Chapter Text
The lights flickered, all of them did. Off, on, off, on. “Finney,” Gwen spoke up, his dear baby sister he would do absolutely anything in the world for, “You’re doing it again.” Her voice wasn’t nasty, it wasn’t condemning, it was simply soft.
“Sorry.” He replied, it happened when he found himself worrying. “Finn,” Robin said, placing a warm hand on his shoulder, “We’re gonna be alright. We’ve got each other.” Finney smiled at him, leaning back to put all his weight on Robin.
Robin’s unique handle with fire really helped with warmth. All his life, Robin would show off his powers to Finney, hell every now and then they’d even have small duels. Finney definitely didn’t work with fire, or any of the elements really. He had telekinesis. He had learned how to properly use it over the years. His powers also had neat healing abilities. All he had to do was focus on someone’s wound and hover his hand over it, and just like that it would disappear. There was also this thing he could do with spying. All he needed was a radio, blindfold and silence. Even though his powers were great, there were also side-effects, ones that Robin never seemed to have.
After he used them, he would get a bloody nose, and when he would over-do it, he’d get super tired, and sometimes even pass out.
“Come on,” said boy spoke, getting up off the couch, “Our rides here.”
“Okay.” Finney replied. He looked over to Gwen, he seemed crushed at his leaving. “Bye Gwenny.” He said softly.
He didn’t know how long he was going to be gone, if he’d ever come back, but he did know one thing, and it was that he hated leaving Gwen here. She quickly got up and hugged him. “Bye Finney.”
He had tears streaming down his face, and from the damp patch on his shoulder, he assumed Gwen did too. “Stay with Donna, okay? And–and make sure that you answer the phone when I call.”
Gwen nodded, refusing to let go of him. “I love you, Gwenny.” Finney said through tears. “I love you too.”
And with that, they departed. Finney was still crying when he got into the car.
“Gracias, Mama.” Robin said as he was putting on his seatbelt. “¿Qué le pasa a Finney? (What’s wrong with Finney?)” She asked, clearly out of concern. Robin had been friends with Finney all his life, after all. “Está molesto por tener que dejar atrás a Gwen. Están cerca, ¿sabes? (He’s upset about having to leave Gwen behind, they’re close, you know?)”.
“Pobre cosa. Cuídalo, ¿vale? (Poor thing, take care of him, okay?)”.
“No lo haría de otra manera. (I wouldn’t have it any other way.)”
It was only then when Robin realised that Finney had fallen asleep. He smiled, a small, genuine smile, and leaned his own head against the window. The weight of Finney’s head on his shoulder didn’t feel like anything. Before he knew it, he found himself slowly dozing off, and within 10 minutes, he fell asleep.
“Mijo,” The soft voice of his Mother rang in his ears, “We’re here.”
“Hm?” He hummed, he still felt Finney’s limp weight leaning on him, and it was comforting. “We’re here.”
“Oh. Alright.” He replied. With the help of his Mother, he managed to get Finney’s still unconscious body on his back. He quickly gathered his supplies and brought them to the door.
“Adiós mamá. Gracias por el viaje. Te amo. (Bye Mama. Thank you for the ride. Love you.)”. His Mother placed a soft loving kiss on his cheek, and then plastered one onto Finney’s sleeping fore-head.
“Cuídalo. Cuídate. Responde mis llamadas. (Take care of him. Take care of yourself. Answer my calls.)” Robin nodded, a sad smile on his lips. “Tu papá estaría muy orgulloso de ti, hijo. (Your Father would be so proud, son.)”. The tears that finally threatened to fall, fell.
“Te has convertido en un buen hombre. Ahora sé un buen niño y haz feliz a su mamá. (You’ve become a fine man. Now go be a good boy and make Mama happy.)”. Robin sniffled as his Mother wiped the tears from his face, and then proceeded to knock on the door for him.
He watched as she got into her car and drove away.
Finally, somebody opened the door. It was a boy, who seemed around his and Finney’s age. He had jet black hair, presumably asian, grey track-suitpants on and a plain white t-shirt. “Um– hi?” He spoke, looking Robin up and down.
Just then, Robin saw someone peeking out from around the corner. “Ah, Robin! You’ve finally arrived!” The man got to the door and dismissed the teen. “Welcome.”
After assessing the situation before him, the man called over his butler to take their stuff in. “He’s asleep?” The man asked, staring intenting at Finney’s limp form. “Uh–yeah, it was a long drive here.”
“Follow me. I have prepared your room. I assumed you two would be comfortable sharing.” Robin smiled, he must’ve picked up on the fact that they were close. He quickly made sure that Finney’s place on his back was steady, and began following the man.
When they had reached his room, he was astonished to say the least. The room had two queen-sized beds on either side, which Robin considered to be a big upgrade seeing as his old bed was only a single. It had an on-suite bathroom, and a large wardrobe. The wooden floors matched the vibe of the rest of the house, an old-y haunted sort of vibe.
“Okay, I advise you to quickly unpack, wake up Sleeping Beauty, and meet me in the hall for a tour.” Robin nodded, but couldn’t help but feel a tad bit uneasy with the man calling Finney ‘Sleeping Beauty’, after all he did seem quite old.
“Oh, how silly of me to forget to introduce myself!” The man exclaimed, clapping his hands together. “My name is Albert Shaw, you can call me Al.” And with that, he finally left the room, leaving Robin alone with Finney on his back.
The butler who had taken their things was nowhere to be seen. Robin quickly set Finney down on the nearest bed, before proceeding to peek his head out the door to try and stop him.
He walked back into their room after having seen no trace of their belongings and began walking towards the wardrobe. When he opened it, his eyes widened. All their stuff had already been packed and assorted. Robin’s side of the wardrobe was to the right, and Finney’s was to the left.
“Woah,” Robin said, letting out a small chuckle. “Just, woah.”
He slowly walked towards Finney. He admired the way he looked when he slept. He looked peaceful. He placed a gentle hand on Finney’s cheek and used his ability to warm it up, hoping the warmth would wake him up.
When Finney slowly stirred awake, he knew this was how he was gonna wake him up from now on. “Finn, time to wake up.” “Rob?” Finn’s tired voice said, as he slowly sat up. “When did we get here?”
“A while ago actually.” He smiled when he saw Finney move to get up out of bed. “Your clothes are in the wardrobe. Quickly get changed and meet me in the hall.” Robin himself settled on black sweat-pants and an oversized maroon jumper that had some graphic design of a band on the front, and of course, a bandana around his fore-head, particularly the one Finney gifted him a few years back.
When Finney emerged from the room, a smile crept its way to his face. Finney was wearing a black, fitted long-sleeve, light-blue sweatpants and he had his hair tied back into a small pony-tail.
“Mind telling me where we’re going?” Finney asked, pulling his sleeves up over his hands. “I actually don’t know,” Robin replied, a smirk on his face, “I was just told to wait in the hall for a tour.”
After about two minutes of waiting, Albert returned. “Ah! You’ve awoken!” He exclaimed, staring straight at Finney. “I’m Albert, welcome to Abracadabra!” Finney's brows furrowed. That’s an odd name.
“Come on, everybody’s waiting!”
“Who’s ‘everybody’?” Robin asked, clearly noticing Finney's rising anxiousness. “You’ll know if you hurry up.” Al replied, before turning and walking. He clearly wanted the boys to follow him, so that's what they did.
“Okay, so this is the kitchen. You’ll find yourself here a lot.” Albert said with a chuckle. Finney and Robin shared a sideways glance before continuing to follow along. “And over here's the li–” He was cut off by a loud rumble, one that shook the floors. Finney’s eyes widened and he almost immediately reached out for Robin. Robin quickly took his hand and pulled him closer.
Eventually it came to a stop. “Ugh, those boys!” Albert yelled, taking a long breath. “Follow me, get ready to meet some special kids.”
They followed him outside, and around the back. Their eyes widened. There were four boys, one that Robin recognised from earlier. He was standing next to a shorter boy, who was wearing a yellow shirt and black shorts. In the middle was a boy with crazy blonde hair. He had a black tank top on and knee-length denim shorts on. Not to mention he was throwing boulders at the other boy, the one with a white t-shirt layered with a light blue jacket, and black sweats on. He was also running from the boulders at a speed that made him blurry. ‘Super speed.’ Finney thought, slightly nodding his head at the assumption.
“Stop!” Albert yelled, putting up his right hand. And just like that, everything came to a stop.
The boy with crazy hair groaned, but still listened regardless. “Everyone come here. There's some people I want you to meet.” All the boys obeyed, and moved to Al.
“Okay,” He started with the boy with the crazy hair. “This is Vance, he’s good with nature but not with communication.” Vance snarled. He then moved on to the short boy, the one wearing yellow. “That one’s Griffin. He can control water, but not his temper.” Griffin only rolled his eyes. Albert then pointed to the one with the super speed. “Billy. Fast at running, but slow when it comes to doing his chores.” Billy groaned and slapped his hands over his face. “This is Bruce, Robin I’m sure you met him.” Robin nodded. “He can change the weather, but obviously not his clothes.” Bruce opened his mouth in offence, and the others let out a snicker.
“Guys,” Al began with Robin. “This is Robin, he's got a good handle on fire, but a not-so-good fashion sense.” Robin gasped with feigned offence, and Finney let out a small giggle. “And this is Finney!” Al said with an ear-to-ear smile, wrapping his arms around Finney’s shoulder and waist. “Best not to piss him off, because if you do, he just might float you.”
Robin noticed the uncomfortable look on Finney’s face and spoke up. “So, what’s next?” He asked, hoping the question would get Al away from Finn.
When Albert stepped back, Finney immediately moved to Robin, desperately trying to get away from Al. “What’s next is you all fight!” Al exclaimed. It was everyone’s turn for their eyes to widen. “Fight?!” Billy exclaimed, obviously finding this as tedious as Finney did.
“Yes, fight, and the next person to object will be doing all the chores for the next year.” Everyone went silent. “Good. Now the first sparring partners will be Billy and Bruce.”
They both moved towards the large grass area. Their backyard was massive, after all. “Don’t hold back.” Al said, and like that the fight began.
Thank God they were undercover, because Bruce quickly made it hail. Billy was quick enough to dodge them. With his impeccable speed, it didn’t take long for him to get to Bruce. After doing ten laps around the poor boy, he ran and grabbed a large stick. He held it up, threatening to hit Bruce with it, but Bruce refused. He quickly put his hand up in surrender. “I give, Billy wins.”
“Not bad, you two.” Albert said, slowly clapping his hands. “Bruce, you gave up too easily, presumably out of laziness, I’ve seen what you can do. Billy, your movements were unplanned and sloppy. You need to get ahead of your opponents.” The two nodded before taking off to the couch not far. “Maybe if this wasn’t so spur of the moment.” Billy muttered, earning a nod from Bruce.
“Next is Griffin and Robin!”
The two moved to the arena. “Let’s do this.” Griffin said, cracking his neck. Finney watched in fear.
Griffin attacked first, targeting a strong flow of water to Robin. Robin dodged, and counter-attacked with fire. Several balls of fire went flying at Griffin. One hit him straight in the shoulder, burning a hole through his shirt. He let out a scream of pain and moved his hand to cover it. “Bitch!” He yelled, before moving to attack.
He made a ring of water, so pressured if you touched it your hand would be cut off. Griffin sent it flying at Robin at a blazing speed. Robin had moved, but just in time. The ring grazed his arm, leaving a painful and throbbing bruise that covered his whole lower arm.
Robin looked up in rage, shortly before using his powers to trap Griffin in a circle of raging hot fire. Griffin's eyes widened as he felt his face heating up. He did not do well with heat. Smoke clouded his vision. He extended his arms and sent water flying at the fire, quickly putting it out.
He sent another flow straight at Robin, but this time Robin sent a flow of liquid fire at him. It was a battle of strength, both of them pushing. Their powers stopped in the middle of each of them, the water pushing against the fire and the fire pushing against the water.
“Get his ass, Griff’!” Vance yelled, a smirk on his face.
“Go Griffin!” Bruce exclaimed from his spot on the couch.
“Rob!” Finney yelled, grabbing Robin's attention. “Do it!” Robin's expression shifted into one of hesitance. ‘Are you sure?’ His face read. Finney nodded, and Robin let a crazy grin take over his face.
His eyes closed, before quickly opening, only this time they shone bright orange. Griffin's eyes widened, his strength faltering. Robin was winning. He pushed harder. The fire consumed the water, and Robin’s grin never left his face. Just then, Griffin went flying into the tree, before falling to the floor.
Robin approached him, a blazing fire ball in his hand, ready to launch.
“I–I’m done.” Griffin said, breathless. “You–you win, alright?”
The fireball vanished from Robin’s hand, and he offered it towards Griffin. Griffin took it, using it as leverage to get up.
“Amazing! Bravo! Magnificent!” Albert exclaimed, clapping. He quickly approached the two. “That was marvellous! I’m very impressed. Griffin, amazing technique! You had quick and stealthy movements, even in times of downfall. Robin, outstanding power! The way Finney had told you to do something, and then you just took off was so powerful! Very impressed!”
“Good match.” Griffin said to Robin, patting him on the shoulder. He then departed, and went towards the couch where Bruce and Billy lay. “Move over fatties, I’m tired.” Billy rolled his eyes before making room for Griffin on the edge of the couch. Griffin quickly sat down, and leaned all his weight against Billy, while setting his head comfortably on his shoulder.
Robin himself found his legs aching, and his arm even more so. He quickly took off his jumper to inspect the damage. He found a large, purple bruise covering his lower arm. ‘Great.’ He thought, rolling his eyes.
Finney quickly approached him, with a genuine smile on his face. “Al said to wait fifteen minutes before me and Vance fight, something came up or something, I don’t know, I wasn’t listening.” He finished with a shrug.
“Don’t you think it’s weird he’s making us fight the second we get here?” Robin asked, wincing when Finn took his bruised arm. Finney placed his hand over the bruise and closed his eyes. “Don’t be a baby.” He said to Robin as he pressed down.
Robin let out a yelp of pain, but before he knew it, the pain had completely left his body, and his bruise had vanished. Finney wiped the blood from his nose on his sleeve, something he found himself doing a lot today. “I’m gonna go see if Griffin needs anything patched up.”
When he got to Griffin, he smiled a soft smile. “Hey Griffin, good match out there.”
“Hey Finney! Is there anything I can help you with?” The boy said, before wincing and putting his hand over his wound on his shoulder. “Here,” Finney said, in the softest voice he could. He slowly took Griffin's hand off the wound, and replaced it with his own. “This might hurt a bit.”
He closed his eyes and pressed down softly. Griffin winced and squeezed Billy’s hand for comfort. He then realised the pain had completely gone away. He looked at his wound and noticed it was gone. “Oh my– thank you!” He said, a relieved smile on his face. Finney smiled and got up. “If there’s anything you need, let me know.”
Once Finney returned to Robin, Griffin looked at Billy. “I love him.” He said, a cheeky smile on his face. “Me too.” Billy replied, once again moving Griffin’s head to lay on his shoulder. Griffin smiled and snuggled in Billy’s arm.
“Alright, wrap it up lovebirds.” Bruce said, kicking Billy’s other arm from his spot on the couch.
Meanwhile, back with Finney, Robin had come up with a ‘revolutionary idea’ (his words). “Why don’t we just spy on Al?” He asked. “You can use my bandana as a blindfold, and I’m sure there’s some sort of speaker somewhere.”
That caught the other boy's attention.
“You can do that?” Vance asked, looking Finney up and down suspiciously. Finney nodded.
“That and healing?” Griffin added, an astonished look on his face. “What else can you do?” “Um– I’ve got telekinesis.” Finney answered, feeling a slight bit nervous with all this attention on him. “Awesome! Is that what Al meant when he said you’ll float us?” Billy asked, getting up from the couch. “Mhm.” Robin answered for Finney, and Finney was grateful.
“So let’s spy on him!” Bruce exclaimed, everyone agreed. “Uh–Um–S-sure,okay.” Finney answered. “I just need a radio, l-like a walkie talkie or something.”
“Alright! No problem, me and Griff will go get one.” Billy answered, shortly before pulling the shorter boy inside the house with him.
Around two minutes later, the boys returned with a walkie talkie. “Here ya go!” Griffin exclaimed before sitting back down on the couch.
“Okay, how does this work?” Vance asked, picking up the radio and heading towards the couch, motioning for the others to follow. Finney and Robin sat on the ground in front of the couch, Vance sat on the arm of the couch closest to Bruce, and the rest took their original seats.
“I just need silence. Once I’m in you’ll know because everything I hear will project to the radio.” Finney answered, taking the bandana off Robin’s head. He wrapped it around his own eyes, and Robin helped him tie it around his head. “Have you done this before?” Vance asked once more. “Mhm. Lot’s of times.”
Finney took a breath and locked in.