Work Text:
Judy laid back in her chair and raised her arm to use as a pillow while she enjoyed her rare downtime. She never had the chance to finish reading Moby Dick, and though it brought up some unpleasant memories, she pushed them back. Discomfort gnawed at the edges of her consciousness, but she was determined to finish it. Little bits of controlled exposure here and there helped her feel in control of her healing process.
The sound of the next page turning momentarily disrupted the silence, until a series of loud crashes completely destroyed it.
Closing the book, Judy sat up a bit to look at her closed door. The ruckus continued and she quickly realized it was a fair distance away but incredibly violent. Then she could hear footsteps approaching at a rapid pace, which prompted her to begin climbing off of her bed.
"Judy!" Her mother called right as her door opened, "Judy, we need you!"
"What's going on?" She asked as she put down her book and ran over to her out of breath parents.
"Scarecrow's lost it and Robin's out with Will right now." John explained while his wife continued to catch her breath.
"It was my fault...I was doing repairs...dropped a pipe and...it looked like..." Maureen panted and gestured to the top of her head.
"The mind control device?"
Judy's parents nodded and began to lead her to the source of the commotion. They ran into the garage which was nearly completely destroyed by the panicking robot. John raised his arms slightly, instinctively attempting to protect his family despite the action getting in his daughter's way.
"I got this dad, just standby in case I need any help." Judy said, trying to placate him as she stepped around him and into the garage.
John nodded an acknowledgement and she nodded back before slowly approaching.
"Scarecrow," Judy spoke gently but clear enough for the robot to hear and causing the bot to turn to her, "Hey, it's okay. Can you tell me what you need?"
Scarecrow still wasn't great with his words, preferring non-verbal communication when he could get away with it. She especially didn't expect a response amidst his panic, but if he could manage a reply it would help her immensely.
He didn't say anything. His body tensed up and the plates on his back flared up as he looked at her. His arms weren't raised and there seemed to be no intent to shoot, but she was still mindful of the distressed body language.
Trying to keep her eyes on him, she briefly glanced at the destroyed pipe on the ground. That had clearly been attacked, but it was the source of his spiral so she hesitantly approached it.
"This is just a pipe, but I'm going to kick it far, far away from you, okay? Alright? I'm getting it away from you." She spoke slowly and calmly, her movements mirroring her tone as she approached the object.
He took a few steps back and his plating puffed up again, but there were no further signs of aggression as she hesitantly stuck her foot out.
"Okay, it's okay." She soothed, cringing as the metal dragged across the concrete floor, but she managed to shove it away and under a desk. Out of sight, hopefully out of mind.
Scarecrow's stare had been locked on her movements and the pipe, but now that the object of offense was out of the way, he was solely focused on her. He continued to shift on his feet, agitation still present in him.
"You're okay, you're safe. Breathe, just bre-you're a robot, you can't breathe." She sighed at herself, stopping her exaggerated breathing as she inspected him.
Most of the things that would help her during a panic attack wouldn't really apply to his biology. She was still very new to it, and hadn't even attempted to figure out their psychology beyond the interactions she had thus far. Maybe a distraction would help then.
"Okay, so, can't do breath work," She said as she gradually moved towards a shelf, "Talking it out also isn't an option since I can't understand your language and Robin isn't here right now," Carefully rummaging through the various items, she found something that gave her an idea, "So, how about a distraction to keep you focused?"
There was a modified laser pointer Will had bought Penny for her birthday, but it had been confiscated because she kept shining it in everyone's eyes. Besides the harm it could cause to the retina, it was small, non-threatening, and harmless to a big robot.
Regardless, she made sure he could see what she was holding as she presented it. "You guys love looking at lights, don't you? This is just a little one, look." She shined the dot on her hand first, making sure to show him it was safe before attempting to put it anywhere near him.
His plating rattled, but he tilted his head forward in clear interest. The lights in his globe spun around in an anxious flurry, but his gaze followed the light as she directed it at the ground.
"Pretty," She said, moving it around slowly before switching on the colour shifter, "Focus on the colours. That's green, blue, purple, red, orange, yellow." Hushing him gently, she continued to repeat the sequence as it changed.
His focus occasionally turned to her, but the distraction seemed to work as his trills turned to quiet warbles and his body language began to settle. She praised him softly as she gradually began to sit on the ground. The nonthreatening posture helped to further ease him as he silently mirrored the motion.
"Green." He eventually spoke, pointing at the ground as he sat across from her, still towering over her despite their similar positions.
"You got it. And the next one?"
"Blue." He replied, settling down further.
"You like the blue, don't you? Do you want me to keep it on that one?" She asked, receiving a nod. Doing just that, she kept the pointer on blue and casually moved it across the floor. He had calmed and she couldn't help a small smile as his head followed the pointer light around.
"There you go, big guy." She breathed a sigh of relief, but continued to keep him entertained for as long as the device could hold his attention.
Scarecrow watched the light for a bit longer, but his anxiety had sapped most of his energy. He briefly looked around at the destruction he had caused, feeling a flicker of guilt, but what was done was done. Repairs could come later, but for now, he wanted comfort.
"Would you look at that." John commented from the doorway before releasing a startled noise as Maureen pulled him away to give their daughter and the copper robot some space.
Judy watched in surprise as the usually elusive bot gradually leaned down, further and further. She didn't dare move to avoid alarming him as he cautiously settled his chin in her lap. His head still followed the light, but the motion was much more sluggish and met resistance from her pants.
She opened her mouth to ask more questions, but he answered all of them by carefully taking her hand and leading it to his shoulder. Leaving it there for a moment, she didn't attempt to touch him anywhere else as she let him get used to her hand on him. Then she slowly let her hand move downwards, mindful not to touch anywhere above the neck or near the head, but also careful of the jutting out plating.
Stroking down his spines, they flattened under the calming motion. She took the chance to look over his frame as her fingers glided across it. Getting this close was rare, especially for a decent period of time, so she memorized every crevice she could. She was incredibly familiar with Robin's frame in both forms, but this was still completely new. The robots were all individuals with likes and dislikes.
Scarecrow liked having his spines brushed over, along with his upper arms. She made sure to repeatedly pet over those areas, causing him to rumble and warble softly. Her smile grew as she watched the lights in his globe begin to bob lazily, but they also changed colours, matching the patterns the laser had previously been displaying.
"Here, you can keep this." She said, slowly sliding the pointer between his claws.
Despite the inability to breathe, he seemed to release a deep exhale, his lights dimming as he cautiously held her hand along with the gift.
"Thank. You. Judy."