On a quiet Saturday night, the Titans assembled in the ops room for movie night. Black was invited, but didn't initially join.

They were watching some bad Kung-Fu parody movie, where the mouths were dubbed over in English with a different script.

Robin probably would have loved it.

As it stood, Beast Boy was mostly the only one paying attention.

The rest of them were thinking about Robin and how the Batman would be arriving within the week.

The door to the ops room swooshed open and Black stomped into the room, walking right in front of all of them like a pre-teen with attitude.

"What?" Asked Raven.

"I'm going to church tomorrow and there's nothing you can do to stop me!"

Cyborg paused the movie as everyone stared at Black. "Come again?"

"I had been going nearly every Sunday and Wednesday night, but I haven't gone for the last two weeks, and when I don't go, my buddy Jim worries about me."

"Jim?" Raven zeroed in on the name.

"Yeah, my friend Jim! He's a pal!"

"Jim Baker?"

"That's right!"

"I'll take you to church," Cyborg said easily.

"We'll all go," added Raven.

"Uh, Raven, can you even––?" Beast Boy cringed.

"We'll find out. I'd like to have a word with this friend, Jim Baker." She crossed her arms.

"Please, I have heard of church and seen its buildings, but am unclear of its purpose."

"You know what Christianity is, right? One of our world's main religions?"

"Yes, it is the worship of 'God' whose name appears on your money. He has a son, named Jesus Christ, I believe? Sometimes people exclaim his name when startled. Robin told me."

"So people who practice Christianity worship God and Jesus. Church is where they gather on Sunday mornings to sing songs and learn more about him from his book, the Bible."

"It is like school, then?"

"In a way, I guess."

"Fascinating! What time does church start tomorrow?"

"9:30," said Black. "But I like to get there early. It's on the South side of town. Jump City Community Church."

"Oh, I know that place," said Cyborg. "They run the soup kitchen and food pantry. We'll get you there, buddy."

Black grinned and sashayed out of the room.

"Honestly, hearing he was going to church in his freetime makes me feel a little better," said Cyborg. "Getting 'thou shall not kill' drilled into his head was probably good."

"Starfire," Raven began. "Do you have something you could wear over your uniform tomorrow?"

"Why?"

How to explain? "If we want to get on these people's good side, we need to show some respect to their ideals. Our uniforms are a little inappropriate for church."

"What is inappropriate about my attire?"

"I think some people might be…offended if you show up with your midriff visible. I'm going to wear a skirt."

"Oh! I understand. They are more modest with their clothing! Fear not, I have a sweater for just the occasion."

"What's the big deal, Rae?" Said Beast Boy. "We're the Teen Titans. Surely everyone there will be used to seeing us like this?" He gestured to himself.

She scowled. "I am half demon. If I'm going into a church, I will not give anyone fodder to criticize me."

"Well, when you say it like that…"

"Come with me, Raven! We shall find a skirt that compliments your uniform for tomorrow!" Starfire sang, pulling her into the hall.

"Dudes! What about the movie!?"

—

The next morning, the team gathered in the ops room, ready to go. Starfire had a cream colored chunky knit sweater over her uniform, while Raven had a simple black knee length skirt to cover her legs.

Black entered, not wearing his trench coat, but a long sleeved black shirt and his ratty black jeans. His hair was combed down and had the two spit curls Robin always hated. "Well, don't you kids look spiffy?"

"You ready to go?" Cyborg asked.

"Ha! Do pigs swim?"

The Titans all looked over to Beast Boy. "Do they?"

"I mean, yeah?"

They loaded up in the T-Car and sped off. It was the first time Black rode with them. He sat in the middle of the back, Raven on one side, and Starfire on the other.

"Wow, this is a really pretty car! It looks just like you, Cyborg!"

"I made it," Cyborg smiled back in the rearview window. "She's my baby."

Black rubbed the console like it was a live animal. "Good girl!"

They arrived at 9:20, much to Black's dismay. People were flowing in, and the church looked rather busy.

Inside, they were greeted by a blonde woman, your typical white suburban mother. "Goodmorning! Good to see you again!"

"Hi Bonnie!" Black greeted, warmly. "I brought my friends with me!"

Bonnie prepared to greet them, and then stood shocked for a second. "...the Teen Titans! Well, welcome! Glad you could join us this morning! Would you like a bulletin?"

"Thank you," Cyborg returned the greeting and took one.

"You doing okay, Raven?" Beast Boy asked as they entered.

"I haven't burst into flames, so I think I'm okay."

The lobby was a large circular room with a skylight. The sanctuary was to the right, and the back wall featured a coffee bar.

As the Titans moved further inside, they were greeted with warm smiles and hearty handshakes. Black greeted every single person he walked past, like he knew each and every one of them.

They were just all so friendly.

"You guys want coffee? It's good! And they have tea!" Black urged them in, tugging on arms.

"Black!" A man in a plaid polo shirt and khakis approached. He was tall, lanky, and had salt and pepper hair. "You're here! And you…brought friends?"

"I sure did! This is Starfire, Beast Boy, Cyborg, and Raven!"

"Good morning!"

"Hiya!"

"Hey, nice to meet you."

"Hi."

"Well, welcome! I'm Pastor Jim Baker. Glad to have you here today."

A ping of understanding hit all the Titans at the same time.

Pastor Jim Baker.

"Did…you guys receive my letter?" He asked, his voice a little lower.

"Sure did," said Cyborg.

Jim sighed in relief. "Good. Well, I really would like to talk to you all more about that, but service is about to start. Why don't you join us, and then we can all talk during the Sunday School hour?"

"Sounds like a plan," Cyborg nodded.

"Come on, I'll show you where I always sit!" Black took Starfire and Beast Boy's hands and beckoned them into the sanctuary.

It had a high vaulted ceiling, lined with slatted wood. There was a stage up front, where a band was setting up. A giant cross was on the wall above them, bordered with stained glass on both sides. There was a screen in the corner with a slide show of events playing on it.

"Dude, is that an electric guitar? I thought churches had like…organs and stuff."

"Depends on the church," said Cyborg.

Black led them toward the front, on the right most side. Again, as they passed, he greeted people warmly and enthusiastically.

"He's like a different person," Cyborg said to Starfire, softly. "He's behaving well."

"I wonder why."

The congregation was filled with a variety of people. There were plenty of your standard white church people, plus a healthy dose of intercity kids, recently reformed thugs and felons, bikers, and even disheveled homeless folks. It was a strange blend, but they were all talking together, building a community.

They shuffled into their seats, the people around them waving and smiling in greeting.

"This isn't so bad, right?" Beast Boy asked Raven.

She sighed. "No. Better than I was expecting."

Cyborg opened the program they were given. "Hey Star, there's an order to the service," he showed her. "We'll stand and sing songs, then we'll listen to the Pastor give his sermon. When they have us pray, we just bow our heads and close our eyes. Pretty simple."

"I like to sing!" She chirped.

"I know you do. I don't know if you'll know the songs they play, but you'll probably like them."

"Hey Cy," Beast Boy wondered. "You seem pretty…familiar with this. Have you been to church before?"

"Yeah, used to go when I was a kid. It's been a long time though."

Then, a man with a guitar started playing. Keyboard, violin, and drums joined in.

Starfire perked right up, the tune was joyful and fun.

"Great and Mighty is The Lord Our God, Great and Mighty is He. Great and Mighty is The Lord Our God, Great and Mighty is He!"

"I like this song," Starfire told Cyborg.

Of course you do. Cyborg smirked.

"Good morning!" Pastor Jim greeted as the first song ended. "Isn't it a lovely fall day? Did you all see the trees in their fall colors today? God's truly a master painter, isn't he?" He looked at the bulletin. "We have our typical events taking place this week. Soup Kitchen on Tuesday, Prayer Meeting on Wednesday, Food Pantry on Thursday. Tonight, I've been told the youth are going bowling and that Pizza will be provided."

"I want to go bowling," Beast Boy muttered.

"Next week, we're doing our Trunk or Treat. There's still plenty of space to sign up to host a game. You don't actually have to have a trunk! The church will provide candy, so you don't have to buy any. What else? Oh! We're going to start taking donations for Operation Christmas Child. This year we're aiming to pack a thousand boxes! We'll be taking donations of hygiene products during the month of October. I'm told our boxes will be going to a refugee camp in Poland for children displaced from the war, so keep that in mind as you pack your shoeboxes.

"As for prayer requests, we're praying for those who are not here due to sickness…" he listed several people's names and their specific needs. Some were in hospital, some had ailing family. "And last, we want to continue our prayers for Robin of the Teen Titans. He and his team did so much for our city, for nothing in return. We want to pray for his return, or closure for his whereabouts. Pray for healing if he needs it. We'd also like to pray for strength for his team as they work through this crisis. Would y'all pray with me?"

None of the Titans had been playing on actually praying, but they all felt compelled to in the end. This church had been praying for Robin the whole time, and he was right here, among them!

They sang more songs. The Titans patiently stood with the rest of the congregation. Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Starfire tried to follow along with the songs. Black knew several of them and sang as loud as he could.

Then the sermon came. It was appreciated, as the topic was community and building each other up.

"For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.

"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

"The King will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.'"

They sang another song at the end, and then they were released.

Beast Boy stretched. "Well, that wasn't as nearly as boring as I thought it'd be."

Raven elbowed him. "Maybe wait to say stuff like that until we're out of the building?"

"Oops."

"Hey!" Black perked up. "Do ya guys want donuts? They have them downstairs during the Sunday School hour!"

"Sweet, donuts!" Beast Boy started, but was held back by Raven.

"Why don't you go get us some? We want to have a little chat with your friend, Jim."

"Okie dokie Mrs. Magpie!" And he skipped off, just as Pastor Jim arrived at the end of the row.

"Hi, follow me to my office?" He kept the pleasant smile, but there was clear grief on his face.

They followed him through the church building, watching as he played nonchalant as he passed his congregation. He led them down a hall, away from the people, and into an office with a desk, two chairs, and a couch.

"Please, make yourselves at home." He moved behind the desk. His mask dropped, and he looked weary and troubled.

Raven and Cyborg sat in the chairs while Beast Boy and Starfire took up spots on the couch.

He held out a jar. "Tootise Roll?"

Beast Boy, Starfire, and Cyborg took one.

"Chewy chocolate?" Starfire asked thoughtfully. "Delightful!"

Pastor Jim let out a long sigh as he rested his head in his hand. "So…you've met him."

"More than that," Cyborg said. "He's staying with us."

Jim's shoulders sagged even more, maybe from relief. "Thank goodness."

"How did you meet?" Raven asked.

"I'm the one who…found him." He shook his head. "This is not a good neighborhood, but I wanted to start a church where the community needed it. One night, I stayed too late and left the church when it was dark out. As I was walking back to my car, I heard him singing, belting out these really sad lyrics at the top of his lungs. There's a gentleman in our Men's group who is a recovering drug addict. I thought it was him at first, having a relapse. So I thought I'd go check and make sure he was okay." He paused, closing his eyes a moment. His voice was tight. "When I found him, he was in the basement of an abandoned building. I heard him singing through a broken window. When I called out to him to see if he was okay, he just kept singing, maybe even getting louder when he heard me. I went inside…I thought I was looking at a dead man. He was naked and just…covered in blood. His cheek was torn open…and he had these dark veins that stood out all over his body. The only thing he had in his possession was this…robot head. I got him out of there and to a hospital. He had no idea who he was, what happened, why he was there…but he refused to let go of that head. The hospital had no idea what was wrong with him, so they just treated his wounds. When he was patched up, I brought him home. He stayed for about a week. In that time, he spent much of it crying in pain. Then one day…he was just gone, and left the head…tucked into his bed.

"The next week, he showed up to my church and thanked me for all my help. When I told him he left the robot behind, he had no idea what I was talking about. My son was the one that found the SD card I sent you."

"So, how'd you know it was Robin in the video?" Beast Boy asked.

Pastor Jim looked at him, stricken. "...that was Robin?"

Oops.

Raven narrowed her eyes. "If you didn't know, why did you send us the card?"

"I thought…well, the robot head that it was recorded on looked like it belonged to that…Slade man you all have fought over the years. And the video looked like something horrible was going on. It looked like real trouble. I wanted to send it to the experts." He started to smile, ever so slightly. "I assumed it was Black before he became…"

"Crazy?" Beast Boy supplied.

"...disturbed."

"That's a nice way of putting it."

"But if it was Robin…does that mean that Black is…?" He trailed off, hopeful.

The Titans silently convened.

"Yeah," Cyborg finally admitted. "He's Robin. But he doesn't remember anything, and he's outwardly hostile to the thought of being Robin. So, we're keeping it quiet for now."

"I understand completely. I will keep it a secret. I'd like to think I'm pretty good at it. Lots of people come to me for guidance, expecting me to keep their business to myself."

"So now that you know it is Robin, you know it's important that we have as many details as you can provide," Raven said, sternly. "Tell us everything."

"I'm not sure what else there is to tell that's actually helpful…" he winced. "It was about a month ago, and it was fairly hectic."

"You said he spent most of his time crying in pain," Cyborg reminded. "And then one day he just left."

"Oh! Yes. I said he had these dark veins, and he often cried about feeling his blood burning. We gave him ibuprofen and acetaminophen, as much as they recommend. It seemed to help a little, but he spent most of the time bedridden, in and out of sleep. He didn't eat much. Every once in a while, he'd come out of the guest room and sit with my son in the living room and watch TV or watch him play video games. Not for very long though. My son said he'd try to talk to him, but Black was so out of it, his replies were nonsensical. At night…we could hear him singing. I think he was trying to comfort himself." Jim screwed up his lips, looking rather remorseful. "I hate to admit this, because I think I actually broke the law and did him a huge disservice. One night, he was in so much pain…he was thrashing and screaming and tearing at his stitches…we had already given him the maximum doses of ibuprofen and acetaminophen…I had a couple of OxyContin pills left over from a surgery, just in case of emergency. I know you shouldn't keep them but…I gave Black one. I wondered if maybe he was going through withdrawals. But within the hour, his dark veins had receded considerably, and he was able to eat a full meal and hold a lucid conversation. Well, lucid for him. I told him what we gave him. The next day he was gone, along with my pills. There weren't very many left though. Maybe three."

"These are opioids?" Starfire asked for clarification.

"Yeah, the same ones we gave him when he had that episode," Cyborg responded. "Thank you for telling us. We knew he had an addiction. We just didn't know where it started."

Pastor Jim looked heartbroken at that revelation.

"I don't think you necessarily started it either," said Raven. "We've learned that he's been poisoned, that's what's turned his veins dark. It's interesting to know that opioids actually help with that."

Jim didn't look any more relieved.

"The dude was suffering, and you helped him. Don't sweat it, man," Beast Boy offered as a way of comfort.

"We'll tell Batman about it," said Cyborg. "He was looking into that poison cocktail. Maybe the opioids are a missing ingredient or something? Now, more importantly," he leveled the pastor with an intense look. "Can you show us where exactly you found him?"

"Absolutely!"

It was then that there was a knock on the office door.

"Yes?" Jim asked.

Black opened the door, holding two plates of donut holes. "I've been looking all over for you guys! I brought donuts!"

"We told you we were talking to the pastor," Raven said.

"I forgot," Black beamed.

"Pastor Jim was just about to show us the place he found you. Will you be able to come?" Cyborg asked. The keyword here was 'able' because being there might trigger a fit, and no one really wanted to deal with that.

Black forcefully shoved the plates into Raven's hands and said, "Nope! I ain't going!"

"I shall stay with Black," said Starfire. "We will stay here, and he may socialize with his friends."

"Aw man, I don't want to go to any creepy abandoned building!" Beast Boy lamented.

"Too bad, Grass Stain. We need your nose," Cyborg scarfed down a donut hole.

"Let me just tell my wife, and we'll go," said Jim.