Author's Note: Okay, you guys. I'm getting quite a bit of reviews saying Robin is thick, stupid, etc etc. I guess I didn't make it clear enough that he's just...surrounded, by his work. When there's a villian out there, Robin throws himself in his responsibility, not really thinking, or caring, for that matter, about anything else. This story will open his eyes. I hope you change your mind about him...I didn't want him to come off as impossibly stupid. Lol.
Summary: Red X is back, and he sends a cryptic message to the Titans saying that he is going to steal something from Robin that is most precious to him.
Rating: R-for language and adult situations.
Standard Disclaimers Apply.
THE MOST PRECIOUS THING
Ch.p 3-- Subtle Hints
There was a slight buzzing sound far, far away... small, yet there. It was pretty insignificant to Robin, who was caught deep in a warm delicious dream, however it slowly brought him back to the surface, the figure in front of Robin's closed eyes vanishing...
Robin turned over on his pillow, and with his eyes still closed, he grabbed a spare bird-a-rang from his nightstand and swiftly sliced the alarm clock in half. It stayed put, as if in shock, before the the sides fell in oppisite directions, a soft thump! on the carpet.
He tried going back to sleep. Tried capturing the dream that he had. He took a deep breath, then studied on what the dream was.
Perfect hands...
Silky, red hair...
The most fabulous legs that when on forever...
Bright Green Ey-
Suddenly Robin jolted from the bed. "Wholy-fucking-mother of sheep." he gasped, finally realizing what he'd been dreaming. Quickly he looked under the covers, swallowed hard, and decided to take a nice, cold shower.
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As Robin walked stifly out of his room, torwards the kitchen, he couldn't help but get the strange dream out of his head. He couldn't get Starfire out of his head. She was his bestfriend! Sure, they spent more time with each other. But that was only because Robin helped her get acclimated with the world. With Earth. He can't be getting feelings for her, that's for sure. That would...totally screw up the team. Not to mention how awkward it would be if anyone seen him and her--
Robin got rid of that mental thought quickly, coughing loudly.
As Robin turned the corner, his mind everywhere else but there, he felt a clunk! under his boot. He stopped, looked down, and his stomach dropped. Under his foot was a large, red X. He picked it up, studying it with narrowed eyes.
"Robin?"
Robin jumped slightly as if he got caught stealing.
"Uh, Starfire. Goodmorning." he said, cracking a smile. Hopefully it wouldn't come as out a grimace.
Starfire floated over to him, still a little pale from waking up. She was staring at the X.
"Why is it that you hold something of the Red X?" she asked, floating nearer still. Robin started to sweat as he realized how bad it looked.
"Robin...you arnt-hiding-anything from us, are you?" her eyes bore into him, accusing, threatening. She floated even closer to him, her breath on his lips.
"N-no!" He said, backing up a bit. "I found this on the floor. I, er, stepped on it." he placed the X where it had been, as if trying to prove a point. Robin mentally rolled his eyes at what he did. Why not just point and grunt, Richard?
Starfire looked at him a bit, before she visiably relaxed, believing him. She smiled, gave Robin, "Good morning to you too, Robin!"
before she walked passed him, her bright red hair swinging seductively back and forth.
Robin felt his body start to turn in her direction, wanting another chance to smell her lucious shampoo, but he righted himself, and started torwards the kitchen once more.
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"What do you think it means?" asked Cyborg as he shoveled four pancakes in his mouth at once. Raven, a few seats down, watched, her eyes widening. Beastboy seemed pleased at this.
"I don't know. I found it in the hallway, right before I entered the kitchen." replied Robin over his mug of dark coffe. "None of you captured it and dropped it here on accident, did you?"
The Titans shook their heads.
"You know what this means, don't you?" said Raven, darkly, her usual mug of hot tea clasped in her hands. "Red X has been in the tower.He's doing...something, and we need to figure it out."
Beastboy rolled his eyes. "Let's not jump the gun, Raven. Red X couldn't have come in the tower. Cyborg's security system is too badass for a villian to brake in." He and Cyborg slapped hands.
Raven calmy blew on her tea, the steam wafting upwards before evaporating in the air. "Okay. If Cyborg's security system is so badass, how did two hundred armed robots get in the tower?"
Beastboy's lip twitched. "With help of Terra, of course. Did you miss that part, oh-dark-one?" he said sarcastically.
Raven seemed nonplussed. "Right. And did Cyborg ever go to Terra and explain how to disable the security? It was apparently pretty easy to manage if Terra could get through it."
Cyborg and Beastboy both opened their mouths, looking pissed, but Robin cut them off with--
"The point is, Red X has been in the tower. He didn't harm us, but he did leave some sort of...hint.We just need to figure it out before something bad happens." He studied the X, the flurescent lights catching it and making it gleam, before he dropped is unceremoniously on the table. Raven stared at Robin.
"What about him taking something of yours that was precious. Have you figured that out?" asked Raven.
Suddenly the metal doors swooshed open, and Starfire came out. Her grin broadened.
"Friends! Is it not the most glorious morning? Sha'll I make some of the scrambled chicken eggs?" she walked over to the kitchen, pulling out the eggs and bread and bacon.
Robin glared at Raven for a second before saying, "I'm starting to think that was just to get our attention," and then he stood up, said, "I'm not hungry, Star." and left the room.
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Every morning after Robin found the Red X, he would come across another one. Yet this time, it was a few feet in front of the last. It didn't turn into the kitchen like Robin thought it would, but kept down the hall, day after day. Periodically Robin would study the ceilings becoming increasingly paranoid that Red X was somewhere above him, watching him.
He placed the X's along with the newspapers clippings and Red X's belt. Every morning he dreaded walking out and finding another one, but every day there it was, a couple of feet away from where the last one had been.
On this particular evening, Robin sat on his bed, obsessing over where the X's could be leading. Down the hall, passed Starfire's room, was a bathroom, the evidence room, and then the elevator. Go where the elevator went, and that would take you to the rec room and criminal files.
Robin ran a gloved hand through his hair and sighed, before he fell over on the bed. He stared at the ceiling going over the whole area, corners and all.
I'm not doing any good just sitting here.
Robin sat up and headed torwards the kitchen for a late night snack. And as he turned to walk through the gray doors, he caught something at the corner of his eye.
His stomach dropped.
There, on the ground, was another X.
How can that be? He thought wildly. It's been weeks since the first time he picked up an X, and never had it been done twice in the same day.
His eyes traveled slowly from the X, to the door it was in front of. All the blood drained from his face. The X was placed right in front of Starfire's door.