Chapter 2

"The authorities are on their way to pick Doctor Light up!" The voice of the Titans' leader, although faint, could still be heard through the communicator. The circular device had been placed on some stand that resembled a pedestal. Connected to several wires that had also been hooked up to various computers and speakers, the gadget was severely scratched, and its appearance gave the impression that, if touched, it would completely fall apart.

The communicator, identified by the "T" on its front cover, was one of those belonging to one of the honorary Titans, namely Hotspot, a teenage fire-wielding do-gooder who had resided in Morocco until he was captured by the Brotherhood of Evil. Despite his attempts to keep the communicator out of Madame Rouge's hands, eventually he had been beaten and thrown into a cell deep within the caverns of the Brotherhood's lair in Paris, France.

The boy was a fool to even think that he could get away from Madame Rouge, a figure thought as she sat on one of the steel chairs surrounding the rectangular table, on which the communicator had been placed. Drumming her long fingernails on the surface, the figure stared at the metal table, seeing her reflection. She let out a sigh through her ridiculously huge mask, which covered her entire face. The face that stared back at her was a scary one: two large eyes and a wide smile, teeth bared. It was the kind of mask worn during festivals, or perhaps Halloween, by those who wished to scare another buy hiding in a dark place and then jumping out, surprising the person. The figure adjusted her robes and continued to listen to the voices that could be heard through the speakers.

"So …-at now?…" Came the rough voice of the half-metal hybrid. The figure cursed, hissing loudly. The static was getting louder, and the Titans' voices could scarcely be heard.

"We're… to have…split up… groups." The static proceeded to become steadily louder as the volume of Robin's voice grew weaker. The masked girl resisted the urge to bring her fist down on the unreliable gadget.

"There… lot of… -issions… have… complete. The Brotherhood has already separated… figured we should do the same… causing trouble." Each message made less and less sense to the masked figure. Still, she made an effort to try and make out each one, grabbing a notepad and a pen to write down her 'translations'.

"Then who'll be with who?" The voices that followed became garbled and had been drowned out so badly by the constant static that they were completely unintelligible. "Shit!" The girl cried out, and in her rage scratched forcefully at the table. It resulted in claw marks on its otherwise smooth surface. Letting out an irritated sigh, the figure stood up, adjusted her robes once more, and left the room.

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"Report." The mechanical voice had always slightly disturbed the girl, but she had slowly gotten used to it. Inhaling, she ignored her feelings of awe and shock at the thought of a talking brain in a jar, and proceeded to deliver her message.

"The Titans have split up into groups, sir. The message… It was a bad connection. That was all I could understand."

"Very – Well." Whether the Brain was pleased or disappointed with her efforts, the figure could not tell. After all, it was hard to figure out the emotions of a single part of human anatomy with a voice box made of circuits. "You will report to – General – Immortus – at his base. Tell him – of this news. He may - require – some assistance."

"Indeed." Behind the mask, the girl grinned.

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For Beastboy, the silence was deafening. He and Robin had been walking for four hours already, and the constant chattering and squawking of various animals in the jungle had become repetitive. The changeling longed to transform into one of those animals – perhaps a toucan or a monkey – and answer the calls that were being sent, but he knew it would annoy his companion. Beasboy frowned. Robin would see it as an immature thing to do.

Instead, Beastboy sighed loudly, dragging his feet as he walked, and glared at the back of Robin's head, as if his sleek black hair was the cause of his fatigue. The masked leader was a few paces ahead, and didn't show signs of stopping. Beastboy wondered whether Robin noticed that, since they started their trek, Beastboy hadn't said a word. He had kept his mouth shut, refusing to complain and alert Robin of his grumbling stomach, or even crack a joke to lighten up the mood. I'm trying to show him that I'm not as immature as he thinks, and nothing's happened.

Beastboy was angered by the fact that four hours had passed and Robin had, not once, cast a look at him, or even ask how he was doing. Maybe if I make my breathing more ragged, he'll notice, the shapeshifter thought glumly. Glancing at his worn out sneakers, he remembered that Robin was probably carrying a lot more weight than he was. All he had were his clothes and the knapsack on his back, whereas Robin's bag (which was red and had his trademark "R" on it) looked so much bulkier. To top it all off, Beastboy hadn't forgotten that Robin was wearing a cape which was made of titanium alloy, a utility belt full of various gadgets and tools, and not to mention steel-toed boots, that Beastboy estimated, weighed at least twenty pounds. At least, that's how they felt when the green-skinned boy wore them.

Beastboy remembered the time he had dressed up as Robin, wanting to see how being a fearless leader felt like. It had felt great. He couldn't deny it. He loved the fact that the cape billowed whenever there was wind. He enjoyed wearing a mask that concealed his identity, a mask that made him feel like he was something else entirely. It must be great, feeling cool all the time, getting to shout awesome phrases, order people around and… take your anger out on anyone. That thought reminded Beastboy of his mission to get Robin to loosen up. Well, time to get started.

"Dude!" He called out, trying to get his companion's attention. Robin didn't respond, but stopped walking instead. Seeing this as a good sign, Beastboy ran up to him. "What's up?" Looking over the caped crusader's shoulder, Beastboy noticed the device in Robin's hand. It appeared to be a simple metal box, with a screen on it, and an antenna sticking out of its top.

"What is it?"

"It's a tracker. I'm using it to pinpoint the base's location." Beastboy let out a soft 'hmm' in response. "We still have a long way to go. Keep moving." Robin resumed walking again, but for Beastboy, it was too much.

"Wait! Can't we stop for a while? We've been walking for hours and my feet are killing me! Plus, aren't you hungry? I know you are!" Robin's expression remained blank.

"…Not really-" All of a sudden, Beastboy heard a loud grumble, which didn't sound like it came from his stomach. He couldn't help but smirk as he watched Robin's cheeks turn crimson.

"Told ya."

"Fine, we'll take a break. But after ten minutes, we need to get going."

"Mmm, whatever." Letting his bag drop to the ground with a loud 'thump!', Beastboy pulled out a brown paper bag and a fork. Grinning widely, he proceeded to devour the tofu that was inside.

"Sho," he began, mouth full of tofu burger. "Great mishon sho far, huh?"

"Mm," Was all Robin said as he took a bite out of his own turkey sandwich. Despite this short (and uninteresting) answer, Beastboy remained persistent. Gulping down the water he had drank from his thermos, he tried once more.

"Are you gonna let me call the shots sometime during this mission? Because, if you haven't noticed…" Beastboy puffed out his chest proudly. "…I'm an ex-Doom Patrol member. I'm bound to know the Brotherhood of Evil better than anyone, aren't I?" Robin stiffened before answering.

"That may be so, but the Brotherhood isn't just after you, they're after all the Titans." Beastboy noticed that the Titans leader had avoided his first question, but he'd let that go. For now.

"Aww, c'mon dude, that isn't fair! You let Cyborg lead when Brother Blood was around, you let Raven take control when that Trigon freak was threatening the world, and Slade-" Beastboy noticed that both of them were standing now, and that Robin had stiffened even more. He knew he had made a mistake the moment he mentioned Slade.

"…Let's move." And that was that. Robin quickly turned around and started walking again, carrying his backpack with one hand. Beastboy quickly packed his things and followed, then tried to catch up with the masked leader. However, it seemed, no matter how fast Beastboy walked, Robin walked faster. It's like he's purposely trying to avoid me. He doesn't want to walk side by side with me… More angry thoughts proceeded to fill Beastboy's head.

Does he think I'm so inferior to him that I should be walking behind him? Stupid prick won't even let me call the shots… He really does seem to hate me… Probably thinks I'm too immature to do anything…

A couple of hours had past and the sun began to set, and the two had still not said a word to each other.

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"It's getting dark, we should set up camp." Robin surprised Beastboy by suddenly stopping. The two had reached a small clearing, the perfect spot to stay for the night. Before Beastboy could say a word, Robin had gotten to his knees and began working furiously. After a few minutes, a small tent, colored bright red, had been set up by the Boy Wonder. He entered, and Beastboy followed.

The tent was even smaller inside. A sleeping bag had been laid out, Robin's backpack and a flashlight placed on the side of the tent. Robin was already curled up in the sleeping bag, making himself comfortable. Perfect for two people. Beastboy quickly wiggled his way in, right next to Robin, who's eyes quickly flew open.

"Beastboy. What are you doing." It wasn't even a question, more like a statement.

"Hmmm?" Beastboy slowly lifted one eyelid. He had already been dozing off.

"You have your own tent, it's in your bag." Beastboy's face fell.

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It looked a lot easier when Robin did it, Beastboy whined as he stretched, nailed and pushed his tent, trying to set it up. It took a whole thirty minutes before he finally succeeded, and it was already so dark that Beastboy could hardly see a thing.

Whimpering, he slid into his sleeping bag, shifting around uncomfortably. No matter what animal he turned into, he could not suppress the feelings of cold, loneliness and fear that enveloped him. These were the same feelings Robin felt all night, but unlike Beastboy, he managed to ignore them.

End Chapter

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I apologize if this chapter had no action whatsoever, but I concentrated more on trying to flesh out their current relationship. As for the girl in the beginning, no, she is not my character and she definitely is NOT a Mary-sue. She's actually a character in the comics, who so far has had a cameo in the show.

If you can guess who she is, good for you. Unfortunately, I have never read the comics, and have only managed to do some research. Basically, I'm giving the girl a whole new personality. Luckily, she's not a very important character, so no worries.

I'm not the kind of person who asks for a certain number of reviews per chapter, but I do get more motivated to update depending on the reviews I get. So please review!