I am so. Sorry. My computer decided to die a terrible death involving a power surge and a falling from a car window at high speeds. I recently got the new one, and I just now finished this. But it is, in fact, done. Happy obscure holiday, everyone! Enjoy.
I own nahthing dahling.
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The Batjet landed in the mall parking lot, a fair distance away from the burning, crumpling mess. The Dark Knight, slightly irritated at having been called at all, pulled himself lithely out of the cockpit, landing on the concrete not a second before Superman did.
His best friend (though he was loathe to admit it at times) had opted to take the mall with him, in the hopes that the sight of such a trusted icon would ease the public's fears. Bruce hoped that it would force the big blue boy scout and his clone together. Of course, had Clark known that the teenage Kryptonian was, in fact, in the mall, he would never had come.
Which is exactly why Batman hadn't told him.
So Bruce was understandably confused when Superboy wasn't standing at his customary spot beside Miss Martian. He quickly took stock of the situation, and studiously ignored Clark's not-very-subtle sigh of relief at his clone's failure to appear. Young Justice had pretty much kept a hold on the situation, and Miss Martian and Aqualad were both standing at the entrance, letting a stream of fairly calm citizens out the double doors. The others, he could only assume, were still inside, taking care of things in other parts of the mall. His heart swelled minutely in pride; Young Justice hadn't even been on duty and they'd stepped up to handle the situation. Canary was teaching them well.
None of the people walking down the steps looked injured, which Batman was grateful for. The fewer people injured in this, the better.
At the sight of the two Justice League members, the teenagers in the doorway immediately deferred to them, moving out of the way and granting them entry. They both seemed nervous, but it was understandable. They were a covert team, after all, and this could have been extremely detrimental to their operation.
He didn't get suspicious until, after Superman had awkwardly congratulated them on their successful evacuation, the nervous habits of the teenagers only increased. They fiddled with their uniforms, and shuffled their feet, and refused to look anywhere near his eyes. Even Aqualad, who was naturally a very submissive person in the face of superiors, could look him in the eye on a good day, and the team wasn't even under fire.
Something was going on, and the detective in him burned to find out just what it was. One look at the Man of Steel told him that Clark was just as curious about their strange behavior.
"Aqualad."
The aquatic teen jumped at the mention of his name and his eyes darted up to meet Superman's. "Yes, sir?"
The smile he received was disarming, "Sorry for being so blunt, but why are we here? It would appear that you guys have everything under control, and the police-" He tipped his ear toward the parking lot, "have just arrived. There's really no reason for our presence."
Aquaman's apprentice blanched, and he opened his mouth to speak, but no words escaped him. Closing his mouth, he looked away from us and tried again, garnering a little more success. "I mean no offence, Superman, but you are correct. There is no reason for you to be here."
Clark looked surprised at the open admission, and I narrowed my eyes.
"We do, however," the Atlantean continued, "have a message for Batman." At this, he finally looked at the Dark Knight, and his pained gray eyes made his jaw clench in trepidation. Worst-case scenarios filled with mass homicidal maniacs with news for the Bat flitted throughout his brain.
At Batman's glare and lifted eyebrow, Miss Martian and Aqualad shared a glance. Bruce realized that they were probably having a mental conversation, but in the back of his mind it occurred to him that they could very well have been playing 'Rock, Paper, Scissors,' and the effect would have been the same. Apparently, either Aqualad lost their little contest or listened to his innate sense of duty, because he turned to the man before him and steeled himself.
"Robin has been injured," He reported, with all of the steely grit of a soldier. "Impaled. He, Superboy, and Kid Flash are on their way to the Batcave at Robin's instruction. They may already be there."
The seventeen-year-old seemed to loose his momentum after the report and glanced at his teammate, who put a green hand on his shoulder and looked the protector of Gotham dead in the eye.
"We did all we could, but... the wound was bad. I don't know how well he'll recover... if he does at all."
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"Acknowledged: Robin, B-01; Kid Flash, B-03; Superboy, B-05.
Superboy tightened his grip on the dark haired boy in his arms as they crossed the threshold into the Dark Knight's domain. Bats fluttered overhead in the darkness; white noise for a human, but mild torture to the Kryptonian clone.
"Master Wally."
Both Superboy and Kid Flash's eyes darted up to the owner of the dapper British accent. An older man dressed in a suit was making his way rapidly down the stairs, his steps measured and controlled. Superboy took a protective step back with wide eyes, but Wally's face split into a relieved grin.
"Alfred!"
The stalwart old man's lips quirked upwards in the shadow of a smile as he continued down the stairs. Superboy tilted his chin up in distrust, but Kid Flash quickly began introductions.
"Superboy," the speedster began, "Meet the Batbutler."
Superboy's tone was skeptical. "That's not really your name." He opened his mouth to speak again, paused, and when he next spoke, he sounded unsure. "Is it?"
The 'Batbutler' laughed quietly. "No, you may call me Alfred. Though it is no surprise that you were uncertain. Master Batman does have a bit of a liking for that particular prefix, doesn't he? Now," Alfred's steps were crisp and precise as he neared the clone, "Let me take a look at Master Robin's wound."
Connor reluctantly uncurled himself around the Boy Wonder, and Alfred's eyes widened. Not wasting any more time than had already been lost, he briskly walked to what Connor could only assume was the infirmary. Opening the door, he directed Superboy to deposit Robin on a bed before turning around to a telephone that hung on the wall. As the man's weathered fingers began to punch numbers, his mouth started releasing questions.
"Does Master Batman know?"
Conner noted with an odd curiosity that Kid Flash's nose crinkled when he got nervous.
"Not... exactly."
The old man whirled towards them, his eyes wide, "What do you mean not exactly? He has not been notified?"
"He'll know as soon as he gets to Gotham. Aqualad will tell him."
Alfred's thin lips quirked into a frown, but he sighed and shrugged his shoulders at Superboy's explanation, "I guess it can't be he- Ah, Leslie? We have a bit of a problem here."
Leslie? Who was that? And why was she the first person that Alfred had called?
"... Well, it would appear that the young master has impaled himself... The metal rod is only about an inch and a half in diameter... Yes, I'll wait for you. Thank you."
The wizened old man hung up the phone and crossed the room to Robin's side, feeling his wrist for a pulse. He timed the soft beats on his watch in silence, before turning to the teens standing awkwardly in the middle of the room.
"Well if you're going to be here, you might as well be helpful. Dr. Thompkins will be here shortly, and she asked us to make Robin as comfortable as possible until she arrives."
He turned to Superboy and directed, "You'll find a morphine drip in the closet in the back of the room adjacent to this one. Fetch one for me, please."
Facing Kid Flash, he said, "And you, young man, will explain to me just how this happened."
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Batman studiously ignored the panicked look in Aqualad's eyes as they sped through the trees in the Batjet. One dark, long-fingered hand latched onto the control panel in front of him, and the other lay splayed against the window, bracing the Atlantean in his seat. With a pang, Batman realized that Robin would have been drinking this kind of speed up, his eyes full of excitement as they rocketed through the woods. He'd only ever gone this fast twice.
And now Batman was worried that he would never have the chance to do it again.
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Oh and by the way, I just wanna send a shout out to JJ100051, who gave me a seriously needed kick in the pants. And I also wanna thank all of you for actually continuing to deal with my failure to do anything.
Love you guys,
Magic.