Titans Tower; 8:00 pm that night; 2006
Robin sat on the couch hunched over the coffee table and flipped through the stack of manila folders in front of him. Jump City PD was asking for their latest information on Dr. Light and Plasmas along with a few other villans they had captured the last few weeks. This meant he had to type up a couple of legal reports and fill out some other forms to submit to the station tomorrow. He looked over to the folder off to the left which was separate from the rest of the stack.
Mar'i's file.
He opened it and looked at the notes he had written down when he questioned her the other day.
Name: Mary Griswold
"Mary" was crossed out and replaced with the correct spelling, "Mar'i'. He continued to note the unusual spelling but parents these days were finding all sorts of ways to make their kids' names unique. Despite his personal thoughts, he still didn't think that was her actual name - at least not her last name. He continued reading the following notes which listed standard information.
Age: 16
Occupation: Student
High school: N/A, claimed she attended JCH, but this was determined to be false.
Grade: 10 ?, was working on Chemistry homework before finding herself in the Tower. No short term memory otherwise.
Robin then wrote down the most recent information they had learned in the past few days.
Race: Tameranean
Misc.: Trained gymnast
It still was limited information on the person sleeping just down the hall from him and his team, but he would work with what he had. He made a mental note to call the local gymnastic studios tomorrow to see if they had her name in their system. He closed her file and moved back to the other two stacks in front of him when Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Raven all entered the common room. Robin grabbed the folders from the coffee table and walked over to the kitchen island.
"You guys heading out?" He asked setting the folders on the counter.
"Yeah man," Cyborg said. "We'll be back in a couple of hours."
"Don't party too hard while we're gone." Beast Boy snickered as he grabbed an apple from the counter to take with him. "I know those legal reports are wild!" He said "wild" in a sing-songy voice.
"Make me the fun of me all you want." Robin gave Beast Boy a look. "But I can always leave a couple for you to complete. Remember that time, you and Raven offered to take them for me?"
Beast Boy shuddered. "Yeah, I thought she was going to kill me."
"You fell asleep two reports in and I had to do the rest by myself," Raven said with an edge of bitterness as she poured some herbal tea into a Thermos. "It took me hours."
"I told you I was sorry!" Beast Boy cried. "But it was soooo boring."
Raven placed the top on her Thermos and looked to Robin. She shook her head and said, "Never again." to which Robin couldn't help but laugh to himself.
"Beastie does have a point though," Cyborg said. "I don't know how you and Starfire always knock 'em out in a night."
"We work well together, I guess." He said straightening the papers. "Speaking of which, have you seen her? She offered to help me tonight."
"Pretty sure she's in her room," Raven said. "I think she and Mar'i had a full day at the mall."
"Can't wait to hear how that went." Robin shook his head and picked up the folders. "Oh well, at least it wasn't me."
"You've done your time for sure, man." Cyborg agreed as he checked the watch in his arm. "Alright. BB. Rae. Let's get going."
"Call if something happens," Robin said as they started to leave. "And if you find anything on Red X-"
"We know, we know." Beast Boy said waving his hand dismissively. "We'll let you know ASAP. Seriously, dude, we got this. Just take it easy tonight."
Robin shut his mouth. As much as he wanted to be involved in every patrol, he knew his team could handle it.
Raven patted his shoulder as she walked by. "Enjoy your evening. And don't work too hard."
After the doors closed behind them he left for Starfire's room with the folders in hand. Once he reached her door, he knocked and waited. He noted how odd it felt being on this side of the door. Usually, she was the one waiting outside his room for something. Either to ask a question or merely just to check to see if he was doing okay. The door opened and Starfire greeted him happily.
"Hello, Robin. Are we to commence the paperwork?"
He smiled and held up one of the folders. "Let's get started."
The two of them walked to his room down the hall and hunkered down at his desk as they did many times before. Robin opened his laptop and began typing away while Starfire, with a pen in hand, filling out any other necessary documents to be submitted to Jump City PD. Around an hour and a half in, they were surprised to find the completed their work in record time and the only remaining work was to seal them in envelopes to be mailed.
"Well done," Robin congratulated her with a grin as he put a file in the large mailing envelope. "I'd say this calls for a celebration."
"A celebration? We merely completed the paperwork." Starfire questioned as she sealed the envelope in her hand.
He bent down to the bottom drawer of his desk and started digging.
"Why in X'hal's name are you doing?" Starfire mused as she sealed the last folder in its envelope.
Robin pulled out an unopened sleeve of chocolate chip cookies to which Starfire gave him a bewildered look.
"Why those in your desk?" she pointed.
"I have a sweet tooth, okay?" He gave her a small smile as he opened the sleeve. He handed her one then took one for himself. "Cheers." He held it up.
Starfire held her cookie up as well but gave him a quizzical look. "Cheers?"
"Uh, its something people say before they drink. It means "good wishes."
"Interesting," She pondered.
"Typically it's done with alcohol," Robin explained. "But, since we're not old enough to drink yet, we'll stick with cookies."
"Nonetheless," she said with a smile. "Cheers." The two 'clinked" their treats together and ate them.
When Robin finished the cookie, he picked up another one but didn't eat it immediately and instead fiddled with it in his hand.
"Is something the matter?" Starfire asked him as she took another for herself.
"Am I fun?" He asked her still looking at his dessert.
"What do you mean?" She asked as she took a bite.
"Do you think I'm fun?" He asked again. "Am I a fun person?"
"Of course I do, Robin. Are we not having fun now?" She bit off a piece of her cookie. "Why are you asking me this?"
"I don't know," He took a bite. "I just heard Beast Boy talking to Mar'i about her session with me this morning and-" He put the remainder of his cookie in his mouth and swallowed. "He told her I didn't know how to 'do fun.' I think he was joking. I think. I don't know."
Starfire swallowed the remainder of her cookie. "Beast Boy, though he is a dear friend, can also be a clorbag. I would not consider his assessment."
Robin leaned forward and folded his arms on the desk. "Sure, but he's probably got a point. I could loosen up a bit. It's just that- I feel like I can't afford to."
"Your role demands much of you," Starfire said to him with sincerity. "I suppose I would be feeling similar if I were in your shorgalps." Starfire then looked past him and saw Mar'i's file sitting alone next to him. "Do you feel your training with Mar'i was successful?"
"I think so," He said leaning back in his chair. "She has a lot of natural talent. I still don't trust her 100%, but she's got some spunk for sure." He held out the sleeve of cookies to her once more to which she shook her head so he returned it to his bottom drawer. Starfire then stood up and pushed her chair in and sat down on the edge of his bed.
"I enjoyed my time with her as well," Starfire said.
"Oh yeah, how was the mall?" Robin turned his chair to face her. "How many twin beds did you sleep on?" He teased.
"None," She answered crinkling her nose. "She was able to purchase some clothing and I-" Starfire looked down almost as if ashamed. "I bought jeans."
Robin raised an eyebrow. "You bought jeans?"
"Denim, yes."
Robin racked his brain trying to imagine Starfire in something other than her typical Tameranean attire. The only other outfits had ever seen her wear was the wedding dress when they went to Tameran for her arranged marriage (a day he would much rather forget) and the dress she wore when he was forced to go to prom with Kitten. He had to admit thinking of her in the latter made the heat rise to his face.
"I know it is silly," She leaned back on her palms. "But I felt... normal. For once. As if I didn't stick out like a sore appendage."
"Sore thumb." Robin corrected gently as he stood up and joined her on the edge of the bed. "Oddly enough, I felt... kinda normal too when I was with Mar'i. More at ease, I guess." He admitted. "And I did... have fun. Working with her, that is."
Without looking at her, he took her hand in his. "I've thought about what you said the other night. About having a normal life."
"How so?" She asked as she shifted to face him.
"Well, for one, I'm sixteen and I'm filing crime reports." He gestured to the stack envelopes on his desk. "I go on early morning patrols when I should be sleeping. I'm already a workaholic." He sighed. "I should be in school or playing sports, but instead, I'm dealing with broken ribs from criminals on a weekly basis." He absentmindedly touched his side that Raven healed with his free hand. "I wouldn't call that normal for someone my age."
"What are you saying?" Starfire inquired somewhat concerned.
"Robin scratched his head. "I guess things would be a lot less complicated if... I don't know." Robin looked down at their clasped hands. "If I ever have kids," he said still staring at her hand. "I don't want them to be under the same kind of stress."
"Are you... considering a civilian life?" Starfire asked carefully to which he looked at her and said,
"It's starting to sound tempting."
"Hmm." Starfire was thoughtful. "Truthfully, it sometimes sounds tempting to me as well. It is just... the transition still sounds daunting."
Robin was immediately thought back to the beach with her and the idea of her leaving to return to Tameran entered his mind. No. He couldn't allow himself to think about that right now.
"Robin, what is it?" She asked breaking him from his downward spiral.
"Let's not talk about this anymore?" He pushed his emotions down - something he realized he was too good at.
"I believe you are the one who breached this subject." Starfire mused.
"I know, but I'm starting to depress myself." He forced a laugh as he released his hand from hers. He got up and grabbed Mar'i's file from the table and flipped through it.
"Did you happen to find any new information on Mar'i?" He changed the subject. "Did she say anything to you during your session? Or at the mall?"
"Not much," Starfire said. "Although she did ask me a lot of questions. About me. And you."
"What kind of questions?" Robin asked her raising an eyebrow.
"I told her about how we went to Jump City High Prom. She wanted to know how you looked in your suit."
"That's a strange question to ask," Robin said but what he really wanted to ask was "what did you tell her?"
"It was," Starfire agreed with him while also carefully omitting her response about his suit. She thought a little longer when her eyes widened. She stood to her feet.
"What is it?" Robin asked her.
"During our training, she did say she came from a place that experienced much crime. And that she wants to be a- oh what was it called?" Starfire tapped her chin until it hit her. "Oh, a forensic scientist, I believe?"
"Interesting," Robin said as he put the folder on the table and wrote down the new information. He bent over with both hands on the back of one of the desk chairs to read the paper again."Well, it's clear she hasn't completely lost her memory. If we can figure out where she's from, we might be able to get in touch with some family or possibly some friends."
Starfire walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder and scanned the document.
"We will keep working with her. Which reminds me, perhaps we should evaluate each other's training for tomorrow morning?" She looked up with him causing Robin to pause because of how close she was. For a brief second, he wondered if could she feel his heart beating because he could feel it beating out of his ears. He clumsily agreed and pulled out a notebook for them to use. Once again, they sat down at the desk and got to work until around 10 pm when Robin couldn't hide a yawn. He finally stood up and closed the notebook.
"I'm going to make sure the others are back."
Starfire lightly grabbed his arm stopping him. "I am positive they have returned."
"Sure, but-"
"If you leave this room, you will not go to bed." She stood and faced him. "As you said yourself, you are sixteen. And sixteen-year-olds need sleep."
He pursed his lips ready to argue but relented. "You're right."
"I know." She smiled at him. "Pleasant shorlvax, Robin." She turned to leave when without even thinking Robin took hold of her hand. She looked to him questioning.
"Don't go." He word vomited.
"Robin, while I do require less sleep than you, I still must go to bed."
"That's not what I mean," He pulled her a little closer and took her hand. What the heck are you doing, Robin? He started to argue with himself, but couldn't stop the words from pouring out of his mouth,
"If Titans part ways- when we part ways-"
"I wish to go back to not speaking of this." Starfire averted her gaze.
He stopped her, gently took hold of her chin and turned her gaze back to him. "Listen." He released his grip and took both her hands in his. "Whatever the future holds, just... please don't go back to Tameran."
"Robin-"
"We make a good team. I don't want to lose-" You...
"... your friendship." He said, instead. Robin's heart was beating through his ears again. Starfire's face fell slightly, but she responded with a small smile
"I do not wish to return to Tameran, but I will, as you say, 'cross that bridge when we get there.'" She released her hands from his. "There is still time. I will see you tomorrow morning."
After she left, Robin laid down on his bed with the overwhelming weight of the conversation lingering. He did his best to shake it and grabbed Mar'i's file in an attempt to read it over once more, but then placed it to the side instead. "Yeah, we'll cross that bridge when we get there," He said to himself. He then rolled over and despite the heavy heaviness he felt, had one of the best nights sleep he had had in a long time.
12:30 am
Mar'i awoke to the sound of knocking on her door she groggily turned over on her stomach and reached for the communicator. Did she really sleep 9 hours since coming home from the mall? She tried to gain her bearings as best as she could and walked over to open the door to which she was surprised to be greeted by Beast Boy.
"Oh good, you're up! Last time Star took me to the mall, I slept for 12 hours straight!"
Mar'i rubbed her eyes. "I probably would have slept 12 hours too if you didn't come by so, thanks."
"Don't mention it," Beast Boy said. He then glanced behind her as if trying to look into the room. Mar'i glanced over her shoulder to see what he was looking at.
"Sorry," Beast Boy apologized and shook his head. "Our friend Terra... this used to be her room. I just haven't been down here since..." His voice trailed off and he shook his head. "Whatever, we might as well head to Raven's room since you're up." He walked down the hall and Mar'i followed and started to ask Beast Boy about Terra.
"All you need to know," Beast Boy said as they approached Raven's room, "Is she loved being outside, she was my best friend, and she would have wanted you to use her room." He gave her a small smile. "You would have loved her."
Mar'i, who was starting to understand, said, "I'm sure I would have."
Beast Boy smiled a little wider then briskly knocked on the door. Raven opened it with a hint of surprise on her face.
"Nice to see you're early. For a change..." She quipped mainly to Beast Boy who stuck his tongue out at her. "Real mature." She said as she rolled her eyes and ushered them inside. Cyborg was already there as well and looking a bit agitated as he typed into the computer in his arm. Mar'i walked over and looked over his shoulder.
"What are you doing?" she asked, trying to decipher the information.
"X sent me some coordinates that tell where to meet him. But because he's an actual jerk, they're encrypted. Once I get the location officially locked down, Raven's going to transport us there."
"Awwwww!" Beast Boy whined. "You didn't say we'd be using dark magic to get there!"
Mar'i looked to each of them for clarification but was ignored.
"How else did you think we were going to get there?" Raven sneered.
"The T-car, maybe?" Beast Boy suggested. "Or fly?! We literally fly everywhere!"
"Too slow," Cyborg explained while still working on the coordinates. "We need to get there and back in as little time as possible and I don't need us accidentally triggering any of the security cameras on our way out."
"Ugh!" Beast Boy threw his head back. "I didn't bring a vomit bag."
"What's he talking about?" Mar'i looked to Raven.
"Remember how I took Starfire to the infirmary when X got in the tower?" Raven responded and Mar'i nodded. "That's how we're going to this location tonight. But instead of transporting a few floors, we're most likely going several blocks."
"Got it!" Cyborg exclaimed tapping his screen once more. The information was locked.
"Wait, but I thought you said I couldn't handle the energy?" Mar'i felt the nervousness hit her stomach.
"Well, unfortunately, you don't have a choice but to handle it tonight." Raven checked the time on her communicator. "12:50. We should go." She stowed the communicator back in her cape. "Just close your eyes if you need to." She grabbed Mar'i and lead her to the center of the room motioning for the boys to follow. Beast Boy frantically looked around Raven's bedroom and grabbed the one thing that resembled a wastebasket.
"Put that back!" Raven barked at him as he joined them in the center of the room.
"Would you rather me throw up on your boots, or in your trash can?" Beast Boy countered.
"The Urn of Azar is not a trashcan." Raven pointed at it. "It contains the ashes and souls of dead Azarathians!"
Beast Boy gave her a look of pure terror and almost dropped the urn. "WHY DO YOU KEEP THIS STUFF IN YOUR ROOM?" He yelled. "How you sleep at night?!"
Raven frowned and snatched it away from him with her magic and placed the urn back in its proper place. Beast Boy groaned in reluctance and placed his hand on Mari's left shoulder. Cyborg put a hand on Raven's shoulder and showed her the coordinates. "Think you can get us there?" He asked her.
She looked over the information and nodded. "Hang on to me."
Mar'i started to see a wall of black envelop her and the three Titans.
"Azarath, Metrion, ZINTHOS!"
Mar'i wasn't sure what happened next, but she started to feel lightheaded. She thought she saw lightening. But she mostly just saw quick flashes of light. Then darkness. More light. Then more darkness. She looked to either side of her and saw no one. Then in an instant, the black void that enveloped her disappeared and she found herself in what appeared to be a warehouse. Maybe. There were large wooden crates dispersed throughout the area. Above her was a saw a dark ceiling with at least two glass windows which allowed the light from the moon to shine through.
"Is everyone okay?" She heard Cyborg ask. She turned to her right to see Cyborg was reading the information on his computer screen and Raven was casually dusting off her uniform. She turned to her left where Beast Boy was hunched over grabbing his stomach.
"I'm gonna hurl." He quickly ran behind one of the crates and proceeded to vomit.
Raven shook out her cape. "Are you alright?" She asked Mar'i.
"What did you just do?" Mar'i asked her in slight fear.
"Magic" Raven answered nonchalantly as she looked around the warehouse.
"Dark magic!" Beast Boy yelled from behind the crate before puking once more.
"What's important is," Cyborg interjected. "that dark magic got us where we needed to go. Now we gotta find, Red X.
"Look no further," a different voice answered in the shadows behind them. Mar'i, Raven, and Cyborg quickly turned around and Beast Boy perked up from behind his crate to see Red X leading again the far wall of the warehouse. "I'm right here. And you all even got here a few minutes early. I'm impressed."
Raven's immediately started to glow as she took a battle stance while Beast Boy pounced from behind his crate and stood next to her in the form of a tiger. Cyborg's sonic cannon was down at his side but ready to fire. Mar'i wasn't sure what to do so she pathetically put her fists up like Robin showed her at their session.
"This is cute." Red X almost laughed. "Especially you, Little Gray. You're adorable."
"We're not here to play games, X," Cyborg warned. "You tell us what we need to know or I'll send these coordinates to JCPD right now."
"Yeah, that's not gonna work Tin Man." Red X warned. "I got those coordinates safeguarded. There's no way, JCPD can trace them and you know it. Not to mention, there's enough malware encrypted in those pins. If you sent them in, you'd take down their entire network. You won't want to be held responsible for that, would you?"
Cyborg gritted his teeth and cursed to himself.
"Okay, so you got us here," Raven didn't back down keeping her hands ready to fire if needed. "You want to talk so let's talk."
"Be my guest," Red X walked toward them and stopped a few feet in front of them. "But you can put your spells away, Hermoine. As exciting as it could be, I'm honestly not looking for a fight tonight."
Raven looked to Cyborg to which he eyed X once more before nodding to her without taking his eyes off him. She reluctantly released her fists. Beast Boy followed suit and turned back into human form and Mar'i assumed this meant she could put her hands down.
"That's more like it," X crossed his arms. "So, let's talk."
"If you just wanted to talk, why did you break into our house?" Beast Boy asked.
"Things were starting to get boring," X said kicking at nothing. Though Mar'i couldn't see his face she thought she hinted a mischevious smile behind the mask. "I needed some excitement."
"How do you know who I am?" Mar'i found her voice and challenged him.
"Yeah, cut the crap, X." Raven firmly reitterated. "How do you know who Mar'i is?"
Red X uncrossed his arms and walked a little closer to them until he was about a foot away from Raven.
"I'll tell you, but you're not going to like it."
"Well, we already don't like you, it's not like you have anything to worry about." Cyborg said.
"I should rephrase," X placed his hands into his suit which apparently had side pockets. "You may not like Robin after all of this."
"Will you stop beating around the bush and just tell us how you know Mar'i's identity." Raven narrowed her eyes at him.
"I'm getting there, Sabrina. Can't you stop being so impatient?" X responded in agitation. "I know who Mar'i is, because I know what you're looking for."
"What does that supposed to mean?" Beast Boy asked.
"The clock." Red X said. "The one you can't find?"
The three Titans tensed and Mar'i's mouth fell open, that is, before the anger hit her. She walked up to him and stared him directly into the eyes in his mask.
"You have the clock, don't you?! The clock to get me home?!"
"It's not that simple-"
"Send me home!" She screamed in desperation. "Now!"
"I had the clock." He stressed. "I don't have it anymore. So, I suggest before you light me on fire again that you-"
Without even thinking, Mar'i shot a star bolt at Red X's feet which caused him to jump back a few feet. Cyborg, Raven, and Beast Boy also jumped in surprise.
"Watch it!" He drew back. "Looks like someone's been getting lessons from mom and dad."
"Why did you steal it and what did you do with it?!" Mar'i raged at him.
"Let's get one thing straight, Little Gray. I may be a thief, but I didn't steal it." He pointed at her. "There are more valuable things to me than that useless old clock. Or at least, I thought it was useless at the time."
"What?!" Mar'i looked to the other Titans for backup. "What is he talking about?"
Raven who had been processing Red X's information this whole time, closed her eyes in frustration. "He gave it to you. Didn't he?"
"Afraid so," Red X confirmed for Raven. "Until 3 nights ago, I've had it for the last four years."
"What is he talking about, Raven?" Mar'i walked over to her. Cyborg, who understood immediately, put his hands on his head and started to pace in aggravation.
"I'm gonna kill him. I seriously think I'm going to kill him."
Mar'i who was starting to get tired of being ignored pressed Raven again. "Tell me!"
Raven took a deep breath and opened her eyes. "Robin. Robin gave the clock to Red X."
"WHAT?! " Mar'i exploded, throwing her hands in the air. A starbolt shot from her right hand and went through the ceiling of the warehouse, causing a glass skylight to break above Red X. He ducked out of the way to escape the falling glass.
"Told you you wouldn't like it." X dusted himself off and checked himself for glass.
"Uh..." Beast Boy gaped. "Is Robin an IDIOT?!" He flailed his arms.
"Why would he give it to you?!" Mar'i was livid. "Why in the world would he trust you?!"
"I'd wish I knew much as you, Little Gray, but he never said. All he said was the clock was dangerous. Since I'm typically not the easiest person to get in touch with, I guess he assumed it would be safe with me."
"And you agreed? You actually did this for him?!" Cyborg pressed. "It's not like you care about anyone but yourself!"
"Don't get your circuits in a twist," X snapped. "Of course I didn't do it for him!" "The kid offered me a pretty generous supply of Xenothium. I wasn't going to pass that up."
"I'm gonna kill him." Cyborg threatened a third time while shaking his head. "He told me he got rid of that stash!"
"Xenothium? What would you need that for?" Mar'i protested thinking back to her last Chemistry class where they had just discussed the makeup and properties of the chemical itself. "You know that stuff's not stable, right?! It can kill you if you're not careful!"
"That might be, but it's what powers the suit," X said pointing to his belt. "As I said, that was four years ago. My supply started running low and I got a little desperate. And since you guys put Chang in prison, I can't steal from him anymore so I was grasping at straws."
"What did you do?" Raven pressed him.
"I found a buyer. Offered me another three years supply. I listed it three nights ago, and they came that night to get it."
"Who was the buyer?" Raven asked him rapid fire.
"We never officially met. But his "secretary" agreed to meet me right here like I'm meeting you now."
"The secretary, what did she look like?" Cyborg asked him.
"Well, for one, she wasn't a secretary at all," Red X reached into his back pocket and pulled out a small tablet and touched the screen a few times. "Believe it or not, this is where I hang out most of the time. I figured I'd need some security so I put up some cameras."He briefly looked up and pointed to a couple of corners in the room to which the four saw a few small red lights indicating they were being recorded. He held it up the tablet for the three Titans and for Mar'i to see.
Against, their better judgment, the four of them gathered around the small screen which displayed security footage of Red X, who was holding the clock, meeting the "secretary" who was actually a drone. The drone was carrying a case of Xenothium and the two swapped objects. Once the swap was complete the drone released a smoke fume that clouded the screen. The video went blank.
"That thing entered through the roof, but obviously didn't want me following it. That's when I started to get suspicious." Red X stowed the tablet and crossed his arms again. "However, I sifted through some of the footage and was able to catch a serial number on the thing. Belongs to Wayne Enterprises, but here's the kicker: this model's not on the market yet."
"Bruce Wayne wanted an antique and he sent a prototype?" Beast Boy scratched his head trying to understand. "I mean, they got products in their arsenal ready to go for the next 5 years!"
"This model won't be on the market for another 25 years." Red X clarified. "Actually, more like 26. And if you're wondering how I could possibly know that, Wayne Enterprises always includes the date of release in the SN. This thing was legit, not a knock off."
Raven did the math in her head. "That must mean..."
"Mar'i brought something with her when she traveled." Red X answered for her. "I don't know what, but something tells me it's not good."
Mar'i stood dumbfounded attempting to process all the information she just received. "But... how? There were no drones in Dad's office when I broke the thing!" She then looked to Red X and instantly remembered how mad she was at him. "And that still doesn't explain why you knew I was here, to begin with!"
Red X suppressed a laugh. "Yeah, you're going to laugh when I tell you how I found that out."
"Humor us." Raven quipped.
"Like I said, I only sold the thing a few nights ago," Red X answered. "And even though the kid irks me, I knew needed to talk to Robin about what I found. So the night I sold it, I broke into the tower-"
"C'mon, man!" Cyborg shook his head.
"Anyway," Red X continued. "I got in the tower with the hopes of talking to Boy Wonder privately about it. But little did I know, that he and the princess would be out on patrol that night and the rest of you would be trying to heal their kid's concussion."
"So, you eavesdropped?" Raven raised an eyebrow.
"Essentially." he shrugged. "I was able to put two and two together once I found out Little Gray was from the same time as that drone."
"How did we not see you?!" Beast Boy asked. Red X simply pointed to his belt. "Oh, right," Beast Boy slumped over. "Xenothium."
"You have to tell them who you are, Mar'i." Red X sounded almost sincere. "I don't know what we're going to be up against, but whatever it is, we all need to be in on this."
"I didn't think you were one to team up." Raven tilted her head in suspicion.
"We're messing with time here," X answered. "Unfortunately, I don't know if I can afford to work alone on this."
"Why should we work with you at all?!" Mar'i scoffed. "This is your fault! You're the one who sold it!"
"Well, your dad was the one who gave it to me. So before you go pointing the finger at me, I'd ask myself why you think he might have done that! Maybe you wouldn't be in this mess to begin with-"
"Enough!" Raven stopped them. "At this point, that doesn't matter. I'm equally pissed at Robin and you." She pointed to X then turned to Mar'i. "I don't know about telling Robin and Starfire about all of this yet, but X is right about one thing, we may need to work together to find out where that clock is and what came through the time warp with you."
"You're not serious, right? How do you even know you can trust him?!" Mar'i protested.
"We don't," Cyborg answered looking at the ground. "But we may have to."
"I can gain intel. Get into places you can't." X chimed in. "Whether we all like it or not, I'm a valuable resource to you."
Mar'i put her face in her hands. She could not believe this was happening.
"We'll work with you," Raven continued speaking to X. "But you can't withhold information from us and have to 100% honest about your findings. Got it?"
"Crystal. How's this for honesty, Wayne Enterprises has a satellite building here downtown which is also a production site for a handful of his products. I'm going to check it out tomorrow to see if I can get any information on that drone. I'll get back with you with what I find."
"Swear it." Beast Boy threatened.
"I swear." Red X answered. His response sounded genuine. "You even have my agreement on the record." He pointed to the cameras again.
"Fantastic," Raven replied sarcastically as she grabbed her communicator. "It's 1:30. We've already been here too long." She stowed the communicator and looked to Red X. "Keep us updated."
Mar'i lifted her head from her hands and stared at Red X as well. "I don't like you."
"That's fine, Little Gray. But do keep that question in mind, why do you think Robin gave me the clock?"
Mar'i couldn't answer. Instead of answers she only had a million other questions. What could have possibly entered into 2006 with her? Why were Raven, Cyborg, and Beast Boy being so trusting of this guy? Why didn't Robin... why didn't her dad... see how careless he had been giving away the clock?
Raven placed a hand on her shoulder. "Come on, Mar'i. We need to go."
Mar'i looked at Red X one more time before Raven's energy cloaked her and the boys. She didn't break her gaze until the darkness enveloped them. Her head felt like it was spinning again, but instead of fighting the feeling she let it take over and wondered if she would, in fact, ever make it home.