The Batpoint Paradox

Wanted (Wanted) Dead or Alive

*Jason

"Jason?"

I freeze feeling the blood drain from my face at the sound of his voice...Fuck.
I make frantic eye contact with Damien just as he dematerializes, unthawing just enough to subtly sign 'Leave me' before the kid disappears in a flash of light.
I let out a soft sigh of relief, glad at least he got out safely, I haven't turned around yet but I can tell he's close enough that there's no way I'll make it to the zeta.
Sure enough, I feel a hand wrap around my wrist before the light from Damien's departure has even fully dissipated. I allow him to pull me around to face him, I know there's no point in resisting the inevitable. Especially when it's taking most of my willpower right now to resist the green-tinted panic clawing at my insides urging me to lash out like a cornered animal. His sharp intake of breath upon glimpsing my face is an unwelcome reminder of just how screwed I am, I grit my teeth and intentionally direct my gaze over his shoulder instead of on his face. I stare intently at a spot on the wall behind him, desperately attempting to draw on some of the meditation techniques I'd picked up in an effort to gain control of my emotions.
After a few tense moments of silence, I manage to rein in my panic enough to finally meet his gaze.
Heart in my throat I swallow thickly, ignoring the dread making its home in my stomach, and whisper his name like a desperate plea.
"Roy, please."

My heart clenches painfully in my chest as his already stoney expression hardens even further at my words, thus dashing the last shred of hope some small delusional part of my brain had been clinging to throughout this entire exchange. Really I'd known before he'd even finished saying my name that I was completely and utterly screwed, story of my life really, no ones gonna try and call me 'the lucky Robin', really my whole life has been a series of cosmic jokes and really bad timing. I Shoulda known this wouldn't be an exception, ha, shit-nuggets -where's a crowbar when you need one, am I right?

Sadly I left mine at home, hindsight ya know? I let out a deep breath, feeling suddenly exhausted all of a sudden, seeing few options, I sigh in resignation and drop the duffle which causes him to drop my wrist so he can inspect it. Tamping down on the instinctual urge to flee, well aware of how futile any attempt to make it past him to the zetas would be, I raise my hands in surrender and wait for the shit to hit the fan.

I hear Roy gasp then curse when he glimpses the contents of the bag, next thing I know he has me pinned on the ground, skilled hands making quick work of disarming me before securing my arms in restraints. If it wasn't such an unbelievably shitty situation I'd probably be pretty turned on by his manhandling, especially considering how vividly I recall what happened the last time he'd had me in this position-sigh. As it stands I'm exceedingly aware that foreplay is the last thing on Roy's mind at the moment, this isn't gonna end happily, certainly not for me- hell, at the rate we're going on this case right now is probably the most contact I'll get with Roy for the foreseeable future. Isn't that depressing.

The moment ends almost as quickly as it began though, with the appearance of Superman, quickly followed by a few other leaguers who waste no time hauling me to my feet and escorting me to a cell. On the bright side, if there's one good thing about Bruce not being a part of the league, it's that no one here is any good at interrogation. not that it matters much anyway;-resisting interrogation is like Robin 101 (right after how to distract the enemy with your bare, naked legs) can't have the hostage wonder spilling the bat-beans now could he?

For the next couple of hours, several league members took turns attempting to extract information from me on how I got in, what my partner and I were planning to use the device for, who else am I working with, etc. I used the time to go through various meditation techniques, only speaking occasionally and just with increasingly obscure literary quotes when I got bored.
Then they sent Martian Manhunter in.

"Just relax your mind and this will be over shortly." The hero instructed as he settled into the chair across from me.

In response, I just shrugged a shoulder casually as I leaned back in my chair encouraging him to go for it.

The room was silent for a few moments, save for the soft murmurs coming from the peanut gallery on the other side of the bars, a small but growing crowd of curious heroes had been lurking in the corridor pretty much the whole time I'd been in here.

They were all startled when J'ohn suddenly jolted back and let out an alarmed gasp...right on cue.

"What happened? Are you alright J'ohn?" Superman questions his friend, having suddenly appeared at his side, first shooting a suspicious glance my way before inspecting his friend for injury.

The Martian waved him off, shaking his head softly before pinning me with an appraising gaze.

"I am unharmed, just taken off guard, this man is somehow able to evade my telepathy, something no other human I have come across has managed to accomplish."

I flashed a smug grin at that, guess without Bats no one else thought too or was able to master psychic deflection. Go figure.

"Maybe he's not human then." One of the other heroes-a Hawk I think- called out from the hall.

Superman shook his head, "He is, I checked." He announced before turning back to J'ohn.

"So how'd he do it then?"

Martian Manhunter grimaced at the question, eyeing me cautiously.

"Pain. When I attempted to probe his mind I found myself overwhelmed by a memory of such intense pain and terror projected outward to act as a kind of shield. I have never experienced anything like it in all my years on your planet. Usually when it comes to memories where one has experienced trauma anywhere near this magnitude the natural response is for the mind to attempt to repress or at least partially block the full scope of the memory. To consciously access the memory with such apparent ease is a highly uncommon occurrence, but to then weaponize it for psychic defense is all but unheard of. I am sorry, but there is no more I can do."
With that he stood and left the room, but not before capturing me in his all knowing gaze.
"I do not know the specific details of what you experienced, but I know enough to say no one, certainly not someone as young as yourself, should ever have to suffer that kind of pain. Whatever your transgressions, you did not deserve whatever happened to you, even after all that suffering I can sense that you still have a good soul."
Well holy- kick-in -the -fuckin -pants -Batman, gif damned martians man.
For several tense heartbeats after his exit it was dead silent, that was until someone in the hall spoke up.
"I'd like to take a turn questioning him, not like I can really do any worse right?" Roy Harper quips sarcastically as he lets himself into the small room.
I resist the urge to bang my head on the table, fuck this bullshit, can I have the Martian Mind-prober back please??