I don't own any DC characters. But if I did, I would sic them on people I don't like.

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It wasn't supposed to end up like this.

Robin's life wasn't supposed to be in danger like this; all alone, with little hope for immediate help. He wasn't supposed to have to choose between his secrets and his life.

Hell, the team wasn't even supposed to be here.

But they were.

And that was the cause of this mess.

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Thanks to Wally's insistent badgering, the five teenagers that constituted Young Justice were in their civvies, walking the streets of Gotham City, New Jersey, home of both the infamous Dynamic Duo...

And one of the best video game arcades in the United States.

Which Wally just had to try.

At first the day had gone well. They had looked around the mall, introduced M'gann to hotdogs, and Robin bought a pair of The Flash- themed boxers for a very unamused Wally. Even Superboy had loosened up, taking up the persona of Connor Kent like a second skin. There hadn't really been any cause for worry.

Then they found the arcade.

It was located smack dab in the middle of the mall, and the sheer size of it had Wally and Robin practically drooling. The two hyperactive boys had darted ahead of the rest of the group, unable to contain their excitement. While M'gann and Connor followed suit, albeit a little less enthusiastically, Aqualad leaned against a wall and watched.

The joy on the gamers' faces was palpable as they tried out the consoles, each one bearing different flashy titles and graphics. Their smiles split their faces in two, and Aqualad found himself smiling with them- their happiness was contagious.

Nobody saw it coming.

The bombs rocked the very foundations of the mall and all of the people in it, forcing them to hold on to something for balance. Chaos ripped through the building, and the masses of people stampeded towards the doors, only to find that the doors were locked. Children were crying for their frantic parents, and teenagers held to one another in the midst of the catastrophe. The screams of the injured echoed in Aqualad's ears and he cringed, fighting his way both through the smoke and out of his outer layer of clothing, trying to find his team.

He ran into Superboy first, who had already switched into his "suit" by ditching his black sweatshirt. Close behind him was M'gann, green-skinned once again, who had also changed her clothing under the cover of the smoke and flames. She said something, but over the frantic screaming of the frightened civilians, he had trouble hearing her soft voice.

"What?"

When she answered him, it was from within the confines of his own mind, "I said, 'Where are Robin and Kid Flash?'!"

Aqualad's brow furrowed and he had been about to reassure her that their teammates would turn up eventually, but was cut off by a bright streak of yellow. Kid Flash suddenly stood before the trio, his light costume easily distinguishable in the chaos. A characteristic bright smile lit up the speedster's face.

"Kid Flash, reporting for duty!"

Aqualad's eyes remained pensive, though he did give a small smile. "Do you know where Robin is?"

Kid Flash's grin faltered, "I have no clue. I thought he was with you guys."

A small spike of fear for the thirteen-year-old crime fighter stabbed itself into Aqualad's gut, and Superboy reacted immediately. "Megan, can you locate him telepathically?"

She face-palmed, as she is prone to doing, "Hello, Megan! Why didn't I think of that?" She quickly set out to do so. As she concentrated, Aqualad turned to Superboy.

"Can you go open the main doors and help the civilians out? I do not think that whoever did this is done yet." Superboy nodded solemnly and left, pushing his way through the crowd. Aqualad was about to turn to Kid Flash but was interrupted by M'gann. She looked confused, and a little bit frightened.

"Aqualad, I can't find Robin anywhere!"

The Atlantian's stomach leaped into his throat, determined to make him choke. "What do you mean?"

She shook her head, unsure and timid, "He's gone! His consciousness just... disappeared."

Kid Flash spoke up, "Wait, his consciousness? So he could be asleep."

Aqualad nodded slowly, catching on to KF's thought process, "Or he could have been knocked out. Where did you see him last?"

Kid Flash started walking towards the back of the room, talking over his shoulder as he went, "I saw him back here just a few minutes before the bomb went off. He was headed... in this...direction..."

The entire back of the store was obliterated. Bodies of little kids and adults alike lay beneath the rubble, the occasional exposed arm poking out.

Robin was nowhere to be found.

M'gann snapped into action first, gingerly moving the fallen sheet rock from the premises. Aqualad and Kid Flash busied themselves by helping the occasional survivor out of the destruction and into a safer area, as well as scanning for Robin. It wasn't until the young martian moved a particularly large piece of wall that a brightly colored sleeve caught his eye.

It was Robin's sweatshirt.

Aqualad immediately began digging the poor kid out of the pile of broken ceiling, cringing at the sight of blood. Getting the unconscious Boy Wonder out of the rubble was a lot harder than it should have been, largely due to the fact that he was curled into a tight ball around something.

Or someone.

Slowly, carefully, Aqualad extracted the little girl out of Robin's arms. She was alive, thanks to the bright boy that had saved her.

Sadly, he hadn't fared half as well.

A laceration at the little bird's temple was exuded a steady stream of blood, and though they had his arms and legs free of the heavy obstacles, Kid Flash and M'gann were having problems pulling him entirely out. Aqualad led the little girl to her frantic parents before stepping over to help his team extract the injured hero. His hands gripped Robin on either side of his torso behind his head while Kid Flash grabbed his legs. On the count of three they lifted, but Robin's agonized scream made them freeze where they crouched. M'gann was immediately at Robin's side, her hands gently running over him to see what caused him so much pain.

Aqualad's webbed fingers slipped the tiniest margin and he adjusted himself to the side, trying not to jostle the boy in his arms. His left hand slid completely underneath Robin's lower back before slipping on something warm and wet.

And without looking, he knew that it was red, too. He froze.

"M'gann!" he called. The martian girl looked up immediately, her frightened face betraying her calm actions. "Look at his back. I feel blood."

She nodded and bent to look at his injury. From the angle he was at, Aqualad could see the emotions run across her face in quick succession; curiosity, shock, and a confusion that quickly bled into horror. She pulled herself back up, her eyes wide. Her mouth opened and closed a few times, reminding him of a gaping fish, but no sound came out.

"M'gann, what happened?"

She swallowed heavily and looked down, her eyebrows drawing together. Kid Flash looked at her with alarm, but didn't move, something that Aqualad was infinitely grateful for when M'gann finally spoke.

"Th-there's a pole... it's stabbing into his back."

Aqualad didn't waste any time with questions, instead reaching forward to unzip Robin's jacket. Kid Flash quickly grasped what he was trying to do and grabbed the zipper when Aqualad could no longer reach. After his torso was clear of the jacket, Aqualad made quick work of his shirt, ripping it in two, straight down the middle. What he saw almost made him vomit.

The pole had completely impaled Robin, and was sticking out of his stomach a good half inch, covered in the teen's crimson blood.

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This is probably going to be my only Young Justice fanfiction, but I figured, "Hey, since I have this in my head, I might as well do it." I personally prefer Teen Titans, but there are new Young Justices every week and well, Teen Titans... not so much.

Well, I will hopefully post again in the next couple of days, seeing as I have nothing else to do.

Thanks for reading!

-Magic