Chapter 11
"Hey Rache, can I come in?"
Came Dick's voice. She sighed, then smiled and put her drawing away, before walking over to the door and opening it.
"Hey Dick, what's up?" She asked brightly, leading him into her room.
"Not much, just wanted to talk." Rachel didn't know how, but she knew he was lying when he said that, like a tingle down her spine. She decided not to press. They sat on her bed, facing each other, and for a minute there was a silence before Dick spoke up.
"Uh so, I didn't tell anyone, but I did a bit of research into that gem… thing." He said. Ah, so that's why he wanted to talk. He asked if she could get it out and she nodded. She wriggled so that she was lying across on the bed on her stomach and leaned down, her arms reaching under her bed. She slid a small black and purple box out from under, and grabbed it, before sitting back how she was, with the box now in between them.
She proceeded to open the box, which was full of pretty shells. She gingerly took out a large conch shell, ignoring Dick confused look and gently picked out the gem from inside. It was still that crimson red colour and was still very sharp.
"Just in case anyone we didn't want to find it was snooping around." She said to ease his confusion. Dick smirked and nodded and she put the gem into his hand. He stroked one of the sides and they both pondered before Dick told her what he'd found.
"So I hacked into the Watchtower database," he said, as if it was a normal occurrence, which it was, "And I tried to find some info on strange red crystals. I found basically nothing, no names, special properties, zilch. But then I looked at some of the magical Leaguers, and, well do you know who John Constantine is?" Rachel nodded, he'd been on the news a couple times.
"Well he has on his profile that he's been to other worlds, like many Leaguers, but there was one that he went to that I recognised, so I did some more snooping and found out that they knew what that gem is. It's something to do with a cult, I think. There might have been more but supposedly, they've been guarded for thousands of years." He leaned against the headboard.
"Of course that could be a completely different gem, but seeing as you both have similar powers, cuz I'm assuming that you could have more, it may be the real thing."
They talked for a while, and the conversation led onto the news, which led onto the Joker, but Rachel was getting a very strong vibe not to press on that right now, so she instead changed the subject.
"So," she asked, "When can I go to Mt. Justice and meet the rest of the team?"
"Well, how do you feel, physically?" He asked. She felt a lot better and she told him so. He nodded and said that she could go soon, if she wanted to. She grinned, excited to meet the rest of her (hopefully) friends.
"Hey, so, have you told them that I like uhhh… exist?" She chuckled. He shook his head.
"Well I haven't but Bats did briefly mention that there'd be another member joining the team soon. Some people did ask me about it, but I only told them that I know you and that you're a great person." He said, giving her a lopsided smile.
She grinned back and they chatted until around half 1, when Rachel's stomach started rumbling. She blushed and Dick laughed, suggesting that they should get some lunch, which she agreed with. The duo chatted all the way down the stairs about this and that, giggling and laughing as they went. Alfred and Bruce, though the latter wouldn't admit it, both loved that sound, it filled up the manor with happiness.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Robin was nervous. He, Batman and Catwoman perched on a rooftop opposite an old warehouse. One that the Joker had been known to hide out in. Batman had already confirmed that there were at least 20 heavily armed thugs in the main room, possibly more elsewhere. Possibly the Joker elsewhere.
He snapped out of his thoughts to hear Batman's plan.
"Robin, you hide in the rafters of the main room, there's a skylight you can enter through to be unseen, Catwoman, you take the exit on the left, and I'll take the one on the right. Are we clear?" Robin and Catwoman nodded.
"Good. Robin, go."
Robin used his grapple to land on the roof, silently opening the skylight. He slipped down into the rafters above the thugs' heads and perched, scanning the room. There were a few boxes and crates scattered around the floor, and a big, graffiti Joker on the far wall. No signs of any supervillans, but thugs can still be dangerous.
Robin threw a bird-a-rang at the light switch, successfully shrouding the large room in darkness. There were some panicked shouts, but soon one thug switched the lights back on, plucking the projectile out.
"Hey boss, you see this?"
"Ehhh, get out here you brat!"
Robin cackled and let it echo around the room, scaring the lackeys. They loaded their guns and aimed at the rafters, the doors, pretty much everywhere. That is until he threw some smoke bombs down, obscuring their vision. Shots rang out and soon, grunts were heard as some fell to the newest vigilante arrivals. Robin cracked his knuckles and leaped down, landing gracefully on top of one thug, and jumping to take down another.
Soon they all fell, and the smoke cleared to reveal Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy and the Joker.
"Well Batsy, you are getting clever! Just don't get too clever, or you might find something I don't want you to." He said, bursting into a fit of laughing. Harley hefted her mallet and Ivy spread her arms, making thick vines burst through the floor and shoot out at Catwoman. Harley yelled and charged at Batman, while Joker grinned and cracked his knuckles, advancing on Robin.
The clown threw the first punch and Robin springed away, only to dodge the mini bombs that Joker threw at him. Robin leapt towards him and swept the leg but the madman jumped, retaliating by catching him square in the jaw with his heel. The bird stumbled back to get a punch in the gut, making him grunt and loose balance, falling on the floor.
"Not so light on your feet now, eh bird brains?" Joker grinned, flashing 3 knifes in each hand like Wolverine. Robin didn't answer, but did a handspring to try and avoid the oncoming projectiles. He dodged all 6 of them, but the Clown Prince of Crime wasn't playing fair. Just as landed the last dodge, he fell a sharp pain in his abdomen, and looked down to see the sneaky knife that had ripped his flesh stab into the wall behind him. He cried out in pain and clutched his throbbing side to stop the bleeding. Joker just laughed.
"Oh how I missed that sound! You know, you should really some and see your Uncle J more often, I was getting lonely in Arkham!" He chuckled, wiping a tear from his eye. Robin's vision swam red as he stumbled back.
"JOKER!" there was a thwack and a slam as the clown he fell sideways on the floor, having been successfully knocked out by Batman. Robin looked around woozily to see Ivy and Harley tied up and also unconscious, sporting matching welts on their foreheads.
Catwoman dragged Joker's body over to be tied up with the other two as Batman sprinted over to Robin and knelt down infront of him.
"Let me see Robin." He said softly. The Boy Wonder shakily let go of his side as Batman examined it.
"It hasn't gone deep enough to need stitches, but we need to clean it properly back at the cave." He stated, before gently picking up his injured little bird and carrying him over to the Batmobile.
Robin passed out after that.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Rachel couldn't sleep. She'd been tossing and turning until half 10 at night, and she was starting to get annoyed. Finally, she sighed and and stood up, stepping into her bunny slippers and walking out of the door. Since it was warm in the mansion, Rachel was only wearing lilac shorts and a grey strappy tee, but it was definitely colder out of bed than it was in.
She slipped down the stairs and looked around for Alfred. He was in the kitchen washing up from dinner, and Rachel gave a small cough to signal that she was there. He turned around and gave her a small smile.
"Ah, Miss Rachel! What are you doing up?" He said quietly.
"Oh, well," she blushed a bit and tucked a strand of black hair behind her ear, "I couldn't sleep, and was a bit hungry…" she said. He gave her a knowing glance and began to walk away, telling her to look in the cupboard above the sink, and that he would be downstairs if she needed him, or wanted some company. He said downstairs in a way to signal that he would be in the Batcave and left.
The cupboard above the sink turned out to be a haven of biscuits, chocolate, cookies and so much more. Rachel grinned and chose a few treats to put in a small bowl, before heading into Bruce's study and down into the cave. She and Alfred were talking as he cleaned and and she ate, and soon she felt a whole lot better. She had just finished her last cookie when there was a grinding screech and the Batmobile came bursting through the waterfall and stopping abruptly, scaring the crap out of the pair.
First out was Catwoman, who looked concerned, which worried Rachel, she was the cool and calm type. She ran over to Alfred and asked her to help get the medical supplies and he nodded gravely. Now Rachel was really worried. Next out was Batman, and he didn't seem to notice her as he opened the back door and lifted out a small figure. With a lurch she realised, it was Robin.
Her eyes widened and threatened to fill with tears, but she mentally slapped herself and walked over to the distraught Dark Knight, asking if there was anything she could do. He nodded and asked her to pull out the gurney under the Batcave mega-computer. She obliged and he gently lay down the unconscious bird. Just then, Catwoman, now Selina as she and removed her mask, and Alfred rushed in with the medical supplies, and the old butler began to clean Robin's wound, like he'd done it many times before, which he probably had.
Rachel looked over at Bruce, as he had also removed his cowl, and could almost sense his emotions. He was angry with Joker, so they had gone after him, and also with himself for letting this happen, he was worried for his ward, and extremely stressed with this and all of the work that he had to do when he was billionaire Bruce Wayne, not the caped crusader.
She hesitated for a moment, but Rachel opted to put a hand on his Kevlar shoulder. He stiffened for a moment, then he relaxed and looked at her with grateful eyes and she smiled softly. He then put his hand on hers, and thanked her quietly. She nodded and he left to go and change from his suit.
She looked back over at Robin and Alfred, as Selina had left to do the same thing as Bruce, and all of her worry and concern flashed over her face again. Alfred had finished cleaning the gash, and had just wrapped it all up in bandages. He had knowingly left the two alone, knowing that his surrogate grandson had got into worse scrapes than this, and that he would be ok.
Rachel closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and walked over to Robin. She gently removed his mask and upon seeing his brow furrowed and beaded with sweat, she decided to try and calm him down, like she had done Bruce. She put her hand over his and held it gently, pulsing emotions of calm and peacefulness into him, and he relaxed considerably, into a slumber.
Rachel sighed, relieved that he wasn't in any pain and surprised that it had worked, and sat with him, hands still intertwined, waiting until he woke. Man she was glad it was a Saturday.