The Reason Why
Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans.
AN: Hey everyone! After an EXTREMELY long hiatus, I am finally back! School's been taking up most of my life and I've been trying to work extra hard to do well, so I apologize from the bottom of my heart to all the readers who have been waiting for the next chapter of this story. It took me a while because I was jumping back and forth from work to story and I kept losing fluidity, so this chapter may be a little more choppy than my first two. So please go easy on me and PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don't forget to review! It's motivation for me to keep writing and hopefully, write faster! :)
Happy readings everyone!
Chapter 3: Aftermath
The boy wonder swiftly made his way towards the glowing green aura, hopping furiously from rooftop to rooftop with stealth and charisma. The cold air of the night nipped at his nose and cheeks and his midnight black hair was pushed back out of his face by the force of his steady running. His eyebrows knitted together in a stern yet emotionless expression, very typical of the ex-superhero sidekick. Curious, he quickened his pace, hoping to reach the crash site before any innocent bystanders got to it first.
It was around 10 p.m. and there was a decent amount of people still out and about, returning home from working overtime or heading out to party at the hottest clubs and bars. Robin heard the screeching echo of braking vehicles and several loud honks. He figured the object had fallen in the middle of the street and was now causing a big pileup of traffic. When he finally arrived at the site, it was significantly worse than he had imagined.
Yes, there was a pileup of traffic. A really LARGE pileup of traffic. Robin surveyed the scene from the nearest rooftop, being sure to remain unnoticed for the time being, and looked on in slight shock and disbelief. He squinted at the bright green rays being emitted from the giant crater that the fallen object had left in its wake. As he reviewed the situation before him, Robin saw that whatever the object was, it had landed right smack in the middle of a busy intersection. Cars were littered across the roads, either turned over or simply demolished by the impact of the crash. The traffic lights had been thrown from their poles and had ended up miles away from where they originally hung. Glass from windows of nearby buildings had shattered into millions of tiny fragments, creating a horrifically beautiful image of a sparkling death trap.
Robin began to hear the sirens drawing closer and closer to where he stood. The paramedics should be there real soon…
But soon was not soon enough.
Robin immediately heard the crescendo of cries and screams radiating from the crash site. He instinctively made his way down towards the ground, being sure to draw as little attention to himself as he possibly could. Like a stealthy cat, Robin landed soundless onto the cold hard floor of a dark alley between two buildings overlooking the giant crater. He stood back against the wall and scanned the area. Or… what was left of it, anyway. He looked on as police vehicles appeared from every which way, like hungry sharks swarming at a potential meal. They stopped just short of the glass-littered roads and proceeded in on foot, hoping to rescue any survivors either injured on the streets or still trapped within their demolished cars.
Robin half-believed what he saw before him. The entire scene was just too out-of-this-world to comprehend all at once. Really, how often does a giant meteor come crashing towards Earth? Why don't the heavens just send down an army of aliens while they're at it? This all seemed to be coming straight out of a science fiction movie and Robin was in the center of it all, the big star on the set of an action-packed movie filled with dangerous stunts and mind-blowing special effects. He was just waiting for someone to say 'cut' and have it all be over and done with. It all seemed crazy enough. While he did admit to himself he wanted some excitement, Robin was in no way prepared for the cards that were finally dealt to him.
What the hell was going on?
He suddenly snapped back into reality when he heard a cry coming from somewhere nearby. He whipped around to his right and discovered, to his horror, a large SUV that had attached itself quite forcefully to a tall, thick telephone pole. The driver had probably seen the oncoming meteor crash and tried to avoid joining the other vehicles in a giant pileup. Whatever happened afterwards resulted in a head on collision with the telephone pole; the driver had probably lost control of the car. Its nose was completely concaved inward from the violent force of impact. Robin heard the cry again, but this time it came out in a pain-filled groan and it seemed to originate from inside the vehicle. Someone was still trapped inside.
Robin dashed over to the side of the car by a sheer rush of adrenaline and the extent of the damage became quite apparent as he did so. The windshield was in terrible condition. Cracks were spidering in every which way to the point where Robin was unable to see through to the inside. It didn't help that the side windows were tinted black either, and even those had taken quite a bit of damage. The front tires had been ripped from their axles and were flat, facing at impossible angles and barely hanging on by a scrap of metal. Pieces of the car's hood were now sprinkled across the road and sidewalk and the hood itself bent in such a way that it created a pointy, mountain-like shape, leaving an opening that exposed the contents inside. From the way it looked, it seemed nearly impossible for anyone to have survived such a brutal crash.
A small whimper echoing from inside the car said otherwise. Robin, forcing himself to remain calm, found the door handle closest to him and pulled, only to find that it was jammed shut.
Crap.
"Are you alright in there!" Robin shouted. He placed his ear close to the cracked backseat window, hoping to make out any sort of response.
No answer.
"Hello! Can you hear me in there! Anyone!" Robin pressed again.
Still no answer.
Robin ran his fingers aggressively through his spiked hair in frustration and anxiety. He took a couple steps away from the vehicle only to pivot right back, his hand running from his hair down the back of his head to rest at the base of his neck. He was seriously debating tearing the door off its hinges, but a small part of him was afraid to discover what he would find behind it.
"Help… "
Robin stopped dead in his tracks, almost not believing he heard clearly. The voice was so soft and weak.
"Help… hurts…"
That was all Robin needed to hear.
"Don't worry, I'm going to get you out! Hang on!" Robin shouted.
He grabbed the door handle with renewed vigor and pulled with all his might. His muscles strained at his attempts and his teeth gritted together in determination. Despite his efforts, the door still wouldn't budge. Robin released the door handle and shook his arms to relieve some of the pinching soreness already seeping into his tense muscles.
"Damn it…" Robin mumbled to himself. He kicked at the door a couple times, hopefully to loosen its hinges and perhaps make it easier to pry open.
"Hu-hurry… *cough*…" the voice said, desperately.
Robin couldn't waste another second. "Okay, listen to me! I need you to put your head down and put your arms over your head! Get as far away from the window as you can, I'm going to break it!"
Robin waited for response, but he was half-expecting to receive one. He waited three seconds… then five seconds… seven seconds… once ten seconds were up, he stood in position next to the car preparing to enter by force.
"I'm coming in!"
Heart pounding, Robin brought his right elbow from his lower left side up sharply to the right, directly in contact with the already damaged tinted backseat window. With a loud crash the window shattered inward, leaving sharp pointy edges of glass along the window's border. Robin seethed as pieces of jagged glass scraped and cut his skin like a knife through butter. Ignoring the bits of blood emerging from the cuts, he backed up away from the broken glass and took a deep breath, knowing that the task of inspecting the damage within the car was still at hand. A cut up arm would be the least of his worries from this point on.
Robin timidly glanced inside the window and his heart nearly stopped at the sight before him.
Crouched in the backseat was a little boy around four to five years of age, hands covering his head and legs tucked into his chest in a fetal-like position. Just next to him was a tilted car seat, the buckles were undone which signified that the child had freed himself after the crash. Pieces of glass littered his short blonde hair, all along his body and across the seat, causing his shirt and pants to sparkle rainbow specks. He was visibly shaking in fear and his back jerked in small spasms, signaling that the toddler was indeed crying.
Robin's usual placid face softened at the sight of the trembling boy and couldn't help but feel a small tugging in his chest. So small… so vulnerable. A sudden flash of a child's motionless body ran through Robin's mind and left just as quickly. Shocked, Robin shook his head as if to fling the thoughts out from his head. Ugh, he absolutely hated when that happened.
Memories of the past tended to hit him at unexpected times and he did his absolute best to suppress them. Though he knew he couldn't remove them from his mind permanently, Robin always hoped he was good enough to at least be able place those memories in a small chest and lock it away somewhere deep inside his heart where no one, not even he, could ever find them again. But in some way or another, there was something about a small defenseless child that affected him in a way nothing else could. Perhaps it was his own broken childhood, his own unfortunes as a small boy that fueled his desire to protect the boys and girls that existed out there, to prevent anything that would ever cause them fear or pain. Perhaps it was the little girl, the small innocent little girl whom he knew he failed to protect...
That was all behind him now, or so he believed it to be. Nevertheless, no child deserved to go through such trauma at such a young age, and Robin knew this all too well. He slowly reached into the car and gently placed his hand upon the little boy's back. The child winced. Robin could feel his shivering, and his heart sank even deeper.
"Hey, buddy," Robin said in an unusually soft voice, "everything's going to be alright now, okay?"
The fragile boy slowly lifted his head from his arms, which were positioned so that the weight was on his elbows. His eyes that were once squeezed shut in fear gradually opened to reveal beautiful blue orbs that swam in a film of tears. He cautiously sat up and turned towards the broken window where Robin stood patiently, never removing his hand from behind the boys back. The toddler sniffled and his eyes widened slightly at the sight of the boy wonder.
"R-R-Robin?" he stuttered in fear. He was obviously trying to hold back the crying spasms. His tiny left hand came up towards his face and Robin watched as his thumb entered his mouth and he slowly began to suck.
"That's right," Robin responded with a small half-smile, "I'm here to help you. What's your name?"
"T-Tyler," the little boy said in a god-awful cute voice. "Robin," he said again as he pointed to him.
"That's right, I'm Robin," the boy wonder said. Then he noticed Tyler pointing over to the seat pocket directly in front of where he sat. Tucked halfway into the pocket was a small action figure. Robin immediately recognized the distinct detail of the plastic red uniform, 'R' insignia, black cape and white eye mask. It was him, only much smaller and… plastic.
Tyler pulled his thumb of out his mouth. "Robin…" he repeated with a sniffle and glanced at him again with his teary, but curious blue eyes. Robin couldn't help but smirk.
"I look good, don't I?" he said. Tyler nodded slightly and placed his thumb back into his mouth, an adorably confused expression plastered on his face.
Robin felt for the boy. He seemed to be oblivious to what just happened to him, most likely due to trauma. He simply sat there in the center of a bashed up vehicle, his spirits lifting at the sight of his hero standing in front of him. He was blissfully unaware of the unspeakable havoc that he was able to escape with his life.
Robin began to hear a louder chorus of screeching wheels and noticed a storm of bright red and blue police lights pouring from every which way. The sounds of ambulance trucks filled the skies. Robin turned and saw that the police and the paramedics were starting to arrive by the bunches. He needed to get the boy out of the car and into an ambulance so that he could be checked thoroughly for any internal injuries he may have sustained from the force of the crash.
Suddenly, Tyler began to whimper. His right hand came up to his head and his eyes squinted in pain.
"Ow.. it-it hurts…" he cried. Robin turned his attention back to the little boy. He watched as Tyler removed his hand from his head, only to pull away a palm-full of blood. Robin's eyes widened, but Tyler seemed to show no fear or emotion. He curled his fingers and opened again, smearing the sticky substance all over the tops of his fingers and across his palm. He seemed to be fascinated with the subject and was temporarily distracted from the pain he felt in his head just moments before. Robin took the opportunity to make an attempt to remove him from the car without panicking the little boy.
"Okay, Tyler," Robin began in a hurry, "I need to get you out of the car, alright?"
Tyler shifted his eyes from his bloody hand over to Robin and held the hand up, fingers upward, as if to show Robin the red substance he found so enthralling.
"Right... great buddy…" Robin continued half-sarcastically reaching over and grabbing Tyler by the armpits and pulling him towards the window.
"Okay, take a step here…" Robin said, referring to the window ledge. Tyler held his foot out as Robin held him up.
"Slowly…" Robin pushed calmly. Tyler's foot planted itself steadily onto the ledge.
"That-a-boy… take your time…" Robin assured, "…careful of the, uh, sharp pointy clear thingies…" It was the only description of glass he could come up with at the present moment.
Tyler's thumb found itself lodged nervously into his mouth as the child followed the boy wonder's instructions with utmost concentration. After several moments, both of Tyler's feet were standing on the window sill while Robin held the boy up with his hands firmly around his rib cage.
"Good job, Tyler," Robin commended. "Now I want you to jump out from the window, understand?"
Tyler nodded. He pulled his thumb out of his mouth and held onto Robin's wrists to the best of his ability and popped upwards with his small legs. Robin used the momentum to pick the boy upwards and have him land safely into his strong arms. Tyler's little limbs wrapped around Robin's neck and held him tightly. His head rested comfortably on Robin's left shoulder.
"There's a brave little man," Robin praised as he patted Tyler firmly on the back. Robin began to walk away from the crash just as a police car and ambulance parked itself rather clumsily next to the mutilated vehicle. A couple of paramedics rushed out from the back of the ambulance with first aid and began pulling out a stretcher. A single officer emerged from the police vehicle and hurried over to where Robin stood with Tyler.
"Robin," the officer acknowledged.
"Officer," Robin responded coldly. He never really was good at making conversation.
"Was anyone hurt?" the officer asked. He turned and spotted the crash. "Damn…"
"Don't know about the driver yet," the boy wonder began sternly, "but I pulled the kid out just a few minutes ago. Name's Tyler. Seems to be okay, but he has a pretty bad cut on his head somewhere. He needs to be looked at."
The officer nodded, his hands holding each side of the belt around his waist. His eyes turned and began to scan the entire crash site area, marveling at the disastrous beauty before him. His walkie talkie began beeping and a voice was heard through the speaker. There was a great deal of static, but the officer was able to make out the voice of his partner telling him that he was on his way and asking about the status of the situation. The officer pressed a button and began speaking into the talkie.
"Yeah, man… its absolute insanity out here. I can't even begin to describe to you what it looks like. Just get over here, it's gonna be one hell of a night."
The voice in the talkie spoke again, "Any..zzz..idea..zzz..what landed..zzz.. out there?"
The officer again brought his finger up to press and hold the button before speaking, "Chuck and his group are already at the center where the thing landed. All they found was a hole in the ground emitting green light. Strange, really."
"No..zzz..rock? Perhaps even an..zzz..alien?" A chuckle was heard in between static breaks.
"Just hurry your ass over here!" the officer commanded with increasing irritation. He rolled his eyes as he placed his walkie talkie back in his belt. His hand came up to rub at his eyes in tired annoyance.
"There was nothing?" Robin asked.
The officer continued rubbing at his eyes and moved downwards across his face. "Naw...at least not yet," he explained. "They walked up there and checked the crater. Climbed in and everything. There was nothing of particular interest. It seemed like the crater just created itself."
Robin's eyes furrowed. 'Something HAD to have fallen…' he thought.
"I'm going to scour the area," the boy wonder finally spoke. "I need you to take the kid."
Robin began to pat Tyler's back, hoping to stir him. "Hey, you still with me?"
Tyler's head simply tilted flaccidly onto Robin's shoulder. His arms that were once wrapped around the boy wonder's neck became limp and slid down the sides of Robin's arms. Both men froze.
"Tyler? Hey.. hey…" Robin shook a bit more forcefully. When there was still no response, Robin brought his hand up to the back of Tyler's head and leaned forward so that he was cradling Tyler on his back with his strong arms, enabling him to see the boy's face.
And he immediately saw the problem.
There was a stream of blood running down Tyler's face, originating from the top of his head. Tyler's shirt was drenched dark red and Robin looked down at his own shoulder to find his uniform stained the same dark red color. Robin lowered himself and placed Tyler's legs down onto the ground but held his upper body up and off the floor. The officer was at Tyler's other side in a split second and whipped out a handkerchief, pressing it firmly onto the boy's head. He immediately began checking for a pulse while trying to contain the blood.
"There's a pulse, but we're gonna lose him fast if we don't do something quick!" the slightly panicked officer yelled.
"Get the stretcher here, NOW!" Robin screamed.
Suddenly, a dreadfully loud bang was heard and before anyone realized what was happening, the boy wonder was thrown back a good ten feet. The startled officer immediately shielded the boy with his own body. A black cat dashed out from the alleyway in fear.
"SHOTS FIRED! EVERYBODY GET DOWN!" he shouted with all his might.
Paramedics and officers within the area took cover behind cars, trucks, and buildings. Police officers took their weapons out, but had no idea which way to shoot first. Bystanders watched in shock as Robin landed with a painful grunt and rolled another foot or two before slowing down to a stop. He hit his head a couple of times on the rough pavement and felt a tad dizzy, but managed to try and sit up. His left hand came up to rub his head in an attempt to soothe some of the wooziness, but when he tried to move his right arm, a shocking pain seared up his damaged limb.
'Was I hit?' the boy wonder thought. He pulled up his green sleeve and slipped his also-green glove about halfway down his forearm, half expecting there to be a really gross and gruesome bullet wound. The bang and temporarily unbearable pain definitely made it seem like he had been shot by some sort of weapon. The only thing strange about it was… there was no blood. No pool on the ground, nothing staining his clothes. When he finally revealed the bare skin Robin was surprised to find, not a bullet wound, but a rash-like burn running up and down his arm. Small, barely noticeable blisters had already started to form at and around where the forearm connected to the upper arm, where his skin had already been exposed to the open.
"What the—" Robin murmured to himself.
"Robin! Robin, you okay?"
Robin looked up just in time to see Tyler being wheeled off on a stretcher and pushed into the back of an ambulance. The officer that shielded him earlier was quickly running over to where Robin sat, his left hand holding the belt as if to prevent his pants from slipping all the way down to his knees.
"I'm okay," Robin answered, "the kid?"
"He's fine," the officer assured. "He wasn't hit. Just lost a little too much blood and passed out." Robin nodded. On the inside, Robin hoped and prayed Tyler was going to be alright. He seethed between his teeth at the burn on his arm, which seemed to be getting worse. He looked down and saw that the cuts he received earlier from the glass had reopened into larger wounds and began to trickle blood.
"Damn it," Robin cursed.
"What on earth did you get hit with?" the officer questioned in disbelief. "There was a bang, a flash of neon green light, and then you jus—"
"I don't know," Robin interrupted sternly as he found his way to his feet. His cape flowed down around his shoulders, covering his torso in its black darkness. "Whatever it was, it came from over there…" he nodded over towards the spot between the two buildings, "…probably from the alleyway I came out of."
The officer drew his gun and pointed it at the alley, "Alright then, I'll go in and—"
Before he could finish his sentence the boy wonder placed his hand on the officer's chest, stopping him dead in his tracks.
"Thanks bud, but I've got this," Robin said coolly. "You're needed out here. They're gonna need all hands on deck to clean up this place."
Debating whether or not he should take offense, the officer reluctantly obliged and stepped back behind the boy wonder. Robin continued, his back still facing him.
"Check all vehicles—in, under, and around. Search for any survivors and seal the place off so there are zero chances anyone else gets hurt."
The officer nodded. "Will do."
He turned and began walking towards the crash site, but Robin's voice stopped him once more.
"One more thing," Robin began. The officer glanced back at him. "Make sure you check for anyone still in that SUV. The kid is waiting."
-:-
Somewhere deeper inside the darkness, Starfire plopped her tired body down on top of several black, somewhat cushiony objects. They radiated a horrible stench, but her body was just too worn out to object. Several repulsive little furry creatures with exceptionally long tails ran out from underneath her, hoping to find another pile of stink to seek refuge in. The exhausted girl barely noticed.
Her body ached all over. After her not-so-graceful landing upon this planet, the girl was overjoyed that she didn't shatter into a million pieces. The ground here was so much harder than she originally thought. After crashing into the ground, it only took her a few seconds to hear loud blaring noises surrounding her and she immediately left the crater to seek a place to hide, despite her body feeling like it was going to fall apart. She gathered herself and flew straight up, engulfing herself within the smoke the crater gave off in order to shield herself from sight. Once she felt she was high enough, she darted out and tried to find someplace dark so she could avoid being seen. Looking down, she saw tiny moving objects piling up on top of each other around the crater; some of these objects also crashed into the buildings nearby. The entire area was sparkling like the stars in the sky. It seemed almost.. beautiful.
She sank deeper into the stinky mess, temporarily relieved that she didn't have to move much at the moment. Thank X'hal she found this dark haven, though she could still look up and see the sky. It wasn't too far from where she landed, for she could still hear the piercing noises. She was covered in bruises and cuts, not to mention the giant gash on her leg that needed immediate treatment. However, she didn't know where to even begin looking for aide. On this unfamiliar planet, she needed to be extra careful with herself. She had no idea who was helpful and who was harmful. She could trust no one.
She heard rustling behind her and her reflexes immediately kicked in. Without hesitation, Starfire's eyes glowed a bright green and she released a single star bolt at where she heard the noise. She watched as it hit a metal trash can with a loud bang and then bounce off of it only to disappear around the corner of the building. Another furry creature covered in black fur darted out from behind the trash can, and carried one of the smaller creatures that Starfire had seen earlier in its mouth. It ran in the same direction her star bolt had deflected to. False alarm.
Starfire then heard a voice in the distance. "SHOTS FIRED! EVERYBODY GET DOWN!"
She could not understand a word of it, but it sounded angry. She quickly flew behind a large metal box that gave off an even stronger unsatisfying smell and she glanced inside. There were even more black, cushiony objects within it. Perhaps this device is what produces the stinky cushions since it smelled just as bad, if not worse.
As she pondered this idea in wonder, she began to hear footsteps coming from behind the corner of the building. She looked down towards the ground and saw the silhouette of a creature she had never seen before. The creature's head seemed to have spikes growing off of it and the rest of the body seemed completely smooth, flowing all the way down to the floor. Of course, this was exactly what she needed at the moment.
She cursed under her breath words she never thought she would ever curse and felt the righteous fury flowing through her body as her eyes and hands began to glow a bright green…
AN: SO.. how was it? Please review and let me know how you feel about where this story is going. Ideas and suggestions are always welcome!
Again, I am so very sorry for the long delay. I will do my best to keep this story moving forward, so thank you for all your love and support! You guys are the best! Thanks for reading!