Darkness. It surrounded him, sucking the breath from his lungs and beating his mind into a corner. It was oppressive, like the bottom of the ocean, and he vaguely wondered if that was where he was- the ocean. He vaguely considered calling out for Kaldur to pull him up before beating the thought down. It won't do any good.

But why?

What had happened? Something had happened, he knew. Something important. The more he thought about it though, the further away it got, sending him into a blissful state of unawareness. So he fought harder.

He clawed his was out of the pressing darkness, trying his hardest only to find himself in the dark void of his thoughts. Determined not to give up, he focused on his senses, trying to at least see if he was in any eminent danger.

Hearing first.

He focused on his ears, mildly concerned that all he could hear was buzzing.

Were there bees under the ocean? Surely there weren't.

Unbidden, a memory wrapped itself around his brain.

He and Batman had been chasing the Joker. They found him in the back of an old warehouse and fought, only to see him escape by blowing up some of the crates near Robin's head. Afterward Richard's ears had rung terribly, and he wasn't able to hear much of anything for a half hour. He had inquired to his adoptive father about the cause.

"Dick," he'd said, "The ringing you hear is excess noise. It's your ears' way of telling you that you've heard too much, or that whatever you were listening to was too loud for your ears to handle. Specifically? The bomb that the Joker used is probably what caused it."

The ringing in his ears now was suspiciously close to the ringing in his memory. Something... blew up? His tired mind struggled to wrap itself around the concept. Exhausted from the effort it took to understand, he turned back to his senses.

Alright, how about we try taste?

His taste buds were surprisingly simple to pull back into his awareness, and the first thing he noticed was the sharp tang of blood. The coppery liquid worried him, but he continued on with his mental exploration, pushing tendrils of panic away from his thoughts.

Now feel.

At first his entire body felt numb, and he almost didn't want to feel what was going on around him for fear of pain, but he chided himself and moved forward. Feeling came back at the ends of his fingertips first, slowly spreading through his tired limbs. With a start he realized that they were being moved and he tried to struggle, only to fall limp. Something warm was being taken from him and he fought against the paralysis of his arms as hard as he could, and he struggled to use his voice, but nothing happened.

No! Don't take her from me! That little girl-!

That little girl.

She had been playing a game when Robin had heard the tell-tale beeping. He'd recognized it for what it was and ran to shield her from the blast. He almost hadn't made it.

The explosion had pushed him forwards and he had curled himself around the little girl in the hopes that his body would protect hers. They'd been thrown into the games, pain exploded in his back, and then everything faded.

He could feel that pain now, and it tore him in half every time he breathed, ripping into the area near his hip. It immobilized him and nearly brought him to tears. Hands on his back did nothing to help with the pain, instead bringing it to horrible heights.

Then the hands moved him.

The pain exploded like a white-hot forest fire, eating any sanity that hadn't yet been consumed by panic. It raced through his torso and out to his limbs, making his fingertips tingle in sharp stabs.

This time he was able to find his voice, and he used it. The scream that escaped his throat surprised even himself, though he had known that it was coming. Instantly the hands moving him froze, and through the ringing in his skull he could hear worried voices.

"M'g-! "Loo-… back. I ca-...blood."

"-T happe-?"

"There's a pole...stab-... his back."

"Super-!... news?"

Frantically he tried to open his eyes, but was deterred by their sheer weight. After a long struggle and more prattling from the worried voices, his tired lids finally opened, only to fall back shut with a grimace. Kid Flash noticed his discomfort and alerted the rest of the team.

"Guys! He's awake."

Immediately silence fell over the rest of the group and he opened his eyes again, taking in his surroundings. Standing at his head was Aqualad, and at his legs crouched Kid Flash. Miss Martian kneeled next to him and her hands rested lightly on his back. Superboy was nowhere to be found.

Robin looked to the young speedster between his legs and blinked, staving off the perpetual darkness that threatened to engulf him once more.

"K-k-kid," a spasm of pain shot through him and he stiffened. Seeing how the faces surrounding him paled drastically, Robin grinned as cheekily as he could and drawled, "I'm p-pretty sure I'm gonna need med- medical attention."

His best friend looked tortured, and his usually bright eyes were dull, despite the try for levity. "Rob, this building wasn't the only one bombed. According to Supey, the bottom floor of the nearest hospital was burnt to a crisp, and the garage for the ambulances exploded. Whoever did this didn't want people to live after this. We can't even get through the door without busting it open, and the building's weakened structure may not withstand that. There are no medical supplies, and no place we can take you to help you. We're going to have to wait this one out."

Robin forced his exhausted eyes to Kid Flash's goggled ones one last time. It took him a moment to focus, and Kid Flash waited patiently. "Take me t-to the Batc-cave."

His friend's face pinched, "Are you sure that's what you want?"

Aqualad chimed in from his position at Robin's head, "Your only other option is to await the arrival of the Justice League. Superboy called them a few moments ago. It could be a while. I do not know if we have that long."

Robin took a steadying breath before nodding his assent, wincing when the movement set his stomach in flames. "You remember h-how to get there, KF?"

The speedster bit his lip. "I'm not sure where the closest entrance is, and it's not like we can just waltz through the front door." He paused a moment, looking thoughtful. "Do you have your cell on you?"

Robin wasted no energy on nodding, choosing instead to weakly fish the electronic device from his hip pocket. A red gauntlet gently took over the task and located the phone before thumbing through Robin's contacts. Apparently satisfied, Wally smiled reassuringly at the ebony haired boy beside him before pressing the cell phone to his ear.

"Alfred? No, it's Wally."

It was as though a heavy weight had been lifted off of Robin's heart. Alfred would be waiting for them, as he always was, and Alfred was as good as any doctor. Maybe he would even call Leslie.

Robin barely heard a foggy-sounding Aqualad ask if it was okay that Kid Flash took backup. The thirteen-year-old mumbled something that should have been an affirmative, and fell back to sleep's waiting arms gratefully, secure in the knowledge that his team and his family would take care of him.

Even if his dad did kill him afterward.

[d-_-b][d-_-b][d-_-b][d-_-b][d-_-b][d-_-b][d-_-b][d-_-b][d-_-b][d-_-b][d-_-b][d-_-b][d-_-b][d-_-b][d-_-b]

So. I know it's a bit different than it was originally, but there were some plot holes that I hadn't accounted for back when I was young and inexperienced.

They're gone now.

Thanks for putting up with my sloth imitation,

-Magic