23Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the DC Universe. Not the characters, books, video games, NADA. I only own the idea of the plot.
[Set during season 1, at some point after "failsafe", but no specific time.]
"Get him to the Med-Bay, NOW!" Kaldur'ahm barked out. Kid Flash rushed forward, carrying a thrashing Robin in his arms. "We need to strap him down! If he keeps fighting like this, he is going to hurt himself!" Aqualad ordered, causing Superboy to run ahead and prepare a special table in the Medical Bay.
It all started when yet another mission went wrong. The Young Justice team was simply sent to observe and report on a drug deal between some of the more prominent mobsters in Gotham while Batman was busy responding to League emergencies. Nobody thought things would go THIS far out of hand. While observing the deal, a different member of Gotham's criminal underworld decided to make an appearance, Dr. Johnathon Crane, better known to the world at large as "The Scarecrow". Crane released his infamous fear gas in the warehouse, in an attempt to steal both the drugs and the money. Scarecrow, inadvertently, also managed to gas the team, since they too were inside the enclosed space. Racing to the roof, the team discovered that only certain members had actually been influenced by the gas. Superboy was safe, as he didn't need to breathe, and Miss Martian was not affected because she was outside on watch. Aqualad was unaffected, since his Atlantean physiology was just different enough from human to render himself safe (mostly) from the gas, although he also protected himself with an electrical charge, just to be safe. Kid Flash had managed to escape the clouds in time, although it was close. The only two people who were not unharmed by the gas were the only two without super powers, Artemis and Robin.
"Team! Report! What happened?" Black Canary called out, watching as the teens scrambled to get a near franticly fighting Robin to the Med Bay.
"While we were observing the drug deal, Scarecrow made a guest appearance." Megan related the story to Dinah, "Artemis and Robin got hit with Scarecrow's fear gas."
"But Artemis seems fine..." Black Canary responded, her gaze shifting over to the archer in green who was standing off to the side, looking nervous. Upon hearing her name, however, Artemis approached the two women.
"I wasn't. Scarecrow's fear gas was taking control of me when Robin stepped in. He keeps a serum that counteracts the fear gas in his utility belt, and he used it on me. Apparently he only has one, so he has no way to fix himself. Stupid heroic idiot."
"So, what can we do about this situation? Does anyone else know the serum formula?" Black Canary questioned.
"Batman. Maybe a few others within the 'Batclan', but I don't know of anyone else." Artemis responded. "I do know that this wasn't the most potent stuff. All we can do is wait for it to wear off."
In the Med Bay, things were looking grim. For being so small and having no powers, Robin was surprisingly strong, having broken or escaped the ropes that they used to tie him down to the hospital bed three times already.
"This isn't working!" Superboy growled. "Why can't we just knock him out? He'd be much easier to handle."
"Rendering him unconscious might have adverse side effects on Robin while he is still under the influence of Scarecrow's gas." Kaldur answered. "We cannot risk injuring Robin."
"Or the injuries that Batman would do to us for injuring Robin." Wally mumbled to himself, although the other two still heard him.
"Try tying him up again. Tighter this time. We can't let him hurt himself." Kaldur got the trio back into focus, after catching Robin's attempt to leap out of the bed.
"Any tighter and we risk cutting off blood flow to his extremities. No, we need to calm him down." Superboy retorted, struggling to hold Robin in place using his own super strength.
"How?" Kaldur asks. "The only person we know of who can do that is Batman, and he is off world!"
"I know of one person, but we will use that ONLY as a last resort." Kid Flash spoke up, "Bats and Robin would BOTH kill us if we brought… this person… here."
"We? You are the one who knows this guy, you would be the one to bring him here!" Superboy responded, trying to pin the thrashing Robin back to the bed. Robin, on the other hand, would have none of it. He was constantly fighting, biting, punching, slipping away from, and causing an all-around nuisance to Superboy whilst the boy of steel tried to keep Robin from escaping, yet again.
"We need a time limit. At what point do we call in re-enforcements?" KF asked the others.
"Maybe we should ask Black Canary. She is the League's representative, and our Den mother." Kaldur answered, not completely sure of an answer himself.
"Ask me what?" Black Canary questioned. Turning to Superboy she asked a second question. "Connor, how is our little bird?"
"Not giving up the fight just yet, (stay down you little troll!), and not getting any better." Connor responded, fighting with the baby bat.
"Wally knows someone who he believes can help." Kaldur quickly briefed Dinah. "However, this person's presence may upset Batman, and he doesn't want to risk bodily harm.."
"Probably the first smart thing that Wally has ever done…" Black Canary teased the yellow-clad speedster.
"HEY! I resent that!"
"Resent it all you want, it's true." Superboy chuckled. "Stay still you little demon!" Connor spat out at Robin, who had managed to escape his grip yet again.
"Get him! Before he hurts himself, again!" Kaldur barked, diving to grab the boy wonder.
"Wally! Go grab whoever it is you think can help!" Black Canary yelled, struggling to block Robin from leaving the medical room. "This is only getting worse."
"Oh man, Rob is SOOOO going to kill me!" Wally muttered as he sped towards the zeta-tubes. "Actually, forget Rob, Bats is going to kill me!"
"Why would Batman want to kill you? I mean, besides the obvious…" Artemis asked.
"Everyone, masks on. M'gann, prepare the zeta-tubes. I am going to bring an unauthorized guest here." Wally snapped out orders, acting unusually serious. Kid Flash quickly entered the tube and left for Gotham.
"Why would he need to bring someone back? Especially an unauthorized person?" Green Arrow's 'niece' turned to the Martian.
"I don't know, but don't you think Wally was cute acting all serious and mister-take-charge over there?" The alien asked her human teammate, watching as the blonde arrowette blushed.
"What? No! Why would I think that Wally is cute? Ugh. Disgusting? Yes. Cute? Never!"
"Recognized: Kid Flash, B 03. Recognized, Guest, Z 01 (A/N I had no idea what to do for a guest persona, so I just used this designation.)
"He's this way, in the med lab." Kid Flash's voice cut through the eerie stillness that had blanketed over the main hall of the Cave.
"He'd better not be hurt…" A voice, unusual to the team, was heard, following Kid Flash to the Med Bay. "If my little bird is hurt, then so help me GOD!..."
"If he's hurt, its only what he has done to himself." Wally mumbled, loud enough for his companion to hear.
Jaws dropped as the team saw who was accompanying Kid Flash to the medical bay. A woman, dressed in a black cat suit, complete with ears and a tail, and white face paint where the facemask ended. Her eyes where whited out, just like Batman's, and a cat-o-nine-tails whip hung on her hip. (A/N think Batman: The New Batman Adventures).
"Catwoman! You brought Catwoman?! You let one of Gotham's most notorious thieves in here like it was nothing? Are you CRAZY? She is going to wind up killing us all, STARTING WITH ROBIN!" Artemis hissed at Wally. In the blink of an eye, Catwoman jumped, catching Artemis by the throat.
"Robin is like a son to me! If you even suggest that I would intentionally hurt my little bird, kiddo, then you have got another thing coming! I don't care if you are Paula's kid, you're dead meat if you ever suggest that I would hurt my kitten." Catwoman snarled in a way that would make Batman scared, let alone the young blonde. The little archer backed away from Catwoman, fear written on her face. Catwoman was already famous for being one of the few villains to ever best Batman, and a pissed off Catwoman was nothing short of terrifying.
"Cats! Robin! Remember?" Kid Flash snapped, heading towards the Medical bay. With one last snarl, Catwoman turned away from Artemis and turned to follow Kid Flash.
"West, if anything has happened…" Catwoman reminded the speedster.
"I know, you'll kill me." KF finished, guiding Catwoman towards the injured Robin.
"Wait, she knows who Wally is?" Artemis asked. M'gann, who sat silently observing the entire exchange, could only shrug.
"If Wally knows to get her, then she has probably met Wally before."
"Still, creepy thought that she might know who we are. Especially since she knows who my mother is…"
"I didn't know your mother's name was Paula…" M'gann started to tease.
Over in the med bay, things weren't looking as bright. Robin was still thrashing around and giving Kaldur and Connor a most challenging time trying to keep him still. Batman's sidekick also seemed to be dreaming, constantly crying out something in foreign languages with tears leaking out from under his mask.
Wally burst into the room, pulling along the woman in black, who immediately leapt to her "sons" side, petting him and whispering soothing words to him. Robin immediately began calming down. That could not be said, however, for the other three heroes in the room.
"Catwoman? You brought Catwoman?" Black Canary shrieked, hitting pitches just shy of her actual canary cry.
"Kinda obvious, isn't it? And that is EXACTLY what Artemis said." Wally commented, almost offhand.
"Bringing a villain into the base was not a wise thing to do, Kid Flash." Aqualad reprimanded the speedster. "We have no way of knowing if she is trustworthy, let alone if she can actually calm him down. STAY STILL!" The last part was growled at the furiously thrashing Robin.
"BABY BIRD!" Catwoman cried out, rushing to the side of the boy wonder. Scooping him up in her arms, the cat burglar began to rock back and forth and mutter something in a low voice that only Robin could hear, trying to soothe the boy.
"Mutti?" A dazed Robin asked the form holding him. Upon recognizing her, the thrashing immediately quieted to wracking sobs and clutching at the black-clad thief.
"Shhh, kitten. I'm here. No-one is going to hurt you."
It was at least 3 hours later when the sobbing had finally stopped. Although the team had all gathered around the door to the med-bay, only Kid Flash seemed to be allowed in, and he never stayed in for long. Most times he merely brought food and water, or asked what he might be able to do. After completing whatever tasks Catwoman seemed to ask for, he would retreat from the room and rejoin his worried teammates in their vigil outside the door of the med-bay.
It was a minimum of 2 hours after the sobbing had stopped that Batman came to the cave, having just returned from his Justice League mission off the planet…
"What happened?! Aqualad! Report! NOW!" Batman barked, whilst storming his way over to the med-bay.
"Sir, during our observation, Scarecrow attempted to gas us with his fear toxin. While most of us were unharmed, Artemis and Robin were effected. Robin gave his antidote to Artemis, and bore the brunt of the toxin's affects himself." Aqualad related to Batman, while trying to keep pace with the Dark Knight. "When we were unable to locate any additional toxins, and nothing we could do was calming him, Kid Flash took it upon himself to bring a guest that could assist in the situation. Someone who could calm him down."
At these words, Batman abruptly halted, and Kaldur nearly crashed into the back of his fallen teammate's mentor.
"Who did he bring?" Batman asked him, in a tone that promised pain and destruction on whomever was at the wrong end of it.
"Catwoman, sir. BUT, only under orders of Black Canary to bring help."
"You expect me to believe that Black Canary sent Kid Flash out SPECIFICALLY for CATWOMAN?" Batman's glare could have made General Zod wince, let alone the tone that accompanied it. By some miracle, Aqualad managed to keep it together long enough to relay the last of the information to his imposing superior.
"No sir. Kid Flash mentioned that he knew someone that might be able to help, but that he would only contact said person if the situation became imminently dire. Black Canary ordered him to retrieve this person, as she deemed the situation out of our control."
Batman looked at Kaldur for a minute, searching for any sign that he might be lying. Satisfied with what he saw, he continued to the med-bay, but at a more sedate pace, seeming to recognize that the situation was under control.
The team, who was attracted to the show by the loud voices and obvious concern in Batman's voice, quickly moved out of the way. Once the masked man had entered the med-bay and re-sealed the room, a collective sigh of relief went up from the teenagers, as well as their den mother.
"I wonder why Batman seemed to trust Catwoman so implicitly." Connor was the first to speak. "Once he heard that Catwoman was here, he seemed to know that everything was fine. I wonder what she means to Batman and Robin?"
What she means indeed.
With enough support, I just may end up writing a second half to this, something revealing who Catwoman is to the team.
Read and Review please!