No one said anything. The horrid news channel replayed the image over and over. Cyborg pulled me against his side and I clung to him. Beast Boy stood between the couch and the television, looking from us to the screen and back as if he thought we knew something he did not and was keeping it from him. Raven looked at the floor. The tension grew so thick that I began gasping for breath.
"It can't be true," said Raven at last. "She would have broadcast if they had captured him."
I nodded fervently. These people were like the femborks of my planet. They craved attention. Not even for their worst enemy would they carry out a secret assassination if they had the chance to make a public display. It was the audience they craved. But that still did not explain the uniform. Robin guarded his things very closely. He told me once that the technology in his cape alone was more advanced than anything available on the market, and if the technology fell into enemy hands it would be catastrophic for us. His cape is both flame retardant and capable of deflecting bullets if shot from a long range. I could easily imagine the difficulties we would have apprehending criminals if they fashioned suits of armor from similar fabrics.
"Perhaps we should try his communicator?" I suggested. My voice was higher pitched than normal in an effort to sound in control.
"Baby girl, he hasn't answered that thing since the Tower went down."
"But he said he would do the keeping in touch with us. We must try."
"Raven's right," said Beast Boy. "It doesn't make any sense for them to kill him. Didn't she say Joker wants him back in Gotham?"
"I say we pretend this never happened," said Cyborg in a low, serious tone. "If someone's trying to play games then let's not let them get to us. It was obviously a message, but until we know who it's for I say we just keep doing what we've been doing. The people are our first priority. Robin can handle himself."
I could see the sense in his words, but it was hard, so hard. I looked at the screen again just as it zoomed in on the lifeless green hand swinging beneath the stretcher.
Of Harley and her gang we saw very little in the following days. We were busy dealing with our own criminals and putting them back behind bars. Robin did not contact us. The news was unhelpful because as the doctors had no sample of his DNA on file they could not confirm or deny whether it was him or not, but the body that had been found was most assuredly dead. Someone had slit the sides of his mouth to form a ghastly semblance of a smile. The swelling and bruises made it too difficult for Cyborg to identify him. He did not permit me to go with him. Though I longed to know once and for all, secretly I was grateful.
Within hours of Cyborg's visit, we learned that the body, more specifically the suit had been stolen. There were no signs of the entry of force, no fingerprints, and none of the extra security guards saw anything. I did not know what to think. Had Robin come to reclaim his lost things, or had his fears become realized and his secret technology was now in the hands of our enemies?
On the third day, the R-cycle was found. Every inch of the red paint was scratched. There were large dents as if someone had struck it repeatedly with a baseball bat. This time there was a message stuck to the remains.
"Bye bye, Birdie!"
There was no doubt who had done this. Robin treasured his motorcycle. He did not humanize it the way Cyborg did the T-car, but he would never have inflicted such damage upon it as a mere deception. But what did the message mean?
Starfire, you're worried, we all are, but making yourself sick isn't going to give us answers any quicker. Raven's voice spoke directly into my mind. I flinched.
How could he do this to us? How could he let us worry about him like this? Once she opened the connection I could speak into her mind as well.
It's Robin. The mission always comes first with him.
That is not true! I shook my head angrily, making Beast Boy and Cyborg look at me strangely. He protects us at the risk of the mission, do you not see? He would rather endanger himself than risk one of us getting hurt trying to help him.
She rolled her eyes, not at me, but at the truth in my words. In her eyes it was just another form of selfishness. Suddenly her eyes glowed white and her face went slack. Then she blinked and her face resumed its expression of mild irritation.
"Cyborg's right. The whole city saw that news report. The Titans need to be seen to avoid panic. Trust me I can already feel it building." She pressed her fingertips to her temple and rubbed a slow circle. It was decided despite my misgivings.
Careful as always, Cyborg scanned the alley in front of the restaurant. When he was certain the coast was clear, we quickly filed out.
"It's about time," said a voice from above. "I was starting to think I'd have to come in and get you." I fired off a starbolt that obliterated the edge of the roof on which he crouched. Nimbly he somersaulted onto the ground in front of us only to raise his skull face to find Cyborg's sonic cannon aimed at his head.
"Been wondering when you'd show up," said Cyborg coldly.
"Guys, take it easy. That's not who you think it is," said Raven softly. She glided past Cyborg and I until she and Red X were practically nose to nose. Her hand whipped up so quickly he didn't have time to duck before she slapped him across the face.
"Do you have any idea what you're putting us through?" she hissed. He held up his hands.
"It hasn't exactly been a cakewalk for me either."
My heart went ice cold and I gave a soft cry as my knees buckled. He moved to catch me but I held out an arm to hold him at bay as I floated inches above the ground. He lowered his arms and backed up a couple of steps, but I felt hurt radiating from him. Beast Boy looked between us.
"You mean that's-"
"Not here!" Raven snapped. "Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos." An enormous black cloud of energy swallowed us. I hated this method of travel. It was cold and disorienting. When the darkness peeled away we were in a warehouse I recognized from the docks opposite our island.
"Explain!" Raven commanded, using her powers to fling Red X to the ground in the center of the circle the Titans and I formed around him.
"Geeze Raven, easy," he complained, dusting himself off as he got to his feet. His hand reached up to smooth his hair in a gesture that nearly stopped my heart with its familiarity before remembering that the Red X costume covered his head completely.
"I've been trying to infiltrate their ranks as Red X. I'm supposed to meet with one of their second tier leaders tonight. Maybe then I can find out what they're planning. I saw the news reports and I thought... I promised I would check in."
"You call this checking in? Dude, it's been three days since they found your 'body.' Cyborg had to identify it and couldn't even tell if it was you it was so mangled. You didn't think that might have been a good time to let us know you weren't dead?" Beast Boy's arms waved wildly in his agitation. Red X shrugged defeatedly.
"Look, I don't know who Harley's got in her back pocket. For all I know she's infiltrated the police and can see every move we make. I didn't want to lead her to you."
"Why are you so scared of her man? She's crazy, but she's no worse than Slade." Cyborg narrowed his human eye.
"She's not, but Joker is. Joker would kill any one of you on sight and laugh over your corpse just because he thought it was funny. You don't know him. If you'd seen the things he's done like I have, all the people he's hurt..."
"Why the radio silence?" Cyborg turned the conversation in a different direction. Red X sucked in a whistling breath and shook his head.
"I'm not taking any chances. Harley's smart. Tapping into our network isn't beyond her."
"You say you've got an interview with them tonight? What do they say about Robin's 'death'?" Cyborg folded his arms across his chest. Red X shrugged. I refused to call him Robin while he was wearing that mask. Once before he had used the disguise and it nearly destroyed the Titans. I hated hearing his voice coming from behind that mask.
"They know it's a fake since they didn't kill me. They like the mass panic it caused though."
"And what if they see through that disguise? You're not even trying to hide your voice in that thing."
"This isn't the first time I've done this, Cy. I know what I'm doing."
"Why are you still here? Why not go back to Gotham already? Wasn't that your plan all along?" Beast Boy asked.
"There's no way I'm walking into a trap there without knowing what I'm getting into. If this was Slade, maybe, but I don't mess around with Joker, and you shouldn't either."
"You've got to give us more to go on, man. We're barely holding it together."
"You're doing fine," said Red X. I could hear the smile in his voice and it squeezed my heart. "Crime's basically back to normal. You've put all the major criminals in jail faster than even I was expecting."
"I'm not talking about that, I'm talking about us! I saw a body and I thought it was yours! Raven kept saying she could feel your aura but we had. O clue what was going on. I thought we talked about this. You need to trust us!"
"I do trust you!"
"BB's been a nervous wreck. He's been having nightmares. Raven's even more withdrawn than usual, and Starfire-"
The skull mask swiveled sharply to look at my face and I turned my head. I heard him approach. He touched my wrist.
"I told you not to worry..."
My eyes flashed and I grabbed his hand and squeezed until the bones threatened to snap. He hissed in pain.
"How could I not worry? He wore your uniform! They destroyed the R-cycle and there was no word from you. You promised!" Tears flowed freely now and I released m to cover my face. It hurt, his withdrawal. It was even worse than the last time he had chosen the Red X persona.
"Starfire, wait."
I backed away shaking my head. I could not do this. I could not bear his casual disregard of our feelings even for our own protection. Summoning a distant memory of the Titans enjoying a picnic on the beach below the Tower, I managed enough happiness to shoot through the ceiling.
Something closed around my ankle, and I kicked out instinctively. He slipped, but managed to hold on long enough for me to see who it was. I halted so fast he swung back and forth like a pendulum. Only his great acrobatic reflexes kept him from slinging loose.
"How...?" I was already forty feet above the warehouse. Even if he'd lunged for mr at the moment I took off he should not have been able to catch me.
"Line of sight teleportation," he reminded me in a sad voice. "Get us out of the open and I'll explain everything, I promise."
I hated that mask more in that moment than I believed possible for an inanimate object, because it kept me from discerning the truth in his face. Robin's version of the truth was most fluid when it served his purposes. However, it was unwise for us to converse in midair over the city where anyone might see us. With a sigh I reached down to grasp his hand. It felt warm and strong and familiar as it intertwined with mine. Lifting him close to protect him as best I could, I went supersonic with a crack that echoed through the still night like thunder.
A/N: I'm going on a business trip so it might be a couple of days before the next update for those who've gotten used to this multiple updates a day thing. At least I didn't leave you with a cliffhanger though.