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The dart is so small that as it whizzes through the air, none of them even hear it. They do hear Tim stop laughing at Beastboy's joke too quickly and Cassie watches as he physically stumbles- which Tim does not stumble.
"Red," Cassie asks immediately reaching for him, "What's wrong?"
By the time Conner and Bart turn to where they're standing, Tim has already taken a knee, one hand reaching for his neck, while the other is grabbing something out of his belt.
"Poison," Tim snaps, producing the dart and glaring at it, even as he's pulling out what Cassie guesses is the antidote.
"I see them," Bart says before Conner seems to even catch up with the situation.
They'd just won, all high on a quick victory, and ready to celebrate. And now, it seemed like maybe that should have been a tip off.
"Bart, no," Tim tells him, "Don't bother. They're just a messenger." He's already injecting the antidote, directly into his arm, and then seamlessly pulling out his phone.
"They poisoned you," Cassie insists, her face hardening before turning to Bart, kneeling next to the other man at the same time. "Go." Bart nods and then he's gone.
"Mr. Wayne's desk," a female voice answers before the phone on Tim's shoulder has rung twice.
"Dana," Tim says into the phone, measuring his blood pressure with his other hand at the same time, "It's Tim." Kon and Cassie pin him with a look when he uses his first name.
"Oh," Cassie hears 'Dana' reply, obviously surprised.
"I know he's in a meeting, but it's an emergency."
"Should I get him," Dana asks.
Tim pauses, looking up at Cassie, who's still looking at him too closely. Kon can hear that his pulse is rising still. "Yeah, pull him out," Tim sighs, "Tell him his mother's in town- should do the trick."
"Not sure how that's an emergency, but I'm on my way," she answers, tone firm, "We'll be in touch, I assume."
"Thanks," Tim tells Dana, whoever she is, before hanging up and looking at Cassie and Kon both in turn. "A little help," he asks, "My legs feel like jell-o."
When they get him back to the med lab, Batgirl meets them, she looks worried, but quickly helps Tim unhook his gear and sets up the heart monitor like she's done it a million times. Two months ago, she looked terrified of the leds they had hooked for Jason for weeks and Cassie hasn't seen her touch them since.
M'gaan enters the room only a few moments later. "What happened," she asks, looking at where Batgirl is pulling out the tools for a blood draw.
“League’s here,” Tim answers her simply.
Batgirl, oddly, sighs, “You said three months- its barely been three weeks.”
“Never underestimate a mother’s rage,” Tim laughs in way of an answer, and Cassie watches Batgirl’s eyes roll.
“Not reassuring,” she growls back and sticks the needle in his arm with more force than she probably needed to.
M’gaan is watching them both as closely as Cassie, but they’re both side-eyeing Conner, too.
In a way, Cassie feels sorry for him, still wondering why Tim hasn’t taken ten seconds to explain to any of them what’s going on between him and the newly retired Robin.
The intercom crackles before anyone can ask questions though, Victor’s voice reaching through, “We have an incoming request from Robin to enter the tower,” There’s a very obvious question hanging in his voice that quickly ricochets around the room. Even Batgirl turns to Tim with an expectant look.
“I thought he was staying in Gotham for a while,” she asks, and Cassie can feel all of them looking between them.
Tim answers Victor, “Grant it.” Then he looks at Batgirl with a shrug, “So did I.” Then he looks at Kon before anyone else. “Can you go greet him? Be nice; he’s new.”
Kon narrows his eyes but just turns and leaves the room.
Batgirl already has the bloodwork running by the time that Kon return with a younger man behind him, clad in a mostly black Robin’s suit made obvious by the large Green ‘R’ over his heart. Unlike other Robin’s before him, he has no cape but he is sporting new head gear, covers him entire head and for a moment reminding Cassie of Jason’s Red Hood helmet, only with sharply pointed bat ears standing up on either side of his head, reminiscing of Batman’s own cowl.
“Hey,” he says, voice surprisingly low, and he quickly throws another plunger similar to the one Tim had already used to inject the antidote, “BB says to double up, they’re on their way.”
“BB,” Tim laughs, but regardless administers the plunger himself.
“Blackbird’s a cute name, but his face is hilarious when Dana calls him BB,” He chuckles in a way that says he fully believes what he’s saying. Batgirl snorts, obviously imagining it. Cassie smirks despite herself, then notices Kon glaring at him sharply. Cassie rolls her eyes.
Tim sighs, “Children.”
“Mar’i thinks it’s cute too,” Robin adds, nodding, his thumbs lazily hooking in his utility belt.
Batgirl calls out his blood results and Tim sighs, before letting her pull it again, now that he has the second dose in his system. Less than ten minutes later, his legs are numb and Batgirl and Robin push him to lay back on the gurney. M’gaan sweeps around them easily, checking his pulse and then throwing a blanket over him to help the sudden crash in his blood pressure.
After twenty minutes, Cassie can’t stand it any more. “Connor,” she snaps, and Superboy, looking everything like a child turn on her, “Go help Victor in the control room- Red’s supposed to be with him.” Conner flinches back, offended, but Tim cuts him off before he can tell her off.
Tim laughs, “Would you mind, Kon?” And he’s smiling that same smile that makes Cassie feels scorned, but that whips the larger man like Tim has always been able to. Conner huffs but still leaves the room. Tim oddly enough, smiles at her.
"Thanks," he mouths at her, and Cassie rolls her eyes, not caring if Conner continues to listen.
“He was driving me nuts,” she answers. Tim laughs, Batgirl and M’gaan ignore them, while Robin looks between them, obviously confused.
They all hear it when the communicator in Robin's suit beeps and his hand lifts to his ear. Without explaining he begins citing off Tim's vitals into his coms. Cassie can only hear enough through the thick kevlar to know Robin is being given instructions.
"Dana says give him a steroid to keep his heart rate up," Robin sighs.
Cassie feels the questioning glare she pins him with not even needing to see her own face.
Robin doesn't acknowledge her but Batgirl instantly moves to prep the injection, administering it without pause. "Well, I'm not planning on going anywhere, babe," he continues, speaking into his coms still, "They're all looking at me like I'm a bug." He pauses, "No it's more like a fly, honestly. Annoying and unnecessary." Cassie feels his eyes roll, "My self-esteem is fine, babe. I'm just the new kid in gym class."
Cassie can't help it, she laughs at him.
"I'm not having this conversation now. You're worse than my mother." He pauses again. "My mother and Batman, for that matter... No, I'm not mad. Dana, seriously," he spins in spot and Cassie can see Batgirl’s shoulders shaking with her own laughter. "I love you, too," Robin sighs, like it’s a hardship to form the words. "Seriously, aren't you guys here yet?"
"You two physically repulse me," Blackbird announces, suddenly pushing into the room. The petite brunette behind him laughs, her shoulder shaking like she's been laughing for some time.
Robin suddenly startles and nearly sinks into himself. "Hate it when you do that," the younger man pouts.
But the small woman, clad in two inch heels and professional business attire, doesn't pay either of them two cents of attention. Her hands tucking her phone back into her purse before in nearly the same motion pulling her long hair into a tight bun on the top of her head. Her feet kick out of her shoes and her blazer slips off her arms all accumulating on one of the chairs in the corner, before she takes the stethoscope Batgirl hands her with a disarming but sharp smile.
Cassie's first impression of Dana is a woman who doesn't take no for an answer.
Tim watches the small woman with a smile in his eyes as she works him through a quick physical and then pinches his now exposed wrist to take his pulse. "Still tingling," she asks him quietly. Tim nods softly, but other than that says nothing. "Domino off," she orders him, "I need to see your eyes. Was the second draw any better?" Batgirl moves to hand her the complete blood profile while Damian moves forward unbidden to help Tim remove his domino, his hands shaking as they fall away.
"It was mostly a neurotoxin- respiratory took a dive up its climbing since the second injection and then the steroids," Batgirl tells her as Dana's dark eyes scan over the papers she's been handed.
Cassie watches her, and them, standing quietly next to M'gaan at the back of the room.
Damian as he moves away so that Dana can look into Tim's eyes, seeing whatever the obvious medical training she has can tell her without so much as a word- Damian who has always fought, who always demanded answers- but while Dana looks over Tim's blood work again, he stands silently next to his protege. Robin's thumbs tuck under his utility belt again as he follows Dana's every move closely- his head turning and eyes flitting after her. Batgirl moves without hesitation, setting up a quick IV when Dana instructs her too, giving Tim fluids and a small injection of an antinflamitory.
"Babe," Dana doesn't turn but Robin moves to her anyway, moving up next to the lab computer and putting in some credential and suddenly the tower's computer is linking to the Bat cave's own.
Cassie feels oddly enamored herself as the small brunette woman blows a quick kiss to the new Robin, plopping herself in front of the computer and typing rapidly.
"This toxin is new," Dana sing songs after a moment turning toward where Damian now stands next to Tim's prone form. Damian cross the room quickly, the lines of his new suit all black and grey, sharp lines and aggression. "I'm still not sure why your mother is an emergency, but at least I can tell you this toxin is designed to maim not kill."
In a show of obvious comfort, Damian takes hold of the rolling chair Dana sits on and literally rolls her out of his way to take up control of the computer. She even lets him, feet tucking under her legs and crossing her arms, watching him.
"Without the antitoxin we have it might have hurt him, but Talia would know you all keep at least a dose on your persons at all times," she cites, before quickly pointing an accusing finger at Robin, "If you go back out without on you, I will personally drag you back." Robin nods once before she turns back to Damian. "She was only getting your attention, Damian, I'm positive."
"That explains why his projection of three months was off," Batgirl adds from the other side of Tim's bed.
Damian looks between them, face and shoulders all still tense, and Cassie suddenly realized how scared he must have been. After a long moment, where he scrolls over the information on the screen at least two more times, he looks at Batgirl.
“Call Hood. Stay with him,” he instructs.
Batgirl nods, “Wasn’t planning on leaving.”
Damian tries to smile, but it too tight in the corners and on his face just looks forced. Damian moves up next to the side of Tim’s bed. “If she, or the league, are still in my city when I get out of this bed, I’m not asking nicely,” Tim tells him, his blue eyes foggy from whatever the IV is dripping for him.
Damian chuckles at him, and Cassie makes herself look away when he kisses him lightly on the forehead, whispering something that sounds heartbreaking in Arabic. Tim chuckles at whatever he’s been told, because as far as Cassie knows, they’re the only two in the room that speak the language. “I’ll be back soon,” Damian adds, not waiting this time for turning on his heels. “With me, gym-class reject,” he calls to Robin and the young man grumbles as he follows his successor out the door.
“I was always picked last, sue me,” Robin’s voice echoes down the hallway.
“He’s not exaggerating,” Dana informs the room at large, picking up another bag of fluids and adding it quickly to Tim’s drip.
“What’s that,” he asks with a sigh.
Dana smiles down at him, “Sleep time in a bag. When you wake up, you’ll be set to go.”
“Thank you, Dana,” he says and she smiles tenderly down at him this time, in a way that Cassie wonders how they didn’t know about her.
“Any time, bro,” she replies softly and Batgirl leans further back into the cabinet behind her.