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“Recognize Robin – B01”
Wally gasped as he heard Robin’s name echo loudly throughout the cave. The two Red Tornado clones shifted their attention to the zeta tubes and aimed their arms at the openings. To his left, Wally heard Connor grunt and try, yet again, to break his way out of their confines. Wally screamed.
“ROBIN! NO!”
He heard his boyfriend yell as a blast of fire was shot directly at him. Wally strained in his cement prison, grinding his teeth together in anger. He wasn’t sure if he had heard him or not; the cave was filled with smoke, debris, and fire. Luckily, Robin managed to dodge the attack right away and dove into the cloud of smoke that took up most of the cave.
“Recognize Artemis – B07”
“LOOK OUT,” screamed Robin.
Artemis gasped, then ducked as she watched her younger teammate flip through the blasts of fire coming from inside their cave. Quickly, she pulled bows from her quiver and shot blindly into the chaos. Robin was already tossing disks at their unknown enemies.
“Who are we fighting?!” Yelled Artemis
“Don’t know – but we’re sitting ducks by these tubes! Head for the exit!”
They sprinted through the cave’s main hall, dodging long sweeping blasts of fire. When they got to the corridor, a massive wave stopped them in their tracks.
“…Or not,” quipped Robin as the two superheroes were quickly swept away in the title wave. They violently crashed into the wall and were thrown to the ground. They quickly picked themselves off the floor, adrenaline rushing through their bodies, and ran into the rec center.
They ran as fast as they could out of harm’s way. Where were the others? Were they ok?
“Robin to team! Come in! Aqualad?!” “M’gann? Can you hear me? Are you there?”
Another blast of fire shot through the room and knocked the two to the floor. They yelled out, scrambling to their feet as a looming fire tornado chased them to the showers.
“Robin to Batcave! Override RG4! Cave calling Justice League – HOJ/Watchtower! B01 Priority Red!”
Robin franticly spun the knobs in the showers. Artemis followed suit. The two stood back against the far wall, hoping to alleviate some of the pressure and possibly provide themselves protection against the fiery tornado.
Robin huffed. “Com is down, locked. At least the water is helping….” The knobs exploded. “Or not…”
The room was suddenly flooded, and the two were quickly floating in an airtight pool. Robin swam to the far wall and locked a blinking disk to the tile while Artemis was forced to hold her breath, looking through the waves in search of her teammate. Then, she felt the blast and was suddenly swept out of the showers, with Robin falling to her left. They quickly picked themselves up and ran into the kitchen, looking for another exit strategy.
“We need to get lost,” said Robin, sounding breathless.
Artemis looked around for an exit. “The air vent!”
“Good! Go!” yelled Robin, running to the control panel.
Artemis ripped off the air vent cover and ducked under the opening. She looked back to find Robin hacking into the cave’s controls. “What are you…?”
“Downloading cave blueprints. It could come in…” Robin’s eyes widened as he heard metallic footsteps approaching.
“Go, go,” he whispered, jumping up into the air vent with Artemis. They scrambled through the tubes, keeping low.
“Go left!” said Robin, following Artemis’ lead. Suddenly another large blast of fire clipped the back of Robin’s boots as he ducked around a corner. He gasped and fell further on his elbows.
“Agh, too close,” he grunted, looking behind him with a deep frown on his face. “Take the first right! There should be a vent cover right in front of you.”
They kept going, grunting, climbing, falling, and pushing their way through the treacherous vents until they reached the boiler room. They jumped out and ran down the metal stairs when suddenly, a tall silhouette fell from the vents and into a vast pit of fire. The crouched figure then stood tall, extending its arms to the ceiling and filling the boiler room with a crazy amount of heat. Adrenaline shot through the heroes’ chests as their eyes widened in fear.
The room was hot – way too hot. Robin and Artemis were sweating and ducking behind burning metal structures. Robin looked towards a control panel and gasped as the meter started shaking violently. It was rapidly overheating, and the glass cover started fracturing at an alarming rate.
“That’s not good,” muttered Robin, sprinting to his right.
Robin and Artemis ran through blasts of steam and dodged balls of fire. It was a cat-and-mouse chase that the two couldn’t seem to shake. They needed to get lost, and they needed time to come up with a plan. The two slotted themselves behind an engine, and the younger hero quickly pulled up the cave’s blueprints and schematics from his wrist.
“I know that other access tunnel is here somewhere.”
“You mean this one?” Artemis was already jumping through the opening in the floor. Robin sighed with relief, locked another explosive disk to the engine, and ran towards the tunnel. Behind them, the devil-like figure was blocked by the blast from Robin’s explosive.
The two were encased, yet again, in a metal tunnel. This time, however, they were underground and protected by solid steel.
“Hold on.” Robin grabbed a batarang from his belt and sliced a control panel open. “…Locking out cave’s motion and heat sensors to prevent the enemy from tracking us.”
Artemis stared sharply at Robin. “And I ask again, who is the enemy?!”
Robin smirked, locking eyes with his teammate. “Let’s find out. Downloading cave security footage… There!”
He pulled up a recorded video feed of the cave, flashing a blue image of their four teammates from about an hour ago. Artemis leaned over his shoulder as they watched Wally casually working on Robin’s motorcycle. Robin’s heart swelled at the sight.
“Torque wrench”
M’gann floated the tool to Wally. He smiled in response. “Thank you, green cheeks!”
A stoic Aqualad changed the subject. “I have been meaning to ask. Any problem juggling schoolwork, with your responsibilities here?”
“Nope.” Connor seemed entirely unamused.
Wally cocked his head to the right. “Juggling’s just one of my many talents. Socket wrench!”
Robin smiled. Wally was such a smartass.
“Dealing with cheerleading practice has presented a challenge. Oh, but my first loyalty is always to the team – this team, not the bumblebees,” said M’gann.
Aqualad pressed on. “Artemis starts school today. Do you think she will have trouble maintaining her loyalties?”
“Nah, she’ll manage all right. I mean, how much more hostile and annoying can….”
Wally’s voice was cut off by a scream. Then, the camera went blank.
“What happened?!” Artemis gasped loudly, trying to push the anxiety down at the sight of her friends being attacked.
“The explosion took out the camera. I’ll find another angle.” Robin was determined; a look of worry spread across his face as he furiously hacked into the other camera feeds.
The three other videos were short and frightening, showing the four heroes getting swept away with a title wave from the zeta tubes. Wally, M’gann, Connor, and Kaldur were all sprawled across the floor in shock, quickly regrouping and fanning out in defense. The feeds cut short, leaving Artemis and Robin without any answers on who their enemies were and what happened to their teammates.
Robin’s voice was low. “That’s it; all four are dead.”
Artemis locked eyes with Robin and they both cringed.
Robin backtracked. “The cameras! I meant the cameras! I – I’m sure the others are ok. Just give me a sec to find the fastest route to the hanger.”
Artemis fell back against the tunnel wall. “Yeah, they’re fine. They’ve all got superpowers. They can handle anything.”
. . .
Artemis and Robin managed to make their way to the library. Keeping a low profile would prove to be difficult, knowing that there were at least two things after them. They pressed on.
“There’s a secret passage behind one of these bookcases.”
“Seriously, cliché much?” Artemis whispered. “You should see the Batcave,” Robin muttered to himself.
They heard a loud knocking noise and ducked behind one of the tall bookshelves. Metallic footsteps echoed loudly through the library as the two readied their weapons.
A familiar robotic voice spoke. “Artemis. Robin.”
Artemis smiled. She knew that voice. They were saved! “It’s Red Tornado,” she gasped with relief. She dove out from their hiding place and was met with a slimmer clone of one of their beloved mentors. She froze. Robin dove out after her, pushing her away from their opponent and under a table.
“Yes on the Red! NO on the tornado!” Robin screamed. They dodged another attack, which shattered the table and sent it across the library in pieces. They ran to the door and were cut off by another clone, the same fire-wielding robot who almost blew up their boiler room just a few minutes prior.
“Who – What are they?!” Artemis screamed as she followed Robin on top of the bookcases. They jumped across the stacks and dove behind the falling cases. Robin found the passageway, and the two snuck out without a sound.
They kept running, traveling down the secret passageway and through another tunnel. “Did you know Tornado had siblings?!” Artemis screeched, her voice bouncing off the walls as the two pressed on.
Robin was monotone, still confused, and caught off guard by this entire ordeal. “No,” he muttered.
Suddenly, Artemis grabbed Robin’s arm, yanking him to a stop.
“So now what?! Red Tornado is one of the powerhouses of the League! How are we supposed to take down two of them?!”
“They do seem pretty user-unfriendly,” muttered Robin with a slight smirk on his face. Artemis was enraged and frantic by Robin’s demeanor. “Don’t joke! They..”
“Attention Robin. Attention Artemis. You have exactly ten minutes to surrender, or the lives of your teammates will be extinguished.”
That shut them up. Robin and Artemis looked at each other, worry and concern etched on their masked faces.
Robin felt a tightness in his chest. Wally. He was somewhat relieved to know his boyfriend and teammates were alive, but a new anxiety bloomed in his chest. God, I hope he’s still ok.
Robin heard the timer ticking down to eight minutes. Pull yourself together, Dick. Panicking will not help Wally. Remember what Batman taught you. Stay calm and figure it out.
“We can access the hanger from here.” Then, another massive title wave came around the corner, blocking their path to the hangar. Artemis gasped.
“Or… not.” Robin quipped.
“WILL you stop saying that?!” screamed Artemis, bolting away from the rush of water.
The two screamed as the water swept them violently through the hallway. They were tossed around carelessly and Artemis’ quiver was ransacked by the water. Robin felt a strong tug against his neck and gasped. He ripped off his cape, letting it get swept away with the tide, and pulled a breathing piece from his utility belt. He gasped into the device and looked around for Artemis. He swam over to her, grabbed her arms, and quickly gave her some air.
Suddenly, the tornado clone grabbed Artemis by the ankle, ripping her away from Robin and losing the breathing device to the current. The water muffled her screams, but Robin could still hear her. He grabbed one of the Artemis’ lost arrows, swam over, and shoved it deep into the robot’s eye socket. He kicked him back and grabbed Artemis by the waist, pulling out a grappling hook and shooting it off to the far end of the hallway. They were dragged through the tunnel and swam to the exit. Robin left a long line of explosive disks in their wake, which blew the robot back fifty yards in the opposite direction.
They managed to swim to the main area of the cave and burst through the water, loudly gasping for air and fighting off the impending dizziness. Robin looked around and found Conner and Wally cemented right above the waterline.
“LOOK OUT” screamed Connor as a burst of fire was launched at the two struggling heroes.
They dove back under the water, protecting themselves from the fire raining above the surface. Robin pulled Artemis along with him, yearning to get closer to Wally and Connor. They resurfaced with another booming gasp.
Robin looked towards the boys, asking in a shaky voice, “Are you guys ok?” He locked eyes with his boyfriend. They could see the worry for each other’s safety evident on both of their faces.
“Forget us! Help M’gann!” Connor yelled, anger laced in every syllable.
“Aqualad! Is she…?” Artemis screamed. Robin’s eyes shot up to the raised platform. They couldn’t see their other two teammates but heard the strained voice of Aqualad’s reply.
“She is… unconscious. I fear she… we… cannot survive much longer.”
Then, another attack came at the two mobile heroes. They dove back under the surface and headed towards the stairs, looking to free M’gann and Aqualad first. Once they reached the long staircase, the damaged water robot emerged behind them. Looking up, they found their other path blocked by its fire counterpart. They fell into each other, back-to-back, ready to continue their fight.
“I’m almost out of arrows,” said Artemis with a gritted voice.
“Distract her, NOW!” yelled Robin, going after the other robot with his disks. They cut through the air and bounced off its metal armor with ease, sending one of the two disks next to the right side of his boyfriend’s head. Wally just managed to dodge the disk, letting out a low “woah” at the close call.
Wally watched as Artemis and Robin were attacked, yet again. He gritted his teeth and unconsciously held his breath as they dove back into the water and away from the chaotic cave entrance.
A minute passed. They never resurfaced, and Wally immediately thought the worst.
Then, thankfully, he heard the disk click on next to his ear. Desperate sounds of struggling breaths and wet coughs could be heard from the tiny speaker to his right. Oh thank god, he thought, they’re ok.
He listened closely as Robin and Artemis yelled back and forth.
“What do we do now?”
“We save them; that’s how it works.”
“Maybe that’s how it’s supposed to work, but those robots already took out our four superpowered friends.”
“You seem distraught.”
“DISTRAUGHT?! M’gann is DYING, we have NO powers, and I’m down to my last arrow! OF COURSE I’M DISTRAUGHT!”
“Well get -traught, or get dead!” Robin gritted.
“How can you be so calm?”
“Practice. I’ve been doing this since I was nine.”
Wally smiled. He knew Robin better than anyone. He’s calm. We’ll be ok, he thought to himself. Artemis was still new; she didn’t understand how well Robin worked under pressure.
“What good is that now? What chance do we have against unrelenting machines?!”
“UGH, DUH! They’re Machines! And one electromagnetic pulse will shut down any machine within range.”
“Great, except you better have an EMP emitter in your utility belt because I know I don’t have one in my quiver!”
“I’m fresh out, but I’m betting we can make one. What do you say, KF? Doable?”
Wally smiled briefly. “Totally doable, you know, if you had more time…” Worry was laced in his voice as the robots called out a five-minute warning to the cave.
Wally talked his boyfriend through the science of constructing a quick EMP emitter, making a game plan of getting it hooked back up in the central cave. Meanwhile, M’gann and Aqualad had fallen dangerously silent.
He was waiting for Robin and Artemis to make their way to the generator when he heard his boyfriend’s voice whispering to him from the disk, “Ok, love, make with the distraction.”
That was their cue to start screaming and yelling like total cocky teenagers. How Wally and Connor came up with those taunts, he couldn’t say, but it seemed to be working to some extent. The tornado clones were looking directly at them.
Through the com, he could hear Robin muttering to himself, getting the emitter locked in place and looking for a connecting circuit when…
“ROBIN LOOK OUT!” screamed Artemis.
Wally gasped, craning his neck back to see what was happening behind them. He heard Robin scream and watched helplessly as he was swept up in a massive title wave. Artemis shot at the robots, screaming at the fireball that blasted her off balance. Then, she just disappeared.
“NO!” screamed Wally, struggling and vibrating under the water.
Robin’s body was bent backward and floating lifelessly in the water. His mouth was open and his eyes had rolled back. No! They’re killing him.
“NO! STOP! ” Walley kept screaming, but nothing was working. Artemis was gone and he and Connor were cemented to the floor. The other two were slowly dying and his boyfriend wasn’t even breathing. Thick tears prickled in his eyes as he watched the robots slap Robin’s lifeless body against the floor next to Kaldur and M’gann’s cage.
Silence filled the cave. He and Connor had their eyes locked on the platform. M’gann, Robin, were they even alive? Oh my god, we might die too. Wally’s heart sank into his stomach as the water level rose to his cheeks.
Then, Artemis’ voice echoed throughout the cave once more. “I surrender. Stop the clock.”
Wally gasped as the water finally rose above his head. Here we go.
The world above him disappeared as he held his breath under the current. Then, a bang, followed by a spark. His ears and eyes were submerged, but he felt the cement quake against his chest. Finally, miraculously, the water level dropped, and he could breathe again.
They blinked away the water and looked up at their teammates. The robots were on the ground, the fire had disappeared, and the water was draining out of the cave. Connor screamed up at the platform. “Kaldur! How’s M’gann?!”
His voice shook. “She breathes. I believe she will recover.”
Wally yelled too, “Is Robin ok? Artemis, is he breathing?”
Nothing, then, “He – He’s breathing too.” Oh thank God, they all survived.
. . .
They were alive. They were ok. They won. The team made their way down to him and Connor.
Robin was wobbly; Wally could tell. He was putting on a brave face for the other four members.
“Figured my only shot was to surrender, pretend to drown before I actually did… blacked out though,” he added. Wally caught his eye, and the two exhaled together quietly.
A few minutes passed, and Wally was itching to get free and hold onto his boyfriend. Artemis found one of the team’s laser drills needed to get him and Connor out of their cemented prisons. Wally was growing impatient.
“Will you quit playing with that thing and cut us free already?” He snapped.
“It’s not working, genius! EMP shuts down all machines, remember?!”
Then, the real Red Tornado entered the cave. “All machines present at the time. What has occurred?”
Robin spoke up. “Had a little visit from… your family.”
“Your extremely nasty family,” added Artemis, anger laced in every word.
“I was not aware I had relations,” he spoke, as monotone as ever. Red Tornado walked over to the two lifeless robots and elaborated on his whereabouts. He was stoic and unemotional, speaking in facts and offering up no comfort to the shaken teenagers.
Then, everything suddenly came back to life – Sphere, the laser drill, and…
Robin and Wally gasped.
“The pulse has worn off!” they shouted in unison, turning sharply to face the three red robots. Red Tornado sprung up at record speed and launched into the air. His arms became giant whirlpools of air, sucking every drop of oxygen out of the cave.
Wally gasped loudly as he struggled to take a breath. Robin gasped and rocked back and forth on his heels. The two locked eyes and Robin fell to his knees, tears forming behind his mask. The last thing Wally saw was his nearly drowned boyfriend collapsing to the floor, face first. Then, he lost consciousness.
. . .
Wally gasped loudly as he was pulled out from the darkness. Bright sparks dotted his vision. He rolled his head back and forth, blinking slowly as his sight slowly began to return. When he opened his eyes once again, a concerned Flash was standing about a foot in front of his face.
“Uhhhh,” he groaned out, a throbbing pain drumming at the front of his skull. “Am I dreaming?”
Barry gave a worried smile back to his nephew, “No, kid, you’re ok. You passed out. Can you remember what happened to you guys?”
Wally felt a wave of confusion. Then, sudden stark clarity. “ROBIN, THE TEAM!” He yelled, thrusting himself forward against the entrapment of cement.
Barry shushed him with a hand to his barely exposed chest. “Hey, hey, no. You’re ok. We’re here with everyone. We’re checking on everyone right now, ok?”
Wally suddenly became aware of all the league members gathered in their cave. He looked around his uncle and saw Robin lying on the ground. Next to him was a kneeling, concerned Dark Knight. He cradled Robin’s head in his left hand while his right hand grabbed a stick out of his utility belt. He crushed it in his fist and wafted it under Robin’s nose. Robin twitched, then gasped loudly, shooting up straight in a wave of panic. He swung his arm and nearly punched Batman in the jaw. Under the mask, Bruce dodged Robin’s weak swing, grabbed his arm, and held him closer to his lap.
“Robin, stop. It’s me. You’re ok.” He whispered in a hushed voice. Wally nearly smiled, noting that this was about as soothing as he’d ever seen the Bat.
Robin’s eyes widened and gasped again, realization rushing across his face. Then, he closed his eyes and slumped back into Batman’s arms. He started to take loud, laboring breaths, like he’s finished running a marathon. Wally would have thought it was the beginning of a panic attack had Batman not laid his palm against Robin’s chest, calming the young acrobat.
Wally took his own sigh of relief, noting that Connor was already awake and alert and M’Gann had just opened her eyes. Kaldur was stretching out under Aquaman’s watchful gaze, and Superman was shaking a still-unconscious Artemis. Flash had already retrieved the laser and began chipping away at his tight cage.
Superman lifted Artemis from the ground, noting that she was ok to the rest of the group.
“What happened here?” he asked, his voice booming with authority.
Artemis spoke with venom in her words, “What happened?! The Reds happened! Red Tornado and his… wait! Where are they?”
Robin was now standing, looking grim and wobbly. “Gone. All three of them.” He was angry; Wally could sense it from just a few feet away.
Gone.
. . .
Batman had Robin under his cape, keeping a solid arm over his shoulders. On the outside, Robin looked determined, steadfast, and angry. Which he was, to some extent. On the inside, however, he was reeling from their fight and shaking on his feet. Batman seemed to know Robin better than he knew himself and sought to take him back to Wayne Manor as soon as they could.
Superman, Green Arrow, and Black Canary were huddled together as the other Justice League members cared for their young partners. Batman squeezed Robin’s shoulder.
“I need to talk to the team about tracking down Tornado. Then we’ll head back to the Batcave. I want to check your lungs before you rest.” He looked down at Robin, fatherly determination seeping into his gaze. Robin took a small step back and gave him a watery smile in response.
“Ahhh…HA!” yelled Wally, ungracefully falling out of the cement and to the cave floor. He vibrated and shook himself loose in a flurry of blurred yellow and red. He steadied himself and breathed a long sigh of relief at his newfound freedom. The Flash gave him a wide grin, which Wally returned two-fold.
Flash wandered over to the JLA huddle, and Wally looked around again at his recovering teammates, his eyes falling on Robin at last. He zoomed over to his boyfriend’s side and wrapped his arm around his small waist.
“Are you ok?” asked Wally, finally getting a chance to check on Robin himself.
Robin nodded silently, but his body gave him away. He started to shake more visibly, his legs barely holding him up as his arms hung low at his sides. He wasn’t sure if it was from nearly drowning, passing out from Red Tornado’s attack, or just exhaustion from the long fight. Either way, the adrenalin wore off, and his body was finally processing the attack.
He leaned into Wally’s side and let out a puff of air. “I’m whelmed,” he muttered, a teasing tone evident at the back of his voice. Wally chuckled and squeezed his hip.
“I’m proud of you. You saved all of our lives.”
Robin faintly blushed at the praise. “Well… it was a group effort.”
“Yeah, but we wouldn’t have gotten anywhere without you. So, thank you.”
Wally’s voice was warm and mellow. He rested his lips on Robin’s head, placing a kiss on his temple. “I’m glad you’re ok,” he mumbled into his damp black hair. Robin sunk further into Wally’s side and closed his eyes.
“Me too… me too.”