In the theme of things changing, something had gone wrong.
It didn't seem to be anything at first. It started out as an everyday procedure. Nothing out of the ordinary. Then, it grew complicated. Unusual. By the time anyone realized something was out of place, it was too late.
They had come home from their long excursion around the world. The Tower was emptied of the new heroes they had met. Beast Boy had seen Terra and took the hint that she didn't want anything to do with them. Little by little, they resettled in Jump and life moved on the same. There were calls to missions and they got back on a schedule. Training in the morning. Night shifts. Pizza was mandatory on Thursdays.
There was a distress call from just outside the city. It was minor. Robin said he'd go.
He called a few hours in and he would have to be gone longer. I can't talk long, he added.
It was normal still. Cyborg took the second-in-command position and they kept to their lives. They didn't hear much from Robin, only little snippets every night that he was still okay.
The first and second night was without alarming. The third, fourth, and fifth nights came with multiplying questions. The sixth and seventh came with growing panic.
Then, one night, under the storming sky, Robin came home, doused in rain, after his fellow teammates had all gone to sleep. He headed with a weighted step to Cyborg's room, and pressed the buttons to get him out of his programmed sleep.
A few surprised words, then a lot of serious ones.
"It's something I have to do."
"I understand."
"You're the leader now."
"You're welcome to take the role back at any time."
There was no reply.
And in the morning, Starfire passed his room to see if there was a sign that he had come home. The bed was still perfectly made and the desk still had papers strewn about in the same way. But there were things missing now. His spare utility belt. A backpack. The few picture frames of him and his team.
"Robin's gone!" she alerted her team.
"He is," Cyborg said matter-of-factly, "And we're going to move on."