Prompt Post - Part Four [CLOSED TO NEW PROMPTS]
THIS PART IS NOW CLOSED. YOU CAN CONTINUE POSTING FILLS, BUT PLEASE PROMPT ALL NEW THINGS HERE.
Part one here!
Part two here!
Part three here!
Feel free to reprompt posts from parts one, two, three in part four once. If you do so, I'd recommend leaving a link to your fill on the original prompt, in case somebody is tracking the first thread.
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“There are options,” Batman mentioned. “None will be easy and won’t repair the damage, but I trust that you can face them regardless.”
Robin hesitated, deciphering the meaning behind the words. He could see where this was going: years of therapy, medication and maybe, later, injections or surgeries, all with possibilities of failure.
But there was nothing about being kicked off the team.
“Yeah,” he agreed. “I won’t let this slow me down.”
“As I recall, you did mention wanting to lead the team someday. Until then, you will perfect your remote hacking skills and improve your investigative abilities. Are we clear?”
“Sure. I’ve been meaning to have the others do more of the grunt work on the field, anyway. The team was starting to get lazy with me there to handle the bad guys for them,” Robin conceded, the both of them exchanging tentative, knowing grins.
Part Two - Down Low
The circumstances surrounding Robin’s health were never publicly mentioned. He was still deployed on missions, which were so covert as to actually remain covert; compared to their usual fare, it could almost be referred to as laidback. As time wore on Robin would hang back, remaining on the bioship or beyond the perimeter of infiltration points. Few questioned the change in his demeanor toward activity on missions outright, though that didn’t mean no one noticed.
Kid Flash would tease him about his lack of drive, his remarks increasing in quantity and intensity as time wore on. Robin identified the comments for what they really were: prodding. His friend’s humor overshadowed his concern and true intentions. The others voiced their own apprehension for similar reasons, but he expertly deflected their worries.
As Robin received treatments, excuses for his disappearances were an art he both loathed and valued honing; the time spent away covered up as ‘Dynamic Duo’ excursions elsewhere or private assignments.
Despite his best efforts, it was only a matter of time before the truth came out.
~+~+~+~+~
Robin was sitting atop one of the corporate offices in Gotham, admiring the scenery of night lights, bustling activity and the sounds of city life that many big towns tried to emulate, but never quite resembled. Gotham had a unique rhythm of its own, a beat that echoed danger and solitude.
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Bowing his head, Robin decided to turn in early. Patrolling Gotham City was sort of meaningless in his condition, and he predicted the negative turn of his thoughts. Then a breeze, subtle to those not attuned to the way the city worked as Robin did, caught his attention and he turned to regard Kid Flash standing behind him aways.
“Hey, ‘sup?” his friend greeted him, unusually subdued.
Robin refrained from allowing his surprise to show and instead offered a smirk, welcoming him in kind. It was strange for heroes to trespass in this place. His mentor set precedence that forbid them from working in his territory, not that it was always followed. The partners and younger relatives that fought alongside them generally obeyed the unspoken rule, too, but he knew Batman was lenient when it came to the next generation of superheroes. In the past, it used to bother Robin that exceptions were made for people, but right then he didn’t mind having the company.
“Quiet night?” Kid Flash asked, approaching him. He crouched at Robin’s side, arms tucked between his knees.
“As if,” Robin said. “Nights in Gotham are never quiet. I just…wanted to take in the sights.”
A glower flickered across Kid Flash’s features, the expression over so quickly that Robin nearly missed it.
“What is your deal?” he demanded. “You’re not acting like yourself and I…everyone has noticed you hesitating to apprehend criminals. You’re excused from training with Black Canary and you spend more time here than you have ever since the incident with Cadmus.”
“Aw, you guys miss me that much?”
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“It’s not like I’ve left,” he argued, once he got past his friend’s admission.
“Our team info structure is off, dude,” Kid Flash said. “Again, might I add? I mean, look…we were just starting to adjust to a new member on the team and finding our roles. Then without explanation you stop participating in the field?
“It sucks without you there. I can’t speak for the others, but I have to admit that I miss your disappearing acts. Even when I didn’t see you, it was reassuring that you were there. Somewhere. It’s not the same with you elsewhere. Our only assurances that you’re with us is a communicator or Megan’s mental link.”
The degree of honesty took Robin aback, and several of his own emotions went running rampant. A part of him was insistent that he must be off kilter like his friend said, otherwise he wouldn’t be caught so surprised. He’d managed to stay in control, but he was losing his edge. Another side of him was touched to hear that his teammates needed him still, maybe as desperately as he needed them. His response took too long; Kid Flash’s fingers ceased in their drumming on his shins as he rose to his feet.
“You’re Batman’s protégé and I know you won’t crack, no matter how insistently I pester you, so I won’t play the bro card. Secrets are, like, you Gotham City folks’ livelihood, I get that, but after you showed me…” He trailed off, eyes flickering to Robin’s mask and then to the ground. “Nevermind. My point was we’re here for you, okay? If you don’t want to tell me, then you need to tell someone.”
As Kid Flash turned to leave, Robin caught him by the wrist to stall his exit and murmured, “It’s not that I don’t trust you. The circumstances are just…difficult for me.”
It must have taken a great deal of self-control for his teammate not to speak up in the time it took Robin to release him and grip his gauntlet. Fingers disengaged the safety precautions and undid the latches. All the while, Batman’s voice lectured in his mind never to let down his guard and become defenseless in a city that preyed on weakness. He ignored the warning, revealing his pale arm and raising his hand, all his fingers spread as far as he could manage.
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“What am I looking for?”
“It’s worse in the mornings,” he said, voice still soft, like he was talking more to himself than Kid Flash at this point. “Therapy helps, as does swimming. If I don’t keep up my endurance or strength…it hurts.”
Coupled with his vague explanation, comprehension dawned on the other boy’s face after several long minutes of staring at their joined hands. He bared his own and aligned their palms. Freckles meshed with Robin’s fevered skin, the swelling more noticeable on his smaller hand when compared to Kid Flash’s.
“Is this limited to just your hands?” he asked hesitantly, trying to search Robin’s gaze through the white lenses of his mask.
“No.”
Robin didn’t elaborate, and Kid Flash didn’t demand any more answers. They moved their fingers until it became like a handshake. He pulled Robin to a standing position, trying to be careful, but Robin still stumbled because he’d sat for too long.
“Let me…may I take you home?”
He might have been offended by the offer if it wasn’t a tradition they had. On the few visits Kid Flash was permitted to make to Gotham City, his running was vastly superior to any form of transportation in his or Batman’s possession. This fact was often a matter of contention for Robin’s mentor, which made it all the more fun when he was given the chance to arrive with Kid Flash in tow in under the time needed for him to return.
“Thanks,” he said, bestowing the one word with hundreds of connotations.
They both made themselves presentable and Kid Flash let him onto his back, waiting for Robin to get comfortable, which he appreciated. A reason for his hesitance in admitting his condition to his friend was the fear that their status would change, but he saw now that Kid Flash didn’t consider him as inferior. He looped both arms under Robin’s legs for stability and then they were off.
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“Do that again,” he instructed, tugging on his friend’s shoulder and toward another rooftop. Effortlessly, Kid Flash leapt across it, that sensation of freefalling short-lived and marvelous. “Again!”
Kid Flash bounded from more buildings, and though he struggled with the effort of upward momentum, he still made the attempt to scale the taller structures for longer jumps. The wind ruffled their hair and whipped Robin’s cape behind them, laughter erupting from him at each plummet and landing.
They took the long way back.
Part Three - Decisions
“The scanners are showing five heat signatures at the west end of the building, seven in the south and three around the northeast. All participants are go,” Robin informed his five colleagues.
His wrist computer was analyzing the hidden base for enemy activity, identifying the guards and staff through the base’s advanced detection software. Robin had hacked the private network and replaced the feedback with an endless loop of footage and readings. Robin’s machine received the true information to use to their advantage. Positioned a reasonable distance from the structure itself, he tapped into their underground resource of electronic wiring and directed his team across the enemy’s territory.
Rumors of unsanctioned experiments on endangered species of animals were reported, and their mission was to find either evidence proving the reports or to the contrary. While he was occupied preventing his friends from exposure, the others would sneak into the facility and investigate the premises. Photographic verification or documents citing the work conducted there would be enough for the League to pursue action against the group.
“Acknowledged, Robin. Ready for potential radio silence - there is no telling if communication will hold within the confines of the labs,” Aqualad responded.
“Roger.”
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