Robin very specifically remembered that when he had plucked the flash drive from the puddle of muddy water, the cap had been on it. But, such was luck, the device still had water damage.
He cursed, and had to resist the urge to pick up his computer and throw it across the room. Images of broken machinery littered amongst the investigation room was the only thing that stopped him. Well that, and the fact that every single computer was important.
A groan escaped him, and he slammed his face into his now-gloved palm.
Robin ran his hand through his jet black strands of hair a moment later, trying to calm himself down. This wasn't the end of the world. But it had shaken his world; almost completely shattered it.
Jason. His brother. Back from the dead.
He kept playing the scene over and over in his head, trying to convince himself that he'd imagined it. That he'd had a overly realistic dream that involved Jason clothed in the guise of Red X, and that when he woke he hadn't remembered that he'd been dreaming.
Or that his mind had played some kind of vile trick on him. He'd been punched too many times, and things were starting to go hazy around the edges of his sight, and that things were spinning, and that he'd hallucinated that he'd saw the face of his long-lost brother beneath that mask.
But no.
That couldn't have been it. And so he could only put his head in his hands and let silent screams reverberate around his skull as he thought things through, and replayed the visuals of his memory over and over again.
Robin knew that that flash drive, whatever the hell was on it, had to be important. Maybe it had some clue as to what had happened, or-he hoped against hope-it would have the entire story of Jason's life after his death. It was like a fevered dream running across his imagination; the complete story of what the hell had happened with Jason, how he was here now.
"Jason," Robin hissed out on his breath.
Tears were starting to sting his eyes.
"Computer trouble?" Robin heard a bright, strong voice say from the threshold of the room. He looked up to see Cyborg standing in the doorway, blocking out most of the light that attempted to flood the room from the hallway.
"You could say that," Robin replied in a deadpan voice.
Without thinking, Robin pulled his green gloves and dual-colored mask off of himself, and set them both down on the desk next to the uncapped flash drive. The tears were still burning at his eyes, flooding them, threatening to spill over. Stress was staring to get to him, but that wasn't the reason the tears had started forming.
Jason.
He stared hard at the device, as if he could hack into it with just his eyes.
If only he had that power.
"Well, let me see," Cyborg said, walking over to the edge of the wooden desk that Robin was slumped behind. He picked up the ruined flash drive in his mechanical hand, and held it up to his eyes for inspection. He slowly turned it this way and that, making the silver protruding from the black glint in the light.
Robin watched with hard eyes. Bloodshot eyes. Eyes that were red and purple around the edges, and seemingly to be stained with coffee in the same way that some of the old case files were. All from long, hard nights.
"I think that it can be fixed," Cyborg said.
"Really!" Robin shouted, all too loud. He sprang up from his desk, knocking over the chair and making it collide with the ground in a cacophony of loud, crashing noises. Cyborg winced at the sound, but Robin didn't seem to notice any of this. His only focus was on the flash drive held in Cyborg's hand.
"Yeah..." Cyborg said after the longest of times. "It can be done."
Pause.
"So what happened with this anyway? I suspect a bit of water damage...or really any kind of rough exposure to the elements for a long period of time."
Robin cursed himself within his head. If only he hadn't of sat in that damned alleyway for so long, letting the capped and closed flash drive lay in the muddy puddle, while he tried to pick up the pieces of his scattered brain. Pick up the pieces of his brain and then pick up the wet, black device from the puddle.
It had nearly been lost in the shadows, so he'd grabbed it with wet and mud-soaked hands. Back in present time, Robin shook his head once more. Furious with himself for both what he had and hadn't done.
If he went back to that point in time, he would have never of let that flash drive hit the puddle in the first place. Never have let it fall to the ground. But then again, if he did go back in time, he think he'd spend ever more time staring at Jason's face, just to make sure that it really was Jason.
Not an illusion or a mirage or a bad dream that made him feel lost and lonely and enraged.
"How long?" Robin asked.
"What?" Cyborg asked, clearly off put by the question.
He was walking over to the other desks, made of metal instead of wood, that boasted an impression selection of all the latest technology. Courtesy of Cyborg, of course. The wheeled chair slid out easily enough as he took a seat, then rolled himself back up to the desk.
"How long before that file is readable?" Robin hissed out his question, his teeth grit.
"I dunno..." Cyborg's voice trailed off. "Maybe an hour? Two hours? Four tops."
"Four!" Robin shouted. He didn't think he could wait that long. He rushed over to where Cyborg sat, and slammed his hands on the desk, staring at the computer with wild eyes...then directed his almost feral stare at Cyborg.
"Dude, chill," Cyborg replied. "What's so important about this flash drive?"
How did Robin even begin to describe it? How did he tell his teammate, one of his closest friend for years now, that his supposedly dead brother wasn't dead and that this was a 'gift' from him? He couldn't; not really. Not without having to go into great detail about his past and personal life. And that was something he truly didn't want.
Not only would it expose a whole bunch of secrets that he didn't want known, but it would bring up bitter memories. Memories that he had tried so hard to forget, to repress, to sweep under the metaphorical rug of his mind and pretend like they didn't exist. Memories that, once brought to the life once more, would reduce him to something less than himself.
He wouldn't be Robin. He wouldn't be Dick. He would be the broken, grieving brother who had yet again lost a part of his family. An empty shell of a person weeping at a gravesite, in front of a slab of stone, polished and carved with a name that had meant so much to him.
"Just trust me," Robin said, his voice now level. "It's an important piece of..."
Evidence?
It wasn't evidence, for it wasn't part of a crime. He didn't think. Any thoughts about the flash drive being stolen vanished from his mind the second he pulled that mask off of Jason's face.
"It's important," Robin stated plainly.
Cyborg watched his face for a minute, trying to figure out just what was wrong with his friend. His eyes ran over each of Robin's features, unmasked, as he tried to deduce what he now expected to be something secretive. Something secretive and grand in stature. Cyborg would be lying if he said that small things like this didn't make that big an impact on him, didn't have this kind of effect on him. For things both small and inconceivably large made him stress.
But this?
Cyborg didn't know.
"Don't worry, Robin," Cyborg said, making an effort to keep his voice light and easygoing. He clapped a hand to Robin's shoulder, and let a wide smile stretch across his face. "Whatever is on this flash drive, I should be able to wrangle it out into the open!"
Robin sighed with relief. His body slumped as the tension eased away from his muscles.
Feeling sympathetic, understanding, and oddly generous all at once, Cyborg added, "And, if you want, I won't look at what's on this drive." Cyborg saw a smile crack across Robin's weary face, and he knew that this was indeed something secretive. Something he didn't want shared with the team.
Cyborg only hoped that this wasn't something that involved Robin and his personal demons. Not always would he be the victor in that battle.
"I better get to work," Cyborg murmured, and turned to the water damaged flash drive. "You gonna stay here while I work, or are you gonna get some sleep." He turned to face Robin. "Heaven knows you need it."
Robin shook his head. "I'm gonna stay right here," he replied.
Cyborg heaved a heavy sigh.
I decided to continue this after all...
