Raven
The elevator doors open to the living room area and she's happy to be home. She steps off the elevator first, going over to the kitchen to make some herbal tea.
Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Speedy all step off the elevator.
"Man, I hate it when they try it at night," Speedy says.
Beast Boy lets out an exaggerated yawn.
"Tell me about it," he says.
They had just come back from investigating an alarm at an industrial factory on the edge of Jump City.
By the time they got there, the bad guys were already gone.
Speedy walks over to the kitchen. Beast Boy and Cyborg both plop down on the couch.
After setting the pot to boil, Raven grabs her tea bags, remembering the night before when she had talked with Robin. She still hasn't received a call from him, and she still hasn't gathered the nerve to call him either. Not talking to him is harder than she ever thought it would be. Outside of the people of Azarath, Robin was the first person to ever help her. He was the first person to ever trust her, help her, care for her- care about her. Never has she missed someone's company like she misses his now. She checks the clock. 2:58.
Too late to call him. She sighs and turns around to grab her tea pot. She bumps into Speedy and nearly falls.
"Oh, sorry," he says.
He grins a cocky smile with a certain gleam in his eye.
She steps back, bumping into the counter.
Speedy steps a little closer, further invading her personal space.
"So, Raven," he says, coming even closer. "You and I haven't had much chance to talk when our teams have worked together. You know, I've always admired your- Wughaaaaaa!"
Speedy's foot flies out from under him , thanks to Raven's mental powers, and he slips, falling onto his back.
Raven smirks, grabbing a teabag from the counter behind her.
"You should watch your step," she says, stepping around the dazed form of Speedy laying flat on the tile.
She grabs the tea kettle and pours the hot water into a smaller teapot and drops the bag in, letting it steep. She hears Speedy getting to his feet, grumbling curses under his breath.
An alarm starts beeping.
"Owwwww, man!" Cyborg says. "Another one!? Already!?"
"No," Raven says. "That's a T-com."
They all pull their com out.
"Not mine," Cyborg says.
"Don't look at me," Beast Boy says.
Raven turns to Speedy.
He digs in his belt and pulls a com out.
"Speedy here," he says. "Does the day need my saving expertise already?"
His eyes pop wide.
"Robin, what the h- are you- is that-" he stammers. "What happened to you, man?"
Robin!? Raven's heart speeds up. She floats quickly around to the other side of Speedy, so she can see the screen. Her heart drops into her stomach and she feels like she has a fist in her throat at the sight of Robin, his face and torso covered in blood.
"Robin?" Raven says. "Are you okay?"
"It's Donna," Robin says through the com. "She's been shot."
"What- how?" Speedy says.
"Sniper," Robin says. "Roy, it's bad."
Raven notes Robin's use of their real names; something he almost never does. It must really be serious.
"Is she-" Speedy stammers. "Is- is she gonna make it?"
"Dr Mid-Nite's working on her now. The bullet did extensive damage. Doc still doesn't know how much... Roy, she flat-lined three times in the ambulance..." Robin trails off, taking on a faraway look, trying to compose himself.
Raven's afraid of the pain that she would see in his eyes, if he weren't wearing his mask. She wishes she were there with him.
Beast Boy, and Cyborg lean on the counter watching with interest.
"They're calling for me," Robin says. "I'll call you as soon as I have an update."
The screen goes black.
Cyborg rounds the counter and grabs Speedy's shoulder reassuringly.
"Look, man, if you wanna get down to Gotham to be at the hospital, I'm sure we can handle-"
Speedy looks like he's considering it, then shakes his head.
"Nah, I'm good here."
That is not what Raven was expecting. She eyes him and sees something in his eyes.
"Are you sure, man?" Cyborg says.
"Yeah, man. Robin's there."
He says Robin's name with a certain venom.
Now it makes sense, Raven thinks. He doesn't want to leave, cause he doesn't want to miss his chance at replacing Robin.
"I'm going," Raven says.
Everyone turns to her with wide eyes.
"Someone should be there for Robin," she says.
Cyborg nods with a scowl. Probably embarrassed that he didn't think of it.
"I can reach out to some other teams," Cyborg says. "I'm sure I can find somebody to fill in for you."
"Splendid," Speedy says. "Now that that's settled. Who's hungry? I'm thinking we should order take out. Tacos? Pizza?"
Even Beast Boy shakes his head with a scowl at that one.
(******)
Robin
"A coma?" Alfred says, standing next to Robin. "Will she come out of it?"
They stand in the white-walled hallway of Gotham General hospital.
"It's too early to tell," Dr Mid-Nite says. "The bullet did awful damage."
He wears a long white lab coat and special designed glasses.
His vision is inverted: he can only see in the dark. That's why he wears the special glasses that allow him to see infrared. He is one of the foremost experts in medicine and a kick-butt crime-fighter to boot. His team affiliation is with the Justice Society Of America, or the JSA for short.
"If she wakes," Robin says. "Will she recover?"
"We've repaired the damage as best we could. She's an Amazon woman, so we don't fully know what all that entails. Wonder Woman is on her way with some Amazon healers. We should know more then."
Robin nods, and Mid-Nite places his hand on his shoulder.
"Why don't you go clean up? I'll make sure we find you if anything happens."
Robin hadn't even considered the blood all over him.
"Sounds like a fine idea," Alfred says.
"Thanks, Doc," Robin says.
Mid-Nite chuckles.
"No thanks necessary. And you can call me Cross."
Robin nods, offering what little smile he can muster.
Mid-Nite turns and walks through a set of gray, double doors.
"Two nights in a row, Alfred," Robin says.
"Come now," Alfred says. "Let's get you cleaned up, and I'll make you some cocoa."
"Thanks, Alfred. Sounds good."
(******)
"How are things?" Batman says.
"We're holding our own," Robin says.
Alfred had brought him to the manor, and started fixing some food while Robin cleaned up with a quick shower.
After the shower, he was requested in the cave. He found Batman sitting at the bat-computer, his cowl down to reveal his black hair.
Robin was wearing a black hoody and was also unmasked.
"Good," Batman says without taking his eyes off the screen.
"Did you need something? Do you have a lead on Donna's shooter?"
A few keystrokes bring images of a shattered bullet up on enormous monitor.
"Ballistics on the bullet revealed something," Batman says, typing furiously.
The fragments merge to form a single bullet with an etching on one side. It says: Wonder Girl.
"Deadshot," Robin says.
"The best assassin in the world," Batman says. "Etches his victims name into the bullet he uses to kill them."
"Deadshot doesn't usually call his own shots, does he?"
"Typically no. And I can't find anything in his background that would suggest a grudge between him and the girl, or any of the girl's family."
"So he was hired to shoot Donna then?"
"Looks that way," Batman says.
"And Deadshot's already in the wind?"
The Batman nods.
"So we're back to square-one?"
Robin shakes his head, and resists a strong urge to punch something in the cave.
"Not exactly," Batman says.
"What have you got?"
"I trained you better than that, Dick. In any fight, the only weapon you're guaranteed to wield-"
"Is the mind," Robin finishes. "I haven't forgotten."
"So I see," Batman says. "You're just too distracted then. I taught you better than that as well."
"Just tell me what you're getting at?"
"It's staring you straight in the face. Focus on the case. Distance yourself from the anger, and the fear and the pain. Think, Robin."
Robin takes a few steadying breaths, letting go of his frustration at his mentor, centering his mind, seeing everything, letting go of the turmoil, focusing only on the facts.
"Barbara," he says.
"And Bingo was his name-o," Batman growls.
"Her getting shot last night, and Donna tonight is no coincidence."
"The league suspects attacks on the proteges. They're sending Captain Marvel to watch over the titans. Green Arrow, and Black Canary volunteered to go with."
"They want Roy close by in case anything happens," Robin says.
Batman nods.
"The JSA has already grounded Stargirl, Liberty Bell, and their other young members," he says.
"No," Robin says. "They're going about this wrong."
"Oh?" Batman says like he knows more than he's letting on.
"Barbara was shot Not Batgirl. Barbara. It's not an attack on the proteges."
Batman nods grimly.
"It's an attack on me."
"So it appears," Batman says.
"If we're right, then someone put the Joker up to shooting Barbara."
Batman nods again.
"We have to talk to him," Robin says.
The Batman had found the Joker and stopped him before he could hurt Commissioner Gordon. After subduing him, Gordon convinced the Batman to bring Joker back to Arkham.
"The league needs me at Watchtower for the next few hours. If we're going, it'll have to be in the morning."
With that, the Batman stands up, puts his cowl down and heads for the stairs on the far side of the cave.
"We can't wait until morning. I'll go alone," Robin calls after him.
He turns halfway around and smirks. "See you later, old chum."
The old nickname. Robin hasn't heard it in years. He smirks and makes ready for a solo trip to Arkham Asylum.
(******)
Raven
Raven throws a few essentials into a black bag, making ready for her trip to Gotham. Cyborg had convinced her not to leave until the reinforcements from the league arrived.
Try as she might, she can't shake the image of Robin covered in blood out of her mind, nor the pained look on his face when his composure slipped. She should have been there. She shouldn't have stayed. Why had he made her stay?
She pulls out her com and checks it. She has an email. Why hadn't she checked her emails before?
She hammers the buttons furiously. The message is from Robin. She opens it quickly, her eyes scanning the text.
Hey, Raven,
I didn't want to wake you, so I sent an email. Knowing you, you probably won't get it for awhile, haha.
Anyway, thanks for understanding earlier. I'd hate to think I hurt your feelings. I'll hopefully be back soon. Try not to kill Beast Boy before I get back.
Robin
She smirks to herself slightly at his apology. She checks the time-stamp on the message: it's from a few hours before he had called Roy covered in blood.
She still can't believe the turn of events. One minute, they were both sleeping on the couch. It was nice- more than nice. How amazing it is the way just one call can change things so drastically. She types a quick reply.
Robin,
I'm on my way to Gotham.
Raven.
Anything else she wants to say can be said in person when she arrives. She double-checks that she packed everything she needs, pulls her hood down, then heads upstairs. She finds the other titans sitting on the couch, talking to each other. She floats over near the couch.
"Any word?" she asks.
"Not yet," Cyborg says.
A bright light flashes in the kitchen. When it disappears, three new figures stand in the kitchen.
"Roy," a gruff voice calls out.
"I'm here," Speedy says, leaping over the couch.
He runs for the kitchen and stops.
Raven's eyes adjust and she sees two men, and one woman. One of them looks like a Robin Hood wannabe with a long blond beard. Green Arrow, Speedy's mentor.
The other is large with black hair, wears a red uniform with gold accents, and a gold lightning bolt emblem on his chest. Captain Marvel.
The woman has long blond hair, wears a low-cut, black one-piece with a blue jacket, and fishnet stockings. Black Canary.
Green Arrow closes the distance between him and Speedy, enveloping him in a warm embrace.
"I'm glad you're safe," he says.
"I'm glad you came," Speedy says back.
Black Canary places a hand on Speedy's shoulder and smiles slightly.
Captain Marvel approaches Cyborg.
"Has there been any disturbances?" he says.
"No," Cyborg says. "Everything's been quiet since my last message."
"Good," the large man says, eyes roving over the room. "Awesome place you got here- I mean- uh- efficient living space."
He clears his throat and stands up just a bit straighter, placing his hands on his hips.
Raven approaches the blond woman.
"So, I was offered a ride to Gotham," she says. "I'm ready whenever the Watchtower is."
The woman known as Black Canary eyes her coldly.
"I don't know about letting you go to Gotham on your own," she says. "And the transporter isn't a plaything."
Raven resists a strong urge to throttle the woman, and instead lets out a slow breath.
"I'm going. To support. My friend," she says. "With, or without the transporter."
The blond raises an eyebrow, hands on her hips.
"Robin could probably use the help," Captain Marvel cuts it.
"I'd sure feel better knowing Raven was there," Cyborg says.
"Me too," Beat Boy chimes in.
The blond woman shrugs.
"Fine, but if you get yourself shot up, or worse, don't come blamin' me."
She pulls out a device similar to a T-com. She presses a few buttons, then all Raven sees is white.
Author's note
So that was part four! What did you think? Don't hesitate to leave any questions. I love reviews, so please leave one, and let me know how I'm doing. I'm open to suggestions as well, so if you have one, I'd love to hear it. I'm trying to expand on the titans universe with what I know of the DC universe, so let me know if you think things don't quite fit.
Thank you TexMurphy for the reviews. Part Three was definitely Robin-centric. This whole story has been very Robin so far. Well, I'd left the readers mostly in the dark on purpose. I wanted them questioning, but not necessarily confused. I think this chapter sheds some light on what's been happening. Joker vs Titans is a good guess but... Attacks on the proteges was also a very good guess. Thanks for the advice on the title. Actually, the Piper is not my creation. He was a member of the "Rogues Gallery". Flash's main group of villains.
Thank you templetongal for the review. I'm glad you think I've done a good job with Robin. I appreciate it very much. And thanks for the kind wishes.
Thank you 2redmouse2 for the review. Glad you love it! Thank you also for following.
And finally, thank you everyone who's read the fic so far. Ya'll are awesome!
Hope life finds you all well. Until next time.
mojo