Chapter 9

"Dead Ends and Distractions"

"Somebody please tell me they got somethin'," Cyborg said as the small band congregated earlier that evening at their two-bed, one-bath room at one of the more low-budget hotel in central Gotham.

"Nothing…" Raven shook her head, "The general vibe I get is that most people hardly remember him…the others just hate him."

Beast Boy nodded, "Yeah – he definitely wasn't popular, but it's no wonder. I mean, he probably helped bust nearly everybody in the city at one time or another."

"I do not like this city," Starfire said sadly, "Everyone is so very angry all the time…"

"We're going to have to get used to it," Raven told her, "We may be here a while."

"I think we should try again tonight," Cyborg said, "Gotham's usually dead during the day anyway. We should have better luck after nightfall."

"Like you can really tell the difference," Beast Boy muttered, staring out their only window at the smog-filled skyline.

"Stop whinin', Wimp Boy. Just 'cause there isn't a sign of wildlife for forty miles, doesn't mean you can make the rest of us miserable."

"Whatever," the changeling said, then he turned and left the room broodingly.

Raven watched him go, then told Cy and Star, "I'll catch up with you guys later tonight," and followed after him. "Gar! Wait!" she called to him, once out in the corridor.

Beast Boy stopped, turning his head around to look at her, "What did you call me?" he asked, rather perplexed.

"Your…name…" she said, realizing she had slipped, "You don't mind, do you?"

He shrugged, "Never really liked my name…but it doesn't sound so lame when you say it like that." They exchanged a small smile and then he asked, "Is there, um…something you wanted?"

"Yeah," she nodded, the color rising just slightly in her cheeks, "I thought maybe we could partner up tonight…you know, the whole 'good-cop bad-cop' deal…"

"Which one would I be?" the changeling asked.

"Take a wild guess," she said.

"Aww…why do I always have to be the good cop?" he asked as they reached the stairs.

"Good just doesn't work for me," she explained, "You know that."

Beast Boy sighed, following her down the stairs and out the door into the dark Gotham night. At least she wanted to hang with him - that was an improvement…

* * *

"Why do I get the feeling everyone's staring at us?"

"Just ignore them…" Raven muttered, as the pair wandered the busy night streets.

"I'd like to, really, but this is freakin' me out," Beast Boy said, his eyes darting around at the crowd.

"You'd think they'd be used to people like us…" she said.

Out of the mass, one voice rose over the dull hum and reached their ears, "Hey – super-hero wanna-bees! Go back to whatever planet you came from!"

A small vein on Beat Boy's forehead throbbed as his temper rose. He transformed into a large, very annoyed, green tiger. The changeling roared loudly, scaring away those that had been eyeing them.

"You can't go doing that to civilians," Raven said, rubbing her temple with forefinger and thumb, "Even if they're ass-holes."

The teen titan reverted back to his normal, less threatening form, "Why? If they're gonna be jackasses, we can give 'em what's coming to them."

"You can't really blame them for being cynical," she said, not even breaking a stride, "Think about the shit they've had to deal with over the years. And most of them blame people like us for it."

"They should blame themselves; a lot of them probably deserve to be in jail. And why are you sympathizing with them? You never show pity!"

She shrugged, "I guess I see a lot of myself in them. I don't really know how to explain it. But they've actually made me realize something just now. In this town, these costumes look more like what the villains wear. A wardrobe change wouldn't be a bad step."

Beat Boy blinked, trying to imagine what they might look like with a change in costume, "Actually, I kinda like your costume, Raven."

She blushed under the shadow of her hood, "Don't you think I should have grown out of this by now?"

"What'd ya mean? It's spandex, like mine! It goes on forever!"

"I don't mean like that," she said, "I'm just saying the unitard-look isn't meant for someone my age."

"You fill it out rather nicely."

She whacked him lightly upside the head, "This is not the time to get perverted."

"Sorry," he said, rubbing his head in an attempt to wear away the pain, "So…where does one go to buy 'super-hero' clothing?"

"Not sure…but it couldn't hurt to look around."

* * *

"Gimme a drum-roll will you, Rae?" Beast Boy asked, poking his head over the door of his dressing-room stall.

"No."

"Oh come on, please?"

"Just show me what you found." Raven was in a folding chair, leaning it back on two legs. Her new outfit was completely black and consisted of: leather pants that flared out at the bottom just enough to fit around her clunky work-boots, spandex sleeveless top, silver armbands, and a new cloak made of flame-retardant material. The back-alley store they'd found was certainly no place Starfire would approve of, but its stock was surprisingly impressive.

"Ta-da!" He pushed the door open and stepped out, dressed in black and deep plum: leather pants with boots that reached up to his knees, thick metal belt (complete with empty holster), long-sleeve spandex top, and heavy-duty leather jacket (with zippers in unnecessary places), with a shoulder pad on the left side.

"Nice…" she said, snapping her fingers as she would in a coffeehouse.

"That woulda been so much more dramatic with the drum-roll…"

"Oh stop whining, you look hot, let's get going," she said quickly, getting to her feet.

Beast Boy started to walk after her, then stopped suddenly, Raven's rushed words sinking into his head, "Wait, what?" he asked, running to catch up with his departing partner.

* * *

"I do not like this city at all," Star said for the tenth time that night, "I am glad I do not have to be alone out here," she added, taking hold of Cyborg's arm as a particularly vicious looking civilian growled at her, "Thank you for letting me come with you."

"No problem," Cyborg told her reassuringly. If Robin was here, he'd be going nuts over this scene. But he wasn't…, "Now let's get goin'. We have work ta do."

"Yes," she nodded, "I wish I knew where to start…" Gradually their walking slowed, by no intention of their own, until they were stopped at the edge of a descent-sized crowd. Flashing red and blue lights let them know the Gotham P.D. was present.

"Wonder what's going on?" Cyborg mused. Star began to rise off the sidewalk to get a better look, but he put a hand on her shoulder and shook his head, "Flyin' might be a little too conspicuous. Here," he grabbed her around the waist and lifted her up, "What can ya see?"

"They are putting a body into an ambulance," Star said, squinting to see better, "But there is no sign of a struggling having taken place…"

"You mean a fight?"

"Yes, that."

He set her back on the ground, "Wish we could get closer to ask what happened."

"Normally I would suggest asking these people politely to move," she told him, "But I feel that would have no point."

The android grinned happily and rubbed his hands together, "Then it's time to get a little rough."

After much pushing and shoving ("Ow! Hey watch it!"), the two managed to get to the front of the crowd. The largest member of the Teen Titans looked down at a male that appeared to be about their age, earrings up the wazoo and a cigarette hanging out of his slight mouth, "What happened to him?" he asked, gesturing at the man on the stretcher being hoisted into the medical vehicle.

"Who knows?" the smoker shrugged, taking a long drag, "From what they've been saying, they just pulled 'im outta the dumpster down that alley there."

"And that's all we're going to say." A woman in her early twenties, with tan skin and black hair pulled in a braid approached them from the other side of the 'caution' tape. She was dressed casually, in a gray turtleneck with a gun holster on one shoulder and straight black pants. "You can read the rest in the police report tomorrow…not that'll say much more."

Her blue eyes traveled past the smoker bordely, then widened as they landed on the android. "Can't say I've seen you in Gotham before," she mused, "You new around here, big guy?"

"Sorta," he said, one hand behind his head in embarrassment, "This kinda thing doesn't usually happen in Jump City, but I guess Gotham really is different." Sometimes, acting dumb would get you information. If not, it got you laughed at and/or attacked. And foreign stupidity was the easiest kind. Worth the risk, most of the time. If only Beast Boy was here; his stupidity came naturally.

"Jump City?" she repeated, "Wait a minute…you're one of the Junior Justice League, aren't you?"

The android sighed. That was a really degrading nickname, "Teen Titans." he corrected quietly.

"Right…sorry," she said with a small smile, "Never thought I'd ever see you guys here – did Batman call Robin back for something?"

"Actually," Starfire spoke up, "We are here looking for Robin – he was taken from us."

"Oh…" the woman's expression softened, "Wish I could help you, but I've gotta check the dumpster-kid into the hospital…wanna come along?"

"Sure, why not?" Cyborg said, looking down at Star to see if she had a 'why not'. It was better than wandering around aimlessly, and making allies in a city as crappy as this one was always a start. Having a police contact could actually be quite helpful.

Starfire shrugged, to tell him she had no objections, and the two of them stepped under the 'caution' tape and boarded the ambulance. As they engines came to life and they started moving, the blue-eyed woman extended her hand to Cyborg, "I'm Detective Amy Leigh, by the way. Gotham P.D."

"Cyborg, acting-captain of the Teen Titans," he told her, smiling warmly and accepting her hand, "This is Starfire, gorgeous woman from the stars."

"Nice to meet you," Amy said cordially shaking Star's hand as well, "So…you say Robin's been kidnapped…any suspects yet?"

"Yeah, but no proof," the android told her, trying to be careful not to bump his head on the roof of the ambulance.

"That usually the way it is with the crooks in this town," Amy said, brushing a few loose strands of hair out of her face, "You have no idea how frustrating it is watching them go free, even when everyone knows they're guilty."

"Our justice system has really gone downhill over the years," Cyborg said glumly, resting his chin in one hand.

She smiled sadly, "And to think, when I graduated from the Police Academy I thought I was going to make a difference."

"Well, you are. See, if it weren't for you, this guy would still be in the dumpster back there," the largest of the Teen Titans told her sarcastically, smirking.

"You're funny," she said, laughing quietly, "Sardonic, but funny."

"Thanks." Seeing as this off-topic banter was going to get them nowhere fast, the robot-boy decided to change topics, "So… now that we're behind closed doors, is there anything else you can tell me about this guy? What his story is?"

"Not much too tell," she shrugged, "He disappeared from the Juvenile Hall a few days ago…now he turns up again, almost-dead. No rhyme or reason behind it, as far as we know now. He was in for drug-dealing, but that doesn't tell us anything."

Cyborg could think of no reply to such a comment, but merely nodded.

Starfire leaned her elbows on her knees, staring at the young man on the stretcher before them, "If he was in prison, how could he be kidnapped?"

"Not sure," Amy shrugged, "The officials at the Hall told us that, through questioning of some of the other prisoners, he had been planning an escape attempt, and that he was supposedly relying on outside help, but none of them could say who – and that certainly doesn't explain why he's suddenly in this condition…"

A sudden jolt told the trio that the ambulance had reached its destination. The doors to the back of the vehicle were opened by several medical assistances and brought the man down from his spot in between the three. "Well, this is my stop," Amy said, as they all filed out after the stretcher, "Is there some way I can contact you if I come up with anything else after he's examined?"

Cyborg looked at Starfire, who was still watching the man depart, "Star?"

"Oh, yes," she said, reaching into a pocket in her skirt and pulling out a small wallet, from out of which she drew what looked like a business card, "You can call this number if you come up with anything," she said holding it out.

Amy took it and glanced at it. "Cute caricatures," she said, "I can definitely see the resemblance."

"I hate that thing," Cybrog said, slapping his forehead and going slightly red. The chibi pictures of the Teen Titans' heads on the card were all smiling broadly, eyes closed in happiness.

Leigh pocketed the card, "It's not so bad. Here's hoping I get to use it. See ya later," she gave a small wave and headed up the front steps of the hospital.

Cyborg waved, then began to walk down the street, away from the hospital.

"I think that was the nicest person I have met since we arrived here," Star said, jogging to keep up with his long strides.

"Don't expect there to be too many more nice people in this place, Star," he told her warningly, shaking a finger.

"Oh, I don't," Star said, shaking her head vigorously, "I was merely commenting that it was a welcome surprise. It is nice to have someone on our side."

"Yeah," the robot-man agreed. He stopped in his tracks for just a second, looking around, 'Now… which way is back to the motel?' He shrugged to himself and kept walking. It couldn't be that hard to find.