chapter thirteen

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THE SPARKLING IMAGE OF a blonde girl appeared in the vapor. She was yelling at some campers, making Robin remember that it was Friday. A special day at camp, when they would play Capture the Flag. When she turned, she jumped. "Robin? What in Hades are you calling for, right now? I haven't heard from you in weeks!" She exclaimed, crossing her arms.

Robin rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Sorry, Annie. I was... in a tight spot." He looked around warily, making sure he couldn't be eavesdropped on. "I uh, I might've broken into this government facility and beat up a bunch of their agents."

"What?!" Annabeth screeched, wishing he was with her so she could hit him. "Where are you now?"

"I don't know exactly. Look, don't come looking for me. You'll probably just end up in the same predicament that I'm in. Listen, I just needed to know if you've heard of these monsters attacking around the country. They rise from the ground, look like dirt robots? Apparently got weapons over the past month?"

The girl hummed. "Doesn't ring a bell, no. I'll make sure to ask Chiron about it later."

He nodded. "Alright."

"I'll be in touch." With that, she swiped her hand through the transmission, ending it.

Robin exited the washroom and collapsed on his bed, the mattress too soft for his liking. He exhaled loudly, wishing he was anywhere but there. Then he remembered his bag that was stolen from him. He bounced up and rushed out the door, relying on muscle memory to try and find the interrogation room. While Tony had giving him a tour, he obviously hadn't been trusted with all the areas. He knew that as he passed several locked doors and halls he hadn't seen before. He wasn't hurt by it - no, he knew why.

He kept going, keeping his footsteps light. Whenever he heard someone, he dove for cover. It wasn't that he didn't trust them... no, wait, that was exactly it. They didn't trust him, he didn't trust them. Seemed like a fair trade. After a while, he finally found it. He went to the first door, where he presumed they had been hiding. He quietly opened the door, the light from outside shining in. He didn't bother turn on the lights. It would be too easy to get caught. Instead, he walked in, hardly making a sound. He squinted his eyes, trying to spot his bag. He sighed in relief when he found it in the corner of the room.

Robin quickly got it and returned to his new room, remembering to close the door behind him. They would never know. He stuff the bag in the wardrobe, hoping to get some clothes to hide it. Unfortunately, he had none with him. All he had was the outfit he was wearing - his camp tee, a worn out denim jacket, his ripped jeans and, of course, his shoes. He heard a knock at the door and swiftly closed the wardrobe, going to greet whoever was there.

He opened the door and saw Bruce standing there. A feeling of dread overcame the boy. Had Sam told him about the bullet wound? The feeling washed away as soon as he spoke. "Uh, you want some lunch?" He inquired.

Robin released a breath he didn't know he was holding. His shoulders weren't as tense. "Yeah, sure." He followed the man to the kitchen area where the others were already seated. It made him wonder if they had all their meals together, which he wasn't sure he'd enjoy. What if they ended up drugging him, to get him to spill all his secrets? He warily sat down beside Clint, Bruce on his other side. At the moment, they were the people he was most comfortable with. When no food was on the oak table in front of him, he wondered if it worked like it did at camp, where you simply had to think about what you wanted. He was proven wrong when Steve brought out a few boxes of pizza.

The others immediately dug in, wolfing down the food if they hadn't eaten in days. Robin scrunched up his face. While he spent most of his life with demigod's such as himself, they at least had some decency. Most of the time, at least. He took a slice for himself, leaning away from his new team. He didn't want to be on the team, but he had no choice. As soon as those monsters were dead, he could leave. At least, that's the impression he got from the Nick Fury guy.

Soon all the pizza was gone. No one moved from the table, which made Robin very uncomfortable. Monsters and Titans and even gods he could deal with, but people staying in their seats in silence after lunch? That was a new level of weird. He looked around and saw that they were all looking at him. "Are you guys possessed?" He asked before he could stop himself.

Clint chuckled. "Sorry Robin, but no. You're stuck with regular old us," He joked, trying to make him feel comfortable with the team. A few of the team members adverted their gazes, not wishing to make him too uncomfortable.

"Great," Robin mused sarcastically. "What do you guys even do?"

"Save the world," Pietro said as if it was obvious.

"Funny, how come I've never heard of you?"

Wanda had to hold her brother back, once again, after Robin's comment. The pink-haired boy raised his eyebrows and whistled lowly at the other teen's behavior. Steve intervened before it could go anywhere. "Wo-oah, okay, how about we all take a deep breath and step away," The super soldier suggested, standing up.

Robin shrugged, crossing his arms. "I didn't do anything," He said, exasperated, as if he'd said those exact words many times before.

"How about some team bonding?" Tony proposed, taking the pizza boxes away.

Thor tilted his head in confusion. "How do you suggest we do that, Stark?" He questioned.

The billionaire just smirked at his teammate as he dragged the Avengers, plus Maria, away to a different location on the building's premise.

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