I would just like to say THANK YOU for all the reviews and encouragement. Sorry this chapter is: A. Short, B. Poorly written, and C. A long time in coming. I'm working on an original work (finally) that's taking up a ton of my time. Please keep the reviews and the love coming. You guys are great. –Goddess

Chapter Ten

Robin came thundering down the stairs to find Raven still standing at the foot of them, laughing her head off. She gripped the rail and laughed in a kind of hysterical panic, doing her best to contain her emotions, but trying to let off some kind of steam before she exploded.

Robin, on the other hand, was already exploding. "What happened to my room? What the hell were you guys doing up there? Everything I own is on the floor, the hallway is flooded, your bathroom is going to need completely redone, and SOMEBODY DREW ON THE MAP OF SLADE'S LAIR!" This last piece of news, although the least consequential, seemed to have Robin the most distressed.

He desperately waved a piece of paper in Raven's face, and Raven leaned forward just enough to see that someone had not only scribbled on Robin's map, but also drawn what appeared to be stick people in the one corner. She realized, with a little tug on her heart, that the three stick people were herself, Starfire, and Tyler, as per the eyes of the two year old.

Her stick figure scowled, while Starfire's and Tyler's smiled. The picture had obviously been drawn when Raven had left him to trash Robin's room- which she still did not regret- because she knew she'd never seen it before.

It melted her heart.

"Robin," Raven said quickly, cutting him off in the middle of a stream of swearing, "Let's just find the kid."

"You really think I'm going to let this go? You damaged our home! We're going to need a grant of thousands of dollars! No villain has ever done this much damage! Ever!"

Raven stood up, feeling herself becoming angry again. "Maybe this will teach you to pick up your phone, Robin. Maybe this will teach you not to go play video games and leave me here by myself with your girlfriend and a baby. Hell, maybe you deserved to have your room trashed once in a while to remind you that nobody died and made you the ruler of the tower!" Raven was not yelling; instead her words came out in a low hiss.

Robin shrank back; Raven was unusually emotional and scarier than ever today. While he wanted to confront her about a number of other things- such as why a rubber duck had been swimming in his underwear drawer and why a bowl of Sadness Pudding had been dumped onto his sheets- he knew that she was only likely to become more desperate if they did not find the baby.

I hate this damn kid, he thought to himself.

"I'll… I'll go get my stuff."

The next hour at Titan's tower followed the first semblance of normality that Raven could remember since that morning. Robin sat down in front of the computer and began to work furiously, calling Raven and Starfire over occasionally to ask them questions as he streamed video after video from various store cameras. Cyborg and Beast Boy had come back in carrying shovels and covered in dirt, only to have Robin snap at them for tracking dirt on the floor.

"Dude," Cyborg said, "Chill. At the rate we're going, mud is the least of your worries."

"Gamestation…" Said Beast Boy in a mournful tone, and both of them sat down quietly on the couch. Raven, even in her distressed frame of mind, appreciated how quiet it was without the loud noise from the video games, and made a vow that she would destroy the next one they received.

"I have a possible suspect," Robin said suddenly. This caused Starfire, who had been sitting dejectedly in the window seat for almost two hours, to stand up and come running over to the computer. Raven also leaned intently over the back of his chair to figure out what he'd found. He seemed to have calmed down while working.

Well, Raven thought to herself, he is kind of a crazed workaholic that way…

He had pulled up side-by-side windows from each of the stores the girls had visited. "You see these?" He asked quietly. "There's a man in every single one of them who I think was following you around."

The images, although grainy and rather small, depicted was what undoubtedly the same man. Raven looked at him and found that something about him was unnerving; she swore she'd seen him somewhere before. He was a tall man with dark eyes and unnaturally wavy hair.

"He looks much like our baby," Starfire said finally.

"I think," Robin said slowly, "He might be the kid's dad. I'm going to run him through my system and see what happens."

Raven continued to stare at the grainy images while Robin did his checks on the computer. The man now looked so much like the toddler she'd played with that it was unnerving.

"Do you suppose," Starfire said softly, "That this is what we were to protect the baby from?"

"What do you mean?" Robin asked, reaching out instinctively to take her hand. He felt guilty for having neglected her in order to yell at Raven; not only had Raven made a fool out of him, but he had not taken care of his girlfriend by any means.

"The note that was with the baby," Raven said in a deadpan tone, her eyes deep with thought and her brow creased in an unusually emotional arrangement of her face, "Said he needed protecting from something. What if he isn't supposed to be with his dad?"

"Why didn't you guys tell me about this?" Robin asked. "We really have to find the kid now. You never know what's wrong with the guy!"

"You don't think we know that?" Raven snapped.

Starfire let out a pitiful little wail and Raven rubbed her shoulder, glaring at Robin with a look that plainly said 'Now see what you did?'

Robin sighed, but thankfully was saved when his computer let out a low beep and brought up a search record and address. One quick scan told him that Tyler's father was wanted for, among other things, three counts of driving on a suspended license and a child support bill.

"I've got his address," he said finally, to shut Starfire up.

He had never seen Raven run so quickly to the car, Starfire in tow. He, Beast Boy, and Cyborg all looked at each other and shrugged.

"This," Beast Boy said finally, "Was so totally not worth the arcade."

The others nodded in agreement and followed the girls out to the car.