Chapter Three: Corpse Kiss

There are several parts to this story, which I tried to put together as I went through all the documents. There were countless articles to read and organize. The added task of asking others to add in their parts did not help matters, either. They have helped as much as they can, and I thank them for their effort.

It was after we had finished handing out all the communicators that things started happening. The Brotherhood of Evil did not start attacking right away, as I had feared. They seemed content with keeping Wildebeest in their starting collection of young heroes. We searched for him again and again, but he never seemed to appear. After a prolonged period of nothing happening and no new information, we became accustomed to our old life in the T-Tower.

Things were too calm and peaceful, but I decided to enjoy myself in the tranquility. I knew that the Brotherhood of Evil would make their move eventually. Preparations had already been made with the communicators.

I should have noticed the signs.

The thought of tofu-burgers and soy-milk made Beast Boy forget about the weeks he had spent away from the T-Tower to hand out communicators. He nearly forgot that anything had happened besides the usual schedule of fighting and resting. During Beast Boy's late night walks, though, he often noted a crescent moon and two stars looking out at him. When he looked again, it was always gone. They were always in the same pattern, with the crescent turned on its side and the two stars above the crescent like eyes. At first, we doubted what he saw. He kept insisting that there were those things. Raven managed to see it once, on one night. We attributed the visions to a cat, after noting the similarities of the vision to the Cheshire Cat described in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

Kid Flash was busy because a girl, the daughter of one of his father's late associates, had arrived recently. Apparently, their deceased fathers had desired for their children to eventually wed. He felt it his duty to pay attention to a Miss Guenever Felinus, even if he said he "despised the wench".

The most surprising thing to happen must have been Kyd Wykkyd assisting us to stop some robbers. During the incident, one of the thieves shot a fellow in the heart. This act of betrayal and killing… it surprised us so much that the others escaped. I mentioned out loud that I wished the dead robber were alive. When asked why, I explained that the dead man would have known where the robbers' hideout is. We would have been able to go there and stop them in the name of justice, which was our duty as vigilantes. After my statement, the others were silent for a few moments. They motionlessly awaited my next orders, but the new helper did not.

Kyd Wykkyd knelt down and kissed the corpse. I was half-disgusted and half-curious. A few of us contemplated his motive for kissing a cadaver, but his voice soon came into our heads telepathically to enlighten us on his action. "If you desire, I know where their hideout is. However, I have guidelines and laws that I must obey. I can only give the information sought the same manner with which I acquired it--- in this case, through a kiss." His voice seemed mildly amused, though his façade was still stone.

Cyborg and Beast Boy backed away slowly with strange looks on their faces. No doubt, they were still trying to get over the fact that someone kissed a dead body. Raven, though, stepped towards the telepath. Amethyst met crimson as they looked into each other's eyes. There seemed to be a silent exchange, after which Kyd Wykkyd kissed Raven shortly to transfer the information.

I no longer remember how it happened, but after we brought the robbers to jail, Kyd Wykkyd came with us to live in the T-Tower. I have no doubt that it must have been Raven who suggested it, but somehow, my mind goes blank whenever I attempt to draw on why. The first show of his memory absorption scared Beast Boy into staying away from the telepath for a while. Cyborg took a little bit shorter to get over the incident. Starfire quickly grew attached to our new addition, taking advantage of his constant silence to push her alien foods on him. I watched him carefully for a few days, but he showed no signs of working with an enemy. I decided to keep a wary eye on him but accept him in the meantime.

Raven never seemed to show any suspicion of him openly. Privately, the purple-haired girl admitted to me that she could not use her intuition on Kyd Wykkyd's mind or use her empathy on him. It was unsettling for me to imagine that. She also appeared to be perturbed by the idea. Sometimes, though, we would see the two meditating together. They seemed to have an understanding, possibly had a connection, and conceivably a friendship.

He and Raven were frighteningly alike. Their magic was the same type of creeping black energy. They both kept indifferent facades most of the time. They were both overly quiet, but Kyd Wykkyd never spoke whereas Raven did. A possible reason for their similarity, as we would eventually learn, was because they may have come from sister planets, but I suspected it might have also been because Kyd Wykkyd was half-demon as well. He had glowing red eyes similar to Raven's when she was in her "demonic form. I did not get confirmation of that fact anytime soon, though.

We often wondered why our new friend never spoke. He either used simple sign language or telepathy. For basic questions, he shook his head "no" or nodded his head "yes" to answer simple questions. For more complicated questions, he would use telepathy. There was an obvious connection between Raven and Kyd Wykkyd that we could see, even if neither of them chose to openly acknowledge the bond. So, Beast Boy decided to ask Raven about why the telepath never spoke one day.

"He is a Mute," she explained shortly. It was accompanied by a one-eyed glare.

However, the animal shapeshifter continued his questioning. "I know he's mute, but why doesn't he talk? Does he have no tongue or something?"

At that point, Raven opened both eyes. She spoke emotionlessly, but her eyes glowered fiercely at Beast Boy. I could tell that he was starting to regret asking his inquiry at such an inopportune time, but she explained. "I was born on a planet called Azarath. Azarath had a sister-planet of sorts called Tharaaz. Some types of people born there cannot speak, or their powers become uncontrolled and chaotic."

"Oh," he said. "So Kyd Wykkyd is from Tharaaz?"

"Brilliant deduction," replied the telekinetic dryly. "And do not interrupt me any further," she added before returning to her meditation. He, on the other hand, ran off so as not to tempt the half-demon's wrath any further.

Meanwhile, I mulled over what I had heard. So they did have a connection--- of sorts. I had been taught to examine everything carefully. While examining the conversation in my head, I realized that Raven had not actually confirmed that our new guest was native to Tharaaz, Azarath, or anywhere else. She was usually blunt to a fault, but she had left this open because… I was not sure why. I considered that they might share a secret they mutually wished hidden, but the idea of friends keeping more secrets locked inside worried me. Mayhap they were more similar than they seemed.

My best friend, Starfire, noticed that something was wrong when she saw my face. Although she was not empathic, she could understand people's feelings very well. "Robin," she called concernedly. "Is something bothering you?"

Our time together had made me become more trusting of my companions, so I admitted my unease immediately. "Yes, something is… but let's see Beast Boy and Cyborg so we can talk with them as well." I desired more input on the idea I would put forth.

We went to Cyborg's room, where the two were already talking. "Do you think he's a necrophiliac?" I heard Beast Boy ask Cyborg. "I'm just asking, 'cause he did kiss the corpse and all."

Cyborg started to reply, but I entered the room first with Starfire behind me. "Do you think he might be part-demon?" I asked. "He has the same type of glowing red eyes that Raven has when she becomes angry."

I had expected an ill-timed joke from Beast Boy at this point, but surprisingly, Starfire was the first to reply. "Trigon had his daughter to carry on his legacy into our mortal plane. For what purpose would our new friend have been born?" It was very logical and demonstrated Starfire's mental capabilities. While I was pleased at having some discussion, this suitable answer only led to another dead end.

"I don't know, Star," I admitted. "I don't know."

Signed by Robin, or Dick Grayson.