Ghost Robin

...Yes, the name might need a bit of work. I'm no good with names. Sue me.

This is a fic I've been working on for a while. A long while, but I finally managed to finish it. I think it's actually gotten to be a pretty okay fic. And it's over 9'000 words.

Before anyone asks, I have no idea how Secrets fits into it. You assume that's the first time Artemis saw a ghost, but… *shrugs* make it a little bit AU, then, if it's easier.

Genres: Supernatural, Friendship, Humour, Angst and Drama. It's not much of a mystery, but then again, that wasn't meant to be a big part of the plot.

Continuity: Um… after Artemis, before Zatanna. That clear it up for you?

Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice.

This was not the first time Robin had woken up in a med-bay with no memory of how he got there.

First thing he saw was one of those beepy things… he probably should know the name of it but his head was fuzzy… a monitor? Whatever it was, it wasn't supposed to be in his room.

His eyes flickered around the room he was in. Not his. A medical setting. He couldn't be sure which one it was – most hospital beds tended to look pretty similar.

Robin tried to think. He'd been on patrol. Then sudden pain. And he'd woken up in a hospital bed.

"I oughta start keeping track of how often this happens." Robin grimaced, sitting up.

Okay. This definitely wasn't in the Bat-cave. Not at Mt. Justice, either. So where was he?

Automatically he checked his face. Yep, mask was firmly in place.

Cautiously he got out of the bed.

He felt funny. Lighter than usual. Probably some kind of drug still in his system.

A few unsteady steps.

Robin glanced around and felt his breath catch when he saw a familiar cape swinging off a bed.

In quick movement, the Boy Wonder went to his mentor.

"Batman? Batman, are you – okay, stupid question." Robin said, rubbing his temples in the hope that it would clear some of the fog in his mind.

Okay. Pulse.

Robin cautiously placed two fingers onto Batman's neck, sliding under the cowl. His gloves looked paler than usual compared to the black of the Dark Knight's costume.

His fingers felt strangely numb, but Robin felt the pulse.

"Okay." Robin bit his lip, trying to think. He took a few steps back, trying to work out the kinks some more. "Now. Where am I?"

He glanced around the room again, and saw another bed was taken.

Robin moved towards it, and looked at the person lying there.

Himself.

Dick fell backwards in alarm. "The hell?"

Cautiously, he got back up and looked back at the boy lying there.

Yep, he looked identical to himself, complete with uniform. The utility belt was lying on the bedside table next to the bed.

"Uh… yeesh. This is weird." Robin said, his mind wondering about clones and shapeshifters.

He rubbed his eyes.

Then his eyes widened.

He raised his hand towards the ceiling light.

The light was shining through him.

Robin let out an actual squeak. All things considered, he felt that a squeak was an acceptable response to this.

With a spin, Robin looked around the room, trying to find the bed he had crawled out from.

There were only another three in the room, and all were very much intact. Unless these were self-making beds, he had not just climbed out of another bed.

"Okay. So. I'm dead." Robin said blankly, looking at his transparent hands. "This is definitely a new one on me."

X

After a little of the shock had worn off, Robin came to the conclusion that he might not be dead.

His body was still breathing. When he cautiously felt his pulse – on both himself and the body lying on the bed – he found it. The machines attached to him were still beeping.

Robin wasn't a qualified doctor, but he felt that these were probably good signs.

He carefully reached for the chart by his bed.

His hand fell through it.

Robin flinched and pulled his hand back out. "That's… disturbing. Heavy on the dis."

A second try had no better results.

Robin finally managed to get a grip when footsteps came from the hallway.

The Boy Wonder jumped backwards, dropping the clipboard as Wonder Woman and the Flash walked into the room.

I'm in the Watchtower?

It was probably an inappropriate time to be excited about something like that.

Robin slid out backwards. Only after the world went dark for an instant did he realise he'd walked through the wall instead of the door.

He began to slowly walk, feet hitting the ground softly. Normally he had a light tread, unless he was trying to be quiet – at that point, it was more like 'when the hell did you get here?'. But now he was absolutely silent.

Kinda neat. Creepy, but neat.

The question was – where to now?

He was in the Watchtower. As such, it probably wouldn't be that hard to talk to a member of the Justice League.

Assuming they could see him. If they couldn't, that would seriously suck. Being a ninja is only cool if you don't want people to know you're there.

"Ow!"

Robin rubbed his head and looked up to see the ceiling.

He was floating a good three feet off the ground.

"Yah!" He pushed off the ceiling and fell down, phasing through the floor.

As he came out from the ceiling of the room below it, he stopped falling and continued floating, gently pressing against the ceiling.

A picture of a Robin-shaped helium balloon bobbing in the air came to mind. Robin had to fight back the irrational urge to laugh.

His eyes flickered over the room he was currently floating in. A couple of League members walked past without looking up.

"Now. How do I move?" Robin asked.

He kicked a foot out like he was swimming. Instead of moving, he started spinning, going through the roof several times.

"Okay, okay, okay, I get it!" Robin grabbed the roof, thankfully not flying through it again. "No swimming… who am I talking to?"

Robin took a deep breath. Somewhere off task, a part of him wondered if he actually needed to do that or if it was just habit.

Okay. Now how do I move? Robin wondered to himself.

A few moments later, a ghost vigilante-sidekick was flying through the air, using a ghost grappling hook onto the roof.

After a bit of lucky guessing and some hacking-into-Justice-League-systems he'd found a zeta-port.

"Let's see… Gotham or Happy Harbour?" Robin wondered aloud.

After a moment he decided on Happy Harbour. After all, Batman was in a coma, and while Alfred was awesome, Robin felt that he had more of a chance of finding out exactly what was wrong with him if he asked the team.

"Robin. B-zero-one."

Nothing happened.

"Come on." Robin kicked the wall. His foot floated through it.

After a moment he'd pulled his foot back. "Robin. B01. Happy Harbour."

Nothing happened.

"Robin. Protégé of Batman. Authorisation, B-0-1. Take me to Happy Harbour!"

Nothing.

"Come on! Please?"

The machine began to whirl. A flash of light and suddenly Robin was stepping out of a photo-booth.

"That worked?"

He glanced around. "Well, this isn't the Cave…" He looked at the photo-booth with the sign saying out of order.

He hit himself on the head. "Hello, Robin – damn it, now she's got me doing it."

After the whole Red Fiasco, since it had taken so long for Red Tornado to get to the cave from the nearest Zeta-Port, they'd installed a new teleporter nearby, just in case. Robin was now in about the middle of Happy Harbour.

He began to walk in the general direction of Mount Justice. Or, technically, grapple along the skyscrapers.

At least until his grappling hook fell straight through the building.

It was a rather weird sensation to collapse onto the ground and not feel any pain, just a vague pressure. It was sorta like falling onto a mattress.

"Okay, some advantages." Robin got to his feet carefully, holding onto a street-light to help steady him. The light was shining straight through him.

After a second he became aware of someone staring at him in amazement.

Robin spun around to see a twenty-or-so-year-old girl holding a dog on a leash. Her jaw had fallen open and her eyes had gotten very wide.

"You – you…"

"Uh, hi?"

"You…" The girl's breathing was getting quicker. Her eyes were still bugging out.

"Uh, please don't faint, ma'am." Robin blurted out.

"Huh?"

"Please don't faint, since I'm not sure how well I'll be able to get you to a safer spot then on a road at… whatever time it is."

"Okay…" The girl whispered. She took a deep breath, then exhaled. Inhaled, then exhaled.

"Good. See, that's better, right?"

"I… you're a ghost."

"It appears so." Robin admitted.

"Are you going to hurt me?" She squeaked.

"No." Robin promised.

"No?"

"No. I promise I will not hurt you."

"Not at all?"

"Well, if you're actually a villain in disguise, I suppose there's a chance that at some point-" Robin stopped talking when she turned white. "No, no, don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you. Cross my heart and hope to die– uh…"

The girl's breathing was accelerating again.

"It's okay!" Robin said, biting his lip. "Look, you're in absolutely no danger from me. I swear. My honour as a Bat that unless you're evil, I will not hurt you!"

"As a bat?"

"Yes. I'm Robin." He gave a smile and spread his arms so that the girl could see his uniform. "Boy Wonder."

"But…"

"Yes, I am aware I am currently a ghost. But I'm still a hero. I swear, I am not going to hurt you."

"Oh." The woman looked calmer now.

Robin thanked all the newspapers and reporters that had given him a reputation as a hero.

"But… why are you in Happy Harbour? And why are you… like that?"

Robin looked down at himself. "I… don't know that one."

"Are you dead?"

"I… I hope not. I'm not exactly sure what's going on." Robin admitted.

"Who killed you?"

"I'm guessing someone very bad."

"Am I dreaming?"

Robin shrugged. "That is actually a distinct possibility."

"So you don't think I am?"

"No, but if it makes everything easier… then sure."

"Should I go back to bed?"

"…Yes. Yes, I think that would probably be the simplest option."

"Okay." The girl said, sorta faintly. She spun around and tugged on the leash. "Come on, Roberto. Let's go home."

Robin waited until she was gone before firing his grappling hook again.

After another few minutes he arrived outside Mount Justice.

"Okay. Now. Open sesame." Robin said with a smirk and he touched the keypad.

His hand fell through it.

"Robin. B. Zero. One."

Again, nothing.

"Please?" He tried.

Nada.

"Robin, B01."

Still nothing.

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

With a sigh, the transparent Boy Wonder walked around for a bit, trying to find another way out.

"Wait…" He hesitated, stopping.

They didn't have any defences against someone walking through walls, did they?

Even if they did, what was the worst they could do to him? He was hardly against being found by his own team.

Cautiously, Robin placed a gloved hand on the wall. It still felt mainly numb.

He hit the wall.

"Ow!"

Robin rubbed his hand, glaring at the wall. "This is just not fair."

Gently, he put his hand on the wall.

It fell through like there was nothing there.

"That's more like it."

He pushed his entire body through the wall, wincing as it grew dark.

Robin came out the other side, in the pantry.

He tried to take a step, and collapsed.

Again, it still didn't hurt, but it surprised him.

Robin looked around and groaned. His foot was stuck on the other side of the wall.

"Great. Now I'm solid?" He moaned, grabbing his leg and pulling. He was stuck fast.

It might have been funny if it wasn't still pretty creepy.

X

"He's going to be alright, isn't he? Both of them are, right?" M'gann asked, pausing as she chopped up the vegetables.

Artemis shrugged and gave her friend a reassuring smile, looking up from the arrow she was inspecting. "Well, I'm not going to sugar-coat anything. It's dangerous, what we do. But the League's working on it. And if anyone can pull through poisons, it's them."

"I suppose."

Conner looked up from the TV, confusion across his face.

"Something wrong, Supey?" Wally asked, biting into an apple.

"I thought I heard someone calling for help…"

"From where?"

"The… pantry?"

The team glanced around to the pantry door.

"Exactly what did they say?" Kaldur asked slowly.

"He said 'guys, I could use some help here'," Conner frowned, getting up. He crossed over to the pantry and opened the door.

The rest of the team followed him. Artemis reached around and hit the light switch.

"Robin?"

"Hey guys." Robin gave them a warm smile. "A hand?"

"You're okay!" Wally blurted out, eyes lighting up with relief.

"Well, that's a matter of opinion-"

M'gann shot down the pantry and grabbed him in a hug.

She fell right through him and crashed into the wall.

"Are you okay?" Robin asked her as M'gann sat back up.

"Yes… but what just happened?"

"Hehe…" Robin said sheepishly. "About that…"

"Robin?" Artemis said blankly.

"Yes?"

"You're transparent."

"I know." He admitted.

The team stared at him, slowly walking down.

"But – how – what – why?" Wally asked, rubbing his eyes.

"I don't know." Robin admitted.

Kaldur placed a hand on the Boy Wonder's shoulder. It fell straight through.

"You're a ghost?" Artemis said in shock.

"I think so."

"You mean you're dead?" M'gann took in a sharp breath.

"Actually, I'm not a hundred per cent sure about that. It's a possibility, but my body still had a pulse and was still breathing…" Robin shrugged.

"Your body?" Wally blinked.

"You know how in movies when you die, a ghost walks out of the body? That's what happened to me."

"And you might be dead, but not necessarily?" Kaldur checked.

"Yep."

The team stared at their youngest member.

"Uh, guys? Can someone please help me out here?" Robin asked after a moment of silence, pointing at his trapped leg.

"Sure…" Conner said uncertainly. "Um… how?"

"I have no idea." Robin blew out a puff of air. "I just know I'm stuck." He pulled at his leg again to indicate it was stuck.

Wally slowly reached down and tugged at Robin's leg. "Well, your leg's solid, at least."

"Mmm-hmm."

"Maybe if you tried to gently ease it out? Like push on the wall with your other leg?"

Robin shrugged, and then pressed his other foot against the wall. After a moment he managed to pull himself out but collapsed back on the ground.

"Are you okay?" Kaldur asked, giving him a hand up.

"Yeah. It's so weird – I can't feel pain at the moment. Not that I'm complaining. It's just a little… dissettling."

"Unsettling." Artemis corrected.

"Dis."

"Un."

"Dis."

"Un-no, I'm not getting into this argument."

"How come sometimes you're solid and sometimes you're not?" Conner asked.

"Again, I don't know."

"Come on." Kaldur shook his head. "Let's discuss this outside of the pantry where there is more room."

"And Baywatch doesn't get distracted by all the food." Artemis commented.

Wally looked at the carrot he was munching. He shrugged, and continued eating.

Five minutes later, the team was sitting on the couch. The static was still playing in the background as Wally rung the Watchtower.

"Heya, Uncle B." Wally said after a second. "Umm… how are they?"

There were a few indistinct words.

"Both of them? You're sure?"

A few more muffled words.

"Okay. Cool. That's good. Uh… how long would you say, if you can't get an antidote?"

Wally's face went serious as his uncle talked.

"Okay. I see. Thanks. I'll… see you later."

He hung up and looked around the team. "Well, the League says he's still alive."

Robin gave a subtle sigh of relief.

"And the bad news?" Artemis asked.

"Why do you think there's bad news?"

"There's always bad news."

"Ever the cynic, aren't you, Artie?"

"Kid…"

"Artemis," Wally groaned. "Batman and Robin are both in comas in the Watchtower due to an unknown poison. And unless a cure can be found in the next few hours, they will both die. Oh, and did I mention that Robin walked out of his comatose body as a ghost? I think we've got plenty of bad news."

"Wait, what was that about a poison?" Robin asked.

The team grew silent.

"What was that about a poison?" Robin repeated.

"You didn't know?" M'gann asked softly.

"I've been a little distracted recently… So, poison? Explain?"

Kaldur and Artemis shared a look. Conner bit his lip. M'gann looked at the roof. Wally began playing with his hands.

Robin sighed. "Guys. I'm pretty well aware by now that my life is in danger. It generally always is. I'd just like one or two more details about this particular one?"

Artemis sighed. "We don't know much about it. But basically, you've both been hit with a drug or a poison or something."

"Okay. The League knows about this how?"

"Batman called for help."

Robin stared at her blankly.

"Yeah." Wally nodded, understanding his friend's confusion. "Most of the League was pretty confused too. But from what I could figure, you were already unconscious and he'd just been hit with a pretty big dose. He was losing consciousness and pretty fuzzy."

"Superman went to Gotham." Superboy took over the story. "He didn't catch whoever did it, because he was more worried about you and Batman then to go racing after them. They vanished as soon as he turned up."

"The drug is very likely to be fatal." Kaldur said reluctantly. "Unless the League is able to find you a cure…"

"I'll die." Robin finished. He shrugged. "Okay then."

"You're taking it pretty lightly." Conner pointed out.

"What can I say? I've done a lot of weird stuff before."

"Robin, you're a ghost." Wally said.

Robin only shrugged

"Do you know who did it?" M'gann asked.

Robin shook his head. "All I know is I was on patrol. Then something hurt. Then I woke up in the Watchtower, all transparent. I didn't see whatever hit me."

"So, are we going to go find out?" Conner asked, glancing at the zeta-tube.

"The League said…" Kaldur began, then shook his head and gave a wry smile. "On the other hand, I do not believe the team has ever stayed behind when we have been ordered to."

"I have been wanting to see Gotham for a while." M'gann said with a slight smile. "Although I would rather have gone in other circumstances."

"Just give us a few minutes to get dressed in our uniforms, and we'll be right there." Artemis promised.

Robin gave a soft smile. "Thanks, guys."

X

"Robin. B-0-1."

The teleporter didn't react.

"Come on. I'm right here!" Robin folded his arms and glared at it.

"Maybe if you're still in here, and someone else uses their designation?" Wally suggested.

"Only one person can fit, you know."

"You're a ghost. How much room do you think you take up?"

Robin shrugged as Wally climbed in.

"Kid Flash. B03."

The zeta-tube began to whirl and a flash of light.

Wally disappeared. Robin did not.

"Oh, come on!"

"How'd you get to Happy Harbour, anyway?" Artemis asked.

"After several tries and a lot of hacking."

"So you can take the zeta tube?" Conner asked as the teleporter announced Kid Flash arriving back.

"I can. It's just a little harder than normal."

Wally jumped out of the zeta. "Well, we need to get you to Gotham somehow. And it's a long way to travel overland."

"Well, got another idea?" Robin folded his arms.

Wally thought for a moment. "Yes!"

He zoomed off. A second later he returned with a small vacuum cleaner.

"You're not doing what I think you're-"

Kid Flash pointed the nozzle at Robin, grinning. He flicked the on switch.

"Hey!"

Suddenly it was a whole lot darker and more crowded.

"That worked?" Wally said, sounding surprised from the outside.

Robin seethed. "LET ME OUT OF HERE!"

"One moment."

Robin could hear the teleported whirling. Recognised, Kid Flash. B03.

After a few moments, the back of the vacuum cleaner opened.

Robin slipped out, feeling even more flexible than usual.

"I hate you."

"Okay." Wally grinned at him.

The teleporter let the other four heroes out.

"So, where were you when you got… attacked?" Aqualad asked.

"Follow me." Robin fired his grappling hook into the air.

The rest of the team raced after the ghost boy.

"Yah!"

Conner jumped to catch him when the grappling hook fell through the skyscraper. Instead, he fell through him too.

Robin hit the ground hard. He sat back up. "That's the second time that's happened today." He complained.

"You okay?" Conner brushed himself off.

"Yeah." Robin shook his head, getting to his feet. "It doesn't hurt. It's sorta numbed."

"Cool." M'gann smiled.

"Not really. It's creepy." Robin looked to the sky with a sigh. "I just want to wake up."

"That's what we're here to do." Artemis said with a smile. "So let's find out whoever hit you, and hit them back."

Robin smiled. "Here it is." He tapped on the door to a warehouse. "Last place I remember being before I woke up in the Watchtower."

"Then let's take a looksee at what clues we can find." Wally prepared to walk in.

Conner grabbed him by the back of his yellow uniform. "People are still in there."

"Can you see who?" Aqualad said, instantly tense for battle.

Superboy focused his eyes, the x-ray kicking in. "Yeah. Looks like smugglers, I'd say. They seem pretty relaxed, not worried at all. They're moving boxes of (he concentrated a little harder) weapons and drugs, by the look of it."

"How about we go in and beat them a few times?" Artemis pulled an arrow from her quiver.

"Sounds good." Kid Flash nodded, pulling his goggles down.

Robin smiled. "I think it sounds like fun."

Superboy punched the door. It crumpled.

Every one of the smugglers looked up as Young Justice raced in.

In a second guns had been drawn and aimed at them.

"Mine!" Kid Flash raced through, grabbing the guns. He dropped them in a pile by the door.

"You're unarmed. We're dangerous." Artemis smirked, pointing an arrow at one. "Who wants to surrender?"

One smuggler ran at the nearest person to her – Miss Martian.

Miss Martian raised a hand. The smuggler was lifted into air.

"Bye." M'gann smirked, throwing her. She crashed into four of her co-workers.

Artemis sent five arrows off at the six people who raced towards her. Five of them collapsed, and she caught the last by the throat. Spinning him in a circle, she kicked up, her foot connecting with his temple.

Kid Flash grinned, and then literally began to run circles around his attackers. They floated into the air and then collapsed.

Aqualad made a sword with his water-bearers. He spun around, blocking a punch and tripping the smuggler over his body. Comically, he smashed into another man coming up behind the Atlantean.

Superboy smiled casually, catching the man running up to him by the arm. He threw her into the air and punched a woman in the stomach – just hard enough to wind her. He pushed her to the side and watched as the man landed on her.

In a few minutes, every smuggler had been dispatched.

"None for me?" Robin asked, leaning against the wall.

"How hard could you have hit, anyway?" Artemis asked, looking around.

"Are any still conscious?" Kaldur asked, remembering that asking them would have been useful.

"That one is." Richard pointed with a shrug. "He's just faking."

"Good." Conner grabbed him by the front of the shirt and lifted the man into the air.

"I – um – eek!"

Conner smiled sadistically. "A few hours ago, Batman and Robin were here. Right?"

"R-right." The smuggler squeaked out.

"And someone hit them with an unknown drug."

"Y-yeah."

"Who was it? What was the drug?"

"I…" The man hesitated.

Conner slammed him against the wall. "Answer me!"

"No!"

"No?" Conner raised an eyebrow, growling.

"They're scarier than you are!"

"Oh, scarier than me, are they?" Superboy growled. He let go of the man with one hand, bringing it back for a punch. "I'm a pissed-off Kryptonian perfectly willing to punch your lights out. Are you certain they're scarier than me?"

"I… umm…" The man looked like he was about to wet his pants.

Robin winked and slipped out the door. He floated along the side of the warehouse, judging where Conner was holding the criminal. Then he phased through the wall.

"AAIIEEEEYYAAAHH!"

"Mm-hmm." Robin nodded, folding his arms. "Yeah, I'm a ghost, I'm Robin, yada-yada-yada."

"You – wait… what? They said-"

"That it would be fatal?" Robin extended his arms and gestured to himself. "Hello, I think I know that."

With a smirk, Conner let the man go. "Don't scare him too bad, Rob."

"Hypocrite." Robin said casually. He glared at the man, collapsed on the floor. "Look, I'm trying to solve my own murder, thankyouverymuch. Who did this to me?"

"You – what – why?"

"Ah, you know." Robin shrugged. "Curiosity. An urge to make sure it doesn't happen to anyone else. So I can rest in peace. You shouldn't care why. You should just care that I'm asking you a question. Who did this to me?"

"You don't know?"

"Never saw what hit me." Robin shrugged. He casually pulled a batarang out of his utility belt. "You know something interesting about being a ghost? I have no idea if I'm solid or not. It varies, you know?"

"I see…" The smuggler gulped, unsure where this was going. He didn't particularly want to find out.

"So, if I were to, say, throw this at your throat, I would have no idea if it would kill you or not." Robin said, a sadistic smile playing on his face.

"You – you wouldn't."

"Why not?" Robin looked genuinely confused.

"Because – you're dead."

"That I am." Robin agreed.

He saw M'gann wince in the background.

"So, you've got to be extra careful. You want to keep your immortal soul safe…"

"Life isn't a movie." Robin smirked. "Sides, I've spent my entire life saving lives. How much of a black mark do you reckon killing one criminal is going to make on my record?"

The criminal whimpered as Robin brought the batarang closer. "So, you going to talk?"

"I… I don't know what they hit you with, I swear!"

"Who did it?" Robin hissed, kneeling to get closer. "Think carefully. Otherwise you might be joining me in the afterlife. Of course, you'd be on the other side of where I'll be…"

"I – I don't know! Look, we were just doing a shipment." The man babbled. "Five of 'em turned up, said that they had a score to settle with the Bat, so they said they'd wait for a bit. They helped a bit with the loading and said that we wouldn't need to pay them anything, so we didn't care.

"Then you and the Bat turned up. You were in battle up there (he made a terrified gesture towards the ceiling), when one of the guys blew a dart at you. It hit you in the neck and you fell off the roof. Batman grabbed you before you hit the ground and then went nuts hitting the rest of them. They must have hit him with at least five darts before he collapsed."

"And that's all you know?" Robin asked, his low voice seemingly casual yet terrifying.

The man sweatdropped. "Yeah, I swear it!"

"Where'd they go?" Robin hissed.

"I – they said something about a warehouse. I think they're killers for hire or something." The man cowered.

"Do you know where the warehouse is?" Robin traced the man's throat with the transparent batarang.

He was sweating buckets. "I – Gotham Harbour, I think. I'm pretty sure. Someone mentioned something about robbing ships."

"Well, thank you very much for the help." Robin said, putting the batarang in his utility belt. "You'd better hope it's right."

"It's all I know, I swear." The man gulped.

Robin smirked. Then he slammed a fist down, knocking the man out cold.

"You've been spending too much time with Batman." Wally groaned.

"And you expected that I hung out with someone else because…?" Robin raised an eyebrow behind his mask.

Wally shrugged. "So, which way's the Harbour?"

"Come on." Robin began to walk out, then he paused.

"I've already fallen through two skyscrapers today." He glanced at the van with a slight smile. "Who wants to go for a joyride?"

X

"Why am I not surprised that you know how to hotwire a car, Robin?" Kaldur asked as they slid out of the 'confiscated' vehicle. Artemis had been driving, since she had a good knowledge of Gotham and Robin accidentally fell through the windscreen.

"Because by now you've stopped being surprised at anything I know?" Robin offered, not bothering to open the door as he got out.

"To be honest, I'd be more surprised if he hadn't known that." Conner shrugged. He glanced around the harbour. "So which boat is it that we want?"

"Not a clue."

"Well, you're the detective." M'gann smiled at him.

Robin shrugged and smiled. "That I am. However, my amazing brain is currently kinda feeling a bit – fuzzy."

"Fuzzy?" Artemis asked cautiously.

"Fuzzy." Robin agreed. "Fuzzy, foggy, clouded, dis-sharp."

"You can't add a 'dis' to everything." Wally told him.

"Watch me." Robin countered.

Conner rolled his eyes. He looked around, scanning with x-ray. "Would we say the group of five carrying guns are the ones we're after?"

"Why, yes we would." Artemis nodded. "Probably, anyway."

"Let's give it a shot." Wally smirked, shooting off.

The rest of the team followed him.

He burst into the room.

The group looked up, and then pulled their guns out.

"Ooh, scary." Kid Flash smirked, shooting to the side as bullets riddled the place where he was originally.

There was a crash and suddenly a huge hole was in the wall.

"You know the door's right there-" Wally pointed to the side, ducking under a punch swung by one of the villains.

"Who the hell are you?" Artemis snapped, firing an arrow. It smashed into one of the criminal's shirt, pinning her to the wall. With a quick movement, Artemis sent another three spinning to keep her stuck there.

The woman spat in Artemis's face.

"They're metas!" Miss Martian warned as one picked Kid Flash up and threw him.

Aqualad shot a whip of water out, catching his teammate before he hit the wall.

"Thanks." Wally nodded.

"Anytime." Kaldur agreed, punching one back.

He jumped up straight away, smirking. "Think that's going to stop me, Fish-Boy?"

The villain jumped onto Aqualad.

Aqualad's tattoos began to gleam. The man let out a gargled shriek, releasing the Atlantean.

"I think there is a strong chance of it." Kaldur punched him hard, still electrocuting him. The villain collapsed, unconscious.

Another fell on top of him, groaning feebly. Her eyes began to flicker open and then she collapsed into unconsciousness.

"What do you want?" A man hissed, punching Artemis. Artemis hand-springed backwards, bringing her bow up to shoot.

"The antidote for whatever the hell you put into Robin."

The man paused, and then let out a short bark of laughter. "The Boy Blunder is still alive? What about his mentor?"

"Don't ever underestimate the Dynamic Duo." Artemis advised him.

"Trust me on this one." The man smirked, dodging an arrow with surprising nimbleness. "Bird Boy is dead. Maybe not right now, but he's not making a recovery anytime soon. Might want to start planning the little kiddo's funeral."

Artemis snarled and shot an arrow. The man caught it from mid-air.

"Robin is a hell of a lot braver than you would ever know." Artemis spat. This was about the time the man registered the arrow was beeping.

It exploded, sending the man flying backwards. Blood poured down as his nose shattered.

"Thanks, Artie." Robin smirked.

The woman pinned to the wall and the remaining free villain both gaped at the transparent Dark Squire.

"Don't call me Artie, Boy Blunder."

"Whatever happened to 'braver than you would ever know'?"

"You – wait – what?" The remaining free villain blurted out.

Robin spun around, throwing a punch straight to his head.

It fell straight through.

"You really are a ghost." The villain breathed.

"Yeah." Robin looked at his fist and frowned.

He shot a foot out, catching the villain's leg. Robin knocked him to the ground and smashed his foot down on his skull as hard as he could.

"Holy…" The woman pinned to the wall breathed.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm a ghost, I get it, I get it." Robin waved it aside. "Boring. The question is, who are you?"

"I – we – what?"

Robin sighed and walked up to her. "Look. I'm a ghost. I want to know exactly who you are, and what is your problem with Batman."

"I – why should I?" The woman hissed, regaining her composure.

"To help an innocent young hero – who you murdered – rest in peace?" Robin offered.

The word 'murdered' made the rest of the team flinch.

The woman laughed sardonically. "Like I care about that?"

"Okay. How about to help your own immortal soul?"

"Do you think I believe in souls?"

"You're talking to a ghost." Robin folded his arms. "Who do you think has the better perspective on this one?"

The woman glowered at him.

"So, you want a physical threat?" Robin gave her the best bat-glare he could manage.

"What on earth can a ghost do to me?" The woman asked sardonically, unaffected by the glare.

"For one, you could take a look at your friend there." Robin pointed at the man he had just attacked.

"Um…" The woman seemed to be running out of excuses. "But you're dead!"

"That I am. What's your point?"

"No, he's not!" Wally blurted out.

"Kid!" Robin protested.

Kid Flash zoomed up. "Look, he's not dead yet. And we have no intention of him becoming dead."

"Well there goes a lot of the intimidation factor." Robin drawled.

"I'm sorry, but it's kinda scary to think of you actually being gone." Wally protested.

"Seconded." M'gann put her hand up.

"Agreed." Artemis nodded.

Robin gave them both looks.

"So why should I tell you anything?" The woman asked, a smile playing on her face.

"Well, we've established my friends would be upset if I died." Robin said, thinking fast. "And who, exactly, do you think they'll take it out on?"

The woman hesitated.

To help her along, Artemis shot another arrow near her head.

The woman flinched. "What do you want to know?" She asked, defeated.

"Oh, a lot." Robin smirked.

X

"Who are you?" Aqualad demanded.

"We are an organisation known as The Insiders."

"The Insiders, huh?" Superboy leaned against the wall. "So why did you go after Robin?"

Artemis had another arrow nocked and aimed at the woman. "Think carefully. There are four others who we can ask when they wake up."

The woman bit her lip. "We were going after Batman." She admitted. "We figured taking Robin down would distract him, make him angry, sloppy. Also, we didn't want anyone to go chasing after us."

"Yeah, not like the rest of the League would if you killed any of their founding members." Artemis snorted.

"Why were you going after Batman?" Aqualad asked.

"We're work for hire." She admitted.

"So who hired you to go after Batman?" Kid Flash frowned.

"A couple of Gotham mob-bosses." The woman confessed. "They were getting annoyed with the Bat constantly breaking up their schemes.

"We also did it… for the reputation."

"Reputation?" Robin queried.

"The mercenaries who finished off Batman." The woman sighed. "Who wouldn't want that on their résumé?"

"Us." Wally commented.

Artemis hit him in the shoulder.

"Ow! Hey, are you denying it would look pretty bad for a hero?"

"Look, we'll get back to all that stuff." Conner snapped, storming forwards. "The real thing is, how do we fix it?"

The woman sighed. "There's an antidote…" She began.

Then she jerked forwards, breaking the arrows. Her feet kicked out, connecting with Wally's stomach. Kid Flash fell backwards.

She began to run. Conner grabbed her by the throat.

"Not happening." He hissed, glowering.

For the first time, pure fear showed in her eyes.

"Antidote. Where?"

The woman only made a strangled sound. Conner relaxed his hold a little.

"We – we have a base." The woman blurted out. "North end."

"Going to get more specific?" Artemis placed an arrow against her back. With Conner still holding her throat, she was definitely getting scared.

Quickly, she blurted out the address.

"Good girl." Artemis relaxed her bow.

Conner threw her hard against the wall. She collapsed.

"You did know that wouldn't have hurt her, right?" M'gann checked.

"She's responsible for doing this to Robin." Conner jerked a thumb at the ghost.

"We are running out of time." Kaldur said hurriedly, biting his lip. He looked at Robin, worried.

"Kal, I'm feeling fine…" Robin grimaced, placing a hand towards his neck. "I'm not going to collapse on you or anything…"

Right on cue, he collapsed.

"Robin!"

M'gann got there first, reaching for his hand. She slipped right through him.

"He's getting more transparent." Artemis said, fear on her face. "That cannot be a good sign."

Robin moaned.

"Kid Flash. Get a progress report from Flash." Aqualad ordered, reaching for Robin's pulse.

"Right." Wally agreed, grabbing his phone.

"Flash? Can you – what's going on with them?"

"Oh, hey Wally. Was wondering when you'd call again."

"Yeah, yeah. Progress report." Wally was genuinely scared.

Flash sighed. "I'll be honest. It's not good, KF."

"Not good?"

"They're getting worse. Batman seems to be fighting hard, but Robin's sinking deeper into a coma."

"The hell he will!" Conner snapped, hearing the Scarlet Speedster. "Wake up! Fight it!"

Robin's eyes flashed open behind his mask. Colour began to return to his – still technically transparent – face.

"I'm okay." He sat up.

On the line, Flash sighed with relief.

"Robin suddenly is looking a whole lot better. I suppose you should never underestimate the Boy Wonder."

"That is why he's called the Boy Wonder." Wally grinned, hanging up.

"I'm hoping that's complimentary, whatever you're saying about me." Robin got to his feet clumsily.

"You're dying." Artemis told him.

"Okay, A) you have no sense of tact, and B) what else is new?" Robin raised an eyebrow.

"No, you're dying." Artemis said, genuinely scared. "We need to get there. Soon."

"Okay." Robin looked surprisingly calm as he shook his head. "Come on. We've got an antidote to find."

X

"Who decided it was a good idea to let the speedster drive?" Artemis moaned, getting out of the car.

"I got dibs." Wally smirked.

"Only cause you have super-speed to dibs with." Robin pointed out, casually slipping back out of the car.

He looked around. "The place we want is right there." He pointed.

"Come on." Conner said, shrugging.

"Breaking the door down would be too obvious." Kaldur put a hand on the clone's shoulder. "Robin, can you pick the lock?"

Robin withdrew the lock-pick from his glove. "Sure."

He moved forwards and slid his finger into the lock.

Instead of the lock clicking, he fell forwards completely, straight through the door. Well, half through the door.

"Or you can open it from the inside?" Artemis offered.

"Just a sec." Robin's voice was muffled. He pulled his legs through the door.

A moment later the door clicked open.

"Your new talents are kinda handy." Wally grinned, slipping in.

"I'm still classifying it as creepy." Robin shrugged, attempting to close the door behind M'gann. His hand slipped right through the wood. He winced.

M'gann closed it herself with a smile at Robin.

"Thanks." Robin muttered.

"Not a problem."

Okay, I found a bunch of chemicals." Artemis said, walking back to the team. "But I'm not sure which ones are the ones that put him in a coma in the first place."

"Where?" Aqualad asked.

"Against a wall." Artemis jerked a thumb.

"Let's take a look." Wally zoomed off in a blur of yellow. The rest of the team followed.

Except for Robin.

Robin watched them go, floating mid-air. He floated through the ceiling and landed on the rooftop.

"Still creepy." The Boy Wonder said, shaking his head with a smile. "Majorly dissetling."

He walked along the roof, concentrating to make sure he didn't float away or fall through. He just walked, loving the feeling of his light tread.

"You okay?"

Robin glanced behind him to see Wally had climbed onto the roof too.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Robin shrugged with a smile. "Why?"

"For one, you're a ghost." Wally said, walking forwards slowly. "For another, I know you.

"No matter how hard you try to hide it, I know that you're scared, Dick."

"Don't spoil my secret identity." Robin said, a smile crossing his face. "Batman would kill me."

Wally looked at his friend. "You're avoiding the rest of the sentence."

"I was? Huh."

Artemis opened a skylight and crawled through. "We found it."

"The antidote?" Wally looked around.

Kaldur nodded his head, climbing through the skylight too. "Yes. We also found samples of the original drug, in case the League needs it."

"What are we doing up here?" M'gann asked, floating through.

Conner silently climbed up.

"I just wanted a breath of fresh air." Robin shrugged, smiling. "No biggie."

"Are you sure?" Artemis looked at the transparent boy.

"Do you even need to breathe?" Conner asked.

Robin shrugged.

"You sure you're feeling all right?" M'gann asked, biting her lip.

"Feeling the aster." Robin grinned at her.

"You're floating." Kaldur pointed out.

"I am?" Robin glanced down and saw that his feet had indeed left the ground. "Okay then." He dropped back to the roof.

"Robin, I'm a telepath." M'gann said cautiously. "I haven't been reading your mind, but we've all connected our thoughts so often that I can easily find everyone's emotions."

Robin shrugged again. His smile was mostly gone though, to be replaced with a careful look of detachment.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Artemis asked, trying to be reassuring.

"Yeah." He muttered.

"You sure?"

"Yes, I'm fine!" Robin growled.

"You don't sound fine." Conner said warily. "Are you sure you're okay, Rob?"

"Alright, fine. I'm not!" Robin snapped.

The team was quiet.

"I'm not alright! I'm terrified, are you happy? The Boy Wonder is officially scared out of his mind! I'm scared, terrified, horrified, frightened, petrified and afraid of what's going on! I'm a ghost, my body is somewhere between life and death, and I may only have a few hours to live! Happy yet?!" Robin punched the satellite dish. His hand slid right through it.

Tears were streaking behind his mask as he looked back at his friends. "Yes. I'm scared." He whispered softly, sinking to the ground. He sat on the roof, looking up at the rest of the team. "I'm really scared."

M'gann sunk to her knees next to him and held him in a hug.

He slipped right through her arms.

Robin winced, rubbing the tears away from his eyes. "I'm sorry, I-"

M'gann reached for him again. This time her hands curled around him.

"You don't have to apologise for being scared." Artemis said, kneeling next to him. "I think you've got a right to be."

"I'm supposed to be-" Robin began.

"You are brave." Wally promised him, cutting him off. "You're one of the bravest people I know."

"Anyone would be scared going through this." Conner said, sitting down to be on the same level.

"Who else would have the ability to get up while in a coma to try and solve their own murder?" Kaldur asked, placing a hand on Robin's shoulder.

M'gann squeezed him tighter.

"You're allowed to be scared." Artemis said softly. "But we're here for you. We're not going to let you die. We promise."

"Don't." Robin murmured softly.

"Don't what?" Wally asked.

"Don't promise." Robin whispered. "Never make promises like that."

"But it's true." M'gann hugged him tighter.

"And if you can't keep it?" Robin whispered. "I don't want you to feel guilty or anything. I don't want you to make promises you can't keep."

Wally hugged him too. "Okay. We won't promise. But we are going to keep you safe."

"That counts as a promise."

"Then we'll just have to make sure we keep it then." Artemis joined in the hug. Then Kaldur did. Then Conner did too, wrapping his arms around all of them.

They stayed there for a moment, and then Wally pulled out.

"Come on." He said, a slight smile crossing his face. "Let's just get that antidote to the Watchtower."

"Thanks." Robin said softly, phasing through M'gann's grip.

"Anytime." Artemis promised him.

X

"The question is now, how do we get to the Watchtower?" Artemis frowned. "I mean, it's in orbit. None of us have high enough access to reach it from the zeta."

"Could you hack it?" M'gann asked Robin.

Robin shook his head. "Normally, yeah. But to be honest, my head's kinda going a bit fuzzy at the moment. And I keep falling through things and losing whatever I've already programmed."

"Okay. So we need to find a new way into the Watchtower." Wally nodded. "Shouldn't be too hard."

"You're over-thinking it." Conner shook her head. "Half the League is already in Gotham. We just need to find a member."

"We can't be sure they're still here." Kaldur pointed out. "By now, the League may have already started following another lead. We haven't seen anyone."

"And we can't go racing around Gotham looking for them. They could be anywhere." Artemis agreed. "Gotham's a big city."

"Then we'll call them." Wally shrugged. "I mean, it's not like we're random civilians trying to call them. We've all got their numbers."

"Oh. Right." Robin shook his head.

"You feeling okay?" Conner asked as Wally dialled his uncle.

"Just a little foggy." Robin winced.

"Uncle B?"

"Wally, he hasn't changed much." Barry said almost instantly. "Yes, getting a little worse, but he's-"

"We've found the antidote."

"Wait, what?"

"We've got an antidote for the drug."

"…I thought we told you to stay there?"

"We got restless. Uncle B, come on."

"I'm coming. Where are you?"

Wally gave the address.

A split second later a blur of red shot down below, on the street.

"Roof!" Wally called helpfully.

Flash appeared on roof next to them.

Kaldur passed Barry a small needle. "This is the antidote. We've also found several samples of the original drug."

"You sure this is the antidote? I don't want to end up giving them double doses of the drug."

Artemis flipped the needle over. In texta, someone had written antidote on it. "We're sure."

"How'd you find this place, anyhow?" Flash asked.

"We asked the protégé of the World's Greatest Detective." Artemis said honestly.

"You – wait, what? How?"

"It turns out I'm not very good at waiting for other people to help me." Robin admitted, shrugging.

Flash's jaw dropped. He stared at the ghost Boy Wonder blankly.

"Um, Uncle B?" Wally pointed at the needle.

Barry shook his head. "Right."

He vanished in a blur of red.

"Now what do we do?" Artemis asked.

"Wait, I guess." Conner shrugged.

"We might want to go back to the Cave so we don't get into trouble." M'gann suggested.

"Or go freak out random people with the Ghost of Boy Wonders Past here." Wally poked Robin's shoulder.

His hand fell right through.

"Nice poking skills."

"I thought so."

"But personally, I think I've freaked out enough people tonight." Robin shook his head. "Going back to the cave sounds nice."

"If we can get you back through the zeta." Conner shrugged.

"I dibs the vacuum cleaner this time!" Artemis smirked.

"Hey!" Robin glowered.

"Robin… you are becoming paler." Kaldur looked at Robin.

"Huh?" Robin looked down at himself. "Oh."

Robin looked up to see his friends watching him, trepidation across their faces. "Are you feeling okay?" M'gann asked.

"Yeah… m'feeling sleepy…" Robin said, his words beginning to run together.

He fell to the ground. Kaldur caught him before he could hit the roof they were on.

The Boy Wonder blinked up his friends behind his masks. His eyes began to grow heavy.

"Don't you dare die on us." Artemis whispered.

"M'not plannin' on it…" Robin slurred.

"He's getting really transparent." Wally said, an edge of panic in his voice. "That's bad, right?"

"He is becoming lighter." Kaldur said, worried.

"What went wrong?" M'gann whimpered, placing a hand on Robin's forehead. It fell straight through, touching Kaldur's arm instead.

The words were getting fuzzy. Robin wasn't sure what was going on.

He closed his eyes and let the darkness overtake him.

X

"You okay?"

Robin stirred. His eyes flickered open.

"Robin? Rob, you okay?"

A familiar red mask looked down on him.

Robin frowned. "Flash? Wh-what's going on?"

"You got hit with a drug." Wonder Woman said. Robin glanced over to see the dark-haired Amazonian checking Batman's pulse. "It was a miracle you managed to survive."

"Wh-what?"

"Your team found the cure." Wonder Woman nodded with a smile. "Disobeying at least five orders at the time." She added.

"We tend to do that." Robin said absently. He frowned and tried to remember what he should be focussing on. "Batman?"

"He got hit with a stronger dose than you did, but he'll be fine." Diana promised him.

"That's good to know." Robin shook his head and tried to sit up.

"Easy." Flash caught him and helped him into a sitting position.

"Can I go back to the cave…?" Robin asked, rubbing his head.

Barry glanced at Diana. She shrugged.

"I suppose telling you to rest isn't going to work, so you might as well be back there." Barry admitted.

"Why wouldn't that work?"

"You were trained by Batman."

"…Fair enough." Robin cautiously stood up. He stumbled. A second later Flash had caught him.

"Come on. I'll help you to the zeta."

"Okay." Robin said weakly, trying to figure out how to balance by himself.

Barry half carried Robin to the zeta-tube.

"Just checking – by 'cave' you mean, Mt. Justice, right? Not the Bat-cave?"

"Yeah."

"Which one?"

"Mt. Justice."

"Okay."

Recognised: Flash. Zero-Four. Robin. B-Zero-One.

The team looked up as the two turned up, Robin leaning heavily on the older hero.

"Robin!" M'gann flew over to him in a second, grabbing him in a tight hug.

"Hey, Miss M." Robin said weakly.

Flash zipped to the side and touched his nephew on the shoulder.

"Hey, uncle B." Kid Flash smiled, fiddling absently with the mask in his hands.

"Hey. Just so we're clear, you are going to explain to me what happened, right?"

"Yeah." Wally nodded. "Fair warning, I'm not really sure what happened with Rob either."

"Tell me what you know." Barry shrugged. "Later, though. I've got to get back to the Watchtower."

"Kay. See you in a bit." Wally nodded as his mentor slipped back into the zeta-tube.

M'gann moved Robin to the couch.

"Are you okay?" Artemis asked cautiously.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Robin said wobbly. "Just one question, though."

"Sure." Conner smiled.

"Was I dreaming?"

"The whole 'waking up as a ghost and coming to the cave to track down the people trying to kill you' thing?" Artemis tried to clarify.

"…Yeah, that."

"Yes." Wally nodded. "You were dreaming."

"Oh. Okay… wait…" Robin frowned.

"Man, you really are pretty foggy at the moment, aren't you?" Artemis placed a hand on his forehead with a warm smile. Then she grabbed him in a hug. "I'm just glad you're alive."

"Pretty happy about that myself." Robin said, pulling out.

"And look!" Wally poked him in the shoulder. "No falling through!"

Robin slapped his hand away. "You never really miss being solid until it's gone." He grinned, trying to wipe away most of the fog still in his head.

"You realise that Robin managed to figure out how to walk through walls before you did, Baywatch?" Artemis smirked. "And he didn't even get a nosebleed while doing it."

"Ha. Ha." Wally sent her a glare.

"So you're absolutely okay?" Conner asked, looking over the youngest member.

"We were all really worried." M'gann nodded. "When you vanished…" She winced. "We thought that meant you were dead."

"Sorry to disappoint." Robin smirked.

M'gann grabbed him a tight hug. "Don't you ever say that! Never say that!"

"Okay…" Robin's voice was muffled. He pulled out of the hug.

The Boy Wonder rubbed the back of his neck. "Thanks, guys, for, well… helping tonight. I couldn't have-"

"Done most of the stuff?" Wally suggested. "Teleport? Beat up the bad guys? Drive a car?"

"Excuse me, but I can drive way better than you."

"He's right." Conner agreed.

"But, really," Wally shrugged it off. "It's no problem, Rob."

"Anytime." M'gann agreed warmly.

"We are a team." Kaldur nodded with a smile.

"Yeah, ditto." Superboy nodded.

"You think we'd let a couple of hired thugs take out our Boy Wonder?" Artemis smirked.

"Aaaw. I love it when we all get sappy!" Wally hugged Robin tightly.

"And some more hugs." Artemis smirked. Then she hugged the two of them too.

After a second the entire team was involved in a group hug.

M'gann pulled out. "It's a bit after dawn." She said, looking at the clock. "I think it's about time we went to bed."

"Sounds like a plan." Artemis agreed, yawning as she pulled off her mask. "Man, what a night that was."

"You thought that was a night? Try being dead." Robin smirked.

Wally's yellow gloved hand was over his mouth in a second. "Uh-uh-uh-uh. You were not dead, and you will not be dead anytime soon."

Robin pulled away. "I'll do my best."

"No. I want you to promise." Wally said.

"I can't promise anything like that."

"Promise."

"Tonight seems like a pretty good example of the fact that it's likely to happen soon."

"Promise me."

Robin sighed. "Fine, Wally. I promise that I'll do my absolute best not to be dead any time soon."

"That's not what I want and you know it, Rob."

"And if I break the promise?" Robin countered.

"You can't. That's the point of a promise."

"That's why I won't promise it."

"Rob! Please."

"Robin." Artemis cut in. "Promise."

"E tu, Artemis?"

"Robin…" M'gann sung. "Promise us."

"Guys, I'm not promising…"

Kaldur smiled. "Why not?"

"Because I can't promise that."

"Why not?" Conner countered.

"Do you know how guilty I'll feel if I break that promise?"

"Then we'll all promise." Wally smirked.

"Huh?"

Wally smiled at his friends. "I promise not to die any time soon."

"I promise." M'gann smiled.

Artemis hesitated for a moment. "I promise."

"I promise." Kaldur said.

"Yeah, I promise." Conner added.

Robin sighed. He looked around at his friends and a smile played on his lips. "I promise."