A/N: I promise there will be more action in the upcoming chapters. This is just to get the ball rolling, so to speak. I promise the next chapters will get more fast-paced as the story continues.
...
A sharp cry echoed from the room of the Titans' leader. Robin had just been on the verge of falling completely asleep when the alarm sounded, bathing his room in red light. The blaring sound caused him to release a shout of pain as he tumbled off the bed in a heap on the floor.
The boy wonder grit his teeth and pulled at his hair as the sound painfully overwhelmed him. The room went in and out of focus as everything felt distorted and spinning. It took too long for the alarm to be turned off, and he was vaguely aware of heavy footsteps running towards his room. He was barely able to prop himself on his elbows when the door hissed open.
"Hey...guys," he panted, swallowing a groan as his limbs shook. Two mechanical hands lifted him from under his arms and helped him sit on the bed.
"Thanks, Cy," he huffed and patted his teammate on the shoulder, "What's the trouble?"
Cyborg's eyes narrowed, "Man, you look worse than I thought. You're definitely staying here."
Robin shook his head slowly, "No way. I'm good now. I can...I can go."
Arms from all of his teammates held him down as he tried to stand up. They knew how stubborn their leader could be, and none of them wanted him to hurt himself even more.
"Fine," Robin hmphed, "Just tell me who the trouble is."
"We do not know his name," Starfire answered, "He appears to be a man in black with a white mask. He is trying to steal from Jump City's museum."
Robin's eyes widened beneath the mask, and he resumed his effort to stand with renewed vigor. There was only person that matched his description that fit in the time frame, and he was probably the only one that could tell him what was happening to him. And suddenly, everything around him came into sharp focus.
"Dude, chill out! We can handle it!" Beast Boy argued as he tried to keep Robin down by turning into a python. The teen grabbed the green shapeshifter by the head and forcefully unwound him before throwing him across the room. The changeling transformed back into his human state just in time to catch himself in midair.
Cyborg, Starfire, and Raven held him down with their combined strength and powers but struggled under his sheer determination to be free.
"Rob! Listen, man! It's just some from freaky dude in a bird mask. From what we can tell, he probably doesn't even have powers! Let us handle it!"
"Not having powers doesn't make him powerless!" Robin spat back, feeling a little offended by the assumption.
"Please, Robin!" Starfire begged, "You must remain here and rest. It is for your own well-being that we ask this of you!"
Raven winced as Robin lashed out in every way possible, unconsciously doing mental damage to the empath, "Stop being an idiot. Now tell us why you're getting so worked up over this guy."
"He knows!" Robin growled, "He knows what's going on. He knows why I'm sick!"
"Dude, you can't blame everything on every random bad guy we take on!"
"He's not random! I saw him last night!" Robin yelled, and everyone stopped.
Cyborg's natural and bionic eyes narrowed dangerously, "We are so going to talk about this later," he threatened, "But right now, we need to go. And you better be here when we get back."
Robin nodded begrudgingly, "Just be careful, guys. I don't want any of you getting sick too."
"Do not fear, friend Robin!" Starfire declared, her eyes alight in righteous fury, "We shall be victorious and do battle in your name!"
The boy wonder hid how touched he was behind his signature smirk, "Sure thing, Star. I can't wait to hear all about it. Now get going before I decide to change my mind."
As everyone left, Raven turned around one last time to watch her distracted leader, and her eyes landed on the white owl feather on his nightstand. Choosing not to question it yet, she vanished with the others, leaving Robin alone with his thoughts.
Once he was sure they were gone, Robin leaned back and allowed his mind to drift back to his days in the circus, searching specifically for anything related to Owls.
"Beware the Court of Owls," he recited, "that watches all the time, ruling Gotham from a shadowed perch behind granite and lime."
He imagined white masks hidden in the shadows of the big top, lurking around the trailers like birds of prey ready to strike. A terrifying mask staring down at him from outside the window next to his old bed. The images seemed so vivid, it was hard to tell what had been real and what was just fantasy.
"They watch you at your hearth. They watch you in your bed. Speak not a whispered word of them, or they'll send the Talon for your head."
So they're a group that mainly works in Gotham, he thought as he analyzed the rhyme, But they have holdings in Europe as well, possibly beyond. The Talon is their enforcer and executioner. An assassin trained by the Court.
"Talon!" he exclaimed and shot up, "They want me as their next—Oh, no," he ranted and paced back and forth in his room, "But that doesn't explain what's happening to me or how they know my name."
He still couldn't quite get his mind wrapped around why they were targeting him, and it felt very similar to a certain situation he almost didn't make it out of a year ago, "Why does every League level threat to Jump want me to work for them?!" he yelled at nothing in particular, "What makes me so special that I attract everybody on the dark side?!"
At this point, he was in a rage. Robin spun and punched the wall, hoping the pain would alleviate the stress. But to his surprise, he felt nothing but the metal wall being dented from the hit. He stumbled back, eyes darting back and forth from the wall to his fist and back again. He may be strong for a boy his age, but he wasn't that strong. He was only human...right?
...
When the Titans arrived at the Jump City Museum, they were expecting pure chaos, like usual. Instead, everything was eerily silent. The superpowered teens entered the building with their guards raised, preparing themselves for anything...or so they thought.
"You appear to be missing one member," an unfamiliar voice echoed around them, "Tell me, where is the Gray Son of Gotham?"
Cyborg scanned the interior of the building for any sign of the would-be thief, "If you're talking about Robin, he's got better things to do than tangle with a wannabe super villain."
A sinister laugh met them, "He did not tell you then, did he?"
"Tell us what?" Beast Boy growled out, "That you're the one who made him sick? Cause we figured that out just—oomph!"
"Would you be quiet for once in your life?!" Raven hissed as she elbowed him in the gut. Their evident disorder made the hidden Owl chuckle.
"So then it is true what they say. The Titans are nothing without their leader. But for the record, no, it was not I who made him sick. He would have faced the Change with or without meeting me."
Starfire didn't understand exactly everything that was going on, but she knew one thing. This man was an enemy to her friend, and that was enough to spark her powers into a dangerous green flame.
"Only a coward hides from his foes! Show yourself at once and fight like a true warrior!"
"I shall fight as I please."
Throwing blades flew through the air all at once, forcing the teen heroes to dodge in opposite directions. Those with ranged powers shot at what they thought was the right target, only to turn up empty.
"Beware the Court of Owls that watches all the time," the masked man quoted ominously, "ruling Gotham from a shadowed perch behind granite and lime."
"If your supposed to be in Gotham, then why are you here?!" Cyborg demanded as he shot at a moving shadow.
"I did not come here to debate the Court's decision," the man replied from his hiding place, "I am but a messenger. I have no business with you. Only the Gray Son, and he is not here. Then again, that was to be expected."
The heroes paused as a man materialized out of the shadows before them. His white owl mask hid any and all expression, and his solid black suit melded with the darkness of his former hiding place.
"They watch you at your hearth. They watch you in your bed. Speak not a whispered word of them, or they'll send the Talon for your head."
The man threw a smoke bomb, and the Titans gave chase. But by the time the smoke cleared, the stranger was long gone. In his place was a single white feather.
...
The Titans entered the main hall to find Robin leaning against the back of the couch waiting for them. While he was still pale and a little disheveled, he looked a little better than he did earlier that morning.
"Dude, shouldn't you be in bed or something?"
"I'll sleep later. Did you learn anything?"
"The guy's a freaking ninja," Cyborg complained, "We only saw him when he wanted to be seen, and then he disappeared again."
"And he made us look like idiots," Raven added bluntly.
Starfire was hunched over as she slowly flew into the room, "We were not victorious. He made a tactical retreat."
"I expected as much," came Robin's surprising reply, "He's a member of the Court. Everything they do is in the shadows."
"And you know this how?"
Robin rolled his shoulders as he thought of how to answer without lying to them, "Everyone in Gotham knows the nursery rhyme. I grew up hearing whispers about the Court of Owls, but no one talks about them out in the open."
"Is it because of the last part of the rhyme?" Beast Boy asked, "Speak not whispered word of them—"
"—Or they'll send the Talon for your head," Robin finished with a sharpened glare, "Yeah, I know."
"Who would anyone use a such a terrible poem to put children to sleep?" Starfire wondered. Robin shrugged.
"I learned not to question most of the things that happen in Gotham. It's a dark place."
"Was the man we saw today the Talon that the lullaby speaks of?"
"No," Robin sighed, "Whoever he is, he's just a messenger. Capable of killing, sure, but that was not his task. The Talon….the Talon is me, or what they want me to be."
"That still doesn't explain why you're so sick all of the sudden," Cyborg stated, not liking how yet another bad guy had taken interest in their stern leader.
"The man said something about you facing a change, and that it did not matter whether or not you had crossed paths with him before," Starfire recalled.
"I'm sure he knows more than what he's letting on," Robin mused, the gears beginning to turn in his head, "Whatever's wrong with me will have to wait. We need to track him down and get as much information as possible."
"No," Cyborg snapped and held up his hand, "You need rest. We'll figure all of this out later."
Raven took a bold step towards her leader and reached into her cloak, "But first, you need to explain why you have one of these," she said as she revealed a large white feather.
Robin's shoulders slumped, "It's his calling card. After I ran into him last night, he left a feather similar to that one behind."
"Of speaking," Starfire glared and floated above her leader with her arms crossed, "Why did you leave the Tower last night?"
"Solo patrol," he answered simply, "Helps me keep my edge and my focus."
And without another word, he pushed himself off the couch and began striding towards the residential wing of the tower. He made it about halfway before he felt his body sway, and the room began to spin. Forcing himself not show weakness before his team, he stubbornly put one foot in front of the other before he stumbled down on his hands and knees.
"Robin!" someone, maybe everyone, exclaimed. It was hard to tell.
Someone picked him up and set him on the couch.
"Man, you're light. Are you sure you haven't been skipping meals?"
A cold hand was pressed to his forehead.
"He's got a fever. Beast Boy, get me a cold rag from the kitchen."
"I'm on it, Rae!" BB saluted. A gentle hand caressed his hair.
"Oh, Robin, please be the okay."
Robin restrained a groan as his body ached, the swirling images threatening to make him nauseous. He needed to get back to his room. His team shouldn't see their leader so weak and defenseless. How can he protect his friends when he can barely see straight, let alone stand?
"Take it easy. We gotcha," someone said as a cold, wet rag was placed on his forehead.
"Raven, do you think you can heal him with your powers?"
"I can try."
Warmth overflowed him for a few seconds before vanishing. Instead of feeling his illness go away as expected, he blacked out.
"Impossible," Raven breathed, looking down st her hands.
"What? What's wrong? Why isn't he better?" Beast Boy asked, hoping for once that it was only him that was confused.
"There's nothing for me to heal."
"Which means—"
"—it's natural."