YJ: Finding Robin: Chapter 7

For Robin the mind numbing singing stopped and for a moment, just a very brief moment, there was silence. Then his mind was enveloped in screams. There were so many voices Robin was having trouble distinguishing between the voiceless victims screaming, his friends' screams and his own screams. Hundreds of soul-less bodies poured out of the doors into the halls. At first no one knew what was going on then Faust moved.
"Damn you Luthor!" Faust cursed as he began running down the hall away from the pale barely human creatures, but it was too late. The creatures lung forward clawing, biting and grabbing at anything that was not one of them.
"Robin!" Batman's voice pulled Robin out of his own mind as a creature lung at him trying to grab him. Robin could see that his friends were in trouble. Kid Flash had been knocked against a wall, Artemis can't get far away enough to use her arrows, Miss Martian's many arms were not enough to fend off all her attackers. Batman, Superboy and Aqualad were all holding their own but there was simply too many. At this rate they will never make it.

He couldn't lose them – the ones so important to him, to Robin, to Dick. He remembered, Artemis, Megan, Kaldur, Wally... Conner... Bruce. Without them Robin was nothing. Without them Dick was dead. He couldn't lose them. Not when he could help it. They've protected him all this time while he was lost, waiting for him to find his way. Now, it was his turn to protect them.

There was just too many of them. Wally was fast, but speed didn't matter when it the creatures were everywhere. Wally knew he was going to get crushed to death, he just wished he would suffocate first. He had been caught and the bodies began piling onto him. Wally couldn't tell if it was hard to breathe because his chest was being crushed or if there was just too many things breathing the same air in the same vicinity. Suddenly the weight on his chest began to ease. By the time the last creature climbed off of him Wally could see a large crowd forming in the middle of all the chaos and for whatever reason more and more of the creatures swarmed towards the center. Suddenly a body flew through the crowd and for a moment the crowd parted enough for Wally to see Robin was at the very center of the swarm, fighting. Robin was moving like Wally has never seen him move before. The boy's usually graceful movements were still as fluid as ever but every move was so precise. It was as if Robin could see all around him, it was as if he knew where his opponents were going to be before they got there.

The gap close as fast as it opened, new bodies filling the hole Wally quickly lost sight of the younger boy.

"Damn you! Get out of my way!" Wally cried desperately pulling at the creatures swarming towards the center. Swing after swing Wally fought hoping to cut though the crowd, hoping for another glimpse at the boy in the center. He had to get there. He had to get to Robin.

"Robin!" Wally could hear Superboy's desperate voice yelling on the other side of the crowd. From where he was standing Wally could see bodies fly though the air as Superboy tossed them in the air pulling them away from the swarm forming around Robin. All the others have gotten up and began trying to fight to get to Robin. Suddenly the group stumbled inward all at once and Wally saw Robin jump out from the center of the crowd and landed near him.

"Run! We need to run." Robin said to team as they gathered around them. "They know the pain, but their bodies don't feel. Will fight until they cannot move. Until all their bones are broken. Eight to twenty-five pounds of pressure to break a bone. Takes too much strength not practical based on sheer numbers. We run." They did not need any more prompting they ran, Robin taking the lead running down the hall behind him. Robin seemed to know exactly where he was going. A left, a right and another left, they could hear the hundreds of running footsteps trailing after them. They were all losing steam, even Wally was slowing down. They can't keep up the pace for much longer. Wally barely stopped in time to not run into Robin as the boy stopped abruptly at a large door.

"Will this lead all the way out?" Batman asked examining the door. Robin did say anything, but he headed to a panel about twenty feet away from the large elevator doors on the wall. Robin began typing furiously at the keyboard and Batman seemed satisfied with that as an answer, he turned to the rest of the team. "Move those crates so we can make a barrier just in case we need to buy some time." No one argued, as tired as they were they paired up and pulled the large crates into a barricade across the hallway.

"Robin?"Superboy asked standing protectively next to the small boy eyeing the hallway they came from nervously as the footsteps and groaning got louder and louder as the swarm drew close.

"Not to rush you or anything, but faster would be better." Artemis said anxiously pacing the wide hall her bow at the ready.

"This looks like the service elevator that should take us back to the entrance where we came in." Wally said as the details on the elevator came on the screen as Robin worked at bypassing the security. It appeared that the building had been put into lock down when the creatures were released.

"Robin?" Batman said with some more urgency as the first wave of creatures rounded the corner into view. If it was even possible Robin typed faster and with a hum the elevator came to life. They could hear the elevator cart coming down from the ground floor. It was coming but too slowly.

Level B1… 2… 3… 4…

"They are coming." Robin whispered walking away from the terminal and approached the barrier as the first wave got closer with a second wave close behind. Batman was the first to react, a concussion grenade was thrown far down the hall into the middle of the second and third group trudging down towards them sending the creatures flying into the walls and ceilings.

Level B5… 6… 7… 8…

"Artemis. Aqualad." Batman ordered. Artemis shot her exploding arrows at the creatures as they came within range while Aqualad directed currents of water pushing the closest ones back. "Superboy. Ms. Martian." The two nodded lifting up two large and heavy crates and tossed it into the center of the group. The crates scattered the crowd and the less fortunate creatures were crushed underneath.

Level B9… 10…. 11…. 12…

"That elevator has to be able to move faster than that!" KF groan looking back at the number display showing the elevator's current position.

"Yes it can." Robin replied plainly.

"Then why are we not making it go faster?" Kid Flash gaped at the boy gesturing wildly at the encroaching zombie-like creatures. "Can't you see we are a little short on time here?"

"If he speeds that up anymore it may not be able to go back up." Batman explained. "That is if it could be stopped." Batman's words sobered the boy to their situation.

"Let's go." Robin whispered before he dashed forward.

Level B13… 14… 15… 16…

With a loud roar Superboy tossed a creature into a cluster of them to his right knocking them down only to have a few latch onto his arms by a tangle and limbs and teeth. It hurt, not enough to stop him, but it still hurt. Superboy flung the creatures off him and charged into another group that was getting too close to the barrier. To his left he could see Robin, and if they were not in such a dire situation he would have been mesmerized by the small boy's movements. Every hit was precise, every kick aimed to shatter bone, every punch aimed to incapacitate the creatures, all the while dodging all the attacks. It was breath-taking.

Level B17… 18… 19… 20…

Megan has never fought so hard in her life, and has never felt so hopeless. It could be the seemingly endless stream of these pale warped humanoid creatures that seemed to stop at nothing to try and destroy them. It could be the waves of sadness she kept sensing coming from these creatures. Every time she made physical contact with one of the creatures she could see a flash of what they use to be, what was left of a distant memory for these creatures. They were once humans, with families, and friends until they were captured and changed. Each creature seemed to hold on to these deteriorating memories somewhere deep in the back of their minds. The first glimpse froze Megan in her tracks. Her hesitation allowed a swarm of creatures to attach themselves to her pulling, biting and clawing at her, their memories overwhelming her mind. Suddenly she felt them knocked away from her one by one. When Megan opened her eyes again she saw Robin next to her.

'It's okay….'

Robin's voice spoke in her mind like a soothing melody.

There is no going back for them… Help them let go.

Robin smiled at her, and she smiled back. There was no time for hesitation. She will fight to put them out of their miser and to protect the people who are precious to her.

Level B21… 22… 23…

Artemis stood in the back behind the rest of the group shooting into the ever encroaching crowd. As the girl watched her friends fight she realized just how large the gap between them was. All of them were in the thick of things fighting, holding their own, even their youngest member, a mere human like herself, but so much smaller, stood and fought so valiantly next to the others. The more Artemis got to know Robin the more in awe she was with the mysterious boy. How could one human being, much less a child, withstand all the things that he has and still function? Artemis wouldn't go as far as to say the boy was balanced, especially in light of the recent events, but how could the boy continue to fight so hard for them? How could he still so unconditionally care for the ones around him? How could he so easily forgive her betrayal?

Level B24…

"Artemis!" Kaldur's voice pulled the girl out of her thoughts just in time to see a creature charge towards her fist drawn. It was too late for her to dodge.

B25…

Suddenly Robin was on front of her. With a sickening thud the boy took the hit for her, she could hear the sickening crack of Robin's ribs buckling under the force. Robin's body flew skidding along the ground landing at Artemis's feet.

B26…

"Stay focused!" Batman growled at Artemis angrily as he watched Robin protect Artemis when the girl was spacing out. Superboy was at Robin's side in an instant helping the boy up. Artemis stood frozen unsure what to do.

B27…

The doors to the elevator opened, and not a moment too soon, then team has been backed all the way up to the elevator doors.

"Get in! We got to go!" Kaldur called to the rest of the team. As all of them filed into elevator Kaldur realised just how badly injured everyone was. Wally was limping; his arm held close to his chest looked like it was broken. The girls leaned on each other bleeding and bruised, even Batman looked a little winded. Robin was half leaning on Superboy as the boy half dragged half carried into the elevator. Kaldur himself was not doing much better he was dehydrated and wounded.

"Why are there no buttons here?" Wally gaped in exasperation looking desperately at the metal panel where the control panels are usually resided.

"This is a freight elevator no humans ever enter to operate it from the inside." Batman sighed in realization. "The only controls would be on an external terminal." The exhausted group looked across the advancing crowd of mindless creatures to the terminal that seemed too far away.

"I will go." Robin said with a smile pulling himself out of Superboy's arms.

"No you can't." Superboy said looking out into the dangerous sea of creatures there would be no coming back.

"I will be right behind you. You have all protected me, all of you." Robin said looking from one of his friends to another, to Batman "You know it has to be me." Batman looked away because he knew it was true. Robin's eyes finally settled onto Superboy. Robin smiled and placed his hand on Superboy's face. "It's my turn." With that Robin stepped out of the elevator before anyone could react closing the door behind him.

Superboy clawed at the heavy metal door but could not get a grip to rip it open. Batman's hand caught his and stopped him.

"Stop you rip that open his sacrifice will be for nothing." Batman's usual emotionless voice was filled with sadness. For a few soul crushing moments they sat in the pitch darkness only the roar of the creatures outside the doors, and then they began to move. The higher the elevator rose the lower their hearts sank. They had come to find Robin, but now Robin was gone.