When Raven and Beast Boy arrived, Batgirl did not appear to be any happier. Raven she regarded warily, because Raven was projecting wars of fear and menace. Perhaps with anyone else it might have worked, but was not the Batman known for using his enemies' fear against them? Batgirl was probably well-practiced at hiding her own. Beast Boy greeted her with a, "Whoa cool, you're Batgirl," that earned him a telling silence, though Cyborg she seemed to extended a grudging respect to. It was me she focused her displeasure at, and I recognized the cause immediately. Such things are common on my planet where we are ruled by our emotions. She viewed me as a rival. She was the other red-head Harley and the Joker had mentioned, the one who had been broken-hearted when Robin left Gotham to stay with us in Jump.
"You can't be here," she said for the fifth time.
"What, seriously?" asked Beast Boy. His ears drooped and I felt a stab of sympathy that the object of his hero-worship had rejected him.
"I would like to see you make us leave," Raven said softly. She lifted her hands in front of her in preparation for conjuring a spell. Each of us assumed our battle stance. Batgirl looked around at us all and gave an impatient huff.
"I don't have time for this right now. Just lay low and stay out of the way. If you go after Joker you're going to get Robin and possibly yourselves killed." Without another word she turned and fired a grappling gun at the corner of a nearby building, swinging away in a way that both familiar and yet nowhere near as graceful as the caped figure I knew.
"Nice to see they rolled out the welcome wagon for us," Raven muttered.
"Yea, she seems...nice," Cyborg drawled, clearly meaning the exact opposite. I relaxed my defensive stance.
"She cares for Robin and he is in danger. You know how little he appreciates outside help. I take it the Batman instills the same independence in all of the apprentices he trains."
"Starfire, you do realize that his ex—" Raven elbowed Beast Boy in the ribs before he could finish his statement.
"Not a good time," she said in a warning tone.
"Raven, now that we are here can you try to contact Robin once more. Perhaps he has awakened. If he has not that is dangerous for a human, yes?" Human biology is still very foreign to me. Tamaranean healing cycles can last for days without there being cause for alarm. Depending on the severity of our injuries in need of healing our normal bodily functions slow down to an almost imperceptible level so that all necessary green energy can be focused to the area that needs it most. I have learned that humans can not go hours between heartbeats or brain functioning. They are such a fragile race.
"I can sense that he's somewhere in the city, but there's some form of barrier keeping me out. They must have him sedated."
"It'd help if we had someone who knew the lay of the land to help us out. Since Batman and Batgirl are out that doesn't leave us with a whole lot of options.
"You mean we just flew all that way to stand around doing nothing? We were doing that just fine in Jump," said Beast Boy, folding his arms impatiently. Privately I agreed.
"Whatever Joker's planning, he going to take Robin to a place that's significant for them. Everything that Harley Quinn told us and Joker said himself points to some sort of reunion. He came all the way to Jump to bring Robin back. There must be something significant that happened sometime in their past that he wants to revisit."
"Well that's helpful," said Cyborg. "We all know how many trips Robin likes to take down memory lane. It's not like any of us would know."
"When Robin was thirteen, Joker shot him. It pierced a lung and he nearly died," Beast Boy supplied unexpectedly. We all looked at him and he shrugged.
"So what, I used to be one of his biggest fans. That was before I met the guy."
"And how many things did you get him to autograph for you before he threatened to kick you off the Titans if you asked for anything else?" Raven asked.
"The point is," he said speaking over her, "is that he and Joker had a big showdown over it. He was off the streets for weeks and when he came back he had something to prove. That was a year or so before he left Gotham, but he sort of changed after that. He was more serious and became the Robin we all know now. Before that he was kind of like the kid who realizes he's won the lottery and can't get over how cool his life is."
"I do not understand," I said. "What is the lottery?"
"I just mean that every time you saw him in the news before that he was this happy-go-lucky kid. He was always smiling and seemed to genuinely love what he did. Now he's this workaholic drone that doesn't know when to call it a day."
"Where did this confrontation take place?" I asked, eager for a lead. Beast Boy threw me a look.
"It's not like I memorized it. Do you know how many times Robin's fought the Joker?"
"Abandoned warehouse on the west end of town," Cyborg supplied. He was staring straight ahead and I knew he was using his computer programs to scan the Internet for the news article that Beast Boy had described.
"It's better than nothing," said Raven. She gestured for us to stand close to her so that she could transport us there rather than fly the same way we had arrived. From this moment on stealth was our primary objective. Cyborg gave her the coordinates while I grasped Beast Boy's hand for reassurance.
We reappeared on another rooftop. I had no way of knowing where we were, but trusted that we were near our goal.
"I thought you were told to stay out of my city." Before we could turn, there was a soft hiss from behind us, and before I could summon a starbolt, my eyes slid shut and I slumped to the ground.
"Do you realize what would have happened if I hadn't pulled you out of there? Joker is counting you to do exactly what you were about to do. You nearly played right into his hands." We had woken up to find ourselves in a room similar to the one that Robin had been using as a safe house. I was the last to wake, thanks to my alien physiology, and the moment my eyes lifted Batman began scolding us for directly disobeying his mandate to stay out of Gotham City. Bitgirl was there too. She was seated at the computer table with her back facing us while she watched a series of video feeds. She had her hand over her mouth and she made an inarticulate sound of distress.
"Oh God, look at him." Not even the Batman could keep me from flying to her side to see what she was seeing. I could see Robin lying on the ground. The cape of the Red X costume was badly torn, there were rips in his clothing, and the bloody side of his face had swollen so badly I might not have recognized him if I had not already known who it was.
"I know," said Batman grimly, pushing past me to stand behind her. "But we've talked about this. We can't go after him."
"What?!" The Titans and I gasped.
"It's not Robin he wants, it's me."
"But they're torturing him!" I shrieked. "You mean you intend to just leave him in their hands!"
"For now that is all we can do. Robin is strong. I trained him to be. He understands what is happening."
"Listen, Starfire, you're not the only one who wants to ride in to the rescue, but Batman's right. Robin's his achilles heel, he always has been. The only person who doesn't know that already is Robin. Joker knows that if anything happens to him Batman will be out for blood and he's counting on it. Giving him what he wants will only confirm it." Batgirl attempted to be patient with me. i appreciated the effort, but I could not agree.
"Why do you not dispose of him then. If he is such a despicable creature then why is he allowed to remain free?"
"We do not kill," said Batman in a tone that warned me not to press on. I was angry, and an angry Tamaranean is reckless.
"The Titans do not kill either, we leave the sentencing of our criminals to the judges and juries of the human courts as Robin has counseled us to do, but even the courts have the power to sentence him to death. Why has he not been executed?"
"Because he qualifies for the insanity plea a thousand times over," Batgirl answered in a weary tone that suggested that she had seen more than her fair share of instances where Joker had escaped his due punishment. I slammed my fist into the desk in frustration and chunk of the black metal fell to the floor.
"All the more reason he should be destroyed. He cannot be rehabilitated, he cannot be reasoned with. Clearly he lives only to escape and cause wanton chaos and destruction at every opportunity. As heroes we are sworn to protect the people and the only way to protect them from this fiend is if he never draws breath again."
"Passionate words, but not particularly helpful," said Batman, typing a few buttons os that he could enlarge the image of Robin on the ground.
"Do not talk to me about being the unhelpful when you sit here and do nothing while he is being tortured at the hands of those creatures!" I exploded. My hands flared with fire, but it extinguished the moment the Batman turned his dark, soulless eyes upon me.
"The only reason I'm not infiltrating that camp is because I had to stop you four from giving away your position and jeopardizing this entire mission." He delivered the words with brutal softness. I could see through his eyes what he had seen on that roof, the four of us arriving in a vortex of black power, me with my glowing eyes and Cyborg with his shiny metallic parts. We would have been easy enough to spot for anyone who was looking, and Joker undoubtedly had people looking.
"Make no mistake, that is my son out there," said Batman in clipped tones. I took a step back. He radiated fear in a way that was entirely different than Raven. She took the fears you harbored deep within your heart and reflected them back at you, but he was terrifying with his masked face that hid every emotion. Although I knew I was physically stronger, he faced me down with the supreme confidence of one who knows there is no question about the outcome of an altercation.
"If you believe you can save him then go. We have no wish to stand in your way."
"I don't need you to tell me my job," he said, though his tone gentler slightly. He exchanged a quick glance with Batgirl. She nodded, and he spun on his heel in a swirl of his black cape. There was a soft hiss as smoke filled the room anod then he was gone.
"Mellow-dramatic much?" muttered Raven under her breath.
"Why did you come? You had to have known that batman wouldn't let you help?" Batgirl addressed Cyborg. He shrugged.
"We're family."
"He'd do the same for us," Beast Boy chimed in.
"Will he require your assistance?" I asked her. She spun around to look at me.
"Not that he'd ever admit, but yes."
"Then go. I assure you the Titans only want to see Robin safely returned. If you can assist him there is no reason to remain behind. We will not attempt to interfere."
Her eyes narrowed as if she did not believe me. I kept my face impassive, waiting until she realized I meant what I said. A small smile graced her mouth and for that split second I saw past the cold exterior to the young girl beneath the mask. She breathed a small breath of gratitude before she went sprinting off after Batman. Unlike him she did not bother to conceal her exit with a display of smoke.
"I take it you have a plan," said Cyborg softly once he was certain she was gone. I nodded briskly and moved to inspect the open window through which Batgirl had climbed out.
"I promised I would not do the interfering."
"So what are we doing?" Raven asked, coming to stand beside me.
"We are going to infiltrate the Batcave."
