Dear Robin,
I wish I could explain this to you in person, but I can't. All I can tell you is that your life is danger. I want you to stay here with Samantha for the time being, but I promise to come back for you. I have plans for you, great plans. I'll be sending a package to you- a book I want you to study, for one. In the meantime, keep practicing. I'm sure Samantha will prove a worthy sparring partner.
Sensei Nik
*****
Nearly a week had passed before the package arrived. Sam brought it up to his room, and it was waiting for him when he came back inside. Eagerly Robin ripped it open.
Inside were three objects- a letter, a book, and a belt. Robin pulled the letter out first and read it.
Dear Robin,
It will be some time before I will be able to return. In the meantime, keep practicing, and study this book carefully. I've marked a passage or two that I especially want you to read. Be prepared for when I return.
Sensei Nik
Robin looked at the book. It was a selection of Greek mythology. As he flipped through the pages, several passages highlighted in fluorescent green caught his eye. He stopped to study them.
THE TITANS
Robin read the highlighted portions avidly. The Titans, apparently, were a group of primitive superheroes, with their own abilities and gifts. He had the entire selection memorized by the time Nik returned.
It was a rainy night- most nights were rainy in Oregon in the spring. Samantha was thrilled to see her brother, and it was with reluctance that she let Robin talk with him alone. Nik took the boy for a drive down by the coast.
"Have you studied the book, Robin?" Nik asked.
Robin nodded eagerly. "It was fascinating!" he said, his on-the-brink- of-teenagerhood voice cracking.
"What about the utility belt?" Nik inquired.
Robin nodded again. "Samantha had to teach me most of the stuff," he admitted reluctantly. "But I can handle it on my own now."
"Good," Nik said. He pulled up in front of an unmistakably noticeable building. It was about ten or twelve stories tall in the shape of a T. Robin stared, unabashed. "There's something I'd like to show you."
The inside of the building was fairly Spartan, full of concrete and dark floors. Nik took him to a large main room with immense windows overlooking the bay. He turned on the lights.
"Robin," he said. "There is something I want you to do. You've been training for it since you were a small child, and I believe you are finally ready. I want you to become the leader of the ans."
Robin's jaw dropped. "Leader- titans- what?" he stammered.
"You won't be alone for long," Nik said. "I'll be searching out teammates for you soon. You will be in charge of defending the people here. And someday, you'll learn the truth."
"The truth about what?" Robin said, sliding his glasses up again.
Nik shook his head. "Those glasses have never fit you, have they, boy?" he said. He pulled something out from beneath his coat. "Take this. I'm sure it'll work better."
Warily Robin took off his glasses, set them down on a table, and took the mask. It was lightweight in his hands, two white spaces enclosed in black. He placed it carefully on his face. It melded perfectly with his skin, covering the red, painful-looking scars and sharpening his vision like his glasses had never done.
"Good," Nik said, pleased. "This will be your home now, Robin. I'm trusting you." He started to walk out the door, and then turned. "Oh, yes. This is for you." He took a flat, floppy package from beneath his coat and handed it to the child with a gentle smile. Then he was gone.
All alone, Robin unwrapped the package. Inside was his old blanket, the soft yellow one that had been left with him as a baby. The badly lettered note was still pinned to it, the cheap paper yellowed. Robin pressed the soft yellow blanket against his cheek.
Author's Note: Hi!!! Yes, I know this is AU, but I have worked HARD on this story, so be at least civil. Updates are coming soon, the story's coming a little slow. Next up: Cyborg's story. And then Raven, my favorite character! And I've decided to add Terra as well, but she won't appear at all until I'm done with Beast Boy and Starfire. I have my own suspicions about her that match up with this story.*laughs* Yes, I'm insane.
I wish I could explain this to you in person, but I can't. All I can tell you is that your life is danger. I want you to stay here with Samantha for the time being, but I promise to come back for you. I have plans for you, great plans. I'll be sending a package to you- a book I want you to study, for one. In the meantime, keep practicing. I'm sure Samantha will prove a worthy sparring partner.
Sensei Nik
*****
Nearly a week had passed before the package arrived. Sam brought it up to his room, and it was waiting for him when he came back inside. Eagerly Robin ripped it open.
Inside were three objects- a letter, a book, and a belt. Robin pulled the letter out first and read it.
Dear Robin,
It will be some time before I will be able to return. In the meantime, keep practicing, and study this book carefully. I've marked a passage or two that I especially want you to read. Be prepared for when I return.
Sensei Nik
Robin looked at the book. It was a selection of Greek mythology. As he flipped through the pages, several passages highlighted in fluorescent green caught his eye. He stopped to study them.
THE TITANS
Robin read the highlighted portions avidly. The Titans, apparently, were a group of primitive superheroes, with their own abilities and gifts. He had the entire selection memorized by the time Nik returned.
It was a rainy night- most nights were rainy in Oregon in the spring. Samantha was thrilled to see her brother, and it was with reluctance that she let Robin talk with him alone. Nik took the boy for a drive down by the coast.
"Have you studied the book, Robin?" Nik asked.
Robin nodded eagerly. "It was fascinating!" he said, his on-the-brink- of-teenagerhood voice cracking.
"What about the utility belt?" Nik inquired.
Robin nodded again. "Samantha had to teach me most of the stuff," he admitted reluctantly. "But I can handle it on my own now."
"Good," Nik said. He pulled up in front of an unmistakably noticeable building. It was about ten or twelve stories tall in the shape of a T. Robin stared, unabashed. "There's something I'd like to show you."
The inside of the building was fairly Spartan, full of concrete and dark floors. Nik took him to a large main room with immense windows overlooking the bay. He turned on the lights.
"Robin," he said. "There is something I want you to do. You've been training for it since you were a small child, and I believe you are finally ready. I want you to become the leader of the ans."
Robin's jaw dropped. "Leader- titans- what?" he stammered.
"You won't be alone for long," Nik said. "I'll be searching out teammates for you soon. You will be in charge of defending the people here. And someday, you'll learn the truth."
"The truth about what?" Robin said, sliding his glasses up again.
Nik shook his head. "Those glasses have never fit you, have they, boy?" he said. He pulled something out from beneath his coat. "Take this. I'm sure it'll work better."
Warily Robin took off his glasses, set them down on a table, and took the mask. It was lightweight in his hands, two white spaces enclosed in black. He placed it carefully on his face. It melded perfectly with his skin, covering the red, painful-looking scars and sharpening his vision like his glasses had never done.
"Good," Nik said, pleased. "This will be your home now, Robin. I'm trusting you." He started to walk out the door, and then turned. "Oh, yes. This is for you." He took a flat, floppy package from beneath his coat and handed it to the child with a gentle smile. Then he was gone.
All alone, Robin unwrapped the package. Inside was his old blanket, the soft yellow one that had been left with him as a baby. The badly lettered note was still pinned to it, the cheap paper yellowed. Robin pressed the soft yellow blanket against his cheek.
Author's Note: Hi!!! Yes, I know this is AU, but I have worked HARD on this story, so be at least civil. Updates are coming soon, the story's coming a little slow. Next up: Cyborg's story. And then Raven, my favorite character! And I've decided to add Terra as well, but she won't appear at all until I'm done with Beast Boy and Starfire. I have my own suspicions about her that match up with this story.*laughs* Yes, I'm insane.