2
After a while the titans returned home, all of them were disappointed that they had not found Cinderblock, but Robin was kicking himself most of all. After they walked out of the elevator, Cy and BB crashed on the couch as Raven and Star went into the kitchen. No one really noticed as Robin put on his trench coat, and he wanted to keep it that way. Just as he was about to slip out the door, Starfire walked up carrying a large bowl of something mushy and green.
"Robin, do you wish for me to accompany you to the place where you act strangely and hide your regular clothing?"
This friendly gesture caught the attention of the others and soon Robin was surrounded by his teammates.
"I was just, uhh…"
"Dude, I know what your doing, your going to go and find that crazy chick that we saw earlier aren't you?"
Soon enough Beast Boy and Cyborg started dancing around and teasing him.
"Hey, cut it out!" Robin was getting annoyed.
"Dude, we were just kidding, and besides she's probably just-OW!"
He was interrupted by Raven elbowing him sharp in the side before he could continue.
"Look, there is something different with her and I'm going to find out what!"
He continued walking down the hallway when Starfire stopped him again in midstep.
"Perhaps you would enjoy to partake in my home made Glorg before you leave?" He heard her ask sweetly behind him, holding out the large bowl. He turned around in response.
"Not now Starfire." He told her coldly gritting his teeth. He saw the hopeful glow in her face fade, and quickly tried to recover his last word vomit.
"I mean uh, I'll hang out with you later Star, I promise." He said attempting a smile.
Robin walked into the elevator and with giving Beast Boy one last glare, snapped the door shut behind him.
"What's up with him?" Beast Boy was confused.
"What ever." Cy joined Beast Boy with their video game and Raven went to the roof with her herbal tea so she could meditate. Starfire stood there alone for a moment, hoping that maybe, just maybe, Robin would come back through the door and return to her. He had been acting very distant lately, but she wasn't to down, besides, Robin DID swear that he would spend time with her. She sighed and small smile spread across her lips as she slowly walked to her room where she would write in her memory saving devise.
Robin sped down Chestnut Lane. He decided that if he was going to find the girl then he should start where he last saw her…Bridge Avenue. He pulled up in front of the warehouse and dismounted his R-cycle. He cautiously walked up to the wall where he had held her, and rubbed his glove-less hand over where her back had been forced upon…
(FLASH BACK)
"Come on Dick, You're up!" He heard his mother's voice sing across the platform.
"Alright!" he responded, powdering his hands with chalk dust. He took his place at the edge of the balcony and grabbed on to the bar.
" Now ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, I am proud to introduce the amazing, the majestic, the thrilling Flying Graysons!!!" …
(REALITY)
He acted like he had been slapped and staggered backwards. That happened along time ago. And it still hurt to think about it. He couldn't believe there was once a time when he was so happy, but why was he thinking about it now? He had work to do.
He tried to shake the images out of his mind and continued on his search for clues. Now he was determined to use his bat-given detective skills to find her, and when Robin's determined, he's determined.
Robin thought that he might as well give up. He had been searching for almost two hours and found nothing. 'How could someone just disappear without a trace?' he thought to himself over and over.
"Oh well, the others are probably worried. I should get home."
He walked back to the R-cycle and drove down the street. He had gotten a couple of blocks when he screeched to a halt. He turned around and started driving in the opposite direction. There was one more place that he had thought to look, but he was only going to use it for a last resort. He made a sharp turn down an ally and drove down the bumpy pavement. He went about one mile down a gravel path toward Gotham and stopped dead in his tracks in front of an old worn down shack. When he was younger, before he joined Batmanhis parentswere killed in a trapeze incident. After that with nowhere else to go, he came here.
Just the thought of coming back there still made him cringe. He slowly pushed open the rickety old door and chocked on the dust that stirred beneath him. He took a few steps into the dark room and flinched slightly as the door behind him whined a solemn tune. The crescent moon outside shone through the broken window just enough to flood a small area of the damp wooden floor. That was the only light in the whole room and it definitely wasn't enough for him to thoroughly investigate. He opened a small compartment on his utility belt and pulled out a pocket sized retractable flashlight.
'The team was right,' he thought to himself smiling.' I do have the right gadgets for every situation.'
He clicked the on switch and squinted through the dulled light that stuck to the walls like glue.
"Hmmmm, this place is a lot smaller on the inside than it looks on the outside."
He gazed around the cramped room and noticed some small footprints smearing the thin layer of dust that coated the floor. He examined them further and guessed that a young female had made them a few hours earlier. The room smelled of must and he decided that the building had been used as an old storage room since he had last stayed there. There were stacks of boxes scattered around, but one in particular caught his attention. He slowly walked over to the far wall and bent down on one knee. He ran his hand along the floor next to the box and rubbed the grime between his fingertips. The dirt on the floor had been smudged as if the boxes had been moved. He straightened himself out and studied the marks on the wood. He grunted as he slid the heavy boxes off to the side. There he was standing in awe in front of a small opening in the wall. He squatted down to its level and peered inside. It didn't look like it had been added on and he was surprised that he had never noticed it when he was younger.
"Well that's not suspicious." He said to himself in a sarcastic tone.
The gap was so small; he had a really hard time crawling through it. He was relived that it only lasted a couple of yards and it was very uneven at places so he got stuck a few times.
When he reached the end of the crawl space, he stiffly stood up and dusted himself off.
"Glad that's over," He spoke to himself again, removing a cobweb from his cape. "Now, where am I?"
The room that he was currently in was a lot larger than the one that he originally came from. He took a few more steps and stumbled upon a pull-chain hanging from the ceiling. He tugged it down and the dim light spread across the floor and walls. The area reminded him somewhat of a department store, except a lot smaller. There were rows upon rows of bookcases with random things scattered across the shelves. He walked slowly down the isles looking down each new row as he passed. He noticed that most of the objects stored there were natural foods and any herbal needs. He had stopped to examine a small package when he heard a light whimper. He dropped the box and made his way to where he heard the noise. He journeyed farther to the back of theroom and heard itagainit was much closer. He took a few steps nearer to the isle in front of him and peered around the corner. He was surprised when he saw a girl, sitting on her knees on the floor. She had a blood- stained bandage tied around her left arm and appeared to be struggling to wrap one on her hand. She almost had it tied when her fingers slipped and the long cloth unraveled to display a very badly wounded palm. His eyes widened as he watched a small dribble of blood run down her hand and on to the floor.
" Damn it." She mumbled to herself. She sighed and began to rewrap her damaged limb. Apparently she didn't realize that Robin was observing her, because he made his way around the corner without her even looking near him. Keeping his distance, Robin inched his way towards her. He was in the middle of his third step when she did the perfect double- take. Startled that anyone was even near her home, she jumped up and stumbled backwards.
"Wha-, what are YOU doing here?! She demanded.
"Look, I can help. Don't be afraid. I'm Robin."
"I'm not afraid of you," She declared." Now get out of here quick! You don't know what you're getting yourself into!"
When he "met" her earlier he didn't really have enough time to notice her appearance, but now her beauty dazzled him. She had gorgeous mahogany hair that had a gentle wave and seemed to flow over her shoulders like the rolling sea on a breezy day. And if you look close enough you can see light tints of dark sepia, all the way to a faded taupe that reflected off the curls. He even saw a few faint highlights of dulled crimson. Her skin tone was almost as radiant as her hair. It wasn't quite as dark as Starfire's, but she still was able to show off a great tan not only on her face, but on her arms and legs as well. She had brilliant blue eyes that sparkled like the sun and were glazed over almost like two mirrors. You could tell that a little bit of pink lip-gloss had been smeared across her lips and she had a small freckle on the middle of her right cheek. Around her neck she kept a little golden locket that had the cursive letter "A" on it. She wore a red skin-tight baby T that revealed her thin waist and studded naval. She also wore pair of cut off denim shorts with a black belt that she kept out of her belt loops, and instead let it hang off of her hips at an angle. She had perfect legs that led to the pair of tennis shoes that seemed to be the same size as the prints that he found on the floor. Around her ankle there was a multi-colored ankle bracelet and on one of her knuckles she had a black, fingerless glove. Apparently she had taken the other one off so she could tend to her wound.
"Well?" She waited for a response.
"Huh? Oh!" Her last words snapped him back in to focus.
"What are you doing here?" She urged again in a calmer tone.
"I think the question is, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at home with your family?" He asked concerned. She seemed a little younger than him, and even that wasn't the normal age to be out on your own.
She didn't answer right away. She looked down at her feet and started fumbling with the trinket around her neck.
"You have a family, don't you?" He asked quietly.
Just fade away…He regretted what he said earlier. She looked upset and didn't answer. He wanted to beat his head for being so forward.
"Hey, let me help you with those cuts…" He offered trying to change the subject.
"Oh, it's okay! I've got it." She bent down to gather up the bandages that were scattered across the floor.
"No really! You need help." He said taking the bandages from her arms.
" I've got it…" She insisted snatching them back. Soon enough they had started their own little tug of war until Robin held them above her head just out of her reach.
"Give, it, back!" she grunted between struggles.
"Ha! Looks like I won!" Robin laughed and lowered his hands.
"Yeah whatever…" she responded crossing her arms.
She blushed as he grabbed her hand in his powerful grip and began to gently wrap the cloth around her mangled palm.
"There you go." He said kindly tying the two ends into a firm knot. She mumbled as she brought her arm up to her chest.
"Humph, gee, thanks. She said with a small smirk across her face.
He took it as a complement and smirked back while gathering up the sashes and barbs.
"Why are you helping me?" She asked without looking at him, playing with the frayed ends of the cloth. He looked up quickly and took a minute to answer.
"Because you need it." He responded. She took the condiments from his arms and put them in their rightful places on the shelves.
"So are you going to tell me why you were in such a hurry earlier?" He asked her.
"Oh, yeah, sorry about that!" She looked embarrassed and ran her hand through her hair." Did I hurt you"?
" You? Hurt me? Ha, Ha, now that's funny." He laughed.
" And what's THAT supposed to mean?" She asked putting her hands on her hips.
"Well, I, Uh…"
"Eh, save it." She cut him off and grabbed his arm. As she pulled up his sleeve he noticed for the first time two burns on his wrists.
"Whoa, did you…"
She didn't pay much attention to his comment, and simply placed her hand over the burn. He didn't know what good that would do, but he had a change of heart when her hand started glowing red like before.
Her expression was that of concentration, keeping her eyes focused on his arms, small bits of red energy, trailed up her body from her hands into her chest. As the last bits of light entered her body she lifted up her hands leaving his arms as good as new.
Robin was speechless. He didn't know what to say.
"C-cool." He choked out eventually. At first he didn't know what to think. Could she be the heir of Dias?