[CLOSED]

[performance]

WHO: Dick, Artemis, and Wally
WHERE: Downtown Heropa.
WHEN: 7/12, nighttime.
WHAT: Robin's emotional turmoil culiminates in the world's stupidest injury. Stupid teenage dramatics to follow.
WARNINGS: References to a broken bone? And probably yelling.

[ It's 10:20 PM, and it's finally stopped raining that particular variety of Florida rain that's not so much like a drizzle as like the sky's just up and poured a bucket of water on your head. It's wet and it's too warm and there's still lightning flashing off in the distance, and Robin's just made the stupidest mistake of his career.

Okay, so no one realistically-fake-died, and nothing exploded. Which is a plus, considering his track record. But breaking a leg in a fall from a third story roof has to be — without any hyperbole — the most embarrassing thing he's done in his entire life.

He could make a lot of excuses: he's not used to the weather, the railing was slick, he hadn't checked his equipment, the terrain's unfamiliar, he's distracted and emotionally compromised. He doesn't have his team. Every single one is terrible, even if they're all true.

For several excruciating minutes, while he waits for the painkillers to work their magic, Robin debates his options. An ambulance would attract attention. He's pretty sure he couldn't hobble all the way to the hospital like this, even if there was one within the city limits. Maybe the ground will swallow him up right along with his shame and he won't have to admit that any of this ever happened.

It doesn't.

Out of reasonable options, he sends off a text with his coordinates to Artemis, who, logically, is the person on their team most likely to know how to deal with injuries:
SOS.
Achey breaky leg.
Please don't ask.

And moments later, a text to Wally with the same coordinates:
Need a ride to the hospital.
If you're not married to SB's couch now.
Faster is better.



It takes a minute for him to realize the gravity of his possible mistake. If they find a way to fight over this, too... well, maybe yelling makes bones knit faster. ]

Comments

[real_archer]

[Artemis gets the coordinates first and spends a couple seconds puzzling them over before the rest of the text comes through.

Achey breaky… he has got to be kidding.

Her first instinct is to tell him to call 911, because seriously, what does he expect her to do about a broken leg?

… But it’s Robin and if he’s texting her instead of calling an ambulance then he’s probably got a good reason for it. A good and potentially dangerous reason.]

on my way

[The coordinates aren’t far from her current location and luckily, since she’s on her way home from work, she has her bow. She doesn't really need anything else (except, y'know, a freaking ambulance. For real--she's pretty good at first aid, but it's not like she's an EMT or anything.)

She slows down when she gets to the coordinates, scanning for Robin and also any potential threats. It takes all of two seconds for her to spot Robin. She didn’t expect him to look so… crumpled.

Ignoring the “any potential threats” option for the moment, she rushes over to him.]

What happened?

[performance]

[ The crumpled look is mostly in his demeanor, honestly.

Robin hadn't expected Artemis to get here first, but then, he hadn't actually talked to Wally since whatever he'd done to get him to move out, so it isn't a huge surprise. He's leaning against the back door of an office building, huddled underneath an awning where at least it's dry, and fixes her with the most mournful look when she rushes over. He is grateful to see her, even if it doesn't show on his face. ]

If I told you I fought like eighteen ninjas, would that sound cool and/or plausible?

[real_archer]

[Artemis gives him an unimpressed look, disguising her worry. He's Robin--whatever actually happened here, he is definitely not supposed to look this pathetic. Or get hurt. Like... ever, if possible.

At least he's being his usual silver-tongued self.]

No and no. Sit still and let me look at it.

[She crouches down to inspect his leg. It's fairly obvious which one is damaged.]

... I don't know what you want me to do, Robin. It looks broken. I could maybe splint it, but... you need to go to the hospital and we don't even have a car. [She rocks back on her heels and makes a decision.] I'm calling an ambulance.

[runningstart]

[Wally gets the text late, because he's not really paying attention to his comm and he's too busy getting really tired of eating the same food over and over. ...and he never thought he'd ever say that, but after his twentieth bag of Pizza Rolls he's ready to move on.

He slumps into the living room and picks up his comm, ready to check youtube for any new Vine comps he might've missed...again.

Oh, a message from Rob. Maybe he wants to lecture him about professionalism and-

...

Wally has his costume on and is out the door in ten seconds flat.

The rain makes it more difficult to make those sharp, ninety-degree turns so he has to take it slower than usual. Heropa is by far a much nicer city than Gotham but everything looks like shit in the rain, and back alleys strewn with garbage are no exception. KF climbs over two chain link fences before he finds the right one and someone is already there, crouched over Robin and he's about to slam into them when-

Oh. It's Artemis. ...and Robin, and yep that leg is definitely broke, it's already swelling.]

Dude. Did you get jumped?

[performance]

[ Honestly, he's in a lot of pain, even with the painkillers, and he'd rather not make it worse by trying to explain how he tripped and fell off a roof and landed wrong. Him. The Boy Freaking Wonder.

He's about to tell Artemis not in a million years when Wally scrambles gracefully over a fence and almost tackles Artemis. Robin winces, but thank god he stops himself. ]

Nice save. Can we go with yes? Jumped by ninjas. A Florida hazard.

[ And, with a sigh and a tight frown, he turns back to Artemis. ] No ambulances. Please?

[real_archer]

[Artemis straightens, her expression impassive. She caught a glimpse of Kid Flash's expression after he came clattering down the fence, before he recognized her, but she's not particularly concerned about that right now. She knew he'd catch himself in time.

They have bigger problems.]

You don't want an ambulance? Okay, fine. Looks like your ride is here.

[She addresses her first comment to Robin, but she's looking at Kid Flash.]

Do you think you can get him to the hospital without bumping him around too much or do I need to make a splint?

[Look how professional we're being. Robin's obviously hurting, Wally might start freaking out about it, and Artemis would really like to get out of this alley before whatever actually did hurt Robin decides to come back. Definitely not the time for petty bullshit.]

[runningstart]

[She didn't move.

Learning how to make those on-the-dime stops has been a point of contention between Wally and Barry ever since he began. Barry would always get on Wally's case about decelerating properly, and Wally would argue that he is or that he's at least trying. And it was no secret to the team that even on surfaces with plenty of friction, Wally would frequently wipe out. Hell, everyone's gotten on his case about it more than once, and he's screwed up on missions with his inability to just dig in his heels and halt.

But Artemis didn't even flinch.]

He'll need a splint. [Wally finally looks away from Artemis and crouches down in front of Robin, taking in the way his face is still kinda pale, but not disturbingly so. He must've already taken some pain medication, good ol' utility belt.]

A run's gonna hurt, dude. A lot. You sure you don't want an ambulance? We can get your cape off and pass you as a civie; me and Art can say we found you while we were on patrol.

[performance]

[ Professionalism. He shouldn't have doubted Wally, he thinks, even as he tries not to read too much into the look the two of them share. Yeah, Wally can be loud and brash and stubborn and hotheaded, but he cares about his job. And he's better now than he was even five months ago.

Robin feels like a colossal jerk now. Maybe Wally was right to ditch him.

Passing him off as a civilian will mean unmasking in front of Artemis. And— and he wants to, someday, and maybe someday soon, but— not like this. Not now. She deserves better than that. But he shifts, and his leg aches, and he knows Wally's right. A run would hurt. (Not that he has anyone but himself to blame for that.) ]

If I'm going, I'm going as Robin.

[ His voice shakes a little with the effort of not sounding pained, and he looks between the two of them. ]

... And I want backup. [ After everything they've been through here, surely they'll both understand why. ]

[real_archer]

[Artemis makes a somewhat exasperated sound. She's pretty sure she can speak for herself and Kid Flash on this even if they're not on speaking terms with each other right now.]

You have back up. That's how it works.

[She would really rather he take the ambulance option but since she can't make up his mind for him, she starts hunting down material to make a decent splint. She's not trying to reset the bone or anything, just hold the fracture (fractures? She really hopes it's not fractures, plural) in place so it doesn't get worse until they get him to a real doctor.]

Hold still, okay? This is probably going to hurt.

[If there was one thing Lawrence "Crusher" Crock did well, it was make sure his girls had the skills they needed to go into the family business. Since no one in the Crock-Nguyen clan was blessed with super powers, that meant they had to be well versed in first aid.

And with her dad's training methods, Artemis had plenty of opportunities to practice. Mostly on herself.

She's hesitant, afraid of hurting him more than necessary, but she still knows what she's doing. Using some of her own arrows and a nearby stack of mostly-dry newspapers tied up with rough twine, Artemis fashions a reasonably good splint.

[performance]

It's not my first broken bone, Arty.

[ It hurts, but he's proud of himself: he doesn't scream. Doesn't complain. Doesn't even whimper. Just grits his teeth until she's done, and if he's a little paler afterwards, well, that's understandable, right?

He shoots her what he hopes is a reassuring smile. One of them has to have some kind of bedside manner, even if it's the patient. ]

Ha. Knew you'd be the girl to call.

[runningstart]

[Once Artemis has the splint tied off and Robin isn't in any immediate pain, KF crouches and, gently as possible, lifts him up into his arms in a bridal carry, broken leg closest to him for the most stability.

He glances over at Artemis.]

...I can try and carry you both, but it'll be slow going. [He could probably manage, so long as it's not fast. He won't go fast anyway or he'll jostle Robin's leg too badly, but they both know whether or not he can do it isn't the problem here.]

[real_archer]

[She knew Robin could handle it, but she's obscurely proud of him anyway. She shoots him a tight lipped smile of her own.]

Go Team No Powers, right?

[On the other hand, she isn't quite able to meet Kid Flash's eye when he addresses her.]

Don't bother with me, just get him to the hospital. I'll take the bus or something and meet you there.

[performance]

[ Robin looks between the two of them for a tense moment. He can't believe Wally offered to carry her. He can't believe Wally thought it would work.

He can't believe she's gonna take the bus. ]

... I could pay for a taxi?

[ It sounds so unbelievably lame, coming from a superhero, but... well. Improvisation. And apparently it's just a lame superhero kind of night. ]

[runningstart]

[..."Team No Powers," huh?]

You heard her, it's fine. She knows how to handle herself. [Wally glances at Artemis.] Don't you?

[The worst thing about having a snappy comeback is when you feel like a dickhole right after saying it. So KF just turns on his heel and jogs down the street, Robin up in his arms, keeping it under forty MPH and hoping that she doesn't find a bus to the hospital too quick.]

[real_archer]

[At first, Artemis is too shocked by the sudden dig to reply. And then he's already too far down the road.

Seething silently, she stalks out into the rain to find some goddamn transportation.]

[performance]

[ It's probably not a great idea, when you have a broken leg, to punch your only mode of transportation in the shoulder. But everything hurts and he's already miserable and now he's furious on Artemis's behalf on top of it. ]

What's wrong with you? You— you started off fine, and then— [ And another punch, for good measure. It's pretty pathetic — the angle's terrible and he doesn't really want to hurt him, but it's the principle of the thing. ]

I can't believe I actually felt guilty for lecturing you!

[runningstart]

Ow! Knock it off! [Wally doesn't even know how to get to the hospital from here. He should probably ask for directions.]

What about you, huh?! You call her first? You go out on a date with her, you two have a- have a no powers club? What the hell is that?

[performance]

Wha— so what? You haven't talked to me in a week! You just moved out, without any warning! You're supposed to be my best friend!

... And I can date whoever I want! [ Okay, so the date was supposed to make him a little bit jealous, but not like this. ]

[runningstart]

I didn't move out because of you, you idiot, I moved out because of Levi! And because- because I don't like being here, in Heropa, and because you seemed like you wanted your space because whenever I tried to talk to you about Bruce you got all down and talked about how you're not good enough for- for whatever and I don't wanna hear you badmouth yourself like that!

[Wally skids to a halt and he slips a little but keeps his feet, stops at the sidewalk because he doesn't know where he's going and the rain's a lot harder so it's difficult to see, and his hair's matted to his forehead and he's just so finished with everything.]

You're my best friend too! I would've run away with you to the circus, so why can't you ask me to go?!

[performance]

[ They're both soaked through, and this whole situation is ridiculous and cliche, but Robin just stares up at him silently, long enough for a car to amble up the road and past them again. He sniffs, looking off at the retreating headlights, because it's easier than facing Wally. ]

... Because I was afraid, okay? I was afraid you would, and you'd regret it, and I'd be responsible for dragging you down with me. I can't...

[runningstart]

[And Wally pretends to be looking for some kind of landmark or something so he can find his way to the hospital.]

Stop it. That, right there. You aren't responsible for what I decide to do, you got that Robin? And I mean really got it.

[performance]

[ He just clears his throat. ]

I think the hospital's the other way.

[runningstart]

[...fuck.]

This discussion is not over. [And that's a weird thing coming from Wally but he wants to make absolutely sure Robin gets it. He'll save it for now though, wait until Robin's at least got on a cast and they're not in the pouring rain.

To the hospital it is.]

[real_archer]

[Artemis rolls in almost an hour later. She is wet, she is muddy, and her mood has not improved by standing at the bus stop in the rain, getting splashed by every passing car.

She practically kicks open the swinging doors to the ER and stomps in like a gunslinger in a Western. She's about to march up to the nurse's desk and ask for Robin when she sees Robin and Wally, looking wet and sulky in hospital waiting room chairs.]

What is he still doing out here?!

[People are staring and Artemis stone cold does not give a shit.]

[performance]

A-Artemis!

[ He holds up his hands in a very clear PLEASE DO NOT gesture, eyes wide behind his mask.

The receptionist, clearly not impressed, explains in a patient drawl that it's been a very busy night — despite the empty waiting room — and he's on the list. ]