Thirteen

Chapter Eight - Illumination

Chapter 8

October 23, 2012

{17:12 EST}

Time seemed to roll by at a surreal pace. The Team was already moving out of Mount Justice, less than a day after receiving the horrible news. The few boxes containing Robin's possessions rested in the Batmobile, but Robin wasn't prepared enough to leave just yet.

Robin sat on top of short stack of boxes holding Conner's things and the few shirts the superteen hadn't torn into pieces. Anyone with eyes could see how depressed Conner was. Robin was a mess himself, but he at least had a home to go back to; however, Conner was merely being shipped off to live with Black Canary because Superman was too thick-headed to accept Conner as his son. Robin could scarcely relate to what that rejection felt like, but he wasn't ready to speak to his teammates. After sneaking into his mind without permission, Robin wasn't sure he could ever get over the pain he felt.

No matter how hard he tried, Robin couldn't put any justice behind what they did. They all should have known better. Kaldur, the most mature out of the entire team, should have known how wrong it was. Wally knew all the secrets Robin locked away from even himself; he should have been entirely against the idea. Conner had been brainwashed for months, and even he thought mind reading was justified?

Even Artemis should have known what a huge invasion of privacy it was. With all the secrets trailing behind her like a shadow, Artemis understood that some things were better left unsaid. Finally, M'gann, the one who actually committed the act, should have known better than to read minds after all the trouble it had gotten her into in the past.

He didn't think he could ever forgive them.

Voices suddenly met Robin's ears, and he jumped of the short stack of boxes silently, stepping back into the doorway of the next room and blending in with the shadows. He pressed his back tightly against the wall and stilled his breath listening to the voices and footsteps as they strolled by.

"But I do not understand, My King." Kaldur said, firmly holding two stacked boxes in his hand, "For what reasons has the Team been disbanded?"

Aquaman sighed, "Well, Kaldur'ahm, the Team just was unprepared for handling League issues. It was our own mistake for putting such pressure on you six without enough training. A mistake that we need to fix."

"The Team has been successful so far. I do not understand what changed."

Their voices faded away, and Robin stepped back from the wall, nearly jumping out of his skin when a heavy hand dropped down onto his shoulder. Robin quickly wheeled around to have his eyes land on Batman.

"We're leaving now." He said curtly.

Robin nodded and he shoved Batman's hand off his shoulder gruffly before turning to walk towards the ZETA tubes. He hardly picked up his feet with each step, his black converse shoes making a small scratching sound as he walked instead of his usual silent steps.

"Robin," Batman called, stopping the Boy Wonder in his tracks, "The ZETA beams have already been shut down. The Batmobile is in the back."

The scratching sound ended abruptly and Robin's frame stilled. Batman watched as his shoulders slumped before Robin turned back around and pushed past him once more. The duo walked out the back entrance and Robin forced himself not to cringe when the security didn't announce his departure. As they walked, he cast multiple glances back at the brilliant mountain.

He didn't want to go.

Engines underneath the hood of the Batmobile roared when Batman turned on the vehicle and hopped in. The sound of the machinery seemed to try and coax Robin to sit in the familiar seat, but he ungracefully got in the vehicle, only catching a short look at the boxes of his things in the back seat.