Argh, sorry for the long wait. Finals...accursed finals! At least they're over though now new stress is taking over. This chapter, regretfully, has been rushed. At least I feel like I have rushed it. Mistakes may be more abundant than usual in this one. Half of my mind was not in tune with writing as there are other things pulling my attention. Again regrefully, a slow chapter.
Not beta read.
6: Rinse and Repeat
His internal clock alerted him to a new morning and reluctantly opened his eye from a restful sleep. Cyborg got up from his recharging bed with a loud and sloppy yawn, scratching and stretching like he always did every opening day. He hopped off his regeneration bed while running a quick diagnostic on himself as usual, and headed off to the bathroom to do his more human hygiene practice—as per usual.
In the background, the timed radio came on in the middle of a light jazz melody. The station the half-robot had it on always had good variety that suited his taste, and this tune was no exception. Brushing of teeth and washing of face fell into beat with the music, and soon he found himself humming along once he got the pattern of the melody.
Drying off, he slid the towel around his neck and headed straight for his computer console that connected with the Tower's security system among other things. With so many breaches in security in the past, he and Robin decided to check up on the system every morning and one would confirm the other's diagnostics. On automatic pilot mode since the moment he woke, Cyborg absently punched up the data for the night's security grid. Scanning with a lazy eye, everything looked fine—
Until he saw a small blip around midnight last night.
Immediately his whole brain kicked into active and called up the status behind that five minute security power down, but every field to describe the nature of the phenomenon was written "manual override." All he could tell was that a specific area, the transport dock, had lost security for brief minutes. Though he knew of who within the group had the knowledge and technical prowess to deactivate a particular region, he wanted to take route of the benefit of the doubt. A break-in to the tower was a very possible threat after all.
The system was reformatted to not allow any information to be negated, that is there was never any information unavailable at a certain time. If all was as it should be, the security system would log it as optimum output. But going back afterwards and sifting through the logs to rewrite it so that a breach could be covered was unfortunately, easy to do. Although that itself was a weakness, he anticipated enough to keep the lock holding the logs to be impenetrable by most outsiders.
Scrutinizing the leak, Cyborg decided to confirm what he was seeing and switched on communications. The Titan leader was usually the earliest riser and much too alert in the morning than a teen should be, "Hey Robin, have you checked over security? Found a blip that may be worth a look."
He paused, waiting for acknowledgement but not even the hum of a low transmission static was heard.
"Rise and shine, Robin." Cyborg added, but still no answer. Then the thought that the stubborn teen was still in the research room danced in his head. Changing the frequency of transmission, he tried again, "Robin, you there?"
Still he received no response.
Considering how everyone was tired from researching the night before, along with the occasional running out to stop criminals, the idea that Robin was sleeping in wasn't out of the question. He was human and allowed to do that sometimes, after all. Though, looking back to his bed, the half-robot now wished he was sleeping in too.
Then his guts poked at his stomach that something… was amiss. The same feeling he had with his last verbal feud with Robin the other day.
With the sleepy half of his brain reluctant to leave such comfy furniture, Cyborg threw the towel on the bed and left his room.
Taking his time, Cyborg manoeuvred around the hallways occasionally stifling a yawn. He passed Beast Boy's room, which he swore he could hear snoring behind five inches of steel and through the blaring radio alarm the green teen slept through. It didn't seem impossible that the young teen could tear down the walls with a sonic snore. Perhaps that was why the girls had their rooms a floor above the boys which was generally less rowdy with rough play.
Arriving to the opposite end of the hallway, Cyborg stepped up to Robin's door and knocked twice. Even his cybernetic sensitive hearing failed to detect a sound from the other side, so he tried again, "C'mon Robin, you in there or not?" Silence meeting him again, he called out a warning, "I'm gonna open the door so you better hope you're not in some embarrassing attire." After waiting a moment more, he kept his word and punched the side button to slide the door.
He stuck his head though the doorway, but the room on the other side of the door was empty of life. The bed was left made, the door to the closet was slid half opened exposing weapons, masks and suits. Everything else was perfectly clean—clean as a fourteen year old could let it be. Perfectly normal. Nothing wrong here.
Cyborg closed the door and walked to his second option.
A short elevator ride down and Cyborg arrived to the main level leading to the living room. On his way he checked for the usual spots Robin might be in the mornings, including the training room. Still no sight of the person he wanted to talk to. If this was a sign that the Boy Wonder wanted to be alone, the half-robot had no problem with it as he came to expect it now and then. But he secretly admitted to himself that, the previous entanglement Robin seemed to have gotten himself into nestled in the back of his mind.
While his mind wandered, before he knew it, Cyborg found himself at the research room. He went through the routine again, "Robin?" No answer and he manually opened the door. He expected a sleeping form slumped over a mountain of files on the table, but just like his private room his fellow Titan was not found. At least he managed to tear away from work, Cyborg mentally sighed. The middle table was left in disarray but nothing out of the ordinary.
If photos of sexually assaulted victims and file after file of the worst humanity has to offer could be called ordinary. Randomly skimming over the blanket of papers, he glanced at a staple-bound stack of three or four papers. Taking the file into his large hands, the half-robot recognized the picture depicting "The Duke" of Bludhaven from his previous night of research. His eyes slid over the words of the usual description of said person, address, history—all the works. There was nothing out of ordinary compared to the file he had seen earlier. His hand seemed reluctant let go of the paper but eventually he plopped the item down.
Then the vast emptiness of the room covered with news clippings seemed to rumble with the sound of his stomach. Listening to the roar, Cyborg decided a breakfast was in order and headed for the main room.
Once he entered the living room, the half-robot found that he wasn't the only one thinking of a meal, "Hey girls."
Raven sat at the couch, turning her head long enough to acknowledge the taller Titan's presence. She had wrapped herself in her cloak again once she realized she would need more tea to help sleep when she returned to her room after the first cup. Without a word she returned to her fifth cup of tea since earlier, watching the morning news on low volume. The top stories of the previous day did not seem to change much as the rest of the previous weeks.
Starfire stopped whatever she was stirring in a pot over the stove and briskly waved a hand of salutation, "Good morning, Cyborg. Are you in need of early nourishment?"
"Hey Star," he said, waving equally enthusiastically as his sleepy brain will allow. Somewhat reluctantly walking over to the kitchen, a dreaded smell of the alien's new recipe of questionable delicacy permeated his nasal cavity. Seeing the state of the supposed food, Cyborg tried hard not to gag in front of her, "Um… what is it?"
She lifted a ladleful of something very green and very lumpy and from the boiling pot decorated only with her smile, "It is a highly nutritious substance called morkinof-gl. Enough calories is present in one bowl that it allows one to pass lunch and dinner nutrients if the need arises." Holding her smile, Starfire held the ladle towards the team's juggernaut, "Would you like to try?"
He watched a drop of the green substance roll under the ladle and drip down to the counter, and saw it bubble once before it settled on expanding its width on the flat surface. Cyborg decided that was something he did not need in his stomach, "…No thanks, Starfire. I, uh, was thinking of trying out Raven's routine of tea in the morning…"
Upon hearing her name, Raven had to roll her eyes. The man just couldn't lie well sometimes.
Just like any other time she cooked, Star shrugged her shoulders and returned to her stirring. Once or twice she took a taste test, and giggled in satisfaction each time it turned out sweet as it should be. Raven and Cyborg had curiously refused to taste the wondrous food; she hoped that they would try it at least once after she convinces Robin and even perhaps Beast Boy to try it. There was no meat in it after all.
Seeing her continue smiling at her content to make sure he didn't hurt her feelings, Cyborg thought of accomplishing two tasks at once while raiding the fridge, "Did you happen to see Robin this morning, Star?"
The ladle stopped its round around the pot as Starfire shook her head almost sadly, "Not since yesterday afternoon. I had presumed that he is still working on the case at hand." Leaving the utensil in the pot, the princess turned to her team mate, "Is there a matter of concern?"
Cyborg took a moment to contemplate that question, "It's probably nothing… but there was a five minute shut down around midnight."
Tearing her eyes away from the news, Raven raised an eyebrow towards their tech expert, "Security breach?"
"That's the thing," Cyborg took out a bottle of orange juice after deciding to go for something cold than, "it was manually shut down from the inside with the correct codes. Stranger still, I would have noticed if there was an interruption in the system but I didn't." He took a sip from the bottle, not needing to finish what the situation entailed.
Leaving her cup half full, Raven walked up to the kitchen and placed the mug on the counter. "Are you implying something?" she bluntly asked.
The oldest Titan shrugged, already finished with his juice, "I'm trying not to. Just want to make sure with Robin's diagnostics that there aren't possible problems with the system."
Starfire set the stove to low while listening to the potential problem. What with the way Raven was toning her question, the alien half believed both were implying someone within the team committed the action. "Perhaps I should interrupt Robin from his investigation in the research room right now."
Cyborg informed her before she made it outside the kitchen area, "I checked and he wasn't there. Not in his room either." Starfire turned around to face him, as did Raven who seemed extra curious.
"Perhaps he has decided to pursuit a break in the training room." Starfire added. By a shake of his head, she couldn't help but ask more questions, "I do not understand. Are you saying he is not in the Tower?"
The half-robot started to feel uncomfortable under the emerald stare. "That's why I asked you. I was hoping you'd know…" It was becoming apparent that she was much concerned by Robin's behaviour the past day as well. "You were the last to see him, right?"
"I believe I was," Star continued, "but that was yesterday afternoon. Though it was only for a few moments that we had talked…" She didn't bother to hide the worry in her voice.
"Actually…"
The two conversing teens turned their attention to Raven.
Softly, the navy cloak settled over the sorceress' body, "I spoke with him last night."
A short stretch of verbal silence crawled around the room with only the sound of the TV playing in the background. They waited for her to elaborate but dark blue eyes only stared back at her team mates. "And…?" Cyborg prompted the girl.
Raven crossed her arms beneath the cloth, "And we talked." She didn't mean to sound curt, but words had a knack of coming out of her mouth that way, and the others learned to know when to take a hint. Already a sense of doubt, not about the content of her appraisal of Robin's situation, but rather the timing of "the chat" might not have been the best. It also led to the notion her judgement was being more impaired than she thought. Or at least distracted from perceiving her surroundings. Either way it was beginning to grate on her, berating herself at even the thought of losing the slightest control on her emotions. Using the analytical approach, putting one and one together, signs were pointing to a smart boy—a highly motivated one with a history to seek his own method—looked very much the suspect of the security problem.
One too many times, Cyborg found himself pessimistically thinking ahead of the situation, "Was this before midnight?" When he received a nod from Raven, immediately he turned on his tracking program and stared at the readings on his arm. From the corner of his eye, an anxious Starfire stood on her toes trying to look over at the results herself on his forearm. As much as he would have like to ease her mind, the girl beside him was strong enough to take it. But as he extended his sensors, his furling eyebrows caused more alarm in the princess. "…He's not here."
Raven shifted her weight to one foot, "Not in the Tower?"
"But that is not an extraordinary circumstance," Starfire immediately turned to defence mode. "There have been numerous times that he has elected to seek out the company of himself. We all have experienced something similar when each of us is in…our 'moods,' have we not?"
Cyborg frowned as he looked up from his tracking window to his reasoning team mate, "Yeah, but we usually stay within the city limits to have our quiet time." He lowered his arm to allow the girls to see and to reduce their puzzled looks. Besides the four yellow dots symbolizing the four Titans in their home, their leader's signal was no where on the city map. "I have enough range from my proximity to scan the city, but the tracker's frequency weakens too much to detect if any of you go outside it." Requiring more power output, he headed for the main console in front of the TV/viewer to access the super computer's tracker.
"If… if it was Robin who had manipulated the security and indeed left during the night… where would he go so abruptly?" Starfire followed behind the taller teen like a younger sister seeking comfort from her big brother. It wasn't that she didn't trust Robin doing things on his own; it was something she expected from him and forced herself to accept. But past experiences had her develop a sense about these events, and something inside her was screaming to do something fast. In her mind, she willed herself to calm down reasoning that her agitation was fuelled by worry and fear of not being unable to understand why the abduction of children happened at all in this society. Her people would have torn everything in their path to find their missing young, and no one wanted to be in the path of an angered parental Tamaranian.
Watching Cyborg push the right combination of buttons to bring up the tracking screen, she concentrated on the task at hand rather than drowning in her thoughts. Almost instantaneously, the golden dot representing Robin that was absent on his censors appeared on the main screen. Starfire's eyes widened, knowing full well the connotation of the glowing location, "Is that location not…"
"Bludhaven." Raven narrowed her eyes. She suspected, but she didn't think he would go that far. He was much smarter than that, or rather, should be smarter. Apparently, whatever she detected in him for the past day was impairment, something very much like his previous adventures in obsessing over a target.
Cyborg stayed quiet, connecting what he read in the research room with were Robin supposedly was at. He wagered himself that if he checked the young leader's closet, there would be weapons missing. Although he had a clear idea, he checked for the R-cycle's location and like a dart on target, it flashed red right beside the yellow dot. "Looks like he took his bike." A few more taps on the console and the area containing the dot magnified to be able to differentiate streets and major buildings. He already knew where Robin was, it was to just present evidence to his friends, "Why am I not surprised…"
Raven shook her head while Starfire continued to stare at the screen. The sorceress crossed her arms again in an attempt to hold her agitation, with only a mutter betraying her cool exterior, "That idiot."
The Tameranian, however, did not appreciate the tone both her team mates made. She understood the frustration behind it, but it was no reason to exasperate on a friend when they have yet to hear his side of the story. To appease her mind, she asked for opening communications with Robin.
Unbeknownst to the three scrutinizing at the problem at hand, Beast Boy groggily entered the living room, still scratching all over from his pleasant sleep. A trail of yawns erupted as he headed his way to his friends who still didn't notice he was in the same room. Fortunately for his friends, he was too much of an anti-morning person to take advantage of the opportunity for a group scare. Scratching the back of his head and yawning, the changeling piped up, "Hey dudes, wha'cha all staring at?"
Star and Cyborg almost jumped in surprise and spun to see their youngest team mate before they could establish a connection, though Raven hadn't bother to turn around at all. Beast Boy didn't mind as she did that from time to time when she was in less than stellar moods.
"Fearless leader decided to go on a field trip alone," Raven answered, showing that she was not ignoring his presence.
"Eh?" was the response from the green teenager, the sleep from his eyes finally starting to wane. "It's not like he's never done that before."
Cyborg took the more explicit approach, "Robin took off on his own to Bludhaven to pay the Duke a personal visit."
It took a moment but Beast Boy took in the implications of what he heard. "When?"
"Apparently sometime around midnight," Starfire answered. She still stared at the screen while her mind tried to calm herself. Since finding Robin hurt and with Red X of all people helping him to just stand, the quiver of fear hadn't left her since. The holes in his story were making her trip and fall into them.
Beast Boy looked from a worried Star to the view screen the others were staring at. The dot with the "R" in the middle made it obvious who it was representing, blinking merrily on its own. While the other Titans worked on communications with each trying to get an answer from Robin's end, he fixated on the flashing dot. He stifled another yawn, his body finally feeling ready to start the new day, though it looked to be a day of playing fetch for a particular person.
With minutes passing, and obviously getting no answer from the Boy Wonder, Beast Boy stayed out of the three's business as he thought they probably preferred at this time. So he looked at the monitor again and the blinking dot still greeted him. It was nothing spectacular yet something peculiar about its behaviour making his ear twitch. Starfire did say midnight didn't she? The Changling scratched his head again, this time from puzzlement, "So… he's been there the whole time?"
As if taken completely off guard by one of their gallery of enemies, the trio froze their staring and exchanged surprised glances at each other. So preoccupied with complaining about a "problem child," the youngest Titan caught something the three were ridiculously oblivious to. During their entire time observing the tracking grid, it hadn't moved at all. Add in the fact that it seemed suspicious that Robin would stay at a mob's home knowing it's likeliness of being fortified with security personnel all this time.
When eyes set upon him again, Beast Boy gave them his "are you going to answer me?" look.
Heeding the green teenager's observation, Raven magnified the area even more to come across another mystery. The tracker visually explained that their missing Titan was just outside the Duke's home perimeter, but the R-cycle located some metres away.
Even with several failed attempts, Cyborg re-opened up the channel for Robin's communicator and the R-cycle, "Robin, where ever the hell you are, you better answer or I'll seriously kick your ass to Gotham and back." Still nothing answered, not even the crackle of static.
Starfire shook her head. This was playing out too much like her previous retries to establish a connection with Robin during the apprentice nonsense. "There must be something wrong. He would have answered us by now and as Beast Boy has pointed out, Robin has stayed in the same location for much too long." She looked to her team mates with pleading eyes, though she knew there was no need of it, "He must be in trouble."
Cyborg looked up from the console to emerald eyes then to the screen again. Their destination had been set, "Everyone to the T-car. We're going to Blud—"
Before he could proclaim the next move, the alarm went off signalling a crime in progress. The monitor displayed the problem, and the perpetrator committing the unlawful act.
Raven rolled her eyes once more, irritated both by the noise and their opponent, "Impeccable timing."
"Cinderblock, again!" Beast Boy shouted from behind. "How many times do we need to lay the smack down on his butt before he gets a clue?" His outburst met no admonishment from his team mates since the group felt the same way about the concrete giant.
But now was not a time for complaint but for action. A team mate may potentially be in trouble as they speak and Cyborg wanted to act as soon as possible. Of course he had complete trust in Robin's ability to take care of himself, but with all the random things happening at one time, he wanted to be cautious. Never mind the psychological toll of the abduction and rapes of children running rampant like wildfire in the city to everyone; the sight of the Boy Wonder beaten and apparently saved by a known criminal and foolishly trying to hide the details was painting a disturbing picture. Like the previous times his intuition told him to calm his obsessive friend, something was not right.
Time could be of the essence for one job, but strength and versatility was needed to combat the other problem. From the initial reports, Cinderblock seemed only interested in random destruction than a planned course of action which he assumed that he was lacking motivation. And that usually meant a disadvantage on part of the criminal.
Starfire felt a conflict build up in her: as friend and team mate she wanted to help Robin in case he was possibly in danger, but there was also the matter of upholding the law of the city as she swore she would when she joined the Titans. At times like this she wished friendship and duty were simple matters to understand.
"We have a problem right now that's right in front of our noses," Raven analyzed the situation as she lifted her hood over her head, citing the general rule within the Titans group. "We should tackle the nearest problem first."
Reluctantly, the alien princess nodded, "I… concur. Robin would come to the same conclusion if he was in this situation with us..." The hint of disappointment in her voice turned into assertion, "We must resolve the matter with Cinderblock as quick and efficient as possible so that we may begin our search for Robin following immediately."
"Then it's settled!" The youngest Titan was ready to leap and bound to the exit, "Let's go already!"
The three started their way to the exit, but Cyborg stood in place contemplating an alternative. His instincts would not back down to the others' logical resolution. "Starfire, Beast Boy, think you can handle Cinderblock while Raven and I head for Bludhaven?"
The question stopped the rest of the Titans in their tracks. Beast Boy raised an eyebrow, "You're splitting us up?"
"Whether we all go fight Cinderblock or not," Cyborg tried to explain his thought, or at least think it out loud to make sense of it himself, "half of us should stay and protect the city. Things have been a little… delicate recently." The word he settled on didn't do the situation justice. Though the crime levels itself was steady as it ever was, the unrelenting perturbation caused by the missing children forced the city to need its security blanket more than ever. He knew there was little they could do and downright useless in preventing what was going so very wrong in Jump City, but a symbol of safety was sometimes the best defence for the nurturing of hope in the mind.
However, the simple truth was, he was worried.
Though the blaring alarm, Starfire questioned the roaster for such a fragile move, "If you are executing the task to seek out Robin, then I wish to come as well!"
The acting leader shook his head as he expected the protest, "I'll need you and BB to stay and deal with Cinderblock, Star." He turned to the mentioned green teen, waiting until the confirmation of a nod of understanding, that he was making the right choice. "I know you guys are perfect for the job; I know you can handle it."
Raven peeked though her hood with the corner of her eye to the Titan she was apparently partnered with. He failed to mention why she was chosen to come along with him. Although she had no problems working with him one on one, this time it felt like there was a motive behind it. While she pondered that thought, Cyborg met her gaze and both locked onto each other for a moment.
In that brief lock, she read something in those eyes and began to understand his decision. "Starfire, you and Beast Boy were able to take him down fairly well together in our previous encounter with Cinderblock." The sorceress could see a hint of the changeling puffing his chest from the accomplishment. "If Robin was in the same situation right now, I'm sure he would be confident in both you and Beast Boy to stop him."
Listening to the words of both encouragement and logic, the reluctance to be absent in the search was still pervading inside Starfire. But she also had a duty that her friends who were placing faith in her and Beast Boy to protect the city, while the other two protect their comrade. "I…understand," she said almost defeated but grasping the request.
Taking in the alien's body language, Beast Boy tried to be tactfully playful, "C'mon Star, you can release all that frustration on ol' Cindy while I hold him down!" He offered with a wiggle of his brow and a sly grin intended to cheer her up, but she politely responded with half a smile.
Turning her focus on the job at hand, Starfire levitated and flew through the sliding doorway. Beast Boy took one last glance at Cyborg and Raven. Perhaps he didn't understand entirely why the split was happening, but he could understand the feeling behind it. "Don't worry about us. I'll have eeeeverything under control." With a quick wave, he disappeared behind the sliding doors.
"I'm sure the city will have a victory parade for your efforts," Raven added in a dreary monotone. From a person who hardly spoke besides what was needed to be said, it was next to a straight out compliment. From the numerous times the Changeling and the Mistress interacted with one another, Beast Boy learned when she was likely being sarcastic, and when she was hiding her compliments or worries behind a toneless line.
This was one of those moments. Keeping up the façade, he stuck his tongue out in playful retaliation and sprinted out after Starfire.
So Raven and Cyborg were left in the room. With a few key combinations, the half-robot transferred some of the data of the tracker to the T-car while Raven patiently waited by the same exit to head out. Eyes meeting again, Cyborg nodded and headed towards her, "Let's go."
oooooo
With each piece stripped, more of the smooth—what he considered— delicate flesh drowned his eyes. Birthmarks just round and just the right shade littered here and there, but failed to detach from the beauty he was drawn to.
He was used to those "imperfections" long ago, labelling them as Nature's extra detail of making bodies unique. That went for wrinkles from keeping a face one way for too long that youth nowadays are guilty of. Then there were blemishes and some with scars from playing too rough with friends or from accidents and brawls which would be appropriate for the boy's line of work. Though he admitted that he was very happy that there were no presence of freckles or the like on the face he was caressing, he would never said no just because of them. He also learned that there was no such thing as the "perfect body" in the world. If he had continued with that expensive taste, he would never be satisfied and blinded by what other treasures lurked running around the streets.
But, as he now pulled up the red tunic off of the smaller figure, he had an urge to reconsider the concept of perfection as being non-existent. What lay before him on the silk sheets, crisp white as snow, was the most humanly perfect he had ever seen. Whatever scars or blemishes from battle or birth, they ensnared the beauty in this version of perfection.
Perhaps it as the lighting playing tricks on him, for the skin seemed to turn porcelain white when exposed from the tight fitting garment; he remembered it being on the darker shade from sun exposure.
Gloves hid callous hands aged beyond its actual years, obviously due to untold lengths of training and fighting. But he could still see the remnants of tender youth highlighting their delicateness forward. One hand was covered in gauze with a red dulled to pink bloc on the palm. The boy should really know better when not to aggravate an injury. He hoped that it didn't leave too much of a mark. His brother could overreact sometimes but at least tried to prevent damaging the product too much.
The rhythmic rise and fall of the chest signalled sleep still reigned on the boy's consciousness. That made cleaning him up a much simpler and problem-free task.
oooooo
Closing in on their target, the two Titans spotted half a bus thrown into the air and crashing into the unfortunate store that stood in its way. Starfire powered her fists, eyes burning green as she sped towards the troublemaker promptly coming into her view, "Let us end this expeditiously so we may join the others as soon as possible!"
A piercing cry of a hawk answered, and swiftly lowered his flight near ground level. In a blink of an eye Beast Boy changed into a cheetah to accelerate as the back of Cinderblock came into full view. Star adjusted her speed to match the land animal's velocity. Once the Changeling reached the desired speed, he morphed into a pachycephalosaurus and proceeded to stay in sync with his fellow Titan, both raising their speed output in unison. The dinosaur lowered his head to align his neck with skull as a living battering ram while the alien warrior outstretched both her arms with white-knuckled fists.
Cinderblock, unaware of the living locomotives heading his way, continued his mindless onslaught on public property in the middle of the empty streets of downtown. Policemen armed with laser rifles and riot gear hid behind their shields to protect from the monster's creation of debris and havoc. Rifles had little effect on cemented skin, not even tickling Cinderblock. Paying the humans no attention, he reached out his giant hand to grab another fistful of automobile when he found himself catapulted face first into cement metres away. The road, already damaged by Cinderblock's rampage was further split in half by cement ploughing through pavement.
A faint sign of smoke swam in the air emanating from the dark scorch where Starfire's bolt-powered fists impacted. She flexed out the strain built in her hands but powered up quickly for another strike. Beast Boy reverted back to his human form, rubbing his head from the impact with a slight daze in his eyes but nothing broken. "Remind me never to do that again," he quipped and shook his head clear of any confusion. Setting his sights on their villain of the day, the look of the golem roaring onto his feet made him groan. It was just then that he noticed his partner was floating right above him. "Hey wait for me!" He ran over in her direction.
"We will only ask once," the firm tone of Starfire's voice was backed with her glowing eyes, "stay down or we shall retaliate in full force." She pointed her powered fist straight at her opponent's face, "We are in a hurry."
With the Titans present, the policemen started to back away to let the exceptional teenagers some room. An approaching police car wailed its siren and glitter its emergency lights. Stopping a block away, a woman in her late forties stepped out of the car. Brunette hair with streaks of grey barely reached her shoulders with bangs efficiently cut to stay away from the eyes. A simple white shirt and jeans with a regular jean jacket finished her casual look. Any policemen nearby saluted their senior and she simply nodded back while ordering "Seal off all access to this block. Allow no one without a badge to enter, got it?" She didn't watch her men scurry on their way as her eyes were fixated on gifted teenagers taking on impossible odds once again.
oooooo
The world passed by in an excess of 100km/h. Cyborg was more than adept at driving with his T-car, but that didn't mean passengers who trusted him wouldn't skip a heartbeat in that speed. Fortunately, Raven was not of the normal variety as she sat hood down and arms crossed. It was a fairly silent ride as they approached the halfway point between Bludhaven and Jump City. Neither had said anything though their minds screamed for some sort of expression of their thoughts.
Raven tapped a finger on the armrest of her seat, the question in her head itching to get out. "Is there a particular reason why you want me along?"
"You were the best choice," Cyborg answered. Somehow, the sorceress did not take that as the full answer. As her tapping became louder, the half-robot added, "And so that we can talk."
The tapping stopped. "About?"
Both hands on the wheel, Cyborg took a deep breath, "Is there something on your mind? You seem… agitated lately."
She turned her face away and towards the passenger window, "With what's happening recently, I think I have the right to be."
"We know you can get agitated, Raven," he replied with an even voice, "but this is beyond that. You've looked tired for some time and, for the lack of a better term, you've been real bitchy to everyone." Though he made sure he didn't seem like he notice the change when she was around, he was taking notes. "Has Beast Boy been mixing his laundry with yours again?" He tried a bit of humour, recalling the bleached cloak incident and the case of being the unfortunate victim of super-static causing loose garments and hair to fly right onto it—which included Robin's cape pulling him towards her and Starfire's skirt to reveal way too much information when she was around her. Since then the alien opted to wear a short-shorts underneath. Leave it to Beast Boy to create the physically impossible into groan inducing reality.
"If it was only that." Raven rolled her eyes. The memory of Starfire's hair entangled in her cloak was not a pretty sight.
Taking a peek at the driver from the corner of her eye, Raven weighed the situation. Talking about it wouldn't reveal her history, and nothing would be compromised. Though privacy was something she valued, locking everything inside did not go well for a team as she witnessed of her peers, especially their leader. And if there were anyone she would feel comfortable confiding in for such delicate matters, she always found herself imagining sitting across Robin or Cyborg as the result. Perhaps it was time to test her instincts with that theory.
"Well?" The other patiently waited.
Raven sighed, "The city has been keeping me up." That was met with a raised mechanical brow as she continued on, "I mean the population's fear. Normally I never had a problem with something of this scale but it's been continuous."
"So," Cyborg made a left at a traffic signal as he listened to the quiet girl, "it's been a strain on you?"
"That would probably the best way to describe it. It's not just the city; all of you have been contributing too."
Caught off guard but not surprised, Cyborg glanced to his passenger quickly before watching the road again. He had almost forgotten how sensitive she could be to being a receptor to emotional currents.
Not letting the reaction pass her by, she quickly added assurance. "It's all right. I've been around you guys long enough for me to control how much I feel from you all. But the amount emanating from the city had worn down the walls a bit."
"What about meditating? Sleep?"
The mistress shook her head, "I meditate but once I return to full consciousness I still get hit by it. Sleep has been of little use." A gap of silence passed as both contemplated the information. But there was another tidbit that further prevented her a good night's only very recently when they went out to investigate the scenes where bodies were found. It was a simple conjecture that did not sound right yet could be the key to explaining a lot of things.
Before she could build up the sense to say it, Cyborg beat her to it, "Remember when we were checking out the sewers?" When he received a nod, he continued on, "Robin thought these thugs want the victims to be found. Maybe…"
Raven half-smiled for a second, appreciated to know that someone had the right line of thought as her. "That's what I thought. Most adept criminals would stick with a low profile; draw as little attention as possible. They wouldn't make such bold, potential mistakes unless it was an announcement for attention…"
"Or part of an agenda." The T-Car slowed down to a halt at a red light, allowing Cyborg a short break to lean forward and rest his chin on his arms on the wheel. "This case is getting sicker with each passing day…"
Troubled by the induction as well, Raven returned to look through the windows to the outside world with the ocean glittering beneath a clouded sky. Seagulls soared on the air, piercing through the rays of the morning sun. So carefree they looked in flying with their own flock with cries of laughter. But upon closer inspection, she spotted that the "leading" bird had a beak full of food from, no doubt, garbage that a human half ate and threw away. The friendly birds revealed to be competing ones. They snapped at, dived on, and generally bullied the lead bird, hoping for a lucky drop. Cracking the serene image of morning, a cry turned into a shriek and the lead bird fell from the sky onto the rocky shore of the ocean. The wild pack circled and dove down after it, trying to be the first to taste victory.
The car suddenly shifted, knocking her out of her trance. Raven turned her eyes forward to see that the red had turned green and the car speeding up again. Taking one last glimpse of the sky with its sudden silence, she turned away. "Perhaps we shouldn't be involved at all."
"Like taking matters into our own hands?" Cyborg made no effort to huff out his frustration on their current missing member, "Just what was he thinking running off like that! I thought we'd be over this by now."
Raven didn't respond to that, hoping that she had little role in this current situation.
"Whatever the hell happened in that factory has him set on finding these people." He said that description of the killers very loosely. More than the others knew, Cyborg wish he could break a limb or two of whoever was behind all this, but judging punishment had to be left to the courts. One of many rules the Titans had to abide by.
"I think…" The sorceress started, but hesitation pulled her vocal cords though did little to stop the air to pass, "he was disturbed about something…" For that, she received a profile version of the "isn't that obvious" look. "I don't mean in empathy for the victims; I think something more might have happened to him directly than just scrapes and bruises."
"Something more?" The half robot did not like the sound of that. "Expert, are we?"
"It's just…intuition." Raven decided it was none of his business to know that she and Robin talked more than usual after the mind trip to his head in the hallucinations incident. Of course, it only rose from barely to occasional, but when you know someone of another's past that you were not privy to, avoidance can only go so far. And they both knew when to keep their mouths shut when it came to sharing such information with others.
Finally over the bridge, the T-Car entered into city limits, Bludhaven's limits. "Well whatever it is, we'll pin him down and knock some sense into explaining himself if we have to." Now that they were in range, Robin's tracer ignited on both the car's and his own sensors. He didn't bother to adhere to the city's speed limit with that blip beckoning to him, as the city had a reputation of people not adhering to any law at all.
oooooo
The battle had moved from the city to the harbour directly adjacent to downtown. Beast Boy and Starfire pushed Cinderblock to prevent from adding even more extensive damage to the city and to protect people within those buildings. Following them were the police commissioner in her car and two other policemen in another.
Undaunted by the cracks and smoke rising from his solid skin, Cinderblock started another charge. Whether it was fatigue or anger after the beat down he was getting, the running start he gave himself allowed plenty of time for the two Titans to evade.
"This is taking much too long!" Starfire hovered off the ground, slowing down her breathing from the pummelling she slammed on the villain earlier.
"I'll think I can take care of that…" Beast Boy winked at her, a mischievous grin telling the tale of a plan brewing, "Star, try to keep him in one place while I get the drop on him. But when I give the signal, move out!" Acknowledging the instructions, Starfire clenched her fists and shot into the sky in a collision course with the live rock. Evolving into a tiercel, the Changeling took to the skies as high and fast as he could.
Cinderblock roared his frustration and the alien princess returned in kind with her own warrior cry. Eyes flashed a streak of light at the running cement's feet, which he dodged by jumping over the blast. Anticipating that move, Star accelerated her speed and dove under between his legs and grabbed his ankle. With another yell, she pulled on the leg with her strength and velocity and successfully flipped a surprised Cindy around in mid air forcing his back to face the ground. The alien flipped around with a large starbolt glowing between her hands and slammed it down onto her unfortunate victim that sent him slamming to the ground.
In spite of her attacks, Cinderblock tried to lift himself off the ground, with one hand protecting his face from the rain of starbolts.
Above, Beast Boy circled in the air to satisfy the height was right and to aim at his target. Using the bright green flashes as the bull's eye, he turned his beak towards the ground with wings tucked to his sides, talons closed and flat against his tail. Instantly like a rocket, he pierced through the atmosphere; the peregrine falcon's natural dominance over speed made it perfect for the dive.
Faster and faster the vision of the ground below grew. Hoping that his judgment of height was right, he let out a shriek of warning that caused the flashes of green to stop. His sharp eyes saw Starfire flying out of the way while Cinderblock started to get up to his feet.
Satisfied, Beast Boy morphed into another ancient animal—an ankylosaurus—and tucked in on himself like a hedgehog becoming a live cannonball.
With a speed over 110km/h, Cinderblock noticed the shadow looming over him but that was too late to make a reaction. The green ball of armour crashed onto the mountain of rock sending them both several feet down into the cemented ground. Shooting debris of dust clamouring the air and the impact cause the nearby waters to ripple back into the open ocean.
In the initial bounce off his target, the Changeling turned from armour to a more furry skin of a jaguar. He unrolled and landed safely on his feet away from the shallow crater with an unconsciously groaning Cinderblock.
He returned to his human form and Starfire hovered beside him, "That was a most dangerous ascent from that height, Beast Boy."
"I know… and I gotta do it again! Roller coasters can never give a high like that!" He slowly used up his adrenaline by whooping and wailing of arms.
"Dangerous stunt you pulled there," a woman's voice hollered from behind the two. The Titans turned to see the commissioner of Jump City approaching them with a neutral face. She barked out orders to the newly arrived teams to take care of apprehending the unconscious Cinderblock. Sweat dropping, the green teenager sheepishly waved a hand from the little remark he didn't know to take as disapproval or critique.
The Princess confidently bowed a respective greeting, "We apologize for the destruction that our methods may have caused to public and private property. But we are in a hurry to catch up with our friends and—"
"Yes, I noticed you were short three Titans, but that does not excuse reckless behaviour." Light brown eyes that almost matched her skin shifted from girl to boy and back. The two look down to their feet almost guilty at their feet like children reprimanded for rough play on the playground. But instead of a stern frown, the casually dressed woman smiled instead, "But we are grateful of your help as always."
The two looked up with relief chiselled in their expressions. Beast Boy scratched the back of his head, with a bit of nervousness lifted by the smile he saw, "Hey no problem, Commish. We do what we can to help!"
"Agreed," Starfire nodded, but there was a matter that needed to be attended to, "but there is a problem that requires our immediate attention. We do not purposely wish to be rude, however—"
"Commissioner Fay!"
For the second time, Starfire was interrupted. This time a policeman in his full uniform with a clipboard in his hand ran over to the group. Arriving next to his superior, he saluted and explained his urgency, "There's been another murder… sir…" Eyeing the two teenagers, he couldn't decide to whether he should go further in the presence of the young.
Catching the rookie's hesitance, the Commissioner nodded in approval, "It's alright, Torrance. They're practically part of the family." The smile returned only to grow warmer and kinder while the two teens looked back in confusion of the particular description. But they returned their own expression of content; whatever that meant must be something good. Still she explained a bit of her play of words, "The family is my precinct's unit. When your life revolves around work with lives being trusted to another every day, share the best and worst of times, it's hard not to think of them as family."
With that, the Titan's eyes of confusion turned into pride. "We are most honoured you perceive us that way, Commissioner," Starfire bowed again on behalf of her friends. "That is something we very much understand within among ourselves." She finished with a smile.
Even the rookie lopsidedly grinned, still unconfident of his current occupation but trusting his superior's instincts. It was just, superheroes was something to get used to—especially those younger than him who could kick his butt.
The Commissioner saluted to the two, "Well then, you said you were in a hurry? I won't keep you detained." Beast Boy saluted back with confidence, though his goofy smile betrayed his years, and Starfire followed her friend's move since she never had saluted before. Fay let out a soft laugh and watched the city's helpers turn around. She also had her own work to get back to, "Alright, continue."
The rookie blinked for a moment, then shook his head after remembering why he was there, "Oh right… uh, this sir." He handed her the clipboard of photocopies and scribbles written to explain details. "The body was discovered by a co-worker who was worried about the victim when she never arrived for work for two days. Apparently the victim would always call ahead if she couldn't make it, and when her supervisor hadn't received word, the co-worker visited the home."
Smiles and grins of before now taken over by a focused frown, Fay took the clipboard and skimmed through the report. "Adult female by the name of Melissa Lawrence found stabbed multiple times with a kitchen knife…" she mumbled out loud the contents of the page. "Fingerprints?"
While the Commissioner and Rookie were discussing the points of the murder, Beast Boy's ear twitched from the mentioned name embedded within the morbid talk. A name he had heard before; they all did. Looking over to Starfire for a reaction, it seemed he wasn't alone in the memory as well. They stared at each other's eyes to make sure that what they heard was not the trick of the wind, and slowly turned around.
"Excuse our intrusion but," Starfire absently fiddled with her fingers, hoping the question she was about to ask was not true, "this 'Melissa Lawrence' you have mentioned… is she blonde?"
The two policemen blinked. Fay looked down to the papers. "…yes."
Beast Boy gulped, "And, a daughter? Named Mary?"
Again the officers were caught off guard. The Rookie, knowing both answers after reviewing the report looked confused. Fay scanned the paper again, and slowly looked up to the teenagers, "Mary Ann Lawrence… Do you know these people?"
Through her gasp, Starfire managed to form an explanation, "We… we saved Mary once from the criminal known as Cardiac. We returned her to her mother… Sometimes she would send us a card and this one occasion Beast Boy, Robin and I visited and Mother Lawrence said she was overloaded with work so we offered to be care takers while she caught up with her working duties and—"
"Is she…?" The Changeling interrupted the rambling the alien manages herself into when she was nervous. Not that he was fine himself; he looked greener than usual,
"No," Torrance spoke up while feeling sympathy for such troubled faces. "she wasn't found on the premise. It's likely she has been kidnapped." Without saying another word, the four knew what each other was thinking of. Nowadays, a missing child lead the police to think the worst has happened again.
But there was a time to sympathize and a time to act, and Commissioner Fay did not want to waste precious time to find the child, "I know you two said that you're in a hurry, but if we could ask a few questions in relation to the victims, we'd appreciate it."
Starfire and Beast Boy turned to each other again. Cyborg had entrusted them with the city and the city was asking for help. This was one of those times that the Princess wished she could be at two places at once.
oooooo
"It's been here overnight." Cyborg punched into buttons to recall the R-Cycle's memory to check when exactly Robin had arrived at the scene. The vehicle itself was fine, no marks of it being in a recent battle. He returned his attention to the tracking device on his arm, "And... looks like he's straight ahead. Let's go!"
Raven followed the running ex-athlete, but once she made it passed the wooded area, it felt like she mentally slammed into a wall. Cyborg seemed oblivious to passing an uprooted tree lying in the middle of the grassy field. Raven made note of it, as the streak of scraped earth aligned with the fallen tree towards the mansion. "There's something very wrong here," she called after him. Something very cold was biting her spine on this sunny, early afternoon.
"We can deal with that after we fin—" Cyborg slid to a halt so suddenly Raven almost crashed into his back.
"What?" she barked, the irritation let out before she caught it.
He didn't bother to answer, but only reached down to pick up the item that was unfortunately, not on the person it should be with. Slowly, he turned and showed to his partner what had made him stop. Her stoic face remained the same, but her body under the cloak turned rigid with the unexpected find. The possibilities of how Robin's utility belt was taken off already concocting in her head. That was an accessory their leader rarely took off as it held most of his weapons and defence—things that enhanced his body as a weapon.
But most of all, a residue of fear tickled her senses. Who it belonged to, she was not certain but a part of her had a well educated guess. Something dark had happened here, trailing from the mansion—even lingering on the belt, and she didn't want to push into it any further. Mentally she chanted her sacred words to calm her mind and spirit—to block the darkness from adding to her own. She tightened the cloak around her, with stark, navy eyes glaring at the mobster's home. The feeling that's where some questions may be answered touched her curiosity. Looking back at the fallen tree and turning to the building once more, she parted her cape enough to point to their next destination.
Cyborg resolutely nodded as he came to the same conclusion. The grip on the belt tightened. Whether it was fortified with an army or not, nothing was going to stop their path to their friend.
oooooo
Footsteps echoed up and down the hallway in tune with his heart beat. The melody was heavy and metallic, yet swift and precise. Lights above dimmed and shut off one by one with each step, darkening a path ahead of him for ease of travel. The Lights tended to leave a bad imprint on him.
Robin still laid on his side in the same place, only the Bat was huddled in the opening between his bent arms. The little animal chirped wistfully like a mother beckoning her children to come, but soon its attention swerved from that path to the drumming of. It was coming from the opposite side of the hallway from its roost. That alone was enough to tell what was heading their way causing the fur to rise on itself, fangs bared and wings ready for flight.
By the chirps, the approaching figure knew that his Rival was at the young teenager's side. An annoyance, but nothing to be worried about. As he traveled down the halls with the Darkness following him, he noticed the surroundings were colder than usual—not that it bothered him. It was just…unusual.
These little details only fuelled the reason why he was here again. An invasion of sorts had occurred and surprisingly he had no hand in it. Left and right, certain doors remained opened and unmonitored. He sighed as he closed the door of those that were broken into. Perhaps the lessons were not being adhered to by his reluctant protégé. Of course, he'd never say that to the boy's face lest all hell broke loose, but they both knew that's where it was heading despite some setbacks.
And when he arrived to the sound of a Bat's screech, he shook his head at the heap on the floor, closing the window and drawing the curtains over the glass pane. Turning around, the figure clad in black and armour leaned against the wall with arms crossed, and observed the sleeping form. Overhead the lights were dimmed just enough for the shape of bodies to be seen. Not that he needed Light to see, but the boy needed at least a moon's worth of it. A little time had to pass to let the air of dreams dissipate, but it seemed more likely that the Bat's incessant shrieks will wake the young Titan first.
His single eye stared down at the animal, and slowly the shrieks turned to chirps then to silence. Its heated eyes glared back, unhappy by the figure's presence, but ultimately had to tolerate him; there were something mutual within that pupil. Rivalry was their relationship, but they both had the same job and goals they were chosen for in the end.
"Rise and shine, Robin." His voice was as devilishly velvet as ever.
Sleep drifting away from him, the young Titan opened his eyes and blinked though the clouded vision. He shifted his arms to rise, but found it busily filled with a bundle of fur looking away from him. Or looking at something. Holding the Bat in his arms, Robin managed to prop himself up to rest his back against the wall, one leg folded up to his torso and the other lying straight on the floor. Once he got his bearings, he followed the Bat's line of vision to the figure leaning casually on the opposite wall watching him. Used to the Dark, he could easily make out the figure.
The tall, dark man didn't see the boy's eyes rolling though he certainly felt it. They've played this same old game before.
"Slade."
SO TIRED I AM.
Anyways, many thanks again to returning reviewers and newcomers. Your words of encouragment help much in persuading myself to continue on a difficult story (explained below). I was surprised that one flame at least mentioned how the story was (sort of :). That must be a good sign!
I actually had a rather long author's note that I was going to add but thought better to skip it. The short form of it:
Mistress of Chibis has touched upon this, but the subject matter is increasingly making it difficult for me to continue. How far would be going to far? I debated whether to include the very young in such a story but these things unfortunately happen to such children (random outburst: child abusers/rapists must be tortured, flayed and shot--in no particular order) and in this way add a bit of realistic threat. Having Robin and BB as younger teenagers (which at times I regret I chose those numbers) is for the same reason, and that what happens and reactions to be more tragic and hopefully stir some emotion from you, the reader.
The fact that this story is for entertainment to draw the reader into another world and the characters being entirely fictional help me to continue to write. But you know, the guilt is still there. It has also prompted me to change the yaoi/slash warning to "possible shounen-ai." I might have inadvertantly painted yaoi as nothing but a rapefest (and for other reasons I won't say due to spoilerage). When I mean "possible shounen-ai", it depends if you perceive two characters interacting like that or not so that you're not forced into one or the other. I'm focusing more on close relationships in general (though I do keep a couple of pairings in mind ;).
Ok this is becoming too long. Must leave before I ramble further.
Thank you all again. Hopefully, this chapter and A/N didn't deter you from shrugging off future chapters;;;
-Art of Silence