Robin was used to flying through Gotham City; the wind blowing back his hair and cape as he ran across rooftops and swung through the air, the exhilarating feeling of his stomach dropping to his feet as he flung himself off of parapets…the thrill…the danger…the freedom.

Somehow though, flying through Gotham City in the painful, razor sharp talons of a bat creature wasn't quite the same. They passed through the city rapidly, weaving between the skyscrapers that rose into the air like towering giants. Robin was honestly struggling to stay conscious as his head throbbed and warm, sticky blood ran down his chest and cooled in the chilly night wind. He wouldn't admit it out loud, but he was now wondering if he'd been wrong telling Kaldur not to call the League. A rescue sounded pretty good right about now.

But it was their mission, their problem. And they would handle it.

"I am in position."

Robin shook his head clear of fog at the sound of Kaldur's voice in his earpiece. "Good. We're almost there. I think."

"I hope your hunch about his chosen destination is correct, my friend, or this will be most unfortunate."

"Don't worry, I'm not wrong about this," Robin replied, forcing confidence into his voice. "If I were a pissed off, giant Man-Bat creature ready to tear apart and/or eat the guy driving me nuts all night, I'd head to the highest point in the city to do so without being disturbed. Did you prepare the transmitter like I told you?"

"I did. I can see you approaching from the east."

"Get ready," Robin clenched his teeth to keep from shouting in pain as he adjusted his grip on the Man-Bat's legs, the movement causing more skin and muscle to rip and shred against the claws buried deep in his flesh.

He dared a glance behind them and saw Wayne tower approaching rapidly, confirming his suspicions.

"Here goes nothing," Robin breathed through his pain as the Man-Bat flapped his powerful wings, carrying them higher and higher. It circled the top of the building, once, twice, before swooping down and hovering a few feet above the roof.

"Now!" Robin shouted as soon as solid ground appeared beneath his feet.

There was a brief moment when it seemed like nothing was happening, but suddenly the Man-Bat let out a massive shriek of pain, its clawed hands clamping over its ears as it thrashed in the air. Its talons convulsed and suddenly retracted, the harsh pain of the claws ripping out of his shoulders making Robin yell out, and suddenly he was falling.

Strong arms caught him, the impact sending white hot agony through him and leaving him breathless for a moment. The gray spots finally faded, and Robin blinked first at the sight of the Man-Bat writhing in pain on the rooftop and then at Aqualad's worried gaze just to his left. Robin realized the Atlantean had caught him, and was now supporting him with an arm around his middle.

"See? Told you we could handle it," Robin forced a grin.

The Man-Bat's convulsing became more erratic, and suddenly it lurched to its feet almost drunkenly, wings flapping as it swiped angrily at anything near it, trying to escape the waves of the ultrasonic transmitter as the machine completely disoriented it.

"Must you keep proving yourself wrong?" Kaldur asked exasperatedly.

Aqualad's grip around him tightened as the pair stumbled away from the creature. A stray claw caught Robin's belt; there was a loud rip as it was suddenly yanked from him and tossed across the roof.

"Get down!" Robin yelled as another clawed hand came down on them. The two were forced to lunge in opposite directions to avoid getting flayed.

The boy wonder just had time to see Kaldur's horrified expression from behind the Man-Bat's thrashing form, its claws once again clamped over its huge ears, before a massive leathery wing slammed into him. The impact sent waves of pain shooting from the wounds in his shoulders; he tried to regain his footing before he hit the ground of the roof, but his foot met nothing but air, and then he was falling.

Robin's eyes widened, his heart rate skyrocketed as he plummeted from the roof of Wayne Tower. His hands automatically went to his belt for his grapple before he remembered it was still on the roof with Kaldur and the Man-Bat.

Faster and faster he fell, catching a glimpse of his reflection in the windows of the skyscraper as his brain scrambled for a way to save himself. The only thing he could think as the car covered street loomed before him was that he really, really hoped Bruce wasn't working late tonight and therefore able to witness the death of his protégé.

Robin's eyes narrowed in confusion as a red and yellow blur shot across the street from his right and flew up towards him with startling speed. A hand suddenly caught his wrist, and then his body was pulled upwards instead of down. Robin grunted in pain as he found himself on Kid Flash's back, arms and legs hooked around him.

He blinked in astonishment, staring first at the back of his friend's head, then around them in shock. "Are…are you running up a building?"

"Nope," Kid Flash replied easily. "We are running up a building."

"I thought you weren't very good at that."

"I'm not. Must be an adrenaline rush thing, because last time I tried this, I ended up with a broken arm and four cracked ribs. So far so good though."

"Comforting, KF. Very comforting."

"You're welcome for saving your life, by the way. Where's Aqualad?"

"On top of the roof with the Man-Bat. I built an ultrasonic transmitter that's disorienting it and keeping it from flying off. Please tell me you have a cure of some kind."

Kid Flash held up a large syringe filled with pale blue liquid as he ran up Wayne Tower. "You mean this?"

Relief hit Robin so hard, which combined with the pain he was currently in, made him want to black out. "KF, you are a genius."

"Tell me something I don't know."

Robin could hear the grin in his voice, and suddenly found himself once again on the roof of Wayne Tower. Kaldur was taking on the Man-Bat on his own, and he was losing. The Atlantean's arms were locked around the neck of the creature as he held on for dear life. The monster roared viciously, then reached back, seized the teen, and threw him over his head. Aqualad landed on the ground in front of them with a grunt.

He looked up at them in surprise, relief palpable in his eyes as his gaze met Robin's. Kaldur looked at the speedster, his voice weary as he said, "Please tell me you have a cure."

"Right here, oh fearless leader," Kid Flash held the syringe in his hand as Robin eased off of him, swaying and near collapse.

The Man- Bat roared again, its thrashing body dangerously close to where the transmitter lay. "Go!" Kaldur ordered, surging to his feet. "I will restrain him."

Robin stumbled forward to help, but the world spun dangerously, and he leaned against the access door to the building before he could collapse. He watched helplessly as Kaldur dodged a desperate swipe of the Man-Bat's claws and tackled the creature to the ground. "Now, Kid!" he shouted as the creature shrieked, its fangs descending to rip out the Atlantean's throat.

There was a flash of yellow, and then Kid Flash and Kaldur were stumbling away, the empty syringe clattering to the floor as the creature yelped and snarled, clawing at its own neck.

The teenagers watched, transfixed, as the Man-Bat arched and convulsed against the ground, stomach churning cracks and snaps filling the night air as the figure grew smaller and smaller. In minutes, the panting, unconscious form of Dr. Kirk Langstrom lay where the creature was, his body covered in bruises and scratches.

"It worked!" Kid Flash breathed a sigh of relief, his eyes wide.

Kaldur looked at him sharply. "You sound surprised."

"Well, yeah! I mean, theoretically it should have worked, but you can't really know these things until you test it," Kid Flash admitted. "Right, Rob? Rob?"

Robin slumped to the ground, deathly pale as his friends rushed over to him.

"Rob! Dude, talk to me! Holy crap, what happened to you? Why are you covered in blood?!"

"Srry," Robin slurred, his eyes slipping closed. "I'm gonna pass out now."

And then the throbbing, sharp pain of his wounds slipped away, and the world went dark.

"Dude, can you hear me? Duuuuuuuuude…..Robin, seriously, you need to wake up. ROBIN, wake up. Wake uuuup."

Robin opened his impossibly heavy eyelids to glare at his best friend.

"Finally! I thought you were going to sleep forever," Wally sat back in his chair beside Robin's bed. "I was kind of losing my mind, here."

"Did you really wake me up because you were bored?" Robin asked incredulously. "I'm trying to recover, Kid Idiot!"

Wally at least had the decency to look slightly sheepish. "Well, yeah. But also I was really worried! You've been out for a day and a half. And no offense, dude, but you look like crap."

"Mangled shoulders and blood loss will do that to you," Robin shot back, glancing down at his heavily bandaged arms and upper torso. "Dr. Langstrom?"

"He's fine," Wally waved dismissively. "Physically anyways. He's in serious trouble for all the stolen equipment and illegal experimentation of course. Are you in pain?"

He must have seen the grimace Robin had made. "I'm fine, I can't feel anything with the amount of painkillers they have running through me. How did uh, how did Batman take all this?"

Wally went pale and he rubbed at the back of his neck. "Er…well, I'm not going to lie to you, Rob. He was pissed. Like, beyond pissed."

"Scale of one to ten?"

"My guess? Probably fifteen. Well, more like a hundred when he saw the state you were in."

"I tried to tell Kaldur that we should call the League."

"Did you, now?" Kaldur stepped into the medical room, arms crossed.

Robin grinned at him. "Sure. It really isn't my fault that you were too stubborn to admit you needed help."

"My apologies," Kaldur raised an eyebrow. "I was under the impression that you were the one who was in over your head."

"Nah, I had everything under control the whole time," Robin waved his hand. "It was all part of the plan."

"Indeed? I will be sure to add that in my report to Batman," Kaldur replied, smirking slightly when Robin paled.

"I'm in serious trouble, aren't I?"

"You so are," Wally nodded. "It was nice knowing you."

Robin sighed. "Yeah, it was nice knowing you guys, too. Oh, and Wally? Thanks for the save."

Wally shrugged, looking pleased with himself. "It was all in a day's work. Creating the world's fastest cure, saving a damsel in distress from certain doom, stopping the bad guy….the usual."

"Humble as always, my friend," Kaldur placed a hand on Wally's shoulder.

"And who are you calling damsel in distress?" Robin glared.

"Hey, I call it like I see it, bro," he grinned, then glanced suddenly at the doorway. His grin fell. "Uh, gotta go. Feel better, Rob!"

Wally seized Kaldur by the arm and rushed from the room. Robin had a second to puzzle over his strange reaction before a dark figure stood in the doorway, looking decidedly displeased.

Crap. Robin quickly morphed his features into an expression of pained exhaustion. "Hey, Bruce," he croaked weakly, sounding as pitiful as he possibly could.

"Nice try," Batman's eyes narrowed. "But you aren't getting out of this so easy."

"Damn," Robin cursed, dropping the act. "It was worth a shot."

Well, I hope you guys enjoyed this short, little, action-packed ficlet! I know I enjoyed writing it. I think I need to go back and forth between super dark stories to slightly lighter ones, though still with some suspense in order to stay sane. So this was a lot of fun. Let me know your final thoughts on it!

Also, I have another story in the works and almost ready for posting! If you guys enjoyed The Collector, I think you will really enjoy this one! It's pretty dark as well, full of nail biting suspense, and also features a lesser known Batman villain (no I did not create one this time). First teaser chapter will be up soon! Hope you guys have a great rest of your week.