When Robins Fall

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There isn't always someone to catch him …

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"Miss Martian link us up," Kaldur commanded.

The martian put her hands to her temples and felt for everyone's presences 'Link is up' she reported silently.

'Team, ready to intercept this chemical weapon hand over?' Kaldur asked.

'I was born ready!' Wally's energetic answer echoed in everyone's heads loudly. Megan cringed a little at the volume of his 'voice' but smiled at his enthusiasm.

Kaldur motioned for the team to come closer, they had hidden the bio ship on top of a large building and were currently gathered on the top of a warehouse assessing the environment.

Connor tilted his head slightly 'I can hear people in the warehouse' he reported, his face frowning as he tried to pick out exactly what they were saying.

Artemis, Robin and Kid Flash glanced at the clone and waited until he had finished listening. Robin had held up a hand to Wally before he could distract him. Kaldur nodded at the team before Superboy turned to them 'They're saying that the weapons should arrive in an hour but the payment for them hasn't arrived yet either'.

Robin raised an eyebrow 'These guys are either really smart or really stupid' he commented, thinking that the late payment could be a stalling point to check the merchandises if their trading partners were feeling generous or stupid if they weren't because they were asking for trouble.

Artemis laughed over the link 'Let's go with stupid' she said with a smirking side glance at Robin, which he returned.

Kaldur then spoke 'Kid Flash, Miss Martian, you both make rounds of the warehouse and make sure that the dealers do not catch us by surprise. Conner, you hide close to the dealing room and listen in only. If you hear anything, tell us. Only engage if you are sure that it is your only option' the three nodded. Kaldur turned to the two humans 'Robin and Artemis you will infiltrate the building and gather more information over who the dealer is, and take evidence of the deal for later, I will accompany Superboy and guard from the other side of the room' he finished.

Each team member nodded and started to move into position.

Robin took Artemis's hand and used his grapple to lower them both to the ground. Conner and Kaldur slid down the drainpipe, their metahuman bodies able to withstand more damage than Robin or Artemis. And Kid Flash and Megan ran or floated over to their positions.

For five minutes there was nothing to report.

Artemis and Robin climbed through a vent and broke into an office. Artemis moved to look at some files on the desk 'Why are villains never tidy?' she sighed, remembering how her Mother would tell her off for her untidy room.

Robin chuckled slightly behind her and quickly scanned a different file 'You'll have to tell them how to sort things when we turn them in' he smirked.

Artemis lightly nudged him with a smirk of her own before looking in the desk. After five minutes they gave up. 'Nothing here Kaldur, how much time do we have?' he asked as he boosted Artemis up into the open vent.

'The men are still waiting, be careful my friends'

Artemis looked through a grate and said 'I think I've found the meeting room. There's three men in there and they don't look happy' she said.

'Who would be with you hanging over them?' Wally quipped.

Artemis growled and sent a snap back at him 'I'll make your life a living hell Kid Mouth!'

Robin rolled his eyes and slipped past Artemis in the vent to unscrew the end for her, the infinite toolkit installed in his gloves helping him with this task. It would be better than Artemis blowing up the grate to get through.

Robin dropped through a moment later and glanced around, 'All clear' and Artemis dropped beside him. They had found a jeep. Robin peered through the window and then picked open the door when he spotted a brief case.

Artemis moved over to a window and smirked when she saw a blur of yellow pass along the ground. 'I spy with my little eye something beginning with annoying' she commented, making Robin snort as he opened the brief case too.

Wall grunted 'Just have Robin's back' he snapped.

'There's a truck in the distance!' M'gann's voice said suddenly.

Kaldur took control before the team could jump in with questions 'How fast will they get here M'gann?'

A moment later the martian answered 'About three minutes' she decided.

Robin took note of that and opened the case. However the second he did there was a flash of white. "Ah!" he gasped, holding his hands over his eyes.

Artemis gasped too "Robin!" she only just managed to keep to a whisper.

Robin rubbed his eyes again and looked at her 'I'm okay, it was just a flash' he assured her.

'Why would a briefcase need a flash device?' M'gann wondered as she kept a careful eye on the approaching truck.

Robin and Artemis exchanged a look and Robin looked at the case more carefully. 'Shoot!' he thought after a second. 'There's a camera in the case!'

Kaldur soothed his panic 'Disable it and leave the room. Artemis, weapons ready, the men are moving' he warned.

Robin quickly tore out the camera and smashed the film while Artemis held her arrow ready. She didn't bother drawing her bow because in the vents they would soon be escaping from she's need to be fast and unhindered.

'They said that their payment has arrived' Conner informed.

'Have they said what it is exactly? I haven't seen any parcels being dropped' Wally asked, sounding irritated that something had managed to get past him.

Robin smirked and quickly jumped up into the vent, he held put a hand and pulled up the blond archer a moment later.

'No' was the blunt reply of the clone.

Robin's shoulder shook in a silent laugh and they crawled back the way they had come. Robin paused to plant a listening and recording device beside the grate that led to the meeting room but didn't stick around.

However they only got another few steps before he heard a voice that chilled him to his bones.

"Hello boys! Where's the Super Brats?"

Robin swallowed 'We're the payment! They're after us!'

Kid Flash followed that statement in time with Artemis: 'Shit'

Kaldur backed away at once, mentally telling Superboy and Miss Martian to do the same. 'This is too dangerous for us, Robin alert Batman as soon as you can-'

'Done' Robin cut off, already sending the recording to his mentor, he only hoped he was close enough to pick up the message quickly. Whenever someone was after the Young Justice team they were normally prepared for them, so it was dangerous to continue without at least warning the mentors that they might be home late after being kidnapped.

'-Everyone else to the roof' Kaldur finished.

Artemis saw Robin's pale face and tapped his shoulder when they rounded a corner. She whispered "Are you okay?" he looked a little pale back there.

Robin nodded and whispered back "Just asterous," however he was reminded of the kidnapping of himself that had happened only last week and didn't want to relive it. He still had the bruise of Joker's crowbar in his ribs.

Robin pointed upwards and Artemis moved to vertically scale an upwards vent. Robin waited a few seconds before following her. At the roof M'gann had already removed the top vent and Kaldur and Conner were waiting with helping hands.

Wally sent Robin a sympathetic glance which Robin replied with a shrug 'Dude this is my life, if I'm not kidnapped at least monthly something's wrong with the world' he reminded the red head, making the speedster grin for a moment at his cheery tone.

Kaldur motioned for everyone to gather 'With this new element I am not comfortable in staying near here. We must leave before and watch from a safe distance for the drop, should it happen. Then Batman and the league can tell us how to proceed'

M'gann looked at the Bio ship, or where it would be since the building was tall enough to hide it from the ground, and asked anxiously 'Should we move back somewhere safer?' the intense feelings of dread from her friends, concern from Wally, and dark memories of pain also from Robin were making her worry too. She turned back to them and it was only while she was turning her head that she spotted the gun.

"Move!" she shrieked and mentally sent everyone flying backwards.

It was not a moment too soon. The gun blasted and M'gann's hair was whipped in the aftermath of the bullet.

The team quickly recovered and primed their weapons.

The main man jumped out from behind a crate screaming "Get them! Get them!" a tall bald man shouted. On his arms were inhibitor collars. Conner, Wally and Kaldur all flinched at the sight of them.

Robin sent some explosive baterangs towards the charging thugs the moment he regained his footing, which was pretty damn fast. Each man was equipped with a gun.

Conner put himself between his team and the bullets and charged at the men with guns with a roar, taking them down like flies while the bullets rained off him like … rain.

Artemis sent smoke arrows into the crowds, then threw two thugs off the roof while Robin took on the other five who were trying to corner the two humans. Robin and Artemis took aim and fired several rounds of explosives at the horrid tools the main man was holding.

He tried to get one on Conner only for Robin to spring board off the taller boy's shoulders and kick the man off the roof, he caught his shirt and stabbed a batarang through the fabric to keep him immobile and yet alive. The guy daren't move for fear of dropping.

Now that the fear of the collars was gone the metahumans engaged fully.

Kid Flash was running circles around the thugs, tipping them off balance when they tried to lunge at him "Too slow!" he shouted as he slipped beneath another's arm and snatched away their guns.

Conner was throwing men left and right, and the two humans were tying up as many as possible. However this was all while dodging bullets, and they only needed one guy to have a lucky shot, keeping in mind that they were outnumbered twenty to one.

Kaldur whipped back his opponents and blocked a round of bullets before shouting "Miss Martian! Retreat! Get the bio ship!" The Martian nodded before mentally sending for the ship, Kaldur protecting her during her brief laps in fighting.

The team heard the comforting sounds of the ship approaching, Robin pushed Artemis towards the ship "Go, I'm right behind you," he gasped as he tied up three men with his hidden bolas.

Artemis hesitated but Kid Flash caught her arm "Robin's got it," he assured her as he used his speed to get enough force to clear the jump between the buildings and outrun bullets while he was at it, just to show off.

Artemis held onto Wally without thinking when she saw the drop beneath her temporarily. Then she was mad "Give me a warning next time Baywatch!" she snapped when her feet were back on concrete.

Wally sighed "Why didn't I leave you back there?" he groaned.

Conner used one man to whack away several and turned and jumped to the building himself, followed by M'gann who went inside quickly to take the controls.

Kaldur and Robin were backed into the edge of the roof and Robin felt sweat travel down the back of his neck, he didn't have a good enough run up for the jump. Kaldur pushed back the line of men and ordered "Go Robin!" as he ducked under another bullet.

Robin hesitated "Nothing for me to swing off," he protested and tipped a thug over the roof, snatching his gun and firing shots at the men's feet to make them back off.

Kaldur cursed in Atlantian 'M'gann! Fly the ship above us! We cannot make the jump' he ordered.

'Right!' M'gann replied. "Strap in everyone," she said as the engines hummed.

Kaldur used all his water to blast a path through to the opposite side and ran, Robin on his heels, to where he could jump to the ship and latch on.

Robin primed his grapple and aimed it at the open door where Artemis, Wally and Conner were waiting for them, Kaldur was faster than him and had a bigger jump so he needed a little help. He grinned and fired his grapple that Conner caught and Wally quickly held too.

Kaldur jumped and had Artemis grab his arm as his other hand grabbed the sides of the door. She pulled him up and they cringed as bullets ricocheted off the sides of the ship. M'gann cringed in the background.

Robin jumped off the roof and swung upwards.

But at that very second one lucky bullet sliced through the grapple's wire.

Conner and Wally's eyes widened.

For a moment Robin continued to rise in momentum, then he was hovering as Gravity and his upward thrust equalled each other.

Then he was falling.

Robin's hand extended towards his teammates as if they could catch him, his eyes wide with horror. "No!" he gasped; not like this!

"Robin!" his team cried out as he dropped like a bird shot out of the sky.

Robin saw the ground rush up to meet him and closed his eyes.

For a second the night was replaced with the red and white of a circus tent, the guns firing in the background were the stamping feet of the crowd, and the faces of his friend above him was his own face.

Darkness rushed over him.

Then impact.

Batman held his bird in his arms and covered both himself and Robin with his bullet proof cape.

He had lunged just in time to catch him, but although the fall was softened enough to prevent death, Robin's head had been hit. He was now limp and unresponsive. Batman had received Robin's message and at once appeared as back up, his Bat-paranoia not letting him stand idle while someone planned to kidnap his son. But to see him fall was something he never wanted to see again.

It was also something he feared for his son's emotional and mental state too.

Robin, or Dick Grayson, had experienced a fall like the one that killed his parents.

Batman growled as the bullets kept thumping off his suit, leaving only a few bruises through three layers of armour, and scooped up his ward and ran back to the Batmobile.

He dived into the driver's seat with Robin across his lap and slammed the door. The car at once revved to life and spun nearly on the spot before speeding off in another direction. Batman left the car on autopilot while he looked Robin over. Luckily it was just his head that was hurt.

Batman breathed a sigh of relief before pressing a button to send a message to the Bio ship.

"Batman!" Kid Flash shouted the moment the link was accepted "Is Robin okay?" he gasped.

Batman grunted "He's alive." he answered curtly, hearing the sighs and gasps of joy in the background "Team return to the mountain and report to Black Canary."

"Will Robin join us Batman sir?" Miss Martian timidly asked.

"Not tonight." Batman ended the conversation and turned the wheel towards Gotham and the Bat cave.

Batman laid Robin on the examination table that served as a hospital cot, and pulled back his cowl. He also removed Robin's mask and his own gloves and gently began to inspect his ward's head, the pads of his fingers moving gently to feel every inch.

When Robin, or Dick without the mask, cringed slightly at pressure to the right side of his head Bruce sighed. His son would have the evil mastermind of headaches tomorrow – Bruce snorted at how much that sounded like his ward - but he would have to wait until he woke up before he could determine if the head bump had hurt his brain in any way. At best there would be a headache or a concussion, at worse a fractured skull and some balance problems for a while – which was pretty bad for Dick considering his entire fighting style relied on balance, speed and agility.

Bruce gently ran his hand through Dick's hair and looked at his slightly anxious expression, even asleep Dick was scared.

Bruce held his son's hand and squeezed it gently "You fell Dick. But for as long as I can, as often as I can, I promise I'll be there to catch you."

Bruce felt the tightening sensation around his heart ease when Dick's expression relaxed into peace. Subconsciously Dick knew that the Darkness before impact wasn't death. And the words of his mentor and Father figure only confirmed his knowledge that someone had been there to catch him.

I decided to branch out a litle more, and to be honest I was reading so much Yuong Justice Daddybats that I just got infected with the sweetness of the fatherson realtionship that Robin and Batman have. So here's my outlet.