Birds of a Feather

Robin awakens to sounds of strange voices all around him. Everything appears blurry as he opens his eyes to look around. All he can see is the tunnel-dirt is piled all around him as he clutches Raven in his arms.

"Over here!"

He looks up when a shaft of light appears several feet inward from where the tunnel began. He looks down at Raven as the hole is widened. She's breathing-but very shallowly. Robin manages to get up and stagger over to the tunnel as workers break through. "She needs help."

One of the workers turns around. "We need paramedics over here!"

Robin looks around-the place has become a blur of generator powered search lights. He wonders how long its been as the paramedics come forward-it was days still daylight when they came here. He lets them take Raven he stands there watching as they place her on a stretcher. As the paramedics go to work assessing Raven's condition he steps out of the tunnel.

"Are you okay?"

He hears the voice directed at him but he ignores it. The others...he has to find the others.

"You need to take it easy kid, until the paramedics check you out."

Robin shrugs off the well meaning hand of the rescue worker who tries to hold him back. He wanders around looking for the other Titans. He looks up as a police officer blocks his path. "Trust me you don't want to see this, go back to your friend." He turns left meaning to push passed the policeman when he spots what looks at first just like scattered rocks. He walks slowly over to them-already knowing what they are. "Terra..."

The police officer walks over to Robin. "You should go sit down and--"

"--this was Terra." Robin motions to what has clearly just been treated as a pile of rubble. "She became rock somehow, after she used her powers to stop a volcano that was threating the city. We never could find a way to turn her back to normal."

"I'll see that--"

"--Where are the others?"

"I'm sorry they didn't make it."

"Where are they?"

The policeman points him back to Raven. "There is nothing you can do for them. Right now you should focus on her."

"I need to see them."

Finally the policeman relents and takes him to an area that has been blocked off from the search area. There on two stretchers covered with sheets are bodies. "Trust me you don't want to do this to yourself. Its best if you remember them how they were."

Images threaten to flood his mind from when he was younger and he saw his parents fall to their deaths. He doesn't realize that he's trembling now as he looks at the covered bodies of what can only be Starfire and Beast Boy. "Where is Cyborg?"

"We had a robotics expert come out. Whoever did this knew just what they were doing. The explosive force was just enough to wreck his systems...and without the robot half to keep him alive...they tried to...recover his stored data but it was as if the explosion wiped his hard drive. I'm sorry Robin."

Robin turns staggering back toward where he left Raven. He makes it only a few feet away when he collapses to the ground as his vision slowly fades away to darkness.

*****

When Robin comes around he finds himself in a hospital exam room where a doctor is looking over x-rays.

"Raven?"

The doctor turns to look at Robin as he tries to get it up. "Easy there-you need to lie still, I'm concerned you could have some broken ribs. I'm waiting on a clearer set of x-rays."

Stubbornly Robin sits up. "Raven...where is she?"

"She is in O. R. right now. Surgeons are doing everything they can for her."

"If it helps-she's only half-human."

"I'll make sure they get the word. The police are waiting to ask you some questions about what happened."

"I wish I had answers."

The doctor leaves and soon the police officer from back at the cave enters the room. "I'm Officer Callaway. I'm sorry for your loss. I'm sure you all were close."

"We were like a family."

"Did any of you receive any types of threats?"

"No...nothing."

"You mentioned something about Terra and a volcano. Was that connected to when she helped to take over the city?"

"Yeah. Slade tricked her--turned her against the rest of us."

"Slade? No one's seen him since-do you think he could have been behind it?"

"I...I honestly don't know. It could have been anyone, we ticked a lot of villains off...but it had to be someone that knew about Terra right? We never told anyone-so she would be safe-until we could find a way to help her."

"We don't have any leads right now. The crime lab is trying to trace where the explosives came from. Any information you can give us will help."

"It was Raven that saw the explosives in the cave. She was weak to begin with-but she held everything up when they off so the rest of us could get out. She lost it before she could get out."

"So that's what the tunnel was for, you were trying to rescue her."

"Yeah. When we finally got her out, I was carrying her and the others were ahead of us. All I remember is Cyborg turning back around and pushing me down--then there was another explosion. The robotics expert...you were trying to find out if he saw who planted the bombs."

"Yes, you and Raven were lucky to survive. You could still be in danger. We're going to have guards posted as long as you are here." The Officer pauses a few moments before continuing. "Is there anyone that we should contact? Families for the others?"

"I should be the one to send a message to Tamaran. The Doom Patrol raised Beast Boy after he lost his parents. Contact information for Cyborg's family is in the database at the tower."

"And Raven?"

"She doesn't have any family here on Earth."

"Would you allow us access to the files at the tower? It could help us figure out who did this?"

"You'll have to let me take you. Cyborg's security system will only let one of us in."

"Once the doctor clears you then. And what about you? Should we try to contact Batman?"

"I'm sure he will hear about it soon enough."