It was a cold winter's day, and as Robin raced towards Titans' Tower on his R-Cycle, even the warmth of his bulletproof cape provided little comfort from the biting, stinging wind. Clicking a button on the motorbike's handle as he neared the end of Jump City's cliffside freeway, a small ramp emerged from the snowy ground on the cliffside. He veered towards it, and as his bike caught air, Robin engaged the thrusters on the side of his bike, blasting it towards his team's island.
As his bike soared, Robin wondered what it would be like to just lose the bike and fly. Of course, he'd flown before-Beast Boy and Raven had caught him dozens, even hundreds of times in battle. As a young boy, the Flying Graysons' son had dazzled audiences with death-defying leaps and jumps, and after the events in Tokyo, Starfire had taken him flying over the bright lights of Jump City regularly, before it had gotten too cold. Even with Batman, he loved the feeling of scouring the city, leaping across rooftops and diving into alleyways onto unsuspecting muggers. He wasn't at all jealous of his teammate's powers-the sensation of the wind running through his black, over-geled hair had always been addicting to him.
Batman. That's why he was returning to Jump City in the first place. As his motorcycle slammed against the island's ground, he recalled the events of the past week. Bane had been on a rampage throughout Gotham, and although Robin suspected that Batman could handle it, he summoned Dick back anyway. His wrist was still bruised from punching Bane a little too hard, though it had barely fazed the giant. Robin suspected that the real reason why Batman had wanted him back was to give him a stern dressing-down about his budding relationship with Starfire.
Right, thought Robin. Like the guy who's been on and off with the most notorious thief in a city full of thieves for, like, seventy-eight years has anything to say about dating responsibly. His tires skidded against the ground as he pulled into the Tower's garage, parking his motorbike next to the T-Car. He hit the kick-stand on his bike, leaving his helmet on the cycle's handlebars as he headed into the tower.
"Hey, Titans!" he shouted, walking towards the training room. "I'm back!" He took a peek inside their gym, seeing it deserted. He frowned, expecting a warm welcome from his week-long trip. He headed towards the team's rooms, suspecting he'd find them there.
"Star!" he shouted. "Cyborg! Beast Boy!" He paused, reaching the final team member's room. He opened the door to Raven's room slightly, letting the light from the hallway cast a bright beam throughout the gloomy Titan's normally dark room.
"Uhhh...Raven?" he said, examining an empty room. Something weird is going on here, he thought.
"Oh, wait-of course!" he exclaimed, a smile lighting up his face. "They're just going to surprise me in the ops room." he said joyously, walking towards the team's hangout spot. As he reached the door to the game room/kitchen/dining room/occasional battleground, he spoke triumphantly, like a king addressing his subjects.
"Thanks for the surpise party, everybody! Your fearless leader has-"
His voice stopped, as if all of the air in his lungs suddenly was sucked out.
"No..." he said, hands clenched into brutal fists. On the table in the center of the couch lay all four Titans' communicators, smashed to bits. A CD lay next to them. But Robin's eyes, ever hidden by his mask, were fixed upon what was writted in red spray-paint on the Titans' flat-screen TV.
A massive red S.
Thank you very much for reading! Every person that reads this, reviews, comments, or favorites really does mean a lot to me, and I really thank you for taking your time to read this. I really do intend to write this story to the end, although I have a tendency to forget that this site exists and go offline for months. Just know that it will happen. No, I don't own Teen Titans.
-organic