A/N: Back from the void! Hello there. My family's drama has sucked the creative juices right out of me- cancer, feuds, divorces, blah blah- and after my extended school year, I've done nothing but SLEEP and chill for the last half month. But I forced my self to promise myself that I would update all my stories before my birthday, and this one is the first on the list. I'm gonna be a writing hurricane.
As for this story, we're almost done. The next few chapters will have mostly action until the end, including the long awaited Kon El/Robin brawl that will most likely occur next chapter or the chapter after that. It's gonna be emotional, violent, and revealing... oooh, I just gave myself shivers. As for the sequel, two words... Under, Cover.
Anyways, some people have Pm'ed me and asked: "Did Slade rape Robin too, or just Wren?" I thought I made this clear, but YES, Robin was raped too, just as much as Wren. He wouldn't have flipped out like that if he hadn't been.
No, Erin is not coming back. Read the "Memories" chapter. She's gone.
Also, somebody asked me for a sexy scene between Wren and Robin. I don't think I'm going to do it, especially here. This story is BARELY rated T, and I don't want to offend anybody on purpose. I might do a M rated one shot, but honestly it's not likely.
Anything else? No? Okay, on with the story!
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Thirty minutes into the battle at the "Top Secret" laboratory, and things were not going well. The same damn robotic monkeys that caused them so much trouble the last time they were sent on a mission like this were back, along with some things that resembled mechanic Pterodactyls. They were like giant metal kites that swooped around their heads and clawed at their eyes, while at the same time emitting strong sonic screeches that rattled their brains and tore sensitive hearing to shreds.
Kon El had no idea WHY somebody didn't just DESTROY the damn parts of the Amazo android. Then, nobody would keep trying to steal it, and he didn't have to keep dealing with this crap, and his team wouldn't be being sliced to pieces by flying mechanical bird lizards.
"Protect the crates!" he snarled aloud, crushing a group of monkeys that were trying to sneak away with one out the boxes. Professor Ivo had stepped up. These newer models were fast and resilient, able to take more hits before splintering. Every time Kid Flash would chase after them, the Pterodactyls would swarm him from above like mosquitoes, scratching at his face and yanking out his flaming hair.
Miss Martian psychokinetically crashed the birds together, creating explosions in midair that scattered gears and electronic parts. Her green skin was slashed and gouged, and blood matted her hair to her scalp. She squealed in pain and batted one away from her neck. Kon El flailed under his covering of monkeys that clung to his limbs. Artemis's arrows picked the flying ones out of the sky one by one, until a monkey stole her bow and ran off with it.
"Shit! Damn, dirty ape!"
"OWWWCH!"
Kon El finally succeeded in riding himself of his monkeys, bucking them off like a super powered bull. They flipped away from him gracefully and landed in a loose semi circle around the heroes. As one, they opened their mouths wide, revealing rotating barrels in their heads.
"BULLETS!"
"GET DOWN!"
Artemis ducked behind Kon El and Miss Martian flung out her hands in the exact same moment the robot monkeys sprayed the sidekicks with a hail of bullets like miniature machine guns. Batgirl grabbed her cape and pulled it in front of her body, sheltering behind the bulletproof cloth while Artemis sheltered behind the bulletproof boy. More and more bullets were stopped cold in front of Miss Martian as her face reddened from the strain.
When they were sufficiently distracted trying not to get slaughtered, the Pterodactyls once more swooped down and went for the crates. Unable to leave Artemis, Kon El watched them sink wicked claws into the boxes and lift them away, shrieking in triumph. The stream of bullets was relentless. Hot metal slugs inched closer and closer to Miss Martian's head the longer her shield stayed up. She was losing her grip on them. The air in front of her was thick with bullets that just kept coming.
"M'gann! Hold on!"
One of them was millimetres away from the center of her forehead, nearly touching her skin. Batgirl howled as a round tore into her shoulder, and the bullet slipped even further, digging into her flesh. A single droplet of blood streamed down the bridge of her nose, and she let out a sob.
"M'GANN!"
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Robin was in the other medical wing, lounging on Wren's bed while she tore into a gigantic grilled cheese. Since the peanut butter incident, Kid Flash had taken it upon himself to personally introduce Robin to the real, modern world, and through him, Wren.
It was a weird sort of alliance they had. After everyone else was gone or asleep, and Batman let Robin out for nightly exercise, they would meet up, Kid Flash would turn on the tv, and Robin would gorge himself on information like a preschooler on his first day.
And junk food. Lots. And lots. Of junk food.
"I'm telling you, Wyllow, this place is amazing." he reiterated. His blue eyes were wide just from thinking about it, and his speech was elevated and quick. "The tv has every channel ever created. I mean, there's a channel that's ONLY for food. The cop shows are great, even though the criminals are dumb. This one called Law and Order, the guy actually got busted for arson. ARSON." He shook his head in disgust. "Idiot. How complicated is it to burn something down?"
Wren swallowed her mouthful of burning, gooey cheese and cleared her throat. "Robin-"
"The food is crazy, it's nothing like at home. This stuff actually TASTES good. There's a billion flavours of chips and about twenty billion flavours of pop. They've got cheese that SQUIRTS out of a can!-"
"Robin..."
"And oh my God, sis, you haven't even tried Oreos yet! Those things are so good! They've got this white frosting stuff smashed between TWO cookies-"
"Robin, I don't-"
"And YOUTUBE!"
"DICK!"
Robin pulled back from her slightly, the look on his face going from wonder to confusion. He sat up and finally looked at Wren. His pale lips pulled down at the corners until they matched the sour frown etched into her features. That was unexpected. "What's your problem?" he asked, not unkindly. Her cheeks were flushed pink. The back of his hand went immediately to the side of her face, checking her for temperature spikes. A fever could mean infection in one of her many healing wounds. "Are you feeling sick, or-"
"No, I'm fine." she grumbled, shrugging away from his fingers. Robin cocked an eyebrow at her inflection. "What, then?" He was a little surprised when she didn't answer him right away, instead looking down at her hands. She started folding her napkin into meticulous squares.
"Sounds like you're having a great time out there, with them." she mumbled finally. "Is it really that fun, being normal?"
Robin squinted at her in confusion. "I mean, I guess. It's alright..."
"The way you tell it, it's way better than alright..."
"Wren, what is your deal?" Robin injected. He wasn't used to this from her. Usually their thoughts were totally in sync, and they shared everything. If she had a problem she'd tell him, and vice versa.
Wren still refused to look at him and started ripping her napkin to tiny shreds. "Nothing you'd be interested in."
"Wren, what the hell-"
"Look, don't you have some new adventure to go on with your new best friend or something?" she snapped finally, crumbling the paper tightly in her fist. "I'd hate to hold you back from the rest of the world." Robin flinched and fell silent for a minute, digesting her words. He never would have expected it from her, but she sounded... jealous. Maybe she was resenting him because he was doing other things and she was still locked in the med wing? Or maybe she thought he was forgetting about her?
Robin grinned and leaned into her shoulder. "Wren, come on. You're always gonna be my other piece. Just because I'm having a little fun while I can-"
"I know that." she growled, shifting away from him. "That's not what I meant." His stupidity was really getting on her nerves. Why didn't he understand what she was talking about? She didn't care what he ate or what he watched. Robin sighed hard and crossed his arms over his chest, getting slightly pissed. Wren was acting like...like a girl. Not like his sister. "Then what? I'm not a freaking mind reader."
"You! You're the problem, Dick. You're out there with THEM, pretending to be all buddy buddy." Wren huffed finally. "We used to talk about what we were going to do when we got out of here. But now all you talk about is what Kid Flash showed you on YouTube, or how sick the additions to the Justice Bikes are." Her face was bright red, and her eyes shined wetly.
Robin snorted at her outburst. "I knew you could get jealous Wren, but this is crazy." She was mad at him for having fun without her, now that he finally could.
It was always like this. Every time he was away from her and doing something he liked, with someone else, she got clingy. For some reason, that irritated him more than it should have, and it possessed him to say this-
"We don't ALWAYS have to be together, you know...we're Twins, not Siamese Twins." As soon as the words left his lips, he regretted letting them loose. Wren's face paled three shades, and her mouth fell open, as if he'd suggested that maybe the sun wasn't the center of the universe. "You sound like one of them." she whispered. Robin's stomach curled into a hard knot, and his lip curled unknowingly. "I am NOT one of them."
"I'm not so sure." Wren retorted. "We swore never to be like them, all spoiled and sheltered and high and mighty. Now...I swear, if we didn't look alike, I wouldn't recognize you." Robin flushed at this and stood up abruptly, clenching his shaking fists by his side. "And just what in the hell is that supposed to mean?"
Wren laughed with no humor. "You're selling out, Dick. You walk like them. You talk like them now. We ARE still leaving, aren't we? Or do you want to stay here with them? They've already got a freaking leash on you." She nodded at his tracking bracelet.
Robin couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You can not be serious! It was MY fucking idea to leave! You wanted to go back to Slade!"
"At least then I'd still have my brother! I don't know who you are anymore. You're changing."
"No, you know what I think? I think you're just pissed that I'm learning how to live, and I'm doing it without you. I think you like being miserable. That's why you want to go back to 'Master.'"
"I'm trying to protect you, you asshole!"
"Like with Terra?" Wren flinched hard and quickly avoided his gaze. That was a low blow. "...Yes. She didn't really love you. Not like I do."
"You didn't know that." Robin spat. "All you knew was that you felt threatened. You didn't even ask me how I felt about it, because you didn't care. You killed her and your stupid jealousy got us sent to H.I.V.E." In the back of his mind, he realized that he didn't even remember what they were fighting about anymore, only that she had started it, and he was going to finish it.
Wren let out a frustrated noise. Clear tears clung to her lashes. "I just didn't want to lose you! I don't want to lose you now! But you're turning into a Super Baby!" That was it. That was it.
"Oh, yeah? Well if I'm a Super Baby now, then maybe I will stay here, and you can go back to Slade and look over your shoulder for the rest of your life. How's that sound?" Robin heard her horrified gasp, but he didn't stick around for her response. He spun on his heel and stalked out of the med wing, teeth glued together and red spots swimming in front of his eyes.
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"M'GANN!"
Just before the strain of holding back so many projectiles overwhelmed her, the monkeys finally stopped their barrage. The bullets stopped as soon as they started and the barrels ran dry. M'gann sank to her knees and let the bullets drop to the floor. Kon El wasted no time in trashing every single monkey, then raced over to her. "Are you alright?!"
There was a small, shallow wound in the center of her forehead, and she was pressing the heel of her hand to a trickle of blood dripping from her nostril, but other than that the Martian girl was unharmed. "I-I'm okay..." she mumbled, swaying with exhaustion. He started to hug her, then caught himself and awkwardly patted her shoulder. "G-good..."
"Batgirl got hit!" Artemis yelped.
"Wait, where's Kid?"
"Up here..."
Everyone looked up, and their mouths fell open at the sight of Kid Flash hanging from an overhead light like a skinny yellow birthday streamer. "Typical. He thinks it's a freaking joke." Artemis exclaimed. Kid Flash let go of the light and dropped to the floor, miffed. "Excuse you, but I had to run up the wall when those things started spitting rounds! It was either that, or be one damn holey Speedster."
"Enough! We lost the Android!" Kon El growled. "Those bird things got away!"
"Aw, crap. Batman's gonna kill us." Batgirl moaned.
"We have to get back and warn everybody. If Ivo has the Amazo again, it's only a matter of time before he rebuilds it. Come on, let's move it."
«»«»«»«»«»
Too angry to sit still, Robin went back to the empty living room, pacing like an angry tiger. His face was the colour of lava, and a vein was throbbing in his neck. He couldn't believe what had just happened.
He and Wren had fought. Not teased, not quarreled, but FOUGHT. They never fought. They were too close to fight, or so he thought. Old married geezers fought. Normal siblings fought. Not them. The very realization hurt his soul. This time, they'd actually gone at it. They'd said stuff that cut, stuff that went deep, like barbs. He felt guilty for bringing up the Terra incident, but hell, she'd called him a Super Baby! Out of nowhere! SHE jumped on HIS back!
So what, he was eating different things? So what he was having a little fun recently? That didn't mean he was a sell out!
...Didn't it?
His tracking bracelet started blinking, but he ignored it, running his hands backwards through his thick black hair and struggling to breathe past the blockage in his throat. Half of him wanted to go back and apologize, but the other half...
BEEP BEEP
"-BELIEVE we let the parts get away. I didn't think the Bat glare could GET any scarier."
"What's this 'we' stuff? You're the dumbass that was hanging from the ceiling like a Christmas bulb."
"At least Batgirl is gonna be ok-..."
Returning from their conference with Batman and Manhunter, the team of returning sidekicks fell quiet like they'd been hit with a silencing charm as soon as they stepped into the living area and saw it already occupied. Robin went still like a rabbit caught in a flashlight. No one said another word for a long, long moment.
"Hey, why'd everybody stop- Robin!" Kid Flash's voice went up three octaves as he stepped from around M'gann and Artemis and laid eyes on the junior criminal. "Hey, what, um...what's...going...on?" he squeaked. Robin wiped his face and averted his gaze from their stares. "Nothing. I was just...nothing." He was used to Kid Flash, but not the others.
Out of habit, seeing the distracted, pained expression on his face, M'gann reached out with a tentative mental probe, and winced as she was deflected by the scrambler. Robin scowled slightly at her. "You don't learn, do you? No one can get inside out head. Stop trying."
"I'm sorry. I was only trying to help..."
"What in the hell is he doing out here?!"
The entire room flinched as Kon El pushed forward and locked eyes with Robin. Dark blue burned into hostile grey, and the air sizzled with tension. It felt like the whole mountain would burst into flames if someone lit one match. Seeing the super clone compounded Robin's leftover anger from his fight with Wren, and his teeth showed in a patented sneer.
"Sightseeing." he hissed sarcastically.
"Well, you're done."
"Excuse me?"
Kon El balled up his fists and growled low in his chest. "You heard me. Get going. You're supposed to be on lockdown."
Robin's eyes narrowed into icy slits. "I'm sorry, but did I miss the memo that says you get to tell me what to do?" He was beginning to want to hit something, very badly. And Kon El's face looked like the perfect target. The clone inhaled, bristled, and started to retaliate, but Batman's voice sounded out of nowhere and stopped him.
"Boy!" The Dark Knight stormed into the room just in the nick of time, dragging the attention away from the bubbling conflict in the center of the room. Following behind him like nosy shadows were the rest of the sidekicks- Aqualad, Wondergirl, Speedy, Zatanna, and the rest. Robin was shocked to see Wren being pulled along beside him. Something sharp struck him in his heart, and he stoically looked away from her.
"I've been signaling you for ten minutes." Batman snapped, ignoring the audience. Feeling everybody's eyes on him, Robin blushed, but still couldn't resist being a smartass. "Why?"
"It's time for you to uphold your end of our bargain. Your sister is well enough to assist you."
'Oh damn, oh no, crap!' It was too soon! He hadn't actually expected to have to help them. He and Wren were supposed to slip away in the dead of night and never be heard from again. She'd been right, they'd been here too long. He messed up, got too comfortable, and now they were trapped.
"Come on, then!"
Wren glared at him as Batman started pulling her away, the 'I told you so, stupid' loud and clear in her gaze. Robin swallowed and turned to follow, completely stuck. The tension in the room slowly dissipated as everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
He heard Kon El give a satisfied little grunt behind him, and he straightened in indignation, twisting halfway around with a lecherous, saucy grin on his face.
"Don't worry, Conner baby, I know you'll miss me. But I'll be back soon, and we can continue our little chat..."
Muffled snickers and poorly concealed giggles filled the space, and Kon El's cheeks went so deep red they looked purple. The little shit was trying to embarrass him in front of his whole team?! When he glanced to the side and saw M'gann laughing, he snapped and lost it.
"Why don't you just go back to being Slade's little slut?!"
Everything froze, and in that instant, it was like an atomic bomb had just been dropped. Jaws hit the floor, eyes went as wide as dinner plates, and a chorus of gasps sounded like church bells.
"CONNER!"
"Oh fuck, he didn't..."
"God damn..."
Robin slowly twisted around. There were two red spots high on his cheeks, and a cold, faraway, insane look in his pale eyes. His pupils were dilated with rage until they nearly covered his irises, and his nails were so deep into his palms they were drawing blood. Every muscle was tense and trembling. When he spoke, his voice was terrifyingly quiet. He was too furious to scream.
"What...did you just say?!"