The day seemed to pass by rather quickly; before long, the sun setting and stars brimming with silver light. Unlike the average days of the Titans, the main room remained empty following the strange argument between the dark teens, each member of the team deciding it best to fulfill their own needs in the time they had been granted by villains at rest.
Moonlight poured into the darkness of the tower, its sphere nearly full. Robin lay awake, his mind counting imaginary dots on the ceiling. Hours seemed to pass, the night still prevailing over the coming morning as the boy rose from his bed, leaning over the edge to pull out an old wooden box.
The container was covered in a thin layer of grey dust, which was easily discarded with a quick brush of air from the boy's lips. The wood that lay beneath was such a deep shade of red that in the faint light of the moon, it appeared solid black. Ornate carvings lined the edges of the age damaged box. Ungloved fingers traced the intricate designs before slowly sliding the lid to the side.
Old fliers lay in a jumbled mess, some folded neatly, others smashed together, but each bearing the logo of a familiar circus act. A sigh flew from his lips, while he shook slightly in the presence of deep sorrow. Robin's right hand searched below the pile before coming to a halt, fingers grazing against a cool surface.
Out from under the papers came a strange souvenir. The Titan caressed the object carefully as if afraid it would shatter before his very eyes if he held it too tightly. Memories filled his mind, the ebony weapon staring back at him in mockery. Suddenly something snapped. Anger filled his ice blue eyes bringing his bare hand into a tight fist around the item's bat-like shape.
As quickly as he had grasped it, the boy was forced to let go, its sharp edges having pierced the soft flesh of his right hand. Blood trickled down his palm, trailing down unnoticed as the boy's eyes remained locked on what had caused his pain.
"I never thought I'd be forced to see you again," his deep voice broke just above a whisper. "Damn it all."
Time passed on unnoticed; hours sped by in the length of what appeared as minutes. The sun rose rather suddenly, its rays bringing life to the seemingly dead room. Robin heaved a final sigh before lifting himself off his bed. He quickly removed his night cloths, the black shirt and matching pants falling carelessly to the ground, and changed into his well known uniform, placing the mask over his eyes.
He paused slightly, adjusting the golden belt on his hips, his shielded orbs focused on the ancient weapon lying on the floor. Robin gazed at his right hand, the blood still flowing freshly, and decided it would be rather stupid to place his gloves on only to let them be stained. He shrugged and made his way out of his room, gloves in one hand, ready to find Starfire and head out for Gotham City.
Before he was even able to take two steps, the golden-skinned alien was in front of him. He jumped back at her presence, not expecting her to be waiting outside his door.
"'Morning, Star."
Green eyes closed as a brilliant smile graced her lips. "Thank you and a glorious morning to you as well, Robin. Will we be leaving soon?"
"Yeah, um, why don't you grab your things and we'll go ahead and leave now? Might as well get going before the others get up."
The alien stiffened. She had not expected the boy's strange response. The idea of leaving the other Titans without a simple utterance of "good-bye" was not what she had in mind; it was something she would have never thought possible to do.
Starfire opened her mouth to protest, but the brash, young fighter was already making his way to the garage. She sighed, knowing full well it was pointless to argue against his stubborn bravado. Defeated, she dragged herself toward her open doors, picking up the bag she had left near the entrance, and followed Robin to the R-Cycle.
"Must we abandon our friends without the saying of 'good-bye'?" she summoned the courage to squeak. Her eyes drifted to his hands, noticing them bare and one smeared in a strange dark color. "And what of your hand? If you have been damaged you must allow Raven to do the proper healing."
"We're not abandoning them, Star," Robin's voice carried with a struggle as he attempted to place their bags in the storage compartment of his vehicle; his response intentionally ignoring the girl's last comment. "We'll come back in a few weeks and everything will be back to normal."
Starfire swallowed loudly, a wave of uneasiness smothering her very being as the words from the dark boy sunk into her mind. His last words seemed strange to her and drawing on her knowledge of his personality, she was able to see that trouble was on their hands.
"You plan to do battle with Slade if he is in Gotham City?"
It was more of a statement than a question; Robin could tell. His attention froze upon her face, the worry that lay embedded in her eyes taunted his every move. Quickly, he tore his gaze from hers, no longer wishing to listen to her unspoken advice.
"Let's go, Starfire."
"Go? What makes ya think you two can run off without sayin' good-bye to us all?" a familiar accent lit the dark tone of the large room.
Robin let out an audible sigh, his hope to leave without delay now shattered by the presence of his fellow teammates filing into the garage one by one. His masked eyes glanced over each of them, studying their mixed faces. In Cyborg he found worry, in Beast Boy was a strong sense of reluctance, but Raven was by far the most baffling. In the empath's sapphire eyes, Robin felt an overwhelming sense of regret. Her eyes gazed only at her feet, never lifting, even when Starfire embraced her.
As he continued to study her, he noticed she was moving closer, her eyes still downcast as if she was afraid to face him. Without uttering a word a white light grew from her hands, enveloping his cuts in an overpowering sensation of warmth. He stood there, mesmerized as she healed the damage that had been done.
The light seemed to fade as soon as it had come and once she was finished, the sorceress flashed him a weak smile before walking back to where she had stood before. Robin looked back at the others realizing none of them had taken notice to what had been done; Starfire had kept the boys' attention fairly well. A small laugh escaped him as he gloved his hands and walked toward them.
"Well, dudes, don't do anything I wouldn't do!" the green elf cheered, his voice cracking slightly as his true feelings threatened to break through.
Raven fought back a snide remark, now was not the time and place to insert satire. She stayed silent the majority of the conversation; she was simply in no state of mind to be speaking. Occasionally she would glance at Robin, doing her best to bleed through the black and white covering and peal back the shield that closed her off from his entire feelings.
Regardless of the fact that she could not see his eyes, the dark girl knew most of what emotions were shifting for control within him. The leader's constant remarks of their connection with each other, having been sparked by Raven's journey inside of his body, were true and it was due to this strong connection that she was given the upper hand; she was able to see past what he threw at her in an attempt to hide.
There was pain written all over his soul.
The loud roar of the R-Cycle brought Raven back to reality only for a few moments. Robin grabbed two helmets from the storage compartment in the back before making his way to the side of the motorcycle. He climbed on the bike smoothly, his body accustomed to the action from their previous battles, and Starfire followed in suit, her ascent far less graceful than the boy in front of her. With the alien's arms fixed tightly about his waist, Robin bid his friends one final good-bye before speeding down the open road.
Raven's eyes stood fixed on the retreating image of the motorcycle as it vanished beneath the waves that encircled the island they called home; the underwater tunnel to solid ground would be their route to freedom. Her mind silently cursed her for not having spoken to them, but perhaps it was for the best. Thoughts ran swiftly through her mind, the outside world oblivious to her racing head, and her eyes shifted in every direction as if confused.
Suddenly the silence was broken.
"Alright, y'all, I'm gonna make me some waffles! Care to join me?"
Beast Boy's eyes lit up at the mention of food, though he would have preferred the notion of tofu waffles. He opened his mouth to speak, his eyes glancing at Raven in an attempt to coerce her into joining them, but his words fell to floor at the sight of her lost expression.
"M-maybe later, Cy, I'm not that hungry," the boy spoke, his eyes eternally fixed on the forgotten girl.
"Oh, I see. Heh, well you two have fun!" the cybernetic giant laughed deeply before closing the door behind him.
The silence returned, swallowing the two Titans for minutes that seemed to stretch upon the length of days and years. Beast Boy's emerald eyes never faltered from its hold on the sulking figure before him. He had every intention of moving to comfort her, but for a reason he had yet to disclose, he was frozen in place.
"Must you stare at me?" Raven's ice cold voice blew, sending a series of small shivers to ripple through the young boy, a light bit of laughter escaping Beast Boy's lips as his body shook.
"Sorry, I-I just," he paused, his words coming harder than expected. "Are you okay?"
A deep sigh sounded as Raven's blue eyes rose to meet his, searching for a motive behind his question; concern was the only answer she could find. Seeing it unnecessary to reveal the previous event between her and their leader, the dark girl chose a plan of simple answers.
"I will be." And with that she walked off, her shoulder brushing against his as she walked past him.
A rush of angered boiled the fighter's green skin; his eyes flashed in warning. He spun around, his eyes locking on her retreating form, and his voice echoed from his lips with a force strong enough to stop her.
"Don't lie to me, Rae! How can you be okay after what happened yesterday?"
As the words escaped his angered lips, the Titan regretted his rash behavior. He was surely going to pay dearly for what he had just revealed to the girl. He knew her secret; he had watched her from the shadows. Raven was now vulnerable to him.
Raven's body went stiff. Her mind scrambled its thoughts into the form of a deafening truth: Beast Boy knew. She turned to face him. Her ocean blue orbs held a world of betrayal inscribed beneath their blinding waves.
"Raven, I-"
The changeling's words fell on deaf ears as a sensation of deep burning blanketed the stunned girl. Pain shot through her pale features as the heat became unbearable, radiating from her face. Beast Boy moved to speak once more but was silenced as a strange light came forth. There, upon Raven's forehead, was the symbol of Trigon, shinning brilliantly in the darkness around them.
A/N: Woo! AP Testing is over so I'll be able to update this more often. Next time, expect to see some scenes with Red X and Slade. If any of you are confused about how BB knows about the arguement Rae and Robin had, look back at the previous chapter. When Robin leaves the main room, "A blurred image of green caught the corner of his eye". I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! See you next time!