A/N: I know this is a short chapter. That's because the next one is a bit longer, and cutting it off at any point would ruin the flow of it. So please bear with me.
Nobody was more surprised at this new friendship than Julia herself. She'd never thought, before joining the Titans, and after, that she'd become friends with Robin the Boy Wonder, leader of the Teen Titans, disliked by all kinds of criminals.
But the Asian girl found herself developing a healthy feeling of respect and admiration for the youth, as well as a kind of kinship. Every morning, they practiced together, and often spent time just talking.
And in a way, Julia sympathized with Robin. Every day, she was finding more and more about the strong leader that effectively held down crime in one of the nation's largest cities. And not everything she learned was a good thing.
After the fight with Silver, there was a temporary lull in the crimes in Jump City. It seemed that the criminals had realized that they had a new adversary, simply known as 'Julia'. She seemed to have no history or other identity (a result of Damien and Cyborg's separate, but combined, hacking and deleting of files).
But two weeks after the break-in of the Jump City Museum of Rocks and Minerals, there was a confirmed sighting of a youth who had ice powers. Along with the report of the location were several descriptions of the teen, who had broken into a few homes and stolen some possessions.
Staring up at the screen, Julia felt her chest constrict at the details listed:
Short blond hair
Shoots ice
Leather jacket
Casual attire
It was definitely the Ice Guy. His reported details fit perfectly with the images that she'd seen when she'd scryed on the wind. And at least this time, the Titans knew the same info that Julia did. She had an excuse for her knowledge of the Ice Guy's appearance.
"He's been sighted in the south part of the city," Robin commented. "Apparently, he goes fast and eliminates witnesses. We're lucky that we got this info at all. It says that he was last seen going into a building on Evergreen Street."
He turned to face his team, face set and determined.
"That's where we're going. Titans, GO!"
Within ten minutes of driving, flying, or teleporting - depending on the team member and the mode of transportation - the six teens had arrived at 712 Evergreen Street, a thoroughly ill kept and empty area.
Getting out of the T-car, Julia inhaled sharply as she stared at the creepy looking building, with dark concrete bricks, shaded windows, and an ominous black door.
"This isn't a good idea," she said shortly, her jaw clenched. "We shouldn't go in."
The Titans were also staring at the building in apprehension.
"And what, let the Ice Guy go by?" Robin retorted, though he didn't sound very confident. "We can't let one criminal go, especially this one. That would mean that we're weak."
The Asian girl shook her head.
"No, that would mean that we're wise," she replied anxiously. Despite the fact that she had a personal agenda with this criminal, she knew danger when she saw it. "Robin, I don't think this is right. This placeā¦" she shuddered. "It has this bad feeling to it."
"Even I have to agree," Raven commented flatly. "My instincts are screaming for us to leave."
"Hey, we're the Teen Titans!" Cyborg said, somewhat lacking the bravado that he was trying to inspire. "We can deal with this."
"Maybe you can deal with this," Beast Boy remarked. He turned into a mouse and hid behind Raven's cloak. The empath didn't even notice.
"I believe that Julia is right," Starfire said, her voice slightly trembling. "This dwelling does not hold any happiness."
"It's not supposed to," Robin replied forcefully. He looked at everyone else. "Guys, come on. We can get through this. It's just one criminal, one building, right?"
Everyone just looked at him.
Finally Julia took a deep breath.
"Ok. But don't say I didn't warn you."
Beast Boy turned back into a human and rolled up his sleeves determinedly.
"This is probably one of the worst ideas we've ever had," he muttered.
Starfire smiled weakly.
"I will brave this as a true friend would," she added.
Cyborg powered up his sonic cannon bravely.
"Well, we'll just have to go in with a bang."
Raven shook her head.
"Whatever," was all she said.
Robin nodded, feeling a rush of gratitude toward his friends.
"All right, team. Move in."
And leading the group, he threw open the door and headed inside.
A/N: I decided to call this chapter 'The Edifice' because the chapter name's supposed to be about the house, but 'The House' didn't seem right. And 'edifice' is a synonym for 'building' (plus, it sounds a lot more ominous), so I used it, instead.
