AN: Robin leaves for Gotham and meets someone who isn't Batman while Blitz asks Raven if she wants to go on an 'outing' as friends. Meanwhile, Mikumo practices with his new powers.

Outta This World: The Call Beyond Edition

Arc Two: Deathstroke

Chapter Twelve: Whiplash

Entry #61

Been a couple of days since the whole Mad Mod thing. Cyborg's car was recently stolen by another one of Adrian Finch's prisoners—some kind of living nanochip named Overload, but we got the car back. Robin is also leaving today, so I've decided to cook a sort of 'good luck' breakfast.

The itch on my right shoulder has died down a bit, which I count as a good thing, as it's difficult to scratch my shoulder through my costume.

I'll write more later if I feel like it.

Titans Tower. With Cyborg.

Cyborg awoke—or at least, awoke fully—when the scent of cooking food hit his nostrils. His awareness and hunger began to kick in as he gravitated towards the common room, intent on finding the source of the aroma. When he had reached his destination, he found a sight that would have a great many chefs frothing with envy.

On the table that the Titans usually sat at was a large collection of every kind of breakfast food known to man, ranging from pancakes and waffles to eggs and French toast. As he looked over the wide range of cuisines the cybernetic teen began to drool, his mouth dropping open a little…and then closed it when he realized that there was company.

Already seated at the table were Robin and Starfire, who had already begun to dig into the massive feast that had been prepared for them. With them was Blitzkrieg, without his mask and dressed in a chef's attire, complete with an apron marked with the words 'DO (NOT) KISS THE COOK'.

Starfire turned away from the meal and towards Cyborg, her mouth stretched in a wide grin. "Friend Cyborg, come and join us! The food of breakfast is delicious!"

Cyborg did so without hesitation, choosing to chow down on a plate of bacon. Moments later, both Raven and Beast Boy arrived. The green teenager wordlessly sat down and began to eat off of a plate that had tofu foods reserved for him, while the mage took a few omelets and a cup of tea.

All was silent for a small amount of time as the Titans ate. Then, Robin turned to Blitzkrieg. "When did you have time to make this anyway?"

"Set my alarm for five since most of you are up by six now." The electro-kinetic answered.

"Well…Thanks. You didn't have to do this."

"No, but I wanted to."

With that, Blitzkrieg turned to Raven, who had finished her omelets. "Did you like the meal?"

Raven nodded. "It was…good."

The electro-kinetic nodded, and from the way that Cyborg saw the corner of his mouth twitch into a frown, began to contemplate something. Then, he spoke again. "Well, I'm glad that you enjoyed it." Silence again. Cyborg began to wonder where Blitzkrieg was going with this, his gaze switching between the two as if he was watching an intense tennis match.

The teen let out a quiet, subtle breath and spoke again. "I was wondering if we could go to that depressing café that you like later today." Cyborg froze. Beast Boy froze. Raven shifted her attention towards Blitzkrieg, focusing only on him. "As thanks for saving my mind from the Legacy Chip…and as friends!" Blitz finished.

Silence once again reigned as Cyborg and Beast Boy processed the words that were spoken. And then Raven responded.

"We could go this evening if we are not busy. Five o'clock should work."

"Alright, see you then." Blitzkrieg smiled as he got up from the chair and left the room.

At that point, the boys—save Robin—jaws dropped, and Starfire let out a joy-filled cheer. "Oh, this is most wonderful! Friend Blitzkrieg is asking friend Raven on the date! We must go to the mall of shopping at once!" The Tamaranian rushed towards Raven and took her by the arms, dragging her towards this mall of shopping as the mage protested.

All was quiet, but only for a mere moment.

"Did Blitzkrieg just ask Raven on a date? And did she just accept?" Beast Boy asked, his gaze switching between Robin and Cyborg.

"Yes to both." Robin replied as he finished his meal.

"…My worldview is shattered." Cyborg spoke, his eyes as wide as plates.

Robin stood from the table. "Right, I've gotta go. Are the modifications for the T-sub done?"

Cyborg blinked and then nodded. "Just finished them last night. I was gonna inform you, but you were asleep by the time I was finished."

Robin nodded. "Good. How long did you say the journey should last with the modifications?"

Cyborg shrugged. "Can't say our new T-ship will travel as fast as the Javelins, but it should take about the normal flight time if you take the whole sub."

"Then I'll just take the part that can carry my bike." Robin replied, stepping towards the door.

Beast Boy raised his hands. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! What are you talking about?"

The Boy Wonder turned back towards the shapeshifter. "Cyborg modified the T-sub to make it a T-spaceship as well."

Beast Boy was quiet for a moment as he processed the information. Then a wide smile began to spread across his face. "Cool."

"I know." Robin smiled back, and then turned to Cyborg. "You and Blitz are in charge while I'm gone. Call me in case anything strange or terrible happens."

And then he was gone. Cyborg turned to Beast Boy, a massive grin on his face. "Wanna spy on our two resident goths 'friend date'?"

Beast Boy put on his best shit-eating grin. "Oh hell yes."

Above Jump City Bay. With Starfire and Raven.

"No Star." Raven groaned, her annoyance growing as her friend prattled on about what Raven should wear for the 'date' as they traveled to the mall via the power of flight. "This isn't a date. We're just going to have some tea and maybe chat a little."

Starfire frowned, confusion evident on her face. "But isn't that what this is? Two people going to places together and spending time with each other?"

"No!" Raven shouted, her cheeks flushing. Then, she took a deep breath and pulled her hood over her head. "It's just an outing between friends."

Starfire continued frowning, before her usual smile was back on her face. "Well, at least you will look good for this outing—!" She turned back to her friend, but she was no longer flying next to her. Instead, she had stopped somewhere behind her, eyes wide under the hood. Starfire floated up to her. "Raven?"

The goth merely pointed down to a part of the beach covered in old, rusting junk metal, being moved about by several black tendrils. At the center of those tendrils was a boy with green hair.

Jump City Beach. Mikumo Raki.

Mikumo growled as another metal box crumpled under the grip of the tendrils. "Gotta focus…" He grunted out as he commanded the tendrils to grip an abandoned motorcycle. "Gotta…concentrate." His breathing strained as the motorcycle was slowly lifted off the ground, carried only by a single black tendril. "Gotta…not…destroy…something!" He groaned, willing the tendril to not crush the bike, to not crush anything—!

The tendril squeezed, easily crushing the mode of transportation with a mighty crunch.

"Damnit!" The teenager screamed, falling to his knees and striking the sand with his curled fist. He had come here once a week, whenever he could go on his usual walk so he could learn to control his new abilities. In the first week he could just push things. Then he started to pull them. After that, he tried to lift things. But anything he lifted, he crushed. How could he be a superhero if he kept breaking the people he was trying to save? How could he hope to help others if he couldn't control his own powers?

Mikumo huffed and stood back up. No. He wouldn't wallow in self-pity and defeat. His brother certainly would let things like this keep him down. What was that saying that Shiga liked? We fall so that we can rise again? Whatever it was, he always found it really inspirational. Mikumo stretched out a hand again…and then yelped when a voice broke his conversation.

"Mikumo?"

He turned around, finding both Raven and Starfire standing behind him.

Titan's Tower. With Sean.

"Goth or casual?" I muttered as I stared at the two sets of clothes, my head resting on steepled hands. "Goth or casual?"

"Oh, just pick already!" Rude cried. "It's not like you asked her on a date! You said that you wanted to go as friends!? SO WHY ARE YOU PANICKING ABOUT THIS!?"

"Because he likes her." Light said, voice dry.

"Would both of you shut up?" I scowled.

"Touched a nerve have I—is your communicator ringing?"

I blinked, then looked at the yellow-and-black device. It was indeed ringing. I picked it up off my desk and opened it, a display of Raven on the other side.

"Sean, we have a problem." She said, some urgency in her tone.

"What? What's going on?" I asked.

She sighed. "You remember Shiga Raki, correct?"

I nodded. "The philosopher, waiter, and pizza delivery guy? The one with red eyes and white hair?"

Raven's frown deepened as she looked at something off-screen. "That would be him, yes."

I frowned. Why would Raven be so concerned about a guy who worked at a pizza restaurant? We'd handled worse foes before. "Has he done something?" I asked.

"No, not him." She replied, looking back at me. "His brother. He has powers."

My eyes went wide. "Oh. Well, that's good for him, right?"

"Unless the HIVE or Slade try to recruit him." Raven said, her voice raising a bit. "I've already contacted Cyborg. He's sent Beast Boy to talk to Shiga."

I paused. Something about this…

"There's something else, isn't there?" I asked her.

Raven sighed. "The night we met, Shiga said that neither of them had powers, nor could ever since they didn't have the metagene."

"You think he lied?"

"I'm not sure. That's why I want them both at the Tower as soon as possible."

My frown deepened. "That's some Robin vs Slade level of paranoia, Raven."

She sighed again. "I know. But we have to be sure that we haven't been letting a supervillain get so close to us for months."

Pizza Corner. With Shiga Raki.

Shiga Raki let out a silent groan as he began to itch his right shoulder. GOD, he was bored. Not of working at the Pizza Corner, he had made a lot of good friends and met a great many interesting people here. Not of raising Mikumo, for every day seemed to provide a new challenge from the one who he had claimed as his brother. Not of living in Jump City, because it had the Teen Titans! The heroes of his distant childhood, his other self!

No. He was just bored of the monotony that he allowed himself to slip back into every time he slipped off one of his 'masks'. He missed the thrill of his 'internship'. He missed the wind rushing on his face as he passed above the streets, ready to do another patrol, complete another mission. Before, he had convinced himself that he was only doing these things for a good cause. So that he could continue to raise Mikumo to the best person he could be, just like he promised Nana. But he had to admit, he liked the thrill of the chase, the rush of a fight! The sensation that followed each victory as he—!

The door opened, and he turned to the new customer and itched his shoulder again. The customer was in front of him now…except this wasn't the ordinary customer. It was a hero. One particular hero.

"Hey! Shiga Raki, right?" Beast Boy spoke, a concerned smile on his face. "You might wanna come with me."

Titan's Tower. With Blitzkrieg.

It was…silent in the Tower as Raven and Cyborg examined the green haired teen in the Medical Bay. After the call, Raven and Starfire had arrived back at the Tower, carrying Mikumo with them. After that, Cyborg insisted that we try and find the cause and source of Mikumo's power, saying that if we had a better understanding of Mikumo's power, we might be able to help him control it better. Now, Starfire and I were watching as the two other Titans examined the boy with both magic and science.

Starfire and I were silent as we waited. It wasn't like we didn't have anything to say, it's just that I don't think we had any way to vocalize what we were thinking. Neither of us had met or knew anyone with powers that wasn't already a hero or a villain, and right now we had the opportunity to influence someone to become either one…or the other. And we were desperate to not allow Mikumo to become a villain.

Raven exited the room, lifting the hood off of her face as I stood.

"What did you find?" I asked.

She sighed. "Nothing. His power doesn't come from magic in any way, shape or form, but it may be connected to his emotional state."

"Was there anything else, friend Raven?" Starfire asked, standing as well.

Raven nodded. "There's a scar somewhere near the back of his head."

"Probably from whatever gave him his amnesia." I said, propping my chin on a curled fist. Starfire's eyes went wide.

"The Mikumo has no memory of himself?"

"Indeed." Raven replied, a frown growing on her stoic face. "Which means that we have nothing but Shiga's word on how their lives were." She left, walking back into the Medical Bay.

Silence reigned for a bit, then Starfire spoke again. "Please…is friend Shiga untrustworthy?"

I set my teeth and looked at the floor. "Raven seems to think so."

She turned towards me. "And…what do you think?"

I sat there for a minute, mulling the question over in my head. Light did say that there was something off about him, and there was the fact that he said he had taken up a couple of 'odd jobs'.

Perhaps he wasn't trustworthy after all?

Those thoughts stopped as the elevator doors that could be found at the end of the hall we were standing in opened, and Beast Boy and Shiga Raki walked towards us.

I took a good look at him. For real this time. No glance over to tell what color his hair or eyes were, or a vague guess at how tall he was or how much he weighed. A real analysis this time. His hair was swept back and pulled back into a ponytail that started at the lower back of his head. His eyes were hidden behind rectangular glasses. The eyes themselves were surrounded by several indents that looked like scars from someone trying to scratch them out. He had two other scars as well, one that trailed down his right eye and another that trailed down the left corner of his mouth. There was some sort of beauty mark on his otherwise marred face just under the right corner of his lip.

He wore the red trench coat that he wore to the party Blackfire had brought us to, and under that was the Pizza Corner uniform: A red button up T-shirt and a pair of black jeans. He was also wearing gloves…or rather, a glove. A singular, black glove. The arm that wore that glove—the right one—was a full inch longer that the left, and from what I could tell, a fair bit muscular. How I had not noticed this before…

"It's that…perception warping thing he does…" Light groaned. "I don't know how he's doing it but…he's changing what people see…there's something else too…something he didn't have before…gah, it hurts just to look—!"

"Then stop!" I pleaded, rubbing my head as Shiga Raki continued his approach. "Rest. Recuperate. Do whatever you need to do."

"…I will. But if there's a fight—!"

"I'll wake you up." I promised. With that, I felt Light retreat to wherever he went as Beast Boy and Shiga finally made it to us.

"So, my brother has powers?" He asked me, staring me right in the eyes. The gaze reminded me of someone, but I couldn't quiet…

"Yes. Friend Raven and I saw him practicing with them on the beach." Starfire explained to the white-haired young man.

He turned to her. "Did he say how long he's had them?"

"Your brother said that he has had them ever since the attack on the bridge from Thunder and Lighting." Starfire answered.

Shiga turned towards the windows of the Medical Bay, a deep frown on his face. "And he didn't tell me…" He turned away, crossing his arms. "Typical."

"Does he often not tell you things?" Beast Boy asked.

Shiga nodded. "It's common for people to keep secrets from each other…siblings are no exception."

I felt my heart go cold for a minute as I watched Starfire sag. Blackfire had kept a secret from her, and it almost cost Starfire her freedom. I was keeping a secret, and if revealed in the wrong way, it would likely cost me my friendship with the Titans. The first friends I had made in a long time, or my mission…

"…We'll have to tell them eventually." Logic said, a solemn tone in his voice. "I suppose that such a thing is inevitable, given how close we are becoming to them."

I didn't respond. There wasn't a response that felt good enough.

Raven and Cyborg left the Medical Bay and entered the hallway. Shiga's attention turned to them. "Did you find anything…harmful?"

Cyborg shook his head. "Not yet. Nor could we find the cause of this…sudden mutation. Best course of action is to keep it hidden in school, but practice outside of it."

"Unless he were to become a Teen Titan?" The pale-haired man asked.

Cyborg blinked. Raven blinked. Everyone blinked at the sudden question. Then Cyborg spoke up. "Er…sure? I mean, we'd have to take it up with Robin and then have a vote, but he could become a Titan, if he wanted to be." The cybernetic teen explained.

Shiga nodded, turning back to the Medical Bay window. Within the room, Mikumo sat on one of the beds, staring at us through the glass. "He's always wanted to be a superhero. Plus…" He turned back to us. "He needs more friends. It's not that he's unpopular, he's just not super social. That and he might get a better education from Batman's protégé and a man who is almost a computer…" He stared at Cyborg and cringed. "No offense taken; I hope?"

Cyborg frowned. "A little taken."

The young man sighed. "I understand." Then, he began to walk towards the Medical Bay door. "I'll need to talk with him first. If he takes the offer that you might give him, then he'll need to know the risks."

He walked in, and the door shut behind him. We watched as the two brothers began to conversate, unable to hear whatever they were saying thanks to the thick walls and glass.

Then, I turned to Raven. There was a grimace on her face, and she was staring at the floor with such intensity that I thought a fire would start. "Raven?"

She looked up at me, and her face lost its ferocious glare. "I can't sense his emotions."

Beast Boy's eyes went wide as he looked at her. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that I CAN'T sense him. He's completely…blank to me." She turned her attention to the other Titans. "I can read you, the civilians, and the villains that we fight, and I can read his brother, but I can't read Shiga Raki. It's like he isn't there at all."

"Can't he just be putting up shields or something?" Cyborg asked, a hint of concern in his voice.

"If he was, I'd have had some resistance…but there's nothing. Like he doesn't exist in the same sense that we do." The mage explained.

"…That's not the only thing." I began as the others turned towards me. "Light said that he seems to be altering people's perception. He doesn't know how, but it's hiding who he really is."

I turned towards Beast Boy. "What did you see when you looked at him? His face specifically?"

The green teen frowned. "I…can't really tell. Despite the red eyes and the white hair…he just looked normal."

"No scars?"

He shook his head.

I turned towards the others. "I saw past whatever field he's put up around himself. He's got a bunch of scars around his eyes, like someone tried to claw them out." I then pointed at my right eye and the left corner of my mouth…or where they would be if I wasn't wearing my mask. "He's also got two big ones here and here."

Raven's brow creased as Starfire gasped. "Anything else."

"Yeah. His right arm's bigger than his left one. Like he's got some sort of graft or a cybernetic. Whatever it is, it doesn't fit him well enough."

In unison, we turned towards the duo, who were now a mystery to us. A mystery that I knew would haunt us for a good long while. A mystery concerning a boy who was recently granted power…and the man who may have been lying through his teeth ever since we met him.

Who are they…who is Shiga Raki really?

Gotham City. With Robin.

Gotham City. A cesspit of humanity. The worst hive of scum and villainy to ever exist. It had been described as this and more. To the citizens of the world, it was a horror story, a dark legend. To the citizens of Gotham, it was home. To Richard Grayson, it was the place where he found a new family. Where he had become Robin, apprentice to Batman. It was the place he had left behind to forge his own path. A place he had to return to now, to combat what many members of the League had become.

That was what ran through the Boy Wonder's head as the wind rushed past him, the wheels and engine of the motorcycle drowning out most noise…save for the car behind him. He knew it was following him. It had been following him for the past ten minutes. After the first three, Robin attempted to lose his pursuers. After five, the Boy Wonder activated the bike's distress signal. After five more minutes of Batman not showing up, Robin acknowledged that he would probably need to deal with whoever this was himself. He briefly wondered if this was the League…and then deducted that if this was the League, they would have just had him branded a traitor and arrested him…or just used the Watchtower's teleporters.

But the people who were following him definitely weren't the average mobsters. In fact, they looked like a CADMUS kill squad. Except CADMUS had been made defunct months ago thanks to the efforts of the founding members of the Justice League…of whom only three members were probably trustworthy.

Robin hissed out a curse as one of the grey-dressed assassins drew a grenade launcher and leaned out the passenger side window. He would have to turn the R-cycle around and ready the weapons, but he doubted that he had enough time to do so.

As he thought this, he saw a man wearing a green cloak and some form of copper-colored armor leap down towards the car from one of the roof-tops. He was wielding a glaive, the blade glowing and ominous reddish-purple color, and was plunging it towards the car's machinery. The glaive pierced the hood, and Robin's pursuers were brought to a screeching halt. The man with the grenade launcher tried to bring his weapon to bear against the new contender, but it was sliced in two by the other man's glaive. Then, the copper-armored man slammed the butt of his weapon against the first assassin's helmet, knocking him unconscious, or perhaps simply giving him a concussion.

The other assassins exited the vehicle as the copper-armored man leapt off of the hood of their car, twirling his glaive. There were three in total, two with guns, one with a katana. He dispatched the gunmen first, the auraed blade cutting through the weapons like a knife through soup. Then, he finished both of them off with a blow to the head and the solar plexus respectively. He turned to the katana-wielder, who drew his blade. The assassin charged his opponent without a word, blade poised low to the ground in what was most certainly going to be either an attack against the copper-armored man's footing or an upward slash at his torso.

The copper-armored man dodged this by pivoting to the left, and then driving the butt-end of his glaive into the man's neck.

Robin had already stopped and departed from his motorcycle, drawing his quarterstaff in case the man required assistance…but he did not, as it seemed.

The man turned towards the leader of the Teen Titans, hood obscuring all save for a slight wisp of purple hair.

"Who are you?" Robin asked.

The man turned away and uttered a single word.

"Pariah…"

Somewhere else entirely. The Savior.

Behind a wall of blue mirrors, a man in gold watched the interaction and smirked.

"No matter what you do Doctor Mossa, nothing can forestall my return…"

AN:…I told you. I told all of you. BUT YOU WOULDN'T LISTEN!

*AHM* Okay, guest reviewer first.

To the one who has chosen to identify himself as The Bold Idiot: THANK YOU FOR THE REVIEW! Also, while the microchip might have been removed from Sean, it will prove to be a problem in the future. As for Drake…it may not be him, but there will be a hell-dragon that will require dealing with. As for where said dragon is…it is no longer in Sean. The buck has been passed, after all.

As for the plot-points…some will be changed. Some will remain. Some will be erased. And I won't spoil my plans for the Moth Family.

Now, to the rest of the readers: REVIEW and PM if you have questions or suggestions! I may take them into consideration!