"All the more reason I should go." "No. You're the one he wants." "Exactly. He'll use you guys to get to me, I've seen it before with Neiro." "He won't catch us. We'll be fine. And you'll be safer here, out of his reach until we lock him up again." Rebecca glared, Robin gazed back at her steadily. "Rebecca, I don't want to test the limits of your healing. You're still in no-" A second alarm went off. Cyborg typed rapidly into the computer, muttering swears under his breath. "More trouble." "No, that's the perimeter alarm. Someone's here, I'm pulling up the camera now so we can see who." The screen darkened. The image was grainy, but they could easily tell who it was. "I wanna see Rebecca." Jason pounded on the door, screaming.
"Perfect. Not everyday trouble comes to us instead of us having to chase it down." "Who is he?" Rebecca asked, unintentionally out loud. "We aren't sure. His fingerprints didn't match anyone in the criminal database, and we're still waiting on DNA results." "I wanna see Rebecca McKennit! I know she's out of the hospital, I know she's here!" Rebecca stared at the image, that nagging little bell ringing in her head again. "I know him. I don't know how or when, but I think I really do know him." "Doesn't matter. We don't allow people to take hostages. Especially to hurt one of our teammates. Titans G-"
"Wait!" Rebecca yelled. "Do we have a mic to the outside?" Cyborg scoffed. "Girl, what kind of place do ya think I built? Of course there's a mic." "Let me talk to him from here. Let me figure out who he is." They all glanced at Robin, who kept glancing back and forth between the image and her face. "5 minutes. He's still and escapee, it's our job to send him back to jail." Rebecca nodded as Cyborg started typing again. "Here." He pointed to a tiny hole in the wall next to the computer. "I've booted it up. Just press the space bar while you're talking, like a walkie talkie." She sat down in the computer chair and held down the space bar. "Jason." She yelled into the tiny hole. Jason flinched on the screen. "Geez, not so loud, I can hear you fine." "What do you want with me?" "I want my life back. I should be the one with the powers, not you." "Why? What makes you think you deserve them?" He shook his head. "You still don't remember me. Come down here and I'll tell you."
Robin next to her held up 4 fingers. 4 minutes left. "I'm not an idiot, unlike someone. What on earth made you think it was a good idea to come to the tower? Did you think we'd let you walk away?" "We? You're talking like you're one of them." "So what if I'm a Titan?" He laughed. "You're no hero. You're a coward. Look at you now, hiding inside. You gonna force your friends to take care of me?" She flinched, and glanced at Robin, who shook his head slowly. "You're not going down there. Just ignore him." But he continued, "You let your mom's ex kill your friends. You even left your mom to rot in prison. You betrayed the people who took you in, including the Titans, who are STILL protecting you. If you're a hero, then I'm Superman."
"How do you know so much about me?"
"Oh I've been looking for you for a VERY long time." He leaned casually against the wall. Robin held up 3 more fingers. "Why? Why are you so obsessed with me? Looking for a date?" The revulsion on his face was unmistakeable. "Oh, you definitely don't remember me, or you'd be ashamed to even think about that. Disgusting." Hu? Rebecca wasn't attracted to him in the least bit, but why would she be ashamed? A clue. Robin held up 2 fingers.
"Don't lie, you know you're attracted to this hot stuff in here." She almost choked on that last bit. Beast Boy covered his mouth, Robin shook his head. Even Raven face palmed. But Jason looked horrified. "You're disgusting. Looking past the truth, I don't think I would date a piece of firewood." That sobered everyone up. Robin pointed to the door. "Keep him talking. Go!"
"No!" Rebecca bolted towards the door and closed her eyes. An instant later, she slammed into Jason pinning him to the door. "I am not a coward. And it's your fault I look like this." Jason craned his neck behind him, trying to look at her. "Well, maybe not firewood, but still, that's just gross." She yelled and lifted him high into the air. Just as the Titan's opened the door, she slammed her fist into the ground, forming a huge crater just outside the door. He groaned, and started laughing. "Who are you?" He rolled over and smiled.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" She took one step closer, and her jaw dropped. The ringing bell in her head had finally smashed. She still had no idea who he was, but she knew where to begin now. "You...your eyes. This isn't possible. Just a coincidence." "Is it Becky?" She closed her eyes, and a second later fell onto her bed, and wept.
It was a while later when someone knocked on her door. "Its open." She yelled. Robin stepped in, with the other Titan's behind him. "We got the results from Jason's DNA." She looked at Robin hopefully, but he gazed at her steadily. "He can't be." "It's true." "But I'd remember something like that, wouldn't I?" "He was 5 when he was sent to his first foster home." "No, she would've told me." "I'm sorry. But he really is your brother." Rebecca nodded. She'd cried over this for long enough. "I need some answers. I have to see him." "There's...more." "What do you mean more?" They all looked at each other, waiting for someone to take the lead and start talking. No one did. "What's more?" Finally, Robin sighed, and sat down on her bed next to her. "His DNA was a partial match to 2 people in the criminal database. The first was yours." "There's someone else?" He nodded. "I don't think anyone, maybe not even HE knows about you." "Who is it." Robin hesitated, shook his head. "There's no easy way to say this, so I'm just going to spit it out. Jason's DNA was a partial match to...Slade. Slade is Jason's father."
Nothing seemed real at that moment. Rebecca could see her friends, feel the soft sheets of her bed, but it was like someone else was feeling it for her. Her thoughts were tumbling around in her brain, nothing would settle into place properly. Sort or like being being in a washing machine, except your whole body is completely numb. Everything churning, nothing making sense, but not able to feel any of the chaos. Eventually, the washing machine stopped, and everything settled into place just long enough for her to really feel it.
"...No."
"I'm sorry."
"No, there has to be a mistake."
"The tests were done twice."
"Well do it again! It's not...true..."
"I'm sorry Rebecca. I can't...I'm so sorry..."
She couldn't cry anymore. It all made sense. Her mother's comments, Jason's disgust with her poor attempts to flirt. It fit together too perfectly to be a coincidence. "I need answers. I'll go...talk to Slade tomorrow."
"We'll go with you." Raven's voice broke the rest's silence. "It's all gonna be fine. This doesn't change a thing." BB gave her another big hug. "This is wrong..." Starfire kept mumbling. "It'll be fine girl. We'll go with you tomorrow." Cyborg patted her shoulder, and left the room holding Starfire, who looks like she was on the verge of tears. "You should try to get some sleep. We'll leave first thing in the morning." She nodded at Raven, who left just before Beast Boy gave her one final squeeze. Robin placed his hand on hers and gave it a gentle squeeze. "We're here for you. It'll all be fine. Try to get some sleep, okay?" Rebecca nodded, and watched him leave.
She sat in her bed for a long time before she became frustrated, and went to the roof. Robin was already up there. She tried to close the door and leave him alone, "Hey, I was wondering when you'd come up here." He smiled gently at her. She frowned. "I thought only Beast Boy knew me so well." "I knew your favorite color was blue before you told him." She smiled, and joined him on the ledge. "Can't sleep?" "Would you be able to?" "No, I wouldn't. So I thought I'd keep you company up here." She looked at him again, searching for some alterior motive. Watching me? Making sure I don't run off alone? But he seemed genuine. "Thank you." "Anytime. I think you attract more trouble than the rest of us put together." "Well, I think I just proved your theory." He smiled. "Yea, maybe so." "Still think it's a good idea for me to be on your team?" "Of course I do." He now looked genuinely insulted. "Why wouldn't it be a good idea?" "If Slade is really..." She couldn't say it, but he got the picture. "You didn't even know him before you came here." "Apparently I did." "Doesn't matter. I'd still trust you with my life." She sighed, and relaxed a bit. "You weren't honestly worried about that were you?" "Not really, but I do feel a little better." "Good." They watched the stars in silence for a while, when she suddenly felt something warm over her shoulders. She looked over at Robin, who was holding his cape over her. "You were shivering." "Oh, thanks." "Sure." She wrapped it closer to her. He looked odd without it, but it warmed her up quickly. "Guess I should've grabbed a jacket." "Want me to grab you one?" "No. I'm ok now." She tried to hand it back, but he shook his head. "Keep it. I'm fine. This suit is built for this kind of stuff." She nodded and pulled the cape a bit tighter.
The next time Rebecca opened her eyes, the sun was up. It was a beautiful sunrise. She admired it for a second before she realized just how comfortable she was. She suddenly jumped up like something had shocked her. Robin jolted and looked around confused. "I'm sorry!" She blurted out.
"What?"
"I'm...so sorry!" "For what?" "Um..." She didn't want to say it out loud. He still seemed confused. He looked up at the sunrise and smiled. "It's pretty hu?" "Yea." "So..uh, did you-" "Yea. I'm sorry." "It's alright. Didn't bother me. You insisted on staying up here, so I put you over here where you wouldn't fall and tried to keep watch and make sure nothing happened. I'm sorry I crashed." "No, it's fine. I should've gone to bed." Did I really insist on staying up here? She didn't remember. "We should head down." "Yea." Rebecca bent down and picked up his cape. He refastened it quickly and held open the door for her as they went back inside. Beast Boy was already up making breakfast. "Good morning!" "Morning BB." Rebecca smiled, trying to forget the awkwardness from a few minutes ago. "Hungry? No one else is up yet and I thought breakfast would be good this morning." He eyes Rebecca, who nodded appreciatively. "Yea. Breakfast does sound good." "Great, there's lots of pancakes, and I got some tofu bacon frying!" "Uh hu! You are NOT cooking fake meat in my kitchen!" Cyborg was apparently awake now, and quickly fell into his argument with Beast Boy. Robin and Rebecca watched, eating their pancakes until Starfire and Raven woke up. Once everyone had settled down and eaten their fill, they all glanced at Rebecca. "I guess I shouldn't put this off anymore." "Are you sure you wanna do this?" She finished her orange juice and nodded. "I need answers. They're the only ones who can give them to me." Beast boy nodded. "We'll be there too. If anyone tries anything funny, we'll take'em down again." She gave him a half-hearted smile. "Thanks guys."
"Hey, Becca." "Hm?" She turned back at her friends. "Are you certain you want to do this alone?" Raven asked. "Yes. He can't hurt me." "We know, but..." Beast Boy faltered. "Just be careful anyway, alright?" She nodded at Cyborg. "I'll yell if I need you." She opened the door into the interrogation room, courtesy of the warden who remembered Rebecca's mother as a "Sweet woman." Slade was already in there, waiting for her. He watched her patiently as she took the chair across from him. "My, my. Looks like someone lost a fight." Rebecca stared at him as all of her fears slowly sank in. She wanted to run back out, to leave this place alone and never think about any of this again, to forget she ever heard anything about her father or her brother. But she knew running away wasn't the answer. And she would always wonder about the truth. She looked him in the eyes, eyes she'd never seen while living with him. She remembered her mother telling her she had her father's eyes. And there they were, her eyes staring right back at her.
"The way you're staring at me...You're not here for fun are you?" "Would I ever visit you just for fun?" He sighed and slouched in the chair. "So, I guess you figured it out. Who finally told you?" The table quivered s her powers flared. "You knew...All along you knew who I was?" "Of course I did. You look so much like your mother, I didn't believe it until I heard the reports that she'd died, leaving behind a daughter. Although I did wonder what happened to the other 2." "2?" Rebecca's breathing hitched. 2? She had 2 siblings? "Oh? You didn't know?" "No. I only knew Jason. So...Derek...He's talked about Derek." "There you have it." She clenched her fist, trying to calm down. She would NOT start crying, she would NOT lose control. Not in front of HIM.
"So I supposed you're here for a story aren't you? Well, since you've been so kind to come and visit, I shall give it to you. Once upon a time-"
"Stop it."
"There was a young boy and a young girl who fell in love. Now, when I say young, I mean they were in high school still. The classic tale of two high school sweethearts who get married and settle down right after graduation. The girl was pregnant before she was even old enough to vote."
Rebecca started to regain control of her breathing. "Stop treating this like it's a fairytale."
He ignored her. "Well, life was happy. It wasn't long until the happy couple already had 2 children, a boy and girl, and one more on the way. But times were hard. Providing for a family is difficult, and the man began to worry. He was an inventor, but his inventions weren't selling, and no one would fund him to create more. His wife was patient, loving, and supportive. He watched her smile as she started to lose weight, feeding the children and her husband before herself. That was when he'd had enough." Slade paused. Neither of them said anything for a moment. "He started small. Cheating at gambling. He was clever enough to count the cards and fix the machines. But his cleverness was noticed. Soon he came into organized crime. His wife had noticed a sudden change. Their lives were better, but she did not understand why. So she followed him one night, and found out the truth. She was...upset. Her husband had deceived her, was putting himself and his family in danger. He tried to reassure her, but she wouldn't have it. He would quit, and return to honest work. For her, he would do anything..."
"Except he didn't." Rebecca finally spoke. "He couldn't stay away."
"Ah, too true. But organized crime wasn't enough. He began inventing weapons, moving up in the ranks. Eventually, his plans exceeded what he could hide from his wife. But something happened." He glared at her. "Soon after the second son was born, the little girl got very sick. No one understood what was wrong. She was dying, and no one cold save her. But the wife had a secret. One she'd never told anyone, not even her loving husband." He leaned closer to her. "She had a gift. A very special gift from her family bloodline. A power that was passed on from person to person. She could move things with her mind, teleport, even see things in the future. But the most impressive part of her gift? Healing. While the wife had this gift, she was virtually immortal. So, to save her dying baby, she passed it onto her. The husband...he was very upset."
"She hid it from you. You wanted to use her, like a weapon."
"As a partner. With his inventions and her abilities, they could've taken over the world."
"But she didn't want that."
"NO!" He spat. "She was fine with living in a hole? With 3 starving children? I was not! When she told me the truth, I'd had enough."
"So you left her, alone, with 3 children."
Slade grinned maliciously. "Imagine his surprise when she turned up in his town again, with his little girl, all grown up and confused."
"You knew...all along that I was..."
"What does it matter? Like mother like daughter. Both of you turned out to be failed experiments."
Rebecca threw her hands out, slamming Slade against the wall. "She deserved better than you."
"She already had the best, but that wasn't what she wanted."
"She had a scumbag. Leaving was the best thing you could do for you wife and children." She let him go and he fell on the floor laughing. "Tell that to your orphaned brothers. She probably gave them to to protect them from her out of control daughter. Was my leaving the best thing possible for them?"
Rebecca walked out of the room and slammed the door behind her. She leaned against it, listening to him laugh at her. "Rebecca..." "Don't." She shook her head. "Just...give me a minute." Her blood boiled. She wanted to kill him, more than anything in this world she wanted him to suffer as much as she, her mother and her brothers had. "I'm done with him." She told the warden, who nodded and waved to the guards to take him away. She could hear his laughter all the way down the hall. "C'mon, let's go home." "Not yet. I have to see Jason now." Robin shook his head. "Tomorrow." "No. Now. Tomorrow I might not have the courage to do this."
