BIALYA
SEPTEMBER 4TH, 2010
12:02 EEST
Gasping for breath, Hawkgirl pushed herself up onto her hands and knees, dislodging a layer of sand that had been settled over her. Shaking out her wings, the cursory flaps dislodged torrents of small granules from between her feathers. She could feel grit gathered in her throat and on her tongue, already registering the symptoms of dehydration. Only once her lungs felt less labored did she shakily rise to a kneeling position.
A vast desert stretched out before her, her enhanced vision registering seemingly endless sand and sky. To her right, she clocked a smattering of rocky outcroppings and a set of tire tracks marring the dunes, the vehicles long departed towards the horizon. It was midday, the most dangerous time to be uncovered in the desert, sun shining directly overhead with no cover. But the heat didn't bother her, Thanagarian resistance serving her well.
Based on the dryness of her mouth and the amount of sand in her boots, she had spent a good amount of time out here. But when she tried to think of a specific timeline... she drew a blank.
Casting out her senses, she went on the alert from a faint heartbeat steadily thumping around the rocky formations. She stood, forcing her worries away for the moment in favor of investigating those rocks. Internally, she fought back the urge to tear her helmet off and rebraid her sweaty, tangled hair, but there was no way she'd risk ridding herself of any of her armor in such an unpredictable situation. Using every bit of experience she had traversing sand, she carefully headed towards the nearby formations.
It wasn't long before she heard someone speaking aloud to themselves, the owner of the heartbeat, male from the sound of it, and a familiarity that was making her trepidatious. Low to the ground, keeping her wings flattened against her back, she crept around the very edge of the canyon-like structure.
Peeking around a corner, she nearly stumbled from shock. Robin stood by himself, attention focused on a black swatch of torn fabric in his hands. Someone she knew he might be, but this entire situation was too weird for her to let her guard down so easily. Thus, she took the only logical approach. Ducking back out of sight, she skirted towards the opposite opening of the canyon, creeping up behind his turned back. She moved quickly, slapping a hand over his mouth and hooking an arm around his waist with an iron grip.
Really, she would have been disappointed if he didn't immediately lash out. One elbow sunk into her stomach and his head cracked upward into her jaw.
At least assured it was actually the Boy Wonder, she released him, rubbing at the aching side of her face as he whirled on her.
"Hawkgirl?!" His voice was strangled, stopping himself from outright shouting in surprise. He tucked the torn fabric away into one of the pouches on his utility belt. "What the heck are you doing here?"
She scowled at him, "I was about to ask the same question. Though your presence in a desert is much stranger than mine."
"... Fair enough," deflating, he ran both hands through his unruly hair, sweat making it stick up in odd angles. "Just so we're on the same page, do you have no idea why you're here either?"
She shook her head. Between the last time she'd pondered the gap in her memory and now, nothing had come back to her. The last thing she could solidly recall was eating breakfast with her parents and preparing for a day filled with combat training.
Maybe that's what this was? Just... more elaborate of a setup than she was used to. She opted to share this theory with Robin. "I remember preparing for training. Perhaps it's that?"
That earned her a strange look, "I know your parents are a little intense, but I doubt they'd dare to drop you in the middle of Bialya for combat practice."
She was unable to stop the way her wings flared in surprise. "Bialya? Are you certain?"
Activating the holographic screen attached to his glove, he wordlessly showed her a map displaying their current location... smack dab in the middle of the Bialyan Desert.
This... definitely wasn't good.
H
When night fell, it was welcomed with great relief. Robin, moreso out of the duo, seeing as he was a fragile human. The drastic drop in temperature was a welcome friend as they were finally released from the sun's oppressive heat. His utility belt turned out to be the saving grace, as when taking stock of his supplies he'd discovered that a good number of the pouches' contents were swapped for desert survival gear. Heavy duty sunscreen, small rations of food, more rations of water (thankfully). It wasn't much, but it was at least something.
Hawkgirl had expressed her concern at the amount of water, primarily the immediate effect it would have on the human, but he had waved off her concern with a joke about 'losing water weight' and a smile. It did nothing to reassure her. When he had expressed similar concern, she'd similarly deflected, telling him frankly that she could survive longer than he could without water.
This entire situation grew stranger by the minute. Robin at least had carefully planned for desert traversal, but there wasn't nearly enough for a significant amount of time. Had they gone intentionally with so little supplies as a survival exercise? Or were the supplies somewhere else? The quiet hours they'd spent shielding from the sun underneath the rocks gave her plenty of time to ponder, but she couldn't come to any concrete answers.
But some answers were sure to lay in the signal from a GPS tracker that was registered on Robin's hologlove.
They had agreed early on that flying to the location was a bad idea. With zero cloud cover and miles of empty desert, they'd be spotted easily even at night, and thus a trek on foot was in order. Hawkgirl had offered to carry him, as she knew how to run on sand far easier than he did, but he had insisted that she preserve her energy just in case of a skirmish. She had been offended at the implication his puny weight was a hindrance.
After a good few minutes of back and forth, Robin relented that the moment he grew tired, he'd let her carry him. She took the compromise for what it was, and they began their journey through the desert.
Following the mystery signal in as direct of a line as they could manage, the two made their way forward. They weren't too far from the signal, which was a relief, as conservation of energy was vital in this scenario.
"Wish I could remember why I put a GPS marker here," Robin pondered aloud as they scrambled over the crest of a dune.
With her superior eyesight, Hawkgirl spotted the out of place metal box sitting at the bottom of a shallow crater, Snagging Robin's shoulder, she yanked him back down over the dune, making sure they were in cover, as she could hear distinctly the presence of multiple people close by. Hearts beat steadily faster, which meant they'd most likely been spotted.
He poked his head above the ridge, "Huh. Guessing that's why."
Before she could stop him, he leapt down to inspect the device. The moment he was within spitting distance of the box, a small platoon of masked, armored, and heavily armed goons burst out of their own hiding places.
Unhooking her mace from her belt, she took to the air just long enough to swoop down off the top of the dune and drop into the middle of the fray. Up close, she could see the distinct yellow emblems emblazoned on the front of every soldiers' helmet.
"Her Majesty wants them alive!" One of the soldiers commanded sharply in Arabic, fortunately one of the three Terran languages she was fluent in.
Robin locked eyes with her, which was the only warning he gave before he calmly dropped a smoke pellet at his feet. The immediate area became a haze of smoke, giving them the opportunity to attack first.
Trusting Robin to handle himself, she focused on taking out the enemies closest to her. Darting in close, she cracked her mace over one's head before he had time to notice her behind him. Unfortunately, his weapon discharged as he fell, alerting two nearby to her rough location. They charged through the smoke to engage, but that just brought them right into combat range.
Whirling in place, she smacked one with an outstretched wing, knocking him off balance as she drove her fist into the other's stomach. Both ended up dazed in the sand, and as they began to clamber to their feet, she dealt out two kicks with her metal boots that sent them straight into unconsciousness.
The window of relative obscurity the smoke had provided was gone as the cloud dissipated, the soldiers now regrouping that they could see each other. Their weapons were all aimed at the most immediate threat, Robin.
Ski'Lira didn't hesitate for a second.
Lunging forward, she put herself directly in the line of fire. Putting her gauntleted hands up in front of her chest and ducking her head, she covered the more vulnerable areas of her body, hoping Robin would take the opportunity to escape. Bullets pinged off her Nth metal armor harmlessly, though with grating noise. She winced, letting out a low growl as a stinging pinch made itself known in her left bicep, that rapidly grew into a radiating pain. Gritting her teeth, she stood her ground.
The barrage of gunfire came to an abrupt halt as a blur sped through the ranks, armaments removed from hands in the blink of an eye. That eye searingly red hair was unmistakable as Kid Flash skid to a halt, depositing his stolen armful of weapons onto the sand.
Pushing away any and all questions about why the youngest speedster was here too, she surged forward towards the nearest goon, slamming the handle of her mace into his face with a little more strength than she intended, knocking him out. Around her, Kid Flash and Robin were far from idle, Robin dealing out a kick that sent one flying backwards, while Kid Flash's punches were too quick for his targets to dodge. Two thugs made a solid attempt at sneaking up on the teen heroes, but they were sent careening into the air by some unseen force.
The source of the intervention came a moment later, a floating girl with distinctly green skin and red hair. Based purely on appearance and power set, it was a safe bet to assume she was a Martian. Meanwhile, Kid Flash had grabbed one guy by the leg, spinning him about to build up momentum before throwing him at his comrades, taking out three in one fell swoop.
The final soldier made a valiant attempt in fleeing, but was stopped by another unexpected addition to the roster. An arrow shot towards him, only to shift into a bola mid-air, wrapping around his legs and stopping him in his tracks. The origin was a long-haired blonde, wearing a green hued uniform strongly reminiscent of Green Arrow's.
Even though the battle was done, Hawkgirl was far from relaxed, not letting her guard down in the face of these strangers. As they began to drift towards each other, Hawkgirl took a moment to glance at her arm, satisfied the bullet wound wasn't obvious. She was bleeding fairly steadily, but not enough for it to be an immediate concern. The dark red of her long sleeved shirt always proved to be a boon in these situations. It was best if your enemies didn't know they had succeeded in harming you.
At the very least, Robin and Kid Flash were ecstatic to see each other, locking their hands in greeting. "KF!" Robin exclaimed. "Man, it's good to see another familiar face. And this one's much friendlier!"
Ski'Lira shot him a glare for the comment, earning herself a cheeky wink in response.
"Hey, Rob," Kid Flash grinned. "Hawkgirl. Memory loss?"
"Six months," Robin answered for the both of them. "Let's hogtie these creeps and compare notes."
H
They'd ended up using rope from the soldier's own supply to immobilize them. Judging by the insistence earlier on capture, not kill, the restraints had originally been meant for the teens. Honestly, it would have been hilarious if they'd tried. This rope was far too flimsy to keep her tied up, and the looks on their faces when she would have snapped them like dry spaghetti would have been priceless. But this situation was far safer.
Once the soldiers were all tightly bound and knocked out, they all gathered around the Martian girl, who had hastily promised a full explanation for their strange circumstance.
The truth was... also a little strange.
"So... We're a team?" Robin spoke slowly, sounding just as skeptical as Hawkgirl felt.
"The four of us. And Superboy." M'Gann, as she'd introduced herself, had her hands clasped together, as if begging them to remember. If they were truly as close as the Martian claimed, her desperation was understandable.
"Then this must be his?" From his utility belt, Robin revealed the chunk of cloth he'd been examining earlier. Now stretched out, the red 'S' emblazoned on the fabric was clear.
The Martian's face lit up with joy, snatching the cloth and holding it close to her chest, almost cuddling it. "Yes! Did you see him?"
It was the blonde archer that answered instead. "I think we did."
"Feral boy?" Rubbing at his chin in thought, Kid Flash perched his hands on his hips as a show of irritation. "Some teammate. He attacked us."
"He didn't know who we are." Jerking her thumb at her own chest, the archer was frowning. "I don't know who we are."
Brow wrinkling, Robin spoke up. "I remember Batman ordering radio silence. Our team must work for him."
Honestly, the mention of Batman in a leadership role made this whole thing seem marginally more believable. He was the only member of the League she could see successfully wrangling such an eclectic group of teenagers into cooperation. But she wasn't about to let the possibility of this all being an elaborate ruse go.
"How do you know we don't work for my mentor?" Pointing to himself, Kid Flash startled as his suit reverted to its usual, brilliant yellow. That at least explained his inexplicable shift in color scheme."Whoa! This is so cool."
Curious, both Robin and the blonde subtly pressed their own emblems, but nothing happened.
"We look ridiculous!" The archer snapped, gaze snapping over to the speedster, who hadn't ceased changing his outfit from black to yellow on loop since his discovery. "Quit touching yourself!"
Hawkgirl barely had time to let out a quiet huff of amusement before everything went searingly white.
When she regained her sense of self, it was in a strange, fractured room, images of herself and the other teenagers plastered over the glowing walls like a dedicated stalker's collage. Experimentally flexing her fingers, she was unnerved to realize she wasn't breathing, her nerves didn't register much of anything, and her heart didn't beat. The eerie effervescent glow that surrounded herself and the others only added to the unease.
A shimmering silhouette in pure white appeared before them, only to speak in M'Gann's voice, far more confident than she was before. "I brought you into my mind to share what I've remembered so far. But I need your help." In a flash, the silhouette changed into an image of the girl herself, albeit her eyes were shining a pale pink. "Together, our broken memories can form a whole. If you open your minds to mine."
Stepping back and crossing her arms, the as yet unidentified blonde went on the defensive, discomfort practically emanating out of her. "You want to paw through our private thoughts?!"
"I have no wish to intrude," M'Gann raced to assure. "But-"
Robin swiftly interrupted. "We need to hack our minds to grok what happened to us. Got it. Go."
Judging by the blank expressions he received, Ski'Lira safely assumed she was the only one that understood the literary reference. Or they were just too engrossed in the current matter to register it. The ease with which Robin accepted at the least seemed to convince Kid Flash.
"My brain's all yours," the redhead offered, attempting to sound smooth. It didn't work. "Try not to let its brilliance overwhelm you."
"Or underwhelm you." Robin pointed out with a snicker. "Hey, why isn't anyone ever just whelmed?"
Hawkgirl couldn't help her frustrated growl and shot him a look. "The English language is hard enough. You're trying to make it worse." Turning to the Martian, she offered a slight nod of acceptance, giving her free reign to poke around in her brain.
That just left one member of the party reluctant to agree. Kid Flash reached over, wrapping a hand around the archer's in a comforting manner. The tension never left her shoulders, but the girl acquiesced. "Last six months only and only what you need."
Closing her eyes now that she had received full consent from all parties, the telepath set to work. A moment later, glowing blue constructs emerged from her body, zipping towards the top of their heads and enveloping them.
Ski'Lira had never once consumed hallucinogenics, but she imagined what followed was comparable. Foreign visuals, sounds, impressions of emotions and physical sensation bombarded her in waves. She felt distinctly like a rock being beaten against the shore by an unrelenting tide of memory. Just when she felt like she was about to be completely swept away... everything fell into its rightful place.
H
Standing in the Hub, the Team gathered in front of Batman. A holographic map was displayed next to him, nearly identical to the one Robin had used to pinpoint their exact location earlier.
"The Watchtower detected an immense power surge in the Bialyan Desert. Spectral analysis revealed element non-terrestrial in origin. Find out what happened at that site, what landed there. Bialya is a rogue state ruled by Queen Bee, and not a member of the League's U.N. Charter. All communications are subject to interception. Maintain radio silence at all times. You'll land in Qurac on Bialya's border, two clicks from the hot zone."
H
Binoculars pressed firmly to his face, Robin scanned the desert with some degree of desperation, but saw nothing. He knew that Hawkgirl was doing the same in the opposite direction, though relying purely on her own, admittedly impressive, eyesight. Everyone else was exiting the bio-ship, Superboy last, as he was carrying a massive crate on his back with ease.
"All clear," Robin reported with a spike of relief, moving to rejoin the others.
"All clear," he heard Hawkgirl echo.
H
Overlooking a makeshift camp from the safety of a rock formation, Artemis and Robin carefully monitored the movements of the soldiers within. "The Bialyans control the site," Artemis reported, keeping her voice low. Her calves were starting to ache from how long she'd held this position, but they couldn't risk moving quite yet.
H
"Set up here," their team leader ordered (a reassuring, patient presence, but why couldn't they think of a name, only a black hole where they should be) Superboy was finally allowed to drop his burden, activating the device. Once it had expanded to its full span, it could be used for its true purpose, scanning the surrounding area for anomalous readings.
Robin kept track of the device's influx of data via the in-built computer, singularly focused on his task. "We'll be up and running in no time."
H
"Jackpot!" Kid Flash was practically draped over Robin's shoulder to get a closer look at the display. "The site's lousy with zeta beam radiation!"
"Detecting non-terrestrial trace elements from the tent," Robin added once more information had scrolled.
M'Gann launched herself into the air, volunteering herself. "I'll check it out in camouflage mode."
Their leader (still faceless, still nameless) agreed. "Good idea. Go."
"And retreat at the first sign of danger," Hawkgirl insisted, tone leaving zero room for argument. "Isolating yourself from the rest of us will just lead to more trouble."
Before M'Gann left, Superboy stopped her with a final. "Careful."
"I will," she answered, sounding a little exasperated.
"And maintain telepathic contact." The leader said with finality, urging her onward.
"I will, Aqualad."
It was like a bomb went off, as the last puzzle piece clicked solidly into place. They were all pushed out of M'Gann's mindscape, crashing back into awareness with a lingering disconnect. That didn't stop them from shouting in unison, "Aqualad!"
"Where is he?!" Robin demanded, sounding about as frantic as Hawkgirl felt. "What happened next?"
"I don't know!" M'Gann cried. "That's the last thing I- we remember!"
It was then that Wally registered he and Artemis were still holding hands, jerking his out of her grasp, face screwing up into displeasure. "Ehhh. We landed twenty four hours ago. If Kaldur's been wandering the desert that long, well, that's not good for a guy with gills."
"Now that I know to look for him…" Without wasting any more time, the youngest member of their group activated his hologlove. "He's close! But he's not moving."
H
Regaining six months' worth of missing memories in the span of a few minutes was a thoroughly disorienting experience. That didn't even account for the memories she had in her head of the others' points of view of their mission so far. She remembered the way Artemis' legs had fallen to pins and needles during her investigation, Robin's mixture of apprehension and excitement at the level of danger, the sand turning up underneath Kid Flash's feet. M'Gann had told them those memories would likely fade entirely soon enough, leaving only their personal recollections of events behind.
Ski'Lira had spent the duration of their race to reach Aqualad taking mental inventory. It was difficult to tell if there were pieces still missing, and not even M'Gann was entirely sure. She had no doubt that the moment they reported back to the League, Batman would call in Martian Manhunter for a thorough check and possible repair.
Finding Kaldur was easy, but when they did, he was already unresponsive, muttering to himself in Atlantean. M'Gann had propped his head up in her lap to get his face out of the sand, biting her lip in worry. "I can't restore his memories in this condition."
"He needs immediate rehydration," Robin said. "Call the bio-ship."
"It's out of range..." throat tight, M'Gann looked up at Wally. "But you can get him there fast."
Unfortunately, the speedster had to disagree. "He's too heavy and I'm too low on fuel. Right now, I couldn't even carry her." He made a vague gesture towards Artemis. "What about you, Hawkgirl? Think you can fly him that far?"
Of course she was capable of carrying Aqualad herself, but there was one glaring problem that they clearly hadn't noticed. "They have tanks. I would prefer not to be blasted out of the sky by a tank."
Wally's face pulled into a 'yikes' expression. "That is an excellent point."
"Why not just levitate him back?" Artemis posed, as they were all scrambling for a fast solution.
"I can't," M'Gann answered with genuine remorse. "I have to find Superboy. Six months ago, he didn't exist. He has no memories, just animal impulse. I'm the only one who can help him."
"Superboy's indestructible!" Kid Flash argued. "Just ask those tanks Hawkgirl so helpfully reminded us of. It's Aqualad who needs your help. Like, now."
Further debate was put on hold as M'Gann let out a sharp cry, eyes squeezing shut and hands slamming up against her temples. "No! Superboys in pain!" The telepath took to the air, flying away from them as fast as she could. "We can't wait!"
Cupping his hands around his mouth, Robin called after her in a last ditch attempt. "We still don't know what erased our memories! It could happen again!"
But it wasn't enough to bring her back.
H
With a slight shift, Ski'Lira readjusted her burden, the currently unconscious and delirious Atlantean slung over her shoulders in a Fireman's carry. It probably wasn't the most comfortable position for him, but he wasn't exactly awake to complain. Artemis and Kid Flash had briefly argued about crafting a sled to carry him, but Hawkgirl had merely bent down and picked him up. The whole situation was giving her a sharp reminder to their time combating the masked League of Shadows assassin. Though with dehydration rather than poisoning. And it was her arm that was injured and bleeding, not her leg.
The remaining members of the Team trudged in single file through the desert, Robin at the front of the pack with his handy holomap. An approaching sound rapidly closing distance caught Hawkgirl's attention quickly, and they hastened to cover at her silent hand signal of approaching hostiles.
"Quick, over there!" Robin ushered them into a crouch, leading them behind a large boulder that was fortuitously close. They managed to duck entirely out of sight just in time to avoid being spotted by an entire caravan of jeeps. The vehicles stopped exactly where they had been, showing no sign of leaving immediately.
Ski'Lira laid Aqualad onto the sandy ground as gently as she could manage, wincing when it set off another round of incoherent muttering.
Before his ravings could raise in volume, Artemis knelt down next to him and gently touched the top of his head. "Shh, Kaldur, quiet now." It seemed to work, as the murmuring stopped.
"We can't risk a firefight with Aqualad KO'd like this," A sigh leaving him, Robin nervously tangled his fingers in his hair again. Steeling himself, he crept back over the side of the dune, disappearing from sight.
"It's not just him." Kid Flash admitted with a great amount of reluctance. "I'm way out of juice."
"And I'm almost out of arrows." Artemis commiserated.
It was then Wally seemed to realize that Robin, whom he'd been speaking to, was missing. "Ugh, I forgot how much I hate it when he does the ninja thing." Abruptly changing topic, he addressed Artemis directly. "Hey, you never said why your dad would want you to kttk!" He drew his finger across his throat, signifying death. "Me!"
Ski'Lira took the moment of distraction entirely to her advantage, using the two's conversation as a cover to check on her bullet wound. Shuffling herself sideways, she tuned them out entirely as she yanked off her gauntlet and rolled up her sleeve. A fresh rivulet of blood leaked down her arm as she cracked the pitiful clotting. The good news was that the bullet hadn't hit anything vital. The bad news was that there was no exit wound.
Resigning herself to a careful (and bothersome) extraction in the future, she evaluated her situation. Knowing that the tearing of fabric would definitely draw attention, she opted for a slightly less safe solution. Pulling her sleeve back down to her wrist, she folded it back up more carefully this time, until the sleeve was wadded up against the injury. It would do, for now. Wiping as much blood off her hands as she could using the sand below her, she replaced her gauntlet. Only if someone was looking closely would they notice one arm was bare underneath the metal armor.
She tuned in just enough to hear Artemis recounting the plot of a movie she'd seen recently, which was... an odd conversation to have in the middle of a life or death situation. Chalking the strange behavior as the onset of shock, she checked on Aqualad. His condition hadn't worsened, which was the least they could ask for at the moment.
Thankfully, Robin's return brought an end to the onset of bickering between the other two. Appearing next to them and startling them into silence. "Yeesh, get a room."
"Dude, where were you?!" Wally hissed, what was sure to be an embarrassed blush covered up by the sunburn spattered across his cheeks.
That earned him a signature Robin Smirk™. "Breaking radio silence."
On cue, a repetitive, haunting cackling started to reverberate throughout the desert, sound bouncing off the dunes and making it seem like it came from everywhere. The platoon of soldiers milling about nearby were pulled from their position, only to promptly be engulfed in smoke as the birdarangs Robin had carefully placed all detonated.
"That's our cue, move!"
Kneeling down, Hawkgirl picked Aqualad up again, slinging him back over their shoulder and taking off in a dead sprint right alongside the others.
H
QURAC
SEPTEMBER 5TH, 2010
02:25 EEST
Returning to the bio-ship marked the end of their ordeal, the vessel welcoming them inside with a gentle glow. Ski'Lira headed directly for one of the series of biobeds that the ship had thoughtfully created, rearranging his limbs so he was laid more comfortably. It was certainly better than being on sun-heated sand. She was happy to step back and let Artemis take over, the blonde having already retrieved the massive first aid kit they always took with them on missions, specially stocked for those with unusual biology.
As Artemis began the process of hooking up an IV, Kid Flash and Robin set to the task of combing through their crates of supplies, primarily looking for food and water. With the lack of clear labels on the black plastic boxes, they had to resort to the old fashioned method of 'open and hope'.
"Hey, HG?" Robin called out to where she had been idly resting against a wall, waiting to see if Artemis needed a second pair of hands in tending to Aqualad. "Can you come help open this crate? I think it got a little crushed in transit."
Pushing herself off the wall, she walked over, taking a moment to inspect the industrial plastic crate. True to the younger's word, the latching mechanism was almost completely smashed. Most likely it had slid across the floor and rammed into another crate on the flight here.
Wedging the razor-sharp tips of her gauntlets underneath the crack, she yanked the lid off the crate. The hinged lid crashed onto the bioship floor with a sharp bang, unlikely to ever close properly again. Just as she was about to take off the layer of protective foam and inspect the contents, Robin's hand darted out and grabbed her hand.
"Your wrist is bleeding!" His eyes were wide, caught on the stream of ruby liquid dripping down her palm and smearing her fingers. There were traces on the crate she'd just opened, too. She didn't even notice.
Hawkgirl rolled her eyes, twisting out of his grip (carefully). "No, it's not. The gunshot wound on my bicep is bleeding."
Artemis' head jerked around so fast that the end of her hair threatened to whap her in the face. "Did you just say gunshot wound?!"
A semi-hysterical keen left Kid Flash as his own scavenging expedition was halted. "When did you get shot?!"
"Just before you, Artemis, and M'Gann showed up. " Hawkgirl explained.
"Wait..." Robin narrowed his eyes at her. "Was that when you jumped between me and the...? You got shot?! I thought your armor deflected all of it!"
"I'm more concerned with the fact that she was shot and didn't tell us!" Artemis' voice shot up in volume near the end, but she quieted herself when she remembered their unconscious teammate's presence.
Ski'Lira was at a genuine loss as to why they were all so upset. Perhaps this was just heightened emotional responses from the lack of food, water, sun exposure, and mental distress? "It... didn't hit an artery."
"That is so not the point." Artemis grumbled, returning to her position tending to Aqualad. "Robin, please patch her up before I shoot her myself."
Despite her repetitive protests that Hawkgirl's injury could wait until they returned to Mount Justice, Robin physically poked and pushed her towards a second biobed. She was gently bullied into lying down on her back, but when she couldn't settle thanks to her wings, Robin let her shift to lay on her side instead.
Swapping out his standard gloves for sterile surgical ones from the first aid kit, he'd asked if she'd like a local anesthetic.
She just laughed at him.
Once everything had been disinfected, he set to work with surgical pliers in hand. "Hey, uh, thanks."
"For what?" She asked, keeping as still as possible when the metal prongs slipped into her flesh.
"Taking a bullet for me." He emphasized the point by gently grasping said projectile and starting the process of meticulously wiggling it free.
"Please," Hawkgirl scoffed. "You know that I would take a bullet for any of you in a heartbeat."
Robin paused as Kid Flash spoke up from the other side of the ship, having finally gathered enough food and water for the team. "Um... no?! We didn't?!"
"Oh. Hm. I guess now you do."
"Hey, everybody!"
M'Gann's untimely interruption directly resulted in Robin driving the pliers deeper into Ski'Lira's arm, and he hastily uttered a long string of apologies.
"I've got Superboy. He's back to normal and we're on our way."
Ski'Lira couldn't help her relieved sigh, only for it to turn into a pained hiss.
Aqualad had snapped upright with a loud gasp, startling not only Artemis, but also Robin again, causing him to rip the bullet out of her arm less than gently. A second round of apologies falling from his lips, Robin set the chunk of metal on a nearby tray, moving onto the cleaning and stitching process.
"Who are you?!" Kaldur sounded downright frantic, barely calming as Artemis pushed him firmly back down onto the bed. "And how did you get inside my head?"
They could practically hear the forehead slap over the mental link. "Hello, Megan. Aqualad's memories! I knew I forgot something."
"Aw man, me too." Kid Flash bemoaned. "I didn't get a souvenir from the mission."
"Don't worry. Got the souvenir thing covered."
"What about the bullet Robin just pulled from Hawkgirl's arm?" Artemis was apparently still less than pleased with this revelation. "Great souvenir right there."
"Hawkgirl was shot?!" Superboy shouted across the link.
Groaning, Hawkgirl closed her eyes and resigned herself to even more scolding, especially once Kaldur's memory was fully restored. Her teammates were ridiculous. But it did nothing to lessen her fondness for them.