The day after Thanksgiving…

"A terrible tragedy took place last night at the Gotham Children's home. In the dead of the night the home caught on fire and it would seem that only one person made it out alive. However, the identity of the survivor is currently unknown because the bodies of the victims have been burned beyond recognition. The fire seems to have been started by an article of clothing left on a gas powered heater. More on the fire tonight at six."

Robin sat there in horror and shock as he watched the news.

"What's wrong, Robin?" Raven asked.

"The fire… Someone I really cared for lived in that home."

"Is that the home you went to after…"

"Yes."

December 20th

The Titans were headed back to the T-car when Robin noticed a small lump laying, barely covered, on a park bench. "Wait, guys do you see that?" He asked pointing in that direction. They all looked over to see. "Is that a little girl?" Starfire asked.

"Don't know, but I'm going to find out."

He walked over and got a closer look. It was a girl. He nudged her shoulder a little bit and she looked up with her fading green eyes. "I know you," she said. "You're Robin. You used to fight with Batman in Gotham City."

"Is that where you're from?"

She sat up and nodded. "You're about to ask me to leave aren't you?" She started to stand up, but she passed out. Robin caught her, and noticed that there was barely any weight on her, and you could see her bones though her clothes. Her fingers loosened and she dropped a locket. Robin handed her over to Cyborg and picked up the locket. As he opened it his jaw dropped. "How did she get this unless…Titans, we're taking her to the tower!"

"Don't you think that we should take her to the hospital, in case her parents come looking for her?" Cyborg asked.

"I think I know her, and if I'm right, that won't be happening."

The clock rang out, it was midnight and the new day has officially begun. Robin clutched the locket tightly and quietly uttered, "Happy Birthday, Maria…"

In the dead of the night, she woke up with a chill. She was hooked up to IVs and found that her vitals were being closely monitored. "Hello? Where am I? Help!" she cried. Robin, Cyborg, and Raven rushed in to help her. "What's wrong?" Robin asked.

"Oh nothing, I just have no flippin' clue where on Earth I am and I have strange IVs coming out of my arm, that's all."

"You're at Titans Tower. I noticed that you are very underweight, so those IVs are going to help you build up your strength. Raven here helped heal you enough to be where you are now. She'll be coming in here to heal you every day until you are healthy again."

"So she is speeding up the healing process?"

"Yes. Anymore questions?"

"What's the date?"

"December 21."

"Oh lovely…"

"What?"

"This is a great way to spend my birthday, surrounded by strangers, hooked up to IVs, and virtually all alone."

"How old are you today?"

"I'm thirteen."

Robin held out the locket. "Where did you get this?"

"It was a gift from someone who once cared about me very much, but I'm sure he's forgotten all about me. That's what money does to people these days. Now would you be so kind as to give it back to me?"

He placed it in her hand, and then he noticed something on the back of her neck. He moved her hair a little to see. It was a scar, shaped like a bird. "What's this?"

She pushed him away. "Will you stop? Just who do you think you are?"

"It's not who I think I am. It's who I think you are."

"Well why don't you just ask?"

"What's your name?"

"Maria. Why does it matter to you who I am? It sure never mattered to anyone before."

"It just does. Go back to sleep Maria, you need your sleep." With that Robin and Cyborg left the room. Raven stayed long enough to help her get back into a deep sleep. As she stepped out she nodded at Cyborg and Robin. "Do it." Robin told Cyborg. Cyborg stuck another needle in her arm and took a little blood. "Whose DNA are you going to compare this to anyway dude?"

"I'll tell you later. How long should it take to get the results?"

"It will be ready on Christmas Eve."

"Perfect."

Maria woke up again several hours later to the sound of an alarm and flashing red lights. Beast Boy dropped in to check up on her

"What is that noise?" She asked.

"That's the alarm, the city is in danger and everyone else is going to stop the bad guy. The alarm will stop soon." The alarm stopped. "Talk about amazing timing."

"Why aren't you going with your friends?"

"Robin charged me with staying behind and making sure you were okay."

"I see… since you are apparently my guard dog for the day, could you please tell me what your name is?"

"Guard dog… interesting choice of words. You can call me Beast Boy, or BB, and if you like, I could be your guard dog." He said turning into a German Shepard and putting his paws on the bed. She smiled a little. "She smiles! Thank you Jesus! I got her to smile!"

"Okay, you can shut up now."

"Yes ma'am."

"Thank you."

"Hey, I was wondering, what was up with last night, I thought I heard you yelling."

"I was, but I didn't really mean to sound ungrateful or anything, I've just been through a lot in the past month. Believe me, I'm glad I woke up here and not in some creep's basement. I'm glad I woke up period."

"We all are, especially Robin."

"Who does Robin think I am, whoever she is, he must think she walks on water or something."

"I honestly don't know, he's been more secretive than usual since last night."

"I see. Well I know you, Robin, and Raven. Who else do I need to know about?"

"Okay, there is another girl, kind of tall with red hair, that would be Starfire, and the big guy who's half metal, that's Cyborg. They're pretty cool. You should take the time to get to know them."

"I'll be sure to do that."

Raven walked in. "Beast Boy, you need to leave now!" she said.

"Why?"

"Because it's time for her to have another healing session and you can't be in here for it. Now leave!"

"Okay, see ya later Maria!" He said walking out.

"He didn't bother you too much did he?"

"Oh no," Maria explained. "I'm glad he was here to keep me company while you guys were gone."

"Good."

"Look, I'm sorry if I seemed a little hostile earlier."

"It's alright, I understand. Now hold still and don't make a sound. I need to concentrate." A black aura surrounded her hands as she waved them over Maria's body several times. "Okay, you're done for the day, and you should be able to walk in about an hour. I suggest you take advantage of that, it'll help you build up your strength."

"Okay, thank you Raven."

"No problem, Maria."

Raven left and Robin walked in. "How are you feeling, Maria?" he asked.

"I am feeling much better, thank you."

"I'm glad."

"It's a painful reminder of where I've been."

"What?"

"The scar on my neck. That's why I keep my hair long, and don't let people see it."

"I'm so sorry, do you want to talk about it?"

"Maybe later."

"Do you need anything?"

"Food?"

"Ah ha, hunger, that's a good thing. Dinner will be ready soon."

"Great. Look, I'm sorry for how I acted earlier. I was out of line."

"It's alright, I know you must have been through a lot lately and waking up in a strange place must have been terrifying."

"Yeah, but at least I didn't wake up in some weirdo's basement."

"Yeah… wait, that hasn't happened to you before… has it?"

"Actually, yes it has. Please don't make me go into that, I've had a good day for the first time in a long time."

"Okay, take your time, there's no rush. I'm glad you've had a good day."

"Hey, what time is it?"

"7:00 PM"

"So… I slept all day?"

"No… You've actually woken up screaming several times today."

"Really?"

"Really, you scared us."

"What a great birthday…"

"Speaking of your birthday, I sent the girls out to get you some more clothes."

"Wow… Thank you."

"No problem, I'm happy to help anyway I can." He started to walk out. "I don't think he forgot about you."

"What?"

"That guy who gave you the locket, he probably remembers you, and desperately wants to find you. Money can do a lot to a guy, but it can't make them forget about someone they truly loved."

"And how would you know?"

"Personal experience."

With that being said, Robin left her alone for the night.

As soon as she was able, she started walking around and exploring the Tower. She bumped into Beast Boy.

"Fancy meeting you here. Feeling better?"

"Much better, thanks. Well, except for the fact that I have no clue where the bath room is…"

"Follow me."

"Alright."

"Can you believe we're actually having something for dinner that I can eat!"

"Huh?"

"Oh, I don't eat meat."

"You have problems then."

"What? I've been most of those animals! Eating them wouldn't be right."

"Have you ever been a lion?"

"Yes."

"Well they eat meat."

"Shut up."

"So, have you always been a shape shifter, or were you once normal?"

"I was normal, what happened to me is a long story though, I'll tell you later."

"So you used to be human?"

"Yes, and I kind of still am, I'm just not always human."

"Do you realize that humans are omnivores?"

"What?"

"You know, meat and plant eaters."

"Here's the bath room." He said walking off as she darted in and cleaned up a little bit.

She looked at her long hair, all matted up, and attempted to brush it out. She ended up cutting it and covering up that scar with a bandage. At dinner she noticed that they had tomato soup, and everyone else asked about the bandage, while complementing on how she cut her hair. Robin wasn't at dinner.

"So, where's Robin?" She asked.

"Who knows?" answered Cyborg. " He's been acting a little strange since last night."

"I see…"

December 22 around 2:30 AM

She ran and ran from the roaring embers, but it seemed like she couldn't escape their wrath. A tree root leaped up to trip her and when she landed, the embers grabbed her hands and feet and pulled her underground. She looked up to find several sets of eyes glaring at her. The outside of the eye balls were red with wrath and the inside of the eye balls were green with envy. "You should have died with us Maria! You shouldn't have made it out alive! You don't deserve that warm bed you've been sleeping in!" The hollow voices called out to her. "You're wrong! Stop lying! I tried to get help, but by the time I made it to the city, it was too late! I could only do so much to help!"

"You're lying to yourself… Circus Freak!"

"Shut up!"

"Circus Freak! Circus Freak! Maria is a circus freak!"

"I said SHUT UP!"

"Aww, the circus freak is crying! Too bad he isn't here to protect you! He was taken in by that rich guy, and he doesn't remember you anymore! CIRCUS FREAK!"

"SHUT UP!"

"CRY CIRCUS FREAK! CRY! CRY! CRY! CIRCUS FREAK!"

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!"

"CIRCUS FREAK!"

"SHUT UP!"

"HE CAN'T SAVE YOU NOW!"

"SHUT UP!"

"CRY!"

"SHUT UP!"

"HE'S FORGOTTEN YOU!"

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!"

She woke up in a cold sweat, and she didn't realize this, but she was crying, and kneeling down beside her, was Robin.

"Tell me about it…" He said warmly.

"Circus freak…"

"What?"

"They kept screaming it at me… all of them… 'Circus Freak' is what they always called me."

He stood there in silence for a minute. "It was just a bad dream… you're okay now. Nobody here is going to call you a circus freak, especially not me."

She went back to sleep, and he didn't leave until she was asleep.

She woke up late again, to find Starfire checking on her.

"Hi, Starfire."

"I am so glad you are awake, friend! Our friends are kicking the butt right now and I was asked to stay with you. Since you are awake, I was hoping we could have the girl time together until our friends came home?"

"Umm, sure."

"Wonderful!" she said clapping. "We can do the fixing of each other's hair, and the painting of our nails!"

"How about I fix your hair and you paint my nails?"

"Yes! That would be wonderful!"

They spent the next hour doing their hair and nails. Then Raven came back for another healing session. While Raven was healing her, Starfire left and came back with the new clothes.

"Okay, we're done for the night." Raven said finishing up. "Feel free to take a shower now that we have all the clothes for you."

"Thank you both!" Maria didn't waste any time getting to the shower, but she took over an hour once she got in. It had been so long since she had a shower, it was driving her crazy! Now that she could finally take a shower, she took her sweet time to enjoy it and make sure she was spotless. She stepped out in a brand new pair of pajamas while towel drying her hair. Once again, she managed to bump into Beast Boy.

"Excuse me." She apologized.

"Oh no, excuse me, I really should pay more attention."

"Why don't we just say we could both spend a little more time watching where we're going and call it even?"

"That works."

"Hey, yesterday, I hope I didn't say anything to hurt your feelings, I didn't mean anything by it."

"Oh I know, I could tell you were just playing."

"Really?"

"Yup. Call it animal instincts."

"Sure."

He led her right to the dinner table, this time, they were having pizza, and once again, Robin was not there.

"Really, what is he doing?" She asked.

Everyone shrugged.

December 23 around 1:15 AM

She ran and ran from the roaring embers, but it seemed like she couldn't escape their wrath. A tree root leaped up to trip her and when she landed, the embers grabbed her hands and feet and pulled her underground. She looked up to find several sets of eyes glaring at her. The outside of the eye balls were red with wrath and the inside of the eye balls were green with envy. "You should have died with us Maria! You shouldn't have made it out alive! You don't deserve that warm bed you've been sleeping in (whore)!" The hollow voices called out to her. "You're wrong! Stop lying! I tried to get help, but by the time I made it to the city, it was too late! I could only do so much to help!"

"You're lying to yourself… Circus Freak! You're dying Circus Freak"

"Shut up!"

"Circus Freak! Circus Freak! Maria is a circus freak! She knows she doesn't belong! She knows she's impure! You're not fooling anyone, you little whore!"

"I said SHUT UP!"

"Aww, the circus freak is crying! Too bad he isn't here to protect you! He couldn't save you in the past and he can't save you now! He was taken in by that rich guy, and he doesn't remember you anymore! CIRCUS FREAK! Whore!"

"SHUT UP!"

"CRY CIRCUS FREAK! CRY! CRY! CRY! CIRCUS FREAK! DIE! DIE! DIE! CIRCUS FREAK!

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!"

"CIRCUS FREAK! GO KILL YOURSELF!"

"SHUT UP!"

"HE CAN'T SAVE YOU NOW!"

"SHUT UP!"

"CRY! DIE!"

"SHUT UP!"

"HE'S FORGOTTEN YOU! HE CAN'T SAVE YOU NOW YOU LITTLE CIRCUS FREAK! YOU LITTLE WHORE!"

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!"

Once again, she woke up in a cold sweat, crying, with Robin by her side.

"Same dream?"

"Almost…" She started to cry. "There's a little more now…"

"How so?"

She shook her head.

"I-I can't say… it's too much." She placed her hand over her scar. "It's just too much…"

"It was just a bad dream."

"No Robin, it was a nightmare. And it was all too real this time."

It took a few hours, but she managed to cry herself back to sleep, and once again, Robin didn't leave until she was asleep.

She woke up much earlier this time, it was about noon, and everyone was home for a change. Raven came in and did the healing session as usual and left. Then Robin came in and leaned against the wall by her.

"Wanna go for a walk outside?" he asked offering his hand.

"Sure."

She took his hand and he helped her up.

"It seems like you have a lot of bad dreams."

"I do, ever since I watched my parents die. My dreams have been haunted by hollow voices of my memories, and my own screams. It's almost like I'm at the movies, and I'm chained to the seat and forced to watch as it all plays out, over and over again. Each time it just gets worse."

"I understand. I wasn't much younger than you are now when I started to have dreams like that. I would wake up in a cold sweat, and I did my best to hide it from the one person I cared about. And sometimes I think she was going through the same thing, but she hid it from me."

"How did you overcome it?"

"I started to talk to someone. Turns out, the guy I talked to also went through the exact same thing, but he was even younger than I was when it started for him. That man was almost like a father to me, but he never replaced my real father, he didn't want to either. He understood me."

"I think I know what you're doing…"

"Maria, why were you sleeping on a park bench?"

"My house, they called it a home, but I wouldn't give it that much credit. It was nothing like a home. Everyone teased me, and the care takers didn't really care. They would beat me up because of my back ground. The person who gave me this locket… he would protect me from them and take the beatings himself, until he was adopted. Shortly after, I was put in foster care, where I got that scar… it's kind of like a mark of ownership… it was much…much worse than at the house. Eventually the cops got wind of how I was treated and put me back in the house, but that was only a month before the house burned down. I was star gazing when it happened. I ran for help, but it was so far out of the city that by the time I reached the city, the fire was all over the news. Then I just sort of left the city and wandered around until I was here in Jump City and you know the rest."

Robin just stood there speechless for a long time. "Wow…the more I talk to you, the more you sound like the person I think you are, and the more I hope you aren't her because if I knew she went through all that pain… I would just die inside. I'm sorry you had to go through that."

"I don't think I'm who you think I am. And don't be sorry. It hasn't killed me yet so that must mean that…"

"It's made you stronger…"

They spent the next few hours walking around the tower in silence. Then dinner came, and Robin grabbed his plate of chili dogs and headed to his room.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm looking for closure…"

The next morning she woke up to Robin and Cyborg talking about something. She got up out of bed and headed to the door, listening to every word.

"Are the test results in yet, Cyborg?"

"Almost Robin, who did you get that other DNA sample from anyway?"

"I'll tell you later, after I know for sure."

"And why couldn't you just ask the girl? We could have saved a lot of trouble if you just asked her."

"I need solid evidence. DNA tests don't lie, and if you know what you're doing, they don't make mistakes."

"So you think that she would lie about it?"

"Not really, I'm more worried about her experience and mine being so similar that, we get the wrong idea. I also don't want her to get her hopes up too high."

"Her hopes or yours?"

"Both…"

"Who do you think she is?"

"I'll tell you later."

"Why?"

"If I told you, it would seem real, and I'm not sure if I want that."

"Alright, look man, you should go to bed. The test results should be in soon."

"Alright…"

She quickly climbed back into bed, wondering just who he thinks she is, and why it is so important to him. She was wide awake for hours just thinking about "what if…"

Finally, at about 10:47 AM, the results came in. Cyborg gathered Maria and the Titans in the living room and plugged the computer up to the TV.

"Okay kid, before I tell you what I did, I'd like to tell you that it was all Robin's idea." Cyborg explained.

"Okay…what exactly did you do?"

"While you slept, I took a blood sample to compare your DNA to a mystery guy."

"I see, let me guess, I'm not who you thought I was, right Robin?"

"I don't know yet." Robin said. "Cyborg hasn't shared the results with me yet."

"Actually Maria," Cyborg added "I was a little shocked about the results, and I'm sure you will be too."

Robin crossed his arms. "Will you please just tell us the results?"

"Okay man chill. Maria, after comparing the DNA to this mystery guy, I can say without the shadow of a doubt, that the mystery guy is your brother."

Robin grinned from ear to ear.

Maria started crying. "You know my big brother?"

"Okay Robin, spit it out. Where did you get that DNA sample?" Cyborg asked.

Maria stood up and grabbed Robin's arm. "Where is he? Where is my brother?"

Robin looked her in the eyes and said, "You're looking at him. That DNA sample came from me."