Starfire and Robin stood next to each other in the living area staring at their guests. Terra and her adopted family still hadn't let go of each other. The two Titans continued to observe the most heart warming reunion they had ever seen.
Starfire looked at Robin a little brighter with a sparkle in her eye. She had come to a realization that she wanted something similar to what was in front of her. A family of her own.
Robin had a look of inspiration on his face. He knew now that everything they just went through, all the pain and suffering, was worth it. Just to see this moment here. Now more than ever Robin wanted to protect the innocent people of this city. The people like the family in front of him. He wanted to save lives. He wanted to make sure no one else went through what he did as a young child.
Suddenly a warm touch filled Robin's hand. He looked down to his left hand to see Starfire gripping his hand with her own. He lifted his gaze to see her face with that same sparkle in her eye and a soothing yet passionate smile on her face.
Robin smiled back at her and wrapped his hand around hers squeezing tightly. He could see something in Starfire he had only seen once before when they were stranded on a distant planet after Starfire lost her powers. He felt life had more purpose than just being a hero. Proof of it was right in front of his eyes. The proof was written in Starfire's eyes.
"I still owe you an apology," The two Titans were brought out of their trance by Lindsey's voice. They both turned their heads to see her looking at the them from over her husbands shoulder.
Lindsey released herself from the grip of both Terra and Carver and stepped towards the heroes, "as I said earlier, this is all my fault. If I hadn't helped that lawyer convince the city you were criminals, none of this would have happened."
Robin and Starfire looked at each other like they understood now. Lindsey was so adamant about protecting Terra she went to extreme lengths to keep them away from her. But it was a trap from the beginning.
"You don't have to apologize," Robin said accepting her apology, "Terra explained everything. You were manipulated by this cities most sinister villain. There's no way you could have known."
Lindsey's eyes went wide. She wasn't expecting to hear that but it dawned on her that she really was the villain in this whole situation. She couldn't believe it. A mixture of emotions started rushing to her face and she didn't know how to react.
"But... how?" Lindsey asked trying to make sense of it.
"Madam Rouge," Robin said with a bad taste in his mouth, "a woman from the Brotherhood of Evil. She could take the form of anybody and mimic their voices flawlessly. She could disguise herself as your closest friend and you wouldn't even know it." Robin looked away and thought back to his battle with her when he was helping Hot Spot. He didn't know it then, but she had taken the form of Hot Spot and he couldn't even tell. She was by far the strongest villain he had ever faced. He looked back up at the distraught woman and continued to explain, "from what Terra told us, we can only assume Slade recruited her and used her power to control you... and the city."
"Its true," Terra said taking her hand and standing at her side, "they used you to get to the Titans." Her face was soft and gentle as if she understood how her mother felt. She felt the same way when the Titans had told her about her past with Slade. She let out a quiet chuckle and looked down to her feet, "I guess that's something we have in common now."
"Please, no more sad talking," Starfire said trying to keep it together. She removed her hand from Robin's and tried to bring the conversation to a discussion about what to do next, "we must find a way to battle this evil to ensure they can not do this to anyone else ever again!"
Robin grew a proud smile. She had taken the words right out of his mouth. His admiration for her grew even more and he was getting fired up as he watched her passion for peace and justice explode from her.
Robin slammed a fist into the open palm of the opposite hand, "Starfire's right. No one is safe until we bring them down. And we will bring them down."
Lindsey's face turned from shock to guilt. She couldn't believe she ever thought these teens were no good for the world. Being here in front of them made her realize that, if anything, the world needed more of them.
The room went silent as another ring at the door echoed through the Tower. Starfire and Robin locked eyes. They weren't expecting anyone else. The number of visitors they were getting was becoming... suspicious.
Robin walked to the front door once more as the room quietly waited in anticipation for him to answer. He hit the button on the wall and the door slid open. Robin was struck with a twinge of fear when he saw who was on the other side.
"Good morning, Robin," a tall man with a t-shirt and blue jeans was standing at the door with dark sunglasses covering his peered into the Tower from behind his shades and saw Terra standing with her family unharmed inside. He grew a wide smile, "I'm glad to see you made it out safely and also successfully rescued miss Kane."
Robin raised an eyebrow wondering if this was going to get ugly, "I remember you... Last time I saw you I was in handcuffs," Robin spat with angst, "here to arrest us again... Detective?"
Detective Smith laughed. He removed his sunglasses and looked Robin in the eyes, "I'm not here as a detective," he sounded like he was happy about that statement, "after I let you five go free to chase down... whatever that thing was... I got quite an ear-full from the chief."
Robin's face relaxed. He knew what the detective was saying and was glad there was still someone in the city that still trusted in the Titan name.
"I've been suspended for insubordination pending investigation from another department." Even though Smith's career was on hold he seemed like he had no regrets in his decision to let the Titans go. He actually seemed glad he did.
"What brings you here then?" Robin asked trying to get to the point.
"May I come in?" The suspended detective asked politely.
Robin looked back to the others. Starfire seemed to feel like it was safe to trust him and the Kane family didn't really see a problem with him either. After thinking about it, Robin decided to trust him and let him in. He felt it was the least he could do after he let them go, risking his entire career. Robin motioned a hand towards the living area telling the man he could come in.
"Thank you," Smith walked past Robin into the living area as the door slid shut behind him. He walked straight up to Terra and took a knee in front of her so he was looking up at her, "what you did took a lot of courage. I'm sorry there was nothing I could do to help," he lowered his head breaking eye contact. He seemed to have the same mentality as Robin. He truly wanted to help people and felt like he was failing when he couldn't. He looked back up at Terra with a smile on his face, "but I can't tell you how relieved I am to see you are ok."
Terra was confused. This was an officer of the law and she confessed to a very serious crime. If anything, she was expecting to get arrested not complimented.
As if reading Terra's mind, Carver stepped forward and spoke up with concern, "are you here to arrest her?" He stood behind her and put his hands on her shoulders, looking down at Smith who was still on a knee.
"As I told Robin earlier... I'm not currently an officer at the moment," he stood up to greet Carver but his smile turned serious, "but even if I was ordered to arrest her I'm not sure I could go through with it. Especially after seeing what happened last night." His expression turned to sadness as he thought about what to say next, "unfortunately... A confession like that won't get swept under the rug so easily. Eventually, the JCPD will issue a warrant for her arrest. My best advice to you would be to get out of the city while you still can."
Robin had returned to where he stood earlier next to Starfire. He understood how Detective Smith felt. After everything he's gone through with Beastboy, he didn't think he could ever bring himself to actually arrest his friend. After getting lost in thought for a moment, Robin crossed his arms and looked up at Smith to get some answers from him.
"I doubt you're here to just tell us you don't think we're the bad guys," Robin sounded as if he was asserting a question that demanded an answer.
Smith turned to Robin who still had his arms crossed and smiled once again, "actually... that's exactly why I'm here. But I thought it might interest you to know I'm not the only one..."
Robin and Starfire both dawned a face of surprise and looked at each other puzzled. This sounded like good news but they no idea what he meant.
"Have you seen the news lately?" Smith asked rhetorically. He could tell buy their reaction that the Titans obviously had no idea what he was talking about. His question was less of a question and more implying them to look at the news.
Starfire float over the couch to the coffee table and picked up the remote. She pressed the power button and the giant tv sprang to life with the news.
The screen displayed an anchor talking about them... but it wasn't hostile. They weren't talking about the Titans as if they were the problem anymore.
The screen then changed to a video of Terra confessing her crimes right before Slade's omnidroid landed behind her and snatched her off her feet running off with her. After it started taking off with her the camera caught Robin yelling to the detective that they need to go save her. The restraints on them dropped to the ground and they took off at full speed after the monster.
The anchor could be heard talking over the video that played:
"After the shocking turn of events that unfolded last night in front of, what appeared to be an attempted bank robbery, we took to the streets to see what YOU thought of the Teen Titans..."
The screen changed again and showed street interviews of everyday citizens expressing how they felt about the Teen Titans.
The first was a man who seemed skeptical about everything,"if you ask me... they set the whole thing up. If that girl really did take over the city how do we know she's not working with them?"
Everyone in the living area looked at each other thinking Smith was crazy. If that's what the people thought then the city obvioisly still thought they were criminals. But their minds started to change as the interviews continued...
The second was of a different man who seemed a little more optimistic,"that little girl taking over the city? No way. I don't buy it. Something else is going on here and someone needs to save her."
The third was of a young woman who worked at the old video store before it closed,"they stopped a bank robbery... Now they're chasing down a kidnapper? They sound like heroes to me."
Then a familiar face appeared on the screen. It was the woman that Robin had saved from the mugger. She was holding her little girl on her hip. The little girl was camera shy hiding her face in her mothers shoulder as she spoke to the camera, "they're not anything like what we've been told... Robin saved me and my little girl yesterday. We owe him our lives. If he's watching I just want to say... Thank you."
Robin's expression held a look of gratitude and his heart felt like a weight lifted from it. His eyes relaxed and almost looked sad but he was more happy than anything. He finally started making a name for himself.
"Looks like you made a lasting impression," Smith said with a girn, "as you can see people in the city are divided on what to think... but there are more people who think better of you now."
Starfire looked back at Robin with stars in her eyes. She felt so proud to have Robin as the leader of their team, "oh this is marvelous news!" She exclaimed, "now we may finally track down, the Slade and his Madam Rouge!"
Robin raised a hand to his chin and thought carefully for a moment. They were finally gaining ground but they couldn't risk screwing it all up. They had to take this slow but every moment they delayed Slade would gain ground as well. But if they went after him now it would surely lead to more casualties and damages to the city which could threaten their relationship with the city for the worse. He wasn't sure what to do next.
Starfire's excitment vanished as she saw Robin going deeper and deeper into thought.
"Robin?" She asked, wondering what he was thinking.
The room then focused on him as if the world was resting on his shoulders. Robin could feel the pressure from the room. He was torn between going after Slade and earning the cities trust again. Everytime he thought about one the other would halt his thought process conflicting with his ideas.
After a long moment of silence he lowered his hand from his chin and looked up at the room and spoke softly.
"I need to make a call." With that he turned his back on the rest of the room and headed towards the hallway. He stopped at the door and turned back to face the room once more, "Star, can you keep you friends company while I'm gone?"
Starfire's face went bright red and she began to giggle nervously, "I... um... will try." She raised a hand to the back of her head knowing earthly accommodations was not her area of expertise.
Robin nod his head and the hallway door slid open in front of him. As he disappeared into the hallway it slid shut behind him leaving the rest of the room in an awkward tension.
"I had better get going anyways," Smith said breaking the tension. He started to head for the exit but he turned back to the Kane family just before he reached the door and reminded them of what he said earlier, "think about what I said," he uttered softly, "it might be best to get out of the city until we get everything sorted out."
Terra looked away from him and thought for a second before responding to him, "no. I'm not running from my past anymore."
Smith smiled with admiration. He put his sunglasses back on and opened the front door, "I'll do as much as I can to keep you out of the spotlight. If you plan on staying, just keep your head down and your nose out of trouble... Good luck miss Kane." He sounded sincere like he truly wanted her to get away from all this. As if he knew what it was like wanting a clean slate.
Terra felt a little better about her situation knowing she had someone like Detective Smith on her side but she was still worried about what was to come in the future.
As the door shut behind him and the Tower locked itself down, Starfire let out a small sigh of relief now that she only had to entertain Terra and her parents. But she still didn't know what to do...
"Um..." She stuttered, "D-do you wish to engage in the game of videos?" She laughed nervously.
Robin was walking through the hallway with his head down, trying to think of what to say. When he got to his room the door rushed open. He entered quickly and the door closed behind him. He turned and locked the door before heading to his desk where his phone sat.
He stared at it intensely still wondering if he should even make this call. But he was stuck and had no idea how he should proceed. He needed guidance.
He took a deep breath and leaned over his desk with palms flat against the surface supporting his weight. Reaching forward, he pressed the speaker phone option and began typing a number he knew by heart on the keys.
The phone began ringing and his room was eerily quiet as the tone filled the empty space. His expression only got more intense as the tones continued to drone from the speaker.
The tones finally can to an abrupt stop as an old man's voice answered the at the other end.
"Master Grayson," the voice said, "I'm delighted to recieve your call."
"Hey Alfred," Robin said softly almost embarrassed, "I need to talk to him."