"What can't be happening?" Robin knew the situation they had gotten their self into was a bad one, but didn't think it was 'oh God' worthy. He didn't want to hear anyone say 'oh God,' 'oh no,' or 'aw man.' He had complete faith in Cyborg's technology and Raven's power and knew that if there was someone that could get them back it would be them. And as much as he wanted to bombard the frightened girl with questions it was best to take it one at a time. Of all the questions he wanted to ask there was one that stood out to him, one that seemed most important.
"How do you know who we are?"
Gabrielle continued to groan wishing that she would just wake up. Maybe I just passed out from fear. She shut her eyes tight and opened them again, hoping that this would wake her up, but it wasn't doing anything except give her a massive headache. As excited as she should be she couldn't help still feel apprehensive about what was happening.
"How do you know who we are?" He pressed. It was easy to tell that behind his mask his eyes were narrowed, he had become suspicious of the girl. If they really were in some time of show or other dimension then no one would know of the Teen Titans since it wasn't part of their world, yet this girls reaction to their appearance showed that she knew exactly who they were. Is she working with Control Freak? "I'm going to ask you again and I want you to answer me: How do you know who we are?"
"Robin." He turned his head to see his dark friend shaking her head. She didn't want to be overwhelmed by the girl's emotions again, that's the last thing she needs in an already stressful situation. Being an empath had its faults.
He sighed and faced Gabrielle again and in a gentler voice he asked, "Can you tell us anything you know?" His voice was sincere as was his expression and Gabrielle knew that there was one thing you could call Robin it was honest. With his gloved hand still on her arm he gave it a gentle squeeze, coaxing the girl into speaking.
She eyed each member warily and nodding her head before looking at their masked leader in the eyes and with a soft voice said, "You're the Titans." Their eyes doubled in size at her words. How could this young girl from an alternate dimension know about the them when they most likely didn't exist. They were aghast.
And so was she.
"I - I don't know why, but something happened." She gestured towards the door with her head. "Out there."
Beast boy scoffed loudly, "Yeah, you freaked." Three pairs of angry eyes glared at the changeling. He laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his neck, practically shrinking in size. "Uhh, my bad." Raven smacked his ear as Cyborg shook his head. Starfire raised an eyebrow at his statement not really understanding why the other three became upset with him or why her dark friend smacked him. Robin ignored the whole thing.
Even from where she was sitting she seemed quite short, probably around 5'1-52. Her hair was a chocolate brown almost a deep red contrasting well with her bright hazel eyes and her porcelain skin. Her gray sweats were baggy, hanging loosely on her hips held up only by the tie in the hem around the wait. She seemed to drown in her over sized that had the Batman embalem stitched onto it.
He resisted the urge to smirk and reverted to his serious face, continuing his questionnaire. "What's your name?"
She found looking away from his masked eyes harder then she thought and found herself debating on whether or not she should answer finally deciding to go against her instincts. "Gabrielle."
He curled his hand into a fist and placed it against his fist in a thoughtful manner. "And how old are you?"
"I'm 18." He nodded his head. She found Robin asking her for her age was amusing since she knew for a fact that she was a year or so older than her. Though he was younger then her she still found him quite intimidating even in his eccentric, colorful uniform. He continued to ask her several more basic questions which consisted of Where are we? and What year is it?
The questions went on and on about Gabrielle and the world in general. Robin was comparing both worlds wanting to figure out what differences there were and just how alternate it was. So far he had found out that the Justice League, Batman, nor any other superheros or villains existed in this version of the world. He was relieved to discover that neither Slade or the Joke exist, though he was disappointed to learn that Gotham City wasn't real either.
"I'm not real?" Beast Boy gripped his green hair in his hands. "Huh-wa! DUDE!"
Raven crossed her arms and rolled her athemyst eyes at his reaction. "How very articulate of you." She received a glare from her green companion, but ignored him and looked down at her masked leader who remained kneeling in his thoughtful position. "What are we going to do?"
"Get out here."
"How are we going to get out of here? We don't have Control Freak's remote, blueprints - nothing!" Cyborg bellowed as he placed his placed his hands on his head and stomped about the room, a loud clink heard when his robotic hand came in contact with the metallic side of his head. "We don't have the technology! My tech is advanced but not that advanced!"
Raven unfolded her arms and placed a calming hand on his elbow. "Cyborg, relax, we'll get out of here." And turned to look down at Robin. "I'm gonna go to Nevermore and see what I can do."
"What'ya gonna do, talk to yourself?" Beast Boy raised an eyebrow at her mockingly.
She turned on the spot and towered over changeling and back him into a wall, her eyes becoming black slits and spoke in a menacing voice. "No... I'm going to speak to Intelligence and Logic and see what suggestions they have. Unless you have a better idea as to how to get us out of this predicament, I suggest you keep your thoughts to yourself."
"Uhh..."
"Exactly." She cut him off and turned away from him. "Excuse me, Gabrielle?"
Gabrielle tore her eyes away from Robin at the sound of the empaths voice. "Huh?"
"Is it okay if I use a room to meditate?"
She was stumped.
Meditate? Nevermore? This is the fucking Twilight Zone!
The words weren't new to her, she's seen enough episodes to know about Raven's personalities and the mirror that led in to her mind, but have someone actually use those words in a serious conversation was beyond comprehension. It was too much.
Without saying a word she nodded her head dumbly with her lips slightly parted and pointed towards the door. "Sure, upstairs." the dark girl exit the room with a final glare at Beast Boy. The Tamerania held her index finger in her air and followed her out with a large smile on her face, exposing her pearly white.
"Friend Raven, allow me to assist you."
As she followed her out Robin stood up from his kneel letting his arms fall and hang at his sides. He titled his head down at an angle and stared down at her making her feel exposed and vulnerable. His eyes were covered but she could feel them boring into her with such intensity she wanted to wiggle around in her seat and tell him to stop, but decided against it. Instead, she mustured up what courage she had and stared back finally able to take in his whole appearance.
She gaped at what she saw. "Wow."
"What?"
He was tall for sure, about 5'8, but then Gabrielle was quite short. His hair stuck out in many directions although it wasn't as messy as the show made it out to be, though the color was accurate. What they left out is how soft and lushes it looked and tempting to touch. Even thought his eyes were covered by the black and white mask Gabrielle could picture his icy blues hidden beneath it, staring at her in deep concentration. His body, like in the cartoon, was strong and lean; through his uniform Gabrielle could see every muscle on his body that his uniform accentuated and left very little to the imagination. Oh, how they censored the show. It would have been cancelled long ago if the drew how he really looked.
But was made Gabrielle jaw drop and eyes widen was how surprisingly real and human he looked. He wasn't animated or looked artificial in anyway. He looked like a very attractive guy who wore a Robin costume on a daily basis.
Robin knew what she was doing; he could tell by the awestruck look on her face that he had become accustomed to during his stay in Jump City. He got the same look from both men and women of all ages. He never did it on purpose, it just so happened that every time the corner of his lips lifted into a satisfied smirk after a mission the girls giggled and shrieked. But he knew what damage it did.
So he smirked.
She blinked away the haze. "Uhh... what?" That was un-Robin. Robin doesn't do that, why did he smirk at me? She couldn't understand why he was acting out of character, smirking at a girl was something Robin didn't do unless it was with Raven and Starfire and that was only when they talked. Maybe it because he's a guy? No, he still would have done it to someone in a episode.
And that's when it hit her.
This wasn't a cartoon, this was reality. They were no longer scripted characters on a children's show, they were live, breathing people with their own freewill. He was a teenage boy with teen urges there were no script writers or producers to keep them in line and make them say kid-friendly things. They were here, they were real, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.
He faced the metal man. "Cyborg, think you can help Raven find out what you can about alternate dimensions and universes from Intellgience and Logic and how we can tap into them?" He then looked over his shoulder at Beast Boy who was still plastered against the wall in fear. "And uh, take Beast Boy with you, just keep him away from Raven. Far away."
Cyborg stood from his seat on the edge of the bed and walked to the door, grabbing the front of Beast Boy's shirt and dragging him behind. "Let's go, B." As the two left the room Robin re-faced Gabrilled and raised a masked eyebrow at her.
"So what exactly can you tell me?"
She shook her head. "Nothing."
"Why not?" He scowled. "You can help us."
"I'm sorry," she shook her head again. "But like I said before, I can't. I can't tell you about Slade or anyone else you want dirt on."
A vein on his forehead protruded as he turned away. "What do you know about us?" Her striped and poka-doted socks suddenly became very interesting. "Gabrielle?"
"Define know."
He sighed in frustration. "Do you know everything about us?" He raised his voice startling her. She wiggled her wrist nervously in an attempt to free herself. She really didn't want to have this conversation. She could practically narrow behind his mask. "Do you know about me?"
Oh crap.
"Do you?"
"I - No, I."
"What do you know? Do you know about Batman? Slade? Joker?" He pressed. "You have to tell me!"
"I can't!" She shouted, her breathing becoming heavy and deep. "I'm sorry Robin, but yes, I do know about you. I know you're Richard, I know about Bruce, The Fly Grayson's, everything! Do I know about the Titans? Yes, but not as much as I know about you. I know about Raven and Azerath, Beast Boy and the Doom Patrol, Starfire and Tamaran, and Cyborg and his accident. I know how and why your parents died, I know about Bruce taking you in and training you, I even know about who you're going to be. But I can't tell you anything about that! I'm sorry Robin, but. I. Can't!"
He was speechless. He didn't know how to respond to her outburst. He felt vulnerable. The one thing that made him feel powerful and in control was taken away from him: his identity. He had lost it in a split second and suddenly realized something very important. In this world everyone knew, not just Gabrielle. He wasn't real, he was a fictional character.
And he didn't like it.
Not one bit.
Thank you guys for reading! I hope you liked this chapter! I know it seemed kinda fast to already have her admit what she knows, but trust me, it gets more in depth later. I just wanted to get this out of the way so I could get to the Titans-in-our-world thing. So please, bare with me!
Please R+R!
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