228. A Hard Act to Follow part 13

"Jordan, take a look here. This is a prototype that I have been working on. I seriously doubt it'll match the craftsmanship of your previous prosthetic to the 'T', but that's mainly because it's just a piece of a whole unit that has yet to be completed yet, and its fusion technology wasn't exactly designed for your neurological cybernetics. Regardless, I believe that I can get the apparatus to work. In fact, I had been planning on it."

"……………," I was looking across the Batcave. Staring at a bench besides the computer. There 'J'—or Jericho sat with Barbara by his side.

The redhead was still in her Batgirl costume, only maskless. She spoke pleasantly and gently with the short, blonde thing to her right. The adolescent nodded with a somber face and locked his eyes to the floor. Barbara seemed to be trying to cheer him up….to ease him. But he was distracted. Or….perhaps resisting any urge to smile.

"……….," I took a deep breath.

"…….Jordan?"

I suddenly realized that Batman had been talking to me and I hadn't been paying attention……

I winced, turned, and looked at him.

His eyeslits thinned as he pushed forward for my examination a tall, slender object stuck on a pedestal's rod. It looked like a long black glove. Yet, it stood rigid….like an arm was filling the solid obsidian handpiece. I noticed Robin in my peripheral vision, standing alongside Batman. Nightwing, Alfred, and Dr. Thompkins were discussing something in the background. And the Messenger? I had no idea……

The Dark Knight spoke, pointing to the glove: "I said……this is a prototype that I've been working on as of late. It may be only an arm so far, but it's one piece of a suit I have planned. A very….special, state-of-the art suit. Whoever will wear the suit will be augmented in areas of strength, agility, and stamina. Not to mention durability. It's how I plan to fight crime in the next few decades." Batman's face drifted over towards Robin. "You can't stay young forever."

The Boy Wonder couldn't help but smirk some: "Speak for yourself."

"…….," I smiled.

Nightwing walked up: "What's this? A new Holloween Costume?"

"It's the Suit Prototype I've been telling you about, Dick."

"Nice. I only see a hand, though."

"Because that's all I've built," Batman says as he slips the glove off the pedestal. "A 'hand'." He fingered it in his grasp and adjusted little wires at the bottom end of it. "So far, I've tested it in environmental simulators and various technological extremes. It's survived ballistics, friction, and point blanc serration. In short, it's worth the twenty million dollars I've put into the glove alone."

Nightwing whistled. "Whew….Bruce—I swear—you and your Bat-Pocket will never cease to amaze me."

"You've got two birds with one stone," Robin added.

Batman swiftly stretched the glove out, repositioned it, and held it out towards me….

"…………," I blinked at it. I looked at Batman.

He was emotionless with or without his mask. He said: "You'll find that the circumference of the 'glove' matches the disk on your left arm. Try it on…."

Nightwing's jaw dropped.

Robin was silent.

I took a deep breath, gently took the 'glove' in my left hand, and nervously brought the black material over to my left stub. I struggled in awkward bashfulness to match the ring of the glove's 'opening' to the disc attachment.

Batman suddenly pulled out a remote and clicked it.

Beep!

The black 'glove' sparked.

Schnnnnnnnnkkttt!-Tumpt!

I gasped and jumped. The wires magnetically sunk into my metal disc in a circular fashion. A few more sparks, and then the glove attached in a vice grip.

Batman pressed another button on the tiny remote.

Beep!

Vrrrmmm—Tchnnkt!

The black material of the glove seemed to 'tighten' around an invisible hand of sorts, so that my wrist and fingers and forearm were just as hard and durable as any titanium limb before it. I found that with so much as a simple though, I could flex the fingers and turn the wrist at will. Quite nimbly too. However….it felt a lot number than my titanium prosthetic that was courtesy of Cyborg and Simon Stone. In fact, I wasn't sure I could feel anything with my left arm at all.

Heh. Guess that makes me 'normal'.

"Try 'counting' from one to five…."

I looked at Batman. I looked at my finger. I held one finger up. Two. Three. Four. Five. I clenched my fist. I relaxed. I retrated the fingers. Four. Three. Two. One. None.

"Okay….," Batman nodded. He stepped back. "Now, Jordan, hold your 'new' hand out."

I did so.

THWACK! He stabbed into it with a sharp, slicing batarang.

I gasped.

CRKKK!

The batarang split on contact with my black knuckles and fell to pieces.

I exhaled a sigh.

"Good," Batman spoke. "The exoskeleton has achieved maximum, pliable density. It's an adamantine polymer. Highly rare. Highly expensive. But it will protect your left limb from everything short of a nuclear explosion at ground zero. Though I doubt the rest of your body could handle such as well."

I nervously smirked.

He tossed the remaining shards of his batarang into a container and turned back to face me. "It should be a suitable, temporary replacement of your titanium prosthetic. Use it wisely." His eyeslits narrowed. "I'll need it back when we're done with Red Aviary and Triangular."

I nodded, rubbing my left arm and getting used to the powerful numbness.

Thanks very much……just……

Too bad for the 'temporary' part……

"Always the crazy-ass philanthropist, Bruce," Nightwing shrugged, folded his arms, and smirked. "What ever inspires you to share such expensive toys with such perfect strangers these days is beyond me."

"Simple," Batman glanced at Nightwing before staring straightly at me. "Now Noir can talk to us."

"………..," I blinked.

Two eyemask and a cowl stared back at me. Triple cold. A mentor and his protégés.

I couldn't help but sweat a little, even if I had no conceivable reason for doing so.

After a few pauses of bearing their eyesight, I relaxed….however.

For Robin was there.

My right hand and my 'new left hand' moved in motion with each other. And I had a voice again:

'Do you think Deathstroke knows anything about Terra?'

Somehow I had no doubt that at least one of these three vigilante lessons could understand my sign-language. And I was right.

Batman answered: "There is no way of knowing if he's aware of what you've done with Terra or not. The only times we have run into Red Aviary have been moments where any or all of us have nearly died. The rest we fill in the gaps through researching those of Triangular most hit hard by Slade's deadly rampage. And even there, the details are still sketchy."

"Dagger's finished with Terra," Nightwing said, his arms folded. "Right now, at least. He….'got what he wanted' from her."

I took a deep breath and mouthed: 'Yeah, I know.' A pause. I glanced at Robin.

He stared back at me.

I swallowed and hand-signed in Batman's direction: 'If you three knew that Terra was revived without me telling you, then I can only imagine Deathstroke somehow discovering it himself.'

"All we know is that you did it somehow, Noir," Robin spoke suddenly. "Where you left Terra….well…that's to anyone's guess."

I spun and looked at him with surprise. Shaded black eyes blinking.

He bit his lip. "I…..I-I brushed up a little……after the Messenger said that we'd be crossing paths again…"

"………"

"He did his friggin' sign-language homework already," Nightwing grinned. "God! I kept urging him for so many months."

"Pffft….shut up."

I ran a hand over my face.

Robin's lips parted. "Noir? You okay?"

I lowered my hand, and I was chuckling breathily. Shaking my head.

Robin pouted.

"Hrmmm…..," Batman exhaled.

"Yeah….this is really going somewhere," Nightwing rolled his masked eyes.

I cleared my throat, faced Batman again, and hand-signed: 'Did the Messenger tell you how important it is that Terra live?'

"As much as he has surely told you."

I frowned. 'You want to 'give me what I want', Batman? Stop being taciturn.'

"…………………"

Nightwing fidgeted.

'I have been separated from the Messenger's guidance for a long time. Has he indicated that Terra is in any sort of conceivable danger?'

"No, he hasn't."

I took a deep breath.

'Good. I know I should not be too concerned. I left her in capable hands. But now that I seem to have more solid allies on my side, I wonder if maybe—'

Batman interrupted: "It would be foolish to keep you both together. That's exactly what Red Aviary wants. An easy target to eliminate both at once."

I winced.

"You are aware of this yourself, I'm certain."

I nodded.

Yeah……

It's why you left Terra back in Smallville and went to Metropolis alone to begin with, Jordan you dummy!

"If that's the case……," Nightwing scratched his brow and glanced aside at Batman. "Then maybe we shouldn't even have Noir and Robin together? Or wait…..Red Aviary thinks Robin is dead?"

"He did assume that," Batman spoke. "The Messenger's plan worked perfectly to the point that it gave Noir time to save Terra and gave us the cover to investigate Triangular. But Slade is not so easily fooled. He knows that something is wrong."

I hand-signed: 'He is so strongly connected to the Spectrum that he can specifically fixate on his targets and tell whether or not they are still alive.'

Robin 'read' my hands to the best of his ability, strained some, and said aloud: "But….how? His powers don't seem anything similar to yours and Terra's….besides, Terra's not—"

'Yes she is.'

Robin did a double-take.

I took a deep breath. 'Terra……has a lot of things in her that only I can possibly understand. It would take a long explanation. But quite simply, her powers are as much tied to the Spectrum as they are tied to the Earth. It is a matter of varied, physical manifestations.' I looked Batman's and Nightwing's way. 'As for Red Aviary, his manifested element is red smoke. Such as mine is black smoke. But where I concentrate on maintaining balance, he concentrates on proliferating destruction. So when a life is destroyed—on either the black side or the earthen side of the Spectrum like Terra and me respectively—then Slade, as wielder of the Red, is capable of feeling it.'

"What about Robin?" Nightwing asked to the air in general. "Last time I checked, he wasn't a smoke Jedi by any means."

Robin bit his lip and looked aside.

Batman glared the Boy Wonder's way before looking towards the other two of us and saying: "Robin made himself quite known. When he should have been still and silent, he instead went out into the open night and—"

"And who's going to blame me, Batman?" Robin barked. A slight snarl. "What Noir went through in Vegas was one thing….but in Metropolis, he was going to die! Slade knew that Terra was hidden and she couldn't be destroyed! So he decided to catch up with Noir and it was in Metropolis that Red Aviary sprung his trap! You and Nightwing and Batgirl and even the Justice League were going to let Noir lose his head on his own if he wanted to and I couldn't settle for that!"

I took a deep breath. I faced Robin and hand-signed: 'Robin, I was not entirely alone. Martian Manhunter and Wonder Woman were assisting me and Tempest and Steel were—'

He interrupted, marching towards me and pointing: "No, Noir! You were alone in Lexcorp and you were alone outside of that funeral home!"

I blinked, my lips parted.

So he was there……

"…..," Robin lowered his arm. He stared down at the floor and sighed. After a while, he looked up and spoke to me: "While you were in Metropolis, I couldn't just sit back and walk. The things that were happening to you made me sick. Hell, what's been happening to all the Titans has bothered me. It's so hard to follow the Messenger's plan, Noir. I thought I could do it at first. I thought I was strong enough. But when I saw my team members splitting apart…some going on their own…others turning to ice at the Tower….I couldn't stand it. And finally, one night, I broke. It was after the supposed 'attack' on the Justice League by the shipyards, and I there was nothing to friggin' hold me back anymore…."

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

"What have you found, Babs?"

Batgirl sat at the Bat-Computer, typing away like mad. Her bright blue eyes scanned the screen as she read aloud: "Well, there are two converging pieces of evidence that I've found while hacking my way into the Lexcorp Mainframe. For one, there're at least a hundred documents all indicating signed agreements and money transfers between suspected leaders of Intergang and Lex Luthor's organization."

"Sounds like a sell-out."

"Indeed. Intergang hasn't been doing too fancy as of late. Everyone in the criminal underworld between here and Central City is waiting for the terrorist organization to collapse in on itself. I wouldn't doubt it if Lexcorp, a former financer in Intergang, was buying out the assets of the crumbling business."

"What's the other piece of evidence?"

"This." She typed.

"A computer chip?"

"Not just any computer chip. It's a special silicon cylinder bred by the best of Intergang's lingering scientists. It was set to be transferred with Malaysian agents in a secret meeting at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas."

"Triangular got involved……huh?"

"Yes, and most likely a certain long-distance friend of ours as well."

"So what happened to the chip?

"It was flown to Metropolis shortly after the destruction of Area 51. It was then brought to the labs at Lexcorp where Dr. Helga Jace—a European national working for Luthor—incorporated it into Project Enkidu."

"Project Who?"

"Enkidu…," Batman stepped up. "Ancient mythology. Enkidu is the golem of sticks and mud that fought Gilgamesh."

"Lexcorp is trying to create a golem?"

"Not quite," Batgirl spoke while typing. "I think 'Enkidu' represents a piece of technology they're trying to resurrect. And in this case, an automaton or android…"

Nightwing's eyemask narrowed in thought. "And if this is Intergang's technology that we're dealing with……then the first thing they'd want to resurrect is—"

"Metallo."

Batgirl, Batman, and Nightwing swiveled about and looked up a tier of the cave.

Robin stood on the edge, his face tight and lips firm. "Superman scrapped Metallo after Supergirl and the Titans fought him in Kansas. But to do so, Superman had to work at least partially with S.T.A.R. Labs in Metropolis. It's little doubt nowadays that Emil Hamilton has a nasty opinion of Superman. I don't think it's beneath Hamilton to have been sweet-talked by Lexcorp or Intergang into coughing up the parts and pieces of Metallo, if it meant reestablishing a fiend capable of tackling Superman and holding the 'powerful Kryptonian' at bay."

"We have no direct evidence to confirm that, Robin," Batman said. "None of us have directly gone to Metropolis since—"

"And maybe it's about time that we did!" Robin snapped. "Don't you see? It WAS Metallo! That would explain the eyewitness testimony of Noir battling someone in random parts of the City preceding the Shipyard fight with the Justice League! And Metallo's shown in the past that he can learn new tricks. What's to say he hasn't developed some sort of talent for exoskeleton camouflage or holographic manipulation? I think that was a nefarious, mute bogey that attacked the Justice League! A bogey made out of titanium, not Noir's flesh!"

"We won't know for sure until we see Noir in person, Robin," Batman said.

"We should wait for him to come to us? Are you nuts? He might be dead or in prison by then!"

"Tim……," Batgirl stood up and gently pointed, "…you know the plan. Noir will come here on his own. We have no choice but to leave him to his own devices. If any of us so much as get close to him, Red Aviary might suspect something and—"

"Screw Red Aviary!" Robin shouted with a wave of his gloved hand. "Screw all of this hiding around in the dark! I didn't become Team Leader just so that I could watch my friends be ripped apart one by one! That isn't responsibility! That's just stupidity!"

"Robin, the 'stupid' thing would be doing something brash that would end your own life!" Batman responded curtly. "And right now we can't risk losing you. Not when we're this close to solving the puzzle!"

"Yeah……well I think I'm not close enough," Robin murmured. He spun and ran down a dark corridor of rock leading into a shadier section of the Batcave. "I'm going to intercept him! The least any of us can do is give him something to breathe for!"

"Robin!" Batman shouted. He spun with a twirl of his cape and made to run after the Boy Wonder. "Wait--!"

Nightwing gripped the Dark Knight's shoulder. "Let him go, Bruce………"

Batman hissed and pointed: "He's in over his head! He's letting the whole Titan's Leader thing get to him!"

"And are you any less a leader, Bruce?" Nightwing asked. "If it was Robin or me limping across the country and having the shit beaten out of us, would you hold yourself back?"

"……………," Batman was silent. But his muscles relaxed. He no longer jerked to go after Robin.

In the meantime, Batgirl bit her lip.

Nightwing smiled. "Face it. The kid's like me. He's growing up to be a regular jackass. But something tells me……he's going to be a mature jackass. Something I'm sure all of us could have wanted. Especially at that age. Right, Babs?"

"I could do with a little less ego," she folded her arms and pouted.

"He knows how not to lose his head, Bruce," Nightwing went on. "I'm sure that if he manages to go deeply into Metropolis……he won't let his pimply face show."

Batman straightened his cape and paced off to be on his own. As he icily walked off, he said: "He's still reckless, Nightwing. If this Destructive Threat catches up with him because of his last-minute joyride, it won't be us who's to blame."

Nightwing called out after him with a shrug: "It wasn't even our threat to begin with!"

Batman walked on, silent.

"Hrmph……," Nightwing folded his arms. "Talk about ego."

Batgirl giggled.

Nightwing glared. "What are you so cheery about?"

"You're such a cute little family."

"Oh hush."

When you would end up coming into Gotham, Noir, Nightwing's opinion was bound to change slightly. But at the time, it was flattering to look back and realize that he was rooting for you and me…..for the both of us in some sense. However the ruling majority vote, I couldn't stay put. Yes…..I put everyone and everything in jeopardy. But who's to say it was for naught? When I arrived in Gotham at the last minute, you were nearly biting the bullet from both Red Aviary AND Metallo. You would have died, Noir, hadn't I intervened. You know this, don't you? Then perhaps you'll know that I'm not reiterating this so that you may feel bad or so that I may brag and feel good about myself at your expense. You've given just so much to this whole escapade, it was about time that someone gave something back to you. And as your leader……as the one who appointed you as my Number Two, I felt the need to help you thusly. Nothing—not even the Messenger's wise words—was going to hold me back.

VRMMMMMMM!

Robin gripped the handles of a sleek black motorcycle. He drove through frigid air of the Metropolitan Highway at Sunset. The traffic was thin where he was, but in the distance he could spot a few vehicles going south in the lanes ahead of him.

Robin took a deep breath, bearing the brunt of the cold, whipping winds of November. He reached a hand up to an intercom button on his helmet and clicked it.

Beep!

"Cloak mode." He mouthed.

The motorcycle responded with an electronic chime. A whirring noise. Then……

ZZZZT!

With a few white bolts of electricity, the exoskeleton of the motorcycle started refracting light till—at a blink of an eye—the vehicle looked like one with the road. A holographic blur was extended over the body of Robin. As he sped up, the Boy Wonder wasn't exactly invisible………but he was definitely quite difficult to pinpoint with the highly technological, light-bending devices at work.

In such streaking fashion, he burned down the highway as night fell.

And soared straight into Metropolis.

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

"What happens next…well….," Robin adjusted his cloak and spoke. "….you know."

I leaned my head to the side. With my new left hand and my right hand I gestured sign-language.

Robin's eyemask thinned. But he lost concentration and shook his head: "I-I'm sorry. I'm still new to someone—?"

"Noir asks if it was you who attacked Metallo outside the funeral home," Nightwing said. He smirked. "Want me to hit him over the head for you?"

"Yes..I-I MEAN NO! Er….," Robin ran a hand through his black hair. "Yeah….that was me."

"………," I smiled. I reached a hand into my fatigues' pocket and produced the birdarang. I handed it out to him.

Robin seemed a little startled. He blinked under his mask, took the object in a gentle gloved palm, and tested its cracked weight. "Heh. Guess I left a souvenir."

'Enough for me to follow,' I hand-signed with a smile.

"Yes," Batman nodded. "And apparently enough for Deathstroke to notice too. That's why his attacks on Noir changed."

I turned and looked at Batman curiously.

He said: "Noir, when was the first time you truly came close to a brushed encounter with Red Aviary?"

'Lexcorp. In Metropolis.'

"Did he make an attempt on your life there?"

I shuddered. 'For all intents and purposes, yes.'

"And after that?"

'At the cemetery outside of Metropolis.'

"Which was the last time Noir nearly went toe-to-toe with Slade before Robin dropped in," Nightwing nodded. "More or less."

"If that's the case, let's assume that Red Aviary was still in the vicinity of Metallo's attack in front of the funeral home. And when Robin dove in and did performed his little interception to save Noir's neck, Slade saw it. But Slade couldn't catch up with Robin….because Robin was still exercising the stealth that the Messenger had warned us to use in this case."

"Then the only one Slade could follow along at that point was Noir."

"Exactly. And since Terra is somewhere Slade doesn't know, then the only member of the three primary targets Red Aviary can consume is Noir. And even though he wanted Robin, he felt that attacking Noir further would bring Robin out of hiding so that he could deal a deadlier blow to his preferred target. But in order to attack Noir sufficiently without Noir speedily escaping like he did both times in Metropolis…."

"He had to consume more souls," Robin slurred. "And feed Destruction."

Batman looked at me. "After Metropolis, when was your next run-in with Red Aviary?"

I took a deep breath. 'The Zeppelin.'

"And were you the primary target of that incident?"

"………," I didn't even need to answer that.

"The Terrible Troupe was," Nightwing said. "The Mad Hatter. The Clock King."

"The same can be said about Bane and the Ventriloquist," Batman said. "I'm also willing to bet that killing Bane in particular gave Red Aviary a significant 'boost'—if you will—to his powers. Assuming that Destruction feeds off the intensity of murderous potential in human beings as much as their rage."

Nightwing glanced over at me. "Does that sound right, dark eyes?"

"……," I slowly nodded. Pretty much, yeah.

"Then….well…..i-it was a good thing that all three of you went to save Noir's butt," Robin murmured. "If even then you could possibly have been a match for how charged-up Red Aviary had become."

"The only thing we ever hoped to do in going in there was getting Noir out safely," Batman said. "And we did. I was intent on taking Deathstroke out while the opportunity presented itself. But it's obvious by now. He's far too strong to be taken down by our combined efforts, even."

"But now that we have Noir with us….," Robin pointed. "And the Messenger. Hell, Jericho even…..what is that? Seven against one?"

Nightwing made a face. "Seven?"

"Yes….," Robin nodded. "Exactly."

"……."

"Robin….," Batman leaned forward. "Even if we knew where and how to contact Red Aviary at this point in time….we still don't know exactly how dangerous he is. Nightwing, Batgirl and I may be able to face him with little consequence. But something tells me that it is Noir and yourself that he's after. And putting you two in the line of danger to be consumed by Deathstroke is the last thing we can do in this case. Slade is on a rampage. Regardless of who else he kills, as long as he eliminates you two….he'll go on to catch other heroes and vigilantes around the world without warning. And Batgirl, Nightwing and I won't be fast enough to catch up with him."

"All the more reason for us to intercept him now!" Robin emphasized.

"Are you willing to take the risk?"

And to that, Robin was silent. I was only half-surprised.

I admitted mentally to myself with a sigh that…..now that I knew Robin was alive and we were together, I would happily have sat out a World War Three Thermonuclear Holocaust in that damned cave. There was something indescribably wonderful about standing there next to him. I was tired. Beat up. Scarred and mangled by Slade and Dagger combined over a month of Hell. And yet—in spite of all my pain and exhaustion—I was engulfed in a background of endless euphoria solely because Robin was alive. It's a very queer yet common sensation. It's like when you're sick as a dog and yet you feel ecstatic because the drug medication is slipping in and you can gradually feel your senses tingle and your respiratory tubes slip back into working order.

I was afraid to try hugging Robin again. Not so much that he would punch me in homophobic neurosis, but rather that I might faint from the effort of trying to move more than a millimeter.

Does anyone here have a Bat-Bed?

"Quite frankly, where would we begin on a search to chase down Deathstroke?" Nightwing spoke. "The guy sorta comes and goes and kills as he pleases."

"There is very little evidence to follow Slade's movements with," Batman said. "It would be futile to try and track him. Triangular, however, is a good foot we can start on."

"But didn't you say that Noir might be able to help with Red Aviary—"

"I did. But something tells me he isn't such a good beacon anymore."

I made a face. I leaned my head to the side and hand-signed: 'What are you talking about?'

"Noir, tell me…," Batman spoke, "…when you had your metal arm….your old metal arm….were there any glitches with it?"

"………," I blinked. My black eyes traced the ceiling, walls, floor. The telling shadows of the Batcave. I shuddered and hand-signed: 'Yeah.'

"What, exactly?"

Well……

I gestured: 'There was always a problem with sensory transmissions through my prosthetic. I do not think all the nerves in my arm transferred correctly into the electric components of the machine. Every so often I would experience what I would call a 'chill'. My body would suddenly feel cold and I would shiver all over.'

"Did this increase in time?"

What is this? A doctor's visit?

'Yes.'

"The closer you got to Red Aviary?"

I was about to answer….but then I paused. "……." I went on ahead and gestured: 'Yes.'

"Were there other symptoms?" Batman asked. Hie eyeslits narrowed. "Possibly….hallucinogenic?"

"Say what?" Nightwing remarked.

Robin slowly looked at me. Curious. Wyrded out.

"……..," my lips parted. I slowly hand-signed: 'How did you know?'

"You haven't felt any of these symptoms since your arm shattered and we brought you to the Bat-Cave, have you?"

No. I hadn't.

I slowly shook my head.

"……..," Batman turned. He walked over to the Bat-Computer. He punched a few keys and produced a digital model of my former metal prosthetic. "Production of Simon Stone, I assume. Victor Stone's Uncle?"

"Yeah….," Robin walked ahead and stood before the computer, his arms crossed. "After Noir sacrificed his arm to stop Slade, Victor worked with Phaser Labs to get Noir a cybernetic replacement. It's just as well, because a good number of people from the police department were also getting prosthetics at the time. Viper's rampage had lopped a lot of limbs, so believe-you-me the citizens were quite happy to receive the surface they did."

"But Noir got a special model."

"Absolutely. Cyborg insisted on it. Pure A titanium. The same material that goes into his cybernetic exoskeleton. But—at the time—the only one besides Cyborg himself who knew how to build such tech was Simon Stone. And he's since been reduced to an artificial computer construct."

"Because whatever was once human in him was exploited by Anderson and Slade prior to Dagger's first defeat," Batman said.

Robin nodded: "Right. It was the same incident that freed Rachel Mendez and Jean-Lu--…." Robin froze. He squinted his eyemask at Batman. "What are you getting at?"

"Simon Stone has worked for nefarious people before," Batman said. "And in a vulnerable, digital alteration of his human consciousness too…."

"Meaning what exactly?" Nightwing said. "Stone was under the influence when building Noir's arm?"

"Not entirely," Batman said. "But it's possible that a certain subroutine could have been built into Simon's digital construct that would have subconsciously affected the manner in which he produced Noir his new prosthetic."

"What's that got to do with Red Aviary, though?"

"I think I understand….," Robin murmured. He looked more and more gradually in my direction as he slurred in thought: "Whether he meant to or not….back in the days before we saved him, Simon Stone worked for Slade's and Dagger's interests. All those androids of Slade didn't come from nowhere, exactly. And when Simon was freed and employed at Phaser Labs to construct an object for a dismembered Titan, it's possible that he was carrying with him an ancient program undetected from his days with Slade."

"But to what purpose?" Nightwing asked. "To give Noir the chills? Perhaps….to disable him every time he came close to Slade so that he'd die easier?"

"Not exactly," Batman spoke. "We're dealing with metaphysics here. The Spectrum—as much as we can perceive it—is almost something 'magical' to behold."

Nightwing looked at me. "That right?" he smirked.

I merely bit my lip.

Nightwing turned to Batman again. "Go on."

The Dark Knight did: "Destruction is very parasitic….invasionary. Slade thrives through 'possessing' things as much through killing them."

"What things?" Robin asked.

"His two-edged sword. Carbonite. Even shotgun pellets," Batman gestured. "Anything that Red Aviary can 'charge' with the cutting force of his Spectral power and use towards his advantage." He then looked over at me. "Or perhaps….simply things that he was close to upon the moment that the epiphany of Red hit him."

"………"

"When you went to Metropolis, your friend Tempest had something to show you, didn't he, Noir?"

I took a deep breath.

The mask.

It had the red vapors of Destruction 'charged' into it.

Much like smoke can charge into my Myrkblade.

And when I so much as touched the red vapors……

I felt Destruction like I had never felt that raw slice of the Spectrum since my days at the School.

"Your arm was very much like that, Noir," Batman said. "Someway…somehow….Slade imparted upon you a piece of Destruction so that by the time you got the prosthetic Simon Stone made for you, the powers of Destruction messed with your circuitry…intensifying with proximity to Red Aviary or thoughts regarding him."

I shuddered.

All those times I got the shivers.

They were all warnings.

A piece of Red Aviary was with me this whole time……

"With the manner of Simon Stone's technology, your prosthetic arm was deeply tied to your neurological systems. Is it true that you had hallucinogenic experiences whenever your metal hand thusly acted up?"

I nodded.

"Like….," Nightwing shrugged. "What kind of hallucinations."

I took a deep breath. I hand-signed: 'Voices. I would hear the name of 'Red Aviary' being spoken slowly. Like someone hissing it in my ear. Then my vision might go out. Dizziness. And……'

"And what, Noir?"

'I saw a lot about my past. When I've been exposed to Destruction before,' I spoke.

Batman's eyeslits narrowed at my beating-around-the-bush.

"Anything else?"

I looked hesitantly at Robin.

He leaned his head to the side, curious.

I shuddered: 'Yes. I had visions.'

"What kind of visions?"

'Robin visions.'

"Excuse me?" the Boy Wonder murmured.

'Memories that undoubtedly belong to him. I cannot explain it. I do not know how my head could have thought up some of the things that I saw.'

"It makes sense," Batman said.

Nightwing looked at him. Googly-masked. "It does?"

"Robin is Slade's first and only obsession," the Dark Knight spoke with an edge of teeth-grating bitterness. I saw his gloved hand curl up into a fist. "I wouldn't hold it beyond him to pass forth any and all fixations regarding Robin's pain and agony."

I looked hesitantly towards Robin.

He was gazing at the floor in a forlorn manner.

I shifted nervously where I sat and felt guilty….for some reason.

"It may have been possible for Noir—with that metal arm of his—to have detected when and where Slade was close beforehand," Batman said. "But now, that is not the case. Pursuing Red Aviary is out of the question. Howbeit, now that Gotham City has become a crucible for both the Parasite and Triangular, it's time that we came out into the open. Some of us, at least."

"Triangular ahoy?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes, Nightwing," Batman turned about and faced us directly. "Noir, the Ventriloquist said that William B. Fox went back to his and his father's apartment complex, correct?"

I nodded.

"Though I doubt such an obvious clue into Triangular's movements would be thrown so violently to the wind, I think Fox is due for another visit."

I mouthed: 'Another?'

"Batman and I have been trailing Fox off and on throughout this whole ordeal," Nightwing explained. "Only…with the whole Zeppelin thing, we couldn't get close enough without revealing ourselves…which was against our code at the time. You, on the other hand, didn't have any problem showing your face and kicking ass. Heh. Funny how I didn't seem to understand that at the time…."

I 'smirked'. Yeah. Funny.

"In the meantime, Batgirl—or the Oracle—will conduct more computer searches so that we can track down Fox on both fronts."

"Classic," Nightwing remarked. "Utterly classic. Who's for a soda?"

"What about us," Robin asked.

Nightwing turned and squinted. "When you say 'us', do you mean 'all sniveling Titans present'?"

Robin frowned.

Nightwing smirked.

Batman walked into view. "Robin, you know the drill. As for you, Noir…."

I stood up straight. At attention.

"……….get some rest."

I sighed.

Thanks and no thanks……

"What about Jericho?" Robin asked.

We all looked over to where Barbara was finished talking to the blonde boy. She said something. Jericho nodded. Barbara walked up and trotted this way.

"He may be useful in assisting us…," Batman said. "But we can't let him alter our mission whatsoever. We're here to stop Red Aviary at all costs. The fact that Slade is Jericho's father mustn't hold any weight. He needs to understand that."

"One of us needs to talk to him," Nightwing said. "I mean…one of us besides Babs. Barbara's a great mother and all, but she's good at making little kids feel better. That's about it."

"And you know this….how?" Robin asked.

Nightwing shrugged: "She took vocational day-care as a minor while at community college."

"Barbara went to community college?"

"What are you guys saying about me?" Barbara walked up.

"Nothing."

"Nada."

"…………"

Nightwing simpered. "So what's the little mutant got to say?"

"My sign-language is getting a little rusty…so it was I who did most of the talking," the redhead said. "I basically calmed him down and told him that everything was all right and that we meant him no harm. I figure that he knows enough as it is about his father being Red Aviary and all. Something tells me he's had it in expectation for a while now that he'd be coming to conflict with Slade. It was just a matter of time. And 'jumping' into Noir was his way of hurrying up to the battle front."

Nightwing shivered. "Brrrr….what guarantees that that isn't going to happen again with him? That the little shrimp isn't going to hop into each and every one of us at leisure?"

ZAAAAT!

"Because we all know he's here," the Messenger said, standing between us. "Me, on the other hand, I can 'hop' around as I pretty damn well please." He smirked.

Nightwing sighed.

"Want to press your luck?" Batman droned.

The Messenger gulped, shook it off with a grin, and faced Barbara. "Here ya go, marvel girl," he tossed her a writing pad and pointed. "I spent the last hour or so hanging around Fox's apartment complex. You might find that happier than a lingerie shopping spree. But…heh…what would I know?"

Barbara's mouth hung open. "These are…..satellite frequencies…."

The Messenger nodded. "I've got some fanciful smanciful techno-props of my own that come in handy now and then. The only difference is that I don't slap on a 'bat' prefix onto any one of them. Basically, those are emissions coming from Fox's home sweet hell-hole."

"Of course!" Barbara beamed. "Fox is using a satellite connection to beam himself across the country's power grid!"

"And Lexcorp could very well be providing the boost in orbit!" Nightwing added.

Barbara stammered happily: "With this information, I can get over one hundred and fifty percent closer to tracking down Fox than ever before! Messenger, you're beautiful!" And she pounced at him.

ZAAT! He disappeared.

Barbara hugged nothing but mid-air. "Huh?"

ZAAAT! In a green flash, the Messenger appeared above and behind Batman on a higher rock tier. "Not that I'm gay…," he shrugged with a smile, "…but I prefer belles over bats."

"Um….."

The Messenger turned and looked: "Brucey. If you were to go and pay a certain Fox a visit, you'll find that he's most…..where you want him."

Batman turned around. "Thank you very much for your assistance."

"Hey. I'm flattered that you trust me!"

"………," Batman glared.

"Right then. Shoot the goofy asian kid," the Messenger glanced over at Jericho, then looked at me. "Sorry to cut a reunion short, Sonic, but I think Tails over there could use a bit of a pep talk."

I bit my lip.

"Hey! I'll be back!" the Messenger winked. "Just tap your heels together three times and say: 'I want MASH reruns."

I folded my arms and frowned.

"Yup. Just shittin' ya. Gotta go recharge. Ciao!"

ZAAAT!

Robin rubbed his temples, sighing: "I often wish benevolent visitors from another realm kept their schizophrenia at home."

"Heh…I hear ya, Tim," Nightwing nodded. He looked Batman's way. "Remind me again why you, Mr. Tall-Dark-And-Ominous, were so willing to listen to what that rave hall reject has to say? And don't use the 'he saved Robin excuse'."

"He saved Robin."

"Bravo," Nightwing rolled his masked eyes.

Batman pointed: "He only wants to help us."

"You sure there's no ulterior motive?" Barbara asked.

"Only that he derives extreme personal pleasure from helping us out…," Batman said.

Nightwing smirked: "And you're okay with that?"

"As long as his pleasure doesn't involve tossing pies of hydrocholoric acid into people's faces or laughing gas, sure."

"Dun dun dunnnn! Batman delivers a punchline!"

"Not now…not anytime…," the Dark Knight wandered up the rock tiers towards where the Batmobile was parked. "Nightwing…care to join me?"

"Oh NOW he asks politely!" Nightwing smirked and trotted after Batman. "I suppose distance makes the heart grow polite-er."

"What heart?"

"My point exactly…."

And Barbara pointed to the computer with her new data. "Sorry, Tim. I gotta go. If anyone shows Noir around, it'll have to be you." She briskly jogged over to the Bat Computer to 'become' Oracle.

"I don't think that will be a problem," Robin said with a thin smile.

I turned and faced him. I smirked.

He looked at me.

We were both alone.

"…………," he pointed. "How do you like the new arm?"

I looked at the black 'glove' stretched to work like a limb. I worked my left appendage and produced a numb thumb's up.

"You'll get used to it, I'm sure," Robin nodded. "Bruce's technology is always top-notch. Heh…why do you think I trust my birdarangs and R-Cycles so much?"

I slowly nodded…understanding…

Boy Billionaire……has a boy billionaire……

Yes.

That all makes sense now.

Lucky Robin.

I took a deep breath. Images flashed before me. The City under a gray cloud. The sarcophagus of the radioactive depository. Starfire and Beast Boy walking through hallways. Looking towards the floor.

I exhaled sadly.

Lucky Robin………

The Boy Wonder looked past me for a moment, and then directly at my face. "I agree. You really should talk to him, Noir."

I nodded.

I know.

I wasn't hesitating.

I turned around.

I walked down the tiers of the Batcave.

At least……

I don't think I was.

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

'J'…..Jericho was seated on the bench. His hands in his little lap. Staring down at the floor.

As I walked up, his bright green eyes blinked up at me. He smiled. As happily as he could. But it was honestly half a smile. I supposed he was as exhausted as I was. He was 'inside me' for quite a while, after all.

I walked over and sat on the far end of the bench. I sighed. I planted my fake and real hand on my knees, took a breath, and smiled vaguely at him.

"………," he giggled breathily and hand-signed: 'You look like a wreck.'

I blinked. Bruised all over. Minor cuts here and there. My black tank-top in tattered disarray over an exhausted torso. I nodded and ran a hand through disheveled black hair before hand-signing back: 'Pains before beauty.'

He smiled. And sighed. He felt warmer since I had came. Perhaps indeed we had a friendly attachment.

I hand-signed: 'So, Jericho……'

He interrupted: 'Call me 'Joey'.'

"…….," I blinked. Okay then. I snapped out of it and hand-signed: 'So, Joey, it looks like we are both in a pickle.'

'Everyone is in a pickle these days, Noir. Even my old friends.'

'What made you leave them?'

'Who?'

'Jinx, Pulsade, and Wildebeest?'

He gestured with a straight-face: 'I knew going into the Vegas tournament that Wildebeest would not stand a chance of getting the key to Terra's location on his own. And even if Pulsade and Jinx were to stage a covert attack in the Vault like they did at the last second, they would still have been outnumbered. And none of my hacking techniques would have kept Anderson or Rexxin or any of their men from overwhelming my teammates. And then when Hull and Killer Croc came into the picture, the situation got even more complicated. When you arrived, I was so thankful. I knew that we had another—'

'Wildcard', I added.

Jericho bit his lip and nodded.

I hand-signed: 'But my being there was not enough? You needed to actually jump into me and control me?'

The little boy took a deep breath. He smiled slightly and gestured: 'No, I did not plan to mind-control you while I was IN you.'

'Then why did you?'

He looked at me funny.

I looked at him funny. I gestured: 'You were controlling my actions half of the time, right? Why the Hell else would I take on a harrier jet all on my lonesome?'

He giggled breathily and hand-signed: 'That was all you, my friend.'

I blinked. 'It was?'

'Yes.'

'How come?'

'It is rather simple,' he gestured. 'Once I was inside of you, I realized the only thing I could do was reside in your shell of a body. I could not control it. Even if I wanted to. There is……' He hesitated.

"……….?" I leaned my head to the side.

He thought about it, then finally gestured: '……There is a special power inside of you that keeps anyone or anything from truly taking control of you. I think that is why Raven's demon father could not control you forever that one time when Mumbo Jumbo was on the loose. And I also think that has something to do with why Slade's nanomachines from the carbonite failed to hurt you like it tortured the rest of the Titans when Jinx the Third Apprentice rounded them up back in July.'

My black eyes narrowed. I gestured: 'A special power is inside of me?'

'Yes.'

'I have no idea what you are talking about.'

Jericho giggled silently and shakily hand-signed: 'Of course you do not!' And he kept giggling.

I pouted and folded my arms.

Jericho wiped a tear away and stopped snickering. He sighed and looked towards the floor.

I stared at him. The son of Slade. Such an innocent, life-loving, benevolent little thing. Even when Jericho was being an annoying little jackass, the worst I could ever do to him is hug him. In a lot of ways, I owed my 'superhero career' to his spirit of justice and innocence. I've learned to respect and hate and wonder about him. But still, I feel like I could never know enough. And perhaps….in a lot of ways….Jericho could never know enough. And that was why he was there, chasing a father who surely didn't love him to the point that the boy had to find out why. Or maybe the boy wanted to eliminate his father?

"…………"

I took a deep breath. I caught his attention.

He looked at me.

I gestured: 'Batman and the rest of us are going to do our best to stop Slade, Joey. Regardless of anything. Do you understand that? Regardless of anything.'

He slowly, gently nodded. He understood.

I went on: 'Joey, you have done some things that I am not proud of. You jumped into Robin's body and used him without permission. You joined forces with the murderous Pulsade and the unpredictable Jinx. And all the while, you were hacking into various computer mainframes and breaking every digital law known to man. But at the same time, I cannot help but feel that I and everyone else here owe you something incomprehensibly big. About as much as we all owe the Messenger.'

Jericho hugged himself and retreated to the opposite side of the bench as if he was unworthy of such testament.

I merely leaned forward and continued: 'I think now is a good time to stop hiding behind laptops and bodies and start working with people in person. Yes, you are closer to Red Aviary that you have ever been before. But things will not be pleasant here. I do not know what it is that you are trying to achieve, Joey. But when or if the opportunity presents itself, I will eliminate Slade by all means.'

Jericho was only half looking at me when he shuddered and nervously hand-signed: 'Yes, I know. You have killed him before……'

"…………," I blinked.

Oh shit.

I didn't think of that until just now.

Shit……

I sat back with a sigh.

Jericho was looking off into the shadows. He didn't seem mad at me. At the same time, he didn't seem proud. He just looked….wasted.

I killed his father.

I killed his father, and yet……

He still supports me. Although……

'You were right, Jericho,' I hand-signed. 'My mind was full of wrath and hate when I killed Slade. And because of that, my powers manifested in his mangled body the breath of the red side of the Spectrum. The hate transferred over into his corpse and somehow the demented spirit inside of it grasped hold and willed nothing but an unearthly breath to pant the aviary of our world red. Deathstroke walks the land now because of me. I cannot shake that feeling for the life of me. But at the same time, I was not the one who killed Commissioner Decker or the people at the two warehouses or the underworld Gothamites or the scientists or Lexcorp or the Mad Hatter or the Clock King or the Ventriloquist or Bane or anyone else that Triangular has massacred in conforming to the Parasite's actions. Your father does not exist anymore, Joey. He is a ghost of what he once was.'

Jericho swallowed. He gestured: 'Then perhaps he is like us, Noir. Ghosts.'

"………….," I stared past him.

Jericho's green eyes were wet as he signed forth: 'I just want to understand why his last thoughts on this planet was about killing, and that is what brought him back. Why could he not have been thinking about trying to see me for a last time? Or trying to change his life?'

I sighed. 'I do not know, Joey. I do not know. I am sorry that you ended up bearing the brunt of his legacy.'

Jericho shuddered. His shoulders shaked.

I thought about it before actually hand-signing it, but eventually I conveyed: 'I am sorry I did not know that you were inside of me all this time. Perhaps if I did, I would have closed my eyes a bit more. It must have been really hard for someone like you to have seen what you saw through me.'

Jericho broke down.

I scooted over and gave him a one-armed hug.

He leaned his head against me, hiccupping…but not quite bawling or sobbing like the shivering mess he was when he first exited me in the Bat-Cave earlier.

I took a deep breath and gently kneaded his shoulder.

If ever there was a time that I 'earned' a little brother……

Perhaps that's now?

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

I was stabbed with daylight before I could take note of the immensity of the place. And exactly what that 'place' was had very little question. But still, to behold it…..

"Wayne Manor…," Robin voiced as he led me down the open hallway. "In all its glory."

I squinted until my black eyes could adjust to the shades' tinting of the light. I realized I was looking down the hallway of a very modernist/gothic mansion. Heavily framed windows stretched ten feet tall with curtains billowing with the inrush of cold November air. Outside, the morning of November 30 was peaking with frost lining the tops of row upon row of pine trees. And off in the distance beyond the topographically chaotic wilderness was the gray-brown expanse of Gotham City. Beyond that, the Ocean. A thin blue line against the bright amber yellow of the sky.

"I know what you're thinking," Robin murmured as he led me forward. "'Robin grew up here'. Well, a part of me grew up here. I was born in the streets of Gotham City. My mom died when I was really young. I had a deadbeat dad who dealt one time too many with Two-Face and it bit him in the end. Same old story." He shrugged. "You've probably heard it a billion times. Nothing special, only….I happened to get lucky. Very lucky."

I looked around the lengths of the hallway as we passed through the back of the manor. Bookcases, portraits, and knights' armor lined the walls. It was breathtakingly lavish…strong….gothic.

Heh.

Who would have thunk it.

Robin is really just a rich kid. No wonder he thinks he can do and get anything he sets his mind to. But then again, 'born on the streets'? Guess that explains his rough edge. Living like that can be a real eye-opener. But……

But perhaps 'Robin' and 'Tim' are two different entities? Much like Batman is far different from the warm and benevolent Bruce Wayne I've seen at televised press conferences. And if that was the case, who was I talking to and walking with just now? Tim? Or Robin? Here I was in his mansion, completely knowledgeable of his name and identity……and yet he hadn't taken his eyemask off in my presence for a second. In many ways, he's cementing back into place the 'Robin' that had died so long ago.

But who was Tim?

"One day, my dad was gone when he should have been hanging out in the apartment. And Two-Face was stopping by to get him to spill about some drug deal or something. I was the only one there. Two-Face and his goons questioned me. Roughed me up some…and would have killed me, hadn't Batman jumped in at the right moment and cleaned their clocks. He was hurt badly in the process, and somehow I managed to get him and I to his Bat Speeder….which took us to his Bat Cave. I learned of his secret in a heart beat. The rest…..is history…."

I nodded.

But history is often wrong.

"Since then, I've been raised by the best, taught by the best, and trained by the best. I wouldn't be what I am today if it weren't for Bruce Wayne's commitment to a life lived on protecting justice."

I tilted my head sideways. An invisible question mark must have popped over my head.

For the Boy Wonder looked over his shoulder and said: "In a nutshell, his parents were gunned down to death in a dark alleyway when he was a kid. He swears his life to stopping crime by any just means necessary. Long and short of it."

I nodded.

Yeah. I can buy that.

I glanced up.

One of many portraits of 'Thomas and Martha' Wayne appeared in gloriously sized canvass.

The death of loved ones will drive someone to live life in almost any direction possible.

"Here….we've got a guest room for you," Robin said as he opened a door. He peaked in. "At least, I think it's a guest room…..Yup." He turned and faced me. "There's a walk-in bathroom and everyth--" He paused.

I was staring directly at him. Smiling. I mouthed: 'So……'Tim?'

He smirked sarcastically. "Timothy Drake…," he reached a hand out. "Pleased to meet you, Jordan."

I reached a metal hand out and shook his glove. Nodding.

God, this is so freakin' wyrd……

"Named after my uncle. On my mother's side. Or so I'm told….," Robin retracted and folded his gloved hands behind his back before leaning against the wall. "Ugh…or maybe not. I honestly don't know."

I shrugged.

I walked into the guest room.

It looked lavish, howbeit a bit dusty. Dark shadows hung everywhere like ink-black curtains. One sniff, and I could have sworn I smelled the rusty old library room Hull had once escorted me to in Vegas.

"There aren't any windows, so it gets pitch-black in there during most of the day," Robin said. "I know because I used to do my preliminary night-training in that room. Not much. Just….meditating and practicing my balance in the dark."

I nodded. I turned towards him. I gradually hand-signed: 'You must be a good learner.'

He nodded. He hand-signed back with enough degree of accuracy: 'When I have enough time on my hands, I am.'

I smirked somewhat….then took a deep breath as I gestured: 'It must have been torture for you, Robin.'

He sighed. "You're the one to talk about torture, Noir…"

I raised an eyebrow.

He turned around and stood before the tall window of the hallway. Looking out onto the bright morning landscape. "I've been practically impotent in this place. The Messenger maintains that I must do what I can along the rest of the team to track down Slade and Triangular. But how can I do that when I must also keep a low profile? I've gone out a few times. Often wearing a darker, less noticeable outfit than the red green and yellow you see before you. I've broken down and gone to Metropolis on my own—like you know for yourself—but on all other occasions, I've pretty much been forced to live life a hermit crab and give Barbara a little hand with her computer ventures or toss Batman and Nightwing advice as to where to go next in their search for Fox. I feel truly like the rest of the world sees me as, Noir. Dead. Utterly and completely dead."

I slowly nodded. I gazed gently into the carpet.

Robin leaned forward on the window sill and sighed. "Only…..I'm not dead. And I'm almost ashamed of that."

"?" I looked at him funny from behind.

He glanced over his shoulder some. "I knew it from the beginning. I'd be letting you and the rest of my team down. The Titans are falling apart without me. You and Tempest ran off—just like I imagined you guys would—and Cyborg….dammit….as much as I want to smack him for some of the indecision as of late, I still owe him a lot of thanks." Robin sighed defeatedly. "Cyborg's keeping the Titans out of harms way while you, Terra, and I try to root out this whole Red Aviary mess. I really don't want Starfire, Cyborg, Raven, and Beast Boy jumping into the whole matter and complicating something that isn't their fault to begin with. At the same time, I hate them not knowing the truth. I hate them thinking that I'm dead and thus honoring the spirit of a hypocrite."

I took a shuddering breath.

You aren't the one at fault Tim. It was I who killed Slade and……and did something to him to make him come back.

Somehow……

"Slade is a psychopath. Plain and simple,' Robin said. "I should never have engaged him back when the Titans and I were still young. Then maybe he never would have rubbed off on me and tried to terrorize our City more. The only reason Slade has ever…..EVER plagued our City continuously is that he's had an obsessive interest in the Titans and in the Titans' leader, me. My being obsessed with him is exactly what drew him into the ring of fire….and what drew us in consequently. It's his fault that he ever became permanently fixated on my fate. If it wasn't for me, Slade would undoubtedly had stayed dead when you stabbed him on the frigate."

I sighed.

I hand-signed: 'I seriously doubt any of us are to blame for the demonization of Slade.'

Robin shook his head tiredly. "Nnngh….I'm sorry, Noir. But I'm just gonna pretend that I understood what you last 'said' and then I'm going to hope it was something to the extent of 'Yes, Robin, I agree. It is time for bed. Even though it is morning.'"

I smiled. Drunkenly. I yawned and teetered back and forth some as if on cue.

"I….I-I honestly do not know what is in store for the both of us, Noir," Robin said. "This whole thing with Red Aviary…Triangular…the Messenger….we've all been taking it one step at a time. But know this: never have we made any sign of progress until you showed up in town."

I hand-signed: 'Lucky me.'

"Heh. I guess you can say that." He scratched the side of his head and glanced aside.

Silence.

I leaned my head to the side. I gestured: 'Robin? Was there something you wanted to tell me?'

He smiled crookedly and exhaled: "I…….I….."

"……………"

"Maybe when you wake up, Noir," he said. "Assuming you'll sleep."

'Damn straight I will.'

"Heheh….," he walked by and patted me on my shoulder. "Rest easy, pal. Maybe things will clear up after some shuteye."

I nodded.

I stumbled into my guest room.

Into the entrancing darkness.

"I'm proud of you Noir…."

"……," I froze in place. I hobbled out of the room and glanced down the hallway.

Robin was gone.

Nothing but the cold November air and morning light.

"……..," I smirked.

Dead son of a bitch.

And I shut the door behind me.

Spun around.

Took two steps into the darkness.

And flopped asleep on the large bed.

"……………………….."

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

In a shadowed room.

In a shadowed part of the Manor.

A dark, light figure wandered inside and locked the door behind him.

He sighed.

He stripped of his cape.

Of his belt.

He ripped his gloves off and took off the top half of his tight costume.

He tossed it all in a heap in the corner and hobbled towards a bed.

He sat on the edge of it.

Lingering.

"………"

He gazed into a bedside table.

At a drawer.

He slowly reached a hand over.

He opened the door.

Creeeeak.

It was empty.

"………"

The figure looked up.

He stood.

He hobbled across the dark bedroom.

He made it to a table full of newspaper clippings.

He spread the front page of one out.

The headlines read: 'TITANS MOURN DEATH OF THEIR LEADER'

There was a picture of elite figures of society and superheroes lined up at the City Cemetery.

And the camera was focused on the young heroes. The Titans. In the center of the group was a redhead dressed in graceful black. Her head bowed. Her green eyes open, but thin and sad in reverence. Her forehead tilted and she looked to be in the middle of a soft, somber inhalation.

"…….."

Gazing squarely at the photo, the figure reached a hand up and stripped off his eyemask. A boy stood hunched over the desk in the shadows of the room. Two dull blue eyes were shrouded in the darkness. The gentle voice of some timid stranger came out in a helpless exhale.

"Star…."

And then the dull blue eyes shut.