A/N: It's FINALLY DONE! Enjoy!

"Klarion," Robin said again, backing up when the villain stepped closer.

"Oh, please," Klarion sneered, crossing his arms over his chest. "If I wanted to kill you, you would have never made it out in the first place."

"What are you talking about? Where is this? What are you doing here?"

"Ughh," Klarion groaned, cutting off the onslaught of familiar questions. "Am I getting major déjà vu right now? Or haven't we been through all of this already?"

At the hero's lack of recognition, the warlock rolled his eyes and sighed with exasperation. "Ok, maybe I went a little far with the memory wipe." He held up a hand and drew a glowing red symbol in the air, then pressed his palm against it, sending it towards Robin. The sigil whirled around him, fast enough that he could barely register where it was going, before stopping short and attaching itself onto the base of his skull.

"Wha- What is that?" Robin stuttered, hands flying to the back of his neck. As soon as he touched it, the memories came flooding in. They all but slammed into him, invading any other thought he had, the intensity dropping him to his knees.

"Quit fighting it!" Klarion commanded, stepping forward and tilting Robin's head up with a finger. "It'll be over quicker if you let it in."

Robin let out a feeble, choked sound as his eyes rolled back in his head. The warlock smiled. "There you go."

"Boy blunder! Fancy seeing you here." Klarion stood over Robin's bed, leaning in a little too close, startling the boy awake.

Robin scrambled to get off the cot - well, tried to. He felt sluggish, like his body was getting bogged down with too many wet layers of clothes, so he settled for painstakingly pushing up into a sitting position. "Kla-" He cut himself off, noticing the clothes he had on that definitely weren't his, so how could some random kid know who the black haired demon in front of him was?

"Come on, I know it's you." Klarion moved to sit on the other end of the bed, tapping the side of his head. "Took a little peek while you were out. Couldn't get much more than that, though. It was very… puzzle-y in there, and honestly, mindscapes never really were my strong suit."

Oh, guess those lessons with J'onn were good for all flavors of psychopath. Robin blinked, trying to focus despite the pounding in his head. "What's going on?"

"Seriously? You don't know?" Klarion scoffed, pulling his legs in to sit criss-cross. He waited, watching Robin closely as he rubbed his eyes and furrowed his brows in an attempt to conjure up an explanation. "Heh, wow. They must really have you drugged up out there."

"Who? What're- what are you talking about?" Robin demanded.

"You're in a lab. You're their newest little guinea pig. That's all I know, I didn't care enough to ask for details. Didn't even know they grabbed you until a couple hours ago."

"What?" Robin asked again, closing his eyes when the light in the room started to irritate him. When he did, images trickled in, filling in a few of the blanks. He remembered being with his team, then getting forced onto a table and injected with something… bright and metallic. He saw people talking over him, but he couldn't quite make out anything they were saying and suddenly there was an older man looming over him, whispering something about… Success. Robin gasped as the images filtered away, leaving him with just the presence of an annoyed Klarion. "Uhh, Alliance Technologies. I was at Cilix and now I'm here and you are, too, for some reason?"

"No shit. What else you got?" When Robin continued to stare forward in confusion, Klarion went on to complain. "That's it? You've been getting experimented on for a week and that's all you know?"

"A week?" Robin stiffened. Does the team even think he's alive anymore?

"A week in here, maybe... a day or two out there," Klarion nonchalantly explained.

"What!? Where's here?"

"Duh, I transported the lab into one of my pocket dimensions. You haven't noticed?"

As soon as the warlock said that, Robin could feel that all was not right in the place they were in. He looked around the white room. It all seemed normal, not a hair out of place, but once given closer attention, he could sense it was… warped; everything was just the slightest bit off. Batman would not be impressed with how long he was taking to assess his surroundings, but, hey, he had just been drugged for a week straight. Next, he should probably focus on getting out of here.

"Time dilations," Klarion announced, bringing Robin out his thoughts. "Not the one I'd pick, but this is the one they wanted."

They wanted? Wait a second. "Who is they? What are you even doing here?"

"Dunno." Klarion got up from the bed, instead deciding to float above it. "One of Lex's little side projects, I guess. It's all been EXTREMELY boring."

Robin looked up at him, perplexed. "So why don't you just leave? You wanted to be my welcoming committee?" But that couldn't be right. He said he wasn't even aware Robin had been brought in.

"I would, but Vandal said I'm too perfect for the job."

"Ohhh, ok, I get it!" Robin smirked at the realization. "Vandal Savage loaned you out and now you have to be Luthor's little bitch."

Klarion swiftly turned back to him, expression darkening. "I am not Luthor's… anything!"

Robin straightened up, holding the other's gaze. "And yet, here we are. Haven't seen Teekl anywhere. Looks like you're stuck."

The vision faded away and Robin found himself hunched forward on the floor, breathing intensely.

"Good, now you're all caught up. By the way, that might happen again, the spell's just finishing up."

Robin let out a bitter laugh as he picked himself up to his feet. "Still here, huh?"

"Oh, just counting down the days I can seal everyone up in here forever. Don't worry, I haven't just been sitting here for a month. Took a stroll through some of my other pocket worlds, freshened up the place."

"Didn't ask."

"Anyway," Klarion huffed, shooting some particularly strong side-eye Robin's way. "Now that you're back, I can send you out to find Teekl and we never have to think of this place again."

"And why would I help you?" Robin inquired, his tone indignant. "You've tried to kill us on multiple occasions."

"So have lots of people! Besides, you have no hope of getting back to your plane of existence without me!"

"Yeah? I bet you found your cat out there in my plane. And you think, what, I'll just come back for you?"

Klarion fumed. "I could kill you where you stand!"

"Oh, way to make your case." Robin cast his eyes down, blowing out a breath. "Honestly, that sounds like a better alternative to facing my team after... knowing what I got them into."

"Right, you got all your friends blown up AND that fish boy killed, didn't you?"

"How did you-?"

"Are you really this stupid?" Klarion spat out, narrowing his eyes at the other boy. "Hello?! I've been hitchhiking in your head since they let you out of here. Tracking you? I saw everything you did, heard everything, even felt that little green alien try to find me out."

"That's where all those memories came from…" Robin pinched the bridge of his nose, putting all the pieces together. Wow, he was really off his game this week. "So the glowing and the healing, that's you, too?"

"Healing's all you. Not sure what kind of stuff they've been pumping you full of, but I didn't do that. The glowing? Guilty. Got in a little late with the, uhh," Klarion made a 'drawing bow' motion with his hand, "arrows, but looked like you needed some extra juice so you stopped passing out all the time. It's a bit harder to hang on without a consciousness to hang onto."

"Wait, that didn't have anything to do with you rooting around in my brain?"

"Please, don't insult me. I was careful." Klarion rolled his eyes at the implication that he would be sloppy enough to make it obvious he was invading. "I don't actually know much about healing, never really done it. But, if I had to guess, you know that thing humans say about equal exchange or something like that?"

"The… law of conservation of energy," Robin supplied.

"Sure. Same concept as magic. It comes at a price, right, or else how would you power it? So…" he drawled, signaling for Robin to finish his thought.

"So when I heal someone, it's, what, a trade-off between my… life force and theirs?" Even as he said it, it sounded too ridiculous to be true. Did he have friends with telepathy, super speed, and super strength? Yes. But this was just a whole different ball game; he had no experience with this!

"Life force is an interesting way to put it, but yeah. Can't be 100% sure without specifics, but that makes sense to me," Klarion responded, dismissive, shrugging his shoulders. "By the way, since I'm clearly not welcome to ride-share with you anymore, I wouldn't use that power too often. Your feeble body obviously can't take the strain."

Standing frozen in his spot, Robin began replaying all the information from the past few weeks in his head. He was finally getting answers… except for one. What had they been injecting him with? "Ok, that explains everything but, arguably, the most important thing… How can I do any of this? What did they do to me?"

Klarion inhaled deeply, eyes widening as he considered a possible explanation. He was about to say something, when the sound of heels clacking outside brought their attention to the one door in the room. Klarion looked to its small glass window and saw that the lead researchers were making their way down the hall. "Great, here they come," he muttered in an irritated tone. His eyes flit back to his only chance at ever leaving. "Are we helping each other or what?"

Robin had no time to reply when the door slid open, and in stepped the woman he would've very much liked to hurt. Weathers had another scientist at her back, clad in lab coat and a shirt with pocket protectors.

"I see you two have been getting reacquainted. Apologies for the long wait, still haven't wrapped my mind around the time constraints here." She clapped her hands together and moved to the side, clearing a path for her specimen. "But we're ready now, so if you would just follow me."

Robin didn't move, instead deciding to glare at her with, frankly, murderous intent. "You shot Aqualad," he whispered.

"Technically, I didn't, it was one of my men." Weathers corrected, sighing dramatically, then pointed to the door. "I don't mean to be pushy, but we are so very close, so if you don't cooperate, I'll go back there and kill the rest of them, how about that? Witch boy, what's it been out there? About 10 minutes? How easy do you think it'd be… kicking them while they're down?"

Closing his eyes, and accompanied by a forceful exhale through his nostrils, Robin walked, following the two out of the room.

Out in the hall, newly regained memories and images ran through Robin's head and he knew things had changed. The same linoleum floors and the same fluorescent lights stretched down the long hallway, but there was only one room. His room. Before, there were rows of doors, behind which kids were sitting, asking him to help them. But he couldn't, no matter how hard he tried… he just let them die. Blinking back tears, he stepped into the main lobby of the lab, where an examination table was set up.

The throbbing in his head then made its return, as the spell reactivated and cued up another lost memory.

Robin stayed on the table, finding he had absolutely no interest in moving. He had been awake for a few minutes now, but couldn't find the motivation to open his eyes, content with just laying there and listening to everyone's hushed whispering.

"Finally," someone proclaimed, "one survived. He received the first couple treatments well, but now it's official."

"Hang on," another voice joined in. "No abilities have manifested, I wouldn't mark this one off as a success just yet."

"Don't ruin this for me. Do you know what we've discovered here? Oh, sir, hello!"

Robin heard a bit of shuffling, a new presence making its way over to him. "Is he awake?"

"Umm, he can probably hear you. I think he just doesn't want to move. Understandable, seeing how his heart stopped twice in the last half hour."

"That's good, he should rest." There was a pregnant pause before Robin heard a heavy sigh, the man then continuing, "When Luthor said he wanted to help my cause, even offering up his own company's chemists… I never thought it would actually work. The serum he found us, all those kids… it finally paid off!"

Robin wanted nothing more than to jump up right then and scream at them that, no, killing a bunch of people would never be worth whatever twisted dream they were trying to accomplish. That those kids probably had families that were going insane with worry. That he wished he didn't survive all of that pain and all of that hurt, just to spite them. But… no. Because if it wasn't him, then there'd be a next kid… and a next. He couldn't wish that on anyone.

"What about any abilities? Has that changed?"

"We have a theory. With the scopolamine and sevoflurane we give him, he does anything we ask him to. But he's not fully aware of what he's doing. There must be something, maybe a degree of empathy, that we're not aware of that his body and mind need in order to activate it. I've already talked to Weathers. She's working on a way to get him back to his team without us losing track."

"Of all the people we could've found… if occupational hazards don't trigger it, I don't know what will."

"Mr. Bennett," a new female voice interrupted.

"Ahh, Caroline, we were just talking about you."

"I heard and I am working on it. If I could steal you for a moment, sir, Alliance would like a word."

"Of course. No, please, I can find my way there. You just make sure our experiment follows through. We've come this far."

The door hydraulics hissed, and Robin was left with the 3 employees. He sensed one come over to his side, messing with something on the monitor.

"Leo," the female voice sounded from above him. "About that other thing we discussed..."

"Won't be an issue, right?" Robin figured the bit of silence that followed could only be attributed to them awaiting a response from the other scientist. "Yeah, when and if any powers emerge, we take some blood samples, analyze what works, see if it can be reworked into someone else… set up a transfusion if it's compatible."

"Should be quite simple, ma'am."

"Perfect. That's what I like to hear."

Robin shot an arm out, grasping for the wall to steady himself as everything came back into focus. Standing near the table, blood bag in hand, was Weathers… the doctor she had previously kneecapped right beside her.

Leo, he remembered, really had been part of the plan all along.

"Come on, chop, chop!" Weathers commanded in an oddly eager tone, dragging Robin to the exam table. "The sooner we finish here, the sooner you can go back to… I don't know. Being sad, feeling guilty?"

Seeing as how he didn't have very many options present, Robin sat back and let Leo set up the blood draw. Pushing the thought of just taking that syringe and stabbing it into one of them to the back of his mind, he took a deep breath as the needle pierced his skin. "So," he began, eyes following the red liquid drip into the plastic bag. "Why the time crunch? Don't want your boss finding out you're running your own little experiment?"

Weathers leveled a vaguely impressed look at her guest, taking a seat next to him. "You know, huh? What can I say? William's a very smart man, if not a bit… one-track minded. Thought I should take the chance to capitalize on his success." She set an elbow on the table, resting her chin in the palm of her hand.

"What exactly is the plan here? I'm your one success, right? What makes you think this'll be any different?"

"Mmm, you might be right. But since you won't be leaving anytime soon, we'll just keep trying until we get it." She smiled down at him, condescending. "Hey, what's it feel like? The healing thing?"

"Why do you care?"

"Can't a girl be curious? Plus, I should probably find out what I'm getting someone into."

"How noble." Robin looked away from her, thinking back to when he first helped Wally with his ankle. "It feels like I'm dying," he admitted quietly. If she wanted to know that badly, he saw no reason to sugarcoat it. He turned back to her, briefly making eye contact with the other two. "It feels cold… colder than anything you can imagine. You want nothing more than your body to just… quit and shut down, but it won't because there's nothing actually physically happening. And it doesn't matter how much it hurts, how much your hands feel like they're about to burst into flames or how much you wish that would happen because then, at least, there's something other than cold and you're just begging for it to stop, but it won't. It never does. Not until you're done."

"Hmm." Weathers sat back in her chair, quickly recovering from the fear that just ran through her, getting her even more on edge. "I see. Well, I'll be sure to include that in my debrief. Leo, you're finished here?"

"Uhh, yeah… yes." He pulled the needle out and slapped on a bandage, helping Robin off the table when the boy faltered. "I'll need some time to spin the platelets out and the plasma. And he'll need a break before I take another pint of blood."

It seemed as if Weathers was about to protest, when her phone buzzed in her pocket. She pulled it out and frowned at whatever was on the screen. "Just as well, Bennett wants to talk. Take him back. Call me when you're ready." She walked off, typing away on her phone.

"Ok, we're supposed to be enemies, I get it." Klarion launched into his next appeal to Robin's better nature as soon as he was dropped back into the room and the door slid shut. "So I have an offer. You got your friend shot, you help me out of here, I'll help you bring him back."

Still woozy from the blood loss, Robin shook his head clear as he tried to process what he was hearing. "Wait, what? How?" Obviously, after everything he remembered, he was going to do anything to get out of there, and if working with the self-proclaimed Lord of Chaos got him the added bonus of saving Aqualad, then all the better.

"I'll tell you later," Klarion said noncommittally. "Just know I keep my promises. Do we have a deal?"

"Ok, yeah, deal." Robin considered arguing further, given that that answer assured jack shit, but he needed a way out. They both did. "What's the plan? They'll be coming back in a couple hours at most."

"Oh, I've already found Teekl," Klarion declared, clapping his hands together. He summoned up a portal behind him, stepping out of the way, so Robin could see into it. "She's here, somewhere. Bring her to me and we can finally get out of here."

Peering past the surrounding red haze, Robin saw a large building, glass windows the whole way up. Flicking his gaze down, he saw the name of the building: Mt. Sinai Hospital. "Why is Teekl being kept in a hospital?"

"I don't know! We don't really talk, me and the guys here."

"Helpful. Where do I find her?"

"I'm not... sure," Klarion replied, tapping a finger on his arm in thought. "I think somewhere in the east wing?"

Robin ran a hand over his face and loudly groaned in annoyance. "Seriously? That's what you narrowed it down to?"

"Ehh, well, what can you do? Don't worry about the costume, by the way, I'll set a glamour. No one will pay any attention to you unless you talk to them first, or if they see, like, something floating. So, try not to pick anything up. Portal will stay open until you're back, oh, and don't forget." Klarion thrust an arm out to stop Robin from walking in. "A couple hours here is about… 20 minutes in your realm, give or take."

"What?" Robin exclaimed, flashing the warlock an incredulous glare. "You expect me to find one cat in one of the biggest hospitals in all of New York, in under 20 minutes?"

"Yeah, aren't you supposed to be a good detective or something?"

"With absolutely nothing to go on, other than the east side?" Off Klarion's shrug and otherwise unconcerned demeanor, Robin was definitely not feeling the aster and moving ever closer to a mental breakdown. "Awesome, we're gonna die in here."

"Would you just go?" Klarion pushed him forward and in the blink of an eye, the sterile, white room gave way to the hustle and loud car horn honks of New York.

Stepping through the doors, the immediate cacophony of the hospital's ED served only to exacerbate the stress Robin was currently under. He paused to take a breath, trying to think of a better solution to the issue, instead of just frantically running around. Ok, they couldn't hide a cat here for that long, it's too hectic… On-call rooms see a lot of traffic… Which leaves long-term patients.

He made a beeline to the nurses' station just as one left to tend to a patient, leaving his computer unattended. Keeping an eye on the other nurses in the busy terminal, Robin pulled up records of anyone who had been there from before Alliance Inc. first started to experience worker disappearances. Scanning through the first few pages, it didn't take long to recognize a familiar name. Bennett. There were three people with that name currently still in the hospital, but only one matched what he was looking for. He clicked on the second name and made his way to the listed room number.

Being virtually invisible made finding the way into Bennett's VIP room such a non-issue, it almost made Robin miss having to sneak his way around. Pushed up to the far wall was a bed, the occupant hooked up to the few machines that surrounded it. On the coffee table in front of it, Robin saw a pet carrier and silently pumped his fist in the air. "That better be you, Teekl," he whispered to himself as he walked up to it. Sure enough, a black and orange cat gazed back at him with the dark red orbs she had for eyes. "Let's get out of here."

"She always wanted a kitten," a voice behind him suddenly said. Robin spun to meet it, holding the cage close. "Doesn't matter now, anyway. You're too late."

Moving to sit in the loveseat by the bed, William Bennett regarded his successful experiment with tired eyes and a sad smile. "She died a few minutes ago. There was nothing more they could do for her."

"Oh." Robin looked over to the girl lying in the bed. He hadn't noticed the machines hooked up to her were not displaying any signs of life. He struggled to recall who exactly she even was. "Your granddaughter, right? With the heart problems?"

"Yes, that's right. I see your memories have been restored." Bennett took a long look at the blank monitors before continuing. "I know you tried your best to heal her, to heal all of them. I'm sorry I let it get this far without…" he took a shaky breath. "I just wanted Cora to be ok! I would've done anything to make sure she was ok."

Robin felt a tinge of sympathy, but mostly he felt the anger bubbling up inside him. "Losing someone you love isn't an excuse. You hurt all of those innocent people!"

"No, I helped them! They were already sick, their families gave up on them. I made it so their lives meant something. So that their death could help us achieve something… greater." Bennett stood up from his chair and gestured to Robin. "I've seen what you can do, and yeah, you needed a little assistance, but you can get stronger. With this discovery, I'll be-"

"You've got to be kidding!" Robin all but exploded, getting up in the older man's face. "How egotistical can you get? You killed those kids! You deserve to rot in Arkham!"

Bennett let out a bitter laugh. "You may be right, but like I said, you're a bit too late." He pointed to the coffee table and Robin saw the three empty pill bottles scattered on the floor. "I asked the staff to give me a few minutes alone with her. She was my world, you know, after her mother… Well, anyway, I wanted our last moments to be together."

Robin watched Bennett sit back in the loveseat, taking Cora's hand, smoothing out the wrinkles of the bed. He stared at the man, his expression a mix of disgust and pity. Casting a quick glance at the clock, Robin saw his 20 minutes were almost up. Though he would've loved to stay and express more of his frustration, he had more to worry about than a dying, self-serving man. "See you in the next life, William." He didn't stick around for a response.

"Ok, Klarion, let's get out of here!" Robin yelled out as he popped back into the pocket dimension. "Look at that, made it in 15!" This was actually a pretty impressive feat, so it took him a second to notice that there was not a maniacal demon lord listening to him. "Uhh, hello?" The portal dissipated behind him and Robin spun around to see a gun being pointed in his face, Klarion knocked out on the floor.

"And where do you think you're going?" Weathers demanded, her expression growing smug as her two cohorts flanked her, equipped with their own weapons. "I'm so disappointed. We could've been something together! Think of all the money, the fame this could've brought you!"

"Thanks, but I've got enough of that already." Robin retorted, hiding the cat carrier behind his back. He finagled with the latch, trying to flick it up and unlock it.

"Ah, ah!" Weathers shouted, cocking her gun back. "Put the little devil cat down and get your hands up where I can see them. All I need is your blood, doesn't matter how I get it." Next to her, Leo made a small sound of discontent, only to be shushed.

"Your boss is dead," Robin said plainly, slowly placing the now unlocked cage down on the floor.

"Yeah, I know. Tried to talk him out of it, but…" Weathers replied, sounding just the slightest bit dejected. "Well, can't say I'm surprised. Like I said, he was smart, but short-sighted. I mean, come on!" She started to pace the room, waving the gun around. "It took so long and so much work to get where we are and he was just gonna throw it all away because his granddaughter died and he had 'nothing left to live for?' Ugh, give me a break! You understand, right? If we could replicate, well, you… think of the possibilities! Guaranteed health… living without fear of injury… maybe even immortality? People would spend a fortune on us!"

"And everyone you'll hurt along the way, they're just, what was it you said? Collateral damage?" Robin's gaze flicked over to Klarion's rousing form, trying not to react when the warlock calmly tilted his head up, his face contorting into something decidedly less human.

"Hey, you can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs." Weathers re-centered herself, aiming her gun back at Robin, and smirked. "Now, come along. We have work to do…" She trailed off, her eyes slowly following the growing form of a very upset and large cat.

The three of them barely had time to turn around, let alone start running, when Klarion waved a hand and the floor opened, swallowing them up.

"Took you a second." Robin chided, making room for Teekl - shrunken again - to climb up onto her owner's shoulders.

"I was stalling! You sure took your sweet time," Klarion fired back. It wasn't directed at Robin though, but rather at Teekl, who, despite this, was currently getting many ear scratches. "Don't look at me like that! You're the one who let yourself get stuck in a tiny cage! At least I could walk around."

"Klarion," Robin interrupted, arms crossed. "Maybe you can do that after I get home."

"Oh, yeah, I forgot you were still here." With a flick of his wrist, the white room vanished and a swirling void of red and black took its place. He pointed at Robin's right side and a portal materialized, granting passage to a spot below Gotham's clock tower. "You live here, right?"

"Close enough." Robin recognized the spot as about a block away from the closest boom tube: the alleyway with the Out of Order phone booth. "What about-?"

"Yes, yes, what kind of demon would I be if I didn't honor a deal?" Klarion summoned up a dagger and threw it Robin's way. He waited for the other boy to unsheathe it, continuing, "Enchanted by Felix Faust himself. Stab it into fish boy's chest, just right around the heart area."

Robin turned the heavy, intricate blade in his hand, raising an eyebrow. "Stab him? Seems counterproductive."

"To what?" Klarion scoffed in response. "He's already dead. Anyway, press down on the ruby at the top, it'll release the spell essentials." He paused to snap his fingers and a piece of paper appeared in Robin's hand. "Here's the incantation, you should feel, mmm… like, a surge, I guess, going through his body. Then you're done! Pop the knife out, heal that hole you put in him, good as new!"

"Ok…" Robin pocketed the items, just readily accepting any information at this point. "Uhh, but I'm not exactly a... magical anything. Are you sure this'll work?"

"Oh, right…" Klarion tilted his head in thought, crinkling his nose. "Nah, it'll be fine! It's faint, barely noticeable, but with that bit of gypsy magic in you, that should be enough to kickstart it."

"Whoa, what? Wait, what are you talking about?"

"I'm sure you'll waste time arguing with all your fellow heroes about this, like how it's some of the darkest magic out there, how you shouldn't mess with the balance of nature, blah, blah, blah," Klarion kept going, steamrolling over Robin's question. "So, I should mention that the spell is only meant to work on the freshly dead… as in, less than an hour. If he's been dead for longer than that, you're outta luck. Just so you know."

"Back up to the dark magic part, is that something I should be worried about?" Robin asked frantically, worried the whole thing might actually be a huge mistake, especially if someone else had to die to take Aqualad's place. "All magic comes at a price, right?"

"The equal exchange thing? Don't worry about that, necromancy's got its own set of rules. No one will just drop dead, if that's what you're thinking. Plus, there's a little Lazarus Pit water in there, Faust does stuff like this all the time, I'm sure he'll come back with his soul intact and everything."

"Riiight," Robin hedged, still not entirely convinced. "How do I know this isn't all a complete lie and this'll like… bring him back as a zombie or something?"

Klarion smiled. "I mean… you don't. I could definitely be lying. But what choice do you have?"

Whatever. Robin had to get back and… he'd deal with all that later. He took a step toward the portal, before swiftly turning back. "Wait, Weathers-"

"Oh, gods! When are you leaving?" Klarion bemoaned, Teekl yowling in annoyance beside him.

"What are you going to do with the lab? Everyone who worked here?"

"None of your business, wonder boy." When Robin continued to look at him expectantly, Klarion rolled his eyes, questioning, "Why do you care? These aren't good people! They all knew what they were doing and would've kept going if you hadn't been here!"

"That doesn't make it ok to murder them!" Robin shot back, though, thinking back on it, he was starting to doubt whether or not they deserved his defense. Still, he asked again. "What are you going to do with them?"

Klarion rolled his eyes. "Fine, you don't want me to kill them, I won't kill them." He could see Robin didn't quite believe him, but he was done making that his problem. So before the boy could make him promise or something, he pulled the portal forward, sending Robin out back to Earth. He dusted his hands off in satisfaction. "Ok, Teekl, he doesn't want me killing? Let's go have some fun with our new toys."

In the med bay, Kaldur lay on an examination table. His king knelt down next to him, whispering something in the Atlantean language. Bruce and Clark stood off to the side, while Diana stood close, all ready to console him as he needed.

"Arthur," Diana said gently, placing a hand on his arm. "Does Mera-?"

"No, no." Arthur took several deep breaths before standing back up. "She's keeping busy. I think if she stops, she'll… It's ok, I- I'll get her here soon." He looked over to Bruce. "What about Robin? Anything?"

"Not yet," Bruce began, exchanging glances with Clark. "We're working on it."

Arthur clapped a hand on his shoulder, matching his determination. "We'll find him. We will not lose him too."

The rest of the Cave was silent, similarly feeling the weight of their loss. Roy and Conner sat in the foyer, the former sharpening arrows, the latter watching a blank television screen. M'gann floated in a corner of the kitchen, staring at a page of an open cookbook. Wally had sequestered himself in the bathroom as Artemis sat cross-legged by the door, long having given up on trying to get him to come out. He hadn't even locked the door, but they all knew better than to ambush him right now.

"Hey." The Flash skidded to a stop next to Artemis, taking his cowl off. "Sorry I'm late. How is he?"

Artemis simply shook her head. How would she feel if two of her best friends were there one minute, and just gone the next? She probably wouldn't even be left standing. Yeah, they all loved Kaldur and Robin, but it wasn't the same. The three of them started this together, brought them all together, and now… Wally was alone. "He hasn't said anything."

"Ok… let me try, all right?" Barry went up to the door and knocked lightly. "Wally? It's me. I'm coming in, ok? Just me." He pushed the door open a crack and peeked in. Standing at the sinks with his back turned, was his nephew, scrubbing hard at his fingers. "Oh, Walls…" Barry rushed in, taking the redhead's hands in his own. They were bright red and irritated at the harshness of Wally's efforts.

"The- there was just so much blood… I had to… I couldn't look at it anymore." Wally stammered out, choking back a sob. "I- it's all my fault!"

"No, hey," Barry let the younger boy fall in his arms, deciding a sitting position was the better option here. He sort of gathered Wally up into his lap, like he was a little kid again. "This is not on you, on any of you!"

"No, I should've helped Rob, I should've done something instead of sitting there and waiting!" Wally cried, half-heartedly fighting to escape his uncle's embrace. "He didn't even die right away! Three minutes. I could've run… somewhere in three minutes! I'm so stupid! I could've gotten him some help. I could've done… something!"

"Hey, you didn't know where you were, or where any hospitals were, or if moving Kaldur would've made it worse! You can't blame yourself for this. You called us, you had to check on the rest of your team. You did everything you could."

"Yeah, and it wasn't enough!"

"Sometimes it's not enough! You know, sometimes… sometimes, we lose."

Wally stopped struggling and buried his face into the older man's chest. "I just want them back…"

"I know, bud… I know."

Black Canary stood on the stairs leading into the living room, surveying the young team. She knew she would need to help them all separately, help them process their grief, but honestly, she couldn't even focus on that right now. One of their own was dead and… it never got any easier. She was about to join them all, ask if they needed anything, when the entrance to the Cave lit up and announced a new arrival.

Robin-B01.

Everyone in the room froze, their eyes trained on the boy that had just come darting in.

"Hey," Robin greeted, out of breath, and thus was not prepared for the full force of almost everyone there tackling him into a hug. "You guys ok?"

"Are we ok?" M'gann squeaked out, "what about you! What happened? Where did you go?"

"Rob!" Wally exclaimed, Roy having ran to retrieve him and Barry. The younger speedster rushed forward, holding tightly onto his friend. "Please don't ever do that to me again."

"I'm so sorry I dragged you guys into this." Robin broke off the hug, looking apologetic. "Uhh, I'll tell you everything later. First, where's Kaldur?"

"He…He didn't make it." Artemis replied, when no one else seemed to be able to answer. "Maybe you don't remember, but when they took you-"

"Oh, no, I know," Robin cut her off, mentally kicking himself at how tactless that sounded. "Sorry. I think I can… save him. I know, I'll explain later. Just… I need to see him right now."

Everyone crowded into the med bay, arranged into a half circle surrounding Kaldur's body, waiting for Arthur's answer. Robin had given them all a basic run-down of what Klarion had given him and what he had to do. He had the blade unsheathed, turning it over in his hands for everyone to see. "What do you think?" he asked the room.

"I don't like it," Conner piped up first. "This is Klarion we're talking about. How do we know he isn't playing some cruel trick on us?"

"He is the lord of chaos," mumbled Roy, garnering a disapproving look from Canary. "He is!"

"And I get that. Honestly, you're right! This might not work and he could have been lying to me the whole time," Robin agreed, giving the dagger to Arthur to inspect. "But I think this'll work, I owe it to Kaldur to at least try! He didn't deserve to die."

"Still, Robin." Clark stepped forward to get a closer look at the dagger. "Don't you think we should check with other magic users first? Zatara could take a look, or even Constantine?"

"Who knows how long that might take?" came Robin's rebuttal. "You said he's been dead for 35 minutes already. We don't have a lot of time until the spell wears off." He turned back to Arthur, eyes pleading. "Let me get him back… please."

Arthur rubbed at the ornate handle of the knife, bowing his head in thought. His gaze snapped up a second later, catching that of the Batman's. The Atlantean signaled him over, pulling off to the side. He didn't say anything at first, drawing out a long sigh instead, prompting Bruce to speak first.

"It's your decision. I trust Robin, but… this is fairly new territory."

"If… if it were Robin on that table," Arthur ventured, closing his eyes and putting a hand over his mouth. "Would- would you say yes?"

Bruce looked back at his ward, all sparkling blue eyes and determinism, weighted down by everything he had been through the past few weeks, and answered, "if there was even a slight chance to save him… I would take it."

Arthur met his steely gaze, then nodded once. He went back over to Robin, handing him the dagger. "Bring him back to us."

Robin stood at Kaldur's side, biting his lip in thought. He held the dagger above his chest with one hand, the page with the incantation in the other. "Ok," he blew a breath out, scanning the room. Everyone had backed up several steps to give the two of them some space, and were anxiously waiting. Please, please work. "Here we go."

Robin set the spell down where he could easily read it, then felt around Kaldur's torso, trying to find the space between the 4th and 5th rib. Once he was sure he had it right, his grip tightened around the dagger, raising it up higher. One more short exhale and he brought the blade down, feeling it pierce the skin, flinching as he buried it up to the hilt guard. "Conteram per et umbra mortis," he read out, pressing the jewel at the top. He heard a release, presumably the contents of the handle escaping to the heart. "Revertere."

As soon as the last word was spoken, Robin could feel a surge of power traveling through Kaldur's body from the point, like he had been struck by lightning and was experiencing every spark in slow motion.

Kaldur's eyes fluttered open and the tension that had blanketed the whole room suddenly lifted. But he wasn't in the clear just yet, reminding them of that fact when he turned and violently coughed, spurting out blood. Bruce put an arm out to keep everyone at bay as Robin ripped the dagger out, letting it clatter to the floor.

"Hey, hey, hang on. I know you're happy to be back, but let me finish up first, ok?" Robin requested with a small laugh, gently pushing his friend back down. Klarion's gone, no back-up. Deep breaths, you can do this. Robin placed both hands over Kaldur's wounds, focusing all his energy out. He felt a chill immediately, quicker than usual, causing an involuntary shiver. It was a cold that reached him in his core, his bones almost feeling weirdly brittle.

But Robin shoved all that to the side, bracing himself for the familiar sensation in his hands to start. Sure enough, he soon felt his fingers tingle, it spreading like wildfire to his whole hand. This time, though, it was ever so slightly more manageable. He felt a sort of warmth that hadn't been there before. Maybe it was the ability evolving… or maybe it was like when people with severe hypothermia think they're burning up, but are actually just freezing to death. Either way, it was immensely more comfortable, so he appreciated whatever it was in making the whole process a little bit easier.

A few seconds later, there was kind of a squelching sound as the bullet hole and knife wound stitched themselves up. Robin smoothed his hands over the newly repaired injuries, letting out a relieved sigh. The pain etched in Kaldur's face slowly eased away, and Robin saw little else before he dropped to his knees, exhausted.

Bruce and Wally were at his side instantly, but Robin waved them off. "It's ok, I'm fine, just… just give me a sec," he claimed, shutting his eyes tight and breathing deeply. "How's Kaldur?"

The young Atlantean was in the middle of an embrace with his king, and as soon as he broke out of that one, the entire room clamored to give him another one. Robin smiled up at them all, perking up more when Kaldur found him amongst the small crowd.

"Robin," Kaldur said, sounding just as relieved as he was earlier. "You are all right!"

"Oh, you know me. A little jailbreak, light necromancy, no biggie." Robin remarked while shooting a finger gun, leaning on Bruce for support as he stood up.

Kaldur went over, pulling the smaller boy in for a tight hug. "But how-?"

"Right, yeah. So… let me start from the beginning."

After Robin finished his debrief, the crowd of heroes thinned considerably. Clark left saying something about having a talk with Lex, Arthur had to go tell Mera the good news, and the remainder left to see if they could track down Klarion and the Alliance lab. The team and Bruce stayed.

"So do you just have this power now? Or is it gonna disappear at some point?" Roy asked, leaning back in his spot on the couch, looking at Robin closely. "Because… it's pretty cool, I gotta say."

"Yeah, are you… gonna be able to do this all the time?" M'gann added. "Not that you should just be, like, our personal hospital."

"No, I get it." Robin was quick to concur, tacking on, "it is really cool… and kinda convenient!"

"We'll need to run some tests before you put it into practice any more," Bruce said firmly, putting a hand on his ward's shoulder. Though he was just as intrigued as the next person, he had to make sure they understood it and if there were any side effects. He then glanced over at Kaldur, who looked like nothing had ever even happened to him. "You too. We should make certain you're alright."

"Yeah, gotta make sure you're not a zombie!" Wally exclaimed, reaching out to shake Kaldur. "Also, I can't believe we're just brushing over the fact you brought someone back to life?! I mean, mind blown, dude!"

"Easy, Walls, that wasn't even me," Robin smirked at his excitement, though he had to set the record straight. "That was all Klarion… I'm pretty sure."

"Ok, what's up with that?" Conner blurted out, still confused about that whole side of the story. "Is he, like, on our side now? Why did he help you?"

"Definitely not," Robin assured them. "I think it was just an 'enemy of my enemy' thing. He'd been stuck there for two months, he wanted out, didn't matter how it'd happen."

"Great that he helped us or whatever, but he's still an evil demon who I will gladly kick the ass of next time we see him," Artemis concluded with a chuckle, everyone agreeing with her.

"Whatever the case," Kaldur interjected, moving to sit beside Robin. "Thank you for saving me."

"Well, of course! You're our leader, I wasn't about to let you die… for real, I mean."

Kaldur gave him a small smile. "Can I ask… what does it feel like? When you use this ability?"

Robin stiffened, looking between all his teammates. He saw no reason to make them worry, especially after this last time where it seemed more under control. "Umm, it doesn't really feel like anything," he lied. "I mean, I feel tired after it's done, but I don't know, it kinda just happens." He caught M'gann's eye. She looked confused, but didn't say anything that revealed concern. "With that being said, guys, I kinda wanna go home. I feel like I haven't really slept for the past couple weeks. Not that I want to leave you-"

"No, you go home, Rob." Roy commanded, as he stood up, winking at him. "I'll keep an eye on them while you're gone."

"Don't kill anyone."

"No promises, you might have to save another one."

They all said their goodbyes. As Robin stood at the exit with Bruce, a familiar voice rang out in his mind.

Robin? M'gann called out.

Yeah, Miss M?

Just uh… if you ever want to talk, you know we're all here for you, right?

… I know. Thanks.

Robin looked up as Bruce put an arm over his shoulders. "Ready to go home, chum?"

"Uhh, yeah, I really miss Alfred's cooking."

A/N: If you notice any plot holes or have any questions, don't be afraid to ask me! I took way too long to finish this, and honestly, kinda forgot where I was going with the story :D

But anyway, I hope you liked it! Thanks for reading and sticking around for so long, I appreciate it!

Anyone up for a sequel that takes another several years? :D