Chapter 3: Flicker of Hope

Robin turned around as the doors whooshed open behind him. The other Titans walked into the room. They started talking to one another. It was about him and Rancid. They knew something was wrong.

"Guys," Robin said walking over to them. He walked over to Starfire.

"It's cold," Starfire said. Her voice sounded distant and cold. Raven moved over to her and comforted her.

Cyborg and Beast Boy continued to talk. Robin wasn't sure what was going on. They were talking about him like he wasn't here.

"Guys I'm right here!"

No one moved or acknowledged him. Robin was moving around trying to get anyone's attention. Nothing he did worked. They continued to talk to one another. Cyborg was at the computer trying to locate Rancid. Beast Boy was at his side talking a mile a minute, relaying every worst case scenario to the cybernetic teen. Raven was trying to comfort Starfire.

"Guys please this isn't funny," Robin pleaded with them. He was getting desperate. If this was a game, he wasn't buying it. It was enough.

"He's not dead, if he were I'd feel it," Starfire said cutting off Beast Boy's rant about Robin possibly being dead. The green teen turned to her and looked at her.

"How do you know?" Beast Boy asked.

"I just know, he's not dead, he is just missing," Starfire said softly.

"Beast Boy enough, this isn't helping anything," Raven snapped at the green teen.

"Will somebody just listen to me!" Robin hollered.

"What?" Raven asked turning around.

"No one said anything," Beast Boy said. Raven turned back to the green teen. "I was saying, that we need to find Rancid soon, who knows what he did to Robin. He wasn't on duty when he was attacked or taken, so no one knows who it is or we don't even know if anyone saw the attack," he said.

"That's it," Cyborg said jumping up.

Robin walked over to Raven. He stopped in front of her. She was back to rubbing Starfire's back comfortingly.

"You heard me," Robin said slowly.

He watched her eyes flick to the side and then back to Starfire. He sighed and shook his head. Maybe he was imagining things. Maybe Beast Boy was right, he was lying somewhere dead. It would make the most sense with everything they were talking about.

Robin left the room and headed to the roof. He sat down on the edge.

'Am I really dead?'

He sat there contemplating that thought. If he was dead, why was he still here. What did this all mean?

Robin looked to his side as a bird landed next to him. He smiled at the bird and held a hand out. The bird jumped up onto his finger. He was shocked. This bird was the first thing to acknowledge him. What did it mean.

Robin was so lost right now. He did not know what to do. He sighed and made his way back inside the tower. The bird remained on his shoulder.

As he approached the living room Beast Boy whizzed past him. He had something in his hands. It looked like a bird. Curiosity got the best of him, he followed Beast Boy into the living room.

"Dude! This little guy got hurt," Beast Boy said holding the little bird in his hands up to Cyborg.

"What happened?" Cyborg asked confused.

"I was outside, you just just clearing my head and thinking," Beast Boy said quickly.

"Well, there is a first for everything," Raven said earning a glare from the changeling.

"Anyways, I saw this little guy fly into the tower, one of the windows," Beast Boy said looking down at the little bird. "He fell and I don't think he'll make it," he added.

"Well, you can at least make him comfortable," Cyborg said knowing how much Beast Boy care for animals.

"I guess, poor little guy," Beast Boy said gloomily. He set about getting a shoebox with some old clothes in it.

Robin watched him the whole time. The bird fluttering around his head the whole time. He looked between the bird Beast Boy had and his new friend. Were they the same bird? No one seemed to notice the flying bird in the room. What did this mean? Was this bird like Robin? Was he trapped in the same limbo like state Robin was?

"There you go little guy," Beast Boy said looking down at the box once everything was settled.

Robin walked over to the bird in the box and looked at it. Beast Boy made no gesture that Robin was there. He was starting to get frustrated. None of this made sense. Why was Robin still here if he was dead.

A light flicked on in his head. If this was the same bird was the bird dead? No it was breathing. Robin could see it still moving slightly. What did that mean? Was Robin still alive too? Robin looked to the bird that was still fluttering around his head.

"I'm not dead."

"What?"

Robin looked over to Raven. She was looking in his direction. He looked at her, not sure if she was looking at him or at Beast Boy.

"Beast Boy did you say something?" Raven asked.

"No, I just made the bird comfortable," Beast Boy said not taking his eyes off the bird.

"You heard me?" Robin asked walking closer to Raven. He watched her eyes flick across the room once more. She did hear him, but she wasn't sure. "I'm right here Raven, I'm not dead."

Raven just turned away from him. She tried focusing on her meditation. Robin crossed the room to stand beside her. Se shifted, but kept her eyes closed as she chanted softly.

"Raven."

Her eyes clenched shut for a moment before relaxing again.

"Raven!"

Her eyes snapped open. She locked eyes with Robin and gasped shocked. She fell back from her pose in the air. She landed on the ground getting the others attention. Cyborg and Starfire turned away from the computer, and Beast Boy finally looked up from his bird.

"Raven, are you ok?" Cyborg asked jumping up to help her up. The others were right behind him.

"I-I think so," Raven said looking straight at Robin for a second. She turned to look at Cyborg. "I gotta go, I need to get away from distractions," she said quickly. She left the room.

Robin stood there. She had seen him, she had to have. Her reaction, and she looked right at him. Maybe this wasn't as hopeless as Robin thought.

-The Invisible-

Raven sat up in her bed, gasping for air. She had dreamt of being beat by a couple of people. Their faces were blurry and all she had felt was pain. It had all seemed so real. She looked around her room, trying to gather herself. She closed her eyes and tried to think about the her dream. She wasn't sure what it meant.

Raven sighed and got dressed for the day. She headed to kitchen. Maybe some breakfast and meditation would help her calm down and figure things out. Maybe she could help Cyborg search for Robin.

Raven entered the kitchen. Beast Boy was eating breakfast already. Starfire was hovering over Cyborg, who was sitting at the computer. Standing beside Starfire was Robin. Raven headed to the kitchen doing a double take. Robin wasn't there, that must've been her imagination. Yes, that was it. She was still riled up from her dream.

"Morning Rae, you look like you've seen a ghost," Beast Boy joked.

"No, just you," Raven replied.

"Nice one," Beast Boy said grinning. Raven shook her head and set about making her breakfast.

"You did see something didn't you?"

Raven turned to retort to Beast Boy, but dropped the bowl in her hands as she saw Robin standing before her. Raven's mouth opened but no words came out. She blinked and he was gone again.

"Everything ok?" Beast Boy asked.

"Yeah, I just thought I-" Raven trailed off, "nothing, I need to meditate," she said cleaning up her mess. She made herself some tea instead.

Once she finished, she headed back to her bedroom. She needed to clear her head. Robin wasn't here, she was imagining things. The others didn't see him or hear him. She was just seeing things. She wanted Robin back, just like the others did. She was worried for her friend.

"I'm just a bit frazzled from everything that is going on," she said to herself as she rose into the air. She crossed her legs and relaxed. "Robin is missing and Rancid is to blame. We just need to find him before it's too late," she said.

Raven took a deep breath and calmed herself down. She started her chant and tried to focus on anything but what she had seen earlier. She hadn't really seem Robin. She hadn't heard him either. Her mind was playing tricks on her. Raven felt the tension leaving her body as she continued to meditate. Her mind was clearing.

A knock on the door made her jump slightly. She gathered herself and walked over to the door ready to tell Beast Boy off. She froze when she saw Starfire standing there, not the green teen. Raven's face fell and she looked the distraught alien over.

"Can I help you Starfire?" Raven asked.

"Why can't we find him?" Starfire asked simply.

"We're trying to Starfire, we know Johnny had something to do with this, we find him, we find Robin," Raven assured her.

"How could we let something like this happen? How could Robin let something like this happen?" Starfire asked.

Raven stepped out of her room and into the hallway. She led Starfire down the hallway. "Look Starfire, you're upset, but blaming yourself isn't the answer. Robin wouldn't want that," she said.

"She's right."

Raven froze and looked around. That sounded like Robin again. Raven shook her head and looked to Starfire. She was looking back at Raven confused.

"You need to get some rest and just relax. Everything is going to work out. Robin is smart and knows how to take care of himself," Raven assured her friend.

"But what if something bad happened," Starfire said as Raven stopped her in front of her bedroom door.

"Trust me Star, I would know if something happened," Raven said.

She and Robin had shared a special bond, that none of the others had. Robin had let Raven into his mind and she let him into hers. They had a special link, and Raven would know if something was wrong with Robin.

"Something has happened and Robin is not fine, I feel it," Starfire said tears in her eyes.

"Starfire, trust me," Raven said firmly. She placed a hand on the red heads shoulder. "Now please, go get some rest. You haven't in days and we are all starting to worry about you. I will come get you if we find anything," Raven said.

"Alright," Starfire sighed. "Please just find him," she said. She turned into her room.

Raven sighed as she stood there. Starfire was taking this the hardest of all the Titans. She was closer to Robin than even Raven was. The two were in love, anyone who had eyes could see it. Starfire needed to take care of herself though. Robin would never want anything to happen to her on his behalf. It was dangerous to not take care of yourself when you were a hero.

Raven placed her hand on Starfire's door. She whispered an incantation. Starfire would thank her later.

"What did you do!"

Raven jumped back as Robin appeared beside her. She looked him up and down. Here he was clear as day. He was glare at Raven.

"What did you do to her?" Robin asked.

"Sleeping enchantment, to keep her dreams away so she can actually get rest," Raven said quickly before shaking her head. "Why am I even telling you this, you're just a figment of my imagination."

She turned and walked away. Robin wasn't really there. She made her way to the living room. Cyborg was on the computer and Beast Boy was standing behind him. They were both watching something. It was security cameras. They were trying to track Rancid.

"Any luck?"

"No, we can track him for a little bit, but after awhile he just disappears," Cyborg said.

"I don't get how, he's not a little guy and that bike is massive," Beast Boy said glaring at the screen.

"He'll turn up," Raven said.

"Raven."

Raven turned and saw Robin again. Why was this happening to her. It was stress. That's all it was. She needed to get her mind off of things.

"Raven, you sure you're ok?" Cyborg asked.

"Yes, why do you ask," She asked looking at him confused.

"You've just been a bit off these last few days," Cyborg replied. "Is something wrong?" he asked.

"Can I tell you guys something, and don't laugh," Raven said quickly. The two turned to her. Cyborg looked concerned and Beast Boy looked curious.

"You can tell us anything Raven," Cyborg said.

"I've been seeing Robin, like everywhere I turn he's there. It's weird," Raven said shaking her head.

"It's stress," Cyborg said.

"I know, but it's odd," Raven said shaking her head. "I don't know, we just need to find Rancid."

"Hello, what do you think we've been doing?" Beast Boy said pointing to the computer.

"You can't get facial recognition or anything," Raven asked looking to Cyborg.

"No and that's odd," Cyborg said shaking his head.

"Keep searching, the sooner we find him the quicker we can find Robin," Raven said.

-The Invisible-

Johnny Rancid walked into his hide out. He turned to see his older brother James with his bag at his side. He looked ready to go, which surprised Johnny.

"Hittin the road already Jimmy-boy?" Johnny asked with a chuckle.

"Yeah, we've got to get out of here before those losers actually find him," James said glaring at Johnny.

"The kid is history, they'll never find him," Johnny said cockily. He walked over to his recliner and sat down.

"Whatever, that kid you hired to get him knows we were involved. Johnny you always were short sighted. This will come back to haunt you," James said.

"They will never find him, I'll make sure if it," Johnny assured him. "If you're so scared then leave, I don't need you here."

"Don't say that I didn't warn you," James said picking his bag up. He left the small apartment.

Johnny walked to the window. He watched as a bike took off away from the curb. He worked better alone anyways. He shook his head as he got himself a beer and sat down. The Titans would never find their little bird. Besides, he still had to finish the job, one down four to go.