The Last One (young justice/robin)

18. reality

Mount Justice
November 5, 19:47 EDT

"Do you remember a lot about your home?"

    "I think so."

    "Are you not sure?"

    "At the time, it didn't seem to matter, but I realize I didn't see most of the planet," I recounted. "Up until the end, I didn't even know that I had been sold into military service—that I had siblings and parents; a home outside of the palace."

    "Do you remember anything about them?"

    "My mom's voice in the dark. She'd cradle me, singing a lullaby until I'd stop crying."

    "What else do you remember about your childhood?"

That was the only memory I retained from my life before the palace. "I-I remember being put in this room. Being strapped to a chair with pins on my head. Every time they shocked me, they'd say the same thing over and over again."

"What did they say to you?"

"'Your name is Iris.... Assignments must be followed. Enemies of the Arcane Supreme must be extinguished.'" My eyes watered, still terrified of the memory I'd tucked away for so long. "Everything about me was erased in that room. "

"Do you think that's why, or even partially why, you have so much doubt about your identity?" Canary suggested. "Because it's been altered into something else since you were a child?"

"Then how do I know what part of me is real?" I pressed. "Every time I think, or want, or like something, how do I know it's not just programming? That my thoughts and actions aren't just 'Iris'?"

"But you are Iris," Canary said firmly. "And you're still becoming her. One thing that happened yesterday, and another that could happen tomorrow may change how you think, or feel, or act, but what's left: that's still you. You have to learn to trust that."

"But what if what I'm thinking, or feeling is wrong?"

My palms flew to my ears that threatened to bleed. A high pitched ring began blaring through my head.

"Iris?" Canary approached my seat. "Iris, what's wrong?"

"Too! Loud!" I strained, eyes forced shut. "Make it stop, please."

"Make what stop?"

The noise cut out abruptly, as Canary vanished before my eyes.

"Canary?" I shot up from my seat, worried that I would disappear next. But I didn't, and was left to search the empty room. "Canary?!"

When I ran into the hangar, the entire team was standing amongst broken crates and spilled groceries.

My breath was shaky. "Something happened to Canary."

"Not just Canary," Robin said, "Batman, Tornado, Zatara... all gone."

Without any of the adults in sight, the team got to work immediately. There were satellite scans, radio broadcasts, and search parties all being monitored. Most of the team had to station out to make sure neighboring cities would be okay.