A/N: Back to the Teen Titans with Batman. I'm adding another OC into the mix. My older insane sister is PMSing and really starting to tick me off. She keeps telling me what to do and to stay out of her way as if she is the queen of the house or something. I'm ready to punch her lights out. And I could easily do that, because I took a self-defense class not too long ago and broke a board with one simple punch! I'm strong! Ha, ha! I'm cracking myself up now. But please R&R. Thanks!
Disclaimer: Me no own. Me will never own. Me only own John Thatch and other character I can't mention at this point. Why do I keep saying me? Do not ask!
Chapter 5 Runaway Friend
"Here is what we got from the fingerprints," Cyborg said while sitting down on the couch. Beast Boy quickly turned off the PS2, and Raven closed her book. Starfire sat down with them. Batman walked up to the couch and stood there silently with his arms folded in front of him.
"The FBI has been after this guy for a long time," Cyborg said. He flipped through the papers about the fingerprints in search for something else. "He is a computer hacker and they think he is in Jump City at this time, but they do not know for sure. So if we get a hold onto this guy we are doing the FBI a favor."
"How old is he?" Batman asked him.
"They don't know," Cyborg answered. "But he has to be older than us because he is a great computer hacker. Here is a picture of him." He held up a black and white picture for them to see. All leaned forward to get a better look.
The person had on a black trench coat with a wide brimmed hat to keep his face in the shadows. A laptop case was hanging over his shoulder. He was in a crowd and this showed the Titans and Batman that the guy was very short.
"He must be a midget or something," Beast Boy with a small laugh. "He will not be very hard to find."
"They say he can disappear in crowds, and he is very hard to track," Cyborg said.
"But if he is a bad guy then why did he give us the note?" Raven thought out loud.
"I don't know," Cyborg said. "But we are going to find out."
Going undercover was one thing Beast Boy loved. The Titans did it sometimes, and he always tried to play his part perfectly. Today was nothing different. He was playing the average tourist in the big city. He hid his elf like green ears under a bright red baseball cap that said, "I love Jump City!" A huge camera hung around his neck. Starfire stood next to him with her hair up in a tight ponytail that she kept complaining about.
"I wish to know why do we have to dress up to find this person," she said while scratching her head. A similar camera as Beast Boy's was around her neck as well.
"Because, Sally, the guy could run away from us if he saw the real people we are," Beast Boy whispered to her. He used her codename, which was Sally. He picked up his camera and pointed it down the street to where Raven was. She was dressed up as a Goth girl sitting at a Starbucks. She already played the part.
"See anything, Rosa?" he asked into a tiny microphone in his watch. Raven was Rosa. Starfire was Sally. Beast Boy was Bobby. Cyborg and Batman were hiding around on rooftops waiting for the right time to attack.
"Nothing, Bobby," Raven answered in her monotone voice. "Stop asking that question. And stop watching over me with that stupid camera! I'm fine!"
"Fine," Beast Boy said with a small laugh. "You're a bit touchy today."
"This is serious, BB!" came Cyborg's voice into Beast Boy's ear. "Shut up and look for the guy."
Beast Boy fell silent and pointed his camera somewhere else. He zoomed in at different people. Then something caught his eye. Someone was coming off a bus with a trench coat and hat. A laptop case was slung around his left shoulder. This was the guy.
"Found him," Beast Boy said calmly into his watch. "Just coming off the bus." He took a picture and then another just incase they could not get this guy today. He kept his eyes on him and saw that the person was really short! He was like little kid short!
"Raven, he is heading towards you," Beast Boy heard Cyborg say into the earpiece each wore. "Finish your coffee and follow him with BB and Star. Keep a distance, though."
The coffee smell hit Prosper, and it made him smile. The smell was always nice and was one of his favorites. He hated the taste of coffee, but the smell was wonderful. The smile dropped when the looked at the Goth girl sitting at one of the outside tables. She gave him a look to back off, but Prosper saw the real feeling. She was observing him.
Prosper switched his laptop case to his other shoulder in his nervous habit. He pulled up his collar with a fingerless-gloved hand. He also pulled the brim of his hat down to cover his face more. Everywhere he went people followed. He was used to it by now.
Just as he thought, the girl quickly finished her coffee and got up. She followed behind him with her eyes on the sidewalk to give away her position, but Prosper knew better. He would have to get her off his tail. Then he knew who she was. It was Raven from the Teen Titans. The smile returned to his face, and he looked for the others. They had to be with her.
It took awhile to find Beast Boy and Starfire. Boy, they really looked like tourists! Beast Boy played the part so well that Prosper did not know he was with Starfire. He knew Robin was with John Thatch, so that only left Cyborg, who had to be monitoring everything. They had found him, and he had found them. Now for the game of hide-and-go-seek, which Prosper had always been the best at even till this day.
Prosper then ran. His small figure quickly zigzagged in and out of the people on the busy sidewalk. The Goth girl hesitated, but finally kicked into action to follow him. They were too predictable! The two tourists on the other side of the sidewalk picked up the pace to keep a sharp eye on him. Maybe he could mess with them for a little while to see how good they were.
A bus load of tourists poured out into the sidewalk, and Prosper stopped running and walked slowly behind two fat ladies talking about how they were hungry and looking at a map to where the nearest steak house was. They were a piece of art.
Raven went right by them still trying to catch a glimpse of the guy she was after. Prosper walked by her with the fat ladies in between him and her. Raven stopped with confusion sweeping over her face. She had lost him. Prosper almost laughed out loud, but then he saw Beast Boy and Starfire point their cameras his way.
"Oh great!" Prosper whispered sarcastically to himself. He quickly jumped into a crowd of people to not get his picture taken by the two. Raven had spotted him again and was walking quickly his way. He started to run away from her, because she had taken off the undercover clothes and had her cape on. That meant trouble.
"Stop!" she shouted at him. Was he crazy? Getting stuck with a girl with unexplainable powers was the last thing Prosper wanted today. He picked up his pace and saw that Starfire and Beast Boy were in their superhero clothes too and were heading his way. Today was not his day.
"Get out of the way, people!" Beast Boy demanded to the crowd that was keeping him from getting to Prosper. "Star, cut him off overhead!" Starfire nodded and took to the air with her hands glowing a brilliant green as well as her eyes.
"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" Raven yelled while sticking her hand out at a stop sign. It turned black and came flying at Prosper. His eyes widened as he jumped over it just in time with his long coat flying up above him in midair. The sign came back from behind him. Prosper jumped on the black sign while holding onto his hat so it would not fly off on his wild ride on a floating stop sign.
"Ah!" Prosper yelled as the sign went back to its original color and stopped flying around. It smashed down on the sidewalk with sparks flying around his feet as the cement collided with metal. He surfed his way through the crowd on the skidding stop sign till it came to a stop. Prosper started to run again while keeping a sharp eye out for more of the Teen Titans tricks.
Suddenly a dark figure jumped down in front of Prosper. He slammed into the guy with a wince. He managed to keep his balance and look up at the Dark Knight. He bit his lower lip as he realized that now Batman was working with the Teen Titans. Not a very good combination for if you were a bad guy.
Batman flung his fist back and then knocked the lights out of Prosper in one blow. The mysterious person fell to the cold sidewalk with his laptop case sliding beside him. Cyborg and the others were right next to Batman by now. Batman leaned down to the small computer hacker and took off his hat to see who he really was.
"He is only a kid!" Batman said with surprise in his voice. He looked to the others and saw that they had the same reaction. What was a kid doing on the most wanted list?
"My head," Prosper muttered as he finally awoke in the Teen Titans sickbay. He opened his eyes with a groan and sat up right away with worry on his face. He winced while touching a bump on his forehead created by Batman.
"I see you're awake," someone said from behind the boy. He gasped while turning around sharply on the table. A figure emerged from the shadows of the room. It was Raven. She had her hood up, so he only saw her eyes as they narrowed on him.
"Where is my laptop?" Prosper asked her with no fear in his voice. "And where can I get some ice?"
"Here," Raven said. A hand came out of her long cape with an icepack in it. She threw the pack to the kid, and he caught it with both hands then pressed it to his forehead.
"AH! Brain freeze!" he yelled over dramatically while pulling the pack way. Raven raised an eyebrow at him as he winced and put his hand to his forehead. He suddenly lost his balance and fell off the table with a small yell.
"Are you okay?" she asked him while coming closer to help him up.
"Fine!" the kid said while standing up suddenly with a rush of energy. "But where is my laptop?"
"Cyborg has it," Raven answered him. "We need information about you."
"You could always ask me," Prosper said as if they were complete idiots. There was a pause of silence and the kid ended it by asking, "Do you have any ice cream?"
"Follow me," Raven said with a sigh. They walked out of the room and to the stairs to the living room. Prosper looked at everything as if trying to memorize it for later use.
"You know, you're so cool in real life," he said to her as they walked down the hallway. "Most people think that you're freaky looking, but you're awesome! But why don't you laugh all the time like the other Titans? I mean, come on! Everyone has to laugh when they defeat an enemy."
Raven frowned while glaring dangerously at the kid. He was as annoying as Beast Boy. The boy kept talking nonstop, and he did not even take time to take a breath. Now that she knew he was kid, he looked kind of goofy with the trench coat on him. How could a kid be so good at computer hacking? And where were his parents? Did they know that their kid was wanted by the FBI?
They walked into the living room, and the kid finally stopped talking to take in his surroundings. He put his hands into his pockets with a happy-go-lucky smile planted on his face. Raven told him to sit at one of the stools at the small kitchen in the living room. The other Titans were now staring at Raven and the kid.
"He wants ice cream," Raven muttered while pointing at Prosper.
"Does she always act like this?" Prosper asked everyone and in return got an evil glare from Raven.
"Yeah, dude," Beast Boy said while taking out some ice cream for the both of them. "You better get used to it." He winked at Prosper, and the kid wondered what it meant. Usually a wink meant they had a bond. Prosper thought that the Teen Titans were his enemies. Why were they being so nice to him?
"Okay, what's the catch?" he asked while taking the bowl of ice cream from Beast Boy. "I'm not stupid."
"Answer some of our questions, kid, and you can have as much ice cream as you want," Cyborg said while coming up to Prosper with the laptop in his hands. He saw the boy's eyes light up as he spotted his laptop.
"My laptop!" he said with joy in his voice. He tried to grab his prize, but Cyborg moved it way with a smile. "You'll never be able to login. I set up a bunch of codes and stuff to block people." By the look on Cyborg's face he already knew the guy had tried and failed.
"You can't have it till you tell us what we want, kid," Cyborg said.
Prosper ran a fingerless-gloved hand through his wild spiky brown hair in thought as his green eyes were pinned on the laptop. He really wanted that thing. "Fine," he finally said while returning his attention back to his ice cream that was now melting. He hated to admit defeat.
"What is your name?" Batman asked him from his place a few yards away from the group. Prosper opened his mouth, but Batman cut him off by adding, "You're real name!"
"Bill Jones," Prosper answered after glaring at the man who had knocked him out not too long ago. His head still hurt because of that little run in with the Dark Knight. "But I'm changing it to Prosper."
"Prosper, huh?" Cyborg said with a chuckle.
"I wish to know what it means," Starfire said with confusion in her voice.
"It means 'the lucky one'," Prosper said then took a quick bite from his ice cream. Beast Boy sat down next to him with his own bowl of ice cream and dug into it like it was the last sweet thing on the face of the planet.
"How old are you, Prosper?" Batman asked him. The man knew how to deal with kids. He had raised one by himself for a long time, and look where Robin was now. Dealing with this kid now was no different than dealing with Robin when he was close to this boy's age.
"Eight and a half," Prosper said proudly then shoved another spoonful of ice cream into his mouth. He was just thankful that the man was using the name Prosper had told them to use on.
"And you're one of the best computer hackers in America?" Cyborg asked him with an amused laugh.
"Yes," Prosper answered. He was clearly angry at Cyborg for not believing in his skills. "Have a problem with that?"
"Show us," Cyborg said while shoving Prosper's bowl away and setting the laptop in front of him. "Hack into Titans Tower right now and give us a sign that you're as good as you say you are."
Prosper frowned at Cyborg then gave him a sly smile while opening the laptop. He loved his job. "Piece of cake," he muttered to himself as his fingers flew across the keyboard. His brain worked quickly as he decoded and hacked into Titans Tower. He had complete control over the place now. Time to get his butt out of there before they forced more stuff out of him.
With only the touch of a few simple keys the whole living room went haywire. The alarm went off, as did the timer on the oven. CDs started to shoot out of their places, and one almost hit Raven in the back of the head if she had not been quick with her powers. Rock music played loudly somewhere in the room, and it made everyone cringe as their ears started to really hurt.
Prosper grabbed his laptop and made for the door. The others were busy trying to turn off the loud sounds that were making them go deaf. Suddenly someone grabbed Prosper from behind him and yanked his laptop away.
"Put me down!" Prosper shouted while kicking whoever was holding him up by his arms. Cyborg used the kid's laptop to turn the noise off, but the boy still made as much noise. Batman carried the kid over to the couch with a frown set on his face. The others watched in silence as their ears still rang.
"Lemme go!" Prosper yelled. Batman shoved him down on the red couch. Prosper tried to scramble off the couch in some desperate move to get away, but Batman grabbed the boy's shoulders and pushed him back down on the couch.
"Settle down, Prosper!" Batman said to him while leaning down to the kid's eye level. "We are not going to hurt you. We know you sent us that note. We need to know where Robin is. You need to tell us."
"I can't tell you," Prosper said quickly. "Now let me go, or I'll bite you." This only made Batman smile. The other Titans came up around Prosper to make sure the kid would not try to run off again. "Just let me go," Prosper said with now fear in his eyes as he pleaded with Batman. "Please."
"Where are your parents?" Batman asked him. "We will let them take care of you."
Now Prosper totally broke down at the mention of his parents. "No!" he pleaded on the brink of tears. "I can't go back to my parents! You just don't understand!"
"Then who do you stay with, dude?" Beast Boy asked him with pity in his voice.
"I can take care of myself," Prosper said. "I'm always on the run because the FBI is looking for me. I stay out of America most of the time. I only came to Jump City to meet a friend before he left. I was going to leave for Peru today. You can check my pocket. I have the airplane ticket in there."
"No," Batman said soothingly to him. "We believe you, Prosper. But why did you send us that note?"
"I can't tell you," Prosper said. He looked very hurt for not telling them the truth, but he could never tell them that the friend he had been meeting was the person who kidnapped his favorite Titan. "I thought you would just look more into the dude you were researching and finally find Robin. I had no idea you would come after me!"
"How do you know that our information is correct?" Raven asked Prosper.
"I hacked into your computer and saw everything you were looking up," the kid answered slowly as if looking over every word he was saying before he said it.
"He knows John Thatch," Batman said while looking up to the Titans. He then looked back down to Prosper and asked him as if he already knew the answer, "The friend you were visiting, Prosper, was he John Thatch?"
"I…" Prosper said then bit his lower lip. "I can't answer that question."
"It was," Batman said sternly. "How well do you know this man, Prosper?"
"I'm not going to…" Prosper started but was cut off by Batman.
"Tell us the truth!" Batman demanded.
"I know him very well," Prosper blurted out. "But don't tell John that I said that! He is a bit crazy. He does not mean to hunt people on his island! It is just all in his head! And he only kidnapped Robin because he could not kidnap you again! Opps."
Suddenly Batman had a vision flash into his head. He winced as his memory finally remembered everything about the island. He remembered clearly John, the island, the hunt, and how scared he had been. Vision after vision came at him that he had to close his eyes. When he opened his eyes everyone was staring at him shocked.
"Are you undamaged, Mr. Batman?" Starfire asked him with concern in her voice.
"I'm so dead," Prosper groaned to himself. No one really paid attention to him but Beast Boy who had taken a liking to the kid. He glanced down to Prosper with confusion. What was he talking about? Prosper had to know the guy a lot to know this much.
"I…remember John Thatch," Batman said quietly. The Titans looked at him strangely while Prosper just looked worried sick about something. "I was hunted by him years ago before I adopted Robin."
"But you said you did not know who John Thatch was," Cyborg said. Prosper made a mad dash for the door, but Cyborg quickly grabbed his arm and shoved him back into his seat. "Beast Boy, keep an eye on the kid. We are going to talk to Batman privately. I'll tell you about the conversation later."
"Fine," Beast Boy said with a sigh. The others walked to a different room with Batman to talk everything over and about Prosper's future. Beast Boy would have gotten bored anyway, so he took the job of watching the kid without putting up a fight. He sat down across from Prosper on the coffee table with a bored expression on his face.
"So, kid," Beast Boy said after a long silence between the two. "You want to play a video game?"
Prosper looked at him strangely for a few seconds then finally brightened up and said, "Sure."
A/N: How do you like Prosper? I just finished reading the book "The Thief Lord" and that is where I got his name. Man, I'm so worn out from moving to a different house. We have to paint almost every room and my little sister and I had to paint whole floor of the garage. It was such hard work because the paint was this weird stuff that stunk really bad for some reason. We still can't move in right now, because we have no one to help us take all of our big stuff down to the house till Thursday. So around that time and weekend I will not be able to update often because of the move. So please give a review! Thanks!