Titans Tower

Early Saturday Morning

Robin breathed in the fresh morning air surrounding him. He stood on the roof; his hands proudly planted on his hips and observing the city in the distance. The sun just beginning to break across the horizon and filling the dull sky with its golden rays. The previous evening, he spent filing all the information he had on Slade, preparing it for when he and the girl would sit down and discuss what she knew. Today was going to be the start of that process. He let out a slow breath as he turned on his heel, heading back into the tower to get himself some coffee for the start of the day.

Destiny started her morning pretty much the same as she had in the past week. After a hot shower, she primped for the day and dressed in her normal attire. Her heart feeling less heavy after tying up some loose ends and moving forward with her secret being out. She quietly made her way through the corridors of the tower and into the common room- catching brief sight at the horizon just beyond the bay and the rising sun. It was always a breath-taking moment. The girl made her way into the kitchen, starting a fresh pot of coffee and turning to the fridge- her eyes scanning its contents and realizing there wasn't much to be had for breakfast. With a quiet sigh, she closed the fridge and decided to start working on some of the dirty dishes as she waited for some coffee.

Soon, the aromas of fresh coffee filling her senses. Robin made his way into the room from the side door on the far left- the coffee scent hitting him in the face. "Morning..." he said as he crossed the room. Destiny's body shook a bit in surprise as she finished with the dishes, turning to face him as she dried her hands on a towel. "Good morning...sleep well?" she asked, tossing the towel down and retrieving two mugs from a cabinet and pouring them full of fresh coffee. Robin watched her move through the kitchen, it was strange to him how natural it felt to have her apart of their team now. He cleared his throat as he made a move to sit at the island and resting his elbows on the counter. "Yeah...as good as I ever do." he shrugged. Destiny picked the two mugs up in her hands and sat one down in front of him, moving to sit beside him at the counter. "Thanks..." he said, grasping onto the handle and taking a drink-turning slightly in his chair to face her, catching her nod. "You'd probably sleep better if you didn't spend your nights on that lumpy sofa in your office." she commented with a faint grin, Robin chuckled quietly and rolled his eyes at her.

"I would've had some breakfast made...but it seems no one thought to buy groceries this week." she mused, taking a slow sip of her coffee- embracing the warmth it offered her. Robin nodded his head, then sat his mug back on the counter; mulling over his brain. "Do you like pastries'?" Robin asked with curiosity, a place in the city filling his memory. Destiny shrugged her shoulders, raising a brow at him. "I mean...I wouldn't say no to a good donut right now." she giggled quietly, sitting her mug down on the counter. A brief grin whipped across his face and his chest pounding with excitement, bouncing to his feet from where he sat and extended his hand out to her. "I know a place in the city..." he offered.

Destiny turned her gaze up to his face, a smile breaking across her pale skin- her navy eyes glancing to his gesture. After a brief moment of contemplation, she reached her hand out and took his, standing to her feet as he gently pulled on her hand- their hands quickly letting go after. "That sounds great." she mused. The pair left the common room in silence, descending through the tower and into the garage, Robin making a move for his bike. She quietly cleared her throat; running a hand through her dark hair. "Shall I just follow?" she asked shyly. Robin shrugged his shoulders as he pulled the tarp off of his bike, grabbing his helmet and pulling it over his signature hairstyle. "If you want...you can just ride?" he asked, stepping over his bike to sit- the bike immediately roaring to life. She felt her face flush for a moment, her heart suddenly beating in her ears-seemingly louder than his motorcycle. "I...uh..." she stuttered on her words and he chuckled. "Come on...I won't bite." Robin teased with a smile on his face, patting the seat. Destiny slowly approached his bike, throwing her leg over the back to sit- a partial grin replacing his smile.

"Hang on..." he breathed, the garage door to the underground tunnel into the city opening and the lights slowly flickering on. Robin revved the engine before blasting into the tunnel at a quick speed; his cape neatly tucked under him and the girl's hair whipping in the sudden rush of air; moving a hand to tuck it against her shoulder and reluctantly wrapping her arms around his chest even if her balance was pretty good. Being this close made her nervous, her heart knotted and breath catching in her throat. From this distance, she could smell a touch of mahogany and old spice on him- and it smelled good.

It had been a long time since anyone had been on the back of his bike; let alone holding on to him. A couple memories filling his vision for a moment of the times he and Starfire had together several years ago, humming out a long sigh as he drove. Robin's body tensing for a few moments at the feel of her arms around him, soon relaxing.

The pair rode into the city with ease. The streets mostly empty, a couple people straggling in and out of the city- but nothing crazy at this hour on a weekend; arriving somewhere on the far North side of downtown, pulling up out front of a small café at the corner of West and Palm. For as early as it was, the place seemed to have quite a little crowd; cars lining the corners nearby. Robin pulled in slowly, the moment they reached the curb; the girl effortlessly got off of his bike and waited while he situated himself- adjusting her hair a little and turning to observe where they were. Lilly's. "Shall we?" he asked as he stepped onto the sidewalk with her, the pair walking to the door- Robin quickly grabbing the handle and gestured for her to go in. She rolled her eyes as she stepped in, him following behind.

She breathed in deeply; a waft of scents filling her senses, from sweet to savory. "It smells amazing..." she commented, the two of them exchanging brief smiles. "That would be the smell of the best donuts in Jump City..." Robin mused. The place looked bigger on the inside than it had from the sidewalk; though busy- there were still plenty of places to sit. They were greeted promptly by a hostess and opted to sit at the far end of the counter-leaving some space between them and a few patrons, the same hostess asking for their drink order. "Coffee is fine..." he said with a polite smile on his face, the girl clearing her throat quietly staring at Destiny. Destiny blinked for a moment, "Coffee would be fine..." she stuttered. The hostess nodded and quickly left them alone.

They remained quiet for a few minutes until they received their coffee and menus to look over, ordering breakfast and a treat. Robin ordered a country platter and a cinnamon roll, Destiny opting for a breakfast bowl and a cinnamon sugar donut. "So..." Robin spoke first. "...did your crusade to apologize go okay?" he asked, sitting angled on his stool to face her. She mulled over the question as she took another sip of coffee and shrugged her shoulders. "I suppose it went as good as it could have..." Destiny spoke quietly, her gaze meeting his. "...considering the circumstances." Robin nodded his head in understanding, sipping on his coffee again. "Did you get any work done last night?" she asked, moving the subject away from her. He shrugged a little bit. "I just got things ready for us to work together, piled up what I know."

The pair remained quiet until their breakfast arrived, exchanging some brief small talk about news and city events as they ate. Destiny giggled at some of his interpretations of things, sometimes he'd stifle a chuckle at hers. In the midst of time, they had finished their breakfast and treats. She cleared her throat quietly glancing at the time on the wall. "...you know..." she started with a coy in her voice, a smile on her face as she turned to face him once more. Robin's brow lifted in curiosity. "...we're pretty close to Flag and Dove. There's a passage into the tunnels beneath the city..." Destiny grinned fiddling with some cash she pulled from her pocket. "We could check out one of the unmarked spaces- see if it's a hub or storage."

Robin's interests immediately peaked. He stood to his feet, placing a hand against hers to prevent her from paying and sitting some money down on top of their check. "This one's on me." his voice full of pride. "I take it you're interested..." she giggled as she stood to her feet, shoving her cash back into her pocket. "You read my mind." he said with a sheepish grin on his face. The pair filed out of the café out onto the sidewalk, the time just barely 730AM. Destiny took the lead, walking with him through the city-crossing a few blocks and turning right. She gently waved her hand over her wrist, a holographic screen lighting to life from the back of her glove- studying the display of the map. Robin noted the technology, suddenly jealous he hadn't thought of something like that for himself. "Nice touch..." he gestured to the glove. Destiny smiled at him, "I could help you with it sometime..." then directing them into a thin alley way and stopping just outside of an old looking door labeled 'EMPLOYEES ONLY' and a keypad. He smiled cracking his knuckles in his palms and got to work attempting to crack the key. Destiny blinked- stepping back and resting her back against the brick wall of the building and watched him for a few minutes in silence. Robin grinned to himself with glee; working his computer skills well but coming up short.

"Are you done?" she asked. Robin huffed looking over his shoulder at her, "It's not as easy as it looks..." he muttered under his breath. Destiny rolled her eyes as she stepped forward once again, gently nudging him aside; typing in 6-1-1-6-8. The keypad beeped in response, the metal door whining opening to reveal a stone staircase leading downward; flood lights flicking on. Robin's brow furrowed turning his gaze to her. She smiled at him. "You didn't ask." she said before he could question, stepping through the door. They descending down quite a few flights of stairs; the sounds of the subway soon echoing in the cement walls. "We should be just under the D line." she commented, looking over her shoulder at him- noticing the concern on his face. "What's wrong?" she asked, stopping at the top of the next flight of stairs.

Robin's face was written with concern and wonder. "How did you know the code?" he asked, his voice stern. Destiny huffed quietly as she lowered her arm- the map disappearing from the hologram. "All main passage ways are his birthday or my sister's. His worked. 6-1-1-6-8." she shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not leading you to your death if that's what you're concerned about." Destiny said, her navy eyes meeting his gaze. He breathed in slowly with a nod, trusting his gut. The pair descending further into the unknown, the flood lights slowly becoming scarcer and the stairs running out- met with a ladder going down into the darkness. "Here goes..." she said as they exchanged a glance. She moved slowly working her way onto the ladder, then simply grasping the side with one hand and slid down- him following after her.

The pair dropped into the darkness, her hand immediately lifting and omitting a bright red glow to give them some light- Robin fishing in his belt for a flash light and turning it on. The path before them littered with robotic arms and legs, some empty boxes and trash. "I guess this hasn't been used in a while." he commented aloud. Destiny nodded her head as they walked forward side by side. "Probably the last time it was used was for Terra when they overran the city." Destiny commented, kicking over a box in their path. "Was that when he created the system?" he asked, glancing in her direction- stopping to pick up a binder from the floor. Robin put the end of the flash light in his mouth, flipping open the binder. Some of the papers had some water damage, but clearly bits and pieces of some sort of machine. Destiny glanced over his shoulder before moving on. "...probably schematics for the bots. It's definitely not recent though." she commented. "But...according to the schematic of the tunnels, they've been here for years." Robin tucked the binder under his shoulder, putting the flashlight back in his hand and continued behind her. They soon came face to face with a split pathway, she lifted her arm to view the blueprint from the hologram- her brow furrowed. "Huh..." she spoke with surprise.

"What?" he asked, stepping closer to her to get a better look of the hologram. Destiny lifted her gaze to his and gestured her wrist out for him to look as well. Robin glanced over the hologram, his eyebrows lifting in a surprise like hers and looked forward. "The second path isn't documented." She lowered her arm down and sucked in a deep breath, her eyes glazing over in the beautiful flame- her body levitating into a similar style Raven would for soul searching. The girl focused heavily, a streak of red omitting from her body and disappearing down the left corridor. Robin watched the girl in amazement, noting the powers he still knew little about that she possessed. After a few minutes of silence between them, the red streak rushed back up the tunnel and burst into her chest.

The girl gasped at the sudden rush of feeling forced back into her body, her eyes flashing open and losing her balance; falling onto her knees and choking on her own breath. Robin's attention geared to her in a flash, leaning down to her side. "Are you okay?" he asked, placing a hand against her back. Destiny breathed in deeply with a shaky nod of her head, scrambling to her feet. "Yeah...just out of practice." Robin stood with her, letting her get her bearings. She breathed in quickly, her gaze lifting to his. "Left is a HUGE metal door, I couldn't phase past..." she commented, her gaze turning from his and looking down the dark path. "And it's guarded..." her voice falling short, a faint stomping sound in the distance.

They exchanged a glance between them, the girl filling with a rush of emotions- her gaze widening. "Come on..." she said, quickly grabbing his wrist and pulling him back the way that they came. "If we get caught down here...we're dead." Robin nodded in agreement, the two rushing down the darkened corridor- the echo of the boots getting louder and louder. She shook her head in annoyance, grabbing Robin firmly by the hand, darting upwards in flight-Robin gripped onto the binder as hard as he could under his arm as she was bursting through the tunnel and up the endless flights of stairs in a blur, the door at the top whining open as they neared; somewhere along the way-tripping a sensor, the walls imploding behind them. Destiny quickly flung him forward through the door before them. Robin sprang forward in a quick rush of force, rolling off of his hand and slamming into the brick wall- the girl ducking and rolling through it herself- turning in a quick motion to put up a bright red shield of energy, as some of the imploding debris spewed out- the metal door sealing closed.

They breathed heavily at the near escape, Destiny let her guard down and slowly stood. "Well..." he commented. "That could've gone better." she gave him a look of annoyance. "Yeah...but now he knows someone is poking around." a wash of emotions filling her chest, shaking her head. "We should've waited to go down there..." she sighed heavily.

Robin placed his hand to her shoulder. "It'll be okay." his spoke with determination, "...he can't hurt you anymore." They exchanged a long glance and silence before she finally nodded in understanding. The pair dusted themselves off, filing out of the alleyway and slowly made their way back towards where they had started; noting the sun had finally risen well- not realizing the time had moved so quickly while in the dark. Robin slowly stopped walking just as they started to pass a local grocery store, the binder now safely tucked along his back side- concealed by his shirt and belt; she only realizing after a few feet he had stopped; looking over her shoulder. He smiled at her realization, pointing to the sign. "Wanna grab some stuff?"

Destiny's face looked puzzled for a long moment, before smiling and crossing the distance between them. "Sure." Robin nodded, the pair walking into the store together- he immediately reached for a basket. She walked ahead of him by a few steps, a light hum in her chest- looking over the array of fresh produce with him. Destiny reached for some bananas, blueberries, strawberries, and kiwis- gently chucking them at him each time she grabbed something. Reflexes not an issue, he'd casually catch it and toss it in the basket he carried- his chest pounding with some sort of emotion in response. They moved quietly through the store, collecting various things until the basket was overflowing and she carried a few things in her arms- loading it onto the belt and checking out- some patrons watching in awe at the heroes before them. He went to grab a few bags, but she collected them all on her arms. "I don't think you'd be able to fit these on that cycle of yours..." she grinned at him, exiting the store with him.

Robin cleared his throat as they exited the store. "Meet you back at the tower then? He asked, squinting from the bright light from the sun. Destiny smiled turning to face him as she walked backwards; the bags weighing on her wrists- "See you there..." in an instant, the girl swooping into the air and disappearing into the city.

Robin sighed heavily to himself at the newfound loneliness filling his chest; trudging through the city until he made it back to his bike in front of Lilly's. A thought coming to fruition, he smiled to himself and went back into the small café- ordering an assorted dozen of donuts; putting them away on his bike and made his journey back to the tower.

Destiny arrived back to the tower in minutes; landing on the roof and descending into her home- the bags getting heavier even with her overbearing strength. She quickly made her way down to the common room, the doors whirling open and moving to the kitchen in a brief blur. Cyborg and Beast Boy were in their respective places on the couch playing video games, Raven at the table playing Chess with Starfire. The girl moved quietly about the kitchen- dumping things out of the bags and putting them away. Beast Boy glanced over his shoulder after his and Cyborg's game finished, longing to get up and go see her- deciding to turn back and start a new game with Cyborg. The girl taking it upon herself to put together a few sandwiches, cleaning some berries, and threw a bag of chips on the old wooden platter she had found a few days ago to make sure Robin ate.

Within a few minutes, Robin emerged from the main hall- his attention immediately falling to the girl as he walked down the stairs with the box of donuts he had purchased in hand. Destiny turned as he stood at the counter, noting the box in his hand. He grinned. "I picked up some donuts from Lilly's before coming back." Robin said. Destiny laughed with a roll of her eyes, collecting the empty bags to put them in the recycling. "I wondered why it took you so long." she commented. Beast Boy turning in his seat slightly to see the pair talking- doing his best to not make it obvious, his hands still furiously pressing buttons to maintain his place in the video game. "What's that?" Robin asked, noting the tray. Destiny shrugged her shoulders at him. "I figured it couldn't hurt to have some food handy while we work."

Robin shrugged his shoulders stepping into the kitchen, getting into the fridge and fishing out a couple bottles of water and tucking them against his chest. "Shall we get started?" he asked, his brow lifting. Destiny smiled at him again, moving to grab the water bottles from his grasp and loaded them onto the tray. "We shall..." the two of them shared a brief glance between them. Even they secretly knew it was strange how well they had clicked into a norm. The two of them filing out of the common room-heading for Robin's office. Beast Boy could feel his chest filling with jealousy, rolling his eyes as he turned back to his game he had just lost.

"Damn it..." he groaned tossing his controller across the coffee table, standing to his feet abruptly. Cyborg wooted with glory but raised an eyebrow at BB's reaction. "Come on man...it's just a game..." he replied calmly. Beast Boy sighed heavily to himself as he collected the controller again, plopping on the couch with his friend. "I know..." he grunted, the pair resuming their game- deciding not to voice his jealousy.