Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans.
The Healer
Chapter 10: The Grand Switcheroo
"I.D. recognized: Robin. Access granted," said the computer.
The metal sliding doors gave way making a smooth "swooshing" sound as they moved aside. Crow walked into the room and immediately his eyes started roaming around. It was the tower's evidence room. The chamber contained a memento from every villain the team faced, all displayed inside bulletproof glass cases. Anything bigger than a plasma rifle was hung on the wall or located to one side of the room―the far end, actually, for these devices were usually the most dangerous, capable of destroying cities. They were off-limits―especially to Beast Boy.
Upon entering, the doors closed behind him and darkness surrounded him. The blackness was broken by the streak of light coming from a flashlight. Without a particular destination, Crow started forward, his head turning side to side and his eyes restless as they searched for something.
"It has to be here," he mumbled to himself.
The echoes created by his wandering footsteps continued for a while and after what seemed to be an hour, stopped. At last, he has found what he wanted. He went over the dusty plate posted on the display case with his thumb and as his flashlight shone over it, the plate gave a brilliant luster. Then he read it aloud.
"The Book of Malchior and Rorek."
A smile crept over his face.
"Finally it's mine."
However, upon closer inspection of the display case, there was nothing inside.
"What?" he growled. "Why isn't it here?"
He subjected the whole case under his flashlight, still searching as though he would find the book hidden inside a trap door. His eyes narrowed as he took a closer look inside. What he saw surprised him. Although thin, there was a visible layer of dust inside the display case. He took a step back.
"There's dust inside. That means the book's been gone for a while which also means it's gone unnoticed for that long. It's like no one even cares about it. Like―"
He paused and looked at the empty display case once more.
"No. It's that no one is looking for it… And that rules out theft. The book's still in the building. And judging from the nature of the book, I know who has it."
He smiled to himself, and a most unsettling grin it was.
"Now why would she take it?"
Suddenly, the computer's voice rang:
"I.D. recognized: Cyborg. Access granted."
Crow was startled. He quickly made his way to the door to meet his uninvited visitor. The metal doors opened and Cyborg was standing at the threshold. Then their eyes met.
"Robin!" Cyborg's voice was high pitched in surprise.
"Hey Cyborg," said Crow casually. "What're you doing here?"
"What am I―Dude, I was looking for you. What're you doing here? And why's it dark?"
"Oh, I was just looking for some clues as to why, um, the H.I.V.E. attacked. And the lights are off because I prefer to work in the dark."
Cyborg raised an eyebrow.
"Dude, they robbed a bank. Or tried to. And what kind of clues can you find in here?"
"Everything is tied together somehow Cyborg. Remember that."
"Uh-huh… And you always work in the dark?"
Crow chuckled.
"Batcave remember?"
Cyborg returned a blank stare.
Crow coughed.
"Oh, and, uh, you said you were looking for me?"
"I just wanted to tell you everything's done. The H.I.V.E.'s in jail and the team's back. Dude, are you all right?"
"Hm? Oh yeah I'm fine. Are you?"
"What?"
"I mean you guys didn't look right out there when we were dealing with the bad guys."
Cyborg's eyes widened and his expression showed that he was taken aback.
"We―We didn't look right?"
Crow nodded.
"Wh―You―Man, you were the one―"
"What was that?"
Cyborg sighed.
"Actually, that's why I was looking for you. We need to talk."
"Okay. Let's talk."
"By 'we' I mean the team. We need to discuss what happened out there."
"What do you mean 'happened out there'?"
"With Gizmo."
"What about it?"
"Just come with me. Everyone's in the living room. Come on."
"All right."
Crow took one last look over his shoulder at the evidence room as the doors were shutting and the two of them lingered further into the hallway.
Robin opened his eyes and the ceiling greeted him. He was able to discern that he was on a bed (a soft one at that) and when he turned his head he discovered that he was in a room that resembled an infirmary. As if to silence his thoughts, a series of beeps from the side mimicked the rhythm of his heart and when he looked over his body he saw electrodes on his chest.
"Never thought I'd be back on a hospital bed so quickly," he thought.
He tried to sit up but his efforts were quickly stomped.
"Not again."
It took him a while but he finally felt them. The sensation on his arms and legs were absent after waking up but now that he was wholly conscious he could feel the harnesses that imprisoned him on the bed. He could see two belts with metal locks on each arm and at least twice that much on each leg. He could also feel the unpleasant hold of a binding around his abdomen hidden underneath the blanket covering half his entire body. Robin struggled with the strength he could muster despite his condition. However, there was no chance of the shackles loosening. Even with his full strength, he feared that he still would not be able to break free. Regardless, he endured a little bit more; he clenched his teeth as he tried to summon more strength and all of it was to loosen the bindings just a little―even an inch will do. But his muscles grew weary and as more sweat ran down his face the more power he lost.
"Don't struggle. It's pointless to struggle," a voice echoed.
Robin stopped. His breathing was heavy and exhaustion was clear in his expression. His head bobbed side to side, his eyes going from corner to corner, from wall to wall, in search of the owner of the voice. Yet, even without seeing the owner of the voice, Robin felt that he knew whoever was talking to him. There was warmth in the voice purely from its familiar tone, and from this familiarity Robin drew comfort. Indeed, even without seeing the speaker, he knew and he felt no tension, no pressure, within the room.
A black mass appeared on the wall directly facing Robin and then it started to spread out like a picnic blanket being laid out on the ground. This dark matter served as a doorway―a portal, to be more precise―for someone. The figure moved forward and entered the room. A red cloak appeared before the boy wonder floating above the floor. The hood casted a shadow on the figure's face that made it seem that there was no face there at all―just darkness. All this time, Robin remained calm for in fact he was right: he did know the person.
"Raven?" he said.
A pair of arms emerged from the cloak that grabbed the hood and pulled it down. It was Raven without a doubt―but, at the same time, it was not. Robin looked at her with a hint of terror in his eyes. Ever since the titans' encounter with Raven's father, they have learned the true nature of the evil that resided within Raven. Though after the incident they have grown closer to her, the other titans have also developed fear of that darkness. Of course, their friendship easily overpowered that fear. Nonetheless, no one could deny its existence. Now, at this moment facing this red Raven, Robin felt that fear. A chill ran up his spine as he stared into her eyes―there were four of them.
Raven's four eyes glowed with a crimson aura as she glared at Robin. She went a little closer to the bed, her eyes not breaking contact. As her mouth opened to speak, Robin noticed the razor sharp teeth―like those that inhibit a shark's mouth.
"Don't say my name. Don't talk at all. Hearing your voice makes me sick," she answered.
Her voice no longer had that warmth that Robin observed earlier; her voice was cold, malicious, and with every word, there was an echo that shadowed her voice but this second voice was lower and had a beastly tone, truly a monster of untold horrors.
Robin tried to rebut.
"Wh―"
"I said do not speak!" cried Raven.
Her cloak opened but there was no body―just darkness. And from this darkness came out black tentacles that were sharp as knives shooting towards Robin. All the while, her cloak seemed to leak this darkness which started to swallow the whole room, already covering some parts of the bed. Before the sharp tentacles could pierce his chest, someone shouted which halted Raven's movements:
"Stop Raven!"
Both Robin and Raven turned their heads toward the door and saw the one who yelled: it was Cyborg. Robin noticed that unlike the Cyborg in his world, this one had a bulkier appearance. Instead of parts that glowed blue, this Cyborg had a matte finish on his robotic parts that seemed more robust and had the appearance of rugged heavy machinery.
"Easy Rae. Let him live for another day," he said as he walked into the room.
He managed to calm the girl down as she retracted the black tentacles and the black stigma that was inflicting the room disappeared. Raven backed away from the bed, pulling her hood over her head and once again hiding her face. She flew over to the wall opening another one of those portals and then disappearing as soon as she stepped inside.
"Why'd you stop her? Should've just let her do it. He deserves it anyway."
Beast Boy stepped in with his arms crossed. Cyborg looked at him with a disapproving face.
"You know we can't do that."
Then he turned to Robin.
"Things may have changed, but we can't let that change who we are."
Beast Boy scowled and clicked his tongue. He leaned back on the wall near the doorway. Robin saw that the green one's expression was not amused. Although he did not directly look at him, Robin continued to study this Beast Boy from the corners of his eyes. He saw that, again, this world's Beast Boy presented himself differently from the Beast Boy he knew. Particularly, this Beast Boy wore body armor: he had on a breast plate, shoulder guards, forearm and shin plating, and all of these protective gears were attached to a black body suit that hugged his body. The overall appearance of the armor was streamline, not too bulky but rather followed closely the wearer's contours, to fit his agile battle style.
The metallic screech of a chair as it was dragged across the floor broke Robin's thoughts. His attention was immediately brought to Cyborg who was pulling the chair over and setting it close to the bed. He then sat down. He leaned forward with his elbows resting on his knees. Robin quickly noticed the serious expression.
"All right Crow, let's talk."
"Robin, let's talk," said Cyborg.
The whole team congregated around the table; they all sat on the couch but no one really relaxed on the soft cushions. The only one not sitting was Crow as he stood before the titan assembly.
"Okay," Crow crossed his arms. "About what?"
The titans exchanged glances. Raven was the first to break the silence.
"It's about what you did to Gizmo."
"What did I do?"
"You nearly killed him!"
Crow smiled which made the others very uncomfortable.
"It was tactic."
"Tactic? Tactic for what?" Raven was close to losing her temper. Regardless, her control prevailed for her countenance and voice remained collected.
"To strike fear," Crow responded.
This time Beast Boy spoke.
"We don't do that."
"Maybe that's why they keep coming back."
"No, dude, they keep coming back because they're bad guys. Stubbornness is in their résumé."
"Don't be a fool. Why're you guys so oblivious? They come back because they're too stupid to understand our might. The only thing idiots can understand is fear. Once they understand that we won't hesitate to rip them apart, they won't come back. Why do think no one enters a lion's den? It's because we fear those beasts. We understand and in that sense respect their power. We need to have that same effect. Jump City will become our den―the most terrifying den that no villain will dare enter or even think about."
Again, silence and discomfort descended between everyone in the room.
Cyborg spoke:
"When did we ever do that? When did you ever do that?"
"Just thought a change of pace could help us out."
Raven stood. Her arm shot forward and her finger pointed at Crow; her eyes sharpened and her eyebrows lowered.
"But the fact remains: you almost killed someone."
Her arm dropped to her side.
"And for what? Tactic? Don't give me that crap."
Cyborg also stood.
"What you have done is inexcusable."
Beast Boy rose.
"It's plain criminal."
Crow looked at one titan to another. Then his eyes fell on Starfire who kept quiet at the end of the couch.
"Star," his voice softened, "Aren't you gonna say something? Come on, defend me Star."
"Why would she?" interrupted Raven. "She knows what you have done is wrong. Beyond wrong, Robin!"
Crow scowled. They all saw the evil intent in his face.
"I have done nothing wrong," he growled. "What I have done was for the safety of the city. If you can't see that, you all might as well be as stupid as the bad guys."
With that, he left.
As soon as he was gone, the titans could finally let out a sigh of relief.
"What's going on with him?" wondered Beast Boy.
"I don't know but I hope he'll get over it. Or at least, we find what's wrong and help him fix it," answered Cyborg.
Raven massaged her temples. Then she looked at Starfire.
"Why didn't you say anything Starfire?"
Starfire slowly raised her head. Her eyes were melancholic.
"Believe me, Raven, when I say that I wanted to talk to him. I truly did."
Cyborg and Beast Boy sat next to her in order to comfort her.
"Then why didn't you?" asked Beast Boy. "He should know how we all feel."
"It is not that simple," she said.
"Why?" Cyborg put his hand on her shoulder.
"Because I am not entirely comfortable in talking to strangers."
The other three titans exchanged glances.
Raven leaned in.
"Starfire, what do you mean?"
"Did you not see it? That was not Robin―our Robin is gone. He would never talk badly of anyone and he would never talk to his friends like that."
"Star," Beast Boy started, "don't think like that. Everyone has his bad day. Robin's just having his today."
"No," answered Starfire. She looked at each of her teammates. "I fear that he is gone. And you cannot convince me in the other wise."
Starfire stood and flew away exiting the room.
Cyborg, Raven, and Beast Boy stayed silent for a while. Each one had his or her own thoughts to sort out. Then Beast Boy spoke.
"If he's gone, let's hope it's just a vacation."
"Yeah," agreed Cyborg. "And that he'll be back soon."
"It better be now," added Raven.
Chapter end