Chapter 2: Something Strange

Robin woke up in a cold damp place. He pushed himself up and looked around. It was dark except for a light shining from above. It blinded him in the darkness. He staggered to his feet and tried to look around. He spotted a ladder and started for it.

He stopped as everything came flooding back to him. He remembered Johnny Rancid and that other guys beating him up. They hadn't been gentle about it either. After that he blacked out. He wasn't sure where he was.

'Too easy,' he thought to himself.

Robin looked around tryi ng to take in his surroundings. He had no idea where he was or where he could be. The only way out seemed to be the metal rusty ladder on the wall. Above it was a hole that light was shining through.

Weighing his options, Robin was sure he could handle whatever was waiting for him. He needed to get out of here and back to his friends. He needed to get to Starfire and let her know that he hadn't meant to stand her up. He had to explain what happened and maybe figure out who that guy with Johnny was.

Robin started towards the ladder. He was hoping for the best. He just needed to get out of here and get ahold of the other Titans.

-The Invisible-

Cyborg groaned frustratedly as he sunk into a char before the computer. It had been a three days since Robin had disappeared and here was no sign of the boy wonder anywhere. He was starting to really get worried. Robin wouldn't leave them in the dark this long if he was on a mission or something. He would have contacted them by now. The others were getting anxious as well. Starfire was going crazy with worry. She was afraid that the worst had happened. Cyborg had to convince her that Robin was fine, even when he wasn't sure himself.

"Dude, whatcha lookin' at?" Beast Boy asked as he walked up to the cybernetic teen.

"Nothing, I just can't figure out what Robin was up to," Cyborg said shaking his head. He turned away from the computer and looked to the green teen.

"No sign of him yet?" Beast Boy asked chewing at his lip nervously.

"No, and it's not like him to keep us in the dark this long. Something isn't right," Cyborg replied.

"I think we might need some help," Beast Boy said.

"I think we are handling this just fine," Cyborg said glaring at the smaller teen. He meant what he said before, they were keeping this low-key for now. They didn't need word get out that Robin was missing. "We don't need the press finding out that Robin is missing. If they do it'll be open season for the villain to try and take advantage of us in our moment of distraction," he said.

"I never thought about it like that," Beast Boy said slowly.

"Which is why I'm second in command," Cyborg said, "look BB you gotta think of every possible outcome and think ahead of what could and might happen. I get where you're coming from, but we don't need them breathing down our necks just yet," he said.

"Ok, ok," Beast Boy said putting his hands up.

The door whooshed open and the pair looked over to see Starfire enter the room. She looked like she hadn't slept in days. As the days passed she started to get more and more worried.

"Has he contacted us yet?" Starfire asked.

"Not yet, but like I said he could be on a mission and not want to blow his cover. We just have to sit tight and wait for him," Cyborg said smoothly. Starfire just nodded her head and walked into the kitchen. She remained silent as she got herself something to eat.

Beast Boy walked over to the alien teen and tried to start a conversation with her. Starfire kept her replies short and simple. Once she had her food she left the room. Beast Boy turned to Cyborg.

"Give her some time, Robin will be back and she'll return to normal," Cyborg assured the green teen.

The alarm started blaring. Starfire returned to the room with Raven behind her. Cyborg looked to the computer and brought some information up on the big screen.

"It's Rancid, looks like he's back in town," Cyborg said turning to the others, "we can handle this without Robin," he said.

"We can, and we must," Starfire said quickly.

"Let's go," Cyborg said. The four of them raced out of the room.

-The Invisible-

Robin managed to find his way from the woods and to town. He had managed to get out of the ditch without any trouble. He was sure that Rancid had left him there thinking he was dead. They must've thought they finished the job. Robin was glad that they weren't around, he didn't want to deal with them again so soon after he was hurt.

The more he thought about it, the more Robin realized he wasn't hurting anymore. The pain seemed to fade away. Maybe, he had been down there longer than he thought, or he was getting numb to the pain.

Robin quickly made his way through the city unnoticed. He was glad that he wasn't in costume, that might've made things tricky. He crossed the bridge and made it to the tower. He was never so glad to see the giant T shaped tower. He quickly put in the access code and made his way inside. He was sure that the others were worried about him. He was worried about Starfire, would she be ad at him for standing her up? Would she just be glad he was back?

Robin made his way up to the living room. Someone was sure to be there. He entered the room and saw it was empty. He called out for someone, but got no answer. Robin looked to the computer and saw that it had been left open. There had been an alarm for trouble in the city. It was Johnny Rancid. He froze as he looked at the screen. Was Rancid going to attack the others like he had to Robin? Or was he coming to gloat?

He was torn on what to do. He was in no shape to be fighting, but his team needed him. They had no idea what they were getting into. Johnny wasn't playing fair. He had more help. Robin needed to warn them.

Robin started typing away at the computer trying to get ahold of the TItans. He knew his communicator was broken. He just needed someone to pick up. He waited and waited. No one picked up though. Robin smashed his hand on the table and the keyboard jumped across the desk and fell onto the floor. He covered his face and groaned in frustration.

Once he lowered his hands he looked back to the keyboard. It was sitting on the desk undisturbed. It was almost as if he had not done anything. Robin shoved the keyboard off the desk and looked back to the desk. The keyboard was still there. What was going on? Robin grabbed the keyboard and ripped it away from the computer and threw it at the window cracking it. He looked back and once again nothing had happened. The window was as if nothing had happened.

-The Invisible-

The Titans arrived downtown in time to see Johnny causing havoc. He was riding his bike down the street making lewd gestures and breaking anything within reach. He spotted the Titans and froze. A big smug smile crossed his face.

"Alright Rancid! What do you think you're doing!" Cyborg hollered getting his sonic cannon ready just incase Rancid tried something.

"Hey there kiddies, where's your little leader?" Rancid asked.

"He's busy," Cyborg replied.

"Yeah, he doesn't have time to waste with the likes of you," Beast Boy quipped stepping up next to Cyborg.

"Too busy for me, yeah right," Rancid said as he revved his bike.

Rancid quickly started racing towards the Titans. A black shield came up blocking him from getting too close. He turned before hiring it and turned around.

"BB, Star, take to the sky, get him from above," Cyborg ordered.

Beast Boy transformed into a bird and took to the sky with Starfire following him. Cyborg and Raven charged at Rancid as he fled the scene.

Beast Boy cut off Rancid. He stopped dead in the middle of the street a smirk on his face.

"Alright you caught me," he said getting off his bike.

The Titans all froze in shock. Was he really giving up this easily? This didn't seem right? Something wasn't right here.

"Just know, you won't find you're little bird any time soon," Rancid said. He hopped back on his bike and took off. The Titans were too distracted to do anything.

The four gathered on the street and looked at one another. "Let's get out here, he's not gonna cause any more trouble," Cyborg said quickly.

The Titans quickly left the street and headed for the tower. None of them spoke. None of them knew what to say. They were all thinking the same thing, but none of them spoke. Did Rancid have something to do with Robin's disappearance? What did he know? Where did he go? What happened to Robin?

They reached the tower. They remained silent as they walked. They reached the living room before Beast Boy broke the silence.

"Robin's not on a mission is he?" Beast Boy asked.

"I don't think so," Cyborg said.

"It's cold," Starfire said not addressing the subject. She walked over to the thermostat and turned it up.

"Starfire," Raven said softly.

"Rancid is messing with us, no way Robin would let him get the better of him," Starfire said determinedly.

"Star," Raven said walking up to her friend. She placed her hand on her shoulder. "We will find him," she assured the alien teen.

"We need to find Rancid," Beast Boy said.

"Don't worry, I'll find him," Cyborg said moving over to the computer.