wonder sighed, turning to face the hallway leading to the Zeta-Beams before turning to face the other way to where the living room was. She contemplates whether to go home to talk to her brothers or to stay and talk with the rest of the team. Without thinking too much about it she finds herself entering the living room, Artemis, Wally, and Kaldur all sitting in the living room.
"Conner not here?" she asks, making her presence known.
"He stormed out and left with Wolf during his session with Black Canary," Kaldur shook his head.
"That… that sounds like Supes," Robin chuckled, walking around the chairs to sit at the same armrest she was sitting on earlier. "So I'm guessing BC said something about talking to one another about it huh?"
"You too?" Artemis asked, smiling. Robin can hear the pain in the archer's voice but the Girl Wonder was happy that the blond teenager was indulging in her jokes.
Robin hummed, leaning back on the armchair, head thrown back to stare at the ceiling. "So, did KF tell you how he cried when you died?"
Artemis raises an eyebrow, eyes wide in shock.
"I did not!" the speedster yelled, sitting up straighter, ready to launch himself off the armchair he was sitting in.
"He totally was!" Robin laughed, ignoring her best friend. "He started spouting how you and everyone were alive because of one coincidence. Artemis this, Artemis that, oh my gosh, Arty. As much as I love you, I wanted to punch Kid Mouth over here if he said your name one more time."
"One, don't call me Arty, and two, I doubt that," Artemis said, crossing her arms but she was smiling in amusement.
"Cause she's lying!" Wally wailed, throwing his arms up in the air. "I did not mention Artemis' name that much and I certainly didn't cry! Stop telling her lies!"
VOTE: Race car or Sparkles
Robin laughed, throwing her head back. Things weren't better, still far from it but things were finally looking up for them.