"Over here are the elephants..." Miranda trailed off. Her response was a happy squeal coming from one of the older elephants. Robin's eyes lit up.
"Is that...?"
"Yup. Here Sitka!" Robin's face took on that of childish delight as the elephant came to Miranda's call. Seeming to recognise the boy wonder, Sitka wrapped her trunk around his waist. He laughed, and the titans hid smiles. They had never seen their leader so... happy.
"Ah, so this is where you've been hiding! Still playing at the elephant cages, eh? Not much has changed, has it!" A big, burly man walked over to where the titans stood. "So, these are the people crazy enough to deal with a little rat like you? Name's Bruno! The lovely lady comin' up the hill is Connie!"
"Oh, who'er you kissin' up for?" she asked, coming over to them. She stopped when she saw for herself. "Oh my god... is it really you Dickie? It is! Only Mary's lad could have them eyes!"
"Hello, Connie, Bruno," Robin greeted, smiling. "These are my friends, Raven, Starfire, Beastboy, and Cyborg."
"Oh? The Titans, right? What 'appened to the overgrown rodent you hung around with?" Connie asked, smiling.
"He was a Gaje, apparently. Dickie couldn't hang out with him too long!" Miranda quipped, not noticing the pained expression that took over Robin's face for a second. It was quickly replaced by a smile, but still noticed by Raven. She decided to ask about it later, not wanting to ruin the day. Miranda slapped her forehead, as if remembering something. "Oh! I almost forgot! Grandma Lilya wants to see you! You remember where she's at, don't you?"
"Of course! I spent enough days bothering her to be able to get their blindfolded on a tightrope!"
"Showoff," she muttered. She glanced at the titans, then back at him. Oh. Right...
"Uh, guys, you don't mind hanging out with Miranda and everyone, do you?" he asked, rubbing the back of his neck. Man was this awkward...
"Of course we don't mind!" Raven cut in. The other titans gave her strange looks at the outburst, but didn't comment. Or disagree. Robin wandered down the path, and as soon as he was out of sight, the Titans bombarded Miranda with inquiring looks.
"What?" she asked, confused.
"So, you have known Robin for a long time, yes?" asked Starfire.
"Yea, I've known Dick. We grew up together until the accident, here at Haley's. Why?"
"So... you know what he was like back then?" further probed Cyborg. She laughed.
"Of course! What is this, 20 Q? If you wanna ask something, just ask."
"What they're trying to ask," Raven intervened, "is what Robin was like when he lived here. They want to know about him. We've been told virtually nothing."
"Oh! Is that all? No need to be shy! I'm not gonna bite your head off! Though, if one of you bug me enough I just might let Polly and Dolly out," she said with a smirk, pointing at a cage holding two bears. She sat down on a bench, and motioned for the others to sit as well. "So, whadda you all want to know?"
"Anything, really," Beastboy said, "Though embarassing baby stories would be nice."
"Blackmail? I've got plenty of that. Though half I can't tell you, or you'll all have blackmail on me!"
"You two hung out a lot?" asked Raven.
She nodded. "Yea, we did everything together. Well, besides during practice. He'd be up in the air, and I'd watch from the bleachers. He started training a lot earlier than I did. He started as part of his parents act when he was three."
"But he did the trapeze!" exclaimed Beastboy.
"Yea, what's your point? He was that good. Still is, I'm sure. He took his first steps on the tightrope. I took them in the lion cage. That's the way the circus goes. You find out what you're good at, and you go with it. Well, almost, anyway. Dickie and me had our talents in our blood. Both of his parents were trapeze artists, and both of mine are animal trainers. Though, John and Mary, his parents, were pretty open minded. If Dickie decided to go be a side show performer they'd incourage him. He always was good at everything..." she mused, seeming to talk more to herself than them.
"He works hard at everything he does. Takes pride in not making the same mistake twice. Always trying to learn as much as he can. That's just what he does. Me? I was always happy hanging out in the cages, training animals. Him? He tried a bit of everything. While he's always been insanely good at the trapeeze, he filled in for everyone at some point. The acts and the crew. He earned that nickname, boy wonder."
"So what else did he do then? Besides the trapeze, I mean."
"Everything, really. In the nine years he was stuck here with me, he became the youngest and one of the best trapeeze artists of all time, an internationaly ranked gymnast, a certified escape artist, learned to walk the tightrope, was always good at the acrobatics and trampolines, heck, Grandma Lilya even said he might have the gift of sight." Seeing the confused looks, she clarified, "Psychic abilities, telling the future, that sort of thing. Even the animals loved him. That's how we met actually, the animals. When we were both two or three, he was always hanging around the elephant cages when he wasn't flying. I was always there with my parents, and we just sort of clicked."
Click, went the timer. Then tick, tick, tick, tick... the package was in place. The man smiled to himself as he stared at Titans Tower once more. Perhaps for the last time. "Remember me, kid? I'm back. And now that I know all about you..." he broke off, and just laughed a little, vanishing into the shadows. "Look out."
*Soooo, wada ya think? do you love it? do you hate it? do you wish to go back in time and warn yourself not to read it? let me know! Flames are welcome! I'm cold! Virtual cookies for all reviewers!