2: War on Crime; and Crowbars

Each Titan had three days off every month. They could choose which days they wanted, and coordinate dates and hanging out with each other accordingly. Today was Robin's day off, and he had chosen it because the weather was supposed to be especially nice. He had no special plans but to enjoy a long motorcycle ride along the coast and visit a few local stores that he liked.

He was dressed in civis mostly. He wore a red and yellow striped shirt and a black leather jacket with some tight jeans and converse high-tops. He still wore his mask, covered by a motorcycle helmet, and he couldn't bring himself to go out without a bullet-proof vest. The R-cycle handled nicely, light and precise.

As he was beginning to think about finding some food, he parked the bike in the touristy area of downtown. He was pulling off his black and red motorcycle gloves when a group of teenage boys and one girl ran up him. "Dude! We saw your bike and had to take a picture!"

He smiled beneath the red helmet. Tourists.

"It looks exactly like the R-Cycle, so cool, you must be like- Robin's number one fan right? Have you ever been to Gotham?" His smile widened and he couldn't help but laugh a little as he took off the helmet.

"Of course I've been, I'm Robin." Their collective look of star-struck shock made the superhero business worth every bit of trouble he'd had to face. Superheroes have to put up with a lot, but nobody can claim it's a thankless job. It's really always nice to meet the fans.

The girl seemingly forgot how to breath for a moment. The boys all clamored around and proceeded to tell him that he's the best, and they aspire to be just as awesome as him one day, and can they please take some pictures with him? He obliged and the tourists went their way uploading thirty frames a piece to their social media pages. #Jump city #Teen Titans #Robin #Awesome

That little ego boost made his day.

Little did he know that those camera phones weren't the only things currently aimed at him. He got off his bike and made his way down a couple blocks to a great burger joint. As he was about to enter he noticed someone was following him. He passed the entrance and continued down the block. If someone were going to attack him, better it be done away from the crowded restaurant. He was acutely aware of the young man in dark clothes stalking him through the city.

He walked forward without destination until he got tired of the game and walked down an alley with no outlet. He hugged the wall and waited. He heard the steps speed up and slow until the man stepped around the corner. "Shit..." the young man ran down the alley and looked around for his target. Robin took this opportunity to step out of the shadows and appear behind him, blocking his exit.

"Lost something?" growled Robin. The young man faced him with a look of desperate fear, and within a half a second, he was aiming a gun at the Titan. Robin was fearless, but not stupid. Guns are deadly, and this was not a great situation to be in. "Easy... I don't want to do this the hard way." The kids eyes darted around.

"Your fault, your fault I'm here. This... This is what you deserve. You took my dad in, then my uncle- My family can't take it, you're gonna pay for what you did to us." He lowered the gun and wiped his nose on his sleeve. He returned the gun to position. This was the other side of being a hero. Believe it or not, the guy whose always saving the day makes plenty of enemies.

Robin's eyes went wide as he heard the gun click, accompanied by the 'pop' and felt the bullet bury itself just under his collar bone. He stumbled back- and silently thanked a deity for his bullet-proof vest. In the next ten seconds the gunman was pinned to the ground under Robin, screaming profanities and crying 'my arm!' In between.

As Robin began to fashion a pair of hand cuffs out of zip-ties he heard a massive yell from behind him. He spun around to see another young man drop a crowbar and fall to the ground. A young woman with a camera hanging loosely around her neck was behind him. "I'm sorry!" She said, "I know I shouldn't have- b-but I didn't think you saw him..." She stopped talking and suddenly raised a camera to her eyes and clicked.

"Whoa-" he trailed off, momentarily blinded by the flash. He scolded himself for allowing anyone to sneak up on him- ears ringing from the gunshot or not; if one more batman affiliate is taken out via crowbar, the dark knight might have to change his crusade. 'The never ending war on crime, and crowbars,' he thought. "Uh... thank you... would you mind not taking pictures here? The police haven't even been called yet..." he stopped when the thug she had dropped began to howl in anger.

"You crazy B****! What did you do to me?! I can't feel my arms... o-or my legs! I'm paralyzed!"

The first assailant was yelling too, about his brother being paralyzed, and about his own arm still.

"What did you do?" Robin asked evenly.

"I just... hit some pressure points..." she raised her hand to the side of her mouth and lowered her voice so only Robin could hear. "he should be fine in about half an hour." She smiled at him apologetically. 'Neat trick' He thought, dialing the JCPD.

"Thank you for the help, but try not to intervene in these situations in the future." He ordered. The young woman looked dejected, but nodded.

"I probably wouldn't have, had I known who you were. I could only see you from the back." He realized that he was dressed like any normal citizen of jump city, and that's exactly whom she thought she was saving. "Why aren't you in uniform today?"

Robin simply stated that he was 'off of work'. She accepted his answer and introduced herself as Olivia Wright. She works with the paper, as what she described as a super-razzi. (Hence the camera clicking.)

"So you just wander about, looking for superheroes fighting crime and take their pictures for money." His tone was flat with disbelief.

"Well, it's a little more complex than that." She said with a glare. "But yes, I basically stalk you and your friends for a living." Robin let out a surprised little laugh. He couldn't help but to see the humor in that. He'd seen their pictures in the tabloids, but never really put much thought into where they came from. "You're just like celebrities to the average person. Celebrities, but better."

"Better?"

"Yeah, well... the celebrities are famous for being beautiful, and rich, being in movies and selling albums. Supers are famous for their selfless acts of bravery- and their profound crusade for protecting all mankind from dangers beyond our comprehension!" She smiled at him, her fist raised in passion. She giggled as he raised an eyebrow. "And then there's all the drama. People like to read about what you do, its noble and exciting." She finished her little monologue matter-of-factly.

Robin chuckled at her explanation. He was slightly worried about talking to a member of the press, but now it was pretty clear that she wasn't looking for an interview. "Well, I guess everyone needs a hobby." He said. The siren caught their attention as a police cruiser entered the alley.

She stayed with him and explained to the police her involvement. The boys were brothers, the half-wit spoiled children of a well known mafia family that plagued the west coast. When all was said and done, one officer offered to drive Olivia home. Robin got to thinking about how she did save his life, or at least saved him from a bad headache, and as a thank you, offered to give her a ride back.

"I have an extra helmet." He said, opening a compartment in his bike and producing a black cycle helmet.

"I... have always wanted to ride a motorcycle... are you sure it's okay?"

"Sure! It's my day off- and it's really the least I can do." He gave her an easy smile and held out the helmet for her to take or leave. Tentatively, she took the helmet and returned a smile.

"Okay, let's go." She was plainly excited as she pulled on the helmet and straddled the Cherry red machine, positioning herself behind Robin. She put her hands on his shoulders only to have him sweep them off and pull them around his waist.

"It's safer." He said as the motorcycle roared to life. She nodded and hugged his back, showing a little fear of being on two wheels. "Put your feet here and here, and be careful not to hit the exhaust because it'll be really hot."

"Exhaust?" She asked.

"This pipe" He replied, kicking it with his converse. "Keep your feet up when we stop and lean with me on the turns, ready?"

"Uhm-" she let out a squeak as the motorcycle pulled away from the curb and flew down the street.