Cutscene: Robin II

– o – o – o – o – o – o – o –

Robin sat on the edge of an empty bed in the infirmary, his feet dangling just above the floor. The room was sleek and high-tech, all clean lines and minimalist design in shades of white and gray.

Very sterile but functional, as expected.

His eyes were fixed on Superboy's still form, the clone surrounded by large rectangular lamps that radiated a bright glow that looked almost identical to sunlight. The warmth of it should have been comforting, but it just reminded Robin of the explosion that had put Conner in this bed.

That final explosion… it should have been worse, Robin knew that now. With the tension down and the fight over, it was as clear as the nose on his face. We might not have made it out of that. Just the radiant heat Heatstroke was putting out was enough to cook the ground like a furnace for meters around.

My fault. Robin had been well aware that their powers seem to cancel each other out and it was his bright idea to get Zeke to go for the knockout on Coldsnap first, while Supey and Wondy fought his girlfriend.

I didn't think ahead. Heatstroke was in juvie for attacking people due to emotional instability and her boyfriend had always been the one to appease her and that had obviously played into the way their powers worked. Absorbs heat to produce extreme cold.

Bryce was literally Attigan's heat sink. That should have been obvious.

With him down, she was a walking nuke.

And she showed that.

With her down first, they might all have frozen to death, as Coldsnap went absolute zero without the ambient heat from her flames keeping that in control.

A codependent relationship, one of their juvenile detention files mentioned that. It clearly manifested in their powers and they hadn't taken that into account.

He should have known that, he didn't need the warnings on his wrist computer to tell him how bad it was. The confirmation certainly didn't help. Zeke and Wally might have figured it out first, Wally probably having a lot of experience with fire due to Heatwave, but Superboy…

Superboy had realized that someone needed to absorb the brunt of it.

Robin looked down. He saved all of our lives.

Footsteps approached from behind, so faint they might as well have been a whisper.

Robin didn't flinch.

He didn't turn around either.

He didn't need to.

"Hey, B," he said, a smirk playing on his lips.

Batman's steps were special. Very special. It was like his mentor couldn't help but move stealthily in costume, an instinct as natural as breathing. Bruce Wayne could lumber and drag his feet, but Batman?

He could teach ninjas a thing or two.

And that wasn't even a joke.

Even when he was trying to be obvious in costume, it was almost like he couldn't manage it. Robin knew that wasn't quite right but it was the only explanation that seemed to make sense to him. The Dark Knight was so good that footsteps a normal person might brush off as their imagination were pretty much Batman's way of saying "knock knock." Bat-doorbell, patent pending, Robin thought, almost amused.

"How is he?" Bruce's low voice filled the room, a gravelly rumble that matched the cave they were in.

Robin's smirk faded as he turned his attention back to Superboy. "Third and second-degree burns to seventy-five percent of his body," he reported, his voice tight. Saying that about his teammate hurt. It didn't matter that Superboy was Superboy. He knew that if the clone was conscious right now, he'd be screaming his head off. Even with all the nerve damage, he had to feel the rest of it.

Batman moved to stand beside him, a looming presence of kevlar and cape. "Meaning?"

"Meaning he's stable," Robin clarified, running a hand through his hair. "The solar lamps are helping, but it's slow going." Slow is better than nothing at all, though.

A moment of silence stretched between them, filled only by the soft hum of equipment.

"Any complications?" Batman asked, his tone neutral but probing.

Robin's fingers twitched, itching to pull up his holo-computer. Focus, Grayson. "Nothing major," he said, ticking off points on his fingers. "Some minor cellular degradation, but that's reversing. His core temperature's still elevated, but dropping steadily. Oh, and he mumbled something about 'evil suns' earlier. Pretty sure that was just the fever talking, though."

Batman nodded once, processing the information. "And your team?"

Robin sighed, his shoulders slumping slightly. He knew this game well - Batman already had all the info, but making Robin recite it kept his mind focused on facts instead of spiraling into what-ifs. Classic Bat-psychology. I get it, I get it.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"Mostly fine," he said, ticking off points on his fingers. "Miss Martian's taking it hard... as expected. It'd be bad enough if she was only still shaken from the initial fire blast. Zeke's… Zeke." He paused, considering. "Actually, I think he might be in shock. Hard to tell with that kid."

"Hm."

Robin nodded. "Artemis and Kid Flash are unharmed, just tired. And Kaldur's thawed out but has a nasty case of freezer burn. On top of that, he's really beating himself up, but for a lot of dumb reasons."

"Hm?" Batman's inflection was subtle, but Robin caught it immediately. Tell me more in Bat-speak.

"He just… he pretty much feels like a bad leader," Robin explained, his voice tinged with frustration. "According to him, he thinks he was ineffective for getting taken out so early. His exact words were 'a hindrance to the team and a detriment to the mission.' Pretty harsh self-review, if you ask me."

Batman's cowl shifted slightly - the Bat-equivalent of a raised eyebrow. "I'll speak with him soon."

"You do that," Robin replied, trying not to sound too relieved. Kaldur could use a pep talk from the big man. Honestly, a pep talk from Batman could either be the best or worst pep talk that you could ever get in your life.

No in between.

"And you?"

The question caught Robin off guard. He glanced up at Batman, searching for any hint of emotion behind that cowl. "I'm... traught," he said, forcing a grin. "You know me, B. Always ready for the next mission."

Batman's silence spoke volumes.

Robin's grin faltered. "Okay, maybe not totally traught," he admitted, his voice dropping. "We messed up, didn't we? We should have been more prepared, should have-"

"You did well," Batman interrupted, his voice firm but not unkind.

Robin blinked, surprised. "We did?"

Batman nodded once. "You faced a dangerous situation, without a proper briefing, and you adapted. No civilians were harmed. The targets were apprehended."

"Yeah, but Superboy-"

"Will recover," Batman finished. "And learn from this experience. As will you all."

A moment of silence stretched between them, filled only by the soft hum of medical equipment. Robin's eyes drifted back to the solar lamps surrounding Superboy. "At least these things are doing their job," he commented, tapping his foot against the hospital bed he sat on.

"They're effective," Batman agreed, his tone neutral.

Robin nodded. "STAR Labs does good work."

"I'd hope so, considering their budget," Batman replied, a hint of dry humor in his voice.

Robin smirked, but it faded quickly as another thought struck him. He hesitated, then decided to just go for it. "So, are we gonna be getting a visit from Superman soon?" he asked pointedly, not looking back at Batman.

The silence that followed was heavy, charged with unspoken tension. Finally, Batman spoke, his voice carefully controlled. "He is... busy."

Robin couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Come on, B," he frowned, turning to face his mentor. "We both know you can lie better than that." Superman's distance from Superboy was obvious to even the blind, the Man of Steel still hesitant to share more than a sentence with his clone, if that.

"Hn." The non-committal grunt spoke volumes. Batman could lie better - he just didn't feel the need to. At least not to me, Robin thought, a mix of pride and frustration swirling in his chest.

"Have you talked to him?" Robin pressed, unable to let it go.

Batman's jaw tightened almost imperceptibly. "It's... complicated."

"Isn't it always?" Robin muttered, then sighed. "Sorry, I know it's not your fault. It's just... Conner deserves better, you know?"

"I know," Batman replied, his voice softening slightly. "I'm working on it."

Robin nodded, knowing that was as much as he'd get for now.

Shaking his head, Robin turned back to Superboy. "At the rate he's healing, he'll be awake in a day tops. Possibly good as new in a week."

"Good," Batman replied, a hint of approval in his tone.

Robin's lips quirked into a half-smile. "I said possibly."

"You're not very optimistic sometimes," Batman observed, the barest hint of amusement in his voice.

"Pot, meet kettle," Robin shot back, his grin widening.

"Hn." The sound was different this time - softer, almost fond. Robin wasn't sure how, but he could always tell when Batman was smiling, even with the cowl. It was in the way he breathed, the slight shift in his posture.

After a moment, Batman spoke again, his tone deceptively casual. "How's your new teammate settling in?"

Robin's grin turned mischievous as he spun to face Batman fully. "Oh her? She loves it here," he replied, barely containing his amusement. "Wally's been giving her the grand tour."