I woke up behind a rock with the people that attacked me blocking the skylight. Their faces were dark shadows compared to the brightness surrounding them. If I didn't know any better, I'd think they were angels. I was being cradled in Robin's arms and I heard him explaining something to the others.
"Once she wakes up-"
I cut him off, sleepy-eyed, with a groan. "Where am I?"
"You're awake!" Robin squeezed the life out of me and I yelped. "Sorry," he apologized.
I saw the green girl massage her temples on her head and her eyes glow a blinding white. Then, the scenery changed.
We were on this platform with what looked like thousands of fragmented mirrors that made up the walls and ceiling, and faint whispers could be heard. On each piece of glass was a different image. A memory.
All of a sudden, a glowing figure appeared in front of me, and my mind began to clear. It was as if a cloud was blocking my brain and was now getting sucked up by a vacuum cleaner.
M'gann, I thought, and Artemis, and Wally, and Robin. Him, I remember. How could I forget? But where are Aqualad and Superboy?
"I brought you into my mind to share what I've remembered so far," Miss Martin told us. "But I need your help. Together, our broken memories can form a whole," she paused, "if you open your minds to mine."
"You want to paw through our private thoughts?" Artemis asked harshly. She didn't want us to know something.
M'gann quickly tried to explain herself, "I have no wish to intrude, but-"
She was cut off by Robin, "You need to hack our minds to grok what happened to us. Got it. Go."
"My brain's all yours," Kid Flash flirted. "Try not to let its brilliance overwhelm you." A laugh burst from the back of my throat, and I had to bite my lip to contain it.
Kid Flash was about to say something to me when Robin joked, "Or underwhelm you. Hey, why isn't anyone ever just whelmed?"
He makes a good point, I thought, nodding my head in agreement. Then out of the corner of my eye, I saw Wally grab Artemis's hand. I couldn't help but cheer. Go get em', Wally!
"Last six months only, and only what you need," Artemis granted sternly. Cool light blue sparkly hands jutted out from M'gann's head, which was a bit disturbing, and grabbed onto each of our own. Then, the scenery swirled into a blur of blue and light gray, and all we saw was Batman. It felt surreal, like a dream sequence, but we were fully conscious. I knew that.
"The Watchtower detected an immense power surge in the Bialyan desert. Spectral analysis revealed elements non-terrestrial in origin. Find out what happened at that site, what landed there," Batman reported as he showed us a picture of an Egyptian woman with a lot of jewelry. "Bialya is a rogue state ruled by Queen Bee-"
Oh, that's who she is, I thought. Makes sense.
"-And not a member of the League's U.N. Charter. All communications are subject to interception. Maintain radio silence at all times. You'll land in Kourak on Bialya's border. Two clicks from the hot zone."
The scene changed once more, the ceiling of the cave blurring into the starry night sky.
"All clear," said Robin as Superboy unloaded a ginormous and heavy black box with different colored buttons everywhere.
"The Bialyans control the site," stated Artemis matter-of-factly as Robin, her, and I crawled up to the edge of the cliff to see a large tent and patrolling guards scattered across the lower grounds.
"Set up here," Aqualad ordered Superboy who turned a knob on the box, revealing hidden computers and dozens of red, yellow, and white crossed electrical wires.
Robin started typing on the keyboard attached to the black box, hacking away. "We'll be up and running in no time."
Then Kid Flash butted in, "Jackpot!" I jumped. "The site's lousy with zeta beam radiation."
"Detecting non-terrestrial trace elements from the tent," Robin revealed.
"I'll check it out in camouflage mode," M'gann suggested. Aqualad gave her permission to do so and told her to go. He advised her to be careful and to maintain telepathic contact.
As the memory reunion was interrupted, everybody gasped for air and questioned the one thing that didn't make sense, "Aqualad!"
"Where is he? What happened next?" I was unsure of who asked this, but I was searching for the same answers.
M'gann told us that this was the last thing that we remember.
Artemis and Wally seemed grossed out by the fact that they were holding hands and then it became awkward until Wally broke the silence, "We landed twenty-four hours ago. If Kaldur has been wandering the desert that long-- well, that's not good for a guy with gills."
I felt a chuckle rise in the back of my throat but forced myself to swallow it. Now was not the time for jokes.
Robin started to check his hologlove map. "Now that I know to look for him, he's close! But he's not moving.
We wandered the desert for what seemed like hours, and all I got out of it was watery eyes from flying dust particles. When we got to him, he was speaking some weird language.
"I can't restore his memories in this condition," Miss Martian told us.
"He needs immediate rehydration," Robin muttered, eyes sporadically searching our surroundings for any sign of water. "Call the bioship."
She told us that it was out of range and offered that Kid Flash get him there, but Aqualad was too heavy and he was too low on fuel. Artemis asked that M'gann levitate him back, but she had to find Superboy. All he had was animal impulse since he didn't exist six months ago, and before we knew it, she was gone.
"We still don't know what erased our memories," Robin yelled at her, trying to keep her from doing something unwise. "It could happen again!"
"Maybe I can try to give him some of my energy," I suggested. They agreed by scooting back. I felt electricity surge through my fingers and pressed down on his chest. No success.
"Try again," Robin whispered. I nodded and tried one more time, electrical currents wrapping themselves around his body. Still, nothing. I took a deep breath and was about to make a third attempt when Aqualad gasped and woke up. He was still a little woozy, so I let him lean on me, but because my back was still in pain, I was leaning on Robin, like a line of train cars.
We heard a jeep coming up from behind us and I pointed to behind a rock and whispered, "Quick, over there."
"We can't risk a fight with two injured members," advised Robin.
I was about to defend myself when Kid Flash said, "It's not just them. I'm way out of juice."
"And I'm almost out of arrows," Artemis added. Robin looked at me. I nodded, and, just like that, we disappeared. Robin bounced around, using the night as cover and began placing bombs on everything, while I placed my com far away from the rock.
We hurried back, not daring to get caught, and Artemis and Wally were arguing. I rolled my eyes and sighed. "Yeesh. Get a room," Robin gagged, and I giggled, but it sounded more like an evil garden gnome than a laugh.
"Where were you two?" Wally asked.
Robin sent a smirk my way before answering, "Breaking radio silence." A huge explosion erupted, and I grinned wickedly. Our plan had worked. "That's our cue, move!" yelled Robin.
We dragged Aqualad, Robin and I each holding an arm and Artemis and Kid Flash each holding a leg, as we inched across the Bialyan desert, one step at a time. The burning sun beat down on my neck, and for once, I wished I had access to a pair of scissors. Robin was counting down the miles, but by the time we made it back to the bioship, a cool breeze had swept over the sand dunes.
We hooked up Aqualad to some tubes containing water, lots of water. Now we were just waiting for Superboy and Miss Martian to return. Robin offered to patrol a little outside and gestured for me to follow him.
"How's your back?" he asked. I shrugged, not wanting to admit that my entire body was throbbing in pain and exhaustion.
He sat down on a rock and patted the ground next to him, signaling for me to sit. He put his arm around me, making heat flow throughout my entire body. I could feel the light pink crawl up my cheeks, but I used my hair as a shield.
"Having your memory wiped sucks," he yawned.
My eyes grew heavier as the conversation continued, and before I knew it, I was resting my head on his shoulder, his arm growing tighter around me.
"Yeah, it does. But so does getting shot with an arrow." I winced, the material of my suit rubbing against the open wound. "Zero outta ten. Would not recommend."
He gave me a small smile and chuckled lightly, and I could feel the rumble as his chest rose and fell. I gazed up into his eyes, but his pupils were dilated and glazed over. The smile on his face dissipated, and he looked conflicted, as if he wanted to do something, but wasn't sure whether it was right or not.
His eyes locked on mine and his face cleared, no wrinkle or crease. He opened his mouth to speak but instantly closed it, once again looking like he was in a war within himself, and losing. I closed my eyes, and I could feel his warm breath on my face. My mind was in a frenzy, and before I could do anything, his soft lips were on mine.
It was quick and short, but a perfect first. He stayed close, his nose gently brushing mine. My heart was beating erratically, and I couldn't think straight. The pressure lingered and my lips tingled, and I instinctively brought my fingers up to touch them.
All I could think of is that it's different in the movies. The girl and the boy each confess their undying love for each other after a day, and this was pretty similar. But Dick had one thing on all those cliches. His kiss was innocent. And that was all I could ask for.
"I don't know why I just did that," he laughed nervously. "I guess it just-- I don't know. I'll sound stupid." He sighed. "I guess it just felt right. I like you, all right. I've never had to deal with it this way, though. I just saw you one day, and-- I know it's cheesy, but whatever. You know, forget I said that. Erase it. It's dumb. I'm dumb."
"Guys, we're back!" M'gann shouted, hauling Superboy behind her. I jumped in Dick's arms and snapped my head in the direction of the voice. After dropping his head low, he looked up as well, but he wouldn't make eye contact with me.
"It's okay," I whispered to him, standing up and grabbing his hand. My tips turned upwards just staring at his dorky face. I peeled off his mask and admired his beautiful, harmless blue eyes. He was naive and ignorant, but optimistic, and that's the part about him I liked so much. "Let's go with the others." He returned my childlike smile and followed me up the stairs to the bioship, but other problems went haywire in there.
"Who are you, and how did I get here," asked a fully conscious and very paranoid Aqualad, his pale green eyes full of bewilderment and fear.
"Hello, Megan. Aqualad's memories! I knew I forgot something," Megan exclaimed, facepalming.
"Aw, man. Me, too. I didn't get a souvenir from the mission." Wally slumped his shoulders and trudged across the floor of the bioship, taking his seat with a frown.
"Don't worry, we got the souvenir thing covered," grinned M'gann as a spherical machine rolled up the extended ramp to the cargo unit.
After resolving our 'little problem', we all sat in our seats: Megan at the wheel, Kid Flash at the front, Artemis to the left, Aqualad behind Artemis, me to the right of Kid Flash, and Robin behind me.
I felt Robin whisper, "We'll continue later," sending shivers down my spine and leaving a bright pink hue on my cheeks, an embarrassed smile to spread across my face.
I stared out the window, watching the dozens of factories below us disappear in the blink of an eye. Before today, I'd never blushed once in my life. Now, he won't let me stop.
Darn it, Grayson. What are you doing to me?