Chapter 5: Cover (Robin x Raven)
"I guess that left him stone cold."
Cyborg rolled his eyes at Beast Boy's attempt at a funny joke after he had sent Cinderblock onto the ground.
The changeling approached the stone giant and leaned over to make sure he was really knocked out.
"Guys. Cinderblock's fossil-"
The shape-shifter was taken by surprise when the stone hulk sent his huge fists against him, sending him flying.
When the green teen managed to recover from the blow, he saw himself falling down a large hole that had been previously made by Cinderblock.
"A…little help?" he cried, realizing that the blow was strong enough to impale his left arm to such an extent that flying was useless.
Suddenly a black platform appeared under him and he began floating upwards and he smiled, realizing that Raven just saved him from falling.
He floated above safe ground when all of a sudden the platform disappeared and he landed hard on his behind.
Cinderblock had slammed his weight against the half-demon from behind and she was currently flying in the same direction that Beast Boy had been headed.
She fell through the large hole before a wire tied itself around her ankle and went taut. But her smile didn't last for long because she saw a large boulder falling towards her and she shot out her hands, forming a black shield around her.
The boulder hit her shield and none of the objects received damage but unfortunately it accelerated her speed of fall and she didn't know how deep the hole really was.
Robin, who was holding onto the rope, trying to pull Raven back up suddenly fell forward due to the sudden increase of weight. "Robin!" Starfire shouted and floated towards the boy wonder only for a metal railing to hit her from behind, sending her against Cyborg who had rushed towards their falling friend from the other side.
The team leader pulled out an explosive disk and threw it towards the boulder that sent his friend speeding towards the ground somewhere deep below, causing the rock to be blown into pieces.
Raven's shield disappeared and Robin used one of his bird-a-rangs to attach himself to the jutting rocks.
His fall was stopped and the wire went taut once again, causing Raven to dangle momentarily in the air.
Using her black magic, the wire untied itself from her ankle and she floated up to her leader but was struck with confusion when he suddenly turned to her with a panic-stricken face.
"Raven! Get away!" he shouted before suddenly he fell and slammed forcefully against her.
She felt the wind blowing around her for a short moment before she couldn't make out anything anymore.
Eyelids opened slowly and strong pain began to set in.
"Uh…what…happened?" the leader of the Teen Titans groaned and slowly sat up, holding his head that throbbed with pain.
He realized that his head was bandaged and that he was back in Titans Tower – in his room.
"What's your name?"
He turned to the voice and saw that Beast Boy leaned closely over him. "Knock it off, Beast Boy," Robin said annoyed.
"Ok, I guess he doesn't have amnesia since he knows who I am. Who is he?" the changeling asked and pointed at Cyborg who gave him an annoyed look.
"Cyborg, what happened to Cinderblock?" the leader asked, ignoring the shape-shifter.
"He's behind bars. It was tough without you two but we handled it somehow."
Robin suddenly pulled the cover away and stood up before Cyborg's metallic hand stopped him from moving any further.
Robin flinched as his head began spinning from the sudden movement. "Where…is Raven?" The metallic hand pushed the boy wonder back onto the bed and Robin didn't resist, hoping it would ease the headache. "She's…still in her room. Starfire's checking on her though so no worries."
Robin looked in confusion after hearing the hesitation in Cyborg's voice. "How is she?"
Beast Boy and Cyborg lowered their eyes and Robin felt apprehensive.
"I'm not sure."
Robin frowned at that sentence and jumped from his bed, causing him to stagger for a short moment.
"Dude! Calm down your horses. She'll wake up any time now," Beast Boy tried to calm their leader, not noticing the angry stare Cyborg shot him for making Robin unnecessarily more nervous.
"You mean she is-"
Robin's sentence was interrupted by Starfire's cry that sounded from somewhere in the hallway.
"Starfire!" the leader shouted worriedly and rushed out of the room, followed by the half-robot and shape-shifter.
Raven's door stood slightly open and the three boys dashed through.
"Starfire! Is she-"
Robin stared in confusion and relief at what he saw.
Raven stared in annoyance at the boys that had just barged into her room but probably was more irked that Starfire wouldn't let her go as the alien cried rivers of happiness into her shoulder.
"Starfire…I'm fine! You can let go of me now!" she said monotonously. "It is such a joy to see you the alive and the kicking," Starfire cried, after she finally let go of the half-demon.
"I guess I wouldn't say that I'm kicking anymore," Raven stated and glanced at her right foot that was currently in a cast.
Beast Boy laughed at this and Raven shot him a death glare.
"That wasn't a joke! I can show you why if you don't believe me," Raven said and Beast Boy stepped back, obviously still finding some use for his legs.
"Why…are you in a cast?" Robin asked, wishing to know of all the details he missed out on.
"I'm not the one you should ask. I was knocked out…after you told me to stay away."
Her eyes lowered to the cast and a slight frown appeared on her face.
Robin turned to the others and the nervousness was written on all of their faces. "Cinderblock managed to throw a boulder after you fell into the hole and when we finally took him out… we saw that both of you were buried under it," Cyborg said and the leader saw that his hands clenched to fists.
"We will promise not to disappoint you again," Starfire said, her eyes reflecting the guilt she felt.
"And I think all of this wouldn't have happened if I had been more careful," Beast Boy joined in, his eyes still at his shoes.
Raven and Robin stared in surprise at the three guilt-stricken teammates.
Suddenly the crime alert rang through the tower and both Raven and Robin were the first ones to get out of the room.
But they didn't get far since Cyborg and Starfire blocked their way.
"Cyborg! We have to leave!" Robin said confused and irritated before he held his head that began spinning again.
"We're leaving alright! But you two are not."
"We're fine! What if the enemy is too strong for just the 3 of you?" Raven asked.
"And what should be done if our enemy manages to inflict more of the pain to you?" Starfire asked this time.
"So you want to risk your lives for just some minor wounds?" Robin asked.
"Do you want me to risk all 5 of us instead?" Cyborg asked annoyed.
"We will have a higher chance of winning."
"I think you will only be in our way," Cyborg retorted and Robin shot him an angry glare. "Look at you! You trip every 5 steps!"
Robin's angry expression vanished but was still against their choice.
"And Raven can't float forever. If she gets hit then she is as useful as a turtle."
Raven glared at the half-robot. "We're only trying to help."
"And so are we! How about you both take things easy for once? Let us do the thinking today, ok?" Cyborg smiled at the two uptight Titans.
And before they could give them their answer the 3 teammates dashed out of the tower.
Robin's hands clenched to fists and he turned away. Raven glanced at her leader, feeling similar emotions inside her but tried to ignore them.
The leader made his way back to the room and Raven went to hers not shortly after.
Raven took a spell book from her shelf and dropped onto her bed before she floated and the pages flipped open.
How could she have let this happen? An hour passed and Robin slowly woke up and realized that he had been sleeping on his desk after he tried to find out what Cinderblock had been looking for in the museum.
The leader made his way to the common room, occasionally pausing when he felt dizzy. And he was surprised to see Raven also in the common room. She was sitting cross-legged on the couch, her hood pulled deep into her face.
He sat next to her and for a moment none of them spoke as the sun began to set.
"It was my fault!"
Raven turned to the boy wonder in confusion.
"I should have come up with a better strategy. Then neither you nor Beast Boy would have been put in danger." Robin's eyes narrowed. And Raven realized how hard it must be for him to sit here while the rest of his team is in danger of losing the battle.
"No, Robin! I should have been watching my enemy more closely. It was my carelessness that brought us into trouble."
Robin saw that she turned away from his eyes, unable to see her friends hurt – she almost lost them after all.
Robin turned away as well, silently scolding himself for even letting Cyborg walk out of the Tower.
"The only fault I see is that you both cover yourself from us."
Both teens turned to the voice and were received with the exhausted but smiling faces of Cyborg, Starfire and Beast Boy.
Robin and Raven cocked their heads in confusion.
"You should be more trusting," Starfire explained curtly. "What? What makes you think that we don't trust you?" Robin asked annoyed.
"Terra…" Beast Boy said and both Titans looked in surprise at her name.
He was right! Both had their doubts about her – Robin mistrusted her ability to control her powers and Raven mistrusted her intentions for even wanting to be a Titan.
"You might be right with Terra…but you?" "So you would trust us with the Hive?"
"Yes," both said at the same time.
"And would you trust Beast Boy with them…alone?" Cyborg asked and Robin and Raven looked at each other unsurely.
"That's exactly what we mean."
Both lowered their heads, realizing that Cyborg's words were right.
They were suspicious and calculating indeed!
"And what if I tell you that it was Beast Boy who kicked the Hive's butt today?"
They looked up in surprise and Cyborg, Starfire and Beast Boy walked merrily towards their rooms.
"I guess you can leave the tough guys to me now," Beast Boy called and Robin and Raven agreed that it was this attitude that made them not to trust him with the tough guys next time.
"I guess the others are right. Maybe…we are covering ourselves a bit too much," Raven murmured.
"Maybe we…should open up a bit more…like we did with each other."
She looked up at Robin's words and images of their bruised leader appeared before her eyes before she entered his mind.
Robin gave a small smile, images of Raven protecting them from her father flashing across his mind.
They realized that just as much as they trusted each other, they had to trust their team for them to improve as a whole.
And they could start by removing their covers once in a while.
"I guess that left him stone cold."
Cyborg rolled his eyes at Beast Boy's attempt at a funny joke after he had sent Cinderblock onto the ground.
The changeling approached the stone giant and leaned over to make sure he was really knocked out.
"Guys. Cinderblock's fossil-"
The shape-shifter was taken by surprise when the stone hulk sent his huge fists against him, sending him flying.
When the green teen managed to recover from the blow, he saw himself falling down a large hole that had been previously made by Cinderblock.
"A…little help?" he cried, realizing that the blow was strong enough to impale his left arm to such an extent that flying was useless.
Suddenly a black platform appeared under him and he began floating upwards and he smiled, realizing that Raven just saved him from falling.
He floated above safe ground when all of a sudden the platform disappeared and he landed hard on his behind.
Cinderblock had slammed his weight against the half-demon from behind and she was currently flying in the same direction that Beast Boy had been headed.
She fell through the large hole before a wire tied itself around her ankle and went taut. But her smile didn't last for long because she saw a large boulder falling towards her and she shot out her hands, forming a black shield around her.
The boulder hit her shield and none of the objects received damage but unfortunately it accelerated her speed of fall and she didn't know how deep the hole really was.
Robin, who was holding onto the rope, trying to pull Raven back up suddenly fell forward due to the sudden increase of weight. "Robin!" Starfire shouted and floated towards the boy wonder only for a metal railing to hit her from behind, sending her against Cyborg who had rushed towards their falling friend from the other side.
The team leader pulled out an explosive disk and threw it towards the boulder that sent his friend speeding towards the ground somewhere deep below, causing the rock to be blown into pieces.
Raven's shield disappeared and Robin used one of his bird-a-rangs to attach himself to the jutting rocks.
His fall was stopped and the wire went taut once again, causing Raven to dangle momentarily in the air.
Using her black magic, the wire untied itself from her ankle and she floated up to her leader but was struck with confusion when he suddenly turned to her with a panic-stricken face.
"Raven! Get away!" he shouted before suddenly he fell and slammed forcefully against her.
She felt the wind blowing around her for a short moment before she couldn't make out anything anymore.
Eyelids opened slowly and strong pain began to set in.
"Uh…what…happened?" the leader of the Teen Titans groaned and slowly sat up, holding his head that throbbed with pain.
He realized that his head was bandaged and that he was back in Titans Tower – in his room.
"What's your name?"
He turned to the voice and saw that Beast Boy leaned closely over him. "Knock it off, Beast Boy," Robin said annoyed.
"Ok, I guess he doesn't have amnesia since he knows who I am. Who is he?" the changeling asked and pointed at Cyborg who gave him an annoyed look.
"Cyborg, what happened to Cinderblock?" the leader asked, ignoring the shape-shifter.
"He's behind bars. It was tough without you two but we handled it somehow."
Robin suddenly pulled the cover away and stood up before Cyborg's metallic hand stopped him from moving any further.
Robin flinched as his head began spinning from the sudden movement. "Where…is Raven?" The metallic hand pushed the boy wonder back onto the bed and Robin didn't resist, hoping it would ease the headache. "She's…still in her room. Starfire's checking on her though so no worries."
Robin looked in confusion after hearing the hesitation in Cyborg's voice. "How is she?"
Beast Boy and Cyborg lowered their eyes and Robin felt apprehensive.
"I'm not sure."
Robin frowned at that sentence and jumped from his bed, causing him to stagger for a short moment.
"Dude! Calm down your horses. She'll wake up any time now," Beast Boy tried to calm their leader, not noticing the angry stare Cyborg shot him for making Robin unnecessarily more nervous.
"You mean she is-"
Robin's sentence was interrupted by Starfire's cry that sounded from somewhere in the hallway.
"Starfire!" the leader shouted worriedly and rushed out of the room, followed by the half-robot and shape-shifter.
Raven's door stood slightly open and the three boys dashed through.
"Starfire! Is she-"
Robin stared in confusion and relief at what he saw.
Raven stared in annoyance at the boys that had just barged into her room but probably was more irked that Starfire wouldn't let her go as the alien cried rivers of happiness into her shoulder.
"Starfire…I'm fine! You can let go of me now!" she said monotonously. "It is such a joy to see you the alive and the kicking," Starfire cried, after she finally let go of the half-demon.
"I guess I wouldn't say that I'm kicking anymore," Raven stated and glanced at her right foot that was currently in a cast.
Beast Boy laughed at this and Raven shot him a death glare.
"That wasn't a joke! I can show you why if you don't believe me," Raven said and Beast Boy stepped back, obviously still finding some use for his legs.
"Why…are you in a cast?" Robin asked, wishing to know of all the details he missed out on.
"I'm not the one you should ask. I was knocked out…after you told me to stay away."
Her eyes lowered to the cast and a slight frown appeared on her face.
Robin turned to the others and the nervousness was written on all of their faces. "Cinderblock managed to throw a boulder after you fell into the hole and when we finally took him out… we saw that both of you were buried under it," Cyborg said and the leader saw that his hands clenched to fists.
"We will promise not to disappoint you again," Starfire said, her eyes reflecting the guilt she felt.
"And I think all of this wouldn't have happened if I had been more careful," Beast Boy joined in, his eyes still at his shoes.
Raven and Robin stared in surprise at the three guilt-stricken teammates.
Suddenly the crime alert rang through the tower and both Raven and Robin were the first ones to get out of the room.
But they didn't get far since Cyborg and Starfire blocked their way.
"Cyborg! We have to leave!" Robin said confused and irritated before he held his head that began spinning again.
"We're leaving alright! But you two are not."
"We're fine! What if the enemy is too strong for just the 3 of you?" Raven asked.
"And what should be done if our enemy manages to inflict more of the pain to you?" Starfire asked this time.
"So you want to risk your lives for just some minor wounds?" Robin asked.
"Do you want me to risk all 5 of us instead?" Cyborg asked annoyed.
"We will have a higher chance of winning."
"I think you will only be in our way," Cyborg retorted and Robin shot him an angry glare. "Look at you! You trip every 5 steps!"
Robin's angry expression vanished but was still against their choice.
"And Raven can't float forever. If she gets hit then she is as useful as a turtle."
Raven glared at the half-robot. "We're only trying to help."
"And so are we! How about you both take things easy for once? Let us do the thinking today, ok?" Cyborg smiled at the two uptight Titans.
And before they could give them their answer the 3 teammates dashed out of the tower.
Robin's hands clenched to fists and he turned away. Raven glanced at her leader, feeling similar emotions inside her but tried to ignore them.
The leader made his way back to the room and Raven went to hers not shortly after.
Raven took a spell book from her shelf and dropped onto her bed before she floated and the pages flipped open.
How could she have let this happen? An hour passed and Robin slowly woke up and realized that he had been sleeping on his desk after he tried to find out what Cinderblock had been looking for in the museum.
The leader made his way to the common room, occasionally pausing when he felt dizzy. And he was surprised to see Raven also in the common room. She was sitting cross-legged on the couch, her hood pulled deep into her face.
He sat next to her and for a moment none of them spoke as the sun began to set.
"It was my fault!"
Raven turned to the boy wonder in confusion.
"I should have come up with a better strategy. Then neither you nor Beast Boy would have been put in danger." Robin's eyes narrowed. And Raven realized how hard it must be for him to sit here while the rest of his team is in danger of losing the battle.
"No, Robin! I should have been watching my enemy more closely. It was my carelessness that brought us into trouble."
Robin saw that she turned away from his eyes, unable to see her friends hurt – she almost lost them after all.
Robin turned away as well, silently scolding himself for even letting Cyborg walk out of the Tower.
"The only fault I see is that you both cover yourself from us."
Both teens turned to the voice and were received with the exhausted but smiling faces of Cyborg, Starfire and Beast Boy.
Robin and Raven cocked their heads in confusion.
"You should be more trusting," Starfire explained curtly. "What? What makes you think that we don't trust you?" Robin asked annoyed.
"Terra…" Beast Boy said and both Titans looked in surprise at her name.
He was right! Both had their doubts about her – Robin mistrusted her ability to control her powers and Raven mistrusted her intentions for even wanting to be a Titan.
"You might be right with Terra…but you?" "So you would trust us with the Hive?"
"Yes," both said at the same time.
"And would you trust Beast Boy with them…alone?" Cyborg asked and Robin and Raven looked at each other unsurely.
"That's exactly what we mean."
Both lowered their heads, realizing that Cyborg's words were right.
They were suspicious and calculating indeed!
"And what if I tell you that it was Beast Boy who kicked the Hive's butt today?"
They looked up in surprise and Cyborg, Starfire and Beast Boy walked merrily towards their rooms.
"I guess you can leave the tough guys to me now," Beast Boy called and Robin and Raven agreed that it was this attitude that made them not to trust him with the tough guys next time.
"I guess the others are right. Maybe…we are covering ourselves a bit too much," Raven murmured.
"Maybe we…should open up a bit more…like we did with each other."
She looked up at Robin's words and images of their bruised leader appeared before her eyes before she entered his mind.
Robin gave a small smile, images of Raven protecting them from her father flashing across his mind.
They realized that just as much as they trusted each other, they had to trust their team for them to improve as a whole.
And they could start by removing their covers once in a while.