literature

Hypothermia

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Literature Text

"Superboy, stay with Robin and guard him while he is hacking the computers. Kid Flash and Artemis, get to the first base. Miss Martian and I will take the second one."

It was supposed to be a simple recon mission.

Yeah; if only.

Superboy stood in front of the Boy Wonder as he finished downloading whatever files it was he needed into his wrist computer. "Can't you go any faster?" Superboy growled impatiently, resisting the urge to tap his foot like he'd sometimes seen Artemis do. If he were to be perfectly honest, just standing there and waiting with nothing to do but play guard was boring as all hell.

Robin just rolled his eyes and replied somewhat derisively, "Sorry, but I can't really rush technology. There's a lot to download." Superboy just groaned in response and continued to watch for any potential danger, finally giving into the urge to tap his foot a few times. "Almost..." Robin muttered, more to himself than Superboy, as he watched the digital copies of his face turn from red to green.

Shouting suddenly erupted from somewhere to the right, causing Superboy's head to snap up as he became aware of the oncoming danger. "People are coming." Robin nodded and tried to do exactly what he had recently stated that he couldn't: rush technology and try to make the damn thing finish faster. When the door burst open Superboy took a fighting stance, and Robin kept an eye on the situation the best he could. They stared at the six armed guards as they stormed inside the room, they didn't hesitate to begin attacking the teens. Robin cursed and Superboy leaped into action.

He roared fiercely and launched himself between two of the men, taking their guns – one in each hand – and crushing them into pieces before easily throwing their owners as well as one other still-armed guard away from him. The sound of gunfire filled the air and Superboy felt small throbs as they bounced off him. He scoffed at the sensation; it honestly felt like a bunch of gnats just rushed him all at once.
As soon as they figured out that the bullets weren't affecting the superclone, the men came charging at him full-force as if they actually stood a chance against him that way. He fought back a sneer as he grabbed one of the men by his right shoulder and swung him into the other two, successfully knocking them all on their backs. It was then that his super hearing picked up a small hiss somewhere behind him and he turned to see Robin doubled over and clutching at his left side.

The sight caused Superboy to more-or-less lose it completely. He let out a cry of pure, animalistic rage before chucking whatever restraint he had to Hell and beginning to beat the life out the poor sap that had decided to get back up. When the man hit the ground after the first punch, Superboy transferred the kicking before deciding using his fists was just more fun. As he drew back his arm in order to resume beating the guard's already bloodied face in, a tiny hand suddenly grabbed onto his wrist, successfully startling him into stopping his assault. Ripping his wrist away on instinct, he spun around to see Robin standing next to him and shouting, "Let's go!". Superboy glanced down at the unconscious man in front of them before nodding sharply once.

Robin turned and dashed from the room with Superboy trailing after him hurriedly. They continued to run through the mazelike building, guards and soldiers alike chasing after them the whole way until they finally reached a dead end. Superboy growled while Robin typed something into his gauntlet as they tried to figure out a way to escape. The former's brows knitted together before he just thought 'screw it' and picked up Robin with one hand while using the other to punch a hole in the wall. Robin yelped as Superboy switched to carrying him bridal style and leapt through the hole into the snow storm, going on to keep running and jumping through the pelting snow and ice until he felt they were at a safe distance from any potential enemies.

"Keep going," Robin instructed when he felt them slowing down, before reburying his head into Superboy's warm chest to protect it from the harsh winds. Superboy frowned, but complied nonetheless. He jumped again, sailing through the air in what almost felt like flying to his passenger. When he landed a few seconds later, though, the feeling wasn't so great to either of them.

"No!" Superboy ground out as he felt the ground under his feet give way. There was a large cracking sound before he felt himself falling into freezing cold water that seemed all too eager to rush up and greet him and Robin, surround them like an anti-blanket and chill them to their cores.

Superboy, shocked, released his hold on Robin, quickly losing sight of the small boy as his eyes automatically clenched shut. He gasped outwardly, bubbles flying through the water from his mouth, at the lack of air as he began to sink. Suddenly he felt a tiny hand once again grasp his wrist and he forced his eyes open to look over to where Robin was pointing up towards the surface. He understood instantly and they both began to swim upwards.

When they were almost to the top, Robin tried to seek out the hole they'd fallen through, but instead saw only the thick sheet of ice that blocked their way out. Superboy didn't bother with looking, opting to pull back his fist and shatter the ice, effectively creating a new hole.

When he breached the surface of the water, Superboy immediately felt the cold air scratch against his skin and shivered reflexively. As he gulped in all the oxygen his lungs could hold he thankfully noted that, other than the slight chill, he felt fine. Yet as he watched his teammate struggle out of the water beside him, he knew Robin couldn't say the same. The (decidedly-more-perceptible-to-the-elements) human was violently shaking as he crawled and clawed his way out of the water and flopped down like a puppet without its strings on the slippery ice. His lips – no, his whole body – looked terrifyingly blue.

Robin attempted to stand – failing numerous times before he eventually succeeded – and turned to his teammate, who had also finally gotten out of the water and to his feet on the ice. "L-let's k-keep mo-ving," Robin stuttered, wrapping his arms around himself. "Th-there's a c-cave a m-mile or s-so south of h-here." Superboy nodded silently and followed after Robin as he started forward, not failing to noticed as the younger boy struggled to walk. Superboy sidled up beside him and placed his forearm under his shoulder, helping him along. Robin smiled his thanks, all the while internally cursing himself for his weakness.

As they continued to walk through the blizzard, the wind only blew harder; as the wind blew harder, Robin shivered more; the more Robin shivered, the weaker he became and the more worried and angry Superboy became. I should've seen the ice, he thought heatedly. I should've stopped the soldiers sooner. I should've protected Robin better and— And he'll damn well make up for that now; he'll damn well make sure they get back home safely.

"There," Robin, who was now laying in Superboy's arms, pointed to a place off in the white and fuzzy distance. Superboy nodded, wished Robin were strong enough to withstand him jumping the remaining distance, and picked up his walking pace until they stood before a large cave with a boulder blocking the mouth. Superboy set Robin down in the snow and rolled the stone of the way just enough for them to fit though. He went back over to the smaller boy, whose eyes were now drooping behind his domino mask, and carried him into their shelter, carefully sitting him down in a spot far away from the fierce winds once they were inside.

Thinking it wise to scout the area, Superboy left him there to wander towards the back of the cave. As he got to the end, he found a pile of sticks and supplies along with a backpack and a skeleton. Superboy stared at the stranger who died there and hoped he and Robin wouldn't have the same fate before picking up the items – save for the bones – and started back to where his teammate was.

He found Robin huddled in a little –so little– ball against the wall of the cave, still violently shaking and with a little green glow stick for lighting laying in front of him. He looked up when he heard Superboy's footfalls and gave a small smile, only to be wiped away by a look of confusion as he quickly noticed the supplies. "Wh-where'd you f-find th-those?"

Superboy set down each items and placed the wood in the middle of the floor before answering, "In the back of the cave. Someone was here before—"

"And died here," Robin knowingly finished when Superboy broke off. He frowned morosely and scooted closer to the pile of sticks, grabbing for something in his belt as he went. It was then that Superboy noticed his cape was off and hanging from a wire across the cave, frost growing at its edges. "It's s-so it w-will d-dry," Robin answered the unvoiced question.

Superboy didn't respond, just stood there in silence with his arms crossed until Robin's shaky growl gained his attention, causing him to notice that Robin had been unsuccessful in getting whatever it was he wanted from his belt. Superboy signed quietly, grabbed the belt from the other, and sat down next to him. "What are you trying to get?" he asked.

Robin, who was freezing his, well, everything off, moved closer to the heat source. "S-seventh pouch from th-the l-left," he answered, "Th-there's a l-lighter." Sure enough, located in the seventh pouch from the left, there was a small black lighter with the Batman symbol on the back and a Robin symbol on the front. "G-grab the j-jar and the c-cloth t-too," he went on, "Th-they're in the s-same pocket. D-dip the cloth in the l-liquid and set it und-der the st-ticks."

Superboy did his best to focus on the task at hand and not on how weak Robin looked and sounded. Not on how much he was shaking or how he was much cooler and paler than normal humans. Just on the task. Just. The. Task.

Soon the cave was filled with orange-tinted light and a little bit of warmth. "N-nice job," Robin congratulated, his voice a strained, pained, shaking whisper. "I tr-tried to c-contact the team, but m-my stuff is f-frozen and I c-can't get any sign-nal." Superboy growled and clenched his fist.

"Now what?" he hissed. Robin was silent for a moment.

"I-I don't kn-know," he answered honestly, "I c-can't th-think. My b-body n-needs to warm up-p." He reached out and lightly tugged on Superboy's arm, silently instructing him to move closer to the fire with him. He did.

"I'm sorry," Robin apologized in a pained voice after a few minutes of silence.

What the—? He has nothing to be sorry for!

As if sensing Superboy's thoughts, Robin began to elaborate. "I sh-should have known the f-force of your l-landing would have c-c-caused the ice to spl-it," he explained reproachfully. Superboy rolled his eyes and remained silent. Only the crackling of the fire could be heard for a long time until Robin suddenly let out a strangled yelp.

"What's wrong?" Superboy asked worriedly, looking down at the human beside him. The younger boy's face was contorted in pain.

"N-noth-thing. M-my bo-ody's j-just r-r-rewarmi-ing." Robin didn't look at him, just pulled himself closer to the fire.
Superboy continued to watch the small boy shiver, noticing that he actually felt colder where he brushed against the clone's side. He'd also taken note when, strangely enough, Robin's stuttering grew worse. After a few more minutes, Robin stood up, his posture slumped and seeming like he was being weighed down, and dragged his feet towards his cape, somehow managing to yank it down with the little strength he had left. Superboy carefully watched his every move, making sure he was alright and dutifully noting his sluggish and weak behavior.

As Robin began to walk (read: drag) himself back to his spot by Superboy, he collapsed. Superboy jumped to his feet, ran to Robin's side and managed to catch him before his face hit the floor.

Robin didn't move.

He hadn't even tried to stop his fall.

Something was wrong. Really, really wrong.

Superboy propped up Robin's upper half in hopes that he would begin to get up, but Robin merely let out a pained moan as his head lulled to the side. He was unconscious.

Superboy gripped him more tightly before realizing where his hand rested was sticky and more wet than the other parts of his body. He cursed. He cursed himself for forgetting Robin's injury – the bullet wound from before. He now wracked his brain for his Cadmus-built knowledge about medical care in gun-related injuries, but because he was freaking bullet proof he apparently hadn't been given any.

Medical knowledge, medical knowledge, goddammit think! Superboy demanded of himself. He felt Robin's forehead, which was much too cold for any normal human. He noticed the blue tint of the boy's skin and his harsh shaking and shivering (why did he have to be so useless?) and moved them both closer to the fire. Robin didn't make a sound and Superboy didn't know whether he should be relieved or more worried by that. He grabbed Robin's cape and tore a small strip from the bottom to use as a bandage for his wound ("Keep pressure on it," he remembered Robin saying to Kid Flash once when he was injured).

So he did.

Superboy made himself focus on Robins fading breath and pulse as it grew weaker, and made sure to keep Robin close to him and close to the fire. He hoped help would come soon. He may not know a lot about medical treatment, but he did know that Robin wouldn't last much longer if it didn't.
This'll be short like only 3 chaps short
I own nothing! except for the man who died :D
COMMENT...or Ill KILL Robin! Mwahahaha I love being evil
ps thanks for reading
feathers!
© 2011 - 2024 MM-Mouse
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dicksgirlfriend's avatar
Its awesome so dont kill Robin he is to cute to die