Robins P.O.V
I groaned, lifting up my head slowly. As I began to clear my mind, I noticed that I was strapped to a table, in what looked like a laboratory. I winced when a flash of pain surfaced, making my head pound.
"How nice of you to rejoin the land of the living." I strained to see Lex Luthor standing next to a lab technician. "Congratulations on fooling us for so long. But once I realized that our supply was slowly diminishing, well, the answer was fairly obvious." My gut churned as I quickly realized what he was talking about. He gestured something out of my sight range, directing the one of the scientists to it. "The final confirmation was how you reacted when we mentioned the mission to eliminate Bruce Wayne. You went straight to a computer, trying to send out a distress signal." As his words registered, I realized just how foolish that was.
"At least they don't know the truth about me and Bruce." They hadn't ever taken the time to peek under my mask. Apparently Deathstroke wanted to find out himself; to challenge his skills. From what I heard around the base was that Lex hadn't agreed. There was even a huge argument about it. My thought process was interrupted by Lex.
"Luckily, thanks to Klarion and his powers, we have perfected the serum that you had previously been injected with." My eyes widened as he walked towards me with a syringe.
"No, no, no! Not again!" I tried to find some form of bravery, tried to stare Lex in the eyes as he came closer.
"Deja vu, eh, Lex?" I said, hoping my voice sounded more confident than it felt. He chuckled, placing the needle at my neck.
"Glad to see you've retained some of your wit. I am sad to say that I will miss that." I held my breath as he injected the serum.
"I'm sorry Bruce. I hope you get my message in time." I braced for the searing pain, but this time only darkness came.
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No ones P.O.V
At the Cave
The team sat around the television, flipping through channels. Canary watched as they sat there, lacking the usual lively chatter. She sighed, wishing that she could take their pain away. The heroine debated about what to do, eventually coming to a decision.
"Hey everyone," she said softly, walking over to them. "It's been two weeks since Batman put you on break. I think that's been long enough." They looked up at her, hopeful. "I know that past three months have been hard without Robin, trust me, everyone has been trying to handle some form of grief."
"Not everyone." Wally muttered.
"Batman grieves in his own way. I can assure you, he's the most affected by this than anyone else." Canary said firmly.
"Do you know when Zatanna is coming back?" Artemis asked her.
"She's hurting. Whenever she wishes to come back, she is welcome. But for now, Zatanna just needs a break from the hero life." Canary sighed, wishing she could say something to actually reassure the once energetic teens. "I'm headed to the Watchtower. When I get there, I'll talk to Batman about giving you a mission." She walked to the zeta tubes, taking one last glance at the team.
"Now that she's gone," Wally started. "We're not actually going to wait around for Batman to change his mind, are we?" Artemis grinned, happy to see a small bit of fire back in Wally's eyes.
"Of course not." Kaldur said.
"Where are we going to start?" M'gann cut in. "Just to be clear, we are going to find Sports-" Suddenly, Aqualad hushed them, pointing a finger up towards the ceiling. The team followed his gaze, noticing the camera. They nodded in understanding, and gave M'gann a pointed look.
"Link established." She stated.
"Good. Now, we can plan without the League finding out." Aqualad picked up a book, pretending to read. The rest of the team took his cue, continuing with what they had been doing earlier.
"The League will find out eventually, no matter what we do." Conner motioned around them. "They have bugs everywhere around here. And without.... without Robin to hack into them, we won't be able to erase any of the data."
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, we need to focus on Sportsmaster." Wally interjected.
"Listen, I'm all down for getting Sportsmaster, but how are we even going to find out where he is?" Raquel pointed out. Artemis smiled, already knowing where to start.
"Easy. Family ties."
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"Everyone ready?" Aqualad whispered. Murmurs of confirmation came through the mind link. "Artemis? Are you sure that this will work?" Artemis grimaced as she stood in the cold alleyway.
"I can never be sure with her. But she won't hurt me. That I am sure about." The young archer stood huddled in the cold winter air, when suddenly a voice came from the shadows.
"Hey, sis." Artemis sighed.
"Hi Jade." Cheshire stepped out of the shadows, revealing herself in normal civilian clothes. "Did you find what I needed?" Jade grinned, holding out a small device.
"Dad's location. Where he was, where he is, and where he's planning on going. All in this small thing." Artemis took it from her hand, examining it. "Is this about Robin? I assume it would have to be that important in order for your to reach out to me."
"It doesn't matter." Artemis said defensively.
"Oh, but it does. I give you information- which, by the way, wasn't easy to get,- the least you could do is tell me why the League wants it." She examined Artemis's expression, realization dawning on Jade. "The League doesn't know, do they?" Cheshire let out a sharp laugh. "Fine. But I expect to know all the details later." Her younger sister sighed in relief.
"Thanks."
"Of course. After all, what's family for?" With that, Cheshire melted into the shadows, leaving Artemis alone.
"I got it." Wally felt like cheering when his girlfriend's voice came over the mind link.
Finally, they were going to get results.
YOU ARE READING
Clipped Wings
Fanfiction*Complete* Robin is dead. At least, that's what everyone thought. He's been working in the shadows, trying to stop something big that's going down. Warning: contains graphic violence and mild torture. Please review!
