Masked

Betrayal

"You've got it all wrong, kid. I'm only interested in helping myself."

-

Chapter 8

[2 years ago]

"What." Robin scowled at the communicator, trying to sheath every ounce of his displeasure through the screen.

"This isn't an ask. He's starting the training process tomorrow." The Dark Knight's calm was unfaltering, a masking technique that Robin desperately wished to master.

"The Robin figure's necessary for Jump. Crime has increased dramatically with our arrival, and the team's barely formed. The city needs some stability." Robin tried to appeal to the logical side of his mentor, to make cracks visible in his unappealing solution.

He sealed them without one stumble. "Robin's required in Gotham too. Your boarding school facade is beginning to slip, and our identities could be compromised by anyone who could execute a simple hack."  

Robin sighed, knowing every flaw in his rationing would be exploited by the world's greatest detective. "You can't just pick up any random kid off the street. I had years of preparation for the mantle, and you expect him to just be ready?" 

Batman was surprised about the level of defiance his trainee exhibited. "I expect him to put suspicion to rest. He's exhibited remarkable potential during combat practice. I'm not asking you to make a switch now, Alfred just preferred that you be informed."

Of course, the surrogate father of a butler had to intervene. "I could commute to Gotham if it's crucial, you don't have to.."

"Dick." Robin flinched at his birth name, which meant so much but was used so little.

"He needs a home."

Robin stirred from the foggy vision of memory, past and present colliding in a haze. He frowned seeing his choice of resting place was a missing persons poster, the victim's laminated face slobbered with drool. The twinkling stars outside his blinds confirmed it had been hours since he'd collapsed from exhaustion. Usually coffee kept him productive, or Starfire woke him up...

Starfire.

Robin grimaced with remorse, realizing how much he missed her unfaltering optimism and the glow of her healing caresses. After the tantalizing failure of his apology, he had engrossed himself in work to put his mind at ease. If Robin couldn't save his personal life, maybe he could make up for it by protecting others.

The one problem with that coping mechanism was that any fragment of a lead had vanished. 

Ever since the deceiving ploy to use brainwashed people to play the part of robot henchman, the murders had abruptly cut off. Robin had been so focused on handling the public outcry about Star's fatal miscalculation, not to mention guarding a certain thief, that time to patch holes in the framework escaped him. 

The files had gathered dust for so long that the details of the case felt fresh. Robin chuckled. It reminded him of the long nights gliding by Batman's side, every mystery a new adventure. There was a particular moment with one of Joker's tricks that felt hilarious, but that was before he-

Robin gasped so quickly that his breath struggled to catch up with his movements. Gloved hands typed at light speed, shaking uncontrollably as he cross-matched the data.

He knew who Red X was.

It all made sense now. The grinning expression on the paralyzed corpses, the shape of the indents on Beastboy's face. The reason X had even resurfaced in the first place, and why a simple burglar could easily best Cy's high-tech security system.