Chapter Three
One good thing about the nightly robberies, probably the only one, was that Robin had opted to postpone mandatory training practices for the foreseeable future. Instead he was encouraging his team to rest up so as to be alert for the evening's activities. Raven had failed utterly at all attempts to catch up on sleep, but she had convinced herself that spending a few extra hours in meditation was as good as a nap. Almost.
Despite Cyborg and Starfire's presence, she was meditating in relative peace in a quiet corner of the common room. She was aware of their movements, but appreciated their obvious attempt to speak in hushed tones and keep the volume on the television turned low.
The other members of the team had started to recognize her inability to sleep the morning away like the rest of them did. "Why don't you take a night off, get some rest?" Cyborg had suggested, but Raven had pointed out that nobody else was taking a break so she wouldn't either.
As if to compensate, her friends had made a huge effort to let her meditate uninterrupted, even when she spent several hours longer than usual. To save them the trouble she had spent a few days meditating in her room or, on clearer days, the roof. To her surprise, however, she found she missed the activity of the common room and had resumed meditation in her usual corner, figuring that the minor distraction of chatter was a small price to pay for the peace she felt at being surrounded by her friends.
She heard the door slide open and felt, rather than saw, Beast Boy enter the room. Beaming happily he sauntered up to Cyborg and punched him affectionately on the shoulder. Cyborg looked mildly surprised.
"You're home early."
"Disappointed? You'll cheer up when you see the surprise I have for you."
"Oh yeah? …What?" Cyborg sounded suspicious and Raven couldn't blame him. Beast Boy's idea of a surprise could be anything from an unexpected treat to an elaborate practical joke.
Beast Boy shrugged carelessly, "Fine, if you're gonna be like that I'll just tell her to go home …" but Cyborg had already crossed the room. When the door slid open again, Sarah flew through it and flung her arms around Cyborg's neck.
"I missed you!"
"Man, am I glad to see you! How was the seminar?"
Sarah waved a hand dismissively, "Pfft, so boring. Next time I'll skip it."
"Sure," Cyborg laughed, "You said that last time. And the time before that."
"And the time before that," Sarah grinned. "I know. I suck."
She tore herself away from Cyborg to wave a cheery greeting to Raven and Starfire and then, arm in arm, Cyborg and Sarah crossed the room to the sofa, chattering animatedly. Starfire danced over to offer Sarah a bite of her latest concoction and Sarah accepted gracefully. Raven could hardly fault her for the horrified face she pulled once Starfire's back was turned.
Raven watched the happy couple for a moment longer before half-heartedly returning to her meditation. There was a time she would have left the room out of respect for their privacy, but she didn't bother anymore. Cyborg had shown neither Robin's guarded secrecy nor Beast Boy's overenthusiastic affection when it came to his relationship with Sarah. Instead the two of them treated each other as very good, very dear friends and while Raven had expected to be terribly uncomfortable around them, she had found the opposite to be true.
"So, how's the investigation going?" Sarah questioned curiously.
"What? Oh … fine."
"Vic … what's wrong?"
Cyborg didn't answer immediately and Raven abandoned her concentration to witness her friend's response. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Starfire and Beast Boy listening intently from the kitchen.
Cyborg sighed and reached out for Sarah's hands. "It's not good, we can't seem to catch the guys. Half the people in town think we're the bad guys. We're all over the news, we're getting all kinds of hate mail, maybe …" he glanced toward the kitchen and lowered his voice, "Maybe it'd be better if we didn't see each other. Just for awhile, 'til this whole thing blows over."
Sarah snorted, "You think dumping me will make your problems go away? Nothing doing, Victor."
"No, I just thought—"
"I know what you thought. You're being stupid. I don't care what the papers say about you, I'll leave when I'm bored with you and not a minute before."
The relief Raven felt from Cyborg was overshadowed by the pained unhappiness radiating from the green boy in the kitchen. He was standing very still, a spoon clenched tightly in his hand, his face a blank. Perhaps he was reacting to nothing more than the bite of pudding he had just eaten, but somehow Raven doubted it.
"Arghh! This is the third call in a row." Robin scowled unhappily then sighed, "Okay, we're going to have to split up again."
During the past few days the Titans had spent more time apart than together. The increased volume of nightly crime had made it necessary to split off, often into groups of two and three, occasionally each had gone solo. Robin had been hesitant to do so at first, he jealously guarded his team's safety, but as they had yet to even catch sight of their quarry, much less engage them, separating seemed not only safe, but highly efficient.
"Vic, you and Gar take the electronics store on fifth. Star and I will hit the bank around the corner. Raven? You okay on your own again?" Raven shrugged unconcernedly, "Great, you check out the gas station on eighteenth and Jackson." Their assignments clear, the Titans shot off in separate directions without another word.
Raven glided over the rooftops toward her destination feeling unusually hopeful. Perhaps on her own she would discover something useful. Floating through the air she could move silently, she might be able to sneak up on the perpetrators. Also, and she hesitated to think it, she would stand a better chance of learning about the criminals if the other Titans weren't around. The team, as a whole, broadcasted too many emotions for Raven to filter out, but now that she was alone she had a chance to sense the enemy before they knew she was near.
She arrived at the gas station, peering down into the darkened street below her. Everything was dark, the alarm had almost certainly been disabled. She watched carefully for a moment but couldn't detect any motion. Silently she descended, her feet touching the ground softly.
It looked as though someone had been helping themselves to the fuel; several nozzles were lying on the ground as if they had been abandoned hurriedly. Raven suppressed a snort of disgust. This wasn't the work of a master criminal; this was petty theft at its finest.
She glanced around and her eyes fell on the attendants' station, might as well do a thorough job of it. She poked her head inside the booth. Nothing looked out of place, but as Raven had never worked in a gas station she thought it unlikely that she would notice if something was. She took one final look around, and then froze. Something was behind her, she could sense it. It wasn't emotion that had clued her in, she couldn't sense any emotions except her own sudden alarm, but something was looming behind her nonetheless.
Hoping to take whatever it was by surprise, she whirled around and leapt to the side, her hands ablaze in dark energy. Her eyes widened in surprise and she raised an arm defensively just as Starfire's fist slammed into her jaw. Raven crashed into the booth behind her and crumpled to the ground.
She blinked her eyes to clear her clouded vision and moved her jaw experimentally. She didn't think it was broken, but even if it was she wouldn't take the time to heal it now. She gazed warily up at her attacker, tensing herself to dodge at the first sign of a renewed assault.
This … thing … in front of her wasn't really Starfire, of course, she'd realized that immediately. The girl was standing motionless over Raven, almost as though she were carved out of stone. Even her face was stony; lovely and impossibly flawless but utterly expressionless.
But the worst part was the eyes. Raven had never before considered that so much of what made Starfire herself, her warmth and vivacity, was readily evident in her eyes. It was eerie seeing Starfire stare back at her through cold, dead eyes and Raven shuddered.
There were a few other differences, Raven gradually realized. One was a walnut sized sphere dangling from the girl's neck on a slender silver chain. It was metallic, obviously manmade, and emitted a soft, barely perceptible glow.
The other foreign item Raven mistook, at first, for a wristwatch. Closer scrutiny revealed that the item wasn't a watch at all, where the face would have been were a row of buttons and a tiny light that was blinking regularly. It occurred to Raven that the device must be some sort of communicator, probably sending out a homing signal … she froze. The being standing in front of her was in no hurry to either fight or depart, she must be summoning friends. It was time for Raven to leave.
Thus far Raven had remained where she had fallen, content to study her opponent and follow her lead. Now, though, it was time to get back to the others. She considered simply teleporting back to the Tower, it would be, by far, the safest option, but she hated returning empty handed. She might not get another chance to confront one of the mysterious entities and she couldn't let this one go to waste.
Her mind made up, Raven swiftly dove to her left, rolling to her feet out of reach of her attacker. The red-head turned to swing at her again, but Raven was already gone, levitating several feet above the girl's head.
"I really hope you can't fly," Raven muttered testily, her hands engulfed in black flame. The pseudo-Starfire didn't reply as she stared blankly up at Raven, her arms still at her sides.
"I guess that means no."
Raven shot off a preliminary blast of energy, carefully gauging her opponent's reaction. The girl was pushed back several yards and would have lost her footing if she hadn't come to rest against a gasoline pump. She raised an arm and was suddenly brandishing what looked like a gun.
"Okay, I know Kory doesn't carry one of those ..." Raven wheeled to the right as Starfire pulled the trigger. She narrowly avoided the laser blast that shot past her and hit the streetlight behind her. Quickly, she levitated a nearby mailbox and hurled it at the girl.
Starfire didn't even flinch, she continued to stride purposefully toward Raven, firing her laser gun as she approached. Raven blocked her with an energy shield, then, with a flick of her wrist, flung a handy station wagon at her attacker. There was a terrible crunch as the car hit the girl full in the chest, then silence. Raven felt distinctly uneasy as she landed and crept around the crumpled vehicle.
"Oh …"
She was going to be sick, she knew it. The impact had crushed the other girl into the concrete and her neck was crooked at an impossible angle. Raven fought down a wave of nausea and hastened to lift the car off her enemy. She needed to call the others, they would want to know, but she wasn't sure how to confess what she'd done. Maybe if she … her eyes widened in terror and she stumbled backward. Starfire was moving.
"Stop! Don't move! I'll get help." The green-eyed girl ignored Raven. Her neck still at a bizarre angle, she struggled to rise but was having trouble managing it. Apparently realizing her efforts were futile, the girl sank back down to the ground and aimed her gun once more at Raven. That was when Raven saw the gash in her arm.
It took her a moment to realize what she was seeing. It wasn't blood spilling out of the wound, but a mass of multi-colored wires; the girl was a robot. Raven felt relief wash over her and didn't feel guilty at all when she dropped the car on Starfire for the second time.
This time the robot twitched spasmodically for a few seconds before coming to rest. The green light in its eyes flickered and died, with any luck Raven had put it out of commission for good. Hurriedly Raven tore the communicator off the robot-girl's wrist and smashed it on the pavement. That might buy her some time. As an afterthought she reached out and removed the glowing orb from around the girl's neck, snapping the silver chain with a jerk.
She was still crouched beside the robot when she felt a new presence behind her. She stiffened in readiness, but a hand touched her shoulder and she sighed in relief.
"I'm glad it's just you," she admitted as she turned to face Robin. He nodded tightly, his expression grim. The others were standing behind him in various states of dishevelment.
"Geez, Raven. Have some issues you needed to work out?" Beast Boy quipped.
"It's not what it looks like. It turns out our doubles are just—"
"Robots," Cyborg finished for her. He waved around what could have been one of his own arms if he hadn't already had both of them intact. "We know. We've met."
Cyborg was anxious to study it further, so they transported the Starfire robot back to the Tower. Except for the arm from the Cyborg robot, the robots that had simultaneously attacked the Titans had escaped, but Raven's opponent had remained mostly intact. She also handed over the glowing orb and Cyborg's eyes had lit up.
"I saw one of these on that other guy, did you notice what it was for?"
Raven shook her head but Cyborg only shrugged, "We'll figure it out. I think we're about to have a breakthrough. Good work, girl."
The next few days were hectic, trying to track down the robots kept them so busy that Cyborg couldn't find time to research their discovery. Finally, Robin insisted he stay behind while the others patrolled. "It's our best lead, Vic. And you're the guy to follow up on it."
The following day, Cyborg called them into his workshop to discuss his findings. "They're sturdy," he reported, rapping his knuckles on the robot's torso, "strong. But that's about it. They don't seem to have any special skills."
"So, no laser cannons?" Beast Boy questioned, peering at the replica of Cyborg's arm lying on a nearby table.
"Nope. The similarities to us are just superficial. They look like us, but they can't move like us."
"How have they been avoiding us for so long?" Robin frowned. "If they don't have any real power we should have caught up with them long before this."
"Ah, that's the interesting part," Cyborg grinned, "Check this out." He picked up the orb that Raven had retrieved and held it gently in his hand. As he closed his fist lightly around it, the orb appeared to glow more brightly before finally disappearing behind Cyborg's closed fingers.
Cyborg's fingers also disappeared.
So did the rest of Cyborg.
Starfire gasped and Beast Boy yelled in surprise. It was an odd sensation, Raven could detect Cyborg's presence, she could clearly follow his amusement as it crossed the room, but she could neither see nor hear him. She turned her head to follow his progress and was the only Titan looking at him when he reappeared. The others were still staring at the space from which he'd disappeared.
"Pretty neat, huh?"
Robin, Starfire and Beast Boy whirled around at the sound of Cyborg's voice.
"Dude, how did you … I never even heard you move!"
"I know. This little baby makes the user silent and invisible. Virtually undetectable."
"Unless you're an empath," Raven reminded him.
"Unless you're Raven," Cyborg agreed. "And even she wouldn't be able to sense a robot using one of these."
Robin was impatient for more information, "So how does it work?"
"Nearest I can figure, it distorts the sound and light waves in your immediate vicinity. Just hide it in your fist and, boom! Instant camouflage."
"Good work. That explains how they've been getting away," Robin started to pace, "but it still doesn't explain why. Or where they come from. Or who built them."
"Not yet, but I may be able to help with the 'where,'" Cyborg informed him, "The communications device was pretty smashed up, but if I can rebuild it, maybe I can track the signal."
"Good thinking," Robin nodded, "I'm gonna ask you to get started on that as soon as possible."
"One thing still bothers me," Raven mused, "If they can escape whenever they need to, why didn't they? It would've been easy," she blushed, "I didn't even know mine was there until it hit me."
"I've been wondering about that, too," Robin agreed. "They obviously wanted to get us alone. I think they've been wearing us down for weeks, forcing us to finally split up. The attack was all part of the plan."
"Great," Beast Boy grumbled, "the invisible robots are hunting us now."
Catching sight of the robots was no longer a problem, suddenly they were everywhere. It didn't matter if it was broad daylight or under cover of darkness, the robots taunted the Titans from every side. Raven lost count of the number of times they had spotted one, often in the midst of some kind of mischief, but had lost sight of it as they approached. With no sound or sight to follow, the only way to capture them was to accidentally stumble into them.
They hadn't yet posed another threat to the Titans themselves. Robin, once again erring on the side of caution, refused to split the team up again, and the robots had not renewed an attack on the Titans.
The burglaries, however, had increased. The Titans were being run ragged and Raven suspected that Robin would have washed his hands of the whole situation if their reputations hadn't been on the line.
A breakthrough happened a few days later when Cyborg, having successfully reassembled the communicator, was able to trace the source of the signal to the pier. This still left a wide territory to cover and, try as he might, Cyborg couldn't pinpoint it more accurately. Everyone became considerably grumpier as they divided their time between combing the waterfront and responding to distress calls, catching a few hours of sleep whenever they could manage it.
"You have to improve your reaction time," Robin snapped at Beast Boy during one of their few hours in the Tower. "If you'd just been a little quicker we might have had that one." Robin firmly believed that most of their problems could be solved if they could only catch a functioning robot. Raven thought he probably had a point.
"Really? Your athletic abilities weren't exactly impressing me either, Wonder Boy," Beast Boy sneered.
"C'mon guys, cut it out," Cyborg soothed, "you're both just tired."
"Maybe, but only one of us is undisciplined," Robin insisted.
Raven sighed and Cyborg's face hardened. "I don't have the energy for this, I'm going to bed." Without another word, the cybernetic stumped out of the room leaving Robin and Beast Boy to glare at each other unhindered.
"Please, do not argue with each other. Cyborg was correct, we are all tired."
"Stay out of it, Star. This is between Gar and I."
The exhaustion had obviously taken its toll on Starfire; the alien girl's face crumpled and her eyes started leaking tears. She wept silently for a moment, then Beast Boy realized what was happening and, forgetting the argument, gestured at Robin to turn around.
"Wha—Star? Starfire, why are you …? Don't cry." Robin hurried over to her and swiftly gathered the girl into his arms.
"I do not … wish for us … to fight," she sobbed into his shoulder, "Things are … horrible enough … as it is."
"Shh, shh. I know, I'm sorry. You're right. Don't cry."
Starfire, clinging to him desperately, shuddered uncontrollably. "Hey, c'mon Star. Star. We're gonna be fine." He lifted her chin gently with his knuckle and smiled softly into the girl's teary face. Starfire choked back a final sob and leaned forward to press her lips against his.
Raven, flushing, turned her head away and met Beast Boy's uncomfortable gaze. They stood there awkwardly for a few seconds, then Beast Boy grinned ruefully and jerked his head toward the door. Raven nodded, relieved, and hurried after him into the safety of the corridor beyond.
Raven was awakened from the best sleep she'd had in days when Starfire's shriek echoed through the Tower. She hurriedly snatched up her cloak and sped toward the common room, halting just inside. Seconds later, Beast Boy and Cyborg skidded through the doorway at top speed and crashed into her; they hit the floor in a heap. Robin, the last to arrive, leapt nimbly over them as Raven struggled to disentangle herself from the pile of arms and legs that had buried her.
"Star!"
Starfire bit her lip guiltily and pointed to the other end of the room. "I am sorry to have frightened you, it is only that his arrival was most unexpected." Mad Mod's wrinkled face stared out at them from the giant television screen, a contemptuous smirk on his lips.
"Well, you're an unpleasant lot, but you do make quite the entertaining entrance."
Raven accepted Cyborg's proffered hand and climbed to her feet with as much dignity as she could muster. Robin drew Starfire toward him in a protective one-armed embrace and glared at the unwelcome visitor, "What do you want now, Mod?"
The older man feigned offense, "Why, the same thing I wanted last time, of course. To help."
"Raven already turned you down. Why are you really here?"
"I assumed," Mad Mod sniffed, "that you would have realized by now that you need my help. You aren't exactly doing a bang-up job, you know."
Robin narrowed his eyes, "You know something. What?"
Mad Mod waved his hand, "Oh, nothing much. Nothing of any real importance. I'm really just here to offer you the use of my considerable resources."
"Right," Beast Boy broke in suspiciously, "What's in it for you?"
"Just the pleasure of having done a good deed, my dear boy."
"Well, it doesn't matter," Robin said briskly, "we're not working with you and that's final. If you've really turned over a new leaf, tell us what you know and let us do our job. Otherwise, get out."
An ugly expression crossed Mad Mod's face and he sneered, "I choose option C. If you don't care to assist me, I'll just have to clean up this city on my own. I don't need your help, I was doing you a favor. You'll be sorry you ever refused my generous offer!"
Mad Mod's maniacal laughter was abruptly cut off when Cyborg shut the television off. "He's a freak," he observed, "but the guy knows something."
"Or he wants us to think that he does," Robin amended, "but I can't figure out why."
"Should we track him down?"
"He served his time, and he's been pretty quiet since he was released," Robin reminded them thoughtfully, "I don't think we can take him in until we have something to go on. Let's just keep our eyes open, okay?"
The others nodded their reluctant agreement and Robin added, "And let's get some breakfast. I'm starving."
'-as the city enjoys its fourth consecutive day without an attack by previously alleged 'fake' Titans. Former criminal turned model citizen, Mad Mod, who just five days ago had publicly declared his intention to end this crime wave had this to say:'
'It was really just a matter of reasoning with Robin and the rest. Even the best men can buckle under pressure, and I'm afraid that that was what happened here. The Titans have promised not to cause any more harm, but I say the city leaders should kick them out of that fortress they're hiding out in. It's not that the Titans are a bad-hearted, they just couldn't handle the enormous amount of power that has been handed to them.'
'Local law enforcement declined to comment on the issue, but citizens are already lobbying at city hall for the Titans' removal.'
Raven stood with the rest of the Titans, gazing at the news broadcast in open-mouthed shock. On one side of her, Cyborg ground his teeth furiously, on the other, Beast Boy struggled to express his confusion, "I … I … he … we … what?"
"But … that is completely not true!" Starfire cried, "How can such lies be reported as if they were truth?"
"That settles it," Robin ground out, "he's definitely behind the robots. Of course he got them to stop, he started them!"
"We're not gonna let him get away with this!" Cyborg ranted.
"No, we are not!" Starfire agreed, "We must find him and make him report the truth."
"I'd settle for stopping him from lying about us," Robin decided, "I don't think you can make a dirt bag like that tell the truth."
The phone rang then, and Robin gestured for quiet. When he hung up a moment later he looked grim, but determined.
"That was the chief of police, he was watching the report. He says he'd rather take our word over an ex-criminal's, and he agrees that the robot is still pretty solid evidence in our favor. He's just worried that, without public support, he can't convince the mayor not to take action against us."
"Some gratitude!" Beast Boy burst out, "we've been keeping this city safe for years! If that's the kind of thanks we get, I don't know why we'd want to stick around."
"They're just scared," Raven soothed, "Most of them feel threatened by us even during the best of times. If we can prove Mad Mod's behind this they'll start to trust us again."
"That's true," Robin agreed, "I should have made him a priority when we first suspected him."
"You couldn't have known he'd pull something like this," Cyborg sighed, "none of us thought he'd sink that low."
"Maybe not, but we know now. And we're gonna make him pay."
"Uh, guys? Guess who just interrupted my favorite show," Beast Boy's annoyed voice crackled in Raven's communicator. Nobody bothered to ask who he meant, but thirty seconds later the entire team was glaring heatedly at Mad Mod's image on their view screen.
"You've got a lot of nerve, y'know," Cyborg snapped, but the Brit just grinned carelessly.
"Oh my poor, pitiful moppets. You really should have taken me up on my offer when you had the chance, we could all have been heroes. Very shortsighted of you."
"You are not a hero," Starfire spat out, "you are a liar!"
"Possibly, but your little city loves me. How are they feeling about you lot, these days? Oh, that's right … they've asked you to leave. Too bad, really."
"Are you here for a reason, or are you just trying to piss me off?" Robin snarled.
"Well, as you no doubt realize by now, refusing to assist me was a catastrophic mistake. I regret that you had to learn the hard way, but it really was your own fault. I trust you won't be refusing my new offer."
"Don't bet on it," Robin retorted, "we've already told you we don't make deals with criminals."
"And yet, I think you'll come to see things my way. I have a few tricks up my sleeve. Two of them, to be exact." Mad Mod's hand shot forward and wrenched the camera to the side to reveal two seated figures. The picture slowly focused, and when it did, Starfire and Cyborg gasped in horror.
The Titans could clearly see two girls, one tall and dark, one short and blonde, gagged and tied to their chairs. "I believe you are familiar with my new guests?" Mad Mod's voice mocked from off camera. Sarah and Bunny just blinked tearfully, their eyes pleading and terrified. There was no doubt in Raven's mind that the two girls were human, not robots; those eyes gave it away.
Raven tore her gaze away from the screen and glanced at her friends. Robin's jaw was clenched dangerously and, for the briefest of moments, Raven almost felt sorry for Mad Mod. Starfire had grasped Cyborg's arm, and it wasn't clear if she was holding him up, or if it was the other way around. Beast Boy just looked confused. Lost.
The camera settled on Mad Mod's features once more and he flashed a yellowing grin. "Now that that's out of the way, let's get down to business, shall we?" He waited for an answer, but when none came he carried on blithely, "Understand, now, that I would have preferred to have you work with me voluntarily. I could have explained everything to your satisfaction, but I can see that the time for that has passed. What it boils down to, then, is that I need one of you, preferably one of the lovely ladies, to surrender to me."
At this declaration the boys broke out in violent protest, shouting and swearing so fiercely at Mad Mod that they were practically unintelligible. Raven and Starfire simply exchanged a contemplative, measuring look.
"Now, now. None of that. You may not like it, but it has to be done," his voice softened slightly and he included both Raven and Starfire in his gaze, "Don't worry your pretty little heads about it. I don't plan to hurt you. Much. But I really must insist."
"You son of a–! If you think we're just going to–!"
"Foolish boy, you didn't let me finish. Either do what I ask, or these charming young ladies," here he gestured toward Sarah and Bunny, "will suffer the consequences." Cyborg moaned softly as the villain continued, "I'm really offering you a splendid deal: two girls for the price of one. You'd be foolish to pass it up."
Robin looked around as if to gauge the general consensus, but Raven knew the decision had already been made. Not that they had a choice in the first place. They didn't necessarily have to play Mad Mod's game, but they had to make him think they were playing it. Robin turned back to the screen and ground out through gritted teeth, "Where do we meet you?"