Chapter 1: Probation

Robin sprinted for the stairs as soon as he could fit through the doors. Intruder alert droned the computer at maximum volume. A row of laser turrets slid from their niches in the ceiling. None of the guns inside the tower were set to their "stun" setting. "Bi Korriand'r wauk!" he shouted in Tameranian, ignoring them. A bad assumption, as it turned out. "Robin!" cried a dark blur as it shot in front of him. Raven's dome of mental energy dispelled a volley of shots. The password had been reset. "Well, this better not have changed!" Cyborg called as he pressed his hand into the recognition plate. The turrets deactivated and retreated into their slots.

Robin was running again. As if the long gauntlet of smoking weaponry lying out front wasn't enough. The truth was, the tower's defenses had never been tested much. The few enemies who had ever managed to infiltrate the tower had found a way to deactivate the guns instead of fighting them.

"The guns outside are turned off remotely." Cyborg muttered. "That means whoever it is didn't have to fight them, but he did anyway."

Robin was already out in the hall when he skidded to a halt.

"Uh, there's a faster way…" Raven was hovering in front of him. She offered her hand and he took it, felt disoriented as they rose up through the ceiling. First stop: the computer room.

Robin vaulted into the big chair in the center of the room. The screen in front of him already had feed from several cameras onscreen, as well as a word document open. The typed note read:

"Sorry about the guns, one of them looked at me funny. If you don't want to face me alone I understand, but still, that's not your style Robin…Or is it?"

Robin just stared at the screen for a minute. Raven came up behind him. "Don't tell me, you're going up there alone?"

"I just might," Robin said with a smirk. "I hate letting people get too cocky." He scrolled down on the page to see if there was anything else. There was, actually:

"Well, I guess Raven can come too if she wants. If she wants Malchior's book back, that is."

There was an uncomfortable silence. For the first time, Robin noticed the other windows. They all showed camera views of the roof, with a teenage boy sitting down in the center. His legs were in the lotus position and his eyes were closed in meditation. A certain book sat next to him. They both recognized it immediately.

"Let's go!" Raven growled, rising up through the ceiling so fast Robin barely had time to leap up into her energy field and join her ascent.

---

On top of Titans Tower a teen sat, meditating. His hair was brown, his eyes were bright blue, and everything else about him was completely black. His shirt was black, his jeans were black, his right sleeve was torn off to reveal a series of small black tattoos shaped like weapons running down his arm. He wore black Nike's and a black headband covered his forehead. A faintly shimmering aura surrounded him, shaped like his body but with a cape and longer hair. It was barely visible, but it had been enough to receive a pleasant, "Hello, Robin," from the computer downstairs. He sighed.

"Why do they always start fighting dirty when they're mad?" With his eyes still closed, he shot ten feet up off the roof, the book flying beside him. A massive, dark claw slashed out of the roof where he had been sitting, sifting the air limb from limb. A streak of black thrust out from the claw as it retreated, but he had already shifted a couple feet to the right and it missed. A pair of figures melted up out of the concrete. One of them had blackness flowing from her eyes. "Hello," he said trying to sound pleasant, like the computers.

---

Raven was seething. The Boy Wonder was now standing several feet away and he could still feel it. It wasn't like her to strike from a blind spot like that. Okay, so maybe it was, but it wasn't like her to attack so viciously, and it definitely wasn't like her to miss, twice even.

"Give. That. Back," she said, her voice a subdued roar. Somehow, Robin could sense that she was in control again. It was a marvelous bluff.

"Okay!" the boy said cheerfully. The book floated down slowly, then sped up. It streaked toward her, but just as she raised her arms to defend herself, it stopped about a foot away in front of her. A slight glow dissipated from the book as she reached out and took it. Small wisps of energy slipped into her hands, making her fingers tingle. Definitely some form of Azarathian power, she thought. His eyes were still closed.

"Uh, thanks." Robin's surprise had lasted only a second. "Now what do you want from me?"

The figure up in the air smirked, and for the first time he looked dangerous. Both titans shivered. The aura around him dispersed and went inside him.

"Oh, I just came by to say Hi, but then these missiles and bullets started flying at me. I didn't feel very welcome, so I decided to strengthen our relationship by coming in and eating out of your fridge." Seeing their disbelief, he frowned.

"A friend of mine once told me that to eat out of someone's fridge is the second best way to start a lasting friendship; the best way…is to fight." For the first time, the boy opened his eyes as he stood up on thin air. He started falling like a rock, straight down to the roof. The impact was contained by a faint patch of light when he landed. "Now let's go!"

Normally, the wise overseer of Jump City would have taken different factors into account: it was stupid to get into a fight one-on-one on your own roof, not when you have four teammates around and a handful of defensive guns you can activate at any time, no matter what the guy says. But in this case, Robin charged. Good fights hadn't been coming along as often as they used to, now that the villains were frozen and the phantom, as it was being called, had disappeared. The Boy Wonder dashed toward his unknown opponent.

Robin threw the first punch, it was blocked. Robin threw the first kick, blocked. In fact, Robin was the only one raining blows, but every single one was blocked or avoided easily. The teen flipped backward, then rushed forward, spun to the side, jumped cleanly over Robin's head and landed, but didn't take the window to fight back. Every time Robin committed to a punch, the boy had already started to block. Whenever his fist made contact, he felt the force of his blow blink away, as if he were just holding his arm out. Frustrated, he leapt back.

---

Raven was just watching. Her anger was gone, now that the book was enveloped by her mind, floating down through floors toward her room. She knew Robin needed the exercise, and she knew the other titans were watching the cameras in the computer room. Nothing to worry about. Just learn about the enemy so it's easier to defeat him when you need to. Then Robin jumped back.

"What are you doing?" he asked incredulously. Raven was surprised. She hadn't actually been watching the fight, too preoccupied with her own thoughts. Apparently Robin wasn't winning just yet.

"What do you mean?" The boy answered, a purely violent smile on his lips. "This is my fighting style."

"You aren't even taking this seriously!"

"You said it, not me."

"How are you doing that?"

"Doing what?"

"You know something." Robin never enjoyed losing, but he couldn't help feeling comfortable, in his element again.
The teen's smirk returned tenfold. "Why of course I'll tell you my secret! I can read your mind."
"Read this, then." Robin grunted as he launched himself for another attack.