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Robin came to with something hard digging into his back and his neck bent in an awkward position. He regulated his breathing, as he had been taught, and took a moment to scan his surroundings before opening his eyes. He was sitting up and leaning against something uneven. Pipes maybe? His head was leaning slightly to the left in between two of the maybe-pipes and he had an awful crick in his neck. That couldn’t mean anything good for how long he had been in this position. There didn’t seem to be anyone in the vicinity. Dick couldn’t hear any breathing or fabric shuffling. In fact, he couldn’t hear much of anything aside from his own breath.
As Dick slowly opened his eyes, he became aware of a throbbing in his left ankle and a burning sensation in his right side. Neither seemed too urgent, so he dismissed them for the moment. He noted with relief that he was still in uniform with his mask intact. The metal he had identified as pipes turned out to be the metal bars of a cage. Dick was in a metal cage, about four feet in all directions. He had room to sit up straight with his legs out in front of him, but not all that much more than that. He tamped down on the surge of panic that threatened to rise up, taking deep, even breaths.
The events leading up to his capture were foggy. He remembered being on a mission with the team, something about magic users, a cult maybe, ancient rituals. Yes, that was it. They had been tracking down a group of magic users that had been up to something nefarious. People, animals, and various possessions had gone missing from a few small towns in Connecticut before Young Justice had been sent in to investigate. Dick remembered locating the lair and going in with the team, but everything from there to ending up in this cage was blank.
Speaking of which, where was he, exactly? Through the bars of the cage, Dick could see what looked like the walls of a small cave or cavern of some sort. There was a passageway to his left that was too dark to see much of. Great, so he was in a cage, in a cave, with no clues as to his whereabouts or even the time of day.
Sighing, Dick began to make his way around the cage to check for openings or inconsistencies. His neck protested being moved from its current position, and a headache made itself known as soon as Dick attempted to lift his head, but it was nothing Dick hadn’t felt before. Dick placed a hand on the burning sensation in his side as he sat up further with a groan. Looking down, he realized that what he had dismissed earlier was actually a rather large gash just above his right hip. Shit. That was going to become a problem soon if Dick couldn’t get the bleeding under control.
Dick kept his hand firmly pressed against his side as he began his methodical examination of the cage. Kneeling was uncomfortable, what with the throbbing in his ankle, so Dick scooched himself around on his butt as he made his way around the cage. Unsurprisingly, his captors had deprived him of all of his tools, gloves, boots, cape, the whole deal. It only took a few minutes of examining the metal cage to realize that nothing he had with him currently was going to help him get out. There were no joints or seams that Dick could find; there didn’t even seem to be any sort of door or lock. Magic, if Dick had to guess. It was either that or the cage had been welded after he was placed inside.
He wasn’t trained by Batman for nothing, though. Dick completed his thorough examination of the cage, looking for any openings or weak spots he could exploit, sighing as he finished. It seemed there was nothing for it but to wait for rescue. Dick shifted himself over to the side of the cage facing the passageway and settled himself in for a long wait. Oh, joy. He tried to pass the time by examining his injuries further. His ankle didn’t seem to be so bad, probably just a mild sprain, though anything that would keep him off his feet for a few days was bad enough in his book. His side, though, his side had progressed from a mild burning sensation to a deeper, biting pain that was getting harder to ignore. It appeared to have been torn by something. Maybe shrapnel of some sort? Maybe he got himself caught on something? It wasn’t overly deep and didn’t seem to be bleeding very fast, but Dick was well aware of the fact that he was steadily losing blood. He guessed he had lost about half a liter up to this point, and a long wait was definitely not in his best interest right now. He could only hope his friends would find him soon.
Minutes passed. An hour. Two. Dick had no reliable way to tell time, but his internal clock had always been fairly accurate. He passed the time by playing chess in his head, then by running through a series of puzzles Batman had recently given him to solve, then by trying to recall the word “chair” in as many languages as he could. At some point around hour three, Dick realized he was daydreaming about being back at Mount Justice. M’gann was baking cookies. Wally was zipping around trying to sneak bites of dough, claiming the raw eggs weren’t a risk for his super immune system. Shit. Dick snapped upright and clamped his hand firmly back over his side. He was starting to feel a little cold and his heart rate was definitely faster than it had been. Shit. Shit shit shit. Where was the team? Why hadn’t anyone come for him yet? Dick allowed himself a moment to panic. He could feel his heart pounding and his side burning and the blood leaking between his fingertips. For now, he still had the wherewithal to keep pressure on the wound and occupy his mind, but that wouldn’t last much longer. Okay, Robin, panic over. Dick closed his eyes and took a few deep, measured breaths, as he had been taught.
It was just in time, too, because as soon as Dick felt he had regained some measure of composure, there was a scuffling sound from the passageway and Dick opened his eyes to see four hooded figures making their way into the chamber his cage was in. They were dressed in all black, with heavy chains and various insignia hanging from around their necks. Their deep hoods obscured their faces, but Dick caught glimpses of eyes staring at him intently. Dick rolled his eyes internally. Cult it was, then. His favorite.
As tired and anxious as he was, it wasn’t hard to summon his Robin persona and plaster on a bright smile. “Hey, nice of you to drop in! Don’t you know it isn’t nice to leave a guest waiting?”
His “hosts” showed no sign of having heard him at all, simply continuing toward the cage and surrounding it on all sides.
Dick swallowed down a frisson of apprehension. “It’s a real nice place you’ve got here. A little lacking in natural light, if you don’t mind me saying so.”
Nothing. Not even a flicker of an eye, not that Dick could see much under the hoods. The four figures raised their hands as one and the cage began to hover about a foot off the ground. Dick braced himself against the side of the cage, but there was no jostling as the cage began to move toward the passageway, still bracketed by the four figures. They had to split up to fit inside, two walking backwards in front and two behind, but they kept their arms extended and the cage continued to float effortlessly.
A few short steps later, they emerged on the other side of the passageway into an enormous cavern lit dimly by torches hanging on the sides. Dick could make out some sort of altar, more sigils drawn on the ground, and a whole lot more hooded figures. His escorts lowered his cage into the center of the circle of hooded figures and Dick bit back a groan as the cage jostled his side when it hit the floor. He was starting to get seriously worried. Adrenaline would get him through a bit longer, but soon the pain and the blood loss would catch up to him. If the team didn’t show up soon…Dick cut himself off from finishing that thought.
“Love the outfits, guys,” Dick called through the bars of the cage. “I’m more of a color guy myself, but sometimes you’ve just got to stick with the classics, you know?”
There was no response, not that Dick was expecting any. His mind was whirring, trying to come up with something, anything he could do to get out of this, but he kept coming up empty.
Robin?
Dick nearly cried out in relief when M’gann’s voice cut through the mind link.
Miss Martian? Dick sent back.
Suddenly, there was a familiar jumble of thoughts flooding the link. Robin! Robin? Robin! What’s your status? Remain calm, Robin. We were so worried! We’re coming to get you.
Dick was easily able to pick out Kaldur’s calm reassurances, Artemis’s blunt questions, and Wally’s frantic rambling. He smiled despite himself. He had no doubt his team could get him out of this. He just had to remain strong for them a few minutes longer, then he could crash back in his bed in Mount Justice and take a nice long nap. A nap sounded nice.
Rob? Hey buddy, hang in there. We’re going to get you out, okay?
Dick hadn’t realized his eyes had started to drift shut until hearing Wally’s worried voice. Hey KF! He put as much energy into his thoughts as he could muster. What took ya so long, fastest kid alive? Dick felt Wally’s remorse pour through and regretted the question as soon as he asked it.
We are sorry, Robin, M’gann responded. We came as soon as we could locate you. We are working our way to you now.
I know, guys. Dick paused to cough. I know. I’m just teasing. I’m- I’m good, Dick sent back. The wave of adrenaline that had spiked when Dick had been brought into the large cavern was fading, leaving Dick even more exhausted than he would have been. It was getting harder to form coherent sentences, but something kept telling him he just had to hold on for a few more minutes before letting go.
A majority of the cult members had fled upon Young Justice’s arrival, and the team had already started engaging with the remaining hooded figures. Dick watched blearily as they rather easily subdued the remaining members and cuffed them with the power-dampening cuffs. Zatanna seemed to be dampening their powers as well, ensuring the cult’s feeble attempts at defending themselves were no match for the team’s skills.
Robin, report, Artemis practically barked as she twisted one hooded figure’s arm behind their back and attached the first cuff. What’s your status?
Injured left ankle, likely sprained, Dick thought back on autopilot, his Batman training kicking in. And… hrngh…he paused as a wave of pain wracked his side. There was another thing he was supposed to report. What was it? Uh…oh um moderately deep…um laceration…above my right hip. Estimate…estimate I’ve lost about 1 liter of blood.
In an instant, Wally was at the side of the cage. “Hey Rob, we’re going to get you out of here, okay?” his voice was uncharacteristically subdued.
“Think you…think you said that already,” Dick grit out with a weak smile. “You’re l-losing your touch…KF.”
“Brat.” Wally smiled softly back. “Hey, think you can shift a bit closer to the side? I’ll help you put pressure on the wound. I couldn’t get the cage open, but don’t worry, we’ll figure it out.”
Dick blinked back at Wally. Wally seemed so sad. Why was he sad?
“Rob?”
“Hm?”
“Can you shift over to the side for me, buddy?”
Oh right. Wally had asked him to move. Maybe that was why he was sad. Dick gritted his teeth and shifted himself over towards where Wally was sitting. The movement left him gasping for breath, but Wally didn’t wait before reaching his hands through the bars of the cage and pressing down on Dick’s side, hard. Dick groaned and feebly attempted to bat Wally’s hands away, but he wouldn’t budge.
”Shh, Rob, I know it hurts. I just gotta try to stem the bleeding, okay? I’m not sure how much I can do from this angle, but I’m going to try to bandage you up, okay?” Wally continued rambling quietly as he pulled one hand back and produced a bandage from somewhere in his suit.
Dick vaguely noted Wally calling out to the rest of the team over the mind link. Something about blood and cage and out. Wally’s rambling out loud seemed to picking up speed, but Dick wasn’t really tracking the conversation anymore. He sort of remembered that he wasn’t supposed to let go yet, but he was just so sleepy, and Wally was here, and everything was going to be fine…
“Rob!” Wally’s voice was accentuated by an especially harsh thrust against his midsection.
Dick jerked a little and peeled open his eyes with difficulty. “Wally?” he croaked.
“Shh, Dick,” Wally murmured. “I’m here. I need you to stay awake, okay? Can you do that for me?”
“Mhm,” Dick mumbled back.
“Maybe talk to me a little. Tell me a story, yeah?”
“A story?”
“Yeah. Don’t tell me you can’t think of anything to say, Boy Blabber.”
Dick’s eyes were glazed as he looked back at Wally silently for a moment. Then, “Wally?”
“Yeah, bud, I’m here.”
“I don’t feel so good.”
“I know, Dick, I know.”
Wally shifted a bit then and the cage started moving a little. Dick hazily registered someone, or multiple someones, surrounding the cage, rattling it, and then he knew no more.
***
Dick came to slowly. His subconscious seemed to know he was safe, so he wasted no time trying to peel his eyes open, an action that took much more energy than it should have. Dick recognized the med bay of Mount Justice with some relief. Some of the recent events began to trickle back in, the cavern, the cage, the cult, the relief of the team getting there in time. Speaking of…Dick slowly turned his head to the right and was surprised to find no one in the room with him. A spike of anxiety shot through him – was everyone else okay?
With great effort, Dick lifted his head an inch off the pillow and took stock of himself. His torso was heavily wrapped in bandages and there was a dull throbbing through his right side. But judging by the lack of outright pain and his general lethargy, he was on some heavy painkillers. An IV had been set up, with blood and fluids, it looked like, but it was just about empty so Dick judged he had been lying here for long enough.
He began to lever himself up with a groan and turned to swing his legs over the side of the cot. He let himself sit there for a minute to adjust to being upright, and then planted his feet and pushed himself the rest of the way up.
And nearly face planted when a spike of pain shot through his left leg. Ow. He’d completely forgotten about his ankle. No matter. Dick had to see the rest of the team, to make sure everyone was safe. A measly sprained ankle and a cut weren’t going to stop him.
He limped his way slowly out of the med bay, pausing to lean on counters and doorways. He emerged into the living room to find the rest of the team sprawled across the couch and various armchairs, watching a movie. Dick couldn’t help the soft smile that spread over his face at the scene. Conner had fallen asleep with his head on M’gann’s shoulder. Artemis was sitting with her legs across everyone else’s and her hand in a giant bowl of popcorn. Kaldur sat on the floor with his back against the couch and Zatanna sat sideways in an armchair with her legs propped on the arm of the couch.
“Robin!” M’gann exclaimed as soon as she caught sight of him. “You shouldn’t be up!”
“Dude!” Wally was standing behind everyone in the kitchen, looking like a deer caught in headlights. “DudewhatareyoudoingoutofbedIwasjustgettingaglassofwater.”
Dick laughed, then winced and grabbed his side. “Dude, slow down,” he said with a grin.
Wally was across the room and at his side in a flash, making to help Dick back to the med bay.
“Nuh-uh, KF,” Dick whined. “I already made it all the way here. At least help me toward the couch, not away from it.”
Wally looked distressed, and Dick’s smile faltered for just a second, before Wally relented and began helping Dick towards the living area.
Everyone shifted around to make room, Conner waking up to turn bright red and grumble as he leaned away from M’gann’s shoulder. Wally gently helped Dick sit between M’gann and Artemis, placing a pillow on the coffee table for Dick’s injured ankle. Artemis put her legs back across everyone’s lap as soon as Dick was settled, careful not to jostle Dick at all.
“This okay?” she asked.
“Totally,” Dick responded.
M’gann was looking at him intently from his other side. “Are you okay, Robin? You had us worried.”
Dick smiled softly back. “I’m okay. It takes a lot more than that to keep me down.”
Wally sat down on the floor in front of Artemis, and then jumped up and blurred away, only to return in a split second with a glass of water that had of course sloshed all over his arm in the process. “See? This is why I couldn’t run in and out to get back to the med bay earlier,” Wally grumbled.
Dick just laughed. His anxiety from waking up alone earlier was fading, replaced by the warmth of Artemis’s legs across his lap, and M’gann pressing up against his shoulder, and Wally leaning against his legs that were propped up on the table. He knew the pain and frustration of his ankle and side healing would kick in soon, but for now, he was content to revel in the peace he felt among his friends.
“So, what are we watching?” he asked, before leaning his head back against the couch and closing his eyes.
“Planet Earth,” Kaldur said, at the same time as Wally said, “Ice Age!”
“What!” Wally pouted, “We definitely agreed on Ice Age!”
“Alright boys, settle down,” Artemis cut in. “We definitely actually agreed on Robin Hood.”
Dick smiled as the bickering continued and let himself drift off to the familiar sounds. He was safe.