...hi guys...been a while...
Shout outs to the oh so fantabulous: Reina Grayson, Evening Raven, Molly Grace 16, Remmy 18, Summer's Sunlight, Sairey 13, hoot17, S.S. Pie, b00kw0rms, moonlight 1300, kk, thedancingcrown, and guests! Cookies to all of you for being so friggin' patient! (::)
Raquel (Team Year Two)
Kid Flash. Rocket. Now. Aqualad's voice whispered in the team's minds.
Wally grinned and scooped up Raquel in his arms. "Hang on tight 'Rocky'." He teased quietly and took off.
They were camped out about two blocks away from the actual crime scene on the docks. The smugglers they were after had demonstrated on several occasions that they used infrared to spot approaching intruders. Kaldur was in the water approaching the docks, his naturally colder body temperature helping keep him undetected. The rest of the team were waiting in stealth mode on a rooftop across the street from the dock they wanted. It was risky, but they needed to be closer so they would be able to respond quickly when summoned.
Kaldur's plan was simple.
He would sneak up to the docks through the water, and ensure that none escaped in the boats. At the same time, Wally would zip in past the guards with Raquel. While Wally kept the guards busy and generally wreaked havoc, it was Raquel's job to find the four crates they'd seen offloaded and enclose herself in a force bubble with them. The team would be moving in to help while Wally kept the guards distracted, and that would be all the cover needed for the bio-ship to get in undetected, guided from the field by M'Gann. Raquel would take the crates and get them up into the ship, then join the fray.
Or at least that was how it was supposed to work.
At first, Kadur's plan seemed to go off without a hitch. Kaldur got into position and called Wally and Raquel. Wally carried Raquel in and deposited her directly on top of the crates, saving her the hassle of having to find them before he took off in another direction. Wally wreaked his usual mayhem, stealing guns out of the hands of startled thugs and tossing out a wisecrack or two. The team moved in and Raquel ferried the crates up into the bio-ship's cargo bay, much to the consternation of the smugglers.
It was when they tried to capture the smugglers that everything went south…
The smugglers were fast. Clever. The infra-red goggles were making it difficult for the teens to sneak up on them in the labyrinth of crates and warehouses. Even Robin was getting spotted now and again, the infrared allowing them to see him coming even in the haze of his smoke pellets.
A cackle echoed through the dock yards, seemingly coming from one of the warehouse roofs. Raquel smiled. Speak of the devil…
Her smile widened wickedly as she eyed a trio of thugs down below who had been foolish enough to think that standing back to back would keep them safe. The dark skinned teen silently held out both hands, palms facing the villains. A beautiful blue glow appeared beneath their feet, swiftly reaching up to encase them in a perfectly shaped blue bubble.
Quick as thinking.
"Not all of us have to be close to get ya." She snickered. A pinkish purple glow encased her as she took flight, coming to a landing no more than a few feet away from them, her hands still outstretched towards them. She actually laughed when they started hitting the walls of the bubble.
"Go ahead an' hit it boys." She laughed. "You're strengthening your own prison." Silently, she addressed the team. I'm stuck here until I come up with somethin' to do with these guys. If you guys could spare Kid Flash for a minute…?
There was a sudden gust of wind and a familiar yellow form was at her side. "Let it go Rocky!" he called. She dropped the force field and he zipped right in, K.O.'ing the thugs in the space of one of her heartbeats.
"Quit callin' me 'rocky'!" she yelled after the canary yellow streak.
That was when the 'fit hit the shan', as the saying went.
A pained cry suddenly drew her attention up to the roof of the warehouse. Usually Robin wiped the floor with guys like this. But apparently something had happened. Robin was currently back to front with a smuggler, the boy wonder's arm twisted up behind his back and tangled in his cape. Robin screamed, the smuggler having apparently twisted the raven haired ninja's arm even farther. He suddenly cut off mid scream and jerked his head back, slamming the back of his head into the man's nose. The man yelled and abruptly shoved Robin away…
…right over the edge of the roof!
Raquel gaped, watching the boy wonder fall. Why was he still falling? Why hadn't he used a grappling hook to halt his descent?
Rocket, catch him! She responded without a second thought, Kaldur's silent cry galling her out of her shock and into action.
The warm purple glow encased her body as she shot up into the air. It still felt weird to be flying and not feel the wind on her face. Oh sure she felt something, namely the force field pressing against her skin in the direction she was moving, but it wasn't the same.
Don't worry Robin, I'll catch ya! She thought at Robin.
The boy wonder nodded. He was trying to stay spread eagled to slow his fall, but the smuggler had apparently injured his arm because he was keeping it close, his body trying to curl protectively around the injury out of instinct. But despite his efforts to slow himself, Raquel still wouldn't be able to reach him in time to keep him from becoming street pizza. She smiled, holding out her hands toward him. As she'd just proved, she didn't need to be close to have an effect. The familiar blue glow appeared in mid-air, becoming a sphere in the blink of an eye.
Robin's slightly curled form bounced off the side of the sphere.
Raquel starred, horror and shock freezing her muscles as one thought rang through her mind and across the psychic link. I missed!
Down below, there was a loud crash as Robin landed in one of the dock's massive, industrial sized garbage dumpsters. But still she hung there, suspended in mid-air. The empty force bubble floated in the air below her, seemingly leering at her. Mocking her.
She'd promised him she'd catch him.
Instead she'd rattled his brains by bouncing him off her force bubble, with what was probably concussion producing force, to compound his other wounds and add insult to injury.
A yellow streak zipped by beneath her, resolving into the familiar form of Kid Flash as he anxiously peered into the dumpster. The yellow clad speedster slowly reached in, checking a pulse, a small corner of Raquel's mind thought sluggishly at her.
Is Robin ok? Artemis thought from wherever she was.
I…I can't sense his mind… an equally out of sight M'Gann thought back, her silent voice thick with fear.
Below her, Wally suddenly gave an exultant cry. "He's alive!" he shouted aloud. Upon realizing that his teammates were still too far away to hear him, he quickly switched over to psychic link. Guys Rob's alive! I'll run him out of here an' get him to a hospital…!
No. Kaldur's voice was stern. By moving him you would risk injuring him more. Miss Martian, send the bio-ship. We will rendezvous with you as soon as we are able. Carry him inside telekinetically to reduce the risk of injury. Kid, stay with Robin. Rocket, protect the bio-ship.
Blind panic cloaked Raquel.
But what if she couldn't do it? What if her force fields failed? …what if she missed? Was she going to get another friend and teammate almost killed? She landed on the roof of the bio-ship as it came out of camo mode. She watched as M'Gann telekinetically lifted an inert and utterly motionless Robin out of the dumpster. Amongst other things, it seemed to have been the waste bin for a fishing trawler, as the remains of several fish were clinging to the boy wonder's uniform.
M'Gann wrinkled her nose. "Eww…"
She gestured with her free hand and the debris slid off. Her eyes glowed sliver green and the bio-ship moved beneath Rocket's feet, floating closer to the Martian and opening a hatch to allow her entry.
We're inside. Wally thought to the others. Where're you guys?
Be there in about thirty seconds. Artemis answered grimly across the psychic link. Be ready Rocket, my quiver's empty and I've got four goons on my tail.
Rocket nervously held up her hands, preparing to stop the goons in their tracks. Her hands were shaking. Artemis raced around the corner, the four goons she had promised hot on her heals with a fifth one besides. Rocket could feel the whir of mechanisms in her belt as she called on its power. The force bubble leapt up into place, glowing blue in the dim light of dusk.
It was too small!
A smuggler yelped as he tripped head long over the glowing blue bubble, his jaw hitting the cement with a loud smack as his gun skittered away across the ground.
I can't do it! Her panicked thoughts raced across the psychic link.
Artemis raced into the bio ship under Rocket's feet. It's ok, you don't need to catch them with a big bubble, just rough 'em up a bit with the little one, can you do that?
Rocket gave a shaky nod. Her hands swung to her left, the bubble mimicking the movement and slamming into another thug.
I'll take that as a yes. Artemis thought back.
Zatanna's silent voice suddenly joined the mental conversation. Go ahead and get inside Rocket, I've got the others. Her voice rang out in the still night air. "Meht dnib!" Coiled hoses near the wall suddenly rose and flew through the air, wrapping round the attacking thugs in the blink of an eye.
Rocket flew down into the bio ship, and was immediately met with the smell of blood.
M'Gann was in the pilot's seat, the two spheres glowing pale white in the dim interior as she held it in readiness to take off. Raquel made her way past the Martian towards a room that only ever saw use as a storage room or an infirmary.
She froze in the doorway.
In the back room, Robin had been laid out on a sort of table, the bio-ship both cradling him and holding him immobile. The boy wonder was pale, and a red tinged bandage was wrapped around his waist. Wally was sitting on the floor beside the table, one hand reaching up to clasp Robin's in an almost childish pose.
All are aboard. Kaldur's voice stated grimly. Miss Martian, get us off the ground and back to the mountain as swiftly as you can.
On our way. M'Gann thought back, and the bio ship lifted into the air.
Raquel flew back to her seat and strapped in. No one was looking at her. They all seemed incredibly fascinated with their hands or the scenes whipping past their windows at incredible speed. Raquel bowed her head.
She had failed them.
Mount Justice
"Will he be alright?"
Raquel looked up, following the anxious speedster with her eyes as he rushed over to Robin's mentor. She was seated on the couch, her knees drawn up to her chest. The dark knight had just entered the room, having spent the last hour in the infirmary with his son and Dr. Palmer.
If he was coming here now, something must've changed one way or another for Robin.
Batman was silent for a long moment, his gaze roving over the anxious teens gathered in the living room. "Robin will be alright. He'll be on his feet in a few days or so."
"Batman. How serious are his injuries?" Kaldur asked.
Raquel flinched, resting her forehead on her knees. 'Cause that's what I wanted to hear. She thought. How badly I got that little boy banged up… She forced herself to raise her head and listen to Batman as he detailed Robin's injuries. It was only fair.
It wasn't nearly so bad as the bloody bandages had led the team to believe.
It seemed that the primary injury had been a dislocated right shoulder, courtesy of the smuggler on the roof. It seemed that Robin's bashing the man in the nose had scrambled his brains a little as well, which explained why Robin didn't react the way he normally would by catching himself. The boy wonder had substantial bruising along his ribs on the left side, probably from hitting Raquel's force bubble. He also had a puncture wound in the lower right side of his back, probably from landing on something in the dumpster. It was a very shallow wound, and right now they were more worried about infection from all the mess and filth in the dumpster having gotten in than anything else. Robin would be off missions until his arm healed sufficiently, but he'd be able to get up and move around in a few days.
Wally was exuberant. "Yes! I knew he'd be alright! When can we go in and see him?"
"You will let him rest for today." The dark knight ordered sternly. "You'll be allowed in to see him tomorrow after breakfast."
Wally whooped and did a fist pump.
"Did you hear that Raquel? Robin's going to be alright!" M'Gann threw her arms excitedly around Raquel. She could sense Raquel's guilt and distress over Robin's fall. Now that they knew Robin would be alright…
Raquel gave M'Gann a tight little smile. "I heard, M'Gann." She murmured.
…that guilt hadn't lessened in the slightest.
Dakota City
Raquel sighed, pulling her phone out of her pocket.
The deep magenta colored case seemed to both meld and contrast with her darkly toned skin. A picture of Mount Justice on the display screen told her exactly who was calling, and she was more than willing to bet it was about a mission.
She almost answered it.
But what if she failed them again? What if she got another teammate hurt, or worse, killed? Her thumb hovered uncertainly over the buttons, moving toward the button that would answer it, and away again toward the one that would ignore the call. At last, she severed the call.
She couldn't do this anymore.
Mount Justice
Robin gazed at the computer screen in bemusement.
The words 'call ended' were hanging there in the middle of his holo-screen, along with a picture of Raquel. He was sitting in the hospital bed he was all but forbidden to leave for any other reason other than to answer nature's call. Seeing as how his right arm was in a sling, he'd fastened his watch to the rail on the side of the bed, allowing him to type on the holographic keyboard it projected with his left hand. He'd had to change the keyboard shape to a round one designed for a single hand. He knew how to use it, he'd just needed a few minutes practice to get himself comfortable with it again.
He sighed and touched his com link. "Kaldur."
"Here." The Atlantian's calm voice answered.
"I can't get through to her either." He could just picture Kaldur on the other end, nodding his head.
"Very well. Then we will be on our way." A concerned note entered his voice. "Are you certain you are up to this?"
Robin laughed, fingers flying over his keyboard. "Kaldur! I'm lying on my back in bed with a computer. There is nothing strenuous about it! Just keep me up to date on what's going on and I'll do whatever I can to help, ok? Even if all it is, is giving Wally someone to jaw at."
Kaldur gave a soft laugh. "You have my word. We will keep the com links open for you and keep you abreast of developments."
"You do that." Robin chuckled. "Oh, M'Gann stopped by before heading to the hangar and I gave her a couple little gizmo's to help you guys along. Plug one into a computer and it'll be as if I plugged into it directly. Just don't forget to take it with you when you move on."
"Understood."
Kaldur fell silent after that, but Robin could still hear the voices of the others through the jammed open coms. He made a face at his right arm, trapped in its sling, and reached for the keyboard with his left. The words 'call ended' disappeared, replaced by the logo of one of the cell phone companies. Getting into their mainframe took him several minutes, whoever designed their cyber security was learning. But despite the cyber security's best efforts, five minutes of hacking found the boy wonder inside the phone he wanted.
The one belonging to Raquel Irvin.
Robin smiled. "Hi Raquel." He murmured. "…now let's see…" a click of the keys was all he needed to access her call logs. He didn't find his call in the 'missed calls' file. He silently sat there, a thoughtful look on his face. He almost called her again. Hacked into her phone the way he was, he could probably make it pick up remotely. She'd have no choice but to talk to him then…
Or she could end the call.
He was going to need to come up with a better scheme than that. M'Gann had told him about Raquel's doubts, fears, and guilt. All of which had been spawned by his fall. She had lost her confidence, both in herself and her abilities as a hero.
"Well, I'll just have to see about that…"
"Hey guys."
Wally's head snapped up. "Dude! You're up and moving!"
Robin laughed, accepting the sudden speed hug. "You bet I am. I told Batman if he didn't let me up I was going to call in the big guns for a second opinion."
"You threatened the Batman?" Artemis asked, shocked.
Wally eagerly jumped back into the conversation. "How'd he take it?"
Kaldur, Conner, and M'Gann had all gathered closer to hear the story. The only one absent was Raquel. No one had seen her for several days.
"He called my bluff. I called in a second opinion. Provided I take it easy, I'll be allowed to be up and about." Robin grinned.
"Well that's an evil look." Wally commented.
"Has anyone heard from Raquel?" Robin asked, pointedly ignoring Wally.
The others shook their heads. "It's like she just fell off the face of the planet." Zatanna added.
M'Gann shifted. "She still feels really bad about what happened to Robin. I think she's afraid that she'll get one of us hurt if she goes out there again."
Kaldur nodded. "A loss of confidence."
That wicked grin was back in place. "Well, if you guys are in, I've got an idea on how to help her get it back." Robin quickly outlined his plan.
Conner cocked his head. "How is that going to help her get her confidence back? Won't it just make her feel worse?"
Kaldur nodded. "I too do not see the benefit of this plan."
Robin leaned into his friend a little as Wally looped an arm around his shoulders. "Believe me, this'll work…"
"Hey Raquel! Wait up!"
Raquel whipped around, surprised by the call of that voice. It had been five days since Robin had fallen. Almost a week. This was the first time she'd seen the boy wonder on his feet since he'd been carried away into that infirmary. He must've finally healed enough to satisfy the Batman's parameters.
She bit back a curse.
She'd only come to the mountain because apparently Batman wished to speak with her. Icon had very firmly told her that she had to go and face the music. Not his exact words, but that was the basic gist of the long though gentle scolding. Icon hadn't been exactly thrilled to learn she'd ditched the last mission either. She still maintained that her phone had been misplaced, thus she hadn't heard about the mission until after the fact, but she wasn't sure if Icon believed her.
And considering he was calling her out she highly doubted Batman did.
Icon could've save his breath, she knew she'd of had as much chance of running from the bat as Jonah had running from god. She wouldn't have put it past the dark knight to have planted tracers on the team and the entire league so he could keep tabs on them. She still didn't understand why Batman wanted her in uniform but she wasn't about to argue with him.
So here she was.
She had just been hoping she wouldn't run into her teammates during this excursion.
"…hey Robin…" she offered weakly.
He smiled, walking right up to her and giving her a hug in greeting. She stiffened in surprise, but he didn't seem either surprised or perturbed, holding his hug for several seconds more before breaking away. He was dressed in civilian clothes, a black t-shirt that had a picture of a city skyline at night and said 'Gotham City' in big bold yellow letters, along with a pair of blue jeans and red sneakers. His arm was still in a sling, and a bruise on his cheek was in the last stages of fading away.
"We've been worried about you. No one's heard from you in almost a week, and none of our calls were making it through." He told her with a grin. It didn't escape her notice when he slipped his hand into the sling, as if his arm still hurt.
"Um…yeah…" Raquel wasn't entirely sure how to respond to that. "…I was supposed to meet Batman here, do you know where he is?"
"He got held up in Gotham. The Penguin stuck that long pointy nose of his somewhere it didn't belong again. Last I heard, Batman might not be here for another half hour." He linked his good arm through hers, drawing her down one of the halls.
"Where are we going?" she asked, reluctantly following him.
Robin didn't even glance back. "Gym. We need to talk."
Raquel winced. "…What about Batman?" she asked, grasping at straws. She'd never heard of Robin bawling someone out before, but then again he didn't usually get stabbed by rubbish, bounced off a force bubble, and dislocate his arm all on the same mission either.
"He'll know where to find us."
"…alright.." She allowed him to lead her through the caves until they came to the gym.
Robin released her arm, his hand unconsciously creeping to his arm cradled in its sling as he longingly eyed the gymnastic equipment. Raquel had learned early on that the phrase 'being grounded' had a vastly different meaning for Robin, and it was much more torturous for the boy wonder than it was for most teens. The longing in Robin's eyes made her feel all the worse for putting him in this situation.
Robin stopped by the pommel horse, running his good hand across one of the handles before he turned to face her. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry."
That brought Raquel up short. "…sorry? For what?"
Robin made a vague gesture at her. "I fell. Now you're carrying all this guilt for not catching me, and on top of everything else you've lost confidence in yourself and your abilities, and I just wanted you to know I'm sorry."
She opened her mouth to argue, but he didn't let her get a word in edgewise.
"You've been avoiding us Raquel, and I know for a fact that you hung up on me when I tried to call you in for the mission. It's not hard to guess why…even without a Martian to interpret the intense emotions banging on the doors of her mind." He said that last bit with an amused little smile.
Again Raquel opened her mouth to argue with him, then shut it with a sigh. He was right. She had been avoiding heroes in general, and the team in particular ever since Robin fell. She hadn't been out as Rocket ever since that night. She was scared that her force bubbles would fail. That they wouldn't obey her. That she would get someone else hurt.
But none of that was Robin's fault!
"Robin, it's not your fault. You couldn't help the fact that that guy threw you off the roof of that warehouse…"
He grinned, losing all trace of the contrite attitude he'd had only a few seconds ago.
"I know." He answered. He gestured toward her. "Look at it this way. If our positions had been reversed. Suppose you were the one falling, and I swung out and tried to catch you on one of my grappling lines. Suppose I missed? Would you've blamed me for your injuries?"
"No! You tried to help me and…"
"Exactly!" Robin put his hand on his hip. "Exactly my point. You tried, and I couldn't ask for anything more. So why are you beating yourself up for something that no one but you blames you for?"
Raquel turned her back on him, crossing her arms. "I don't know, I just…"
Something smacked into her head with a hollow thunk.
The ebony skinned teen whirled, expecting to fend off the attack of a villain. Robin laughed, bouncing a rubber dodge ball in his left hand. Where he got it she had no idea, and right now she really didn't have the time to contemplate it. The boy wonder cackled and flung this second ball at her. She crossed her arms and ducked her head behind them, drawing up the reassuring glow of her force bubbles to fend off the dodge ball. She felt the ball bounce off and she dropped her the shield, intending to yell at him.
Robin had another ball.
Raquel took flight, blocking this new ball in the same manner as she had the last one. She glared down at the cackling boy wonder, wondering when on earth he had lost his mind. She turned to fly away and yet another ball hit her from behind! She whirled around to face him and once again found him armed. It was at that second that she learned a very valuable lesson.
Never turn your back on Robin.
"Where the heck are you gettin' all those dodge balls?" she yelled, blocking his attack yet again.
Wally suddenly darted to a stop beside Robin, a dodge ball under each arm and a huge dopey grin on his face. "From me of course!"
Raquel shook her head. "I should've known." She muttered. "What's goin' on here?"
Robin took one of the balls from Wally, bouncing it in his hand. "Simple!" he laughed. "You need practice to get your confidence back, and Batman doesn't have any missions for us. That and I need something to do so I don't go bored out of my brain and hack Batman's restricted files again. So I'm going to occupy myself by helping you practice, and we're going to work in a little team bonding while we're at it. Right guys?"
Raquel glanced over her shoulder.
The rest of the team had entered the gym behind her, and they had brought even more dodge balls. Her heart warmed.
A ball bounced off her and she glared down at the boy wonder and his best friend, both of whom were grinning from ear to ear.
"Oh you're gonna regret that Robin." She warned with a grin.
Robin didn't seem in the least bit worried.
"So how are we dividing up the teams?" asked Zatanna.
Robin and Wally looked at each other blankly. "Teams?" Wally asked.
"What teams?" Robin answered grinning. He abruptly kicked Wally's hand, sending the ball the speedster was still holding flying up into Wally's face. The boy wonder took off with a wild cackle, disappearing into the maze of workout and gymnastic equipment in a matter of seconds.
The rest of the team scattered just as quickly, laughter and dodge balls ricocheting off the stone walls of the cave.
Raquel laughed as she landed and took off after Artemis, scooping up a ball as she ran.
She was feeling better already.
"Feeling better?"
Raquel smiled at the boy wonder. She was in the kitchen refilling her bowl of popcorn. Their impromptu dodge ball match had lasted for hours, evolving into a good natured boys versus girls grudge match about halfway through.
When they'd finally run out of energy, and Wally's stomach was growling loudly enough to drown out whole conversations, they'd called it quits and retired to the living room. It had quickly become a sort of movie night. They were currently in the middle of Jurassic Park, which Kaldur naturally enough hadn't seen.
Raquel smiled and set her bowl on the counter.
She jerked Robin into a hug, wondering when he'd grown from a teammate to a friend, and when he'd finally grown from a friend into a little brother.
And she wondered how on earth she hadn't noticed.
Robin hugged her back. "I'll take that as a yes?"
She laughed and nodded, ruffling his hair. "Lovin' this team more every day."
Robin grinned. He disentangled himself from her and grabbed whatever it was he'd come for out of a cupboard.
"…me too…"
Yes fellas, I will have a moment when Robin's family comes through for him so stop asking! Lol, it'll be the chapter after this next one, then it's on to the season two team!
Review!
Until next time...