Burn
Chapter One
Disclaimer: DUDE! I DON'T OWN TEEN TITANS! GOD! I only own Lydia.
A/N: It helps to have some sort of knowledge of Batman/Teen Titans comics. No, Lydia is not a character from either. She's my OC. In later chapters, if you are ignorant of those comics, you will get confused. If you haven't read the comics, I suggest you read as many Wikipedia articles as you can on those topics. This is for your own good.
TSSSSSSSS!!!
Robin flipped the pancake, gripping his green and red spatula with great force. With his white earbuds planted firmly in his ears, he was in the zone.
"Now I'm losing blood from my veins
They're slowly emptying
I'm bothered by this crimson red
To the color of blood
To the color of a B
The color of a L
To the color of a O
The color of O
To the color of a Deep
Crimson red
From a little bitty accident
ACCIDENT,"
infiltrated his mind, setting a steady tattoo to which he mixed the pancake batter and poured the thick liquid onto the griddle. "Shit," he muttered when his bare finger dared to linger too close to the griddle's intense heat. He sucked on the throbbing skin as he ventured to the freezer for a cube of instant relief. After delicately interlinking his injured finger and the ice cube with a paper towel, he set the finished pancakes on the kitchen table along with what appeared to be scrambled eggs. There, standing before him with a mug in hand, was Raven.
Flashback
Robin ran his hands up and down Raven's bare back as his tongue wrestled furiously with her's. A soft moan emitted from the depths of the empath's throat as Robin pushed her back onto his waiting bed. The young hero crawled on top of Raven and kissed her all over her trembling body.
"Robin," whispered the empath, "I love you."
Robin lay beside the apple of his eye. "I love you, too," he replied with a smile. He stared into those amethyst eyes that made him so weak; he was melting. "You're beautiful."
Raven winced as something in the distance exploded. She glanced at Robin and they shared a laugh.
Raven cocked an eyebrow as Robin stared on, as if in a trance. "Hello?"
Robin came to and shook his head. "Morning," he grumbled. He turned away from the confused empath and removed his batter stained black apron. As he hung it on the appropriate hook, a curious green bloodhound stumbled onto the scene, sniffing the air.
Beast Boy showed his true form, salivating at the mouth. He eyeballed the steaming stack of pancakes hungrily. "Are those-"
"Yes, you can eat those. I even used egg substitutes," Robin assured, knowledgeable of Beast Boy's usual question. He was secretly grateful of the distraction Beast Boy provided.
Beast Boy grinned and took a seat at the table. As the rest of the Titans joined the changeling, Robin left the kitchen.
"Friend Robin, do you not wish to take part in the Earthling daily ritual of Fast Breaking?" Starfire inquired as she loaded her plate.
Robin shook his head. "No, Star. I think I'm just going to leave. I'll be back soon," he replied. He waited for Starfire's nod of comprehension. He then made his way to his room.
Robin lowered the hood of his ebony Fischerspooner sweatshirt, enjoying the way the warm breeze affectionately licked his face. The autumn wind frolicked with his blades of jet black hair, inspiring them to dance and wave. Robin pushed open the glass door of the local eatery, holding it open as a pasty teenage girl with endless teal pigtails entered alongside him. She silently thanked him with a thin smile and received a smile in return. Robin made his way to the counter and gestured to his usual cashier. The cashier promptly handed him a Gotham Times and informed him that the woman behind the deli counter had his usual order waiting. Robin thanked her and took a seat by the window. He unfurled the paper as he sampled his sugarless black coffee and cream-cheese-on-cinnamon-raisin bagel. Something soft grazed his face. He glanced up at the perpetrator.
"Oh, I'm sorry," apologized the teen with the teal hair. A purple flip phone emerged from her plaid shorts, heading for the hardwood floor in a downward spiral.
With the agility of an experienced cheetah, Robin's arm swooped down and saved the phone from a devastating crash. He returned the phone to the grateful teen.
"Thank you!" she smiled. She took the other seat at Robin's booth. The teen twisted the cap off of her Pepsi Twist as she skimmed the headline of Robin's paper, sighing. After a long swig of her drink, she introduced herself. "I'm Lydia," she announced.
"I'm Robin," The Boy Wonder replied as he outstretched his hand out of habit.
Lydia stared at Robin's ungloved hand. She cocked an eyebrow. "Dude, how old are you?" she scoffed.
Robin, embarrassed, quickly retracted his hand. He looked away to prevent his acquaintance from seeing him flush. He turned back to see a pair of large black-eyelined blue eyes watching his every move. Lydia giggled as Robin drew back, startled. She peered out of the glass that separated them from the streets. Robin attempted to catch what she was staring at, but to no avail.
Lydia glanced back at the hero. "Fischerspooner? Are you a raver?" she inquired, gesturing to Robin's sweatshirt.
Robin looked down. "No," he replied.
"Techie?"
"Nah. It's my girlfr- ex girlfriend's."
Lydia nodded as she downed the rest of her soda. "That's cool. I used to wear my ex's stuff. Maybe you miss her or-"
"No!" Robin exclaimed suddenly. He sank further into his seat as he felt a dozen pairs of eyes boring into his skin. Lydia giggled as she impaled a cherry tomato with her plastic fork and sent it to its doom. "Vegetarian?" Robin wondered aloud. Lydia nodded, her cheeks resembling that of a chipmunk's. "Do you ever slip up?"
Lydia swallowed and shook her head. "No, I'm quite committed." As she was about to speak again, her phone began to play a portion of a techno song Robin recognized. Lydia flipped open her phone and began to push random buttons. She emitted a groan worthy of an Oscar and glanced at the Boy Wonder. "I have to go," she announced begrudgingly, discarding her empty plastic container.
Robin acknowledged this with a slight nod as he finished his coffee. In one swift move, Lydia firmly grasped his hand and whipped out a ballpoint pen. In red ink, she disclosed her phone number and closed Robin's hand. She bit her lip as a smile danced on the Boy Wonder's lips. She mouthed her farewell and made her exit. Entranced, Robin peeked into his hand. He quickly inputted the number into his T-Comm. As he stood up to discard his garbage, something caught his eye. There, in the seat on which Lydia sat, was a laminated visitor's pass to Arkham Asylum.
The gaseous ball of heat lit the playing field on which good and evil fought almost daily. A glowing taxi sped toward an animated stone figure, causing significant damage, but did nothing to halt it. A chorus of "Booyah"s and "Azarath Metrion Zinthos"s later, Cinderblock was no more.
Starfire returned to the ground and cheered, "We are victorious!"
Cyborg grinned and lowered his arm cannon, slapping Beast Boy a high-five. Raven lowered her hood, a thin smile planted on her lips. A coughing figure emerged from the grey cloud of settling debris.
"Friend Robin! We have defea-"
"Where were you?" demanded Raven, a hand firmly planted on her hip.
Robin deflected Raven's death glare. "I didn't hear my T-Comm go off. I just followed the crowd and saw Cinderblock on the ground. And here I am," he answered.
Raven rolled her eyes and pulled on her hood. Cyborg glanced at Raven and then at Robin. "So... Who wants pizza?" he asked, attempting to dismantle the tension.
Robin refused. "I'm just gonna head home," he announced. As the rest of the Titans headed for their usual pizza joint, Robin headed in the opposite direction, reaching into his pocket to run his fingers over the laminated surface of the abandoned visitor's pass as he thought about his dream girl. She looked so familiar... Who is she?
PLOP!
Robin massaged a handful of gel through his jet black hair, making sure each tuft received an even amount. He sculpted his hair into its usual spiky style. Satisfied with his looking glass doppelganger, Robin extinguished the light in his bathroom and shut the door behind him. He flipped open his communications device to check the time. 4:35. I'm going to be late, he said to himself as he adjusted his grey striped tee. He ran his ungloved hands through his hair one last time and jetted out the front door.
Robin took a deep breath as he pushed open the door to the local cafe. The obligatory indie background music floated through the air, bringing a sense of calm to the nervous hero. He scanned the room for his date. His eyes lit up as he spotted her, seated in a corner booth sipping from an enormous plastic cup. Lydia smiled as Robin approached.
"You made it!" she exclaimed with a smile.
Robin grinned as he claimed the seat across from her. "Yeah, it looks like I have." He gestured toward Lydia's iced beverage. "What's good here?" he inquired, suddenly realizing his hunger.
Lydia twitched her nose in thought, a quirk Robin has only witnessed once before, and he did not enjoy what had followed. Lydia began to give Robin a virtual list of the cafe's finest culinary selections. Robin figured he'd be most happy with the coffee, suddenly realizing that he was in a vegetarian cafe.
As Robin returned to the table with his steaming coffee in hand, Lydia's dark blond eyebrows shot up. "What's with you and coffee? It's nearly evening."
Robin swallowed his mouthful. "I'm just used to having to stay up for quite some time. I'm always ready for action," he replied, ignoring the snicker that came from Lydia as he uttered the word 'action'.
The pair talked for hours, getting acquainted and growing closer. Laughs were shared, as were cocked eyebrows and glances of longing and want. Robin's hand wandered into his jeans pocket, remembering the visitor's pass. He withdrew the thin laminated card, presenting it to a baffled Lydia.
"How did you get this? I was looking for that!" she cried as she snatched it from Robin.
Robin explained how the pass came to be in his possession. Lydia nodded, thanking the Boy Wonder for retrieving her pass. "Why do you have that?" he wondered, sipping his coffee.
Lydia stuffed the pass into the safety of her kelly green cargo pants pocket. "Just some fool I'm related to." Robin's yellow T-Comm caught her eye. "I've seen one of those before..." she mused.
Robin glanced down at his T-Comm. "Well, of course. I'm a Teen Titan!"
Lydia donned a mask of bewilderment. "...is that some sort of celebrity...?"
Robin's mouth fell agape. "Where are you from?!" he asked, astonished.
"Gotham. I've been here about a month. Maybe more," Lydia answered, innocently stirring her wheatgrass smoothie.
"The Teen Titans are a group of heroes, devoted to protecting Jump City from crime of any caliber," Robin explained. He ran his hands through his mane, shocked that Lydia was ignorant of the Titans. Even if she's from Gotham, she should at least know who I am.
Lydia glanced down at her mobile phone. 8:10. "Damn, I've got to go. I hate to keep leaving you like this."
Robin scowled, angry at the concept of time and schedules. A soft tap on his shoulder interrupted his time of reflection. He glanced up and was greeted with soft, moist lips on his cheek. His date giggled as Robin began to flush a deep rose. As Lydia turned to leave, Robin grabbed her hand, halting her.
"Look, if you ever want to drop by, call me. You're welcome anytime," he divulged, loosening his grip.
Lydia grinned and nodded. Robin let go and watched the teal-coiffed beauty make her exit. He turned around, grinning to himself.
The world could end at this very moment and I wouldn't care. She's amazing.
Chya, an uneventful first chapter. WOO! I'd be grateful if you reviewed. It took me forever to write this.
I promise, the story will live up to its genre soon.