III.-

The recorded image of Harm was telling us nothing relevant. He was in a kind of cellar or basement... Underground, of course. Hell is underground, isn't it? So, our clues were not really clues but understatements. And Cyborg was relying on technology to try to find the source of the message.

I knew better, but, seated on my corner, explicitely far from Cassie, feeling like a grounded child, all I could do was check my mail to any information Oracle could have sent me. Not much, and all really, really freaky. Little people took the matter seriously, and the ones that did talked like loonies.

Raven came to me and sat at my right, peering over my shoulder for a while. She was silent and I knew she was trying to restrain herself of eating away my anger or whatever was she did when she soathed people. She was also reading my mood, of course, even if she knew I hated her doing so.

"You know what "private" means, Raven?"

She stiffened herself, looking away from my computer.

"Sorry. I just guessed you were informing yourself about this psychoimages, and I thought I could help. Due to my powers... "

"Can you?"

"What?"

"Help. Can you? Or do you prefer to talk about how unconfortable my anger makes you feel? Because I don't feel the night is going to be any better either way, so... you choose."

"You don't like my powers."

"No when I feel trespassed. But it's not your fault. I cannot help being a sneaky paranoid, either."

"Thanks."

I snorted.

"You know, this was your cue to tell: 'You are not a sneaky paranoid, Robin' "

Raven seemed puzzled so I craked a smile.

"It was a joke. An a bad one at that."

"But you don't feel happier."

"No, I don't." I sighed. "So, can you help?"

She half smiled.

"Well, I though you will be interested to know that, if he really sended a psychic message to reach you guys, or he is really near or he is really powerful."

I was silent for a time, pondering. This only raised some more questions, one of them more important than the rest.

"Why you tell me before you tell Cyborg?"

"He is searching for Young Justice."

"Yeah, and Cassie was the leader and you know it, so, why?"

"I thought it would cheer you up, give you some direction."

Oooo...k. Was I really being that pain in the ass?

Time to lighten up, Timbo.

I smiled to her thankfully.

"Ok, so let's get started with the deductive work before we tell the boss." I moved my laptop so she can get a better view of the screen, in case we needed something. "You say he must be near to send this kind of message... but it also got to Cissie's and to Anita's. Besides, we had already decided he didn't know we were now members of the Titans, so the probabilities of him being near the tower are really scarce."

"So... is he really this powerful?"

"Only if he has improved a lot. "

I opened all my files about Harm and let her check for herself.

"So... not that powerful." She repeated. "Then, maybe we are wrong about the psychic message."

"No, we are not."

"Because you are never wrong?"

"Because I have this feeling in the back of my neck."

I bite my nails while I looked into the psychotic face in my laptop screen. He was not alone. Harm was not alone and perhaps he was nothing more than a decoy. Or he was abusing and, therefore, using someone with the real power... or he had any kind of tool... or...

I sighed. It was no use to think without more evidence.

"So, do you trust my hunch, Raven?"

"Will you trust anyone's hunch?"

"Good point. If someone told me it was just a feeling, I would search for more evidence."

She seemed proud of herself. Great! I was Raven's Little Grasshopper now.

So be it. I needed further evidence, so I needed Barbara. So I needed to politely get rid of Master Grashopper for a few minutes.

"Ok. Can you tell Cyborg what we already have while I search the web? I'm still kind of embarrased and..."

"Lier."

But she stood up nontheless and walk to the others. Scarce minutes till they came asking questions I couldn't answer yet.

"Oracle, you there?"

"Murmuring, Robin? You know how ugly it is to talk alone in front of your friends?"

"Don't worry, they already think I'm loosing it."

There was a gentle chuckle from the other line.

"Ok, so then let's not delay you any further. What paranormal issue do you want me to cover now, Timmy?"

"Timmy?"

"Babs?"

Gee, women! Did they ever forget?

"I 'm sending you some files on a former Young Justice foe. He was a creepy guy, but Raven think he is not powerful enough to send the kind of psychic message we have recieved."

"This ghost thing is serious?"

"Until further notice, yes."

"So you want me to search for anything related with that kind of psychic capacity. Why don't you contact some expert like Zatanna?"

"The JLA will belive we cannot solve things without adults."

She coughed.

"And what am I exactly?"

"A wonderful, beautiful and brilliant young woman."

"You flatterer."

"Do I have your help, pretty seer?"

"Only because Batman never gives me X-files to solve."

"You are the best."

"Yeah, but you never take me to the cinema. Oracle out."

So I was alone again with my fake typing in the laptop while Raven talked the other Titans into the spooky world of ghost, residual energies and magic. I let the masquerade on a little more and then closed the computer.

Starfire eyed me while I stood up and joined them, but she didn't say a thing. So I wasn't grounded anymore. Cool. Cassie, on the other hand, avoided my gaze all too well, wich was also cool, in a sarcastic, bad and fucked up way.

"Something in the bat-computer?" Asked Gar, eager to break the ice.

I shrugged.

"Not yet, this laptop is not HAL precisely."

Beast Boy laughed at that, wich relaxed a bit the feeling around me.

"So, no solid proof on your psychoimage theory."

"Not for the time being,boss."

Cyborg smiled at my bravado.

"Then, for the time being, we are going to act on guesses."

"Seems enough to me." Said Gar. "You guess, I act."

"Can I try my guess here, Cy?" Asked Speedy.

"All yours."

"Ok, so, this guy looks for Young Justice, doesn't he? And he does not know about you being in the Titans, does he? So, even if he is sending this message telepatically or with a very good and expensive device... he must be in the vicinity of a place he thinks you know or own."

"It makes sense." I agreed. "Problem is we had two headquarters."

"Did he knew about the hotel?" Asked Cassie.

"Frankly, can't remember."

"Neither I." She admited. "So we have this two spots to cover."

"We can split up." Said Bart.

"Yeah, we can fly to a middle point and then we can split in two groups." Said Cyborg.

"Can I go to the hotel? It was cooler than the cave."

"Yes, Bart you can..."

Ok. Yes. You had already noticed. Congratulations. You weren't there.

We all turned to Bart, who sat on a chair while he ate some cheetos, smiling as if his goof was just one of the better jokes on the galaxy. It could have been, had he not abused it.

I noticed Con was not with him, so did Cassie. What made me angrier just made her more anxious.

"Well? Have you found Con? Was he all right?" Said Wondergirl, searching the room with her eyes.

"Yes and Yes."

"What?"

"Yes, I've found him. Yes, he is alright." Then he saw it was not enough an explanation to the rest of us. "He wasn't responding because he left the comunicator at home. I told him to stay alert and he thanked me. And That was all."

"For someone as fast as you, you took your time for so little a conversation." Said Cassie, suspicion painted in her frown.

I had just thought the same, but really, I was not in the mood to hear just how Bart had told him to come to the tower to help us solve this up and he had just refused, because, oh, terrific fate, he had bad genes.

Fortunately, Bart just shrugged, and, before any of us could say anything else, he was standing beside us, a map in his hands.

"Look, Cy, the hotel was here. Right, Rob? And the cave... here. So we can fly, as you said, until this point, and then we split in two groups. Mine will head to the hotel, of course."

Cyborg peered over the map. I was sure he was not thinking about Bart's plan, but judging the ambience and our moods. He was this kind of leader.

"Ok, yes. Bart is right, this is the best point." Bart grinned at Victor words. "Let's get to the jet and ready ourselves. Then Bart, Cassie, Raven and me will go to the Hotel. We can all fly, lest Bart, but he can do something very similar. The rest will stay in the jet and head to the cave."

He was also the kind of leader that gave you space to think about your actions, one way or another. And it was obvious I was the one being separated from my friends for being a mean child. Still, I couldn't complain, could I?

"I can fly." Starfire did complain.

"And me too." Said Gar. "And I want to go to the hotel."

"Kory, you are going with them in case they need some kind of powerful back up. We have to balance teams."

The princess agreed with a nod and Beast Boy sulked, transforming himself into a bird and flying around Cyborg.

"Pleeease, I want to go to the hotel. Pleeeaaase."

Meanwhile Cassie looked at me with her brow still frowned and then looked away. I understood. It was my fault Con had not stayed tonight. My fault he had not come along with Bart. My fault he was away, with the peril it implied. Probably, it was also my fault he didn't called her since he left.

All in all, a great way of welcoming the rising sun.