Nicholas didn't immediately open his eyes when he awoke. Where was he? Why did his chest ache? He then noticed a presence next to him. He slowly opened his eyes to see a person sitting over him. When his eyes adjusted to the light he could see a girl in a dark teal T-shirt and blue-jeans preparing some bandages. The girl had very pale skin, shoulder length amethyst colored hair, matching colored eyes and a small ruby chakra on her forehead.
The girl raised her eyes from the bandages she was unrolling. "Oh, you're finally awake." She said with a hidden hint of relief. She folded her arms and rested them on her lap, leaning forward slightly as she studied him. He had light skin that became slightly tanned at where his left arm met his shoulder and at his lower right arm. He was about 5' 6", had slightly unkempt black hair that came down past his ears and had odd, blended streaks of grey hair. His body looked fit, not to the point of buff, but certainly very active; he also had two strange tattoos on the backs of each hand, each were masterfully intricate designs that formed the shapes of a white ape on his right hand, and a black crocodile on his left.
Nicholas brought himself to a sitting position, his hand on the back of his neck. "So... where exactly am I? And where's my shirt?" he asked the last part with a bit of friendly sarcasm. "Well, right now you're in our home, Titan Tower; and your shirt, coat, boots, backpack, and hat are on the table over there" she paused, and looked over at the window "That was quite a show you put on." He looked at her, "show?" he ask curiously. "You know... you fought that ninja... well, I guess you where out for about three days. Do you remember?"
It all slowly came back to him. Then he looked down at his bandaged torso, then at the girl, remembering why he was bandaged up like this. "By the way, my name is Raven." The girl said after a long pause. "Mine's Nicholas." Raven then got a nervous look on her face and looked down at her folded arms "I want to thank you... for... you know..." A kind smile came across his face "don't mention it, that would have been a fatal wound to you, and I'm able to take stuff that would be fatal to most people."
Raven got out of her chair and started out of the room to tell the others their guest was awake. She stopped at the doorway to look back at Nicholas, who had lain back down.
Who was he? Why had he been fighting that man? How was he so incredibly powerful? Why did he heal her if he got the wound? She continued down the hall as she pondered all of this.
A few minutes later Raven got back to the room with the others following behind her. When they arrived they found that Nicholas had put on an olive green shirt from his pack and was putting on his beat up, old, dark grey fedora. When they all got in the room and sat down, Nicholas bowed, bending at the waist in a jokingly fancy way "Nicholas T. Barclay, at your service." Robin looked around at the others, and the at Nicholas "well it's good to meet you Nicholas, I'm Robin, this is Beast Boy, Cyborg, Starfire, Terra," he pointed with an outstretched hand as he said each name, and the person he indicated waved, nodded, or smiled when their name was said "and I think you've already met Raven."
Before Nicholas could respond, Cyborg interrupted, "I hate to end the introductions," the light reflecting off of his metal limbs as he leaned forward, with a serious look on the human side of his face "but who the hell was that guy you were fighting?" Nicholas turned to a window, looking down at the beach where he could see splatters of dried blood coming from behind the rock that his opponent's body hit "him? His name is Ninelives."
After a brief pause, a slight look of confusion came over Beast Boy's green face "wait, did you say 'his name is'?" Nicholas folded his arms and looked over his shoulder, "He has that name for good reasons." Nicholas walked over and sat in a chair, adjusting his hat as he did. "Do you mean to say that terrible man shall return here?" The comment came from Starfire, a look of fear in the young alien girl's jade eyes. If someone as powerful as the man she saw fighting attacked their home, they wouldn't stand a chance against him,
Unless...
As if to answer Starfire's thoughts Nicholas raised his eyes with an unhappy look "Yeah, another incarnation of him will probably attack this place in about a month or so, that's about how long it's usually taken before he resurfaces," he raised his eyebrows and smiled with a hopeful look on his face, "so... I'm going to have to stay here for a while, is that alright with all of you?"
Robin looked surprised for a moment then smiled "I guess that's okay" immediately after Robin finished his answer Nicholas delightedly jumped from his seat "Really?! Thanks a lot! I've been getting tired of sleeping on the cold ground!" Nicholas paused, "speaking of sleeping, what time is it?" Beast Boy looked up at a clock, "It's 11:28, I'm gonna hit the sack." Terra yawned and agreed "Me too, I'm pooped." Raven stood up and stretched "I'll show you the spare bedroom." Nicholas replied with a warm smile "thanks for all your help!"