Robin spun out of his chair with a muttered oath and took the stairs two at the time. I was still shaken by the evil that had emanated from the Joker. Moments later he stumbled back down the steps, still shirtless but now wearing black skin-tight pants and carrying the rest of the Red X uniform over his arm.
"You are not thinking of going to the meeting after this," I said, moving to block his path. His brow furrowed as he tried to shoulder past me to his chair.
"If I don't go I lose my chance to find out more about his plan."
"Robin, he knows you are Red X. Don't you see?"
"I'm going, Starfire." The full use of my name meant there would be no talking him out of this. Why must he be so stupid? English was not even my two-hundredth language and I had understood Joker's veiled reference to Red X in his message. X-pecting. If he had written it I'm certain that is how it would be spelled.
"I will go with you."
"No." He didn't even look up as he laced up his boots.
"Then I will follow you." I stood over him, my arms crossed over my chest in a pose similar to the one he used to intimidate the criminals. It was not so intimidating when I did it, but it did not have to be. If I wished I could detain him with one hand behind my back. He hated to be reminded of this. Robin's spirit is stronger than his body.
"Starfire, stay out of this. If anything happens..."
"You do not have the contingency plan if this falls through?" I half-shouted at him. He made a noise in the back of his throat as he jammed the Red X mask over his face. He still wore the Robin mask underneath, which told me more than anything that he expected this plan to fail.
"Robin, you are the clorbag, do you know that?" I said angrily. "Do not think that I will stand here and watch you get yourself killed."
"Then leave, Starfire. If you have such little faith in me then there is no reason for you to be here." He said it in a terribly soft voice. It was not said in anger but hurt. He stared at me, and even with two masks between us I saw just how much it hurt him to think that I did not believe him capable. It made me furious. Taking aim, I fired a low-watt starbolt at his shoulder that spun him around backwards while I flew to the manhole cover, tore it from the ground and darted into the tunnel. I took the wrong turn, but eventually I emerged in the alley behind the motel. Still furious, I pulled out my communicator and called Cyborg. When he answered his face held one of the smirks.
"'bout time, little lady. We were about to send out a search party."
"Can you do the tracing of my communicator?" I was so furious that could not respond to his gentle banter. It took him by surprise.
"Sure. You lost? Where's Robin?"
"Robin is currently being the clown of the rear end. He just received a message from the Joker that all but announced he is walking into a trap by going to this meeting tonight and he still intends to go. I tried everything I could think of to get him to stay, but he told me to leave. His meeting will take place in half an hour. I will follow him and I want you to trace my signal. He is evil, Cyborg. I thought I would never see such evil again, but he reeks of it. We cannot let Robin's pride get the better of him."
"Not a problem," said Cyborg calmly. "He doesn't deserve it, but we've got his back."
Robin's Point of View
She attacked me! She told me once that she couldn't live in a world where we must fight and she just blasted a hole through my shoulder. Okay,so that might be a bit of an exaggeration. It barely broke the skin, but it didn't change anything. I crouched on one knee clutching my arm as I watched her fly away from me. What had I done?
God I'd been such an idiot to bring her down here. If she had been anyone else she could have unraveled everything. The year before their deaths my parents and I came to Jump City to participate in the city's fiftieth birthday celebration. Jump had invited the best circus acts from around the country to attend for the week, and naturally the Flying Grayson's were at the top of the list. This was the motel where we had stayed. Everything about this place was tied to them. The room number was G for Grayson and the date of their deaths. Had she gone upstairs she would have seen the more elaborate security system whose password was their birthdays. I even had a wrinkled poster hanging above the bed. It had been left over from the week we had stayed. The management had another in the lobby, this motel's only claim to fame.
I'm not sure why Starfire leaving hurt as bad as it did. I'd told her to go, but I hadn't really expected her to do it. Normally she was the only person I could count on to stand behind me, but even she didn't support me on this one. Did that mean I was making a mistake? Get a grip, Grayson, I told myself. I couldn't afford to second guess myself. Star and I could work out our differences later.
Feeling restless, I emailed Batman a copy of Joker's message before quickly shutting down the computer. I really didn't need him calling to tell me what was wrong with my plan. I did it as a courtesy, one he would never do in return. Maybe he had more information that this might help out.
By now it was time to go. I had the feeling of a man about to walk down Death Row. I shook my head, trying to summon up enough confidence to pull off Red X's cocky persona. There were times when I preferred the skull mask to the black one. Red X didn't owe anyone anything. He could do what he wanted without letting anyone down. If he wanted to flirt with Starfire in broad daylight then he did, if he wanted to ruffle Raven's feathers because he could then he did, and if he wanted to keep Beast Boy quiet for five minutes then he threw a red x adhesive over his mouth that he couldn't remove. The only drawback was that he couldn't be a Titan. He existed in a gray area that leaned closer to black than white. As I stood up and went upstairs I found myself missing the Titans even more than usual. On our team, if you fell someone caught you, if you were in trouble someone came to your rescue, if you were an idiot someone would tell you... Lie Star had... Oh well. There was no going back now.
Starfire's Point of View
I had to stay well back. Robin has an unnatural tendency to know when he is being watched or followed. He claims it is like an itch between his shoulder blades. Trailing someone capable of teleportation is no easy thing either, but I believe he wished to save his supply of xenothium because he primarily ran along the rooftops. Once or twice he vanished in a blink, and I panicked at the thought that I had lost him before I would see movement from the corner of my eye.
He stopped between a pair of empty warehouses, it was a dead end street. He stood facing the wall in front of him as though there was something there to see, though I saw nothing but plain bricks. I even landed on the roof of the building behind him to get a better look. Perhaps there was a door...
"I know you're there," Robin said quietly. The night was so still that his voice carried easily. I stifled an eep of surprise.
"Good of you to join us," said a voice that sent chills up my spine. "I have so been looking forward to meeting you."
He stepped out from between a pair of empty crates. He wore a lime-green collared shirt and a purple suit. In his right hand he twirled a crow bar. Red X tensed, but turned his head only slightly over his shoulder. It was another of his tricks he used to lure his enemies into the false sense of security. He made them feel as if they posed no threat to him by presenting his back.
"We have a lot in common you and I," said Joker, pointing his crowbar at Red X with a grotesque grin that dripped menace.
"How do you figure that?" Not even undercover could Robin allow himself to be compared to the criminals that he brought to justice. Joker giggled to himself.
"I bother the Bat and you're a thorn in the bird's wing. I hear it drives him crazy every time you slip through his bright green fingers." Joker held up one hand and wriggled his long fingers to illustrate his point. Red X turned, his posture relaxing.
"It's not too hard to ruffle his feathers. But what's a guy like you want with a guy like me? Stealing isn't exactly your usual MO."
"Ooh, I'm full of surprises Rexy, my boy." Joker leaned against another crate, his long, thin body perfectly at ease. "For instance, did you know that the Teen Titans are currently headed this way in that monstrosity they call a car. The T must stand for tin can, am I right?" He chuckled.
"The Titans? How do you know that?" This had caught him off guard. Of course. In his mind the Titans were far away. He did not realize I had led them straight to him. But it was my turn to panic as well. Had I unknowingly led them into a trap as well?
"Oh I make it my business to know where all those busybodies are. Not to worry. The old girl's been begging for a chance at those bozos. She and the boys have more than enough grenades and rocket launchers to keep them busy." My heart stopped in my chest. In the distance I heard the roar of an explosion. It was so strong that the warehouse windows rattled. Red X spun in the direction of the noise, his fingers curling into fists before he went perfectly still.
"You know, I kind of like the game of cat and mouse I have going with them. It keeps me on my toes. I'd be kind of annoyed if you put an end to it without asking." I heard the anxiety in his voice. His teammates were in danger and he blamed himself.
"Not to worry. Harley's got them in good hands." Another explosion went off. This one was powerful enough that Joker and a Red X swayed a little. I desperately wanted to contact the others to know that they were safe, but I didn't dare use my communicator within earshot of Joker.
"Quinn better be careful. That red-head he's got packs a powerful punch. She normally holds back, but if her friends are in trouble there isn't anything she wouldn't do to protect them." My mouth went dry. His words were meant for me. He knew I was there and he wanted me to go to our friends' aid. Much as it pained me to leave him, I knew in this instance that the others needed me more.
"Be safe," I whispered, turning to fly off. I froze. Not three feet from me stood Harley Quinn. She had an AK-47 pointed straight at my heart.
"Where you goin', cupcake?" Her finger twitched on the trigger just as green fire gathered behind my eyes. The shot rang out and I heard the ping as a bullet bounced off my gorget. She had no such protection against my starbolt. It hit her square in the chest and flung her backwards. She shrieked, and her weapon went flying over the edge of the building down to where Red X and Joker were conversing.
Seconds later more shots rang out and it was all I could do not to fly down and scoop Robin to safety. But he had given me my orders and our friends' safety was my primary objective. I shot off another starbolt as Harley made to rise as I launched into the air. Twenty feet in the air I saw the smoke from where the Titans were taking fire from Joker's men. My fists curled with frustration. Green light ignited around my hands. Enough was enough.