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psychoinsomniac · 2 months ago

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Enhanced Instincts

Super Boy x Red Robin x PlatonicOlderEmpathMetaCivilian Reader

You blinked as you came too. You could feel eyes watching you, following your every move.

Even though you were in a one-way glass holding cell with no possible way to see out, you didn’t need to be able to see the person to know who was watching and to recognize who it was. Afterall, you’ve felt their gaze before, just never like this. Usually it was friendly, or at least kind.

Now, it felt almost predatory. Too bad he didn’t seem to realize who he was playing with. You were the predator in this situation. Nice until threatened.

You look down and notice your jewelry is missing. No bracelets and no necklace. Damn, how rude.

You hadn’t even done anything wrong! Well, not really anyway, nothing that harboured this kind of criminal treatment.

You wondered if there was anything that you could control with your powers to escape, not that you felt particularly in danger at the moment. But you still needed to be prepared in case things got nasty. You looked around, not noticing anything of interest.

You slowly paced around the cell, walking in small, and then bigger circles. You had an inkling of a suspicion what this was about, but no way to be sure. Not until you got some clues from the person whose eyes had yet to leave your carefully pacing form.

You stopped your pacing, finding it no longer satiating your boredom. Looking to the ceiling for anything remotely interesting to keep your focus, you notice a closed vent.

‘That could work,’ you muse.

‘I wonder what it does?’ you thought to yourself.

Before you had time to ponder any longer about the strange vent and its purpose being on the roof of what appeared to be a secret holding cell designed to hold people for observation, the glass changed.

Suddenly, as if the glass had never held you at a disadvantage, as slight as it was, you could see outside your cell.

There he proudly stood, just as you knew he would be. Red Robin, formerly just Robin.

‘He looks different,’ you thought. Taller perhaps?

“Do you know why you are here?” He questioned, his tone low, giving nothing away.

“No, but I assume you have an idea, since you haven’t stopped staring at me since I got here.”

Yes, definitely taller than the last time you spoke.

You turn, no longer finding him interesting enough to look at. It’s not as though you didn’t already know he was there. You knew that he was also aware that the glass wasn’t providing the disadvantage it was supposed to. That meant that the glass hadn’t changed for your benefit.

He was doing something. You didn’t know what, but you were going to find out.

‘What’s his game?’ you mused to yourself.

He didn’t reply, seemingly studying you even deeper, if the slight squint of his eyes was anything to go off of.

“I’m sure you're aware of what you’ve done. Not just anyone gets this level of treatment.”

He continues,

“Why don’t you help me speed up this process, get you out of that cell?”

You slowly look around the cell once more. One concrete wall and three glass windows, bullet proof you're sure. After all, this wasn’t his first rodeo. There's no bed, but there is a small cushion in the center of the room. You could only assume it was for meditating, that or to scream into. No food, no water, but a suspicious looking room off to the right of the concrete wall. Maybe a washroom?

You turn to face him again, taking notice how he almost seems to straighten up under your limited attention span. Perhaps he subconsciously places value on your attention, however fleeting it may be. You wonder if it’s you, or just any adult’s undivided attention that has this effect.

“Why would I do that? I’ve done nothing wrong, and this room isn’t too bad. I’ve certainly had worse accommodations before,” You responded, eyes flickering back and forth from his imposing form and the environment outside of the cell.

“You know that,” you retort, smiling to yourself as you make eye contact.

And he does know that. If there's one thing everyone knows about the bats, it's that they do their research. Even on civilians that have no business being locked in a cell.

‘He’s alone,’ you note. That's interesting, as of late he’s been such a team player. From what you’ve seen on the news and heard on the street anyway.

“Everybody has done something wrong, you need to take accountability. I won’t offer again, tell me what you’ve done, and we can end this.” His tone was rising, he was losing his patience.

And here you thought that he would have grown past his impulsive and impatient ways since your last interaction. ‘Silly boy, playing with a match in a puddle of gasoline’.

You hum quietly, but you know he heard it.

“I can’t take accountability if I don’t know what this charming experience is about.”

He lets out a low huff under his breath, so quiet you almost don’t hear it, but you know body language well enough to know better than that. You know you are pushing his buttons just enough to get the reactions you are looking for. It won't be long until he accidentally drops a clue, and from there it's practically cake to either escape or talk him into letting you out.

Suddenly, you get a piercing feeling that someone else’s eyes are on you. Not only that, they aren’t in the near vicinity, and they are listening to you.

You turn away again, and close your eyes to detect where they are outside the cell.

“You know more than you are letting on, tell me and I can end this. Don’t you want that?”

Real subtle, try and manipulate the empath. What a jackass. This isn’t his first time around you, so why is he acting like it?

You start your pacing again. The repetitive motion helps you focus, not that you haven’t already figured out who the other set of eyes and ears belong to. Super Boy.

Dumb and dumber. You wonder who’s brilliant idea this was. You’re almost 100% certain that Batman and Superman didn’t OK whatever this was, so that means they’ve gone rogue for some reason.

Abducting a civilian, what a great start for any hero duo.

You’re almost impressed, you honestly didn’t think the wonder twins had it in them, what with the debilitating daddy issues and perfectionist personality traits that seem to drive most of their decisions. It was common speculation on the streets how the heroes treated their kids, and you’d seen enough negligence in your lifetime to recognize it when you saw it.

You turn to face him, effectively stopping your pacing once more. You smile sweetly and make sure to keep your heartbeat even before answering with your own question. Afterall, it’s not like they are playing fair, why should you?

“Why don’t you just tell me what this is about, and I’ll let you know if I can help you? Surely you understand that we aren't getting anywhere, and I don’t know how to help you when I’m kept in the dark like this. Do you think you can handle that?”

You say it so sweetly, you think he almost doesn’t feel the condescension in your tone. Almost.

He gulps down his anger at your delicate taunt and his seemingly fruitless efforts thus far. He looks away contemplatively before sighing, and looking back at your slightly smirking form.

“What do you know about Scarecrow’s new fear gas? We haven’t been able to locate him since he escaped Arkham, but we know he’s gearing up for something big.”

You reward him with a smile. Afterall, he was being so good by telling you what he wanted. It’s too bad that you still haven’t gotten what you wanted.

“I know quite a lot about our dearest mad chemist, but I don’t see how that’s any of your business. Hmmm, what a pickle we seem to be stuck in. If only there was a way for you to help me, so I could help you.”

You turn away again, content with the proceedings of this interaction, however one-sided it might be, not that they knew that. They still thought that they had the upper hand.

“Tell us what you know and we will let you go, as long as you promise not to get in the way.” He implores you to share, his eyes softening slightly to express how desperate he is for this information.

“Give me back my jewelry, and I’ll think about it,” you shoot back, crossing your arms in defiance.

“No. You won’t be getting anything until you tell us what you know! Don’t you understand that people could die if you don’t help us? That people will get hurt?” He’s glaring at you now, fuming as his shoulders rise and fall with each intake of breath.

You sigh. You feel for the kid, you really do. This rogue mission was obviously a cry for attention, an act to feel seen. And the stress of failing and not being able to capture Scarecrow was only adding to the pile. But you didn’t sign up to be a hero. This wasn’t on your shoulders, it's not like you worked for Scarecrow, you just knew the right people who knew the right people.

“Look kid, I’m not trying to wreck whatever plan you’ve got going on here, but it’s not my problem. Look around, you're in Gotham. People are already getting hurt and getting killed. Although I’ll admit, it's completely unnecessary for Scarecrow to play with his food.”

You shake your head, you’re getting side tracked again. Curse your short attention span.

“If you give me back my jewelry that you confiscated while I was out, quite rudely I might add, I’ll tell you what I know. I’m not your enemy, despite what that grouchy shadow seems to be teaching you.”

You look at his eyes imploringly, trying to extend your olive branch. You were no longer comfortable being around these damaged kids, you were learning way too much about them. You didn’t need to have the urge to hug these stupid sidekicks or to fix their issues. Afterall, they weren't yours, and they weren’t your responsibility. You just wanted out of this situation.

Red Robin looked away as he paced and stroked his chin in thought, an odd habit for a teenager. You suppose he had limited role models if he’s rolling with Mr tall, dark and creepy. You decide to let it slide, just this once. If he pulls this sort of stunt again, you’ll call him out on it, but that day is not today.

Focusing back in on Red Robin, he had stopped pacing and walked up to the glass to face you.

“What’s so important about that jewelry? Why is it more important than your freedom?”

An interesting question to ask, but not the right one, not for today.

“It was given to me by someone special, I suppose it’s sentimental,” you respond simply, shrugging. They don't need to know the truth about that jewelry, and you don’t need to deal with that delay. Hopefully you never have to, however wishful that thinking may be.

Red Robin nods and walks away to a desk not far behind him. He returns and places the jewelry in a small tray, which he then loads into a chute built into the concrete wall, beside your suspected washroom.

You must have missed that, what with the stimulating conversation you’ve been having.

The tray quickly shoots up the chute, and the vent in your ceiling opens just as the tray flys through. The tray lands with a crash on the hard floor, and the vent quickly closes.

You shoot Red Robin a disappointed look, after all, jewelry typically is fragile.

He has the decency to look apologetic.

“Sorry, I didn’t think it would move that fast!”

You wave him off and move to check the jewelry, which is somehow still intact. You put the bracelets and necklace on, feeling your powers dampen, which brings you instant relief.

“Alright boy wonder, why don’t you invite your little stalker friend over here to actually be a part of the conversation, and I’ll tell you what you want to know.”

Red Robin looks surprised that you detected Super Boy, since he had been so quiet, but nods anyway.

Super Boy begrudgingly walks over and stops next to Red Robin, giving you a glare that's reminiscent of an angry wet cat.

“Talk. Now.” Super Boy orders authoritatively. As if he had any power here. What a child.

“I’m tempted not to, but since you asked so eloquently,” you retort sarcastically, before taking a deep breath and continuing.

“I don’t know where he is, but I know where he’s going. Apparently he’s been upgrading his fear toxin. I think he’s been working on it from before his last escape from Arkham, but that's neither here nor there. He’s planning to spread it around the city by releasing massive smoke bombs at the center of each district.”

The boys nod at you to continue.

“He’s only in it for the chaos. Chemistry is his passion, he’s just such a demented person that he’s misconstrued his presentation. It’ll take a wrecking ball to break through that psyche. I digress, I don’t know the exact locations, but I heard something about him scouting out tall buildings to drop the bombs from.”

The boys look at eachother excitedly and start heading towards what you assume is the exit. You loudly clear your throat to interrupt their hasty escape.

“What exactly is your plan? I get the feeling that this isn't exactly a sanctioned mission? And are you going to let me out?” You gesture towards yourself.

The boys look at eachother once again, before Red Robin presses a button on his utility belt and a hidden door opens, letting you exit the cell.

“Thanks for your help, but we can take it from here,” Super Boy stoically responds.

“That wasn’t an offer to help, I just want to make sure you aren’t headed into a suicide mission. You are just teenagers, no matter what your skill set.” You respond quickly, with a gentle quirk of an eyebrow for emphasis.

Red Robin responds this time, seeming annoyed at your concern.

“That’s none of your business, we are trained professionals, and we don’t need your input on what we do.”

You raise your hands in surrender.

“Alright, I just thought you might like to have someone looking out for your wellbeing, since your parents obviously don't do it. But your right, your practically adults, run off on your secret mission. It’s none of my business, I shouldn’t even have been here in the first place.”

You strut past the two heroes and exit the building. Finding that you aren't too far from the grocery store you were headed to when you were abducted by jackass teenagers on a power trip, you decide to finish your shopping.

While haphazardly throwing easy meals into your basket, you look to one of the TV screens mounted to a wall by the checkouts and watch as Scarecrow is apprehended by Red Robin, Batman, and Robin after what you assume is an epic battle.

Smiling to yourself that everything seemed to end alright, you pay for your food and leave. Perhaps he's more responsible than you give him credit for.

Once you step outside, you feel the familiar eyes of Super Boy before you see him. You look up to a building, and see Super Boy watching you once again. You wave lightly, to which he waves back before disappearing.

‘Who is raising the kids these days?’ you think to yourself as you walk home.

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Just a note, reader is in their early 20s, so there isn't much of an age gap. They just have the mom friend vibes.

Thanks for reading, hopefully it doesn't suck. : )

#superboy x reader #red robin x reader #platonic #dcu

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