Hey readers, I'm kind of confused to how Teen Titans the Animated Series handles Robin's past, I'm not sure if Bruce and Dick have the same animosity that they do in the comics or if they are on better terms. I'll flub my way through it for now.

A wave of sensation goes up his scalp, and gently across the back of Robin's head stimulating nerve activity and just in general feeling pretty damn good. Robin's muscles relax slightly. Starfire runs her hands through the back of Robin's hair pulls him up for the deeper states of REM sleep causing him to rise from the subconscious into near waking state. Robin fights a battle with himself, desperately trying to fight the comfort of more sleep in favor of a waking state where Starfire is waiting for him. His heavy head nods off one last time and then, he wakes up with a start, he had fallen asleep at his desk last night while trying to find leads on the murders in downtown Jump City.

Robin props himself up on his elbows, and looks up at Starfire who has ceased playing with his hair, Starfire is a beautiful girl, tall, statuesque, and in good shape. Starfire is no regular girl though, born on the planet of Tameran she possesses powers that no human could ever hope to possess even with a life time of training. Starfire is a creature of unbelievable strength; even with her body as slim and lithe as it is, Robin had seen her lift cars, and even heavier objects with no apparent effort. Starfire can also fly, an ability apparently made possible by focusing on the positive aspects of her life; a life which she saw as rich and fulfilling. And when she focuses on righteous anger, or draws strength from her indomitable will she can fire green energy from her hands and eyes; green energy that sizzles and crackles in the air and brings down those who would endanger her or her friends; Robin had coined a term for the energy she fired from her hands calling them starbolts.

"What's up Starfire?" Robin asks, stretching in his metal chair, his well muscled arms reach to the ceiling, his back pops like a machine gun. He rubs his mask covered eyes with his green gloved hands.

"Well actually it is kind of silly now that I think of it," Starfire says, she pauses slightly abashed feeling that her planned actions are a bit brazen, "I just want to talk to you. Would you mind going up to the roof? What you call sunrise should be happening soon, and I feel that the nice setting will raise our spirits."

"No problem Star." Robin replies, he stands up, his hair is a little greasy and unwashed, his clothes feel sweaty, and stick oppressively to his body. Together Robin and Starfire walk to the roof in silence, matching each other's foot steps. Robin's stride is made in steel toed boots, with unwashed white socks under them, Starfire sets her pace with purple knee high boots, and the socks under them are clean and pink. Robin is physically uncomfortable; he does not feel clean and feels sore from sleeping on his desk. Starfire is mentally uncomfortable she fears that Robin will fall into his work and become introverted, to the point of obsession. On her home planet of Tameran this type of introversion is frowned upon, deemed as being in the unpleasant state of Gushen'wa'wa.

As the duo continues on their way to the roof, Robin looks down the hall yet also looks into himself. His mind his tortured by thoughts of the past, Robin is young but noble, a boy thrust into manhood early in his life. Robin, also known as Dick Grayson is the model hero; he achieves everything he has through his own hard work and determination. Dick Grayson has taken his tragedies and made them his energies, constantly destroying his mind and body, pounding his Psyche against the wall of the seemingly unbeatable, and recovering stronger than ever, doing the impossible and transcending himself.

As the punk rock legend Henry Rollins had said in his poem "Hot Animal Machine", "Every time I smash myself into a million pieces, grow scar tissue, become stronger, doomed to endure and prevail." So Robin is doomed to endure and prevail, until it kills him, putting the hero's effort of a selfless martyr into everything he does.

The amazing, yet fatigued hero that is Robin continues onto the roof, the crisp morning air rejuvenates him slightly. The air cleans out his lungs, refreshes him, and cools some sweat from his brow. He smiles, and surveys the view of the bay, and nearby Jump City, a morning mist hangs in the air like curtains to a stage. Starfire sees his smile and pulls him into a bone shattering Tameranian hug, and then they walk to the ledge of Titan's Tower.

They sit on the edge of the monolithic T of Titans Tower watching the sun slowly explode onto the horizon sending rays of gold, and red fire through the curtains of mist.

The Titan Tower is the headquarters of the Teen Titans, a giant tower shaped like a T which the Teen Titans live in. The rich owner of Wayne Industry; Bruce Wayne funded this high powered head quarters, an amazing structure of steel frames, glass, and cutting edge technology.

Bruce Wayne was Robin's adopted father figure and mentor, after Robin's mother and father had been murdered. Bruce Wayne's parents had also been murdered, and Bruce Wayne was in many ways like Robin. Having also honed himself to a near superhuman being through intense mental, and physical training Bruce Wayne donned the identity of the legendary vigilante Batman at night and prowled the fetid Gotham City striking fear into the hearts of the wicked, and hunting those who hunt. Robin smiles inside when he thinks about Bruce, if it weren't for Bruce he could have easily fallen to the traps of his own inner rage. A rage that could have ruined him could have turned him into an undisciplined young man desperately seeking closure for his parent's deaths.

The sun continues to rise into the sky with unparalleled majesty, Starfire sighs quietly, she hopes that Robin doesn't hear it. She tries to speak, but her words catch in her throat like a lump. She tries to swallow the lump of jumbled sentences down, but cannot manage it. A single tear rolls down her cheek having sprung from her stunning green eye that was busy reflecting the sunrise.

"Robin I fear for your health." She says, pushing the words out as fast as she can.

Robin looks at her, his expression is surprised, and perhaps even a bit amused. He kicks his heels against the side of the building, lightly, savoring the feeling of his legs bouncing back at him.

"What brings you to say that?" He inquires, but he already knows the answer. The answer is because of his new driving passion, the next small retribution he can get, the next small resolution, the next life he can save. Searching every day, searching and striving trying to find out how to prevent the next brutal death, examining crime scenes, reading media reports, all related to the string of horrific sadism in Jump City. He sees nothing wrong with his unhealthy work ethic, nothing wrong with how he spends day and night pursuing, looking, and looking for leads. Leads on the case of the Crimson Jackal murders