IV.-
Cyborg said it would be good if all of the team knew what we were facing, so, while we flew to our destination in the jet, Cassie and Bart filled the others in about the maniac ghost. I didnt' felt like talking, so I just sat there, switching myself off for a while, recolecting the few words Victor had exchanged with me before the flight.
"Are you sure you are ok, kid?"
"Not in the better of moods."
"We all can see it." his smile was wary . "You know you can come to me any time you need it, don't you?"
"Yes."
"Only checking, just in case. "
"I'll try not to forget it."
"Perfect. And, Robin..."
"Yes?"
"Sometimes people don't act as we would like them to, but it doesn't mean they don't care."
As if it helped.
But I said nothing to him, because he was just trying to make sure his team was ready for the battle, and I wanted him to trust me. I needed a little action to clear my mind, and I didn't want Cyborg or Starfire to make me do backup work or something like that. So, as I've said, I nodded in agreement and just avoided Cassie all the flight. And, finally, while they jumped out of the plane I just stood there, watching.
"We should get going." I said once they were just a tiny spot in the horizon. "We have a cave and all of its corners to cover and we don't really have all day to do so."
Gar stopped his whinning about staying and sat at the controls of the Jet while Kory gave him some directions. And that was, really, all the words we exchanged during the travel. I nearly felt bad for Beast Boy, Cyborg had took with him all the sociable Titans.
"We are arriving." Said Starfire finally. "Any sugestion for the landing?"
"Far from the cave." I said, looking through the screen window, assessing the situation. "We can walk the last few miles to the cave, and thus, scan the area."
"And save some surprise element" Added Mia, agreeing with me.
So we landed a pair of miles from the cave and prepared ourselves for an early morning raid on the abandoned cave, way through the woods. Beast Boy complaint all he could (about our company, about having to walk, about being in a dark and wet wood instead of being in some fancy hotel facility...), but made himself really useful once we left the plane. His ability was far more suitable than any of ours provided the enviorentment, and he loved the praise any time he comunicated indicanting all was clear.
Half an hour later we were aproaching the cave and nothing seemed out on place in the animal comunity. Not a single bad vibration, said Gar. Every little leaf in its place.
Wich probably meant that I could be somewhere else doing somethig useful.
But I fought the itch to comunicate already with the other team to see if they were making any progress. We hadn't even entered the cave. It will appear that I was not 100 focussed in our mission and I didn't want Cyborg to think so.
We stopped near the entrance, far from the surveilance cameras, regroupping and checking what our options were.
Not many was the short answer.
"So, you know this place, Robin. How do we get in?"
I just pointed.
"Big door."
"Ok." Said Gar, taking his human form again and leaning to a tree. "I may be not the smartest guy around (even if I'm the sexiest) but... this is the main entrance."
"No, Beast Boy... this is the ONLY entrance."
And, signaling the cameras, I crawled my way, knowing they will follow.
There was a blind spot by the door, so we leaned there and waited a few minutes, just to make sure it was not going to open and let some creepy henchman out. When we were certain it was not likely to happen, I prepared for my next move.
"I'm going to try the old security code to open this thing," I murmured. "but I'm quite certain I'm going to have it hacked."
"Are you asuming he has taken the time to change the old password? It's a lot of effort just to catch some teens." Said Speedy.
I smiled.
"Harm? No, he most probably haven't even used the door. I'm just thinking about someone in the JLA paranoid enough to have changed passwords since we left."
"Oh." Gar frowned. "Batman is creepy, man. And I'm a green guy, I know what I'm talking about."
I said nothing, admiting the truth in it, and, with a gesture, I indicated I was going to proceed.
As I had suspected, the old security code was not working. Bruce really thought about everything.
And you read his mind allright.
I sighed and, pulling a wire out of my belt, conected my internal com.
"Oracle, are you there? I need you" I pleaded while I connected the wire to the panel.
"Yes, I'm here, Robin. I was not planning to go stretch my legs yet."
"Sorry to disturb, but I need to hack the entrance to the Justice Cave and I don't have the time, nor the equipment, to do it myself."
"Ok, let me in."
"All yours."
The screen in the panel flased green and the numbers there began spinning really fast.
"While we are at it, Robin, do you want to know what I found about your X-file?"
"Yes, but wait."
I signaled to the rest of the team to come closer while I activated the speakers.
"Now, Oracle." I said when they were at hearing range.
"Ok, listen: all over europe, reports about stolen relics are driving policemen mad. Most of those items were part of private colections or museums, and were suposed to have magical or mystical capabilities. Not that anyone ever belived truly in them but... "
"Can you send me files on all those items?"
The counter showed three numbers, while half of the screen still spinned.
"Sure, Boy Wonder. Where?"
"Justice Cave computer."
Barabara snorted, half amused, half disdainful.
"Feeling over-confident today? Or just showing off?"
"I feel daring."
"And conceited."
"It's not arrogance, my dear Oracle, is knowing what my value is."
The green light flashed again and the door was open. She was really superb.
"I'd have sworn it was called puberty." Her voice wore a warm smile. "You are in, and I'm out."
The comunication ended.
I unplugged myself from the panel and turned to the Titans. Kory was already checking the passage to the cave for some possible nasty surprises with Speedy just at her rear, bow ready. Gar was looking at me, a silly smile on his face.
"You Bat-people really have a sexy-voiced assistant."
"You tell Nightwing." I said nonchalantly while I collected the wire. "But let me know when you do so. I'll take some popcorn with me."
His smile froze and he rapidily took his place behind Speedy, leaving the rear to me.
We moved through the corridors with deliberate slowness, minding every step and avoiding cameras. It was a weird feeling, breaking into a place that was once my own hideout, trying to remeber every bending and every hole to, perhaps, find a psycho ghost and, if possible, catch him.
Not that I was really confident in that last part.
Never in our former encounters had I figured out a way of stopping Harm that didn't involved Bart's superspeed or Greta's... no, Secret's powers. And we lacked the two of them in that very moment. Nevermind. Improvisation and imagination were as good a plan as any other. It used to work with Young Justice, so... why not with the Titans?
I shouldn't have worried.
It took us forty minutes to finish searching the cave and no trace of Harm.
"He can still be hidden somewhere" Said Mia not very convinced herself.
"I don't think so. He never was the kind to hide and wait." I sat before the computer, conecting it in order to download those files Barbara should have already sent. "We better call Cyborg and the others. I presume they haven't found a trace of him either, or they should have stablished contact by now."
Starfire nodded and opened her comunicator. I waited till Victor answered and then, relieved, began searching for Oracle's files.
"And what now?" Asked Gar, sitting besides me.
"Now we sit down and look at those stolen relics to find some clue."
"Can we print them or something?"
"Well, it's been sometime since I last checked the printer, but.. yes, I think so. Let's try and..."
"and then we can get the hell out of here" was what I was going to say, but my sentence stood unfinished because, suddenly, the screen changed, showing a grinning maniac face.
Harm.
"Good morning, heroes!" His voice surrounded us all thanks to the cave speakers, startling me. "Robin, my dear friend! I was beggining to worry, what took you so long? And let me see..." He moved his head, as if he was peering over the screen. "a brand new bunch of superloosers? Have you lost all your former members? I really hope it's not so... I was willing to kill you all myself."
"Harm, really, were you not humiliated enough last time you tried to beat us?"
"Perhaps is not very smart to be witty with me, birdie. You still don't know where I am or what I'm up to. I'll give you a clue: I'm not in the Cave."
I smiled.
"I'll give you two, Billy: you are using an old device to send us a psychoimage, and you are not far from here, because this time the reception is perfect. So close you can see and feel us this time."
Harm frowned before smiling again.
"Very clever, Urban Legend. Now find me for real, before I loose my patience and start my plan without you."
He ended the comunication and the screen showed again pictures of the stolen relics. A golden staff, a silver goblet, a copper dagger and a bronze mirror... Gee! They all seemed out of a Dungeons and Dragons game!
"What are those and what does he want with them?"
"I still don't know," I admitted, "but we will, eventually."
I gave the computer the order to print and got up.
"I hope it's not too late when we do." Said Kory, frowning stlighly, clearly worried. "Victor is coming here with the rest of the Titans. Are we going to be able to find where this Harm is before they arrive?"
"Only one way to find out."
And while the printer did its work, I inmersed my self in all the information available. Harm was not going to outwit me, no way. He was near here and he was using one of those relics. If I only found out what they did and how they worked, I might be able to tell where was he operating from and what he was really up to.
This was my field. This was my work. This was my life.
No, Harm was not going to outwit me.