1A/N: Other long update that came out pretty quickly. Just some Robin thoughts and some other stuff. Next chapter deals with Raven mostly and an old "friend" of hers. Lots sure happened in the last about two days for the Titans. Maybe I should give them time off. I probably won't but I should. I'm just cruel like that.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to the Teen Titans so don't even try suing me for the minuscule property I have.
Ch. 8: A Morning in the Life of Robin
Robin P.O.V.
You would think that after everything that had happened, all the mind-numbing information that I had learned, being more or less rejected by Raven, having a strange guy with crazy powers living in our infirmary, and the fact that we were staring Armageddon straight in the face, I could get a few damn hours of good sleep. But No! Of course that wouldn't happen. I mean its not like I've devoted my life to saving people or anything and deserve something good to happen to me in return. Is it too much to ask for, 8 simple hours of sleep. Just long enough to clear my head, forget everything for a just a little while, and get back my energy. I let out a deep sigh as I looked at the clock, 4:00 A.M. I had tried to sleep, but every time I managed to nightmares would come.
Thankfully, these were never as horrible as those I felt from Raven because of our link, though I believe both of us dreamt of our personal demons. Hers being far more literal of course. These nightmares had plagued me for a long time now. They were manifested from my self doubt, my regrets, and my obsessive nature. Every time it was like watching a movie of my life. My mistakes as Red X, my apprenticeship, my near death at the hands of Terra, and finally watching Raven fall on her birthday.
However, each time it was never the same. The nightmares always showed me what could happened, had the worst occurred. As of late the nightmares always ended on the same thing, Raven falling to her death with me helpless to save her. Every time I would have to stare at her broken body only to wake up seconds later in a cold sweat. I guess I should look at the bright side, well if there really was one. The dreams of my parents falling hadn't plagued me for awhile. Knowing that continuing to lay in bed was useless, I stood to my feet. I really needed a shower, a nice long cold shower to get me going, and then maybe, just maybe something will go right.
2 hour later….Now who would have thought the one place I would fall asleep comfortable would be standing up in a cold shower. I felt amazingly better, despite the fact that I resembled more prune that man. Alright, 6:00 in the morning. Just because the world could end tomorrow doesn't mean I can neglect my training. Might as well face the Apocalypse being as buff as possible.
I quietly laughed to myself. For some odd reason, I had been acting a lot less serious lately. I assumed that faced with these particular problems I would have become worse than I had been with Slade. I mean this was huge…and threatened Raven deeply. It was definitely strange, and most definitely un-Robin like. I guess when your in love, things always seem to be a little better, even when the object of your affection throws you out of her room yelling at you.
I threw on some training clothes and placed my mask on my face. Despite popular belief, it did come off when I slept and showered. Alright, coffee, training, breakfast. Sounds like fun. And with that, I left my room to head to the gym.
Two hours later and another long shower, this one a hot one, and I was in my uniform reading the newspaper in the kitchen. I was the only up apparently as I had seen no sign of my teammates. Usually at least Raven was here sipping on tea with a book. She was an early riser just like me. We both would sit in a comfortable silence with our beverages of choice reading. It was one of my favorite times. It would always end with us giving each other a look as the sounds of Beast Boy and Cyborg arguing about what to eat for breakfast could be heard down the hall. But today she was not here.
Today I was alone. I was more than a little surprised when Starfire came floating in to the room with a big smile on her face. She had come in so quietly that I almost didn't notice.
"Good morning Star. Sleep well?"
"Yes I did friend Robin. Did you?" I looked over at Starfire who still had the biggest smile on her face. One couldn't help but feel good when looking at our resident alien princess.
"I was fine Star. Thanks for asking." Starfire absolutely beamed at my response. I guess a small lie never hurt anyone and it kept her happy.
"Good then. Would you like me to make you some Terran cuisine for breakfast? Perhaps the unborn chicks of the hen?" I couldn't help but smile at her. Hey it wasn't my fault she was absolutely adorable when she talked.
"You can call them eggs Star. It sounds more appetizing. And yeah, I'd love some." It was nothing huge but this simple conversation with Star made me happy. She was a very dear friend of mine and with my whole feelings for Raven finally discussed, I was glad it hadn't become awkward between us.
I continued to read my paper as I heard Star begin to start cooking. It was probably going to be a mess and the eggs were probably going to put in the bathroom for awhile, but that was only a small sacrifice for seeing that wonderful smile never leave her face. For the second time today, I was completely shocked to see Beast Boy walk into the kitchen. He looked surprisingly awake considering he never got up before 10ish. I think he noticed my eyes on him and a sheepish smile crossed his face.
"What. It can't be that big of a deal that I'm awake. I'm up early sometimes."
"Going to sleep at 6 in the morning after a kung-fu movie marathon is not the same as being up early," was my retort.
"Well…at least I don't prance around looking like a streetlight." My gazed immediately hardened on the young changling.
"I do not nor have I ever pranced." I could see him shifting nervously beneath my gaze. I watched as a strange look cross his face as a smile formed on my face. "But the whole streetlight thing…yeah I can see that." The strange look continued on Beast Boy's face as he still seemed to be nervous.
"Uhm Robin, that was a joke right?"
"Yes Beast Boy."
"Its okay if I laugh right."
"Yes Beast Boy." My response was followed by the laugh of Beast Boy as he walked past me into the kitchen no doubt to make some strange tofu concoction. I turned around to find Starfire hovering about two inches from me with the same smile on her face. She had managed to place a plate of eggs in front of me without me noticing and I think she was waiting for me to eat.
"Looks good Star but I think I need a …" A fork was immediately in front of me. "Thanks but you know I also need so…" A bottle of ketchup was immediately in front of me. "Alright then I guess time to eat." I slowly picked up the fork, slowly put some ketchup on my plate, and slowly picked up a piece of the scrambled eggs that were in front of me. They looked normal but looks can be deceiving. Especially with Starfire's cooking. I put the piece of egg in my mouth and started chewing slowly. The whole time I could feel Starfire's eyes on me. I chewed once, twice, thrice, and swallowed. I turned to Starfire, meeting her eyes.
"Star…this is really good," and for the first time ever, I think I was being honest with Starfire about her food.
"Wonderous Friend Robin. I am glad you are enjoying my cooking. Maybe you would also like some Scorl'falbergest." She looked at me with hopeful eyes but even I wasn't crazy.
"No thank you Star. I'm defiantly going to be filling up on these eggs. They are great." If her face could have split in have from her smile it would have.
"I shall go make more for your consumption," and with that she was back into the kitchen. I could hear Beast Boy yelling something as the two whirlwinds of cooking destruction fought for space in the kitchen.
I let out a small sigh as I continued to eat my eggs. If only Raven was as easy as Starfire to make smile, not wait scratch that. I wish Raven was just a little easier to make smile but defiantly not as easy as Star. It was so difficult to get a smile on Raven's face, every time she did it, it was like seeing a beautiful sunset. The only thought you had when seeing it was that I have to see that again and I'll do anything to make it happen. Raven was mysterious, stubborn, and difficult at times but there was so much more to her if you only took the time to look. I was pulled out of my pleasant thoughts by the sound of Cyborg's voice.
"Since this is your first day here, I going to make you my traditional, Super-Mega Meat Platter for breakfast. It will change your life." I turned around to see Cyborg walk in with SoulBurn slowly following behind him. Cyborg was smiling but SoulBurn had absolutely no expression on his face. Rather he seemed to be consumed in thought.
"There is no way you are bringing him to your evil meat side Cy. He knows he wants to try some of my tofu. Now that is an experience that will change your life." And so it begins.
"Listen up grass stain, don't make me put you in the microwave. This hear is a man's man and there is no way that he is going to be eating your sissy tofu garbage." The arguing continued back and forth until two plates were unceremoniously shoved in front of SoulBurn's face. Once piled high with meat, the other with tofu. SoulBurn, who had been standing there the entire time watching the argument, still had no expression on his face.
"I believe…" Both Cyborg and Beast Boy hung on his words, "that I will go stand over there now," and with that he walked toward the window, and stared out toward the bay. I slightly chuckled to myself. A monotone voice suddenly was heard.
"Well that's one way to deal with that ridiculous argument." Raven glided into the kitchen. As was usual lately, she was completely hidden in her cloak.
"Friend Raven. It is good to see you. I have taken the time to make you your tea." Starfire had flown over to Raven clutching a mug in her hand.
"Um…Thanks." You could tell Raven was a little shocked as she took the mug in her hand. She took a tentative sip and once again thanked Star. "If you will all excuse me now. I'm returning to my room. There is something I must do. Do not disturb me." The last part was laced with venom and I somehow knew that was directed toward me. It hurt me a little. I watched her cloak disappear around the corner. She was gone.
The rest of the morning went along as usual. Cooking, eating, arguing, you know, the usual. The only words SoulBurn had spoken were to ask for a glass of water and a thank you. He slightly unnerved me as he stared out the window. It was as if he was looking at something only he could see, and whose to say that wasn't the case. There was so little known about him and that was why it was time to check out the extent of his powers. I slowly walked over toward him, careful not to startle him.
"SoulBurn. I said yesterday I want to test out your powers and if its not too much trouble right now I would like to do that." He turned around and nodded slowly in agreement. "Alright. Meet me out there in about 15 minutes. Cyborg will walk you over." Once again he nodded his head in agreement. I turned around and walked away. Time to run some tests, see how helpful he would be in the coming battle. I wanted to say I was focused on this but I knew most my thoughts were still on the little dark bird locked in her room.
It was a beautiful day in Jump City. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and there was a gentle breeze coming off the water. Of course, here I was setting up a training session. At least I was outside I guess. Over the course of our battles, we had collected quite a few robots from Slade and Brother Blood. We had rebuilt them and used them in our training. I'm fairly certain Cyborg kept some of his "look-alikes" in order to work out his aggression time to time. I know it was the same reason I had kept the Slade-bots.
I turned to look over my shoulder and spotted team plus SoulBurn and minus Raven coming over. Apparently everyone was curious to see this. I could see that Cyborg and Beast Boy were still arguing about something.
"And that BB, is why Predator would so kick Alien's ass. I mean look at the technology he's got. They almost make me look primitive. "
"You have no idea what you're talking about metal man. Technology has got nothing on the killer primal instinct of the Aliens. If I could turn into that, man you would never pick on me again." Feeling a migraine coming on, I immediately silenced the two by speaking up.
"Alright. You two settle down. Some work needs to get done here. I turned to SoulBurn. You are going to show us what you are capable of. The safety of my team as well as myself is very important to me, and I want to make sure you are capable of defending yourself in battle so that none of us have to be distracted trying to save you. I'm going to put you up against some robots we could end up facing. I'll start you off slow, but the numbers will increase as time goes on. If you feel like you are in trouble, yell for us to stop and they will stop. This is dangerous so I want to make sure you are ready for this."
Once again he nodded his head in agreement. No words were spoken.
"Alright then. Everyone back up and lets get this started. I walked up to a control station that emerged from the gound. It was nice to have a billion down bankroll to make this stuff. I began pushing a few buttons as I watched SoulBurn pop a few of his joints in preparation.
"Alright. Here comes the first one. Begin."
A Cyborg clone immediately emerged from the ground. It spotted its target and started to transform its arm into its sonic cannon. It was about half way through its transformation before a beam of blue energy passed through its head. It collapsed to the ground as a useless hunk of metal. SoulBurn stood with his arm extended out, his eyes had turned that pale blue I had seen only once before. Looks like he kind of fights like Starfire. Well except for the flight and the miniskirt. I silently chuckled to myself as I pushed a few more buttons.
Next up came a Slade-bot. Lets see how he does against a more agile opponent. The robot immediately sprinted toward SoulBurn. He had yet to move following his last blast though I did notice his off hand was clenched tightly in a fist. The robot attempted to throw a bunch only to meet thin air. SoulBurn had teleported to right behind the robot and with another blast of energy, another robot was destroyed. Wow, that was fast. Another few buttons and three Cyborg clones had emerged. Time to test multiple targets. These robots already were firing as they came up. The blasts were headed right for him but before connecting they were stopped by some type of energy shield. The blue of his eyes had intensified greatly as he ran toward his attackers. His attacks were nowhere near as fast as mine, nor as graceful, but they did have the desired effect.
He punched one robot through the chest. I noticed his fist had been outlined slightly with energy as he did it. He must enhance his attacks with his powers. A blast almost hit him from behind but he had teleported right before it had hit him. The blast slammed into a second robot that just happened to be in the way. He appeared behind the third robot and kicked down destroying the robots leg. It collapsed in a heap trying to turn over to fight, but was quickly stopped by the fact its head had just been crushed by a foot. SoulBurn let out a deep breathe. I noticed he was clenching both his fists now and had a slight grimace on his face as if he was in pain. Of course nothing had even come close to touching him.
It was time for the final test. I didn't expect him to win this won but I wanted to see him fight against a truly powerful opponent. From the ground emerged Slade, or in reality a robot built to mimic the man. It was my favorite training device. I guess I really do have an obsession. Of course in retrospect, had I really been thinking clearly about the whole thing and not been preoccupied with thoughts of Raven, I might of realized pitting a person who probably hated Slade a million times more than me against a robot that looked like Slade was a bad idea.
"SLADE!" The scream was full of rage and anger. SoulBurn charged forward throwing a wild punch. The robot ducked easily throwing a hard bunch to SoulBurn's face. A shield like before came up but the force had knocked him back a few feet. The robot wasted no time and slammed a quick kick into this ribs making contact. SoulBurn flew back and landed on the ground. The robot slowly approached expecting an attack.
However, that was not the case. SoulBurn stood up, eyes burning bright that they almost appeared white. A faint outline of energy had built up around him as he clenched his fists. And then he started laughing. It was a quiet chuckle as if almost mocking. The robot took this moment to attack. It threw another bunch only for it to be dodged. In an instant, a blade of blue energy had extended from SoulBurn's right arm and had cleanly sliced the robot in half at the waste. Energy began building up the palm of SoulBurn's left hand.
"And now Slade. Time to go to Hell." The energy in his hand tripled in size and I did the only thing I could think of.
"Everyone get down right now." I ducked behind the control panel as the energy was unleased at the upper half of the robot body. The ground around me shook at the impact and I could feel a shockwave push against my cover. Slowly, I stood to my feet and surveyed the scene. SoulBurn stood in the center of a crater about 10 feet in diameter. It almost looked like smoke was coming off his body. Suddenly I watched him fall to his knees coughing. I immediately ran up to him to check on him and apologize for my lapse in judgement. It was then that I noticed that he was injured. There was a dark burn up his left arm and a gash bleeding profusely on his right. I also noticed that he was coughing up blood ever so slightly.
"Are you okay man." Cyborg had walked up and knelt beside SoulBurn. "I didn't think you got touched when you were fighting out there. SoulBurn simply stared at the ground as he spoke.
"This is the price I pay for using my powers. It puts a terrible strain on my body." He held up his left arm. It was sickening looking burn that covered his entire forearm. "Everytime I use my power, my body is punished. It is too much energy for my body to handle safely. It is too much power for any human to ever have." He let out a deep sigh.
"I do not believe I should have ever existed." He tried to stand but stumbled. Cyborg caught him.
"Easy there. Lets get you to the infirmary and patch you up. I don't think you'll be fighting for awhile." SoulBurn stopped at met my gaze. His eyes should have been filled with pain but rather were filled with conviction.
"Robin. I am sorry for losing control again. I know that the effect of my powers on me makes me somewhat of a liability in battle. However, if it ever comes down to your own safety, the safety of your team, or my own, leave me. Leave me to die and protect those who deserve saving." He broke his gaze and leaned on Cyborg as he helped him back to the tower. I let out another deep sigh. Only 11 in the morning and there's already a new crater in our island, not to mention someone's injured. This is going to be a long day.
