Throwing themselves farther into crime fighting, Robin and Kid Flash began to lose sight of who they were outside of that. Robin had fallen from one end of the mourning process to the other, while Wally just became an empty shell of the man he was before. They barely talked to anyone unless they had to, ate very little but always did so alone. Batman was becoming progressively more worried, then one day Roy showed up at the Manor with important business that he would not share over the intercom. Opening the door slightly, he looked to find Roy in plain clothes. 'Oh good,' Bruce thought bitterly to himself, 'yet another visit to explain to the media.'
"Bruce, we need to talk."
His tone was serious, although that was to be expected. Roy very seldom paid anyone social visits – especially now that he was busy with his charge.
"Wally isn't responding at all, I don't even know if he's in there anymore! He just goes on patrol with me, comes home and sits in his room."
"I don't understand how this is-"
"One: he's in part your charge since you were the one who created the Young Justice League and you assign all the missions. Two: he wasn't like this until after he ran to Mt. Justice to get something he called 'very important' and 'impossible to live without'."
"And?"
"I'm pretty sure he ran into Dick."
"Oh."
"Yeah, 'oh'."
Stepping out from behind the door, Bruce gestured for Roy to come in before shutting it and leading him to his study. After ensuring the door was locked behind them, Bruce began.
"What do you propose we do?"
"What's with the change of heart?"
"Dick has been…distant as well. Now that you mention it, something had to have happened between the two and neither knows how to deal with it; it's escalating to a point far worse than the incident a few years back."
"Yeah, I remember. This is definitely worse, Bruce. If Wally keeps this up his system will shut down and I'm not sure Barry will be able to fix him again."
By now, Bruce knew that Dick had snuck up and was listening through the door. Riffling with some papers, he tried to think of something to say. Sighing, he resigned to the truth.
"How are we going to arrange a meet up if neither of them are doing anything other than crime fighting?"
Roy finally caught on at this point – beating around the bush was never Bruce's strong point. Nodding slightly, he knew what he was trying to say, Roy slowly began.
"We could both go out on a mission and have them handle one aspect together so they are forced to acknowledge one another."
"Very well, I'll arrange it."
Roy nodded, turning to exit the room before stopping himself short. He cocked his head to the side before saying, "Let's just hope this works."
Two weeks later both men brought their comrades on a covert operation involving Penguin getting his filthy hands into even more atrocious business. As they separated out into teams, Kid Flash and Robin moved in silence, avoiding the slightest amount of contact. Wally fell back a little, holding the rear while trying to find a way to talk to Robin. Neither boy was expecting the flash bombs attached to motion sensors that had somehow been missed in the sweep. As soon as they stepping into range the bombs went off – knocking them out in record time.
Kid Flash was the first to wake up in the pitch black room. 'Stun bombs with a frequency that temporarily shuts down machinery – we're dealing with someone informed. I – we – have to tread lightly.' He thought as he tested his bonds. Vibrating proved to be effective, he was free within seconds, but the room was made of some kind of super dense material – it was resisting his ability. Scanning the room, he saw a dark outline of a body in an adjacent corner.
Wanting desperately to move over there in the blink of an eye, but afraid he would alarm the enemy, he slowly inched his was across the room. Checking him for vital signs, he noted that Robin had been stripped of his cape, gauntlets and utility belt; however the younger teen was breathing with a steady heartbeat, much to Wally's relief. Taking a hold of Dick's wrists, he used his ability to vibrate his arms through the ropes, doing the same with his ankles. 'Thank you, Uncle Barry, for teaching me how to transfer vibrations!' he thought, gently adjusting Robin so he was sitting more comfortably, his head now rested on Kid Flash's lap.
Looking back down at his unconscious companion, he stroked his hair lightly and leaned against the closest wall while he waited for him to wake up. After what felt like hours the younger boy stirred, his eyes fluttering open to a concerned face hovering closely.
"Hey dude, you okay?"
Moaning as his muscles screamed at his for sleeping on the floor, Robin sat up to face Kid Flash. He searched his eyes for a clue as to what was going on, but he received none.
"How long have I been out?"
"A couple hours, maybe more...or less, I guess. There are no windows or light so I can't really get a good feel for what time of day it is."
"Right…"
The silence suddenly became stifling as they ran out of things to say about the mission. Sitting in the darkness but still avoiding contact, they remained silent – waiting for what was to come.