The moment Robin and the rest of the Titans left the store he was confronted with a very odd sight indeed. When Old Man Beast Boy said that he had 'Gotten them a ride' he assumed that he had gotten something like a camel or even a car of some sorts. But the moment he stepped out he saw Old Man Beast Boy standing in front of 'their ride' he saw that it was none of these things.
At first Robin thought that he was looking at a train caboose like something he would expect to see in a Mark Twain novel, or a book written in the mid to late 19th century, the next moment he thought that it was some sort of tank because it had a gigantic cannon on the top and the next moment he thought that it was some sort of submarine as it also had a periscope, giant metal doors and what looked to be a propeller and a rudder from a cruise ship. It was quite simply the strangest machine he had ever seen in his life.
"This is our ride to Salt Lake City." Old Man Beast Boy declared to the rest of the Titans, "Now come on in, I don't have all day!"
Robin looked at the rest of the team mates as if expecting them to say or do something, but the rest of the Titans might as well have been turned to stone as they stared up and down the strange vehicle that was right in front of him apparently lost in deep thought. Then Robin said the first thing that came into his mind.
"Do you know how to drive that thing?" Robin exclaimed
"No. But Phoenix can." Old Man Beast Boy said, gesturing at Phoenix who walked towards the veciale as if it was some 2nd hand car entering through a giant metal door. "Now are you going to get in or not?"
Robin paused thinking to himself, then realising that he had no other choice he nodded. As he followed Old Man Beast Boy into the vehicle.
If the outside of the vehicle was strange, then the inside of the vehicle was even stranger. The area that he was in looked to be the most expensive hotel room in the poorest country in the world. It had three large beds that belonged to the 2nd, 3rd and 4th least favourite child in a large rich family, a cheap television that can be found in any college dorm room, a large wooden desk that belonged to the a sidekick to a James Bond villain, a large collection of sofas that can be found in the waiting room of a small technology company and a small galley of paintings that can be found in the corridors of any hospital and airport around the world.
There were also three monolithic doors, the first leading into a tiny bathroom, the second leading to a humble kitchen with a tiny fridge, stove and microwave and the last one leading to what looked to be a fusion between a server room and the inside of a submarine with rows of computers and monitors as well as a long ladder which undoubtedly led up to the 'tank top' which Phoenix was now currently climbing.
"So…what now?" Cyborg said walking around the small living quarters as if expecting to see an instruction book telling him what to do next.
"Now." Old Man Beast Boy said, who was now feeding Vic the IV a giant bottle of milk "We wait until we arrive at Salt Lake City. It will only take us a couple of hours."
"And what exactly do you intend to do when you arrive in Salt Lake City?" Robin said a bit too bluntly "You have no idea where to go, no plan of attack! What exactly do you plan to do!?" But Old Man Beast Boy raised a hand for silence.
"Silence please." Old Man Beast Boy said through gritted teeth and Robin became silent as if struck down by a spell.
"I do have a plan of attack. Tonight, our friend Ashly plans to make a little speech with a special guest, but I don't know who. All I have to do is attack them when they are on stage. That's all I need to do."
"What about us?" Cyborg said who was sitting on one of the beds that was too small for him "What do we do?"
"You" Old Man Beast Boy said sounding like a military general "Stay here."
"What?" Cyborg cried in disbelief "But…we want to help!"
"This is our future!" Starfire yelled "We can help you Friend Old Man Beast Boy!"
"We are just as qualified as you!" Robin said
"I am telling you the answer is NO!" Old Man Beast Boy bellowed "You can get yourself killed! I can't afford that!"
"We fought Slade, Trigon, Brother Blood, Brain…" Raven said but Old Man Beast Boy interrupted her
"These guys. They don't play by those rules anymore! They. Will. Kill. You. On. The. SPOT!" Old Man Beast Boy said trying to control himself. "I can fight them because I have a healing factor! I can't die! If you were to enter the battle you will die! I have to kill Ashly! What she is "
There was a long pause. Nothing else can be heard. Robin looked from his team mates to Old Man Beast Boy to the view of the speeding dessert out of the window. The vehicle was in motion and he hadn't even felt it move.
Robin was lost in deep thought as he watched Old Man Beast Boy take a chug at his flask. He knew what he had done in the bar and he knew that he was going to do it again. Killing people. That is what Old Man Beast Boy is like now. A monster, a murder. No better than the people that he had killed. He can't even comprehend why he would do such a thing. Sure, times might have changed, and sure Old Man Beast Boy must have been through a lot, and yet…Robin felt like slapping himself. His mind going in many places at once. He understood why Old Man Beast Boy would do such a thing. Trauma and all that. He just can't imagine seeing Beast Boy, one of his best friends do such a thing, and he can't let so many people die, innocent or guilty die.
"This is another one of your missions isn't it?" Robin said under his breath "How many times have you done this? 10, 20? 30?"
Old Man Beast Boy sighed heavily as he looked down his flask as if it had mildly annoyed him but he was too polite to say anything about it. Robin continued speaking his mind as if replaying something he thinks he had experienced with Batman. "You know that nobody else has to die. Something tells me that you are not taking breaks. You can stop all this now. End it. Walk away and help us."
Old Man Beast Boy pretended that he had gone deaf as he continued to chug at his flask. Robin paused tasting the very air as if it was a fine wine. He looked at his teammates. Expecting them to say something. But all of them were looking at Robin as if expecting him to continue.
"Uh. You know. When I became Robin. When I was taken in under the wing by Batman. I admit that…that I wanted to kill the man who…who killed my parents. I wanted to hurt him…But when I had the chance…When me and Batman had an altercation with him…I admit that I wanted to get to him first…But Batman stopped me…he showed me that killing people is wrong…I never kill. Even when I look at the devil in the eye, never compromise, never break the code. There is always another way."
"What is it that you want Dick?" Old Man Beast Boy said in an overly restrained voice "Everything you do out there in the streets, Dick, it doesn't work. Not here. Not now. Then Yes. But now. No. Did you know that?" He threw his arm at the window to point at the distant ruin of a town "You have only seen a glimpse on what this place is like. Yes. I do agree that the whole 'no kill rule' is noble and all that. But now. Now. That thing is off the table. The world is either total anarchy where the ones with the guns rule over, or a dictatorship where everything that you do is monitored 24/7. What I do. It is out of necessity."
Robin sighed heavily as he knew where this was going to "Come on." He said aimlessly "You know that your not the only one right? Well boo hoo everyone has lost someone, its like a rule for all superheroes to have no parents."
Robin immediately regretted what he said when Old Man Beast Boy threw his flask at him, instantly knocking him down the moment it came in contact with his head. "Loss doesn't work the same way for everyone Dick!" Old Man Beast Boy growled "I was tricked into killing everyone that I care about!" he thrusted his arm up to point a finger at Starfire "She was the first person I ever killed!" He then pointed a finger at Raven "I thought that the love of my life had died on my hands for nearly 40 years!" he then pointed at Cyborg "I had to watch my best friend. The only one that I thought was alive go insane and become a supervillain!" Finally, he pointed at Robin "And you. You Dick Grayson. I watched you die less than a month ago. So, unless if you were tricked into killing everyone that you love. Shut. Up!"
Robin paused. Unable to take in what Old Man Beast Boy was saying. But there was still one thing left he needed to say otherwise he will explode. He looked at Old Man Beast Boy, gritting his teeth he said, "So why do you want to kill Ashly?"
Old Man Beast Boy looked up at Robin as if he had 2 heads. "I thought the answer would have been obvious." He said, "I don't agree with her methods, and I thought that you wouldn't agree with it either."
"You mean killing criminals?" Robin said, "Killing those who have committed crimes? If that is what happens to shoplifters, I hate to see what they do to murderers. And if a shoplifter got a bullet in the head, why hadn't you got a bullet all over your body?"
Old Man Beast Boy looked taken aback for a nanosecond then regained his composure "That. Is. What. We. Are. Going. To. Find. Out" He said in an overly restrained tone, adding too much emphasis to each letter he said "And anyway. Me and Ashly. Even though we never fully acquainted ourselves. Are. Not. The. Same"
"How?" Robin said, unsure on why he was saying it, but something inside of him told hm that the longer Old Man Beast Boy talked, the more things he would give away.
"For one, I don't kill shoplifters." Old Man Beast Boy said speaking more to himself than to Robin "I kill rapists, kidnappers and murders. And two. The punishment comes AFTER the crime! Not before! I only kill people who deserve to be killed! Whatever you may think of my methods, I am not a evil man!"
"Tell that to the orphans and widows that you left behind?" Robin mumbled more to himself, but Old Man Beast Boy heard it.
"Oh, what do you think I am!? Are we really continuing on with this thing!? Do you really think that I am some nutjob who goes around killing everyone who I think deserves it?"
Robin wanted to say yes, but his face must have given it away.
"I think that the people that need killing, need killing. As I said before, and will say again, the world has changed. People change. What I do may not be 'heroic' to you, but to others, I might as well be Superman. But okay. Okay. Okay. Let's say we try the old methods. We beat up the bullies with your fists. We throw 'em in some kind of jail that won't last for long, everybody calls us a hero, right? And then a month, a week, a day later, they're back on the streets doing the same goddamn thing! Here, now. In this future. I do the one thing that you can't. You hit 'em, and they get back up. I hit 'em, and they stay down. It's permanent1 I make sure that they don't make it out on the street again! And don't tell me the whole 'Killing a killer won't reduce the number of killers' line! That's why I don't stop at one! I go on and on! Never stopping!"
Old Man Beast Boy paused breaving heavily as if he had just ran a marathon. He paused and looked up at Robin "But you." He said now suddenly calm and sad "You on the other hand. I can't let you follow the same path I had. You know what I mean. I can't let you do the same thing I had. That's why I don't want you to fight. I don't want you to kill. I can't let you do that. I do want you to save our future. I want to stop this future. I do want you to stop it from ever happening, but I don't want you to be infected by this future."
Old Man Beast Boy took another swing from his flask and continued "I am sorry that I yelled at you. But I want you to understand. We can still save the world. I don't know how. I don't know. But we can still think of something."
He paused then said "I'll leave you alone to discuss things, while I talk to Phoenix. Your guess on how to get back is as good as mine. But I say this. Something is happening. I don't know what, I don't know how, and I don't know why. But something brought you here. We need to find out. But right now is a bad time. I can't sit and watch Ashly start her iron fist rule over the Realm of the Robin. She has to be stopped. And that is what I am going to do."
And with that, Old Man Beast Boy left, leaving the Titans alone with their thoughts on what they are supposed to do, and how they are going to get out of this mess.