Robin tried not to squirm as Batman pressed the needle into his am. He tried not to wince as he saw the dark red liquid flick through it and into a clear plastic test-tube. And he tried not to sigh as Batman insisted on giving him another cat scan. It had been hours of this endless cycle of different tests done three times over 'just to be sure'. It was boring, a little painful, and…..frightening. It would have been better if he hadn't been constantly blacking out or spacing out at random times. But at least he hadn't turned violent or anything. He really didn't want that to happen again.
"Batman, come on! You've given me two of those already."
"Three" Batman corrected. He let nothing be heard except the usual gruffness of his emotionless voice. This meant for sure that he was hurting, especially since he had just proved that Robin had had a major space out during a cat scan and no evidence had come up.
"Crap. Well anyway, the point stays the same. If the three others didn't show anything then the fourth wont either." Robin's voice cracked slightly as he spoke. He pulled up his knees to wrap his arms around them as if to protect himself.
"Dick" Batman spoke gently this time as he let his gloved hand touch Robin's shoulder. They weren't the fearless Dynamic Duo anymore. They were Dick Grayson and Bruce Wayne; a sick child and scared father.
"I'm scared Batman." Robin whispered, looking down. He felt ashamed for feeling it, and even more so for saying it aloud. But it was the truth. He had hurt his best friend and father. Batman sat down next to Robin on the hospital bed, letting his arm curl around the youth's shoulders.
"I know Dickie. But I promise you I will fix this." Batman vowed.
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The next week, for Robin, was, to say the least, terrifyingly horrible. On Sunday, Batman had finally decided to stop the tests and was now studying the collected data at the bat cave. He had left the team, plus Roy, to take care of Robin. That, in itself, was proved to be very challenging when Robin was only understandable and contactable one third of a time. The second part of the third he was pretty much normal, excluding the fact that he was more quiet and withdrawn. But the rest of the time he was violent and completely deranged.
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Monday: Robin's point of view:
The orangey color was so pretty. It sparked and fluttered in its jar as if it was trying to climb out of its prison. The blue base worked as glue, tying it to the brown stick that was stuck in violet wax. I could hear it calling for help. It wanted to be let out of its containment. Why was it in jail if it had committed no crimes? That made no sense. So I did the only thing that made sense: I set it free. I opened the jar lid slowly so that no one nearby would hear or notice. Putting my hand inside the clear jar I bit my lip as to not scream in pain. The horrible burning pain filled my hand as the jumpy flame pierced it. I refused to pull away though. Maybe it was just afraid of me and the pain would stop as soon as it realized I was friendly. Or maybe the jar was making the pain and that was what the orangey thing was feeling when it was trapped. If that's what It was then I had to help right? So I just let it bite me and burn me and spread the pain as it climbed free.
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Monday: Roy's Point of view:
My head whipped up from my arrows as a scream pierced my ears. Jumping up my feet took me towards the sound on their own as my head was left to ponder what the hell had happened. Finally I ended up in the living room and the sight I was met by almost made me want to scream. The Martian was standing a few feet from the door, her mind captivated by the fire that was spreading up Robin's arm! Robin's eyes were glazed over in pain yet he refused to pull away.
"Robin!" I screamed. That seemed to bring M'gann out of her trance but not Robin. He just sat there, unmoving and unblinking. I cussed a word that made M'gann's green cheeks go pink. I grabbed a handy vase, dumping out some pearly white roses onto the floor, and dumped the rest of its contents onto Robin's arm. He let out an anguished shriek as the flames died instantly. He cradled his severely burnt arm, peeling back whatever cloth had survived the hungry orange heat.
"What did you do?" The tone of voice, not as much the question, surprised me. His voice was filled with pain and sadness. Accusation and sorrow layered it like cake frosting. I could only look at him, baffled and horrified, as the rest of the team finally returned from food shopping.
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Tuesday: Wally's Point of view:
The next day I watched as Robin slept with a heavily bandaged arm and pain relievers filled his system. How could I let this happen? He was my best friend; we were supposed to be watching him. This was my entire fault.
I growled as I realized that I had the exact same conversation with Roy, only with him voicing my thoughts, only a few hours ago. Since when had I become a moody and depressed hero, like him?
"W-W-Wally?"
"Shhh" I soothed Robin as his lids finally opened to reveal bright blue eyes filled with fear and pain. It shocked me how easy they were to read. He was always so calm and guarded, especially with his glasses on half the time.
"What happened?" he asked, glancing at his severely burned arm, covered in clean white bandages. I hit his head as an answer, lightly of course.
"Don't you ever do that again! What were you thinking? Sticking your hand in the candle…..why do we even have candles here? You almost lost your arm! And Batman is definitely not happy. He argued with Black Canary and Red Tornado for three hours! Finally she convinced him to carry on looking for a cure for you, instead of coming down here. Oh my god, I am so sorry Rob, we were supposed to be watching you and- Rob?"
I stopped, mid rant, as his face went from confusion, to horror, then to fear, and, finally, to sudden sadness. "I stuck my hand in a candle?" he asked me, looking up sorrowfully. Dang it, his eyes were amazing…..even if that did sound gay.
"Yeah. Don't ask me why. After, you just glared at Roy and yelled something about murder." I smirked, trying to lighten up the mood. "You actually managed to piss off Roy more than me!" It didn't work. He just lowered his gaze, looking guilty and sad. It tore at me painfully. My little brother was hurting! This was no time for jokes.
I sat next to him on the hospital bed, letting my arm curl around his shoulders. "It's okay. We won't let anything else happen. I promise. I'm so sorry we weren't watching you closely enough. Batman will fix this soon." He smiled half-heartedly.
"Thanks Wally. And I am really sorry. Can you apologize to Roy for me too?"
"You don't have to apologize to anyone." This came from Roy, who had just walked in. He smirked at Robin, trying to mask his utter happiness that the youngest of us was almost fine after yesterday's ordeal. Robin and I could see right through it.
Roy joined us on the bed, letting comforting silence wash over before Robin blacked out again. It almost physically hurt me that him spacing and blacking out had turned almost normal.