The door to the ops room swooshed open, and they all turned to look.
Black stood in the doorway, wearing another crudely made mask. "Hey guys, guess who I am?!"
"Robin?"
"Wow, yeah!" He took the mask off and looked at it. "Did I do that good of a job?"
Starfire made steps towards him, the first few heavy, like she was carrying the weight of the world. "Robin…" Her steps became lighter and faster. "ROBIN!" She cried and flew the last few feet to collide with him in a hug, bringing him off the floor and spinning him around.
He held onto her by instinct, but looked to the others, confused. "Did I do something?"
"Robin, it is I! Starfire!" She cried, looking him in the face. "Do you not remember me?"
"I…know who you are," he blinked a few times. "Were we not just doing crafts a few minutes ago?"
"Star, he's not going to regain his memories just because we know who he is."
"But! But you must remember me! You told me when we first reunited that I reminded you of someone you used to know, and that is I! I remind you of myself! Please, Robin! Think of all the times we watched the sunsets and the sunrises on the rooftop! And when we raced into battle together, and I flew you in! Or all the times you saved me and likewise I saved you!" She rubbed her hand over her eyes. "You taught me so much about Earth! I learned English from you! Please remember Robin! Please, I am desperate!"
He gave a hapless shrug. "Sorry, I think you're cool and all, but I just met you like a month ago." He smirked and waggled his eyebrows. "Maybe a smooch will jog my memories?"
"Black!" Raven scolded. "Not appropriate!"
He pouted.
Starfire stood in front of him, tears continuing to roll down her cheeks. She reached up and held his face.
He gave her a polite but vacant smile.
She reached with one hand and covered his eyes, then with the other, she covered the scar on his cheek with her thumb.
It became obvious then.
Starfire collapsed on him, wailing.
Black stood frozen as she had her meltdown, but eventually decided to hug her back. Hearing her sorrow stirred up inside of him that made him nauseous. "Please don't cry, Starfire," he asked.
"Even your voice is different," she sobbed. "But I can hear you when you are being serious."
Black didn't understand what she meant by that. But threw a look over to the other Titans that said 'help'.
Each of them decided it was best to just leave Starfire alone. She deserved to be able to hug him, and it was probably good for him.
Gizmo had been quietly observing everything, before he spoke up. "You're telling me this barf brain is Robin? No way!"
"I agree with Mr. Magoo," Black said.
"Hey!"
"You all believe that I'm Robin? THE Robin? The guy you all have been looking for?"
"All evidence points to it," Raven said.
Black stuck his pinky in his ear. "Nah. I don't really see it." He avoided eye contact with them.
"It doesn't really matter if you believe it yet, but it is the truth."
He scrunched up his lips. "Can I say something and you guys not get mad at me? Because you were so nice to let me into your house and be my friend and give me undies even though they didn't have Spiderman on them—"
Starfire rested her hands over his. "Please, what is on your mind?"
"I think you guys just want me to be Robin because it's convenient. I don't have my memories, and I might look a little like him…"
"Black," Raven said sternly. "We know. We have proof now. I know you've mentioned that you don't like the person you were before. We're going to get to the bottom of this. What happened to you. You want to be Robin. He's the best person we know."
Cyborg walked over to Gizmo and handed something over. "Thanks for your services. Now, we have work to do, so why don't you see yourself out?"
"Wow! 100 bucks!" He gave him a questioning look. "That's more than a couple pizzas."
"You did us a huge favor."
Gizmo smiled as he tucked the money away. "Alright! Easiest money I ever made! Later Butt Brains! Later Crazy Robin!"
"Bye Cabbage Patch Kid!" Black waved.
Gizmo blew him a raspberry as he left.
Cyborg went to the computer.
"Whatcha doing?" Beast Boy asked, only minimally interested.
"Writing an email."
"To who?" Asked Black. "To Robin's mommy?"
"...Robin doesn't have a mother," Raven huffed.
"But we know the next best thing," said Cyborg, "his guardian, Batman."
Black barked out a laugh. "Batman? What kind of name is that?"
"I wouldn't laugh if I were you," Beast Boy said. "The man is…not a joke."
Black rolled his eyes.
"Cyborg has it right. If anyone can crack this nut, it would be Batman," said Raven.
"If anything, I'm a legume."
"If you wouldn't mind, I would like to try and read your mind again. I can try to tap into the memories that are painful for you. Then you wouldn't have to remember them yourself."
"But Raven," Starfire lamented. "Have you not tried this twice before?"
"Third time's the charm. If I can get him calm and focused enough, then we might have a chance."
Black sighed exaggeratedly. "Fine. What do you want me to do?"
"Come over here," she commanded, leading him up to the ledge by the window.
Starfire followed quietly, while Beast Boy just watched from the couch.
"Sit like I do." Raven crossed her legs, and rested her hands on her knees.
Starfire mimicked the action next to her.
Black, facing them, took the position and frowned. "Mmmm, this isn't comfortable. Can I do this instead?" He took off his shoes and bent his legs so that his toes were basically touching his hips, the lotus position.
"That's more comfortable?!" Beast Boy squawked.
"If you find it more comfortable, then that's fine. Now, repeat after us…Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos…"
"Azar…Aziz…Azerum…Methodone…Mentos."
Raven opened one unamused eye.
"Sorry, can you repeat that?"
"No. Why don't you pick three words that mean something to you? Three things to focus on."
"Can I pick four?"
"I don't see why not."
"Okay." He placed his hands on the floor and pushed up, bringing his legs off the ground. He flipped upside down, almost doing a handstand, but used his forearms instead of his hands. He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. Then he started chanting, "Starfire…Beast Boy…Raven…Cyborg…Starfire…Beast Boy…Raven…Cyborg…"
Silently, everyone just stared at him, gobstruck, and a bit flattered.
Raven focused on that feeling as she closed her own eyes and whispered, "Azarath…Metrion…Zinthos…"
She made contact. The first time since meeting 'Black', she was able to touch his mind.
Robin's mind had been a place she had visited once, when Slade haunted him in the dark. Then, his memories had been in flashes and she hadn't had time to dwell on them, but she saw them clearly.
These images were different. Fuzzy, muffled, forcibly suppressed. They were almost indiscernible from the whiteness that surrounded her.
"Robin!" She called.
Her voice echoed in the empty space.
She pushed further, deeper, probing for anything to help. There were a few, just a handful of memories she could comprehend, but it wasn't worth it. The visions from the tapes had only been the tip of the iceberg.
She saw that other boy, that Justin Krieger, holding a knife up in the light of a stark lightbulb. A flash, and he was on the ground and blood was everywhere. She could physically feel the pain he felt in his face. And just as she found the memory, it slipped away. Nothing was concrete in this place.
Maybe Robin wouldn't respond to his superhero name. Maybe it was too painful? She called out again, "Richard Grayson!"
She heard footsteps. A quiet tap tap tap of little feet.
"Richard!" She called again.
"Raven?!" A young voice called back.
"Yes, it's me!"
"RAVEN!" His scream was heartbreaking. Running through the blank whiteness like it was fog, a young boy, maybe 8 years old, appeared. He ran right to her and hugged her, crying into her stomach.
"Robin?"
"I wanna go home!" He cried.
"We want you to come home." She had a sense of Deja Vu then, of when Robin came for her, at the end of the world. When she was helpless. He had hope for her then, so she would have hope for him now. No matter how annoying this new persona was, no matter how long it took, she'd get him back.
"I'm scared! I don't like it here!"
"Robin, listen to me," she said very seriously, kneeling to look into his eyes. "This place is your mind. It belongs to you. You own it."
He shook his head as he wiped his eyes. "You don't understand! They did something…they gave me something!"
"What? And who?!"
Before he could answer, he disappeared from her arms. Vanishing like a vapor.
"Richard! Robin, please come back!"
The whiteness she was surrounded by suddenly turned black and all the memories around her turned crystal clear. Horrible things, worse than she feared, circled around her. Once upon a time, she had imagined only Trigon capable of such horrors. Oh how wrong she was.
A hideous face, disfigured, and covered in makeup appeared in front of her.
"Now, which one of you are we dealing with today?" He held up a syringe filled with a green liquid.
Raven was forcibly shoved out of Robin's mind and physically fell out of the air.
"Raven?" Starfire asked.
Raven felt sick. She staggered on wobbly legs to the trash can and vomited.
Black remained in his pose.
"Well…?" Beast Boy asked softly, "what did you see?"
Raven rested her head on the counter, weak, dizzy, reeling. "I saw Robin."
Starfire gasped. "He is in there?"
"Yeah. Faintly. Everything is a haze for him. He…" She sighed, trying to figure out how to explain it. "I saw him as a little boy. I don't know if that's how he views himself, or how I perceived the small fragment of him left."
As the Titans were focused on Raven, they didn't notice Black roll forward back onto his feet. He silently put his shoes back on. Then, he jumped down from the ledge and started heading towards Raven.
"Ah! Black! Did the mind reading help?" Starfire asked, hopeful.
He ignored her, and went straight up to Raven. His face tilted down so that his eyes were partially obscured. He grabbed a fistful of her cape by the collar and yanked her close.
Raven startled for a moment by the action.
"Stay. Out. Of. My. Head." He bit. He shoved her back, and shouldered past her into the hall.
Starfire rested a hand on Raven's shoulder. "Do not be despaired by his words. He does not truly mean it."
But Raven didn't seem to dwell on it. Instead, she called back, "Cyborg, when you've finished with that email, could you perform a blood test on Robin?"
"For what?"
"Everything."
—
Batman,
We found Robin. He's extremely sick in the head and has amnesia. We originally met him about a month ago, each of us on separate patrols. He has a large scar on his face, and doesn't wear a mask, whereas we had never seen him without a mask. We didn't recognize him. He's been playing vigilante with petty criminals, and goes by the name 'Black'.
We received a SD card from a man named 'Jim Baker', who we still have not identified. On the card were a series of videos recorded by Robin from wherever he was held the last few months. He hid a secret message to us, but Beast Boy figured it out. He would sing songs from the band Radiohead, and when identified, the song titles read out a message. Through this, we were able to determine that 'Black' was truly Robin.
I have attached the videos, and Beast Boy's notes on the message. We want you to know that the videos are very disturbing and painful to watch.
The first message Robin left us were directions to his notes on his case. He was volunteering at the Jump City hospital as 'Richard Grayson'. We assume that is his real name, though he never told us. There was a program at the hospital called 'Project: Duality' that was supposed to treat mental patients from low income homes. It seemed like not only did Robin find it suspicious, but so did a parent of a hopeful candidate. He applied to the program to go undercover, and that's where he went missing.
I've also attached all the documents we found.
In summary, Dr. Jack White was leading the program for his private mental hospital. All the candidates were orphans, and therefore wouldn't be missed when he inevitably kidnapped them in the middle of night and disappeared without a trace. Dr. Jack White does not exist, and neither does his hospital. Our trail has run cold here.
Robin, or Black as he prefers, is difficult, stubborn, and prone to flights of fancy. He's easily distracted, and seems to be working very hard to suppress all of his memories up until about a month ago. He has moments of kindness and interest in friendship, and he trusts us enough to stay in the tower.
We are watching over him now, but I'm not sure what can be done.
I must also mention he has an opioid addiction, and we're working on waning him off.
Eager to hear what you think,
Cyborg
—
Starfire knocked on his door. "Robin?"
He didn't answer.
"Black?"
He sobbed.
Starfire took the initiative to open his door.
Black laid on his bed, face down. He had his shirt off, and that gnarly tattoo still made her sick.
"Cyborg wishes to perform a blood test on you," she said simply. "Will you come with me?"
He weakly pushed up onto his arms. "Do you hate me?" He asked, quietly.
She reeled back, offended at the notion. "No. Why would you say such a thing?"
"Because I'm not Robin, and you want me to be. And I don't want to be."
"It is…heartbreaking to hear you do not wish to be your normal self. But I do not hate you for it."
He frowned, his mouth shifting. It was like she had completely ignored the fact he said he wasn't Robin.
She wrapped her hands around his arm and tugged lightly. "Come, we will have the blood test performed. When it shows that you are Robin, will you believe us?"
He scoffed. "Do I have a choice?"
She smiled and tugged him down the hall.
In the med bay, Black sat on the bed obediently, but his head lolled to one side.
"Alright, we just need a little blood draw," Cyborg pulled up a stool and tray in front of him.
Black saw the vials and IV needles and recoiled harshly. "No!"
"Hey hey," Cyborg grabbed his arm. "I'm not going to hurt you. Just a little prick."
Black turned almost completely away from him, and attempted to lay down on the bed. "Can't you just like…magic it out of me?"
"It doesn't work like that," Raven said with sympathy. "It won't hurt."
"I can't look…"
"Okay, then don't look." Cyborg cleaned his arm with an alcohol swab and Black jolted his arm at the cold touch. "This is just to clean it."
"I hate needles. I hate hate hate them!" Black was near tears.
"I know," said Raven. "Because needles mean pain and burning."
Black only nodded against the sheets.
Starfire took his other hand. "Perhaps you should think the most happy thoughts! You could think of kittens, or perhaps pizza, or maybe—"
"The first time I met all of you."
Cyborg pricked him while Starfire distracted him.
"Yeah…" Beast Boy tried to help. "Remember when you grabbed me when I was a cat? You were hanging upside down on a fire escape and you scared the pants off me!"
Raven added, "I remember catching you covering graffiti down by the shipyard. I was proud of you for that."
"All done," Cyborg said, putting a bandaid on Black's arm.
"Oh thank God!" Black wept, holding his arm to his chest.
"Let's get this into the computer," Cyborg took the sample and headed to the next room.
Black just laid on the bed, rather lethargic. In the time they had known this new persona, Black wasn't prone to sitting still. But he just lay there, tapping his hands on the mattress.
"Got a match," said Cyborg, with a sigh. "DNA confirms it. This is Robin."
Black let out a low, long moan.
"And?" Raven pressed.
"And, he's positive for a dozen or so toxins. Not just trace amounts either. He's doped up on a bunch of junk. Junk that should have moved out of his system by now or killed him."
"Junk like what?" Asked Beast Boy.
"Sulfuric Acid, glycol, acetone, toluene, ammonia, and benzene."
"Am I supposed to know what those are?"
"Acid, for one thing, antifreeze, paint thinners, drain cleaner, and benzene is used in lethal injections to kill people."
Beast Boy swallowed thickly. "...and Robin has all that in his body?"
"Yeah. Remember that video we saw where his veins were visible?"
"Or the one where the boy puked up blood and died?" Raven growled.
"I'd have to do a little research, but I'm sure a cocktail of all that would cause major brain damage to a person."
Starfire pet Black's hair with a heavy heart. "Can he…be cured? Is there an antidote?"
Cyborg shrugged. "I couldn't say at this point." Before he could elaborate further, his arm rang. "Oh, Batman's calling."
Black scoffed and sat up, pulling his legs up to lean on them.
Cyborg answered the call on the monitor in the med room.
"Cyborg," Batman greeted just as cool as normal. His eyes narrowed. "That him?"
"Yes sir," Cyborg clapped a hand on Black's back. "He seems pretty adamant that he isn't Robin, though."
Batman just looked at Black, narrowing his eyes, scrutinizing him. Finally, he asked, "Dick?"
Black frowned. Then he grabbed his crotch. "Yeah, I think so."
Beast Boy snorted.
"Your name."
"My name is Black, but you can call me—"
"Richard. Your name is Richard John Grayson."
"And who are you? The Bunny Man?"
The Titans all held their breath, waiting for Batman's reaction. He wasn't known for his sense of humor.
"I'm Batman."
"Then why do you have long ears like a bunny?"
"Bats have big, long ears too," he said it so calmly, it was awe inspiring.
"Or you could be a cat," said Black, bobbing his head dumbly. "They have pointy ears."
"They do," Batman agreed. "Cyborg, I haven't watched the videos or read the documents yet, but I wanted to call you. I would like to come and work with Robin, see if I can get him to remember anything. It will take me a few days to get over there, as I have to do some clean up here in Gotham."
"Did something spill, Mr. Batman?" Starfire asked, innocently.
"Yes, Arkham Asylum. Several of my worst foes are missing, and I want to try to get some leads before I leave."
"You don't have to come," said Black. "I'm perfectly content not changing anything about myself."
The team ignored him. "Batman, I just performed a blood test on him. It turns out he's got a cocktail of poison in his system."
Batman frowned harder. "Send me those results."
"Yes sir."
"We'll be there in a few days. In the meantime, I'm going to send an order to your branch of Wayne Enterprises for medical supplies. Rob––Black, please be honest with us. What is your opioid consumption like? How much? What kind?"
Black tilted his head and thought. "Hmm, I usually did Fentanyl, since that's what everyone on the street was dealing. When I beat them up, I'd take their stash."
Cyborg shook his head, remembering the first time he met Black.
"I tried doing cocaine for a little bit, because that's what I had on hand. Woof, that was a bad idea! I still feel bad for that duck pond."
"How. Much." Batman pressed.
"Uh…not too much. I know it's lethal. I crushed up some tums to mix in with it. So when I feel the 'not goods', I'd lick my finger and dip it into the baggy and rub it on my gums. When the bag was close to empty, I'd snort it."
"I'm going to cry," said Beast Boy.
"Alright, Cyborg, I'm going to order some low dose tablets. I want you to monitor his activity. When he starts asking for the medicine, give him one. Don't exceed more than two a day, and try to get him taking them at the same time everyday. We want to regulate him. Don't wean him off just yet."
Raven was the only one who saw Black heave a sigh of relief.
"Uh, sir?" Beast Boy squeaked. "You said 'we' are coming. Who is 'we'?"
Batman huffed. Not in annoyance, but rather resolute in his decision. "I'm bringing my butler along."
"Dude, Batman has a butler?" Beast Boy nudged Cyborg.
"Yes, I do." Batman snipped. "Alfred has been with my family since I was a child. He raised me, and he helped me raise Robin. He'll be an important asset in his recovery."
"Robin's got a Peepaw?" Black asked.
"If that's your way of asking if Robin has a grandfather then yes, basically."
The four sane Titans felt slightly embarrassed on Robin's behalf.
"We'll see you all soon. Take care." And Batman ended the call.
"He seems like a nice lad," said Black, a dopey smile on his face.