Last update guys!
It's been a pleasure!
Wally was utterly pissed right now.
Flash and Green Lantern hadn't given any knowledge of Dick right now and from what Wally had heard in the news, the cover story was that Dick Grayson had damaged Vocal Cords from being kidnapped. It was good, he had to admit, but right now he was more concerned on the fact that the team hadn't heard anything about their youngest member.
"I'm sure he's fine, Batman's creating something to help fix the problem," Artemis inclined, turning over the page of her magazine.
Wally snorted, "Yeah, I guess. I still find something off about the whole ordeal."
"Mmhmm," she murmured, focusing more on the magazine. Sighing, Wally hefted himself off the green couch and wandered over to the kitchen, where M'gann and Zatanna were chatting over some coffee and cookies. Both girls were dressed in sweats and tank tops, with fuzzy slippers and steam curling off the coffee. He listened to their conversation, enjoying himself over a glass of Dr. Pepper.
"Wally? Hello?"
His head snapped up to see both girls looking at him curiously.
"Huh? Yeah?"
"Um, are you alright?" Zatanna asked, her brow furrowed in worry. M'gann set her coffee down.
"Uh… yeah, I'm just worried about Di- Robin. I mean, it's been two weeks and we haven't heard anything at all," Wally admitted, his mask falling off his face. "And I'm his best friend. I freaking out inside, honestly. I mean, how hard is it for Batman to tell us how Rob is doing, right?"
Both girls exchanged glances and seemed to be having a small telepathic conversation. Zatanna then glanced back at Wally, her eyes looking him over. He was slouched against the counter, and the dark circles under his eyes far more pronounced with the fluorescent light. His Irish skin was quite pale, and the freckles on his face popped out a bit more than they had before. He was wearing a pair of Khakis and a Mayday Parade t-shirt.
"Well," Zatanna started, pursing her lips, "We just have to wait. Patience is a virtue."
"I've been waiting for two weeks!" Wally snapped, lashing out his formerly tightly bound anger.
Zatanna jumped back, a hurt look entering her face. M'gann quickly jumped in, "Wally, no need to get snippety. Beside's I think you can wait a little longer, maybe you should try and contact the League. I can talk to Uncle J'onn telepathically, and Wally, you're not the only one who's worried. I am too, and I'm sure the rest of us are too."
Wally's breath hitched but then he nodded and looked down as the floor ashamedly. "Sorry," he mumbled.
"It's okay… ginger," Zatanna replied, now smirking. She got over lashes fairly fast. Her public school wasn't the most friendliest place ever, and she knew how to handle people with temperamental issues.
"Come on, I'll ask what's going on," M'gann said, walking over and placing a comforting hand on Wally's shoulder. She smiled softly, her eyes suddenly fading into a bright green.
"Barbra Gordon!"
The red head jumped in her seat, her head snapping up to meet the teachers strong hawk-like gaze. She straightened in her seat, her hands falling quickly under the desk to smooth her skirt, mostly from habit.
"Yes?" she asked weakly, her voice cracking slightly. Some students snickered.
"Miss Gordon," the teacher sneered, "can you telling me what we're talking about?"
Barbra blinked, and then cursed under her breath. "No," she mumbled.
"Excuse me?" Her teacher smirked.
"I said 'No'," Barbra replied loudly, not meeting the teachers gaze.
"I thought so. Well, now that you are with us. Mister Hancock, may you please inform Miss Gordon of what we were formally discussing?"
"With pleasure," Brian said, grinning as he turned in his seat to face the red head, who was now blushing a deep red.
"We were talking about the conflict in To Kill A Mockingbird, Miss Gordon," Brian sneered, grinning nastily as Barbra glared at him. She hated his guts, which was a far more shorter version of her hatred towards him.
"Ah, um, thank you," she replied through her teeth. Brian smirked and then turned back around toward the teacher, clasping his hands together and nodding at the teacher. Barbra rolled her eyes and resisted the temptation to slump over and close her eyes.
Dick hadn't contacted her ever since he'd gotten kidnapped. Normally, he'd call her after the second or third day of recovering and tell her everything that happened. Mostly it was the same; zip-tie him to a chair, put a gun in his face, take a video and send it to Bruce and the city with a ransom of about a bazillion dollars. Then, Batman and Robin would come in take care of him. She'd always breath heavily on these parts, always asking what they looked like, and who they may be. But now, she figured maybe he couldn't talk because of the damage to his vocal cords. She winced, thinking of how much it must've hurt to be grazed by a knife on the neck.
Still, maybe a text would be nice, or even an email. But nope, nothing. And when she'd gone over to the manor to check up on him, Alfred had shakily replied that Richard was still recuperating and the doctor didn't want him seeing anybody because it might upset him. She had turned away as he shut the door, scoffing. As if, Dick was a strong as a dam. Seeing someone would probably make him feel better. He was a people person, more or less, but still. She couldn't help but feel like Alfred was hiding something when he'd replied. He looked shaken, and worried and like maybe Dick was worse off than what he was telling her. This often happened. Sometimes, he would come into school with burns marks, scars, bruises. She'd seen the scars that marred his body and for a while, she had thought he was cutting himself.
But he reassured her that he wasn't, but still the thought had never left her mind.
And she still couldn't help but be worried.
"It's ready!" Bruce yelled, jumping over the table to where his ward lay, breathing faintly. His eyes and fingers twitched every so often, and sometimes her would mumble into the breathing mask, but it was so muffled they couldn't understand what he was saying.
Bruce stabbed the syringe into his sons chest, breathing deeply as the blue liquid injected itself into his ward's system.
He leaned over Dick's body, his arms falling into his chest. He wasn't going to cry, he couldn't cry. He wouldn't cry. But tears still leaked from his eyes as his sons body suddenly went rigid. Dick's eyes flew open, causing every to jump back.
They were glowing.
Glowing a bright, neon turquoise.
Bruce gripped the metal bars of the bed, watching with worry etched on his face. Dick's body convulsed, Alfred jumped forward to hold his body down, along with Zatara, as Bruce was too much in shock to do anything else but stare in horror.
Alfred ripped the breathing mask off, snapping the cloth material that held it to Dick's face.
And then he suddenly flat-lined.
"No!" Bruce yelled, pressing down on his sons chest. 20 seconds… 30 seconds… 40 seconds… Bruce cried out in anger, pressing against his sons chest… 50 seconds… One minute… BEEP! Suddenly. the heart monitor flashed to life and Dick's body thumped against the matress.
He began mumbling in Romani, spouting off random words and phrases. A few english words mixed their way in, but mostly it was Romani, the Gypsy language. Suddenly, he gasped, flinging his torso upright so that he was sitting up. He blinked, his eyes suddenly fading back into their original color, despite them being slightly more of a brighter blue than before. Tears sprouted from his eyes suddenly and he began to cry. Bruce lunged forward and wrapped the boy in his arms, stroking his head and mumbling incoherent words.
"Bruce," Dick mumbled, still sobbing and hiccupping. His voice held a slight accent. "I- I'm s-s-sorry."
Bruce relaxed. English. "About what?" he asked, his voice calm.
"I was so mean. I messed up on a mission and I didn't even do what you asked. You're right I don't make you happy, if I mess up I'll die." He began to sob a bit more heavily now, leaning into his father's shirt.
"No, no…" Bruce murmured, "Is that what you think I think? That I'm not happy if you don't listen to me? No. I just get extremely worried. I want you to stay safe, I want you to be here, with me. If you mess up… I don't know what I'll do."
"Really?"
"Yes, promise."
Dick smiled and wiped the tears from his eyes and face. He chuckled softly, swinging his legs over the bed and slowly lowering himself onto the floor. Zatara, Alfred, and Bruce watched carefully as he grasped the metal bars tightly to steady himself. "I think my body shut down there."
Bruce decided to refrain from telling him that he flat-lined. He breathed and smiled.
"Well, I'm glad your back."
Dick smirked, "Me too."
Robin B-02
Everyone's head snapped up.
Robin entered from the Zeta tubes, wearing his typical black washed jeans and green hoodie pullover. He grinned when he saw them and waved, going into a light joig toward the green couch.
"Robin!" M'gann yelled, jumping up and embracing him in a large hug.
"M'gann," he choked, squirming under her tight hold. "C-can't breath!"
"Oh!" She pulled herself off him and then gasped, "You can speak english!"
He smirked and beamed at their happy and surprised faces. He walked past the Martian and sat down next to Wally, who threw his arm over his younger brother, grinning proudly. "Indeed I can," Robin inclined, "and I'm glad to be back."
"Glad to have you back," Artemis grinned back, nudging him with her hand.
He grinned and went along recounting what had happened to him, the good and the bad.
Wow, we're done. I'm surprised now. I had thought it would take longer.
Anyway, thank you for sticking through with this story, even though my updates were far and wide. I really appreciate all of you very much, thank you for your words of encouragement and understanding. I couldn't ask for a better group of readers, honestly.
Well, it's been a pleasure, so I bid thee farewell!
With Love,
-Fighter1357