Starfire flew solemnly over the city. In her own selfish way, she wasn't really patrolling, just going through the motions. She'd finish up with this, and then go home and—

What? Watch those videos again? Go through that torture, again?

Maybe she'd check in on Black, make sure he was asleep and not causing any trouble.

It was a horrible feeling living in her head.

She had come to see Black as a friend. A friend with a great need for care. But the way he had spoken to her on top of the Wayne building the other night…maybe he was a murderer?

The very thought made her lose altitude quickly.

She thought of Robin's smile and that one time he said she was really cool and regained her place in the sky.

"Star…fire?" A gravelly voice called out for her.

"Hello?"

"Ov…over here, love."

Starfire turned about, before finding the source. An old man was duct taped to a scaffolding on a building under construction.

"Mr. Mad Mod? Is that you?"

"Correct, love!" Then he coughed. He had no youth to preserve him, and looked sick. Very sick. "I know we haven't seen…eye to eye on many things…"

"You have hypnotized my friends and I on numerous occasions."

"Yes…well, do you think you could help me?"

"In what way?"

He coughed again, more severely. "I was doing something bad, yes. I had some revenge planned, and then…that boy…" He coughed. "A boy in all black ambushed me. Didn't even have the chance to protect meself."

"Black, you say?"

"That's the stuff! He tied me up 'ere two days ago. I thought someone would have been 'ere by now, but you're the first to find me." He gave her a pained smile. "Been without me medicine for a few hours. If you want to turn me into the bobbies if you can, but I might need to get to hospital."

"Oh!" Starfire immediately got to work freeing the man, and he collapsed into a coughing fit soon after. "Please hang on, Mr. Mod, I shall get you to the hospital as quickly as I can."

"Thank you, ducky."

—

Robin. Black tossed and turned as that name reverberated in his head over and over.
Robin. Who was he, anyway? He saw his picture, he knew his roles, and saw the respect his friends had for him. But still, who was this person? And why did his name make Black so angry?

Robin. A stranger. Robin. A phobia. Robin. An enemy.

Black saw no point in sleeping anymore that night. Sure, the bed was comfortable, and sure, the tower was warm and dry. To date, it was the most comfortable night he ever had (to his knowledge). But the more he slept, the more he dreamt. And the more he dreamt, the more memories came back.

As Black rose, he made the bed lent to him, he wondered why only bad memories came to him. People dying, crying, bleeding. Pain, sorrow...things you tend to try to forget first we're coming back first.

He also wondered how he knew how to make the bed. He hadn't ever owned one, that he remembered. Getting undressed was a struggle, and he had done that at least twice before.

It was the middle of the night, still dark in the tower. He snuck out of his room. His eyes were keen to the dark, but the light glow from the numbers on the appliances in the kitchen helped a bit.

Black's reasoning was, the Titans had taken him in out of the kindness of their hearts, the least he could do is keep from being a burden.

A rather sane thought, don't you think?

First though, since he was up and all alone, he decided to take care of himself. If he was staying here, he had to know what he was working with. His coat was still hanging up in the ops room, slightly damp. That was fine, as long as the contents were dry. He dug through the pockets, finding everything still there, and wrapped in the plastic he used to protect it. His knife, his gun, and his stash.

He HAD to have his stash.

He squirreled these things back into his new room, hiding them under the mattress. He allowed himself a tiny taste, just to take the edge off.

Next, he allowed himself a tour of the tower. Some rooms he explored more than others; such as the medical room. He found the bathrooms, the garage, and the evidence room. He took a waltz through the basement.

For each of the bedrooms, he took time to acknowledge whose was where. With Raven's, he poked his head in, saw the shadows and left. In Beast Boy's, he stepped in, got a whiff, and backtracked quickly. Cyborg's room was a bit more fun. Black tiptoed in, noticing the gauge on his computer. The tin man was charged up to 80% according to his screen.

Black tinkered with some of the tools sitting on the workbench, but when one dropped and made a loud clang, he bolted from the room.

Next was Starfire's. The boy peeped his head in the room, and when he saw no machines or demonic statues, and smelled no tofu armpit barf, he slid in. He liked Starfire for that; a comforting sort of normalcy in the tower. Ironically, the most normal room belonged to the alien. He acknowledged her lacey white curtains, and the random stuffed animals around the room. But he was most interested in her, moreover, how she slept. Her feet on her pillow and her hair draping over the end of the bed.

"I wonder if that's comfortable," He mused.

She stirred.

Black hushed himself. He stared at her a bit longer and then moved on.

Finally, his bedroom exploration ended with Robin's room. He stood in front of the door for a long time, trying to find the will to open the door. But he had nothing. He couldn't do it. Nothing was stopping him. He didn't even respect this stranger.

In the end, he just went back to his room, and hummed some forgotten tunes until dawn broke.

Morning rolled around with Raven first to wake up. She walked in the ops room, only to be utterly surprised. She expected the house guest to be still asleep, not cooking breakfast.

"Good morning, Blackbird!"

"Raven," she corrected.

"But ravens don't sing in the dead of night."

"And neither do I," She quipped.

"Fair. Coffee?"

"I'll stick to tea."

Next, in came Cyborg. "Dude, what's that smell?"

"Bacon, eggs, ham, fat, grease...what do you want?"

"You made all of this?"

"Well, it didn't poop out of thin air!"

"Just as a heads up, Beast Boy doesn't eat meat, remember?"

"That's why I made the tofu French toast from the fridge."

"I thought you didn't eat processed meat either," said Raven. "What is ham and bacon, then?"

"Well, if I prepared it, and it's in its package…I wasn't really going to eat it anyways. I found some yogurt."

Beast Boy grunted and shuffled into the room. "'Mornin'"

"Yo BB! Black made breakfast, and it is awesome!"

"Off the hizzy," Black corrected.

Last to enter was Starfire, and she looked bedraggled.

"Good morning, Princess Fiona! Would you like some breakfast?"

Starfire leveled a glare at him. "You did something very horrible to Mr. Mad Mod."

The rest of the team stopped what they were doing and stared at the two.

Black chuckled nervously, "I'm sure I have no clue what you're talking about."

"The very old villain who is sometimes not very old and speaks with a strange accent."

"British," Cyborg added.

"Yes! Him! I patrolled last night and found him tied up within a construction site. He said he had been there for several days without access to his medication. I spent several hours in the hospital with him last night just to make sure he was healthy!"

"Wow Star," said Beast Boy, impressed. "That was nice of you."

"I didn't know he'd be there for so long. I thought they would find him."

"'They'?" Raven pressed.

"The workers."

"But it is the week's end! Would the builders not be off until Monday?"

"Oh. Yeah…I didn't think about that."

Cyborg scowled. "That's your problem, man! You don't think! Not when you fought against Mumbo, not when you took off your pants! What's wrong with you?"

Something is very wrong with you. We might have to operate.

"There's…there's nothing wrong with me," Black insisted. "I'm fine. I'm the normal one!"

"You know that's not true," said Raven, coming closer. "Starfire told us about your mood swings. You've been following us for a while. You seem all nice and friendly when you know we're looking, but you're up to something. That's not normal."

He looked at Starfire, a grimace pulling on his lips. "You told them?"

"We do not have secrets," Starfire argued. "Robin hid secrets from us, and that is how he disappeared. I chose to not withhold information."

Black frowned hard, his nostrils flaring.

"Dude, we don't have to be against each other. You can get in on the trust circle. Just don't hide stuff from us. Let us help you."

Now you're all alone, and no one to save you.

"I…" he backed away from them all. "I don't know…there's so much I don't know."

"Then just tell us what you do know," Raven insisted.

Before they could pry any information out of him, the alarm sounded.

"Looks like our little pow-wow is going to take a back seat," Cyborg checked the report on his computer. "Ugh, Johnny Rancid."

"I can help!" Said Black, running to grab his coat.

"Oh, no you don't." Raven encased him in her magic and deposited on the couch. "You're grounded."

"Grounded?! Why!?"

"One, we were just talking about trust. Two, you're injured. And three, you don't know how to fight in our dynamic. So sit."

"We shall return shortly, Black."

"Fine, whatever," he pouted, arms crossed.

"Titans Go!" Cyborg shouted as they ran out of the room.

When they left, Black wandered over to the computer, where the report of this 'Johnny Rancid' came in. The location popped up and blinked at him.

There was a funny voice yelling in his head. Sitting around and doing nothing was the wrong thing to do.

So he embraced it.

Raven and Starfire raced through the air while Cyborg and Beast Boy chased in the car. Rancid had a motorcycle, and what looked like a long electric whip. On his back he had a large duffle, stuffed with money he'd just stolen from the bank.

"Go ahead and try to stop me, losers! You were nothing with the little Birdy Boy, and now you're even less!"

Starfire threw bolts at him, and at the road, which he expertly dodged. Then, without looking at the road, snapped the whip at her, zapping her and making her collide with Raven.

"Ah ha ha! Too easy!"

"Not that easy!" Cyborg took aim with his canon from the driver's seat.

Rancid simply took a sharp turn down an alley, where the car couldn't follow.

Beast Boy escaped the passenger seat and turned into a cheetah, taking chase. He caught up to Rancid, running at full speed.

Rancid cared little, and snapped the whip out again, several times, eventually striking Beast Boy.

"Nothing! Nothing I say!" Rancid laughed.

The rev of a motorcycle caught Rancid's ears, and he perked up in interest. "Bird Boy?"

The R-Cycle came recklessly speeding around the corner, on a collision course with Rancid. But instead of a yellow and black cape billowing behind it, there was a tattered trench coat.

"A new challenger? Rock on!" Johnny changed direction quickly, and the race began again.

Starfire and Raven followed the revving engines to the source, only to look in dread.

"He has taken Robin's bike!" Starfire lamented.

"And he's not wearing a helmet!" Raven shouted. "Black! Go back home!"

But Black couldn't hear her over the roar of the engines, or the adrenaline pounding in his ears.

Rancid drove straight into a construction site, where the path became treacherous and unpredictable. An expert biker would struggle.

But Black seemed to be keeping up just fine.

"You're pretty good for a kid! Who're you supposed to be? Bird Boy's replacement?"

"Nah, I'm your mom's new boyfriend!"

"What!"

Black turned his bike to bump into Rancid, colliding their bikes together to try to shake him.

"Watch it, punk! I just had this thing detailed!"

"Could have fooled me! Looks like a rust bucket!"

Rancid snarled as he returned the collison, and tried to shake Black off his bike.

"Hey, what has webbed feet and quacks?" Black asked, with a meaty smile.

"Uh, a duck?"

"Good job!" And Black lifted off the bike to donkey kick Rancid in the face.

Johnny lost control of his bike for a moment, swerving through the construction.

Black brought his bike close and leapt onto Johnny's, letting the R-Cycle crash behind him.

"Get off!"

"YEEEEE HAWWW!" Black reached over Johnny's hands to engage the throttle, to speed up the bike even faster. Then he took out his knife and stabbed Rancid in the thigh, making it difficult for Johnny to brake.

Johnny cried out in pain, and Black bailed from the bike, rolling several painful feet.

The crash that followed was startling. Johnny's bike exploded as he collided with a wall.

"Yes!" Black cheered, covered in road rash.

Cyborg finally caught up to them. "Oh my god, oh my god!" He rushed to connect his cannon to a fire hydrant and put out the explosion.

Raven arrived too, and yelled at Black, "stay put!"

She and Cyborg worked to recover Johnny from the wreck while Starfire and Beast Boy caught up.

"What did you do?" Beast Boy asked.

"I won!"

"It is not winning if the criminal is killed," Starfire said woefully.

"...killed?"

Raven brought out Johnny's bloodied, battered, and unconscious body. "He's alive, but he needs to get to the hospital, ASAP." Then she turned glowing eyes on Black. "What are you doing here? You were supposed to stay at the tower! That was an order!"

"I said I wanted to help."

"You totaled Robin's bike," Cyborg said with venom. "We built it together. You had no right to take it."

"But—"

"But nothing!" Cyborg shouted, getting right in his face. "This is what we were talking about! You don't think! You don't listen to us, you don't consider risks! You're lucky Rancid isn't dead!"

"You are lucky that you are not as well," Starfire said, softly.

Black blinked several times, finding it hard to swallow. Then, he started to cry. A few tears rolled down his face while his mouth quivered.

The very action took the wind out of everyone's sails.

"Starfire, you take Black home and get him patched up. Cyborg, Beast Boy, you take care of Rancid, I'll collect what's left of Robin's bike," Raven stated, so coldly, it felt like ice formed at their feet.

"Please Friend Black, do not resist. We will return to the tower."

Black nodded at her, still sobbing.

She wrapped an arm around his waist, and they took off.

—

In the med bay, Black sat in his underwear once again, while Starfire attempted to clean his road rash. He winced with each pass of the rag.

"I am sorry if this pains you, but there is debris I must remove."

"I know, go ahead."

Starfire worked diligently, occasionally flicking out little pieces of asphalt from his wounds. "Why did you not obey Raven? Why did you fight?"

Black was quiet for a while. "You asked me something similar in my hat. There was this…voice, screaming at me. I couldn't sit around. I couldn't ignore it."

"For everyone's sake, I hope next time, you do."

His mouth scrunched up, and he blinked back tears. "I disappointed you."

"A little bit, yes. I had hoped that…since you asked us for the help, we would be on the same side. But it seems as if you are not. You are on your own side."

"I…I'm sorry."

Starfire looked up at him. His face wasn't so deranged, his eyes held sadness instead of malice, and he seemed genuinely remorseful. "If you are, you should apologize to the others, and stop with these stunts of peril."

He sighed. "For you, I will."

—

Raven couldn't sleep. It had been an exhausting day, but her brain would just not turn off. Several nights since Robin's disappearance, she would awaken with a start. She had a connection to Robin the others didn't. She had been in his mind. She saw his memories. And she felt his presence.

Cyborg seemed to be certain that he was dead, but determined to find a body to give a proper burial. Beast Boy seemed to fall more and more convinced that Black was the other boy in those videos, and that he had killed Robin before he lost his memories. Starfire? Well, she was always hoping for the best, but Raven wasn't sure she actually believed.

Like a pilot light in the basement of a house, the faintest whisper of a presence, even now, she felt it. Robin's life. If he had died, she would have known. But it was there. Robin was alive, but only barely. Asleep? Magically sealed away? Hell, even banished to another dimension? She wasn't sure.

Which was why she was so troubled by the videos he had sent. As immoral as those conditions had been, they had been the work of men. Very evil men, but mere mortal men. Unless they were aligned with another being that hadn't given a clue in the video, Robin's presence should be stronger than it was.

So not dead, but not alive. Somewhere in between. It made little sense.

Giving up on rest, Raven got up and went to the ops room.

The door opened quietly, so quietly, the other person in the room didn't notice.

"Beast Boy?" She asked.

He morphed into a cat and leapt off the couch like a lightning bolt. Then he calmed and turned back. "Raven! You scared me!"

"I have the tendency to do that. What are you doing up?"

"Oh! I uh…I couldn't sleep, so…I thought I'd watch some TV!"

Raven peered up to the screen. He was watching the videos.

"You won't sleep better after watching those."

He shrank. "Yeah, I know…I just…"

She came closer, watching again. Beast Boy had the volume low so as to not bother the rest of the tower. It was the third video, the longest.

Beast Boy was quiet for a moment, then explained, more seriously than she'd ever heard, "I think Robin left this puzzle for me."

Raven met his eyes. "You do? Why?" It wasn't dismissive, but genuine curiosity.

"I know those songs. I just…don't know what he's trying to say."

"All of them? You recognize them all?"

He shrugged. "Mostly. I don't really listen to music for the words, more the…well, music. But they're familiar."

"Explain."

He gave her his ipod. On the screen was a playlist called 'Robin.' "These are all the songs he gave me. He found out what music I liked and gave me a bunch of CDs to rip."

Raven scrolled through the list. "Beast Boy, all these songs are by the same band."

"Yeah, Radiohead. It's his favorite."

"One second!" She left to go to her room. When she returned, she had the list of lyrics she had copied down. "I don't have all of them, but here's what I got."

"Okay," he scanned the list. "Uh, I think I need to listen to him sing them again before I can point out what is what."

"Alright. So we're going to do this again. Would you like some tea?"

"Uh…yeah. I think that'll help."

So they both got to work. Beast Boy started from the beginning, listening closely.

"The first video doesn't have any songs," he noted.

"Right, but he gives us two pieces of information. There were twenty young men at the start of this, and Robin feared someone was listening to his recording, so he created a code."

"Ooohh…yeah. That makes sense."

"So the second video is the first one where he sings." Raven pressed play, listening very carefully.

"This is my way of saying goodbye. 'Cause I can't do it face to face. So I'm talking to you after it's too late."

"It's just one song," said Beast Boy. "Oh! It's 'Videotape'! Duh!"

"So he's ––what? Stating the obvious?"

"I think this one is more about the words. I think he's telling us…this is the last we'll hear from him."

Raven frowned, but didn't want to dwell on it. "What about the next one?"

"That's the one I was working on," he held up his own notes in his messy handwriting. "The first song is 'Last Flowers' and then 'We Suck Young Blood.'"

"Hmm. Keep going."

They restarted the video, and Beast Boy pointed out the parts where one song started, and another began.

"She looks like the real thing. She tastes like the real thing. My fake plastic love."

"'Fake Plastic Trees'," Beast Boy snapped his fingers as he wrote it down.

"I've been climbing up this ladder. I've been wasting my time."

"And that one is 'Up on the Ladder'."

Raven frowned, starting to fear the worst. Robin was never very good at sharing emotions. Maybe, just maybe, he was just…using music to convey emotions he couldn't explain?

"Just 'cause you feel it doesn't mean it's there."

"'There There'."

No. Why record this many unless there was a point? Why subject them to the horrors in the background if he was just trying to say goodbye?

"You've got a light, you can feel it on your back, a light, you can feel it on your back. Jigsaw falling into place."

"And then, obviously, 'Jigsaw Falling into Place'." He wrote the title down and showed her the list.

"Jigsaw…like, a puzzle piece?"

"I'd assume that's what they were going for."

"Wait a second… 'Last Flowers, We Suck Young Blood, Fake Plastic Tree, Up on the Ladder, There There, Jigsaw Falling Into Place'…Beast Boy! These are directions!"

"To where?"

Raven stared at it longer, begging the answer to hit her.

"Oh! Raven! I forgot! 'Last Flowers' is the short name! The full name is 'Last Flowers for the Hospital!"

"Hospital!" She nearly shouted. "Blood, tree…I bet there's something for us at the bio labs at the hospital! Let's go!"

"What, now?"

"What is with all the noise?" A sweet, sleepy voice asked from the door. Starfire had emerged, one of Robin's capes on her shoulders.

"There's been a break in the case," said Raven.

"What case?"

"Robin's case."

Starfire was wide awake. "Tell me everything!"

"We will on the way, let's wake up Cyborg!"