Chapter Text
It started as a loud ringing in his ears, effectively waking him from his comatose-like sleep. His eyes squinted beneath his domino mask as he tried to understand where he was and what had happened. As his sense of awareness came back, a flash of pain struck across his right torso, and he grit his teeth to keep from crying out.
"He's awake," an unfamiliar voice said. Male, he automatically calculated, and it held a firm tone, but nowhere near as close as Batman's. His eyes opened fully, taking in his surroundings for the first time. A med-bay, but not one he knew.
There were three figures standing around him. Two males, one female. The one closest to him was a man with blond hair dressed in a costume themed like the American flag. Behind him stood a redheaded woman in a black Kevlar bodysuit. On the other side of his bed hunched a docile looking man with dark hair just beginning to gray, and he was dressed in a lab coat. Out of all them, he seemed the most normal, but he almost swore he saw the veins in his neck glow green.
Robin attempted to sit up, hissing as the movement brought on a fresh sting of pain. The patriot laid a hand on his shoulder and gently forced him back down.
"Don't worry, kid, you're safe with us."
The whites of his mask narrowed into slits, one hand subtly reaching for his belt under his sheet, only to realize it wasn't there. A quick glance showed him that it had been placed on a chair out of his immediate reach, as well as the rest of his uniform. His cheeks tinged red as he realized the only thing he was wearing was a patient's robe.
Man, I am so grounded, he thought. Batman was going to kill him for letting them take his gear, but knowing that they hadn't removed his mask eased him enough to stop planning his own funeral and focus on the situation at hand. He mentally snickered at the thought of one of the strangers getting a nasty shock for trying to take off his mask.
Robin was pulled out of his musing by the blond patriot meeting his shrouded gaze, "Hey, kid, you've got some nasty marks. You wanna tell us about them?"he asked with an almost concerned tone.
The boy wonder could only imagine. If they had seen what his chest and torso looked like beneath his tunic, then he could guess what their reactions had been. Some of the scars had been there since his first night fighting at Batman's side.
"No, not really," he quipped, "Thanks for patching me up though. I'll be on my way."
He fought to restrain a grimace as he attempted to sit up, but he was promptly, yet gently, pushed back down by the man in blue.
"Not so fast, son," he chided, making Robin's gaze darken unintentionally, "It'll take a little bit for you to recuperate. Why don't you tell us your name?"
"The name's Robin, and unless you want to talk to the Batman, I'd suggest you let me go," he ordered sharply. He didn't trust these people; he'd have to be careful getting out. But to his surprise, the only reaction he got from the three adults was a look of confusion.
"Who's Batman?" the woman asked, and the bird immediately fell into a state of cackling. He had to calm himself, however, when it began to make his side throb painfully.
"You're joking, right? Batman, the Dark Knight? Protector of Gotham? You'd have to live under a rock to not know who he is!"
"Never heard of him," she replied, arms crossed.
"Where's Gotham?" the quiet man in the lab coat asked. Robin's eyebrows furrowed at the question, the sluggish gears in his mind beginning to turn a little more quickly. Who's Batman? Where's Gotham? Where am I?
"Where am I, planet and city-wise?" he asked randomly. The adults shared confused looks for a brief moment.
"Earth. New York City. You're in the Avengers Tower med-bay."
"Avengers?" Robin queried. The redhead smirked.
"Now who's the one living under a rock?"
Robin fought the childish urge to blow a raspberry at her and instead settled for crossing his arms. The blond grinned.
"The Avengers are a group of heroes that protect Earth," he explained.
"So like the Justice League?" Robin asked, but judging by the blank stares he was getting, he realized they had no idea what he was talking about.
The woman lifted a hand to her ear and turned her attention to the other adults, "We have to go; Fury's here. Get some rest, kid. We'll talk again soon," she addressed him before strutting out of the room. The men gave him concerned glances and followed after her.
As soon as the door clicked shut, the boy wonder threw the heavy bedsheets off of him, and he slowly pulled himself up to a sitting position. After plucking the IVs out of his wrists, he shifted his legs to dangle over the side of the bed. As soon as he put back on his suit and gear, he was going to find a way out.
.....
Natasha, Steve, and Bruce entered the Avengers Tower living room/ meeting room, where the rest of the team, as well as Nick Fury, was waiting.
"Well?" the director asked. As usual, it was Steve who broke the silence.
"The kid's most recent injury was treated without a hitch, but he has more scars than anyone I've ever seen. He's been through a lot, but he won't tell us what happened."
"I had to step out," Bruce admitted sheepishly, which was understandable. No one needed the other guy to deal with their little "guest."
"Do we have a name on this kid?" Fury continued, pointedly ignoring their statements for the time being.
"He goes by Robin," Nat answered, "None of us asked for his civilian name, and I have a feeling he wouldn't have told us if we did. He was wearing a Kevlar suit when we found him, and it wouldn't surprise me if he knew a thing or two about fighting."
"Did you find out where he came from?"
"He's not from around here; that's for sure," Bruce replied, "He kept going on and on about bats, justice, and a place called Gotham, and judging by the fact he had no idea who the Avengers are, I have a suspicion he might not be from our world at all."
"That would explain the energy surge earlier this morning," Tony spoke up before casually popping a blueberry into his mouth. Director Fury frowned at that. Other planets really needed to stop using Earth as a drop off.
A siren rang out throughout the building, and red emergency lights flashed.
"Stark! What is going on?!" Fury demanded.
JARVIS was the one to answer, Sir, my system has been breached. The Tower is in immediate lockdown mode. All sensors have been deactivated.
"The kid," Nat breathed, and the team ran out to find him. Tony smirked when he scanned the breach through his phone.
"He forgot to hack the motion sensors. Come on, this way!" he called and took off towards the elevator that would lead them to the third floor.
......
The bird cackled as he crawled through the vent on the twelfth floor, "I hacked the motion sensors. This security is a joke."
His amusement was short lived, as he felt his side flair up painfully. Maybe he should have looked for some painkillers before escaping. Masked eyes looked down through the grate below him, revealing an empty bedroom. With everyone at least nine floors below him, he had enough time to take a quick break.
The metal grate fell with a resounding crash, and Robin more or less fell out of the vent, barely managing to land in a crouched position.
The room was surprisingly simple, only sparsely decorated with a bed, dresser, nightstand, closet, and two doors, one of which he assumed was a bathroom. The stale air led him to believe the room had most likely never been used.
"Which makes this the perfect place to lay low for a few minutes," he sighed and flopped down on to the bed. A few seconds later, and the bird was fast asleep.
Flashback...One day earlier
The Justice League had been called off-world for an unknown period of time. Because of this, the resident villains of Gotham decided to make the city their personal playground, leaving Robin to pick up the slack and send them back to Arkham. Like his mentor, he had no intentions of calling for help, but that didn't mean he wouldn't get it.
The rest of the Young Justice team had been left without a mission, and their youngest member's radio-silence was beginning to concern them. They all knew he said he would be staying in his home town till they got word from the League, but it didn't stop them from worrying about him. After all, besides Artemis, he was the only fully human member of the team.
Their most recent video call showed that the boy wonder was running on fumes and caffeine, another bad habit he had picked up from the Batman. His words were clipped, and he appeared torn between distracted and exhausted. The call only lasted a few minutes before an alarm went off in the Batcave, and Robin hastily ended their conversation.
So when Wally suggested they go help their friend out, the team packed their bags and set course to Gotham.
But it was safe to say that they were not prepared for this particular brand of crazy...
.......
Clint Barton stopped following Tony and his faulty tech around after they had searched the third floor for the umpteenth time. As the only Avenger with a wife and kids, he began to use his parental instincts as a way to track down the missing kid. From Nat's description, he sounded like he was in his early teens, if not younger. Mix that with the fact he was wicked smart but also injured, the boy would most likely be looking for a place to crash without being immediately spotted.
The archer nodded to himself and slipped away from the group, making his way up to the residential floor. He went from room to room looking for the boy, and almost decided to try the kitchen before he opened the door to the last dorm. Lying curled up with his back facing him was the kid everyone was so desperately looking for, seemingly dead to the world.
Clint stepped into the room and closed the door behind him before releasing a deep sigh. The kid needed his rest, but it would be better if he woke him rather than someone else. Stepping lightly over to the bed, he gently shook the boy's shoulder, producing a drowsy groan.
"A few more minutes, Bruce," the boy muttered.
"Sorry, kid, but you need to wake up for just a little bit. I promise you can sleep more tonight."
The mask opened into white slits, and the boy sat up and set a punch straight for Clint's face, giving him only a moment to dodge.
"Woah, easy! I'm not here to hurt you."
"Who are you?" the masked boy demanded with a glare sending an uneasy chill down the archer's spine.
"The name's Clint Barton, or Hawkeye. You're Robin, right? How about we head to the kitchen for a bite to eat, and maybe we can get all of this confusion settled," he offered gently.
Robin broke eye contact and rubbed his chin for a moment in deep thought before meeting his gaze once again, "Deal."
Thirty minutes later
When the adults came back after a failed search, they were surprised to find Clint and Robin sitting at the island, drinking water and munching on sandwiches. The black clad archer grinned up at them and gave them a quick wave, drawing the attention of the thirteen year old. He smiled at them.
"Hey, guys! Took you long enough," he cackled. Tony glared at the kid, who didn't seem the least bit affected by it. In fact, he only smirked back in reply.
"What? Your computer acting up or something?" he chuckled. Steve openly laughed.
"I like this kid."
"Yeah, yeah, he's a regular comedian," Tony shot back.
"Well, someone's not feeling the aster," Robin mumbled, the phrase reminding him that he wasn't with his team.
The room quieted down however, when a commanding presence strode to the front of the group and stood in front of the boy wonder. Robin looked up, setting down his now empty glass, and turned back to Clint.
"Who's the pirate trying to do the batglare?"
Stifled chuckles erupted throughout the room, making the "pirate's" glare darken.
"I am Director Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D." he stated gruffly, "And who are you?"
"The name's Robin."
"Your real name," Fury emphasized. The humorous air surrounding the bird dissipated instantly.
"None of your business," he snapped, crossing his arms, sending a much more threatening glare up to the man.
"Well, then, where are you from?"
"I already told your little buddies. I'm from Gotham City, but that doesn't seem to mean anything to people around here."
"We have a theory about that," Bruce spoke up, but Robin beat him to it.
"Dimension hopping? Yeah, I'm starting to get the same idea," he mused, momentarily forgetting their presence. He activated his hologlove and began searching a variety things they couldn't make sense of, between Gotham, Justice League, and Batman to Wayne industries. The holographic screen disappeared, and Robin sighed.
"This is so not whelming," he muttered, rubbing a gloved hand over his face, "Bats is gonna kill me."
While none of them knew what whelming meant, they understood that the boy was distressed.
"You said you guys were heroes, right?" the boy questioned but didn't wait to hear their answer, "I need your help."