Robin stood outside Starfire's room with the roses behind his back. Tied around them with a ribbon was a card that read:
To: Starfire
With Love, Robin
He knocked on the door and thought about running away. Something suddenly overcame him and he put the roses down at the door and hid around the corner. Starfire opened the door, and upon seeing the roses, exclaimed, "Oh, how lovely!" She read the card and smiled, then returned to her room. Robin was mad at himself for hiding. He could've just given the roses to her. Was that so hard? Robin sighed and decided to study the clues he found. He ran a test on the clues for DNA. According to his calculations, they should be ready next week.
"Party!" shouted Beast Boy. "Oh, boy! I love parties!" said Cyborg. "Robin, you comin'?" Robin grinned. "I sure am. How about you, Star?" Starfire blushed and said, "Well, I suppose I could-" "Great!" interrupted Cyborg. "Let's hit it!"
When they arrived at the party, Jinx, Mammoth, and Gizmo were just starting to crash it. "Oh, man! Just when I find a good party, these three come along and crash it!" complained Beast Boy. "Titans, go!" yelled Robin. The Titans attacked. Robin took on Mammoth, Starfire took Jinx, and Cyborg tried to squash Gizmo first off with a cyber stomp. Beast Boy flew about, helping where he could. "Dude," BB said. "Without Raven, we're getting our butts kicked!" Robin soared past him and hit the ground. "Dude, you OK?" asked Beast Boy. Seconds later, he joined Robin unconcious on the pavement. Starfire landed beside him, and Cyborg was still hunting down Gizmo. Just before blackness overtook him, Beast Boy thought he saw a cloaked figure slug Mammoth. No way, thought Beast Boy. That's... He never finished the thought. Darkness envelouped him.
Beast Boy awoke to see a shadow hunched over him. The shadow fled as soon as it saw Beast Boy's open eyes.
"Dude! What the heck! Hey! You in the black!"
"Give it up, BB," said Robin.
"Hey, Rob. where are the others?"
"Cyborg is punching the heck out of Gizmo - you know how he hates that little cretin - and Star... I don't know where Star is."
"What if she died too? What if Slade hird a bunch of creeps to kill us off one by one? What if-"
"CHILL. I'm sure she's around here somewhere."
"Robin, there's no way she could've gotten up after the way she went down. I saw her. She was out cold."
Robin stood speechless for awhile, not wanting to beleive what Beast Boy had said. He knew Beast Boy was right. Robin saw something move out of the corner of his eye. Mammoth. Robin snuck up behind him and grabbed him in a choke hold.
"What have you done to her? Where is she?"
"Your little girlfriend is dead, Robin," Mammoth chuckled. "I killed her myself." Robin's eyes grew wild with fury. (not that you could really tell 'cause of his mask, but w/e) He punched Mammoth over and over until his green gloves were red with blood. Mammoth begged for mercy.
"Please! I'll do anything you want! Anything!"
"I want my friends back you !$$#$&%!#$!"
Beast Boy stared wide-eyed. He had never in his life EVER heard Robin cuss. "Uh, Robin? You can stop now. He died after like the 200th punch." Robin stopped. "Do you actually believe Mammoth killed her? I mean, he could've lied. She could still be alive, right?" "Only one way to find out. Titans! Split up!" The Titans searched everywhere. This time, it didn't take long to find the body. Beast Boy saw her first. He found her crumpled figure covered in blood in a nearby shed. Blood covered the shed's dirt floor. "Robin! Cyborg!" He checked for a pulse. He found none. Robin rushed over to the shed. He saw her lying motionless on the shed floor. "NOOOOOOOOOO!" Robin screamed an agonizing scream. He wept over her until the tears no longer came. His salty tears mingled with Starfire's blood. He felt he could no longer bear the sight of her as she was. The sight of her torn flesh was too much for him. He ran far away from the shed. He needed to be alone. Cyborg and Beast Boy buried Starfire, wrapped in a clean sheet. They wept for their lost friend. "Do you think we should look for Robin?" asked Beast Boy. "Not yet. He needs to be alone." The two Titans headed back to the tower. They did not notice a cloaked figure slilp into the shed. As Beast Boy left the scene, he thought he heard the words, "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos."
Robin did not return home that night. Cyborg and Beast Boy stayed up watching TV, hoping Robin would come home. Beast Boy was intrigued with the 10:00 news. A cloaked figure had been showing up at the scenes of crimes, foiling robberies and fighting evil. It showed a clip of a dark figure fighting several criminals using a highly advanced technique. "Whoa," said Cyborg. "Sweet moves!" "We could use moves like that on the team." "Robin wouldn't be interested in a new member, with Star's death and all." "Yeah, I know." There was silence for a few minutes. "We should get some rest. We have to go look for Robin tomorrow," said Cyborg. Beast Boy flipped off the television and headed for bed. Cyborg did the same.
The next morning, they awoke to find Robin sitting on the couch, holding his mask in his hands. His back was to them, so they couldn't see his face. He tossed the mask over his shoulder and wept. It landed on Beast Boy's head, who was hiding behind the couch with Cyborg. "I should've told her. Now she'll never know. Beast Boy was right." He stopped suddenly and stood up. He wiped his eyes and squared his shoulders. It was 5:00 AM, and BB and Cy got up around 10:00 AM, so he wasn't expecting anyone to be around. He was just starting to turn around when he sensed something behind him. Great, he thought. Where's my mask? I shouldn't have thrown it. Beast Boy looked at the mask in his hands and mouthed, "Should I?" Cyborg shook his head and mouthed, "I want to see." He snatched the mask from Beast Boy's hands and shoved it under the couch. "Are you CRAZY?" BB mouthed. Robin looked for something to cover his face with. Feeling Robin was sufficiently distracted, Cyborg and Beast Boy tiptoed out of the room and down the hall. "Let's pretend nothing happened," whispered Cyborg. "Good idea. We'll just stroll right in and look suprised to see him," BB whispered back. "Let's act like we're going to go look for him." Cyborg nodded. They walked quietly down the hall.
As they entered the living area, Cyborg said, "Grab the keys. Let's go look for Robin." Robin, meanwhile, was frantically searching for something to hide his face. He knocked over a lamp in his wild search. Beast Boy turned around and Robin grabbed one of Raven's masks. "Why, Robin!" Beast Boy said, acting a little too suprised. "What are you doing here?"
"Er... I live here?"
"Why on Earth are you wearing Raven's happy mask?" Cyborg asked.
"Um... no reason. I'm just... uh... I'm happy to... uh... be alive! That's it! I'm happy to be alive."
"Uh-huh." Cyborg eyed him suspiciously. "Well, then, I guess it's time for breakfast."
Robin and cyborg sat on the sofa while Beast Boy cooked breakfast. Cyborg kept trying to see into the mask, but couldn't see the color of Robin's eyes because of the lack of light. All he could see was black. Robin turned on the news. There was a new story. The crime-fighting figure had gained an accomplice. Both were dressed in black hooded capes. One hovered above the ground slightly. That's weird, thought Robin. Most people don't hover above the ground like that. He didn't notice Beast Boy behind him, rubbing a sharp knife against the string that held the mask in place. He stopped when there was nothing but a thin thread left. Cyborg gave him the thumbs-up, and they watched Robin intently. Any second now, thought Cyborg. Robin noticed them staring at him. He turned his head to look at him. The string snapped, and Robin instinctively covered his eyes with his arm. The mask fell to the floor. Dang! thought Cyborg. We were THIS close! "Time for breakfast," said Beast Boy. Cyborg steered Robin in the direction of the table. Robin sat in what he thought was a chair and fell to the floor. He groped around with his free hand and found a chair. Cyborg got out some rope and tied Robin to the chair.
"Hey! What's going on?" said Robin. Cyborg tied Robin's free arm behind his back.
"Hey! Let me go!"
BB and Cy were careful not to make a sound.
"Hello?"
Silence.
"You guys, this isn't funny! Hello?!? Guys?"
Cyborg set up a surveillance camera and they left for Cyborg's room. There they watched Robin on the screen. "Should I get popcorn?" BB asked. "Sure." When BB returned with the popcorn, he asked, "What if we miss it?"
"Don't worry. The camera has a motion detector. If he moves, the camera will take a picture - no flash."
"Nice."
"Thanks."
It was noon, and Robin had fallen asleep, but still hadn't moved his arm. The clock struck two. Robin's arm moved slightly, but did not slip. "Dang!" said Cyborg. "I want to see his face for once in my life!" "Do you think we've tortured him long enough?" asked Beast Boy. "When he wakes up, he might open his eyes," said Cyborg. "I think we should respect his privacy," argued Beast Boy. Cyborg sighed. "You're right. We shouldn't treat our leader like that." They went back to the living area and retrieved Robin's mask. Beast Boy slipped it into Robin's hand and untied him. Cyborg picked him up and lay him on the couch. Robin stirred. "Where's my mask?" he demanded, his arm still covering his face. "Relax, Rob. It's in you hand. We're sorry we tied you up and all," said Cyborg. "I forgive you guys," said Robin. "I'm sorry I'm so secretive with you guys. I should be more open. But there are some things I like to keep hidden. Please respect that." "We promise never to do that again," said Beast Boy. "Are we still friends?" "Yep," said Robin. "And we're still the Teen Titans."