Chapter 12 - From bad to good

Part 1 - A new beginning?

"Awakening sequence initiated. Local Time: 9:00 A.M.".

Cyborg woke up in his room unaware of what went on in the tower that night. After stretching he checked his schedule for the day and decided to charge up his batteries for what laid ahead. The charge up lasted only five minutes due to the fact that Cyborg upgraded his system and that he now lost energy much harder then before. When he woke up his energy meter read 65.

After charging up he felt hungry and decided to go to the kitchen where more then probably Rage was already preparing breakfast for the team. Walking down the hallway towards the main room he remembered about Robin and wanted to check up on him seeing how he was the second in command and wanted to know what his friend and leader was doing so as to know how to take action if his condition deteriorated even more then it already had.

He knocked on his door but there was no response from the inside. Figuring that this could just be Robin not answering and acting all determined on catching Slade and ignoring him Cyborg thought that a small glimpse inside wouldn't do much harm. Little did he know that if he tried this just a few hours earlier, things could have ended really ugly.

He silently opened the door and looked inside but to his surprise, Robin wasn't there. This seemed very strange as he knew that Robin wouldn't go searching for Slade at this time of day.

"Maybe he's just out for a breath of fresh air" he thought to himself trying to explain Robin's absence from his room.

With that in mind Cyborg decided to have breakfast and after that see if his hunch was right. Being a loyal friend he hoped that Robin didn't just go out to get some air. Instead, he hoped that he came back to his senses and act normal again.

The door opened with a light hissing sound and the sight of Rage in the kitchen preparing breakfast was something Cyborg got used to. After all, Rage became sort of a butler and house keeper ever since he moved in. He walked over to the fridge to get some water as his mouth was cotton dry.

"Mornin' Rage, what's new?" Cyborg asked trying to start a conversation while getting the bottle of water.

"Good morning ... just making some pancakes and boiling water for the usual morning coffee. I'll be finished in a minute, just take a seat and you'll get it" replied Rage with his head buried in his shoulders as if he tried to hide something.

Cyborg drank some water and placed the plastic bottle back in the fridge. As he was heading for the table the smell of the pancakes Rage was cooking hit him and he went over to he stove to have a good smell.

"Um-umm, that's what I call good cooking. Sure can't wait to wolf'em down" Cyborg said while rubbing his hands with delight.

"Right … well, just take a seat and I'll bring it to you in a minute" replied Rage, who now seemed to hide his face away from his friend.

Cyborg noticed Rage's unfamiliar behavior and wondered why he would hide his appearance from him. He knew about the scar, that wasn't something new, so what did he have to hide from him?

"You alright man?" he asked suspiciously.

"I'm fine. I just have an itch I can't get to" Rage replied still hiding his face.

Cyborg knew something wasn't right, he could recognize these types of things from a mile away and now he wanted to find out what was wrong with his training buddy that he didn't want him to know. He looked closely to what he could see of Rage's face and noticed some dry blood on his temple. That wasn't a good sign because that wasn't just some dry blood, it was a wound. Also he noticed some peculiar spots on the collar and on the right side of his military type shirt that looked just like blood.

"Hey man, where did you get that blood all over you? And what happened to your temple? You hurt yourself or what?" Cyborg asked a little bit worried, a little bit suspicious and a little bit intrigued.

"I ... fell down some ... stairs ... when I came down from the roof this morning. It's nothing big really, just a little scratch" he responded nervously not trying to attract too much attention to himself, let alone his new wound.

"Right ... You fell down some stairs" said Cyborg in a sarcastic manner not believing a word he said.

Rage then turned around and flipped the pancake he was cooking and Cyborg could see the scar now even better, but Rage didn't seem to want to talk about how he got it.

"Tell you what, you go sit down, I'll bring breakfast, and after we eat I'll tell you what happened" said Rage trying to avoid talking, but giving his friend a subtle hint that he didn't hurt himself by 'falling down the stairs'.

Cyborg didn't understand why Rage wouldn't tell him what happened but he knew his character and decided to play along. He went over to the table, sat down and checked his schedule one more time. A few minutes went by quietly and then Raven and Beast Boy came in. They looked different from how they usually did in the morning. They were quiet and didn't even greet their friends; they just went to the table and sat down.

Rage avoiding him, Raven and Beast Boy being quiet, Robin out of his room, all of these things made Cyborg realize that something happened that night, something bad.

"Hey guys, err ... what's up?" asked Cyborg trying to start a conversation

"Oh hi metal-butt, I didn't know you were here" replied Beast Boy trying to play it cool.

Beast Boy just stared at the table and crossed his hands waving his feet and being unfamiliarly quiet and Raven rubbed her chin with her palm as if she was thinking about something. Her worried appearance betrayed her, Cyborg figured out something wasn't right.

"All right you two, what's going on around here that I don't about?" he asked in a frustrated tone.

The two immediately turned their attention to Cyborg and didn't know what to say.

"Err, nothing man, we're just tired that's all, he he" BB replied hesitant.

All of this hesitation was getting on Cyborgs nerves. What was so freakin' important that they didn't want him to know?

"Beast Boy!" he said while narrowing his eyes at his friend.

The tension was growing as Cyborg became more and more inpatient but Raven turned around towards him and placed her index finger near her lips.

"Come here" she whispered to her friend who got closer "Look something not so great went on last night"

"What do you mean?"

"Robin and Starfire had a fight, a really ugly one, but be quiet about it, I'll tell you all about it later" Raven continued whispering.

Cyborg started to understand why they were so quiet this morning but still didn't know exactly what happened. He wanted to ask Raven and BB for more information but just as he opened his mouth he was cut off by Rage from the other side of the room.

"You know I can hear you guys whispering back there" he said "And I don't know why you do that but Cyborg is part of the team and he has the right to know what happened last night, so just go on and tell him already".

The others soon became aware that they were keeping things from each other so they finally decided to talk about the fight.

"So, any chance I'll find out what you were keeping from me anytime soon?" asked Cyborg

"Okay!" Raven sighed "Last night I was worried about how things were going ever since Slade came back. I was thinking about Robin and Starfire and remembered how unhappy she's been these last few weeks so I decided to go and talk to her".

"I see ... and at what time of night did this happen?"

"I think it was about 1:30 or 2:00, or something in between" BB interrupted.

"So anyway" Raven continued after a small pause "I went over to Star's room and found her worrying about Robin so I talked her into going over and try to straighten things out with him but after about 10 minutes after she left I heard her crying"

"Crying? Why?"

"She had a fight with Robin and he tried to hurt her" BB replied again hesitant

"He did what? ... Man are you serious?".

Cyborg couldn't believe what he was hearing. He knew Robin can get irritated now and then but this was too much even for him. He knew about how Robin felt for Starfire ever since they began being a team and now hearing that he tried to hurt the person he cared most for had utterly shocked him.

"I'm dead serious, but things went okay. Or at least I hope they did".

"What do you mean?"

"Well after Star told me what happened I went over to Robin and taught him a lesson but we don't know how he is right now or if he took into consideration what I told him" replied Raven

"Well I don't have to be a genius to figure out that you hurt him" said Cyborg "But what about Starfire? What happened to her?"

That was a question even Raven and Beast Boy couldn't answer because they went to their room after the whole incident occurred and left Starfire with Rage who was suppose to and calm her down.

"Hey Rage!" BB called out "What did you do last night while you were with Starfire? Did things go okay".

"Well yes, things went on pretty smooth if I do say so my self" he replied with a confident tone "I made Starfire realize that this was just a phase Robin needed to get over and that he didn't mean what he said. Needles to say, she cooled down and went to sleep peacefully with no worries what so ever ... or at least that's what it looked like"

"Peacefuly ey?" Cyborg sighed skeptical "If that's so then how did you get that blood on your temple and on your shirt? And don't give us that 'I fell down the stairs' routine again 'couse it won't work".

Cyborg always thought about Starfire being his smaller and naive sister and considered himself as a bigger and over protective brother, so seeing Rage covered with blood and wounded made himself question the truth of his friend's confident answer. What if he did something last night that upset Starfire even more and she hit him thus resulting the blood?

Rage was now nervous and edgy but didn't show it. He didn't want the others to know Robin snapped and hit him but how else could he explain the blood on his clothes?

"Damn it ... What am I going to tell them?" Rage asked himself while continuing to prepare breakfast so that he wouldn't arouse any suspicions "If I tell them what happened they'll freak out and act as if Robin lost it completely ... but come to think of it his face is a bit swollen up from the fight and when he will come down they're going to notice it and figure out what we did"

"Hey Rage" Cyborg called out "I asked you a question man! Where did you get that blood all over you?"

"It's hard to say, I don't want to talk about it" he replied back trying to appear calm

"Rage, we know you're lying" said Raven who also became suspicious "... and listen carefully, I know you're more of a secluded type of person but you're keeping to much from us and as your friends and team mates we have to know what happened. Now spit it out! Where did that blood come from? Huh? Did you get it because of Starfire?"

Rage realized he was on thin ice but he didn't want his friends thinking he did something wrong. After all, he acted abnormal before and another wrong step would have made his stay with the titans rather unsure and the strange thing was that this time he didn't do anything wrong. He stopped cooking and sighed deeply realizing that his team mates were right and that they had the right to know what happened, even if it would mean giving Robin a bad image.

He turned around to face them. While all of them noticed the blood spots on his shirt and the wound on his temple, Rage started speaking:

"Okay, I will tell you what happened but it's not going to be something you would have wanted to hear. You see last night I -" said Rage, but cut his speech short.

The reason Rage stopped was that he heard the hissing sound of the main room door opening and knew what this meant. The others were expecting to see Starfire come in. They hoped she could shed some light on the events that might have taken place that night but contrary to what they were expecting they saw Robin and Starfire entering the room holding hands with excited and joyous expressions on their faces.

After knowing that they had an ugly argument the other night the others were amazed to see them like this. They didn't believe that the two love birds would make up so quickly.

While the others just watched with their mouths wide open Robin and Starfire walking to the table and sitting down, Rage smiled and seemed to lighten up for a change. He looked as if he was pleased but nobody noticed, instead he just turned around and continued what he was doing, and breakfast was almost done.

Robin and Starfire sat down together and greeted the others.

"Good morning to you all, is it not a beautiful day in which to celebrate the reuniting of true friends?" She said with a great smile on her face.

"Er, yes it is ..." Raven replied still baffled though "So, everything worked out fine?" she asked.

"Everything is okay now and it seems like I owe you guys an apology" started Robin "Rage, come here, you have to hear this too".

Rage came over to the table after placing what he was preparing next to the oven. He hoped Robin wouldn't bring up the fight they had earlier for he already thought up of an excuse that would work.

"Gather round, come on, all of you" Robin demanded in a friendly and lively manner.

"Dude, you don't need to apologize, we know what you've been through and - " Beast Boy tried to say but was cut of by his friend.

"Nuh-uh-uh-uh! Not another word. Please, just let me explain" he said with a tone of regret in his voice "Look, these past few weeks I've been acting like a complete jerk: not talking to you guys, ignoring you, shouting at you, I didn't even want to hear what you were saying, but thanks to you I came to know what was really important to me and I've also realized that I was treating wrong the people that I cared the most for and I don't know if I deserve it, I mean I don't even forgive my self, but I hope you guys will forgive me and still treat me like a friend even if I didn't treat you this way these last weeks ... I'm sorry guys."

Robin's apology was a really touching one, the others sensing that he was honest and said it from the heart. Cyborg approached him and grabbed him with his arm by the neck.

"Oh you didn't have to do that man! You're our friend, and friends are supposed to stick together and forgive one another" he said trying to raise his friend's moral.

"We know what you've been through" Beast Boy continued "We all have been in the same situation in the past ... more or less ... but every time we managed to stick together and now is no exception"

"It's good to have you back Robin and I'm sorry for hurting you last night. I guess I got carried away" said Raven being a little sorry that she had to resort to violence.

"I'm glad you guys forgave me" Robin replied "And don't worry Raven, those kicks and punches were something I really needed. Thanks to you I've started questioning my ways and noticed that you were right. From now on I promise to change the way I work and pay more attention, but not to my team though, but to my true friends who were always there for me and supported me, and I also promise that I'll always remain true to you guys"

After these words of wisdom they all cheered and congratulated Robin for his wise decision but they were interrupted by a cough.

"Eheem, sorry to interrupt you guys but I figured that moments like these need to be celebrated, and what better way to celebrate than with a delicious breakfast shared with all of your friends?". The one who interrupted was Rage, he was holding a big plate full of pancakes and maple syrup.

"Splendid idea" Starfire cheered "But before the breakfast of the cakes of pan and the syrup of maple, me and Robin would like to tell you something very important, something that might surprise you but also joy you just as it joys us".

Another announcement? This seemed very eerie, and the way Starfire sounded seemed as though she implied she and Robin wanted to take their relationship even further. One word was on every ones mind ... they were close none the less, yet still wrong.

"Oh yes!" Robin remembered and cleared his throat "Guys, we want to tell you something. You see, over this last period of time me and Star got to be close, very close actually, and in the near future there's going to be a change in the tower, a very special one".

"Marriage" was the word that was on everyone's mind. Rage left before Starfire told Robin about what she kept from him so even he thought they were talking about tying the knot.

"So, what's this change you two are talking about?" asked Raven winking.

"I am glad you have asked" said Starfire "Friends, joyous will be the day when this change will come for in that day the tower will hold not six but seven souls in it".

"Oh my God!" the rest of the team exclaimed to them selves realizing what Starfire and Robin were talking about.

"Star?!?" slowly sighed Cyborg confused.

"No way!" exclaimed Beast Boy who was pleasantly surprised and stuttered "You mean you two? You mean Starfire? You're going to have a ..."

"... baby?" asked Raven beating BB to the final question.

"Yes! Is it not wonderful? The fruit of Robin's love and mine will come to be in eight months from now"

Hearing the news the others congratulated the two soon-to-be parents and started talking about the 'future titan'. Rage brought breakfast and all of them were in a mood they haven't experienced in a long time. All together, all united, all happy, this was the true team spirit.

While eating Raven and BB held hands. They were both thinking about the same thing. If Robin and Starfire have a child, they were likely to be next.

Even so, with all the good disposition going around, Raven's habit of always asking questions and always searching for answers didn't disappear.

"By the way Robin, I'm sorry for those bruises on you face, do they hurt?" she asked thinking she was the one to blame.

"Well yeah, they do hurt a little but it wasn't you who made them, Starfire's slap was so hard that my face couldn't take it" he said while kissing Starfire on her cheek so that nobody would think he was complaining. Secretly, just as Rage, Robin didn't want the others to know about their fight.

"What about you Rage?" Raven continued "You still haven't told us how you got that blood all over your shirt".

When Raven asked that question Rage was chewing his food, but being surprised (and also startled) of what his friend said, he swallowed his breakfast with a big gulp. All of the team was looking at him and saw Robin with a worried expression on his face. Luckily for both of them, he had made up a lie that would save both their butts and put an end to their friend's curiosity.

"Yeah well, like I said before, I don't think you'll be pleased by what you will hear. Are you really sure you want to find out?" he stated making Robin worry even more.

"Come on, you can tell us anything" Cyborg replied showing of a good deal of indulgence.

"Okay I will tell you. Last night after I left Starfire's room an old problem started to act up again. I had a sudden out burst of anger that I could not control and I started acting like a maniac again hitting things like crazy. Because of this I hit my head in the metal door on the roof thus resulting the blood and also the scar".

"So you still have problems with controlling your anger and violent emotions?" asked Starfire playing along, knowing he was trying not to alert his team mates about what really happened.

"See, this is why I did not want to speak about it!" said Rage, but with no sign of irritation in his voice "Instead of enjoying our selves we're talking about my personal problems. All I can say is that I'm going to get over this very soon, so don't worry about it. In the mean time let's enjoy life and let our problems behind for a moment"

The others now seemed to understand why Rage didn't want to talk so much about himself, but Robin still had doubts. He knew Rage made the story up and wanted to eventually find out what he was hiding.