r?

Robin got the call at approximately 2AM. He was shocked, but in another way he felt relief- that special kind of relief that is felt when a calamity, long dreaded, finally occurs. The other shoe has dropped, and you can get on with things. Joker had finally killed in Jump City. He didn't have a lot of details, but the Commissioner had been quite clear about that much. An anonymous tipster ( 'Most likely the Joker himself' Robin thought) had alerted police headquarters that a body was waiting for them at Tilden Chemicals warehouse. The investigating officer had confirmed it, as well as finding what the Commissioner called "undeniable evidence of the Joker's involvement". Robin had noted the way the man had said that phrase, because he'd noticed strong emotion tinging it. Regret? Fear? Anger? He supposed he'd find out later.

Robin had decided not to take the others with him. The Joker's first victim was likely to be a gruesome sight, and shocked people not only missed clues but could be a distraction to him. Plus, he wanted to shield his friends for as long as he could. The only other Titan he knew for sure had first-hand experience of a murder scene was Beast Boy- and he had more than enough to do tomorrow. Leaving aside the romance, Robin would have to increase tomorrows patrol schedule. He didn't like doing it to his friend, but duty came first. Pausing only long enough to chug a can of cola, Robin raced off into the night on the R-cycle.

A short while later, Robin stood over the body of his rival (and one-time alias) Red X. He wasn't sure exactly what he should feel in this situation. On the one hand, X was a heartless thief, who took whatever he wanted with absolutely no thought to those who his crimes might hurt. He'd thoroughly humiliated Robin and his friends several times, and caused them a good deal of physical pain as well. But on the other hand...it wasn't really something Robin could put into words. There had just always been this feeling that in looking at Red X, Robin was looking at a Funhouse mirror; a distorted image of himself. As though the thief was an example of what Robin might have been if his life had gone differently. They shared a common build, and were the same height, but it went beyond that. Each was driven to be the very best at what they did, each had carved a name for themselves in the Super-community despite a lack of powers, and each was at bottom a loner. Most of all, they both lived their lives behind masks, not allowing themselves to get too close to anyone. So, in a strange way, Robin felt as though he were looking down at his own corpse.

He reached down to the skull mask, removed by the police but which now lay draped across the face of the young burglar. Pulling it off, he was somewhat surprised at the lack of resemblence to him. X was a red-headed young man with bright green eyes, freckles, and a deep scar that cut diagonally across his somewhat bent nose. He also had a very large, very familiar death-rictus. Robin grimaced; he might have hated X, but that was no way to die. Drool had caked slightly around the lips, tinged green- not uncommon in the victims of Joker Venom.

The Boy Wonder stood up and addressed the Commissioner, a tall man with light brown hair and patrician features. "Joker Venom. Well, I knew he'd strike sooner or later. I just wonder why he targeted Red X. I mean, normally Joker prefers civilians. I can't help but wonder why he's breaking form now. Plus, why'd he wait so long? Joker kills. Its what he does, what he always does. Why the wait this time?"

The Commissioner fidgeted slightly, clearly uncomfortable with what Robin just said. "Robin..we... we think this may not be the first killing since the studio. We...suspect that Joker was responsible for at least two other deaths. Killer Moth and what we think was Control Freak."

Robin spun around, his eyes wide. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, but shock and fury rendered him speechless. Finally he found his voice, and roared "YOU KEPT TWO KILLINGS FROM US?! FROM ME?! YOU THOUGHT, WHAT, THAT YOU COULD HANDLE THE JOKER ALONE?! THAT IF WE DIDN'T ACT HE'D GET BORED AND GO AWAY ON HIS OWN?!" The older man was clearly frightened by the sheer rage emanating from the teenaged hero, but when he opened his mouth to speak Robin cut him off "SAVE IT!!! I'M GOING STRAIGHT TO THE PRESS WITH NEWS OF THIS MONUMENTAL ACT OF STUPIDITY, AND BY THE TIME THEY'RE DONE YOU'LL BE LUCKY IF YOU CAN GET A JOB AS A SECURITY GUARD! WHY IN GODS NAME WOULD YOU EVEN TRY TO KEEP SOMETHING LIKE THIS FROM US, YOU OVERPAID PENCILPUSHER!!!"

Finally, the Commissioner yelled back "BECAUSE YOU'RE SIXTEEN!"

Robin stopped dead. He'd expected any number of replies. 'Its not your jurisdiction', 'we weren't sure', 'I don't work with vigilantes'... he hadn't expected that one, though. The official took Robin's silence as an oppurtunity to continue. Emotion gripped his voice.

"I have a daughter about your age. Her name is Beatrice, sweetest and most innocent thing you ever saw. I wanted to call you in, I really did. But everytime I reached for the damn phone, I thought of her, and of how I'd do anything in the world to keep her from sights like these. And I asked myself whether I had the right to make children deal with crimes this brutal, to send them after monsters like the Joker. I know in Gotham they don't seem to have a problem with it, but dammit I do. So I told myself we weren't sure, that there was doubt, that this was a normal killer and nothing to bother you with. I knew even then they were weak excuses, and what I should do. But I won't apologize for doing all I could to keep children, even superpowered ones, away from a murder scene. You can ruin my career if you want, but I won't."

Robin finally calmed down and saw what the man meant. It was a point Batman, Commissioner Gordon, and Alfred had often agonized over: on the one hand they were crime fighters, but on the other it was natural to want to protect the innocent from such horrific scenes. He couldn't even fault him too much; he'd made the exact same decision himself a little while ago. He breathed out heavily.

"Fine. Whats done is done. I won't report this to the press, but I want you to keep this in mind. If you'd told us about the previous deaths we could have examined them ourselves. No offense to your forensics department, but I'm probably the most qualified person in the city to understand Joker's twisted mind- and if need be I could have consulted Batman. Whatever progress he's made, whatever lives he's taken, you bear a part of the resposibility for it. Remember that, and remember what the Titans have done, and call us next time"
The Commissioner bowed his head, as Robin bent to examine the body.

-+-+-+-+-+

Three hours and a half hours. Three hours and a half of rigorous study, first at the crime scene, then analyzing samples back at Titans Tower, and Robin had come up with exactly nothing. No toxins on the costume or body, save from a few drops of Joker Venom on the upper thigh (presumably where the toxin was administered). No fingerprints. No playing cards, notes, jokes, or any other sort of unusual object that might be a clue to Joker's plans. No distinctive chemiclas, fibers, powders, or anything else that might reveal where the killer clown was making his lair. No evidence of why Red X had been targeted. No nothing.

Robin gave a large yawn, and idly considered going back to bed. He hadn't had more than a few hours slumber altogether- but on the other hand, he was scheduled to start his morning workout in an hour. Unlike the other Titans, Robin had to work and work hard to maintain his abilities, and so he stuck religiously to his schedule. He sighed. 'I guess I can take a nap later on in the day...'

He made his way down to the kitchen, to prepare a big breakfast (and a large pot of black coffee). He was about to enter when he heard someone moving about. As far as he knew, none of the team were awake at this hour. With the quick judgement born of sleep deprivation he came to the conclusion that it must be an intruder. He leapt into the room, and launched a flying kick at the figure- who, without looking round, waved a hand and encased him in a black aura and began slamming him repeatedly into the floor.

"If you're quite done being stupid" Raven droned, sipping her tea "I'll let you up."

" wham! Oof! I'm! wham! Ouch! Done! Wham! Yeow! Stop!" Robin said, between impacts. Immediately, the aura dissipated, leaving him in a heap on the floor. Slowly he rose to his feet and moved to the coffeemaker to prepare the insomniacs brew of life "What are you doing up?"
"My emotions are giving me...problems" Raven said, not looking at Robin. "They're very excited about tonights...events...and kept waking me up. Happy was particularly annoying"

"Yeah, Raven" Robin really wished he didn't have to bring this up but he had responsibilities, both as team leader and as a friend "You know, from what Beastboy told me yesterday- Oh don't look like that, he told me so no 'secret love triangles' got in the way of stopping Joker! Anyway, from what he told me you weren't acting quite yourself. Are you sure you're OK?"

Raven took a deep breath and rubbed her forehead. "Robin, I am going to say this once and once only. I am a teenaged girl experiencing her first crush while in the full rush of her hormones. I am also a half-demon, with instincts and feelings alien to normal humans. I am also a disciple of the monks of Azarath, trained from childhood to repress all emotions- a training I have only been freed from very recently. Fianlly, I am the product of a rape, which naturally leaves me with certain issues regarding intimacy and physical love. So as you can guess, my emotional state is not always the most predictable thing and my behavior may seem somewhat unusual. However I am feeling as well as can be expected given all that. What are you doing up?"

Robin swallowed and wisely accepted Raven's change of subject. "Technically, I was never 'down'. I was out all night investigating a murder" There was a crash as Raven's mug hit the floor.

Raven had her eyes closed. "So. Joker's finally started."

The boy wonder snorted as he poured the newly made black brew into his own mug. "Apparently he was started some time ago, but the commissioner felt we needed to be protected from such horrible sights. So far he's gotten Killer Moth and what was very probably Control Freak and those are just the ones we know about. Tonight, it was Red X killed by Joker Venom. I examined the scene, studied the body, and took some samples back for analysis. Nothing. "
Raven sighed. It wasn't pleasant to think of that maniac out there, killing people without the Titans even knowing about it.

Robin nodded "And I've got more bad news. Todays patrols are going to be more extensive then normal which means..."

Raven sighed "that Beastboy might well come back too tired for our date. Fantastic. The universe must truly hate me. Don't worry Robin, I understand. Now, I'm going to go meditate, to make sure my emotions understand. Otherwise, I might have a riot on my hands. Or in my head. Whatever."

"heh. I get to go tell Beastboy that not only does he have to do two extra patrols, he has to do one of them in half an hour. I'm SURE to have a riot on my hands"

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

Beastboy took the news about as well as could be expected. Initially, he threw what could only be described as a tantrum, but once the reason for his extra work was made clear, he accepted it albeit grudgingly. He trudged down to the kitchen to make breakfast, even forgoing the usual meat-tofu battle. He grumbled as he prepared his tofu eggs, cereal and juice, and took it into the common room to eat; he needed to check the weather before his first (hideously early) patrol, and the weather channel was easier than the paper. He found Raven meditating on thecouch. He sat down beside her to eat his meal. It was funny, really, how much calmer and more peaceful he always felt when she was around- at least when they were getting along.

He heard movement and noticed the newest member of the team quietly making her way down to the kitchen. He was amused to note that Batgirl was as much an early riser as Robin, but she wore it much better. He wondered if Batman had some kind of 'early bird' training...early BIRD...

'oh man that's such a great joke...' He turned his head to the grey skinned empath"Hey, Rae, here's a joke..."

Raven opened one eye. "Beastboy, I'm currently in the middle of convincing my emotions not to do anything drastic to ensure you keep our date tonight. Rude wants to glue you to me, Brave suggests threatening you with bodily harm, and I'll just let you guess what Rage has in mind. So ask yourself, is this really a time you want to be distracting me?"

"...never mind."

"Tell joke, Beastboy" Cassie said, sitting down with a palte of buttered toast "Tim say I have to learn to appreciate humor"

"Well then" Raven said closing her eyes again "You might want to start elsewhere, or at least some other time. Beastboy can be funny, but only when he's not telling jokes."
Beastboy wasn't sure if he'd been complimented or insulted or what, so he decided to ignore the comment. "Why does Robin get up so early? Because the early bird gets the worm! Ha ha!" He smiled hugely and looked at the two girls. Raven looked mildly disgusted, while Cassie just looked puzzled.

"Tim not want worms. Gets up early for training. Me too, Batman say morning training most effective. Body and mind rested, ready for work. And how bird involved?"

Beastboy was a bit nonplussed by this response. He was used to people not laughing at his jokes, he was used to Starfire misunderstanding his jokes. But it seemed like Cassie had failed to grasp that it was a joke. An awkward silence reigned in the room.

"Uh, well, I gotta get going on patrol. Lotta ground to cover, y'know. Cass, we'll meet at the main entrance at 10, OK? And we'll start your grand tour of Jump city. Wear your civvies! And Re, don't forget, tonight at eight!" With that the green boy leapt out th enearby window, changing into a bird as he went. The two girls were left in a far more awkward silence then before.