It was a wonderful day for flying. The combination of the warm sun on his back and cool sea breezes under his wings was intoxicating. Below him, Beast Boy could see dozens of tiny pleasure crafts cruising around the bay. They were out enjoying the same bright skies and sparkling waves that he was. Further out to sea he could see a pod of humpback whales breaching and playing. He longed to go and join them.

Beast Boy circled high above Titans Island. The wreckage below was still smoldering. There was no sign of any helicopters and everything looked still. He spiraled down for a closer look.

The cantilevered wings of the T-shaped tower had collapsed, but the center column seemed mostly intact. He buzzed by the blown-out windows a few times to get a look at the interior. Everything was covered in smoke, dust, and glass. Some of the ceiling panels had collapsed, but the walls seemed to be holding.

He flapped his wings and wheeled out over the water in front of the tower. He glided in slow circles around the island trying to think of other places to investigate. He knew Robin would just send him back if he missed somewhere.

Out of the corner of his eye, Beast Boy saw something move on the island, but it was too late. The flash was blinding, the blast wave hit like a wall. Beast Boy's limp body plunged backwards into the sea.

Robin and Raven spent the entire day riding trains. Sometimes changing from one train to another as often as they could; other times riding the same line from one end to the other and back again. They hoped it would be harder to find them if they kept moving at random.

At one point, Raven had fallen asleep on Robin's shoulder and he didn't have the heart to wake her. She had been trudging around since the attack feeling sicker than she ever had and yet hadn't let slip one word of complaint. Robin knew exactly how she was feeling and appreciated her strength of will and fortitude.

It was evening by the time Raven and Robin emerged from the subway. They were at a terminal station through which a lot of out-of-town commuters hurried each morning and evening to and from their nine to five jobs in the city. At this time of night, it was all but deserted.

The pair stood on the sidewalk looking at the empty parking lot and quite streets. The gloomy scene was lit by sallow street lamps. Raven turned to Robin who returned her questioning stare with a half shrug and set off walking in the direction of the city limits. Their progress was slow as they found themselves stopping to rest at every bus bench they came across. But it hardly mattered, as they had no destination in mind.

Over time, the city streets turned to suburbs and the houses became more and more spread out. The street lights, sidewalks, and bus benches disappeared, but they trudged on. They were both too tired, hungry, and in pain to be able to think about a plan of action. They both knew that there was no point to their journey. Yet it felt better to be moving than standing still. As if, so long as they were still moving forwards, they weren't defeated.

Robin was beginning to question the wisdom of leaving the city, he didn't relish the idea of spending the night in a ditch, when he saw a light appear on the horizon. He took hold of Raven's hand and tried to quicken their pace. The lights turned out to be a tiny hamlet which was little more than a church, two houses, a gas station attached to a diner, and a rundown motel. The single street light was they only thing turned on. All the buildings were dark and locked up tight. Robin headed towards the motel.

It had eight rooms in a single row with an office at one end. There was a big rig truck in the parking lot and Robin could see the tell-tale flickering of a TV coming from room number two. He led Raven over to room eight, furthest from the office, and pulled off her back pack. After a moment of awkward one-handed rummaging, he pulled out the broken fork he had used earlier to break into the thrift store.

"Are you going to be able to do that with one hand?" whispered Raven. Robin gave her a look that made her think that he didn't appreciate her doubt and set to work.

Although it took him longer than usual, he was able to pop the lock and push in the door. Drawing the heavy curtains, they turned on a lamp and surveyed their hideout.

The room was spartan: a double bed, a night stand that held the lamp, and a chair. Against the opposite wall was small table with a TV. At the back was a bathroom with a sink, toilet, and a small window. Overall, it was small, dated, and only moderately clean. To the Titans it was a welcome haven.

Raven went to the bathroom sink, stuck her head under the faucet, and began gulping down water. Robin sank down on the bed as both pain and relief washed over him in equal measure. He could hear Raven rummaging around in the bathroom.

"What are you looking for?" he called softly.

"Something to help me fix up your arm." She answered. Robin gritted his teeth has he gently slipped his hand out of his pocket. It was painfully swollen and purple bruising had spread all the way to his elbow. Raven came out holding a hand towel and a magazine.

"What's that?" asked Robin, indicating the magazine under her arm.

"I found it under the sink. I'm going to use it to splint your arm," she answered as began tearing the towel into strips. She dropped the magazine beside him on the bed. It was an issue of Hustler.

"You have got to be kidding," said Robin. "I am not touching someone's old girlie magazine."

"It's the only thing I could find," said Raven as she folded the offending publication length wise. "If it makes you feel any better, none of the pages seem to be sticking together."

Robin flushed and turned to look at the wall in painful embarrassment. This was surely the most horribly awkward thing that had ever happened to him.

"I need to set the bone. It will be easier if you lay down." Raven gently pushed him back onto the bed.

Robin stared up at his reflection looking down at him from the mirror on the ceiling. He almost didn't recognize himself between the unfamiliar clothes, the wrecked arm, and the haggard look on his face. He had to turn his head away.

"Looks like you've broken your wrist and first knuckle."

"I know."

"What happened? You punch bad guys all the time and you've never broken your hand before."

Robin couldn't help but roll his eyes. Punching someone without hurting yourself was a lot harder than most people realized. "I wasn't wearing my gloves. I had no knuckle protection or wrist support. That, and it turned out the guy was wearing body armor under his shirt," he said.

"Okay, well, this is probably going to hurt so try not to scream." With no more warning than that, Raven pulled his wrist back into alignment.

Robin nearly jumped out of his skin, but managed to suppress his scream by biting his lip. He could taste blood. By the time he got enough air into his lungs to yell his protest, she was finished. The folded magazine was secured to his palm and forearm by strips of towel tied across his fingers, above the wrist, and below his elbow. It looked as if he had a flat paddle for a hand. It was crude, but it would hold.

Robin got up and tried to walk off the pain in the tiny room. Raven sat on the bed and watched him pace for minute.

"Now what?" she asked.

He stopped and looked her. They stared at each other in long drawn out silence. Robin finally looked away and sighed. "We have to find Beast Boy."

"How are we supposed to do that?"

Robin screwed up his eyes in irritation. "I don't know."

"He could be captured, or lost, or—"

"I know!" he snapped. "I am trying my best here, but I don't have a lot to work with. You could try helping, you know. You don't always have to wait for me to figure things out for you. You're welcome to start contributing to this effort at any time."

Raven scowled at him for a tense moment then pulled her legs up under her to sit cross legged.

"What are you doing?"

"You want me to start helping? Fine. I'm going to find Beast Boy," she answered, closing her eyes.

"Wait, Raven, I'm sorry. I didn't—"

"Shhh!" Raven took a few deep breaths. "Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos."

Robin flopped down in the chair beside the bed and watched as Raven began to levitate above the bed. Her breathing was heavy and sweat began appearing on her brow. It was clear that the mental focus was taxing her.

Robin slapped his uninjured hand down on the night stand in frustration and shame. He hadn't meant to snap at Raven like that. It was just so irritating to be in such a helpless situation. Being on the run with no resources and no information was not something he was used to dealing with.

Robin was still brooding when Raven suddenly cried out and collapsed on the bed. "Raven!" Robin's heart raced has he awkwardly tried to turn her over with one hand. He breathed a sigh of relief to find that she was just unconscious. The mental strain on her concussed brain had proven to be too much for her.

Laying her out on the bed as best he could, Robin turned off the lamp and sat back down in the chair to stare out the window through a gap in the curtains. From his position he could just see the entrance to the motel parking lot. Despite being dead tired he couldn't bring himself to try and sleep. The idea that unknown attackers could suddenly appear caused him too much anxiety to be able to truly rest. He and Raven might be somewhere warm and dry, but were they any safer? The burden on his shoulders was in no way lightened by this respite.

He ran through the whole chain of events in his mind wondering if there was anything he could have done differently; if there had been any warning signs that he had missed. He thought of his missing team mates, Beast Boy, Cyborg, and Starfire. Where were they now? Were they okay? Were they even alive? He played through things that he would say to them if he had known that it would be their last conversation.

Robin suddenly snapped his eyes open. He didn't remember closing them. His body was tense. Standing up he scanned the dark room. How long had he been dozing? Something had woken him up, but he couldn't tell what. A muffled voice outside the door grabbed his attention. There was someone outside. They had been found.

"Raven!" hissed Robin, trying not to let the people outside hear him. "Raven! Wake up!" She didn't move. Robin felt panic rising in him as he turned his eyes from Raven to the door and back again. He might be able to carry her, and he might be able to fight past the enemies outside, but he couldn't do both. He considered the possibility of running away and trying to rescue her later, but ultimately, he knew that meant he would be abandoning her.

The door knob began to jiggle and turn has someone on the other side worked at the lock. Robin put his hand on the knob, took a deep breath, and set his jaw. It was a futile effort, but he wasn't about to let them just walk in and take them. He'd rather die.

With a hard pull he wrench open the door and charged, bellowing a raged filled battle cry. His shoulder slammed into the chest of his foe on the other side. The would-be intruder let out a grunt of pain and surprise has they both fell to the ground. Robin kicked out frantically trying to disentangle himself and get up on his feet. He almost made it before he was pulled back onto his knees. Two strong hands grabbed his arms and pinned them to his sides. With wild twists and jerks, he tried to break the hold his attacker had on him, but the person's grip was like a vice. Someone was shouting his name.

"Robin! Robin, stop!"

He froze and stared up at the person holding him. It was Cyborg.

Robin couldn't breath. He couldn't move. A jumble of emotions pummelled him like ocean waves. Relief, exhaustion, joy, anger. He wanted to laugh. He wanted to cry. He wanted to express all of this to his friend, but he suddenly felt so weak. All he could do was lean forward and put his forehead against Cyborg's chest and take a deep breath.

"I'm glad to see you too, buddy." Cyborg pulled him into a hug for a few seconds then helped him to his feet.

"How…?" was the only word Robin could gasp out as he looked past Cyborg. There in the predawn gloaming was the orange T-Ship standing in the motel parking lot. Starfire was floating above it keeping lookout back down the road towards Jump City. He saw her briefly turn to smile and wave at him. He was so relieved to see her that it almost hurt.

He caught movement out of the corner of his eye and turned to see a green gorilla emerge from the motel room carrying the sleeping Raven in his arms. He watched the ape carry her to the T-ship and lay her in her usual seat.

"How?" he repeated. "How are you alive?"

Cyborg couldn't help but smile. "We just got lucky. I was working on the T-ship and Starfire had just come into the hanger when the attack started. There was fire everywhere and we couldn't get out. So, we hopped into the T-ship and launch underwater into the bay. We've been hiding there ever since."

"Underwater?"

"Yeah, well, the T-ship did start out as a submarine, so, you know, it worked out."

Beast Boy came up and gave Robin a slap on the back. "Good to see you're okay, man."

"Likewise," replied Robin with a smile. "I'm glad you found them."

"Well, I didn't find them exactly," said Beast Boy, scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

"Yeah, he basically just landed on our windshield," said Cyborg.

"He what?"

"Dude, I was flying around the island and then BAM! Shot out of the sky and into the ocean. Next thing I know, I'm in the T-ship."

Cyborg nodded at Beast Boys recount. "Seriously, he floated down almost right in front of us. We just had to grab him. That was it."

"And you're okay?" asked Robin.

"Aw yeah, it wasn't a direct hit," grinned Beast Boy.

"I think we should be going. We cannot stay here too long." Starfire landed beside Robin. "I am glad that we have found you safe, Robin."

"Thanks, Starfire. I'm glad you're okay too," said Robin. "How exactly did you find us?"

Starfire and Cyborg both looked at Beast Boy. He grimaced and shrugged. "I don't know. We were just hiding out and I thought I heard someone call my name, then all of a sudden, I knew where you were. Just like that." He snapped his fingers. "Don't ask me how. It was super weird."

"It was Raven," said Robin. "She went looking for you telepathically. It took a lot out of her, but I guess she found you."

"Cyborg!" Starfire's cry alerted them all the sound of helicopter blades slicing towards them. Without hesitation the Titans leapt into the T-ship.

"How did they find us so fast?" asked Robin. "You've been here less than ten minutes."

"They probably just followed us. It couldn't have been that hard," answered Cyborg as he started up the T-ship's engines.

"What? How could they do that?"

"They've been hanging around Titans Island. Literally sitting on top of us this whole time. Once we knew where to find you, we just surprised them by launching up out of the water and blowing past them."

Robin couldn't believe that Cyborg could have been so reckless, but any idea of berating him was driven away by the sight of three Apache helicopters buzzing over them.

"Hang on!" yelled Cyborg has he launched the ship into a steep climb.

"Cyborg, bring us around and lock weapons," said Robin.

"Sorry, no can do."

"What? Why not?"

"It was the weapons systems that I was working on when we were attacked. They're still in pieces." Cyborg saw Robin turn and look at him in horror. "It's okay though. The T-ship can easily out run those choppers. We'll lose those turkeys, no sweat."

Even as Cyborg said this, Robin saw that the Apaches were indeed falling behind.

"The only problem is," continued Cyborg, "Is that it's easy for them to track us. When we stop, they'll catch up. We need a way to shake them off our trail and find place to hide. Someplace where I can finish putting the weapons back to together. Someplace secure where they can't get to us."

"That's a great idea! Let's go," said Beast Boy.

"If it were easy to find such a place, Beast Boy, we surely would have gone there already," said Starfire.

"I guess. But there must be someplace in the whole entire world where we can stash a jet."

"And don't forget," said Cyborg, "We have to get them off our tail first. Otherwise, they'll just keep following us wherever we go."

"And how do we do that?" asked Beast Boy.

"By going somewhere where helicopters can't. Back into the ocean, or into space, over tall mountains…"

"How about flying through a hurricane?" asked Robin.

"Are you thinking about the one that's currently hitting the East Coast?" replied Cyborg. "Sure, that would probably work. But that's only step one. We still need a hide out."

"I know a place," said Robin. "Set a course for Gotham City."