Home Alone
I tilted my head to the side in a very Starfire-esque manor. The movement seemed appropriate, in an odd way. When I envisioned the relaxing day ahead when I awoke this morning, I certainly didn't see myself slumped on the couch in front of the TV, surrounded by a pizza box, my unfinished books, and my teacup, watching a fifth episode of Pretty Pretty Pegasus.
In my defense, I was bored. And they were having a marathon. I mean, Starfire followed the show religiously, perhaps there was something to it. After more than two hours chronicling the adventures of Butterbean and company, I better understood the hype: there was something inexplicably, strangely alluring about it.
At least it held my interest better than the books. I tried to think back to the last time I was without the team for this long and came up blank. I valued my alone time, but I figured today was just too much. Almost sixteen hours by myself in silence had left me looking for other ways of entertaining myself, thus the sudden interest in television.
Robin and Starfire were answering a distress call from Argent, Cyborg was helping update the Titans East security system, and Beast Boy was helping the Doom Patrol, his adoptive family, on a mission. That left lucky me to stay behind and watch over Jump City. Normally I'd be with Starfire and Robin right now, but as the Titans East were otherwise occupied and couldn't take our place in Jump, someone had to stay back. Of course Robin picked his girlfriend to accompany him to New Zealand. No surprise there.
Tearing my eyes away from the screen, I checked the time on my communicator. 11:19. Time for bed, finally.
As I stood I surveyed the mess around me. You know those times when you just don't feel like putting the effort into something? This was one of those times. As I was alone in the tower and would be for another few days, I didn't really feel the need to clean up the mess scattered around me.
I turned the TV off and tossed the remote on the couch as I sluggishly moved to the door. Near the entryway, I placed my hand on a sensor to activate the alarm system, as Cyborg had instructed. As soon as my handprint was cleared, I let my arm fall and dawdled into the hallway.
As I walked into the bathroom I stared at my reflection in the mirror. I could shower in the morning. Opting for the minimum, I picked up my toothbrush, smothered it in a glob of toothpaste, and jammed it in my mouth, finger-combing my short hair with one hand as I brushed with the other.
When I reached my room I flung my cloak on the back of my desk chair and collapsed into bed. Sighing, I massaged my temples and muttered my mantra a few times to relax myself. The bed was warm underneath me and my pillow cradled my head in just the right way.
I was too caught up in Pretty Pretty Pegasus to realize it, but I was exhausted. There better not be a single crime tonight. Everyone better stay in jail, keep their hands to themselves, and keep their eyes away from any jewelry stores or banks, because tonight I just wasn't in the mood to deal with it.
Tonight was the night. Sure, any mark is a rush of adrenaline for me, but anything to do with Bird Boy and his team gave me a special high. See, not only was I stealing something for my benefit, but I got to inflict a stab of payback for all the times the Titans have tried to interfere with my operations. Robin's a decent guy, but he's a pain in the ass when you're the one causing his alarm to ring.
This specific task was quite the assignment. An anonymous employer was willing to give me a half a million for some files in the Titans' Tower. A handsome bounty, I had to say. Of course I had to work for it—breaking into the home of five superheroes was no small feat—but when word started circulating that most of the team was out of town, my mission-mostly-possible turned into mission absolutely possible.
I turned my cell phone over and over in my hands, ready to make the call. After dialing and waiting, a low, obviously altered voice came through the earpiece.
"What do you need?" Hmph. So much for pleasantries.
"Tell your boss I'm going in for the files tonight. I'll drop them off tomorrow morning using the protocol we talked about."
"No!" the voice hissed. Jesus, this man had no manners. Just because he was on the wrong side of the law didn't mean he had to act like a fucking dick.
"Hand them over as soon as you retrieve them or you won't get a dime," he growled.
Now he was starting to piss me off. It was a Saturday night. Right now I should be about two blocks from here at the bar, looking for some chick to lay. Now that I thought about it, I hadn't had sex in what, five days now? Was that right? Regardless, instead of fucking some half-drunk blonde, I was going to be breaking into a superhero fortress for papers that had nothing to do with me. The five hundred thousand was worth it, but the attitude and cloak and daggers routine was a real turn off.
"Fine. I'll give them to you ASAP. Just have the cash ready," I said as pleasantly as possible. Without waiting for a reply I hit the end button, terminating the call.
"Jackass," I muttered to myself as I yanked on my gloves and pulled the mask over my face. I went through my pre-heist checklist in my head. Suit? Check. Spare Xinothium? In my belt. Hijacked Titans' Tower security bypass codes? Memorized. I rested my hands on my hips as I stared at myself in my grungy bathroom mirror. For a guy who made millions, I still hadn't hired a maid.
I weighed the pros and cons of a cleaning service as I strode to my bedroom window, throwing it open and slipping into the cool night breeze.
My eyes flew open as my heart clenched. I sat up straight in bed, eyes darting nervously around the room. As always, my room was dark, quiet, and completely void of other inhabitants.
I brushed my hair out of my face and let the breath I didn't know I was holding in come rushing out. My brow furrowed. The jolt was strange: it wasn't like I had had a bad dream or something. The longer I sat in bed the more this feeling inside me grew. It was unsettling.
Rolling off the bed and getting to my feet, I walked quietly over to the panel beside my door, checking out the tower's sensors. According to the system, nothing was amiss.
That should have been a relief. Instead the unease lingered. My mind was torn: return to the comfort of my bed or drag my tired behind through the tower looking for trouble that probably didn't exist. Against my better judgement, I slipped out into the hallway.
I always thought the tower was eerie at night, and tonight was no exception. It was dark, metallic, and cavernous; rather creepy when one was walking through it alone with a pit in their stomach. I moved quietly through the halls past each of my teammates' rooms, glancing inside each to find them untouched. I was just about to turn the corner to the hallway leading to the common room when I heard a rustling coming from that direction. I froze, pressing my back against the wall. Both fists alight with orbs of dark energy, I peered around the corner.
I had found Silkie.
He sat in the middle of the floor, rolling around like some kind of hairless, mutant cat. I sighed and rolled my eyes, moving to pick him up and take him back to my room with me. Although I had strongly protested adopting the thing as a pet, there was something comforting about having another creature around.
"What are you doing up?" I whispered to him as I scooped him into my arms. He cooed in his creepy, insect way and snuggled into my chest. As I turned back to retrace my steps to my room, I glanced at the common room door. I hadn't realized I had stopped walking, but I couldn't help staring at the entryway. On a whim, I moved close enough to the door for the motion sensor to detect me. As the door slid open I took a look around.
Moonlight poured through the large glass window, bathing everything in its milky glow. My eye was instantly, immediately drawn to the row of monitors in front of the window, the middle one of which was glowing with a more artificial light. There was a high back chair in front of it, legs visible underneath the seat.
Adrenaline struck, pushing its way through my veins and sending every sense into overdrive.
"Robin?" I asked slowly, knowing that it wasn't him but having to confirm it all the same. The chair turned slowly to reveal the person occupying it. The minute I caught sight of the white skull mask, my heart sank.
"Well," Red X grinned, "it looks like things just got interesting."