How to Lose a Bird

Chapter 12

    This may or may not be the last chapter to this book, and then I'll move on to a sequel. I just don't want this to become too long so new readers can enjoy it too, without spending a lot of time catching up. I still have to decide, but I thought I would give all of you a heads up!

Enjoy the chapter!

    The darkness started to pull away from him, and Robin tried feebly to grasp at the retreating shadows. They felt so nice and warm, unlike the blinking white light he was being forcibly dragged towards.
    With a groan the bird came back to consciousness, but kept his eyes screwed shut. Whatever that light was, it was still there, seemingly right in front of his face, and he did not feel like giving his headache even more fuel.
    Robin tried moving his arms but as met with tight resistance. His legs were the same, and in the back of his mind the ebony noted that they were metal cuffs, and that his hands were kept to his side. So, he was most likely on some type of table.
    The teen also noticed that both his gloves and boots were gone, along with his cape and utility belt.
    "Robin, I believe it is time to acknowledge your surroundings, don't you? It has been little over five hours since you we're brought in." a male, grainy voice asked from a speaker located somewhere in the room.
    Despite his gut telling him it was a bad idea, he managed to pry his eyes open. Robin let out an inner sigh of relief at feeling the familiar fabric around his eyes. At least his identity was safe. Now, it was time to do what the disembodied voice asked him to do.
'Because everyone listens to them, right?' he asked himself dryly.
     Never-the-less, he looked around himself and found that his guess had been right. He was strapped to a table, a metal one, and the cuffs around his scrawny wrists and ankles left no room to move. There was also an additional leather strap around his too that he failed to notice.
    The room he was in was pure white, with medical equipment surrounding him. It looked eerily simmiliar to a hospital room, and if it wasn't for the one-way glass that was in front of him, he might have actually believed that it was. Then, as he looked more closely, his eyes narrowed when Robin caught sight of a tool tray about a meter to his right, full of medical instruments crusted with dried blood.
    "So, what do you think of your room?" the man spoke with an odd sense of glee evident in his tone, making Robin slightly shiver.
    "It's a bit plain, if you want my honest opinion." the bird mumbled, but it was still caught by the man on the other side of the glass. He gave a deep chuckle that suddenly turned into high pitch laughter.
    "Oh, I know it is. But don't worry, you won't be able to see it much longer." with that sense of foreboding, Robin steeled himself and went into what he called 'Bat-detective' mode. No play, all business.
    "Do I get the pleasure of knowing who kidnapped me?" he didn't hear a reply right away, and he could tell the man was contemplating on what to call himself.
    "You will know me as simple The Doctor, for now." the ebony briefly thought that it was quite the generic name, but didn't really want to poke the man. He was, after all, strapped to a metal table, and so far he couldn't find any escape routes.
"Alright, Doc, what's the plan? I would like to know what brought me here, and if I need to get my will ready." The Doctor once again chuckled, but this felt more genuine, as if he actually thought Robin's snark was comedic.
The teen cringed, as even that laugh was laced with some traces of indescribable glee for whatever was in store.
"Don't worry about that, but you did bring up a good point. We should get started at once." The man was now all serious, and a door that Robin hadn't noticed opened to his left.
Two nurses walked in, a male and female, both looking to be in their mid-forties. They wore the same maroon scrubs, and looked to be twins. The had matching scars over their right eyes, and based on their expressions, had never smiled a day in their lives.
They moved robotically, setting up the machines around him until there was a gentle buzzing from all that surrounded the bird.
Robin's heartbeat increased as the lady picked up small, suction-like pads and moved towards his face. He lurched as far away as he could with a snarl, but could barely move his head. She placed one on each of his temples, then one directly in the middle of his forehead.
Whatever she used to make sure they stayed on stung his skin and bit into it with a chill.
The man approached next, grabbing his elbow harshly and pinning it onto the table. Robin let out a small grunt as an IV needle was stuck into his right arm, but didn't further acknowledge it as the women proceeded to pin his left elbow down, inserting another needle.
This one was connected to the same stand the IV drip was on, but this bag was filled with a green liquid. The look made Robins stomach turn just a bit, but he managed to glare at the black window in front of him.
"Hey, what's the big idea? What's that green stuff you got flowing into my arm? If it's Joker Venom I'm gonna be mad!" he exclaimed, his eyes going wide as the man came at him with scissors.
The Doctor gave no reply, and the ebony squirmed, trying to get away from the sharp point that was now digging into his skin just below the neck. The woman proceeded to hold down his head by pressing her icy hands against Robin's forehead, and he could feel his tunic being cut down the middle, being pried open to expose his chest. Chills raced down his spine from the sudden cold, and he saw the hairs on his arms rise with goosebumps.
As soon as the man stopped he felt another cold pad being pressed against his side and over his heart, with a steady beat following their placement from the monitor on his left.
The woman continued to hold his head down as she reached below the table, and Robin heard a small click before a piece of leather was draped across his neck. Before he could begin to struggles the strap was secure and he could now barely move his head.
    Now they both moved back and out of his sight, leaving Robin in anxious waiting for their next actions.
    He knew he wasn't supposed to be this scared. After all, he jumped off buildings and fought psychopaths on a regular basis. But despite this, he could feel his hands trembling. At first Robin blamed it on the cold steel he was lying on, but after his body had gotten used to the cold, he had to admit his terror.
    The thing that bothered him most was he didn't know why he was so petrified. Robin had been kidnapped plenty of times, both in civvies and in uniform. It was nothing new.
    This time, however, it was almost as his mind had a sixth sense. It was screaming at him to get out, fight, make sure you get back home to Bruce and Alfred tonight. The last thought made him falter in his breath, as the proposition of possibly not making it home hadn't come to mind.
    Of course, in situations similar to this, Batman would unfathomably come to his rescue, beating the crap out of his captors before sternly reprimanding him for his foolishness to cover his underlying worry.
    That, however, was much less likely to happen now. He had snuck out, and made sure no one would notice his absence until morning.
    The dread that this fact brought filled Robin from head to toe.
    No one was coming for him. He was all alone, and unless something miraculous happened, and soon, he would be at this man's mercy.
    Metal squealed against the floor, and the bird was dimly aware of a strange, blinking, helmet-like device being positioned right above his head. It glowed a faint blue color, and the technology inside of it buzzed in his ears.
    "Uh, what's with the sci-fi helmet?" Robin asked, but his question didn't distract him enough from the rising fear of the answer.
    "It's used to help you cross Over, and it also keeps an eye on your brain function and your brain cells, to make sure the procedure goes smoothly." Robin mulled over this for a moment, before he felt hands on his head again, maneuvering around the device. Then another click sounded, and a strap was now on the very top of his head, where pale skin met ebony locks.
    "You have done whatever this is before, right? This isn't, like, just a random experiment you wanted to try out? For fun?" the attempt to hide how terrified he really was failed, his voice not coming out as strong as he hoped, as well as the beeping from beside him steadily increasing.
    "Of course I've prepared for this!" the Doctor yelled, his offended tone clear. "I've spent countless hours trying to find the right test subject, and the right equipment! Do you think it was easy finding men who would be willing to steal from S.T.A.R Labs and puck up random boys off the street? No!" he took a deep breath, trying to compose himself. "And, yes, that lunatic was before you, and somehow he was able to go Over. But I wanted a sane mind, and it just so happens you were the perfect candidate." the way he spoke that last sentence, sent warnings throughout his whole body.
    "And how exactly did you figure all that out? You don't even know who I am." at least, Robin hoped he didn't. It would have been all too easy to remove his mask when he was out cold.
    "I watched you. Your movements, your actions, your speech. Everything. It may not seem like much to go off of, but it told me everything."
    Robin was freaking out now. Internally, at least. He refused to show that kind of weakness in front of these sick people.
    "So, what now? Am I just supposed to lay here and see what happens?" he noted that the 'nurses' had left the room some time during the Doctors rant, leaving him alone.
    Suddenly, the lights dimmed, and the brightest light source became the blue lights encircling his head. The heart monitor started to speed up, and Robin felt sweat gathering on his forehead.
    "Now, little bird, you are going to be the first sane person to cross Over. You're going to be part of something revolutionary, just you wait." the Doctor said it in such a breathy manner, like he had been waiting his whole life for this. But what he murmured next made Robins blood go cold.
    "Let's just hope 'Mr. J' doesn't kill you before we can bring you back."
    Robin opened his mouth to question that statement further, but was cut off as a searing pain radiated from the base of his skull. He instantly clenched his eyes shut and his mouth snapped close, trying to deal with the fire that was slowly spreading over the whole of his head. 
    His body was becoming numb, and through the pain Robin noted with dread that he could no longer move his fingers. 
    The fire was slowly increasing, and it felt as though the flames of pain that were previously licking at his head were now engulfing it. Robin was trying his hardest not to cry out, which he assumed would only amuse and please the Doctor. 
    This time, instead of increasing, the level of pain was stunted. The birds breathing was becoming more erratic, with a cold sweat breaking out across his body.
    Then, with a loud popping sound, the pain flared to immesurable levels.
    Robin knows he screamed, he could feel his throat getting raw, but all he could focus on was his head. His body unconsciously started thrashing, trying to escape, but it was no use. The only thing that accomplished was making his wrist and ankles bleed.
    Finally, after it felt as though his head was going to explode, his vision was enveloped by a bright blue screen.
    All things around him seemed to disappear as he was cast into the oceanic void, the pain slowly ebbing away, being replaced with a different sound. Something shrill, that didn't sound quite right...

Laughter.

   Yep! That's that! Bet you've figured it out by now, huh? Or, at least, figured part of it out, as I still have to have some questions left, don't I? Hope you enjoyed, and comment on what you think is going on, I want to know who's closest!

~BluePinetree