The once lively atmosphere of Jump City lowly began to rest with the setting of the sun. Under the dimming glow of the evening sun, a lonely shadow walked down the city's backstreets. Her head held erect, the shadow confidently continued her brisk walk to what- in her mind- seemed to be nowhere. As the final traces of light left the sky, the shadow slowed her pace as she approached a familiar building.
Grudgingly, she stared ahead at the building- growing closer with every step. Finally, the shadow stopped in front of what appeared to be her destination; emotionless, she stood and stared through the large display window at the front of the jewelry store. Coldly she continued to gaze through the window for a moment longer before walking close enough to the structure that she could rest her hands on the glass. Looking through the window, the shadow was able to see herself- her reflection- staring back at her through the glass. At first the image was blurred; unable to be identified through the smudged- almost water colored- image which appeared smeared over the glass, but as its owner began to back away slightly, the amorphous image became clearer- revealing the pretty face of a lonely girl. Dressed entirely in black, the silver and chrome accents of her uniform helped define her figure in the dark night. Her platinum blonde- almost white- hair seemed to shine under the glow of a dying streetlight whose reflection had also been captured in the glass of the window. In her shining reflection, the girl blankly stared at the image looking back at her. Though she said nothing, in her mind the girl thought to herself- wishing that it had been this easy for the others to see who she was- that her true self could be as easy to read as the image in the glass. Alone, she continued to share a silent conversation with her reflection; blinking her eyes and studying the young woman who mimicked her every move; its deep blue eye appearing even darker, but just as alive as its counterpart's, which watched from the other side of the glass.
Still looking through the window, the girl subconsciously reached into a small pocket on her belt and pulled out a small sapphire ring, encrusted in diamonds and silver. Without looking down, she fiddled with the ring for a while, still staring at herself in the mirror; slowly, she ran her finger up and down the piece of jewelry, feeling every individual stone and the smooth surface of the silver. Finally she lifted the ring to her face and took a quick look at it before slamming her eyes shut. Angrily, she mumbled to herself about the object in her hand; recounting where she got it from and criticizing herself for keeping it. "Stupid ring; I should've smashed this thing a long time ago," she grumbled to herself as she examined the ring, now seeing herself in the shining blue stone in the center. Though smaller than the image in the store window, the girl in the ring remained just as clear, allowing for further analysis of the reflection. This time the girl's focus remained on her eyes; making sure that no one was around, she slowly lifted her free hand and gently pushed back her hair- revealing an icy grey eye looking back at her in the ring. Unlike the amethyst blue on the right- which seemed to vanish in the similar tint of the sapphire- the grey eye on the left remained opaque- ignorantly visible in the shine of the ring. Shamefully recovering her gaze the girl lowered the ring and continued to lament to herself, "Who'd want this ugly thing any-"
"I think it's beautiful," interrupted a deep voice from behind her. Immediately, the girl looked up and stared into the reflection in the window and discovered that she was no longer alone. Behind her stood another shadow, cased in black, with a skull-like mask covering his face and a large red x over his chest. Unenthusiastically, the girl simply turned her head towards the thief for a moment before coldly turning the other cheek.
"I'm sure you do," muttered the girl as she slowly turned around. "Here," she continued as she angrily threw the ring in his face. "You can have it back." There was a faint clinking as the little ring bounced of off his chest and onto the cold concrete ground. Slowly the thief bent down and picked up the ring. Twirling it around in his fingers, he got up and walked toward the girl.
"Na," he chuckled jokingly. "Not my color; besides… this isn't what I was talking about," he paused and gently placed his hand on her face. Unsure at first, the girl stiffed in response to the sensation of another hand on her cheek, but once again the smooth stroking against her skin managed to subdue her; soon she felt her shield of hair being tucked behind her ear as the boy in the black suit turned her back to the window and showed her the two shining gems that looked back at the two of them- a shining blue sapphire on the right, and a dazzling silver-tinted diamond on the left. While she continued to stare at her eyes in the window, the boy held the ring up to her face- revealing the same two stones it carried. Looking at the ring and then at its holder, the girl opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by his voice. "Beautiful…" he sighed as he rested his hand on her face again. Unable to react at first the girl tried her best to control the raging emotions rushing inside her. Noticing the eerie silver glow slowly returning to her now fully visible face, she quickly tried to close her eyes and turn away, only to have her face caught and gently turned back. "See?" he said softly, his voice sending shivers through her body. Again he held the ring to her face, then dropped it carelessly as he continued to caress her face, tracing around her eye. "I think it's beautiful…" his voice began to die down as she too placed her hands on him- staring into his eyes, through the mask. Soon, the flickering bulb in the streetlight finally died out, leaving the sidewalk in darkness and allowing the two young outcasts to stand alone- together….
Speeding down the nocturnal streets of the city, Robin desperately continued his search for Apollo. With no news from anyone at the tower- even though he already knew they didn't seem to care- he realized that it was up to him to bring her back. Swerving in and out of traffic, he finally pulled over onto an empty road and called back to the tower, "Any sign of her?" he asked Starfire as she answered his call. Trying his best to show no emotion and remain calm he listened to her negative response.
"We have not been able to locate her," Starfire replied, trying her best to sympathize with her friend. "We are doing our best."
"Keep looking," he commanded. "She has to-"
"Robin," Starfire interrupted shyly. "It is late; perhaps you can come home and continue your search in the morning?" she asked optimistically.
"No," Robin replied firmly. "I'm not coming back without her." Starfire's face dropped in response to his answer. "I'm going to find her." Robin continued confidently. "Keep me posted if you find her." Without saying good-bye, he then closed his communicator and started his R-cycle again. Nostalgically, he took a final- prolonged- glance at his communicator, remembering how it felt to place one just like it in her hand… he then stopped and thought about that same communicator which he found cast aside on the desk in her room. Returning the object to his pocket, he placed his hands on the handlebars and ride away to continue his search. Slowly rolling down the dark backstreets of the city, Robin strategically scanned every alleyway and abandoned building for his friend, but as his results continued to prove fruitless, several thoughts continued to nag in the back of his mind: What if the others were right? What is Apollo was behind the robberies? And now that she was gone, where was she? Immediately, the horrific thought of her returning to Slade struck his mind- what if his wary suspicions had driven her back to her father- the source of both of their headaches? Thinking about Slade and the possibility of Apollo going back, brought another pressing question: 'What was wrong with him?' Rethinking what Cyborg had asked, Robin couldn't help but blame himself for everything: for Apollo's hard transition into the team, Cyborg's angry remarks, and his team's skepticism and suspicion of Apollo- eventually leading to present disappearance. Still cruising down the lonely streets, he continued to beat himself; for Apollo, for Red X, for everything.
Lonely, Robin continued to search the city with no results. Regrettably, he was ready to give up for the night and go back to the tower, but suddenly, a distressing scream caught his attention. Alertly he swerved around just in time to see the silhouette of a girl- screaming in fear that a thief had just stolen her purse. As the young woman ran away in fear, the thief- dressed in a familiar black suit- fled into the shadows. Suddenly charged with adrenaline and anger, Robin revved up his cycle and followed his target in hot pursuit. Swiftly, Red X dashed down the street moving as fast as could on foot, even with the sound of a roaring motorcycle following close behind. Up and down the streets the chase pursued, until finally, the thief was trapped at a dead end. Turning to face his tracker, Red X confidently assumed a casual stance as Robin leapt from his bike and- staff ready- approached to attack. "First jewelry, then money, now a purse," Robin scoffed. "Someone's getting bold."
Arrogantly, Red X chuckled and replied, "Whatever you say Kid; heh," he laughed under his breath as he through the 'purse' over Robin's head to its owner. "What do you know? Guess it did work," he continued, seemingly talking to himself. Following the object with his eyes, Robin watched as another black silhouette- that of the girl whose purse had been stolen- leapt from a nearby fire escape, catching her returned property as she landed.
"Told you so," she giggled darkly as she reapplied her belt, flashing a smile at Red X, then at her clearly confused friend.
"Apollo?" asked Robin in confusion.
"Robin," she replied in a calm manner, slowly approaching and standing beside him. "What are you doing here?" she asked. "I take it Cyborg finally convinced you to hunt me down and turn me in?" Robin frowned in response to the question; but despite the anger in her comment, he could still sense that she was happy to see him.
"I came to bring you home," he replied calmly, clasping her hand in his own. "We've been looking everywhere for you-"
"You mean you've been looking everywhere," Apollo snapped. "The others don't care…" she angrily turned away, refusing to look her friend in the eye. "Besides," she continued softly. "I'm not going back." Robin's eyes widened and his jaw dropped in response.
"Not coming back?" he barely managed to choke out. "But where do you expect to go? Where are you going to stay?"
"Wherever we choose to," Red X rudely answered for Apollo, proudly wrapping his arm around the girl.
"What?"
"Look Robin I'm sorry, but I can't go back there. It wasn't working before and it's definitely not going to work now." Apollo said as she left Red X and returned to her friend. "I see no point in trying to force something that we both know is pointless. The others- your friends- don't trust me. They never did, and probably never will. To them I'm still a thief, a spy, the enemy. And after everything's that's happened, it's clear they're not going to change their minds."
"They will if you prove to them that your innocent-"
"Yeah well I already tried that- twice- and look where it's gotten me!" shouted Apollo, still looking Robin in the eye. The two then faced each other in silence before Apollo finally stepped forward and the two exchanged hugs. "Robin, you're my best friend- the only friend I have but…" she stopped and looked at him sentimentally. "I can't stay anywhere where people constantly judge me and I'm always reminded of who I used to be." She lowered her head as Red X approached and gently placed his hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry."
"So that's it?" asked Robin, trying his best to remain strong. "You're just gonna run away? How can you expect the others to accept you if you won't even accept yourself? By leaving with him you're still not accomplishing anything. You're better off-"
"Hey!" Apollo quickly interrupted, knowing what he was about to say. "Just because you're losing a teammate doesn't mean you're gaining an enemy," she managed to crack a smile through her statement. "Like you said before, you guys could always use someone on the outside; besides" she slyly looked back to Red X "I'll be able to keep this one in check…" she jokingly winked, quickly hitting Robin with some news which he clearly didn't approve of. Before he could object, Apollo placed her hand in front his mouth and continued, "Don't worry, I'll be fine." Again she smiled as she turned and walked past Red X, taking one final glance at her best friend.
"See you around Kid," scoffed Red X as he too turned to leave, only to feel the tight sensation of a hand, firmly gripping his arm. He turned to face Robin, studying the stern look on his face.
"Take care of her," he commanded, first staring at Red X, then forward to Apollo.
"Heh, no problem there-" the snide comment was cut short as Robin's grip tightened, his eyes narrowing. Finally, Red X straightened up and nodded solemnly- convincing Robin to loosen his grip on his arm, as well as her, and allowing the two shadows to vanish into the night. As Robin boarded his bike and started the engine, he took a final look into the alley, reflecting on everything that had just been said. Finally, despite the persisting burn of regret in his heart, he rode out of the alley- returning home- without her.