Alice: New chapter! Thanks for being so patient with the updates. School has been crazy!
Emily: Anyway, here's the next chapter! Just a warning, I started really mapping out this story chapter by chapter, and it will be really long and plot heavy.
Alice: But it will also have a lot of RobRae, so that will be good!
Emily: Speaking of… Raven discovers something in this chapter.
Alice: Enjoy!
A Discovery, a Denial, and a Drink
When the titans first step foot on the beach, they were immediately surprised. They had expected scenery that closely matched their own home considering the Titans Tower was also surrounded by water. They did not expect an actual, sandy beach that someone could swim in. While the Titans Tower was technically surrounded by water, the ground was extremely rocky, and there was a lack of sand. It made swimming it in both dangerous and underwhelming.
"This is awesome!" Beast boy beamed. "I'll bet you could actually play volleyball on the beach here!"
"We have," Rob smirked in amusement.
"Awesome!" Beast boy whispered enviously. "We can only play it on the roof."
Wally snorted and jokingly jabbed Rob in the ribs, "Hey, looks like you still love high places!"
Rob immediately frowned at the comment and shifted his attention to the other team. While part of him didn't want to ruin their exploration of the beach, he still had so many questions that desperately needed answers. Well Black Canary encouraged him to ask as many questions as he wanted, and she always offered great guidance in the past… so he might as well follow her advice.
Making a decision, he promptly sat on the sand, which encouraged the other teams to do the same. None of them had brought their swimsuits, so they could hardly go in the water. Going out on the beach was just their way of being outside and in the sun before winter hit.
"So when you were talking about how Robin would understand Conner's Superman dilemma, you hinting at how he doesn't get along with Batman anymore?" He blurted out.
The titans seemed surprised at his forwardness, and they shifted uncomfortably. "Yes," Starfire admitted rather reluctantly.
"Thought so," Rob sighed. "Does anyone know what happened to make Robin so angry with Batman?"
The team looked around uneasily, as though they were expecting Robin to just pop out of nowhere and yell at them for discussing such a subject. Finally Cyborg sat up straight and answered, "No, we don't. We've never really talked about it with him before."
"Well that's not true," Beast boy commented. "I brought it up once when we first formed the team, and he ended up yelling at me, giving me more training exercises than ever, and refused to talk to me for the rest of the week."
"What?" Artemis and Wally exclaimed at the same time.
"That seems a like a little… much," Aqualad commented in a soft tone.
Beast boy shrugged, "It was when we first met. We have a theory that Batman and Robin got in this giant fight, and Robin quit. He ended up going to Jump City and accidentally forming our team there. I'm pretty sure I asked him about Batman way too soon after the fight, which is why he blew things out of proportion. Ever since, we've just made an unspoken rule that we won't talk about him."
"Yeah and whenever one of the criminals mentions Batman, Robin becomes much harsher on them," Cyborg added. "So even the criminals have learned not to mention Batman around him."
"That sounds very severe," M'gann whispered.
"You think?" Rob snorted humorlessly. It was clear he was very upset by the news. "I really travelled all the way from New Jersey to California because of a fight?"
"All the way across the country," Wally whistled. "Must have been some fight."
At that comment, he received two glares from Rob and Artemis. He raised his hands in defense and mumbled about how no one could take a joke. Artemis rolled her eyes and glanced at Rob, who was hunched over. He appeared so vulnerable, which was a very rare sight for him. Normally he was so enthusiastic… then again, she was hardly one to talk considering her own "daddy issues." She sighed and turned her attention to the future team instead. After all, she shouldn't be obnoxiously staring at the boy who was clearly in shock at his own future. It would add to the stress.
Suddenly Rob stood up a little straighter and gazed at the team once again. "So none of you know what happened?" He clarified, and he directed his stare at Raven. "Not even you?"
At once, all of the titans had expressions of shock. Raven raised her eyebrows. "Me?" she questioned.
"Yeah," Rob shrugged. "Has he told you anything in particular about his fight with Batman?"
"No."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
Rob clearly didn't believe her, and Beast boy cut in, "Why are you asking her?"
"Considering Robin has a huge, obvious crush on her, I'd say he must have talked to her about some personal things," Rob defended only to frown. All of the titans, including Raven herself, had completely flabbergasted expressions. Rob tilted his head to the side, "What?"
"He does not have a crush on Raven!" Beast boy burst out laughing. "That's crazy!"
"Sorry man," Cyborg apologized with a grin. "You got it all wrong."
Starfire's eyes were wide, and she was staring at Raven with an emotion that the dark haired girl couldn't identify. Either way, Starfire never looked at her like that, and it made Raven extremely uncomfortable. It didn't help that she couldn't stop the blush threatening to come on her cheeks.
Rob frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Robin has a crush on Starfire," Beast boy grinned. "It's obvious!"
Starfire whipped her head to look at Beast boy, and she looked so hopeful that Rob almost felt bad for mentioning Robin's crush on Raven in the first place.
"Oh," Rob ran a hand through his messy hair. "Yeah, I guess so."
Raven narrowed her eyes at the action. "Rob," she warned. "What did you mean by that?"
"Nothing!" Rob held up his hands in defense, a movement almost identical to Wally's from a few moments ago. "I guess I just got mixed up, that's all."
"You're lying." She stated confidently. She paused for a moment before adding, "And confused. Robin does not have any sort of romantic feelings for me whatsoever."
Rob slowly lowered his hands and smirked at her. "You sure about that? I saw your little moment on the Bio-ship."
She gaped at him. "What…?"
"And how he listens to you even if he doesn't agree."
She scowled. "I'm not quite sure—"
"Plus he keeps looking at you when you're not looking at him," Rob finished, clearly amused by the situation. The titans stared at him with shock, and four of them abruptly turned to Raven, not trying to mask their amazement. Raven clenched her fists, which filled with sand, and she tried to think of a way to convince the younger Rob that what he was saying was not true.
"He is in love with Starfire," Raven reaffirmed what Beast boy claimed. "That much is obvious."
Rob's expression softened, and he looked almost apologetically at Starfire. "Sorry," he actually did sound sorry. "He looks at her the same way I look at M'gann. It's platonic, and I'm sorry you heard it from me and not from him. I didn't realize you had feelings for him when I made that comment."
Starfire slowly nodded her head, and it looked like she hardly understood what was going on. Beast boy was immediately defensive, "You don't know that!"
"Some things haven't changed," Rob shrugged. "The way I act around a crush is one of them. I guess you guys will find out soon enough what Robin actually feels."
"What he feels," Raven interjected again, "is nothing."
Wally once again butted in with an obnoxious whistling noise. "Dang Rob," he grinned. "You're killing it with the ladies!"
No one looked impressed by his comment.
He innocently shrugged, "What? It's true."
Rob rolled his eyes and playfully smacked the top of Wally's head. Artemis snorted and replied, "Yeah, and he also became a crazy workaholic with no sense of humor. Seriously, what happened their Rob?"
The younger boy kept his eyes pinned on Raven. "I don't know," he answered. "That's what I'm trying to find out."
Raven narrowed her eyes. "I don't know anything. He doesn't talk to me about things like that."
"Then ask him," Rob stated. "He'll answer you."
"I doubt that."
Rob smiled softly. "It'll work. Trust me."
After the conversation about Robin's feelings, the air around the teams grew incredibly awkward. Starfire appeared to be a mixture of heartbroken and confused, and Raven refused to further the talk about the possibility of Robin having romantic feelings towards her. Cyborg and Beast boy were simply in shock and trying to recall any moments that they may have missed between the possible couple. Rob was lost in his thoughts in regards to what happened with Batman, and the rest of his team was stuck, not knowing what to do in the intense situation. Should they comfort Starfire? Press Raven for more information? Comfort Rob?
They were clueless, so when Aqualad offered to go back inside, everyone nearly jumped on the chance.
The walk back was silent, and many of the teenagers were lost in their own thoughts until they made it back inside where they saw Robin sitting on the floor. He moved the coffee table somewhere, and his legs were crossed. His back was hunched over as he stared at the files that were scattered in front of him.
Rob took in the position of Robin's hunched back with his hand holding up his chin and nearly flinched. "What are you looking for?" He asked before he could help himself.
Robin didn't even bother looking up.
Raven frowned. "Robin?" she questioned. "Are you alright?"
The answer was almost immediate. "It doesn't make any sense," he answered without tearing his eyes away from the papers. "The strategies are all Slade, but the methods aren't."
Rob turned and smirked at Raven as though to say 'Told you so!' Raven rolled her eyes at the boy.
Cyborg frowned. "Then maybe it's not Slade."
"It's Slade." Robin confirmed confidently, not noticing a few of the Justice Members walking in the room.
Cyborg scowled, also unaware of the heroes who just walked in. "Robin, you're obsessed with this guy. Once you hear the word Slade or even suspect it might be Slade, you get crazy. You're obsession has caused you to make bad calls before. How do you know this isn't just another bad call?"
Robin clenched his fists, clearly not appreciating being questioned by his teammate. "I've studied Slade's methods for days on end. I know what he does, and I know how he works. I think I know Slade better than I know the back of my own damn hand. This is definitely Slade. It has his name written all over it! It's just not completely him… but it could account for the fact that we're in the past. A lot can happen in five years, and I guarantee Slade is evolving now to who he is in our time. That's why some of his methods are off. He hasn't perfected them yet."
"How are some of his methods off?" Starfire questioned.
"For one, he's working with people," Robin stated. "He rarely does that, but in this timeline, it seems to be his only methodology."
"Work with people?" Raven frowned. "Do you mean—"
"No." He instantly answered like he knew what she was going to say. "I mean groups of people. It's weird because he normally—"
Robin interrupted himself by yawning quite loudly at the end of that statement. As if his yawn had triggered something, he automatically stood up and turned around but froze at the site of Wonder Woman and Batman standing there. How long had they been there? How long were they listening?
No, it didn't matter.
He walked around the couch and past the two Justice League members, disappearing into the kitchen.
Batman frowned at his actions, and his gaze turned to the files scattered everywhere. He walked towards them and looked down, frowning at some of the case files. "You said you only gave Robin a couple files, right?" Batman grunted out.
Wonder Woman scowled. "Yes?"
Batman stood up. "We might want to strengthen our network security for some of our computer documented files."
She blinked. "He hacked us?"
Cyborg gaped, whispering in awe, "He hacked the Justice League?"
Rob turned and smirked at him. "Been doing it since I was nine."
Judging by his expression, Cyborg looked ready to faint at any moment.
"You seem so surprised," a new voice commented, and everyone turned to see Robin standing there with a smirk on his face and a cup of coffee in his hands.
Wonder Woman sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. "I thought we'd have you beaten by now."
Robin snorted. "Sorry, I won't go down without a fight."
"I've noticed," she gave him a tiny smile.
Batman, on the other hand, looked less amused. "Are you drinking coffee?" He asked.
Robin frowned, glancing at the warm beverage in his hands to his former mentor. As soon as their eyes met, he scowled automatically. "What does it matter what I drink?" Robin snidely asked.
"You hate coffee." Batman stated. "Yet this is the second time I've seen you drink it."
"Maybe I learned to love it," he retorted.
"Judging by how you cringe whenever you take a sip, I doubt that." Batman argued back, and Robin could hardly counter that.
Robin glanced at the floor, hating to be defeated in an argument with him. "I do hate it, but I need to stay energized," he admitted softly. With that said, he walked to the same space he was before, and he sat down. He immediately started looking over the files but froze when he noticed everyone's eyes were on him. He sighed and looked at Aqualad almost pleadingly. "You sure you don't have any office spaces available?"
The team leader shook his head. "No, I'm sorry."
He sighed. "It's fine."
Going back to his work, he tried to block out everyone staring at him. It worked rather quickly, and he was emerged in the files, trying to discover what on earth Slade was planning.
Wonder Woman watched the scene with a scowl. "Batman," she gritted out. "I need to talk to you. Alone."
Batman turned to her and nodded. Together the two of them walked out of the room, leaving the teenage heroes behind.
"Oh man!" Wally whispered. "Wonder Woman's about to give Batman a whooping!"
"No she's not!" Artemis rolled her eyes.
Aqualad sighed. "It is clear she is angry at him, but I highly doubt she will… give him a 'whooping' as you say."
"No one gives Batman a whooping," Beast boy smiled proudly.
Rob titled his head to the side, a sneaky smile slowly forming on his lips. "Hey M'gann?" He sounded far too innocent. "Maybe we can see what they're talking about? Use a little Martian power to hear what they're saying?"
M'gann appeared almost scandalized. "I thought you guys said not to read the good guys' mind?" She asked, almost stressed out by the question.
"You won't be reading their minds… just listening to the conversation by entering their minds," Rob replied innocently. "Connect us to their minds, so we can see and hear what they see and hear?"
"You really want to spy on Batman and Wonder Woman?" Aqualad raised an eyebrow. "Does that sound like a good idea?"
"You're curious too," Rob shrugged, "and besides, I was trained by one of the best spies. Technically, I took it up from him."
"Spying on Batman and Wonder Woman would be so cool," Beast boy was practically jumping up and down. "I saw we do it!"
"We could get in so much trouble," Cyborg whispered, but it was clear he wanted to listen to the conversation as well.
"It could be interesting," Artemis smirked, and Wally nodded in agreement. They had never seen two league members fight before. Usually it was Batman disappointed with a league member, and he solved it on his own. Now it was a league member upset with Batman! That had never really happened before! And if it did, they never heard of it and never witnessed it. They were curious!
Rob, on the other hand, had a pretty good idea on what they were going to say, but due to the unique situation, he wondered if that would bring a new twist to the age-old argument between Batman and Wonder Woman.
All of the team members turned towards Aqualad and Miss Martian with sparkling, pleading eyes. "Alright!" She gave in. "Let's do it."
She turned towards Kaldur, who sighed. "Fine," he massaged his forehead with his fingers.
The teams promptly walked out of the room, trying to find a secure location where they could spy and not be caught. They were in such a hurry that they didn't notice the other teenager in the room, who lifted his head and stared at them as they all filed out.
A small smirk came onto his lips. "I wonder…" he mumbled to himself.
Alice: Thanks for reading!
Emily: The plot will begin a little slow, but it will eventually pick up.
Alice: I hope you all liked it!
Emily: Let me know what you thought!
Alice: Preview for the next chapter:
Batman and Wonder Woman decide to talk but about what? The team decides to spy on them and discovers that it might be an invasion of a certain teammate's privacy. This results in more team bonding, and more RobRae shipping from the younger Robin himself!
Emily: Yeah, I've decided I'm going to start doing previews with the chapters since they seem like a lot of fun! Anyways, thanks for reading, and happy holiday's!
