XVII. Robin

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It was hard to concentrate on anything that day. Beast Boy was able to get up and walk around within the hour that he woke up, and later, he played games with Cyborg. Sonic sat next to them, examining his shoes as if trying to find a way to fix them.

When I went to my room, everything was scattered across the room. Papers were everywhere; a dim reminder of the night before. I scowled and left. That was the last thing I wanted to deal with at the moment.

To try and take my mind off of Slade, I tried helping Starfire cook, then played games with Cyborg and the others. But it was like it was taking over me - I had to know what Sonic was hiding. He seemed to be himself around his friends, a bit gloomier than usual, but there was a hint of something else... Like he was scared of something. Surely Terra's betrayal had a part in that, but there had to be another piece of the puzzle.

"Woo!" Sonic yelled as he got a K.O. in the video game. It should have made me jump in surprise, but I didn't look up for a few seconds. "I beatcha again, Cyborg."

"Yeah," Cyborg started, "twice out of, like, ten times. Good job!"

"I'm better at the running and driving thing." He replied, gestering as if he were driving.

I could feel the eyes of Starfire boring into me, as if she was telling me not to ask Sonic what he had gone through. Even Raven seemed to be influencing that, with her eyes stuck in a book. But I had to know. There was nothing that would keep me from asking.

"I need to talk to you, Sonic." I sighed. He looked at me with the slightest bit of terror for just a second, then shrugged.

"Sure." He said. "What's up, boss-man?"

I nodded towards the hallway, not looking at Starfire. I had a good reason. What if Slade had a secret weapon that could destroy the world? Even though... I knew he didn't.

"Why so tense, dude?" Sonic shrugged. "Relax a bit."

"Let's go to the roof." I said. He nodded in agreement, following me as I walked. When we got there, I rested my elbows over the edge, looking at the sky. Sonic did the same. "I need you to tell me everything." I said.

Then he started talking. I was surprised. He didn't seem to need any time to collect himself. He explained how Slade had made a special suit for him that he couldn't take off, how Terra had befriended him and then betrayed him, and then his voice started shaking when he talked about Tails.

"She said..." He started, "she said he was there... that she would help... But... but she lied. And Tails is still... still there. We have to help him."

There was still something he was keeping from me. It didn't make sense: how did someone take the shape of me? It had to be the work of Slade.

I bent down on my knee to get closer to his height. "Sonic." I said as seriously as I could. "You have to tell me everything. Even if it gives you nightmares or if it's completely insignificant or it seems like the most ridiculous thing in the world."

He sighed, rubbing his burnt head. He still hadn't gotten help from Raven or Starfire to get his head cleaned up, but I could see the guilt pouring from his eyes. I wanted to give him a hug and tell him everything was going to be okay, and that was something I rarely did.

Finally, he closed his eyes and spoke again. "I didn't want to tell you, because... Well, you'd just go out searching around and-"

"What is it?" I interrupted.

"Slade has a kid." He replied, his eyes shooting open. I didn't move, so he added, "A shape shifting kid. And I feel like that should have been so much more dramatic."

The whole room began to spin. I stood up, everything that had happened making sense. Terra hadn't been Terra. The fake Robin really was the work of Slade. And this was a dangerous foe. "You're sure?" I asked.

He nodded, rubbing his head carefully again. "I saw Terra change with my own eyes. The story of friendship... betrayal... and-"

"Can you be serious for two seconds?!" Honestly, my mind became clear again, knowing the lost piece of the puzzle was found. But I needed a moment to collect myself. It was still strange. I looked over the side of the building. The waves were crashing against the side of the rocks. The birds were flying and cawing to each other. Everything seemed normal at the moment.

"How do you do it?" I asked.

He looked up at me. "What do you mean?"

"You go through every day with the stress of your friend, but you're always happy around Cyborg and Beast Boy-"

"And you're always grumpy around everybody." He raised an eyebrow.

"Exactly..." I sighed. "How do you handle the stress?"

"I don't work twenty-four hours a day, Robin." He replied. "My friends support me. Sure, they're not here with me, but I have to get back to Mobius for them. As for Tails... if I didn't hope for the best, I would be in that race car bed staring out a window. So you keep your hopes up, and when they get dashed... you take a few minutes, leave the past in the past, then get back on your feet."

"Even if Tails..." I didn't finish the sentence. He would know what I meant.

"Tails will always be with me." He smiled. "Whether in person or not."

He said it all like it was so easy. He lived with the wind; I got that. But leaving regrets away... That seemed near impossible. "Go see Raven and get patched up."

"I already did." He blinked. "This was all she could do."

I looked over him. He did look a bit better, but... it still looked terrible. And painful. "Then have Starfire wrap your hair up for you."

He folded his arms as he turned to me with a frown. "It's not hair!"

"Whatever, noodle arm." I replied.

"If we hadn't just had a 'touching' moment, I would so sock you good..."

He went inside, and I stayed above. There was nothing we could do about Slade at the moment. For once, my mind didn't care about him.

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