Chapter Six: The Daily Planet

Chapter Six: The Daily Planet

Old Efrem Austin slowly made his way up the stairs. He really had to get out of there. Forty years in Gotham had done him no good. Not really. Good people, different people to meet, but still, he was too old for it. He clutched the banister and made his way up to the top floor. He had a slight limp on his right foot and he could feel his heart beating in his chest. It was ten' o'clock. He was too old for this...

Mr. Austin reached the door to his apartment and fumbled around for his keys. Outside, a car honked at a truck ahead. 'Impatient people', Austin thought, 'But then again, life's too short sometimes, anyway.'

Finally, he found his key and somehow managed to shove it into the key hole. He twisted the doorknob and allowed for the door to swing open as he carried in the groceries. He had just made it to the store on time which was good since he would have had to go without breakfast in the morning if that had been the case. He looked around for his cats, Oreo and Twix. He'd probably want his dinner right about... now?

The door shut.

Old Efrem looked around to see the door, shut, closed, and sending the apartment into darkness. That door was way too stubborn, though. Just way too...

"Efrem Austin."

"Who's a there?" Austin turned.

"How long have you lived in Gotham?"

"Now wait just a second, who are you? This is my home! You hear that? That means you're a tresspassin'," Austin continued, "Where are ya?"

"Answer the question."

Efrem looked around. He saw no one. Was he hearing things? There was no one.

"Now don't be no coward and come out," Austin said, "You want my money, take my money, ya coward. Stealing from an old man, why I..."

"Oh, no, I'm not here to steal petty money from you, Mr. Austin, I want something much more valuable from you than that." Austin turned to see a formidable man coming out from behind the curtains of his windows.

He was covered in leather, steel armor, and was enclosed in shadows. But there were no ears, no bat on his chest. Not even two eyes. One. One eye with a black and orange mask with the makings of the terrors of Halloween.

"Who, who are you?"

"That doesn't matter," the man said coming up to the old man and pinning him against the wall, "Get out of Gotham."

Austin was having trouble breathing and he couldn't feel his feet on the ground as he managed, "What?"

"Get. Out. Of. Gotham."

"I, uh, no! This is my home, I'm not a gonna stand for this. You can't just tell an ol' feller to up and move," Mr. Austin told him.

"I'm not telling you to, Mr. Austin," the man said, "It's not exactly an option."

"I'm not a leavin'," Austin told him again.

The man dropped him to the ground. He took out a pack of matches as Efrem watched him light them. He started walking back to Austin, dropping match after match after match. Fire.

"Oh yes, you are, Mr. Austin," he said, "One way... or another."

-T-

There was a thick smell of smoke and burnt wood when James Gordon entered the crime scene. It was a mess outside. All of the occupants had evacuated the building, most of them either elderly or new couples with small children. The firemen had finally put the fire out. But there was a problem. Someone hadn't made it out. Mr. Reynolds, the owner of the complex, had told Bullock that he had heard two gun shots and that when all of the occupants had been rounded up. Efrem Austin, a long time resident, was missing. They soon found out why. It had been old Efrem's apartment. Luckily, the fire hadn't spread past his apartment, but that was now in shambles.

Jim walked in and looked around. Out on the other side, near where the windows had been, there were two noticeable holes. The man was dead. On the ground were slight fragments of bones. 'Poor guy,' Jim thought. Sometimes he was surprised that the depressing subject matter hadn't made him retire yet.

They were waiting for Jason Bard to arrive. He had told Sawyer to stay outside and wait for him while he went up. She was having a fit, though. Possibly one of the most outspoken members of the GCPD, Sawyer kept repeating the one thing that they all knew: It was too much of a coincidence. Max Wreith is presumed dead after being supposedly shot and killed. It happened almost a week ago. Jim had decided that listening to over half an hour of Sawyer's constant reminders was enough and that he needed some quiet time to think.

"Gordon."

Jim looked up to see behind him an imposing figure. One however, that he had grown used to over the years.

"He's dead, shot or burned or both," Gordon told him, "Baffles me why they chose him, though. Probably at the end of his life, anyway."

"But he still wasn't dead," he said, walking over to the middle.

Gordon watched as Batman looked around the room, taking pictures with his cowl maybe or gathering shrivels of evidence here and there. What the man was looking for, Jim had no idea. That was Bard's specialty, not his. Probably where the fire started. The Dark Knight bent down looking at the bones on the floor.

"May I?" he asked. It really wasn't a question, just a courtesy.

"Sure, bet Bard can deal with one bone less," Gordon told him, but he paused before continuing, "Do you think that it could do with Wreith's murder?"

The man was silent as he worked but gave a curt nod as an answer. There was always that possibility. The whole investigation took only minutes. Efficient was one way to describe it. Fantastically incredible was another. Gordon was one of the few who knew outside of the so called 'vigilante' department of law enforcement that Batman was not just a legendary fighter, but also one of the smartest men alive.

"But why would they choose Wreith and then Austin? They have nothing in... common?" Gordon trailed off when he realized that he was once again alone.

He sighed. It figures. He should know by now that Batman isn't much of a talker. Still, one would think that the man could at least say that he was leaving. Well, it didn't matter right now anyway. Never did. Gordon heard a pounding of footsteps up the staircase.

"Gordon, Gordon! I'm here, I'm..." Bard burst in, followed by Sawyer.

Gordon only smiled, "You're a little late."

Bard looked around and realized that he was beaten once again to the scene. Stomping on the ground once, he yelled, "Every time! What? Can the guy teleport or something?"

Sawyer smiled as she commented, "That's a distinct possibility."

Bard only glared at her while Gordon laughed under his breath. He looked around the burnt room and bits of bones on the floor. A distinct possibility. That's what this whole place was. Wreith, now Austin. This town was getting worse. Way worse.

-T-

"I still can't believe that he changed the password," Robin told Alfred who was busy cleaning the computer controls.

"Master Dick, you're well aware that he changes those passwords at least once a month," Alfred told him, dusting a particularly nasty spot of dust off the giant coin.

"Yeah, but normally he emails me about it so I don't have to make these phone calls," Robin muttered on screen.

"He is very busy, Master Dick, you know that," Alfred continued, "And who knows? Perhaps he wanted the phone call. You don't call very often."

"What are you talking about? I call you at least once a week," Robin responded.

"You call me, Master Dick, not Master Bruce," Alfred explained, as he got down from a ladder.

Robin silently fumed and slouched in his seat, "Yeah, well, it's not like he's much of a talker anyway."

Over the speaker, Robin heard a loud screech of tires on pavement "That him?"

"Yes, I'll get him," Alfred said.

"You can just get me the password," Robin called, but knowing Alfred, that wasn't going to happen.

If there was one thing about Alfred that neither Bruce nor Dick really liked, it was the fact that he was always right. But it proved to be more of an advantage in the end. At this point in time, Alfred had watched time drive a wedge between the Dynamic Duo and he knew that this fight would only get worse if they let it go. Both Robin and Batman knew this, but they weren't about to admit it. Honestly, the two could be so stubborn. He walked down the long staircase to the garage where the Caped Crusader was climbing out of the Batmobile. He looked as solemn as ever as he approached Alfred and handed him a small bag.

"How was your evening, Master Bruce?" Alfred asked.

"Another homicide, Alfred," Batman told him.

"Oh my. I hope it wasn't too..."

"A fire, two bullets, same as Max Wreith," He told the butler as they headed up to the computer.

"You think it's connected?" Alfred asked.

"I know they are," came the response.

"Well, in any case, before you go into this full scale investigation, Master Dick is on the line and he wishes to speak with you," Alfred told him.

"What about?"

"A password and I'm assuming that you know what that means," He answered without expression.

Bruce sighed as they finally reached the top. Alfred handed him the bag again and walked off to finish cleaning whatever presents their nocturnal friends above had left. Batman didn't even look up at the monitor as he began to take out the collected samples from the bag.

"Nice to see you too," Robin said curtly.

"The password's 'Siberia' this month," Batman told him, again without even looking up.

"Gee, thanks, couldn't you just send an email?" Robin asked, trying to bring up a point.

"You haven't needed to use the rogue's information for the past two and a half months," Bruce answered back.

"I still used it," Robin told him.

Robin fumed when he didn't get an answer, "So I'm just cut off from the Rogue's Gallery just because I'm not over in dark and dirty Gotham?"

That made him look up, "I've just been a little busy and besides, I've got bigger problems to worry about than sending you a password. What do you need it for?"

Robin scrunched up his eyes and folded his arms. For a moment, he debated as to whether or not he really wanted to tell Bruce. But he knew he'd end up telling him anyway. No need to act like an immature kid about it. After all, that's why he was in Gotham, definitely not in Jump.

"We've had two robberies within the past half month with similar circumstances," Robin told him, "I was wondering if there was anything like that happening in Gotham or if the JLA had picked up on something like that."

"I'll save you the trouble, the JLA hasn't dealt with any major robberies within the past three months. In Gotham, I haven't picked up on any real robberies; been too busy," Bruce told him, again focused on his work.

"With what?"

"Homicides."

Robin raised a brow. Alright, maybe he should cut the guy a little slack, "What about them?"

Bruce was quiet for a moment and answered, "Similar circumstances, both burned and shot. I'm trying to see if there's a connection or if this is the work of a random psychopath who likes to play with fire."

"Firefly maybe?"

"Arkham."

"Oh, well... Need any help?" Robin offered.

"No."

Robin looked off to the side and looked back at the camera. It was around ten at night. He'd probably stay up past three.

"Alright, well, I guess... thanks for the password," Robin said.

"Want to talk to Alfred?" Bruce offered, not really paying attention.

"No, it's alright," Robin sat up, "Later."

The line terminated. Bruce barely noticed. He did, however, notice the taping of a foot. He looked up to see Alfred's eyes narrowed in a glare.

"What?" Bruce asked, harshly.

Alfred shook his head, "You could have used the boy's help. And instead, you've just opted to keep me up all night so that you could discuss the possibilities with me."

"You've never complained before," Batman said in a low tone.

"Oh for goodness sake, that's not the point and you know it," Alfred cried.

"You're right," Batman said, surprising Alfred for a moment, "Figuring out if the murders are linked is the point of tonight."

Alfred shook his head and looked up as the ceiling only to see the thousands of bats stare aimlessly down at him, "What are your goals this time, Master Wayne?"

"Austin was once an elite social figure in Gotham, to an extent. Wreith's hard though, I don't know much about him. I want to find out if there's a connection between Wreith and Austin. The evidence that their murders are linked leads to the fact that they were nearly undoubtedly caused by the same person or persons," Batman answered.

"So that leaves the connection?"

"No."

"Excuse me, sir?"

"That leaves the connection and who the killer is," The harsh emphasis on killer almost made Alfred feel sorry for whoever this 'killer' was.

"Do you have any idea as to who it could be, Master Wayne?" he inquired.

"A couple for starters but I..."

A sudden ringing came from the leather bag that Bruce had brought down that evening in his rush to get back from Wayne Tower.

"Alfred, could you?"

"Already on it, sir," Alfred told him as he made a quick stride over and opened the small cell phone.

"Wayne residence," He began, "How may I help..."

"Alfred, old man, how are you doing?"

Alfred looked at the receiver, baffled as the speaker continued, "Hey, pal, why don't you put Wayne on the line, I just want to chat."

"I'm sorry, but who is this?" he asked, his proper British accent rich as he did so.

"It's Luthor, Lex Luthor, from Metropolis, you remember?" Lex said. He was kicking back in his office and watching the night get darker.

"I, uh, well..." Alfred began, knowing that Batman wouldn't want to take the call, but finally replied, "I'll get him."

"Who is it Alfred?" Batman asked, gruffly.

Alfred handed him the phone, "A Mr. Lex Luthor from Metropolis."

Bruce held back a groan as he pulled off his cowl and began talking, the harsh and dangerous tone replaced by a care free, tired drawl, "Lex, how's things in the big golden city?"

"Fine Bruce, fine," Luthor answered, "You know, it's hard to get your cell phone number."

Bruce managed to laugh, "Well, I normally don't take phone calls in the middle of the night."

"But that's just it," Lex began, "I couldn't sleep unless I was able to do this. I'm sorry if I woke you."

"It's only two in the morning, Lex," Bruce told him.

"Well, it's two here. Listen Bruce, do you remember when I asked about Wayne Bio-Tech and Aerospace?"

Bruce inwardly sighed, "Yes, I remember, Luthor."

"Listen, I'm still up for the offer. It's still good and quite frankly, I think it would be a good deal for the both of us," Luthor said, attempting to negotiate.

"Luthor, I'm sorry, but I believe I turned it down. It's going to stay that way," his tone was still light, but had taken a sharp turn.

"Wayne, Bruce, please, I'm sure it would benefit your company..." Luthor began, realizing that he was losing this already.

"I'm sorry, Luthor. But I don't need your money. I don't need your resources and honestly, I don't exactly trust your criminal record," Bruce said bluntly.

"Wayne, this isn't about..." Luthor began.

"You can't convince me of that. I'm sorry Luthor, but the answer is still 'no'," Batman finally emerged in his gruffness and hung up.

Inside the top of LexCorp, Luthor fumed. His temple throbbed and the phone began to shake in his clenched hand.

"Wayne!"

He threw the phone against the wall, breaking it. Lex walked back over to his desk and leaned over. He breathed, trying to control his temper. 'Now Lex, no need to get so worked up. Criminal record... why I oughta'...' His train of thought went. Luthor walked around his desk and picked up the land line, dialing a number.

"Pick the phone up or I'll..."

"Hello."

"Slade, what on earth are you doing?" Luthor demanded.

Slade could only smile as he put Luthor on speaker, "Do I sense a hint of impatience?"

"Answer the question, Slade. Believe it or not, some of us do have schedules to keep," Luthor told him.

Slade was standing in the middle of an arsenal and Luthor's words were but mere flies buzzing in his ear and face, "I'm doing what you hired me to do."

"I said kill Wayne," Luthor explained, "Not have tea and cookies with him."

"Luthor, this business is complicated. You want this done right don't you?" Slade said, running his fingers over the many weapons, some metallic guns, others silver swords.

"Well, of course, but Slade this is ridiculous!" Luthor shouted.

"How much do you want to bet that I'm the only one who could kill you on our supposed side?" Slade asked suddenly.

Lex stopped pacing in his office. Had he just been threatened?

"Oh no, that wasn't a threat Luthor, that was an analogy. You and Wayne both are very wealthy individuals. And while he probably doesn't share your same IQ in the science of space and aliens, from what I've found, he's smart and he's got a lot of smart guys watching his back," Slade told Luthor as he took down a blade from the wall, "Not to mention, I've got the Dark Knight to deal with. That's probably more protection to get past than the President of the United States has."

Lex stood still on the other line. This is the one thing that he hated when it came to dealing with Slade's type. They were smart and they knew it.

"So do you want this done or don't you, Mr. Luthor?" Slade asked very passively.

Lex closed his eyes and suddenly, let out a breath and laughed, "There's a reason why they call you Deathstroke the Terminator, isn't there?"

Slade smiled as he ran his finger down to the tip of the blade, "Oh, Mr. Luthor, you don't even know the half of it."

"I'm sure, Slade, I'm sure," Luthor said over the line, no longer angry, only amused, "Just get it done before I meet my death day."

Slade heard Luthor hang up. He smiled. This was all just too easy.

-T-

"Lane!"

Jimmy and Clark turned, as did a number of others, to see White and Lane in his office arguing. This wasn't unusual. They did it several times a day in fact. If it hadn't been for Lois's reputation as a reporter, she'd have been fired ages ago. After this slight outburst, most of them turned away to continue typing as though running a marathon. Jimmy returned to cleaning his lenses and Clark continued to file some of his old papers. However, both of them kept an ear out to what the two were saying so they'd be prepared for when Lois took Perry's ranting out on them.

"Chief, this isn't fair! I'm already half way through and..."

"You don't have proof and I need you on this assignment!"

"I'd have proof if you would just give me time! Make Clark go! He likes Gotham!"

Jimmy snorted at Clark's startled look. Clark didn't Gotham. No one smiles there. That was way too depressing for the Smallville farm boy.

"I'm running a newspaper Ms. Lane. We don't have time. And I'm sorry but I'm not sending Clark to Gotham. He just got back a couple weeks ago."

"So? It was a party! I didn't even get invited to the one I was covering!"

"You mean the one Luthor threw that I specifically said 'do not cover'?"

"Chief!"

"Lane! That's it! Kent! In here now!"

Jimmy looked over at Clark who braced himself as he got up, slouched as always, to go into the hurricane.

"Yes, Chief?" Clark asked as he went in.

Lois looked like she was ready to murder someone. Funny though, she always managed to look pretty in any situation. Perry was leaning over his desk, his face nearly red in anger. He'd have to watch it otherwise one day that temple of his would burst.

"Would you be so kind and tell me what this is?"

Perry held up to Clark's face a newspaper print with big bold letters at the top.

"Um, I think that it's a copy of the Daily Star, Mr. White," he answered.

"Would you be so kind as to tell Ms. Lane here the cover story?" Perry asked, obviously trying to get at something.

Clark squinted, even though he didn't need to in order to read the cover, "Gotham's Pyro-Homocides?"

"Exactly," Perry explained, "I want to know how a story like this could get past us and onto their cover!"

"Chief," Lane began, "Luthor's been..."

"I DON'T CARE ABOUT LUTHOR!" Perry screamed making Clark cover his ears, "I care about these homicides."

Clark intervened for a moment, "Wait, Chief, what about Luthor?"

"Luthor's been..."

"Don't get her started, Kent," Perry told him, "We can still get an edge on this story. The Daily Star only reported that they were happening. I want to know who, when, where, how, and most importantly why which is why I'm assigning both of you to this story."

"Chief, I..."

"No, Lois, your Luthor stories are out of the question right now," Perry told her, "They're coming up with nothing."

"Chief, I can just take care of the homicide story on my own..."

"No. I need your connections and Lane's snooping. This isn't optional Kent. You're both working on it," Perry said and they both knew his word was final.

Both started to walk to the door when Lois called back, "Fine, when the world blows up because of Luthor, don't say I didn't tell you so!"

Perry laughed, "You never said that in the first place!"

Clark pulled the door open and let Lois pass by. She marched right back to her cubical that was across from his. Jimmy looked up happily as Lois sat down and started muttering something under her breath.

"Went well?" Jimmy asked.

"Can't believe this," Lois muttered, "Luthor's up to something which is probably much more dangerous than some sort of murderer obsessed with fire."

"Wait, Lois?" Clark asked and she turned to face him, "What about Luthor?"

Lois looked up at him scrutinizing for a second and then answered, "He's up to something. That party, you know, Jimmy knows this, but it was impossible to get in. I don't even know how people got in and I know they did. The noise got louder. And now Luthor's bank account's going nuts. Some of his money is just disappearing to who knows where. Can't believe Perry cut me off."

Clark thought for a moment. This wasn't good. When Luthor money goes missing it was never a good sign. Maybe he should call in a League member to do some tracking...

"Clark? Clark? Clark!" Lois snapped, bringing Clark out of his train of thought.

"Oh, uh, sorry, Lois, just thinking about this. Look, if we finish up the homicide story, then you can work to catch up on Luthor's business deals. I'll help you if you want," Clark offered.

Lois smiled after a moment of thought, "Alright, fine, but any idea as to how we could get this done quickly?"

"Remember those connections I have?" Clark asked, "I'll see what I can find through them. Do you want to track down these two guys records' in the mean time?"

"Sure, I'll see what I can find," Lois answered.

"I could try to get my hands on some photos from the crime scenes," Jimmy suggested, "Maybe there's something to 'em."

"That'd be swell, Jimmy," Clark said.

Lois shook her head. There was no way on Earth or anywhere else that they were going to be able to convince Clark that no one said 'swell' anymore. She hesitated for a moment and watched Clark. If there was one thing that she liked about him, it was that he trusted her on her leads. That and he was a great multi-tasker. Perry just liked his typing and spelling skills.

Clark had just opened up an email when the phone rang, "Hello?"

"Clark?"

"Dick?"

"Who is it Clark?"

"Nephew," he answered.

Lois raised a brow, "Aren't you an only child?"

Robin suppressed a small laugh as he listened to Clark's excuse, "It's a family-friend sort of thing, Lois."

"Sorry, Dick, what's up?"

"Not much, nice cover by the way. Has she been on your throat lately?" Robin asked.

"On and off it seems," Clark answered.

"How do you deal with that?"

"Don't know, I just manage," Clark told him, "That's not why you called, is it?"

"No, I'm just..." Robin paused for a second, "I just need some advice in that whole balancing life department."

Clark pulled as his shirt's collar. Perhaps it was because Dick had said it in such a way as to make that topic seem so casual and minimal that worried him. How on earth did parents deal with things like this? Unfortunately, he guessed that Bruce didn't or didn't do a very good job in that area. And that was saying something considering that he, The Clark Kent, always tried to see the good in everyone.

Clark calmly asked, "Did you ask Bruce?"

"No," Robin answered automatically as though it made no difference, "I don't want to. Besides, I think you'd be the one that would give more... healthier advice."

He was alone in his room just pacing. The others were hanging out somewhere and he had declined the invitation to join them. All together, they had come to ask him to come with them. Their faces when he said 'no thanks' had all turned slowly from smiles of enthusiasm to frowns of disappointment. Even Raven's normal blank face was slightly more depressing. It wasn't that this hadn't happened before. It was more so that he was feeling equally heavy pressure from both ends of the equation. Call Bruce about it? No, it's too trivial a thing for him and one that he wouldn't care about anyway.

"Well, what are you trying to balance?" Clark asked.

Robin tried to explain with a sigh, "Saving lives and living my own, I guess."

Clark thought for a moment. Robin was right about one thing. He probably was better suited to ask this than Bats was. Actually, it was probably because of Batman that Robin didn't know how to find that balance.

"There's another crime spree and I tell myself that it will only be a short break from hanging with my friends, but I know that it never will be," Robin added, "And they do too."

Clark sighed and finally answered, "Dick, I, well, you're not an adult yet. So that means that you don't have to work for a living."

"Yeah…but I still have to work to keep people alive, " Robin said, collapsing on his bed and looking up at the ceiling.

"Dick, I don't think that's your job," Clark answered.

"Bruce does."

Clark looked down at his brown shoes, "Well, it's not. That's a responsibility, that if anything, your team shares as a whole."

Robin sighed, and off handedly asked, "Clark, what's it like to fly?"

Clark was taken back by the question, but answered, "It's… weightless, why?"

Clark waited for a response, but nothing came. Robin tore off his mask. No one was there. No one would see. He didn't feel like Robin right now anyway. He didn't feel like anybody come to think of it. No, that wasn't true. He felt like Dick. He felt like he was striving for something that he couldn't see, couldn't pin point. Weightless, that sounded so good right now.

But no, life wouldn't be like that. Why? Because he had never received the call to take a brake.

"Dick? Are you there?" Clark rubbed his eyes amazed at what parents had to go through.

"Yeah, I'm here," Dick said after a moment.

"Go hang out with your friends," Clark told him, "That's where you want to be, isn't it?"

Dick looked out of the corner of his eye at his desk. That could be considered an… unofficial call, right? It might not be Bruce, but then again, who could be more of an official in this stuff than Clark? The guy was Superman after all. He could deal with that, even if his mentor was really in Gotham City and not Metropolis.

He answered in almost a whisper, "Guess so."

"Dick, don't isolate yourself. You've seen the good that's done Bruce all these years," Clark told him.

Dick sighed and answered as he nodded, "Alright. Thanks, Clark."

"No problem, kid," Clark answered.

Dick held the phone for a moment and right before he hung up he heard something on the other end.

"So who's this kid you were talking to? Is he on a sports team or something?"

He smiled and hung up. He grabbed his mask and fit it back onto his face. He pulled on his cape and walked to the door, picking up his communicator and leaving the cell phone on his desk. Intentionally he didn't look at the files on his desk as he opened and closed the door, ready to do what Clark had said and ride into the city to find his friends.

The files sat there on the desk. Not moving. The Manila paper was covered in finger marks made by pizza grease. It could have looked like a collection of comic book stories, with all of the titles. Magic, Martial Artists, Extraterrestrials, Legends, Myths, Robberies, Kidnappings, Traitors, Atlanteans, Homicides, Natural Disasters, and Super Villains. All tabs on different subjects.

Cheshire's file was pulled up, as was Blackfire's and Mad Mod's. Next to those were "Homicides" and "Robberies". Maybe he didn't really need "Homicides" to be out. But for Robin, it was only a natural impulse to be ready. To be ready to help Batman if he needed him. He knew that he probably wouldn't call, but sometimes, being that help was what he lived for. Being that help for anyone was something that he lived for.

On the corner was an old file that was never, ever, put away. One name at the top. One name who owned the mask that was up on the bedroom wall. It was a name that had imprinted humiliation, pain, suffering, and fear into Robin's memory. Most of the time, he suppressed it because it showed his weakness. The bad guy above all other bad guys. But he didn't have to worry. Not really. He did, but it was considered a bit pointless. Slade hadn't shown his face (or rather mask) for months since he appeared to Beast Boy at the deserted Carnival.

He wasn't a prominent danger to Jump. So his file shouldn't be out. But it was. It always would be. Just in case. Just as a reminder. Just as a file?

Never.

-T-

Jason Bard got home around seven. It was pouring rain outside, the gutters seemingly overflowing with water. Bard locked his car up and ran inside. Opening the door, he pulled off his coat and put his suitcase down to the side. He kicked off his shoes and smelled something cooking in the kitchen. Ham maybe, or no, chicken. Chicken and something else. His hair was wet, but it would dry soon.

"Liz? I'm home, hun!" He yelled.

"Jay?" Liz looked around the corner from the kitchen, using her name for him.

Jason walked over and planting a kiss on Liz's cheek, "How was your day?"

"Alright," Liz smiled, "Dinner's almost ready."

"Great, I'm starving. Can I help at all?" he asked, giving her a hug and resting his head on her shoulder.

"Not really, I've got it," Liz answered.

She was grabbing a couple utensils and was having a bit of a hard time since Jason wasn't letting go. He was holding onto her and rubbing her stomach, which was... larger than normal. They were going to wait and see if it would be a boy or a girl.

"Alright," Jason told her, "I'll just put my stuff up, kay?"

"Be down in five minutes then," she replied.

He kissed her cheek and then walked over to grab his suitcase so that he could bring it upstairs.

"By the way, I think it's going to be a girl," he told her.

"I think it's gonna be a boy!" she called back.

The lights were off and the only source of light came from the computer in their bedroom and the lightning flashing from outside, threatening any who dared to defy it. But he didn't need the light and they were on a tight budget anyway. He opened the door to his bedroom and put his suitcase onto his desk. Opening it up, he pulled out his notes on the homicides.

The one thing that many people asked him was why he went into this line of work. It was really just a fascination. He loved to study forensics and after a while, the depressing element of his work was lifted by the fact that the entire department had a bit of sarcastic sense of humor to it. Most of that humor was to keep them from dying from depression, though. Normally, he wouldn't work on the homicides at home, but Gordon had told him that if he could get any leads or any information out of what he had right now, it would be a huge advantage. And at this point, an advantage was something that they were lacking in.

He sighed. He had to run an analysis on the bones, but at least the DNA scan had been done and had come up...

"Jason Bard."

Jason turned on the spot, "Who's there?"

"You head up the homicides division in the Gotham City Police Department."

Who was this? Batman? Finally he answered, "Yeah, why?"

"Because you have information that can't get out."

Not Batman. Definitely not Batman.

Jason's heart pumped fast in his chest as a figure emerged, "Who? Who are..."

"Names of are no relevance right now. I'm giving you a chance. Destroy the information."

Jason looked at his briefcase. He thought of Gordon and Sawyer. He thought of Liz and the baby. Now the murderer was in his house. He was dangerous and he was going to get what he wanted one way or another. Bard knew that this really wasn't much of chance. But he might as well do something.

"No," he answered, "That's not up to me."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Slade said quietly, "It's quite a shame."

Bard's eyes widened and his heart beat rapidly. Why had he left his jacket and gun downstairs? The man walked forward. He had one eye that was narrowed, dangerous, and deadly. This was so bad...

Jason was gone an awfully long time, considering that dinner was calling his name. Liz picked up a dish on the table to fill and called up, "Jay, dinner!"

No sounds, no answer.

"Jason?" she yelled.

Liz walked over to the stairs and called up again, "Jason? Honey?"

She looked up. Again no sounds. It bothered her. She walked up the steps and suddenly she could hear something. Rain water and the thunder were louder. Their bedroom door was open.

"Jason?" She asked. Nothing.

"Jason, this better not be a joke," she called.

No answer. She grasped the door handle. As she opened up the door, she looked around. The window was open. She gasped as behind her, she saw Jason's computer explode, lighting the desk on fire. Jason was gone. He would have come at the sound of the exploding computer. She dropped the plate in her hands and it shattered in her moment of panic. This was wrong.

This was all wrong.

Chapter Five: Taking Inventory

Chapter Five: Taking Inventory

The smell of charcoal and cooking steak filled the restaurant. In the background, the overpaid pianist played classical compositions in his own soft style. Waiters and waitresses balanced glasses on top of trays taking them to their customers, hoping for some generous tips. After all, their customers could afford it. The managers went about frantically trying to keep their slip-ups as unnoticeable as possible. The chefs inside the kitchen were perhaps the only ones who kept the art of cooking their priority. Outside, it was the art of presentation that mattered the most.

Mounted on the walls were fake heads of supposedly exotic animals. The only real ones consisted of deer and antelope that were well paid for. The walls had each been painted individually to reflect a certain time and tone of day that took place in the grasslands of Africa. Everything was comfortable and could suit even the most casual of diners to the most elegant of high society, each divided out into separate rooms so that every guest would have the best dining experience. The lighting could set each individual room ablaze or be so dim as to make it that it appeared that only the stars and candles in the room created a source of light.

In one of the not too extravagant corners of the Serengeti Club, a man sat in the corner waiting for his dinner, his appetizer finished. Andrea had just finished serving several older gentleman who had thanked her kindly, but all she could really think about was her feet that were just begging for her to go home and go to bed. But she needed the money for college and so when her boss, Sherry, had asked her to cover for Ben, who had just gotten off early, she had obliged.

Sherry had pulled her aside and told her specifically, "Don't screw this one up. That's Mr. Wilson. He leaves some of the best tips. Just get him his order, ask him if he wants anything, tell him it will be out momentarily, shut your mouth, and leave him alone. He travels a lot and likes a quiet dinner."

Andrea nodded in response as she glanced over at Mr. Wilson. Well, at least he didn't look like the old money she normally served. She walked over, a napkin folded over her arm and a pad of paper in her hand to take Wilson's order. It was ten at night. Her mom hated the fact that she worked so late. Gotham wasn't exactly friendly at night. At least the Club was in uptown Gotham and away from the clubs downtown. There was nothing to worry about around here, at least she hoped so.

"Mr. Wilson, Ben just got off, but your order should be out in a minute," She said as she reached his table.

Mr. Wilson laughed under his breath, "Thank you, Andrea."

His voice was deep and rich, but was relaxed. Yet he had given her the creeps. It wasn't something in his voice. It was what he had known without even glancing up, her name. It was like he had that sixth sense about him.

"Um, well, you're welcome," Andrea answered, a bit nervously and taken off guard.

Andrea watched for a good sign. His blond hair was flecked with gray and fell limply on his young face, covering his forehead and part of his right eye. But from that she could see, a black strap was protruding from underneath his bangs wrapping around his head. The marks of an eye patch. Great – another reason for him to creep her out. He was dressed in a brown leather suit and a white button up shirt, his tie a bit loose and she reminded herself of that tip.

"How long will it be?" He asked her, as though it had been nothing.

"A mere ten minutes," She told him promptly, "Do you need any more water?"

"No, I'm good," Mr. Wilson said, "And don't worry about rushing with the swordfish, I'm expecting a guest tonight."

Andrea looked up from her writing pad and nodded, "Oh, who should I look for?"

"A young woman," He told her, "Long black hair."

Andrea nodded and went to the front to see if there was anyone waiting. She was glad that she could once again slump a little in her posture. Once Andrea left, Wilson sat back in the plush seat and let out a sigh. He picked up his glass and twirled it a bit from one side to the other, letting the reflection of the lights above shine and glitter while the water swished around. As he brought the glass back down, he saw a young teenager heading toward him.

She was dressed in a blue kimono that was loose and flowed instead of the normal tight and strict style of most kimono. It was an intentional attempt to look sophisticated and elegant. Her face was what looked like a mix of French and Vietnamese heritage. She wore a couple long gold necklaces, some that reached past her ribs. On one hand she wore a bracelet that matched her diamond earrings. He eye make up flared making her green eyes shine brilliantly, but the rest of her beauty was natural. For a teenager, she knew how to make herself look like an adult.

She sat down across from him and he finally spoke, "Jade Nguyen."

Jade smiled slightly, "You weren't expecting me, were you?"

"No, I was," He answered, "Blackfire got in over her head, didn't she?"

"You could say that," She replied.

Andrea came over with his swordfish and poured Jade some water as well. Slade waved her off and she got the message.

"And you expect your cut," Slade answered.

The fire crackled off to his side as one of the waiters put a couple logs on top of the already hot wood. It wasn't exactly common to have a blazing fire going in the middle of the summer, but the Serengeti compensated for it and kept the AC on up high.

Jade was quiet as Slade continued, "Although, I'm sure that she laid everything out for you. I pay her. You get your cut from her."

"She's currently... unable to do so," Jade started.

"And that's your problem," Slade answered.

"No, it's your's!" She spat.

From the sleeve of her pocket, Jade withdrew a thin metal disk that sparkled as she waved it slowly in the air, small rainbow beams meeting Slade's lone eye.

"I have what you want. She doesn't," Jade told him, "Give me my cut and I give you your prize."

Slade looked at her, unfazed, "Ms. Nguyen, you don't want to waste your time here. And honestly, that's not much of a prize. It's an advantage point in a silly game."

Jade's face turned slightly sour as she answered, "I. Want. My. Cut. Don't think I won't hesitate to run my nails across your other eye."

Slade sighed and took a sip of water. Like she could manage such a thing, "Where will you be?"

"East Asia," She answered. "You can find me, yes?"

"It's not a question, Jade," Slade answered, "I can... adjust my agreement with the Tamaranian. Bailing her out of jail and giving her a slightly diminished payment will be her reward, plus she won't have to pay you. I'll give you your payment that will be what she agreed to give you."

"Forty percent." Jade told him.

"Done."

Jade leaned back in the booth, her shoulders relaxed again. She slid the computer disk across the table where Slade picked it up and, after a moment, smiled. The only problem with some poor people is that they can never compromise and need someone else to negotiate for them. That was what this had been. The hushed tones that they had used before hand were gone as they entertained each other for the rest of the night about petty things such as the criminal world's gossip (this was mostly from Jade's part of the conversation since Slade didn't need to gossip to know what was going on) and the atmosphere of the Serengeti. It was a personal favorite of Slade's to say the least and it led to Jade talking about her preferences in Asia. To make things better, the managers and most of the employees could easily be bought off. They parted ways at the end of the evening, Cheshire leaving first, Slade guessed, to get to the airport for a flight.

Mr. Wilson put the disk into his coat pocket and pulled out a hundred for Andrea. He paid the bill and left, deciding to walk, in favor of trying to get some fresh air. He kept his head down and out of site. Barely anyone was out who would care if he was missing an eye, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to be cautious. The roadways were cooling off from the hot summer day that had followed. The stars weren't visible due to the many lights of Gotham City. He'd been here for barely a week and he was settled in nicely. But still, he didn't like the set up. Gotham was foreign territory, enemy territory.

But foreign was the biggest threat here. He could lay low. He could avoid Gotham's Dark Knight. He was playing two separate games. One in Jump, one in Gotham. It wasn't hard. It was just a matter of keeping a close watch on both sides, both opponents, both resources, and both cities. He reached a large townhouse in the northwest section of Gotham in the islands. Walking up the steps, Mr. Wilson unlocked the door and stepped inside, the place dark and empty. He turned the lights on as he pulled his coat off and walked into the living room.

Slade grabbed the remote and switched the TV on. He rolled his shoulders as he sat down. He was glad that he didn't have to be 'Mr. Wilson' all of the time. Often, he'd forsake the name when possible, just because it was a pain to keep up. But it would keep him out of the spot light and right now, that's what he wanted. He hit 23343 and suddenly the cable switched to a specialized menu, his own. He scrolled down and hit Titans Tower. From there, multiple screens of security cameras within the Tower popped up. Movement caught his eye in the hospital wing. He scrolled down and pulled up the screen to see Robin lying down on the hospital bed, apparently getting healed from Raven. The other three sat in chairs around the area talking about the afternoon's recent crimes.

"I'm seriously fine, Raven," Robin complained, as Raven held her hands above his back.

Raven cocked her eyebrows and moved slightly downward. Robin tensed as she reached a knot in his back. She smirked, her point proved. She was emanating a black/blue aura from her palms that met his back to heal him and had forced him to throw his cape and shirt off to the side so that she could heal him quicker than she normally could.

"If you would just relax, it could go by faster." Raven told him.

"But I'm still going to be in here for the rest of the night anyway." Robin argued back.

"He has a point," Cyborg whispered over to Beast Boy, igniting an irritated glare from Raven.

She sighed, "Robin, it's not even that bad. You're lucky it's not worse."

"You're right, Raven, I should be grateful that Blackfire didn't brake my back," Robin remarked sarcastically.

"Actually, yes," Raven answered in response

At the mention of her sister, Starfire interjected, "Again, I am so sorry for my sister's behavior."

"Man, Star, I don't see why you stick up for her," Beast Boy said, exasperated from her many apologies.

"Because Blackfire is still my sister," Starfire told him.

"Who's out to kill you," Cyborg finished.

Starfire shook her head and sighed as Raven said for the sixth time this evening, "Starfire, it's really alright. We're here to stop people who do bad things. That's our job."

Starfire nodded, but only because she knew that that's what the others wanted her to do, "I just feel the guilt, as though it was my fault, my presence that made Blackfire attack you friends."

"It's not your fault, Star," Cyborg told her.

"But..."

She started when Robin interrupted. "He's right, Starfire. It wasn't your fault."

Raven looked back down at Robin, who had moved slightly to lift his head up from the pillow, and asked, "Do you think she had something to do with Cheshire?"

Robin scrunched up his face, "Well, if it makes sense, how likely is it that Cheshire would attack at the exact same time that Blackfire did? She likes to be in Asia; California's not her her cup of tea, you know? And what did she do? She separated us. They were working together."

"To do what?" Beast Boy asked.

Slade watched with rapt attention as he watched Robin try to come to a conclusion, but found none.

"I... don't know..." The others watched him as he continued. "But they wanted to do something. We just need to figure out what."

Robin moved to get up, but Raven forced him to lie back on the bed, "The police are perfectly capable of doing a police report on the damage at Cook's, Robin."

"Raven..."

"Don't start. If you want, Cyborg can go and do a report himself." Raven told their leader, her tone resolved and unmovable.

"Yeah, man." Cyborg told him, walking over so that Robin could see him, "I can do it first thing tomorrow or maybe in the evening or something..."

"You need to chill, dude." Beast Boy added, turning into a sloth and resting on the bed on the other side of the room to reiterate his point.

"Yes, please, Robin," Starfire said, "You must get an adequate amount of rest to heal."

Robin felt the four sets of eyes of his teammates watching him. Peer pressure. He hated it, "Alright, fine, but I can get up tomorrow, right?"

The others glanced at Raven who answered, "In the afternoon, yeah."

She took away her hands and Robin felt the slight chill in his spinal cord leave him. He let out a sigh and pressed his head into the pillow, aggravated. This was the downside of being the only human on a team of super-powered teens. It took him longer to get up from falling off a bridge than it did the others.

Raven went to the door and before she left told them, "I'm going to my poetry reading. Call me if there's something that you need."

Robin nodded and the others watched as Raven whisked up her cape and disappeared into the air, making the room cold as though they had briefly stepped into an ice box. Beast Boy shivered slightly.

"Hate it when she does that," He whispered.

"It's not like I hate it, but I wish that she could leave the room temp the same," Cyborg shrugged, "Look, I was going to work on the T-Car. You gonna be alright, man?"

Robin looked over and nodded glumly. Even Buffing the T-Car sounded fun to him right now and they all knew it. There were some occasions where it was extremely difficult to read Robin's thoughts and others where it was... to put it nicely, obvious if you knew him.

"Yeah, I'm gonna go and... uh, do stuff," Beast Boy told the others as well.

The two boys walked out leaving Robin and Starfire in the room, "Do you wish for me to stay with you for a while?"

"Huh?" Robin asked looking up and then he answered, "Oh, no, it's alright, Star. I'll be fine. Besides, if I 'exert' myself Raven will keep me in here for a week."

Starfire giggled slightly at the joke. Her eyes moved to Robin's back where some blue and black marks were slightly raised and her facial expression changed. "Well, if you should need anything, the killers of pain or the ice in the packs, feel free to call."

"I will, Star. Thanks, and seriously, don't feel bad about Blackfire. It was out of your control," He told her, allowing for a slight smile to creep onto her face in the face of less guilt.

"Alright, Robin," She replied.

The princess walked out of the room and left the hospital room devoid of anyone except for Robin. Slade chuckled a bit. It was so amusing because he knew Robin's exact reaction to the night that would follow. He knew that Robin would despise the evening. Not being allowed to get up. Not being allowed to move. It would be misery for him. And yet, as amusing as it was, there had to be reprimand for such an act. Blackfire's bail was not going to be as automatic as Mad Mod's. He had told her to inflict nothing crucial and he knew that she was smart enough to realize that one wrong move could have put Robin in a concussion. Such a punishment for the Boy Wonder was reserved for only the most grievous mistakes, none of which Robin had made.

Slade turned off the TV screen and leaned back, relaxing his tense muscles and letting them almost regenerate with a long, deep inhale and exhale. He dealt with teenagers. Teenagers who would be the next Justice League if they kept it up. But he wasn't going to deal with them tonight. Tonight, he had another adventure to explore. Gotham's streets were ripe with an energy that pulsed through the darkness. He got up and went upstairs. Unlocking the door to the master bedroom, Slade went in and began to change. The leather and steel guards were so much more comfortable. Funny, at one time, jeans and a T had been his idea of comfort. Now, Deathstroke was more ideal. Slade looked at his reflection in the mirror before placing the orange and black mask onto his face.

Perfect.

Opening up the balcony, Slade felt the summer air hit him with all of the smells that Gotham had to offer him. Fresh and clean? No. But it gave him everything that he needed to get ready for the night. It was not going to be dangerous. It was going to subtle, stealthy, sly. It was going to be a thrill. All according to plan. Slade took a running leap and jumped out of the townhouse, landing on the opposite roof as he kept running towards his target. He could deal with the computer chip tomorrow. Tonight, was all about setting the wheels in motion in Gotham. Slade also realized as he ran that it was also about igniting the adrenaline rush. And one could be sure that he would enjoy every minute of it.

-T-

Robin laid down on the bed. He'd been lying down all day and all night, save for the one time that he had been allowed to use the bathroom that morning. Around ten, Raven had finally given in and told him that at two she'd let him get up.

1:57 PM

Couldn't the clock go any faster?

1:58 PM

This was murder.

Robin kept running his eyes everywhere while glancing up at the clock every ten seconds or less. The room, though he had gotten used to it over the night, smelled strongly of soap, antiseptic and, in general, a very sterile doctor's office. It was one of those times where he wanted to fidget and make a fuss about being stuck in one place, but he was way too old to give into to such a childish resolve. So instead, he remained on the bed silently fuming until...2:00 PM. Finally.

As Robin jumped out of bed, the sudden shock to his system caused him a moment of dizziness and reminded him that he'd need to stretch a bit to relieve the stiffness that still lingered in his bones and muscles. Grabbing his shirt and cape, Robin walked down the hallway to his bedroom, with the intent of grabbing a quick hot shower to get rid of the smell of the hospital's bed sheets. Within about five minutes, he had managed to jump in and out of the shower.

His hair dripped down and plastered itself onto the back of his neck, bugging him with a soft itch. In response, he quickly rubbed his hair dry and spiked it back up with hair gel. Most of the time, the others thought that his hair must have been a rock or something because he used so much, but it was just a habit. One that his mother had started and one that Bruce had promoted. He was about to go check and see if Cyborg had actually put together a report when a knock on the door alerted him to someone outside. Keeping the towel around his waist, Robin walked over to see Beast Boy walking into his room on his own terms.

"Hey man, we're gonna go to the park," Beast Boy told him.

"Why?" Robin asked.

"'Cause it's nice out. 'Sides, don't ya want to get out of tower? I would of thought that the hospital wing would have done that," Beast Boy asked.

Robin rolled his masked eyes and answered, "Alright, I'll go."

"Awesome. It's semi-civilian style alright?"

"Yeah, whatever BB," Robin answered.

Beast Boy smiled and ran out to find Raven to bug her into going. Robin laughed under his breath and changed his route from the closet to his dresser drawers where he kept his 'semi-civilian' and just plain 'civilian' clothes. The difference? Mainly a mask and his civilian clothes were much more... proper... mostly. It was hot outside so he grabbed a pair of red and white shorts and a black T-shirt with red stripes on the sides. Underneath his bed, he grabbed a pair of flip flops and put them on while throwing his communicator into his side pocket.

Eventually, the knock came and this time, Beast Boy had gotten both of the girls, "Come on, man, Cyborg's got the T-Car running."

"I'm coming, BB, I'm coming." Robin replied and he got in line behind the girls. The three of them road down the elevator to the garage where Cyborg honked the horn of his car to get them to hurry up.

"You guys are way too slow," Cyborg said.

"You don't have to change. Ever," Raven told him in response.

"I did," Cyborg answered, "And I never took that long,"

"You've never seen Starfire's wardrobe, have you?" Raven asked.

Cyborg shut his mouth about it after that. Beast Boy got in the front while the others piled in the back.

"So friend Beast Boy, why is it that you are so excited to go to the park today?" Starfire asked, as she buckled her seat-belt.

"They've got a pet expo today and it's only a bit of a walk to P.I.Z.Z.A. for a snack if we want," Beast Boy told them.

"Wait a minute, you got us all to go out just so that you could see cats and dogs. You could have rented the movie!" Cyborg yelled.

"Oh, come on, Cy, those animals are so adorable. Plus, we need to sign every petition against puppy mills," Beast Boy told him.

Cyborg rolled his eye and continued to drive as Starfire asked, "Excuse me, but what are mills of the puppy?"

Raven answered, "People who are technically allowed to do what they're doing even though they don't always treat their animals right."

Starfire nodded, still unsure of what they were talking about, but she could tell that that was all the answer she would get while in the car. They rode down into Jump where Cyborg parked the car. Most of the pet expo was at the east end of the park. The boys went off while arguing about whether or not to go see the lizards or food stands first.

Robin and the girls hung back a bit. The sun beat down on their shoulders and made them sweat off any sun tan lotion that they had put on beforehand. Raven in particular, her outfit barely any different save for the lack of her cloak and a pair of jeans, was suffering from the heat and lack of shade. Starfire on the other hand seemed to thrive on it and enjoyed browsing along the booths. Right before they got to the end of the stands as they headed for the west end, Starfire felt a tug on her hand.

"Um, 'scuse me. Are you Starfire?" A little girl holding a teddy bear asked.

Starfire smiled and replied, "Yes, I am Starfire. And what is your name little one?"

"Dana," The girl told her while pointing, "And this is Freddy and that's my mommy over there."

Starfire smiled at her as she bent down, "It is very good to meet you Dana and Freddy."

"You gotta meet my mommy, Starfire!" The girl exclaimed, "You gotta, she's always talking about you guyses."

Dana looked around Starfire to catch a glimpse of Raven and Robin, who were both a couple feet away. Maybe it was because of Robin's status as the team leader and Raven's lack of... cheerfulness, but she quickly looked back at Starfire who stood up and walked with her over to a woman running a booth. Robin smiled as he watched Starfire happily talk with Dana's mother who was selling dog toys and other various items.

Raven sighed as she walked up to Robin, "She's gonna be there a while."

"Yeah, you want to find some shade?" Robin asked.

Robin caught Starfire's eye and held up his communicator. She nodded and waved at them. Robin and Raven walked out of the stream of booths and started walking around the park, stopping at large trees to enjoy the shade. Seagulls above called out and caught spare bread that some kids were throwing into the air. Robin watched them and looked out at the bay at the Tower. He sighed and Raven looked at him.

"Are you still worried?" She asked.

They both knew what she was talking about, so Robin didn't pretend to be oblivious. "It just doesn't make sense, Raven. There wasn't a reason for them to work together. I mean, they're both the quote on quote 'bad girls', but Blackfire's in jail and Cheshire... She didn't really do anything. I don't see how that helps either of them."

Robin slumped down against a tree and gazed over at some other teenagers, probably from Jump City High, playing Ultimate Frisbee. Everything seemed to be so carefree for them. They had normal lives. And it couldn't be for any of the Titans. They didn't mind it, but there were days that they could feel it. Today was one of those days. He wasn't complaining, but sometimes, everything just got to be so heavy on his shoulders. Raven watched him and leaned against the tree. Her melancholy tone normally allowed for things of serious nature to be natural for her to deal with a bit more ease than the others.

She nodded and told him, "Cyborg wasn't able to go to Cook's this morning.

When he glanced up slightly she gave up the explanation he wanted, "They were still taking inventory to see if..."

Robin looked off suddenly and cut her off mid-sentence, "Inventory... Raven, you don't think..."

Raven quickly tried to think back to Cheshire's attack and answered, "The place was a mess, it could have been..."

"Overlooked?" Robin filled in.

"Yes," Raven told him.

The momentary success brought only a second of supposed 'happiness'. Robin stood up and for a moment looked like the problem was solved until a frown came to his face again. Raven looked at him confused.

"What?" She asked.

"All that for a robbery?" Robin asked.

"Hey guys!" Beast Boy yelled.

They looked over to see Beast Boy running at them, "Don't let him get me!"

He turned into a cheetah and ran off. Cyborg came out seconds later, "Aw, man, where's the grass stain off to now?"

"What'd he do?" Robin asked.

"If it wasn't for him and his stupid 'pet expo', then I wouldn't be seen as a fire hydrant for about a dozen great danes!" Cyborg yelled and suddenly he caught sight of a green bird flying in the air, "Oh no you don't!"

Cyborg opened fire with his sonic cannon at Beast Boy who quickly attempted to dart out of the way.

"Well, that's disruptive," Raven stated bluntly.

Robin laughed and looked back over at the pet expo where Starfire was following the same girl around. Dana was over excited and wanted to show her idol everything while Starfire obliged, liking the smile that came to Dana's young face. She liked kids. They were just so energetic and full of life. It was too cute. Robin's smile faded when he looked back over at Raven and remembered what they had been talking about before.

He continued to answer her questioning look, "It just seems strange."

He couldn't shake the feeling that she was growing a bit hesitant about this, "Robin... We still don't know if she even took anything. Let's just wait and leave it at that. Don't..."

"Are you going to say to not obsess over this like everyone else?" Robin asked, not accusingly, though, to Raven's slight relief.

Raven's eyes narrowed as she looked at the ground. Being the telepath of the group, she knew the weaknesses of others. She knew a lot of things that they didn't even realize. It wasn't her fault, but when she slept, their dreams, sometimes, just to feel, she would take in their feelings, good or bad.

With Robin, her mind bond with him only allowed for so much. Robin had been trained to conceal his thoughts by putting up a mental barrier. If she had a mind bond with anyone else, she would practically know their life. Robin was another story. She barely had an idea. But it was an idea and it gave her insight for the reason for his... protectiveness.

"Robin, you don't even know what you become when you get into this 'obsession mode' of yours. You'd barely recognize yourself. You should see yourself when obsess about things like Slade. It's just... unhealthy and almost disturbing sometimes," She told him. She wasn't saying it to be mean. She was just stating the facts.

"Raven, I'm not obsessing. You know that I'm just trying to keep everything I have as it is: Safe," Robin sighed.

"I know. That's why I barely say anything about it, but..." Raven gestured over to their peripheral vision and Robin looked out.

He saw the city. He saw the skyscrapers. He saw the people in the park. He saw the teens playing frisbee and a couple having ice cream. He saw the kids feeding the seagulls. He saw Cyborg and Beast Boy fighting. He saw the Tower in the bay. He saw Starfire standing up after petting a small kitten. But his eyes were still in contemplation as though debating as to whether or not Raven's warning was one that he really needed to heed.

"Don't get wrapped up in this. We'll work on it as a group. Alright? In our experience, nothing good ever comes from diving too deep into these sorts of things, " Raven said from behind, "The miserable think that if they make others miserable it will make them happy. You know that. And don't tell me it's your job to work 'obsessively'. We're teenagers, too. So enjoy it more than just 'a little bit'."

He looked at the ground and then at her, asking, "Raven, if it is anything, it's a robbery. Why are you so worried?"

Raven hugged her sides slightly and answered him slowly, "I don't know. I'm just, I don't like it."

"Neither do I," Robin told her.

They watched the scene in front of them. Raven watched the boys with a corner of her eye on Robin as he gazed over at Starfire who was saying good-bye to Dana. She smiled slightly. She knew that Starfire could bring Robin to his senses with more luck than her or the others without even trying sometimes which was by far a good thing. She wasn't good with igniting emotions or dousing them anyway and well, the guys were... guys. Plus, the two could be kind of cute. She just wondered when Cyborg and Beast Boy would start making bets. Starfire came over to them, flying slightly above the ground.

"They are so adorable when they are young. Thank you for not being upset at me for going off with her," Starfire said, as she stopped in front of them.

"It's no problem, Star. Wanna go for a walk?" Robin asked.

Starfire nodded and answered while landing, "Oh yes, that would be most enjoyable."

The three of them started walking. Cyborg had finally gotten a hold of BB who had received injury enough to make them even. They came running up behind the others and the five began to talk about what they wanted to do that evening. The sun was dipping down, but it had enough energy in it to keep it floating above the horizon. The Titans kept walking, their outlines marking them shadows against the orange and purple sky.

Once inside the T-Car, their silhouettes disappeared and they headed for the Tower. Upon arrival, most of the Titans dispersed. Raven went back to her room and threw off the old pair of jeans. She kept reflecting over why it was that she could be having these feelings about this. Robin was right. It was just a robbery. But it felt bigger, scarier, more threatening to her. It was irrational. Totally irrational. They both knew that. So why couldn't she shake the feeling?

Raven lit a couple candles and incense. Maybe it was just her father's influence messing with her powers. Maybe her powers were going haywire. Maybe someone was messing with her. Maybe it was nothing. But... What if it wasn't? Raven sighed and began to levitate.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos, Azarath Metrion Zinthos, Azarath Metrion Zinthos..." Her chanting, rich in composure, calmed her slightly as she mentally scolded herself.

She had no reason for any of these feelings. At least, none that she knew of. If she had known that there was someone hacking their security system right now, then she would have. If she had known that they were watching Robin smiling at Starfire as they walked down the hallways, then she would have. If she had known that they were focusing on Robin's slightly happy step in his stride, she would have. And if she had known that that someone had one eye, then she would have had her reason.

But she didn't. There was no way of knowing. No way for her or anyone else for that matter to know that one of their most dangerous opponents was watching half way across the continent their tower, their leader.

Slade watched as Robin talked to Starfire and then he watched as the two parted ways when they reached his room. He watched as Robin fell flat on his bed and then got up to write on a dry erase board two new things: 'Write up a report for Cook's' and underneath that 'Check Cook's Inventory'. He smiled. Smart boy. He was getting somewhere and he had no doubt that Robin could connect this to Mad Mod. Could he link it to him? It was a slight possibility. At the rate Robin was going, though, he'd have starve himself of sleep to find out in time to have any chance of stopping him. And then if he didn't sleep, he'd have no energy to even put up a fight. It was a catch-22 situation in his favor.

And, besides, Robin was a teenager. Teenagers wanted to make those years like a movie. Teenagers wanted to have fun. They wanted to fall in love and go to parties and make rivalries and have contests and watch TV thrillers. It was a literal checklist of what they had to do during those appointed high school years. Robin was no different. He didn't realize it all of the time, but he still had all of those qualities despite his disposition to be fastidious when it came to his work. It was one of the few weaknesses that Slade didn't blame Robin for having, just because of the boy's age. On the plus side, it made his job that much easier.

Needless to say, he wasn't worried. The boy would learn of his plans as soon as it suited him. When that would be was... still up to debate. It was early in the afternoon in Gotham. The sunny disposition of the area didn't reflect Gotham as a whole. It didn't bother him. Jump's view had taught him that even in the most perfect of cities, there were always shadows, always places to hide. And Gotham, it spoke for the world in terms of both diversity and danger. Robin had been taught to fight in one of the most crime ridden cities that the world had to offer. That's why he was so good at what he did and why he could be a challenge.

And Slade didn't waste his time with pathetic cases, anyway. Normally, he wouldn't even plan to use this much time on the ones that were even 'good'. The boy's defiant glares, his constant determination, his total resolve to stop him... Robin had been a thorn in his side for so long, he figured he could take the time to do this right. Slade glanced outside the window to see the street deserted. Kids were at school. Parents were either inside their homes or at work or running errands. He was alone in the townhouse. Wintergreen was nearby, but had been told not to visit unless there was a situation that absolutely called for it.

Slade walked over to his computer and picked up the small computer disk. It was time to put Cheshire's heist to good use.

Chapter Four: Cadmus and Bad Girls

Chapter Four: Cadmus and Bad Girls

"Sleep cycle complete." the computer monitor announced.

Cyborg's electronic eye began to turn on as his natural eye opened. It was too early. Just too early. But then again, he was fully recharged and there was no point in re-charging nothing and letting his charger get too hot. Sighing, Cyborg got up and went over to his computer. Not much on his schedule today. There was mostly just practice and kicking BB's butt on the GameStation. A bell rung and he walked over to get his breakfast.

Grabbing the sunny-side up egg and bacon strips, Cyborg ate slowly, wondering if any of the others were up. They probably weren't. The past week had put everyone back into their normal routine. Beast Boy was probably still drooling allover his pillow, the sheets dirty and in need of a good wash. Robin was most likely dead asleep (the guy probably sleep-walked into bed). The girls were most likely still asleep, but would wake up sooner or later. They, unlike the guys, had an easier time getting up due to their extraordinary ability to somehow plan time to sleep when necessary. Starfire claimed it was because of Tamaran's odd rotations and Raven said that it was because she often had to get up at night and meditate anyways.

A yawn escaped from him. Cyborg walked over to grab his basketball. Maybe he could shoot some hoops before practice today. He would just have to drop off his dish first. The hallways were deserted. He found himself trying to make his footsteps softer, but that was nearly impossible since his feet were big, metal, and in all honesty, loud. Once he reached the main room, he let out a sigh of relief and walked into the kitchen. He put his dish in the sink and was about to turn around to go to the roof when someone spoke.

"Shooting hoops?"

Cyborg turned to see Raven. He hadn't noticed her when he had come in. She was levitating in the air by the couch, her back facing him. Even though he hadn't seen her yet, he could tell that her eyes were closed. She was focusing on something, or maybe trying to and failing.

"Um, yeah, Rae. Hey, why are you up this early?" Cyborg asked.

"Nightmares," she answered, "I decided to come out here to try to calm myself down."

Cyborg nodded. They all knew what Raven's nightmares could do. Her powers had once creeped them all out to the point that it felt like they were in a horror movie, getting picked off one at a time by her monstrous creations. It wasn't intentional, but they had all learned from that experience that when she had a nightmare, admitting it was, by far, the best solution. She never went into them, and Cyborg understood why. Being the daughter of Trigon could possibly make such things worse since she knew of the demons that lurked below and what their intentions were. It was by her own courage that she didn't tell them about her nightmares. She retained a lot of that sort of thing to keep everyone else's lives simple. She never thought of it that way, but they did.

"Sorry 'bout that," he answered, walking over and around the couch so that he could see her.

Sure enough, her eyes were closed "It's not your fault."

"Anyone else up?" he asked.

"No," she answered. Raven opened her eyes and let out a breath, "I was going to make some tea. Want any?"

"Huh? Oh, no, I'm good, but you know, if it's herbal, BB might be up for it," Cyborg told her.

"He won't be up for a couple of hours," Raven replied.

It was true and they both held in a silent laugh. Cyborg walked over to the kitchen where Raven was making her tea. Sometimes this would happen, he'd wake up and there would be a Titan in the main room to talk to. A couple days ago, Starfire had been in the main room, looking through something on a computer. So it wasn't unnatural and often times, he'd just stick around to chat and see what was going on with the others.

"Anything you're planning on doing today?" He asked.

Raven filled a cup with warm water and placed it in the silver microwave, "Poetry reading tonight at Midnight's Dawn Cafe. That's about it."

He nodded. "Yeah, pretty laid back this week, huh?"

"I suppose so," she responded.

The timer buzzed and she opened the microwave and pulled out the cup. She put in the tea bag and began to stir it gently, letting the flavor take precedence. Blowing on it thoughtfully, she took a sip. Cyborg watched her for a moment and then bounced his ball once. As it came up, he felt a sudden longing to be able to feel all of the bumps that made up the exterior of the ball. A simple wish, but not a realistic dream come true.

"Do you know what any of the others are doing?" he asked.

Raven placed her spoon on the counter and replied, "Robin's probably still catching up on file work. You know that Mad Mod case is still bugging him."

"The dude is crazy," Cyborg replied shaking his head. "Wish Robin could just accept that."

Raven smirked, but sighed, "Frankly, I don't think it's that simple either, Cyborg... I know that Starfire was going to go downtown to look at some new shops, but other than that I..."

Their attention turned over to the clear plasma screen window when it randomly made a noise and, for some reason, flickered to life. Cyborg looked at Raven and she wrinkled her forehead in confusion. They both walked over where the main computer screen in the front was also turning on as well. The screen was black, but finally words came up on the screen in white:

"Incoming Video Communications Signal"

"Please turn on the volume and any microphones required."

"Signal from: Project Cadmus"

"Who's Cadmus?" Raven asked, looking at Cyborg, who's brow was now furrowed.

Cyborg turned on the volume and the mics, but then before he pressed enter, he turned to answer her, "I think I know who they are, but I just don't know why they're calling..."

Raven raised a brow as Cyborg hit enter. The screen fully flickered on the plasma screen to reveal a lab with a man with brown hair and a suit on. He was an older man with a few wrinkles, but he was somewhat young because of his obvious zeal. Cyborg's eye narrowed.

"Can I help you at seven in the morning?" he asked.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot about the time difference. My name is Dr. Westfield," the man answered back.

"Well, Dr. Westfield, what're you calling for?" Cyborg asked.

Raven looked at him. Normally Cyborg wasn't this... rude.

"We've been presented with a new project that requires the use of sonic technology," Westfield told them, "We've witnessed your... prowess with your sonic cannons, Cyborg, and well, it's just plain impressive. We were wondering about whether or not you would allow us the... opportunity to see some of your designs."

Cyborg's eyes narrowed. He didn't like this guy and, apparently, neither did Raven. She huddled her form slightly and stared at Westfield, her eyes narrowed in a sort of concentration. This guy, Westfield, he didn't, well, it was hard to explain. She could almost sense there was something... he was... cheap. Raven walked over inconspicuously to the side and closed her eyes.

Within the rooms of each of the remaining Titans, each of the Titans started to stir as though they suddenly wanted to get up. Robin's eyes twitched for a moment while he continued to lie in bed until almost a yell from inside his head woke him up. The main room. That's all he thought, but he got the message from Raven loud and clear. For the others, they weren't as certain or even aware of Raven's physic messages. Robin only could tell because of the mind bond that Raven had created in a life or death circumstance. Starfire was the next to get up and she went out to the main room, only stopped to quickly brush her hair. Beast Boy... He ended up being the hardest to wake up and only woke up when Raven created the illusion of the smell of fresh tofu waffles. Even then, he was only able to slowly drag himself out the door.

"You know, Dr. Westfield, I'm pretty sure that your company would know that that decision is not entirely up to me. STAR labs own my designs. It's a joint agreement," Cyborg said.

Robin walked around the corner to meet Starfire in the hallway. They stopped when they heard Westfield talking, "What is going on?"

"Not sure, some guy named Westfield's calling," he answered.

"Well, I'm sure, but Cyborg, if we can get your consent, STAR shouldn't be a problem to persuade," Westfield told him.

"So last night, Galifore sent me what is the equivalent of an email to tell me how Tamaran is..." Starfire said as she and Robin entered the room.

Both of them stopped and Robin walked up to the screen, "I'm guessing I missed a call?"

"Nope, it's for me," Cyborg said and returned his attention to Westfield. More witnesses, good, "Westfield, I don't think you get it. I know that you and STAR labs aren't friends or are even friendly. Why should I just hand over my designs?"

"What are you planning to use them for, anyway?" Robin questioned.

"Oh, just research in sound waves and such," Westfield said, his face a bit tighter, but still composed.

"Why?" Starfire asked, coming into the conversation.

Westfield's eyes narrowed. "That is classified."

"Well then maybe you should UN-classify it. I'm not giving over any of my designs till I know what they're going to be used for," Cyborg answered.

"Yeah..." The four Titans and Westfield looked over to see Beast Boy (finally awake) enter the room, "The last time his designs got into the wrong hands, a tsunami could have wiped out half of Jump."

"I assure you it is nothing dangerous," Dr. Westfield told them.

"Prove it!" Cyborg challenged.

Westfield's irritation finally manifested itself. "Look, we're asking for a favor. We'd pay for it too, so it's not even a favor. Cadmus could replicate your sonic technology in a matter of weeks, but the fact is, we don't want to waste that kind of time."

"Well, too bad, it looks like you're going to have to. Nice talking to ya," Cyborg answered before disconnecting the line.

"Sorry about waking you," Raven said, " I just... was getting bad vibes from him, if you know what I mean."

"It's no problem," Robin answered, before Beast Boy could complain.

"Um, friend Cyborg, I wish to inquire, what is it that this Cadmus did to make you so alert?" Starfire asked.

Cyborg sighed as the others watched him lean over the computer. Eventually, he turned around and crossed his arms as he leaned against the walls, "Well, it's complicated. My Dad, his name was Dr. Stone. He worked for STAR labs, so I heard all about that sort of company competition and stuff. I wasn't really interested, but I remember my old man just ranting sometimes about Cadmus."

Robin stepped in. "I think I've heard of Project Cadmus. Don't they work in the area of biology?"

"Yeah." Cyborg told them, "When Cadmus and STAR would clash it was mostly when Cadmus was working on some sort of research with technology and its effects on the body."

"Where is Cadmus?" Raven asked.

"Don't know," Cyborg answered, "They've been all over the place. I think some of their stuff might be illegal or something, too. I've even heard of them being stationed in Hawaii, but they never stay in one place for too long as far as I know."

"So you just wanted to bring us in here to keep big old bad Cadmus from trying to convince Cyborg to give up his stupid designs?!" Beast Boy asked, "Man! I need my beauty sleep!"

"I just thought the backup would be nice, yeah," Raven answered cynically.

"If Cadmus is under the radar, I don't like going into shady areas without backup anyway; so thanks," Cyborg told them.

"Well, it's fine. We get it," Robin answered.

"Easy for you to sleep, Mr. Insomniac." Beast Boy muttered "Ow!"

Raven had elbowed the changeling in the gut and given him a glare, "Shut it."

"Fine," Beast Boy answered.

"Do you want me to look into this Cyborg?" Robin asked.

Behind him, Starfire waved her hands back and forth while mouthing 'No!' Robin looked behind him and she instantly smiled, her hands behind her back.

"Aw, no Robin, I think as long as Cadmus doesn't have my designs we're fine. 'Sides, if Cadmus was going to try anything here, they wouldn't be stupid enough to put us on alert by calling us up." Cyborg answered.

"Alright," Robin nodded.

He'd let it go for now. They all knew that. It would just take them about three or four days of pulling Robin away from his work to make him forget about it. That was going to be fun. Luckily, they could take shifts doing so.

Starfire sighed and commented, "Well then, friends, now that we are awake, why do we not partake of the breaking of the fast?"

"Huh?" Beast Boy asked.

"Breakfast, BB," Robin told him.

"Alright, tofu eggs and waffles on me!" he announced, pulling himself over to the kitchen as the others followed

"We already ate," Raven said, ready to stalk on back to her room.

"I'll just have a protein shake, B," Robin added.

"A protein shake! Why?" he asked.

"Because they're good for you."

"Tofu's good for you, maybe better," Beast Boy answered back.

"Alright, I'll have a waffle, but just one..."

The alarm blared. Starfire floated over to the computer as Cyborg and Raven turned (reluctantly) back to the screen. Robin jumped over the couch and watched as Starfire pulled up the city sector map. Unlike most occasions, instead of the flashing red, the five Titans saw a blinking brown crossing over several areas of the city.

"It's below the city, on a path to..."

There was only one other Titan that knew that path that was being created on screen as well as Robin did. Beast Boy had joined them in their trance, "Terra... Okay, who in their right mind is going down there?"

His tone had changed from being laid back to a sudden severity and sarcastic note as he continued, "It's not like anyone can leave it alone anyway."

Robin went on and continued to type, trying to hack a security camera, "It's... Blackfire?"

Starfire suddenly looked over at the screen with more alertness and attention, "What is she doing here and down there of all places?"

"Don't know, but I think we better find out," Robin said, "Titans!"

They didn't need to be told twice. Cyborg and Robin went down to the garage while Starfire, Raven, and Beast Boy went on a direct flight path to the cavern's entrance. While driving, Robin could feel the earth beneath him rumble as he drove and Cyborg began to count the Geiger size of the tremors. They were getting even more severe and noticeable as they got closer and as time passed. Finally they reached the entrance, Robin grabbing a lift from Starfire and Cyborg getting a lift from Raven to fly down there faster. As they traveled, the lights began to rapidly blink on an off. Since Slade's downfall at Terra's hands, the city made a pathway down to what had once been a petrified statue of Terra. The pathway didn't look all that great, though. The ceiling shook and rocks were falling. As they got closer they could hear laughter.

As soon as they got to the entrance of the large area of the cavern, Starfire and Raven released the two boys and Beast Boy changed back into a human, his posture and expression stiff and angry. Floating in the air was another teenager. In appearance, she looked like a darker duplicate of their own Tamaranian, but a bit older and with dark hair and purple eyes. She seemed to glory in a stellar black and silver outfit similar to Starfire's. In her hand, she held a purple Starbolt, her smile reflecting her utter delight at the Titans' arrival.

"Sister, dear, you've come," Blackfire announced, flying closer to the five Titans and in particular, Starfire, "I was afraid I'd cause a cave-in before you got here."

"Oh don't worry about that," Beast Boy remarked, drawing Blackfire's attention away from Starfire for a moment.

Starfire took the opportunity to address her sister, "What is it that you are doing, sister? This is just random destruction."

She motioned to the cave, which had in fact, suffered damage. The path that lead up to Terra's monument, which had been recreated in the wake of it's (or her) disappearance, was littered with rocks, the handrails broken. The surviving glass on some of the walls had been shattered and the ground had become uneven. This didn't faze Blackfire in the slightest, though.

"Exactly, Starfire," she said, sweetly.

"So you're not here to put Starfire up on the market again?" Robin started.

Cyborg finished, pulling out his sonic cannon. "You're just here to pick a fight!"

Blackfire laughed, "Well, duh."

"Titans! Go!"

Raven was the first to react, "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"

The rocks from the ground began to levitate and suddenly, with a burst of speed, aimed directly at the fugitive. Blackfire dodged them and sent starlazers at Cyborg's circuits which he barely missed. Beast Boy attacked without hesitation. He attempted to claw at her from the air, but he was so absorbed with trying to hit her, he didn't pay attention to his own safety. He was knocked down with a couple starbolts, although that proved to be a good distraction. Starfire flew up with Robin, who grabbed Blackfire around the neck from behind. She choked and attempted to throw him off but he refused to let go.

"Hate me that much, Robin? I hope you're still not holding a grudge against me for making Starfire leave for Tamaran," she managed to say.

Robin didn't reply, but his grip loosened for just a second at the shock of the comment, which allowed Blackfire to throw him off. Raven caught him with a cloud of energy and then looked over at Cyborg who got her message. A disk appeared for Cyborg to ride on while she suddenly released a massive Raven-shaped energy literally from her body, her soul self. It flew straight at Blackfire and engulfed her in it and then in a moment was gone. Blackfire looked around, but was not too out of it to realize that Cyborg was coming right at her on the disk.

She flew out of the way and sent a starbolt into one of his sonic cannons, effectively sending sparks up his arm and postponing his re-emergence into the fight. Robin sent up a couple smoke bombs into the air while Starfire sent a barrage of starbolts into the cloud. As the smoke dispersed, they waited, holding their breath tightly in their chests. Where was... Blackfire flew straight from the cloud and directly at Robin. She lifted him up and carried him by the front end of his shirt towards the top of the cavern near the ceiling. He really was starting to hate it when this happened.

"Hate me that much, Blackfire?" he asked her in mock imitation.

She didn't get a chance to reply. Something latched on and clawed at her stomach where the fabric tore and one could see smallscratches. Something green. No, no, no... Robin felt Blackfire use one hand to find Beast Boy in the shape of a mouse and throw him off. Angry, she began to fly forward, Robin right in front. She slammed him into a wall and let go. That hurt, that really, no that hurt. Falling to the ground hurt. Starfire watched as a tremor went up the wall from Robin's original impact sending rocks falling down onto their leader. Most hit him on the back and missed his head fortunately, but it left him out of the fight for the moment.

"Robin!" Starfire whirled around to see Blackfire blinding Cyborg's visual system with her starbolts while simultaneously throwing Beast Boy once again off and into Raven, "No!"

There were losing and her friends were being hurt by her own blood. Starfire let out a vicious and enraged yell. Her normal smile was gone and her eyes glowed an emerald green.

Never again! "Blackfire!"

The banished Tamaranian looked over and for a moment, her smile faded as she saw Starfire come forward and grab her shoulders to push her forward.

"You dare!" she screamed at Blackfire as she sent them both flying into the ground in the canyon below, "You dare hurt them and I'll..."

Blackfire seized Star's hands and pushed her to the ground instead, "You'll what? You'll banish me? Doesn't work that way here now does it?"

"You will go to jail!" Starfire yelled, he starlazers effectively sending Blackfire into the ceiling above.

The fight between the two raged. Robin slowly managed to open his eyes. His communicator began to vibrate and ring. Something was wrong. He barely was able to move his arm to reach back behind to his belt to get it. A break-in was in progress by... Cheshire? They had to split up. He got to his knees and looked at the others' and their current conditions. Who was best to send off to fight Cheshire?

"Raven! Beast Boy! There's a break in at Cook's Electronics; Cheshire's behind it," Robin ordered, "Stop her!"

Blackfire looked over momentarily, but Starfire landed a kick to her shoulder and brought her back into the fight. Raven went without hesitating until she saw Beast Boy looking over at Blackfire, still angry. He was about to argue, but Robin cut him off after getting up.

"No! Go! You're too attached to do any good here!" he told him, "Go!"

Beast Boy took this as a slight offense, but followed Raven anyway. They could still hear Starfire and Blackfire fighting as they traveled along the cave tunnel. At every hit and evey tremor that they felt, Beast Boy got slower and kept looking back. He shouldn't be going after Cheshire. Cyborg or Robin should be, or well, at least Cyborg. Not him. He should be down there protecting Terra's...

"Don't even think about it," Raven said in a monotone.

"Oh, and why not?" Beast Boy asked turning back into a human to let Raven lecture him while getting a ride out of it. At least it meant that he didn't have to run or fly.

Raven didn't look at him, "You know you were making it worse. Robin was right, in your attempts to get Blackfire out of there, you were reckless."

"Hey, Starfire's being reckless," he shot back.

"No, she's not. She's coordinating her attacks so that she doesn't risk harming others," Raven told him and after a moment added, "You're too emotionally attached to that place."

Beast Boy looked down from the flying disk at the road that they were passing and almost in a whisper replied, "You would be, too."

Raven stiffened for a moment and turned her gaze away. Yeah, she would. She couldn't deny it. She had her share of hurt, too. But she wouldn't say it.

Raven let it go for a moment as she thought up an appropriate answer, "Beast Boy... just, focus on Cheshire."

Beast Boy nodded. He knew that she was trying to be nice. He knew that she hadn't entirely liked Terra. Raven had felt just as betrayed by Terra as he did in some ways. Not by a broken heart, but by a broken trust. He thought in some ways that she felt partially responsible. They all did. Robin felt like he should have spoken out more about how dangerous Slade was. Starfire wished that she had not been so oblivious to Terra's odd behavior. Cyborg kicked himself for showing her his designs of the building. Raven felt that she should have never let Terra gain her trust in the first place.

Everything worked out in the end. Or rather, almost everything worked out. Terra redeemed herself in their eyes, but at the cost of her own life. They were humbled by her sacrifice. It left them with a permanent reminder that when one chooses to do what's right, they don't always get to keep what they save for other people for themselves: Life. Terra was a hero. She was a Teen Titan. She left a memory and a heart breaking one at that.

Looking back, Beast Boy felt like he had just let himself be blind. The hard reality of it was that he knew that he had cared for and had liked Terra. It was harsh and had made it tough to always keep a smile on and joke around during that time. But he did because it was all that he really knew how to do.

They followed their locators on their communicators until they reached the computer store. The glass was broken and there was a small fire going. Nobody was here, or at least, it seemed that way. Beast Boy turned into a bloodhound and started to sniff around. He caught a whiff of french perfume. He nodded over to Raven as he sniffed to the back of the store, where it was pitch dark, save for the blue glow of the computer screens that were still intact. Soon, he stopped and stayed crouched on the floor.

"Rae, the scent's gone," he said.

She could hear the slight worry in his voice. Beast Boy knew that scents and tracks didn't just disappear, or at least, intentionally disappear. Raven went ahead, squinting her eyes and keeping a tight hold on her cloak. She looked over at Beast Boy who was watching her hesitantly. It was still dark. Raven bent down and touched the floor.

"Raven? What are you...?" Beast Boy started, but then he saw the white glow that emanated from Raven's eyes.

Raven pressed her hand down onto the ground. Instantly, the blue glow from the computers melted down as Raven's telepathic energy reached over all of the walls and the objects in the room. It was almost like every solid object was being turned into a fine, black crystal barely shining. Yes, crystal. It was something that had never occurred to him. While cold and dark later, the first manifestations of it seemed to be bright like an icy crystal. Beast Boy watched as he and Raven remained untouched by the energy. He turned swiftly to continue watching the energy wave when suddenly a face emerged from what had once been shadows.

Leaping as soon as their eyes met, Cheshire attacked.

"Woah!" Beast Boy leaped out of the way as Raven whipped around to see Cheshire attack from behind.

Raven teleported out of the way, but barely. Yet this allowed for Cheshire to focus on Beast Boy, who unfortunately, was not used to fighting someone like Cheshire. Turning into a snake, Beast Boy slithered off, attempting to hide. Cheshire looked either way. She wasn't looking for a fight, just a quick escape. To her advantage, Beast Boy came out of nowhere in an attempt to bite her leg, but at the same moment Raven came out at the same time. Beast Boy saw and turned into a human, yet it made for the two Titans colliding into each other for the second time that day, Raven's hood falling off in the process.

"Don't let her..." Raven started, but she was too late.

She saw a doorway of light and Cheshire's shadow, which she followed up to see Cheshire herself. The mask smiled as always as she shut the door. Raven got up and ran to the doorway. She wrenched the door open as Beast Boy followed her outside. The bright light hit her eyes. Gone, nothing, no one.

No Cheshire. No... reason?

Deep below the Earth, the two Tamaranians' battle was in dire need of an end. If they didn't stop fighting soon, they'd end up bringing the whole cavern down with them. Cyborg had finally gotten up and had attempted to hit Blackfire with his cannon. However, Starfire, being so close in range to her sister, made it increasingly difficult for him to aim until he finally gave up altogether and turned his focus to Robin to make sure that he was alright. It wasn't that big a deal, but still, Robin was human. He may be incredibly resistant to pain due to crime fighting for so long, but falling rocks can do a number on a person. Starfire knew how dangerous this was becoming and she knew her sister did as well.

Throwing a couple punches, Starfire managed to ask, "Why, must you, do this?"

"Look, sister dear, if I go down, at least you do..." Blackfire yelled as Starfire rammed her with her starlazers into the ceiling causing the oddly deformed stalactites to detach and hit her in the back and the head.

That was enough to knock her out with the sudden pain. It was nothing life threatening to a Tamaranian, though. Starfire flew up and caught her sister as she fell. Blackfire looked up at her sister passively before passing out entirely. Starfire sighed as she brought Blackfire to the ground. She didn't like fighting her sister and she never quite understood what she could have done to make her sister hate her so much. But what concerned her more now was if Robin was alright or not.

"Cyborg, you must apprehend my sister," she called to him.

Cyborg had just finished making a quick check over Robin after pulling him out of the rubble. Robin nodded to him and Cyborg walked over to hand-cuff Tamaran's former princess. Starfire ran over to Robin who was leaning up against the rock wall. Just as she knelt down next to him, the communicator rang. He flipped it open to see Raven and Beast Boy on the screen.

"Robin, Cheshire got away, but all she did was damage to the Cook's store by the looks of it. The place is a mess," Raven told him.

"She didn't do anything?" Robin asked.

"Nothing but damage, really," Raven answered.

"Yeah," Beast Boy piped in, "It was like she was just picking a fight."

"Or..." Raven hesitated and then answered, "No."

"What?" Robin asked.

"She didn't want to fight. She escaped as soon as we showed up," Raven answered.

The four Titans watched their leader's brow wrinkle in thought. They all knew that the gears inside his head were turning at an alarmingly fast rate. It worried them a bit whenever he did this just because whenever he did, he'd become irritable and would beat on himself for not coming up with an answer right away. Hesitantly, Starfire dared to pull him out of his trance.

"Robin?" She said.

After a moment, he said, "Let's get back to the Tower."

Raven nodded on the com-link and turned it off. She motioned over to Beast Boy to head back to the tower and the two flew off to wait for the others' return. Cyborg picked Blackfire up ready to bring her to cop cars that were sure to be up at the cave entrance as soon as they got up there. Robin attempted to stand, but grunted. His back was stiff, his muscles tight from the impact.

"Robin? Are you..." Starfire trailed off.

Robin smiled a bit grimly up at her. Starfire slung his arm around her shoulders and helped him walk to the T-Car. Their steady rate would have been even slower if Starfire hadn't been partially flying to help Robin support himself.

"You're riding in the T-Car man," Cyborg told him, "Starfire can get your bike."

Robin said, wincing as he took a couple steps, "I'll be fine guys, really. I just need to relax for the night. With Raven's healing powers I should be better by morning."

Cyborg nodded and turned his attention over to Starfire reassuringly, "What about you? Are you alright?"

"Hm? Oh, I am fine, thank you," Starfire said, turning her eyes downward.

She didn't want to think about the fight that had just been insinuated. She looked over at her sister who lay limply in Cyborg's arms. For everything that she had ever done to Starfire, she was still her sister. They all knew that and it was always thought as something remarkable at how Starfire handled this. Never making excuses. Never wanting to get revenge. She held her head up high, her eyes looking down low. Was she sad? Yes. Did she wish that it could be different? Yes. But almost like a diplomat, Starfire handled the situation with a strong resolved belief of the outcome that would befall Blackfire was in the name of justice. She could forgive her on her own terms outside of the law, but somehow, Starfire knew that forgiveness was not what Blackfire was looking for.

They handed Blackfire, still out of it, over to the cops. They said nothing about the earlier robbery this week, seeing Robin's condition. High above them, there was someone watching. Her long black hair flowed with the silk green arms of her costume in the wind. She shook her head and turned. It would be dangerous, foolish, and stupid. That's what they had said. And maybe it had been, but now as much as it could have been thanks to her... negotiations. She had been promised fun and it had been.

But it was time to go.