Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans.

The Healer

Chapter 11: Here and There

"I'm telling you! You got the wrong guy!" said Robin.

All the while, he has been moving his arms and legs in the hopes of loosening the bindings. Even if he could not free himself, he thought, at least he could feel a bit more comfortable. However, he has been at it for an hour and still the harnesses did not loosen. No matter how hard he tried, he could not put himself at ease. In addition, he has been talking to the parallel world's Cyborg and Beast Boy all this time about how he is not Crow. The fact that they would not listen or want to understand made his situation more stressful. But he pushed on. Robin still hoped that his words would reach them.

"You're lying!" accused Beast Boy. "Do you underestimate us that much?"

"No. You've got it all wrong. I'm telling you the truth!"

"How stupid do you think we are?"

"I don't think—"

"Of course you do! Why else would you think that we would fall for this!"

"Please," Robin paused. He looked down and then up again. His eyes went from Beast Boy to Cyborg. Beast Boy's eyes were furious: it was evident that he could not tolerate anymore. On the other hand, Cyborg's gaze was calm. In fact, it seemed to Robin that there was something in Cyborg that wanted to listen. He saw that despite all the doubts, there was something that was trying to convince Cyborg to believe him.

"Believe me," Robin pleaded.

"Never! We will nev—"

Cyborg's hand grabbed Beast Boy's shoulder. The green teenager stopped and looked at his teammate.

"Calm down, BB."

"Calm? There's no time—"

Cyborg stood up. He had a plain expression, and yet there was something there that makes anyone who looks at him stop and listen.

"Sit down for now. Let me take over."

So Beast Boy sat in Cyborg's chair and crossed him arms.

"Dude, gross, it's warm."

"Duh, I was just there."

Beast Boy looked away.

"Humph! Don't like warm seats," he mumbled.

Cyborg smiled a little. Then when he looked at Robin, his earlier expression returned. A plain face yet carried a serious manner. Robin looked at him.

"So let me get this straight," started Cyborg, "you—"

Beast Boy quickly rose from his chair.

"Don't tell me you believe him!" he snapped.

Cyborg was silent.

"Didn't you just hear his story? Dimension jumping? Kidnapping? Switching places with a Robin from another dimension? It's all crap! All of it is impossible! This is not Robin… The Robin we know is gone! Forever! Cyborg?"

Cyborg looked at him.

"Do you miss him so much that you're willing to believe that this parallel-universe Robin is real? Oh, and it just so happens that he's like the old Robin?"

"Don't you miss him, too?" asked Cyborg after a pause.

"Of course I do!"

Beast Boy had the look of great surprise. After all this time, he never thought that he would say that. He could not believe his own honesty. And given the situation, he could not stop now.

"Of course I do, Cy. He was our friend… Until he started calling himself Crow."

For some reason, Robin could not stop himself from speaking. He planned on listening more, but his curiosity got the best of him.

"What happened?"

Beast Boy turned to him with a very violent stare.

"But no matter what," he said, "we can't trust whatever he says."

"I am not Crow!" cried Robin.

"Shut up!"

"Beast Boy!" called Cyborg.

"Cyborg, we have him now! We can end it all!"

"I told you! We can't do that!"

"Why?"

"We mustn't change! No matter what, we can't lose ourselves."

"Then what do you suppose we do?"

Cyborg was quiet for a minute. Then he spoke.

"How about we give him a chance?"

"What? No! We can't!"

"What choice do we have?" exclaimed Cyborg.

"Like I said, we should—"

"No! Think about it Beast Boy."

Cyborg and Beast Boy just looked at each other. It was Cyborg who first broke the silence.

"What if everything he said is true? What if this Robin is not from our world? And instead, our Robin—Crow—is in his?"

"Oh come on! What makes you think any of this is possible?" argued Beast Boy.

"No, you come on. Considering everything we have been through, you think it's still impossible? For goodness sake, we have an alien, the daughter of a demon, a shape shifter, and a man that is half machine!"

"What's your point?"

"Anything is possible."

Beast Boy looked down at the floor, lost in his own thoughts. After a moment, he looked at Cyborg. Robin noticed that this time there was a willingness within Beast Boy to listen.

"What do you have in mind?"

"Okay, BB, think about this: if Crow and this Robin did swap places, then Crow is running free in an innocent and unsuspecting world. If he managed to throw our city into this kind of disorder, what's stopping him from repeating it? But this time it could be worse."

"How?"

"We managed to contain Crow and his destruction in Jump City because we were aware of his plans and we were able to prepare and defend. However, this time, the people of his world are not expecting such an attack. When they do catch on, it'll be too late. You and I know what that psycho is capable of. Just imagine him going all out. If left unnoticed and defenseless, who's to say that Crow will stop with a city? It could be states, whole nations, and maybe even the world."

"What?" exclaimed Robin. "That guy can do that?"

Both Cyborg and Beast Boy looked at him. They only saw the terror in his eyes.

"We-We must stop him! Or else… Or else…!"

Robin started to thrash around. He pulled on the bindings as hard as he could but he could not free himself. His arms and wrist started to hurt; in fact, his whole body hurt. But he could not allow himself to stop because he felt that every minute he wastes being tied up just gives Crow the advantage he wants. So he continued to struggle, his movements becoming more and more wild and violent.

"Please! Let me go! I must get back and stop him!"

Cyborg approached him from one side and Beast Boy from the other. They held him down. Robin tried but he could not overwhelm their combined strength.

"Calm down!" yelled Cyborg.

"I can't!" answered Robin. "I can't calm down as long as they're in trouble!"

"They who?" asked Beast Boy.

"My team, the people… Everyone!"

Cyborg and Beast Boy looked at each other and then back at Robin.

"Robin, you have to relax." said Cyborg. "Now, I know this is hard, but I need you to tell us, again, what happened—with as much detail as possible."

Robin looked at one titan to another. Then he sighed, letting his body relax and sink into the soft pillow and bed.

"Okay."

…

"A trans-dimensional device? And he used that to zap you into our world…?" Cyborg asked crossing his arms.

Robin nodded.

"Exactly."

Cyborg glanced at Beast Boy. Their eyes met and then their attention returned to Robin. Beast Boy spoke.

"If Crow did go to your world—and I'm not saying that I believe you completely—what could he be after?"

"When I asked him," replied Robin, "he said power."

"What kind of power?" inquired Cyborg.

Robin simply shrugged his shoulders. He looked at the ceiling and let out a sight.

"I don't know."

Beast Boy leaned back on the chair. He placed his hand on his chin. Cyborg saw this, and asked,

"What's on your mind?"

"If he had to go to another dimension to get that certain power, then it's something we don't have here."

It was silent for a moment as the three of them were deep in their own thoughts. Cyborg was the first to speak.

"I guess that makes more sense than us successfully kicking him out."

"I don't think he's the type to give up easy," added Robin.

"Definitely the stubborn type," agreed Beast Boy. "Do you know how many times we faced-off before? A thousand times would be an understatement!"

"But I don't get it," Cyborg admitted.

"What's not to get?" answered Beast Boy. "The guy's crazy and doesn't know how to give up!"

"No not that. I don't get why he can't find the power he wants here."

"I guess we just don't have it."

"Or he can't get to it," said Robin.

Cyborg looked at him confused. Beast Boy also had the same face.

"What do you mean?" asked Cyborg.

"Think about it: he's stubborn."

"Dude, you better start making sense," said Beast Boy.

"Okay, whenever you guys confronted him, did he win any of them?"

"He almost won a lot of 'em, but we always managed to push him back," replied Cyborg.

"Yeah, barely," grumbled Beast Boy.

"But the key point is that he never succeeded. He kept coming back because he was after something."

"What's your point?" asked Cyborg almost becoming impatient.

"Don't you guys get it? It's not that he can't find the power he wants, but rather he couldn't get to it."

"Whoa, hold on," Beast Boy butted in waving his hand in front of him. "You're making it sound like—"

"You guys have the power."

Cyborg and Beast Boy were surprised by his logic. They both looked at the boy wonder. Robin smirked.

"You know how the old saying goes, right?"

"What old saying?" asked Beast Boy.

"If you can't beat 'em, join 'em."

With that, everything became clear as day.

"Meaning," began Cyborg, "since it was impossible for him to join us again, he just had to join another Teen Titans."

"I have to admit, that's clever," Beast Boy noted.

"It's ingenious," added Robin. "That's why he needed to get rid of me so badly and take my spot. It's so that he could blend in with the team, which in effect gives him clear access to whatever that power is."

"The perfect infiltration," remarked Cyborg.

"But if he wanted to get rid of you, why didn't he just kill you?" questioned Beast Boy.

"I don't know. Pride maybe? He probably thinks that his plan is so perfect that he could afford to keep me alive."

"Well with the way things are now, you might as well be dead…well, in relation to your world," Cyborg pointed out.

"That's why I need to get back. My team is defenseless. And if Crow does gain the power he seeks, then it's over—for all of us."

"What makes you think that?" asked Beast Boy.

"With the device he has right now, he could easily come back to this world and finish what he started—but not before finishing my world."

Cyborg and Beast Boy looked at each other. They were both in agreement with Robin's thoughts.

"He's right," said Cyborg. "It all makes sense."

"If that's the case, then we need to stop him," said Beast Boy.

"So, you guys believe me now, right?" asked Robin.

The other two just looked at him.

"Will you guys let me go?"

"No," they answered in unison.

"What?!"

The next day, nothing changed.
The other titans did not know how to handle their leader's new behavior. To them, he seemed like a different person; impossible to interact with and overall impossible to approach. The awkwardness left by last night's incident only made the situation even more unbearable. Everyone was waiting for someone to bring up the topic again—but the expectations were doubly true for Robin, or rather Crow. Whenever he passed one of the titans, the other would just expect him to talk about it. After all, if someone did storm out the way he did from their conversation, last night would become the topic of conversation.
But it was not like this. When he did open his mouth, it was just a normal conversation. Mostly business, actually. He still played the role of the leader—giving out orders, assignments, and basically attending to the status quo. However, the last thing everyone wanted was normal at this point.
When Crow went out to do an errand, the remaining titans gathered in the living room. They all looked at each other before sitting down.
"We have to talk about this," Beast Boy pointed out. "I can't take the silence!"
"Not so much as us but him," remarked Raven. "He needs to talk about it. He was the subject of the discussion after all."
"Yeah but you've heard him," added Cyborg. "He said nothing but the daily chores. It's bothering the heck out of me."
"I would like to apologize about last night," Starfire suddenly said.
The other three looked at her surprised.
"Apologize? What for?" asked Beast Boy.
"I wanted to apologize for how I acted," answered Starfire. "I should have said something. It may have helped the situation."
Cyborg spoke.
"Don't worry about it, Star. You don't have anything to apologize for."
"He's right," added Raven. "You didn't do anything wrong. Besides, I think regardless of what we had to say, nothing would change."
"Yeah," agreed Beast Boy. "I mean, do you see how he is this whole time? It's like he's dodging it."
Starfire looked down in thought. Then she stood and spoke.
"Then maybe we should hold another convention? If we talk about it once more, I believe we will have an impact this time," she reasoned, moving her hands as she talked.
"But we already said everything we needed to say," said Raven. "It would be pointless."
"It may not be completely pointless if we speak with our hearts," said Starfire gesturing to her chest. "If we make our feelings known then we can succeed!"
Her cheerfulness revitalized all of them. Her optimism and hopeful words gave new life to the tower. The atmosphere lightened and the shroud that covered their home for most of the day finally disappeared.
"Yeah! You're right!" said Beast Boy excitedly. "He's Robin! Our friend and he'll definitely understand."
Then Cyborg rose to his feet.
"And if we didn't know any better, then we should know that he'll listen to us no matter what."
"Exactly," Starfire said. "He is our kind and caring friend. Once he hears us, we will be able to reach out to him and possibly even help him feel better."
Raven smiled and looked at her friends.
"There's no harm in trying one more time."
Starfire smiled.
"Then when he returns, we will talk to him!"
"About what?" a voice suddenly chimed in.
The stillness that was present in the tower before returned. A great weight suddenly descended on the room. The confidence and optimism that they built up suddenly crumbled. They were wrong: the person that stood before them was not the Robin they knew. But in hopes that he is still their friend, they tried to talk to him once more. Of course, everyone was not sure how things will work out. It was a fear in letting someone down—maybe Starfire who persuaded them, or each other, or even themselves—that forced each of them to push on and try. Right now, they wanted the old Robin back.
"About, um..." Starfire choked on her words.
"Last night," finished Cyborg.
Crow laughed.
"Again? Can you guys just drop it?"
He started to walk away but Starfire caught his wrist. He first looked at her hand and then at her eyes. Starfire's expression spoke only of determination. It was hard for him to miss her want to talk to him. She, along with the others, hope to accomplish something right now by talking to him. However, that only annoyed him.
"Let go," he demanded.
Starfire quickly let go in fear of his poisonous words.
"Hey!" called out Beast Boy. "Don't talk to her that way!"
Starfire turned to him pleadingly. She motioned her hand that told Beast Boy to calm down. Raven went to his side and placed a hand on his shoulder. Beast Boy crossed his arms and grumbled.
Then Starfire looked at Crow:
"Please, Robin, join us. Won't you just sit down for a while and talk?"
She spoke with so much sincerity. The innocence in her stare and in her voice was unmistakable.
"And I hate it," Crow thought to himself.
"Robin, it won't take that long," said Cyborg.
Crow looked straight into the eyes of each and every titan. But he did not talk. In fact, he refused to speak. He simply turned again to go on his own way. And again, Starfire grabbed his wrist.
"Wai—"
But Crow violently pulled out his hand.
"I said don't touch me!"
Terror filled Starfire's eyes.
"Robin! Calm down!" yelled Raven.
"Then leave me alone!" Crow cried back.
"Look, we're just trying to help you."
Raven's eyes were also filled with the same emotions present in Starfire's eyes earlier. Crow took note of this. He shook his head and straightened his posture. He heaved a heavy sigh.
"I don't need you guys worrying about me," he declared.
His tone and expression were unsettling to his fellow titans.
"Just... Just leave me alone, all of you."
He turned around and exited the room. Once the doors closed behind him, the remaining titans looked at each other. Out of all of them, Starfire looked the most defeated. Her shoulders dropped and her eyes lacked luster.
"What're we gonna do now?" questioned Beast Boy.
Cyborg shrugged.
"Any suggestions?"
Raven looked at Starfire.

"Starfire? Are you okay?"

But the alien girl did not respond. Raven flew to her and stood next to the distraught girl. Beast Boy and Cyborg followed and so they crowded around Starfire.

"Don't worry about it, Star," comforted Beast Boy. "He's just having his episode."

"Y-Yes," she answered at length. "You're right."

Silence took over again.

"Starfire?"

Raven was starting to really worry about her friend. And then finally Starfire spoke on her own accord.

"I feel exhausted. I'll just go to my room and rest."

With that, she turned towards the door and left.

Raven also felt uneasy, so she decided to go to her own room.

"I'll see you guys later."

And then she was gone.

Beast Boy looked at Cyborg and Cyborg at Beast Boy.

"Wanna play some video games?" asked the green titan.

"Dude, not now."

"Okay…"

"…What did you have in mind?"

"Highway Brawlers II."

"Best of five?"

"You're on!"

Chapter end