154. J part 2

I twirled Myrkblade with shimmering bands of trailing smoke.

I twirled down into a crouch and balanced myself stoutly on one ankle with my other leg curled up awkwardly to my thigh.

After a few painful seconds of freezing the pose, I spun up to my heels, twirled around, and sliced up with Myrkblade into the air before twirling it again and striking a tall, one-legged pose of concentration.

A beat.

I twirled, I shifted across the gravel of the Norman Apartment rooftops in a glide and came to a sliding stop of splashing murk. I arched my body into a human arrow and slowly dragged my fingers calmly up the length of Myrkblade's dull side.

I took a breath. I twirled my blade forward, jabbed the air, twirled, jabbed more of the air, cart wheeled, twirled my blade, and ended in a terribly awkward pose with only three of my right toes keeping me upright. I could only manage that for twenty seconds before I all but plummeted into a forward slash, a horizontal cut, and a spiraling descent into a lotus position.

CHIIIIIIING!!!

I had Myrkblade sheathed in its scabbard and lying across my lap. I held my hands together. I closed my black eyes. I took a deep, invigorating breath.


It was early morning.

I felt the air of the Spring sky settle down onto the urban lattice work of half-burnt out neon lights and trashed-up TV. antennas. Somewhere a little bit of crisp oxygen fell over and scattered over my brow and into my nostrils.

And again I wished—if even for a moment—that my everyday spot for meditation would be somewhere more natural. Perhaps……perhaps somewhere close to the Bay……

Heh……the Bay. That's rich.

And then I heard applause. Hands clapping.

"…………," my black eyes opened.

The little boy stood across from me where the fire escape met the rooftop. The morning wind kicked at his mat of blonde hair as he smiled and continued clapping.

"……………," I exhaled and slipped my shades on. I stood up slowly—with my back to the Sun—and hung Myrkblade behind my back before hand-signing:

'Enjoy hijacking my bed last night?'

He grinned and gestured back: 'I am most grateful for your hospitality.'

'I will try and be twice as hospitable tonight by placing land mines around my room.'

He pouted. 'Surely you are not mad.'

I smirked. 'Nah, I am not mad. I am only going to rip your head off if I so much as see your Norman Rockwell face for a single minute longer. Now leave and never come back.'

I furiously marched past him and began descending the stairwell.


He whistled.

I paused. I sighed. I looked his way.

With a relatively serious face, the eleven year old hand-signed: 'You would not do that to me.'

"????" I blinked under my shades.

His figure was strangely aglow against the bright, burning Sun that stabbed into me. 'You would not rip my head off.'

I smirked again, sarcastically. I let go of my hands against the fire escape rails and hand-signed: 'You would not know. How can you say anything?'

He scurried over and stood in front of me, blocking my descent. He fervently hand-signed: 'Oh, but I do know. I have seen you.'

'Freak……'

'I have!'

I made to walk through him--

He held up two weak hands.

I deigned to stand back.

He took a breath and mutely expressed: 'I saw you beat up Rancid. I saw you beat up those gang rapists too. I saw you save people from thieving gangs.'

I oozily hand-signed: 'You sure get around a lot for an underaged munchkin.'

'I am serious! You do it all in the darkness! You vanquish bad guys and save good guys and do it all in the shadows without asking for anything in return! But I think things should be different. I think Noir was meant for more than just these dirty streets!'

Suddenly, I frowned.

The boy bit his lip and shrinked away a bit.

I pointed at his chest, then hand-signed: 'Okay, for one thing. Dirty is a relative term. For another. You are wasting my time. I just finished meditation and now I need to go to work. The only work that really matters. The work that the Sun bears witness to. Anything I do with my life is none of your business. Now if you will please get out of the way. Must you hog more than my bed but the whole Apartment Building as well?'

I grumbled inwardly and marched past him.

A beat.

I paused.

"…………"

I turned around. I looked at him funny. I hand-signed: 'What is it that you want from the Titans anyway?'

He looked confused.

I added emphasis to my fingers: 'The Titans. You mentioned them last night.'

He blushed sheepishly. Darn little kid……: 'Yes. That I did.'

'What do you want from them?'

'It is not so much what I want……though I do want the same thing that the Titans want and the people want.'

'Yeah?'

'Peace.'


A beat.

'Peace,' the boy held up two fingers with added emphasis. He smiled pleasantly.

"……………," I stared at him. I shook my head. 'There had better not be lice in my bed,' I hand-signed.

'Do you not believe in peace?'

I took a deep breath. I leaned against some railings and narrowed my gaze on the metal steps. I hand-signed more to the wall of the building's inner alley than anything.

'No. I do not.'

A beat.

'I believe in peace,' the boy hand-signed. 'I believe in it because I saw it once. And I see it again. I see it in you.'

I chuckled breathily. My black eyes rolled under my shades.


And then he hand-signed: 'You are a balance of white and red, are you not? That is peace indeed.'

"…………………," I looked up at him.

He smiled back down at me.

I started hand-signing……I stopped. I started again. I stopped again. I bit my lip. I coughed, walked up a few steps on the fire escape until I was towering over the little boy again and hand-signed: 'Who………are you?'

He smiled proudly. 'Did I not tell you already? Call me J.'

'Tell me, J,' I hand-signed. 'If I am the balance of white and red, what would I be?'

'Black.'

I nodded.

'And if black is peace, then what is construction?'

'White.'

'Correct. And destruction?'

'Red.'

'Okay. Now……' I leaned over him and stared intently into his green eyes beneath my figure. 'You have seen me beat up a bunch of bad guys, right?'

'Right.'

'And you have seen me bust teeth loose from those crooks and give them many a black eye, right?'

'Right.'

'And you have seen the blood fly from their shoulders and torsos as Myrkblade lands a heavy swipe, right?'

"………"

'Right???'

He took a shuddering breath and admitted with a hand-stroke: 'Right.'

'Tell me J……,' I gestured. 'Where is peace in that?'

A beat.

He hung his blonde head. Two hands liquidly confessed: 'I see your point.'

'Good……,' I sauntered backwards and away from him. 'Now take your point and scratch it into a record somewhere. Maybe you will be making some music for yourself. How is that for peace? So long—'

He held up a palm.

I stared, frozen still again.

The boy hand-signed: 'But you show far less red than someone else in this City right now. As a matter of fact, I do not think you believe in the red. Not like this person.'

My brow furrowed. I mouthed: 'Who??'

And there was something sad splashing across J's face.

'Slade.'

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

"And last but not least, there is Mad Mod. The Commissioner had this recorded from a session yesterday morning…a few hours before the press conference."

Cyborg inserted the tape into the deck, pressed play, and the speakers of the Main Room crackled around us.

"For the last time, I have no bloomin' clue how my things got 'ere! One moment, there was an explosion. The next thing I know, the doors to all the cells in the Omega Wing were opening up. I limped out of my room and—by Jove—there was my cane lying on the ground below me! And a mighty smart looking bunch of threads too, I might add. I had no clue at the time just who may have been the punctual benefactor, but it suited me fine! I would have twirled that cane halfway across this miserable Yankee Town if I wanted!! Naturally those do-gooder sprogs hopped into my lap and made a royal mess of things. Did you see the bruises they gave me? Bugger-all sods, the whole likes of them—"

-click-

The tape ended.

Cyborg turned and looked at us. "Just like the interrogations of Mumbo Jumbo, Control Freak, Johnny Rancid, and the Puppet King before him. None of the criminals will attest to who or what may have given them their tools on the morning of the Prison bombing. But each prisoner's testimony is so different from the others in terms of attitude and tone that it doesn't look like they're all cooperating to withhold some sort of missing information."

"Yeah…," Beast Boy leaned back against the sofa and yawned. "Control Freak couldn't stop talking about Transformers and Care Bears."

"Can't be any worse than Mad Mod's soliloquy on America's bruised ego with the Panama Canal."

Raven's eyes thinned. "Really?"

Cyborg bit his lip. "Th-That comes later. I just decided to cut it off."

Tempest stood to the side, leaning against the sofa. "About this 'Great Britain' of the past….with guys like Mad Mod," he smirked, "How did they ever once 'rule the waves'?"

"If you've taught us anything, nooby," Beast Boy smirked. "The waves are too cynical to be ruled."

"Damn straight."

Raven's lips curved ever so slightly.

"Getting back to our topic at hand…," Cyborg rubbed the human part of his head and gazed at a table display. "…the tapes only support the theory that the crooks are completely clueless about why things happened the way they did at the prison. And since Robin is not here this morning to actually provide a valid explanation of what task we have before us, I've volunteered."

"How noble of you," Raven droned.

I glanced aside from where I sat on a kitchen stool. Where Robin usually was, he wasn't. And where Starfire usually was, she wasn't.

I took a deep breath and folded my flesh and metal hands together.

Cyborg walked towards the table display where various, villainous familiars were strewn about. Control Freak's remote. Mad Mod's cane. Mumbo Jumbo's broken wand. Killer Moth's dried cocoons. Johnny Rancid's gun. The Puppet King's control. Gizmo's jet pack.

"Everything we've rounded up here has come straight from the prison," Cyborg gestured. "They are virtually identical to the props of the villains we have displayed in Robin's lovely evidence room. Down to the last detail and functionality. Now, if history proves me right….none of these villains have EVER had a purposeful connection with one another. True, Killer Moth and Fang were once in association…as well as Killer Moth and the workings of H.I.V.E. But as we speak, Killer Moth and Fang's escape could as easily be a spontaneous decision as it could have been planned. And Killer Moth was coerced at Westhaven to work alongside Mammoth, Gizmo, and Jinx. They aren't exactly on any good terms."

"Yeah, that brings back memories," Beast Boy smirked. He looked at me. "When was the last time you made Miss Cartwright blush, Romeo?"

I smiled back at him.

Shut the Hell up.

"Ahem. None of these villains at the prison has ever tried to unify the entire lot of them. For a prison escape, it makes sense for them to band together and attempt some sort of uprising. But if that was the case, why are the villains so clueless as to the origin of the bomb and the provision of the tools and weapons? Furthermore…the bomb exploded in Jinx's cell, and Jinx turned out to not want anything of the other prisoners."

"Yeah, all she wanted to do was get to H.I.V.E., right?" Beast Boy blinked.

"As we all know by now," Cyborg pointed. "But we all know the blast was huge. Jinx couldn't possibly have escaped it on her own. If she has the capability of doing so, then perhaps her powers of hex are far stronger than we all can imagine."

"Didn't she have her outfit and everything just like the other escapees?" Tempest asked. "I mean….I've seen pictures of her when she was a H.I.V.E. terrorist and—"

"Yup….candy cane goth goddess," Beast Boy nodded. "God, that black and purple outfit thingy still haunts me. You lose a lot of your ego when you get kicked in the face with a platform shoe."

I couldn't help but chuckle breathily.

"Who would try and bomb Jinx and yet give her the stuff she needs to…I dunno…be herself?" Tempest shrugged.

"Maybe it was her idea?" Beast Boy suggested. "Assuming it was her that was the pyromaniac. Have we ruled that out, dudes?"

"No, B.B."

"It'd be a distraction!" the elf cackled. "She'd make everyone assume she was dead while she pranced on, handcuffed Noir, and took him on the wild trip that she did through asphalt and forest while the rest of us spent hours on end searching ever corner of the City for a bomb that was hanging around her freakin' neck!!" He folded his arms in a pout. "I'm still pissiful about that, ya know."

I hand-signed to Cyborg.

The android Titan nodded. "Yes, Noir. We know what Jinx and Pulsade told you. But that's as much supposition as anything else is."

"I for one don't think Jinx was the bomber," Tempest said.

"Why's that?"

"Just doesn't seem a woman's style."

"………………huh?"

"Explosions attract too much attention," Tempest smirked. "A woman doesn't need explosions to get attention. A woman simply handcuffs some thick-haired hunk to her and takes off." He winked at me.

I glared at him through my shades.

"He's got a point there," Raven droned.

Cyborg did a double-take.

Beast Boy cleared his throat. "Ahem. What I do wonder is….even as powerful as Jinx could be, how could she have gotten the tools and stuff to the prisoners so effectively? I-I mean, I can buy the whole 'escaping from a bomb she set herself' idea. But the rest of that? I dunno."

"She could have had accomplices," Tempest said. A blink. "Actually, she did have accomplices."

I nodded.

"Pulsade and 'J'," Cyborg said. "One is an invisible assassin. The other is a hacker…..and that's all we know."

My gaze drifted to the floor…

"…………."

"Pulsade—from what Noir describes—seems to be a highly experienced person who can manipulate light and turn invisible. Though I doubt the Omega Wing's extreme security systems could have overlooked tell-tale signs of it, I bet she could have thought up an infiltration of sorts to plant a bomb and other materials."

"Ya know…," Beast Boy gestured. "If a big oaf like the late Cinderblock could have stomped his way into Omega Wing on multiple occasions and steal punks for Slade, then surely a paradoxically smart blonde could have!"

Raven made a face. "Not…..exactly the same thing."

"So sue me."

"The hacker could have done it," Tempest remarked. "He broke through our system's firewalls, right?"

Cyborg winced. "Y-Yeah…."

Tempest pointed: "He could have tapped into the utilities of the prison and—I dunno—rewritten the data and itinerary of the workers in such a way to somehow vicariously orchestrate supplication of the bomb and the villains' weaponry."

"…………….huh?"

"Nothing spreads more confusion than making a bureaucratic system even more bureaucratic."

"Nah….that's going waaaaay far into conspiracy theories, dawg."

"Well how far can't we go?!?!" Tempest cackled. "Dammit, where's Robin?! He'd agree with me!"

"I'll agree with Tempest on one thing," Raven nodded. "There is no simple answer to what has happened at the prison. The way I envision it, it is not a matter of a single individual or a single faction producing the explosion and criminal provisions."

"How do you mean?" Beast Boy gazed at her.

"Imagine if you will if the explosion was indeed a distraction," Raven suggested. "But at the same time, it was also meant to serve its purpose."

"To kill Jinx?"

"Yes," the dark girl said. "But as much as it was made to kill Jinx, it also worked to preserve her."

Beast Boy rubbed his head as if he suddenly had a migraine.

"Uh….Rae? Explanation, por favor?" Cyborg simpered.

Raven sighed. "Yes, someone planted the explosion. That someone wanted to kill Jinx. Yes, Jinx survives the explosion. Jinx and her friends get her out of the prison." A pause for added emphasis, then: "Also…someone knows of both the explosion and Jinx's escape. That someone finds a way for the prisoners to escape and create massive confusion."

"Whoah, whoah, whoah," Beast Boy held his hand up. "You're thinking there're….uh….three forces at work here?"

Cyborg thought aloud, ingesting Raven's words. "Someone wants to kill Jinx. Jinx escapes. Someone else tries to get the prisoners to escape during the explosion and Jinx's flight…."

"Three major interests," Tempest blinked his dark eyes. "One to kill the girl. One to free the girl. One to free all the prisoners."

"That's way too huge, man," Beast Boy pointed. "Remember Arkham's Razor….or Anchor's Ranchor….or whatever that term is."

Raven gave him a bored look.

"Okay, now I'm starting to get a headache," Cyborg muttered. "And when half of your brain is circuitry, that is NOT a good thing."

"You're doing fine, champ," Tempest winked. "You're getting us well prepared for the exam."

"Shut up, Flipper."

"Heheheheh."

Cyborg sighed and all but tossed a canvas sheet over the evidence on the display table. "Well, I think we're screwed in this investigation until Margaret Sawyer's interrogations of the H.I.V.E. Headmistress in Metropolis turn up anything."

"Any news as of yet?" Raven asked.

"Just one," Cyborg nodded. "A name. Damien Darhk."

I raised an eyebrow.

"Now there's a cute name," Beast Boy folded his arms and smirked. "Heh. Omen anyone?"

"What about him?" Tempest asked.

"The Headmistress alleges that all of H.I.V.E.'s major academies are under his control right now," Cyborg pointed. "They were handed over to him when she was arrested." A beat. A human-eye blink. "Actually, that's not true. Sawyer said the Headmistress used the word 'betrayal'."

"Wouldn't doubt it," Raven droned.

I leaned my head to the side.

"Yowsers….that Darhk guy's a traitor?"

"According to the Headmistress, yup."

"Guess someone let a bad bee into the H.I.V.E."

"More or less," Cyborg looked my way. "You remember this Darhk guy at all, Noir?"

"………," I stared off. I thought about the man's wily smile. His homicidal breath. The way he tortured me in the room with the metal racks that Jinx and I were clamped to.

A beat.

I hand-signed: 'Not much.'

"Yeah….well….one day at a time, and we may learn more of him yet," Cyborg pointed. "Especially when the Headmistress makes her trip here to our home-town."

Raven's eyebrows lifted. "So it is confirmed?"

Cyborg nodded with a proud smile. "Decker's gonna get his trophy. THEN we're bound to get some answers."

"Heh….or some replacement ads in the Town's job listing!" Beast Boy winked. He held to fingers up and scanned an invisible headline: "'Wanted: New City Commissioner. One With An Assload Less of Rotten Apples!'"

Tempest chuckled.

So did I.

"Heheheh," Cyborg took a breath. "For right now….I'm gonna run some tests on these here weapons and props. The next course of action will be to research recent findings in Barrymore and elsewhere outside of Town."

"Killer Moth and Fang?" Raven remarked.

"Precisely. Though I doubt those two will be blowing up any prisons soon."

Schwishh!

The sound of elevator doors.

We all turned and looked.

Starfire floated a half-foot off the ground and approached us. Her face was solidly blank until she was well into the range of our eyesight. Then she folded her hands together and put on a warm, polite grin.

"Friends…I do entreat your forgiveness for such latency in attending this important meeting. But I was busily preparing a message to relate to you."

"Oh yeah?" Tempest asked.

"It's about Robin, isn't it?" Beast Boy winked. "The bird got a sick notice from his parents or something?"

Starfire simpered. "The fact of the matter is….indeed…..Robin is not feeling quite so well this day."

"Ah….," Cyborg's human eye blinked. "Well that sucks."

"What's wrong with him?" Tempest asked.

"He is……………….," Starfire bit her lip, glanced off, struck a thought, brightened, and looked at us again with a convincing smile. "…..restless."

Raven raised an eyebrow.

"Restless??" Beast Boy shrugged. "The dude's always restless."

"He is……most restless today," Starfire said, her hands clasped together.

My black eyes narrowed.

Clasped hands and the word 'most'……

Sure signs of Starfire's earnestness.

"Well allright," Cyborg shrugged. "The dude's mortal. Even he needs a day off once in a while………………..I guess."

"I, for one, am putting this in the record books," Beast Boy beamed.

"Oh knock it off," Tempest groaned. "You know Robin will beat you up if you ride his ass about this."

"Hey!! Noobies aren't supposed to make a point so easily!"

"Well sorry for being observant."

"Calm down, guys," Cyborg rubbed the human part of his head and sighed. "I agree that Robin could have picked a better week to fall under the weather and stuff….but who am I to complain? I'm sure he'll come in and bail our putrid minds out when it's necessary. He always seems to do that."

"Yeah," Beast Boy chuckled. "True that."

A beat.

Another beat.

Raven spoke: "Are you okay, Starfire?"

"Eeep! Erm….I……huh?"

"Are you going to join the meeting or—"

"Oh….v-verily I shall!" she beamed. "Only…f-first I must….attend the room of the ladies, if you shall grant me pardon."

"Yeah….we grant you," Tempest smirked.

"I shall return shortly," Starfire said. And she turned and floated away.

Floated….

"………," I watched silently.

Starfire floats when she can just as easily walk. But the only time she does that is either when she's literally 'walking on air' happy……or feeling detached from this alien planet.

I found myself staring at the exiting hallway in thought. And sooner or later, I found Raven staring too.

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

Starfire drifted down the dark hallway of the Tower.

She was hugging herself.

Green eyes swam across the metal floor.

And…..

She sighed.

Her lids lowered.

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

"Friend……you look distressed…," Starfire floated across her room to Robin. She placed a concerned hand on his shoulder. "……please……tell me what ails you—"

Her sentence was cut short at the feel of his bare hand against her wrist. Slowly—Robin turned around and his hand traveled up her arm to her shoulder, up her neck, and gently cupped her cheek.

Starfire's lips parted as she felt the Boy Wonder's hands suddenly cup both sides of her face.

He leaned towards her….at a relatively safe distance. His eyemask peered into her green-on-amber visage and there was an expression on his face just short of breathless wonder as he uttered: "Warmth……..."

She blinked.

"Such…...s-such warmth…...," the Boy Wonder shuddered. His fingers lovingly traced the contours of her face. Gently…as if afraid to break her.

Something happened that Starfire had never seen before. A tear squeezed out from under Robin's eyemask.

"How……...how could I have f-forgotten…..?" the young man breathed.

Starfire shakingly gripped his wrists. "R-Robin??"

He flinched suddenly, as with icy pain. He turned his face and hugged himself as he faced out the windows. His fresh tears were hidden.

"So……cold………today. And yet……it didn't have to be so. I kept obsessing with it. The coldness……"

Starfire walked over to his side. "Robin, what is wrong??" she desperately murmured.

He sniffed and hugged himself more. "Wrong? Everything and nothing!!" he shivered and tilted his head down with clenched teeth. "It wasn't supposed to have ended that way. It wasn't……it wasn't!!"

"What, Robin? What should not have ended?"

"The dream!!" he ran a hand over his face and moaned. "The same damn dream as always!! It wasn't supposed to end like th-that!!"

"What dream are you referring to, Robin?" Starfire asked. She reached over and gently pulled his hands away. "Robin……I am most concerned. I have not seen you this troubled before. Ever."

"I……I-I can't explain it, Star…," he murmured. He shook his head and his brow furrowed to suggest tightly shut eyes beneath his mask. The thing was like a useless scrap of plastic and spandex suddenly. "It's like……It's like…………"

A beat.

He looked at her, practically panting in a cold sweat. "Have you ever woken up……in the middle of the night……a-and you can't seem to put a finger on who you are or who you've always been? And you suddenly forget what existence is and that we're all just pent up shells of flesh and bone? And then do you ever doubly-wake up from that and feel that……th-that there is something so warm………so wonderfully beautiful beyond the veil that we draw before ourselves?"

"I.………I am afraid that I do not understand, Robin……"

The Boy Wonder shuddered. "God……wh-what am I doing here. What in the world am I doing here??"

"You……a-are in my room to seek c-companionship?" she simpered.

"NO!!" he shook. "Here!!" he waved his arms dramatically. "All this!! This City……Th-This Tower……this……this……," he traced his eyemask with his fingers. He shuddered again. "I'm losing it. You warned me a million times, Batman. And you were right. It's happening. The edge……I-I can feel it slipping." He shook all over and clamped his bare hands again over his mask. "I can feel it god-damn slipping away!!!"

"Robin, nothing is plummeting into any sort of demise!" Starfire shook his shoulders. "You must find a way to calm your spirits! You are among friends! Do not worry!! It was only a bad dream that you woke from!!"

"You……y-you don't understand, Star…," he shuddered. "I n-never told anyone about the dream. Nobody a-accept maybe Noir. But he doesn't know what I know. He doesn't kn-know that the dream……th-that the dream is more real than anything else in my life."

She swallowed a lump down her throat. "Th-Then there was no purpose in visiting me? Am I not worthy of offering you counsel concerning this nightmare, Robin?"

"……………," he stared longingly at her. Again, his fingers found their way gently up to her cheek. His lips quivered. "………the thing is, Star……it is supposed to be a nightmare. But for once……it wasn't. It was……good. And it was warm." A beat. He swallowed: "And I can almost feel that things around me……r-really close to me………were warm all along……"

"…………," the Tamaranian girl blinked. "L-Like what things, Robin?"

"……………," Robin bit his lip. His hand fell.

And so did Starfire's heart.

Robin stumbled backwards, away from her, like she was the plague. "I……I-I'm sorry, Star."

"R-Robin?"

"I-I'm sorry I bothered you. I……I j-just need to sleep, is all. I'm……I-I'm not feeling well."

"Wait--!!"

"Tell the others that I'm not feeling well," he rushed out of the room. "I-I just need some time alone! That's all! J-Just some time alone……"

And he was gone.

Starfire floated into the hallway. "Robin, wait!!!" She gasped at the echoing sound her voice down the hallway. She clasped a hand over her lips. A beat. The pajama wearing Tamaranian floated limply back into her room with flushed cheeks and closed the door behind her.

Schwiish!!

She floated over to her head and sat down with hands politely folded in her lap, despite there being nobody present.

Save for in her mind.

"H-He looked like he was freezing……," she murmured. A beat. Her fingers rose to her own cheek. "But his hands………"

She was up for another hour before a turbulent attempt to sleep.

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

In one of the Tower's many restrooms, the Tamaranian girl gazed closely at her reflection in the mirror. The amber skin. The lifted eyebrows of red. The crimson bangs. The emerald green eyes.

Her lips were a deadpan blankness as she raised her fingers up and graced her own cheek.

Yet again…..

"So warm……," she murmured.

A beat.

The girl sighed and stared down into the sink.

"Koriand'r…..y-you have much to learn of Terran emotional complexity…………"

A long pause.

"…………..c-correct?"

She didn't answer.

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

He sat on the edge of the Tower's rooftop.

Fully garbed in green and red and yellow and black.

The colder and colder autumn winds blew at his cape.

Robin's legs dangled over the edge of the structure.

He stared out at the dancing waves of the Bay and towards the brilliant, pale complexion of the City. The dark mountains beyond to the north. The green forests that beautifully bordered the perimeter of the County where Barrymore, Westhaven, and Blue Pine existed beyond.

"………"

Robin grabbed his right wrist and slowly….slowly slipped his combat glove off. Once bare, he flexed his right fingers.

The breath of the wind whistled between his knuckles.

Tiny hairs stood on end.

He held his hand out against the Autumn gusts. He angled it against the current. Like the shy wing of a bird examining his aviary.

For the first time in years.

"……….."

Robin smiled.

"It's……….It's cold……," he murmured into nothingness.

A beat.

He tilted his head back. He took the deepest breath that he had ever taken in ages. Perhaps since the Atlantean-Chasma debacle.

And his lungs were rewarded with pure, refreshing Autumn.

His eyemask thinned.

He exhaled.

His head tilted down.

His right fingers flexed.

A beating of the cape….and then it settled behind him.

Still.

"………."

He tilted his head back up.

"Y-You….."

A beat.

His lips were painfully smiling. "Y-You didn't run away…." A beat. "You….stayed with me. You s-stayed alive….."

He hugged himself. His fingers flexed against his opposite shoulder. His own body felt warm. Like…..

"You said that you were real…….," Robin murmured.

A beat.

His smile faded. "And yet….you didn't. N-Not really."

The wind kicked again at him.

The cape danced.

Robin tilted his head back and gazed blindly towards heaven with a thin eyemask.

"Why….did….the dream….end….like….that?" An inhale. An exhale. "What does it all mean? Wh-What am I supposed to know?"

Silence.

His right fingers flexed again.

He tilted his head back down and looked at his naked hand.

"N-No…….not know. Feel."

He bit his lip.

His brow furrowed.

He gazed North again, frowning. "Didn't Batman say…..t-to feel is to open oneself up….is to fall?"

Silence.

Robin ran the hand through his hair. He shuddered: "I….I am not the same animal." A beat. "There are wings of leather and wings of feather. Not everyone is built for the night. Some are…..built for warm air currents and….the Sun…."

A lingering breath.

He lowered his hand and gazed downward.

"Sun……..," his eyes blinked under his mask. "Star…….S-Starfire….."

He hugged himself.

"It all feels so warm now. I……I'm like another person. I know it. I feel it. And yet……..I-I don't feel any regrets….."

A beat.

He flinched. He shook his head. "Nnngh…..Batman would be right. I'm losing it. I'm losing it. I just….just…….."

……….

"I-It wasn't supposed to end that way……."

-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-

I shuffled sluggishly through the hallway.

I felt the scabbard of Myrkblade bouncing against my limping back.

I gazed through the cold floor of the Tower.

Barely breathing.

"……….."

Until I sighed.

And I sighed.

To my right was a door.

A familiar door.

I paused in front of it.

A beat.

"…………."

Deadpan, I opened it up—schwissh!!—and stepped inside. The room was dark, with glossy traces of reflection answering the dim light shifting lazily inside.

I found a power switch and considered turning it on…..but didn't.

Schwiish!!

I closed the door behind me, bathing myself in darkness.

I whipped my shades off and stuck them in a combat of my combat fatigues. I marched forward.

The Evidence Room.

Racks and stacks and glass displays of various arts of villainy stretched before me. Legitimate samples of Killer Moth's chemicals, Mumbo Jumbo's magical weapons, Viper's broad sword, Atlas' circuitry.

I gazed at them openly with my naked eyes. Everything shone and shimmered with clarity for me in the dark. I then came to a metal display with a newspaper clipping and Wyldecarde's gear.

"……….," I gazed at my reflection against the glass….against the razor-edged playing cards and the onyx goggles.

A beat.

Just a side-step to the side.

I was staring at another glass display.

A glass display in which was hung a metal mask with an emblazoned eye and three breathing slits. It was cracked diagonally across its surface, the tell-tale trademark of Robin's metal-laced boot.

My black eyes narrowed.

And maybe shadows were playing with my black optics, for I could have sworn the one eye on the cracked mask narrowed in response.

I hadn't been that close to the face since…..

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

SLIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINK!!!!!

I drove Myrkblade into Slade.

To the hilt.

The slight curve of the blade arched out of his convulsing back.

Blood dribbled along the wooden surface.

His upper body lurched.

His dark head hung shakily beside mine.

A hot breath turned cold against my right ear.

Blood and saliva oozed out of his breathing vents and pitter-pattered on my shoulder.

"Snkkkkkk…..y-you are a ffffffool, Noir."

"…………………"

"Hckkkk!!…O-Only fools tear themselvessssss up for friends. Only f-fools………"

Ever muscle in my body tensed.

My lips opened.

Inhale.


And.

Murk charging.

SLASH!!!!

I yanked back.

A fountain of blood kissed the ceiling and floor of the ship's cabin.

And as Slade fell out the window crashing, I swam in it……

-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-

"………….."

'Only fools tear themselves up for friends………'

My eyes narrowed at the mask.

My metal hand clenched.

I was shivering the whole time.

Red Aviary.

The mask glared at me.

'Only fools……'

-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-

'Dear Noir. Did you enjoy work today? Don't worry. I didn't do anything to your apartment while you were gone. I didn't really need the bed last night to be honest. I only needed to see you. I think when a lot of people look at you, they find something that they're afraid of. I'm only guessing that such is what you wished. Admittedly, it does make you a good terror of the night to wield justice by. But not all superheroes need to be terrifying. Sometimes superheroes are just lonely hearts needing other people to lean on and……share some of their angst. There's nothing sadder than being alone in the world on top of being alone in the world. I have the feeling you know what I mean. I hope you don't mind if I drop in on you again sometime soon. There's a lot happening in this City and I plan to be around for a while. And might I add……those who don't share the spotlight with the Titans in this place might become quick to ridicule. I'm only saying. Not like I'm a superhero expert and all. Anywho, ta ta. Hope you fair well in dark alleys. You seem built for that. Sincerely, J. P.S.: You're going to crumple this letter up after reading it, aren't you? It's so silly when good people try to be bad.

"………………"

I crumpled the note that I found under my door and tossed it down the hallway. With a groan, I stomped into my room in my funeral parlor clothes and looked around angrily for any sign of the little blonde runt.

But I was alone.

"………………"

I gazed back down the hallway.

The tiny sheet of paper looked like a pale ghost in the darkness.

I sighed.

Only fools become 'superheroes'.


I thought……

I tossed a plastic bag of canned goods onto the bed……MY bed……and approached the hole in the wall to get Myrkblade and perform some much needed meditation.

But halfway through pulling my sword out, I heard commotion. Lots of commotion.

I stood up and craned my ear towards the window.

"………"

I walked over and stuck my head out into the City.

I craned my neck again.

A beat.

"……………"

The rooftop……

-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-

"There is something that must be done!! The police won't listen to us!! The City officials won't listen to us!! There's not even a camera or cameraman so much as a half a mile from this dump that'll be brave enough to record evidence! What'll it take for someone to finally take notice of the Hell we're going through?!?!"

"Yeah!!!"

"We've got to shout!!!"

"Grab everyone's attention!!"

"Damn straight!!"

A crowd of local neighbors and occupants stood in a heavily clustered circle on the rooftops of the Norman Apartments. Various individuals grabbed center stage as the demonstration went on. Emotions were churning and a few fists were waving into the fiery, evening sky.

"His goons are running rampant in the street!! My brother was attacked on the way home from work yesterday!! They didn't say nothin'!! They just slammed him hard in the gut, left a note, and disappeared into the shadows!! The note said something about a 'day of reckoning for all people who trust in morals' or some shit!! The guy's a madman!!"

"Yeah!! A murder!! The Grayton boys went up missing two weeks ago!! They were wandering around in his 'territory'!! They're probably bobbing up in the middle of the sewers by now!! And the police ain't doin' shit to help out!!"

"The sewers……that's where his men come out!! He always hides underground!!"

"Decker's afraid to search them holes!! I swear, we have a god damn wuss running things here!!"

"We've got to take action!!"


"Yeah, we've got a secret weapon!! If the madman wants a war, we'll take it to his doorstep!! We'll give him more of an ass-kicking than the Titans ever did! I tell you!!!"

"Yeah!!"

"We'll tear him to shreds!!"

"For every time he's terrorized us!!"

The crowd cheered. Chanted. Surged. Shifted---

WOOOOSH!!!

Gasps. Startled breaths. Wide eyes.

Silence.

"…………," I stared from where I was perched……crouched on the building side. The last few trails of murk dissipated from my half-suited figure, and I leapt down to my feet and walked firmly into the group.

"It's the black eyes……"

"Noir………"

"At last!! He's here!!"

"Tell him all about it, Albert!!"

"Yeah! Let him hear it!!"

"Yeah!!"

"Let's do something!!"

"…………," I stared at the crowd. A beat. I stared at the rebel-rouser. "……………," I nodded my head.

"Jordan……," the man spoke quietly at first. "He's back. He's back and he's making life a living Hell for all of us!!"

"?????" my eyes narrowed under my shades.

"Slade, Jordan!!" the man practically hissed. His eyes were on fire. His hands strangled an invisible neck. "Slade is sending his robot creeps throughout the City again! Trying to terrorize us!! Killing off the innocent!! And nobody's doing jack about it around here because the whole damn world thinks we're scum!!"

"Yeah!!"

"Let's see how apathetic the police would be if Slade made an attack on the South District!!"

"Or smashed up Kobyashi's Tower good!!"

More shouts.

More fists.

Teeth.

I raised a hand.

They quieted down.

I exhaled. I motioned for Albert to go on.

"Nobody's going to do anything. Not at this rate. But thanks to you, Slade's not coming here anymore. This is safe territory. Courtesy of you……the black eyes……"

"Hell yeah!!"

"Nobody's touching the Norman Apartments!"

Albert went on: "You can help us even more, Jordan. You can use those powers of yours……take on Slade and his robots……teach them a thing or two!! Tell them to screw off and terrorize some other part of Town because it ain't like we've not had our fair share of shit already in this god damn hell hole!!"

Mutterings.

Nodding heads.

Then, silence.

I took a deep breath. I craned my neck. I raised two of my hands together and formed an easily understood 'A' symbol for everyone to see.

"Agnes……," a neighbor turned and said. "Where's Agnes?"

"Agnes?!"

"She's right over here!"

"We need you again, ma'am."

"Oh allright, show me where he is. Just one second…," an elderly voice uttered. The crowd parted ways as a young mother guided a short, gray-haired lady into the center of attention. Her back was hunched over with seventy years and her voice was a wavering thing of last-minute strength. As she was lead gently to a few feet in front of me, she shakily put on her spectacles and squinted through with wrinkled blinks. "Oh dear me……this is quite a row we're all making, isn't it, Mr. Noir? What do you wish to say, lad?"

I stood in front of her and hand-signed slowly.

The old lady blinked. Slowly, Agnes' voice shook forth an interpretation: "'I understand that……Slade is……a dangerous person…………i-in this City………'"

Everyone on the rooftop was deadly quiet as I continued my gesturing. Agnes read, and through her my voice spoke to the fellow residents:

"'But Slade……still has…many contacts………with gangs……and drug lords……………close by. And those criminals………have a lot………of p-people on their…………side………'"

Men listened, their brows furrowed. Women gathered in bunches and clusters. Children clung to their mothers.

I took a deep breath and finished:

"'………I will……protect……these City blocks……as I always have…………but I will not……be a part……of a gang war………'"


Murmurs.

Hushed voices.

Even a few frowns.

"'……I trust that……all of you will………keep true to……the law and…to each other's……security. I implore you……n-not to attack Slade. Doing so……will only cause………everything…around the Norman buildings………to collapse in on us."

The commotion rose.

Anger and frustration.

Confusion and anxiety.

I sighed deeply, feeling suddenly tired……

"But……but come on, man!! We're helpless here!!" another person cackled. "Slade's intimidating us!! He's getting closer and closer to these apartments and I swear someday he's going to bust into our homes and kill us in our sleep!!!"

I hand-signed with a inward groan.

Agnes spoke: "'I promise you……I will protect everyone………here to the best of my ability……'"

"How's that protecting us?!?!" Albert shook. "You not only have the guts to stand up to Slade, but you have the power!! We need someone with powers to intimidate him for once!! We need a superhero! You!!!"

"Yeah!!!"

"The Black Eyes kicks ass!!"

"Show him we won't take it any longer!!!"

My eyes closed. I tilted my head back and hand-signed: 'I am no superhero'.

A beat. I heard nothing. I opened my eyes and looked at Agnes.

She was silent.

"Why won't you do it?!" another person stepped up and waved. "C'mon, man! Give us a break here!! We're practically on our hands and knees!!"

I hand-signed.

Agnes interpreted this time: "'I will not……do anything…………that may……harm…………the people I have………come to love and trust……'"

"For crying out loud!!" Albert exclaimed. "People are dying, Jordan!!!"

I frowned. I hand-signed.

"'People……are always………dying……'"

"We're willing to take the chance!! Why won't you??"

"'Because……I will not……'"

I expressed finality, took a breath, swiveled around, and made for the fire escape.

There was a mumbling of despondency.


But Albert was practically enraged. His fists shook. He stomped past Agnes and shouted at my back: "You had us fooled for a second there, Black Eyes!! We all thought you were gonna make a difference in this City for once!! But all you are is a peace-loving freak, aren't you?!?!"

Gasps and inhalations. Then utter, bleak silence from the crowd behind Albert.

Rightfully so……I had frozen in mid step.

"……………………"

I slowly, icily turned around. I was glaring. My fists were clenched by my side, and I'm sure people could see a faint aura of smoke dancing around me.

Albert bravely stood his ground, but nobody could deny seeing a pensive biting of the lip across his features.

"………………………," I turned and looked Agnes' way. I snapped my finger and pointed at her.

"Oh……uh……a-ahem," she cleared her throat and reapplied her bifocals.

I slowly marched towards Albert. I stood in front of him. Two feet separating our faces. Slowly, I reached a hand up……gripped my shades……and took them off. My eyes were closed for a few seconds, until I slowly slid them open. Solid black gems stuck inside enlarged sockets.

Glaring.

There were a dozen or two gasps……because it was the first time many of my fellow residents had seen my naked eyes.

Albert swallowed nervously.

"……………………," I kept staring at him. With my right profile to Agnes, I slowly hand-signed.

She spoke my voice: "'Do you know………h-how I lost………my original eyes………'?"

Albert exhaled. He slowly shook his head.

I stared at him. I hand-signed.

Agnes spoke waveringly: "'I was……strapped………to a sheet of metal……in the wall of………a dark corridor. Tiny staples…………were driven……through my upper and lower………eyelids………and attached by……rusty wires…………to a crown on……my skull………a-and a collar………around my……neck. If I……tried shutting………my eyes…………the tiny hooks……would……rip through………my flesh. My arms and legs……were helplessly………bound………as a robotic………arm piloted………a three inch……set of pencil-wide………iron pins……into my face. These pins ripped their way……into my lenses……and dug……dug………dug……until their spindly tips ripped……straight……into the meat………of my………retinas'."

Albert was trying to stand still, but his upper body was shivering. People in the back fidgeted. Women had hands over their mouths. Boys and girls blinked with confusion and awe.

I never stopped glaring at the man and I never stopped hand-signing.

Agnes continued to interpret: "'Once the……three pins……were searing into………my optic receptors………the needles split………into fan-shaped branches…………with razor edged teeth……that ate into the………gnarled mass………of my eyes. And then………without anesthesia………and without pain killers……the arm retracted………and the needles pulled……and pulled……and pulled………and pulled. I could not……m-move my head. I could……n-not even turn……my neck. The only thing……my skull felt………was the sickly wet……vibrations………of each optic cord……snapping wetly………as my eyes……were yanked out……slowly…………five minutes each……eye. Sometimes………when I wasn't too busy……screaming……I felt the blood……collecting in my………nose cavity……………and oozing down my throat………and settling over my dried tongue. And yet……it was not…………half as bad………as when they later……………drilled electric spikes……into my……bleeding sockets………to make them larger……for what you see………solid and black……before you……"

Silence.

Albert's face was in a contortion.

Agnes seemed understandably winded.

But I was nearly done.

Still glaring, I hand-signed.

"'I……am not……a peace……l-loving freak. But……I do know………what pain is. And because of that……I also know………when……it is best……not to be……stupid'."

Albert took a deep breath.

The rest of the crowd looked away.

I looked a bit calmer, my glare melting away as my hands gestured: "'I will continue to……protect you from Slade. But I……will not do something…………that will bring more…………pain to this City. I am not a………superhero. I am what……you see. I am……a ghost. Treat me…………as one……'"

Once she had finished, I turned around and slowly……quietly……exited by the fire escape.

And everyone was silent.

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

Starfire floated in a lonesome fashion down the hallway. Her arms were hugging herself. Her green eyes were cast to the moving floor.

"……………….."

She had no way of warning herself before she bumped into him.

Thump!

"Eeep!" she jumped back, landed on her feet, and looked ahead. A beat. She blushed. "Oh….R-Robin! I must apologize…..I-I was not truly paying attention to where I was going and—"

Robin raised a gloved hand. He smiled somewhat. "It's okay, Star. Seriously."

"I must confess," she bit her lip and then simpered. "I have…..not fully memorized all of the corridors in this Tower and—"

"I said it's okay, Star," Robin insisted. "I mean it. It was an accident."

"………..," she slowly nodded. "I-I understand."

A beat.

The two remained standing. Facing each other. At least where their bodies were concerned. Starfire's green-eyed gaze and Robin's mask vision were settling on opposite sides of the hallway floor.

A few seconds paused.

Starfire cleared her throat. "W-Well…..," she clasped her hands together and put on a shining smile. "I-I suppose I must be continuing to…..c-continue to my destination."

"………," Robin stared past her.

"Happy tidings….," she waved. She took a deep breath. She floated past the Boy Wonder--

"Starfire."

She froze. Her back to him.

His back to her.

A beat.

"Y-Yes, Robin?"

"About……," he ran a nervous hand through his hair. "…..about l-last night…."

"Last night need not be worried about," she smiled gently to the empty air ahead of her. "I have travailed efficiently upon not relating the…..n-nature of the tears I witnessed on your face to the rest of the team."

"……….but did you want to talk about it, Star?"

Her cheeks flushed. She bit her lip and stared back through the peripheral window of her gaze. "You…….you desire to…..talk about…..what has happened to you?" A beat. She turned around completely. "Th-The dream?"

He turned and faced her. He slowly nodded.

She twiddled her fingers together. Her gaze shimmied across the floor below his boots. "Robin…I-I would be….e-elated to. Eep….th-that is, if you so desire and if…..it m-may assist you in…..in coming to closure….t-to whatever it is that ails you."

He stared at her. He leaned his head to the side: "What are you up to now?"

"N-Now?" She stammered. "Er…..I-I was….t-travailing upon……..being somewhere."

"Am I interrupting?" Robin asked.

"H-How are you interrupting, Robin?" she inquired.

He simpered and gestured: "I was going to ask you if you wanted to do something."

She clasped her hands together: "Glorious!! Of course!! A training exercise!" she winked and held up a finger. "Allow me to acquire pads of the knees and shoulders and you and I shall engage in most strenuous sparring—"

"No, Starfire…."

She blinked. "N-No??" she murmured.

He hid his gloved hands behind his cape. "I…..meant as in…..n-not training."

She seemed utterly confused. "N-Not training??"

"As in…..just…….ya know….."

"……………."

"………you and I……"

"……………."

"………t-talking…….."

"……………."

"……………out."

"Out?"

"Would you like to?"

"Like to what, Robin?"

"Out."

"Out???"

"GO out!" he said, wincing at the sound of his own voice.

She stared at him, as if in entranced. "This is…..the 'going of the out'???"

"Y-Yeah……," Robin nodded. "Just….away from the Tower."

She continued to stare blankly at him. Her face was flushed. Her lips open.

He simpered: "It's….um……cold outside."

"C-Cold?"

"It's nice," he exhaled. "Very…..very nice." A beat. "I-I'd very much like to enjoy it with you, Star."

A beat.

She smiled, her cheeks red. "Alright……a-as long as we are…..d-discussing what ails you."

"Uh….sure….we can do that," Robin said.

A beat.

"Uhm…..," Starfire blinked. "I fail to remember what it is we do now…."

"We can change outfits for one."

Starfire giggled nervously. "Yes….that is a….a r-remarkable plan….yes….I shall…uhm…endeavor to…c-comply!" She flew down the hallway in a red bolt. She suddenly froze to a stop in mid-air. A beat. She streaked back and plowed Robin with a hug.

"Ooof!!!"

"Heeeeeeeee!!" she exhaled jubilantly, dropped him, and soared back down the hallway in a blink of an eye. She disappeared brightly around the corner.

Robin straightened his uniform, took a breath, and sighed. His eyemask lingered on the spot where Starfire last was. He flexed his fingers.

"I'm…..d-doing the right thing………"

A beat.

"R-Right??"

No answer.

He slowly turned and headed towards his room….

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

Cyborg sat at the Main Computer, typing furiously.

Tempest sat at the kitchen counter across the room, reading a surface-dweller's novel.

Silence.

Beast Boy sauntered in: "Say….you guys seen Robin or Starfire?"

"Nope."

"Nuh huh."

"Cuz…..like……it was Robin's turn to clean dishes. I know he's 'under the weather' and stuff…..but…..a little consideration for the rest of us who desire to eat tofu off of a clean platter would have been nice on his part this evening!!"

"It's your tofu," Cyborg shrugged while typing. "It's your platter. You clean it."

Tempest added: "Be a man for Crisco's sake."

"Christ."

"Whatever."

"Nnnngh….," Beast Boy folded his arms and pouted. "But I still get this wyrd feeling, dudes."

"You don't say….."

"I do say! Noir's been pent up in dark places of the Tower since our meeting, and now I can't find the bird brain or the alien anywhere in the place!!"

"Noir's gone through a lot with Jinx and all lately," Tempest said. He flipped a page. "Give him a break."

"Yeah, dawg. And Starfire and Robin are probably just training or something."

Schwish!

Raven shuffled into the room. "Actually, they're on a date…." She walked across the place, grabbed a mug of herbal tea, and sipped it all the way back into the elevator from which she came.

Schwish!

"…………"

"…………"

"…………"

The three guys slowly looked at each other, bug-eyed.

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

VRRRRRRMMMM!!!!

The R-Cycle with two figures mounted on it zoomed off towards the City.

The riders were dressed casually for the evening 'out', the exception being the driver with an eyemask under his helmet.

The sun was setting, and there I sat perched on the edge of the Tower's rooftop. Wind blew at my black hair as I gazed down at the fleeting two.

"…………….."

My gaze rose. I squinted my eyes. I looked out beyond the rooftops and towards a dusty pair of apartment buildings beyond the quagmire of the Northeast District……..

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

An L-Train passed by.

The entire room shook.

"………………," I looked up from where I was slowly, absent-mindedly rubbing sandstone along the inner curve of Myrkblade.

A bright neon glow strobes through the passing windows of the nearby train car.

My black eyes narrowed, but didn't close entirely from the stabbing light.


I took the pain………

"………………"

Slowly, I got up. I dangled Myrkblade at my side. I walked over towards the door. I gazed out at the grimy streets below. I smelled in the late night smog. I craned my ear to the distant tunes of police sirens and alarms.

Alarms………

"………………"

I turned and looked out my barely closed door to my apartment room. I envisioned the tiny, crumpled note in the hallway. Its pale presence piercing me through the door.

"…………………"

I looked back out the window.

I sighed.

………………I smiled.

-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-

I stepped along the building side's edge.

One foot before the other.

Toe to heel.

Heel to toe.

I finished tightening my combat jacket into my camouflaged slacks and over my black tank top.

I wrapped the bandanna around my forehead and black bangs, tightening it.

CHIIIIIING!!!

I whipped out Myrkblade.

I reached the absolute corner of the structure.


A huge drop of a gaping street yawned before and beneath me.

I took a deep breath, inhaling the width and breadth of the City.

I spread my arms.

I stretched Myrkblade out.

I teetered over.

'Only the ghost knows when to take flight……'

I fell.


My feet blurred.


And I soared down the building side and into the urban battleground of night……