A storm began to brew over the horizon. The morning sun became blocked as the storm rolled over the coast, drenching the city in the process. A dramatic change from the cloudless night before. A calm, much-needed morning for the titans. If only time was kind enough to stay that way. The fates however, were kind enough to send a warning. A wrenching feeling in the pit of your stomach, like the calm before the storm.
The team piled into the living room, the unease settling heavily in the air. Waiting in anticipation for the punch. Rain pounding against the glass attempting to drown the world around them. A burst of thunder shook the tower to the core. It was so loud that a certain napping changeling was startled awake, shifting into a house cat in his fright.
Raven soothingly ran her pale fingers through his fur from her place beside BB on the couch. The spiked fluff ball purred from the affection, curling into a cat's imitation of a cinnamon roll.
The next shock came when the intruder siren blared, bathing the titans in an eerie red light. Everyone jumped up from their positions about the room, rushing to the roof where the alert originated from.
A large blacked out figure stood in the doorway, his back to the team. Every titan was prepared to fight as lightning lit up the sky behind the figure. It was enough to illuminate the S-shield clad cape. The titans relaxed one by one once the man stepped into the lit, dry stairway, soaked to the bone.
"Sorry about your door," Superman said, emerging from the rain. He continued before anyone could utter a sound.
"I need your help," he glanced down to the bundle in his arms, "He doesn't have much time."
Their leader turned towards them. Robin nodded off to Cyborg and Raven. "Go prep the medbay. We'll deal the damage here and join you once we're done."
Robin shut off the alarm seeing Superboy wince, barely out of the corner of his eye. The movement wasn't more than a twitch of the muscles. The lighting switched from a glaring red to a soft yellow. He frowned, watching behind the lenses in his mask.
Raven opened a portal made of dark magic in front of them with a wave of her hand. Raven, Cyborg, and Superman stepped into the swirl of black, leaving the rest of the team in the stairway.
"Let's get this fixed before it causes any more issues," Robin said, gesturing to the door. "Then we'll join the others, see if they could use an extra hand."
The trio appeared on the other side, stepping out in the center of the medbay. Without missing a beat, the duo got straight to work. Cyborg led the man of steel towards an empty cot.
"Sit him down here," Cy said, working as he talked. "Help me with the jacket."
Cyborg tossed the restrictive cloth in the trash bin, finally able to see what he was working with. He almost wished he hadn't. He winced, seeing the damage. It was worse than he imagined.
"Damn. What happened to him?" Superman's eyes hardened at the memory.
"They were experimenting- using him as a lab rat. I didn't stay long enough to ask for details," Supes replied, anger prevalent in his tone. Cyborg felt his fury radiating off his body in waves. Whoever 'they' were made a horrific mistake.
A slow steady beeping filled the room as Raven attached a temporary heart monitor to the kid's middle finger. Cyborg frowned, watching the slowing pulse before he started to examine the most prominent wounds. He gently gripped the smaller supey's arm, softly pinching the skin to watch it retract. When the skin stayed in place, he feel some semblance of panic.
"Hey Rae. Can you get an IV started please? Will you add some antibiotics and a nutrient bag while you're at it? That should kill any lingering infections. Also help with the obvious malnourishment and dehydration." He muttered the last bit to himself.
Cyborg checked the open wounds for any debris, the stitching for tears in the skin and cleanliness before placing a gauze patch over them. Already having placed the paste Raven had handed him on the wounds to prevent any remaining bacteria. He wasn't worried about them.
What did worry him was the poor stitching in the boy's right leg, the bloody eye patch, and the dried blood in the corner of his mouth. The latter could be a sign of an unknown or internal injury they weren't aware of. Or it could be nothing, but when is it ever nothing?
The boy didn't flinch as Raven inserted the IV into his arm. She gently placed a patch over the insertion. Her hand glowed slightly when she moved to rest it on the boy's sweaty forehead. After a moment the boy relaxed, truly, for the first time in a while. Her other hand waved over the top of his body, searching for other sources of his pain. She paused when she reached the lower half of his legs.
"Cyborg, the cut on his leg goes down to the bone. From what I can feel, it seems broken but I can't be sure," Rae informed, gesturing to the area.
Superman walked up from where he was standing off to the side, trying to stay out of the way. He used his x-ray vision to confirm her statement. He glanced over the rest of the boy in worry, finding yet another wound.
"It's not broken. They drilled out a piece of his bone. I remember seeing it in the lab along with…" he trailed off realizing what he had seen, "Along with a tooth." Cyborg turned to Kal in horror, sharing the look with Raven.
"Magic is out of the question, isn't it?" he asked. She nodded, sadly.
"His body is too weak, it would only harm him more." she replied, shaking her head feeling how weak he was. Cyborg sighed, before snapping his head towards the doorway.
"Perhaps I can be of some assistance," Starfire said, walking into the medbay with Beast Boy and Robin in tow. She lifted her hand allowing the warm glow to encase her hand.
Cyborg shook his head as he cleaned the wound in question. "Sorry Star, but right now sunlight is the last thing we need. We could accidentally cause more damage. I need to finish the medical examination before we try it. Speaking of which," he said, pulling the sterile gloves off. He grabbed a fresh pair, and a sample kit. As quick and painless as he could, Cy sealed off the vial containing a blood sample. He handed it off to Robin to get tested.
Robin took the vial without question, heading out of the medbay towards the lab on the other side of the hall. He paused, glancing around for something they could help with.
"Umm, Star. Can you keep an eye on his vitals for me?" She nodded.
"Raven-"
"I'm keeping the pain away from his mind." Cyborg nodded, that's good.
"His internal temperature is quite low," Star reported, her emerald eyes never fraying from the monitor. He nodded.
"Alright B-" "Already on it." Beast boy grinned, shifting into a German Shepard and hopped up onto the bed to settle beside little Supey's least injured side. Cyborg shook his head with a small grin.
"Right idea, wrong shape buddy. I need space to work," he said as the changeling changed into a Maine Coon, they were on the larger side of the feline family and were just as warm. Cy chuckled. Raven petted him for a second, a soft smile on her face.
"That works," Cyborg said. Soon he finished restitching the insertion then placing a temporary cast over his leg. That will help support the bone until it can heal properly. He thought.
Superman handed Cy a blanket while using the hot water packs he had found to up his body temperature. Cyborg pulled the blanket up to the kid's chest. He set the packs along the kids side, the one not currently covered by a feline, also placing one underneath the blanket. Making a makeshift heating blanket.
The Titans, and Superman, worked diligently through each wound, burn, and bruise. Soon most of the injuries were taken care of, that is, all but one. The worst of them all.
Cyborg lifted the bloody gauze out with the tweezers. He quickly replaced them before Superboy could swallow any more blood. Stuffing the cotton into the gaping hole near the back of his teeth. After the first look it seemed that they had pulled a wisdom tooth which was a blessing in disguise. Down the road it wouldn't cause him any more pain at least.
With the cotton in place of the missing tooth, Cyborg carefully placed a bite guard into the kid's mouth. It was a precaution and a necessary one. Even with Raven's help to keep away the pain they didn't think it would be enough, but they had to look at the wound.
Normally you wouldn't leave the worst for last, but in this scenario, they didn't really have a choice. Superboy's body was already too weak to begin with, it improved some once they were able to get some fluids in him, already starting on his third bag along with the added painkillers. He was going to need them for what was next.
Before they knew it, the sun had risen and passed. Setting on the far side of the tower. The Titans had left the boy to rest after the procedure. They each took turns watching over him as he slept. It wasn't long before the clock struck 8 pm and it was Robin's turn.
The room echoed in silence once night had fallen. The plague of silent worry flooded the tower. Drifting through the halls like a forgotten memory.
Like a lonely detective brooding as he made his way to the medical floor. Passing the empty unoccupied rooms until the steady beeping reached the hall.
Raven gently raised her head from her book feeling a presence entering the room. She rose from her seat with a gracefulness and strength that wasn't of this world. Robin laid his hand on her shoulder as they passed each other.
"Get some rest."
He carefully pulled back the curtain, glancing out at the glowing city washed clean from the rain. A stark contrast to the dim room. He let it fall closed once more so as to not disturb the slumbering kryptonian. Performing his rounds, ensuring the machines are working correctly, updating Superboy's vitals on his chart, and so forth until he was satisfied with the results. Then he began to fiddle with the blankets on the bed. Pulling them to better cover the boy. So engrossed in his work he failed to notice the figure entering the room.
"Dude, can you be any more of a mother hen?" Beast Boy said, leaning against the doorway with a knowing grin on his lips.
"You shouldn't joke like that," Robin mumbled quietly, settling into the hard chair Raven had been sitting in minutes earlier. The smile slowly faded from BB's face as he watched his leader.
"I know. But I also know that you shouldn't worry yourself to death about it, he's going to be okay." Robin snorted at 'death', shaking his head. He gripped his arm tight enough to feel it through the Kevlar armor.
"He could've died, Gar, and we would've never known. He was in trouble, he needed help and we didn't know. He'd be dead before any of us noticed he was missing. He-" Robin trailed off bowing his head. Scenario after scenario playing with his mind.
"But- he's not. He's right here, safe. They are never going to get their filthy hands on him again. We look after our own." Garfield said. Robin glanced up at surprise. Gar tossed his head back towards the hall, to the rest of the tower.
"The other titans agree with me. We were going to ask anyway. Besides, after this I don't think anyone's 'cough cough Superman' is going to let him out of their sight." Robin chuckled at that, surprising himself. Garfield smiled at the sound.
"Since when did you become the sensible one," Robin jokes. BB shrugged.
"I'm speaking what we were all thinking. Also, excuse me?! I've always been the sensible, you all would be lost to your grouchiness without me so umph," Garfield said, hands on his hips as he stuck his tongue out at his leader. He received a snicker for his antics.
"Thank you," Robin whispered, peering over at his teammate who nodded back. "Go get some rest."
"Yes, sir." Beast Boy saluted him, straightening his spine. He jumped, shifting mid-air into a bat before flying out of the room. The tell-tale sounds of a bat squeaking echoed from the dark hallway.
When he was sure he was completely alone, Robin slouched into the hard chair at the events of the day caught up with him. This was not the day he had planned out.
His eyes wandered over to the clone's sleeping form. Softening as he watched the rise and fall of his chest. A new constant action thanks to the oxygen mask.
Another precaution added to the mile long list. The incessant beep echoing in the room or the constant watch to name a few. Something he hoped the morning sun would fix.
The rest would take time. Robin only hoped that he would allow the titans to help.
To push past his thoughts, Robin pulled up a new case file and worked through the night, digging up every ounce of evidence he could without leaving the kryptonian's side. Somewhere into the following dawn, he had submitted the case to Batman before promptly falling asleep. Unable to keep his eyes open a moment longer. His head tucked into the crook of his arm, leaning forward onto the bed, His other hand wrapped gently around the boy's wrist, listening to his pulse as it drifted him off to sleep.
The very thing that helped him to rest was what woke him the next morning. A slight twitch of the muscle jolted him awake, the annoying beeping of the heart monitor speeding up to an alarming rate. Then came the screaming.
Robin bolted out of his seat, his hands reaching for the Kryptonian's shoulders. The muscles beneath his palms tensed tighter than a rubber band stretched to the brink. The scream dying off as though his lungs ran out of air. They probably did on second thought, or, his throat was too irritated to continue.
The boy whimpered at the touch. The sound was weak, scratching against his throat. The cry had no more than left his mouth before the door to the med bay slammed open. The noise made the boy jump.
Superman beelined to the cot, setting a gentle hand on the boy's head. His fingers detangled the messy locks, smoothing them over as he spoke.
"Shh. It's okay. You're safe here." Those words repeated over the next few minutes. Breaking through the void of nightmares finally allowing the boy to relax.
"Go back to sleep kiddo," the voice said, echoing in the haze that encompassed his mind. His mind silenced once more to allow himself to rest in a way he hadn't been able to before. This time of his own power, no sweet shadowy fog to blur out the pain for him.
The incessant beeping began to slow after a moment. Returning to a semi-normal rate. A normal adolescent Krytonian heart rate? He wasn't sure. Superman sighed, worry falling off of him in waves.
Robin eased back giving the man some room. He had never seen the man of steel so worked up, but isn't that how you were supposed to act in a situation like this? Then again, when was the last time anything was normal for him?
Or what regular people would consider normal.
This definitely wasn't a normal 'welcome home' celebration for the eldest in the room. Coming back from the dead to find out you have a kid stuck (imprisoned) with your worst enemy and that they are missing. From the details Superman had given them, he was held in a lab somewhere.
A lab. Fudge sickles.
Robin paused. glancing around the medbay. The pristine white walls, the polished floors, and medical equipment everywhere. It looked an awful lot like a lab.
He remembers falling unconscious in one of the villain's liars and waking up at home, tucked away in a bed in the cave's medbay. He remembers the terror he felt before recognizing the cave. The stalactite walls and the bats helped, but the clone has never been to the tower that he knows of anyway. To go from captive to patient is not an easy transition for the mind. Especially one in such a fragile state.
They were going to have to move him soon. To prevent a panic attack from occurring that could also hurt him in other ways. The equipment they needed is in the medbay, they can't move it fast enough if there is an emergency. But we can't leave him here either.
Maybe there was a way for them to compromise.
He grinned. He knew just the person who could pull it off.
Superboy groaned as the heaviness that weighed his body down began to lift. His eyes, his everything, felt sluggish like it does when you take a really good nap. He couldn't remember the last time he had had one of those.
He was too tired to figure out when that was. Feeling like a boat drifting through the waves, the sea beating the wood into mush. He could relate to the wood. He felt like mush too.
Exhaustion dragged on his bones. Trying and succeeding to pull him under.
He didn't want to go to sleep, sleep did sound appealing don't get him wrong, but there was something about it that didn't sit right. The darkness consumed him before he could pander it more.
The next time he woke up he could feel his toes. He felt a light weight upon his chest and legs. The soft brush of a blanket against his skin. He felt warm.
That was the first thing that alarmed him.
One by one his senses came back. The air smelled clean and fresh. The stench of rotting flesh and chemicals was gone. His body tingled as if numb from staying in one place too long. It was almost the same feeling as when he's outside. He never would feel it again, his mind reminded him of his predicament, leaving sour taste in his dry mouth.
Really really dry mouth now that he thinks about it. The countless hours of screaming did a number on his throat, becoming raw like the rest of his nerves. He couldn't remember a time where he didn't feel like he was on fire. He couldn't forget either the more he thought about it… thinking about it probably wasn't helping.
Now, he couldn't stop thinking about it.
He tried to find something to distract him because he really didn't want to think about it. His head pounded when he tried to think of a good memory, so that was a no go. Ummm, what was he thinking about before?
Oh! His senses! He was thinking about his senses. Okay, what were the ones he thought about. Touch was first. Next was scent then prominently taste because he really needed a toothbrush right about now. Yikes, old copper tasted nasty. A 0/10 would not recommend.
What was left out of the five? Hearing and sight. His ears rung like the plague from tinnitus or white noise. Sight was black. Pitch Black.
It would help if he opened his eyes, he thought bitterly sprinkled with a hint of sarcasm. His eyes felt like they were glued shut when he tried opening them. Taped down to keep him in the dark.
His eyes fluttered subconsciously, allowing him to feel the brush of fabric over one of his eyes. The other one felt fine, a little droopy but fine. And crusty he thought after a second.
As slow as he dared, he peaked open his left eye feeling a slight resistance from lack of use. Don't ask how he knew that. He didn't know himself.
The dim lighting in the room helped some, though he still had to squint to see anything. The pain behind his eye eased the longer he had it open. The room blurred around the edges as he took it in. The white walls were draped with posters and tapestries of all colors. A black screen Tv laid in the middle. Pristine cold concrete floors covered partially by a rug. The door to his right laid bare beyond the hand-drawn 'Do Not Disturb' sign hanging off the handle.
To his right were windows he assumed from the closed blackout curtains. Or maybe they were just for looks. He glanced down at the softness that entrapped him to find a solid dark blue throw blanket enveloping the bed.
Wait, bed?
He used what little strength he had to tap his finger on the mattress, feeling the bounce in the strings. Not the cold hard steel pallet he had become accustomed to during his stay. This wasn't the lab where he had been taken after Lex…. after Lex hurt him. With the green stuff. Kryptonite.
But where is he now? The last thing he remembered was the security guard guy coming at him, holding him down as the scientist brought a scalpel near his eye. Superboy froze as the haunting memory made itself known. He remembered blacking out afterwards, but what had happened?
He pushed his body to raise a hand up to his face. He gasped weakly, brushing the fabric bandage wrapped around his head. More importantly, around his right eye. He fingered the fabric around his eye, running the tip of it along the protective cup and cotton that laid below it.
His fear and heart rate shot up as the information passed through his mind. A new kind of panic settled within him at the implications the wound offered. The sudden skyrocket triggered the silent alarms set within the room. Alerting the closest individual to the situation.
The situation being him about to pass out from lack of oxygen from the anxiety or panic attack that his body conveniently decided he needed at that moment. If that wasn't obvious enough. It wasn't to him. The dragging breath rattled his chest, shoving cotton down his ears. Muffling his thoughts to even the greatest of mind readers.
Which he really hopes there are none here, he has had some really random thoughts lately. His mind was like a computer; filled with boundless knowledge (for the most part, there are some areas that were lacking he would find out later) that he had no idea how to access. It felt kind of like sticking a kid in the driver seat of a car and expecting them to know how to drive without crashing. Or there are fifty million tabs open and he has no idea where the music is coming from.
Not that it was important or anything. Nothing he did was ever important.
The world chose that moment to reveal the curse of his mind. Because he didn't already have the worst timing imaginable for a living weapon. Nah, that's just absurd. Maybe he was cursed.
The door swung wide, opening slowly like a bad remake of a Stephen King novel. The artificially lit atmosphere dimmed in anticipation, straining his eyes, whoops, eye as he stared into the dark space between the walls. Time froze as a figure stepped out of the darkness and into the light.
The weapons shoulder's raised in anticipation tugging harshly on the taunt muscles that allowed them to move. Stretched tighter than a rubber-band on a watermelon ready to burst at a moments notice. That band threatened to snap once their downcast face partially covered by the fringe of hair and wide toothy grin came into view.
"Hey, Supes. It's nice to see that you're awake. We were getting worried there for a minute," the masked face spoke softly, his smile easing into something along the lines of comforting. Or maybe it was always that way. Just the panic of his treacherous mind that clouded his vision. The man's smile dropped for a millisecond before returning to its former glory, seeing the confusion on the young ones face. "And I do mean we, we as in the titans and an overgrown boy scout."
The clones confusion doubled, his face scrunching with both that and pain from the movement the expression caused. He glanced between the man and door before settling back on the unexpected (Haha) visitor.
"They'll be back soon, don't you worry. They've left a couple of hours ago to go deal with a threat in the city before deciding to make a pitstop or two on the way home. How are you feeling?" The man said, ignoring the weary following eye, moving around to sit down in the cushioned chair beside the bed. He leaned forward with his elbows on his black and blue stripped cargo pants covering his knees, tilting his head with his inquiry. All the while keeping a secret eye on the monitors, listening to the slowing beeping it gave off.
The kid flinched when his hand dropped slightly from where it was frozen beside the bandaged area. He slowly lowered his arm to rest on the bed. The stunt had zapped his energy worse than a cheap battery. It must have shown on his face because the man's curiosity morphed into understanding.
"You can go back to sleep if you want, kiddo. No one is going to stop you. They'd have to get through me and a bunch of angry heroes first in order to get to you," the man spoke with authority unwavering by the softness of his voice. A token of sincerity and promises. The kid wanted to believe him. He was so tired. "We'll see about a proper introduction once you are all healed up. How does that sound? I know a few people that have been non-living to meet you, but that's for after, ok? There is nothing you need to worry about besides getting better. Cross my heart 'n hope to fly, you will not hurt my feelings if you fall asleep while I continue to ramble." The man's smile widened as he finished, watching the younger fail to resist the temptation of sleep.
It was a fight he soon lost. Drifting off into the blissful world of unconscious where no pain could reach.
For the first time since he entered, the man allowed his smile to drop fully, reflecting his inner turmoil. He stood quietly from his seat just as he had once learned long ago to exit the room.
"Goodnight, Superboy," the young man whispered before he shut the door behind him. He made his way down the hall to the living room in the tower before he pulled his cell out of his pocket. An unnecessary precaution, yet he didn't want to accidentally wake the kid if his enhanced hearing randomly decided to kick back into gear. Better safe than sorry.
The expression held too much weight in this scenario. Too much in baby supey's case.
He tapped the little black bolderhat icon on his screen, activating the darkwear built into the device. It was old tech enhanced by new tech. Built into the masks for quick and quiet communication, servalence, and for your convenience, sharing perspective. All recorded, of course, for safety purposes. Aka the stupid stunts by each of his respective families.
The young adult grinned, seeing the message from his youngest brother. The message was only a minute or so old, thankfully.
R: We saw the alarm. Do we need to head back?
N: nah, SB's chilling with a well-deserved nap. no need to rush
R: We are almost done. There are a couple of things left to double-check.
N: 10-4 baby bird
R: Don't call me that.
N: why not, baby bird?
N: fine
N: ill just need to make a new one with my brain juices
R: Eww, why would you... Nope, never mind, that is gross either way.
N: red bird?
N: Ooooh, how about red robin?
R: Absolutely not.
N: RED ROBIN YUM!
R: Wing!
Nightwing snickered.
N: ok ok party pooper. have it your way, wonder ruffles
R: That is even worse than the last one!
N: how so? peep-pa-cheep?
R: ...
N: lol ok, you win. i'll stop, murder mittens, i promise
R: Not a bad idea.
N: ?
N: what does that mean?
N: r?
N: o?
N: b?
N: i?
N: n?
N: just so you know i have plausible deny-ability in 30 states
N: i'm sorry?
N: ?
N: i'm ordering takeout for dinner.
Bb: Where? Can we go somewhere vegan this time?
Cy: I ain't eaten no tofu today, tomorrow, or any day of the week.
Cy: BTW wing, I vote for the third one.
R: No one said you had to Cyborg. Also, Private conversation!
Bb: Oh, come on! Tofu is great! And same. I like murder mittens, too.
R: No one asked you.
Rae: Wow, you are all so mature.
Bb: Did Rae Rae just compliment me? Pinch me I must be dreaming (Bb yelped in pain, rubbing his arm. I said pinch, not punch.)
(Whoops. A flat voice replied)
Rae: Nightwing
N: yes my fellow feathered friend?
Rae: I'll relay the message to Superman. That pizza joint downtown reopened a week ago.
N: pizza it is. usual?
Rae: Yes.
Bb: Yes! PIZZA!!!
Cy: Yea, sounds good. No tofu on it this time though. (Nightwing swore he could almost hear the argument through the phone.)
N: r?
R: Fine with me.
N: alrighty ill get the order in pronto. Be safe, see you at the tower for dinner.