Chapter four: The Game Begins
*So you have no clue what it is you're up against?*
"We know he's a threat and that he needs to be stopped. Isn't that enough?"
*Your team isn't ready for something like this- you're too inexperienced.*
"That may be so, but we can't stand by and do nothing while people's lives are at stake... Besides, he's given us an ultimatum: either we abandon Titan tower and leave Jump city, or he'll detonate another bomb…. Inaction is not an option." The other end of the line was silent for a moment.
*How much time do you have?*
"Forty-eight hours" More silence
*I've been in the game longer than you've been alive. This is an extremely gutsy move, and a person who is willing to make it has either stacked the cards, or lost their mind….*
"What if he's bluffing?"
*What if he's not and you get your whole team killed? You're no good to anyone dead, Robin.*
"I'm no good to anyone if I don't do something! 'Justice always comes at a price'- you taught me that! Well, whatever the price, I'm willing to pay it."
*If you have something you're trying to prove, this isn't the way to do it…. You have no idea what you are getting into, and I won't have you risking the lives of your comrades to gratify your need for independence.*
"You think I'm doing this for me? I'm doing this to save lives, and to see that justice is done for the lives already taken. I know my teammates are with me one-hundred percent. We can handle this."
*…You've got one shot. One. If anything goes wrong, I'll see to it that your little squad is disbanded, and that you are put on indefinite suspension. Do I make myself clear?*
"-Crystal", Robin muttered in return. Without another word, both lines closed simultaneously. Robin hurled the communicator across the room in a small burst of rage. It clattered to the stone floor and landed somewhere in the darkest recesses of the armory. "I'll find it in the morning", he thought wearily. Robin slunk unceremoniously onto his bed. He slumped his head into his hands, contemplatively rubbing his aching temple.
Robin sensed a faint presence lingering in the shadows outside of his room. A prick of alarm worked its way up his spine, but only for a moment. Robin soon deduced that it could be none other than Raven. (No one else was quiet enough to sneak up on him). Robin began to wonder just how much she had heard.
"Raven, I know you're there."
Like a specter, she materialized out of the darkness and stepped into the room, her midnight-blue robe rippling as she moved. She stopped two meters away from the bed. Her cowl was up, hiding her facial features from sight so that Robin couldn't read her expression (not that there was often one to read).
"Snooping is rude you know?" He pointed out.
"I'm sorry, it's just... I sensed a lot of tension, I figured I should check it out."
The way she said the word "sensed" seemed odd to Robin, it almost sounded like "felt" would have be a more accurate word. It was like Raven possessed some sort of ESP, like the force or something. Robin supposed that was entirely possible given the mysterious nature of her powers. It dawned on Robin that he didn't know very much about the girl, aside from their common interest in books and silence.
"You sensed tension?" Robin asked, poking for an explanation.
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure half of Jump city could hear you yelling." she replied coolly.
Robin felt a little heat rise in his cheeks.
"Yeah, sorry..." An awkward silence fell between the two of them
"So what's our next move?" She asked, as she lowered her cowl, revealing dark silky locks and piercing violet eyes.
"We'll need to split up. Three of us will go on a scavenger hunt for the hidden bomb, the other two will track down our madman. We couldn't trace him by that call he made, he was using some kind of GPS jammer so we couldn't keep a steady lock on his location. But, Cyborg did manage to find several recurring coordinates within close vicinity of each other. The area we mapped out based on those coordinates is roughly four square miles. If I was I betting man, I would guess that he has set up base somewhere around there. "
"And where is there?" Raven asked as she raised an eyebrow.
"China Town" Robin replied with a tired sigh.
"-But even if that's where the call was made, our chances of finding anything are slim to none…. It probably sounds like craziness to risk everything on a glorified guess, but handing this city over to some sinister lunatic is simply not an option."
"Agreed" said Raven with a nod. "I'll go wake the others and tell them you've made your decision."
With that she turned and left the room.
Robin supposed he should find his communicator. He was tired and his team was tired, but there would be no sleep for them tonight. Robin fumbled across the cold marble floor of the armory, searching for the device. A sudden buzz and a faint glow directed his attention toward the location his communicator had landed. A green LED indicator light was flashing, informing him that the device had received a message. Robin reached for the device as if it might bite him. Dread sank into the pit of his stomach like lead as he opened the message.
So, it begins, the device read. The number used to contact Robin was masked, but he knew where the message came from. He has a bug in here somewhere. Robin thought, not daring to utter another word. He's playing me. This is just a game to him. Something felt very wrong to Robin. What else does he have planted in our tower?
Robin got has answer as a deafening boom sounded throughout the tower. Reinforced glass shattered like a thin film of ice and dark smoke poured through his open door. Robin covered his mouth and nose in the crook of his arm as he bolted out into the hallway. Robin arrived just in time to nearly get plowed over by Cyborg as he rushed past with Starfire in his arms. Robin followed, hard on the metal-man's heels. With one arm still clutching the Tamaranean, Cyborg cleared a place to set her down on the couch. Burns covered her arms and legs, and blood seeped from wounds on her forehead and stomach.
"Beast Boy, get me some bandages!" He shouted in an authoritative voice.
"On it." Called the Changling, as he morphed into a cheetah and raced off towards the infirmary.
"Hang in there, Star." Cyborg soothed as he pressed a sofa cushion firmly against the wound on her tummy in an attempt at stopping the bleeding.
"W-what happened?" She moaned, as she glanced around the room frantically.
Robin felt helpless, useless, powerless. How did that bastard do it? This unnamed opponent had been three steps ahead of him the entire time. The phone in his pocket began to ring as, Beast Boy returned with the bandages. Robin stepped aside and answered.
*Your move, boy*
"Why haven't you killed us yet? You've had every opportunity."
*I don't want you dead, Robin. I want you broken.*
