Justice
Prologue
"Think about it." were the last words Robin remembered hearing before being kicked in the face, sending him flipping through the cold, rainy air. And landing on his front side, face being smeared with blood and mud, he struggled to keep his vision in tact, as he looked up at the man who had beaten him so violently. Robin knew what he meant, but he didn't want to think about it, no, it's not that he didn't want to, it was that he couldn't. Everything he ever knew, everything he stood for, it was all just a pile of burning ashes now, and he didn't know how to turn that pile of ash back into his sham of a life. The dark looming figure pulled Robin up by the collar of his torn up shirt, staring into his unbeaten eye. The man's face was hard, and cold, and his eye peered deep into the depths of Robins mind, almost like some kind of unfathomable rape. As he pulled him close again, his raspy voice softening behind the distant thunder.
"Think about it." he said once more, as he threw Robin back to the ground, leaving him lay in the cold mud. As Robin continued to stare into the black sky he tried to remember everything that was said by the man, and if maybe those words were true... "No." Robin thought to himself. "That...can't be...."he rolled onto his side, then held his ribs in pain, hacking up small amounts of blood. He didn't know how to get back up, in fact, even if he did, he could never really get up again, not after what he was told. It may appear someday that he looks just fine, but he'll always be lying in the rain and mud, each and every day, forced to suffer. Robin hoisted himself back onto his back, and stared back into sky, drops of water occasinally hitting his battered eye, making him cringe in pain. He could feel himself getting cold, and began to wonder if he'd soon die, when he suddenly heard the familiar voices of his friends. Then a light flashed on his face, and Cyborg took him up in his arms, carrying him to the T-Car.
"Robin, it'll be okay," Cyborg said in a low voice. "We'll be home soon." But as Robin was being laid down into the back seat, he stared back into the sky again. "No."He thought. "I'll never get to go home again."
Chapter 1
Robin woke to the usual hustle and bustle of the T-Tower. Lazily letting out a yawn, and glancing over at his alarm clock, careful not to roll onto his bad side. 8 AM, they're all up unusually early. Robin thought to himself, as he pulled himself to the side of his bed. He started to stretch, but was immediately regretting this decision as his antagonized muscles retracted. He then began to stare down at the shiny, hard plastic of the cast on his leg, and all the signatures in various colored markers. Dude, get well soon-BB, Hey Rob, get better soon bro-Cy, I am truly sorry, friend Robin, that you have endured such immense pain, and truly hope your recovery is quick and painless-Starfire, Robin, get better soon, we all need you-Raven. Those were just a few of the signatures Robin actually took seriously. There were plenty more that were etched on by Beast Boy, telling him stupid jokes, and little smiley faces, with "DUDE" written by them. Robin then grabbed the crutches next to his bed, and began making the slow journey to the main room of the T-Tower, to get some breakfast. It seemed to take hours to reach the automatic doors, but once he entered the room, he was shocked. Everyone was actually...getting along pretty well, all doing their part to make quite the extravagant breakfast, which consisted of french toast, bacon, eggs, and of course your choice of milk or o.j. But before he could take in this rather shocking, yet beautiful scene, everyone quickly took notice to him, and rushed over. "Robin, you feeling better?", "Robin, are you able enough to move around?", "Robin, are you sure you shouldn't still be resting?", "Robin, how long have you been up?" he was barraged with mountains of questions, the rose a hand to stop it, surprisingly enough, it did.
"I'm fine, really." Robin spoke in such a weary voice it surprised even himself.
"You sure, dude?" Beast Boy asked, looking concerned. Robin simply nodded his head, and made his way over the table. Examining the food on his plate, he realized how hungry he felt, and beagn to sit down. Only Cyborg pulled out his chair, and Raven held him by the shoulders, as Cyborg pushed him back in.
"Is that comfy Robin? Too far? Not far enough?" Cyborg asked, trying his best to ease his friends pain. Robin just tried to eas up the tension as he took his fork in hand.
"Uh, yeah, it's great, thanks Cyborg." not long after that, Raven cut in.
"Do you want any more syrup, Robin?"
"Nothanks."
"How about Orange Juice?"
"Milk is fine." Robin shifted uncomfortably, thinking they were making maybe too much of an effort to keep him...comfortable. He continued to eat the french toast, and work his way around the eggs, which weren't exactly his favorite. All the while the other Titans watching him like hawks, like if they looked away for one minute he'd choke.
Yeah right. Robin thought to himself, as he did, he almost started laughing, but stopped himself. This of course, with food in his mouth, caused him to choke a little, and within 2 seconds, everyone was surrounding him. He then pounded the table, and held up his hand, signaling he'd be okay, as everyone sat back down slowly.
"So uh, Rob, you feelin' alright man?" Cyborg asked, for the thousandth time since they'd gotten back two nights ago. Robin tried to clear his throat and spoke again.
"Yeah, Cyborg, I'm fine." Robin retorted, as he gulped down the last of his milk, and grabbed his crutches, easing his way out of the chair. "So, um, listen guys, I'm gonna head down to the gy-" Robin was cut off by all the other Titans, screaming in unison.
"No!" he then felt confused, but then surveyed his damaged body.
"Uh, yeah, I guess I'll..."
"Head back to bed?" Cyborg finished his sentence, casting him a meaningful glance. Robin felt kind of depressed, knowing he'd have to go back.
"Uh...yeah..." he said uncertain, as he let his head hang, and began his long venture back to his room. He then heard a shift in the chairs behind him, and then ghostly footsteps approaching him, he turned his stare to see it was Raven.
"I'll walk you back to your room."
"Oh, that's not necessary." Robin declined, shaking his head. But she then put her hand firmly on his shoulder.
"Really, it's the least I could do." so at this point he gave in, and signaled that he had given in. On the way back, neither of them said much, she mostly eyed him down, making sure he felt okay. Once they arrived in his room, she helped him onto his bed, and elvated his bad leg. Once on his back, he eased his muscles, and was surprised at how weak he felt now.
"Want me to get you anything, Robin?"
"Uh, no, thanks anyway, Raven." she gave a solemn nod, and leaned in a little closer than Robin was used to.
"Get well soon, Robin." she whispered, her breath a sweet peppermint, as she then kissed his forehead, leaving the room, turning only once and giving a sympathetic smile. She then disappeared from view, and he closed his good eye. The struggle of that night then reappeard in his mind, and he gritted his teeth.
Think about it. The voice said. Think about it.
Chapter 2
"Stop!" Robin shouted at the man he was chasing through the forest. He had been pursuing him for almost an hour, and was struggling to keep up with him, between the rain and darkness.
"Stop? With pleasure." the man said slyly, as he whipped around, preparing to knee Robin in the stomach. Robin narrowly side stepped the blow, and threw himself at the man. But he simply grabbed the scrawny teen by the wrist and threw him into a tree. "How do you expect to beat me? Even if you outmatched me in skill, it wouldn't matter." at this, Robin felt confused.
"What do you mean? I will beat you, and I will put you away!" a maniacal laugh filled the wet air, as he reared his head back.
"Do you honestly believe that?"
"Robin...wake up..."
"Yes, I do, and I'll start right here!" Robin kicked at the man, but he sidestepped the attack, and countered with a blow to the back of the head. Robin fell to the ground on his knees.
"Robin..."
"You don't understand, do you? You don't even know what you're doing." he picked Robin up, and gave a solid punch to the stomach, tearing through a rib."Do you?"
"Robin!" the voice screamed loud enough this time, and Robin woke in his bed, cold and sweaty. Raven had been calling out his name in his sleep, he glanced at the clock, 9 PM. "Robin, are you alright? It sounded like you were having a nightmare." she stroked his hair concerned, which again made him a little uneasy.
"Uh, Raven, not that I don't appreciate everything that you're doing for me lately, but why are you acting like this?" Raven blushed a deep pink, and pulled her hand away hastily.
"I guess it's probably just because...well, with everything that's happened recently, I don't ever want you to go without knowing how I feel about you..." she confessed shakily, putting her hand on his, making his face feel warm.
"How you feel about me...?"
"Yeah, well, I mean I really always sort of...well..." Robin kept his eye on Raven, who was struggling to tell him how she felt. As his heart raced all the while, face feeling hotter all the time.
"Sort of..?" Robin tried to encourage her to finish her sentence. But she only continued to keep her exuberant stare on him, seeming to eye all the details of his face. She then took a deep breath and leaned her face in close to his, and he felt the warm embrace of her lips against his. Robin had never actually thought about how much Raven meant to him up until now, how good she was to him, how much she meant. He pushed his lips harder against hers, shifting his head, wishing they'd never part from this moment. To Robins disappointment, she eventually pulled back, and stared into his eyes again. Her lips made a slight quiver, and then she uttered the words he desperately wanted to hear in a low whisper.
"I love you..." Robin hesitated to respond, but he knew he really felt the same way. So he confessed.
"I love you too." Raven blushed again, and smiled faintly, not pulling her glare from his for a second. However, she then pulled herself to the side of his bed, and stood back up, looking disappointed to leave. Feeling bad, he tried to reassure her everything was okay.
"Hey, Raven, you know you can come by my room any time you want." she gave a hopeful smile, and left the room, leaving Robin in the dark once more. He studied the shadows that lay solid against the wall, reflected from the window behind the head of his bed. He then thought he was beginning to see figures moving.
Something behind me? Robin thought to himself, struggling to look at the window, once staring outside he saw nothing. Should have figured. He turned onto his back once more, and stared in the direction of the door, only to see his view blocked by the man. Robin was about to attack, but then realized there was nothing there, no foe to defeat, not even a pile of clothes to whale on by mistake. He closed his eyes once more, trying to forget everything that happened that night.
"Robin" a voice in the back of his mind spoke sinisterly.
"Go away, leave me alone..."
"Remember what you are, remember what you should be, heheheheha....HAHAHAHAHA!!!" the voice laughed in that same manical way he did.
"Shut up! Shut up! Go away!" Robin screamed, trying to rid his mind of this horror.
"How can you be rid of what was never there?" the voice asked, obviously amused at toying with Robin.
"I know that you're him, I know who you are."
"Just because you know the name of the mask, doesn't mean you know the person behind it, you wear a mask yourself, Robin, so who are you?"
"I'm me, I'm myself."
"Who are you?" the voice demanded, expecting a real answer.
"Just go away, just..." before Robin could finish, Cyborg barged into his room, turning on the light.
"Yo, Rob, what's goin' on man, what happened? I heard you screaming." Robin was surprised someone came, especially at this time of night.
"Nothing," Robin lied. "just a bad dream, that's all." Cyborg still looked concerned.
"You sure, bro?"
"Yeah, I'm okay." Cyborg gave a nod, and walked over to the door, turning out the light, and looking back at Robin.
"You know, if you ever need to talk, we're all here." Robin nodded, and Cyborg left. Robin closed his eyes, and thought maybe now the voices were just in his mind.
But as he began to drift into his sleep, he faintly heard the voice once more.
""Who are you?" upon hearing this, Robin fell asleep.
Chapter 3
"How is he?" Beast Boy asked, as Cyborg returned to the main room of Titans Tower
"He seemed really shaky, whoever this guy is, he didn't just mess up Robins body, he messed with his head, too. Cyborg then pulled up a chair and sat at the table with the other three Titans. Starefire then began to speak.
"Whoever this evildoer may be, we must find him, and make him pay for what he did to friend Robin."
"Yeah, but c'mon Star, we don't know anything about this guy." Beast Boy chimed in.
"Are you suggesting we just let the one who hurt Robin so badly just get away?" Starfire replied coldly, eyes hard. Beast Boy slumped his head.
"No, that's not what I mean at all, it's just, how are we supposed to catch a guy we don't know anything about, I mean, we don't even know what crime he committed."
"Yeah, and between all that soft gunky mud, and that pouring rain, you can sure bet that guy left no trail behind either." Cyborg said, looking grimly at the hard, shiny surface of the table. Starfire then seemed to get even more upset, slamming her hands into the table, almost breaking it.
"Then what can we do?! Robin is hurt, and we cannot let this villain get away!" this being done, the other Titans were shocked.
"Easy, Starfire, we'll just keep a close eye on crime and criminals and see if we see anything new or unusual." Raven sighed, then looked at the others, giving her a questionable glance. "Okay," Raven admitted. "if it's more unusual than usual." this seemed to satisfy them.
"Either way, we can't let this happen to Robin again, we need to keep a sharp eye on him, and make sure he doesn't get hurt like that again." Cyborg gave a sullen shurg, and continued to stare at the table. Beast Boy then decided after a few moments of silence it was safe to speak.
"So, um...are we like, sposed to keep guard on him all the time or something?"
"Not all the time, just whenever it seems necessary, and we have to make sure he doesn't do any exercises for awhile in his condition, you know how he gets." warned Raven, the others nodded, agreeing. Cyborg then clicked up a few screens on his arm, checking through a few things.
"Alright, he normally gets up earlier than any of us, so we'll take turns getting up a little before he does, making sure if he's up, he goes back to bed and rest." Beast Boy looked kind of sick after hearing that.
"Dude, how early are we talking?"
Cyborg grinned evilly at Beast Boy."Well, BB, around 6 every morning."
"What?! Dude, not cool! I usually sleep until 11, who takes first shift?" the other three pointed fingers at Beast Boy, exiling him to the task of getting up at 6 the next morning. "Why me?!"
"Because you're complaing about it." Raven scolded, Starfire and Cyborg nodded, agreeing with her. "I'll take next shift."
"I've got mine after Rae then, and Starfire, you'll get yours last." Cyborg instructed.
"All right, I will be sure to wake up early that morning!" Starfire yelled, a bit too enthusiastic.
"So..." Beast Boy said, trying to make conversation. "What do you guys wanna do?"
"Sleep." Raven said simply, leaving her chair, and exiting the room.
"Oh, okay, how about you Star?"
"It would be nice to get some sleep, I think I will go to bed as well." at that, Starfire also left the room. Cybrog then sat across the table from a puppy dog eyed Beast Boy.
"Cy, you can't go to bed yet, it's only 10 at night!"
"Only?!" Cyborg screamed. "BB, it's late, I'm gonna hit the hay too, and so should you, you have to get up early tomorrow!"
"Aw, c'mon Cyborg! We should play videogames until then, just stay up and play all night, it'll be fun!" before Cyborg could reply with an obvious no, the automatic doors open, and Robin stood in the doorway. Shocked that people were still awake in this room.
"Oh, hey guys, I was just umm...coming to get a glass of water."
"Hey, that's not necessary, Rob, why don't you just head back to bed and I'll get it for you." Robin was obviously disappointed.
"Sure, thanks, Cyborg..."
"Need anything else, y'know, so you don't have to leave your bed?"
"No, that's fine, Cyborg." Robin turned around, and hobbled out of the room on his crutches. Once they were sure he was gone, they began to talk again.
"Dude, what do you think he was really gonna do?" Beast Boy asked, curious.
"Probably try to get some leads on this guy and try to attack him on his own."
"With a broken leg?"
"Fractured, " Cyborg corrected him. "he'll only be in that cast for maybe a week, Rae reduced a lot of the damage, but couldn't get it all." Beast Boy then seemed confused.
"Hey, wasn't he just sleeping?"
Cyborg shook his head."I guess not for too long."suddenly they heard a scream down the hallway. "What the hell?!"
"Cy, let's go, it sounds like Robin!" they both rushed down the dark hallway, near the end of it was Robin face down on the floor. Cyborg took him into his arms.
"BB, take a look around, and get Starfire up, I'll go wake Raven, somebody might be in here." Beast Boy nodded, and started running down the hall.
"Gotcha! Be careful, Cy!"
"I will." Cyborg thought. "and I'll make the person that did this to Robin pay!"
Chapter 4
"Don't bother trying to get up, I broke one of your ribs." the man said, pulling his fist back, letting Robin fall on his side. He began to walk away, and Robin struggled quite a bit, but after almost a minute he was back on his feet, holding his damaged side. The man hadn't noticed yet, so Robin began running quietly behind him, throwing a punch to his , he swiftly ducked, and lifted his leg and kicked Robin in the stomach. Robin flew onto his back, but rolled onto his good side and got up, but by the time he did the man jabbed at his face a few times, knocking him around but he didn't fall.
"You fight for justice," he said punching me again. "but what is justice?Who are we to decide what justice is?"
Robin was on his knees, breathing heavy. "Justice...is doing what's right, to protect the innocent." he only scoffed.
"Innocent? Who's innocent? Every human is a sinner, when you talk about justice, and saving the day, you're really risking your life for cowards who don't want to die."
"That's not true!" Robin screamed at him. Getting up.
"What is true? What does it mean to be right, what is true? You have a lot of potential kid, you should be fighting alongside me."
"Never!"
He shook his head, and punched at Robins face, he dodged but didn't realize he was throwing another punch, nailing his eye. "Listen, kid, you're fighting for all the people who don't care about you, you think they idolize you because you're a hero? No, because you wear a uniform and save their lazy asses, that's why."
"What..?" Robin was beginning to see some truth to what he was saying.
"And think of it kid, you think they make toys of you, plates, shirts, and all that stuff to show you're a hero? Well guess what, they do it for packaging, they need a good face to sell their products, to make money. The reality of it is, is that it has nothing to do with you, or what you do." he struck me again, almost putting me to the ground.
"Kid, they don't care about you, and you're selfless, so what's to live for? What's your purpose? I care about you and your talent, kid, you can be somebody next to me."
Robin wanted to say no, but at the same time the man was right.
"Think about it." were the last words Robin remembered hearing before being kicked in the face, sending him flipping through the cold, rainy air. And landing on his front side, face being smeared with blood and mud, he struggled to keep his vision in tact, as he looked up at the man who had beaten him so violently. Robin knew what he meant, but he didn't want to think about it, no, it's not that he didn't want to, it was that he couldn't. Everything he ever knew, everything he stood for, it was all just a pile of burning ashes now, and he didn't know how to turn that pile of ash back into his sham of a life. The dark looming figure pulled Robin up by the collar of his torn up shirt, staring into his unbeaten eye. The man's face was hard, and cold, and his eye peered deep into the depths of Robins mind, almost like some kind of unfathomable rape. As he pulled him close again, his raspy voice softening behind the distant thunder.
"Think about it." he said once more, as he threw Robin back to the ground, leaving him lay in the cold mud. As Robin continued to stare into the black sky he tried to remember everything that was said by the man, and if maybe those words were true... No. Robin thought to himself. That...can't be....he rolled onto his side, then held his ribs in pain, hacking up small amounts of blood. He didn't know how to get back up, in fact, even if he did, he could never really get up again, not after what he was told. It may appear someday that he looks just fine, but he'll always be lying in the rain and mud, each and every day, forced to suffer. Robin hoisted himself back onto his back, and stared back into sky, drops of water occasinally hitting his battered eye, making him cringe in pain. He could feel himself getting cold, and began to wonder if he'd soon die, when he suddenly heard the familiar voices of his friends. Then a light flashed on his face, and Cyborg took him up in his arms, carrying him to the T-Car.
"Robin, it'll be okay," Cyborg said in a low voice. "We'll be home soon." But as Robin was being laid down into the back seat, he stared back into the sky again.
"No." he thought. "I'll never get to go home again."
Robin woke up in his bed once more, shaken to see a figure at the foot of his bed, but it was only Raven, so he eased up. "Raven, why are you in here?"
Her look tensed up, and she rubbed the side of Robins face. "You've been out for two hours, how are you feeling?"
"I feel a little better." Robin said, feeling confused.
"Do you remember what happened?"
Robin then held his head, feeling a spasm blur through. "Something attacked me in the hallway..." Raven looked stunned.
"Do you remeber anything about it?"
Robin nodded. "The guy who attacked me." her look grew even more shocked. "Where are the others?"
"Looking for him."
Robin practically choked. "What?! Raven, this guy will slaughter them!"
"Robin, calm down, and try to rest, I'm sure they can handle him." Robin looked at his fists and clenched them tight.
"I hope so." he thought solemnly.
"C'mon big guy, are you telling me this is the best you've got?" the dark masked figure taunted Cyborg, as he avoided another punch. Cyborg shook his head, and took a good look at him. Tall, about six foot three, muscular, but fairly skinny, a short black cape hanging halfway down his back, all black clothing with a belt, and a mask with two eye-holes.
"Well maybe if you held still I could hit you, lightweight!" Cyborg shouted. The man laughed.
"I can stand in one spot, one spot only, and you couldn't touch me, chrome dome." he firmly planted his feet, and made a gesture for Cyborg to come. Cyborg ran full speed, throwing his strongest punch. The man grabbed his fist, throwing him to the side, and he planted something on Cyborg.
"What did you d-d-d-d-d-o!" Cyborg screamed, as he was shocked by a small 'bug' that was placed on his side, as he passed out.
"Like it?" the man asked, as he pulled it off, and put it in his belt. "I made it especially for you, Cyborg, not only does it knock you out, but it fried your hard drive and automatic reboot system, you might not live through this one." as the mysterious figure began making his way farther into the tower, he was halted by an angry Beast Boy.
"Dude! What'd you do to Cy?!"
"Let's just say your friend Cyborg was shut down, permanently." Beast Boy screamed, running at the man, morphing into a Gorilla and tore at him. The man avoided his blow, jumping over his arm, and planting another bug on Beast Boy. The bug sunk in four small, but penetrating claws, shocking Beast Boy and returning him to his human form.
"What'd you do to me?!"
"As long as that bug is attached to you, you can't change form, it binds you to your human structure, disabling you to divide and shift your chromosomes when you morph." he smiled, but Beast Boy wasn't too happy, but was then shocked, knocking him unconscious. The caped man would have gone on one of his monologues, even though only he would be the one listening, but a devastating blow nearly hit him in the back of the head. There was a purple flash, and now there appeared to be a girl standing a few feet in front of him, looking angry she missed.
"Who are you?!" Starfire screamed. His eyes softened, and he pulled out his special bug.
"Why, Starfire, isn't it? Pleasure to meet you." she shot an array of star bolts his direction, which he easily avoided, getting close to her, popping up next to her face. "Boo!" he yelled, and lashed the bug on her neck. She tried to peel it away, but it had already decided it liked where it was put.
"What is this?!"
"Tameranian Crystal, you know, from your home planet, your Kryptonite, so to speak." Starfire could see a smirk form on the mans face under his mask, she tried to shoot a star bolt, but found she was unable. "You're a helpless teenage girl now." he said playfully, chopping at the side of her neck, knocking her out.
"Are you sure we should be doing this?" Robin asked uncertain, as Raven kissed the side of his neck, not that he didn't like it, just he wasn't too sure it was right.
"Well..." Raven trailed off. "My shift to look around out there doesn't come for another ten minutes, we do have time." Robin smirked.
"Yeah." she smiled, pulling him close, and began to kiss him passionately, slowly probing her tounge into his mouth as he did the same to her, letting their tounges dance beautifully in a saliva. They then heard the door crash open, and a dark brooding figure walked in slowly. Panicked, Raven jumped off the bed, ready to fight.
"My, my, kiddies!" he yelled, obviously amused at what he had seen the two doing. "Scandal in Titan Tower? That's just too rich." though his voice wasn't in the same tone, Robin recognized it well, there was no mistaking it, it was him.
"Shut it!" Raven screamed, trying to grab him with her dark energy, however he moved far too fast, appearing behind her.
"But I can see why he likes you..." he said in a quiet, romantic tone. But the quiet was soon broken as he quickly slapped something onto her arm, shocking her unmercifully. Robin was furious at what he witnessed, as Raven fell to the ground.
"That bug prevents her from using her power," the man said. "Unfortunately Robin, there was no special bug to design for you, one that shocks would do just fine."
"Why are you here?!" Robin screamed.
"Now, now, don't pop a blood vessel, kid." he said, as he walked over next to Robins bedside, staring the boy down with icy black eyes.
"Answer me!"
"Why am I here? Isn't it obvious? I made a proposal, and I won't take no for an answer."
"What makes you think I'll say yes?"
"Because you haven't said no." Robin felt cornered, but he couldn't lie, he had been considering it.
"You beat down my team!"
"Just a demonstration of how much power dark can hold over light, my boy."
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying this power could belong to you, too, if you throw all of this nonsense away."
"This isn't nonsense..."
"But isn't it? Running around playing super hero? I have the power to destroy all of you."
"I just need some more time."
"One month."
"Fine." The man began to make his way out, but before he forgot Robin remembered to ask something."Wait, what's your name?" he turned around and stared into Robins eyes.
"Tenebrous." he said, leaving the room.