Well, I'm back. Just in time to go to boot camp for band kids. Heh... Yeah, I'll be gone for another week... But, at least I finally found this chapter. Yeah, I lost some of my chaps. Oops!
While the Titans finished the fight with the thugs, the dogs went to go find Robin. Ace quickly picked up his scent, along with blood. In a panic, all three dogs charged to the roof where they found Joker beating an unconscious Robin with a crowbar.
All three growled viciously and circled Joker, who finally stopped beating on Robin's battered body and looked at the dogs with sadistic smile.
"You want to play too?" he cackled.
Wolf lunged at the psycho, but Joker dodged him. Krypto soon joined in on the fight, distracting the Joker so Ace could get his little one to safety. Or, at least far away from Joker's crowbar.
After checking that Robin would be okay for a little bit, Ace slunk into the shadows. Wolf and Krypto saw his plan, and they maneuvered Joker to where his back was to Ace. In one giant leap, Ace pinned down the Joker. The blunt force of his head hitting the ground knocked him unconscious.
The Titans finally joined the hounds on the roof and panicked at the sight of their leader.
"Starfire, Beastboy, and Raven, take these guys to Arkham. Make sure they're all tied up and bounded tight." Cyborg ordered, feeling as though it would be something Robin would've said.
The three nodded and did as they were told, Krypto going with them under Ace's order, while Cyborg scooped up the injured bird and carried him to the med bay, Ace and Wolf right behind him.
Cyborg hooked Robin up and checked him over while Ace laid his head on his stomach.
"Nothing too severe. Just some major bruising and broken ribs. He'll definitely have a concussion though, and he may be limping for awhile." Cyborg reported.
Ace nuzzled Robin's stomach before backing off. He went to the head of the bed and jumped on, carefully avoiding Robin's head. Cyborg lifted Robin's head to check for bleeding. Ace curled up so when Cyborg laid his head back down, Robin had a comfier pillow.
"He can go to his bed after he wakes up and I check over him." Cyborg said before leaving to fix the Tower's now fried mainframe.
Ace licked Robin's face and listened to his deep breathing, reminiscing about the days he'd do this when the boy was lonesome. He was much smaller then. Small enough for Ace to wrap his head around his tiny waist.
The dog nuzzled Robin's neck and went to sleep, guarding his charge.
A few hours later…
Robin slowly opened his eyes to see that he was hooked up to an IV drip in a dim lit room. He groaned and tried to get up, but he was suddenly pulled back. He looked up and saw Ace staring down at him.
"Hey, boy." Robin rasped, reaching up to pet him.
Ace yipped and nuzzled the hand. Robin gave a weak laugh and scratched his ear. Robin sat up with Ace's help and recalled the previous events.
"Rise and shine, Sleeping beauty." Cyborg said, walking in.
"How long was I out?" Robin asked.
"A couple hours." Cyborg answered.
"What's the damage?" Robin asked.
"Three broken ribs, major bruising on your chest and back, and you may have a concussion." he replied.
"That's not so bad, eh boy?" Robin asked Ace, ruffling up his fur.
"You two must be pretty close." Cyborg suddenly commented.
"Why do you say that?" Robin asked.
"You seem more relaxed with him around, and he was the one that saved you. Also, he didn't leave your side the entire time you were down." he said.
"You're right, Ace and I are very close." Robin agreed.
"So what's the story?" Cyborg asked.
"Well, I guess it started out when I first became Robin. I was six, going on seven, and I had gotten kidnapped. Again. Held hostage in a lab. Again. Broke out of the handcuffs in five minutes…"
Robin ran down the halls, his heart pounding as he heard the sound of people running towards him. Without even thinking, he turned the corner into a dark room.
He pressed up against the door, listening as thundering feet passed by. A whimper caught his attention. Robin looked around and saw an array of cages and a medical table with bloody utensils and syringes. He shivered and walked towards the whimpering sound.
He peered into a cage and saw a dog. It was underweight and looked to be a few months old. It was a bloody scrap of bones to be honest, and it grabbed at Robin's heart.
He opened the cage and gently reached his hand in. The puppy gave a pitiful growl, yielding from his hand.
"It's okay. I won't hurt you." Robin assured it, picking it up by the scruff.
The puppy whimpered again but calmed down once it realized that Robin wouldn't hurt it.
Robin knew he had to get out of the lab, but he didn't know how. He looked around and found an air vent. It was small, but big enough for Robin and the puppy to fit. With a determined nod, Robin crawled into the air vent with the puppy in his shirt. After some time, he heard the sounds of a fight taking place below. He looked through a side vent and saw Batman tying up Robin's kidnappers. Robin jumped down and ran to Batman.
"Are you alright?" Batman asked.
Robin held up the puppy with a hopeful smile on his face…
"Batman said no at first, but I convinced him otherwise." Robin finished his tale.
"Wow, so he's been with you for like nine years." Cyborg said.
"Yeah. Something like that." Robin said, scratching Ace's head.
"So what about Wolf?" Cyborg asked, petting the giant wolf hybrid's head.
"He's actually Superboy's dog. Wolf joined the Young Justice team when I was thirteen, a little bit after it was initiated." Robin admitted.
"And Krypto?" Cyborg asked.
"Superman introduced us. Long story short, Batman was working on the monitor and Superman got placed with 'babysitting Robin' duty." Robin chuckled.
"So you were raised by the Justice League?" Cyborg asked.
"Well, yeah. Batman couldn't be both a father to a hyperactive child with separation anxiety issues and a hero at the same time. He had to have someone help watch me. One of the reasons he kept Ace." Robin said wistfully.
The two talked for awhile longer until Robin yawned. He didn't pay much attention to it and continued with his conversation. After his tenth yawn, Ace finally decided that the teen was tired. He nudged Robin's back.
"I think you should get some rest." Cyborg suggested.
"Nah, I'm fine." Robin waved him off.
Ace gently clasped his teeth on Robin's wrist and started to drag him towards his room. Robin leaned against the dog and sighed in defeat.
"Fine. Night, Cyborg." Robin groaned as he limped out.
"Night, Rob." Cyborg called