Author's Note: Been busy, I've got multiple projects going after all… and my muse has been taking a leave of absence recently. Come back here, I need to write something!

Disclaimer: Teen Titans and Young Justice are the intellectual property of DC Comics, Cartoon Network, and Warner Bros.

Earth-16: Go!

Chapter 9: The Cost of Heroism

Wayne Manor, Gotham

February 15th 2011, 03:10 EST

Bruce Wayne watched as Dick slept restlessly through the night, hooked up to a dozen odd monitoring systems. A few welts and purple marks had opened, forcing Bruce and Alfred to bandage him up. At the same time Dick's white cell count had almost totally crashed and Bruce and Alfred had hooked him up to an IV filled with various immune boosters. The normally polished room was now practically sterilized as the two of them took as many precautions as they could.

"The nightmares have stopped," Bruce said quietly as Alfred sat down on the bed holding a large mug of coffee. "Dr. Thompkins says there's not much else we can do but wait."

"He's a strong boy, Master Wayne. I'm sure he'll pull through," Alfred said.

Bruce nodded and glanced down at his hands. "I never wanted him to get hurt. Especially not like this."

"He's a hero, Master Wayne, and being one always carries a certain cost," Alfred said quietly. "He couldn't be anything else with the life he's had."

"No, I suppose not," Bruce said before shutting his eyes.

Mount Justice, Happy Harbor

February 15th 2011, 07:11 EST

The normal morning routine at Mount Justice was suddenly interrupted by the dull thud of a body hitting the floor. Miss Martian gasped as she spun from her baking sheet loaded with scones to see Raven lying on the floor, surrounded by the black pool of her cape. Through the telepathic link she shouted for Cyborg as she bent down beside the girl.

Cyborg stumbled into the room, and his one organic eye widened in alarm as he caught sight of her. Swearing, he bent down beside Raven's unconscious form and activated his scanner.

"White cell count is down. I'm registering internal bleeding and bruising," Cyborg said quietly. "I guess her latent period is over, too." He glanced up at M'gann and swallowed. "My cybernetics have been running all morning keeping me from falling over like she just did."

Then Dick must be... M'gann swallowed as she floated back from the two of them.

"I've got to get her to the medical bay," Cyborg said as he crouched down to scoop up the small teen. As he did, Starfire floated into the room and froze, her eyes widening as she saw Raven cradled in Cyborg's arms.

"Friend Raven!" Starfire squeaked in shock.

Cyborg grimaced as his own body complained at the labor while he headed toward the medical bay. When they finally arrived, Starfire floated around him nervously.

Cyborg, what should I do? Superboy and I have class soon and-

Go to class, we'll have Garfield and Star here. Don't worry, we'll take care of her. Cyborg answered before giving the Martian a reassuring smile before stepping into the medical bay. Slowly, Cyborg slowly laid her down on one of the beds and started up the medical scanners as Starfire floated nervously at the opposite side of the bed watching him. M'gann glanced between them before leaving, her face unusually pale and nervous.

"How about you Star? Any ill effects?" Cyborg asked quietly as he bent over the scanner.

"No, as I told the Batman, my body is capable of withstanding the radiation of deep space, so it is not surprise that I'm still unaffected," Starfire said as she stared down at Raven. "How is she?"

Cyborg tapped the displays and studied the sensor readouts for a moment. "She's fighting it, I'm guessing her demonic heritage is why, but her body is working hard to heal the damage as it appears, but even so it's barely able to keep up. I'm... I'm not in much better shape then she is." Starfire's eyes widened.

"I've got nanties as part of the cybernetic suite... They're keeping the damage in check until the last of the radiation leaves my system, but I'm not exactly a hundred percent right now." Cyborg explained. "I've been boosting their output..."

"These nanites, could they be used to help Raven?" Starfire asked.

Cyborg nodded. "Yeah... there's a micro-machine assembler over there." He waved toward a device in the corner of the room. "I can upload the programming for them and produce enough to inject Raven," He said.

Starfire nodded, and then suddenly furrowed her brow. "What about Robin? He too will likely need them, and he does not have either of your defenses."

He stared at her for a few seconds before cursing under his breath. "You're right. He'll probably need them too... I'll start the assembler working on making enough for us. Why don't you contact Batman?"

"I will," Starfire said before flying through the doors and heading back toward the main room.

Starfire floated through the corridors before coming to a halt in the main room of the Mount Justice complex. Frowning she looked at the computer display before her. "Umm... Computer?" She let out a huff when the computer didn't respond and glanced back at the display before tapping it irritably. Slowly she started to scroll through commands and controls, searching for contact information.

As she worked, a green skinned boy peeked out from one of the side doors looking a bit confused. Beast Boy frowned as he glanced around the room before walking up behind Starfire. "Uh... whatcha doin?"

"I am attempting to find the contact information for the Batman," Starfire said as she skimmed through the various files. "Cyborg's nanites will help him recover through the onset of the radiation sickness."

"Kay..." Beast Boy said. "Where is everybody?"

"Raven is in the infirmary, Cyborg is there as well. I do not know about any of the others. I believe Aqualad is currently away, but I do not know where." Starfire answered as she tapped the controls again, skimming through contact information. Finally, rather annoyed she tapped the channel for the Justice league. "Umm... Is anyone there? I am attempting to contact the Bat-"

The screen flickered and the image of one of the Green Lanterns appeared before her, the one with dark skin, "Starfire, this is a secure channel for official use only."

"I apologize, but Cyborg here has found a means of counteracting the onset of radiation sickness in himself, Raven, and Robin. I was trying to contact the Batman so we could administer it," Starfire said.

"Very well, I'm sending you his comm information, do try and keep this channel clear," The Green Lantern answered and a second box popped up with the channel number for Batman. Hesistantly she tapped it once as the Justice League channel closed.

A moment later the channel flickered and the words 'Voice Only' appeared on the display. "This is Batman."

"Mr. Batman sir, this is Starfire. Cyborg has developed a means of combating the radiation sickness that Raven and he are suffering through nanites. I thought we should get a dose to Robin." Starfire said nervously, playing with her hands as she spoke. "He does not have the natural defenses that Raven and—"

The Zeta-tube activated instantly and the computer's voice called out. "Secure link to the Batcave established."

"Starfire, I've given you temporary access to the Batcave. Robin's in bad shape, and we could really use whatever it is Cyborg has developed. Please hurry, I'll have someone meet you there." With that the channel closed with a beep and Starfire's eyes widened.

"Oh man..." Garfield said as Starfire spun around and shot through the air, heading back to the medical bay.

She burst through the doors to the medical bay and flew to the micro-machine assembler which Cyborg was crouched over. "Cyborg! Robin is very sick!" She shouted as she came to stop over the device and the older teen looked up at her. Then he pulled an injector from the device and handed it over to her.

"Eight hundred milligrams of nanites and sterilized water, reprogrammed to act as immune defense and aid cellular regeneration," He said. "They should stay in his system for around two weeks before losing power and shutting down on their own."

Starfire nodded and took the injector, "Thank you, friend Cyborg." She hugged him quickly, before floating back toward the door. "Be well... err... Better."

Cyborg chuckled softly just before Starfire spun and shot out the door. She roared through the halls, into the main room and flew through the active Zeta-Tube.

"B13 - Starfire, arriving..." A computer called out as Starfire found herself in a dark room. The chatter of bats squeaking overhead drew her gaze for a moment before she ignited one of her hands and held it up like a torch.

"Miss Andr," A soft voice called out and she spun to find a balding man clad in a suit and tie standing before her. "I'm to take you to Robin..."

Starfire nodded once and shivered as she followed the man toward an elevator that was built into the cave wall. As she stepped inside, the man glanced at her. "Batman is showing you a great deal of trust, or his own desperation in allowing you into his home, Miss Andr. He asks that you do not speak about what you are about to discover."

She nodded as the elevator started upward and a moment later it stopped. As it slid open, she gaped in surprise as she found herself standing in a library filled with books cradled in walnut shelves. Slowly she glanced around before the man lead her down a hall.

Wherever she was, it seemed very well furnished to human tastes, and Starfire found herself glancing curiously at the pictures which hung on the walls and various bits of decoration. Finally the man led her to a door and opened it.

The harsh smell of antiseptic flooded her nose as Starfire slipped into the room.

"Alfred?" A soft voice came from inside and Starfire felt a chill run down her spine.

"Master Bruce, Miss Andr is here with me," The man said to a figure sitting beside the one bed that sat in the room surrounded by medical monitors. Starfire stared at the man for a long moment as he looked up at her, his blue eyes gleaming with worry.

Then her attention was drawn to the figure in the bed and she gasped. "R-r-robin?" She stammered before flying over to his side, her eyes wide with shock. "He... Oh X'hal."

Bloody bandages from where purple whelts had opened filled a biohazard container beside the bed, and the boy who lay in the bed stared up at her, his eyes clouded with painkillers. He was deathly pale, and some parts seemed to have begun to blister and purple marks covered the side of one of his arms that lay over the covers.

He blinked up at her and swallowed a lump that had risen in her throat. "Star..."

Starfire knelt down beside him and fumbled with the injector for a moment before the blue eyed man that must have been the Batman took it from her and studied it for a moment then injected it into the IV that hung beside the bed. She slumped beside the bed and burst into tears.

"I did not know... Raven and Cyborg merely looked ill, but you- you have it so much worse then they do," Starfire said as she looked down at her friend. Then she added in a low whisper. "I am sorry."

Robin coughed once before shutting his eyes and letting out a groan. As he opened his eyes again, he whispered, "It's not your fault..."

Starfire's head hung low, and then she felt his hand on her cheek wiping away the tears. She looked at him as his gaze locked with hers. "Don't cry... I'll get better. Just you watch."

She nodded. "Rob—"

"Star, you're in my house... You can call me my real name," Robin murmured quietly.

"But, you are Robin…" Starfire said looking confused.

Robin stared up at her, a slight smile playing across his lips. "That's my alias, Star… My real name is… Richard."

She blinked for a moment before nodding, "Okay... Richard."

Mount Justice, Happy Harbor

February 15th 2011, 09:32 EST

Cyborg groaned as he settled back on the cot. Overhead the sensors swept over his body while his own systems monitored the struggle waging in his body between the damage wrought by radiation poisoning and his cybernetic systems. While the cybernetic augmentations he'd undergone had given him super-strength, a sonic cannon, and enough gizmos to make the geekiest kid from his old High School jealous, their entire purpose for existing was to keep him alive.

He'd been forced to learn everything about medicine and cybernetics as part of his rehabilitation and adaption to the armor just so he could keep his body running. Now he was watching the user interface that overlaid his vision, reading his own vital charts, and coordinating the nanites as best he could through the cybernetic systems.

"Dude, you don't look good..." A voice said and Cyborg blinked away the user interface. He glanced over to find Beast Boy looking down at him, his eyes flicking around his body nervously. "Like really bad, you're pale... and you're not supposed to be pale Cy... Not at all!"

Cyborg smiled faintly. "I'll be okay, it's just Raven and I am going to be sick for awhile. I bet Raven will get better faster than I do though... Her whole demon thing, you know?"

Garfield glanced over to the bed where Raven lay surrounded by just as many monitors before glancing back at Cyborg. "It's not like contagious, is it?"

"Nah... It's just all the cells that got zapped with the radiation breakin' down. Once the old damage cells die off, my body will either replace them through normal healing or by nanites will replace the cells," Cyborg said. "I can coordinate the nanites a bit, but I don't have all the parts to heal totally normal, so those little micromachines will have to do. Raven can regenerate fast enough that she'll be up and about before me. Even Robin might be up and moving before me."

"Okay... you know seeing you like this, it's kind of scary man." Garfield said as he glanced around him. "And... Rae, that's really scary man. I mean she's normally pale and now she's white as a sheet and-"

"I can still hear you," Raven's gravelly voice came from the bed and Garfield froze for a moment before looking back at the girl. Her violet gaze peered back at him from her pillow and Garfield swallowed. She glanced up at the ceiling and sighed, "Nice to know someone cares about me."

Garfield glanced down at the floor at that before scratching his head. "Umm... do you want me to keep watch or something?"

"Go ahead green bean... I'm going to try and sleep," Cyborg said.

"A04, Grant Wilson..."

The computer's voice announced in a cool monotone as he stepped from the Zeta Tube, and without looking Grant lifted the rifle in his hands to point toward the speaker built into the top of the device and fired, blowing apart the system.

With a low chuckle, Grant Wilson glanced around the empty room and smirked. "Unguarded even... This is going to be too easy."

Behind him a squad of men in clad in ultramodern combat gear and exoskeletons spread out, their hands cradling the most advanced of apokoliptian weapons that money could buy. Their only identification was a single badge shaped like a stylized H.

"Room secure," One of them said after a moment. "Ravager?"

"You two, start setting charges… The rest of you, lets sweep this place," Wilson said as he started toward the corridors.

Wayne Manor, Gotham

February 15th 2011, 09:40 EST

Robin swallowed as Starfire hovered over him, her glowing green eyes glancing nervously around him as she fidgeted. His throat hurt, and his chest tightened as he saw the girl glancing nervously over him, looking totally lost and worried.

Slowly he shut his eyes and leaned back against the pillow. No one had seen him as vulnerable as he felt now… no one save Bruce and Alfred, at least. Still, he didn't feel embarrassed by Starfire watching over him, as he knew he would if it'd been Zatanna or Barbara. No, he felt… touched.

He felt her cautiously reach down and toy with his hair, and he relaxed. There was something about her, something that made him trust her. He couldn't believe he'd told her his name, well first name. Not that Starfire would have the faintest idea who Richard Grayson was. Still, he'd told her, shared something with her that he hadn't even been able to tell Zatanna.

Bruce had heard him, he was sure, but he hadn't said a word. He hadn't tried to stop him.

He sighed as Starfire ran a hand through his hair again. The faint alien sent of her presence tickled his nose and his mind struggled to find a comparison. She smelled of cilantro mixed with Raven's herbal tea or Alfred's special orange spice and chai blend.

Her hand was warm and soft despite the girl being strong enough to live in a vacuum. A faint blush filled his cheeks as he had a fleeting flash of how she'd looked in the decontamination, totally uncaring about her nudity while the rest of them had tried desperately to cover themselves while scrubbing their bodies as hard as they could.

She was pretty… No, beautiful even. He swore under his breath as a flash of guilt flooded through him. He was dating Zatanna.

Mentally he tried to squash the image of Starfire, but as he did he felt Starfire stop as he tensed. Gritting his teeth he forced himself to relax.

"Richard?" Starfire asked quietly.

He sighed and peeked up at her worried face. Nope, this was not good, definitely not good, seriously un-cool, and definitely girl-trouble worthy.

Zatanna must never know, he thought as Starfire stared down at him, her green eyed gaze locking with his.

She glanced down at him, her eyes suddenly brightened. "You have amazing eyes, Richard. Why do you hide them with that mask?"

Crap, crap, crap… He thought as a lump dropped into his stomach. Totally not whelmed here, yep, totally not whelmed…

"Uh…"

Starfire cocked her head causing her red hair to cascade down her shoulder and Richard felt his train of thought derailing instantly at the cuteness of her worried face and actions. All he could do was worry his lip as he tried to reassemble his brain from the mush it had suddenly become.

Mount Justice, Happy Harbor

February 15th 2011, 09:43 EST

Garfield nervously shifted in the seat he'd pulled up in the medical bay, and he glanced nervously between the various monitors showing vitals and numbers he didn't understand. His stomach grumbled slightly and he glanced down at his stomach as a twinge of embarrassment rolled over him. He hadn't had breakfast yet.

With a sigh he jumped from the seat he'd taken and glanced around the room before quietly saying, "I'll be back in a bit... Do you guys want anything to eat?"

"Waffles..." Raven said from her cot, and Garfield grinned.

"I can do that!" He said before scampering through the door and heading down the hall to the common area. He bounced along the metal floor until he came to the refridgerator and pulled open the top door. Standing on the inner door, bracing himself with his tail, Garfield pulled a box of frozen waffles from the freezer when a harsh voice echoed in the room.

"What the hell is that?"

Garfield froze and slowly turned to look over his shoulder. There, braced in the doorway were two men carrying ray guns of some sort, and each of them had the dangerous end pointed at end.

With a monkey like screech he leapt from the refrigerator and bolted for the hallway. Half way there a burning beam of red plasma shot from one of the rifles and Garfield danced over the beam for a moment before a second shot hit him in the back.

He screamed in pain and toppled forward, his nerves tingling from the energy of the strike.

"Whatever it is, he's no match for this kit. Come on, let's grab him and see what the Ravager makes of him," One of the soldiers called out. "He wasn't in our briefing... Maybe the boss will know what or who it is."

The second soldier lifted his rifle up toward Garfield, "Let's shoot him again, just to make sure he doesn't try and run off again."

Raven grimaced as she felt a wave of pain roll over her body as she lay on the cot. Shutting her eyes she focused inward, silently chanting her mantra in her mind, focusing her inner eye and sensing into her own body. Then she felt a second wave of pain roll across her body.

At the same time her inner eye saw nothing, no sign of additional damage to her body. In fact, the damage wrought by the radiation seemed to be mending as she watched. That was one benefit of her demonic ancestry, no doubt aided by Cyborg's nanites, still she felt weak and drained from the energy her body was putting into healing.

Frowning all the more she directed her senses outward and gasped as she felt a wave of panic and fear washing over her. Instantly she knew the mind her senses had found broadcasting, and she scowled.

Garfield was in trouble somehow. Slowly, gingerly, she pulled herself out of bed and staggered upright.

"He better not have set the kitchen on fire," Raven muttered under her breath.