This came directly after "Avalanche" in the original version of "Derailment" and before Roy's inclusion. Here is also where I decided that Kaldur's presence made things both too easy and too difficult; and where I started rehashing my cast of characters.

Derailment - Drowning Scene

Warning: Peril . . . Rating "T"


Robin gasped for air as he struggled to keep his head above the water. Even with his suit's insulation, the cold water was rapidly stealing what strength and heat he had. Hypothermia was definitely going to be an issue for him if he managed to somehow reach the shore. At the moment, the rapids were too powerful for him to swim efficiently. And that ability was waning with every second that passed.

He should have escaped before rounding the bend, but he had been too stunned by the impact and the cold to manage anything beyond the basics, such as not drowning. Robin had entered the rapids before he could do anything about it. It was almost beyond him to judge the difficulty of the white water he was caught in, but if he were to guess, Robin thought they were easily a level IV. He couldn't exactly be described as an expert, even had he a boat, but trying to traverse this as a swimmer in winter . . . Robin tried not to think of himself as a goner, but it was hard. He didn't normally have the mindset of a victim, but to deny that he was staring his own mortality in the face was a level of self-deception that beyond his scope at the moment.

Robin slid over a ledge and was immediately tumbled in the current beneath it. A hole! He knew what it was, and that if he didn't escape it, he would die here. He struggled to remember what he had learned about this. It was getting harder and harder to keep his thoughts in order.

He allowed himself to be pulled under the water and, twisting his body around, Robin pushed off of the rock face and along the bottom beneath the violently churning current. He struggled to reach the surface. He was getting too tired to fight.

He barely avoided hitting a number of boulders, but inevitably he was slammed back into one; the hard granite bruising his shoulder, back, and ribs. He prayed it wasn't any worse than that. As it was, the pain was sufficient to prevent his escaping the branches of a downed tree.

As he was pulled under with the current, Robin's head smacked the heavy branch. Blackness seemed to engulf him, but Robin fought it. His gloved hands grappled for some kind of purchase, but his fingers were numb and clumsy. He shoved through the branches and twigs that clawed at him, and felt a burst of freezing cold against his side when his uniform was ripped that made a mockery of his previous discomfort.

His lungs were burning, however, for oxygen. His body was using the precious gas at a greater quantity than normal. He needed another breath . . . soon! His vision was darkening; tunneling. How long before he lost consciousness altogether?

Just as Robin pushed through the last of the tree's limbs, the current yanked him hard. His cape snagged around another branch and the collar caught him around his neck like a hangman's noose! There wasn't enough freedom to reach the surface, and he couldn't fight the tow enough to untangle himself.

Robin's numbed fingers struggled to release the cape. Unable to hold his breath any longer, he gasped and freezing river water invaded his lungs.

I'm going to die, he realized. Concern for how Bruce would handle it flooded him. Oh God, Bruce! Concern for his adopted father was his last thought before darkness completely engulfed him.


Using his water bearers, Aqualad created a disc below his feet. When he hit the river, the disc and his legs took most of the impact. He grunted as a dull pain shot up his body and he was flung forward and into the freezing water headfirst. He immediately kicked off and began to swim with the swift current; taking care to avoid the chunks of ice that traveled the river with him. They would swirl and bang off of one another and the shore; sometimes getting caught briefly; sometimes breaking off yet other chunks of ice in the process.

As he rounded the bend, the speed and violence of the moving water increased as rocks and boulders changed the topography of the river's bottom. Boulders jutted out of the water, causing Kaldur to have to twist to avoid crashing into them. The rapids grew increasingly more difficult to maneuver.

Kaldur worried now that Robin, stunned or unconscious upon impact with the freezing water, might have been unable to avoid crashing into the many obstacles in the river. He used his Atlantian strength to move even more swiftly in hopes of catching up to the boy before he could drown.

It was difficult though. He had to keep his eyes peeled for the Boy Wonder, in case he had somehow, miraculously, pulled himself to shore or got caught in the rocks that lined the river. Although Kaldur wasn't as familiar with the dangers of rivers as he was those of the ocean, he was aware of the potential hazards of ledges and holes where the water can curl back upstream and hold a boat or swimmer in place. They could easily drown a person caught in one.

Strainers could also be a life threatening problem, he thought as he caught a glimpse of a large downed tree that extended into the river ahead. If the power of the water trapped Robin in the branches, he would easily drown. The rapids were increasingly more difficult the further he went. He wasn't certain that even his Atlantian strength would be sufficient to escape from some of the dangers this river posed.


Now you are getting a glimpse into the writing process. This is good, but it could be so much better. And now, of course, it is . . . From here I could see potential problems for my plot happening, and I made the decision to not include another meta-human in the mix. It was also taking too much time as I was writing this for a contest. I refused to short the story by rushing it, and some of the rules for the contest limited me. I set this aside temporarily, and worked on a different story for that YJ writing contest (Jaborandi), to be picked up later when I had the time to invest in it.

I would love to hear your opinion on these earliest versions.