Inspired by the second episode of Junji Maniac because it messed with a very specific fear i have

Also, I'm experimenting with some SuperWonderBat through this fic. I'm working on writing the dynamic because I find it sweet but can't find anything with it

If there was one thing that Batman didn't want anywhere near an unknown meteorite crash site, it was his young protege Robin. He would rather his ward be at home enjoying the night off he was supposed to have and catching up on some sleep but of course, Alfred had chosen this week to go back to England which left him without a trusted babysitter and he couldn't leave Robin alone in the house when the kid was chaos incarnate. No normal babysitter could contain him and he would be sneaking out at the first sign of trouble all on his own without any adult there to pull him out of it when he got in over his head.

He could've passed up the opportunity to check out the crash. Wonder Woman and Superman had both readily offered their services so he could stay in with his kid. They were having slow nights and they knew Alfred was out of town so there was no one to look after his kid. They'd actually offered to stay there for a few nights although their intentions couldn't have been completely focused on easing the responsibilities of looking after a child. Batman remembered when they both approached him in the cave, asking if they were going to take things further, and the signal had gone up before he had to say anything. They'd been following him around since. The thought of them being so close to Gotham, looking after his city instead of theirs, was too intimate for his liking so he told them he had it handled.

It was this terrible luck and being territorial over Gotham that led Batman to be standing in front of the empty hole where the meteorite should be, readying himself to go into the nearby cave thanks to the odd markings leading to it whilst Wonder Woman cooed over Robin as the child used Superman as a living climbing frame. Of course, when he insisted he would handle it, he expected them to leave but they took it as a chance to hang out and Robin would only pout if Batman told them to leave now. They kept sending him looks as if to say that they were going.

The pair adored Robin as their own which he was equally thankful and cautious of. If they ever got together but things didn't work out then Robin would be down two important figures in his life and he loved Superman more than any other hero so he'd probably be on their side not his. Then again, if they did get together and things worked out, if anything happened to them on the job then what would happen to Robin? Would Robin even be okay with him dating two people? 

He sighed to himself and wiped a hand across his face. He needed to concentrate and this was an important opportunity to teach Robin how to handle risks that didn't begin in Gotham.

"We didn't come here so you could play," he called out gruffly although he had to admit he was happy seeing his ward was getting along with the supers. "We need to do work."

"Sorry B," Robin replied, jumping off Superman's shoulders and rushing over to stand by his side. He stumbled a little but soon stood straight, his posture exemplary. "I didn't wanna bother you when you're in the zone." The kid was too sweet to be annoyed at so he swiftly redirected his irritation to the other heroes. 

"He needs to remain close to me to learn. He can't be distracted when I'm laying down the basics," he stated, glaring at the others. They didn't seem at all affected by his stare which only went to irritate him further. He turned to face his protege who looked up at him patiently. "It looks like whatever crash landed here went into that cave. What are the dangers of following the enemy down a cave?"

"Uhm, you risk a cave-in from combat, limited escape routes, and attack options because of the closed-in spaces, and spiders." 

"I don't think spiders deserve to be that high up on the risk list," he pointed out.

"They're a risk to me."

"There aren't any that can kill you around here."

"But they make me feel bad," Robin insisted, getting a laugh out of the other heroes. 

"Fine. We'll work on fear management next week."

"B, if you make me touch a spider, I'll never forgive you," the boy warned with a serious expression. He didn't doubt his ward was stubborn enough to make good on that promise. 

"So what's the plan?" Superman asked. "If they crashed then they might not intend to be here. Could be some sort of engine failure when they were escaping."

"Or they could be a scout that crash landed," Wonder Woman argued. "We have no idea if this is an incoming invasion gone wrong, a passerby or some refugee." 

"Either way, they didn't declare themselves through us. We go in neutral. If they attack, we fight. If they don't, we negotiate and see if we can help them get to wherever they're supposed to be," Batman concluded. The heroes nodded in agreement.

The cave walls had been spray painted quite a few times so Superman spent most of the first mile trying to cover up Robin's eyes as though seeing a single curse word graffitied onto the wall would kill him whilst Batman wondered if anyone was there at the time of the crash. The mud was soft near the entrance and there were a few footsteps in but they disappeared with no tracks leading outwards. Either someone had been here and suddenly teleported out or their alien decided they didn't want to leave a trail. Batman leaned toward them being the aliens due to slight deformations in the prints that, whilst showing a barefoot, weren't quite human. Did they not want to be found because they were scared or because they had bad intentions? 

"How far does this thing go?" Wonder Woman questioned. 

"So far!" Robin answered with a grin. "B made me do that part of the research in the car because he needed to drive. It stays like this for fifty miles then cuts off into two tunnels. The first goes on for another ten before stopping but the second intersects with another cave system and lasts for thirty not including that system's length." He looked up at his mentor expectantly after reciting the information, slightly out of breath.

"Good work," Batman muttered. He grinned at the praise, his hands shaking with excitement as he tried to keep them pinned to his side. They were weaning him off hugs in public since it only ruined the hard exterior of the dark knight and showed off the already glaring soft spot he had for the kid. 

"Do we split up when we hit the tunnels?" Superman asked. 

"We'll decide when we get there. If there are any obvious clues on either side, we'll remain together."

"Can I be with Superman if we do split up?" 

"You're supposed to be my partner."

"I know but I'm always your partner. I never get to hang out with the others! Absence makes the heart grow fonder too." Batman groaned and looked to the alien for some sort of support only to find puppy eyes staring back at him.

"Fine. Then you'll know what I have to deal with."

"Was that directed at him or Robin?" Wonder Woman asked.

"Both."

As they walked, Batman noticed how Wonder Woman and Superman kept coming close to him as though to talk without Robin hearing. He knew what they wanted to talk about. They wanted some sort of confirmation on what they were but now wasn't the time. Maybe there would never be a time and that's why they were pushing for it. Robin was in a world of his own, skipping a foot or two in front of them and only stopping when he saw a shiny rock so he paused to put the pair right.

"What do you want?" he snapped although he already knew.

"You've been avoiding us," Wonder Woman responded. Her expression was stern and she folded her arms across her chest. She didn't appreciate being given the runaround, he knew that, and she was clearly at her limit. Superman meanwhile seemed concerned either for him or about potentially overstepping. He could be just as bold as Wonder Woman when he wanted to be but he was too nice to maintain that confidence when things went wrong.

"I haven't been avoiding you. If you haven't noticed, I have a child to care for on top of saving a city every night and running a billion-dollar business. I don't exactly have tonnes of time on my hands," he replied in a clipped tone. He had no right to be so snippy but he hated these types of conversations at the best of times.

"Nobody is saying that you're not a busy man," Superman stepped in. "The problem is you've never been so busy that you couldn't talk to us for at least five minutes and it's not like we never gave you options. You're the one who refused to let us help you, even with Alfred away." He grunted in acknowledgement. "You can say no to our offer, Bruce."

"I have a lot to think about."

"What's there to think about? If you fear we wouldn't accept that you have divided attention between us and your child then you have no need to." 

"This isn't the time to talk about it."

"When is there?" Superman asked genuinely. "You aren't talking to us at all. You've basically been MIA. The only way we knew you were okay is from reports of Batman being made."

"I would've spoken to you when I decided to but of course, you had to rush things and insert yourself. All you had to do was wait."

"For what?" Wonder Woman demanded. "You are welcome to say no but we don't enjoy being played with."

"You wouldn't understand. Neither of you have children so neither of you understand what I have to go through."

As the three argued, Robin rolled his eyes. They liked to think that they were being inconspicuous but they were clearly in some sort of lover's tiff. He knew all the signs. The hushed voices, the harsh whispers and the feeling of being watched occasionally so they knew if he was staring at them fighting. He was a little annoyed it cut into his rare time with Wonder Woman and Superman but they evidently needed to work something out and he wasn't about to get in the middle of it. 

He picked out a rock to kick along the ground as he walked and with one misplaced kick, it went barrelling down to the fork in the tunnel. He huffed, glanced back to the three heroes and found them still arguing so he sped up slightly to retrieve the rock. As he kicked it back to where he once was, he noticed something move in the darkness of the right tunnel and glow for only a few seconds before everything went dark again. It wasn't completely obvious and he doubted anyone would've noticed had they not been staring right at it. He tilted his head to the side as he stepped closer, careful not to go into the tunnel just yet. Whatever the heroes were arguing about wouldn't be helped if he went wandering off. 

Still, he was curious and he reasoned that as long as he didn't go too far then he could investigate. Superman had amazing hearing so he was probably keeping an ear out for him. If he needed help, he'd receive it immediately. He couldn't see anything move again when he moved so he supposed whatever it was had scampered off deeper into the tunnels. When the arguing was done, he could tip them off to investigate the right tunnel. He took another cautious step and noticed that the ground underneath him felt mushy. The entire way there, aside from the entrance at the very beginning of the cave, had been hard ground. Why would it suddenly turn into wet mud so far inside? 

Robin glanced at the walls, expecting to see some type of perspiration but found they were bone dry. They weren't above any water sources if he remembered right and there had been no other mysterious wet spots before. He stared at the mud, pushing his foot into it and then pulling it away. It moved with a wet squelch and his shoe had nearly been taken off from the suction. Sticky wet mud? He squatted down to get a closer look and frowned when the ground seemed to be writhing. It was definitely mud, he hadn't accidentally trodden on a clump of creepy crawlies. He made a confused noise, one he doubted anyone other than Superman caught and squinted. It was like the dirt was...alive? Wait.

He pressed his hand against the dirt. It wasn't wet. When he took his hand away, there was nothing stuck on it but it had been pulled down as though the ground was gloop. A deep red glow slowly emitted from the ground, making him shoot up to stand but when he tried to step away, he found his feet remained glued to the spot. The crimson began to cover his green boots and continued to swallow him up. 

"Guys," he muttered, confused. He tried again to step away but his feet were in the ground. He was sinking. "Guys!" When he turned around, he caught eyes with the heroes who spared him a glance. He went to explain he was sinking only to be suddenly tugged down deeper. Now he was knee-deep in the ground but it was still hard. How could he be sinking into a solid surface? 

Batman soon ran over and put his hands underneath his shoulders to pull him away but the ground had a hold on him. With every pull, he seemed to fall deeper into the dirt. Terror ripped through him as he kicked and struggled against the ground but it crept up his legs. Superman and Wonder Woman stepped in then, each taking an arm and pulling but all that seemed to succeed in doing was hurting him. Tears pricked at his eyes when he realized in a matter of seconds, he'd be chest-deep. Then he'd be neck deep. Then he'd be submerged. Panic seized him as he just seemed to sink further and further. 

"Help!" he cried, knowing that they were trying but also aware that nothing was working. His skin where they held him was becoming bruised and sore under their tight grip. "Please! Help!" His chest was being swallowed now. He could feel things wrap around the parts of his body that were submerged but he had no idea what it was. 

"I've got you. You'll be okay," Batman assured him despite the shake in his voice. Robin screamed and cried as he went deeper and deeper into the ground.

"Dad!" Wonder Woman turned to trying to dig him out but whatever had hold of him wasn't letting go and she couldn't grip it. "I don't wanna die!" Then there was one final tug and the rest of him slipped under. Silence followed. The ground stopped glowing and remained hard. The three frantically dug up the dirt in fistfuls but all there was were roots and mud. There was no sign of the boy who had been dragged underneath.

"What," Wonder Woman began only to let the question die as millions more came to mind. He was gone. He was terrified, begging them to help and he was gone.

"He can't be gone," Batman stated. They'd never heard a man sound both so sure yet lack so much confidence as get spoke. "Robin!" he shouted. There was no reply. "He has to be here somewhere." He turned to Superman with a desperate look in his eye. "You would've heard his heart stop. Tell me you didn't hear his heart stop."

"Bruce-"

"Tell me, Clark!"

"I didn't hear it stop. It more so faded out but we don't know how far down he was or-"

"Clark, I swear to every higher power out there."

"Fine! I didn't hear it stop but I can't hear it anymore Bruce."

"When did you stop being able to hear it?" Superman gestured to the right tunnel. "Then we'll follow the tunnel and find him. Got that."

"Okay," Wonder Woman replied. She put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed slightly. "We'll go find him. He's a tough kid."

"Toughest there is," Superman concurred.

So they started running. They weren't sure of what they'd find or if they would find anything but they sure as shit weren't going to just let Robin disappear like that and not try to go after him no matter how fruitless the venture seemed to be. All that mattered was there was a chance he could be okay. 

They had no idea what Batman would do if they couldn't find Robin. That boy was his whole life nowadays and honestly, Wonder Woman and Superman were glad for it. They were seeing a side to the billionaire who was learning to be more content with life. Someone who cared a bit more about what his civilian life looked like. Maybe that's why they tried to make things official. They thought he was beginning to look forward to things outside of vigilante work. Now wasn't the time to think about that though.

With their ears so strained for any sort of noise, the scream that came after a few minutes felt like a bomb echoing through the tunnel. Batman had heard the scream before. He heard it in the dead of night when Robin was trapped in a neverending nightmare of seeing his parents fall. 

"At least he's alive," Wonder Woman offered before another heart-wrenching scream sounded. She grimaced at the sound and the glares it was paired with, deciding to keep her head down and keep running. Personally, she thought her comment would give some comfort but then again her bluntness wasn't always appreciated. Surely if he was screaming it was better than his silence. Her thought was proven when the screaming stopped suddenly like it had been paused. She looked over to her fellow heroes who sped up and she followed suit. 

If they were honest, they were expecting a blood bath at the end of the tunnel. Someone who screamed that harrowingly had to be in a great deal of pain so they had assumed that wherever he had popped out would be doused with his blood. Their relief was palpable when they saw Robin standing, bruised and dirty but most importantly alive. He stood as a slight bend, half of his body obscured by the turn but they didn't think anything of it at first. All they could focus on was how he wasn't bleeding out or bent at all odd angles.

"Robin!" they yelled in unison when they spotted the boy. Their relief turned to terror when he moved to the centre of the tunnel and they found out he wasn't alone. He stood beside a figure that looked like a plastic model of a man only with all the distinctive features melted off. Its hand rested firmly on Robin's shoulder in a death grip yet the acrobat showed no fear in the clutch of the strange creature. He showed no real emotion at all.

"Is that what it's called?" Robin asked, his voice disjointed from his body. Either his voice wasn't completely matched up with his lips or his face was too blank as he spoke but it was decidedly uncanny. His head tilting looked more like flopping to the side in some poor imitation of his usual mannerism. "What is this place?"

"Who are we talking to?" Batman demanded, ignoring the question. 

"I'm Orion."

"What're you doing with Robin?"

"I intended to take it as a pet to accompany me but it works well as a translator." Robin's lips twitched upwards in a smile that they assumed was Orion showing pleasure at the turn of events. It only worked to make the group more uneasy in its presence. "A well-deserved turn of good fortune if you ask me. Its mind is perfect for translating."

"That's he, not it and he is not your plaything," Wonder Woman snarled. They didn't know if the acrobat was conscious behind the blank look or if he was in a sleep-like state whilst someone else had control of him but they didn't care because no matter what, he wasn't safe controlled by this thing. The alien was taking advantage of him. They wondered if it hurt to be controlled and that's what caused the screaming or if it was simply seeing an unfamiliar entity after being dragged underground that had him so frightened. There were too many uncertainties at play for them to feel even remotely comfortable with the current circumstances. "You would be smart to release him."

"But then I would have no method of communication. I don't intend to keep him if he belongs to one of you though. If you give me what I require I would be happy to return him."

"Take one of us instead then," Superman reasoned. Robin- no this was Orion speaking - Orion laughed brokenly.

"If I let your pet go then you will simply attack me, won't you? You seem mad."

"He isn't a pet. He's our kid," Batman snarled and in any other situation, he would've sent the two heroes' hearts a flutter at implying Robin was as much theirs as he was his. Unfortunately, they were more focused on the strange alien holding the boy hostage.

"Apologies," Orion replied. "Still, my point remains that you are far too mad for me to let him go so early. I repeat that if you give me what I require then I'll be happy to return him."

"What do you want?"

"I only need help home. You see, my flight path was disrupted by a meteorite and by the time I realised what happened, I was caught in your orbit and sent hurtling to this planet. I found this shelter and assumed the planet to be abandoned, hence why I snatched up this lovely lifeform," he explained. 

Batman didn't want to touch their ship. He didn't want to spend hours fixing something when Orion had been bold enough to leverage his son. It didn't deserve his attention and he wanted this over fast. Who would be able to take over so he could get Robin home and forget about this disaster? Who was also just annoying enough for Orion to regret crossing him?

Hal Jordan.

"We'll call a friend and see you get home safe but as soon as he gets here, you hand over Robin."

"I believe that's quite fair. Although I do hate to set my pets free."

"Not a pet," Wonder Woman snapped.

"Right."

To Green Lantern's credit, he was quick to the scene even if he was only fast because Batman made it sound like a life-and-death situation. To Batman it was but Orion had no intention of harming Robin. Green Lantern met them by the cave entrance and immediately knew not to ask too much about the situation if the scowls on his fellow heroes' faces were anything to go by.

"You said this was an emergency?"

"We need you to take Orion home," Superman answered. "Then he'll give us Robin back."

"What so I get to play taxi-" he paused when he saw Superman and Wonder Woman motioning for him to shut up and one look at Batman's face told him he wouldn't be breathing so easily for much longer if he continued. He glanced at Robin who he knew to be excitable and fidgety and grimaced at how still he was. Like a puppet almost. "Taxi it is! Where are you heading, Orion?"

"Mars," Robin said. Green Lantern would've questioned it but he guessed this was why they were so desperate to get the boy back. "I have a party I'm awfully late for."

"Of course, let's get you to Mars then. If you would just let the kid go then we'll be on our way."

"Thank you. I apologise-"

"Just give him back," Wonder Woman snapped. Although the alien had been bold enough to take Robin hostage in the first place, they weren't bold enough to keep hold of him when he heard that town and quickly released the boy who promptly crumbled to the floor. Orion ran over to Green Lantern who promptly flew off with him in tow to avoid a fight.

pt 2?