Disclaimer: So I popped over to this alternate world today and found out i don't own DC comics characters there either. That sucks.

Now that I've made it clear why I stopped for so long, I'm just gonna have to warn you that with this one i probably won't be doing daily updates. I'll try, but i really am not that far ahead here, plus I have to correlate events between the two stories. =/ so sorry. I'll try to keep this guy shorter though because i wanted less to happen here anyway. Once we're past initial reactions, i'll keep things to the minimum necessities. =P So sorry.

Where's Robin?

Ch. 7 – Shell Shocked

Flash couldn't get it. Why was Wally still asleep! Blue Beetle's sedative entered his system around three that morning. It was getting close to one. Other than rolling to his other side and curling into a fetal position, Wally hadn't made a single move since his uncle left him.

The teen's back faced Barry, and the man couldn't understand why the kid stayed asleep. There was a hot meal waiting for him. No one was angry at him anymore. The best news in the world was waiting for him once he got up. And the whole day his uncle was free. It was one of the few days he had off from the lab in Central, and thankfully things had been quiet on the Rogue front. Barry only left for two hours earlier, just to tell his and Wally's family what was going on and why the kid was staying at the mountain for a bit.

And yet the kid wouldn't wake up! The sedative would have worn off on a normal person by now! There was only one conclusion, and Flash didn't like it. "Wally, quit faking. Just get up already and eat."

The bundle on the bed shifted slightly but didn't respond. "Wally…"

He continued to say nothing. Finally the fastest man alive's patience ended. Batman was right about one thing with kids. You couldn't coddle them forever. Faster than the eye, Barry jumped up and yanked the kid's blanket off of him, forcing him to turn onto his back. Glaring, he shouted at the boy. "Cut it out! Your self pity isn't helping anyone!"

"But I—" Wally's pain filled eyes begged for his own end, both hurting his mentor and infuriating him. The kid was in his own world.

"Robin's not dead!" Barry insisted. "Yes, you shot him with some weird alien gizmo, but you didn't kill him! You sent him to a different universe, that's all!"

The thought struck Wally like a ton of bricks. Apparently this wasn't exactly what he needed to hear after all. "That's all? I shot Robin! He's gone because of me!"

"He's not dead!"

"Dead, gone, what's the difference!" The teen folded his arms across his eyes, wanting to cry but unable to. He lost too many liquids already. "It's all my fault! I shot Robin! I hurt him!"

"He wasn't hurt," Flash tried to insist. According to Guy, the process is supposedly painless. Just temporarily blinds and deafens people if they aren't prepared.

"I sent him away! He's gone because of me! He's all alone!" Wally gasped for air for a moment. His crime wouldn't go away, even if Robin wasn't dead. He over heard Barry talking to himself earlier, trying to find a way to tell him Robin was okay, just not there. But KF and Robin were best friends. He knew what Robin feared most: being alone. Everyone knew he was happiest when he was either with his friends or with Batman. He probably fought harder because people were with him and he wanted to stay with them. Being shoved into some alternate universe was condemning the kid to his worst fears. As his best friend, how could he do that?

"It's my fault," he cracked weakly. "All my fault. Robin's gone and it's all my fault."

Flash stared at the kid. Already he was looking weaker and thinner than normal. His metabolism was going to eat away his body at this rate. Stress wasn't helping, and neither was the kid's refusal to eat. He had to get this kid out of his slump.

Determined, Barry put his cowl back on and glared at the kid. He grabbed one of his arms and pulled him out of bed in an instant. "Get up. Now."

"Wha—"

His uncle didn't give him another second to gather his senses. He ran full throttle through the quickly opening doorway, dragging the kid along. He didn't care much if Wally had his feet underneath him or not. They weren't going far.

Within a few seconds they were in the main hall. Batman was standing at the computer typing away, his own sedative having worn off fifteen minutes ago. Flash didn't stay put while Wally was sleeping. Every ten minutes or so he checked around the mountain in case Robin found a way home. He knew that kid could do anything if he put his mind to it. Batman was on his feet, working on several things in the cave instead of in Gotham for the same reason. He was waiting on the slim chance of Robin coming back on his own.

Wally saw the dark knight and in an instant started to shake. Flash gave him a cold look. "Do you honestly think he'd kill you now? He's had all the time in the world when I went out for a bit, and when you were out cold. See? He's ignoring you. That's a good sign. He's not mad at you."

The teen didn't stop shaking. He only stared at the man still working on the computers. Wally knew there was no forgiveness for what he had done, and this was the avenging angel. He had no right to be on any terms with this man. It was probably only his oaths to justice that kept the teen alive.

"Finally awake." Batman murmured, not looking at them.

"Mostly," Flash agreed. Suddenly Wally dropped to his knees, shaking uncontrollably. Flash jolted, falling beside him in a panic. "WALLY!"

The dark knight turned to look at the boy for a moment. Pure terror and guilt remained on his face. There were no more tears, just extreme shellshock. Not an easy thing to come out of.

"Wally, listen to me. Everything is going to be fine! Robin's alive, no one's mad at you, everything's going to work out."

"All my fault," Wally whispered. "It's all my fault. He's gone and it's all—"

In one swift movement, Batman left his holopads for the speedster, pulling him to his feet by his shirt. Before the Flash realized what he was doing, the dark knight's fist slammed into the boy's cheek. A little blood spurted out of his mouth as he toppled to the ground. Flash jumped to his feet enraged.

"BATMAN! WHAT ARE YOU THINKING!" The uncle grabbed the man by his shirt, ready to hurt him just as badly for striking his nephew but didn't get the chance. Coldly, Batman slipped out of his grip and calmly walked towards Wally.

The boy still stared at the ground, no longer shaking. It was as if everything was snapped into place in his mind. While in his small daze, Batman's boots came into view and stopped.

"Feel better?"

Slowly Wally nodded, focus coming back into his eyes. Batman extended his hand to him and after a brief moment he took it. Flash stared in disbelief as the man helped the teen back to his feet, their eyes only on each other.

"Robin will be back in a week," Batman informed him, releasing his hold on the kid. "He'll decide your punishment then."

Hope filled Wally's eyes, making it easier for him to smirk about it. "Bet he already has something cooked up."

"No doubt. Now get something to eat so you'll live to see him." With that Batman returned to his computer screens and the project he was working on. Wally nodded and went to his baffled uncle, wiping away the blood on his face. Batman hit him hard, but not in a place that'd break bone or loosen teeth.

He gave Flash a weak smile. "Sorry about being such an idiot."

Flash didn't answer. Unsure how Batman did it, Wally was back to normal, if not a little more mature than before. Quickly he grabbed his nephew and held him close, receiving an equally strong hug from the boy. "It's alright Wally. Everyone's an idiot one time or another."

The kid gave a weak laugh and loosened his hold. The two separated slowly, glad they were there for each other. Flash ruffled the boy's hair affectionately. "Now get in that kitchen. You're starting to lose muscle mass here."

Wally's stomach growled loudly, forcing him to laugh a bit. He did as he was told for once, letting Flash and Batman be alone for a minute. The scarlet speedster turned on the dark knight, glaring slightly. "Okay, how'd you do it?"

Batman didn't answer at first, finishing whatever report he was working on. He took one deep breath before saying a word. "He's a good kid Allen. He knew any criminal needs to be punished."

"But that wasn't a crime. Robin's alive."

"He believed he killed his best friend. It's hard to change an idea when that's all you can think about." It became clear to the Flash he wasn't just talking about Wally. There must have been a time, or some event, where Batman wanted to be punished as well. "All you need is some sense knocked into you. He wanted punishment. Now he's got it. He wanted forgiveness. He got it. He's lucky Robin really isn't dead and we can get him home."

A chill went down Flash's spine. "Would you have turned him in if Robin was—"

"Wouldn't you?" The glare Batman gave him warned him away from asking anything more. Yeah, they'd be required to present Wally's case to the proper authorities. Whether Batman let the kid make it there in one piece was the only question.

Batman looked back to his typing, ending all discussion. "All we can do is learn from this. And make certain it never happens again."

A/N: So, my idea was always for Bats to deck Wally and then he'd stop pitying himself. Sometimes when a person's in shock, they just need to be slapped. men don't slap. *evil grin* Now Wally's not really off the hook. In fact, this story's gonna be punishing him several times between events.

Bats is gonna stay at the cave for a while. Also explained why Flash was the first one to be robin's sitter in 'Without Me', besides the obvious reasons stated in that story. Much fun.

Again, sorry for the inevitable lateness of future chapters. It'll all depend on how much I become obsessed with this story. got another one I really wanna work on that i haven't started yet, so these guys are kinda losing steam. XP sorry