Hi everyone! I bet you weren't expecting this were you? An update before the weekend! This, my friends, is an update to celebrate my sister getting out of hospital a day earlier than expected! Nalini is home from the hospital and although she's not 100% yet and won't be going back to school any time soon, she's healthy enough to be home! And I'm super happy about that! So you all are getting an update due to insane happiness! Happy Tuesday everyone, and I hope you've all had a good one!
Allypallycally1: Don't worry about it, because I now know that I am doing well and that's always good to know! So thank you for the review! :D
Foniko: *facepalm* Well, that failed epically didn't it? *fixes you and then freezes you into a block of ice* See how you do against that! Hahah! Hmmm... Maybe it's not enough... *locks you in large metal crate and ships you off to Antarctica. Good luck :DDDD Thanks for reviewing!
KaliAnn: Very true, they are all in trouble really. But they're far from out of the woods and they've got such a long way to go. Just you wait; I have more complications planned yet before things start to really get better! They just need to make that first step forward and contact help! :D
soccernin19: Oh, Artemis and Wally. I quite like that pairing. In the beginning, that tension between the two of them was intended to entertain my younger sisters because they're all hopeless romantics :') But anyway, it's always good to see other people enjoying it too! Thanks for the review!
BlueJayRobin: More you shall get, Blue! My dear girl, I have no idea where I'm going with the 'whole Artemis-Wally... thing' but it'll end up somewhere! I don't know where, but somewhere! (Totally open to ideas here!) hahahah! Thanks for your support! :)
ArkieR: It really can't be good! But it will get better! I promise! Nalini is ten years old and still firmly in her 'princess stage'. I must have taken her and my other sisters to go and see 'Frozen' at least four times now! (Mind you, even I love that film. Adorable.) But still, thanks! :D
On to the story!
Eventually, after a long time spent tossing and turning and thinking about everything that had already gone wrong and what could still go wrong, the Team managed to get to sleep. The floor of the Bio-ship wasn't the most comfortable place, and the temperature of the ship had dropped significantly since earlier that day and yet none of the team members had voiced this fact because it was just another worry to pile on top of all of the others that they had yet to take care of. Whilst asleep, most of the Team were finally at rest. But there were two members who weren't going to have the same restful night that the others would have.
Robin was beginning to stir awake and the only person who would hear him although asleep was Connor. He had awoken thinking that it was just Wally turning over for the thousandth time that night, but when he reached over to poke Wally in annoyance he saw that Wally hadn't moved a muscle and actually it was Robin doing the moving. The little ninja was shifting around as though he was having a dream, and after watching him wiggle around the floor for a while Robin opened his eyes. It was a bit of a shock for Connor, who had just been expecting him to jiggle around the floor a little bit before settling down again.
In a bit of a daze, Connor made his way over to Robin and sat down next to his head before pulling the smaller person into his lap and holding him up by his shoulders: allowing Robin's head to be cradled in the nook of his elbow. Robin may have been awake technically, but he didn't seem at all aware of his location or situation. His eyes were rolling around in his skull as though he was trying to look at a thousand things at once and frankly the sight scared Connor to no end. If Robin was awake, then Connor knew that he needed to take care of him until the others woke up. He would let them sleep through this, after all they had all had a long day and tomorrow he knew that another was in store. Yeah, he would definitely let them sleep.
With his decision made, Connor rubbed the back of his neck uncertainly and then gently placed Robin back on the floor of the Bio-ship and got up to look for some water. He found a can of clean water in the emergency supplies case that had landed somewhere totally out of place at the front of the ship. After noting that it wasn't opened anywhere, the Kryptonian brought the can back to his ailing friend and knelt down next to him, opening the can as he went. Connor picked up Robin's head and poured a tiny amount of water onto his lips to encourage him to open them and then was pleased to find Robin doing exactly what he had hoped. He found himself completely absorbed in looking after Robin in a way that couldn't be described: he felt – contented. Robin drank half of the can before he stopped accepting any liquids and Connor considered that a good thing remembering the vomit that was still on the ground a little ways away from the group. Robin's body clearly wasn't really up to processing much at the moment.
The night went on like this, with Connor attending Robin all the time. He made sure that he was kept cool and occasionally tried to encourage the small boy to take water. He barely even felt the time pass and he didn't notice the dawn until it spread it's pink, orange and purple rays through the window at the front of the ship and cast a feeling of new beginnings across Connor's mind. Robin hadn't given Connor any trouble over the night; his eyes were open and seemed a lot more focused than they previously had been. But he still hadn't said a word and he still hadn't directly looked at Connor with any real understanding in his eyes. It was sad to see the child this way, but Wally and Aqualad were going out to fix everything. Robin, and for that matter everyone else, would be safe soon.
A whimper jerked Connor away from Robin for a moment. Artemis' previously peaceful face had turned into a wrinkled and stressed feature. She was moving around more than she had been and looked as though something was paining her, but Connor saw nothing that should have been causing her any such pain. The answer was obvious then, it was in her mind: the archer was having a nightmare. Connor would have made an unheard comment about how weak her mind must have been to give in to her own subconscious if he weren't so plagued by night terrors himself.
"Artemis, wake up. It's alright." Connor said monotonously as he shook Artemis by her shoulder. Her eyes flicked open faster than lightning and she immediately let loose a loud gasp of relief at the sight of her own world before her rather than whatever world it had been that she was seeing whilst she slept. She stared, wide-eyed, at Connor for a few seconds before hardening her expression and turning away from him whilst straightening out her hair with both hands.
"I'm fine." Artemis insisted arrogantly. But Connor wasn't like the humans, he didn't bother to pursue after people when they said that they were 'fine' when they so clearly were not. No, Connor thought that if someone was going to so rudely reject his help, then they probably weren't worth having his help in the first place. It was a good rule to stick by and it had not yet steered him in the wrong direction, so instead he simply turned his attention back to Robin and took the cloth that he had placed on the kid's forehead earlier off. He dipped the rag into the puddle of water by him to refresh it and then replaced it on Robin's head – he didn't hold Artemis' rudeness against her. He himself wasn't exactly the most pleasant person to be around sometimes either. He understood.
Robin's lips moved a little and Connor noticed that the acrobat's eyes were fixed on him; they must have been because his head was pointed in the right direction. Although his face was calm like he should have been asleep, but the eyes were on him nonetheless. Connor leaned down to listen and see what it was that Robin was trying to say, if he was trying to say anything anyway. Robin swallowed uncomfortably and then spoke again, "Why so serious?" Robin whispered quietly. Connor sat back away from him in shock, wasn't that the Joker's catchphrase? Why would he say that? Robin had watched him fall back and had then followed up with a smile that was tiny but still seemed to look a little crazed compared to his usual smirk. The kid had succeeded in one thing for sure, he had freaked Superboy out. Big time.
"Robin's awake? What did he just say?" Artemis asked excitedly. She had been waiting for him to say something for ages and she was slightly frustrated that she hadn't heard those words herself. Connor repeated Robin's latest words and Artemis seemed just as disturbed as he was by them. Robin clearly was really really not himself. Artemis wondered whether he was delirious, the real healthy Robin wouldn't ever say that phrase just out of nowhere, if he said it at all it would be in some sort of reference that was relevant to something important. Or to screw with Wally's mind.
"I didn't mean to." Artemis and Connor heard Robin pipe up from the ground where he was still laying. Robin was trying his hardest to sit up and was staring directly at Connor as though he was talking to him. Connor walked hesitantly over to Robin's side and knelt down next to him before asking exactly what it was that the young acrobat hadn't meant to do. To which Robin responded, "I swear, I had no idea what would happen. I'm sorry. Really I am, forgive me?" The desperation in Robin's expression only made Connor worry even further about his health even though he was awake. Connor pushed the small body down to the ground and kept his hand resting on Robin's shoulder so that he wouldn't try to get up again.
"Sure, I forgive you," Connor said to Robin. The boy's face calmed into a soft smile and he closed his eyes contentedly. Connor turned to Artemis and shrugged in confusion before adding, "He's completely delusional." It was just after this had been said that Wally, Kaldur and M'Gann began to wake each other up. They only just had time to overhear Connor telling Artemis that Robin was pretty much out of his mind. Artemis hadn't seemed to listen to him though; instead she looked as though she was in deep thought. That was because she was in deep thought. There was something about Robin's being delusional that jerked a memory for her.
Artemis could have sworn there was something to do with temperature when someone was delusional. Heat could mess with the brain, she knew that much. Then it hit her, she thought that she remembered something about a person typically becoming delusional after the temperature of a fever reaching one hundred and five degrees Fahrenheit. She also knew for a fact that a temperature that high could easily become fatal if not attended to quickly. So, the archer knew that Robin needed a doctor soon if he was going to make a full recovery and Kaldur and Wally therefore needed to hurry up and get out there to find help! Artemis span around to the waking junior heroes and spilled out her new knowledge – flimsy though it was – and hoped that it spurred some quick action, "I think Robin's fever is going to become fatal soon! I remembered Black Canary saying something about a patient becoming delusional meaning that there fever has reached a dangerous level. We have to hurry!"
Considering that it had previously been quite silent, aside from the sounds of everyone stirring groggily and Robin's mindless ramblings, Artemis' sudden outburst of panic had hit the Team with its full impact. Kaldur merely stared at her for a while before he finally took in her words and started to act. He jumped up from where he was and started spitting out orders to his teammates like a fully functional machine of some sort, "Wally, you get the coats and eat something. M'Gann, gather some emergency rations for Wally and I to take with us and get ready to make an opening. Artemis, try and salvage some of the ice scattered around from the crash and cool Robin down, Connor will help you. Let's go, if Wally and I are not back in four hours then take measures to save Robin yourselves. Go!"
Everyone obeyed Kaldur and went to do their respective jobs. M'Gann rummaged around for her emergency supplies that had been thrown here and there during the crash (which she still felt guilty about) and then brought them back to Aqualad who had found the duffel bag that he usually brought with him on missions. Connor stayed by Robin's side and watched him murmuring unintelligible things to himself whilst Artemis darted from one corner of the ship to the next to save what little ice there was left, much in protest of her head which was still pounding from the injury it had sustained the previous day. Wally found the coats and tossed one in Kaldur's direction before throwing one around himself and before everyone knew it the two boys were ready to meet the outside world's icy bite.
M'Gann fought an opening in the ship which was just big enough for Wally and Kaldur to slip through before she yelped in pain and allowed it to close behind them once again. The Martian rubbed her head in pain; she would have a migraine all day and probably for the rest of her life if she kept this exertion up. Why was the Bio-ship resisting her so much? It felt as though she and the ship were both positive magnets and so were naturally repelling one another. Even worse it seemed as though the magnetic field that surrounded the ship was very powerful and so she couldn't even get close to her ship before it threw her away.
Robin's eyes had opened once again when the gust of cold has flowed through the opening in the ship just briefly near to him. He had started to speak more clearly again when the cold breeze seemed to aggravate his delirium. Connor tried to calm him, but nothing he did seemed to work. Robin kept on speaking in sentences that didn't make sense and he kept on staring at all sorts of things in turn. He would fix his eyes on Connor, then on the window, then on a flashing light inside the Bio-ship on the ceiling. There was no pattern, but his behaviour was deeply disturbing to watch – but Connor figured that it was better him than Artemis who seemed to be in her own world and M'Gann was squeamish anyway.
Artemis had felt a familiar feeling when Wally had walked through that gap in the ship's side: abandonment. She had felt it years ago when her big sister Jade had left her with her father. But what she didn't understand was why she felt her stomach drop every time he was out of her sight. There was something else on her mind though, that dream that had surprised her last night had brought back her memory of the crash. She remembered now why she had woken up with guilt lacing her thoughts.
Artemis remembered thinking as the ship sank towards to ground that Robin was only going to hurt himself further if he stayed as he was, so she had loosened her own seatbelt and leaned forward to try and rearrange the unconscious form of Robin in his seat to reduce damage as much as possible. But instead she hadn't been quick enough and that had resulted in both her and Robin getting hurt in the crash and it had been her fault. She had failed Robin and herself as well. Everything had been recounted in that nightmare, and she couldn't hold back her inner thoughts telling her subconscious that she really didn't need that memory out of all of the ones it could have chosen from to make into a dream.
M'Gann brought everyone back out from their thoughts by cutting through the silence that had followed Kaldur and Wally's departure. Hopefully this time everyone would be safe. M'Gann walked over to the side of the ship and placed a hand tenderly on its walls before saying, "I need to get Robin more ice don't I? I suppose I'll have to disturb her again."
Thanks for reading and please leave a review if you have the time for that stuff! Hahaha!
Varishi x