Work Text:
It was a dark and stormy night. Cliche, Raven knew, but it was the truth. The rain came down in buckets, the wind making the raindrops swirl. The drops were thick enough that it was hard to see anything.
She should have known that that was only the beginning.
Robin and Starfire were going after the villain while Cyborg, Beastboy, and Raven took care of the wave of enemies. From where she was, Raven heard a solid thud followed by a scream.
“ ROBIN !”
That’s all it took for chaos to break loose.
Cyborg and Beastboy took down the rest of the enemy swarm before running after Raven to help Starfire. Immediately, Raven saw Robin face down on the ground, his cape and uniform ripped. She noticed bruises on the little skin she could see and suspected there were more she couldn’t see.
“Beastboy, you and I will help out Starfire,” Cyborg ordered, taking up the role of leader. “Raven, you check up on Robin. If we need you, we’ll call.”
Nodding, Raven ran over to Robin. Quickly, she turned him onto his back to look him over. A trail of blood ran from the corner of his mouth to his chin. More blood dripped from his nose. Gently, Raven roamed her fingers over Robin’s body to feel for any breaks and sighed in relief when she found none.
“How is he?”
Looking up, Raven met the eyes of Cyborg, Beastboy, and Starfire.
“Nothing seems broken,” she reported.
It wasn’t until they got back to Titans Tower that they realised the extent of Robin’s injuries. While he didn’t have any broken bones, he did have some internal bleeding, his body covered in bruises and lacerations. Of course, Cyborg and Raven healed the boy, leaving him unconscious.
“All we can do is wait for him to wake up,” Cyborg had said. “He’ll come around when he’s ready.”
That was hours ago.
Since then, the Titans decided to take turns watching over Robin. No one had a consistent sleep schedule, and keeping up the long shifts didn’t make them any better.
Currently, Raven stayed awake beside her leader. Cyborg, Beastboy, and Starfire were asleep on the other beds. None of them wanted to leave the medbay. She knew the bags under her eyes looked horrendous, but it was well worth it. Besides, the book she was reading was one of her favourites.
“And the new system is one of your own invention?”
“Not altogether. Some portions of it are referable to Professor Tarr, of whom you have, necessarily, heard; and, again, there are modifications in my plan which I am happy to acknowledge as belonging of right to the celebrated Fether, with whom, if I mistake not, you have the honour of an intimate acquaintance.”
“I am quite ashamed to confess,” I replied, “that I have never even heard the names of either gentleman before.”
“Good heavens!” ejaculated my host, drawing back his chair abruptly, and uplifting his hands. “I surely do not hear you aright! You did not intend to say, eh? That you had never heard either of the learned Doctor Tarr, or of the celebrated Professor Fether?”
“Raven?”
Blinking away from her book, Raven set it aside to look at her leader.
“Robin. You’re awake,” she acknowledged.
“How long was I out?”
Raven looked at the clock on the wall.
“Almost twenty hours now.”
Robin nodded. He attempted to sit up, but Raven used her powers to hold him down.
“Don’t get up yet,” she advised. “You had internal bleeding and many bruises and lacerations. Cyborg and I might have healed you, but you’re still recovering.”
The boy scowled, but he didn’t try to move again. Instead, he settled against the pillows.
“So, whatcha reading?”
Raven felt the corner of her lips twitch into a smile.