Disclaimer: Wow, look at all the stories I've written here. Fourteen and growing. how many chapters total? no clue. But you'd think after so many disclaimers i wouldn't have to explain it all again. no on DC character ownership. Will take offers to work for them though. =D
Dude, if you're keeping up with me and my other stories, I know you know Robin's alive. now everyone here needs to know. Oh, and you're gonna kick me later when someone tells you exactly what that thingamabobby is. *evil laugh* Thank you everyone for crying! you make me grin.
Where's Robin?
Ch. 4 – Indications
The fastest teen alive couldn't go anywhere. All he could do is hold on tight to his rock. Wally couldn't stop crying, couldn't stop seeing it, couldn't stop thinking over and over again. 'Robin's dead. I killed him. It's all my fault. I killed my best friend. Robin's gone because of me.'
"Imsory" escaped his lips constantly as he shook uncontrollably. Uncle Barry held tight to him, vibrating in time. He wouldn't leave his side for a second. Hiding in their old room, the Flash tried soothing the boy best he could, but nothing really seemed to help. Wally wouldn't be able to get past the guilt for quite some time.
It was an accident. It really was, but the boy wouldn't see it that way for a while. All he saw was his friend gone. It killed him inside. And it killed his uncle twice as much.
He knew and loved both these boys like they were his own. If it weren't for Robin, Barry doubted he'd be able to accept Wally as a nephew so easily. And how he gained superspeed so quickly after they met, it still floored him. But a child hero wasn't new, and Batman had done a great job with Robin. Taking in Wally seemed the natural course. Helping him any way he could was just how they were.
Slowly he rocked the boy, hoping to slow him down. This constant shaking wasn't good for his body. Who knew when his metabolism would start breaking down his muscles for energy? The kid needed to slow down soon or he might start withering away before he came to terms with what happened. Silently he prayed the kid would pass out. He didn't need to torture himself anymore than he already had.
Someone knocked on the door. Flash jolted his head up, praying it wasn't Batman about to take his revenge. But Batman didn't knock. He told Flash to take his nephew out of his sight. If the dark knight wanted to, he could have killed Wally earlier. Why come by now, knock on the door, and attack him? So, not Batman.
"Who's there?"
The door opened and Blue Beetle popped his head in. "Flash, I need a second opinion on this thing."
The speedster looked down at his nephew, still crying his eyes out. "I'm a bit busy here Blue."
Blue Beetle nodded, understanding what he said fine. It didn't stop him from taking out his specialized gun and firing something at the boy. Despite both their superspeed, neither Flash could stop the shot.
"What did you just do!" Flash glared his outrage at the reserve member, pulling the projectile out of his nephew's body. A dart like always. Blue didn't use normal bullets after all. The hole it made in the boy was closing quickly, and the kid wasn't shaking as much.
Blue Beetle shrugged, putting his gun back where it belonged. "A long lasting sedative. Should keep him quiet for at least an hour with your metabolism."
Of course, as soon as he said this, Barry could feel the boy go limp. Wally was out cold, already dreaming of something horrible. It pained him to see the kid torture himself so much, but what else could he do? He wasn't about to pass out earlier, and coaxing the speedster wasn't working either. Besides, Flash had originally come over to check out this device.
Slowly (for him) he placed the boy into his bed and wrapped his blankets around him. He only removed the kid's goggles in hopes he wouldn't hurt himself as he slept. And the kid needed sleep. He gave a quick glare to his comrade before leaving the boy's side. "I still don't like it. And if I come back and find out Batman murdered him in his sleep, I'm holding you just as responsible."
"You and I both know he won't," Blue retorted. The two started down the hall, eager to check out what they had. "And if my assessments are right, then you'll have some great news to tell your protégé."
"What?" Confusion took over Flash's face. "What do you mean?"
"You'll see. I just really need a second opinion."
"A second opinion?" Frustration entered his voice. "Blue, don't beat around the bush here. What did you find out?"
"Find out for yourself. I can't influence your discoveries." The man obviously wanted a certain outcome, but in the face of science, the more people proved a theory without any connections to each other, the better.
"Robin's dead," Flash emphasized, a bite coming to his voice. "My nephew pulled the trigger."
"That's a matter of opinion."
"Do you even care?" Outrage filled his voice as he turned on the reserve League member. More intimate members knew Kid Flash and Robin well. The reserves rarely met them. How could they care about two sidekicks like he did?
"Robin was the one who got me into the League Flash." Blue Beetle glared back at the senior member. "Found out who I was all to get his neighbor a Christmas present. Batman approached me after he did and got me in. Of course I care about this."
The scientist shook his head as he led the way to the lab. Flash stared after him. He never knew how their other lead scientist joined the League. It did sound like something the dynamic duo would do, especially Robin. He really shouldn't have jumped the gun on Blue's demeanor. He was right after all. For anything in science to be proven as law, there could be no bias between assessments.
On a countertop in the lab, sat the offensive weapon. Next to it were several holoscreens displaying several analysis scans results. Beetle stepped aside to let Flash take a look at them. "I just want everyone to keep things in perspective so we get all our facts straight first. Take a look at what I found and see if you can see something I haven't. We need to be sure."
Flash glared at him for a moment, still not happy with how he treated Wally, then zoomed over to the screens. Quickly he read each one, scrolling through them within seconds. As he read, his scowl disappeared and disbelief took its place. "This isn't possible."
"That's what I thought." Blue Beetle came up from behind him, both coming to the same conclusion. "It's definitely not from Earth, but we've seen this kind of tech before."
"It's not a weapon." That was one solid piece of information both were certain of. The energy output wasn't concentrated enough to kill a person. To kill anything really. "It's a…"
In an instant Flash ran out of the room straight back to Wally. He tried to shake the boy awake. The kid had to know this, now! "Wally Wally Wally Wally Wally Wally Wally Wally Wally Wally Wally Wally Wally Wally Wally Wally Wally!"
The boy didn't budge. He did moan from whatever nightmare he was having, but that was it. Blue Beetle's sedative was quite effective. "Come on Wally! You've got to hear this!" A touch of desperation entered his voice. But the boy remained still.
"Gah! Why do you sleep like the dead?" Within a split second, Flash bolted out of the boy's room to search the mountain for Batman. Next to his nephew, he had to hear this first. He barely dodged the group in the main hall, but stopped for a moment when he spotted Superman. "Hey! SeenBatman?"
Everyone stopped talking and looked at him in shock. "Um… in his old room."
"Thanks!" And he bolted back down the hall to the living area before Superman could warn him away from the Bat. Though the speedster knew on most days not to disturb the man, especially when he was brooding and depressed, he pounded on the door like his life depended on it. Maybe it did.
The door didn't open even after a solid minute of knocking. And at superspeed, it sounded like a machine gun. Normally the dark knight would fling the door open and demand answers after knocking like that, but this time nothing happened. Plan B.
Within seconds Flash vibrated through the wall and stood before Batman, a grieving decowled Bruce sitting in the edge of the bed. The man was clutching a picture, but that didn't matter at the moment. What he just learned was.
"It's not a weapon! It's a transporter!"
Bruce stopped his monotonous rocking, his breath catching in this throat. He looked up to Flash with a desperate shock no one had ever seen on him before. A glimmer of hope came into his haunted grey eyes. "What?"
"That device! It's not a weapon! The energy output doesn't match anything we've got. It's too widespread and gentle! And it's ion trail, it's closely related to Zeta-beams! Which means—"
"He's alive." Hope flooded the man's face, bringing back what everyone saw come when Robin entered the man's life. "Dick's alive."
"High possibility. Still missing though. But dead? Not likely. Where ever he is, I'm sure he's working his hardest to get back home. He's a survivor."
Instantly Bruce took to his feet. He replaced the picture to where it belonged then pulled his cowl back on. Batman's face became firm, not an ounce of weakness. All this grief and rage from before seemed to vanish. Suddenly Flash knew how thick the man's mask really was, and how much it varied depending on Robin's situation at the moment.
Within seconds they were out of the room, joining the others before the holoscreens in the main hall. Artemis and Wally were the only ones not there, but both were overly emotional about this. The others, though close to Robin, reacted differently. It was just how they were. Blue Beetle was before them, explaining what he and Flash concluded.
"Based off the energy alone, I can determine it's similar to our Zeta-beams. Can't trace it though. Batman!" The tech genius looked at the two men coming in, a grin coming to his face. Conner and M'gann were becoming hopeful by the second while Kaldur watched the Leaguers talk. "Flash told you the good news I see."
"Have you tried contacting Robin?" Batman demanded urgently.
Red Tornado answered. "All communications connecting to Robin B-01 are disconnected."
"No GPS?"
"No signal whatsoever."
"Superman." Batman turned on the man of steel who shook his head. Like his pal Jimmy and Lois, he gave Robin a high pitch signaling device should he be in a bad spot away from Batman.
"I can take a quick run around the globe if that'll help," Flash offered. Now that Robin was likely alive, and Wally was out cold for an hour or two, he really didn't have to protect his protégé from Batman. He wanted to help. The sooner they found Robin, the better off everyone was.
Batman shook his head. "Not necessary. If there isn't a signal from Robin by now, then he's not on Earth."
A few of them nodded. It was nearly three am, the 20th. It'd been nearly four hours since Robin's disappearance. The boy would have signaled them by now. Only answer was he wasn't in a place he could contact them.
Batman brought up a holopad and started typing away, bringing back up the video feed from before. He stopped it at one point, when Kid Flash was joking around with the device. By pure chance the speedster had disengaged the 'dead lock' and activated the device. At first it did nothing but glow. He started the feed again.
"Cool," KF murmured on the screen.
"Ah, KF? I think we should put it down now." Robin interjected
"Batman," Superman interrupted, "What are you doing?"
"You're joking right?" KF continued before them, a grin on his face
"Trying to figure out what happened." Batman stopped the feed again, looking from window to window to get a good look at the buttons the speedster pushed. He had to slow it down to watch the sequence. "Once we know what we're dealing with, we can find a way to get Robin back."
Everyone exchanged glances, some knowing what to do while the others became more and more confused. All they knew for certain was Robin hadn't died. He just wasn't there with them. The senior members of the League jolted into action, each reaching towards their communicators.
"Hal," Flash started, turning back down the hall towards Wally's room. "Get to the mountain asap. Got some tech you should see. What? Quadrant 2491?"
"John! We need you back at the cave," Wonder Woman called. "Your expertise is need."
"Guy! Zeta-beam into point 003. We need you to… NO YOU CAN'T BRING A DATE!" Superman barked back at this Green Lantern. "Just get over here! And tell us of any other alien tech experts you've met. We don't have much time."
"Mind taking a look at what we've got?" Blue Beetle asked Red Tornado. "You might have some idea what we're dealing with."
"Affirmative. It would be the appropriate course of action."
"What do you want us to do?" Conner asked Batman, ready to help at a moment's notice.
"Get to bed," Batman ordered, not taking his eyes off the screens. "You've done all you can for tonight and there's school in the morning. I'll send excuses for Wally, Artemis and Robin, but there is none for the two of you."
"But we can—"
"Robin hates missing school," the man informed them. "He worked hard to get where he is there. The least you can do is not miss your classes."
The alien teens exchanged glances before nodding and heading to their rooms. Kaldur stayed where he was. He had yet to know what he should do. Though in the field he was a capable leader for his team, here he was another soldier. Batman seemed to ignore his presence, like everything else in the room as he watched the feed over and over again.
"I said get to bed."
"Forgive me," Kaldur started, "but I do not have school like the others. There is much I can do to help."
"Then do it." Batman gave him a glance from the corner of his eye. "Call Aquaman, come up with theories, make your best guess. Anything you think will help, do it. You're old enough to stick to your convictions."
The Atlantian hesitated. He was not used to so much freedom to act. In truth there was little he could do. He just wanted to be told what to do so he could help. Batman seemed to shake his head. "Thought as much. Leaders can't stay as soldiers Kaldur. You have to step forward on your own sometime."
Batman opened another window and started running some scans on the hall where the incident occurred, his attention completely focused on the task at hand. The young man didn't move, seemingly unable to make up his mind. Again the man shook his head. "Go talk to Artemis. Tell her what's happening then make sure he gets to her room. She should be in the gym."
Kaldur nodded, a bit relieved. Before entering the hall, he turned back to Batman. "Should I inform Red Arrow as well?"
"He'll learn soon enough." Batman typed a few bits of code more before mumbling, "Sorry for earlier."
Aqualad nodded, a small patient smile on his face.
A/N: YAY! now everyone but wally and arty has hope! Arty gets some next so don't fret. Wally would have had some too if Blue Beetle's shot hadn't knocked him that far out. Seriously, if I were in their position, i would have shot wally too. Since he can't vibrate, he'd get shot in that state.
I wasn't quite happy with the inaction the kids have in this chapter, but I couldn't figure out what to do with them. Out of the three of them, I only care to play with Conner. He's just a bit easier than ditzy alien girl and the boring one I made a traitor elsewhere. Kaldur's inability to function as a leader outside of the field kinda irks me, so I think it'd irk Bats just as much.
Yes bats recovers a bit too quickly, but when Robin's involved, he doesn't hesitate. This will come to bight him a little later though. *evil grin*