"Titans! GO!"
Robin leapt from the roof, neatly firing off his grapple at the apex of his jump and using his forward momentum to swing right into the chest of the bestial villain known as Mammoth. The huge man staggered back a step, but was knocked completely off his feet by the Titan's second wave, namely Cyborg's sonic blaster and Starfire's starbolts.
"That's the battle cry? Titans go?" Batgirl muttered, aiming her grapple at a nearby building and preparing to swing to street level.
"Yeah!" Beast Boy exclaimed, jumping off the four story building, "Isn't it cool?"
The jade teen-ager didn't wait for an answer, turning into a condor and dive-bombing a short, bald foe whose various equipment made Batgirl assume was Gizmo. The midget swore as the large green bird forced him to take defensive action.
Batgirl was about to fire a line, but then changed her mind. The bad guys didn't know she was there yet, and a skillful ambush could make this a short fight. As she melted into the growing shadows of the late afternoon sun, she watched the skirmish unfold below.
Raven was having trouble with a girl in purple who had cat-eyes and some kind of "bad luck" powers, while Mammoth dropped an expensive-looking SUV on Cyborg. Robin was fearlessly attacking the super strong metahuman, who appeared capable of shaking off just about everything the Teen Wonder threw at him. Batgirl couldn't figure out his strategy until Starfire came out of nowhere and clocked Mammoth with a perfect haymaker, slamming about a block down the street. Then she helped Cyborg up and the two of them pursued their opponent.
"Nice one," she whispered, realizing Robin was simply disorienting the brute, leaving him wide open for the alien's strike.
Bruce is right. He HAS improved.
By now, Beast Boy and Raven had changed sparring partners. A green hummingbird was successfully flitting around the purple girl, effectively keeping her from directing her hexes, while Raven's magic was systemically disassembling Gizmo's gear. Robin was out of the combat for the moment, guiding a few civilians out of immediate danger.
Batgirl was wondering if she would even have to intervene when disaster struck. The girl (she guessed she must be the one called Jinx) got lucky and managed to smack the hummingbird, driving the bird to the ground. Beast Boy immediately reappeared, stunned. Jinx raised both her hands, intent on finishing her foe.
Batgirl swung right into Jinx from behind, knocking her halfway across the street.
Before her opponent could get back to her feet, Batgirl threw two gas pellets, breaking them open on her foe's chest. Jinx breathed involuntarily and immediately began to wheeze and cough, tears streaming down her face.
Taking only enough time to secure her protective mask, Batgirl waded into the cloud of toxic gas. Jinx attempted to defend herself, and Barbara could tell she would have been a halfway decent hand-to-hand fighter under normal conditions. Nevertheless, a couple blows to Jinx's head ended the fight efficiently.
Batgirl was in the middle of securing her adversary with the Batcuffs when a bolt of electricity surged through her and everything went dark.
-----
"Batgirl!"
Robin scream echoed across the battlefield as he charged Gizmo, who had managed to get off one final blast before Raven completely disarmed him.
The short villain never had a chance as the leader of the Titans rained blow upon blow down upon him.
"Robin, stop!" Raven reached out to grab her friend, only to be pushed back roughly. Recovering quickly, she resorted to her magic and enveloped Robin in darkness, hoisting him up in the air.
Gizmo's body, bruised and bloody, slumped to the ground.
"Let me go, Raven!" Robin shouted, writhing and struggling to get free.
"Not until you calm down. You could have killed him!"
The sounds of combat echoed from down the street, where Starfire and Cyborg were still attempting to take down Mammoth. Raven knew they would probably need some help, but she wasn't about to let Robin go just yet.
She then noticed Beast Boy was starting to come around.
"Beast Boy! Are you okay?" she called out.
"Yeah," the youngest Titan looked around, confused. Then he focused on Raven and her unusual captive. "What's going on? Why are you holding Robin?"
"Never mind. Check on Batgirl. Is she okay?"
Beast Boy bent over the prone redhead and quickly gave a thumbs up, "Yeah, she's okay. Just knocked out."
"Good," She stared grimly at Robin, who finally stopped moving. Then she looked back at Beast Boy, "Go see if Starfire and Cyborg need any help finishing off Mammoth."
"But—"
"We'll be there in a minute." She released Robin, dropped deftly to the ground.
"But—"
"Beast Boy! Do it now!" She commanded, allowing her annoyance to manifest as an intimidating mystical aura.
"Okay, okay!" Beast Boy became a cheetah and sped off.
Raven watched Robin gather Batgirl in his arms before she spoke again.
"Want to tell me what that was all about?"
"No."
"Robin, you lost control. You haven't done that since—"
"Don't go there."
"Robin, what's going on? This isn't like you."
The young man refused to make eye contact with her.
"I'm just—" He paused, and then continued. "I'm just under a lot of stress, Raven. That's all."
"Robin, I'm an empath. You can't lie to me about this. There's more going on. A lot more."
"We don't have time for this." He began to stalk off, still carrying Batgirl.
She erected a barrier in front of his path.
"Raven," He finally looked at her. "Let me go."
"Not long ago, you helped me back from the brink when my father invaded. You were there for me then." She took several steps closer, until she could put both of her hands on Robin's shoulders. "Let me be there for you now."
She could feel the jumble of emotions emanating from him. Fear, guilt, and a growing despair primary among them. Emotions she knew only too well. But why were they coming from him? What was troubling him so deeply?
"Raven, Star and the others might need us."
Against her better judgment, Raven let the barrier fall.
-----
Batgirl woke up in the infirmary, a bit disoriented but otherwise unharmed.
Robin sighed in relief and checked his watch. It was a little before midnight.
Another day had already passed. Only five more to go.
He couldn't say the day had been completely squandered. He and Batgirl had sparred most of the morning and again after lunch, at least until the rejects from the H.I.V.E. academy had decided to rob a bank downtown. Then he spent the rest of the day in a vigil by Barbara's bedside. Feelings he had long thought lost had been rekindled almost instantly once she had been struck down.
Worse, not only was his emotional state impossible to hide from Raven, it apparently obvious to Starfire as well. The Tamaranean was being very moody and had avoided contact with him from the moment she saw him carrying Batgirl. He wouldn't forget the way her face fell when she realized the depth of his concern for Batgirl.
"Hey," he said softly, checking the monitoring equipment to make sure everything was working correctly, "How are you feeling?"
"I've been better. I don't think I've been shocked that badly since Joker nailed me with one of his stupid joy buzzers."
"You had me worried, Babs."
"Awww," she reached up and tousled his hair, "You're sweet."
"Listen, I want you to stay in here overnight. Just to be safe."
"Can't I stay in your room instead?"
"Barbara."
"Joking, Boy Wonder, joking." She closed her eyes once again and let her head fall back into her pillow. "Okay. I'll stay put."
"Thanks." He kissed her on the forehead and dimmed the lights.
As he gently closed the door to the medical bay, Robin's thoughts grew troubled.
This isn't working. Barbara is good, but she's an equal at best. And she doesn't possess the ruthlessness I need to prepare for Bruce. Besides, any advantage I get from sparring with her is outweighed by the distractions she's causing both to me and the team.
He hit the wall of the corridor in frustration.
"Damn it!" he swore, "This is getting me nowhere!"
Think, Dick. Think!
There has to be a way. There has to be an answer.
He walked to his room and closed the door behind him. He stripped down to his underwear and got into bed.
For hours, he stared through the inky darkness, mind working feverishly to find a solution to his seemingly impossible predicament. Eventually, he fell into a troubled sleep.
It was during an equally troubled dream that he finally found an answer.
When the faint rays of the morning sun breached the blinds of his room, Robin woke up.
He knew what he had to do.
