Disclaimer:
I don't own YJ that belongs to DC. The song "Open Wounds" is a song by Skillet and belongs to them and their producers.
"We're back," Robin announced.
"What did you find?" Megan Morse's voice came.
She went over to them and said, "So?"
Batman got up and walked over to them. He looked at the four for a report.
"We found that there was a lotus flower, an anemone flower, a petunia flower, and a chestnut leaf," Conner said.
"Lotus means mystery and truth," Artemis said. "And anemone means forsaken, refusal, abandonment."
"Petunia means anger, resentment," Kaldur added. "And chestnut stands for independent and injustice."
"We think that they're maybe a crime or some kind of mystery that she knows the answer to," Robin said. "That because of this truth she feels abandon or forsaken. The anger and resentment may come from that as well as the prospect of facing injustice."
"That's a well thought out theory," Batman said. "Good job all of you. You're dismissed. Robin….I have a special task for you."
Megan grabbed Artemis's arm when the blonde opened her mouth to protest.
"Do you want to do something?" Megan said. "I'm dying of boredom!"
Artemis agreed and the two girls darted off. Megan had a hair brush and hair ties, Robin suspected Megan was going to braid Artemis's hair or something like that.
"Want to train?" Kaldur asked Superboy.
"Sure," he grumbled.
Robin looked at Batman and said, "What do you need me to do?"
"I want you to find her," Batman said. "I managed to slip a tracking device on her."
Robin looked at him and nodded. He went to walk away when Batman said, "Richard?"
Robin looked at Batman.
"Be careful. Something isn't right about this," he said.
"I thought something was wrong," Robin said nodding. "I'll be careful."
With that, the Boy Wonder took off. Batman walked towards the training area and saw Kaldur and Conner. He watched them quietly, silently worrying if he'd made the right decision.
Robin looked down at his map. No…he should've taken a right at West 56th Street. He looked around and turned back towards West 56th. Robin was as silent as a shadow. He was happy to be out, but silently wished someone else had gone along with him.
That's when it hit him. He went to the streets below and listened intently. There was screaming. Robin looked down at the screen. She was inside. He slipped open the window and snuck in. He dropped down as he heard a voice.
"So who are you now? Pangari, Mercy, Kaie, or Renee?" a voice asked.
"P-p-pangari. I'm only Pangari…I-I'm no one else!" another voice hissed.
Robin winced as he heard a door slam and angry bellowing. He heard soft crying in between it. He waited until the footsteps sounded like they were above him. He snuck into the room and bit his glove hard.
The girl was there…it was Renee! Or that's who she introduced herself as. He crawled over to her and whispered, "Renee? Renee? Are you all right?"
Pangari's eyes opened slightly. Her mouth opened to scream, but Robin covered her mouth and said, "Renee it's me! Remember? The boy from the library?"
Pangari's eyes filled with tears before she whispered, "You shouldn't be here. He'll hurt me if he finds you."
"We're leaving," Robin said brushing a strand of hair out of Pangari's face. "You and me. We'll get out of here. I promise I won't let him hurt you."
Pangari whimpered and said, "Hurts too much."
Robin thanked whatever deity above that she was about the same size as him. He picked her up easily. Robin slipped through the window, and gently helped her out. He realized she couldn't stand by herself. They both heard the sound of footsteps and Pangari just cried, "Leave me!"
Robin gave her a look and said, "No. I won't leave you Renee."
He managed to hoist her up. She gave a cry as he moved her. Hearing the footsteps growing closer, the bird took off. He carried her a couple blocks away, hoping he was far enough away. He pressed the com-link and waited for Batman to pick up. He was using an emergency line, and he hoped he wasn't going to scare his mentor.
"Robin? Robin did something happen?" the Dark Knight's voice came.
"Yeah…" Robin said. "Pangari's hurt, and I mean seriously injured. Can someone pick us up? I'm almost scared to move her…she keeps whimpering."
Batman was silent for a moment and said, "Stay put. I'm coming to get you."
Robin gently carried Pangari out of sight. He heard yelling again. But this time, he was one hundred percent sure, it was her captor. He looked down at the girl. He took his cape off and ripped it into strips. He bandaged her ankle, which looked broken. He saw the gash across her cheek and pressed the cloth against it. He tried to patch her up the best he could. About an hour passed when Robin heard a relieving sound.
"Robin?"
"Batman! I'm over here!" the teen called out.
Batman walked over and his eyes narrowed behind his mask. The little girl was a crumpled up bloody mess. He saw that Robin had tried to patch her up, but with little effect. He bent over and scooped her up into his arms, only to be greeted by an inhuman noise. It was like a screaming-whining-choking sound. Robin followed Batman out of the ally way.
"Nooooo," a stricken voice croaked. "Please….please don't hurt me! I promise I'll be better!"
"Hush," Batman said, unusually gentle. "No one's going to hurt you."
Batman looked at Robin. The Boy Wonder looked unharmed, thank the sweet god. He beckoned to his protégé. The two escaped into the shadows with her, leaving an angry and confused man, determined to find his girl.